Nolan moved like he had eyes in the back of his head.
He parried a combat knife with his vibranium blade, spun, and smashed his shield sideways knocking Bucky's rifle clear out of his hands. A follow-up kick sent the Winter Soldier crashing back into the mud.
With a swift pull, Nolan sliced his blade across a super-soldier's chest blood spraying like a burst pipe.
Another soldier lunged. Nolan's shield caught him full in the ribs, sending him airborne. He pivoted, raised his knee, and kicked another attacker into the wall. Bone crunched.
Now it was seven super-soldiers against one man.
And he wasn't losing.
Flashes of steel danced across the storm-lit battlefield. Helicopter gunfire rained down, but Nolan dodged it like it was choreographed as if he could see it coming.
He shouldn't have been able to keep up.
He only had two hands.
But somehow... that was all he needed.
With inhuman reflexes, he blocked, parried, and countered, striking out in between every breath, every blink.
His vibranium blade is carved through muscle and bone alike. Super-soldiers fell. Screams tore into the rain.
From the shadows, Steve froze.
He saw the face beneath the metal. The fragments of a memory reassembled.
Tears welled in his eyes.
"I have to help him!" Steve shouted, turning to Clint and Natasha.
Clint looked torn. "He's Hydra, Steve."
"He was brainwashed! He didn't choose this!" Steve didn't hesitate.
"Barton cover me. Use tranquilizers. We take them down non-lethally."
Before either could protest, Steve leaped into the fray.
Nolan, still dueling the Hydra elite, didn't even flinch.
"Ah. Here comes America's golden boy."
He expected this. Rogers would try to save them all. Classic hero move.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Clint's arrow streak toward one of the super-soldiers. At the same moment, Nolan's shield slammed into the man's side, delaying his dodge.
Arrow struck. The soldier dropped, unconscious.
Clint blinked. 'Did Nolan help me?'
"Nice shot, Barton!" Steve shouted, charging in.
Nolan met it with his own, the impact echoing across the courtyard.
The force made Nolan take a step back but he remained standing. His shield spun, catching another arrow mid-air and deflecting it—
Right into another soldier's chest.
Natasha had just arrived.
"...Did he just use your arrow to hit someone else?" she asked, stunned.
"I—I didn't mean to do that," Clint muttered, lowering his bow. "What the hell is this guy?"
Nolan gave them a wry smile. "Nice teamwork."
But Steve wasn't finished.
He slid beside Bucky, blocking his metal arm with his shield. "Bucky, it's me. It's Steve!"
There was a flicker of something behind Bucky's eyes.
"You're in my way!" he growled, slamming blow after blow onto the shield.
Steve gritted his teeth, stepping back. "Fine. Then I'll stop you first."
They clashed. Old friends. Now foes.
Elsewhere, Nolan broke through the line blade flashing, carving through another soldier's arm, then spinning to block incoming gunfire.
"Natasha," he said, recognizing the pattern of her gunfire without turning. "Long time."
Clint's eyes narrowed. 'He knows her?'
Arrows flew three in a row.
Nolan raised his shield and angled it perfectly.
All three darts ricocheted, slamming into other soldiers.
"...What kind of brain processes combat like that?" Natasha whispered through comms.
"How the hell does he know where I'm aiming?" Clint hissed.
"No clue," she muttered. "But he's using you better than we are."
"Combat trial complete," he said casually. "Game over."
A deep hum rolled across the battlefield.
Up above, the rotor blades of both helicopters suddenly stuttered.
"Engines failing controls locked mayday!"
Two black shapes spiraled down into the courtyard, rotors shrieking.
Steve froze mid-fight. Instinct screamed.
Something was very, very wrong.
He turned back to Bucky and grabbed him in a bear hug.
Bucky struggled. "Let go!"
"No!" Steve shouted, shield bracing behind Bucky's back.
A chain reaction exploded across the courtyard.
The entire section detonated a fireball blasting upward like a miniature nuke. Rain pelted the inferno, but the fire wouldn't die.
Steve's shield took the brunt as he and Bucky were launched across the pavement.
Clint turned only to see Natasha tackle him to the ground, shielding him from the blast.
Fire washed over them.
Clint hit the ground hard ears ringing.
When the smoke cleared, Natasha was barely conscious, blood pouring down her back.
Her skin, charred and raw, was healing.
Tendons regenerated. Flesh regrew.
Her back returned to smooth skin as the burned outer layers sloughed away.
"What the hell..." Clint whispered, horrified.
"GO!" Steve shouted, struggling to his feet with Bucky in his arms.
His legs, shredded by shrapnel, refused to cooperate. Still, he carried Bucky.
Clint followed, hauling Natasha with him.
And saw a silhouette walking through the fire.
Clothes burned. Eyes glowing. Grinning.
He pulled a charred headset from his coat.
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