The Stars and Stripes Shield Doesn't Suit You

In California, a town in the southern desert region, tourism has continuously injected vitality into the town.

Steve and his companions temporarily took refuge in a resort that Howard's wife Maria Stark, had invested in and established years earlier. The resort had signed agreements with several tourism companies and was quite large and powerful.

Howard Stark climbed out of the pool and complained to Steve beside him, "Man, I'm starting to regret it. I should have taken a few vials of Anti-aging Serum before I left, so I could stay young forever."

Thirty-five years have passed, Howard still looks like a middle-aged man. Having taken the Heart-shaped herb to enhance his physique, he is very satisfied with his body.

Unbeknownst to Maria, he occasionally went out to fight in underground boxing matches. His punches were powerful and forceful, and he would usually take on at least five opponents in a one-on-one fight.

After leaving Hydra with Steve and losing the Anti-aging Serum, it may not be noticeable now, but in ten, twenty, or thirty years, it will probably be impossible to beat an opponent to tears and beg for mercy.

"Howard, you don't have to come, just like Dr. Pym. I won't force you. After all, you have your own career, your own family, and your son Tony," Steve said earnestly.

"Come on, don't think that just because you've been in the Kree Empire for a few years you can boss me around." Howard scoffed dismissively, "Without me, you would have died on the battlefield in World War II long ago, and the same thing will happen this time."

"Thanks!"

At this point, Steve's enthusiasm waned. Actually, Hydra was quite good, and the working environment was very satisfactory.

The only downside is the organization's past record. Having personally experienced World War II, he couldn't believe that Hydra would repent and start anew.

Hydra's low profile is only temporary; its current silence is undoubtedly a prelude to a shocking conspiracy.

It wasn't that Steve was making baseless accusations; rather, there were simply too many suspicious points.

Hydra's influence has spread to outer space, its technology is a century ahead of Earth's, its members are powerful, and its leader even possesses two Infinity Stones, making him a cosmic-level powerhouse who can fight the Mad Titan one-on-one.

Logically speaking, such a terrifying behemoth should have its focus and target set on the Milky Way galaxy.

Hydra, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. Its leader, Russell, was obsessed with the remote corners of Earth. He not only ordered the S.H.I.E.L.D. out of S. H. I. E. L. D., but also secretly helped it grow and become the largest intelligence agency on Earth.

This is so full of conspiracy, Steve wants to help clear his name, but he doesn't know how to bring it up.

Especially Russell, the leader of Hydra, that guy...

Well...

If he can't swear, Steve doesn't know how to evaluate the other person.

Steve didn't think much of his encounters with Russell at the time—their first meeting on the battlefield of World War II, their second meeting on Morag, and being tricked into becoming Hydra Captain. But after regaining his memories, he realized that each encounter was terrifying.

Russell's eyes, possessing boundless Magic Power, made Steve deeply uneasy. They seemed to see through the past and future with a godlike perspective, subtly guiding the world in the direction he desired.

This has gone beyond a supervillain and reached the level of a great demon king!

Sometimes, Steve wanted to pretend he knew nothing and live his life peacefully with Carter.

But every time he was about to give up, images of World War II would flash through his mind. Hydra's terrifying ideology of conquering the world at all costs made him unable to stand idly by, and he picked up his shield again.

Unlike World War II, this time he was isolated and helpless, facing the powerful Hydra, and couldn't even find a single trustworthy ally. He could only rely on his own strength to organize an underground team, hoping to have the ability to stop Hydra when it finally dropped its mask.

Fortunately, there is always a way out. The leader of Hydra, Russell, disappeared and has not shown his face for more than 30 years. His clone is in charge of the overall situation of Hydra.

The all-black clone is an oddball, often acting on a whim and according to his own whims, defying all conventions. Moreover, he completely ignores the Hydra forces on Earth, adopting a laissez-faire attitude.

Then, the reappearance of a long-lost comrade-in-arms gave Steve a shot in the arm, and he felt that his chance had come.

It's unrealistic to completely eradicate Hydra, but if he could obtain the Space Stone, he could calmly maneuver and gradually drive it off Earth.

That's right, Steve knew he couldn't defeat Hydra; all he wanted was to protect Earth from being ravaged by their clutches.

First, drive Hydra out of Earth, then assemble a powerful team of heroes to keep Hydra away from Earth.

Boom!!!

Just as the two were chatting, the walls of the resort exploded, and Natasha and Yelena walked in side by side. Behind them were two teams of clones who looked exactly like Natasha.

Alice Legion!

Over the course of thirty-five years, the Kree couple of scientists successfully enhanced the human body with the T-Virus and cloned a replica of equal strength.

As the direct beneficiary of this project, Natasha possesses far greater power than her clones. As the original blueprint, she can gather the spiritual energy of other clones for her own use.

Moreover, the successful repair of the Mental Enhancement Bracelet has propelled her telekinetic abilities to a new level.

"Steve, you're under arrest."

Natasha narrowed her eyes and, without waiting for Steve's response, unleashed her telekinetic powers.

An invisible shockwave rolled out, smashing through all obstacles in its path, carving a trench in the ground, and crashing down in front of Steve and Howard.

"Howard!" Steve spread Photon Energy with both hands, turning it into a defensive shield in front of him, while simultaneously protecting Howard behind him.

"Clear!"

Without a word, Howard tapped his wrist guard, took out the Iron Armor shrunk by Pym Particles, and quickly put it on.

As expected of Tony Stark's father, Howard's custom-made suit also features a red base with gold accents, making him quite flamboyant when he puts it on.

After donning his suit, Howard soared into the air, two miniature missiles ejecting from the suit's shoulders and aimed at Natasha below.

Boom!!

Natasha used telekinesis to detonate two miniature missiles in mid-air.

Beside her, Yelena entered her personal vehicle, a massive, over 4-meter-tall Iron Armor painted entirely in black.

Compared to Howard's nimble and form-fitting suit, Yelena's personal vehicle is rather bulky. Its advantages are high speed, strong armor, powerful firepower, and long range, while its only disadvantage is slightly lower actual handling performance.

Big, clumsy, and rough!

As a Russian woman, Yelena embodies the common values of the fighting nation: as long as it doesn't affect usability, it's a good mech.

Rumble!!

The black armor took off, with mechanisms opening on its chest, shoulders, back, and arms. The fire control system targeted Howard, and in an instant, it unleashed a barrage of missiles and lasers, a dense barrage of attacks.

"Damn it, how come this model hasn't been phased out yet!"

Howard made a comment, raised the energy shield on his arm, and was chased by a barrage of comments.

On the other side, Natasha, along with her clones, surrounded Steve. She drew her Vibranium sword from her back and, with the help of her own people, engaged Steve in battle.

After the Mental Enhancement Bracelet was successfully repaired, the Kree scientists developed a mass-producible model, and Steve also received one.

Batch production means weakening, increasing the speed at which Steve condenses Photon Energy, but it still cannot make him reach the height of Morag back then.

As the former Captain Marvel, a hero-level character introduced by the Kree Empire, Steve possesses combat power second only to Russell within Hydra.

Even with the original Mental Enhancement Bracelet and the added bonus from the clone, Natasha could only barely fight against him.

"Natasha, why did you suddenly attack? You should know very well that you are no match for me. A surprise attack is pointless." Steve threw a heavy punch, releasing Photon Energy, and sent one of the clones flying.

The flying clone fell into the pool, quickly climbed ashore, and rejoined the battle. Up to this point, both sides were still in a restrained phase and had not yet officially broken off relations and fought to the death.

Natasha was acting on Russell's orders, while Steve genuinely didn't want to escalate tensions; without the Space Stone, he lacked the leverage to do so.

"Steve, you have betrayed the boss's trust in you."

As Natasha spoke, her telekinetic energy coalesced into a long whip, wrapped around Steve's ankle, and slammed him hard to the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—

The battle on the ground was relatively restrained, but the two Iron Armor in the sky were completely different, especially Yelena's. There was no silent option set in the program, and once the attack mode was activated, the noise was so loud that the whole town could see it.

Steve inwardly groaned. He had caused such a commotion, and who knew how many waves it would stir up afterward, but he couldn't even blame the other party.

After all, it's Hydra!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two blue mechs flew out from the resort; they were Carter and Maria. Howard received orders, unleashed his full firepower to block a wave of attacks, and then joined the two of them as they flew towards the southern desert.

Upon seeing this, Steve unleashed a burst of Photon Energy from his body, shattering the surrounding clones before stomping his feet and soaring into the sky.

"Everyone, get dressed! Engage!"

At Natasha's command, the clones took out miniature battle suits from their belts, transformed into iron men, and chased after the enemy southward.

In the vast sea of sand, Steve and his three companions flew at high speed, leaving four long white trails as they cut through the air.

Ten minutes later, the four landed in the desert.

"Phew, after going around in circles, we finally shook them off." Howard opened his visor and said smugly, "Without me as their master the Architect, Hydra's armor is already outdated and can't keep up with our speed."

Steve frowned and glanced around. "Be careful. I have a feeling today's attack is too suspicious. Hydra has never acted so aggressively before. They may already know that our target is the Tesseract."

"So what? Our plan is going smoothly," Howard said dismissively.

"You can't say that, it's always good to be careful..." Steve suddenly turned around and his pupils contracted slightly when he saw what was behind him.

A huge circular portal appeared out of thin air on the sand, Bucky led two squads of Winter Soldier out.

Looking at the figure protected by the Winter Soldier, Steve's expression turned serious. He took out a shield from behind and tied it to his arm.

Russell stepped out of the portal and said with a smile, "Steve, long time no see. The Stars and Stripes shield doesn't suit you. I preferred the previous Hydra paint job."