"I don’t even know anymore. Do whatever you want."

Just then, Captain finished washing the dishes and sat down at the table.

"What were you two talking about?"

"Now that the baby is born, we were just talking a bit about returning to duty."

"Really? But if both of you work, there won’t be anyone to take care of Emilia..."

I had just been making an excuse, but Captain was seriously considering it.

"Don’t worry about that. I can have someone look after her at my mansion. Or you could take turns receiving missions."

"I think the second option is better. After all, parents should be the ones taking care of her."

Captain seemed very worried about his newborn child. So I just told him to do whatever he thought was best. The Avengers had good benefits.

"Then let’s do that."

Captain quickly washed up, changed into jeans and a T-shirt, and got ready to go to the base. Meanwhile, Deadpool was feeding the baby milk and playing with her in her arms. After getting ready, Captain gave the baby a light kiss on the cheek and said to Deadpool,

"Then we’ll be going. Take care of Emilia."

"Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she grows up big and strong."

"R-right..."

After saying goodbye, Captain and I got in the car and drove off. But we weren’t heading straight to the base.

"Where are we going? This isn’t the way to the base."

"I have something important to do. Let’s go for a drive."

"Really?"

We arrived at a quiet beach, parked the car, and walked along the shore, talking.

"You know, right? That Bucky assassinated Tony’s father."

"As expected, it was about that... I figured you’d know, since you’re an expert in that area."

"To be honest, you’re my friend and Tony is my friend too. So I wanted to talk to you first. I also know that Bucky is your precious friend and brother. But HYDRA’s remnants are being cleaned up, so there isn’t much time left. Eventually, Tony will find out the truth too."

At my words, Captain ran his hand over his face, troubled.

"Ha... what should I do?"

I handed Captain a file. Inside were records of HYDRA’s super-soldier experiments and mind-control procedures. Captain began flipping through the file.

"In my opinion, it would be best to tell him in advance. It could become a bigger problem later. And as you can see from the files, it wasn’t Bucky’s fault. All of this is HYDRA’s doing."

"Will Tony understand that?"

"Well... honestly, I don’t know. But if we let him know in advance that Bucky was also a victim, he might understand Bucky better than if he found out suddenly."

Captain listened to my words and walked along the beach with me in silence. He seemed to need some time to think.

After walking for a while, having apparently sorted out his thoughts, he looked at me and spoke.

"Alright. I think you’re right. Hiding it isn’t the answer."

"Yeah."

This was the main reason I had come to see Captain today. The sooner things like this are resolved, the better.

Captain and I took the files and headed to Avengers Tower. Tony hadn’t been coming to the base much lately—I didn’t know if he was building a new suit or traveling with Pepper.

As we entered the Avengers Tower parking lot, ’Friday,’ the AI that replaced JARVIS after the Ultron incident, recognized us and let us through immediately. So we were able to go straight to the top floor without any hassle.

"Oh~ come in. Long time no see, Cap, Jin."

Tony was doing various things at Avengers Tower; there was a stack of paperwork on his desk. Bruce was also with him.

"Bruce, you’re here too."

"Yeah. I was getting Tony’s input on developing the Hulk Striker Mark II. The parts were sent straight from Gundam Island, but the technology itself is something else."

Bruce seemed to be preparing his next suit as well.

"True, it was badly damaged during the Ultron incident."

"I want to have it ready before the next big crisis."

"If you need support, just say the word. I’ll actively help."

"Got it."

Just then, Captain nudged my side. It was a signal to get to the point.

"Tony, we came to talk to you about something."

"Really? Did you get more good liquor?"

"I wish that were the case... but this time it’s a serious matter."

I showed Tony the files and spoke.

"You probably know that among the people Captain is chasing is the Winter Soldier, Bucky. He’s Captain’s old friend and a victim of HYDRA. He was captured by HYDRA and subjected to various experiments, becoming the Winter Soldier he is today."

"I see. So this Bucky guy was also a victim. But why are you showing me this?"

When Tony asked that, Captain stepped in and continued. He seemed to have judged that he should be the one to say it.

"Tony, this might be shocking, but please calm down and listen. Your father, Howard Stark, did not die in a car accident. He was assassinated by Bucky, acting on HYDRA’s orders."

"Wh-what??? Is that true???"

"Yes..."

Tony was so shocked that he slumped back into his chair.

"But Tony, Bucky was under HYDRA’s mind control. He wasn’t in his right mind. All of this is HYDRA’s doing."

Captain tried to defend Bucky. But Tony lowered his head, clutching it, and was silent for a long time. From Tony’s perspective, it must have been a tremendous shock.

After a long, deathly silence, Tony raised his head and asked us,

"How long have you known about this?"

Captain answered,

"I’ve known for a few months. I came across the files while digging through HYDRA’s information."

I didn’t want to say anything awkward, so I just went along with Captain’s answer.

"Same here."

"Then why are you telling me now? If you had that information, shouldn’t you have told me right away?"

Captain apologized to Tony.

"I’m sorry. Honestly, because Bucky was involved, I couldn’t sort out my thoughts. I was shocked when I saw it too."

Tony, knowing the relationship between Captain and Bucky, didn’t blame Captain further.

"Ha... so where is this Bucky guy now?"

"I don’t know. We’re still tracking him."

Then I spoke.

"Tony, as you can see from the files, Bucky wasn’t the only one subjected to such experiments. There might be other Winter Soldiers out there."

At that, Tony stood up, poured himself a drink, downed it in one gulp, and said to us,

"This is insane... Anyway, thanks for telling me. I know it must have been hard to talk about a friend’s matter."

"Tony..."

Captain tried to say more, but Tony cut him off.

"I saw the files too. I know Bucky was also a victim of HYDRA. But if I see him in person, I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to control myself."

I had actually obtained video footage, but it was the right choice not to show it. Judging by Tony’s reaction, if he had seen that, he would have gone after Bucky immediately.

After that, Tony began drinking silently. Since staying seemed awkward, we left. Bruce would take care of him.

"Is this enough?"

Captain asked me with a worried expression as he drove to the base.

"At least Tony now knows that Bucky was being used by HYDRA. I think that’s a lot better. He’s still processing it right now, but with time, things will settle down."

"Yeah, I hope so..."

Captain was quite worried about this matter, but it was actually resolved much better than in the original. At least as far as Captain and Tony’s relationship was concerned. If trouble arises with Bucky later, there’s a higher chance the two will work together.

Captain and I arrived at the base and went about our respective tasks. Captain seemed to be gathering information with Sam, tracking down HYDRA remnants—or more precisely, tracking Bucky. I spent my time designing various things and keeping an eye on the Ant-Man situation.

Ant-Man was progressing as in the original, so I didn’t need to interfere. After just watching for a while, I went to Kamar-Taj for the first time in a long while, carrying various supplies to support the struggling sorcerers. By now, Doctor Strange had already arrived at Kamar-Taj, looking disheveled with his hands trembling, being trained by Mordo. He must not have been there long. Also, Kaecilius had left and was nowhere to be seen.

’So Doctor Strange has already begun. Well, he needs time to train, so it’s not strange that he started already.’

Doctor Strange was originally a world-renowned genius neurosurgeon. But after a car accident damaged his hands, he could no longer perform delicate surgeries, and his life as a doctor ended. His hands trembled so much he couldn’t even shave properly. He spent all his wealth searching for a cure, but failed repeatedly, eventually ending up at Kamar-Taj.

"Oh~ long time no see, Master Jin. I hope you’ve been well."

"Long time no see, Ancient One."

As soon as I exchanged greetings with the Ancient One, Strange kept glancing at me during his training, and eventually got scolded by Mordo to ’focus.’ At that moment, he looked less like the world’s greatest sorcerer and more like a curious student. My presence here seemed more fascinating to him than magic itself.

"The time is finally approaching."

"Yes. You haven’t forgotten our promise, have you?"

"No. I will not interfere with this matter."

"That’s all I need."

"Then this will be our last meeting."

"Yes. Instead of staying out here, let’s go inside."

"Understood."

I entered Kamar-Taj, guided by the Ancient One. The other sorcerers seemed to be moving the supplies I had brought.

The Ancient One and I sat at a small table on the roof of Kamar-Taj to talk. It was probably to keep the other sorcerers from overhearing.

"To say it again, I don’t know about the future, but for now, you would still have difficulty defeating Dormammu."

The Ancient One answered my unasked question directly.

"I thought I had gotten stronger, but that’s not the case?"

"Jin, you are strong. In fact, out of 1000 attempts, you won 475 times against Dormammu."

The Ancient One had apparently checked multiple futures even before I arrived.

"Then doesn’t that mean there’s a chance?"

"No. Out of those 475 times, in 421 futures, Earth was destroyed as a result of your battle with Dormammu. Even the remaining 54 futures resulted in severe damage. You would win, but not really."

Come to think of it, I had many things to protect, so the situation with Dormammu was completely different. He only pursued endless desire and domination, but I had people and worlds I needed to protect.

"I see."

"I have lived a long time. Even if I leave now, I have no regrets. It’s just fixing a wrongly placed button. Don’t worry too much about it. Besides, I have a capable successor, so I believe the path forward will be navigated well."

"Understood."

"By the way, I happen to need a new tea set. Could you give me one?"

Since this was the last time, I was thinking of giving her something to thank her for teaching me magic all this time, but when the Ancient One said that, it felt a bit anticlimactic.

"Haha, you’re still the same."

I immediately took out a high-end tea set from my inventory and handed it to her.

"Thank you."

"And this is a donation for Kamar-Taj."

"I’ll use it well. Thank you for all your help, Master Jin. Thanks to your assistance, many disciples who faced difficulties were able to gain great strength."

The Ancient One stood up, bowed her head, and expressed sincere gratitude. So I also stood up and bowed my head to thank her.

"I also thank you for giving me the wisdom and strength to navigate the future."

"Now, let’s go down. You have friends to see, after all."

"Understood."

I went down with the Ancient One and greeted Wong in the library.

"Jin, long time no see."

"Long time no see, Wong."

"Can you stay for a drink today?"

"Yeah, I’ve got nothing going on today."

"That’s good to hear."

"I’m sorry about Kaecilius."

When I mentioned Kaecilius, Wong sighed heavily.

"His obsession with power was too strong. It couldn’t be helped. Just wait a moment, Mordo’s training is almost done, so he’ll be here soon."

"Got it. I’ll prepare some simple food in the meantime."

I used an Eldritch Gate to go to my mansion’s kitchen, quickly made some sausages, buffalo wings, and french fries, and returned to the library. By then, Mordo had already arrived and was chatting with Wong.

"Long time no see, Jin."

"Good to see you, Mordo."

After exchanging greetings, we moved outside to have a drink. We talked about what had been happening, but we didn’t discuss Kaecilius. They seemed to avoid the topic.

While we were laughing and drinking, Doctor Strange came over and said to Wong,

"I finished reading the book... oh! Buffalo wings. Can I have some too?"

Strange, probably craving American food, asked Wong with a smack of his lips.

"Go ahead. Master Jin prepared this food anyway."

"Master Jin? So Jin also passed through here?"

"Yeah. Jin is an Avenger, but he’s also family."

"Ah... that’s why he uses magic in battle..."

Strange must have seen my activities on TV.

"Oh, right. You haven’t met this guy yet. He’s a new arrival. Doctor Strange, I think he was some kind of doctor..."

"Surgeon. Anyway, nice to meet you. I’m Dr. Stephen Strange."

Doctor Strange offered a handshake, and I accepted.

"Nice to meet you. I’m Jin. I probably don’t need an introduction."

"Yeah."

"Since we’ve met, why don’t you sit down and have a drink?"

"Sure."

At my invitation, Strange sat down next to Wong and started eating the buffalo wings.

"I’m surprised. I didn’t know Jin was originally from here. And he’s a sponsor too..."

"It’s been a while. Jin also helped us build the bathrooms and showers. Before that, we had to fetch water in large jars. Those were really hard times. You’re lucky. It was so hard to wash that some people used to go home to do it. Even now, thinking about those days..."

Wong shuddered as he spoke, clearly having had a difficult time back then.

"No wonder... the accommodations are a bit rough, but I was surprised the bathrooms and showers were state-of-the-art."

Mordo chuckled and said,

"We’re not primitive, you know. We like nice, clean facilities too."

"Well, I was pretty shocked when I first came here and found out there was Wi-Fi..."

I also asked Strange something I was curious about.

"Seeing you eat so many buffalo wings, I guess you’ve only been eating the meals here?"

"Yeah. I’m still learning, so I can’t go anywhere, and I don’t have any money..."

"Really? Wait a moment. If you’re a junior, I should bring you some food."

I used an Eldritch Gate to go back to my mansion, loaded a large cooler with frozen pizza, buffalo wings, and other frozen foods, and returned.

"Share it with the others. It won’t be as good as fresh food, but it’s edible."

"Oh~ pizza, nice. But is there a microwave here?"

Mordo answered his question.

"Don’t worry, there is. We also have a large refrigerator."

"Really? You really do have everything."

"Like I said, we’re not primitive."

"Then could you show me where the microwave is? I’ve been craving pizza."

"Sure. I need to put these frozen things in the freezer anyway."

Strange went with Mordo to heat up some food, then returned and started eating enthusiastically. He must have been homesick for American food.