"Boom—"
Thor's hammer smashed into Captain America's shield, and the shockwave blasted the tank and a whole squad of Hydra soldiers into the air.
"I think this is unfair. You can pick up my hammer, but I can't use your shield!"
Seeing the Hydra elites wiped out, Thor spread his hands at Steve.
"Then after the battle, I'll teach you how to use the shield?"
Steve offered calmly.
Thor shook his head immediately. "Forget it. I prefer offense over defense!"
"Hey, now is not the time for you two to chat!"
After throwing an electrode and paralyzing two Hydra soldiers, Natasha raised her gun and finished them off without hesitation.
While hiding behind a tree and firing, she spoke through the comms.
Swish—
An arrow shot past her and struck a tree behind her. A moment later—boom!—it exploded, taking out the Hydra soldiers trying to ambush her.
"Pay more attention to your back," Clint said as he picked up more arrows. "And Natasha… I feel like you're hiding something from me. You know too much."
"You're overthinking it, Clint."
Natasha pointed as the Hulk charged forward. "Big guy, that bunker—smash it!"
Hulk grinned and leaped, crashing down on the machine gun nest.
Boom—!
Watching the bunker flatten instantly, Natasha laughed. "Letting Hulk join the Avengers was Fury's smartest decision."
"And as for your question, Clint… maybe you'll know the answer later."
Clint fired three explosive arrows, blowing up the reinforcement squad ahead.
He shrugged. "Honestly, the question Linen asked when he got off the plane is the same question I wanted to ask."
"Seems like Linen and I will have plenty to talk about."
Outside Hydra Castle
"Oh, damn it!"
Tony slammed into the castle's energy shield and cursed.
"Hey Tony, stop swearing!" Steve said instinctively—then immediately realized what he'd said.
"Oh. Exactly like the video."
"Wow, 'stop swearing,' Captain? I thought maybe you'd changed!"
Steve braked hard and kicked his motorcycle into a tank, blowing it up.
He shook his head. "It's automatic… which proves how accurate the video was!"
"Hm?" Two voices overlapped.
Linen and Clint both reacted—Clint out of confusion, Linen because he had to pretend not to know.
"Ahem—these things aren't important right now," Tony said. "Linen, I'll disable the energy shield. You get Wanda and Pietro to the Quinjet."
"No problem."
As the shield fell, Linen rushed straight into the castle.
Inside
Da-da-da-da—
Bullets rained on Linen, bouncing off his magic shield. Two chains of golden energy burst from the air, coiling around dozens of Hydra soldiers.
They struggled for a moment before Linen smashed them brutally into the wall.
Crack—crack—crack…
Golden magic consumed them.
"Eighty-seven."
Another batch of Hydra dead—enough for his eighty-seventh skeleton warrior.
Linen followed the signal toward Wanda and Pietro.
Baron Strucker's Office
"Chief, we're finished!"
Watching Linen walk through the halls like a grim reaper, tearing through soldiers with unknown magic and Superman-like heat vision, Sitrick was terrified.
Strucker sighed calmly as he straightened his suit.
"The moment I saw them coming, I knew we were done."
"Are you ready to die in battle? Chief—long live Hydra!!!"
"Die in battle, my ass."
Strucker glared at him. "Prepare to surrender."
Sitrick froze.
"As long as Alexander Pierce is still alive, we still have hope. Hydra has many factions, but we are still one organization."
He walked out proudly—only for his head to explode like a watermelon under Linen's heat vision.
Sitrick dropped to his knees instantly.
"I surrender! I'm a scientist! No weapons!!"
Then he lay flat on the floor with his hands above his head, trembling.
"Heh…"
Linen only chuckled.
Wanda's Room
Gunfire roared outside. Pietro clenched his pistol, watching the door.
"If anyone tries to hurt Wanda," he muttered, "I swear I'll shoot."
"Relax, Pietro," Wanda said gently.
"I'm not nervous. I've seen worse."
He tried to smile—
The door burst open.
"Don't move!"
Pietro raised his pistol instantly—
But Wanda pressed his hand down.
"He's one of us, Pietro."
Then she looked at Linen—tall, cold, masked—and her lips curved upward.
Finally…
She got to see him in person.
Her future boyfriend.
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