Gulp.
Watching Boomerang get detonated into a pile of scrap metal, Isaiah Bradley couldn't help but swallow hard.
Having been imprisoned by the U.S. government for decades, he was severely out of touch with the times. He had never even heard the name "The Arbiter."
Because of this, Isaiah didn't yet realize just how terrifying a being he was facing.
A superpower user who controls hair? The WWII veteran quickly ran a combat analysis in his mind based on the "intel" he had just seen.
The hair looked tough, and the speed wasn't slow. But the speed shown when Peter threw the boomerang back was only slightly faster than Isaiah's own reflexes.
He was a man who could go toe-to-toe with Captain America; as long as he dodged the hair, he could definitely take this kid down!
The advantage is mine!
Reaching this conclusion, Isaiah thought of the honor and freedom Alexander Pierce had promised him.
If he took these people out, Pierce would use his power to exonerate him. He would become the true Black Captain America—the new spiritual symbol of the nation!
Driven by this beautiful vision, Isaiah let out a roar, his massive muscles tensing. He launched himself forward like a black cannonball toward Peter! He funneled all his strength into his right fist, intending to crush this "hair monster" with the power he was most proud of.
However, as Peter watched the aggressive Isaiah charging in, his face didn't show a ripple of emotion. He simply raised his own right fist in a casual, almost lazy manner.
Seeing that loose-looking fist, a flash of joy crossed Isaiah's eyes. This guy is arrogant enough to try and clash with me head-on? Even Steve Rogers had to reel for a long time after taking one of Isaiah's punches. A kid who plays with hair thinks he can intercept it?
You're tired of living!
Isaiah felt victory was already in his grasp.
But the moment the two fists collided, the joy on his face vanished, replaced instantly by infinite agony and horror.
He felt as if his fist hadn't hit a person, but rather a hundred-ton truck traveling at top speed.
That terrifying force absorbed his momentum effortlessly, and then...
CRACK!Squelch—
First came the ear-piercing sound of bone snapping, followed by the dull thud of flesh exploding.
To Isaiah's disbelief, the source of all his confidence—the iron arm capable of punching through tank armor—began to shatter from the knuckles up.
It broke inch by inch, joint by joint, until the entire arm disintegrated into a massive cloud of blood mist!
Isaiah's muscular frame was sent flying backward. The sheer intensity of the pain bypassed his threshold entirely; he didn't even have time to scream before the heart-wrenching agony knocked him unconscious.
Hiss—
Seeing Isaiah lying there, missing an arm, his life or death uncertain, the remaining Molten Man and the bee-swarm entity known as Swarm felt their scalps go numb.
If killing Boomerang was a display of skill and speed, then that single punch to Isaiah was pure, crushing physical dominance.
Speed, skill, power... all of it was beyond human. Facing such an opponent, if they weren't both "special form" entities, they probably would have turned and bolted already.
In that moment, Molten Man and Swarm locked eyes and reached a silent consensus. In terms of physical stats, they were no match for the Adjudicator.
But... they were high-tier "Mechanic Freaks!"
If they teamed up and relied on their superior biological/physical mechanics, they might just stand a chance.
BZZZZZZ—!
A sky-blotting cloud of mutated bees transformed into a yellow tornado, sweeping toward Peter to swallow him whole.
This was the power of Swarm (Fritz von Meyer). Formerly a Nazi scientist specializing in biochemical weapons, he had hidden in the South American rainforest after the war and discovered a colony of killer bees mutated by a radioactive meteorite.
Fritz had been torn apart by the bees while trying to capture them, but his consciousness had merged with the hive mind.
Because his mind was one with the swarm, he was effectively immortal. As long as the Queen Bee survived, no matter how many drones died, it wouldn't affect his consciousness.
Unless Peter could wipe out every single bee at once or find the Queen hidden among the chaotic thousands, he would eventually be stung to death.
Simultaneously, Molten Man (Mark Raxton) roared and charged. His body was composed of a radioactive liquid alloy, making him a liquid-metal man similar to a Terminator but with a lethal twist: he radiated extreme heat.
Molten Man intended to use his liquid state to perform a combined attack with Swarm. The temperature of his gold-red body spiked, causing him to liquify further into something resembling a giant, glowing slime.
In this state, he only needed to touch Peter to bind him in place.
Once Peter was restrained, Swarm would inject thousands of neurotoxins into him. Even a "man of iron" would die a miserable death.
The plan was perfect. This combo had never failed them against other heroes. But unfortunately, the opponent they faced was not one governed by common sense.
Facing the pincer attack, Peter just gave a contemptuous laugh.
"You want to play with mechanics?"
"Then let me show you the beauty of true mechanics~"
As he spoke, Peter pressed his hand against the Wizard Driver at his waist. He flicked the central core:
[WATER! PLEASE!]
A sky-blue magic circle swept through his body. Under the mask of his Water Style, Peter's face wore a demonic smile. And then... he did absolutely nothing.
As Swarm and Molten Man closed in, Peter didn't attack. Instead, he simply spread his arms wide, leaving himself completely exposed!
Seeing this peak level of posturing, a vein bulged on the foreheads of both villains. Damn him, I've never seen someone so arrogant!
They lunged at Peter with everything they had. But what happened next made their eyes bulge in shock.
Their "perfect" attacks—the burning liquid metal and the stinging cloud of bees—simply passed right through Peter's body. Through him. Like he wasn't even there.
"This move?" Peter whispered. "This is called Instant Intangibility."
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