"Sir!"
It wasn't just Fury who sensed something wrong. Coulson, standing nearby, also noticed the unusual movements among the surrounding agents.
He immediately lunged toward his superior, trying to help him evade the incoming attack.
But as the director's most trusted aide, Coulson too was one of Hydra's prime targets. The moment someone aimed at Fury, another gun barrel was pointed at him.
From the very start of this operation, they had never intended to give Fury any chance to survive.
Unlike in the movie, this time Fury hadn't noticed anything strange about Hydra beforehand, so he had no way to take any effective action.
Just as he and Coulson were about to be gunned down by the Hydra agents beside them, a streak of green lightning shot down from above, striking the men who had drawn their weapons.
In an instant, under the power of Doom's magical lightning, those agents were reduced to ashes, their remains scattering into the wind.
"This is bad!"
Fury quickly realized the danger. He had thought Doom's arrival meant the immediate crisis was over, but the attack only spurred the agents who had been holding back. They drew their weapons, some aimed at Doom in the air, others at the two men lying on the ground, and pulled the triggers without hesitation.
'Everyone around me… they're all enemy spies!'
Fury had always prided himself on being cautious and vigilant. Since taking office, he had been carefully selecting capable and trustworthy individuals to serve as his closest aides.
The people with him currently, the ones interrogating foreign agents, had all been handpicked by him. Yet now, the truth hit him hard; other than Coulson, every single one of them was a spy.
Before he could even process this revelation, the bullets were already on their way.
"Tch…"
Up in the air, Doom glanced at Fury's stunned expression and curled his lip in disdain. Given how much Luther valued this man, he had expected someone truly formidable. But it seemed he was nothing more than one of the many mediocre types.
And to think he had actually looked forward to meeting him.
Still, despite his disappointment, Doom wasn't about to let the man die here.
He spread his arms wide, unleashing a torrent of terrifying magical lightning in all directions.
The incoming bullets vaporized mid-air. In the same instant, the hearts of every Hydra agent present were pierced.
"Well? How long do you plan on lying there staring into space?"
With the deed done, Doom slowly descended to the ground, stopping in front of Fury.
"I was hoping to gather more evidence of Hydra's presence, but I didn't expect them to act so decisively."
Back on his feet, Fury finally came to his senses, or rather, he latched onto the critical detail hidden in Doom's words.
"You mean… these people are Hydra?" His expression turned grim. If this was true, then what had S.H.I.E.L.D. been doing all these years? Had they really been protecting world peace, or had they been helping Hydra rebuild?
"Oh, right. You probably don't know yet," Doom said with a hint of casualness. "The man who passed the position of director to you, Alexander Pierce... he's actually a Hydra leader."
"That… that's impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Fury had only just learned about Hydra's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D., and now Doom was claiming that the former director was one of their leaders.
How could he possibly accept something like this?
"I know it's hard to believe," Doom replied. "Stark and Captain America's previous actions were meant to lure Hydra into making a move and to gather solid evidence. But from the looks of things, that won't be necessary anymore."
He glanced toward the window.
"So, as the current director of S.H.I.E.L.D., from your perspective, after Hydra's attempt on your life, what do you think they'll do next? What valuable things within the agency would still be considered their target?"
Fury still resisted believing it fully, but the fact remained. He had been attacked. Besides, if nothing else, he was confident that no spy sent by another country could have earned his trust and become one of his close aides.
The balance in his mind began to shift as he considered Doom's question.
"The last thing of value in S.H.I.E.L.D...."
It wasn't a difficult question. Following LexCorp's devastating blows, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s power and resources had been drastically reduced. At this point, there weren't many things left that Hydra would care about.
And among those few, the most important was, of course, the recently completed joint project between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Stark Industries... the Helicarrier.
"It's the Helicarrier!" Fury's eyes widened.
That thing was far more than just an airborne base.
Built specifically as a weapon to counter LexCorp, it had been designed with one critical factor in mind: the large number of superheroes under Vought's banner. Because of that, the Helicarrier carried terrifying firepower.
If Hydra managed to seize control of it and was pushed to a dead end, they could choose to go down together with their enemies. In such a scenario, the sheer destructive power it could unleash in a short burst was enough to turn all of Los Angeles into a sea of fire before the U.S. government could even respond.
"Then our next move is simple," Doom said with a nod. Fury hadn't lost his judgment entirely.
"I'll use magic to get you and the people you've chosen aboard the Helicarrier. As for the rest, that will be up to you to handle."
Fury was caught off guard. "What about you? Can you help S.H.I.E.L.D. through this crisis?"
He knew that if their enemy was Hydra, then with just himself and Coulson, they would stand no chance at all. Only someone like Doom, with actual superhuman abilities, could hope to resolve the current situation.
But Doom simply shook his head. "Everything I've done so far has been for my own reasons. Don't forget, I'm the leader of Latveria's revolutionary forces, not an American."
He pointed at the floor beneath them.
"This is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret base, and my actions here can be considered an exception. But once the Helicarrier takes flight, it will be exposed to U.S. surveillance."
He didn't say anything more, but his meaning was obvious. If things went further, his own interests would be jeopardized. He wouldn't risk that.
"I understand." Fury gave a nod.
He exchanged a glance with Coulson, and both of them injected the Scarlet Serum they carried with them.
"Send us up there," he said firmly. "And tell Captain we won't be able to hold out for long."
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