That single sentence became the clarion call for battle!
An agent positioned to Steve's right immediately spun around and lunged at him with a tactical weapon drawn.
The others instantly sprung into action, and within moments, more than a dozen people were engaged in brutal close-quarters combat within the confined elevator space.
But Steve wasn't the only one under attack!
In the underground facility, Peter was assisting Tony with aircraft carrier modifications when his spider-sense suddenly screamed a warning.
"Mr. Stark, incoming!" Peter shouted without hesitation, diving toward Tony to tackle him out of harm's way.
"What are you doing? Ow!" Tony felt like he'd been struck by a freight train, pain shooting through his back as he couldn't straighten up.
The next instant, an explosive device flew overhead and detonated exactly where Tony had been standing.
BOOM!
Peter raised his head to survey hundreds of operatives positioned on the suspension walkways above them, completely surrounding their position, and his expression turned grim.
"We're completely surrounded, Mr. Stark!" Peter yelled over the chaos.
"Tony Stark, Spider-Man, do not make any sudden movements! We now suspect both of you are Hydra infiltrators. Drop your weapons immediately and submit to investigation!"
"We're Hydra spies?" Tony was so incredulous he actually laughed.
"Ben was absolutely right—SHIELD has been rotten to the core!" Tony's voice turned dark within his armor.
He said nothing more, because frankly, he was too disgusted to engage with their accusations!
"You want me to drop my weapons? Fine—catch these!"
He raised his arm, and a row of micro-missiles emerged like a magazine clip and launched instantly!
The projectiles streaked through the air trailing exhaust plumes before exploding. In seconds, the blast radius engulfed all the hostile forces in front of them!
Seeing this devastating display, Peter screamed, "Mr. Stark, those weapons will kill them all!"
"Why else would I fire them?" Tony replied with exasperation.
Show mercy to enemies actively trying to kill us? Not likely!
Just as Peter was feeling disturbed by the apparent lethality, the flames dissipated to reveal the agents safely protected behind energy barriers, completely unharmed.
"Those are the energy shields Ben invented!" Peter shouted in recognition.
The operatives immediately raised their protective barriers, wielding automatic weapons in their free hands and maintaining continuous fire on Tony and Peter's positions.
Tony clicked his tongue in annoyance and complained, "This is classic superhero comic logic—the protagonist's own inventions get used against him..."
The scenario was depressingly familiar. Hadn't he nearly been killed by his own weapons before?
But in reality, this was something Ben had orchestrated deliberately.
After all, with the weapons systems in Tony's armor, wouldn't he completely massacre those SHIELD agents?
Ben was concerned that Tony might disrupt the carefully planned strategy he'd discussed with Norman, potentially eliminating Hydra within SHIELD prematurely.
How could that work? How could Norman Osborn turn the tide if Hydra no longer held power?
If Norman doesn't save the day, how can H.A.M.M.E.R. be established?
If H.A.M.M.E.R. isn't founded, how can the Plumbers inherit Hydra's organizational legacy?
So Ben was effectively enhancing Hydra's combat capabilities!
Tony remained completely unaware of this deeper strategy.
All he knew about the plan was to collaborate with Ben on carrier modifications, then use Project Insight in reverse to identify all Hydra operatives.
He had no idea that Ben was already coveting Hydra's institutional inheritance.
Currently, Tony only felt that Ben's own tactics had backfired, with the villains using Ben's technology against them.
"Wait a minute!" Tony suddenly realized something crucial.
"If Ben invented the energy shields, shouldn't Ben be the one in trouble right now? Why am I still the one getting besieged?"
"Spider-kid, where the hell is your brother?!" he demanded while continuously dodging incoming fire.
Meanwhile, Peter discovered that his web-shooters had no effect whatsoever against the opponents' energy barriers.
He made a tactical decision and activated the Iron Spider armor's offensive systems.
Perhaps the suit's powerful sonic capabilities could penetrate the energy shields.
"Mr. Stark, we need to deploy more substantial firepower," Peter announced after donning his armor.
He was no longer concerned about the hail of bullets. The dense projectiles struck his armored form, creating sparks like scattered water droplets.
As he spoke, the sonic amplification device on his wrist activated.
"I strongly suggest covering your ears immediately, or this is going to be extremely loud."
"Hold on!" Tony rushed forward and stopped Peter. "We can't use that here—you'll destroy the aircraft carrier!"
"It's come to this point, and you're still worried about the carrier?" Peter asked incredulously.
"You don't understand, kid. This is our opportunity to completely destroy Hydra and achieve victory!"
In Nick Fury's office, Pierce overheard this exchange and smiled coldly to himself: "You're wrong, Tony Stark. This is Hydra's opportunity and weapon to overthrow the old world order and create a new one!"
He understood that Nick Fury had probably spoken very highly of Project Insight, but in reality, the program's algorithms originated from Dr. Zola, and all calculations were designed to eliminate Hydra's enemies!
Tony Stark's efforts upgrading the aircraft carriers were simply helping them achieve their goals.
Back in the underground facility, Peter listened to Tony's reasoning and immediately aimed at the agents' positions, raising his targeting system.
BOOM!
The sonic pulse surged forward, instantly creating a massive breach in the facility's ceiling.
"Then let's take this fight outside!" Peter declared.
He fired webbing and swung through the opening while Tony simultaneously flew toward the hole Peter had created.
The moment they emerged, they heard a tremendous crash above them, followed by a shower of glass fragments raining down.
Steve was breaking through the windows!
Seeing this, Peter immediately wove a large web and caught the falling Captain America.
"Thank you, Spider-Man!"
All three heroes landed simultaneously, positioning themselves back-to-back in a defensive triangle.
Before them, several Quinjet fighters had surrounded their position.
"What the hell is Nick Fury doing? SHIELD's true nature has been exposed, but he hasn't taken any action at all?" Tony cursed in frustration.
"Fury was attacked, and we're probably completely on our own now," Steve replied, breathing heavily. The elevator battle had consumed considerable energy.
But he still had a pressing concern. "Where's Ben?"
"Still in the base," Tony answered. "Don't worry about that guy—he'll be fine. His energy shields are tougher than tank armor."
Among those present, only Steve showed genuine concern for Ben. Tony and Peter weren't worried at all.
Tony knew that Ben had invented numerous devices, some of which were ultimate trump cards, and Peter was even more aware of the Omnitrix's capabilities.
"We fight our own battle!" Captain America immediately hurled his vibranium shield toward one of the aircraft.
In an instant, the shield struck the Quinjet's turbine assembly.
Peter immediately understood the strategy, grabbed Steve's arm with one hand, pivoted at the waist, and threw Steve into the air with tremendous force.
Simultaneously, he spun around and released accumulated sonic energy in another direction.
Sometimes, Peter felt that when wearing the Iron Spider suit, he was less Spider-Man and more a mobile sonic artillery platform.
Meanwhile, Tony Stark's approach was simpler and more devastating.
They're sending Quinjets?
Then let's see who has superior ammunition reserves!
He activated bombing mode, and rows of compact but enormously powerful missiles continuously targeted the enemy aircraft.
Within moments, all the fighters besieging them had been destroyed.
Just as they were about to celebrate their victory, Peter's spider-sense triggered again.
All three looked up simultaneously to see an explosive device falling from the sky, but before Tony could attempt to intercept it, the bomb detonated in mid-air.
Instantly, a powerful electromagnetic pulse swept across the entire area.
"Systems... failing..." Peter and Tony heard the intermittent voices of Jarvis and Karen simultaneously.
Then Tony's HUD went completely dark, his armor lost all power, and he plummeted directly from the sky.
"Are you guys okay?" Captain America shouted with obvious concern.
"EMP bomb!" Tony's voice was muffled inside his powerless armor.
The electromagnetic pulse had completely shut down his suit's systems in an instant. Although his arc reactor used nuclear energy, power was distributed to the armor in electrical form, and all the internal technologies relied on electronic components—everything had been fried in that single second.
He was now completely trapped inside what amounted to a metal coffin, unable to move.
The darkness made him feel claustrophobic and helpless.
Peter's situation was different.
Although his armor was severely affected, it didn't require external power to function and could operate purely through his enhanced strength.
However, all the suit's advanced equipment was completely non-functional.
Now, SHIELD agents surrounded them completely, weapons trained on their position.
"What do we do, Captain?" Peter asked desperately.
"I have one last option... I'm not sure if it will work," Steve said uncertainly.
He still had access to Mjolnir.
But the crucial question was: would Thor's hammer still respond to him?
Steve couldn't help but doubt himself. He felt selfish and contemptible for protecting the Winter Soldier who had killed Howard. He feared he was no longer worthy to lift Thor's hammer.
Just as Steve was wrestling with these thoughts, an ethereal and haunting voice, like a specter, emerged from nowhere.
"Are you ok, guys?"
A translucent figure phased up through the ground, causing Peter to shout excitedly, "Ghostfreak! ...wait, who are you?"
But soon, he realized this wasn't Ghostfreak at all.
This was a bipedal creature wrapped in a flowing cloak—a phantom-like entity that seemed to embody winter itself.
Ben took a deliberate step toward the approaching Hydra operatives.
Then he slowly opened his mouth, and a terrifying arctic current instantly released from his being like the breath of an ice age!
In seconds, all those agents who had been holding shields and believed themselves invincible were frozen solid in blocks of ice.
"You can call me Big Chill."
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