Earth, New York, Brooklyn.
In a basement filled with workout equipment, the sound of punches echoed continuously, like explosions.
Under the flickering yellow light, a tall, muscular, yet graceful blonde man was furiously pummeling a 400-kilogram punching bag. Each punch was so powerful it would make even Mike Tyson envious.
The heavy bag swayed violently, emitting low, dull groans.
Yet, the blonde man seemed oblivious, his punches growing heavier and fiercer. Finally, with a solid punch, the bag flew across the room, violently crashing into the wall so violently that the entire basement shook.
His breathing remained steady as he grabbed another massive bag and hung it up.
He could only temporarily forget the pain of past failures by exhausting himself, letting sweat and fatigue flood his mind.
"Still can't let it go?"
With hands behind his back, Nick Fury strolled in slowly from the doorway. "The war's over, Captain. If you don't give yourself some time to rest, aren't you afraid you'll break down?"
"I can't sleep, and I can't forget," Steve replied, resting his hand on the punching bag, his eyes dim. "A war with so many sacrifices can never be considered a victory."
In the last battle during the Nine Realms Invasion, humanity had defended its final stronghold at a devastating cost.
The scale of the war and the losses exceeded anyone's imagination—millions of soldiers across Europe perished, the economic damage ran into the trillions, and hundreds of cities and ports were destroyed. It was the most catastrophic war in human history.
They publicly called it a victory, but everyone in the know understood that it was merely a façade.
Humanity lost. The Avengers lost.
Fury was well aware of this. But from his perspective, the fact that humanity still had a place to live was victory enough. He tried to console Steve, "Look at it this way: for humans to have survived after encountering beings like that... it's already a miracle."
"I just wish... we had fewer miracles like that," Steve sighed, turning to look at Fury, his breathing gradually steadying. "So, you came here to give me a mission?"
"It's not a mission. It's an apology."
Fury shook his head. "I need to apologize for something I deceived you about."
Steve crossed his arms, not angry but amused. "The master of deception is apologizing for lying? That's not like you, Fury."
"Well, I'm hoping you won't hit me too hard after you hear me out," Fury shrugged, glancing at the broken punching bag with a nervous twitch in his eye. "I'm an old man in my seventies, you know. I can't take a hit like that."
"What is it?"
Even Steve, usually calm, sensed something was wrong.
For Fury to admit to deception and apologise in person—especially while bracing for a hit—meant it had to be something serious that had crossed a line.
"Peggy Carter," Fury said, his expression darkening as he slowly uttered her name.
Steve's face changed in an instant. He rushed over, grabbing Fury by the collar, his eyes filled with rage and trembling with fear. "What did you do to Peggy? Tell me, Fury!"
"Calm down, Captain," Fury said, unflinching even as he was lifted off the ground. "We didn't do anything to Agent Carter, and I can't explain it while you're holding me like this."
Steve stared at him momentarily before slowly letting go, his jaw clenched. "Don't make me regret trusting you, Fury."
"I owe you an apology for lying to you," Fury straightened his clothes, sighing. "Do you remember visiting Agent Carter after you woke up?"
"Yes..." Steve recalled the heartbreaking memory. "She was lying in a hospital bed, so old and frail. No matter how long I spoke to her, she never woke up."
He had visited Peggy, fulfilling a promise from seventy years ago.
But the outcome was heartbreaking. The woman he loved was aged and comatose, unable to wake.
"That wasn't really Peggy," Fury said, patting Steve's shoulder. "To spare you the pain, we cloned a version of her. She was never going to wake up because she wasn't really Peggy Carter."
Steve: "???"
The news hit Steve like a thunderbolt, leaving him stunned for several moments.
"W-wait... so the real Peggy... is still alive? What's going on? Why did you create a fake Peggy? What really happened?"
"Because... Agent Carter defected."
Fury handed Steve a phone. "Several years after you disappeared, Peggy left S.H.I.E.L.D. under unknown circumstances and took a large amount of classified research with her. Her motives remain unclear."
Peggy... defected?
The back-to-back shocks left Steve reeling.
"Captain, we need your help."
Fury took a deep breath before continuing. "Agent Carter has reappeared after nearly seventy years. She attacked a highly secure S.H.I.E.L.D. facility in Austria last night and stole a top-secret item. I believe only you... can bring her back."
Steve lowered his head, his expression blank as he quickly scrolled through the information on Fury's phone.
It detailed Peggy Carter's defection from S.H.I.E.L.D., her disappearance for decades, and her sudden return last night to raid a classified military base. She stole an item with a security clearance level of 9.
On a grainy, damaged surveillance photo, Steve saw the familiar face of the woman he loved—Peggy Carter.
But when Steve saw her face, his heart began to race, and his pupils dilated.
In the photo, Peggy Carter looked precisely the same as seventy years ago.
The time she had left no trace on her. She was still as alluring, intelligent, and beautiful as she had been back then.
"Captain, what's your decision?" Fury asked, smiling as if he already knew Steve's answer.
Bang!
Before Fury's smile fully formed, Steve punched him hard enough to send him flying into the wall like a broken punching bag.
"I'll go," Steve said coldly, glaring at Fury. "That punch was for lying to me."
Cough cough... "Not bad. Looks like I can still handle it," Fury wiped the blood from his lips and grinned. "In a way, this could be seen as a good thing. You should thank God—you get a chance to reunite with her."
"I will bring her back!" Steve clutched the phone tightly, his eyes filled with determination. "This time, I won't miss our date that's seventy years overdue."
"Good luck, Captain," Fury said, leaning against the wall with a smile. "The plane's waiting outside. Don't keep your 'girlfriend' waiting too long."