Chapter 379

"Hey! Shiler, what's wrong?!!"

Stark turned to look at Shiler, but saw no figure—only a floating gray mist that suddenly dispersed, enveloping the black-robed woman and dragging her backward at high speed, smashing through the window and flying away.

Stark and Steve exchanged glances; Steve opened his mouth, hesitated, then asked: "... id Shiler kidnap her?"

"Probably she kidnapped Shiler," Stark said after a pause.

"But..."

"Just now, Shiler called us to warn us about the enemy—so it must be that he was kidnapped," Stark continued.

"But clearly..." Steve wanted to say more, but paused, then added: "Fine. Shiler has no reason to kidnap her—why else would he call us? Maybe the doctor was controlled by her..."

"We need to get him back," Stark said, stroking his chin. "Did you hear that laugh? It gave me chills..."

Steve nodded. "Right. Maybe whatever that person injected into Shiler was faulty—yes, that's it! After the needle hit the doctor, he started acting strange..."

Steve frowned, looking anxious. "We have to rescue Shiler fast—he could be in danger."

ZeroPointReading. om

Stark pressed a button on his arm. "Let's go back. We need to start with the data Shiler gave us."

"He just had Peter deliver that data to us, and then he was attacked by a mysterious figure—this might be Hydra eliminating witnesses." Shuowan, Steve jumped out the window, landing on the balcony. He turned back. "I know you're still mad at me about Peter getting hurt—I was wrong..."

Stark flew out the window too, hovering midair as he glanced back at Steve. "Apologies can wait. We still have unfinished business."

On the other side, the mysterious black-robed woman, wrapped in gray mist, was set down in a dark alley corner. Shiler reformed into human shape, but now wore a grinning clown mask. Before she could speak, he spoke first: "You idiot! You nearly exposed me!"

"I spent years infiltrating S. . . . . .'s superhero team—a secret operation gathering every top hero in New York, including our enemies: Captain America and Iron Man..."

"Lately, our organization has lost too many agents—I had to surface to fix this. They've been watching me constantly, and you? You're like a stupid grasshopper, jumping right in front of me. If I hadn't reacted fast, we'd both be captured right now!"

Shiler's voice was tight with rage; his tone left the black-robed woman stunned. She spoke: "I didn't know..."

"You didn't know—and still came to me?! I truly don't understand what makes you so arrogant."

"Perhaps Captain America alone doesn't frighten you—but what about Iron Man Stark? What about S. . . . . . director Nick Fury? Or the alien races and mutants you don't even know exist?"

The black-robed woman frowned. "It seems you know more than I thought. What plan? I mean—the superhero team you mentioned?"

"I won't explain further. I won't join your stupid organization. I have a greater mission."

As Shiler turned to leave, the woman called out: "Wait! The nanite injector on your shoulder hasn't been removed—you must treat the wound properly, or it will infect!"

Shiler glanced at the small needle on his shoulder, yanked it out in one motion—the barbs tore away a chunk of flesh, but it healed instantly. He tossed the needle at her feet. "Don't you see yet? We're the same kind. Don't compare me to weak, ordinary humans."

"That's exactly why you should join us!" The woman stepped in front of him. "I'm Jacqueline, a high-ranking agent of the Hive Hydra, and a top-tier host candidate for the Hive parasite."

"Before anything else, tell me—where did your ability come from? Was it innate?" Jacqueline stared into Shiler's eyes. He looked down slightly. "I'm a mutant. What's the problem?"

Jacqueline smiled. "Looks like I've found a treasure. You perfectly meet all criteria for a high-ranking agent."

"Listen—this is the most precious opportunity of your life: unite with the great being..."

"Now, I will tell you about the great being called Hive..."

In the Avengers' base, Stark projected Hive-related data onto a screen, pointing with a laser pen. "Look here—about Hive's origin. According to this high-ranking Hydra leader, Hive is an experiment from an advanced alien civilization..."

"Here, Shiler annotated heavily—he suspects the experimenting race may be the Kree. He heard from the Hydra agent that Hive's operatives mentioned the experimenters had blue skin—and the only known blue-skinned race we know is the Kree..."

"And here—the reports on the Inhumans. It states the Kree didn't just create Hive; Hive was only one part. They conducted similar experiments on Earth, birthing another race: the Inhumans..."

"Shiler's annotation suggests the Inhumans may be related to mutants, but aren't identical. Hive is likely an Inhuman himself—both are Kree experiments."

"The data shows ancient Inhumans and Hive may have once lived together, but later, because Hive grew too powerful, the ancient Inhumans exiled him to a distant planet..."

"And Hive? He's a parasitic organism..."

"Wait!" Blue Spirit interrupted. "Hive is a parasite?"

The symbiotes exchanged glances. Then Lei Ting said: "How does it parasitize? Don't tell me it shoots spores or eggs..."

Stark flipped through the printed documents. "It mentions something later—Hive fires a parasitic seed from its tentacles or mouth. That seed hatches into a miniature Hive, which then takes control of a sentient being's body..."

The symbiotes looked at each other again. "You're sure it's a Kree experiment? These traits... remind me of a disgustingly familiar race..."

Stark turned to them. "What?"

Blue Spirit took a deep breath—as if merely naming the race made him nauseous. "We call them 'Cosmic Parasites.' But if transliterated, they're called 'Brood.'"

"Brood? Isn't that the word for hatching eggs—or a nest of birds?"

"Exactly. It fits. They parasitize by hatching eggs—process is revolting."

"And their behavior is the complete opposite of symbiotes—especially Cosmic Agents. Their survival method is parasitic conquest: devouring one civilization after another to grow stronger."

Blue Spirit's face twisted into a distinctly human expression of revulsion. "They're our mortal enemies. If our creator N'Kral is our #1 foe, the Brood ranks in the top three."

"It's not parasitism—it's total consumption. Any life they infect loses all self-awareness, becoming nothing but a puppet, a vessel for the Cosmic Parasites."

"They also split off smaller offspring, forming swarms that raid other sentient species, enslaving them as tools and servants..."

"Wait—here it says..." Stark switched the screen's display, pointing to a few lines. "The Hydra agent revealed they once ran an operation called 'Far Star Project'—sending humans to Hive's home planet to serve it..."

Peter, Steve, and the other humans all frowned, their expressions darkening. Suddenly, Peter stood. "Oh no! They might be planning to send the doctor there—to parasitize him..."

"The data says they use something called the 'Black Stone Gate' to transport people. And right now..."

"We need to find that portal, right?" Steve looked at Stark. But Stark gave him a look like he was an idiot. "No. We need the planet's coordinates. Then we just... punch it."

Steve covered his forehead. He still hadn't adjusted to humans suddenly having ultra-advanced starships. But Stark was right: instead of hunting a heavily guarded Black Stone Gate, why not just fly there? Kree ships had jump drives—millions of light-years? Just a press of the throttle.

"Does the data have the planet's coordinates?" Peter asked.

"Of course not. This Hydra agent was just a normal human—he never left Earth. How would he know an alien planet's location?"

"But remember what I mentioned earlier? The Inhumans." Stark closed the files and stood.

"Right. If ancient Inhumans exiled Hive, they'd know which planet he was sent to. But the problem is—where are the Inhumans now?"

"The data already told us..."

Stark lifted his head. Though he saw only the ceiling, his gaze pierced through layers of rock and soil, through the atmosphere, into space—toward the small satellite orbiting Earth.

"They're on the Moon."

In a deeper underground base, Jacqueline stood with hands at her sides beside an altar. "You may not have realized—on the Moon, the one humans see every day, live a race of Inhumans. They look like you—but their powers are vastly superior."

"But we're their enemies. Their ancestors fought the great Hive. One day, we will make them pay..."

"You mean you can use a portal to reach Hive's planet? But why? Are you trying to bring Hive back to Earth? Then why send people to that planet?" Shiler asked.

Jacqueline snorted, pacing before the altar. "Planet? No. That's no ordinary planet—it's a primary world within the Brood's domain."

"Long ago, the ancient Inhumans fought Hive because they feared such a powerful being couldn't be controlled—would eventually overthrow their kingdom."

"They wanted to kill Hive—of course. Enemies don't spare each other. But they couldn't."

"The great master Hive didn't appear out of nowhere. He's a clone of a far more powerful race: the Brood. After his war with the ancient Inhumans, Hive grew weak. So he used their power to open a portal, fled back to Brood territory, and took refuge on one of their primary worlds—until today..."

"To retaliate against the ancient Inhumans and humanity, Hive once sent Brood agents to attack Earth. But Earth had formed its own superhero team—led by Imhotep."

Jacqueline raised her head. "You may not understand this, but later, it was this man—Imhotep—who founded an organization called the 'Holy Shield Brotherhood.'"

"And from the Holy Shield Brotherhood evolved today's S. . . . . . and S. . . . ."