Marvelous Twist #72

Domino tapped at the table with her fingers, the anticipation in the air palpable. "Now that we're sitting..." She said, trailing off with a hint of impatience. "Do you mind explaining the fucking winged horse?!" Her finger jabbed in Evan's direction.

Evan chuckled at her words, a sly grin crossing his face. "You can call it spoils of war..." He calmly replied as if winged horses were a common occurrence. "The sword is an Asgardian artifact. It likely belonged to Valkyrie or one of the so-called gods," he explained, offering a hint of understanding in the chaotic world of magic.

Domino couldn't help but sigh at those words-- the mere fact that the sword originated in Asgard explained a lot. She despised the logic of magic explaining everything that didn't make sense, as magic itself didn't make any, but that's how the world was.

Ororo, on the other hand, wasn't as concerned about the sword. Her focus remained on another aspect of their encounter. "What about Bullseye?" Ororo asked, her brow furrowed with genuine concern.

Evan shook his head, his expression solemn. "He won't be hurting anyone ever again..." he replied, leaving little room for doubt about Bullseye's fate.

Ororo frowned but chose to leave it at that. She didn't like the idea of taking a life, but she was far from rigid. She knew that sometimes blood needed to be shed, and this time happened to be one of those occasions. 

Evan, too, shared this grim understanding. He didn't relish taking the lives of others; he did what he had to do out of necessity, and both of them were content to drop the subject.

Evan cleared his throat, shifting the conversation's focus to a less somber topic. "Did you contact Jameson already?" He asked.

Domino nodded, her expression lightening up with accomplishment. "We have. He already agreed to publish the story if we give him enough proof..." She explained, a hint of satisfaction in her voice. 

"With that, Kelly's reputation would fall into the gutter, and I wouldn't need to worry about him anymore...." She added with a self-assured tone. "I really owe you one for this, Evan..." She concluded, genuinely grateful.

Evan smiled in response. "I'll be happy so long as you don't come to me asking for another troublesome favor..." He teased playfully. "That said, I'll be calling you if I ever need anything..." He added with a chuckle.

Domino smiled back as she stood up, the meeting having achieved its purpose. "You bet..." She replied as she turned towards the door. "But I'll leave you two lovebirds alone for now..." She added with a wink, walking away from the table and heading for the exit of the private booth.

Ororo and Evan watched with smiles as Domino exited the scene, leaving them alone. After a moment of comfortable silence, Ororo was the first to break it.

"So... Bolivar Trask is gone. Warren Worthington Jr., one of the wealthiest men in the country, is a glorified PR employee for the X-Men, and many of the media outlets are singing our praises..." She said, her expression both thoughtful and inquisitive as she locked eyes with Evan. "What's next, oh glorious strategist?" She inquired, her voice filled with a playful intent.

Evan responded with a wry smile, his mind already racing with plans for the future. "I'm just getting started. Trask wasn't the only bigot around. Most media outlets are fickle, and you never know when they'll start singing another tune..." He remarked, his tone tinged with a hint of weariness at the fickleness of public opinion. 

"As for Worthington Jr., he's only one man—albeit a considerably powerful one. The X-Men will need more allies to secure the future of mutants," He added, emphasizing the importance of building a network of support.

Ororo nodded in agreement, understanding the challenges ahead. "We'll need to be vigilant and proactive," she said, her gaze unwavering. "There are more battles to come, Evan, and we'll face them together."

Ororo shook her head in exasperation. "You really don't know how to enjoy a victory, do you?" She asked, a warm smile gracing her features. "Still... I guess you already have a plan?" she added, her curiosity evident.

"Of course," Evan replied with a knowing grin. "The X-Men need powerful allies, and it just so happens that SHIELD and the Avengers will be in need of help soon enough..." His mind drifted to Captain America and the Hydra situation within SHIELD. 

"It'll be the perfect opportunity to get them in the X-Men's debt," he concluded, his voice tinged with a hint of anticipation. 

...

The atmosphere was tense n the hidden bunker beneath Camp Lehigh as Dr. Arnim Zola initiated his digital monologue. "Accessing archives..." he intoned, his face composed of green lines of code that gradually disappeared, revealing historical footage. 

The images showed a man dressed in the uniform of a German officer, standing before a battalion of soldiers who performed the Nazi salute. It was a face that Captain America instantly recognized—the face of Johann Shmidt, also known as the Red Skull.

"Hydra was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom," Zola continued, his voice resonating through the bunker. The footage transitioned to scenes of Allied soldiers disembarking from assault boats at Normandy Beach, storming the shores in the D-Day invasion.

"We didn't realize humanity would fight back if we tried to take away that freedom..." Zola's digital visage showed images of Captain America and the Howling Commandos engaged in intense battles against Nazi forces and Hydra operatives, highlighting their relentless efforts to resist the oppressive regime.

"The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly," Zola continued, his digital visage retaining a haunting aura as the footage shifted again. 

This time, it depicted the aftermath of the war—officials signing treaties, masses burning posters of Adolf Hitler, and the Howling Commandos tirelessly hunting down the remnants of Hydra, meticulously erasing its presence from the world.

"After the war, SHIELD was founded, and I was recruited..." Zola's voice echoed through the bunker, while the visuals transitioned to images of Howard Stark, one of the founding members of SHIELD, working alongside various officers.

"Hydra grew—a beuatiful parasite within SHIELD," Zola added, the footage illustrating the collaboration between Hydra and SHIELD over the decades. The scenes showed Zola himself before the eventual demise of his physical body, collaborating with SHIELD scientists to perform research.

"For decades, Hydra has been secretly sowing crises and reaping wars..." Zola's words were punctuated by images of tyrants and leaders of terrorist groups shaking hands with Hydra operatives, emphasizing the organization's global reach and influence.

"And when history did not cooperate, history was changed," Zola concluded ominously. The screens displayed reports of assassinations of influential political figures, marking the extent to which Hydra had manipulated world events to serve its nefarious agenda.

Captain America listened to Zola's chilling revelations and watched the footage with a profound sense of shock. His enhanced brain worked tirelessly to process the overwhelming implications of what he was witnessing. Dugan, on the other hand, was grappling with disbelief, his temper flaring in response to the insidious truth being unveiled.

"That's bloody impossible, ya bastard!" Dugan erupted in anger, marching angrily towards the computer terminal as if he could confront Zola in person. His fist clenched with a longing to punch the treacherous scientist. "You can't have possibly fooled everyone in SHIELD for so many years! Someone was bound to figure out what you've been plotting!" he shouted, his voice laced with frustration and fury.

"Accidents will happen..." Zola replied with an eerie calmness, displaying a report detailing Howard Stark's death. The screen continued to show similar reports regarding the untimely demises of numerous individuals who had either uncovered Hydra's presence or come dangerously close to doing so.

"Hydra has created a world so chaotic that humantiy will soon be ready to sacrifice its freedom-- to gain its security..." Zola continued, his tone ominous. The footage illustrated the global reach of terrorist groups, followed by the extensive security measures  implemented to fight them, including street cameras, satellites, and pervasive listening devices.

"It's only a matter of time before we win, Captain... and your death will amount to the same as your life..." Zola taunted, his voice trailing off ominously. "A zero-sum," he concluded, a chilling sense of finality in his words.

Captain America couldn't bear to listen to Zola any longer. His frustration and anger boiled over, and he did what Dugan had desperately wanted to do from the beginning. He buried his fist into the old computer screen, shattering it into fragments. 

However, Zola was not so easily silenced. His face promptly appeared on another screen, a smug and mocking tone in his voice. "As I was saying..." Zola began, only to be interrupted by Captain America's question, laced with tension and urgency.

"What are you planning?" The captain asked. 

"The answer to your question is most fascinating...." Zola replied with a sinister grin. "Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it..." With those ominous words, the massive metal doors leading into the chamber began to close behind Dugan and Captain America.

Captain America reacted swiftly, throwing his shield at the rapidly closing doors in a desperate bid to jam them. However, he was just a fraction of a second too late. The shield struck the door, ricocheting several times before returning to the captain's hand. He turned to Dugan, his expression one of concern and determination.

"We've got trouble heading our way, Cap," Dugan reported urgently, retrieving a small device from his pocket and inspecting its screen as it emitted a series of alarming beeps. "Short-range, ballistic. Thirty seconds to impact..."