Chapter 669

They say that if you truly love someone, you have to accept all of them.

By the same logic, if you genuinely trust someone, there shouldn’t be too many things you feel the need to hide.

For a long time, Evenson had kept a great deal of his life hidden from Clea. He had always assumed that some of the things he did would be difficult for her to accept. But after everything that had happened, he was beginning to think that keeping her in the dark was no longer fair.

Clea had a right to know what kind of person she’d been standing beside all this time.

Besides, she’d already come into contact with the power of the Void. Before long, she was going to have to confront the reality of what Evenson actually did. Better to let her see it now, while she still had time to adjust, rather than have the truth hit her all at once and send her stumbling down the wrong path.

It wasn’t long before the four of them arrived at a monitoring room.

It was an exceptionally well-hidden place. The room didn’t exist on any official building plans, and only a handful of people within the company even knew it was there.

Oddly enough, the room itself looked almost laughably ordinary.

There were only a few monitors, a control console, and several swivel chairs. No cutting-edge security systems. No reinforced walls. Even the door was an ordinary wooden door. From the outside, the whole thing looked more like a forgotten supply closet than a highly classified facility.

That was precisely the point.

Something ordinary attracted no attention. Something nobody noticed was something nobody thought to investigate.

It was a simple psychological trick, but sometimes simple worked.

Besides, there wasn’t much here worth protecting with elaborate security in the first place. The consoles and monitors weren’t particularly valuable, and, frankly, almost nobody besides the Eredar Twins and the man who had built the room, Gnos, would even know how to operate the equipment.

The Eredar Twins walked up to the console.

One of them activated what looked like a fingerprint scanner.

Then, without warning, both women turned around, gave a little shake of their hips, and simultaneously placed their tails against the scanner.

Beep.

The indicator lights flickered on.

One monitor after another came to life.

Evenson and Clea stared.

For all its apparent simplicity, the security system was practically impenetrable. Spies, agents, professional thieves, and every other flavor of covert operative had spent decades stealing fingerprints, copying voices, and reproducing retinal scans.

But who in the world would ever think to scan a tail?

Once the console was active, things became even more ridiculous.

Every button was covered in strange runes.

Even the world’s greatest linguist would probably stare at them for hours and get nowhere.

They were written in Eredar.

Even Evenson couldn’t read all of it. He could understand the spoken language and speak some of it himself, but reading it was another matter entirely.

Then the door suddenly opened.

Heavy footsteps approached from outside.

A figure entered wearing a crimson cloak, black plate armor, and a mask that completely concealed her face.

It was none other than Katerina, High Lord of the Demonheart Council and the foremost member of the Ascendant Chain.

Or, more accurately, Peggy Carter in disguise.

The moment she entered, she instinctively reached for her mask.

Then she noticed Clea.

Her hand paused.

"There’s no need to be so cautious, Agent Carter." Evenson smiled and casually slipped an arm around Clea’s shoulders. "This is Clea. She’s one of us."

Only then did Peggy remove the mask.

She drew in a long breath like she’d been holding it for the entire trip and immediately pointed accusingly at the mask.

"Seriously, this thing has a design flaw. Sometimes it feels like I can’t breathe."

"Really?"

Evenson scratched his head.

The mask wasn’t exactly cutting-edge technology. It was basically a chunk of metal whose primary purpose was hiding Peggy’s face. Having it pressed against her face for extended periods probably wasn’t helping.

Still, there were plenty of masked villains out there. Take that mysterious guy with the spiral mask and one visible eye. He never seemed to complain about breathing.

Maybe Peggy’s lung capacity just wasn’t up to the job.

Evenson decided not to say that.

Instead, he offered a practical solution.

"I can drill a few holes in it later."

Clea suddenly stared.

"Avenger Peggy Carter..."

Her eyes widened.

"I never expected it to be you."

She looked from Peggy to Evenson.

"Wait. Is this some kind of secret Avengers operation?"

Since both Peggy and Evenson were members of the Avengers, the assumption was understandable.

"No." Evenson shook his head. "I asked Agent Carter to help me personally. The Avengers aren’t involved."

"Oh."

Clea nodded.

Then she inhaled sharply.

"Wait. Your armor..."

She rubbed her chin and began examining Peggy’s armor with growing interest.

Peggy’s expression tightened.

"What’s wrong with it?"

This armor was one of the most important parts of maintaining her disguise. If Clea had spotted some flaw in it, that could become a serious problem.

"It’s really cool."

Clea’s eyes suddenly lit up.

"Could I borrow it for a couple of days next week? I’m going to a convention."

Peggy stared at her.

Clea, apparently oblivious to the danger she was courting, reached out and began examining the armor herself.

"The material is great, and the workmanship is really good. We’re about the same height, too. I should be able to wear it."

She paused, studying the chest plate.

"Though we’d need to make a little more room here..."

Peggy’s eyebrow twitched.

Evenson immediately realized where this was going.

"...and then it should fit perfectly."

"Uh..."

A vein appeared on Peggy’s forehead.

Fortunately, she was more than ninety years old by this point.

If she’d been sixty years younger, that comment might have started a war.

Evenson reacted before things could escalate.

"Sorry, Agent Carter!"

He grabbed Clea and pulled her back.

"Girl, there are some things you just don’t say out loud!"

"Hmph."

Peggy gave a muffled grunt.

She felt like someone had just driven a knife straight through her pride.

Was this my fault?

What era did I grow up in?

Who had time to worry about things like that back then?

And now my chest measurement is still smaller than Steve’s.

How exactly is that my fault?

No. This isn’t my fault.

It’s history’s fault.

"Darling, can you and your little wildcat settle down?"

The Eredar Twins were beginning to lose patience.

Clea’s completely unintentional display had apparently managed to hit a nerve with them, too.

Peggy’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Darling?

Little wildcat?

She glanced between Evenson, Clea, and the twins.

Interesting.

She was going to have to be careful.

The last thing she needed was for Steve and Evenson to spend too much time together and start teaching each other bad habits.

Evenson rubbed his face and forced his expression back into something resembling professionalism.

"Agent Carter, how’s the training going?"

"Not bad. Everything is proceeding according to schedule."

Peggy pinched the bridge of her nose and composed herself.

"The people we’ve been training are actually decent young men and women. I can’t say they’re bad people."

She paused.

"But..."

Her eyes suddenly narrowed.

Green fel fire surged within them.

"Every time I see that fanatical look on their faces and hear them talk about their twisted ideals, I want to cut them down."

"Really?"

Evenson smiled and patted her shoulder.

"Sounds like you’ve had a rough time."

Then his smile widened.

"But today, you’re finally getting what you want."

Peggy stared at him, confused.

Evenson didn’t explain.

Instead, he turned toward the Eredar Twins.

"Let’s begin."

"Of course."

Oleses extended one delicate finger and tapped a button on the console.

The monitors flickered.

An image appeared.

Five hundred people stood assembled in a large underground chamber.

The people Hydra had delivered were a miserable-looking bunch. Almost everyone was bruised and battered. Some had bandages wrapped around their arms or heads.

Yet every one of them stood perfectly straight.

Their expressions were solemn.

They knew they were about to witness something great.

A woman stepped onto the platform facing the five hundred recruits.

She was Stephanie, the daughter of Gideon Malick.

Today, she wasn’t wearing one of her usual dresses.

Instead, she wore a black trench coat with her hair tied back. There was little decoration or ornamentation to her appearance. Everything about her was sharp, restrained, and professional.

She walked to the center of the platform.

Then, with a smooth turn, she clenched both fists and thrust her arms diagonally upward.

"Hail Hydra!"

Five hundred people immediately copied the gesture.

"Hail Hydra!"

Their voices thundered through the chamber.

Peggy clenched her teeth.

"Annoying, isn’t it?"

There was a sinister smile on her face.

"Just looking at them makes me want to start cutting."

"Yeah..."

Evenson glanced at her.

Perhaps Peggy herself hadn’t noticed it, but ever since accepting his treatment, something inside her had been changing. She had become increasingly extreme.

"Very annoying. They’ve turned this place into a cult meeting."

He gestured toward the screens.

"Good thing we’re underground. Otherwise, we’d be getting noise complaints."

Clea, however, had gone still.

"Wait."

She frowned.

"Hydra?"

Her eyes moved back to the screen.

"That Hydra? The one Captain America destroyed during World War II?"

Captain America’s exploits were common knowledge, and among his most famous achievements was the destruction of Hydra’s wartime scientific division.

"That’s the one."

Evenson nodded.

"But cut off one head and two more take its place. Captain America only destroyed a fraction of them."

Clea turned sharply toward him.

"You’re working with Hydra?"

She knew Evenson was a consultant for SHIELD. As far as she understood it, SHIELD and Hydra were supposed to be enemies.

"No."

Peggy answered before Evenson could.

"We’re just sending them to hell."

Back in the chamber, Stephanie’s speech was reaching its climax.

"My brothers and sisters! We have gathered here for a great purpose! We have gathered to shed our blood for our thousand-year goal!"

Her voice rang across the chamber.

"I know each and every one of you is willing to give your life for this cause. Because of your dedication and sacrifice, Hydra has reached a great turning point in its history!"

The five hundred recruits stared at her with feverish devotion.

"You will all be ascended!"

Stephanie raised her voice.

"But the Ascension Ritual is cruel. Those who lack conviction, those who are weak, will be eliminated."

She let the words hang in the air.

"Which means death."

The recruits remained motionless.

"But I believe none of you fears that!"

Stephanie threw her arms upward.

"Because we are Hydra!"

"Hail Hydra!"

"Hail Hydra!"

"Hail Hydra!"

The five hundred voices rose together once more, shaking the underground chamber.

On the monitors, their fists remained raised toward the ceiling.

And in the hidden control room, Evenson watched in silence.

The ritual had begun.