Blood splattered in the cold rain, crimson droplets mixing with muddy water as bodies hit the earth. The cold steel glimmered under stormy skies, slashing through the chaos like a phantom. The rain was falling hard, but the blade was faster.
"Damn it! What is that?!"
"There's an attack! Get ready—"
"Too fast! Fall back—!"
"No—!"
Before any HYDRA agents could organize a defense, terror overtook them. As soon as they caught a glimpse of the darting shadow, a deep, primal fear crawled up their spines. Guns were raised with trembling hands, but it was already too late. The cold light swept through the squad like a scythe, slitting throats before fingers could even squeeze triggers.
One by one, the HYDRA soldiers dropped into the muddy ground. Bang! Bang! Bang! Their rifles clattered uselessly beside them, blood pouring from their necks and staining the earth. Their eyes widened in shock, frozen in death. They hadn't even seen their killer clearly. Just a blur. A whisper. And then nothing.
Clang! A final slice echoed through the downpour. The blade halted at the throat of the last soldier, but this one was spared—for the moment.
The killer stood still now.
A tall figure emerged from the misty battlefield, the rain dripping down his shoulders, a shield strapped across his back, a long blade gleaming in one hand. He wore a black fiber mask that concealed his identity, but those present didn't need a name to recognize him. They felt it.
Klaue's eyes widened as he whispered, "You came…"
He had been observing Nathan's training for weeks and had a good sense of his limits—until now. This was beyond everything. The speed, the precision—it had crossed the line of what should be humanly possible.
"Inhuman…" Klaue muttered in disbelief.
Elizabeth's eyes shimmered with tears as she looked up at the masked man. "Big brother," she sniffled, "I knew you'd come for us."
Nathan's voice was calm, clear even through the downpour. "I told you I'd deal with the pursuers. Now… I keep my promise."
From a hidden S.H.I.E.L.D. outpost, surveillance footage broadcast the scene in real time. Black Widow and Hawkeye were watching.
"My god…" Natasha whispered. "He's too fast."
Hawkeye leaned closer, squinting at the blurred figure on the monitor. "What kind of speed is that? I can't even follow his movements. Just flashes of cold light and bodies dropping."
"He's a blur… a ghost."
Black Widow gasped. "It's him! He finally showed up!"
"Nathan!"
Hawkeye's breath caught. "That's Nathan?! But… he was supposed to just be a skilled fighter! Not this—this monster!"
"No ordinary man can move like that," Natasha said gravely.
Everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters stared at the screen in stunned silence.
"He's the one who turned HYDRA inside out," one agent murmured.
"What kind of secret are you hiding, Nathan?" Hill asked quietly. "You're not just a soldier."
Natasha spoke, eyes never leaving the screen. "When I first met him, he was maybe on par with Captain Rogers. Now… he's in a league of his own."
"It's like he's evolving," Hill added. "But at what cost?"
In the jungle, Klaue was already moving, blood dripping from wounds, his daughter clutched to his side. "We need to go now," he said. "The main HYDRA force is coming."
But Nathan held the last surviving HYDRA soldier at knife-point. "Send a message," he ordered, pressing the blade into the soldier's neck just enough to draw blood. "Tell your base you found Klaue and the girl in the canyon. Say they're escaping."
The trembling man obeyed. "We've found the targets! They're fleeing through the canyon—we need reinforcements!"
The transmission crackled, and a voice replied: "Acknowledged. Main forces are en route to the canyon. They won't escape."
Klaue smirked, thinking Nathan planned to mislead the enemy.
"Clever," he said. "While they chase shadows, we'll vanish."
But Nathan shook his head. "No. I'm not misleading them. I lured them to that canyon… because that's where I'll bury them."
"I said I'd take care of your pursuers. I meant all of them."
Coulson, who had barely kept up with the madness unfolding, felt his knees weaken. "You… You want to fight a whole army?"
"They've got exosuits. Winter Soldiers. Heavy weaponry! You're one man!"
Even HYDRA's own agent looked up at Nathan in disbelief. "You're mad! That force can raze a city!"
From the other end, Natasha stared at the monitor. "He's going to get himself killed…"
"No one can survive against that many elite soldiers," Hawkeye added. "Not even Steve."
And then, without warning—
The screen went black.
"He destroyed the drones," Natasha growled. "He's making sure no one watches what happens next."
"Don't let him do this alone," Fury's voice barked over the comm. "Stop him. NOW."
Natasha and Clint sprinted off into the jungle, the sound of their boots muffled by rain and mud.
Back near the cliffs, Elizabeth beamed at Nathan, fully believing in his words.
"Go and avenge us," she said. "Kill them all."
Nathan gently patted her head. "I will."
Even Klaue, once skeptical, nodded grimly. "Do what you have to. We'll wait."
With one last look at the two, Nathan turned and stabbed his blade into the neck of the last HYDRA soldier.
Then he was gone—vanishing into the rain like death itself.
He moved like a panther, bounding through the darkness toward the canyon. He planted mini-explosives along the walls, embedding them into cliff faces, soil, and stone. He covered the approach, every escape route, with death traps.
At last, he climbed the steep slope, perched like a hawk atop the canyon.
A single man standing high above the valley of death.
The cold wind whipped his cloak.
The thunder rolled.
Nathan drew his knife, removed the shield from his back, and prepared to face an army.
"Come, HYDRA," he said into the storm. "Let me show you your reckoning."
Minutes later, the HYDRA forces poured into the canyon. Armored jeeps, motorcycles, elite foot soldiers, all converging. Like a river of steel.
From above, Nathan watched.
And waited.
Until the last vehicle rolled in.
Then he pressed the detonator.
BOOM!
Explosions erupted from every angle. The canyon lit up with fire. The cliffs crumbled. The road split.
Soldiers screamed.
Vehicles flipped.
Smoke filled the air, blotting out the sky.
And from that smoke, a shadow descended.
Nathan leapt into the firestorm, his blade spinning, shield slamming, eyes like voids.
It was no longer a battle. It was a massacre.
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