Identity

Late at night, at a Hydra facility.

Searchlights cut through the deep darkness like gleaming swords, crisscrossing around the base and slicing the shadows apart.

The perimeter was enclosed by high-voltage electrified fencing, nearly three meters tall. Under normal circumstances, no one could leap over it while it was live. But tonight, someone did just that. He wore a black uniform suited for nighttime operations, black goggles and a mask, with a silver-white mechanical arm exposed. With a single bound, he vaulted over the three-meter-high electrified fence, his movements as light as a swallow.

The Winter Soldier. He had once been a blade wielded by Hydra, but now that blade had regained its autonomy and turned against its master.

From his landing point to the watchtower, the distance was roughly one hundred fifty meters. Based on his observation of the searchlight's sweep pattern, he had at least seven seconds before the light passed over this area again. Seven seconds for one hundred fifty meters—an exaggerated distance even for a world-record holder, but not impossible for a super-soldier.

He successfully evaded the searchlight and reached the watchtower, sprinting up the platform to take down two Hydra soldiers playing cards in the guard room. He infiltrated like a ghost—precise, lethal, and utterly silent.

Two flashbangs smashed through the third-floor window and detonated, robbing the soldiers inside of their sight before they could react. The Winter Soldier followed close behind, a gun in his right hand and a custom combat knife held in reverse in his left mechanical arm, its blade glinting coldly under the dim light.

The alarm was triggered, and the entire base instantly went into high alert—but it no longer mattered. The deadliest assassin had already infiltrated the interior. It took him less than three seconds to neutralize the three Hydra soldiers in the room. He strode into the hallway, moving swiftly, casually gunning down every enemy that appeared along the way.

The Winter Soldier cut down anyone in his path, as if no one in the entire building could stop his advance. He left a trail of bodies behind him, heading straight for the office at the end of the third-floor corridor. He kicked the door open, and the bald Hydra agent inside, wearing glasses, already had his hands up in surrender.

"Wait! Wait!" Sitwell shouted, cold sweat beading on his shiny forehead. "I surrender, okay? I'll cooperate. I'll tell you everything."

The Winter Soldier tilted his head.

"Thanks," he rasped. But before the bald turncoat could breathe a sigh of relief, he pulled the trigger. A long tongue of flame spat from the Colt's barrel, and the spinning bullet pierced the bald man's forehead, snuffing out his life before he even realized what had happened.

The Winter Soldier lowered his gun, looking down at Sitwell's crumpled body.

"But I don't care."

***

S.H.I.E.L.D., Tri-Wing Building, Director's Office.

Nick Fury stared grimly at the 3D-projected map floating before him. The vast blue map was marked with over a dozen red dots, varying in size. Some were hidden in mountain ranges, others underwater, and a few even lay buried beneath S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities.

Fury looked up, his lone eye fixed with sharp suspicion on the mysterious man in high-tech armor standing by the floor-to-ceiling window. Over the past month and a half, he had grown accustomed to this guy popping up unannounced in his office.

"You're saying all of these are Hydra bases." Fury stared at him, his voice low. "How sure are you?"

"One hundred percent," Michael said. "You should know by now that not a single piece of intel I've given you has been wrong."

"Every piece of intel you've given me before, I had a chance to verify. But this?" Fury pointed at the map covered in red dots floating on his desk. "This is different."

Michael replied calmly, "I wouldn't say it if I weren't certain. But this war has reached a critical juncture, Director Fury. The bases I've listed for you are Hydra's heart—their contingency measures to preserve strength if their cover is blown. And that doesn't just mean defenses several times stronger than the bases S.H.I.E.L.D. has already taken down.

These bases are all interconnected, forming a sensitive, massive network. If one falls, the others will immediately execute backup protocols to relocate, and all intelligence will be destroyed. It took me a great deal of effort to uncover their locations. Any mistake, and everything will be for nothing."

Fury tapped the glass desk. "You're saying we have to take them all down at the same time."

Michael nodded.

Hydra was an enormous organization, its roots tangled deep into every corner of the globe. Michael could cut through an army head-on, but to eradicate a behemoth like Hydra, he lacked both manpower and resources.

That was why he needed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s involvement.

"'Cut off one head, two more shall take its place,'" Michael repeated Hydra's infamous motto. "There's a reason for that saying. Hydra is like a cockroach that won't die. Every time you think you've wiped them out, they find a way to lie low, gather strength, and rise again when you least expect it. Unless we don't give them the chance to grow new heads."

Fury leaned back, crossing his hands under his chin.

"Not long ago, you proved to me that my old superior, Alexander Pierce—the man who personally handed me the position of S.H.I.E.L.D. Director—was a Hydra spy," Fury said. "I still haven't figured out how to explain that to the World Security Council. And now you want me to launch a final battle against Hydra. A move this big can't be hidden from the Council. I need approval."

"In theory, yes," Michael said dismissively. "But you're Nick Fury. Don't tell me you can't handle a few old men sitting in an office."

"Maybe I can, but you haven't given me a good enough reason." Fury's gaze was sharp as a blade behind his eye. "When you first proposed cooperation, you said I didn't have to trust you. You left intel, I verified it, and then I decided whether to act. That's how it's always worked.

But this is different. You're saying we need to take down over a dozen bases at once. We can't verify them all before we move. And so far, we don't have enough trust to justify this operation. I'm sure you understand—I can't risk sending all my agents into a trap."

"Fair enough." Michael nodded, unsurprised. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. still knew nothing about him. As a commander, Nick Fury had to consider every risk.

But before making this proposal, Michael had already prepared for this.

"If the operation succeeds, this might be our last collaboration, Director Fury. If it succeeds, Hydra will be erased from human history forever—never to exist again. That means a lot to both of us."

As Michael spoke, seams began to appear across the limbs and chest of his armor. Countless connecting screws turned, and components separated.

"So to ensure success, trust is essential." Michael continued, unperturbed. "And I'm willing to take the first step."

Nick Fury stared wide-eyed as the black armor split open from the center. The man who had hidden behind the suit for a month and a half stepped out, straightening his collar.

"Let me reintroduce myself, Director Fury." He extended his hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

(Thanks to reader q模型争霸p for the 100 starting point coin tip!)