C144 Prelude to Hydra’s Fall

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After blowing up all of the tech that once held Zola's consciousness, Peter made sure to leave no trace behind. He didn't want any remnants of Zola's data or the machines that made his artificial existence falling into the wrong hands.

One very loud explosion later…

Satisfied that he had thoroughly destroyed the equipment, Peter made his way out of Camp Lehigh. Sneaking through the now desolate base, Peter noticed soldiers beginning to rush back in, their guns at the ready.

The sudden evacuation had clearly raised some alarms, and the near-miss of a missile, which should have been launched in the first place, had only added to their heightened state of alert.

Not to mention, the explosion from the building Peter had just blown up seemed to only add fuel to the fire.

Moving silently and out of sight, Peter managed to slip out unnoticed, glancing back one last time to see the base swarming with soldiers, all trying to figure out what was happening.

Once he was clear, Peter made his way back to his ship. He piloted it back to the Red Room, where he landed smoothly in one of the hangars. As he stepped out of the ship, he noticed other teams arriving as well, each of them escorting their captured targets.

Baron Strucker, Octavian Bloom, the Banker, the Sheikh, the Baroness, Doctor List, Daniel Whitehall, and Gideon Malick were all bound and brought into the hangar.

The captured Hydra heads looked around, their eyes widening in shock as they saw their counterparts also captured. "?!"

The hope that they might be rescued or traded back to Hydra was instantly squashed. They realized that this was far bigger than they had imagined, and someone had to have betrayed them…

Otherwise, how could these people have managed to capture every Hydra Head simultaneously?

Their desperation and fear began to turn inward as they started pointing fingers and blaming one another. Accusations flew, and chaos threatened to break out among them.

"Was it you!" Strucker snarled at Malick, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Malick shot back, his voice dripping with disdain. "You're the one who's always been too careless!"

"Enough!" Peter's authoritative voice cut through the yelling, silencing the bickering Hydra heads. He stood at the forefront, flanked by the teams that captured them, his gaze steely and unyielding. "There's no need to be so loud. Soon enough, you'll have all the time in the world to bicker amongst each other..."

"..." Each of the Hydra Heads fell silent, glaring at Peter. "If I might ask, on what grounds are you detaining us?" Whitehall asks.

Peggy stepped forward, joining Peter. "On the grounds of being fascist Nazi scum..."

Malick's eyes narrowed as he saw Peggy. "Director Carter, you will release me this instant!" he demanded, still technically her superior.

"…" Peggy scoffs, looking at him as if he were an idiot.

"Director! You will release me NOW!" Malick exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's not happening…" Peggy completely disregarded him.

The captured leaders exchanged worried glances, their defiance wavering as the reality of their situation set in.

Fury stood behind Peggy, his expression grim. "You have two options. Cooperate, and maybe you'll get treated adequately. Or resist, and well..." He paused, smirking dangerously. "…I'm sure you can use your imagination. After all, we're all in the same line of work."

The threat hung heavy in the air, the captured heads realizing the gravity of their predicament. "…"

Peggy nodded in satisfaction. "Let's get them secured. We still have a lot of work ahead of us."

"Sure, follow me…" Peter led the way through the corridors of the Red Room, the captured Hydra heads trailing behind him under the watchful eyes of their captors. The path to the prison wing was familiar to Peter, as not many had access to this highly secured area.

As they passed by the cell that held Alexander Pierce, Peter could hear the former Hydra leader's voice, filled with desperation and rage. "Hey! Let me out of here!" He yelled as soon as he heard someone approaching. "I can make it worth your while. Name your price, and I'll see to it personally."

Peter stopped and turned to face Pierce, a smirk playing on his lips. "You think you can bribe me?" he asked, his tone mocking. "Keep your money. Let me introduce you to your new cellmates instead..."

With a signal, the teams brought the captured Hydra heads forward, presenting them to Pierce. The shock on Pierce's face was evident as he recognized his co-conspirators. "What are you…? What's going on here?" he stammered, unable to believe his eyes.

The other Hydra heads, their eyes widening in realization, quickly turned their anger towards Pierce. "You!" Baron Strucker snarled, his voice filled with venom. "It has to be you!"

"Traitor!" Octavian Bloom spat, his face contorted with fury.

"What did you do, Pierce?" the Sheikh demanded, his voice a mix of rage and disbelief.

Pierce, taken aback by the accusations, shook his head vehemently. "I didn't do anything! What are you even talking about?!"

The chaos of accusations and denials filled the corridor, the captured Hydra heads blaming Pierce for their downfall.

In truth, Pierce had been the unintentional source of their information, thanks to Professor Xavier's telepathic interrogation. While Pierce himself had not willingly betrayed them, the result was the same.

Peter watched their little spat with mild amusement before stepping forward to assist in opening the nearby cells. "Alright, that's enough. You can argue all you want in your cells…"

One by one, the Hydra heads were locked up, their protests echoing down the corridor. As the last cell door clanged shut, Tony turned to Peter. "Did you not capture Zola?" he asked, curiosity and concern in his voice.

"!" The locked-up Hydra heads perked up, listening intently. Zola, the digital mastermind, was their last hope. If he hadn't been captured, perhaps there was still a chance for them.

Peter paused, contemplating whether to reveal the truth about Zola's fate. "…"

After a few seconds of thought, Peter decided against it, as he didn't want to deal with anyone picking apart the efficacy of his actions. Instead, he simply shrugged and lied. "Nah, it's kinda hard to capture a guy without a body," he said nonchalantly.

Relief washed over the faces of the Hydra heads, only to be quickly dashed as Peter continued, "So, instead, I just blew up all of the equipment that housed his consciousness."

Like lightning striking, frustration and defeat settled over the captives, their hopes extinguished. Their prospects of escaping this situation were looking increasingly bleak.

Ignoring the prisoners, Peggy turned to Peter. "But you got the list, right?"

Peter nodded, pulling out his datapad. "Yeah, I downloaded it before blowing him up."

Fury, his eyes glinting with satisfaction, suggested, "Why don't we talk away from the prisoners?"

Peter agreed, and they all left the prison, leaving the captured Hydra heads to wallow in their despair.

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Peter and the various teams gathered in the same conference room as before, a palpable sense of accomplishment mixed with the tension of the task still ahead.

The room buzzed with the low hum of conversation as everyone settled into their seats, ready to debrief and strategize for the next phase of their mission against Hydra.

Peggy took the lead, her presence commanding the room's attention. "Alright, everyone. Excellent work on capturing the leaders of Hydra. Now we need to compile the operative lists we've retrieved and plan our next move."

Peter transferred over Zola's list from his datapad, while the other team leaders produced various hard drives, each holding a list of operatives from their respective targets.

As the most tech-savvy in the room, Tony and Rocket got to work, merging the data, creating a comprehensive list of all Hydra operatives, both within and outside of Shield.

As the final details were added, Peggy took a deep breath. "With this complete list, we can finally launch a coordinated assault on Hydra and eradicate it for good. This is the culmination of all our efforts."

Xavier nodded. "We have to act quickly. The disappearance of the Hydra heads won't go unnoticed for long. If we give them too much time, agents might start to scatter or go underground."

Fury agreed. "Tomorrow, we strike. We'll hit every known Hydra location simultaneously, ensuring they have no chance to regroup or escape."

The room buzzed with agreement as they outlined their strategy. Teams were assigned to various Hydra strongholds, safe houses, and suspected operation centers. Each team leader detailed their plan of attack, coordinating logistics and resources.

Peter listened intently, his mind already racing with thoughts of the impending battle. The enormity of the task ahead was not lost on him, but the determination in the room was infectious. Everyone was committed to seeing this through to the end.

As the meeting concluded, Peter gave the final directive. "Get some rest, everyone. Tomorrow, we end Hydra, for good this time."

The room began to empty, each person heading off to prepare and rest for the massive operation. Peter, however, had other plans. Spotting Rocket as he made his way out, Peter called after him.

"Hey, Rocket! Got a minute?" Peter asked, his tone light but with an undertone of urgency.

Rocket paused, turning to look up at Peter with curiosity. "Sure, what's up, Cap?"

Peter glanced around, ensuring they were alone. He pulled out his datapad, the one containing Zola's sleeping consciousness, and leaned in close to Rocket. "I picked up something interesting, and I was wondering if you'd want to work on it with me?"

"I'm listening…" Rocket asked, his curiosity piqued.

Peter held up the datapad, his expression serious. "I've got Zola's consciousness trapped in here."

Rocket's eyes widened ever so slightly, "Why? I thought you said you killed him?"

"Well, I was thinking of making him into an AI for us to use…" Peter admitted. "He could even fly the ship for us and control the weapons systems too… We could make a body for him as well, like a droid soldier."

"Now, you've got my attention!" Rocket's eyes lit up with excitement and mischief.

"Good, because I need your help," Peter smirked. "But first, let's go somewhere more private…"

A/N: 1800 words :)

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