{Chapter: 90 - Hydra And Shield}
Aiden stepped out of his room, stretching slightly as the soft hum of the engines quieted. The plane had already begun its descent, and the rest of the team was gathering in the central cabin, donning tactical gear and prepping equipment. He noticed how methodical their preparations were, each movement honed by experience. Coulson was giving a quiet briefing to Melinda May and Skye, while Fitz adjusted a scanner. Jemma was triple-checking her mobile lab kit, muttering biochemical formulas under her breath.
Aiden had wanted to ask about the mission earlier but figured he'd find out soon enough. It wasn't that he didn't care—he just wasn't the type to ask questions unless necessary. Instead, he quietly blended into the team, sliding into the back seat of one of the sleek, black SUVs waiting at the airstrip. Engines roared to life, and the small convoy of vehicles sped off into the wilderness.
The drive was relatively quiet. Trees blurred past as they followed a dirt path deeper into a heavily forested area. Dense greenery gave way to the signs of a temporary military encampment: camouflage tents, flickering campfires, crates of supplies stacked beside rugged jeeps, and tired-looking agents coordinating movement. It had the grim ambiance of a place recently touched by tragedy.
As they pulled in, Aiden's eyes narrowed. Something felt… off. The air was too still, too quiet. He stepped out of the car and took in the sight with a calculating gaze. Something had gone wrong here—
They were quickly met by a junior field agent, panting and clutching a clipboard. "Sir—Agent Coulson—we've got a situation. Locals reported strange lights and sounds last night. We found a small group of campers, but one of our own, Adam Keller, went in to investigate this morning. He never came back. We sent in a search team a few hours ago… they found his body. Sort of."
"Sort of?" Coulson asked sharply.
The agent swallowed hard. "You'll need to see it yourself."
The team was led deeper into the forest. Trees loomed overhead, casting long shadows across the forest floor. Birds had gone silent. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
And then they saw it.
Suspended in midair between two trees was Adam Keller's body. He wasn't hanging from a rope or wire. He wasn't entangled in branches. He was just… floating. Lifeless. Limbs hanging, his face twisted in frozen terror.
Skye gasped audibly. Fitz took a step back. Even May narrowed her eyes.
"What the hell…" Fitz murmured. "There's no visible tether… no anti-grav device. How is that even—?"
Jemma instinctively moved forward, pulling on her gloves and reaching for her portable scanner. "We need to get him down. I need to run a full autopsy. I might be able to detect residual traces of electromagnetic anomalies or—"
"Wait." Aiden stepped forward, catching her gently by the wrist.
Jemma spun toward him, frowning. "Excuse me?"
"I'm saving you," Aiden replied evenly.
Jemma's frown deepened, clearly unimpressed. "Saving me? From what, exactly? I'm perfectly capable of handling a field autopsy. I've handled decomposing alien corpses in far worse shape than this—"
"I'm not questioning your skill," Aiden interrupted calmly. "But I am telling you that touching that body without precautions will infect you. There's a virus—alien in origin—embedded in the corpse. Possibly in the gear or blood. We're talking Chitauri-grade contamination. You touch him, you die slowly. Or worse."
That got everyone's attention.
Jemma blinked, momentarily stunned. Then her scientific instincts kicked in. "Wait… Chitauri? As in the Chitauri from the New York invasion?"
Aiden nodded. "Yes. I'm fairly sure there's a piece of Chitauri tech nearby. A helmet, most likely. That's where the virus resides. Anyone exposed to it will be infected—human biology doesn't stand a chance without a proper cure. You can examine him, yes, but suit up and seal yourself first."
He turned toward the floating corpse and, with a flick of his wrist, enveloped it in a shimmering telekinetic bubble. The body gently descended to the forest floor without so much as touching a leaf. Aiden raised his hand again, levitating the corpse behind him like an obedient ghost.
"I'll take him back to the lab. Let Jemma work under controlled conditions."
Jemma exhaled through her nose, visibly thankful at being stopped mid-action, but also deeply intrigued. "Well… I suppose that was responsible," she muttered, then turned toward Coulson. "I'll need a full containment setup. Filters, pressure seals, anti-viral compounds. If what he says is true, we're dealing with a biological agent from an extraterrestrial origin. That's—remarkable."
Phil nodded slightly as he watched Aiden walk away with the corpse still floating behind him. "Looks like he knows more than he's telling us."
"More than anyone is telling us," May added under her breath.
---
Back on the plane, Aiden lowered the infected corpse onto an examination table in the containment bay. He kept the telekinetic shield firmly in place, not willing to risk any microscopic breach. He gazed at the body in silence for a moment, thinking.
If memory serves... this virus was on a Chitauri helmet. The very same species that invaded New York with Loki.
He sat down and mentally accessed the System. System, any potential uses for this helmet or the virus?
[Scanning… Scan complete. Item: Chitauri Virus-Carrier Helmet. Utility: None. Recommendation: Destroy or quarantine.]
Aiden sighed, leaning back. "Figures. Another useless relic."
After a moment, footsteps echoed as the rest of the team returned. Phil approached first, arms crossed.
"You were right," Coulson said. "We found the helmet. Same strange green residue on it that's starting to show up on the dead campers. We're moving them into quarantine now. It's spreading."
Aiden nodded absently. "You'll want to find the antidote fast. If sight serves, someone out there already made a cure—or synthesized one based on surviving Chitauri DNA. I suggest retracing that thread."
"And what about you?" Phil asked. "Are you helping us track the source?"
Aiden gave a faint smile. "Me? No. I've got other matters to attend to."
The helmet was of no use for him. He was too lazy to be involved in this matter and would rather use his time to absorb Aether's energy or study the yellow fear crystal.
Phil tilted his head. "You realize your intel could save lives."
"And I just gave it to you," Aiden replied without a trace of guilt. "You'll handle the rest."
Coulson didn't press the matter. After all, Aiden had given them key intelligence—and truth be told, he wasn't officially part of S.H.I.E.L.D.
As the others began organizing containment efforts and prepping Jemma's lab, Aiden turned on his heel and walked away, heading back to his private quarters.
There, in the solitude of his chamber, he sat down cross-legged once again. The glowing ring on his hand flickered, pulsing with contained energy. He resumed the process he had begun earlier—drawing in the Aether, absorbing its volatile energy and merging it with his own life force.
Slowly but surely, his body adapted. He could feel the foreign energy settle beneath his skin like molten fire—dangerous, ancient, but no longer alien. It was becoming a part of him.
---
After Aiden left, Phil and the others wasted no time in organizing a full-scale investigation of the mysterious campsite. The strange floating corpse had been identified—his name was Adam, a young man who had volunteered to check out a remote campsite but never returned. His death, as tragic as it was, had proven crucial in uncovering something far more dangerous than a simple accident.
Upon deeper examination, the helmet found near Adam's body emitted low, almost imperceptible alien energy signatures. Phil personally ordered the containment of the helmet and had it delivered back to the lab for immediate testing. Knowing that Aiden suspected the virus originated from Chitauri technology gave them a starting point, but the road ahead was anything but easy.
Back at the base, Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz immediately began working around the clock in the high-tech medical lab. Their task: to identify the virus and develop an antidote before it had the chance to spread. At first, the pathogen proved unusually resistant to standard decontamination protocols. Its alien nature made it unpredictable—it adapted, morphed, and clung to biological tissues unlike any virus Jemma had ever studied.
Jemma's sleepless nights began to take a toll on her. Dark circles formed beneath her eyes, and her fingers trembled from fatigue, but she never stopped. Fitz stayed by her side the entire time, running simulations, adjusting chemical compounds, and testing on lab-grown tissue. There were failures. Countless failures. One particular sample caused a minor explosion in the petri dish, forcing the entire lab to be evacuated and sterilized.
But after nearly a week of relentless effort, exhaustion, and scientific breakthroughs, they did it—they synthesized a viable antidote.
Cheers erupted in the lab when the serum successfully cured a quarantined test subject. Relief washed over the team like a wave. They had done it. They had saved countless lives, potentially even their own.
Everyone on the base took a deep breath for the first time in days. As they sat down for a much-needed break, cups of coffee in hand and tension finally draining from their bodies, they couldn't help but silently thank Aiden. His cryptic warning had been the key. Without it, they might not have realized the true nature of the infection until it was too late.
Jemma especially felt a deep sense of gratitude. Without Aiden's insight, she might have been the next victim. She stared down at her gloved hands, remembering how close she had come to touching the corpse directly. Aiden had saved her life.
"He doesn't show it often," she murmured aloud, "but he cares. In his own way."
---
Meanwhile, deep in the quiet of his private quarters aboard the base, Aiden sat cross-legged, surrounded by floating wisps of dark red energy. The Aether flowed slowly into his body like smoke being drawn into a vacuum. The raw, chaotic power of it pulsed with heat and intensity, but Aiden remained calm, focused, and in control.
Then, he heard it.
[System Upgrade Complete!]
The notification echoed in his mind, crisp and confident.
Aiden's eyes snapped open, glowing faintly with cosmic energy. "Finally," he whispered, sitting upright with a sharp breath. "The upgrade's done. System, show me the changes."
[Time limit increased to seven days. Plane cooldown reduced to fifteen days. Third Copy Plane unlocked.]
Aiden blinked, then burst into a wide grin. "Now that's what I'm talking about."
Before, he had only been able to enter a plane for three days at a time, with a whole month cooldown between trips. But now… he could stay in a plane for a full week, and re-enter every fifteen days. And a third world was now accessible. That meant more resources, more power, and more secrets to uncover.
Just as he was celebrating, a knock echoed from the door.
"Come in," Aiden said casually.
Quake—Daisy Johnson—pushed open the door and stepped inside. She caught sight of Aiden's smile and raised an eyebrow. "You look like someone who just won the lottery."
Aiden chuckled, brushing his fingers through his hair. "Something like that."
With a playful smirk, Daisy walked over and dropped herself into Aiden's lap, wrapping her arms gently around his neck. "You've been laughing to yourself. Something good happen?"
"You could say that." Aiden's arms loosely encircled her waist. "The development's been smooth lately. We've got a spaceship, an island base, powerful allies... and now a new door just opened."
"I'm happy for you," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Aiden paused, thoughtful. "Honestly, I've got most things under control. But there is something I'd like you to do."
"Name it," Daisy said immediately, eyes full of trust.
"Build a connection with the people here. When SHIELD falls... and it will fall... I want you to be the one to bring them to our side."
Daisy blinked, confused at first. "Wait, what do you mean when SHIELD falls? You think something's going to happen?"
Aiden looked her dead in the eyes. "Have you ever heard of Hydra?"
"Of course I have," she said slowly. "But... they were destroyed, right? Captain America took them down."
Aiden's voice turned serious, almost cold. "Cut off one head, two more shall take its place. That's Hydra's creed. Do you really think an organization that embedded itself in global intelligence agencies just vanished overnight?"
Daisy's heart skipped a beat. Her pulse quickened. She had suspected things were wrong—corruption in SHIELD, missing files, decisions that didn't make sense—but hearing it confirmed sent chills down her spine.
"You're saying... they're still here?"
"They're not just here," Aiden said, his tone grim. "They're inside SHIELD. Deep. And soon, everything will come crashing down."
Daisy sat back in stunned silence, her mind racing.
"Don't overthink it right now," Aiden added. "Just know that when the time comes, I need you to be ready."
She nodded slowly, a fire starting to burn in her chest. "I believe you."
He gave her a small smile. "That's why I trust you."
For a moment, the two just sat there in quiet companionship. The war was far from over. SHIELD was living on borrowed time. But for now, Aiden had allies, power, and a plan—and Daisy was going to help him execute it.
And soon, the world would change.
*****
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