Reigning Supreme in Every Reality

"It can make you young again," Steve said softly. "It will let us do so many more things together."

"Peggy, would you be willing to finish that promised dance with me?"

At this moment, Peggy Carter looked like a child who had been gifted a priceless treasure.

There was nothing else in the world more precious to her than the man standing before her—Steve.

She nodded vigorously. "I would, Steve. Of course I would!"

"Come, Peggy." Steve gently helped Peggy up, placing the palm-sized jade vial at her lips. He slowly tilted it, making sure every drop of the spring water was used to its fullest.

Peggy never took her eyes off Steve, watching his gentle actions intently.

One aged and frail, the other young and strong—yet the scene was incredibly harmonious, like two lovers deeply in love.

"How do you feel?" Steve asked with concern, watching her carefully.

Peggy thought for a moment. "It doesn't really feel like anything… like I just drank a cup of warm water, and the warmth is spreading through my whole body from my throat."

"No feeling at all?" Steve seemed a little let down, his brows creasing slightly.

But soon, the warmth Peggy described began to take effect.

That warmth was, in fact, concentrated vitality.

A tremendous surge of life force spread throughout her body, seeping into every drop of blood, every cell—and then began to burn intensely.

Peggy Carter's skin, in just a single breath, began to regain a healthy rosy glow.

Her blood surged violently with a cry, and the bones in her body rapidly rejuvenated as if polished by sandpaper, becoming smooth and strong once more.

"What's… happening to me?"

Even the neurons in Peggy Carter's brain quickly regenerated under the influence of the life force.

Her memories returned in a rush, and she was overwhelmed by the sensation of warmth coursing through her body like soaking in a hot spring.

She gently brushed her arm with her fingers and watched as large flakes of dead skin peeled away, revealing tender, new flesh underneath.

In less than a minute—

Peggy Carter's head of white hair fell away, replaced by thick, sexy, curly chestnut locks.

Her sagging skin became firm and delicate again.

Her wrinkles vanished without a trace.

In the blink of an eye, she had returned to the appearance of a twenty-year-old.

Even more radiant than in her youth.

Steve stared blankly at Peggy, murmuring under his breath, "That bastard Tony… I swear I love him to death right now!"

"Tony?" Still dazed, Peggy jolted back to awareness at the name.

She looked at Steve in astonishment. "Steve… you mean, this was something you got from little Tony that made us… oh.. I mean, made me young again?"

Despite her shock—Her expression once again returned to how it had been when they were first reunited.

Filled with a gentle, flowing love like a murmuring stream—yet without intensity.

The change left Steve momentarily stunned.

But he didn't dwell on it.

He remained half-kneeling at Peggy's bedside, gently holding her hand.

"Yeah.. Tony gave me this," he said, placing the jade bottle into Peggy's palm.

"It's a miraculous spring water from the Skrulls, flowing from the highest peak in the universe. It can make a person young again."

Steve didn't know that Tony had completely made up that story.

But he wholeheartedly believed it: "Tony said you waited for me for decades. You shouldn't leave this world with regret. So I came back to find you, Peggy."

Peggy's expression grew complicated. "This spring water is probably far more than just a youth elixir… little Tony really put thought into it."

She was happy—yet not entirely.

Steve looked a little guilty. "I had some misunderstandings about Tony at first. That was my mistake. Heh~ But Miss Carter, isn't there something else we should be doing now?"

Steve stood up, straightened his back, and extended his right hand like a gentleman. "I've kept you waiting too long—for a promise seventy years overdue."

"A promise…" Peggy stared blankly at Steve.

She felt that she should be indescribably happy at this moment.

—Her lost youth had returned. And the hero she loved had come back to her side.

These two things were supposed to be the most joyful events. Intertwined, they should have made her the happiest person in the world.

But why?

Why did she feel like she couldn't even hold her smile anymore, even curling her toes, wanting to escape as quickly as possible?

"A-Are we dancing now?" Peggy asked with an awkward smile.

But before Steve could show any confusion, she quickly corrected herself, "I mean! Shouldn't we pick a day, find a jazz bar, wear formal attire, have perfect makeup, and then do this dance?"

But the confusion on Steve's face only deepened. "You… want to wait until then?"

Why didn't this go the way he imagined?

Two sources of joy combined—shouldn't Peggy be throwing her arms around him, and the two of them dancing cheek to cheek like swans?

"I mean… all those silly rituals aren't necessary!" Peggy instantly denied her earlier words.

She grabbed onto Steve's extended arm and gracefully stood up.

But because she used too much force, she ended up diving directly into Steve's chest, loose flakes of dead skin still falling from her body.

In that moment, Peggy Carter truly felt the change within her.

Not only had she regained her youth—she was stronger, faster, and possibly no less powerful than Steve.

—Because she had knocked Steve flat to the ground.

"Steve! Are you alright?" Peggy frantically helped up her weak man.

Steve didn't mind the pain in his chest or the flakes of dead skin falling from Peggy.

He rubbed his chest and took her hand. "You seem a little too young now, don't you?"

Peggy chuckled. "Just a little younger than you."

At that moment, the two of them finally stood face to face.

They looked into each other's eyes with deep affection, then stepped in unison into a dance. In the small room, they spun and stepped together, as if moving as one.

The room was very quiet, their synchronized footsteps echoing gently.

Though four feet moved, they produced only two perfectly aligned steps—so harmonious.

Outside the window, the sun had already slipped below the horizon.

The last traces of twilight filtered into the room, casting a dim glow.

In the dim room, Peggy's striped patient gown spun like a dress.

She lifted her chin high, her figure intertwined with Steve, who wore a workout shirt.

At the end of the dance, Peggy spun on the tiles using Steve's arm as a pivot, her bare feet tapping rapidly.

Had she been in a proper dress, she'd have looked like a swan in flight.

But even in a hospital gown, she completed the final moment of their dance with the most graceful posture.

Steve held her hand tightly, supporting her waist, as the two of them ended the promised dance in a slanted, elegant pose.

Their gazes locked, and in the dim light, their eyes shone like jewels.

Neither of them noticed—During the most crisp and rapid part of their steps,

Clap clap—the sound echoed.

The door to the neighboring room quietly opened.

An old man with a head full of white hair and sunken eyes, wearing an expression of astonishment and something indescribable, stepped out.

After a moment of hesitation, he gently pushed open Peggy Carter's door. When he saw the two figures dancing, he let out a silent breath of relief.

But when his eyes fell on Peggy's graceful and agile movements, he was thrown into an even greater shock.

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