Falcon

Sam Wilson, the future "Falcon."

According to the movies, he had served in the 58th Airborne Rescue Unit and taken part in the Falcon Classified Program. After his partner was tragically killed, he had retired in grief and later worked at the Veterans Affairs office.

By rights, he had worn highly advanced special combat gear before. His courage and experience should have far surpassed those of ordinary people.

Yet when Li Feng dispelled the invisibility on Steve and Natasha, causing them to suddenly appear before Sam, the black man opened his mouth wide in fright, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

The sight made Li Feng want to conjure a giant question mark over the man’s head.

Steve apologized, "Sorry for scaring you. We need a place to hide."

Natasha carefully observed the changes in Sam’s expression and added, "Everyone we know is trying to kill us."

"Not everyone." Having recovered from his shock, Sam stepped aside as he spoke, signaling for them to get inside quickly.

After determining from his expression that he was not lying and could be trusted, Natasha gestured for Steve to enter.

Once the two people and one bird—actually three people—had entered the house, Sam glanced outside. After confirming no one had noticed that several guests had suddenly appeared at his home, he quickly shut the door and drew the curtains.

When Sam returned to the living room, he saw his refrigerator inexplicably open. Then, a bottle of beer flew out. Next, as if someone were standing before the refrigerator drinking, the bottle in midair kept tilting, pouring beer into an unseen mouth.

What the hell is this? Sam swallowed hard and looked blankly at Steve. Before he could ask, the crow on Steve’s shoulder suddenly flew over and circled the beer bottle, crying in a coquettish tone, "Boss, save some for me. I haven’t had beer in ages."

A crow could speak human language, and it was begging for beer?! Sam stared blankly at Scarface, then gave an awkward fake smile. "I think I need to go to the hospital and get my brain checked."

Natasha covered her face and shot an irritated glare at Scarface and the beer bottle. Helplessly, she explained, "That’s Austin, who can turn invisible, and his pet bird. Neither of those two is normal. Just ignore them."

"Who are you calling abnormal?" Li Feng immediately set down the bottle, dropped his invisibility, and shouted, "What’s abnormal about me? I was just thirsty and wanted some water. How does that concern you?"

With that, Li Feng turned to Sam and extended his hand. "My name is Austin. I’m a—"

"Cough." Before Li Feng could say "Mage," Natasha hurriedly coughed and interrupted, "Austin, the more Sam knows, the more danger he’ll be in."

This is why S.H.I.E.L.D. is full of so much pointless crap. Li Feng shrugged, turned around, grabbed another bottle from the refrigerator, and plopped down nearby to drink in silence.

Steve rubbed his brow as if he had a headache. Pointing at Li Feng, who was sitting without a shred of decorum, he apologized, "Sorry. His identity is classified—"

Sam waved his hand with a smile. "No need to explain. I carried out confidential military missions myself back then. I understand security protocols."

Steve shrugged apologetically and pointed at his dust-covered clothes. "Can I use your bathroom?"

Sam quickly pointed toward the bathroom and smiled. "Of course."

Before long, Steve and Natasha had cleaned the dust off themselves and were seated at the dining table, discussing who in S.H.I.E.L.D. could order missiles launched within the United States.

"Who else could it be? Pierce. He dared to launch a Nuclear Weapon at me back then. A missile now is nothing to him."

Holding a bottle of beer, Li Feng stood by the dining table with interest and said, "What I don’t get is this: Fury was plastering little notices all over the streets looking for Pierce before. That clearly meant he knew something was wrong with the guy. So why, now that Fury has faked his death, are you not arresting Pierce even though he’s shown himself? Instead, you’re the ones being hunted? And one more thing—what happened to the evidence Fury collected on Pierce? Who ate it?"

Natasha glanced at Li Feng, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly. In an even tone, she said, "I don’t know how much evidence Fury collected in secret, but as far as S.H.I.E.L.D. is concerned, Pierce merely went from operating in the open to hiding in the shadows after being attacked. He is still a member of the Security Council."

The moment Natasha finished speaking, Li Feng suddenly realized something. His expression changed at once as he said darkly, "So when I demanded that Fury hand him over, he had been lying to me all along. Fury knew where Pierce was hiding. His claim that he needed time to gather evidence of Pierce’s crimes was just a way to delay handing him over."

After lowering his head in thought for a moment, Li Feng narrowed his eyes and asked, "What about the bioengineered human Fury handed over to me back then? Was that also a deliberately staged act?"

Natasha shook her head slightly. "I only know that Pierce really was attacked back then. As for why a bioengineered human died in his place, I don’t know. You should ask Fury yourself."

Ask Fury myself? Heh. Li Feng gave Natasha a thoughtful look. After pondering for a while, he suddenly smiled. "Stop testing me. I can tell you clearly: Fury isn’t dead. He’s hiding underground where the sun never reaches, recovering from his injuries."

"So you really do know something." Seeing that her little test had been exposed, Natasha was not annoyed. Instead, she said openly, "You remind me of Doctor Strange. You have the same abilities as him. Or do all Mages have the ability to restore the Hong Kong Sanctum?"

The Hong Kong Sanctum? S.H.I.E.L.D. knows about Dormammu? They even know Strange has a Time Spell? Li Feng curled his lip, pulled out a chair, and sat beside Steve. "Strange needs an artifact to rewind time. As for whether I can do it, why should I tell you?"

Nearby, Sam felt a little overwhelmed. What had he just heard? Some doctor on Earth had actually figured out how to rewind time? Was this still the world he knew?

On second thought, it did not seem like such a big deal. Aliens had invaded Earth twice already, so why could a doctor not develop time reversal?

Besides, libraries were full of speculation and theories about time.

Nothing unusual, nothing worth being surprised about—my ass. Sam turned and headed for the kitchen, preparing breakfast for Steve and the others. He did not want to eavesdrop anymore. His worldview was already close to shattering. If he kept listening, it might truly break apart.

Steve had been listening with great interest. He also wanted to know whether Fury was truly alive or dead, but after Li Feng said, "Why should I tell you?" and ignored Natasha, it was obvious he did not want to say more.

With no other choice, Steve put away his curiosity and returned the discussion to something more practical. "Zola’s Algorithm was found aboard the Lemurian Star. Fury’s purpose back then was most likely to learn about Zola’s Algorithm."

"Silvert was on the ship too." Natasha seemed to realize something. "That bald man was very familiar with Pierce. Could he know something?"

Of course he knew something. Otherwise, why would Silvert have boarded the ship? For a taxpayer-funded vacation? Steve raised an eyebrow and asked, "The problem now is, how are two wanted fugitives supposed to kidnap a high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. official in broad daylight?"

That question stumped Natasha. She instinctively looked at Li Feng.

At that moment, Sam, who had somewhat understood Steve’s situation, took a stack of documents from the bookshelf and tossed them in front of Steve. "The answer is, you don’t go. I do."

Natasha looked at the documents in surprise. "This is…? I remember helicopters couldn’t be deployed for that mission because there were rocket launchers at the site." After a pause, she asked curiously, "How did you land? With an invisible parachute?"

"I can’t turn invisible." As he spoke, Sam opened the documents and pointed at a photograph. "I relied on this."

Steve looked at the picture of a winged personal flight rig and said with some surprise, "I thought you were a pilot."

"I never said I flew planes." Sam smiled and shook his head slightly.

At this point, Steve understood that Sam intended to help them kidnap a high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. official. However, he did not want his newly made friend to become wanted as well, so he gently refused. "I can’t ask you to do this. You have every reason to stay retired."

Sam did not care. "Man, Captain America is asking for my help. That’s the best reason there is for me to come back."

Seeing Sam’s resolute attitude, Steve glanced at Li Feng and Scarface beside him, who were focused solely on drinking and ignoring everything else. Thinking that more help might resolve the S.H.I.E.L.D. crisis sooner, he pointed at the flight rig and asked, "Where can we get one of those?"

"The last one is in Midburg." Sam spoke with some helplessness. "It’s guarded by three security gates and a twelve-foot-thick steel wall."

That was what troubled Sam. Without the flight rig, he was merely a capable soldier. Only by wearing it could he truly show what he could do.

But what was extremely difficult for Sam was nothing to Steve and Natasha, especially with someone beside them who could open Portals and travel anywhere at any time.

So the moment Sam finished speaking, Steve and Natasha both looked at Li Feng.

Natasha swiped through her phone, found Midburg’s location, and handed it to Li Feng. "Austin, you’ve drunk so much of Sam’s beer. Shouldn’t you put in some effort and help him solve this problem?"

Li Feng rolled his eyes, took the phone, and looked at it a few times. With a wave of his hand, he opened a Portal. "Who was it that said my identity needed to stay secret?"

As he spoke, Li Feng turned to Sam, whose jaw had nearly dropped from shock, and said, "Buddy, if you find an extra pair of wings, remember to give them to me. I’ll modify them with magic, then play an angel over New York. What do you think? The number of believers will explode within days."

Rubbing his chin, Li Feng tilted his head and added, "Do you think the Pope will give me a banner afterward?"

Natasha could not be bothered with Li Feng and stepped through the Portal first.

Before long, Natasha, Steve, and Sam, now wearing the personal flight rig, returned to Sam’s home.

Steve studied Sam’s gear for a moment, then said confidently, "Now, let’s make a plan to kidnap Silvert."