Faced with Captain America's sudden attack, Adrian had no chance of dodging.

Not only was he an ordinary person, but his illness had aged him so severely that, though barely in his early forties, he looked like a man well into his sixties.

Thud!

* * *

'That sounded good. And a good hit means a good start.'

At the LexCorp headquarters, Reid let out a quiet laugh as he observed the scene with his super vision.

* * *

"Ah!!!"

Adrian cried out in pain, falling to the floor. It was then that Steve realized the person he’d attacked wasn’t Hydra. In fact, he wasn’t even aboard a Hydra warship.

"Who are you? Where am I?"

Steve didn’t let down his guard just because the man looked frail. He immediately stood up from the bed, fists raised, eyeing Adrian, who was now groaning and clutching his face, with full alertness.

Seeing that the man was ready to resort to force, Adrian didn’t dare hesitate. He waved his hands and said, "Captain! The war is over. Hydra is gone, the Nazis have fallen. I’m not your enemy. I’m just a doctor."

"A doctor?" Muttering to himself, Steve's suspicion eased slightly, though his fists remained clenched. Adrian’s lab coat did resemble that of a medical professional, but something still felt off. When the man had leaned in earlier, he had sensed something... not right.

Before he could say anything else, a loud honk rang out from outside the window.

Steve had seen cars before. He'd even personally witnessed Howard Stark's failed debut of the first hovercar prior to heading out on missions.

But still, the horn he heard now was much louder than any car he remembered.

Turning to look out the window, Steve was once again stunned. Through the glass, he clearly saw cars racing down the street, towering skyscrapers that reached into the clouds, and massive colorful screens lighting up the buildings.

He believed it now. The war had truly ended. But it also felt like he had woken up... a bit too late.

"What year... is it now?"

"Captain, it’s 2001. It’s been half a century since you defeated Red Skull."

Steve froze at that. He had already guessed as much, but having it confirmed still hit hard.

"Half a century..."

His thoughts drifted to that woman. The one he had made a promise to. And now... it seemed he had been late for decades.

For a while, Steve said nothing. Then he finally snapped out of it. He wanted to find Agent Carter, but deep down, he also knew, after sleeping for fifty years and being suddenly awakened like this, there was no way the people who brought him back had done so purely for fun.

"So, what were you trying to do just now?"

Now that Steve had finally asked, Adrian quickly replied, "It’s like this, Captain. Since you’ve been in suspended animation for so long, we need to make sure your body is recovering properly. For that, I need a small blood sample to run some tests."

"Blood sample?"

Steve frowned slightly. Like Adrian had expected, as the only super soldier of his time, he was well aware of how unique and valuable his body was.

On top of that, Adrian didn’t look like someone from the U.S. government, which made it even harder for Steve to trust him.

"No. I believe my body is fine. If something feels wrong, I’ll go to a hospital myself. Now, can I leave?"

Hearing Steve’s refusal, Adrian quietly thought, ‘Just as expected.’ This outcome was well within his predictions.

Besides, he had no way of forcing Captain America to cooperate with his research right now.

So, he chose to step back for the moment.

"According to the physical report, everything is in perfect condition. I’ll have a nurse bring you some modern clothing. But Captain, remember to wear a hat when you're out in public. You really don’t want to find out how popular you are today, fifty years later."

"I understand."

Adrian’s reminder brought back unpleasant memories for Steve.

Back then, though he carried the title of Captain America, all he could do was travel around the country with a team of showgirls, promoting war bonds. It was a time he’d rather forget.

He didn’t know how famous he was now, but one thing was certain. He had no intention of revealing his identity as Captain America in front of others.

"Is there anything else I need to know?"

As Steve followed up with another question, Adrian took the chance to explain several other things. Since he couldn’t act just yet, he figured he might as well do his job properly as a representative of LexCorp.

"The most important thing is to return to the hospital tonight, Captain. Tomorrow, one of the higher-ups at LexCorp, who was involved in your discovery, would like to meet with you. Of course, you’re free to decline."

Steve nodded. He had no plans to refuse. He wanted to know what exactly these people intended, digging him up after such a long time.

Having informed him of all the necessary details, Adrian left. After a while, a nurse brought in a set of modern clothes for Steve to wear.

* * *

Once he got changed, Steve left the hospital. He wanted to see, with his own eyes, what America looked like after half a century.

At first, he chose to jog, both to loosen up his stiff body and to observe this world that felt strange yet familiar.

But soon, he began to adjust.

A lot had changed in fifty years. But some things remained the same. Like the layout of the streets. The designs that had been around since New York City first took shape still left traces behind. Half a century wasn’t enough to erase them completely.

Eventually, Steve headed toward where his old home used to be in Brooklyn.

Along the way, without realizing it, he gradually picked up speed until he was sprinting at full force.

By the time he noticed, he had already been running like that for nearly half an hour.

"I... probably didn't attract too much attention, right?"

Not wanting to be seen as some kind of monster, Steve looked around. Sure enough, quite a few people had their cameras out, snapping photos of him. But even though many of them were smiling, none of them looked especially shocked.

With his enhanced hearing, Steve could even make out the whispers around him.

"Look at that guy’s speed. Maybe he’s the next street-level hero about to be introduced."

"Yeah, looks like it. I wonder which area they'll assign him to? New York’s already packed with heroes. He’ll probably get sent to another city first to build up popularity before they bring him here."

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