American comics: From Hogwarts to God on Earth

Chapter 160: Neither Submitting to America Nor Serving as Captain

"I'll ask you one last time, do you want to bring him back to life?"

"What do you mean?" Stark squinted, sensing that there was something more to this guy's words.

The silvery-white serpent of memory coiled freely around Rune's fingertips, and Stark could even see his own memories of his father on the serpent's scales.

“In our world, those who commission this service are mostly mages.” Rune looked at Stark. “Don’t underestimate them, Stark. Becoming a mage is no easier than becoming an inventor. Their wisdom is by no means much less than yours. In fact, due to the passage of time, their understanding of human nature and the material world is many levels higher than that of a mortal like you who has only lived for a few decades.”

"You're going to say 'but,' aren't you?" Stark rolled his eyes; he still didn't believe Rune's side of the story.

After all, the other party's profession is a mage, so of course they would try to embellish their own image.

Rune was not at all surprised by the guy's attitude. Tony Stark was as stubborn as a mule, and he usually just gave instructions. Rune didn't expect to change his mind.

“Yes, I have to say ‘but.’” Rune stared coldly at Tony. “Many mages who came to order puppets then sent them back over the next few months, asking me to ‘deal with’ these dolls. I can kill villains like Kingpin without any qualms, but I find it hard to do these puppets that have developed a certain degree of self-awareness.”

Stark immediately adjusted his posture: "Uh—I don't understand—"

"Don't understand? No, you actually know very well why." Rune looked at this self-deceiving fellow. "You might be the smartest person in this dimension, but your emotions are fooling yourself. In reality, some people are only meant to live in memories, aren't they?"

Tony fell silent.

"It's precisely because I find it difficult to cleanse the guilt of those who haven't done anything wrong that I choose to remind everyone who comes to have a guilt puppet made. Now tell me, you still need me to inject your memories into his body, so that the father in your memory can truly..."

Will it "come back to life"?

After giving his reminder, Rune looked in another direction: "Hello, Steve Rogers. Do you need me to bring back that dashing, valiant sharpshooter, Ms. Carter?"

A haggard-looking man emerged from the shadows. The handsome man no longer wore his classic battle suit, but instead donned casual clothes: a grey T-shirt and dark blue jeans. It was a simple outfit, but given Steve's face and physique, it still accentuated his good looks without diminishing them.

“No, I believe that creating a magical puppet with Carter’s memories and behavioral patterns is actually a desecration of Peggy’s personality. I will never use this method to win back my beloved,” Steve said, his expression resembling that of those old recruitment posters—resolute and selfless. “Such a puppet is not the real Peggy; it is merely a copy without its own consciousness.”

Rune glanced at Stark, whose eyes widened and who yelled like a cat with its fur standing on end, "What do you mean?"

"Nothing much, just that Steve is much more mature than you, Stark." Rune shrugged, and before Stark could get angry, asked, "So, do you want your father to come back to life or not?"

"I don't need it!" Stark glared at Rune, he especially hated it when people said he was inferior to Steve, "but I'm taking this unfinished puppet with me."

Rune nodded: "By the way, would you like to see my companion puppets?"

"You just belittled my friend. If I buy anything from you again, I will..." Stark said angrily, but before he could finish, Rune clapped his hands, and countless beautiful puppets emerged. Stark's face, already flushed with anger, turned even redder.

"Is there something you need?"

Steve sat opposite Rune. Although he was sitting on the sofa, half of his buttocks were not actually touching the sofa, which allowed him to quickly get up and fight back if he encountered danger.

"I don't want to be Captain America anymore," he said, dropping a bombshell that even made Stark, who was standing up to choose a puppet, turn to look at Steve.

"What? Just a few hours have passed and our 'great' Captain America is already stepping down?" Tony sneered. "I thought you, this stubborn guy, would be Captain for life, but I never expected you to be a deserter."

Faced with Iron Man's taunts, Steve Rogers remained calm: "I've just figured one thing out, Tony. I'm not loyal to any government or policy; I'm loyal to the American people—everyone who lives on this land. When this country betrays its promise of freedom and justice, it's my duty to stand up against it, not blindly follow it. I'm not going to be a deserter, Tony. I'll be back whenever the Avengers need me."

"You're running away!" Tony Stark roared, grabbing Steve by the collar and lifting him up. "You can't really solve anything. Do you think the world doesn't need rules? Do you think that by giving up that uniform and that shield, you can help ordinary people according to your own conscience? That's just self-comforting justice!"

Steve knew, of course, that his current street heroism couldn't systematically protect more people, but after he deeply understood the so-called "justice" of the US government, he could no longer convince himself to pretend he knew nothing and continue wearing that bodysuit and holding that shield.

"You should know I'm right, Tony," Steve said calmly. "Have you forgotten what happened after you announced you were Iron Man?"

Tony was stunned for a moment, and Steve took the opportunity to break free from Tony's grip.

Tony certainly remembered that day. The moment he announced he was Iron Man, the military immediately intervened, hoping to obtain the armor's blueprints. These guys swarmed in like sharks smelling blood, resorting to any means necessary, like hyenas on the savanna, to force him to hand over his assets.

Tony scoffed, but he knew Steve was right. However, a question involuntarily arose in his mind: if even Captain America no longer trusted the system, was it really worth maintaining?

As a super soldier shaped and packaged by the US government since World War II, Captain America even represents, to some extent, the qualities of the American Dream. So when Steve Rogers says he wants to give up the identity of Captain America, even Iron Man would be at a loss.