Steve Rogers stared at the masked assassin in front of him, his brow tightly furrowed.
"I don't like how you operate," Steve said in a low, firm voice. "Stay away from my trainees."
The Winter Soldier said nothing.
He tilted his head slightly, studying Captain America.
Behind the mask, something flickered in his eyes—
something almost human.
But it vanished just as quickly.
Primary objective: eliminate the target.
Secondary objective: retreat if overmatched.
The Winter Soldier evaluated the situation.
The man with the shield was dangerous.
And the gunship's heavy weapons were already locking on.
Withdraw.
Without hesitation, he turned and ran—three long strides carrying him toward the perimeter like a panther melting into the darkness.
"Stop!"
Steve hadn't expected such a clean disengage.
He hurled his shield.
WHOOOM—!
The vibranium disc sliced through the rain-soaked night, screaming toward the assassin's back.
The Winter Soldier heard it.
He spun mid-stride, metal left arm snapping up.
CLANG!
A thunderous metallic impact echoed through the docks.
Steve froze.
The assassin had caught the spinning vibranium shield—bare-handed.
The shield vibrated violently in his metal grip, humming with suppressed energy, yet it didn't budge an inch.
Holding it there, the Winter Soldier stared across the darkness at Steve.
Those eyes—
Cold. Empty.
And yet… painfully familiar.
Steve's breath caught.
"You're—"
Before he could finish—
The Winter Soldier twisted at the waist and threw.
HUMMM—!!!
The shield rocketed back with even greater force than before.
Steve barely had time to react, raising both arms to catch it.
BOOM!
The impact shoved him nearly a meter backward across the slick concrete, his arms buzzing with numbness.
"Unbelievable strength…" Steve muttered.
When he lowered the shield and looked up again—
The assassin was gone.
"Cap… Instructor…"
Behind him, Iron Arm Joe groaned weakly. The T-VEX had fully worn off. The backlash hit hard—his body trembling, muscles spasming.
Steve forced down the unease rising in his chest.
"Hang in there, kid," he said quietly. "You're going to be okay."
"So let me get this straight."
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Sunlight. Waves. Tourists screaming in excitement.
"You're telling me three superpowered heroes got wiped by a guy with a carbine rifle and a knife?"
Behind Antony, a carefully choreographed "counterterror operation" was wrapping up.
Over a hundred local militants were herded into the plaza like sheep, surrendering on live camera.
Vought's drone crews circled overhead, filming Antony's heroic silhouette from every conceivable angle.
"Yes, sir," Ashley said tensely over the secure feed, the V.G.D. command center buzzing behind her.
"The attacker was extremely professional—definitely not a common criminal. And… this is the third incident this week. Detroit. Seattle. Chicago."
She swallowed.
"Someone is hunting our city heroes. No fatalities yet—but only because they used T-VEX. Otherwise… the outcome would've been catastrophic."
"Hunting?" Antony scoffed, removing his sunglasses.
"That's a generous term. Call it field training."
"Those brats hit the streets and immediately forgot everything Steve drilled into them. Autographs, selfies, fan service. Running into a real predator was only a matter of time."
He took a sip of the fresh milk Jessica handed him, utterly unconcerned.
"Captain Rogers is taking this very seriously," Ashley added carefully.
"They're his trainees. He wants to investigate personally. He suspects the attacker might be enhanced by some form of super-soldier serum."
"Let him," Antony waved it off.
He stood, flashing a radiant smile toward the nearby beach crowd. Teenagers screamed.
"As for that metal-armed killer…"
A trace of disdain crossed Antony's eyes.
Bucky Barnes.
The Winter Soldier.
Hydra's favorite disposable tool.
Captain America's eternal emotional weak spot.
"Washed-up relic. Even after the redemption arc, he's still mid at best."
He raised a thumb to the cheering crowd and continued casually:
"Don't bother me with this. I'm busy saving the world—
and pumping Vought's market cap into the stratosphere."
"This kind of cat-and-mouse game? Let Steve play it."
"Tell him: if they're his trainees, then he owns the problem. Whatever he needs, give it to him."
"Yes, sir."
A touching reunion was coming, wasn't it?
Antony laughed silently to himself.
The call ended.
He slipped the phone into his magic storage and turned toward the sea of people.
"All right, Rio!" he shouted, arms wide.
"Let me hear you!"
"WHO'S THE REAL HERO?!"
"HOMELANDER! HOMELANDER!!"
"No—you—"
Drowned in a tidal wave of cheers, Antony basked as popularity points flooded in.
-----
Northern New York State — V.G.D. Command Center
Steve Rogers sat in the briefing room, staring at the images on the screen.
Close-ups from the crime scene.
That metal arm.
The red star emblazoned on it—burning under the lights.
"Captain."
Ashley stepped up beside him, tablet in hand.
"I ran your description through every global intelligence database we have."
Her fingers danced across the keys, pulling up a classified file.
"This isn't a common criminal. The tech behind that arm… it's old. Soviet-era old."
"And our tech team used a skeletal-recognition algorithm. Even with the mask, bone-structure mapping shows—"
She hesitated, glancing at Steve.
"And?"
"No direct match," Ashley admitted.
"But his activity pattern aligns with a legendary phantom assassin."
A black-and-white file appeared on-screen.
Codename: The Winter Soldier.
"For the past fifty years," Ashley said quietly,
"there's been no hard proof—but witnesses at the JFK assassination, the Iran hostage crisis, and multiple high-profile political killings all reported a man with a metal arm."
"He's a ghost," she whispered.
"And S.H.I.E.L.D.'s official stance was always the same—urban legend."
Steve stared at the grainy image, fingers brushing the screen.
That feeling again.
Those eyes.
He didn't want to believe it.
But he couldn't ignore it.
"I need everything," Steve said, voice heavy.
"All available data on the Winter Soldier."
"That's all S.H.I.E.L.D.'s declassified archive has," Ashley replied.
"But if anyone has more… it'd be Nick Fury. With his clearance, he'll know."
Steve picked up his shield and headed for the door.
"Then we'll find him."
--------------
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