Madame Viper froze mid-motion, her deliberately provocative posture halted in an instant.
Her head snapped up, eyes wide with disbelief.
"You… you actually know they're in Hydra custody? Not even Magneto knows that, how could you possibly…"
Her face twisted into a mix of astonishment and creeping dread.
After all, they had taken extreme precautions once Wanda and Pietro were captured. The facility was placed under top-level lockdown. The twins were being held in a subterranean vault, protected by advanced signal-jamming technology and shielding to prevent any information leaks.
Yet this man… had not only found them, but walked in like he owned the place.
And if Hydra didn't hand them over? He'd kill everyone here.
"O-of course, esteemed guest. Hydra is honored to be of service."
Viper's eyes darted nervously as she stepped aside, motioning with forced grace.
Martin strode forward, utterly ignoring the armed guards flanking the hallway.
They were nothing but garbage. Not even worth acknowledging.
He and Viper moved deeper into the facility. Every inch of the path was laced with counter-surveillance systems, designed to block all outgoing signals. A perfect fortress of silence.
"We were actually quite satisfied with those two," Viper murmured, swaying her hips like a snake slithering through tall grass. Her tone was honeyed, her smile playful behind a gloved hand. "We had plans to raise them into elite Hydra operatives. But it seems you've taken a special interest in them… what a pity…"
No matter how subtly she tried to probe, Martin offered nothing. His silence was absolute.
Eventually, they reached the core of the base.
There, standing with hands folded respectfully, was a man smiling in the shadows.
"Lord Martin," he said smoothly. "I am Baron Strucker, the commanding officer of this facility, and the architect of our Reconditioning Program."
Baron Strucker kept his demeanor deferential, every motion steeped in practiced humility.
Martin finally spoke. "Baron Strucker… you're not entirely useless."
Strucker bit back the wave of humiliation boiling beneath the surface and inclined his head, ready to reply.
Martin's gaze went cold. "Become my dog, Strucker."
The baron flinched, disbelief flashing across his face. Before he could retort—
A golden light blazed to life.
The power of the Mind Stone surged forth, obliterating the psychic shielding embedded in Strucker's neural cortex. His consciousness was instantly submerged in a vast, overwhelming ocean of willpower.
Martin's will.
Thoughts of loyalty carved themselves into every neuron of Strucker's mind.
The next moment, Baron Strucker gazed upon Martin with reverence, eyes gleaming with fanatic devotion.
"My exalted master… your humble servant, Strucker, lives to obey."
Viper recoiled, her face blanching with horror. She stumbled back, unnoticed.
Martin didn't spare her a glance. Trash. Not worth the time.
Hydra, as a whole, was nothing more than planetary vermin, leaping about like toads, thinking themselves relevant.
Martin wasn't here to play war games with these fools. If not for his interest in Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, he would never have stepped into this cesspool.
BOOM.
With a mere flick of his hand, every machine and lock in the facility submitted to his command. Even the heavy stone doors, without electronics, crumbled under a single glance.
In the deepest chamber, two figures lay imprisoned.
Wanda Maximoff. Pietro Maximoff.
"You again? What do you want now?"
Pietro, tall and defiant, threw himself in front of Wanda, shielding her with his body.
Martin paused, watching them with a flicker of interest.
"So… this universe aligns with the cinematic timeline."
Pietro was the elder brother. Wanda the younger sister.
A dynamic only seen in the MCU; in comics, animation, and games, Wanda was the older sibling.
But it didn't matter. A minor detail. Not worth dwelling on.
Martin's gaze locked onto Wanda. His expression sharpened with curiosity.
This woman, this being, who had rewritten the very foundations of the Marvel multiverse… the one whose chaos magic had shattered reality in moments of grief and rage… she was worth observing.
The image of her unleashing a wave of chaos that tore through existence itself still lingered in his mind.
"You son of a... stop staring at her or I'll rip your damn eyes out!" Pietro snarled.
He'd seen the intent in Martin's eyes. He knew exactly who he was after, and it was unforgivable.
CRACK!
With a gesture, Martin shattered the psychic dampeners on their containment cells.
Their powers returned in full force.
Viper's voice shook. "Lord Martin! His speed is... he's moving!"
"You brought this on yourself."
Pietro's eyes lit up. Elation surged through him as he blurred into motion, a trail of blue lightning sparking behind him.
The world slowed to a crawl.
This... this was euphoria.
"No one can touch me when I move like this! At full speed, I'm unbeatable!"
Brimming with youthful arrogance, Pietro launched toward Martin like a human bullet.
Then everything fell apart.
In mid-sprint, his joy vanished, replaced by disbelief.
Martin's cold eyes were tracking him.
Following his movements.
That… wasn't possible.
Gritting his teeth, Pietro threw a punch, amplified by his momentum. The force was equivalent to dozens of tons.
It would kill any normal being on contact.
CRACK.
Martin caught the punch with one hand.
Effortlessly.
A look of disappointment crossed his face. "That's your top speed? Pathetic."
He'd expected something impressive. The kid had swaggered in with confidence, after all.
But this?
This was garbage-tier.
Not even worth the warmup.
He hadn't even used the Apex Armor. Or the Infinity Stones. Just his baseline physicality, enhanced by the infinite vitality and mental energy flowing from the AllSpark, was more than enough.
"What are you hitting? Mach 10? Maybe 20? What's the point of that? You're still lightyears behind."
Martin shook his head.
Compared to that guy from next door, The Flash, Quicksilver didn't even register.
No Speed Force. No infinite scaling. Nothing but a glorified blur.
The Flash started at thousands of times the speed of sound. By mid-series, he could loop the Milky Way in seconds. At peak?
He could outrun time itself.
In the DC Universe, villains often made it a top priority to eliminate the Flash first, lest he mess with the timeline and undo everything. Hence the saying: "Kill the Flash, and the gods will fall."
And Quicksilver? Just… what even is this?
What kind of trash is this?
"Doesn't matter," Martin muttered. "I didn't come here for you."
With a flick, he hurled Pietro like a ragdoll. The boy slammed into the wall with a thunderous crash.
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