Steve Rogers moved silently through the darkened corridors of the SHIELD helicarrier. Over the past few days, he had meticulously memorized the layout of every accessible area within the massive ship.
A few days earlier, he had discovered a hand-drawn map in his apartment, marking all known surveillance locations throughout the helicarrier. Alongside it was a hard drive containing a program designed to temporarily paralyze SHIELD's monitoring systems.
The effect would only last for a few precious minutes.
By now, he'd realized that his apartment was thoroughly bugged with surveillance equipment, and that his lovely neighbor next door was definitely not what she seemed. He had no idea how Ben had managed to deliver these materials to his home without detection—though a certain invisible alien might have taken some pride in that accomplishment—but this was exactly what he needed.
After inserting the program into the main computer terminal, Captain America moved with practiced efficiency.
At this moment, he felt as if he'd traveled back decades, returning to the days when he'd infiltrated Hydra strongholds during the war.
In a very real sense, that was exactly what he was doing.
He consulted the map, which detailed all the restricted areas throughout the aircraft carrier. His target was the classified archives room.
Captain America had long been aware of those secret locations' existence. In the past, his military discipline had prevented him from wondering about what kinds of secrets were concealed there, but now cracks had begun to appear in his trust.
And when the complete truth emerged, the remaining fragments of his faith would melt away like ice exposed to scorching sunlight.
To be honest, this operation proceeded more smoothly than Steve had anticipated.
The surveillance cameras captured no trace of his movements, and the archive room's security was efficiently bypassed with the help of Ben's infiltration program.
Not even an alarm was triggered.
But Captain America knew his time was severely limited. It wouldn't be long before SHIELD's technicians detected the intrusion, so he had to work quickly.
Meanwhile, in the main control room, Nick Fury burst through the doors with thunderous expression.
He'd already discovered that SHIELD's computer systems were under cyber attack, and when he'd rushed to the control center, he'd found that the employee supposedly responsible for maintaining their firewall defenses was actually eating popcorn and watching a football game on the main display screen.
Even as Nick stormed into the room, the technician hadn't noticed his presence.
Nick Fury was so furious he wanted to draw a lightsaber, transform into a Jedi Master on the spot, and slice the incompetent fool in half.
"Hill, fire him immediately!" he barked, pointing an accusatory finger.
The employee was so startled he dropped his popcorn all over the floor.
But nobody had time to deal with this negligent worker now. More than a dozen elite technicians rushed into the control room and began frantically working to restore SHIELD's network defense systems.
"Haven't you identified who's attacking us yet?" Nick Fury leaned heavily on the control table, watching lines of code flash rapidly across multiple screens until his eye began to water.
"Negative, sir. The adversary's technology is extraordinarily sophisticated," replied the lead technician. More than a dozen world-class experts were working in coordination, but they remained essentially powerless against the assault.
These individuals, taken separately, were each globally recognized hacking specialists, but collectively they were struggling even to maintain basic defensive operations against this attack.
"It's not Ben Parker, is it?" Nick muttered, licking his dry lips with obvious concern.
In Nick Fury's assessment, the first person with this level of advanced network capabilities was Tony Stark, followed closely by Ben Parker.
Considering that Ben had visited the helicarrier just days earlier—and despite being under surveillance the entire time, theoretically preventing any sabotage—Nick's suspicions naturally gravitated toward him.
But Hill shook her head decisively.
"Highly unlikely. Even Ben Parker's artificial intelligence couldn't penetrate our defenses to this extent, unless he's cooperating directly with Tony Stark."
Hearing this analysis, Nick Fury dismissed the possibility that Ben was responsible.
There was simply no logical reason for Tony Stark to assist Ben in attacking SHIELD.
Ben had provided Tony with valuable assistance, but as far as Nick knew, their business relationship had concluded when Tony helped Ben acquire Hammer Industries.
What would Tony gain from attacking SHIELD?
"It appears we're dealing with an entirely different threat..." Nick said quietly.
He considered the situation and developed a working hypothesis.
This attack couldn't have been random, and the fact that the perpetrator possessed such formidable network capabilities while remaining completely unknown to them proved that the enemy had been concealing their existence.
A chilling thought began to form in his mind.
"Could this be Hydra?" Nick wondered aloud.
Reviewing recent events, the most significant development had been his discovery of an excuse to target Hydra remnants in order to recruit the two Spider-Men, Ben and Peter.
Now it seemed that Hydra might have revealed themselves!
His expression brightened with sudden excitement.
Isn't this like receiving a pillow just when you need to sleep?
If they could trace the attackers' location through their network intrusion, wouldn't that expose Hydra's base of operations?
When that happened, he could present this intelligence to Ben and Peter, demonstrating that SHIELD was genuinely committed to fighting Hydra. Could he still doubt their loyalty after that?
"Whatever it takes, we must track down their location!" Nick commanded urgently.
Several minutes later, one of the SHIELD technicians looked up and shouted triumphantly, "Found them!"
"Wrocław, western Poland," the agent announced.
Simultaneously, a map on the main screen rapidly zoomed in, eventually focusing on a specific location in Eastern Europe.
Hill looked puzzled. "I remember that used to be the financial center of East Prussia, correct?"
"When it was under German administration, it was called Breslau," Nick confirmed.
"Avengers, it's time to assemble!"
"Avengers, it's time to assemble."
In Primus Tower, Tony Stark and Ben Parker ceased their collaborative work. Ben leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smile.
That's right—they had been the ones orchestrating the cyber attack against SHIELD.
The purpose was twofold: first, to create the operational window that Steve needed, and second, to deliberately expose a Hydra base location to Nick Fury.
Ben could easily predict that it wouldn't be long before Nick Fury assembled all available Avengers and launched an assault against Hydra.
Meanwhile, Steve Rogers had successfully located the classified files on Operation Paperclip.
He methodically reviewed page after page, and the more he read, the more his blood ran cold.
The enemy he'd fought his entire life had been invited into America's home by his own friend after he'd been frozen in the ice.
It was like a veteran who'd spent his whole life fighting against fascism, only to discover that those same fascists had somehow become the masters of his own country.
"Peggy... I want to do what's right, but now I genuinely don't know what 'right' even means anymore."
After the initial rage subsided, Steve felt overwhelmed by profound sadness.
He realized that history moved like an inexorable wheel, and he was just a tiny grain of sand caught in its path. What could one man possibly accomplish against such vast forces?
But he didn't remain discouraged for long.
Regardless of the circumstances, he would never abandon the fight.
Even if he had to stand alone, he would risk everything to battle Hydra until the very end.
"Let me see what Ben thinks about all this first."
He silently returned all the documents to their proper places without making any sound, remembering Ben's crucial advice:
Trust no one.
Then, maintaining his facade of ignorance, he departed the archives.
He walked calmly down the corridor.
After a short while, a dozen agents emerged from the main control room.
"Captain, what brings you here?" Nick Fury was surprised to see him, then said with obvious excitement: "Actually, your timing is perfect. We just located a Hydra base. Get ready—we're departing immediately!"
Captain America was genuinely startled by Nick Fury's announcement.
Hydra, which had been completely silent until now, just conveniently revealed itself? What incredible timing.
He studied Nick carefully, uncertain whether the man standing before him could be trusted.
But he maintained his composure and asked in a measured tone, "Why the urgency?"
"If we delay, we'll lose this opportunity," Nick Fury explained. "I've already contacted Spider-Man and Prime. The window is closing rapidly. If we're too late, these snake will disappear back into their holes."
Hearing this, Captain America nodded his understanding.
He forced himself to stop questioning who could be trusted and shifted into combat mindset.
He moved efficiently, changing into his darker tactical uniform and securing his shield across his back. Ten minutes later, he stood on the deck beside a sleek Quinjet.
In addition to him, several members of SHIELD's tactical team were preparing for deployment.
Crossbones appeared completely at ease. He greeted Captain America warmly, saying, "Captain, looks like we're fighting side by side again."
Steve smiled but remained silent.
Crossbones continued conversationally, "I never expected Hydra to still maintain active bases." He fastened his safety harness and asked, "Captain, does this bring back memories of charging into battle with your Howling Commandos seventy years ago?"
"It's very different from seventy years ago," Captain America replied thoughtfully.
At least back then, he could trust his comrades absolutely.
How many of the people surrounding me right now are secretly Hydra operatives?
He closed his eyes, exhaled slowly, and issued orders: "Proceed to New York first. We have two team members waiting for pickup."
Peter stood atop the Empire State Building, the city's lights sprawling endlessly below him.
He'd been awakened in the middle of the night by an urgent call from Nick Fury.
Who could have anticipated that the plan to combat Hydra would be implemented so hastily?
"I wasn't prepared for this at all," he said, nervously rubbing his hands together.
"Don't worry, I've prepared everything for you," Ben said from nearby, tossing him a metallic case.
"Iron Spider Suit Mark I."
Ben said casually, "It's not nanotechnology yet, but it'll serve your needs."
Peter nearly jumped for joy.
He activated the case's control mechanism, and within moments, a spider suit similar to Tony's Mark V armor assembled itself around Peter as the container transformed.
Compared to the Mark V, the Iron Spider Suit Mark I was considerably lighter in construction.
After all, Peter didn't need the battle suit to provide him with enhanced combat capabilities. This armor only needed to offer substantial defensive protection.
In response to Peter's excitement, Ben had incorporated the only vibranium material he possessed, extracted from Kraven's dagger.
The effect wasn't dramatic, but it was better than nothing.
As they spoke, a Quinjet cut through the night sky and hovered directly above their position.
Captain America stood at the aircraft's open bay door, shield ready, looking down at them.
"Avengers, assemble!"