Chapter 3

To Bismarck, Steve was either a really old-fashioned guy, or he was straight from an era before computers. Since he was only in his twenties, however, she thought that the latter was impossible. Still, it did not explain how he could not operate basic computers. Case in point, the self-serve kiosk where they bought tickets to enter the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum was a very clear example of this. She watched as Steve fumbled his way around the touchscreen, trusting him when he said 'I got this'. That was ten minutes ago, however, and Bismarck finally decided to step in.

"Steve, may I?"

Defeated, he stepped aside for Bismarck to operate Kiosk. Within thirty seconds, she had two tickets printed out for the two. The level of technology in the world in her old world was comparable to the most advanced technology in this world. Though holograms were becoming more commonplace due to Stark Industries, they were already commonplace in Ironblood and beyond last she remembered. The 1940s in her original world were more advanced than the 2010s of this world, which was something she found interesting. Without Siren intervention, would that have been Humanity's proper technological development?

There was also that 'Iron Man' to consider, his suit reminded her greatly of some Eagle Union riggings, but she was sure that his suit could not output the same amount of firepower. She had no reason to ever use her rigging, let alone have her ship self displayed out, so it was a moot point to consider.

After handing him a ticket, Steve looked absolutely embarrassed, his initiative to become the 'cool Uncle' had backfired completely. Some people were just naturally more…disinclined towards technology, however, so Bismarck thought nothing of it. Going through the gate, the two proceeded up a ramp, and onto Intrepid's flight deck.

Steve had to admit, even though he was technically older and more responsible, it seemed like Bianka was the one taking care of him more than anything else. Not just in terms of technology, but she also helped him with understanding why things had changed. Though the technology bit was still very much a weakness of his, to this day he always gingerly held his SHIELD-provided laptop because of how easy to break he thought it was. Even though SHIELD assured him that it was a military-grade laptop, and would not be easily destroyed. He only used it for watching past films he was part of during the war.

As they were walking around Intrepid's flight deck, he did see familiar things. Yes, he was part of the Army and usually fought on land for most of the war, but he did do shows for Navy personnel as well. Though the Navy's largest battles were mostly in the pacific, as a result of that, he had limited interaction with them at best. Seeing various propeller planes from his time brought back a wave of familiar memories though, and he was glad Bianka decided to come here.

His senses were as sharp as ever though, and he often noticed Bianka's face twitching in what he presumed was annoyance while turning away. Whenever she did so, Steve tried to find the source of her troubles but found absolutely nothing. No one was near Bianka nor should there have been anything that annoyed her, so why was she making those expressions?

"Uncle Rogers." She called out to him.

"We should head down to the main hangars now." Steve agreed, following along with her. Though her twitching now turned into barely restrained scowling as they walked down into the hangar area. What was going on with her?

"Are you…? Or are you not…I can't really tell…?"

Walking below deck on Intrepid, Bismarck tried her best to ignore the Kansen spirit before her. She did not expect to encounter her immediately after boarding the ship, however, but so far she has latched onto Bismarck and Steve like a scientist observing a new phenomenon. She must have sensed that Bismarck was a Kansen, at least in another form, but with Steve right now, she couldn't exactly talk to her. Lest he thought that she was crazy for seemingly talking to no one.

"You feel like one of us, but you're also human…Argh! I can't tell! I wish Shangri-La was here, she'd know what you were…"

As the two were looking at the various exhibits on Intrepid, Bismarck's vision was often completely obstructed by Intrepid, her twin tails flailing every time she moved around annoyed her to no end. The worst part was when she tried to read inscriptions of various exhibits, her view would be completely obstructed by her face as she tried to take a closer look at her.

Enough.

She needed to do something about this.

"Uncle Rogers, I need to go to the washroom. Wait for me here."

Steve nodded, oblivious to what Bismarck is going to do. "Alright, I'll hang around here, take your time."

As she expected, Intrepid followed Bismarck, and as she rounded a corner, she found a supply room that was unlocked. Going inside after checking no one was in the corridor, Intrepid began shouting at her.

"Hey! This isn't the Bathroom, what the hell are you doing-"

"Gott verdammt, I can see you Intrepid!"

Intrepid was stunned, as Bismarck looked at the Eagle Union Carrier directly in the eyes. Before the Battleship could speak, Intrepid was instantly in front of Bismarck, and despite her smaller height than the Iron Blood Battleship, she still managed to make Bismarck stand back from the sheer intensity of her gaze.

"You can see me?!"

Bismarck nodded tiredly, having spent at least the past forty-five minutes trying her best to ignore Intrepid. "Yes. Like you, I am a Kansen-"

"YES! I HAVE SOMEONE ELSE TO TALK TO NOW! I DON'T HAVE TO ONLY TALK TO GROWLER ANYMORE!"

"Intrepid, stop-"

"But how are you a human?! I get the feeling that you're one of us, but I don't recognize you at all, who are you?!"

"Bismarck."

Intrepid suddenly froze, her excited face frozen as she looked at the Battleship with confusion. "Come again?"

"I am Bismarck, namesake Battleship of my class, and leader of the Ironblood."

Intrepid's excitement quickly turned into confusion, as she scanned Bismarck thoroughly with her eyes.

"But…Bismarck sank in 41', I'm not too sure how we Kansen work, but we should not be able to come back after being sunk…Wait, what's Ironblood?"

Intrepid's question confirmed something to Bismarck at least. She made herself comfortable, as her explanation to the confused carrier would probably take a while. Hopefully, Steve wouldn't mind waiting a bit longer.

"Waaaaaaaiiiit! Don't leave me just yet! Come on! We can talk about other things too!"

Walking down the ramp leading back onto the pier, Bismarck again, ignored Intrepid's pleading wails behind her. Not that she didn't want to stay, but rather it was the Museum's closing time, and Steve was still waiting for her. She and Intrepid used every moment they could to talk and share information on what they knew about this world, but from what Bismarck got from the Carrier, she really was the only one of her kind in this world.

Really though, what was she wailing about? Bismarck promised to come back another day, but that didn't stop the Carrier from continuing her cries for her to come back.

Steve spoke up next to her, asking about the day's events. "Honestly, I didn't know you had such an interest in Navy stuff, I learned a lot from you today."

As the two went through the various exhibits both inside and outside Intrepid, Bismarck pointed out various things regarding them. Such as how escorts worked or the issues that engines had both in cruising and in regular function. Left unsaid was that those issues are not really applicable to Kansen. Why would they need a tugboat to bring them into port when they could just shift into rigging form and sail into them? If their ship needed repairs they could just manifest their hull in a drydock, saving valuable time and resources.

"I only have a passing interest, it's not too impressive."

He raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing her words. "It doesn't seem just like a passing interest to me, you knew those things by heart, and that's a good thing. Everyone needs some hobbies they enjoy."

Hobbies that she enjoyed? Did he think that those were her hobbies? Bismarck could go with that since she had zero desire to let him know about her true background.

"Really? Then what are your hobbies, you must have some too, yes?"

Steve nodded, before taking out a piece of paper from his pocket. Opening it up, he showed it to Bismarck. It was a sketch of Intrepid's flight deck, with all of the exhibits missing from it. Perhaps that would have been what her empty flight deck looked like during her operational phase.

"You draw, Steve?"

He chuckled, having expected this reaction from her. "Yep, majored in Art before I joined the Army. It's something that helps me take my mind off, you know?"

"It's good, you should keep doing it. This world could use more artists."

Steve raised an eyebrow. "You think that's what I should do?"

From the sketch she saw, it was definitely well done, and Steve had an eye for making detailed works even if the original scene was altered like Intrepid's deck was. "If you want, I'm sure you could become an accomplished artist, do you have any other pieces?"

"I've got a sketch pad filled with various sights in Brooklyn back at my place, I them to you sometime if you'd like."

That was acceptable to Bismarck, from what she remembered Philson saying, Steve had trouble acclimating to what he wanted to do since leaving the Army. This was a step in the right direction, they weren't 'close' by any means, but if she could help him find purpose, then that was fine with her.

AN:

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