Hydra Island

Armed guards in green and yellow uniforms emerged on the rooftop terrace of Andreas Von Strucker. The Hydra soldiers flanked both Moonstone and Graviton, and though Karla Sofen had a look of calm composure on her face, Franklin Hall seemed like he was ready to rip the very island from the South Pacific.

Seated at a table were two men—an old man with white hair and wearing a suit. And a younger one with blond hair, dressed in purple armor but with his helmet resting on the table. The two men rose to greet their guests.

“Karla, it’s good to see you,” said Andreas Von Strucker.

“Swordsman, thank you for agreeing to this meeting,” said Karla, offering her hand. After shaking his, she then shook the hand belonging to the older man. “Justin Hammer. Resurrection seems to agree with you.”

“You as well, Ms. Sofen,” said Hammer with a smile.

“And of course, you both know Franklin Hall.”

Hammer and Andreas looked at Hall, all three simply giving a nod in acknowledgment. Once the greetings had passed, Andreas gestured to the table and dismissed the guards.

“Sit. We have much to discuss.”

They all did, and a waiter appeared carrying a tray with a carafe of red wine and four glasses. He set a glass before each, then served the wine before excusing himself and leaving the carafe.

“I think we all know why we’re here,” said Andreas once they were alone. “We have two major obstacles—the Thunderbolts and the Masters of Evil.”

“Indeed,” said Hammer, sipping his wine. “Unfortunately, my daughter isn’t very pleased with my resurrection. Or with her estranged daughter becoming my sole heir. She’s lashing out at our mutual operations.”

“I don’t care much for the Crimson Cowl.” Karla took a drink. “Franklin and I are far more interested in taking down Zemo. But if you scratch our backs, we’ll scratch yours and help you in your war against the Masters of Evil.”

“Of course, there is the question of what you bring to the table,” said Andreas.

“Have you not seen what kind of power we have?” asked Hall.

“Justin and I both have significant superhuman agents working for us, not to mention the full force of Hydra under my command.” Andreas sipped his wine and continued. “You both know this. So you wouldn’t even attempt to come to me with some sort of alliance unless you had something to bargain with.”

“I’ll show you what I brought…” said Hall, the gravitational energy he commanded causing his eyes to glow as he leaned forward, his own glass rising above the table, the liquid in it moving from side to side.

“Franklin, please.”

Karla held up her hand and Hall took the glass from the air and drank from it, sitting back in his chair. With her attack dog calm, Karla turned her attention to their host.

“Castle Zemo, I’m sure you remember it,” she said.

“Of course. We haven’t been able to locate it, though.”

“That’s why you need me,” said Karla. “Zemo has his base in a sort of dimensional loop, meaning it never stays in one place for very long. By the time you’re able to pinpoint a location, it’s already passed through three more dimensions. You’ll never find him by trying to track the portals the Thunderbolts have used as their escape.”

“What do you know that we don’t?” asked Hammer.

“The moonstone Zemo possesses. It’s stronger than mine, which is why he’s able to open portals whereas I can’t. But the two stones are connected, meaning I can track it,” said Karla.

“Except you said you can’t open portals anymore,” said Andreas.

“True, but these are Kree gravity stones we’re talking about.” Karla smiled at Hall. “And with Franklin’s power added to my own, I can indeed open a portal to Castle Zemo.”

Andreas leaned back and took another sip of wine. “Very interesting.”

ALL HAIL THE KING

Part I

By Dino Pollard

Washington, DC

“Magnificent, isn’t it?”

Baron Zemo turned around from his view across the street outside the White House. He saw a man approach with his face shadowed by the brim of a hat and wearing a trench coat. But there was the briefest flash of red eyes in the darkness.

Thanks to an image inducer, Zemo himself appeared as a young, blond man. He greeted the man in the hat with a smile.

“Everyone thinks this is the seat of power in America,” said the one known only as Mr. E. “If only they knew the truth.”

“Perhaps you could choose a less public place to meet next time,” said Zemo.

“Follow me.” Mr. E waved his hand and a limo rolled down the street, pulling to a stop right in front of them. He opened the rear door and gestured inside. “After you, Baron.”

Zemo took a breath and climbed into the seat, resting in one of the plush, leather benches. Mr. E followed and told the driver to go ahead.

“Where are we going?” asked Zemo.

“Just for a drive while we discuss about the next move.”

“Then perhaps we should dispense with the disguises.” Zemo deactivated the image inducer, revealing the purple mask that covered his scarred face. “That goes for you as well. Mr. E, quite clever. I didn’t expect that it was an initial and not just a play on words. Not at first, anyway…Mr. Essex.”

Mr. E chuckled and removed his hat, the eyes glowing as well as a red diamond in the center of his forehead. His skin changed, becoming chalk-white and a goatee now appeared on his face as he shapeshifted into the man called Sinister.

“And how did you discover my identity, Baron?” asked the geneticist. “The world believes me dead.”

“The intimate knowledge of Control you detailed for me suggested it wasn’t simply academic—it was first-hand experience. Who else would have worked so closely on so many different Super Soldier Projects over decades than a man who doesn’t age and has no real ethics to speak of?” asked Zemo. “As for your ‘death,’ don’t make me laugh. I’ve been dead before, as has roughly half my team.”

Sinister scoffed and provided a half-smile. “Impressive. It appears I’ve chosen well.”

“What I don’t understand is why tell me all this?”

“In the past, my goals and Control’s have been aligned. No longer. I foresee a day when their interests will threaten my own,” said Sinister. “My death was not the same as the staged deaths many of our kind have experienced. This was truly dead. It gave me a new perspective on life.”

Zemo studied Sinister’s face, but he could get no indication about what the scientist was speaking of. He decided instead to focus on the matter at hand. “You said you had information?”

“I do,” said Sinister. “Justin Hammer and Andreas Von Strucker have allied themselves together. As you know, Wolfgang’s seat in Control has been vacant since his death. The Swordsman intends to fill it. But there are those within Control who aren’t sure if Strucker’s son is truly up to the task, or can be trusted.”

Zemo rubbed his masked chin. “You have contacts inside their organization?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I want to arrange a meeting.”

Castle Zemo

Todd Arliss rose from the water and onto the shore outside the castle walls. As he took a few more steps, he saw the landscape begin to change. Tiger Shark looked around, watching as the castle and the beach gave way to a near-endless forest. Another few steps and it changed again.

He growled. “Enough with the illusions, Wyngarde.”

Normality was restored. Except this time, Tiger Shark noted that standing on the beach with him were two individuals. One of them was the aforementioned Regan Wyngarde, also called Lady Mastermind. And the man by her side dressed in red was Marvin Flumm, Mentallo.

“What do you two want?” asked Tiger Shark.

“Things seem to be getting a bit heated around here,” said Mentallo. “And Regan and I were thinking it might be time to bet on another horse.”

Tiger Shark folded his arms over his chest. “You saying you want to jump ship?”

“You’ve been in contact with the Masters. Seems like now is as good a time as any.”

Blinding light filled the area. Mentallo held up his hand to block out the glare. He saw spotlights on the castle’s roof pointed right down at them. And then he picked up three other signatures.

The lights were killed and Mentallo, Lady Mastermind, and Tiger Shark saw Zemo’s top three lieutenants standing before them—the Fixer, Radioactive Man, and the Abomination.

“Marv, Marv, Marv…” said the Fixer, following with a clicking of his tongue. “You’ve been a bad boy.”

Mentallo smirked. “You wanna give me a spanking, Norbie?”

“We’re more interested in why you’re working against us,” said the Abomination.

“What the hell are you talking about?” asked Mentallo.

Lady Mastermind stepped forward, standing between Mentallo and Zemo’s lieutenants. She looked at the man who had thought of her as a partner and gave a smile.

“Because I told them.” Her eyes drifted from Mentallo’s shocked face to Tiger Shark. “The game was fun for awhile. But now it’s time to choose a side.”

Tiger Shark growled in response, but Mentallo couldn’t seem to help the smile that formed on his lips.

“So that’s why the illusion you said you were projecting didn’t work—you were lying about it,” he said. “And the fact that you were able to keep this secret from me this entire time…”

Lady Mastermind’s smile grew even more. “Zemo never really trusted you, Marvin. Fortunately, my father and Emma Frost taught me more tricks than you’ve ever known.”

“Wyngarde’s job was to keep an eye on you,” said the Radioactive Man. “Give you the illusion that you were in control. And to discover who among us was speaking with the Masters of Evil.”

“Fine, I’ve chosen,” said Tiger Shark. “Ever since I joined this team, I’ve been treated like an attack dog, scarcely a step above Kasady. And now, I’ve had it!”

Tiger Shark lunged with incredible speed, his claws tearing into Lady Mastermind’s side. She pulled away, clutching the wound as blood spilled forth from it. Tiger Shark roared and went in for another attack, but an energy blast from the Radioactive Man threw him back into the water.

The Fixer went straight for Lady Mastermind, preparing an adhesive that would seal her wound until they could get her proper medical attention. He pushed the applicator to the wound and sprayed the compound, Wyngarde cringing as he worked.

Then, he screamed, dropping to his knees.

Lady Mastermind saw Mentallo standing over the Fixer, grinning.

“Oh, I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, Ebersol!”

But before Mentallo could strike again, Lady Mastermind lashed out with her powers, creating a psychic feedback loop that forced Mentallo to cry out and collapse.

The Abomination, meanwhile, dove beneath the water, his gills enabling him to breathe beneath the surface. The water was murky and even with his exceptional eyesight, had difficulty finding his prey.

Then, he felt claws rake across his back.

The Abomination spun, grabbing Tiger Shark’s wrist and twisting, breaking his hand. Arliss screamed, bubbles pouring from his mouth. The Abomination then broke the other wrist and another scream followed.

“I think we’ve had our fill of those claws,” said the Abomination. Then, he drove his fist against Tiger Shark’s chin, sending the mutate flying out of the water.

Tiger Shark landed on the ground, where he saw the Radioactive Man standing over him, eyes glowing and hands poised to deliver a powerful burst of radioactive energy.

The ground quaked a moment later and Tiger Shark blinked, then saw the Abomination enter his field of vision. Tiger Shark was raised off the ground by the Abomination, who kept a strong grip on Arliss’ throat.

“Emil…”

The Abomination narrowed his eyes and looked to the side with a snarl. He saw Baron Zemo approaching, a portal closing behind him.

“Put Arliss down.”

“What?” asked the Abomination.

“I’ve come to a decision—it is time to choose a side. And by that, I mean it is time to forge new alliances.” Zemo focused on Mentallo, then looked at Tiger Shark. “We’ve been distracted on multiple fronts and now, several of those are aligning against us. It’s time we reconsidered our options, and I know just how to do it.”

Zemo then pointed at Tiger Shark.

“Make contact with Justine Hammer. Tell her I want to meet.”

Hydra Island

Following the meeting, Graviton followed Moonstone through the halls of Hydra’s man-made island base. They were provided with adjoining rules, which the green-uniformed guard now led them to.

As soon as they were allowed into their rooms and the door shut, Graviton addressed Moonstone. “What the hell are you thinking with all this?” he asked. “Letting Hammer and Strucker call the shots? We’re stronger than—”

“Honestly, it’s like talking to a wall.” Moonstone frowned and removed her mask. “Franklin, my dear, what did I tell you? About power?”

Graviton sighed. “It’s not about power, it’s about strategy.”

“Good boy,” she said, smiling. “What I have done is made Hammer and Strucker think they have the advantage. What they don’t know is that I’m using them.”

She stepped closer to Graviton, staring right into his eyes with her own blue ones. “When we take the fight to Zemo, I have a way to eliminate all of them—Hydra, Hammer, the Masters of Evil, the Thunderbolts. By the time I’m through, all their resources will be mine to command.”

A small aircraft touched down on a tiny island in the Pacific. Little more than a rock in the middle of the ocean. When the hatch opened, the Crimson Cowl emerged and Klaw was by her side.

Justine Hammer looked around, but saw no sign of the man she’d come to meet. She called out. “Arliss!”

A flash of light appeared before them. Out of the portal stepped Baron Zemo, his hands clasped behind his back. The Crimson Cowl and Klaw both moved into battle stances, with Klaw powering up his sonic weapon and the Cowl’s cape reacting to her mental commands.

Zemo held up his hand. “Please, relax. I have not come to fight.”

“And we should believe that why?” asked Klaw.

Zemo drew the two firearms from the holsters affixed to his chest and dropped them in the sand at the feet of these two Masters of Evil. He followed that with his sword, then raised his arms in surrender.

“I’m unarmed.”

“What kind of game are you playing, Zemo?” asked the Cowl.

Zemo shook his head. “No game, Justine. I just wish to talk.”

To be continued…