The beer tasted funny in his tongue, like a lot of other drinks. Drinks and foods changed too, a lot of them taste too salty or too sweet for him. Or maybe these didn't change, maybe he was just too used to bland tasted food so a lot of food almost caused him sensory overload, now. He loved food, loved the variety and the abundance in this era, but during his trip, he had learned to avoid trying out food that seemed to wild, at least until his tongue got used to them. He had had no alcohol until now though, so he wondered if the beer had changed or if this pub's beer was just particularly different from others.

Well, at least now he knew if there was one thing that hadn't change, it was his inability to get drunk.

He wasn't even planning to be here, wasn't planning to have any drinks. He was there now because he followed Thor and his friend, making sure they came back all right while also making sure that the S.H.I.E.L.D agent that followed them didn't try to do anything funny. While he was at the site he had heard—accidentally—about how S.H.I.E.L.D took away Dr. Jane Foster's works without permissions, which made him frown because he didn't know they would do something like that and that Coulson or Fury would allow that to happen. It made him felt disappointed at them and made him wonder if he really would want to work for them. He didn't want to do things like that.

He was also sorry that he could not break Thor out of there, unable to find excuses to talk to Thor without being suspicious or breaking into the room. As he waited for the rain to stop he tried to plan things, but fortunately Thor's friend—Dr. Selvig?—could get Thor out with a clumsy excuse, though with an agent tailing them. So now there they were, an agent watching Thor and his friend drinking, while Steve watched both.

He watched as Dr. Selvig increasingly got drunker and the agent got increasingly getting bored. Steve didn't have many experiences dealing with secret agents, but from his own observation, he could see that the agent sent to follow Thor was a new agent or at least a junior one. He didn't have the focus more senior agents had, and he did several small mistakes: he drank the beer he ordered and he didn't realize that Steve was watching and tailing him. Unless he couldn't get drunk like Steve, then that was a mistake. As Dr. Selvig finally looked wasted, and the agent didn't pay as much attention, Steve put on his cap and walked towards Thor, sitting down beside Thor.

Thor, who was trying to engage with Dr. Selvig's non-sense ramblings, didn't realize he was there until Steve coughed. Thor looked puzzled but then smiled upon recognizing Steve.

"Someone is following you around, you should be careful. Don't do anything dangerous," Steve told him, nodding when the bartender offered him a beer. His dinner was officially replaced by lots of beer, tonight. If he was normal, maybe he might end up with alcohol poisoning. Knowing how frail his old body was, that was very probable.

"Really? Someone from S.H.I.E.L.D?" Thor wondered out loud, looking around trying to find that person.

"Don't look around, look straight, don't look at me," Steve warned, looking straight so the agent wouldn't notice they were talking to each other, or at least that they knew each other well. He didn't want S.H.I.E.L.D to know his involvement with Thor, he thought of the possibility that would lead to complicated situations. "If you saw someone wearing a hat and a black jacket, that is the person."

Thor seemed to realize his mistake, turning his head again in a hurry. He looked at Dr. Selvig and his thumb caressed the edge of his glass in a worry, "I saw him. How do you know about this? I don't even realize that someone is following me."

"I was at the hammer site because I was curious, turned out it was already closed. Saw you there with your friend, I was going to greet you but then I noticed someone was following you," he explained, a carefully crafted lie he had designed while watching out for Thor, "Ended up following all of you here."

"I see, thank you for telling me this," Thor said without an ounce of suspicion, "It seems that I have a lot of debts to you."

Next to Thor, Dr. Selvig banged his head on the counter and fell asleep.

"Nah, don't sweat about it, just want to help," Steve said, not wanting Thor to feel indebted because he also did this for himself. He needed something to do, something to distract his mind from being lost in the maze of the past, so this helped him, made him have a goal rather than doing nothing in his room. He continued to act clues, asking out loud, "So, S.H.I.E.L.D? Why is someone following you?"

"Dr. Selvig said it was an organization? I was not sure about it, but they took away Dr. Foster's life works," Thor told him, confirming his suspicions, "I think they were following me because I tried to reclaim Mjolnir."

"Oh yeah, how about the hammer?" Steve asked, trying to make himself not suspicious, though he instantly regretted asking that because Thor looked even more downcast. He didn't need to ask that question.

"I couldn't pick it up, just like others, even though it was mine," Thor told him, following that by drinking his beer and emptying his glass. He gulped and continued, "My father said only the worthy ones will be able to lift it. Seems like I am truly not worthy."

"I am sorry," Steve said quietly. This all seemed bizarre and seemed like something he won't understand, "I don't really understand about it, but, I am sure you are worthy. Maybe your father has a different definition of worthy."

From what he read, Thor's hammer was like Steve's shield, at least he thought so. It was his constant company for his battles, a symbol and a witness for his hard-fought battles. He had the hammer much longer that Steve, too, since it seemed that Thor was old enough to have old tales about him. Steve wasn't sure how he would feel if someone told him he was not worthy of his shield, but he thought he would feel hurt hearing that.

"The last thing my father said about me before he banished me here was that I am a vain, cruel, greedy boy," Thor said, sounding like he almost cried. Steve seriously wondered what had happened between Thor and his father, but he didn't want to dig deeper in the Thor's already hurt feelings. It seemed so cruel for a father to say to his child, but then again Steve knew not all parents knew how to parent.

"That doesn't seem true," Steve said. He was not lying. Yes, they barely knew each other, but Thor didn't look to be cruel or greedy. He looked like a golden retriever. A sad one. It was hard to not look at Thor when he was trying to comfort him.

"Steve, do you believe everything I said?" Thor asked, sounding so unsure of himself, "That I am from another realm, that I am a God of Thunder?"

Did he? Steve wasn't so sure himself if everything Thor told him was true. It sounded wild, but Thor didn't seem to be lying at all. Steve knew how to see if people were lying. Thor also looked and sounded so earnest in his plea for help, looked so lost and confused about being here, Steve couldn't help but believe him.

He was more curious about why he found it easy to talk to Thor. He even revealed parts about his life yesterday, to someone who was almost a stranger. He didn't realize how much he wanted to say his feelings out loud.

"I have seen a lot of weird things, I think a God of Thunder from another realm is quite possible, though very stretching it," the serum, Red Skull, the tesseract, being alive after being frozen for almost 70 years, "I am not sure if what you said is true, but I can see that you're not lying."

"Thank you, for your help, and for believing me."

"No problem," Steve nodded. It must be really hard for Thor, being in a world he was not familiar with, a world that wouldn't believe him if he told them who he truly was. Steve was at least born and had lived an era here. He wondered if they talked for too long and if the agent got suspicious, but he felt like he just could not leave Thor alone with his passed-out friend. "About what your father said, I am sure it's not true, sometimes people said what they didn't mean when they were angry."

"Now, I think you believe in me a little too much," Thor chuckled good-naturedly.

"Yeah, my friend said I believe in people too much," Steve said. Bucky said Steve was weird for still believing people can be good even though he himself fought with other people so often. He argued that he only fought other people if they did bad things and showed no remorse about it, but he mostly chose to talk to them first to see if they could stop or change, "But he also said I am pretty good at judging other people's personalities."

"You're a good man, Steve."

Hearing that made him suddenly remembered Dr. Erskine. The one who believed in him when he was nothing. Remembered his promise to him, to be a good man instead of a good soldier. He wondered if he managed to fulfil that promise. He tried, but he was not sure if he succeeded.

Dr. Selvig groaned, distracting him from his mind.

"You have a place to go?" Steve asked, wondering where Thor would go. He assumed that he would go to Dr. Selvig's house and if Thor didn't know where to go, hopefully even though he was drunk, Dr. Selvig could remember his own address.

"I think I need to bring this man home," Thor explained, "He told me to go away from him and Dr. Foster, but I couldn't just leave him here."

Oh, that was mean of the doctor.

"You should bring him outside, I will catch up and help you find a cab."

At least that way, he would just look like a good Samaritan trying to help.

Steve almost didn't sleep at all last night. After he was back from the bar, he took a shower and then lied down on the bed, staring at the ceiling for hours. He thought of a lot of things—wondering if Thor managed to arrive at wherever he was going, wondering what S.H.I.E.L.D was trying to do with the hammer, and then his mind suddenly wondered if Peggy was doing all right. She was alive—but Steve was not sure if it would be okay for him to contact her. She had moved on and for her; it had been over 60 years since the last time she heard his voice. It wasn't fair for her, for him to suddenly show up again in her life.

And his mind drifted off again, wondering if he didn't do what he did, would they end up together? His mind played scenarios he didn't want to imagine. He finally fell asleep for a while, only to be woken up by a nightmare. Just like most of his nights. He hated that; he wanted his mind to just calm down; he wanted himself to stop thinking.

He skipped breakfast because he was not in the mood to move from his mood and by lunch, he had to drag himself to the diner. Still, he found himself with no appetite despite feeling hungry. He took long breaks in between his bites, regretting ordering a big size of lunch, though he knew he needed to eat a lot. He paused eating again, wondering if he should be on the road again. Driving made him unable to think those thoughts, driving gave him something to focus on.

"Steve my friend!" a loud voice startled him, the same voice that startled him yesterday. He almost dropped his fork. Thor really had a way to startle him. Once he gathered his wits though, he smiled at Thor who was already taking a seat while two women followed him.

"Hi, Thor," Steve greeted, glad that Thor was safe. He looked around, trying to see if there was anyone that seemed to follow Thor, even checking outside to see anyone suspicious. He didn't see last night's agent and wondered if S.H.I.E.L.D had called off the agent. He saw Dr. Selvig ordering for all of them, seemingly already sober.

"He knows your name?" Dr. Foster asked Thor, surprised. She took a seat beside Thor while the other girl, someone who Steve didn't know the name of, took a seat beside Steve.

"He knows everything, it's okay," Thor said, grinning. Dr. Foster just looked puzzled.

"Hi, going to have lunch?" Steve asked, trying to make a small talk. He wasn't ready to talk to people at all. He didn't even expect to talk to other people today, didn't expect to meet Thor again.

"Wow, you are eating almost as much as Thor," the girl beside him commented, looking at Steve's breakfast, and then at him, "Who are you?"

"He is Steve, my new friend," Thor introduced him and once again Steve felt flattered to be called a friend. A friend—that word never felt so flattering before. He had no friends now—he doubted he could call Director Fury a friend, so to have one felt amazing.

"Hi, I am Steve Rogers," Steve introduced himself and right away, he wanted to slap himself for saying his full, very real, name. He had a fake name and a fake id that S.H.I.E.L.D provided, and yet he was still too used to introduce himself like this. He was becoming sloppy in hiding his identity.

The girl scoffed, "Dude, you are named after Captain America?"

Dr. Foster rolled her eyes at her, but extend her hand to Steve and finally introduced herself, "Hello, we met yesterday, I am Jane Foster, and this is Darcy Lewis, my intern."

Thor was frowning and wondering out loud, "Who is Captain America?"

"A hero, his name sounded cheesy, but he was pretty cool. He fought Nazis—bad people—during World War II and saved a lot of lives. He was practically every American's hero, I knew a lot of people who worship him," Lewis explained, Steve wanted to squirm in his seat and seriously hoped that they wouldn't talk about Captain America. But then Lewis asked again, "Seriously, you are named after Captain America?"

"Yeah, seemed like my parents thought it was a good name for me," Steve lied, part of him wanted to say I am Captain America. Maybe he should have said that and then brushed it as a joke—well, that was a lost opportunity.

"He sounded like a great warrior, I would like to meet him," Thor said. He must have really loved meeting another soldiers or warrior.

"Yeah, might have to search for him in the ocean," Lewis said, shrugging.

"Huh."

"He sacrificed himself by diverting a plane full of bombs to the ocean," it was Dr. Foster's turn to explain, while Steve kept tight-lipped because he felt so uncomfortable about this topic, "People said he might be alive somewhere, but I am sure he died."

"Oh, that was unfortunate."

Thor looked sad to hear that, seemingly genuinely sorry for Steve—no, for Captain America. He sagged in his seat, thinking about something. Steve wondered what he was suddenly thinking about. Dr. Selvig approached them while dragging a seat because all the seats in Steve's were taken. He took a look at Steve and repeated the question, "Hey, who is this?"

He didn't remember Steve from last night. Steve was not sure if that was a bad or a good thing.

"Thor's friend, apparently, Steve Rogers."

"Oooh, Captain America," Dr. Selvig said right away. He squinted at Steve and "You even look like him, it's kind of uncanny."

"You remember how Captain America looks like?" Lewis looked at Dr. Selvig incredulously.

"Well, I grew up being forced to watch everything available about him, so of course I remember him," Dr. Selvig explained, before looking at Steve again, "Are you a relative of his?"

"No, but people did say the resemblance is uncanny," Steve answered, forcing a small laugh. It was one of his worries, he knew there were photos and videos of him circulating. People might think they recognized him, though he already prepared his answer for those kinds of questions. He should prepare a cover-up story in case he slipped up like this again.

"I am sure Steve was as great as this Captain America," Thor said, feeling proud on behalf of Steve, "He won a war, too."

Steve wanted to groan because Thor was not helping at all.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I was a soldier," Steve said. He was good at making a carefully crafted out lie but equally bad at lying on the spot.

"Wow, that's taking appropriating Captain America to another level," Lewis commented, while Dr. Foster seemed to keep silent about this. Maybe it was not really a topic she could talk about.

"Doesn't have much a choice," Steve shrugged, unsure of what to say.

He felt so grateful when Dr. Foster finally diverted the topic by asking, "So, how did you meet Thor? I knew you were going to help him to the desert yesterday."

"He helped me acquiring a mug to replace the one I smashed yesterday," Thor answered the question, winking at Steve for no reason at all. That seemed to be news for Dr. Foster because she looked surprised but happy to hear that.

"That's nice of you."

Steve was not sure whether she talked to him or Thor, but he assumed she talked to Thor.

"You always eat here? I saw you yesterday, here," Steve asked. He was actually curious how Dr. Foster met Thor, but he wondered if he could ask. He didn't even know how Thor ended up here at all other than the fact that he was banished. It was good he was sent here instead of New York, maybe. This place was less to take in than New York.

"Not always, but lots of times. All of us are too busy to cook our own food," Lewis answered.

"I am busy, you're not," Dr. Foster argued.

"Hey, I am busy helping you, not my fault you never realize it when I am helping you," Lewis retorted, scowling at Dr. Foster. Steve didn't know why, but it was nice to hear them bickering. Maybe he was really deprived of human interactions.

"So, Rogers, do you live here?" Dr. Selvig asked, he still looked at Steve suspiciously.

"Ah, no, I am travelling, I am just stopping by here to rest," Steve answered, feeling glad he could be honest for once. He never liked lying even though he did lie a lot of times.

"Oh, thank god, I almost thought you are another crazy head, only mad scientists chose to live here."

Dr. Foster yelled out a "Hey!" at that.

"Where did you serve?" Selvig asked again and Steve felt like he was being interviewed. Steve felt uncomfortable again. He thought the conversation had stopped from being about him.

"It's…a secret, actually, I can't tell anyone about it."

Steve avoided answering that in case Dr. Selvig asked more questions. He knew about the wars that happened after he crashed. He was disappointed that wars still happened even after he died, disappointed that the country had become the aggressor. He had to stop catching up with history several times after becoming too agitated.

"Are you in an elite team or something like that?" Dr. Foster chimed in.

Steve was not sure if there was such a team in the military now, but he vaguely answered, "Something like that."

"Wow, cool," Lewis commented, who took a glance at Thor and continued, "Though doesn't beat being a god, I guess."

Thor shook his head, "I think I am not really a god now, not anymore,"

"Oh, cheer up, Big Guy, I am sure it's temporary," Lewis tried to assure him, standing up to pat Thor on both soldiers. She seemed like a good friend to have, despite her tendency to be curt.

"Hopefully, but I will try to adapt living here."

At least Thor had the spirit to adapt. Steve just realized if only he could disclose his story, they can try to cope together. For a second, he wondered if he did that, would any of these people believe him? They seemed to believe Thor, finally. But then he brushed off that thought. He was going away, anyway. His acquittance with them will be temporary and there was no use in telling them his story.

"Hey Steve, come over to our place tonight, we are going to have the barbeque," invited Lewis, who smiled hopefully at him.

Dr. Foster frowned at that, "When did we decide that?"

"Just now, a little party to cheer us up."

Thor smiled widely hearing the world, there was a glint in his eyes when he repeated excitedly, "A party?"

Steve thought upon seeing Thor like that, everyone in the table agreed to do what Lewis said. They didn't argue about the party and instead talked about science.

There were several things Steve learned while he was having a barbeque with Dr. Foster, Dr. Selvig, Lewis, and Thor. First, he finally learned about how they all met and how Thor got tasered by Lewis. He laughed out loud at that because he couldn't get over the irony that a God of Thunder got defeated by a taser. He felt bad for laughing at Thor's misery, but he had a hard time trying to hold back his laugh. Second, he learned that Thor had learned about him in a way—he learned about Captain America and other heroes and talked about how the Howling Commandos reminded him of his own friends. Steve had to try hard to keep a straight face again when they talked about it again.

The third thing he learned was that Dr. Foster and Lewis really wanted him to call them Jane and Darcy, so he tried to call them by their first names. He was uncomfortable for no reason for doing that, though they pointed out he called Thor 'Thor' just fine, which he had only realized then. The last thing he learned was that Thor and Jane were in love with each other. They didn't say it out loud, but Steve could see from the way they acted and looked at each other.

"They are so sickening, aren't they?" Darcy asked, sitting down on the chair beside of Steve. Steve was looking at Thor and Jane who were still grilling meat while Steve was pretty knocked out from eating too many meats. He bought and brought additional meats so he could contribute something, but they ended up with too many.

"I think they look beautiful together," Steve said. He meant it, it was nice to see them smiling bashfully at each other as if they had no worry. He did feel a little jealous because he wanted to feel something like that again, but mostly he was happy for them, especially Thor.

"So, you have a girl, Steve?" Darcy wondered. He turned to look at Darcy, thought about the answer and then shook his head.

No, Peggy was not his girl.

"No, not really."

"Not really?" Darcy repeated, "A guy then?"

Steve laughed. At least, in this era, loving another guy was not so frowned upon, even if it was not as widely accepted as he wanted it to. It was a little better, at least. He still remembered when he had to warn a fairy bar in his neighbourhood for an upcoming raid, and how some people got exiled for being there.

"No, I have no one."

It was sad, how true that statement was.

"Really? That's weird."

Steve had no idea what that was supposed to mean, so he just said, "Thank you for inviting me, this is nice."

"Yeah, I think we all need a break," Darcy slumped in her seat, "I definitely need one, all those sciences and theories are sucking my life force."

Steve wanted to say that it was probably her own fault choosing that internship but he kept his mouth shut because they didn't know each other well enough for Steve to be joking around now. He also felt sleepy, the lack of sleep from the last week wearing him out and being full made him feel sluggish. Was it possible to be drunk of meat?

"I think I am going to go back to the hotel, I am kind of tired," Steve told her, getting up from his chair, afraid that he would fall asleep there. Darcy just nodded and raised her beer at him, seemingly drunk on meat herself.

Steve walked towards Jane and Thor, patting Thor's arm and told them, "Hey, I think I am going to go back, thank you for the barbeque."

"No, thank you for the meat, we didn't expect to have this much," Jane said, smiling brightly at him. She seemed to be not thinking of her lost works anymore, at least for now. Steve wondered if he could retrieve Jane's works from S.H.I.E.L.D. It was really unfair for them to just take them away.

"No problem."

"Let me escort you," Thor offered, putting the last grilled meat to a plate and cleaned himself up.

"Oh no, you don't need to," Steve refused, waving his hands around sluggishly.

"It's the least I can do after you help me so much."

What did Steve do that made Thor felt indebted to him? He barely did anything to help Thor, the things he did was the bare minimum. He felt uncomfortable at how Thor looked like he needed to do something for him, so he agreed, "Alright, I guess."

Thor smiled and said goodbye to Jane before they started to walk together. Turned out the hotel he stayed in was not that far from the place Jane stayed at. He didn't need to take his motorcycle to go there. They walked in silence for several minutes, before Thor asked him, "How long will you be here, Steve?"

"I am not sure," Steve answered, "Maybe until tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, depends on my mood."

He hadn't planned how long he would stay here. He thought if he managed to get a good rest tonight, he could go tomorrow. But for some reasons, he hesitated about that. He just met new people, people that could be his friends if he wanted to.

"When you continue your journey, we won't be seeing each other again, then?" Thor wondered, looking at him. He didn't know Thor was already thinking about that.

"Maybe."

"Is there no way I can send a message to you?"

"Why, you think you are going to miss me?" Steve teased, though he would feel happy that someone would miss him.

"I will," Thor answered seriously even though Steve was only joking, it almost put Steve off his track, "It's nice meeting you."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Steve said, softened. Thor was really great to be around with, Steve was cheered up when he was around today, "Are you going to stay with Dr. Foster here?"

"If she allows me to."

"I think she wouldn't mind," Steve said, which earned him a raise of Thor's eyebrow, questioning. He smiled at him and said, "I saw the way she looks at you and the way you look at her."

Steve didn't think it was possible for Thor to look so bashful. But he did, and it made Steve wanted to tease him more, just to see more the side of Thor he hadn't seen.

"You're certainly quite perceptive."

"It's good you have someone here," Steve said. It was good that there was another person who could help him to adjust. Steve would help more if he could, but he was almost as lost as Thor was. Speaking of that, he wondered, "Are you okay?"

"I will be, but I still wish I can see my mother, even for the last time."

Steve could relate to that. There were some nights when he really missed his mother, that she was here with her. She always managed to comfort him no matter how bad the situation was. She died long before he was frozen, but being awakened again seemed to refresh his longing. Being unable to see his mother was really unfair for Thor, though, seeing that she was still alive. Thor could still have a chance to see her again.

They arrived at Steve's hotel and stopped walking in front of the building. That was when Steve finally told Thor, "Guess what, even after I am gone, you can talk to me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, please wait."

Steve went in and went to the receptionist to ask for a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote his number on the paper quickly, thanked the receptionist in charge, and then went out again. Thor was waiting for him as told.

"This is my phone number," Steve handed the paper to Thor, who accepted it and frowned when he saw the number, "You can show Jane this and ask her how to contact me."

"That's wonderful," Thor's eyes shone looking at the paper and Steve thought maybe this attempt at trying to connect with other people could be worth it.

"You should go. Jane is waiting."

Thor pulled him into a tight hug that almost made Steve flailed. Thor let go of him after several seconds and took a step back, waving his hand at Steve while saying, "See you tomorrow, Steve."

"Okay."

Steve watched Thor went away before he went to his room. He took a shower and lied down on his bed, hoping that he could get a good sleep that night, hoping that his mind wouldn't wander and his nightmares wouldn't visit him for at least one day. But before he closed his eyes for too long, his phone rang and he had to get up to answer it. It was not Fury, but an unknown number. He picked it up because he knew there was only one possibility of who it was, and he was proven right when he heard the voice.

"Steve! It's I, Thor!"

Steve smiled and answered. He ended up talking to Thor and Jane for a while, about if he would like to eat with them again tomorrow, and several other things. When the call ended, he finally had another person's number other than Nick Fury. He slept quite well that night.

When Steve went out of his hotel for the first time on the next day, the city was in chaos.

It confused him at first, but then he turned his head and saw that there was a big metallic monster walking in the city, sprouting fire at the road. He acted right away, yelling to everyone still inside the hotel to go out and ran away from there. He opened the door wide and let other people ran outside, directing them in a direction far away from the city. He then went inside and knocked on every door, yelling that the city was being attacked and that they all should run. Some people went out and Steve directed them to an alternative door, away from the monster. He had to kick some doors open to make sure no one was left behind.

After he was sure, he went out to the hotel and saw that the monster was closing in. He looked around, trying to see if there were people stuck and unable to go. He took a big trash can lid as a replacement of his shield, in case there was anyone needed to be protected. He walked around, trying to hide from whatever that thing was, making sure no one was still there. He found a woman and her daughter hiding behind a counter in a store, looking terrified.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked, and the woman answered by nodding. Steve extended his hand to help them up, "Let's go soon, you need to get to safety. I will protect you."

The woman didn't question him, probably too terrified to do anything. Steve made them hide behind him and the trash can lid. They went out while Steve peeked from behind the trash can lid. The thing was now more into the city, already passing the store they came out from. He saw several weirdly dressed people fighting it and he took that chance to take the woman to the direction all people ran away to earlier. He saw that there was an evacuation several yards into the desert.

"You two go there, I am going to try finding more people," he told them while pointing to that direction. They ran there and Steve watched them go, making sure that there was no harm came to their way. He ran into the city again after they were far away, wondering if there was anything he could do to stop the thing. What was that, anyway? A robot? A robot that could contain a fire and breathed it? He felt like that time he saw Red Skull peeled his face off—like he was in a dream.

He saw a glimpse of Thor and the others close to the thing and felt a panic rising, worried for them. Why weren't they running away? They were in danger.

"Thor!" He yelled out loudly. He ran there and got close just in time for the thing to shoot fire anywhere, causing things to explode. Steve felt himself got thrown by the blast into the road, followed by a car thrown to his direction. He heard Thor yelling out his name but unable to answer. He put his 'shield' up but still ended up getting almost pinned by the car. He prevented the car from pinning him completely by pushing against it. He was lucky that it was a small car and he still could handle the weight. He groaned loudly as he kept pushing and tried to throw it aside. It took a while, but he did it.

When he stood up he saw Thor watching him.

"Steve, are you okay?" Thor asked, helping him up. Steve's body hurt—it had been a long time since had to do some heavy lifting and he hadn't trained his body yet. Thor seemed bewildered to see him threw the car aside, probably wondering if normal humans could do that.

"Yes, do you know what that thing was?" Steve wondered.

"Yes, it's called The Destroyer. It was coming after me. My father created it to protect Asgard, it was enchanted and made to be indestructible."

What a fitting name. Why was it coming after Thor if it was designed to protect? How was they supposed to beat an enchanted indestructible thing? Steve had to come up with a plan, quickly. The weirdly dressed people who were fighting it still did it futilely, even after getting stabbed repeatedly, it recovered and lighted up again. It could move parts of his body and he wondered if they could stop it movements by damaging its joints.

"You should get everyone to safety," Steve said, pointing to Jane and the others far away, looking horrified and frozen.

"I was going to until I saw you, I need to get you to safety, too."

"I—" Steve was going to retort, but he saw the thing turned his head towards them in a sudden and shot fire towards them. Steve pushed Thor, covering Thor with his body. He could feel the fire grazed his back, burning him. He cried out loud, feeling so much pain. He was pinning Thor to the ground covering him in case the things still shot fire. It seemed the others managed to distract it again but several seconds later, the thing shot fire anywhere. He could hear things exploding again, could hear and even felt windows shattering around them. Steve shut his eyes, suddenly thinking.

Not again. The Valkyrie is exploding again. I am going to die.

"Steve! Steve!" he heard Thor yelling, but Steve was lost in pain, his mind drifted off to another place. He didn't felt Thor pushing him away or Thor slapping his face to bring him back. He didn't felt Thor dragging him to the side. It was only when Thor slapped him really hard that he woke up again, looking around him confusedly before remembering again where he was and what was happening.

"You are gravely injured, can you move?"

Steve was still in pain, he almost couldn't think at all. Only his back got burned, so he thought he could still move. But he would move slowly.

"You should—you should bring the others to safety as soon as possible, I will go after you, but you shouldn't wait for me."

"But you are injured," Thor said, frowning. He could see some blood on Thor's hand and shirt, made him wondered these were his or Thor's. He could see that Thor was concerned about him and he hated that.

"I will be okay, I am tougher than most humans," he wanted to say he was an enhanced soldier who was made to endure all of this, but that seemed too complicated to explain for now, "Please Thor, go, I will get myself to safety."

The longer he was there, the longer he was endangered. Thor thought for a second and seemed like he finally came up with a plan. He stood up, determined.

"I have a plan, are you sure you can bring yourself to safety?"

"Yes, go," Steve said, gritting through his teeth as his back muscle strained when he tried to get up. Thor nodded and even though he hesitated, he walked away from Steve. Steve felt relieved for that, as Thor ran towards his friends—at least, Steve assumed that those people were Thor's friends—he finally dragged himself towards them. He was not sure what Thor's plan was, but he knew the thing, so perhaps he knew its weakness.

As he walked, the pain lessened even though not by much. He was sweating profusely as he walked. Maybe instead of travelling, he should have trained his body more, he should have trained his mind to not travel to another place and time. He saw Thor's friends retreating along with the other humans, but he frowned when Thor didn't come with them. Instead, he and the monster walked towards each other, Thor talking to it about something Steve couldn't hear. He yelled when the monster suddenly hit Thor hard.

"No!"

Thor flew backwards and didn't get up. Steve fell, unable to comprehend what was happening. He didn't expect Thor's plan to involve sacrificing himself. It seemed to work; the monster turned its back and started to walk away, not even glancing at Steve. Jane ran towards Thor and cradled him in her arms. Thor was not dead, was he? He was a god, he shouldn't die so easily. Jane was crying and Steve felt defeated. He should have done something to prevent this.

Something hit the monster suddenly, something that was flying towards Thor. Thor caught it and there was a light that almost blinded Steve. When he opened his eyes again, Thor was standing again, now in a different attire. Steve smiled—Thor was not dead. He was holding the hammer in his hand, and Steve heard thunders. Thor got his powers back.

Steve took a step back and closed his ears when the thunders got louder, a storm was forming around the monster and Thor charged at it. Steve looked up but unable to see anything, other than flashes of lightning and the storm, so he chose to sit down, continued closing his ears, and told him a sentence repeatedly.

I am in New Mexico, not anywhere else. This is 2011, not the forties. I am in New Mexico, not anywhere else. This is 2011, not the forties. I am in New Mexico, not anywhere else. This is 2011, not the forties. I am in New Mexico, not anywhere else. This is 2011, not the forties—

"Steve, let me help you."

Steve looked up, seeing Thor in his full glory, offering his hand. He had no idea how long Thor was in the storm, lost in his attempt to make his mind stayed at the moment. He took Thor's hand and slowly; they walked towards Jane. Thor was helping him walk even though he didn't need that. His back still felt like it was still burning, but he was just glad that the monster was not moving anymore and people were safe.

"So, this is your true form, huh?" Steve asked while they walked, "Look pretty good."

Thor chuckled, "You have seen nothing, my friend."

They finally arrived. Jane looked at him and flinched even though she didn't see his back.

"Steve, are you okay?"

"I think I just got barbequed," Steve joked, even though it fell flat. He frowned when several cars came to them and stopped. Several people came out and Steve could recognize Coulson among them. For a second, they looked at each other and Coulson kept a straight face upon recognizing him.

"Excuse me," Coulson said, turning his attention to Thor, "Donald? I don't think you've been completely honest with me."

Thor took a step towards Coulson and said, "Know this, Son of Coul. You and I, we fight for the same cause, the protection of this world. From this day forward, you can count me as your ally if you helped my injured friend and return the items you have taken from Jane."

"Stolen," Jane corrected.

"Borrowed," Coulson said, "Of course, you can have your equipment back. You're gonna need it to continue your research."

Everyone seemed satisfied with that, including Steve. It looked like Thor didn't need his help to fix his problems. Steve felt happy for him, though he still wondered what was happening. Thor had no time to explain everything, though. He turned to Jane and asked, "Would you like to see the bridge we spoke of?"

Jane smiled, "Sure."

Thor pulled Jane close and suddenly they were gone. Coulson yelled, "Wait, I need to debrief you!"

Steve looked at Coulson incredulously, "Did you just try to debrief a God?"

Coulson didn't answer, but he turned his head towards Steve and said, "I think you and I need to talk."

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Steve turned his head, looking at his healed back on the mirror. It was as smooth as it was before he got burned, there was no sign it had gone through a third-degree burn. He was back in New York, in S.H.I.E.L.D's medical ward, a doctor who was in charge to check his condition already left him alone after declaring that he was healthy. It had been more than a week since he left New Mexico, barely remembering anything after meeting Coulson when he finally felt the full weight of the burn and was delirious with pain.

He put on his shirt again, looking up, wondering if Thor was safe. He had been texting Darcy, who told him about Loki and what happened. He was still worried, but there was no way he could know how Thor was. Jane was still trying to find the bridge that apparently connected Asgard and earth, but he didn't have enough knowledge to understand her work.

He was itching to do something, but he barely knew anything about his realm now. During his recovering time, he mulled over the fact that another civilization existed. It might not be just one another planet that had a civilization, but dozens. When he was younger, he would be so enamoured by this. But now, when he had seen what that fact could be bringing to this world, he was a little scared.

What if the earth got attacked again? What if it was bigger, and they were not ready at all? He had decided that he shouldn't be so useless just like New Mexico. He should be able to do more.

He heard the door opened and Fury showed up, looking as grim as usual. He wondered if he had nothing else to do other than checking up on Steve. Fury's presence had been almost constant after New Mexico.

"I heard your back had healed completely," Fury said, "What are you going to do now? Are you going to travel again?"

"No," Steve denied, resolute, "I think I need to fix myself."

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"Can you see her?"

Heimdall laughed and answered, "Yes."

"How is she?"

"She searches for you."

Thor smiled. He couldn't deny the joy he felt at knowing Jane felt that strongly for him, that she was looking for him. Jane was one of the blessings he had gotten during his banishment.

"How about him?"

Heimdall didn't answer, taking a pause and looked at Thor. It made Thor worried he was unable to give a definitive answer as he did for Jane. Steve was injured because of him when he left earth and that was all Thor had left for him. He wondered if Steve hadn't recovered, or if there was something wrong with him.

Heimdall looked contemplative, before finally answering Thor's question by another question, "My Lord, shall I tell you a tale of a Midgardian who was frozen in time?"

To be Continued