The Ambush

Under the cover of night, Las Vegas was a blur of flickering neon lights and decadent indulgence.

Harry Osborn drove his vehicle, making his way at a leisurely pace toward the venue for the Global Excellence Award ceremony.

Soothing music played through the car speakers, but his mind was occupied with something else entirely.

The Global Excellence Award... because he had developed a cure for cancer, this award was surely meant for him.

Given Tony Stark's personality, he likely wouldn't show up for an event where he was just there to make up the numbers.

However, in a few days, Tony Stark would still be heading to the Middle East...

Just then, not far ahead, a figure walked with a model's stride, slowly weaving through the traffic before stopping in the middle of the street.

The man wore a mask, and a mechanical arm that glinted with a cold, metallic sheen was particularly eye-catching.

He turned, raised his arm, and the dark muzzle of the grenade launcher in his hand aimed directly at Harry's car.

Harry's pupils contracted sharply.

That look, that metal arm... it was Captain America's best friend, Bucky Barnes!

At this moment, he should be the top assassin for Hydra—the Winter Soldier.

Huh?! Coming for me?!

Harry cursed inwardly and yanked the steering wheel, pulling a sharp turn.

But the Winter Soldier... why would Hydra be targeting him?

Osborn Group? Or had his secret collaboration with Stryker been exposed?

Or perhaps it was the symbiote data he had provided to Coulson?

Or was he, like Howard Stark, being viewed as a threat to Hydra?

In a flash of lightning, countless thoughts raced through Harry's mind.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Giving Harry no time to think, several grenades whistled through the air, trailing plumes of fire.

The deafening roar of the explosion was ear-splitting; the vehicle Harry was driving was instantly swallowed by flames, turning into a burning heap of scrap metal.

The shockwave from the explosion rippled outward, tossing surrounding cars aside as if by an invisible giant hand. The crowd erupted in terrified screams, scattering in a panic as the scene descended into chaos.

The Winter Soldier watched the burning vehicle coldly and fired two more grenades for good measure.

Afterward, he put away the grenade launcher, turned, and prepared to leave...

However, the moment he turned around.

From within the raging inferno, a tall, pitch-black figure slowly stood up.

The figure's appearance closely resembled Guyver III from the Kryonaut series; a ferocious bio-armor covered his entire body, its surface shimmering with a metallic luster while exuding a strange, organic texture.

It was none other than the X-Kryonaut I, which Harry had spent countless efforts to secretly develop!

[All systems ready, visual nerve connection established, sensory synchronization complete...]

The cold, synthetic voice of [Prometheus I] echoed directly in Harry's mind.

"Begin recording combat data."

Harry's voice, filtered through the armor, carried a metallic edge.

He cracked his neck, feeling the surging power provided by the armor, and locked his gaze onto the Winter Soldier, who was about to leave.

As the first opponent for the X-Kryonaut, the Winter Soldier would suffice.

Harry took a step, his footfalls striking the ground with a heavy "thud," and he began to close in on the Winter Soldier step by step.

The Winter Soldier whipped his head around, a flash of shock crossing his eyes as he saw the black monster emerging from the flames.

What is this thing?

Is this... the target?

Although he didn't know what this alien-like monster was, the Winter Soldier's battle-hardened instincts told him he was facing a lethal threat.

Without a moment's hesitation, he raised his assault rifle and unleashed a frantic barrage of gunfire at Harry.

"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!"

Dense rounds of ammunition poured onto the black armor of the X-Kryonaut like a torrential downpour.

However, a bizarre scene unfolded.

The bullets, capable of tearing through steel plates, seemed to strike an invisible barrier the moment they touched the surface of the X-Kryonaut, their kinetic energy absorbed instantly.

The bullets clattered to the ground, turning into a pile of scrap metal without leaving even a single scratch on the armor.

This was the mutant ability of Sebastian Shaw from the X-Men—the power to absorb all forms of energy, store it, and release it!

The pupils of the Winter Soldier constricted violently.

Physical attacks were ineffective?

He decisively discarded the firearm in his hand, his gaze sharpening. His mechanical arm, glinting with a cold metallic sheen, swung out with a whistling sound that tore through the air, slamming fiercely toward Harry's head.

This strike was powerful enough to shatter stone and split boulders!

Harry did not dodge or evade.

The next moment, the black surface of the X-Kryonaut rapidly took on a silvery-white metallic luster, instantly becoming as hard as the toughest alloy.

The mutant ability of Colossus from the X-Men!

"Clang!"

A deafening sound of metal colliding rang out.

The Winter Soldier's heavy, powerful mechanical arm was easily blocked by the X-Kryonaut, the massive recoil causing his body to sway.

Harry seized the opportunity, his fist covered in silver metal striking backhand, slamming heavily into the Winter Soldier's chest.

"Boom!"

The Winter Soldier was hit as if by a high-speed train; he let out a muffled groan and flew backward, crashing hard into an abandoned car several meters away, denting the vehicle's frame.

The silvery metallic luster on the surface of the X-Kryonaut slowly faded, returning to its original pitch black.

Immediately following, the eye area of the armor lit up with a blinding crimson glow.

Two high-energy particle beams, like scorching blades, shot out from the lenses, heading straight for the fallen Winter Soldier.

This iconic ability was, naturally, that of the X-Men leader, Cyclops!

His special cells could absorb ambient energy and convert it into laser beams...

Watching the two laser beams, which contained terrifying high temperatures, rushing toward him at extreme speed, alarm bells rang in the Winter Soldier's mind.

There was no time to dodge; in the critical moment, he could only raise that indestructible metal arm to block in front of him.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!"

The laser beams slammed fiercely into the metal arm.

The terrifying heat instantly turned the metal arm red-hot, emitting a teeth-grinding sound of distortion.

"Ahhh—!"

The intense pain forced even the rigorously trained Winter Soldier to let out a shrill scream.

Just then...

A sharp murderous intent suddenly erupted from the shadows behind him!

A flash of silver!

Several pairs of cold, gleaming claws silently thrust out from behind Harry, precisely piercing through the chest area of the X-Kryonaut!

"Hm?"

Harry stopped the laser emission, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes.

He spun around violently, his fist covered in the bio-armor striking backward with the force of ten thousand tons.

"Bang!"

The attacker let out a muffled grunt, sent flying by Harry's punch, and slammed heavily onto the ground.

Only then did Harry see clearly that the person who had ambushed him was a woman wearing a sexy evening gown.

Her hands had now transformed into razor-sharp metal claws, stained with a bit of blood from the X-Kryonaut.

The cheek where the woman had been struck by Harry was now a bloody mess, but eerily, those wounds were wriggling and healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Even more shocking was that beneath the torn flesh, there was no white bone, but a metal skeleton shimmering with a silver luster!

The woman stuck out her tongue and licked the blood off her metal claws; her scarlet tongue, paired with those cold eyes, appeared demonic and dangerous.

Her gaze was locked firmly onto the spot on Harry's chest that had been pierced.

There, the wound torn open by the claws in the X-Kryonaut was also wriggling and repairing itself at an astonishing speed, returning to perfect condition in the blink of an eye.

"Hm?"

Harry looked at the woman, his brows furrowing deeper.

This abnormal self-healing ability, along with this Adamantium skeleton...

Isn't this Lady Deathstrike, a product of the Weapon X program under William Stryker?

The question was, why would that old fox Stryker send someone to attack him?

Their cooperation, while filled with ulterior motives, was at least on the surface a partnership.

Besides, he had provided plenty of results; why would the old guy send Lady Deathstrike to kill him?

"Excuse me, may I ask, do you know where Mr. Harry Osborn is?"

"I have a small matter to discuss with him, just a tiny, insignificant little matter..."

Just then, a cheeky, irreverent voice rang out abruptly from the edge of the chaotic battlefield.

Harry turned his head instinctively upon hearing it.

He saw a guy dressed in a flashy red spandex suit with two swords strapped to his back, tilting his head and waving in their direction.

Even through the mask that covered most of his face, an air of mischief was palpable.

"..."

Harry looked at that familiar red figure, his mouth twitching involuntarily.

Deadpool?!

He looked at Lady Deathstrike nearby, and then at the half-dead Winter Soldier.

What was going on tonight?

There were enough people here to play a round of mahjong!

Harry felt like his brain couldn't keep up.

Just as he was speechless and looking up at the sky in frustration.

"Whoosh--!"

A roar of engines echoed from the sky above.

Then, a black, highly futuristic aircraft slowly deactivated its optical camouflage, revealing its form.

The X-Men's Blackbird!

The hatch opened, and a burly man wearing the classic yellow and blue uniform, a cigar clamped between his teeth, leaped directly from mid-air.

"Bang!"

He landed in a standard superhero pose, sending dust billowing into the air.

Those iconic steel claws, and that classic yellow spandex suit.

Wolverine Logan!

The X-Men were here too?!

What the hell was going on?!

Harry felt his temples throbbing.

Not even movies would dare to film a plot like this...

(I think Guyver III is cooler than the Guyver I and II protagonist units...)