Don't Own anything.
'thought'
"Speech"
"Tvs, Radios, and Text via book or newspaper... when those are around..."
A chilling arctic air whips past me, my hair is tossed and thrown wildly, a scarf around my neck flowing backwards as my glowing eyes slowly scan the landscape.
Purple Mist slowly walks behind me, despite wearing high heels she doesn't sink even an inch into the slow. Nor do I despite my boot being unsuited for such thick snow.
Ki has its benefits.
"What are we doing out here, Zhongli?" The woman behind me questions.
"Well, Jiyang," I begin, speaking Purple Mist's 'mundane' name that she has selected. "I'm picking up... an old friend."
"An... Old friend?" She echoes.
"Back in world war two... I was part of a group called the Howling Commandos, led by America's first supersoldier, Captain America, otherwise known as Steve Rogers... I am unsure how they did it, but... mundane people made a serum that brought a boy with more disabilities than you can count, asthma, anorexia, scoliosis, partial deafness, heart arrhythmia, and stomach ulcers... the dude barely weighed eighty pounds while wet... but... after one set of injections... he goes from five-four to six-two, and gains around one hundred and fifty pounds of muscle."
"To top it all off, his physical abilities surpassed my own back then... when I was around the middle of my first stage."
"They turned a sickly boy into something that could compete with a cultivator?! Some sort of... body tempering serum?" She seems genuinely shocked.
"Oh, absolutely. I had to make a few edits, but I managed to determine a large portion of the serum. I was missing one sole ingredient, probably some sort of murim plant, but even without it, using mundane means, it made a serum that was capable of completing body tempering in around eighty days if I made it."
"So... around three hundred days or so for anyone else?" The woman echoes. "Out of mundane materials?!"
"I saved some of the serum in New York..." I lowly hum. "Perhaps I should take a look at it now after I've gained so much more experience... maybe see if Medicine Master can crack it."
"Why would your friend be out here?"
"Supposedly, Hydra, the Organization we were facing, launched a bomber that likely would have taken out most of the cities in America. He crashed that bomber into the sea before it could make landfall and drop its payloads."
"I see... if he is frozen... it should be fairly easy to resusitate him as you are now, correct?"
"That's right... I'm a Miracle Maker, after all." I hum as I continue walking, tapping a cane on the icy snow.
"Hm? Oh... there you are."
I raise a hand, swinging my arm outwards as a gentle glow surrounds my body.
Mounds of snow are blown back revealing a metallic flat surface underneath.
"Here you are, cap." I smile as I grasp my cane and hop down, my feet clanging on the metal.
I slowly draw the greenish blade hidden within the cane, and with a simple slash, a large square is cut from the metal.
I jab my sword into the steel and effortlessly pry the sheet of steel free. I didn't even need to use and Ki for that simple cut.
Jade Steel is far stronger and sharper than normal metal.
I gaze down into the cramped insides of the large war machine, then hop inside.
Purple Mist follows closely behind me as we walk through total darkness.
But, our eyes are good enough to see with no light sources.
After around five minutes of walking... we arrive at the main control center.
I stare down at the large chair at the front, crumpled upon the floor, trapped within ice, is a red, white, and blue figure.
"Hello Cap... it's been a while." I smile.
Venom Dragon the Miracle Maker: "Oi. Medicine Master. Are you online?"
I stare down at my phone. There's no reply for a while, but eventually the person I had spoken about answers with a simple '?'
Venom Dragon the Miracle Maker: "Do you know anything about healing people who have been frozen in ice?"
Five minutes pass.
Medicine Master: "Are they a cultivator?"
Venom Dragon the Miracle Maker: "No. But their body is comparable to a newly promoted second stage if that helps."
Medicine Master: "!"
Medicine Master: "How?"
Venom Dragon the Miracle Maker: "Alright, so, back in the Secular World's WW2, America created a super soldier project. I wasn't there when it happened, but I did a few checkups on their only super soldier- the head scientist was assassinated so the project died- and from what I could tell, they did some sort of pseudo 'body tempering' effect for him. The man used to be 5'4, under one hundred pounds, and with a myriad of disabilities ranging from heart palpitations to athsma and scoliosis. Now he's a good 6'2, and weights a little over two hundred and fifty pounds... and all that happened in a grand total of like 5-10 minutes."
Su Clan's Seven: "Holy shit. How is he even alive? Trying to temper a body so quickly by all means should have killed him. Sounds like a hell of a guy."
Venom Dragon the Miracle Maker: "I figured out the formula a while back and I might still have a sample around somewhere... even if it's a good 60 years old now. Only one ingredient eluded me, from what I could tell, the chemicals used and combined in a certain way could be a suitable replacement for Body Tempering Liquid. Of course, with greatly lowered potency. For myself, it would allow someone to complete their 100 days of foundation in about 80. For anyone else creating it, roughly 300."
Su Clan's Seven: "Woah woah woah. Mundane means?!"
Medicine Master: "Will trade for recipe. Trying to make body tempering liquid more affordable for sects."
Venom Dragon the Miracle Maker: "Oh, I was planning on releasing it to you all anyways. It'll certainly need some edits as it was originally meant for chemistry sets instead of pill forges. Plus, there's that one ingredient I couldn't figure out. Probably some sort of Murim plant, as there's no way in hell any of this should have made him THAT strong. Medicine Master drop by my place and I'll give you the sample."
Medicine Master: "On my Way."
Venom Dragon the Miracle Maker: "In that case, I'll be right back, going to my old hiding spot to see if my stuff is untouched."
"Hmm..." The brown haired doctor beside me hums. "He... could be stronger."
"Those were my thoughts as well." I nod as I look over the blonde that is laying in a bed. "I'd just like a second opinion."
"It seems like his transformation didn't deal with his disabilities, and merely is using its power to suppress them... if his body wasn't focused on keeping his Arrythmia, Scoliosis, and Asthma in check, he might be able to exert much more power... how did normal people accomplish this?"
"Abraham Erskine was a genius." I admit. "It's a shame he passed away."
"Do you have anything to treat mundane diseases and conditions?"
"Do you really need to ask that?" The man questions, causing me to let out a single huff of laughter.
"I mean, I could have easily done it, just gathering the materials would take a bit."
"Regardless..." Medicine Master continues. "Whatever happened to him is quite impressive... it's like whatever they did to him forced him to gain an Immortal Body. I am unsure how this will affect him if he decides to cultivate."
I nod along.
Pov: Elsewhere.
His head hurts. Well, everything hurts, his fingers sting, there's a dull ache in his chest, it feels like two hammers are slamming nails into either side of his head.
"Ngh-" he grunts, his throat dry and raspy.
"Careful. Don't move too much." A gentle, deep, and melodious voice echoes out.
Someone is here.
He cracks his eyes open, the world blurring briefly.
He sees a figure standing to the side, but everything is just...
"Can you see?" The voice questions, his hands waving over his chest, causing little itching stings to cross his torso.
His vision clears as he looks around the room, eyes narrowed against the light that shines from above.
He can see numerous thin needles clutched in the figures hand.
He reaches out, quickly plucking several more from his arms.
Acupuncture needles?
That brings back some memories.
"Who are you?" The tired man questions, gazing up at the brown haired figure that snags needles from his body.
"Ah... I am Zhongli..." He answers after a moment. "I apologize for the needles... you were quite frost bitten. I did my best, and managed to save your fingers and toes, though."
The man slowly clenches his fist.
He feels... strange, honestly.
He slowly looks up. "Where am I?"
"Western New York at the edge of one of the Finger Lakes." The man answers instantly.
"Sampsons?" The captain questions. "What about Hydra. Are they finished? I defeated the red skull... what about Hitler?"
"The war is over, Mr. Rogers." the brown haired man, Zhongli speaks slowly.
"What?" Steve whispers. He... he must have been out for quite a while, then.
"A lot has changed..." The man admits as he turns, placing the needles on a nearby tray. "And still... things stay the same."
There's something about the way this man moves that unsettles Steve. Something dangerous about him.
The needles. And the way he carries himself... it's familiar.
"You... are a cultivator... aren't you?" The captain accuses.
"Yes." The man answers simply.
"And your stage?"
"Inborn... the fourth stage."
Fourth? That- that's far surpassing anything Arthur ever accomplished. He said that it was theoretical that people of that strength existed. That it probably wouldn't be possible... and yet...
A fourth stage cultivator is right in front of him.
"Why are you here? I'm not in Sampsons' air force base... am I?"
"To answer your latter question first... No... you are not... it closed down shortly after the war finished. You are in my manor... as for the first, I owed someone who I call a friend a favor... that is why I healed you." Zhongli admits. "It... has been quite some time since you crashed that plane into the ocean, Steve..."
The super soldier swallows audibly, there's a strange... familiarity to his voice, something that Steve can't exactly put his finger on.
"How... how many years?"
The man in front of him is silent for a long moment.
"You were frozen in ice... for... almost sixty years." He eventually informs.
The super soldier freezes, a slight shake to his hands, the world seems eerily quiet.
His breath comes out in small pants, he stares at the wall for a brief moment.
"Are you going to be okay?" The cultivator asks, a concerned expression on his face.
"I- yeah... Yeah... I just..." The solder's face falls. "I... had a date."
I look over Steve as he sits across from me in my lavish living room, gazing suspiciously at the large flat screen Tv on the wall, then to the fridge and microwave.
He lets out a long sigh, shaking his head.
"Do you know what happened to the people close to me, Zhongli?" He eventually asks.
"I apologize. I have been in China for the past fifty years... Communication across the sea not so readily available until relatively recently... in addition if I had sent people to search for information... people would likely want to knowwhy I wanted to know... and for a man like myself, it was better for everyone if I didn't meddle."
"There are others like you?" Steve asks, eyebrow raising.
"Yes. Quite shocking, I know. Thankfully they tend to stay out of wars."
"One didn't." He frowns.
"Most of the cultivators above the third stage do. They have no position in a mundane war. Most smaller sects, those whose leaders struggle to grow above the second stage, tend to remain in the mundane world. Using their strength to get ahead of normal people as they are unable to throw their weight around anywhere else."
"Is... this just how it is over in China? Dozens of people with strength surpassing what is capable of normal men? Allowing utter anarchy?"
"No. Those that act out are put down like the animals they are by those who are good. If you go out of your way to harm those who have done nothing to you... using gifts the earth has provided... that is all you are, a filthy animal."
There's a quiet rattle behind me, causing the super soldier to still.
"Zhongli... I'm back." A female voice calls out.
His eyes are glued to the red serpent tied loosely around her neck. "D-Diablo?!"
"Arthur?" The man whispers, eyes flicking to me causing the corners of my mouth to turn upwards.
"That's right... how have you been, cap?" I question.
"You- You're alive?!" The seems genuinely awestruck.
"It... was a little touch and go for a while." I admit. "During my fight, that man landed a crushing blow on me that reduced my shoulder and most of my ribcage to powder... reasonably, I should of died. In fact."
I roll my arm slightly, earning a pop with each rotation. "My shoulder pops now like some sort of doll when I move it. But... Diablo pulled me into a cave... where luckily there was a powerful cultivation plant which allowed me to more or less restore my wounds."
My face falls. "The thing is... that took around five years... by the time I left the cave, the war was long since over. You were on ice, and, well... I assume people had moved on... I took a new name and decided to complete my original goal and head east... I... didn't feel like I had the right to face the rest of the howling commandos... so I let the world think Arthur Steel died and dove head first into cultivation."
He lets out a low growl. "Damn it Arthur... you idiot... nobody would have held it against you!"
"Perhaps. But... I made my choice... there's nothing I can do now." I sadly shake my head. "But. In the past forty years I have made quite a name for myself in the Murim... the world of Cultivation... most call me the 'Miracle Maker'... much to my annoyance."
"Annoyance?" The man echoes.
"I'm Venom Dragon. I'd like to be known for my strength as well as my medicine. Maybe that'd stop fools from testing my patience... that is partially why I didn't seek you out sooner. I wanted to grow strong enough to protect myself if push comes to shove. Quite early on a fifth stage cultivator tried to... recruit me... without planning on taking no for an answer... In a way, it was quite similar to fighting that second stage on the train... only I was far better than I was back then."
"Ah! Before I forget. This is Jiyang Ziyan, my apprentice." I gesture to the purple haired woman.
"A-ah... a pleasure to meet you, Mr. America." She bows her head slightly.
"It is a pleasure to meet you as well, miss... have you been keeping Arthur our of trouble?"
"Zhongli can typically manage by himself, but... it is my hope that I can have his back if needed." She smiles.
"How'd you two meet, anyways?" Steve questions, looking between us.
"Oh, well, on my way to China, I heard her after she was attacked by some sort of spirit beast, an azure serpent, using my eyes I made quick work of it then I detoxified her from the poison. Of course, after she was well enough to protect herself, I left, heading further east... eventually she tracked me down to the farming sect I was staying at and demanded that I made her my apprentice." The corners of my mouth turns upwards. "It did feel nice to have someone who had my back again like in the good old days..."
"I'm happy for you, Arthur." The man sighs before shaking his head slightly. "Do... you know what happened to Bucky?"
"Afraid not. From what I can tell most sources say he passed away a good ten to twenty years ago from disease... a first stage cultivator's body can easily suppress early stages of cancer, so I find that story unlikely."
"Hm." The man hums.
"If I had to take a guess... he is part of some sort of US special force to create more cultivators... likely a teacher of some sort. I paved the way with my Gu. Most transformed animals of that early stage could be sold for quite a few spirit stones... or they could just simply buy spirit stones with money. It's likely that slowly but surely the US government is trying to become a form of... sect, using a cultivation as a base to replace their original super soldier project."
"Honestly... I'm vaguely curious to see how they've progressed. But oh well. Not that curious. I'd probably be annoyed by the general corruption as it's an aspect of the government."
"That... can't be true, right? Bucky'd keep them on track."
"Ah. Right. I lived in China for the past fifty years. Their mundane government is... let's call it 'iffy'. But you need to realize cap that there's corruption everywhere. Not everyone is as nice as you. Hell. I'm doubtful Hydra died because of Operation Paperclip."
"You talked about that back then... Bucky would have remembered. He likely searched as well as he could."
I lowly hum in acknowledgment. "Be that as it may... he is one man. It's kind of hard to search the entire country, let alone the whole world. I am... tentatively hopeful that Hydra is dead and gone... but even if it is, there's likely some other secret society or organization that has taken its place."
"So... Cap." I begin. "I've always sort of wondered... what happened after I fell off the train."
He scratches his temple, looking a little ashamed. "Well, to tell you the truth... probably not more than you were expecting... we had no idea when or where you were thrown off the train... we couldn't look for you, when we got back to the train car, we both nearly passed out from the poison... but we did come across the other cultivators strewn across the train cars... it looked like they didn't get very far before your poison immobilized them."
"As for their leader, all he had left was enough energy to mock us... and in a rage, Bucky shot him for it." The man states, letting out a quiet sigh. "Not his proudest moment, and he ended up regretting it after, but... he was just so mad at that moment. He... he thought you had died... that he lost one of his best friends... and he still does."
My mouth become slightly flat as I gaze down at the table. 'damn it. Now I feel like such an asshole... I just didn't want to re-open old wounds'.
I cover my eyes with a hand, rubbing my forehead absentmindedly with a finger.
"Hey cap... want to go out and see how the world's changed?"
"Symbols to the nation." A voice echoes out over loudspeakers. "Heroes to the world..."
We slowly walk past numerous murals and paintings, there's large narrow screen that shows images of Steve both before and after the serum. There's another hung above a doorway that shows a picture of bluish green eyes, ones that are strikingly familiar.
Bright green arches rapidly circle the pupil, looking like flower petals.
Ah. That was before my eyes turned gold and I started using my Eye natural trait continuously as my reasoning was 'Goku did it for super saiyan why can't I do it for my sharingan'.
Admittedly, it worked. I just sort of forgot how to turn them off.
'I wonder if Naruto is a thing here? I didn't watch it in my last life... I'm willing to bet that maybe my 'Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils' became one of their 'super eyes'.'
I adjust my sunglasses, slipping my hands in my pockets.
"The story of Captain America and his howling commandos is one of honor. Bravery. And sacrifice." The voice continues.
"I wonder how much they got right." I idly mutter to the man beside me.
He doesn't look like he heard what I said, eyes slowly straying the room.
I've shirked my normal Chinese-style clothes, going for a simple long-sleeved button-up dress shirt and jeans.
Steve himself is wearing a baseball cap, a white T-shirt, jeans and a slightly baggy jacket to hide his muscular features.
"Denied enlistment due to poor health, Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique in the annals of American warfare. One that would transform him into the world's first super soldier."
Children in Captain America costumes seem to be trying to measure up to Cap's height, both before and after his transformation.
I can see his eyes soften somewhat, the smallest of smiles appearing on his face.
"This is... a little uncanny." There's a bit of embarrassment in his tone.
"You need to remember what you've done, Steve... you saved all of America." I admit quietly.
"I didn't do that much..." The man sighs. "I couldn't have done it without help... I'm not some sort of invincible man of steel... I'm... just one man."
"Perhaps... but no-one can deny the sheer effect you've had on the people here." I shoot back.
We come to a new room where there's a mural of each Howling commando on the wall.
Well.
We certainly look dramatic.
Steve, Bucky, and I are at the front, a mannequin with a replica of his costume on it, a red white and blue shield on display.
Not his circular one, as that one's currently in his room back at my home, but the one he used to perform with. The steel one that's not quite a kite shield, but definitely not a circular or rectangular one.
I gaze up to my mural, spying a snake's head poking up out of my scarf, looking in the same direction I was.
"Battle tested, Captain America and his howling commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission? Taking down Hydra. The Nazi Rogue Science Division."
I take a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment, mind drawn back to my past.
Yes...
Those days...
I regret not seeking out the others, honestly... but now? It... It's probably too late.
"Born to parents Martha Steel and Anthony Steel, Arthur Steel was a boy who always knew there was something different about him... at age eight, he survived a bite from a rattle snake without going to the hospital, and at age twelve, survived the burning and collapse of his family home with little more than a sunburn."
"At age twenty one, he stopped the assassin who had killed the man behind the super soldier program that created Captain Rogers, and merely a short year later, was drafted for Steve's Howling Commandos. Showing strength beyond that of a normal man."
There are a few pictures that appear on the screen, some videos of me, Bucky, and Steve chatting.
"A fast friend to the howling Commandos, Arthur Steel, otherwise known by his code name, Venom Dragon, was a medical genius comparable to the likes of Abraham Erskine, and during his time with the howling commandos created a special anti venom that can counteract any poison known to man that we still use the basis of to this day."
My eyes widen slightly.
'Oh? They use their counter venom? Well... as long as it has helped save lives, I suppose I can let that slide.'
"Venom Dragon is the only member of the howling commandos to have fallen in battle, stalling, and defeating, numerous German super soldiers during an operation to capture Armin Zola. One even claiming to be superior to Captain America himself."
"Chloe, why did you want to come here today?!" A young male voice to the side scoffs, causing me to glance over. "You always want to come here."
They don't really look like much.
There's a blonde girl, dark skinned kid, and some child who's hair is slightly blue.
Not unusual considering all the anime hair that's around me at this point.
"Well, obviously I want to see my Uncle's accomplishments!" The pigtailed girl replies, sounding slightly haughty.
"Yeah Yeah, Venom Dragon's your uncle. We get it."
I blink twice. 'hah?'
Well. Cap's back! Yippee! And a whole 10 years early at that! I wonder how that's going to change things?
Oh... and Apparently Arthur has some relatives. That is...
Huh...