Chapter 41: The Pursuit

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Months ago, after Garus infiltrated and destroyed Hydra's underground base, Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, and her brother Pietro Maximoff, Quicksilver, defected from Hydra due to certain events.

Baron Zemo, enraged by the loss of the base, the mutants, and particularly a key experimental subject, was furious, blaming their betrayal for the disaster.

Wanda had accidentally glimpsed Zemo's thoughts and realized he suspected them of colluding with the enemy to free the mutants while slaughtering everyone else at the base.

Zemo secretly plotted to apprehend them, intending to extract the whereabouts of the rescued mutants—or even use them as new experimental subjects.

In reality, this was all orchestrated by Garus. Before leaving, he unleashed a plague upon the remaining Hydra agents, ensuring their deaths within hours.

Zemo had raised Wanda and Pietro after their adoptive parents' deaths, providing them shelter within Hydra. Despite their disillusionment, the siblings had always respected him deeply.

Though deeply hurt by recent events, Wanda persuaded Pietro to spare Zemo's life. Together, they chose to leave instead.

"Wanda, someone's following us again. They're downstairs—plenty of them. Should we deal with them?" Pietro muttered irritably, holding a badge he'd snatched from one of their pursuers.

In recent months, they'd been evading Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents relentlessly. The constant pursuit was wearing on Pietro's patience.

"Leave them alone," Wanda replied dismissively.

Unbeknownst to them, Hydra had surrounded the area. Their pursuers were covert Hydra operatives embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D.

Coincidentally, a Skrull agent disguised as a Hydra operative had leaked the intel, allowing Garus to learn of the operation.

Sitting in a nearby diner, Garus observed the siblings in the hotel across the street.

He sensed a peculiar green mist enveloping the area.

Could it be a mutant-suppressing agent?

"What's happening?" Pietro was the first to notice something amiss. His super-speed had drastically diminished and was fading further, leaving him tense.

"This is bad! It's an X-Gene suppressant! We need to leave now!" Wanda exclaimed, cursing her delayed reaction.

Red tendrils of chaos magic manifested in her hands, dissolving the hotel window.

"We're leaving," she declared, realizing the small town was crawling with armed agents harboring ill intent.

Gunfire erupted, plunging the town into chaos. Terrified civilians, caught unawares, fell amidst the bloodshed.

Garus observed the turmoil outside, astonished by Hydra's fervor in recapturing the defectors. It was evident that the organization valued Wanda and Pietro immensely—enough to sacrifice the entire town.

"Open fire!" The Hydra agents showed no regard for civilian casualties.

Screams and gunshots filled the streets.

"Surround them!"

"Pietro, you're bleeding!" Wanda cried out, alarmed at the sight of blood trickling from her brother's foot. For the first time, she realized how vulnerable they had become.

"It's nothing. I can still run," Pietro reassured her, though his tone lacked its usual confidence.

A sharp whistle tore through the air as a missile homed in on Wanda. Acting swiftly, she used her chaos magic to halt the projectile, disassembling it piece by piece.

However, Wanda felt her strength waning. Though her chaos magic was drawn from the dark entity Chthon, it relied on her X-Gene to channel effectively. The suppressant hadn't nullified her powers but had significantly weakened her.

Hydra had pulled out all the stops, encircling the entire town to ensure no one could escape.

"Baron Zemo, we've suffered heavy losses. Should we continue?"

"Press on," Zemo snarled. His experiments had been on the verge of success—so close to activating the X-Gene in human subjects. The loss of the mutants had derailed everything.

"These two can't escape. We'll exhaust them, and once they're weakened, someone else will capture them. I'll make them reveal the whereabouts of the other mutants."

"Wanda, go! Leave me behind," Pietro urged. One of his legs was useless, and the suppressant had nearly nullified his super-speed. He refused to drag her down.

"No!" Wanda refused without hesitation. Seeing his struggles, she used her chaos magic to immobilize him, dragging him forward.

The streets were filled with Hydra agents. Wanda had never imagined Zemo would go to such lengths, deploying such overwhelming numbers. After eliminating dozens of agents, her fatigue became overwhelming, forcing her to halt.

From the shadows, Garus kept a careful distance, avoiding detection by Hydra agents. He was waiting for the perfect moment to rescue the siblings, hoping to recruit them into his X-Academy.

Hydra's relentless assault impressed him. For a mere faction leader like Zemo to muster such a force spoke volumes about Hydra's resources.

Wanda, burdened by Pietro, couldn't escape by flight. She was forced to stand her ground, shielding them both.

"Cease fire!" Zemo's voice rang out, halting the attack.

Turning to a hooded figure beside him, Zemo commanded, "Your turn, Dr. Zola."

"Don't worry. Her abilities have no effect on me," the figure replied, his voice a cold, mechanical rasp. Shedding his cloak, Dr. Arnim Zola revealed his metallic body.

Once a trusted scientist under Red Skull, Zola had fallen from grace after Red Skull's disappearance. Despite his genius in biochemistry and robotics, his experiments required immense funding.

Zola had agreed to assist Zemo in exchange for resources to enhance his mechanical body. Beyond that, he harbored an even greater ambition—to locate Red Skull.

Watching from a distance, Garus studied the mechanical figure, struggling to place his identity in his memories.