True Hydra

"Morgana, how is Thor doing?" Edward asked his computer. Although he was only a clone, he still created his own artificial intelligence to make work and life easier. Although it was nothing compared to the genuine thing, this level of technology was still miles ahead of Earth in this time period.

Morgana did her magic as The computer screen changed to show him pictures, videos, and countless written pieces about Thor.

"As you can see, he is a famous author named Donald Odinson. His innovative stories about Norse Mythology have captured a wide range of readers from across the globe."

"That's quite ingenious," Edward chuckled. He guessed these stories were based on Thor's adventure, allowing him to add some authenticity to his writing. As the saying goes — write what you know.

"Do you think he's changed?"

"Yes, I believe he's changed, learning a bit of humility."

"In that case, the final test should show up soon." According to the plan to train Thor, Odin will also send the Destroyer to teach Thor about sacrifice, along with his mother teaching him through dreams every night so as not to waste the three years he's on Earth. Once Thor proves he is again worthy, he will regain all his powers and memories from the training.

"Hmm? Did he actually meet Jane? And it seems they are close friends. I guess some people are fated with one another," Edward commented as he saw a photo of these two. He closed the screen and relaxed his body on his chair, deep in thought.

He will try to get the Avengers together in the next few years to prepare for the future. His relationship with Wakanda drastically increased when he brought Ulysses Klaus to them. It would be ideal to bring Namor and the people of Talokan on his side, but he felt it would be more difficult given Namor's personality.

'Once the battle officially starts and his people are affected, Namor will have no choice but to join. But before then, it's very unlikely,' Edward pondered. 'So, my next target should be the Noor Dimension or Ta Lo.'

Those special dimensions could be of great help, and he had already prepared for the alliance by sending Aisha home and saving Ying Li, Shang Chi's mother, a year earlier.

Beep! Beep!

"We have an emergency," Morgana suddenly said as the screen started.

"What is it?"

"Someone has stolen the Tesseract."

"What are you talking about?"

"Countless of our systems have been invaded and made to look operational. Meanwhile, a group of men led by Brock Romlow has infiltrated our base and taken the tesseract."

"Romlow? How is that possible?" Edward had long taken full control of all Hydra members to use as his own. He hurriedly checked his computer, and Morgana said he saw Romlow and a group of men entering a military jeep and driving away.

"Follow him."

"Yes."

Edward had launched a Sorcerer Eye, meaning he had the best satellite in the world. He tracked this group, and even when they traveled to an isolated area without cameras, he had eyes on them. They soon arrived at a base, but Edward did not recognize it as one of the Hydra's under his control.

Romlow and his man soon arrived at their destination, where a well-dressed middle-aged man was waiting for them. They bowed politely to him before handing him a suitcase with the Tesseract. The man opened and checked the suitcase before frowning.

"You've been followed."

"What? How is that possible? We were extra careful."

The man ignored Romlow and raised his head to look at the sky. Edward could feel his gaze directed toward him. "Interesting," he muttered before standing up and opening a portal in their direction.

Edward looked at these people and immediately frowned, "The seal I placed in your souls: why is it gone?" He ensured to have complete control of Hydra, and he had no mercy in the method he used to do so.

"That would be my work," replied the well-dressed gentlemen.

"And who might you be?"

"Now is not the time for introduction."

Edward sniffed, "I can smell that disgusting smell of sulfur and corruption — you're from Hell."

The gentlemen paused before smiling. "It seems I underestimated you. I thought my greatest threat was the Sorcerer Supreme. In that case, let me properly introduce myself.

"I am the Ninth Hell Lord, Mephisto."

Edward furrowed his brow. Mephisto is a famous comic character who never appeared in the MCU. In the comics, he is indeed a ruler of hell. As such, Edward theorized that he would be one of the 36 Hell Lords that the Ancient One mentioned. However, he never thought the latter would be so high. According to records, the top 10 Hell Lords are all on par with the Demon Gods' Kings.

'Luckily, they cannot descend into the material world with their own body, and it appears it's the same for this one.'

"How did you weasel your way into Earth?"

"You seem to know a lot," Mephisto replied.

"How would someone from Kamar Taj not know about you," Edward replied.

"Is that so?" The Hell Lord's eyes shone for a brief moment. "To answer your question, it's thanks to you."

"Me?"

"The two souls you summoned from Hell."

"Kaecilius' family?"

"Exactly."

"You're lying. These souls should have been in either Heaven or the Underworld. What do they have to do with you?" From what he knew of this world's afterlife, only sinners are judged in the Hell Dimension, while other souls are judged based on their religious beliefs. If they have none, their souls are sent to a neutral Underworld to be judged.

"I take great offense to these words. I never lie."

"Said the devil. No, the lord of devils."

"Touche."

"So, are you going to answer my question?"

"Why should I?" Mephisto asked.

"Fair point," Edward nodded. "Hand over the Tesseract."

"Those are bold words," Mephisto said with a polite smile, but his eyes contained bottomless cruelty.

"Maybe if your real body was here," Edward countered. He had nothing to fear about this essentially meat puppet avatar. The two gazed at each other, the air breaking apart due to their clash of aura. A portal suddenly appeared, followed by a terrifying flame that burned everything in sight. Edward waved his hand to dissipate the flame, but Mephisto and Romlow were gone. Luckily, he saved the Tesseract by burning one of Mephisto's hands. The cube case flew into his hands, and Edward checked the contents.

"Emergency," Morgana suddenly said from a watch he was wearing.

"What is it now?"

"All the agents and Hydra bases we had controlled over disappeared."

"All of them?"

"Yes, and they left a message for you."

She showed him one of the bases with bold red paint:

"Cut one head, and another will grow back."

"So, we've lost control of Hydra?"

"It seems so," Morgana replied.

"The last thing we wanted to happen — an uncontrollable variable," Edward grunted. "We need to contact the main body so he can deal with this situation."

"I'm already watching," suddenly said a voice.

"Good. I'll leave it to you."

Kamar Taj:

Edward was already doing his best to locate Mephisto or any of the Hydra Branches but to no avail. He exhaled deeply.

"You should expect this since Mephisto is more powerful than you," Morgana said. "Although he's only an avatar, his means will still be extraordinary."

"I know this, but we need to do something. Otherwise, many of our plans will be disrupted if Mephisto suddenly interferes."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"We need to occupy him for a while," Edward suggested. "And I may have a way. But first, let's find the connection between Kaecilius and Mephisto. I don't want any more surprises."

It was now apparent that this timeline had experienced greater changes than he anticipated, and things might start to get out of control.