A demi-god from a different realm. That was what Nick Fury wanted Steve to find. He wanted Howard's son, and a scientist who tried to recreate Erskine's serum to join the team, as well as a Russian assassin who defected to join SHIELD. Steve wasn't sure what he was supposed to bring to the table. He wasn't a genius, an assassin, or a rage monster. He was just a man. A man who just wanted to finish what he started and make his sacrifice worth something. If they didn't get that cube back, the devastation would be extensive, and that was if a regular man had stolen it.
But this Loki person was no regular man. According to Fury, he had some sort of mind control scepter, and he'd captured several of SHIELD's agents. He was deadly and, according to Fury, crazy.
Steve knew it was a suicide mission, but what did he have to lose?
As he laid in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, Steve's phone began to buzz. He looked over and saw a text from Brooklyn, but he didn't answer it. He just flipped over his phone and sighed. He didn't want to think about how much fun she was having with her new boyfriend. Steve had to focus on the task at hand.
The world needed Captain America again, and he would answer the call. Maybe that would impress Brooklyn enough to give him a chance.
As morning arrived, Steve got dressed and strolled to SHIELD headquarters, where he was greeted by an eager looking man in a suit. "Captain Rogers, my name is Phil Coulson. I'll be escorting you to the helicarrier this morning."
"Nice to meet you." Steve said as he shook Phil Coulson's hand, feeling the man shaking a little too enthusiastically. "When will we be leaving?"
"Right away, everyone else is already on board. They were called in last night, but Fury wanted you to have time to read over the packet. Do you have any questions about its contents?"
"No. No, it was pretty… self-explanatory." Steve settled on as he looked around, realizing that the building was quiet, "How many agents are being called in?"
"Almost all of them. Anyone combat-trained. This is all hands-on deck. That's why we need you. We can't do this without your expertise." Coulson assured Steve as he motioned towards the elevator, "After you, Captain."
"Steve is fine." The soldier answered, staring straight ahead as the agent hit the button to call the elevator to them. Steve looked at the shorter man out of the corner of his eye, noticing how fidgety he was, "So how long have you been with SHIELD?"
"Twenty-two years. Got recruited after high school." Coulson answered, beaming up at Steve, "I've never looked back. You're a huge reason I joined."
Steve nodded, taking a deep breath as the elevator doors opened. "I'm not the one who created SHIELD."
"Yeah, but SHIELD was created because of you."
"So, where will we be boarding the helicarrier?" Steve asked sharply, his expression stoic as he turned around to face the doors, ready to make a quick escape as soon as possible.
"It's in the Atlantic."
"We'll get there by jet?"
"Yes, Captain, Sir- Steve." Coulson stumbled and Steve sighed as the man apologized, "I'm sorry."
"It's really okay." Steve answered quietly as the door slid open to the roof, "You don't happen to have a copy of the files on the team, do you? I'd like to brush up on who I'll be working with before we arrive."
"Yes, of course. We have a tablet onboard the quinjet. I'm assuming Agent Hayes showed you how to use it?" Coulson asked as he led Steve to the slim jet.
At the sound of her name, Steve stiffened, but didn't stop. "Yes, she did."
"She was quite protective of you at the Retreat. I was sent to check on you two, but she wouldn't let me stay."
Steve smiled, remembering the day one of the agents arrived and Brooklyn chased them off. "She was a great handler. I'm sad it didn't work out with SHIELD."
"Well, it might be for the best. We have something bigger in store for you." Coulson gestured to a bench on the left side of the jet, then handed Steve a tablet, "If you have any questions, let me know. We should be there within the hour."
"Thank you." Steve said as he turned on the tablet, pulling up a file called The Avengers Initiative.
Once they were airborne, Steve focused on studying the footage of the Hulk. What haunted him about this Bruce Banner was that it could have just as easily been him. He'd trusted Erskine with his life, and nobody knew what the results of Project Rebirth would be. Steve could have had side effects just like Doctor Banner. He wondered if the Hulk could survive seventy years frozen in ice. If not, Steve wasn't so sure he was the lucky one.
"We're about forty minutes from home base, Sir." One of the pilots told Coulson as the agent slid off his chair. He had contacted Fury to tell him he had 'Captain America' and they were in route to the helicarrier.
Steve chewed on his thoughts about the matter as he watched the Hulk destroy half of Harlem. He didn't want to help SHIELD find the Tesseract, but he'd told Fury he would join his initiative. He also couldn't turn his back on Peggy's organization. She'd founded SHIELD, founded it to help continue his mission and preserve his legacy. Steve was a legend, and legends didn't wallow in pity over woman who didn't return their feelings.
"So, this Doctor Banner was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?" Steve asked Coulson as he approached, wanting more details about how it could go so wrong.
"A lot of people were. You were the world's first superhero." Coulson explained as he clung to the rack above Steve's head, looking down at the tablet with him, "Banner thought Gamma Radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula."
Steve wondered what this man would be like, meeting the 'Perfect Soldier' that he had planned on becoming, "Guess it didn't really go his way, did it?"
"Not so much. When he's not that thing though, the guy's like a Stephen Hawking." Steve looked up questioningly, not recognizing the name. Coulson seemed to realize Steve didn't understand because he clarified, "He's like a- smart person."
Steve nodded and looked back down at the video footage, feeling like an idiot. Brooklyn never made him feel like he was lost or dumb. She teased him and encouraged him, using their banter to teach him what he needed to know without ever making him realize he was missing something. Agent Coulson meant well, but he didn't know how to handle Steve the way Brooklyn had.
He swiped the screen, pulling up video footage of Tony Stark in his Iron Man armor. The man looked like Howard, but was older than Steve remembered his father. He tried to focus, but Agent Coulson continued chattering about what a big fan he was of Captain America and how honored he was to meet him, and yada yada yada…
Steve finally gave Coulson his attention and smiled, and the agent continued with, "I sort of met you. I watched you while you were sleeping."
Steve drew his brows together, then looked away, sighing as Coulson tried to make his actions sound better, "I mean, I was present, while you were unconscious from the ice." Steve stood and walked towards the cockpit as Coulson explained what an honor it was to have Steve on board with the Avengers and he stared ahead, hoping the agents on the helicarrier were less talkative than the excited Phil Coulson.
He was feeling overwhelmed by the attention and the expectation that he would lead this team of strangers to victory against an enemy that was far more dangerous than Steve knew how to handle. "I just hope I'm the man for the job." Steve said honestly, wishing Brooklyn were here to ground him. She was probably showing her boyfriend all her favorite spots in New York, all the places she told Steve she would show him someday. Or, even worse, she was tangled up in bed with him, screaming his name and thinking about how happy she was with him…
"We made some modifications to the uniform. I had some design input." Coulson told Steve shyly and Steve stopped imagining Brooklyn with another man between her legs and focused on what the agent was telling him, "The uniform? Aren't the stars and stripes a little… old fashioned?"
Coulson bopped his head back and forth, "With everything that's happening, everything that's about to come to light, people might just need a little old fashioned."
Steve pursed his lips and looked forward, shifting from foot to foot, "It's been a long time since I've been in battle. Do you have my shield?"
"We do. Buffed it up a little, gave it a new paint job. Hopefully, you'll be pleased."
"As long as you haven't found a way to make it more advanced and high-tech, I'm sure it'll be fine." Steve grumbled, pushing himself away from the cockpit to sit back down. "I'm sorry I'm not very talkative, I'm just… mentally preparing- for everything."
"That's fine. If you need to talk, I'm here."
"Are you my handler?" Steve asked as he looked up at Coulson, but the man responded by shaking his head.
"You don't need a handler for this one. This is a team effort. This isn't SHIELD. It's bigger."
Great.
"How long until we get there?"
"Thirty-four minutes, Sir." The pilot called back and Steve sighed loudly, leaning against the wall of the jet.
Coulson watched him curiously, and Steve wished he could jump out the back of the plane, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be okay once we get there. Just anxious." Steve grumbled, hating how vulnerable he was being with Agent Coulson. He wondered if Brooklyn would answer if he texted.
He pulled out his cell phone and shot Coulson a warning look, telling the man to give him some space. Coulson nodded and walked back over to the chair on the other side as Steve began to text Brooklyn.
Hello. I hope you are having a good week off. Fury has called me in for Avengers stuff. I wish you were here. Missing you. Talk soon, Steve.
Steve sent the text, staring at it until he began to regret his decision. Why did he send it like a letter? Why was he so formal? It wasn't like he had never texted Brooklyn before, but he was floundering. He couldn't focus because he couldn't stop thinking about Brooklyn wrapped in somebody else's arms.
He imagined coming home, dressed in his uniform with his shield on his arm, finding Brooklyn at the stove making dinner. He'd drop his shield by the door and she'd run into his arms, and he'd kiss her lovingly until she pushed him away, telling him to change. She always told Steve when she thought he stunk. After dinner, they'd retire to bed, and she'd scratch his neck and rub his back and he'd make love to her until morning-
"Beginning decent."
Steve blinked rapidly, wondering if he'd fallen asleep or just zoned out. He stood quickly and moved towards the pilots as they started to land on the massive aircraft carrier. Steve never had a chance to go on the big battleships during the war, he'd only flown. He had to admit, it was a sight to behold.
The jet landed in the center of the airstrip and quickly opened the back hatch, allowing Steve to escape onto the tarmac. He followed Coulson, looking around and noticing a short redhead walking towards him that he recognized at Natasha Romanoff, the woman known as the Black Widow.
"Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers."
"Ma'am." Steve greeted cordially, but the woman answered with a simple hi before addressing Coulson. "They need you on the bridge. They are starting the face-trace."
Steve was thankful for Romanoff's no-nonsense attitude. She didn't seem phased by his moniker or his looks, and Steve hoped he could stick to her side. At least she seemed to know what was going on.
Coulson's expression fell and he walked between the pair, muttering "See you there," before leaving the two alone.
Natasha looked Steve up and down without a flicker of emotion before she started leading Steve towards the edge of the aircraft carrier, making casual conversation as they walked side by side, "It was quite the buzz around here finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Everyone said he couldn't look Hayes in the eye for weeks after she returned from the Retreat." She paused as Steve smiled, "Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?"
"Trading cards?" Steve asked, wondering how he could steer the conversation back to Brooklyn. Perhaps Natasha had some insight on her coworker that Steve could use.
"They're vintage. He's very proud." Natasha said quickly as they approached a man in a purple shirt that Steve recognized as Doctor Banner. The doctor looked at the jets nervously, and Steve hoped the man would stay at ease.
"How was Agent Hayes after returning?" Steve blurted and Natasha stopped, turning to look at him before they reached Banner. She raised her sculped brow and Steve elaborated, "We had a falling out. Didn't speak again until Christmas."
Natasha smirked knowingly, "She was a little pouty the first couple of days after you stormed out, but she pushed through it. Hayes is good at what she does. Nobody does undercover work as well as her."
Steve nodded, twisting his lips to the side as Doctor Banner looked up at them and waved awkwardly, clearly recognizing them.
"She's trouble. I was surprised Fury allowed her to be your handler. She's a bit of a wild card, a seductress. Figured she'd scare the shit out of you."
Steve met Natasha's gaze and she shrugged, then led him to Banner to introduce the two men. Steve wanted her to explain what she meant, but he didn't get the chance as he was face to face with the man who tried to become him.
Bruce was as weary of Steve as Steve was of him, and he didn't expect them to become close friends. Steve had been briefed that Banner was only on board to find the cube, and nothing more, but Steve wasn't excited to find out if Fury was telling him the truth.
"Gentlemen, you may want to step inside. It's going to get a little hard to breathe." Natasha said as she clapped her hands together in front of herself, looking between Steve and Bruce smugly.
Suddenly the pilots began strapping down all the jets, and Steve heard the sound of engines revving. Steve started towards the edge of the helicarrier, wanting to look over the edge, "Is this a submarine?"
Bruce scoffed, "Really? They want me in a submerged, pressurized metal container?"
Steve and Bruce wandered to the edge of the ship and looked over, seeing massive turbines appear from beneath the water and begin to lift the ship into the air. Steve's hair blew wildly around his face as he braced himself and took a step back, looking around in wonder.
"Oh, no, this is much worse." Bruce muttered, but Steve just grinned as he turned to Natasha Romanoff, seeing her nodding towards the bridge of the ship. Steve followed her wordlessly in a daze, waiting to see what other wonders SHIELD's helicarrier held for him.
He followed Romanoff as she strode through the automatic doors into a massive bridge with at least thirty agents running the ship. Steve looked around in amazement as he approached Director Fury. As Steve passed the Director, he pulled out a wad of cash and grabbed a ten dollar bill, handing it to Fury without a word.
Fury smirked and watched at Steve looked around the bridge while everyone else went to work, "What do you think?"
"That I'm surprised." Steve admitted with a smile. Suddenly, Steve's gaze fell to the right, seeing a familiar form hunched over a computer. His heart began to race as he took a few steps forward, "Brooke- Agent Hayes?"
She stood straight as everyone around them froze and looked at her with a mixture of expressions, ranging from annoyance to humor to jealousy. Brooklyn just looked defeated, "Hello, Captain Rogers." She greeted casually, then winked at him before going back to what she was looking at.
Steve practically ran down the steps to her side and she looked startled when he reached her, leaning back to get some air from the eager soldier, "Can I help you?"
"I thought you were with your boyfriend?" Steve asked under his breath, knowing Brooklyn didn't appreciate having her personal life on public display.
She glared up at Fury as he watched them carefully, "Well, unfortunately crazy demi-gods have no respect for my love life, so here I am."
Steve felt elated, but he lowered his head to hide his smile, "I'm sorry."
"No, you're not." Brooklyn bit back, and Steve looked at her from beneath his thick, dark lashes. She sighed and placed her hand on her hip, "We were going to see a show tonight. Have a nice dinner. I'm disappointed."
Steve didn't have to pretend to be sad because his heart broke at her words. She really wanted to be with this guy. "Is there anything I can do to fix this?"
"Find Loki, so I can go back to what I was doing." She told Steve coldly as she looked up behind him. Steve turned to see Fury watching them, looking more displeased than normal.
When Steve turned back to Brooklyn, she was seated at the console, tapping away on whatever she was working on. She didn't even look up when he lingered a moment longer, and he realized she didn't want to talk to him. She was understandably pissed, and Steve had to do what he could to help her, even if it meant pushing her back into the arms of somebody else. She was his best friend, and he'd put her happiness above his own every time. He'd even call that woman from the park if it made Brooklyn happy.
Steve followed Fury to the other side of the bridge, occasionally looking over his shoulder to see Brooklyn hard at work. He kept gazing back until Phil Coulson sidled up next to him and began chattering again.
"So, Captain, Steve, I have a question, a request really…"
Steve gave his best smile to the smaller man, raising his brow to ask what he wanted, "What can I do for you?"
"I have these Captain America trading cards. Very rare, and I was wondering if maybe you could sign them? I mean, if it's not too much trouble?" Phil asked hopefully, gazing up at Steve with a type of adoration that made him terribly uncomfortable.
"No." Steve said gently, looking ahead, "No, it's fine."
"It's a vintage set. Took me a couple years to collect them all." Coulson paused, and Steve could hear the pride in his voice, but as much as he wanted to, he just couldn't share in the agent's excitement with everything on his mind. "Near mint, slight foxing around the edges, but-"
A rapid beeping sounded from the computer and Steve turned dully to see what it was screaming about. "We got a hit!"
Steve tensed as the agent rattled off Loki's location, waiting to hear what their next move would be, but Fury's voice rose above everyone else's, "Captain." Steve turned to look at the director, "You're up."
Steve took a deep breath and nodded, feeling his nerves build up in his chest. Director Fury smiled sadly, then turned to look behind him, "Agent Hayes, please escort Captain Rogers to his uniform."
Steve raised his head as Brooklyn stood, nodding a little at the director's request before meeting Steve's gaze. He recognized the look in her bright eyes as fear, but she strode towards him without hesitation, forcing a smile when she reached Fury, "Yes, Sir." She motioned towards the sliding doors Steve had entered from, leading him away from the bridge.
He followed behind Brooklyn, giving her the space she needed as she led him to a steel encased door, "How are you?" She asked quietly as she reached the doors, turning to look at Steve.
"Nervous." Steve answered honestly and Brooklyn nodded, reaching forward to squeeze his arm. "Agent Coulson said they made a new uniform."
"Yeah," Brooklyn hummed as she placed her hand on a pad to unlock the door, "He asked me at least four times if I thought you'd like it."
"What do you think?" Steve pressed as she leaned forward for the machine to scan her eye.
"I told him no." She looked over her shoulder as the doors swung open, and Steve raised his brows questioningly. Brooklyn smirked and gestured into the vault, "I'll let you decide for yourself."
Steve took a deep breath and strode forward, seeing a bright blue uniform with vertical red and white stripes going up the torso below a silver star. His pants were folded neatly at the base with gloves hung on either side of the reinforced glass case. Behind his uniform hung his shield. It felt like a lifetime since he'd seen it.
"What do you think?" Brooklyn asked softly.
He breathed in slowly, looking to see her beside him, "It's different."
Brooklyn passed Steve and slid open a panel before typing in a code, gesturing for Steve to join her, "It needs your retinal scan to get into the vault." He followed her lead and leaned forward, allowing his eye to be scanned before straightening up as the glass panel protecting his uniform lifted to give him access.
Steve reached in and ran his thumb along the thick fabric of his uniform, picking up the pants and seeing an undershirt beneath, "How long before we have to leave?"
"Fury didn't say, but I'd expect wheels up in about twenty minutes." Brooklyn answered, taking a step back, "I'll leave you to change."
"Wait." Steve said quickly as he pulled the undershirt from the pile. He looked up at Brooklyn, noticing how surprised and uncomfortable she looked, "I know I shouldn't ask this, but would you stay and help me get ready?"
"You want me to help you change?"
"I want you to help me get ready." Steve repeated more firmly than he had before and she tilted her head to question him, "I want you to walk me through what's going to happen."
Brooklyn clasped her hands together in front of her uniform, lowering her head, "Yeah, I can do that. Umm, here." Brooklyn moved to the case and grabbed Steve's pants and passed them over, "If you can handle the pants and undershirt, I'll help you put on the rest."
Steve watched Brooklyn turn around and close the main doors, keeping her hand pressed against the wall as she faced away. Steve sat on a bench and pulled off his shoes, keeping his eyes on Brooklyn as she stood in the corner, "I'm sorry today isn't going as planned. We'll fix this and you can go back to…" Steve trailed off, seeing if she'd tell him her boyfriend's name.
She groaned and leaned her head back, "Mason."
"Mason." Steve repeated as he stripped out of his trousers to put on his new pants. They were tight, and he clenched his teeth together as he pulled them up his thighs, trying to hurry while extracting the information he needed from Brooklyn, "You met him in Phoenix?"
"I did."
"Is he nice?" Steve asked as he zipped up his pants and began to undo the buttons on his grey checkered shirt.
Brooklyn snorted, tilting her head towards Steve but keeping her eyes averted, "No, he's an ass, that's why I'm with him."
"Really?"
"No, not really. Look, can we not talk about this now?" Brooklyn asked and turned around as Steve finished unbuttoning his shirt. She quickly turned back around, placing her hands on her hips as she stared up at the ceiling. "Can you hurry up? The fate of humanity and my love life is at stake."
He smirked to himself at her reaction as he stripped out of his button-down shirt and set it aside before pulling the undershirt over his broad chest. "Alright, it's safe now." Brooklyn turned around and crossed her arms, eyeing him impatiently. Steve grabbed the outer layer and began sliding his arms through the tight fabric.
"You're doing it wrong. The red and white part goes on first, then you do the outer piece."
"Well I'm sorry that my uniform didn't come with instructions. Back in my day it wasn't so damn complicated." Steve snarled, but Brooklyn just shook her head and sighed as she took the blue sleeves from him and handed him the piece he needed. "You're right. I don't like this."
"This things like a corset." She grumbled as she zipped up red and white plates that felt even stronger than military grade. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." Steve tossed his head back to get his long hair out of his eyes as Brooklyn gestured for him to turn around so she could help him slide the blue layer over his broad shoulders, "So, this Mason guy."
"What about him?" She mumbled as she scurried back around to his front to attatch the thick fabric together to the left of the star.
"Is he- do you, uh, do the two of you-"
"I need you to stop talking. We're not having this conversation." Brooklyn snapped as she finished fascinating the front of his suit. She reached past him and grabbed his cowl, motioning for him to sit on the bench.
Steve clamped his mouth shut, clenching his jaw tightly as his stomach churned. By not responding to his question, Brooklyn practically told him the answer. He tilted his head a little, but Brooklyn straightened it out so she could attach his cowl to his suit, "Does he treat you well?"
"Yes, he treats me very well."
"He respects you?"
"Steve." Brooklyn opened a cabinet below the display and pulled out a pair of heavy red boots.
He smiled up at her as she dropped the boots in front of him, "Brooklyn."
She rolled her eyes and grabbed the gloves, standing against the wall as Steve pulled on his boots. "Please don't worry about me. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. You're being a real pain in my ass, you know that?"
"I'm trying to get my mind off of Loki." Steve didn't look up as he strapped on his thick boots to his calves, swallowing hard as he replayed what little information he'd been given about the demi-god.
Brooklyn sucked in her breath and Steve shifted over once his boots were on so she could sit next to him. "You're going to be great."
He leaned forward over his knees and Brooklyn rubbed his back as he pulled on his gloves, "This is too big for me, but I can't tell them that. They're counting on me."
Steve closed his eyes as he felt Brooklyn's fingernails begin to trace up and down his neck, pulling him into a sense of peace. Sometimes, he asked himself why he longed for Brooklyn Hayes, when he could have any girl he wanted if he only tried. The answer was simple: she knew how to calm the raging noise in his brain because she understood him better than anybody in the 21st Century. "What will you do? While I'm in Germany?"
Brooklyn opened her mouth to answer, then her eyes looked away and she pressed her hand to her ear, "He's almost ready. Two minutes." She looked back to Steve, "They're ready for you."
"I don't think I can do this." Steve muttered quietly as he stood, but he put on a brave face and wiped his hands on his pants. He turned expectedly to Brooklyn, "How do I look?"
She studied him for a moment, but he saw the corner of her lips turn up into a smile, "It's missing something." Brooklyn quickly stood and walked to the case, grabbing his shield off the wall and holding it out for him. She looked down at it with more wonder than Steve had ever seen in her eyes, and she sounded almost breathless as she asked, "May I?"
Steve nodded and presented his left arm, and Brooklyn carefully slid his shield over it as he looked down at it fondly. "Thank you."
"Now you're ready." Brooklyn said as she pushed past him and opened the doors, "Let's get moving. We don't have any more time."
"About damn time, Hayes. You give him a going away present?" Natasha mocked as she stood outside the door with her hands on her hips. "We're on a tight schedule."
Steve looked between Natasha and Brooklyn, seeing them size each other up, "I'm ready."
"Good. Let's go." Romanoff said, but Brooklyn grabbed her arm and tugged her back. Natasha narrowed her eyes at the taller agent, then said without turning away, "Wait for me on the jet, Rogers."
Steve did as he was told without argument, heading towards the tarmac where they'd landed earlier. He ran his gloved fingers over his shield, feeling whole for the first time since he'd woken up from the ice. Steve finally looked like Captain America again, and maybe once he got past his first battle, he could start feeling like him again too.