"Zola?" Steve asked.
For a moment, he only stared at Natasha.
Adam could see the shock on his face. It was not normal surprise. It was the kind of look Steve got when the past came back in a way it should not.
"How can he be alive?" Steve asked. "I saw what happened to him."
Adam answered before Natasha could.
"He is not alive like a normal person," Adam said. "His body is dead. Somehow, he kept his consciousness alive through technology."
Steve looked at him.
Adam did not say anything more.
Steve understood enough from that. If Zola had survived in that form, then this was bigger than one bad order inside S.H.I.E.L.D. The rot had been there for a long time.
Natasha looked toward Sam's house, then back at Steve.
"Zola talked about an algorithm," she said. "The same data was connected to the Lemurian Star."
Adam's eyes moved slightly.
This was the point he needed.
In the original timeline, Steve and Natasha had reached this answer by themselves. This time Steve had not gone to the bunker with them. If Adam let the scene drift too much, the path ahead could become worse.
So he spoke.
"Sitwell was there too," Adam said.
Natasha looked at him.
Steve also turned toward him.
Adam kept his face calm. "On the ship. He was one of the people connected to that whole mess."
Natasha thought for a second, then nodded slowly.
"Then we ask him," she said.
Steve's expression became firm.
"We pick him up," he said.
Sam looked between all three of them. "Hold on. You want to grab a S.H.I.E.L.D. officer in the middle of the day?"
Steve looked at Adam once, then at Natasha.
Sam saw that look and let out a small breath.
"I can help," he said.
Steve turned to him. "Sam..."
Sam did not let him finish. "You need someone who can move without looking like Captain America or an alien on the news."
Adam raised one hand a little. "For the record, I am trying very hard not to become news again."
Sam looked at him. "Good. Keep doing that."
The scene changed after that.
Jasper Sitwell walked out of a building with Senator Stern beside him. He looked calm, like the world was still under control. Stern leaned in close for a short hug, and his voice dropped low enough that most people would miss it.
"Hail Hydra."
Sitwell did not react much.
That was enough.
Not far away, Sam watched him through sunglasses and spoke into the phone.
Sitwell stopped when his phone rang.
"Yes, sir?" he said.
Sam's voice came through the line. "Agent Sitwell, walk around the corner."
Sitwell looked around at once.
"Who is this?"
"The guy you should listen to."
Sitwell's eyes moved across the street until he finally saw Sam sitting nearby.
Sam smiled slightly and gave him the direction with his eyes.
Sitwell tried to keep his face steady. "And why would I do that?"
The red dot on his tie answered before Sam did.
Sitwell looked down.
His face changed.
Some time later, Sitwell hit the roof hard and rolled across the concrete.
Steve stood near him. Natasha walked in from the side. Adam stayed closer to the stairway, watching both Sitwell and the exits. Sam was above them in the Falcon gear, moving through the air like this was not his first time doing it.
Sitwell pushed himself up with a weak laugh.
"You think this will work?" he asked. "I am not going to talk just because you brought me to a roof."
Steve stepped closer. "Tell me about Zola's algorithm."
Sitwell smiled, but his eyes were moving too much.
"Never heard of it."
Steve grabbed him and pushed him toward the edge.
Sitwell looked down, then looked back at Steve.
"This is not your style, Rogers."
Steve's face did not change.
"You're right," he said.
Then he moved aside.
Natasha kicked Sitwell off the roof.
Sitwell screamed as he dropped.
Adam's body moved before he fully thought about it, but Natasha's voice stopped him for half a second.
"You like being a hero, right?" she said, glancing at him. "Go save him."
Adam looked at her.
For a second, he smiled.
"That means you know me pretty well now."
It was a joke, but Adam felt strange after saying it. Natasha really was starting to understand him.
Before Adam could move, Sam shot up from below and brought Sitwell back. He threw him onto the roof, and Sitwell landed with a sharp sound.
This time, the smile was gone from Sitwell's face.
"Zola's algorithm chooses Insight's targets," he said quickly.
Steve stepped closer. "What targets?"
Sitwell swallowed. "People Hydra thinks can become a threat. Now or later."
Adam went quiet.
Sitwell kept talking. He spoke about the digital traces people left behind every day. Zola had taught Hydra how to read all of it.
Natasha's face turned colder with every word.
Steve asked, "And then?"
Sitwell looked almost sick.
"Then the Helicarriers remove those people. Millions, if they want."
No one spoke for a few seconds.
After that, the scene shifted again.
They were inside a car, moving toward the Triskelion. Sam was driving. Steve sat in front. Natasha sat beside Adam, with Sitwell trapped near the door.
Sitwell kept glancing toward the windows.
"Hydra does not like leaks," he muttered.
Adam heard him, and his fingers tightened near the Omnitrix.
He knew what came next.
The road ahead looked normal, but that only made Adam more uncomfortable. The attack would not come with a warning. It would fall on them from above.
Adam took a slow breath and pressed the Omnitrix.
Green light flashed inside the car.
His body shifted into Echo Echo.
Natasha turned her head toward him.
She did not ask anything.
Adam saw the change in her eyes. She had already learned one thing about him. When Adam transformed without being told, danger was close.
Natasha quietly adjusted her hand near her weapon and looked toward the road ahead.