Meeting again after seventy years.
The imagined reunion should have been on a warm afternoon, with them sitting in an old-fashioned café, each ordering a cup of coffee, enjoying afternoon tea while telling each other about their experiences over the years.
But unfortunately, none of the above happened.
All there was, was an oppressive and strange atmosphere of silence that made it almost impossible to breathe.
The two who had once been as close as brothers had now walked down two completely different and opposite paths.
Steve's eyes were bloodshot, as if he wanted to imprint Bucky deeply into his eyes. His hands were clenched tightly into fists, his pale knuckles cracking. Although his heart was filled with countless questions, in the end, just as they were about to leave his mouth, they turned into an ordinary question: "All these years... have you been doing all right?"
"Generally speaking, not bad."
Bucky knew he could not escape, and looking at Steve's slightly weathered face, he laughed helplessly. "We haven't seen each other in seventy years, and you're still this young. Your stamina is even better than before. You should have been doing pretty well after waking up."
Sam naturally would not be tactless during the reunion of these two "old friends," so he took a step back and remained silent.
"Bucky... tell me, why?" Steve looked at the close friend who had once fought side by side with him against evil forces, both disappointed and heartbroken, and said in a trembling voice that was somewhat out of control: "What exactly happened back then? Why would you help Hydra?"
Facing the gaze of his close friend, filled with anger and heartache, Bucky fell into a long silence, a trace of bitterness appearing in his eyes. "Steve, all of this is far more complicated than you imagine. It can't be explained clearly in just one or two sentences."
"Then explain it slowly!"
Steve said decisively: "Come back with me and explain everything clearly. No matter what happened, I can forgive you!"
"Sorry... I can't go with you."
Bucky shook his head bitterly and sighed: "At least not right now. I still have a more important mission. Can you give me a little more time? Once this matter is completely over, I'll tell you everything that happened."
To ensure that Hive could be killed, they had already prepared for too many years.
They absolutely could not fail at this critical moment. Otherwise, once Hive hid himself again, with that ability to split parasites, no one would be able to find him, and no one could bear those consequences.
"Why not now?!" Seeing his close friend avoid the question again and again, Steve's anger suddenly rose, and he questioned coldly: "I saw with my own eyes that you joined Hydra. Are you still trying to deny it?"
"Steve... trust me this once, all right?"
There was a trace of pleading in Bucky's eyes. He lowered his head, clenched his fists tightly, and said: "Sometimes what you see isn't necessarily the truth. I... have something very important to do. Once this matter is completely over, I will definitely tell you everything, okay?!"
"Bucky... surrender."
Steve was completely disappointed. He closed his eyes deeply, exhaled, and said: "You should know very well that I can't possibly let you leave. This is your last chance. Don't force me to attack you!"
"You... aren't willing to believe me?" Bucky's eyes dimmed slightly.
"It's not that I don't believe you." Steve took a deep breath and said with deep pain: "But I believe my own eyes more. It's precisely because I believe you that I have to take you back and figure out what exactly happened!"
"All right, I understand."
Bucky looked deeply at Steve and said: "You were always this stubborn before. Looks like if I want to convince you, I can only use my fists."
"I don't want to fight you, Bucky." Steve moved his limbs, clenching his cracking fists, and said coldly: "But if you insist, I don't mind beating you half to death and then dragging you back by force!"
The current him was no longer what he had once been.
The giant's right arm and the demon's left arm, one attack and one defense, were nearly perfect. Ordinary Soul Reapers were not his opponents, and even Adjuchas might not necessarily be his opponents, let alone Bucky, who was only an ordinary person.
Even with Hydra's help, he was confident he could completely crush Bucky.
Steve's thoughts were very beautiful, but unfortunately, he seemed to have forgotten one point.
In the span of seventy years, he was not the only one who had improved. Bucky had truly lived through seventy years!
In the instant he lost focus, Bucky seized the opportunity and stepped forward, charging. His right fist, wearing the metal knuckle duster, brought up a fierce gale and blasted straight toward his face like heavy artillery!
Bang!
This punch was full of force.
Even the air was shaken into ripples, producing an ear-piercing sonic boom.
Steve was somewhat caught off guard, but his reaction was extremely fast. Spiritual power surged around his body, and the giant's right arm instantly appeared.
However, it was completely different from its previous appearance. At this moment, the giant's right arm had become a shield with a black base and red patterns. The red patterns outlined an evil-looking design on the surface, like a demon grinning viciously.
In fact, this shield-like appearance was the complete form of the giant's right arm.
Its main ability was not attack, but protection and defense. If the throwing attribute of the vibranium shield was removed, then from the perspective of defense alone, the defensive attribute of the giant's right arm was several times superior to that vibranium shield.
Just as Steve was full of confidence, thinking about how to deal with his former best friend after blocking this move.
He suddenly felt that something was wrong. A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering shockwave, like a ten-thousand-zhang raging wave rising from the ocean, swallowed his entire body along with a roar. The terrifying impact was like a heavy tank directly sending his entire body flying.
Rumble!!!
Layers upon layers of ripples spread across the ground, expanding in all directions like water waves.
With the place where Bucky stood as the center, a visible shockwave suddenly rose around him, as if a volcano had suddenly erupted, shaking the concrete ground within dozens of meters nearby until dense spiderweb-like cracks burst out.
Poor Sam's expression changed drastically. Before he could make any movement, his entire body was struck by the impact and sent flying more than ten meters away.
His whole body ached unbearably, as if it had been run over and crushed by a heavy pickup truck.
By comparison, Steve was even more miserable.
Having endured most of the impact head-on, his entire body was embedded into the wall, and his internal organs were almost shaken out of place.
"Stay there and don't move, Steve."
Bucky lowered his eyes, slowly loosened his right fist, and said faintly: "Next time, I won't hold back again."
"Is this your first day knowing me?"
Steve broke free from the wall, gasping heavily, staring straight at Bucky, and grinned: "You should know what I'm going to say next, right?"
"Sorry, Steve."
Bucky clenched his fist and said coldly: "I don't have time right now to spend all day with you."
"That's not up to you!"
Steve took a deep breath. His spiritual power surged like boiling water, filling the nearby space. A powerful pressure rose like a volcanic eruption. His left arm suddenly turned white with red patterns, and a sharp horn grew from his shoulder:
"I'll return those same words to you. Next time, I won't hold back either!"
Just as the two were facing off, a figure suddenly inserted himself into the battlefield.
An exceptionally cold and stern face, a right arm forged from metal, giving off an extremely cold aura like a humanoid weapon. Those hollow eyes stared straight at Bucky, revealing a familiar yet confused expression: "You... who are you?"
"B-Bucky?" Steve was struck as if by lightning, his entire person stunned.
The mysterious person who appeared between the two actually had the same face as Bucky. The only difference was that metal right arm.
Two Bucky Barneses, almost identical in appearance.
But the difference was.
One wore a bitter expression, while the other's eyes were confused.
"The worst situation... has appeared."
Bitterness surged into Bucky's throat, the light in his eyes gradually dimming, and he let out a complicated sigh.