Golden sparks swirled in the air of the Hydra lab.
Two Hydra soldiers spun around, energy rifles snapping toward the sudden portal.
"What—"
The taller soldier's shout cut off.
Two crimson beams lanced from the portal, piercing their foreheads with surgical precision. Their bodies didn't even hit the ground before turning to charred husks.
James stepped through, black boots echoing on the metal floor. His cape billowed without wind, the golden "S" on his chest gleaming coldly under the lab's stark lights.
Wanda, curled in her glass prison, stared wide-eyed, crimson irises trembling. Chaos magic sparked uncontrollably at her fingertips, bathing the capsule in blood-red light.
"Step back," James said, his voice calm but ironclad.
Wanda instinctively shuffled back, pressing against the cold glass.
His eyes flared red again. Zzt! Heat vision sliced through the reinforced glass like butter, shattering the capsule.
Wanda stumbled, chaos magic surging like a breached dam. A scarlet energy storm tore through the lab, shredding equipment, twisting metal tables, and exploding ceiling lights.
"No… I can't control it…" Wanda clutched her head, the scarlet vortex raging around her.
James's brow furrowed. His bio-field snapped up, containing the wild energy within a tight radius. He strode toward her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
The moment they touched, Wanda's vision drowned in fragmented images: James hovering over New York, heat vision cleaving aliens; carrying a nuke into space, obliterating a fleet; snapping his fingers with the Infinity Gauntlet, erasing an armada.
The visions seared her mind with sharp pain. She screamed, chaos magic erupting, shoving James back half a step.
"Who… are you?" Wanda gasped, collapsing, her voice raw.
Alarms blared, red warning lights painting the corridors crimson. Heavy footsteps echoed—Hydra reinforcements were coming.
James didn't answer. He turned toward the lab door, hearing the approaching boots, a faint smirk curling his lips.
"Breathe in," he said suddenly.
Wanda blinked, instinctively inhaling deeply.
James's chest expanded slightly. Then—whoosh! Arctic frost breath roared out, a blizzard engulfing the corridor. The first six Hydra soldiers froze into ice statues, their faces locked in terror.
The frost spread, coating walls in thick ice, shattering alarms, and turning moisture into crystalline mist.
"God…" Wanda whispered, her breath forming clouds.
She'd never seen such power—elegant, yet deadly.
James turned, extending a hand. "Can you walk?"
Wanda hesitated, then placed her trembling hand in his. He pulled her gently behind him.
"Stay close."
They stepped into the corridor, now lined with armed Hydra soldiers. Energy weapons hummed, red targeting lasers crisscrossing James's chest.
"Fire!"
Dozens of energy blasts fired, only to halt inches from James, stopped by an invisible wall. His eyes flashed red, heat vision sweeping through, bisecting the front line before they could scream.
Wanda clung to his cape, horrified. She'd dreamed of someone destroying this hell, but not like this—blood and fire.
Every heat vision sweep felled soldiers. Bullets reversed mid-air, tearing through their senders, guided by James's telekinesis.
He moved like a reaper, leaving broken bodies and twisted metal.
"Baron Strucker…" James's super vision pierced the facility's walls. "Fleeing by chopper. North."
He turned to Wanda. "Close your eyes."
She obeyed, feeling weightlessness as his bio-field enveloped her.
Boom! The ceiling exploded, concrete and steel crumbling like paper. Cold wind whipped her face as they soared upward.
When she opened her eyes, the Hydra base was a shrinking speck below, flames blooming within.
"Hold on," James said, his voice clear despite the wind.
Her heart skipped. They were flying at unimaginable speed, clouds blurring past, the ground a smear of color.
Seconds later, a black dot appeared in the sky—Strucker's helicopter.
"That's him," James said, ice in his tone. His eyes flared, heat vision slicing the chopper's tail.
Black smoke poured out as it spiraled downward.
"Please, don't kill him!" Wanda grabbed his arm. "I want to do it myself."
James nodded, diving toward the falling chopper. At the last second, he caught it single-handedly, setting it gently on a clearing.
Baron Strucker crawled from the wreckage, blood streaking his face. Seeing James, his face paled.
"S-Superman…" he stammered. "This isn't your business… Hydra's internal—"
James's cold smile silenced him. He seized Strucker's throat, lifting him. "When you experimented on me, you didn't think of that."
Strucker's eyes glinted with cunning. "Let me go… I'll tell you Hydra's secrets…"
Crack. James snapped his right arm.
Strucker howled like a pig.
"Next is your left," James said calmly. "Then your legs. One chance."
"Don't bother asking!" Strucker sobbed, tears mixing with blood. "Hail Hydra!"
James's telekinesis pinned him. Turning to Wanda, he said, "I've saved the others, sent them through portals to safety. He's yours."
Wanda froze, tears glinting in the moonlight. "It's… finally over?"
Her chaos magic flared, ending Strucker's life in a scarlet burst.
James's eyes shot thin heat beams, igniting the chopper. A fireball lit half the sky.
"Let's go."
He wrapped Wanda in his bio-field, soaring toward New York.
Long Island Villa
The villa's warm lights glowed in the night. As James landed with Wanda on the terrace, the smart system adjusted the temperature, soft piano notes filling the air.
Wanda stood barefoot on the plush carpet, awestruck. The spacious living room, ocean-view windows, and priceless art contrasted sharply with Hydra's prison.
"This… your home?" she asked, her voice hoarse from disuse.
"Yours too, for now," James said, tapping the "S" on his chest. His nano-armor retracted into a watch, revealing a black combat suit. "Second floor has empty rooms. Pick one."
Wanda scanned the room warily. "Why… save me?"
"I heard your plea," James said, pouring two glasses of water at the kitchen island.
She took a glass, hands trembling. "Those people… experimenting on kids… they deserved it."
James nodded. "They did."
The water felt foreign, clean—unlike the sludge she'd endured for years.
"You saw my memories," James said suddenly. "When we touched."
Wanda's head snapped up. "Those were real? You fought aliens? Carried a nuke?"
He nodded. "I've been places. Here, I do what I want—including saving you."
Her eyes softened with gratitude. "Thank you… I don't know how long I'd have lasted without you."
He pointed upstairs. "Rest. Bathroom's stocked with clothes and supplies."
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