The Interstellar aircraft known as Starfighter touched down on the rooftop of the Empire State Building. Kyle was the first to disembark, followed by Raina and members of the Alliance.
Bruce and his girlfriend had decided to stay in California, so only Tony and Natasha had returned.
"Godfather, I have some work to attend to at my lab. The ion accelerator is still under construction. I'll leave first," Tony said, holding his helmet.
Kyle nodded in agreement.
Tony immediately put on his Iron Man helmet, and Iron Man flew out from the top of the building, soaring at supersonic speed straight back to Stark Industries, several kilometers away.
Natasha hesitated briefly, then said, "Sir, about Bruce Banner."
"I know what you're concerned about," Kyle smiled and pondered, "You can set a condition: Bruce Banner must relocate to New York within a week."
"Agreed," Natasha's eyes lit up, immediately accepting the proposal.
Although Bruce Banner had joined the Avengers and his status had been legitimized, no one could guarantee when the Hulk might reemerge.
Once the Hulk went on a rampage, causing social unrest, it would be SHIELD that bore the blame. They couldn't monitor him like a prisoner; they needed to find a balance.
From the beginning until now, Natasha had been considering this issue, and she hadn't expected Kyle to solve it with a single sentence.
Indeed. With Bruce Banner in New York, the Hulk would have to behave, especially with the presence of the Symbol of Peace!
Natasha looked at the man before her and couldn't help but feel amazed.
Kyle's return had not only provided strength to the Carl Family but also to SHIELD and the Avengers. With him, they felt confident and assured in everything they did.
This was something that others couldn't provide.
"Well, I'll head to SHIELD headquarters…" Natasha paused for a moment, but her leather pants pocket vibrated slightly. There seemed to be an urgent message from headquarters.
Kyle waved it off and, with Raina, walked toward the elevator.
"I'm here, what is it" Natasha answered the phone.
Soon, it seemed that she had received some major message. She immediately put the phone down. "Sir, please wait!"
Kyle was puzzled and turned to see Natasha's eyes filled with joy. She took a deep breath and said, "Your old friend has woken up!"
SHIELD branch, third-floor lobby.
This time, Kyle had come alone, leaving Raina behind.
All along the way, he had been suppressing waves of emotions that had been absent since becoming a God.
Kyle pushed down his excitement and walked through the main entrance. He looked in the direction of the windows, where Fury was engaged in conversation with a blond young man.
At the same time, both of them noticed his arrival. Their conversation halted, and their gazes turned to him.
The young man with blond hair trembled slightly, rose from the couch, and, with countless words on his lips, he could only manage a helpless statement. "Big brother, it seems like I've slept a long time."
"Indeed. Steve, you're quite the heavy sleeper," Kyle couldn't help but chuckle.
A nap that had lasted for almost half a century!
For Steve, it was as if he had just closed his eyes during the late stages of World War II, fighting alongside Kyle against Red Skull in a hijacked aircraft.
But when he opened his eyes once more, he found that the world had changed beyond recognition, and everything, including people, had become utterly unfamiliar.
"So many years have passed, Fury has aged, and you're still the same, except for your hair…" Steve's gaze shifted upward to focus on Kyle's gleaming silver hair.
"You've been sleeping in, and I haven't slept at all. I've been walking all the way to this day," Kyle shrugged and made a rare joke. But even this joke carried the weight of numerous hardships he had suffered.
Since Steve's plane crash, he has undergone countless experiences, from Earth to the far reaches of space, from the past to the present. It would take him ages to recount them all.
"Well, you two old war buddies can catch up. I'll go get some drinks for you." Fury rubbed his chin, sensing his presence might be a bit intrusive, and found a good excuse to exit the hall. He conveniently closed the door behind him.
The hall fell into a profound silence.
Kyle took a step, walked to the front of Steve, and sat on the couch, crossing his legs.
Steve smiled and broke the silence. "I just heard from Fury about some things. I heard that you ended World War II and became the Symbol of Peace."
"The Symbol of Peace is just a title; I just did what I thought was right," Kyle replied calmly. "Besides, what you particularly want to ask me about isn't related to that, is it?"
Steve looked at him, his face serious. "Yes, it's about Agent Carter."
"The date you mentioned, I went to it," Kyle said concisely.
He paused and continued, "I'm sorry about what happened afterward. I didn't realize she was ill, and coincidentally, due to issues with my own body, I left Earth."
Steve's eyes dulled, and he clenched his fists so hard his fingernails dug deeply into his palms.
Kyle said softly, "Steve, I didn't fulfill your request to protect Agent Carter. If you blame me, you can take a few swings to let off some steam."
"The main problem lies with me. How could I blame you?" Steve sighed and released the tightly clenched fists, deflating. "I thought I could help her and protect her, fulfilling her wishes for her. But it's a pity…"
That "pity" contained so much bitterness and helplessness.
Kyle fell silent.
Recalling Steve's instructions before he sacrificed himself, the dance invitation and farewell kiss from Agent Carter, and now Steve's words, he faintly realized that he had made a mistake in the past and missed out on some things.
Once those moments were missed, they could never be recovered, becoming permanent regrets in life.
In the hall, the two "old men" in their eighties or nineties remained silent, reminiscing about the past.
"Kyle, I want to go to a few places," Steve's eyes were bright with recovery, and he said in a deep voice.
"Alright. I'll come with you," Kyle agreed without asking about the places.
This was the unspoken understanding between them, unchanged even after decades.
Five minutes later, the main entrance to the hall opened, and Fury walked in with a bottle of wine.
"Where are they?"
Seeing the empty hall, he was puzzled. Suddenly, the roar of engines reached him from outside the window.
At the entrance of the SHIELD branch.
Two young men in leather jackets and jeans, wearing hats and sunglasses, each rode a modern motorcycle. They accelerated onto the road, heading into the unknown distance.
"Fury, Sir and Captain…" Fury's hidden earpiece picked up Natasha's report.
Fury watched the motorcycles depart and said firmly, "Let Kyle take him to adapt to the modern world."
On the road.
Kyle accelerated, catching up to the motorcycle in front. He asked, puzzled, "Why are you using a motorcycle? Air travel is so convenient nowadays."
"I still like motorcycles. They give a sense of speed," Steve shrugged. The brisk wind in his face made him happy, casting off some of the earlier melancholy and sadness.
"Alright," Kyle said, somewhat speechless.
The sense of speed on a motorcycle? Please, he could leave a motorcycle in the dust using Venom's flight mode.
"By the way, there's something I forgot to tell you," Kyle remembered and said.
"What is it?"
In response to Steve's question, Kyle calmly said, "Welcome to the 21st century."
(End of this chapter)
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