Chapter 7


6 Months Later

"Status people?"

"Hawkeye ready"

"Black Widow ready"

"Mockingbird ready"

"Cavalry ready"

"Howler ready"

"Hunter ready"

"Okay. Three. Two. One. GO! GO! GO!"


Stepping in to the latest HYDRA stronghold they'd located, Senior S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson strode through the now cleared corridors, avoiding the clean-up personnel clearing the HYDRA Agents from the floor, and headed towards the room, where his senior agents had converged.

This was yet another failure to capture a known HYDRA base.

As seemed to be the M.O. lately, their Intel had given them the base's location, they'd scoped it out from the outside and confirmed that it was active, and then Director Fury had given them the go ahead to breach.

Then, by the time they'd arrived, the base was then completely stripped of anything useful by the time, and by the time they'd been prepared to breach, only a skeleton crew of combatants were left behind, only this time, there was a single difference.

A lone laptop was waiting for them, sitting on a desk, inside what seemed like it had been the stronghold's command centre.

His polished Italian leather shoe preceded his pressed and immaculate suit, as he entered the room, with FitzSimmons and Skye flanking him, to find his six of his senior field agents awaiting them. At his command, Skye dropped into the desk's leather recliner, before she booted up the laptop and bypassed the low level encryption it held.

A series of green numbers flashed across the screen, as she typed away fanatically, before leaning back in satisfaction as the dark red logo of HYDRA emerged into view.

"So at least we know they were definitely here"

Several of them murmured their agreements to Coulson's statement, as the logo faded to reveal the smiling faces of Daniel Whitehall and Bakshi, as well as what seemed to be a third man, stood firmly behind them, draped in shadow.

"Ah, Mr Coulson"

"Whitehall", he spat back at the screen, the man's seemingly perfectly mannered grace making his blood boil. The man who specialised in mind control. Whitehall made him sick.

"Yes", he chuckled lightly, as though they were sharing a private joke, "I was hoping that it would be you that found my message. After all, what good is a note if no one reads it?"

Always with the attempts at mind games, "What do you want Whitehall?" He resisted the urge to spit the man's name out again, "Why leave us a message?"

"Not a message per se. Let it serve as a warning to all those that would defy HYDRA"

The video feed flickered, before it was replaced by a black and white security feed, which was dated five months ago.

The doors flew open and overhead lights flickered on, revealing several men decked out in standard HYDRA tactical gear, including face masks, who took up positions surrounding the man in the centre, before one stepped forwards, grabbing the man's face and turning it forcibly towards the camera.

With his arms suspended by chains above him, Grant Ward was looking straight at them.

Longingly, Skye's hand reached out towards him, only for her to pull it back in embarrassment as several of her team mates raised eyebrows at her action. Their 'story' was well known among the top tier agents.

Daniel Whitehall stepped into the cell, with Bakshi trailing dutifully behind him. The soldiers snapped into their salute, "Hail HYDRA", and Ward looked up, before he let out a chuckle.

And one of the guards sent his fist straight into Ward's stomach.

The specialist in question didn't react, even as Bakshi stepped forwards, leaning forwards to stand eye to eye with their captive.

"This is your last chance to save yourself Mr Ward. I strongly suggest that you take it"

He let out a breathy chuckle, "Go to Hell"

They both sighed, Whitehall's shoulders dropped slightly as he spoke, "Very well … Soldiers, you may begin"

The team looked on in mild horror as Ward was subjected to a seven on one beat down, unable to defend himself as the constant blows continued to rain down on him.

The video sped up as the time stamp moved up by a week, each day bringing several similar beatings. Most of them were contained to fists and boots, but some of them involved steel pipes and batons.

One particularly painful looking one involved one of the HYDRA soldiers tracing over old wounds with a knee, which required the loss of his shirt. Which exposed his tattoos.

"He used to train shirtless all the time. When did he get tattoos?"

While most of the team looked shocked, Bobbi was unconcerned, as she'd seen both of them before, and she liked stroking the one on his back, while watching him shiver. Apparently the Yakuza dragon there, served as a reminder for an old friend he'd lost, while he actually had the connections in the Brava that his chest tattoo signified. She was saved from speaking up by Clint, who was doing his best to ignore the happenings on the screen.

"He's always had them, ever since he joined S.H.I.E.L.D.", at their confused looks he pushed on, "they count as distinguishing features, which are very bad for specialists, so he used to wear those peeling artificial skin graft things, but he stopped using them after 'The Fall', since he couldn't get access to any"

Before anyone could ask any more questions, movement on the screen brought their attention back to Ward.

The lights flickered back on as Bakshi entered the room flanked by three guards. Ward's head moved up, sluggishly, allowing their eyes to clash.

"Now Mr Ward-"

"Go to Hell"

"Ah, very well them. I'm sorry we have to resort to this, but you leave us no choice"

He waved the three men forwards. The man at the rear had brought a car battery with him, with jumper cables attached. They sat it down on the small table near Ward, before dramatically banging the clips together, making him watch as they sparked.

He refused to give them a reaction.

Bakshi, leant over, grimacing slightly, before he dialled up the amp reading to six milliamps.

"That's not good"

Their gazes flicked from the screen to Romanoff as she'd spoken, their gazes enquiring.

"Most people pass out a six milliamps. Seven milliamps will stop your heart"

Several of them swallowed thickly.

Ward's screams echoed through the cell. His tormentors smiling in delight as he fought to control the screams before he gave in to his body's desire.

The screams endured, his body racking and arching in pain until he was spent and his body slumped in exhaustion.

He was left alone for four hours until Bakshi returned and the torture was resumed.

The beatings and the torture continued for another three days - if the time stamp was to be believed.

Not a single meal had been brought to him the entire time he had been there, and water was placed on a sponge and brought to his lips several times a day from a pole.

They were taking his incarceration seriously.

Eventually, he gave up screaming, his body wracking itself in silent spasms, until, during one of his constant torture sessions, and just as Natasha had predicted, his heart gave out and he slumped to the floor.

One of the soldiers rushed forwards to check his pulse, before turning to face his leader, and speaking the unspeakable, "He's dead Sir"

Skye and Simmons let out soft whimpers, their eyes glistening with tears that threatened to fall as most of them looked sick. Only May, Barton and Romanoff looked fine. May and Barton had seen worse, and he reached forwards to place a comforting hand on his best friends shoulder.

Natasha had lived it.

At Bakshi's call, a team of medical staff rushed into the room, dropping a stretcher as they entered and rolled him onto it. The guards helped them with lifting it onto a gurney as one of the doctors straddled him and began chest compressions and recue breaths as they wheeled him from the room.

Whitehall entered, as they left, the gurney passing him, as he turned to speak to his second in command.

"Mr Ward?"

"Ready to undergo the treatment Sir, once he continues living"

"Excellent work as always Mr Bakshi. Bring him to me as soon as possible. I would like there to be no delays before we begin"

"Of course Sir. I'll see it done"

The video switched itself off as the faces of Daniel Whitehall and Bakshi returned to the screen, their ever present polite smiles still in place, and Coulson's face morphed from his usual amiableness, into one of pure, unadulterated rage.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?"

"My my, temper temper Mr Coulson. I only finished what John Garrett started. I'm only leading him down a path YOU and YOUR team helped push him down"

"WHERE IS HE!?"

Skye's voice screamed out to the screen, concern and pain lacing her anger as she yelled.

"Ah, Miss Skye I believe it is … oh he's still alive, aww, you should have seen him, so strong, so determined not to betray you all again, especially you and Ms Morse … I am so looking forward to seeing her again. The traitor and the infil-traitor. Who would've thought they made such a good couple? … Yes his dedication to protecting you all was admirable, he fought us for so long - you would've been so proud"

"How do we know he's even alive? We already watched him die"

Coulson's voice had returned to his neutral tone, but they could all see his rage simmering at the surface. The specks of anger flickering in his eyes.

"Oh you really do think the worst of us don't you?" Bakshi's tone had turned into a mocking one, "we would never waste a skillset as valuable as his, and thus, after we … 'fixed' him, we had one final task for him to perform, a test if you will"

The video faded again, taking with it their still smiling faces, as it changed to show a seemingly abandoned warehouse, containing Skye and May, though not from any mission they could recognise, and Skye hadn't worn a red plaid short in months, her only one had caught fire in the labs by accident and she'd had to throw it away.

There was a sound of string tightening, followed by a whistle, as a dark red arrow flew through the air and impaled itself.

Straight through Fake May's chest.

She was dead before her body hit the floor.

Dropping down from the rafters, Grant Ward, clad in a full set of HYDRA tactical gear, landed in the standard specialist pose, crouched with one leg extended, and a hand on their weapon – In his case a bow. Which Barton identified as a custom made compound bow, presumably with a heightened draw strength.

"GRANT!"

Fake Skye sprung to her feet, apparently extremely pleased to see him.

She'd barely taken her first step towards him when the arrow pierced her chest.

Straight through the heart.

She was dead before her body hit the floor.

Stepping across the room, he checked the pulses on both women, before retrieving his bloody arrows, before wiping them clean on Fake Skye's shirt, and reaching up to press a comms device in his ear.

"It's done … Yes Sir … Understood … I'm on my way"

The screen faded yet again, as the two heads of HYDRA returned, and Bakshi once again took over the conversation.

"So you see … your Mr Ward is dead"

"You said he was alive!"

Whitehall let a small smile slip onto his features as he looked as his student, before giving instructions in what was a bored tone, "Mr Bakshi, please put them out of their misery"

Bakshi gestured to the man behind them, who had been draped in the shadows, and he stepped out of the darkness and into the light, and the team lost their breath.

Decked out in dark HYDRA red Kevlar, his quiver loaded with black arrows with red tips, and his reinforced red compound bow, their new enforcer dropped his hood to reveal the emotionless face of Grant Ward.

There were shouts of "Ward!" "Grant!" and assorted thanks as his face became visible.

He didn't react.

"Mr Ward, look at me"

He didn't react to Whitehall's commands either.

Bakshi just smiled, "You see, it's simple. There is no Grant Ward anymore, there's just another weapon in HYDRA's arsenal"

At the word "Arsenal", his head snapped straight towards Whitehall, awaiting his instructions. His emotionless eyes awaiting confirmation.

"Arsenal, send our message. And Mr Coulson … I'd advise you to look to your left"

As Ward disappeared off the screen, they all turned to Coulson's left to see a small jet de-cloak, before lowering the rear ramp to reveal 'Arsenal'. Raising his bow, he knocked his arrow, before letting it fly.

Straight towards Coulson, who was tackled to the floor by May, but the damage had been done.

The window had caused the arrow to be deflected.

It flew straight into Hawkeye's left shoulder, who screamed in pain as his upper armour began to turn red, before they saw Arsenal return inside, the ramp raise and the jet leave.

Grant Ward was once again their enemy.


Author's Notes

And we have Arsenal!Ward, which is the first hints towards my shared MCU/Arrowverse universe that I'm building, and I hope you'll enjoy it.

Please leave a review - they really do encourage writing.

-MarvelMatt