Steve: Whether it's science or magic, as long as I can beat you up, that's all

Washington, D.C., a secret sanatorium run by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Steve stood in front of the half-open door, his hand trembling slightly as he touched the doorknob, peering through the small window into the thin figure inside.

Seventy years of ice caused him to miss a century of change and a woman's youth.

"call……"

He took a deep breath, as if he were going to a battle he was certain to die, and gently pushed open the door.

The room was dimly lit, with only the monotonous beeping of the electrocardiogram monitor.

On the hospital bed lay an elderly man with a hunched back.

Her hair was thinning and gray, and age spots covered her once smooth face.

This is Peggy Carter.

He was no longer the dashing special agent in military uniform, nor the woman who told him not to be late at the bar.

Time is the cruelest killer; it doesn't need bullets to slowly and cruelly destroy legends.

As if sensing something, the old man on the hospital bed turned his head with difficulty, his cloudy eyes focusing extremely slowly.

"Steve?"

Steve walked quickly to the bedside, knelt on one knee, took the wrinkled hand in his hand, and pressed it against his cheek.

"It's me, Peggy, I'm back."

"you……"

Peggy forced a faint smile, a stubbornness etched into her bones. "You're late."

Those four simple words shattered all of Captain America's psychological defenses.

"I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry..."

Steve, like a child who had done something wrong, said, "I'm trapped in the ice, I..."

"It's okay."

Peggy's fingers trembled slightly as she wanted to stroke Steve's still-young face. "I'm content just to see you one last time before I leave."

The electrocardiogram monitor's curve began to show unstable fluctuations.

"No, Peggy, don't say things like that."

Steve hastily wiped his face and pulled the red and white capsule from the pocket close to his body.

His movements were hurried and frantic, as if he feared that Peggy would leave him if he hesitated even a second longer.

"I have a way to save you, really! Believe me, just eat this..."

Just then.

Noisy!

The lights in the room suddenly went out, and the electrocardiogram monitor emitted a piercing long beep before going completely black.

A dull thud came from outside the once quiet corridor of the sanatorium.

Immediately following was a series of rapid and heavy thuds.

"Listen up, everyone inside! Based on a Level One directive from the Security Council, we suspect you of possessing an unknown and dangerous biological or chemical weapon!"

boom!

Steve had no time to react before the solid wood door was kicked open.

Amidst billowing smoke and dust, a dozen fully armed special forces soldiers rushed in, their backs covered with red laser sights.

The leader was wearing a heavy tactical vest, and his eyes were fierce and greedy.

Brock Rumlow.

The rapid reaction force captain who usually followed Fury around and seemed loyal.

"Captain, hand over what you have."

Rumlow held up a modified heavy tranquilizer gun, pointing it directly at the capsule in Steve's hand. "Secretary Pierce is very concerned that you've been tricked by some illegal drug. This needs to be taken back to the department for testing."

Steve didn't turn around; instead, he used his broad back to shield Peggy from behind.

"Get out."

The voice was deep and suppressed, like a volcano about to erupt.

"Steve, don't make things difficult for the guys."

Rumlow gave a cold laugh, the kind of smugness a hunter feels when his prey is caught.

He knew very well that this was a cramped hospital room, and for the sake of the dying old woman behind him, Captain America would never dare to resist.

This is the Achilles' heel.

"Move! The target is refusing to cooperate; use non-lethal weapons to subdue him!"

boom! boom! boom!

If it were the old Steve, he could have blocked everything with his shield, but now, behind him is Peggy, who is so fragile that even a gust of wind could blow her over.

He cannot hide.

Steve suddenly turned around and opened his arms.

Puff puff!

Several powerful anesthetic needles, designed for super soldiers, were inserted into his back and neck.

The drug's effects spread rapidly through his nerves, causing Steve's knees to slam heavily onto the floor.

"Well……"

Steve gritted his teeth and endured it, veins bulging on his forehead, his vision beginning to blur.

"If you refuse a toast, you'll have to drink a penalty cup."

Rumlow strode forward and kicked Steve hard in the chest.

Boom!

Steve grunted and leaned back, but he still gripped the capsule tightly.

"Give it to me!" Rumlow bent down and tried to pry Steve's fingers open.

"You... are not from S.H.I.E.L.D."

Steve's eyes were bloodshot, and he forced out a few words through clenched teeth, "S.H.I.E.L.D. will not lay a hand on Agent Carter!"

"Times have changed, you old-fashioned thing."

Rumlow leaned close to Steve's ear, his voice laced with mockery, "Hail Hydra."

This sentence struck like a bolt from the blue.

Steve's eyes widened.

Hydra?

During the seventy years he was frozen in ice, the evil spirits he once fought against actually parasitized the organization he loved and founded.

anger.

An indescribable rage ignited his blood, dissipating some of the effects of the anesthetic.

But this is not enough.

Even if he were a super soldier, without a shield, under the influence of tranquilizers, and with the need to protect hostages, turning the tide would be an impossible task.

Behind Rumlow were more than a dozen automatic rifles pointed at Peggy's head.

strength……

I need the power to break the deadlock instantly, the power to crush all rules!

Steve's blurry vision suddenly fell on the tin can sticking out of his coat pocket.

Popeye's spinach.

With his last ounce of strength, Steve pulled out the extremely cheap-looking green tin can with his left hand.

"What is that...?" Rumlow was stunned, before he could react.

Steve flicked his thumb on the can lid.

Boo!

The crisp sound of the can being opened seemed particularly comical in this standoff.

Immediately afterward, Steve ignored everything and tilted his head back to pour the whole lump of spinach puree into his mouth.

Gudong.

The swallowing sound was clearly audible.

"Are you kidding me, you old popsicle?"

Rumlow was dumbfounded. "Eating spinach to replenish vitamins at a time like this?! What kind of person are you?!"

next second.

Boom! ! !

Captain America's heart pounded; a change that completely disregarded the fundamental laws of biology began.

"What the hell is this thing?!"

Rumlow's smile vanished, and he instinctively took a step back.

Steve's already strong arms swelled up like inflated balloons!

Hiss!

The sleeve of the trench coat ripped open, and Steve's forearm became twice as thick as his thigh, with an anchor tattoo even appearing on it!

Along with this change, a cheerful and powerful background music inexplicably started playing in everyone's minds.

Beep beep beep!

Steve stood up from the ground, completely ignoring the effects of the anesthetic.

The anesthetic needle was squeezed by the muscles and ejected like a bullet, embedding itself deep into the wall.

"Fire! Fire now!"

Rumlow sensed the threat and roared out the order.

Da da da da!

More than a dozen rifles simultaneously spat fire.

But at this moment, Steve is no longer Captain America, but... Popeye Rogers!

Faced with a hail of bullets, Steve did not dodge. He simply took a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks in an exaggerated arc, and then blew it out in front of him.

The wind howled!

The bullets that were being fired were actually blown back in mid-air by this completely illogical airflow!

The special forces soldiers were blown about by the breath and couldn't even open their eyes.

"This is so illogical!!" a Hydra agent shouted in despair.

"science?"

Steve not only felt no discomfort, but also felt full of inexhaustible energy.

Is this the power of the concept god?

He looked at Rumlow, who was holding up a polymer blast shield.

Rumlow was terrified. He instinctively held the shield, the first one developed by S.H.I.E.L.D., in front of him and curled up into a ball.

"Captain! We can talk! Minister Pierce, he..."

"Shut the fuck up! Go talk to God."

Steve raised his enormous right fist.

There was no power buildup, no technique, just a simple swing.

His arm swung in the air, creating a perfect windmill circle.

Leave you!

boom! ! !

The fist struck the shield; there was no metallic clang, only a deafening explosion.

That high-tech riot shield, which cost tens of thousands of US dollars, crumbled into countless tiny powders, just like a soda cracker.

Rumlow, behind the shield, was directly struck by this terrifying kinetic energy.

"Aaaaaahh ...

With a piercing and drawn-out scream, Rumlow transformed into a shooting star, crashing through the walls of the sanatorium and disappearing into the horizon.

The room was completely silent.

The remaining Hydra agents stared at the exaggerated human-shaped hole in the wall, then at Steve, whose forearm was thicker than his head, and dropped their guns with a clatter.

What's the point of fighting?

This is completely different art style!

"roll."

Steve coldly uttered a single word.

These agents, who usually killed without blinking an eye, were as if granted a pardon. They scrambled and jumped out through the hole, even though it was the third floor.

The crisis is over.

Steve didn't give chase. He could feel the spinach power within him rapidly fading, and the swollen muscles were quickly shrinking back.

Only ten minutes.

He turned around, and his hands, which had returned to their original state, trembled as he approached the bedside.

Peggy on the bed was barely breathing; the tremor seemed to have exhausted her last bit of life force.

"It's okay, it's okay..."

With tears in his eyes, Steve stuffed the capsule into Peggy's parched mouth and fed it to her from the water glass on the table.

one second.

two seconds.

Nothing happens.

Steve's heart sank to the bottom.

Just when he was in despair.

"Ugh..."

Peggy let out a painful groan, and her body began to convulse violently.

As her body temperature rose sharply, large amounts of white steam erupted from her pores, quickly enveloping the entire ward.

"Peggy?!"

Steve tried to touch her, but the intense heat made him pull his hand back.

Within the white mist, the hunched figure was undergoing some kind of miraculous transformation.

The withered skin began to plump up, the curved spine was forcibly straightened, and the sparse white hair was turning black at a visible speed!

This is a rebirth at the cost of excruciating pain.

Just as Steve was watching this scene with bated breath, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed again from outside the corridor.

"Damn it, is this never going to end?"

Steve glanced back at Peggy, who was undergoing a transformation, and then at his own arm, which had returned to normal.

Spinach's ten-minute time limit is almost up, and that punch just now almost exhausted all his energy.

He heard the sound of machine guns being set up and rocket launchers being loaded.

Hydra is planning to raze the entire building to silence witnesses.

"No shields, no spinach..."

Steve took a deep breath, his brows furrowing.

Since scientific methods have been exhausted, then...

Steve stood in front of the broken hole in the wall, facing the blinding searchlight from the window. His hands were a little clumsy, but he raised them to his chest with great determination.

That heat, called chakra, began to surge.

Hands clasped together.

Fingers flew across the paper, quickly forming hand seals.

The Hydra commandos outside the window were preparing to launch rockets when they suddenly saw the man in the tattered shirt making a strange gesture at them.

"What's he doing? Praying?" the commander sneered. "Fire!"

However, in the next instant...

Steve opened his eyes, a smile spreading across his face.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!!!"