Chapter 18
As Ash disappeared into the smoke-filled corridor, the silence that had taken hold finally broke with a sharp inhale. The whirring of cooling servos from Falcon's exo-pack gave a subtle hum before he turned his head toward Steve, voice low but tense. "What was that?" he asked, his eyes flicking briefly toward the cracked floor where Ash had stood.
Steve, still crouched from the impact, exhaled as he slowly pushed himself to his feet. His boots scraped against fractured marble as he took a cautious step forward, squinting down the ruined hallway where his shield had been launched. "I don't know," he finally replied, his voice hoarse.
That's when a soft static crackled in T'Challa's earpiece, followed by Shuri's concerned voice. "Brother, what are you doing? The Winter Soldier is getting away." T'Challa, still as a statue until then, slowly turned his head in the direction Bucky had been last seen.
His shoulders tensed. The spot was empty—no movement, not even a shadow. His eyes narrowed behind the feline mask. "Give me his location," he said, breath steady, each word clipped as his body moved into motion. With barely a sound, he pushed off into a sprint, his suit's subtle vibranium weave absorbing the impact as he chased down his old target.
Steve's eyes followed T'Challa for a moment before he walked to where his shield had landed. It was embedded in the wall at an angle, the plaster around it shattered. He gripped the edge, yanked it free with a grunt, and slung it back onto his arm with practiced ease. "Sam," he called as he adjusted the strap,
"tag Bucky. Do not lose sight of him." His voice had weight, commanding but weary. His chest rose and fell with steady, measured breaths. His eyes lingered briefly on the hallway Ash had vanished down, his jaw tightening before turning his attention fully back to the mission.
Sam gave a quick nod, his expression unreadable as he tapped a button on his belt. With a low metallic click, his mechanical wings unfolded smoothly from the pack on his back. He launched into the air with a low whoosh, red-tinted goggles narrowing as the targeting system activated.
"Got it. I'm on him," he replied, his voice echoing slightly through the comms. Wind kicked up dust and scattered debris as he flew low through the broken hallway, eyes scanning for any hint of movement below. The humming of the wings reverberated off the walls, growing fainter as he gained speed.
Steve stood alone for a moment, eyes locked ahead but his mind elsewhere. His hand flexed around the straps of his shield. The sound of emergency sirens blared in the distance, drawing closer, mixing with the hum of powered tech and the soft crunch of broken glass under his boots. A piece of drywall fell from the ceiling, hitting the ground with a dull thud. And still, he made sure to edged ash memories into his mind.
Meanwhile, the culprit was in his van, exhaling deeply as he thought, "I thought I wouldn't be affected by my predecessor's memories and emotion." He paused as he held out his hand, which hurt. "Guess I was wrong," he thought as he clutched his fractured hand,
which hurt, but because of that pain, he could forget the images of the deceased Ash's parents. "Hopefully you reunited with your family," he hoped that the previous Ash would find, because he wouldn't, not with what is ahead of him.
"To think that I would involuntarily overload my hand with mana, did I really want Captain America dead, even at the cost of my hand?" It wasn't true, in fact, from what Ash knew, Captain America was just rescuing people from under the rubble.
It's just Ash's parents were already dead by the time Captain America got there. It's just that the sight of Captain America caused his brain to associate him with the death of his parents, hence the violent reaction.
But other than that, Ash didn't hold any resentment towards Captain America, in fact, he was his favourite hero of all time. Sighing to himself, Ash put on the seatbelt before driving off, yes, even with the fractured hand.
-Scene change-
Meanwhile, on his way to Wakanda, T'Challa was currently talking to his sister on a hologram as she had a strangely excited voice. "Ok, why are you so excited when I only asked to look into that person?" he asked as Shuri replied excitedly, "Because it's fascinating, he is fascinating," she said as she showed several pictures of Ash to T'Challa.
The quiet hum of the aircraft surrounded T'Challa as Shuri's hologram flickered with the sound of shifting data. She leaned slightly toward her display, eyes dancing across streams of files. "Alright, starting from the beginning," she said, her tone focused.
"His name is Ash, full name AshBorn or Ashbourne it's not clear, some how, they use both, Born on April 1st, 1993, in Queens. His father, Jason Bourne, owned a restaurant, and his mother, Martha, ran a salon. From a young age, Ash was good-looking—though a little short. Despite that, he was academically gifted, especially in literature. He wanted to become an author... which he did. His debut work Origin of Magic was a New York Times bestseller for a while."
She swiped left on her screen, revealing modeling photos and award footage. "He was also a successful model, with a loving girlfriend…" Shuri trailed off. T'Challa tilted his head. "What is it?" he asked. Her brows furrowed. "It's weird. His girlfriend… she's not visible on most cameras. She only appears in blurred photos. And despite dating someone so public, there's no data—no name, no background."
"It's like someone intentionally erased all trace of her." T'Challa frowned. "Can you look deeper?" Shuri nodded, "Already on it." Then she pulled up a darker set of files. "Things were fine… until 2012. That's when the Chitauri invasion happened. His parents were killed in the crossfire. After that… he spiraled—depression, drug abuse. It lasted four years."
A grainy CCTV image filled the hologram. Ash, clearly malnourished, hunched in a hoodie, looked to be just barely holding himself together. "Guess when this was taken," Shuri asked. T'Challa squinted, then sighed. "Four years ago?" She smiled faintly. "Wrong. This was taken three months ago." T'Challa's eyes widened. "Impossible. Not unless…" He paused, piecing it together
. "The Super Soldier Serum." But Shuri shook her head. "No. This wasn't instant, like with Steve. This… was gradual." She pulled up time-stamped footage, showing Ash working at the docks, day after day. "He worked the whole day, rented a gym for one hour to train and shower, then ate noodles for dinner. Slept at the dock. Did that for two months straight."
T'Challa leaned back, visibly impressed. "His commitment… it's admirable." Shuri continued, showing footage of Ash sparring, learning martial arts, and fighting Hand ninjas in the shadows. "He even fought in underground rings," she added. That's when T'Challa's tone sharpened.
"How did he overpower Captain America and the Winter Soldier then? He sent a vibranium shield flying through multiple walls. His hand… it glowed." Shuri's face turned serious. "He displayed enhanced strength, yes. And the glow… it seemed like he was reinforcing his fist somehow. But I could never catch how it happened." The silence lingered for a beat before T'Challa finally said, "Keep an eye on him. He might become a threat."
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A/N so ash is finally getting into people radar, and as more monsters appear, he will continue to become more public.