Chapter 23: Your Name

"Move! Everyone back to your posts! Now!"

"This is not a drill!"

"We're under attack! I repeat! We are under attack!"

Down in the lower levels of HYDRA's charming medieval murder-castle—currently functioning as a full-blown research facility—two siblings were locked inside an isolation room made of some weird transparent material. They clung to each other in terror, eyes wide, as chaos exploded across the compound.

"What the hell! Who's attacking the lab?! We already made a deal with that guy!"

"We don't know! Strucker! We've got no intel on the enemy! Only four individuals have been identified so far!"

"Who?!"

"Three are agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation: Level 7 Agent Dante, Level 4 Agent Ada Wong, and Provisional Agent Harley Quinn!"

"The FBI is involved now?!" Strucker's face twisted instantly. "And the fourth?!"

"Th-the fourth is… uh…"

"Don't stutter now, dammit! Spit it out!"

"Y-yes! The fourth one is Magneto! Magneto, the leader of that insane Mutant terrorist organization!"

Upon hearing that name, Baron Strucker's eyes nearly detached themselves from his skull and crash-landed on the floor.

Magneto. The walking apocalypse in a cape. The man who could turn an aircraft carrier into a salad spinner with a frown.

Strucker turned toward the massive display wall usually reserved for experimental data.

Now it showed the real-time battlefield situation.

And it was a slaughter.

His meticulously arranged thousand-strong HYDRA force was being ripped apart like wrapping paper. Defensive lines shattered instantly. Firepower? Useless. Coordination? Gone.

And what shocked him even more—these attackers… they looked terrifyingly similar to the brother and sister cowering behind that glass.

Could it be…?

He turned, staring at the twins curled together, shivering.

Was this power not from the scepter?

Were they born with it?

Was the scepter just… a key?

Yes—the scepter. The one from Loki's failed invasion of Earth.

But that invasion didn't hit New York this time. Two years ago, in this timeline, Loki chose Metropolis instead—just a skip away from Manhattan.

It was then that the general public finally understood what "Superheroes" meant… and what a "Superman" was.

The Chitauri army didn't even make it out of the wormhole before getting face-slammed into a curb. Loki? Gone like a fart in a hurricane.

Dante and the FBI had assumed HYDRA fully understood the concept of Mutants.

But it turned out—no. They didn't have a clue. At least not this branch, not Strucker.

All they knew was: some people have powers. That's it.

Now, Strucker was realizing the truth.

And to be fair, he was a brilliant researcher. His scientific chops could rival Bruce Banner or Tony Stark. After all, he had reverse-engineered the power of Loki's scepter—which, by the way, is the Mind Stone.

One of the Infinity Stones. The big boys. The galactic cheat codes.

"Everything... everything's wrong. The research was off from the start. I thought the scepter granted them power. But it didn't. The scepter is just the key! The key to unlock something that was already there!"

Strucker's emotions were spiraling fast, and one of his henchmen leaned in to whisper urgently.

"Baron Strucker, our defensive lines are collapsing. We need to evacuate—now."

"Evacuate?!" Strucker barked. "Against a group of people with literal superpowers? You think we can evacuate?!"

He gave a twisted smile, somewhere between "mad genius" and "customer service manager on his last shift."

"If they'd just come a few days later—no, thirty hours! Thirty hours more and the protective field using the scepter's energy would've been ready!"

And then, like a man possessed, he suddenly flipped into fanatical mode and started rallying his troops like a man hosting a fascist TED Talk:

"These damn FBI clowns in tights have come to test our faith and loyalty! We! Will! Not! Surrender! Hail HYDRA!"

"HAIL HYDRA!!"

The surrounding soldiers snapped into zealot-mode immediately. Bloodshot eyes. Screaming like it was Black Friday at the Nazi Gift Shop.

Strucker nodded, pleased with himself, and then leaned close to his loyal lackey.

"Delete the data. I'm going to surrender."

"If the FBI gets access to our research, they'll weaponize it in less than a week."

So while the foot soldiers got busy preparing for glorious suicide-by-superhero, Strucker was backstage, rehearsing his sob story and looking for a white flag.

Unfortunately for him…

The top floor exploded.

And from above descended an elevator made of glowing green Willpower Light.

Dante—fully suited up in Green Lantern mode—floated down with Ada and Harley flanking him.

"So you're Strucker, huh? You glorified mall cop in a monocle?"

"I surrender! I'll hand over everything! Just don't kill me!"

"Huh?"

Dante squinted at him, deeply unimpressed.

He hadn't planned to kill Strucker immediately, but the man's performance was so over-the-top, so pitifully cringe, that Dante was starting to reconsider.

Seriously—was this guy really the same HYDRA that screamed "Hail HYDRA" to the grave?

Where was the drama? The loyalty? The dramatic final lines?

Say what you will about HYDRA, but at least the others had the decency to die on brand.

Soon, the X-Men cleared the last remaining soldiers and stormed into the facility.

Strucker went straight back into weeping hostage mode.

But Wolverine? Old reliable?

He just grabbed the guy by the collar and dragged him off.

A few screams later, the room got a whole lot quieter.

Strucker was probably still alive… barely.

"Raven. We clear?"

"All soldiers eliminated," Mystique said calmly. "All internal staff—including the researchers—are alive and mentally stable."

Raven Darkhölme. Blue-skinned, ice-cold, meticulous. Same era as Wolverine. Same killer instinct.

Sure, re-entering the battlefield had awakened the old assassin's bloodlust, but she was still in control.

Because she understood one thing: those researchers were useful.

Even if Loki's scepter forcibly activated the X-Gene, it still required a deep understanding of Mutant biology.

That kind of research wasn't something to just toss.

If they could teach those scientists the actual fundamentals of the X-Gene?

They could develop more stable awakening methods.

Maybe even power upgrades.

And if anyone was worried they were still loyal to HYDRA?

Please. The FBI had telepaths lined up like Monday-to-Sunday meal prep.

Monday – Psylocke.

Tuesday – the Stepford Cuckoos.

Wednesday – Emma Frost.

Thursday – Jean Grey.

Friday – Omegon.

Saturday – Professor X.

Sunday – Team-building retreat led by Professor X.

Seven days a week.

Twenty-four-hour psychic re-education.

HYDRA?

They could brainwash nine hundred HYDRA goons into thinking they were Teletubbies by next Tuesday.

(To be continued.)

***

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