Night – The Avengers Return
That night, Steve returned to the base with the remaining Avengers.
After getting off the plane, he went straight to find Tony.
"Fury said you found the culprit?" Steve asked anxiously the moment he stepped into Tony's workshop.
Tony only glanced at him, continuing to fiddle with the device in his hands. In a casual tone, he said,"Carl and I will handle this. You just focus on hiding and staying out of reality."
Steve frowned. "I know the Sokovia Accords might help after the war, but let's put that aside for now! The most important thing is solving what's in front of us. Stop acting like a child throwing a tantrum!"
"Throwing a tantrum like a child?"
Tony stopped what he was doing and looked at Steve with a strange expression."And what have you done? What do you even understand? Because you're afraid of being monitored, you hide in your cozy little corner and watch from afar? Do you know what happened today? And now you come here to question me… Captain Rogers?!"
Steve endured Tony's provocation and replied calmly,"I came here to find out what happened today. This is when we should be working together. We need to solve this as soon as possible."
Tony sneered."Oh, look at that—true leadership. Commander, huh? And who are your soldiers? Me? Sorry, I refuse to answer."
Steve slammed his hand on the workbench."Tony! This is not the time to cause trouble! A lot of people are dead. This is exactly when the Avengers should act!!"
"Do you even know how many people died today?!"
Tony roared,"178,475 people!! Do you know what it looked like? Bodies all over the streets—did you see that?! So many dead, and now you're telling me the Avengers need to act? What about before?!"
His emotions spiraled. He covered his eyes with one hand, trying to steady himself.
Steve's anger disappeared instantly. Now he understood Tony's state of mind.
At the moment he was needed most, Tony had been alone.
Tony could do many things—but in the end, he was still just a human, albeit a genius. There were limits to what he could handle.
Carl was powerful, but there was always a certain distance between him and everyone else. It was inevitable. Tony wouldn't question Carl—after all, Carl wasn't even from this world.
But Steve was different. He had always been a hero. Tony wouldn't question him lightly… yet who else could he direct his frustration toward?
Tony gradually calmed down. He picked up a glass of wine and drained it in one gulp, then set it down heavily.
Looking at Steve, he said coldly,"So, Captain Rogers, you've completely torn the Avengers apart. When I needed them the most, my teammates were all gone. And now you want the Avengers to assemble again? I should hold a press conference and let the media hear your explanation."
Steve explained,"I was investigating the situation in Okayama. We had no idea something like this would suddenly happen in Italy."
Then he asked,"What did you find this time? I need information before I can decide our next move."
Tony, having vented, no longer targeted Steve. A pointer appeared on the screen, and a copy of the data he had compiled popped up.
Leaning against the table, Tony said,"We don't have much yet. Preliminary findings suggest the killers strike once every seven days. And there's more than one of them—exact numbers unknown. For now… at least over three thousand."
He passed the data over."According to Carl, the enemy possesses something that can alter reality. As for what exactly they're changing—our current findings suggest it can erase traces of their existence. If their operation hadn't been so large this time, we might never have discovered them at all."
Steve silently studied the information. It was far more detailed than anything they had before—but even so, they were still largely in the dark.
"So they're no longer on Earth? What are they using?" Steve asked.
Tony clenched his fist and pressed it against the screen, wiping all the data away.
In an unfriendly tone, he said,"Well then, do you have anything to fill in the gaps?"
Steve looked at him and simply said,"Thank you, Tony."
Tony leaned back in his chair, returning to his work without even turning around."Please don't disturb me."
Steve said nothing. He left the room, glancing back once at Tony before walking away.
The Weight of the Situation
In the common hall, all the Avengers still on Earth—except Tony—were gathered.
Steve could tell their mood was heavy.
They already knew about what happened in Italy.
Fury had tried to contain the situation, preventing panic from spreading.
But it was too severe—hundreds of thousands had died. Once the truth came out, the entire world would descend into chaos.
This could no longer be suppressed. So many lives lost demanded an explanation.
And the chosen scapegoat… was Carl.
From beginning to end, Carl had been present. Under these circumstances, he was the perfect target—even capable of turning the entire world against him.
It was also an opportunity. A test.
If nuclear weapons couldn't deal with Carl, then public opinion could. Turn the world against him, make every step he takes difficult.
The Avengers felt powerless about it. Even though the Accords hadn't been fully enforced, they had already made things more complicated.
Steve now understood that finding the culprit would be nearly impossible without Carl.
He looked at everyone and spoke firmly:
"I know this is a heavy blow for all of us. But we have to pull ourselves together."
He scanned the room.
"The Avengers exist to deal with situations like this. If we lose confidence, the people who rely on us will feel even more helpless. Tony and Carl understand more than we do—they've already found clues. For now, we wait for the next move."
Natasha steadied herself and asked,"Do you know who the enemy is?"
Steve shook his head."Not yet. But I understand their pattern."
Natasha said quietly,"We can't handle this alone. The UN is already watching. If this continues, we'll only delay things—and eventually become scapegoats ourselves."
The atmosphere grew heavy again.
Steve didn't want them to sink further into despair.
"I know we all feel powerless," he said. "And the challenges we've faced before—this one is no smaller. Every time, we've stood together to stop disasters that could destroy the world. This time is no different. The only difference… is that the enemy is hiding too well."
He looked at each of them.
"But this is already a start. We're the Avengers. We can't lose faith before the fight even begins."
Natasha forced a faint smile."We're just mourning the dead… not losing our faith."
The others nodded.
Steve's words had some effect—but the weight of the tragedy still lingered in everyone's hearts.
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