The So-Called Trap

They followed Red Devil for over half an hour. Alex felt as though they had circled the globe several times, yet Red Devil never stopped. He had no idea what Red Devil was planning.

Could this be a diversion? Alex’s heart stirred as a sense of foreboding suddenly rose within him. Could Hellfire be planning a decapitation strike? The Allies were not like the enemy; if their leaders were wiped out, morale would certainly plummet. That would be troublesome.

The more Alex thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He immediately took everyone back to camp. Looking at the completely unchanged camp and the bustling command headquarters in the distance, Alex could not help feeling confused.

Unable to stand the silence, Quicksilver spoke up first again. "Why did we suddenly come back? Aren’t we continuing the pursuit?"

Alex said nothing. He wrapped everyone up again and returned to where they had left earlier. Red Devil was standing on the ice field below, seemingly waiting for them on purpose.

"Shaw, what exactly are you planning?" Alex flashed into place before Red Devil, frowned slightly, and asked bluntly, "Use whatever tricks you have. Stop beating around the bush and wasting time!"

"I have to say, your Teleportation is remarkable. It seems even stronger than Red Devil’s." Shaw folded his hands before his chest, a faint smile on his somewhat pale face. "Red Skull captured you back then, but unfortunately, he failed to hold you. In the end, he did not even leave behind a whole corpse."

The more Alex listened, the more something felt wrong. He secretly went on guard.

"To stop you from escaping, I specially prepared something for you!" The smile on Shaw’s face grew wider. The moment he finished speaking, he suddenly shouted, "Erik!"

At the sound of that name, Alex froze. By the time he recovered, he found himself locked inside a strange iron cage. The bars were as thick as an arm, and blue currents continuously surged through gaps less than a centimeter wide.

Alex tried using Teleportation. There was not the slightest delay; clearly, the iron cage Shaw had specially prepared had no effect on him whatsoever.

Steve believed Shaw’s words and looked at Alex with concern. "Alex, what do we do now?"

"This thing can’t hold me." Alex pursed his lips in a smile, shook his head, and said softly, "We’ll play along and set them up."

Hearing Alex’s words, the weight pressing on everyone’s chests shattered at once. Smirks appeared on every face.

"Erik, kill them!" Shaw’s voice rang out again, as though ordering someone.

Looking through the gaps in the cage, Alex saw a child lift a white sheet and walk out from beneath it. Several others stood behind him; they were probably the Hellfire Club’s mutants.

Alex merely glanced at those behind him before his gaze settled on the child at the front. He looked around ten years old, neither tall nor short, with neat black hair that made him seem alert and spirited. Yet his pale blue eyes were cold as ice. Although they had not met for over two years, Alex recognized him at first sight. He was Marx!

Having recognized Marx, Alex did not immediately acknowledge him. Shaw would not even spare a child. Alex was determined to teach him an unforgettable lesson!

While his thoughts raced, the specially made iron cage gradually shrank. Shaw was apparently preparing to crush Alex and the others into meat patties.

Alex gave everyone a reassuring look, then suddenly opened his mouth and began screaming in agony at the top of his lungs. As he cried out, he gestured for the others to scream with him, occasionally telling them to beg for mercy as well. He was having a wonderful time.

Everyone looked at one another awkwardly before joining in. Soon, wolf-like howls echoed across the vast ice field.

"We should go!" As the cage grew smaller and smaller, Alex sent everyone back together. Secretly, he also brought several barrels of animal blood inside. I’ll screw you over so badly!

After finishing everything, Alex hid in the shadows and waited quietly.

When the animal blood spilled out, Shaw’s face filled with wild delight. "Hahaha, that’s mine!"

After a while longer, the cage was nearly crushed into an iron pancake before Shaw finally reached out to stop Erik. "Enough. Open it."

Now! A sharp light flashed in Alex’s eyes. He instantly returned to camp, then brought everyone back. The moment the cage opened again, he shouted, "Kill!"

Shields, heavy machine guns, energy rifles, and the rapidly charging Human Torch, Quicksilver, and Namor all attacked the Hellfire Club mutants. Since Shaw could absorb energy, Alex had excluded him from their targets from the start.

The unexpected assault caught them completely off guard. Unprepared, they immediately suffered heavy losses, their numbers dropping to five in an instant.

No one attacked Shaw. Red Devil teleported away, while Riptide reacted quickly and conjured a whirlwind in time to block the attacks. Tin Man survived by relying on his iron skin, though he was in terrible condition, covered in blood. Firefist, waving hands wreathed in flames, also survived unexpectedly.

Everything happened in an instant. By the time Shaw reacted, the smile had not even faded from his face!

"Kill them!" Shaw’s face turned livid. With a wave of his hands, he charged forward first.

Alex snorted coldly and rushed to meet Shaw. Among them, only he was suited to dealing with Shaw. Having copied Shaw’s ability, Alex would be unharmed no matter how Shaw attacked. Their fight was bound to become a battle of endurance.

Human Torch and Namor went after Firefist together. One controlled fire and the other water, so neither feared Firefist. Without his flaming fists, Firefist’s strength immediately dropped considerably. Under the combined assault of Human Torch and Namor, he gradually began to falter.

Nick faced Tin Man alone. Already severely injured, Tin Man was no match for Nick. After several shots, Tin Man’s iron skin completely collapsed. He would soon become a corpse.

Riptide was harder to handle. The team’s two strongest members, Steve and Logan, joined forces against him. With a shield and extraordinary regeneration, the two could fight Riptide without restraint, unconcerned about the "missiles" he could fire at any moment.

Natasha stood quietly, her enchanting eyes scanning the surroundings. Suddenly, she swayed her slender waist and dodged the abruptly appearing Red Devil. Her hands trembled slightly, and a powerful current instantly struck Red Devil, electrocuting him until he shook violently. Quicksilver immediately appeared as well, slashing Red Devil across the waist with his blade.

Seeing his side fall into a disadvantage, Shaw grew increasingly irritable. His movements became disordered, allowing Alex to land several vicious hits and leave several wounds on him.

Shaw barely dodged the dagger thrust toward his heart and demanded sharply, "Where’s Erik?" Just moments ago, Shaw had searched everywhere but found no trace of Erik.

"Sorry, I sent him away." Alex’s expression darkened as he stared at Shaw and said coldly, "You knew about my relationship with Marx, yet you still dared target him. You’re courting death!"

As he spoke, Alex suddenly vanished in a flash. He instantly appeared beside Riptide, who was evenly matched against Steve and Logan. A line of blood flashed past, and the rapidly spinning tornado immediately stopped. Riptide clutched his throat and collapsed onto the ground, his face filled with terror.

Shaw’s expression changed drastically. He glared viciously at Alex and shouted urgently, "We’re leaving!"

Upon receiving Shaw’s order, Red Devil immediately abandoned Natasha. His figure flashed repeatedly as he grabbed the Hellfire Club members and vanished without a trace.

Looking at the suddenly quiet ice field, Quicksilver stood there in a daze. "What do we do now?"

"Go home!"

P.S. After reading the comments, it seemed there were quite a few clever people. Zhang Tong was the Mandarin. As for why he used that name, among the Mandarin’s many aliases, only this one, Zhang Tong, suited his identity best.