章 47: In the Shadows of Judgment
Amidst the hail of bullets, he used the staff to block the rest.
The sound of metal hitting metal was constant, with bullets clanging off the staff and creating bright sparks.
Soren locked eyes with the man with the iron arm, already formulating a plan in his mind.
—Since he had encountered him here, he wouldn't let him escape.
James "Bucky" Barnes, once a WWII Howling Commandos member and close friend of Captain America, had been transformed and brainwashed by the evil organization Hydra after a fall from a cliff.
He had become Hydra's secret asset.
For half a century, he had been a dark and mysterious killing machine, a ghostly figure of terror across Eastern Europe.
But Soren knew that before the brainwashing, this young man's spirit had been both strong and gentle.
He would protect his childhood friend Steve Rogers, who despite being as thin as a twig, always fought against bullies.
He had trusted Steve on the battlefield, chosen to fall off a train to save him, even though he had done nothing wrong.
Fate's storm seemed to blow only against him.
Seeing the gunfire miss, Bucky quickly drew a Scorpion handgun, shooting at Soren from close range.
Soren folded a wing to block the bullets, closed in, and knocked Bucky's gun away with his staff.
Bucky immediately pulled out a curved dagger, kicked Soren's staff, and with a ghostly quick step, lunged at Soren.
The Hydra-enhanced metal arm, made of special alloy, hit Soren's chest with tremendous force.
Soren estimated his own strength and did not move away, forcing himself to take the punch.
The impact made him stumble backward a few steps, and at that moment, Bucky's agile dagger was already aiming at his neck.
The dagger was just a few millimeters from Soren's neck.
Just as it was about to cut his skin, a Batarang flew in with a "clink," knocking Bucky's arm off course.
At the same time, the Batarang's mechanism activated, sending a powerful electric shock through Bucky's metal arm.
The intense short burst of electricity temporarily slowed Bucky's movements.
He quickly grabbed his left arm, threw away the dagger, and yanked out the Batarang embedded in his wrist with a snarl.
By this time, Batman had almost finished dealing with the other thugs and immediately attacked Bucky.
A grappling hook shot out, and Bucky turned his head to catch the hook with his hand.
Taking advantage of this, Soren closed in, using his staff to block Bucky's neck.
He flapped his wings, flew upside down, and grabbed the staff as he flipped through the air.
In an instant, he was behind Bucky, and he bent his arms sharply upward, pinning Bucky firmly against the staff.
Batman moved in to help, leaping forward to clash his armored gauntlets, which had three sharp blades, against Bucky's powerful metal arm.
Bucky punched with both hands, with his right hand coming from the side.
Batman tilted his head to dodge the attack and kneed Bucky in the stomach.
When Bucky bent forward from the hit, Batman took the opportunity to drive the blade on his wrist deeply into Bucky's metal arm, then sliced downward, cutting a deep gash several inches long, almost splitting the arm open!
"No—!" Soren shouted, quickly dragging Bucky upward, preventing Batman from attacking the metal arm further. "Don't do that, his arm can feel pain!"
This metal arm was connected to Bucky Barnes' nerves, so when the arm was damaged, Bucky Barnes could also feel intense pain.
Soren didn't want Bucky to suffer any more pain.
Batman became a nightmare for all of Gotham's criminals, not just because he was a heroic force for good, but because of the violent methods he used.
Batman doesn't kill, but he makes life feel worse than death.
He would break every bone of anyone daring to commit crimes in Gotham.
He is even more terrifying and brutal than a demon from hell.
Soren knew that after what just happened, Batman wouldn't spare Bucky.
But he couldn't let Bucky fall into Batman's hands.
How could a body without self-awareness be made to pay for the sins committed by a soul that has long rested in ice and snow?
He admitted he was biased.
But he just couldn't bring himself to let Bucky face the judgment imposed by fate.
Bucky continued to kick his legs in the air, trying to break free.
Soren gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on the staff to hold Bucky down, and shouted to Batman, "I know who he is! We just need to capture him alive! I'll explain everything later!"
Batman's voice was deep, like a bow pulled tight and ready to release: "Seems like siding with the criminal is more appealing to aliens?"
"No, he's not a criminal—" Soren didn't finish his sentence before there was a loud explosion behind them.
With a thunderous boom, the iron door was blown open, and smoke and fire filled the air.
Through the thick black smoke, a red-haired female agent holding a gun emerged, her striking features becoming visible.
Natasha Romanoff, dressed in a black bodysuit and armed with two guns, stood in the doorway of the destroyed entrance, flanked by several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
She glanced at the unconscious or moaning thugs on the ground and then at Soren and Batman, a smirk of intrigue curling on her lips. "Oh… It looks like I'm a bit late?"
...
The arrival of the female agent gave everyone a brief pause.
Batman turned his attention to Natasha.
His stern gaze that was as cold as the sharp arrows he wielded, conveyed a clear message: Gotham was not open to outsiders.
"I haven't heard that S.H.I.E.L.D. had an interest in Gotham."
Natasha raised an eyebrow and lifted her left hand, where the Widow's Bite on her wrist glowed with a dark red light.
"But S.H.I.E.L.D. is very interested in Hydra."
She then looked at Soren in mid-air, her gaze freezing on Barnes, who was restrained by Soren.
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