Back in his seat, Alexander closed his eyes, fingers pressing against his temple.
After a moment, he reopened them, face dark, and snatched up the phone again—calling the Island Nation base where Anna had been promoted.
But this time, the voice on the other end wasn't Anna's.
It was sharp, male, and warped with electronic distortion.
"He suspects something happened to Anna?"
"I don't know," Alexander answered grimly. "But I do know—if Hawk doesn't see her next month, we won't be able to hide it anymore."
He drew in a deep breath.
"How is Anna now?"
"Bad. Machines are keeping her alive, but it won't last."
"Damn that Stryker!" Alexander snarled. "He'll bring us all down!"
The synthetic voice replied calmly, "You can't really blame Stryker. No one expected a two-year-old infant to show such potential."
"Motherf—!" Alexander exploded, voice seething. "Zola, you and Stryker are out of your minds! That bastard used the demon king's blood to create synthetic gametes—and actually let a test subject carry and deliver a child! And you, damn it, obsessed with clones—fine, keep at it! When Hawk learns the truth, we'll all go to hell together!"
In that moment, Alexander finally understood why Hydra's first uprising had failed.
You can fight gods and survive.
But with idiot allies, you're doomed.
He had thought that after their first failure, these two relics—one kept alive through genetic science, the other by turning himself into pure data—would have learned caution.
He was wrong.
History had proven it: humanity never learns from history.
Stryker had taken Hawk's blood, synthesized impossible gametes, and somehow produced a healthy infant girl.
Zola had gone even further—secretly moving Dr. Merrick, the cloning specialist, out of Black Prison, and setting him to work building a clone of Hawk himself.
Both experiments were explicitly forbidden.
Alexander's original plan had been to win Hawk's trust, not provoke him. Hydra couldn't survive a second annihilation.
And his plan had been working. He had even placed Anna close, and Hawk had accepted her as a friend.
Everything was in place—until his "allies" blew it all up.
Anna, sent to clean up Stryker's disaster in Sokovia, had been gravely wounded and now lay half-dead in a machine.
Meanwhile, Stryker was declaring the baby their "future."
And Zola? He'd taken it a step further—making Hawk himself.
Good God.
Alexander had given them clear instructions: no bizarre experiments. Hawk himself had allowed "normal" research. But somehow, his colleagues had heard the exact opposite: only bizarre experiments.
When Alexander learned the truth, his blood pressure had nearly killed him on the spot.
And now—after watching Wakanda vanish in white light—he almost wished it had. At least that would've been a clean death.
Instead, here he was.
Pressing his brow, he muttered, "Can Merrick finish an Anna clone in two weeks? That's all the time we have."
Hawk had already asked about her. They'd stalled him once. But next time?
Letting Anna stand him up might work—but if Hawk grew suspicious and traced it back, only God knew what would follow.
So Alexander prayed for Zola to give him the answer he wanted.
His hope shattered.
"Too late."
"F—!" Alexander slammed the desk. "What do you mean too late? I told you to start cloning Anna as a backup! That was the plan all along!"
Zola's digitized voice replied, "Merrick's work has advanced further—he's synthesized a 3.0 super-soldier serum from Hell Hulk's blood and Hawk's. This is the critical stage."
Alexander nearly lost it.
"We'll be dead in two weeks!"
"Actually…" Zola paused. "We don't even have that long."
Alexander froze.
"What?"
"Hawk already knows about the clones."
"What?!" His eyes widened, body jerking upright. Then he stopped himself. "Impossible. If he knew, I'd already be dead."
Both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra had studied Hawk's personality extensively.
The verdict was the same:
Neutral—but ruthless.
So long as you didn't provoke him, he lived his own life. School, home, Gwen.
But if you did provoke him? His retaliation was instant. Merciless.
So if Hawk knew about cloning, Alexander wouldn't still be breathing.
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible."
"It's the truth," Zola insisted. "Maria Hill has already authorized Sharon Carter to extract Merrick from Black Prison. Once she finds him gone, our secret is finished."
Alexander snapped, "Then put Merrick back!"
Zola refused flatly.
"No."
Alexander laughed bitterly. Of course.
Zola pressed on. "Once Hawk 3.0 is perfected, with the Saint Cloth fragments we've collected, even the real Hawk won't be our match."
Alexander's face went blank.
"You're certain?"
"Data doesn't lie."
"…"
Alexander no longer looked angry. No longer looked hopeful either. Just… empty.
"So what's your plan?"
"The time has come."
"For what?"
"For our second rising."
"…Heh."
"What are you laughing at?"
"I just remembered something funny." Alexander set down his glasses, staring at the tent's ceiling with a twisted smile. "I was wrong. I was so wrong. If I hadn't been blind enough to join Hydra back then, I wouldn't be stuck working with two fossils fit for a museum. And now you want to rise again? While Hawk is still in New York?"
Zola's voice was steady. "It's the perfect moment. The Insight Program is online. Tony Stark is in Korea. Thor is in New Mexico. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s heavy hitters, Natasha and Hawkeye, are still in Africa."
Alexander sneered. "And Captain America is in Washington. Hawk is in New York."
"Our vibranium weapons will deal with the Captain. As for Hawk… soon he'll leave New York. By the time he returns, Hawk 3.0 will already stand."
"…"
(End of Chapter)
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