Marvel : The God Of Punishment System

Jason was just about to fly toward Captain America when something caught his attention.

A roadside advertising screen suddenly flickered to life, and President Freeman's face filled the display. He sat hunched before the camera, his entire body trembling, face drained of color and eyes wide with terror.

"Citizens, the end of days is upon us. Manhattan and Washington are drowning in catastrophe. Our cities lie in ruins, buildings reduced to rubble, and countless lives have been lost..."

As he spoke these words, horrific images flashed across the screen – scenes of devastation and death, including several photographs from Washington itself. Only then did Jason truly comprehend the extent of the damage – more than half of the White House had crumbled to the ground. Its iconic white exterior walls were now streaked with black scorch marks from raging fires.

Jason's eyebrows rose sharply. He finally understood why Freeman had suddenly restored communications at this precise moment, and why he was delivering this particular speech.

On screen, Freeman wore an expression of profound grief, though his terror and panic leaked through every feature. Jason was willing to bet that seeing the President of the United States in such a pathetic state would already plant the seeds of deep-rooted fear in viewers' hearts!

That damned coward is absolutely useless! Even if he claimed to be sacrificing himself for justice, he was committing the ultimate betrayal against humanity!

With this realization burning in his mind, Jason flipped his hand and retrieved a communication headset. "What's the status on the Avengers?"

The communicator's voice crackled through the headset: "Sir, the Professor and several others are currently engaged in combat with Captain America. Phoenix, Storm, and the others have departed for Paris."

Jason immediately barked out orders: "Any Avengers still at the base?"

"We've got Hedgehog Man, Brokeback Man, and... Suicide Man!"

"Great..." Jason muttered under his breath before continuing, "Send them to every major radio and television station in the name of the Avengers. Have them shut down that national broadcast however they can. We can't let the president keep spreading this panic!"

"Understood, sir!"

Meanwhile, beneath the waves, the giant serpent Jörmungandr suddenly sensed something terribly wrong within his underwater palace. He distinctly felt the severing of three connections – three of his sacred hammers had either been sealed away or destroyed completely.

Any enemy capable of such a feat must possess incredible power!

As he pondered this troubling development, a massive surge of energy suddenly flooded his serpentine form. Ah! This meant one of his chosen vessels was successfully spreading widespread fear!

Feeling the power coursing through his ancient body, Jörmungandr made an instant decision – he would personally hunt down this meddlesome enemy causing such chaos!

Raising his massive arms, a tremendous green energy immediately enveloped the surrounding waters. In the next moment, an enormous floating island materialized above the Mariana Trench. Upon this island stood a palace of breathtaking majesty and grandeur.

From within his throne room, the great serpent focused his senses and immediately locked onto his target's location. With a single gesture, the entire floating fortress rocketed forward at tremendous speed.

…

When Jason finally reached Captain America, Professor X was still locked in combat. With the assistance of Nightcrawler, they were tag-teaming their opponent through clever tactics. Nightcrawler's teleportation would flash them into close range, allowing the Professor to unleash devastating waves of psychic attacks.

During one of these mental assaults when Captain America staggered briefly, Professor X shouted, "Captain America, snap out of it! Look at what you're doing! You're supposed to be America's symbol of hope, and now your hands are drenched in innocent blood! Steve, for God's sake, wake up!"

Jason shook his head at the display. The approach was well-intentioned, but completely missed the mark.

After Professor X delivered another powerful mental shock wave to Captain America, Jason smoothly stepped in front of him.

"Steve, Bucky's alive!"

The words hit Steve like a thunderbolt. His rage-filled roaring cut off abruptly as his hands remained pressed against his temples.

"Your best friend, Bucky Barnes – he's alive! He hates you, Steve! Why didn't you grab his hand when he fell? Do you have any idea how much he suffered after that train wreck? Hydra got their claws into him, turned him into a killing machine with no will of his own! Why weren't you there to save him when he needed you most? He thought of you as his brother, Steve! How could you just let him fall? Why didn't you search for him? He was in agony, and you weren't there!"

"NOOOOO—" Steve, still empowered by the hammer, threw his head back and roared at the heavens. "I... I tried! I searched everywhere! I never stopped looking!"

Seeing Steve's mind beginning to clear, Jason shrugged at Charles and the others, who stood frozen in shock nearby.

"If you want to win battles with words, you need to know what matters most to their hearts."

Charles rolled his eyes in frustration. "I even tried using Peggy Carter to reach him. How was I supposed to know he..."

As Jason reached for the sledgehammer, Steve made one final desperate attempt to maintain his grip, his fingers white with strain.

"Steve, just look around you! Look at the destruction you've caused! When Bucky sees you again, will he recognize that brave, kindhearted kid from Brooklyn in you?"

After taking in the surrounding landscape of flames and devastation, shock rippled across Steve's face. His hands released their death grip on the hammer, and he collapsed backward, unconscious before he hit the ground.

Jason deposited him into the Absolute Zero Dimension, then gestured to the Professor. "Let's head to Washington now. We need to save the President first! And make damn sure all radio and TV broadcasts in the country are shut down immediately!"

By the time they reached Washington, night had fallen like a thick curtain. Rescuing the President proved to be significantly more complicated than anticipated. Black Widow Natasha had secured herself in the White House basement with Freeman, creating an impenetrable fortress.

Though Jason and his team successfully eliminated the serpent's forces on the surface, attempting to storm the underground bunker would almost certainly result in the President's death. While Jason didn't particularly care about the fate of this spineless coward, he couldn't afford the blame for assassinating the President.

What to do? He mulled over their limited options.

Just then, Jason received another urgent report – the serpent's floating island had touched down in Manhattan, launching yet another wave of terror and slaughter. The civilians who had just crept out of their underground shelters ran headfirst into the bizarre, monstrous beasts serving the great snake. Panic erupted immediately as fresh screams filled the air.

Charles turned to Jason urgently. "Should we return to Manhattan?"

Jason's brow furrowed deeply. "I want to get back to New York just as badly, but this situation here is critical too!"

President Freeman remained underground. The enemy held him hostage and had just managed to restore national broadcasts. But pushing them harder could have catastrophic consequences...

The President controlled the launch codes for thousands of nuclear warheads across the United States! Although the serpent currently relied on human fear to strengthen its power – meaning it wouldn't nuke the world immediately – what if something spiraled out of control? What if Freeman cracked under pressure?

Professor X's expression showed he'd reached the same troubling conclusion.

Jason gazed at the slowly rising moon, feeling his earlier limitless energy beginning to wane. While he could still defeat the Hammer Lords, it was no longer the effortless task it had been. Even with the Thunder Body's enhanced stamina, his combat effectiveness had diminished considerably.

"Professor, can your psychic abilities detect the President and his captors in the basement?"

Charles shook his head slowly. "It's extremely faint. I can barely sense their numbers. The bunker's protected by layers of specialized alloys, possibly other countermeasures as well. I can't establish any meaningful mental contact."

Jason let out a heavy sigh. "Right now, Natasha and her team have created multiple defensive layers. A direct assault would be nearly impossible. And even if we manage to threaten them, the risk of nuclear annihilation increases exponentially. Meanwhile, New York's people are dying by the minute, and time is running out fast. In this impossible situation, we're faced with a terrible test of our resolve..."

"What exactly are you suggesting?" Charles fixed him with an intense stare.

"Kill... Freeman!"

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