James looked out the front of the cockpit as the massive compound came into view. Lights illuminated the Avengers Base from the air as red lights blinked around a landing pad, signaling the SHIELD jet was cleared for landing. "Whoa." James breathed from his seat as the agents shot him a warning look. He noticed and cleared his throat, sitting up straighter as the other's watched him nervously.
"Like what you see?" Maria Hill asked from where she stood behind the pilot. James nodded thoughtlessly and she snorted in response, "Could have all been yours."
James locked onto the woman, sizing her up as he considered her words. "What do you mean by that?"
Maria smiled sadly, seeing the boy had no clue who he was, but she did. She could see it clear as day in his face, "I just mean..." She trailed off, seeing how sad and confused the boy looked. "... maybe you aren't who I thought you were."
"Yeah. I get that a lot." James grumbled, cracking his knuckles and swearing to get the truth, the real truth, out of his parents the moment he saw them again. "What are you going to do with me here?"
"Take a blood sample. Run a few tests. You seem to have abilities beyond the average man, and we need to figure out why." Maria explained calmly as the jet hit the tarmac silently. James unbuckled his seat belt and stretched his arms, his bulging muscles furthering Maria's point. "You seem to have super human strength."
"I told you, I'm not on drugs." James droned as the back of the jet opened, revealing more agents there to receive him. He gulped loudly, pushing back his hair and turning to Maria, "I'm starting to think you don't believe I'm on steroids, either."
"I don't. You said you weren't, and I believe you. That doesn't mean that the drugs don't come from elsewhere though." Maria warned as the agents each took an arm to lead James off the plane. She stood back for a moment, watching the boy being led away. She wanted him to be Steve's son. If he was the son of Captain America, he had so much potential. Potential SHIELD wanted to tap into.
Two large glass doors opened to reveal a long, bleak hallway lined with heavy doors on either side. James looked around as he was led to the elevator at the end of the hall, trying to get a look into what he was passing. "Is this... a prison?"
"No, that's in the basement." One of the agents answered gruffly and James swallowed, suddenly feeling very parched. He felt cold wandering the halls of this strange, unwelcoming place in his white undershirt and football pants. His cleats were uncomfortable on the tile floor, but he hadn't been given a chance to bring a change of clothes.
The agents led James into the elevator and pressed a series of buttons, holding the door so Director Hill could join them. Once she was inside, the doors closed and the elevator rose quietly, only dinging when they reached their destination. James looked around in awe as they passed by glass walls looking into labs of all kinds. He balked a little when he saw a massive green creature slumped over a work station, "Is that the- the Hu-"
"Doctor Bruce Banner, yes." Maria supplied as she continued walking down the hall briskly, "He'll be along to see you shortly. I have to speak with the Captain first."
James froze, effectively bringing the two men trying to drag him to a stop. They tugged on him, but he pulled against them until Maria herself turned to face him. He quivered, his eyes excited despite how scared he looked, "The Captain? Like, Captain America?"
"Yes." Maria answered easily, turning on her heels to continue to her destination. She pushed open a glass door and motioned for James to enter and sit at the long oak conference table ahead of them. He slowly sat as he kept his eyes on Maria, waiting for something to happen, "Wait here. We'll be right back. Don't try anything stupid, Mr. Carter. Even you are outnumbered here."
James nodded obediently as Maria swept out of the room, taking her agents with her. James looked around, wishing he had his phone. Wishing somebody, anybody, knew where he was. He wished someone was coming to save him.
"It's late. What are you doing here?" Sam groaned as he met Maria Hill outside the conference room. He froze when he looked over her shoulder and saw the boy sitting at the table beyond the glass, "Who's that?"
"I believe he's Steve Rogers' son." Maria answered, cutting to the chase. She crossed her arms and lifted her chin defiantly, "His history teacher ID'ed him. She contacted SHIELD several weeks ago saying she had an unusual student who resembled Steve Rogers... I thought you were the one who declared the boy dead years ago, did you not?"
"I was sure he was." Sam muttered, his breath taken from his chest at the sight of the boy. He knew exactly who sat on the other side of the wall, and he wanted to meet him so damn badly. "The resemblance is uncanny."
"I want Banner to do a blood test. See if he has any serum. See if he's really their son." Maria said quietly, her demeanor softening a little. "I'd love to meet Steve's son."
"Is that what Steve would have wanted? To have his son controlled by SHIELD?" Sam sneered as he moved around her to get a better look, pressing his hand against the glass as he watched James stare around the room. "Does he know?"
"No. I don't believe so." Maria admitted quietly as she stood alongside Sam.
"He's a ripped teenager, I'm not going to tell him anything until we know for sure. It could be a trap. Who's to say something darker isn't at work here to get us to take down our guard?" Sam replied slowly, turning to Maria with a heavy sigh, "I saw the report of what he did. We better get a sample just in case. Go get Banner, I want to talk to the kid."
"Yes, Captain." Maria said with a sly smile, knowing with Sam's blessing they could continue on as planned.
Once Maria Hill had rounded the corner to collect Banner, Sam took a deep breath and pulled open the door, causing the young man to look up at him in wonder. "Captain America!" James squeaked as he sprung to his feet, knocking over his chair as his hand flung to his forehead in an awkward salute. He stammered for a moment, leaning over to pick up the chair before turning back to Sam with a beaming smile. "Sir, it's an honor to meet you."
"Call me Sam. And you are?"
"James! James Carter. I'm, uh, I'm here because-" James stammered, his cheeks burning red as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"I know why you're here." Sam offered, pulling out a chair and taking a seat. He was wearing his combat pants with a long sleeved white undershirt, but his confidence was enough to make James shake in his cleats as he fell back into his chair. Sam heard the wood crack underneath his weight and he offered an embarrassed smile. Sam studied the boy curiously, noting he was a dead ringer for his father, "Heard you punted a kid across the football field."
"It wasn't nearly that intense, I swear!" James defended himself, throwing his hands up in front of his chest, "It was an accident, I'm just really strong! So is my mom, so is my dad..." James trailed off, dropping his hands to his lap and studying them for a moment as the idea struck him, "Do you know my parents?"
"Not sure. Depends on who they are." Sam's snark put the boy at ease as he looked back up at Captain America, "There's a chance you could be what we call an 'enhanced individual'. Sometimes people are born with it, sometimes they are given it by... experiential circumstances."
James nodded, captivated by Sam's words, "So, like, I could be born like this, or- I could be the result of some sort of experiment?"
"Or both?" Sam suggested with a shrug, praying James didn't realize the way his breath hitched when he realized that was the correct answer. "Doctor Banner is going to take a blood sample and run a few tests, to see the extent of your strength. To try and figure out how you did what you did tonight. Is that alright?"
"You're asking me? I didn't really think I had a choice." James muttered when he remembered he was a prisoner, not a guest.
Sam smiled sadly at him and nodded, "I won't let the Director do anything you don't want to do. I promise."
"I'll do it." James answered confidently, "I want to know what I am. I want to know what I can do."
Sam's head rose and fell slowly, what was meant to be another nod, but not quite as confident as it should have been. "We'd like to know that too."
Sam and James looked up as two SHIELD agents entered, "Doctor Banner is ready for you in his lab."
Sam pat the boy's hand and James grinned like a madman as the older soldier stood up and lead him out of the room. James followed him dutifully down the hallway, looking all around, "So, like, if I have superhuman strength or something, does that mean I can be an Avenger? I'll graduate in the spring, and maybe I could start training here, and-"
"Whoa there, Buddy. Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. You don't even know the extent of your power-"
"Power? Oh my gosh, what if I have powers or something crazy? That would be so lit!" James fist pumped the air, placing a little too much weight into his step because his cleat cracked through the tile. He looked down and Sam groaned a little, "Sorry- sorry... I can pay for that?"
"It's fine. Just, simmer down a bit." Sam grumbled, pushing open a door for James before turning to the agents behind them, "We'll take it from here."
James paused when he came face to face with the Hulk. "Hi, umm, Doctor Banner. It's an honor to meet you." James stared up with wide green eyes as Professor Hulk met him near the entrance to the lab.
Bruce's face wasn't as neutral as Sam's had been when he saw the boy. There was a mix of disbelief and happiness that wavered on borderline devastation as Banner went through all the emotions of seeing his old friends' son. "It's nice to meet you." Bruce paused, looking up to Sam who did a cut it out motion against his throat, "Yes, em- I can't do this. I'm sorry, Sam." Doctor Banner started lumbering toward the other end of the lab until Maria's voice echoed from behind Sam.
"Doctor Banner, please. We need to know what we're dealing with-"
"I think it's pretty obvious what we're dealing with, Hill. I draw the line here. I'm too old for this, I stick around because I have nowhere else to go. But I'm not doing this." Bruce pointed to the boy, and James put his hands up in defense.
"I don't know what we're dealing with and why it's so obvious to everyone else but me." James said as he raised his hand, looking between the Director of SHIELD, Captain America, and Professor Hulk, all of whom seemed to know him. "I don't know who you think I am, but I'm not... him. I'm nobody, I swear. My parents aren't anything special. But maybe I could be though. Run your tests."
Maria turned to Bruce and shrugged, gesturing towards the boy, "Give him what he wants. We'll set up a room downstairs."
"Aren't you taking me home?" James called as Maria left, but she just looked over her shoulder to give him a pointed look, then left. "Or... not."
"I'll see if I can get you something a little more comfortable to wear. I know just where to look downstairs." Sam muttered quietly, then looked to Banner, "I'll be back soon."
"Take a seat kid, let's get this over with." Bruce mumbled and gestured to a chair next to his table. James did as he was told and pulled up his sleeve to reveal his arm as Bruce produced a thick needle and a large tube. James's eyes widened as Bruce put the syringe together and aimed it at the boy's upper left arm.
James winced as the needle poked through his thick skin, finding a vein and beginning to draw the blood into the vial. "So, Doctor Banner, uh- what do you think, is the deal with... me?"
"Wouldn't know kid. You just look familiar, that's all. But SHIELD monitors threats, and you seem to be a threat. You're either with them or against them. No in between." Bruce withdrew the needle and discarded it carefully before plugging the vial into his computer. "It could take a few hours to get results on your blood. I'm guessing you're tired. We can do more tests in the morning."
"My mom has to be freaking out, can I call her? Let her know I'm alright? Can I borrow a phone or computer or- something? Because this is seeming more and more like kidnapping." James taunted but Bruce just chuckled, amused at his attempt to get the upper hand.
"Yeah, I'm sure she is freaking out, wherever she is." Bruce muttered fondly, looking over at the boy as Sam approached the lab. "I'm sorry this isn't exactly... pleasant, but we mean well. We need to know all the variables, you know?"
James pursed his lips as he pushed himself off of the chair with a grunt, "Yeah, I guess. I'd like to know those too."
Sam nodded toward the door and James followed, taking several long strides to catch up with the Captain. Bruce smiled to himself as they left, looking at his computer as numbers and charts swirled on the screen, trying to figure out what components made up the boy's bloodstream. The computer began beeping quickly, having already identified two similar substances. Bruce beamed at the results, before swiping his finger across the screen's image and deleting it. He looked up, hearing the sound of talking fade as Sam lead James down to the detention center.
"So, now what? I just wait? Are you going to contact my parents? Can I borrow a phone or..." James trailed off as they reached the elevator, noticing Sam hit the lowest number, meaning they were taking him to the basement. Where the prisoners were kept. "You know, Captain- Sam, sir, I only agreed to come because it was this or face my father, and I'm starting to think I should have gone with Dad."
Sam snorted and the doors opened to a long, dark hallway, "We'll get in contact with your parents. I'm sure they'll come get you first thing in the morning." Sam said truthfully, knowing Steve was halfway there by now. He pressed his palm to a keypad and a blue light scanned it up and down before opening the glass panel and metal bars. Sam gestured grimly into the cell and James followed his lead, studying his prison. "I'm sorry about this Kid. If I had my way we'd put you up somewhere a bit nicer, but I was outvoted. At least until the tests come back. You have to understand, it's a matter of security to make sure you aren't a threat."
"Yeah, yeah, I've gotten that." James mumbled as he looked around the room, noticing a small offset that must be a bathroom, "Is there a shower?"
"Yes. And I, uh, got you some fresh clothes. I'm going out on a limb and guessing they'll fit, but you're a pretty big dude, so..." Sam trailed off as he pointed to the bed, where a neatly folded pair of jeans under a white t-shirt and black jacket lay, while a pair of running shoes sat off to the side on the dirty mattress. James picked up the jacket and studied it for a moment while Sam leaned against the wall, gauging his thoughts, "Like I said, hopefully they fit. They're some big shoes to fill."
Before James could ask what he meant, Sam swooped out of the cell and hit the keypad, bringing down the glass from the ceiling and metal bars from the right. "Thanks." James mumbled, sitting on the creaking bed. "For nothing."
After staring at the wall forever, James finally stood and grabbed the clothes, making his way to the bathroom to shower. It would be a long night, and he didn't think he'd be sleeping.