After Rumlow left, the room fell silent for a moment.Voss walked to the door and tried the handle — it didn't budge.
"Master, your performance just now was flawless," Artoria said quietly."But… are we really supposed to wait here until Mr. Steve comes for us?"
"Of course not," Voss replied, glancing toward the far corner. "We have a secret weapon."
Aqua blinked. "Wait—what secret weapon? My purification spell?"
"Not you." Voss pointed at the small cage nearby. "Them."
Inside, Tom and Jerry stopped pretending to sleep. Four little eyes stared right back at him.
"You two can drop the act now," Voss said under his breath.
Tom stretched lazily, then reached a paw through the bars. With a quick flick of his claws, he popped the cage lock open. Jerry hopped out and began inspecting the room like a miniature engineer.
"Whoa!" Aqua gasped. "They can actually pick locks!"
"That's just their warm-up," Voss said, scratching Tom behind the ears. "Think you two can get us out of here?"
Tom leapt out of the cage with an acrobatic backflip that would've impressed even Steve Rogers. Jerry landed beside him, the two exchanging a meaningful glance — a silent conversation between old partners in crime.
"So, what's the plan?" Voss crouched beside them.
Tom pointed toward the surveillance camera in the corner, then crossed his paws in an unmistakable "no" gesture.
"Right. The cameras," Voss nodded. "If we just walk out, they'll spot us instantly."
Aqua leaned closer. "Then maybe I can use my purification spell to—"
Before she could finish, Voss smacked her lightly on the head. "No."
"Ow! What was that for?!" Aqua clutched her head and squatted down, pouting. "You're so mean!"
"Aqua," Voss sighed, "if you can't help, at least don't make things worse."
"How am I making things worse? I was trying to—"
"Enough," Artoria cut in gently. "Let's focus on escaping first."
As they talked, Tom suddenly perked up, eyes gleaming. He made a dramatic "I've got an idea" motion, then strutted to the center of the room. With a magician's flair, he somehow pulled a laptop from behind his back.
"Are you kidding me?!" Voss nearly shouted. "Where were you hiding that?!"
Tom smirked proudly, then produced a pair of black-rimmed glasses and put them on.Just like that, the cat became a cool, composed hacker. (⌐■_■)
Aqua's jaw dropped. "That's impossible! He's actually using a computer?!"
"Tom and Jerry can do just about anything," Voss said matter-of-factly. "They're walking plot devices."
Jerry joined in, pulling a hammer and screwdriver from his tiny toolbox and climbing up to dismantle the surveillance camera in the corner.
"Wait, what are they doing?" Artoria asked, a little alarmed.
"Hacking the system," Voss said, watching closely. "If they loop the feed, we can sneak out without raising alarms."
Tom gave him a thumbs-up and began typing at lightning speed, paws flying across the keyboard. Lines of code filled the screen like something out of The Matrix.
Meanwhile, Jerry pried open the camera casing, exposing a tangle of circuits and wires. He expertly connected them to Tom's laptop.
"Do they actually know what they're doing?" Aqua whispered.
"In their world," Voss replied, "they know everything. Engineers, scientists, astronauts, chefs, doctors—you name it, they've done it."
Tom puffed up proudly at the compliment and focused harder. The screen flashed with status windows, each one full of scrolling data.
A few minutes later, the monitor displayed two words: ACCESS GRANTED.
"We're in," Voss said, leaning over.
Tom typed a few more commands, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal camera network appeared across the screen — dozens of feeds showing different parts of the building, including their own room.
"No way…" Aqua whispered, staring. "He hacked S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Tom flashed a smug grin, waved his paw, and froze their room's feed on a loop of them all sitting calmly on the bed.
"So the surveillance team will just see us sitting here chatting while we're long gone," Voss said approvingly. "Nice work."
Jerry scurried over to a vent on the ceiling, pointing at it with a squeak.
"The ventilation ducts?" Voss asked. "You want us to go up there?"
Jerry nodded and started prying off the vent cover with a tiny crowbar.
"Wait, do we really have to crawl through that?" Aqua said, backing away. "It's probably filthy!"
"This isn't the time to complain," Artoria said firmly. "It's our best shot."
Tom closed the laptop, took off his glasses with a cool flick — ( •_•) > ⌐■-■ — and, with Jerry, pulled off the vent cover.
"Master, after you," Artoria said, gesturing politely.
Voss stared at the dark opening. "I'm not gonna lie… I'm a little claustrophobic."
"We'll protect you," Artoria reassured him.
"Fine," Voss muttered. "Tom and Jerry, lead the way."
The two little troublemakers darted into the vent. Voss followed, then Artoria, and finally a reluctant Aqua.
The ducts were tighter than they looked, but just wide enough to crawl through.Darkness surrounded them, save for faint glimmers of light through small slits.
"It's pitch black in here," Aqua whispered nervously.
"Hang in there," Voss said. "We'll be out soon."
Tom led confidently with perfect night vision, Jerry covering the rear and watching for movement behind them.
After several minutes of crawling, Tom suddenly froze and motioned for silence.Voss stopped, listening.
"…Has the security check on B-17 been completed?" a voice asked nearby.
"Yes. The captives are sitting quietly. No movement."
"Good. Mr. Pierce wants them contained until Project Insight is finished."
"Relax. That cell's sealed tight. No one's getting out."
Footsteps faded away.
"That was close," Voss whispered. "Guess the fake feed's working."
They continued forward until the duct angled upward.
Tom pointed to the vertical shaft.
"Up?" Voss whispered. "How high?"
Tom raised three paws.
"Third floor?" Voss guessed.
Tom shook his head and gestured higher.
"Thirtieth?"
Tom nodded.
"Seriously? That high?" Aqua groaned.
"No choice," Voss said. "The control center for Project Insight should be near the top."
They began climbing. It was grueling — especially for Voss — but they managed.
Halfway up, Jerry tugged on Voss's pant leg and pointed to another vent.
Peering through, Voss saw a massive room filled with servers, humming softly under dim blue light.
"What is this place?" he whispered.
Tom peeked out, then traced letters onto Voss's palm: SERVER ROOM.
Voss's eyes lit up. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s data center… If we can get in there, we might find everything about Project Insight — or shut it down completely."
Tom seemed to have the same thought. Without hesitation, he pulled out a screwdriver and started loosening the vent bolts.