*****
A/N: Hi everyone, this is your author.
If you're enjoying my work, you can consider supporting me on Patreon — even a small amount really helps and keeps me motivated to keep writing.
You'll also get access to unreleased chapters and early updates there!
👉 patreon.com/cw/Universal_Peace
Thank you for reading and supporting!Â
*****
After three hours,
Inside S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, in the sterile halls of the Containment Department.
Luke sat slumped against a reinforced metal chair in the center of an interrogation cell. Heavy handcuffs bound his wrists behind his back, their dull steel glinting faintly under the harsh fluorescent light.
His head tilted slightly to the side, unconscious, strands of brown hair falling over his forehead.
On the other side of the reinforced glass, two men watched in silence.
"So," Alexander Pierce's voice broke the stillness, smooth and deliberate. His hands were folded neatly behind his back, his posture relaxed yet predatory.
His gaze fixed on the man bound inside the cell as though he were observing a specimen in a lab. "How exactly did you manage to capture him?"
Nick Fury didn't immediately answer. He stood beside Pierce, his expression as unreadable as stone. Finally, he turned his head slightly, speaking in a low, steady voice.
"We found him unconscious in a restaurant in Manhattan after… a commotion." Fury let the pause linger, his tone carrying weight without giving specifics. "He appeared to have been affected by something—nerve gas, maybe. We secured the area before anyone else arrived. Brought him in while he was still down."
Pierce raised a brow, lips curving into the faintest smile. The explanation was vague, intentionally so, but he didn't press. The details were irrelevant to him—the result was all that mattered.
He leaned a little closer to the glass, studying Luke as if appraising a weapon. His eyes gleamed with something dangerous.
After the report earlier—an entire Hydra retrieval squad wiped out in under a minute—his temper had nearly boiled over. The loss of trained men was costly, not to mention humiliating.
But then Fury called him, saying they had captured the enhanced person who was involved in the Harlem incident.
How Luke was brought down didn't matter. What mattered was that the enhanced individual connected to the Harlem incident was now strapped to a chair inside S.H.I.E.L.D.'s walls.
Pierce smiled again, a slow, satisfied curve tugging at his lips. In his mind, even God Himself seemed to be lending Hydra a hand—the target had fallen into his grasp without him lifting a finger.
Fortune rarely aligned so neatly. Now, all he had to do was string Fury along with a few carefully chosen lies, spirit this man away under the guise of "classified protocol," dissect the mystery behind his powers, and then… the rest would follow. Soon, Hydra would not just whisper from the shadows—it would rule the world.
"Fury, arrange for the transfer process," said Pierce, his voice steady. Only the faint tightness in his chest betrayed the rush of excitement threatening to spill through.
"Yes, where?" asked Fury, his tone sharp, his single eye narrowing slightly. It wasn't just a question—it was a test. He was measuring Pierce's words, looking for cracks.
"For now it's confidential, but soon I will notify you," Pierce replied smoothly, masking eagerness with layers of bureaucratic calm. His years in politics made the lie sound natural, rehearsed—just another classified operation among countless others.
"Okay," said Fury simply. His face remained unreadable, but there was the faintest flicker in his eye—something Pierce didn't see.
Fury turned and left, as he walked down the long hallway. The doors shut behind him with a soft hiss.
Only then did Fury press a discreet comm on his wrist. His voice dropped low, stripped of all pretense.
"Execute."
Pierce then came to Luke's room and looked at Luke on the chair with a smile. He couldn't stop his smile anymore as he studied the unconscious figure.
The target—the so-called "Enhanced person "—was finally within Hydra's grip. If they could replicate this guy's power, just thinking about it, Pierce couldn't stop the low chuckle that slipped from his throat.
Hydra had tried before—experimenting with traces of the Super Soldier Serum. But all their efforts had led to little more than half-measures and failed projects… except the Winter Soldier.
That one success had been a blade in the dark, a weapon they controlled. But this man? This was something entirely different.
Now with this guy, their power would raise many levels. Pierce's imagination ran wild—entire battalions empowered, armies standing above everything and nations alike.
And this guy's powers were nothing compared to the old experiments. Super Soldiers were still human, bound by mortal limits, but this one… this one was a tank wrapped in human skin.
And with him, Hydra no longer had to hide.
"—At least hide your thoughts."
The sudden voice sliced through his delusion like a knife.
Pierce blinked, startled, his smug daydream crashing down as he turned his gaze sharply toward the chair.
Luke's head was tilted, his eyes now open. His lips curled with the hint of a smirk.
"Oh, you are awake?" asked Pierce without any change in expression. His tone was calm, almost casual, as though addressing a guest at a dinner table.
Why should he fear? The enhanced man was bound, locked in reinforced restraints, and outside the room his security detail stood armed and waiting. Pierce didn't fear Luke—at least, not yet.
But then, with a faint metallic clink… the cuffs snapped loose.
Before Pierce could process what he was seeing, Luke stood up in one smooth motion, rolling his shoulders as though shaking off stiffness. A slow smile spread across his face, casual yet dangerous.
Pierce's composure cracked. His eyes widened, panic bleeding through his mask. In an instant he reached into his coat, pulling free a sleek handgun and raising it—
—but Luke twisted his wrist, almost lazily.
Pierce froze, his hand still raised awkwardly in the air.
"Can't understand what is happening?" Luke asked with a meaningful smile.
*****
A/N: Hi everyone, this is your author.
If you're enjoying my work, you can consider supporting me on Patreon — even a small amount really helps and keeps me motivated to keep writing.
You'll also get access to unreleased chapters and early updates there!
👉 patreon.com/cw/Universal_Peace
Thank you for reading and supporting!Â
*****