Ron stood in the center of the safehouse, the Winter Soldier unconscious at his feet, the Tesseract still floating in its magical seal beside him. His mind raced—not from the fight, but from the realization of just how deep the rabbit hole went.
He had seen Bucky's memories—moments of war, friendship with Steve Rogers, brutal reprogramming. Ron wasn't just fighting a Hydra agent. He had saved a broken man.
> "Peggy's AI," Ron called out, "How do I free his mind completely?"
The AI responded with a soft tone. "His neural patterns are heavily altered, but you've already disrupted part of the programming with magic. I will compile what I can find on Hydra's brainwashing protocols. It will take time."
Ron nodded. "Good. We're going to fix this."
A flicker of movement outside stopped him. His senses sharpened. Shadows. No heartbeats. Drones.
A hologram materialized beside him. A man in black leather, eye patch over his left eye, appeared with arms crossed.
> "Name's Nick Fury. Director of SHIELD. And you just became the most talked-about man on Earth."
Ron didn't react. "You're spying on me."
> "We spy on everyone. You're just a higher priority now. You walked into an old Hydra base, took the Tesseract, beat a myth back to life, and did it all glowing silver like a damn star."
Ron crossed his arms. "I didn't come looking for attention. But I won't sit back while evil thrives."
Fury's gaze narrowed. "Then maybe we're on the same side. For now."
The AI Carter appeared beside him. "Director Fury, Ron's power is beyond anything SHIELD has encountered. But he has shown no hostile intent."
> "Still," Fury said, "the Tesseract isn't a toy. And that man," he pointed to Bucky, "was one of Hydra's ghosts. You just declared war without knowing it."
Ron's tone was cold. "If Hydra comes, I'll be ready. I don't need an army."
Fury sighed. "Everyone thinks that at first. Then aliens show up."
Ron frowned. "Aliens?"
> "Yeah," Fury replied, turning away. "You just stepped onto a much bigger stage. I'll be in touch."
The hologram vanished.
Outside, Ron looked toward the horizon. Something in his soul stirred. The balance of magic twisted slightly.
> "Hydra… aliens… cosmic wars? I really landed in the deep end."
And far away, Baron Zemo received an encrypted message.
> "Target confirmed. Silver Mage active. Begin Phase Two."
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