"How did HYDRA ally with the aliens?" Gwen asked, confused.
"I have no idea, but now's not the time for theories. Let's recover the cube and this will all be over. We know where it is"
Tony replied, just before Banner's tense voice interrupted.
"Guys? We should run..."
No further explanation was needed. Looking at the screens, they saw a HYDRA squad breaking into the base.
"Let's go. This place has emergency exits"
Natasha ordered, heading toward the training area.
She reached the locker rooms and, after entering a code on a hidden panel, a hatch slid open, revealing a tunnel. The group rushed in and emerged about five blocks away, heading toward Stark Tower.
But as soon as they emerged, an ambush awaited them.
"I've got them. They're at my location"
the enemy leader said through his comms, smirking arrogantly before lunging straight at Steve.
The Captain reacted instantly, taking a defensive stance, but the first strike from his opponent told him something important: this wasn't a normal human.
"This guy's not normal. Be careful!" he warned the team.
"The others are. Only the leader seems special. Need help?" Natasha replied while fighting alongside Clint.
"Don't worry, I've got this"
Steve said, continuing the fight. The enemy was strong, but not enough to overpower him. Still, he was skilled, which made it difficult for Steve to pin him down.
Nearby, Gwen and Tony fought while covering Banner.
"Hey Ghost, want to see who knocks down more?" Tony asked playfully.
"Can you take this seriously? This is bad!" Gwen snapped.
But Tony kept his humor, firing from the air.
"Come on, they can't even touch me."
On the ground, Gwen used her web to pull one of her opponents and hurl him at another. When a third tried to surprise her from behind, her spider-sense warned her; she dodged easily and knocked him out with a clean hit.
Natasha and Clint fought with the efficiency of two seasoned veterans. Between attacks, they discussed how it was even possible for HYDRA and an alien force to work together... but found no answer, so they focused on the urgent matter.
Steve found an opening and struck his opponent's jaw, disorienting him. He followed up with a combo to the chest that sent him flying backward. Before the man could recover, Steve was on him again. He dodged the next attack and disarmed him with an elbow to the face, then got behind him and applied a chokehold. The enemy struggled for a few seconds before passing out.
"I'm done here. Need help?" Steve asked.
"We've got it under control"
Natasha replied, just as one of the enemies on the ground tried to move. Without hesitation, she knocked him out with a kick.
"Now we're done."
Steve looked toward Tony and Gwen, who were also nearly finished. Tony shot at the last two enemies, who dodged backward... just in time for Gwen to web one and knock him out. The other tried to defend himself, but Gwen blinded him with more webs. When he finally pulled them off, the first thing he saw was Iron Man's metal fist hitting him in the face.
"That makes 14 for me" Tony said mockingly.
"That doesn't count! You stole that one—I was winning!" Gwen protested.
"Yeah, yeah, spider girl... You're light-years away from beating me" Tony replied dismissively.
Steve smiled, relieved to see the team unharmed... until gunfire forced him to shout,
"Take cover!"
They all ran into the nearest building.
"More are coming" Banner said, concerned.
"Yeah. That agent I fought gave away our position... This is going to get tough"
Steve replied, no trace of fear in his voice. Then he started giving orders.
"Tony, get outside and control the skies. Clint, head up and support him from the upper floors. Gwen and Natasha, stay inside. It'll be easier to deal with them in small groups."
He looked at Banner, searching for hope, but Banner just shook his head.
"Sorry. I still can't control it."
Steve nodded.
"Go up with Clint. You'll be safer there."
A few minutes passed before HYDRA agents stormed the building. It was a large team with three men up front who looked more powerful than the rest.
They found no one on the first floor.
"Find them" the leader ordered.
But before they could move on, several agents were taken down by hidden electric traps.
"Ambush! Weapons up!" the leader shouted.
They wielded rifles powered by the Tesseract's energy. They only needed a second to charge, almost imperceptible... except to someone like Gwen.
The moment she noticed, she shot webs directly into the barrels.
BOOM!
The weapons exploded, hurling several agents through the air. Amid the chaos, the leader turned to fight, only to be slammed in the face by a circular metal shield.
Bleeding from the nose, he barely had time to react before Natasha struck him with an electric shock. Though resilient, the hit weakened him enough for Captain America to deliver a flurry of punches and take him out.
One of his allies tried to intervene, but Gwen took him down with a web around the ankles. When he broke free, she was already on the ceiling, dive-bombing with precise strikes—hit and vanish, again and again.
"Stupid fly! Fight me head-on!" he roared.
Gwen took it personally. She dropped down. The agent smiled, thinking he'd won.
Big mistake.
Gwen's strength overwhelmed him. Basic technique, yes. But devastating punches. He fell without a chance to strike back.
"Two down. One left" Gwen muttered.
Steve, seeing the remaining enemies regrouping, aimed to finish off the last leader. He threw his shield, but the enemy caught it with alarming ease.
This one didn't react like the others. No words. A full metal arm. A mask covering half his face.
Something about him felt familiar.
"Do I know you?" Steve asked.
The man didn't answer. He hurled the shield back violently, forcing Steve to defend himself. In that instant, he was already upon him with a direct hit.
Natasha and Gwen moved to help, but Steve stopped them:
"I'm fine! This one's mine! Handle the others—they're back!"
Both noticed the enemies had regrouped and new reinforcements were arriving. They returned to the fight.
Outside, Tony flew through the sky, firing with pinpoint accuracy. Missiles, energy blasts, destruction in waves.
And when anyone slipped through, arrows from above stopped them—Clint, in position.
But hell intensified. More reinforcements. More pressure.
"JARVIS, how much power left?"
"Energy at 60%, sir. The number of enemies is excessive. I recommend an immediate recharge."
Tony sighed.
"Yeah? And where do you want me to get power from now?"
Before he could complain more, a thunderous roar echoed through the sky. Lightning fell, and with it, a figure descended among the enemies, slamming into the ground with a hammer and one knee.
"Seriously, Thor? Superhero landing?"
Tony joked, relieved.
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+20 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)