"Captain America, so after finding out that the Winter Soldier's true identity is actually Bucky, you really chose to come save him."
The figure shrouded in darkness spoke, his voice producing a buzzing, muffled tone. Looking closely, Captain America realized that the opponent was wearing a skull mask.
Set against the darkness, he looked extraordinarily frightening.
"Taskmaster?" Captain America asked tentatively.
He had heard Ant-Man mention this name before—a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent possessing photographic muscle memory.
Or rather, a Hydra agent now.
Having confirmed the other party's identity, Captain America said nothing further. He had no time to waste on nonsense here.
Every second delayed meant the likelihood of bringing Bucky back alive shrank even further.
Shifting his gaze from the shield in Taskmaster's hand to the man's body, Captain America suddenly exploded from static stillness into dynamic motion. Pushing off with his legs, he transferred power through his waist straight to his arms, and the shield in his hands whirled into the air with a piercing screech.
However!
The exact moment Captain America moved, Taskmaster moved as well. Furthermore, whether in technique, power, or angle, there was not the slightest difference from Captain America.
The shield in his hand likewise flew out in a spin, colliding in midair with Captain America's Vibranium shield!
This was Taskmaster's ability: no matter how formidable a martial artist his opponent was, he could replicate their tactics one-to-one, rendering them helpless against him—or even using their own signature techniques to defeat them!
Setting everyone else aside, at the very least, having been injected with the same special serum from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret research, dealing with Captain America was child's play for him.
Moreover, the moment Captain America broke in, Taskmaster had already signaled for backup. In two minutes at most, swarms of soldiers armed with submachine guns would arrive to sweep the area with indiscriminate gunfire.
Yet, just as Taskmaster stared at Captain America, preparing to continue replicating his movements, Captain America suddenly retreated several steps back, disappearing into the shadows.
Huh? Taskmaster sensed something amiss.
The next second, Captain America exploded out of the darkness with blinding speed. Charging forward like a raging bull without any martial arts technique whatsoever, he relied purely on brute, forceful momentum!
A world-champion sprinter wouldn't even need ten seconds to run a hundred meters, and Captain America needed less than half that time.
Captain America covered the distance of over twenty meters in just a single second, his shoulder slamming heavily into Taskmaster's chest.
Crack!
At that instant, even with the special serum injected into his veins, Taskmaster's skeleton couldn't withstand Captain America's sudden burst of power. His chest caved in on the spot.
His body flew into the air, tracing a parabola before crashing into the alloy wall, followed by another dull thud.
Meanwhile, the Vibranium shield that had bounced away after the midair collision happened to fall right into Captain America's hand.
Without giving Taskmaster a second glance, he pulled a explosive charge from his tactical utility belt and slapped it onto the transparent cage holding Bucky with a sharp clack.
Beep-beep—BOOM!
The cage remained completely undamaged.
Captain America's brows furrowed tightly. Abandoning further attempts to break open the cage by force, he turned to search for the console to control it.
Soon, in a dark corner, an unlit computer caught his eye.
Though he was a veteran from World War II, Captain America had been constantly studying all kinds of modern technology ever since waking up; a mere computer posed no obstacle to him.
What did pose an obstacle was that while he was rapidly hacking the computer in an attempt to release Bucky—
CLANG!
A heavy metal door was shoved open violently from the outside. A row of dark gun barrels pushed through the doorway, pointing squarely at Captain America.
These were clearly Hydra's elite, possessing tactical discipline far superior to the men who had intercepted Captain America a few days ago. The volley of bullets almost completely saturated the space around Captain America.
Even after one wave of bullets spent itself, other soldiers stepped up to reload and cover without a second's pause, coordinating with seamless, fluid precision.
Left with no choice, Captain America curled himself into a ball behind his circular Vibranium shield, applying force with his wrist to roll the shield along the ground as his body rolled forward in perfect sync.
Not a single bullet managed to hit him.
Captain America's shield rolled at an angle. By the time it came to a halt, it would stop directly in front of the Hydra soldiers blocking the doorway and firing.
Once in close quarters, Captain America was confident he could subdue everyone outside.
However, a large-caliber bullet struck the Vibranium shield, its massive kinetic impact knocking the circular shield askew instantly and exposing Captain America to the open crossfire.
Without a moment's delay, the bullets zipped toward Captain America, who was now left without a shield to block them.
At that exact moment, the ceiling of the top floor shuddered violently and burst open with a loud crash. A figure dropped down, stepping right in front of Captain America.
The bullets struck the newcomer's body with a barrage of metallic clangs, failing to cause even the slightest bit of damage.
"Tony?" Captain America called out, looking at the figure standing before him.
"Cap, talk later," Iron Man said, turning his head slightly. The repulsor beams in both his hands had already finished charging. Raising his arms abruptly, he blasted the soldiers blocking the doorway into a scattered mess.
Iron Man then flew forward, slamming the alloy door shut once more and welding it dead, ensuring the soldiers outside could no longer interfere.
Only after finishing all this did Iron Man turn back around.
He didn't lift his faceplate as he usually did. Instead, through the mask, he stared at Captain America with eyes glowing with a cold white light:
"Cap, he's the killer who murdered my parents... and now the debt he owes has claimed Jack Monroe, too."
"Tony... I'm so sorry." Captain America gasped for air, stepping in front of Bucky's cage to shield him. "If you intend to kill him, you'll have to take me out, too."
Iron Man glared at Captain America in icy silence. The full-power repulsor core on his chest glowed brighter and brighter, until it emitted a blinding golden light.
A flash of relief crossed Captain America's eyes, and he closed them.
If killing him and Bucky could repay the debt owed to those who had died, and if it could make Tony and Batman feel at peace, then let them kill him.
He hadn't broken the promise he made to Batman, either: "Either bring Bucky back, or die alongside him."
HUMMM—
A massive repulsor blast exploded forth with a roar.
Captain America stood motionless without making a single defensive gesture, calmly accepting the strike from Tony Stark.
CRASH!
A loud explosion shattered the air directly above Captain America's head. The transparent cage behind him disintegrated instantly.
Captain America opened his eyes. Looking at himself—completely unharmed—and then at the shattered cage behind him, he turned his gaze back to Iron Man.
Iron Man still didn't say a single word. He kicked the Vibranium shield lying on the ground back toward Captain America, then walked up to the cage himself, prying open the shackles on Bucky with sheer brute force. With the thrusters beneath his boots spouting fire, he grabbed the unconscious Bucky and blasted straight into the sky.
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