The Hydra base was eerily silent, an unsettling stillness hanging in the air. No one had anticipated such an event. The colossal Skrull warship, stretching over ten thousand meters, loomed above them, exerting an immense pressure. Another invasion—just who were they dealing with this time?
"What the hell is this?" Viper seethed, her frustration palpable. What was supposed to be a flawless plan had been thrown into chaos by this unexpected development. This was an all-or-nothing gamble, and now all Hydra operatives embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D. had been exposed.
"I told you from the start your plan was flawed. Now you've dragged Pierce down with you," Baron Strucker said with barely concealed schadenfreude.
"You think you're safe just because your people haven't been exposed? I've got bad news for you—Schmidt is back."
"What did you say?" Strucker froze. "You mean Red Skull? Impossible!"
"I wish it were a lie, but it's confirmed. I overheard it from Dr. Zola, who likely still believes he has me fooled."
Above them, the Skrull ship hovered steadily over Fury and his team. The moment S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Hydra operatives crossed paths, another battle erupted.
The sudden return of Director Fury reinvigorated the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, rallying them with newfound determination.
Garus descended to the battlefield via an anti-gravity beam, landing amidst the chaotic skirmish. He surveyed the scene, taking in the combatants locked in a desperate struggle.
Suddenly, Hydra agents clutched their chests, blood seeping from their mouths and noses as they convulsed in agony before collapsing.
"Hey, Director Fury!" Garus called out, waving casually.
"I should've known you weren't dead," Fury muttered, his gaze shifting to the fallen Hydra agents. "Was this your doing?"
A second beam descended, and from it emerged three humanoids, a raccoon, and a tree—none other than the self-proclaimed Guardians of the Galaxy. Originally, they had saved Xandar, but due to Garus' intervention, the course of events had changed dramatically.
"And they are?" Fury glanced at the bizarre group before looking back at the Skrull ship hovering overhead, assuming it belonged to them.
"Peter Quill," the man introduced himself, extending a hand. "Most people call me Star-Lord. By the way, I'm human, like you. This is Drax, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot."
Some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents whispered among themselves, eyeing Rocket. "Is that a pet? Do aliens keep pets too?"
"Hey! Stop looking at me like that!" Rocket barked, visibly irritated. Though he wanted to lash out, he glanced at Garus and chose to let it slide. Instead, he pulled out a tablet, scanning their surroundings.
Meanwhile, Groot, feeling thirsty, wandered over to a fountain in the square for a drink.
Garus spoke up, "I met them on my way back. Never mind that for now—the priority is wiping out Hydra. They caused me enough trouble last time; it's time to settle the score."
Agent Hill turned to the S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives. "Round them up and secure them. We need to interrogate them one by one."
Natasha added, "Government officials will be here soon. When they arrive, I'll make everything public."
Fury let out a weary sigh. "S.H.I.E.L.D. will go underground for now. Coulson will take charge. Garus, I hope you'll lend us your support."
Was he retiring early?
"Hey, can we wrap this up?" Rocket groaned. "I'm starving."
Garus casually opened a portal with the Death Gate. "Pietro, take them to the Academy for a tour."
"Fine by me. I was curious about your so-called mutants anyway."
As the group departed, Kallruth grew restless. The Skrull Queen was waiting for his return; the lunar city project needed to commence immediately.
Garus turned to him. "You should head back. I'll handle things here."
"Understood, Mr. Garus."
Fury watched as the Skrull ship powered up and ascended, vanishing into the sky. He suspected that the man from earlier was a Skrull himself and that the ship belonged to them.
"Garus, that ship—it's Skrull, isn't it? Should we be concerned?"
"Relax. They wouldn't dare," Garus reassured him, offering no further explanation. Fury chose to trust him for now.
Just then, Steve Rogers burst from the wreckage, locked in battle with several Iron Man suits. These looked like Tony's creations, but something was off.
Seeing Steve struggling, Garus conjured tendrils of necrotic energy, ensnaring the armors and dragging them toward him.
A wave of frost spread across the suits, freezing them solid. Garus rapped a knuckle against the ice, noting the absence of any pilots inside.
"Garus, we meet again," came a voice from within the suits.
"Who are you?"
Steve approached. "It's Dr. Zola."
"Haha, indeed! The Insight Program was made possible thanks to my Zola Algorithm. Though it seems it failed." Zola paused before chuckling. "Not that it matters. Even if you eradicate every last Hydra agent in S.H.I.E.L.D., it makes no difference. Cut off one head…"
"Boom!" Garus smashed the frozen helmet with a single punch. "Spare me the brainwashing slogans. I don't care how many heads you have—I'll sever them all."
"A futile effort. You won't succeed. Besides, I'm not even here." Zola's voice echoed, revealing that his consciousness had merely been projected into the suits.
"That remains to be seen," Garus murmured, turning to Fury and Steve. "Leave Hydra to me."
Steve leaned in. "You have a plan?"
"Zola's Algorithm. If they used it to identify threats, I can use it to expose every Hydra operative."
"That… might actually work." Steve considered the idea. The first step, however, was locating Zola and acquiring the algorithm.
Though Zola's mind was housed in computers, at its core, it still functioned like a soul.
Garus closed his eyes, extending his senses. A tendril of necrotic energy snaked into the circuits, extracting a swirling gray mist that coalesced in his palm.
It was a fragment of Zola's consciousness, containing all of his knowledge.
With this, the tides would turn.
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