Bad News: We Couldn't Even Say His Name

Sitwell stared at Captain America, who stood tall before him with a Vibranium Shield in hand. Uncertainty flickered in his eyes.

Hydra had spent years embedded in S.H.I.E.L.D. "Hail Hydra" was a recognition phrase reserved for its leaders and trusted members. There was no way it could have leaked.

And there was even less chance Steve Rogers would have said it.

In the top-secret orders Sitwell had just received, Director Pierce had made one thing clear.

The real Captain America had been gravely wounded and captured after the battle on the snowy plains. He was now held at a secret deep-space research base, undergoing genetic reconstruction with the Tesseract. There was no way he could be at Stark Tower.

Yet the precise code phrase, the flawless likeness, and that unmistakably steady bearing shook Sitwell's certainty.

Behind Steve, Ant-Man Scott Lang was screaming internally, though he did not dare let it show.

In all his decades, he had seen heroes fall and villains run rampant. What he had never seen was Captain America, a man who had stood for justice his entire life, openly shout Hydra's slogan.

It was as absurd as Thor throwing down his hammer and surrendering on the spot, or Iron Man volunteering to work for Thanos.

But they were doing this to save the world. Scott could rant in his head all he wanted; he knew better than to blow their cover.

To play along with Captain America, he lowered his voice and matched the solemn mood.

"Hail Hydra."

Hearing the code phrase twice in succession dispelled Sitwell's last trace of suspicion.

He was now convinced that Captain America had either been turned long ago and spent decades inside S.H.I.E.L.D. as Hydra's ultimate sleeper agent,

or had already undergone preliminary brainwashing and become Hydra's newest asset.

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