Chapter 812
“I can accompany you if you need me to.” Sam, the Falcon, said sincerely.
“Thank you, Sam. But I think I have to do this on my own this time.” Steve said as they stood outside the temporary base, next to the newly built Quantum Tunnel. Steve was carrying a black box and Mjolnir in both hands. The Infinity Stones were in the black box!
Dio, Wanda, Quicksilver, Hulk, Falcon, Bucky, Thor, and Natasha will wait for Steve here to make sure that he successfully carries out his mission and wait for his return.
“Don’t do anything stupid until I return!” Steve said to Bucky as he was about to step on into the Quantum Tunnel.
“How could I? You brought all the stupid with you!” Bucky said with a smile on his face. They hugged for a little while, but at the same time, Bucky realised that Steve would do something stupid again. Perhaps no one has ever thought of it, but as Bucky has known Steve his whole life, he could feel it!
“I will miss you, brother!” Bucky said with a sad expression on his face.
“Relax, Bucky! You will see me again!” Steve said with a smile on his face. Steve then turned his attention to Dio and held out his hand for Dio to shake. “We are still friends, aren’t we?” Steve said with a smile on his face, waiting for Dio to shake his hand.
“Always!” Dio said as he not only shook Steve’s hand but also pulled him in for a hug and patted him on his back. Although their definition of the word Hero was so different, it didn’t mean that they couldn’t be a friend.
Furthermore, everyone wanted to go back to their everyday life. Everyone was tired of all the ‘Hero’ stuff, and they wanted some rest for a change.
“Good luck, Steve!” Wanda said as she hugged Steve gently. Steve nodded and walked back into the Quantum Tunnel while adjusting his Time Travel Device.
“How long would it take for him to return?” Sam asked worriedly.
“He could take as long as he wants, but for us, it wouldn’t take any more than 5 seconds.” Hulk said confidently. While the previous Quantum Tunnel took one full minute to synchronize everyone’s time, this new Quantum Tunnel only took 5 seconds.
War was the best reason for Science and Technology Development, and this word was accurate.
“Are you ready, Captain?” Hulk asked as he stood beside the Quantum Tunnel Control station. Steve just nodded his head, and the Hulk immediately activated the Quantum Tunnel. “Countdown in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” The Hulk pressed the button, and Steve’s figure immediately disappeared from their view.
“Now, he would return in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” Hulk started his countdown, but after reaching one, Steve’s figure was nowhere to be found. The Hulk inspected the equipment with a grim expression.
“Hey, what happened?” Sam said worriedly.
“I don’t know! The timestamps are synchronized, so he should be back by now!” The Hulk said nervously.
“Bring him back, right now!” Sam said nervously.
“I know, I’m trying hard to do that too!” the Hulk confusedly said as he didn’t know what went wrong right now.
“Don’t worry about it, Sam!” Bucky said as he tried to calm Sam down. Sam then looked at Bucky’s expression and immediately realised that it wasn’t the machine’s fault. At the same time, Dio suddenly felt a presence on the bench by the lake. Dio was pretty sure that no one was there a moment ago, but suddenly a presence appeared out of thin air!
“Over there!” Dio said as he pointed towards the bench. Everyone’s attention turned towards the bench. Sam and Bucky walked slowly towards the familiar figure while Dio and the others stayed put on the spot because they finally realised what Steve had done, and thus, there was nothing they could do except give their best regards.
At the same time, they knew that Sam and Bucky would surely need some space!
Sam suddenly stopped, but Bucky encouraged him to continue forward. “Come on, Sam. He is waiting for you!” Bucky said with a smile on his face. Sam hesitated for a moment but walked towards the old man that sat on the bench.
“Captain?” Sam asked.
“Hi Sam, it’s been a long time!” The old man casually said while turning his head towards Sam. Although the old man’s face was full of wrinkles from old age, there was no mistake that it was Steve Rogers himself!
“So, did something go wrong, or is it your original intention?” Sam asked with a wry smile on his face.
“After I returned all the Infinity Stones in their respective time. I began to think about my life and the kind of life Tony predicted if I had never frozen in ice.” Old Steve slowly said while reminiscing some happy memories.
“So that’s what you’ve done!” Sam said while nodding his head. “I am happy for you, Captain! I sincerely do!” Sam said with a smile on his face. “But losing Captain America saddened me a little bit.” Sam showed a bitter smile.
“Oh, that reminds me!” Steve said as he took something from the side of the bench and gave it to Sam.
Sam was a little bit surprised, but once he opened the case, he saw that Steve had given him the classic Captain America shield, the first one that Tony’s father made for Steve, the first Captain America!
This Shield was shattered during the battle with Thanos, but as Steve had returned from the past, he brought the new but old Captain America’s Shield!
“Try it on! See if it’s to your liking,” Steve said with a smile on his face. Sam just stared at the Shield like it was some unknown entity before turning towards Bucky. He thought that Bucky would be more suitable to wear the Captain America moniker than he would ever be.
But Bucky himself knew that he didn’t deserve the Shield, let alone inherit the Captain America moniker. He had killed so many innocent lives, and the true patriots would never accept him as the new Captain America!
Maybe other Avengers would be fine with it as Tony, too, no longer had any intention to kill Bucky to avenge his parent. But Bucky knew what he had done, and he, as a true patriot, would never live with himself with the Captain America moniker.
Steve also knew Bucky’s way of thinking, and thus, there was no one else more capable than Sam of inheriting the Captain America moniker. Steve knew that Sam would never let him down.
“So, how do you feel right now?” Steve asked Sam as Sam put the Shield on his arms.
“It doesn’t feel like mine!” Sam said honestly.
“Don’t worry, it is yours!” Steve said while patting Sam’s shoulder, making sure that Sam knew that Steve was serious about giving Sam Captain America’s moniker.
“Thank you, Captain! I will do my best not to disappoint you!” Sam said as he took a deep breath and looked at Steve right in the eye.
“Good!” Steve said as he held Sam’s shoulder tightly. Sam noticed the ring on Steve’s finger. Steve was married to the love of his life.
“Would you tell me about her?” Sam asked teasingly.
“No, I don’t think I will!” Steve said with a wide grin on his face. It was the happiest memory he has had in his entire life, and there was no way he could put it into words!
A life he had with his perfect wife! A perfect life with Peggy Carter!