Lucas quickly used his own magic to suppress the chaotic energy around Wanda.
If her Chaos Energy were to spiral out of control now, this small town would be erased from the map in seconds.
What he didn't know was that back in New York, chaos had already erupted—because of his disappearance.
---
Not long after Lucas had left, Natasha returned to the agency.
Seeing her come back alone, Gwen and Skye immediately asked,
"Natasha, where's Lucas? Why didn't he come back with you?"
That question caught Natasha completely off guard.
"Lucas? How would I know where he is? You two are with him all the time—shouldn't you be the ones telling me where he went?"
Natasha looked utterly confused. What was wrong with these two girls today?
Gwen frowned. "That's weird… A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent came earlier. He said Director Fury was looking for him, and Lucas left with him. You didn't see him?"
That made Natasha's face freeze.
"Wait—what did you say? A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent took him?"
She immediately sensed something was wrong.
"Yeah," Gwen said. "The guy told us you and Coulson were both busy at a secret base, so he came to pick Lucas up personally."
As she spoke, both Gwen and Skye realized something wasn't right.
Skye quickly pulled up the surveillance footage from earlier.
"There—this is the guy. Lucas checked his ID. It looked legitimate, so he went with him."
The footage was crystal clear—both the man's face and his credentials were visible.
Natasha's expression darkened. The ID was real.
"...This is bad."
She immediately called Fury.
"Director, Lucas was taken by someone posing as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. We've lost contact. I've sent Skye's footage to your terminal."
---
At S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, Nick Fury broke into a cold sweat as he replayed the message.
Natasha hadn't said much, but the implications were enormous.
He hadn't sent anyone to contact Lucas.
And no regular agent could have known Lucas's location—not unless there was a mole inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
He replayed the footage multiple times. The credentials were authentic—issued by S.H.I.E.L.D. itself.
And then Fury remembered something Lucas had once told him:
> "Director, you might want to clean house at S.H.I.E.L.D."
At the time, Fury hadn't thought much of it.
Now, the meaning hit him like a punch.
"Hill," Fury barked, "get Barton and Coulson to my office—now. And lock down the building. No one in or out."
The alarm blared through the headquarters.
Moments later, Coulson and Clint Barton arrived, both visibly tense.
"Director, what's going on? The whole building's sealed."
Fury's one good eye was ice-cold. "Lucas has been taken—by someone inside posing as one of us."
Both men froze. The gravity of the situation sank in.
Lucas being abducted was bad enough—but the fact that someone inside S.H.I.E.L.D. had orchestrated it was far worse.
"This is the surveillance footage. Find out who that man is. I want everything—now."
"Yes, sir!"
Coulson hurried out, while Fury turned to Barton.
"Clint, keep eyes on everyone in the building. I want to know what's happening at all times."
Barton gave a sharp nod and disappeared down the hall.
Fury hesitated for a moment, then pulled out his encrypted phone and called Natasha.
"Natasha—your priority is to protect Lucas's family until he returns. No exceptions."
"Understood, Director."
---
Back in New York, Natasha immediately looked to Gwen.
"Gwen, go to the school. Pick up your brothers, and tell your dad to stay at the precinct until I get there."
Gwen nodded and ran out, calling George on the way.
"Skye," Natasha continued, "you stay here. Wait for news from Lucas—and protect Helen."
Lucas had once said, "There's no place safer than my apartment."
Everyone believed him—Gwen and Skye because they knew what was hidden there, and Natasha because she'd seen Lucas's power firsthand.
That image of Garuda—the giant creature he had summoned—was still burned into her memory.
No one dared tell Helen that Lucas was missing.
They didn't want her to worry.
Meanwhile, at the NYPD, George Stacy had already begun combing through the city's traffic and surveillance feeds.
When Natasha arrived, he showed her what he'd found.
"At the exact time Lucas left his apartment, every camera from Manhattan Avenue to the city outskirts went offline simultaneously."
He pointed to the map.
"And they're not even on the same network. That means someone deliberately jammed or destroyed them."
Natasha's eyes narrowed. That road led straight toward one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret airfields.
"Come on," she said grimly. "This is bigger than it looks."
Back at Lucas's apartment, they met Gwen and her two brothers.
The kids, thrilled to have a day off school, immediately ran off to play video games—utterly unaware of the storm brewing outside.
Natasha reported everything to Fury, who by now was convinced—there was no denying it—Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. again.
---
At headquarters, Coulson had already finished running the facial recognition.
He entered Fury's office with the results.
"Director, the man in the footage was a Level 3 field agent—completely ordinary. No special clearance, no field record of interest."
Fury's expression hardened. "Too ordinary. That's exactly the problem."
He immediately called Maria Hill.
"From now on, all S.H.I.E.L.D. operations are frozen. Nothing moves until the mole is rooted out. Understood?"
The order rippled through the organization.
And it didn't take long for it to reach Alexander Pierce—the hidden head of Hydra within S.H.I.E.L.D.
Pierce's face darkened as soon as he heard.
He called Fury, putting on his usual calm, fatherly tone.
"Nick, what's going on? Why the lockdown?"
Fury didn't suspect him. "Security breach. One of our assets—Lucas Norman—was taken by someone posing as an agent."
At the mention of that name, Pierce's blood ran cold.
The moment he hung up, he contacted his Hydra subordinates.
"Abandon non-essential operatives," he ordered. "Cut your losses and clean it up. The less attention we draw, the better."
Within hours, both Barton and Coulson submitted detailed lists to Fury.
As expected, they were filled with Hydra agents.
Most were low-ranking, expendable pawns—but one stood out: a Level 7 operative.
"Interrogate him," Fury ordered coldly. "No matter what it takes, find out who's behind this.
As for the others—don't leave anyone standing."
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