Originally, although Ben knew that SHIELD was essentially a den of snakes, he'd never had any personal beef with Hydra. After all, their schemes had little to do with him directly.
But now? Now Hydra had practically signed their own death warrant.
Cut off one head and two more will grow back? Ben thought grimly. I'll cut you into so many pieces there won't be anything left to regenerate!
Of course, this matter couldn't be rushed. At least what Nick Fury had said was absolutely true—Hydra was like sewage scum lurking in the gutters, and rash actions would only alert the snakes to scatter. Throughout history, across different stories and universes, anything that had to do with serpents was notoriously difficult to kill permanently.
Take, for example, a certain noseless megalomaniac or that ancient parasite worshipped as a god. Both had proven frustratingly resilient.
Even if Ben marched straight into SHIELD headquarters and blew up their flying aircraft carrier, killing every single member of the organization, he'd only eliminate a small fraction of Hydra's actual network. It might even amount to just one or two heads of the Hydra.
The result would likely be that he'd have to become an enemy of the entire United States government, which wasn't exactly ideal for long-term operations.
"Perfect," Ben said, his voice taking on a strategic tone. "Destroying Hydra will be the first official mission after the establishment of our Plumbers' Earth branch."
"But we have to make a careful, comprehensive plan."
"We'll find Harry tomorrow and discuss this as a team," Ben continued. "This needs all our minds working together."
"Are you sure we should involve Harry in this?" Peter frowned, genuine worry creasing his features. He didn't want to bring trouble and danger to his friend.
But Ben reached over and smacked him on the back of the head. "Don't be an idiot. Harry is a member of the Plumbers. And more importantly, he's our friend, remember?"
"He'll be seriously offended if you try to exclude him from something this important!"
"Peter, remember this: sometimes keeping secrets comes at a much higher price than sharing them."
Peter only partially understood the deeper implications, but he nodded anyway.
The next day, Ben went to school with Mary Jane and Peter as usual. After arriving at Midtown High, Felicia joined their group, falling into step beside them with practiced ease.
She and Mary Jane flanked Ben on either side, and Felicia announced cheerfully, "We have to go to a different classroom today. They're combining our two classes. I'm guessing we'll be taking classes together permanently from now on."
Because the classroom wall had been dramatically broken through the previous day during the incident with Kraven, the students from both classes had been temporarily relocated to another room. As for the original classrooms, Peter had heard through the grapevine that the school was planning to completely demolish the wall and merge the two classes into one larger space.
Ben figured it was probably Harry's suggestion working behind the scenes. After all, wouldn't the amount of profit that could be skimmed from a complete reconstruction project be significantly more than just patching up a wall?
As they passed by their original classroom, Ben spotted a familiar figure that made him do a double-take.
Thor was wearing a black tank top, gripping a sledgehammer with both hands. His face was covered with sweat and streaked with construction dust, and his originally magnificent golden hair had been chopped off into a short military buzz cut that made him look considerably more severe and practical.
For Asgardians, hair was practically considered another form of life force, a symbol of their godly heritage and power.
But there was nothing he could do about it—the weather was just too damned hot for Earth construction work.
If it had been possible, Thor wouldn't have wanted to cut his legendary locks, but after he'd actually fainted once from heat exhaustion under the scorching sun, he'd quickly changed his perspective.
Anyway, no one on this pathetic little planet knows who I am, he'd reasoned. I can just cut my hair and no one will be the wiser. Most importantly, Loki will never find out.
What Thor couldn't stand most in any universe was Loki's merciless ridicule and mockery.
Ben never would have imagined that he'd see the God of Thunder at Midtown High School one day, working there as common construction labor. The only thing that hadn't changed was Thor's inexplicable love affair with hammers of all kinds.
Ben immediately recognized this as a golden opportunity to provide some entertainment for his allied in space. So he walked toward Thor with his phone in hand and, under the confused Asgardian's bewildered gaze, snapped a quick photo.
"What exactly are you doing?" Thor asked, his brow furrowing with suspicion.
He vaguely remembered that the device in Ben's hand was called a cellular phone or something similar—mortal technology that he still didn't fully understand.
"Nothing major," Ben said with carefully practiced innocence. "I just thought you looked a lot like my friend's brother, so I took a picture."
Without missing a beat, Ben immediately transmitted the photo to Loki through the Plumbers' communication network.
The Plumbers' communication equipment worked without any restrictions throughout the known universe, a definite perk of membership.
Almost immediately, Loki's response came through:
Loki: !!!
Loki: Where is he?
Ben: Earth. Come quickly!
Loki: On my way now!
Loki, who had been diligently working on city planning for Sakaar, suddenly shot up from his seat like he'd been electrocuted. This dramatic action startled Caiera, who was working at a nearby station.
"Caiera, prepare a ship for me immediately!" Loki commanded, practically vibrating with excitement.
Even though he also sported a buzz cut now, it didn't matter—he could use magic to create illusions and maintain his appearance. But it was completely different for Thor, who had no such abilities.
Wait for me, my dear, foolish brother!
"What's happening?" Caiera asked, confused by his sudden manic energy.
"Don't worry about the details. Just tell the other I'm handling some urgent business for the chief!" Loki said, puffing out his chest with pride.
At this moment, he was completely convinced that Ben was the best leader he'd ever served under. Where else could he find a boss who would think of his subordinates' personal entertainment when he discovered something amusing?
Loki swore that from this moment forward, he would have absolutely no second thoughts about his loyalty to the Plumbers. Complete and total dedication!
Although Caiera didn't understand why Loki had suddenly lost his mind again, when she heard that it was Ben's orders, she immediately began preparing a spaceship for him without question.
However, due to the vast distance between Sakaar and Earth, it would probably take some time for Loki to make the journey.
Back on Earth, after taking the photo of Thor, Ben walked over to a nearby vending machine and bought the sweating god a bottle of ice-cold soda. The simple gesture immediately earned him classification as "good people" in Thor's mental catalog.
Although it was just a cold drink, it represented rare kindness for Thor, who had endured considerable hardship during this humbling period of his exile.
After arriving at their new classroom, Ben found himself thinking: I didn't expect Thor to still be on Earth without his powers restored yet. That means Mjolnir has probably been confiscated by SHIELD.
The more he thought about it, the more Ben realized that SHIELD really did possess an impressive collection of valuable artifacts and resources.
The Tesseract alone was already a treasure beyond imagination. Not to mention, SHIELD had been attempting to crack the Super Soldier Serum for decades. Although they hadn't been able to completely replicate Captain America's exact formula, the research data they'd accumulated was incredibly valuable.
Now that he'd decided to deal with Hydra, Ben was definitely thinking about how to make those old serpents drop some serious loot.
When they reached the new classroom, Harry had already arrived early and was waving at them from his chosen seats.
Ben and his group walked toward him and settled into nearby desks.
"How's Flash doing?" Harry asked immediately.
The previous day at the hospital, although it had been Ben who'd stepped forward to say that Primus would handle Flash's treatment costs, Ben—who preferred not to expose his resources at school—had attributed the generous offer entirely to Harry Osborn's family connections.
"His physical injuries have been completely healed, but there's some memory damage," Ben explained. "I placed him in the recovery wing on the fifteenth floor of Primus. His parents have been notified and are taking care of him there now."
Hearing this update, Harry felt that this was already an incredibly positive outcome. Compared to losing his life, memory seemed somewhat insignificant. Even if Flash couldn't fully restore his past memories, he could still create new ones and live a normal life.
"Harry, after school tonight, let's head over to Primus," Ben said, his tone becoming noticeably more serious.
Some conversations weren't appropriate for school environments, and when Harry heard Ben's grave tone, he immediately understood that something significant was developing.
Felicia and Mary Jane exchanged curious glances, clearly wondering what the three boys were planning.
However, they didn't think too much about it. After all, what kind of trouble could three teenagers possibly get into at a research facility?
"Are you guys planning to do some kind of research project?" Mary Jane asked innocently.
Ben nodded seriously. "Something like that."
That afternoon, after school ended, the three friends made their way to Primus Tower.
The building was so massive and imposing that it didn't even have traditional security guards. Instead, Ben had positioned two of his steel robots at the main entrance, where they stood motionless like metallic stone lions.
They looked completely inactive and harmless, but no rational person was willing to bet their safety on that assumption.
"This place feels way too empty," Harry observed, keeping one hand casually in his pocket as they walked through the vast lobby. "It was fine when Primus was small enough to feel like a private laboratory, but now it's definitely time to recruit some actual staff."
Harry's observation was absolutely correct. The Primus Building boasted multiple of floors, but when you actually counted the people inside, there were maybe six or seven individuals at most—and that generous estimate included Flash's family, who were still in recovery.
Currently, Primus managed to operate normally only because the people from Oscorp were essentially doing double duty, handling the business operations of both companies simultaneously. There was also significant data analysis work that was handled entirely by Eunice's advanced AI capabilities.
But this arrangement clearly wasn't sustainable long-term.
Ben nodded in agreement. Primus definitely needed to hire some legitimate employees soon.
"You didn't ask me to come here today just to help you interview potential staff, right?" Harry asked with a knowing look.
Hearing this, Ben rolled his eyes dramatically. "How could we possibly trouble the great Harry Osborn with such mundane matters?"
Peter then began explaining to Harry everything that had happened with Nick Fury's visit, filling in all the details of their conversation and the implications.
The three of them made their way to the underground conference room while talking. Ben pressed a concealed button, and a pristine white conference table slowly rose from the floor with mechanical precision. Then he changed into his Prime uniform, took his place in the head chair, and clasped his hands together in front of him.
"Alright, we're now officially convening a Plumbers meeting," he announced with ceremonial gravity.
"Is it really necessary to be this formal?" Harry asked, noting that Ben had even bothered to change into his full uniform. It seemed a bit excessive for what was essentially a strategy session between friends.
"Of course it's necessary. This is a matter of proper procedure and protocol. Hurry up and change into your gear. Oh wait, I forgot your new suit isn't ready yet. Never mind, just sit down."
Ben began with appropriate formality: "Plumber Harry Osborn, I trust Spider-Man has already briefed you on the situation during our journey here."
Harry scratched his head in confusion. "Ben, weren't you literally standing right next to Peter when he was explaining everything? And why are you suddenly acting so serious and official?"
"Maintain proper decorum!" The white eye-pieces on Ben's mask narrowed as he looked at Harry with obvious disapproval.
"We're conducting official Plumbers business here!"
After their brief moment of comedic relief, Ben activated the holographic display system under the somewhat exasperated gazes of Peter and Harry.
Then he stood up, placing both hands firmly on the table, and began his briefing: "Our enemy this time is Hydra. But unlike the intelligence that Nick Fury provided, what we're actually facing isn't some half-dead, useless remnant, but a sinister and cunning venomous serpent that has embedded itself into the very lifeblood of this country!"
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Peter asked, clearly not following the implications.
"In the version of history that we all learned in school, after Captain America Steve Rogers defeated the Red Skull, the Hydra organization began to collapse and fragment. In the eyes of ordinary people today, it has become completely relegated to the history books."
Hearing this, both Harry and Peter nodded in understanding.
"But Captain Rogers and Nick Fury told me that Hydra was never completely destroyed," Peter pointed out.
"He's absolutely right, but there are some crucial differences in the details." Ben emphasized the word "details" with particular intensity.
"In fact, Hydra was never truly destroyed at all. As their motto proudly states: cut off one head, and two more will grow back. Not only did they avoid collapse, but they actually thrived and expanded their influence."
Ben gestured, and immediately an eagle logo appeared on the holographic projection—the official seal of SHIELD.
Peter recognized the symbol instantly. The document Nick Fury had given him featured an eagle's head printed on the cover, with wings dramatically spread beneath the head.
"This represents a special forces organization under the International Security Council, designed to handle extraordinary incidents and threats. Its origins trace back to World War II, when it began as the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR), the primary force tasked with combating the Nazi offshoot known as Hydra. It later evolved into what is now known as S.H.I.E.L.D."
"The current director is Nick Fury. As a department operating directly under the Security Council, it wields enormous authority and commands several flying aircraft carriers, along with resources that most governments could only dream of..."
The more Ben explained about SHIELD's scope and power, the more Peter and Harry began to understand the true scale of the organization, and they became increasingly amazed by its capabilities and reach.
"No wonder they were able to defeat Hydra so decisively," Harry said with genuine admiration. "I had no idea their influence extended so far!"
However, Ben fixed him with a stern glare.
"I specifically said that Hydra has never been defeated, not from the very beginning."
Ben waved his hand again, and the noble bald eagle symbol instantly began to deform and transform. The proud eagle head morphed into a bright red skull, and the outstretched wings twisted and writhed until they became tentacle-like appendages.
"That's right. SHIELD is Hydra!"
Ben's revelation was so shocking that Peter nearly fell backward out of his chair.
"How is that even possible?" he shouted in disbelief.
The very idea seemed impossible. Captain America himself, who had spent his entire life fighting Hydra and had personally buried their leadership, was a member of SHIELD. How could SHIELD possibly be the very organization he'd spent decades trying to destroy?
"Nothing is impossible in this world," Ben said grimly.
"When Hydra leadership realized that they were doomed to fail in the war, they were already developing contingency plans to preserve their power and influence. Obviously, they understood one of the oldest principles of espionage: the most dangerous place is often the safest place to hide."
"I had Eunice conduct extensive investigations into their activities. Although their operational security was impressive, in a situation like this, if you want to completely conceal an organization of this magnitude, you're inevitably going to leave behind significant traces and clues."
Ben wasn't speaking hypothetically or making wild accusations.
When he'd decided to target Hydra, he'd immediately ordered Eunice to search for exactly these kinds of evidence trails.
Peter and Harry might be willing to believe him based on friendship and trust alone, but some people would definitely require concrete proof.
Hydra's current power base was truly massive. Not only had they infiltrated SHIELD completely, but they'd also embedded agents throughout Congress and the Security Council itself. If this operation went wrong, the three of them would essentially be declaring war against the entire United States government.