Final Stronghold

Flames swept through, thick smoke billowing. The black armor burst out of the dense forest like thunder, stabbing into Strucker's secret facility like a bolt of lightning.

The base's automatic defenses activated swiftly. Unmanned turrets rose one after another, dark projectiles screaming through the air under dazzling muzzle flashes. Dust fountains erupted like waves, and within moments the ground was pockmarked with craters. Metal shells tore through tree trunks with devastating force, sending towering ancient trees crashing down with a roar.

Less than a minute had passed since the first shot of the battle, and the area was already unrecognizable, ravaged by a barrage of terrifyingly powerful thermal weapons.

Michael maneuvered the armor sideways, threading through the gap between two stray rounds. With the AI Sherry's assistance, he locked onto every turret firing at him. Several miniature missiles launched from his shoulder mounts, trailing long plumes of smoke as they streaked forward. A series of deafening explosions reduced the unmanned turrets to smoking scrap metal.

"Sir, an intercept squad is approaching from the southeast," Sherry warned. "Scan results show two laser tanks and twelve personnel equipped with exoskeleton power suits and energy weapons."

Hydra's energy weapon technology originated from World War II. Back then, Hydra's founder, the Red Skull, had briefly possessed the Tesseract. Hydra scientists developed a series of energy weapons by studying its endless supply of unique energy, once becoming a nightmare for the Allied forces.

Though the Tesseract was long out of Hydra's hands, the weapon technology derived from it had been preserved. Over the years, successive generations of Hydra's elite scientists had refined and improved it, making it capable of melting through steel armor and punching through tanks with ease.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to defeat this lone intruder.

The moment they engaged, the well-equipped Hydra squad was torn apart by sonic cannon blasts. The scattered Hydra soldiers struggled to form an encirclement, raising their rifles to fire high-energy beams at the hovering armor, but most shots were evaded by the opponent's agile use of superior mobility.

Thrusters on Michael's back flared with fire as pulse beams poured from his palms. In the blink of an eye, over half the intercept squad was dead or wounded. The two laser tanks finally managed to lock onto him, unleashing torrents of laser fire like a raging flood, only for him to casually deflect them with a sweeping gesture. The high-density laser beams slammed against the flame-colored magical barrier, barely managing to spark a few embers.

Michael raised his right arm, and a thin red laser beam shot from the gauntlet. He swept his arm horizontally, and the laser cut through like a silent blade, slicing the laser tank's armor clean in half along a glowing red seam.

Baron Strucker watched the battle unfold on the control center's screens, his face dark as if it might drip with rage.

There he was again—the "Black Knight," Dr. Angus Norton—if his earlier guesses were correct. But where was his intelligence coming from? Not just the locations of Hydra's top-secret backup bases, but now he'd even tracked Strucker to his personal hidden stronghold's doorstep.

Could he see the future? Had Norton gained some extraordinary ability during those three years he vanished, like telepathy?

As absurd as the idea seemed, it was the only plausible explanation. Norton could read minds, which was why he always stayed one step ahead. No matter where they hid or what plans they made, he saw through them and acted first. That left them with no chance of winning.

No, that wasn't entirely true. Whether or not he could read minds, Norton was now at their base's doorstep. That also meant this was Strucker's best opportunity. If they could kill Norton here once and for all, they'd eliminate the biggest obstacle to their future resurgence. With that, his ambition to rebuild Hydra and rule the world might still be within reach.

At that thought, Strucker's mind stirred back to life. He barked at a nearby communications officer wearing a headset, "Where is he now?"

"The first two defensive lines have been breached!" the officer replied, sweating profusely. "Captain Middleton's unit will make contact in thirty seconds!"

Middleton's squad was also among Strucker's most elite forces. Well-equipped and highly trained, they could buy a few more minutes if they handled the engagement properly. Strucker calculated silently, then turned to Ivan Vanko behind him. "That armor—how long to get it ready?"

"Ten minutes should be enough," the burly Russian replied.

"Prepare it immediately," Strucker ordered, his gaze returning to the screen. "Shut down all other functions in the facility. Channel all power into the shield."

"Sir," an elderly man in a white lab coat stepped forward and whispered in his ear, "perhaps we should consider deploying the Twins."

"No, they're not ready yet," Strucker said coldly. "The time isn't right. My men can hold out long enough."

***

The technological level of Baron Strucker's facility was indeed far higher than other Hydra bases. Breaking through the outer defenses took a bit more effort than Michael had initially anticipated, but in the end, nothing went wrong.

The last Hydra squad attempting to intercept was annihilated under the armor's overwhelming firepower. Michael accelerated toward the building at the far end. When he closed to within about twenty meters, he raised his hand and fired two pulse beams, but the shockwaves slammed violently into an invisible barrier, sending ripples of pale blue light across the building's exterior.

Michael changed direction, his charging form suddenly shooting upward. Thrusters angled downward, their exhaust stabilizing him midair.

"Sherry, see that?"

"Yes, sir," the AI replied in a crisp voice. "An energy shield protects the building's exterior. Pulse cannons have no effect."

"Like a turtle hiding in its shell, but Strucker can't stay in there forever." Michael circled the shield's perimeter. "Scan the shield's energy efficiency and analyze its durability. Tell me how tough it is."

"The shield is designed to redistribute energy to balance stress upon impact. It will continuously self-repair as long as its power source isn't depleted, unless it's hit with a large-scale strike exceeding its capacity in a single blow," Sherry analyzed swiftly. "Conventional weapons on the armor may struggle to breach it. However, I can scan particle fluctuations to locate the shield's generator. If we concentrate fire to destroy it, the shield will deactivate. Shall I proceed?"

"No, that's time-consuming," Michael said. "I prefer something faster."

He took a deep breath, crossing his palms. Two emerald-green magic circles emerged from the armor's gauntlets. Hovering in midair, he gently closed his eyes and began chanting a spell in a low voice.

***

"Sir, he's stopped moving," a communications officer in the control room reported, zooming in on the screen to display the black armor hovering above the shield.

Strucker sneered. "He must realize the shield can't be easily breached. There's no way he can crack it in the few minutes he has left. He's probably scanning for the energy source right now. We can use this chance to—"

"Sir." Another officer sitting nearby turned pale, pointing at his screen like a frightened child. "You might want to see this."

Baron Strucker followed his gaze.

The sunlight filtering through the trees had dimmed without warning. Dark clouds silently gathered above the base. Leaden, dense clouds swirled slowly directly over the building, an invisible force churning the air at the cloud base into a spiraling black vortex.

Within that vortex, light shot out like arrows.

Baron Strucker stared, dumbfounded.

The clouds parted, and white light descended. Brilliant beams of light interlaced in complex patterns, their strokes clearly forming a massive magic circle. Like a hand blotting out the sky, it covered the entire building sheltered within its turtle shell, its presence overwhelming.