In Marvel With My Gacha System

Chapter 29: The Traitor Within (and the Case of the Missing Pants) – Or, "My Spidey-Sense is Tingling... No, Wait, That's Just My Laundry."

The relentless digital and physical pranks, coupled with the public humiliation, had fractured HYDRA's internal cohesion. The organization, once a tightly-knit, fanatical brotherhood, was now riddled with paranoia. Accusations flew, agents suspected each other of being "Stiels's secret saboteur," and morale plummeted. In this climate of distrust, one of HYDRA's top scientists, Dr. Aris Thorne (no relation to the sleep-talking Senator, thankfully), decided to defect.

Dr. Thorne, a brilliant biochemist disillusioned by HYDRA's descent into absurdity, had secretly made contact with a shadowy independent intelligence agency (not S.H.I.E.L.D., too exposed, but a smaller, less known entity). He possessed crucial data on HYDRA's remaining chemical weapons programs and a complete list of their hidden research facilities. HYDRA, however, detected his attempt at defection. A clean-up crew, their elite "Shadow Division," was dispatched to eliminate him and retrieve the data.

' A traitor! Oh, this is juicy. A classic spy trope. And a chance to use my new tricks. Plus, if I play this right, I can get a front-row seat to the dramatic double-cross. And maybe some intel on Spider-Man. My meta-sense has been buzzing about a "friendly neighborhood" type in New York. Too soon for a full team-up, but never too soon for reconnaissance. My "Spidey-sense" isn't tingling, but my "Adam-sense" definitely is. '

Adam, having intercepted fragmented comms about a "rogue asset" and "neutralization protocol," knew exactly what was happening. He convinced Steve and Natasha that a "containment operation" was necessary, painting a vague picture of a dangerous chemical, not a human defector. His primary goal: secure the data, save the scientist, and continue to make HYDRA look utterly incompetent.

The chase began in a desolate, abandoned industrial park on the outskirts of New York City. Dr. Thorne, a portly, terrified man, sprinted through the rusted machinery, clutching a data chip. Behind him, the Shadow Division, a group of silent, heavily armed operatives, moved with deadly efficiency.

Adam deployed his Portable Hole immediately. As the lead Shadow Division operative leaped over a pile of rubble, Adam slapped the patch onto the ground directly beneath his feet. The operative vanished mid-air, plummeting into the ten-foot void. His scream was abruptly cut off.

"One down!" Adam announced over comms. "Just enjoying a temporary time-out in my personal dungeon. He's got company in there now. I think I'll call it 'The Pit of Indeterminate Boredom.'"

Natasha, who had witnessed the sudden disappearance, stared. "Did you just… make him vanish?"

"Temporarily! Very temporarily! It's all about strategic disorientation!" Adam chirped.

As Dr. Thorne scrambled past a large shipping container, another Shadow Division operative rounded the corner, aiming his suppressed pistol. Adam, with precise use of King's Haki (Enhanced Hypnosis), subtly nudged the operative's mind. The operative suddenly stopped, frowned, and patted his pockets.

"My… my pants," he muttered, eyes wide. "Where are my pants?! I swear I was wearing pants!"

He began frantically patting himself down, looking around in utter confusion, convinced his trousers had spontaneously vanished. Adam had created a phantom sensation, making the operative feel like his pants were gone, inducing a moment of extreme embarrassment and distraction.

"Stiels, did you just make that man think he lost his pants?" Steve asked over the comms, a hint of exasperated amusement in his voice.

"It's a highly effective non-lethal deterrent, Cap! You underestimate the power of public humiliation!" Adam retorted, already moving to the next target.

Another Shadow Division operative, close to cornering Dr. Thorne, found his path blocked. Adam, using Structural Grasp, had subtly caused a section of the concrete floor to ripple and buckle, creating an impossible-to-cross obstacle of cracked pavement. The operative, mid-stride, stumbled and twisted his ankle.

"This entire place is cursed!" he yelled, collapsing.

Meanwhile, Dr. Thorne, utterly oblivious to the bizarre, pant-less and tripping agents behind him, continued his panicked flight. He was heading towards a dead end.

"He's trapped!" Natasha warned.

"Not for long," Adam said. He quickly placed the Portable Hole patch onto the wall ahead of Dr. Thorne, opening a new escape route. "Dr. Thorne! This way! Through the magic wall!"

The scientist, seeing a shimmering black void appear in a solid concrete wall, hesitated for only a second, then, desperate, dove through. He vanished.

Adam pulled the Portable Hole back, effectively making the wall solid again, trapping the remaining Shadow Division operatives in a confused and disoriented state. The operatives were now in a circular motion, utterly perplexed by their missing comrades, the phantom pants, and the sudden appearance and disappearance of a man through a solid wall.

As the Avengers moved in to round up the utterly baffled Shadow Division, Adam felt that subtle meta-sense prickle again. He looked up, scanning the surrounding buildings. High above, on the rooftop of a distant skyscraper, he caught a glimpse. A flash of red and blue. A distinct, almost cartoonish, silhouette against the fading daylight. Then it was gone, swinging away into the cityscape.

' There he is. My friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Peter Parker. So young. So full of angst. And probably already fighting street-level crime. Just keeping an eye on things, not directly interfering yet. Good. Don't want to mess with his origin story. Though, if he needed a really good snack, I know a guy. '

[ SYSTEM MESSAGE: Universal Remote (Click) battery critically low. Requires immediate recharge by Tony Stark, or risk permanent temporal instability. (WARNING: May cause toaster to play opera permanently). ]

Adam quickly shoved the remote into his pocket. ' Permanent temporal instability leading to opera-singing toasters? Okay, that's a new one. Guess Tony's getting his remote back. And a very vague explanation about "quantum fluctuations." '

The mission was a resounding success. Dr. Thorne was safely retrieved (and now undergoing debriefing by S.H.I.E.L.D., still slightly bewildered but alive). The data chip was secure. And HYDRA's clean-up crew was found in various states of confusion, one still frantically patting his legs, another convinced the floor was alive. Adam had continued to dismantle HYDRA with delightful, strategic absurdity, all while getting a first (albeit distant) glimpse of a new, crucial element of the MCU. The game was escalating.

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