Chapter 70: The First Cohort, a Pacific Crucible
The creation of the "Project Legionnaire" template consumed nearly all of Elias Thorne's available System Energy and left him psychically drained for days, but the potential it represented was transformative. He now possessed the means to create Tier 3 super-soldiers, loyal only to him, each a formidable combatant with enhanced strength, regeneration, adaptive combat skills, and even nascent energy manipulation. This was a quantum leap beyond his Feral Strikers.
His first priority was selecting candidates for this "First Cohort" of Legionnaires. He didn't rush. The [Praetorian Guard Loyalty Protocol] was designed to be unbreakable, but Elias understood that imprinting such power and devotion onto an unworthy or unstable individual could be catastrophic. He, Thomas MacIntyre, and Anya Petrova (whose Archer-enhanced observational skills and growing understanding of human psychology made her an adept judge of character) meticulously vetted the most elite members of Thorne's Guard – those who had demonstrated exceptional courage, unwavering loyalty under pressure, and a stable mental fortitude.
They selected five men. Two were hardened veterans Thomas had personally recruited from his old regiment. One was a former RCMP officer known for his iron will and investigative mind. Another was a brilliant young engineer from "Blackwood Advanced Designs" (one of Elias's R&D fronts) who had risked his life to prevent industrial sabotage. The fifth was, surprisingly, a quiet academic, a linguist and historian Finch had recommended, who possessed an unexpectedly fierce moral core and a deep, quiet loyalty to Elias's "vision" (as much as Finch understood it). All underwent rigorous psychological screening by Anya and a series of loyalty tests designed by Elias himself.
Their existing loyalty ratings were all above 90% before the process even began.
The empowerment process for each Legionnaire was conducted individually in Elias's shielded Montreal vault. It was an intense, energy-draining affair, costing [250 System Energy Units] per soldier, but mercifully, no further Prime Essence Shards. Elias's energy reserves, though vast, were significantly depleted by the time the fifth Legionnaire emerged, transformed.
The results were spectacular. Each man emerged physically perfected, radiating an aura of contained power. Their strength was easily double that of a Feral Striker, their reflexes lightning fast. They healed from simulated injuries with startling speed. Their eyes held a new, keen intelligence, and a chillingly absolute, almost worshipful devotion to Elias Thorne, their creator. The System confirmed: [Legionnaire Cohort Alpha (5 Units) – Successfully Created. Loyalty: 100% (Praetorian Protocol Stable). Power Level: Tier 3 (Mid). Combat Integration: Beginning Field Acclimation.]
Thomas MacIntyre, witnessing the transformation of men he had personally trained, felt a mixture of awe and profound unease. These Legionnaires were... different. His Feral Strikers were primal beasts honed for battle. These new soldiers were like demigods, their power more refined, their loyalty less instinctual and more... ideologically absolute. It was a power that could save the world, or burn it to cinders, depending entirely on the will of the young man who now commanded them.
Elias knew he couldn't keep these new assets hidden in Canada indefinitely. They needed field experience, combat data to accelerate their integration and unlock their full potential. The European theatre, with Logan and Miller already operating as a highly effective (if chaotic) anti-Hydra spearhead, was too politically sensitive for the overt deployment of a new, unknown superhuman team. The Pacific, however, was a different story.
Namor, still Elias's reluctant but increasingly valuable ally, had recently reported a surge in Japanese activity around a cluster of previously uninhabited volcanic islands in the volatile "Ring of Fire." It wasn't the "Oceanic Purity" cultists this time, but elite Imperial Japanese Army units, accompanied by scientists and strange, heavily shielded equipment. They were establishing a fortified research base, codenamed "Project Amaterasu" (after the Japanese sun goddess), supposedly focused on harnessing geothermal and "telluric" energies for a new type of superweapon.