Chapter 114: What Exactly Is Hydra
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After informing Jessica, Link activated the Space Stone right in front of her, opening a portal to the top floor of Stark Tower. He stepped through as Tony Stark, who was on the balcony with Bruce Banner, jumped in surprise.
"Oh!" Stark exclaimed, startled by Link's sudden appearance.
Link noticed that Pepper was nowhere to be seen, likely busy working downstairs. Unlike him, Stark hadn't offloaded all responsibilities to someone like Norman Osborn.
"How did you get in here?" Tony asked, still shaken.
"I used this," Link replied, showing off a ring with a gem that resembled a blue sapphire.
"What is that?" Tony squinted at the ring. "It looks like the Tesseract."
"It *is* from the Tesseract. This is an Infinity Stone. But we'll discuss that later," Link said. "I'm here to take you both to the Avengers headquarters. Fury sent Hill to find me."
"Fury's alive?" Tony was surprised. "Alright, let's go."
"Let's move." Link activated the Space Stone again, opening a portal. Tony, curious, walked through. On the other side, they arrived at the Avengers headquarters.
"Alfred," Link said, "notify everyone to meet in the conference room."
"Right away, sir," Alfred responded as he sent out the message to those present.
Link and the others sat down, waiting for the rest to arrive. When Natasha joined them, she immediately asked, "How did you guys get here?"
Link replied, "I'll explain that soon. For now, I have to bring Fury in. Natasha, prepare the medical bay—he's severely injured."
"Everyone else, stay here."
Link then activated the Space Stone again, stepping through the portal and arriving at the abandoned bunker Fury had been hiding in. The area was quiet, as expected. He walked toward the entrance of the bunker, where only an iron gate remained in place of the previous blast doors.
Inside, the bunker was mostly empty except for a few functional lights. He made his way deeper and found Nick Fury lying on a makeshift bed, a doctor by his side—likely someone Fury trusted.
Fury raised an eyebrow. "You didn't come back with Hill?"
"I move a bit faster than her," Link explained. "She'll be here soon."
"Do you know about Hydra?" Fury asked.
"I've got a pretty good idea. Is it the data on that flash drive?" Fury was sharp.
"Exactly," Link said as he filled Fury in on what he'd learned. "We'll head to Avengers HQ, where it's safer, and we can discuss the next steps. They've got a fully equipped medical bay where you can heal."
Fury sighed in relief. "Well, I guess I won't have to stay holed up in this bunker any longer."
A few moments later, Hill arrived, surprised to see Link already there. Before she could say anything, Link opened another portal, transporting them all directly to the Avengers medical bay. Natasha watched curiously as they wheeled Fury in.
"Fury, it's good to see you alive," Natasha said with a small smile.
"Yeah, it's good to be alive," Fury muttered.
With Fury now in the medical bay, Link turned to the others. "Let's head to the conference room."
Once everyone had gathered, including Steve Rogers, Tony, Bruce, and Natasha, Link spoke up. "We have a situation. Hydra's plan has been uncovered, but now we need to decide how to stop them."
Before anyone could offer input, Link laid out the main issues. "First, if S.H.I.E.L.D. is dismantled, who will clean up Hydra? And what do we do with the alien tech S.H.I.E.L.D. has been stockpiling? Second, is Hydra only embedded in S.H.I.E.L.D., or is their reach broader? Third, my proposal is that the Avengers establish a base off-world, free from Earth's politics. But we'll need more manpower."
Link leaned back in his chair, lighting a cigarette. He waited as the room fell into a contemplative silence. No one had considered the broader implications until now, but Link's questions brought the reality crashing down. The weight of the decisions ahead began to sink in.
Captain America was the first to break the silence. His expression was troubled. In his mind, disbanding S.H.I.E.L.D. and exposing everything to the public seemed like the right path. But now, he hesitated. "What happens when S.H.I.E.L.D. is gone? Who cleans up the mess?" Steve murmured.
Hydra's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. had been deep, but the bigger question was whether Hydra was confined to S.H.I.E.L.D. alone. Steve had a nagging suspicion that Hydra's tendrils had spread much further, possibly into every major institution around the world.
After a long pause, Steve finally asked, "What do you think, Link?"
"I don't want to sway your judgment," Link said, exhaling smoke. "But I believe we still don't fully understand Hydra."
"If Hydra were just a relic from World War II, it wouldn't have thrived until now. There's more going on here than we know."
Steve frowned, deep in thought. "You really think Hydra's reach goes beyond S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Link nodded. "Of course. Otherwise, why would scientists like Zola and others continue to be so loyal? Was Hydra something that infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., or was it born from within?"
"We know so little. We need to figure out what Hydra truly is, or we'll be fighting blind."
The group fell silent once more, pondering Link's words. Hydra was a mystery—one they had barely begun to unravel.
The room was filled with tension as everyone realized the magnitude of the task ahead.
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