The elbow to the gut is enough to knock the wind out of him, but it isn't until Khan grabs his arm that his grip slackens some -- and he realizes just what kind of power he's dealing with here.

He grits his teeth against the pain, choking back a grunt, and quickly recalibrates. Steve can take a beating as well as he can give one, but he's pushing down the adrenaline-fueled instinct to snap back as his tactical mind races through problems, strengths, weaknesses, and openings.

He twists in Khan's grip until his arm is bent behind him, the elbow of his free arm jabbing into Khan's kidney quick and cleanly. He doesn't stop moving until his back is to his opponent, using Khan's grip as leverage to grab his forearm and yank it over his shoulder until their bodies are flush, feet slamming into the bulkhead Jim's body vacated only seconds earlier to push them both back and away from Jim with enough force to send them skidding across the hall by several feet.

Once Jim's in the clear, Steve grunts: "You don't want to do this."

He'll only warn him once.