Explosion at S.H.I.E.L.D. Base

"Rorschach, what's going on outside?"

"Why is there such intense gunfire?"

After answering Rorschach's question, Raven impatiently asked about something she hadn't quite understood.

"Raven, this is exactly what I was going to tell you."

Rorschach stopped walking, and seeing this, Raven also stopped in front of him.

They stood at the doorway of the small door, not immediately going out.

"I might have accidentally gotten myself into some trouble," Rorschach said, shrugging at Raven.

Raven immediately tensed up slightly. "What trouble? Rorschach, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry. Maybe I used the wrong word; it's not really trouble,"

"Simply put, while you were coming to find Caliban, a group of agents was out there carrying out a mission."

Raven couldn't help but feel a bit speechless.

So that was the source of the gunfire.

This whole situation, it turned out, was purely a coincidence, nothing more!

"But what does that have to do with you?"

Raven knew things probably weren't that simple, and she asked again.

"Even more coincidentally, Howard Stark was also caught up in the shootout..."

"Howard Stark? That Howard Stark?" Raven was very surprised. Would a big shot like that come to such a small place?

"Yes, that Howard Stark. After I recognized him, I took the liberty of saving him."

"What I didn't expect was that Howard Stark is actually the leader of those agents..."

As he said this, Rorschach casually took out the business card Howard Stark had given him and handed it to Raven.

Raven felt like her brain wasn't working fast enough.

That nationally renowned billionaire had transformed into an executive of a ridiculously named but impressive-sounding intelligence organization?

"So, you know, I need to give a statement, or a deposition, or something like that." Rorschach took back the business card he had given to Raven.

Raven naturally understood these procedures and didn't say much more.

"Okay, you go back first. I'll come back after I'm done here."

Rorschach waved to Raven, and they parted ways.

Raven returned to Xavier's Manor, while Rorschach followed Howard Stark and his group to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base.

The current S.H.I.E.L.D., no, it should be called the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, didn't actually have its own dedicated base yet.

They were still using the camp of the 78th Artillery Regiment of the Army's Navy base.

This place, though not very famous, was highly significant in the entire Marvel universe.

Because this was the birthplace of Captain America.

It was also the first base of S.H.I.E.L.D., which would later become the world's largest intelligence agency.

Howard's private car slowly drove into the base compound. Rorschach looked out through the car window, feeling like everything was familiar.

It vaguely resembled the scene in Avengers 4 when Captain America and Iron Man traveled back to retrieve the Tesseract.

"Curious about this place? Are you also wondering if this is where Rogers was born?"

Howard, sitting beside him, saw Rorschach looking around and couldn't help but tease him. "If you're a huge fan of Captain America, my answer might disappoint you."

"This isn't where Rogers was born. Think about it, would anyone be born in a place like this?"

"The truth is, this is the birthplace of the title 'Captain America'."

"We were discussing what kind of nickname to give Rogers back then: 'Super Captain,' 'Amazing Soldier,' 'Mr. Super'... In the end, Rogers chose to use Captain America."

"But I never expected the rumors to spread and become that Rogers was born here."

Rorschach hadn't expected that there was such a story behind the nickname Captain America.

By this time, the motorcade had stopped, and everyone got out of their cars.

Rorschach glanced around and noticed that Anton Vanko hadn't come with them.

He asked curiously, "Didn't your friend come with us?"

"First, he's not my friend. Second, this isn't a place just anyone can come to," Howard Stark said, patting Rorschach on the shoulder.

Anton Vanko wasn't officially cooperating with S.H.I.E.L.D.; Howard Stark had made other arrangements for him.

"Alright, let's go!"

Howard Stark called out to Rorschach and started walking towards the office building.

BOOM!

But just halfway there, an explosion suddenly rang out.

A powerful shockwave rippled outward, making the ground beneath everyone's feet seem to tremble.

Logically, such a violent explosion should have caused chaos at the scene, but to Rorschach's surprise, everyone in the camp merely looked in the direction of the explosion, shook their heads helplessly, and that was it.

Some people didn't even change their expression or blink their eyes from start to finish.

They were as calm as old dogs.

Clang!

A metal door opened in the direction of the epicenter.

A very short man wearing glasses rushed out quickly.

He was covering his mouth and nose, coughing non-stop.

Covered in dust and looking utterly disheveled.

"It's him!"

Rorschach only glanced at the short man before a look of surprise immediately appeared on his face.

At the same time, he understood what the previous explosion was all about.

Arnim Zola!

The person who rushed out was none other than Arnim Zola, the top scientist under the Red Skull in the past!

After the Red Skull's downfall, Arnim Zola was captured by the Strategic Scientific Reserve, the predecessor of S.H.I.E.L.D., and successfully turned by Agent Carter.

He then washed himself clean, transforming into a pivotal scientist within S.H.I.E.L.D.

Of course, all of this was a disguise.

No one knew that Arnim Zola had been a fervent follower of Hydra all along, even working for Hydra after his death; it was truly impressive.

However, setting aside his allegiance, Arnim Zola was also a scientist at the pinnacle of his field.

Otherwise, why would Hydra have gone to such lengths to preserve his brain after his death?

Not to mention anything else, just looking at the weapons developed based on the Tesseract, they were already incredibly remarkable within the current era.

And it was quite clear.

The explosion just now was definitely caused by Arnim Zola messing around with some scientific research.

And similar incidents had certainly happened before, which was why everyone in the base was so calm.

"Arnim, is everything alright?"

Howard yelled out to Arnim Zola, who was covered in dust.

"It's fine, just a small accident, everything is under control!"

Arnim Zola waved his hand at Howard.

Then he plunged back into the metal door, which was still billowing with thick smoke.