April 28, 2015

Sokovia, Europe

A flurry of blue energy blasts shot towards Zuchino, but he easily deflected each one with a lazy swat. The HYDRA soldier platoon finally realized the fruitlessness of their efforts and began backing off, keeping up heavy fire. Zuchino gave them a sadistic smile before letting out a puff of air. The air around him quickly swirled, becoming a ki-powered tornado that spun towards the soldiers.

Screams could be heard over the howling winds as the cyclone twirled them into their air, causing many to bend and contort in bone-breaking angles. Once the screams began to cease, the tornado faded from the view and dropped the mangled bodies back down to the Earth. Zuchino smirked at the sight, begrudgingly thanking Freeza in his head for teaching that technique.

"If you're done fighting with the peons, I could use some help, ET." Tony's voice came through his comms.

"Yea, yea. I'm coming." Zuchino stated as he quickly dashed towards Tony and caught up with him. They both dodged the blue blasts of energy from a truck of soldiers, but Natasha and Clint drew away their attention. A few flying soldiers (thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret files on Tony's suit being leaked out) flew after them and fired from their rifles. Zuchino twirled in the air before raising his arm, ki radiating off of it. Stopping in the air, he swung his glowing arm, causing all of the warriors to detonate in the air.

Zuchino and Tony quickly caught to the Avengers and, for a split second, they all flew through the air before Zuchino charged headfirst through a stronghold and exploded his ki. With yet another hut destroyed, he reunited with Tony to fly directly towards the main hideout of the Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, the last HYDRA leaders on their list to capture. Without him, the organization was sure to lose any semblance of…well, organization.

The flying duo blasted towards the building, dodging the blue cannon blasts in the air while arching towards the building…before they were both bounced back by an invisible forcefield.

"Shit!" They exclaimed simultaneously while trying to correct their flight paths.

"Language!" Steve scolded them through their comms, prompting an exchanged look between Tony and Zuchino. "JARVIS, what's the view from upstairs?"

"The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield formed by a type of artificial ki. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other Hydra base we've taken." The extremely competent AI informed them through their comms as Zuchino charged up a sky-blue ball of energy and threw it into a truck, exploding it and its soldiers in one fell swoop.

"Loki's scepter must be here. Strucker couldn't mount this defense without it." Thor declared. "At long last."

"'At long last' is lasting a little long, boys." Natasha snarked back.

"Yeah. I think we lost the element of surprise." Clint added.

"Ya think?" Zuchino sarcastically asked before telekinetically detonating a few flying soldiers attempting to giving him chase.

"Wait a second." Tony interrupted the flow of the conversation in a bit of disbelief. "So no one else is going to deal with the fact that Cap just said 'language?'" The billionaire inquired while Zuchino chuckled.

"I know." Steve sighed as Zuchino dropped next to the Super Soldier just as he flipped out his motorcycle and threw towards countless others. Looking over at the Saiyan, he shrugged. "It just slipped out."

"Mmhm," Zuchino said, blasting a few hiding soldiers after seeing them over Steve's shoulder.

"So, artificial ki?"

"Yea, I heard. Strange." Zuchino stated, deflecting a blue blast back at the soldiers. Steve flung his shield towards the quickly approaching soldier, knocking him down and lining him up for a quick blast from Zuchino.

"Any idea on how to take down the barrier? We need to get in." Steve asked as Zuchino's eyes narrowed for a second.

"I have one…it may work." Zuchino mused before his eyes opened and a smirk crossed his features.

"Is a "may" idea all you can come up with?" Tony asked over his comms, making the Saiyan scoff.

"Do you have something better?" Silence. "Okay then," Zuchino stated before he transformed into a Super Saiyan. Gathering a large ball of ki in his hand, he closed it into a fist and blasted off towards the building. Charging through bodies, trees, tanks, and alike, the Saiyan's speed was never hindered. Desperate blue energy blasts bounced off his aura, which shielded him like a barrier. When he reached the edge of the shield, he slammed his fist into it. Sparks crackled off his punch before crackling across the entire building. Then, like glass, the barrier shattered.

"That worked better than I thought it would." Zuchino happily smiled. "Barrier's down."

"Great job, ET."

"We have an Enhanced in the field," Steve stated, drawing Zuchino's attention back to the battlefield.

"Clint's hit." With that, Zuchino began dashing towards the location of Natasha and Clint. Just as he arrived, he saw Hulk smashing through a bunker. He landed nearby, looking at the sideswipe of a wound on Clint's abdomen. "Can you cover for me?"

"Yea, I gotcha," Zuchino stated, forming a red dome in his hand and dropping it down. Upon hitting the ground, it expanded also surround Natasha and Clint.

Sensing out, he teleported to Thor's location just to see the God of Thunder smash his mighty hammer down on the ground, electrocuting the nearby soldiers before they fell to the ground. He looked over to see Steve approaching as well.

"The enhanced?" Thor asked.

"He's a blur," Steve answered, a look of confusion on his face. "All the new players we've faced, I've never seen this. In fact, I still haven't."

"Clint's hit pretty bad, guys. We're gonna need evac."

"I can get Barton to the jet. The sooner we're gone, the better." Thor answered. "You two help Stark secure the scepter."

"Copy that," Zuchino affirmed before looking over to his right. HYDRA foot soldiers, as well as a tank, quickly got into formation, apparently trying to take advantage of them while they thought they had the advantage of the distraction.

"Looks like they're lining up," Thor stated with a small smirk.

"Well, they're excited," Steve said before raising his shield. Thor smashed his hammer down, sending a shockwave that blasted through the soldiers and directly into the tank, ripping its upper cannon off.

"Find the scepter," Thor stated before flying off.

"And god's sake, watch your language!" Tony reprimanded over their comms, making Zuchino snicker while Steve looked into the sky with a look of aggravation and regret.

"That's not going away anytime soon." Steve looked at the Saiyan, who shook his head.

"C'mon, I'll teleport you there," Zuchino said, grabbing onto Cap's shoulder and, in a flash, they were gone.

Zuchino tightened his grip around the soldier's neck before throwing him into the wall, easily snapping his neck. Steve put down the last remaining with a dropkick to the chest.

"We're locked down out here," Natasha informed through their comms, as they both breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Then get to Banner. Time for a lullaby." Zuchino stated as Steve removed his helmet. "C'mon, let's find this bastard and get back home. I'm ready for a nice long nap."

"Are you now? Don't we have to go over a few other things?"

"Well, it was a nice thought." Zuchino sighed, firing a beam through the chest of the guard that turned a corner to run towards the open doorway. Just as they reached the said doorway, their main target was running up the stairs. Upon noticing the two Avengers, he attempted to turn back down the stairs and was hindered by Zuchino lifting him off the ground by his collar.

"Baron Strucker." Zuchino chuckled, holding the struggling scientist in the air with only one arm. "HYDRA's number one thug, I presume?"

"Technically, I work for S.H.I.E.L.D." He corrected as Zuchino scoffed.

"Then technically you're unemployed." Steve fired back, getting closer. "Where's Loki's scepter?"

"Don't worry, I know when I'm beaten," Strucker answered, gesturing to the Saiyan holding him in the air. Zuchino rolled his eyes before looking at Steve for permission. Steve gave a small nod as Zuchino, with an evil grin, raised his free hand directly to Strucker's face. Almost immediately, Strucker's eyes widened at sight the red electricity crackling in the Saiyan's palm. A very tiny, yet very intimidating ball of red ki quickly grew into life.

"This is more than enough power I need to paint the wall behind you a lovely portrait of red and grey matter. And unlike my friend here, I do not have that much patience left for non-answers. So, here's what we want to know: where is Loki's scepter and how have you been able to create an artificial ki source?"

"Okay, okay. So long as you remember to mention I cooperated."

"I'll put it right under 'illegal human experimentation.'" Steve fired back. "How many are there?"

Strucker's eyes darted to the back, alerting the Saiyan. He turned just to see a red light shoot from nowhere directly at them. It had enough power to knock him and Steve down the stairwell. After correcting himself, he looked back up to see a young woman with long brown hair staring down at them. Scrambling to their feet, the duo began running back up the stairs to her. Before they could reach the top, the young enhanced stepped through the open doorway and it shut, the locking mechanism echoing through the silent room.

"There is a second enhanced. Female. Do not engage her." Steve radioed in as Zuchino turned back to the smirking Strucker.

"You'll have to be faster than-" Strucker didn't even get the word out before the enraged Saiyan gave a quick jab to the human's stomach and a right hook to his temple. The scientist slammed into the wall, sliding down into a sitting position while the glass of his Monocle fell to the round. Snarling, Zuchino raised his hand to him with a red ball of ki quickly growing to life.

"Tell me right now how many fucking enhanced you created!" Zuchino snarled, causing the smirk to immediately wipe off of the criminal mastermind's face.

"I-I-I…" Strucker looked to Steve, who could only give him the same stony glance.

"Wrong answer!" Zuchino roared again, his ball of ki pulsing in size. "Last chance, Strucker!"

"Two, only two! I swear!" Strucker cried out as Zuchino gave a small smirk, keeping the energy ball in his hand.

"Bonus round: who exactly has been supplying you with the artificial ki? Even with your intelligence, I highly doubt the human race is fully capable of that level of intellect."

"Hey," Steve muttered in an offended tone; Zuchino looked at him and shrugged. Strucker cursed underneath his breath and whispered. "Speak up, I can't hear you."

"Gero. Alex Gero, H.Y.D.R.A.'s top scientist on robotics."

"Now see, was that so hard?" Zuchino asked before zipping over to him and slamming his head against the wall, knocking him out. "Guys, we got Strucker."

"Yea, I got something bigger." Tony radioed back as Steve looked over at Zuchino, who could only shrug.

Zuchino sat on the ship, pouring through the files they recovered from Strucker's base. After commandeering Paragus' stolen ship, he managed to find the other technology that the Freeza race had invented. One such item was one he sorely missed: his wrist CPU, a minicomputer that acted as an extension of his scouter. With it, he was able to project things from its screen and interact.

He needed to know more about this "Alex Gero" and how exactly did they manage to learn to create an artificial version of ki. Granted, he saw this coming sooner or later, S.H.I.E.L.D. had approached him many times asking him to help them create it, but he declined. Ki was something that he felt the human race was better of not knowing how to muster yet given the state of their world (their greatest weapon to date, the nuclear bomb, showed him that something as powerful as ki would only exasperate the tensions between nations) and the general untrustworthiness he felt towards S.H.I.E.L.D. (which he and Steve were both sadly vindicated by with the revelation last year).

"Found anything yet?" Thor asked as Zuchino looked up from his tablet with a sigh.

"No. Nothing but schematics and blueprints on how to build an artificial ki chamber. Nothing as to a clue on their identity or location."

"Do you think this artificial ki is any more dangerous than the regular Tesseract-technology they use?" Steve asked as Zuchino thought about it for a few seconds.

"At this stage, I'd say not. But it still leaves me with a few concerns." Zuchino finally answered. "Sure, it's definitely in its early stages if they can't use it besides creating barriers, but it has the potential to become grow. What happens when they find a way to make it far more powerful and make it more than just laser cannons and guns?"

"What if they manage to create suits with it?" Steve inquired, but Thor quickly stepped in.

"What if they won't need a suit, it is entirely possible they could plant generators inside of a regular human. Then we have to deal with someone who mimics Zuchino without losing stamina." Thor finished as Zuchino nodded to him.

"And that's what I'm mostly worried about." Zuchino finished.

"Thor, report on the Hulk?" Natasha called out, breaking them from the conversation.

"The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims." Thor declared as Natasha looked back in a glare, Bruce groaned, and Zuchino facepalmed.

"Uh, but not the screams of the dead, of course. No no, uh...wounded screams, mainly whimpering…uh, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and, and uh... and gout."

"Nice save." Zuchino clapped him on the forearm.

"Zuchino, report on the Hulk?" Natasha sighed as Zuchino gave him a big grin and thumbs up.

"Ya did good, B." The Saiyan reassured with a small smile; Bruce gave a relieved sigh and smiled back.

"Hey Banner," Tony said. "Dr. Cho's on her way in from Seoul. Is it ok if she sets up in your lab?"

"Uh, yeah," Bruce said. "She knows her way around."

"Thanks. Tell her to prep everything. Barton's going to need the full treatment."

"Very good, sir," JARVIS answered.

"JARVIS, take the wheel." Tony backed out and walked over to join the trio, Zuchino still looking through his files. "Oh stop worrying, Doctor Zu. We've been after this thing since S.H.I.E.L.D. collapsed and we got it back. Feel good, yea? Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties."

"No, but this…this brings it to a close." Thor said.

"As soon as we find out what else this has been used for," Steve said, Zuchino nodding absentmindedly. "And I don't just mean weapons. Since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?"

"Banner and I'll give it the once over before it goes back to Asgard. Is that cool with you?" Tony asked Thor, who looked over at him. "Just a few days till the farewell party. You're staying right?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Thor said. "Victory should be honored with revels."

"Yeah. Who doesn't love revels? Captain, Zuc, you guys in?"

"Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and HYDRA," Steve answered, looking over with a small smirk. "So, yes…. Revels."

"Zuc?"

"Uh-huh, yeah, whatever you all say," Zuchino answered, finally closing the files and giving a small smirk at his teammates.

The quinjet landed on the ramp and its cargo ramp opened to reveal several medical technicians on standby. Once it was low enough, they boarded to quickly rush the injured Avengers off the ship into the tower; Natasha followed them as well. Zuchino stretched before packing up his stuff and turning to see Maria Hill walking on board.

"Lab's all set up, boss," Maria said as she walked into the Quinjet.

"Oh, actually, they're the boss," Tony said, pointing to Steve and Zuchino, who both rolled their eyes. "I just pay for everything, and design everything and make everyone look cooler."

"Thank you, Tony," Zuchino said, giving Tony a smirk, before removing his wrist computer and scouter. "Before I forget, take these. I want them back ASAP."

"What? Do you think I'm a thief?" Tony sarcastically stated, grasping at his imaginary pearl necklace; Zuchino could only roll his eyes at the reaction.

"What's the word on Strucker?" Steve inquired, steering the conversation back to its original point.

"NATO's got him."

"The two enhanced?" Zuchino asked before Maria gave him a tablet showcasing the two twins and they began heading out of the jet into the hangar.

"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Twins. Orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed their apartment building. Sokovia's had a rough history. It's nowhere special but it's on the way to everywhere special."

"Their abilities?"

"He's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neural electric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation." She said as both of the men gave her a blank stare.

"He's fast and she's weird." She clarified as they both nodded.

"Duly noted," Zuchino noted.

"Well, they're going to show up again," Steve said just as the elevator doors opened.

"Agreed. The file says they volunteered for Strucker's experiments. It's nuts." Maria said as both men walked in.

"Right. What kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country?" Steve questioned, the sarcasm in his voice cutting through the air like a knife.

"We're not at war, Captain."

"They are." He said as the doors closed. With that, Steve looked over and noticed his friend's gloomy look. "Still concerned over the artificial ki?"

"A little, but I'm sure we'll find it before anything takes over our attention." Zuchino sighed, crossing his arms and sighing.

"So…" Steve began, Zuchino looking over at his friend.

"So what?" Zuchino said, confusion in his voice.

"Has Corma contacted you yet?" Steve asked, trying to keep his gaze directed solely towards the doors. Zuchino, letting out a mental sigh, couldn't help but smirk at Steve's awkwardness.

"No, not yet. Last time I talked with her was two days ago, the search across the North and West Galaxies has turned up nothing so far, she's thinking about checking the East Galaxy on the way back here. However, we're both doubtful it will yield anything either." Zuchino stated. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason just was wondering about her," Steve stated, continuing to look at the door. "She's back in space after getting out of prison and, if your tales are anything to go by, Saiyans aren't exactly the darling of the universe."

"You're not wrong." Zuchino shrugged, looking over at the Super Soldier. The doors of the elevator slid open and the Saiyan walked through. "But she's more than capable of taking care of herself. So, don't worry, she'll be back in a couple days and she'll definitely be ready to go on another date with you."

"Wait, wha-" Was all the blushing Steve managed before the doors closed on him; Zuchino laughed all the way down the hall.

Zuchino walked into a small dark room. Upon placing his hand on a small pedestal before him, the room quickly lit up to reveal a large holographic screen. It was blank with a blinking three dots.

"Please enter authorization." The computerized feminine voice informed. Zuchino typed in a few commands. "Welcome, Avenger Zuchino, awaiting your command."

"Look up every S.H.I.E.L.D. file that contains the name 'Alex Gero.'" The Saiyan commanded and, in after a few seconds, multiple documents began flooding the screen, shocking the Saiyan. How the hell did they get so many files on this ghost and he didn't know about it?

"Computer, give me a brief bio from Gero," Zuchino commanded and, immediately, a picture popped up on the screen of the suspected artificial ki manufacturer. It was an old man with long white hair that only covered the back of his head. He had very bushy white eyebrows and mustache; what was especially piercing about him was his crystal blue eyes.

"Alex Gero, birth date 1940s. Exact date unknown. Other than him being born into a wealthy HYDRA family, his biography is largely left unknown. He began working for S.H.I.E.L.D. in the 1960s and worked up until 2012, he has since been considered MIA." Zuchino's eyes narrowed as he looked at the multitude of documents on the screen.

"And all of these documents are all the files we have on him?"

"Correct, these are reported filed by Alex Gero during his time with S.H.I.E.L.D." The computer stated as Zuchino's eyes narrowed a bit further before moving a few strands of hair from his eyes.

"All right, time to look through these. See if I can find any clues." Zuchino sighed.