Marvel: The Villain-Chapter 252 Modern Life

Fury stood by the window at the end of the corridor, staring listlessly at the scenery outside. He shifted his weight, rotating a sore ankle.

Steve had been in that hospital room for nearly an hour and a half with no sign of leaving. Nurses had tried to perform their rounds twice, only to be turned away by SHIELD agents.

Inside the ward, Steve and Peggy sat with their hands clasped, talking warmly. Having not seen each other for seventy years, they had a lifetime of words to catch up on. For the most part, Peggy did the talking while Steve listened with a gentle smile. She chronicled her life piece by piece, starting from the years following his disappearance.

She spoke of her personal life first. A few years after the war ended, she had married—the man was a soldier Steve had rescued from the kraal. They had a son and a daughter, but both her husband and her children had preceded her in death.

Steve was surprised; he had assumed Peggy might have ended up with Howard. Back then, Howard was young, handsome, brilliant, and wealthy—the dream of every girl in the country—and he clearly had feelings for her.

At the mention of Howard, Peggy chuckled. "Howard was a good man, and I did go on a few dates with him later. But he was far too much of a playboy for my taste."

"He certainly had the face for it," Steve laughed. "So, what happened to him?"

"He eventually settled down as he got older. Found a wonderful woman and had a son. Sadly, they were both killed in a car accident over a decade ago, leaving their only son, Tony, all alone."

Steve sighed. "Orphaned? That couldn't have been an easy life for the boy."

Peggy took a philosophical view. "Fate is fickle; whose life is truly easy? Howard was lucky in a way. His son went through a period of rebellion, but he's doing quite well now. He's invented a great deal of useful technology."

In truth, compared to Howard, Peggy's life had been much harder. With her husband and children gone, she was left alone with only memories for company. Now, her only living relative was her young niece, Sharon Carter, a beautiful woman in her twenties who worked as a nurse in this very hospital.

Steve hadn't expected that life would remain so difficult even after winning the war. Not wanting to dwell on tragedies during their rare reunion, they shifted the conversation to work—specifically, the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR).

Steve knew the agency well; it was the birthplace of his legendary career. The SSR had been formed to defeat the Nazis, staffed by elite scientists and ace soldiers.

Peggy smiled, reminiscing. "I remember when you were just a skinny little guy, getting picked on at the SSR every day. The first time you really made an impression on me was during that long-distance run. Halfway through, the instructor pointed to a flag at the top of a pole and said whoever retrieved it could ride back in his car."

She paused, catching her breath. "Everyone scrambled for it, but the pole was too long and too slick. No one had succeeded in seventeen years. But you... cough... you just pulled the pin, dropped the pole, and walked off with the flag while everyone else just stood there gaping."

Steve chuckled at the memory. "You probably thought I was just a corner-cutter back then."

"No, Steve," Peggy shook her head. "That wasn't corner-cutting. That was intelligence. You were different from those who relied only on brute force."

Blushing slightly at the praise from his old flame, Steve handed her a glass of water to hide his embarrassment.

"By the way, do you remember that German doctor?" Peggy asked after a sip. She had forgotten his name.

Steve nodded. "Of course. Dr. Abraham Erskine. He's the one who chose me. I'll always be grateful to him. It's a shame good men don't live long; he was taken by a spy."

Peggy remembered now. "During the Super Soldier program, everyone from the Generals to the Senators doubted you. Only Dr. Abraham stood by you. I remember the Senator did that little test—he threw a dummy grenade into the crowd. Everyone else scrambled for cover, but you threw your body on top of it."

"I didn't really think about it," Steve said quietly. "It was just an instinct."

"An instinct..." Peggy said seriously. "You were kind and gentle, a man who wouldn't abuse power. That's when I truly understood why the Doctor chose you."

Getting bashful again, Steve changed the subject. "After the war, was the SSR disbanded?"

"Yes—or rather, it was reborn. It is now known as the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. Howard, myself, and a few other scientists founded it."

Steve deadpanned, "That is a very long name."

"It is. Insiders found it a mouthful, so we just call it SHIELD. Its mission is to maintain world peace. Any case the local governments can't handle gets passed to us. That man who brought you here? He's the current Director."

Steve realized. "No wonder his expression got so strange when I mentioned your name."

"He is strange, but he's a commander you can trust."

"I'm honored to hear that, ma'am."

The door opened, and Fury walked in, followed by a nurse. She had wavy blonde hair, a round face, and a sweet smile, with an air of competence that reminded Steve of a young Peggy.

"Auntie," The nurse said, "You've been talking for two hours. It's time for your medication and some rest."

Peggy nodded reluctantly. "This is my niece, Sharon. She's my only family left."

Steve stood up. "Nice to meet you. I'm Steve." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Sharon smiled as they shook hands. "I've heard a lot about you. Auntie talks about you all the time."

Since Peggy needed her rest, Steve prepared to head out, promising to visit again soon.

"Wait."

Peggy gripped her pills, her expression turning grave as she looked at Steve. "The Joker Organization is dangerous. You must be careful."

Steve was confused, but before he could ask, Peggy swallowed her medicine with a gulp of water and closed her eyes to sleep.

*

Leaving the hospital with a head full of questions, Steve climbed into the car and asked, "What is the 'Joker Organization'?"

Fury signaled the driver to start the engine and sighed. "I wanted to give you some time to adjust first, but I guess your old boss knows you better than I do."

Seeing the grim looks on both Peggy's and Fury's faces, Steve began to put it together. "An organization? Like Hydra?"

"Hydra..." Fury gave a bitter, dismissive laugh. "They're far beyond Hydra."

He pulled a thick dossier from the seat and handed it over. "Take a look. Know early, understand early, give up early."

Give up? Steve frowned, slightly offended. He had never given up, not even against the Nazis or Hydra.

He flipped open the file. The first page was a full-body photo of a man. He was wearing a suit and smiling, but the expression was unsettlingly wicked.

"Leader of the Joker Organization... Jason Walter."

Fury didn't respond; he simply leaned back and closed his eyes. The cabin fell silent, save for the hum of the engine and the sound of turning pages. Steve had been annoyed by Fury's condescension, but as he flipped through the pages faster and faster, his heart grew heavy.

Fanatical members spread across the globe, technology that rivaled SHIELD, strange and powerful supernatural abilities...

And this was just the tip of the iceberg. No wonder Peggy and Fury looked that way. To an ordinary soldier, this file would represent pure despair.

The rest of the ride was silent. The car soon stopped in front of an apartment building in Brooklyn. They headed up to a unit on the top floor.

"SHIELD has leased the whole building. Your place is a two-bedroom, 130-square-meter apartment. Plenty of room for one person."

Fury pushed open the door and pointed out the appliances. "TV, computer, washing machine, AC... stuff you haven't seen before. The manuals are on the coffee table. The basement is yours, too; I had it converted into a gym so you can hit a punching bag or whatever."

"Thanks," Steve said. "I'll adjust quickly."

"Good," Fury replied. "If you get stuck, ask the neighbor across the hall. Sharon lives there."

Steve was surprised. "She's a SHIELD agent too?"

Fury shook his head. "No, she's just a nurse. Nurses don't make enough to rent in Manhattan, so I set her up here. Call it an abuse of power if you want."

Surprisingly, Steve wasn't put off by the admission; he actually thought Fury had a bit of a human side.

"It's getting dark. Get some rest. Don't worry about SHIELD or the Joker Organization for now. Decide what you want to do once you've actually settled in." Fury seemed reluctant to pull him into the fight just yet.

The Joker Organization was terrifyingly powerful on paper. But Steve was the man who once charged into a concentration camp alone. Backing down wasn't in his DNA.

He tapped the dossier. "I'll finish reading this tonight. I can start work tomorrow."

Fury gave an imperceptible smirk, said nothing, and turned to leave.

Once the door clicked shut, Steve set the file on the dining table and sat on the sofa to figure out the gadgets. "Remote... okay... there are several of these."

He picked up a white remote and hit the power button. Beep! The air conditioner on the wall opened its vents, humming to life and blowing out a gust of cold air.

"Air conditioning. I didn't think they'd have these for homes now." In the 1920s, AC was only for massive department stores; ordinary families couldn't dream of it.

He pressed a button on the black remote, and the 50-inch LCD TV flickered on. "Color TV..." After a decade of black-and-white sets, Steve was fascinated.

After a while, his stomach growled. He rummaged through the fridge and pulled out some snacks and a drink.

"Seventy years later, some things never change," He thought, taking a long, satisfying pull of a Coca-Cola.

With the AC blowing, the TV on, and a stash of snacks and soda, Captain America's life as a modern homebody had officially begun.

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