The moment Peter appeared, Captain America and Tony Stark felt an instantaneous surge of revitalization, as if their health bars had suddenly refilled.
Bucky, though still unfamiliar with Peter, let out a silent sigh of relief. He figured that with an extra hand, they could finally turn the tide.
In stark contrast, deep within the base's surveillance room, Alexander Pierce's smug grin froze.
Dammit... wasn't this monster supposed to be lured away to Africa? How is he back so soon?!
Pierce's pupils shook. A cold dread climbed up his spine. As a core member of the American political elite, he knew better than anyone the terrifying power contained within that young man.
Forcing his trembling, noodle-like legs to move, Pierce didn't hesitate. He abandoned everything and sprinted toward a secret tunnel where a supersonic jet sat on standby.
Run! I have to run!
Pierce believed his movements were covert. He had no idea that every step he took was being tracked with crystal clarity by Peter's Byakugan.
"Trying to run?" Peter let out a cold smirk. He turned to the battered trio behind him.
"The old man is trying to grease his wheels and slip out. The secret passage is in that direction. You three go take him down—and while you're at it, clear out any S.H.I.E.L.D. agents you recognize. Anyone here is a snake. Kill them all."
"As for these 'small fry,' leave them to me."
"Understood!" Tony didn't waste a breath. He adjusted his damaged thrusters and wobbled off in the direction Peter pointed.
Cap shoved the super-soldier away and scooped up the swollen-faced Bucky to follow.
Bucky, the recently defrosted "Popsicle," was bewildered. He glanced back at the four freaks who had just been beating them senseless and hesitated.
"Steve... are we really leaving him alone? He looks like he's barely twenty."
Steve's expression was complex. After a long moment, he gave a wry smile. "Bucky, you have to realize the world changes fast.
There are things now that 'old-timers' like us just can't wrap our heads around. Like Peter's strength. To be honest, if he had existed in our era, he could have settled World War II by himself."
The moment the others left, the four villains turned their cold gazes toward Peter.
Because they were either former inmates or low-level operatives, they had heard of "The Adjudicator" only through newspaper snippets.
They had no grasp of the sheer horror Peter represented. Having just suppressed three legendary heroes, they viewed Peter's solo stand as pure arrogance.
The white youth holding a boomerang was the most impatient. "Arbiter, you'll pay for your hubris!"
Peter wasn't flustered. He studied them with genuine interest. He recognized only Isaiah Bradley.
A veteran of WWII who had been experimented on and discarded by the government—a tragic figure forced into Hydra's arms by necessity.
The other three were likely obscure comic-book villains. Peter wasn't a die-hard comic fan in his past life, so their names didn't immediately ring a bell.
Seeing Peter's lack of movement, the youth—Fred Myers, alias Boomerang—struck first. He whipped a large boomerang toward Peter.
Fred was a former professional baseball pitcher whose career ended in a gambling scandal. He took his talents to crime and was recruited as Pierce's personal muscle.
This large boomerang was just a distraction; the real killing blow was the explosive boomerang he flicked from behind his back.
It was designed to loop in a wide arc and strike Peter from the rear, blowing him to smithereens.
Fred watched Peter, who seemed oblivious. In his mind, he was already popping the celebratory champagne.
He didn't realize that to Peter, this attack was laughably childish. Peter didn't even bother to move. He simply activated the Life Return (Seimei Kikan) technique he'd mastered through the Rokushiki.
In an instant, Peter's hair grew rapidly. Like a living entity, the strands lashed out and snared the explosive boomerang coming from behind.
What?!
Before Fred could even process what happened, his own boomerang—now wrapped in hair—turned into a blur of light and streaked back at him. It was ten times faster than he had thrown it!
Fred's face twisted in terror. He tried to dive, but what was his speed compared to Peter's?
BOOM!
The sneer hadn't even left his face before the explosive boomerang detonated right in front of him. Blood and high-tech shrapnel sprayed across the floor.
Looking at the scattered "bits" of the villain, Peter let out a mocking laugh.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you? Every boomerang you throw eventually comes back to the person who threw it."
The underground base fell into a deathly silence. Isaiah and the other two looked at each other, suddenly realizing a terrifying fact.
Even among superheroes... There are tiers.
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