Hydra Mutant Division – Chapter Five
"How did this happen, Gruppenleiter Shadow?" Becker's voice was neutral for once as he looked down at the corpses, two of Hydra's doctors were led on mortuary slabs in front of him. Shadow looked at the man for a moment, no nervous fiddling, no emotion in his voice, he was perfectly calm. Seeing as Becker was unintentionally expressive with his emotions Shadow decided that he had found the only thing that the man was indifferent to, death. Becker was dressed in his Hydra uniform, something that he preferred to wear whenever possible, as though it were something of importance in a world that had, for the most part, forgotten about Hydra and moved on. Well at least until recently. Shadow wore more casual clothing, although the Hydra t-shirt and black jeans matched the uniform well enough that an outsider would be fooled into thinking that they were of one mind and working towards the same goals. Just one more tiny lie in a multitude of them.
"I have been informed that the doctor ignored Nightshade when she requested that he wear gloves." Shadow explained and motioned towards the body on the left slab, a frown on his face. He had arrived just in time to see the second doctor's agonising last moments, however the cameras in the medical wing had recorded everything but even now he was not sure that he believed what he had witnessed. He tapped his chin with a slender, white finger, unsure of how to proceed. "The other members of staff in the room saw him collapse, one of his colleagues rushed over to check on him and … collapsed as well."
Becker frowned, cold grey eyes moving from one corpse to the other. He kept his hands clasped behind his back and had stopped a healthy distance away from the deceased. He, like Shadow, had watched the footage from the medical wing, the images making him feel numb for a moment. An intense need had washed through him after the numbness faded, he cared not for the death of the doctors, but he had to know what had happened and how. The whole thing felt surreal, like some kind of strange dream, or a ridiculous prank.
"But how did this happen?" He repeated, emphasising the word how. He gestured at the second body to show that it was the second doctor's death that was eluding his grasp. He put his hand back as soon as the gesture was over, as though the corpse was something that made him very uncomfortable, which was accurate. Becker disliked being around the dead, he disliked the morgue and the only thing that could have possibly brought him here was the mystery of why there were two bodies, and not just the one.
Shadow rubbed the back of his neck slowly, before cracking it with a sudden tilt of his head. He didn't like admitting that he was at a loss, that all he had was conjecture based on the testimony of the medical staff who were there at the time, and five minutes of video footage. He had an idea, one that he had hinted at when he was working to convince Becker that they needed to take three homeless mutants off the streets and into the ranks of Hydra. He had said that maybe Becker's next glass of wine would be his last, but he hadn't meant it, not really. He, personally, had wanted Nightshade to join Hydra, she had a great future under his control, and he had not been about to let Becker turn her away. So he had said what he had to so that he could get the potential killer into his team. Shadow had not expected the words to be prophetic.
"The other medical staff said that they both showed the same symptoms before they collapsed, and both suffered from almost identical deaths. Could whatever toxin our little Nightshade passed to the first doctor have passed to the second one?" He pondered aloud, his void-like eyes growing wide as they roamed over the corpses before coming to rest on Becker's face. He ran a hand through his black hair, the pale light made it look like black water cascading down to his shoulders. "Which begs the question, could someone contract the poison from the bodies even now?"
Becker looked alarmed at that idea and, almost as though they were one, they took a step backwards. The older man stood and looked at the bodies for a moment before a shiver ran down his spine. Abruptly he turned on his heels and stalked out of the mortuary door. Shadow glanced at the dead men on the slabs with a slight smile, before following the man out of the room, closing the door carefully behind him. Becker stopped just outside of the mortuary, an incredulous and almost excited look on his face. Well, thought Shadow with interest, this was a day for firsts.
"Could it be? Could she do this? Transmit a toxin from one person to another? How many people could it affect? Imagine if she could contaminate a surface, and then everyone who touched it would get sick, or even die." His voice was full of wonder as he mulled over the possibilities. He had thought that Nightshade would only be able to kill one target at a time once Hydra had gotten her abilities under their control. But this! If they could control how far the toxin spread then no one would even have to be in the room. Send a letter or a parcel, contaminate a car door or an item of clothing, Becker's mind was swept away in a whirl of possibilities. He had cared nothing for the death of the doctors until they had shown him what an asset the young woman was. Finally he would be feared and respected, just like Pierce had been before his tragic demise. "Such a weapon Hydra now holds in its grasp or will once it is tempered. I feel that it may be time to start Project Vytirat, Gruppenleiter Shadow."
Becker turned to face a uniformed young man, effectively cutting any response that Shadow might have given. The mutant snarled at the slight, his disgust for Becker's heavy handed approach growing. The bodies had only just started dropping and already he wanted to rush the process. The man had no finesse, the process needed a delicate touch, careful planning and, most of all, timing. Nightshade had to beg him to end the pain. He didn't need her consent, but a sick and twisted part of him wanted her to be desperate enough to do anything.
"Ensure that those who examine the bodies are wearing full protection gear, level 5. Warn them that the bodies might still be contaminated and that I want a full report on my desk as soon as the autopsies are done." Becker said to his subordinate who responded with a crisp salute and headed off down the hallway.
"Herr Becker! Herr Becker!" A frightened looking man rushed up, panting heavily as he saluted the division Head. Becker recognised the man as one of the influx of new recruits that had sought out and signed up to Hydra after the fall of SHIELD. It was an odd thing, in his opinion, that in Hydra's hour of defeat people would be clamouring to join. Some of it was to do with the destruction of Sokovia, many younger men and women no longer looked at The Avengers as heroes but as more of a threat. Becker hadn't expected that the destruction of a European country by an American based group of enhanced people would have had such beneficial consequences for Hydra which, in retrospect he really should have. It had been a wasted opportunity, one that he was certain that Pierce would have benefitted from. It was too late to take advantage now and he accepted that, they had received a handful of new recruits, only some of whom were useful. Some were radicalised in ideologies which were not conducive to Hydra's long term plans. However they would prove useful in testing out the machine that Tech was currently working on. The brown haired man in front of Becker had passed the initial tests, which was why he was now a recruit and not awaiting a life as a lab rat. "We have a problem! There is a dead man in the path outside of our building! The police are outside right now."
"Then it is not our problem, Operative Schulze." Becker replied, his irritation at being bothered for yet another dead body was evident in his expression and the tone of his voice. "Allow the police to do their job, it is none of our concern."
"But Herr Becker, it is one of our assets." He replied, cowering as Shadow turned his snarl on the man. Hydra may see the mutants as assets but usually no one was stupid enough to say that to his face. No one other than Becker of course, but one day he would pay for every slight and insult that Shadow and his fellow mutants had received. One day but not yet. "It's Vertreter Verstand, I think he jumped off the roof last night." Shadow frowned; he had not had time to speak to the mutant about his appalling lack of manners. The incident with Nightshade had taken up all of his time and focus.
"Operative Schulze, 'I think' is no good. Bring me facts or remain silent." Becker snapped, his mind racing. Why hadn't anyone noticed? One of the patrols should have seen his body, so why had he not already been informed of this last night? The outside of the building was monitored at all times, how had this happened without anyone having seen anything? Fury welled up inside of him, this should have been taken care of, there should be no reason for the police to be here. Someone was not doing their job and that would not go unpunished. "Find out who was on patrol last night, and who was in the Security Centre. I want their commanding officers in my office in half an hour." The brown haired man nodded, saluted, and turned to leave, only to be called back by Becker.
"I want to be notified of the cause of death as soon as the police find out." The man saluted once more and ran down the corridor to his allotted duties. Becker had obviously thought the same thing as Shadow, had he really jumped? He clearly had not been popular, although he had been careful enough to fly under the radar of the unofficial mutant leader. Perhaps, just perhaps, he had not committed suicide. Whether the police would find anything to suggest that someone else was there or not, was unknown. Shadow was not knowledgeable about how, or even if, they could tell such a thing. One thing was for sure, Becker had lost a valuable asset. "He was not a popular mutant, but he kept me up to date. Gruppenleiter Shadow, would you be so kind as to send Gruppenleiter Sigil to my office. It would appear that she needs to find a new team member." With that said, he turned and limped down the hallway towards his office.
Wilson sighed as he slowed his beloved car to a stop at the red light of an intersection. He fiddled with the radio, flicking from station to station until he found a song that he was familiar with, and then sat back in the car seat, one hand on the wheel, the other rubbing at his whiskery chin. He'd been in the car since midnight, meeting with one Hydra operative after another, slowly bringing his people back into the fold. The good news was that the American division was not as crippled as he had first thought, the bad news was that it still meant that ninety percent of the organisation was gone. So many loyal members had been captured and placed in prison, so many more were dead. In truth he had had moments when he could not remember why he was still fighting to keep Hydra alive. He could have faded into the background that was made up by the human race, he could have moved somewhere else and retired. Tahiti sounded good; he had heard it was a magical place.
He could not stop though, and he knew it. He had finally taken the first step along his grand plan, and he was not about to pass the ball to anyone else. He would be the one to return Hydra to its former glory and then he would do what Schmidt and Pierce could not, bring order to a chaotic world. He had not had any reservations about his plans when he had made them. Tell Merchant she was going to be a division Head, set up her training in Germany and get intel on that weasel Becker while replenishing Hydra's ranks. If he was completely honest with himself, getting the other division leaders to believe it was a punishment had been a fun little cherry on top of that particular cake. Since the fall of SHIELD he had had to take his amusement where he could get it and pulling one over the other Heads amused him a lot. Soon he would have someone on the inside, which was what he wanted. The plan was sound and part one was proceeding as planned, he decided. However Merchant might be a liability. They had not known each other for very long but he could tell she was not a hardened Hydra operative, and he was one hundred percent sure that she had never actually killed anyone. He had not been lying when he had told her that the Canadian and Australian divisions were not an option, she would be dead within a week if he ever sent her there. She was such a sweet young woman, he thought, and that was the problem, there was a softness about her that just was not found in a Hydra operative, although it had made her the perfect undercover spy within SHIELD. Plus she had not liked Rumlow at all, and that bothered him a lot. He had been the operative that everyone wanted to be like, hell he had been the essence of Hydra personified. Not that anyone really liked anyone within Hydra, but Rumlow had been respected by everyone. Everyone except Merchant, she had described him as …
"A man who does everything with the same intensity of a predator stalking its prey." He murmured the words to himself. The phrasing had amused him, but her dislike of the man had not. He eyed the red light with irritation, grunting with satisfaction as it finally changed to green, and he stepped on the accelerator lightly. He knew that Merchant secretly hoped that Rumlow had died when the Triskelion fell, however she was going to be disappointed, because he had every intention of finding Rumlow and bringing him home to Hydra where he belonged. Now more than ever they needed men like him to help lead the new members to greatness. Maybe Merchant would be safe and sound in Germany before he had found the man, maybe not. A man who does everything with the same intensity of a predator stalking its prey, the words reverberated in his head. He had thought that everyone in Hydra felt that way, a burning need to press forward and to remake the world into something better. He debated whether it was her background, like most people who joined, she was an outcast. When she had turned 18 she had been kicked out of the foster home that she grew up in and a few years later an operative had offered her a new home within Hydra. There was no information on what she had done between losing one home and gaining another, and when he had asked she had given him a mischievous grin, her eyes bright, and replied. "Why, I got into trouble, of course!"
He took a right turn and continued driving, his fingers tapping the steering wheel in time to the music that was playing. He liked Merchant, which was unusual because he didn't like anyone. Respected? Yes, but liked? Not so much. And she was with Hydra on so many things, she didn't like The Avengers, she thought that people should work towards a common goal, and she approved of Pierce's vision. It was just the killing that she baulked at. She would get over it, he decided, she was a good operative if a bit young. Maybe that was it, she was still clinging to youthful ideals of good and bad, right and wrong. She would grow out of that, or the German division would stamp it out of her. Either which way was a bonus, especially for him and his long-term plans for Hydra.
He slowly peeled off of the road and stopped in a driveway, turning off the engine and getting out of the car. The plan would work, he thought, Merchant wouldn't fail him. He smiled at the middle-aged man that he was here to debrief and shook his hand. One more operative into the fold, one more soldier in the fight against disorder.
Nightshade sat in the recreation room, knees tucked up against her chest and staring blankly at the wall, her mind replaying the events of the previous day over and over. She had asked him not to touch her without gloves on, that it was dangerous, but he had not listened. He had smiled at her and said, with a patronising tone 'It's ok sweetie, I'm a doctor. I know what I'm doing' before taking her pulse with his bare hand. She had not had her gloves on at the time, she had had to take them off for the examination, which had not helped her anxiety. She had panicked the moment he touched her, and he had started sweating immediately, his skin flushing as his temperature rose. She had been so shocked that she had not reacted when the second doctor hurried over to assist his colleague. The guilt ate at her, fear had paralysed her and someone else had paid the price. She hugged her knees tighter, if she had managed to say something would they have believed her? Would it have played out the same or would there be one less body downstairs?
There was no question of her staying here now, they would throw her back onto the street for what she had done. She did not doubt that Hydra would not want to keep her, she was a threat to everyone around her. What would she do when they kicked her out? Where could she go? How many more people would die if she left? But if she stayed the people who would die were her friends, she bit her lip, feeling guilty. Either which way people were going to die but the thought of it being her friends was somehow so much worse. She had recurring nightmares about it, dreams that started off happy and then went dark as, one by one, she killed someone she knew. Mass, who she'd known since the orphanage, who had protected her when she needed it. Or Spectrum, who they had met when they came to Berlin. She was so pretty, with skin that changed colours when her emotions did. Nightshade didn't know much about Spectrum, she never talked about her past, but from the few things that she had let slip it was obvious that her folks had been well off. Then there were the new friends she had made, like Daydream, Aeolian, and Splish Splash. Daydream could juggle almost anything but only five items or less, and she would never explain how she could do it. She would just laugh, wink, and say it was her mutant ability. Aeolian was funny, very expressive, and always smiling. He had spent an afternoon telling her, Mass, and Spectrum the most ridiculous stories they had ever heard, crazy stuff about moon mutants, underwater cities, and vampires. Splish Splash was an oddity, non-verbal unless she really had to be, she had offered to teach the girls sign language, using Aeolian as a translator. Spectrum had agreed immediately, Nightshade and Mass had been a little more reluctant about it, but both had eventually agreed. Nightshade liked the elemental, she was quiet yet lively, and had interesting quirks. She could make little air pockets in the shape of eyes and a smile if she thought you needed cheering up, something she had done yesterday to the black skinned woman with the broken leg. The more she thought about the elemental the more Nightshade wondered if it was even possible for her to be poisoned, maybe she should ask her about it.
Her green eyes flicked to the door as it opened, watching as Shadow slipped into the room quietly. He terrified her, he acted polite and nice, but he was a figure of authority amongst the mutants, and she had been hurt by those in positions of power before. He sat down opposite a woman that she didn't know, her eyes were a pale blue, an air of casual relaxation seemed to emanate from her. She pretended she was not listening as the two mutants had a murmured conversation, just too quiet for her to hear what was said. The woman's eyes widened slightly, tanned fingers pushing through her dreadlocks as she sat back in her chair. She looked a little worried and a little relieved, Nightshade wasn't sure how anyone could feel those two things at the same time, but relief seemed to win out and the woman gave a toothy smile before nodding and standing up.
"If I find out that any of your squad were responsible…" Shadow left the rest unsaid, his eyes fixed on the woman. The corner of her mouth lifted in a lopsided smile, and she gave him a salute that seemed very similar to the one that Splish Splash usually used, before heading to the door and leaving the room quietly.
Nightshade frowned, what had that been about? She had noticed that the woman had not met Shadow's eyes for long, so maybe she wasn't the only one afraid of him. She wondered who else was scared of him, her train of thought grinding to a halt when someone sat next to her. His pure black eyes locked with hers for a moment before she looked down at her hands.
"Did you know you could do that?" Shadow asked, his voice quiet and casual, as though he was asking about the weather. He settled back in this seat, crossing his legs so that he could pick at the hem of his jeans idly. Nightshade looked at him, his hair covered his face as he focused on the imaginary thread he was playing with. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, did he consider her a freak? A threat? A cold lump of fear stopped her speaking for a moment, what could she tell him? That she knew what might happen and she hadn't stopped it? What if he was angry?
"Maybe." She whispered, reluctant to commit to a definite until she was sure of his mood. Images of the night she left the orphanage with Mass sprang to mind, but she didn't want to think about the dead she had left there. "I wasn't sure, it always happens so fast. I promise, I don't mean for it to happen."
"What if you could control it?" He asked, his expression neutral as he looked at her. The terror in her eyes sent a thrill through him and he had to fight to keep his face devoid of any expression other than concern. "We could go to the medical centre, and you could practice using your powers. We will avoid people; we know your powers work well enough on them. How about apples? That way no one gets hurt and you can work on controlling your powers."
"I … I can't." She had started shaking the moment he mentioned how effective her mutant abilities were on people, completely unaware that she had reacted exactly how he had wanted. "Please, don't ask that of me."
"You can't avoid this for much longer, Nightshade. Hydra may be patient but not that patient. How many loyal Hydra operatives have to die before you learn to control your abilities?" His words were deliberately cruel, and she looked away. "You could find a safe home within Hydra, Nightshade. But you have to give us something to show that you want to stay here. Even if it is only an apple." He stood up abruptly, making her flinch.
"Think about it, I will smooth things over with Herr Becker for you, but I will need an answer, sooner rather than later." Shadow told her before turning and leaving the room.
"You got five minutes?" Evelyn paused mid sit up and propped herself up on her elbows, thankful for an excuse to rest. She had been in the physical training group all morning and was starting to lose the will to live. Agent Phil Coulson stood a few feet away so as not to tower over her, his usual polite smile on his face. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."
"Do I have time to get tidy?" Evelyn asked, and slowly got to her feet. Her muscles felt like wet noodles, she was covered in grass stains and sweat, and she felt sure that her hair was one big knot.
"No." Coulson's reply was to the point and discouraged any arguing. Evelyn shrugged and followed him as he led her to one of the huge, imposing looking SHIELD Training Facility buildings.
"Who will I be meeting?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her. She wiped the sweat off of her brow in an attempt to look less like … well less like she had spent all morning doing sit ups, push ups, and running laps. Agent Coulson gave her another small polite smile.
"That is classified until you meet them. You will be pleased to know that we think we have found the perfect position for you." He held the door open for her, gesturing for her to precede him.
Merchant yawned, peeling her face off of the desk under it, and opening bleary eyes. She had a moment's confusion; this was not the training facility. She rubbed her face slowly, and as she did her sleep fogged brain woke up. Hydra, safe house, monitor, and a very boring folder. She had not been on the run before, but she had always thought that it would be much more interesting than this. Daring escapes, narrowly avoiding manhunts, and high speed car chases, but other than the desperate rush to get out of the Triskelion as it fell, there had been none of the action and excitement that every movie ever had promised. To be honest, she was glad of that. The memory of chunks of mortar, and shards of glass crashing around her as she ran for the exit made her shiver. However, with the Insight airships crashing down as well as the building, she had found that being outside had been just as dangerous as being inside.
She grabbed her empty mug and went to the kitchen, switching on the kettle that she had begged Wilson to buy, and headed to the sink to wash her mug. How many people had SHIELD lost when the Triskelion fell? She had never found out how much of SHIELD had really been SHIELD and how much had been Hydra. It must have been worse for them though, she thought to herself as her gaze wandered over the street outside. Hydra was still hanging on, but SHIELD was gone. Did that mean that everyone was dead or that the organisation had been disbanded? Maybe they had gone underground as well. Merchant blinked as the sunlight reflected off of a white van and in her eyes. She dried the mug and went to the now boiled kettle, it was a pity that The Avengers had not gone underground. Her mouth quirked in a bitter smile. Only a few safe houses had escaped the post Insight purge of Hydra, and by some miracle this had been one of them. How The Avengers had found some and not others would probably forever remain a mystery to her.
She picked up her mug of fresh black coffee and headed back to the designated office room, placing it on the desk, and sitting back down. Her thoughts turned to her dream, that had been the day that Coulson had come to her with the job offer. Join SHIELD and help protect the world. But protect it from whom? Agent Coulson had been a nice enough guy, polite, friendly, and funny when the mood took him. But he had also been idealistic, naïve, and looked up to people like Fury and Rogers way too much. He did not seem to realise that SHIELD and Hydra were two sides of the same coin. Merchant did not know which side had come up with Project Insight but the fact that Fury had thought it was necessary only proved that there was no real difference between them and Hydra.
She took a sip of her coffee and felt ready to start work again. Thankfully Wilson had not been home when she had fallen asleep, so she did not need to explain how exhausted she was to him. Merchant paused for a moment, looking at the monitor with confusion. Two men were hanging up the picture of the Red Skull behind Becker's desk. What were they doing? Was this some kind of weird German Hydra ritual? Merchant shook her head, deciding to ignore whatever was happening on the monitor and to focus on the incredibly tedious Sokovia Accord file. She opened it up and wondered how far she would get this time before falling asleep again.
Herr Becker settled himself carefully into his seat, clasping his hands together thoughtfully. It had been a week since they had taken in Shadow's rescues and this afternoon they would decide whether they were going to be joining Hydra or not. Willingly that is. Becker had already decided that the three mutants were too valuable as assets to allow them to leave, a detail that he had failed to inform Shadow of; Becker considered it unnecessary as he knew that the unofficial leader of the Hydra mutants would not willingly lose any of them either. Why create dissention over something that they both agreed on? Three quiet knocks at his door brought his attention back to the present.
"Kommen Sie." He said crisply, looking every inch the model of a Hydra Division Head, uniform immaculate, buttons and boots polished until they gleamed. He much preferred the uniforms of the past to those that the organisation currently wore, something that stemmed from his regret that he had not been born earlier. The glory days called to him, days when Hydra's march towards world domination had been nigh unstoppable. At least until Captain America and his damned Howling Commandos had destroyed everything that they had worked for. Becker ran a hand over a copy of the Sokovia Accords, well that would not happen this time. The Avengers, whether they knew it or not, were going to become Hydra's puppets. SHIELD had not been the only thing that they had spent decades infiltrating. And, like last time they had the element of surprise because, once again Captain America and his cronies thought that Hydra was defeated.
Shadow entered the room, opening the door just wide enough for the four mutants following him to slip inside. Daydream was bringing up the rear and closed the door before moving to stand next to Shadow, at the side of Becker's desk. Mass looked at them for a moment, halfway between her friends and the imposing looking man watching them from the other side of the desk. She stiffened in anger as she put two and two together, the skin of her clenched fist rippling as it became rock solid. She had to ask herself, would she have done the same thing if she was in their position? It was practical but would it change her decision? Mass decided that it would all depend on whether they had set GSG9 on them or not.
"Good afternoon ladies, I hope you have been able to get some rest and recover from your ordeal last week." Herr Becker looked at the three mutants, his gaze coming to rest on Mass' face. He gave her a slightly stiff smile, as though he wasn't used to the expression. "Ah, I knew you were a smart one. Please, ask your question." Mass turned her attention to Daydream but before she could speak, Nightshade interrupted.
"Are you going to kick me out?" She asked, nerves making her voice quaver. Mass and Spectrum looked at the usually silent woman, confusion on their faces.
"Why would you get kicked out?" Spectrum demanded to know, her skin changing to a light silvery colour. Green eyes looked away, pain and guilt written on the pale mutant's face.
"There was an incident at the medical centre yesterday." Shadow stated, drawing their attention away from their deadly friend. "Unfortunately two of our doctors lost their lives." Daydream nodded, turning her yellow eyes from Shadow to the two girls as they started to protest.
"You can't make Shade leave, she's our friend." Mass stated, fists held tightly at her side. Becker looked down at his desk, rearranging his pens in an attempt to hide his pleasure at Mass' response. Her eagerness to fight was growing and he would put that to good use very soon.
"Nightshade needs some assistance with controlling her mutation, and Hydra can provide that. Although that wasn't the original reason why I joined your group." Daydream replied. Spectrum frowned, her skin turning a darker shade of grey. "As Mass was about to say, I am a member of Hydra. I was tasked with infiltrating your group. We needed to see why you were in Germany, and whether or not you posed a risk to our country and to us. We don't often see groups of your size, it's usually a solo mutant passing through, or a large group looking to cause trouble."
"So the incident with GSG9?" Spectrum asked, looking poised to run. Daydream sighed, looking very unhappy.
"Wasn't expected. I was unaware that they knew about you." She said, looking towards Shadow anxiously. Luckily for Daydream the ramifications of the action was lost on the girls.
"So that's how you fought so well? Because of your Hydra training?" Mass ran a hand through her braids as she spoke. "It wasn't a setup, but it ended up being a rescue. You saved our asses that night."
"Thank you." Daydream smiled slightly, feeling guilty about being thanked for a mostly staged rescue. "However, as I said, I needed to assess whether you were a risk to Hydra or Germany. I'm afraid that Nightshade is a very serious risk to the public and, in the wrong hands, to Hydra." Nightshade glanced up at the blue skinned mutant, her eyes full of despair.
"Wait, are you saying that someone might force Nightshade to kill?" Spectrum asked, horrified. Her skin went a pale, sickly looking grey and her voice shook slightly as she spoke. "So you won't make her leave. She's safer here, and so is Hydra. Right?" Shadow gave an almost sinister smile. Spectrum had hit the nail on the head, although she thought that the threat to the young mutant came solely from outside sources.
"Exactly. Imagine if The Avengers got their hands on Shade." He stated, watching Mass and Spectrum look at each other. While Spectrum had never been to Sokovia, the destruction that had been caused there was fresh in their minds. The serpentine mutant could only imagine what The Avengers could do with someone who could kill with a touch. "Or one of those mutant hate groups, I'm sure that a few obvious mutant kills would be devastating for the whole mutant community. So many innocents could die if she were to leave." He responded, watching Nightshade shrink into herself with some satisfaction.
"Of course," Herr Becker said, interrupting the conversation. "We would not dream of making Frauline Nightshade stay if she wanted to leave. That is not how things are done here." He smiled gently at the cowering mutant who was completely unaware that every word was a lie. All three of them were and it gave him an odd sense of control and power to know that they believed what he fed to them. "Speaking of which, have you decided if you wish to stay, or no? I am sure we can find you a nice safe house to stay in for a while if you wish to leave."
"I'd like to stay." Spectrum stated, her skin returning to a more relaxed light green colour. "Your scientists have taught me more about my mutation in the last week than I've learned since it happened. Plus, it's safer for me here than outside." She didn't mention the fact that she much preferred the more comfortable environment that Hydra provided.
"I'm staying too, if Hydra fights for mutants then I want in on that fight." Mass said, her body full of eager energy. She'd been treated like a normal person here, well almost normal. And the clean clothing and access to the gym were definite bonuses. All eyes turned towards Nightshade, who abruptly looked down at the floor with wide eyes, her gloved hands clasped tightly together.
"I-I'll stay." She stammered out. She couldn't control her powers and she knew it but maybe, if she stayed here, no one would die.
Becker gave them a short smile; he wouldn't have to play his hand and force anyone to stay. That was, in his opinion, a good thing and something that he could keep for another time, if it was ever needed.
"I am very pleased to hear that. I believe that you will make wonderful new additions to our organisation." He nodded to all three of them. "Gruppenleiter Shadow, perhaps you would work up a training schedule for each of your new team members. I would prefer it if your team was up and running once more as soon as possible." Shadow gave a half bow to the man, his black eyes glittering.
"You are dismissed, I look forward to hearing of your progress." Herr Becker nodded briskly to them and then turned his attention to a folder on his desk, the autopsy report on the two doctors. He glanced up as the mutants filed out of the door and, just before Shadow left the room he spoke once more. "Gruppenleiter Shadow, I want all of your new recruits ready for action before Frau Merchant arrives, understand?"
"Oh I wouldn't worry about that, Herr Becker" He replied with a wicked smile on his face. "I wouldn't dream of being unprepared for her arrival!"