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Link flew straight up, and the surrounding attackers raised their heads upon hearing the sound. However, Link had a perfect vantage point from high above, and he could clearly see everything around him. He rose to over 400 meters in the air, then began shooting downward. "Rat-a-tat-tat..."
His position gave him an immense advantage, and coupled with his precise shooting, the attackers surrounding the abandoned factory fell one by one, struck down without mercy. Link wasn't planning on leaving any survivors, except for Brock Rumlow.
Rumlow, quick on his feet, immediately dove to the ground and rolled under a car for cover. Meanwhile, Captain America and the others pushed forward, swiftly and efficiently taking out the attackers on their side and flanking the enemy, using their vehicles for cover. Link, from his elevated position, guided and provided cover for them.
Some of the attackers attempted to use RPGs, but their range was limited, unable to reach Link. Down below, Rumlow was on his phone, urgently calling for backup. "How much longer until you get here?"
"Almost there," came the reply as several armored vehicles approached in the distance. Mounted on them were heavy machine guns aimed at Link's position. Link immediately descended, not because the bullets could penetrate his vibranium suit, but because he wasn't keen on taking unnecessary hits. He led the attackers into the factory for a closer fight.
The armored vehicles halted at the entrance, and a group of men in plain clothes stepped out of the second vehicle.
"Well, this is a mess," one of them said, surveying the scene. "Looks like we'll have to clean this up ourselves."
Rumlow's face was grim as he addressed them, "Then get in there quickly. I'll have the armored vehicles provide cover. You won't get hurt anyway."
"Heh," one of the men sneered as they started heading into the factory. Rumlow climbed into one of the armored vehicles, manning a heavy machine gun himself.
Inside the factory, Link regrouped with Captain America and the others after they had snuck back in through the rear. The team saw the newcomers approaching and exchanged confused glances.
Link quickly pieced it together. *So they've merged the plotlines of Iron Man 3 and Captain America 2*, he thought. It made sense—if Hydra didn't have the resources and manpower, how could they hope to challenge the Avengers?
But where was the Winter Soldier?
They hadn't seen him yet. Hydra must have decided not to deploy him, instead sending in the henchmen of Aldrich Killian, the main villain from *Iron Man 3*.
Killian had once sought investment from Tony Stark but was left hanging. Disillusioned, he later partnered with Maya Hansen to develop the Extremis virus, which they tested on wounded soldiers. The experiment seemed to have succeeded, although the results were likely still unstable. These enhanced soldiers could potentially explode at any moment.
"Rat-a-tat-tat..." Link fired first, hitting them in the head, causing several of them to drop.
"Boom boom boom..." His position gave him away, and the heavy machine guns from the armored vehicles outside began firing at him, tearing the surrounding structure to pieces. But Link, protected by his vibranium suit, was unharmed.
The Extremis soldiers, however, began to stand back up, much to the shock of Captain America and the others.
"What are these people?" Natasha exclaimed in disbelief.
"What's the plan now?" she asked.
Link didn't respond with words; instead, he answered with gunfire. "Rat-a-tat-tat..."
This time, Link emptied an entire magazine into one of the soldiers, while the others charged toward him at blinding speed. But Link was faster. After reloading, he aimed and fired again, hitting each target in the head and unloading the remaining bullets into one specific soldier.
The others quickly understood the strategy and began concentrating their fire on a single enemy at a time. One of the soldiers, overwhelmed by the barrage, began to glow as his internal temperature skyrocketed.
"Boom..." An explosion rocked the area. One of the soldiers' bodies had become unstable due to the massive amount of bullets it had absorbed, causing him to explode. This set off a chain reaction, with other Extremis soldiers nearby also detonating.
None of the soldiers even got close to Link or his team before they were all wiped out.
The soldiers manning the armored vehicles outside were left in shock. Link, meanwhile, discarded his carbine and summoned two energy pistols, one for each hand. "Pew pew..."
"Boom boom..." He destroyed three armored vehicles in rapid succession before aiming at Rumlow. The man knew he couldn't escape, so he raised his hands in surrender.
"We're with S.H.I.E.L.D.!" he shouted in a last-ditch effort.
Link chuckled. He motioned for Captain America and Hawkeye to apprehend the remaining occupants of the vehicles. Once they had rounded up four men, Link blasted the last armored vehicle to smithereens, and they drove back toward Avengers HQ with their prisoners in tow.
...
Back at Avengers HQ, the captured men were placed in the underground prison. Finally, the prison had a chance to be put to use.
The team gathered in the conference room, holding a video call with Stark and Bruce, as Link recounted the events.
Stark and Bruce were both taken aback. "Link, are you sure there's a problem within S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Stark asked, shocked.
"It seems so," Link replied. "And the man at the head of it all is none other than Alexander Pierce, former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and now its Liaison Secretary. But not everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. is involved—some are likely unaware."
"This will be tricky to handle," Hawkeye commented. "We've captured four men. Natasha and I can work on extracting information from them. We should have some solid intel soon."
Link nodded. "Agreed. This is their area of expertise."
"I'm on board," Stark added.
Everyone was in agreement. Despite their formidable strength, they couldn't act recklessly—many of them had loved ones who could be used against them.
Brock Rumlow proved tough to crack, but the other captives weren't so resilient. Under Natasha and Hawkeye's skilled interrogation, they soon spilled the truth: Hydra.
Captain America was stunned, nearly losing his composure. "That's impossible!"
Link appeared deep in thought. "It's not as impossible as it sounds. After World War II, many of the defeated countries' scientists were absorbed into the organization."
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I hope you're enjoying the story so far! If you're liking it, please consider leaving a review and dropping a Power Stone. Your feedback and support mean a lot to me and help keep the story going
Check out my ko-fi for more advanced chapters at ko-fi.com/rookie99
________________________________________
I hope you're enjoying the story so far! If you're liking it, please consider leaving a review and dropping a Power Stone. Your feedback and support mean a lot to me and help keep the story going
(Chapter ends)