Chapter 25: Even the Wisest Make Mistakes

Leaving the Arctic still depended on that scumbag sending a plane to pick them up.

So, no matter how reluctant he was, Pietro had no choice but to adjust the communicator's angle toward an ice-covered opening.

Pointing at the hole, he smirked and said, “Look! That old relic from the last century—Captain America’s crash site has been found!”

“What?!” Carl abruptly straightened up upon hearing the news.

They found Cap?!

Sending Pietro to search for Captain America's crash site had been more of a long shot than a serious expectation.

After all, the Arctic was vast, and searching blindly without exact coordinates was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Besides, Steve Rogers' super-soldier serum wasn't of much use to Carl.

His real intention was to separate Pietro and Wanda, giving himself a chance to make a move.

Yet, against all odds, Pietro had actually found him. Either the kid had incredible luck, or his grueling months of suffering hadn’t been in vain.

Seeing Carl’s look of disbelief, Pietro scowled and snapped, “You didn’t actually think I’d find Cap, did you?

I knew it! You just sent me to the Arctic to get me out of the way so you could go after Wanda, right? You’re a real piece of work!”

He couldn't help but start ranting on the spot.

Carl, however, ignored Pietro’s complaints and said excitedly, “I’ll dispatch a transport plane immediately to bring back the world’s first superhero!”

After a pause, he added, “By the way, you didn’t run into anyone else, did you?”

Pietro shrugged, unconcerned. “The crash site was actually discovered after an icebreaker collided with an iceberg. But don’t worry—the crew won’t be talking. I threw them all into the sea to feed the fish.”

Hearing that Pietro had handled things cleanly, Carl was relieved and promptly ended the satellite call without even saying goodbye.

Pietro stared at the abruptly disconnected screen, annoyed.

“Rude bastard.”

But there was nothing he could do about Carl from thousands of kilometers away, so all he could do was crane his neck and wait for the transport plane to arrive.

—

About five hours later.

The Arctic was in its polar day period, with the sun hanging in the sky 24/7, making time feel distorted.

To Pietro, the wait was agonizing. He paced back and forth, growing impatient. Just as he was about to lose his mind, the distant hum of rotors approached.

An Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft slowly descended onto the snow-covered ground.

Pietro hurried aboard while the expedition team followed, carrying a large, two-meter-long insulated foam container—inside, frozen solid, was Captain America.

Another soldier carried a red-and-white vibranium shield, stepping onto the aircraft right behind them.

“Let’s go! I can’t wait to get out of this frozen hell!” Pietro urged as soon as the last soldier boarded.

Moments later, the Osprey lifted off, heading southwest.

As the aircraft vanished into the distance, heavy snowfall resumed.

The ice-covered crash site, along with the century-old wreckage, was gradually buried under fresh snow. The icebreaker remained where it was, the surrounding area silent and lifeless.

Clearly, even the wisest make mistakes.

Pietro had left without covering his tracks.

Perhaps he was too eager to return to modern civilization, but he had overlooked a crucial detail.

A few hours later, another icebreaker approached the scene, responding to an international distress signal.

“Send a team to check that ship—they reported hitting an iceberg and sustaining severe damage.”

“Oh my God! There's blood everywhere!”

“There are bodies floating on the sea!”

“And... is that a World War II-era propeller plane?!”

The bizarre massacre soon landed on the desk of Director Nick Fury at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in New York.

—

After a grueling five-hour flight, the Osprey transport plane touched down at the Umbrella Corporation’s military airfield in Sokovia.

Carl and Wanda had been waiting for a long time.

“Hey, I’m back!”

As soon as Pietro stepped out of the aircraft’s cargo bay and saw Wanda, his eyes welled up. He rushed forward and hugged her tightly.

“You must’ve had a rough time, Pietro.” Wanda, having not seen her brother in half a year, was just as emotional.

Then, as if remembering something, Pietro pulled away and walked over to Carl, punching him hard.

“This is all your fault, you bastard! You tricked me into going to that frozen wasteland—I nearly died from the damn climate!”

Carl didn’t dodge. He figured it was best to let the kid vent a little; otherwise, who knew what stupid things he might do. Rubbing his sore chest, Carl remained silent.

Seeing her man take a solid punch, Wanda instinctively stepped in. “Hey, hey, hey! How can you hit your brother-in-law?”

Pietro froze, staring at her in shock. He pointed at Carl, utterly speechless. “Brother-in-law? Him?! Wanda, you’ve been completely duped.”

Carl, playing the peacemaker, waved it off. “Alright, no need for you to worry about our relationship, Pietro. Now, let’s see that frozen popsicle you brought back.”

Pietro wasn’t having it. “I’m Wanda’s brother—I do have the right to care about her love life!”

Wanda, cutting off the argument without a shred of patience, said bluntly, “I’m the older sibling here, but none of that matters.

Pietro, now that you're back, let’s go have a proper meal. Forget about Carl—let him sulk here alone.”

Sensing the fight about to escalate, Wanda tactfully dragged her brother away before he and Carl could actually start brawling.

Carl, meanwhile, didn’t bother provoking his hot-headed brother-in-law any further.

Once Wanda and Pietro were gone, his attention shifted to the large insulated container being carried out of the aircraft by soldiers.

Carl stared at it intently, his expression unreadable.

Shortly after, Captain America—still frozen—was transferred to Umbrella’s Hive Base for further examination.

After carefully melting the ice, the corporation’s scientists wasted no time extracting multiple fresh blood samples.

Once they had an ample supply, Steve Rogers was moved to another lab—where he continued serving as an experimental subject.

—

Three days later.

Carl stood silently in the lab, his brows furrowed as he stared at the still-unconscious Captain America.

For the past few days, he had been trying various methods—Red Spider controllers, neural implants—to take control of Cap.

But so far, none of them had yielded satisfactory results.