I have uploaded 20 advanced chapters on my Patreon for the readers. Go check them out and read them, and please don't forget to give this story a Powerstone and show your support.
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Here's my Patreon: "patreon.com/Hussain678" — 20 advanced chapters have been uploaded there.
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The next morning, Steve woke up after another restless night. He had spent hours reliving events from decades ago, yet to him they felt as recent as yesterday. He thought of Bucky, of Howard, of Peggy.
In the end, he still couldn't fall asleep. Steve got up early, changed into light workout clothes, and went out for a run. Right now, he needed exercise—lots of it—to distract himself.
He hadn't been running long before he spotted a familiar figure ahead of him—Sam Wilson, a former U.S. Air Force pararescue soldier. Since they often ran into each other during morning workouts, Sam could be considered one of the few people Steve actually knew at S.H.I.E.L.D.
"On your left."
As usual, Steve quickly passed Wilson on the left, reminding him out of habit.
"Oh, damn it—don't say that."
Hearing those words, Wilson instantly knew who had just passed him.
Both the United States and China drive on the right, which makes the left lane the fast lane. So "on your left" essentially meant: You're too slow—move over.
To be fair, as a former Air Force pararescue member, Sam's physical condition was excellent. There was only one person heartless enough to say that to him repeatedly—Steve Rogers, someone who was hardly human anymore.
Steve ignored Wilson's complaint and kept running.
"Huff… huff…"
Watching Steve disappear into the distance, Wilson adjusted his slightly uneven breathing and continued jogging. But before long, he heard rapid footsteps approaching from behind again.
Not wanting to endure more of Steve's mockery, Wilson sped up, determined not to be passed again. After all, Steve did this several times every morning, and it left Wilson feeling completely drained.
But unlike Steve—whose body had been pushed to the limits of human potential by the Super Soldier Serum—Wilson was still just an ordinary man. Even when he picked up the pace, Steve overtook him again after only a few steps.
"On your left."
As he passed, Steve added, "Look to your left."
"Come on—can't you say something else for once?"
Realizing there was no way he could keep up, Wilson gradually slowed down. A full sprint was never going to last long anyway. From experience, he knew that once Steve passed him, catching up was impossible.
Half an hour later, Wilson ended his run and sat down on the edge of the grass. Ever since he'd met Steve, his morning jogs had become more exhausting than usual. Being passed over and over again made him feel oddly uncomfortable.
No sooner had he sat down than Steve's voice came from behind him.
"Do I need to call a doctor for you?"
Leaning against a large tree, Wilson turned around and saw Steve approaching with two bottles of water. Clearly, Steve had already finished running—and still had time to buy drinks.
"What's going on with you today?" Wilson asked after taking the water. "Running this fast?"
Steve had passed him before on previous mornings, but nine times in a row was a first. Wilson couldn't help feeling that something was wrong with Steve's state of mind.
"It's nothing," Steve said quietly. "I'm just… a little confused right now."
After a brief silence, Steve suddenly asked, "Tell me—if someone let you go after seventy years, pigeon… how would you feel when you saw them again?"
"Let my seventy-year-old pigeon fly?" Wilson froze for a moment, wondering how anyone could let a pigeon that old fly. Wouldn't that person already be dead?
Then it hit him—Steve was talking about himself.
After choosing his words carefully, Wilson replied, "If someone really left me behind for that long, I think I'd worry about them. And if possible, I'd want to know how they've been doing."
"Worried…"
Wilson was saying something Steve already knew—yet couldn't bring himself to face.
Long ago, through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal systems, Steve had learned about Peggy Carter's whereabouts and condition. Officially, he wasn't authorized to know—but someone had deliberately let him see it. As one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founders, Peggy's information should never have been accessible to someone with Steve's clearance.
After learning the truth, Steve hesitated. He didn't dare face his first love, afraid that regret would completely drown him.
But yesterday, after watching Clark and Tony head home, Steve couldn't stop thinking about the date he might regret missing for the rest of his life.
Hearing Wilson's words, Steve finally made a decision.
He would go see Peggy—and bring his past to an end.
Once the decision was made, a smile finally appeared on Steve's face. He patted Wilson on the shoulder.
"Thanks. I think I know what I need to do now."
"That concludes the entire process of how the Dark Elves disappeared yesterday."
Inside a secret underground facility, Garrett shared all available information regarding the Dark Elf invasion and disappearance during a confidential video conference with HYDRA's senior leadership.
"I recommend abandoning the plan to use the Mind Scepter to control Superman. The success rate is far too low—it's not worth the risk," Baron Strucker, one of HYDRA's executives, said after reviewing Garrett's report.
In truth, he had opposed the idea from the very beginning. The gap between HYDRA and Superman was simply too great. Even approaching him with the Mind Scepter would be dangerous—Superman would likely detect them long before they got close.
After acquiring the Mind Scepter, Strucker discovered that its capabilities went far beyond mind control. The energy detected within it was immense, rivaling even that of the Tesseract.
If the Red Skull could use the Tesseract during World War II to create devastating weapons, then Strucker believed he could do the same with the Mind Scepter—developing weapons no less powerful.
For that reason, Strucker strongly opposed wasting such a miraculous artifact on an attempt to control Superman. He refused to let something as extraordinary as the Mind Scepter be squandered.