[Lights go up to reveal a park scene; statue in center is half-alive]
(Lawrence walks in from stage right, grumbling to himself)
Peter (statue):
Morning, Lawrence.
(Lawrence jumps)
Lawrence:
Holy! (regains composure) Jeez, Peter, give a guy a heart attack, why don’t you.
Peter:
Sorry, just a little bored standing here all day. I mean, things are fun to watch when HE’s around, but watching only goes so far.
Lawrence:
Oh, HE’s back? Well, I guess that explains this morning.
(Lawrence sits down on a bench facing the statue, head in hands in exasperation)
(Peter leans in and tents his fingers as far as his limited range
In the quiet hills south of what had been home to many wars and other bloody affairs of Greece, there was a settlement. The battleground had fallen into disuse, not that the inhabitants of the settlement minded overmuch. One such inhabitant went by the name of Arocas; a boy trapped in the throes of a state near poverty as he whiled away his time with a myriad of chores. He lived with his mother; a protective matron who, despite her best efforts to wear a smile, constantly had some trail of tidbit of sorrow and regret slipping through the cracks.
Though endlessly consistent, and consistently endless, Arocas’ chores somet
Maggie and I started with the barn, while Rome and Nero took the house and Tesla and Wasp checked the silos. While Maggie primed her circuits and connected her triggers, I limbered up my shield arm and planned our way in. I eventually decided to break through a side door.
I stood slightly to the right of the door with Maggie about ten steps back and to my left, ready to level anything on the other side. I held my right hand behind me and counted down; three... two...one. I kicked the door hard enough to take it right off its hinges and immediately rolled left to get out of maggie’s line of fire.
We waited a few seconds for something t
Thanks to SHIELD tech, the flight to Munich was about seven hours shorter than it could've been. Thank Heaven for small mercies, I guess. That much less of a wait until the three hour car ride. I swear, when this is over, I'm walking home.
On the tarmac, it became immediately apparent that the mission had begun. Having called ahead, Fury had arranged not only an APC to carry me, but also two tanks and an AA unit as escorts. Fifty years, two wars, and I'm still a poster boy. Go figure.
As we made our way to the search area, my fireteam introduced themselves. Apparently, this was the SHIELD equivalent of a scouting mission; they send in a
Ages ago, when two suns shone on the plains of Africa, there was born the greatest of hunters; the lion. He was perfect; with plain tan fur for camouflage, a light body for speed, and a sharp mind to outwit his prey. From an early age, the lion knew what he was, and as he grew, so did his ego.
One day, he reached the decision that a hunter of his status should have a title. Any skilled hunter deserved one, he thought, but he was not just any hunter. The Lion, he decided, was the King of Hunters. To match his royal title, he wove himself a crown from grass. The crown was heavy, but because his vanity was not entirely misplaced, he still manag
I didn't have a watch, but it must have been at least five minutes before she calmed down.
"Steve," she gasped, finally, "you haven't changed -one- bit."
"I should say that you might've."
"Of course I did, Steve. While you were out, I helped create something called the internet, and the internet can change people faster than gamma radiation."
I was shocked.
"Peggy, if that was supposed to be a joke, it wasn't fu-" she cut me off before I could finish.
"Case in point, Steve. Down to business. Churchill was designed to be every kind of weapon. To keep itself modern, it can assimilate and reproduce anything it finds. Questions?"
"Wouldn't
She laughed. What a beautiful sound.
"Steve, that look on your face is priceless."
There was a flash.
"Sorry, couldn't resist. There;s one for the family album."
I finally managed to stop flapping my jaw like a fish and said: "Peggy?"
She laughed again.
"Who else could be a Hydra expert in this day and age?"
"I guess that makes sense, even if nothing else does. What are you doing down here?"
"Well," she laughed again, almost bitterly this time. I started to notice something off about her voice, almost like I was talking to her over the phone.
"I don't move so well anymore."
The lights went up, and I didn't see Peggy anywhere.
A hug
The facility where I would find Carter had a giant STARK emblazoned above the doorway. Gee, I wonder who it belongs to.
My SHIELD-appointed driver turned out to also be my Stark-appointed Tour Guide. I followed him through corridor after corridor of sterile looking stainless steel. Eventually, we arrived at a wing that simply smacked of age.
"Looks a bit mothballed for an office block," I joked, fishing for information.
"Well, it's not your typical office."
We kept walking through deserted labs while I mused about whether or not you had to actually enjoy keeping secrets to join SHIELD.
Eventually, we reached a set of security doors.
"He
Damn it.
Why couldn't Fury give me a surname, or even a rank? There was no way he couldn't have realized how much it hurts to dredge up memories of Peggy. I leaned my head on the window and smiled a bitter smile. Of all the memories I had of her, the first thing that always comes to mind is the date that i missed.
"You all right there, Sir?"
I almost jumped in shock. A SHIELD member who genuinely cared. Must ge a new guy.
:You should know better than to interrupt someone in the middle of a good sulk," I chided him, "don't you read Peanuts?"
He put on a face of mock concern.
"Sorry Sir, if I'd known your situation, I would have had the b
[Lights go up to reveal a park scene; statue in center is half-alive]
(Lawrence walks in from stage right, grumbling to himself)
Peter (statue):
Morning, Lawrence.
(Lawrence jumps)
Lawrence:
Holy! (regains composure) Jeez, Peter, give a guy a heart attack, why don’t you.
Peter:
Sorry, just a little bored standing here all day. I mean, things are fun to watch when HE’s around, but watching only goes so far.
Lawrence:
Oh, HE’s back? Well, I guess that explains this morning.
(Lawrence sits down on a bench facing the statue, head in hands in exasperation)
(Peter leans in and tents his fingers as far as his limited range
In the quiet hills south of what had been home to many wars and other bloody affairs of Greece, there was a settlement. The battleground had fallen into disuse, not that the inhabitants of the settlement minded overmuch. One such inhabitant went by the name of Arocas; a boy trapped in the throes of a state near poverty as he whiled away his time with a myriad of chores. He lived with his mother; a protective matron who, despite her best efforts to wear a smile, constantly had some trail of tidbit of sorrow and regret slipping through the cracks.
Though endlessly consistent, and consistently endless, Arocas’ chores somet
Maggie and I started with the barn, while Rome and Nero took the house and Tesla and Wasp checked the silos. While Maggie primed her circuits and connected her triggers, I limbered up my shield arm and planned our way in. I eventually decided to break through a side door.
I stood slightly to the right of the door with Maggie about ten steps back and to my left, ready to level anything on the other side. I held my right hand behind me and counted down; three... two...one. I kicked the door hard enough to take it right off its hinges and immediately rolled left to get out of maggie’s line of fire.
We waited a few seconds for something t
Thanks to SHIELD tech, the flight to Munich was about seven hours shorter than it could've been. Thank Heaven for small mercies, I guess. That much less of a wait until the three hour car ride. I swear, when this is over, I'm walking home.
On the tarmac, it became immediately apparent that the mission had begun. Having called ahead, Fury had arranged not only an APC to carry me, but also two tanks and an AA unit as escorts. Fifty years, two wars, and I'm still a poster boy. Go figure.
As we made our way to the search area, my fireteam introduced themselves. Apparently, this was the SHIELD equivalent of a scouting mission; they send in a
Ages ago, when two suns shone on the plains of Africa, there was born the greatest of hunters; the lion. He was perfect; with plain tan fur for camouflage, a light body for speed, and a sharp mind to outwit his prey. From an early age, the lion knew what he was, and as he grew, so did his ego.
One day, he reached the decision that a hunter of his status should have a title. Any skilled hunter deserved one, he thought, but he was not just any hunter. The Lion, he decided, was the King of Hunters. To match his royal title, he wove himself a crown from grass. The crown was heavy, but because his vanity was not entirely misplaced, he still manag
The facility where I would find Carter had a giant STARK emblazoned above the doorway. Gee, I wonder who it belongs to.
My SHIELD-appointed driver turned out to also be my Stark-appointed Tour Guide. I followed him through corridor after corridor of sterile looking stainless steel. Eventually, we arrived at a wing that simply smacked of age.
"Looks a bit mothballed for an office block," I joked, fishing for information.
"Well, it's not your typical office."
We kept walking through deserted labs while I mused about whether or not you had to actually enjoy keeping secrets to join SHIELD.
Eventually, we reached a set of security doors.
"He
Damn it.
Why couldn't Fury give me a surname, or even a rank? There was no way he couldn't have realized how much it hurts to dredge up memories of Peggy. I leaned my head on the window and smiled a bitter smile. Of all the memories I had of her, the first thing that always comes to mind is the date that i missed.
"You all right there, Sir?"
I almost jumped in shock. A SHIELD member who genuinely cared. Must ge a new guy.
:You should know better than to interrupt someone in the middle of a good sulk," I chided him, "don't you read Peanuts?"
He put on a face of mock concern.
"Sorry Sir, if I'd known your situation, I would have had the b
"Why does this exist, Fury?"
I had to growl it to keep from screaming it.
"I personally gave the order that anything to do with Hydra was to be destroyed with enough explosives to make Sodom & Gomorrah look like a cheap lightshow."
"Don't try to lay the blame on me, Rogers. Every facility was hit with enough TNT to put the U.S. back to 49 states. This thing just got lucky enough to slip through the cracks."
He was right. I hated to admit it, but there wasn't any way I could possibly make this be his fault. I stood for a moment, calming down.
"Alright, I'm ready," I tossed the folder down onto a desk, "but I'm gonna need more than a few p
The ride over was a long one. Apparently, that little monster we knew as "Traffic" has grown while I was sleeping.
Seems a lot of things changed. Grew old. Died. I sighed and let my eyes gloss over, staring blindly out the window. I could see what direction this sulk was going in. Straight to Peggy's doorstep.
I still hadn't gone to see her. Not sure if I wanted to. That wouldn't be the same Peggy Carter I had known. Technically, she'd still be Peggy, but she'd be a grandmother by now. No hope-filled life ahead of her, just a full one behind her. Full of everything but me.
"Captain Rogers?"
I jumped a little.
"We're here, sir."
Glancing
But seriously, don't count on anything like consistent updates.
I'm thinking I'll probably continue work on Thaw because people seem to like it.
For the moment, schoolwork.
I mentioned that new job delaying Thaw?
It gets worse.
I lost my notebook... (not computer) Might as well just call this an indefinite hiatus now.