The Triskelion was a powder keg, but Nick Fury was currently staring at a fuse that refused to light. Standing on the observation deck, he watched the Hydra agents below tear off their patches, transforming the heart of SHIELD into a chaotic slaughterhouse. He reached for his specialized laser sidearm, firing a high-intensity beam that sliced through the railing and took down a rogue agent aiming for Hill.
"Where are they?" Fury hissed, his eye scanning the smoke-filled atrium. "Where is Huang Wen? Where is the backup? Did they actually buy the New Jersey decoy?"
Hydra had planned this with the precision of a clockwork nightmare. Because they knew who to hit and where to stand, the loyal SHIELD agents—caught in a state of utter disbelief—were being mowed down. Men and women who had shared coffee just an hour ago were now trading gunfire, and the "loyalists" were losing ground fast.
To understand why Nick Fury was currently standing alone in a burning building, we have to look back at the Wing Chun Martial Arts Academy thirty minutes prior.
The Avengers were literally halfway out the door, checking their gear and prepping for the flight to D.C., when Silly Girl's voice chimed through the dojo's speakers, sounding more urgent than usual.
"Alert: A Class-4 supernatural entity has just breached the perimeter of the Upper West Side," Silly Girl announced. The holographic display flickered to life, showing a monstrosity that made even the Hulk look lean.
It was a man-mountain, nearly ten feet tall, encased in a suit of crimson armor that looked less like a uniform and more like a diving bell for a giant. A rounded, windowless dome helmet sat on his massive shoulders, and he was currently walking through a city bus as if it were made of wet cardboard.
"Juggernaut..." Huang Wen muttered, his eyes narrowing. He didn't remember the man's name—Cain Marko was a detail lost to the fog of his memory—but he remembered the title. The Unstoppable Force. "I thought he'd be locked up in a high-security mutant facility, or at least still in the middle of nowhere."
"Juggernaut? Fitting name," Tony Stark said, his HUD already analyzing the giant's kinetic energy. "He looks like a red tank with legs. Since we're on the clock, I'll take a detour. You guys head to SHIELD; I'll drop this guy in a lake and meet you there."
"Negative, Stark!" Steve Rogers barked, his voice sharp with command. "Look at the footage. That isn't a guy you just 'drop' anywhere. He isn't slowing down for buildings, vehicles, or streetlights. If his momentum is truly infinite, your repulsors won't even tickle him. We go as a unit or not at all."
"Oh, please, Cap," Tony retorted, his mask sliding open to reveal an annoyed expression. "My Mark VII has more raw output than a nuclear sub. I'm not a soldier in your 1940s infantry; I'm a one-man air force. I don't need a committee meeting to stop a guy in a bucket hat."
Steve stepped into Tony's personal space, his gaze like cold steel. "Yesterday you told me your armor's output was at seventy percent efficiency. Now you're saying it's 'beyond imagination'? Do you realize that if I don't know your actual limits, my entire battle plan is a piece of fiction? I can't lead a team if the members are lying about what they can do!"
"I'm a superhero, not a recruit!" Tony snapped back. "And maybe your 'battle plan' is the problem. This isn't a trench in France, Rogers. We're dealing with gods and monsters. Jarvis and Silly Girl can calculate a more efficient strategy in three milliseconds than you can come up with in an hour of 'impromptu improvisation'!"
Huang Wen watched them bicker, feeling a massive headache forming. "Can we stop the ego-measuring contest for five seconds? Juggernaut is currently turning a Starbucks into confetti. And Stark, think for a second. Doesn't this feel a little too... convenient?"
The room went silent.
"Coincidental," Huang Wen continued, tapping his chin. "A massive, indestructible distraction pops up exactly thirty minutes before we're supposed to hit the Triskelion. It's a classic delaying tactic. Hydra wants you busy playing 'Red Light, Green Light' with a mutant while they liquidate SHIELD."
"He's right," Steve said, his anger cooling into tactical focus. "It's a trap. But we can't just ignore him. If he reaches the hospital district, the casualties will be in the hundreds."
Huang Wen smiled, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "So we let them think the trap worked. I'll send you all to the Juggernaut first. Put on a show. Let Hydra's cameras see the Avengers struggling. Then, once I'm sure Hydra has committed their forces at SHIELD, I'll move you all to D.C. instantly."
With a wave of his hand, the air shimmered. "Hang on to your lunches."
A second later, the Avengers appeared in the middle of a debris-strewn street. The roar of a collapsing brownstone echoed through the air as Juggernaut emerged from a cloud of dust, his massive boots cracking the pavement with every step.
Huang Wen immediately tried to exert a mental "Suggestion" to make Juggernaut see a brick wall as an infinite hallway, hoping to trap him in a loop. But to his shock, the mental energy bounced off Juggernaut's helmet like a rubber ball off a tank.
"Wait, that bucket is psychic-shielded?" Huang Wen muttered, surprised. It wasn't just metal; it was an artifact. "Great. He's got the Magneto special."
"Change of plans!" Steve Rogers shouted, his shield raised. "Swallowtail Trio, Spider-Trio—get the civilians out of those buildings! Go! Logan, Hulk, Jennifer—hit him frontally. Stark, John—support from the air. We need to stop his momentum!"
But "plans" were a foreign concept to the Green Goliath.
"HULK FIGHT RED MAN!"
Hulk didn't wait for a coordination signal. He leaped three stories into the air, his massive fists clasped together, and slammed down like a meteor onto Juggernaut's head.
The resulting boom shattered every window within two blocks. Juggernaut's feet sank six inches into the asphalt, but he didn't fall. He didn't even stumble. He slowly raised a massive, tree-trunk arm and backhanded the Hulk into a parked car.
"I'M THE JUGGERNAUT, BITCH!" the giant roared, his voice sounding like grinding tectonic plates.
Peter Parker watched the exchange from a nearby rooftop, his Spidey-sense screaming at a frequency he had never felt before. He looked at Gwen and Harry, his mask's eyes widening. "Evacuating sounds good. Evacuating sounds very, very good. I don't think my webs are going to do much more than give him a sticky sweater."
"Peter, we have to help," Gwen said, though her voice wavered as she saw Juggernaut pick up a city bus and prepare to throw it at the Hulk.
"I know, I know," Peter sighed, checking his web-shooters. After the Lizard, he had promised himself he'd stick to bank robbers. Fighting these heavy hitters was starting to make him feel like a fly trying to stop a runaway train. "Let's go. Search and rescue. Leave the 'world-breaking' to the guys who don't have to worry about breaking their bones."