"You can try if you dare," Marcus said calmly, showing not a hint of panic. He knew that showing fear would only confirm his enemy's suspicions. Crushing the deformed hollow-point bullet in his palm, he tossed the mangled metal into the snow.
That Quicksilver had deduced his weakness so quickly was something Marcus hadn't foreseen. He wasn't omniscient, nor was he some kind of flawless tactician. His strength lay in caution, not in genius. Knowing his own limits, Marcus had always made it a rule never to expose more of his abilities than necessary.
Yes—his weakness was the head. But that didn't bother him much. If Quicksilver focused all his attacks there, Marcus's job would actually become easier. With full concentration, he could reinforce his skull using his bio-metal transformation, forming a hardened alloy helmet that could withstand nearly anything. Even a weapon capable of puncturing tank armor wouldn't easily pierce through a shell created from his full power.
As long as he protected his head, he would live.
"You don't seriously think I plan to shoot you, do you?" Quicksilver's mocking voice cut through Marcus's thoughts. He casually tossed the revolver aside and rolled his shoulders. "That gun's not really my style. I was just stalling for time—and testing you."
From his pocket, he retrieved a small metallic orb—the same weapon he had used to send Thor hurtling into space. Which could only mean one thing: he had fully recovered from his previous exertion.
Marcus's heart sank slightly. If Quicksilver truly intended to use that Earth-Encircling Strike again, the situation was dire. Even Thor, god of thunder, hadn't withstood it. Under normal circumstances, Marcus might have risked taking the hit—but now that Quicksilver knew his weak spot, the next strike could very well be fatal.
There was no blocking something that fast. The orb would be traveling at near-light speed, guided precisely toward his skull. Dodging was impossible. Even someone with spider-sense like Spider-Man would see the blow coming—and still be unable to avoid it.
It would be nothing less than a death sentence.
"Let's see how you like the taste of light-speed!"
Quicksilver crouched low, his fingers brushing the snow as he prepared to sprint. Once he started running, Marcus wouldn't even have time to blink. The best-case scenario? Marcus would end up just like Thor—blasted beyond the atmosphere, left to drift helplessly among the stars.
Then—he launched forward.
"NOOOOOOO!"
Captain America slammed his fist against the Scarlet Witch's barrier, his voice raw with desperation. He knew exactly what was coming. After what had happened to Thor, he understood this move was unstoppable. No one—not even Marcus—could survive it.
But the barrier held strong, rippling faintly under his blows. The Captain's strength meant nothing before Wanda's power. He could do nothing but watch.
The Avengers could not afford to lose another core member.
"Run, Quicksilver," Marcus murmured, a thin smile curving his lips. "Go on—let's see where you stop."
He turned his head slightly, eyes glinting with quiet confidence. "Did you really think I was standing still this whole time for no reason?"
Quicksilver, moving faster than sound itself, couldn't hear his words. But just seconds into his sprint, something unexpected happened.
He felt resistance—real resistance. His momentum faltered as his boots carved two long blood-streaked lines across the snow. The metallic orb slipped from his grasp, spinning violently as it flew forward.
Then came the sparks—brilliant, blinding sparks of gold bursting in midair.
At first, Quicksilver thought it was just friction from the orb's motion. But then he saw it—a hair-thin metal wire, stretched taut between two trees. The orb had struck it dead-on.
The indestructible metal sphere had been deflected, leaving behind a deep gouge where it hit the wire.
And that was only one strand.
As Quicksilver's eyes darted around, his breath caught. There weren't just one or two wires—there were hundreds, crisscrossing between the surrounding trees. The thin, nearly invisible threads wove through the air like a spider's web of death, so dense that even a child couldn't slip through.
Steel piano wire—strong enough to slice through bone.
Quicksilver froze. He tried to move carefully, darting to the side—only to see more wires stretched across the snow in every direction.
Everywhere he turned, there were lines.
Within a fifty-meter radius, Marcus had created an invisible cage—a dense metallic web stretching from tree to tree, up through the air, and even across the snow. A perfect trap.
The forest. The snow. The stillness. Marcus's refusal to move an inch. It all made sense now. He hadn't been fighting. He'd been building.
Quicksilver's eyes widened as realization struck. He tore at the snow beneath Marcus's feet—and there it was.
Thick, silver tendrils of metal snaked through the frost like roots, branching outward from Marcus's legs and into the surrounding trees. Each tendril was connected to the web, feeding it with strength and tension.
"Oh, no…"
It hit him all at once. The trap wasn't random. It was deliberate, methodical—crafted from the very moment Marcus had entered the battlefield.
This entire area was a cage, and Quicksilver had walked right into it.
No matter how fast he was, his body still took up space—still had volume. And for these razor-thin wires, speed wasn't a threat; it was a weapon against the user. The faster he moved, the harder and deadlier the impact.
For the first time in a long while, Quicksilver felt something he almost never experienced—fear.
He had run straight into his own death trap.
"F…U…C…K…" he hissed through gritted teeth, the curse slipping out before he could stop it.
Now he understood. The long battle, the taunting, the waiting—it had all been to buy time.
Marcus hadn't been improvising.
He'd been weaving a cage.
And by the time Quicksilver realized it—
it was already far, far too late.
__
T/N:
Hello everyone! My Patreon is just $4 — a perfect opportunity to access 90+ advanced chapters and support.
🔗 patreon.com/user?u=79514336
Or simply search Translator-Sama on Patreon