Chapter 51: Ch 50: Lemurian Star Hijack X
"I don’t know what game you’re playing, but it ends tonight," Steve said, his voice hard as steel. "You and Batroc. Let’s finish this."
Veritas let out a hearty chuckle. "Oh, the magnificent game I was playing has already been rudely interrupted by Spider-Woman and your little sniper buddies! Very rude timing."
"But yes, by all means, let’s finish this! After I take care of you, I’ll need to go show some explosive hospitality to Miss Spider. She seemed very confident in her shiny new explosion-proof suit..."
"I’d hate to disappoint her by not testing its limits."
He spread his arms wide, the painted grin on his cracked mask somehow looking even more insufferable.
"And then? I’ll resume the game while I wait for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s response. The kind of response that Batroc and I actually want." He tilted his head.
The Phone still floated nearby, broadcasting the stream live to his patrons and the people of Marvel.
"And you know what just occurred to me? Captain America himself—the nation’s heritage, the living legend, the man who punched Hitler’s actor in the jaw over two hundred times you’d make an excellent hostage. S.H.I.E.L.D. would definitely pay premium prices for you. Much better than what I was asking for the others."
He glanced back at Batroc, who was still on the ground, struggling to push himself up. Cap’s last strike had clearly done some damage.
"Batroc, what do you think? Captain America and Spider-Woman as our VIP guests? Double the star power, triple the ransom?"
Batroc only managed a pained grunt in response.
"Well, he’s a little tongue-tied right now," Veritas sighed, turning back to the Avenger. "It’ll take him a moment to recover. So, it’s just you and me, Cap!"
Steve didn’t waste another second on words. He settled into a combat stance, vibranium shield raised and ready. His blue eyes were hard as ice.
Veritas cocked his head, then without warning launched himself forward.
A full-bodied explosion erupted from his back and legs, propelling him at a speed that even Steve’s super-soldier eyes could barely track.
One moment he was standing ten feet away. The next, he was right in front of the Captain, his fist already pulled back, another explosion igniting from his elbow to add devastating force to the punch.
CLANG!
Steve had brought his shield up just in time. The fist collided with the vibranium disc in a deafening clang that echoed across the entire deck. Steve gritted his teeth, his boots skidding backward several inches across the floor from the sheer force of the impact. This wasn’t a surprise attack like from Batroc which had disrupted his balance, this time Steve was prepared.
’Hm,’ Luke mused, genuinely appreciating the sensation. ’The sound of vibranium. It’s really quite pleasing to the ears.’
Without missing a beat, he readied another explosion. Point blank. Right against the shield.
BOOOOOM!
The huge blast detonated directly against the vibranium surface. The shield absorbed and distributed the impact beautifully. Fortunately, Steve’s arms didn’t burnt or shatter... but the raw force sent him flying backward like a cannonball.
He crashed through the metal railing of the deck above. The steel grillwork teared apart completely on impact before Cap slammed spine-first into a thick white support pole.
"Gahhh"
A grunt of genuine pain escaped his lips as his spine absorbed the brutal impact. But years of combat instinct took over. He saw Veritas already lining up another blast and threw himself sideways, rolling across the deck just as an explosion melted the spot where he’d been a heartbeat before.
Veritas launched himself again, closing the distance in a blink. Steve reacted on pure instinct—he hurled his shield straight at the masked face.
Behind the Jester mask, Luke smiled.
He instantly killed his forward momentum with a quick counter-blast from his palms. As the shield hurtled toward him, he fired a brief pulse from one hand, bleeding away its speed. The impact made the shield flip once along its vertical axis before Veritas casually reached out and caught it cleanly between his gloved hands.
Luke hovered there for a second, admiring the legendary weapon. The weight felt almost negligible in his grip.
Still hovering in the air via small, controlled blasts from his feet, he slipped his arm through the sturdy leather straps on the back.
"Hm..." Veritas hummed, sounding genuinely impressed. He struck a heroic pose, holding the shield up. "Does it suit me, Cap? I feel very patriotic all of a sudden."
[ Public Comments: ]
[ Ashly: ] holy hell, don’t tell me this madman is going to steal Captain America’s shield!!!
[ Ben: ] ouh naah...
[ Josh: ] why did he say he feels patriotic? Is it just one of his stupid jokes, or does the shield have that effect on the mind?
[ Misa: ] he makes me wetter without the shield tbh...
[ Emily: ] @Misa girl wtf????
[Jim: I mean I understand @Misa, I’m a man and I’d leak a bit too... 🥀]
[ king_louis: @Jim thus said diddy ]
[ BindgeBindge: @Jim If you try to swear to me regardless, I will r*pe you. Repeatedly ]
----------------
Captain America stared at him, his jaw tight. In all his years of fighting, he had faced many enemies who had separated him from his shield for a few moments.
But someone to simply catch his fast-moving shield out of mid-air and try it on like an accessory. A damn superpowered terrorist no less... that was definitely the first.
"No?" Veritas sighed at the lack of response. "Yeah, you’re right. The color combination clashes horribly with my whole aesthetic. It’s a fashion disaster. Here, have it back, Cap!"
Using a rapid sequence of explosions from his palms and boots, Veritas violently rotated his body in mid-air, turning himself into a blindingly fast, exploding tornado. Using the massive centrifugal force, he viciously flung the shield right back at its owner.
Steve’s eyes widened in genuine alarm as his own shield barreled toward him like a supersonic buzzsaw. He barely had time to react.
He dropped his shoulder and slammed his elbow against the outer edge of the vibranium disk at the absolute last possible second, desperately redirecting its trajectory.
The shield slammed into the deck on its edge, rebounding diagonally upward. The disc spun wildly off course, sailing into the dark ocean night beyond the ship’s railing.
He had no time to recover.
Luke shot forward again, pushing his Quirk even harder. His speed was terrifyingly faster than before.
Steve was too slow to react, no time to even put his guard up in response to Veritas’s blinding speed.
Luke had closed the gap instantly and driven a heavy, explosive-powered punch directly into Steve’s exposed ribs.
Crack!
Explosive-powered punch landed squarely where Luke wanted without any hindrance. Steve felt at least two of them crack under the immense force as he was sent flying backward toward the edge of the ship, far from the direction of his lost frisbee.
"Heya, Cap! Need a helping web?"
Suddenly, a bright, cheerful voice echoed through the dark sky.
Spider-Woman suddenly swung out. In one hand, she held a taut web string supporting her swing. In her other hand, she was holding Cap’s vibranium shield.
She hurled the shield perfectly back to Captain America.
In the exact same fluid motion, she shot a strand of webbing that attached right to Cap’s chest. She used her own momentum to act as a bungee cord, completely killing his backward momentum.
Then, with a grunt of effort, Gwen yanked the web string with all her superhuman might, slingshotting Captain America straight back at Veritas.
Steve caught his shield mid-air, tucked his knees in, and raised the vibranium disk in front of him, shooting toward the Jester like a human cannonball.
’Ah,’ he thought, a piece of old-world wisdom floating through his mind. ’Never throw anything toward Spider-Man. Or Spider-Woman, in this case. It always comes back. Usually aimed at your face... well, I didn’t throw Captain towards her but still...’
Veritas dodged effortlessly, blasting himself to the side with a casual puff of explosion.
[Patron Comments:]
[ enemies_to_Lovers_enjoyer: ] woohooooooooooooo
[ PrettyInRed: ] yeah their earlier encounter was way too short this time it feels like we’ll get some actual moments!
[ Yeageristo: ] I’m so glad she came, Cap may have more experience and allat but against Veritas he was way too weak.
[ urANUS: ] @Yeageristo agreed, and that’s when I think Luke’s holding back. Imagine him going all out against Cap
[PPPPOTAH: @urANUS hydrogen bomb vs coughing/ash baby gif ]
[ urPP: ] @urANUS true but Luke mostly shows his actual strength during mid and end of the stream. Captain was mere warmup...
[ Cosmic_Johan_Leibert: ] I’m glad she’s here as well. In my time as a streamer, my archenemy was a man whose will was absolute. I couldn’t break or corrupt him at all. Killing him was the only choice I was left with at the end. I await the day to see what he ends up making her, a dead body or as some viewers want... a wife.
[ The Fool Fan: ] Yes, I remember that day. But don’t beat yourself over it, you weren’t a transmigrator type streamer after all, they have the fore knowledge advantage. And I think Luke’s chipping her view of the world with each stream though but I too am uncertain about her fate.
[ Cosmic_Johan_Leibert: ] Not sure his manipulation will work on her.
[ enemies_to_Lovers_enjoyer: ] I definitely don’t think Veritas x Spider-Gwen ship is headed to that hellish hole... @Cosmic_Johan_Leibert in your case the ’event’ introduced a no turning point in your and your archenemy’s life. I think the ’event’ will give their ship a booster rocket though.
[ PrettyInRed: ] that reminds me isn’t that ’event’ really near?
[ PPPPOTAH: ] its not that near tbh prolly around 9-10 months left.
Captain America blew right past Veritas like a star-spangled missile.
He angled his descent flawlessly, slamming the edge of his shield against the steel deck. Using the indestructible metal as a springboard, Steve bounced into a tight forward flip, landing perfectly on his feet just a few meters away from Batroc.
The French mercenary had finally managed to push himself up from the deck, and he clearly wasn’t in the mood for fair play.
"Round two, Capitaine!" Batroc snarled, immediately unhooking a frag grenade from his tactical vest and tossing it straight at Steve’s boots.
Steve simply smacked the grenade out of the ship’s railing.
BOOM!
A BOOM echoed from the dark ocean below, blowing a hole in the lower deck.
Seeing his explosive surprise fail so spectacularly, Batroc cursed in French and drew a pair of wicked-looking combat knives. The two highly skilled fighters clashed once again.
This time, Batroc was much more careful... no more flashy, wide kicks. Just lethal, measured slashes against the impenetrable defense of the vibranium shield. He had to buy time till Veritas dealt with that insect lady.
On the exact spot Veritas had casually dodged to, Spider-Woman was already descending from the night sky with terrifying speed.
She had used the momentum from her swing to launch herself like a pink-and-white dart.
Her knee was tucked tight, packed with superhuman momentum, and aimed straight for the center of the Jester’s masked face.
"You are weirdly obsessed with hurting my face, aren’t you?" Veritas said as he dodged again with an explosion.
’And you’re obsessed with my waist!’ Gwen thought with irritation as she recalled the times he had grabbed it in both of her previous fights with him. But she didn’t voice the thought, knowing this was being broadcast to the whole of America.
Luke was really glad she had found him so soon. Against Captain America, the fight was becoming just way too one-sided.
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Thanks for reading!
btw, if you some of you haven’t realised it yet Cosmic_Johan_Leibert is the variant antagonist from the anime - Monster.
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