Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics
Chapter 4664 - 3742: The Age of Mercury (25)

Chapter 4664 - 3742: The Age of Mercury (25)

This might be a bit unexpected. Eddie gently rubbed the spot below his nose with his finger and said, "I found an old photograph in the military's declassified archives from nearly 20 years ago."

He said this as he handed his gift box to Steve. Steve unwrapped the ribbon and was stunned. He saw a photograph that felt somewhat unfamiliar to him.

It was a group photo, where everyone was dressed in military uniforms, about half a squadron's worth. He and Peggy were among them, though back then he wasn't the strong Cyborg he is now, but rather a green newcomer to the camp. He almost forgot what he looked like at that time.

Photography technology wasn't that great back in those days. Most old photos are blurry, but the one in his hand was very clear. So clear that Steve could almost instantly match the people in the photo with someone from his memory, remembering what they used to do and the stories between them.

"Did you restore this photo?" Steve asked.

"Yes, I must admit it was a bit challenging. Because the photo itself was taken blurred, and the version released by the military further compressed the quality. I adjusted it point by point after enlarging it. The effect isn't bad, don't you think?"

Steve's expression was complex, full of sentiments, but he still embraced Eddie and then said, "Thank you for being willing to do this for me."

Just as he was about to put away the photo, he noticed a line of phone numbers on the back. Eddie continued, "Very luckily, among these people, someone lived through the war like you and reached the age of 100. I found this person's address and phone number, and called him in advance. He said he's willing to talk to you."

Steve's eyes lit up; he looked at the photo and asked, "Who is it? Who lived until today? Was it Big Bill? Or Randy, who loved to wear green knee-high boots?"

"His name is Easan Hobidick, this person from the photo." Eddie pointed to him and then said, "According to him, he was your roommate for a time."

"Oh, gosh, it's this guy." Steve laughed helplessly and said, "He was my upper bunk mate, constantly penalized for not cleaning his boots. So that's his number?"

"That's right. He's got some minor health issues but is relatively healthy. His wife is two years older than him but is still alive. Now they live in a nursing home in Wisconsin, and their youngest great-granddaughter was just born this year."

Steve quickly took out his phone and dialed the number. The voice on the other end was somewhat old, yet full of vigor:

"Hey! It's me, El! Can you still recognize my voice?"

"My God! It's really you; you... you really called?! I thought the kid who called me that day was tricking me... God, how could I not recognize your voice? Every time during the inspection, you were the one waking us up. I'll never forget your voice for the rest of my life..."

Steve laughed heartily, patting his knee. He chatted with his old comrade for a while, even agreed to visit Wisconsin after his birthday and hold a birthday party for the little great-granddaughter.

Originally, when Steve received that photo, he felt a bit melancholic, but now he's completely joyous. He excitedly patted the armrest of the sofa and said, "I never expected that some of those old buddies are still alive. You guys don't know, back then I was not the popular Captain America. Quite the opposite, my enlistment applications were rejected four times; it wasn't until they were really short on people that I was able to join the camp."

"But people were so pure back then; everyone enlisted to serve the country. Not only was I not bullied in the camp, but everyone was helping me instead. Those training days in the camp, even though tiring, could be said to be the second-best time of my life..."

"What's the first-best?" Eddie asked, "Let me guess, was it after Little Rogers was born?"

Steve laughed while nodding his head and then sincerely expressed, "This gift is absolutely incredible. I really didn't expect that I could have the chance to chat with my old partners. Actually, after I came back, I asked Nick about how those folks back then were doing, but he didn't tell me anything."

"I must defend myself," Nick sighed and said, "Most of those under my administration are basically dead. Even if I told you, you could only visit their graves. Besides, the military is deeply secretive about your human transformation, so they wouldn't tell me any details. If it weren't for reaching the declassification deadline, they wouldn't release this photo, let alone let you know there are still living comrades."

"I completely understand you." Steve patted his shoulder and said, "I know many survivors didn't receive great treatment. The military worried I'd seek them out, learn some truths, and then go against the military. They probably didn't anticipate that one of them would happen to live to 100. When I go this time, I'll definitely have a good chat with him. It's never too late to reclaim what's rightfully yours.

"Eddie, I must thank you for giving me such an opportunity." Steve turned to Eddie and said, "I might still have to ask you for a favor since I'm not good at this myself. Can you help me find out the whereabouts of my comrades from back then? Even if they're all deceased, finding their descendants would suffice."

"I'll do my best," Eddie said.

Then it was the turn of Wanda and Jarvis, sitting next to Eddie. Wanda looked noticeably less confident. She exchanged a glance with Jarvis, stuck out her tongue, and said, "I thought everyone would just give some regular gifts, so I only prepared the most ordinary kind..."

Steve was just about to comfort her when he saw Wanda wave her hand, and a box over two meters long, wide, and high dropped in the middle of the base hall. Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the gigantic gift box.

"I remember you complained before that baby products nowadays are not only expensive but also of varying quality. And Little Tommy has allergies; many baby products you buy end up being discarded after one use. So I prepared this specially."

Wanda went over to the box and knocked on it. The lid popped up like in a cartoon and then disappeared, followed by the four walls falling down. Whoosh—countless baby products poured out like a tidal wave, burying the few people who were walking towards the box.

"I prepared all the baby products Little Tommy will need from 16 weeks to 6 years old. Each has been disassembled by my powers to remove any harmful substances that might cause allergies and then restored. There's absolutely no chance of any allergic reaction, and the quality is top-notch. I did this with my two sons, no problems guaranteed!"

"Oh my God." Even Steve couldn't help but exclaim sincerely. Not to mention how the Scarlet Witch used her powers to modify the goods, the sheer quantity of these baby products was astonishing. Steve casually picked up a pack of diapers and found it was a brand sold in supermarkets, not cheap at all. And here, just these diapers were enough to form a small mountain. Let alone for his son, even for a second child, it'd be more than enough.

Carter also struggled to dig herself out from the sea of diapers, crossed herself on the chest, and said, "You shouldn't be called the Scarlet Witch; you should be called the Mother Goddess! You've really come through for us!"

Saying this, she excitedly rushed up to give Wanda a peck, then shot Steve a look. Steve went up and hugged Wanda as well. Wanda beamed a bright smile and then pointed at Jarvis, saying, "Don't forget him, he funded it."

The two then hugged Jarvis separately. Wanda tidied up the living room again, putting everything back into the box, and then sent the box to Steve's house, using magic to help them organize everything properly into the nursery and storage room.

"I've never been so jealous of a magician," Carter genuinely sighed, "Now, this is real magic!"

"You have no idea how expensive raising a child is, Wanda really has helped me out." Steve said.

Shiller did some calculations in his mind. The Rogers couple was indeed among the lowest earners in their group. Both of them mostly relied on their S.H.I.E.L.D. salaries. Though S.H.I.E.L.D.'s pay wasn't poor and they had some employee benefits, at most, it allowed them to be middle class.

The main income source of their household was actually the remuneration Steve received for participating in various government promotional activities as Captain America. With this money, they could live a wealthy and comfortable life in Manhattan.

Of course, that's assuming no kids. Once a child is born, no amount of money seems enough. When Carter gave birth, the situation wasn't great, and the child spent some time in an incubator, which almost exhausted all their savings, even with insurance. The reason Steve fretted over baby supplies was that he had to consider cost-effectiveness—too expensive, they couldn't afford; too cheap, and the quality was poor. They had to pick and choose from the mid-range, spending time and effort to discern the good from the bad to cut down expenses.

Moreover, they were first-time parents, both quite busy with work, so even when diligently selecting, they inevitably wasted money. This led to their current financial struggles. If it hadn't been for the company that handles Captain America's image paying the latest quarter's royalties, the two would have to preemptively draw their salary from S.H.I.E.L.D.

Wanda's newborn essentials gift pack perfectly addressed the couple's life pains. Actually, money was secondary; allergies were the real headache. Solving that issue was the real help.

Wanda pulled Carter aside and started explaining how to use some of the newborn products. Steve, on the other hand, turned to Peter. Peter snapped his fingers and said, "Look what I brought you, Captain. It's definitely a surprise!"

Steve took the box Peter handed him, opened it, and let out a gasp. He took out the item and unfolded it, and everyone realized it was a brand-new Captain America uniform.

"Gwen and I made it ourselves, using the world's most advanced nano-technology. You can try it on, I guarantee it's better than you imagine."

As the only person who had touched the outfit himself, Steve seemed to have sensed something different. He took the uniform to the back to change into it, and when he walked out, he exclaimed with his mouth agape, "This is amazing; I can't even feel the clothes. It's like... it's like I'm not wearing a uniform at all..."

"There's more to it." Peter said with a smile. He passed his phone over, pointed at the screen, and said, "Look at this, you can choose styles on it like choosing game skins. You can wear just this one outfit for any occasion from now on..."

Steve took it and looked, then said with even more surprise, "Wait, are there shirts and suit trousers too? Can this uniform turn into casual wear?"

"That's right!" Peter nodded and said, "This is a kind of nano-recombination technology. Various textures of clothing are mimicked based on different arrangements of the nano elements. Even upon close inspection or touch, there won't be any flaws. One piece of clothing can perfectly meet all daily needs."