The Wanderer - 269 (Patreon)

Chapter 269 – Crumbling

[2009 – October – Saturday]

After the unforeseen and inexplicable destruction of the underground laboratory under the management of Dr. Simon Marshall, Pierce had been somewhat troubled for a while since his plans made it necessary to increase the strength of the men beneath him.

At the current time, the emergence of people with superhuman powers was increasing almost exponentially, and while the mutant population was the largest amongst those with supernatural powers, they were by far not the only ones to show capabilities beyond human standards.

Secretly developed advanced technologies, serums for genetic modifications, or unique and accidental 'transformations' were just a few examples that contributed to the rising number of superhuman individuals besides mutants that had awakened their powers.

It was as if invisible forces manipulated the happenings around the world, pushing Earth towards an era of unprecedented chaos that was ruled by those with power that were beyond the natural reach of humankind.

HYDRA had naturally long been preparing itself for such a situation and the experiments that had been carried out over the last few decades reflected this. And while there were some serums and other modifications that had been developed, which could increase an individual's strength to an extent, there had been no decisive breakthrough.

With the current advanced technology, most of the scientists under his command had assured him that a breakthrough was near but Pierce knew that the ultimate victory was a race for time.

There was a reason why all the governments in the world feared mutantkind and tried their best to create an environment that allowed them to live among normal humans while simultaneously suppressing them through various means, including widespread propaganda.

The world's leaders feared the emergence of a mutant whose powers were far beyond their ability to control – a Mutant Singularity.

Pierce had naturally shared this sentiment as such an existence was unpredictable and might very well overthrow HYDRA's plans, which had been in the making for millennia.

So, when the intel about the Facility's former humanoid weapon, X-23, reached his ears while he had still been troubled by the laboratory's destruction, he had authorized an operation to capture her for the sake of allowing HYDRA's scientist to study her.

He had known that there would be risks involved in such an operation given that X-23 was not an isolated mutant but one that lived in close contact with her own kind. Pierce had even taken special note of Elijah Frost, the incredibly powerful mutant had had shaken the world just a few weeks back.

Still, he had assessed that the risks were within the controllable range, especially given that X-23 was temperamental and seemed to act carelessly when hunting all kinds of common criminals.

And yet, he had been wrong, gravely so.

Listening to the reports of his subordinates while watching the broken recordings from some of the over forty destroyed bases, his heart sank to the bottom while his blood ran cold in his veins. Real fear, like he had not experienced it for decades, held an icy grip on his mind and body.

In less than four hours, Elijah Frost had shattered HYDRA's foundation of centuries and his ruthless massacre had sent waves of terror through the whole organization. Forty of the largest and most advanced bases had been broken in and devastated by a young man's bare hands.

Dozens of prototype weapons had been activated, among them experimental plasma weaponry, high-voltage restraining devices, horrific bio-chemical weapons, highly modified firearms and explosives, and many more, but the mutant teen had emerged unscathed and had continued his slaughter uninterrupted.

Elijah Frost's physique was simply impenetrable, not even a single strand of his hair had been harmed and even his clothing seemed indestructible, having only been tainted with the blood of those that he had torn apart while turning one base after another into hellish ruins.

Even worse, once the mutant teen had descended on a base, neither escape nor mercy could be found. There had not been a single survivor amongst the over forty bases that had been attacked.

Pierce couldn't suppress the horror in his heart as he watched the recordings since he knew that this was nothing but a message, sent to HYDRA in the most barbaric way by the most demonic mutant on Earth.

And the message couldn't be any clearer.

Lowering his head, Pierce looked at the dusty and cracked USB port in his left palm, which couldn't help but tremble. He had found this on his nightstand just a few hours ago after the first attack had been reported and knew that this was all that was left of Arnim Zola.

There were also some unconfirmed reports about some happenings at the Malick Mansion, though Gideon had temporarily managed to seal all the news about that.

Still, even if unconfirmed, Pierce more or less believed them to be the truth after having seen the recordings of the mutant teen's indifferent slaughter.

All this was without a doubt Elijah Frost's reply to their attempted kidnapping of X-23.

With vengeance, Frost had shown them and all of HYDRA that their lives could be taken in a heartbeat, that the only reason why they were still alive was that he couldn't be bothered to kill them all.

At least Pierce knew that his own life had only been spared so that he could live while knowing that his own life did not belong to himself any longer.

HYDRA was basically crippled, at this point. More than a third of the large bases had been destroyed with no survivors left, which severely damaged the vitality of the whole organization while the loss of Arnim Zola was almost equally devastating.

Not to mention that the unconfirmed reports about the monolith and Hive promised even greater despair.

Pierce almost couldn't believe that a single hasty decision of his had turned his decades of hard work into ruins, leaving behind only ashes, blood, and fear. His ambitions crumbled in the face of a blood-soaked young man.

The Mutant Singularity had become reality, and the world had been right to fear it.

…

Cold sweat was running down his back and his lungs felt as if someone had dropped an anvil on his chest.

Gideon Malick's eyes were opened wide in unspeakable fear as he sat in one of the leather armchairs in the cabin of his private jet and looked over the images taken by his subordinates while the recordings of the attacks on some of the HYDRA's bases under his command played simultaneously.

The images had been taken from the ruins of the Malick Mansion, which had been attacked even before the HYDRA bases. But it wasn't the destruction that caused him to be so fearful but what had been found amongst the ruins of the mansion.

As if it had been neatly arranged, surrounded by broken glass, shattered stone, and splintered wood, a severed head had been found. This head though was not the head of a human being but a head with an alien appearance.

Light purple skin, no nose, dark sclera with blood-red irises, and tentacles instead of hair.

Connecting the head's appearance with the disappearance of the monolith and the destruction of several dozen large HYDRA bases, Malick was almost certain when it came to the question of who this head belonged to.

Hive.

In horror, Malick had to bow in front of the overwhelming evidence and acknowledge that Elijah Frost had most likely used the monolith to travel to Maveth and slay Hive, only to then bring his severed head back and start laying waste to HYDRA bases.

The young mutant whom he had used his considerable influence to place on SHIELD's Black List had slain HYDRA's god and slaughtered thousands of the organization's men while wreaking havoc on over forty bases.

The losses were simply incalculable but Malick was the least concerned about that.

The fact that Hive's head had been placed amongst the ruins of his ancestral mansion was the real cause for concern, immeasurable fear constricting his heart as he felt like he had been targeted by the grim reaper himself.

The gruesome way in which the young mutant teen had simply torn some of HYDRA's best tactical teams apart with his bare hands sent shivers down his spine as he understood very well that his well-being depended entirely on the mood of this young man.

Malick wasn't sure what or who had provoked this living nightmare to target HYDRA but he knew that he would never be able to sleep in peace again if he didn't uncover the truth behind these attacks while searching for a way to absolve himself in front of this calamity incarnate.

He didn't care for his collapsing beliefs or HYDRA's disastrous losses, Malick simply wanted to live, no matter the price. After all, it was for this reason that he had sacrificed even his own brother all those years ago.

Ever since that day, he had known that he was a coward at heart and had yearned for true power so that he might overcome his own fear. He had been envious of all those superhuman individuals, especially mutants who were born to be extraordinary.

And now, he was once again reminded that in front of true power, all his influence and wealth were fragile, useless even.

Malick didn't have the peace of mind to think about the far-reaching consequences of last night's attacks, even if it was obvious that the destruction of so many secret bases around the world would not go unnoticed.

With abject fear eating away at his sanity, his thoughts raced as he sought a way out, almost expecting Frost to appear out of nowhere to take his life.

Still, another question remained: Had he provoked this demonic mutant by advocating for him to be put on the Black List, or had another HYDRA member drawn the other party's hatred towards them?

If it was the former, Malick was determined to rectify his mistake but something told him that a being of such immense power did not care about being 'blacklisted'. As such, it seemed more likely that someone from their organization had provoked this calamity.

His eyes carrying a near-insane mixture of fear and ferocity, Malick swore that he would find the one responsible, thinking that this may be his only chance at survival.