The early morning in Washington D.C. held an unsettling tranquility.
In the veteran community by the Potomac River, morning joggers were still competing over calories, completely unaware that just a few hours ago, Captain America, Black Widow, and a mystic consultant were nearly buried in a New Jersey Underground Room by a short-range missile from their own people.
Sam Wilson's home.
Leftover waffles sat on the kitchen counter; the post-survival tension in the air was more palpable than the smell of freshly brewed coffee.
"So..." Sam held his orange juice, looking at a disheveled Steve with bits of dirt still in his hair, then at Lin Huai, who was gesturing at the air.
"That Nazi scientist who's been dead in a box for seventy years stalled you with nonsense, and then Pierce launched a cruise missile at you? And you... survived?"
"Technically, we escaped."
Natasha applied an ice pack to her shoulder, which had been bruised by rubble the previous night, her tone as calm as if she were talking about someone else. "If Lin hadn't used some trick to turn us into phantoms, I'd probably be a black-and-white photo hanging on a wall right now."
Steve sat in a corner, his vibranium shield leaning against his leg. The fires from beneath Camp Lehigh last night were still burning in his mind; that moment of suffocation was something even a super soldier felt lingering fear from.
"HYDRA wanted to bury the truth, and bury us along with it," Steve said in a low voice. "But they failed. This is our chance."
"It's not just a chance, Captain; it's a signal."
Lin Huai suddenly stopped what he was doing and walked over. He slammed a gold coin he had been fiddling with onto the table, his voice serious.
"The signal is: they're desperate. That old fox Pierce even used a missile, which means the launch of the Insight Project is imminent. We don't have time to lick our wounds."
"Then we need reinforcements." Steve looked at Natasha. "Where's Tony? What about Clint? For a battle of this scale, we need the Avengers to assemble."
This was what everyone was thinking. They were about to raid HYDRA's nest, so where were the two high-output units?
"We can't."
It wasn't Natasha who answered, but Lin Huai.
"We can't look for Tony." Lin Huai's refusal was blunt. "I caught a glimpse of Zola's algorithm in the backend. Tony Stark is the first name on the 'Insight Project' elimination list. Those three carriers flying in the sky likely have their main guns' fire-control radars locked onto Stark Tower. Once Iron Man takes off, he'll be a flying target, and it will force Pierce to open fire early and massacre the city."
"As for Hawkeye..." Lin Huai looked at Natasha. "Barton should be on that 'Bird's Nest' mission right now, right?"
"He's on a black ops mission in Afghanistan, under total radio silence." Natasha sighed and nodded. "Distant water can't put out a nearby fire. Besides, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal network is full of HYDRA's eyes now; contacting any outside help is like walking into a trap."
"Got it." Sam put down his glass, his eyes lighting up. "So right now it's—Captain America, a former KGB Agent, a mystic... oh, sorry, a mysticism expert, and me, a retired paratrooper who can only fly. We're going to take on a massive organization of Agents by ourselves."
"Sounds like a suicide mission." Sam smiled. "I'm in."
...The combat personnel were decided, but Lin Huai was in no hurry to set out.
As a Seer, his life's creed was never to fight an unprepared battle. He could not allow a repeat of yesterday's scene where they were chased by a missile.
He took over the desk in Sam's guest room, laying out his bottles and jars like a high school senior preparing for an exam, beginning his precise preparations.
"What are these?" Sam leaned in curiously.
"Life-saving charms."
Lin Huai didn't look up. Holding a pair of scissors borrowed from Sam's kitchen, he was focused on rapidly cutting special, coarse yellow paper.
The scissors danced, and palm-sized, crude paper effigies fell one after another.
"To block that missile yesterday, my stock of Paper Clone Substitutes was completely burned up. Charging into the Triskelion without restocking would be no different from going in naked," Lin Huai muttered, his finger dipped in a special essential oil, dabbing it onto the forehead of a paper effigy. "Arrodes, I'll leave the spirituality injection for this batch of paper effigies to you."
A faint light flashed across the silver mirror on the desk: [No problem, Master! Although the quality of this paper is as poor as toilet paper, your craftsmanship turns the mundane into the miraculous! ✧(qcqn)]
Lin Huai ignored the mirror's flattery and took out several silver ingots he had obtained from Asgard.
"Slumber Charm... I'll need these to deal with Bucky."
He carved Hermes Language symbols representing concealment and slumber onto both sides of the silver pieces.
"That guy's spirit body is wrapped in a layer of HYDRA-specialized concrete; I can't get into his head without strong anesthesia." Lin Huai explained to the onlookers behind him as he carved. "Captain, you wouldn't want to see him suddenly wake up and strangle me while I'm performing soul surgery on him, would you?"
"Can you really heal him?" Steve looked at the charms; though he didn't understand them, his gaze was earnest.
"I'm eighty percent sure." Lin Huai blew away the silver shavings. "Provided you can hold him down and trust me. So-called brainwashing is, in mysticism, a type of spiritual curse. Since it's a curse, there's a way to break it. However, this ritual requires you to enter his dreamscape as well, which is much more exhausting than fighting."
The preparations continued for an hour.
Lin Huai's pockets bulged once more. They were stuffed with twenty Paper Clone Substitutes, five high-grade Slumber Charms, three Fire Charms, and two bottles of Hallucinogenic Essential Oil that could be used as Molotov cocktails.
"Whew..." Lin Huai clapped his hands, his calm and collected aura returning. "Equipment restocked. Now, we can go kick some doors."
...In the living room, before the tactical board.
Since they had decided to go head-to-head, they needed a plan.
Lin Huai pointed to a hologram of the Triskelion Building, his expression becoming somewhat playful.
"Don't think this mission will be too simple." Lin Huai's finger tapped the defense zone at the bottom of the building. "Pierce is a cautious villain. Ever since that iron serpent incident, HYDRA has thoroughly researched the scrap metal Ivan Vanko left behind."
"You mean..." Steve frowned, recalling the hard-fought battle at the Stark Expo.
"Yes. Intelligence shows they've deployed upgraded defensive forces inside the Triskelion Building. Not only are there super soldiers like Rollins, but there are likely several mass-produced Mechanical War Beasts, or those damn blue energy weapons." Lin Huai narrowed his eyes. "Getting hit by that kind of energy is no joke; even my paper effigies can't block many shots."
"So, we split into two groups."
Lin Huai drew two lines.
"Sunshine Group: Captain, Natasha, Sam." Lin Huai looked at the three. "Your mission is to make the most noise. Directly storm the broadcast room on the top floor. Use the Captain's reputation and Natasha's hand speed to air all of HYDRA's dirty laundry to the whole World. Make it so Pierce can't show his face."
"If mechanical guards appear, they're yours to handle. Especially you, Sam—fly fast and don't get swept out of the sky by those energy beams."
Sam gave a wry smile. "Sounds like I'm very important."
"Shadow Group: Me." Lin Huai pointed to his own nose.
"I'll infiltrate the underground maintenance level. The security level there is the highest, but I'm betting Pierce won't dare use heavy weapons there because his most precious belongings are kept there."
"Where's Bucky?" Steve asked.
"If my divination is correct, he's right there. And..." A flash of subtle anticipation crossed Lin Huai's eyes. "Besides the Winter Soldier, the vault there also holds the contraband HYDRA has scavenged from around the World over the years. As you know, as a Beyonder, I've been a bit... short on cash lately."
"I'll find Bucky and stabilize him. Once you've handled the broadcast, move the battlefield to the basement to regroup."
Lin Huai held out his hand.
"Remember, this battle isn't about winning; it's about survival."
"For Bucky." Steve placed his hand on top.
"For freedom." Natasha and Sam also reached out... "Move out." Steve extended his fist, his gaze resolute.
"See you later." Lin Huai also extended his fist and lightly bumped it against his.
This was the final fist bump before the start of the war; the crisp sound of the impact echoed in the living room.
Sam took a deep breath, picked up his car keys, looked at Natasha who was checking her gun's safety, and then at Captain America, who had already shouldered his shield.
"Well then, everyone," Sam pulled open the door, the morning sun a bit blinding, "no matter what happens next, at least we won't have to eat my expired frozen waffles anymore."
"The car is downstairs." Steve made a final adjustment to his tactical gloves, a habit from World War II. "Keep it low-profile and don't draw attention. We're here for a raid, not a parade."
"Don't worry, I understand the Captain's 'low-profile'." Lin Huai put his hands in his pockets, his fingertips lightly stroking the Judgement tarot card. A glint unique to a Hunter flashed in his eyes. "But... I bet Pierce won't let us walk to the front door so quietly."
The four of them filed out.
The room was empty, leaving only the scattered charm debris on the table, shimmering in the sunlight, heralding the coming storm.