Chapter 33: Hijacking HYDRA Part 2
Finally, Zemo thought to himself as he pulled up to the HYDRA facility inside the D.C. federal savings bank. No more bickering and out-sized egos. The official news had broken three days ago regarding the attack on the S.H.I.E.L.D. outpost and the new re-drawing of boundary lines within Amerika. The Councilmembers would be leaving D.C. soon for their respective territories. Zemo was looking forward to running Zemo's Lair, as Central America had been officially renamed. He just had a few loose ends, and one Hulk, left to tie up.
As he entered the bank, he pulled out his tablet. He issued a command to the HYDRA drones to move to his new territories, wondering just how well the other Councilmen would control their territories without the help of his drones.
Red X marks began appearing on screen as his drone police force was being reported as offline. "What?" Zemo muttered. Images popped up on screen, showing drones lying dark and deactivated in the streets. One image in particular caught his eye: a squad of his drones, all of them disabled, lying on the ground in front of the Washington Monument. The drones' bodies had been arranged in the symbol of an A with a circle around it: the Avengers' logo.
"The Avengers?" Zemo gasped, for the first time doubting himself. "No. How did they survive? Who is fighting in their name? It is too soon. We must find them and destroy them."
"Let me make the finding part easier for you," said a voice. Startled, Zemo dropped his tablet as he walked into the bank's vault area that had been turned into a HYDRA lab. All of the lab technicians were on the ground out cold, as well as the HYDRA soldiers guarding the vault. The only two people in the room were Banner, still in his containment unit, and Ant-Man. The superhero had disengaged his suit's helmet, and now stood staring at Zemo with a ridiculous grin on his face.
"You never changed the bank vault's locks when you took over the place," Ant-Man said. "Guess you assumed there wouldn't be any professional breakers-and-enterers trying to get in." He shrugged, hands outstretched. "Look, I won't waste your time with witty banter. One chance. Give up now and we won't destroy you."
Zemo chuckled. "But you won't leave here alive." He drew his pistol and fired a shot at Ant-Man, who immediately shrunk out of harm's way. The bullet deflected off of Banner's containment tube, pinging against the metal wall.
"I'll take that as a no," Ant-Man said, now on the floor running towards the control panels for the Hulk's cage. Zemo fired off more shots at the ground near Ant-Man, who leaped and somersaulted around the bullets before throwing one of his Pym Particle Disks at Zemo. It was a red disk, with shrinking capabilities. The disk hit Zemo's handgun, immediately turning it into the size of an action figure toy gun. Zemo dropped it, and it clattered to the floor.
"You've got a handgun," Ant-Man said, growing to his normal size again in front of the control panels for the cage. "Well, you had a handgun. And I've got a Hulk."
He activated the adrenaline function on the monitor, pressing the button repeatedly, each time telling the computer to give Banner a shot of adrenaline. He had no idea if this would work the way he was hoping, but it was worth a shot. A warning message popped up on screen that adrenaline had been administered and overdosing the subject was imminent, but he ignored it.
Banner suddenly threw his head back, eyes wide open, yelling at the top of his lungs as the adrenaline kicked in. His skin began turning green, and his eyes blazed in emerald fury. Zemo, realizing what was about to happen, made a break for it, running back for his car outside the bank.
On the street, nearby pedestrians watched as Zemo burst from the federal savings bank for his car parked in the street. Moments later, the Hulk burst through the wall of the bank, roaring in fury as he swatted Zemo in a backhanded slap that send the man into the middle of the street, landing so hard on the asphalt that he left an imprint in the ground. A nearby HYDRA patrol, startled by the sudden appearance of the Hulk, trained their assault rifles on the superhero. But Hulk had been cooped up for too long and suffered too much at the hands of HYDRA, and he easily stomped the patrol in moments.
"Sorry, Zemo," Ant-Man said. He had shrunk back down to his miniature size and was riding on the Hulk's shoulder. "Don't mean to insult your ego, but the two of us got more urgent things to deal with." With a victorious roar, Hulk leaped several hundred feet into the air, making his way towards the HYDRA Council Headquarters.
The excited civilians began murmuring to themselves as Zemo weakly activated his wrist-com. "Councilmembers," he groaned, wincing in pain from his injuries. "The Avengers are alive. I need you to regroup at the Council building."
His wrist-com sputtered, releasing a small electric charge that shocked him. He cried out in pain, ripping the device from his arm. Part of the back had come off as a result of being hit by the Hulk, and he could see a small device that had been wired into the wrist-com. It was a miniature recording device, placed in the watch by Ant-Man.
"Sorry," Ant-Man said over the mini-microphone. "Can't have you giving away any spoilers!" The wrist-com deactivated.
Zemo's heart sank. The Avengers had heard his every word. They'd been a step ahead the entire time. He'd been fooled by them, and now he and the other HYDRA leaders were outmaneuvered. "Strucker?" he asked. "Malick? Can anyone hear me?" But it was futile, and he knew it. He slammed his fist into the road in pure rage.
Octavian Bloom walked down the runway towards his private jet, on a conference call with the regional governors of the Caribbean islands. He could hardly wait for the warm tropical weather of the islands, but the governors weren't too thrilled with the idea of Bloom consolidating their islands into one large area to be re-named Bloom's Territories.
"You get the picture?" Bloom asked, his attention preoccupied by his phone call. "The Council of HYDRA gave this region to me. I am in charge now."
"Nobody likes a micro-manager, Bloom," called a voice. Startled, Bloom looked up to see Falcon diving out of the sky at him, catching the man in a blow with one of his wings that sent him falling to the ground. Falcon quickly shot the nearby HYDRA guards with his twin machine guns before stepping on Bloom's chest, aiming a pistol into the man's face.
Falcon raised a hand to his earpiece, radioing Cap, Vision, and Casey just a few blocks away. "I got Bloom, Cap. Banner and Scott are inbound."
"Copy," the reply came. "Any word from Widow?"
"None yet, but she should be wrapping up her loose end any time now."
Finally, Daniel Whitehall thought as he sat on board the small private jet bound for Canada. This is where I've deserved to be all along. Commanding forces of HYDRA, ruling my own territory. The Domain of Whitehall has a nice ring to it.
He'd been doing his research. There were stories of a planet, light-years away from Earth. It was called Maveth, and it had once been a beautiful paradise. According to the stories, the planet was home to nine technologically-advanced civilizations, each in their own city. A parasitic Inhuman named Hive had been banished to this planet because of his great powers, and his followers had founded a secret society dedicated to returning Hive to his rightful place as Earth's ruler. Over the centuries, that society evolved into HYDRA.
As the stories went, well before the arrival of Europeans to the New World, the alien race of the Kree had established a vault where they stored their anti-gravity technology and research, sealing it beneath Lake Michigan for millennia. If the stories were true, buried under the lake was also an ancient Kree construct known as the Monolith, that could teleport individuals across time and space. HYDRA, once they had taken over the country, quickly repurposed the S.H.I.E.L.D. bases all across the country in search of this Kree vault, hoping to develop their own advanced anti-gravity vessels.
But Whitehall's plans were far far greater. If he could find this Monolith, he could return Hive to the Earth. Then, and only then, would their great society, their great organization be complete.
He sat at the small table on board the private jet, pouring over his notes concerning the Monolith. His first order of business upon arriving at his new territory would be to investigate the Kree vault beneath Lake Michigan. He had instructed his young prodigee, Sunil Bakshi, to begin the search already.
Preoccupied with his notes, Whitehall hardly noticed one of the flight attendants approach him with a drink. As he took it from her hand, he smiled up at her. He recognized her face and scarlet hair immediately, and his ever-present smile flickered slightly. He chuckled. "I don't know how you survived," he said, "but the weakest Avenger against someone with near infinite power and influence? Did you expect to survive this encounter?" He pressed a button underneath the table, signaling the other HYDRA soldiers aboard the plane to come to his aid.
None came. Whitehall pressed the button again, not breaking eye contact with Black Widow, who sat in front of him in a flight attendant uniform. She smiled back at him. "No, I didn't," she said. "That's why I took out your other guards before I confronted you."
Whitehall went for his FN Five-seven pistol, but Widow was faster on the draw. She shot him twice under the table with one of her Glock 26 pistols that she always kept with her. He gasped in surprise and in pain as the bullets ripped through his lower torso, gripping the table to stay in his seat.
"And in case you haven't noticed," Widow added, aiming the pistol at Whitehall's head and firing once more, "there are no weak Avengers."
Cap led Casey into the HYDRA Council Headquarters building, taking down HYDRA guards as they went. Vision emerged from one of the elevators suddenly, dragging Baron von Strucker's body behind him.
"Dead?" asked Cap.
"No," said Vision. "I prevented him from consuming his cyanide capsule. And with a little persuasion, he was most helpful in giving me information."
"Do tell," Cap said.
"HYDRA uses a mass-blocker network structure to jam any sort of communications between their territories and the rest of the world," Vision said. "The signals are re-routed through jamming rigs from a primary emission tower on top of this building. The recording center for those broadcasts is located in the basement of the headquarters building."
"Good," Cap said. "Get Strucker somewhere secure, we're going to find the jammer."
Cap and Casey fought their way into the conference room, bursting in on Ward and Malick sitting at the table. "Well, breaking in to HYDRA's government building wasn't so hard," Casey gloated. "Guess who just out-planned your plan."
"You," Malick growled furiously, staring at Captain America.
"No, this was a team effort," said Cap. "We picked the Council off one by one. You two are all that's left. But not for long."
"So true," Malick sneered. "Because we still have our final contingency plan." He pressed a button on the table, opening a radio channel with HYDRA agents still in the building. "Unlock tubes one through four," he ordered.
"What did you just do?" Cap asked.
"We successfully reclaimed leadership of HYDRA from those who were inadequate to our cause," Ward said, not answering his question. "We emerged from the shadows, where we bided our time until we were ready to move. We can now secure our place on the international stage, and in the pages of history itself. I'm sorry, Captain, but not even you will stop us. Time for HYDRA to bear its teeth."
"And this time, we have the tactical power to support our strategic aims," said Malick. "Four fists to strike on our behalf. And they'll be striking the civilians of DC, while we make our escape. So, Captain, what do you choose?"
Suddenly the room was filled with HYDRA agents, training their guns on Cap and Casey as Malick and Ward escaped. Casey took cover behind Cap, flinging out a handful of his hockey pucks to take down the guards. Falcon crashed in through the conference room windows, machine guns blasting. "Where's Malick?" he asked.
"Getting away, but we've got more important things to worry about right now," said Cap. "The HYDRA Four are mobilized, and they're targeting civilians. I'll go after Malick and Ward. The rest of you, hold the line against the Four."
"So out of fashion, dude," Casey said. "I mean, the whole evil twin thing went out of style years ago."
Falcon grabbed a hold of Casey and they flew out the window as Cap ran off after Malick and Ward.
Vision was returning from delivering Strucker to the DC safehouse when he received word from Falcon that the HYDRA Four were on the loose, and they had to protect the citizens. He reached the HYDRA Council Headquarters building just in time to see Hammer throwing cars at panicking civilians.
"That's it!" Hammer shouted. "Run! Run while you still can!"
"Back away!" Vision shouted at the civilians in the streets. "Give me room!" He dove from the sky, the sun at his back so Hammer wouldn't see him coming, and fired a blast of cosmic energy from the Mind Stone in his forehead. The blow caught Hammer directly in the chest and sent him stumbling back.
The Hammer grinned, throwing his head back and laughing. "Is that the best you can do?" His hammer began to crackle with a yellowish-white energy, attracting the ambient energy from the atmosphere. "Now taste real power."
He summoned a huge cloud of lightning, engulfing the surrounding area. Fascinating, Vision observed. He possesses all the high-tech equipment to simulate Thor's abilities. He grunted as the electric current flowed through his body. Not lightning. Electricity. Smaller scale, but still harmful. His inbuilt grounding was taking most of the hits, but he would be wise to shut down Hammer before it overloaded his own systems. That would mean getting up close and personal, but Vision had no problem with that.
He flew towards Hammer at lightning speed, fist outstretched and catching the man in a blow to the head that sent his upper torso flying back. Vision went for a second strike, but Hammer caught Vision's arm and stopped the punch from landing.
He is strong, Vision thought, feeling the Hammer pushing back against his fist. Much more similar to Thor than merely looks and power. As he flew Hammer full-speed through the wall of an apartment building, he noted to himself that this fight might teach him a lesson in taking first dibs on a new enemy, sight unseen. The other Avengers more than likely were faring much better than taking on a high-tech thunder god.
"Oh man, you have got to be kidding me," Casey muttered, as he and Falcon squared off against Tactical Force atop the Council building.
"Afternoon," Tactical Force said, arms raised and repulsors aimed at the two of them. "The name's Karl. I'm supposed to use the name Tactical Force, but I don't much care for that one, so you can call me Karl. Or death incarnate. I like that one, and it's a lot more accurate. But they said it was taken. And who am I to argue? So . . . are you gonna just stand there and drool in awe and envy while Malick and Ward get away with enough power and influence between them to re-start HYDRA from the ground up, or you want to step up here and die like good little heroes?"
"Man, if you're supposed to be like a knockoff Stark, you've got his habit of never shutting the hell up," Falcon said. He turned to Casey. "Five-high or five-low?"
"Hit me five-high," Casey said, grabbing a hold of Falcon by the forearm in a Spartan handshake grip.
"You got it," Falcon said, launching his wings and flying towards Tactical Force, flinging Casey into the HYDRA Four member like a hammer. "Happy landings!" he called as Casey and Tactical Force tumbled through the air towards the ground below.
"So tell the truth, dude," Casey said, hanging on tight to Tactical Force by wrapping his arms around the man's waist and gripping tight to his hockey stick, "are those jets of yours set to balance the weight of two people, or just one?"
Tactical Force said nothing, struggling to pry Casey off of him as they plummeted faster and faster towards the ground. "Yep, thought so," said Casey, ejecting the taser on his hockey glove. "Man, whoever designed your suit has nothing on my pal Donnie."
Tactical Force slammed into the ground as Casey landed on top of him in a WWE finisher move, stabbing the taser on his glove downward into Militia's back and sending a powerful jolt of electricity into the man's suit, disabling it. Moments later, Falcon landed a few feet away.
"It's called an electromagnetic pulse," Casey said, swinging his hockey stick victoriously. "See you around, sucker."
Meanwhile, Militant was walking through the halls of the HYDRA Headquarters, keeping an eye out for anyone who made it past his other teammates outside. His goal was to stall the heroes for as long as he could, ensuring Malick and Ward could get away safely. The earpiece built into his suit's cowl buzzed. "Malick to Militant. Is the perimeter secure?"
Militant raised a hand to his head. "Confirmed, I—"
"Put the shield down," came a voice. Militant turned to see Captain America standing in the doorway, armed with his trademark shield. He looked different than the official pictures Militant had seen; he had much thicker hair, and a brown beard. But there was no mistaking that shield.
"And the cowl," Cap added. "Right. Now."
Militant sneered, ending his transmission with Malick. "Make me," he said, gripping his own shield as he charged.
"I just love it when I have no idea what I'm getting into," Ant-Man said as he rode on Hulk's shoulder, as they charged through the streets of DC towards the HYDRA Headquarters building. "Cap's short-wave radio was cut off before we could find out who was attacking what."
Hulk said nothing, just grunting as he ran steadily forward.
As they approached the headquarters, Ant-Man suddenly noticed a figure sitting on top of a radio tower nearby, aiming a bow and arrow down at the steps of the HYDRA Council building. "What the—?" he asked. "Hulk, throw me!"
Hulk grabbed Ant-Man off his shoulder and threw him like a projectile towards the radio tower. Ant-Man landed on the edge of the radio tower, pulling himself up onto it and growing back to his normal size. "Hawkeye?" he asked. "Is that you?"
Bowman sat atop a radio tower nearby, aiming his arrows down at the battle between the superheroes taking place on the steps of the HYDRA Council Headquarters building. "Sorry, no Hawkeye, just the Bowman," he said, whirling and firing off an arrow that split into six as it hurtled through the air at Ant-Man.
Yikes, Ant-Man thought as he quickly shrank, running towards Bowman while dodging the explosions of the trick arrows as they landed. "Bowman?" he quipped as he ran. "Like Dr. Dave Bowman in 2001? My daughter and I love that movie."
"Let's see if you find this funny," Bowman said, throwing five arrows on the string and aiming them into the crowd of terrified civilians fleeing the area. He released them, and they flew through the air.
Ant-Man watched with horror as the arrows arced down towards the helpless civilians, but suddenly Hulk was there, using himself as a living shield to protect the civilians from being hit. The arrows struck his body, and he roared in pain.
Bowman and Ant-Man traded blows for a few seconds before Bowman fired another shot at one of the buildings. It exploded, and part of the building began to collapse. Bowman then took off, leaping down off of the tower and heading for the HYDRA Council Headquarters building.
Ant-Man didn't have time to go after him; he had to make sure everybody got out alive. He ran down to the building, helping the people out before it collapsed. "This way! Hurry!"
"How's it feel fighting somebody as fast and as strong as you are?" Militant asked, throwing a haymaker at Cap that struck him in the jaw. "We're the same, Cap."
Cap backed up, rubbing his jaw. "The same?" he asked. "No. Not exactly." He swung his shield arm, catching Militia in the chin and sending him sprawling.
Militia climbed to his feet, grinning. "I sense hostility, Cap. So I guess I'd better go. Because there's no way in hell you can catch Malick and fight me at the same time." He flung his shield at the glass ceiling above Cap, sending shards of glass falling everywhere as he ran deeper into the building.
Cap climbed to his feet, wincing as he pulled a shard of glass out of his cheek. "Cap, you good?" asked Falcon over the earpiece.
"Yeah," Cap said, gasping for air. "Just ran into my doppelgänger. Gotta say, not a huge fan." He took off after Militia.
On the street, the battle was fairly evenly matched. Bowman had joined Hammer and Tactical Force to square off against Falcon, Vision, and Casey. He aimed one of his explosive arrows at Vision and fired, but Vision quickly turned his body intangible, and the arrow passed right through, instead hitting the ground near Hammer and detonating. The explosion knocked Hammer off his feet. "Watch it!" he growled as he climbed back up.
"You guys are supposed to be the Avengers," Casey taunted, firing off a handful of hockey pucks at Bowman. "Aren't the Avengers, you know, a team?"
"Real funny," Hammer said. "Laugh your way out of this!" He flung the hammer towards Casey, who easily dodged it. But, like Thor, Hammer could call his weapon back to him, and it struck Casey in the back and knocked him down to the street.
"You think you are a match for me?" Hammer roared. "A man who can call down thunder?" He raised his hammer over his head as it began to blaze and crackle with electricity. Casey rolled to the side, but suddenly Falcon swooped down and lifted him up out of harm's way as Hammer brought his weapon down. The blast of electricity flew out in a circle around him, striking Bowman and Tactical Force.
Tactical Force whirled on Hammer. "That EMP blew out half of my circuits, you jerk!"
"Not my problem, pal," Hammer sneered.
"Wow, they are really have a problem with teamwork," Falcon noted to Vision.
"Perhaps we can use that to our advantage," Vision said. "Force them into closer quarters with each other. They do better when isolated against one single opponent."
"You got it!" Casey shouted, skating towards the three remaining HYDRA Four members. "Goongala!" he shouted, moving into a slide tackle that knocked the Hammer off of his feet. Tactical Force was aiming for Casey but missed, and the shots from his repulsor gloves hit Bowman and sent the man flying.
Tactical Force had no time to say anything, as Falcon delivered a flying kick into the man that sent him tumbling into the Hammer. Hammer growled as he bodily shoved his teammate off of him, right into Vision's oncoming punch. Vision had increased his density to maximum, so that when Tactical Force hit his fist, it was like being hit by a freight train. The punch ripped some of the man's helmet armor off, and he went out like a light.
Hammer now found himself alone, facing two Avengers and whoever this hockey mask kid was. He charged up his hammer. "Come on!" he yelled. "I have no fear of you puny heroes!"
He was cut off by a roar as the Hulk came out of nowhere, punching the member of the HYDRA Four into the side of a building. Hammer climbed to his feet and spat out a mouthful of blood. "Finally," he said. "A fight worth my time!"
He leaped towards Hulk and dealt the green giant a massive blow with his hammer, but Hulk didn't even fall over. Hammer's confidence wavered as Hulk smashed the ground and threw Hammer into the air, dealing him a kick that sent him tumbling down the street. As Hammer tried to get up from the pavement, he saw Hulk leaping through the air for him and quickly rolled to the side. Hulk's massive fists struck the ground where Hammer had been moments before.
Thinking fast, Hammer landed a blow on Hulk that knocked him to the ground, but Hulk grabbed Hammer by his golden cape and spun around at lightning speed, spinning him into the ground like a corkscrew. Hammer lifted himself frenziedly from the rubble, his mouth working but his vocal cords constricted in rage.
Hulk roared as he lifted a tumbled car to throw at Hammer, who quickly threw his weapon at the car and smashed it. As he called his hammer back to him, Hulk reached out and grabbed it. Unlike Mjolnir, anyone could lift Hammer's weapon, and Hulk dealt him such a mighty blow with it that it knocked the man out cold. Roaring triumphantly, Hulk threw the hammer down next to Hammer's unconscious form and strode back towards the other heroes, who were watching in awe.
"Hammer man not worthy like Thor," Hulk said.
Captain America kicked down the door of the sealed vault beneath the HYDRA Headquarters building. He braced himself for incoming fire from HYDRA agents, but the room was silent. Cautiously, he stepped forward, prepared for any surprises from Ward or Malick.
He was in a large underground chamber, almost like a bunker. Stasis tubes lined the walls, each one lit up with a blue light from the inside. They each held a costumed figure in stasis, waiting to be awoken from his or her cryo-sleep. It looked a lot like the Siberian bunker housing the Winter Soldiers from HYDRA's program, except these figures were wearing costumes that made them look like superheroes. Spider-Man. Black Widow. Ant-Man. Falcon. Cap was even startled to see two pods containing a man and a woman, both of them designed to look like Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. All in all, there were about twenty tubes in total, and four of them were empty. Each of the occupied tubes had a bullet hole in the middle of it, and each of the tube's occupants had a bullet wound in the middle of their foreheads.
Cap was suddenly struck from behind in his left leg, and he dropped to his knees, gasping in pain. Two more shots ripped through his right leg and his left arm. Each of the limbs he'd been shot in had been numbed almost instantly, and he couldn't move them.
From behind him he heard footsteps, and to no one's surprise, Zemo appeared, walking around Cap to face him. He smiled. "Don't bother resisting, Captain," he said, holding up a high-tech handgun. "You've been shot with non-lethal bullets. Once they hit, they broke up under your subcutaneous tissue and released a tiny amount of dendrotoxin, harvested from the African mamba. One shot is enough to knock out an ordinary man, but you, Captain, are no ordinary man." He gestured at the tubes. "Unfortunately, these poor fools were shot with lethal bullets, not these."
"Zemo," Cap grunted, straining to move his arms and legs but being unable to. It was hard enough for him to even speak. "Why—"
"Why did I kill them?" Zemo asked. "But you don't even know who or what they are." He walked slowly over towards the tubes. "Once, HYDRA was a power to be reckoned with. The barest whisper of their name was enough to strike fear in places where fear had never before been known. They straddled the world on legs of fire and steel. But mistakes were made, including the greatest mistake of all. They underestimated their enemies. They were defeated, repeatedly. And with defeat comes a loss of respect. In fighting back, HYDRA exhausted its resources. They had not compensated for the strength of their opposition. For the strength of the SSR and the Allies. So, after World War II, they disappeared and allowed their organization—for who so many had shed their blood—to fall into the hands of mediocre men. Men like Strucker, Malick, Ward, Bloom. Men of great ambition, but small dreams. Through this new leadership, HYDRA allowed its legacy to become trivial, to become about theft and syndicates and drug importation and money laundering. No different from a hundred other syndicates, run by desperate men who believe that money is the goal."
Zemo paused in front of the tube containing the HYDRA version of Quicksilver. "But suddenly, everything changed. For the first time, America was truly vulnerable. Her military might was overextended, her ports and cities under the most fragile of care. HYDRA had a chance once more to correct its mistakes. Their first mistake was to act too completely on their own. In the world as it is now, one needs allies, and as the old saying goes, 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.' If HYDRA could prove that it could strike America with impunity, they would have all the friends, all the money, and all the support they ever needed."
He walked back over towards Captain America, continuing his story. "And so, allied with Doom and his legion of supervillains, they launched a brutal campaign against America, finally taking it under their control. HYDRA's second mistake was a violation of the basic tenet of warfare. You must meet the force of your enemies with equal or greater force. The Avengers were men of great power, great strength. HYDRA, in its vanity, believed they could out-think and out-strategize its enemies. That their will was sufficient to their inevitable victory." He chuckled. "But will and strategy are of no use when there is a gun pointed in your face. And make no mistake, captain. The Avengers were, and are, guns. So, HYDRA invested the long years since its defeat in creating men of equal or greater power. From the darkness they watched you, studied your powers, your minds, your ways of fighting. They created these, their carbon copies of the real Avengers, believing at last the playing field was level. Believing they could oppose you, and rebuild the strength that was once theirs."
He kicked at a body on the ground, and Cap realized it was the corpse of Militant. "To answer your question, Captain, I killed them because I do not want any more of you out there. And I do not want HYDRA to regain the place it once had. HYDRA deserves its place on the ash heap of history."
"If you hate HYDRA so much," Cap grimaced, "then . . . why'd you join them?"
Zemo smiled. "I told you in Siberia, Captain. I made a promise. I lost everyone. The war between the Avengers and HYDRA resulted in the death of my entire family. The Avengers were the so-called heroes of that war, yet you show such a lack of concern for the innocent lives lost during your campaigns to protect the Earth. But HYDRA was the villain of that war. As you well know, HYDRA built a research facility in Sokovia. Sokovia was doomed for destruction, set aflame by corrupt politicians and left to burn. The people were angry. Angry at living in a war zone, angry at the foreign forces invading their streets constantly. And they wanted change. HYDRA lied to Sokovia, promising us an end to the constant revolutions and power equal to the Avengers, power to drive war out of Sokovia forever."
Zemo paced slowly around Cap as he continued talking. "In times of trouble, the fearful and naïve are always drawn to charismatic radicals. Many Sokovians volunteered for the experiments performed by a man called List, willingly becoming human lab rats to gain new powers. Except none of them did. All but two of the volunteers died during the experiments. HYDRA did not care. What are concepts like morality and ethics to them, as long as the experiments accomplish what they want? The deceased volunteers were buried deep, where HYDRA believed no one would find them. But I promised my dead family that I would destroy both the Avengers and HYDRA at all costs. In a way, HYDRA deserved my vengeance even more than you did. They drew you to Sokovia. They are the reason my family perished just as much as you are. And just as I promised you that you would lose everyone, so would HYDRA."
Cap's mind was racing. Zemo had really been fighting HYDRA this whole time, from the inside.
"I spent years getting close to HYDRA agents," Zemo said. "Mitchell Carson provided me with the means I needed to get into HYDRA's inner circle. Thanks to my tactical mind, they were able to right their first mistake and take control of America. The heads of HYDRA that made up the Council were irritable, contentious, prone to arguing. They showed their weakness, and I exploited it, pitting them against each other. I hadn't counted on your intervention, Captain, but when it became clear you were here fighting the same battle I was, I was elated. Thanks to our combined efforts, HYDRA will lose everything it has longed for, after coming so close to achieving their goal of world power."
"It's time people saw the truth," Cap gasped, struggling to speak coherently as Zemo's knockout bullets kicked in.
Zemo threw back his head and laughed. "The truth?" He leaned close to Cap's face. "You were a lie they used to make everyone forget. To break them. I'm trying to fix this."
"Are you?" asked Cap. "L-look around, Zemo. Chaos . . . destruction . . . you're not making this . . . a better world . . . you're . . . helping . . . end it."
"And what about you?" Zemo asked. "You think you're the one who's worthy of protecting this world—these people? You couldn't protect Erskine. You couldn't protect Agent Coulson. You couldn't even protect Sergeant Barnes."
Cap grunted through clenched teeth in pain and agony, as Zemo filled his mind with all of his failures. Zemo's watch started beeping, and he glanced at it. "Ah, I'm afraid that's my cue, Captain. You'll be incapacitated long enough for me to make a clean getaway. But don't worry, I won't be causing you any more trouble. At least, not until you least expect it. Besides, would you rather capture me, or the two remaining heads of HYDRA? Who are currently at the DC waterfront making their getaway in a HYDRA submarine? I leave the choice up to you. And hopefully we can stop meeting like this, in an underground bunker housing HYDRA super soldier projects." With a mock salute, he headed out of the bunker and down the hall to make his escape.
Cap struggled to move his arm, as the toxin was already beginning to wear off thanks to his Super Soldier Serum-enhanced immune system. He rocked back and forth on his knees until he hit the ground, his hand covering his left ear. He activated his earpiece. "Everybody . . . Malick and Ward . . . waterfront. They're making a getaway inside a submarine."
"Got it," said Ant-Man over the radio. "What about Zemo?"
"Zemo's gone," Cap said dejectedly. "He got away."
Black Widow stood in the cockpit of the small jet that had been carrying Daniel Whitehall, after killing every HYDRA crewman inside it. She had set the jet's radio frequency to the same as their comms, and could hear her teammates loud and clear. While she listened to their conversation, she was getting changed out of her flight attendant's outfit and back into her tactical stretch Kevlar uniform. If only the boys were here, she thought sarcastically as she stripped off her white blazer from the flight attendant outfit, now standing topless in the cockpit. All jaws would be on the floor.
"Aw, man!" Casey said. "We almost had him."
"I'm in Whitehall's jet," said Widow. "I can get to the waterfront before anyone else. But I'll need backup."
"Waterfront, huh?" she heard Ant-Man say. "I'll meet you there. Hey, Falcon, I need a lift, fast!"
"On my way, Tic-Tac," Falcon quipped. "Widow, can you hold them?"
"Not a problem," she answered, zipping up the zipper on her uniform. "You boys better catch up quick." She cut off the transmission, as the plane was approaching the waterfront. A massive submarine had appeared in Tidal Basin. Almost 300 feet in length, the enormous hunk of steel plowed through the Washington Channel, chugging steadily through the water towards the Potomac River. As Widow watched from the cockpit, the submarine aimed its two twin gun turrets at the pair of two-way bridges that crossed the Washington Channel. The bridges had been reconfigured into drawbridges that lifted up—no doubt to make travel for the submarine possible—but the crew of the submarine weren't waiting. The gun turrets fired off several high-powered energy rounds, obliterating both bridges and charging through the wreckage into the Channel.
Black Widow knew she had to act fast. They'd have to stop the submarine before it got through the Potomac River; once the sub was in the Chesapeake Bay it would dive, and Malick and Ward would get away with enough HYDRA soldiers to re-start HYDRA in some remote third-world country.
She sent the plane into a low dive and then headed for the main area, strapping on a parachute. Her plan was to crash the plane into the sub and bail at the last minute. Hopefully the explosion would damage the sub enough that it wouldn't be able to dive when it reached the Chesapeake. As the plane got closer and closer to the sub, the sub noticed it and began to angle its anti-aircraft turrets towards the incoming plane. Widow braced herself. She had to time this perfectly. Too soon, and she'd splatter across the water's surface as she went in. Too late, and she'd blow up with the plane.
The sub fired its anti-aircraft turrets, sending exploding shells up towards the small plane. One of the shots managed to shear off the plane's right wing, and the jolt sent Black Widow tumbling out of the open door towards the water below. A good thing, too; seconds later the plane exploded as the other shots made direct contact.
She activated the parachute when she was getting closer to the water, then cut herself free before the guns could get a bead on her. She fell, arcing into a graceful swan dive as she hit the water. She quickly surfaced, gasping for air as she swam towards the submarine. It didn't look like any of the plane's wreckage had damaged the submarine; most of it has just splashed harmlessly into the water. They'd have to do this the hard way.
Oh, well. Didn't they always?
She climbed aboard the submarine, pulling out her two Glock pistols as she took cover behind an open hatch door on the deck. HYDRA soldiers were climbing out, their semi-automatic rifles blazing. She popped out from cover when she could, firing back. She'd have to keep them from rushing her position until the cavalry got here.
Fortunately, it didn't take long. Falcon dove out of the sky, strafing the deck with his machine gun fire and landing at the opposite end. Now Widow moved up as Falcon switched between hand-to-hand combat and using his guns to take out the HYDRA soldiers.
She leaped for one of the HYDRA soldiers, wrapping her legs around his neck in a martial arts move that took the man down, finishing him with a kick to the face. She ran for another one of the soldiers. Most of them were facing away from her, their attention directed towards Falcon. Jumping on the soldier's back, she activated her Widow's Bite gauntlets, emitting a powerful shock into the man's neck. He gurgled and dropped, shaking as he lay on the ground.
Next to her, another of the HYDRA agents began to jerk around, yelling as if he was being hit by an invisible enemy. When he fell to the deck, Ant-Man grew into view right next to her.
"Hey!" he said. "Sorry we were late."
Falcon activated the miniature guided missiles in the topside of his wingpack with the control panel on his left wrist. Missiles flew out of the top and then dropped down through the open hatch, eliminating any other HYDRA soldiers inside. "Clear," he said. "Head down. I'll hold topside. Redwing, launch."
A red-and-silver bird-shaped drone detached itself from Falcon's wingpack, flying into the air and scanning the submarine. The advanced drone had been developed by Stark Industries especially for Falcon as a way to perform recon less conspicuously, since his own wingpack threw a much larger shadow. The drone was equipped with a video camera, twin machine guns, a retractable tow cable, and a stun missile.
"Malick and Ward are on the sub's bridge," Falcon said. "I'll be with you every step of the way. Shuri linked my combat goggles to Redwing's camera."
Widow rolled her eyes. "Men and their toys," she muttered.
Ant-Man waved at the drone. "Hey, Redwing."
Ant-Man and Widow slid down the hatch, entering the submarine. Redwing flew down behind them. "Alright, boys, sweep and clear," Widow said. "All unknowns are hostile. Rendezvous at the bridge."
Ant-Man moved towards a hatch door as Widow drew her pistols, aiming them at the doorway as it swung open. They entered the sub's barracks, surprising a group of HYDRA soldiers. They quickly took them out. "Scott, head down the stairs," Falcon said over the comm.
Redwing and Widow went right as Ant-Man took out two more HYDRA soldiers in the hall before going downstairs. One of the HYDRA soldiers opened fire on the two of them, but Redwing fired its tow cable, yanking the man's gun out of the way and disrupting his aim. Widow quickly hit him with her Widow's Bite and knocked him out.
"Nice assist, Redwing," said Ant-Man as he came down the stairs.
"Thank you," Falcon said over the radio. "He responds positively to compliments."
Widow rolled her eyes again.
They moved through the halls, taking out HYDRA soldiers until they reached the bridge. "Locked," Widow said, testing the door.
"Do we have anything that can get through that?" asked Falcon. "Explosives, anything?"
"This might work," said Ant-Man, pulling a red Pym Particle Disk off of his belt. "Stand back." He threw the disk at the door, which immediately shrunk down to the size of a toy. Three HYDRA soldiers stood inside, instantly drawing their weapons. A shocked Malick and Ward stood near the control pad.
Redwing's twin machine guns opened fire, taking out the three HYDRA soldiers in seconds. Grant Ward went for his pistol, but Widow fired off two taser disks from her Widow's Bite gauntlets first. The disks implanted themselves onto Malick and Ward, releasing an electrical discharge that knocked the pair out almost immediately.
Ward writhed on the floor next to an unconscious Malick, gritting his teeth in pain. Widow came and stood over him, aiming her Glock down at him. "Wow, those really sting," he grunted.
She zapped him with another taser, knocking him out. The heroes let out a sigh of relief. "Widow to Cap," Black Widow radioed. "We got them."
"Vision is en route for pickup," came the reply from Cap. "We're wrapping things up at the headquarters building."
"Did we just win?" Casey asked over the radio.
Ant-Man disengaged his helmet, smiling in relief. "Yeah, Casey, I think we did."
The battle was over. The heroes had wiped out any remaining HYDRA soldiers in the base. The still-living HYDRA heads had been sealed in the tubes used for HYDRA's special projects, until they could be transported to a secure holding facility. They had never been able to catch Zemo.
Now the heroes were in the communications center, deep underground in the HYDRA Council Headquarters building. Ant-Man ran his fingers over the console at the control pad. "It looks like the jammer network structure is also used to send broadcasts to every cellular or mobile device in the country," he said. "That's how they were able to make their public service announcements."
"Is the system still online?" asked Cap. His movements were stiff, still recovering from Zemo's Night Night gun wounds. But he was up and walking.
Ant-Man checked. "Yeah, until the main jamming rig on top of the building goes down."
"Get ready to send out a broadcast," Cap said. "I think it's time to let the people know that we are back."
There was a moment of silence, as smiles grew on the heroes' faces. After such a long period of grim despair, a spark of hope had filled them all. Ant-Man's fingers flew over the console as Cap went into the broadcasting studio, facing a large wall of various cameras and other recording equipment. He stood tall in his uniform, his shield gripped to his side.
"We're live, in three . . ." Ant-Man began the count-down. "Two . . ."
The red light in front of the cameras began to blink steadily. "You're live, Cap," said Ant-Man. "Say hello to America."
Across the nation, millions of American citizens went about their daily lives. They rode on buses, or trains, or drove in their own cars. They sat in office cubicles, in classrooms, in downtown pubs. They worked hard, fearful of dropping below productivity levels and having to face their HYDRA oppressors. But wherever they were, whatever they were doing, they all had something in common at that particular moment. Their cell phones, tablets, laptops, monitors, television—any device connected to the HYDRA internet network began to beep. Millions of people turned their attention to their beeping devices, as they saw another incoming public service broadcast from HYDRA.
Many of them focused intently on the screens. Many chose to ignore it. But when a familiar voice began speaking over their device, they turned their full attention to the nearest device. Captain America stood on screen. He looked older, and different than they remembered. Many an American woman took a moment to appreciate how handsome he looked with a thick head of brown hair and a matching beard.
"Americans," Cap said with resolve. "Americans. Wherever you are. I wish I had words of comfort to give you. Like the words that HYDRA's propaganda has been filling your minds with for the past two years. But from me, you will not get comfort. Only the cold, agonizing truth. And the truth is, this great nation has been violated and pillaged by the greatest enemy of our time. They have asked you to sell your liberty. To purchase your safety. To kneel to the new order, and to submit to change. But, my fellow Americans, you were born in the land of the free. You fought the kings of old and broke them. You gave your lives for the simplest but most essential truth of all: 'Give me liberty or give me death!'"
The American people listening to Cap's message felt something inside them change. Something snapped. Many of them had long been restless under their HYDRA tormentors, and to hear Cap's patriotic speech had reawakened something inside them. The desire to sever the strings that HYDRA had bound them by. The desire to be free.
"In your veins runs the blood of revolutionaries," Cap went on, as shadowy figures began moving in the background behind him. "So tonight, brandish your guns, your knives, and your fists. Seek out your oppressors wherever they are. Tell them we don't want anything from them. Not a thing. And we are not going to take it anymore."
The figures in the background stepped up into the light, behind Captain America but still visible. Many Americans recognized them as members of the Avengers. Black Widow was there, as was Falcon. Few of them recognized Vision, and fewer still knew who Ant-Man was. But anyone who was an ally of Cap's was on their side, they were sure of it.
"Tonight, we show those that want us submitted, who want us kneeled, that we will not kneel," Cap said with determination. "We will rise."
In the control center of the HYDRA broadcasting center, Casey switched the broadcast off, and set it to loop until he gave the command for it to stop. On the screens across the country, Captain America began his speech again.
Across the country, millions of students looked at their teachers for answers their teachers could not give them.
Across the country, millions of office workers looked over the cubicle walls at each other, eyes wide with hope.
Across the country, HYDRA officials and soldiers cowered in fear in their bunkers, terrified of the coming retribution of Americans.
Across the country, millions of Americans realized that these past few years had been more than just a conquest by HYDRA. It had been a war for the heart and soul of a people. It would decide the kind of future they would live in. What their dreams would be. They had been so perfectly powerful, with an unbreakable will. It had felt like it might never end.
The nation watched Captain America's speech over and over, taping it, recording it on their devices, something that felt like hope finally returning to their hearts. Their champion, Captain America, had not faltered. He was a man at war with his worst nightmare. A warped and twisted reflection of himself, and all he stood for. And his struggle inspired them, reminded them that there could only be one choice when confronted by this kind of evil.
You stand and you fight.
You stand and you fight.
Stand and fight.
Stand and fight.
Until you couldn't stand any longer.
This was how you were tested. And how your enemy was tested. HYDRA had come to power on the back of a lie. A lie some of the people even believed, that others let them believe. HYDRA had made them feel small, weak, fearful. They had reveled in their strength and their power over America and its people. But like Cap had said, it was time to see the truth.
Casey burst into the recording booth, hollering. "Dude! That was awesome! The whole country saw that!"
Cap allowed himself a small smile before turning to Vision. "Vis, get the main jamming tower disabled. On top of the roof."
"Of course, Captain," Vision said, before phasing through the wall.
Cap turned to Widow, who smiled at him. "You did great," she said.
"Think it'll make a difference?" he asked.
"Of course it will," Falcon said. "The Avengers are back, baby."
"Captain," Vision said over the earpiece. "Unknown entities detected in the lower levels of the compound, near your location. I count five."
"Keep heading to the roof, Vision," Cap said. "We can handle it." He turned to the others. "Casey, Scott, you two keep the broadcasting center on lockdown. Natasha, Sam, you're with me."
The three of them headed off, deeper underground towards the source of the breach. They assumed it would be HYDRA soldiers, so they were all prepared.
As Falcon rounded a corner, he saw a figure duck down behind a crate in a storage room. "Hold it," he said. "I've got something."
Another figure tackled Cap from behind, and he wrestled with the woman. Whoever she was, she was strong. It was taking Cap everything he had to keep her off. The girl fired some kind of sonic burst from her hand, throwing Cap off and to the ground.
Widow drew both pistols and turned to fire on the woman, before another voice shouted, "Woah, woah, woah! Hold your fire!"
The woman who had attacked Falcon froze, as four other figures appeared from behind crates and around the corner. Cap recognized one of them, and his jaw hit the floor.
Phil Coulson stepped forward, putting his pistol back in his holster. He looked the same as he had when Cap had first met him; black suit, striped tie, and receding hairline. An Oriental woman appeared next to Coulson, holding up a scan pad. But Coulson held up a hand. "No need, May," he said. "I'd recognize that starred-and-striped face anywhere." He walked up to Cap, extending his hand. "It's an honor to meet you again, Captain America."
Cap took it, shaking it in a firm grip. "Coulson?" he asked, as if he couldn't believe it. "Official records said you were dead."
"I was," he said. "Fury had me brought back using a top-secret project. Now I run S.H.I.E.L.D. spec ops as its new official Director." He broke the handshake, relishing in the fact that he'd surprised his longtime idol. "I gotta say, the beard looks great on you. Fantastic decision. I'd grow one if I could, but the most I can rock is a mustache."
Behind him, the Oriental woman cleared her throat. The rest of his team grimaced at Coulson's faux pas. Coulson looked around, as if aware of his surroundings for the first time. "Oh, uh, let me introduce you to the team." He walked Cap over to the Oriental woman. "Cap, this is Melinda May. Ace pilot and weapons expert. She continues to perform above and beyond the call of duty."
"Pleasure to meet you, Captain Rogers," May said.
"The pleasure is mine, Agent," Cap replied, shaking her hand.
The other woman approached them, the one who had fired the concussive blasts out of her hands. "Daisy Johnson," Coulson said. "Goes by Quake. On the record, she's a S.H.I.E.L.D. tech consultant. Off the record, she's an unflappable asset with some kick-ass powers."
"You don't have to tell me, Coulson." Cap grinned at Quake. "I lived it."
Quake grimaced. "Sorry about that, Captain, sir—"
"No," Cap said, shaking his head. "That was pretty sweet."
A grin spread across Quake's face as Coulson moved over to the next person, a man with shortly-cut hair and a five-o'clock shadow. "Lance Hunter," Coulson said. "Ex-SAS and merc-for-hire."
Hunter shook Cap's hand firmly. "Huge fan, Captain Rogers," he said, in a charming British accent. "My grandfather fought with you in the Battle of Lake Comacchio."
"Thomas Hunter, right?" asked Cap.
Hunter nodded.
"He was a great man," Cap said. "A true inspiration to me and my boys." He remembered Thomas Hunter like it was yesterday. It had been 1945, and the Howling Commandos had teamed up with a Bren gun section led by Hunter at Lake Comacchio, in Italy. They'd been advancing on the canal when Hunter had bolted ahead with the Bren gun almost two hundred yards of ground with zero cover. Machine gunners and mortars had opened fire on their company, so Cap hadn't been able to chase after Hunter right away. Later he'd learned that the Nazis were holding a group of houses south of the canal, and Hunter had offered himself as a target to save the others, as they'd been left behind in the open. He'd attracted most of the fire and cleared all three of the houses on the south side of the canal by himself. Their troops had taken cover inside the houses, but Hunter had stayed outside on a heap of rubble, firing at the concrete pillboxes on the other side of the canal and giving Cap cover so he could charge them. By the time Cap had finished clearing out the pillboxes, he'd returned to find Hunter dead, hit in the head by a burst of German machine gun fire. Hunter had been posthumously awarded a Victoria Cross, which was well-deserved. Cap had never forgotten that man's courage, leadership, and overall cheerfulness.
The last member of the team had dark skin and a shaved head. "Meet Alphonso Mackenzie," said Coulson. "He and Agent Johnson overlook our Inhumans recruitment project."
"Inhumans?" Cap asked.
"People that had their DNA altered," Mackenzie explained. "The after-effects of a bunch of experiments on ancient humans that lets them unlock some sort of superhuman abilities."
Cap noticed Quake look away quickly at the word "Inhuman."
"We've been investigating HYDRA's interest in these Inhumans," said Coulson. "Seems they want as many on their side as possible, with weapons hot. There's been rumors of some kind of counter-Avengers program involving Inhumans, but we've had no luck finding anything solid."
"We can give you something solid on that," said Casey. "But . . . they're all dead."
"HYDRA weaponized some kind of anti-Avengers against us when we tried to take the compound," said Widow. "They're all dead thanks to Zemo."
"Helmut Zemo?" asked Hunter. "He's here?"
"Not anymore," said Cap. "He slipped out. But we've got all the other HYDRA heads secure until we can get them somewhere else."
"We've got somewhere else," said May. "The Bus."
"It's an old Globemaster III from the 90's," Coulson chimed in. "We've been using it as a flying command center. Keeps HYDRA, Doom, and anybody else from pinpointing our location. It has a holding cell on board too. We can keep the HYDRA heads in there for now. But we can't stay here."
"HYDRA's going to be pouring in hot on this place any minute," said Falcon.
"We'll create a distraction," Cap said. "We take out as many HYDRA as we can and as spectacularly as we can. Let's give the people a real show. By the time HYDRA wades through whatever's left of this place, we'll be long gone."
"Sounds good, Cap." Ant-Man popped his helmet back into place.
"Let's rock and roll, baby," said Mackenzie. The heroes and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents headed up to the main level of the HYDRA base to prepare for the oncoming waves of HYDRA soldiers. Melinda May walked over to Black Widow, and the two embraced. "Natasha," she said. "It's been too long."
"It has," said Widow. "Sorry we had to meet like this."
"Still working on your black belt record?" May asked.
Widow smirked. Melinda May was one of the few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had more black belts than her, and she never failed to bring it up whenever they met.
"Hey, Cap, wait up." Quake jogged over to Captain America, who had lingered behind as the rest of the agents filed up the stairs. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hit you with that blast, it's just—"
Cap smiled. "Like I said before, don't worry about it. We're all still friends."
"Yeah, I noticed," said Quake. "The 'We Love Cap' fan club looks pretty intense. I, uh, don't have that problem."
"It's not normally . . ." Cap sighed. "I wouldn't consider myself any more special than any of the other people I know. Just because I'm going to live longer and can throw a shield around doesn't make me better than any of the other S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives or other heroes. But people prop me up as this symbol. And especially now, with the world being in the shape it is, well . . . people look to me to be the guy with the plan."
"So, uh, what are you going to do?" asked Quake.
"I spent two decades on ice," Cap told her. "To wake up from the end of one time period to find myself facing another—a very different one—it's . . . a lot to process. I still have trouble processing it. A lot of times I don't know what to do. I just go with my gut. And my gut is telling me that there are people dying out there, and there's a very evil name and ideology tied to it."
There was a moment of silence as Quake sat on those words. "Then . . . then what do I do?" she asked Cap. "I have power, shouldn't I be—shouldn't I have a responsibility to go? I don't know . . ."
Her sentence trailed off, her voice filled with worry and anxiety. Cap placed a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped slightly at the touch, looking up into his eyes. He's a lot hotter in person, she thought to herself.
"Quake, responsibility doesn't mean you're at the whims of the world," he told her. "We all have our own journey. This is mine." He smiled as he continued, "You do great work here. I'm sure of it. Coulson's picked you on his team for a reason. Responsibility is about a lot of things, but first and foremost, it's about selflessness and sacrifice. And seeing you throw yourself into danger's way, it's clear you understand both of those things. Let your heart guide you."
Quake smiled softly. "I—thanks, Cap," she said at last.
Cap's earpiece buzzed. "Captain, HYDRA platoons are inbound," said Vision over the radio. "Two to the west, and one from the north."
They headed up the stairs. "Now, let's see what those powers of yours can do against some HYDRA soldiers," Cap said.