Steve stood up as well. He was filled with hatred for Hydra and wanted to move with Thor.
"Captain, let Thor go alone," Nick Fury said, stopping Steve.
"The leader of the Brotherhood is Magneto. His ability to manipulate metal counters your shield too perfectly."
Steve didn't stop his stride, his face calm as he replied, "Even without the shield, I can do this all day!"
Thor and Steve left one after the other. Natasha let out a sigh and said:
"I'll go ask Professor Charles Xavier for help. If Hydra calls in Magneto for backup, we might be able to get the Captain back in time."
With that, she also stood up and left the briefing room.
Nick Fury instructed Hill and Coulson to send a team of agents to follow the Captain, with orders to retreat early if things looked wrong.
Colonel Rhodes said with a face full of sentiment: "The Brotherhood has at least hundreds of mutants. Their overall strength is likely greater than ours."
"If things go as expected, it will be hard for the Captain to gain any advantage in this mission."
Nick Fury agreed in his heart. To be safe, he realized he needed to notify Carol to keep an eye on the Captain and the others.
As the apocalypse persisted, the Black Egghead gradually felt a sense of powerlessness. The Avengers were strong, but they were strong as individuals.
A mere dozen or so superheroes could only play a negligible role in a disaster affecting billions.
He thought of General Ross's Hulk serum research project.
"Colonel Rhodes, your new mission has been sent to your inbox. Good luck."
Nick Fury stood up and hurried toward the laboratory area.
Colonel Rhodes glanced at the mission overview, complaining as he left the room.
Berlin, Europe. The original City Hall building.
After renovations and two expansions, the City Hall had become Hydra's ground headquarters.
However, 90% of the technical staff and high-level Hydra officials had already transferred to the safer Helicarriers.
Only two thousand elite soldiers, a few remaining technical staff, and hundreds of vampires who feared no death remained stationed here.
That morning, the leaden sky was suddenly pierced by the sound of air-raid sirens.
A dozen rapidly approaching red dots appeared on the radar screens.
Anti-aircraft missile trucks immediately rotated their barrels, firing thermal tracking missiles in rapid succession based on radar coordinates.
The elite soldiers looked up at the short-range missiles rising into the sky, feeling a sense of total security.
"With this many missiles, whatever the enemy is, they're dead!"
Suddenly, a deafening thunderclap roared through the clear sky.
A bolt of silver lightning tore through the air, accurately hitting the rising short-range missiles one after another.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The missiles were detonated in mid-air by the lightning. The resulting shockwaves knocked over the vast majority of the soldiers on the ground.
Immediately following that, Thor descended from the sky, hammer in hand. He smashed away a dozen soldiers at the entrance and charged into the first-floor lobby.
He grabbed an official by the collar and demanded:
"Where is Hydra's aerial headquarters?"
The middle-aged official, caught in his grip, shook with terror.
"L-Lord... I'm just... a minor department head. I have no idea... where the aerial HQ is... mercy...!"
Seeing this, Thor tossed the man aside in disappointment, sending him crashing into a wall.
He continued to grab people throughout the building to ask for directions.
Clang! Clank! Smash!
Thor turned the entire building into a chaotic mess.
Many elite soldiers rushing through the front gates were sent flying back out with a heavy thud.
Five minutes later.
In the underground base, the vampires—who had been sleeping to conserve energy—gradually awakened as they caught the scent of Thor's enticing blood.
Thirsting for blood for so long, the vampires rushed out of the base with primal howls, lunging straight for Thor.
Having fought ordinary humans for so long, Thor was finding it lacked challenge. Seeing these pale-faced vampires, he instead charged forward with excitement.
"BANG!"
A single hammer strike sent a fanged vampire flying.
"CLANG~~"
Being besieged only made Thor fight harder. Vampires were smashed away one by one amidst agonizing screams.
Simultaneously, a dozen Quinjets landed at the temporary airfield of the ground headquarters.
Steve arrived late with his fully armed agents, immediately engaging the Hydra soldiers guarding the airfield.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Boom!
The red-and-blue War Machine roared overhead, firing a volley of miniature missiles that left a mass of Hydra soldiers in the dust.
"Captain, the Quinjets are clear for takeoff!"
Colonel Rhodes's voice rang out over the comms.
Steve waved his hand, signaling the jets to depart immediately.
For this operation, the Avengers had deployed 12 Quinjets and 300 elite agents.
After arriving safely near the HQ, their mission was to eliminate as many Hydra soldiers as possible.
To weaken Hydra's overall strength.
This was why Steve and the others had landed on the perimeter, intending to push forward steadily.
Advancing to attack, retreating to defend.
"The operation has begun. Eliminate any Hydra soldier standing before you. Move out!"
Steve gave the order calmly, raising his shield and leading the first charge.
Tramp, tramp, tramp...
the highly trained agents followed closely behind in perfect formation.
...
At 10:27 AM.
Thick smoke billowed over downtown Berlin, the scent of gunpowder lingering in the air.
The operation had successfully decimated a large portion of Hydra's elite forces.
Everything had gone so smoothly it felt like a dream.
Steve knew how cunning Hydra was. He repeatedly questioned Nick Fury, who was overseeing the operation from the rear.
"Hydra has suffered such a massive loss, yet there are no signs of a counterattack?"
But every time he asked, he received the same reply.
"None, Captain."
With the mission accomplished, Steve and Thor prepared to retreat.
"We've captured a massive amount of resources at the HQ—thousands of tons of rare ores, a hoard of weaponry. Send personnel... crackle..."
At the space base, Nick Fury heard Steve's transmission suddenly cut off.
His expression shifted instantly as he switched satellite channels.
"Special Ops? Unit 11? Come in, over!"
"Report ground status... report... static..."
When all communication channels went dead, Nick Fury knew things had gone south.
He immediately pulled out his old pager and notified the Avengers' strongest asset.
"Carol, emergency. We've lost contact with Steve and Thor. Get to Berlin and find out what happened!"
"OK. As soon as I finish delivering this pod, I'll head to Berlin."
"Be as fast as possible. I'm worried Hydra and the Brotherhood have teamed up to capture them alive..."
Having notified Carol, Fury's anxiety settled slightly.
But to be safe, he dispatched a heavy long-range drone to Berlin to gather detailed intel.
"God help us! Everything that could be done has been done. I hope Steve and the others can hold out until support arrives!"