The elevator was already broken open.
Steve and Adam had jumped down before the soldiers outside could fully surround them. The fall shook the floor below, and several people in the lower area turned toward the sound without understanding what had happened.
Some people saw Captain America, while others saw Adam still covered in Diamondhead's crystal form. Most only saw chaos.
Alarms rang through the Triskelion. A warning spread through the building, saying that Captain America and his companion Adam had attacked S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
That was when confusion moved through the crowd.
Captain America was famous. People knew his face and shield. Adam was newer, but after New York, many people had seen him fighting beside the Avengers.
So when the warning called them dangerous, a lot of people did not know what to believe.
Steve did not stop for any of it.
Adam ran beside him.
They crossed the wide open hall and headed toward the glass-covered outer path. Sunlight came through the glass, while armed soldiers began moving on the levels above and below.
Adam heard boots and people shouting into radios.
Then a system window appeared in front of him.
[Congratulations]
[Negative public circulation detected]
[S.H.I.E.L.D. hostility has increased]
[Reputation EXP rising at high speed]
Adam almost stumbled while running.
"Now?" he muttered.
The window shifted.
[New Alien Unlock Available]
Adam's eyes sharpened.
Even while running, he tapped the system window. A huge silhouette appeared in front of him, far bigger than the other shapes he had seen before.
The name formed under it: [Way Big]
Adam's steps nearly missed their rhythm.
'Way Big?' he thought. 'Seriously?'
For a second, he could not believe it. The system had gone from Diamondhead to Big Chill to Echo Echo, and now it had thrown Way Big at him.
"This thing is completely random," Adam said under his breath.
But there was no time to complain.
They were still being hunted.
Adam had no idea how Way Big would work with his human-body transformation rule. Would he become giant for real, or would he only gain strength?
Then the answer became urgent.
Ahead of them, a Quinjet moved into position.
Its weapons turned toward them.
Steve saw it at the same time.
"I'll distract it," Steve said. "You hit it from the other side."
Adam took a deep breath.
His hand moved to the small Omnitrix symbol on his chest. He hit it, and the Diamondhead form canceled in a flash of green. His body returned to normal height as he kept running.
Steve glanced at him.
Adam cut him off before he could speak.
"No," Adam said. "I'll handle it. You keep running."
He was still moving, but his head turned toward Adam. He could tell Adam was about to do something big.
Adam slammed his hand down on the Omnitrix.
Green light exploded around him.
Steve slowed for one step.
Then he stopped.
Adam was growing.
It did not happen like a normal transformation. Adam felt his heartbeat turn heavy, as if his body was pumping power instead of blood. His bones began to stretch, but there was no sharp pain. It felt strange, almost like a deep tickle running through him.
His arms lengthened. His legs pushed downward. His chest rose higher and higher above the floor.
Adam looked down and saw the ground falling away from him.
'This feels like Ant-Man in Civil War,' he thought.
At the same time, the system pushed new information into his mind.
He could grow even more during the transformation if he wanted. He could also hold any alien form for thirty minutes now, while the recharge time stayed at one minute.
Because Way Big was new and because they were still inside a base, Adam forced the growth to stop before it became too much.
Even then, he was enormous. His head rose above the outer structure, and he could see across a large part of the Triskelion. People inside the glass walls froze and stared up at him.
Inside the command room, the officer in charge shouted at the nearest agent.
"Why did no one tell me he could do that?"
Adam looked down at Steve.
Steve was staring up at him with the same shock as everyone else.
Adam reached down and wrapped one massive hand around him carefully.
"Better than killing everyone here," Adam said. "Let's leave."
Before Steve could answer, Adam bent his knees and jumped.
His first step landed on the Quinjet.
The aircraft dipped under the force of his foot. Adam used it like a platform and pushed off again, sending himself much higher into the air.
The power surprised even him.
The Quinjet dropped out from under him and crashed into the bridge structure that connected part of the base. Metal screamed as the aircraft broke through part of the walkway and exploded behind them.
Adam was already far above the base.
The Triskelion fell away below him.
For a moment, the city opened ahead.
Adam looked at the distance and realized he had jumped much farther than he had expected. They were already moving away from the base and toward the city area.
'Too visible,' Adam thought.
He did not want S.H.I.E.L.D. tracking a giant body through the sky. They needed to disappear, not become the biggest target in Washington.
Adam hit the Omnitrix symbol again.
Green light flashed.
Way Big canceled in midair.
In the next instant, Adam returned to his normal height.
The problem was simple.
Now both of them were falling.
Steve twisted in the air and looked toward Adam.
"I might survive a hit like this," Steve shouted. "Can you?"
He had trained and jogged with Adam for days, so he understood the problem. Sometimes Adam became terrifyingly strong. When he was normal, he was not much stronger than any other young man.
Adam did not answer right away.
He hit the Omnitrix again.
Green light covered him one more time.
His body stretched thinner. His height rose a little. A cold feeling passed through him, and the Big Chill form took over.
Adam caught Steve in both arms and leveled out before they could hit anything.
The wind rushed past them.
Steve looked down once, then back at Adam.
Adam kept his eyes ahead.
"Right now, our mission is to disappear," Adam said. "They can't keep us in sight."
Steve held onto him as they flew faster toward the city.
Then Steve asked, "Where is the pen drive I gave you?"
Adam smiled.