Ollie placed his folders upon the podium and made a quick glance towards each of his agents. Roy Harper is sitting at the farthest top level of the seats, with headphones on and his feet dangling over the chairs in front of him. Ollie sighed and wished that, if not for himself then for his young daughter Lian's sake, he would start acting more responsible. Ollie knew better, Roy was Roy. A few rows in front of him sits John Henry, picking his teeth with a knife while humming ‘Mack The Knife'. A crude man, to be sure, but his near invulnerability and high endurance made his ‘borrowing' from delta-level imperative. Sasha Martens and Rachel Leighton sat together in the front row, talking in whispered conversation and giggling like schoolgirls. Finally Ollie turned towards the far exit and noticed Duchess standing against the wall, seemingly annoyed having to wait for the meeting to begin. She perplexed Ollie. She had come over with Karin Grace and Ben from Suicide Squad. She seems to be suffering from amnesia. He is also super-strong, near impossible to hurt, and build some of the meanest firearms Ollie has ever seen.

Ollie decided it was time to start the show, "Okay Roy, take off your headset and join the world please. As you all can see we are a little under-staffed at the moment, so John Henry has joined us from Delta. We have a mission, kids, and you are just going to LOVE it. This one is strictly a CLASS 4."

At the mention of Class 4, groans and moans elevated from both Sasha and Roy. Class 4 missions, by definition, are the ones where the enemy is an unknown, and strange phenomenon is usually involved. There are no simple terrorists, evil dictators, or even villainous super-groups as your enemies. Class 4 means stuff like alien sightings, ghosts, killer jumbo frogs, and other similar troubles best left to super-hero types.

"Alright children, control your enthusiasm, it is gonna get worse before it gets better", Oliver declared as he picked up his clicker and a picture of Eastern Europe appeared on the screen. " This is Bulgaria, and its northern cousin, the recently independent Republic of Vlatavia. I am sure, either thanks to briefings or to our trip there last year, that both these countries are entrenched in civil unrest and poverty. Well, something worse is now going on there as well."

"This was the village of Pleven over a month ago. The village was home to about a hundred pheasants, a small poverty-stricken farm community." Ollie showed several slides of men, women, and children wandered through dirt streets, in front of poorly created hovels. The people carried fruits and vegetables, or walked goats and cows along the main road.

Ollie presented the next slide, "…and this was Pleven two weeks ago." The slide showed the same main road and homes in the other slides, with one notable exception. No animals were in these pictures. No people were in them either. "The entire village of Pleven has disappeared. No men, no women, and no children could be found. All disappeared completely off the face of the planet."

Agent Martens looked at the slides puzzled, "They move?"

"That is a negative, Sasha. No neighboring villages with relatives reported any visitors. These people seem to have disappeared. Vlatavian soldiers reported that it appears that there were some signs of struggle in homes, but all personal belongings appeared to still be in homes. The United Nations sent in a special team from Disease Control, but no unordinary contagens or viruses were detected."

Agent Harper saw this as his opportunity to chime in, "was it aliens abduction there sir?"

"Not very likely. Seven nights ago, the neighboring village of Koslov suffered a similar fate. This time we had the SHIELD Satellite focused on the area. This is what we found when we watched the infra-red cameras.." The Agents watched as the satellite focused on several homes bunched tightly together. Inside each home was between three and six ‘red dots', each indicating a lifeform, probably human. The agents watched as the dots began to move about in commotion in their homes, then some disappeared while others appeared to literally fly out of their homes and away.

Ollie then switched to a different screen and turned once more to his agents. "Strange right? Well, we also filmed the same every using several different cameras, and this is what the motion cameras detected…" the agents watched in disbelief as a wide-angle shot of the full village filled the screen. Suddenly, large numbers of blips appeared on the screen, seeming to surround the city, then moving in rapidly. The same homes as before were shown, but this time the motion cameras showed additional presences. They seemed to be relatively similar in size to the human occupants, but they moved at super speeds. They were upon the occupants instantly. Some of the occupants appeared to be killed, while others were left alive. All occupants were whisked away, somewhere off the screens, at very high speeds.

Agent Martens crinkled her nose in astonishment, "what the hell were those?"

Ollie continued with his briefing, "Good question Sasha. At first we thought they were robots, but the tech-boys informed me that any known robots would have given off enough heat to show up on infra red. Same with any alien races we know of. We also considered humans with anti-infra red detectors, but humans don't move that fast, and any technology should have given off heat."

Agent Harper began to form an idea about where this might be heading, "Uh, Ollie…you are not going where I think you are, are you? This is Eastern Europe, not that far from historic Transalvania. These attacks taking place at night? We aren't talking blood-suckers are we?"

The rest of the group eyed Ollie cautiously. Ollie seemed to roll his eyes and bite his lip, a sign most of the team knew as a preliminary to Ollie annoyance.

"That is exactly what both the Romanian and Vlatavian governments seem to think. They have instituted martial law in both countries, and a curfew pre-sundown. We have been asked to go and investigate. Whatever they are, they seem to be moving in a pattern, and if the boys in Data Analysis are correct, this little village of Vasui is next. So, we are all going to go investigate."

John Henry let out a large laugh that seemed to come straight from his belly, and pull all the other operatives from their own awe, "You mean we are gonna go out with stakes and mallets and until down Dracula an' all his brothers?"

Ollie smiled and looked around to each off his operatives, "Oh, I think we have some hardware a little more powerful in mind…"

Ollie then turned to his operatives and spoke, "okay boys and girls, Ben is gonna explain some new gadgets that we are taking into the field with us on this mission. Pay attention, ‘cause afterwards we are gonna test these babies."

Ben then took off his glasses and placed them in his lab pocket. He then pushed a button on a small clicker in his left hand, and a door slid open in the far wall. Assistants wheeled out a suit of armor, blue and silver in color, and very sleek, and high-tech looking.

Ben smiled as he addressed the agents, "This is the Guardian Mark 5 battle suit. The back jets enable the user flight at speeds of up to 20 mph. Graviton boots, backed by the rear propulsion system allow for hover capabilities, and compensate for the suit's heaviness. The suits are adamantium shells on the head and chest pieces, with steel and kevlar mesh reinforcement everywhere else. All suits have universal translators, relay radios, and sight capabilities that include infra red, ultraviolet, and heat-sensing. All suits provide medical readouts visible to both the wearer and viewers aboard whatever vessel you are using. The suits utilize stealth technology and are invisible to infra red screening. In order to keep the suits lightweight; weaponry has been kept to a minimum. There are three powerful mini-rockets on the right-arm and a small laser on the left. There is a built-in targeter, which are voice-activated and usable with nearly all-available SHIELD firearms. Now when you are out in the field in these, be careful please, each suit cost ten times more than any of us make in a year."

Both Duchess and John Henry seem to turn to Ollie in unison, but he beat them to the punch, "Everybody is gonna wear these suits on this mission…EXCEPT Duchess and Agent Henry. I know that I would never get either of you to stay in those suits. You will both be equipped with flight packs to keep up with the team though, and I expect them to be worn and used properly. As for weaponry, due to out relative lack of knowledge regarding our enemies, we are gonna use flame throwers, incendiary grenades, and some nasty little guns that Duchess and the boys at Tech created just for this occasion. Plus, all of you will carry standard SHIELD narco-jet pistols, though the tips will be acid-laced. This isn't a peace-keeping mission here, kids, if these are blood suckers, then we need to kill them good. Okay, everybody head down the exercise room on level 3, we have some new toys to learn to play with."

Senator Cray pulled the keys from his pocket and opened the door to his personal office. As the door creak, he looked around the hall, something that was completely unnecessary considering he knew no one except him would still be here this late at night. Cray shut the door behind him, locking it, and moved to the bar to pour himself a stiff drink. Seeking out his personal favorite, Crown Royale, he poured himself a double and gulped it down quickly, savoring the elixir as it slid down his throat. Then he slowly slipped into his leather chair and pulled his computer close to him. He slowly began to tap a special program, which he had been taught that would, with the help of some special devices placed around the office, stop any surveillance equipment from listening to his conversation. He then dialed the number of his "friends", and waited for a response.

Her image appeared on the screen. At first, Senator Cray had found her a very striking young woman. Those gorgeous, green eyes. That long black hair. The slightly yellowed skin that betrayed her oriental blood that flowed through her veins. But now, Joseph Cray knew better. Masked under that outer beauty was one evil woman, who will do anything to achieve her goals. She is Cheshire, head of one of the world's most malicious criminal organizations, Hydra.

She spoke in a slow, seductive drawl that made Cray feel like he was standing in a pit of vipers, "I watched your speech on CNN today Senator, you seem to have them eating out of your palms. Your end of the bargain is progressing well I assume."

Senator Cray attempted to look undaunted by Cheshire's presence, but beads of sweat started to trickle down his brow, "Indeed, it goes very well, Madam Hydra. It seems I have the support of many hard-line right-wingers and my aggressive tactic and ability to bargain has started to chip away at the middle-roaders. I believe that when the time come next year, I should have no problems getting the republican nomination for the United States Presidency. Our objectives should prove fairly easy to accomplish."

Cheshire smiled momentarily, but it seemed more an evil sneer than genuine amusement, "See to it that this continues down that road. You and Hydra have had a long, prosperous relationship. Our aid has helped you achieve many of your life's goals. Now, you have a chance to not only achieve your biggest yet, but also put Hydra in the position of holding power over the most powerful nation in the world. You have my full support do not fail me, Senator"

"I will not Lady Hydra. Our goals are mutually compatible. I will become President, and from there we will destroy SHIELD, take over this country, and then the world. You have my word Lady, we will not fail."

"Excellent, senator. Then our conversation is finished. All Hail Hydra!"

"All Hail Hydra!"

Raven bit her lip as she wondered quite how she had gotten herself into this mess. She was happy maintaining her position as a middle-level bureaucrat in Washington DC, it allowed her access to valuable information without placing herself at any great deal of risk. She was well liked at her job, and was respected by her bosses for her hard work and low complaint factor. They didn't need to know she was the mutant Mystique, former member of Suicide Squad and Freedom Force. They didn't need to know that her true form was midnight blue skin and she had the ability to change her shape into anything she chooses.

Then it happened. Someone within the government discovered her secret. She couldn't understand how, because only a couple of people knew, and they could be trusted. Some mistake had been made, and now Raven would have to pay for it. She had been contacted by Sarge Steel. He told her that her secret would remain safe with him…as long as she did him a favor. Steel explained to her his suspicions about a certain Senator with aspiration of the oval office, and a possible connection to one of the world's more sinister organizations, Hydra. Steel said she had to infiltrate Senator Joseph Cray's staff, and discover the truth. Tonight, after six months within his circle, she had found what she needed. She discovered that Senator Joseph Cray of New York, beloved father and respected businessman, was little more than a puppet for the sinister workings of Cheshire and her Hydra.

Not that Raven would normally care about such things. If the Senator wished to cavort with criminal organizations, more power to him. It is not as though she hadn't spent some time on the wrong side of the law. But this was Hydra. This was Cheshire. Raven hated them both for crimes they had committed on her in the past. They had abducted her, experimented on her, and had it not been for a rescue by SHIELD Agent Sharon Carter, Green Arrow, and Bronze Tiger, they probably would have done far worse. Raven had acquired more than a few enemies in her lifetime, but none caused her blood to boil more than the present Lady Hydra and her cronies.

Raven decided that she was far enough away from Senator Cray's office, and made her way to a dimly lit phone booth. Eyeing the vacant streets cautiously, she quickly pulled a device from her belt and placed it onto the phone box, thereby securing the line for her conversation. She then dialed a special number, which immediately patched her, regardless of night or day, to her current supervisor, Sarge Steel. As a groggy, sleep-laden voice answered the phone, Raven relayed her message.

"Your suspicions were correct, there is a viper in the hen house…."