You upgraded the serum and dared keep it from me? Lynn: With that mouth of yours, I was afraid you'd die young!

Howard Stark burst into Lynn's office like a whirlwind.

He was clutching a crumpled stack of battlefield reports in his hand.

His handsome face was filled with shock and fervor; anyone who didn't know better would have thought they'd discovered God's phone number.

He slammed the stack of documents onto Lynn's expensive mahogany desk with a "thud".

He spread out the papers, pointed to the lines of data frantically circled in red pen, and his face turned bright red with excitement.

"15.3%! Steve's peak strength, reaction speed, muscle density... all his stats have increased by 15.3%!"

Howard's voice contained no anger, but rather a kind of excitement at discovering one's own kind.

There's also the frustration of being excluded.

"You did it, didn't you? I knew it was you, you bastard! Don't tell me this is some kind of second puberty!"

Lynn was reviewing a draft of Vought International's strategic plan for the next ten years. Upon hearing this, he simply looked up from the document, showing no surprise on his face.

He leisurely put the expensive pen back in its socket, then got up and walked towards the wine cabinet.

"Want a drink?"

"I'm not in the mood for drinking right now!"

Howard circled the desk, following closely behind him like a bee whose hive had been disturbed.

"You messed with the serum again! You upgraded it without telling me! We're partners, Lynn! The joint project agreement is still locked in my safe!"

"That's precisely why I didn't tell you."

Lynn poured two glasses of excellent whiskey and, without saying a word, shoved one of them into Howard's hand.

Howard was taken aback by his words and instinctively took the glass.

" Howard, you're a genius, there's no doubt about that."

Lynn slowly swirled the amber liquid in her glass.

"But your mouth is looser than the belts of those congressmen running for re-election."

Howard was about to retort when he found himself speechless.

"If I had told you beforehand, guess what the situation would be like now?"

Lynn turned around and looked at him.

"You'll throw a huge party in your lab, invite everyone you can show off to, and then, surrounded by Hollywood actresses and tabloid reporters, triumphantly announce that you've changed the world."

"I..."

Howard opened his mouth, wanting to say that he wouldn't do that.

But the image was already clearly etched in my mind.

Champagne, Flash, and the adoring glances from those pretty girls...

Damn, this is actually pretty awesome!

Lynn saw the longing that flashed across his face.

"See, your emotions are your biggest weakness."

"Then the Pentagon generals will use the fastest private jet to take you there, the Department of Defense will kiss your shoes, and the president will award you a medal you don't care about at all."

"Then, they'll lock you in an underground laboratory more isolated than Siberia, making you produce new super soldiers for them day and night. No parties, no beautiful women, just machines and never-ending KPIs."

"The war is about to end, Howard."

Lynn approached him, lowering her voice as if the devil were whispering in his ear.

"When peace comes, those who hold power will discover that we possess the technology to create gods at will. What do you think they will do?"

They won't be grateful to us; they'll only fear us.

"They will treat us as a more dangerous enemy than Hydra, and will do everything in their power to take this technology from us and then completely erase us, the two people in the know, from the world."

" The Stark Industries you painstakingly built will become their state-owned arsenal."

"My tiny Vought International will be shut down overnight, and all my employees will be sent to a military court."

Howard's excitement and agitation gradually cooled down.

He took a large gulp of strong liquor.

Lynn is right.

He had seen far too many of the true colors of those politicians and generals.

They are angels when they win, but devils when it comes to dividing the spoils.

"Then... then Steve, he..."

"He was an accident, a totem that had to exist to end the war."

Lynn answered crisply and decisively.

"But after the war ends, there can never be another super soldier in this world. This technology must be completely sealed away. For our own sake, and for the sake of this fragile world that has just crawled out of the flames of war."

Howard fell completely silent.

He looked at Lynn, a man younger than him, yet far more insightful and ruthless.

Those eyes held an abyss that even he found unsettling.

"Okay, you win."

He deflated and sank into the soft sofa.

"But you have to give me a copy of the upgraded data! My curiosity is driving me crazy! It's an illness, Lynn, you need to get it treated!"

"Certainly."

Lynn readily agreed, and a gentle smile returned to her face.

"I'll have my secretary prepare a desensitization report for you. However, it's limited to theoretical research, Howard. I don't want to see any finished serum samples in your lab."

"Understood, housekeeper."

Howard waved his hand dismissively, finally managing to regain some ground.

Having gotten the answer he wanted, and completely reassured by Lynn's promises and sense of crisis, the brilliant inventor quickly left satisfied, carrying the report he hadn't yet received.

The smile on Lynn's face vanished as soon as the office door closed.

He walked to his desk and pressed the intercom button.

" Motoko, combine Dr. Erskine's original notes with Dr. Horton's reverse engineering data on the ' Rebirth ' drug to create a completely new project file, named ' Compound V '. Top security level."

"Yes, boss."

That was his real purpose.

Captain America, Steve Rogers...

A living hero is the faith of the people, but also a major concern for those in power.

He is too perfect, so perfect that he cannot tolerate any flaws or orders that contradict his beliefs. Once the war is over, he will become the biggest destabilizing factor for the Vought International.

But a fallen hero, a martyr who perished alongside the enemy to save the world...

His spirit will live on forever.

His symbolic significance will be infinitely elevated, becoming an everlasting monument, a trademark that Vought International can use forever.

Lynn looked out the window, as if piercing through time and space, and saw the final battle that was about to take place over the Alps.

He wanted to make sure that, as in history, the captain would crash the plane into that icy sea.