Chapter 211: The Gravity Worm (Part 3)

"Hydra's hidden power is indeed vast, but unfortunately, it cannot withstand the light," Daniel Davis mused, looking at the ground where he had buried Pierce, Malick, and Sunil Bakshi (posing as Whitehall) using earth alchemy.

Brainwashing people to serve him, like Hydra did, was a simple task for Daniel now. If he wanted, he could easily take over Hydra. Despite the significant loss of Hydra's strength, its remaining resources were still formidable. Financially, the combined worth of his Fei Fei Group and Stark Industries couldn't compare to the Malick Group alone.

Stark Industries and Fei Fei Group were relatively new enterprises, whereas the Malick family had been around for a millennium, making it a true ancient family. This financial might, combined with their other powers, was frightening. A small country couldn't match it.

If Daniel controlled this power, he would immediately become a significant behind-the-scenes figure in the world. However, given Hydra's enmity with Stark, Daniel wouldn't become Hydra's hidden leader.

Initially, Daniel had approached Stark for his own benefit, seeking the Iron Man suit and the Arc Reactor. Now, they were good friends, and Daniel wouldn't do anything to harm his friend.

"So this is the Gravity Worm, room," Daniel muttered, extending his hand towards a glass cabinet containing the Gravity Worm. After eliminating the last Hydra leaders, Daniel had retrieved the Gravity Worm and other dangerous items stored in the Icebox.

The Gravity Worm was a peculiar black liquid, constantly flowing and occasionally bubbling within the reinforced glass cabinet, appearing quite eerie.

Daniel was very curious about gravity. It was an incredibly powerful ability. Consider Fujitora, who could easily summon meteors with his Gravity Fruit.

"Should I merge with it, use it to create artificial gravity, or sell it?" Daniel pondered. The Gravity Worm had three known uses: creating artificial gravity over a large area with a small amount, absorbing it to gain gravity-related abilities, or selling it to Xandar's Broker for a significant profit.

Absorbing the Gravity Worm granted the user gravity manipulation abilities, but it couldn't match the Gravity Fruit's power. The Gravity Worm couldn't summon meteors, and enhancing its power required merging more Gravity Worm, as it couldn't be trained to grow stronger.

This inability to train and grow made it less valuable to Daniel, as it was more of a novelty. With his current power, merging with the Gravity Worm would be merely a flashy addition, giving him another cool trick.

The third option, selling it on Xandar, was tempting. The Gravity Worm was a valuable commodity in the universe. Selling the contents of the glass cabinet would make Daniel a wealthy man even on Xandar. The Ravagers had long sought the Gravity Worm for this reason.

"Damn it, we've been exposed. We must leave immediately," an elderly man with a lieutenant general's insignia hurriedly entered a secret US Air Force base office, speaking urgently to a middle-aged female officer with a colonel's rank.

As he spoke, he rummaged through the office, found a portable hard drive, and handed it to the female officer. "Hale, you must keep this safe. We need to leave now."

After giving the hard drive to Colonel Hale, the old general prepared to leave but stepped back upon seeing five soldiers, led by a colonel, outside.

"Trying to escape? Too late. Arrest this traitor," ordered Colonel Talbot, a typical US military officer.

As the old general was arrested, Colonel Hale appeared terrified, trembling visibly.

"Hale, don't worry. This guy is the traitor," Talbot reassured her before leaving. It wasn't a time for idle chat.

Once Talbot and the soldiers left, Hale sighed deeply, clutching her chest. She had almost been caught. Fortunately, she remained calm and didn't act rashly. The general wouldn't betray her, as Hydra's brainwashing was thorough, often starting from childhood, like Hale's experience at Hydra Academy.

At Hydra Academy, a young blonde girl ended her training upon seeing Hale. Unlike SHIELD Academy, Hydra Academy didn't have annual admissions. It primarily served the offspring of Hydra members, with a few external talents, similar to a private school for nobility. These children trained and lived together, ensuring they could better inherit Hydra.

Hale had been top of her class at Hydra Academy, destined for a bright future, possibly even joining SHIELD. However, she was exiled after an altercation with a high-ranking Hydra scion, Baron Strucker, whom Daniel had killed.

Hale joined the US Air Force, enduring years of hardship to reach the rank of colonel. This was the consequence of offending a powerful leader. Despite her top performance at Hydra Academy, she was sidelined.

Whether in the light or shadows, second-generation elites existed. Hale, lacking Hydra's support, became a test subject for Whitehall's experiments, specifically the Ion Generator.

"Something's happening outside," the blonde girl remarked casually after her training.

"Yes," Hale nodded, heading to the Hydra Academy office.

In the office, Hale smiled slightly at the familiar surroundings. This had once been Whitehall's office. As a top student, Hale had dreamed of becoming a high-ranking Hydra leader, like Baron Strucker. But society had brutally dashed her hopes.

No one stood up for her. Even in a formal organization, no one would risk offending a powerful elite for someone without a strong background. Reality was harsh.

Years of hardship had extinguished Hale's ambitions. Just as she was ready to live a quiet life, unexpected events unfolded. The things she once sought came to her without effort because the higher-ups were wiped out. Hale now led Hydra Academy.

After a moment of reflection, Hale inserted the hard drive into her computer to review its contents.

"Didn't expect Hydra to have such treasures," she muttered, engrossed in the data.

Suddenly, a strange voice startled her, making her jump and fumble for her weapon. Years of desk work had dulled her once-sharp skills.

As she pulled out her gun, a force knocked it from her hand.

"Who are you?" she demanded, looking at Daniel, who was disguised as a special forces soldier.

"Kree technology? Didn't expect Hydra to find this," Daniel ignored Hale, focusing on the computer. Hydra claimed to worship Hive. Though only Malick's faction remained devoted, other branches had their own agendas. Over the years, they discovered various Kree relics on Earth.

The computer displayed a Kree signal generator, capable of contacting distant Kree.

"Impressive, even has spatial teleportation. Kree tech from a thousand years ago, indeed a cosmic civilization," Daniel marveled. He was familiar with teleportation through spells but had never seen a machine achieve this.

"Don't," Hale shouted as someone attacked Daniel from behind. He easily deflected the attack, causing the thrown weapon to strike the blonde girl in the chest.

"No!" Hale rushed to her fallen daughter, crying. Though artificially conceived, Hale deeply loved her child.

Daniel remained indifferent. Hydra's countless atrocities justified his actions. Unlike Melinda May or Coulson, who would've tried to save the girl, Daniel wasn't troubled by such scruples.

US policies favoring children had led to an increase in juvenile delinquents, committing heinous crimes under the guise of youth. Daniel believed in dealing with threats decisively.

Hale, recovering from her shock, grabbed a weapon to fight Daniel but was quickly shot in the head by his Finger Gun technique.

"Go join your daughter," he muttered. With the hard drive and intelligence from Malick, Pierce, and others, there was no need to interrogate Hale.

Though her situation was pitiable, joining Hydra made her a legitimate target.

As Daniel left Hydra Academy, he used flame and earth alchemy to destroy it entirely.

"Finally got it," Daniel found the device and the Ion Generator in another Hydra warehouse.

"Seems this thing contacts the Ravagers. Maybe I can rob them," Daniel thought, recalling SHIELD agents' memories.

"But now isn't the time. The Ravagers appear before Thanos' invasion," he considered. The Ravagers, notorious throughout the galaxy, often followed Thanos, profiting from his destruction.

They capitalized on the chaos, claiming Thanos was there to destroy the planet, and looted freely. They had repeated this scam numerous times, becoming quite adept at it.

Unfortunately, they failed on Earth because Talbot, fully merged with the Gravity Worm, decimated the Ravagers' leadership.

However, Talbot later succumbed to the Gravity Worm's influence and ultimately perished in space.

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