Chapter 140

One week later.

Damian was at home playing with his daughters, who were now over three years old and growing more beautiful in his eyes every day.

The four of them were focused in the midst of a Jenga game.

Alice and Ivy preferred this kind of game as Emma couldn't casually see their cards.

Emma extended her tiny hands and carefully removed one of the blocks before placing it on top.

Emma backed away slowly from the tower before sighing and giving a sweet smile.

Alice pouted as it was her turn and there weren't many blocks left at the bottom.

She reached out and chose a rather precarious block that would leave the tower on a cross.

Alice smiled, feeling that the block was loose, so she started to remove it slowly and carefully.

When she was about to pull the block out, the tower began to tilt slowly to one side.

Alice's expression changed to one of panic as her abilities manifested, enveloping the tower in a golden layer of energy, causing it to stop.

Everyone fell silent as they watched the half-tilted golden tower.

Alice was surprised by what she had done, causing the golden glow to stop momentarily, and the tower collapsed, with pieces scattered all over the table.

Ivy looked annoyed at Alice; they always avoided playing games of chance since Emma had an advantage. Now Alice seemed to be able to manipulate things with her golden energy; both could be cheaters in games.

Alice looked excitedly at her father, giving a big smile. Before, she could only shoot rays from her hands, but now she seemed to be able to do more.

"Well done, sweetheart," Damian said, smiling at Alice as he stroked her little head.

"Well, I guess that's it," Damian said, getting up and waving his hand to put all the blocks back in the box.

"What will you do now?" Damian asked, looking at his daughters.

"Hmm, what should we do?" Alice said, putting her hand on her chin as she looked at her sisters and thought.

"We could play at the palace with our friends," Ivy suggested.

"Sure," Emma agreed, nodding.

"Alright," Alice shrugged.

"Well, Daddy, we'll be back for lunch," Ivy said, approaching her father and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

His three daughters gave him a kiss before watching them go through the portal.

"They grow every day," Damian said, sighing as he reclined in the chair and opened his phone.

Idly, he checked what was trending on social media and found something interesting.

There had been a small incident in Times Square that same day.

A man had run into the middle of the street, looking confused, and suddenly, many black cars surrounded him before the matter was resolved.

The person who uploaded the video spoke in a suspicious tone that made Damian laugh.

Looking at Steve's silhouette, Damian couldn't help but think that time had passed; practically, all the Avengers were here now.

"Honey, I'm bored, want to train?" Carol asked, smiling at him as she sat on Damian.

"Sure, let's stretch our muscles for a while," Damian said, smiling at Carol. He gave her a kiss on the cheek before teleporting them to a secluded place.

...

Fury was in a black vehicle heading to SHIELD's headquarters in New York.

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy, with Steve's melancholic expression as he thought about all his acquaintances being dead.

Steve thought that he should have died rather than appearing as a ghost, known only through stories of the past.

"I'll take you to an agent who will fill you in on what has happened in the world," Fury said.

"Take it easy for these months, get to know the world," Fury added, looking ahead.

Steve didn't react much to his words; his mind was filled with Peggy's face and the dance he couldn't attend.

The vehicle quickly arrived at its destination, and Fury and Steve got out before walking through the halls.

Steve looked around, somewhat lost. As they walked, Steve's eyes couldn't help but fixate on one of the paintings on the wall as they passed through the lobby.

"That's right, she's one of the founders of this organization, along with Stark and Colonel Phillips," Fury said, purposely taking the long route to show Steve the paintings.

Fury finally led Steve to his own office before sitting across from him.

"Take a seat; I'm sure you have many questions," Fury said.

Steve sat down and looked at the man in front of him. It was still somewhat difficult to digest the fact that he had traveled 70 years into the future.

"What happened after I fell into the water?" Steve asked.

"The war was easily won after your contribution, and the world celebrated. There was a great economic boom in the United States," Fury explained.

"After the war, SHIELD was created to maintain global security," Fury said.

"So the world returned to normal?" Steve asked, referring to the lack of super soldiers and the loss of the Tesseract.

"That's how it was initially, but today's reality is completely different," Fury said, sighing as he handed a tablet to Steve.

Steve watched several videos of Iron Man, Thor, Bruce, Blonsky, a man with a bow, and a woman in a black suit.

"Superpowers exist, and our contact with them has been steadily increasing," Fury said.

"Also... there's a man, Damian," Fury said, showing him an image.

"In my opinion, he's the most dangerous person on Earth. He appeared several decades ago and became the king of a small island nation. After just a few decades, it's now the most advanced country in the world," Fury explained.

"And, as you can see in these two photos, he doesn't seem to age," Fury said, showing him pictures taken in the 80s and more recent ones.

Steve's eyes widened in surprise when he saw it; they were identical, as if time didn't exist for that man.

"I've had some contact with him, and I don't know for sure what abilities he has. All I know is that he could easily conquer the Earth," Fury said.

"These people are the only ones you need to be aware of so far," Fury said, wanting Steve to know that SHIELD needed him.

"The world has really changed," Steve said, amazed.

"Yes, come on, I'll introduce you to two agents. They'll teach you more about the world, common sense, and take you to an apartment I've prepared for you," Fury said.

"I just hope you take a few months to rest, get used to the new world you've arrived in before doing anything," Fury added.

"Understood," Steve said, nodding.

Fury got up and led Steve down a hallway before reaching a door.

Upon entering with Steve, Fury couldn't help but feel his annoyance rise as he looked at Natasha.

Clint was practicing his marksmanship on one side of the room.

But Natasha was lazily lounging in a chair with her feet up on the desk while she looked at a lingerie magazine.

"Agent Romanoff, I would appreciate it if you avoided activities unrelated to your work during working hours," Fury said annoyed. He wanted Steve to have a first impression of trained and serious agents.

"Cough...sure, my apologies," Natasha said without embarrassment as she slowly stashed her new magazine in the drawer.

She had to stifle her laughter at the thought of Fury's expression if he knew the magazine circulated among all the female agents in the building.

"This is Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America. I'll leave him with you to catch him up and show him where he'll be staying," Fury said, looking particularly at Natasha so she wouldn't lead him into anything weird.

"Sure, boss, we'll take care of him," Natasha said, nodding.

"Yes, sir," Clint said, approaching and placing his bow on Natasha's desk while removing his gloves to greet Steve.

"Hey, don't leave your bow on my desk; I don't leave my weapons on your desk," Natasha complained.

"Do you forget the time I arrived early and found my desk full of food wrappers?" Clint asked, looking at Natasha.

"Touché," Natasha replied without words.

"Pleasure to meet you; I'm Clint Barton," he said, approaching Steve and shaking his hand.

"Steve Rogers," Steve replied politely.

"Natasha Romanoff," she introduced herself.

"All right, then I'll leave you to it," Fury said, exiting the room.

"Come on, have a seat, and we'll get you up to speed on the world's affairs," Natasha said, patting Steve's back and leading him to a chair.

"Let's start with the basics, a phone," Natasha said, taking her phone from the table and handing it to Steve.

"Is this a phone?" Steve asked, amazed, looking at the small device. He remembered phones weighing several kilos, and a person always carried them on their back.

"Yes, this is what we use to communicate. You can send messages anywhere in the world, and there are also social networks," Natasha said, unlocking her phone, revealing a photo of Natasha with three little girls.

"My daughters, aren't they cute?" Natasha said, smiling.

"They're very cute," Steve said, nodding.

"This is called Instagram, it's a social network; people upload photos and videos. Nowadays, almost nothing is a secret, and remember, if it's on the internet, it's there forever," Natasha said, enthusiastically discussing all kinds of things.

"All the electronic devices you remember are much smaller now, and many of them have been incorporated into the phone," Natasha added.

"Let's go to your apartment and see what things you need to buy," Clint said, seeing that Natasha wouldn't stop talking.

"All right, let's go," Natasha said, nodding.

Steve just nodded with a slight smile, allowing himself to be led by them.

The three quickly walked to the parking lot and took a SHIELD vehicle.

Natasha took the driver's seat and used her phone to set the GPS to their destination.

Natasha drove calmly, guided by the GPS, so Steve could see the city.

Steve rested his face on his hand, with his elbow on the door, while he looked at the city. It was so familiar but unfamiliar at the same time.

Natasha crossed the bridge to Brooklyn, arriving in front of a building.

"Home sweet home," Natasha joked as she got out.

Steve and Clint got out and followed her.

"Here are the keys; you should open your own house," Natasha said, handing Steve the keys.

Steve looked at the keys in his hand before opening the door and starting to climb the stairs, followed by Natasha and Clint.

"It's this one, number 22," Natasha said, pointing at the door.

Steve nodded before inserting the key and opening the door. The three of them entered and found a quite homey apartment.

"Come on, I'll show you how to use things," Natasha said, demonstrating how to use the stove, microwave, TV, and heating.

"I feel like a caveman," Steve said, laughing slightly.

"It's okay, you'll get used to it," Natasha said, shrugging.

"Here's your phone; my number is in there in case you have any questions about anything," Natasha said, handing him a very basic phone without a touchscreen.

"Let's start with a basic one," Natasha said, laughing slightly.

"We're leaving; remember, you can call me anytime if you have any problems," Natasha said, nodding at Steve.

"See you; I'm sure we'll go on some missions together," Clint said, shaking Steve's hand and saying goodbye.

"Maybe we'll be like the three musketeers," Natasha joked before saying goodbye and leaving the apartment with Clint.

Steve smiled slightly as he watched Natasha and Clint leave; they didn't seem like spies but rather two friends who liked to joke around.

Looking at his new home, he couldn't help but think again about the craziness of this situation.

Wanting to learn more about the world, Steve turned on the TV as Natasha had shown him and tuned in to the news channel.

It was the easiest way to find out what the world was like, and the first thing he did was frown at the news they were showing.

There had been several murders in Brooklyn, and the bodies had been found skinned or headless.

Steve furrowed his brow as his melancholy faded, and his heroic nature kicked in. He planned to go for a walk tonight, remember his moments with Bucky, and use himself as bait to lure out the killer.

''No matter what the date, a soldier's duty never stops'' Steve muttered with determination.

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