Bucky body, reduced to a meaty pulp, turned into a charred mass under the flames.
Everyone present seemed to think they could smell cooking meat.
As seasoned special forces members accustomed to seeing dead bodies, they weren't disgusted but instinctively repelled.
The scene was too gruesome.
Their gazes then shifted to the murderer, Iron Man, Tony Stark.
Tony face was hidden behind his metallic mask, including his eyes, which usually revealed his emotions. All were now obscured.
No one could tell what expression Tony wore at that moment.
But one could guess that Tony was probably feeling satisfied.
"Bucky!"
Captain America, devastated and filled with rage, clenched his shield tightly, his chest heaving with turbulent emotions.
"Tony, is this what you wanted to see?"
He glared at Tony, fists clenched, eyes burning with fiery intensity, his gaze sharp as a knife cutting into Tony.
"Indeed."
Tony nodded, looking back at Captain America: "This is exactly what I wanted to see."
Confirming Bucky death, he suddenly calmed down.
It was as if the rage and obsession shown earlier were just facades, and the Tony now was the real Tony Stark.
"Good! Good! Good!"
Captain America repeated to himself, trying to accept the reality, then raised his slightly dented shield, gritting his teeth at Tony.
"Tony, now, it our fight."
With Bucky death, any bond between him and Tony had irreversibly broken from this moment on, they were enemies.
"You want revenge for him?"
Tony tone was mocking: "Revenge for the man who killed my parents? Don't forget, he also killed your comrades."
"But it wasn't his fault!"
Captain America shouted: "He was brainwashed by Hydra!"
Tony and Captain America argument continued.
The members of the special forces showed expressions of helplessness.
They had no power to stop what was happening or to intervene.
Because the Iron Man legion Tony brought possessed enough power to destroy the entire special forces unit.
To survive, they could only endure.
Meanwhile.
Inside the White House, those who received the news also fell silent for a moment.
"Where is the Justice League?"
The President frowned, his tone impatient: "Why haven't they responded yet?"
"We can't reach them."
John keller, with sweat on his forehead, replied:
"Anton is not answering his phone, and without him, I can't contact the Justice League through anyone else."
"Damn it!"
The President clenched his teeth.
Ring, ring, ring!
At that moment, John keller phone suddenly rang.
He looked at it it was Anton.
After connecting, he switched to speakerphone.
"Sorry, sorry."
Anton voice immediately came from the other end of the phone, echoing inside the White House meeting room, audible to everyone:
"I was just taking a shower. What going on? I see you've called me hundreds of times in just a few minutes…"
"Anton!"
John keller wasn't sure whether Anton statement was true.
Of course, in his view, it was mostly false—Anton had deliberately not answered the call.
However, John keller wasn't angry but spoke gravely:
"We need the Justice League help, Washington, the special forces headquarters, get the Justice League to intervene and stop the confrontation between Captain America and Iron Man!"
"Is that an order, or a request?"
Anton raised an eyebrow.
"It a request."
John keller paused before continuing: "This time, consider it a favor we owe you."
"No need for favors."
Anton laughed:
"I just hope you understand that the Justice League is a group of superhumans with a conscience and a sense of justice, formed spontaneously, not a tool in anyone hand.
If you think you can control the Justice League by any means, that not going to work."
Inside the White House, everyone was silent.
They knew what Anton was implying.
Similarly.
This statement proved that Anton was not taking a shower but had deliberately ignored the calls, allowing the situation to escalate to this point.
Now, with Tony and Captain America having completely fallen out, there was definitely a part played by Anton, no, the Justice League.
"Batman..."
John keller sighed internally, feeling an unprecedented deep wariness of this figure who always lurked in the shadows and hardly ever appeared.
"Was all this orchestrated by you?"
He thought back to the Washington battle long ago when Anton had transferred the captured Winter Soldier to the military and informed them of his true identity...
At that time, John keller had thought the Justice League intentions were genuine, not expecting that the Winter Soldier was indeed a ticking time bomb within the military.
Of course, if the military had no other thoughts, this bomb would always just be held tightly by the military.
This outcome was beyond blame.
From the standpoint of both John keller and Anton, their actions were faultless.
"Everything you've said, we'll take to heart."
John keller glanced at the screen displaying the imminent battle between Captain America and Tony, feeling anxious.
"But, can we ask the Justice League to act quickly?"
"If the fight continues, the military will lose face, and the situation will become unmanageable."
John keller request was polite.
Anton nodded affirmatively.
"Don't worry."
He said: "I think Batman and his team have already received the intelligence and are preparing to depart."
John keller finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Anton agreement at least suggested that the situation could now be controlled.
The call ended, and he looked around at his colleagues, sighing.
"I've said it before, don't try to manipulate the Justice League."
"Now, you might as well consider who in this situation has been outmaneuvered?"
"Who ends up benefiting the most?"
John keller questions left everyone in silence.
"Batman..."
The President exhaled heavily, deeply frustrated: "What a Justice League!"
At the special forces headquarters building.
The standoff between Tony and Captain America was reaching its final phase.
The fight was about to break out.
Everyone knew that at this moment, Captain America was as enraged and intent on killing as Tony had been just moments ago.
Under such circumstances, a Captain America brainwashed by his emotions couldn't possibly calm down immediately.
Watching a long-lost friend die brutally right in front of him, and not just die but be reduced to a charred pile of meat...
Such a horrific death was not something Captain America could ever accept.
Boom!!
He stomped his foot.
The ground shattered, the indentations and the flying debris of crushed rock and dust all showcased the immense power Captain America unleashed in his rage.
Tony, unflinching, met Captain America assault head-on.
Bang!!
His metal fist once again made intimate contact with Captain America shield.
At the same time.
Captain America still had one fist free, which he drove directly into Tony chest.
Clang!
A dull metallic sound echoed.
Tony, clad in armor, staggered from the impact of the punch.
However, Tony refused to back down.
Jets on his back fired, forcefully stopping his backward motion and keeping him upright as he continued to face off against Captain America, trying to overpower him with his metallic body.
The fight between them intensified as they exchanged blow for blow.
Of course, the rage that had been simmering in both of them was already significant.
Captain America had just witnessed his old friend being killed in a horrific manner, fueling his fury.
Though Tony had calmed down, his residual anger had not subsided.
Two angry men, like a spark meeting a planet, instantly exploded.
Neither would back down.
Their movements gradually became desperate, escalating to a fight to the death.
"This is bad."
Hawk expression darkened: "If this continues, it will become increasingly difficult to manage."
He understood well.
Bucky was important, but realistically, he was not as crucial as either Captain America or Tony.
Captain America had been a symbol of American spirit promoted by the military since World War II.
In the modern era, he was one of the earliest superheroes.
If a scandal involving Captain America were to break, it would be like a massive slap in the face to America and its people.
It would lead to ridicule and scorn from other nations.
This could massively impact the national image.
As for Tony, he was not only the major shareholder of Stark Industries and a super-rich individual but also a genius inventor.
His intellect was something the military coveted deeply.
The military was very eager to fully align Tony with their ranks.
This desire was almost realized.
However, after Tony was kidnapped and became Iron Man, closing down Stark Industries weapons division, he distanced himself from the military.
But this did not deter the military efforts to win him over on the contrary, it made them realize Tony importance once more.
Who else but Tony had developed such revolutionary weaponry?
The "miniaturized armor," which could almost be described as a super-suit.
If the military could harness this technology, the American armed forces would undoubtedly possess the capability to dominate globally.
Even in times of peace, when wars cannot be waged at will.
Having such a foundation could ensure that for at least the next hundred years, and at a minimum fifty years, America would remain the world sole superpower.
For such ambitions, the military, or rather the American government, valued Tony immensely.
Tony was aware of all this.
Although he did not want his armors to be used for war, he still gifted one to the military under pressure.
It is well known that this suit is now worn by War Machine, currently a brigadier general named Rhodes.
Above all, this is why Bucky, though important, was nowhere near as critical as either Tony or Captain America.
The military interest in preserving Bucky was purely to add another asset and further tie Captain America to their side.
When Tony received the news and attempted to suppress it, it was purely for maximizing benefits.
After Tony fury erupted and he rushed to Washington.
From the start, the military never discussed how to punish Tony Stark.
Because everyone knew that even if they wanted to punish Tony, they could not kill him.
As long as he was willing to hand over all the technology for creating the armor, they would almost wish they could revive Bucky just to let Tony kill him again.
Now, the display of the Iron Man legion by Tony in this conflict has actually thrilled the military even more.
They no longer cared about Bucky death.
Including those currently at the White House.
Their current concern was merely to deescalate the conflict between Captain America and Tony, to stabilize the two individuals and prevent the situation from escalating to an uncontrollable level.
After all, Bucky death was an outcome the military had anticipated from the start.
But the conflict between Captain America and Tony could not be tolerated by the military.
These two must remain alive.
Whoever died, it would only exacerbate the severity of the situation.
Neither the military nor the U.S. government could accept the consequences of either of these two individuals, Captain America or Tony Stark, being killed.
This was why the people inside the White House, including John keller, were sweating bullets trying to contact Anton and unable to find the Justice League.
The standoff between Tony and Captain America was unacceptable.
The Justice League needed to intervene to prevent the worst-case scenario.
Boom!
The battle between Captain America and Tony intensified.
Even those at the scene who knew least about combat could tell that every move was aimed at killing.
These two former comrades had now become mortal enemies.
"This can't continue, or the special forces will also be implicated!"
Hawk face turned extremely grim.
"Why hasn't the government acted? Can't anyone stop them?"
"Where is the Justice League?"
"Are those idiot politicians still not aware that they should be turning to the Justice League for solutions?"
Hawk cursed internally.
Surrounded by more than forty Iron Man, they and their fellow special forces operatives were completely encircled, rendering any action futile.
Unless someone capable of combating this legion of Iron Man soldiers appeared.
There was only one possibility.
The Justice League.
But so far, the Justice League had not appeared...
This was definitely a failure in decision-making by the government and military.
They couldn't possibly expect the special forces to take the blame, could they?
Although the special forces could also contact the Justice League through Anton, in the current situation, their own actions, including communication, were being cut off by Jarvis and Ultron, the two AI controlling the Iron Man legion.
They could only hope for someone else to step in.
"Damn it!"
"Idiotic politicians, always just squabbling among themselves!"
While Hawk was inwardly railing against the White House, the space above where they were standing suddenly lit up with purple light waves.
"Sir, there is unusual energy fluctuation around us, a spatial rift is forming, which will create a portal."
"Unable to stop it!"
"Sir, please be cautious!"
Jarvis voice rang in Tony ear.
Tony face, hidden beneath the mask, slightly changed color as he instantly understood what was happening.
On Earth, only one entity possessed space teleportation technology, and it was unique.
"The Justice League!"
Tony pushed Captain America back with a punch, leaped into the air, and turned his head towards the area where the purple light waves were appearing.
Captain America, noticing Tony reaction, also looked in the same direction.
Then, a figure appeared.
Both Tony and Captain America muttered under their breath, saying the same name simultaneously.
"Batman!"