"You think this stoic performance will fool us? Sure, we clearly are nowhere near your capability, but I know you still feel pain, just like the rest of us, no matter how tough you try to act. Eventually, we'll make you stop this annoying act as you scream in pain," replied the man.
"I'll see about that. Actions are better than words," replied Capt.
"Oh, we know that better than anyone and found out the hard way," replied the man before rushing towards Capt. and throwing a hook.
Capt dodged and countered with his own as a punch landed on the back of his head, causing him to fall to one knee. Capt slammed his shield into the man behind him, making him stop for a while and holding his waist. The other one hooked Capt in the face.
Capt slammed his fist onto his leg like a hammer before quickly stepping back onto both feet, and as the man slightly kneeled, he whammed his shield into his face, causing him to be knocked to the ground.
The man in front threw another punch but got blocked by the shield, and as Capt. went to counter, his arms were grabbed from behind. As he struggled, the man started to beat Capt up, making his nose bleed, with the other one getting up and joining in.
Capt headbutted the man holding him, making his nose bleed, but he quickly changed it into a lock around his neck. As Capt struggled to breathe, he threw his shield at a lampost behind him, denting it before bouncing right into the back of the man who had released his grip.
As one punched him in the waist, he returned with a hook while also getting hit by one made by the other. The man behind Capt stamped the back of his leg, causing Capt to fall to one knee, where the two in front flew a flurry of punches.
As one started to throw a hook, midway through, Capt. threw an uppercut at his elbow, breaking the joint as the man's arm limped. The other punched Capt in the face before Capt hooked him in the waist.
The sound of metal being dragged up from the ground could be heard from Capt., who quickly turned around as the man slammed the shield down towards him. Capt caught the shield, and as the man struggled to push it down, Capt quickly let go, causing the man to miss before being uppercutted.
As the man fell to the ground and the other yelled in pain, holding his limping arm, the other tried to thrust his knife towards Capt. Capt grabbed hold of his wrist and, with his other hand, dislocated his arm, causing him to drop the knife.
Capt caught it and trusted it towards the man's chin, and as it pierced right through the bottom of his mouth, the man used his last hand to try and hold Capt down. Capt pushed his arm down, leaving the man now completely open, before thrusting the knife right through the side of his skull, causing him to limp and fall as Capt pulled the knife out.
The man from behind went for a hook, which Capt easily parried before thrusting the knife towards the man's eye. He used his hands to try and stop it, but the knife slowly dug into his eye as he yelled in pain. Using his other hand, Capt grabbed the back of his head and pulled him towards him, causing the knife to go through and right into his brain quickly.
Capt slowly dragged the bloodied knife out as the man slumped to the ground, and the last one kneeled on the ground holding his broken arm.
"We couldn't even make you scream; how pathetic. I thought we would at least do that, but to think you were so high above us, what a sad existence." said the man.
"It didn't have to be this way," replied Capt.
"Oh, fuck off. Don't do this shitty hero talk to comfort me. You may think we had a choice, but we didn't. Either do their dirty work the rest of our lives or actually live. Tell me, Capt, is a life all alone and stuck in torment with a dingy little cage to go back home to a life worth living?" replied the man.
The captain stayed silent with no response.
The man chuckled. "Yeah, I thought so. So don't talk to me about different choices or paths when you have no idea how we lived and what we went through." He added that he was agitated.
"How do you find us?" asked Capt.
"Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about all that with you massacring us and all, but a bet is a bet. We have a spy who has infiltrated your little group and, with a single stick drive, made not only all your satellites under our control but the governments as well," replied the man.
"You mean to tell me that someone managed to bypass the most secure network on the planet without us even being alerted?" replied Capt. Sceptical.
"You're not the only one with a genius on your side," replied the man.
"Who is the spy and this 'genius'?" asked Capt.
The man chuckled again. "That wasn't part of the deal. Find it out yourself!" he added.
TRAINING FACILITY
Brian just finished washing his hands before heading back out into the hallway to see Black Widow leaning against the wall.
Brian flinched in response and laughed. "You scared me there; are you waiting for someone?" he asked.
"I was waiting for you," she replied.
"What for?" questioned the man.
"You know, just some standard questions. There is nothing to be scared about unless you have something to hide," she stated, confronting him.
"Sure, ask me whatever you want," replied Brian.
"You know, after a lot of digging through boring documents, I found something interesting. Around a week after Magneto's attack, you were reported missing for a few days before randomly showing back up. Why was that?" questioned Black Widow.
"Oh, that," giggled the man. "I was hanging out with some old friends and went, and we ended up drinking like a bunch of frat boys, so I ended up not being sober enough to drive back home for a while. One of those in-the-moment things," replied Brian.
"Hmm, out of curiosity, I looked back on the camera footage from the week you got back to work because I had a small hunch and I saw some really interesting things. You seemed like a completely different man; you weren't doing your usual mannerisms and habits, but they became more prominent during the course of the week. How does someone forget something they themselves don't realise they do?" replied Black Widow.
Brian stayed silent.
"It was almost like you were a different person, so I checked up on a certain blue-skinned lady who we presumed died during the incident. There was apparently a record of the body, but despite that, there was no actual body. Isn't that interesting, 'Brian'?" added Black Widow.
"Yeah, it is," replied the man.
"It's been a while, Mystique," said Black Widow.
Brian sighed before his entire body structure began to change into the form of a female blue-skinned redhead. "So close to reaching the full stretch," she replied.
"You were. It really was an incredible performance; you nailed Brian down to a tee, but you were in a rush to infiltrate," replied Black Widow.
"Any chance you'll let me go? Girl to girl favour?" replied Mystique.
"You won't escape this time," replied Black Widow, getting into a fighting position.