Chapter Fifty-Two: Sokovia

Arthur arrived in an Eastern European country, traveling leisurely and not rushing his journey. He savored the local customs and cuisine of Italy. True to its reputation, Eastern Europe offered truly beautiful scenery, and the pasta, pizza, ham, and grilled sausages were all delicious, a refreshing change for Arthur, who was used to eating seafood.

Dressed like a tourist, Arthur wore sunglasses, a shirt, casual pants, and carried a Stark-customized waterproof backpack, with a compact camera hanging around his neck. At eighteen, he already stood at six foot three, with sun-kissed skin and short golden hair. His tall, slender frame made him a textbook example of a handsome young man, and he caught the eyes of many beauties as he walked the streets.

Before setting off, Arthur had met with Peter Parker, letting him know he had returned. Like everyone else, Peter had been shocked to see Arthur—as if he'd seen a ghost—but after the initial surprise, he was genuinely happy.

Arthur found himself alone in a small town near Italy’s border and went into a café to rest for a while.

“Is there anything I can get for you, sir?” A fair-skinned, beautiful waitress approached him.

“I’ll have a coffee. Do you have any specialty drinks here?” Arthur asked.

“Our ice cream is particularly famous. Would you like to try some?” The waitress handed Arthur a menu featuring a variety of ice creams.

“I’ll have this one, then. Sorry, but I have a question for you,” Arthur said.

“Of course, sir.” The waitress winked at him playfully.

“How do I get to Sokovia from here?” Arthur inquired.

“To get to Sokovia, just head to the station up ahead and catch a bus. We’re very close; it’s only about an hour’s ride.” The waitress answered.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it!” Arthur handed her a ten-dollar tip.

Sokovia was quite far from the sea and belonged to a colder region, so Arthur decided to take the coach—after all, this was a journey to be savored. He sampled the shop’s Italian gelato, which was indeed delicious; he made a mental note to have Jack try making it back at their own place.

After enjoying his ice cream, Arthur headed to the station to catch the bus. There weren’t many passengers, mostly simple folk, and it was clear that life here was not easy.

An hour later, the bus finally arrived in Sokovia. Arthur got off at the city station and, looking at this small country with just a single city, sensed how hard life was for the people here.

As he walked through the city streets, he noticed many buildings still bore scars of war. The walls were covered with “Stark” crossed out and red drawings of Iron Man—evidently, the people here harbored a deep grudge against the Stark family.

But it was a pity—they had all been deceived by Hydra. It was Hydra, not Tony Stark, that had brought war to this place.

Arthur spotted a castle atop a small hill in the distance. He remembered from the films that this was Hydra’s base; it was so prominent, you could see it from the city itself.

Heading toward the castle, Arthur left the city and entered the woods—the only path to the fortress. He advanced cautiously, extending his psychic senses to detect any movement within a kilometer.

As expected, there were patrols—Arthur sensed four men nearby and quietly moved in their direction...

Hydra soldiers patrolled with submachine guns, but as they passed a tree, a shadow darted out. The last man in the patrol felt a sharp blow to his neck and instantly lost consciousness.

“Who’s there?” The other three spun around, but two were immediately knocked unconscious as Arthur smashed their heads together. The last one tried to fire his weapon but was subdued by Arthur’s mental power.

Arthur snapped the necks of the two unconscious men, then delved into the mind of the last with his psychic abilities, reading his memories. When Arthur had finished, his face darkened.

As he’d suspected, the leader of Hydra here was Baron Strucker. Not only was he conducting scepter experiments and using countless Sokovian poor as test subjects, but what infuriated Arthur most was that they had also captured two Atlanteans for human experimentation!

There was no clue in this man’s memories about how Hydra had found the Atlanteans, but the fact that they’d been captured meant Hydra had set its sights on the underwater kingdom of Atlantis.

Arthur’s impression of Atlantis was not particularly fond, but it was still his father’s homeland—and only he had the right to deal with Atlantis, not anyone else!

Besides, Arthur often claimed Atlantean identity while out in the world—wasn’t this a slap in the face?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He snapped the man’s neck and hurried toward the castle.

…

Arthur arrived at the castle’s perimeter, having already eliminated two patrol squads. Moving any closer would make it impossible to stay undetected.

He approached the castle’s main gate with caution. Two guards stood watch; Arthur rushed forward, taking one down immediately. The other, realizing something was wrong, fired at Arthur.

Enemy attack! The gunshots echoed through the castle, and armed men rushed toward the gate.

The soldier’s weapon hurt Arthur badly—this was no ordinary gun, but an energy weapon crafted from the scepter, and its power was considerable. Arthur knew he couldn’t be surrounded.

He drew his trident and fired an energy blast at the oncoming crowd, sending three men flying. He charged in, swinging the trident; anyone struck went down in two blows—the force behind Arthur’s attacks was enough to break bones.

Yet more and more Hydra soldiers kept coming, firing laser rifles at Arthur. He was forced onto the defensive and finally spotted Baron Strucker among the crowd. Take out the leader first!

Arthur dashed at Strucker with lightning speed and landed a punch to his chest, sending him flying and knocking him out cold.

Seeing their boss defeated, the remaining soldiers panicked. Arthur dove into close combat, his moves sharp and precise, each strike targeting a vital point—swift and ruthless, skills he’d learned from the Winter Soldier.

In moments, over twenty men lay at his feet. The rest cowered inside, firing laser rifles in vain. But Arthur’s psychic powers were formidable; he located each hidden enemy and dealt with them one by one.

When the last foe was down, Arthur found Loki’s scepter in the laboratory. He gazed at it with greedy satisfaction—at last, the Mind Stone was his!

He pried the gem loose and held it in his hand. Unlike the Power Stone’s violent energy, the Mind Stone felt calmer. Reaching out with his psychic sense, Arthur found that the gem could amplify his mental strength—he could even launch psychic attacks now.

He would explore the rest of its powers later; for now, he had to make sure Baron Strucker survived.

Arthur returned to Strucker, slapped him awake, and the baron screamed in agony—Arthur had shattered all his ribs.

With the Mind Stone’s power, Arthur’s mind easily invaded Strucker’s thoughts.

Since acquiring the scepter, Strucker had begun making energy weapons and conducting experiments on humans. The process was fraught with failure—hundreds of Sokovian poor were used as test subjects, but only two survived the scepter’s energy: a pair of siblings.

Dissatisfied, Strucker turned his attention to Atlanteans. He’d learned of Arthur and Atlantis through SHIELD’s classified files. He ordered Hydra’s submarines to invade Atlantis, but the Atlantean army resisted fiercely. Still, Hydra deployed all their new energy-weapon submarines, ultimately destroying the Atlantean kingdom and capturing a handful of survivors for experimentation.

Arthur’s fury boiled over—Atlantis beneath the sea was gone! He had no interest in the rest of Strucker’s memories. Grabbing the baron, he headed to the underground laboratory, where the experimental subjects were held.

…