Lemurian Star
It has been over two years since Tom and Ghost joined with Steve Rogers and worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. Tom got a place to live in Washington D.C. next to Steve and he helped the super soldier cope with being in the modern world with the technology, movies, music and anything else he was questioning.
During this time, the two and Ghost got along really well and worked seamlessly as partners. Steve even asked Tom where his armour came from since it was made of the same metal as his shield, but Tom said he had to keep that a secret, just so that he could protect those he loves, which Steve understood and didn't push any further, seeing that it was personal to Tom.
With S.H.I.E.L.D., they and Nat worked on various missions, including one where they had to prevent a weapon named Zodiac from falling into the wrong hands and another where they went to Brooklyn, New York where Steve used to live and saved a Nobel Prize winning professor.
Of course, Tom and Ghost were still paranoid about S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fury and went out of their way to make sure they didn't learn anything about Ghost's species, not wanting to give them an advantage over them.
And after meeting Nightfall, Tom and Ghost helped train him and after a few weeks, he had been enlisted into the Avengers, now he just had to wait for the call and fight crime until then. Tom and Ghost were surprised to see that Mike was able to fly, something that even he was surprised by.
2014
It was a very early morning with the purple sky forming a pink orange in the horizon. A lone man was doing his morning jog and he was running past a railing that was by the Tidal Basin near the Washington Monument when suddenly both Steve and a 28 year oldTom were jogging really fast.
"On your left." Steve told the man as he and Tom jogged past him and off elsewhere.
The man made his way, jogging past the Jefferson Memorial when Steve and Tom yet again jogged fast past him.
"On your left." Tom said this time as they continued on.
"Uh huh. On my left. Got it." The man replied as he continued his jog.
The sky was getting brighter and the man made his way in front of the Lincoln Memorial and by the Reflecting Pool in front of the Memorial when for the third time Steve and Tom were jogging up to the man and he noticed and knew what was coming and he didn't want to hear it.
"Don't say it. Don't you say it." He warned them.
"On your left." Both Steve and Tom said just to annoy him and Tom couldn't hold back the grin on his face.
"Come on!" The man groaned, making Ghost laugh. They turned the corner of the Reflecting Pool and the man stopped as he saw that both Tom and Steve were just too fast for him to catch up.
The morning continued on and the sun was out, people were carrying on with their day and the man was sitting up against a tree at a park near the Capitol Building, feeling stitches from his jogging.
"Need a medic?" Steve asked him as he and Tom walked up to him.
"You look tired." Tom remarked. The man just laughed.
"I need a new set of lungs. Seriously, you two, like, ran 13 miles in 30 minutes." He told them.
"Well, we did have a bit of a late start." Tom shrugged, making Ghost snort.
"Who's fault is that?" Ghost asked Tom.
"Don't blame me for this." Tom shot back.
"*chuckles* Really? You should be ashamed of yourselves. You both should take another lap. Did you just take it? I assume you just took it." He told the pair.
"What unit you with?" Steve asked the man, knowing he was military.
"58th Pararescue. But now I'm working down at the VA. Sam Wilson." The man introduced himself, putting his hands up for Tom and Steve to pull him up on his feet.
"Steve Rogers/Thomas Wron." They both introduced themselves, helping him up.
"I kind of put that together. Plus I saw your alien friend on the news. Must have freaked you out, coming home after the whole defrosting thing." Sam said to them.
"Already we have another fan." Ghost said jokingly.
"*sighs* It takes some getting used to." Steve replied, looking over at Tom since he helped out with that.
"Nice meeting ya, Sam." Tom then said as he and Steve started to walk off.
"It's your bed, right?" Sam asked Steve, making the pair stop and look back at him.
"What's that?" Steve asked.
"He must be relating his experience with Steve's." Tom told Ghost since he and Steve served in the military.
"Understandable."
"Your bed, it's too soft. When I was over there, I'd sleep on the ground, use rock for pillows like a caveman. Now I'm home, lying on my bed, and it's like…." Sam started explaining.
"...lying on a marshmallow. Feel like I'm gonna sink right to the floor. How long?" Steve finished, with Sam nodding in understanding.
"Two tours." Sam replied.
"Must've been hard." Tom noted, making Sam nod.
"You must miss the good old days, huh?" Sam then asked Steve.
"Well, things aren't so bad. Food's a lot better. We used to boil everything. No polio is good. Internet, so helpful. I've been reading that a lot, trying to catch up. Of course, with Tom's help." Steve explained, making Tom have a slight grin.
"Marvin Gaye, 1972, Trouble Man soundtrack. Everything you missed jammed into one album." Sam suggested, making Steve pull out a notebook.
"I'll put it on the list." He stated as he put the soundtrack on the list.
"To think he has disco and Star Wars on the same list." Ghost muttered.
"I know. Such a dated genre of music." Tom said, questioning why it would be on the list.
Both of their phones then rang and they pulled them out to see that they both got the same message from Nat saying that they're needed for a mission and that she'll pick them up immediately.
"Looks like duty calls. Thanks for the run, Sam." Tom said and he shook hands with him.
"If that's what you want to call running." Steve joked as he and Sam shook hands. The joke made Tom laugh.
"Oh, that's how it is?" Sam retorted.
"Oh, that's how it is." Steve repeated.
"Okay. *laughs* Any time you want to stop by the VA, make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know." Sam told Steve.
"I'll keep it in mind." Steve answered and Tom shrugged. By the curb, a black car parked and the window rolled down to reveal Nat, who's hair was now longer and straighter.
"Hey, fellas. Either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil as well as a certain carrier." Nat remarked.
"That's hilarious." Steve blankly said.
"At least you didn't call Ghost the p-word." Tom added as the two got in the car. Sam had a grin on his face as he looked at her.
"How you doing?" He greeted her.
"Hey."
"Can't run everywhere." Steve pointed out.
"No you can't." Sam agreed before the three drove off.
The three were in a Quinjet flying over the Indian Ocean getting debriefed on the mission. Steve wore a different uniform than what he wore during the Battle of New York as it now looked more tactical and got rid of the red of his old uniform. Tom also wore a grey uniform underneath his armour since his normal clothes wouldn't suffice.
"Target is a mobile satellite launch platform, the Lemurian Star. They were sending up their last payload when pirates took them, 93 minutes ago." A man named Rumlow, who they worked with for several missions now explained, using a touchscreen to display all the information for the team.
"Any demands?" Steve asked.
"Billion and a half." Rumlow revealed.
"Why is it that steep?" Tom asked.
"Because it's S.H.I.E.L.D.'s." He added. This made Tom roll his eyes and Ghost groan.
"Another clean up op." Ghost muttered.
"So it's not off course. It's trespassing." Steve groaned to Nat.
"I'm sure they have a good reason." Nat shrugged casually.
"Yeah, well, even me and Ghost are getting sick and tired of being Fury's janitor." Tom told her with a frown.
"Relax. It's not that complicated." Nat said.
"How many pirates?" Steve asked Rumlow.
"25. Top mercs led by these two. Georges Batroc. Ex-DGSE, Action Division. And Helen Feliciano. Former wrestler turned freelance mercenary. They're at the top of Interpol's Red Notice. Before the French demobilized Batroc, he had 36 kill missions and Feliciano made over 40 kills in the last few years. These two have quite the reputatations." Rumlow explained, showing profile images of the two. Helen's profile revealed key information that caught Tom's and Ghost's attention.
"Looks like she's good at hand to hand combat, uses just about any weapon and she's named Letha." Tom listed off all the facts about this woman.
"She would be an interesting foe." Ghost said.
"Hostages?" Steve asked.
"Oh, mostly techs. One officer. Jasper Sitwell. They're in the galley." Rumlow answered, showing a profile of Sitwell with his bald head and glasses.
"Why would Sitwell be on a launch ship?" Tom questioned Steve.
"No clue. Alright, me, Tom and Ghost will sweep the deck and find Batroc and Feliciano. Nat, you kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep aft, find the hostages, get them to the life pods, get them out. Let's move." Steve immediately gave out orders.
"S.T.R.I.K.E., you heard the Cap. Gear up." Rumlow then ordered as the Quinjet went into stealth mode and ascended up in the sky to get above the Lemurian Star.
"Secure channel seven." Steve tested the comms with Nat and Tom as they all got ready.
"Seven secure." Nat acknowledged.
"Secured and good to go." Tom also acknowledged.
"Did either of you do anything fun Saturday night?" Nat asked Tom and Steve as they put on their comlinks.
"Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so, no, not really." Steve answered her.
"All me and Ghost did was just have a Mission: Impossible marathon." Tom told her as he adjusted his comlink.
"Coming up on the drop zone, Cap." The pilot informed and then Steve pressed a button, opening the ramp up.
"You know, if you ask Kristen and Kate out, from Statistics, they'd probably say yes." Nat told them as Steve put his cowl on. She has been trying to get them girlfriends, though of course, not knowing that Tom already has one.
"I already have a girlfriend, Nat." Tom replied.
"That's why I don't ask." Steve added as he put his shield on his back and the two walked up to the ramp.
"Too shy, or too scared?" Nat asked.
"Too busy!" Steve replied back before he and Tom jumped out without parachutes. The two were skydiving through the clouds in the night sky and eventually dived right by the Lemurian Star and got into the water without being spotted. Ghost then formed out of Tom and he swam to one side of the ship while Steve swam to the other.
"Anyone close by?" Tom asked as Ghost silently climbed up the side of the ship.
"There are a couple of goons walking past us. Can I bite one of their heads off?" Ghost asked.
"Yeah." Tom instantly replied as Ghost reached the railing and saw two mercenaries walking and he silently got on the deck of the ship before slamming one into the floor, knocking them out and then grabbing the other and chomping their head off, the body dropping on the floor, blood trickling out.
"Let's go." Tom said and then Ghost silently ran down the ship and eventually reached one end of the ship where 5 mercenaries were hanging out and so Ghost just jumped right in between them all and formed three tendrils to deal with three of them while he grabbed two with his hands and all at the same time, he slammed them all against the floor really hard, knocking them out.
Ghost then receded back into Tom, who bolted down a pathway where there were three more men and he leaped at the first one in front of him, wrapped his legs around him and punched him right in the nose, he then jumped right up and made a back kick at one of the other mercenaries while he threw a punch at the other, knocking them out at the same time.
Eventually, he ran into Steve and without saying a thing, the two ran to a railing and they jumped over and landed between two more mercenaries and they each took them out. Two more popped up and both Tom and Steve switched back and forth punching them up and knocking them out.
Steve then saw one by the railing and he threw his shield at him, which bounced off of him and off a wall.
A mercenary came up to Steve and another at Tom. Steve twisted the mercenary's arm and kneed his head a couple of times before flipping him away. Tom slapped both of the mercenary's ears and then he kicked him in the groin and jumped off the ground and kicked him back so hard that he blacked out.
Steve's shield came back to him and then he and Tom joined together to face one mercenary providing multiple hits at the same time, taking him down in seconds and then Steve slammed his shield onto another, taking them instantly. But then the two heard a gun cock and a mercenary arimed their gun at them.
"Don't move. Don't move." He told them in french but before Ghost dealt with him, he got tranqued and Rumlow landed from descending with a parachute.
"Me and Ghost could've handled him easily." Tom told him.
"Yeah. You seemed pretty helpless without me." He retorted as everyone else in the team, including Nat descended down on parachutes. Steve put the shield back on his back as everyone got the chutes off and he, Tom and Nat walked.
"What about the nurse that lives across the hall from you? She seems kind of nice." Nat told Steve, knowing she won't get anywhere with Tom since he kept telling her he has a girlfriend.
"Secure the engine room, then find me a date." Steve told her.
"I'm multitasking." She said, jumping over a railing to the lower decks of the ship. Tom went and got in position while Steve put a device on the window of the bridge that allowed them to hear what was being said.
"Do you think that there's more to this than we think?" Tom asked Ghost about the mission.
"More than likely. We'll just have to see." Ghost replied right as Steve met up with them behind some cover as everyone else got into position to rescue the hostages.
"Radio silence from S.H.I.E.L.D." A mercenary told Feliciano and Batroc.
"S.T.R.I.K.E. in position." Rumlow informed the pair through the comms.
"Natasha, what's your status? Status, Natasha." Steve called through.
"Hang on." She replied. They patiently waited for over a dozen seconds until she commed back.
"Engine room secure." She told them.
"Let's do it." Tom whispered to Steve, who nodded.
"On my mark. 3… 2… 1." Steve counted down and then Tom ran out ahead of Steve as he threw his shield into one of the windows to the bridge, taking out another mercenary. The pair jumped in but right as they entered, they were both kicked back by Batroc and Feliciano and they ran off.
"Go after Batroc, I'll go after Feliciano." Tom said before he ran after her.
"Hostages en route to extraction. Romanoff missed the rendezvous point, Cap. Hostiles are still in play." Rumlow informed through the comms.
"What is Nat doing?" Ghost asked as Tom ran through the corridors and into a long hallway.
"*I don't know.*" Tom muttered in Xhosa, annoyed that this might be a case of Fury doing what he always does. Tom then turned a corner and ran into what was like an open hangar and saw the rocket that was on the ship.
He then saw Steve and they were both about to say something but then both Batroc and Feliciano came out and kicked both them, throwing them back and Tom rolled back in time to avoid another kick and then he made a spin kick that Feliciano narrowly dodged and then she got on the offensive, making kicks and punches that Tom was able to block with ease with Ghost's help and then when a tendril grabbed her leg and tripped her, Tom did a kick with both feet right into her head, making her fall onto the floor.
Feliciano looked up at Tom and growled as she got back on her feet.
"Do you always rely on your parasite friend?" She sneered, making Ghost growl.
"Calm down, bud. I'm gonna prove her wrong." Tom told his symbiotic friend.
"Do you always rely on your weapons?" He then retorted before he charged at her and threw both a kick and a punch at the same time, making her leave an opening and so Tom swung his fist and punched where her kidney would be and she stumbled back, allowing Tom to flip and kick her shoulders, causing significant pain.
Feliciano then tried kicking him but Tom kicked on her ankle, throwing her leg back and making her fall face first and then he kicked her right in the head, knocking her right out.
"How disappointing." Tom muttered.
He then turned and saw Steve and Batroc still fighting as Steve backflipped and kicked Batroc in the head.
"Damn."
"All that training he did was a big help it seems." Ghost said.
Then both Tom and Steve charged at Batroc, tackling him through a door, ripping it off its hinges and into a room before Steve punched out Batroc.
"Well, this is awkward." They heard Nat say in boredom and they looked to see her over a computer monitor.
"What the hell are you doing?" Tom asked her in the most stern voice he's made in a long time as he and Steve walked up to her.
"Backing up the hard drive. It's a good habit to get into." She answered him.
"Rumlow needed your help. What the hell are you doing here?" Steve asked and they looked and saw that she was doing a transfer of data.
"You're saving S.H.I.E.L.D. intel." Steve said in realisation.
"Fury didn't tell us." Tom snarled and so did Ghost.
"Whatever I can get my hands on." Nat pointed out.
"Our mission is to rescue hostages." Steve reminded her.
"No, that's your mission, and you've done it beautifully." She corrected him, pulling a harddrive out and tried to walk away but Tom grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"You just might've jeopardized this whole mission." He spat at her.
"I think you're overstating things." She rolled her eyes but then Batroc got up on his feet and threw a grenade that Steve smacked away with his shield and then Tom formed tendrils, grabbed Nat and Steve and threw them into a closed off office and then formed a shield as the grenade exploded. Once it dissipated, he retracted the shield and walked over to the office and saw that Nat and Steve are alright.
"Okay. That one's on me." Nat admitted.
"No argument there, Romanoff." Tom coolly replied as he and Steve left her to go check.
Feliciano is based on Gina Carano, needed an opponent for Tom to fight against in this chapter, and I don't plan on bringing her back in this story.