One of the escape pods had clearly suffered a devastating hit. Its hull was badly warped and caved inward, while cold seawater continuously poured through a horrifying crack.
Then Rumlow's gaze locked onto the Blue Giant's face.
Despite the blue skin and mutated muscle patterns, despite the abnormally protruding brow and cheekbones, despite those eyes gleaming with inhuman blue light filled with pain and fury... the outline of those features, the resolve between those brows, those tightly pressed lips that still carried a familiar curve even after being distorted...
Steve Rogers!
Captain America!
Shock exploded through Rumlow's mind like a depth charge!
Why was he here?
How had he become... become like this?
A Blue Hulk?!
Fragments of Rumlow's chaotic memories flashed with top-secret Hydra reports concerning Bruce Banner and Gamma Rays, but none had ever mentioned any connection to Steve Rogers!
This was completely beyond his expectations.
An accident? Or another trump card hidden by S.H.I.E.L.D.—or rather, Nick Fury? A Hulk injected with the Super Soldier Serum? This was simply a mad fusion of science and power!
After the brief astonishment, an icy, bone-deep killing intent surged forth!
An opportunity!
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make that one-eyed bastard Nick Fury ache to the core!
Black Widow, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agent and tactical core; Hawkeye, the peerless Divine Archer and pillar of long-range support; and... Captain America!
A spiritual symbol, a tactical leader, an invincible SOLDIER in close combat!
Now, all three of them had fallen into a desperate situation.
Steve was clearly doing everything he could to save his teammates, but that heavily flooded escape pod was like a ticking time bomb, capable of dragging Hawkeye into the abyss at any moment. Steve himself, though his strength had skyrocketed, was towing two burdens in the deep sea. His speed had