Chapter 236: The Inhumans of Hydra
"How is this possible? The entire army has been wiped out, not even those Winter Soldiers managed to escape."
At the Triskelion building, Pierce stared at the screen that had turned into static snow, his face filled with anger and shock.
He never expected that a mere mutant school would possess such terrifying strength.
His elite troops, capable of toppling S.H.I.E.L.D., were equipped with a large number of energy weapons, along with over thirty Winter Soldiers whose abilities rivaled Captain America's.
Yet in such a short time, they had vanished into thin air, with no news at all.
"Could it really be that George?"
Only now did Pierce suddenly recall the George he had previously overlooked.
Before, he had merely assumed that George was a puppet placed in the spotlight by Professor X, with the Academy of Superpowers—formerly known as the Mutant Academy—still under Professor X's true leadership.
The strongest mutant within the Academy was also believed to be Professor X.
However, even after they used a device that blocked brainwaves and rendered Professor X's powers useless, they were still struck by a terrifying large-scale lightning attack.
This suggested that the Academy of Superpowers still had another mutant who was no weaker than Professor X.
They had complete files on Wolverine Logan, and the others were just kids. The only likely candidate was George, the headmaster on the surface.
So he might have been wrong—George was probably the true leader of the Academy of Superpowers, and the most powerful mutant within it.
"Go, notify Dr. Zola to send all the newly developed robotic soldiers here for defense!"
After the Queens robotic soldier incident, S.H.I.E.L.D. had acquired some data on Anton Vanko's robotic soldier designs, and naturally, this data had ended up in Hydra's database as well.
With Hydra's technology surpassing that of S.H.I.E.L.D., they had quickly replicated a batch of similar Hydra robots.
However, since things had been going smoothly, and he had already successfully plotted against Nick Fury, Pierce had not needed to use this trump card.
Those completed Hydra robots were stationed at the base guarding the Cosmic Cube, all under the command of Dr. Zola.
Now, with the helicarriers about to launch, in order to prevent Coulson and the remaining weaklings from leading the mutants of the Academy of Superpowers to counterattack the Triskelion, they had to be redirected here for defense.
"If only I hadn't messed with those mutants to begin with."
After issuing his orders, Pierce couldn't help but feel some regret in his heart.
Had he known the consequences, he should have focused all efforts on capturing Coulson and his agents alive, then waited until the helicarriers were airborne and the whole world was under control before brainwashing them to find the location of the Academy of Superpowers.
That would've been the safest approach.
But he had grown complacent after taking over the Triskelion and killing Nick Fury, underestimating the Academy of Superpowers, thinking it was merely a group of adult mutants—nothing to worry about.
He figured it would be easy to eliminate them, and doing so could also prevent any interference at a critical moment.
"No, this still isn't safe enough. I need to borrow some people from that guy Stratt."
Pacing back and forth in the office, Pierce still felt uneasy. He used his communicator to contact another high-ranking Hydra leader—Baron Stratt.
Hydra was a global entity, but not entirely unified, with many small and large branches.
Pierce belonged to the faction developed by Zola, remnants of Red Skull's forces, primarily rooted within S.H.I.E.L.D. and growing stronger by leeching from it, aiming to use Zola's algorithm and Project Insight to let Hydra rule the world.
Baron Stratt, on the other hand, led another faction headquartered in Sokovia, mainly conducting research and experiments on superpowered individuals, hoping to use superpowers to let Hydra dominate the world.
Their goals were aligned, but their methods differed.
Normally, they helped each other when needed, but neither served as a subordinate to the other.
Thus, when Pierce launched Project Insight, the other faction leaders offered some support but didn't personally bring their forces to assist him.
Pierce had a good relationship with Baron Stratt. In fact, it was Pierce who, using S.H.I.E.L.D.'s name, helped secure the research base in Sokovia for him.
So borrowing a few superpowered individuals from Baron Stratt shouldn't be an issue.
Superpowered individuals fighting mutants—this gave him more peace of mind.
"Alright, no problem. I'll send a few of the strongest superpowered individuals to help you."
At Hydra's base in Sokovia, Baron Stratt swung his newly upgraded mechanical right hand—the Claw of Satan—twice, then hung up the call and ordered his subordinate nearby:
"Bring Jiaying to me!"
A moment later, a young woman with Asian features appeared before Baron Stratt.
"Baron, what are your orders?"
"Have Gordon take the strongest warriors from your clan to Pierce. And have your daughter Daisy come too—I heard her abilities have become very powerful after being awakened."
Stratt narrowed his eyes as he looked at the woman before him.
"Jiaying, you must understand—if not for me, you would've been dissected long ago by Dr. Reinhardt.
So I hope you won't harbor any other thoughts. Be loyal to me.
Once Hydra rules the world, I will give your people a land of your own. You can slowly gather the rest of your kind and won't have to fear being rejected by the world."
"Hail Hydra! We will be loyal to you, Baron."
Jiaying declared the Hydra slogan with a firm tone.
Stratt nodded in satisfaction and dismissed her.
Only when Jiaying returned to her room did she cautiously exhale in relief.
She was an Inhuman from the Inhuman race, possessing the power of immortality, and had long led the remaining Inhumans on Earth in a place called "Afterlife," working hard to find others with Inhuman genes.
During World War II, she had left Afterlife in search of Inhumans, but was captured by Hydra's Werner Reinhardt for experiments. He also stole the Obelisk.
The Obelisk contained a Terrigen Crystal that could awaken the powers of those with Inhuman genes, but would petrify and kill normal humans on contact.
Fortunately, Reinhardt was soon defeated by Peggy Carter's Howling Commandos, and Jiaying regained her freedom.
In 1989, while searching for Inhumans with the gene, she fell in love with a human doctor and had a child, intending to leave Afterlife to live a normal life.
But she once again fell into Hydra's hands. Seeing that her appearance hadn't changed in forty-four years, Hydra realized she was extraordinary.
Reinhardt originally intended to dissect Jiaying to uncover the secret of her immortality, but he was stopped by Baron Stratt.
(End of Chapter)