Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing related to Marvel, either the comics, movies, TV shows, etc. All of that belongs to the Disney Corporation (though I might try kidnapping Captain America and Hawkeye some day, just for fun).
AN: Now the fun with the Avengers movie begins! Please be mindful that, since I can't go see the film a billion times to copy it exactly, I'm going to go off of memory, YouTube videos, and my own imagination when it comes to referencing it. Still, please enjoy, and don't forget to review!
Chapter 4: Adjustments and Surprises All Around:
Under normal circumstances, getting accustomed to a new roommate takes a lot of time and patience. Unfortunately, I didn't live under 'normal circumstances.'
I'd never had a roommate in my life, and sharing a place with a childhood hero was nerve-wracking, to say the least. But once the shock and thrill had worn off, Cap and I somehow managed to slowly and gently settle in and accept each other as teacher-and-student. However, that didn't stop me from getting second thoughts about the whole situation, though my decision to stay won out.
The fact that Cap was incredibly handsome didn't help matters, at least for me –nor did the fact that he clearly wasn't thrilled about having a girl sharing the apartment with him. Cap tried, once or twice, to get me to move out on my own, but I had to be firm about my staying. It was sweet of him to think about a girl's 'reputation,' and to have such a great moral center, but he really did need to know that our kind of living situation really was acceptable these days.
Our first week together was full of the whole "testing the waters" experience, with both of us discussing our habits, food preferences, and other such things so that we didn't get on each other's nerves all the time. We also worked out a cleaning schedule, and a very rough learning syllabus.
Unfortunately, Cap still wasn't ready to eat out at restaurants yet, and since I wasn't that great of a cook, he offered to be the designated chef for three or four nights a week. I, meanwhile, was able to put together simple, pre-packaged American foods, like grilled cheese, burgers, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, that sort of thing. It was a disaster for my waistline, but during our twice-weekly grocery trips, I was able to slowly introduce healthier foods to our diet, some of which Cap seemed to enjoy. Ethnic and specialty foods were still a long way off, though.
Our lessons were rough, but we managed to pull through them. During our first week, we managed to get through the 1940's, history wise, with a nightly classic film or two before bed. As we started the 1950's, I knew that things would only get more difficult, because a lot happened after the 40's.
I was right about the change in the level of difficulty, because it wasn't until I turned on the radio in my room one night that realized I'd forgotten an important element to Cap's education: music. Music was huge in any culture, and having Cap jump right into today's music might be a bit too much for him –I rather doubted that he'd be used to so much cussing in songs.
So, once again, I had to tweak our syllabus, this time to include music. Luckily, I had taken a music history course in college –the essays I'd written for it were still in my personal computer, which had been shipped to New York. Miraculously, I actually remembered a few artists and songs that would be great to listen to during our lessons, or whenever we were eating our meals or relaxing. Plus, some of the older songs seemed close to what Cap was used to, so that made things a bit easier.
Every day I was thankful that Fury's agents had sent me my personal desktop and laptop computers, so that I could do a quick bit of research before giving Cap a lesson the next day. It made things easier on me, which in turn made things slightly easier in teaching Cap what he needed to know.
Of course, nothing was really "easy" about poor Cap's situation. Sometimes, when he was a bit frustrated over a lesson or feeling angry about his life, he disappeared to the S.H.I.E.L.D gym for a while. I had been alarmed at first, when he'd stalked out of the apartment after one of our history lessons without an explanation, but when he got back a couple hours later, hot and sweaty and fairly calm, he apologized for leaving and explained where he'd gone, and why.
"Boxing helps a bit," he'd said, after cleaning up. "I can just let everything go while hitting the punching bag, and it feels…"
"Therapeutic," I put in, giving him an understanding smile. "That's good. If it clears your mind and helps you let go of your frustrations, I think it'd be good for you to go punch something for a few hours. Lord knows everyone wants to hit something at some point in their day –why shouldn't you?"
Cap had smiled at that, and I immediately decided to add his boxing sessions into our daily schedule. It was actually a good time for the two of us to hang out together: he could punch away his worries, and I could burn some songs onto a CD, ones that had a good beat for him to punch to. It combined his "therapy session" with his music lessons, so it killed two birds with one stone. The music also seemed to cheer him up and revitalize him, too, which made it more rewarding than having him just sit and listen to a playlist.
And while he punched away, I sat and read, listening to "oldies" and the sounds of fists hitting a large leather bag full of sand, which was surprisingly therapeutic for me. The sounds of punching fists was almost an indirect way for my frustrations to just pour out, the burden on my shoulders lessening, at least a little, during that time.
Two weeks after our first meeting, things managed to settle into place. Cap grew used to me being around, both at the apartment and at the S.H.I.E.L.D gym, and even managed to relax whenever we went out for groceries. These were all small steps, but good ones, and I was proud of him. Whether he was proud of himself remained to be seen, but I silently hoped that Cap knew how much progress he was making, even if he felt he wasn't.
Eyes focused on the large punching bag in front of him, Steve hit in time to the lively jazz music playing through the 'CD player' beside Adena, who was reading a book as he worked out. He never told her, but it was kind of nice having someone around, both here and at the apartment. Here at the ring, all of his previous bout sessions had been rather lonely and too quiet, which left him too much time to think and be angry at the world. With Adena around, playing music and just being there for him, was comforting, even if she didn't say anything.
Actually, she had to be the most understanding and patient person in the world, putting up with him as she did. Steve admitted to himself that he, unlike most men, knew nothing about women, and had created all sorts of ideas and thoughts about how it would be, sharing an apartment with a young woman. He'd expected her to take things over and make the place her own, decorating it with all sort of feminine things and forcing him to make his bedroom his sanctuary. He had thought she would expect too much from him in regards to learning about the world, and that she would pinch every penny when it came to buying food and necessities while lecturing him shrilly about everything.
He had been wrong on all counts.
In reality, Adena had taken him grocery shopping and not even blinked at the outrageous prices they cost –not even during the War had items cost so much! Steve had figured that prices would change while he'd been gone, but for them to go so high still shocked him. She had even taken the time to answer his questions about food items without sounding annoyed or frustrated.
When it came to teaching, she actually sat down with him to talk about a learning strategy, as well as a vague outline for them to follow. They didn't have a set timeline or schedule, as she didn't want to rush him in his learning, so they were going at a nice, slow pace that he could keep up with, without being overwhelmed by all of the facts he was being handed.
And rather than lecture him whenever he got frustrated with his lessons, or with life in general, Adena had creatively thought of a way for him to calm down and still learn something. Steve had never thought to merge boxing and music, but it was rather relaxing, even when he was feeling on edge.
"You know, we have to add literature to your learning," Adena called from the bench she was seated on. "There are a lot of books you'll need to at least familiarize with. As soon as I get the time, I'll ask Director Fury for those library cards, so that we can take a trip there."
Rather than answer, Steve merely nodded and kept punching at the bag. Most of the time, he didn't want to pause and talk, because it interrupted his breathing and his rhythm. Tonight, he was feeling a little angrier than usual, because Adena had gently brought up them taking a shopping trip together, and that had upset him considerably.
To give her credit, Adena had very graciously put off this shopping trip for his new clothes because she knew he wasn't ready to face large crowds in a busy setting yet. He could handle their occasional trip to the grocery store well enough, but for the most part, he enjoyed the safe-haven of the apartment. She also knew that he wasn't ready to give in to the modern sense of fashion.
Of course, Steve knew they would eventually have to go clothes shopping, but that didn't stop him from feeling (rather unjustly) that she was going to try and make him into something he wasn't. He'd seen men on the streets and on television who wore stylish getups that Steve wouldn't put on for anything, and the idea of someone pressing that on him was upsetting.
'I'm a simple guy from Brooklyn,' he thought angrily. 'I don't need fancy clothes to know who I am!'
Every time Adena mentioned going shopping, he felt that she was trying to turn him into something he wasn't. Oh, he knew that she was only trying to help him fit in, but a deep part of him wanted to fight and resist the changes that had come while he'd been asleep.
His fists hit the bag with a hard, satisfying, thwack, thwack, thwack! There were so many things to remember, and part of him felt that it was almost too much to ask for him to memorize it all. That was immature of him, though; children all over this nation learned about historic events and facts in schools, so why shouldn't he be able to do the same?
'Because I'm not a child!' Steve mentally yelled, punching the bag even harder.
He was a grown man being asked to learn things all over again, in a time that wasn't his own. It was crazy, frustrating, and exhausting, and that only made him angrier at everyone and everything.
Fists flying, he hit the bag so hard that it tore off of the chain and burst, sending a stream of sand onto the floor. Looking down at his fallen 'opponent,' Steve felt his cheeks redden in embarrassment as he glanced over at Adena. She simply gave him an amused look –one of her eyebrows was raised as her mouth quirked up in a smile.
His cheeks still red, Steve picked up another punching bag from the floor and hung it up –he'd long learned to keep a row of spare bags handy for this kind of thing. Adena had been surprised that he needed so many spares, but after he'd broken a couple in front of her, she seemed to understand. He'd expected her to be afraid of him and his strength, but she'd declared that she trusted him not to hurt her. Her complete confidence in him keeping her safe was touching, and he greatly appreciated it.
"Can't sleep?" called a voice from across the room. Both Steve and Adena turned to see Director Fury walk calmly into the room.
"Cap's got a bit of frustration that he needs to work out," Adena explained, turning off the jazz music and marking her place in her book. "And it isn't that late."
The Director smiled at her before pulling out a file folder. "I'm afraid it's the Captain that I need to speak with," he said, giving her a pointed look.
Adena immediately understood. "Gotcha," she said, getting up from the bench.
"Wait," Steve blurted out, surprising even himself. "I'm sure she can be trusted with whatever it is."
Both looked at him as though they hadn't heard right, but it was Fury who spoke. "You have a point," he said. "Alright, Miss Philips; I've trusted you with this secret, I might as well trust you with another."
Steve looked at the file with suspicion. "Another way to get me out into the world?" he asked, wiping his hands on a towel.
Fury gave a small, sad smile. "Actually, I'm trying to save it."
"I cannot believe you are going to help save the world from an alien with a magic Rubix cube," Adena muttered, her eyes and fingers shifting through the file in her hands.
Steve had to hold back a laugh. She'd been saying that for the past hour, ever since they'd gotten back from the gym. In fact, she still couldn't believe that Director Fury trusted her with the file, and had been handling it very carefully ever since it had been passed into her hands. Meanwhile, Steve was just glad that she had shown him what a Rubix cube was.
The problem was simple enough: Loki, who was from a race known as the Asgard, had his sights focused on Earth, and wanted to conquer it. Since Loki now possessed a great power source which he could use to create weapons, Director Fury was compiling a team, known as The Avengers, to protect Earth by retrieving the Tesseract, which was the cube-like power source, and taking down Loki before it was too late. Fury obviously wanted Captain America to be on that team.
In the file was a list of others Fury wanted on the team as well, and he'd asked Steve and Adena to take the file and look it over carefully, so that they knew what they were getting into. "I'll send an agent by tomorrow, to see what you think," he'd said before leaving them to it.
With that, the two of them had gone back to their shared apartment to pour over the documents. The contents were a surprise even to Steve: first, there was a scientist and doctor who, due to a lab experiment gone wrong, could morph into a giant green monster whenever he got upset. Second was another alien being, who had a powerful hammer-like weapon at his disposal, and could control lightning, as well as fly. Third was someone he did not expect.
"Tony Stark?" Adena had half cried, half squealed as she read it. "As in Iron Man?"
That last one, Steve still had trouble wrapping his head around. Apparently, his old friend, Howard Stark, the man who helped make him who he was now, had finally settled down and had a son. That son was now a man who was every bit as bright as his father.
'He's also probably just as popular with women,' Steve thought with a frown as he pulled a Coke from the refrigerator. He still couldn't forget Howard flirting with Peggy as they'd flown into Germany on Steve's first rescue effort. Peggy hadn't reciprocated, but the memory still annoyed Steve to no end.
Now he was going to have to work with the younger Stark. It seemed that there was no way to escape that family, no matter what decade Steve was in.
"I still can't believe this," Adena muttered as Steve took a seat beside her. "I'm actually handling a top-secret government file that has to do with saving the world from alien invasion. Seriously, it's like I'm living every science fiction fan's dream!"
He reached out and pulled the file from her hands as he asked, "And what do you think about the whole thing?"
She took a deep breath and sat back. "To be honest, I think it's crazy that this is actually happening, but since Director Fury isn't the type to play jokes on people, I believe this is real. And this Avenger thing might work. You'll probably need a good two or three other people in your group, but if you've got brains, brawn, and a guy with a billion weapons and gadgets in his metal flight suit, I think Earth might stand a chance."
Steve smiled. "Which one does that make me? Brawn?"
Adena gave a small laugh, and smacked him gently on the arm. "Silly, you've got both brains and brawn. Most important, you've got experience –you fought in one of the most horrible wars the world has ever known. I think you could offer a lot of wisdom and perspective when it comes to this fight."
He couldn't help it; he blushed. It was a nice thing for her to say, and he was touched at the belief she had in him. How did she manage to give his confidence a lift every time it got so low? She'd done it in regards to his lessons, but now she was helping him when it came to a world crisis.
"Now, the question I have is what Director Fury wants me to do while you're off with these other incredible people," she said, closing the file folder.
That, he hadn't considered. Steve supposed that Adena could stay here, safe and away from danger, but if the fate of the entire world was at stake, did he want her left unprotected and alone? If she stayed with him, he could keep her safe, but that would be up to the Director.
He looked over and saw her yawn hugely. She caught him looking and blushed. "Sorry. I guess I'm worn out. We can talk about this tomorrow morning, once we're rested."
"You're right," Steve agreed. "I'll see you early tomorrow."
Adena wrinkled her nose at him as she headed for her room. "Wonderful. My two least favorite words: early tomorrow." He bit back a laugh as she closed her door behind her.
After discovering that the world was probably going to end within a week or so, I obviously didn't get much sleep. That kind of thing tends to weigh heavily on the brain, and keeps a person up all night.
Thoughts and worries pulled at me, and always there was a conflict between my brain and my heart. My emotional and sentimental half begged for me to call family, friends, and other loved ones to warn them that the end of the world was coming. I wanted so badly to go spend my last moments with those I cared about, and pray that we all survived whatever was coming.
Obviously, my sensible side knew doing any of that would be a bad idea. I didn't want to cause panic, and part of me reasoned that if Captain America and a bunch of superheroes were going to be fighting for Earth, then there was a chance that they would win, and Earth would be safe. Besides, I doubted that Director Fury would let me put the word out there about an invasion.
Finally, after tossing and turning for hours, I managed to get a bit of sleep, but not much. I felt like crap, and probably looked it, though I didn't dare look at my reflection in the mirror, for fear of breaking it. Instead, I merely washed up, dressed, gathered up my self-control, and began my day.
When I set foot in the kitchen, I noticed that Cap looked troubled, but pretty well-rested for a guy who was being called on to save the world. Then again, after all of the missions he'd been on during WWII, he was probably used to this sort of thing.
Somehow, in my sleep-deprived haze, I managed to choke down some scrambled eggs, bacon, and a glass of milk. I wasn't a coffee drinker, but given how exhausted I felt, I was seriously considering buying some when a loud, authoritative knock sounded on the door.
Cap rushed to open it, and in walked an agent with a surprisingly kind face. "Sir, Miss, I'm Agent Coulson. Director Fury sent me to fetch you. I'm afraid we need to go, now. There's a car parked out front –it will take the three of us to an airfield where an aircraft is waiting to transport us to our destination."
I stared at him in surprise and confusion. "Wait, what? You want me to go along with him? Wouldn't I be safer away from all of the action?"
Agent Coulson shook his head. "Director Fury feels that you will be safer where we're going, at least for right now. We don't know what Loki's plan is, but being surrounded by some of the best agents and fighters in the world is going to be your best bet, at least until the Director says otherwise."
"Or it could make for an interesting bit of target practice for the bad guys," I retorted. "I mean, wouldn't that be the first place evil people hit: a base belonging to the good guys?"
For a second, I thought that Agent Coulson looked amused, but it was overpowered by exasperation. "Director Fury thought you might say that. So, he also says that you are going to travel along with Captain America here, because he doesn't want him getting rusty when it comes to learning what he has to about modern life. How does that sound?"
Not wanting to be shot for being stubborn and stupid, I nodded in agreement. "Good point. Do I have time to grab some things?"
"Only what you can carry on your back," he replied. "And do it quickly."
For the second time in a month, I grabbed my purse, which was practically a survival kit. I had way too much crap in there, but at least I was prepared for an emergency like this one –fruit bars, a small bottle of water, band-aids, sanitizer for the hands, a Swiss pocket knife, and a dozen or so other things sat in the large leather satchel that was my handbag. Some items had always been in there, but others were recent additions, as I tended to want to be prepared.
Also into my bag when a couple spare sets of clothes, and the tablet and its power cord, as well as a backup battery, just in case. My bag now weighed heavily on my shoulder, but at least I was prepared. Cap seemed to think I was insane for lugging all this around, but I ignored him in favor of following Coulson out the door, while Cap locked up.
Things were silent in the car, with me seated between Agent Coulson and Cap all the way to the airport. My brain kept going over the fact that I was unwillingly going to a top secret location, where a bunch of superheroes would be gathering to save the world from alien invasion. Even with some of the most gifted fighters around me, I couldn't help but feel that just being in such a place was like drawing a huge target on my back and waiting for the bad guys to shoot me.
'I want out of this!' I repeatedly screamed inside my head as we pulled up to the airstrip, which was out in the middle of nowhere. Somehow, I rather doubted escape was possible, not when I could be taken down if I tried to make a break for it.
"Well, on we go," Agent Coulson said, nodding towards the black aircraft nearby as we slid out of the car. "Shall we?"
I suppose I should have known better: when it comes to secret government air travel, never expect the commercial-grade stuff. Instead of a regular plane, we had a wicked-looking aircraft that looked like it belonged in an action movie or spy video game. Subtle, it was not.
Cap very gentlemanly handed me up the ramp, into the craft and took a seat beside me, the two of us buckling in as Agent Coulson gave the order to take off.
AN: Let the adventure begin! Please review!