He turned to Stark at his side, and said, "Bucky, Howard, Schiller, they are all my friends. You may think I have run out of options."
"Either I spare you, the despicable Hydra, for the sake of Bucky, or I kill you, kill Schiller, kill Bucky..."
Steve took a deep breath, straightening his back, just like he had done countless times before.
"But I have one last choice, a choice you people would never understand."
He looked at Stark and said word by word: "Tony, I know you have the power to do it, save Bucky, save Doctor Schiller..."
"And me, I will pay the price for all this."
An unpleasant foreboding suddenly struck Stark as, without a moment's hesitation, Steve raised his gun and pointed it to his own temple.
The gunshot sounded with a "bang".
Though the gunshot was loud, the bullet scattered into a gray mist and floated back into Schiller. Schiller looked at Stark and said, "My symbiote tells me, there is no doubt, he just pulled the trigger."
Stark leaned on the table, as if he had lost his strength and collapsed, while Steve swayed a few times, leaning unsteadily against the wall.
The room fell into silence. It seemed like a long time before Iron Man straightened up, and Steve stood upright, propped against the wall with one hand.
The look of confusion and fear disappeared from Steve's face. The determination in his eyes was no longer a show of his identity.
In that instant, the two locked eyes, seeing the same emotion in each other's gaze.
Iron Man never backs down because he is the last iron barrier in front of everyone, but Stark is more sensitive to emotions than the average person. He is inclined to doubt, feel lost, and grieve.
And yet Iron Man, just one step away from becoming an eternal god, abandoned the infinite divine power and the dazzling wonders of the cosmos, choosing the body of a mortal, believing that man is greater than god.
Captain America can't be weak because he is the inspiring flag of a special era, but Steve's soul is no different from ordinary people's. He can be tired, in pain, and retreat.
But Captain America, like a god, is made great by the vulnerability of ordinary people. With his mortal body, Steve has become a person greater than any god.
When they suddenly saw each other's vulnerability in this way and felt the greatness each other pursued, no one could understand each other better, and feel that the other person in this world, their counterpart, is forever a foe they both loathe and love.
They both exhaled at the same time, not saying a word.
Seconds later, they turned to look at Schiller together. At this moment, Schiller had lost the alarming danger in him. He paused for a few seconds, then his eyes returned to their usual sparkle.
"Ah... a perfect vacation, enough to heal the emotional wounds from the overtime I worked earlier." Schiller sighed. He looked up and saw Stark and Steve staring at him.
He glanced down at his watch with confusion, asking, "What are you guys doing here? It's not the scheduled time yet, is it?"
Ten minutes later, at the entrance of Midtown High School, Peter and Gwen were packed at the pancake shop. He paid, took the bag from the clerk, turned around, and was shocked.
Gwen came over from the other side, patted his shoulder and asked, "What's the matter? What did you see?"
Peter turned his head back, staring at the empty square in front of him, questioning, "Did I just hallucinate?"
"How did I see Iron Man and Captain America... running after a cloud of mist?"
Above the skyline of New York, Schiller, turned into a cloud of gray fog, was fleeing. He heard another voice of his own echoing in his mind.
"Welcome back from vacation. I have some bad news, more bad news, even worse news, more even worse news, and the worst news to tell you."
"First, I just pissed off Iron Man and Captain America at the same time, seriously. You're probably going to be chased around the Earth... or the solar system."
"Secondly, I've previously helped you assassinate many Hydra operatives who were disguised as VIPs, and now Hydra headquarters is going insane trying to kill you."
"Also, I deliberately acted like a madman to get Stark's attention, and now both he and JARVIS are experts in psychological theories. The consultation fee is definitely going to skyrocket."
"Also, your act of selling your soul to Mephisto, bypassing the Supreme Magician, has been exposed. It wasn't on purpose."
"Lastly, I got the Winter Soldier out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. secret base, and the process was somewhat violent. The base suffered a lot of damage, and it was one that Nick spent a lot of money on. I didn't mean for this to happen."
"I'm done talking, no need to thank me..."
"Who asked you not to keep an eye on my umbrella?"