"Honestly, do you really not know the locations of any other Hydra bases?"
Howard asked softly, watching Marcus exercise in front of him.
"I've already told you—I don't know where the other bases are. If I had to guess who might be Hydra, it's just that old man Pierce."
Marcus answered impatiently. He was really getting fed up with Howard. Ever since he'd returned with the vibranium, Howard had been pestering him with questions about Hydra bases.
If Hydra was that easy to find, they would have been wiped out long ago. Even the officers at the base he'd raided probably didn't know the locations of all Hydra facilities. The leaders themselves might not know every hideout.
Seeing that Marcus was sticking to his original answer, Howard fell silent.
He understood that Hydra's survival depended on their secrecy—something that should never be underestimated. As for Pierce, whom Marcus suspected was Hydra, Howard had his doubts but couldn't find any direct evidence. All he could do was remain cautious around Pierce.
"Alright," Howard sighed and pointed to the pickup truck's cargo box. "Your equipment is ready."
After bringing back the vibranium, Marcus had handed the mysterious metal to Howard and asked him to build a set of equipment.
Howard had readily agreed. Using the analyzed Kree technology as a foundation, he'd crafted a combat suit for Marcus using the vibranium.
Though it was based on Kree designs, both the appearance and functions were quite different. Compared to Kree battle suits, the vibranium version had fewer features.
The vibranium suit's function was elegantly simple: it could absorb any form of attack energy, store it, and release it when the wearer chose to.
The suit had consumed about half of the vibranium. Howard had alloyed the remaining half with other metals in specific proportions.
Though this diluted the vibranium's effects somewhat, it still met Howard's needs. He'd also created special protective equipment for himself and Maria. This was the real reason he'd ventured out of the farm.
He'd also rebuilt Bucky's mechanical arm using vibranium alloy, strengthening its power and adding several new functions to help Bucky handle different situations.
Howard's battle suit gleamed with metallic luster, shining with golden highlights in the sunlight—not exactly what Marcus wanted. It practically announced his position to any potential enemies.
Seeing Marcus's puzzled expression, Howard stepped closer to explain.
"This is just the default appearance of the battle suit. You can change its look however you want!"
As he spoke, he pressed the edge of the vibranium wristband and gently stroked it. An energy grid materialized over Marcus's arm.
Now Marcus understood how to operate it. This was technology from the Kree battle suits—the ability to modify the suit's appearance through a control grid.
After a few experimental adjustments, the battle suit transformed to a light gray color with dark blue metal accents along the seams.
"Now that feels right!"
Marcus nodded with satisfaction. He was very pleased with the suit.
"One more thing," Howard said to Marcus and Bucky. "I'm planning to hold a funeral."
???
This statement stunned both of them. What did he mean about holding a funeral? Were they planning to die?
Seeing their shocked expressions, Howard smiled and explained.
"Maria and I plan to fade from Hydra's sight by faking our deaths. I've been preparing for this over the past few years."
Ever since Hydra had sent Bucky to attack them, Howard had been contemplating how to change their vulnerable position.
Hydra's infiltration ran too deep, and he couldn't find a way to destroy them completely. Though Marcus had taken out one base, nobody knew how many more existed. It was certainly not the only one.
So after the attack, Howard had started making preparations. If he couldn't destroy Hydra, he would make himself disappear from public view.
This was the real reason he'd been questioning Marcus about Hydra bases. Now that the body double he'd developed was ready, it wouldn't be long before he and Maria "died" one after another.
Understanding Howard's plan, Marcus and Bucky realized this was a clever way to evade Hydra.
"That's a solid idea, but there needs to be a believable reason for your death, right? You can't just suddenly die without explanation."
"You're absolutely right. Remember when you brought back the vibranium, and Maria suddenly became seriously ill?" Howard smiled. "From that moment, we started our performance. We used the attacks as our excuse—claiming we were both severely frightened, and Maria's health deteriorated because of it.
After all, we're both getting old. After experiencing violent attacks, it's perfectly normal for our bodies to develop problems due to stress, isn't it?"
This made sense. Howard and Maria were elderly, especially Howard. He'd become a father to Tony in his fifties, and now he was in his seventies. It wouldn't be surprising if he died from health complications following traumatic events.
"Okay, so how do you plan to pull this off?"
Though Howard's plan was solid, execution was critical. Their deaths needed to seem completely natural to everyone.
"Since I'm older, I'll fake my death first. In a few days, I'll appear to suffer heart complications and fall into a coma. You'll rush my body double to the hospital for emergency treatment. You must show appropriate anxiety!
As for Maria, she'll need a bit more time."
Howard's choices were calculated. First, being older made heart problems believable after two traumatic incidents. A heart attack would be a natural cause that wouldn't raise suspicion. Second, since he was Hydra's primary target, he needed to disappear from their radar as quickly as possible.
A few days later, Howard suddenly developed heart problems. When Marcus rushed him to the hospital, his clothes were soaked with sweat, and he had fallen into a coma.
After emergency treatment, Howard was temporarily stabilized and placed in the intensive care unit.
"This double is impressive," Marcus thought to himself as he looked at 'Howard' lying on the hospital bed. "Apart from lacking consciousness, it's practically identical to Howard in every way."
The body double had been developed by Howard using advanced biotechnology. Its physical condition perfectly matched Howard's own body. If Marcus hadn't known it was essentially an inanimate object, he would have thought it was Howard's clone.
Although this 'Howard' had all the internal organs, they were actually sophisticated fakes—tissue constructs designed to fool medical staff.
And fool them it did. Howard had successfully deceived the hospital staff, convincing everyone that elderly Howard Stark had developed heart disease due to the stress of surviving violent attacks.
News of his condition spread across the country, with many expressing sympathy for the Stark family. Even the hidden Hydra operatives were caught by surprise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at [email protected]/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
New fanfic :
Marvel : The God Of Punishment System
I Am Raditz
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~