A single gunshot echoed through the prison room. The Jewish woman in striped clothes collapsed onto the floor, her chest instantly blooming red with blood.
The room fell dead silent. For the little Jewish boy standing nearby, the scene was beyond belief. His mother's life ended right before his eyes, killed by the devil in front of him. The last sliver of hope inside him snapped—the pain was too much to bear.
"Ahhh!" he screamed, rage flooding his voice. At that moment, objects in the room—bells, iron shelves, even the helmets of nearby Axis soldiers—shuddered and crumpled as if crushed by invisible hands. The soldiers howled in surprise and pain.
The boy's cry only grew stronger, sweeping through the metal in the room and even into nearby cells. Every piece of steel, every pipe and fixture, vibrated and cracked. It was chaos.
Somewhere else, a wild, delighted laugh rang out. "Excellent. Wonderful. Well done!"
Suddenly, a pair of brown eyes sprang open in the darkness. A man sat up calmly in bed—he'd been dreaming, but to him, that dream wasn't a nightmare. It was a sweet memory—the very root of his power. He wouldn't mind reliving it every night.
He rose, poured himself a glass of champagne, drank it down, then took a hot shower in the bathroom. Afterward, he got dressed, called for breakfast, and watched as the first rays of sunlight broke through the dark sky.
After eating, he left his room, taking the elevator down into his private underground chamber. There, already waiting for him, stood a tall, red-skinned man in a black suit.
"How did it go, Azazel?" asked Sebastian Shaw, pouring two flutes of champagne and handing one to the Red Devil before sitting down on a golden sofa.
"The news leaked. Someone beat us there and captured Whirlwind's three siblings. I almost got caught in the trap myself," reported the Red Devil, his voice clipped and serious.
Shaw listened, asked a few quick questions, then laughed softly. "Interesting."
The Red Devil nodded, his frown lingering. "At first I thought it was Magneto—as you know, not many people could take down Whirlwind's group so easily. Plus, I could sense a magnetic field once things went south. But when I calmed down, it didn't seem to match Magneto's style. The feel of the force was different."
Shaw nodded back. "Definitely not Magneto. I just heard last night—he's already made his way to Argentina."
"Argentina?" The Red Devil tensed at the news.
After World War II, both he and Shaw had escaped to South America, hiding in Argentina for years, only resurfacing as the Cold War heated up.
"If Magneto's managed to find something useful in Argentina," Shaw said, "then we need to leave Paris by tonight. You're coming with me."
"Understood." The Red Devil didn't hesitate. He knew full well that being hunted by Magneto—even before considering whoever else was after them—was more than enough danger.
Then the Red Devil paused. He frowned slightly. "What about Emma? Could her side be involved?"
Shaw shook his head firmly. "No. She's exactly who we needed to keep an eye on, so I personally kept her at my side all last night."
They were already acting against Emma Frost, the White Queen—she was the one most likely to get in their way. Shaw had shadowed her himself the entire night, making sure she had no chance to interfere.
"I trust your word," the Red Devil said quietly, "but Emma does have two younger sisters. One of them has powers like mine—teleportation and dark magic. If she worked with Emma, then setting a trap like that would've been possible."
"If that's true," Shaw replied, giving the Red Devil a serious look, "you know what the consequences will be. But for now, let's focus on Magneto. We'll deal with Emma—and her family—after things settle down."
After all, Magneto wasn't their only problem. Emma Frost wasn't to be taken lightly, either—nor was the powerful Norwich Energy Company behind her. That company was no mere mutant gathering; it had its own backbone, forged from Hydra's most hardened survivors.
In the last few years, Shaw had realized Emma's ties to Hydra were deep—deeper than he liked to admit. He himself had once been a key Hydra operative and could spot their marks on people easily. But he'd never contacted the group behind Emma; Hydra's true style was secrecy and silence. On the surface, the CEO role passed from hand to hand, but Shaw felt the real power was always hidden behind the scenes.
This time, he'd expected to lure out whoever was truly running things—only for something to go awry. Instead of getting the upper hand, the Red Devil walked right into a trap—a classic Hydra move.
In his experience, there were always more Hydra factions than anyone realized. Alexander Pierce's group was just the visible tip. Other Hydra survivors—like Baron Zemo, Baron Strucker, and Viper—had settled across the world, some in Japan, some back in Germany, all restoring their influence little by little
Of all of them, Malik's group had been the cleverest, hiding in West Germany, working their way into high positions in government, and eventually joining the World Security Council.
Shaw also knew that not everyone perished in the war—not even the infamous Red Skull.
He vaguely thought of Daniel for a moment, but dismissed it. Daniel's rise had been quick, but he hadn't seemed the type to hold onto old ghosts as Shaw did.
The truth was: Hydra was always divided. Each leader carved out their own territory, and no one could rule with absolute authority. Not even if the Red Skull came back from the dead—no one would just kneel and follow. Not now.
Back in the old days, not even the Supreme Leader had been able to unite them fully. That's why, no matter how many times someone cut off one "head" of Hydra, another one always popped up. But inside, everyone watched for weakness, and the moment one side slipped, others would swoop in to swallow it whole.
That attitude explained why Shaw had tried to eliminate the secret base and why Daniel had abandoned it so quickly, turning his sights on revenge.
Now, in the present day, Daniel was in Geneva, Switzerland. According to his intel, Magneto had passed through just days earlier.
Magneto had uncovered information about Shaw from a bank manager in Geneva. But he hadn't killed the manager. He'd left the man alive.
It was a classic maneuver.
Magneto wanted to fish with a long line—to see what kind of sharks might bite next.
And so tonight, Daniel prepared to pay the bank manager a visit himself.