Lord of Cinder in American Comics

This time, Hydra Steve didn't use any fancy attacks. He simply picked up the chest of drawers from the porch and smashed it down on old Steve's head.

Broken furniture was scattered around the room. Old Steve was old after all, and even with a shield, he couldn't completely defend himself.

Taking two steps back gave Hydra Steve an opportunity. He quickly closed the distance and began to attack the lower body of the elderly Steve.

Rolling close to avoid Old Steve's shield attack, Hydra Steve flipped around Old Steve's side and punched him in the back of the knee.

The popliteal fossa, an important structure of the knee joint, mainly includes the popliteal artery, popliteal vein, and tibial nerve. The joint structure makes it difficult for it to withstand pressure from behind.

So this attack caused the elderly Steve to kneel down.

Old Steve, who was bracing himself on the ground with his hands, was about to stand up when Hydra Steve stepped on his fingers and slammed his knee into his face.

Amidst the shattered furniture and splintered wood, elderly Steve clutched his shield, unable to stand for a long time.

Seeing the elderly man who was powerless to resist, Hydra Steve looked down at him and said, "Who are you? Tell me, and I might let you off the hook!"

Using his shield for support, the elderly Steve clung tightly to it, refusing to let it slip from his grasp.

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, the elderly Steve stood up again, adopting his usual fighting stance, shield in hand, ready to charge.

"I am Steve Rogers!"

Upon hearing this, Hydra Steve scoffed, "You're Steve? Then who am I? I've been sealed in ice for seventy years! You're no substitute for some experimental imposter!"

Hydra Steve meant that the elderly man in front of him was the product of a follow-up project by the military, using shields and soldiers to impersonate Captain America in order to boost troop morale.

But those soldiers who impersonated Captain America were often expendable; as soon as one of them died, the military would immediately push another one in.

"I was born on July 4, 1918, in Brooklyn, New York. Due to health reasons, I falsified my identity to enlist four times, but was rejected each time. Finally, with the help of Dr. Abraham Erskine and General Chester Phillips, I joined the Super Soldier Program."

After that, I possessed the most perfect body a human could possibly have, but was forced to sell bonds. Knowing my friend Bucky was missing, I disobeyed orders and went to the war zone!

As the elderly Steve recounted his past, he approached Hydra Steve.

And some of the secrets he mentioned, such as how Bucky hugged several beautiful women the day before he left, are things that only the real Steve would know.

As Steve looked at the elderly man before him, suspicion grew and his murderous intent intensified. Anyone or any organization that knew him so well must pose a threat to Hydra's grand scheme.

However, the elderly Steve slowly unfastened the shield from his left arm, holding it with both hands, preparing to gently place it on the ground.

This action made Steve of Hydra begin to observe, perhaps signaling a surrender.

However, just as the shield was about to be placed on the ground, old Steve suddenly let go of the shield and grabbed the carpet, yanking it violently.

Steve, the Hydra agent, was standing on the carpet when the sudden movement of his feet caused his body to shift, and he was about to fall to the ground.

However, being well-trained, he adjusted his center of gravity at the last moment before falling, performed a triple axe in the air, and landed steadily on the floor.

Just as Hydra Steve looked up to find his opponent, a vibranium shield flew towards him.

The concussion from the impact left Hydra Steve dizzy and disoriented. His sense of spatial orientation shifted strangely, and he twisted his body before finally crashing headfirst into the floor.

Before Steve Hydra could even react to what had happened, he felt someone help him up and put him against the wall to sit down.

The old man who had been facing life and death with him was now examining his injuries and placing his shield beside him.

Old Steve said to himself, "Are you awake now? It seems like Natasha used this method to 'wake up' Clint before. The effects of the Mind Stone can be reversed with just a strong concussion. Quickly remember everything that happened before! We have more things to do!"

Upon hearing this, the Hydra captain shook his head, as if recalling everything that had happened. His eyes gradually cleared.

"Hydra! Pierce!"

Hearing this, the elderly Steve finally breathed a sigh of relief. He reached out to help Steve up from the ground and said, "Hurry up, we don't have much time left. This world is different from the world I know. We need to hurry and prevent Hydra from causing even more destruction!"

Young Steve reached out and grasped old Steve's hand, as if he were about to stand up.

However, the young Steve suddenly exerted his strength, pulling the old Steve off balance and causing him to stumble. He then grabbed the shield from the ground and smashed it down on the old man's head.

This action caught the unsuspecting elderly Steve off guard, and the shield ripped open a gash in his head, causing blood to gush out.

However, Hydra Steve was still not at ease, so he grabbed the old Steve by the neck and lifted him up.

Hydra Steve loosened his grip on elderly Steve's hand slightly, giving him a chance to breathe, and said with a cruel smile, "An interesting story. I almost believed it! So, tell me, who are you?"

"I was wrong...you...are not me..."

Old Steve braced himself against the arm gripping his neck, trying to pull himself up, but Hydra Steve tightened his grip slightly, suffocating him.

Seeing the elderly man who had lost his senses, Steve dislocated all his joints, leaving him sprawled on the ground like a lump of mud.

He took out a bottle of the surviving liquor, took a sip, and then poured the rest onto his limp body on the ground.

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Chapter 478: Hidden for Seventy Years

Awakened by the alcohol, the elderly Steve coughed and saw the shield carelessly tossed on the ground in the distance.

Ultimately, disappointment and regret, coupled with physical pain, rendered him powerless to resist, and he gave up resisting.

At that moment, the Hydra captain took out his phone and used Hydra's channels to silence the sirens that were blaring around him.

They'd been fighting in the house for so long that the neighbors had already called the police. But Hydra had been deeply entrenched in Peanut Village for so long, they had their own channels in every industry. They could easily find an excuse to send the visiting officers home.

Old Steve looked around the room, finally fixing his gaze on the ceiling, his eyes vacant, awaiting the final moment.

The Hydra captain didn't deal with the elderly Steve at this moment because he was now a semi-public figure, and making a bloodbath in his home would attract public attention.

So now he's waiting for Hydra's logistics team, who will take this guy back to their secret base, interrogate him, and then throw him into an asphalt furnace to dispose of him.

The elderly Steve, lying on the ground, endured the excruciating pain, rubbing his chin against the ground as he turned his gaze to Hydra Steve, who was on the phone, and asked, "Who...who are you? You're the hero who fought against Red Skull! How could this be!"

After hanging up the phone, the Hydra captain chuckled contemptuously and said, "Of course I'm the hero who fought against Red Skull!"

"But...you shouldn't be a Hydra!"

Hydra Steve grabbed a bottle and poured it over old Steve's head, enjoying the torment.

Only when old Steve was about to choke to death did he release the bottle from his hand, which fell onto old Steve's face and shattered next to his head.

Hydra Steve stepped on Old Steve's head, and after the glass shards pierced his cheek, he continued to push the glass deeper.

At this moment, Hydra Steve's rage had been fully unleashed, and he spoke freely like a villain enjoying his last moments of pleasure.

Hydra Steve said, "Of course I'm a hero who fought against Red Skull! It's just that Red Skull is a fool who led a rabble of looters! The real Hydra should make the world a better place! Of course, that's under Hydra's control!"

After stomping on his feet twice, Hydra Steve, feeling uncomfortable, released his foot and began his speech, which resembled a small mustache.

"I was weak and vulnerable back then! It was Hydra that gave me hope! Lady Hydra recruited me into the training camp. When I was being bullied, it was Baron Stecla who stood up for me!"

But my body couldn't handle greater responsibilities! So I joined the Rebirth Project, got close to Dr. Erkins, and became a super soldier!

I am now the future of Hydra, the true Captain America! I will lead Hydra to become the ruler of the world! To make humanity more advanced and society a better place!

Upon hearing this, the elderly Steve gave up, looking at the Hydra captain speaking freely in front of him with despair.

"So what about Bucky?! What did you do to Bucky?!"

"Bucky? He's my beloved brother and friend! He's the Winter Soldier! He's my vanguard!"

At this point, Hydra Steve heard a sound at the door—the braking of a large vehicle. He decided not to answer any more questions and left the rest to others.

The door opened, and Bucky, whom the elderly Steve had been longing for, walked in. He nodded to Steve and reached out to pick up the old man from the ground.

The elderly Steve had all his joints removed by Captain Hydra, leaving his body so loose that Bucky couldn't possibly carry him out discreetly.

Bucky then reached out and restored some of the joints, allowing older Steve to walk out.

However, just as he regained his two legs, the elderly Steve suddenly attacked, stretching out his legs to tightly wrap around Bucky's neck, preparing to snap it.

With tears welling in his eyes, elderly Steve bids a sorrowful farewell to Bucky: "I'm sorry, Bucky."

The Hydra captain was surprised that the elderly man in front of him, despite suffering such injuries, still had the strength to resist.

Just as he was about to help free Bucky, he suddenly felt a gust of wind behind him. He quickly turned around but found no enemies or danger.

'Oh no! We've fallen for their trap!'

When he turned back again, he only saw Bucky lying limp on the ground with a syringe in his neck. His prey had vanished.

Old Steve was contemplating leading his brothers to hell when he was suddenly lifted into the air.

He really flew up. At this moment, his legs were being held by an invisible person, and his body was swinging wildly like a kite being pulled along by a 'rope'.

After a powerful hurricane and unpredictable environmental changes, elderly Steve was left on an empty concrete field, while an invisible figure beside him grabbed one of his arms, which he could not resist, and began to draw blood from his fingertips.

Although Steve couldn't see anyone, he felt the pain in his fingertips and knew that this was a confirmation of his identity.

Steve said weakly, "The test results will show that I share the same genes as Steve Rogers."

As he explained, an electronic voice came from the unseen sky. It was a notification that the test was complete.

Hill deactivated his invisibility and stood before the elderly Steve. Indeed, one could see the shadow of the young Steve in his features.

For safety's sake, Hill did not treat the injuries on elderly Steve, but instead began to inquire about his existence and origins.

Hill saved him, but the world had already changed, and he was still searching for identity in his past memories.

Steve gave a self-deprecating laugh and slowly said, "I am Steve Rogers, from 2023, who traveled back seventy years through a quantum tunnel. I married Peggy Carter and have lived a secluded life ever since."

According to Steve, he is Captain America from that movie world. In order to stop Thanos, he went back in time to obtain the Space Stone, but he secretly changed his plans and did not return to the timeline where he should exist. Instead, he stayed behind.

This explains why Peggy Carter married Steve Rogers just months after his disappearance.

After that, Peggy Carter also learned more or less about the existence of the timeline and the Infinity Stones, so neither of them revealed themselves to avoid causing a greater impact on the world.

But the world gradually changed, becoming completely different from the future Steve had described. Earth's development also progressed by leaps and bounds.

This inevitably caused Steve and Peggy to have doubts and concerns. They wondered if it was related to Steve's own decision.

Peggy then began investigating the Infinity Stones, inevitably bumping into Nick Fury, who was on the run.

At first, Steve trusted Nick Fury somewhat, after all, Nick was a good person in his timeline.

But this also affected Peggy Carter's ideas. For some reason, Peggy suddenly teamed up with Nick Fury and came to the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in Peanuts.

Steve, who was keeping an eye on himself, also noticed that the captain of this universe was different from him, and he wondered if it was because of the Mind Stone.

So he found young Steve and tried to wake himself up through concussion therapy.

But this was all just wishful thinking on his part.

Listening to the elderly Steve's explanation, Hill gradually came to believe him. After all, Steve's investigation of Hydra was merely a spur-of-the-moment decision, and the enemy was completely unpredictable.

The person in front of us has a self-consistent story that fits reality. It also aligns with Peggy Carter's past.