Karl slowly turned around and looked over the dozens of people surrounding them. Sam stood stiffly at his side, hardly daring to move, while Steve, still crouched on the ground, remained lost in his emotions, completely oblivious to everything around him.
When Rumlow saw Karl turn, his eyes widened in shock. He had never expected Superman to be here. According to all the intelligence they had gathered, Karl had disappeared after the great battle two years ago and had never resurfaced—not even during Tony Stark's widely known attack.
"Mr. Superman, this matter has nothing to do with you. We're acting under a warrant to arrest these fugitives."
None of the dozens of men dared take another step forward. They stood frozen, guns trained on Karl. Rumlow tightened his grip on his pistol, his throat dry. He knew exactly how powerful the man before him was and had no confidence in either his weapon or his men.
"Finish what you need to do," Karl said calmly. "I won't use those things to hurt you."
Hearing Karl's steady voice, Sam nodded and pulled Steve to his feet. Unfortunately, Steve was still staring at Bucky in disbelief.
"Cap, we need to go. There are more important things to deal with."
After a moment, Steve finally reacted. He glanced around, grasped the situation, and lifted Bucky from the ground.
"Let's head to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters first."
Without waiting for Sam, he carried Bucky to a car that looked relatively intact. Sam jumped into the driver's seat and followed as Steve drove off.
The men surrounding them didn't dare fire. They could only watch as Steve disappeared down the road.
"Damn it!"
Rumlow gritted his teeth and threw his pistol to the ground, cursing under his breath. There was nothing he could do—how could they even think of attacking when the other side had such overwhelming backing?
"Retreat!"
There was no point in staying any longer. Rumlow ordered everyone to withdraw.
The dozens of men left the intersection more slowly than they had arrived. The chaos would be left for the police to clean up. Their attempt to stop Steve had failed.
Once everyone was gone, Karl tilted his head slightly, listening carefully for Diwu's location.
"Hm?"
He frowned. Why had Diwu gone so far? Just moments ago, he had been in Washington—how had he ended up in Cleveland?
After confirming Diwu was safe, Karl shot into the sky. A sonic boom cracked through the night as he vanished from Washington's skyline.
Following the sound, he arrived at an abandoned dam surrounded by desolate land. Beneath it, he spotted an iron door. He knew Diwei was inside.
Dim lights illuminated the corridor within. Karl strode into a room where several vehicles were parked, one of which he had seen only a minute earlier.
"So Superman is here too?"
A hospital bed stood in the room, surrounded by medical supplies. A Black man lay on the bed, holding a salted egg in his hand.
At the sound of Nick Fury's voice, everyone turned toward Karl at the doorway.
Karl approached the bed. "Your injuries are serious. Do you need help?"
"Thank you, but my injuries don't need treatment," Fury replied, though his lungs were clearly damaged. "However, I do need your help with something else. I knew you'd show up eventually, Mr. Superman. I wouldn't have had to suffer all this otherwise." He then added, "By the way, that man is extremely dangerous. He must be eliminated."
Everyone looked at Bucky, who lay unconscious on the floor. Though Karl had held back, the blow had still been far beyond what an ordinary person could endure.
The doctor treating Bucky paused briefly before continuing. Captain America had already explained the situation.
The injuries were severe—displaced internal organs and more than a dozen spinal fractures. An ordinary person would already be in a crematorium, but Bucky's enhanced physique kept him alive, and he was healing rapidly.
"I won't let anyone hurt him!" Steve declared firmly, as if he would fight to the death to protect Bucky.
Fury studied Steve for a long moment before getting up and putting on the coat hanging nearby.
"Things haven't reached the expected stage yet. We need to wait."
Gesturing for them to follow, Fury continued, "Mr. Superman can only act at the final moment. Otherwise, these HYDRA rats will just crawl back into hiding."
The conversation abruptly shifted from Bucky to tactics.
Karl, with Diwan beside him, followed Fury. Hearing Fury's words, Karl glanced at Diwan. She noticed and met his eyes. "Go ahead," she said softly. "I won't be in danger."
Karl didn't care what others thought. Before taking action, he always asked Diwan. If she didn't want him to go, he wouldn't.
"But right now, we're the ones being chased like rats," Natasha said with a trace of mockery. "You should know, these past few days Steve and I have been on the run nonstop. The danger never stopped. One slip, and we'd be dead."
"No," Fury replied. "With Superman here, we're the tigers. Our plan is to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, draw out all of HYDRA, and then let Mr. Superman throw them one by one into hell."
As they spoke, Fury entered another room and opened a box on the desk.
"I doubt the Council will answer my calls anymore, so I left a countermeasure."
"What is it?" Sam asked.
Hill, who had been silent until now, answered, "It's the previous plan—now a backup. Once the helicarriers reach 3,000 feet, they'll use triangulation from the Insight satellites to become a lethal weapon."
Fury nodded. "It's unnecessary now. Once the carriers take off, Superman can destroy them immediately and toss them into outer space. All we need to do is arrest Pierce at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and use him to flush out HYDRA."
Fury had never liked the original plan. Its success rate was too low, and it relied almost entirely on Steve and Sam. If it failed, tens of millions could die.
Now, with Superman involved, the outcome was practically assured. Aside from exposing HYDRA's infiltrators, everything else could be handled with ease.
After discussing further details, Steve and Fury argued again—one wanting to dismantle S.H.I.E.L.D., the other insisting the organization itself wasn't to blame. In the end, everyone except Karl and Diwan sided against Fury, and he reluctantly compromised.
Karl and Diwan didn't mind. In a few days, they would return to Kamar-Taj. As long as Earth wasn't destroyed, the rest hardly concerned them.
When the meeting ended, everyone went to rest. The dam had plenty of rooms. But Karl and Diwan returned to Kamar-Taj, where only a single passage connected them to the outside world. They wouldn't rest in such an exposed place.
"Master Yi wants to see you in the Dao Hall."
They had barely returned when a mage informed them.
The two made their way back to the hall. Gu Yi was not drinking tea as usual but stood by the window, twenty hands folded behind his back.
"What does this ancient mage want with us?" Diwan murmured, sensing something off. Even when Gu Yi wasn't drinking tea, he would normally be reading, not standing in silence like this.
"I'm leaving," Gu Yi said slowly, turning around. "While I'm gone, you must protect Kamar-Taj."
Diwan was startled by his appearance. The red mark on his forehead had faded, and black cracks spread from it, faint purple light seeping through.
Seeing her expression, Gu Yi smiled. "This is the price."
She didn't understand, but she felt something different about him. He no longer seemed like the gentle elder she knew.
"The long term will be a year. The short term, half a month. I need the two of you to guard all the sanctums."
After explaining, Gu Yi opened a portal. Within it was a purple-black world identical to the light seeping from the cracks in his forehead.
He gave them a solemn nod and stepped through. The portal vanished behind him.
After he left, Karl suddenly turned toward the door.
"What is it?" Diwan asked, following his gaze, but seeing nothing unusual.
Karl shook his head and said nothing more.
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