Chapter thirty-six.

~~~Arcane Center, Xandar~~~

~~~July 1942~~~

"You've been close to the man's research, do you think the witches will be able to copy the process of creating the new serum?" Azrael asked Valka as they watched Steve and Isaiah emerge from the pods. Admiring the transformation the serum had brought about in their bodies.

"I'm afraid not. That we can create the serum by adding the effects of the potions to a definite range of effects, of course, we can, but for that, we need the original serum, and that can only be created by Doctor Erskine." Valka's answer soon reached Azrael's ears, and just as he first thought, the witches could not fully create the new serum without Doctor Erskine's help.

"Is there any non-intrusive method to get the Doctor to stay working for us here on Xandar?" Isabella, as always the mediator and user of good works, commented on the matter most of the time.

"Like what exactly?" Valka replied with a somewhat haughty tone, "From what we've been able to gather over the days we've been around the Doctor, all the man wants is to finish his serum and serve the greater good, so he can defeat the monster he created in the first place and be able to die in peace. Now that he's accomplished that, I don't think he likes the idea of creating more."

"Then he has to serve a greater good," Azrael suddenly expostulated, "look I know, what do you have in mind?" Valka interjected.

"To open his mind, to expose him to the dangers facing Earth, and for that I will need Ancestral's help," Valka only narrowed her eyes at the name of the Sorcerer Supreme, though the idea sat well with her. "You know you can get his loyalty with a single touch, right?" Isabella asked in confusion, doubtful as to why Azrael didn't just use the book of loyalty incantations.

"There are hidden dangers in this world, dangers lurking at any possible measure in gaining more power, I just don't want to draw attention to myself, at least not until Xandar as a whole is ready for it." Was the short answer Azrael gave, then got up from his seat and started walking to where Dr. Erskine and Howard were tending to the two Supersoldiers.

"The experiment has been quite a success, Dr. Erskine, you have revolutionized the way of modern science, you should be proud of it," Azrael said to Erskine once the latter arrived along with Valka and Isabella to the place, taking the Doctor by surprise.

"Thank you very much, this is my first time meeting a king, do I have to bow?" Dr. Erskine began to ramble, surprising Azrael as to his state since he didn't think the Doctor was someone anxious.

"A simple greeting would be fine, after all, you have worked with my wife before, and she has a good perspective on you." This time it was Doctor Erskine's moment of surprise, "Wife, you mean, the queen?"

"Hahaha, yes, one of the two, Valka," Azrael introduced the Royal Council member, leader of all the witches of Xandar and queen of Xandar. "Ohh, a pleasure," Erskine greeted the beautiful woman with respect, realizing that he was facing one of the women with whom he had managed to complete research on the serum to higher levels, not only that, but she was a witch. And he had seen too many strange things in Germany and in Hydre's service to understand that it was best not to mess with someone who, if she was just like the other women he worked with on the serum, was just as scary in some ways.

"BOOM!"

Suddenly, an explosion dented the lab, exactly on the observation podium where it belonged to the Americans, the explosion was large, shattering the protective glass and killing some American generals who were closest to the blast.

The Secret Service immediately rushed to protect President Roosevelt, while the Blood Riders unsheathed their Arakh and the witches cracked their whips.

In the furor of the explosion, a man managed to get hold of the last two vials containing the enhanced serum, with Dr. Erskine noticing and shouting for them to stop him, but that was a bad idea because the man pointed his gun at Dr. Erskine and fired three shots, hitting him squarely in the chest.

Steve, who up to that moment had been in shock, managed to recover when he saw his mentor and friend wounded, reaching him and grabbing him from the ground, on the other hand, Isaiah, an experienced soldier, became enraged and ran towards the man who had shot Erskine, it was here that something surprising happened.

Isaiah did not measure his speed and strength, and amid the gunfire and screams, Isaiah cut the distance of six meters in a single second, and without being able to stop, crashed into the man and pushed him, the blow was so strong that the man went flying at a great speed until hitting the wall that was about ten meters away.

The movement didn't stop there though, but Isaiah continued forward without being able to stop, reaching the wall where the Hydra man had been thrown, with Isaiah reaching his body and crashing into the wall, making a hole in it and stopping at last. But being dizzy from the impact.

Back in the lab, five German spies showed themselves and drew their pistols aimed at Steve, who was holding Doctor Erskine and keeping him from bleeding out. The spies fired, forcing Steve to get between the bullets and Erskine, and another surprise occurred.

The bullets, which should have penetrated Steve's back and wounded him, were met only by a sufficiently thick and impenetrable skin that managed to stop the bullets' momentum and ensure that neither Steve nor Doctor Erskine was hurt.

The Secret Service agents, as well as Agent Carter, wasted no more time and although they reacted late, they initiated a firefight against the German spies. "Shall we intervene?" Isabella asked, her hands releasing a kind of black mist, showing her gifts with the summoning of shadows.

"Help the Doctor, give him this, keep him alive long enough so I can talk to him after this," Azrael ordered Cakoqqo and Mottaekho, handing a health potion to Cakoqqo.

Azrael, Valka, and Isabella were serene, but alert to what was going on, there was no fear or surprise on their faces, since with the presence of the witches and their guards, the few spies could not do much or make it out of the Arcane Center alive. So for them, there was no danger in the first place, which was not the same for the Americans, since they were in the middle of a firefight.

"Steve Rogers, stand back," Mottaekho ordered Steve once he got to where he was standing with the wounded Doctor Erskine, but Steve didn't obey, to which Mottaekho just walked up to the Doctor and ripped his shirt, looking at the bullet wound, and without thinking, inserted two of his fingers into the wound.

This did not sit well with Steve, and without reasoning, he grabbed Mottaekho's arm tightly and stopped him from continuing to do what he was doing. "This is my last warning, back off," Mottaekho's thick, cold voice rang out again, but Steve was so blinded in protecting Erskine that he didn't know what he was getting himself into.

"I warned you," was the last thing Steve heard from Mottaekho, only to have Mottaekho headbutt Steve, who even with the advantages the enhanced serum had given him, failed to react in time, Mottaekho didn't stop there, but with his free hand he grabbed Steve's head and brought it up to his armor protected shoulder, and raising his shoulder a little, smashed Steve's face into the metal. Drawing blood and leaving him dizzy.

The exchange took less than a second, which spoke volumes about the power the Blood Riders had, their martial training, and their physical capabilities from the potions.

Taking advantage of Steve's daze, Mottaekho managed to refocus on what he was doing, and pulling his fingers out of Doctor Erskine's chest, he pulled out one of the three bullets that had been fired at him. To then do the same with the other two. And next, apply the health potions.

The members of the Secret Service had managed to kill two of the five remaining spies, but not without suffering casualties, and it was when the spies were cornered and with no way out, that they noticed Azrael's group in the distance serenely, as if the shooting that was happening only several meters away from them did not affect them.

So they pointed their weapons at the three kings of Xandar, and that was a monumental mistake. The witches, who had so far not interfered, acted for the first time, one of them maneuvered her whip and managed to grab the hand of one of the spies holding the gun, and without regret, she drew the man towards her, grabbing the man by the neck the moment he reached in front of her, and then broke his neck.

The other four did not wail for their companion but fired at them. Only for the Blood Riders to get between the three of them and the bullets. At the same time, the witches reached the German spies and killed them.

The last one remaining was held by the arms, and following Azrael's order, they removed a false tooth containing cyanide, preventing him from committing suicide, and leaving him alive for later interrogation.

Once the commotion was over, the scene could be seen more clearly, several Americans had died, Howard was hiding behind one of the capsules, Isaiah had been knocked unconscious after crashing into the wall, with the fragmented body of the man he had thrown near him, along with the two samples of the enhanced serum broken among the debris.

Steve was unconscious from the painful blow he had received from Mottaekho but had managed to keep Doctor Erskine alive. But what was certainly surprising, were the body parts of the spies who had confronted the witches, since there was not a single complete body, missing arms, legs, heads, or even broken in half. It was a massacre.