The Quinjet had been flying towards Colorado for more than an hour. Natasha and Clint were driving the vehicle while the rest of the team finished discussing their plan to stop the HYDRA spies.
The trip was relatively quiet, although the Avengers didn't feel completely okay... This mission wasn't so different from the ones they'd operated during the war against the criminal organization when it was still all-powerful. They were used to facing members of the terrorist group, hidden in the shadows and armed, and they always got away with it. Thomas's providential help as Cain also enabled them to uncover many of HYDRA's secret bases and thwart terrifying plots before they were even launched. Several thousands of agents were thus arrested, and a significant part of them are no longer from this world after being swept away by the simultaneous explosions of their hideouts in 2016... However, the superheroes were far from imagining that there would be a small group of HYDRA men still alive after such an incident.
This reappearance inevitably led to many questions : how many were they ? Where did they hide to escape the increased monitoring of the SHIELD ? How were they able to obtain alien tech ? Why did they attack the SHIELD two years after the fall of their organization ? And for what purpose ? Unlike their previous operations, they had no conclusive clues or leads as to why they did it. That said, the mere fact that these spies were still around didn't bode anything good anyway. No matter what they had in mind, the Avengers were going to destroy the Hydra of Lerna once and for all.
Tony was standing against one of the walls of the Quinjet, his arms crossed, aside from his companions. His gaze was grave and lost in the void... He tried to stay focused on the mission and what he had to do in the field, but his mind was too foggy to do so. The discussion he had with Thomas earlier in the day continued to play over and over again in his mind... He didn't like the idea of leaving his mentee alone in the Avenger Tower just after the kid opened up to him. It gave him the unpleasant feeling that he was acting like his father, who paid very little attention to him when he spoke. Especially since the memory of that distant fire was still present in a corner of his subconscious, as if to taunt him for being unable to remember the circumstances of his presence on that night. However, the billionaire couldn't ignore the potential threat of HYDRA. It was out of the question that this organization, which has caused far too much harm for more than seventy years, would put the world in danger ever again : the breath of the mythological beast had to be definitively cut short.
Rhodey, who was listening to the voices of his teammates, noticed the nervousness of the genius. At the sight of his eyes directed towards the ground and his tense shoulders, he seemed submerged in an ocean of thoughts. War Machine then approached his brother in arms to find out what was worrying him.
"Tones ?"
That brought Tony out of his trance.
"Are you all right ? You look nervous."
"... It's my look that makes you think that ?" Tony said in a falsely light tone.
"That, and your clenched fist." The colonel told him while pointing his right hand.
Tony was caught off guard. He didn't expect his best friend to perceive his brief disconnection from reality. He remained silent for a short moment and then he snorts.
"I was thinking about my discussion with Thomas this morning. I felt that he hadn't been well for a while and I wanted to know why. I reassured him that he had nothing to worry about and that he could tell me anything. And after some time... He finally told me about his past, and what happened to his family before he entered an orphanage."
"Really ? And what did he tell you ?"
"They were murdered." Tony simply answered in a low voice.
Rhodey's eyes widened, paralyzed by the shock. Thomas was normally very quiet about himself or his life before being contacted by the SHIELD, or only gave vague iterations of it in a cryptic way, so the Avengers preferred to avoid asking more questions about this subject so as not to make him uncomfortable. However, this was the first time since his arrival that the Spiderling talked about it without any filter... And the doubts of the superhero group sadly seemed right.
"Leaving the kid alone in the Tower after making such a confession doesn't appease me at all... Especially since we had to go on a mission right after that, on the other side of the country, without knowing what would happen. I know it's an emergency and I did everything to keep him safe at the compound, but..." The engineer rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger in a helpless gesture. "I feel like I'm repeating the same mistakes I did before. And that makes me anxious."
The colonel understood what Tony meant. Even though the billionaire had changed for the better over the last few years (while maintaining the scathing sarcasm that characterizes him so well), he was still afraid of falling back into his worst shortcomings again. Unfortunately, the world was more likely to remember his mistakes than his efforts to improve himself and get out of Howard Stark's heavy legacy. That said, Rhodey had seen that his best friend really care for Thomas. He took his role as a mentor very seriously and always made sure the kid was okay, both in terms of physical and mental health. The smiles he reserved only for his close circle multiplied on his face, and he seemed much happier since the teenager had come into their lives. And all these changes had also occurred to the Avengers, who shared the same affection for the mutant. Like a magic spell, Thomas had made his way into the hearts of the Earth Defenders and bonded the team together like a real family.
War Machine put a comforting hand on Iron Man's shoulder.
"I understand your concern, Tony. Given the situation, you didn't really have a choice... But I'm sure Thomas will be fine. If he was able to talk to you about what was tormenting him, then it mean he trusts you. And you said it yourself : you did everything to make sure that nothing happened to him, like every time we go somewhere in the world. With you by his side, he knows that he is under good protection. You are the best person to be his guardian."
The genius held his best friend's gaze for several seconds without saying a word and then allowed himself to smile.
"... Thank you, Rhodey." He thanked with a sincere tone. He then paused, and his expression became more serious. "I made a promise to the kid before I left... And I'm going to keep it, whatever it takes. No matter who gets in my way, I'll do everything I can to make sure that Thomas will be safe in the end of the road."
Rhodey agreed to Tony's conviction with a nod. Their discussion didn't escape Natasha and Clint's ears, who were not far from them... Their eyes were fixed on the sky, but they had heard what the two iron men had told each other. The two spies exchanged a brief glance at each other, as if they were talking telepathically, and then they concentrated again on the drive.
After a two and a half hour flight, the Avengers finally arrived in a remote area of Colorado. According to the information gathered by Black Widow, the HYDRA members's hideout was several miles away from Westminster. The Quinjet landed on a deserted plain, and the group of superheroes headed to the designated place, which turned out to be an old disused factory. Six storeys, seemingly recently abandoned, and with a wild vegetation growing in the vicinity. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for the heavy silence and the surreal atmosphere that emanated from the place with the mountain ranges looming on the horizon.
Tony stepped forward, then he asked his artificial intelligence :
"FRIDAY, scan the premises and tell me how many people are inside the building."
"Yes, boss. I detect the presence of four people on the fifth floor, in an isolated room."
"Huh ? Only four people in the building ? That's all ?" Tony was skeptical, as were the rest of the Avengers about that answer. "And what about the potential presence of alien tech ?"
"Several unknown emanations resembling alien energy appear to be distributed inside the factory. However, they are not powerful enough to be weapons."
"So there are no weapons on the site." The billionaire frowned. "What the hell is all this ?"
"It's better to be careful."Steve announced."Pietro, Wanda, Vision and Scott, stay outside and inspect the area. Rhodey, Bucky, Sam and Bruce, go look for those hybrid objects. As for us, let's go see what's going on in the upper floors."
So the Avengers split into three distinct groups. Tony rushed into the facility as fast as Quicksilver and, with the help of FRIDAY, led his companions to the hiding place of those they suspected of being HYDRA's spies. Captain America had no difficulty to break the chains that blocked the door with his shield, then he used a powerful kick to open it. The super soldier slowly walked into the room with the shield prominently displayed, ready to retaliate at any attack. However, he quickly felt that something was strange... The room was completely dark, and there was almost nothing inside except for a few pieces of furniture on the floor. The only sounds he could hear were his footsteps and his breathing.
Steve finally signaled to his brothers in arms to enter after thirty seconds of tension. Natasha used her electroshock sticks as a light source to illuminate the room, and almost instantly noticed a large, dark and motionless mass near a wall. She carefully approached this mysterious shadow, accompanied by Clint who had raised his bow... And they were both surprised to discover four men tied up, glued together and unconscious. Iron Man and Cap joined them shortly afterwards, just as bewildered by what they saw.
"Uh... Was that part of the mission ?" Hawkeye finally said.
"I don't think so, no." Answered Tony.
"... They're still alive." Black Widow said after checking a prisoner's pulse. "However, I don't see any wounds or signs of struggles on their bodies. They were probably knocked out, then tied up and left here."
"FRI, are they the ones you detected earlier ?"
"Yes, sir. And after a brief analysis, they appear to be highwaymen wanted by the Denver Police Department."
"What ? They're just low-level criminals ?"
"Now the question is, how did they get here ?" Steve wondered. "And where did the HYDRA spies go ?"
One question followed another in the Avengers's minds, puzzled by the turn this operation was taking. Cap decided to contact the other members of the team with his earpiece to get a broader view of the situation : Bucky's group had found the objects composed of alien tech in a room on the second floor, which turned out to be computers, and confirmed that they were indeed the devices used to hack the SHIELD's defenses. As for Scott's group, they'd found no traps around the factory nor abandoned vehicles. These reports made Tony, Steve, Natacha and Clint even more perplexed... Obviously, the members of the fallen organization have been inside this building, but then disappeared once their misdeed was done. However, this didn't respond to all the irregularities they faced.
Suddenly, Natasha's eyes widened. Prisoners alone in a huge facility, evidence deliberately left by the culprits, a deserted and isolated place on the other side of America... She quickly put the pieces of the puzzle together and, like a bolt of lightning striking a tree, stood up and stared at her acolytes.
"It's a trap ! The HYDRA members used these criminals as a decoy to lure us away from New York. It's not us they're interested in, but something else !"
"Something else ? Does that mean that what they want is with us ?" Clint exclaimed.
"I'm sure it does."
A heavy silence settled in the room, which only a thin breeze circulating in the corridors gave a semblance of life inside the factory. And then, gathering all this information one by one, it was Tony's turn to be breathless. If the spies had organized such an ambush to send the Avengers so far away from the capital, then it meant that the SHIELD wasn't their real target... They were the target all along. Attacking the secret society was only an indirect method to awaken their dangerousness to the Earth Defenders. They knew that their affiliation with HYDRA would immediately put all the superheroes on alert and send them on a mission together to stop them wherever they might be. And if what they were looking for was in New York, then there was only one place that caught their attention...
Feeling the anguish overwhelming him, Tony ordered to FRIDAY :
"FRIDAY, report to me what's going on at the compound now !"
"I'm sorry boss, it looks like my mainframe has been affected by something unknown. I can't connect to the Tower, and some of my protocols are not responding."
Oh no. Tony thought, on the verge of having a panic attack.
So his fears were real : the HYDRA members infiltrated the Avengers's base, and managed to disable FRIDAY with alien tech, probably the same they used to cause the cyberattacks against the SHIELD. They took advantage of their paranoia to storm into the compound left unguarded.
However, the Tower wasn't empty. There was still someone inside.
Thomas.
His head was heavy. It was as if it was drawn to the floor, without feeling the wood against his cheek. Despite his numb mind, Thomas could guess that his curly hair covered his face, and some of his hair strands rubbed against his eyelids. He was relieved that his ears no longer hurt him, although he didn't hear any noise around him. His consciousness slowly awakened, as if his body was charging again, and after a floating moment, the teenager was able to open his eyes. It took a while for his vision to become sharp again, and once he could clearly see his environment, he discovered with horror that he was no longer in the Avengers Tower.
The big size of the compound's corridors had given way to a white and uncluttered room, just like a hospital room, in which there was only a bed leaning against a wall. After the shock, Thomas suddenly realized that he was tied to a chair, his hands handcuffed behind his back and his feet tied to the legs of the furniture. His mouth was covered with a thick scarf that prevented him from making any sound except muffled shouts. His coat and spy arsenal were removed, although he still kept his uniform with his pendant hidden in his trouser pocket.
Wh... Where am I ? What is this place ? He thought, his brain overheated by this situation he hadn't foreseen.
As he turned his head left and right on what looked like a cell, the memories of what happened before he passed out finally came back to him : the attack of armed soldiers in the heart of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes base, his hand-to-hand fights, then an imperceptible "sound" that increased all his senses to eleven to the point of inflicting him unbearable pain... It reminded him bitterly of the evening when HYDRA kidnapped him from the Forescent orphanage, without being able to do anything to defend himself.
Suddenly, the door of the white room opened. A tall man appeared through the entryway, with short dark brown hair, close to fifty but looking ten years younger, and soberly dressed in a black collar shirt, gray pants and long coat, and black gloves and boots. On his leather belt was a colt ready to be taken in hand. An affable smile appeared on the adult's lips at the sight of the boy, although the mutant quickly understood that it was far from a sincere one.
"Hello." The newcomer says in a polite way and with a slight accent. "I'm glad to see that my sonic taser didn't cause you too much damage. You seem to have recovered quite quickly. What a beautiful little non-lethal weapon, don't you think ? Courtesy of this dear Obadiah Stane who, even though the government didn't retain his project, left the plans for his creation behind before he died."The man closed the door behind him, then leaned his back on it with his arms crossed.
A sonic taser... I understand now why my senses went wild without warning. Thomas thought, his gaze fixed on the stranger in front of him. The latter noticed him but didn't lose his composure or his smile.
"I can tell from your eyes that you'd like to understand what's happening to you. No problem, I'll tell you... Oh, I'm forgetting the formalities. I'm Mark Lawson, captain of a special unit of the U.S. Army and a government official."
The Avengers's apprentice didn't swallow a word of what this man said. If he really was who he pretends to be, he would have no reason to attack his guardians's base. The superhero team was a private body, free to move on their own will and independent of the orders of national governments. Their popularity with the public and their effective intervention made them essential to the security of the world, and the United Nations knew better than anyone else that it was better to have them as allies than enemies. This "Mark Lawson" was probably trying to trick him, but the teenager wasn't fooled. The man seemed to notice it fairly quickly, but he kept that affable manner that passively annoyed the mutant.
"Hm... You don't seem convinced by what I say. Oh well, that doesn't really surprise me. We trained you to be one of the best spies in our organization... Isn't that right, Black Cat ?"
Black Cat. The old code name that HYDRA gave him when he was still their puppet. Only the members of the criminal organization and their leaders knew this information. If this stranger called him by this patronymic, it was certainly not a coincidence... And it awakened a deep anger within the teenager. He thought that HYDRA had ceased to exist, that their sins had sunk to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean on that starless night... Unfortunately, the dice of fate were again playing against him. His eyes emanated the same glow of hatred as the day he had begun to plan his revenge against those monsters who had taken everything from him. His fingers clenched tightly against his palms, so tightly that they almost bled under the pressure of his fists.
"Yes, indeed. As you may have guessed, Mark Lawson is an alias name. That said, I haven't lied about my current status. Acquired after much effort, but nonetheless true."
That would mean that he and six of his colleagues were undercover in positions close to the government long before the fall of HYDRA. This would explain how they escaped the explosions of their hideouts.
"However, we are not here to talk about me... We are here to talk about you. As you know, after the Battle of New York in 2012, HYDRA was at its peak in terms of technological advances and military power. Our soldiers had become stronger and more fearsome thanks to the alien materials that had fallen to Earth, and over time we were able to create a new generation of exceptional agents like the Winter Soldier, you and the Maximoff twins. Even the Avengers, as powerful as they are, were struggling against some of our troops. The omens seemed favorable, and our goal of changing this world was within reach..."
This time, the captain's smile had disappeared.
"Until the SHIELD discovered the infiltration of thousands of HYDRA moles in its ranks, and arrested them all in just a few days."
Thomas remained impassive to Lawson's words.
"Before this incident, the secret society had never been able to truly weaken our organization in the long term, and it was by exploiting this weakness that we were able to parasitize them from inside and hijack the Insight project to our advantage. After all, we were exactly like the Hydra of Lerna : "if one head is cut off, two others will take its place"... So, by what chance was the SHIELD able to detect the deception and cause us so much damage and loss in three years, when they never suspected Armin Zola's plan in seventy years ? Even if they had geniuses and living legends at their side, their abilities alone wouldn't have been enough to bring about our downfall... Unless they had outside help."
The left corner of the mouth of the man with the long coat rose in a grin.
"Reflecting more calmly about what happened two years after HYDRA's defeat, I began to form the hypothesis that there was a traitor among us, and that after his task was accomplished, he vanished into the wilderness. However, I needed proof... So my men "took a look" at the SHIELD's databases to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. Once I reconstructed all the information they gathered, what was my surprise to discover the existence of a new young recruit with spider powers among the Avengers listed as an "apprentice"... And whose facial features were identical to the spy we trained : "Black Cat"."
The teenager stayed stoic, although he tightened his fists again. As for the captain, he let out a small laugh.
"How laughable, isn't it ? HYDRA, an organization that was able to change History in the shadows, has been completely sunk by a kid who played double-game not only by manipulating us, but also our long-time enemies, all with an inexpressive face and under the guise of a ghostly entity... I sincerely admire your patience, Black Cat." A smile appeared again on the impostor's lips, seeming to amuse himself with the silence of his prisoner, knowing full well that he had made it so that he couldn't answer.
Had he not been tied to that chair, the mutant would have rushed at the man to make him swallow his falsely friendly look. His anger intensified, and he made it clear to his interlocutor through his eyes that he wasn't frightened by him and that he didn't intend to give him a pathetic expression on his face.
"Ah, I guess you're still wondering why you're here, huh ? Well... Let me ask you a little question first. Do you know where we are ?"
Thomas raised an eyebrow, disconcerted by these words, and then he look around again. He suspected he was in a prison, but the cell was too sanitized and uniform to have the slightest idea where he was. That said, the absence of a distinct or distant voice hadn't escaped him since he woke up. Was it because the walls were soundproof, or was it because the place was very big ? Seeing the confusion in the boy's eyes, Lawson answered very calmly :
"We are in the Raft, an underwater prison where all beings with superpowers are incarcerated."
Thomas was shocked by this revelation. Tony had already told him about this famous high-security prison, which only a handful of people knew its exact location in the Atlantic Ocean... The memory of his imprisonment at the Ichor base in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, stuck in a dark and cold room for four long years, suddenly came back to him. His back froze instantly at this simple thought. The hidden panic of the boy delighted the impostor, visibly satisfied to have managed to shake even a little the impassivity of the spy.
"To proceed to your capture was quite simple : I knew for some time that Secretary Thaddeus Ross was still angry about his consecutive failures to control the actions of the Avengers and individuals of extraordinary ability. Since you were in charge of hacking databases of major U.S. corporations while you were still at HYDRA, it was easy for me to use his bitterness and patriotism to conduct "an arrest operation against a mutant hacker who worked for a global criminal organization". And while the Avengers were expecting to arrest the last HYDRA survivors somewhere in the United States, they unknowingly left us free access to their base to carry out our plan."
Tch… Only you could come up with such twisted strategies. Thomas thought, clenching his teeth. Suddenly, Lawson moved for the first time since he entered the room : he broke away from the wall and slowly approached the teenager. The man in the long coat then suddenly grabbed the Avengers's apprentice's cheeks with his left hand and raised his head so that his eyes met his own. Thomas, although taken by surprise, kept his posture straight and stared at the adult with irises burning with rage.
"HYDRA no longer exists. There are only seven of us left, and we no longer have the resources to restore this empire to its former greatness. We could kill you, but it would be as useless as childish. I'm the first to admit it. However, don't think you're safe..." Lawson gave up his mask of apparent serenity in a fraction of seconds to display a more sadistic expression. "The Raft is the most secure prison in the world, and this isolation cell is reserved for those who have been sentenced to life imprisonment. Anyone who has ever attempted to escape has been eliminated before reaching a rescue vessel. You may have managed to escape once... but you won't get that chance again. In the end, all your efforts to regain your freedom have brought you back to where you started... How ironic. Could we call it a curse ?"
After finishing his speech, Lawson finally took his hand out of his prisoner's face and walked quietly out of the cell. He stopped for a brief moment in front of it before turning around and saying :
"I hope you'll get used to the emptiness of this room. For it is the last place you will see for the rest of your life."
And so, with those last words, the impostor went away and closed the heavy door behind him. The boy could hear his footsteps walking away in the corridor, until he finally disappeared after a few minutes. Thomas was now alone, far away from any human presence and without any way to move. The scarf over his mouth was beginning to cut off his breathing, so he moved his head frantically until the cloth lost its grip and fell down his neck. Once his mind was calmer, the teenager took time to observe his chains : the handcuffs on his handles were incredibly strong and emanated a red light, just like the ones he had on his ankles. They're must certainly vibranium equipment with a self-destruct device, to prevent any kind of rebellion from the prisoners.
Long minutes passed in an unreal silence. A silence that Thomas knew all too well and which reminded him that not so long ago, his existence was similar to that of a bird locked in a cage. He managed to escape from it and fly again after four years of nightmare... But it was only to crash again on the ground. The anger and resentment that had once animated the boy's heart gradually turned into despair... He wanted to scream all the insults he knew about Lawson and slander fate to play with him like a vulgar chess piece, but Thomas knew that nobody could hear him. And unlike the days when he was in the clutches of HYDRA, even though he was confined inside an underwater base, he remained relatively free of his movements. However, this was no longer the case here... The teenager was literally bound hand and foot, and this time he was unable to use his abilities to get out of it.
Thomas then stopped moving and let his head go down. His bangs concealed the exposed part of his face. He didn't know what to do anymore... At that moment, a vague memory of his childhood came into his mind. He saw himself again as a child, taking his crystal pendant in his hands and innocently wishing every night to fulfill his dreams and continue to live a happy life. It was a little ritual that he used to perform before he went to sleep, before he abandoned it completely after the death of his family. The Avengers's apprentice wondered why such reminiscence came up at that moment. Was it because his necklace was still with him ?
He stood still, staring at his trouser pocket where the gem was hidden, and then he closed his eyes... Just as he'd granted himself the right to mourn his parents, his uncle and aunt for a short time, Thomas temporarily became "Peter Parker" again and, embracing the glimmer of hope that lay within him, whispered this wish from the depths of his soul :
"Please... Help me."
Without him noticing it, the pendant emitted a more intense white glow that he had known until now. Like a star in the night, this light was tinted with faith and determination.
Somewhere at the bottom of the ocean, a young boy wanted to believe in a miracle again.