It only took Luke a few minutes to slip into the castle and come back out with Pietro in tow.
But when the Avengers finally stormed the fortress, weapons ready, they found something utterly baffling, every Hydra soldier was gone. Not defeated, not even unconscious, they were simply gone.
The team exchanged wary looks.
Luke had only been inside for a handful of minutes. Even for someone like him, wiping out an entire garrison in that short span was nearly impossible. And if he had done it, where were the bodies?
"Strange…" Steve muttered, scanning the empty hallways. His shield lowered slightly, his instincts screaming that something was wrong.
Tony tapped his helmet. "Jarvis, give me a scan. I want the whole picture."
The AI's calm voice filled the comms. "Sir, aside from you and your teammates, I detect no human life in the entire castle."
"Exactly what we're seeing," Natasha murmured. She crouched by a discarded rifle, frowning at the spotless floors. "No blood, no signs of a fight. It's like they vanished."
Jarvis, however, had more to report. "Thermal scanners do indicate three sources of heat."
"Finally, something." Tony raised his repulsors and strode down a corridor, guided by Jarvis through the labyrinth of rooms. The others listened in silence as his footsteps echoed.
He pushed open a heavy door, and proceeded to freeze in place.
There, in the middle of the room, sat Doggo, happily spitting out a chewed-up shoe.
"…What the hell?" Tony muttered. His HUD immediately picked up several other shoes scattered across the floor. Slowly, his expression shifted from confusion to dawning horror.
"Wait… don't tell me…"
He looked at Doggo, who wagged his tail innocently, then licked his lips.
"Unbelievable," Tony whispered. "Luke's mutt actually…"
Before he could finish, Doggo yawned, trotted past him, and padded lazily out the door. He barely spared the billionaire a glance. After all, Luke had introduced him to the Avengers many times before. Since these humans weren't edible, they weren't worth his attention.
Out in the hallway, two other identical Doggos emerged from different rooms and converged. Their steps synchronized until their bodies shimmered and merged into one. Unlike the three-headed form, where each head had its own mind, these copies were only extensions of the same consciousness. And once their grisly task was complete, there was no need to remain divided.
Only then did Tony snap out of his daze. He tapped the comms. "Uh… guys? Call off the search. Hydra's forces… they're all accounted for."
Thor's puzzled voice thundered through the channel:
"What do you mean, Stark? Surely you jest. Are you saying that in mere minutes, that hound devoured hundreds of men?"
Tony rubbed his helmet where his temple should be. "I'm saying I just watched him spit out a couple shoes. And unless Hydra soldiers suddenly learned how to evaporate, Jarvis confirms we're the only ones left."
Silence answered him.
No one argued. No one wanted to.
They had all been preparing themselves for a grueling battle, debating tactics, bickering over who would take which point. And now? The fight had been eaten out from under them.
Only Thor spoke again, incredulous: "Even in Asgard, we have no beasts so foul and outrageous…"
Tony ignored him and carefully retrieved the scepter Luke had left behind. "Silver lining: at least we didn't come for nothing."
The others regrouped outside, their spirits dampened. Hydra's final fortress on Earth had been erased in the most anticlimactic way possible.
As Doggo waddled out of the gates, his belly noticeably rounder. He tilted his head back to the sky where Megatron, already airborne, was shrinking into a black speck.
Doggo barked twice, long and plaintive. His ears drooped. He knew his master had already left while he was indulging, so he thought he could catch a ride with the Avengers, but apparently, they had also forgotten about him.
…
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters
Bumblebee screeched to a halt in front of the infirmary, Luke leaping out with Pietro slung across his back. Dr. Helen Cho was waiting, already in her white coat with a team at her side.
They rushed forward, easing Pietro onto a stretcher.
"What's his condition?" Helen asked briskly.
Luke wiped his brow. "Broken ankle, head injury. He hit a wall hard. See if he can be saved."
Helen bent over Pietro, her eyes sharp. "The ankle's minor. The head injury is more concerning… but not fatal. We'll run tests. Don't worry, he should recover."
Luke exhaled in relief as they wheeled Pietro inside.
Only then did the familiar ding sound in his mind.
[Congratulations, host. For deep participation in the Marvel world's core plot: elimination of Hydra's last stronghold. Reward: 5 plot points.]
His eyes widened. Five points? He'd expected two at most.
But of course, it wasn't just a mission. It was the final death knell of Hydra, one of Marvel's oldest enemies. Even if they weren't the strongest, as a collective, their fall mattered.
Soon after, Dr. Cho reappeared. "He's stable," she reported. "The head trauma caused a temporary coma, but he should wake in a day or two."
Luke thanked her and, feeling satisfied, he returned to his helicarrier.
Wanda, however, remained blissfully unaware that her twin had been found.
When Luke first saw Pietro, the resemblance had been obvious, the sharp cheekbones, the same piercing eyes. There was no mistaking it.
By the time he reached the pool deck, he'd already decided: he would tell her directly.
"Wanda!" he called.
She was lounging on a red floating chair beside Sharon, soaking in the sun. At his voice, she slipped into the water and swam gracefully to the edge, resting her arms there. Her red bikini clung to her body, droplets sliding over her pale skin.
"What's up?" she asked, tilting her head, strands of wet hair framing her face.
Luke's gaze dropped before he could stop himself. Wanda noticed, and instead of frowning, she smirked, subtly arching her chest higher.
They had lived under the same roof for years. The word siblings had become a convenient shield, but in truth, she had never treated him like a brother.
"Cat got your tongue?" she teased, her eyes glinting.
Luke coughed, swallowing hard. He forced himself to look past her, up at the sky, steadying his heartbeat. He couldn't, he shouldn't step across that line.
Finally, he spoke, his voice firmer. "Sister… I found your brother."
The deliberate emphasis on sister sounded less like a habit and more like a reminder to himself.
…