Chapter 17
Extremely fast, and maybe because it came from the corner and could not see Ash, something collided with Ash, sending him and the thing hurling and falling off the ledge as another voice yelled, "Bucky, no!" As Ash was falling, his eyes glowed white as he activated his mana.
And then he saw it—the person who not only collided with him but was also holding him down, trying to use him as a landing pad. The person being a rugged and weary man. He wore a dark hoodie. He had long brown hair that fell just past his shoulders.
His facial features were sharp and defined, with high cheekbones, a strong jawline, and a straight nose. His eyes were a piercing blue. A light stubble covered his face. But what caught Ash's attention was the most distinctive feature of the man, which was his left arm—a cybernetic prosthetic made of metal, replacing the limb.
The arm was sleek and silver, with a red star emblazoned on the shoulder. He carried a tactical backpack. And this man was not ordinary, as he held down Ash with strength far surpassing Madam Gao.
Yet even then, Ash was pissed off enough to twist himself midair and land with the man on top. As they hit the concrete ground, dust flew everywhere as the man groaned, with Ash suffering less.
Yet despite the four-story fall, the man was not only unharmed but was strong enough to punch Ash in the gut so hard that it made his shell ripple for a second. The punch was also enough to get Ash off the man, who got up to sit, as Ash growled in displeasure. "Not only did you collide with me like a bulldozer."
Ash flash-stepped toward the man, who was getting up, just to get palmed in the chest, sending him flying back and hitting the wall of the large parking area they were in, causing him to hit the wall. But the man used his metal hand,
which punctured through the wall before ripping up a chunk of the wall and throwing it at Ash, who moved his head to the side. "But you also have the gall to use me as a landing pad. Unacceptable." Ash was pissed and rightfully so, but the man didn't seem to get the idea.
As he attacked with his metal hand, throwing a jab at Ash's temple, Ash ducked under, moved to the side while still ducking, before uppercutting the man, who stumbled back. "Guess I have to teach some ignorant bastards some manners," he said, grinning from one ear to the other.
To be honest, Ash was excited about the fight. This man was probably enhanced, government-wise, which meant he could measure himself against someone who was not using Ash's own weight and strength against him like madam gao did. So Ash wanted to test his raw power.
The man attacked again, this time with his human hand, which Ash used his form to deflect. So the man attacked with his metal arm, which Ash didn't parry but just let land where the man wanted it to be. So the man swept his leg, which Ash flipped over before kicking the man in the head with his heel, which the man blocked with his metal arm.
Ash was smiling as he landed back and was about to attack, when he sensed someone equally as fast as the metal armed man approach him and grab his arm. Ash turned around and saw a man wearing a suit consisting of navy blue with subtle red and white accents, reflecting the American flag. A prominent white star was centered on his chest, accompanied by muted red and white stripes along the abdomen.
His gloves and boots are also navy, designed for protection and grip. The suit includes a utility belt and harness system to secure his iconic vibranium shield on his back when not in use. His helmet, matching the suit's color scheme, features an "A" on the forehead and has openings for his eyes, nose, and mouth, and the signature shield. This was, of course, Captain America, the symbol of heroism, and the favorite hero of everyone, although that has not been the case lately because of the tragedy in Sokovia and just last week Lagos.
But that was not what Ash recognized the man from, no, Ash who was frozen for a single second was recalling a repressed memory of the previous Ash, who was running through the destroyed part of New York City, looking for his parent, just to see Captain America, his favorite hero whose museum he had visited countless times and was so close to writing a novel about, holding the corpses of people whom he rescued from the destroyed building.
And much to the absolute horror of the previous Ash, he recognized the bloodied corpses missing limbs, whose blood stained Captain America's uniform. They were his parent, the two people that loved him unconditionally. And in that single moment, all active mana within his body rushed towards his free arm, making his veins glow, like that of the Iron Fist, but brighter, so bright in fact that it was visible to everyone,
including Captain America who recognized the danger and used his shield to withstand the blow as Ash's glowing fist headed towards him. And luckily for him, he put up the shield in time for the fist to connect, but the force behind the punch was simply too powerful, bending Captain America's hand backward by force and sending the shield, which was glowing white from his mana, out of Captain America's hand, and flying through the building behind.
The shield pierced the wall and the wall behind it as Captain America was sent flying and hitting the wall, but he quickly recovered, and so did Ash who did all of this out of instinct, from those repressed memories coming back. He didn't consciously channel all of his mana into his hand alone as that was simply stupid for the same reason he would not do the same to an item.
His body was still not superhuman and could not withstand an overload of mana even if his body had limited mana, and there was also a reason why his mana was dormant when inside of his body. It was simply because the mana was too powerful, even for his human body, that is why the amount it could contain was spread around his body and once activated, they all equally enhanced his body instead of focusing on part of his body and that would damage him.
Which was why he quickly deactivated his mana, allowing it to return to its natural state, but even then it still did damage as his hand was fractured in multiple places. But Ash didn't show that he was in pain, he stared at Captain America who was looking at where his shield went, then he turned towards Ash weary. But Ash didn't move, instead, he looked at the nearly arrived people,
one of them being a figure in a sleek suit, that was black with purple lines, designed to resemble a panther with a smooth, form-fitting appearance. The suit features subtle silver accents and patterns that highlight its intricate design. His mask covers his entire face, with pointed ears on top, giving him a feline silhouette. The eyes of the mask are narrow and white, adding to his mysterious and intimidating presence.
On near Captain America's side was a man wearing an advanced EXO-7 Falcon suit. This suit is a sleek, form-fitting tactical outfit in shades of dark gray and red, designed for aerial combat.
It features a harness that supports a pair of mechanical wings. The wings are metallic and extend outward. His suit also includes a pair of red-tinted goggles that cover his eyes. They all stared at him. Ash sighed as he turned around and walked away, simply not saying anything. He was in a bad mood now.