Marvel: I am Iron Man

The Pacific Ocean, late at night.

A paratrooper squad jumped from a KJ-20 anti-radar fighter jet, a weapon system designed for Aegis systems, and landed in the nearby sea.

Captain America, Steve Rogers, personally led the paratrooper team, who silently swam ashore and found the hidden laboratory, AIM.

Thanks to SHIELD's excellent intelligence gathering in the early stages of the mission, the team had obtained a general map of the experimental base before infiltrating.

A successful infiltration is at least 50% determined by thorough prior preparation. The team had planned the infiltration route in advance, so they only needed to follow the plan step by step.

After securing the observation posts, disabling the outer alarm system, and infiltrating the base... things were going smoothly at first.

They entered the core area of ​​the laboratory without alerting any alarms, arrived at the control room, and found the person in charge of the laboratory.

Of course, the AIM guards around the control room also reacted and attempted to retaliate. And as the report stated, these men were highly skilled in combat and well-equipped.

But it didn't help much. In fact, Captain America didn't even need the team's assistance; he practically single-handedly wiped them all out.

With just himself and his shield, Steve almost performed a show for his teammates, demonstrating what it means to be a "ceiling-level fighting master," and basically disarmed all the guards in an instant.

Up to this point, everything was in accordance with the mission plan. But then, things started to get out of control.

Because something completely outside their mission plan appeared before them.

During the preliminary investigation, the research content of this AIM laboratory was kept completely confidential; even S.H.I.E.L.D. did not know exactly what was being researched there.

But now, they soon found out.

Just as AIM's armed guards had been almost completely wiped out and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had relaxed their vigilance slightly, Steve was the first to notice the change.

He caught a glimpse of... some kind of mecha?

Humanoid robots, with silver-white armor shells covering dark mechanical skeletons, appeared silently behind them at some unknown time.

It raised its arm and locked onto a SHIELD member from behind, its arm armed with what looked like a rocket launcher.

"Watch out!"

Almost without thinking, Steve shouted and leaped forward, using his body to shield the young agent from the dark cannon barrel.

The machine warrior opened fire.

The rocket, trailing a plume of flame, blasted out. Captain America leaped into the air, desperately trying to curl up behind his shield.

The rocket hit the bullseye, exploding atop the five stars on the shield. Flames and shockwaves spread, like an invisible hammer blow, sending Steve flying backward.

The shield flew out of his hand, and even vibranium couldn't completely absorb the impact of the shot. Steve felt as if he had lost all weight, his back slamming heavily against the wall that was seven or eight meters behind him, the laboratory's alloy wall panels denting under the impact.

With a loud ringing in his ears, he vaguely heard someone shouting "Captain!" at the same time, gunshots rang out.

The team members engaged in combat with the robotic warrior.

We must...support them...

Steve forced himself not to lose consciousness, but the shock just now had made him see stars.

In a daze, he suddenly felt as if he had returned to the battlefield of the past.

Sometimes he felt like he was charging through a hail of bullets, sometimes like he was raiding a Hydra secret base, and sometimes like he was back on that plane before he was frozen solid, piloting it towards the sea, feeling it was a regretful but glorious sacrifice...

Then he saw Bucky.

His best friend, however, fell from the train into a deep abyss amidst heavy snow during that mission right before his eyes.

He possessed immense strength and was hailed as a hero, yet he failed to grasp the most important hand and protect the most important person.

"Bucky..."

Steve looked at Bucky in front of him. He knew this might be a replay of his past, which was why he was seeing the most important person in his life, and also his greatest regret.

"Maybe this time I really am going to die." Steve chuckled self-deprecatingly and shook his head. "I don't even know why I'm still alive in this era. But maybe I'm going to see you soon, Bucky."

Ever since he woke up, Steve had felt something was off.

Having arrived in the future as an old-fashioned being, in an era he shouldn't belong to and shouldn't have Captain America anymore, he felt it was a mistake, that he shouldn't be here.

"Because you are a promise, Steve," Bucky said. "Because there's always someone who needs to carry the banner of commitment, and you are that person."

"The last century? Maybe." Steve shook his head. "Back then, I was Captain America because everyone was counting on me. I was the one with the power."

But now? The war is over, and I'm outdated. I can't keep up with the times, I can't understand the new technology, and I don't understand the fancy modern weapons..."

But before he could finish speaking, Bucky interrupted him: "That's not how it works, Steve."

Steve: "Isn't that right?"

"Of course. Deep down, you actually know it yourself. Maybe you just slept too long and forgot something so important." Bucky smiled at him.

Steve paused for a moment.

Bucky walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder.

"You are Captain America, you are the hero we all admire and are willing to follow, not because you were injected with the super soldier serum, not because you are stronger, can jump higher and run faster than us."

Bucky's luck was on his side.

"It is not strength that creates heroes, but heroes that exemplify strength."

Steve: "!"

These words exploded in his mind, as if something that had almost died deep inside him had suddenly been awakened.

"It's not time yet, Steve," Bucky said. "The fact that you've survived this long probably means that this era still needs you."

"Bucky..."

Steve took a deep breath.

Yes.

He didn't know why he was alive, why God had allowed him to live to this day. But Bucky—or perhaps it was the voice deep within his heart—was right.

"..."

Steve snapped back to reality and, just as the robot warrior's left handgun swept past where he had fallen, he narrowly rolled away to avoid it.

The bullets grazed his back, leaving a series of craters in the ground. He grabbed the shield that had fallen to the side, and charged forward, shield in hand, facing the machine warrior's gun.

He remembered, the most important thing he had almost forgotten.

No matter the era, he, Steve Rogers, is still Captain America.