Marvel’s Shadowed Knight

Looking at Steve, Bruce more or less understood what was going on with this guy.

He had long since been exhausted by the seemingly endless war, but it also made him extremely vigilant toward every little change around him.

He was no longer the Captain America he used to be.

Of course, he would become that person again—

When he met the other guy.

Bruce reconnected Stark's comms.

Seeing Bruce's coordinates appear on his screen, Stark was a little surprised, but he quickly noticed something off about Bruce's location.

"You're—" Stark hadn't even finished his sentence when Bruce cut him off.

"I'm standing in front of Steve Rogers." Bruce looked up at the cautious Steve in front of him. "Who's with you?"

"Uh, Jennifer." Though Stark wasn't sure what Bruce meant, he still answered truthfully. "Why?"

"I want to know—do you trust her?"

When Bruce's question came through the command center, Jennifer merely raised an eyebrow. "I'll step out."

"No need. I trust her," Stark refused Jennifer's suggestion, keeping her by his side. "You can go ahead and explain your situation now."

"I found Hawkeye. But he's not quite what you imagined." Bruce sent the footage he'd captured to Stark. "After you watch it, I want you to come here. We need to take a hard look at how many more of these things are still out there."

With that, Bruce once again ended the call.

If Stark couldn't figure out where he was after that, he might as well bash his head against a wall.

"So, your plan is to get Stark to come here?" Steve clearly didn't think Stark would just waltz from the Iron Nation to the Blue Nation so easily—no matter how you looked at it.

Who would willingly put their life in someone else's hands?

"Exactly." Bruce was remarkably candid.

"I don't think he'll come," Steve said flatly. From every angle, he just didn't see Stark making that kind of move.

Bruce simply smiled and didn't respond to Steve's doubt. "Shouldn't we interrogate this guy's accomplices now?"

Bruce's words finally pulled Steve's gaze away from him and over to the captured Skrull.

"Take him to our interrogation room. I'll treat him to the highest level of... hospitality." Being toyed with so thoroughly had clearly rattled Steve, and his voice was thick with hatred for the Skrull.

After all, they had once fought these creatures before—and now, they were still being manipulated by them.

Bruce offered no comment on Steve's reaction. He simply stepped aside and silently watched as Steve had the Skrull taken into their building.

When Bruce tried to follow, Peter blocked his path.

"You haven't cleared your name yet, so you can't go in," Peter said seriously.

To be honest, Bruce had never seen such determination on Miles's face. It always seemed like the boy had been reluctantly carrying a burden forced upon him.

Hearing Peter's words, Bruce stopped in his tracks.

"I don't think you're going to get anything useful out of him," Bruce told Peter truthfully, but it was obvious that Peter still didn't want Bruce involved in any of it.

Peter instructed the soldiers nearby to keep a close eye on Bruce, then turned and entered the building himself. He wanted to hear firsthand what nonsense the Skrull might spew.

The soldiers around Bruce stayed on high alert, keeping a tight watch to prevent him from doing anything suspicious.

Meanwhile, back in the Iron Nation, Stark had already made his choice.

He was fully suited up in his armor and ready to launch.

"Jennifer, once I'm gone, you'll be in charge of everything here in the Iron Nation." With that, Stark blasted off into the sky, disappearing before Jennifer's eyes. Not even the Winter Soldier, who had just arrived with some documents and wanted to talk to him, could stop him.

"Where's President Stark going?" the Winter Soldier asked Jennifer.

For someone like him, it was unthinkable that Stark would leave without even notifying him. After all, the Winter Soldier was a key military leader in the Iron Nation.

"I don't know. All I do know is this—after President Stark left, all decisions fall to me," Jennifer said calmly, her gaze fixed on the Winter Soldier who had shown up at such a crucial moment. She gave away nothing about Stark's real destination.

The Winter Soldier looked at Jennifer—She-Hulk, who had always been at Stark's side—and said nothing. He simply handed her the documents and turned to leave.

After all, for now, Jennifer was effectively the highest authority.

Propelled by his armor, Stark swiftly left the Iron Nation's airspace, crossing the dividing line and racing toward the Blue Nation, where Captain America was located.

As he flew toward Bruce's location, Stark was deep in thought—wondering when they had let so many Skrulls slip through, allowing them to orchestrate such devious plots even now.

Watching the video Bruce had sent him, Stark still found it hard to believe that Skrulls were really still among them.

It was even possible that they had long since infiltrated their inner circle, influencing every key decision they made.

Twisting everything toward disaster, leaving no room for recovery.

In the high skies, Storm had already detected Stark's armor. She manipulated the air currents and instantly appeared before him.

"I told you—if you came here, I would—" Storm hadn't finished when Stark interrupted her.

"Yes, yes, I know what you said. But right now, you need to take me to see Steve. We have something important to discuss."

Of course, Stark remembered all her warnings, but right now, the Skrulls—and the manipulators lurking in the shadows—were the priority.

Storm was stunned by Stark's barrage of words. She had no idea what had happened or why he'd come all this way alone. But looking at him, it was clear something urgent was going on.

Just as she was about to press him for answers, Peter's comms went off.

"If Stark comes, Ororo, don't stop him. Just let him head to Liberation City on his own."

Storm had intended to ask more questions, but it was clear that Peter had other matters to attend to—he abruptly ended their communication.

"Looks like someone told you to let me through," Stark said, noticing Storm's current demeanor. He could more or less guess that someone must have said something to her.

Although she was quite displeased with Stark, Storm could only swallow her frustration for now.

"We have plenty of time," Storm said bitterly to Stark, then stepped aside, letting this infuriating man continue toward Liberation City.

"Thank you," Stark replied, and continued his advance.

As Stark looked toward Liberation City, he immediately spotted Bruce's location—it was hard to miss. A cluster of soldiers surrounding a man in pitch-black attire? Impossible not to notice.

"Seems like they're taking you pretty seriously," Stark shouted before he was even within sight. He had tapped into a soldier's communicator, addressing Bruce directly.

Bruce turned to look at the man descending from the sky. That flashy red-and-gold armor was unmistakably over-the-top.

"Where's Steve? I'm here to talk to him."

The soldiers around Bruce stared at the slowly approaching Iron Man in disbelief. None of them had expected Stark to actually show up in Liberation City—their base—to meet Steve.

Still, Stark's announcement quickly snapped the soldiers back to reality. One of them turned and rushed into the building.

The rest became visibly more alert, keeping a wary eye on the two men—after all, Stark's combat capabilities were no joke.

"I thought you'd bring Jennifer with you."

Bruce glanced behind Stark, noticing no one else had followed.

"I'm not so timid that I need Jennifer to escort me," Stark replied. "Besides, I'm not even sure if there are Skrulls hiding in my own kingdom. I have no choice but to entrust everything to her."

Stark deeply trusted Jennifer. Even though Skrulls could change their appearance, their ability to mimic superpowers—especially those like the Hulk's—was still questionable.

Moreover, since the start of the Secret Invasion, She-Hulk had remained by Stark's side the entire time. There hadn't been any chance for her to be swapped—there was no way she was a Skrull.

Inside the building, Steve was facing the Skrull who had recently awakened.

Next to him stood Professor X, who had just been urgently recalled.

"A complete failure," the Skrull muttered as he saw Steve and Professor X. He instantly realized that everything they had prepared was now in vain.

He didn't even need to guess—he knew Professor X had already read his mind.

Steve looked at the Skrull in front of him, desperately wanting to land a few punches on that green face. But he was restraining himself. Until they uncovered all the infiltrators, this one still had value.

Outside the interrogation room, Peter was watching everything unfold. Though he wanted to go in, a part of him feared that their entire conflict had been nothing but a cruel joke.

He thought of all the comrades—friends—who had died at each other's hands. The thought made his heart feel like it was burning on a pile of firewood.

Just then, a soldier rushed over to Peter.

"Stark is here."

Peter couldn't hide the shock on his face—Stark had really come, in person, to Liberation City.

"I understand," Peter said, waving the soldier off before walking toward the interrogation room.

He opened the door, immediately catching Steve's attention. Steve didn't recall giving anyone permission to enter during an interrogation.

"What's going on?" Steve asked, seeing Peter walk in.

"Stark is here."

Meanwhile, outside, Stark was still speaking with Bruce, somewhat irritated. He had been waiting for at least fifteen minutes, yet Steve hadn't shown any intention of coming out.

"Think he's still planning to fight me?" Stark muttered, unsure of what was on Steve's mind.

It had been far too long since they'd sat down and had a proper conversation.

No one could predict how this meeting would unfold.

Bruce simply listened to Stark's complaints without offering any opinion. Just then, the man they'd been waiting to negotiate with finally appeared before them.

"I thought you'd be hiding from me," Stark said dryly, unsurprised as he addressed Steve.

"I would never hide from you," Steve responded calmly, walking slowly toward Stark.

The distance between the two men was less than ten centimeters.

It felt like they might fight at any moment—or embrace. But neither happened.

"We need to talk, don't we?" Stark said, his tone turning serious as he looked Steve in the eye.

"Yes," Steve nodded and started leading Stark inside. Bruce, however, did not follow.

Instead, he walked over to Officer Baldwin, who stood silently nearby.

"He's not coming with us?" Steve asked, glancing at Bruce walking away.

"He probably has his own plans. Bats always have their own way of hunting," Stark replied, showing no surprise. He seemed used to Bruce's ways.

Bruce stood next to Officer Baldwin. "Mind telling me what's on your mind?"

Baldwin looked at Bruce briefly but said nothing. He just pulled out a flask from his waist and took a swig.

The once-reckless youth had become someone almost unrecognizable.

Perhaps he had long been regretting his past—but simply chose not to show it.

Bruce didn't press him. He stood beside Baldwin, facing the opposite direction.

"What are you thinking?"

(End of Chapter)

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