Peggy gave a wry chuckle, "Face it, it's her first time of coming to Atlantis, and she deserves to be spoiled just for now, and besides, I have a feeling that solid food wouldn't be easy while she's too excited to be down here...She couldn't move from the viewing windows until I had to pull out the nursing card, and now she's settling down.", with a smile.
"Yeah, I think the protection that the Levithan gave this sub made it easier on the little ones since they didn't scream in pain from their ears popping or such, like some stories I heard about for planes with mothers who has little ones.", Audrey smiled gratefully as she was a little worried for Marina herself as she was a preemie and more fragile than the others.
Amanda nodded, "Thank goodness for little miracles...I wouldn't want them to be miserable and such.", as Harrison smiled wryly, having gotten used to the fact that he has to be surrounded by nursing mothers, "Amen to that.".
Bucky snorted, looking at Harrison, "You just don't want to be deafened by fussy babies.", and Harrison blushed, "Guilty.", as the others laughed warmly before they heard a whooshing sound combined with a clicking sound, "What was that?", on alert.
Audrey glanced, "Our old friend, the Levithan!", with a wide smile before wincing, "Oh, my, he got some damage...Looks like a couple of minor pincers got mangled...", as the Levithan came closer.
Peggy got up, carefully holding her children as she came to the viewing window, her eyes wide, "Steve...Steve told me that the Levithan was involved...He must have been in the vicinity to get damaged...The Tesseract and the explosion must have been more than he could handle...", looking at the Levithan who purred, clicked, and looked at them, seeming to scan them.
The Levithan had sensed Atlantean friends, and blinked in friendly tones toward two elderly people who is related to Friend Peggy, and was happy to see Friends Audrey and Bucky, sensing the delicate yet strong body of little Marina, and he purred in excitement as he sensed the super soldier genes and the Atlantean genes in the little ones Friend Peggy held, gently placing his cheek on the glass sideways, almost startling the group, but Brookyln and Asher, having paused in their nursing, saw the warm and protective glint of the Levithan, and reached their little hands on the glass, meeting the cheek between the glass, with Brookyln leaning in to kiss the glass, smiling and looking just like her father that the Levithan suddenly realized, was on the Valkyrie, and faintly knew that he's alive somewhere, due to the crystal he's wearing.
"What exactly is it doing right now?", Harrison asked. "Escorting us, I think.", Audrey said. "Sometimes it's a bit hard to tell but at least that thing isn't trying to kill us like the first time.".
Amanda replied, "Um, did Rourke order to attack him in the first place?", and Audrey winced, "Fair point there...I guess if Abraham was in charge the whole time, we would probably have an easier time, and we...we would have everybody alive...But the president was putting Rourke in charge for a reason of protection, not that I'd blame Roosevelt for thinking like that, but still.".
Peggy replied, "You really know they are special, don't you, Levithan?", as her children was patting the glass, almost touching the Levithan's cheek as he purred warmly and protectively, glancing at her with a nod, and she smiled softly, "Are you going to escort us like a guardian?".
The Levithan purred, clicking as he backed away slightly, moving to the side, letting the sub go forward, as he escorted them. Brookyln squealed happily while Asher returned to nursing, "Me like him, mumma! He big, but good!", looking at her mummy.
Peggy smiled at her daughter, "Yes, he's a gentle giant to friends and his family of Atlantis. Now, are you going to have some more milk, or are you full?", with a teasing chuckle, and Brooke looked appalled, quickly and gently leaning back into her chest to have more milk, gulping, with the others gently laughing as Peggy took her seat again.
It was 20 minutes before the Levithan purred, having escorted them to the crevice tunnel, and with a gentle nuzzle to the sub at Brookyln's wave after she and the other little ones finished nursing, "Bye-bye, Levvy Giant!", and he purred in amusement yet delight at the nickname from the little one, and then with a low roar of saying goodbye, with care of his tail and body, he left the sub, back into patrol.
"It's probably me, but I swear that machine is sentient, and he got a sweet spot for our Brooke.", Harrison replied in awe and shock as Audrey took the controls for the sub to enter into the tunnel to the air pocket.
"We honestly think the same in recent months; especially if that thing helped Steve in bringing down HYDRA's monstrosity.", Peggy said.
Audrey nodded, "Yeah, she's right...I mean, a couple of minor pincers aren't as important as his big pincers and claws, but they were a part of him, still, and to help Steve like that, Levithan is a darn good one.".
Bucky replied, "And we'll get used to it anyway with him guarding and protecting Atlantis, through there could be situations we might need him to help if we ask politely...It was a miracle that Levithan was in the vicinity of the Valkyrie's location, and I don't know if Steve asked for help, but to be near Atlantis in close proximity, it was a really alarming situation to the Levithan as he couldn't know if the Valkyrie was dangerous to expose Atlantis, so he couldn't risk it either way.".
Peggy replied, "That's something Steve would say, and I agree.", with a sad smile, as if she might have been dried out of strong grief the week before, there's still minor waves of sad grief hitting her at moments like this, even if she's still praying that he's only MIA somewhere.
Bucky squeezed her shoulder gently, and Peggy looked grateful as Audrey announced, "We're breaching in a minute. I'll go slow to ascent for the sake of the children.", working the controls carefully to get the sub steadily without too much speed to breach the surface, and after she worked the air filters, she headed for the shore, where, to everybody's surprise, was the narwhal poised and awaiting to be boarded, with a sight of a trio Bucky happily recognized on the shore, seeming to have a picnic of sorts for the past hour while waiting for them.
"It's Rebecca and Dazis, and gods, that crawling baby couldn't be Helena, could she?!", Bucky laughed with an awed look as he tightened the incubator sling with Marina secured and awake, and Audrey smiled warmly, "I think it is, Bucky...", as she went for a spot to anchor the sub not far from the family.
"They were expecting us?", Harrison asked as Peggy gave a small nod, "The crystals; they can give a small head up sometimes.".
Amanda replied, "That's quite handy.", and Bucky chuckled, "You don't know the half of it.", with a smile as Audrey breached the shore, working the controls, opening up the ramp, and turning off everything except for the anchor and the manual ramp.
Audrey glanced at Bucky with a smile, "Hand me Marina. I know you really want to give Rebecca one of your famous brother hugs.", and Bucky smiled widely, gently passing Marina's incubator sling bag to her, and he all but sprinted out of the sub, off the ramp, "Rekki!", his nickname for his beloved sister.
Rebecca sobbed happily, running to her brother, "Bucky!", and they all but reunited in a hearty hug, as Bucky smiled, ruffling her hair, "Look at you! 17 years old now! How's life been treating ya?".
"Pretty good.", Rebecca smiled. Clearly, her time down in Atlantis truly was doing wonders for her in terms of her mental health.
Bucky grinned in relief, "I bet.", before noticing Helena crawling to them, with Dazis a few steps behind her with a fatherly, loving smile.
Rebecca smiled warmly as Helena reached them, cooing and gurgling, looking at her uncle, a hand grasping for attention, and Bucky chuckled, leaning down to pick her up, "You remember me a bit, huh? Look at you, you're as pretty as your ma, yet you take after your pa. Hey, Dazis.".
Dazis smiled warmly, "Hello, Bucky. I'm glad that you are one of the visitors once again.", grasping Bucky's free arm in a brotherly gesture, and Bucky smiled, "Glad to see you, Dazis. You sure are taking really well to be Rekki's mate and Helena's father. The others are waiting back for us, huh?".
"Yeah. And I knew Becca would take the chance to see you again, so I couldn't refuse, since Helena is now appropriate in age to come with us.", Dazis chuckled with a nod before seeing Audrey approaching with a sling, widening his eyes as he recognized it to be an incubator, "That's a Atlantean incubator...We felt something was wrong twice between days earlier last month...What happened, Lady Audrey?", as Rebecca gasped in worry and horror, seeing the baby through the incubator glass, awake yet so small.
"Premature birth… there was a terrible attack and the stress of it all…", Audrey sighed. "We almost had a true tragedy of not for some quick thinking.".
Bucky nodded softly as he gently jiggled his niece, "If it wasn't for Peggy behind the quick thinking, with Steve on his quick reflexes for us to get there in time and helping Peggy, I couldn't have known my daughter beyond those months of feeling her kick and such in Audrey's womb, and Audrey would be devastated, but in the end, probably having heard our pleas to save her, the crystals got together with some of my runes on my prosthetic and made the incubator sling, and now she has been getting better, lasting a bit longer each week of the required time to be outside before having to be put back, and giving her healing baths for her foot that ended up badly bruised during the whole labor.".
Dazis looked relieved, "Thank the Kings. Nola and Joshua would be beyond exalted and relieved to hear the good news.", before seeing Peggy, her parents, and two little ones that clearly took after Peggy and Steve.
"Oh, Lady Peggy, so this is the famed Brookyln Michelle Rogers, and who is this little one?", Dazis smiled in awe, and Peggy smiled, "This is Asher Samuel Rogers, a miracle of a shocking surprise that happened on Christmas Day last year, for he was the one I lost.".
Rebecca gasped in awe, shock and amazement as Dazis smiled warmly, "Oh, that's wonderful! He sure looks like you, Lady Peggy, except that he has Warrior Steve's eyes...Where's he, by the way? I thought, being by the hip like you two were, on the first trip back when I got you and the main group to the air pocket after the whole battle and honors, he would be with you.".
Peggy stifled a sob, tears prickling at her eyes, hating to tell one of her first Atlantean friends, as she whispered, "The second thing you sensed going wrong...Hydra exacted revenge on the attack that brought around Marina's premature birth, and they came again only a few days later, but to attack other cities who was allied with us, with a horrible monstrosity of a flying machine, and no, it wasn't sentient like the Levithan...Steve...he...he went to foil Hydra up there, with the leader behind Hydra...If it wasn't for him...there would have been more attacks of their horrible power on my homeland, and other places including his homeland...He...", choking up as she held her children closer, as Amanda quickly wrapped her arms around her daughter, rubbing her back.
"He didn't make it?", Rebecca asked. No one needed to nod their head; the answer was very clear. "I… I need to meet with Abraham.", Peggy said. "That's the reason why I'm here…".
Dazis looked confused yet he nodded, "Of course, we waited for you all to get here, anyway. Do you need to lock up the sub?", and Audrey replied, "No need. I locked it up after the others left, and it, once again, should be fine to its anchoring.".
"Alright then, let's get into the narwhal then. You probably want to warn your elders there that it flies.", Dazis replied, and Peggy gave a small smile, glancing at Amanda gratefully for the comforting gesture of ebbing her grief away again, "They are my parents, Harrison and Amanda Carter.", seeing Harrison mouth to himself in confusion, 'Elders?'.
Dazis blinked in pleased surprise, "Honored to meet the parents of Lady Peggy. Come, let's not waste time before night reaches Atlantis.", as Rebecca rolled up the picnic blanket and the basket, glad to give Bucky a bit of uncle-niece time, and the group followed them into the narwhal.
After everybody's secured, the narwhal moved into hovering mode, lifting off from the shore, turning around to the fish entrance carving to the tunnel, to the enormous, cavernous lands, as Amanda replied, "Oh, my, if I was any other woman, I would have thought this to be impossible!", as she and Harrison saw the scenery fly by through the viewing windows.
Peggy chuckled wryly, "And I thought you got used to Brookyln being unusual, and S-Steve being a super strong soldier. This will be over within an hour.", and Harrison chuckled, "We had time to get used to that kind of thing, Peggy, but you have to admit that a narwhal flying on Atlantean crystal energy is like...like harnessing the sun...By the way, why does he call us elders?".
"It's a sign of respect as if there are older ones than Dazis his age either by physical or other, if when they're unrelated to him, older parents, grandparents and great grandparents of other friends and such, like simple acquaintances during shopping or something are called as Elders by people like Dazis, while if related, they are called Grandfather and Grandmother, and other names like it.", Peggy explained.
"Oh, not exactly sure I could get used to that. It sounds more prestigious than what we actually are.", Harrison admitted.
Peggy chuckled, "Cookie and Packard said the same thing, not in so many words like that, but Atlantis understood, and took to call them by their names, with no Elder behind them. It'd be the same for you and Mum if you ask for them firmly yet politely enough just to call you by your names casually.".
Amanda chuckled, "With each story from everyone including you, Atlantis truly sounds more and more like a paradise.", and Peggy smiled, "Well, I am sure it's much more of paradise now than ever before once we get our first look at the renewed and rebuilt kingdom...Has been two years and some since I and Steve were there...", with a soft whisper at the end as she glanced at her slumbering children who is taking a nap after the underwater trip.
Her parents nodded, and indeed, it took an hour of flight, and Harrison whistled in surprise as they flew over the lava lake of the dormant and stumped volcano, "Heck of a deterrent to stop any ground invaders...And this is the conclusion after the zeppelin battle?".
Audrey nodded, "Yeah, it was quite the sight, and almost came at Atlantis if it wasn't for their protections of the Crystal Heart in the city, like a lava tsunami of sorts. Either way, it stumped the volcano into dormant and into an inferior unhabitable spot of land up there, so people wouldn't think of coming down this way again, which is a relief for all of us.", as she gazed at Helena who is resting on Rebecca's lap, talking in baby language with Marina in the incubator sling, facing each other.
Rebecca chuckled, "If I didn't know about them being already cousins, I would swear that they would be sisters in a way.", with a warm smile. Bucky chuckled wryly, "Couldn't blame them for bonding so quickly due to their narrow differences of age, and Helena is amazing, not judging Marina like the carefree baby she is.".
Rebecca beamed warmly, "Atlantis is truly being a wonderful home for us both, dear brother...", as Dazis then announced, "We're approaching the city in a minute, will have your first look, new friends and children!", with a wide smile of feeling content, feeling at home already as he knew the way home by memory and heart, barely hearing Peggy waking up Brookyln and Asher gently.
For the ones who had already seen it; there was a private chuckle amongst themselves in terms to the reaction of those who would first be seeing it. Peggy was very much glad that her parents could at least see this place once in their lives.
Peggy was indeed impressed with all the rebuilding and the regained construction of the lost architecture that was in the lake, and now brought back to life, and was awed of how gorgeous the city has become since she and Steve last saw it. She sniffled lightly with a single tear falling across her cheek, whispering to herself, "I wish you were here, Steve...", feeling the compass in her skirt pocket pressing against her leg.