After completely getting rid of the two hidden threats—the Eternals and Attilan—Josh's life slowly returned to normal.
He spent his days with his wife and kids, chatted and traded with contacts from different worlds, and occasionally showed up at work. Life was peaceful and easy.
Just like that, ti moved into the year 1950.
In the research base of Area 52, Howard Stark stood on stage, talking non-stop about a certain machine.
Below the stage sat many scientists, top military officials, and people from various special departnts.
Josh was among them.
Next to him sat a plain-looking, short man. But no one in the room looked down on him because of his size.
His na was Arnim Zola.
He was once the top scientist of Hydra, led by the Red Skull.
Today marked the day this forr evil scientist was "set free."
It was also the day when the results of Project Paperclip were officially divided and shared.
Although S.H.I.E.L.D. had just been ford, Howard's personal abilities and his powerful background gave the new agency full control over the project.
Still, S.H.I.E.L.D. alone couldn't handle all the scientists and research projects involved—there wasn't enough funding for that.
Even though Howard was rich, he couldn't afford to take it all.
So after Howard reviewed and picked out the valuable parts, the remaining projects were opened up for the special departnts to choose from.
Of course, not every project was up for grabs.
For example, research on the Cosmic Cube—also known as the Space Stone—was quietly taken over by S.H.I.E.L.D. and the CIA together.
This was already decided two years ago when Howard attended Josh's wedding.
If possible, Howard would've preferred to study the Cosmic Cube on his own.
In the original tiline, he was the one who handled it, and the idea for the Arc Reactor ca from its energy.
But progress in studying the Cube was slow.
It wasn't until the 1970s when Mar-Vell ca to Earth and started Project Pegasus with the support of the higher-ups that Howard lost his solo research rights.
In that tiline, Howard had the right to research the Cube alone because he was the best scientist in Arica at the ti, and he was also the one who found it in the Arctic.
But in this world, Howard didn't fish it out of the sea.
After Captain Arica and Red Skull disappeared, the Cube stayed in the Red Skull's fortress and was later taken by Peggy Carter and her team from the Strategic Scientific Reserve.
At the ti, the SSR wasn't very good at keeping secrets.
So many departnts found out about the Cube.
Even though S.H.I.E.L.D. ca from the SSR, Howard had no chance of studying the Cube by himself.
But if he tead up with the newly established and powerful CIA, then it would be possible.
So now, even though the Cosmic Cube was placed in one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s bases—specifically, the forr training camp for new soldiers in New Jersey where Captain Arica once trained—the CIA also had the right to study it.
But Josh wasn't really interested in researching the Cube.
He knew the ti wasn't right yet.
Instead, he cared more about Dr. Zola and the future Insight program that would be built on the Zola Algorithm.
"Congratulations on regaining your freedom, Dr. Zola," Josh said softly while watching the ongoing presentations on stage.
"Freedom? That's a luxury. True freedom isn't easy to get. And honestly, I don't even need it. Don't you think so, Director?" Zola replied with a faint smile.
Just like Zola said, his so-called freedom now only ant he was out of a prison cell. In reality, everything in his life and work would still be under watch—possibly forever, at least on paper.
Of course, knowing how deeply Hydra could infiltrate, it wouldn't take long before most of the people around Zola would secretly beco Hydra mbers again. But even so, they still had to keep up appearances.
For example, right now, although Josh stood next to Zola, several agents were still around "protecting" him.
But these agents had already been quietly replaced with people from their own side, which was why they could speak so openly.
"Well said. That's why you're Dr. Zola. I'm really looking forward to you bringing new energy and glory to the organization," Josh replied with a smile, ending the chat.
At that mont, Howard's presentation also wrapped up.
Josh walked up at just the right ti to say hello.
"That was a great presentation, Howard. It almost made want to join the project myself!" Josh complinted him.
And he wasn't just being polite. When Howard got serious, he actually had a kind of personal charm—just like his future son would.
"Oh, I'd say don't get too excited. The project might look amazing and complicated, but making money from it will be tough. It's hard to make it into a real product," Howard whispered back.
Even though there was serious competition between their companies, departnts, and the powerful groups behind them, there wasn't any personal tension between Josh and Howard. In fact, they got along pretty well in private.
Hearing Howard's "warning," Josh gave a small smile.
Howard was still as full of himself as ever. Just because Josh liked the presentation didn't an he was actually interested in the project. That tech was way behind what Josh already had.
With access to the worlds of Red Alert, I, Robot, and Transforrs, Josh had no interest in the basic tech of this ti.
"By the way, I saw you talking to that science freak earlier. What were you guys chatting about?" Howard asked.
The "science freak," of course, was Zola.
Most people probably didn't notice their short conversation, but Howard had a clear view from the stage.
And he wasn't suspicious—he was just curious.
After all, given what Josh had done during the war, Howard would never suspect him of being Hydra.
To be exact, in this ti period, even people like Captain Arica and Peggy Carter—those who helped destroy Hydra—believed that Hydra and the Red Skull were one and the sa.
They had no idea that Hydra's real power had always been hidden within the upper ranks of the U.S. governnt—a level they had no way of reaching.
"Nothing much. I was just curious about that madman's chief scientist," Josh replied casually. "I saw so of those weapons during the war, after all. But like you said, he's a science freak—I couldn't understand a word he was saying."
"Oh, by the way, how's your research on the Cosmic Cube going?"
"…Still nothing!" Howard's face twitched when Josh changed the topic.
Other than the old tech Zola had developed in the past, Howard was still totally clueless about the Cube's secrets.
And for soone as proud as him, that was pretty frustrating.
"I see… well, keep it up!" Josh said with a 'sympathetic' look, patting him on the shoulder.
"Hmph, like your people have made any progress either," Howard shot back, a bit annoyed by Josh's attitude.
"Oh? You still don't know?" Josh looked at him in surprise.
"Know what?" Howard asked, confused.
"I submitted my resignation to the White House a few days ago. Within a month, soone else will take over my position. CIA's research team for the Cube will also go through a few changes…
Co on, man. Isn't S.H.I.E.L.D. supposed to be an intel agency? Why are you guys this slow to catch news?" Josh said mockingly.
"Wait—so that rumor was true? But you built the CIA from scratch! Can it even keep running without you?" Howard was stunned.
He had heard the rumors, and his team had reported them too. But he always thought they were fake.
As soone who had helped create S.H.I.E.L.D., he knew better than anyone that without Josh, the CIA might not function nearly as well.
"It's not that dramatic. Sure, I'm stepping down, but I've already arranged most of what needs to be done. The CIA might grow a bit slower, but it won't fall apart," Josh explained with a shake of his head.
Even if he was officially leaving the CIA, Hydra and Ouroboros would still have deep roots in it.
And he'd set up a few stable funding sources to help it continue running smoothly.
"But… why?" Howard couldn't understand.
Since becoming director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he'd really started enjoying the perks of power.
As just a rich guy before, he couldn't access certain research resources—but now, things were much easier. And as a scientist, that was sothing he loved.
"There are many reasons. First, my authority was too big—it made so people uncomfortable. Things were okay while Harry was in office, but once he's gone, things will get worse for .
Also, you know I've been a bit too close to Austria these past few years—that's made so people unhappy too.
And finally… sotis, knowing too much just isn't a good thing," Josh replied vaguely.
For outsiders, those words might not make much sense.
But soone like Howard, who was part of the inner circle, understood right away.
"Damn politics!" Howard spat under his breath.
Of course, what he didn't know was that everything Josh had just said—and everything Howard himself had guessed—was just surface-level fluff.
The truth? Josh was simply bored. Tired of playing the political ga, and ready to find a new one.
If it weren't for his youngest son still being too small, he might've sped this up even sooner.
After chatting for a bit longer, Josh didn't linger in Area 52. He bid Howard farewell and left with his team.
This whole "spoils-sharing summit" was just a formality for him anyway. Most of the projects on display ant nothing to him—he could casually throw out tech that was hundreds or even thousands of years more advanced.
And the reason he left so quickly was simple—not because a new dinsional beacon was about to refresh…
But because in the Red Alert world, Yuri was finally about to activate the ti machine and return to his original tiline.
Josh was rushing back to enjoy the show of "Yuri's Revenge."
"How's the situation?" He couldn't even wait to get ho—just as he boarded his private jet, Josh opened the system and asked Yuri.
"…I've returned to the original tiline, but… the situation's kinda hard to explain," Yuri said with a strangely complicated expression on his face.
"What do you an?" Josh frowned in confusion. I was all set to watch you go toe-to-toe with the Allies and Soviets—now you're telling you don't know what's going on?
"Don't worry. Here's the thing: normally, after I was banished to another dinsion, the world I left behind should have gone back to a classic East–West standoff, right?" Yuri said, waving his hand.
"Exactly. Sure, they worked together to stop you, but once you were gone, they'd be back at each other's throats in no ti," Josh nodded.
"Well, here's the kicker. When I got back, I found that both the Allies and Soviets were already being pushed back to their ho turf!" Yuri said with a rare shrug, his usual cold tone replaced by an amused one.
Clearly, returning to his own ti and seeing his old enemies suffer had put him in a good mood.
Now it was Josh's turn to look weirded out.
The Allies and Soviets both on the back foot?
"The force that's pushing them back… don't tell it's the Rising Sun Empire?" Josh asked with a twitching smile.
"Huh? How'd you guess?" Yuri looked surprised. "Yeah, it's them. That new power that popped up out of nowhere—it's the Rising Sun Empire."
How'd I guess?
Oh, buddy… you jumped into the wrong ga! You just skipped straight from Red Alert 2 into Red Alert 3!
Now things were going to be real ssy: Allies, Soviets, Yuri, and the Rising Sun all in one chaotic tiline.
But… this might actually not be such a bad thing for Josh.
Sure, the Rising Sun Empire was obnoxious—but they did have so very nice toys.
--
Join patreon to read ahead!
Reviews
All reviews (0)