As for why Steve was able to own a safehouse inside Kingpin's skyscraper
That story goes back to a Hydra mission last year.
As one of Hydra's top enforcers, Steve not only had to carry out missions for Nick Fury's S.H.I.E.L.D., but also take on plenty of shady jobs handed out by Hydra itself.
One such time, Steve received a routine Hydra assignment: ambush a military convoy on the outskirts of New York transporting a newly excavated rare metal from deep underground.
But when he arrived, someone had already beaten Hydra to it.
The military squad was wiped out, each soldier with a dart buried neatly in the forehead.
One look was all it took for Steve to realize who the "competition" was.
Someone with a taste for headshots and a love for throwing darts? There was only one man in New York who fit that description.
Kingpin's right-hand man—the infamous assassin who could turn anything into a deadly projectile—Bullseye.
And for Steve, operating under the alias of Hydra Captain, this was something he couldn't stomach.
Wearing the black-and-red Hydra combat uniform, he stormed straight into Kingpin's tower.
From the ground floor to the penthouse, he fought his way through, dragging Bullseye like a scorpion hotpot skewered on a stick, until finally confronting the boss of the tower himself—Wilson Fisk.
After a round of "friendly" negotiations, Kingpin, battered and bruised, reluctantly returned the rare metal Bullseye had stolen.
Not only that, Fisk declared his admiration for Steve's strength and insisted on gifting him an entire floor of the skyscraper, as a token of friendship.
Steve had no choice but to "reluctantly" accept this gesture of goodwill, claiming the lavish floor as his new safehouse.
And lavish it was
A safehouse with a bar, an entertainment lounge, a gym, and even a swimming pool.
Have you ever seen such a safehouse?
Well, Steve hadn't—at least not until then. That was why he eventually accepted Kingpin's gift.
After all, the man had given way too much.
Back in the present, Steve pulled an expensive-looking bottle from the shelf and poured two glasses.
He set one down in front of the still-unconscious Bucky and held the other himself, sinking into the sofa opposite.
Bucky's mask had been removed, revealing his sharp, handsome features.
Steve sipped his drink, leaned back into the cushions, and said calmly:
"Drop the act. We're both super soldiers. I know exactly how hard I hit. You should've woken up half an hour ago."
Swish
The moment Steve's words fell, Bucky moved like a feral beast reawakened, lunging straight at him!
And then… nothing.
Steve caught him with a single hand pressed against his face, slamming him down onto the marble table hard enough to crack its surface.
"Looks like my attempt at a physical reboot wasn't too effective."
Raising a brow, Steve kept Bucky pinned with one hand as the man struggled furiously beneath him.
It was strange. In Avengers 1, Natasha had rebooted Hawkeye from Loki's mind control with a few solid blows. Why wasn't it working here?
Was it because he hadn't hit hard enough?
Steve eyed Bucky's forehead thoughtfully, wondering if maybe "miracles through brute force" was worth another try.
But just then, Bucky froze. A chill ran through his body, as if the shadow of death loomed above him. A spark of recognition flickered in his mind, and suddenly everything felt… strangely familiar.
He stopped struggling and stared at Steve in dazed silence.
Seeing this, Steve lowered his poised fist and tossed Bucky back onto the opposite sofa.
Forget it. The brute-force method isn't reliable. What if I actually fry his CPU, or send him to meet the real Steve Rogers? That'd be on me…
Reason over fists, then.
Pouring another drink, Steve slid the glass toward him.
"Well? Remember anything? Like, who I am?"
Bucky neither spoke nor took the glass. He just stared at Steve silently.
Steve shrugged, not disappointed. Hydra's brainwashing was practically cult-tier. Expecting his devastatingly handsome face alone to break through it was… optimistic.
Even if, objectively speaking, he was very handsome.
Still, he had always planned on rescuing Bucky. He had prepared for this.
Rising, Steve walked to the TV and slid in a stack of tapes. Returning to the sofa, he clinked his glass in Bucky's direction, nodding toward the screen.
"Relax, pretty boy. You're not escaping anyway. So why not enjoy the show? It's about your past. Don't you want to know?"
Bucky cast a wary glance at Steve, but the sheer gulf in strength between them kept him from attacking again. Reluctantly, he turned to the screen.
A flicker of curiosity tugged at him. What was his past?
He didn't realize it himself, but he wasn't resisting Steve's presence. On some level, he even trusted him.
The video began.
The opening shot: an old photograph of a group of soldiers in uniform.
At the center, two figures stood side by side—himself, and the man sitting next to him now.
A sudden pang hit Bucky's head. Memories stirred.
Noticing his reaction, Steve smiled faintly and let the tape roll on.
A narrator's voiceover began:
[This rare photograph from World War II shows Captain America, Steve Rogers, alongside his closest brother-in-arms, Captain James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes. Together, they formed the legendary Howling Commandos in their fight against Hydra…]
As the narration continued, Steve's story—and Bucky's—unfolded on the screen.
From childhood friends (or at least, brothers in spirit)…
To Bucky's smooth enlistment while Steve was rejected time after time…
To the day Bucky was captured by Hydra, and Steve braved their base alone to rescue him and countless others.
From there, together with the soldiers Steve saved, the two of them formed the "Howling Commandos," striking blow after blow against Hydra.
Victory after victory, until one fateful mission.
To save Steve, Bucky had fallen from a mountain cliff.
Grief-stricken, Steve charged into Hydra's heart to confront Red Skull, fighting for the world—and for vengeance for his brother.
Hydra was ultimately destroyed by Captain America's valor.
But tragically, Steve himself never returned. In his final pursuit of Red Skull, he sacrificed his life to save countless innocents, crashing into the Antarctic ice and disappearing into legend.