Chapter 156 0156: Civilians Under Hydra
[They're drugging the population too?] Laura asked with a sarcastic scoff.
[Ding Ding Ding... Correct.] Alex answered.
[I was joking...] Laura said with a dark expression.
[Well, you were on point.] Alex said, [The entire country's water supplies have been administered a neuro-depressant that will make them susceptible to accepting the new 'truth'. It's ingenious really.] He had been exploring around with a separate clone and had found out many details that would make the conspiracy theorists of the world look like naive fools.
[In all honesty, capitalizing on herd mentality could only take Hydra's propaganda so far. They have to make it so that people don't fight their so-called 'truth'.] Alex said, [With multiple underhanded and overhanded methods, it's not that difficult to make people accept Hydra's victory.]
Alex was truly appreciative of Captain America's methods. He'd done his fair share of conquering, but most of it was done by an inefficient brute force method.
To an extent, Alex was still in the shadows and wasn't completely out as the sole leader of the Gaia Federation. He could control everything from behind the scenes, but the populous didn't know that or accept his regime.
As for Captain America, he'd done everything while staying in the public eye. He created an elaborate story that was acceptable to at least some of the people. And the people who wouldn't accept it under normal circumstances were all under the influence of the population control methods that Hydra had employed. As for the extremely vocal ones, they were the first ones to disappear in front of this regime.
'I could learn a thing or two from him...' Alex thought, looking forward to devouring Captain America. Even though this situation was very similar to the Secret Empire storyline in the comics that Alex had read and absolutely loved, he wasn't aware of the intricate details. So he wasn't able to apply those concepts to his regime establishment, 'But now, I have a first-hand case study...'
After Alex explained all of the things going on behind the scenes — At least what he'd found out about till now — to Laura, she was practically horrified.
[It's like he's destroying all free will...] She said with a weak tone, [How can someone like that even wield Mjolnir... Doesn't it require its wielder to be worthy?]
[Please...] Alex scoffed at Laura's naivete, [Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor. Worthy of what really?]
[You know the exact words of the enchantment?] Laura was surprised.
[I know a lot of things.] Alex acted nonchalant about it, [Anyway, 'worthy' in Mjolnir is defined by Odin's definition of worthy. And guess what? A successful conquerer who doesn't indiscriminately kill is worthy. Mjolnir isn't a hero's weapon, Laura, it's a king's weapon.]
In the first place, the enchantment was placed on Mjolnir because Thor wanted to destroy the entirety of Jotunheim. Odin wanted Thor to be a conquerer, not a destroyer. Odin would be a true moron if Thor just lost control of Mjolnir as Asgard was going to war against another realm.
[So whatever Captain America is doing... It's all worthy in Odin's eyes to make him the ruler of Asgard?] Laura was in disbelief, [Seems like a stretch, no?]
[Not at all. The hammer has two main criteria to determine 'worthy'.] Alex said, [One is to determine if the person is a worthy king. And Hydra Cap checks that box. The second is whether or not their mentality is actually strong enough to be consistent in front of adversity — that is willpower. And the one thing Captain fucking America has is willpower, no one can deny that.]
"Fuck..." Laura said out loud.
[I'll direct you to someplace interesting.] Alex told Laura, wanting to distract her from this situation a little.
[Where?] She asked and changed her direction to where Alex wanted her to go.
[An interesting situation is unfolding. You can help them and calm your superhero urge.] Alex didn't want Laura to feel guilty and think that she wasn't doing anything to help the people who were being manipulated to follow Hydra's regime. And he noticed something happening close to her.
On the way there, Laura asked Alex, [Did you figure out the reason behind Hydra's Inhuman registration program? I don't see them running anything similar for mutants.]
[Mutants are very limited in number after Scarlet Witch's famous mutant extinction words — 'No more mutants'.] Alex told her with a little laugh, [As for Inhumans, they are extremely common nowadays with more and more popping out every single day— This happened after Terrigen mist was mixed into the atmosphere, awakening Inhumans everywhere. Mutants aren't an uncontrollable threat considering that most of them are either already working for Hydra, or are working for Professor X in the Underground.] He told her.
[It happened here too, huh?] She sighed, intimately familiar with the event, [No wonder Hydra doesn't consider mutants their main targets.] She understood.
They talked a bit more before reaching an alley. Laura went into the alley and climbed up the fire escape of the apartment in her camouflaged state.
As she climbed up, she heard banging sounds from a specific apartment, [That one?] She asked Alex.
[Yep. The person in there is the older brother of that Jason kid who gave the correct answer about the Super Soldier serum. One of your other classmates just ratted out that kid's older brother.] He gave Laura the summarized backstory.
As Laura got up to the window, she heard the sound of the door crashing followed by a proclamation, "Inhuman, you are hereby placed under arrest for failing to register yourself with your local observation committee." A team of fully armored individuals entered the apartment in front of a terrified man.
As the Hydra soldiers subdued the Inhuman, Laura entered the room, "Well that's not a pleasant sight..."
"Halt!" The other three members of the squad pointed their guns in Laura's direction. At the same time, the Inhuman groaned in pain.
"Let's not do that..." She said and immediately charged at the three guards. In their perception, she appeared behind one of them and touched their nape as the man fell to the ground due to a mild brain hemorrhage.
Before they were able to react, she did the same with the other two, only leaving the one who was previously apprehending the Inhuman.
"You wanna let go of him now?" Laura asked mirthlessly while giving the armored man a dead-eyed look.
"Don't come any closer!" He said with panic while keeping his arm wrapped around the Inhuman's neck, "I'll kill him if you do."
Laura narrowed her eyes and said, "Hydra will always be Hydra, huh?" She pointed a finger in the direction of the man and shot a bolt of lightning at his face. The man screamed in pain and let go of the Inhuman as he recoiled while enduring the agonizing feeling of having his face burned by lightning.
"You okay?" Laura asked the Inhuman who was still in shock.
"Do you think you helped me?" He asked Laura with a growl after he came to terms with the situation.
"What?" She blinked in surprise.
"You didn't help me." He sat on the ground with his hands on his forehead, "You doomed me. And my brother. They already have my information in the database. If they know that I resisted arrest, I'll have hell to pay..." He started mumbling to himself.
[Should I tell him that their servers are down and he hasn't yet been marked as an unregistered Inhuman?] Laura asked Alex while looking at the man breaking down in front of her.
[Nah, he'll understand in due time when more people don't show up.] Alex shrugged, [He'll be thanking you that at least he has the chance to register on his own instead of being deemed a threat.]
"You'll thank me later." Laura gave the Inhuman Alex's words and disappeared from the apartment under camouflage.
[This was fun, I want to help some more people out...] Laura said while blending into and walking in the crowd. She'd missed this after spending months in that empty wasteland where the only company was either Alex or Abominations.
[Or, I have a better suggestion, you could meet with Captain America instead.] He said.
[What?] Laura was confused.
"Laura Howlett, Agent X-23. Please follow us." Laura heard and found a squad of armored soldiers approaching her. They were similar to the ones she had beaten previously, yet they were much more prepared, wielding different types of weapons than just the standard-issue guns.
'Why didn't I sense them approaching me?' She thought but attributed it to Alex wanting to make the scene seem more dramatic.
[Hey, I could have a reason for this...] He defended himself.
[I doubt it.]
"Do you need something?" She asked the newcomers cautiously.
"Please follow us, we have some questions for you." The leader said to her.
"What if I refuse?" She extended her claws, ready for a fight.
"Student Laura Howlett, registered enhanced, you are hereby placed under arrest for skipping school." He announced and the entire squad pointed their weapons at her.
Just as Laura was about to attack the first person, Alex said in her head, [You'll get to meet Captain America. Follow them. Do you think I would've let you get discovered by their cameras otherwise?] Alex asked, making Laura calm down as her tense shoulders calmed down.
[You're a terrible infiltrator...] Laura chided him, [You don't break all pretenses in the first few hours.]
They took her calming down as a sign of resignation and the leader approached her to cuff her arms.
"You really want to get close to me when I have my claws drawn?" She asked with a tone that sent shivers down the man's spine.
"Comply, otherwise you'll be forced to comply." He put up a brave front.
"I'll follow you, but stay the fuck away from me." She growled in a way reminiscent of Wolverine and walked toward them.
"W-we have to cuff you." The leader seemed adamant.
"Tell me," Laura said, "Do you like having your head attached to your neck or separated?" She threatened bluntly.
'Only one person can cuff me. And he's a slime.' She was inwardly proud of her thought, leaving Alex a little speechless when he heard her thought.
There was an audible gulping sound as the squad members seemed to be intimidated, "Please come with us." They decided to surround her while guiding her to the station. She seemed less like a suspect and more like a VIP being escorted by the police.
Laura, on the other hand, pouted, [I wanted a fight...]
[Don't cause trouble. If I didn't mellow these guys a little, they would've definitely busted their asses trying to capture you. Grassroots Hydra soldiers are insufferably arrogant. It's the upper echelons that have the larger picture in mind.] Alex told her.
[Boring...] She complained. Alex had actively prevented her from being able to fight.
[I think you've become a battle junkie after living in that apocalyptic wasteland for so long...] Alex criticized.n/(o)-V.-E)-l/.b//1-(n
[Your fault. We had the perfect opportunity to continue our usual dating and fluffy life, but you couldn't help yourself and brought me to that insufferable underwater location.] She complained even more.
[Hey, you haven't breathed any of Hydra's drugged air. This is a win in my book.] Alex said.
[Even the air... Motherfuckers...] Laura was speechless, [Wasn't it just the water?] She asked.
[Actually, it's not just the air and water, anything that the regular people consume. Produce, dairy, meats. Everything.] His words made Laura uncomfortable. The regime was extreme even by dictator standards.
lightsnοvεl.cοm Meanwhile, the soldiers escorted Laura to one of the interrogation rooms in the police station. The leader said, "Someone will come meet you soon." He then left and locked Laura inside.
[Should I tell them that I can see them through the glass?] Laura asked Alex, [It will probably spook the fuck out of them.] She laughed inwardly. She could see through the glass after the enhancement to her eyes from the Organ Bond. It was the same with her ears and other senses.
After bonding with her eyes, Alex enhanced her eyesight and also gave her the capability to view a wider range of wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum. She now had x-ray vision and more as long as she tried to view those specific wavelengths.
[Keep them in the dark about your abilities as much as you can.] Alex suggested, [Then again, them knowing won't change anything. So go ham, you're probably going to be bored for the next couple of hours. So it's better to be entertained.]
***
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