Looking at the bewildered Steve, the older man brushed off Tony's supportive hand and walked over cheerfully, making fun of himself, "Captain, you and Kyle still look young and handsome, but I've aged so much that you don't even recognize me!"
"How could I not recognize you? How could I?"
Steve's expression was excited as he opened his arms and hugged the frail-looking old man. "Howard, it's been so long!"
"Yes, it's been a while. You're still using the armor and shield I made for you!" Howard sighed with emotion, his gaze falling on the star-spangled circular shield on Steve's back.
Unchanged by time and witness to history, the sound-absorbing circular shield was adorned with silver stars.
Howard, Logan, and Lucy - after all these years, almost half a century had passed for the three of them, which was almost half a lifetime for ordinary humans.
More people descended from the rear hatch of the Falcon Class Spaceship. Among them was a sturdily built man with short hair and a small white bear cub perched on his shoulder.
He stopped beside Kyle as he came down from the side of the Falcon Class Spaceship, nodded respectfully to Fury and Natasha, and said in a deep voice, "Fury, Natasha, good to see you."
"Logan!"
Fury's eyes lit up when he saw the wolf-like man with short hair. Kyle and Logan standing together vaguely reminded him of scenes from World War II.
"Commander, you're back at last."
Seeing the return of an old friend, Natasha couldn't help but smile broadly, her heart pounding with excitement. She still remembered that when she first joined the Carl family, she served as an instructor alongside Logan, training a number of elite members for the Carl family.
"You remember everyone else, but you completely forgot about me, didn't you?"
The golden-haired girl holding Kyle's arm puffed up her cheeks in discontent, wrinkled her nose, and stared at Director Fury with her jewel-like bright eyes without giving him anyway to save his pride.
Natasha looked at the golden-haired girl again. She felt familiar from before, and when she heard that familiar and pleasant voice, she exclaimed in surprise, "You are... Miss Lucy?"
"Uh-huh."
Lucy hummed nonchalantly, displaying a girlish demeanor.
"It really is Miss Lucy. Hasn't it been fifty or sixty years since we last met?"
A wry smile crept across Fury's serious, dark face. Howard had aged considerably over the years, and even Logan was about ten years past his prime. Only Lucy seemed to defy aging, much like Kyle, showing no signs of time on her appearance and body, which was why Fury hadn't recognized her right away.
Their last meeting had been just after World War II when Kyle had left Earth. Now it was 2013, and seventy years had passed in the blink of an eye.
Kyle felt a thousand emotions in his heart. Many loved ones and old friends were still here after centuries, which was perhaps the most fortunate thing for someone like him.
Otherwise, even if he was invincible in the universe, without anyone to share it with, it would be filled with loneliness and sadness.
"We've arrived at my home planet, folks!"
Following the Falcon Class Spaceship, the other Interstellar Fighter landed on the square. The rear hatch deck opened as well.
Star-Lord Quill led the way, accompanied by Yondu, Rocket, the alien Green, Mantis, and Destroyer Drax, all arriving at SHIELD Square in a grand procession.
Their appearance, clothing, and expressions were all different from ordinary people, drawing cautious glances from many of the SHIELD agents.
"Um, so this is a large gathering of senior citizens?"
Quill stared at Kyle's group, stunned. Most of them were familiar faces he had seen in newspapers as a child, leaving him speechless.
"Kyle, it seems you not only managed to bring Howard back, but you brought a team of aliens with you?"
Fury remarked when he saw Quill and the others.
Before Kyle could respond, Quill defiantly replied, "I am not an alien. I'm a bona fide Earth-born human."
Rocket covered his mouth and quietly quipped, "I don't call them Earthlings, I call them 'Sphere-mades.'"
"What did you say, fur face?!"
Quill obviously heard and immediately flared up, glaring at Rocket with anger-filled eyes. "It's one thing to act wild on my spaceship, but now you're on my turf!"
Rocket glared back. "You got a problem? Get ready to throw down! Blades or guns?"
"Bring it on! Who's afraid of who!" Quill rolled up his sleeves, ready to brawl with Rocket had Destroyer not stepped between them.
With everyone watching, Quill and Rocket continued to stare each other down, neither willing to back down.
"Even though they're technically aliens, they're a bunch of idiots who pose no threat to Earth or even New York."
Kyle patted Fury on the shoulder and explained, "For some reason, they wanted to lay low on Earth for a while. They'll be leaving soon."
"All right. Since you guarantee it, I'll take care of everything from here."
Fury eyed Kyle and asked, "You're not going to disappear again once you get back to Earth, are you?"
Steve and Natasha looked at Kyle and waited for his answer.
After a moment of thought, Kyle held Lucy's warm hand and replied, "Not for now.
With Thanos making early moves, Kyle could not afford to sit idly by. He had to prepare for a full-scale defense on Earth!
"That's good to hear, that's good to hear," Fury repeated.
Steve and Natasha also breathed a sigh of relief, the lingering shadow on their brows finally dissipating.
The return of Kyle, Tony Stark aka Iron Man, Logan, and others had undoubtedly given them a strong dose of morale. No longer did they have to worry every day about their ability to withstand the next wave of alien forces.
Kyle seemed to embody the Symbol of Peace. As long as he was on Earth, all would be well - not only did the general public believe this, but all the superheroes of the Avengers firmly agreed with this notion.
It wasn't just Kyle's extraordinary strength and abilities. He had performed too many miracles, and his charismatic personality alone had earned him almost worshipful respect.
Fury suggested, "Kyle, it's not safe out here. Come up to SHIELD and let's talk. There have been many recent developments that we need to discuss with you."
"No, not today," Kyle flatly refused. "We just got back today. I'll take Lucy and the others back to the Carl family first. We'll take care of things in a few days."
There were not just a few things, but too many that needed his gradual resolution.
Kyle decided to ignore them for the time being. After a long absence, returning to Earth, he needed to rest at home first.
After all, even heroes needed to rest.
Speaking of which, where was Caesar, Kyle's duplicate?
Since his return to Earth, Kyle had not felt the presence of Superman's duplicate until now.
Even when he was in the Galaxy before, there had been a vague connection between Kyle's original and Caesar's duplicate. Six months ago, however, that connection had completely ceased.
**[End of Chapter]**
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