Chapter 50 – Cutting off heads (3)

(Sam Wilson's Apartment – Washington DC – January 12th 2014)

When Sam woke up that day, the only thing he had on his mind was getting in his morning run, picking up milk and deciding what they were ordering for Tony's 75th birthday down at the VA tonight. He had certainly not expected Steve Rogers to show up on his doorstep along with the Black Widow and Kal in tow. He had certainly not thought the three would show up first thing in the morning alongside a SHIELD agent while claiming everyone they currently knew was trying to kill them and needing a place to lay low.

What was on his mind at the moment was whether to ask the very tall very muscular god who was sitting on his couch if he wanted coffee. Kal was wearing a large red hoodie and jeans, despite being size XXL they still looked small on the Asgardian who, even dressed like an ordinary person, still looked like a god. Steve had raided his very limited medical supplies to treat Natasha, and the two had proceeded to take over his bedroom and bathroom. The young SHIELD agent whom Sam had learnt was called Olsen had changed into some of his spare clothes and was camped out near the window watching the driveway and street.

"So, um….do you want a cup of coffee or…. I got orange juice in the fridge?" Sam finally decided to ask the unmoving figure which was Kal.

"I am fine, thank you," Kal just gave a polite nod and then went back to staring at the far wall, with eyes moving as if he was tracking multiple insects on the totally bare surface.

"Okay then," Sam replied, turning away from the man as he raised his eyebrows, whilst pouring himself a drink and deciding that he was going to need the caffeine to get through this. "I'm going to make breakfast and get the uh… other world-saving, ultra-famous, super people…..yeah, that's now a thing I do."

Sam moved off and headed to his bedroom, he took one last dazed glance around his living room. There was Olsen, whose eyes were still darting around looking for any sign of trouble outside, and Kal sat unmoving on his couch. As he moved into the bedroom he couldn't help but smirk slightly at the scene before him, causing him to hang back as he watched the other two of his guests. Captain America and the infamous Black Widow were sitting on his bed, sharing a moment that was almost straight out of high school drama.

"What's going on?" Steve asked, concerned for the despondent look Nat had as he finished checking her wound which was already starting to heal, a side effect of her Red Room enhancements.

"When I first joined SHIELD, Steve…..I thought I was going straight. I did so much bad, so much red in my ledger." Nat sighed as she looked away from Steve, a brief moment of real raw emotion on her face as she remembered her life before Clint and SHIELD. "….But I guess I just traded Leviathan and the KGB for HYDRA and Pierce. I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, I really thought I was helping…..but I guess I can't tell the difference anymore,"

"There's a chance you might be in the wrong business," Steve responded bluntly, causing Nat to look at him wide-eyed before letting out a chuckle, seeing he wasn't serious and remembering they were her words.

Nat was silent for a moment as she looked at Steve before her face became deadly serious. "I owe you one, you and Kal."

"It's okay with me, and I'm sure he thinks the same" Steve replied shaking his head realising that Nat just couldn't understand how he didn't work on favours owed and scores tallied.

"If it was the other way around, and it was down to me to save your life," Nat started leaning forward with a look of pure honesty on her face. "And be straight with me, would you trust me to do it?"

"In a heartbeat" Steve responded immediately, earning a slight look of shock from Nat that she held such trust from one of the best men she knew. "And I'm always honest,"

"Well, you seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out that they died for nothing," Nat leant back her voice teasing once again as she fell on her old tool of humour.

"Well, I guess I just like to know who I'm fighting," Steve leant back as well, smiling slightly creating an air of confidence now that he knew what the score was.

"I'm making breakfast," Sam chimed in leaning on his bedroom doorframe deciding now was the best time to interrupt, "…. that is if you guys eat stuff like that?"

The meal was a simple one, but Sam wasn't prepared to feed a squad and it almost wiped out the limited supplies he kept for himself. It mainly consisted of hashbrowns, a little bacon, cereal and orange juice. To the surprise of all, especially Steve who had seen Thor eat, Kal had nothing; he merely sat at the table to be polite and took a single glass of orange juice which he didn't touch. The room was quiet as everyone ate with Sam smiling awkwardly at the superheroes and spies around his table until Nat spoke up.

"The question is who at SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?" She stated as she stood up and poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Pierce." Steve replied after a few moments. His frown deepened as the implications sank in.

"That makes sense, Pierce sent me into an ambush that almost cost me my life," Olsen spoke up as he set down his knife and fork. "If anyone has the clout and authority to pull this all off, it's him. Which stinks, because he's sitting on top of probably the most secure building in the world."

"Behind the most well-funded and trained security force in history." Nat added in, sighing as she sipped her coffee.

"It doesn't matter," Kal's calm voice caused everyone at the table to turn to the stoic-faced alien.

"Why's that?" Steve asked, narrowing his eyes at his friend. His gut told him that he already knew what was about to be said.

"Because it won't be enough to protect him from me." Kal responded calmly. He finally took a sip from the glass in front of him. "I have been tracking the number of people at the Triskelion and Pierce is there, in fact, he hasn't moved all day."

"How?" Nat asked, leaning against the kitchen counter and exchanging a quick worried look with Steve, sensing the same thing he was.

"My sight is greater than yours, I can see him now if I choose. Although it is immaterial," Kal glanced at Nat as set his glass back on the table before folding his arms. "I know where Pierce is and I mean to stop him."

"How?" Steve repeated Nat's question this time not trying to hide the confrontation in his voice.

"I'm going to fly to the Triskelion, tear that knave from his office, and then I will drop him after he watches me eradicate those ships of his," Kal stated bluntly, his arms still crossed and his face impassive.

"Kal, Pierce isn't working alone. Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star alongside a platoon of agents, and Corben also set up that ambush. We don't know how far HYRDA reaches." Olsen surprised Kal by being the one to confront him on his plan, leaning across the table as he spoke to his friend. "If we get this wrong, they'll just go underground and survive. Also, let's not forget the fact that if you kill Pierce without proof of all of this then everyone is going to attack you. The man is respected and listened to by governments across the planet."

"Wait, Corben? As in John Corben, he was the one who ambushed you?" Nat moved forward over to Olsen, her eyes fixed on the younger agent.

"He was," Kal was the one to answer her looking up at Nat who seemed uncharacteristically anxious at the news of Corben's involvement. "You know him?"

"Yeah, Corben's a piece of work and not someone to mess with. People in Operations nicknamed him the metal man, he follows orders to the letter and has the emotional range of a fridge." Nat scoffed remembering her unpleasant dealings with the agent over the years, and that blank deadeye stare he had. "He was the supervising agent when Clint was sent to take me out…. he also ran Budapest. He's ruthless, efficient and the best security expert I've ever met. If he's involved, it complicates getting into the Triskelion undetected."

"Not if I rip the building in half it won't," Kal shrugged in response, still evidently planning on just ending this all himself and damning any chance of routing out HYRDA.

"Kal, we can't ju-" Steve sighed leaning forward hoping to convince his friend that they needed to find out more and prove everything before striking, but he was quickly cut off by a godly fist bashing the table.

"THEY STARTED IT!" Kal's blow caused a crack in the table as he roared his response, his eyes flaring up in anger. "They attacked us! They sent my chi-…...They sent Patriot and Binary to kill me and your friends to kill you! We are at war, Steve and I intend to finish it."

Steve was quiet, and so was everyone else as the two strongest men in the room stared at each other. Kal was breathing heavily as his eyes glowed with fury whilst Steve just looked at his friend calmly. The others held their collective breaths as they knew that whatever the Asgardian decided to do, for better or worse, there wasn't anyone in the room that could stop him.

"…..So how many innocents are you going to have to go through for that to happen?" Steve was unruffled, and his question caused Kal's anger to freeze for a moment as his friend leaned forward to emphasise his point. "Hundreds? A thousand? Kal, I want these people as much if not more than you, but if we do what you're suggesting…. Sure, we'd get Pierce and likely a lot of HYDRA, but everyone around would be in danger, people like Me, Nat, Clint and Olsen who don't know they're being lied to."

Kal leaned back in his chair his fist uncurling as he released a deep sigh showing he conceded to Steve's point but barely. "So, what are you suggesting then?"

"We need to get information, find out exactly what Project Insight is, and who's involved." Steve quickly stated a plan already forming in his head. "Then after we get what we need, I promise you, you can go straight at Pierce and the rest of them."

"Very well, we will do it your way." Kal nodded, accepting the logic his friend was using. This war would be fought on a battlefield Steve knew better than he did, and his assessment rang true. Their enemy was hiding amongst their allies, so they needed information. "The question remains, however, where can we find such information?"

"Jasper Sitwell," Olsen's statement of the shield agent's name caused everyone to look at him "He was on the Lemurian Star, along with Zola algorithm, he's the STRIKE team coordinator, and he talks to Pierce constantly. Also, he's a grade-A jerk, if anyone is HYDRA it's him"

"Okay, so the real question is how two of the most wanted people in the world, along with two people who are supposed to be dead, kidnap a SHIELD agent in broad daylight?" Steve grimaced as he tried to think of a plan that wouldn't blow their cover or reveal Kal was alive too early.

"The answer is that you don't" Sam's voice sounded out, the man had stood up and went to a safe in the corner from which he had picked up a thick file, which he placed in front of Steve.

"What's this?" Steve asked, picking up the file and looking at the photo on the front which was clearly Sam and who he assumed was Riley, the partner that Sam couldn't refuse.

"Call it a resume." Sam responded, falling into a natural military posture and standing proudly at attention while he waited for Steve to render judgement.

"Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you?" Nat asked as she flicked through the file earning a nod from Sam who didn't seem surprised to find that the woman knew about the classified operation. "You didn't say he was a Para-recuse. I heard they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use? A stealth chute?"

"No." Sam couldn't help but smirk at her question feeling a tinge of pride, as he handed them a second file that he placed on the table. "We used these."

Nat and Steve were joined by an eager Olsen who looked through the file as well, the younger agent's eyes going wide in amazement at what he saw. Kal however remained where he was seated and just looked at Sam, his eyes flickering over the man. A smile appeared on Kal's face as he saw from the scars and healed bones that Sam was a warrior.

"I thought you said you were a pilot," Steve looked at Sam with a grin on his face earning a shrug and a smile from Sam.

"I never said pilot."

"Sam, I can't ask you to do this." Steve sighed. Although the other man's assistance would help greatly, he didn't want to put any more allies at risk. "You got out for a good reason."

"Dude, Captain America, Black Widow and Kal the Invincible need my help," Sam's face lost its smirk and became one of complete conviction. "There is no better reason to get back in,"

"Okay then, where can we get our hands on one of these things?" Steve lifted up the file that showed that Sam wasn't just a pilot.

"The last one is at Fort Meade. Behind three guard gates and a 12-inch steel wall." Sam stated looking at everyone in the room. "I'm assuming that isn't going to be an issue for you guys?"

"Steven" Kal's voice sounded out, causing everyone to focus on the god who drained his drink before standing up. "I like this one."

(Four Seasons Hotel – Downtown, Washington DC - January 12th 2014)

"So, you're sure, Sitwell is going to be here?" Nat's voice sounded over the radio as she waited in a car around the corner whilst Sam sat outside the lobby of the Four Seasons for his target.

"Yeah I'm sure," Olsen was on overwatch sweeping the area using a pair of binoculars as he waited on a nearby rooftop. "I managed to hack into his itinerary remotely, and by hack, I mean I know his password. He meets with Senator Stern here every other week."

"Do you know what they meet about?" Nat asked gripping the steering wheel of her vehicle tight as she prepared for their little kidnapping to start.

"Well, Stern is the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, we all used to think it was about budgets and remote funding, or just Sitwell brown-nosing." Olsen's focus recentred on the front doors of the hotel as he saw the Senator's bodyguards moving outside. "Now I'm pretty sure the guy is HYRDA. Heads up Sam, target leaving the building now."

"I've got him," Sam responded, taking over now that Stern and Sitwell were in view.

Olsen lowered his binoculars releasing a sigh and fighting the urge to call Darcy and make sure she was okay. He knew that she was safe as long as HYRDA believed him dead and that they thought she was uninvolved, however, the temptation was still there. He then focused on Kal next to him who was staring in the direction of the hotel and he was certain was watching the unfolding kidnapping.

"Do you care to ask your question?" Kal's abrupt statement caused Olsen to shift slightly, he knew he would never get used to Kal's almost supernatural ability to know what was on his mind.

"Would you really tear through SHIELD, just to get to Pierce and Corben?" Olsen asked, he grimaced slightly as he knew what the answer was going to be but still needed to hear it.

"Yes," Kal responded plainly, his eyes narrowing as he watched Sam coerce Sitwell into getting into a nearby car where Nat and Steve subdued the man and started driving to them. "James, my friend, we are at war and I know no other way to deal with that than to fight the battle in front of me."

"I know, and I have a sinking feeling we are going to have to do just that." Olsen sighed, feeling a weight pressing down on him.

He knew Steve and Nat wanted to limit their fight to HYRDA but given the past few days and the scope they were dealing with, Olsen was starting to suspect that the parasite and host might not be separable.

The two stood in silence as Kal simply tracked everything happening in the area to make sure they weren't falling into a trap whilst Olsen just surveyed the city around them. It was only a few minutes later when the door to the roof behind them slammed open and Sitwell came tumbling out followed by Steve and Nat. Both of them had hard looks on their faces as they advanced on the hapless SHIELD agent. Sitwell's eyes went wide as he saw Kal and Olsen who parted to clear the way for where he was being herded to. Kal just stared at the man showing no emotion whilst Olsen just gave an almost juvenile wave at the prisoner.

"Tell me about Zola's algorithm." Steve's voice was so cold and threatening that even Kal looked at the man in surprise.

"Ne-ne-never heard of it!" Sitwell managed to sputter out as he got to his feet facing Steve as he backpedalled to the edge of the building. His eyes desperately scanned the area for a way out.

"What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?" Steve pressed again his voice causing Sitwell to panic even more as he all but ran backwards ignoring the danger behind him for the one in front of him.

"I was throwing up, I get seasick," Sitwell stated fearfully trying to think of a way out.

The senior SHIELD agent then hit the edge of the building and stumbled, his mind reeling as he felt himself about to go over the lip of concrete. A mighty hand caught his arm in a grip so strong and tight Olsen swore he could hear bones break. Steve steadied the man but stared blankly as if he didn't really care if he fell.

"Tell me what I want to know or I give you to her" Steve gestured to Nat who had her hands in her pockets seemingly indifferent about the events in front of her, before he then gestured to Kal who was standing next to them his arms crossed. "Or him. Talk, NOW."

"Is this little stunt meant to intimidate me? I spent three months in a Moroccan Prison, and a week in North Korea. If that didn't break me what makes you think this chicanery will?" Sitwell spat back, suddenly finding a well of courage to defy his captors.

"Well, I tried," Steve sighed, his face suddenly becoming normal as he shrugged and moved off of the man. "He's all yours,"

"Oh goodie," Nat smirked as she moved in along with Kal both with their arms across their chest. "Do you want the first crack?"

"Why thank you, I think I will." Kal smiled at Nat before turning his attention to Sitwell.

Before the man could make another snappy retort or even say anything, Kal's arm snapped forward gripping Sitwell by the throat. With no more difficulty than if Sitwell was a bag of feathers, Kal lifted the man up and squeezed just enough to make his face turn blue. Then just as Sitwell's world began to blacken he found himself released, not onto the hard concrete of the roof but the empty air beyond it. Sitwell's already fear-drenched mind went into overdrive as he started hurtling towards the ground.

"Hey, Steve, what about that girl from accounting, Laura? Lacey?..." Nat turned around deciding to carry on her teasing quest to find him a girlfriend.

"Lillian. Lip piercing, right?" Steve responded earning a nod from Nat as she placed the girl in her mind. "Yeah, I don't think I'm ready for that, and then there's the age difference,"

"Steve, you seek companionship?" Kal's question caught Steve completely off guard; he was prepared for Nat's prodding but not from the other man.

"Yes, yes he does," Nat looked like the cat that had caught the canary, the super soldier's eyes just went wide in shock.

"Well, if you desire someone without accessories and not younger than you, I could perhaps introduce you to several Asgardian Goddesses who would find you a fine match." Kal responded in a tone that was so neutral that Steve suspected that he was either oblivious to the joke or very much aware. "Ah! In fact, I know just the one, Amora, she's a goddess of sex, Love and Apples. You'll love her."

The gears in Steve's brain ground together as he failed completely at coming up with a response.

"Boy, this is a really tall building," Olsen's statement saved Steve from any more embarrassment as the younger man looked over the edge at the still-falling Sitwell, whose screams could still be heard. "He's still going."

Sitwell's screams suddenly became louder as he shot back upwards being dragged through the air by Sam. Kal took a moment to admire the crude yet effective Midgardian device that Sam wore, it gave him the appearance of wings and made him look like a great bird with metallic feathers. Sam roughly dropped the man without much care on the roof as he landed next to his prey.

"Oh, that looks like fun, my turn," Nat responded gleefully, eyeing the prone SHIELD agent who was gasping for breath as the infamous Black Widow bore down on him.

"It's a program! Zola's algorithm is a program!" Sitwell raised his hand stopping Nat in her tracks as he frantically tried to show he was of value. "It's for choosing Insight's targets!"

"What targets?" Olsen asked, moving next to Sitwell and staring in disgust at the cowering man.

"Them, you!" Sitwell responded waving a hand Olsen and then at the gathered heroes, "A TV anchor in Cairo, the undersecretary of Defence, Professor Helen Eve, a high school debate captain in Iowa City, anyone who's a threat to HYRDA. Now or in the future."

"The future? How could it know?" Steve's eyes narrowed at the man in front of him while Sitwell merely laughed sardonically as if it was a bad joke.

"How could it not?! The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYRDA how to read it." Sitwell panted out as he got back to his feet and revealed HYRDA's greatest success. "Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores! Zola's algorithm uses a person's past to predict their future."

"Is that possible?" Nat directed her question to Kal who was eyeing the man before them, a small grimace on his face as he saw Sitwell was telling the truth.

"It is, it's known as an Alpheus Calculation, mathematics to predict the future. I've met entire species that do it for their own subjects, and I also knew an Asgardian named Mímir when I was younger capable of such a feat." Kal's answer caused the frown on Nat's face to grow as she turned back to the traitorous HYRDA agent.

"So I'm guessing that after this Algorithm makes its prediction, Project Insight is the gun that eliminates anyone not willing to bow to the New World Order?" Olsen cut in asking Sitwell as he resisted the urge to feed the man a knuckle sandwich.

"Oh god, Pierce is going to kill me," Sitwell muttered in horror, which was all the confirmation they needed.

(20 Minutes Later - Capital Beltway)

"HYRDA doesn't like leaks, doesn't like them, not at all." Sitwell mumbled for the fourth time in a row as he shifted uncomfortably in the cramped back seat.

"Then why don't you stick a cork in it?" Sam shot back looking in the rear-view mirror briefly before focusing back on the road. "Be happy we didn't shove you in the trunk."

"Insight's launching in less than 16 hours. We are cutting things a little bit close here." Nat chimed in while leaning forward from where she was sitting on Kal's lap, taking a bit more pleasure in her position than she should, as she talked to Steve. "Maybe we should let Kal off the leash and blow up those ships."

"I know we're down to the wire. First we use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the SHIELD database and Project Insight," Steve thumbed at Sitwell as he sighed looking at his watch and starting a mental countdown. "We get in and get an idea of who's HYRDA and then Kal can level the place. Sound good?"

"I like this plan," Kal nodded his agreement, although he would prefer to go now he understood they needed to know the scope of their enemy in order to ensure this HYRDA was fully expunged.

"What! Are you crazy? No, terrible plan!" Sitwell chimed in, looking alarmed at the insane and monumentally stupid scheme he was hearing.

"Shut it, you're lucky we don't sho-" Olsen started his threat only to be cut off by a loud bang coming from the roof.

Kal's head snapped upwards and before Nat could react he pulled her into a tight embrace covering her body as a hail of bullets cut through the middle of the car. Olsen, Sam and Steve swore as they slammed into their respective doors to avoid the bullets, and Sam's action caused them to swerve into another lane. Unfortunately, Sitwell was unable to shield himself as the hot lead riddled his body turning his face, chest and legs into a bloody mess.

Kal pushed Nat backwards and his eyes ignited as he prepared to fire a beam through the roof. He was stopped by Sam slamming the brakes of the vehicle, causing a figure to tumble off the car and crash into the street in front of them. The figure rolled for a movement before digging a metal hand into the road, fingers screeching as he skidded to a halt.

Before anyone could react, the car slammed forward as an armoured assault vehicle rammed into the back of them. Sam swore and tried to regain control of their movement but found that their pursuers were moving too fast, causing them to skid forward at speed towards the metal-armed assailant. As Nat lurched up all but straddling Kal she could see a look of fury etched on his face, before he suddenly lifted his feet up and slammed them through the undercarriage of the car, creating an anchor to slow them down.

Kal then twisted bringing one hand to hold Nat in place whilst his other long arm smashed through what remained of the rear window. His finger gripped the front of the vehicle and like a child throwing away a toy, Kal's hand lifted up the assaulting vehicle and hurled it over their heads. Sam slammed the brakes, as the scene in front of them exploded into fiery wreckage, as the assault vehicle rolled front over end a few times before stopping.

"What the hell was that?!" Sam panted out, adrenaline still flooding his system, as he turned to look at the bloody remains of Sitwell.

"The Winter Soldier," Nat stated, as she armed herself taking no notice of the seemingly intimate press she was in with Kal. "The world's greatest assassin, and apparently working for HYRDA."

"I've had enough of this!" Kal roared out in fury, as he pushed open his door, twisting as he stood up to deposit Nat in his seat.

"Where are you going?!" Olsen asked alarmed, seeing the look of fury in Kal's eyes.

Kal didn't respond; he only strode forward towards the overturned vehicle that the attackers were crawling out of. He watched as the man Nat identified as the Winter Soldier appeared, taking a grenade launcher from the backs of one of the prone men. Kal had to give the mortal his due, the man was fearless as he strode forwards hefting the Midgardian weapon. The action caused Kal's eyes to narrow as he saw the figure wasn't actually looking at him; the Winter Soldier's eyes were firmly fixed on their car.

The Soldier hefted the grenade launcher in his metal arm whilst his other hand drew a pistol and started firing at Kal trying to distract him. The bullets slammed directly into Kal's right eye and if he was mortal or had even been less experienced the plan might have worked. However, instead, Kal merely stopped advancing and shot out his left arm catching the fired ordnance which he then threw back like a softball, causing the Winter Soldier to dive out of the way.

As Kal tracked his apparently acrobatic throw, the world around him exploded into a hail of bullets. The men that had been lying prone before were now standing, one was even armed with what appeared to be a handheld minigun. They formed a crescent grouping and unloaded on him, a storm of bullets slamming into his armor with such fury that for a few moments Kal was lost in the haze of striking metal.

"KAL!" Olsen, called out in fear for his friend racing to try to undo his seatbelt and open his door but was stopped by Nat's arm pressing on his chest.

Olsen was about to scream at her too but stopped as he noticed that her eyes were fixated on Kal. It was then that Olsen remembered who his friend was and that HYRDA could have unloaded every single bullet in the world on him and it wouldn't have mattered. There was a blinding flash of red and suddenly half of the men firing at Kal were gone, causing the others to stop as two glowing dots pulsated ominously in the smoke. As the fumes cleared from their intense fire the attackers felt their blood go cold, as Kal walked slowly through the vanishing cloud. Before anyone could react, his eyes flashed red again as a pair of beams lanced out to eviscerated two more of the attackers.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! FIRE!" The man holding the minigun screamed at the several men remaining, hefting his weapon as he did so.

It was the last action he took. The minigun didn't even finish spinning up before its holder burst into flames and flew backwards. Kal then sighed as he was forced to turn his gaze on the remaining men who despite witnessing the futility of their actions persisted. As the slight breeze blew away the ashen remains of the very one-sided and very brief battle, Kal scanned the area for his original foe, the so-called Winter Soldier.

His face formed a grimace as he looked around the area and saw nothing, it was only when he turned back to the car his friend was in that his senses flared up. He twisted on instinct to avoid the punch being thrown by the metal arm at the back of his head. Kal's Asgardian upbringing was on full display as he twisted and moved out of the way of every attack, with the God of Justice unable not to admire the fighting skills on display. The Winter Soldier moved with a grace and skill that should have been near impossible for a man of his size and musculature, yet he attacked with the power of a bear and the grace of an eagle. Kal had only seen enhanced humans like Natasha and Steve move as such, it was impressive.

However, Kal only admired the man's abilities for a few moments before catching a wide punch made by his metallic arm. The man's masked face revealed nothing as he strained to push his fist forward but gained no ground, causing him to snap his other hand to his back and pull out the Uzi he had stored there. He unloaded the full magazine at point-blank range into the alien's face, which proved as futile as everything else he had done.

"You have fought valiantly, surrender, there is no shame." Kal offered, his rage subsiding as he looked at a skilled warrior unwilling to back down even against fearful odds.

"Nikogda!" The Winter Soldier refused his Russian sounding strange to Kal's ears, but the hardness in his voice showed he could not be persuaded.

"Ochen' khorosho," Kal replied in the man's language, his palm then snapped upwards slamming into the man's chest.

The black-clad figure smashed into the hood of the car Steve and the others were in. The man let out a large audible cough as he slumped to the ground, pain exploding across his chest. However, before he was able to take a breath Kal had appeared before him in a blur and with one hand gripped the man by the front of his body armour. As he hammered the HYRDA assassin back onto the hood of the car the action caused the black mask to slide from his face, causing Steve's eyes to go wide. Kal lifted up his other fist and prepared to end the fight with a merciful final blow.

CLANK!

Kal's eyes went wide as he saw the red, white and blue of Steve's shield in front of his face. His fist had slammed into the large circular vibranium shield, saving the person who had been trying to kill them all not a minute ago. His head snapped to his left and saw that it was indeed Steve protecting the assassin from his attack.

"Steve, what in the name of Muspelheim are you doing?!" Kal shouted at his friend, who seemed to have gone mad.

"He's Bu-" Steve never finished his sentence as the assassin's foot crashed into his chest sending him backwards.

Kal looked down to see that the metal arm assassin had managed to take out a knife and cut himself free from Kal's grasp leaving the Asgardian with only a handful of fabric. Kal's eyes flashed red but before they could go off, the Winter Soldier threw a dozen small pellets from his hands at Kal's head. It was less than a millisecond before they all exploded into blinding and noisy flashes of light, so bright they scorched the ground around him.

Kal blinked hard once to dispel the incredibly bright flares that he had not been prepared for from his vision and let out a heavy breath as he saw his target was gone. Almost as skilfully as one of his late brother's escapes, their adversary had vanished. His urge to try and find the man was stopped as he heard the unmistakable sound of choppers and sirens bearing down on them. As he turned his head to look upwards, he could already see a news helicopter was overhead.

"Rogers, you alright?" Nat appeared from the car running over to the Super Soldier who was getting back to his feet after the sucker punch he had taken.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good," Steve replied his mind clearly elsewhere as he looked around the area searching for the assassin he had inadvertently let escape.

"Steve what -AGH!" Kal moved to his friend before wincing as the high-powered sonic pitch of the signal watch sounded in his ears unexpectedly. "Jimmy, turn off the watch!"

Olsen appeared from the semi-totalled car as well, along with Sam, a puzzled look on the young agent's face. "Kal, I haven't turned on the watch."

Olsen lifted up the clearly deactivated signal as evidence, causing Kal's eyes to narrow. He looked closer and saw that it was indeed inert and not the source of the signal he was hearing. Kal twisted around and cocked his head focusing on the hyper-sonic tone that only he could hear. As he listened more intently, it almost sounded like words were embedded deep in the noise.

"Guys we need to go," Nat's voice cut in as she looked up at the new chopper circling overhead and heard the sound of approaching sirens.

"Where?! Our ride has been totalled and our pass into SHIELD has been shish-kebabed," Sam spoke up moving over to the group and thumbing his hand back over to the non-functioning car.

"Everyone, I have a place we can go, I've just been contacted by allies who may aid us," Kal declared, earning sceptical looks from Nat and Olsen. "Trust me."

Nat looked at Steve who just nodded, she then looked back over at Kal and gave a confident nod.

"Good, hold your breath please." Kal instructed his two fellow Avengers before he suddenly blinked out of existence for Sam and Olsen.

"Oh god not this again," Olsen sighed in lament as he sucked in a breath earning a puzzled look from Sam.

The world then suddenly blinked around Sam and Olsen, turning from the urban highway to an abandoned factory and a dam in the distance. Sam had to steady himself as his sense of balance shifted for a moment but managed to fight it. However, as he looked over to Olsen he could see the man was clearly not used to experiencing G-force on the body, without warning Olsen keeled over and started hurling.

"Every… time…" Olsen cursed as he wiped his mouth of bile and looked around at the area.

"Kal where are we? And why are we here?" Steve asked, hefting his shield up as he gazed around the area eyeing every corner for a potential ambush.

"Because we need your help, Cap" The voice of Maria Hill sounded out from a nearby doorway that led underground, and everyone turned to face Fury's right-hand woman. "It's good you came, I was worried the Daybreak Protocol wouldn't work."

"Of course it worked," A masculine voice boomed confidently from behind Maria.

It caused the Deputy Director of SHIELD to bite her lip. She tamped down the urge to engage with the egomaniac again. Appearing out of the dark tunnel next to her was a man they all recognised. Lex Luthor strolled forward with a broad smile on his face as he wiped his hands on a thick rag, never getting a single stain on his crisp white shirt and trousers.

"I built it."