POV: Baldur
Control Room of Níðhöggr, Moritz Sector, Sweden
One Week After the Fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.
"My King, the facility has been emptied and all its data destroyed after we copied it."
From the serene vantage point of a snow-covered mountain in Sweden, Níðhöggr stands. What would be an idyllic and tranquil spot for a visit is, unfortunately, home to a secret Hydra base hidden within the mountain.
"That was faster than expected. Any casualties?" I ask, settling into the command chair of Níðhöggr.
"No, sir. This base is used solely for storing scientific resources, with only a handful of soldiers protecting it," reports one of my men seated below me.
My plan has proven to be a success. Since the battle a week ago, the Avengers have focused all their efforts on hunting down Hydra. We've attacked more than twenty bases and saved hundreds of loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives. However, I underestimated the amount of work this plan would entail.
Despite fighting non-stop for four days, moving from one location to another, we haven't managed to bring an end to it. Hydra is deeply rooted within S.H.I.E.L.D. Even though I could fight continuously for years, my friends can't. Therefore, we've established a rotation and rest system. Currently, Angela, Sam, and I are roaming the world, attacking any S.H.I.E.L.D. bases in search of traitors. It might seem excessive for my sister and me to lead the charge against their minor bases, but this plan was my proposal, and my sister appears to be enjoying herself immensely.
"Sir, we are ready to proceed to the next location. Should we move on?"
"Yes, fire!"
Níðhöggr then unleashes one of its energy blasts toward the base.
"BOOOM!"
One cannot underestimate the power of Níðhöggr's blasts. Even I would be gravely injured if struck by one. As the dust settles, the mountain returns to its tranquility, with the base now destroyed and buried under rubble. This is also one of my orders: all S.H.I.E.L.D. bases, once evacuated, must be destroyed to uproot them completely.
None of the Avengers objected to this, except Fury, who is literally shedding tears of blood over the situation. Speaking of the one-eyed man, I've discovered he's plotting something against me. During the Sentinel chaos, Natasha couldn't stay with Fury, which altered what was supposed to happen in the movies. Alexander Pierce should have triggered the device on the council members' suits, after which Fury would kill him.
What actually happened was that in his paranoia and stupidity, Fury let Alexander Pierce escape, even after he killed all the other council members.
I can only deduce that Fury did this to weaken or kill me. He was well aware of my personal power, but he thought that with Carol's help, he could defeat me if he deemed it necessary. Then he discovered that not only was my personal power immense, but so was my command center. Thus, he started seeking new plans to deal with this, with the metal used by the Sentinels being one such method. I should thank him for the metal recipe later; my scientists are already reverse-engineering it.
I've never been angry with Fury for looking for ways to deal with me. I have plans to handle each Avenger myself. But letting an enemy like Pierce escape crosses a line. I believe Fury took this action after seeing me destroy his ships so effortlessly. That was undoubtedly the final straw.
I also know what suggestion Pierce likely used to convince Fury to let him escape: Wanda and her brother, along with the enhanced Sentinels. Fury isn't foolish enough to think Pierce would willingly hand over Hydra's only hopes of gaining power. No, Fury is using the Avengers. At some point, he knows we'll encounter these two weapons, and he'll do everything to seize them after the battle. The Sentinels will be easier; he already has the files from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database. He just needs the metal and its creator.
He might not know about Wanda and her brother, but controlling them won't be a problem for him. Fury is very skilled at recruiting people to his cause when he wants to.
Of course, his plans were destined to fail from the start. The Sentinels were never a major issue, but Wanda is a different story. She is undoubtedly the most powerful mutant on Earth at the moment. She might be weak now, but she will surely live up to my analysis soon. So naturally, I've kept an eye on her. The only reason I haven't approached her yet is that I've been waiting for Loki's scepter to awaken her and her brother's mutant powers.
The scepter with the fake gem made me think it wouldn't be enough to awaken their X-gene, but I was wrong. All they needed was an extreme stress situation with a slight push from the energy I left to simulate the Infinity Stone in Loki's scepter.
"Sergeant, I want you to proceed to the next target and coordinate the attack. I'll be gone for some time."
"Yes, Sir!" responds the man standing at the foot of my chair.
The power of Níðhöggr and my soldiers aboard are more than enough to handle the targets. Now I have to pay a visit to Wanda and, hopefully, convince her that neither I nor the Avengers are her enemies.
I reach my destination using one of my jets. S.H.I.E.L.D. can track the energy I emit while flying, and logically, Hydra can do the same.
My jet lands in a dense, snow-covered forest. Sokovia is a European country bordering Slovakia and the Czech Republic. It is a beautiful country full of snow-capped mountains.
The forest where I landed is near the HYDRA Research Base, the place where one of the people I most want to kill in this world is: Dr. List. He is responsible for the vast majority of HYDRA's human modification projects, someone who would make even the Nazi Angel of Death vomit with his research.
"You arrived early."
A voice speaks from behind me. I neither flinch nor show surprise. I asked Amora to assist me in my task. She emerges from the trees wearing a long green coat with a hood covering her entire body. This level of cold won't even make her shiver, but she is wearing a coat, which I don't understand.
"Thank you for meeting me here, Amora," I say, greeting her.
"I will always help you if you ask," she says with a smile.
We haven't had the time to have our conversation. We're maintaining a distance, being polite to each other, exchanging only smiles.
(How I hate this.)
"Are you ready?" she asks me.
"Yes. How does it work?"
Hydra doesn't just have devices to track my flights; they also have equipment that would detect me if I tried to enter the base using light manipulation to become invisible. Additionally, there's a force field surrounding the entire installation.
"It's not that complicated," Amora explains. "I'll simply force your spirit out of your body, making you enter the astral plane. Then, I'll send your spirit to the location you wish to reach."
Given the robust defenses of the installation, sneaking in undetected was impossible, so I sought Amora's help to devise an alternative.
"Let's get this over with," I say to Amora.
She stands in front of me, smiling. Suddenly, I feel a sense of foreboding. Acting swiftly and without warning, she strikes me in the chest with the palm of her hand. The sensation is strange, but I don't resist it, knowing that if I did, I wouldn't be able to enter the astral plane.
My lifeless body falls to the ground while I float in the air. Unlike the astral projections shown in the Doctor Strange film, my soul isn't transparent and similar to my physical form. Instead, it's golden, with my entire body appearing as if made of pure gold.
"Your soul is very powerful and beautiful," Amora remarks, "but you should change your form to resemble your body. As you are now, you'll likely scare whoever it is you're trying to talk to."
I close my eyes and think of my physical form. My golden shape transforms into my familiar body.
"I'll send you now. Just focus on where you want to go."
Amora waves her hands in the air, and everything around me distorts. When my vision clears, I'm inside a cell with white floors and walls. The room is sparsely furnished with only a simple military bed, a desk, and a chair.
"Who are you?"
I turn and see the woman I've been looking for, Wanda Maximoff. Wearing a white shirt and simple pants, her long, tangled hair and beautiful face are marred by her makeup. She stands, staring at me. Before I can respond, I await Amora's next move. Soon, a layer of colorless energy emanates from my body, enveloping the entire room and sealing it.
"I know you. You're part of the Avengers, Viking!"
She doesn't notice Amora's actions and continues to glare at me. Without giving me a chance to speak, she makes the desk and chair fly towards me, but they pass right through my body and smash against the wall behind me.
(One of the advantages of being an astral projection.)
"What? A hologram?" she mutters to herself.
"I'm not here to hurt you, Miss Maximoff."
"Then why are you here?" she asks, circling me, perhaps thinking of a way to harm me.
Luckily, she's just awakened her powers and doesn't have much control over them, so she can't harm me in this form. She seems to realize this and stops attacking.
"I came to tell you the truth about Sokovia."
This piques her interest even more.
"So, that's why you're here? To poison my mind with lies?"
"I'm sorry to say this, but you were poisoned long ago."
Wanda simply smiles and crosses her arms.
"Go on then, tell me your lies while the guards get here."
"No guards will come. We are protected. As for what I'm about to tell you, once I start, you'll soon realize they're not lies."
"What makes you so sure of that?"
"You have some psionic abilities, Miss Maximoff. I won't give you full access to my mind, but you'll be able to sense if I'm telling the truth."
Wanda seems to accept this, though she remains guarded. I begin recounting the story, and as time passes, her cold expression shifts, first to shock, then to anger. She knows I'm telling the truth.
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