Little Bird's Vengeance Chapter 53 Internal Toil

"Colonel Rhodes? May I have a minute?"

Rhodey looked up. "Sure Cap. Draw up a seat."

Steve did so, eyes flicking around the room nervously. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts, then it all came rushing out. "I'm sorry, okay? I wish it wasn't this way, but it is, and I can't fix it myself because I just don't understand and I need help, and you're the best person who can, and you'd be fully within your rights to hate me, but will you help me?"

Rhodey blinked. "Why don't you tell me your problem, then I can decide whether or not to hate you?"

Steve sighed. "The civil rights movements in the sixties. Can you explain what that was about? How it started, what came of it. Everything."

"Okay," Rhodey started, a little nonplussed. "Basically, us blacks got fed up with being second class citizens, and did something about it. Legally we got all we needed, but the prejudice hasn't left the culture yet. What's your starting point; where do I need to begin?"

"Would you give a nine-year-old kid the vote?" Steve said, changing the subject abruptly.

"No; he wouldn't have the knowledge, wisdom, maturity to do his duty," Rhodey answered slowly, wondering where this was going.

Steve smiled wryly. "Then why give a black the vote?"

Rhodey's jaw hit the floor. "We're not babies. We're not stupid. We're not some kind of pet for you white men to feed the scraps of society."

"I know that now, but I didn't know better," Steve protested. "I never met a black man before I joined the army. In the training camp, everyone was the same. All muscles. And I never spent time with an ordinary battalion."

"And your Commandos?" Rhodey asked angrily. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. How could Captain America, poster boy for equality and freedom, be so bigoted?

"Those boys were the best," Steve pointed out. "All of them. I thought…well, exceptions, you know?"

"How can you say all that?" Rhodey yelled. "How can you sit there and-"

"Because I was wrong," Steve shouted back. Rhodey blinked, thoroughly confused at the mixed message. Steve took a deep breath and calmed. "I was wrong. I was stupid, and arrogant, and patronizing, and I don't understand how I let it happen." He laughed hollowly. "It's not just blacks. I mean, women sure are smart sometimes, but they're much better off staying home, looking after the house and raising kids. They just can't take the stress, poor darlings. Peggy was one exceptional dame, but she was pretty much the only one. Don't you agree?"

Rhodey frowned. It was starting to make sense. Steve was a product of cultural brainwashing against anyone not a male Caucasian American. He'd been trying to overcome it himself, but needed help.

Damn those people eighty years ago. Damn Jim Crow.

"Right," he said slowly. "Let's start with Rosa Park."

And so the re-education began.

Tony looked over the data before him. The girl doctors had left some pointers before dragging their significant others off on a double lunch date. Dr Ross certainly seemed to be enhancing the research.

She'd filtered out several factors that had been corrupting the raw data. New Mexico had been the site of the original gamma ray experiments, and there were long term atmospheric side effects that Betty recognized from continuing monitoring of the accident site where Bruce's Big Guy was born. Filtering those radiation readings out of Jane's BiFrost data brought it much more in line with the New York data.

This meant it was quite possible that whatever brought the kids to the world functioned along similar lines to BiFrost.

There were still significant differences. There was even substantial variation between the different arrivals – although less between Red Robin and Red Hood, and any of the other three.

The Reds were both fully human. Thor was Asguardian. The Titans were half-Kryptonian, Amazonian and meta-human. Could that be the difference?

AN: Yes, I've brought up the racist issue again. I honestly believe it would be a problem for Steve, just part of the culture shock, but if you disagree, I doubt it's going to colour the story too much.

Yeech, pun not intended.

So, also today, Jason and the Argonauts. Next week, more LBV and more Argonauts.

Please review!

Katara