The Playground

"Hey guys. Welcome to The Playground."

Steve and Tony looked at each other amazed. Phil Coulson was dead. They both knew that. Loki had killed him in the Battle of New York. So, how was he standing before them right now?

"This is what you wanted to show me? Come on Tony, this is taking your tech a little too far."

"Excuse me. I'm just as shocked as you are. This isn't on me, and it's not what I called you for." Tony jabbed back.

"Fellas, I know this is all a little strange, but let's be real here. It's SHIELD. It's always weird." Coulson spoke up to put the growing argument to rest.

Steve walked over to Coulson and shook his hand with a little extra force. "It's good to see you again. I'm glad that you're still amongst the living."

"Yeah, how exactly did that happen? I'm nowhere near this this level of tech." Tony was still amazed to see Coulson before him.

"Long story. Probably best to save it for another time. Right now, we have pressing matters for Captain Rogers." Coulson turned to start walking into the base, with Steve and Tony right on his heels. Coulson tapped his lanyard to the access screen, admitting him in, and opening the steel doors that separated the hangar from the inside of the base.

Once inside, Steve felt like he had stepped back in time. Everything about the base screamed Peggy, not to mention, there were still SSR symbols painted onto the walls.

"Remind me to get you guys some lanyards, Agent Koenig won't be too thrilled I didn't already tell him I needed two more. But I think he will make an exception for you two." Coulson turned around to see Tony at his side but Steve still looking around.

"Captain Rogers? Everything alright?"

"Yeah, I feel like I stepped back in time when I came through that door. Where are we, exactly?"

"This is The Playground. A classified SHIELD location, which was once occupied by the SSR, if you couldn't tell. When SHIELD fell, we needed a place to regroup. Rebuild. So, we who were left came here."

"And did she…" Steve's question trailed off as he caught glimpse of the SSR eagle on the wall opposite of him.

"Yes. Agent Carter oversaw the construction of this location in 1949." Coulson didn't want to bring up Peggy too much, but Steve had a right to know about this facility he was in.

By now, the other agents passing by in the corridors had started to notice that Iron Man and Captain America were standing in the entrance to the facility. Whispers and staring were starting to grow, and luckily, Jemma showed up at the right time.

"Captain Rogers, if you could, would you mind following Agent Coulson and myself to the Director's office?" Jemma could clearly diffuse a situation before it even turned into one.

"Huh? Oh yeah, of course. Lead the way ma'am." Steve followed Coulson and Simmons with Tony close by, but not before he was distracted by the lab.

The Director was luckily out of the office, on business in Washington, so Coulson commandeered the office that was once his. Leo Fitz joined them as well.

"Well Captain, I'm sure you're wondering why you're here." Coulson started, Steve began to brace himself for a presentation.

"If you're going to tell me Fury is alive, no need, I already know that." Steve sat back in his chair and crossed a leg over the other. "I am curious as to why Tony is here though."

"We thought that Mr. Stark would benefit from this as well, and he offered to make contact with you." Steve looked to Tony, but was not met with a look back from him.

It was Fitz's turn to speak up. "As you know, there are what we now know them as, Infinity Stones. With the mind stone already located with Vision, the location and the use of the other stones are a mystery to us. Until recently."

Steve sat forwards, wondering what on earth this man was saying to him.

"Recently, we believe that a time stone was used. Severing the time space continuum, and making a slight adjustment to our present day. We have seen travel through different dimensions before, and even from other planets, however I have never seen anything like this, and it's definitely thrown me." Fitz was beginning to ramble, losing Steve in patches along the way, but Tony was of course nodding along, understanding everything.

Simmons stepped in, placing her hand on Fitz's arm, calming him down. Steve definitely noticed that.

"What Dr. Fitz is trying to say, is that we essentially have a time traveler on our base."

"Told ya. SHIELD is weird." Coulson chimed in from his seat.

Steve sat back, still waiting to see why exactly he was needed in this situation. He took a sip of the water from the glass in his hand. "So why exactly are you telling me this? I'm not the scientist here, that's Tony's department."

Looks between the three agents were shared. Unsure of who should speak first, Coulson decided that the news should probably come from him. He sat forward on his chair, and turned to Steve.

"Cap. We brought you in on this, because you need to see this. We need you to verify that who we have, is who we actually think it is." Coulson spoke very slowly, while Fitz and Simmons looked on.

"What the hell is going on, Coulson? Cause you're starting to freak me out a little." Steve didn't move from his position in his chair.

"Simmons, go ahead."

Simmons pressed a few buttons on her tablet, pulling up a video feed of a recovery room. On the bed, lay a woman who looked to be sleeping peacefully. Tony looked to the screen and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the woman. Steve looked up, his face betraying no emotion while Coulson, Fitz and Simmons looked to him for his reaction.

The glass Steve held in his hand was now shattered.