Hydra's control over a special kind of power was no secret.
If Tony and the others still held doubts about that near-limitless green energy Hydra wielded, Reid had already formed his own theory.
From the green serum carried by nearly every Hydra operative, he could clearly sense the presence of magic. But unlike the energy he had once felt near Kamar-Taj, this one was tainted. It carried the stench of decay and death.
Even without direct contact, he could roughly judge that Hydra had tapped into some form of dark magic.
But in this world, the concept of "dark magic" was vast. From what Reid knew, it could refer to power linked to Chthon, the Elder God, or to Dormammu, ruler of the Dark Dimension. Both of their projections in the mortal realm could be called dark magic.
Until he had more information, even with his knowledge, he couldn't determine whose power the organization was truly channeling.
* * *
While a Hydra operative raised a communicator to contact headquarters, somewhere on Earth stood a structure that looked almost like a church.
In the center of a chamber filled with religious artifacts rested a coffin glowing faintly with green light. Floating above it, suspended in magical energy, were scattered pages of an ancient text.
This was the source of Hydra's newfound power.
By sheer chance, fragments of the Darkhold, once scattered around the world by a former Sorcerer Supreme, had fallen into their possession.
Those pages, left behind by Chthon himself, served as bridges between reality and the god of dark magic.
Just then, the sound of a communicator broke the silence, drawing the attention of a Hydra researcher, who looked up from his study of the pages.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Dr. Faustus, it's the team New York. The ones who haven't fully covered their tracks yet. They've captured Norman Osborn's genius son and are requesting a portal for extraction."
Dr. Faustus, real name Johann Fennhoff, was no ordinary figure in Hydra. His status rivaled Arnim Zola's, and he had long been a pillar of the organization's technological development.
Compared to Zola, Faustus' mind worked in more flexible and unconventional ways. It was he who, using the serum research acquired from LexCorp, managed to combine scientific methods with the forbidden power of the Darkhold. Through that, Hydra gained a way to harness dark magic in a controlled form.
Ironically, he was also the one person Reid had completely overlooked.
Because this world bore too many similarities to the Marvel films of his previous life. Despite the differences, it was hard not to fall into assumptions. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Faustus had lived in Howard Stark's time, his story set half a century earlier.
So, after scanning the world with telepathy and finding nothing, Reid dismissed him without another thought. What he never realized was that Faustus, by studying the Darkhold pages early, had stumbled upon a method that constantly shielded his presence from telepathic detection, making him slip through the net.
At this point, Reid was still unaware of his existence.
But that gap in intelligence had yet to affect events. After hearing his subordinate's report, Faustus sat lost in thought.
Not long ago, he had received another piece of intelligence that suggested things might not be as smooth as those agents in New York expected.
"I recall hearing just now that Rogers and Barnes in Los Angeles finished their breakfast today thirty minutes earlier than usual. Is that correct?"
It was such a small detail, one that seemed useless at first glance.
But when it came to Steve, that was worth thinking about.
He was a man of strict discipline, and Bucky was the same. Unless something in the outside world changed, their daily routine was identical every single day. They woke up at the same time, trained in the morning, ate breakfast, and then went to Stark Tower to assist with research. The two of them rarely strayed from their schedule, not even by a minute.
For ordinary people, this level of precision would be nearly impossible. But Bucky, who had once been transformed into Hydra's assassin, and Steve, who had also received the Super Soldier Serum, could easily maintain it.
That discipline kept them in peak condition at all times.
Yet, it also meant their enemies could learn things about them. To an organization like Hydra, even small changes in routine could reveal intel.
There had been no outside interference, at least none that Hydra's intelligence had recorded, that should have disrupted Steve's rhythm. Not even something trivial, like an old woman being delayed at a crosswalk, had occurred.
That left only one possibility. However unlikely, Steve and Bucky might have received some kind of info.
Faustus trusted his instincts, and they told him Steve's sudden change could very well be connected to what was happening in New York right now.
It was only speculation. Finishing breakfast earlier than usual was hardly evidence. But Hydra, weakened to the extreme, needed such guesses. They would rather abandon potential gains than risk exposure, especially the lab where they were studying the Darkhold pages.
"Tell them their operation's been compromised," Faustus decided at last. "If they don't want to be caught by Stark, they need to run immediately."
It was the sole support he would offer, a warning.
But if the mission truly was exposed, then in New York, right under LexCorp's watchful eye, those operatives had no hope of escape.
* * *
On the other side, the Hydra agents received Faustus's reply. The man who listened turned pale as he relayed the message to their team leader.
"Sir, what should we do now?"
The leader's expression turned grim. He thought further ahead than the others. Without backup from headquarters, escape was not possible. Their exposure meant death was already at their heels.
So he made his choice. He would offer his life as his final act of loyalty to Hydra.
After what had happened, no matter what Harry thought, the leader believed the boy could never join the organization. Peter, lying unconscious nearby, was also out of reach.
If Hydra couldn't have these talents, then at least he could make sure neither LexCorp nor Stark Industries would ever have them either.
The thought settled in his mind. He drew the gun from his waist and aimed it at Peter, who lay defenseless on the ground.
"Then let's start with you, kid…"
The next second, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.
A single bullet tore through the air, flying toward Peter's unguarded body.
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