Despite being frozen for over seventy years, Captain America's enhanced physiology remained remarkably robust. Even in his current unconscious state, Steve Rogers' vital signs far exceeded those of normal humans, testament to the super-soldier serum that had transformed him from a frail young man into the pinnacle of human physical potential.
Rogers lay on a specialized medical table that functioned more like a sophisticated preservation chamber than conventional hospital equipment. He was still wearing the same star-spangled combat uniform he'd worn during his final mission in 1945, the fabric somehow having survived decades of ice without significant deterioration.
From his examination of Nick Fury's memories, Richard knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. had recovered Captain America several months ago, yet they still hadn't completed the "thawing" process.
There were two primary reasons for this cautious approach.
First, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s scientists weren't entirely confident in their ability to safely revive someone who had been preserved in ice for such an extended period. The medical and biological implications were unprecedented, and they wanted to thoroughly understand Rogers' condition before attempting any irreversible procedures.
Second, Nick Fury himself remained undecided about whether—or how—to proceed with awakening Captain America. The political and practical ramifications of bringing back such an iconic figure were staggering.
While Captain America had indeed worked closely with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s predecessor organization, that had been the Strategic Scientific Reserve during World War II. The current S.H.I.E.L.D. was a very different entity, with different goals, methods, and leadership. For the modern organization, Captain America represented more of a symbolic mascot than an active operational asset.
After observing the facility from his aerial vantage point, Richard cast a concealment spell that rendered him completely invisible to both technological sensors and human observation. Once his magical camouflage was in place, he teleported directly into the laboratory where Rogers was being held.
The sterile facility housed several white-coated researchers who continued their work without any awareness of Richard's presence. They moved between various monitoring stations and analytical equipment, occasionally checking readings or adjusting parameters on the preservation chamber.
Richard ignored the scientists entirely, walking directly to Captain America's side. Without hesitation, he activated his telepathic abilities and established a mental connection with the sleeping super-soldier.
Rather than invasively browsing Rogers' memories—which would have been both unnecessary and disrespectful—Richard focused on a more subtle form of mental manipulation. Working carefully in the depths of Steve's subconscious mind, he implanted several psychological suggestions that would be undetectable to both Rogers himself and any future mental examinations.
The implanted directives were designed to make Captain America more receptive to Richard's eventual guidance while maintaining the core integrity of his personality and moral compass. It was delicate work, requiring precise telepathic control to avoid causing any psychological damage or creating obvious behavioral changes.
Though Richard had rarely employed such techniques in the past, the process proved straightforward given his mastery of telepathic abilities. Within a minute, he had completed the mental conditioning and used teleportation to depart the laboratory, leaving no trace of his presence.
Rather than pursuing other objectives immediately, Richard decided to return to Los Angeles and his luxury hotel accommodations. He materialized in the living room of his presidential suite and settled into a comfortable chair before activating the large-screen television.
As expected, every major news channel in Los Angeles was covering the same story: Tony Stark's dramatic return from captivity and his explosive announcement regarding Stark Industries' future.
While the circumstances of Tony's rescue had been very different from the original Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline, the billionaire inventor had still arranged a press conference for this morning. In addition to Pepper Potts, he had brought Dr. Ho Yinsen as a special guest, introducing the Afghan physician who had saved his life to the assembled media.
During the press conference, Tony had first shared his experiences during captivity and his new perspective on the weapons industry. Then, in a decision that sent shockwaves through the business world, he announced that Stark Industries would permanently cease all weapons manufacturing.
The market's reaction had been swift and brutal. Stark Industries stock had plummeted more than thirty percent since Tony's announcement, with no signs of the decline slowing.
After watching several minutes of financial analysts discussing the implications of Tony's decision, Richard turned off the television and retrieved the Cosmic Cube from his system storage. He opened a spatial gateway to Sokovia, specifically targeting the airspace above the nation's capital city.
Night had fallen over Eastern Europe by the time Richard emerged from the portal. He closed the dimensional rift behind him and activated his superhuman vision to locate Pietro and Wanda in their new apartment.
The enhanced sight revealed both twins in their luxury accommodations. Wanda was in the kitchen, wearing an elegant red dress with an apron tied over it as she prepared dinner. Meanwhile, Pietro sat in the living room, carefully assembling a pistol he had apparently acquired from local black market sources for personal protection.
Satisfied that both were safely at home, Richard teleported directly into the apartment's living room.
His sudden materialization startled Pietro so badly that the young man dropped the disassembled pistol components, which scattered across the floor with metallic clatters.
Once Pietro recognized his unexpected visitor, relief flooded his features. "Could you please try arriving like a normal person sometime?" he asked with exasperated resignation.
"No," Richard replied simply.
Pietro looked like he wanted to argue but seemed to realize the futility of the effort.
The sound of their conversation drew Wanda from the kitchen. When she saw Richard, her face lit up with genuine happiness. "You're here! Please, sit down—dinner will be ready in just a few minutes."
"Thank you," Richard said, settling onto the apartment's expensive sofa.
As soon as he was seated, Pietro's curiosity got the better of him. "Have you ever used firearms before?"
"A few times," Richard answered, though this was something of an understatement. While he rarely chose guns in combat situations, his collection of absorbed abilities included numerous firearm-related skills—weapon proficiency, precision shooting, weak point targeting, and others.
"How's your marksmanship?" Pietro pressed.
"Adequate," Richard replied modestly. In reality, his shooting skills were exceptional, but his personality made him prefer more direct forms of combat.
Pietro nodded thoughtfully. "I went to a practice range this afternoon and discovered that shooting is much more complicated than I expected." He began reassembling the pistol with clearly inexperienced movements.
"Practice makes perfect," Richard offered diplomatically.
"What weapons do you typically use?" Pietro asked as he worked to fit the pieces back together.
"I rarely use weapons at all. When I do, I prefer bladed implements—swords and knives."
Pietro looked up with surprise. "Swords and knives? That seems... old-fashioned."
After a moment's consideration, he added, "Could I see the weapons you use?"
"Certainly."
Richard reached into his system storage and withdrew Masamune in its sealed state. The weapon appeared as an impossibly long and slender blade, over two meters in length but only a few millimeters thick.
Pietro's eyes widened dramatically. While he had seen Japanese katanas in movies and online, this weapon was unlike anything in his experience. The sheer length of the blade made it seem more like a work of art than a practical fighting tool.
Due to the apartment's limited ceiling height, Richard could only demonstrate a few basic movements, but even these simple motions showcased the weapon's perfect balance and his own mastery.
"Here, you can try holding it," Richard offered, extending the handle toward Pietro. "Use both hands, and be very careful not to swing it around."
"I'll be extremely careful," Pietro promised, accepting the blade with both hands.
He had expected the thin weapon to be relatively light, but Masamune's weight surprised him considerably. Without Richard's warning about using both hands, he might not have been able to maintain a steady grip.
"Isn't such a long blade impractical in combat?" Pietro asked, frowning as he tried to imagine wielding the weapon effectively.
"Not for me," Richard replied. "I've been using blades like this since I first developed my abilities. The length provides significant reach advantages once you master the techniques."
Pietro experimentally shifted the weapon in his grip, clearly struggling with both the weight and the unfamiliar balance. After a few minutes of careful examination, he gratefully returned Masamune to Richard, who made the blade disappear back into his storage space.
While Pietro was curious about where exactly Richard stored such a large weapon, he wisely chose not to ask for details.
Several minutes later, Wanda announced that dinner was ready. She had prepared a meal for exactly three people, as if she had somehow anticipated Richard's arrival.
After they finished eating, Richard made an unexpected proposal. "Would you be interested in coming to America?"
Both twins looked startled by the sudden suggestion.
Pietro was the first to recover. "We don't have passports or any legal documentation."
"Passports aren't necessary," Richard assured him. "If you want to go, I can transport you there immediately."
Wanda frowned thoughtfully. "What about this apartment? We just signed the lease yesterday."
"We can leave it unoccupied for now," Richard said with a casual shrug. "Whenever you want to return to Sokovia, you can stay here for as long as you like."
His decision to rent rather than purchase the apartment had been deliberately made with this possibility in mind. While the Cosmic Cube allowed him to create spatial gateways anywhere, the time zone differences between continents made extended stays logistically complicated.
Pietro and Wanda fell silent, both clearly wrestling with the implications of such a major life change.
They had lived in Sokovia their entire lives. While they weren't particularly attached to their homeland, the prospect of leaving everything familiar behind was daunting.
However, both twins understood that Sokovia offered limited opportunities for personal growth or economic advancement. Despite being located in Eastern Europe, the nation's economy remained underdeveloped and unstable. Political unrest was common, with protests and occasionally violent demonstrations disrupting daily life on a regular basis.
Richard waited patiently for their response, making no effort to pressure them toward any particular decision.
After more than ten seconds of consideration, Pietro spoke up. "Do you know how our parents died?"
"I do," Richard replied quietly. "And I know about your feelings toward Stark Industries and Tony Stark."
The memory was seared into both twins' minds with traumatic clarity. When Wanda and Pietro were ten years old, their family had been enjoying a peaceful dinner together when the first Stark Industries missile struck their apartment building. The explosion had blown a massive hole through the lower floors, and their parents had fallen through the gap to their deaths.
As the building began to collapse around them, Pietro had grabbed Wanda and pulled her under their bed for protection. Then the second missile had crashed through the debris, landing mere feet from their hiding place.
This second projectile had failed to detonate, but the words "Stark Industries" emblazoned on its side were clearly visible to the terrified children. For two full days, they had remained trapped in the rubble, afraid that any movement might trigger the unexploded ordnance and kill them instantly.
Rescue workers had been equally cautious, understanding that disturbing the debris field could cause the missile to finally explode. Throughout those forty-eight hours, Pietro and Wanda had lived in constant fear of death, their young minds traumatized by helplessness and terror.
While they had ultimately survived the ordeal, the psychological scars had never fully healed. The incident had instilled in them a deep hatred not only for Tony Stark and his company, but for America as a whole.
Before Pietro could voice the familiar litany of grievances, Richard interrupted gently. "I'm not trying to excuse Tony Stark's role in your tragedy, but I want you to understand that your suffering wasn't personally directed by him."
He leaned forward slightly, his expression serious but compassionate. "Even if Stark Industries had never existed, some other arms manufacturer would have supplied weapons to the American military. The fundamental problem was the conflict itself, not the specific brand name on the ordnance."
"We understand the logic," Pietro said with barely controlled emotion. "But we'll never be able to forget seeing that name while we waited to die."
Richard nodded with understanding. "Actually, I might be able to help with that burden."
Both twins looked at him with confusion.
"I have the ability to modify traumatic memories," Richard explained carefully. "If you wanted, I could erase those painful recollections entirely. Alternatively, I could remove the psychological trauma while leaving the memories themselves intact."
Pietro stared at him with disbelief. "You can actually do that?"
"My telepathic abilities are far more extensive than most people realize," Richard confirmed.
Wanda's expression showed a mixture of hope and desperation. "Could you really eliminate the psychological damage? The nightmares and panic attacks?"
"Absolutely," Richard assured her.
Pietro and Wanda exchanged a long look, conducting one of their silent conversations before Pietro spoke for both of them.
"Please help us," he said quietly. "Remove the trauma, but leave our memories of what happened. We don't want to forget our parents or pretend that tragedy never occurred."
"I understand completely," Richard replied.
He activated his telepathic abilities and gently connected with both twins' minds simultaneously. Their traumatic memories were easy to locate—they had been replayed so many times that they had worn deep grooves in their psyches.
Working with surgical precision, Richard carefully separated the factual memories from the emotional damage they had caused. He eliminated the crippling sadness, the persistent terror, the overwhelming sense of helplessness, and the consuming hatred that had poisoned their lives for over a decade.
When he finished, their recollections of the incident remained perfectly clear and detailed, but the memories no longer carried their previous emotional weight.
"It's done," Richard announced, withdrawing from their minds.
Pietro and Wanda looked puzzled for a moment, then began testing their mental state by deliberately recalling the night their parents died.
To their amazement, they could remember every detail with crystal clarity—their parents' faces, the sound of the explosions, the words on the unexploded missile, the fear and cold during their entrapment. But the memories no longer brought crushing pain or uncontrollable rage.
It was as if they were recalling events that had happened to other people, or scenes from a particularly vivid movie. The facts remained, but the trauma had been completely removed.
"This is incredible," Wanda whispered, tears streaming down her face—not from pain, but from overwhelming relief.
"Now that your psychological wounds have been healed," Richard said gently, "you can make a clear decision about coming to America. Whatever you choose, I'll respect your decision completely."