In the office of Arkham Sanatorium, Peter touched his left shoulder and said, "Fortunately, I have the symbiont. It can block my pain nerves, and then quickly help me repair my body."
He pressed hard where the wound should have been and said, "This is like a dream. Was I really stabbed?"
"Don't doubt it. If you hadn't been hurt, Iron Man and Captain America might be fighting right now."
"But they're attacking Mr. Strange now, treating him like a punching bag." Peter shrugged and said, "The spells he's using seemed pretty powerful, he should be fine, right?"
"However…" Peter changed the topic, a worrisome expression on his face, he said, "I found the Captain's behavior kind of weird - every time Bucky got mentioned, he seemed to lose control of his emotions."
"He may have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); a lot of veterans do. It's just a matter of whether it's more or less obvious."
"But didn't he seem all right before? He could probably count as one of the most clear-headed among us."
"People with PTSD can't handle specific triggers -- Bucky may be the trigger that sets off his stress responses."
"What should we do then? When Bucky wakes up, they will definitely meet. And then Mr. Stark will be…" Peter held his head and sighed helplessly. He could already imagine the chaos that would inevitably ensue.
"So, the real problem still lies in solving Hydra." Shiller reached out, taking a file from the bookshelf next to him, he said, "I have some leads on T'Challa's injury and poisoning."
Shiller handed the file to Peter and said, "I called you over because I want you to take this file to The Avengers."
"What is it?" Peter asked as he took the file.
"The origin of Hydra."
"The origin of Hydra?" Stark said as he held the file, "Isn't Hydra just a spy organization developed by the Nazis? Their origin is what…"
As he spoke, he flipped open the first page of the file. The word "Hive" was written in large letters.
The most well-known origin story of Hydra is the one related to the Nazis, and while that origin story is true, the current massive Hydra organization did indeed build its foundation upon the intelligence agency established by the Nazis.
However, if we trace back to the era when the Nazi Hydra was created, the Red Skull was actually inspired by another organization also named Hydra - but this Hydra is completely different from today's Hydra.
Long ago, a powerful Alien Hive was sent to Earth. A group of Earthly believers revered this hive as a god and established an organization for the purpose of welcoming the hive back.
Throughout the vast span of history, this earliest version of Hydra developed countless historical branches, while the original Hydra quietly supported these branches.
Compared to the subsequent spy organization, this original Hydra is more like a secret church, comprising many talented individuals and ancient families. Their only purpose is to retrieve that strong hive to enable the Alien Hive to conquer Earth, so they could become the only citizens of the New Earth.
How Shiller got a hold of this information started with a particular head of Hydra that was sold to Mephisto. Those high-ranking individuals were quite knowledgeable about these historical facts. However, according to this Hydra head's memory, he had never met any members from this mysterious original Hydra - or so he said. Apparently, only the top-ranking members of the Nazi Hydra were entitled to meet them.
Shiller, already knowing about the history of Hydra, didn't find this surprising. However, he knew he had to inform Stark and Steve about it.
Do you think dealing with the current Hydra is tough? Don't worry, there are even tougher challenges waiting for you.
Shiller was not interested in this organization because he had dealt with a similar organization in the DC World, the Court of Owls, whose origins and nature were almost identical. Shiller was not interested in collecting another collection of this sort.
However, what he did not expect was that, while he did not go looking for the original Hydra, this organization suddenly found him.
One dark winter night, Shiller had just finished counting the recent wool he had sheared from Hydra and was about to sleep when the door of the sanatorium was knocked.
Shiller heard the knock and then...he turned and went to bed.
Don't expect him to act like the protagonists in horror movies who, hearing an eerie noise in the middle of the night, would go down in their pajamas to check. Shiller considered it to be just the wind moving the door and had not an iota of intention to go down and open it.
The person outside, after knocking for a while, realized his folly.
This horror movie trope will only seem thrilling when the protagonist cooperates. The night door seems like a wild beast's mouth, the protagonist's footsteps echo in the empty hallway, and a mysterious man in a black robe appears at the door as it creaks open...
But if the protagonist doesn't cooperate, it looks like a clumsy insurance salesman helplessly knocking at a client's door…
The person outside finally realized this and walked straight into the sanatorium's front door, walked up the stairs, and knocked on the door of every room upstairs, but got no response.