Lock was speechless.
What kind of ridiculous names were these? What exactly was going on in Quicksilver's head?
"I mean," Lock sighed, rubbing his temples, "you can just call me by my name—like Wanda does."
Being called King Lock, Savior of Earth, or Idol by strangers was one thing, but hearing it in person made him cringe. He preferred something simple.
Quicksilver's eyes lit up, thrilled at how approachable his idol seemed. "Y-Yes, Mr. Lock!" he stammered.
He wanted to call him "Lock" directly, but his courage failed at the last second. Adding "Mr." at least showed respect.
An awkward silence followed.
Everything had been fine—until that "brother-in-law" slip-up earlier. Now the air between them felt thick and weirdly ambiguous.
Then—
"BOOM—!"
An explosion ripped through the Hydra base's control center.
Almost immediately, alarms blared and squads of Hydra soldiers poured in from every direction.
Moments later, Black Widow and Captain America burst out of the smoke, running toward Lock's group with weapons drawn.
Behind them came a storm of bullets, tearing through walls and trees.
The air screamed with the whine of metal projectiles.
Wanda's hands flared crimson as she raised a protective barrier around herself and Quicksilver.
The bullets that reached Lock simply… curved away.
Wanda and the others could see faint distortions of light shimmering around him—space itself bending like glass under heat.
Each bullet that entered the spindle-shaped field warped and passed right through, emerging harmlessly behind him as if the world itself refused to touch him.
Captain America and Black Widow fought their way over, diving behind Lock for cover.
"Did you get the intel?" Lock asked.
Black Widow flashed a grin and, as usual, casually hooked her arm around Lock's. "Got it."
"Good. Then let's move."
Quicksilver frowned. "There are still a ton of Hydra agents over there—shouldn't we take them out first?"
Steve shot him a look. "Hey, rookie. When you're with King Lock, you learn one thing—work smart, not hard."
"Smart…? You mean lazy?" Quicksilver muttered, confused and a bit deflated.
He just wanted to impress his idol—and here he was being told to slack off.
Maybe next time, Lock wouldn't even take him along to fight villains.
Lock didn't bother explaining. He simply took a few steps forward—just beyond the boundary of his spatial cage.
Thousands of bullets struck the invisible wall of space and froze midair, spinning in place like flies trapped in amber.
Lock placed his hand on the barrier.
The vast, kilometer-wide pocket of space began to tremble—then compress.
As it shrank, everything within it—trees, soil, bunkers, Hydra soldiers—was consumed by darkness.
Anything that the collapsing edge touched simply ceased to exist.
Even those who reacted fast enough to fire RPGs or energy rifles couldn't make a ripple against it.
Within ten seconds, the enormous sealed zone had contracted into a single point—and vanished.
Before them now yawned a smooth, black void.
Everything that had once existed there had been utterly erased.
Then, as air and dust rushed in to fill the vacuum, it was as if a massive storm swept across the ruins.
The distorted space gradually stabilized, showing clear sky again.
But the Hydra base was gone—completely.
Even the ground that replaced it flickered with faint black lightning—unstable tears in the fabric of reality, each one deadly enough to slice through steel like paper.
Quicksilver swallowed hard, finally understanding what Captain America had meant about "being lazy."
Sure, they could have fought through the Hydra forces by hand—but it would've taken hours, maybe days.
Lock had done it in seconds—clean, absolute, and with zero risk.
Wherever Hydra had hidden, whatever tunnels or bunkers they'd built—it was all gone now.
Including Alexander Pierce.
Once the mighty head of Hydra and even the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Pierce had been a man of immense ambition and cunning.
And now… erased without even a scream.
Even Captain America said nothing.
If Pierce had been captured alive, U.S. law likely wouldn't have sentenced him to death. They'd lock him up, and Hydra would just break him out.
In the end, letting Lock erase him was the simplest, safest justice possible.
Lock dusted off his hands. "That's that. Pierce's Hydra ends here."
Black Widow shook her head. "Hydra always said, 'Cut off one head, two more will grow.' I doubt the others will let this go. Someone's still missing."
Lock looked over. "Who?"
"Bucky Barnes—the Winter Soldier."
Natasha's tone darkened as she recounted her history with him.
From his decades of silent assassinations whispered about like ghost stories…
To the time he shot her through the abdomen years ago… Their last encounter, when he ambushed Fury and fought her head-on.
But ever since that battle, the Winter Soldier had vanished.
He hadn't appeared during the helicarrier launch, nor during Pierce's last stand, nor in any of Hydra's later offensives.
If he'd been nearby just now, he would have attacked. But there'd been nothing—no trace, no signal.
Lock frowned. "That could be troublesome."
Quicksilver tilted his head. "Even for you, Mr. Lock? Is this Winter Soldier really that strong?"
Lock shook his head. "Not exactly. His strength isn't the problem. It's what he represents."
He sighed.
The assassination of Tony Stark's parents—1991.
A Hydra mission executed by the Winter Soldier himself.
That single event had once shattered the Avengers from within.
When Tony discovered the truth, grief turned to rage. He'd tried to kill Bucky then and there.
Captain America had defended his old friend, and the three had clashed violently in a Siberian bunker.
Tony lost that fight. He took back his father's shield, severed ties with Steve—and the Avengers broke apart.
They wouldn't reconcile until years later, during the time-travel mission against Thanos.
The Winter Soldier had done more damage to Earth's mightiest heroes than any cosmic villain.
And yet, he couldn't simply be killed. Not without consequences.
Lock's eyes narrowed slightly. "That's the trouble. Not strength—history. Some things are harder to erase than Hydra itself."
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