The factory on the outskirts of Sokovia nestled among towering mountains...
The country itself was surrounded by continuous mountain ranges with pleasant climate and beautiful scenery, untouched by cold currents. With sufficient economic development and infrastructure, it could have been an excellent vacation destination.
Sean watched as Pietro excitedly walked through the medical room doors.
Rumor had it every worker who passed the physical examination and tests would receive a generous payment of no less than three thousand dollars, which was nearly half a year's expenses for an ordinary family. No wonder those selected were exceptionally excited. Even working overtime all year in the factory might not earn them this much.
Sean remained indifferent to this. He was more interested in the factory's true owner.
Eastern Europe served as one of HYDRA's strongholds, where a high-ranking figure named Baron Strucker had entrenched himself, infiltrating various power structures and weaving a complex network.
In the original timeline, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch had been his proudest creations.
The Baron's real name was Wolfgang von Strucker, born in Bavaria, Germany. His father had been a core member of the Nazi party last century, and he himself later joined HYDRA, gradually rising to become one of its leaders.
Reading the long string of information surfacing in his mind, Sean's lips curved slightly. He seemed to have quite a connection with HYDRA.
Last time in Tokyo, he encountered Madame Hydra (Viper) and obtained the progenitor virus and ghouls. Now he met Strucker. He wondered what treasures the Baron would contribute this time.
After a while, Pietro emerged happily, clutching a pale yellow slip about three feet wide and five inches long that he could take to accounting to receive his generous payment.
He gestured to Sean, urging him to hurry up...
This guy that his sister had picked up looked tall and well-built with sharp features, so passing the physical shouldn't be difficult.
The young man shrugged and sauntered into the medical room. The spacious area contained various large instruments. After the normal physical examination procedures, volunteers would be taken to a separate room to lie in an MRI-like machine where blue light would scan back and forth, followed by blood sample collection.
The entire complex process took about twenty minutes, which Sean naturally had no patience for. A glint flashed in his eyes as invisible psychic waves radiated out. Everyone present suddenly froze like puppets with their strings cut.
"Using mental stimulation to activate human potential... this seems remarkably similar to Ajax's method of creating Deadpool," Sean mused while perusing the lead doctor's memories.
This crude modification method had an abysmally low success rate, requiring test subjects with exceptional mental abilities. Even after years of research, Baron Strucker had made little significant progress.
To Sean, this was arguably inferior to Madame Hydra's progenitor virus. The only valuable item seemed to be a 'perfect machine' the Baron had created to bestow abilities upon others, for which he'd established a special unit called Satan's Claw...
The Baron's proudest creation was a former boxer named Carl Creel. The machine had granted him the powerful ability to transform matter. Anything he touched could be altered through his body. This was likely one of Strucker's few notable achievements.
"Sokovia, Latveria, Bucharest... perhaps soon my footprints will cover all of Eastern Europe," Sean chuckled softly.
Thinking about SHIELD's impending disintegration and HYDRA's lurking presence, a plan began taking shape in his mind.
With Thanos suffering heavy losses and needing considerable time to recover, the main obstacles in Sean's path were now Nick Fury's SHIELD and the hidden HYDRA organization.
"Solving both at once might be ideal," Sean decided.
He would let these century-old adversaries fight each other, then crush them both at the opportune moment.
....
At SHIELD headquarters by the Potomac River, the one-eyed director sneezed...
Rubbing his nose, a flicker of confusion passed through his single eye. With his physical conditioning, catching a cold should be impossible.
Nick Fury had been plagued by headaches recently. Asgard's sudden appearance had caused a global sensation, making it impossible for SHIELD to continue suppressing supernatural information.
Under relentless pressure from the World Security Council, he'd been forced to agree to information sharing and opening part of their core database.
The director had long suspected dark undercurrents within SHIELD, hence implementing strict hierarchical divisions and complex access protocols. But under the Council's firm orders, he had no choice but to comply, essentially inviting the wolf into the house and tying himself up.
Fury couldn't explain that Nazi remnants had infiltrated SHIELD. And Asgard's exposure had pros and cons.
While he lost some authority, he had also gained more funding and broader functions, a blessing in disguise.
What concerned Fury most was the Sentinel who had appeared in Asgard. Judging by the power displayed, even Bruce Banner's Hulk might not be a match. That level of destructive capability exceeded SHIELD's capacity to handle.
The director contemplated whether he could recruit the Sentinel, using every means possible to bring him into the Avengers as SHIELD's top-tier operative.
This potentially most dangerous individual on Earth had only appeared briefly a few times; resolving the Venom and Sandman attacks against Spider-Man, briefly battling Asgard's Destroyer armor in New Mexico, and the Hulk incident in Brooklyn.
The sensational Asgard battle had made the Sentinel's name known worldwide, surpassing Iron Man and the Fantastic Four as the ultimate superhero. Many were curious about his true identity.
"Just who are you?" Fury's single eye gleamed with intensity.
He prioritized uncovering the Sentinel's identity, though that would have to wait... After all, who knew if the man was even still on Earth?
Next was establishing cooperation with Umbrella Corporation. He was highly interested in Sean Cyphers' mutant team and human enhancement serums.
Although there had been past unpleasantness with the New York genius, Fury believed Sean wouldn't reject SHIELD's overtures. As a veteran agent, swallowing pride was elementary.
Nick Fury had made multiple calls. Such enthusiastic olive branch extending had only been seen with Tony Stark before, demonstrating his sincerity.
Surprisingly, Sean Cyphers had left New York long ago for an Arctic expedition. Investigations confirmed he had indeed led a research team following Franklin's expedition route into the Arctic Circle.
Both matters would have to wait. Fury exhaled deeply as he stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the rushing Potomac, a shadow of worry clouding his mind.
The world was changing too fast. What were once conflicts between nations now showed trends of escalating into interplanetary civilization wars. When he had taken over as SHIELD director from Alexander Pierce, Fury had been ambitious about developing the organization into a global entity.
They had even officially renamed it from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division to SHIELD, intended as humanity's sturdy shield protecting world peace!
"This world..." Fury rarely indulged in sentimentality.
As a top agent who never easily gave trust, he could only bury his loneliness deep. Not even close subordinates like Coulson or Natasha would hear such thoughts.
Past mistakes and resulting crises constantly reminded Fury that not even secrets locked in one's mind were absolutely safe.
The one-eyed director touched his eyepatch, his blinded eye throbbing faintly. A slight smile crossed his face as he anticipated the return of a certain hero, even if the world had forgotten her...