It was said that super soldiers like Steve and Bucky Barnes had broken the genetic limits of humanity, reaching unprecedented heights. However, neither Abraham Erskine, who developed the super-soldier serum, nor any of the major institutions anticipated that these heights would be so limited, and that they would hit a new bottleneck so quickly.
But in truth, it wasn't fair to blame Abraham Erskine. After all, in that era, the strength of a super-soldier had far surpassed their understanding. The so-called "kings of soldiers" were nothing compared to the super-soldier serum.
One could only say that today's extraordinary era had far exceeded the comprehension of many. Although most people on Earth seemed to live as usual, they had grown accustomed to the existence of the supernatural, much like the mortals during the age of the gods.
However, in this era, extraordinary individuals had not yet begun to harvest the faith of mortals as the gods once did. Most superhero fans were different from followers of the gods, though there were some extreme fans whose devotion bordered on religious fanaticism—something that couldn't be easily remedied.
The fact that extraordinary individuals hadn't started collecting mortal faith posed another issue. If an evil supernatural being ever became powerful enough to dominate the world, ordinary humans would lose their value to them. Unlike the gods of old who treated Earth as a field for harvesting faith, these beings wouldn't care about humanity, leaving no chance for mankind to struggle and overturn their fate.
Fortunately, this concern hadn't yet materialized. The Avengers, along with Clark and Robert, were still able to protect the world from supernatural threats, preventing such a scenario from unfolding.
At this moment, while Bucky Barnes was relaxing at home after doing the dishes, the focus shifted to Steve and Peggy Carter. After leaving home, they went for a stroll in a familiar park, exchanging greetings with some elderly acquaintances along the way.
The elderly folks frequently asked why their son, Bucky, wasn't with them, wondering if he had been busy lately.
It was clear that Bucky Barnes was well-liked by this group of seniors. If not for the slight issue of age, Bucky might have been considered the ideal son-in-law for these elderly folks.
After finishing their greetings, Peggy led Steve onward, suddenly remembering something. She smiled and said, "I just realized, isn't that the place where you used to train in secret? Want to take a look?"
"Hasn't it been abandoned by now?" Steve nodded but hesitated. "The last time I was there, I was dealing with animal warriors alongside the Saiyans. That was quite a while ago. It's probably in a state of disrepair now. Don't tell me you've been tidying it up for me?"
"Of course not! I'm not that free," Peggy said, rolling her eyes at Steve as she continued to lead him forward.
"Hey! Shoot the ball! What are you doing?!" Before they reached the abandoned training ground, they heard shouts of excitement. It seemed that the place had been turned into a makeshift soccer field by some kids, who were now playing enthusiastically.
"Nice shot!"
"Ugh, terrible shot!"
"Huh? Where's the ball?"
"What?!"
"Go look over there..."
"Did it get kicked into that abandoned building?"
When Steve and Peggy arrived, they saw a group of kids frantically searching for their ball. A few of them were even arguing about whose fault it was that the ball had disappeared.
It was obvious that the kids only had that one ball. Their goalposts were made of wooden sticks, and without the ball, there was no way for them to continue playing.
"Kids, what's going on here?" Peggy, touched by a wave of maternal instinct, let go of Steve and gently asked the anxious children.
"I kicked the ball wide and now it's gone. Everyone's mad at me, but I didn't mean to..." One of the kids, who had been arguing with his friends, broke down in tears when he heard Peggy's kind voice and started sobbing.
"Alright, it's just a soccer ball. We'll help you look for it. If we can't find it, my husband will buy you a new one. How about that?" Peggy smiled and patted the child's head, making a kind offer.
"Thank you so much, grandma!"
"Thanks, grandma! You're such a nice person!"
The kids immediately cheered up and began showering Peggy with thanks. She felt a sense of fulfillment, as if she were surrounded by grandchildren. She gave Steve a knowing look.
Steve was happy to help. He quickly began searching in the direction the kids had indicated. Peggy didn't stay idle either; she was eager to find the ball and hand it back to the kids to see their excitement.
"Huh? Did I just imagine that?" As Steve and Peggy split up to look for the ball, Peggy suddenly saw something strange. She froze for a moment, squinted her eyes, and rubbed them. She watched as a soccer ball flew up from the bottom of an abandoned pit and disappeared into the sky.
"Was that real?" As Peggy was still processing what she saw, the ball reappeared, flying out of the pit and into the sky again, just as before.
"Spatial distortion?" Peggy, who had seen her fair share of extraordinary events, blinked and muttered to herself, "Another supernatural incident? These incidents seem to be happening more and more frequently..."
"Hey! My ball!" One of the kids also noticed the ball flying out of the pit and shouted in excitement as he ran towards it.
"No!" Peggy snapped out of her thoughts. Seeing the child rush towards the pit, she instinctively grabbed him. But the momentum dragged her into the pit as well.
With a thud, Peggy grabbed the child with one hand and the edge of the pit with the other. Unfortunately, due to her age, she no longer had the strength she once did. If she were younger, she might have been able to pull both herself and the child out, but now she couldn't even lift herself.
"Steve!" Peggy shouted for Steve, but her grip on the edge slipped, and she and the child fell into the pit.
"Peggy?!" Steve heard her call and rushed over, but it was too late. Peggy had already disappeared from sight.
"Grandma and Brian fell into the pit! Grandpa, help them!" One of the kids, who had witnessed everything, shouted in panic at Steve.
"Peggy..." Steve stood frozen, unable to believe what had just happened.
"The ball! The ball flew up again! Brian chased it into the pit! Grandpa, do you think Brian will fly up too? And what about Grandma?" The child's excited shouting snapped Steve back to reality.
"A supernatural event?!" Steve's eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope. If the soccer ball could fly back up, maybe Peggy and Brian could still be saved.
However, despite observing the ball repeatedly flying out of the pit, Steve saw no sign of Peggy or Brian.
Growing anxious, Steve activated his communications system and called Tony Stark. "Tony, lock onto my location. Peggy disappeared into a twisted space. I'm going in to find her. See if you can track my signal."
"Wait, Steve! Calm down!" Tony responded, but before he could say more, Steve's signal cut off. "Damn it!"
Tony quickly had JARVIS deploy his armor and alerted the other Avengers, urging them to assemble immediately.
"What?!" Bucky Barnes, who had just fallen asleep at home, was jolted awake by the news. He couldn't believe that the one time he left Steve and Peggy alone, something like this had happened.
Now wide awake, Bucky rushed toward Tony's location, arriving faster than Tony's armor. Soon, the other Avengers arrived as well, staring at the ball as it flew into the air before disappearing again.
Tony sent his armor into the pit to investigate, but it vanished just like Steve and Peggy.
Even with JARVIS's advanced AI, there was no way to control the armor once it entered the space, and the connection was lost.
"According to the analysis, this isn't the same kind of spatial distortion as the Space Stone, nor is it like the portals from Kamar-Taj or Constantine," JARVIS's voice echoed among the Avengers.
"Based on the data, this space is more pure, without any signs of supernatural power. It seems more like a natural phenomenon."
"A natural phenomenon? Are you sure? When did the natural world start creating supernatural events? Or has nature quietly evolved?" Johnny Storm asked in disbelief.
"The analysis suggests that's exactly the case," JARVIS replied calmly.
"I can't wait any longer! I'm going in!" Bucky Barnes, frustrated by the Avengers' inaction, rushed toward the pit.
"Hold on! I've already contacted Superman. He's reaching out to the Saiyans. Don't be reckless! Even our armor is getting lost in there. If you go in alone, it's too dangerous!" Tony stopped Bucky with his armor and tried to reason with him.
"Every minute we wait, Steve and Peggy are in more danger! I can't just stand here doing nothing!" Bucky protested, struggling against Tony's hold, but he couldn't break free.
"Do you think you can save them? With your abilities, are you sure you won't just make things worse?" Tony cut to the point, holding nothing back.
"Besides, you know how unpredictable space can be. What if you and Steve end up in different places? Then we'll have to divide our efforts to save you both. If saving you delays rescuing Steve, or vice versa, how will either of you feel about that?"
Bucky clenched his fists, then reluctantly let go, realizing how powerless he was against such forces.
"Hey, this place looks familiar. Isn't this the big crater I created during
that fight?" Robert said as he arrived with Kara. He glanced around, recognizing the surroundings. It was the same spot where he had once fought, and now it was the site of a supernatural event.
"You're finally here. Did you sense anything unusual?" Tony asked, relieved to see Robert.
"There's no supernatural energy here, no power fluctuations," Robert said, frowning as he turned to Kara. "What about you?"
"I only see normal buildings. I haven't crossed into any twisted space," Kara replied softly, shaking her head.
"Guardian? You haven't detected anything either? The spatial coordinates seem vague and constantly shifting. I guess I'll have to go in myself..." Robert communicated briefly with the Guardian before nodding and looking toward the pit.
"I'll go in first. If I don't come back in half an hour, contact Kamar-Taj. Their expertise in space is stronger than ours..."
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