Liam slowly pushed himself up, brushing off the dirt stuck to his smoking skin. When he looked down, he groaned. Every piece of clothing he'd had was gone — burned to ash by the explosion. Only a few scraps clung to his boots.
'Fantastic,' he thought. 'Everything heals except my damn clothes.'
He looked around — completely naked, standing in the middle of the forest in broad daylight, with smoke rising from the huge crater behind him. If anyone saw him right now, they'd probably call the cops or have him locked up.
He rubbed the back of his neck. 'Alright, think. Need clothes. Need cover. Need to not look like a lunatic running naked through the woods.'
He moved toward the trees, staying low and scanning for anything — a cabin, a road, even a dumpster — anything that would hide him before people or rescue teams arrived.
He also needed to know where he actually was. Karl was completely knocked out as HYDRA had basically kidnapped him and brought God knows where and now he was suffering for it.
As Liam was about to move deeper, the air above him shimmered — then split open with a loud, thunderous crack.
He froze, staring up in shock as a massive swirling portal tore open in the sky miles away.
"…What the fuck," he muttered, squinting against the light.
He couldn't tell exactly how far it was — but if he had to guess, maybe ten, fifteen miles tops. Far enough that he wasn't in immediate danger, but close enough that he could feel the air buzzing with raw energy.
Then it hit him.
He didn't need a search. He didn't need to ask questions. That one look told him everything about his location.
Karl's scrambled memories had already told him the current year — 2012 — but now he didn't need confirmation. The blue glow, the portal, the alien ships pouring through…
'Son of a bitch,' he though, rubbing his face. 'I dropped right into the fucking Battle of New York.'
Just then, a thought hit him — sharp and fast.
Maybe this shitstorm wasn't all bad. Maybe… he could use it.
HYDRA was definitely going to be looking for him — and not in the "bring him home safely" kind of way. They'd lost a valuable base, and HYDRA didn't like loose ends. Especially not ones that could expose their dirty little secrets.
But unlike Karl, Liam wasn't just some ex-agent with partial memories. He knew exactly what was coming, from the knowledge of all the Marvel movies he had watched.
Yeah. He remembered it all — the Winter Soldier, the Insight Project, Fury almost dying, HYDRA slithering its way out from under SHIELD's nose. He knew what was coming, and he sure as hell didn't plan to be one of the people caught in the middle.
He could try to run. Hide. Keep his head down. But he'd seen how that ended for people who tried — even Karl, the guy whose body he now lived in, had failed miserably. And Karl had the training, the instincts, the experience— but Liam had something better. He had knowledge. He knew when and where the shit would hit the fan.
'Yeah, fuck that,' he thought. 'Time to play the game instead of running from it.'
If he wanted to survive, he needed help — and the only person on this planet crazy enough to face HYDRA head-on was the one-eyed bastard himself.
Nick. Fucking. Fury.
He needed a shot at staying alive. That shot wasn't trusting SHIELD or Fury — he would be a fool if he did that. The man ran the kind of operations that swallowed people whole; trust wasn't Fury's currency. But Fury and his crew were a tool, and tools could be used.
So the plan started forming in his head, piece by piece.
He'd make himself known. Loudly.
He'd jump into the Battle of New York, help the Avengers, save civilians — anything that got cameras and eyes on him. If he could build a reputation, get noticed as some new "superhuman" helping out, HYDRA wouldn't be able to quietly bury him.
Then, once the smoke cleared, Liam would hand Fury a gift — information about HYDRA. Not everything, but enough breadcrumbs to make Fury twitch. Enough to get SHIELD investigating their own people. And once that started, HYDRA's attention would split — they'd have to deal with SHIELD breathing down their necks instead of hunting him full-time.
But that wasn't the only reason this move mattered.
He'd learned something else — something buried deep in the flood of information that came with his "golden finger." His blue wheel had another built-in function — Plot Points.
He could earn them by actively involving himself in the storyline. The more direct his actions were to the main events of the MCU, the more he'd earn. Changing the plot in significant ways, saving key characters, or altering outcomes — all of that brought higher rewards.
And those Plot Points weren't just some fancy numbers. He could use them — to upgrade his existing abilities and earn more spin chances for the Wheel of Marvels.
So not only would this move secure him a lifeline, but it would also boost his power in ways that mattered long-term.
He stopped thinking and looked up — the portal tearing open above Stark Tower, ships flooding through like a cosmic plague. Smoke was already rising from the city, and the faint sound of explosions echoed even this far out.
He exhaled slowly. "Alright, you alien assholes," he muttered. "Time to crash the party."
He wasn't going there to play hero out of kindness. He was going to make a name for himself, to force Fury's hand, to drag HYDRA into the light and keep them too busy to focus on him.
If he played it right, he could make himself a public weapon — one too useful to kill, and too visible to quietly erase.
'Save people. Kill aliens. Don't die naked,' he thought. 'And maybe piss off two of the most dangerous organizations on the planet while I'm at it.'
And with that, Liam decided to start speeding — toward the war, toward his first move in a very dangerous game where both HYDRA and SHIELD would learn one thing about him soon enough:
He wasn't someone they could control.