Steve was in terrible condition.
The higher they climbed, the more merciless the cold became. The dropping temperature pushed his body to the limit, yet he forced himself to keep using his ability, and that only made things worse. Frost clung to his skin, stiffening his once-fluid form, turning resilience into rigidity.
Across from him, Adrian glared viciously, a twisted grin on his face. He could sense it. Steve's elastic body, under the freezing air, had become fragile and brittle. Right now, he was like a block of frozen rubber, one heavy strike would shatter him into countless pieces.
"You're finished, Captain America. But don't worry, I won't kill you right away."
As the binding force around him loosened, on Adrian's chest, the device designed to siphon life energy flickered to life, casting a sickly glow.
"I'll drain you dry first. Then I will send you to meet God."
Steve's face barely moved. Even making an expression was difficult for him now.
At this height, a normal man would not be frozen solid. But he had kept his elastic ability stretched to restrain Adrian. That meant his body had a much larger surface area exposed to the cold. The icy air pulled the heat from him faster than it would from any ordinary human, leaving his blood on the verge of freezing.
All he could do now was frown slightly at Adrian's words. But by now, Steve had already understood why the man was doing this.
During their struggle, with the help of his extraordinary mind, he had pieced it together. Beneath the armored helmet, he had seen Adrian's face, far older than it should have been. That kind of rapid aging was not natural. Combined with the armor's life-draining technology, the truth was clear.
"So that's it," Steve rasped through numb lips. "A disease. That's why you are aging so fast."
The words slipped from his mouth in a murmur, but Adrian heard them. The scientist also noticed the faint expression of calm on his face.
"Maybe you are right," Steve continued quietly, "you can create more value than I can. Your life… is worth more than mine."
Inside the armor, Adrian was stunned. His suit's onboard systems confirmed through analysis that Steve wasn't lying. This was truly what he believed.
Facing the man who intended to kill him, Steve's final words were not of anger or hate, but something completely different.
"I just hope you will keep your word. Use that life well. Make this world better."
Steve never wanted to see Adrian as just another criminal. He had studied his file. He knew how much the scientist had contributed to the progress of mankind before donning that suit of armor.
And he also understood the man's fear of death. He himself had felt the same when he flew the Hydra ship into the Arctic, knowing it was the end of his time. The difference was that he had already missed his era forever, while Adrian still had a chance.
If the scientist could really improve the world, then he was willing to give his life for that.
Those words struck something deep within Adrian's twisted heart. For the first time, he felt shaken. A thought hit him, that after draining Steve's energy, he could turn himself in, accept punishment, and then continue his work as a scientist to change the world.
But in that very moment, the red laser fired by Winter Soldier reached them.
Whether by pure skill or sheer luck, the shot hit Steve. Not a fatal blow, but straight through his shoulder. The heat of the blast spread through his frozen body, unlocking the rigid state where his body could no longer transform or revert back.
With the sudden surge of strength, Steve broke free of his altered form and returned to his normal body. At the same time, his weakened hands slipped, and he began to fall toward the ground.
"Wait! No, wait!" Adrian shouted. Panic edged his voice. It was unknown if his cry came from fear that Steve would die, or from dread that without Steve alive, he could not drain life force from him.
He dove down in an attempt to catch the falling man. But the cold of the high altitude did not spare his armor either. With Steve's body not there to shield him from the freezing winds, ice spread quickly over the Vulture suit. Systems stalled and shut down. Because of that, he could not keep up with Steve, who had started falling first.
"Damn it, reboot! Hurry up and restart!" Adrian roared, but the armor was no tool of mysticism. It lacked any force of will. The shutdown caused by the cold would not reverse simply because of his desperate words.
The two of them kept dropping closer to the earth.
Finally, after several failed reboots, the armor regained power. The rising heat from its systems thawed enough ice for it to function again. Following a burst of thrusters, Adrian raced downward.
But the ground was already too close.
Steve's body, still locked in weakness from the deep chill, had not recovered its elasticity. In such a condition, if he were struck at high speed, the result would be no better than for any regular human.
At the last moment, Adrian caught him. He flipped, placing the shield beneath them, holding Steve tight against his chest as they crashed into the earth together.
Boom!
The impact thundered across the ground. The shield absorbed much of the force, but not all. The remainder ripped through Adrian's suit and body. Metal shrieked, armor crumpled, and the two men skidded across the dirt for dozens of meters before coming to a halt.
"Cough... cough, cough..." Adrian pushed himself up slowly. He did not need the built-in scanners to know his body had taken severe internal damage from the crash. The pain was proof enough.
Beside him, Steve stirred as well. Though too weak to stand, he managed a faint smile at the man in the vulture suit in front of him.
"See? I knew it. You were never meant to be a criminal."
Those words cut into Adrian like a blade. Every time he looked into Steve's eyes, he felt shame. He could not say a word.
Silently, he powered up what was left of the broken armor and took to the sky. Stumbling, swaying, he flew away from Pym Technologies.
His once steady resolve was in shambles. That damned Captain America had dragged him back from the darkness.
It was Steve's victory. The victory of a noble spirit.
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