Clang~
The shield rolled across the floor as Steve Rogers used both his hands and feet to lock down Charlie, showcasing his exceptional combat skills to the fullest.
"Spider-Man, you've lost," Steve said coldly.
Charlie's entire body was restrained, and as he struggled, he realized that Steve's strength was equal to his own. Instead of panicking, Charlie smirked. "As expected from the Captain, this is the kind of fight that's exciting."
With that, Charlie stopped struggling, knowing that this level of restraint couldn't really harm him.
He slowly extended two fingers and waved them in front of Steve's face.
"What are you doing?" Steve frowned.
Charlie grinned. "I'm going to poke you!"
"Aah!!"
The next moment, Steve cried out in pain, covering his eyes, and Charlie took the opportunity to break free from his grip. Mimicking Steve's movements, he then locked Steve in a similar hold.
"Captain, now you've lost."
"Damn bug!" Steve growled, his entire body emitting a darker shade of red. His strength surged, and the dense red hue quickly formed into tentacle-like appendages, radiating a dangerous aura.
At that moment, Charlie remembered something Peggy Carter had once mentioned.
Steve, empowered by Hydra!
Creak, creak, creak~
The tentacles crawled over Charlie's body, binding him and exerting immense pressure.
Creak, creak, creak...
Under the violent force, the nanometal covering Charlie's body started to groan under the strain. The tentacles lifted him into the air, while Steve stood up slowly, his expression dark.
"It's over."
"You're fast," Charlie replied, his eyes now glowing red as well. The nanometal flipped, transforming into an inky black, forming liquid spider spears that shot toward Steve's eyes.
Splat!!
"Aah!!"
Steve screamed again as his eyes took the brunt of the attack, and the blood-colored octopus-like tentacles loosened their grip.
In an instant, Charlie flipped back, retreating while continuing his assault with black spider spears. Steve's body was repeatedly punctured, riddling him with holes.
Thud, thud, thud-
Blood sprayed all over the cabin, and Steve's battered body staggered, yet the dense red hue around him didn't weaken—in fact, it grew even stronger.
Creak, creak~~
The sound of bones creaking echoed as Steve's uniform disintegrated into the blood-colored aura. His exposed muscles swelled, and black veins spread across his body from his spine.
At his back, a black spine slowly merged with the blood-red hue, and octopus-like tentacles sprouted from it, unleashing an overwhelming sense of evil.
Bang, bang, bang!!
Inside the cabin, the nine tentacles lashed out wildly, but Charlie moved swiftly between them, dodging every strike.
However, the cabin's metal began to warp under the strain of the force.
In the next second, the hole in the plane's fuselage widened, and the fierce high-altitude winds swept Charlie away.
Creak, creak, creak~~
With the aid of his blood-red tentacles, Steve violently tore open the hole and stepped outside onto the fuselage, unaffected by the strong winds.
Empowered by Hydra, his wounds healed rapidly, and his vision returned.
"Come out. I know you didn't leave," he said, scanning his surroundings.
The blood-red clouds seemed to move with the transport plane as it gradually descended toward the neon-lit city below.
The cold wind howled, and suddenly, a black spider spear shot out from under one of the wings.
Boom!
In a flash, Steve's red tentacles whizzed past, but the black spear coiled around them like liquid.
"Come here!" Steve's spine vibrated, and with a surge of strength, he yanked Charlie, who had been hiding under the wing, toward him.
Boom!!
Without hesitation, Steve threw a punch filled with the force of tens of tons, and Charlie met it head-on.
Boom!!
Their raw power clashed as the red tentacles battled against Charlie's black spider spears.
With the power of the black spine enhancing him, Steve's strength soared once again.
Although his speed and defense were average, his regenerative abilities, combined with his combat skills and sonic interference, made him the most difficult Captain Charlie had ever faced.
But even with all his tenacity, Steve couldn't bring Charlie down in such a short time.
Thanks to Venom Mode, Charlie had gained strength equivalent to seventy tons, and his Spider-Sense allowed him to perfectly dodge Steve's storm-like attacks.
If it weren't for the bizarre power of Hydra, this battle would've ended much sooner.
For a time, neither could overpower the other, but their fierce battle had left the transport plane in shambles. The plane shook violently, and large chunks of metal were torn away by the fierce wind.
Bang!!
Suddenly, Charlie's web snapped and was scattered by the high-altitude wind. Seizing the moment, Steve locked onto Charlie's wrist, squeezing it until the web-shooters broke apart.
"You can die now!" Steve roared, tossing Charlie into the air.
Whoosh!!
As Charlie tumbled through the air, his organic webbing shot out, allowing him to quickly climb back onto the wing. In Venom Mode, the black spider spears enabled him to traverse the plane with ease, once again charging at Steve.
At the same time, down in the city streets, countless civilians watched the descending plane in shock.
"Oh my God, the plane's crashing!"
"My God, please don't let it land here!"
"Look up there, there's someone on it!"
"How is that possible?!"
Amidst the crowd's exclamations, the transport plane grazed the tops of the buildings, creating a violent gust of wind.
"Sh*t, damn it! I almost forgot," Steve suddenly realized mid-battle, abruptly leaving Charlie to rush back into the cockpit.
He hadn't expected to waste so much time fighting a bug.
A serious miscalculation.
Charlie peeked into the cabin, watching Steve's anxious back with a smirk.
Well, well, wasn't he just acting all tough?
Boom~~
As he noticed the plane slowly ascending, Charlie calculated its trajectory.
Seeing the plane veer off course, Charlie shot a web and retrieved the shield lying in the corner.
Everyone who's been a friend of the Captain knows—the Captain can't fly planes.
"Captain, take your seat. We're going down!" Charlie shouted.
"What?!"
A bad feeling washed over Steve. He rushed outside the plane and saw Charlie moving closer to the propeller while holding the shield.
"No! Stop!!"
Steve's face changed drastically as he commanded his blood-red tentacles to reach for Charlie, but it was too late.
Boom!!
As Charlie hurled the shield into the propeller, flames instantly erupted, thick smoke filling the air. The plane jolted violently and began to tilt, plunging toward the distant coastline.
"No!!"
On the slanted plane, Steve roared in fury as he charged toward Charlie.
"Damn bug! I'll tear you apart!!"
"That's a familiar line. Good luck with that."
With a wave, Charlie leaped off the wing backward, disappearing into the sky.
In midair, his webbing expanded into a glider wing, allowing him to soar toward the city's skyscrapers.
Seeing this, Steve gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger, and made his way to the plane's storage room.
The parachutes had been blown away by the wind, leaving him no other choice.
In the cold, wrecked environment, the plane's power system had failed, and the freezing system in the storage room had stopped working.
Steve approached a crystal ice coffin, gazing deeply at the figure inside.
Peggy Carter lay quietly in her red floral dress, her body showing no signs of decay after seventy years.
He had killed her with his own hands at that fateful dance, finally making her his forever.
She would never leave him.
Not this time either!
Steve rested his head against the ice coffin, separated from her by only a thin layer of cold.
He closed his eyes, recalling the past, as the red blood spine on his back grew deeper in color. Tentacles coiled around them both, encasing them together.
Boom!!
In the next moment, the transport plane crashed into the coastline, and the roaring flames consumed everything.