"Everyone—take out all the explosives!"
Steve Rogers' voice cracked like a slap, striking every surviving soldier in the face.
The soldiers who had been slumped on the ground waiting to die snapped awake as if shocked. Almost instinctively, they began rummaging through their packs, unfastening their tactical vests.
Blocks of C4 were pulled out one after another and piled at Steve's feet, quickly forming a small mound.
"Captain!"
A veteran covered in soot lunged forward and grabbed Steve's arm. It was Falsworth, the Howling Commandos' demolitions expert.
His eyes were bloodshot, his voice hoarse. "Are you insane?! Using this much yield down here will bury us alive! The whole place will collapse again!"
The others realized it too. Blowing charges in an unstable underground structure was suicide.
Steve didn't turn around. He just stared at the pile of concrete and twisted steel blocking their way.
"Falsworth," he said calmly, "if we do nothing… how long do we live?"
Falsworth opened his mouth, but no words came out.
On the wall, the red countdown answered for him.
0:58… 0:57…
"In less than a minute, we'll be reduced to ash." Steve turned around, his gaze sweeping across every soldier's face. "If we gamble, we might get buried alive. But at least then, we'll have a chance to dig our way out."
His eyes shifted to the corner.
Logan was cradling the unconscious Levi in his arms.
When the boulder had fallen earlier, Steve had seen it—
that ripple in the air in front of Levi.
It hadn't been an illusion.
It was a kind of power Steve couldn't understand.
Dr. Erskine had once said that the serum amplified everything.
It amplified Steve's sense of justice.
It amplified Red Skull's ambition.
So what had it amplified inside Levi?
Steve didn't know.
But he knew this much—miracles existed.
And now, he was going to recreate one, using nothing but mortal hands.
"Falsworth, I need a demolition plan," Steve said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Find the load-bearing points. Use the least amount of explosives to cause maximum structural failure. We're not blowing it open—we're making it collapse itself."
Falsworth stared into Steve's eyes for three seconds.
Then he clenched his teeth, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, and scooped up the explosives. "Everyone get back! Five of you—flashlights on those points I mark! Move!"
The desire to survive crushed their fear.
Several soldiers immediately moved, placing the charges exactly where Falsworth indicated, wiring them together with practiced speed.
"Captain, it's ready!" Falsworth ran back, drenched in sweat. "Detonation set for twenty seconds—enough time to take cover!"
The countdown on the wall ticked on.
0:35… 0:34…
"Too slow." Steve shook his head. "Ten seconds. Everyone take cover at ten. I'll detonate."
"But Captain—"
"Execute the order!"
Steve snatched the detonator from his hand and strode to the front of the group.
Logan carried Levi to the farthest corner, turning his own body into a shield, protecting Levi completely.
"Ten!"
Steve began counting down.
"Nine!"
The soldiers scrambled for cover.
"Eight!"
…
"Three!"
Steve inhaled deeply and raised the vibranium shield in front of him.
"Two!"
He glanced back at his soldiers one last time.
"One!"
He pressed the button.
For an instant, the world went silent.
Then fire erupted inside the rubble.
BOOM—!
The shockwave, mixed with碎石 and twisted rebar, slammed outward in all directions.
Steve took it head-on.
The force traveled through the shield and into his body—like being hit by a speeding truck. His boots carved two deep furrows into the ground as he was shoved back more than ten meters, crashing into the wall.
"Gah—!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Behind him, the underground space began collapsing completely. Massive chunks of ceiling fell. The ground split apart.
But at the center of the blast, the rubble blocking their escape truly disintegrated from within.
A pitch-black hole—just wide enough for one person—appeared.
"Move!" Steve roared, smashing aside a falling rock with his shield.
The countdown screamed on.
0:10… 0:09…
The soldiers supported each other, crawling and stumbling toward the opening.
Logan charged first, Levi slung over his shoulder, smashing through debris with brute force.
Steve stayed at the rear, swinging his shield to knock aside falling stone, clearing the path.
A massive beam dropped toward a limping soldier.
Steve's arm muscles bulged as he hurled the shield.
CLANG!
The shield struck the beam's side, deflecting it just enough. It slammed into the ground inches from the soldier. The shield ricocheted off the wall and flew back into Steve's hand.
"Move! Five seconds left!"
Logan burst through the hole with Levi.
Then the second man.
The third.
When the last wounded soldier was dragged through, Steve glanced at his watch.
0:01
Without hesitation, he turned and threw himself forward like a cannonball.
The instant his body entered the tunnel, the HYDRA base behind him dissolved into a silent white light.
All matter was annihilated into particles.
An invisible shockwave blasted through the drainage tunnel, sending Steve tumbling end over end until he slammed into Logan and finally stopped.
"Cough… cough…" He hacked violently, his insides screaming in pain.
But he smiled.
He looked at the drainage pipe leading outside.
He looked at his soldiers—every single one of them alive.
He'd won the bet.
"Captain… we made it?" a young soldier asked, voice shaking.
"Yes." Steve stood up, brushing dust from his uniform. "We made it."
The soldiers cheered, hugged each other, cried openly.
Only Logan frowned, looking down at Levi on his shoulder.
"Hey, kid," he muttered, patting Levi's face. "Show's over. Time to wake up."
No response.
Levi's breathing was steady. His heartbeat strong. But he wouldn't wake.
Something was wrong.
His body was burning hot—like a miniature sun trapped inside.
And his scent had changed.
Before, it was like ozone after rain.
Now, it was stronger. Purer.
Suddenly, Levi's eyelids fluttered violently.
His eyes snapped open.
For a brief instant, galaxies seemed to rotate deep within his pupils—vast, mysterious.
"Ugh…"
Levi groaned. The strange phenomenon vanished.
It felt like an entire library had been crammed into his brain—countless fragments of knowledge about space, dimensions, and energy colliding violently.
"Where… am I?" He shook his head, looking around in confusion.
"You're awake?" Steve asked. "How do you feel?"
"I feel…" Levi flexed slightly. The weakness was gone, replaced by an explosive sense of power. He felt like he could tear space itself like paper.
"I feel… amazing." He grinned.
Then his face itched.
He wiped his nose.
His fingers came away wet and cold.
He stared.
Blood.
It was flowing steadily from his nostrils.
A warm sensation followed—from his ears.
He looked up.
Steve and Logan's faces had gone deathly pale.
"Kid…" Logan said hoarsely, shock thick in his voice. "Your seven orifices… you're bleeding from all of them."
Levi's mind went blank.
Then a single, cold, crystal-clear thought surfaced.
I pushed it too far.
Space energy had begun to awaken—but a mortal body couldn't withstand it.
Cells were rebuilding and detonating at the same time.
The healing factor couldn't keep up.
Even the super-soldier serum couldn't stabilize it.
The rate of collapse…
was far faster than the rate of repair.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 20 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
🎉 Power Stone Goal Announcement! 🎉
I'll release one bonus chapter for every 200 Power Stones we hit!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~