Chapter 81: Cry for the Moon – Part 7
A streak of blue lightning flashed across my vision.
It came from the Power Broker’s hand… what he himself had called an “energy bolt.”
An agent from S.H.I.E.L.D. took a direct hit and was blown backward, tumbling across the ground.
It wasn’t electrical energy… it looked like lightning, but the effect was physical.
The Power Broker smirked at me.
“How about it, Fury…? Victory and defeat are decided before the battle even begins. This result is nothing more than your mistake for failing to gather information on me… don’t you agree?”
While hovering in midair, he swung his arm.
Another energy bolt shot out, sending another agent flying.
…Our numbers were dwindling little by little.
The longer this dragged on, the worse it would get.
But a trump card only meant anything if it was used with certainty, efficiency, and at the most effective moment.
“You sound rather clever. Are you about to give me a lecture?”
“For monkeys like you, it’s meaningless… I despise wasted effort.”
Monkeys… so he didn’t even acknowledge us as human.
What is he? An alien? A mutant?
Or perhaps—
No, now’s not the time to think.
Time to move.
From behind a container, I darted to another position, firing as I moved.
…The bullets couldn’t penetrate his purple skin.
Earlier, even a focused barrage from the agents hadn’t left so much as a scratch—of course this wouldn’t work.
Following me with his eyes, the Power Broker sneered.
“Pointless. Attacks of this level—”
In that instant, a pair of legs clamped down on the Power Broker’s arm.
Black Widow—Natasha.
Locking the joint in place, she twisted—
“It’s rude to interrupt someone while they’re talking.”
He didn’t care in the slightest, and kept smiling.
“Kh…”
“This body is custom-made. Your attacks can’t hurt me.”
The Power Broker wasn’t sprouting wings, nor using jet propulsion, and yet… he was flying freely through the air.
He slammed Natasha into a wall.
The concrete wall shattered.
That meant Natasha had taken an impact equivalent to that destruction.
“Romanoff!”
The shout left my mouth before I could stop it.
“Looks like you lack the power to bring me down.”
“…Ugh.”
She fell, crashing onto the top of a container.
With a groan of bending metal, the roof warped.
…She wasn’t dead, but the damage looked serious.
The Power Broker landed lightly on the ground, brushing the dust off his body.
Every move he made grated on my nerves.
“Now then, all that’s left is the rabble. What will you do, Fury?”
“…”
“Has fear taken your voice?”
He laughed at me and stepped closer.
I met his approach with a laugh of my own.
“…What’s so funny?”
“Just remembering something you said.”
“What—”
“‘Victory and defeat are decided before the battle even begins,’ was it? Makes sense.”
“…I enjoy looking down on people, but I don’t like being laughed at.”
The Power Broker’s hand crackled with sparks.
Blue light gleamed in the dim interior of the large warehouse.
And then—
“Your life will pay for—”
In mid-sentence, he staggered as if struck by something.
“Mind saying that again, Power Broker? I didn’t quite catch it.”
“You… what the hell are you—”
His head twisted, and he toppled to the ground.
He didn’t understand what was happening.
Even I, who knew the trick, couldn’t see it clearly if I stared straight at it—there was no way he could.
“I prepared for this before the fight even started. No… I called someone.”
“Called…? The security cameras at this warehouse entrance show… no one came in! No one’s—gah!”
The Power Broker stumbled and leaned against a concrete pillar.
He glanced around.
Since he didn’t know who was attacking him, he must have judged it too risky to expose his back.
“Damn it, I’ll use my sensors—”
As he reached toward his forehead—
—I fired at his eye.
I wasn’t on Hawkeye’s level, but I was a decent shot.
“Gwah!?”
The bullet hit him directly in the eye, and he writhed in pain.
He hadn’t even had time to raise a hand in defense.
As expected, unlike his skin, the bullet could pierce his eyeball.
“As I thought… you’re neither a warrior nor a soldier. Your body might be boosted somehow, but your decision-making is slow. You’re an amateur.”
“You… bastard…”
“Even with good hardware, if the software inside is junk, it’s meaningless. Consider this a learning experience.”
The Power Broker’s face twisted in rage.
The confident smirk from earlier was gone.
“I won’t even give you time to regret this!”
“That’s fine, but haven’t you noticed?”
“What—”
The Power Broker once again looked around.
Nothing.
No one.
That’s right—there was no one here anymore.
Natasha, who’d been slammed into the wall.
Sharon, who was attacked first.
The other agents… not a single one remained.
“Arrogance and anger cloud the eyes. Heh… though in your case, they’ve always been clouded. Didn’t notice they’d evacuated, did you?”
“Evacuated…?”
That’s right—evacuated.
Because for him to go all out, we couldn’t have anyone else around.
I spoke to him.
“All right, Scott—go for it.”
“Who—”
The moment his name was called, the Power Broker was sent flying.
Out of nowhere, an arm appeared.
A body, legs… a man in a bright red suit and a silver helmet stood there.
From a minuscule size, he grew to human height… and still, he kept getting bigger.
Bigger, and bigger, and bigger.
From the size of an ant… to that of a giant.
The Power Broker, now on his backside, looked up at him with a shocked expression.
“Wh—what the hell…!?”
He couldn’t even form the words properly.
He continued to grow.
Soon, he burst through the roof, reaching a towering height of about twenty meters.
“Do you know who this is, Power Broker?”
The Power Broker glanced at me for an instant—then snapped back to his senses and immediately tried to take to the air.
Planning to flee, no doubt.
But—
“Oh no you don’t.”
The deep, resonant voice rumbled through the air.
The enormous man before me spoke.
In the next instant, his massive hand came swinging down—a colossal mass of flesh and muscle bearing straight toward the Power Broker.
“Guh—ooff!?”
The blow connected, swatting the Power Broker away.
The impact made my eardrums quiver.
“Heh… like swatting a fly.”
I stepped back, avoiding the falling chunks of concrete from the shattered ceiling.
In midair, the Power Broker slammed into a wall, ricocheting off it like a pinball.
He crashed into a container, then fell limply to the ground.
He scrambled onto all fours, trying to rise—but clearly, the damage wasn’t light.
It seemed he still didn’t even understand what had just happened to him, unable to move.
Then he took a single step forward, the ground shaking under his weight—
“Let me enlighten you, Power Broker. His name is Scott Lang.”
A giant foot came down.
“Ah—”
The crushing power of a human step is greater than most imagine.
Because it brings the full weight of the body down in a single blow.
And when that human stands twenty meters tall—
“And he’s also known as… Ant-Man.”
A shattering sound rang out.
Cracks spread through the ground like a crater.
“…Though right now, I suppose I should call him Giant-Man.”
The towering Ant-Man lifted his foot away.
Amazingly, the Power Broker still retained his shape. Tough indeed.
But—
“…Well, not that he’s listening anymore.”
He appeared to have lost consciousness.
『…What the…?』
My gaze shifted toward the source of the deafening noise.
The sound… it was coming from the large warehouse Power Broker had designated as the meeting place.
And then… bursting through the ceiling, a silver helmet came into view.
That’s… 《Ant-Man》.
I can’t tell if it’s Hank Pym, Scott Lang, or someone else entirely—but that figure, that massive size, there’s no mistaking it. It’s 《Ant-Man》.
Using Pym Particles, which can freely change the size of matter, he can alter the size of his own body at will.
And he wears a special helmet that allows him to communicate with ants—
No. That doesn’t matter right now.
What matters is that he just appeared from the warehouse where Power Broker is supposed to be.
… I have to get there.
If Ant-Man has stopped attacking after growing to that size… that means the fight is already over.
If they were still fighting, he’d still be pressing the attack.
I have no idea what state the warehouse is in now.
Is Power Broker still alive?
Are there any guards left?
And what about the buyer?
All these questions piled up, making me hesitate.
And right in front of me—stands Laura Kinney.
… My top priority is completing the mission.
That means guarding Power Broker.
This is no time to be fighting her.
However—
“I know you’re curious about over there… but I’m not letting you go.”
…She just had to mouth off.
『Tch…』
Clicking my tongue, I raised my knife.
I need to kill her quickly—or at least incapacitate her—so I can go help.
Laura raised her arms, twin claws sliding out.
Adamantium-coated claws.
Her natural ability is simply to grow bone claws… the adamantium came from enhancements done by the lab she used to belong to.
She kicked off the ground, charging straight at me.
Fast and feral, like a wild beast.
There’s an animal called the wolverine.
It’s weasel-like, not very big… but savagely aggressive.
It can kill moose many times its size.
It can kill wolves.
In places where it lives, it’s said to be “more dangerous than a bear.”
Her ferocity, her roughness, her speed… they’re just like that.
And the wolverine’s English name is—
『You’re just like 《Wolverine》.』
“Not exactly a compliment I’m happy about!”
I slammed the red section of my armor’s protector against her adamantium claws.
Adamantium versus adamantium.
The clash knocked her away, sending her rolling across the ground, her claws tearing into it—
…No, more like slicing through it.
Adamantium—the hardest metal, impossible to break.
Her claws never chip… always keeping their perfect sharpness.
Two deep gouges were left in the concrete floor.
I lowered my knife to my side and charged in, my entire weight behind a tackle—knife aimed at the front.
She crossed her claws to block the blade.
That was expected.
My tackle landed right on her guard.
She stumbled backward, falling toward the ground… then swung a leg upward.
A sharp sound rang off my vibranium armor.
The impact came from a single claw extending from her foot.
But that one… wasn’t adamantium-coated. Just plain bone.
“Kh…!”
Something like that couldn’t so much as scratch me through my vibranium plating.
I twisted my body, driving my elbow into her gut—
and slammed her down onto the floor.
“Ggh—ah!?”
That must have rattled her organs.
The tip of my elbow armor is sharpened—meant not only to deal blunt trauma, but to pierce skin and deal direct internal damage.
I was about to throw my weight on her when—
“Off—me!”
She shook me off.
I rolled across the concrete floor, slapping a palm down to steady myself before rising again.
『You look like you’re in a lot of pain… weren’t you here to “save” me?』
“You’ve really got a great personality, you know that…”
『I hear that a lot.』
Laura spat blood from her mouth.
…Her organs have already healed.
With her healing factor, she’s far superior to me in recovery.
But in raw physical ability… I’m slightly ahead.
And in fighting technique, too.
“You’re seriously irritating… bet you don’t have any friends.”
…Don’t I?
Well, not really the kind you’d call “friends” in the sense of being close. Not as Red Cap.
Herman, maybe… but no, not a friend.
More like a partner-in-crime.
…Not that it matters.
She sighed, looking at me with a calm expression—almost relaxed.
『You think holding me here will solve everything?』
“Of course.”
Seeing her so confident, I put a hand to my chin.
Captain’s fighting Taskmaster.
Falcon’s tangled with the mutated guards.
Winter Soldier’s facing Silver Samurai.
There’s no hero who can come to help her.
『They’re all busy fighting… you have any proof?』
“Justice always wins… you’re not the comic book type, are you?”
『…………』
I read them.
In fact, I’ve always loved good old good-versus-evil comics.
Even before I had this body.
『Comics and reality are different… don’t assume a hero will always come to save you.』
I’d had enough of hearing her talk.
I shifted the hand holding my knife behind my back.
One step forward—then I hurled it.
The blade cut through the air, flying past her and embedding itself in the wall behind her.
“Where the hell are you aiming—”
A wire was attached to the knife’s handle.
It was connected to a claw device.
She noticed it—
but I flicked the wire before she could react.
The slack in midair formed a loop.
I caught it with my other hand and yanked it tight.
“Ggh!?”
The wire coiled around her neck.
It tightened, choking her.
『Even with a healing factor… if you can’t breathe, you’ll still pass out.』
“Go—hck—!”
She tried to slash the wire with her claws—
『Not happening.』
I gripped the wire with both hands and slammed her to the ground.
Laura lost her balance and rolled.
“Kh…gh…”
I pinned the wire under my boot, winding it in with my hand.
The knife came loose from the wall and drove into her back.
“Ghh—!”
Whether it was from lack of air or pain, she could only let out a strangled sound, spitting flecks of blood.
I could hear the wire groaning under strain.
It was made from special metal fibers.
Sure, Falcon’s gear had cut through it before—but that was vibranium.
Laura’s adamantium claws could probably do the same.
But without those… it couldn’t be severed.
No matter how roughly you treated it, you couldn’t snap it barehanded.
Tinkerer had bragged it could lift a truck.
I pulled with all my strength, dragging her toward me.
『You’ll never be rescued by someone weaker than you.』
“...kh…”
She tried to say something, but no sound came out.
Her vision must have been blurring by now.
Even so, she hadn’t given up.
That… was infuriating.
I stomped on her.
“Kh—hah!”
She expelled what little air she had left, desperately trying to bring her claws to the wire.
『I’m not into sadism… so just go to sleep quietly.』
I kicked her arm away and tangled it in the wire.
Bit by bit, I was immobilizing her.
“…………”
『I don’t need anyone’s help.』
If I could neutralize her without killing her… there was no need to finish her off.
I tightened the wire, restraining her completely—
“...!”
She suddenly swung one arm upward.
I shifted my position, assuming she was aiming to cut the wire—
No… wrong.
That wasn’t her target.
No way—
“Ghh—aghk—ahh!”
Her claws had stabbed into her own neck.
She ripped downward, vertically tearing open her throat.
It was madness.
I froze for a split second—
and in that instant, I realized the wire around her neck had been severed.
『Tch!』
Healing factor users are insane.
They’re numb to their own pain, and if it’s necessary, they’ll mutilate themselves without hesitation.
I understood.
I’m the same way.
With her breathing restored, Laura regained her precision of movement.
Suddenly, I was yanked forward.
She’d grabbed hold of the wire I was still connected to and pulled.
『You little—!』
She wasn’t trying to escape—
She was making sure I couldn’t back away.
But me? Retreat?
Why would I run from someone weaker than me?
Adamantium claws came slashing toward me.
I caught them on the red-plated adamantium of my arm guards.
Sliding along the block, I drove my fist into her face.
She was feral, but in close-quarters combat, my technique was superior.
That meant I wouldn’t lose.
My fist sank deep, her face caving in.
“Ghh!?”
Still, she didn’t flinch.
Her nose had to be broken.
A healing factor could mend the wound, but the pain should still be there—
Yet she didn’t hesitate for even an instant.
“Rrhh—ghahhh!”
『Just like a beast, huh…!』
Blood spraying, she lunged with her claws.
I twisted my body aside and lashed out with a low kick.
She took the sweep and went down hard.
『If you’d just stayed unconscious, you could have avoided more pain.』
I raised my leg, ready to stomp her down—
Then she rolled onto her back.
『What—』
My raised leg drove straight into her gut.
“Ugh—ghhk—”
She puffed out her cheeks—
“Ptt!”
She spat.
No… she sprayed.
There was force behind it.
She’d been storing blood in her mouth.
Even after taking blows—
Ever since she’d driven her claws into her own throat, she’d kept blood pooled in her cheeks.
Under enough pressure, it burst from her mouth and splattered across my mask.
『Wha—』
My vision went black.
This mask doesn’t project camera footage inside.
From the outside, it looks crimson like a one-way mirror, but inside, it’s made of a special metal you can see through.
Meaning—if blood covers it—
“How’s that? Can you still see now?”
『A cheap… trick…!』
“Coming from you, that’s rich.”
I tried to wipe it off, but it stuck fast, clinging to the surface.
The next instant, something slammed into me, knocking me over.
Through the narrow, uncovered gap in my vision, I caught sight of Laura—
She’d tackled me.
“That smug mask—
I’m tearing it right off!”
This was bad.
Not because losing the mask would weaken me—
But because I couldn’t allow her to see my face.
I crossed my arms over my head to shield it—
『Gh—!?』
Something stabbed into my forearms.
Agonizing pain.
The bone cracked.
Adamantium claws.
They’d punched clean through my armor and into me.
But—this was an opening.
I clenched down on the arm that had stabbed me—
“Dammit—you…!”
She tried to pull her claws free, but couldn’t.
I had trapped them between the bones of my own arm.
The pain was enough to make me scream—
But I wasn’t letting go.
I knew exactly where she was—
Right at the end of the arm I’d caught.
I stepped back—
And drove my leg upward in a brutal kick.
“Ugh—ghhh…!”
From the feel of it… I’d struck her stomach.
A few ribs shattered under the blow.
Fragments of bone would be stabbing into her organs now. Painful, surely—
But for someone with a healing factor, it was far from fatal.
Her claws were still buried in me.
The wire tangled around our arms.
I didn’t need sight for this.
I swung down with my free arm.
“Tch—”
She instantly retracted the claws from my arm, released the wire, and sprang back.
And now… I couldn’t tell where she was.
I reached for the blood on my mask, but it had already dried in place, crusted on.
It wouldn’t come off.
Fighting her blind was near impossible.
If I opened the mask right now, I could win this fight.
But… if anyone saw my face—
If, by even the smallest chance, it was linked to Michelle Jane—
I’d never walk the streets again.
The organization would never let me live freely.
The longer I delayed the decision—
The worse my position became—
I heard the whistle of something cutting through the air—
“Ghh—!”
Something had struck her.
I wiped at the mask with my fingertips.
Through a narrow crack of vision, I saw—
An arrow buried in Laura’s neck.
“Indecision makes you weak.”
A man’s voice.
『Taskmaster.』
“Still hesitating?”
He slung away his compound bow and approached me.
Laura lay sprawled on the ground, motionless.
Her chest still rose and fell—she was alive.
An arrow wound like that would heal quickly with her abilities, but…
『…What’s her condition?』
“Neurotoxin. She’ll be out for half a day… but a healing factor means it won’t kill her.”
At those words… I felt relief.
Relief—yes.
Maybe I was more invested in her than I thought.
Enough to want her alive.
『Why are you here? Where’s the Captain?』
“I left him in enough pain that he won’t be standing for a while.”
『You didn’t kill—』
“—I didn’t.”
Then he’d already be moving again.
Severe injury wouldn’t stop him.
He’d keep fighting so long as his will held.
Taskmaster’s gaze went to the warehouse.
No sign of the giant Ant-Man—just a collapsed roof.
“…Where’s the Power Broker?”
『Most likely inside.』
“I see.”
Without sparing a glance for Laura, Taskmaster headed for the warehouse.
I started to follow—
“You don’t need to come.”
I’d like to stay out of it—
But I couldn’t.
『My mission is to protect him. The organization doesn’t allow abandonment.』
“…Suit yourself.”
I walked behind Taskmaster.
…And cast one last glance at Laura, lying on the ground behind us.
She had tried to save me.
And I had beaten her down—left her sprawled on the cold concrete floor.
I’m a terrible person.
And yet… I don’t need a helping hand.
If this made her give up, that would be best—
But I doubted it.
Even stabbed, even strangled, she would keep fighting…
She’s not the type to surrender.
It would be easier for me if I killed her here.
And still… I didn’t want her dead.
I’m a half-hearted, awful person.
Truly.
『If someone’s being held captive, then we have to help them.』
“…Yeah. You’re right.”
Taskmaster’s reply carried a faint hesitation.
I noticed it, but took it as agreement and let it go.
With a lingering sense of being pulled backward…
I left her there.
“This all you’ve got?”
I bound the Power Broker, lying unconscious before me.
Not with rope or chains—
But with a S.H.I.E.L.D.-issue electromagnetic lock.
Small, coin-like metal plates stuck to his body, each magnetically pulling toward the others, clamping him in place.
Strong enough to restrain even the Hulk’s movements.
I turned to the now human-sized Scott Lang.
“Appreciate the help, Scott Lang.”
“Yeah, no problem, Fury… but you didn’t forget, right?”
I gave him a firm nod.
“This incident—your little break-in at S.H.I.E.L.D.’s storage—will be overlooked. Next time, you’ll request what you need, when you need it.”
“Much obliged, much obliged… though you know Hank Pym hates that idea.”
Hank Pym—the man who built the Ant-Man suit and discovered the Pym Particle that can alter the size of matter.
Once a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, an original Avenger… and a man with, let’s say, serious personality issues.
He’d left the organization and now lived with his daughter.
From time to time, he “reacquired” his own inventions from S.H.I.E.L.D., insisting, ‘I built it, so it’s mine.’
The fact that they were now the property of S.H.I.E.L.D.—or rather, the UN—didn’t seem to bother him.
“…If you agree to do me one favor every time you sneak in, maybe I’ll let it slide.”
“Hey, I’m not breaking in for fun, you know. And these ‘favors’—like this time—they’re dangerous, right?”
“It’s called helping save the world.”
I keyed my comms, calling the evacuated agents back in.
“Wow, such an honor. But, uh, I’d rather stick to finding lost rings under shelves, thanks.”
I tuned him out, stepping closer to the bound Power Broker—
—when an arrow sliced past my vision.
“Whoa!?”
Scott, a few steps away, jumped at the sight.
I followed the trajectory with my eyes.
“You’re late, Tony Masters.”
A hooded figure in a skull mask stood before us.
“…What’s with that name? I’m Taskmaster.”
“I see. Then I’ll call you Taskmaster, as you prefer.”
So—he’d either forgotten his real name, or didn’t want to hear it.
Scott leaned toward me, whispering:
“So… Fury… are we supposed to fight this guy too?”
“…Just grow big and step on him.”
“I can only stay big for a few minutes… any longer and I start losing my mind.”
“You didn’t tell me that.”
“You didn’t ask.”
“….”
I nearly buried my face in my hands.
Perfect—he chooses now to mention something that important.
“Enough chatter. I’ll be taking that man with me.”
Taskmaster stepped toward the Power Broker.
“Fury, what do you want me to do?”
“You don’t have to push yourself… but can you fight?”
“Well, yeah, sure.”
In the next instant, Scott took off—and vanished from sight.
Shrunk himself down, no doubt.
Even at that size, his strength doesn’t diminish—if anything, the smaller surface area makes his blows hit like a bullet.
He darted straight for Taskmaster—
“Gah!”
—only to be swatted from midair with a sharp smack.
I caught sight of him tumbling across the ground.
…He’d live.
Sure enough, he was back to full size and standing beside me a moment later.
“Fury, who is that? Because that mask is nightmare fuel.”
I turned my gaze on the one who’d swatted him.
A bloodstained red mask. Exactly as the stories described.
The wicked fae who kills the innocent and dyes their cap in their victim’s blood—
“Redcap. A pleasure.”
“…Nick Fury.”
The voice was mechanical—neither young nor old, neither male nor female.
Clearly, they were adept at hiding their identity.
Blood soaked not just the mask but their entire body.
Likely Laura’s blood.
She was probably still alive… but if she wasn’t, that would complicate things.
Laura wasn’t S.H.I.E.L.D. or an Avenger.
Still, the figure before me was the other target I’d been hunting.
Primary objective: the Power Broker.
Secondary… her.
My eyes locked with the red-stained mask.
We stood in silence, facing each other.
I wondered what expression hid behind it.
And then—
“Ugh! There’s blood on my suit too! Whose blood is this!?”
Scott’s voice cracked through the tension like a deflating balloon.
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