Chapter 235: Hydra's Inhumans

"How is this possible? They've been completely wiped out—not even the Winter Soldiers managed to escape."

In the Triskelion, Pierce stared at the now static-filled monitor, his face a mixture of fury and shock.

He had never imagined that a mere mutant academy could possess such terrifying strength.

His elite unit, which could bring S.H.I.E.L.D. to its knees, had been equipped with advanced energy weapons and included over thirty Winter Soldiers, each rivaling Captain America in combat prowess.

Yet, in such a short time, it was as if they had vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.

"Could it really be that George?"

At that moment, Pierce suddenly recalled the person he had previously dismissed—George.

He had initially assumed George was merely a puppet put forward by Professor X, with the real leader of the Super Academy—formerly the Mutant Academy—being Professor X himself.

To his knowledge, the most powerful mutant in the Super Academy was also Professor X.

However, even after using devices to block telepathic abilities and rendering Professor X's powers ineffective, they were still subjected to a massive and terrifying lightning assault.

This suggested there was another mutant in the academy who was just as powerful as Professor X.

The data on Wolverine, Logan, was well-documented, and the rest of the academy's members were just children. The only one left who seemed plausible was the academy's public-facing principal, George.

Pierce realized he might have miscalculated. George could very well be the true leader of the Super Academy and its most formidable mutant.

"Send word to Dr. Zola—deploy the latest robotic soldiers here for defense immediately!"

After the incident in Queens involving robotic soldiers, S.H.I.E.L.D. had obtained data on Anton Vanko's robotic designs. Naturally, this information had found its way into Hydra's database.

With Hydra's technological capabilities surpassing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s, they had quickly replicated a batch of similar Hydra robots.

However, things had been progressing smoothly on this front, and with Nick Fury already eliminated through Pierce's machinations, these robots had not yet been deployed.

Instead, they had been stationed at the base guarding the Tesseract under Dr. Zola's supervision.

Now, as the Helicarrier's launch approached a critical moment, Pierce felt compelled to redirect the robots to defend against a potential counterattack from Coulson and the Super Academy mutants.

"In hindsight, I shouldn't have meddled with those mutants just yet."

After giving his orders, Pierce felt a pang of regret.

If he had known things would turn out this way, he would have focused all efforts on capturing Coulson and his agents alive. Once the Helicarrier was in the air and Hydra controlled the world, they could have brainwashed them and found the academy's location.

That would have been the safest approach.

Pierce's complacency had been his undoing. After taking the Triskelion and killing Nick Fury, he had underestimated the threat posed by the Super Academy, believing it to be little more than a handful of adult mutants—not worth worrying about.

He had thought it would be a simple matter to eliminate them preemptively to prevent any interference at a critical moment.

"No, this still feels insecure. I'll need to borrow some manpower from Baron Strucker."

Pacing back and forth in his office, Pierce couldn't shake his unease. He used his communicator to contact another Hydra leader, Baron Strucker.

Hydra, while global in reach, was not a monolithic entity. It was divided into various factions, large and small.

Pierce belonged to the faction descended from Zola's group of Red Skull loyalists, rooted in S.H.I.E.L.D. and strengthened by siphoning its resources. Their ultimate goal was world domination through the Insight program and Zola's algorithm.

Baron Strucker, on the other hand, led a faction headquartered in Sokovia, focusing on experiments with superhumans and using their abilities to achieve Hydra's goals.

While their methods differed, their objectives aligned, and the factions often assisted each other without becoming subordinate.

When Pierce initiated the Insight program, the other faction leaders had lent their support in various ways but refrained from full-scale involvement.

Pierce and Baron Strucker shared a close working relationship. The research base in Sokovia had even been established under the guise of S.H.I.E.L.D. thanks to Pierce's help.

So, borrowing some of Strucker's superhumans to counter the mutants seemed reasonable.

"Understood. I'll send some of our strongest superhumans to assist you," Baron Strucker agreed.

At Hydra's Sokovia base, Baron Strucker flexed the mechanical Satan's Claw of his right arm, recently upgraded, and issued orders to his subordinates: "Bring Jiaying here!"

A moment later, a young woman with Asian features entered Strucker's office.

"Baron, what are your orders?"

"Have Gordon take the strongest warriors from your tribe to support Pierce. And send your daughter, Daisy, too. I've heard her abilities have become formidable after being awakened."

Strucker squinted at Jiaying with a calculating gaze.

"Jiaying, remember: if not for me, you'd have been dissected by Reinhardt long ago.

So, I expect your unwavering loyalty.

When Hydra rules the world, I'll ensure your people have a place to live, where you can reunite with all your kin without fear of rejection by humanity."

"Hail Hydra! We will serve you faithfully, Baron," Jiaying declared firmly.

Strucker nodded in satisfaction and dismissed her.

Back in her quarters, Jiaying exhaled cautiously, finally allowing herself a moment of relief.

As an Inhuman with the power of immortality, Jiaying had long led the remaining Inhumans in "Afterlife," working tirelessly to locate others with Inhuman genes.

During World War II, she left Afterlife to search for her kin but was captured by Hydra's Werner Reinhardt, who experimented on her and stole the Obelisk.

The Obelisk contained Terrigen crystals, which could activate powers in Inhumans but would kill ordinary humans who touched it.

Although Reinhardt was soon defeated by Agent Carter's Howling Commandos, freeing Jiaying, she later fell into Hydra's hands again in 1989.

While searching for more Inhumans, Jiaying fell in love with a human doctor and had a child, hoping to live an ordinary life outside Afterlife.

But Hydra captured her once more. After realizing Jiaying's appearance hadn't changed in 44 years, they recognized her uniqueness.

Reinhardt had planned to dissect her for research, but Baron Strucker intervened to stop him.