Marvel: Empire of Power-Chapter 77: Polish Inferno, a Howl Reborn

Krankenhaus X was a sprawling, multi-level subterranean fortress masquerading as a desolate Polish sanatorium. Its upper levels were deceptively benign, but beneath the earth, Hydra's scientists, under the presumed remote direction of a recuperating Baron Strucker and the immediate, chilling command of Dr. Ilsa Haupman (who, it turned out, had a cybernetically augmented clone or a disturbingly resilient twin Elias's System hadn't initially differentiated after her apparent demise at the U-boat pen), continued their grotesque experiments on captured partisans, Allied POWs, and, most recently, Samuel Miller. Their goal: unlock the secrets of his Feral Striker regeneration and adapt it for a new breed of Hydra shock troops.

Logan's HALO insertion, coordinated by O'Malley from a high-altitude, radar-stealth "Blackwood Skunkworks" prototype aircraft (itself a product of salvaged Hydra tech and Elias's System-driven ingenuity), was flawless. He landed like a phantom in the frozen pine forests several miles from Krankenhaus X, the only sound the whisper of his chute collapsing in the snow. His enhanced senses, now sharper and clearer than ever after his resurrection, immediately picked up the acrid scent of chemicals, antiseptic, and the faint, pervasive odor of fear and suffering emanating from the hidden facility. And beneath it all, a fainter, more familiar scent – Miller's unique Feral Striker musk, laced with pain and sedatives.

He moved through the snowbound wilderness with inhuman speed and silence, a wraith in the moonlight, his objective clear.

Simultaneously, on the Baltic coast, Namor and his Atlantean Royal Guard, alongside Thomas MacIntyre and the Feral Striker pack (Dubois, Macgregor, Lemaire, and Beaulieu – their amphibious gear now standard issue), launched their devastating assault on the U-boat pens and subterranean canals that supplied Krankenhaus X.

It was a symphony of elemental fury and primal savagery. Namor, a veritable sea god, commanded colossal waves that shattered reinforced concrete bunkers and flooded the lower tunnel levels. His Atlantean warriors, moving with effortless grace through the churning, icy water, their bio-electric tridents disabling Hydra defenses and neutralizing patrols, were a terrifyingly efficient amphibious assault force. The Feral Strikers, now veterans of such chaotic engagements, followed in their wake, bone claws rending any Hydra stragglers who escaped the Atlanteans' initial onslaught. Beaulieu, in particular, fought like a demon in the flooded tunnels, his aquatic specialization making him a nightmare for the unprepared Hydra troops.

[KRANKENHAUS X PERIMETER BREACHED (BALTIC APPROACH). HYDRA NAVAL/SUBTERRANEAN DEFENSES CRIPPLED. ATLANTEAN/FERAL STRIKER FORCES ADVANCING. HEAVY RESISTANCE ENCOUNTERED FROM HYDRA "AQUA-TROOPERS" (MINOR AMPHIBIOUS AUGMENTATIONS, ARMED WITH SONIC DISRUPTORS).]

Elias, monitoring both fronts, felt a surge of grim satisfaction. The diversion was working perfectly. Hydra's primary attention would be fixed on the overwhelming assault from the sea.

This was Logan's cue.

He reached the unassuming surface entrance of the "sanatorium," a cluster of old stone buildings. The outer guards, lulled into a false sense of security by the remote location and the fury of the distant coastal attack, were caught completely unprepared. Logan didn't bother with stealth for this part. He exploded through them, a whirlwind of adamantium and barely suppressed rage, his claws a blur. The few remaining guards fell before they could even properly register the threat.

He found the primary elevator shaft leading down into the subterranean levels. The power was already flickering due to the damage caused by Namor's assault on the geothermal conduits supplying the facility. Logan, disdaining the malfunctioning elevator, simply leapt onto the massive cables and began a controlled descent, his claws biting into the steel for purchase, plunging into the darkness below.

Krankenhaus X's interior was a high-tech hell. Labs filled with grotesque experiments, holding cells echoing with tormented cries, and corridors patrolled by a new breed of Hydra Ubersoldaten – sleeker, faster than the Mk IIs at Festung Niemals, and wielding energy rifles that fired focused beams of coherent, destructive sound. These were the "Schalljäger" (Sound Hunters), designed to incapacitate and disrupt opponents with disorienting sonic frequencies.

Logan, however, was a force they couldn't disrupt. His Omega-tier healing, now fully re-ignited and subtly enhanced by the Prime Essence infusion and his deeper System bond with Elias, shrugged off the sonic blasts that would have crippled an ordinary Feral Striker. His enhanced senses, while initially overwhelmed, quickly adapted, filtering the disruptive frequencies. His progress was a brutal, relentless advance, each encounter leaving a trail of shattered Hydra soldiers and wrecked equipment. He was a howl reborn, tearing through the heart of Hydra's depravity.

[LOGAN (WOLVERINE) – DEEP INFILTRATION OF KRANKENHAUS X SUCCESSFUL. MULTIPLE SCHALLJÄGER UNITS NEUTRALIZED. HEALING FACTOR EXHIBITING ENHANCED RESISTANCE TO SONIC/NEURAL ATTACKS (POSSIBLE SYNERGY WITH HOST'S PSIONIC SHIELDING VIA PRIME CONDUIT BOND).]

Elias noted this with interest. The bond was indeed becoming bi-directional, Logan benefiting from Elias's own psionic evolution. freewebnoveℓ.com

He found Miller in Sektor Omega, just as Thomas and the Feral Strikers, having fought their way up from the flooded lower levels, were blasting through the reinforced laboratory doors from the other side. Miller was still strapped to the apparatus, but conscious, his yellow-silver eyes blazing with defiance. Dr. Ilsa Haupman (or her identical, augmented successor – Elias suspected Hydra had a penchant for cloning key personnel) was attempting to initiate a "neural imprint override" protocol, clearly trying to brainwash Miller or download his Feral Striker template.

"Too late, Doctor!" Thomas roared, his Barbarian strength amplified by battle rage as he ripped the laboratory door from its hinges. Dubois and Macgregor surged past him, bone claws extended.

Haupman shrieked, activating a personal energy shield and firing a disruptor pistol. Logan, appearing from a ventilation shaft directly above her like an avenging demon, dropped down, his adamantium claws shattering her shield and ending her experiments permanently.

[HYDRA LEAD RESEARCHER (DR. ILSA HAUPMAN – CLONE/SUCCESSOR) ELIMINATED. NEURAL IMPRINT PROTOCOL INTERRUPTED. Prime Essence Shard Echo Acquired: +0.7 (Advanced Cybernetic/Psionic Augmentations). Total Shards: 4.7/5.0.] Agonizingly close, again.

Miller, freed by Thomas, was weak but immensely relieved. "Took... you... bastards... long enough," he rasped, a bloody grin on his face. His Feral Striker healing was already knitting together the worst of the surgical incisions Hydra had inflicted.

"Rest, soldier," Thomas rumbled, clapping him on the shoulder. "The pack looks after its own."

The reunion was cut short as the entire facility began to shake violently. Automated voice warnings in German blared from hidden speakers: "FACILITY COMPROMISED. INITIATING STERILIZATION PROTOCOL KREMATORIA. DETONATION IN T-MINUS 10 MINUTES."

Strucker, or whoever was in command, was prepared to sacrifice the entire facility rather than let its secrets fall into enemy hands.

"We need to move!" Elias's voice crackled urgently through their comms (O'Malley, having linked up with the Feral Striker pack during their advance, had re-established the link). "Rendezvous with Namor's forces at the primary canal exit. They will provide extraction."

The retreat from Krankenhaus X was a desperate, running battle. Hydra forces, fanatical to the last, threw themselves at the escaping operatives, attempting to delay them until the Krematoria protocol incinerated everything. Logan and the Feral Strikers, now fighting back-to-back, formed a mobile wall of adamantium and bone, carving a path through the chaos. Miller, though still weak, fought with a cold, vengeful fury, his trauma-variant resilience shrugging off wounds that would have felled a Legionnaire.

They reached the subterranean canals just as Namor, a figure of terrible, oceanic majesty, was personally overseeing the final collapse of the U-boat pens. He saw them emerge, battered but triumphant.

"Your land-beasts fight with... commendable ferocity, Thorne," Namor's mental voice conceded, a rare note of something akin to respect in his tone. "The pollution here is cleansed."

As they boarded Atlantean submersibles for a swift, untraceable withdrawal, Krankenhaus X erupted behind them in a series of colossal internal explosions, its secrets, its horrors, and its remaining Hydra defenders consumed in a subterranean inferno.

Elias Thorne had dealt another devastating blow to Hydra. He had recovered Miller, tested his forces, and further solidified his alliance with Namor. The Prime Essence Shards acquired from Haupman brought him to the brink of his next major System evolution. The war was far from over, but his pieces were moving with increasing power and precision. Logan, his howl reborn in the Polish inferno, was once again Elias's deadliest weapon. And Hydra knew, with chilling certainty, that the shadows now held a predator even more relentless than their own fallen Skull.