Seeing the scene before him, Steve immediately asked about the Archibald couple's situation. "Are they hurt?"
"No, I knocked them out. They can't know our identities yet," said [Lizard Cloth] Medis.
"Whew—good. So these are all enemies?" Steve asked [Shield Cloth] Arugoru, as he approached the stone statues. The shield of the Shield Cloth was the Medusa Shield. Under Arugoru's Cosmos, anyone who faced it—even with eyes closed—would be turned to stone. There were only two ways to undo the petrification: either defeat [Shield Cloth] Arugoru, or have him willingly lift the curse.
If someone was shattered while petrified, they would truly die.
"Thank you, Arugoru. Now we can—"
"If you're thinking about interrogating them for Hydra's intel, I advise you to give up, Steve. Before you arrived, I already probed their memories. Apart from this mission, everything else is blank," [Lizard Cloth] Medis said, dousing Steve's rising hope like cold water.
"…Winter Soldiers?" Steve frowned deeply.
"Seems so. Their memories were tampered with—their previous ones wiped. But it wasn't a total loss."
"What do you mean?"
"They have something inside them that's the same as what's inside you, Steve," said [Shield Cloth] Arugoru.
"Something the same as me?" Steve's face creased tightly. He couldn't imagine what inside his body could possibly be the same as in Hydra's soldiers.
"An enhancer—something that strengthens the body. Their physical limits are the peak of what humans can reach."
With that, Steve understood everything. His face darkened as he recalled the incident years ago when Howard and Maria were ambushed, and a very important item was stolen.
"Arugoru, can you help transport them all back to S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"Of course. They're yours, Medis."
"Understood."
Steve nodded and opened a channel to the agents still in combat.
"What's your status?" He didn't hear gunfire anymore, so he assumed the battle had ended.
"Enemies neutralized, Captain. These Hydra operatives weren't ordinary—they completely overwhelmed us. There were only five, but we lost nine agents and have eleven wounded. All five hostiles were killed."
"Tend to the wounded, clean up the site, and bring the enemy bodies back."
"Yes, sir!"
After arranging the aftermath, Steve and [Shield Cloth] Arugoru transported the petrified enemies directly to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
"Steve, Arugoru—you've both done well," said Peggy, who came to greet them, already briefed on the situation.
"It's been a while, Miss Peggy. You're still as beautiful as ever," [Shield Cloth] Arugoru complimented.
"And you're still as handsome as ever, Arugoru. Undo their petrification. It may not yield much, but we still have to interrogate them," Peggy replied.
"Very well."
Arugoru nodded, lifting the petrification. The moment the Winter Soldiers regained movement, they instinctively tried to resist—but were instantly subdued by the prepared agents, tied up tightly like rice dumplings and dragged into the cells.
"Mission complete. I'll take my leave," said [Shield Cloth] Arugoru.
"Alright."
"Oh, one more thing, Miss Peggy."
"What is it?"
"Lord Melin is not pleased with your progress. You've been tracking Hydra for quite some time now—he believes it's time for results. If your forces are insufficient, you can request aid from the X-Men or even the Pope for Saint support. The Lord said that if there's still no progress soon, we'll intervene ourselves."
At those words, Peggy and Steve fell silent for a long moment before nodding solemnly. "Tell Mr. Melin we'll produce results worthy of his expectations."
"I'll report that truthfully."
Once [Shield Cloth] Arugoru left, Steve and Peggy both exhaled deeply. Arugoru hadn't suppressed his aura in the slightest—his Silver Saint presence was overwhelming. Many nearby agents nearly suffocated under it.
It wasn't Arugoru's fault—it was their own lack of strength.
After all, they had once sworn confidently to Melin that they would completely eradicate Hydra. But decades had passed, and not a single major head had been captured. It was embarrassing, to say the least.
"Let's go, Steve. Hopefully we can get something out of this, or we'll really lose face," Peggy said.
"Yeah."
…
Elsewhere, even Athena herself was targeted by a covert assault.
No one expected that Hydra—or rather, Baron Strucker personally—had sent a second strike team, hoping to capture Athena while the Winter Soldier unit diverted attention.
But Baron Strucker clearly underestimated the Saints' power and their faith.
For them, protecting Athena's life outweighed their own. They didn't need to care about anyone else—not even the Archibalds. Assigning [Shield Cloth] Arugoru and [Lizard Cloth] Medis to guard them was merely because there was extra manpower to spare.
The last Hydra elite fell lifeless into a pool of blood. Mu expressionlessly retracted his fist, flicked his cloak, and strode away, heading straight to Melin's home.
"My Lord, all enemies eliminated. Lady Athena was unharmed," Mu reported.
"Good. Well done this time."
"However, my Lord, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s performance was… disappointing. They couldn't even detect such a simple diversion. Should we intervene?" Mu asked.
Hydra might appear colossal and deeply entrenched to others, but in the eyes of Sanctuary, they were nothing. The four surviving leaders had already been identified long ago—even the lower ranks were catalogued, every small fry accounted for. They could practically post a full list of Hydra affiliates online.
Mu still didn't understand why Melin continued to tolerate such a deranged organization.
"Tell Steve and Peggy they have four years. After that, regardless of their progress, I'll take matters into my own hands. Consider it their final exam. If they can't even pass this, then Steve's Cosmos training has been for nothing," said Melin calmly.
"Yes, my Lord."
"Oh—and tell them this: the most dangerous place is often the safest one."
"As you command."
After Melin gave his final orders, Mu departed. Alone, Melin sat quietly in his home and poured himself a cup of tea.
Staring at his reflection in the clear water, he murmured, "Let's hope it ends soon. Otherwise… you'll no longer have any reason to exist."
…
Baron Strucker received word of the mission's failure and flew into a rage, smashing everything in his office, yet still unable to vent his fury.
"Useless! A bunch of useless fools! You couldn't even capture a little girl!"
After a long outburst, his adjutant cautiously approached. "Sir, Director Pierce and Dr. Zola have requested a communication. Should I—?"
"Hmph! What could they possibly want now? To mock me? Those idiots! Shortsighted fools! They have no idea how magnificent my Perfect Being Project truly is! Saints? Gods? It doesn't matter! Once my experiment succeeds, I'll destroy every obstacle in my way! The Great Leader's dream will be fulfilled—Hydra will rule the world!" Baron Strucker roared madly.
The adjutant quickly retreated to a corner, not daring to speak further. But he couldn't escape death—Strucker fired a bullet through his head.
"Ahh… killing someone always calms me down," the Baron sighed in relief, holstering his gun before heading toward the communications room—ordering his men to clean up the mess on his way out.
In the dark communications chamber, two holograms appeared—the ones he expected. Malik was absent.
"Strucker, your plan failed. The entire Winter Soldier unit has been wiped out. You've wasted one of Hydra's trump cards," Alexander Pierce scolded before Strucker could speak.
"Saint power… reassessing… unable to counter… recommendation: cancel all operations… Perfect Being Project temporarily frozen… terminate all activity… remain silent… await reactivation…" Though formulaic, Strucker could tell Dr. Zola was siding with Pierce.
"You! You can't do this! The Perfect Being Project is nearly complete—success is within reach! We can't abandon it now!" Strucker protested.
"Calm yourself, Strucker. This is for the greater good. The losses were too great, and we gained nothing. We must reallocate our remaining resources. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s pursuit will intensify after this. If we expose ourselves, not only your project but Hydra itself will be in danger. We can't take that risk," Pierce said firmly.
"Pierce…"
"It's decided, Strucker. You will comply."
"Command… confirmed… transmitting… all units notified… all for Hydra… Hail Hydra…"
"Hail Hydra."
"Hail… Hydra…"
Strucker squeezed the words through clenched teeth. He was furious but helpless. If he disobeyed, it would mean betraying Hydra—something he couldn't afford. He knew if he ever turned traitor, he wouldn't need to fear S.H.I.E.L.D. or Sanctuary; Hydra itself would execute him first.
Consumed by rage with nowhere to release it, Baron Strucker decided to kill a few more people to ease his mood.