The Impasse in the Adirondacks
Batman's plan was straightforward: coordinate with Tony Stark to immediately subdue the four individuals in front of them, and then wipe out the Hydra base in the Adirondack Mountains in one fell swoop.
This would not only allow them to uproot a Hydra stronghold whose existence had already been firmly verified by Black Widow, but also give them the opportunity to retrieve the Tesseract hidden deep within the facility.
Hawkeye and Black Widow exchanged a quick glance. The marksman tightened his grip on his longbow, nocking four arrows onto the string simultaneously, while the spy drew a pair of short batons from her lower back. With a sharp flick of her wrists, the batons instantly crackled with brilliant blue electrical currents.
Stepping up just a pace behind Batman and Iron Man, the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents advanced alongside them toward the four Hydra operatives.
"Grim Reaper, Baron Zemo, Madame Hydra, Sandman," Batman silently recited his opponents' aliases in his mind. At the same time, he activated the built-in scanner functions of his Gargoyle Batsuit to run a tactical read on the group.
None of the four registered as normal humans. On his thermal imaging display, Baron Zemo glowed as a solid, radiating mass of bright red. Madame Hydra's thermal signature was freezing, matching that of a cold-blooded reptile. Grim Reaper's body was heavily integrated with an array of cybernetic modifications.
As for Sandman, the scanner's structural analysis indicated that the man was quite literally a humanoid sculpture composed entirely of sand.
Batman felt no fear. Equipped with the Gargoyle Batsuit, enhanced by Spider-Man's unique physiology, and backed by his own peerless combat experience, his operational margin for error was unprecedentedly high. Furthermore, his Utility Belt was packed with specialized countermeasures designed to neutralize threats like the Lizard or the Hulk, which could double as versatile combat assets at a moment's notice.
The heroes advanced in absolute silence. Across the clearing, Baron Zemo and his three companions stood their ground, leisurely watching Batman and Iron Man approach. Black Widow and Hawkeye were entirely ignored.
A devastating clash was on the verge of erupting.
A Calculated Retreat
The tension shattered when the individual Hawkeye had identified as Sandman suddenly surged upward. His form swelled rapidly, expanding until he transformed into a towering, eighteen-foot-tall behemoth composed entirely of sand, gravel, and loose earth.
Seeing this, Batman suddenly halted his advance.
"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet, pal," Iron Man muttered in a low voice.
Silently, two Vibranium armor plating segments slid out from the cheeks of the Gargoyle Batsuit's cowl, seamlessly locking over Batman's exposed jawline. He was now entirely encased in his armor from head to toe.
Batman's voice was incredibly low. Even though Tony Stark was standing right beside him, he chose to communicate strictly through their secure, encrypted channel:
"No. I think everything is happening too concurrently, too deliberately. It feels as if someone is guiding my steps, leading me here to fight this specific group of Hydra operatives."
"Luke Cage was caught in an explosion; The Raft and Rikers Island suffered simultaneous prison breaks; I dispatched Venom Robin on a separate mission; and you just happened to call for backup."
"Everything has been precisely orchestrated to ensure I would come here alone to provide reinforcement."
Iron Man glanced over at Batman, his voice echoing back through the encrypted comms:
"Are you saying you suspect me?"
"No," Batman replied, offering an answer that brought a flash of satisfaction to Tony. "I suspect someone has been planning this for a long time. The moment we engage Baron Zemo, we will walk straight into their trap."
"What kind of trap?" Tony asked, his curiosity piqued.
A memory flashed across Batman's mind. On the journey to Wakanda, the massive avian skull of Khonshu, the Moon God, had tilted downward, its hollow eye sockets staring directly into Batman's eyes.
"It is a conspiracy aimed directly at you," Khonshu had warned.
"There are four monsters locked inside the Manhattan City Hall Batcave. Don't fight. Fall back," Batman urged, his words coming out in a rapid, urgent clip.
"Honestly, I could handle the four of them on my own," Tony countered.
"But could you handle the Hulk? Four of them at once?" Batman asked pointedly.
Batman didn't explicitly name the four Gamma-mutated monsters currently slumbering deep within the Manhattan City Hall Batcave, but the phrasing of "four Hulks" was more than enough to give Tony pause.
The armored avenger pondered for a brief two seconds, then locked eyes with the Dark Knight.
Bang! Boom!
Two deafening blasts rang out in near-perfect unison. Iron Man and Batman simultaneously lunged backward with explosive force. Iron Man snagged Hawkeye by the collar and rocketed straight into the sky, while Batman scooped Black Widow up by the waist, his legs exerting tens of tons of raw physical strength to propel them away.
Giving Baron Zemo, Grim Reaper, Sandman, and Madame Hydra absolutely no time to react, Batman and Iron Man vanished into the pitch-black night.
Inside the Hydra Ranks
Behind them, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet erupted in a violent explosion. Amidst the cascading metal fragments and flying sparks, the brilliant firelight cast a reddish glow over the faces of Zemo's cabal.
"It seems Batman noticed something," Baron Zemo remarked.
He had been gripping the hilt of his rapier the entire time. Seeing Batman retreat, he deftly sheathed the weapon with a smooth reverse grip and stood tall, maintaining his rigid, disciplined posture.
"Some members of the Serpent Society have already departed with the chosen few. Now, it's our turn," Madame Hydra said. She stared at the burning wreckage of the Batwing, the reflection of the flames dancing wildly inside her pupils.
"Hmph," Grim Reaper snorted disdainfully, offering no further comment.
"..." Sandman remained entirely silent. He quietly condensed his massive, sandy frame back down to a normal human height, shifting the loose earth over his skin until it precisely mimicked the pattern of a green-and-white striped shirt.
All around the clearing, Hydra soldiers who had been knocked flat by the Batwing's wind pressure and rubber bullets were beginning to let out agonizing groans.
Madame Hydra scanned her surroundings with a cold, unforgiving gaze. Without warning, she reached to her waist, uncoiled a whip, and lashed it outward with brutal velocity.
The tip of the whip cracked violently through the air, striking a groaning Hydra soldier and causing his head to burst open.
As fluid splattered across the dirt, the surrounding Hydra soldiers completely ignored the fresh corpse. They merely continued struggling to push themselves up from the ground.
Before long, these soldiers—many with broken bones, ruptured internal organs, or torn muscles—stood up in a jagged, crooked formation. Aside from muted groans of pain, not a single one uttered a word.
"Deliver the Tesseract to me. Rally everyone in the base, grab your weapons, and march on New York," Madame Hydra commanded, flicking her wrist to let the whip automatically coil back into her hand.
"You and I are merely partners, Madame," Baron Zemo replied, looking at her. His face was entirely obscured by his iconic purple mask, masking his expression. "My only responsibility is dealing with Captain America."
Madame Hydra turned her gaze toward Grim Reaper.
"Hmph." Grim Reaper remained silent, shooting Madame Hydra a profound glance before turning on his heel and walking back toward the Adirondack base.
Once Baron Zemo and Grim Reaper had returned to the base one after the other, and the limping, wounded Hydra soldiers had begun filing back inside, the tightly-lipped Sandman finally spoke up.
"When will you let me leave?"
Naturally, his question was directed straight at Madame Hydra.
"Oh? You want to leave? To go where?" Madame Hydra asked, her eyes full of seductive malice as she batted her eyelashes at him.
"I... I just want to go back and see my daughter," Sandman stammered, thoroughly unnerved by her look. He took several steps backward, keeping his head low.
"Flint Marko, you became what you are now at the Georgia nuclear test site, and I was the one who rescued you. Is this how you choose to repay me?" Madame Hydra asked, her voice dropping into a deceptively delicate, pity-inducing whine.
Sandman quickly shook his head in a panic.
"Don't worry, I will let you see your daughter... once our plan is complete." Madame Hydra's lips curled into a sharp smirk as she left Sandman behind and walked back toward the base, her hips swaying gracefully like a dangerous viper.
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