POV: Third Person
Sentinel Creation Room
HYDRA Research Base, Sokovia
Border of Slovakia and the Czech Republic
The giant robot seated on its throne turned its gaze toward Pietro. Twin beams of energy shot from its eyes, striking the spot where the siblings had stood. In a blur of motion, Pietro reappeared on the opposite side of the room with his sister. However, his confident demeanor had vanished. His shoulder bore a scorched mark where the energy beam had grazed him, despite his incredible speed.
"What is this monster?!" he asked, fear evident in his voice.
Before Wanda could respond, another energy blast from Master Mold's eyes was headed their way. She quickly summoned a red energy shield in front of them, but it shattered upon impact, sending both siblings flying across the room and crashing into the wall.
"We need to escape!" Pietro urged, scrambling to his feet.
"BAM!"
Master Mold, being highly intelligent, immediately responded by sealing the doors they had entered through, effectively cutting off any means of retreat.
{Mutants contained. Commencing eradication!} the robotic voice declared.
Pietro helped his sister to her feet.
Her head had hit the wall, leaving her dazed. He lifted her in his arms and began running, narrowly avoiding the silver tentacles that slammed into the ground where they had been. The tentacles extended from the open chest cavity of Master Mold.
More attacks followed, each one faster than the last. Pietro's speed kept them ahead, but the tentacles were learning, adapting to his patterns and predicting where he would stop.
If this continued, Pietro would be captured within moments.
Then it happened. Pietro halted, faced with four silver tentacles directly in his path. The sight froze him, but as the tentacles were about to strike, Wanda recovered. She extended her hand, and the tentacles were enveloped in a red energy, causing them to slide off the siblings like water and oil.
Snapping back to action, Pietro moved swiftly to the other side of the room, taking a moment to catch his breath.
"I'm okay now. Put me down," Wanda instructed from his arms.
He doubted her claim, seeing the blood matting her hair from the head wound. Yet, he complied, knowing she was their only chance of survival.
On the ground, Wanda acted quickly. Master Mold, puzzling over the failure of its last attack, gave them a brief respite.
Wanda turned her focus to the massive doors they had entered through. With her hands glowing with energy, she made a grasping motion, and one of the doors turned red. She yanked it from its frame and hurled it at the robot.
The door spun through the air at high speed, aimed at Master Mold's head. The robot countered with an energy blast from its eyes, destroying the door.
"Now!" Wanda shouted.
Pietro understood. Grabbing her again, he dashed toward the newly created opening, escaping the deadly trap. But Master Mold wasn't about to let them go. Designed to eradicate mutants, it was relentless, its core programming still driving its actions despite its HYDRA modifications.
From within its chest, a Sentinel emerged and landed on the floor. This Sentinel was incomplete, with exposed machinery and lacking its full armor. It was clearly a prototype, but functional enough to pursue the siblings. And pursue them it did.
POV: Baldur
Near the HYDRA Research Base, Sokovia,
Border of Slovakia and the Czech Republic
Before the Siblings Encounter the Master Mold
The last Sentinel had already lost an arm and a leg but managed to hover a few meters above the ground. Not for long, as Amora's energy blast finally destroyed it.
"That was the last one," she said, looking around.
We were in the forest, further away from the Avengers' main battle—though it's more accurate to say what was left of the forest.
The Sentinels aren't a major threat to Amora and me, but that doesn't mean we can destroy them easily. Their ability to learn from their enemies and adapt their composition is quite frustrating, not to mention their metal, which hinders our healing abilities.
"Do you need me to heal you?" Amora asked, glancing at my face.
I didn't understand why until I ran my hand over my cheek, wiping away some blood.
"It's just a small cut, no need to use magic for that," I told her.
"And now? Do we wait any longer, or do we go on a full attack?"
I thought about it for a moment. The siblings were taking longer than I anticipated, or perhaps we were too quick in dealing with the Sentinels. Either way, we couldn't just stay here doing nothing; the Avengers were also nearing the end of their battle with the enemy troops.
"Sir."
"What is it, Alice?"
"There's a significant movement inside the enemy base. We've detected explosions in the lower levels, and the activity is moving towards the surface."
"The sensors are picking up information even with their force field active?" I asked her.
"Their energy shield is fluctuating considerably thanks to Thor and Hulk. That's why we can gather some information from the interior."
"It looks like we don't need to wait any longer, Amora," I said, smiling at my wife.
"Then I'll prepare for Plan B just in case," she replied, disappearing before I could say anything else.
With the prisoners likely safe and the Sentinels destroyed, we no longer needed to be cautious.
"This is Baldur to the Avengers, we can move forward," I said into the communicator for everyone involved in the battle.
POV: Third Person
Near the HYDRA Research Base, Sokovia
Border of Slovakia and the Czech Republic
Before the Siblings Encounter the Master Mold
"This is Baldur to the Avengers, we can move forward."
Through the communicator, Steve and Sam received the confirmation they had been waiting for. It was becoming difficult to prolong the fight; HYDRA seemed to have an almost infinite number of soldiers and equipment, but they were significantly inferior compared to the two. Thus, the battle was relatively easy.
"Ready, Captain?" Sam asked, landing next to Steve.
Steve pulled his shield out from the engine of a destroyed vehicle and replied, "Let's head to their evacuation points."
"Are you sure you don't want me to carry you? We'll get there much faster," Sam offered.
"I've spent enough time in the ice, but I still think being carried by another man is seen as somewhat undignified."
"Your call, Cap."
Sam then took off, flying towards the next target, with Steve following closely behind on foot.
With the central base on the verge of being attacked, all the Avengers not directly involved in the assault were positioned along the likely escape routes the HYDRA leaders would use.
The entire plan would be a disaster if any of HYDRA's top leaders managed to escape.
POV: Third Person
Near the HYDRA Research Base, Sokovia
Border of Slovakia and the Czech Republic
Before the Siblings Encounter the Master Mold
Angela swung her longsword, cleaving a car nearly in half. She then kicked one of the halves, sending it flying towards some soldiers who were fleeing in terror.
"Jarvis, next time I try to play with her, give me a shock," requested Stark, flying above the battlefield.
"For once, you've said something that shows you have some intelligence," remarked Angela from below, her keen hearing catching his words.
Since the battle began, Angela hadn't stopped. She moved through the battlefield as if it were her home. The soldiers, who had initially tried everything to stop her, had now given up and started to flee. Above it all, Stark hovered, feeling that if he got too close, Angela's sword might turn on him.
"Are we going, or are you staying here?" asked Iron Man after hearing Baldur's message.
"There's no glory in tormenting those who flee. I'll head back; this battle is over," she said, sheathing her sword and walking away from the fight.
"Seriously? You're just leaving?" Stark asked, stunned.
"You're more than capable of capturing a few fleeing insects. If you're not, I'll hunt them down myself, after punishing you, of course."
With that, she walked away without looking back.
"Poor Baldur, no one deserves such a terrifying sister," Stark mused as he moved on to the next target.
POV: Third Person
Near the HYDRA Research Base, Sokovia
Border of Slovakia and the Czech Republic
Just Before Baldur's Confirmation
"Hulk smash castle! Blondie not get in way!" roared the green giant, leaping towards the fortress.
The castle's defensive weapons nearly hit him, missing by mere centimeters. Just as he was about to crash into the energy shield, Thor, using the winds, forced the green giant back to his starting point.
"I told you, we can't yet, my friend," he said to Hulk.
The plan was to wait. They could test the defenses, but they couldn't breach them until Baldur's confirmation.
The castle's defensive weapons were indeed a hindrance, but they were designed for larger targets. After some practice, Thor and Hulk managed to approach the castle more easily.
Thor was doing his best to buy time, but Hulk was becoming more furious and impatient. Thor had to do everything he could to prevent the monster from ruining the plan, a daunting task because if Hulk snapped, Thor would become his target.
{This is Baldur to the Avengers, we can move forward.}
Baldur's OK came through, and Thor immediately began to laugh. He understood his friends' plan and had been doing his utmost to carry it out, but that didn't mean he wasn't impatient too.
The idea of Odin's son being "stopped" by a small fortress hurt his pride a bit.
"Finally, we can bring this whole place down, my friend," he said, smiling at Hulk.
"Finally!"
Hulk began to charge towards the castle at full speed, with its weapons raining destruction along his path. None hit him directly; they only delayed the inevitable.
On the other side, Thor spun Mjolnir and shot into the sky, positioning himself above the castle.
Out of the weapons' range, he started spinning Mjolnir above his head, darkening the clouds and making them swirl.
On the ground, Hulk had reached the desired distance. He took a leap and soared towards the castle. With his strength, he seemed to be flying, and just as he was about to hit the castle, he smashed into the energy barrier, causing it to tremble.
Above, Thor lowered Mjolnir, summoning a massive lightning bolt that struck the barrier from the top. If Hulk's impact was like a bomb exploding on the barrier, Thor's lightning bolt was a nuclear explosion. It was no surprise that the energy barrier didn't last another second. The lightning bolt continued past the destroyed shield, hitting the central part of the facility and obliterating it.
The collapse killed many soldiers on standby in the castle. Those who survived faced the incredible Hulk.
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