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Hearing Nelson's response, Marco fell silent. After a brief moment of contemplation, he ultimately chose to accept it.
After all, Howard Stark had always been a walking cheat code.
During World War II, an era when technology across the globe was still painfully underdeveloped, Howard Stark had already produced things that bordered on science fiction. A magnetic-levitation car alone was enough to cement his legacy, a feat so far ahead of its time that even decades later, modern science still hadn't fully realized it.
If the power source he designed was something ordinary engineers couldn't unravel, that wasn't surprising at all.
Still, Marco wasn't fully satisfied.
"What about Yinsen?" he asked after a short pause, turning his gaze back to Nelson. "Couldn't he manage it either?"
After Tony Stark's rescue in Afghanistan, Yinsen had been brought back as well. Officially, it was under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s authority.
In reality, it had been H.Y.D.R.A.
Unlike Tony Stark, Yinsen never regained his freedom. Instead, he was quietly taken into H.Y.D.R.A.'s custody and placed under strict supervision.
The reason was simple: He was still useful.
The massive technological breakthrough of powering an Iron Man suit with a miniature Arc Reactor wasn't something H.Y.D.R.A.'s own scientists had achieved. It was information they had pried out of Yinsen.
After all, Yinsen had been there. He had watched Tony Stark assemble the miniature Arc Reactor with his own hands, step by step, from nothing but scraps.
That firsthand experience was exactly why Marco brought him up.
But Nelson shook his head.
They had already pushed Yinsen to his limits. Questioned him. Tested him. Tried everything.
It was pointless.
The miniature Arc Reactor was simply too advanced. Watching it be built once wasn't enough to recreate it. Stark technology had never been that straightforward.
That was precisely why Wesley kept returning to Obadiah Stane, repeatedly demanding confirmation and clarification of the data.
When even Yinsen proved useless, Marco couldn't help but frown.
At this point, H.Y.D.R.A. had already turned the armor blueprints into reality. A functional prototype had been successfully constructed. Every simulation and stress test showed the same result: once a suitable power source was installed, the armor could be deployed immediately.
And yet...
The power source was precisely the one obstacle they couldn't overcome.
H.Y.D.R.A. was effectively being choked at the neck, and the feeling was deeply unpleasant.
If Iron Man–level armor technology could truly be realized, H.Y.D.R.A.'s ambition of world domination would no longer be a distant dream; it would be well within reach.
The energy problem had to be solved.
No matter the cost.
But despite that ironclad resolve, Marco still had no idea how to break through this bottleneck. He rubbed his temples, a sharp headache beginning to form.
As things stood, it really was impossible without Tony Stark.
And Tony Stark's status was far too special. Even H.Y.D.R.A. didn't dare move against him lightly.
"Is there… really no other way?" Marco muttered to himself.
Nelson sat rigidly across from him, barely daring to breathe. The air in the room grew heavy, oppressive, as if even sound itself had been suppressed.
Then, suddenly, Marco's eyes lit up. A flash of inspiration crossed his mind.
If he remembered correctly, the Arc Reactor hadn't been invented by Howard Stark alone.
Back then… he had a partner.
If they could find that partner...
Marco's spirits rose almost instantly.
Compared to blindly hoping that the scientists they recruited would miraculously achieve a breakthrough, this was a far more reliable approach. Stark-family technology had never been something you could brute-force your way through.
"Nelson, you can go," Marco said, waving a hand dismissively.
He needed to begin investigating and verifying this lead immediately. He had no time for further discussion.
"Hail H.Y.D.R.A."
"Hail H.Y.D.R.A."
The two exchanged the customary H.Y.D.R.A. salute. Without another word, Nelson stood, turned, and left Marco's office.
What neither of them could possibly have imagined was that their entire meeting had been observed, clearly and completely, by someone else.
The legendary Bald Avenger himself.
Nick Fury.
Seated in his own office, Fury peered through countless layers of walls using the power of the Glare-Glare Fruit, his vision penetrating straight through physical barriers and into the mind depths and beyond.
Even though he couldn't hear a single word, every motion, every expression, every exchange unfolded before him with perfect clarity.
"They're… H.Y.D.R.A. too?" Fury muttered, his one visible eye widening slightly. "Dear God…"
"Seventy percent of S.H.I.E.L.D… is H.Y.D.R.A.!"
Nick Fury slowly lowered the hand he'd unconsciously curled into an "OK" gesture, his fingers tightening into a hard fist instead. The muscles in his weathered face twitched uncontrollably, the shock and rage impossible to hide.
Ever since uncovering that Brock Rumlow's entire operational network was H.Y.D.R.A. through and through, Fury had already suspected deep infiltration. He knew things were bad.
But even so...Seventy percent?!
That number was beyond ridiculous. At this point, could this even still be called S.H.I.E.L.D.? There were more undercover H.Y.D.R.A. agents than actual loyal personnel.
If someone only compared the number of S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives to H.Y.D.R.A. operatives, they'd probably think H.Y.D.R.A. was the legitimate organization, and S.H.I.E.L.D. was the one infiltrating them.
S.H.I.E.L.D.? What a joke.
They might as well rename it H.Y.D.R.A.-E.L.D.
*Hiss!*
Just thinking about it sent a chill down Fury's spine.
With so many H.Y.D.R.A. agents embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D., didn't that mean he'd had almost no secrets from them all these years?
Every plan he'd made.
Every classified operation.
Every secret he thought only he knew.
H.Y.D.R.A. must have been fully aware of it all.
Worse still…
There was an unsettling possibility Fury couldn't ignore, that he himself had been nothing more than a weapon H.Y.D.R.A. had quietly been aiming all these years.
'Unacceptable! This is completely unacceptable!' The bald man was furious.
Not mildly annoyed. Not quietly angry.
Truly, genuinely furious.
His already shiny, egg-like head seemed to darken several shades as his expression hardened.
"Wait…" Fury suddenly froze mid-rage.
Because a far more terrifying realization had just surfaced.
Marco was Alexander Pierce's trusted confidant. And many of the people Fury had identified were also directly tied to Pierce.
Which meant...
His former superior might be H.Y.D.R.A. as well.
If Alexander Pierce himself was H.Y.D.R.A., then S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't just compromised, it was H.Y.D.R.A., in both name and reality.
"Please… don't let it be that bad," Fury muttered quietly, the words sounding almost like a prayer. But even as he said it, he knew it was nothing more than self-deception.
Logically speaking, the conclusion was unavoidable. There was an overwhelmingly high chance that Alexander Pierce was H.Y.D.R.A.
Otherwise, there was no way an organization like S.H.I.E.L.D. could have been infiltrated this deeply, right under his nose, without him noticing a thing.
And yet, despite realizing all of this…
Fury also understood something even more bitter. For now, he had no real way to act on it.
No clean move. No safe counterattack.
After all...
H.Y.D.R.A. had already sunk its roots far too deep.
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Next Chapter: The Avengers Initiative Goes Live
Next Next Chapter: The Secret Rhodey Wasn't Ready For
Next Next Next Chapter: War Machine Goes Shopping
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