The Death Knell

Steve had a dream in which he saw himself crashing into the North Pole in a Hydra giant bomber and hitting an iceberg.

The difference is that no one saved him this time. He just died for his country. His soul flew back to New York and saw people attending his funeral. They buried a suit of clothes in an empty coffin because his bones Nothing left.

At the funeral were his comrades, as well as Godfather, Bucky and Peggy, and they all cried very sadly.

He wanted to tell them that he had sacrificed his life for the cause of mankind's struggle for freedom, and that they should feel honored for him instead of crying for it.

But in his state of soul, he could not speak and could only be a bystander, watching several people in black mourning clothes stand in awe in the green grassy military cemetery.

A long time later, when people gradually dispersed from the cemetery, Slade lit a cigarette in his dream, looked at Steve's tombstone and said:

'At least I didn't die on the way to buy a burger. ’

This sentence seemed to connect the dream with reality. Steve felt a headache. He remembered, and he remembered what happened in reality.

"No!!!"

He suddenly opened his eyes and woke up from his dream. He wanted to struggle to get up from the church bench, but was pushed back by a pair of strong hands. Those hands were as strong as rocks, and even the super soldiers could not compete with him.

Steve found that his head was resting on someone's thigh. What appeared in his sight was not only the gorgeous ceiling of the church, but also a familiar face. This man had messy shawl long hair and sparse stubble. Only that The eyes are still the same as before.

A wry smile appeared on the man's face. He held Steve's shoulders and helped him sit up slowly: "Don't get up too hard. Didn't I tell you not to wander around and cause trouble before I come back?" .”

"Bucky..." Steve sat up following the force, but then bent down to cover his face, and replied as before: "You have taken away the trouble, where can I find it?" ?”

When Steve was a child, Steve was always bullied because of his physical weakness, and Bucky always stood up for him and fought against the bad boys. He wouldn't let Steve get involved then, instead letting him watch from the sidelines while spouting his theory about 'causing trouble'.

Steve answered him this way every time. Bucky had indeed dealt with all the troubles and always protected Steve.

It wasn't until after undergoing the super soldier transformation that the two parties who said this changed, with Bucky shrinking behind and Captain America rushing to the front.

Now that Bucky is back, even though the two of them haven't seen each other for thirty years, Bucky still shows up when Steve needs help.

Bucky still wanted to protect him as always.

"I just returned to the United States. I wanted to give you a surprise, but now I seem to be frightened." Bucky patted Steve on the shoulder and looked at the coffin not far in front of him: "I never expected it. Ah, Captain America was so happy that he passed out when he saw me.”

Steve wiped his eyes, hugged Bucky forcefully, and said helplessly: "Bucky, this is no place for joking."

"I know." Bucky sighed and ruffled Steve's hair: "When I entered the church, I happened to see you holding his hand... But to be honest, you don't need to be ashamed. To the point of fainting.”

Steve lowered his voice: "You don't understand the situation, he..."

Bucky raised his hand and interrupted: "I talked to them when you were unconscious to understand the situation. I heard that I, Steve, if I die and you accidentally pull off an arm of my corpse, I I won’t blame you.”

"Uh...thank you?" Steve looked a little strange. Why did Bucky say this?

"I mean, Mr. Wilson and I do, and we both love you very much." Bucky knew from a young age that Steve's brain was not very flexible: "If I don't care about an arm, then Mr. Wilson doesn't care either."

Steve was silent until the coffin was closed and the church bells rang, then he silently walked over to help carry the coffin.

After watching the soil fall into the grave, the wreaths were placed on the grave, and the people gradually dispersed, he asked Bucky: "Is this really the case?"

Bucky nodded affirmatively. He took out his old suit today, and it looked tight. "It must be like this. We all know what kind of person he is, and he will only be imagined by us." The one in it is greater.”

"Where have you been all these years? Your appearance hasn't changed at all." Steve listened to Bucky's words and his mood eased, but when he saw Howard leaving with Gin and the others, he was still embarrassed. If you follow him, you can only be dragged home by Bucky.

Steve bought a new house, but Bucky still lived in the old apartment left by his parents. Steve only remembered to ask Bucky the question when the two were sitting on the subway.

Looking at the flashing lights in the tunnel, Bucky raised his hand and showed it to Steve: "I went to the country on the other side of the Pacific, and had some adventures there. I learned to use a kind of energy that combines spirit and body. , this is called Qi.”

As he spoke, he mobilized the energy in his body and turned his hands to shine like metal. This was the internal skill that Kunlun Iron Fist had practiced throughout the ages.

To be honest, Steve couldn't understand these words together at all, but it was enough to see that Bucky was not aging.

"Is it the ability of an Eastern warrior? Is it similar to a ninja?"

Bucky shook his head, took back his energy and hugged Steve's neck: "It's completely different. Japan is just a learner, and only China's qigong is the most orthodox. You come home with me first, and we can make some Come and have a drink, and then I will slowly tell you how strong I am now."

............................

"You lied to Steve like this, ugh... I can't stand it anymore." Howard drove the car and said helplessly to behind him. Steve was like a walking zombie today. As an old friend, , Howard was very ashamed of his behavior of helping others.

Su Ming hid behind the cross in the church and peeped at the entire funeral. Later, when everyone went out to bury the coffin, he sneaked into Howard's car through his cloak and strangulation.

The bodies recovered from Holloway Hospital were homeless people who had not been claimed and could not be disposed of. They had lived a miserable life.

Therefore, even if he was burned by Su Ming after his death, he could receive such a grand funeral and be buried in Trinity Cemetery. This is definitely the treatment of the top dignitaries in New York, which can be said to be very fair.

At this time, Su Ming, who was supposed to be dead, was sitting in the back seat of the car with Gin Jiu, toasting with champagne very leisurely.

"This is a deal. I helped you deal with the Recorder and found Tony. All you have to pay is to organize my fake funeral and help me deceive people. Besides, I also deceived Bucky. With him here, Shi Tiff will be fine.”

Howard rolled his eyes and turned to glare at Su Ming, who was drinking: "I thought the fake funeral was just about telling lies and burying the body in the pit, but what the hell is your burger story? Steve I feel responsible for your death."

"Watch the road when driving, honey."

Maria sat in the passenger seat, held Tony in her arms, and slowly patted the baby's back. Little Tony is sleeping like a dead pig now, with his thumb in his mouth and no response to outside sounds.

Maria would not ask why Deathstroke did this. She only knew that this one-eyed man was kind to their couple.

Su Ming and Gin smiled at each other, and he picked up Howard's collection of champagne again and poured it into the glass: "If you want to be a superhero, of course you need some painful experiences. Besides, with Bucky here, he will be fine. But on your side The mission is not over yet, one lie requires a thousand lies to make up for it, and the days are long."

Howard continued driving angrily, and his stretch limousine was driven very fast by him: "What about you, leave all this to me?"

"I am a dead person, have you forgotten?" Su Mingbang raised a glass to Howard, put his arm around Gin's shoulders and asked her: "By the way, where are the popular places for dead people to travel to now? New Zealand? Madagascar?"

Gin shrugged indifferently. Now that Wilson Enterprises is under her management, she doesn't have time to hang out with him.

According to Asgardian tradition, even if a man and a woman are both warriors, as long as they are not at the end of their rope during the war, the woman still has to stay at home and help the man take care of the family business.

"The Prince of Sparta said he plans to come and play with you this year, so you'd better not leave the earth."

This was Gin's opinion. Jason was obviously useful and had to maintain good relations.

"Well...then I'll go to the Shaolin Temple to learn how to be a chef." Su Ming told another joke that no one understood.

"Asshole! How can there be any dead people traveling? You should be more dedicated in your acting." Howard heard the conversation between the two and immediately started complaining: "If someone sees that you are still alive, how many lies should I make up? ? And don’t provoke aliens to come to the earth again, I’m annoyed by aliens the most right now.”

Su Ming calmly crossed his legs and patted the non-existent dust on his knees: "Tell me, what do you want?"

"The potion you used on me, use a portion on Maria as well."

Howard's voice suddenly became quieter, and a weasel-like smile appeared on his face. Let’s talk about the difficulties first and then the requirements. It’s just like doing business.

"It has been prepared for a long time. Whenever it is convenient for you, just go to the company to find Gin." Su Ming patted Gin's hand, and she nodded towards Howard.

Howard currently doesn't know about the existence of spider webs, and Su Ming doesn't intend to let him know.

Although Deathstroke met the greasy middle-aged Tony in the future timeline, he did not seem like a bad guy, but it was not bad to keep the Howards alive and give themselves a hand of cards to play.

Besides, he is also a genius scientist. There are never too many scientists at any time. When the time comes, arrange for Howard to fake his death and leave the problem of cracking Conqueror Kang's technology lock to him.

As soon as he finished speaking, before the mustache on his face could rise, Su Ming stretched out another finger: "But you still have to do something for me in exchange for Maria's leech potion."

"Okay, what's the matter?" Howard also guessed this. He also likes fair transactions.

"Relax, it's very simple." Su Ming took out a small piece of paper from his pocket, spread it out and handed it to him: "There are still many people around me who need to hold funerals. At the end of this month, there will be a vodka party first. 'Death', Lorraine and Holloway will be arranged next month, and then some of their relatives... In short, the candidates and plans are all on this note, you can just figure it out."

"I...will be cruel to you."

Howard suddenly felt hopeless and couldn't help but put a little more force on the accelerator, causing the limousine to drift on the road.