Serious People, Who is Learning Magic at Marvel?

"How do you feel, Steve?" Hawkeye hugged his chest, looking at the row of photos on the table in the back of the Quinjet, and said with a smile.

Beside him, changed Steve Rogers picked up a helmet and put it on himself. He was dressed in all-black streamlined armor, the helmet hummed as it was put on, and the visor closed with the characteristic mechanical click. A large red cross appeared on his glossy mask, radiating a striking red light.

"Everything is fine except that the clothes don't fit well." Steve's voice sounded very mechanical after the helmet's processing.

"Hey, don't complain. This is the best thing I can find. After disbanding for so long, there are only a few left. You're already in the best condition. Just bear with it."

Steve tapped on the right side of the helmet, and the mask opened and folded. He said: "Clint, I'm not tech-savvy, but I'm amazed that Tony didn't add a self-sizing feature to his clothes. You know, the worst tailors knew how to make clothes bigger. Make it smaller."

Hawkeye couldn't help laughing: "If he hears what you say here, he will probably start to make a self-adjusting set and show it to you on the spot."

"Yeah. He definitely will, and he'll say I'm an old-fashioned guy who knows some high tech." Steve nodded with a smile, then sighed.

The sound of the engines of this Tony-modified Quinjet was barely audible, so his sighs were especially noticeable in the cabin.

"What's wrong?" Hawkeye asked.

"It's nothing, Clint. I just miss the past."

Hawkeye glanced at the photos, he opened his mouth to say something, but in the end he couldn't help but nodded with a wry smile: "Who doesn't miss the past, Steve?"

"There is not a day in all these years when I don't think about the old days and sometimes even wake up and feel like I'm still on a mission. But you have to accept it, Steve. The Avengers are disbanded and there's no going back. We can still What to do?"

"You're right, Clint. The Avengers are indeed disbanded. Even Captain America should be dead in their minds, but I'm not dead yet. My old dog still has a few teeth."

"So, I'm going to do something I should have done a long time ago." Steve said softly, and he continued: "AI, change the target to Rod's house."

"The destination has been changed, Captain, welcome back." The mechanical girl's slightly dull voice came from above the cabin.

"Change the name, AI, call me Steve in the future."

Although I don't know if there is a future. Steve thought.

"The title has changed, Steve."

"Going to Rhode's house?" Hawkeye asked puzzled.

"He's been under house arrest for a year," Steve explained briefly.

"..." Hawkeye shook his head in silence, and he said, "The stubborn bastard didn't listen to our persuasion. We told him a long time ago that going back would not end well. He insisted on returning to the army after we disbanded. It's his own fault."

"Don't blame him, Clint. Let's talk about you, how have you been all these years?" Steve patted Hawkeye on the shoulder.

"I?"

Hawkeye shrugged. "I'm having a great time. Really, Captain, it couldn't have been better."

He obviously didn't want to talk more about it. Steve moved away from the subject and asked, "Where's Frank?"

"He's so good, the same old. Kill this, kill that. He's gone from New York to Japan and back to New York from Japan over the years. Last time I saw him, that bastard was blind in his right eye and still Bragging to me is proof that he killed seventy people with his bare hands."

"He has that ability."

"Who doesn't? I just can't stand his show-off.

"

"Fight him again?"

Hawkeye waved his hand, and he said without changing his face, "I won't bully a blind man."

They chatted as if time had gone back to the past. The world was chaotic back then, with aliens, demons, crazy machines, and a horde of hydra menaces. But at least they were united, not falling apart as they are now.

AI's mechanical female voice sounded in the cabin: "We have arrived at Colonel Rhodes' home, do you need me to provide fire support?"

"No, no need," Steve said, and his mask slowly unfolded with a click, and the buzzing sounded again.

Hawkeye closed his eyes, he took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes again, all those extra emotions were wiped out. He stood up in silence, took up his bow, and dangled his quiver behind him. The cabin opens and the wind blows in. The two looked at each other and jumped up.

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Rhodes faced a floor-to-ceiling window and ran on the treadmill. He had been running at top pace for three hours, and he had to use this almost masochistic training to make himself forget something. Physical exhaustion can temporarily forget the pain of the soul.

"You're a soldier, Rod! Raise your face!" Again, he heard his father's voice.

The stubborn old man who was covered in wounds sullenly said the last words to his only son in his loud voice, not a warm goodbye, but a reprimand. Since then, these words have been ringing in his mind all the time. inseparable.

But it didn't do him any good.

Rod could hear unabashed laughter from his living room, where five bastards were watching pay-per-view on his TV, drinking his wine, and messing up his carpet. And he can't even say: "Please get out of my house."

Because that was the man sent to 'protect' him.

A year ago, he was placed under house arrest. This is true even after retiring from the military and turning in his armor. He was not allowed to communicate with the outside world, not allowed to go out, not even allowed to have his own mobile phone. It's not that Rhodes didn't think about resisting, but whenever he had such thoughts, his father's words would ring in his ears.

Rhodes suddenly let out a low growl. He hammered hard on the treadmill's panel. The machine stopped. He leaned on the handrails tiredly and stood on it, sweat dripping down his skin. A pain of betrayal churned within him, tearing at his soul.

Part of him is yelling: I'm an Avenger! I am a hero! They can't treat me like this!

Another part of him was also roaring, the one he said in his father's voice: I'm a soldier! Soldiers are bound to obey orders!

He raised his head and looked up at the night sky outside. He picked up the water glass that was on the side and took a swig, and at this moment, there was a loud noise.