Chapter 367: Hail Hydra (Part 1)

In the Dream Base of the Light Alliance, Charles sat in his wheelchair, gazing out the floor-to-ceiling window at the night skyline of the tech city built by Stark—beautiful as a city of neon.

But Charles's face showed little calm; he looked deeply troubled. Shiler walked over and handed him a glass of wine, asking, "What's wrong, Professor? You've been frowning since earlier."

Charles sighed and said, "Do you remember what happened in Wakanda before?"

Of course. T'Challa was assassinated and taken to a special dimension by the Panther God Bast, where time is frozen—so he won't die from the poison yet. Stark is working hard to develop an antidote, but progress is slow.

"T'Challa was attacked, and Erik, the attacker, was captured by you. Wakanda is now leaderless. Ororo has gone to Wakanda, but the situation is grim."

"What's the problem? Isn't she T'Challa's lover?"

"But she's a mutant." Charles's tone was heavy. "You know Wakanda is a tribal alliance. T'Challa's tribe is the largest in Wakanda. Because T'Challa was open-minded, their culture was relatively progressive—they discriminated against no one."

"But the other major tribes aren't so open-minded. Especially Erik's tribe—the second largest in Wakanda. They despise mutants. They expel anyone with the X-gene from their territory, even children."

Shiler took a sip of wine and said, "We've already discussed this. Mutant public opinion won't reverse anytime soon. It's a long-term project."

"But now the situation may get worse." Charles looked into Shiler's eyes. "Erik attacked T'Challa, and neither can lead Wakanda. Storm, Ororo, is T'Challa's lover—but not his wife. She cannot act as regent."

"We can't let someone from that second-largest tribe become king. If Wakanda, with its stellar international reputation, openly opposes mutants, the mutants' plight will only worsen."

Charles turned his wheelchair away from the window. "Ororo lacks legitimacy. Many Wakandans despise her. With the second-largest tribe stoking the flames, nearly all Wakandans now reject mutants."

"Yesterday, a Wakandan blogger with two million followers publicly claimed mutants are invading their country—that Ororo is an evil Kenyan witch trying to seize Wakanda through this means..."

All the comments below are telling us stray dogs to get out, saying we'll never build a nation, let alone steal someone else's...

Shiler watched Charles's expression. He knew the online comments must have been even worse. Even in reality, mutants had a terrible reputation. On the internet, where extreme emotions are amplified, it was utterly vile.

Thinking of this, he almost admired Charles. Even after seeing so many vicious remarks, he never abandoned his principles. Shiler could imagine how furious Charles must have been—but even that fury never drove him to harm ordinary people with his powers.

"And..." Charles sighed again. "I'm not the only one who saw these remarks. When Polaris heard that blogger's words from the Ice Man, she nearly rushed over to kill him."

"The Brotherhood of Mutants have terrible tempers, especially Erik. I had to work hard to convince Polaris not to tell his father. But things are getting worse..."

"Professor, I know you don't want to use your powers casually—but that's only for ordinary people. When stopping evil and upholding justice, you can be more flexible..."

"You mean I should use my powers to stop that blogger?"

"No. I mean, if we can just save T'Challa, the situation will improve greatly. And T'Challa and Ororo clearly care for each other—if they marry, and the Queen of Wakanda is a mutant, it might win mutants more international support."

Charles's frown didn't lift. "I've considered that too. But even Stark can't break the toxin. Beast has sent samples to the lab. He studied them for two or three days—no results. It seems to be a mystical force..."

Charles shook his head, clearly seeing no path forward. But Shiler said, "No matter its mechanism, if we find its source, we might find a way. You could use your power to look into Erik's memories—maybe there's a clue."

"He admitted he's a Hydra member and nearly killed T'Challa. Reading his memories isn't excessive. If we can trace further and find more Hydra agents, we might prevent similar tragedies..."

Charles thought for a moment. "That's not impossible. But I heard Stark and Steve are having a competition?"

"Steve is also investigating Erik's origins. I think he'd be eager to cooperate with mutants—after all, his new Avengers team includes mutant members..."

Charles nodded. "True. Captain America is a man of high character. He doesn't discriminate against mutants..."

"Alright. I'll disconnect from the Dream Base first, then check Erik's mind for clues. We'll reconnect later."

The next morning, Charles called. "Erik's memories show he contacted a man named Ulysses Klaue. Klaue isn't from Wakanda—he's an American physicist."

"If I'm not mistaken, he's a Hydra member. In Erik's memories, he traded with Klaue about vibranium—Erik wanted to sell his tribe's vibranium stores to Klaue."

"Jian Lai"

"But Erik's memories are fragmented. I suspect Hydra brainwashed him. Clearly, Klaue wanted vibranium but didn't want to pay—so he turned Erik into a Hydra agent."

"Can we find this Klaue?"

"Last night, I pinpointed his location. He's currently in South Korea. I suspect he's meeting his superior."

Before Shiler could ask, Charles said, "I checked Klaue's memories. During WWII, his father worked for the Nazis. I suspect his father was a Hydra member—and his recruiter."

"Klaue is an acoustic physicist with high standing in his field, so his rank in Hydra is significant. His mind holds much intelligence on Hydra. I'll compile it and send it to Captain America..."

"What about T'Challa's poison..."

"Erik's memories show the one who gave him the poison and ordered the assassination was a mysterious black-robed figure. But I saw no trace of this person in Klaue's memories."

"Perhaps Klaue was Erik's recruiter—but not his only superior. We must dig deeper into Hydra to understand what's really going on..."

Shiler thought aloud: "Professor, you just said Klaue's mind holds a lot of Hydra intelligence..."

"Correct. Some details on personnel assignments, some on base locations—but nothing critical."

"Normal. He's not top leadership. But it might be enough."

"What are you planning?" Charles asked over the phone.

"I have a plan..."

The next day, the SHIELD psychological counseling room was still empty. Most agents avoided it entirely. But today, a special visitor arrived: Grant Ward, a Level 7 SHIELD agent.

He walked in with a cold expression. Shiler, as if waiting, rose from behind his desk to shake his hand—but Ward showed no reaction, face blank.

"I know you're suspicious—why I used an emergency contact symbol to reach you. You think it violates protocol, and you didn't want to come." Shiler stood before Ward, staring into his eyes. Ward avoided his gaze, expression unchanged.

"Sit down, Grant. May I call you that?"

"I'm Ward."

"Alright, Mr. Ward. No time for pleasantries. Using the Hydra symbol to contact you is extremely risky. You know—they've been going mad again." Shiler adjusted his glasses, interlacing his fingers on the desk.

"Director Pierce is silent." Shiler suddenly said. Only then did Ward's eyes lock onto his face. Seeing Shiler wasn't joking, his lips twitched—but he said nothing.

"I know you suspect I'm a SHIELD investigator probing you. But the opposite is true. I'm a long-term silent agent reporting directly to Director Pierce. I'm speaking now because Alexander Pierce has gone missing."

"He anticipated this day. That's why he placed me here—to take over his duties once he went silent."

"I don't need you to speak." Shiler stared into Ward's eyes, serious. "I only need you to immediately contact your superior and confirm whether Pierce is truly silent. If so, this may be serious..."

"Alright. For the next half-hour, I'll conduct a psychological evaluation and file a report to cover our conversation. You don't need to say anything or do anything. What you do after is up to you."

Shiler lowered his head and began writing medical notes. Throughout, he asked Ward nothing.

After Ward left the counseling room, he did nothing—until he reached his secure room in SHIELD, where he pulled out a dedicated phone and called his superior.

Grant Ward was a Level 7 SHIELD agent. His Hydra superior was Level 8 agent John Garrett.

He told Garrett what Shiler had said. To his surprise, Garrett fell silent—offering no rebuttal. Ward asked, "Is Director Pierce really silent?"

"In fact, he's been missing for over a week," Garrett's voice came through. "He's never been silent this long. He's completely off all channels—even the secure ones."

"What about that Rodriguez doctor..."

"I need to meet him to confirm. Don't concern yourself further. This is a critical time—stay vigilant."

Hearing Garrett's grave tone, Ward understood the situation was dire. He asked, "Is this purge that severe?"

Garrett fell silent for a long while before replying: "It may be the worst in history. Stay silent. We'll meet again."

At the end of the workday, Shiler didn't leave. He waited in his office until darkness fell.

As expected, just as night arrived, someone knocked on his door. In walked John Garrett—Level 8 SHIELD agent, and high-ranking Hydra member.