FBI: Chapter 88/89

Chapter 88: Happy Death Day

Federal Bureau of Investigation's Top-Secret Warehouse — "The Fridge."

A confidential facility tucked away in a classified location. Only agents with Level 7 clearance and up even know how to get there.

The Fridge is where most 084 items are stored awaiting research—along with a surprising number of "problematic guests" in indefinite detention.

If the Legends hadn't shown up when they did, Dante would've shipped Captain Cold, Heat Wave, and Constantine here personally.

Due to The Fridge's overkill-level external defenses and the less-people-know-the-better policy—it was always staffed with the bare minimum.

Just enough boots to keep the lights on.

So when HYDRA made a surprise move on FBI HQ, Coulson followed Dante's prior orders (and Fury's general paranoia) and evacuated everyone except Steve Rogers to The Fridge for backup.

Which, shocker, turned out to be exactly the right call.

Because right at the start of the war between the U.S. Federal Bureau and HYDRA, John Garrett took a portion of HYDRA's forces that should've attacked the main HQ…

…and rerouted them to The Fridge instead.

Five hundred HYDRA soldiers.

Four Winter Soldiers.

His plan?

Smoke and mirrors.

"Damn it! Open the door, quick! Coulson, you want us to die out here?!"

John Garrett and his HYDRA agents—still cosplaying as FBI field agents—hunkered behind cover, shouting over the roar of gunfire from a heavily armed HYDRA chopper above.

And yes, the chopper had an obnoxiously huge HYDRA logo on it. Subtlety was dead.

Inside the vault, an agent posted behind Coulson was watching this chaotic scene unfold on the external monitor, looking increasingly tense.

Because per Fury's orders, Coulson had full command of The Fridge until further notice.

That said, the veteran agent guarding the door wasn't fooled.

He watched Garrett's overacted "save us!" scene play out like it was a badly staged highway accident.

Still, the moment Garrett's cover was nearly wiped out and bullets started flying closer to the lens, the guard cracked.

He stepped forward, bypassing Coulson.

"Sorry, sir, but we can't just stand here and let our own die—AH!"

Before he could hit the "open" button, he was smacked into the wall like a button.

"Nope. Buddy. Are you insane?" Dante's voice cut through the tension as he strolled up behind him. "If you're the guy who opens the door to a top-secret vault without orders, especially in a situation like this—congrats. You just bought yourself a lifetime of suspicion. Best-case scenario? You get flagged as a HYDRA sleeper and end up in here yourself."

"Dante?! When did you get here?! What about the main battlefield?"

"Handled. Mostly. We're just sweeping up now." Dante narrowed his eyes at the screen showing Garrett's "performance." A slow, mischievous grin spread across his face. "See? I was right to have you guard The Fridge. John Garrett went full theater kid to give you something to watch. Man's dedicated."

Also missing from this performance?

Grant Ward.

Ward was a classic opportunist. When Garrett held all the cards, he played loyal. But the second Dante entered the scene?

He was gone.

Because he knew that against Dante, Garrett's plans were as good as dead on arrival.

And Ward? Ward never did meaningless things.

Because dying for a failed plan?

That wasn't profitable.

So Garrett, nearing the end of his own tragic arc, was left with five hundred soldiers, four Winter Soldiers, and no allies.

Still, this last-ditch push for The Fridge should've worked.

Coulson was in charge, after all.

And Captain America? Still out fighting on the main front.

So all that stood in Garrett's way were Melinda May, Green Arrow, and Deadpool.

Sure, each had their own rep.

But still in the realm of "normal humans."

Garrett had the numbers. He had the firepower.

It should've been enough.

"Coulson! Damn it, don't hesitate! Don't you trust me anymore?!"

Garrett was now screaming with authentic panic, crouched behind what little cover remained as the HYDRA chopper continued laying down actual firepower.

The hail of bullets? Real.

The explosions? Real.

Garrett was actually pinned.

"Coulson," Skye called out, running over with her laptop in hand. "I tapped into remote surveillance. Garrett's bringing in HYDRA, and—wait, Dante?!"

She stopped, blinking in surprise and visible relief as she saw him standing beside Coulson.

Dante and Coulson exchanged a look.

Time to end this little show.

Dante nodded to Skye. "Open the door."

She didn't know what Dante was planning.

But she didn't hesitate.

Click.

The door hissed open.

Garrett and his squad ran in like desperate survivors.

"Phew—my God, Coulson! I thought you were really pulling a Fury move and gonna leave me to die out there!"

Garrett exhaled dramatically, straightening up.

He turned, ready to drop the charade and make his move…

…and froze.

Because standing behind Coulson…

Were Skye.

And Dante.

"Agent John Garrett," Dante said pleasantly, "nice to see you."

"Agent Dante… weren't you at HQ?"

"Oh? Garrett, weren't you being hunted down by HYDRA on your way here? Kinda weird you're keeping up with my location mid-escape. What's the matter? Concerned about me? Or just afraid I'd show up?"

"I think there's been some misunderstanding—"

"Yeah, let's not get sidetracked. I actually have something I need your help with."

"…What would that be?"

"I got intel that HYDRA agents have infiltrated The Fridge."

"HYDRA?! Here? No way!" Garrett's performance shifted into shocked denial. "Even this place has been compromised?!"

"Well, yeah. HYDRA being 'everywhere' is kinda their brand. They're trash, but they're sneaky."

Dante stepped closer, smile unchanging.

"So obviously we can't waste time. We need to eliminate these HYDRA moles before they grab any 084s."

"Yes, I agree—"

FLASH.

Lightning flared.

And just like that, in two blinks—

Every HYDRA agent who entered with Garrett hit the ground.

Dead.

Single-strike kills.

Not even time to scream.

Skye and Coulson barely processed what had happened. All they saw was a silver blur and the bodies dropping.

When the flash cleared…

Only two people were still standing:

Dante.

And John Garrett.

"You… you just attacked and killed FBI agents! Are you HYDRA?!"

Garrett raised his pistol in a shaky hand.

Dante didn't flinch.

He just gave him that same easygoing smile.

"Oh, please. You really missed your calling. You could've been a Broadway actor. But let's cut the crap, 'Clairvoyant.' You're the HYDRA rat here."

He reached out and tapped Garrett's chest with a single finger.

Calm.

Bright-eyed.

Like they were chatting over coffee, not standing in a vault full of corpses.

"I—"

"Shhh." Dante held a finger to his lips. "Don't argue. Bad lies are embarrassing."

He stared straight into Garrett's eyes.

"I actually get you, though. I do. Who doesn't want to stay alive longer? You're the Death Soldier prototype. Just one Extremis injection away from dying, right?"

"…How do you know that?!"

"Oh? The all-knowing 'Clairvoyant' is suddenly surprised?"

Dante looked mock-shocked.

Then he grabbed Garrett by the back of the neck and dragged him to the door, pressing his face to the transparent glass.

Outside, the full HYDRA force had assembled—Winter Soldiers and foot soldiers alike—waiting for Garrett's go signal to storm in.

Dante smirked.

And calmly pressed his palm to the main door—

Opening a portal.

It was massive.

The Winter Soldiers tensed immediately.

None of them knew what the hell that glowing vortex was—but it was big, weird, and loud. That was enough to raise every red flag.

They entered battle-ready mode instantly.

Too bad…

It wouldn't help.

"ROOOAAARRRR!"

A deafening howl erupted from the portal.

A beam of molten, blood-red flame shot out, thick as a tree trunk.

The four Winter Soldiers dodged just in time, but the HYDRA grunts behind them?

Not so lucky.

And then—

Hulk stepped through.

Wearing a red-and-black battlesuit, eyes blazing.

His mouth still oozing molten rage-flame.

Every breath he took sent out steam and heatwaves.

Dante, casually watching the panic outside, leaned close to Garrett's ear—

"My favorite thing in the world…"

He smiled.

"…is watching arrogant pricks die with their eyes wide open."

"Happy Death Day, John Garrett."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 89: Get Down First!

Even though John Garrett had long been looked down on by other HYDRA leaders for both his tactics and overall performance

He was still one of their top dogs.

He had enough pull to mobilize troops and Winter Soldiers, and more importantly, he knew about the Super Winter Soldier Program.

Those two terrifying trump cards—one green, one red—had once been HYDRA's ultimate monsters.

And now?

That very same green monster had just come stomping out of a portal summoned by Dante.

What the hell?!

This wasn't how it was supposed to go!

Why did the Super Winter Soldier betray HYDRA?

What the hell was that red-and-black battlesuit?

What was that insignia on his chest?

Did he just—did he just spit fire!?

Since when could the Hulk breathe fire!?

A thousand questions slammed into John Garrett's brain like a mental traffic jam.

But it didn't matter.

He didn't have time to answer a single one.

In his peripheral vision, he caught a glimpse of his own body falling.

And then—

Darkness.

Total, permanent, final.

Dante had vaporized Garrett's neck with a precise blast of heat vision.

Just like he said: the man died with his eyes wide open.

Then Dante tossed Garrett's severed head aside and watched with some genuine admiration as Hulk, now fully initiated into the Red Lantern Corps unleashed hell.

Honestly?

Hulk was the most perfect Red Lantern in existence.

Rage-fueled power? Check.

Exponential strength scaling with anger? Check.

Practically zero upper limit? Check.

Now layered with Rage Light energy?

Yeah. Broken.

He was basically a mobile, self-feeding apocalypse in pants.

The only way to stop him would be with some reality-warping, concept-erasing cosmic god—because short of that?

You're toast.

Granted, Dante had managed to beat him earlier using both Green and Red Lantern Rings simultaneously, but that was only because Hulk hadn't peaked in anger yet.

In a war of attrition?

Hulk wins. Every time.

Right now, the new Red Lantern Hulk was charging through the HYDRA ranks.

To say it was a tiger among sheep would be a massive understatement.

More like… an elephant breakdancing in a termite colony.

The four remaining Winter Soldiers lasted all of five seconds.

Hulk ripped one in half, barehanded.

The second was roasted by a fireball of furious blood-flame straight to the face.

The other two?

Hulk just grabbed them and started swinging them around like twin clubs in a Dynasty Warriors bonus stage.

When it was all over?

Every HYDRA soldier was down, and the two "weapons" in Hulk's hands were now tattered meatbags.

Dante hit the door release and casually booted John Garrett's corpse and head out the front.

"Don't dirty my nice FBI flooring," he muttered.

"Hulk, burn the rest. No sense wasting our budget on corpse disposal."

"HULK FIRE!"

The green giant thumped his chest like a child showing off a toy and blasted another wave of flaming rage from his mouth.

He was clearly fascinated by his new ability.

And had already named it.

Because of course he did.

Like a kid naming a stick "Ultimate Justice Sword."

"Dante... what... is this exactly?"

Coulson's voice wavered as he watched Hulk incinerate HYDRA's remains.

The visuals were a lot to take in.

"Oh, right. This is Hulk. Civilian name: Bruce Banner. Gamma radiation specialist. Holder of seven PhDs—nuclear physics, radiation physics, biochemistry, engineering, robotics, computer science, and math."

"…Is he trying to use PhD diplomas to prop up a table or something?"

"Geniuses like to prove things. Why else does Stark keep reinventing his own armor?"

"…Fair point."

Dante nodded, but deep down?

He much preferred Hulk to Banner.

The two personalities were opposite sides of the same coin, really.

Savage Hulk was basically Banner's childlike core, made flesh.

Even the Lantern Ring recognized them as one lifeform in two minds.

Banner wanted to be a scientist.

Hulk didn't even know what a "hero" was. He just wanted a full stomach and someone to punch.

Two extremes locked in one body.

Kind of poetic. And kind of sad.

While Dante reflected on the green tragedy, Skye was practically vibrating with excitement.

Let's not forget—this was a girl who once pried the emblem off Tony Stark's car in the Stark Tower parking lot just to have a souvenir.

She was that much of a superhero fangirl.

"Green monster defeats HYDRA's evil plot! That's straight-up classic superhero material!"

Dante sighed, ruffling Skye's hair.

Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a shimmering purple crystal.

"Here. This is for you."

"Wait… you're giving me a crystal?" Skye blinked. "Dante, I'm not one of those girls you can bribe with shiny rocks. You could at least wrap it in platinum and call it a ring."

"Stop talking." Dante stuffed the terrigen crystal into her palm. Then leaned in close and whispered, "Break this when you're alone. Trust me—you'll thank me later."

---

HYDRA's entire operation to take down the FBI?

A massive, flaming failure.

Yes, they managed to launch the three Helicarriers.

But the Project Insight they were supposed to run?

Fake.

Instead, HYDRA had sent in Winter Soldier prototype Bucky Barnes, carrying Arnim Zola's consciousness storage device, hoping to have him upload Zola directly into the Helicarriers.

No preloaded targeting system? No problem—they'd just build one from scratch.

Would've worked too...

If Bucky hadn't bumped into Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, who arrived together.

The moment Steve saw the eyeliner-smeared hobo version of his childhood friend?

He didn't hesitate.

He instantly whipped out his shield and went for the face.

Jarvis, after scanning Bucky's identity, updated Tony.

"Captain, this is your childhood best friend."

Tony's eyebrows shot up. "Damn, Cap, maybe don't smash his jaw in just yet?"

Steve snapped. "He's brainwashed. You think I'm gonna stand here yelling, 'I believe in you!' like some idiot from a TV show? First, we knock him out. Then we talk. After the war."

Then he promptly kicked Bucky in the nuts.

"Lie down, best damn brother!"

Tony paused.

Then nodded, impressed.

Lesson learned: Never one-on-one if you can two-on-one.

He joined in.

And together, Cap and Iron Man beat Bucky Barnes senseless.

They even ripped off his mechanical arm as a team finisher.

And Zola's precious consciousness storage?

Smashed to shards by Steve mid-fight.

Tragic.

Truly tragic.


---

Meanwhile, in the Helicarrier command center.

Tony, through Jarvis and his own backdoors, fully took over the three Helicarriers' systems.

He shut down all the weapons.

Just like that.

Nick Fury watched the whole thing unfold, tears nearly welling up.

"Motherf***er," he muttered. "That was taxpayer money…"

Standing nearby, Alexander Pierce made a last-ditch play.

He pulled a controller from his pocket.

"Don't move, Fury! I push this button, and the special brooches worn by the World Security Council will burn holes through their hearts."

Cue instant political panic.

"Alexander Pierce! You psychopath!"

"HYDRA only knows how to play terrorist!"

"Nick! Save us! If we die, you'll be brought before the Tribunal!"

Fury… didn't even blink.

He actually looked more upset when the Helicarriers got shut down.

"Pierce, I used to consider you a family…"

Fury slowly raised his pistol.

He wasn't smiling.

He wasn't bluffing.

"But we don't compromise."

"They're from other nations—"

"So?" Fury narrowed his eye. "They stood up to HYDRA, resisted to the bitter end. I'll tell the World Federation they were heroes. I'll even put up a fancy-ass monument for them."

And then?

BANG.

He shot Alexander Pierce in the heart.

Reflexively, Pierce hit the button.

Multiple brooches activated.

Several high-profile political corpses hit the floor.

But Fury?

Unbothered.

In fact, he kinda wanted to laugh.

He could've gone for a headshot.

But why waste the opportunity?

Let the fame-hungry suits die as "martyrs."

Then, as he looked down at Pierce's still-warm corpse, Fury pulled out a dusty old pager.

"Good thing we had Dante. Otherwise…" he said softly, "I really would've had to call you back."

(To be continued.)