Steve didn't know where to look first. There were bright colorful screens everywhere and… cars?, everywhere. Rogers stood frozen in the middle of the street with towering skyscrapers closing him in… but how? His mind raced with billions of questions… This couldn't be real… was this heaven? Was this the future? He died though!

Things that he didn't recognize were advertised all around him: Samsung, Baskin Robins, American Eagle… Steve wondered if that had to do with the army.

"At ease, soldier." A firm voice came from behind Rogers. His brow creased and his mouth open in shock, Steve turned to see a man that looked like he stepped out of a fantasy book. He was a tall black man without hair… and a second eye for that matter. He wore a black eye patch that matched his black clothing and overcoat. Steve didn't know whether to think this man was an enemy or a friend… he was sure of one thing though, he couldn't trust anyone.

"Look, I'm sorry about that little show back there…" the man started out in a smooth voice. Steve just stared at him with the same expression, still breathing heavily from his run. "We thought it best to…" the man paused. "…break it to you slowly."

Steve didn't even know if he could find his voice, but it came out sounding much more confident than he felt.

"Break what?" he asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. The man looked at him without expression.

"You've been asleep, Captain. For almost 70 years."

Steve tried to register the words but he just couldn't. His breathing became labored as his face scrunched up in confusion. It couldn't be… it's not possible. He looked around at the tons of people milling around the busy streets. It sure looked like the future.

"You going to be okay?" the man asked. Steve continued looking around. There was absolutely no shortage of things to see. He had to remember who he was, though. He couldn't falter in his bravery now.

"Yeah, yeah…" he mumbled. "It's just…" Steve paused as he realized the situation he was in. He was alive 70 years later somehow… there was no way that his friends could've been the same. Peggy… he missed out on a whole lifetime with her. Steve swallowed the lump in his throat as he told himself that he had to say goodbye to everything he once knew.

"I had a date…" he managed to choke out. Suddenly he didn't want to be there at all. He wanted to go back to Peggy and to the times where the overwhelming amount of lights and commotion didn't exist and make his head hurt. He wanted to see the general, his team, his Peggy… and now it was all lost. He'd have to start a new.

"I'm sure this is all very overwhelming. Could I interest you into coming back to headquarters so I can explain?" The man asked, obviously trying not to scare Rogers off. This made Steve turn to look at the man. He eyed him for a while. What made him think he could trust this man? He'd come too far just to be walking into the hands of the enemy once again… was there even an enemy anymore?

"I'm Director Nicholas Fury of SHIELD." The man said as if he knew Rogers was trying to get a read on him. "Strategic Homeland Intervention Enrichment Logistics Division, originally founded by lots of good people, including none other than Peggy Carters and Howard Stark themselves after we won the war." Nick informed him. Steve took a deep breath. So they had won… so far that was the only good news he was hearing.

"Alright…" Steve muttered. He didn't know what it was, but his instincts trusted this Fury guy… Plus he knew Stark and Peggy. Steve didn't know how he kept on going like he wasn't freaking out… it just wasn't registering with him. How are you supposed to get used to the fact that you crashed and woke up 70 years later… at the same age…

Steve looked down at his arms and hands to make sure there weren't wrinkles that weren't there before… negative. So he would have another chance to start life over again in a new world… Steve wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing yet. Either way, he walked side by side to Director Fury back to the big building that Fury called the headquarters.

~X~

Steve opened the door to what was now his own apartment. It had taken three hours to just cover the basis of what had happened and what will happen to Rogers from there on out. Fury had explained how his body was preserved, how they'd won the war, what SHIELD was, and how Rogers was most welcome and highly advised to join. They'd help him with living arrangements and other necessities.

His apartment was nice but simple… Steve didn't mind that. The flashiness of the streets were too much for him at this point. Every few steps he took he ran into some foreign contraption that he'd never even imagined before. The cars were so different, so strange looking. The people walked the streets in a hurry like zombies that didn't have regard for anyone around them. Everything was so… different.

Steve noticed folders on the counter in his kitchen. They were brown paper folders… the same type they had used back when he was in the army. It even had the same logo on the front. Rogers set his new bag of assorted items down on the ground and moved towards the folder, curious as to what would be so important to give him from the past. He looked inside and realized what they were instantly.

Peggy's face stared up at him with the same smirk that he loved. She was exactly as he remembered her… strong, beautiful, and confident. Steve ran his fingers over the surface of her file to a big stamp in red letters. RETIRED it said. So she was alive! Peggy was still alive! Steve wasn't completely alone!

Roger's eyes flickered over to where the strange looking phone sat on his counter but then stopped… he couldn't just run to Peggy and say that he wasn't dead after all… maybe she already knew… either way he couldn't expect things ever to be the same. She'd lived a life without him, and he was proud. She had founded what seemed like a good organization and continued to protect the innocent… Steve shouldn't interfere in her life with the past… it'd be better if he kept to himself.

Rogers sighed and flipped through the pages. Everyone else from his old team seemed to be dead. Under Howard there was a picture of a man who had an unmistakable resemblance… so he had had a son… Anthony was his name. Steve chuckled to think of a mini Howard… he wondered how that turned out.

Closing the file, Steve sat back into his chair and looked out the window. He needed to take a walk… there was a whole new world out there… maybe he should explore and start anew… he would dedicate himself to protect people just like Peggy. Steve took a deep breath and stood up. He wouldn't let this be the end of him, instead the beginning.