Inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier's detention block, the long-awaited figure of Hawkeye finally appeared before the reinforced glass cell.
"You're here," said Marcus with a calm smile, seated cross-legged in the center of the cell. Hawkeye's arrival could mean only one thing—the Helicarrier lockdown was complete.
Without a word, Hawkeye stepped forward and inserted a silver flash drive into the cell's control panel. Inside it was a decryption program written by Tony Stark himself. For Tony, breaking into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s systems was no harder than unlocking his own front door—as long as you had the right access port, no barrier aboard this ship could stand in his way.
A few seconds later, the cell door slid open with a quiet hiss.
Marcus, the man who represented the only possible turning point in this war, stepped out casually as if he had merely finished a nap. Straightening his coat, he asked in a low voice,
"Everything done?"
"Yes," Hawkeye replied curtly. Then, from behind his back, he drew a long silver scepter—the Loki Scepter, the very one Marcus had taken from Hydra's Sokovia base.
At its tip, the Mind Stone pulsed faintly beneath a strange metallic device. It was clear that the gem's power was being channeled into something artificial.
As one might expect, a device built around the Mind Stone dealt not with physical defense—but with mental energy.
This was the result of Tony's latest experiment: a psychic energy barrier, a defensive field powered directly by the Mind Stone. Its purpose was simple but terrifyingly effective—to block any telepathic intrusion or influence within its radius, creating an area where no mental or psychic abilities could function.
The Mind Stone, by its very nature, granted control over thoughts, dreams, and consciousness itself. Harnessing it to repel psychic power rather than amplify it had been an easy task for Stark. And with one of the six Infinity Stones serving as its power core, this barrier was nearly indestructible. Even an Omega-level telepath would find it impossible to breach.
Not even Professor X, one of the strongest psychic minds in existence, could pierce its defenses. Thus, it was no wonder that his telepathic link to the Helicarrier had been completely severed.
However, Tony hadn't yet perfected the system. The barrier couldn't yet distinguish between friend and foe, meaning it blocked all forms of mental control—including Marcus's own zombie psychic network. As a result, the Chasers aboard the Helicarrier were now acting purely on instinct, slaughtering indiscriminately without direction.
It was that lack of coordination that had caused one of them to charge straight into the command center, alerting Fury far earlier than intended.
Still, Marcus didn't seem concerned. "Chaos was all they needed to create," he said to himself. "Whether they're under control or not doesn't matter anymore."
There was one catch, though—if Marcus wanted to reestablish his telepathic link or control Hawkeye's mind directly, he'd have to disable the Mind Stone's barrier first. But doing so would also leave them exposed to detection by Professor X.
He smirked. "No… best not to risk a speech from Fury converting him," he muttered wryly.
This was his mission to finish. Marcus himself would end S.H.I.E.L.D.
He slung the scepter across his back and began walking toward the Helicarrier's command center.
---
Meanwhile, far below, Captain America and the last remnants of his forces had finally breached the lower levels of the New Umbrella Tower, where the final battle awaited.
In the narrow, ruined halls, American soldiers and superheroes fought side by side against an endless tide of zombies. Their shouts echoed through the crumbling structure, fierce and desperate.
Every man and woman among them carried the same belief: if they could take this tower, they could still turn the tide of the war. Even if it cost their lives, they would not stop.
At the front of the charge was Blade, the vampire hunter. His silver sword flashed through the air in a storm of blinding arcs, cutting down every undead that dared approach. His half-vampire physiology made him immune to infection, and his combat instincts made him the spearhead of their advance.
But as he ascended the stairwell, a hulking figure emerged from the shadows—a towering, heavily muscled zombie clad in black exoskeletal armor. This was Crossbones, resurrected and reengineered through Extremis augmentation into a living weapon.
He roared and drove his fist forward, the built-in shock piston detonating on impact. The blow landed squarely on Blade's chest, sending him skidding backward.
Crossbones' mind was gone—his humanity erased by Marcus long ago. What stood here now was only raw muscle and killing instinct. His movements lacked any real strategy, and Blade easily parried the next blow, twisting his sword and driving it straight through Crossbones' chest.
For a brief moment, the fight seemed won. But then, Blade realized something was wrong.
Crossbones didn't flinch. Instead, he lunged forward—forcing the blade deeper into his own body until it pierced him completely.
Blade's eyes widened. "Wait—"
It was too late. The armor's internal power core flared to life. Crossbones locked both arms around Blade's shoulders, his chest erupting with blinding orange-red light.
"—No!"
The explosion tore through the stairwell like a miniature sun.
BOOM!
The blast blew a hole through the outer wall of the tower, the shockwave annihilating the entire staircase. The fusion of Extremis energy and the armor's reactor produced temperatures so intense that both Crossbones and Blade were vaporized instantly—leaving nothing behind but blackened steel and fire.
Another hero had fallen.
Captain America didn't even have time to mourn. He couldn't.
Raising his shield to block the wave of heat and debris, he pressed forward, expression set in grim determination. The weight of countless fallen comrades hung over him, yet there was no room left for grief.
Once—long ago—he would have stopped for every wounded soldier, risked everything to save each life. That was the man he had always been.
But now? Now he was leading humanity's last stand. Every second lost meant more dead. Every hesitation meant failure.
The only way to honor those who had died was to win.
And somewhere along this bloody march, Captain America had crossed a line even he hadn't noticed—his heart still burned with justice, but his mercy had quietly burned away with it.
_____
T/N:
For readers who would like early access, my Patreon is available for just $4 per month. You'll unlock 90+ advance chapters and help support ongoing works.
🔗 patreon.com/user?u=79514336
You may also search Translator-Sama directly on Patreon.
Your support is sincerely appreciated