The final person stepped out of the room. The door closed behind them with a soft click, and Daniel was left alone behind the desk, the dim glow of a lamp casting long shadows across the walls.
He had just finished meeting everyone who still lived in the base—including a handful of the old soldiers from the early days.
The fact that any of them were still alive was a surprise in itself. Most were super soldiers from his original batch—transformed with imperfect versions of the serum. Their bodies were tough, their lifespans extended... but years of hidden war and constant struggle had worn them down, draining even their extended vitality. Like Didier, they were running on fumes.
Unlike Captain America or the Red Skull, Daniel's early super soldiers were far less stable. Sure, they weren't as strong—but they had their own value: obedience and unity.
Daniel had learned a hard lesson during the war. Super soldiers couldn't be thrown onto the battlefield one at a time like grenades. That only led to quick deaths. Instead, they had to be treated like one tightly formed fist—hitting together, protecting each other.
That's how Daniel had survived.
That's how Norwich Energy Company had survived too—built not just on tech and money, but on the relentless effort of those same veterans. These men had handled the dangerous parts for decades—quietly fighting off threats, stabilizing territory, defending company assets—while Daniel had disappeared.
But now, times had changed.
The company still had security forces, but the core strike power no longer came from old soldiers. That belonged to the mutants.
Emma Frost and her two mutant "sisters" had formed a deadly elite group by themselves. They had played key roles in overseas competition for resources—especially in conflict zones like Africa and the Middle East.
It was that mutant power that helped propel Emma into becoming "White Queen" of the Hellfire Club.
And now that same power was turning against them.
Daniel clenched his jaw.
They had dared to reveal the base's existence to Sebastian Shaw.
If the public ever discovered what really existed here—a secret Hydra remnant, full of super soldiers and political skeletons—they'd be hunted to extinction. Not just by governments or intelligence agencies, but by the entire world.
Emma hadn't just crossed a line. She'd set the world on fire by handing the match to someone like Shaw.
Daniel refused to believe that Emma knew Shaw's past. Sebastian Shaw had always hidden it well—he wasn't the kind of man who openly voiced his loyalty to an old-world secret society like Hydra.
During WWII, he had been one of them. A Hydra leader. But after the war, he buried that part, keeping it so tightly concealed that even the mutants around him couldn't tell.
Magneto had spent years hunting him to avenge his mother, and Shaw had skillfully avoided exposure—even from an enemy that strong. There was no way he'd openly reveal his affiliations now.
Which meant Emma didn't know who she was dealing with.
And Sebastian... he probably hadn't figured out what this base truly held. He likely didn't realize these weren't just remnants, but living pieces of the Empire—raw leverage from an old Hydra cell.
That was the real danger.
If Shaw knew the truth, he might either:
1. Try to bring them under his control, or...
2. Throw them to the wolves to protect himself.
Daniel didn't need to guess which was more likely.
Fortunately, his return had changed the game.
Now, with him back in charge, they could take control of the narrative—beat Shaw to the punch before he made his move.
Of course, no one in the outside world knew Daniel had returned. That secret was his most valuable asset.
But there was no time to relax.
The mutants waiting outside—Shaw's people—were probably expecting a report right about now. Radio silence wouldn't last long. If they didn't hear back, others would follow. More mutants. More spies. Maybe even Hellfire's assassination squads.
That couldn't be allowed.
He'd already begun planning how to deal with them.
Subtle mind control? Memory tampering?
Daniel was confident he could handle four mutants, but for now, there were more important matters at hand—specifically, everything Emma and Shaw didn't know he still had.
Daniel stood over three key items, laid out carefully on the desk in front of him. Hidden all this time in his personal quarters, untouched while he had been gone.
They were among the last things he didn't take with him during his Arctic expedition.
He couldn't carry everything back then, only the most essential magical tools. The rest, including sensitive and dangerous objects like these, had to be left behind—sealed and protected in the base.
And now, one by one, he assessed them again.
Item One: The Sea God Trident.
A golden trident, once held by King Namor of Atlantis.
Their final battle had been brutal—fought during the dying days of the war. Even after Daniel had escaped the mainland, Namor had tracked him all the way to Narvik. Daniel had barely survived, but he killed Namor in the end—at great cost.
Afterward, he went completely off-grid for three years.
Daniel never told anyone he'd killed Namor. He even kept the king's body hidden in a separate location, just in case. He knew better than to parade a trophy so powerful.
Back then, Daniel didn't dare to fully examine the trident's powers. It was no ordinary weapon—it could control oceans, perhaps even more. But who knew if it carried a hidden magical signal that Atlanteans could use to track him?
So Daniel sealed it.
Even today, no one knew he'd ever faced Namor—let alone that he'd won.
Item Two: The Hydra Agent Roster.
This was a list of every undercover agent Daniel had placed across Europe during WWII—spread throughout Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, and parts of the Netherlands.
Back then, during wartime evacuations, the Reich moved people everywhere. Daniel used that as cover to embed agents from all corners of the Empire into these countries. Including places like the Bakshi family in the Netherlands—now loyal to him.
Decades had passed, but the list still held power. These were pressure points.
If even a quarter of these people were still alive and loyal, Daniel could rebuild his network in Northern Europe within months.
And with many hidden deep inside Norwich Energy, his influence could be reestablished swiftly, especially once the company realigned under his name again.
Of course, he'd have to verify who remained trustworthy.
Even loyal agents could be corrupted—or lost.
Item Three: The Count's Legacy.
Two pieces: a jade pendant and a small key.
They had been handed to Daniel by Count Ferdinand, a legendary knight and the last true powerhouse of the Teutonic Order. Just before the Empire fell, he entrusted Daniel with the access items to a Swiss bank vault.
Inside that vault were relics. Notes. Inheritance. Possibly techniques or treasures even Daniel didn't fully understand at the time.
He hadn't had the chance to retrieve them.
War had ended. Everything shifted. And he vanished before the mission could be completed.
Now the pieces were in his hands once again.
A magician holding the legacy of a knight. Fitting... in a strange, twisted way.
And with mention of Swiss banks, Daniel also remembered one more thing—the gold.
Before evacuating Germany, the Reich had hidden enormous reserves of gold, hoping for a future restoration. Most of it got taken by the Allies. Some got stolen by Hydra leaders. That influx of cash had fed the group's quiet rebirth.
But Daniel had secured a stash of his own—meant to be used for Norwich Energy's future.
If they'd followed his instructions, then that hidden vault should still exist, untouched in a bank only he could access.
That would be his financial ace.
Daniel gathered all the items into a long protective case. When he left tonight, he'd take them with him. This base—his old sanctuary—had become a liability.
Sebastian Shaw had already marked it.
Whether Hellfire owned it now or not didn't matter. Daniel wouldn't fight over crumbs.
He already had everything worth taking.
Dismantling the base wouldn't be fast. Supplies, equipment, personnel—it all had to be moved carefully.
Luckily, their old submarine still worked. The vessel used to smuggle them here decades ago could carry everything back in two trips if scheduled well.
Daniel knew the clock was ticking and the first thing he had to do... was deal with the mutants.
He walked down a secure corridor and entered a stone chamber—once used as a holding cell inside the base.
The four mutants had been moved here, tied to secure metal restraints mounted on thick stone walls.
This was no ordinary cell anymore. It had been reinforced, enchanted. And after a few quick adjustments, it now served its new purpose perfectly.
An interrogation room.
Daniel stepped inside and closed the door behind him.