CARTAGENA COLOMBIA, SHIELD HELICARRIER, APRIL 29, 2011, 9:30 AM EST
"Well Rogers. In the end I don't think we uncover any of this half as fast without your lead on this. You're not one of mine, but great work." Nicholas Fury congratulated the former Captain America.
At the moment James and La Bandera were having a small meeting in the helicarrier with Fury, a final briefing on the mission in Colombia. Everything James had compiled from when he first came to the country in February.
It was almost surreal to think that after today he was done with this situation. He felt he had done a fairly good job, though he still wished, and always would regret not being able to save Carmen's parents. If he had simply been a couple of days faster…
"Thank you Director." James eventually received the man's praise after he realized he had taken a little long to respond to his praises.
Thankfully Nick didn't linger on it and turned to Teresa who was almost smiling from ear to ear. That had seemed to be the case from the moment he saw her yesterday. It couldn't be overstated how much this meant for her.
She had been kidnapped for nearly a month and believed that she had let her country down. Now just a month later the enemies waging war against her people had been defeated and she had played a huge role in that. Better yet she got to go home.
And Teresa wasn't wasting time. The woman's stuff was already on the helicarrier and she would be escorted back to Cuba by the end of the night. She would be back home and with family in less than 8 hours.
"And you La Bandera, you've definitely got a future in this business. If you're interested S.H.I.E.L.D. will have a place waiting for you."
"I appreciate that Director Fury thank you, I think for now I will simply take care of my home."
"Good choice." James told La Bandera and gave Fury a teasing grin. The older man simply ignored James and turned towards the exit of the room. "Funny Rogers. You know we aren't done yet right? Commander Johnson let me know about your plans with the girl. Have you told her yet?"
At this James slightly froze. "Well no I figured I'd do it today, you know considering I'm sure you've got stuff you want me to sign."
"Well I guess you can sign. If you don't, we'll manage." Fury gave a small smirk of his own. James rolled his eyes at that. Fury was way too proud of the fact that he felt he could forge James' identity.
"But honestly soldier, you're sure the girl wants this? And that this is what's best for her?"
"Well I'm pretty sure she wants to stay with me, yeah." James replied a little defensively.
"And this is what's best for her?" Fury repeated himself.
"Well…I'm try-
"Of course James is what's best for her, Director Fury. You weren't here so I will give you a pass. But James is a great man and he treats Carmen with care. I have no doubt that he will continue to grow and be a great father figure for Carmen." Teresa defended the young hero.
"I-I'm not a father Teresa-I'm just her guardian…Well actually I'm not even that yet…I don't want to put labels on things and rush her you know? It's too fast for that and…"
The young super-soldier continued to ramble and Teresa couldn't help but laugh as Nick Fury looked on in genuine astonishment. "He gets like this almost whenever we bring Carmen up."
Fury shook his head, not believing the talkative monster that he created. He put his arm on James' shoulder and lightly shook the boy, "Calm down soldier, relax! I was just trying to be hard on you. I wasn't trying to send you into shock."
At Fury's demand the boy finally stopped talking and met Fury's gaze. The older man was surprised to see genuine worry in the boy's face. He started to feel slightly bad for the boy. Because Teresa had been right, no matter what label he put on it he was effectively her father from here on out. Responsible for Carmen until she turned eighteen. The boy wasn't even eighteen yet himself. Despite this fact, Nick Fury was confident in James' ability to handle this situation.
And he honestly didn't think anyone else should handle it. Not only had Agents Johnson, Davis and Jackson insisted the girl was attached to James. But the eventual development of the serum meant that James would be the perfect one to manage her growth.
"Come on kid. Stop psyching yourself out. Yes, what you're doing is going to be hard. But we all know there isn't anyone alive who is better suited for this task."
The wording made James' eyes widen and he was about to retort but Fury continued talking. "I get it James, you feel bad because taking care of Carmen isn't just some job to you. You enjoy it, but you can only do that because of a tragedy."
"I-yeah. That's-that's exactly it. How'd you know?" James wondered, out of the corner of the Super-Soldier's eye he could see Teresa look on in surprise. The fact was he had been given many talks by Valentina, Daisy, and Teresa but none had managed to realize what he continued to agonize over everyday since he realized he more than likely would be taking care of Carmen for the rest of her life.
"Lucky guess." Fury insisted, but it was clear that wasn't the case, "James. You need to understand that nothing can bring Carmen's real parents back. They are dead and gone forever."
"I know that!" James snapped, "Don't you think I know that!"
"Good, I needed to make sure you understood that fact. You were a kid when your own parents passed so it's not your fault that you don't understand. But James, the only thing a good parent wants is for their child to be happy and succeed in life. Julio and Maria Jimenez can no longer make that happen for their daughter."
"Do you think that if they knew what was going to happen they'd want Carmen to suffer all alone. To never have joy or happiness again?"
"Well of course not."
"Exactly I promise you they'd be happy just knowing their child isn't being sent to a poor home. That's she's getting food to eat every night, and learning to laugh again. I'm sure if Julio and Maria Jimenez could see you and Carmen now. They'd want to thank you for doing your best."
James contemplated these words wanting to believe they were the absolute truth, and for the most part he did, only a little seed of doubt remained.
"I mean after all. Don't you think if your parents could see you now they'd thank Stark for all that he's done?"
It was that one statement that hit James over the head like an anvil. That statement made him realize just how dumb it was that he was worrying over this in the first place. His parents would no doubt thank Tony not just for raising James, but for doing it in a way that would honor their memories.
Tony made sure that he never forgot who his real parents were and yet raised him in such a way that James could confidently say he had two fathers in this life. Most of the team would say the same.
"It seems like you are beginning to understand the greater picture." Fury eventually spoke up as James' enlightenment was obvious.
"Yeah, I get what you're saying. Really Nick, thank you."
"Oh don't thank me yet. Those words of wisdom are going to cost you. I'll cash in that favour soon enough."
James could only laugh at this statement and agree. "Whenever you're ready, I'll be there."
"Good." Nick spoke to James before turning to Teresa and pointing to an Agent in the corridor "Ms. Lopez, your liaison is ready to take you home."
"Thank you Nick. It was nice meeting you."
"Same to you, don't take too long Rogers." Fury demanded before moving away to the opposite corridor.
James looked at Teresa and smiled, "Well Teresa it looks like it's finally time to part ways."
"Indeed Mr. Rogers it seems we are destined to part here." Teresa said teasingly, James laughed before putting out a hand for Teresa to shake.
"Seriously Teresa you did great. If not for your initial bravery I'm not sure I'd have ever been able to save La Bandera. Thank you for taking that step, and being a true hero."
Teresa looked flustered as she took the handshake, it was always nice to get that sort of praise from Captain America. "Well if not for you James I might not have had the confidence to make that move. And then I'd never be going home so thank you. It was fun fighting by your side."
"No problem, and it'd be a shame if we kept out of touch after this, and so I had this made for you." James dug into his back pocket and pulled out a card. It looked like a license. It had Teresa's hero name on it and the Avengers logo on the front. It had the signature of the National Security Council Director and the President of the United States. She was official, official.
"This is the Avengers official licensing card. It proves that you are one of us. I'm sure you'll figure out all the bells and whistles on your flight. Of course when it comes to the team, you're not with the main branch because of distance, but that's not a big issue, and I think it's a good thing. I trust your judgement Teresa, and the next time I hear from you I'd love to see you tell me about a South American Avengers team." James explained to the Cuban hero.
"So whaddya say?" James questioned the girl who was looking at the Card in shock. James gave her a moment and was going to call her name again when Teresa leapt at him and wrapped him in a large hug, and kissed his cheek.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Teresa said excitedly. "It's my pleasure." James spoke in a slightly awkward tone, unable to help the blush that rose to his face. Val's gonna kill me.
"I promise you won't regret this Captain, I'll make you proud and the next time you see me I'll definitely have a team that Captain America can be proud of."
"I believe it Teresa. Now get going, and don't be a stranger!" James ordered the woman with a smile.
"Yes sir, See you later Rogers!" Teresa called back to James as she nearly skipped down the hallway towards her liaison. James smiled at the sight before turning to catch up with Fury who was down the other hallway.
"Do you think your Doctors are done with Carmen now?"
"Where do you think we are headed?" Fury responded to James with a question of his own, confirming to him that they were headed to the young girl right now.
James and Teresa hadn't just come to the helicarrier brief about last night, but they had come to report on everything that had happened since they had caught wind of the Hood's schemes. But along with that James needed to bring along Carmen. The girl was going through what James was assured to be light testing.
Blood work and things of that nature. And only the most trusted of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were even allowed near her. Daisy was overseeing everything and so James knew they would do things right.
He was only a little worried about Carmen. He didn't want her to feel like a guinea pig and knew that she still wasn't all that comfortable around other people though Daisy was becoming one of the people she was familiar with.
Fury and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. still didn't know about Carmen's status of assimilating with Banshee. Actually no one but James and Pym knew at the moment. The Super-Soldier Serum was one thing but James felt that the potential of Carmen and Banshee would tempt too many.
And if that information did really get out then Carmen would be in for a rough time. It was lucky that without explicitly scanning for the X-Gene nothing would look out of the ordinary in Carmen that couldn't be attributed to her body adapting to the Serum.
At the moment this was probably James' biggest fear in regards to taking care of Carmen. Even on this little sabbatical of his he didn't feel like he had made a true effort to have a secret identity.
But things would definitely change if he was going to take care of her full time. He needed to make sure no one ever found out James Rogers was connected to Carmen or else she'd forever be a target. Not just for villains, but for the media and civilians as well. She'd never be able to have a normal life otherwise.
Look at me thinking about all of this…I should make sure she actually wants me around first before I start making plans.
They headed down a few more corridors and finally entered a smallish room where Carmen, Daisy, and and a S.H.I.E.L.D. doctor were talking. Well it was more like Daisy and the Doctor were talking while Carmen sat idly on a stool clearly bored out of her mind.
The moment the door opened and she spotted James she ran to the man and hugged him not wanting to be here any longer, "(James, can we go home now? I don't want to do this anymore.)"
"(Heh, tired? But you're okay right?) James questioned. The young girl nodded yes to both and James was content knowing she was at least doing good.
"(Don't worry, soon enough we can go home. I've just got to do a couple more things okay?)" James explained. She pouted briefly but eventually accepted his words allowing James to join the conversation with the adults.
However the young Avenger looked up to see the Doctor, Fury, and Daisy giving him various looks. The doctor seemingly surprised that this was Captain America, that the man was out here truly being a civilian. Daisy simply had a small smirk on her face, and Fury's was blank but James could tell there was more behind it.
"What?" The Super-Soldier questioned defensively.
"Mr. Rogers I'm Doctor Rice, working with S.H.I.E.L.D., I won't waste any of your time. We've checked the girl's blood and ran some tests based on the potency of her blood and compared it to others we know have been doused with the Serum. This chart shows how we believe she will grow throughout the next ten years."
James took the chart handed to him and his eyes widened at what they were saying, "This is basically showing a growth rate similar to mine. Isn't that a little too high?"
"In all honesty it could be, but we ran the test a couple of times and the variants always ranged that high. She's going to be a strong girl."
James looked to Carmen who was looking between him and the doctor intently. No doubt she was attempting to follow their conversation with the limited English she knew. "Alright. It's fine, can't do anything about that. I'll make sure she can handle it."
"Anything else I should be aware of?" James questioned. He was genuinely curious but he always wanted to know if the Doctor had found anything weird. However he figured even if they did discover Banshee they might not tell him.
He mostly trusted S.H.I.E.L.D. but even if they trusted him they would do what they thought was best, this was a business for them, with little room to get personal.
"No, from what I've seen there should be nothing to worry about." Doctor Rice explained, "Everything should be fine, the serum has made her healthier than ever."
"Okay then, thank you Doctor." Mr. Rice nodded and then took his exit leaving him with Fury and Daisy.
"Everything sounds good to you, Soldier?" Daisy asked, "You can handle this right?"
"It'll be fine. I can handle it." James assured them confidently. Fury gave him a nod of approval and pointed to a stack of papers in the corner. "Good, sign those when you're done, we will give you some space."
And with that Daisy and Nick left the room leaving James with the young Carmen. "(Can we leave now?)"
"(Almost, almost.)" James assured, he took a seat on the hospital bed and patted the spot beside him, soon enough the girl followed, jumping up athletically and taking a seat beside him. These days she's already moving better than just a month ago.
"(It's been…a long couple of months.)" James started, "(I-um…how do I say this?)" James mumbled a bit quieter but it was obvious Carmen heard by the fearful look on her face.
"(Don't worry Carmen, it's not bad.)" James assured the girl. At least I hope it's not.
"(When I came to Colombia, it was to find myself. You're young so that might not make much sense, But I…I needed something different.)"
"(You needed a break from punching bad guys!)" Carmen supplied.
"(Exactly. I came here to find out what I liked other than punching bad guys, but I couldn't really find anything before it was time to punch bad guys again.)"
"(At least I thought that was the case. I'm young so I never thought I could get enjoyment from being a caretaker, but that's exactly what happened. Throughout this past month despite the tragedy I feel like you and I have managed to bond on some level.)"
"(Yeah!)" Carmen interjected enthusiastically.
"(I know this situation has been hard on you Carmen, and I want to help you get out of this situation. More than that I want to help you learn English, and I want to continue to watch football with you, and make lunches together. I…back then I promised you that I would protect and take care of you.)"
"(Yeah…)" She spoke much quieter this time.
"(I-with what's happened now the missi-the situation has changed. I don't want you to be all alone Carmen nor do I want you to be put with another family. That's why if it's okay with you, I'd like to adopt you and make that promise much more official.)"
"(A-Adopt?)
"(It's fine if you need to think things over or you don't want this. If you did, you wouldn't have to think of me like your parents, you know it's kinda more like a-a wardship! Yeah it's…) Damn it I'm rambling again.
James took a deep breath and looked at Carmen once again, before speaking. "(I know it hasn't been that long, but this is me making a commitment to take care of you for the rest of my life.)"
There was a pause as Carmen took in the words that James proposed, and for a moment he figured the girl was going to run off, but instead she held out a pinky, "(You have to promise.)"
"(Promise?)"
"(Mmhmmm, you have to promise you won't leave. Not ever, okay?)" Carmen insisted. James held out his own pinky completing the sacred promise."(Alright. I, James Rogers, Captain America, solemnly swear to take care of Carmen Maria Jimenez for the rest of my life. I will never ever leave. Heh, how's that sound?)"
The young girl crashed into him immediately after, attempting to rush him in a hug. She was smarter than he gave her credit for, it seemed she had actually been a little worried that he was going to leave. No worries Carmen I'm ready to commit to this for the rest of my life.
CARTAGENA COLOMBIA, BOCAGRANDE CAFE, JULY 6, 2011, 6:20 PM EST
"(I always knew you were different, but I never would have expected this.)" Old Man Morillo said with a small laugh. "(You've managed to surprise me James.)"
"(I told him the same thing!)" Valentina exclaimed, James just smiled at his girlfriend and Mr. Morillo sipped his coffee happily. Things were….good.
It had been a few months since the entire situation. They had given things time to cool down and almost everything seemed to be clicking for James now. At the moment he was in the Bocagrande Cafe, one of his more familiar haunts of the past couple of months.
He was there with Old Man Morillo and Valentina and of course Carmen, though the girl was fast asleep. She looked much more peaceful these days, and of course it was an adjustment for the both of them, but things had honestly gone as well as he could hope.
The pair managed to take things one day at a time, he continued to teach her English at her request and throughout the day they managed to have fun together. Without Captain America.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had made good on their promises and had seamlessly integrated Carmen into the system so he was legally her guardian. The main difference between Carmen's old life and her new one was the lack of actual school. At the moment she was homeschooled and there weren't any plans to change that, but he was certain he could give her the right amount of education for a girl her age.
The trick was making sure she didn't learn too much. There hadn't been any real new developments with the serum inside of her, but most of the important stuff was done. She was more advanced than the average child her age and so it was his duty to make sure they didn't overdo it.
"(It's only a shame that you'll be leaving soon.)"
Of course that was the only issue. "(Yeah it sure is, but this is Valentina's dream, and I could never get in the way of that.)"
The woman in question looked down in a slight blush, and James just smiled at her. Yeah it sucked, Val had told him about two weeks ago that she would be travelling abroad. Some fancy school in the Caribbean that would allow her to start her higher education in medicine.
This was a long program and it seemed they had both internally decided that a long-distance relationship wasn't going to be in the cards. It would definitely be easier that way and they both knew where they stood.
"(Your right, whatever makes the two of you happy.)"
Happy. He had realized that lately the word had gained slightly new meaning. It wasn't like he wasn't happy before, no, he had certainly experienced the highest of highs as well as the lowest of lows. But in general life had been pretty good after Ultron.
And yet, there was a new sort of joy he could take part in, knowing his happiness was no longer directly tied to Captain America, that there was something he was kinda good at aside from hitting people.
It was still about protection, he guessed there was no surprise there, but this little trip to Colombia was making him feel as if he could continue to grow and find out more about himself. Who he was with and without the mask. Because despite everything that shield would always be with him.
"(Will you be moving back to America soon James?)"
Good question, he wasn't going to act like he was going to live in Colombia, no definitely not, it was awesome, but his home was in New York. But still. (I think Mr. Morillo, I'm just going to take things one day at a time.)"
HEROES OF TOMORROW
