Going down to the Batcave as everyone seemed to call the Batman's headquarters was some sort of mystical experience for Steve. In the packed elevator full of very elegant people he felt quite out of place. He and Lois were the only ones without a secret super identity and not only he was a fish out of water in that century, he felt like a complete nobody among those… gods. He had read a lot about them both through internet and more conventional means and yes, he felt like a complete no one, like he meant nothing in the world. Everyone around him seemed so concentrated on the task ahead, they weren't really paying attention to his sudden jittery demeanor.
But when the doors of the elevator opened, boy that was a sight to behold. Every wall was lined with racks that held any kind of gadget and weapons he could have imagined, all clean and shiny. A soldier's dream come true.
"So, what do we do?" He heard Diana say as she took her dress off to reveal her armor beneath.
"If you give me a moment to get changed, I'll log into their CC system and…"
"I can do that!" Lois interrupted him and slipped in a chair in front of a massive screen. Steve noticed she operated the keyboard with ease and even saw Diana make an impressed face as she snapped her gauntless around her wrists.
"Uh, alright…" Bruce seemed a little uncertain but pressed a hand on a sleek panel on the wall and beside it slid open to reveal a hidden compartment that contained his costume. "Just give me a moment." And he disappeared inside it to get changed.
The small crowd of superheroes then gathered around the computer as Lois finally managed, through whatever system Bruce Wayne used to obtain access to a bank private security system, and they started discussing what would be the best way to get in, neutralize the robbers and save the hostages, minimizing damage to the structures. Everyone seemed to have a different idea on how to proceed and everyone seemed to prefer a different approach that, one way or another, clashed with the idea someone else had.
Steve chuckled, as he inspected what looked like a heavily modified M1A1 carbine, the latest standard equipment for the US army. If only we had something even remotely similar to this back in the day… he muttered to himself as he tested how it felt in his hands. It was equipped with a red dot sight, he recalled from the Wikipedia page he had casually skimmed through just the other day, and a telescopic stock that felt really good against his shoulder. Even the trigger required the right amount of force to be pulled. Truly a work of craftsmanship, in his humble opinion. Sure, it was the opinion of a man used to stuff that wasn't only outdated, it looked jurassic compared to the weapons of this millennium.
He kept perusing Bruce Wayne's armory, but behind him, the discussion had become more heated than useful. Time to intervene.
"Guys!" he yelled, to be sure he would be heard above their voices, that promptly fell silent. "It's a bank robbery, not an intergalactic invader from outer space! Don't overthink it, analyze the battleground and come up with a strategy, come on! Yelling won't get you anywhere."
Beneath the heavy cowl, he saw Bruce throwing him a killer glare. "What do you suggest?"
He walked closer to them and took a cursory look at the planimetry of the bank. "Do we know how many people are in there?"
"At least forty," said Arthur. "Ten hostages and we counted thirty robbers. They're going in for the big prize."
"The caveau? So I guess most of them are technicians of some kind, or engineers. How's the economy doing?"
"Not good," replied Lois.
"I'm ready to bet most of them are just desperate men trying to survive in a harsh world and they turned to desperate measures to do so. The moment the boss is out of the picture, be him dead or subdued in any way, they would scatter around trying to save their hides. Barry, how fast can you get there?"
"Way less time than it would take you guys."
"Then you're the perfect lookout. Could you please go ahead and give us your impression of the situation?"
The young man smiled. "I'll be in touch!"
He disappeared in a flash of bright light and static energy that made his hair stand up in the back of his neck. "With this done… let me see… is this your guy?" He pointed at the screen at a man with a sleek black mask, dressed in a striped suit and dark shirt.
Bruce nodded. "Yes, that's him. Roman Sionis, heir of the Sionis industrial empire turned criminal kingpin of Gotham. He goes around by the name of Black Mask."
Steve chuckled. "Why doesn't that surprise me? Anyway, he seems nervous. It could be tough to take by surprise, he's hypervigilant. Arthur, Mera… can you control water inside plumbing?"
They looked at each other with a knowing smile, then at him. "Of course we can!"
"Then you can blow them up, cause a distraction and fill the room with steam. This should give enough time to Diana, Bruce and Clark to burst inside and deal with them. What do you think? In and out in thirty seconds, we're back in less than an hour."
Everyone looked at him as if they had seen a ghost, except Diana, she just beamed in his direction. "How did you do that?" asked Lois. "Come up with a sound strategy like this, in… no time at all?"
"During a war you either learn to improvise or you die, especially if you're a spy. But really, what do you think? Could this work?"
Clark nodded. "I like the plan."
"Seems doable," added Arthur.
"And it's versatile. If anything happens, we have solid bases to come up with something new on the spot," stated Diana, wrapping a hand around his arm. "Bruce?"
He sighed, but nodded. "Alright, it's a sound plan. Diana, Clark, go up ahead. Arthur, Mera and I will come with the car and…"
"Wait, what about me?" asked Steve. "I can help!"
"With all the due respect Captain, you're not…"
"With all the due respect Mister Wayne," he nearly roared. "I'm a soldier and I work great under pressure, and believe it or not, I know those buildings, they were built when I was young, I watched them rise, I know how they're built. I can be an asset! Ask Diana!"
Bruce shook his head before she could speak. "Alright, alright, but you need to change. That's too expensive for something like this. Come with me, we don't have much time. Diana, Clark, go ahead. We'll be there in a few minutes."
Diana kissed Steve. "Be careful, alright?"
"Of course Angel. You too, please."
The two moved towards the elevator and everyone then looked at him. "I guess I need to borrow some clothes?" he asked and Bruce nodded.
"Body armor and weapons too. That one is modified to shoot rubber bullets, they hurt a lot but don't kill. You think you can use it properly?"
Steve looked at the gun in his hands then back at Bruce. "It's a gun. We had semiautomatic rifles even in my time. These are just… smaller?"
"And more efficient. Come on, let's get going before Sionis snaps and kills someone. Mera, Lois, are you two coming?"
They both shook their heads. "No, I'd prefer to stay here," said Arthur's wife. "You guys might need some help from the base."
"Yeah, well… let's go, alright?"
When they finally reached Gotham Central Bank it was a mess of police officers, cars, flashing lights and boots stomping on the pavement. Batman led Aquaman and Steve, now dressed in full tactical gear, to a nearby roof where Flash, Superman and Wonder Woman stationed, discussing the correct approach to the situation.
I really hope they don't start bickering again… he thought as he reached for the thermal goggles, a special high tech gadget that allowed him to see the heat radiating from the robbers bodies instead of the robbers themselves. He might not have superpowers, but he was still a soldier down to his marrow, his mind was attuned to a certain type of thoughts and to him, this didn't look any different than crossing No Man's Land. It wasn't a trench, it was a building, but the idea was the same. Go from point A to point B, minimize casualties, save hostages, stop criminals. Heck, the save hostages, stop criminals was new to him, but nothing he couldn't adapt to.
"Uh, JL, it looks like these guys are quite ahead with their plans, more than we had thought."
"What do you mean?" asked Aquaman. He was the only one that hadn't changed as he wasn't going to get inside the building, but would provide some steamy support from outside.
"It means that they're about to reach the caveau, get to the money and go away. And maybe kill the hostages sometime in the middle," replied Superman. "We need to hurry, before something goes wrong."
"Captain," called Batman. "Any idea?"
"Yes. Flash, you enter from the front door. The hostages are concentrated there, I guess to keep the police from bursting in. Can you take care of five armed… oh come on of course you can you travel through time!" He answered his own question. Superman, back door then downstairs. Stop the people working on the safe. Diana and I can take care of the rest, on the first floor. Batman, Black Mask is all yours, second floor. All by himself."
Flash sat beside him on the edge of the roof. "Dude, you come from 1918, when did you learn all this stuff? This is military grade strategy, stuff soldiers learn now, not in your days."
Now, that was a good question. How did he learn all that stuff? Sure, he had training, but strategy was minimal in his course, he had learned way more on the field, improvising when in dire need or taking his time to analyze the situation when he did have a moment to sit down and think about it. But this? This was way out of his league. "You know Barry? I have no idea, but in the last few days so much crazy shit happened that I'm willing to accept that along with immortality Diana's family provided me with something more. Just… trust me, it's a sound plan. Way better than whatever I came up with in Belgium."
Diana chuckled, behind him. "I vouch for that."
"Shall we go then?" said Arthur. "Tell me when you need some fog."
Steve dropped the goggles and prepared the rappel gear, strapped to the harness around his waist and thighs. Thanks to one of Batman's great devices, he shoot a gas-propelled grappling hook into the stone edge of the GCB building. "Whenever you're ready!"
"Hey, Steve," called Diana. "Be careful."
"Always, Angel. Let's go kick some butt!"
As he had predicted, it was over very quickly. The moment the bank was filled with hot steam from the plumbing that Arthur, with extreme ease and efficiency, made burst by surging it with very hot water, the first mundane outing of the Justice League started. The robbers didn't even know what had hit them. Without superpowers or hyper technological suits and acrobatic skills, Steve did his part the best he could. He wasn't someone who could just sit by and watch as people did the hard work, he liked to get his hands dirty. He wouldn't have volunteered to become a spy, in addition to his already flying - literally - career as a pilot. He didn't need it, but it was the right thing to do.
And in that moment, getting down in the battlefield, albeit a very different one, was the right thing to do. But there was something, nagging him a little bit.
Liar, murderer and smuggler, that's how Diana had called him. Strategist had never come up, when describing him. Sure, he could come up with good plans from time to time, he had nearly no formal training, just a lot of direct experience gained on the field, what the hell was he thinking, imposing himself over a band of super-fucking-heroes? A wreck from another century?
Well, the wreck from another century that night turned out to be a great strategist. With the thick steam acting as a smoke screen, both metahumans and justhumans burst in the bank from their appointed positions and kick some butt they did.
Bursting through a window on the first floor, Steve and Diana swiftly dealt with the goons in no time. Working in tandem just as they had done in Veld, they got rid of Sionis' thugs, Diana with her lasso and Steve with the non-lethal rifle, they fell like a house of cards in a hurricane. His heart beat fast and loud as a drum in his chest and his breath caught in his throat every time she saw her, elegant and lethal at the same time, the fierce Amazon Princess fighting for those who couldn't fight. Nothing had changed, she was still as inspiring as she was one hundred years before, thought it had been just more than two weeks for him. No, scratch that, she was more, of everything. More inspiring, fiercer even more gorgeous. Was that possible? He had no idea, but damn if she didn't look sexy as fuck when she threw her lasso around a goon's midsection and pulled on it so hard he landed face first on the marble at her feet with a thud and groan.
He had to mentally slap himself because it wasn't only his mind that was going down the gutter, it was his whole body!
When the steam cleared out, they found themselves surrounded by unconscious people. "Steve, the zip ties!" she urged him.
"The zip wh…" Then he remembered those plastic strips Batman had thrust in a side pocket of his pants. "Oh, yes… those things." He switched the safety of the rifle on and dropped it, let it hang from his side with the shoulder strap - nice invention that one - and then proceeded to cuff the thugs with the plastic ties while Diana took care of their weapons. Above and beneath them they could hear the sound of the battles raging, with Superman taking care of those trying to reach the money in the caveau, Flash saving the hostages and Batman beating the crap out of Sionis upstairs, but it was a short lived fight. Soon, the bank fell silent.
"Are we done?" asked Steve when they couldn't hear anything more than the groans of the goons they had just disposed.
Diana nodded. "I guess we are. Shall we go?"
"Sure, I need a ride though!"
She chuckled, and he felt his heart lurch in his chest when he caught her biting her lower lip as she walked towards him. "Come on GI Joe, let's get out of here."
As predicted, in and out in thirty seconds, back at the gala in less than an hour. The best of Gotham and Metropolis high society didn't even notice they were gone, when they returned to Wayne Manor, ready to mingle and help Bruce raise as much money he could to help rebuild the city after they had partially demolished it battling Steppenwolf.
Strange enough, after their escapade at Gotham Central Bank, Steve felt better, more confident, suddenly thrown into his element again even if only for a brief moment, that he stopped hiding behind Diana's charm and quick wit to handle conversations, he started actually talking to people. Her constant presence at his side spurned him on, and it turned out he could actually hold a conversation with people not aware of his special condition of a time traveler and not sound like a total fool.
"Having fun?" asked Arthur a little bit after midnight, presenting him another chalice of champagne.
Steve shrugged and accepted the wine. "It's better than the last gala I attended. No mass murderers ready to poison a village just to showcase his new weapon to his peers."
The huge man nodded. "Yes, Diana told us about… General Luden… Ludendorff, was it? Well, no one died tonight. That's a plus. I wish they served some beer though. It's more up my alley."
"Oh I don't mind too much. Food was great though, I have to admit it."
"Absolutely. I mean, Bruce Wayne knows how to throw a posh party when he wants to. I thought he was just a vain, rich, stuck-up son of a bitch before I met him, but it turns out he can actually be a nice person, when he wants to. He just needs to warm up to you."
Uhm, even Aquaman looked like a nice man, one he could be friends with. "He was nice to me, when I popped up here. He even got me IDs and inserted me in your systems, like I've always been here. We're waiting for my passport so I can fly to France with Diana."
"Well, good for you. Uhm… one day or another I'll have to take Mera there."
"I've seen it only during the war, but if it's only half as beautiful as it was back then, I'm sure she'll love it."
They ended up discussing how many wreckages of submarines, ships and planes from the Great War now rested on the bottom of oceans and seas.
In the end, the night went way better than expected. Steve made some friends, found out he could socialize even though he came from another century, from a time when people acted completely different from now. Two weeks in since his arrival in 2017 and everything felt like a dream. Not only he wasn't dead, and he still had to shake that dreadful feeling off his back as it came back to him to cut his breath short, from time to time, but he was with Diana, they had all the time he had ever wished they could have back then and her friends were just as awesome as she was, each one in their own peculiar way.
He and Arthur were talking about Hawaii and the fact the islands had become part of the United States long after his "death" when Bruce Wayne approached them. "Arthur, could you excuse us for a moment? I need to talk to Steve for a moment."
"Sure thing. Have fun, you two!"
Bruce straightened up in his suit. "How are you holding up?"
"All good. Enjoying the company and the wine" he replied.
Bruce nodded. "Good. Listen… about tonight, I have to tell you I really appreciated what you did. We're almost out of practice, chasing standard criminals, we were all thinking like we were against some kind of alien."
"So I noticed. I'm glad I could help."
"Great. Now… about that, I think I have a job for you."