Hydra Intelligence

Half a year passed without Alex noticing. During that time, he went nowhere, staying in Alex City every day and focusing on keeping Emma and the other three women company. Sometimes he helped Emma handle affairs; other times, he chatted idly with Audrey and the others. His days were exceedingly leisurely.

"Alex, you don’t have to stay with us all the time." Watching Alex follow her around yet again, Emma knew that he had always felt guilty and wanted to make it up to her. Though she was happy, she did not want Alex to keep acting this way, humbling himself as though he had lost himself. That was not the Alex Emma wanted to see.

Hearing Emma’s words, Alex froze for a moment before chuckling and jokingly saying, "What, have you gotten sick of me already?"

"Alex, we all know how you feel!" Ignoring his teasing, Emma reached out and gently stroked his faintly furrowed brow. With a trace of tenderness in her eyes, she said softly, "You can do anything you like or want to do. You really don’t need to stay with us all the time."

Alex looked at Emma’s earnest face and stood there blankly for a moment. A smile tugged at his lips as he prepared to speak, but Emma’s index finger had already reached over and pressed against his lips, stopping his words before they could leave his mouth.

"Of course, no matter what you do, don’t you dare forget about us!" Emma’s finger rested against Alex’s lips as she narrowed her eyes slightly and put on a threatening expression. "Otherwise, don’t blame us sisters for being rough with you!"

Alex wrapped his arms around Emma and pulled her into his embrace. "Emma!" he called affectionately.

After the two shared a tender moment, Emma shooed Alex away so she could get back to her work. After leaving Emma, Alex considered things and decided not to seek out Audrey and the others. Instead, he returned to New York once more.

Thirty years had passed, and New York had become even more prosperous. Standing on the bustling street, Alex hesitated for a moment before heading toward Stark Industries.

Alex had always felt guilty about Howard’s death. If he had been on Earth back then, Howard probably would not have died. There was nothing Alex could do for Howard anymore, but he felt that he could still do something for Howard’s son.

He remembered that, when he had still been on Earth, he had considered becoming Howard’s son’s teacher.

Having come here once before, Alex directly used Teleportation to appear inside Stark Tower, in the office where he had encountered Tony last time.

However, to Alex’s surprise, Tony was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a slightly plump middle-aged man sat behind the desk, wearing a grave expression.

The middle-aged man was far too absorbed to notice Alex’s arrival. After waiting for quite a while, Alex could only speak up first. "Excuse me, who are you?"

Alex’s sudden voice seemed to startle the middle-aged man. He leaped up from his chair, his gaze somewhat flustered. Upon spotting Alex, confusion flashed across his face, though his tone instinctively turned stern. "Who are you? How did you get in here?" Alex’s appearance made Obadiah furious. He had long since ordered that no one was to come here.

Alex did not mind the man’s expression, assuming only that he had genuinely been frightened. Smiling faintly, he said, "Hello, I’m Tony’s friend." He paused slightly before adding, "I came to see Tony about something. Do you know where he is now?"

"You’re Tony’s friend?" Obadiah scrutinized Alex from head to toe for a long while, then demanded suspiciously, "Why have I never seen you before?"

Since using telepathy to search other people’s memories was somewhat unethical, Alex had rarely used that ability unless it was necessary. Glancing at the middle-aged man, Alex no longer had any intention of staying. He shrugged and turned toward the door. If he had not been worried that suddenly vanishing might cause trouble for Tony, he would have used Teleportation and left already.

Seeing Alex walk out without another word, Obadiah was momentarily stunned. After standing there blankly for a moment, he immediately chased after him, but Alex was nowhere to be found.

Having lost Alex’s trail, Obadiah seemed to grow restless. He tugged at his tie and muttered a few curses before turning and disappearing down the corridor as well.

The moment Alex left the office, he used Teleportation to depart. Since he had not found Tony, he decided to speak with Nick and, while he was at it, gather some information about the Hellfire Club, the Brotherhood of Mutants, and Hydra.

Having been back for so long, he really ought to do something.

After thirty years of development, S.H.I.E.L.D. had grown increasingly vast and powerful. It had even moved from the shadows into the open, openly appearing before the public.

Naturally, that also put S.H.I.E.L.D. under the supervision of nations around the world. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s capabilities were too extraordinary for any country to trust completely.

Alex had visited headquarters several times before, but each trip had been hurried, leaving him no time to properly look around. Taking advantage of his leisure, he did not go directly to Nick’s office. Instead, he wandered through S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters at will. To avoid drawing attention or causing trouble, Alex chose to remain invisible.

S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters had been designed after the Pentagon. It looked rather small from the outside, but it was immensely spacious within. Besides the five floors above ground, its true mysteries lay underground.

After wandering around for an hour without realizing it, Alex completely lost interest.

"Forget it, I’d better go find Nick!" Muttering to himself, Alex used Teleportation to appear in Nick’s office. Since he had not yet dispelled his invisibility, his arrival did not attract Nick’s attention.

Watching Nick read through documents, Alex suddenly felt like playing a prank. Suppressing a laugh, he cautiously crept toward Nick from behind. Though he was invisible, Alex knew how sharp Nick’s instincts were. One careless move and Nick might still discover him.

After dawdling for quite some time, Alex finally got close to Nick. Just as he was about to act, the office door was suddenly pushed open, and Natasha strutted in from outside in revealing clothes.

"You’re back?" Nick raised his head to look at Natasha, a sharp gleam flashing through his lone eye. "What happened over in the Soviet Union?" In truth, the Soviet Union no longer existed, but out of habit, many people still referred to that region by its old name.

Natasha glanced at Nick, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. She stared directly behind him without saying a word.

"What…" Nick turned around in confusion. Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly discovered that someone had appeared behind him at some unknown time. His expression tightened as he prepared to strike, but he immediately recognized Alex and cursed irritably, "You brat, when did you get here?!"

Alex shrugged without answering Nick’s question. Turning to Natasha, he asked in surprise, "Natasha, how did you find me?"

"Instinct!" Natasha slowly walked over and sat down on the leather sofa, a delighted smile spreading across her face. "Even though we hadn’t seen each other for decades, I could still sense it. Just like all these years, I always knew you weren’t dead!" Natasha had long known that Alex had returned, but she had been on a mission in the Soviet Union for the past half year. She had only returned today, making this their first meeting in decades.

"You’re impressive!" Alex gave her a thumbs-up, his face full of admiration.

Once the two stopped talking, Nick finally got down to business. "Natasha, the Soviet Union suddenly collapsed. Did you find out what happened?"

In 1991, the Soviet Union suddenly disintegrated. The collapse of the once-mighty Red Empire shocked the entire world. No one knew why that once-powerful empire had suddenly fallen apart. To uncover the truth, Nick had specifically sent Natasha to investigate. After several years, there was finally a result today.

"Hydra played an important role in it." Natasha drew in a breath and slowly spoke, her expression grave. Yet in the next instant, her expression became somewhat confused, as though a certain question was troubling her.

Natasha’s words left both Nick and Alex stunned. Since when had Hydra become so powerful?