Unnatural Selection Part One

Deep in a laboratory, Varina Goddard — a scientist of AIM — is putting the finishing touches on her latest creation, the cybernetic organism dubbed Death’s Head 3.0. Marvelling over its destructive power, she finds that it is a creation that only a mother could love. With the frame ready, she then activates a device that transfers the energy of contained in a glove to be transfrerred into the Death’s Head unit, bringing it to life. [1]

Madrid, Spain - Three Hours Earlier

Cyberneticist Raymond Hidalgo is picked up by a limo and brought to the headquarters of Advanded Idea Mechanics. Inside the vehicle he finds Lars Heinkel, a quantum physicist, and Jana Breski, disease management specialist. Raymond openly admits that he feels uneasy when AIM opens its doors and welcomes people in. On the way, they watch a news report about AIM’s disclosure decommissioning program, which is the final step for the terrorist organization becoming a legitimate organization, of which Hildago and his associates are participating in. Muting the television, Lars admits that he is suspicious as to how full the AIM’s disclosure will be.

Outside of Toledo

Hildago, Heinkel, and Breski are taking to the AIM’s Euro-Hub facility which houses one of the most most powerful data processors in the world. The three specialists are then escorted to an elevator where they will be taken to different floors to observe AIM’s facilities in each of their areas of expertise. On sub-level ten, Raymond is greeted by a new guide named Aaron Spiro who warns Hildago that his boss, Varina Goddard, can be difficult to deal with. After going through a decontamination process, Saprio takes Rayond to where AIM is breeding nano-cultures which they hope to develop into artificial stimulats for the human immune system that cannot be rejected by the body.

Raymond is then taken to meet Varina, who is kept alive in a massive life support system. This comes as a shock to Raymond as this was not what he was expecting. She tries to lighten the mood by jokingly ask Hildago if he has come to pull the plug. When Raymond says that his job isn’t quite that literal, Verina is of the view that he has come to dismantle her work, and points out that she is her life’s work. She goes on to say that after the accident that took the life of her unborn child, she has been able to to regrow parts of her body that were destroyed. She cautions Raymond that by decommisioning her project is to also decommision her. She is very upset that this is what' is happening after pledging her life to AIM. When Raymond tries to apologize, Varina tells him to save it, as she doesn’t want his pity and just do what he came to do and leave her presence. Then, with a thought, she pulls up all of her files on a nearby computer so he can get to work. Having grown weary of their exchange, Goddard then appears to go to sleep. However, while Raymond Hidalgo begins his work, Varina begins communicating with her Death’s Head unit and begins willing him to life. Meanwhile, Raymond pours over the files that Varina has given him access, but he becomes suspicious. Removing one of his leather gloves reveals a strange marking on his thumb, causing him to think back to how he got this…

… This device, a virtual interrogator was given to him by Agent Braccia of the Global Enforcement/Intelligence Symposium Taskforce, aka GEIST. She tells Raymond that all he has to do is touch his thumb to a computer screen and he will be able to access everything in AIM’s databases. When Raymond asks if this is necessary, Agent Braccia finds it hard to believe that he believes that AIM would give him full access to their files.

Uncertain that Raymond truly understands the gravity of the situation, Braccia shows him footage of GEIST’s raid on one of Varina' Goddard’s facilities. There they discovered that she was experimenting on babies that were still in the womb, using her nano-technology to remove everything Goddard considered a defect. She points out that the mothers of these children were not willing volunteers.

…. As Raymond considers putting his thumb on the computer screen, the alarm suddenly goes off. This is because the Death’s Head unit has blasted free from his restraints. When AIM soldiers come with guns shooting, the recently sentient Death’s Head wonders why he is being attacked. Seeking guidance, it gets nothing from it’s “mother”. Asking who it is, the Death’s Head unit gets a brief flash of memory of it being one of many similar units fighting massive creatures on an alien world.[2] It decides to fight back against the AIM soldiers and as it fights, Raymond watches from his monitory. Curious about this Death’s Head unit, he decides to go digging deeper into AIM’s databases in order to learn more about it. Meanwhile, the AIM soldiers attempts to blast the Death’s Head unit with a massive energy cannon. Before they can fire it, the Death’s Head unit rips the cannon loose and begins using it like a massive gun to blast the enemy soldiers. As the Death’s Head unit fights for his life, there is some voice deep inside its mind that tells it to keep fighting. This foreign voice is it’s own fully formed voice. Deciding that it needs to know more about itself and facing impossible odds, the Death’s Head unit flees the battle. By this time, Raymond Hidalgo has found an internal AIM memo about how they had captured the Death’s Head unit and contained it until its internal power supply ran out. They then began experimenting on reprogramming the machine had proven difficult due to anti-tampering devices installed within it. Unaware that Varina Goddard is secretly spying on him, Raymond puts his thumb on the computer screen. This is all going according to Varina’s plans as she hopes that in six days time her Death’s Head unit will assassinate the UN Secretary General during a Geniva Treaty Summit. This, she believes, will allow her to save AIM from itself. However, as she looks over the situation report she is troubled to learn that while Death’s Head createrd many casualties, but none of them were fatal.

Recurring Characters

Death’s Head 3.0, Raymond Hidalgo, AIM (Varina Goddard), Lars Heinkel, Jana Breski, GEIST (Agent Braccia)

Continuity Notes

1. This story takes place in a possible future reality. Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2, it has been designated as Reality-6216.

2. This memory depicts the Death’s Head Units that were seen on the planet Sakaar during the Planet Hulk story arc. Check out Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #92-105. Where this Death’s Head unit came from is unknown but one can presume that if the past of Earth-6216 was similar to the Modern Age of Earth-616, this could have been one of the Death’s Head units that Hulk brought to Earth in World War Hulk #1-5.

Or Best Offer

Before getting into a jeep with a bunch of rebelts, Paladin checks his phone to make sure that his payment has been wire transferred into his bank account. As they go, the mericnary asks for a pair of pliars so he can work on the explosives. When the rebels express their concern about the bombs going off on the bumpy ride to their target while he works, Paladin assures them that he knows what he is doing. As he works he asks about the workers in the factory that they are going to blow up. The leader of the rebels explains that they will become martyrs to their cause. That’s when one of the rebels begin asking the mercinary about his line of work and the country he comes from. The leader tells his inquisitive follower not to talk to the American, as his only concerns are for the material world of the living and not what the afterlife has in store for them. To make a point about the greed and decadence of the west, he points out that Paladin worked for thier oppressors before they paid for his services. Paladin confirms this without the slightest bit of remorse, but tells them that he doesn’t like their enemies any more than he likes them.

Once they reach the area outside of the facility, the leader tells them that they will all meet back in 35 minutes, but Paladin says its not enough time. When the other rebels agree with him, their leader tells them they’ll have 37 minutes and not a minute later. As they all go about their appointed tasks, the leader of the rebels decides to go with Paladin. Getting through the fence and killing the guards, Paladin and the rebel leader plant the bombs and head back to the jeep. There, the leader insists on leaving right away, telling Paladin that the others will be martyrs to the cause. Paladin sees them coming and suggests they wait. That’s when the enemy army spots them and begins opening fire. Paladin convinces the leader to drive the jeep while he shoots but they are soon cut off. The leader of the rebels gets out of the jeep and insists to the enemy soldiers that he isn’t a rebel However, the commanding officer doesn’t believe him and he is quicklty arrested. The commander then thanks Paladin for helping them stopping the rebel and confirms that the mercinary received his payment. Paladin confirms. But when he also thanks Paladin preventing the terrorists from blowing up their factory. That’s when Paladin says he didn’t because that would have cost extra and drives away as the factory explodes.

Recurring Characters

Paladin