The fight between Steve and the Winter Soldier raged on, with relentless back-and-forth exchanges.
However, the Winter Soldier failed to gain any advantage, giving Steve an opening to land a punch squarely on his face, followed by a powerful kick that sent him crashing into a car door.
As the Winter Soldier collided with the vehicle, Steve wasted no time, leaping forward to deliver a follow-up knee strike.
After taking three successive hits, the Winter Soldier managed to block Steve's right hook with his metal arm and countered with a punch to Steve's face, followed by a kick that sent him sprawling.
When the Winter Soldier charged again, Steve used his momentum against him, executing a shoulder throw that slammed him to the ground. However, the Winter Soldier quickly recovered, grabbing Steve by the neck with his metal arm.
Steve struggled, both hands gripping the metal arm in an attempt to pry it away. Feeling Steve's resistance, the Winter Soldier stopped squeezing and instead hurled him aside with brute force.
"Thud!"
Steve crashed onto the hood of a car, tumbling to the ground.
The Winter Soldier climbed onto the car's hood and leaped down, aiming a devastating punch at the downed Steve.
"Boom!"
Steve rolled away just in time, the punch shattering the pavement where he had been lying.
Rising to his feet, Steve engaged the Winter Soldier in another bout of close combat. This time, the Winter Soldier drew another tactical knife, nearly landing a lethal stab as Steve narrowly avoided the strike while retreating.
Their fight brought them back to the vehicle where Steve's shield was lodged. Seizing the opportunity, Steve reclaimed his shield, and with it, his confidence.
Now armed, Steve no longer feared the Winter Soldier's knife. During the skirmish, Steve managed to grab the Winter Soldier by the face and threw him across the street, dislodging the mask covering his opponent's face.
As the Winter Soldier stood and turned around, Steve froze, his expression shifting to shock and confusion.
"Bucky?" Steve murmured, disbelief evident in his voice.
The Winter Soldier scowled and retorted, "Who the hell is Bucky?"
Without waiting for a response, Bucky drew a pistol, aiming at the unguarded Steve.
At that moment, Sam returned with his Falcon gear, swooping in to provide backup. He delivered a flying kick that knocked the gun from Bucky's hand, sending him sprawling.
Bucky quickly got back to his feet, scanning his surroundings before raising another weapon to fire at Steve again.
"Whoosh!"
"Boom!"
Natasha, who had retrieved the grenade launcher Bucky had discarded earlier, fired a shot directly at him. Flames erupted from the explosion, but when the smoke cleared, Bucky was nowhere to be seen.
Just then, the sound of approaching sirens filled the air. SHIELD armored vehicles arrived on the scene, and a squad of heavily armed agents poured out, surrounding Steve, Sam, and Natasha.
Leading the charge was Brock Rumlow, who raised his gun and barked, "Drop the shield, Captain! Get on your knees!"
"On your knees! Now!"
Faced with overwhelming firepower, Steve considered his options before finally lowering his shield and raising his hands in surrender.
Rumlow approached Steve from behind, delivering a hard kick to the back of his knee.
"Get down! On your knees!"
It was clear that Rumlow was exploiting the situation to exact personal revenge for their earlier confrontation in the elevator.
As Steve knelt, Rumlow cuffed him with specially designed restraints. Meanwhile, a news helicopter appeared overhead, catching everyone's attention.
Eddie Brock sat inside the helicopter, microphone in hand, while a cameraman captured the unfolding scene below.
"Breaking news from The Global Daily! The fugitive Steve Rogers has just been apprehended by SHIELD agents. This is an exclusive live report from the scene."
"Stay tuned as we bring you more updates on this dramatic development!"
"The battlefield is in utter chaos, with explosions and wrecked cars everywhere. As of now, there's no sign of the Captain's opponent."
"…"
Rumlow, noticing the situation in the sky, quickly turned to a nearby agent and barked, "Lower your guns! Don't escalate this!"
"Stand down!"
It was clear that the agent next to him, with his rifle aimed squarely at Steve's head, was tense and ready to pull the trigger at any moment.
After Rumlow repeated the order twice, the agent reluctantly lowered his assault rifle, stepping aside.
Meanwhile, both Sam and Natasha had also been captured. Natasha and Steve were restrained with specially designed handcuffs, with Steve's being significantly larger and more reinforced than Natasha's.
In the transport vehicle, Steve sat in silence, his expression heavy with guilt. After a moment, he spoke softly, "It was him."
"He looked right at me… but didn't recognize me."
Sam, sitting beside him, countered, "How could he? It's been seventy years."
Steve lowered his head and said, "It's Zola's doing."
"Bucky's unit was captured in 1943. Zola used them as human experiments."
"That might be why he survived after falling from the train."
"They must have found him."
Natasha tried to comfort him, "This isn't your fault, Steve."
With a deep sigh, Steve replied despondently, "When I had nothing else, I still had Bucky."
Sam glanced at Natasha's shoulder wound, still bleeding, and turned to one of the guards.
"Get a medic over here now! If you don't press on her wound, she's going to bleed out right here in this truck."
The guard didn't respond verbally but instead pulled out a stun baton.
"Zzzap!"
White sparks crackled from the baton, startling Sam.
Without warning, the guard flipped the baton in their hand and jabbed it into the side of a fellow agent, stunning them. A swift kick to the head followed, knocking the guard unconscious.
The sudden turn of events left Steve, Sam, and Natasha momentarily stunned.
After incapacitating the nearby guards, the "agent" removed the helmet, revealing the true identity.
Maria Hill tossed the helmet aside and complained, "This thing was giving me a headache."
Hill glanced at Sam, then turned to Steve with a questioning look, "Who's this guy?"
…
The convoy continued its journey until it reached a secluded tunnel. The vehicles stopped, and Rumlow stepped out, giving a cold and chilling order, "Three graves. Start digging."
It was clear there was no intention to take the three prisoners back for interrogation—this was to be an execution.
When the vehicle holding the captives was opened, the guards were shocked to find unconscious agents and a circular hole in the vehicle floor. It was evident that the three targets had escaped once again.