World Traveler Villain

{Chapter: 322 Pepper is Tied Up}

William glanced at the three women standing before him, each of them brimming with curiosity and excitement. The tension in the air was thick, humming with possibility. He crossed his arms and raised a brow, his tone measured.

"From everything you just said... it sounds incredible. Almost too incredible. But isn't it supposed to be nearly impossible for X-Cells to form in the skin layer? Didn't your simulation show the X-serum being destroyed by both T-cells and metamorphic cells?"

White Queen tilted her head, lips curling into a sly, almost mischievous smile. "Oh, William… don't be so quick to underestimate the X-serum. It's far more resilient than it appears. Just watch."

In the center of the room, the projected simulation flared to life once more. Inside the magnified model of a human body, the X-serum, which had been on the brink of annihilation in the bloodstream, suddenly changed tactics. It fled, slipping past layers of tissue like a green phantom until it reached the skin.

"There," White Queen said, her eyes glowing faintly with a light green shimmer. "It knows where to run."

But even there, it wasn't safe—not yet. The T-cells and metamorphic cells, relentless in their pursuit, followed it into the skin layer like avenging ghosts. Cornered, desperate, and with nowhere left to go, the X-serum made a choice.

Instead of attacking or corrupting the cells it encountered, the X-serum… surrendered.

It began to merge—not dominate, not destroy—but merge with the epidermal cells. The process was fast and violent in motion, but not in effect. Rather than erode the cells from within as it normally would, it entered passively. It didn't break them down—it became a part of them.

"Incredible…" Alice muttered under her breath as she watched the display.

Where ordinary cells once were, now began to form something new. The membranes shimmered with a light green hue, the nuclei shifting color as they adapted. They weren't collapsing or exploding like corrupted cells would. They were stabilizing—evolving.

The skin cells had changed.

"These are X-Cells," White Queen announced with a note of triumph. "Rather than be rejected or destroyed, the X-serum adapted to survive. It became part of the body. These new cells aren't invaders—they're citizens."

All around the new light green cells, the once-hostile T-cells and metamorphic cells hovered, rotating with calculated intent. But they didn't attack. In fact, they seemed to acknowledge these X-Cells as kin. No aggression. No conflict. Only coexistence.

"I saw it," Alice said with a rare, genuine smile. "The X-serum had no other path. Pressured on all sides, it did the only thing it could: evolve. Merge with the host. And now it's something new."

White Queen gave a pleased nod. "It's beautiful, isn't it? A biological truce born from desperation. This is what I've named the X-Cell. But..." her voice lowered slightly, "this is as far as I can simulate. What kind of strength these X-Cells might grant in reality… that's still a mystery."

William watched the projection fade slightly, the image frozen on the shimmering green cells.

"All this is based on simulation," he said quietly, more to himself than to anyone else. "Data projections powered by your computing capacity. But that doesn't guarantee anything. If I really inject the X-serum into my body… there's no telling whether X-Cells will form at all."

Ada crossed her arms. "You're right to be cautious. The model assumes optimal internal balance. In the real world, there are variables even the White Queen can't predict. One wrong fluctuation, and the result could be…" she trailed off, letting the danger speak for itself.

The glow in White Queen's eyes intensified for a moment before the projection shut off entirely. The room dimmed.

"Fortune is found in risk," she said calmly, as if quoting some old digital proverb. "No evolution comes without trial. If you want power, William, then fear can't be your anchor."

Ada looked at him, eyes softer now. "Still… we're not talking about a scratch test. This is rewriting the biology of your skin. It could kill you, or worse—twist you into something unrecognizable."

"We all know what's at stake," Alice said. She turned her head slightly toward William, studying his expression. "But we also know him. He's not the type to die from a simple injection."

White Queen gave a theatrical shrug. "Of course not. He's a cockroach."

William raised a brow. "Did you just call me a cockroach?"

White Queen stepped behind Alice with a smirk, as if to use her as a shield. "Oops. Did I say that out loud?"

Alice chuckled softly. "She's not wrong though. You've survived worse. The explosion in Berlin. The Hive meltdown. That infected zombie king giant in Washington... Honestly, I'm starting to believe you're unkillable."

William chuckled too, but there was a fire in his eyes now. Something deeper.

"Alice," he said as he stared into the distance, "do you really need to ask if I'll inject the X-serum?"

She didn't answer immediately.

He turned his gaze back to her and smiled—something wicked, something driven. "Of course I will. The pursuit of strength never ends. And I'm not the type to stagnate. If I stop moving forward… I get left behind. Or worse, I become prey."

He held up his hand, staring at his clenched fist. The knuckles cracked slightly, the skin tightening around the muscles like tempered steel.

"Without power… how do I protect the people I care about? How do I protect myself?"

There was silence. Until—

White Queen shook her head and sighed in a very un-AI-like way. "You still didn't mention the two most important reasons."

William raised a brow, intrigued. "Oh? And what might those be?"

"How to pretend, how to scheme, how to kidnap beautiful women, claim them as your own, and humiliate their pathetic men. Hahaha!" the White Queen declared with a wicked grin, her voice as sharp as a dagger dipped in sarcasm.

William gave her a big thumbs up, a proud gleam in his eyes. "White Queen, you really do know me better than anyone else."

"That's only natural," Alice said gently, her hand resting on White Queen's silver hair. "After all, her body was grown from your own cells. She shares your DNA. Who else could possibly understand the madness inside your head better than this mischievous little clone?"

White Queen wrinkled her nose and scoffed, "Tch. Don't lump me in with him."

Aida tilted her head, analytical as always. "White Queen, have you already integrated T-cells and the restructured meta-cells into your system?"

White Queen gave a smug smile, practically glowing with pride. "They're already in my body, yes. But they're still going through the adaptation phase. I can't fully unleash their potential yet."

William crossed his arms, intrigued. "So, show us what you can do. Give me a taste."

White Queen's smile deepened. Her pupils narrowed and shifted into three concentric rings—an eerie and mechanical pattern that radiated danger. A second later, an invisible force slammed into William like a wave, pushing him backward several steps.

"Over here." Her voice came from behind.

Before William could react, White Queen struck—landing a clean punch on his backside.

But William vanished in a blink, his image shimmering out of existence. He reappeared behind her, arms around her shoulders in an instant. "Come on. A sneak attack? You're still too green for that."

White Queen smirked. "You think this is all I've got?"

Her body shimmered and dispersed like mist, transforming into a stream of metallic particles—shimmering and shifting in the air before falling to the ground. The particles twisted and reassembled themselves seamlessly into her original form.

"How's that for evolution?" she asked playfully, her eyes twinkling.

Ada raised an eyebrow. "Transformium particles… incredible. I didn't expect you to achieve that level of fluidity so quickly."

"Yeah," Alice nodded. "It's more than impressive. It's revolutionary."

William gave a proud shrug, clearly fishing for praise. "You two should be thanking me. Without me, White Queen would still be a glorified AI stuck inside a hard drive. I'm the one who gave her a body. A real one."

White Queen rolled her eyes so hard it was practically audible. "Yes, yes, you're the greatest genius in the universe. Happy now?"

Alice returned to the topic. "White Queen, even with the T-cells and Transformium Metamorphic cells integrated, you still can't maintain that form for long, right?"

White Queen nodded, a little more serious now. "Correct. The connection is unstable. I can keep it up for a few minutes at most. Unlike you two—who have fully harmonized your enhancements—I need time."

"Even so," Ada said warmly, "the fact that you've come this far is already incredible. We'll count on you to keep us safe in the future."

White Queen placed her hands on her hips with exaggerated confidence pushing her small chest that just began to develop forward. "Of course! Just stick close to me, and I'll carry you all to safety. I'll be your guardian angel—well, a much sassier version."

"Then first, beat William," Alice teased. "Only then can we put our trust in you completely."

White Queen's confident mask cracked. "Ugh… about that… I have to be honest. Surpassing William? Not happening anytime soon. It's... really, really hard."

Ada blinked. "But didn't you say just yesterday that defeating William would be easy?"

"I was bluffing," White Queen confessed with a dramatic shrug. "Let me have my delusions, okay? Anyway, let's move on. Time for real business."

She walked over to the lab console and brought up a shimmering blue hologram. "The X-Serum. It's off the table for now. Too unstable. I need to reanalyze and optimize the molecular structure. I won't allow it to be used until it's 100% foolproof."

William gave a lazy wave. "Fine by me. I leave all the mad science stuff to the experts."

"There's another matter," White Queen said, suddenly looking straight at him.

William raised an eyebrow. "Unless it involves a beautiful woman falling into my arms, I'm not interested."

White Queen gave him a flat stare. "What is wrong with your head? You know what—forget it. I don't feel like telling you anymore. You'll regret it, though."

"Oh?" William smirked and started walking toward her slowly, his tone low and teasing. "Are you sure about that? Because if you're really keeping secrets from me… I might have to extract the truth by force."

White Queen narrowed her eyes. "Torture, is it? That's your kink now?"

"I find violence very… persuasive," William said with a smirk.

"Fine! You want it?" White Queen snapped. "Pepper was kidnapped."

The room fell silent.

******

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