Marvel: Trading with Worlds

For the people of HYDRA, no matter how great the benefits are, nothing is as valuable as a "Hail HYDRA."

The greater the benefits outsiders offer, the more they arouse HYDRA's greed. HYDRA rarely cooperates with outsiders. 

They will either absorb you into the organization as a peripheral member or use various methods to control you.

That said, Kain's methods are too unique, and he commands too many super soldiers.

The military wiped out a squad in the Middle East, only for Kain to turn around and form a new squad of super soldiers.

Betty Ross is always accompanied by two super soldier bodyguards.

Kain also owns a military security company under the Umbrella Corporation.

It's said this company takes orders from only two people: Betty Ross and Kain himself.

No one knows how many super soldiers are hidden within the company. The level of secrecy is extremely high, and its personnel are difficult to bribe.

Even contacting Umbrella's mercenaries draws attention, which proves that Kain also possesses incredibly powerful intelligence-gathering capabilities.

Moreover, Kain's sudden disappearance from a room added to Malik's suspicions that he might have superhuman abilities. 

However, after Kain casually said, "Hail HYDRA," Malik's wariness significantly diminished.

Malik then invited Kain to another meeting, this time with genuine sincerity.

HYDRA is determined to get its hands on Wakanda. They even have plans to escalate Wakanda's threat rating.

Their strategy is to sacrifice two Level 5 S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and a team of U.S. military personnel near Wakanda—similar to HYDRA's previous tactics when they wanted to gather intelligence and establish a foothold against the Ten Rings. 

This forced the U.S. military to deploy more troops, while the Ten Rings, unwilling to be exposed and unsuited for large-scale warfare, withdrew from the Middle East after losing a few strongholds.

HYDRA has since taken over those territories, and now Malik intends to apply the same strategy to Wakanda.

It's undeniable that the U.S. military is the most powerful force on Earth. Any of its actions can be labeled as 'legitimate,' a privilege that HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. do not possess. 

The International Security Council also tends to accept U.S. military operations without much scrutiny—after all, most of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s funding comes from wealthy, powerful nations.

"Kain, if we'd known you were a friend of HYDRA sooner, our cooperation could have started much earlier," Malik said, setting down his knife and fork. 

The steak was perfectly grilled today, perhaps matching his good mood at having gained a valuable new ally.

"I assume you plan to manufacture a large number of new weapons," Malik continued. "It's difficult to support large-scale arms production through Osborn's channels alone. These two companies should meet your requirements and complement Osborn—especially with Pent Group's steel alloy supply chain."

"I am also part of HYDRA's secret power. If I weren't forced to..."

Kain pretended to be a loyal HYDRA operative, playing the role like an Oscar-winning actor. Malik truly believed Kain was an old member of the organization.

Kain then took the file from Malik and instructed red queen to initiate the transfer of the two companies during the review.

The companies were indeed substantial in scale, with operations in several resource-rich countries. The Red Queen didn't detect any red flags, unless they were hidden exceptionally well. 

But even HYDRA would struggle to cover something so thoroughly that the Red Queen couldn't uncover it within a few days.

"These two companies are impressive," Kain said, flipping through the documents. "But if you're offering them just for some super soldier serum, that seems like an overpayment. Mr. Malik, what else do you want?"

Kain made it clear he didn't fully trust Malik's generosity toward someone he had just met. It was better to lay everything out on the table.

"The follow-up development materials for the Extremis virus serum, as well as new energy weapon designs," Malik replied without hesitation. "Kain, I know there's an ongoing development plan for the Extremis virus. I want to trade these two companies for access to that information."

The researchers and developers working on the Extremis virus serum were based in Kain's Biological Research Center. The serum's formula was a closely guarded secret, and no other organizations had managed to acquire it thus far.

After listening to Malik's proposal, Kain set down his knife and fork, frowning slightly.

"Mr. Malik, the Extremis virus serum is the core product of my biopharmaceutical company. Its current valuation is nearly $100 billion. If the serum were to leak…"

He trailed off, letting the implication hang in the air.

"We will never allow even the smallest trace of it to enter the civilian market," Malik assured him quickly. "In fact, our goal is to cultivate our own super soldiers. If we achieve that, we'll have more power to confront Wakanda—and we can both benefit from the spoils."

Malik knew his request was excessive, so he sweetened the deal:

"If you think this isn't enough, I'm willing to offer more."

HYDRA's influence was vast, but it lacked a reliable superhuman strike force. A single super soldier could determine the outcome of a mission; a squad of them could sway the tide of an entire war.

Had it not been for prior intel from the Ten Rings and a well-planned ambush, HYDRA wouldn't have been able to eliminate the military's super soldier squad so easily.

After lengthy negotiations, Malik and Kain finally reached an agreement. Malik offered control of a mining conglomerate ranked thirteenth globally in exchange for the detailed formula of the Extremis virus serum and its developmental data.

….

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