Chapter 128: Winter Soldier (Part 2)

"How is this possible?" Carter's entire body trembled after watching the video. She had never imagined that the Howard couple were actually murdered.

"It's them." Carter quickly understood where the problem lay. As one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Howard couple's incident would definitely be a focus of the organization. The video clearly showed that the Howards were strangled to death. In this situation, Carter had been told they died in a car accident. This discrepancy made it clear to Carter that she had been sidelined within S.H.I.E.L.D.

Carter had suspected there were issues within S.H.I.E.L.D. years ago, but she hadn't considered them serious enough to investigate thoroughly. Unfortunately, she now realized it was too late.

Even now, Carter hadn't fully grasped the severity of the situation—that S.H.I.E.L.D. was thoroughly rotten. Fury was in the same boat. Although he realized there were significant problems within S.H.I.E.L.D., he still hoped to salvage it until he had no other choice but to expose everything.

"Does Tony know about this?" After a long silence and several deep breaths, Carter finally calmed down.

"I haven't found the right opportunity yet," Daniel Davis replied truthfully. He had obtained this information some time ago.

"Give me the information. I'll tell him myself," Carter said, her eyes growing colder. No matter what, Howard's death must be avenged.

"The reason I haven't told Tony yet isn't the main issue. The real reason is because of this person." As Daniel spoke, he picked up a remote and pressed a button, displaying the image of the person who killed the Howards on the screen.

"Who is he?" Carter instantly understood the implication of Daniel's words.

"Barnes, Bucky. He was brainwashed by Hydra and turned into their assassin, the Winter Soldier. I only recently learned about this from others."

Telling Carter about the Winter Soldier was to prevent a split between Tony and Captain America that could lead to a civil war. Although Daniel had a good impression of Captain Steve Rogers, he was dissatisfied with how Rogers handled the Winter Soldier situation. Admittedly, Bucky was Steve's friend, but Howard was also his friend.

Strictly speaking, without Howard's help, Steve might not have become Captain America. Even when Steve went to rescue Bucky, it was Howard who secretly flew the plane to assist him. Without that help, Steve might not have been able to save Bucky in time.

In this context, Steve only considering Bucky's situation and completely ignoring Tony's feelings was indeed excessive. Even someone as righteous as Captain America wasn't perfect.

"What?" Carter exclaimed, stunned as she looked at Bucky Barnes' information on the screen. As someone who had once fought alongside Steve, Carter knew exactly what Bucky meant to him. The fact that Bucky was the Winter Soldier who killed Howard left even the always sharp Carter at a loss.

If this footage were to be leaked, the whole world might witness a battle between Iron Man and Captain America.

Interestingly, Hydra hadn't thought to expose this footage. Had they done so, Hydra might not have been defeated so quickly.

In the original storyline, no one in Hydra considered this strategy, but the Hydra of this world might not overlook it. Not all Hydra members were fools; otherwise, they wouldn't have grown the organization so large. Daniel could criticize Hydra's shortsightedness only because he had the perspective of a god. It would be different if he were in the thick of things.

"Don't let Tony and Steve know about this for now," Carter decided after much deliberation.

"If we drag this out, it will only be worse when it comes out. It's better for us to tell Tony than for Hydra to leak it."

In the original storyline, Hydra didn't think of this plan, but the Hydra of this world might. There were definitely no fools in Hydra, or they wouldn't have grown so powerful. Daniel criticized Hydra's shortsightedness from a god's perspective, but it would be different in the thick of things.

"I know. I'll find a way to talk to Tony," Carter said, rubbing her forehead—a rare gesture for her. She had faced countless troubles in her life, but none like this.

"Alright, but let's keep the footage with me for now. If you take it and Captain sees it, it could be a big problem."

"Do you have any leads on his whereabouts?" Carter asked, glancing at the screen. If they could catch Bucky now, it would be even better.

"No, I only got this information from someone else," Daniel shook his head.

Carter left with a heavy heart.

"Should I heal Coulson now or wait until he finds that Inhuman temple? Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have killed Whitehall so soon. This way, Coulson might suffer for a bit longer. I could have Sunil bring the Obelisk over."

The Obelisk Carter had confiscated from Reinhardt ended up back in Whitehall's hands after his release. Although Whitehall didn't make much progress in his research on the Obelisk and the Inhumans, he did develop a deadly weapon—the Splinter Bomb.

This bomb was incredibly horrifying, an essential tool for nefarious deeds. Compared to it, corpse-dissolving chemicals were nothing.

During this time, Daniel had slowly been acquiring Whitehall's technological results through Sunil. The firm, RONCO Industries, was practically his now.

RONCO Industries was highly advanced in technology, manufacturing the mechanical bodies for Deathlok. Recently, the company received numerous orders, including from Quinn International.

Previously, Daniel had been too busy to pay much attention to these matters. When he finally looked into it, he discovered that Sunil had already clashed with Coulson's team.

Through these reports, Daniel learned about the Centipede soldiers. This program, secretly assembled by Garrett posing as the Clairvoyant, seemed haphazard to Daniel. But in the Marvel world, it achieved some success.

Daniel considered the Centipede program haphazard because the enhancement serum was a mix of every virus available, even including one from the Chitauri.

The reason was simple: Garrett was desperate. He had restarted the Deathlok program for his own survival. He was one of the first batch of test subjects and the only survivor who reached high rank within S.H.I.E.L.D.

To stay alive, Garrett had to restart the program. He lacked the authority to mobilize Hydra's resources for his own research. So, he used his S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 8 credentials to pose as the Clairvoyant and trick wealthy individuals into funding his experiments.

In this era of big data, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Level 8 access was immensely powerful. Garrett fooled many wealthy people, including the nearly billion-dollar Quinn, into investing everything they had.

The money Quinn invested funded the purchase of mechanical bodies from RONCO Industries. Even within Hydra, purchasing equipment required payment.

Garrett survived this long and reached Level 8 because of his Clairvoyant persona. Early on, he tricked smaller fortunes, but as his access grew, he targeted major financiers like Quinn.

Garrett's survival relied heavily on these experiments. Now, his body seemed to be reaching its limit, so he targeted Coulson, who had been resurrected.

Daniel wasn't too concerned about Garrett targeting Coulson. While he had a good impression of Coulson, he wasn't his bodyguard, and he was very busy himself.

"Considering that the Mind Stone can create beings like Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver, it should be a manifestation of mind power," Daniel mused.

By studying the Absorbing Man and with the power of the Ope Ope no Mi, Daniel had some theories about the Mind Stone. He conducted similar experiments on lab mice.

Although none survived, a few were enhanced.

"So, if one can withstand the power of the Mind Stone, they can gain superpowers. But what level of strength is required to withstand it? With my current recovery ability and the Ope Ope no Mi's power, can I handle it?"

Physical aptitude, or talent, was an elusive concept.

"Perhaps it's time to bring in the Maximoff siblings. Although Vision won't appear, it would be a waste for Scarlet Witch, a major force against Thanos, to disappear. Hopefully, the private investigator can find them quickly."

"Captain Marvel must have had incredible luck to gain such power from the Space Stone." Daniel confirmed this through his research. The Space Stone wasn't meant for human enhancement, or Red Skull would have used the Tesseract to create superhumans instead of weapons. Hydra's methods wouldn't shy away from sacrifices.

Baron Strucker sacrificed many people for his experiments, demonstrating Hydra's ruthless efficiency.

"My strength is still too weak. If I were stronger, the Ope Ope no Mi would be more effective. Unfortunately, the development of Devil Fruits relies on physical fitness."

Daniel's physical fitness was already impressive. Besides the Hulk, Thor, and Loki, few could match him. Even so, it was not enough.

In the Marvel universe, physical enhancement mainly came from various serums, with no special training methods. Daniel's progress had slowed significantly.

"If I went to the One Piece world now, would there be two Ope Ope no Mis? And what would the fruit's awakening be like? Never mind, it's not the time to think about that. Keep working hard."

Lost in thought, Daniel continued striking the wooden post in front of him. The power of the Devil Fruit depended on physical skill. He never stopped training and had a dedicated training ground in his villa.

Luckily, he had the enchantment to restore everything to new, saving him a lot of time. Punching bags were no longer effective for him. Wooden and iron posts were now his main training tools.

Compared to magic practice, physical

 training was exhausting. It's no wonder that martial arts dwindled in the modern era. Technology made most people unwilling to endure such hardship.

"Hi, Dr. Banner. How have you been?" Daniel visited Bruce Banner, who was no longer pursued by the military thanks to his contributions during the New York battle and Fury's protection. Banner had found a place to live in the suburbs of New York.

The suburban residence was a precaution to minimize damage in case of another incident.

After so many disasters, New York couldn't afford more trouble. The government had already introduced numerous incentives to keep international corporations from leaving the city.

After all, without these corporations, New York's international status would diminish.

Banner's suburban residence was temporary. Stark was planning to move Stark Tower out of New York to a remote location—the future Avengers base. This move would minimize damage if another battle occurred.

The government supported this move, even offering land for free, recognizing the Avengers' crucial role in saving New York.

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