Nolan had barely arrived, but the battle was already over.
The Inhumans the Avengers had struggled to contain were now frozen solid in a single breath.
The sorcerer who trapped the Avengers in a mystic dimension? Reduced to a bloodstain by one punch.
Skye stood frozen. SHIELD had her on high clearance, but even she hadn’t been given access to the deeper files on Nolan. All she’d ever seen was a single phrase stamped in red:
"ABSOLUTE THREAT LEVEL."
Only now did she understand what that meant.
Her own people, fellow Inhumans, were just... statues now.
"All done," Nolan said, surveying the battlefield with calm satisfaction. "Clean-up crew, move in."
Frozen bodies. Silenced enemies. Captured assets. The whole operation had gone off flawlessly.
These Inhumans weren’t just enemies. They were data points. Living, breathing genetic puzzles. And Nolan wanted them.
Unlike mutants, Inhumans didn’t need to hit puberty or endure trauma to awaken their powers. Their Terrigen-activated genes were express-lane superpowers waiting to be harvested, catalogued—and perhaps, replicated.
SHIELD and the Avengers looked on, unsure what to say.
Even Nick Fury, who was watching through satellite relay, remained silent.
Rogers and the others had seen it all—what Nolan did wasn’t a fight. It was domination.
Skye’s heart pounded. These Inhumans weren’t the enemy. They were victims kidnapped, manipulated, and controlled by Hive.
They didn’t deserve to be taken again.
She stepped forward. "Wait!"
Nolan didn’t even turn.
"These are U.S. citizens," she said firmly. "You can’t just abduct them. That’s illegal."
"Illegal?" Nolan finally turned, his tone flat. "They attacked me. I won. They’re mine now. War spoils. Got a problem with that?"
"They were being controlled!" she argued, voice rising.
"Tell that to Stark," Nolan replied coolly, nodding toward Tony.
Tony grimaced and stayed quiet.
Skye’s fists clenched, her hands trembling. She raised a hand to summon her quake powers but Steve Rogers stopped her, hand on her wrist.
Then Rogers stepped forward. "Nolan. What if we made a deal?"
Nolan smirked. "Now you’re speaking my language."
"You like trades, don’t you?" Rogers said.
Skye shot him a look. "Cap, we can’t just—"
"Do you have a better idea?" he said quietly.
Nolan chuckled. "Alright, Captain. What are you offering in exchange for these living samples?"
"What do you want?" Steve asked.
Before Nolan could answer, Tony cut in. "Tech. Data. Extremis, nanotech, you name it. Just name the price."
Now that got Nolan’s attention.
He eyed the frozen Inhumans. "Well now. Seems like these folks just got a lot more valuable."
"I was going to dissect and destroy them after research. But... maybe I’ll call you when I’m done. If there’s anything left."
Beside him, Wanda still cloaked in scarlet energy—spoke quietly. "Can’t you just... let them go? They didn’t choose this."
Nolan didn’t answer at first.
Then he looked at her and said gently, "I won’t kill them. Just... study them a little."
Wanda bit her lip but said nothing.
A portal opened behind them.
Oscorp operatives marched out in black tactical suits, cold precision. One by one, they loaded the frozen Inhumans into the glowing gate, vanishing into Nolan’s private labs.
Just before the portal closed, Nolan turned and headed into the Malick estate.
Moments later, Maximus emerged from the ruins dragging a man in a suit.
"Boss, this is Gideon," he said, tossing the terrified man onto the gravel.
Nolan looked down at the bloodied, whimpering head of the Hydra inner circle.
"So... you’re the one poking around in my business."
Gideon Malick shivered. "Please... Hive made me do it! I didn’t want to go against you!"
Nolan crouched. "You ordered missile strikes on New York. You pushed for the Superhuman Registration Act. You played kingmaker in the dark for decades."
"You lost. And you still don’t understand what that means."
Malick tried one last plea. "Kill me and the other families in the Circle will retaliate. You’ll crash the economy. Millions of Americans will suffer—"
"Yeah?" Nolan raised an eyebrow. "And?"
A pulse of red energy shimmered in his palm.
"Let’s see what secrets you’re hiding..."
His fingers touched Malick’s temple. Energy surged.
He rifled through memories. Names. Numbers. Locations.
Malick’s head exploded like a melon dropped from a rooftop.
Nolan stood over the body, brushing blood off his armor.
"Hydra’s inner circle," he said, "wiped off the board."
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