Chapter 20: Shock Your Hear - Part 4

Captain America's shield pierced into my right arm.

『Guh…ahh!』

I let out a dull cry of pain as I shifted the shield with my flesh to keep it from hitting a vital spot.

It was pain I hadn’t felt in years.

In recent years, thanks to how much stronger I’ve become, I hadn’t been wounded by enemy attacks at all.
And ever since my suit was upgraded into vibranium alloy armor, the risk of being hit had decreased even further.

Now, for the first time in a long while—I felt the fear of death.
And I felt it vividly.

The deflected shield struck a car, rebounded, then smashed into a wall before returning to Captain's hand.

Just like a pinball.

…Captain isn’t just a physically enhanced superhuman.

The super soldier serum boosts not only physical strength, but also cognitive ability and calculation power.

He calculates air resistance, flow, material rigidity, angles of deflection—everything—allowing him to throw the shield and have it return to his hand.

I looked at my gouged-out forearm.
…Between the pain and the sight of it, I knew it was a serious injury.

I tried to clench my right hand, which hung limp—but it wouldn’t even twitch.

…The nerves must have been severed.

The pain was intense enough that an ordinary human would’ve passed out.
The pseudo-super soldier serum doesn’t block out pain, nor does it dull one’s sensitivity to it.

Pain tolerance is no different from that of a normal person.

But I was trained under the Court organization.
Trained specifically to withstand torture.

Waterboarding, suffocation, burning, electrocution, needles, nail removal—

Thanks to advancements in medical technology that can heal wounds without leaving a trace, I was put through those tortures—not as training, but as actual experience—to build resistance.

Compared to that kind of deliberate torment, the pain of being wounded in combat… is bearable.

“It’s over. Surrender… I won’t take your life.”

Captain lowered his guard and spoke.

…A wound like this could mean losing the use of my arm for life—but I can heal myself.

If I focus solely on healing for half a day, my healing factor will completely regenerate the damage, leaving not even a scar.

But that’s half a day.

It won’t help in this battle. I’ll have to fight with only my left arm.

No weapons.

My dominant hand is useless.

Meanwhile, Captain is in perfect condition.

No injuries, and his shield is right in his grasp.

There’s no chance of winning.

Suddenly, the wall to the side exploded.

A nearby car was blown into the air and landed between me and Captain.

I used the opening to create distance between us.

Through the rubble of the collapsed wall, I saw a silhouette.

Someone was down.

…It was Widow.

She wasn’t holding anything.

Which means—

From beyond the wall, through the dust and smoke, a man emerged.

He wore a suit lined with protective armor and gauntlets on both arms.

Those gauntlets radiated golden energy and emitted heat-dispersing smoke.

In his hand was an attaché case.

『…Shocker, huh.』

I steadied my breathing and called out.

“…Huh? Ah—Did I end up back where I started!?”

Shocker shouted in surprise.

“Natasha…!”

Captain rushed over to cradle Widow in his arms.

I called out to Shocker.

『…Did you kill her?』

“Nah… I’m not into killing women or kids.”

As a villain, that mindset is well below passing grade… but personally, I can respect it.

『The attaché case.』

“It’s right here—wait, are you hurt!?”

Shocker finally seemed to notice and raised his voice.

『It’s nothing.』

“No way that’s nothing! Your arm’s like, half torn off!”

Maybe because he doesn’t know I have a healing factor, Shocker’s reacting way too strongly.

『…Shocker. Take the attaché case and get out of here. There should be an emergency escape boat. Head back to the container storage room and take the executive staff with you.』

“A-and what about you?”

As for me… right. I’ll just wait for the right moment and jump into the ocean.

The salt water will sting like hell, but I can drift until I’m fully healed, then swim back to shore.

The ocean temperature at night is low—cold enough to make a normal person pass out from hypothermia and drown.

But I’ve been made into a superhuman by pseudo-super soldier serum. It won’t be a problem.

Even Captain survived drifting through icy waters without dying, despite the differences in our serums.

『Forget about me. Leave me behind… Looks like we’re out of time anyway.』

Captain was right in front of me, shield raised and ready.

『Then, Shocker—leave the rest to—』

“If I blast him here, you can escape too, right!?”

Shocker activated the gauntlets on both arms—his Vibro Shock Gauntlets.

Golden light surged forth, and a fine tremor radiated from them.

In the next instant, a visible golden shockwave fired from his arms.

His target—Captain, standing right in front of him.

Are you insane!?

I nearly yelled, furious at the recklessness.

But the situation moved too fast for words.

Captain didn’t try to dodge the shockwave. He rushed in head-on, shield raised.

The shockwave tore through the ship’s flooring, launched nearby cars into the air, and bore down on Captain.

But the moment it hit his shield—

The shockwave was completely nullified.

As if it had never existed in the first place, beyond that shield.

This is vibranium’s shock absorption ability.

A terrible match-up for Shocker, whose main weapon is shockwaves, and Captain, who has a shield that absorbs impact.

“No way…!?”

Shocker shouted, stunned, as Captain powered straight through and slammed him with a shield bash.

Shocker went flying, spinning wildly like an empty can crushed by a truck.

It was a massive hit.

He must be—dead…

“Gweh!?”

…No, he’s not dead.

His suit is built from impact-resistant materials designed to withstand the very shockwaves he emits.

It’s not on the level of vibranium, but it still provides decent protection.

The attaché case slipped from Shocker’s grasp as he was flung, landing somewhere else entirely.

Shocker, me, Captain America, Black Widow, and the attaché case—we were all scattered.

Shocker still hadn’t recovered his stance.

Black Widow was unconscious.

Captain and I started running at the same time.

Both of us heading for the attaché case.

The distance between each of us and the case—almost exactly the same.

But with my right arm unusable, I couldn’t run at full capacity.

Running isn’t something you can do with just your legs.

Now that I couldn’t use my arm, my sense of balance was thrown off, and any intense movement would reveal that flaw.

Could I possibly outrun Captain in this state?

I couldn’t even beat him when we were both uninjured.

The answer was no.

I turned and ran—not toward the attaché case, but toward Shocker.

I called out to him as I ran.

『Shocker! Fire a shockwave at me! Full power!』

“Wait, wha—”

『Just do it! Hurry!』

I yelled at full volume as I closed the distance between us.

“Ahh, screw it! Whatever happens, happens!”

Just as I reached him, Shocker unleashed a shockwave.

The shockwave struck me head-on.

『Guh—』

The impact was stronger than I’d expected, and I clenched my back teeth.

My low-purity vibranium armor couldn’t absorb the blow the way Captain’s shield could.

The golden shockwave pierced through the armor, making my bones groan.

Especially my right arm—already exposed and stripped of armor—was in bad shape.

I could feel the blood vessels and muscle fibers tearing apart inside.

“What are you doing!?”

Captain shouted in surprise at the sight of me willingly taking the blast.

His movement stopped—just for a second.

But that brief moment, that fleeting pause, decided the outcome of this battle.

Red sparks burst from my armor, like the energy I couldn’t contain was starting to leak out.

That’s right—my vibranium-alloy armor not only absorbs shock, it can also release the energy it stores.

And that emitted energy gives off a vibranium-unique wavelength—one that cancels out and neutralizes other vibranium’s shock absorption abilities.

I raised my left arm, which felt like it could shatter at any moment.

This was the sonic blast—a shockwave attack I’d once fired at Spider-Man.

But I wasn’t aiming it at Captain.

“…No… way!?”

I was aiming at Black Widow—unmoving, unconscious, and defenseless.

Captain realized what I was doing and abandoned the attaché case, breaking into a sprint toward her.

『…………』

I activated the sonic blast emitter in my left palm using my nearly-fried control system.

Captain raised his shield, moving to cover Widow.

I knew you would. That’s who you are.

I tilted my palm downward, just slightly.

At that instant, an invisible shockwave exploded out.

It flung nearby cars into the air, tore up the floor, shattered the ceiling lights—everything in its path—barreling toward Captain.

Captain’s shield caught the shockwave.

But unlike the one he blocked from Shocker earlier, this time I could see it—he was being pushed back, struggling to hold his ground.

“Rrgh!!”

Captain grunted with effort, bracing against it.

…This shockwave—

He would probably stop it.

I’d accounted for that.

I wasn’t trying to hit Captain directly while he shielded Widow.

The true target—was just beneath him.

The floor tore apart and collapsed.

“What!?”

Captain might be able to withstand the shockwave itself.

But what about the floor holding him up?

With the support gone, Captain floated briefly in the air.

Instinctively, he scooped Natasha into his arms as they fell together to the lower deck.

An emergency alert blared throughout the ship.

Looks like I’d damaged the engine room.

『Haah… haaah…』

My body was wrecked.

That’s the only way to describe it. I dropped to my knees.

I tried to support myself with both hands, only to remember my right arm was useless.

…This won’t heal in half a day.

Supporting myself with my left hand, I looked over at Shocker.

I couldn’t see his expression through his mask, but it was obvious he was stunned.

『Shocker… retrieve the attaché case… and escape the ship with the rest of the organization… while you still can…』

I said this, and with my consciousness flickering, collapsed onto the floor.

My mask hit the ground with a loud clatter.

While catching my breath, I began thinking of a way to escape on my own.

If I fell into the sea in this condition… I might actually drown this time.

Somehow, I’d have to stand up and hitch a ride on an escape craft—either from A.I.M or the Life Foundation.

I tried to rise on trembling legs—and was caught by Shocker.

He supported my left shoulder, as if lending me his own.

In his right hand was the attaché case.

“Tch… damn, you’re heavy.”

…Excuse me?

I’m not heavy.

How rude, saying that to a lady—

Ah, no. That’s not what he meant.

It’s the suit. The suit is heavy.

It’s not me… probably.

Besides, thanks to the super-soldier serum, my body can’t gain weight.

Or… wait, that’s beside the point…

『What are you doing, Shocker…?』

“…I wanna run for it too, believe me… but I’m not the kind of loser who abandons the person who saved his life…”

『I see…』

…Even if he’s a villain.

It seems Shocker isn’t a bad person to the core.

With a clunk, the attaché case slipped from his hand and hit the ground.

“Ah—whoops.”

He bent to pick it up.

But it seemed the impact had forced it open.

Most likely, the lock and clasps had been damaged during the earlier chaos.

And then—I saw what was inside.

Five vials of liquid.

Gray.

Purple.

Green.

Yellow.

A swirl of red and yellow.

Each was sealed in a small capsule-shaped container.

Each one had a strip of tape on it with handwritten labels:

RIOT.

AGONY.

LASHER.

PHAGE.

SCREAM.

Every one of them, an ominous name.

“Whoa—careful…”

Unaware of what I’d seen, Shocker quickly shut the case again.

Just before the lid closed, I thought I saw the liquids inside… wriggle.