Black Cat, Felicia Hardy.
She licked her lips, her eyes playfully watching Peter.
"Well, little man, you sure can shoot a strong web."
Black Cat approached with a seductive sway. "Interested in working with me, big boy?"
"With your skills and my brains, there's nothing in this world we can't steal."
Peter's face flushed, and he quickly waved his hands.
"Uh... I have a girlfriend! And I'm a superhero, I don't steal!"
"So boring," Black Cat's eyes hardened, and she lashed out with her claws. "Then don't blame me for leaving a mark, kid!"
The two instantly plunged into battle.
The entire battlefield had devolved into chaos.
Black Panther T'Challa and Hawkeye Barton were engaged in a fierce fire-fight with the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Natasha (Black Widow) and Maria Hill.
Professor Charles Xavier sat in his wheelchair, hiding behind cover, his fingers pressed against his temples, sweating profusely.
He was desperately trying to find a weakness in the demon floating above—even a slight mental crack.
But he found Frieza's mind to be like an abyss, filled only with coldness and slaughter.
The slightest touch resulted in a mental frostbite.
"Too strong... completely impenetrable..." Charles muttered in despair.
---
At that moment.
Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards, who had been hiding in the shadows, finally finished calibrating his ultimate weapon.
The Anti-Matter Negative Zone Projector was now flashing with a chilling blue light.
The barrel was locked onto Frieza in the sky.
"Now is the time!"
A look of frenzy flashed in Reed's eyes. "He's too arrogant; he hasn't even noticed me!"
"If this one shot hits, even a god will be exiled to the Negative Zone, never to return!"
"Charge at 100%! Fire!"
Reed took a deep breath, his finger slamming toward the red launch button.
This might be humanity's last chance!
However.
Just as his finger was only a centimeter away from the button.
Bang!
A sudden gunshot.
A burst of blood immediately exploded from Reed's hand, and he screamed, collapsing to the ground.
"What?!" Captain America heard the commotion behind him and whipped his head around.
He saw Brock Rumlow, who had been responsible for the outer perimeter security.
He was holding a smoking handgun, his face twisted into a vicious, sinister smile.
Behind him, dozens of fully armed "S.H.I.E.L.D." agents.
No, they were Hydra agents.
They instantly tore off their disguises, pointing their weapons at Mr. Fantastic and Human Torch.
"Rumlow! Are you insane?!" Captain America roared, rushing toward Reed.
"I'm not insane, Captain. I'm perfectly lucid,"
Rumlow sneered, pulling a remote detonator from his pocket and pressing it without hesitation.
BOOM!!!
The C4 explosives rigged beneath the anti-matter cannon's base instantly detonated.
The machine that carried humanity's last hope exploded in a dazzling fireball, turning into a pile of scrap metal.
"No!!!"
Reed ignored the excruciating pain in his hand, letting out a despairing scream as he watched his life's work destroyed.
Rumlow watched the scene with no pity in his eyes, only the fierce desire for survival and a total surrender to power.
He looked up at the god-like figure in the sky, raising his left arm high.
"The Avengers are finished! S.H.I.E.L.D. is finished!"
Rumlow yelled fanatically at his subordinates, and to the entire world:
"This world belongs to the strong!"
"Everyone, listen up! Kill them all!"
"HAIL FRIEZA!!!"
Rumlow held his left hand aloft.
The handgun that had just shattered humanity's last hope was tossed at his feet.
He craned his neck, looking up at the god-like figure high above, his face contorted in a nearly fawning, crazed smile.
"Lord Frieza! I am Brock Rumlow of Hydra!"
"I have cleared the obstacle for you! That cannon is destroyed!"
"Hydra is ready to swear allegiance to you!"
"We possess a global intelligence network; we can help you better rule these foolish..."
Rumlow's voice cracked with excitement. He even dropped to one knee, assuming a position of submission.
Behind him, dozens of remaining Hydra agents followed suit, dropping their weapons and kneeling in the wreckage.
This sight sent a chill down the spines of every superhero present.
This was human nature, ugly and revolting.
---
High above.
Frieza stood with his arms crossed.
He tilted his head slightly, his crimson eyes peering through the clouds, coldly observing the groveling ants below.
"Oh?"
A playful smile tugged at Frieza's lips, his voice traveling clearly through the air to the entire battleground.
"Hydra? Allegiance?"
Hearing the response, a wave of ecstasy washed over Rumlow, who thought he had made the right gamble!
"Yes, my Lord! Not only can we fight, but we can help you manage..."
"Well, well, well..."
Frieza suddenly sighed, cutting him off, his tone full of disappointment and distaste.
"While I admire those who know when to quit, you..."
Frieza raised a single finger and gently shook it.
"Are you perhaps mistaken about something?"
"I issued a recruitment notice to the entire Earth three days ago. Where were you all then?"
"Now, when I'm about to flip the board and take the Earth for myself, you pop up and say you want to pledge allegiance?"
Frieza's eyes instantly became ice-cold, the look of utter garbage that froze the smile on Rumlow's face.
"It's like everyone has finished dinner and is ready to pay the check, and you run over and say you want to treat us?"
"This kind of opportunistic, fair-weather behavior..."
"The Great Lord here hates it the most."
"In my home, guys like you are usually made into chilled dessert bars, you know."
Rumlow's pupils constricted violently, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
"N-No! My Lord! We..."
"Shut up, scum."
Frieza didn't even bother to look at him again, merely waving his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a swarm of flies.
Before the words had finished hanging in the air.
On the ground.
Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards, who had been kneeling in the rubble and staring blankly at the destroyed machine, slowly stood up.
His eyes were bloodshot.
The rational, calm scientist who always tried to solve everything with science was gone.
In his place was a father who had lost all hope, a beast consumed by rage.
"You... you destroyed the last chance..."
Reed's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing together.
His body began to stretch freakishly, and his arms shot out like two giant pythons!
Pffft!
Rumlow didn't even have time to react before the rubbery arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
"Ugh... choke..."
Rumlow frantically clawed at Reed's arms.
But the rubber tightened further, and the feeling of suffocation made his eyes bulge.
"Reed! Don't!" Susan (Invisible Woman) cried out.
But Reed was deaf to her plea.
"For Franklin... for Valeria... for all humanity..."
Reed gritted his teeth, tears mixing with blood flowing down his face.
"Die!!!"
CRUNCH!
A sickening crack of bone echoed.
Rumlow's head flopped uselessly to the side, his eyes, filled with ambition and terror, slowly losing their light.
At the same time.
Captain America, Steve Rogers, also moved.
He didn't say a word, only silently threw his shield.
The mercy of yesterday was absent from his blue eyes.
Facing these traitors who had destroyed the final hope, he showed no restraint!
Ping! Bang! Thwack!
The shield ricocheted between the Hydra agents. Each impact claimed another wicked life.
Blood stained the ruins.
However, though the internal threat was eliminated, the situation on the battlefield showed no sign of improvement.
In fact, it had only worsened.