~~ Inside the training room at Avengers Tower.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Captain America, wearing a tight tank top and drenched in sweat, was letting off steam on a massive punching bag.
With every punch he threw, the poor bag let out a helpless cry, as if protesting its miserable fate.
Thud! Crash!
With Steve's final blow, the poor punching bag burst apart, spilling sand all over the floor.
"Looks like you've recovered pretty well!" Hao Shuai had just walked in and seen it happen. He tossed Steve a towel.
"Not bad. I'd been lying around for so many years that I was starting to rust. I had to get moving again." Steve wiped away his sweat with the towel.
"That's good. You seem to have adjusted to the world today, too." As Hao Shuai spoke, he eyed Cap's ridiculously broad chest and perky rear, thinking, That chest would make most women feel so self-conscious they'd want to disappear.
"Yeah. I should thank you for all your help these past few days," Steve said sincerely.
Over the past few days, Hao Shuai had taken him all over New York, showing him its streets and explaining all the history he'd missed over the past sixty years.
"Don't mention it! You know we're practically family." Hao Shuai waved a hand, then pulled something out of his space and tossed it to Cap. "Here. Back where it belongs."
After spending the past few days together, Steve had gotten used to Hao Shuai's incredible abilities, just as he'd gotten used to the idea that Tony, who seemed so carefree, was the world-famous Iron Man.
He knew the world had changed.
But when he caught what Hao Shuai had thrown him, he froze.
The familiar shape. The familiar paint.
It was his shield!
"S.H.I.E.L.D. returned it,"