"But now…" Barton stared at the young people below—bodies riddled with tubes, writhing under inhuman experiments.
"…Hydra got their hands on the list. They abducted every gifted kid on it and turned them into lab rats."
"Fury, that old bastard…" Tony Stark's voice came through the comms. He hadn't infiltrated with them, but he was seeing everything through Natasha's feed.
"He gathered these kids—and didn't have the power to protect them," Tony growled.
"Instead, he gift-wrapped them for Hydra."
"Save them," Banner said, his skin beginning to tint green.
"We have to save them."
"Agreed," Tony replied without hesitation.
"Natasha—drop the defensive field. I'm tearing that castle apart."
"On it."
Natasha and Barton moved fast toward the control center.
"Who's there?!"
A sharp shout rang out.
They'd been too focused on the test subjects—missed the infrared sensor tucked in the corner.
The alarm detonated instantly.
"WOO—WOO—WOO—!!!"
Red lights flashed as the entire base snapped awake.
"We're burned!" Barton shouted, spinning and loosing three arrows in one fluid motion.
Three Hydra soldiers rushed out—three arrows pinned them to the wall.
"Go loud, Tony!"
No more stealth. Natasha hurled an EMP grenade straight into the control console.
"ZZZT—"
The energy shield covering the castle flickered twice… then died.
"Party time!"
Tony Stark, who'd been itching for this moment, snapped his faceplate shut.
"JARVIS—Iron Legion, deploy!"
BOOM—!!!
More than twenty fully automated Iron Man suits blasted out of the carrier bay, streaking toward the castle alongside Tony's Mark 43 like a meteor shower.
"Repulsors—maximum output!"
Tony roared as his palms thundered.
The battle erupted.
…
Command Center.
The shrill alarm made Baron Strucker frown.
"What's happening?"
"Report, Baron! Intruders detected! It's—the Avengers! Iron Man and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Hawkeye are confirmed!"
"Stark?" Strucker's face darkened.
"Are the experiment files backed up?"
"Backups complete."
"Excellent."
Gripping the blue vial, Strucker turned toward a hidden passage.
"Pierce has prepared a new base for us. I'm relocating the assets."
"This place… has outlived its usefulness."
…
Though Strucker fled, the gravity-field console remained active.
Pietro lay crushed against the floor, feeling as if his organs were being pulverized.
"Damn it…"
He tried to crawl free, but the pressure was overwhelming.
Thud!
A dull impact echoed through the room.
Then the sound of something heavy collapsing.
A Hydra soldier stationed at the console suddenly slumped sideways, unconscious—as if struck by an invisible fist.
Then another dropped.
"Who's there?!"
The remaining guard raised his weapon in panic.
Smack!
A chair flew through the air and smashed into his head.
"I'm right here, idiot!"
Silas's voice echoed through the empty space.
Though no one could see him, the console buttons began pressing themselves—one after another.
"Hmm—"
The crushing gravity vanished instantly.
"Haah—!"
Pietro sprang to his feet, gulping fresh air.
"Thanks, Silas!"
"No problem!" Silas replied smugly.
"Told you I'd be useful! This is called a ghost op!"
Pietro flexed his limbs, fury flashing in his eyes.
"Strucker escaped?"
"East tunnel."
"Find somewhere safe and hide." Pietro glanced at the monitors.
"I'm going for Wanda."
…
B3 Level.
The alarm and explosions had reached here.
Wanda stood before the isolation glass, staring at the hallway monitors.
On-screen, a gold-and-red armored figure tore through the castle's defenses.
Repulsors roaring. Missiles screaming.
That iconic helmet.
That glowing arc reactor.
Tony Stark.
In that instant, Wanda's mind dragged her back ten years.
A bomb in the middle of her living room.
The word STARK stamped on its casing.
Tick. Tick.
The rhythm of her childhood nightmare.
Fear twisted—then ignited into rage.
Bottomless rage.
"Stark…"
Scarlet energy flooded Wanda's pupils.
Her slender fingers dug into the reinforced glass.
"ZZZT—ZZZT—"
Red chaos energy spilled from her fingertips like living vines, crawling across the entire wall.
CRACK!
The first strike.
Fractures spread.
CRACK!
The second.
SHATTER—!!!
The glass exploded.
Wanda stepped out over shattered fragments, free at last.
Her hair lifted as if caught in an unseen wind, crimson light coiling around her like a living storm.
"You will pay for this," she whispered, walking toward the battlefield.
…
Castle Hall.
Hydra soldiers wielding Chitauri-modified energy rifles formed a dense web of fire.
Even so, they were being forced back by the Iron Legion.
Tony hovered midair, shoulder-mounted missile pods opening.
"Fwoosh—fwoosh—fwoosh—"
Smart missiles streaked into bunkers and emplacements, detonating in chained explosions.
"Left wing clear! Natasha—push upward!"
"Copy!"
Natasha weaved through the ruins with twin pistols, each shot lethal.
Barton covered from above—every arrow a sure kill.
Then—
A red mist surged into the battlefield.
"What the—"
Barton barely got the words out before a massive force slammed into his chest.
Wanda Maximoff—clad in crimson leather—strode forward, scarlet energy dancing between her hands.
She stared at Iron Man hovering before her, hatred boiling over.
"Tony! Look out!" Natasha screamed.
Too late.
Wanda thrust both hands forward.
A wave of red energy engulfed Tony's helmet.
Not a physical blow.
Tony's vision spun. Reality warped.
He was no longer in a Sokovian castle.
He saw the end.
Everyone was dead.
Captain America—only half a body left, shield shattered.
Thor's hammer lay dull and lifeless on the ground.
Natasha and Barton lay motionless in pools of blood.
And towering over the carnage—
Homelander, his jaw torn apart, as a colossal hand clawed its way up from beneath the earth.
"You could have saved us…"
In the vision, Captain America seized Tony's hand, voice raw and accusing.
"Why didn't you do more…?"
"Why didn't you try harder…?"
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