Chapter 236: The Island Base

Baron Strucker did not care much about immortality. After his resurrection, he had stopped aging significantly. His focus was instead on Jiaying and the "Afterlife," a place said to house many Inhumans.

Under the threat to her husband Calvin and daughter Daisy, Jiaying ultimately revealed the location of the "Afterlife."

Baron Strucker personally led a Hydra force to storm the "Afterlife." After a brief battle, he successfully captured the Inhumans living there.

Inhumans were similar to mutants in many ways. While some possessed powerful abilities, most had non-combative powers. Moreover, the "Afterlife" housed families of many generations of Inhumans, who had no combat skills.

Thus, when Hydra's forces descended upon the "Afterlife" with Jiaying as their hostage, most Inhumans surrendered without much resistance.

However, when Strucker began experimenting on the Inhumans, he was disappointed to discover that their powers could not be replicated. He also learned about the intricate relationship between Inhuman genetics and Terrigen Crystals.

This realization crushed his dream of mass-producing superpowered soldiers with specific abilities.

As a result, Strucker took hostages from the "Afterlife," scattering the families of every Inhuman to unknown locations. These captives were used as leverage to ensure Jiaying and the Inhumans' cooperation.

...

"Gordon, take me back to the 'Afterlife,'" Jiaying instructed over a secure phone line.

Moments later, Gordon—a man without eyes who possessed teleportation abilities and the ability to sense Inhumans—appeared in her room.

Grasping Jiaying's hand, Gordon instantly teleported them to the "Afterlife," the ancestral home of the Inhumans.

There, Jiaying gathered the few Inhumans with combat capabilities and relayed Baron Strucker's orders. She concluded with a stern warning:

"Remember, the success of the mission doesn't matter as much as your survival.

Gordon, if the situation becomes dangerous, prioritize escape. I'll handle Baron Strucker.

And Daisy, your abilities may be strong, but they're still not under complete control. Be cautious."

After giving her instructions, Gordon teleported Jiaying back to Hydra's base in Sokovia. He then began transporting Daisy and the selected Inhumans to the Triskelion in Washington, D.C.

...

Meanwhile, after Coulson and Captain America departed in the X-Jet, George spoke briefly with Professor X before vanishing from the school using Apparition.

George's destination was Hydra's island base to retrieve the Tesseract.

This base, located on a remote island near Washington, was where Hydra stored the Tesseract while using its energy to produce advanced weapons.

George first Apparated to the coastline and then spread his wings to fly toward the island.

Since his magical flight had speed limitations, he enhanced his velocity using magnetism in various ways, such as applying ten tons of force to iron plates on his shoes to glide along Earth's magnetic field, generating anti-gravitational forces, and creating propulsion.

Combining these techniques, his flight reached supersonic speeds. Fortunately, his body had been strengthened far beyond human limits, as otherwise, such speed would tear him apart.

Ironically, George thought of Tony Stark's Iron Man suits, recalling how Tony mentioned that his new suits, upgraded with Asgardian technology, could achieve speeds of Mach 4.

"I should work on a magical armor for myself someday," George mused.

Recently, he had been learning "Requip Magic" from Erza, a technique that allowed one to instantly don armor stored in a dimensional space. Creating a magical suit he could summon would undoubtedly be useful.

...

Within moments, George reached the island and spotted Hydra facilities adorned with their insignias.

At the docks, Hydra soldiers were loading crates of energy weapons onto a large ship, seemingly preparing to transport them to other Hydra bases.

"Invisibility!"

Rather than attacking directly, George cast a Disillusionment Charm, concealing himself as he followed the Hydra soldiers into the base.

"Huh, strange. Where are all the Hydra robots?" he wondered.

According to Sitwell's memories, Pierce had utilized stolen Vanko technology to have Dr. Zola manufacture Hydra's robotic soldiers, which were stationed on this island to guard the Tesseract.

Yet, George had encountered none so far.

He dismissed the thought. After all, robots made of metal were no match for his magnetic abilities. With his current level of power, he could disassemble any robot instantly.

...

"Alohomora!"

At the deepest part of the base, George used the Unlocking Charm to bypass several steel doors. Finally, he stood before the Tesseract, which was being drained of energy.

Loud alarms suddenly blared throughout the facility.

"So, they've installed heat sensors. Impressive defense," George remarked, canceling his invisibility spell without a hint of panic.

Calmly walking to the machine extracting energy from the Tesseract, he observed as the device converted the cosmic energy into stable blue energy, stored in sealed glass canisters.

George picked up one of the canisters, opened it, and closed his eyes to meditate, attempting to absorb the energy. Moments later, he smiled.

"It works!"

The energy in the canister was similar to magical crystals, allowing him to absorb it and enhance his magical power.

...

"Who's there?!"

A squad of Hydra soldiers stormed in, energy guns raised. Without hesitation, they opened fire.

But before they could pull the triggers, their weapons flew out of their hands, turned against them, and discharged fatal blasts.

George ignored the fallen soldiers, shutting down the energy extractor. Taking a small box from his storage, he began packing up the entire machine and the Tesseract.