The alarms blared across the Security Bureau. Guards scrambled into formation while the higher-ups rushed into underground safe rooms under armed escort.
Amid the chaos, Kai dissolved into particles of light and vanished.
Ten minutes later, inside the control room filled with dozens of surveillance monitors, the Head of Security glared at every screen, refusing to miss even a corner.
Yet even after the alarms stopped, no suspicious figure appeared on any camera.
"Report!" he barked when his subordinates rushed in. "What the hell just happened? Where's the intruder? Why did every alarm go off at once? Was it a cyberattack?"
"Sir!" one guard saluted. "All units have completed a full sweep. Radar scanned every corner of the base—no intruders detected. Cybersecurity also confirmed there was no hack."
"So… maybe a wiring issue?" another offered.
"Wiring issue?"
The Head of Security glared so hard the guard wanted to disappear.
This was the most advanced agency on Earth—S.H.I.E.L.D. tech didn't have "wiring problems."
But still… no visual intruder, no digital traces, no radar pings. Yet all the lights blew out and every alarm triggered at once.
"Have the technical team run a full recheck," he ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
As his team scattered, the Head of Security took out his phone and sent a coded message to his superior.
Ten kilometers away, Kai, now wearing the Falcon's gear, texted Steve Rogers and vanished in a flash of light.
"Sam, Kai's got your equipment," Steve said as he drove. "He's waiting at your place."
In the passenger seat, Sam Wilson nodded. In the back, Natasha Romanoff sat beside a tied-up Jasper Sitwell.
"Nat, get him talking," Steve said.
Natasha cracked her knuckles. "Oh, that's my specialty."
She motioned for Steve to roll down the back window, grabbed Sitwell by the collar, and shoved his head out into the cold wind.
Cars whizzed past, inches from his face. Frost collected instantly on his glasses.
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" Sitwell screamed as another car nearly clipped him.
Natasha yanked him back in. Her voice was calm, but her eyes were ice.
"That's not like you, Sitwell. Be honest. I don't care if you live or die."
"When I joined S.H.I.E.L.D., I thought it meant something. Then I learned it was just Hydra in a new coat of paint."
"You Hydra bastards love saying, 'Cut off one head, two more shall take its place.' Let's test that—see if two grow back after I smash yours."
She shoved him out again. "Speed up, Steve!"
The car lurched forward. Wind tore at Sitwell's face like knives. Through his foggy lenses, he saw the rear of an SUV rushing up to meet him.
"Wait, wait! I'll talk!" he screamed, just before his head would've splattered. Natasha yanked him back in. The SUV whooshed by inches from his nose.
Panting, Sitwell collapsed against the seat.
"Good. Because next time, I might not pull you back," Natasha said coldly.
Sitwell swallowed hard. "You made a mistake… a big one. You shouldn't have dragged Flashman into this."
"Pierce ordered Fury's assassination and covered it up to keep the Avengers out of it. But now, Kai will never have peace again."
"Tell us about Project Insight," Natasha said, gripping his collar. "And the Zola Algorithm."
Sitwell's voice trembled. "The Zola Algorithm selects targets for Project Insight."
"What kind of targets?" Steve asked, frowning.
"Anyone who could threaten Hydra. You, Tony Stark, Kai, that neurosurgeon in New York, a TV host in Cairo—anyone who might be dangerous now or in the future."
"The future? You can predict the future?" Steve pressed.
"Of course. The 21st century is an open book, and Zola taught Hydra how to read it. Bank records, medical history, voting patterns, emails, phone calls—even SAT scores. The algorithm predicts what people will do before they do it."
"And then?" Steve demanded. "What happens after the prediction?"
"Then Project Insight's Helicarriers eliminate them—all threats, gone."
"Project Insight…" Steve muttered, connecting the dots.
"It launches in sixteen hours," Sitwell added nervously, glancing around. "And Hydra doesn't like leaks. Without Flashman, you won't be able to—"
CRASH!
A metal arm punched through the car roof, grabbed Sitwell, and flung him into the road.
A truck rolled over him before anyone could react.
Meanwhile, in Sam's apartment, Kai was lounging on the couch, peeling an orange, with Sam's Falcon gear on the table.
"I told you, Tony—it's impossible to dock my pay. I'm on leave!" Kai said over the phone.
"Funny," came Tony Stark's voice from his lab in Stark Tower. "I don't recall approving your vacation request."
"Pretty sure Pepper Potts is the CEO," Kai replied. "So I texted her. Also—who are you again?"
"F— you, kid! I own Stark Industries! Well, 87% of it. Pepper just does the paperwork."
"Anyway, why'd you take leave? You hate resting."
Kai popped an orange slice in his mouth. "Unlike you, Tony, I actually enjoy free time."
"Cut the crap, brat," Tony said, tossing a blueberry in his mouth while scanning armor diagnostics. "What's really going on?"
"You capitalist vampire. Mind your own business for three minutes," Kai shot back, and hung up.
Tony stared at his phone. "Jarvis, track that little bastard by satellite."
"Yes, sir."
Hours later, Steve, Natasha, and Sam were captured by a S.H.I.E.L.D. tactical team.
In the transport van, Steve sat silently, cuffs on his wrists.
Sam leaned over. "You okay?"
"It was him… Bucky. He looked right at me, but didn't know who I was."
"After seventy years?" Sam murmured. "That's insane."
"Zola experimented on his unit. Hydra must've found Bucky after he fell."
"It's not your fault, Steve," Natasha said weakly.
Steve clenched his fists. "Even when I had nothing… I still had Bucky."
Falcon noticed blood on Natasha's shoulder. "She's bleeding out! We need a doctor—"
Before he could finish, one soldier stunned another with a taser and kicked him unconscious. The soldier pulled off his helmet—it was Maria Hill.
"This thing's giving me a migraine," she muttered, brushing her hair back. "Who's the new guy?"
Half an hour later, beneath an abandoned dam, Hill supported Natasha as they stepped out of the car.
"I already sent Kai the coordinates," Hill said. "Honestly, if he'd been with you, you wouldn't have been caught so easily."
Natasha winced. "Yeah, I kinda miss him right now."
Light gathered ahead—then Kai appeared, wearing his iconic yellow-striped suit.
"Someone mention me?" he grinned.
"Injured?" he asked, glancing at Natasha.
"I'll live," she said, forcing a smile. "Just a bullet bite."
Hill opened the iron gate beneath the dam. "Let's go. Someone's waiting for you."
Inside, the corridor flickered dimly. Doctors rushed by.
"Incoming—one gunshot wound, lost a pint of blood!"
"Got it!" shouted a medic.
Hill led them into a curtained-off room—Nick Fury, alive but battered, lay on a hospital bed.
"You're finally here," Fury rasped.
Kai blinked. "Damn, Director Fury… you're not dead yet?"
Fury just stared. "..."
Outside the dam, Tony Stark landed in his armor.
"Jarvis, are you sure this is the place? Why's Kai here?"
"I can't say, sir, but Mr. Kai clearly doesn't want your involvement."
"I don't care, Jarvis. That kid needs me."
"I must disagree, sir. He's… stronger than—"
"He's still young," Tony cut him off. "He needs an older, wiser mentor."
He flew down the corridor and arrived just in time to hear Hill's argument with Kai.
"The SUV cost a million, hotel three hundred grand, holiday overtime five times normal rate, plus operations, rescue, hazard pay, and emotional damages—total reimbursement, $7.2 million," Kai recited, handing Hill a note.
Hill's expression cracked. "Kai, this—"
"I think it's perfectly reasonable!" Tony announced, landing with a thud. "You know, once he charged me fifty grand for a cheeseburger in Tennessee."
"That was gourmet pricing," Kai muttered. "Why the hell are you here, Tony?"
"I'm your boss. You skipped work. I came to drag you back."
"I told you—Pepper approved my leave!"
"I didn't. And next time you vanish, I'm docking a month's pay."
"You're a black-hearted capitalist who deserves to be hung on a street lamp."
Tony flipped him off. Kai flipped him right back.
In the makeshift command room, everyone gathered—Steve, Natasha, Sam, Hill, Fury, Tony, and Kai (still eating oranges).
Fury held up a photo of Alexander Pierce. "He once refused the Nobel Peace Prize. Said 'Peace isn't an achievement—it's a responsibility.' Damn hypocrite."
Natasha spoke up. "We need to stop those Helicarriers before launch."
"Right," Fury said, opening a case of three chips. "We swap out their targeting modules. Replace all three, or it won't work."
Hill nodded. "If even one stays operational, millions die."
Kai stretched. "Why bother? I can just blow up all three. Three million per ship, ten million total—group discount."
Everyone stared.
Tony sighed. "Honestly, he can do it."
Fury rubbed his temples. "Those ships cost billions—"
"Not our problem," Steve interrupted. "We're taking down both Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Wait, what?" Fury snapped.
Steve glared. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is Hydra now. You just didn't see it."
Fury fell silent. Hill looked conflicted. Natasha sided with Steve. Tony stayed quiet.
Kai shrugged. "As long as you pay me."
Sam raised a hand. "I'm with Cap—but probably slower."
Fury sighed. "Fine. Your call, Captain."
After the meeting, Tony sat beside Kai. "Why's this orange so sour? And what's up with Steve?"
"Winter Soldier," Kai said. "Turns out he's Bucky Barnes."
Tony froze. "The guy who fell off that train seventy years ago? No wonder Steve's losing it."
Kai nodded. "He thinks Fury hid it."
Tony leaned back. "If the rest of Steve's old squad shows up, I won't even blink."
Kai grinned and held up the last orange slice. "Last piece. Two hundred grand."
"F— off. You charged me a hundred grand for the last one!"
"Inflation."
Outside S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, Tony sipped Kai's overpriced coffee. "So, just the two of us, huh? We could just fly in and kill Pierce."
"Tempting," Kai said, leaning against a tree. "But Steve wants both Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. gone. Nat's inside, dumping all their secrets."
"So we wait for the Helicarriers to launch, then blow them sky-high."
Tony smirked. "Ten million total? Honestly, cheap."
"Glad you see it that way," Kai grinned.
"Don't even think about billing me," Tony warned. "I'm not paying S.H.I.E.L.D.'s tab too."
"You said it saves lives!"
"Yeah, yeah. You and Fury can hang on the same street lamp, you capitalist troll."
Inside S.H.I.E.L.D., Alexander Pierce toasted the World Security Council. "Project Insight will earn the world's gratitude."
Moments later, Steve Rogers' voice boomed through the speakers.
"My name is Steve Rogers. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been infiltrated by Hydra. Their leader is Alexander Pierce. They're among us—maybe standing right next to you."
Across the facility, chaos erupted.
Pierce snarled. "Launch the Helicarriers now!"
"Damn," Tony muttered, tossing his coffee. "Cap's speech worked a little too well."
Kai peeled another orange. "I just hope Hill wires me that seven million soon."
The ground rumbled.
Three massive Helicarriers rose into the sky.
Tony looked at Kai. "Speech failed. Our turn."
Kai popped the last orange slice into his mouth, grinned, and turned into light.
Onboard the Helicarriers, gunfire erupted. S.H.I.E.L.D. loyalists fought Hydra agents in brutal chaos.
A blinding beam ripped through one ship's engine—Kai had arrived.
"Flash! Kill him!" Hydra soldiers screamed.
Others shouted, "Flash's with us! Long live Flashman!"
Laser turrets swiveled toward him—but Kai smirked. "Oh my, scary toys."
He raised his hand. The Reality Stone's power flared.
The turrets shattered into dust.
Then, flickering like lightning, Kai dove into the melee. Blinding bursts exploded from his fingertips—Hydra soldiers dropped one after another.
Steve was right: anyone who aimed a gun at him was the enemy.
Hydra's forces collapsed fast.
"Kai!" Hill shouted through comms. "Stop slacking off and swap the chip already!"
"Yeah, yeah," Kai said, smiling as the battlefield blazed below.