At the Hydra base, Whitehall's face twisted with fury as he looked over the blood-soaked ruins. John Garrett had been taken out, but the rage boiling inside him refused to settle.
"Sir, the damage report is in," a soldier reported, stepping forward. "We lost one hundred and fifty-nine men. Sixty percent of our infrastructure is destroyed, and our weapon stockpiles are completely gone."
"Damn Garrett… and whoever was pulling his strings. If I find out who you are, I'll skin you alive," Whitehall snarled, venom seething in his voice.
A flicker of fear had struck him earlier—whoever had controlled Garrett had power—but that had been replaced by pure resentment. He was Whitehall, a Hydra division leader, not someone who cowered in the dark. The idea of being manipulated by some unseen hand was intolerable.
"Sir… what are your orders?" the soldier asked cautiously, waiting for instructions.
"Take everything useful and prep for immediate evacuation. The World Government and S.H.I.E.L.D. won't be far behind. And make sure we leave a trail—something subtle."
Whitehall's eyes narrowed, the golden rims of his glasses catching the flickering light. The chaos here had surely drawn attention. Time was running short.
He had no plans of facing their enemies head-on—not yet. The strange power behind Garrett had to be treated carefully. Let S.H.I.E.L.D. do the digging. If they uncovered anything, Hydra would be watching.
"Yes, sir!"
The soldier quickly disappeared to carry out the orders. Within minutes, Hydra personnel moved out, leaving the base hollow and scorched. Not long after, an armed S.H.I.E.L.D. response unit arrived, encircling the compound with overwhelming force.
"Captain, surveillance picked up a serious firefight here a few hours ago. Explosions too."
"Lock down the perimeter. Search every corner—don't let so much as a gnat escape!" the squad leader barked. Troops poured into the facility like a wave, starting their sweep.
---
Half a day later, a report was dropped on the desk of the Director of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.
"This place was a Hydra base… damn rats," Nick Fury muttered as he scanned the document. His single eye narrowed when he saw the note on Agent Garrett's body being found among the wreckage.
Something wasn't adding up.
"Director, we recovered fragments of a tape that wasn't fully destroyed," Natasha reported as she walked in, handing over the charred pieces of evidence. Unbeknownst to them, the recordings were left behind on purpose.
"Get it restored. I want to see everything."
After a bit of work from the tech team, the video was salvaged. They watched pieces of Garrett's conversation with Hydra agents, a mention of a robbery, and finally, the chaos of a full-blown shootout.
"It's confirmed. Garrett was working for Hydra," Natasha said, frowning. "I didn't expect him to be a double agent."
"There's more going on here," Fury muttered. "Looks like negotiations broke down, and it turned into a bloodbath. But what really caught my attention is that robbery they were discussing… it wasn't random."
He leaned back, thinking. There were too many pieces missing. And he hated working in the dark.
"Natasha, drop everything else. I want full focus on that robbery from a few days ago. Something about it feels... off."
"Understood," she said with a nod, then turned and left to begin her investigation.
---
Kurogai, meanwhile, had no idea about the mess between Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D.—and honestly, he didn't care. He had his own immediate problem.
A bigger one, actually.
Right in front of him stood a toddler—two, maybe three years old—with big, shy eyes staring up at him.
"Kurogai, you're the only one with an open room," Director Mary had said earlier. "This little girl is new to our home. She'll be sharing your space. Be a good big brother to her, alright? No bullying!"
Kurogai still remembered it perfectly. Mary had walked in, dropped off the girl with twin pigtails, said her piece, and left without another word.
"What… is happening?" he muttered in disbelief.
He'd just handled a major issue two days ago and was finally ready to settle down and study his abilities in peace. And now this? A literal child dropped on him like he was running a daycare?
He felt like the world was messing with him on purpose.
Still, there was no changing it. The orphanage didn't have spare rooms. Before, he'd been allowed to stay alone due to his fragile health. Now, with a new kid in need of a bed, it only made sense to room them together.
And really, no adult was going to care about the gender difference between a five-year-old boy and a toddler girl. Mary had left them without a second thought.
Kurogai sighed deeply. He crouched down, resting his hands on his knees.
"Alright, kid… what's your name?"
The girl hesitated for a moment, then replied softly.
"S-Skye… my name is Skye."
---
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