Chapter One: Prologue

"Oh, my God. This guy's still alive!"

Fury narrowed his eyes at the screen, sitting forward in his seat. Not once during the entire rescue operation had he deemed it necessary to insert his two cents, but the sudden exclamation blaring through his speakers had him tapping the intercom button to demand, "What the hell are you talking about?"

The technician glanced wordlessly between him and the frozen body laid out on the metal slab. While his face was hidden behind goggles and protective gear suitable for the subzero environment, it wasn't difficult for Fury to deduce that he must have looked supremely uncomfortable beneath it all. Then again, he was used to that sort of reaction.

"Sir, it's—"

"An equipment malfunction," interjected one of the other members of the recovery team, turning towards the camera that was their only connection from the Arctic to Fury's office in the New York S.H.I.E.L.D. facility.

It was a damn good thing that they were a couple thousand miles away, too, because otherwise his first instinct wouldn't have been to tonelessly echo, "An equipment malfunction."

"That's all it is, sir. Just a faulty scanner. We'll use another," he added pointedly to his partner, who hesitated briefly before setting aside the allegedly dysfunctional device and grabbing an identical tool.

Fury raised an eyebrow but didn't respond, lounging back in his desk chair again as he watched the proceedings unfold. Ultimately, it didn't matter how many times they had to repeat the same motions with different pieces of equipment or whether it took weeks—even months—for them to go public with their discovery. Handling this particular situation the wrong way wasn't an option given who they were dealing with.

When the call had come in, he could hardly believe it: Captain America, finally found. It was the one accomplishment Howard Stark had never laid claim to, in spite of all the years and money he'd sunk into the venture. The fact that the captain had been located by accident was almost hilariously ironic, if Fury were a laughing man. It was also oddly convenient when he accounted for the events of the last couple of years—Tony Stark coming out as the Iron Man, Bruce Banner getting run all over God's green earth as the Hulk… Superheroes, or at least people with the potential to be, were popping out of the woodwork.

Now they had the first, most famous superhero of all time. Well, his dead body anyway, but Fury counted it as a victory nevertheless.

Considering the circumstances, the cadaver was in good shape. Whether due to the serum or the ice, Captain Rogers hadn't decomposed at all; even his uniform was still in excellent condition, albeit stiff and increasingly waterlogged as the ice began to melt away under the heat of the examination equipment. Fury wasn't sure that they would go so far as to have an open-casket memorial for the guy (there was no doubt in his mind that there would be a funeral now that they had something to go in that grave down at Arlington), but it would be a less depressing sight when Carter inevitably requested to see the body, in any case. Age was nothing more than a number for their most decorated and effective agent: Peggy Carter remained a force to be reckoned with, and Fury didn't want to be the person standing between the retired S.H.I.E.L.D. founder and the hero she'd helped create. He already pitied the poor fool who tried to keep her at bay once she found out. Alzheimer's or not, the woman was still sharp in more ways than one.

That was a bridge to be crossed when they got there, though. A flurry of incredulous whispers drew Fury's attention back to the matter at hand, and he frowned to see that all three of their expert technicians were gathered around the replacement device as they engaged in a seemingly heated debate.

Fantastic.

"Is there a problem over there?" inquired Fury with a frown. That was all they needed right now.

One of the agents stepped away from the others, reader in hand, and pulled her goggles off to reveal a confused and disturbed expression that didn't set him at ease one bit. Her mouth opened and closed soundlessly a few times before, apparently deciding to let the situation speak for itself, she simply spun the scanner to make the display visible from Fury's end.

"Sir, he's… I don't know how it's possible, but…"

There was no need for her to continue. After all, he could read.

Heart Rate: 5 bpm.

"Son of a bitch is alive," murmured Fury, to which the technician nodded in stunned affirmation. "What was the initial reading?"

Flipping the machine back around, the technician recited, "Heart rate was initially at one beat per minute approximately ten minutes ago. Core body temperature has increased twenty degrees in that time—that's way more than our equipment should have caused."

Fury huffed incredulously, resting his elbows on his desk as he silently surveyed Captain America where the lucky bastard was reclined on the table. His skin was still blue, but there were patches here and there around his chin and nose that were beginning to adopt a healthier complexion; the ice was melting more rapidly than earlier, their heat lamp merely helping the process along while the body inside the frozen cocoon did the real work—a body that didn't look a day worse than it likely had when it was submerged to begin with.

Captain America, the world's first superhero, was alive.

They needed to act—fast.

"Get him as close to stable as you can, then have him airlifted to the Manhattan facility," ordered Fury. "And keep it quiet. We don't want word of this getting out until we know more."

Two of the technicians immediately obeyed while the third moved closer to the camera, her brows furrowed uncomfortably.

"Sir, this is Captain America we're talking about," she quietly observed, hesitant to believe the words that were coming out of her mouth from the sound of it. That much, at least, was understandable. "How long do you think we'll be able to lock this down?"

"As long as it takes," replied Fury firmly and without pause.

Interpreting that as the dismissal it was, the technician nodded once and hastened to assist the others. Fury didn't wait to ensure that they followed his instructions, though, instead cutting the feed to stare sightlessly out of his office window. Denying that she'd had a point was ridiculous: they couldn't cover something like this up for very long, and he damn well knew it. One text to a family member, a little gossip on their way out of the building, a promotion-grubber hunting for a path to the top—and the whole world would be beating down their doors to catch a glimpse of the good old-fashioned man with a plan.

That was fine. If the press wanted a story, they could have it. Later. They just needed to get Rogers to New York and figure out what state he was in first. After all, the man had been under ice for the better part of a century; there was no telling whether or not his mental faculties would be in the same condition as his physical ones. Once they had a few answers—once they had a few plans—then they would worry about informing the world of what they'd discovered.

Until then, however, he had some calls to make.


CDC ISSUES HEALTH ADVISORY – POSSIBLE NEW STRAIN OF MENINGITIS FOUND

Multiple cases of what experts are classifying as a violent strain of meningitis have been reported throughout Africa and southeast Asia.

While little is confirmed about the illness to date, researchers have indicated that the symptoms of a disease spreading through the southern part of the Eastern Hemisphere appear consistent with those experienced by individuals suffering from parasitic meningitis strains. These symptoms include but are not limited to headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, fever, photophobia, and altered mental state.

Travelers worldwide are being cautioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to avoid areas where the infection has been reported, as well as to take certain precautions during interactions with anyone who may have been exposed. International airports are also implementing mandatory minimum quarantine periods for individuals returning from Africa and Asia to undergo medical testing before being released back into their home countries.

New York neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange, who has been working closely with the CDC, released a statement to the press on Wednesday and claimed, "We are doing what we can to better understand this disease and contain its spread. Travel to the impacted areas is discouraged at this time. If you must go, please exercise caution."


PRESIDENT DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY

President Ellis called for a nationwide state of emergency on Monday after cases of a new strain of parasitic meningitis swept across the globe in less than a week.

The disease, which appears to have originated in Africa and southeast Asia, is still under investigation at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Initial assessments theorized that the disease was related to parasitic meningitis, a hypothesis that still prevails among leading medical experts. The symptoms of the present strain, however, differ drastically from existing parasitic infections as the disease incubates over time. Patients have been shown to suffer from standard symptoms, such as headache, stiffness, nausea, vomiting, fever, photophobia, and altered mental state.

According to reports from the CDC, afflicted individuals have also been reported to suffer from seizures and shock-induced comas. Those who have regained consciousness have shown signs of severely altered mental states wherein the patients are both aggressive and nonverbal. Those patients have thus far been unresponsive to known treatments.

Although the CDC has not offered further information, social media feeds have described attacks by patients on healthcare professionals and visitors in recent days. Gwen Stacy, a New York resident whose boyfriend was one of the first in the state to be admitted to New York-Presbyterian/Queens with symptoms of this illness, took her story to Twitter:

Gwen Stacy gstacy1

Harry woke up 2day – totally not himself, got violent, bit me… Thx NYPQueens for the stitches, and sorry 2 the nurses who lost some skin :(

The Tweet was removed earlier today, as well as numerous others describing similar instances of patient violence, and the CDC has refused to comment on possible changes to brain chemistry that may occur as a result of contracting this illness.

New York neurosurgeon and CDC spokesman Dr. Stephen Strange spoke with Christine Everhart last night and had this to say about the progress they have made:

"These things don't happen overnight, and we're still working on it. At this point, it's too soon to say whether this is a parasite that has mutated or a new one entirely, which we have been investigating since the start. All we can confirm is that this is a very dangerous disease, and anyone who has come into contact with infected persons or materials should report to their local hospitals to be tested as soon as possible. To minimize the risk of infection, we recommend staying indoors and away from anyone or anything that may be contaminated. Boil your water before you use it. Keep your pets inside and away from other animals. And, of course, use common sense."

The CDC is still investigating the disease itself, but the United States government is focusing on potential causes. Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross has issued multiple statements that government intelligence agencies haven't ruled out the possibility of biological weapons just yet.

The president is expected to give an address to the nation tonight at 8:00 PM EST with updates.