Everyone stood frozen. The smell of gunpowder still hung thick in the air. For a few long seconds, no one dared to move. The only sound came from the faint hiss of something burning behind the counter.
Then, a low groan broke through the silence.
"…Is this how you guys greet people?"
Every head snapped toward the sound.
Liam, the guy who had just taken a bullet to the fucking forehead, was moving. Slowly, he lifted his head off the floor and spoke, "Where the fuck's the 'hello,' the 'nice to meet you,' the normal human shit?"
Tony's jaw dropped open. "You've gotta be kidding me."
Liam pushed himself up, rubbing the back of his neck like it was nothing. His shirt was dirty, covered in dust and sauce, but otherwise? He looked perfectly fine. Not a single scratch. Not even a bruise.
Natasha's eyes widened. Her voice came out calm but tight. "There's no way…"
Thor looked at him like he was watching a god rise from the dead. "By the Norns… he lives?"
Steve turned from Fury to Liam, completely stunned. "He was shot point-blank in the head. That was a kill shot."
Liam brushed some dirt off his shoulder, then casually picked up his fallen chair. He set it upright, sat back down, and grabbed his half-eaten shawarma like nothing had happened.
For a moment, his mind drifted back to the agent who had pulled the trigger. The guy hadn't hesitated; he just made an on-the-spot decision and fired. Cold, precise, professional. Honestly, Liam couldn't even blame him. From the agent's point of view, it was the right call.
The so-called HYDRA traitor had already made contact with the Avengers and was now on his way to talk to Fury. If that shot had finished the job, Fury would've been left either completely in the dark or, at best, with scraps of information. Either way, the agency would've tied up a loose end. A logical move in their world—ruthless, but clean.
Unfortunately for them, the bullet couldn't keep up with his upgraded regeneration.
"Yeah," he muttered between bites, getting out of his thoughts. "It was a kill shot. Hurt like a bitch too, by the way."
Well it didn't actually hurt, but why would he reveal all his abilities to them
Tony eyes went wide with disbelief. "You… died. You literally died. And instead of, I don't know, explaining all this shit, you're just sitting here eating a damn shawarma?"
Liam shrugged. "What can I say? Don't waste food." He took another bite, chewed slowly, then smirked. "Still hot. Nice."
Thor stepped closer, observing. "Your wound...it vanished. No blood, no mark… nothing. You are healed as if blessed by divine favor."
Liam smirked faintly. "Divine favor? Sure. Let's go with that."
Natasha holstered her gun but didn't look away from him. "What are you, exactly?"
Liam looked up at her, still chewing. "Hungry."
Fury, who hadn't said a word since the gunshot, finally stepped forward.
"Hill," he said without looking away from Liam, "get that body out of here. I want every file we've got on that agent pulled up now. And someone find out what the hell just happened."
Maria nodded quickly, already speaking to the accompanying agents and sent them all out with the dead body, giving further orders.
Liam leaned back in his chair, still eating like nothing had happened. "So," he said casually, "I guess we can skip the whole 'introduce yourself to S.H.I.E.L.D.' thing, huh?"
The words hung in the air. A few uneasy looks were exchanged.
Fury's voice came out low and firm as he looked at Liam. "We're not done here. You've got a lot of explaining to do."
Liam took one last bite, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and looked up at Fury with that same calm, confident smile. "Explanation? Your guy comes in here, shoots me in the fucking head, and I'm the one who needs to explain something?"
The words hit like a slap.
Fury's mouth tightened, but he didn't respond.
Liam leaned back in his chair, still holding his shawarma like he owned the place. "Didn't think so," he muttered. Then his tone softened, "But hey... since I promised the guys here I'd tell them a story once you showed up, I'm not gonna go back on my word."
He gestured lazily toward the empty seats. "So, why don't you get comfortable, Director? You too, guys. It's storytime."
The Avengers exchanged looks...tense, curious, confused. But one by one, they sat down again. Fury stayed standing for a moment, studying Liam like he was trying to read a classified file that didn't exist. Finally, he gave a small grunt and pulled out a chair across from him.
As he sat down, Fury said evenly, "We've got no record of you, Walker. No birth certificate. No service record. No trace of your existence. You're a ghost, or someone who doesn't exist at all."
Liam looked down at his food, then back up at Fury. "That's because some people made sure there wouldn't be a record. Erased every trace of me, like I was never born."
The table fell silent.
Liam's voice lowered slightly. "I wasn't always like this. The healing, the abilities, that came later. When I was a kid… I was just another orphan. Five years old, no family, no home. Got picked up by a so-called charitable organization." He chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, real generous people. Gave me food, a bed, a name and then trained me to kill before I could even tie my damn shoes."
Steve's brows furrowed. "They… trained you from such young age?"
"Trained, tortured, brainwashed, take your pick," Liam said flatly. "Every day was survival. Guns, knives, close combat, infiltration, they turned kids into soldiers. Into weapons. And they made damn sure we didn't question it."
Natasha's eyes darkened. She didn't say anything, but her clenched jaw said enough. She knew that kind of story too well.
Liam continued, his voice steady but cold. "They stripped us of everything. Our names, our pasts, our choices. We were theirs. Property. We were taught to obey, to kill, and never ask why."
He paused, his gaze distant for a moment. "The brainwashing… that was the worst part. You don't even realize what's real and what's not. You just follow orders, thinking it's your choice. They rewired my mind so deep that I didn't even remember my own face at times."
Tony leaned forward slightly, frowning. "And you're telling me you broke that kind of programming? Alone?"
Liam nodded slowly. "A couple days ago, something changed, pure coincidence, really," he said quietly. "The experiment they did on me, the one that gave me this regeneration ability, it didn't just fix my body. It healed my mind too. Broke whatever control they had over me."
He leaned back slightly, his voice low and steady. "At least, that's what I think. Guess their little project worked too damn well, just not the way they planned."
The silence that followed was heavy. Nobody spoke.
Finally, Liam leaned forward slightly, his expression unreadable. "So tell me, Captain," he said slowly, "what do you think? What organization do you think I'm talking about?"
Steve had a confused look on his face as he wondered why Liam was singling him out with that question.
Liam didn't give Steve the time to answer and continued his own ramblings.
"Let me give you a hint," he said slowly. "You've fought this organization your whole damn life. You bled for it. Lost men for it. Nearly lost yourself trying to destroy it. You thought you buried them for good."
Steve's face tightened. A flicker of disbelief crossed his eyes. "No," he said quickly, shaking his head. "That's not possible. They were destroyed. We ended them. I ended them."
Liam tilted his head slightly, still watching him. "You sure about that, Cap?"
Steve's voice faltered for a second. The certainty in it cracked. "They're gone," he said again, softer this time. Like he was trying to convince himself.
Liam leaned back in his chair, a grim smile curling his lips. "Yeah, Cap," he said quietly. "That's exactly what they wanted you to fucking think."
Tony looked between them, unsure. "Wait, what are we talking about here?....HYDRA?"
Liam's smile returned as he nodded his head.
The room went dead quiet.