Hydra

Author's Note: My apologies for no chapter yesterday. Here are today's and yesterday's chapters.

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An old ginger man could be seen as he removed his signature Chef hat and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He picked various fruits and vegetables in his large garden with a smile on his face, as if he lived a long and happy life, waiting for the only surprise life had left for him.

As he walked around the garden, approaching different types of plants and small trees, he noticed a shadow that moved slightly. Looking back, he was met with a young boy with black hair and freckles wearing a hoodie and baggy shorts, standing with his hands in his pockets as he gave a compassionate smile.

"Hey, Mr Chef." Said Wukong as he looked at the man.

"Illian." Said the man as he paused slightly, caught off guard. "How are you doing?" He said after a few seconds.

"Eh, I'm doing well." Replied Wukong to which the Old man gave a slight nod.

"Did you come here to let me know about your well-being?" Asked the chef, implying that Wukong should get to the point.

"No. Truth is I need your help, old man." The Chef didn't particularly fear or think badly of Wukong, he liked to think he had a bond with him, which was why he was even having this conversation with him right now.

"What kind of help? You should know that for an old man like me, my uses don't go beyond the kitchen and my soft rocking chair."

"It's nothing radical. It's these kids, I need you to look after them for me." The old man was slightly confused. It wasn't what he had been expecting.

"Why me?"

"Well if you haven't noticed, I'm kinda in a pinch right now with Shield and the X-Men on my ass." He said jokingly.

"It's also because I trust you. You're the only person I have to turn to." He said making the Old man fall into deep thought. He didn't dislike the kid, nor did he want to turn him in. However, what he was asking was to leave his normal quiet life because a fugitive wants him to babysit. 

"These kids, they've been through a lot. More than anyone their age should. They need someone like you. Someone to show them the good in the world and people." The old man felt perplexed. If what Wukong was saying was true, then did he really have a choice?

The old man turned around and started to walk toward the building he had come from.

"Is that a no?" Asked Wukong as he prepared for rejection.

After a few seconds, the old man paused his steps and looked back. "Meet me back here in ten minutes. I'll have my things packed by then."

"Wait! Why did you agree?" Asked Wukong. He had come here bracing himself for the fact that he might be having a rematch with the X-Men, yet it had gone more smoothly than he thought.

"At my age, one tends to know things. I know that indecision breeds regret, but seizing the moment fuels a lifetime of fulfilment. If what you say is true, then what kind of man would I be to turn my back on those who need me?"

Wukong stared at the old man for a few seconds, before smiling as he was reminded of a fond memory.

"Are you okay?" Asked the old man as he saw Wukong's face.

"Yeah. You just reminded me of a good friend I used to know. Anyway, 10 minutes, I'll be waiting." He said as the old man walked away.

After the old man had come back with only a briefcase of his belongings, Wukong introduced him to Nimbus as they both mounted it. Without wasting a second, Nimbus zoomed toward the sky as the old man yelled the whole ride.

After a while, they made it to the orphanage. As they approached the ground, the kids quickly ran to the flying cloud. The old man dismounted Nimbus quickly as he resisted the urge to puke.

"Illian, where did you go?" Asked the 10-year-old boy as he peeked at the old man.

"I took a little trip. Everyone, meet Mr…wait now that I think about it, what is your name?" 

"Gustav. Gustav is fine." Replied the old man with a smile.

"Alright, everyone, meet Mr Gustav. He'll be looking after you from now on." Everyone looked at the man with questionable gazes. They didn't have any luck with caretakers so their minds automatically assumed the worst of this man. However, their mind was slightly at ease knowing that Illian recommended him.

"Where's Lorna?" Asked Wukong as he noticed some of the kids, as well as his new companion, were missing.

"Oh, she's in there. Her magic is amazing. She can make spoons and forks fly around in the sky. I had a knife fight with a floating knife and won." He said as he pumped out his chest.

Gustav looked at the young child as his eyes sparkled, seeing an opportunity.

"So you like magic tricks? How's this?" He said as he knelt and pulled some candy from behind the boy's ear.

"WOAH!" Said the child, making sure the old man didn't take his ear. After a few seconds, the boy laughed as he yanked at Gustav's ginger moustache.

Lorna walked out of the house with the rest of the kids and Lia as they approached Wukong and Gustav. After introducing the rest of them to the man, Wukong called for Nimbus.

"We're leaving?" Asked Lorna.

"Yes, we can't stay for too long." He replied.

"Why can't you stay for longer?" The child asked with wide eyes. While Lorna and Wukong were here, it was the first time in a long time they had felt… at peace. The first time they didn't have to watch their actions to avoid a beating, the first time they didn't have to worry about another bruise or broken bone. They didn't want to lose that.

"Listen, I have a job for you while I'm gone. I need you to protect everyone for me. You're a man now." Said Wukong as he patted the boy on the head.

"If you do a good job, I'll tell you the secret behind my magic." The boy's eyes twinkled as he smiled.

Lia stared at Wukong as she smiled. "Thank you, Illian. If it weren't for you…"

"It's alright, Lia." Said Wukong as he smiled back.

"You be safe out there." Said Gustav.

"I will. There's some money that the previous caretaker accumulated, and that'll be enough for a while. And I'll make good on my promise too. I'll bring you the finest peaches in the universe." The old man chuckled as Lorna and Wukong mounted the Nimbus, finally flying off and disappearing into the sky.

"So where are we going?" Asked Lorna. 

"Have you ever heard of Hydra?" 

"The mythical beast? Yes, I know a thing or two about it."

"Not the mythical beast. Hydra: the clandestine, terrorist organisation bent on world domination and the overflow of democratic governments. Hydra's ultimate goal is to establish a totalitarian regime ruled by its own leaders."

"Yeah, I've definitely never heard of them before. How do you know about them?" Asked Lorna. It didn't seem like this secret organisation was something a normal person would know, much less a 17-year-old boy.

"I heard about it from Professor Xavier. It seems Hydra is a frequent enemy of theirs." He lied, quickly saving himself more questions and suspicion.

"Anyway, I'm telling you this because we're going to raid their base. I need some information and I believe one of their agents will have what I need."

"Alright. Well, how are you going to do it?" She asked, feeling like the idea was sort of crazy.

"Well, it's simple. We just go to Hydra island."

***

A man with glasses and a lab coat, walked out of a building as he read contents off a clipboard. He bit his nails as he wore a face of anxiety and stress. It seems that stress was a frequent emotion for him, as evidenced by the large bald spot in the middle of his dome.

On his lab coat, a peculiar symbol could be seen of a skull with tentacle-like appendages protruding from it. He walked as he grunted and grumbled, clearly not satisfied with something. As he walked, he started to feel the presence of something looming over him, covering the sun and placing him in a shadow. 

As he turned around, he was met with darkness as he was swallowed by an unknown entity. He tried to wiggle but to no avail. He tried to look around but his eyes were met with nothing but darkness. Sight, smell, sound and touch were absent from him as he thought he was dead.

"I told you it would work!" Yelled Wukong as he laughed.

"Stop shouting! We're still in enemy territory." Said Lorna as she held his mouth.

After finding the island, which Wukong knew about, they waited in the sky for what they assumed to be an easy target. They observed the island which had a few large buildings and a runway for what they assumed were used by jets and other flying vehicles. 

Although it wasn't a very large island, most of its land was unoccupied as it was left with cemented ground. Soon, they were met with a nerdy scientist who looked like every hair on his body turned white due to mental strain and was the perfect target. He was much more likely to give up the information they needed over a soldier who was trained in torture.

The two of them, including the scientist, quickly left the island as they tried their best not to alert anyone.

"See. I told you, simple." Said Wukong as they left the island.

"Really? Simple? Then explain that." She said as she pointed back to the island. Wukong looked back as he was met with multiple missiles rocketing toward them, threatening to blow them to pieces. The missile launchers which unleashed the projectile retreated into the ground as the floor closed behind them, making Wukong think there was more to this island underground.

"Oh, crap. Alright, no problem." He said as he stood up with his staff in hand.

The missiles weren't faster than Nimbus, it's just that Nimbus had to account for the fact that if they went too fast, the violent pressure of the wind would trouble the weak humans on it, such as making it harder to breathe and disrupting their sight.

Therefore, the rockets inched closer to them as Wukong felt something grab him on the shoulder.

"Leave it to me." Said Lorna as she stepped forward. Everything went quiet and all that was heard were the strong winds as they flew and the loud thrusters that came from under the missiles. Lorna's green hair fluttered in the wind as she closed her eyes, concentrating.

The sound of the missiles which roared in anticipation, beckoning to blow something up, crept closer to them as their ears were bombarded with the deafening noise.

Seconds went by until Lorna's eyes finally shot up. She flung her arms up as the missiles started to change course. They soared past the two as they made a full 360 turn, zooming back to where they had come from. Seconds after this, ear-piercing BOOMS were heard as the missiles imploded upon impact, half the island becoming engulfed in flames and smoke. Crumbling and collapsing buildings and alarms echoed through the air as the island was left in carnage.

Wukong stared at the island as his jaw dropped and soon after he started cracking up as Lorna soon joined him in his joy.

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Author's Note: Hello if you are enjoying the novel so far I would appreciate the powerstones. They really help. Alright, thank you all, Bye.