Chapter 50: Ch 49: Lemurian Star Hijack IX
A Few Minutes Before - Inside the Quinjet
One of the monitors displayed the live feed from the Lemurian Star.
Bang.
On screen, Veritas had just manipulated Luna Graham into executing Lucas West. The gunshot still echoed through the quinjet’s speakers.
Gwen pursed her lips, her eyes looked grim.
Natasha’s face, on the other hand, was completely unreadable. Her cold eyes remained fixed on the screen, showing absolutely no reaction to the brutal, bloody revenge playing out before millions.
Steve Rogers let out a heavy, tired sigh. He pointed a gloved finger at the screen.
"That," Steve said grimly, "That right there is exactly why I said he’s dangerous."
For a few tense seconds, Natasha remained silent. Murder and revenge weren’t exactly new concepts in the dark, blood-soaked world she operated in.
Honestly, she could even argue that there was a twisted kind of justice in what Veritas had done today... if that madman was sane that is.
But Natasha knew better.
She knew exactly what kind of person the world was currently witnessing. She wasn’t certain about his ultimate endgame yet, but jokes aside, she knew this masked madman wasn’t some misunderstood paragon of truth and justice like his internet fanbase was starting to believe.
To Veritas, it was all just a big game. Humans were his chess pieces. Terrorism was his board.
And she was absolutely certain that while it hadn’t happened yet, innocent casualties wouldn’t mean a damn thing to him if they served his twisted narrative.
Natasha’s eyes briefly shifted to Gwen. Call it fate or just a lucky coincidence, but this young, brightly-colored heroine was currently the only real wall standing between Veritas and a massacre of innocents.
But if he managed to corrupt her too... if he twisted that bright, righteous spirit the way he’d twisted Luna Graham...
’No,’ Natasha thought firmly, dismissing the dark idea. ’It won’t happen. The kid’s naive, but her willpower is genuine.’
"Steve’s right," Natasha finally spoke, "Veritas might not be a threat we can afford to ignore or humor any longer. Corrupting an innocent girl like that, she was just a techie... not only did he make her a murderer, he completely destroyed her life too."
Rumlow, who was aggressively strapping on his tactical harness, nodded in agreement. "I don’t think she’s gonna have much of a life left to destroy, Widow. The bastard’s probably gonna execute her too before this is over."
Veritas hadn’t declared his execution countdown yet, but Rumlow’s prediction was accurate.
Gwen stayed silent.
A complicated knot tightened in her stomach. Of course, she utterly despised what Veritas had just done to Luna. It was pure, sickening manipulation of a grieving, deeply traumatized mind. Veritas’s actions were unforgivable, just like they always were.
But... there was a tiny, nagging question scratching at the back of her mind.
"He went too far this time," Gwen said softly, then hesitated. She turned to face Natasha. "But... why did that Lucas West guy kill Luna’s family in the first place? Did S.H.I.E.L.D. order it?"
Rumlow shrugged into his tactical vest, his back was turned to the team. As he heard Gwen he froze for just a fraction of a second. His easy smile had vanished but his ears stayed wide open.
Steve turned to Natasha as well, his expression making it clear he was wondering the exact same thing.
Natasha simply shrugged, shaking her head. "You guys are looking at me like I’m Fury. I don’t even know that agent."
She paused, collecting her thoughts before continuing.
"Look, all I know is that SHIELD has done some questionable things in the past but torture of a peaceful family is not one of them. As for that..." she pointed at the screen.
"There are many possibilities, but to me, two make the most sense. One: the clown’s evidence is valid. Two: it’s an elaborate fraud."
"If the proof is real, then West could be a traitor to S.H.I.E.L.D. I never saw a mention of S.H.I.E.L.D. authorization in any of the evidence he showed. The Jester would have loved to expose S.H.I.E.L.D. if he could. But he didn’t. He exposed one man."
Nat leaned back. Right now, she was defending S.H.I.E.L.D. mostly to Gwen not because she was absolutely loyal to the agency, but because she didn’t want the rookie to be disappointed by the reality this early.
"But if he tricked that girl with fabricated evidence, then West might be innocent. He didn’t let the man speak a word in his defense, and dead men don’t talk. We also can’t confirm the three killers in the video were S.H.I.E.L.D. at all—they could be foreign intelligence operatives, private contractors, anyone."
"And let’s not forget: he showed us a blurred-face video first. Who says he couldn’t have edited it a second time, specifically to manipulate Luna?"
Gwen blinked behind her mask, genuinely impressed by Black Widow analysis.
"Wow," Gwen quipped, raising an eyebrow under her mask. "Remind me never to play Among Us with you, Nat. You’d have me ejected out the airlock before I even finished my first task."
Rumlow turned toward them, tightening his gloves and slinging a parachute pack over his shoulder. "Well, it’s not my field of expertise, but I’ll have to agree with Romanoff. The guy’s a shitbag, and we need to take him down today. For good."
Rumlow’s voice was casual, but beneath it ran a current of barely restrained rage. Rumlow was dead serious. He fully intended to put a bullet between the Jester’s eyes.
Little did the STRIKE leader know that his own personal canon event was waiting for him just a few minutes away.
Gwen nodded at him but for some reason, she didn’t like the vibe of this guy.
As the Lemurian Star became visible in the horizon, the pilot’s voice crackled in their earpieces.
"Coming up on the drop zone, Cap."
"I’m going to clear the deck now," Steve said, securing his helmet. "You guys don’t let him take another life."
The Quinjet’s rear ramp lowered slowly, letting the roaring ocean wind flood the cabin.
Without a single moment of hesitation, Captain America dove headfirst out of the plane into the pitch-black night.
As they watched him plummet freely toward the dark ocean near the ship, Jack Rollins leaned forward with a genuinely shocked expression. "Wait... was he wearing a parachute?"
Rumlow smirked, shaking his head. "No. No, he wasn’t."
[ Present Time: Main Deck, Lemurian Star ]
After single-handedly clearing the upper deck of the heavily armed French and Algerian mercenaries...
Captain America was now he was in pursuit of Batroc.
"Natasha, Batroc’s on the move," Steve spoke into the communicator as he navigated the ship’s upper deck. "Hostiles are still in play. Rumlow and Rollins are down—circle back to Spider-Woman and protect the hostages."
Silence.
"Natasha?"
Still no response.
Suddenly, Batroc leaped out from a blind corner, launching a devastating, acrobatic kick aimed right at Steve’s head.
Steve brought his vibranium shield up just in time, but the sheer momentum of the heavy strike threw him off balance.
Steve quickly rolled backward, absorbing the impact, and then both men instantly engaged in a highly skilled, high-speed exchange of heavy blows.
And as they fought... high above them, standing casually on a steel observation railing, Veritas watched the entire spectacle unfold.
His phone hovered in front of him, still streaming the fight live to patrons only for now. He’d turn it on for the people in Marvel when he joins the fight.
Luke had long since marked the ship with his Flying Thunder God seals—dozens of them, strategically placed in every location he knew would matter.
This small balcony had a mark and the exact floor where Captain America and Batroc were currently trading blows was secretly littered with at least fifty pre-marked spots.
He had simply teleported here right after assigning Natasha her "very small errand" down in the server room.
[ Patron Comments: ]
[Yeageristo: Ohoo, Rogers and Batroc are skilled! If Batroc had super strength too, he could actually give Cap a real run for his money, I’d say. ]
[Yeageristo donated 1 TP]
[urPP: @Yeageristo Hmm, yeah, I guess. I mean, Batroc did manage to drop a few hits in. CQC is cool and all, but nothing beats a super flashy super-fight where absolutely nothing can be predicted. ]
[urANUS: @urPP kinda agree. but both is good too.]
[urANUS donated 1 TP]
’Hm,’ Luke mused, reading the chat rolling across his screen. ’Showing other’s fighting earns me TP as well? Good to know.’
He filed that highly profitable thought away as he gazed back down at the fight below.
Batroc had just separated from Steve, wiping some blood from his lip. He grinned cockily at the Avenger.
"I thought you were more than just a shield," Batroc taunted in a thick French accent.
Captain America let out a tired sigh.
He reached back and securely locked his vibranium shield onto the magnetic harness on his back.
Then, he reached up, unclasped his helmet, and tossed it onto the steel deck.
"Let’s see," he said simply.
Both men readied themselves.
’Bad move, Batroc,’ Luke thought, ’Cap was holding back, you know. Now you’ve kinda made it personal.’
In just a few rapid exchanges of fists, blocks, and a devastatingly heavy sweep kick from Steve, Batroc’s defense completely collapsed. The mercenary stumbled backward, his leg buckling.
Cap instantly went for the finisher. He launched himself into a powerful backward flip, aiming a devastating heel kick directly at Batroc’s jaw to knock the pirate out cold so he could go find the hostages.
But right as Captain America was mid-air... something... No, someone appeared.
BOOM!
Mid-flip, a concussive explosion detonated directly in Cap’s path. He instinctively raised his arms to guard his face, the blast sending him tumbling through the air. He hit the deck hard, but he quickly rolled and came up in a defensive crouch.
As the smoke cleared, a very familiar, sharply dressed figure in a white mask stood squarely between Captain America and the downed mercenary.
"Now, now, Captain," Veritas tutted, wagging a finger playfully. "No one touches my best friend but me."
Veritas paused, tilting his head as if realizing his mistake. "Ah, wait. Slip of the tongue, that came out entirely wrong. What I meant to say is: you can’t hurt Batroc. He’s my friend!"
Ignoring his words, Steve slowly reached behind his back, unclasping the vibranium shield from his magnetic harness and bringing it to his arm with a metallic clink.
"I don’t know what game you’re playing, but it ends tonight. You and Batroc. Let’s finish this."
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