A little later, they moved into the main room of the hideout.
Natasha sat near the table. Steve stayed close to the wall after everything that had happened on the bridge. Sam leaned against a metal cabinet and kept looking around the room.
Adam sat near them with Lodestar's power still active in his body. He could feel the metal in the walls and in the lights above him. The sense made the room feel open, as if steel could not hide from him.
He looked down at the Omnitrix.
'No fight happens here.' Adam thought. 'This place is safe for now. I don't need to waste transformation time.'
He pressed the symbol on his chest. Green light flashed once. The magnetic pressure vanished from his senses, and his body returned to normal.
For a second, Adam felt weak again. He hated that feeling. Saving time mattered more.
Sam noticed the change. "You can turn it off whenever you want?"
"Sometimes," Adam said.
Sam waited for more. Adam only looked at him.
Before Sam could ask again, Nick Fury walked into the room with a stiff step. Maria came in behind him and placed a hard case on the table.
Natasha looked at Fury first. "We have to stop the launch."
Fury nodded once. "The Council is not taking my calls anymore."
He opened the case. Inside were three small chips. Each chip sat in its own slot.
Sam pointed at the case. "What is that?"
Maria stepped closer to the table. "Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they link with the Insight satellites. After that, they are fully armed."
Steve looked at the chips.
Maria continued, "We have to get inside the carriers and replace their targeting hardware with ours."
Adam did not ask anything.
He already knew this part. These chips were the only way to turn Hydra's own weapons against them. Asking questions would only slow the scene down.
Maria looked at Steve. "All three have to be changed. If even one carrier stays under Hydra control, a lot of people die."
Sam's face tightened. Natasha lowered her eyes to the case.
Fury closed the lid halfway and looked at Steve. "We assume everyone on those ships is Hydra. We get past them and insert the chips. If we are lucky, we save what is left."
Steve lifted his head, and the shock from the bridge left his face.
"We are not saving what is left," Steve said.
Fury looked at him.
Steve stepped away from the wall. "We are not only taking down those Helicarriers. We are taking down S.H.I.E.L.D. too."
Fury's face hardened. "S.H.I.E.L.D. did not do this."
"Hydra grew inside it," Steve said. "It grew under your nose and under everyone else's."
Fury started to answer.
Steve did not let him take the room back. "You gave me this mission. This is where it leads."
No one spoke for a second.
Then Adam raised his hand a little. "I agree with him."
Fury's eye moved to Adam.
Adam leaned forward. "If you knew Hydra was inside, you still could not stop it from inside. I am proof of that."
Fury stayed silent.
Adam kept his voice low. "Your people watched me. They hunted me. They tried to control me while wearing the same badge. If that system stays standing, someone else uses it again."
Steve looked at Adam. Natasha did too.
Fury turned his head toward Maria.
Maria met his look. "He's right. Steve is right too."
Fury stared at the case on the table. His face stayed hard, but the argument ended there.
"Looks like you are giving the orders now, Captain," Fury said.
After that, the room stayed busy for a while.
Maria marked the entry paths while Fury explained the security around the carriers. Steve asked only what he needed, and Sam checked his gear twice.
Adam stayed near the table and watched the plan form around the original timeline. It was still close enough.
He did not like the plan. Walking into Hydra's base sounded stupid. He kept that thought to himself because the path still needed to stay close.
Some time later, Steve left the hideout. When he returned, he was wearing the old Captain America uniform.
Adam looked at him once and almost smiled.
'If you are going to fight a war, wear the uniform.'
No one needed to say it.
The final split was decided soon after. Steve would go toward the Helicarriers, with Sam covering him from above. Maria would keep the route open while Adam joined that side.
Fury and Natasha would go another way.
That part also matched the direction Adam remembered. The only change was that he had been placed near the loudest side of the mission.
Natasha looked at Adam when that was decided. "Try not to make the building fall down."
Adam touched his chest like he had been insulted. "I am hurt that you think I would do that by accident."
"I did not say by accident."
Adam opened his mouth, then closed it. "Fair."
The next scene shifted to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base.
The Triskelion stood ahead of them like a wall of glass and steel. Far beyond it, the launch area waited with the Helicarriers hidden below.
Adam reached the far side of the base with Steve. Sam moved above them, and Maria stayed near the entry route.
Adam stopped for a second and looked at the building.
There would be cameras here. There would be agents watching from inside. After today, every person tied to this mess would be dragged into the light.
Adam remembered the giant form he had used before.
This time, he wanted people to see.
Adam smiled.
"I hope this place has as many cameras as possible," Adam said quietly. "And as many eyes."
Steve looked back at him. "Adam?"
Adam did not answer.
He looked down at the Omnitrix and twisted the dial. The symbol locked.
Adam raised his hand.
Then he pressed the Omnitrix.
Green light burst out around Adam.