Misunderstandings and Midnight Shadows

Soren, on the other hand, felt wrongly accused.

He wasn't trying to cause trouble!

In his Angemon form, he just got hungry easily.

The more energy he burned, the hungrier he got, so he needed snacks and sweets to keep going.

As for interfering with Dr. Banner's work, Soren felt even more misunderstood.

If Dr. Banner used methods from New Earth, his experiments would be more efficient and less likely to fail...

He was only trying to help!

Dr. Banner marched ahead of Angemon, pushing his glasses up as he spoke, "Based on the records, there's a 90% chance the person in the medical room is Captain America, but we need to run a DNA test to be sure. The bigger question is, who brought him here? We compared the footage of the person who delivered him to a list of known super-powered individuals in the country... He looks a lot like that 'flying man' from Metropolis, but..."

Soren followed behind Dr. Banner, hesitating, "Maybe he was just helping out..."

As they talked, they arrived at the door to the medical room.

A crowd had gathered—almost every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who'd caught wind of the situation was here.

After all, who didn't grow up hearing stories about Captain America?

For most of them, their first superhero idol was the Captain they'd read about in history class.

It wasn't just Soren and Dr. Banner who came; even Johnny Storm, the Human Torch from the Fantastic Four, was there.

He was chatting excitedly with Sharon Carter and some new S.H.I.E.L.D. recruits.

"So, I kicked the guy, lit him up, and he went rolling on the ground, crying..." Johnny grinned as he told his story.

Soren glanced at the famous superhero and noticed something interesting: Johnny actually looked a bit like the man lying unconscious in the room.

They both had strong jaws, well-defined facial features, and impressive eyebrows.

However, their vibes were completely different.

Johnny, despite being young, had a cocky, carefree attitude.

The man in the bed, even while unconscious, had a deep crease in his brow, giving him a serious, noble air.

Using his height to his advantage, Soren made room for Dr. Banner in the front row, leaning one arm against the glass window as they both looked inside.

Dr. Banner gave him a sideways glance, not saying a word.

Inside the room, the medical team was busy running tests on the unconscious Steve Rogers.

His iconic shield rested on a round table directly across from the bed.

Soren thought to himself: Clark and him already checked the Captain's health back at the Fortress of Solitude. His vitals are all fine, but no one knows when he'll wake up.

Steve would need time to adjust to life in the 21st century, and it wouldn't be easy.

Suddenly, Soren's gaze shifted, scanning the room for someone specific.

It was strange.

Why hadn't he seen a certain person who had a close connection with Captain America?

Where could he be?

Late at night on a Brooklyn street, a small convenience store next to a second-hand clothing donation center still had its lights on.

The bored, sleepy cashier sat behind the counter, yawning repeatedly.

The TV hanging from the ceiling had switched to a late-night beauty show as the clock struck midnight.

The cashier absentmindedly changed the channels a few times with the remote, then yawned again.

He had to wait until 3 AM to switch shifts.

Glancing at the time in the corner of the TV screen, he wondered if he should grab a drink after work or just head home for a hot shower.

At that moment, the door opened, and a pair of gray sneakers, covered by baggy sweatpants, stepped inside.

Following those steps was a dark-skinned face and a red bandana covering the rest.

Three young men walked into the store.

The cashier stood up, his eyes filled with suspicion.

Before the one in the red bandana could even reach him, he saw the black barrel of a gun pointed straight at him.

A paper bag was tossed at the cashier's face.

"Hurry up, put all the money in here," the guy in the red bandana growled, his voice low and breathless.

The cashier froze in fear, silently cursing his stingy boss.

The New York gun control law was about to take effect, and this was the last chance for those illegally carrying guns to cause trouble.

Other stores had installed bulletproof glass by now, but theirs?

Not a thing.

Great.

Now all of today's earnings would be gone.

Not daring to disobey the three young men, the cashier opened the register and stuffed the bills and coins into the paper bag.

Once they had the money, the three young men quickly turned around to leave without saying much.

Only the one in the red bandana stayed behind, tapping the cashier's chest with the gun, "Watch what you say."

The cashier's face turned pale with fear.

He nodded silently and slowly moved his hand toward the button hidden under the counter, ready to hit the emergency alarm as soon as they left.

However, before his finger could press the button, the screams of pain echoed from outside the convenience store.

A dark figure, like a ghost descending from the shadows, attacked the three young men.

With a swift elbow to one guy's neck and a powerful kick to another's stomach before they could react, the man in the red bandana raised his gun in panic.

But the ghostly figure simply pressed his hand onto the gun's barrel.

The red bandana man fired his gun.

Three loud gunshots echoed through the store, "bang, bang, bang," shaking Red Bandana's arm.

But the person who had grabbed the gun didn't seem to care at all about the bullets.

He just stood there, unharmed.

The red bandana man's eyes widened in shock—he finally saw it.

The man stopping his gun with his hand had an entire arm made of silver metal.