The six headed HYDRA

by Malcolm Merlyn

The tree of Harmony

"Why to the Everfree forest of all places?" Slade asked as he activated his tactical vision, looking for any telltale clues to where HYDRA may have went. "A few more clicks north of here, and we'll find our nine-headed serpent."

"Well Medic mentioned that there's a lot of things having medicinal value here." Steve replied. Said doctor was currently absent who was back at the tree house working on... something... whatever it was, everyone had been dying to find out for almost eight days, though the doctor wouldn't say a word to anyone. Just lock himself in the attic and refuse to come out unless he REALLY needed to go the bathroom, or grab a bite to eat.

"That guy's more crazy than any HYDRA scientist I've met." Bucky muttered.

"Man's probably smarter than all of them put together." Slade commented as he kept tracking HYDRA. "They invented laser beams to kill people? How original. That man invented a laser beam that heals people."

"At this rate, he might as well as find a cure to death." Steve joked rather seriously. Peering at Medic's notes the other day... it looked as though HE WAS ACTUALLY PLANNING THAT. "I respect that man."

"As long as he wasn't some god damn goose-stepper, I am fine with him." Bucky said. Truth was... he WASN'T fine with Medic. He was anything BUT FINE with Medic. The heavy German accent, the random bouts of insanity, and perhaps the way he conducted himself and his research gave Bucky rather jarring memories regarding to Nazi Germany and HYDRA. Truth be told, he wouldn't have been surprised if Medic had quite the number of skeletons in his closet...

He would be surprised at how literally that last sentence could actually be taken.

"He's a bit creepy..." Erica commented. "He was asking for my blood the other day... Steve... is he a vampire or something?"

"Vampire? No... not to my knowledge..." Captain America replied. "I mean... he asked for my blood too..."

"Did you give to him?"

"You think I trust that screwball with my blood?"

"No."

"Exactly. He wanted Slade's blood too... obviously, Slade didn't give it to him. Though... Sanya did give him some of her blood... what he did with it, I don't really want to find out. I am glad that guy's on our side and all, but sometimes, he just makes me feel VERY uncomfortable."

The story of how Bucky was feeling with half of the people he was currently working with....

"He does seem maybe a bit crazy..." Trude began. "But I don't think he means any harm. Besides... why would he come all the way here to help peo... horses that he..."

"He's getting paid." Slade chuckled. "He's a merc. I am getting paid as well."

"Wait... you two came here because you were going to get paid for this?" Barkhorn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes... I make a living this way... so does Medic." Slade said. "Though I am certain Captain Star-spangles and his pal here came out of the goodness of their hearts right? Fighting oppression and tyranny! And Nazis..."

"The story of my life." Captain America muttered. To be honest... he still had unfinished business with Rumlow and with various treacherous agents of SHIELD. Bucky too from the way he spoke had some unfinished business with this baron... whatever his name was that he seemed unable to remember. Besides... even if a few vendettas weren't being held, they would have had to come here anyways to stop HYDRA. Though... what were the reasons that Erica and Gertrud came here? They weren't getting paid... at least not from what Trude implied and surely no one had a personal thing with HYDRA since they didn't exist now... right?

It wasn't really his business... so he stopped thinking about it. Though... Slade would give him more than enough reason to drop what he was thinking.

"Heat signatures indicated that HYDRA landed down there..." Slade said as they arrived in a massive chasm. He looked down.

The sounds of vaporizer rifles and machine gun fire filled his eardrums.

"It's a total massacre down there." Bucky commented as he took his binoculars, in his hands, he gripped his SCAR tightly, looking down at the sight of the "battle" that was horrendously one sided and in the favor of HYDRA. The very prospect of that thought caused him to grip his gun so tightly, his knuckles hurt.

"Think we can take all of them?" Erica asked as she readied her MP40 and took a casual look around. Down in the chasm... was a tree... a tree with six very familiar jewels to Steve and Slade.

"Not yet... there's something I think we're missing here... Slade... you remember last time how some huge dragon was after these things called the Elements of Harmony?"

"I see them Captain... it looks like these HYDRA guys are after them." Slade said pointing at the tree, a retrieval team of sorts was gathered around it, attempting to take the elements whilest the rest of them kept the large royal guard contingent busy... though it was clear to anyone that if this "fight" kept up, that "large" royal guard contingent wasn't going to be so large anymore. Judging from all the bodies on the ground, Celestia really took defending the elements quite seriously. It was rather surprising to just about anyone she still had this many guards posted at the tree, even after spreading them out to defend Equestria against HYDRA.

"Think we can manage to pull this one off? Doesn't look like HYDRA's got a lot of guys down there... I count maybe fifty."

"We can take them..." Erica said as she loaded her SMG with a grin. "That... the guy in the mask... and that one in the hood..."

"Brock Rumlow..." Steve murmured. "Looks like he's doing more of HYDRA's dirty work."

"So... what do we do?"

Simple..." Bucky said, cutting off what Captain America had wanted to say. "Slade... you're the best shot. Cover us."

This SOUNDED like the beginning to a plan right?
RIGHT?!

Only thing was... he stopped talking here, grabbed his assault rifle, and jumped straight down to the stone steps and practically charged HYDRA. So much for a good plan...

"Well...." Slade began, as he fired the first shot off from his sniper rifle. "Aren't you guys gonna help him?"

"God damn it Bucky..." Steve muttered as he found a good place. "You two... Barkhorn, I want it to snow bullets on them. Got it?"

"Gotcha." Trude said. "Any place you want me to be?"

"Anywhere that's going to do the most damage." Steve grinned. "Erica, with me."

"Gotcha!"

"Let's move!"

"Like fighting a bunch of overgrown children toys!" Eric Williams (AKA Reaper) commented as his kick sent a pony flying, straight into a mob of other members of the royal guard which knocked them aside like ninepins. The only real issue that HYDRA faced when tasked against this midget army of warhorses was that there seemed no end to them. If anything... THEIR slogan should have been "cut off one head, two more will take it's place" considering that's literally the situation Reaper had actually found himself in just a few moments back.

"Doesn't matter. We got this." The man underneath the skull mask commented as his long stun baton swung across, hitting a pony aside as though he was a golf ball. Turning around, he grinned as he watched the royal guard, so unyielding in their duty, despite how futile the fight was. Kinda reminded him of someone...

A bright blur of a red and blue shield flew in, and hit one of his men senseless.

ANNNNNNNNNNNNDDDD... THAT SOMEONE IS HERE.