The jungles of Chile were thick with humidity and danger.
Sahil Hamato's personal stealth jet, a sleek black arrow built with Chitauri energy stabilizers and AI piloting system, carved silently through the clouds. It carried no insignia, just cloaked intent. His mission was simple: locate and exterminate a joint Hydra-AIM blacksite buried in the Andean foothills.
But halfway through descent, his radar pinged.
A SHIELD jet dropped into visual range, larger and more openly militarized. Moments later, his comms crackled.
"Sahil Hamato," a voice said. Calm, professional. "This is Agent Natasha Romanoff. Your airspace overlaps with a SHIELD operation. Prepare for docking."
He sighed, already anticipating this.
The docking protocol initiated automatically. Within minutes, the hatch opened to reveal three legendary figures: Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, and Natasha Romanoff.
"Nice ride," Clint remarked, stepping into Sahil's hangar.
"Yours looks heavy," Sahil replied, deadpan.
Steve stepped forward, the very image of the super soldier. "We're hitting the same target. Fury suggested collaboration."
Sahil gave a slow nod. "Suggested, or ordered?"
Natasha smirked.
The boy-genius took a moment to analyze them. Rogers — WWII's perfect soldier, definitely no stranger to killing. Romanoff — deadly, subtle, and always watching. Barton — the eye of the storm, already evaluating distances, terrain, angles.
Sahil saw through it. This wasn't collaboration. This was evaluation.
But that suited him fine.
"I accept," he said. "But don't expect me to play junior partner."
Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't planning to."
"I propose a contest," Sahil said, gesturing to Clint. "Marksman to marksman."
Barton grinned. "You want to duel me with a bow?"
Sahil turned, tapped his gauntlet. Nanotech shifted along his arm, forming a sleek black bow with gleaming blue nodes. A quiver shimmered into view on his back — arrows with variable payloads: concussive, EMP, and plasma-edge.
"Let's see who earns the first shot."
Steve and Natasha watched from the edge as the two snipers took position on opposite tree lines overlooking the base.
Targets emerged — guards, drones, and AI turrets. The night lit up with silent, deadly accuracy. Sahil's aim was surgical, every release calculating trajectory, wind resistance, and Chitauri-enhanced arrow velocity.
Barton matched him, arrow for arrow, smile widening.
Then Steve said, "We move. Natasha and I will infiltrate from the north. You two stay high and cover us."
Sahil nodded. "My drone grid is already mapping their comms. Thermal shows two subterranean labs, one of them housing six Meta experiments."
Natasha clicked her mic. "Copy that. Let's move."
Steve and Natasha slipped into the jungle, shadows among trees. Sahil and Clint set up overwatch.
In the silence, Clint asked, "Why's a kid like you doing this?"
Sahil didn't flinch. "Because I don't trust the world to fix itself."
Clint considered that, then gave a slow nod. "Fair."
As the SHIELD pair moved in, Sahil unleashed support drones to jam signals and cut surveillance. He tapped into the base's feed, highlighting objectives for Steve's team. Explosions boomed in the distance — Captain America had breached the facility.
Inside the lab, Natasha deployed knockout gas, while Steve took out Hydra scientists with brutal efficiency. Just the business of killing old enemies.
Meanwhile, Sahil moved closer.
He planted blackboxes on escape tunnels, intercepting routes. When two AIM guards emerged, he shot them both — one in the head, one through the neck.
Clean, precise, emotionless.
By the time they regrouped, the base was aflame.
"You're efficient," Steve admitted.
"Thanks," Sahil replied.
On the return flight, Nick Fury appeared on the holoscreen in Sahil's jet.
"Impressive," Fury said, eye patch gleaming. "You've made yourself useful."
"I always am," Sahil replied. "Let's discuss terms."
Fury raised an eyebrow.
Sahil leaned forward. "I have a formula. It's not the Super Soldier Serum exactly — it's cleaner, less volatile. No side effects. No gamma risk. I'll give you five vials. In return, I want access to SHIELD's Hydra database."
Fury didn't flinch. "What's your angle?"
"I plan to tear the rot out," Sahil said. "Hydra's not the only enemy. AIM is metastasizing in the corporate world. SHIELD's hands are tied. Mine aren't."
"And the Hand?" Fury asked, voice dropping an octave. "We know they've been targeting Hydra cells globally. Your uncle's name is on five blacklists."
Sahil didn't lie. "Once I have enough power, I'll sever my clan from The Hand. And when I do… I'll deliver them to SHIELD."
Fury studied him. "I believe you mean it. But you're still dangerous."
"Dangerous is what gets results."
Fury leaned back. "Keep sending results, and we'll keep this alliance... ambiguous.