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If it hadn't been for those last few words from Natasha, the painful, crystal-clear comparison between two kinds of love, Arthur might have already thrown himself straight into the mission prep.
But after she spoke and left, Arthur once again fell into a state of quiet self-reflection, the kind that bordered on self-pity.
Still, no matter his mood, the work needed to be done.
He began laying out the operation plan. Since he had decided to get involved personally, Arthur was going to participate from the start, not just from the sidelines.
When he met Tony again, the man hadn't changed much; his attitude toward Arthur was the same mixture of easy arrogance and grudging respect.
Crucially, when it came to the Bucky incident, Tony didn't mention a single word. The silence was heavier than any argument could have been.
From drafting the initial strategy to the final approval, the entire plan took less than half an hour.
As Tony put it, with a wave of his hand:
"Come on, we're people who've seen the biggest battles out there. We've taken down villains the size of entire planets, you think we're gonna trip up in our own little backyard called Earth?"
Arthur promptly poured a bucket of cold water over his arrogance, his expression serious. He reminded Tony to stay sharp.
The Superhero Alliance had always been a group that acted the moment a decision was made.
Once the plan was finalized, the team moved immediately, and two spaceships launched straight for Sokovia, in Eastern Europe!
When they arrived near their destination, it wasn't directly at the enemy fortress. Arthur split off from the others. Since this was officially an Avengers operation, naturally, Hawkeye (Clint Barton) had to be included.
In fact, Clint was already waiting nearby. They needed to regroup, review the strategy, and then begin the assault.
Before that, however, Arthur's personal mission was to infiltrate Hydra's base and confirm the existence of Loki's staff, and, if possible, retrieve the Mind Stone immediately.
Once that most critical task was complete, the rest of the story would belong entirely to the Avengers and Hydra. Arthur would withdraw right after securing the Stone.
Before leaving, Arthur glanced at Tony, his final instruction crisp. "Remember, don't underestimate their technology. If they've managed to obtain the Mind Stone, that means they might already have access to tech beyond nearly everything Earth currently possesses. And Hydra will use every bit of that advantage directly in their military strategy."
"I know, I know. Old people sure like to nag," Tony quipped, though his tone held a hint of seriousness. "I'll be careful!"
Arthur nodded curtly. "See you at Camp Lehigh."
Tony returned the nod.
One of the spaceships stayed on standby. The Avengers aboard the other ship went to rendezvous with Hawkeye.
Arthur had never brought Clint into the Superhero Alliance for many reasons.
It wasn't personal bias, but the man's deep, complex relationships with everyone around him created too many variables.
There was no guarantee that, in a critical moment, emotion wouldn't cloud his judgment.
Arthur would rather leave him out of the main Alliance than risk someone making a regrettable, emotionally-driven choice when the fate of the planet mattered most.
Donning his sleek battle armor, Arthur activated the locator on his wristband to pinpoint Hydra's base.
In the next instant, his figure vanished, and when he reappeared, he was already hovering directly above the Hydra compound!
His cloaking system engaged silently. On Earth, there was no known technology capable of detecting it, and he intended to keep it that way.
Arthur's gaze drifted for a moment toward distant New York, his eyes thoughtful, and then he looked down at the base below his feet.
It wasn't a very large base. Compared to a civilization like Xandar, or even just Camp Lehigh, this place looked pitifully shabby and rundown, hiding behind the gray mountains of Sokovia.
"Has Hydra really gone completely broke these days?"
Arthur's lips curved into a faint smile. His figure dropped to the ground in an instant, but the very moment he landed, he vanished again. When he reappeared, he was standing right in front of a concrete wall.
He reached out and gently touched the surface. A thin energy layer rippled out, completely cutting him off.
Not only that, there also seemed to be an anti-cloaking force field embedded within. If Arthur hadn't instantly severed the energy feedback with his own power, the base's alarm system would have already been blaring a siren.
"Interesting," Arthur murmured with a faint grin. "So this is the kind of technology they've managed to create using the Mind Stone, huh?"
Just then, someone happened to walk by. Arthur's body flickered and disappeared, shifting out of this reality, only to reappear on the roof once the coast was clear. He waited until they were gone before attempting to teleport directly through the wall.
And sure enough, he passed through effortlessly, materializing inside the Hydra base.
"Looks like that wasn't too difficult," Arthur exhaled softly. "If this were pure Mind Stone energy, I probably wouldn't have been able to slip through so easily. But it seems they've infused these energy fields with something else, something new."
He strolled casually through the base, observing the technicians and guards moving about.
Whenever someone got too close, Arthur's figure would instantly shift into another dimension, re-entering reality a moment later, once the obstacle was gone.
Raising his hand, Arthur traced a glowing Eye of Horus in the air. Within moments, a complete topographic map of the entire base and its surrounding layout took shape in his mind. He quickly recorded the essential details and transmitted them to Tony and the others through his wristband communicator.
"The base's outer walls are protected by an energy field. It not only blocks most forms of attack but also triggers alarms upon intrusion. Be cautious when breaching. I recommend using the Mark Series-class scanner to analyze the field's structure.
If possible, strike silently, enter without sound, leave without a trace. Take everything they have, dismantle everything they are, and let them awaken in confusion… eternal and powerless."
Arthur's report carried his usual cryptic, almost poetic tone.
But then, his steps suddenly halted, and his expression turned profoundly strange.
"Well, well… I almost forgot about you two," he muttered, a chill running through his anticipation.
Through the Eye of Horus's surveillance feed, Arthur saw two figures.
And one of them, was staring directly back at him.
Her pupils shrank sharply. She lifted a hand, a faint, unnatural red light swirling around her fingertips, and in the next instant, Arthur's Eye of Horus feed went completely dark.
"What's wrong?" a young man beside her asked, his voice low and concerned.
"Nothing," the girl replied softly, her voice unnervingly cool. "Just… something interesting I happened to notice."
But even as her words faded, a low voice echoed in the young man's ear, Arthur's voice, now speaking from thin air.
The boy reacted instantly, far faster and more lethally than expected. His body flickered and vanished, only to reappear right behind Arthur.
He swung his arm in a wide arc, driving his fist straight toward the back of Arthur's head…
(End of Chapter)