Hydra Mutant Division – Chapter Two
Herr Becker entered the lift, suppressing a sigh. While this was necessary, he was not looking forward to this meeting, he despised the other Heads of Hydra, especially the new Head of the American division. Pierce had been more accommodating to the other divisions, learning their respective languages as a show of respect. Pierce had always had a vision and the ability to carry it out. Pierce had been a great leader. The new American Head was nothing in comparison. He tapped the button for the conference room with the tip of his cane as Gruppenleiter Shadow entered the lift and stood beside him, making this another place that he didn't want to be.
"I hear that you retrieved the assets last night. I trust that all went well." It wasn't a question because Becker expected excellence from the squad leaders, and consistently received it from Shadow. Something that constantly irritated him, much to the mutant's amusement.
"A few casualties, which is good. It hammers home the lesson that the outside world is dangerous, and that they cannot make it alone." He slipped his hands into his pockets knowing how much it annoyed Becker, the man considered a casual attitude to be disrespectful and Shadow did so love to get on his nerves. "Nightshade performed very well, killing two of the officers, I'm sure she'll have nightmares about that for a while." His lips widened into a grin, if they didn't come naturally he'd make sure she saw their deaths every night until she broke. He relished the thought for a moment before speaking again.
"Mass killed one of the men and disabled another, I will admit that I was not expecting that. There is a lot of anger within her, we can use that to our advantage."
"According to our operatives within the Bundespolize, they are very unhappy about the situation." Becker's thumb ran back and forth across the top of his cane, a frown on his face. He was impressively easy to read, mused Shadow, wearing his heart on his sleeve in a way that was usually discouraged in a person of his position. Or maybe he just got under the man's skin so much that his tells were always on show. "Very unhappy. They were already demanding tougher measures against mutants before last night's raid, and I have no doubt they are going to redouble their efforts. Not that their opinions are important, but things will get more difficult for your kind before our operatives can temper this. Forewarned is forearmed, Gruppenleiter Shadow."
"I understand, things will get worse before they get better." Shadow stated, his face snapping around so that he could stare directly into the man's eyes, his expression never changing. "And they will get better for my kind, won't they Mein Herr. Once Hydra takes control we can step out of the shadows, take our rightful place in the world, and work towards a better future for everyone. That is the plan, isn't it?" For once Becker's discomfort did not amuse the volatile mutant. He knew the man's opinions on non-humans, it was the same as so many others, whether they were a part of Hydra or not. It was why the German division was mockingly referred to as the Mutant Division. His kind were considered assets, weapons, things. One step below the Winter Soldier who, despite all that Hydra had done to him, had at least started out as human. Becker coughed, trying to cover up how awkward he felt, before nodding his agreement.
"Of course Gruppenleiter Shadow, of course we will all be equal citizens." And there was the lie, laid out like a pretty picture, an offering of fool's gold waiting for an idiot to pick it up. Shadow hid his growing anger as the lift doors opened, Herr Becker stepping out and making his way to the conference room. Shadow followed him, the model of an obedient little puppy, for now. He knew that Becker didn't believe what he said, anyone who didn't realise that the Heads of Hydra would be ruling, with the entire world under their heels was either naïve or deluded. Shadow felt his rage increase and embraced it, one day, some day, he would rip Becker's mind to shreds and he would enjoy every second of it.
They entered the conference room, a beautiful circular room with wood panelled walls and flooring. A circular table dominated the room, the Hydra symbol carved delicately into the wood. Twelve elegant chairs were evenly spaced around the table, one for each of the Heads of the organisation. To the right of the entrance to the room was a bar, following the curve of the room, Aeolian and Splish Splash standing ready to serve drinks. Shadow took his place behind Herr Becker, nodding to them, the elemental touching two fingers to her visor in response. Becker could have put Hydra Operatives to work here but had chosen not to. The corner of Shadow's mouth twitched, was the man subtly bragging by putting the mutants on display or was he concerned that there might be trouble at this meeting? The mutant hoped it was the latter, his blood was still boiling, and he was itching for a fight.
"Where are the new acquisitions?" Becker asked abruptly, as if he had only just thought of it.
"Sleeping, I believe. They have showered and eaten." He stated blandly, a subtle hint that the man had not asked, and that Shadow had noticed the omission. "Stellvertreter Daydream took them to the Mutant Quarter barracks." Shadow heard the quiet ding of the lift stopping down the hallway, placing his hands behind his back in an at ease posture, the very image of a well-trained soldier.
"Excellent, I shall speak with them this afternoon, then have them sent straight into training. I dislike the idea of mutants on base who are not loyal to Hydra." Becker turned to greet the first of his guests, shaking his hand and seemingly dismissing the mutants from his mind.
Herr Becker sat down in his chair; Shadow standing at ease behind him. He clipped his cane into the chair and nodded politely at his guests. They were the Heads of the surviving divisions of Hydra around the world, and this was the first time that they had been able to meet for years. The fall of the Triskelion had been devastating, and the Avengers unrelenting, brutal attacks on the organisation had taken its toll, crippling Hydra, and leaving only five of the twelve Heads still alive.
"Hail Hydra." He murmured, almost reverently, the murmured greeting echoing back from those seated. He spoke in stilted English, due to the Head of the American Hydra division being unable, unwilling, or too arrogant to learn any other language. Becker suspected the latter and once more felt a pang of regret that Pierce had been killed. "It has been too long since we last met, and many of our comrades are no longer with us. To the memory of those who gave their lives in the service of Hydra." He raised a glass to the fallen Heads, the others following suit.
His eyes flicked from face to face, briefly examining the division Heads as well as those standing behind them. To his left was Thomas Wilson, a hard-faced man in his fifties with ice grey eyes and hair to match. Everything about him radiated arrogance in Becker's opinion, an arrogance that was unwarranted due to his division's failures. He wore a black business suit, which strained against the man's muscles, and he looked as though he'd been an operative until recently, which could well have been the case. He did not look comfortable in the suit or in this room. Typical American, he would be more at home on an artillery range, thought Becker with disgust. The woman behind him was of a different breed though, he doubted she'd ever been in the field. She wore a grey suit with the ease of someone who had spent many years in a management position, her curly brown hair was cut into a bob, and her eyes darted between the mutants, a fascinated look on her face. These were the remnants of the American division of Hydra, or the aptly nicknamed SHIELD division, Wilson had been on the other side of the country during the takeover, but rumour had it that the woman had been in the Triskelion when it fell. It was a nice story, something to inspire the new recruits but Becker didn't believe a word of it.
Next to Wilson was Vasily Karpov who looked haggard, his clothing was worn and dirty, which was to be expected as he'd been on the run since SHIELD fell. He was the head of the Siberian division, he and his team working alongside the Americans to overthrow SHIELD. However, in doing so he had lost his team and the Winter Soldier, an asset that he had been desperately trying to recover ever since. A difficult task at the best of times but with the Avengers nipping at all of their heels it had become impossible.
Sat directly to the right of Becker was Ryan Thomson, Head of the Australian division. If they had a nickname he wasn't aware of it, however his division was the largest one currently. He looked like a stereotypical surfer, scruffy blond hair, blue eyes, stubble, and tanned. The man looked more at home on a beach than in a boardroom and that was the secret of his success, he looked harmless. He was charming and charismatic, and incredibly manipulative. He chose his operatives carefully, moulding them into his likeness, friendly and sympathetic on the outside, but utterly ruthless when it came to business. The man behind him came from that mould, he could have been Ryan's twin, except for his light brown, shoulder length hair.
The fifth and final division Head sat next to Ryan, a woman in her mid-sixties. Her face was as hard as Wilson's, but her eyes reflected the bitterness within her. Michelle Bouchard had joined Hydra in her early twenties and clawed her way up the ranks with all the grace and dignity of a feral cat. It was said that all of Canada was in her palm and Becker half believed it. Her long greying hair was pulled back in a no-nonsense ponytail, her brown eyes were sharp as she inspected her fellow division Heads, just as he was. Her fingers betrayed her smoking habit, as did the smell of tobacco that wafted off of her each time she moved. A scar ran down the side of her left temple, the only hint that she had ever run missions herself. Those days were over, she was no longer a spry young operative, and now she ran her division with an iron fist. The man standing behind her looked like a bulldog, all muscles, chin, and frown. His head was shaved bald, and he wore some sort of paramilitary gear, although Becker did not know enough about the Canadian military to know if it was a genuine uniform or not.
"So, these are your mutants, Mr Becker?" Wilson's eyes flicked from Shadow to Aeolian and then rested on Splish Splash for a moment before returning to the Head of the German division. "You really think you're gonna to return Hydra to its glory days with freaks and whatever the hell that is?" He pointed a finger at Shadow. "What is he, a vampire or somethin'?" Shadow eyed the man with a sneer, allowing the man to see a hint of fang. Aeolian leaned back against the bar, a smirk on his face.
"Which glory days are you speaking of Mister Wilson? The days when the Red Skull led Hydra? Or perhaps you refer to the days before your division tried and failed to take over SHIELD?" Becker spoke politely but with iron in his voice. "The Avengers have super soldiers, super powered humans, including Wanda Maximoff I might add, and men with metal suits. I believe you've heard the expression fight fire with fire?"
"Yes I have, and this is why we also have super soldiers." Wilson's voice betrayed his irritation.
"Had. We had super soldiers. Which were at the best of times a finite resource, especially seeing as we no longer have any serum, and you happen to have mislaid the Winter Soldier." Becker smiled at the man, enjoying the barely hidden fury on his face. "Every day brand new mutants gain their powers, every day they find their way to us. Some are found by our assets, others are flushed out of hiding by the Bundespolize, the German border police, either way we have an unending supply of assets who are grateful for the protection, and appreciation, that Hydra gifts them."
Shadow stiffened; his eyes unfocused as realisation hit him. Becker wasn't intending to rein in the GSG 9, this worse before it got better lie was just that, a lie. And he hadn't seen it, he hadn't caught the deception. It had been a long time since he had been blindsided like this and he didn't like it one bit. The shock numbed him, and he savoured it, an unusual sensation that he didn't get to experience often. The feral rage that this would awaken in him could wait until he was alone. He tried to focus on the conversation, but he wondered how much influence the Hydra operatives within the police had, and how much they were swaying opinion against his kind.
"The world was almost in Hydra's hands, Mister Wilson, I would love to know what happened. We have all suffered because of your division's failures. No Insight, no Zola, no Triskelion, no Winter Soldier." Bouchard smirked as Becker rattled off what they had lost, enjoying the hostility. Captain America and his lackeys taking down the infiltrated SHIELD had been a great loss for them all, Hydra was the weakest it had ever been since its creation.
"Guys, guys, and ladies of course. No need for the Avengers if we turn on each other." Thomson smiled charmingly. "We need to work together to get Hydra back on its feet, and with all of us pulling together we'll have the world in the palm of our hands in no time!" He looked at those not sitting at the table. "But maybe this is something we should discuss in private."
Shadow ushered the three humans into the Mutant Quarter's recreation room, Aeolian, and Splish Splash walking through the door behind them. The woman headed straight for the coffee machine, pouring a cup, and adding sugar, stirring it slowly as her eyes took in the room. She walked over to a seat that had a view of most of the area, including the door, and sat down. The long-haired man had already made himself comfortable, lounging on a sofa, one arm resting on the back, his eyes following everyone's movements before coming to rest on her. She looked like an easy mark in his opinion, and he always enjoyed flirting, so he flashed her a smile and a wink.
"Something in your eye?" She asked, eyeing him carefully. He was cute, if you liked that kind of thing, which she didn't. He grinned at her.
"Only the most incredible beauty I've ever seen." He winked again. Well he was confident; she'd give him that. Way too confident.
"Does that line work? Ever?" She teased with a laugh. She took a sip of her coffee, using the movement to glance at the Canadian, who had sat himself in the corner right by the door. Something that made her very uncomfortable. She took another sip, forcing herself to relax, while there wasn't supposed to be any inter division fighting, it had been known to happen, and she wasn't a fighter. Looking up she realised that Mr Flirtatious had moved, sitting on the chair opposite her, that overconfident grin still on his face. He held out a hand to her and she shook it carefully, feeling relieved when he released her hand without doing something cliche like kissing it.
"Mike Jones, born and raised in Sydney! We're all friends here, right? Well maybe not him!" He nodded to the Canadian with a laugh. She laughed with him; intrigued by him. That was not a Sydney accent, it was New Zealand. But why lie about it? What was the point? "Aussie division, obviously. But that's not an American accent that you have, now is it?"
"Busted! I see you're an accent connoisseur. English, born and raised!" She gave him a lopsided grin as she parried his words back at him. "Evelyn Merchant, I would say SHIELD division, but that ship has long sailed." She sighed and put down her cup, no longer interested in her coffee.
"Just how bad was it?" Mike sat forward; his interest piqued. This close she could see his eyes were grey, and incredibly intense.
"I couldn't tell you," She shook her head as Mike started to say something. "Not because of secrets but because we just don't know who managed to escape the Triskelion, or the utter carnage that The Avengers rained down on us afterwards. There may be some in the safe houses that managed to avoid detections but there aren't many of them left. We'd already lost ninety five percent of our forces when we lost Pierce. So many of our people died or were captured on that day." She looked away, not wanting to think about it. The sofa cushion next to her moved and a hand gently rested on her shoulder. She turned to find sympathetic grey eyes looking into hers.
"I didn't mean to stir up bad memories. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?" His voice was sympathetic, but his face was overly sorrowful making her smile. She placed a hand on top of his.
"Tell me more about yourself, Mike." She murmured, grateful for a way to turn the conversation away from herself.
Shadow turned his focus away from the two operatives, mulling things over. She had a lot of fear buried deep within her, and he wondered why. It felt exquisite and it called to him, drawing his thoughts away from Becker's betrayal. It was a shame she wouldn't be here long enough for him to play with, he thought as the door to the recreation room opened, startling the Canadian. The man was twitchy, and Shadow didn't like it; he was a potential threat to everyone in this room. The conversation halted momentarily as four mutants filed into the room, pausing as they saw the people gathered there. Their hands gripped the food trays they were carrying tightly as Daydream chivvied Spectrum, Mass, and Nightshade past the group. Daydream had found Hydra uniforms for them to wear, black cotton shirts and trousers, they looked as though they belonged here which was good, it would help them feel more at home. Jones opened his mouth to make a comment, but Merchant put a finger against his lips, murmuring something that Shadow couldn't hear. He turned his attention back to the mutants, who were sitting down at a table near him. Daydream looked tense, her eyes moved from the Canadian to Shadow's and he nodded slightly. He wasn't the only one who felt the man was problematic.
"Morning ladies, how are we feeling today?" He asked, a friendly smile on his face. Spectrum and Mass looked at him, each attempting a weak smile, however Nightshade kept her eyes down, picking at her gloves nervously. "I would like to introduce you to Aeolian, who is a mutant, and Splish Splash, who isn't." He pointed at both of them in turn, as they gave a wave and a smile to the girls. Mass watched the elemental with interest, the curl of seafoam on top of her head fascinating her.
"After you have eaten we will take you to see our doctors, who will give you a quick check up, and make sure you aren't coming down with anything." Shadow knelt down, placing a hand lightly on Nightshade's shoulder and pretending not to notice as she flinched. "It's nothing to worry about, ok?" She glanced at him shyly before nodding and looking back at her plate.
"Who are they?" Spectrum asked, her eyes on the three operatives at the other end of the room. Shadow turned to look at them for a moment before looking back to Spectrum.
"Guests, they are waiting for their bosses, who are in a meeting. This is a safehouse for many different people." He stood up, straightening his clothes. "They'll be gone soon, now eat up before your food gets cold."
Shadow ushered the four young women into Herr Becker's office, dropping back with Daydream as the others approached his desk. On the wall behind the desk was a portrait of the original head of Hydra, something that hadn't been here last time he had visited this office. Becker wasn't fond of the Red Skull, so why had he installed a picture of him? Oh he applauded the man's vision, but his super soldier status and the disfigurement that he sustained attaining that was not something that Becker approved of. Shadow eyed the picture with interest; it wasn't something that he was likely to ever see again.
"Guten Tag, welcome to our safehouse. I am glad you found your way here safely." Herr Becker nodded to the women, pausing as Spectrum gasped, her eyes staring up at the painting behind him. He turned a little stiffly in his chair, as though he was looking at the picture as well. "Ah! Our founder, Johann Schmidt, a very forward-thinking man. He believed that everyone should be equal, and that the world should be united. No borders, no hatred, everyone working towards a common goal. Unfortunately, he was demonised because of the way he looked and ultimately murdered by Captain America."
Spectrum ran her fingers over her cheekbones where there were four evenly spaced holes. She was more serpentine than Becker had originally believed, however those looked like breathing holes instead of being used for thermal detection. He wondered if she was able to produce venom, that would be an interesting development. He decided that he would have the doctors check, before turning his attention to the young black woman with fire in her veins and deadly fists.
"I was very distressed to hear about the raid on your home last night. You were very lucky to escape Der Bundespolize, they have many people in their ranks who are anti-mutant and are quick to use lethal force against those they believe are not human." Mass nodded, the slight clenching of her fists betraying the rage still within her. Anger was good, Herr Becker thought, emotions were easy to manipulate. Daydream turned her yellow eyes to Shadow, fury burning in them. He shook his head, lifting his hands slightly to sign Later to her. Becker's eyes turned to Nightshade, reaching out a hand to her. She shook her head, a horrified look on her face, and her own hands moving to grip at her arms tightly. "I apologise, I did not mean to startle you. I can only imagine how upsetting this must be for you but please know that you are safe now, for as long as you wish to stay here."
"What are you asking in return?" Mass asked, exchanging a look with Spectrum. "Not that we don't appreciate the offer, but you are offering us food, beds, safety, what do you want from us?" Becker smiled.
"Not only gifted but smart as well. I will not lie, if you decide to stay with us you will be required to work, nothing you are uncomfortable doing, we would not ask that of you. However, we do have experience with helping young mutants master their gifts, we can offer training to you under supervision so that you can get your powers fully under your control." He looked at Nightshade with a soft expression and gently said "No more hurting anyone."
"All I ask is you give us a week, get to know us and the other mutants that live here, and see what we can offer you. If you are unhappy after that, you are free to leave." He smiled at them before nodding to Shadow. "Now, I have asked Shadow to give you a tour of our facility."
The three mutants turned to look at Shadow who smiled politely at them and herded them out of the room. He looked back at Becker for a moment, one solitary nod of the man giving him permission to go ahead with their plans. Shadow smiled savagely; he had a lot of anger that needed venting.
Wilson pulled the car up to the kerb before getting out and walking around to Merchant, loosening his shirt collar. He muttered. "I don't know how you wear this getup and not go insane."
"Are you implying that I am sane, Sir?" She asked with a smirk, as he leaned against the car. "I take it we are waiting for something?"
"Vasily Karpov is coming with us, he thinks that the Winter Soldier might be in America." He fiddled with his watch, an odd habit of his when he was mulling things over.
"Why America?" She asked a moment before it dawned on her. "Oh, Rogers. Funny that, all the brainwashing and re-programming and he still remembers his childhood friend. Almost as if it didn't quite work." She couldn't hide the disdain in her voice, she hated the idea of losing her free will, so the idea of someone else losing theirs made her very uncomfortable. It was, in Wilson's opinion, a moral issue that needed to be dealt with but other than that she was an excellent operative.
"So how was it?" Wilson asked, changing the subject, "Sat down there with the human brick wall, the beach boy, and a group of mutants?"
"Well the beach boy likes to talk; I'll say that for him. It's the only thing going for him though." She grinned at Wilson, his distraction setting her thoughts on more interesting paths. "He insisted that I feel the bloody steel plate in his arm!" Wilson smiled at that.
"So a romantic then!" He laughed as she rolled her eyes, the harshness of his face fading for a moment.
"He claims he got stabbed after taking down twenty SHIELD agents, I'll be honest I'm not sure if he's telling the truth or not. Then he decided to show me the car they brought over for the trip." She grinned as Wilson perked up. "And no, I couldn't tell you what it was, but he was so focused on it that he didn't notice me putting a tracker under the bonnet."
"Well the good news is we'll know where the Australian division is based, then all we'll need to do is hack them." He stopped playing with his watch, cracking his knuckles idly.
"All!" She scoffed, as if that was an easy feat for the crippled division. "I'll get our non-existent tech department right on that!"
"He did ask if I'd ever met any of the Avengers, I couldn't tell if he was genuinely interested or wanted to know if they'd recognise me if they ever saw me again." Merchant's voice was more concerned than her face let on, she didn't trust Jones at all, she didn't trust any of them. Wilson glanced at her curiously.
"And did you?" He seemed genuinely interested.
"The high and mighty Avengers coming down to accounting? You've got to be kidding me." She laughed. "Saw the big man once, Nick Fury, but he was way, way down the other end of the room, talking to Operative Sitwell." Wilson stood up as Karpov left the building and walked over to them. Merchant opened the car door for him and helped the exhausted looking man into the seat. Wilson placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Let's get back to hq, we need to start your training." Merchant looked at him curiously as he gave her a big grin. "How would you like to be a head of Hydra?"