Let me show you a new way Chapter 151

Tony and Steve finally landed on the ground, their heads bowed, their eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.

Steve lay weakly on the ground, his eyes filled with the sorrow and helplessness of having lost all hope. Beside him, the bright vibranium shield lay on the ground, covered with a layer of dust. The two power rings had slipped from his fingertips, their once dazzling light now dim.

Having lost the hope of never giving up, and the ever-resolute will, Steve Rogers was just an ordinary person.

Beside him, Tony Stark’s dream continued. Steve Rogers finally gave up resistance and was imprisoned. The Registration Act’s complete public disclosure of all superhero identities led to the inability to safely protect superheroes’ families. A large number of superheroes either abandoned their hero identities or were personally sent to the Phantom Zone by Tony.

Both sides wanted to make the world better, but ultimately made it worse. The Superhuman Registration Act eventually evolved into a tool for persecuting superheroes, a tool that even Tony Stark couldn’t control.

Until one day, Captain America was assassinated.

Tony Stark sat before Captain America’s corpse, muttering.

“It’s not worth it…”

“It’s not worth it…”

Lin Dong withdrew his fingers from their heads and sighed helplessly.

The power of the Mind Stone was indeed formidable. Ebony Maw instantly activated the power within it and invaded their minds. In an instant, their inner fears were amplified, and the scenes they dreaded were born in their minds. The Mind Stone might even have collected a tiny bit of information from the timeline and integrated it into that complex illusion.

Even though they had now escaped the illusion, this deep-seated fear and the images still lingered in their minds, refusing to dissipate.

“Tony, Steve, wake up, don’t be fooled. This isn’t your fault,” Lin Dong shouted loudly, the ring on his finger glowing with blue light of hope, trying his best to soothe their emotions.

But Tony just sat there, the psychic energy still reverberating in his mind. He kept muttering to himself, grieving for his comrades, those heroes, those civilians, and Captain America.

He kept mumbling, unable to hear or see anything from the outside world.

“It’s not worth it… it’s not worth it…” Tony murmured.

“Wake up, listen, no matter what you saw, it’s not your fault!” Lin Dong tried to persuade him. He couldn’t directly use a magic spell to expel the psychic power from their minds; that power was from the Mind Stone. Directly expelling it might have unexpected side effects. It was safest to wait until they had regained some consciousness before expelling the external forces.

“Then whose fault is it…” Steve suddenly asked. He looked up, his eyes filled with helplessness. “Isn’t it my mistake? If I had been brave enough to take responsibility, if I had been willing to put everything aside and talk to Tony, wouldn’t so many things have been avoided?”

Steve hugged his legs, muttering, “So many people died because of me, so many disasters happened before me, so many wars started because of me…”

“No! No! Open your eyes and look closely at this world!” Lin Dong shouted loudly. Steve looked up blankly. He saw the azure sky, the flying Chitauri craft, and Tony Stark lying beside him, lost in his self-imposed isolation.

“This is… New Mexico? We’re… protecting the gem?” Steve mumbled, seemingly finally recalling the memories in his mind.

“Yes, the Mind Stone was stolen by a thief. He used the power of the gem to create an extremely realistic illusion for you, making you believe you made a huge mistake and causing you to fall into self-doubt…”

“But you didn’t…” Lin Dong said in a steady voice.

Captain America looked around, as if he had just woken from a terrible nightmare: “But it was too real, I’m afraid I really would…”

“No, you’re not afraid. Your fear is also an effect of the Mind Stone. It can influence your mind, make you fall into fear, make you lose hope, and make your will depressed.”

“And will and hope are your sources of energy!” Lin Dong said slowly.

Steve silently gazed at the shield on the ground and the two dim rings, remaining silent for a long time.

“If you’re feeling better, then I can cast a spell to completely expel this fear from your mind,” Lin Dong raised a finger, testing the waters.

“No…” Steve shook his head, then picked up the shield from the ground and strapped it to his back.

“I don’t need it anymore…”

The next moment, the two dim power rings on the ground suddenly burst forth with strong and dazzling light, impatiently drawing two streaks in the air and gently settling onto Steve’s two fingers. Blue and green intertwined light extended from the rings, enveloping his body, and a familiar uniform reappeared on him.

Captain America regained hope and rekindled his will.

***

Meanwhile, in distant Asgard, Dr. Banner stared blankly at the exploding wreckage in the sky, then struggled to his feet, clenching his fists, and limped towards Loki in the distance.

“What’s going on?” Dr. Banner angrily shouted.

“What?” Loki asked, somewhat puzzled. “I saved everyone’s lives!”

“Why did this ship explode? I only adjusted the rotation speed of the energy system to make it completely stop and fall in five minutes, but why did it explode in less than five minutes!” Dr. Banner angrily shouted.

“Uh, I changed the parameters you set…” Loki shrugged, saying indifferently.

“Also, to tell you something that might make you even unhappier, I also released all the lifeboats inside the starship ahead of time, cutting off all their escape routes. I don’t think anything could have escaped!” Loki struggled to his feet, looking at the giant starship exploding into a ball in the sky. Scattered parts slowly fell to the ground, turning the wilderness into a sea of meteoric fire.

“This is genocide! We only needed to destroy their weapons, not kill all of them. They have children, and innocent people…” Dr. Banner argued vehemently, but Loki and Sif beside him both let out a disdainful sneer.