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*****
The thin, tattered clothing the girl wore did little to hide her figure, making her stand out quite distinctly. However, that wasn't the primary reason she had caught Fini's eye—though it certainly played a small part in it.
The girl possessed long, brownish-yellow hair with a subtle hint of red and a face of delicate features. Right now, her large eyes were pressed nearly against the glass of her cell, staring directly at the spot where Fini stood.
Fini couldn't help but feel a surge of surprise. If his guess was correct, the person before him was the Scarlet Witch, who in the original timeline gained her powers through experimentation with the Mind Scepter.
Wanda Maximoff.
But the Mind Scepter was currently in his possession. According to the data he'd squeezed out of Sitwell, this base was supposed to be focused on researching Chitauri technology; they hadn't yet reached the stage of extensive human experimentation.
Fini shifted two steps to the side. Wanda's gaze followed the movement almost instantly.
"Who is there?"
Wanda's hollow, ethereal voice echoed from within the glass room, causing Fini's heart to skip a beat. Could she actually see through the invisibility of "Incursio"?
"Wanda, what's wrong?"
Hearing Wanda's low murmur, a young man with short hair in the adjacent glass cell rushed to the corner of his room, calling out to her through the wall.
"I feel like someone is out there, watching me!" Wanda said, her voice slightly raspy. Her eyes never once wavered from Fini's position.
Listening to their exchange, Fini realized that Wanda hadn't actually pierced through the invisibility of his armor; she was simply sensing his presence and his gaze.
Even so, it was enough to astonish him. With the Mind Scepter gone, he had assumed the twins would never develop their extraordinary abilities. But looking at the current situation, it seemed they possessed a unique nature from the start, which the Scepter would have merely catalyzed later on.
To be honest, Fini was incredibly curious about the siblings. He wondered if they might be Inhumans, much like Skye. Unfortunately, that theory was difficult to test. The Terrigen Crystals refined in "Afterlife" contained metallic impurities; if the twins weren't Inhumans, exposure would likely turn them into stone.
Despite his curiosity, Fini didn't reveal himself just yet. He planned to deal with the Winter Soldiers first before coming back for the twins. Giving Wanda one last look, he turned and departed.
Once Fini left, Wanda withdrew her gaze and sat back down on the edge of her bed. In the next room, her brother Pietro was still asking anxiously, "Is someone there? Where? Why can't I see them?"
"They've already left," Wanda replied blankly. Her mind drifted, questioning whether she and Pietro had made the right choice by coming here.
There was one detail Fini wasn't aware of: the siblings hadn't been kidnapped by HYDRA for experimentation. On the contrary, they had sought HYDRA out themselves. Perhaps it was a thirst for power, or perhaps they felt there was no hope left in their lives—whatever the reason, they had joined HYDRA of their own volition.
---
Fini continued his search and finally located his targets half an hour later in a laboratory within a different building. Aside from Bucky, the rest of the Winter Soldiers were in a state of cryo-sleep. Bucky sat alone on a chair, staring vacantly into space, appearing to be on guard duty.
Fini studied the six of them, weighing his options. If he launched a sneak attack now, he could eliminate them with ease, but he would gain significantly less experience. If he woke them up for a proper fight, the commotion would be substantial.
Between staying low-profile and gaining experience, Fini chose the latter. He had already moved past the "larval stage" where he needed to remain completely hidden. On Earth, with the exception of the Ancient One, there wasn't much he truly needed to fear. The progress toward his eighth extraction was far more important.
With his mind made up, Fini cancelled his invisibility and manifested in the room. Bucky, who had been dazing off, saw Fini and his expression shifted instantly, his eyes turning sharp and lethal. Without a single word of greeting, he drew the pistol from his hip.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He fired three rounds toward Fini's vitals. However, under the formidable defense of "Incursio," the bullets did nothing more than kick up a few sparks. Not a single scratch was left on the armor.
Seeing this, Bucky immediately abandoned his firearm. His metallic arm grabbed a nearby table and hurled it at Fini, while he followed closely behind, lunging forward with a rapid stride.
"Explosion!"
Fini extended his palm. A blast of "Explosion Magic" shattered the table into splinters and continued toward the charging Bucky. Bucky quickly raised his metal arm to guard, his momentum momentarily halted.
Fini took a deep breath and activated his "Breathing Technique." While he wasn't particularly fond of melee combat, the space here was cramped. If he kept using "Explosion Magic," he might accidentally kill the sleeping soldiers before he could milk them for experience.
Besides, he had thought it through before arriving: he didn't want to kill Bucky. Bucky was Captain America's only remaining friend—essentially his only family. Having experienced profound loneliness on the planet Vormir, Fini cherished the concept of bonds.
If Steve Rogers learned that the best friend he failed to save seventy years ago was actually alive, only to be killed by someone else now, the guilt and regret might be enough to turn him dark. For the Captain's sake, Fini decided to give Bucky a pass.
As for Tony Stark, Fini didn't want to take sides. Although Bucky had been brainwashed when he killed Tony's parents, he was still the one who did it. Fini decided he would eventually tell Tony the truth. Whether that would cause Tony to go on a rampage or create a rift with Steve was something he couldn't predict.
Of course, there was another way: he could find and destroy all evidence of the assassination, burying the truth in history forever. As long as Tony never knew, Bucky certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to bring it up. But that was too much trouble, and he couldn't guarantee he'd find every scrap of evidence. Moreover, if Tony ever found out Fini had helped cover it up, that hatred would be redirected toward him. He wasn't about to do such a thankless task.
Leaving Bucky alive was already a great mercy. It gave the Winter Soldier a chance to resolve his issues with Steve and Tony himself.
With his "Breathing Technique" active, Fini's physical capabilities surged past human limits. As Bucky's metal fist swung toward him, Fini caught it with ease. He yanked the metal arm, swinging Bucky across the room, and shouted, "Wake them up!"
Bucky scrambled to his feet, glancing between Fini and the sleeping Winter Soldiers. Being the more rational one, he didn't rush in for a suicidal second attempt. Instead, he moved to the control console to initiate the awakening sequence.
The noise of their brief skirmish had already alerted the guards outside. Soon, the base's alarms began to blare, and a large contingent of HYDRA agents began swarming toward the lab.
Fini didn't care. He was busy watching the four men and one woman emerge from their stasis pods. They stepped out with looks of supreme arrogance and hostility. Fini mused that the last person who had dared to look at him with that much ego was a guy named Loki.
(End of Chapter)