"Nick Fury is dead?"
Natasha's expression tightened the moment she saw the scene of Nick Fury lying on the hospital bed without signs of life.
But before she could react, the video cut to Alexander Pierce announcing that Nick Fury had been killed by Steve Rogers, and that S.H.I.E.L.D. had issued a wanted notice for Captain America.
"...Fuck!"
In the theater, Nick Fury's face grew darker than ever.
Compared to the clip of him lying dead in the hospital, Pierce's announcement chilled him to the bone.
At first, he had only suspected Sitwell was high-level Hydra since Sitwell was his direct subordinate.
But now he was 90% certain—
Alexander Pierce, the man he trusted most, was absolutely connected to Hydra.
And then Fury suddenly remembered—
Insight Project.
The very plan Pierce had personally led.
Once the helicarriers equipped with Hydra's targeting algorithm launched into the sky…
Anyone who opposed Hydra, threatened Hydra, or might threaten Hydra in the future… would be eliminated instantly.
That algorithm was terrifying.
Fury subconsciously stood up, wanting to storm out of the theater and kill Pierce on the spot.
But he forced himself to calm down.
Fortunately, he now learned all this in advance through the spoiler system.
He still had time to dismantle Hydra from the inside.
Taking a deep breath, he kept watching.
Video – Hospital Scene
Steve Rogers, now wanted by S.H.I.E.L.D., stood in the quiet hospital corridor with his hood pulled low.
He stayed beside the ward where Fury had "died" for a long moment before stepping toward a vending machine.
As he pressed a button to buy a snack, the reflection in the glass revealed Natasha Romanoff standing behind him, casually chewing gum.
The instant Steve saw her, he reacted instinctively and shoved her into a hidden room.
"Where's the drive?"
Natasha stayed calm. "It's safe."
"Tell me more details."
"Steve, you have to tell me where you got the drive first."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Fury gave it to you. I want to know why."
"Do you know those pirates were hired by Fury?"
"I know who killed Fury. It was the Winter Soldier."
Steve, watching himself in the theater, frowned deeply.
Why… was he so distrustful of Natasha in the video?
Right now, he trusted her completely.
Then he remembered what Fury and Natasha speculated days ago.
The videos were showing the original timeline — before the spoiler system intervened.
Without the system, he would naturally distrust Natasha after being branded a fugitive by S.H.I.E.L.D.
Realizing this, Steve's heart relaxed.
And then his expression darkened with quiet regret.
If only…
If only he, Peggy, Howard—
If only any of them had the spoiler system seventy years ago—
Dr. Erskine wouldn't have died.
Bucky wouldn't have fallen from the train.
The Howling Commandos wouldn't have been wiped out.
So many tragedies could have been avoided.
Steve & Natasha Escape
As the video continued, Steve and Natasha fled from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s pursuit and eventually reached an abandoned military base in New Jersey.
There they uncovered Dr. Zola's algorithm and barely survived the explosion that followed.
Tony Stark's Theater
Arms crossed, Tony watched silently.
A world-threatening plan like this… and these two didn't ask him for help?
Afraid of dragging him into trouble?
What a joke.
Neither he nor Linen would refuse to help them.
A global threat like Zola's algorithm would absolutely push both him and Linen to act.
Tony chewed his gum thoughtfully and memorized the base's location.
Once he left the theater, he planned to blow that base up.
After all, Zola had once been recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D. by Howard Stark.
As Howard's son, cleaning up his father's "old mess" was his responsibility.
He smirked.
Jarvis would enjoy purging that stubborn digital ghost.
Then a thought hit him—
Wait.
In the future, he'd use a time machine to meet his father, right?
So why didn't his future self warn him?
A time-space paradox, maybe?
A rule of time travel?
Perhaps he couldn't alter events that were supposed to happen.
But…
How do you even build a time machine?
He had absolutely no idea.
Steve in the Theater
While Tony was lost in temporal theory, Steve stared unblinkingly at the screen.
Because right now, Steve and Natasha were being attacked—
And the one leading the assault was Bucky Barnes.
His best friend.
His brother.
The man he watched fall to his "death" seventy years ago.
"...Bucky."
Steve's voice trembled.
His fingers trembled.
Everything trembled.
Bucky was alive.
After seventy years…
After losing everyone…
After waking up alone in a world that wasn't his…
Bucky was still alive.
Tears welled up in Steve's eyes.
He didn't care that Bucky was the Winter Soldier.
He didn't care how Hydra had brainwashed him.
He didn't care about anything—
Except that his brother survived.
That was enough.
More than enough.
Taking a heavy breath, Steve silently mouthed a "thank you"… to the spoiler system.
Once he left the theater…
He would search for Bucky immediately.
Because nothing—nothing—was more important than finding him again.
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