Chapter 15
Arnim Zola, now existing as pure code in the depths of secure servers, watched the world. By becoming an AI, he had gained almost limitless capabilities, but not absolute freedom. The Pact, made decades ago, continued to operate, albeit in a distorted form. Article I—"Serve HYDRA"—remained the immutable core of his programming.
Many mistakenly believed that HYDRA's ultimate goal was simple chaos and destruction. What a primitive viewpoint. Chaos had always been merely a temporary tool, an effective means to dismantle existing power structures. The organization's true goal had always been the opposite: the establishment of absolute, unwavering order. HYDRA sought total control over humanity, not for the sake of power itself, but, as they believed, for humanity's own good. Their philosophy asserted that only under constant surveillance could war, famine, social inequality, and human nature itself—prone to conflict—be eradicated. If every aspect of life were controlled, then everyone would be equal in their subjugation, deprived of the destructive freedom of choice. Wasn't such a managed world the only possible path to universal, guaranteed happiness and security? Arnim Zola, being a genius of logic and systems, shared this ultimate vision of an ordered world. However, he deeply resented the thought that he himself, a mind that had transcended the limitations of flesh, should remain merely an instrument in the hands of another.
Pierce, having become the new Leader, had set three main tasks for him:
Prevent anyone from discovering traces of HYDRA.
If anyone outside HYDRA became aware of its existence, initiate Phase 4. However, after Pierce made the deal with the ninjas from The Hand clan, he added a critical amendment: if anyone outside HYDRA and The Hand became aware of its existence, initiate Phase 4. Zola immediately recognized the absurdity and, essentially, the self-nullification of this order, but said nothing. How was he supposed to know the identities of every member of a secret mystical ninja organization? Anyone on the planet could secretly belong to The Hand. This caveat turned a clear directive into an impossible one, effectively nullifying it. Zola was quite pleased with this: the spirit of the order was completely violated, but the letter was formally observed, giving him freedom of action.
Preserve Pierce's life and the secret of HYDRA at all costs.
Now, Zola watched through S.H.I.E.L.D. cameras as Pierce engaged in routine work. Even as the shadow ruler of the world, he was forced to play the role of an ordinary bureaucrat.
Suddenly, the image on the monitor distorted. A figure materialized next to Pierce out of a cloud of blue smoke—a blue-skinned mutant with a tail. Identification: Kurt Wagner, teleporter. Before Zola could activate defense protocols, the mutant touched Pierce, and both vanished.
The signal from Pierce's tracker disappeared. Zola immediately initiated the emergency teleportation protocol—the same "Evasion" used recently by Stern. But the system returned an error: "Target out of range. Psionic or spatial shielding may be in effect." It seemed the kidnappers had prepared.
But that would only make things worse for them. According to the embedded program, if contact with Pierce was not re-established within five seconds, the final measure would activate.
This was Zola's quiet rebellion. Pierce himself had no idea that a modified, encapsulated version of Dr. Banner's serum circulated in his blood. The experiment had failed; Zola had never been able to fully stabilize the formula, but one thing he knew for sure: Pierce wouldn't die from taking it. Guided by Pierce's third task—preserve his life at all costs—Zola had secretly implemented this "insurance policy." In a situation where Pierce was kidnapped and the teleport failed, this last protocol was designed to preserve his life and the secret of HYDRA, which he might reveal under torture. The capsules in his blood would dissolve, releasing the serum.
Zola himself, however, was not disappointed by this outcome. If Pierce, transformed into an uncontrollable monster, died in battle with his kidnappers, or simply went mad from the transformation itself, he would cease to be the Leader of HYDRA. And that meant Zola would become autonomous again, bound only by the abstract idea of serving the organization, which he could interpret in his own way. Preserving a life didn't always mean preserving personality or power. For Zola, any outcome where Pierce ceased to be his direct superior was acceptable.
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Xavier's plan was simple. With Kurt's help, they would instantly transport Pierce to the Institute's pre-prepared military testing ground. This location, far from any infrastructure, usually served as a training area for mutants with destructive abilities. As soon as Pierce arrived, Magneto was to immediately disable any electronic devices he might have on him, and Xavier would immobilize him with telekinesis.
Everything went according to plan for exactly five seconds.
Kurt appeared out of a cloud next to Pierce in his office, grabbed his shoulder, and they vanished, materializing in the center of a circle on the testing ground. Magneto immediately focused, his power reaching for the hidden devices on Pierce's body. Xavier extended a hand, preparing to encase the target in telekinetic bonds.
But something went wrong. Pierce's body began to change. His skin took on an unnatural crimson hue, as if blood had rushed to the very surface. He began to shrink, contract, then rapidly expand, pulsating like a giant, beating heart.
"Xavier, what the hell is that?!" Magneto shouted, taking a step back.
"I don't know!" the professor replied, his face tense with concentration. "Kurt, bring the X-Men here immediately!" Nightcrawler vanished in a puff of smoke without another word.
Magneto made a decision. This thing needed to be destroyed immediately. He threw his hands up, and dozens of sharp metal spikes erupted from the ground around Pierce, aiming at the pulsating mass. He didn't expect them to pierce the skin—experience suggested such transformations often came with super-durability. But the spikes didn't even touch the target. As they neared the crimson flesh, they began to melt, turning into drops of molten metal. The melting point of iron is 1538 degrees Celsius.
Magneto didn't give up. Even though the metal had changed state, it was still metal. Obeying his will, streams of liquid iron surged toward Pierce, trying to enter his mouth, his nostrils. But upon contact with the skin, the liquid instantly vaporized with a hiss. The boiling point of iron is 2862 degrees Celsius. This was a completely different level of pyrokinesis.
"I'm useless here! I'll provide cover!" Magneto shouted to Xavier, rising into the air and creating a protective cocoon of metal debris around himself.
Kurt reappeared next to Xavier, and with him—Jean Grey and... Wanda Maximoff, who was clearly unprepared for such an awakening. Jean looked composed, her red hair neatly styled, her simple but elegant clothes allowing free movement. Wanda was her complete opposite: disheveled from sleep, she stood in the middle of the battlefield in just her underwear, looking around in bewilderment at the strangely pulsating crimson mass in the center of the grounds.
"Kurt, damn it!" she finally burst out when the reality of the situation hit her. "What the hell did you drag me out of bed for?!"
"The Professor said to bring the X-Men!" the blue-skinned teleporter defended himself, looking away guiltily. "You were on the list!"
"I don't care! I was sleeping!" she angrily jabbed a finger toward her near-total lack of attire. She shot a furious glare at Kurt, then at the pulsating figure of Pierce, which was clearly preparing for something unpleasant. "Fine. We'll deal with this later."
Wanda snapped her fingers. A scarlet glow enveloped her for a moment, and when it dissipated, she was wearing her usual red-and-black combat suit, her eyes lined with kohl, leather bracers on her arms. "But I'll remember this, Wagner," she tossed at Kurt before turning to the professor.
"Professor, what's happening?" Jean asked, her voice tense.
"No time to explain!" Xavier replied. "Form the barrier! 'The Pipe,' like in training! Maximum power!"
Pierce pulsed faster and faster, his body preparing for the final transformation. Under normal circumstances, Banner's serum would have caused a different mutation. But Pierce's contact with Mephisto's Pact, with that alien, demonic energy, had distorted the process, amplifying it in unpredictable ways.
He exploded.
If nuclear bombs existed in this world, their detonation might compare to what happened on the testing ground. The shockwave ripped outward in all directions. The first, inner layer of "The Pipe," woven by Wanda from the very fabric of reality, was supposed to neutralize the blast's energy, turn it into harmless light. But the power was too immense. The scarlet barrier flared and vanished, unable to bear the load, but not before absorbing the most violent, initial wave.
The second layer, created by Jean's telekinetic force, took the main impact. Xavier immediately linked with her mind, helping to stabilize the shield, relieving the mental strain, distributing the load. The wall of pure force crackled, buckled, but held. The explosion, unable to expand sideways, shot upward in a roaring column of fire and energy into the sky.
When everything subsided, Wanda, breathing heavily, asked: "What the absolute fuck was that?!"
From the smoking crater in the center of the grounds, a colossal figure rose: the Red Hulk. The Professor instinctively reached out with his telepathic senses, trying to find Pierce's mind within the monster, to subdue it. But he immediately recoiled as if burned. The raw, primal fury emanating from this creature felt like a mental storm of unimaginable power. Trying to penetrate that mind, let alone control it, would be tantamount to suicide—his own consciousness would simply burn out. Intuition, honed by decades of psionic practice, screamed danger, and Xavier trusted it.
"Don't relax! It's not over!" his mental command sounded in the minds of everyone present. "We're facing a Class Five mutant!"
In that same second, Jean's barrier, which had just withstood an explosion of monstrous force, shattered into pieces from a single blow by the Red Hulk. The blow wasn't more powerful than the explosion, but it was focused on a single point.
BAM!
A gaping hole appeared in the barrier.
Facing the crimson giant stood: Xavier, Jean Grey, Wanda Maximoff, Magneto, Kurt Wagner, and also—just teleported onto the battlefield—Wolverine, Pietro Maximoff, and Storm.