Book One of the Shadows Series: Shadow of Redemption

The Plan

The room was filled with a heavy silence as Sam, Bucky, Yelena, Clint, Doctor Strange, Bruce Banner, and Pepper Potts sat around the large conference table. The holographic display in the center of the table showed various profiles and notes, the culmination of their recent findings.

Sam started the meeting, his voice steady and authoritative. "Alright, everyone. We've gathered a lot of information from the hard drive the Young Avengers retrieved. Let's go over what we know."

Bucky leaned forward, his eyes scanning the profiles. "HYDRA's Shadow Operatives program had six main agents running the show. The most notable one is the Viper, the Russian in charge of the Shadow Operatives and head of the base where Sera came from."

Doctor Strange nodded, his expression grim. "I've heard about her before from the sanctums in their universe. Viper is ruthless. She's known for her manipulative tactics and her ability to inspire fear. We need to be extremely careful if we're going to take her down." Pepper looked concerned. "And what about the children? Have we identified all of them?"

Sam nodded, bringing up a list of twenty names. "Yes, we've identified all twenty children who were experimented on. Most of them are either missing or presumed dead, but a few, like Joshua and the Blackwell sisters, are still out there." Yelena's eyes narrowed. "Tell us about Joshua." Sam clicked a button, and Joshua's face appeared on the screen. "Joshua was in the same cell as the Blackwell sisters, Evangeline and Seraphina. Our notes suggest he formed a close bond with them."

Bucky's gaze hardened. "So, he's another victim like Sera."

"Not just a victim," Bruce added. "This kid has been brainwashed and manipulated just as severely. He's a potential ally, but also a significant threat if he's under HYDRA's control." Clint leaned back, crossing his arms. "So what's the plan? How do we bring them in?" Sam looked around the room, ensuring everyone's attention. "We need to set a trap. We lure them out with information they can't resist and capture them. We'll use the intel we've gathered to our advantage."

Sam agreed. "Absolutely. But those aren't the only two we have to watch out for. From what we've learned, they travel with six highly trained agents or scientists. They're all Russians like Viper. Here's what we know about the five main agents apart from the Viper and Joshua: Dr. Christoph Adelstein, we all know who he is and we also know that he's out of the equation. Then, there's Katina Pavlovna. She's a master infiltrator and assassin with close ties to the Viper. Next we have Dmitri Volkov. This guy is known for his brutal interrogation methods and physical enhancements. Tatiana Petrova, who is a skilled tactician and explosives expert. And finally, there is Mikhail Ivanov. He's a notable cyber warfare specialist, responsible for HYDRA's technological advancements. Now these guys aren't all just scientists. They are extremely well trained in multiple methods of combat. They hardly ever take prisoners and most certainly leave no one alive. Even if they did, from what we know about their questioner, the prisoners would have rather died."

Yelena leaned back, her mind working through the information. "We need to hit them hard and fast. If we can isolate them in a controlled environment, we might be able to take them down one by one."

Clint agreed. "We also need to trap them. Use their own tactics against them. If we can create a scenario where they think they have the upper hand, we could ambush them.

Sam concluded, "Let's start planning. We'll need to coordinate with the Young Avengers and make sure everyone's on the same page. This is going to be a team effort."

Suddenly, Thor entered the room, Stormbreaker slung over his shoulders. "I think this calls for a party." he said, grinning widely.