After leaving Ophelia Sarkissian's room, Baron Strucker did not relax.
Although he had acted indifferent in front of her, the moment he stepped out, he showed the caution and calculation that earned him his position as a Hydra leader.
He immediately tripled security.
Squads were deployed across the valley.
Dozens of reconnaissance teams descended the mountain to watch every trail.
He intended to make sure that not even a fly could approach unnoticed.
Unexpectedly, the very next morning a scout reported Nolan Locke's location.
Strucker stared at the message in disbelief.
"Nolan Locke actually came here?"
He had never imagined such a thing.
In his mind, even if Nolan held influence in the United States… this was Sokovia.
Why would an American weapons manufacturer dare cross the ocean to hunt down a Hydra commander?
His expression darkened.
Whether it made sense or not, there was only one path forward now: strike first.
He had no intention of waiting to be ambushed.
Ophelia Sarkissian was equally shocked.
How?
She had been extremely careful when fleeing the United States, leaving behind misleading trails and false information.
Nolan Locke shouldn't have been able to find her this quickly.
"Are you certain this isn't a mistake?" she asked again.
Strucker nodded, his face cold.
"Since we already know where he is, we simply kill him.
In America he may be a feared hero, but this is Sokovia."
While the two discussed how to eliminate Nolan, Nolan himself had already arrived at the base of the mountain.
The mountains here were high and thick with forest. In Sokovia, such terrain was common.
And dangerous.
The moment he stepped out of the trees, a group of Hydra soldiers rushed out, rifles aimed straight at him.
"Identify yourself!" one demanded.
Nolan glanced at him, puzzled.
"What? Strucker didn't tell you I was coming?
With intelligence this sloppy, how did he become a Hydra leader?"
The Hydra soldiers stiffened.
Strucker had not warned them at all, but the hostility radiating from Nolan made everything unmistakably clear.
"Kill him!" one shouted.
Nolan didn't move. His expression didn't change.
Rapid gunfire erupted in the next second.
But the bullets didn't come from the Hydra soldiers.
They came from behind them.
In an instant, every Hydra soldier collapsed.
Nolan's mouth curved faintly.
"Now the invitation has been delivered.
Let's go find Ophelia Sarkissian.
This time… she won't get away."
Gunfire echoed across the mountain.
In the base above, Baron Strucker had barely reacted when Ophelia's expression suddenly shifted.
She recognized the sound at once.
Gatling fire.
Standard issue for the Terminators.
"Nolan Locke is here!"
She quickly explained the situation.
Strucker frowned.
"He has some nerve. I haven't even sent my people yet, and he already dares to come."
He turned to his men.
"Go. Kill him. Do not let him reach the top."
The order was carried out immediately.
Dozens of Hydra troops stormed out of the base.
Not only infantry three armored tanks rolled out with them.
Seeing the tanks, Strucker smirked.
"See? With these, even those Terminators will fall."
Ophelia felt her stomach tighten.
If this was all he was relying on…
She might have chosen the wrong place to hide.
"Is that really everything you have?" she whispered.
Strucker glanced at her with a thin smile.
"Of course not. These are only conventional weapons.
What do you think I have been doing in Sokovia?"
"You mean… the enhanced-human weapon program?" Ophelia asked.
She knew he had such a project, but as far as she knew, it was nowhere near complete.
Strucker nodded.
"The first batch of subjects has stabilized."
His smile twisted.
These enhanced humans were his true trump card.
Gunfire below intensified.
Even with tanks, Hydra forces were being shredded by the Terminators.
Strucker headed deeper into the base.
The inner chamber was filled with equipment.
Crumbling cells lined both sides, each one occupied.
The people inside carried hatred in their eyes pure, burning hatred.
At Strucker's arrival, a few quiet footsteps were all it took for every subject to step out.
"Your families were killed by weapons," Strucker said calmly.
"If not for those weapons, you might have lived happy lives.
But now you have lost everything.
And the man responsible is here, outside this base.
You have heard the fighting.
I have only one task for you: kill that man and avenge your families.
Unless someone here prefers to stay behind and hide."
Some of the enhanced subjects hesitated.
But Strucker's final words ignited them like fuel tossed into a fire.
Today, they would take revenge.
"Let's go!" shouted a silver-haired boy.
He vanished in a blink.
"Pietro!" Wanda cried out and rushed after him.
The others followed, filled with rage.
Once they were gone, Strucker returned to his office.
Inside was a long box.
Inside the box lay a scepter.
His eyes softened with obsession.
It was the Mind Scepter once wielded by Loki.
A weapon of astonishing power.
The enhancement project had struggled for years.
Before the Mind Scepter, the subjects had only manifested minor, unstable abilities nothing worth using in battle.
But after exposure to the scepter's power, their abilities skyrocketed.
Many died in the process.
But the survivors were elite.
Today they would show Nolan Locke the true meaning of power.
Strucker placed the scepter in its case and prepared to leave.
He trusted his enhanced subjects, but he had no intention of staying here waiting to die.
As for Ophelia… she could be left behind.
A beautiful distraction, nothing more.
She had no idea Strucker was abandoning her.
Her attention was fixed on the spectacle unfolding outside:
a teenage boy covered in flames launching into the sky,
and another gliding effortlessly across the ground at astonishing speed.
Outside, Nolan and his army had reached the mountain.
Hydra forces could not slow him.
Suddenly, a blur flashed past.
A T-800 crashed to the ground, sparks shooting from its chest.
Quicksilver.
Nolan immediately understood.
But he did not panic.
He had come prepared.
Moments later Wanda Maximoff emerged, her scarlet power flinging several Terminators into the air.
Dozens of enhanced subjects followed, hatred blazing in their eyes.
Nolan frowned.
These children were completely brainwashed.
It was no surprise.
Hydra had raised them this way.
Even the Maximoff twins would never have escaped without outside intervention.
This would be troublesome.
Nolan exhaled.
"Red Queen. Eliminate them."
Pity did not belong on a battlefield.
From the moment they chose to attack, they became combatants.
And combatants were responsible for their actions.
If Nolan had a method to safely rescue them, he would try.
But he did not.
Not against a force like this.
The Terminators opened fire.
Hundreds of machines created a wall of bullets.
Nothing living could survive in that storm.
Quicksilver's eyes widened with horror.
The bullets couldn't hit him, but the others…
He looked toward Nolan.
Only one person stood there.
That had to be the weapons manufacturer Strucker had described.
"People like you deserve to die!"
He sprinted forward.
Just as he reached Nolan, a shadow streaked across his path.
A machine.
A robot fast enough to intercept him.
No one had ever matched his speed.
He tried to change direction.
Another machine cut him off.
Nolan watched calmly.
These were specialized units he had built for speed alone.
Everything else sacrificed.
Individually, none could match Quicksilver.
But each carried a hyper-advanced electronic vision system worth more than a luxury jet, all controlled directly by Red Queen.
Together, they formed an inescapable net.
Under overwhelming computation, even a speedster could be cornered.
One robot finally brushed Pietro.
A light touch was all it took.
At high speed, Pietro tumbled violently, rolling across the ground.
"Pietro!" Wanda screamed, unleashing a surge of chaotic energy.
Dozens of Terminators exploded under the blast.
Her eyes burned with fury as she hurled a wave of power at Nolan.
He only smiled.
Such a young Wanda.
So raw.
So unrefined.
The propulsion unit at his back ignited.
In an instant he vanished as her attack struck the ground, carving out a crater.
Before Wanda could react, Nolan drew the plasma warblade from his back.
The propulsion unit fired again.
He was beside her in a heartbeat.
The blade flashed downward.
A strand of Wanda's hair drifted to the ground.
The glowing blade hovered above her head.
One slight movement, and she would be split in two.
…