New Mexico.
The Winter Soldier, having undergone modifications by Zola and Stern, arrived at the small town where Kent was located, accompanied by five or six Shocker combatants.
"Winter Soldier, let the Bone Combatants move first. We'll use No. 1's hands to conduct a live-combat test of their performance," Dr. Zola commanded.
The several Shocker cyborgs following the Winter Soldier were the newly developed "Bone Combatants" created by Zola. Through specific genetic modification and mechanical implants, they had obtained physical strength far exceeding that of an ordinary human.
They were equipped with high-strength carbon fiber protective suits to deflect sharp attacks, while a bone-like external scaffold across the chest and body surface was designed to defend against heavy blunt-force trauma.
In Zola's design, each Bone Combatant was equivalent to roughly half a Captain America. While their strength wasn't "extraordinary" in the grand scheme of things, it was relative. Without the use of heavy high-caliber firepower, a single normal Bone Combatant should be able to easily wipe out an entire well-equipped US Army Special Forces squad.
Furthermore, their advantage lay in the fact that they could be mass-produced at a low cost. They were intended to serve as the standard infantry for the Shocker organization.
"While the Bone Combatants are a success in theory, they are ultimately just mass-produced soldiers. They are certainly no match for No. 1, especially now that he has obtained the thunder god power from Norse mythology," Dr. Stern remarked from the side, somewhat puzzled.
Dr. Zola smiled slightly. "I am well aware of that. However, I want to see exactly where their limit lies."
To put it simply, this was a stress test. An experiment must be carried out until the product is destroyed to obtain the maximum numerical value. This meant these Bone Combatants were destined to fight No. 1 until they were completely pulverized.
Kent carried his groceries, glancing at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents loitering around him. He shook his head helplessly.
In a remote town in the middle of a desert plateau, when the same few strangers constantly pop up next to you, anyone would eventually realize something was wrong. Moreover, when Kent was modified by Shocker, master-level tracking and counter-tracking techniques had been implanted into his mind.
He had spotted these monitoring agents shortly after they arrived. However, whenever he confronted them, they played dumb and refused to admit anything. Kent couldn't do much about it—he couldn't just attack them—so he simply let them be.
On his way back to the Ryan family farm, five or six figures wrapped in thick black robes blocked his path. They stood stiffly in the middle of the road, clearly targeting him.
"Who are you? Looking for me?" Kent asked.
The five combatants cast aside their black robes, revealing their combat suits. They spoke in mechanical, electronic voices: "No. 1, we are combatants of the Great Shocker. We have come to capture you."
Kent immediately became alert. "Shocker? How did you find me?"
Very few people should know about his identity and his connection to Shocker. Aside from Evolt, who had brought him out of the Shocker base, there was only Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D., whom he had met during the Thor incident. He had told Coulson about Shocker.
Did something go wrong with that S.H.I.E.L.D. organization? Or were there Shocker spies among the personnel present when I fought the Destroyer? Kent's mind quickly analyzed the possibilities.
The Bone Combatants didn't wait for Kent to finish his thoughts. They surrounded him and attacked immediately.
Kent snapped back to reality, caught a punch from the lead combatant, and leapt into the air to dodge the strikes of the others. "Where did you get the information that I was here?"
The Bone Combatants completely ignored his question, rushing him aggressively.
"It seems I'll have to knock you down before I can start questioning you." Kent clenched his fists and met their assault.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents tailing him observed that the situation had turned south and immediately notified their supervisor.
"Observe from your current positions. Backup agents will arrive shortly," commanded Francis Angle, a Level 5 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in charge of the monitoring. Simultaneously, he mobilized more personnel to the scene and notified Director Nick Fury at headquarters.
"Are you still refusing to surrender? The gap between us should be clear," Kent said, frowning as he snapped the leg of the last standing Bone Combatant.
In terms of raw attributes, Kent completely crushed the Bone Combatants. He didn't even need to transform to systematically dismantle them within a few minutes. However, these combatants seemed entirely unaffected by pain. Even when severely injured, they continued to lunge at Kent with reckless abandon.
"Have they been completely turned into weapons?" Kent looked at the relentless attackers, feeling a surge of inexplicable irritation.
Lightning flickered in his hands. He intended to use the electricity to completely paralyze them and strip them of their mobility.
"So that is the power to control lightning obtained from Mjolnir. I wonder if lightning released from divine power differs from normal electricity," Dr. Zola observed through the screen, interest gleaming in his eyes. "I really want to bring No. 1 back for a thorough study."
"It seems the Bone Combatants have reached their limit. They couldn't even force No. 1 to transform," Dr. Stern shook his head.
"It doesn't matter. It was expected. We've gathered the data on the Bone Combatants anyway," Zola chuckled dismissively. "Since they are essentially scrapped now, let's see the power of the self-destruct sequence."
Kent's heart suddenly tightened. He instantly transformed, his body covered in bio-mechanical armor in a flash.
The downed Bone Combatants exploded without warning.
Indeed, miniature bombs were installed in their bodies, designed to inflict final damage on the enemy once they lost the ability to move. The massive explosion echoed through the sky, and the shockwave sent Kent flying hundreds of meters away.
His armor was cracked in several places, leaving him looking quite disheveled.
"A self-destruct device... how ruthless. They've truly turned people into nothing but weapons. If I hadn't sensed the danger and transformed early, that would have been bad," Kent scanned the blast site. Nothing remained.
However, Kent did not relax just because the attackers were annihilated. Instead, he became even more alert. He understood that Shocker, the organization that modified him, knew his capabilities perfectly—perhaps better than he knew himself, minus the new lightning power.
They must have known that those Bone Combatants couldn't capture him. Even a surprise self-destruction would only injure him at best. If they wanted to catch him, there had to be a follow-up.
Kent surmised that the Bone Combatants were meant to wound him, and now, a true Shocker executive would likely appear to seize him while he was weakened.
(End of Chapter)