American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

152. A Future Shrouded in Gloom.

"Please, stop fighting!"

Nevada, in an arcade amusement park.

"It hurts! Please stop!"

"I'm just working here."

On the nearby wall, the words "Take a photo with the Evil Captain America here" were already splattered with blood. The pleas of the young actor received no response. The children didn't feel their actions were wrong at all. They didn't care who the person in the Captain America costume was. They only knew one thing: the harder they hit, the stronger they were.

None of the surrounding adults offered any help. Instead, they watched the scene with amusement, occasionally letting out a sneer. This was the rich district of the wasteland world. Only those with money and power could afford to bring their families to the amusement park during leisure time.

They saw themselves as superior beings, different from the "savages" living in the wilderness. They didn't care about the poor kid getting beaten up because, in their eyes, the kid was paid to be beaten. Among the crowd, an old man hidden under a cloak silently watched the scene. He was Hawkeye Barton, and his heart was in turmoil.

He didn't know how to express his current thoughts. To be honest, he didn't even know what he was thinking. His mind was a mess, with images of Rogers, Stark, and Fury flashing through his mind. Closing his eyes, Barton sighed despondently.

"Can't stand to watch, can you?"

At this moment, a somewhat aged voice came from behind. Barton was slightly stunned and then turned around to look in the direction of the voice.

It was a woman wearing an blindfold, appearing to be in her sixties or seventies. She was sitting at the entrance of a large tent, and from the sign, it was clear she was a staff member specializing in entertainment fortune-telling for visitors.

"Ma'am, you might want to take off the blindfold before you talk about 'watching.'" Seeing the woman who interrupted him with a sarcastic tone, Barton forced a smile.

The old woman seemed oblivious to Barton's stiff demeanor. She spoke calmly. "Sorry, 'watching' is just a habit of mine. But I believe we will soon have some 'common ground,' won't we, Mr. Barton?"

Upon hearing this, a cold light flashed in Barton's eyes, and he exuded a strong killing intent. He knew how dangerous his identity was. If Red Skull found out that a member of the Avengers was still alive under his nose, endless assassinations would await him.

Although Hawkeye was not afraid of death, he still had important things to do. And that 'common ground'...

This blind old woman actually knew he had glaucoma and would soon become blind like her.

"Ma'am, have we met before?"

Barton spoke, staring intently at the blind woman in front of him, desperately searching his memory for any information about her, but he couldn't recall anything.

"Please follow me." The woman showed no expression. She didn't answer Barton's question but turned and entered the tent. Seeing this, Hawkeye squinted his eyes. After hesitating for a moment, he finally lifted his foot and followed the blind woman's steps. He was genuinely curious.

"Thank you for coming. Although you're not here to see me, you're here to settle your old grudges. But your presence still reminds me of the good old days." The blind woman spoke to herself.

"Do... do we know each other?"

Hawkeye's first reaction was to wonder if this woman was someone he had an old romantic relationship with, but he quickly dismissed the idea as impossible.

"We've never truly met, but I studied courses about you in school. You were an excellent man, brave and fearless, even when facing Thanos."

"You're confusing me. What kind of school would study courses about me? My missions were all..." Hawkeye interrupted the blind woman but quickly fell silent as a name flashed in his mind.

"You... you come from the X-Men?"

Barton's eyes widened, his lips trembling slightly, unsure of his own question.

"Blindfold... I haven't used that name in a long time. In this world, for our safety, it's best not to use those old names."

The blind woman slightly curled her lips, attempting a smile, but her long-standing indifferent expression made it almost impossible for her to smile. "You can call me Ruth."

Staring blankly at Ruth, Barton took a long time to react. He couldn't believe that apart from himself and Logan, any of those heroes from back then had survived.

"What happened back then? I thought you all..." Barton's breath became heavy.

"Were gone," Ruth said softly. "My ability is to foresee the future, but in that era, I couldn't control such a great power. It just happened without any warning..."

"So you survived because of your ability? You must know Logan. I can take you to him. Believe me, he would be thrilled to see you."

Hearing Barton's words, Ruth shook her head slightly. "Sorry, sir, but I won't help you persuade Logan to extend his claws again. That's not my mission."

"What? What mission?" Barton was not embarrassed by her seeing through his intentions. Instead, he frowned at her words.

Ruth didn't answer but sighed deeply. "The future has changed, Mr. Barton."

"You were on a bloody path, but now, the future has changed in the face of a great power. Everything will become part of a catastrophe, and all your futures have become obscure."

"That's not a level I can 'see.' I can't even be sure if this world will survive the catastrophe..."

"It doesn't matter," Barton said.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but...

This world can't get any worse, can it?"

...…..

20 advanced chapters on p@treaon
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153. Watching from the Shadows.
154. Long-term Plans.
155. The Ghost Rider Gang.
156. How Should a Mage Allocate Points?
157. Count Nefaria.