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Chapter 44: Captain America
🕑 Added 2024-11-28 15:24:35 +0000 UTC"Who's brave and strong enough to save America?"
"Not everyone can storm the beaches, But we can all cheer them on!"
"Who vows to fight day and night to defend the truth?"
"E-series Defense Bonds—every purchase means another bullet in a soldier's rifle!"
"Who spreads the word door-to-door, carrying the flag across the nation,
From east to west, across the land? Draped in the Stars and Stripes, he bears it all!"
Unlike the previous small-scale charity drives aimed at the upper class, this time, the United Service Organizations (USO) were marketing bonds to the general public. Naturally, the venue wasn’t a private mansion but Chicago's Grand Theater.
The Grand Theater, one of the top three in the United States, was built in 1865 and had been rebuilt once since. With a capacity to hold 4,000 people, it was the perfect location for such an event.
Inside the theater, Josh sat in the VIP section, his smile frozen as he watched a muscular man clad in a Stars and Stripes costume awkwardly performing a musical number surrounded by singing and dancing women.
Among the audience, Josh seemed to be the only one forcing a smile. The rest were clearly enjoying themselves, their faces lit up with enthusiasm as applause echoed through the hall.
"What's wrong, Josh? Don’t you like the show? I think it’s wonderfully done!" Margaret, sitting beside him, clapped her hands excitedly as she asked.
"Uh, it's nothing, just not used to such lively crowds," Josh said with an awkward chuckle.
But his demeanor couldn’t fool Margaret. She had noticed Josh's distracted mood ever since they received the invitation days ago.
Whenever she tried to ask, he would deflect with vague responses.
What could he say, though?
That he originally thought this was just a mundane parallel world where he could use his dimensional trading system to become a corporate tycoon, only to now realize it was the high-stakes Marvel Cinematic Universe? He was terrified out of his mind!
No way he could explain that.
The truth was, Josh had been blindsided because he didn’t read enough newspapers. Coming from a digital age, he hadn’t developed the habit of poring over newspapers. He only paid attention to local Chicago news, so it wasn’t surprising that he missed information about Howard Stark and Captain America.
When he finally read up on them later, he realized everything matched the movie version: Howard Stark’s appearance, the scale of Stark Industries, everything aligned with what he remembered.
In the comics, Stark Industries had been founded by Howard’s father before World War I and had already become a powerhouse. However, in this world, Howard was born in 1917 in Manhattan's Lower East Side to a fruit vendor father and a seamstress mother. He graduated from university in 1934 and built his empire from scratch. Stark Industries wasn’t formed until 1939 and was still a fledgling company reliant on military and British contracts.
It was no wonder the company wasn’t on Josh’s radar yet.
Realizing he was in the Marvel Universe had been a shock, but after days of reflection, Josh calmed down.
So what if it was Marvel? The truly dangerous era revolved around the Avengers' main storyline, which was decades away. For now, threats like Hydra operated covertly, and the risk wasn’t too high.
By the time the main events of the Avengers unfolded—New York in 2012, the snap in 2018—that was 70 years away. Who knew if he’d even live that long?
Though, with the dimensional trading system as his cheat, his odds of survival were quite high.
"Mr. Kahn, why don’t you take a photo with our Captain America? You’ve purchased another million in bonds, and the public should see the contributions you’re making!" suggested Senator Brandt of New York, a key organizer of the USO drive, smiling warmly at Josh.
Josh had purchased fewer bonds this time, but a million dollars was still an impressive sum. Many larger amounts came from established financial giants. Given Josh’s status as a young philanthropist, Senator Brandt saw him as the perfect example to inspire modern American youth.
"Of course, it would be my honor," Josh said with a practiced smile. "But could we take a few photos without the Captain's mask? I think that would make for a more personal keepsake."
"Certainly, that’s a reasonable request," Senator Brandt agreed after a moment of thought.
As Josh stood next to the maskless Captain America for a photo, he couldn’t help but evaluate the man in front of him.
"Captain, up close, you’re even taller and more impressive than I imagined. I wish I had a physique like yours," Josh said with a smile.
"You flatter me, Mr. Kahn. You’re still young, and I’m sure you’ll grow even taller and stronger," Steve Rogers replied earnestly.
Steve couldn’t help but admire Josh, who, at just 16, was already six feet tall. Despite his own transformation into a super-soldier, Steve only stood about six foot two.
After the photo, Margaret teased, "You said you didn’t like Captain America, but you seemed pretty happy taking a picture with him."
Josh smiled faintly and said, "Margaret, believe me when I say this—he will become a true hero, someone the world will one day look up to."
Just as Josh was about to leave, a towering figure pushed through the crowd and approached him.
"Dix? What are you doing here?" Josh asked, surprised.
"Boss, we’ve got trouble. A shipment of ours was hijacked," Dix whispered urgently.
Josh’s expression darkened. Turning to Margaret, he said, "Margaret, I’ll take you home first. Something's come up at the company."
Margaret, sensing the seriousness, didn’t ask questions and nodded quietly. As they left the theater, Steve Rogers, still onstage, glanced thoughtfully in their direction, having noticed the commotion.
