The afterlife—once a beautiful paradise—was now shrouded in smoke. Corpses littered the ground, and the surrounding ancient Chinese-style buildings had been reduced to ruins. The paradise of the afterlife no longer existed.
At its center, an old man in steel armor battled a young man with silver-white skin. They were Steve Rogers, clad in the Ironheart Armor, and Allens, whose body had become Vibranium.
Bang! Bang!
Rogers' whip kicks crashed against Allens' arms. The weight of the steel armor shook the earth, but it couldn't move Allens' indestructible body.
"Captain Rogers," Allens sneered, "are you really so old that you can only rely on machines to fight?"
He raised his right hand and clamped down on the left shoulder of the armor. With a twist, the entire mechanical arm groaned and snapped like a pretzel.
Crack! Click!
Metal shards clattered to the ground. The twisted arm exposed wires and circuitry sparking from within.
Bang!
Rogers swung his Vibranium shield into Allens' chest. The impact created a shockwave that forced Allens back a few steps.
"Not bad," Allens said coldly.
He whipped a kick into the shield. Though Vibranium absorbed the force, the sheer kinetic backlash sent Rogers skidding ten meters across the battlefield.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Allens advanced with blinding speed, fists hammering the armor. Rogers struggled, barely managing to block with his shield.
BOOM!
Allens seized the shield, braced his core, and hurled Rogers over his shoulder, smashing him into the ground.
"Warning! Warning!" Dr. Zola's panicked voice rang inside the armor. "Armor integrity 60% damaged! Damn it, Rogers—lift my restrictions! Let me out of here! I don't want to face this monster!"
The Ironheart Armor was mangled, its alloys split apart. Sparks rained down as portions of Rogers' own flesh showed through the broken plating.
Allens stepped forward and planted his foot on Rogers' chest. Leaning over with cold, ruthless eyes, he raised his hand. His psychokinetic energy sharpened into a blade, aimed directly at Rogers' forehead.
"Shit—" Rogers muttered, his weathered face twisting in pain.
"Heimdall!" he suddenly roared.
At the name, Allens froze. Something was wrong.
BOOM!
The sky split open. A rainbow bridge of pure energy—the Bifrost—shot down with devastating force, blasting Allens back several meters and engulfing Rogers in its light.
"Asgard…" Allens hissed.
The rainbow beam flared and vanished, leaving only the scorched circular patterns etched into the ground. Allens' lips curled into a cold smile.
Heimdall, the Asgardian gatekeeper with the all-seeing eyes across the Nine Realms, had intervened. With the power of the Bifrost, he could summon or banish anyone across realms.
"As expected… Rogers really is favored by the gods. His strength may be nothing, but he knows how to borrow it. Odin must know about this future Rogers too," Allens muttered, eyes gleaming.
Although he hadn't killed Rogers, he had confirmed what he needed. Odin, the All-Father of Asgard, was still beyond his reach for now.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions lit the sky as a massive aircraft uncloaked above—the S.H.I.E.L.D. Airbus fighter, armed to the teeth. Missiles rained down toward Allens.
Inside, Phil Coulson's team watched tensely, their faces etched with fear and hope.
Chhh! Chhh!
Mushroom clouds of fire erupted, but from the flames, Allens emerged unharmed. His Vibranium body shimmered silver as he launched himself skyward.
BOOM!
Lightning burst from his hands, striking the fighter's left engine. The wing exploded, and the massive craft spiraled downward, crashing to the ground and tearing apart in two.
Cough! Cough!
Coulson and his agents scrambled from the wreckage. Blood ran down Hunter's arm where a metal shard had pierced him.
"This is Phil Coulson!" he shouted into his comm. "We need backup—repeat, we need backup!"
Behind him, the Airbus blazed. Sweat streamed down his face as he glanced skyward, dread filling his eyes.
"A-Are you okay, Coulson?" Skye, supported by Agent May, rushed to his side. Her voice trembled.
"Damn it… what kind of monster are we fighting?" Hunter groaned through clenched teeth, leaning on Barbara "Mockingbird" Morse and Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie.
"Coulson, what's happening over there?!" Fitz's voice cracked through the comms, panic thick in his tone. "Why is my detector showing our Airbus base has been shot down?!"
At his side, Simmons' face had gone pale.
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