At Alexander Pierce's command, Brock Rumlow of Crossbones rose from the rear.
Behind him stood elite S.H.I.E.L.D. agents loyal to Hydra.
Having served in S.H.I.E.L.D. for years, and with their former director as their leader, most of Hydra's forces were now under their control.
"Everyone, begin. Long live Hydra!"
Brock Rumlow's voice echoed through the base.
"Long live Hydra!"
A chorus of cheers erupted. Excitement shone in every eye.
Today was the day they would dominate the world!
One by one, they climbed into APU combat suits.
From a distance, the vast underground hangar held hundreds of identical suits.
Not only that, but countless NS5 intelligent robots stood ready.
At Rumlow's signal, the NS5s sprang into action alongside the combat suits.
It was no wonder they were ecstatic. With this army of robots, even without the aerial carriers, they could unleash true chaos.
World War II had been Hydra's peak, but now, they were poised to reach an even greater zenith.
Shrill alarms blared.
Long-sealed underground passages to the surface opened.
At Rumlow's order, all APU suits and NS5 robots advanced in perfect synchronization.
Above, Tony Stark hovered in the sky, spotting the hidden base, and froze in disbelief.
Before he could react, a rocket struck near him.
"Dammit!"
Tony flinched.
"Everyone, we need to retreat!"
His face darkened.
The rocket couldn't penetrate his armor. His suit, crafted with the latest alloys and maximum shock absorption, withstood the blast.
It affected him, but not enough to compromise his fighting capability.
"Retreat?"
Falcon's wings flapped, having just taken down one robot. Using his mechanical tail for propulsion, he soared into the air.
"Retreat now? We need to stop those three aerial carriers!"
He started to argue, then froze in disbelief.
"You're right… we really should fall back."
A torrent of steel rolled toward them from afar.
Below, a few Avengers hesitated.
Though the robots were numerous, with Hulk on their side, they weren't unbeatable.
They had to fight.
Once the aerial carriers launched, it would be too late.
In moments, the ground shook.
The sound and vibration were terrifying, like an earthquake.
Looking out, the Avengers saw a sea of robots. Their faces drained of color.
How could they fight this?
Steve Rogers exclaimed,
"Tony, can we contact Nolan Lock? These are all Lock Industries robots. Maybe he can help!"
Tony's eyes lit up.
As a fellow scientist, he knew that his company's products often had hidden backdoors.
Perhaps one could be exploited to resolve the crisis.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., connect me to Nolan Lock!"
The call went through.
Nolan, speaking with the Ancient One, answered, surprised.
Tony was never one to call for idle chatter.
"Nolan, tell me, what's the backdoor on these damn robots!"
Nolan bristled.
"Backdoor? What backdoor? Tony Stark, you better not be making this up, or I'll sue you for slander!"
Even if everyone suspected, this was not something to announce openly.
Nolan knew Tony had left a backdoor in the S.H.I.E.L.D. system, but revealing it now?
Still, he sensed Tony was in the middle of a fight.
"Dammit!"
Tony cursed and pressed on.
"Remember Hydra? These guys got hold of a lot of Lock Industries tech. Without that backdoor, the world is doomed!"
Nolan raised an eyebrow.
Madame Viper had clearly caused significant trouble at Lock Industries.
He replied firmly,
"I'm not like you, Tony. I don't violate regulations, but I understand the situation. Tell me where you are, and I'll be there immediately."
"We're in Washington! How do you get here? Dammit, Nolan Lock, you hung up on me!"
Tony shouted in frustration.
Meanwhile, Brock Rumlow's roar echoed:
"Fire!"
All APU suits opened fire.
Bullets rained down like a storm toward Tony and Falcon.
They dived for cover.
Even Tony, with his armor, couldn't be confident it would survive such concentrated fire.
He scowled and redialed Nolan.
By the time Nolan arrived, it might be too late.
At Kamar-Taj, Nolan sighed,
"Ancient One, I guess I need to go back."
She nodded silently.
"Red Queen, activate the Mjolnir Combat Suit!"
Within seconds, the suit assembled around him.
Nolan stepped inside. The armor sealed automatically.
He donned the Mystic Ring, drawing a circle.
As it formed, a portal opened to a battlefield.
A bullet flew toward the Ancient One.
Just as it was about to hit, it dissolved in midair.
Nolan's expression under his helmet twisted in surprise.
"A person even bullets can't hit won't die from a fall? Not even ghosts would believe that."
Regardless, he focused, stepping into the Anywhere Door.
In the next moment, the portal vanished.
The Ancient One murmured quietly,
"Stephen Strange may be the Supreme Sorcerer, but this world needs a King."
No one understood the coming crisis better than she did.
Supreme Sorcerers could not resolve these threats. The only one who could was Nolan.
Nolan, of course, had no idea.
Through the spatial portal, he surveyed the battlefield.
Robots of every kind filled the view, mostly NS5s, mixed with some T-800 Terminators.
Further out, three aerial carriers were charging, expected to launch within minutes.
Charging in was impossible. Surviving would already be a challenge.
Behind them, countless APU suits posed the greatest threat.
Even Hulk could not breach this defensive line alone.
The situation was critical.
Tony froze mid-battle.
"Nolan? When did you get here?"
He was stunned. Nolan was neither in New York nor Washington—how could he suddenly appear?
Nolan shrugged.
"I said I'd be there immediately."
Ignoring their shock, he spoke gravely,
"Everyone, we're in serious trouble. Tony asked for a backdoor, but I haven't done anything like that."
"Really?"
Tony looked skeptical.
"Absolutely!"
Nolan replied firmly.
"Alright…"
Tony's face fell.
Nolan continued,
"I only know a few small vulnerabilities."
"Hmm?"
Tony looked closer.
Nolan remained calm:
"These robots are troublesome, but their core programs were written by Red Queen. She can breach their firewalls and disable them in no time."
As he spoke, countless robots lost power, collapsing like harvested wheat around Nolan.
Within moments, thousands of robots of all models lay motionless.
Nolan smirked. Viper had done well, even securing these production lines.
Unfortunately, all Lock Industries battle robots were programmed by Red Queen. Without controlling her, Viper's creations were mere shells.
If they were true Terminators, Nolan could easily use Red Queen's backend access to turn them against their masters.
With the robots neutralized, Nolan said,
"See? Just like that."
He smiled lightly.
Tony was stunned. All robot signals disabled in seconds? He had been proud of J.A.R.V.I.S., but now… he was speechless.
However, the APU suits remained.
Brock Rumlow scowled, unable to believe his strongest asset had been so easily neutralized.
But he steadied himself.
As long as the aerial carriers launched, the battle remained under Hydra's control.
"Everyone, long live Hydra! Kill them!"
Rumlow roared, joined by countless cheers.
On the carriers, Pierce's face darkened.
"Hurry! Launch now!"
Though Crossbones' heavy cavalry was present, a creeping unease troubled him.
He opened the mic to Rumlow:
"Crossbones, stop them at all costs! Long live Hydra!"
"Understood! Long live Hydra!"
Rumlow's eyes locked on Hulk—the only superhero capable of threatening the carriers.
Even Tony could not breach the APU suits' firepower. He was confident.
Tony and the others also braced themselves.
Though the robots were defeated, this line of defense remained formidable.
"Hulk, I need you to break through. The rest of us cover you."
Taking a deep breath, Tony said,
"Prepare for battle!"