Note: I don't own anything except Jo and the plot (which will follow the Avengers movie to a point)...Enjoy!
"We found him," the voice said on the other end of the phone.
"Really? Where is he?"
"New York. We're just waiting for him to wake up."
"I'll be there in 2hours."
Hanging up the phone, I ran from my kitchen, snagging my keys along the way, and flew down the stairs. My Ducati Diavel awaited me at the bottom. I mounted the bike, started it up, and took off. The typical trip from Washington, DC took nearly 4hours but I wasn't that strict about following speed restrictions, especially today.
The 295 N was decently sparse of other traffic so I didn't have to speed as much as I expected. When I hit the city, I knew where they would have Steve so I headed straight there. Times Square usually has a large crowd but this was different. People were just standing around in a circle. I spotted black SUVs and knew I was in the right place. Parking my bike, I pushed my way through. I was nearing the front and begun smiling.
"STEVEN CHRISTOPHER ROGERS," I yelled.
The few people still ahead of me separated and I laid my eyes on my brother for the first time in nearly 70years. He looked exactly the same but that was expected for being frozen. I paused briefly before flying into his arms. We held each other tight and he swung me around. Steve let me down and checked me over.
"Jo, what happened?" he asked.
"I'll explain in a minute. There's something I have to do first."
Steve let me go and I turned to the tall black man beside him. Nick Fury looked down at me with his one eye. I gave him a small smile before slapping him across the face.
"You bastard, we had an arrangement. There's a reason why I'm your speed dial #1, you know, in case you ever found my brother. I shouldn't've had to hear it from someone else."
"Director?" a man questioned, stepping forward from the uniformed men.
"It's alright. Ms. Rogers, even with our arrangement I could have you arrested for assaulting a high ranking member of S.H.I.E.L.D."
"High ranking member? Who do you fucking think started S.H.I.E.L.D? I was part of this organization before you were even born. Hell, they had offered me the position of Director but I'm better out in the field. I'm taking my brother out to explain and it will be his decision if he comes back."
I grabbed Steve's hand and pulled him over to the Ducati. It would be weird riding with Steve behind me but I wasn't chancing him spilling out so soon after waking up. Our destination was Brooklyn, specifically a little pizzeria we used to go to back in the '40s.
"I can't believe this place is still here."
"They almost closed a few times but they managed to keep afloat. Tommy, the grandson of Leo, took over for his father a couple years ago. They still use the same recipes."
"How long was I gone for, Jo?" he asked.
"Way too long, nearly 70years."
"Peggy? How do you still look the same?"
I led Steve into the pizzeria and motioned to Tommy. I always ordered the same thing each time I visited so he knew what I wanted. This time I silently told him 2 pizzas and 2 drinks. Steve dropped into the seat and waited for me to begin my tale.
"I spent the first week in a coma of sorts. Once I awoke, I began searching. Plotting any route that you could have taken and where you could have gone down. Howard flew me at first before just teaching me, so I could fly myself. I learned any technique that could help locate you while trying to figure out more about our bond.
"Since you went down, I have constantly felt a cold pressure around my heart. Over time, I have learned to push that feeling to the back of my mind. After I met some interesting people, I came to learn what was happening, but more about that later."
Tommy brought our drinks and I took a sip.
"Colonel Phillips and Peggy helped me any way they could but after a decade of nothing, they tried to get me to stop. They think I did since I enrolled at university but I still kept up the search. The S.S.R was eventually turned into the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division or S.H.I.E.L.D.
"I have spent the last several decades searching for you, earning degree after degree at university, and doing field work."
"What happened to Peggy? Everyone?"
I waited until Tommy placed the pizza on the table before telling Steve of the woman he loved.
"She helped me search in the beginning but the S.S.R pulled her for another placement. Peggy always asked about you when we talked but she eventually married. Ironically, the man she married was someone you saved from that HYDRA base where they were keeping Bucky. They had 3 kids and one even followed her into working at S.H.I.E.L.D. Peggy was always a force to be reckoned with but the cancer was too strong, despite everything she did."
"When did she pass?" Steve asked, his eyes slightly wet due to tears.
"Five years ago."
I gave him a few minutes before telling him about the other Howling Commandos and Howard Stark. He picked up on the change of tone when I talked about Howard. Sure, we had a relationship at one point but when he met Maria, it was over. I was still close to Howard and Maria, even being named godmother to Tony and doing the eulogy at their funeral. When he became older, Tony stopped calling me Auntie Jo since it was awkward for him to call someone who looked younger than him Aunt.
"Explain how you still look the same."
"Remember how we didn't know about my birth father? Well, I found him and it's because of him. My frozen age stems from my healing factor. I will never age past 21. Luckily I don't have claws that rip through my skin like dear old Dad."
"What?"
"His name is James Logan, but he prefers Logan. He had bone claws that ripped through the space between his knuckles but then our government stepped in and bequeathed adamantium claws to him. The procedure actually covered every bone in his body. The metal is similar to what makes up your shield."
"He couldn't have survived that except if he could heal like you."
"Exactly. There's a term now for what we are. Mutants, people who are born with a different gene that gives them a special gift. I've met plenty of other mutants over the years and even taught for a few years at a school for them. Great bunch of kids, well, adults now."
We took a few minutes to enjoy the pizza before Steve started questioning me about history. Over the next hour or two, I touched on a lot of different topics: government, medicine, war, technology. He seemed to soak up everything I told him and promised to put together a list of things for him to read up on.
"You mentioned you did field work. What kind?"
"I've done some infiltrating, deep undercover stuff. I work with S.H.I.E.L.D and Professor Xavier so field work varies so much. The professor has had some problems with other mutants so I've been helping to stop them. They believe they're the superior race and that humans should bow down to them."
"I've heard that before."
"Steve, I don't want to push you but you'll need to figure out what you want to do now. I have an apartment here in Brooklyn that you can stay at or I'm sure S.H.I.E.L.D would put you up somewhere nice. That war is over but there are always others happening all over the world."
"I don't know, Jo. I was changed to help stop HYDRA so unless with Schmidt's death the organization went belly up, I should stop them."
We finished up the pizza and I paid the bill while Steve waited outside for me. He was gazing at the buildings to see any changes. My apartment was close so we left the Ducati and walked.
"I should go pick you up some clothes and shoes. Can't have you walking around barefoot."
"I trust you know what I like. Just please don't dress me up like that," he said, pointing out a gothic male.
"I think you could pull off that look," I laughed.
Steve nudged me with his shoulder before wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
"We're here."
It didn't take long for Steve to recognize it. It's our old apartment building.
"Don't tell me you kept the same apartment for 70years?"
"Not quite. I have the entire floor."
As we headed upstairs, I explained how I purchased the other apartments when they came available and renovated. I closed in two of the doors but left the other two functional so it was possible to access whichever end of the apartment you wanted from the hallway. There were 2 master bedrooms and 1 guest bedroom. The others were set up as an office, a library, and the last was the room that stored any odds and ends. I had a large chef's kitchen put in and a huge section of the apartment was an entertainment area, which Tony loved setting up for me.
Steve was stunned when I showed him around the place. I had the few meagre possessions we had before and during the war as well as some items I collected over the years. Pictures were the focal point throughout the apartment.
"So when I renovated I took the liberty of building you a room, in hopes that we'd find you one day. I've kept it clean so it shouldn't need that much airing out. There are a few pieces of clothing in the closet but they're from the '40s. Classic, I know," I joked. "It's not that decorated except for a few photos but we can do whatever you want to it."
His blue eyes immediately landed on the photo of Bucky, Steve, Peggy, and I. We had taken it a few days before Bucky died/vanished. Part of me was holding out hope that he was out there somewhere, even if he was a 90ish year old man. Steve picked up the frame and gave it a small smile.
"I know it might be a bit hard to adjust to the 21st century but I'm here to help."
"What about work? Don't you have that to worry about?"
"Nope. I'm currently a student doing my umpteenth Masters degree. I had to transfer out when one of my professors at Culver dropped off the face of the Earth. The university closed down the department for a year but I had already transferred to a school here on the east coast. I can always complete it later."
"Jo," Steve started, as he put down the photo and turned to face me.
"I know your stance on education but I can get about 10years before I have to reinvent myself. I can't really pass myself off as someone in their 30s. I am currently Josephine Rogers III, age 20. With having someone on the inside of the government, they can help fudge my records so I don't have a problem getting a drivers' license or passport."
"Why can't you just be who you are? People know about mutants so you shouldn't have to lie."
"Steve, public opinion on mutants varies drastically. Some think that we're freaks and should be rounded up and locked away. Some think we're regular people with special abilities. If I went into a job interview and said that I was a mutant, I probably wouldn't get a job. Being a daughter of myself is easier."
It appeared that Steve was going to object so I cut him off. While giving him the opportunity to look around the apartment and relax, I could run out and get him the necessities. Back on the Ducati, I headed to the mall. My first stop was to an army surplus store to pick up a duffle bag. Outfitting Steve with clothes was a big job and a regular backpack wouldn't work.
Filling up the bag didn't take long but it was an outrageous amount. Sometimes living back in the '40s was a God send. I had seen the prices jump over the years but with some jeans costing over $100, it's ridiculous. My cell rang as I exited the mall.
"Hello?"
"Jo, the Director is requesting Steve Rogers at Headquarters in 1hour," Maria Hill said.
"Yes, of course. I'll drop everything to bow down to what Fury wants while he didn't have the audacity to let me know that my brother was found. I had to hear it from you and it sounded like you had to call me from the bathroom."
My friend laughed and said she'll tell Fury that I couldn't be reached. I told her I would bring Steve by Headquarters in the morning. Slinging my leg over the bike, I bid her farewell and pulled the straps of the duffle bag over my shoulders.