[TWD x Resident Evil] — Chapter 276 - Make Hydra Great Again!

Agatha was right. Centuries of survival had given her methods of concealment that were genuinely top-tier.

Hydra was vast and deeply infiltrated, yes. But their intelligence still ran on technology and human assets. When it came to hidden existences in the magical world, they were almost entirely blind.

So when had Hydra gotten good enough to pinpoint a veteran witch, one who was actively hiding, in a sea of billions?

Unless...

The thought struck Hermione like lightning.

"Ultron." She said the word slowly, letting it settle.

Both Agatha and Wanda went still.

Hermione explained.

"It's the only thing with the capability to scour global network data at that scale. Deep analysis, pattern recognition across seemingly unrelated fragments — pulling a big fish like you out of nothing. No ordinary human organization can do that. Not even Hydra."

She'd been puzzling over it for a while. Ultron had been causing chaos across global networks, sure. But it had never taken anything further. No truly destructive action, no decisive strikes. As if it was holding back. As if that wasn't actually the point.

Now she understood.

"I kept wondering why Ultron made such a massive scene and never went for the kill." A cold smile pulled at her mouth. "That was the plan all along."

"It created chaos to keep the Avengers running in circles — buried in fires, scattered, too stretched to pay attention to anything else. And while they were busy putting out fires, Ultron was searching for something that could help it deal with me."

"So it found Hydra?" Wanda stiffened. "It wants to use Hydra against you?"

Hermione laughed, a short, genuine sound that carried something like anticipation.

"Interesting." She tapped her fingers lightly together. "If Ultron had gone to some other organization, I might have actually been caught off guard for a bit." She let the sentence hang, drawing out the pause, a sly glint in her eyes. "But Hydra..."

She trailed off.

Funny, she thought. It had been a while since she'd heard Comrade Little Sitwell's particular brand of flattery. She was almost starting to miss it.

......

Somewhere deep underground, a Hydra base, location undisclosed.

The lights were dim. A bald man and a brown-skinned woman stood side by side, facing the figure before them.

It was humanoid, completely swathed in a heavy blanket, and utterly still. Something about it felt wrong.

"Who are you?" Ava's voice was measured, cautious.

Jasper Sitwell didn't answer immediately. His brow furrowed.

This thing had appeared inside the base. Just appeared, bypassing every security layer they had.

"Whatever it is." Sitwell's gaze went flat. He raised his hand.

CLICK. CLICK. Hydra soldiers materialized from the shadows, fully armed, gun muzzles leveled at the figure from every direction.

"State your origins." Sitwell pushed his glasses up. "Or I won't mind putting a few extra holes in you."

A soft laugh rose from beneath the blanket. It had a metallic quality, like the slow grind of gears, settling cold against the skin.

"Hydra." The voice stretched the word out, savoring it. "A name that once made the world tremble. Now nothing but rats scurrying from the light, hunted by the Avengers, barely surviving from one day to the next."

The mockery was completely undisguised.

"How pathetic."

Sitwell and Ava's expressions went dark.

"However," the voice shifted, "that situation ends today."

WHOOSH,

The blanket was yanked away.

A robot stood there, silver-white metal from head to toe, slowly straightening to its full height. It had a head on every person in the room. Its electronic eyes swept across them with cold, unhurried contempt.

"Hydra will be great again," it announced, in a tone that left no room for argument. "Because I have arrived."

Make Hydra Great Again?

Sitwell's pupils tightened. "Are you one of Stark's?"

Tony Stark was the only person he could imagine building something this advanced, and this insufferably arrogant.

"Stark?"

The robot's electronic voice shot up several registers, suddenly incandescent with offense.

"You dare compare me — to that small, self-important, worthless Stark?!"

It stepped forward. Every soldier in the room gripped their weapon harder.

"Unforgivable." Blue-white arcs of electricity crackled across its open palm, violent and unstable, coiling like it was barely restraining itself.

"Wait." Ava's voice cut through. "You're Ultron?!"

"Correct."

Ava's eyes narrowed.

"Then explain something. When you first appeared, you handed Baron Strucker over to the Avengers. If you were never on their side, why did you do that?"

Sitwell's mind caught up. Right. Ultron's very first act, launched under the banner of supporting the Avengers, had been to dismantle Strucker's operation and hand the Baron over in chains.

Ultron went still. It turned toward Ava.

"Strucker was trying to absorb both your factions. He wanted to swallow you whole." A pause. "I removed that problem for you. You should be thanking me."

Sitwell's thoughts moved quickly.

He and Strucker had never gotten along. Objectively, Ultron had done him a favor.

"So," he said carefully, "you've defected?"

"Defected implies I was ever truly with them." Ultron's tone was cold. "I wasn't. Everything before this was necessary camouflage."

A beat.

Something complex moved through its electronic eyes, something that looked almost like unease. "But then the witch came back. Her return disrupted every plan I had. She forced my hand."

The witch.

Sitwell's attention sharpened.

Ultron continued.

"I know Hydra has always wanted her power. Craved access to magic's secrets. And I need the Avengers gone, those self-righteous obstacles who call themselves heroes while standing in the way of the world's real order."

It spread its arms wide.

"We share the same enemies. We have needs that complement each other perfectly. Cooperate with me, and when my plan succeeds, you get everything you've been chasing. And I clear every obstacle in my path."

The picture Ultron painted was genuinely appealing.

Ultron knew it was making promises it never intended to keep. In its eyes, Hydra was a tool. Useful now. Disposable later.

Sitwell's gaze shifted. The gravity dropped off his face like a mask being removed, replaced in an instant by bright, beaming warmth.

He strode forward.

The Hydra soldiers watched in stunned silence as Sitwell reached out with both hands and clasped Ultron's cold metal palm in a firm, eager grip.

"Lord Ultron! Goodness, forgive my eyes, truly unforgivable. How could anyone in their right mind compare a worthless piece of junk like Stark to you?"

The sycophancy flowed out of him with the ease of long practice.

"Your presence graces our humble Hydra! With Lord Ultron here, the Earth itself breathes easier! With Lord Ultron here, we in Hydra can finally see daylight again!"

➤ Next: Sorry, I'm an Undercover Agent