Let me show you a new way Chapter 022

“Hey! How did you end up looking like that?” On the way, Hawkeye Clint Barton couldn’t help but ask. Phil Coulson, beside him, frowned and shot him a look, signaling him to shut up.

“Lab accident!” Jane Foster said succinctly.

Clint seemed to want to ask more, but after seeing Coulson’s gaze, he obediently shut his mouth.

The base they were in was a temporary one established by Nick Fury in the Arctic to excavate Captain America. This base was quite rudimentary; apart from essential items, there was nothing extra.

But the computer storing information in this base was gone.

“Why would they take the computer?” Hawkeye asked curiously. “They didn’t even take essential food. Do ghosts really not need to eat?”

“No! I think they’re just trying to understand current information!” Coulson said. “According to historical records, Captain America and Red Skull sank into the sea together, buried for nearly seventy years. Red Skull probably just recently revived from the freezing state!”

“So as long as we find Captain America, we’ll know what’s up with that ring in his hand, right?” Jane Foster said.

“Uh, I guess so! Captain America thwarted many of Red Skull’s schemes, so I think he should know some information about Red Skull,” Coulson said, somewhat uncertainly.

Jane Foster smiled, then a series of deforming mechanical sounds came from her back. Two cannons appeared, then spewed blue flames. Jane Foster soared into the air like an angel, smashing through the base’s ceiling and flying high.

Cold air began to rush into the large hole in the ceiling. Several ordinary people cursed under their breath, quickly wrapped their clothes tighter, and looked up at the sky outside.

Jane Foster floated high in the sky, flames jetting from her back and feet. The gem on her head began to glow, then shot out a warm blue light. The light, like a scanner from a sci-fi movie, swept across the ice surface. Jane Foster began scanning the sky repeatedly, not missing any spot.

The people on the ground trudged after her, enduring the howling wind and complaining about the dreadful nature of this mission.

Then, a loud bang echoed across the entire sky.

Jane Foster descended from the sky at an extremely fast speed, crashing to the ground with a thud, creating a large crater in the ice.

Jane Foster crawled out of the pit, shaking off the dirt, revealing an excited smile.

“You want to fight, do you? Good! You asked for it!” she said, then soared into the air again, striking at the orange figure in the sky.

The orange figure conjured a strange gun in its hand and blasted it towards Jane Foster’s forehead.

[Lantern Ring energy attack detected, defense mode online, deformation shield activated.] The mechanical voice in her head said.

Jane Foster transformed her left hand into a silver shield, easily blocking the enemy’s beam attack.

[Attack mode online, white noise cannon activated.]

Her right hand transformed into a massive hand cannon, which she blasted towards the orange figure, easily shattering it into pieces.

“Is that all you’ve got, you bastard?” Jane Foster said with a provocative tone. Her radar sensed that the guy who ambushed her hadn’t disappeared but was hiding in a secret spot, preparing to ambush her again.

However, unexpectedly, a voice immediately appeared.

“Hmph!” Red Skull revealed a contemptuous smile, flying out from an unknown location. Red Skull’s body was protected by a layer of orange light, shielding him from external harm. On the middle finger of his right hand, he wore an orange ring.

He extended his hand, and countless dense orange figures emerged from the ring, easily filling the entire sky.

“This is my true power!” Red Skull said.

Then he pointed his hand, and the countless figures floating behind Red Skull swarmed towards Jane Foster like a dense swarm of flies.

“I recognize what’s on your forehead!” Red Skull calmly watched Jane Foster, who was constantly fighting amidst the crowd. Although her white noise cannon was powerful, and her Space Stone was very strong, in this overwhelming sea of orange phantoms, she, lacking area-of-effect skills, was still somewhat overwhelmed. “That’s the Tesseract, it used to be mine!”

“But I guess you’re not willing to give it to me obediently!” Red Skull conjured a sharp blade with Orange Lantern energy, found an opportunity, and lunged at Jane Foster, who was defending against enemy attacks. “So I’ll take it myself.”

“Boom—” A massive bolt of lightning descended from the sky, easily dispersing the countless Orange Lantern phantoms. Red Skull tumbled several times in the air before barely stabilizing himself. He glared darkly at Jane Foster in front of him. Her appearance had drastically changed; Norse-style armor and a battle skirt now adorned her body, and in her hand, she held a small hammer, wrapped in searing lightning.

[Thor mode online, Mjolnir activated.]

“Mjolnir! The legendary Hammer of Thor.” Red Skull revealed a greedy expression, which made his already unattractive face even uglier and more terrifying.

He stared deeply at Jane Foster’s forehead and the hammer in her hand, as if to imprint it in his mind, then turned and fled without hesitation. The previously eager Jane Foster was somewhat surprised. She immediately gave chase but was blocked by the countless Orange Lantern phantoms released by Red Skull, obstructing her vision and speed. By the time she finally cleared these minions, Red Skull had already disappeared.

Jane Foster helplessly watched the fleeing Red Skull, then the mechanical part of her right arm opened a cavity, swallowing the Hammer of Thor. Jane Foster’s appearance also reverted to her initial state.

Then she detected a strange energy signature below.

“Come to me! I found something interesting!” Jane Foster’s voice echoed in all the team members’ communicators.

When the group finally arrived at Jane Foster’s location, they saw a sight they had never imagined.

A giant block of ice was held aloft by Jane Foster with both arms. She had just scanned a strange energy signature beneath the glacier. She cleared a path to the energy signature area and cut out the massive ice block containing the energy. She dragged it out of the glacier.

What they saw was a three-meter-tall ice block, with a familiar figure frozen inside. This person had appeared in every American’s textbook.

Captain America, holding a red and blue shield in his left hand, was frozen within the ice block.

A peculiar blue light enveloped Captain America’s body, seemingly protecting him. On the middle finger of his right hand, he wore a strange blue ring.

—

“A beautiful curveball! That ball was high and deep!”

A familiar voice came from the radio. Steve Rogers slowly opened his eyes.

“The Dodgers are tied again, 4- 4!”

Steve frowned, and his enhanced brain immediately recalled the exact time of this game.

“The Phillies have tied the score 4- 4…”

He took a deep breath and began to survey the room.

Above, a ceiling fan rotated weakly. Warm sunlight streamed through the window nearby. The white room had the familiar hospital style. A gentle breeze stirred the white curtains, and the sunlight bathed him, making him feel a bit lazy.

He slowly sat up, recalling his last memory before losing consciousness.

“It’s a hit! The ball curves right, passed to Rizzo!”

Outside the window, a few car horns sounded. He sharply turned his head, feeling something was amiss. He looked at his empty hands, wondering about something.

The door opened then, and a woman with thick lipstick entered, greeting him.

“Where am I?” Steve said.

“You’re in a rehabilitation hospital in New York City!” the woman said with a smile.

“Where exactly am I?” Steve said seriously.

“Uh, Captain Rogers, I don’t know what you’re talking about?” The woman forced a smile and discreetly pressed the alarm in her palm.

“Then where’s my ring?” Steve changed the question.

“I… I don’t know…”

—

Inside a temporary set built from cardboard, after a loud bang, two fully armed soldiers crashed through the cardboard and fell to the ground. Steve Rogers ran desperately towards a distant window, then shattered the glass without hesitation, leaping from a great height and falling towards the ground.

High in the air, he extended his finger into the air, and a blue ring flew towards him eagerly, obediently settling on the middle finger of his right hand. The blue ring glowed, enveloping Steve. His white T-shirt quickly transformed into a tight blue uniform, and on its chest, a strange symbol emitted a warm light.

This ring seemed to grant him miraculous power. He defied Earth’s gravity, soared into the air, and flew towards the distance without hesitation, trying to return to a familiar place.

But there was no familiar place here anymore.

Unfamiliar skyscrapers, passing cars, colorful billboards—Steve found everything so strange.

Confusion began to fill his heart. He didn’t know where he was, he didn’t know what had happened, he felt as if… he was starting to lose hope!

The blue uniform on him flickered, as if about to abandon him. ①

Then, an old voice sounded behind him.

“You’ve been asleep for a long time, pal!”

Steve turned sharply and saw someone both familiar and strange.

“Bucky?”

①: The characteristic of the Blue Lantern Ring is that if you lose hope, it will leave you.