Natasha Romanoff tells the Champions (Miles Morales, Viv Vision, Riri Williams, Nadia Pym, Amadeus Cho, and Joaquin Torres) that the situation is grim. Steve Rogers has revealed himself to work for HYDRA, which has taken over America and all its armed forces. Moreover, the other heroes don't understand the stakes and aren't willing to assassinate Rogers. The Champions, though, claim to understand how serious the situation is and that they're serious about doing whatever is needed to retake America. Therefore, Romanoff will be sending two of them on a mission to infiltrate a weakness in HYDRA's defenses while the other four provide support. Specifically, two of them will be infiltrating HYDRA's youth choir.
The Champions all think this is lame (except for Nadia, who likes singing), and they want a more fun and interesting way to fight HYDRA. Romanoff, however, tells them to suck it up. She excludes Viv and Torres from consideration for going undercover, since Viv's robotic shell and Torres' wings are too conspicuous. Nadia cuts in to note that she doesn't like Red Room training (having experienced it before) and wants assurance that Romanoff won't ask them to do anything bad, but Romanoff won't give it and instead just orders the others to sing so they can figure out who's going undercover. Riri grumbles that the situation is lame and her singing is half-hearted, but Nadia gives an excellent performance. As for the others, Morales says he can't sing in public, while Amadeus manages to sing acceptably. Amadeus and Nadia are thus chosen for the undercover team.
That night, the Champions wait for their next round of training. Torres notes that Romanoff wants to do 'ethical adjustment' next and wonders what it is. Nadia clarifies that it's about conditioning them to be mean and willing to let others suffer or die for the greater good. Riri is skeptical that such training actually exists or works, but then Romanoff says she's up first. She leads Romanoff into a dark room with just a chair and a table, then shuts the door. The others wait, and eventually, she runs out of the room crying. The remaining Champions stare at her until Romanoff calls Morales in to go next.
A few days later in Chicago, Amadeus talks with another HYDRA youth choir hopeful named Ryan Nelson. Nelson is excited to participate and says he heard top singers can win a scholarship to join HYDRA when they're older; his goal is to someday fight alongside Rogers himself. The other Champions tell Amadeus over the radio to be more gregarious and sell that he's a HYDRA believer, and when Nelson talks about how Rogers woke America up to the 'great illusion', Amadeus agrees that America used to be weak. They both say "Hail HYDRA" and head inside.
The Choirmaster tells the dozens of applicants that they will be in a 'choir bootcamp' for the next three days, with only the best 48 singers remaining. He enthuses that choir isn't just singing but is a way of life that the applicants must be wholly devoted to. The Champions think he's insane, but the Choirmaster notes that those chosen will get to sing when Rogers breaks ground at the rebuilding of the Capitol Building. The Champions realize that Romanoff knew this ahead of time and that members of the choir would have a chance of assassinating Rogers when he conducts the ceremony. Morales complains that the Champions thought they'd be spies, not assassins, but Romanoff tells him to shut up; Red Room agents do not question their superiors. She reminds them to keep their radio signal fluctuating so HYDRA can't pick up their communications with Amadeus and Nadia.
The next day, an applicant named Gretchen complains to Nadia that one of the kids in her class was an Inhuman who could have killed them all. She goes on about how anyone could have a best friend that suddenly turned into a monstrous Inhuman one day. Nadia slips away from her and goes to talk to Amadeus, who cracks jokes about the big green robes they have to wear. Nadia worries that Romanoff expects them to hurt people or even kill someone, but Amadeus assures her there's no way that will happen and all they have to do is join the HYDRA choir to complete the mission.
Choirmaster tells the applicants that some of their number have already been weeded out, but there are still more trials to go. He also says that the dormitories were too noisy last night and so he's hired the Freelancers, a group of supervillains for hire who have previously fought the Champions, to provide better security. They've never met Nadia, but they know Amadeus, who immediately worries about being recognized.
Romanoff says she's pulling Amadeus out, but relents when Riri says she can build an image inducer that will hide his face. She can have it ready by nightfall, though that means Amadeus will have to somehow hide his face all day, including during the next set of trials. That time quickly arrives, and Nadia goes before Amadeus, belting out "America the Beautiful." Choirmaster grumbles that she's not as good as he'd like but grudgingly allows that she might, barely, be acceptable. She makes the cut, but Amadeus quickly pulls her aside and asks what he's supposed to do now; the Freelancers are sitting with Choirmaster and are sure to recognize him. Nadia, though, says she has a plan.
Amadeus goes onstage, his head totally covered in his robe. He tries to sing but Choirmaster keeps insisting he has to be louder. He eventually concludes that the hood is muffling Amadeus's voice and, after demanding to know who designed the robed (and being told it was actually himself), he orders Amadeus to drop his hood. Before Amadeus does, though, Nadia runs into the auditorium and screams about a rat. The Freelancers laugh at her but then Nadia reveals that she's holding the rat, freaking the Freelancers out and making them run away. During the chaos, Amadeus sings and Choirmaster finds his voice acceptable. He also makes the cut.
Amadeus heads back from the auditions to find several other applicants bullying Nelson. Before Amadeus can do anything, though, the Freelancer Might arrives and scares the bullies away before ordering Nelson to get to his room. The Freelancers then talk amongst themselves while Amadeus hides and eavesdrops; most of the Freelancers reveal they think it's unethical to be serving HYDRA, though they appreciate all the money HYDRA is paying them. Might tells them to stop whining and notes that the last time superheroes tried standing up to HDYRA, the government leveled Las Vegas. Might insists that they're to keep their heads down, maintain order, and take the large paychecks HYDRA is offering.
The other Champions radio Amadeus and say they have the image inducer, but before they can set up a meeting point their radio runs out of available frequencies they haven't already used. If they try to reuse frequencies, HYDRA may discover them, but if they don't, they can't coordinate with Amadeus to deliver the inducer. Riri points out that Romanoff will never let them deliver the inducer under those circumstances, so Morales says they go without asking for permission. Viv is skeptical but Morales insists, and they ultimately head out.
When they arrive at the choir dormitory, Viv detects a security system and says she needs to remain outside to dampen it so it doesn't go off. The rest go inside but Riri's suit is heavy enough that the floor creaks when she stands on it, forcing her to also remain behind. Torres runs into a HYDRA guard, and though Torres knocks him out Morales notes that Torres isn't stealthy enough for the mission, so he goes on alone. He gets further into the base and contacts both Nadia and Amadeus on short-range communicators. The trio decide to meet up in a specific stairwell.
The Champions meet up and Morales delivers the inducer, noting that it only works for thirty seconds at a time before needing thirty seconds to recharge. Amadeus accepts this, but at that moment HYDRA guards find them. Amadeus quickly yells that Spider-Man is there and is working with Nadia; this forces her to evacuate with Morales but allows himself to look innocent. Except for Amadeus, the Champions converge on the scene and fight the Freelancers as well as HYDRA guards. Morales shouts that even though the applicants feel lost and disenfranchised joining HYDRA is not the answer, and offers to help the applicants escape. None of them want to, however, and Nelson even yells that he hopes Morales dies. The other Champions then flee, leaving Amadeus behind.
The next day, Choirmaster tells the qualifying applicants that the attack only proves that everyone needs to remain vigilant. He says that the choir is so impressive that they have a special guest, which turns out to be Viper from the HYDRA council. Viper says she's looking forward to hearing them sing and is excited to know that one of them (Amadeus) has already proven himself by revealing another of their number (Nadia) to be a traitor. She tells them that they are all strong and must keep each other that way so they do not falter. She leads them in a series of "Hail HYDRA" chants, with Amadeus shouting along with the rest.
Tropes:
- A Nazi by Any Other Name: The youth choir is a clear analogue to the Hitler youth.
