When S.H.I.E.L.D. collapsed, some of its carrier command centers at sea either purged the Hydra traitors on board or became assets of Hydra themselves—at the time, the Immortal City didn't yet have the capacity to reclaim all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s global naval vessels. Moreover, Stephanie had recommended abandoning certain assets in order to reduce scrutiny from the U.S. authorities. As a result, many smaller ships had now fallen into the hands of pirates and mercenaries, serving as mobile bases—Mike's carrier belonged to the former category. With help from the Immortal City, his carrier had, under the leadership of Commander Gonzales, Agent Weaver (head of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy), and a joint effort from the Sisterhood and Agent Victoria Hand of the Immortal City, swiftly eliminated most of the traitors.
After the rebellion was put down, Gonzales sent Barbara and Mike undercover into Coulson's team to find out what was really going on. Later came the events involving Coulson's unveiling of the secret vibranium box Nick Fury had entrusted to him, Gonzales's death in the Inhuman sanctuary, and more. Once Mike came clean with Coulson, both he and Barbara Morse joined his team.
It could be said that Mike, originally just an aircraft carrier maintenance technician, had now become one of the most professional agents in the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Though he didn't possess Coulson's collection of spy gadgets or have the field experience of operatives like Melinda May or Barbara Morse, he was highly vigilant. He never let personal feelings distort his interpretation of intelligence. Long before Solomon returned, he had already established ample communication with Stephanie.
Stephanie warned him that if a subject in isolation was infected, it meant the brain had been taken over by a parasite. Whatever the subject said could be the words of the parasite itself. Until the extent of infection was confirmed, not a single word from them could be trusted. The problem was Mike didn't know who was infected and who wasn't, so he requested to have private conversations with Fitz, Simmons, and Will. He understood the pain brought by quarantine and examinations, but he also knew that the venom of betrayal and lies could rot an organization from within—because he had lived through it.
Even if the people behind that thick reinforced glass had once been his friends, he had to do it.
On the other hand, Mike didn't fully trust Stephanie either. He wanted to find a way to free the infected from their condition, not to simply burn them, as the Immortal City's solution proposed. To achieve this, he needed to uncover the truth about the monolith. Even if Fitz was infected now, Mike had no choice but to pursue this lone clue.
When Stephanie whispered Mike's plan to Solomon, the young magus began to see this agent—who balanced reason and empathy—in a new light. In an organization that was steadily losing its foundational code of conduct, Mike's wisdom was admirable. Solomon did not approve Stephanie's suggestion to interfere with Mike's plan, even though he knew she couldn't tolerate things spiraling beyond her control.
Solomon saw further.
In a murky prophecy, the monolith would attract a great enemy of humankind and an alien race that had long observed intelligent life. He needed the monolith as bait. For that, Mike's investigative work was a necessary part of the plan. As long as the isolation procedures for the science team and the astronaut weren't yet complete, Solomon didn't mind Mike's efforts to save his comrades.
After all, they only needed the astronaut. The NASA project could be traced back to the Malick family, and Stephanie had to sever that link.
"Now is not the time for destruction," his voice was very low.
Stephanie and he had already left Coulson's hospital room. She thought perhaps the accidental injury of an old friend had made him truly sad. But she quickly dismissed that idea—Coulson alone wasn't enough to trouble her lord that deeply. Even as an old friend, it would be hard for Coulson to shake her lord—she knew what kind of merciless person he was. Perhaps he had seen the sacrifices to come, perhaps he had seen how much blood would be on his hands when the plan was executed. Stephanie couldn't say. She only tightened her grip on Solomon's hand and leaned silently against him. She wanted to call back the Solomon who had returned to Earth with glowing eyes, radiating that awe-inspiring, unfeeling divine authority.
After a few minutes, the magus seemed to return to himself.
"Finish this task. And our true objective."
"The assassins are in position and ready for deployment." She pressed close to the magus, using him to block the corridor cameras and prevent S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from reading her lips—she now greatly envied the illusion spells the magus used to veil his face; without strong aether-vision, no one could see his true features. "We've already mapped the storage site of the dangerous items," she said. "We only need to wait until we've withdrawn from the base to begin the operation."
"Excellent. We must remove that portion of alien-mutated genes from the Earth's human gene pool. Begin preparing for the next phase of the war on the Moon. The genetic mutations and latent risks of the Inhumans have exceeded tolerable limits."
Solomon's voice was as clear as if whispering directly into her ear.
Stephanie knew her lord had just issued a command equivalent to the U.S.'s treatment of Native Americans or the Nazis' treatment of Jews: a genocidal decree. But she also knew it was unavoidable. Not every Inhuman mutation was as mild as Daisy Johnson's or Lincoln's. The Inhumans on the Moon had long lost their human form due to the Kree's gene modification experiments. Stephanie's clearance allowed her to read the divine books stored in Solomon's library—she knew Inhumans were more susceptible to contamination from extra-dimensional forces, a hidden danger caused by the Kree's forbidden genetic techniques.
What's more, the lunar Inhumans had been experimenting on their own genes to replicate the Kree's ancient modification of humanity—an almost unforgivable act. They might think it was science, but they had no idea what horrifying sorcery lurked within that science.
Satisfied, she gave Solomon's large hand a squeeze.
"Then I'll call back the sniper assigned to kill Melinda May and Daisy Johnson," she said softly. Seeing Solomon's puzzled look, Stephanie explained, "I already deployed a sniper-assassin when they departed."
"Which assassin?" Solomon asked. All assassins were products of Maya Hansen's bio-lab. Without relying on gene enhancement, Maya Hansen had finally brought her long-standing ideas to life. To support her work, Solomon had used both the Time Stone and the Philosopher's Stone.
Stephanie gave him the assassin's designation.
He could sense that designation—a string of numbers and letters etched into his skull, his only name. Perhaps he had once had another name, but after intense chemical and mystical brainwashing, his mind had been restructured. His old memories no longer mattered.
He had no desire to remember the past. It meant nothing. Whenever the thought occurred, it felt like chewing on a tasteless nutritional block. He was a weapon, a weapon born to kill—a modified weapon. His blood carried raging chemical agents that gave him unmatched combat prowess. A tight-fitting suit of synthetic muscle fibers wrapped around his body. This combat suit's life-support system allowed him to cling to the underbelly of a Quinjet at 10,000 meters without freezing, and it kept his breath and heartbeat stable. His stealth cloak made him nearly invisible.
And the micro-bomb implanted in his brain proved his loyalty.
He was a silent killer. He had a sniper rifle—a masterfully crafted, world-class high-tech weapon, his gift. He had used that rifle to kill an African warlord and his entire army from three kilometers away, to assassinate a tycoon hidden in what he thought was a safe estate, to execute high-ranking Pentagon officials—and many, many more. Countless lives ended at his hands. He didn't care. He didn't wonder what crimes they had committed. He only knew they had defied his master. That was all that mattered.
And this time, the two women on the aircraft were his targets.
He just needed to wait for the order—the order to kill them.
(End of Chapter)
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