Family System: Chapter 50

After the dance ended, Vex lowered his head and kissed her lips, starting a new dance. This time, there was no accompaniment—only the lead singer.

—-—

Washington DC, Hydra’s secret base.

Pierce sat in the control room.

On the screen, Winter Soldier used his steel left arm to twist off the head of an Iron Soldier and casually discarded it. The head rolled away, hitting the remains of other Iron Soldiers, most of which were riddled with bullet holes, though some had also been decapitated.

Pierce glanced at the burly man beside him, frowning.

"Is this the result you promised me?"

"I used precious serum to save you, not to let you waste it on this junk!"

The burly man turned his head, revealing the scruffy face of Ivan Vanko, aka "Whiplash," who had previously schemed at the Stark Expo.

"Don't rush," Ivan said nonchalantly. "I just absorbed the alien data you gave me. These are just rejects. Give me more time, and I’ll craft soldiers stronger than Stark's."

"Who cares about that playboy?" Pierce retorted, displeased. "My target is Vex! And Superman!"

"Then you need to get me better materials," Ivan demanded. "Ordinary alloys aren't enough to deal with them. At the very least, I need adamantium, or even better—vibranium."

Pierce fell silent for a moment. Even with control over S.H.I.E.L.D., those materials were extremely scarce.

"Get your Iron Soldiers to defeat the Winter Soldier first, then we’ll talk about materials."

Ivan smirked but said nothing more, though his gaze toward the Winter Soldier became more serious.

Pierce coldly observed Ivan. If he weren't irreplaceable...

Anyone who dared to show him attitude was already dead.

Standing up, Pierce left the control room, with Winter Soldier silently following behind. They arrived at another lab where Abomination lay strapped to an operating table, connected by tubes to a Kryptonian corpse beside him. Blood was being transferred between the two.

Floating above them was a cube, emitting massive amounts of energy into both Abomination and the Kryptonian body.

A bald scientist hurried over.

"Any progress?" Pierce asked, frowning.

"Almost! There's a reaction!"

The bald scientist’s eyes gleamed with excitement as he stared into the lab.

"The energy from object 6-1-9-8-2 is continuously enhancing Abomination!"

"The Kryptonian blood is slowly replacing his Hulk cells, making him even stronger!"

"If it weren’t for the adamantium restraints on the table, he would’ve broken free long ago!"

"He will be my greatest creation! He’ll be a match for Superman, no doubt!"

Pierce finally nodded in satisfaction. Compared to Ivan’s slow progress, this lab was moving much faster.

Just as he was about to offer some praise...

The cube suddenly flared up, sending a beam of energy skyward!

The shockwave blasted through the observation window. If Winter Soldier hadn’t shielded Pierce, he would have been killed on the spot.

He was about to explode in rage...

When he noticed the bald scientist had been slammed into the wall so hard he was practically embedded.

A deafening hum echoed through the lab.

A tall figure emerged from the energy beam, holding a massive silver axe, his silver armor bristling with spikes.

He did not look like someone to mess with.

The figure spread his arms wide, taking a deep breath.

"I am Steppenwolf, here to conquer this world!"

Behind him, swarms of insectoid creatures filled the space.

Without hesitation, Pierce commanded, "Winter Soldier, get me out of here!"

Winter Soldier scooped up Pierce under his arm and bolted from the lab.

As the alarms blared across the base, Steppenwolf turned toward the cube.

"Mother Box... I've finally found you!"

He then glanced at Abomination and the Kryptonian corpse.

"A Kryptonian body... absorbing the Mother Box’s energy? An interesting little experiment."

Steppenwolf placed his hand on the Mother Box, and the energy beam erupted once more!

When the light faded, the lab was empty—everything had been teleported away.

By the time Hydra soldiers arrived, they found nothing.

Pierce, having received the news, realized the gravity of the situation.

He immediately picked up his phone to contact Fury for backup.

But to his shock, his phone screen flashed with a red signal!

This was...

A Level 7 War Alert?

Only Pierce and Fury had the authority to issue such an alert.

He quickly dialed Fury via video call, and it connected instantly.

Fury, nearly invisible in the darkness, stood before a massive area of wreckage. Pierce had a bad feeling.

"Fury, what happened over there?"

"The Tesseract was stolen!" Fury said through gritted teeth. "A man claiming to be Loki from Asgard invaded through a space portal!"

Pierce: "..."

A space portal?

So you had one on your end too?

This... probably isn’t a coincidence.

—-—

Pierce quickly summarized what had happened on his end.

Fury's face darkened immediately... Well, as much as it could in the dark.

"This is definitely not a coincidence!" Fury said gravely. "I’ll help handle it. You should return to HQ immediately."

After hanging up, Fury ordered, "Hill, upgrade the Level 7 War Alert to Level 1 War Status! Mobilize all registered superheroes! War... is upon us once again!"

"Yes, sir!"

Fury turned around, his gaze cold as he stared at the cratered ruins before him.

Everyone thinks Earth is easy prey, huh?

He dialed Vex’s number, intending to ask for intel.

But Vex, having the foresight, had already activated his "Do Not Disturb" mode.

No signal.

Frustrated, Fury dialed Natasha’s number. She picked up after two rings.

"Where’s Vex right now?"

"Hold on, let me check."

A few seconds later, Natasha responded, "Not at Dawn Tower. Based on the available intel, Gwen Stacy is celebrating her birthday today, and her father happens to be out of town. He’s probably with her."

Typical Black Widow—able to piece that together so easily.

"Find him immediately! I need to speak with him ASAP!" Fury ordered.

Natasha didn’t immediately agree.

After all, her current status was...

"It’s Level 1 War Status!"

Natasha’s pupils contracted in shock.

"Understood. I’ll find him now!"