Johann Schmidt straightened his carefully arranged uniform and gloves. His leather boots struck a crisp rhythm against the floor as he walked, speaking arrogantly.
"Our Fuhrer is running out of steam. His armies are bleeding across Europe. How long can the glory of the Third Reich continue to shine? I know you don't understand science. The true forces of this world often confound the ignorant."
The short Arnim Zola deftly kept pace with Schmidt, helping him start up and calibrate a weapon that resembled a heavy antiaircraft gun.
"Hydra has found a way to wipe out our enemies in one fell swoop and turn the tide of the war. No matter where they are, or how many troops and weapons they have, we can erase them in an instant!"
As he spoke, Schmidt dramatically snapped his fingers. Shaw increasingly felt that something was wrong. A huge map covered the floor of the war room, with skull markers indicating one region after another.
Washington, London, New York, Moscow—and even Berlin.
Schmidt took hold of a control lever and surveyed the people in the room. The gun barrel rose on its mechanical arm, aiming at Heinrich Himmler.
"The Third Reich is dead. A new king is coming. Hail Hydra!"
With that, a mass of icy blue energy shot toward Himmler. His flesh and bones dissolved in an instant, leaving only a lower leg that toppled gently to the side, its severed flesh already congealed.
The SS officers in the room hurriedly drew their pistols, but Schmidt's high-energy weapon was faster. Its metal arm swiveled slightly, blasting the remaining Nazi officers apart.
"You're... Oh! The psychiatrist."
Schmidt thought for a moment before finally remembering who Shaw was, standing in the corner. He curled his lip and said regretfully,
"Germany really has reached the