There were five more iron cages inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. Each held a prisoner, yet none wore shackles. That alone looked wrong. Death-row inmates did not usually appear in a place like S.H.I.E.L.D., but in the past few days Director Fury had requisitioned several condemned prisoners from different facilities and scattered them across secure cells.
Fury had done it for a reason. He wanted eyes in the mix, agents planted among the convicted. If anything in that circle hinted at Kurogai's plan, Fury intended to catch it. He was already moving men to investigate odd events to the north, but he had not forgotten Kurogai's earlier displays. Over the last several days Fury had quietly collected prisoners from multiple institutions and hidden a handful of his own agents among them, all confined in different iron cells to keep them separate and under observation. It was a calculated risk.
A warm gold aura spilled into the room, and a slender figure stepped forward, long hair falling back beneath a simple cloak. She looked composed and purposeful. It was Skye.
"S.H.I.E.L.D.," she announced, voice steady. "I was sent by Brother Kurogai to transfer the prisoners."
Skye scanned the agents and moved with the confidence of someone who had been through this before. Fury recognized her immediately. He had seen her at the orphanage the first time it had been relocated, and later during exchanges connected to Kurogai's operations. He remembered her as one of the children from that former facility, but he had not registered how unusual she really was.
Which girl from the orphanage are you? Fury asked under his breath as he sized her up. Skye's sudden appearance in a golden halo resembled the way Kurogai had manifested his own presence in the past. Fury had to wonder whether the same skill could be replicated. For a moment the director's mind raced with possibilities, but Skye had only one thing on hers: the job.
"This is my first mission for Brother Kurogai, but I intend to finish it," she said. She looked impatient when Fury hesitated, as if every second wasted might cost the plan everything. Her priority was clear. "I will take these death-row prisoners with me."
"Do you need our transport teams? It will be dangerous to move so many alone," Fury offered. He spoke as if to help, though his eyes betrayed the suspicion that he was trying to confirm. Skye was young, and Fury suspected there was more beneath her calm.
"It is not something you need to worry about," Skye said. She smiled slightly and then, almost without thinking, balling her hand into a fist she threw a single, casual punch at the blank wall beside her.
The impact tore through the surface as if it were paper. Concrete exploded inward, and a jagged breach opened up where the wall had been. The entire facility shuddered from the force. Agents staggered. Alarms tripped. For a few breathless seconds the vault of S.H.I.E.L.D. felt as if it might collapse.
Everyone there watched Skye with new eyes. Even Fury's measured composure cracked. He studied her with a mix of alarm and fascination.
"If anyone tries to stop us, that will be the end of the line," Skye said quietly. Her voice had the kind of cold certainty that made the prisoners fall silent. They watched their supposed rescuer in awe, then moved to follow without protest, stepping through the hole she had made and out into the waiting space beyond.
"Chief, what should we do?" Hill approached, breathless. Agents needed direction.
Fury rubbed his temple and then gave a tight nod. "Check everyone who shows abnormal pupils or other signs of enhanced ability. I want detailed scans on every person who had contact with the orphanage. Even those who look weak must be screened. I want a clear roster of who around Kurogai is dangerous."
He forced the words out, steadying himself. He had expected Kurogai to be a problem, but not for an orphanage recruit to make an earthquake on a whim. Fury's earlier assumptions had blinded him. The children they had dismissed as frightened and small could hide terrifying power. They had all been watching Kurogai for too long and had missed the supporting cast.
Outside, the sun was bright enough to make the day glare, but it could not wash out the truth: there were people clustered around Kurogai who could change the balance of a fight. Fury resolved to learn everything about them and about the orphanage. If Kurogai was preparing for a significant move, Fury wanted to be ready.
Back at the base of the transport ship, Skye returned with the prisoners. Her arrival in that same golden aura was precise and controlled. Jean waited on the platform, her expression cool as she inspected the new arrivals.
"These are the death-row prisoners Brother Kurogai mentioned," Skye said, handing the group over. "He said you would find them useful for experiments."
The prisoners looked around the hangar with a mix of wariness and wonder. The facility was far more technologically advanced than anything they had seen outside. Only the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had been placed among them realized how far beyond ordinary the equipment here truly was.
"I understand," Jean said. She narrowed her eyes and focused. Ten of the prisoners lifted off the ground with a soft hum. They did not resist. Under Jean's scrutiny those ten turned out to be Fury's moles. No amount of secrecy hid them from her perception.
"They will be handled," Skye said, watching the agents float past. None of them would likely fare well under Jean's methods, she knew. They had been exposed.
"Begin the experiments," Jean said curtly. She already had protocols in place. The remaining prisoners would be evaluated and used to further whatever program the station was running.
Skye stepped back and let Jean do what she did best. For her part, the mission had been completed without bloodshed. Yet as she watched the equipment hum and the agents move to their tasks, she could not help but feel that the next phase was only beginning. Kurogai's games were getting larger, and S.H.I.E.L.D. was finally paying attention.
Fury stood in the observation room, looking at the data flow and listening to Hill's reports. He had agents in place now and had orders sent out to study everyone remotely connected to the orphanage. The breach would sting S.H.I.E.L.D.'s pride, but it had also provided the information Fury needed. If Kurogai intended to step into something bigger, then Fury would meet that step with a careful, measured response.
Outside, the prisoners who had gone with Skye melted into the shadows. The orphanage and the man who stood at its center, Kurogai Alexander Blackwood, were not going to be easy to uproot. Fury knew that. He also knew one more thing: the world had shifted, and neither side would be able to watch the other's moves for much longer.
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