Chapter Forty: The Eve of the Final Battle

Several hundred meters above the glacier valley floor, Kyle, Steve, and the hostage plunged swiftly through the icy wind and swirling snow. Not far from them, the shattered train cars tumbled and crashed down the mountainside.

Though high-altitude falls and parachute jumps were familiar enough to them, this time there was no parachute at all. Even with the super-soldier physique, which reached the utmost limits of human potential, the body could withstand only three to five times what an ordinary person might survive. A fall from such a height was, by all accounts, certain death.

In the instant before leaping from the carriage, Steve could not fathom how anyone might escape from such a predicament. Yet he did not hesitate to jump. From the very beginning at the training base, Kyle had been a harbinger of miracles, always leading the way and guiding him forward.

More importantly, he trusted Kyle. That was enough.

Kyle himself was far less troubled by the situation than Steve imagined. After leaping from the train car, he spread his arms wide, facing the sky, as though anticipating something.

At that very moment, high above the glacial mountains, miles above the earth—

A streak of pale blue shot through the clouds, a beastly silhouette tearing the air asunder. Its sharp golden eyes looked down, and its massive, feathered wings suddenly contracted as it dove toward the earth, headfirst. Like an arrow, it broke the sound barrier in an instant, leaving a series of white shockwaves in the sky.

“They’re here,” Kyle murmured with a smile, noticing the thin line torn through the clouds above. He had already summoned Blue Eagle some time ago, keeping it circling the sky within several miles for reconnaissance—a personal aerial defense at all times. After all, both the German army and Hydra now considered him their gravest threat. Only a month before, enemy forces had dispatched fighter planes to bomb him and Steve.

Blue Eagle’s aerial agility was unmatched; in one-on-one combat, a fighter pilot would be destroyed by its talons before ever glimpsing the bird itself. Creatures summoned from bio-cards shared a natural affinity and subtle telepathic link with their summoner, but keeping such a creature in the world required regular feeding.

“What’s coming?” Steve asked in surprise, his eyes fixed on the valley rushing up below as they plummeted.

Before Kyle could answer, a vast shadow enveloped them, accompanied by a fierce gust of wind. Blue Eagle gave a resonant cry as it swooped in, wings beating with thunderous force. It caught Kyle on its back and, with a talon, seized Steve and the hostage securely.

“My God, what kind of bird is this?” Steve exclaimed, his eyes wide as he gazed at the eagle’s wingspan, easily ten meters across.

Blue Eagle glanced disdainfully at Steve, its blue-feathered wings slicing the wind, shredding the storm below and creating a miniature hurricane as it soared upward.

“I can’t shake the feeling it’s looking down on me,” Steve muttered, bewildered.

Kyle, perched on Blue Eagle’s neck, replied, “It’s an eagle, more or less. Very intelligent—about as smart as a ten-year-old child.”

“I’ve never seen an eagle this size,” Steve said, now reassured and able to joke, “And why do you get to ride it while I’m stuck in its claws?”

“Well,” Kyle began, pausing as if lost in thought before spinning a tale, “I met it as a child in the mountain forests. Back then, it was just an ordinary eagle, but later it was exposed to radioactive chemicals from a factory, and it mutated. Its feathers changed color, and it grew larger and larger.”

“I see,” Steve nodded, accepting the story without question.

“Steve, I hope you won’t tell anyone about Blue Eagle—not even Carter,” Kyle said, stroking the feathers on the eagle’s head. “It’s not dangerous to humans, and it only hunts wild animals. But if the wrong people learn of its existence, they’ll stop at nothing to hunt it down.”

“Of course. I won’t say a word,” Steve promised readily.

Kyle breathed a silent sigh of relief. For the current era, a being like Blue Eagle was an anomaly in the Marvel world. Come the twenty-first century, after the advent of mutants, advanced technology, Norse gods, aliens, and sorcery, Blue Eagle would hardly seem out of place. But for now, it needed to remain a secret.

After carrying the trio away from the valley, Blue Eagle landed in a snowy field nearby, set them down, and vanished into the clouds above.

Kyle and Steve, with their rescued hostage, made their way to the prearranged rendezvous point to join Fury’s unit and then returned to base.

That night, in the base’s underground operations center, a sprawling map covered the wall, marked with enemy factory bases. Six locations, each with a flag, were crossed out, signifying their destruction.

“So that’s it. Sergeant Bucky Barnes perished in the line of duty, falling into the mountain valley. The hostage has been turned over to our specialists for interrogation.”

“Hydra has now broken away from the German army. According to our intelligence, Hydra’s leader, Red Skull, possesses a mysterious artifact capable of generating limitless energy.”

“Do we need to seize it? I haven’t forgotten what Red Skull did to us.”

“Absolutely. Even if we don’t exploit limitless energy, we can’t allow such a dangerous organization to abuse it.”

Around the operations table, under the glare of the lamp, sat Kyle, Steve, Carter, and the base’s commanding colonel. The four conferred as equals.

“Major Kyle, Lieutenant Steve, please be ready,” the colonel said solemnly, looking directly at the two across from him. “If we learn Red Skull’s whereabouts from this interrogation, it will be up to the Shield and the Sword to strike.”

The Shield stood for American justice and protection; the Sword, for its power and might.

Though their ranks were not the highest, Kyle and Steve’s reputations far surpassed many generals. The colonel regarded them as equals, dispensing with all pretense.

Steve nodded. “Understood. I’ll be ready. The moment we have word, I’ll move out.”

“If Red Skull’s the target, you won’t have to ask—I’m going,” Kyle replied coldly.

There was still a score to settle.