Chapter 292: Winter Soldier III
Shuri responded, "At best? One per year—if they’re lucky. Maybe less. The process needs perfect synchronization between biomechanical implants and enhanced cellular regeneration. And that’s not something any ordinary lab can do."
She paused, then added, "And here’s the worrying part... the neural reconditioning process—what actually makes them obedient—can’t be done by machines alone. That part requires someone with deep psychological expertise and total control of the subject’s body and mind."
Bruce’s brow furrowed. "So whoever did this... they’re not just a technician. They’re a specialist."
Shuri nodded. "More than that. They’re an architect. Someone who knows how to blend biotech and behavior control at a clinical level."
Fury narrowed his eyes. "Then we’re not just dealing with a lab. We’re dealing with a factory—one that’s still learning... and improving."
Fury turned to Natasha. His expression was stone-cold serious.
"Step one is finding the lab. Or whatever it is."
Natasha nodded, already bringing up her tactical tablet. "If they rebuilt Bucky, there’s gotta be a trail. Medical shipments, prosthetic tech, black-market cybernetics—we can triangulate."
Fury leaned over her shoulder. "Start with any flagged shipments of high-density memory alloys and synthetic nerve fiber. Nobody assembles that kind of material without triggering at least one of our eyes."
Bruce added, "And I’ll cross-check global medical data. If they’re building more like Bucky, we’ll see patterns—rapid muscle gain, sudden neurological upgrades, anomalies in black market organ trafficking. Something’ll pop."
Shuri joined in, "I’ll sync Wakandan databases and run a scan for every instance of the biometric signature we pulled from Bucky. Even if they scrubbed the logs, we’ll catch ghost signals."
Tony, meanwhile, had been unusually quiet. He finally spoke, his tone low.