Upon hearing Black Widow's words, Hawkeye's eyes narrowed sharply.
He asked grimly, "HYDRA really has access to tech that terrifying?"
"Enough to create a super weapon like Alex?"
Black Widow was silent for a moment before she replied, "This is HYDRA we're talking about—an organization with roots spread all over the world."
"They've been hiding within S.H.I.E.L.D. for years, feeding off its resources, stealing its knowledge."
"They've been conducting all kinds of experiments."
"Remember the base we took from Baron Strucker? That place created Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver."
"They even tried to birth an artificial intelligence like Ultron using the Mind Stone."
"If we hadn't stormed that facility, we'd never have known any of it."
"And if one hidden lab could do that…"
She paused, her voice lowering.
"…then think about all the bases we haven't found."
"It's not impossible that HYDRA developed something far worse—like Alex."
Hearing this, Hawkeye's expression darkened.
"If they really have that kind of technology," he said slowly, "then this could be catastrophic."
Around them, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who overheard the conversation exchanged concerned glances.
Black Widow added, "That said… their tech might be unstable. It's possible Alex was a fluke—just like the Hulk."
"Hulk was created in an accident. No one's been able to recreate him either."
"Alex might've been the same—gained powers and then went rogue."
She thought back to Bruce Banner and how his story began. The similarities struck her.
"It could be that the tech HYDRA used is incomplete or unreliable," she reasoned aloud.
"They couldn't replicate Alex, so now they're desperate—looking for the Hulk again, like General Ross once did."
"They want another weapon, but they can't build one."
"So instead, they're using outdated methods against something far more powerful."
"And they failed."
Her tone sharpened as realization clicked into place.
"That explains everything."
A spark returned to her eyes. A faint, confident smile tugged at her lips. She felt a step ahead of the enemy.
Seeing this, Hawkeye's tension eased.
"If they can't replicate him," he said, "that's a relief."
"HYDRA with a whole army of Alex's… that'd be a nightmare."
Her logic made sense—especially considering Hulk's precedent. Hawkeye gave a firm nod.
"Yeah. That would explain why they're scrambling now. Alex might've just been a lucky accident."
Elsewhere in S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nick Fury—usually calm—looked shaken. Then he scowled.
"I didn't think those HYDRA bastards had this kind of firepower left…"
He exhaled sharply. "We've been way too soft."
"We need to hit them harder. Much harder."
His voice turned ice-cold. "We're going to wipe them out. All of them."
Hill nodded gravely. "Agreed. No more half-measures."
Unbeknownst to HYDRA, S.H.I.E.L.D. was preparing for a major offensive—believing HYDRA's threat level had resurged.
Back at the canyon...
Alex stood amid the aftermath.
Corpses and blood lay scattered across the battlefield.
Rain poured from the sky.
He raised his eyes to the dark clouds overhead, pulled a DNA contamination grenade from his belt, and tossed it.
Then, he drew his pistol and shot it midair.
Bang!
A cloud of gas burst, mixing with the rain and blood—corrupting the biological traces.
He climbed the cliff swiftly and vanished into the forest, heading for New York.
Meanwhile—offworld.
A returning Life Foundation spacecraft malfunctioned, crashing into a forest.
Emergency teams arrived quickly.
They recovered several containers—each filled with shifting, living black liquid.
But one container had shattered.
The team leader called Dr. Carlton Drake.
"Doctor, we have a situation—one container's breached. The entity inside escaped."
Drake's voice came through like a blade. "Secure the rest. Get them back now."
"Yes, sir!"
The aircraft lifted off—its course set for New York.
At a HYDRA base
Baron Strucker sat confidently in his intelligence room.
He believed Alex was within reach.
But then—
"Baron! Reports are coming in—Alex is massacring our troops!"
"Four exoskeleton soldiers down!"
"Casualties rising—only a fraction of our regulars remain!"
"Ten more exoskeletons gone—Winter Soldiers dropping too!"
One by one, dots on the screen went dark.
"None of our forces survived, Baron."
"Four Winter Soldiers, thirty-six exoskeletons, over 5,000 soldiers... all dead."
Strucker stood frozen.
His skin paled. Hands trembling.
"How... could one man do this?" he whispered.
He reached for his pistol.
Bang!
The officer who had delivered the final report collapsed—his skull shattered.
The room fell deathly silent.
Strucker's breathing was ragged. He dropped the weapon, grasping the desk for support.
His elite forces—wiped out in a single night.
Elsewhere
A HYDRA recon unit under Madame Viper arrived at the canyon edge.
They stared down in horror.
Blood covered everything. Vehicles smoldered. No one survived.
Madame Viper's voice crackled through their earpieces.
"What happened?"
"They're all dead," one soldier said, voice shaking. "All of Stark's elite units—slaughtered."
She was stunned.
"That force had exoskeleton units, special ops, Winter Soldiers—how could they all die?"
"Any signs of another attacking team?"
The recon agents scanned the scene.
"Negative, Madame. No signs of a second group."
"Only one trace—someone went down the cliff, then came back up."
"All damage was caused by one person. Blades and blunt trauma—same pattern throughout."
A long silence.
"Are you saying... Alex did this? Alone?"
"Yes, Madame. That's what the evidence suggests."
She stared out over the sleeping city.
Then she pulled up Alex's file, cross-referenced with data from S.H.I.E.L.D. and Arnim Zola.
"So… Struck," she whispered, "Alex was your secret all along."
"You destroyed Research Facility 71 to hide him."
"You lied to us. You created a new kind of weapon—and let it escape."
"No backups. No second subject. An accident… or a miracle."
"And now you want Klaue to help recapture him."
Her eyes narrowed.
"You've hidden too much."
Zola, monitoring all of this, drew the same conclusion.
HYDRA's inner circle began pressuring Stark to turn over the research data.
But he had none.
He confessed: Alex developed from an unstable serum by chance.
No one believed him.
To them, it was just another lie.
They began plotting.
Against Strucker.
Meanwhile, Alex ran.
Faster than any human.
Heading toward New York.
And into the next chapter of chaos.