New York's new order, Lynn's empire behind the scenes
A blinding red light flashed wildly on the Quinjet's terminal screen, casting a flickering light on Lynn's profile.
[WARNING: This frequency band has been activated. The target's arrival time is...]
Captain Marvel Carol Vers. The ultimate single-target powerhouse in the Marvel Universe at this stage. Nick Fury, that old coin, as expected, didn't hesitate to reveal this trump card he'd kept hidden for over a decade the moment he realized the situation was getting out of control.
Lynn stared at the countdown timer on the screen, showing no sign of panic; instead, a cold, sharp smile curled at the corners of his lips.
"Trying to flip the table?" Lynn's long, slender fingers hovered above the keyboard. "You'll have to ask me if I agree."
His fingertips fell, and the crisp sound of keystrokes exploded in the viscous cabin air. Lynn didn't try to sever this hyperspace communication node—with Earth's current technological level, it was impossible to intercept the Kree's underlying signals. But in his hand, he held something countless Dimension higher than Kree technology.
Lynn retrieved the incomplete code of the "Absolute Time Cloaking Device" that he had obtained for free from TVA (Time Variance Authority) and forcibly combined it with the Underlying Logic of Hydra's "Blind Spot Program". The dark blue Data Stream devoured the original red alert like a raging python.
Since we can't stop you from arriving, we'll fold your landing coordinates and signal receiving frequency band into a quantum rift that even the Ancient One couldn't easily detect.
Press Enter.
Lynn pressed the Enter key heavily. The red light on the screen went out instantly, the countdown froze on the words "72 hours", and then disappeared completely as a bunch of gibberish.
The crisis was over. Lynn leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh of relief.
The fighter jet began its descent. Half an hour later, the Quinjet's landing gear slammed heavily into the underground hangar of the "Eden" estate Outskirts of New York. The shock-absorbing hydraulic struts emitted a dull groan.
This place was originally a top-secret stronghold of Hydra, but it was forcibly plowed through by Wanda's Chaos Magic. Now, Lynn has transformed it into an absolutely safe private territory.
The hatch opened. Lynn, with one arm around Wanda, who had been sedated, and the other carrying the equally unconscious Natasha, strode down the gangway. The cold, hard air in the hangar filled his lungs, carrying the distinctive smell of engine oil and desiccant from the basement.
He placed the two women in two separate, highly protected isolation pods. The walls of these pods were filled with a high concentration of insulating gel, enough to block their energy perception of each other when they woke up. Lynn knew very well that putting two top-tier combatants on the verge of going Yandere together was tantamount to lighting a cigarette on a powder keg.
After dealing with all of this, Lynn walked to the Main Control Room in the center of the hangar.
He had just pushed open the heavy blast door when the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end. A sharp buzzing sound came from his Spider-Sense.
Lynn didn't turn around; instead, he reached into his tactical belt, pulled out a can of iced cola, and tossed it into the shadow of the ventilation duct on the left side of the ceiling without looking back.
"Snap."
A hand encased in a white Ghost-Spider suit caught the cola steadily. Gwen Stacy hung upside down from the ceiling, her mask half-fallen, revealing bloodshot eyes that shone with extreme obsession.
"You brought other women back," Gwen Stacy's voice drifted down from above, tinged with a dangerous tremor. "Two."
"That's work, Gwen Stacy." Lynn pulled out a chair from the Control Console and sat down, her tone as flat as if she were discussing the weather. "I need their brains and strength to help me clear the troubles outside. But you're different."
Lynn looked up, his gaze precisely meeting Gwen Stacy's eyes in the shadows. "You are my eyes. As long as you're here, I know my back is safe."
These words were like a precise anesthetic, instantly calming Gwen Stacy's agitated nerves. The murderous intent in her eyes vanished, replaced by a chilling obsession. She said nothing more, but like a ghost guarding its territory, silently retreated into the darkness, continuing her relentless and obsessive surveillance.
Lynn withdrew his gaze and inserted the hard drive that Natasha had risked her life to retrieve into the slot on the Control Console.
The screen lights up.
Next comes the harvest season.
As the cracking process deepened, Hydra's secrets, lurking for half a century, were revealed to Lynn without reservation.
Funds flowing through hundreds of offshore accounts cascaded across the screen like a waterfall, the total amount a terrifying sum enough to buy several small countries; a map of Wakanda's Vibranium smuggling routes, the coordinates of arms factories in Eastern Europe, a list of informants scattered throughout the global political and business world...
Lynn's fingers slid rapidly across the console, transferring all the assets that originally belonged to Alexander Pierce to shell companies under his own name through multiple encrypted botnets.
"Drop--"
The communication module on the Control Console suddenly lit up, and an encrypted audio band forcibly connected.
"Hey, that agent boy being kept by the Witch," Tony Stark's weary yet still arrogant voice boomed from the loudspeaker, "I've cleaned up the mess in Siberia. That iron-armed freak is locked up somewhere even his own mother can't find him. Now, it's your turn to keep your promise."
"Mr. Stark, your efficiency is higher than I expected." Lynn picked up a cup of cold coffee and took a sip. "Have you verified the list of Hydra I sent you?"
"Verified. Disgusting parasite." Tony scoffed, accompanied by the mechanical scraping sound of metal armor being removed. "I've given you the Highest Access Privileges backdoor access to three Stark Industries near-Earth satellites. But you'd better not use it to spy on female college students showering. What exactly do you want this thing for?"
"Establish order."
Lynn pressed the last Enter key.
In an instant, Hydra's Dark Web resources and Stark Industries ' cutting-edge technology completed the physical stitching of their Underlying Logic. On the Holographic Projection platform of the Eden underground base, a dark blue model of the Earth slowly rose.
On the model, countless red and blue dots intertwine to form a vast, all-encompassing net.
From this moment on, Lynn was no longer a low-level Level 3 agent who could be sacrificed by S.H.I.E.L.D.. at any time. He held enough funds to overturn the global economy, possessed the most advanced technological backdoor in the Marvel Universe, and was surrounded by a group of Yandere superheroes who could tear the earth to pieces at any moment.
A shadow empire, completely independent of S.H.I.E.L.D.. and any official agency, was taking shape underground in the Outskirts of New York.
And he is the only one orchestrating the game behind the scenes.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean.
Deep in the Alps, inside a Top Secret nuclear bunker.
Nick Fury stood in front of the giant holographic tactical board, his single remaining eye filled with Scarlet blood vessels. He had half an unlit cigar between his teeth, the wrapper of which he had chewed to shreds.
On the tactical board, the outposts representing S.H.I.E.L.D.. and Hydra are turning gray and disappearing at an eerie pace. Meanwhile, an unknown and untraceable massive Data Stream is devouring the global dark side of order like a virus.
"Director," a trusted agent strode in, his voice trembling, "All our informants in New York have gone missing. Tony Stark cut off all communications with us. And... Natasha's vital signs have completely disappeared from our radar."
"Okay. Get out." Fury's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper being rubbed.
The bunker door closed. Fury stared intently at the photo of Lynn on the screen. The young man in the photo was wearing a S.H.I.E.L.D.. uniform, his smile gentle and harmless.
"Lynn... what kind of monster are you?"
Fury felt a chill run down his spine. This low-level agent, who once had to undergo three body searches just to enter the Triskelion, not only dismantled Hydra without bloodshed and turned the Avengers against him, but now even the sharpest blade in S.H.I.E.L.D.. had become his fanatical henchman.
The consequences of angering those women are something S.H.I.E.L.D.. cannot afford. And if Lynn is allowed to continue expanding, the entire Earth will become his private playground.
Conventional methods are no longer effective.
Fury took a deep breath and spat out the cigar residue from his mouth. He turned and walked to the safe in the corner, entered a 36-digit dynamic password, and verified his iris and fingerprints.
The heavy lead safe door popped open.
Inside lay a quiet old-fashioned two-way pager with an eight-pointed Starbrand.
This was his last trump card. With a simple press of this button, the woman who had swept through galaxy Fleet across the universe would descend. She hadn't been brainwashed by Lynn; she possessed absolute power and reason, enough to obliterate the source of all this chaos.
Fury extended his rough thumb and hovered it over the send button on the pager.
Just a second before his fingertip was about to press down.
"Ring ring--"
On the bunker desk, the old red landline with a number known only to successive Director and cut off from all external networks suddenly screamed without warning.
Fury froze abruptly. His muscles tensed instantly as he stared intently at the phone.
The phone kept ringing.
Fury slowly walked over, picked up the receiver, and put it to his ear.
Through the receiver came Lynn's light, nonchalant laughter.
"Sir, it's so late, why are you still fiddling with that broken pager?" Lynn's voice was like a cold dagger, precisely piercing Fury's entire psychological Defense Line. "Don't waste your energy. I've already changed that frequency for you."