With Abomination's departure, the Raft Prison was finally under Marcus's complete control. Every guard and Hydra soldier who had resisted him now lay dead — their blood and ashes staining the iron floors.
The remaining supervillains, whether they had joined Ross's "Cannon Fodder Squad" or not, were now nothing more than captives awaiting Marcus's decision.
Aside from those who had already fought — Juggernaut, Crossbones, Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and the Lizard — Marcus discovered several other notorious criminals still locked in their reinforced cells: Whiplash, Quake, Toad, and Porcupine among them. Dangerous, yes, but not quite on the level of the primary squad. They were likely meant to serve as the next phase of Ross's Thunderbolt Project.
That plan now belonged to Marcus.
One by one, he would infect them — reshaping their flesh and minds with his virus, turning them into new mutant-infected soldiers under his command.
Forcing criminals into submission was far simpler than taming superheroes. Ross's experiment had already proven that. And now, Marcus's own raid had succeeded far beyond expectation. The result was nothing short of historic — a chaotic convergence of Marvel's most infamous villains, united under a single unseen hand.
Heroes versus villains. Humanity's armies against an undead legion.
New York would soon face a war of the century.
Across the flooded courtyard, a clump of wet sand quivered faintly — the remains of the Sandman, still alive despite being washed apart. Marcus smiled faintly. He had no intention of killing him just yet. With enough time, Sandman would reform. And when he did, Marcus would have leverage — his daughter.
With Hawkeye's vast S.H.I.E.L.D. intelligence network at his disposal, no civilian in America could hide from Marcus's reach. When the Sandman returned, he would be a weapon — nothing more than another pawn on the board.
"Bring the useful ones aboard. We're leaving," Marcus ordered, his voice cold and precise.
Killian, the Winter Soldier, and Thunder moved immediately, hauling the incapacitated or infected villains toward the transport vessel. Once the orders were in motion, Marcus withdrew from his physical body aboard the ship — his consciousness shifting seamlessly back into his S.H.I.E.L.D. avatar aboard the Helicarrier.
---
S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier – Command Center
Every operative in the room stared intently at the central display. The live feed from the Raft flickered and distorted — until finally, the last surviving camera went dark the moment Abomination smashed through Ross's bunker.
Silence filled the air.
The Raft's fate was unknown. So was Ross's. Whether Hydra had captured Abomination or been annihilated in the chaos — no one could say.
On the last few seconds of surviving footage, one figure had stood out above all others: a masked young man wreathed in scarlet flame, cutting through every enemy in his path. The sheer destructive force, the impossible precision — whoever he was, he had turned the tide of battle single-handedly.
Director Nick Fury frowned deeply, watching the boy's silhouette on the paused screen. There was something disturbingly familiar about his stance, his movements — even his build.
He turned to one of the analysts.
"Any updates on that new recruit — Marcus Vale?" Fury asked quietly.
The agent monitoring Marcus's quarters glanced at the live security feed. "No anomalies, sir. No external communications, no suspicious activity. He's been in his quarters the entire time."
Fury's one eye narrowed, though even he knew how absurd the thought sounded.
It couldn't be.
The newcomer looked like the boy on the footage, yes, but the powers were entirely different. Marcus's abilities were supposed to be metallization — not whatever that blood-red fire was. Besides, S.H.I.E.L.D. had been watching him constantly. There was no way the same person could be in two places at once.
Still, Fury couldn't shake the unease twisting in his gut.
He exhaled sharply, putting the thought aside. "Forget it. Tell the Avengers to gear up. The decapitation strike begins now."
As always, Fury chose to conceal more than he revealed — even from his own heroes. The chaos at the Raft would remain classified. The last thing he needed was Captain America's moral outrage sabotaging the mission.
For now, all focus had to be on Sokovia. Hydra's research base needed to be taken — no matter the cost.
---
When Marcus's consciousness returned to his body aboard the Helicarrier, he found himself back in his quarters — his physical form having continued its normal routines thanks to the shared mental link with his infected network. From the outside, no one would have noticed his absence.
A soft knock sounded at the door.
Deputy Director Maria Hill stepped inside, composed as ever. Her professional smile carried both warmth and strength — the kind that made even elite agents straighten unconsciously.
"How are you holding up, Marcus?" she asked. "We're about to go into battle. Feeling nervous?"
Marcus looked up, his tone distant but steady. "I've faced far worse. This isn't anything new. Hydra took my brother from me… this is just repayment."
Hill hesitated. She had read his file — or rather, the version Tony Stark had been given.
He'd told Tony once, If you were forced to kill with a handgun at eight, made to fight your best friend to the death at ten, sent on solo assassination missions at twelve — and then gunned down in an alley after escaping that life — you'd understand what cruelty really is.
Hill didn't know what comfort to offer someone like that.
"…All right," she sighed softly, opening the steel briefcase she'd brought with her. Inside were rows of compact, high-tech devices — sleek, military-grade gear. "Since you're officially part of the Avengers now, these are your standard issue upgrades. Don't touch anything yet."
She carefully picked up a tiny black cube, no larger than a grain of rice, and gestured for him to lean forward.
"Hold still."
With practiced precision, she inserted the device into his ear canal.
"This," she explained, "is a sub-dermal communication implant. It transmits sound by vibrating your eardrum directly, allowing real-time communication with the rest of the team — even without visible equipment. The entire S.H.I.E.L.D. network operates on the same channel. You'll need periodic calibration, but it shouldn't interfere with your physical abilities."
So that was how every hero in the MCU could talk effortlessly without earpieces — an invisible, implanted comm system.
Marcus smiled faintly. Clever. But he also knew the device could double as a tracker — or worse, a listening tool. It didn't matter. With his metal manipulation, he could easily wrap the implant in a thin bio-metal layer, blocking any signals whenever he wished.
Hill tilted her head slightly. "Feeling any discomfort?"
Marcus gave a short, humorless laugh. "None at all. This is still better than having a nano-bomb shoved into my ear."
Hill blinked — half certain he was joking, half certain he wasn't.
Outside the porthole, the Helicarrier engines roared to life, the entire deck trembling as the colossal machine turned toward Europe.
Above the endless clouds, the Avengers were preparing for war.
---
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