Hi! Author's note.
So… I made a lot of changes to cannon characters, and some non cannon ones, like who people are, secret identities, who has kids and who doesn't, whose parents are who, and etcetera.If you don't like it, then please be nice. This chapter describes villans, and their deeds. It's not pleasant. There is explicit mention of people getting eaten, torture, mental destruction, and decapitation, so remember that, please. (There's probably more, I just can't work out how to describe it right).
hope you enjoy angst central.
your queen has spoken! (Jk)
Chapter 3
Being summoned by The Barons was never a good thing. Two fates were possible:
1, you'd done something they disliked, and had subsequently decided required strict punishment;
or,
2 you were going on a mission, and subsequently required strict punishment ( for reasons know only to their psychotic minds ).
These two reasons were why the duo's knees felt weak, and their palms became sweaty, as they found themselves standing at the precipice of hell (otherwise known as, what was really a rather nice office, but also the inner sanctum of The Barons).
The Barons are the leaders of hydra, a collective of driven individuals who had sacrificed morals for power. Hydra had formed under the boot of Red Skull, during the Second World War. The panel now held five seats, each occupied by one horror, each being worse than the next. Let us make the necessary introductions:
Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker, head overseer of the red room program (and general pain-in-the-ass). A deadly mental torture project, designed to subjugate a victim and turn them into a mindless killing machine. The program is unfortunately flawed, as the subjects were still currently capable of free thought, and required other methods of incentive. The free will bug is currently being investigated and attempts to correct were underway. A number of other projects were under his control, such as Project Blackgaurd (more on that later), and The Hearthstone Project. Chloe and Adi were the only survivors of The Hearthstone Project, due to rigorous testing and collaboration from the two other aforementioned projects' mental Armageddon.
He was the nicest of The Barons, only committing a few atrocities (by Hydra standards) per week. His greatest contribution and achievement was The Crimson Widow (more on her later).
He has a greater amount of compassion for his experiments than the others. A characteristic derived from his wonderful wife, Alana, who gave him a glimpse of true love. Their relationship was, unfortunately, tragically short.
She had convinced him to defect from Hydra, declaring their lives would be lived in peaceful harmony, where he could attempt to atone for his past transgressions. Before they could make their leave, she fell ill. A mysterious disease struck her from the blue. Seemingly incurable, his hope dwindled, along with the rest of his heart's capacity to love.
Where the affliction came from was a complete and utter mystery. It was definitely not a ploy to keep a valuable asset in play. No! It was "an unfortunate eventuality" that "was so very unforeseen"… but it was "not" definitely Red Skull just keeping an asset in play. He probably could have found a replacement, but that's just going to cost more money to train a new asshole to be the same level of sucky. Not tht it was planned, mind you… (it was so planned. Everyone with half a brain can work that out).
But the story has a happy ending; without the love of his life, Wolfgang would remain a member of the organisation, unable to proceed in a path to redemption when the world would fail him so. Yet her impact slowed the festering poison within his soul, may-haps sparing him a day or two in hell. Only one or two, she is not a miracle worker!
Baron Mordo, Hydra's magic man. He was a dark sorcerer who was overly familiar with the art of necromancy. He coordinated between the scientific and mystical practices, forging dark bonds between the realms of human understanding and a demonic hell (fun place for a vacation).
While his efforts only extended across a few hundred projects, he was widely regarded as an invaluable resource, and was afforded the greatest respect in the form of a seat at the big-boys' table.
His contribution was yet to bring an agent to the table, but his powers played a role in the development of The Hearthstone Project, so one could feasibly assume Chloe and Adi to be the closest thing to his creations. He is the fourth MOST HORRIBLE person from The Barons.
Arnim Zola, chief scientist and television-personality. While the other four were still human in some semblance or another, Zola had forgone humanity in both form and ethically. A "tragic" lab accident led to his natural body being burned alive, while his conciseness was temporarily removed, and relocated to the steel prison he now called home. A stable and powerful replacement, the robotic shell proved to be, yet he still yearned to reclaim a true body.
His experience had led to his mind becoming much akin to a parasite, flicking from one host to another, burning their brains to mush in the process, before resuming his static nature inside the mechanical shell.
His greatest contribution was the Weapon S program/ Project Kaine; a group of hyper evolved synthetic beings made from Spider-Man DNA (totally creepy). Unfortunately, his control over them became unreliable, as they had gained sentience, and decided they would rather do something else, as opposed to spending their short lives hunting Spider-Man and trying to eliminate him. A lot is to be said on this subject, but that is a story better saved for a later date.
He also played a small role in the creation of The Crimson Widow. He is the third MOST HORRIBLE person from The Barons.
Baron Helmut Zemo, son of Baron Heinrich Zemo, and probably would have turned out all right if it weren't for all the daddy issues. As a direct descendant of Hydra's second in command (first in command when Skull wasn't around), he had inherited the title, stature and seat at the table.
He had a say in almost every aspect of Hydra's inner workings (excluding the boring bits, like accounting or morality). His exploits had proved despicable and dangerous, challenging their enemies at every turn. His antics had paved the way forward nicely. A simple task of cat and mouse had changed history for the worse. (Let me explain. Imagine, if you will, a magician. He tells you to look at the right hand, so you don't look at the left. Naturally, you gaze in adoration as he pulls a card from thin air, or a bunch of flowers from his sleeve. Only the truly perceptive of you will stare at the left. Those of you who do will be sorely disappointed, as you watch forlornly and angrily as he covertly pulls the wallet from the pocket of an unsuspecting audience member. This is how Zemo works).
He'd led the Avengers to believe they were thwarting him at every turn, his goal being revenge against Captain America. Truly, he had being pulling roses. Each escapade had disguised a true crime. An attack on New York hid the theft of important documents or computer data. Mutants destroying Berlin would cover the tracks of a highly successful assassination. His genius is grandiose, yet poorly used. If he were to spend half as much time on medical research as he did evil, why, we'd have cures for everything!
His great agent was Cross-Bones, a very accurate hitman (but more on him later). He is the second MOST HORRIBLE PERSON on The Barons, if not, ever.
Red Skull (The Boss). Tyrant of Hydra, ruler in chief of The Barons. Professional madness was his forte. His title came from two sources: 1, his skin had been deformed after undergoing an ill-advised procedure, attempting to gain the powers of the yet untested "Super-Soldier Serum". His twisted personality warping his physiology to match. 2, he had earned a reputation for… uh… decapitating failures, among other tortures. The Hall of Heads boasted his gruesome trophies, serving as a warning to all (unfortunately, more on this later).
Disobeying him would land you smack down in the middle of his croco-gator pool (Croco-gators are a genetic creation that was commissioned about… a long while ago. Nobody really saw any value in splicing together the genetic material of crocodiles and alligators, but he did it anyway. This resulted in a hyper-aggressive, mega hungry breed of man-eaters. You may now recoil in disgust, as the man-eater hypothesis was rigorously tested). His atrocities span across over one hundred years. To list these crimes would take twice the time to list, and five times more to read, so forgive me for shortening the list. He does a lot of bad stuff (rather short, I'll admit, but effective).
His greatest agent is, the previously mentioned, Typhoid Mary (more on her later. Apologies, you must tire of me saying this).
He ranks at an impressive number one for MOST HORRIBLE person on The Barons, and, EVER! Hell itself wouldn't allow him, for fear of his gruesome spectacles being vested upon unsuspecting demons.
To know The Barons sins was to fear their very name.
Chloe and Adi stood trembling before the vast entrance before them.
"So." Adi breathed nervously " Should I sign my will now, or after they've had their fun. They're gonna kill us, right?" He glanced over at his sister, an element of humour in his words, yet still searching for some form of encouragement from her.
"Well…" she smirked darkly. "Someone's going to end up dead."
…
"Well, that's dark." He replied, disappointed.
"Oh come on!" She glared at him "that was an epic line! You know, like in movies. Where the protagonist says something really dramatic and foreboding, before walking inside the spooky place, and facing the evil ninja overlords and their magic, singing grapefruits! How could you not let me have that one?" She demanded.
"Magic, singing grapefruit? Evil ninja overlo- what movie is this?"
"Missing the point!" She paused thoughtfully "But I think it was by some guy. You know, the one with the face." She waved her hands around wildly, as though almost whacking him in the jaw would covey some form of facial features. "Anyhoo… Doors…" she pressed her palm against the looping insignia etched across the door's surface.
"Yeah. Doors." He gulped nervously.
The pair pushed the doors open.