The massive gray Rhino was flung into the air by Hulk.
Even though the lobby ceiling was extremely high, Rhino's massive body smashed through the glass roof, disappearing to god knows where.
"HULK————"
Having easily dispatched his opponent, Hulk beat his chest in anger, seemingly unsatisfied with such a weak foe.
However, Hulk didn't need to worry about a lack of opponents.
Because Rhino's charge had smashed a path through the walls...
And through that path, more otherworld invaders—previously captured by the Avengers or SHIELD—came rushing out one after another.
There was a refined man in a suit emitting black-and-white smoke, his body devoid of color like a photographic negative.
There was an ugly humanoid toad crawling on the ground, flicking a long tongue wildly.
There was even a terrifying monster that looked like it was pieced together from dark green sludge, covered in weeds and vines, barely maintaining a humanoid shape.
Of course, most looked like ordinary people, but they were actually villains from parallel worlds possessing various skills or superpowers.
Individually, these people were all losers to the Avengers. Some were even weak enough to be captured by regular SHIELD agents.
However, they had been defeated one by one.
Now that they were all gathered together, the expressions on Steve and his team's faces turned extremely ugly.
And then...
A gust of wind swept through, and countless grains of sand rapidly converged in front of everyone to form a human face.
The face roared furiously at the Avengers present.
"YOU!! ALL OF YOU WILL DIE!!"
Amidst the roar, sand blasted their faces, stinging their skin.
But Steve and the others ignored the trivial pain.
Because they knew clearly.
Whether they would die today was uncertain.
But New York was about to fall into chaos again!
Of course, whether New York was chaotic or not didn't really matter to Hydra.
The reason Hydra didn't deploy many of their own agents to attack the Avengers at this branch base, but instead chose to release the otherworld invaders from the SHIELD prison, was simply to create chaos and tie down Steve and his team.
If these invaders could kill the Avengers, great. If not, at least they would keep them from leaving New York and interfering with the plan.
For Pierce and the others, Washington D.C. was the center of attention.
As Pierce issued the activation order to all Hydra sleepers within SHIELD...
Countless dormant Hydra agents turned their guns on their former colleagues and comrades.
One second, they were discussing where to hang out after work. The next, after glancing at their phones, the smiles on their companions' faces turned into bullet holes in their foreheads.
A single phrase, "Hail Hydra," instantly caused countless defections and even more deaths.
In just over ten minutes, the Triskelion had been completely taken over by Hydra.
Except for a few high-level agents who managed to escape thanks to their skills, the remaining true SHIELD members were either killed or captured, losing all ability to resist.
Meanwhile, on the ground floor of the Triskelion.
Alexander Pierce, the leader of the SHIELD-Hydra faction, was standing respectfully to the side, as if welcoming someone.
Behind him, Brock Rumlow (Crossbones), who had no idea why they were waiting here with a group of people, was whispering discreetly to Jasper Sitwell, who looked somewhat like a certain bald professor.
"Psst. Do you know who we're waiting for? Haven't we already taken SHIELD?"
Although he was asking, Crossbones' expression didn't change. His hands were behind his back, standing straight. Only the corner of his mouth moved slightly, his voice audible only to Sitwell beside him.
Hearing Crossbones, Sitwell glanced at him and replied softly, keeping his face equally impassive.
"I don't know. But Secretary Pierce seems to be very close with the 'Return Faction' lately."
Crossbones raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Return Faction? Those old fossils? We've taken SHIELD and are about to launch Project Insight. Why would the Secretary agree to let them come and steal the glory?"
Sitwell could only make a helpless face. He was also dissatisfied with the leader's behavior.
The Hydra Empire was about to be established. As a meritorious official, he might have become an imperial minister. Now that the Return Faction was suddenly riding on their heads, was his beautiful future about to go up in smoke?
Of course, since Crossbones didn't turn his head, he didn't see Sitwell's expression, nor could he know his thoughts.
But he didn't dwell on this topic, switching to another question.
"By the way, isn't Cap one of us? Everyone else has been activated. Why leave Cap in New York to hang out with the Avengers?"
"Not sure. Maybe Cap has a separate deep-cover mission? Like leading some Avengers to their deaths?"
"Cap's job is really tough then!"
"Tell me about it!"
Okay, although there were various rumors circulating within Hydra—like "Loki disguised as Cap," "Clone Cap made by another Hydra branch," or even ridiculous guesses like "Parallel World Cap"...
But as people who personally experienced the "Elevator Incident," Crossbones and Sitwell firmly believed that Steve Rogers was their great Hydra Captain.
Is this Cap real? Wouldn't we know?
In fact, many "Captain fans" within Hydra were slowly developed by these survivors of the Elevator Incident.
Since the higher-ups didn't stop them, it proved their guess was right.
As for why it was kept secret? Obviously, it was a necessary measure to protect such an important spy like Steve.
Sometimes Crossbones even felt that Pierce was getting old and the true Hydra Captain should lead them.
Well, regardless of how these two were feeling unjust for their great Hydra Captain...
As they spoke, the elevator doors in front of them opened again.
Alexander Pierce, who was already respectful, now added a touch of humility to his posture.
At this moment, Crossbones and the others seemed to understand why Pierce was acting this way.
The other people who appeared in the elevator didn't matter.
Because the "person" leading them was a bizarre creature with an octopus face.
More importantly, this octopus face bore a striking, 70-80% resemblance to their Hydra logo!