Adam kept his eyes on Rumlow.
The freed hostages were still close. Adam floated a little above the floor in Big Chill form, ready to phase through the first attack.
Rumlow did not attack.
He only looked at Adam once, then moved past him with the STRIKE team like this was still a normal mission.
Adam watched him go.
'He is not attacking?' Adam thought.
That made him more nervous than a direct fight would have.
Rumlow was Hydra. Adam knew that. He would not ignore Adam after getting this close.
If they were not moving now, then they were waiting.
'The longer they wait, the worse it is for me.'
Adam trusted Big Chill, but the Omnitrix would not let him stay like this forever. Once the active time ran out, the watch would push him back into his normal body.
And if Hydra waited until that moment, then he would be in real trouble.
'They know my powers do not stay active all the time,' Adam thought. 'They are not rushing because they already prepared something.'
The original timeline could not protect him anymore.
So he stayed near the hostage area.
Whenever a pirate tried to come back through a side passage, Adam moved first. He rose through the floor or passed through a wall, then froze the man before he reached the hostages.
He did not chase enemies far because he did not want to give Hydra a clean chance.
For several minutes, that worked. Then Adam came up through the floor near the lower passage and turned back toward the hostage room.
Something fired behind him.
It was not a normal gunshot. It was a low pulse, like a heavy buzz cutting through the air. Big Chill's senses caught the movement before Adam fully understood it.
He dropped toward the floor at once.
Most of his body slipped through the metal.
The wave still clipped his shoulder.
Adam felt a harsh electric pressure pass through him. It did not hurt like a bullet, but his whole body locked.
Then he sank halfway into the floor and stopped.
His eyes widened when he realized he was stuck. His upper body had passed through the metal, but the rest of him would not move.
'What the hell was that?'
Above him, boots moved across the passage. The men had not seen exactly where he went, so Adam stayed still.
The effect faded after a few seconds.
His body became light again, and he dropped fully through the floor.
Adam landed in the lower space and pressed one hand against his shoulder. There was no wound.
'They can stop my phasing.'
Phasing had been his best way to survive. Now Hydra had shown him that they had a way to interrupt it.
Over the comms, Steve's voice cut through suddenly. Natasha answered in a calmer voice, and Adam understood that Steve had found her copying the data.
Adam clenched his hand. Steve and Natasha would probably come if he called for help, but Hydra had planned something for him.
Before he could decide what to do, a transparent screen appeared above the Omnitrix.
[EXP Requirement Met]
More lines appeared.
[Level Progression Confirmed]
[New Alien Slot Unlocked]
[Alien Slot 03: Echo Echo]
For a second, Adam's fear turned into sharp excitement.
'Echo Echo?'
Saving the hostages and freezing the pirates had pushed the EXP over the line.
Then a plan formed in his head.
He was still in the lower part of the ship, away from the main passage.
Adam lifted his hand and struck the Omnitrix symbol on his body.
Green light flashed, and Big Chill's form pulled back.
His feet touched the floor. His body became normal, and the cold feeling faded from his skin.
Adam had learned this over the last few weeks. If he hit the Omnitrix while transformed, he could return to human form before the time ended. The remaining active time stayed saved for the next use, and the one-minute cooldown only began when the full active time was used.
That rule mattered now.
Adam opened the new alien selection and chose Echo Echo.
The moment he pressed the dial, power rushed through him again.
His height dropped only a little, and his body did not become bulky. His ears stretched slightly. His mouth felt different from the inside, with a faint echo under each breath.
Adam touched his throat.
"Okay," he whispered.
His own voice came out layered, like more than one Adam had spoken.
"That is creepy. Useful, but creepy."
The power he wanted most was cloning. Adam focused on himself. Three more Adams appeared around him.
He went still.
The clones looked like him in the same altered Echo Echo form. They did not feel weak like Naruto clones. Adam could feel all of them at once.
"Oh," one clone said.
"This is weird," another said.
"Stop talking," Adam whispered, then realized he had told himself to shut up.
He pointed quickly, and the clones split into different directions. Adam himself moved toward a route that led closer to the outside and hid behind a stack of metal containers.
He needed the others to be seen while he stayed hidden.
A few pirates were trying to circle back toward the hostages when the first clone reached them. The clone opened his mouth and released a sharp sound wave.
The scream was tight and focused. The air shook in front of him, and the pirates dropped their weapons.
Near another passage, the second clone did the same. The third clone reached the upper level and sent a sonic pulse across the hall.
The sound reached the hostage area as a rough vibration, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. staff looked around in shock.
Even some STRIKE agents stopped for a second because there was no clear way to tell where Adam was anymore.
Adam stayed hidden near the outer route and listened through the strange awareness connecting the clones.
The mission was still moving, and the hostages were safer for now.
But the main target had slipped away.
Batroc had escaped.