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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"Yes, Clark. Please send us over first, then go and pick up the captain."
Since Nick Fury didn't clearly understand the exact situation when the Nine Realms overlapped, he still believed it was more appropriate to send Steve there. After all, no matter what, Steve's combat ability ranked among the very best of them.
"Alright," Nick Fury said. Clark opened a portal and sent them to Greenwich, London. After everyone had passed through, Clark closed the portal and flew toward Peggy Carter's house.
In fact, Clark was also quite interested in the relationship between Steve and Peggy Carter. After all, Steve had first been involved with Peggy Carter, and later fell in love with her niece, who was more than seventy years younger than her. That was truly a messy romantic history. Sigh.
However, when Clark arrived near Peggy Carter's home, he discovered something strange—甚至 something terrifying.
Although Clark had obtained Peggy Carter's address from Nick Fury, knowing the address didn't mean he knew exactly where her house was. At best, it was just a clue—he still had to locate it himself.
It was like ordering food delivery: the courier doesn't automatically know your front door; they still need to check the house number. Clark was in the same situation. After reaching the area near Peggy Carter's home, and worried something might go wrong, he directly activated his X-ray vision to search for Steve.
But when Clark found Steve, he discovered that there was another person beside him.
This person was completely different from Clark—he looked like an older version of Steve. Though visibly aged, his appearance was exactly identical to Steve's.
Clark thought that if Steve hadn't been frozen in ice over seventy years ago, he might look like this today. But that wasn't necessarily true. The Winter Soldier was still alive, yet his appearance hadn't changed at all in seventy years.
So Clark wasn't sure whether Steve had been frozen, or whether he had actually aged, or whether he had…
…remained eternally young.
Seeing the elderly Steve, countless thoughts flashed through Clark's mind. But he quickly dismissed them, because Steve's situation was different from that of an ordinary person.
If this were a normal case, a similar-looking old man might be a grandfather or an uncle. But Steve wasn't normal. His actual age was already close to a hundred.
As far as Clark knew, Steve's family had all passed away before the events of Captain America: The First Avenger, so this old man couldn't be a relative like a brother. Therefore, after only a brief hesitation, Clark flew toward him.
Clark appeared behind the old man.
"Steve."
The moment Clark spoke that name, he clearly saw that although the old man tried his best to remain calm, his body still trembled uncontrollably.
After noticing this, Clark was almost certain—regardless of anything else—the old man in front of him was Steve. This discovery left Clark confused. After all, even the Time Stone could only stop or manipulate time; it didn't have the ability to travel back into the past. Clark had never seen such a power in the movies.
Yet the elderly man before him was undeniably Steve. In a normal world, it was impossible for two identical versions of the same person to exist. That meant this Steve had to be from another time—and judging by his age, he had most likely traveled directly back to the World War II era.
Was this the storyline after Avengers: Infinity War?
Looking at the old Steve who had turned to face him, Clark couldn't help but think so. Only this explanation could account for the existence of an elderly Steve.
"How did you return to the past?" Clark asked cautiously as he looked at him.
"As expected, you still noticed," the elderly Steve said. "But I hope you won't tell anyone about what you saw."
Looking at Clark, the old Steve realized that Clark might have already recognized him. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to admit the truth directly.
Old Steve was actually a little afraid of Clark. The reason was simple: in Steve's original timeline, there had never been a Superman named Clark.
Although news reports suggested that Superman Clark now seemed to be on good terms with him, facing such an unexpected existence made Steve unsure whether pretending ignorance would really work.
After careful consideration, he decided not to hide anymore. He feared that if he denied it, Clark might expose his secret to others. So he believed the best option was to admit his existence and ask Clark, as a friend, not to reveal it.
He didn't want to affect the development of this timeline. Having personally experienced changes to time, he knew all too well that every alteration only made the outcome worse.
"Is there a special reason?" Clark asked. He immediately thought of common time-travel tropes—like the future self not being allowed to meet the past self.
"I can't say," the elderly Steve replied. "Because if I do, the world might become better—or it might become worse."
Faced with Clark's question, old Steve only gave an ambiguous answer.
"Alright. I won't tell anyone about your existence. But it seems you've already kept your promise."
As he spoke, Clark glanced toward a house not far behind them, where the younger Steve—Peggy's husband—was inside chatting with his first love.
Clark reminded himself that he had come here to find Steve. So he said to the older Steve:
"I still have something to discuss with Steve—uh, the other Steve, the husband. I'll come visit you next time when I have the chance."