"Bucky!"
Steve froze when he saw the man bound in the metallic tails of a towering nine-tailed fox statue. His shield slipped from his hand and clattered to the ground as he rushed forward.
Rowan flicked his wrist, and the construct gently lowered its captive.
"Bucky. You're alive. I can't believe it—this is—hey!"
Steve barely finished speaking before a metal fist slammed into his jaw. The blow sent him skidding backward across the stone.
Decades of brainwashing had erased everything. The man Steve knew was still there in body, but not in mind.
Bucky didn't linger. The moment Steve went down, he turned and sprinted for the academy gates. He knew a losing fight when he saw one.
"Rowan!" Coulson shouted as Bucky gained distance.
Rowan didn't look concerned. "Relax. He's not getting out."
"Leaving already?" a deep voice roared.
The guardhouse door exploded outward as Colonel Blonsky emerged in his Abomination form. Bucky leapt, trying to clear the gate in one move.
Blonsky caught him midair with one hand.
The escape ended there.
He dragged Bucky back like luggage and dropped him unceremoniously onto the plaza.
Coulson stared. "I thought he was dead."
SHIELD had documented the Harlem incident in detail. Hulk. Abomination. Rowan. Broadway reduced to rubble. Officially, Abomination hadn't survived.
Apparently, he'd just taken a new job.
"He's been brainwashed," Rowan said calmly. "Professor, if you would."
Xavier nodded and moved in, placing his hand gently against Bucky's forehead.
Rowan turned away and stopped in front of Sitwell.
Sitwell wasn't a field enforcer like Garrett. He was worse. Recruitment. Persuasion. Infrastructure. He knew where the bodies were buried.
Rowan placed a hand on Sitwell's head.
"Legilimens."
Minutes passed.
Then Rowan smiled.
"Found it."
Sitwell had known the location. The facility where Hydra was extracting energy from the Tesseract. Garrett never had. He hadn't been trusted with something that critical.
Compared to Project Insight, this mattered far more to Rowan.
If Hydra could siphon power from the Space Stone, then so could he. Meditation. Research. Infrastructure. A limitless energy source, if it worked. And if it didn't, it would still be perfect for building something much larger in the future.
And more importantly, the Tesseract would be safer in his hands.
Rowan stepped back as Natasha and Coulson hurried over.
"Well?" Natasha asked.
"One hour," Rowan replied. "That's when the three carriers lift off."
The room stiffened.
"That's it," Natasha said. "We leave now."
From New York to Washington by air, they were already cutting it close. Once airborne, the carriers would be nearly impossible to track, let alone stop.
Rowan didn't respond immediately. Instead, he looked toward Xavier.
"How is he?"
Xavier withdrew his hand and gave a small nod. "He's back."
Rowan turned decisively. "Steve, you're leading. You, Bucky, Banner, and Logan. Take the jet. You'll reach Washington in thirty minutes."
Then, almost casually, he added, "I've overextended myself. I need to rest, so I won't be joining you."
Coulson studied him.
Rowan looked perfectly fine. Steady breathing. Clear eyes. No signs of strain.
But the last half hour had rewritten the definition of "overuse," so Coulson let it go.
Between Captain America, the Hulk, Wolverine, and a Winter Soldier who knew Hydra from the inside, the odds were good.
More than good.
"Thank you," Coulson said sincerely. "If SHIELD still exists after this, we won't forget what you did."
Nick Fury's final act had been passing the cube containing SHIELD's hidden infrastructure to Coulson. A quiet transfer of authority.
If this ended with SHIELD still standing, Coulson would be the one holding it together.
Rowan smiled faintly as the X-Jet prepared for departure.
Hydra had its plans.
So did he.