𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 | ʜᴇʟᴍᴜᴛ ᴢᴇᴍᴏ

ᴇᴘɪʟᴏɢᴜᴇ

new york city, new york

several days later

The dark of the night was not enough to hide the sounds of screams and violence resonating through the streets of New York City. Captain America, Sam Wilson, had stirred up quite a bit of chaos in the city, with the help of his partners. The Flag Smashers' leader, Karli, had been taken down, and with the rest of the team of rogue super soldiers in custody, it appeared that the mission had been accomplished.

Flashing blue and red lights flickered off of Oeznik's face as he watched the remaining super soldiers be escorted into the back of armored police vehicles by Navy soldiers. The classic black leather of the car he watched from only accentuated the darkness of the overpass it was parked under, hiding the vehicle perfectly. There was a silent wind that blew through the open windows of the dark car, as the doors to the armored trucks were gently shut by the military crew.

The butler sighed in discernment, as the vehicles began to roll away from their place on the street. Nodding slowly, the butler gave a silent queue in the stillness of the night.

Well-manicured fingers grazed a remote control's switch as their hands lay gently in the lap of the passenger. With a final breath, a thumb pressed firmly to the switch, igniting a chain reaction of explosive delight before the classic car. Hazel eyes lit up with fire as the Flag Smashers were set ablaze in the armored vehicle in the street in front of them.

Releasing a pent up breath, the passenger of the car placed the remote control down in their lap, and reached an arm up, wrapping it around their waist in discomfort. It was difficult to breathe between the tightness of the bandage wrapped around their waist, and the pain of the wound hiding beneath stitches.

Oeznik looked to his passenger, noting the cell phone that had suddenly lit up the car, buzzing in the cup holder. Reaching for the phone, the woman next to the butler nodded quietly, making eye contact before looking to the phone screen. A single text illuminated the notifications from an unknown sender.

we are ready

Smiling into the light, she locked the phone, darkening the car, and looked into the fiery chaos that surrounded the street below them. Sirens and screeching overwhelmed the area as the flames trailed to the vehicles nearby. The light from below flickered off the woman's face, as she admired the scene before them.

"Project Thunderbolt has begun." The woman quietly placed the cell phone into her bag nearby, and inhaled the smoke that had begun to fill the air.

Clearing his throat, Oeznik nodded. "We should move on, Ms. Konopka."

Nodding, the woman patiently patted down her expensive, body-hugging dress. The pencil-like figure of the fabric hugged her curves tightly, keeping the bandage that held her gunshot wound together from moving. Moving her hazel eyes back to the butler, he noticed the black eye that circled her left socket had been only slightly covered by makeup, reducing the swelling, but still a distinct injury in the darkness.

Making eye contact with the butler once more, the woman's stern face was as serious as it was beautiful. Her elegant, Sokovian voice pierced the air like a bullet. "Oeznik, Kalina Konopka is with us no more."

Quietly thinking, she smiled again, this time with a sly conviction about her. She was no longer the woman that had died in the eyes of the public. Kalina Konopka had to die in order for the woman in the car now to live. It was crucial that the Sokovian's public figure was destroyed in order for her to move forward with her divine purpose. Now, she could live free in the shadows of the underground.

She was a woman of poise and of grace, but was now also a gentle goddess of death and darkness. Killing Kalina Konopka was crucial for the woman to rise from the ashes in order to spearhead a game of psychological warfare amongst the powers of the world that fought for control. In every right, she was the definition of control.

Giving Oeznik a silent gesture to start the car, the woman hummed to herself as she reminisced a random memory from her past. One specifically stood out to her in that moment: a quiet trip to India in which she had taken a sabbatical from her business in pursuit of reclaiming her mental health. She had learned many ways to control her emotions and write her own story during her time in the country with the guide of a Hindu teacher. It had been pivotal in her attempt to reconcile her traumas from her past, which had inevitably led up to her venture across Europe to face her demons in Sokovia and in Berlin.

Feeling a peace wash over her in the memories, the woman's voice rang in the air. "I have always loved Sanskrit."

As the car engine roared on, she continued to ponder. Images of a beautiful goddess of chaos and destruction filled the woman's mind as she watched the fire roar below and police officials rush to contain the blaze. Watching as the bodies of the Flag Smashers burned before them, she was filled with settlement. This had been her own decision, and she was fully prepared to move forward. This was as much her own path as it was Helmut's, and they truly were equals and partners in every respect.

Departing the scene, the car darkened as they turned and moved farther from the fire. Listening to the gravel roll off the tires of the car, the woman looked forward through the headlights. She was chaos. She was destruction. She was at the peak of her spiritual self, and yet she was nothing she had once been before.

Reminded of the Hindu goddess of time, of death, and of doom, the woman inhaled confidently in the dark of the night. Looking forward to the road that lay before them, the woman lifted her chin. "I am Kali. That is what I shall be known as."

Confident in her decision, Kali's eyes looked toward the stars as the car pushed away from the city lights into stillness. Helmut would be hearing the news from the Raft soon, and it would become apparent that their next chapter had commenced. It was only a matter of time before Kali returned to breathe life into her Shiva again, releasing Helmut from the chains of the prison he was contained in under the sea. And it was only a matter of time, before Project Thunderbolt established a new precedent of power and control.

Kali was boundless in existence, and she was divine, needing permission from no one to be exactly who she intended to be.

fin.

author note

This concludes irrevocable! I am so glad you all have stuck around to see the ending. I am really happy with the way it has turned out, and I hope you are, too. I have set it up for a potential sequel, so stay tuned and be on the lookout for that!

Please drop a comment below and let me know what you think. Much love to you all!