"Uncle Pietro," Frankie gasped as he starred at the Avenger lying in the metal crate. "We have to get him out."
"Wait!" Amadeus grabbed Frankie's hand as he prepared to smash the glass peephole with an arrow "Look."
The ten year-old boy drew the others attention to the side of the crate, where a line Korean writing was painting in big black symbols. The others weren't fluent, but they were all capable of reading a single word: Cho.
"It's one of my mom's Cradles," Amadeus nudged Frankie out of the way and inspected the advanced medical device "a prototype by the look of it. An old one."
"Hydra must've stolen it," Azari theorized "but what's Uncle Pietro doing here? Isn't he supposed to be in your mom in South Korea?"
"Doesn't matter," James announced "We're taking him with us. Amadeus, can you get him out of there?"
The young genius inspected the tablet synched to the Cradle "his vitals are stable, but they're weak. If we try to wake him up before the process is finished," Amadeus paled "That'd be a bad idea."
"So how are we supposed to get him out of here?" Yelena questioned.
"Like this," without a moment's warning, Torunn grabbed the Cradle with her bare hands and ripped it out of the ground.
"Torunn!" Amadeus looked ready to have a heart attack "this model doesn't have a built in power supply. Now it's going to run out of juice."
At that moment, the children jumped as Frankie's arrow set off the fire alarm, the sirens blaring as bright lights flashed.
James paled. "That's not good."
"Killian," The leader of AIM wheeled himself around as Mallick and Hive marched into the lab. "We need to talk."
"Of course gentlemen," Killian responded cordially "What can I do for you?"
"Do you have any idea what you have cost us?" Hive questioned in a controlled, furious tone "Your futile effort to cost of us one of the few Inhumans we have managed to sway to our cause."
"Somebody's cranky." Hive winced as Ward's voice echoed in his mind, the double agent giving a devilish smirk as he appeared in from of him.
Hive clenched his jaw. "We are beginning to experience serious reservations regarding this partnership."
"Which is why I've been working to locate the Holy Grail of Inhumans," Killian replied "Attilan."
Hive suppressed surprised expression. "How do you know of Attilan?" he demanded.
"I have my ways," Killian replied secretively.
"What is Attilan?" Mallick questioned.
"The Inhuman capital city," Killain answered "Legend says that those brave few Inhumans who would no longer serve the Kree drove their oppressors from the city, creating the first sanctuary for their kind. Then one day, the Inhumans vanished. And they took Attilan with them. But don't take my word for it," Killian told Mallick, eyeing Hive "I'm sure your friend here can tell you more."
Mallick eyed Hive curiously, the ancient Inhuman's eyes blazing with fury as the memories raced through his mind. "I was there. I was one of the Inhumans who fought to drive the Kree from Attilan. And when the battle was won, those fools dubbed the leader of the rebellion king," Hive scoffed "It was he and his followers that banished me that wasteland of planet, after I attempted to prevent the rise of another tyrant. And then, they condemned my followers to death as En Sabah Nur and his followers closed in."
"Sounds like someone's in the mood for revenge," Ward Commented "I can relate."
Hive marched toward Killian. "You claim you know where Attilan is. Tell me," he ordered.
"I'd watch your tone if I were you, my friend," Killian warned "anyway, I don't have its location. Yet. But given time, I will. Once the children have been located."
Mallick frowned. "The children are still in the room we placed them in."
"Actually, they've been on the loose for some time now," Killian revealed. "It looks like they placed the cameras on a loop to cover their tracks,"
Hive gave Mallick a menacing glare as Killian showed them the undoctored footage. "How could you let this happen?"
"I'm sorry," Mallick apologized quickly "I promise you, this will all be rectified soon."
Ward smiled with a dark satisfaction as he watched Mallick squirm. "Oh, Gideon. If you think you're trouble now, wait until I get my hands on you."
The last head of Hydra quickly started making calls when he lowered his phone with a nervous expression. "I just got off the phone with Giyera. Evidently there are signs of a fire in sector nineteen."
Killian noticed the angered expression on Hive's face. "And just what is in sector nineteen?"
"Hey, isn't that where you're keeping the Maximoff kid?" Ward asked, already knowing the answer "Well, this just isn't your day is it?" he chuckled.
Mallick cowered as Hive looked ready end his life right then and there, his heart racing as he stammered. "I've already sent a squad to investigate."
"Clearly Gideon, your men are incapable of handling children," the god of Hydra spun of his heels and marched off "I will deal with this myself."
"Stop."
Hive nearly keeled over in pain as Ward reappeared in front of him the hall, giving the Inhuman a massive headache the felt as though his brain was being ripped in two.
"You're not hurting those kids," Ward declared.
"Since when do you sympathize with the weak?" Hive hissed through his teeth.
"I've hurt a lot of people in my time," Ward admitted "Some good. Some bad. But I have never laid a hand on a child. And neither will you."
Hive grit his teeth. "And what makes you think you can keep such a vow?"
Ward smirked. "This."
Hive's went rigid as Ward hit him with another mental attack, his head feeling as if it were burning from the inside out as his most painful memories raced through his mind. Being hunted by the Kree. The experiments that forever transformed him. The countless deaths that he was forced to endure while entering a new host.
"Sir?" a young guard spotted Hive leaning heavily against the wall and frowned. "Are you alright?"
Before the guard could barely finish his sentence, Hive grabbed him by the throat and unleased his power, as countless parasites covered the helpless man and began to feed.
As Hive began to tear the poor soul apart, Ward fell to his knees, weakening as Hive grew stronger.
"I must admit I have underestimated you Ward," Hive complimented "truly, your soul is one of the strongest I have ever encountered. But in the end, you nothing more but an echo, a shadow. And once I enter Pietro Maximoff, you will be no more." Hive felt a rush of adrenaline as the new power surged through him as he dropped the guard, now a blood covered skeleton to the ground, taking in a dark satisfaction when Ward disappeared.
"Audrey," James plugged his ears as the alarms kept blaring "do something!"
"Working on it," the daughter of Iron Man stood huddled over one of the lab computers, rapidly tapping at the keyboard as she hacked into Hydra's system, letting out a sigh of relief as the lights and sirens cut off suddenly "Got it."
"Uh guys," Yelena paled as she kept a lookout, her face poking out from a crack in the lab door, spotting half a dozen guards headed straight for them "we got company."
"I got this," Torunn smirked confidently as she set down The Cradle and walked out into the hall "You lot stay here 'till it's safe."
Cracking her knuckles, Torunn floated effortless into the sky as she charged the guards as they came into view. "For Asgard!" she shouted.
BAM!
The young Asgardian slammed her shoulder into the first guard's chest, sending him crashing into the walls as it cracked from the sheer force of the blow, the guard crumpling into an unconscious heap on the ground. Torunn grabbed the guard on her left and tossed him into the air with both hands, flying into the air and slamming him into the ceiling before letting him drop to the floor with a thud. As she landed, the three remaining guards attempted to gang up on her, backing her into a corner as they came at her from all sides. They didn't stand a chance.
With one quick burst of strength, Torunn sent the three grown men staggering back as she pushed them away. As one of the guards came at her with a taser stick, Torunn grabbed his wrist in midair and threw him into the guard on her left, knocking the both of them out cold as they crashed into the wall beside her.
Torunn grunted as the final guard shot her in the arm with a stun gun, the massive volts of electricity not even phasing her in the slightest. But it did mess up her new jacket. Enraged, Torunn yanked on the wires and sent the guard flying towards her, knocking him to the ground in one punch.
Looking around at her handiwork, Torunn pushed the loose strands of hair out of her face and huffed. "Wankers."
Walking back over to room where her friends were hiding, Torunn opened the door and smiled. "It's safe guys."
As the children filed out of the room, Frankie looked at the grown men groaning on the ground and whistled. "You sure showed them."
"Nice work, Torunn. But next time I get t-Aaah!" Amadeus cried out in pain as one of the half conscious guards jabbed him in the side with a Taser, keeling over as Frankie slammed his foot into the guard's face.
"Uh-oh," Frankie's eyes widened in panic as he watched the youngest of his friends clutching his stomach in pain, his eyes blazing with fury "Amadeus, just calm down. Whatever you do, don't-," Before he could say another word, the young archer was sent flying into the wall as Amadeus slammed his palm into his chest.
"You okay?" Yelena asked as she helped him to his feet.
"Yeah," Frankie grunted "but he's not."
Snarling, Amadeus got down on all fours, his body trembling with rage as he balled his hands into tight fists.
"Looks like we're going to Plan G," James quickly hurried everyone back into the medical room and locked the door behind him, even though he knew it wouldn't do much good.
As another squad of guards closed in, Amadeus continued to transform. His body grew rapidly, causing him to shred his clothes. His voice deepened dramatically in seconds. His fists cracked the marble tiles as he punched the floor. His skin turned green.
By the time the guards arrived, they were face-to-face with a monster. A six foot six, three hundred pound, barefoot beast of pure muscle, wearing nothing more but a pair of black spandex shorts towering over them. A Hulk, with the face of a child.
The creature roared as he balled his fists and slammed them into the ground, sending the guards flying in every direction. The creature grabbed one of the guards with one hand and slammed him into the wall, over and over until the wall cracked and dropped him to the ground with a thud. The guards fired the guns at the creature, blasting dozens of bullets as the attempted to put the monster down. They should've known better.
The bullets bounced harmlessly of the creature's skin, only adding to monster's unbridled rage, making him stronger. The beast grabbed a guard in each of his massive fists, slamming them into the ground before whipping around and swatting another away like he was a fly. Letting a primal roar, the monster grabbed the last of the guards and hurled him down the hall, sending him crashing through a wall like a baseball through a glass window.
The creature then stood victorious amidst the destruction, saying with a grunt "Puny humans."
"Jo?" James poked his head out from behind the door and looked up at the towering beast that had once been Amadeus "You okay?"
"Jo Hulk. Puny humans no hurt Joe," the creature then turned around and spotted the infamous skull sigil on the wall and snarled. "Hydra. Hydra bad. Joe SMASH!"
"Jo, wait!" before James could say another word, Joe went charging down the hall and barreled through the wall, letting out a mighty roar as he disappeared from sight. "Great," James sighed "now we gotta go find him."
"Uh, James?" Azari nervously tapped his friend's shoulder as he pointed to a stranger standing at the other end of the hall: man dressed in all black. Hive.
Clint stood on Zephyr One along with his head spinning from Tony's revelation. "What did you just say?"
Tony sighed. "Pietro's alive. Hydra's got him."
"That's impossible," Natasha insisted.
"So is the majority of the things we deal with on a daily basis," Tony reminded.
Clint was silent for a moment, his heart and head racing as he struggled to process what Tony was saying. "I was there. I watched the kid get torn apart from the minigun from a Quinjet. Pietro saved my life," Clint reminded "How can he be alive?"
"Hydra dug up Pietro's body and put him in one of Cho's Cradle prototypes," Tony explained.
"The Cradle?" Clint gasped "Pietro was dead before he hit the ground. Are you telling me that thing can bring people back from the dead?"
"Occasionally, under certain circumstances. That's why we never stopped the kids from traveling through time. If we did, we never would've been able to bring Pietro home." The billionaire sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "You all know what happened when Hydra got its hands on Barnes. Do have any idea what they'll turn Pietro into?"
Clint collapsed into his seat as he ran his hands over his face, his head swirling with a whirlwind of emotions, his voice cracking as he asked. "How do we bring them home?"
"We wait. For now we wait," Tony instructed "I know that's asking a lot from you Barton, but right now there is nothing we can do until the kids-," Tony's voice trailed off as his eyes widened as he received a notification on his smartwatch. "May, turn the plane around!"
"Tony," Clint got up and followed the billionaire playboy as he raced over to the holotable and got "what is going on?"
"Remember all the stuff I said about patience? Forget it," Tony announced "the kids are making their move."
"They sent you a message?" Natasha questioned.
"Not exactly. Amadeus' smartwatch sends out a massive digital flare when he uses his powers," Tony stated as he continued to work rapidly "If others let him jump in the fight, they're done playing around."
"Oh come on, how the heck is little Amadues supposed to," Clint's eyes nearly fell out of his head as he put the pieces together. The mop of curly hair, those familiar brown eyes. The fact that he always kept far away from the fight of possible. The way he kept going on about Plan G. "No way."
"Oh yeah," Tony confirmed "Amadeus Joseph Banner."
"SMASH!" Jo roared as he charged down the halls of the Hyrdra base, slamming guards left and right into the walls as their bullets bounced harmless off his skin. "Puny Hyrda. Jo SMASH!" Joe slammed his fists into the ground and shattered the floor, causing the guards around him to be tossed around like ragdolls. "Puny Hydra! Jo is Hulk. Hulks STRONGEST THERE IS!"
As the son of the Hulk prepared the bring the entire base with his bare hands, he stopped when he heard a familiar voice
"Jo? Joe, can you hear me?"
"Tony?" Jo frowned as he scanned his surroundings. "Where?"
"You're still wearing your Bluetooth, buddy. "Tony speaking through the comms in the cockpitof Zephyr One.
"Why are you calling him Jo?" Clint questioned.
"Amadeus uses his middle name when he Hulks out," Tony clarified "Amadeus is too hard for him say. Too many syllables. Jo, where are the others?" Tony asked. "are they okay?"
"Jo left friends," the young Hulk grunted, over the sound of gunfire and screaming Hydra guards. "Hydra everywhere. Hydra bad. Jo SMASH!" The Son of Hulk roared as he tore through squads of Hydra agents and gunfire as the signal from his Bluetooth gave way to massive static.
Tony sighed. "That kid won't listen to anyone until he smashes every Hydra agent in sight."
"So what?" Clint questioned "We just let him run loose in a Hydra base?"
"As long he doesn't run into Killian, he should be fine." Tony quickly started tapping on the holotable "the others are a different story. JOCASTA?"
"Time for the NA protocol?" the AI assumed.
"Correct."
"Signal strength's weak," JOCASTA warned "it'll take time."
"Embed the download in the com link with Jo and use his devices to piggyback the signal to the others," Tony instructed "the sooner we get those babies on line the better. Daisy, I put vital monitors in the kids' smartwatches. Help me get them all online."
"Tony, what's the NA protocol?" Natasha questioned.
"Just a little precaution I took to make sure the kids get back safe."
"Hello children," Hive took in a dark sense of satisfaction as the younger ones backed away nervously, while the older ones did their best to remain calm. It was not a united front.
James swallowed as lump grew in the back of his throat. "Azari, is that who I think it is?"
"That's him," Azari nervously confirmed "that's Hive."
Hive was impressed. "You know my name. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," he admitted "you children have proven yourselves quite resourceful."
"Yeah. We're just full of surprises," Frankie managed, trying his best not to scream. Of all the villains that SHIELD had ever faced, Hive was the one who scared him the most.
"But, your little adventures have come to an end," Hive announced "The Cradle. Give it to me."
Torunn, the only one of the children who felt no fear at the sight of the ancient Inhuman, scowled. "What do you want with Uncle Pietro?"
"Whoever it was you called kin, he is long dead," Hive replied "all that remains is an empty shell. One I intend to as my new vessel"
The son of Captain America balled his hands into tight fists, his pale blue eyes blazing with a protective instinct. "Not going to happen," James let out a grunt as he hurled his shield right at Hive's face, only to have the ancient Inhuman catch it effortlessly in his hand, as dozens of parasites devoured the large rubber disc in seconds.
Hive gave the children a cold smirk. "Did you honestly think that would work?" he questioned.
"Nope," James smiled. "Which is why it was the distraction."
WHAM!
Before Hive even knew what was happening, Torunn came flying in and slammed her fist into his face. The Inhuman staggered back as the young Asgardian continued her attack, hitting him over and over. As Torunn wound up for another punch, Hive grabbed her arm in midair, tightening his grip as she struggled to break free. "You Asgardians are all the same. So proud. So rash. So foolish."
Torunn screamed as Hive unleashed his powers on the young Asgardian, beginning to devour the teenage girl.
After what felt like an eternity, Tony and Daisy finally got the vital monitors from the children's smartwatches up on the screen, only for one of them to start blinking red rapidly as the heart rate monitor fluxed rapidly.
Tony paled. "Okay, that's not good."
"What's going on?" Clint demanded.
"Torunn's are bio-readings are going critical," Simmons stated "whoever's she's fighting…they're doing serious damage."
"She needs backup," Tony stated "And the activation download for NA protocol isn't finished yet. Jo!"
The young Hulk dropped the unconscious Hydra agent in his hand as Tony's rang through his staticky Bluetooth.
"Torunn's in trouble. Make a U-turn and head back to where you left the others and when you find that creep, show them what Hulks do best."
"SMASH!" Letting out a primal roar, Jo barreled through the wall on his left and hurried to his friend's aid.
Torunn continued to scream as Hive's parasites devouring her, burrowing themselves deeper and deeper into her arm.
"What are you waiting for?" James shouted "Shoot him!"
Frankie stood with his bow drawn, a razor-sharp arrow aimed right at Hive's chest. "I can't get a clear shot."
"Stop it," Ward pleaded "You can't do this. She's just a kid."
"Monster" Azari snarled, as electricity started to crackle across his fingers "let her go!"
"Let her go," Ward begged "I'll stop fighting. I'll disappear. Just stop."
"Such power," Hive's eyes went wide with a lust for power as he continued to feed, the Asgardian girl falling to her knees as tears formed in her eyes "I've never felt anything like it."
"I said STOP!"
CRACK!
A massive bolt of electricity raced through the air and blasted Hive in the chest, sending him staggering back as he dropped a half-conscious Torunn to the ground.
All eyes were on Azari as his powers surged, massive volts of electricity coursed up and down his arms, his dark brown eyes now a feline-like yellow as he snarled "You…monster."
"Foolish boy," Hive grunted as he straightened up "I have seen your kind before. The blood of En Sabah Nur. What hopes do you have of beating me?"
"I am no mere boy," Azari disputed "I am the prince of Wakanda!" The young boy unleashed the full extent of his power, channeling the power from the surrounding devices in the Hydra base. The children jumped back as the lights above them shattered, massive volts of power racing from the exposed sockets and into Azari, surrounding him in a massive dome of power. Azari then drew all of the electricity into himself, the massive volts of power burning away the sleeves of his shirt. The young prince took a moment to get used to the vast power raging inside him, his eyes changing from their normal brown to a feline-like yellow. Then, thrusting his arms towards the ancient Inhuman, he let it all out.
KAPOW!
The ancient Inhuman staggered back as a massive volt of electricity hit him square in the chest, countless volts of power burning through his chest, burning through the parasites attempting to repair the damage as he struggled to stand.
Azari kept up as long as he could, sweat beading on his forehead as he continued to burrow into Hive's chest, his vision blurred as he continued to pour it on. Using the last of his strength, Azari caused a final surge of electricity as he blasted Hive into the wall.
Azari let out a groan as he fell to one knee, his head spinning as Pym and Frankie caught him in the now pitch black hall. "Did I get him?"
"Oh, you got him," Pym complimented, "You went all Thundercat on him. It was awesome!"
"Great," Azari glanced at Hive collapsed on the floor. "He's not dead is he?"
"Relax, buddy. Hive's a zombie," Frankie assured him "he already…dead?" the young archer's voice trailed off as he saw the ancient Inhuman rose to his feet "Aw, come on!"
The children wheeled back as Hive stood up, his once human face was now replaced by a strange pale blue creature with black and red eyes and long blue tentacles that dropped pass his shoulders sprouting from the back of his head.
Pym gasped. "He's a Twilek."
"A what?" James asked.
"It's one of the aliens from Star Wars."
"Doesn't matter," Frankie stated "He's toast." the young archer smiled as he lined up his shot and fired his bow, sending an exploding arrow straight at Hive's chest, the firecrackers going off mere inches from Hive's face. The ancient Inhuman staggered back for a moment, still standing tall as the dust cleared.
Frankie paled. "Okay, that's not good."
BRAM!
Without a moment's notice, the son of the Incredible Hulk came bursting out of the wall, barreling into Hive from behind as he roared "Leave Jo's friends alone!"
Jo tackled Hive into the ground, cracking the marble floor as he grabbed him by the hem of his coat and slammed him into the wall. The son of Hulk backed Hive into a corner and prepared to unleash the true power of his strength.
WHAM!
Hive ducked as Joe's shattered the marble wall behind him, dust, stone and concrete flying through the air as Hive wound up his fist and punched Joe in the stomach.
The fist bounced harmlessly off of Jo's ribs, causing him to grunt "Puny Hive."
The young Hulk grabbed by the arm and slammed him into the ground, giving his friends the chance to flee while Joe prepared to give Hive the beating of a lifetime.
"Torunn," James and Frankie carried the young Asgardian back into the dark medical room; the others closely huddled around her with flashlights. James felt a massive knot in his stomach as he stared at the wound on his best friend's arm. "Are you okay?"
The young Asgardian stared at the wound on her forearm, a surprised and pained expression on her face. "Ow."
"Is she alright?" Azari asked nervously. All of the children were on edge. Torunn had never been hurt before. Ever.
"Let me take a look," Yelena pulled out a medical kit from the room, taking her friend's arm and started cleaning the wound.
Torunn cried out in pain as Yelena used an alcoholic pad to clean the wound. "That stings!"
"Sorry," Yelena apologized quickly as she wrapped a gauze around Torunn's arm "You should be okay. But what about Jo?"
The children jumped as a deafening boom echoed from throughout the base.
"I think Joe can handle himself," Pym replied.
"No kidding," Frankie stood behind the door to the medical room, nervously watching trough a crack in door. The young archer winced as Joe threw Hive over his shoulder and body-slammed into the floor. "That dude watches way too much wrestling."
Hive groaned as he struggled to stand, the massive blows dealt by Kid Hulk making his vision blur and his entire body cry out in pain. Even with countless parasites working to repair the damage, it wasn't enough. For every bone that Hive's power could repair, Jo broke two in their place.
BAM!
Hive crashed into a wall as Jo hit him with another blow to the stomach, making him cough off blood.
Ward smiled. "Gotta admit, it's fun watching you get beat up by a ten year-old."
Hive trembled as he rose to one knee, blood dripping from his lower lip. "You are aware that if I die, you will share in fate?"
Ward shrugged. "Beasts having your running around in my body. Besides, I'm not afraid of death. I've done it already."
"Hive hurt Torunn," Jo snarled as he towered over the Inhuman, his eyes blazing with rage "Jo SMASH!"
As the young Hulk prepared to bring both fists crashing down on the god of Hydra's head, Hive threw up his hands and unleashed his powers, hundreds of parasites swarming around Joe, biting and gnawing at his skin as he backed away, swatting at the cloud-like swarm his massive hands.
Hive took in a moment of relief as he began to take in the power of the young Hulk's flesh. But then it all went wrong. The boy's cells, there were too rich with gamma energy. Too toxic. Instead of gaining power, Hive was losing what little he had left.
"Uh-oh," Ward faked a concerned expression "Oh, you don't look so good, roomie. Something you ate?"
"Puny Hive think bugs will stop Jo?" the young Hulk questioned, standing tall as he realized what little a threat the parasites truly were. "Jo Hulk. Hulks STONGEST THERE IS!"
BOOM!
The young Hulk reeled his arms back and slammed his hands together, causing a sonic boom that sent Hive flying through a wall and into another room. As the civilians quickly scrambled out of the way, felt the one thing he had avoided for a thousand years closing in: Death.
Mallick stood in the lab with Killian, the last head of Hydra jumping at every deafening boom that echoed through the halls. "What is that?"
"My best guess? One of the children tearing into your…associate," Killian assumed.
"Why can't we see what's happening?" Mallick demanded.
"A massive EMP knocked out all cameras in the sector," the leader of AIM informed "also the children, I suspect. I also theorize that that," Killlian paused as another boom rang out "is them killing your friend.
Mallick paled. "That's… impossible. He's a god."
"So is Loki," Killian reminded "and the Hulk tossed him around like a plaything."
Mallick frowned as he saw Killian wheel away. "Where are you going?"
"To defend your god."
Confused, Mallick turned his eyes back to the screen, Hive struggled to stand after being slammed into the ground, the marble tiles cracking as knocked him back down with one shot. Panic setting in, Mallick whipped out his phone and dialed Giyera. "Get all available squads down to sector nineteen."
Frankie poked his head out from behind the door and surveyed the hallway, waiting for any sort of movement from the hole where Joe and Hive disappeared. "Jo just sent Hive through a wall. It's all clear."
James let out a sigh of relief, holding a flashlight he and the other children remained huddled up in the medical room. "Okay, we have got to get out of here."
"How are we supposed to do that?" Azari questioned "We are stuck in a secret headquarters of a bunch of alien-worshiping Nazis, we can't call our parents, Torunn's hurt, and Jo's in a slug-match with an Inhuman that wants to nuke my school."
"That's it!" James eyes lit up as inspiration hit. "Audrey, do you think you could get a message out to Azari's school?"
"Probably," Audrey offered "but I'd have to get to the server room to get past the signal scramblers. Hopefully Azari didn't short those out too."
"Wait a second," Frankie interrupted "I thought you didn't want to drag any more of our parents into this."
"You got a better idea?" James questioned "Besides, Hive's going to drop a Terrigen bomb on them. The least we can do is warn them. Audrey, how close are we to the server room?"
The daughter of Iron Man grabbed one of the tablets the scientist left behind and quickly accessed the layout for the base. "According to this… down the hall and to the right."
"Torunn, you and the others stay here and keep an eye Uncle Pietro," James decided. "Me and Frankie'll get Audrey to the server room."
"I'm going too," Yelena announced.
James scowled. "Not a chance."
"You may be the man-with-the-plan big brother," Yelena admitted "but I'm the best at sneaking around. I can keep a lookout from the air vents in case any bad guys show up."
"She's got a point," Frankie acknowledged.
"I said no, "James repeated "I am not going to have my baby sister running around out there with Hive and MODOK out there."
"I am not a baby!" Yelena protested.
"You're staying here," James stated strongly "and that's it."
Clint ran a nervous hand over his face, pacing back and forth in the cockpit of Zephyr One. "What's taking so long with video?" the archer questioned "Tony, I thought you said you could get us eyes in there."
"Working on it," Tony replied with a hint of irritation in his voice "the coding on this dark zone is a little ahead of its time. Literally. JOCASTA, how long until the NA protocol's up and running?"
"All downloads for NA marks one through six are at thirty-seven percent," the AI replied.
"Redirect towards getting NA 6 online," Tony ordered "once that one's up and running, piggyback the activation signal for the rest of them off of its comms."
"Tony," Natasha glanced at the billionaire curiously "just what exactly is this NA protocol?"
"If I told you, you'd either love me or try to kill me."
Frankie poked his head out from around the corner, his bow drawn as he, James and Audrey nervously crept through the halls of Hydra. "Come on," the three children slipped out from behind the corner and slowly crept down the hall, hoping not to be seen.
"Hey, Frankie?"
"Yeah, James?"
"You remember that we all got left alone at the Tower," James asked "and Sinister Six tried to rob it while our parents were stuck in Ukraine?"
"Uh-huh." Frankie smiled "That was a good Christmas."
"Yeah," James chuckled "I was just thinking, this is kinda like that, right? Us with our back against the wall, taking on a couple of supervillains?"
"We had more friends with us last time," Audrey reminded.
"Oh yeah," James' voice faltered a little "We could really them right now."
"Yeah, no kidding," Frankie agreed "If Danielle was here, she was go all Sweet Christmas on Hive. Too bad she couldn't come. Those Cages sure do love their bowling nights," he commented.
"I was thinking about the twins," James countered "Tommy could just speed us all out of here and Billy could use some spell to trap Hive in another dimension or something."
"I wish little May was here," Audrey admitted "then we'd know when the bad guys were close. Here's the server room," the young genius pulled the two boys into the room on their left, revealing a room full of computer hard drives and Wi-Fi routers. Audrey hurried over to closer row of servers and connected her smartwatch. "This should just take a sec," as the two boys stood watch, Audrey felt a pit in the bottom of her stomach. "I'm sorry guys."
James looked back at here and frowned. "Sorry for what?"
"If I had never taken the Chronosphere, we wouldn't be in this mess," she admitted "Now stuck in the past in some Hydra horror show."
"Audrey, you didn't know what was going to happen," James reminded her "besides, if we hadn't traveled back in time, we wouldn't have found Uncle Pietro."
"Everybody makes mistakes, Audrey," Frankie stated, keeping his eyes locked on the door as he peered through "James is right, don't beat yourself up."
James frowned. "Did you just agree with me?"
"Tell anyone and I'll turn your butt into a pin cushion," Frankie threatened.
"Got it," Audrey smiled as she unplugged her watch from the servers "I got the message out. You think the Professor'll believe us?"
"I hope so." James answered "Not let's get out of here."
"Wait," Frankie placed a hand on James' shoulder as he and Audrey hurried towards the door. "We got a problem. There's a bunch of guards out there."
"See, this is why we need May," Audrey insisted.
"How many are guards are out there?" James asked.
"A lot," Frankie paled as he looked at his friends "and they're heading towards the others."
Elsewhere, in a boarding school in upper New England, a young man dressed in a long sleeve T-shirt, jeans and sneakers, with a state of the art prosthetic leg was alone in his three-bedroom dorm. A Native-American teen with a slim wiry build, soft brown skin, dark hair and matching eyes, affectionately known to his friends as Forge, a nickname given for his impressive scientific and engineering skills. Forge sat in the middle of his bed, a dozen disassembled devices sprawled out in front of him. Some were pet projects he was still trying to perfect. Others devices he had promised to fix for his classmates, either as a favor or a way to make a little cash. Most, he'd taken apart just to see how they worked.
As he lost himself in the electrical wiring of a damaged Stark tablet, he received a notification on his laptop. Curious, the young engineer took a final sip from his energy drink before adding it to the growing pile of empty cans covering the trash can by his bedside table and walked over to his desk to check on his computer.
It was a message file. Sent over his term project: an unfinished communications program. Forge was confused. He designed the program for the school staff's… overseas assignments. But it was nowhere near finished and he hadn't shared it with anyone. Not even his mentor Mr. McCoy. Maybe he accidently tapped into someone else's comms? Confused, Forge opened the file in hopes of gaining clarity on the situation, only for his eyes to widen as he only became even more confused.
It was encrypted. Seriously. Forge hadn't anything like it before. Not on the dark web or Miss Pryde's advanced computer classes. Although he had yet to view the actual message, he could see the intended recipient: The Institute. But who? And how did it get to his computer?
Not one to shy away from a challenge, Forge quickly grabbed a fresh energy drink from his home-made mini-fridge and got to work decoding the message. He just hoped whoever sent it wasn't in any trouble.
"We gotta stop them."
Frankie looked a James like he was crazy. "How? Hive vaporized your shield, I'm down to my last arrow, and Audrey can't fight."
"I don't know," James hissed in an angry whisper "uh…maybe Audrey could build something to trap them."
"I can try," the young genius offered "but it'll take time."
"Time we don't have," Frankie reminded.
"Then we'll make time," James decided "I'll go out there and keep them busy until Audrey gets her trap ready."
"Are you nuts?" Frankie demanded "Those Hydra goons will tear you apart."
James was about one more negative comment away from slugging Frankie in the face. "If we don't do something soon, they're going to get the others."
"And if we follow one of your crazy cowboy plans, we're all going to get killed, soldier boy" Frankie shot back.
"Oh yeah? Well I would love to see you try to come up with a plan farm b-,"
FWASH!
The children jumped as they heard a small explosion from outside in the hall, followed by an eerie silence. Curious, Frankie poked his head out from behind the door only to whip back around to look at James and Audrey. "You guys need to see this."
The three children walked out of the sever room and into the hall, where they found half a dozen Hydra guards trapped in a massive web.
James scowled. "Yelena."
As if on que, the daughter of the Black Widow, dropped down from the air vent to the ground below, a confident smile of her face. "Hey guys."
"What are you doing here?"
"Stopping the bad guys from getting to our friends," she stated, gesturing at the trapped Hydra agents. "You're welcome."
"I told you to stay with Torunn," James criticized.
"And I told you," Yelena jabbed her finger in her brother's chest "that you are not the boss of me!"
"You could've gotten hurt," James insisted.
"So could you!"
"Uh guys?" Audrey asked nervously.
"I'm not the one who breaks into a coughing fit every time I walk into a dusty room!" James shot back.
"I am so sick of you and mom using my asthma as excuse to treat me like I'm made of glass!" Yelena shouted. "When are you two going to stop treating me like a baby?"
"Guys," Audrey repeated.
"Nobody's trying to treat you like a baby," James disputed "I'm just trying to protect you."
"I don't need you to protect me!"
"GUYS!" Audrey shouted.
"What?" the Rogers siblings questioned in unison.
"We got company." Audrey pointed to the swarm of Hydra marching towards them, their only way out of danger blocked by the massive web created by Yelena. They were trapped.
"There," Daisy pressed the final two buttons on the holotable in the Zephyr "That should give us accesses to the kids' smartwatch cameras."
As the holoscreen in front of came to life, the Avengers and Agents of SHIELD were greeted by the sight of a squad of Hydra surrounding James, Yelena, Frankie and Audrey.
"JOCASTA," Tony looked as if he was going to be sick to his stomach "activate NA Mark 6. Now!"
"Guys? This isn't good," Audrey paled as the Hydra guards surrounded them, the bright LED lights connected to their rifles practically blinding them.
Frankie stood with his bow drawn, ready to fire his final arrow at a moment's notice. "Got any ideas, James?"
"Working on it," he whispered.
"It's the kids Mallick was looking for," one of the guards stated "Take them."
"Not happening." The second one of the agents got in close, Frankie fired his arrow into the ground, a mountain of smoke flooded the hall as the arrow shattered. "Run!" he shouted.
James quickly grabbed his sister and pulled her close as he activated his hoverboard, rising into the air and slamming the front of the board into the jaw of the closest Hydra agent, dropping him to the ground, with Frankie following close behind. As the children prepared to flee, they stopped dead in their tracks as they heard a child-like shriek.
"Audrey."
The daughter of Iron Man screamed as one the Hydra agents grabbed her arm, wrestling with her as he attempted to drag her away. "Let me go!" Audrey shouted.
As she struggled to free herself from the agent's grasp, Audrey's smartwatch expanded into a red a silver gauntlet, sealing her forearm in a protective glove as it continued to spread. Within seconds, Audrey was covered in a red and silver, child-sized version of her father's armor, surprising the guards, her friends and even herself. "Whoa."
As the electronic display activated in her helmet, Audrey heard the familiar sound of JOCASTA's voice in her ear. "Rescue Armor activated."
