Peggy grinned as she stood tall. The pain in her legs had vanished. The bullets had done nothing. The wounds were already healed.
The guards hesitated. They had just shot her twice and yet, here she was, standing like nothing had happened.
Peggy cracked her knuckles. "My turn."
She moved fast... faster than she thought possible. In a blink, she was right in front of the first guard. His eyes widened in shock.
'Hahaha! To think I'd be running again and this fast...'
She grabbed his rifle and crushed it like it was made of paper. His mouth fell open, but before he could react, she punched him in the chest. Hard.
He flew backward, crashing into two other guards. All three of them went down like bowling pins.
The remaining guards snapped out of their shock. They raised their weapons and fired.
Peggy moved.
Her body reacted before she even thought about it. She dodged left, then right, weaving between the bullets like she had been doing this her whole life. It felt natural. Instinctive.
One bullet grazed her shoulder. The skin broke for a second and then healed almost instantly.
'This is incredible,' she thought.
She reached the next guard before he could reload. She grabbed his vest and lifted him off the ground like he weighed nothing. He kicked and struggled, but she tossed him aside like a rag doll.
Another guard swung the butt of his rifle at her head. Peggy ducked. The motion was so smooth, so effortless. She felt weightless. Strong. Powerful.
She caught his arm and twisted it. He screamed as the gun fell from his grip.
Peggy didn't stop. She drove her knee into his stomach, sending him crashing into the wall.
Two more guards charged her. One had a baton crackling with electricity. The other had a knife.
Peggy smirked. "Really? A knife?"
The one with the baton struck first. The electric charge hit Peggy's arm but it did zero damage. She grabbed the baton, snapped it in half, and punched him so hard he spun in the air before hitting the ground.
The man with the knife hesitated. Peggy raised an eyebrow. "You sure you wanna do this?"
He lunged.
She sidestepped easily, grabbed his wrist, and squeezed. His fingers opened, dropping the knife. She caught it before it hit the ground.
Then she knocked him out with the handle.
More guards appeared at the end of the hallway. Heavily armored. Bigger weapons.
Peggy exhaled, rolling her shoulders. "Alright then. Let's see what else I can do."
The voice in her head returned. [You're learning fast. Good. But you're running out of time. Keep moving.]
Peggy smirked. "Gladly."
More guards flooded the hallway, their weapons raised, their faces tense. They had seen what she could do, but they weren't backing down.
"Stand down!" one of them ordered. "You're outnumbered!"
Peggy laughed. "Am I?"
Before they could fire, she charged.
She moved like a blur, faster than even she expected. One second, she was standing still, the next, she was in the middle of them.
She grabbed the first guard and hurled him into two others. They crashed into a wall, groaning in pain.
A fourth guard aimed a heavy-duty energy rifle at her. Too slow. She slapped the barrel aside as he fired, sending a blast of energy into the ceiling. Sparks rained down as she punched him in the gut. He crumpled instantly.
A fifth guard tried to hit her with a stun baton. She caught his wrist mid-swing and twisted it. He screamed as she disarmed him and knocked him out with the same baton.
[Left side.]
The voice in her head warned her just in time.
She ducked as a high-speed projectile whizzed past her ear. 'Sniper.'
Her eyes snapped toward the far end of the hall. There, up on the balcony. A SHIELD marksman, adjusting his aim.
Peggy moved.
She grabbed a fallen guard's rifle and hurled it like a spear. It slammed into the sniper, knocking him off balance. He fell backward, crashing out of sight.
[Clear. For now.]
Peggy exhaled. Her heart was racing, but not from exhaustion. She felt… alive. Stronger than she ever had before.
She turned and sprinted down the hall. Every step felt light and effortless.
The control room wasn't far now.
She reached a heavy security door. It was a reinforced steel, fingerprint scanner, with no visible weakness. A normal person wouldn't get through without authorization.
Peggy wasn't a normal person anymore.
She grabbed the edges and pulled. The metal groaned, twisted, and then... CRACK! ... snapped apart like it was made of cardboard. She ripped the doors open and stepped inside.
The main control room was a circular space, filled with glowing monitors, security feeds, and blinking consoles. A handful of SHIELD operators turned in shock as she entered.
One of them reached for an alarm.
Peggy moved faster. She crossed the room in a heartbeat, slamming his head into the console before he could press the button.
The others backed away, hands up.
"I'm not here to hurt you," Peggy said, her voice firm. "I just want to know, who wants me dead and why? Oh, and give me Fury's location."
...
[Meanwhile...]
[SHIELD Helicarrier – Under Attack]
Gunfire echoed through the hallways of the SHIELD Helicarrier. Fury crouched behind cover, reloading his pistol with quick, practiced movements. Across from him, Howard Stark was doing the same, his expression tense but focused.
"They just keep coming!" Howard muttered, ducking as bullets whizzed past his head.
Fury gritted his teeth and fired back. "I thought we cleared out the Hydra rats years ago!"
"Yeah, well, looks like they were hiding under the damn floorboards!" Howard snapped, taking a shot at an enemy agent before ducking back behind cover.
Down the hall, Hydra agents were advancing in tight formation, their weapons trained on Fury and Howard. They moved with precision, their tactics too well-coordinated.
Leading them were two figures Fury recognized immediately—Grant Ward and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.
Ward smirked, his rifle steady. "Out of bullets yet, Director?"
Fury narrowed his eyes. "Not yet."
Valentina chuckled, stepping forward. "Come on, Fury. You know how this ends. Just surrender, and I promise we won't kill you… right away."
Howard scoffed. "Wow, what a generous offer."
Ward tilted his head. "You should listen, Stark. You're outnumbered, outgunned, and judging by how you're sweating, almost out of ammo."
Howard wiped his forehead. "Yeah, well… that's just because it's hot in here."
Fury gave him a look. "You got a plan, Stark? Because I'm running low."
Howard checked his pockets. "Well, I got one grenade, a busted communicator, and a really strong urge to punch that guy in the face." He pointed at Ward.
Ward grinned. "Go ahead. Try it."
Fury sighed. "That's not a plan, Stark."
Howard shrugged. "Okay, fine. But you better not ask any questions and keep whatever you see a secret."
He checked the wristwatch Tony gave him. He had no idea what was inside it. A weapon? Armor? He just hoped it would help.
He pressed the button on the side.
Nanites flowed out of the watch, spreading over his body like liquid metal. In seconds, they formed a red and silver high-tech suit. A glowing HUD flickered to life before his eyes, showing data, enemy positions, and even his own heartbeat.
Howard blinked. "Huh."
Fury stared. "What the hell, Stark?"
'Wow! Nanotechnology?' Howard flexed his fingers, feeling the smooth armor shift with him. "I have no idea."
Howard turned his wrist slightly, and the HUD flickered with new data streams. Targeting reticles, enemy vitals, and movement trajectories are all displayed in rapid succession.
Then, a voice, unmistakably artificial, spoke in his ear.
[Hermes M2 Online.]
[Situation: Hostile engagement detected. Immediate action required.]
Howard raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah, no kidding."
[Select Combat Mode: Lethal / Non-Lethal]
Howard frowned. He wasn't in the business of senseless killing, not unless absolutely necessary. Hydra scum or not, these people had information. They could tell him who was pulling the strings.
"Non-lethal," he said. "I wanna ask these guys some questions when we're done."
[Acknowledged.]
Fury, still crouched behind cover, eyed Howard warily. "You sure you know what you're doing, Stark?"
Howard smirked inside the helmet. "Not even a little bit."
[Auto-Combat Mode Available. Activate?]
Howard hesitated. "Auto? As in, you fight for me?"
[Affirmative. Auto-Combat Mode allows full AI-assisted engagement, optimizing efficiency and reaction time beyond human limitations.]
Howard exhaled sharply. Time was running out, and he wasn't about to fumble with controls he didn't understand.
"Alright, Hermes, do your thing. Auto-Combat mode: Engage."
[Acknowledged. Initiating combat protocols.]
The second the command was given, Howard's body moved.
His right arm snapped up, a pulse of concussive energy firing from his palm. The blast hit a Hydra agent square in the chest, launching him backward into two others. Before they could react, Howard's legs propelled him forward in a burst of speed.
"Whoa!" he yelped as the suit guided his movements.
A Hydra soldier swung a baton at his head. Howard's body moved effortlessly, avoiding the strike. His left gauntlet shot forward, releasing a small burst of electricity that incapacitated the attacker instantly.
Ward's smirk faded. "What the hell kind of Stark tech is that?"
Howard grinned. "The kind that makes your job a whole lot harder."
Two more agents raised their rifles. Before they could fire, Howard's suit calculated their angles and moved him accordingly. A quick side-step, a swift twist of his wrist... twin energy pulses knocked both Hydra goons unconscious.
Fury took the opportunity to emerge from cover, unloading precise shots that took down another pair of enemies. "Alright, I take it back. That thing's useful."
Valentina, still watching from the back, gave an amused chuckle. "Impressive, Stark. But let's see how well you handle this."
She tapped a device on her wrist.
The floor beneath Howard suddenly hummed with an electromagnetic pulse.
"Classic Shield security measure designed to deactivate weapons and technology. And that new getup of yours is filled with tech," She smirked with an arrogant expression. "So... Enjoy the little shock."
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