Torment

Watching the pain on the man's face, Mercer was very pleased with this skill of his.

He had thought of it while manipulating blacklight matter to absorb the Kyber Crystal's energy.

He turned the blacklight matter into countless strands and sent them probing into the man's body.

The incredibly fine blacklight threads could perform actions as precise as devouring his blood cells.

Under Mercer's control, they could also produce corresponding substances to replace those lost blood cells, keeping the man alive.

Mercer had no idea how painful it was, but he imagined it had to be worse than a sudden calf cramp in the middle of the night-with the pain dialed all the way up.

In less than a minute, a foul-smelling liquid seeped from the Hydra soldier. The torture had made him lose control of his bladder.

The Hydra soldier stared straight at Mercer, as though trying to tell him he was willing to reveal everything.

But Mercer did not care in the slightest. The smile stayed on his face, and his hands kept working.

They had come to kill him. The other Hydra soldiers had died in the explosion, which had been something of a release for them.

A vicious look surfaced in Mercer's eyes. Then you, the Hydra soldier who survived, will have to suffer for them.

The painful process did not last very long. To anyone watching, it was only two short minutes.

But when Mercer withdrew his hands, the Hydra soldier felt as though hours had passed. Utterly drained, he passed out on the spot.

"I went a little too hard, but he'll tell us everything when he wakes up."

Mercer took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his palms, giving the others a faint smile.

Carter and the others: "..."

None of them knew what to say. You call that a little?

Even unconscious, the Hydra soldier's face remained contorted, and he had wet himself.

Looking at the smile on the young man's face, they could almost believe he had nothing to do with the torture.

What kind of mental fortitude did that take?

"Are you in a hurry to get back? Why not stay a while?"

Carter hesitated before speaking.

She had not expected Mercer to finish so quickly either. From the moment he came in until he finished, not even five minutes had passed.

They had spent dozens of minutes torturing that Hydra soldier themselves.

"I'm fine with talking, but I'd like another room." Mercer pointed at the spot on the floor where the Hydra soldier had wet himself.

"Of course." Carter nodded.

Natasha and Nick Fury could tell the two knew each other, so they tactfully stayed behind to handle the cleanup.

They let the two go talk. Neither knew Mercer well, and their presence might keep the pair from discussing as much as they would in private.

The two went into the room next door, which offered a view of Nick Fury and Natasha. Only then did Mercer realize this was an interrogation room.

They found chairs and sat down. After a brief silence, Carter spoke first.

"Your abilities are powerful."

Mercer raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing.

"Would you consider joining S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Carter continued.

"No." Mercer shook his head. "I don't want to be tied down by rules and regulations. I'd rather have my freedom."

Carter nodded silently, unsurprised by his answer.

Through the one-way glass, Mercer watched Nick Fury and Natasha clean the room, then turned to Carter and spoke.

"When that guy wakes up, what he tells you might come as a shock. Are you... ready?"

Carter paused at his words. Remembering the poison tooth Mercer had given her earlier, she sighed.

"What difference would it make if I weren't? Things like this never wait until you're ready."

Mercer quietly nodded. She was right.

Just as she had not been ready to be frozen until the present day, it had all happened without warning.

Mercer had not been ready when he activated the system and acquired the blacklight virus either.

Far too much had happened that night.

"If things are exactly as we suspect, what do you plan to do?"

Mercer's question came without context. Anyone else present would have had no idea what they were talking about.

But he and Carter both knew perfectly well. They were talking about Hydra.

There was nothing but calm in Carter's eyes as she said slowly, "Seventy years ago, I was their sworn enemy. Seventy years later, I still am. As long as they survive, I won't die!"

Mercer found her words reassuring. It seemed Captain America would never disappoint, no matter the timeline.

They would always fight Hydra and always be its sworn enemy.

"It sounds like there's more to it than that?"

Mercer heard another meaning in Carter's words. It was not simply a matter of the two sides being sworn enemies.

Carter fell silent for a moment, then took a bronze pocket watch about half a finger thick from inside her clothes and opened it.

It was a very ordinary pocket watch, but a photograph had been trimmed to fit inside its lid.

It showed a man-thin and dressed in white.

Seeing the pocket watch and the man, Mercer's pupils contracted slightly. The man in that photograph was Steve Rogers!

The original Captain America from Mercer's memories.

Now his photograph was in that spot instead. Before, Steve Rogers had carried this pocket watch, and the person in the photograph had been Carter.

"He was my... comrade. He died at Hydra's hands. I thought Hydra had been destroyed seventy years ago, but it turns out they've survived to this day. That means I still haven't avenged him."

Carter looked at the man in the photograph, her voice carrying an unquestionable resolve.

After a moment, she hid the faint sadness on her face and forced a small smile.

"Sorry for burdening you with this."

"It's all right." Mercer shook his head gently. "Then let's wait until we know for sure."

Time ticked by.

They did not have to wait long. About ten minutes later, Natasha brought over a bucket of water and threw it over the Hydra soldier, jolting him awake.

After Mercer's torture and such a brief rest, the startled Hydra soldier was already showing signs of mental disorientation.

A little more torture would probably drive him completely insane.

"Are you willing to talk now?"

Natasha leaned down in front of the Hydra soldier and asked with narrowed eyes.

The Hydra soldier did not dare keep his mouth shut now. The torture had been brief, but the agony had felt endless. Even with his experience as a mercenary, he had never felt such pain-pain that made death seem preferable.

After an inner struggle, the Hydra soldier finally told them everything he knew.

Natasha promptly took out the Recording Device and recorded it from beginning to end.

The Hydra soldier spoke for over ten minutes, pouring out everything he knew.

Once he had finished, he felt a weight lift from his shoulders.

I've told them everything. They have no reason to torture me anymore. Even if they kill me outright, that would be better than what I just went through.

Seeing the relief on the Hydra soldier's face, Natasha and Nick Fury exchanged a glance, each seeing the shock in the other's eyes.

Hydra had existed right under their noses for all these years!

It had even infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.!

At least fifty percent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s personnel now belonged to Hydra. Half of them!