On the other side of the battlefield, a hidden message reached HYDRA's intelligence network. Their operatives received the alert just as Agent Coulson entered the canyon. That alert was immediately relayed to Baron Strucker himself.
The moment he heard it, Strucker's face lit up with a cold, calculating grin.
"Now, Coulson," he sneered, "let's see how you plan to escape."
His voice crackled with anticipation, the corners of his mouth twitching with a twisted satisfaction. "Finally, we've cornered him. And soon... we'll know Nathan's exact location."
Strucker's fingers twitched in eagerness, rubbing his hands as if already savoring victory.
Elsewhere in a dimly lit command center, Dr. Arnim Zola, the digital remnant of the former scientist, muttered as he observed Strucker's fixation. "So, he's going this far... all just to capture Coulson and bait out that young man, Nathan?"
He frowned, pulling up Nathan's file from the database. The result? Underwhelming.
"Just a researcher?" Zola's digitized voice echoed with skepticism. "This isn't the profile of someone worth mobilizing elite soldiers. What am I missing?"
Yet, something was off. Zola discovered that Research Institute No. 71 had been purged. Typically, when a facility underperforms, only the researchers are dismissed or reassigned. But this time, both soldiers and commanding officers were eliminated.
Zola's virtual avatar paused.
"This isn't cleanup. This is cover-up," he murmured. "Strucker is hiding something... and it centers around Nathan. What exactly happened in that institute?"
Meanwhile, in the canyon, HYDRA's units were advancing steadily—until hell itself broke loose.
BOOM!
Simultaneous explosions erupted at both ends of the canyon, sending shockwaves through the earth. The canyon cliffs collapsed. Tons of boulders crashed down like a furious avalanche, smashing vehicles and bodies alike.
"It's the end of the world!" one soldier screamed.
The destruction was relentless. Cars flattened, motorcycles crushed, and men obliterated beneath falling stone. Blood soaked the earth, and the screams of the dying echoed between the narrowing rock walls.
Beneath the ground, more bombs detonated, blasting vehicles into the air and shredding HYDRA troops to pieces. Flames burst forth in the rain, thick smoke mixing with blood in the downpour. The canyon became a slaughterhouse.
Black Widow and Hawkeye, approaching from a nearby ridge, stopped in their tracks as the earth trembled beneath their feet.
"What the hell was that?!" Natasha gasped, her instincts on high alert.
"That sound... it came from the canyon," Clint muttered, his bow already half-drawn. "Was that artillery?"
"Is Nathan caught up in this?" Natasha frowned, pulling a micro drone from her pack. "We need eyes on the situation—now."
The drone took off and zipped toward the smoke-filled canyon.
Inside the chasm of chaos, the devastation was brutal, but not total. Though the ambush had annihilated many, the Winter Soldiers and Exoskeleton Troopers survived, their advanced armor allowing them to either dodge or withstand the falling rocks. Even the ground-based bombs, while deadly, were spaced too far apart to wipe them all out.
Roughly one-third of HYDRA's force survived—but they were enraged. The survivors looked around at their butchered comrades, their faces filled with disbelief and fury.
"Two-thirds of us gone... in one strike?!"
"Where are the reinforcements?! This was just a routine mission!"
"This has to be a setup. Is it S.H.I.E.L.D.? The Avengers? Or... could it be him?"
Suddenly, a voice thundered from above.
"HYDRA!"
"You are surrounded—by me! Today will be your grave!"
Everyone looked up through the downpour.
There, on the cliff edge, stood a lone figure, silhouetted against the rain. A blade in one hand, a shield strapped to his back. The figure didn't flinch as thunder cracked behind him.
"Is he serious?! One person?! He's claiming to have surrounded us alone?!" someone shouted in disbelief.
"Is it Klaw?!" another soldier yelled.
"No! It's... it's Nathan!" a Winter Soldier confirmed grimly.
Their eyes locked on the lone warrior who had turned their entire canyon into a deathtrap.
Nathan.
"Did... did he really do all this by himself?!"
"He's crazy!"
"Even if he's powerful, he can't take all of us!"
Baron Strucker, upon hearing Nathan's unexpected appearance, stood up in astonishment. Then—he laughed. "You've come to me yourself," he muttered gleefully.
"You destroyed my forces, and you still walked into the lion's den. Perfect."
He issued the order: "Bring him in—alive if possible. Cripple him if you must, but don't kill him. We'll make him talk."
Back in the canyon, Nathan suddenly slid down the cliff, descending at breakneck speed.
No backup. No S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Just him.
"He's really alone?" gasped one of the soldiers.
"Then we kill him here! Now!"
Nathan launched from the cliff wall like a cannonball. At twenty meters above the ground, he sprang forward, sword raised high.
"Die."
PSSST!
One HYDRA soldier was cleaved in two. Blood sprayed like a fountain.
"Get him! Cripple him if you must! Cut off his limbs! Just don't kill him!"
But Nathan was already a storm.
In the midst of the pouring rain, he cut through HYDRA soldiers like a reaper through wheat.
Heads rolled. Chests were pierced. Limbs torn.
He hurled his shield—it ricocheted among enemy lines, each strike cracking ribs and crushing skulls. Unlike Captain America's tactical throws, Nathan's control was deadly efficient, optimized for maximum carnage.
A soldier tried to stab him from behind—Spider-Sense triggered!
Nathan twisted, eyes like ice. A flash of silver, another body split in half.
Bullets tore through the air—Nathan's shield blocked many, but some slipped through. He dove behind corpses, shield braced, sparks dancing off the metal.
Then came two Exoskeleton soldiers, charging with inhuman speed.
Nathan ducked. Slashed.
Metal shrieked—then silence. One Exoskeleton warrior's head hit the mud.
The other charged—WHAM! Nathan's shield slammed into it, flattening the helmet and everything inside it.
Yellow and white matter splattered across the canyon floor.
HYDRA's elite began to panic.
"He's injured! He's bleeding! He's human!"
"He can't keep this up! Keep shooting! He's slowing down!"
But as they watched, their fear deepened.
Nathan wasn't slowing down.
His blade continued to rise and fall. His bloodied figure never once paused. Even with multiple wounds—some deep enough to expose bone—he fought with relentless fury.
"What is this guy made of?!"
"He's already taken so many hits! Why isn't he dead yet?!"
In the shadows, four Winter Soldiers exchanged glances. They had hoped Nathan would be worn down by now. That overwhelming numbers would crush him.
But that wasn't happening.
"It's time," one muttered.
"All of us—now! With the remaining Exoskeletons. Bring him down."
The elite of Strucker's force surged forward, surrounding Nathan on all sides.
The final assault began.
Nathan met it head-on.
Blades clashed, fists flew, shields shattered bones.
He was one man standing against an army—and he was winning.
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