Chapter 43: Bet

At one of the offices in the SSR Headquarters, an angry voice could be heard.

"You are really good at making excuses, bastard!" Peggy Carter stormed out of the office with a bad expression.

Inside the office, Andy held his stomach with a bitter expression. Although Peggy's punch was not painful, he still needed to act.

Lorraine, on the other hand, gloated over his misfortune. She chuckled and asked, "You know, dear, we are still confused why you are hiding your ability from Peggy."

"You don't understand. It's not that I wanted to hide it, but it's the only option so she will not make a mess after having extraordinary abilities," Andy answered with a helpless expression.

He really didn't think of confessing the truth to Peggy now. He knew her really well. Once she had the ability, the first thing she would do was to take matters into her own hands and end the ongoing world war.

Peggy had this kind of righteous personality, a rather troublesome personality for Andy's future plans, so he already had a book full of excuses ready for the future.

Even now, she was already making trouble because of the Symbiote Bracelet. She wondered why it was so weak compared to the one he gave her. She thout that If he could at least give the vial version capable of manifesting weapons and guns to the Howling Commandos, they would have a better chance of defeating HYDRA.

Originally, Andy really thought of using the vial version, but this version is a bit repulsive to other humans. No normal humans would want to have black goo inside their bodies, and it will cause them to be suspicious. It's also because he realized that he is a bit naive about indirectly controlling governments and organizations through this method.

The Cerebro is really the reason why he changed his strategy since it can monitor all the humans on the planet and make it easier to control them. However, he still proceeded to implement the plan of selling symbiote bracelets because the Cerebro's monitoring capabilities are not useful in some magical places like Kamar-Taj or buildings with shielding technology to counter telepathic detection.

To be honest, even Magneto's helmet of Sebastian Shaw could shield the Cerebro from monitoring. The reason why he could still be detected is the symbiote inside his body.

"Never mind Peggy for now. How is Jacqueline Falsworth? Did you successfully invite her to the Masque Group?" Andy asked, Jacqueline is one of their goals for today.

"Yes, dear. Should I invite her later? She just finished having a reunion with her father," Lorraine replied. Jacqueline Falsworth is an SSR agent and the daughter of Howling Commandos member James Montgomery Falsworth.

"Is that so? Then invite her tonight to our Umbrella Branch here in London," Andy said. He had already thought of how to awaken her superpower and make her one of the speedsters in Marvel, codenamed Spitfire.

They talked for a while on the office when he suddenly sensed something.

"Oh? It seems that Connie and Bonnie have already arrived with the two guests. Let's go," Andy sensed the arrival of them and walked out of the office to greet them.

------

At the training ground of the SSR, Steve Rogers stood in front of the main members of the Howling Commandos, Bucky Barnes, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, James Montgomery Falsworth, Jacques Dernier, and Jim Morita. Even the future member Happy Sam Sawyers, Junior Jupiter and Pinky Pinkerton were recruited to the team.

Laura, the Autograph Seeker is also with them, giving them a briefing about their team and mission and distributing symbiote bracelets to them. She almost replaced Peggy's role on the team as Steve's lover.

Their symbiote bracelet is not advanced as the one with Steve and Laura that could change into any type of clothing, it only has one Howling Commandos combat uniform. Nevertheless, its already good with bulletproof, resistant to small explosion, and basic healing factor.

While they were familiaring with their equipment, Andy, Lorraine, Bonnie, Connie and two unfamiliar men arrived, causing the Howling Commandos to look at them.

The Howling Commandos greeted them and thanked Andy for the awesome equipment that could save their lives.

Steve and the rest of the Howling Commandos pulled Andy to the side and ask curiously about the two grumpy looking men he brought, "Who are they?"

"Them? They were James Howlett and Victor Creed, the two of them were half-brothers and recruited by me to join your team." Andy said to them.

"What? No, I don't even know them, and they look like hot-tempered guys who will likely cause problems with my team's harmony," Steve disagreed when he heard this.

Bucky also nodded and said, "I'm with Steve. The two of them really look like trouble."

Wolverine and Sabertooth turned their attention to them and grinned at Bucky and Steve. The two of them were a bit inexplicable when they were stared down by them like wild beasts. Apparently, they heard them so now they are staring at them.

"What's wrong with them?" Steve asked in wonder. His instinct was telling him that the two were dangerous.

Seeing this, Andy patted Steve's shoulder and could only explain truthfully, "Steve, I think it's time to tell you that our world is not as simple as you think. Our world is full of mystery with extraordinary people like James and Victor."

"The reason why I invited them to your team in the first place is to let you know about the world and to prepare you in case you encounter extraordinary beings like them while fighting HYDRA and caused a casualty on your team."

"Uhhm... What are you talking about?" Steve asked in confusion.

"Well, I think it's better for you to get to know them well before the fight," Andy said, then called, "James and Victor, it's time for you to show your power to them."

The two of them came over, and Victor asked, "Are they the people we will be on a team with? You told us that there would be some good fights joining them, but it seems they are just weak humans."

"What did you say? Do you want a fight?" Dum Dum Dugan confronted the two of them.

"What? Aren't you just some weaklings?" Victor showed his claws and canine teeth, causing him and the others to step back in fright.

"Hahaha." James on the side who maintaining a silence laughed out loud at their frightened apparance, the team were a bit embrassed and angry at this situation

"The hell was that? What are they, Andy?" Steve was stunned at this scene and stepped forward to shield the rest of his team.

"As you can see, they are called mutants. They are people with extraordinary strength just like you and you will likely encountered others in future," Andy answered, then continued, "Do you want to test them now?"

When Bucky heard this, he asked in disbelief, "Don't tell me they have the same strength as Steve?"

"Yes," Andy nodded. The truth is they are stronger than Steve. The two of them are in the category of 'Superhuman,' while Steve is only at the 'Enhanced' level.

But Andy is on Steve's side because he is known for having the 50/50 fighting ability talent. No matter how strong the opponent is, he can fight them all day.

"Hmp! Then we will fight them to see if they are really as strong as you said," Dum Dum Dugan stood up again. "Captain, let us fight them first."

"Are you sure?" Steve asked, worried.

"We are sure, Captain," the Howling Commandos answered firmly.

Andy interjected, "Well, I think it's better for all of you to equip your combat uniforms. Their claws are sharp."

The member nodded and pressed their bracelet to activated the combat suit mode.

Andy stepped aside to the sidelines with the girls watching.

"Oh, fighting you all is just a warm-up before fighting Mr. Star-Spangled Man," Victor said arrogantly.

"I'm also looking forward to fighting you, Captain America," James said with a huge grin.

The Howling Commandos all took their fighting stances, ready to take on the two mutants in hand-to-hand combat. Wolverine is the first to launch an attack, and the Commandos sprang into action. Bucky and Dum Dugan charged at Wolverine, while the others engaged Sabretooth.

The fight was brutal and intense, with punches and kicks being thrown left and right. Despite their training and experience, the Commandos were no match for the two powerful mutants. Wolverine and Sabretooth were too fast and too strong, and their claws caused a spark through the Commandos' armor.

Bucky and Dum Dugan were both knocked out cold by Wolverine's powerful punch, while the others were quickly overwhelmed by Sabretooth. In the end, the Howling Commandos lay defeated on the ground, battered and bruised. Wolverine and Sabretooth stood over them, feeling unsatisfied.

"That's it? I thought your team has something." Victor shook his head in disappointment.

Steve got angry hearing this, seeing the beaten members of his team and he shouted, "Enough, I will fight the two of you."

"Hey, Captain America. If you could tie with us in the fight, i'm willing to listen to your command." James said eagerly.

"Haha, if he really could." Victor said excitedly and faced off Steve.

Wolverine and Sabertooth snarled and bared their teeth, ready to pounce on Steve. They were both incredibly fast and had razor-sharp claws that could cut through almost anything. Steve had his shield, but he knew that it wouldn't be enough to stop them.

The three combatants circled each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Wolverine lunged forward, claws extended, but Steve was ready. He dodged the attack and swung his shield, catching Wolverine in the side of the head. The mutant stumbled back, but quickly recovered and charged again. Sabretooth joined the fray, attacking from the side with his own set of claws.

Steve blocked the attack with his shield, but the force of the blow sent him staggering backwards. He regained his footing quickly and launched a counter-attack, striking Sabretooth with a powerful punch. The fight continued like this for several minutes, with each combatant landing blows and dodging attacks.

Wolverine amd Sabertooth was impressed by Steve's skill and tenacity despite being physically weak compared to them, and Steve is a bit carefull fighting them since knew that he couldn't let his guard down for a second.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the three fighters stood panting and exhausted. They had all taken their fair share of hits, but none of them had been able to gain the upper hand. It was a draw.

Steve took a deep breath to calm his breathing and say, "Ha, is that it? We can do this all day."

"No more fight." James thought its pointless to fight again.

"Well fought, just like the bet, we are willing to listen to your command," Sabertooth nodded to Steve, acknowledging his skill and power.

Andy and the other four women on the sidelines applauses after the fight, and Laura quickly run to Steve to hug and congratulate him, "Good job, sweetheart."

As expected of Steve Rogers' 50/50 fighting ability, he convinced the two most arrogant guys in the world to follow him.