In the near-border region of the United States, in New Jersey, it was already nighttime. The desolate wilderness lay in complete darkness, with only a few faint stars casting their dim light.
A couple of shadows appeared silently, expertly scaling the three-meter-high electric fence that enclosed the old military base. It was a lifeless place with abandoned fortress structures and military buildings that resembled colossal tombs, surrounded by high-voltage electric wire fences that had long been out of service.
"The signal disappears here; there must be routers and signal-blocking devices in place," Natasha said while holding a signal detector in her hand, her face filled with exasperation.
She turned around to see Steve standing at the entrance, his expression distant as he gazed blankly at the modern-style building in front of him.
"What's wrong? Did you find something?" Natasha asked, puzzled.
Steve shook his head gently and reflected, "This... is where Kyle and I began our military careers."
"Kyle, you mean..." Natasha said as her gaze shifted back to the inconspicuous military base. Her beautiful eyes sparkled with amazement.
She hadn't expected this base, which had nurtured Captain America, to be the place where the Symbol of Peace had originated. To call this base the birthplace of legends was not an exaggeration.
"Follow me. That building next to it didn't exist when I left; it must have been built later." Steve waved his hand and led Natasha toward the main entrance of a large building.
He raised his vibranium shield and, without hesitation, smashed it directly into the locked door.
With a resounding crash, the metal door fell inward, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Natasha watched the breach and couldn't help shaking her head, muttering to herself, "Impressive, you certainly fought alongside the Boss in the past..."
The two entered the building, and Steve managed to locate the main circuit breaker, restoring power. Countless light bulbs flickered to life, casting a soft, yellow glow throughout the building.
The interior appeared to be the layout of an underground workspace, with many bookshelves for file storage, desks, and chairs. Giant photos of figures adorned the walls on either side of the main hall.
From left to right, they were Kyle, Fury, Howard, and finally, the emblem of SHIELD, the eagle, sword, and shield combination.
Natasha thought for a moment and then realized, "I see. This is where the original members of SHIELD were established. The SHIELD headquarters in New York had already been built by the time I was recommended to join by the Boss, and this old site was directly abandoned."
"Although it seems abandoned on the surface, there are still people using it secretly," Steve said as he employed his extensive investigative experience to swiftly discover a hidden underground chamber.
They proceeded deeper into the facility to uncover the secrets hidden behind SHIELD.
Five minutes later, the two of them found themselves in the underground chamber, facing off against a supercomputer.
Indeed, their adversary was a Supercomputer!
More accurately, it was a collection of multiple-unit storage machines, old-fashioned monitors, dusty cameras, and more. It was an "Artificial Intelligence" used internally by SHIELD.
However, this artificial intelligence wasn't derived from machine-generated thought but rather from the memories and consciousness of a former Hydra scientist who had transformed his brain into code data just before his death.
This supercomputer had been subtly guiding Hydra for decades, secretly infiltrating SHIELD and even tampering with Fury's highest-level permissions.
This was the most severe mistake made by SHIELD since its inception, taking in former Hydra scientists for the sake of rapid development and experimenting with the conversion of humans into machines.
"Captain Steve Rogers, I remember very clearly that you were on a train with that devil when you initially attempted to annihilate us." On the display screen, a digitally formed skeletal smiley face appeared, and an icy, mechanical voice emerged from the loudspeakers.
"It's you," Steve said, his brow furrowing.
He remembered that day over sixty years ago, on a speeding train, the Hydra scientist that Strike Team Mission was sent to apprehend. In that battle, Bucky had fallen into the depths of an icy ravine while trying to save him. If it weren't for Kyle's Blue Falcon swooping in, all three of them might have died.
"You finally remember me." The skull grinned and said triumphantly. "But among the three of you, there was a soldier who has been working for us for the past ten years, somewhat making amends for his sins."
Steve shuddered, veins popping as his anger was barely contained. "Bucky? Where is he now? Tell me!"
"Your afternoon attack on Fury? That was him. He's currently in New York, safe and sound. But as for the two of you... you're about to die!"
As the skull spoke, its voice grew darker, revealing a hidden menace.
*Crackle, Crackle, Crackle!*
The main door to the basement suddenly closed, sealing the room housing the supercomputer completely.
"Captain!" Natasha scanned her surroundings and an ominous feeling welled up inside her. Years of combat experience were telling her to get out of here.
"What have you done?" Steve exclaimed. He clenched his fist and punched the screen displaying the skull's head, shattering it. But in the next moment, another monitor lit up, and the bouncing skull cackled, "From the moment you entered, missiles were launched toward this location. I've been stalling for time, and in five seconds, everything here will turn to dust! There's no time to escape!"
"Damn it!" Steve's face turned pale. He acted with lightning speed, using one hand to push Natasha down and holding his vibranium shield high over their heads. The skull continued to laugh as it initiated a countdown, "Three, Two, One!"
The next moment, the expected missile strike didn't occur, and all sounds suddenly ceased. The basement fell into eerie silence.
"...?" Steve was puzzled as he looked at the display screen. The digital face of the skull was frozen as if it too didn't understand what had just happened.
The skull muttered in self-doubt, "Where are the missiles? How could this happen? The missile signals... they disappeared suddenly?"
*Boom!*
At the same time, the automatic door that had closed was struck from the outside with tremendous force. The Iron material door yielded under pressure, leaving a massive dent in it.
Steve lowered his shield while exhaling heavily. "He's here."
"It's over," Natasha said, shrugging her shoulders.
"He?" The skull was utterly confused.
In the next moment, the impact sound multiplied several times, causing the entire building to shake violently from a single blow, even though the Iron material door should have been impenetrable.
At the entrance, Kyle withdrew his massive hammer-shaped left hand and carried the wreckage of a metal shell in his right hand as he walked in calmly.
A meter behind him, Raina and Lorna entered the hall, one on the left and one on the right, following closely behind him.
(End of this chapter)