"Who's brave and strong to save the American way?" (female chorus)
"Not everyone can storm the beaches under fire!"
"But we can all cheer them on!"
"Who vows to fight day and night to defend the truth?" (female chorus)
"Series E Defense Bonds — every one you buy adds another bullet to a soldier's gun!"
"Who spreads the message door to door for the country? Holding the flag high across the land? From east to west, across the nation? Draped in stars and stripes, he shoulders the mission!" (female chorus)
...
Unlike the previous small-scale, upper-class fundraising event, this time the United Service Organizations' bond promotion targeted the entire public. Naturally, it wasn't held in a private estate, but in the Chicago Theatre.
One of the three largest theaters in the United States, it was built in 1865 and has a history of over seventy years, having been rebuilt once. It can accommodate four thousand spectators.
This time, the USO would be staying in Chicago for a full week.
Inside the theater, Josh sat in the VIP section, a stiff smile frozen on his face as he watched a muscular man dressed in a star-spangled costume perform a cringe-inducing musical number surrounded by dancing and singing beauties.
However, Josh was one of the few whose smile looked forced. Most of the audience was visibly thrilled, clapping and cheering with shining eyes.
"What's wrong, Josh? You don't seem to like the play? I think it's very well-written!" Margot clapped her hands excitedly beside him as she asked.
"Uh, nothing, I'm just not used to such lively environments," Josh replied with a forced laugh.
But of course, Margot — his bedmate — wasn't so easily fooled. Ever since they received the invitation a few days ago, Josh had been visibly distracted.
She had asked him several times, but Josh had brushed her off with vague responses.
What else could he say?
Tell her that he originally thought this was just a regular parallel world, and he was planning to become a business tycoon using the dimensional trading device — only to now realize this is a high-powered Marvel Universe, and he's terrified?
No way to say that!
But to be fair, it was partly Josh's own fault — he didn't read enough newspapers.
Back in his previous life, as a city man of the internet age, he didn't have a habit of reading newspapers. After coming to this era, he did start reading them daily, but mainly the Chicago local papers, so it wasn't surprising he missed news about Howard Stark.
Afterwards, he went back and found reports on Howard Stark and Captain America.
They had exactly the same appearance as in the movies.
Stark Industries' scale also matched the film version.
If it were the comic version, Josh remembered that Stark Industries was founded by Howard's father and had already grown before WWI.
But according to the information he gathered now, Howard was born in 1917 in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His father was a fruit vendor and his mother a garment factory worker.
Howard Stark graduated college in 1934 and started from scratch.
Stark Industries was only founded in 1939, and started growing with military and British contracts.
Though its growth had been rapid, it had only been four years. It was still far from a major conglomerate.
In terms of industry scale — let alone compared to titans like Rockefeller — it wasn't even close to the Leibler family.
So, while it was well-known on the East Coast, in the Midwest and West Coast, it wasn't nearly as popular.
In this pre-internet age where information didn't travel fast, and Josh had only been in this world for a few months, it was quite normal that he hadn't paid attention to Stark Industries.
Originally living quite comfortably, Josh was now horrified to discover that he was actually in the perilous Marvel Universe.
Luckily, after a few days and some calm reflection, Josh came to terms with it.
So what if it's the Marvel Universe? The truly high-risk era doesn't start until the Avengers main storyline. Before that, although HYDRA is causing trouble, it's mostly in secret, and overall danger isn't too high.
And the main Avengers storyline? That's decades away.
The Battle of New York is in 2012 — nearly seventy years from now.
Thanos snapping his fingers? That's in 2018.
Who even knows if he'll live that long…
Though with his dimensional trading device, it was unlikely he wouldn't.
"Mr. Kane, come take a photo with our Captain America! You've just bought another million in bonds — we must let the entire country know of your contribution!" After the Captain America show ended, Senator Brandt of New York, one of the USO's organizers, beamed at Josh and extended the invitation.
Naturally, Josh wasn't the top bond purchaser this time.
But Senator Brandt didn't care. A million dollars was still a hugeamount, and those who bought more were mostly old-moneyconsortia.
So even though his total was lower, no one doubted Josh's sincerity.
In fact, Senator Brandt still planned to present Josh as a model ofmodern American youth in promotional campaigns.
"It's my duty, Senator. I'd be happy to take a photo with our Captain America. But… could I ask if he'd remove his mask for a few extra shots? I think that would make it more meaningful. I'd like to keep them as souvenirs," Josh said with a practiced smile.
As he heard the invitation, Josh suddenly thought — a photo with this era's Captain America would be quite meaningful. After all, this red-hot Captain would be frozen in the Arctic within two years.
"Oh, of course! That's a perfectly reasonable request." The senator was slightly surprised, but it was no big deal.
Captain America originally wore a mask during performances to protect his identity as a super soldier and prevent targeting from the Germans. Later, it became a symbol of Captain America.
If an ordinary person had asked to take a photo with Captain America without the mask, the senator naturally wouldn't have agreed.
But for someone like Josh — a model anti-fascist youth and a major financial backer —
Such a small request, of course, the senator wouldn't refuse.
Thus, Josh easily stood next to the unmasked Captain America.
"Hello, Captain. Seeing you up close, I realize you're even taller than I imagined. I wish I had such a fit physique," Josh said with a smile, eyeing Captain America in front of him.
"Mr. Kane, you flatter me. You're still young — I'm sure you'll be taller and stronger than me in the future!" Steve Rogers looked at Josh in front of him, listened to his praise, and couldn't help but sincerely respond.
After all, just a month ago, he had been a small guy, about 1.6 meters tall. In contrast, Josh — who was already 1.8 meters tall at just sixteen — was the one he truly envied.
Even now, after becoming a super soldier, he was only 1.88 meters tall and didn't look much taller than Josh.
The only difference was that Josh's physique looked a bit thin.
He couldn't help it. Josh did exercise, but building muscle wasn't something that happened overnight.
"I thought you didn't like Captain America, but seeing how happy you were taking photos with him, you actually seemed to enjoy it," Margot said with a smile, sidling up to Josh after the photos were done.
"Margot, do you believe this? He will become a true hero admired by the world," Josh didn't directly respond to her comment but instead said something that left her a bit puzzled.
But just then, a very tall and burly figure suddenly pushed through the crowd and came up beside Josh.
"Dix? What are you doing here?" Josh was a little surprised to see the big man appear.
"Boss, something's happened. One of our shipments got hijacked!" Dix leaned close to Josh's ear and whispered.
Josh, who had been in a good mood, immediately turned grim upon hearing the news.
"Margot, let me take you back first. There's a situation at the company," Josh said to Margot beside him.
Margot understood that something must have happened, but didn't ask much. She simply nodded obediently and followed Josh out of the theater.
And on the stage, Steve Rogers, who was taking pictures with others, looked thoughtfully in the direction Josh had left. Clearly, he had noticed what just happened on Josh's side.