"Hail Hydra~"
With that single Hydra passphrase—one that could practically grant free rein inside S.H.I.E.L.D.—Leon left Charles completely stunned.
His eyes widened in shock.
The expression on his face was even more dramatic than that of Agent Sitwell—the bald Hydra infiltrator in S.H.I.E.L.D.—when Captain America tricked him out of the Mind Stone scepter in the elevator scene of Avengers: Endgame.
"W-wait!"
"You're a member of Hydra?!"
"How could this be happening?"
Charles clutched his head in disbelief. Even he couldn't tell whether he felt shocked or thrilled.
Had Leon Stark been an undercover agent inside Hydra all along?
Impossible.
The truth behind his parents' "accidental" deaths alone was enough to rule that out.
If Leon knew the truth, then given his temper and power, he would have uprooted Hydra immediately. And the Winter Soldier, the very "executioner" responsible, would absolutely not still be alive.
Charles' mind raced in a storm of speculation.
Unbeknownst to him, every thought passed clearly through Supergiant's telepathic influence, leaving nothing hidden from Leon.
Leon shook his head with a faint smile.
"Charles, it seems you still don't understand me well enough."
"W-what?!"
Meeting Leon's half-smiling gaze, cold sweat began pouring down Charles' face. The fear of having his thoughts laid bare was far worse than having a gun pointed at his head.
"Hydra is both an organization and a belief, isn't it?" Leon casually crossed his legs and continued.
"I know everything about your group. I also know the truth about that car crash years ago."
"You knew from the very beginning?!"
Charles' voice trembled.
"That's right."
Leon nodded calmly.
"…"
"What exactly do you want?"
After a moment of silence, Charles gradually regained his composure. Since Leon hadn't acted against him despite knowing the truth, it meant he still had value. So he asked directly.
"I have a special gift for Bucky. Deliver it to him for me. He's currently working under you, isn't he? Eliminating political enemies and the like."
Leon retrieved an item from his system storage and placed it on the coffee table before sliding it toward Charles.
It was a cursed mask.
Bucky…
The nickname of James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier. In the past, almost only Captain America—Steve Rogers called him that.
If one didn't know the truth, Leon's warm tone might make it sound as though he and Bucky were old friends.
"Why?"
"You could personally—"
Charles stopped mid-sentence, instantly regretting the question.
Because it was incredibly stupid.
"Sigh…"
Leon rubbed his forehead with mild annoyance. His other hand, wrapped around Supergiant's slender waist, tightened slightly as he stroked it and replied:
"Isn't it obvious?"
"I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself from killing him."
A flash of crimson fury flickered through Leon's eyes.
The surge of emotion released a trace of his telekinetic power, instantly shattering the display cabinet, the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the tempered glass tabletop.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Sharp explosions rang out continuously.
Only when cracks began spreading across the villa's walls did Leon restrain himself, using Mental Contamination Immunity to forcibly calm his emotions.
"But that would be letting him off too easily."
Though Leon's tone returned to calm, Charles could still feel an anger burning beneath it like molten lava.
Afterward, Leon explained the effects of the Cursed Mask and his plans for the Winter Soldier.
Once Charles finished listening, he carefully picked up the skull mask—one that exposed only the eyes—from the floor.
Understanding dawned on him.
With a respectful nod, he said solemnly:
"I understand your intentions."
"From this moment on, the entire Hydra division within S.H.I.E.L.D. will follow your command."
"Hmph."
Leon chuckled softly and rose to his feet with Supergiant in his arms.
Only after the two figures completely disappeared from view did Charles attempt to let out a long sigh of relief.
But Leon's voice suddenly echoed in his mind like a parasite burrowing into bone.
"Charles, I look forward to your performance."
"And Project Insight—don't worry about Nick Fury. I want it completed as quickly as possible."
"Do not disappoint me."
"Y-yes!"
Charles stiffened instantly.
Regardless of whether Leon was still nearby, he lowered his head respectfully. Only after a long while without hearing anything did he dare slowly raise it again.
By then, cold sweat had already soaked through his entire body.
The oppressive pressure Leon Stark radiated surpassed anyone Charles had ever encountered.
Even though Charles himself already stood close to the pinnacle of power.
Compared to overwhelming personal strength, however—
he was still far too weak.
"Leon Stark…"
Looking toward the direction Leon had left, Charles clenched his fists before slowly relaxing them.
What he couldn't see—or sense—was that at the back of his neck, a tiny tendril of flesh, invisible to the naked eye, slipped quietly into his body.
…
"Master, what do you intend to do next?"
On the street.
Supergiant wore a silver skintight suit that perfectly outlined her figure, paired with a gray-white hooded cloak—the same attire she wore when she first met Leon, her usual outfit as one of Thanos' Black Order.
Her bluish skin marked her as inhuman.
Yet under the subtle influence of her telepathic abilities, not a single passerby gave her a strange look. Everyone simply walked past as though nothing was unusual.
Smack!
Leon used Leon's Grip to slap her sharply.
He cast her a cold sideways glance.
"What I plan to do—do I need to report it to a slave like you?"
"S-sorry!"
"Supergiant has overstepped!"
Her body trembled violently as she quickly lowered her head in apology.
She had thought that in Leon Stark's eyes she had already reached the same standing as his other women. After all, he didn't avoid discussing his plans for an entire planet in front of her.
That assumption had made her push her luck.
Now she realized—
she had been mistaken.
In terms of status,
she was no different from the human named Charles earlier.
Leon waved her away like discarded trash.
With both hands in his pockets, he walked against the flow of pedestrians. Thanks to Presence Concealment EX, none of the passersby noticed him or recognized his identity.
As for what he intended to do next—
Leon had already planned everything.
He took out a metallic cube roughly three times the size of a palm.
Looking at the modern city beneath his feet—still in the process of rebuilding, yet the one he knew best—Leon couldn't help but grin.
"Let's start here."
"My Earth."
He would use the AllSpark to awaken every electronic device on Earth—
and create an army of Transformers capable of helping him seize control of the entire planet in an instant.
This would become the iron armor placed upon Earth.
And also its iron cage.
The task Tony Stark never managed to complete in the original timeline—
would now be carried on by his younger brother.
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