Marvel : Super Soldier at the Start

Peggy Carter was even more efficient than Blake had expected. 

Perhaps it was because resources had been allocated after Blake's instructions, or maybe the net had already been cast years ago. 

Regardless, just nine days after Blake returned and discussed the matter with her, Peggy Carter had already obtained precise information about this potential Hydra branch. 

"Baron Strucker, one of Hydra's leaders, is the most deeply hidden head. Long before we started clearing them out, he ceased all external activities, abandoned most of his subordinates, and took only his direct followers and a few scientific teams to Europe, where he has been conducting some kind of research in secret." 

"This aligns perfectly with Hydra's usual modus operandi. They've preserved this head as a seed for the future, or perhaps the research they're conducting is crucial to their resurgence." 

"The scepter?" 

Blake picked up on Peggy Carter's train of thought. 

"Exactly!" 

Peggy Carter nodded. 

"That's my suspicion as well, but there's no evidence. The base is in a small Eastern European principality, heavily guarded, making infiltration nearly impossible. Furthermore, according to our intelligence, the technological level of this base far surpasses that of any previous Hydra facility." 

"It must be him!" 

Blake snapped his fingers. 

"You'll have to see for yourself to be sure. After all, in this world, there's no place you can't get into." 

...

Indeed, there was no place in the world that Blake couldn't infiltrate. In fact, he didn't even need to enter. The moment he laid eyes on Baron Strucker's castle serving as the base, he was certain—the events here had not deviated. 

The castle remained the same as before, though Blake wasn't sure if the people inside were exactly as he had imagined. 

To prevent any unexpected changes—such as the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver not yet having successfully undergone experimentation—Blake chose to infiltrate the base in the dead of night. 

He carried a small interference device made by Tony, which could detect all surveillance and security systems within a hundred-meter radius and disrupt them. For instance, within Blake's range, all security cameras displayed pre-recorded footage from before he entered, making his infiltration effortless. 

After knocking out a hidden sentry, Blake's combat suit mimicked their uniform. He then entered the base, subdued two Hydra soldiers questioning him for a passphrase, and smoothly made his way inside the castle. 

After passing through two corridors, Blake arrived at what appeared to be a research area. 

As expected, after knocking out two white-coated personnel—whether they were on duty or working late—Blake disguised himself as a researcher. Inside one of the rooms, he saw the twin siblings, each confined in a separate glass-walled chamber. 

The first one Blake saw was Quicksilver, dressed in a skintight, quick-dry suit. Since the twins had willingly agreed to be test subjects, Hydra had provided them with observation rooms featuring one-way glass. 

Quicksilver's hair was streaked with yellow and white, and even in his sleep, his hands or other parts of his body would occasionally vibrate at high frequencies. It seemed that Hydra's experiment had indeed succeeded, but neither twin had yet mastered their powers. 

The same was true for the Scarlet Witch in the other room. She, too, was asleep, but her body occasionally emitted faint pink energy. At times, it would slightly lift her blanket; at others, it would strike the walls before dissipating. 

Outside their rooms was a long row of monitors. As the twins unconsciously activated their abilities in their sleep, the various data and graphs on the screens fluctuated constantly. 

Blake deduced that the two researchers he had knocked out were likely stationed here to monitor for any emergencies. 

Now that he had found his targets, Blake wasn't in a rush. Following his memory of *Avengers: Age of Ultron*, he located the secret chamber Tony had entered and discovered a trove of remnants from the Battle of New York—alien technology, and most importantly, Loki's scepter. 

That scepter didn't just create the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver—it also gave rise to the main antagonist of *Avengers: Age of Ultron* and transformed J.A.R.V.I.S. into Vision. 

However, Blake had no interest in letting things follow their original course. 

Without hesitation, he crushed the scepter's outer shell. The moment the Mind Stone came into contact with him, it resonated with the other Infinity Stones already within his body. 

But unlike previous times, the Mind Stone did not dissolve into an energy mist and merge directly into his body. Instead, it floated in midair, emitting a beam of energy that linked to him. 

At that moment, the Soul Stone, which Blake had always carried, also floated into the air and released its own energy beam, connecting to him as well. 

Blake's entire body erupted with radiance—blue, purple, and red hues constantly shifting across his form. 

The process accelerated, and as the energy poured into him, Blake felt as if his mind was being violently torn apart. The pain was so intense that he wanted to slam his head against the wall. 

A powerful energy field formed between the Infinity Stones, lifting Blake's body off the ground. Each stone radiated its unique power, creating a mysterious exchange with the two external stones. 

Blake had no idea what the stones were communicating. All he knew was that his head felt as if it were being split open with an axe, only to have the blade continuously hack at the wound. 

"AHHHH!!!" 

At last, Blake could no longer endure the soul-wrenching agony. He threw his head back and let out a scream so harrowing it defied description. 

Fortunately, the walls of the secret chamber were thick enough to insulate sound, preventing his outcry from waking the entire castle. 

Blake had read about the pain of a soul being torn apart in novels before, but he had never truly understood it—until now. At first, it felt like an axe splitting him in two; then, it was as if his very essence was being shredded into countless fragments. 

His senses spiraled into chaos. 

Then, the orange-hued Mind Stone liquefied into an energy mist and surged into his body all at once. 

Blake experienced the sensation of being shattered and then stitched back together—a contrast so extreme it felt as if he had been submerged in a warm bath, utterly comfortable and relaxed. 

But the moment of relief was brief. 

His body trembled violently, and in an instant, his soul separated from his physical form. 

Blake's body continued to glow with shifting blue, purple, and red lights, while his soul emanated a faint yellow hue. 

The Soul Stone then drifted toward him, slowly liquefying into an energy mist, enveloping his disembodied spirit.

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