"Things have been unstable lately," the new HYDRA leader said calmly, "but everything remains under our control."
"Yes, sir."
Agent Sitwell nodded immediately.
Together, the two men descended deeper into the underground facility.
The true purpose of the Insight Program had never been public knowledge.
Officially, it was presented as a planetary defense initiative designed to identify threats before they emerged.
In reality, it was something far more terrifying.
By analyzing a person's entire life history, the system attempted to predict whether they might someday become a threat to social stability.
And if the answer was yes?
The Helicarriers would eliminate them before they ever acted.
The program processed everything.
Books someone had read.
Music they listened to.
Films they watched.
Organizations they joined.
Social media posts they shared, liked, or reposted.
Emails.
Phone calls.
Text messages.
Employment records.
Educational background.
Medical history.
Blood type.
Psychological patterns.
Even seemingly meaningless behavioral details.
Modern society left data trails everywhere. Satellites watched from above while cameras observed nearly every public space on Earth.
That was the true horror of big data.
The Lemurian Star, meanwhile, wasn't just a ship.
It was a satellite launch vessel.
A critical component of the Insight Program.
The real core of the project was the three Insight Satellites. The launch ship existed specifically to deploy them efficiently into orbit.
Why launch from the ocean?
Because positioning near the equator required less fuel to achieve orbital insertion. It was faster, cheaper, and allowed the satellites to remain operational longer.
And so, while the Insight Program advanced quietly, S.W.O.R.D. successfully launched two of the three satellites into orbit.
Drex Valen never interfered.
After allā¦
This was HYDRA's final carnival.
Now, the third and final satellite was preparing for launch.
Agent Sitwell arrived personally to oversee the operation.
He had waited a very long time for this moment.
As both a S.W.O.R.D. operative and a HYDRA infiltrator, Sitwell carried an extremely important mission:
Inject a hidden program into the satellite network itself.
That code was the true foundation of Insight.
HYDRA's future depended on it.
The assignment had come directly from the new leader of American HYDRA, and because of its sensitivity, Sitwell had to complete it himself.
Only after he personally watched the final Insight Satellite disappear into the atmosphere did he finally relax.
Still, even HYDRA understood that now was not the ideal time to activate the system.
Because Drex Valen still existed.
No one genuinely believed the Insight Helicarriers could kill him.
If that had been possible, the Chitauri invasion would have finished the job already.
And thenā¦
Drex announced something that shocked the entire world.
Something that delighted HYDRA beyond belief.
"I will be stepping down as Director of S.W.O.R.D."
The United Nations was stunned.
Why?
Everything had been running perfectly.
No one had even pressured him politically.
If anything, Drex had spent most of his tenure making world leaders miserable rather than the other way around.
Representatives from Atlantis and Wakanda both strongly urged him to reconsider.
They were serious.
If Drex resigned, there was no telling how the next S.W.O.R.D. director might treat them.
But despite worldwide appeals, political concessions, and endless negotiations from the UN, Drex refused every offer.
Then, without hesitation, he transferred full authority over S.W.O.R.D.
To him, the role had already outlived its usefulness.
Umbrella Corporation was becoming a global superpower in its own right. Compared to playing superhero administrator, building the world's most powerful corporate empire sounded much more interesting.
Besides, he'd already sold Zaku mobile suits to governments worldwide.
Earth could survive without him babysitting it constantly.
HYDRA reacted instantly.
The position of S.W.O.R.D. Director carried unimaginable authority.
Frankly speaking, even the President of the United States couldn't compare.
It was arguably the single most powerful office on Earth.
Naturally, HYDRA wanted it desperately.
Unfortunately for them, Drex moved faster.
Before anyone fully understood what was happening, he made another announcement:
Captain America had been found alive.
And moments later, Steve Rogers himself appeared before the public once again.
The living legend.
The war hero frozen for over seventy years.
With overwhelming public support and Drex's direct recommendation, Steve Rogers officially became the new Director of S.W.O.R.D.
HYDRA was blindsided.
Completely.
There was no time to react.
Originally, they had prepared political strategies for opponents like Nick Fury, Tony Stark, or possibly General Ross.
Instead, a dead man from World War II suddenly returned and took the position effortlessly.
And somehowā¦
Everyone accepted it.
Even though Drex Valen had completely eclipsed Steve's popularity by now, Captain America still occupied a unique place in the American psyche.
Entire generations had grown up listening to stories about him.
Aside from Tony Stark, who might complain on principle, almost nobody objected to Steve's appointment.
Most superheroes were also perfectly willing to follow his leadership.
That was partially Drex's doing.
The version of Captain America he had cultivated over time was practically engineered for this role. Steve represented integrity, fairness, sacrifice, and absolute devotion to humanity.
No selfish ambition.
No corruption.
No personal agenda.
Exactly what people wanted from the head of S.W.O.R.D.
And with Nick Fury remaining as deputy director while Tony Stark continued serving as the loudest professional critic in the room, the organization's leadership structure became unexpectedly stable.
A three-way balance.
HYDRA could only watch in disbelief as the position slipped through their fingers.
And there was nothing they could realistically do about it.
After settling the transition, Drex shifted his attention elsewhere.
Specifically:
The shattered remains of the Curse Warrior.
Now that the Reality Stone was in his possession, replicating Curse Warriors suddenly seemedā¦ possible.
Naturally, HYDRA and several world governments strongly opposed allowing Drex to take custody of the corpse.
But Drex's influence still loomed too large.
In the end, the United Nations quietly approved the transfer.
After all, humanity had already captured numerous living Dark Elves. Most believed they could eventually extract the necessary technology from them anyway.
Unfortunately, they misunderstood how Curse Warriors were created.
The transformation required fragments of the Reality Stone itself.
And Malekith had already used the final Curse Stone on Algrim.
After studying the remains, Drex quickly understood the underlying principle.
The so-called Curse Stone was essentially created through a wish granted by the Reality Stone itself.
A super-soldier fueled by catastrophic life-force consumption.
Even Dark Elves couldn't maintain that state forever.
Eventually, the user would burn through their own existence completely.
Fortunately for Drex, that weakness barely mattered.
Because he possessed the Power Stone.
Among the Infinity Stones, the Power Stone served as the perfect energy source for the others, dramatically reducing strain on the wielder during activation.
Drex himself already possessed enough raw power to sustain the Infinity Stones independently.
Stillā¦
Having the Power Stone share the burden was convenient.