章節 82: Hydra
'Mmm, I'm guessing he went after Hydra but got caught,' Liam thought as he wandered into another clothing store with Illyana. 'It isn't guaranteed, but still, the chances are the highest considering they aren't supposed to go missing right now, nor should they know about Hydra.'
He pressed the call button while Illyana was trying on some dresses. The phone rang a few times before disconnecting, causing Liam to frown.
''What, you don't like the dress?'' Illyana asked, exiting the changing room.
''No, it was something else,'' Liam said as he looked over at Illyana. ''The dress suits you well.''
''You want a closer look?'' Illyana teased.
''Maybe later,'' Liam replied straightforwardly, still distracted.
''What's up?'' Illyana asked, sensing the change in Liam's mood.
''Nothing, don't worry about it,'' Liam answered, his thoughts still on where Coulson could be.
''Ok, then I'll change back now,'' Illyana said as she walked back into the booth.
A minute or two later, she emerged and grabbed Liam by the hand. ''Come on, let's go back,'' she said.
''I thought you still wanted to try on some dresses?'' Liam asked, surprised.
''No, I got enough. Let's go back; I'm tired,'' Illyana responded.
''Alright,'' Liam said, positively surprised.
After opening a portal in some alleyway, Liam and Illyana returned to Liam's room.
'Coulson and Fury should still be alive; they aren't that easy to kill, after all. So, what would I do if I were Coulson?' Liam started thinking as Illyana sorted through most of her clothes.
'Coulson would assume that I have some idea of what would have happened to Fury since I gave them the clues on Hydra,' Liam thought. 'They wouldn't go to any places we've met before, knowing Hydra would likely keep watch on those spots.'
'If they are still alive, there's only one place where I would go when I return and which Hydra doesn't know about, but they do.' Liam realized. 'They have to be close to my grandfather's house. If they were in his house, Gramps would've told me. Knowing this, they should be in a house or area with sight on my grandfather's house.'
He thought about some other possibilities, but this one seemed the most likely and obvious. With that, Liam stood up. 'They better not have gotten tracked,' he thought, getting worried for his grandfather's safety.
''You going somewhere?'' Illyana asked.
''Yeah, I need to go meet someone,'' Liam answered. ''When I come back, I'll introduce you to some people here and get you your own room. Please don't cause any trouble while I'm gone.''
''Alright, sure,'' Illyana replied, quickly returning to sorting her purchased items.
Liam opened a portal and stepped through, arriving in a small neighborhood in the countryside. He slowly walked through the neighborhood with his sunglasses still on and a hood over his head. After a short walk, he arrived at an ordinary brick house.
As he approached the door, he stopped.
Through the window, he could see that all the lights were off, which wasn't something his grandpa would normally do.
'Fuck,' Liam thought, kicking open the door.
Inside, all the rooms were dark except for one—the dining room.
He continued walking inside, taking a short look into the living room and finding nothing. Then he walked into the dining room. Inside, he found five people: Natasha and Barton, who stood ready for a fight in the corner of the room, while three others were seated around a table with a batch of files in front of them.
''Where's my grandfather?'' Liam asked Fury, suppressing his anger.
''While you were taking your time shopping with your little girlfriend, I gave your grandfather a free trip to a museum further in the state. He won't be back for two or three days,'' Fury answered, looking up from the files.
''Why don't you tell me where you've been over the past few months?'' Fury countered.
''I'm pretty damn sure we had a deal where you would help us if the world was in danger.'' He said while raising his voice.
''Where I was is none of your business,'' Liam said. ''Also, I'm assuming this danger is Hydra? Am I correct, Coulson?''
Coulson nodded.
''I told you to be careful while looking around and gather information slowly,'' Liam said, looking back at Fury. ''And I also remember telling you to stay away from my grandfather.''
''We were extremely careful,'' Maria began. ''We managed to stay undetected while gathering data on thousands of high-ranking members in various places and almost all low-ranking members that infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., but while going after a lead on one of their highest-ranking members, a system warning was triggered, and we were exposed.''
At this, Fury lifted his shirt slightly. ''This is the gift they gave me when we were exposed. As for your grandfather, we made sure there was nothing to trace back to him.''
Liam looked at the wounded areas on Fury's side and nodded. ''Alright, but what do you need me here for? With Barton and Natasha, it shouldn't be too troubling to regain control over S.H.I.E.L.D.''
Coulson spread out three pictures on the table. ''These ones,'' he said, pointing to the pictures. ''They were added under Alexander Pierce's command, fully confirming the leads we had that he is a part of Hydra as well.''
''Son of a bitch backstabber,'' Fury cursed.
Liam took a closer look and instantly recognized one figure with an iron mask and iron arm, while faintly remembering the faces of the others. 'The Winter Soldier and these other two… could they be the other super soldiers seen in the Civil War movie? But then, where are the other four?'
'And they were supposed to be abandoned for their violent and uncontrollable behavior. What changed?' he wondered.
''They all have some sort of super strength and are experts in combat,'' Coulson continued.
''We were lucky to even escape with our lives. Many others laid down theirs for that,'' Coulson said, visibly saddened.
''What about the lower-ranking actual S.H.I.E.L.D. members? What happened to them?'' Liam asked.
''So far, Hydra hasn't made a move against them yet, while the higher-ranking actual S.H.I.E.L.D. members were told we were on a secret mission,'' Romanoff responded, having gone back for more information into the Triskelion more than once.
''Smart,'' Liam remarked. ''So, any plans to resolve this?''
''We need this USB implanted in the main system,'' Coulson said, pointing to a tiny USB stick on the table. ''Once it's implanted, we can distribute information on the fake members to real S.H.I.E.L.D. members, after which they will be on our side and help us get rid of as many members as possible.''
''When that happens, we need to go after as many high-ranking Hydra members as possible and wipe them all out,'' Fury continued.
''This plan could lead to a pretty large amount of casualties,'' Liam said.
Fury nodded. ''Distributing the information beforehand will lessen it a lot, but casualties can not be prevented.''
''The crucial part is getting in. Are you confident that you can kill two of the super soldiers?'' Fury asked.
''Don't worry about the super soldiers at all,'' Liam answered. ''Just worry about your tech stuff. I am confident I can protect you in the meantime.''
創作者的想法 
Donnuuu
Donnuuu A party inside SHIELD coming up?
章節 83: Super Soldiers
'What should I do with Bucky?' Liam wondered. 'While it's true that Hydra had control of his mind, he's killed hundreds of people on missions. At the same time, he's Rogers' friend and becomes a good guy once he's freed from their control.'
Snapping out of his thoughts as Fury started talking, Liam refocused.
"Alright then, let's create a plan for the ins—" Fury began.
'What's this feeling?' Liam thought, his attention switching elsewhere. Something felt off—it wasn't malicious intent, but something strange, unfamiliar. He looked around, trying to see what it is, but found nothing.
The others noticed his weird behavior as he began walking through the room.
"Are you sure you weren't tracked?" Liam asked.
"We've covered our tracks as best as we could," Coulson replied. "Even with our limited resources, it shouldn't be possible for them to trace us here."
Liam nodded but remained aware. He still couldn't place whatever the strange feeling was.
"When we reach the thirty-sixth floor, we'll arrive at our destination. That's also the floor where Alexander Pi—" Fury continued, explaining his plan.
Liam listened quietly, but his focus was on the sensation he felt. 'This feeling is spreading around the entire house,' he realized.
Minutes passed without anything happening until his instincts suddenly warned him for an attack. Without hesitation, Liam activated his armor. A loud gunshot echoed, and a large bullet flattened against his armor.
Liam turned around fast, summoning Neontote, as the others ducked for cover. Three more shots rang out in rapid succession.
Liam let two bullets hit his armor and blocked the third with Neontote to protect Coulson, who was directly in the line of fire.
'There are multiple attackers,' Liam thought.
Tear gas canisters shattered through the dining room window, filling the air with smoke, as the front door was kicked in.
Liam raised a hand, summoning a Bolt of Balthakk, and fired it through the bullet holes in the wall towards the shooter in the neighboring building. The strange feeling from that direction disappeared. Guessing the attacker must've died, Liam turned towards the remaining attackers.
Through the doorway came a muscular man wielding two steel hatchets. Without wasting time, Liam launched himself forward, Neontote raised in the air. The man raised his arms to defend himself, but it was too late.
Neontote sliced cleanly through the man's neck and shoulder, severing his head and part of his torso in one go.
Liam turned to face the last attacker.
Earlier, as tear gas filled the room, a female attacker jumped through the broken window. Her target was Clint, who stood closest to her.
Clint, who already had an arrow on his bow from when the gunfire started, had turned to the window the second the tear gasses flew through. As he saw the female jump through, he fired a metal arrow straight at the woman's head.
The woman ducked under the arrow and closed the distance, dual-wielding knives. Clint swung his bow to deflect her first strike and ducked in time to avoid a kick aimed at his head.
Rolling away to create space, Clint watched as Romanoff delivered a swift kick to the woman's midsection, forcing her back a few steps.
As the woman prepared to attack again, a spear flew across the room, piercing her head and killing her instantly. Her body slowly collapsed to the floor while Liam walked closer to the others.
"Everyone okay?" Liam asked, looking around the teargas filled room.
"Could've been better," Fury couched, groaning as he held his side which had been injured last time.
Natasha, Clint, and Coulson nodded while couching as Maria started typing on a laptop.
"I don't understand," Maria muttered. "How did they find us?"
'These super soldiers were created from Hydra's most deadly kill squad. Why didn't I remember that sooner? Didn't Bucky mention they could take down entire countries with their skills?' Liam thought.
Then a chilling realization hit him. 'If they knew we were here and linked Fury's first meeting with me in the bar, my grandfather disappearing after, and then finally the time I visited Fury to make a deal with him.'
"What's with the new look?" Natasha asked, noticing Liam's white-and-gold armor. Her question went unanswered because Liam's mind was racing.
'They might have deduced this was my grandfather's house. That means they'll either try to kill or capture him.'
"If they made that connection, they could be targeting my grandfather right now," Liam muttered, a sick feeling setting in his stomach.
"What museum did you send my grandfather to, and when did he leave?" Liam asked, quickly turning towards Fury and Maria.
"Smithsonian National Museum," Fury replied, still catching his breath. "He left about two hours ago in a white Chevy."
"Show me a map and his potential route—now," Liam demanded.
Maria glanced at Fury, who was couching from the gas. "Do what he says."
She quickly pulled up the relevant data. "He should be on the highway just outside Washington, D.C., by now."
As she relayed the information, her screen updated. Her expression darkened.
"911 just got a call about an attack and a car explosion on that road," Maria said, pulling up an image of the burning car which had just been posted on social media.
Liam's heart sank. Focusing deeply on the image, he opened a portal to the location without hesitation.
Desperation went through him as thoughts raced through his mind. 'I never should've left him there. This is my fault.' But he pushed them aside, not giving up until he knew for sure.
The moment the portal stabilized, Liam jumped through and found himself standing at twenty meters away from the burning car. The rear of the vehicle was on fire while the front wasn't on fire yet.
Behind the car, two men dressed in black and wearing masks approached. One carried a gun, and the other held an electric weapon.
Liam raised his hand as quickly as he could, choosing the fastest means of attack at his disposal. He poured a lot of energy into his hand and a Bolt of Balthakk went straight towards the man holding the gun. Neither of the attackers had realized he was there yet.
By the time the men noticed the bolt out of the corner of their eyes, it was already too late.
The bolt burned straight through the chest of the first man, evaporating all flesh and bone at a speed that didn't even give the man time to scream.
Without hesitation, Liam redirected the bolt. It changed its direction while still inside the first man's chest. As the first man's body started collapsing, the bolt left his body, burning through the man's shoulder and arm on its way out of the body.
The second man barely had time to react. His body moved out of pure reflex, but it wasn't nearly enough. He managed to move no more than three centimeters before the bolt pierced his skull.
Liam canceled the spell, both attackers collapsed on the street as Liam sprinted towards the burning car.
創作者的想法
Donnuuu
Donnuuu
Was a little late today, I forgot to tick auto-upload for this chapter when I made it.
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