263 The Little Mammoth in the Woods [200 PS]

— Sokovia, Eastern Europe

It was winter in Eastern Europe. Snow blanketed the mountain ranges, and the vast forests lay covered in a pristine white coat, creating a breathtaking scene.

Nestled quietly among the snow-laden trees was an enormous mobile command vehicle—over 10 meters tall and nearly 25 meters long.

Despite its size, it remained completely hidden from view.

Thanks to advanced optical camouflage, powered by Stark Industries' second-generation "DuoConstruct" technology.

The vehicle was invisible to both the naked eye and radar—save for the faintest disturbance from falling snow.

This was the M310 Heavy Land Command Unit, codenamed "Little Mammoth," a cutting-edge product of Rhodes Island Industries.

It served as a mobile operations center for both the Avengers and the Griffin Security Bureau.

Modeled after the M510 "Mammoth" vehicle from the Halo universe, the M310 was slightly smaller in size—thus earning its nickname.

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Inside the command center of the Little Mammoth, Natasha Romanoff held a sleek, transparent tablet as she delivered her report.

"Recon drones just checked in. The situation's worse than we thought," she said.

"Fifteen kilometers north of the city there's a mountain with a castle. Underneath it, we detected massive energy signatures. It has to be Baron Strucker's Hydra base."

"The castle on the northern ridge?" Captain Steve Rogers asked, clad in Rhodes Industries' latest combat suit.

"That doesn't make sense—we swept that entire area six months ago. It was clean."

"Exactly," Clint Barton added, dressed in his "Ronin" gear.

"We searched that place thoroughly back then. No way Hydra built a giant fortress like that in just six months without anyone noticing."

"You're both right, it is strange," Natasha agreed. "But the drone data is crystal clear. This isn't some mistake."

As she spoke, the command center's holographic display lit up, projecting an image of the castle.

The structure automatically disassembled into layers of blueprints—revealing that while the castle was centuries old, it had been heavily reinforced and modernized.

Hydra had turned it into a fortress.

"Any signs of Chitauri tech?" Barton asked. "Back in the S.H.I.E.L.D. days, Hydra was already dabbling in alien weapons."

"There's more than just Chitauri tech," Natasha replied. "They've got Stark tech too."

She raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "Some people never bother securing their intellectual property, do they?"

"You taking a shot at me, Agent Romanoff?" came Tony Stark's voice over the comms.

"Just a friendly observation."

"Right. And while we're all pointing fingers, may I remind you that I saved New York—again—not long ago? Meanwhile, your scepter recovery mission is, what, two years overdue?"

"Sorry to interrupt," Bruce Banner cut in. "Actually, I think I know how Hydra pulled this off without us noticing."

"What do you mean?" Tony asked, suddenly curious.

"DuoConstruct technology," Bruce explained, bringing up a new hologram.

"Strucker somehow got his hands on your second-gen holographic projection tech. That's likely how he masked the entire facility from our scans six months ago."

The holo-display shifted to show projection nodes positioned around the castle. "But thanks to our upgraded drones, those illusions no longer fool our systems, hence why the base just showed up."

Tony sighed. "Okay, fine. This one's on me."

"So, do we have a plan of attack?" he asked, trying to move things along. "I'm guessing the Mind Stone is in that castle."

"We only found the place thirty minutes ago," Steve said, crossing his arms. "We need a proper strategy, not just—"

"I have a plan," Tony interrupted.

"Nope. Don't even start," Steve cut him off. "I've heard this one from Thor. It's that running joke from Hitomi's playbook, right? The one where 'attack' is the whole plan?"

"Charging in blind isn't smart. We don't know how many troops they've got."

"Agreed," Natasha added. "We'll launch another wave of recon drones in five minutes to get a better picture of Strucker's forces."

"And now that we know the target, we should call in reinforcements," Barton noted.

"Tony, you on your way?"

"Already en route."

"Good. Cap, issue the call."

"Hold up—small detail," Steve said, opening the comms. "Should we mobilize under the Avengers... or the Griffin Security Bureau?"

"Does it matter?" Bruce asked. "It's not like anyone here isn't part of both."

"Uh…" Steve hesitated. "Bucky never officially joined the Avengers."

"And technically, I'm not with Griffin either," Tony added. "Same with Thor. Though—wait, Cap, you joined Griffin? When did that happen? Why didn't Hitomi tell me?"

"She didn't," Steve replied, shaking his head. "She said my style doesn't suit Griffin's covert operations. She's never told me anything about their internal affairs."

"In that case," Steve said with a breath, "Avengers—assemble."

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"Mission starts at 2 PM. That gives us about five hours to prep," Steve announced, then made his way to the cockpit of the Little Mammoth.

"JARVIS, can we count on the Iron Legion?"

"You should be asking me that, Cap."

A flash of light streaked through the sky as the Mark 43 armor landed with a metallic thud. Tony climbed through the roof hatch and entered the base.

"The Iron Legion's locked and loaded. Unless Hydra's got something scarier than the Dark Elves, we've got this."

The base's automated storage system opened, folding and storing the armor for pre-battle maintenance.

"You're quicker than I expected, Tony," Natasha said with a smile. "And it's been a while. Changed the paint job on your suit again?"

"The Mark 43 isn't just a new paint job, thank you very much," Tony Stark corrected her, then turned to look at the rest of the Avengers gathered in the command center.

"By the way, seeing as I'm the first backup to arrive, don't I get a proper welcome? No applause? No fanfare?"

Silence fell over the room like a heavy blanket.

Everyone just stared at Tony, expressions somewhere between unimpressed and annoyed.

"Wow, warm welcome," Bruce Banner muttered dryly, his voice lacking any energy.

"Truly... heartwarming, right?"

"Alright, alright, forget I said anything," Tony waved it off, trying to shake off the sting of his failed grand entrance.

"Anyway, before we dive into the battle plan, what do you say we grab some lunch first?"