"Let me get this straight," I said, looking at the Winter Soldier on the operating table. "While you were returning from one of your meetings—practically in the middle of the road—a group of HYDRA agents decided to try and kidnap you... even using one of their best assassins... and you just decided to pick him up, like finding a coin lying on the street."
"More or less," Gero said, amused. "With this, we might be able to get another version of the Super Soldier Serum, take a look at some of HYDRA's technology, and end up with a powerful soldier."
"Fair enough. Plus, I can use this to learn how to undo brainwashing—so that's an added bonus."
"I'd advise caution; you could end up destroying his brain, and for the moment, that's necessary," Myuu cautioned.
"Relax, I need him alive. He's Captain America's best friend—it's better to have the symbol of the United States on my side."
Examining Bucky's condition—using both my technology and my magic—I was surprised by what I found. "They really made sure he'd be a powerful weapon. Did you remove any trackers, or anything that might allow him to commit suicide?"
"He had a tracker, but nothing he could use to kill himself," Gero replied.
"An extreme display of arrogance, if you ask me," Myuu remarked while analyzing the metal arm. "Honestly, it's just pathetic—there isn't even a hidden weapon or anything. It's just a metal arm, presumably for hitting harder, but that's it. Talk about a lack of originality."
"Well, make the best use of him that you can. Later, I'll find a way to undo his brainwashing. Keep him sedated; the last thing I need is for him to become a nuisance."
"Understood," both scientists replied.
After that, noting the time, I decided to write in my journal.
At Stark's Villa
Tony was resting after a series of sparring sessions with some fans when he received a notification from JARVIS that the journal had been updated. As has become the custom, he activated the alert system to inform the others.
HYDRA is becoming extremely desperate; they've decided to send a Winter Soldier to kidnap Gero—and not just any Winter Soldier, but Bucky Barnes himself.
It's typical, isn't it? They always send him to target scientists—first the Starks, and now Gero. Regardless, I might as well use this as an opportunity to practice breaking brainwashing. I wonder how he'll react if he remembers everything he's done.
Get a psychologist ready.
I should also take this chance to investigate whether HYDRA is merely a group of "mega-Nazis," or if their members have been brainwashed by an Inhuman. That is, assuming they don't destroy the base I know about. I can't tamper with his brain just yet, though—I need it intact for the upgrades Gero and Myuu are planning.
Start searching for the HYDRA base as soon as possible.
Everyone was left in complete shock by what they had just read. But the most shaken of all was Tony; he remembered how his father used to talk about his friends from the war, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes.
And now, he has just read that HYDRA—through Barnes—was responsible for his parents' deaths.
"Mr. Stark, I detect an acceleration in your heart rate. While I may not fully grasp human emotion, I can distinguish between acting of one's own free will and acting against it—especially when mind control is involved. Therefore, by human standards, one would not be considered culpable."
"Thanks for the definition, JARVIS," Tony said, his tone showing annoyance toward his AI.
"Happy to help," JARVIS replied. Tony glanced upward, realizing that JARVIS was intentionally trying to distract him to help calm his thoughts.
"Stark," Fury said, looking at Tony through the video call, "I won't claim to understand what you're feeling, but I can tell you this: when the time comes to take down HYDRA, you'll be among the first in line."
Tony took a deep breath, then reached for his whiskey and downed a large gulp.
"Alright! I'm in."
"I just noticed something mentioned earlier," Clint said, reading aloud: "'I should also take this chance to investigate whether HYDRA is merely a group of "mega-Nazis," or if their members have been brainwashed by an Inhuman.'" He looked around at the others. "Am I the only one alarmed by this?"
"Do we know what these 'Inhumans' are?" Natasha asked, looking toward her boss.
Fury thought for a moment, but nothing came to mind. "No idea. But the name implies they're a species distinct from humans, yet similar... I keep forgetting that Gabriel just tosses things like this out there without a second thought!" He rubbed his bald head, feeling another migraine coming on.
For now, this message is enough to know that he intends to attack HYDRA, so we'd better get ready—and make sure not to draw any attention—by acting as if we discovered it by chance."
Unfortunately for them, they assumed Gabriel would wait a few days before launching his attack. But that's not how Gabriel operates; as soon as he returned, he decided to look into Bucky's memories—he couldn't undo the brainwashing just yet, but he could certainly see his current state.
Once he located him, he opened a portal to that spot, clad in his Spectra suit.
"Hello there~" I said upon arriving at the base, throwing my arms up like a showman while casting a spell that immobilized everyone present. "Ah, Siberia—my first time here on vacation," I remarked with a sigh, as if I'd just checked into a hotel. "Coming through, pardon me, watch out," I added, moving along as if I were simply walking down a city street, careful to avoid bumping into the frozen figures. Meanwhile, robots emerged from the portal to extract all the data from the base and ensure that all external communication was blocked.
"Nice base—a bit too gray for my taste. It could use some black and a bold splash of red. Wasn't your old boss 'Red Skull'? Throw a few skulls here, there, and... right there—it would look absolutely DIVINE."
While walking around, I came across the five Winter Soldiers—though, unlike Bucky, they don't even have any lines in the movies. So, I just killed them and brought the corpses along for Gero and Myuu to have some fun with.
I also found a red book with a black star on it, containing the "activation" words:
"'Longing, Rusted, Seventeen, Daybreak, Furnace, Nine, Benign, Homecoming, One, and Freight Car'—all in Russian."
I blinked, confused. "Couldn't they have come up with something that didn't sound so bizarre? I mean, if I say all this out loud, any Russian is going to think I'm a complete idiot."
After copying down what seemed important, I decided to burn the book. I kept looking around for anything else of value, but finding nothing, I opted for the classic RPG approach: loot everything I could get my hands on.
"Dr. Gero, Dr. Myuu—I need a virus, or something similar, that can feed false information to other HYDRA bases. I want them to believe this place is still fully operational." I paused, then remembered something. "Right! While you're at it, send the 'Double M' units to capture the Russian 'Captain America,' and track down the 'Black Widows.' I always forget about them."
"Understood, sir," the two replied, their eyes gleaming with excitement over the technology and materials.
"What should we do with the workers?" Myuu asked.
"Do whatever you want with them. We need the labor, so..."
Both scientists nodded, amused, knowing that they would now have everything they needed.
The rest of the month passed normally, but for those who possessed the Journal, it was a period of mounting emotions. First, the Red Guardian was released from the prison where he had been held. Then, the process of locating the "Red Room" began—a development that nearly prompted Natasha to go investigate in person, though Clint managed to stop her. Furthermore—much to Fury's frustration—it turned out that the HYDRA base was practically useless; it had already been attacked and looted, existing in name only—which was perhaps for the best.
Meanwhile, with only a week left before Gabriel planned to begin reviewing the scores to select the 10,000 participants...
In a hospital room with an old-fashioned aesthetic lay a man—a man who, under normal circumstances, should have remained beneath the ice for much longer. For days, he had been unresponsive, showing only the faintest signs that he was still alive. But, little by little, he began to wake. The man was Steve Rogers—Captain America, a hero of the United States.
Upon opening his eyes and taking in his surroundings, he initially assumed he was still in 1945; unfortunately, the details didn't quite add up.
"Where am I?"
"In a recovery room in New York," replied a nurse who had just entered.
Steve looked at the nurse, his expression serious. "The radio broadcast was in May 1941," he said firmly. "I was there."
Realizing that everything had fallen apart, the 'nurse' called a 'Code 13,' alerting all agents in the area. Meanwhile, Steven ran outside the building and, upon seeing the modern world, stood there in shock—giving the agents just enough time to surround him.
"Soldier"—it was Fury who called out, approaching him—"look, I'm sorry about the deception. We thought you'd prefer to be in a familiar environment while you took it all in."
"Take it all in?"
"You've been asleep, Captain—for 62 years."
Captain America's appearance wasn't exactly a secret—especially given what he did right out in the middle of the street. People whipped out their phones in an instant, and thanks to the speed of the internet in the Marvel universe, the whole country soon learned that a long-lost war hero had returned from the dead.
And me...
Well...
"You've got to be fucking kidding me..." I muttered, staring at the TV as the news covered the story. "Three years early—dammit all to hell." I rubbed my face, feeling annoyed. My knowledge of the Marvel universe is already a total mess, and just when I think I've got a handle on something, it all falls apart. "And we're still missing Hulk and Thor... I just hope nothing else weird happens... I just jinxed myself, didn't I?"
I decided to simply ignore that, knowing that if I focus on it too much, I'll get a headache.
While this was unfolding in an apartment provided by S.H.I.E.L.D., Steve Rogers was reading a book—though there was something peculiar about it. The title read: 'Gabriel's Journal, Steve Rogers's copy.'
At first, he didn't know what it was, assuming it was just another book given to him by S.H.I.E.L.D. But the more he read, the more confused he became. There were many things he didn't understand—things he literally had to look up online or ask about to figure out how they worked—to the point where he began to wonder if he had lost his mind.
But what truly left him in shock was the most recent entry, which spoke of his friend Bucky.
Steve sat there, stunned and lost in deep thought. He didn't want to believe it; the very idea left him frozen, staring off into the distance.
That night, Nick Fury arrived—intending to speak with Steve about visiting Peggy—but upon catching sight of the journal, his single eye widened in shock.
"So, it seems you have one too, Cap."
Fury's voice snapped Steve back to reality, and he quickly grasped the implication.
"'Too'?"
Fury said nothing; he simply pulled his own copy from his jacket. "I suggest you come with me, Captain. We have a lot to discuss."
.
.
.
"This can't be happening," Steve said after hearing everything. It seemed that everything in the Journal was true—and what's more, the person who wrote it appeared to be relatively close by.
"Aliens, magic, spirits, timelines, universes... so much in such a short amount of time."
"You're not the only one whose brain just exploded, 'Caps,'" Tony said, in his usual tone.
Steve looked at his friend's son, unsure of what to think. He found him far too egocentric, but then he recalled the final detail—the part about Bucky, someone he hadn't managed to save. While another person might not have blamed themselves, Steve was simply too compassionate; he ended up taking at least some of the blame for everything.
"So, what do we do?" he asked, looking toward this group of people who possessed knowledge of the future. "HYDRA is so deeply embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D. that it would be impossible to tell them apart."
"For now… we wait" said Fury and, under Rogers's gaze, he continued, "You said it yourself: it's nearly impossible to tell them apart. We need a way to distinguish between them—unless someone wants to wait four years, until 2012, when, apparently, Gabriel will be able to fix everything in one fell swoop."
"And this 'Inhumans' thing sounds strange—the name itself is a bit derogatory. Can't we do something to get him to tell us what it means?" Steve asked.
"From what we can tell, Gabriel possesses powerful magical abilities—'the second most powerful,' as he calls himself. And considering what he pulled off at Christmas..." Natasha began.
"Better not take any chances," Steve finished. "Anything else I should know?"
"Well, our resident sorcerer is currently in the middle of a card tournament—one he introduced himself," Clint said, pointing out the duels taking place.
"This is from a card game?"
"Yep—and those items were crafted by yours truly," Tony said, showing off.
"Didn't the blueprints come from Gabriel?" Natasha asked, nearly causing Tony to choke on his drink.
But before they could continue, there was an update in the Journal.
The captain was thawed out 3 years early. FUCKING AWESOME!! Wait—all it would take is for Thor to turn into a total moron ahead of schedule, and for Banner to start messing around with gamma power earlier than he's supposed to, and boom—we've got the Avengers assembled before the attack even happens! Seriously, what kind of messed-up version have I ended up in where every single goddamn date I have is wrong?!
Whatever The tournament will begin shortly; for now, I'm seeing some interesting results: James Morrison, Peter Parker, Ned Leeds, Alex Smith, Andrew Grant, Kian Burke, Andrew Richards, Nicholas Harris, Jensen Taylor, and Axton Whitaker—among others who frequent the tournaments at my shop—are the ones with the highest scores. There's even a mix of people of different ages; that's exactly what I wanted—for people to have fun.
Check whether there have been any links to Duel Spirits.
Steve was still trying to wrap his head around what the hell a "Duel Spirit" was when he heard a "HELL YEAH!" from Tony. Looking over, he saw Tony staring at a device like the ones in the videos—a "Duel Disk," if he remembered the name correctly.
"Stark, was the shouting necessary?" Fury asked.
"Of course it was! I'm in the top 1,000 for points," Tony boasted. "Outside of the top 1,000, nobody's point totals are public—only the individual knows their own. Basically, I'm telling the whole country that I'm one of the best."
"Didn't you say there were, like, 10,000 spots?" Steve asked, unfazed by Tony's personality.
"And how many people are there in the country? Even the kid mentioned it—people of all ages play. Since the only real limit is the 20-minute break, you could—theoretically—take on ten opponents at once, use a semi-suicidal or extreme attrition strategy, and rack up an absurd amount of points."
"Mr. Stark, I think you forgot to mention that some 'Shadow Games' are involved," Coulson added. Steve was surprised to hear there were trading cards featuring him; he found it amusing and decided to sign them, enjoying the sight of the agent acting like a child in his presence—until the last part registered.
"'Shadow Games'?"
"Basically, if you have a 'Shadow Charm'—" Coulson said, showing his own, "—you can initiate a 'Shadow Game.' It's essentially a magical contest where the winner can take anything they want from the loser. *Anything.* Provided, of course, that you're strong enough. There are already videos of people losing consciousness because of it—though, to be fair, our organizer usually steps in to help with that."
Steve blinked, stunned. "I'm too old for this."
At Gabriel's base
After that, I decided to take a break and check out this month's gift, before the tournament.
"I hope it's worth it."
[Congratulations, host! You've completed a full month using the Journal system, granting rewards.]
[Daniel J. D'Arby finger memory]
[The user's fingertips are trained to be so sensitive that he can determine the exact number of pages in a book or a stack of paper simply by running his fingers along the edge—or recall the order of a deck of cards.]
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"WAIT IT'S LIKE ATEM'S POWERS?!"