Ch.108 Origin of Hydra

One minute later, Carter straightened her disheveled hair and, with a panda-eye bruise, regained her composure.

"Next time, don't hit my face," she said calmly.

"Okay."

Charlie put his right hand behind his back, "Respecting the elderly and caring for the young—if you stay calm, I'll always choose at least one of them."

"Let's get to business."

Carter turned and tapped the virtual computer, and a screen appeared before Charlie, displaying complex comparative data charts.

"Dr. Banner discovered that the black spines are actually very different from a human spine. There's no DNA information, but they contain a very peculiar substance. This substance can cause human cells to undergo rapid metabolism, effectively granting something akin to immortality.

Furthermore, this process has no negative side effects on the body. However, because the cellular metabolism is so fast, it accelerates the evolution of human cells."

"Evolution?"

Charlie frowned, "Your ex-boyfriend's transformation didn't look much like an evolution."

"He's not my ex."

Carter clarified seriously, "Just before he could become my boyfriend, he killed me, so it doesn't count."

"Alright, Hydra Cap should've waited until after the dance... I'm wrong, I'll shut up. Please continue."

Seeing Carter's glare, Charlie quickly covered his mouth.

Carter gave him a warning look and continued, "Because evolution happens too quickly, the human body cannot handle it well, leading to deformities. That's what happened with Steve."

"Wasn't Bucky implanted with a black spine as well? His mutation process seemed different from Steve's," Charlie said.

"Bucky?"

Carter frowned, "Didn't that guy swallow mutated spiders?"

"That guy was a clone. Two weeks ago, the real Bucky took me away."

Charlie briefly recounted Bucky's mutation process, and Carter was deep in thought.

"My guess is that the black spine adjusts the evolutionary direction based on the host's individual characteristics. It might also be due to differences in constitution that lead to different external manifestations of mutation. This needs further study by Dr. Banner to reach a final conclusion."

"Aren't there other scientists besides Dr. Banner in S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Charlie thought of Banner's desperate look earlier, "It feels like he's about to break."

Carter was also a bit helpless, "We're already reaching out to other top scientists. Geniuses like Dr. Banner, with seven PhDs, are extremely rare. Only someone like him could uncover the secrets of the black spine."

"Alright, your standards are pretty high."

Charlie looked at the black spines on the lab table, pondering aloud, "If our bodies were strong enough to withstand this evolution, could we use these to elevate our lifeform status?"

"It's possible, but I wouldn't recommend it."

Carter explained, "Dr. Banner also discovered that the peculiar substance in the black spine doesn't have a physical carrier. It seems to appear out of nowhere."

"Appear out of nowhere?"

Charlie stroked his chin, "So the black spine might just be a medium—a medium to transmit a peculiar substance, similar to a teleportation device."

Carter nodded, "That's my thought too, but Dr. Banner can't determine the principles of how the black spine transmits the substance. Our speculation has no evidence to back it up."

"Even if there's no evidence, there's also no proof that the substance in the black spine is harmful to us," Charlie said.

Carter shook her head. She tapped the virtual screen, and data from the last century appeared before Charlie.

She said, "After I gained access to part of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s authority, I discovered that, as early as last century, the Strategic Scientific Reserve had found something similar to the black spine.

They appeared in certain unique individuals, including the previous leader of Hydra, Johann Schmidt."

"And then?"

"We found a pattern—at first, none of them were megalomaniacs or inherently evil."

Hearing this, Charlie raised an eyebrow.

"You mean they became evil after getting implanted with the black spine?"

Carter sighed, "It's possible. That's why I never doubted that Steve would turn traitor. He truly was an exceptional soldier."

Charlie carefully examined the data in front of him and found that there were exactly nine people who had been implanted with a black spine. Something clicked in his mind.

"Nine black spines—that's the origin of Hydra?"

Carter understood what Charlie was getting at. She said, "Hydra's emblem is a skull with six octopus tentacles, and the six black spines found last century were all extracted from their members."

Charlie looked puzzled, "An octopus is an invertebrate, and they use octopus tentacles to represent black spines? Isn't that a bit arbitrary?"

"It's probably related to the tentacle-like mutations resulting from the implantation."

With that, Carter tapped the virtual screen again.

"There were nine black spines in total discovered back then, but they all disappeared during the chaos of war. Now, with Steve, Bucky, and the one they tried to implant into Tony, three have resurfaced."

"So there are still six black spines out there."

Charlie felt a headache coming on, "So we're looking at at least six more terrifying individuals showing up in the future."

"Yes, that's highly likely."

Carter's expression turned serious, "With Steve's death, they must have all gone into hiding. It's also possible they haven't found suitable candidates for the spine implant yet—Tony Stark was an example."

Charlie thought for a moment, "What happens if all nine spines show up—do we summon a dragon?"

"Try exercising more and watching less anime."

Carter added, "People with a black spine implant can't be killed by conventional means, unless their bodies are completely destroyed with heavy weaponry.

Your method works well too—just pull out their spine, and they'll definitely die."

"Yeah, dying is troublesome."

Charlie shrugged, "If I face nine black spines in the match, that resurrection round will be intense."

Carter rolled her eyes, "If you were just a bit more careful, almost no one could kill you."

Charlie didn't seem to care. "Spider-Man must die—that's what Hydra Cap said. I'm a priority target, and it's hard dealing with those lurking in the shadows."

"Alright, but with your superpowers, you can win a resurrection match easily."

Carter closed the virtual computer, "I've told you everything you need to know. Be careful from now on. They definitely have bigger schemes—the chaos from the mutant spiders was just to confuse us."

"Even so, it's still really troublesome."

Charlie asked, "How's the cleanup of the mutant spiders going?"

Carter nodded, "Dr. Banner has created a device to detect mutant spiders. We've already caught quite a few, but cleaning up all of them will take time."

"Again with Dr. Banner—you guys need to be careful. When scientists are in a bad mood, they make mistakes."

Charlie warned, "Don't let him handle anything too dangerous right now, or he could turn into a raging green giant. He'd destroy the place that keeps making him work overtime."

"Is that what your superpowers are telling you?" Carter asked warily.

"Yes, my intuition is probably right."

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind."

Carter then said, "Why not use your powers to sense if there are any Hydra moles left in S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Charlie winced, "Good thing I never joined you guys, or I'd become another vessel of resentment."

He listed a few names he remembered. "I'm not sure, so it's better if you investigate carefully before taking action."

"Don't worry, I won't wrongfully accuse anyone."

They chatted as they left the lab.

"Hey, Captain, what happened to your eye?"

Harry, who had come looking for Charlie, saw the bruise at the corner of Carter's eye, and his expression became strange.

In the next second, he exploded with anger.

"Hey, jerk! What did you do to our captain?!"

Harry grabbed Charlie by the collar and whispered, "Nice job."

Charlie: "..."

Apparently, not just Dr. Banner had resentment towards Carter.

"It wasn't—it wasn't me," he reluctantly explained.

"If it wasn't you, then who?" Harry said through clenched teeth, "I'm going to tell everyone so they can see what you did to our beloved Captain Carter. I'm going to make you S.H.I.E.L.D.'s biggest villain!"

Hearing this, Carter's face darkened instantly.

She warned, "If a fourth person finds out about this, you'll be stuck in the training room for the next two weeks."

Harry looked regretful, but he let go of Charlie's collar and feigned righteous indignation.

"Captain, I won't let anyone bully you, not even my best friend."

Charlie covered his face and whispered to Harry, "Friendly advice—if you disappear in the next three seconds, you might just avoid a disaster."

Harry trembled and scoffed. "Charlie Parker, I won't let you get away with this. 1v1 tonight—no calling for backup."

With that, he slipped into the corner of the hallway.

Charlie scratched his head. Those words sounded familiar.

He glanced at Carter, who looked like she was about to explode, and timidly asked, "Does the S.H.I.E.L.D. cafeteria have boiled eggs?"

"It does. Turn left up ahead, that's the cafeteria. Go get it yourself."

"No, I want to use the boiled egg to massage your eye."

"Get lost!!"

"Okay, bye~"

Immediately, Charlie bolted into the corner and grabbed Harry.

"Let's go, let's go."

"I was waiting for you."

"Good buddy, get me on your flying skateboard."

"No problem, but I want to know—how did it feel?"

"What?"

"I've wanted to do that for a long time. She made me get up at five for training—it's just cruel."

"I understand, but it's not advisable."

"I know, I can't beat her."

"You could ambush her."

"Great idea!"

"That'll just make your death more painful."

"Uh, alright. Then I'll just send Gwen ten thousand roses—she'll love it."

"Get lost!"

"Hey, can't hit me! You brat, trying to sneak attack me."

"Hahaha, can't hit me."

"Wait up!"

______

30 advanced chapters on p@treon.com/EdgeOfSky