DtB…
However, the imagined scene of smashing Tony's armor did not appear. Instead, Tony grabbed the shield with one hand.
"Now it's my turn."
As soon as he finished speaking, the situation reversed. Captain America, who had been overwhelming in close combat, was shocked to discover that every punch and every move he made was being read by Tony. Either his attacks missed entirely, or they were effortlessly deflected. It was unbearably frustrating.
Tony truly lived up to his reputation as the chairman of Stark Industries. Not only was he brilliant and quick-witted, but with the coordination of the Mark armor, he completely overwhelmed Captain America.
With his hands clasped together, another laser blast shot toward Captain America. Captain America raised the shield in his hand.
Boom.
Another palm cannon fired.
Unexpectedly, Captain America lifted his arm and directly deflected the blast. Caught off guard, Tony was knocked straight to the ground.
Bucky lay behind Captain America, while Tony sat on the ground in front of him, caught in an impossible dilemma.
"He's my friend."
Captain America looked at Bucky and spoke with deep meaning. He did not intend to hide the truth of the matter. Bucky was innocent—he had been under HYDRA's control and had killed without knowing it.
But Captain America feared that once Tony learned the truth, he would kill Bucky. Both sides were his brothers, and he could do nothing. Not telling anyone had seemed like the only way to preserve the peace.
Yet after all his calculations, it still turned out to be the wrong move. He never expected things to reach this point anyway.
"We used to be friends too."
Tony stood up and said coldly.
In his eyes, Captain America had always been protecting Bucky. Killing meant paying the price—no matter the reason. If you still called a murderer your friend, then don't blame him for refusing to recognize you as one.
After speaking, Tony knocked Captain America away again, then stepped forward, preparing to bombard Bucky to death.
But before he could act, Bucky suddenly grabbed his leg, taking advantage of Tony's momentary shock.
Captain America roared, grabbed the back of Tony's Mark armor, and slammed him hard to the ground. Without giving Tony any time to react, he mounted him again, pinning him down.
At this point, neither of them held back. There was no mercy.
Captain America straddled Tony and hammered his helmet with punch after punch, each blow thrown with all his strength. When fists were no longer enough, he grabbed the shield and smashed it down, shattering Tony's helmet with just a few strikes. Inside, Tony's bloodied head was exposed.
Suddenly, Captain America raised the shield with both hands and brought it down with all his force. Tony hurriedly raised his arms, crossing them in front of himself.
'So this is how I die…?'
'Pathetic. Beaten to death like this.'
'Pepper is still waiting for me to go back…'
'Damn it, you're really ruthless.'
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Tony's vision blurred, and hallucinations crept in—he even thought he saw God waving at him.
Fff…
Zzzzz—
Tony opened his eyes. The shield had not struck his head. At the last moment, Captain America had slammed the shield into the arc reactor on Tony's chest instead. Sparks crackled wildly from the damaged reactor, effectively disabling the Mark armor. This time, Tony completely lost his ability to fight.
Iron Man versus Captain America finally ended with Tony's defeat.
Fortunately, there was no one else present except Blaine. After all, the combined age of Captain America and Bucky was nearly several hundred years. If this scene were captured by paparazzi with ulterior motives, it would definitely make tomorrow's headlines: Iron Man beaten by two centenarians. A moral collapse, or a distortion of human nature?
"Hey, what a pity. With that kind of strength, he still had to hold back."
Others didn't know Tony's true power, but Blane did.
It wasn't that Tony wasn't wearing the right armor—it was that he was deliberately holding back. With Tony's level of technology, how could he possibly lose to Captain America? If it weren't for Captain America's home-field advantage, Tony would have beaten him senseless.
"No fun."
"How cowardly."
"He was already on top of him, and still didn't dare to go all out…"
Blaine felt indignant as he watched. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't understand why Tony never revealed his true strength.
Sure, Captain America was an official Marvel bug, capable of forcing a fifty-fifty fight with almost anyone. But Tony was no ordinary man—he could stand shoulder to shoulder with gods using mortal power. That wasn't just empty praise.
"Let's go."
The outcome had been decided, and there was no need for Blaine to stay. In an instant, he left the cave and rushed straight home.
Inside the cave, Tony lay helpless on the ground. Things had already come to this point. Unable to kill his father's true murderer, at least beating Bucky into a cripple could be considered some release.
In the distance, Captain America staggered forward, pulled Bucky up from the ground, and the two of them left, supporting each other.
"…Leave the shield."
"You don't deserve it."
"It was made by my father."
With the last of his strength, Tony called out to Captain America, looking at him calmly. This calmness carried no emotion—just a simple, steady gaze.
They had fought. They had bled. There was nothing left to resent.
Clang…
Without a word, Captain America left the shield behind and continued helping Bucky away, never looking back.
"Huff, huff…"
"Hiss…"
Tony let out a deep breath, as if finally relieved. But as it tugged at the wounds on his face, he couldn't help letting out a groan.
In fact, shortly after Tony arrived, someone else had come as well—aside from Blaine. That person was Black Panther, T'Challa.
Instead of entering the cave, he went to the mountaintop. While Tony was fighting Captain America, he lay in wait there, but the one who arrived wasn't his intended target—it was Zemo.
A fight was inevitable, but how could an ordinary man like Zemo be a match for the Black Panther? Before long, he was pinned to the ground.
However, after hearing the recording as well, Black Panther seemed to have guessed something, and did not intend to kill him outright.
"My father was also killed by your scheme, sir."
"Is this what you wanted?"
Black Panther removed his helmet and calmly looked at Zemo, who was crouched motionless on the ground, as he asked. As the prince of Wakanda, T'Challa possessed exceptional judgment.
"You know, from the very beginning, I never cared about those soldiers."
"Hah. My goal from the start was to provoke internal conflict within the Avengers, to split them apart."
"That's right—your civil war was entirely planned by me, calculated step by step."
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