Marvelous Mutations

Pierce finally made a cold, calculated decision: Luke and his absurd little grocery store were no longer worth the effort, for now.

Hydra was on the cusp of seizing absolute power.

While Luke remained a dangerous wildcard, his existence didn't yet pose a direct threat to Project Insight, the masterstroke that would allow Hydra to eliminate threats before they could even arise.

Pierce had only planned to kill Luke to cut Nick Fury off from all possible support. But even if that couldn't be done now, the Insight helicarriers had to take to the sky.

Nothing could delay them.

Yet there was one leak in the seemingly perfect plan.

Nick Fury.

That old fox had sniffed out a loose thread.

In a bold move, he had hired mercenaries to hijack one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s own ships, Pierce's ship. Then, in a stroke of theatrical brilliance, he sent in Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff along with a S.H.I.E.L.D. strike team to "rescue" the hostages. All of it was staged to create cover.

In the chaos, Romanoff slipped away and retrieved encrypted files containing key details about Hydra's plans. It was a masterful deception. And worse, those files were now in Fury's hands.

Though heavily encrypted, it was only a matter of time before someone cracked them.

Pierce was furious.

Nick Fury had also come directly to him under the guise of diplomacy, requesting a halt to Project Insight. That was the final straw. If the program was stopped now, all of Hydra's plans would fall apart.

Pierce made up his mind.

Fury had to die.

Hydra's execution was swift and merciless.

No more shadows. No more hiding.

Every Hydra operative embedded in S.H.I.E.L.D., law enforcement, even government agencies, was mobilized.

Their plan: isolate and eliminate Nick Fury.

But they had underestimated him.

Even after dozens of operatives cornered him in broad daylight, using military-grade weapons and closing every exit, Fury still escaped. Barely alive, but he escaped nonetheless.

Even badly wounded he was still cause for concern.

In the heart of Hydra's secret base, Pierce gathered his top lieutenants once more.

Their war room, once a place of whispers and secrecy, now buzzed with tension.

This was the third high-level meeting in days, a far cry from their usual low-key strategy. But drastic times had come.

Pierce sat at the head of the long table, his jaw clenched, fingers steepled under his chin. Around him, the Hydra brass remained silent, their expressions grim.

Everyone knew the mission had failed. Worse, many of their operatives had been exposed in the process.

And Fury was still alive.

After several minutes of simmering silence, Pierce finally spoke, his voice low and dangerous:

"Nick Fury must die. We cannot afford hesitation."

He turned to one of the agents at the table. "Do we know where he went?"

The operative swallowed hard and responded, "We found traces of blood in the sewers. Tracking leads us to... 58th Avenue in Manhattan."

Pierce's eyes narrowed.

He recognized that address immediately, Luke Yale's grocery store.

So Fury had gone crawling there.

Pierce slammed a fist on the table.

It had clearly been a mistake not eliminating Luke sooner.

He turned back to the agent. "Have you sent a team to follow?"

The agent nodded cautiously. "Yes, but... they were told not to initiate a direct attack on the store."

The hesitation in his voice was palpable. Everyone at the table knew why. Luke Yale and his "ordinary" grocery store had become a black hole of unexplained phenomena. The Winter Soldier himself returned from there broken and muttering nonsense about needing to shop.

Though Bucky had since been reconditioned, the word shopping still slipped out from time to time. Clearly, the store had done something to him.

Pierce rubbed his temple, then gave a final order.

"Fine. Then this is what we do, launch a full-scale operation. At 2 a.m., that store is to be wiped off the map. I want it gone. Flattened. No survivors. We cannot allow Fury to regroup or hide."

He paused, then added coldly, "Do not send the Winter Soldier. That place messes with him."

The rest of the table nodded solemnly.

Pierce stood. "This time, there will be no mistakes. Execute the operation."

The Hydra war machine lurched into motion.

Agents from every dark corner of society, embedded in security firms, police stations, and military offices, were activated.

Their objective: eliminate Nick Fury once and for all.

…

Later That Night, 58th Avenue, Manhattan

A figure stumbled down the dimly lit street.

Cloaked in a black coat, his steps faltered with every stride. His dark skin and the long shadows helped him blend into the night. But up close, his injuries were evident, burn marks, cuts, blood everywhere.

Nick Fury had barely made it.

He staggered toward the one place he thought he might still be safe.

Luke's grocery store.

He reached the door and knocked weakly. No answer.

He frowned.

Was no one home? He remembered Luke kept a dog. Dogs always bark. Why was it so quiet?

He knocked again, harder.

But still nothing.

Panic set in.

He glanced behind him. Any second now, Hydra agents might flood the street.

He pounded on the door a third time. Desperate now.

But unfortunately, there was still no movement inside.

Just as he was about to slump to the ground and give up, the garage door beside the store creaked open.

Fury tensed. Then slowly limped toward it.

The inside of the garage was dimly lit and empty. Except for one car parked inside, Luke's yellow Camaro, sleek and polished even in the gloom.

There was a side door that led to the store itself.

Fury limped toward it to check if it was unlocked.

He reached for the doorknob, his trembling fingers wrapping around it.

But just before he could turn it.

Click~.

Headlights flared from the Camaro.

A robotic voice echoed from the vehicle's onboard speakers.

"I advise you not to enter uninvited."

…