Chapter 3 Freedom

In another location, Alexander Pierce was in his study reviewing some reports. When he suddenly received a notification. Checking who it was from he was surprised to see that the message came from one of their facilities in Canada.

It was one of the many researching the Super Soldier serum and like many others, it barely ever provided results at most they'd figure out how to make a temporary enhancement every now and then but the side effects were always drastic. The only reason a facility such as this would contact him was either because something went well or they had some sort of complication.

Hoping for the former he checked the message and began reading the report. However, the more he read the more his expression changed.

[Facility CAN SS3]

Report: A major setback has occurred within the facility due to an experiment escaping. Said subject killed several scientists and over a hundred soldiers. On his way out he also severely damaged Wilfred Nagels Lab leaving it unsalvageable. It is believed that this subject successfully survived the super soldier serum and is now enhanced but their powers vary greatly from Captain America.

[Play Footage]

Subject 101 shows 

Increased Strength - Speed - Durability 

Heat Vision

Flight

Reading the message Pierce could hardly believe what the report was saying but all doubts were erased the moment he played the video. It showed footage of the subject racing through the halls as he culled any opposition with little to no effort.

Bullets were useless, walls and doors were useless, and his men had become useless. This was by far the most successful experiment they had ever had, even surpassing the captain himself. This was what they'd needed, a perfect Soldier. Now if this could be replicated into some more men no! An army… Hydra would no longer need to hide and this world would go to the hands of its rightful owners.

Though this may be difficult to do. From what he read the lab responsible for this subject's abilities was destroyed. Now the only chance he had was if Wilfred would be able to retrace his steps and recreate it or if they could capture the subject and synthesize what they can from his blood.

Having made up his mind Pierce quickly got to work and sent the message to all Hydra agents. This subject was their top priority and he wasn't going to leave a single stone unturned. He even took advantage of his position in S.H.I.E.L.D. to use all of their resources without alerting anyone of anything unusual. For all they knew it was just another wanted criminal that had a bit of importance but not enough to take an interest in.

Within seconds Michael's face was spread far and wide as Hydra went on the move. "Now let's see if Wilfred can recreate this serum" Taking out his phone he proceeded to make some more calls. 

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After flying for several minutes Michael slowly began to relax. He had already left the borders of whatever country he was in and was on route to who knows where but all that mattered was that he was out of Hydra's view.

He understood that this wouldn't be the last he saw of them but at least now he has some time to get used to his abilities. But first, he needed to find a place to stay. Looking for a spot to land he found a town and wondered if he could borrow a shed or something so he went down.

'Please don't crash' He had seen enough Invincible to know landing wasn't easy but surprisingly it was actually simple. You just float down and stop flying. 'Maybe Mark is just an Idiot?' He wondered as he started walking to the gas station.

Ding Ding

Opening the door it released the sound of bells alerting the old clerk to his entrance. Glancing up from his magazine he gave him a strange look but after a couple of seconds, he realized that it was pity. Looking down at his clothes he saw he was still wearing the scientist's clothes but now it was ripped in multiple places with areas that were brown from dried blood.

'I guess I really can be considered homeless… I have no home or any form of ID. Well, I'll figure something out later. First information' Setting his priorities straight Michael walked up to the old clerk.

"Excuse me, I wanted to know where I am and possibly the year as well?"

Hearing this the old man gave him an even sadder look. "Sure you're in Syracuse New York and last I checked it's 2011."

2011… Honestly, that didn't help him at all. Like who honestly memorizes Marvel dates? But at least he knows where he is. Giving the man a simple thank you Michael turned around to leave but he felt the clerk tap him on his shoulder.

"Now I know we don't know one another but you are way too young to be living like this son so let me lend you a bit of a hand." Without waiting for Michael to reply he started walking towards the back of the shop. "Well, aren't you coming?"

"Uh yeah" he didn't know what to expect from this but if the man wanted to help him out then he didn't mind.

Following behind he watched the man rummage through some of his bags as he pulled out some old sets of clothes. Nothing special: simple jeans, a black faded shirt, old boots, and a coat for the winter. "Here you are, they're a bit old but they're a lot better than what you have now. As for the dirt, I only have these wipes to help"

Taking the items from him Michael didn't know what to say. Are people usually this nice or was it because this world is Marvel? Whatever the reason he wouldn't reject help when it was there.

"Thank you I really appreciate it"

"No problem son"

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Leaving the station Michael looked completely different with his cleaned-up appearance and all marks of blood had been thoroughly wiped. Before he left the old man even treated him to a ramen cup. So food wasn't an issue for now but he still had a lot to deal with. His first issue was the most obvious 'Hydra' but that wasn't something he could fix in a day.

'Heck, getting rid of them might not be possible till the winter soldier film. So I'm going to need to get used to them being a recurring problem. But that doesn't mean I should just sit around twiddling my thumbs.'

Secondly, he needed to find a way to get a new ID and possibly some money to get things going. If he was going to invest in the formula of compound V then he'd need a ton of funds and connections. While he knew that research into it might not get him any results initially that doesn't mean he shouldn't start preparing as early as he can.

Thinking about his options he contemplated taking this to Nick Fury. The man had everything he needed from funding to scientists and labs but there were a couple of problems with this. For one the place was basically Hydra and bringing the formula there was like returning it to its creators. Getting in contact with Fury was also difficult as S.H.I.E.L.D was a legitimate spy agency and not some police department he could call with a speed dial.

Besides Nick, there was Tony Stark. In terms of funding, he had it all and Michael was 100% sure he could crack the serum for him and make it better but the problems there were different than Fury's. Michael was no Marvel timeline expert and didn't even know when he was in the movies but 2011 sounded pretty early. If the Chitauri invasion has yet to happen then Stark is still in need of some humbling.

Yensen's influence did change Stark a lot but it didn't erase his arrogance and hard to deal with personality. It's only after several mistakes that he learns to be better and eventually becomes the best the MCU has to offer but for now he just can't see it happening.

"Nick's out and Tony's out leaving not too many options." Michael was about to give up on this when he recalled another figure who had what he needed but this guy wasn't exactly morally sound.

"King Pin…" Honestly, he met the criteria for everything he needed from getting him an ID, useful connections, and money. He just wasn't sure if this guy actually existed in this world but he was going to find out.

"Hopefully the big boss of New York's criminal underworld is more like his TV show version." Levitating into the air Michael turned northeast and began flying for New York City.