Marvel’s Shadowed Knight

The 22nd, War Special Zone.

Even the God of Thunder himself was unwilling to set foot in this place.

Because, in everyone's eyes, it was a tangled mess.

No one wanted to help untangle it. The causes and consequences had long since ceased to matter.

Because this place had already split into two nations.

To the east, the Nation of Iron.

"Mr. President, we've detected a group entering our borders," reported the Winter Soldier, who burst into Stark's office as the current messenger.

Years of turmoil had left Stark with prematurely white hair, but his spirit remained sharp.

"You should've knocked first," Stark remarked as he was changing his clothes. At his side was Jennifer Susan Walters—his secretary, personal bodyguard, and possibly even the First Lady of the Nation of Iron.

Or as she was better known—She-Hulk.

"Apologies, Mr. President. I know this meeting is extremely important, but I really do have critical intel," said the Winter Soldier. If it were a trivial matter, he wouldn't have barged in like this.

Seeing the urgency on the Winter Soldier's face, Stark frowned.

"Let's see what kind of situation this is." Stark nodded at him, then turned to Jennifer, who was helping him pick a tie. "Jennifer, I think that red one looks great. It matches your outfit."

Jennifer picked up the red tie and smiled.

But she didn't voice her opinion.

Because the Winter Soldier had already brought up what he discovered.

"Our border drones spotted a small group crossing into our territory," he said, displaying the footage for Stark.

It showed Bruce and the others.

"I'm guessing there's someone in that group who's of particular interest to us," Stark said. He knew the Winter Soldier wouldn't have rushed in unless it was serious.

"We've identified them," said the Winter Soldier, circling several figures in the footage.

"Hawkeye—Clint Barton. Falcon—Sam Wilson. Stature—Cassie Lang. And most importantly…" the Winter Soldier began, but Stark had already locked eyes on the all-too-familiar figure.

"Captain America. Steve Rogers." Stark's gaze darkened.

"What do we do?" the Winter Soldier asked, needing clear instructions.

Even though they both knew these people weren't from the opposing Nation of Blue.

Hawkeye had died long ago in that massive explosion.

And there was no way Captain America would openly appear in the Nation of Iron.

In fact, their current Captain America was supposed to be on his way to the Watershed for peace talks.

But seeing former comrades appear again—it stirred something deep inside.

"I think we can meet with them. But wait until I return," said Stark, already putting his suit back on, preparing for another important meeting.

Just as the Winter Soldier was about to leave, Stark stopped him again.

"Remember—be polite."

The Winter Soldier nodded and walked out slowly.

"Jennifer… do you think we'll succeed?" Stark asked, troubled.

He had a bad feeling this talk would end in failure.

But he couldn't be certain.

Especially now, with strangers from another place suddenly appearing.

The War Special Zone was never a place people wanted to visit.

Just like its name implied—

Here, a single wrong word could lead to war.

"Just believe in yourself," Jennifer said softly as she adjusted Stark's suit.

Elsewhere, Bruce had already come to a halt.

"What's wrong?" Captain America gripped his shield, ready for a fight.

"Someone's here to pick us up," Bruce replied. From the moment they entered the War Special Zone, he'd been observing through his nanobots.

He had also tried to hack into the systems here to figure out the situation.

And he had to admit—under Iron Man's rule, the Nation of Iron's tech had advanced rapidly and maintained tight security.

Clearly, President Stark didn't trust that white-robed god sitting in the castle.

Otherwise, things wouldn't be like this.

A plane slowly landed in front of them.

At the same time, a squad of armored soldiers touched down, weapons raised and ready to fire at the slightest sign of danger.

"I'm the Winter Soldier—Bucky Barnes. Ordered by the President of the Nation of Iron to escort you to Chameleon Alpha," said a figure in red and white armor as he stepped forward.

"Bucky!" Captain America was stunned by the all-too-familiar face.

But remembering what Bruce had explained earlier, everything suddenly made sense.

With the multiverse, there were bound to be other versions of the Winter Soldier.

The Winter Soldier said nothing to Captain America, simply signaling for everyone to board the plane.

Captain America looked at the serious-faced Winter Soldier and eventually said nothing either—he just got on.

As the last person boarded, a flicker of emotion passed through the Winter Soldier's eyes, but he quickly forced it down.

Emotions, especially now, were not helpful.

Especially after his past conversations with his own version of Captain America—he believed this even more.

"How did they find us?" Falcon asked. He'd been scouting from the air the entire time and hadn't noticed any drones or sentinels.

Yet these people had located them directly.

It didn't make sense.

"Stark Tech," Bruce answered flatly. Stark's technological prowess was formidable. No matter the angle, it was impressive.

Creating something that could bypass their surveillance wasn't difficult.

In fact, it was relatively simple.

Especially since they no longer had a super AI helping them navigate everything.

"There's no need to worry. At least for now, they bear no malice toward us." Bruce closed his eyes, as if preparing to rest.

The others, seeing Bruce like this, also began to conserve their energy.

At the same time, Bruce had already stepped into the prison within his own mind.

He was curious about the rock that had suddenly appeared in his mental prison. The prison had always looked like a typical one—so why had something like this suddenly appeared?

He stepped forward and gently touched the rock.

Bruce had a strong feeling that something was hidden beneath it, especially since the prison cell above the rock made him feel uneasy.

What kind of thing could cause his mental prison to change like this?

Moreover, the rock felt strangely familiar.

"That lunatic made it," came Ravager's voice, speaking to Bruce.

Ever since the last incident, Ravager had become relatively calmer when talking to Bruce.

"Lunatic?" Bruce frowned. He didn't remember seeing this thing behind the wooden door before.

"The moment we appeared here, that lunatic wasn't far behind either. He just hadn't fully emerged yet—someone forcibly shoved him back," this time it wasn't Barry Allen—the Flash—speaking, but Red Death.

Barry removed the helmet of his battle suit so that Red Death could speak directly to Bruce.

To be honest, the sensation was a bit unsettling.

Who would've thought that inside one person's body, there was another person's head trying to stretch out—like a photocopy gone wrong.

Barry naturally sensed Red Death's desire to speak, so he let him come forward.

"He came to us first," Barry recalled the creepy figure with that ever-present grin stretched across his face.

"Also, haven't you noticed? There's a new resident in your prison," Red Death gestured for Bruce to look toward another cell in the distance.

At first glance, the cell didn't seem any different.

It all felt like a joke.

But since Red Death mentioned it, Bruce naturally had to go take a look.

Only when he stood in front of the cell did Bruce realize what had changed.

Blood was seeping out of the cell walls—but without any foul, bloody odor. Everything vanished the moment it touched the bars.

Inside sat a burly man in armor, leaning on a sharp weapon, sitting silently as if asleep.

His dark gray armor gave off a brutal aura, as if anything that appeared in front of him would be cleaved in half without hesitation.

Even though Bruce was standing right before him, the man showed no intention of speaking.

He simply kept his eyes closed.

"Hahaha! A gift I left for you—a blade! Hahaha! Use him well!!" Just as Bruce was about to leave, a sharp, piercing voice exploded in his ears.

Bruce was certain he had never heard that voice in his mental prison before.

"No need to thank me now. Thank me when we meet in person!"

"Hahahaha… haha!"

That high-pitched laughter echoed through Bruce's mind like a curse, as if trying to drive him to madness—just like its owner.

Cold sweat broke out on Bruce's forehead. His whole body tensed up, as if his throat might be torn open at any moment.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and escaped from the mental prison.

At that same moment, the armored man who had been sitting silently in the cell opened his eyes. As if murmuring to himself, he spoke to the empty cell:

"I'll help you kill that false god."

With that, he returned to his previous stillness, as if he hadn't spoken at all.

Bruce didn't pay much attention to the figure in his mind. Instead, he turned his focus to their current location.

He had to admit, when it came to being president, Stark had a natural advantage.

The Iron Nation was far more prosperous and advanced than anyone could have imagined.

And clearly, it was still expanding.

But the only direction it could expand—was toward its enemies.

Doom would never allow them to attack the other districts.

The fact that the War District still existed was already because Doom had allowed it to.

At that moment, the plane landed.

Everyone, who had been resting, woke up.

When the plane doors opened, they were greeted by none other than the Winter Soldier.

And a group of soldiers.

"Welcome to Thousand-Shift Alpha," the Winter Soldier said to the group that had disembarked, then led them to a reception room that had clearly been prepared in advance.

Just as President Stark had promised, he would treat these unknown guests from another realm with friendliness.

"I really didn't expect it to be like this," Jessica said in surprise, looking around the reception room. It had to be said, the Iron Nation was not only developed, but also managed to give off a strong sense of safety.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. President Stark will speak with you soon," the Winter Soldier said before turning to leave.

He had no intention of staying.

"Bucky." Captain America tried to stop his counterpart from another world.

"I'm not the Bucky you know, Captain," the Winter Soldier replied. Although he was curious about where this Captain America had come from, he knew Stark was more interested in having a proper conversation with them.

Besides, he had to go with President Stark to the Watershed soon.

With that, the Winter Soldier turned and left. However, he did not take the iron-armored soldiers who had come with him.

Looking at the line of soldiers standing at the door, Hawkeye shrugged. "I feel like we're prisoners."

"Oh, come on. Prisoners? I never had accommodations like this in the military," Falcon retorted. "Cozy décor, a giant TV, fruit within arm's reach, and that sofa looks downright luxurious."

Falcon sprawled onto the sofa. As he stared at the ceiling, his thoughts drifted to the lover he had lost while fighting the planet-devourer.

Unfortunately, she never got to see this moment.

"What are you thinking about?" Jessica walked over to Bruce holding an apple. With a light twist, she split it in two and handed half to him.

"Nothing." Bruce shook his head, withdrawing his gaze. He took the apple half and took a bite.

"I just think… their internal divisions feel a bit off."

"Put your conspiracy theories away for now. Let's wait and ask the people here ourselves," Jessica said, patting Bruce on the shoulder.

Bruce didn't say a word. He simply took another bite of the apple in his hand.

(End of Chapter)

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