S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier – Command Center
In the heart of the helicarrier's operations deck, Director Nick Fury stood before a massive holographic display projecting a three-dimensional scan of Hydra's secret base in Sokovia. Around him, agents and tacticians worked in tense silence, their eyes flicking between radar screens and data streams.
Then, suddenly, one of the analysts broke that silence.
"Director! Urgent transmission from the Raft Prison — Hydra's special assault unit has launched a breakout operation!"
The entire room froze. Fury's single eye narrowed, disbelief flickering across his face. Hydra had been scheming to infiltrate the Raft for years, but to attack now — right as the Avengers were preparing their offensive on Sokovia — made no sense.
It was too precise. Too calculated.
As if someone had deliberately timed it to cripple both sides.
"Put it on the main screen," Fury ordered sharply. His instinct screamed at him to deploy reinforcements immediately, but experience held him back. The timing was too perfect. There was a trap somewhere in this equation — he could feel it.
The main screen flickered to life, and General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross appeared, drenched in sweat and lit by an ominous red glow. Behind him, the air shimmered with unbearable heat, as if the entire room were turning into a furnace.
"We've got a situation, Fury. A big one." Ross's voice was ragged, his face pale, but his eyes burned with that same iron resolve.
"Show me," Fury demanded. "Hydra doesn't have the strength to breach the Raft's defenses. What the hell is going on down there?"
"Not just Hydra," Ross said grimly, twisting the camera to reveal the chaos unfolding around him. "They've teamed up with AIM."
The feed shifted to a live view of the prison courtyard — and the sight was apocalyptic.
The Sandman, now towering over the facility like a living storm, swung massive fists of compacted earth that smashed through steel and concrete alike. The Green Goblin darted around him on his glider, narrowly avoiding Killian's searing death rays. Crossbones and the Winter Soldier fought side by side against the Lizard, while Doctor Octopus lashed out with his four metallic arms, clashing violently with Marcus and Thunder amid the carnage.
"My task force — the Cannon Fodder Squad — is holding them off for now," Ross growled. "The Sandman's keeping us from being overrun, but I don't know how long we can last. I need backup — Avengers-level backup!"
Fury didn't respond immediately. His jaw tightened as he turned toward the tactical table, the weight of two worlds pressing down on him.
He had to choose.
If he dispatched the helicarrier now, they could reach the Raft in time to save Ross and prevent the prison's fall. But doing so would mean aborting the Sokovia strike — the one operation that could recover Hydra's zombie virus research and possibly end the global crisis.
Even a few hours' delay might give Hydra time to destroy the evidence.
And without that data, the world was doomed to drown in the virus outbreak.
It wasn't a choice between missions. It was a choice between lives and the future of humanity.
Fury closed his eye, the decision already forming. "Patch me through to Ross."
The camera refocused on the sweating general, the air around him shimmering from the heat.
"Ross," Fury said heavily, "the Avengers are executing a classified operation — one that could determine the fate of the entire planet."
He paused, his voice steady, but the guilt in his tone was unmistakable. "If that mission fails, the world ends. I can't pull them back."
Ross understood instantly. His expression didn't waver, even as the meaning sank in. "So that's it, then," he said quietly. "The Raft's on its own."
Fury clenched his fists. "I'm sorry."
The general nodded once, grim but resolute. "Don't be. I knew the risks. Just… finish what you started."
And with that, the transmission cut off, leaving the screen to fade into black.
Fury stood there for a long moment, saying nothing. Around him, his agents remained silent, unwilling to break the weight that settled over the room.
The Raft had become a true island now — isolated, abandoned, and doomed to burn.
---
Back at the Raft, the battle had devolved into chaos.
The Sandman, now a living colossus of earth and grit, led the assault. The Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus coordinated around him, unleashing a relentless storm of bombs, lasers, and steel. The courtyard was no longer recognizable — reduced to a field of craters and twisted metal.
"RAAAHHHHH!"
The Sandman's roar reverberated through the prison like thunder. His enormous fists, each the size of a tank, swung with terrifying power, smashing walls and catwalks as if they were made of paper. The impact crushed entire cell blocks, and with them, countless prisoners who'd been too slow to escape.
Blood, debris, and shrapnel mixed together in a grotesque rain.
Marcus narrowly dodged one of the strikes, his boots skidding across the wet floor as a collapsing wall exploded behind him. He glanced up — the Sandman loomed like a mountain, his eyes glowing amber through the storm of dust.
"Persistent bastard," Marcus muttered, spinning away as another massive punch came down like a meteor.
"Zzzzt!"
A beam of molten light flashed from Killian's shoulder-mounted cannon, cutting through the Sandman's arm. The superheated ray fused the sand into glass, leaving a glimmering, translucent wound.
But the damage was trivial — a mere scratch on an ocean.
The Sandman roared, the wound dissolving instantly as fresh sand flowed in to replace the lost mass. Before Killian could fire again, the Green Goblin dove from above, his pumpkin bombs whistling through the air before detonating in a fiery blast that sent Killian tumbling down into the lower levels of the prison.
The ground quaked as the Sandman raised one colossal foot, ready to crush him.
But before it fell, Marcus streaked forward — his bloodflame surging like a rocket engine. He slipped into the narrow gap beneath the descending foot, grabbed Killian by the shoulder, and pulled him free in the nick of time.
The impact behind them was cataclysmic. The floor buckled, and seawater began to seep upward through the fractures.
Killian, catching his breath, managed a strained grin. "That thing's a walking apocalypse. Even with our firepower, I doubt we can kill it."
Marcus glanced at the spreading pools of water, his expression hardening.
"I never said we needed to."
Killian frowned. "Then what's your plan?"
Marcus's crimson eyes flicked toward the flooded cracks spreading through the metal floor.
"Don't forget," he said quietly, lips curling into a dangerous smile, "we're in the middle of the ocean."
___
🎉 Big Shoutout to TheRealSeal!🎉
A heartfelt thank you to TheRealSeal for joining my Patreon and supporting this journey! 🙏✨
Your generosity truly makes a difference and helps bring chapters out faster for everyone. 🚀
Welcome to the VIP family, TheRealSeal—you're awesome! 💎🙌