"Hill, I'm counting on you to look after her. Don't let me down."
In the S.H.I.E.L.D. New York headquarters, Peter gave Maria Hill a solemn instruction. Across from him, Hill nodded with equal gravity, promising to complete the task.
After giving Daisy (Skye) a few final words—telling her to call him immediately if anyone gave her a hard time—Peter prepared to leave. He planned to head to Felicia's home to deliver the final dose of the Lizard Serum.
However, just as he stepped out of the Director's office, his phone rang. It was Phil Coulson.
"Director, our agents in Africa just sent back a classified intel report. An illegal transaction is taking place in the Somali region.
The cargo is a unique metal that hasn't been officially discovered yet. Apparently, the buyer has deployed a mercenary force comparable to a small nation's navy to escort it."
"Oh?" Peter's interest piqued instantly.
In the Marvel Universe, there are only two "undiscovered" special metals worth mentioning: Vibranium and Adamantium.
In this universe, Adamantium seemed limited to Captain America's shield, created by Howard Stark rather than Myron MacLain. With a different origin, no new Adamantium had surfaced.
Therefore, Peter concluded: this had to be Vibranium.
If it was indeed Vibranium, it was well worth the trip. And even if it wasn't, Somalia wasn't far from Wakanda. He could simply "stop by" Wakanda and "request" a batch.
To others, the hidden nation was invisible behind its energy field, but to Peter's Byakugan, Wakanda was the loudest, most obvious landmark on the continent.
The thought of snagging enough Vibranium to upgrade his Iron Man suit materials and build a "Vibranium Panic Room" for Uncle Ben and Aunt May—and perhaps snagging a Heart-Shaped Herb for a sacrifice—put a spring in his step.
"I'll handle this personally," Peter said.
With a snap of his fingers, the Wheel of Fortune possessed his flight board and hovered before him. Peter hopped on and soared into the sky, vanishing into the clouds.
What Peter didn't see was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent lowering a pair of binoculars and sending a text: Everything is on track. The monster has left New York.
In D.C., Alexander Pierce's lips curled into a signature smirk. Excellent. Now, they just had to wait for Crossbones to bring back the little Nightingale.
Manhattan, Felicia's Apartment
Despite Bucky and Crossbones realizing the situation had deviated from the script, they had no choice but to press on.
Crossbones covertly pressed a miniature remote on his belt. Bucky's eyes went vacant instantly. Like a programmed machine, the Winter Soldier lunged forward, swinging his metal arm in a devastating punch aimed straight at Felicia's face.
Crossbones worried for a split second that Bucky might accidentally kill her. But in the next second, he nearly choked on his own tongue.
Before the iron fist could touch her, an arm clad in an aqua-blue symbiote suit caught Bucky's punch with ease.
Creeeeak—Snap!
Under Crossbones' horrified gaze, Tide twisted Bucky's arm as if it were a piece of dry tinfoil, mangling the high-tech alloy into a literal pretzel.
This wasn't just any metal. While not Vibranium, it was a high-hardness alloy designed by Zola and Hydra's best. It could punch through concrete and survive sniper rounds with barely a scratch. Yet, this girl in a "costume" had shredded it like wet cardboard.
This isn't right! This bitch is a cheat! Crossbones screamed internally. Without a second thought, he abandoned the Winter Soldier and turned to bolt.
"Oh? Thinking of running?" Tide sneered.
Before Felicia could even process what was happening, the symbiote manipulated a stream of water, launching it like a high-velocity arrow toward Crossbones.
Crossbones was a master combatant, but against fluid magic, he was helpless. He swung his tactical knife until sparks flew, but he couldn't "cut" the water.
The arrow struck him and instantly expanded into a sphere, enveloping his entire head.
No matter how he thrashed, he couldn't shake the water globe. He held his breath, desperately trying to run out of Felicia's range.
A "normal person who can only move trickles of water"? Dr. Zola, you're a damn hack! Crossbones cursed. If I make it back to New Jersey, I'm smashing your servers into scrap!
Just as he thought he might escape...
BOOM!
The Winter Soldier—missing his arm and bleeding—was hurled out of the second-story window by Felicia. His body smashed through the wall and landed squarely on Crossbones.
The impact nearly snapped Crossbones' spine. He tried to scream, but only managed to swallow a lungful of water.
Glub... glub...
He was pinned and drowning. As he began to lose consciousness, Felicia leaped from the balcony, landing gracefully in front of them, still holding the mangled hunk of Bucky's arm.
"Wow... you're way more capable than I thought!" Felicia remarked, feeling the rush of superhuman strength.
"Obviously~" Tide whistled. The symbiote reached down and ripped the masks off both men. "Let's see who we have here. Hmm, one ugly bastard and... this one is actually quite handsome."
"Please," Felicia scoffed. "He isn't even fit to shine Peter's shoes!"
Crossbones/Winter Soldier: "???"
Slander! Pure slander! We were the heartthrobs of the tactical world back in our day!
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