When the situation in Washington was getting worse by the minute, Merlin followed the Black Cat straight to Kingpin's place. Before they even reached the door, the whole building was already shaking.
"Da-da-da!!"
"Boom!!"
"Get her!!"
Gunshots, furniture breaking, men shouting — the whole building sounded like a wild brawl festival.
Gwen, clinging to the side of the glass wall, tilted her head. "Uh… what happened in there?"
Merlin stopped, listening for a few seconds. The chaos inside wasn't random — there was fear in the screams, anger too."Don't talk too loudly," he murmured. "Find Hardesky first. He should be in there somewhere."
Black Cat's father, Hardesky — the civet thief. A veteran escape artist. After slipping out of a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison years ago, he vanished completely. But the optimized Super Soldier Serum formula stored in his head… yeah, someone like Kingpin wasn't going to leave that alone.
When Kingpin found out, he kidnapped Hardesky. And to make sure the formula wasn't fake, he forced experiments on Felicia. That's how the Black Cat was born.
Gwen blinked. "…She wasn't lying?"
"No. I checked the files on the way here. Before Christmas, Kingpin really grabbed Hardesky." Merlin paused, then added, "And because of the Chameleon's involvement, I can't pinpoint where Hardesky is exactly."
"You have spider-sense," he continued. "You'll feel it."
Gwen smacked her fist into her palm. "Say no more. Leave that to me."
She slipped inside through the vent like it was her second home.
The moment she disappeared, Merlin called Arcee over."Let's go. We go loud."
He flipped on thermal imaging, caught several hot outlines down the hallway, and sped forward in a sprint.
Inside Kingpin's Office
"Where's Merlin?" Kingpin growled, towering in his spotless white suit, glaring at the Black Cat as she tried to escape his office.
"If you fail, give back my father!" Felicia hissed.
"Waste," Kingpin spat. "I already told you — as long as your father is my hostage, you obey me. That was the deal."
He gestured, and a screen flickered to life.
A blond middle-aged man tied to a chair appeared on it — Hardesky.
"Dad!" Felicia's face drained.
"You don't seem to understand what position you're in," Kingpin said, voice low but furious. Honestly, anyone could tell he'd been in a foul mood for months. Ever since the new platform rose, the underground world wasn't quiet anymore. High-tech weapons everywhere, his old dominance shrinking. Bullseye gone, Erica gone, Deadpool leaving — he barely had manpower left.
Hardesky and Felicia were temporary patches on a sinking ship.
After injecting Felicia with the serum, he sent her to lure Merlin. If she failed, she was supposed to kidnap him. Kingpin didn't care about her preference — kidnapping was always his backup plan.
"Even though you didn't bring Merlin," he said, waving his hand, "I'm not letting you walk out for nothing."
On the screen, a thug stepped into Hardesky's cell with a knife.
"No!" Felicia roared and dashed forward—
—but a sharp whistling sliced in from the window.
CRASH!!
The glass wall shattered. Merlin and Arcee blasted into the office in full armor.
"Who said she didn't bring me?" Merlin said, voice dripping with mockery.
Several people gasped."Merlin?!"
Kingpin's face twitched. He swallowed, forcing a smile. "You came at the right time. I was going to send her to invite you, but she tried to kidnap you instead. Heh… misunderstandings. I can explain—"
BANG!!
Merlin didn't bother. The palm cannon fired straight into Kingpin's chest.
BOOM!!
The massive man slammed into the wall and crashed through it like a wrecking ball.
"BOSS!!"The bodyguards panicked, raising their guns—Too late.
Arcee fired first, and the laser beams swept through them like red threads. One by one, they fell.
Before she could turn her gun toward Kingpin again, a huge shadow burst through the dust and smashed straight into Merlin.
CRASH—
Kingpin hit him like a freight train.
"AAARGHH—!!"
His suit tore apart, ripping open like paper. What burst out wasn't fat. It was pure muscle, twisted and bulging like some grotesque beast.
He grabbed Merlin around the waist and squeezed.
Crrrk… crrrk…
The armor creaked, warnings blaring in Merlin's helmet.
"Armor integrity down 5%… 6%… 10%…"
"Damn," Merlin muttered, grimacing. "Strong is fine, but I really don't enjoy being hugged by dudes."
He raised his hand.
BZZZZ!!!
A white arc of energy shot across Kingpin's thick neck.
Silence.
Kingpin's grip loosened.
His head slid off and thudded on the floor.
Merlin dropped to his knees as the huge corpse toppled over.
Felicia stared blankly. Gwyn later said she had never seen someone's face break that fast — shock, disbelief, relief, everything.
Merlin was about to say something, but his sensors pinged.He turned toward Washington, staring through the shattered window.
In the clear daylight, something like a divine spear pierced the clouds.
A bright blue beam shot straight downward.
"So fast…" Merlin breathed.
Washington
On the deck of the captured aerospace carrier, Elson and Dr. Ock looked toward the distant SHIELD base. Smoke rolled into the sky — the whole facility looked like a dying beast.
"Time's… up," Elson whispered.
"What's happening…?"
On the other side, near the Killer Whale submarine, Tana and the others stepped out to look at the sky.
"It's coming," someone whispered.
And then it arrived.
A colossal blue beam pierced down from the heavens, slicing through the clouds like a god's sword, crashing straight onto SHIELD.