Hydra Agents

In the operating room at S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, the severely injured and unconscious Black Widow Natasha was undergoing surgery.

Outside the operating room's glass wall, Nick Fury stood with a blank expression on his dark face, staring inside.

A few meters away from Nick Fury, Hawkeye Barton crouched against the wall with a pained expression, looking deeply remorseful.

Maria Hill approached at that moment and gave Nick Fury a slight shake of her head.

"Natasha's injuries are severe, especially her left leg. It can't possibly recover. Even with a perfect post-op recovery, she'll only be able to work desk duty. She'll never be able to go into the field again."

"I understand."

Nick Fury said nothing more. Before the surgery was even over, he turned and left.

Barton rose to his feet and stopped Hill, who was about to leave as well.

"Is there anything the latest prosthetic technology can do? She has most of her life ahead of her. She can't even be unable to walk!"

"Barton, calm down. Natasha's injuries aren't limited to her leg. Her internal organs suffered severe trauma, with ruptures and damage in multiple places. Even with the best high-tech prosthetic, it'll be difficult for her to do physical work for the rest of her life. Desk duty is already her limit. Otherwise, she can only retire early."

"...I understand."

As a top agent, Barton had seen plenty of injuries and even disabilities. Naturally, he understood what Natasha's condition meant.

Unless a miracle happened, Natasha would be disabled for the rest of her life. Forget living as she had before—even an ordinary person's life was now beyond her reach.

"How is the investigation into that guy going?"

"He's already developed an Invisible Fighter. Neither radar nor satellites can do anything about it. All we can do now is wait for him to show himself."

Barton's eyes were filled with hatred.

"Then I'll wait at headquarters. The moment he's found, notify me. I'll put an arrow through his head!"

Hill sighed to herself. She knew Barton was in no state of mind to listen, so she said nothing more and left.

Three days later, Natasha finally woke up. When she saw her empty left ankle and felt an unprecedented weakness throughout her body, she knew the worst had happened.

The mental fortitude of a top agent allowed her to accept it quickly. She appeared composed—at least on the surface.

A month later, she was discharged from the hospital and returned to the home S.H.I.E.L.D. had arranged for her. Leaning heavily on her crutch, she made her way to the bed and slowly sat down.

Suddenly, two burly men in black rushed out from behind her and pounced on Natasha, knocking her down.

Natasha struggled fiercely and smashed one man's nose with an elbow. But she had only just recovered from severe injuries, leaving her with less than a tenth of her usual strength. With one foot gone, many of her moves were impossible to use.

Bang!

A fist struck her face. Natasha's head spun, and she could not even crawl back up.

Just then, the other man took out a stun gun and shocked Natasha unconscious with a single shot.

After Natasha lost consciousness, the two men in black removed their masks. One looked to be in his forties, while the other was only in his twenties.

"How are you, Ward? Nothing serious, right?"

"I'm fine. It's not like this is the first time my nose has been broken. It's nothing. What now? This woman is Nick Fury's favorite agent. If she suddenly disappears, he'll search for her like crazy. This is too risky, Garrett."

The middle-aged man called Garrett gave a sinister chuckle.

"I know Nick Fury very well. He's a pragmatist. A healthy Black Widow was his finest agent, but a crippled Natasha is nothing but dead weight. Besides, once she goes missing, the first person they'll suspect will be Vibration Man. They won't suspect us at all."

Ward nodded after hearing that, then bent down and slung the unconscious Natasha over his shoulder.

Garrett reached out and stroked Natasha's pale face.

"It's such a pity for such an outstanding agent to be ruined like this. Luckily, research into the Extremis Virus has made a new breakthrough. Let her serve as the new test subject. If it succeeds, we'll gain a first-rate agent. If it fails, we'll only blow up one more house. No big deal."

Amid cold, sinister laughter, Natasha was taken away by these two Hydra agents hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D...

In the blink of an eye, another two months passed, and Umbrella Corporation's business had fully gotten on track.

Its clients now spanned the entire world. Other than the poorest Black folks in Africa, the intelligence agencies of every other country had become clients of Umbrella Corporation.

There was no helping it. Smart Spider was simply too useful in espionage and intelligence work.

Their compact bodies and powerful functions allowed them to adapt to ninety percent of environments. Combined with the Spider-Sense System, they could evade attacks with remarkable efficiency.

Even if they were discovered, their extreme maneuverability allowed them to force their way out and bring back the stolen intelligence.

What country would not want such a powerful espionage machine? What country would dare refuse it?

Those who refused could just wait for their own archives to become public transit!

Just as Wang Khan had said before, Smart Spider-Bots had forcibly sparked an arms race among the nations. Anyone who refused to join could just wait to be taught a painful lesson.

Thus, over the course of several months, Umbrella Corporation's total assets had surged from several hundred million dollars directly to five billion dollars. Its market value had reached tens of billions, truly making it one of the United States' major technology companies.

Wang Khan had also become a rising star in the capital world. Since he was the inventor of the Spider-Bots, some people had even begun comparing him to Tony Stark.

Inside Laboratory Zero at the robot processing plant, Wang Khan lifted his hands from the keyboard, and Red Queen immediately sorted out the experimental data he had just entered.

"Guardian, after two months of research, the theory behind Artificial Vibranium is complete. However, the problem lies with the raw materials. Several of the required elements are scarce on Earth. Unless this problem is solved, Artificial Vibranium cannot be mass-produced, much less support your grand plans."

Wang Khan took a large gulp of a high-energy drink, then rubbed his aching temples.

"Is there no way to solve the problem with those elements?"

"There is no way on Earth, unless you can go to the moon."

"Oh? The moon has them?"

Red Queen immediately pulled up an internal document stolen from NASA and displayed it for Wang Khan.

"According to this information, there should be a large amount of elements rare on Earth beneath the lunar crust. This includes the elements needed for Artificial Vibranium. If we can take a Quinjet to the moon, we should be able to solve the current problem. Unfortunately, the Quinjet's energy supply is a major issue."

The Quinjet was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s technological achievement in aviation. It could truly be used as a space shuttle.

The only thing preventing it from flying into space was energy. After all, the fuel used by aircraft within Earth's atmosphere was not nearly as effective in outer space.

Moreover, the Quinjet's fuel capacity alone could not support a trip to the moon, let alone the return journey after they got there.

Thus, the challenge before Wang Khan was energy. He had to find an energy source more efficient than spacecraft fuel while also being smaller in volume.

Wang Khan thought for a moment, then suddenly asked.

"How has our Playboy been lately? Is he still being Iron Man and keeping the peace all over the world?"