"Quick, quick, quick!"
The Ultimate Team rushed over as soon as they received Monica's message.
Looking at the endless plain, if they hadn't known this information came from the Bat to S.H.I.E.L.D.,they might've really thought someone was playing a prank on them.
When they landed, they immediately noticed the mark Bruce had left on the ground.
"Looks like the Bat got here ahead of us," Captain America said with concern as he looked at Bruce's mark.
Not many people had any idea what was going on inside.
Now Bruce had gone in alone, which was a bit worrying.
But thinking about Bruce's capabilities, Captain America could only sigh.
That Bat could be considered more reliable than most members of the Ultimate Team.
Thor, unlike Captain America, wasn't one to overthink. He raised his hammer and prepared to strike the place marked by the Bat as the secret base entrance.
But anywhere Hydra designates as a secret base is bound to have defenses.
Before Thor could even bring his hammer down, the surrounding defenses of the base were already activating.
Dozens of automatic defense guns sprang from the ground and opened fire indiscriminately.
Luckily, everyone present was a member of the Ultimate Team and not regular S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Otherwise, under such intense firepower, few would have survived.
Even members of the Ultimate Team suffered some damage under the barrage. If it hadn't been for Captain America and Thor shielding the front, members like Hawkeye might've been killed on the spot.
Iron Man arrived late to the scene, and the defensive weapons, which had originally targeted Captain America and Thor, quickly switched focus to him.
From Hydra's original threat assessment, Iron Man posed a greater danger than both Thor and Captain America.
At least Thor and Cap couldn't use scientific methods to locate Hydra's hideouts—but Iron Man could.
"Aren't you guys supposed to wait for me?"
Iron Man spoke through the comms. He had told them before to wait until he arrived before initiating the operation.
He hadn't expected Thor to be so impatient.
"I thought that Bat had already taken care of all the perimeter defenses," Thor said a bit sheepishly while using his lightning to deflect the incoming bullets, speaking to Stark over the comms.
Just as Stark was about to launch a counterattack on the defenses, all the weapons suddenly shut down.
The previously sealed gate of the secret base opened. Bruce walked out step by step. Seeing the chaotic mess around, he seemed to understand what had happened.
Clearly, these guys had spotted the mark he left but hadn't examined the surroundings properly before barging in to open the place.
Captain America looked anxiously at Bruce. He wanted to know how Miles was doing.
Even though he hadn't had much to do with the death of the previous Spider-Man, that person had still been his friend. He didn't want to see the same tragedy happen again.
Especially since this new Spider-Man had been trained by him personally. If anything went wrong, he couldn't absolve himself of responsibility.
But before he could even approach Bruce, he saw Miles walking out, supporting his parents.
"Oh, hey, everyone," Miles waved at the members of the Ultimate Team, then plopped down on the ground. He was utterly exhausted.
Not only from the mental strain of being treated as a lab subject, but also because he had just taken down a large number of Hydra soldiers and agents—and even teamed up with the Bat to defeat Doctor Doom.
All of it left Miles physically and mentally drained.
"If you go in now, you might still be able to drag Doctor Doom out,"Miles said with a smile.
But his words left the Ultimate Team utterly stunned. None of them had expected Doctor Doom, missing for so long, to show up here.
Even after hearing this, they didn't rush in immediately. They were well aware of Doctor Doom's capabilities.
It was possible the one Miles defeated wasn't the real Doctor Doom, but rather a robot duplicate made by him.
"I scanned him. That was a real, living person—not a robot."
Bruce understood their concerns and shared his scan results with Stark. As the tech genius among them, Bruce believed Stark would be able to interpret the data correctly.
Captain America turned to look at Stark. It wasn't that he didn't trust the Bat, but he needed confirmation from another source to validate Bruce's claim.
After reviewing the scan, Stark had to admit Bruce was indeed a genius in this field—though perhaps still a bit below his own level.
"I'll have Anthony send over a set of restraint armor."
With that, Stark acknowledged the accuracy of Bruce's findings.
Captain America didn't say much else about what had happened. In his view, the Ultimate Team's role here had been minor, more like background extras than key players.
"So... this has nothing to do with us now, huh?"
Thor looked around with his hammer in hand, realizing there didn't seem to be anything left that required his help.
"I'm going back to help Susan search for those stones."
Thor had a hunch that the Infinity Stones in Susan's possession might be tied to something much bigger. Compared to that, Doctor Doom and Hydra felt like minor threats.
Especially after seeing what his son had done, Thor had come to believe that the power within the Infinity Stones might be beyond their comprehension.
Captain America nodded, though not because he thought the stones were that important. He simply believed such powerful objects should never fall into the wrong hands.
As Thor left, Stark's restraint armor arrived.
"I'll go down and secure that guy, then have him sent to the S.H.I.E.L.D. prison."
Stark directed Anthony to pilot the restraint armor into the Hydra base.
Meanwhile, Miles, sitting off to the side, had already fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion.
Right now, he didn't want anything. He just wanted to collapse in bed and sleep soundly.
"So, what's next?"Captain America turned to Bruce, wanting to know if the Bat had any further plans and whether the Ultimate Team's help would still be needed.
"You might need to make another trip—to catch this guy."
Bruce uploaded the data directly to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s system. Most likely, Monica, who was currently commanding from the New York S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, had already received the intel.
"The superhuman squad Nick Fury once assembled may have been detained by S.H.I.E.L.D., but the true mastermind is still out there."
While Bruce was infiltrating Hydra's secret base, he had already deployed his nanobots to hack into their system.
After all, Miles had appeared inside Hydra's secret base, and the ones initially sent to capture him were two former members of the Superhuman Squad.
In other words, Hydra was undoubtedly involved in the Superhuman Squad's escape—possibly even Doctor Doom himself.
Bruce had indeed uncovered that man's true identity, and at the same time, received a rather shocking piece of information: General Thaddeus E. Ross had died here.
While Captain America and the others were going over the data, Bruce had already turned around and started walking toward his Batmobile.
"Wait, aren't you coming with us?"
Seeing Bruce seemingly about to leave, Hawkeye asked. After all, this whole thing had been uncovered by the Dark Knight himself.
"Just now, some of Kingpin's former men stormed into a hospital and took the entire place hostage, trying to force the NYPD to release their boss."Bruce didn't even look back. He simply closed the hatch of his Batmobile, hit the accelerator, and disappeared from the Ultimates' sight.
"Man, what a show-off."
That line didn't come from Hawkeye—it was from Stark, who had just landed beside them.
To be honest, Stark always thought he was the most impressive member of the Ultimates. But compared to Bruce, it felt like he was still a tier below.
Hearing Stark's comment, Hawkeye just rolled his eyes, leaving Stark to reflect on it himself.
"Is Doctor Doom taken care of?" Captain America didn't pay much attention to Stark's remark. He was more concerned with Doctor Doom's current situation.
"Gotta admit, that kid hits hard. Even Doom's armor has visible dents. But it looks like Doom was knocked out by a massive electric shock."
Stark found it a bit strange. According to his calculations, even if Bruce's nanobots had energy storage capabilities, it was still impossible for them to release such a powerful current in an instant—enough to knock Doom out cold.
And that kid hadn't displayed any energy-based abilities so far.
"Maybe we should ask him."
Stark looked at the sleeping Miles.
"Well, we'll have to wait for him to wake up first before we can do anything," Captain America said quietly, bringing the conversation to a close, then turned his attention to Stark.
"Did you see the data uploaded by that bat? I need you to take care of that guy."
"No problem."
In an instant, the red suit soared into the sky, leaving behind a trail of light as it sped off into the distance.
Captain America let out a sigh. He was finding it harder and harder to understand this country. He didn't know why so many people were obsessed with dividing what was once a fairly beautiful nation.
It was as if only by tearing it apart could they meet their expectations.
At that moment, Ford was pacing anxiously in his mansion.
He couldn't reach that man—the one who claimed he could make his wishes come true. He couldn't even get in touch with Hydra's representatives anymore.
The anxiety was eating away at Ford like ants on a hot pan. He had no idea what kind of fate awaited him next.
Sitting down in a chair, Ford took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down and face whatever might come with a clear mind.
He was certain that he had cleaned up all traces of his dealings with Hydra and Doctor Doom. Hardly anyone would know he had been involved with them.
As for his visit to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base holding the Superhuman Squad, he was simply there for an inspection. The order at the time was solid, and there was no reason anyone would suspect him.
In Ford's eyes, everything was perfectly covered.
Still, he was worried.
If Hydra had indeed recorded his visit, or kept any trace of his communications with Doctor Doom...
Then with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources, they could surely uncover it. If that happened, he wouldn't even have a chance to run.
"No... I have to get out."
A man capable of plotting a nation's independence was not one to hesitate. He immediately picked up the phone, intending to contact his secretary.
But before he could even dial, the floor-to-ceiling window behind him shattered. If not for the chair shielding him, he might have been cut by the glass.
"Nice office décor. A bit too flashy, though—definitely has that nouveau riche vibe."
Wearing the Iron Patriot armor, Stark landed behind Ford and casually critiqued the office's interior.
"What do you want? I'm the Governor of Sacramento! Your actions could be considered treason!"
Ford's heart skipped a beat when he saw Iron Man, but he forced himself to stay composed.
He immediately accused Iron Man of treason, trying to frame any further action Stark might take within that context—branding him as the traitor instead.
"Whoa, whoa, sir. That really hurt my feelings," Stark said dramatically, placing his hand over the arc reactor on his chest.
Even though no one could see his face, everyone could almost feel Stark's exaggerated expression of dismay.
"Don't you know? This armor is called the Iron Patriot. How could someone like me possibly commit treason?"
"But attacking a U.S. governor in broad daylight—how is that not treason?"
While Ford spoke, he pressed a button on his desk.
It wasn't to call security. It was a signal for his hidden trump card.
"You know," Stark said, dropping the theatrics and standing upright, "I learned a neat trick from the Bat—give someone a fake command."
"Before I even came here, I already sent your 'big dumb enforcer' off to San Francisco."
"So now, no one's coming to save you. I've already cut off all your communications."
"You're the traitor now."
(End of Chapter)
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