"You've got everything you need? We haven't left anything behind right?"
"Nope! I have everything."
"You sure?"
"Yup, I'm sure."
"That's good, but I'll just check to be sure, wouldn't want to leave anything important behind, now would we?"
James went around the house and entered what had been Carmen's room. It used to be filled with books and little toys, souvenirs, and little tokens that reminded her of home, of her parents.
It really was empty now. Nothing but a bed and a dresser mirror, everything important had been packed up and shipped to his New York apartment a couple of days ago. It was finally time to go back home.
It was a move he didn't want to make without ensuring Carmen was ready for it. So they took their time. Carmen continued to develop her English to a point where in these past seven months they could talk easily with each other, with little mistakes. She was truly gifted.
It was Carmen who insisted they head to his home. He wasn't sure why at first but he was beginning to suspect that she wasn't as comfortable as being so close to her parent's old home. And even at her young age, it seemed a change of scenery was needed.
James was itching to get back to New York as well. After all, now that Valentina started school abroad, aside from Old Man Morillo and Carmen there weren't many people he talked to around Cartagena.
Well, it seems like everything should be fine. Not a thing left behind, if there was SHIELD will sweep this place in an hour anyways. We should be good.
James headed to the living room and saw Carmen sitting down, boredly reading a little book, he was going to call her when his phone rang. The Caller ID read Tony Stark.
"Hey Tony, what's up?"
"You two on schedule?"
"Yeah no worries Tony. Everything's going well, Fury already told me that the car's outside I've vetted the Agents he chose as well, so we should be good on that front."
"Yeah and are you confident about airport security?"
"I think so. How bad could it be?" James responded flippantly. The first time James hadn't wanted to take any risks and so he flew a jet himself to Colombia. It was much easier than hoping his disguise held up.
They were originally going to take the same passageway, but James figured that wasn't the best decision. He was going to be Carmen's guardian now. He needed to make sure he could actually do this without ruining her public freedom forever.
So they were flying commercial, business class, and he was worried anything higher could bring unwanted scrutiny, he still looked young and people might question how he could afford something like that. In the end James knew he was being too cautious, but he figured that when it came to Carmen it was better safe than sorry.
Carmen was also another reason why James figured it was better to fly the normal way. He didn't think it was smart to ruin her first flying experience by doing it with S.H.I.E.L.D. instead this way she could experience normality.
Being normal was something I've never been too concerned with for myself, but to blend in I can't do anything out of the ordinary. I've got to try and keep the Captain America stuff out of my everyday life with Carmen. Even if she already knows.
"Also I've got some help from S.H.I.E.L.D. with realistic wigs. This way I can switch as fast as possible. Along with contact lenses I'm sure it will work."
"Well that's good to hear. And how is she? How's little Carmen?"
"Umm…" James looked away from his phone and towards Carmen who was still relaxing reading her book. "She um, she seems fine, I think."
He heard Tony snicker on the phone and couldn't help but scowl, "What's the big idea old man?"
"I'm sorry James, it's just a little funny to hear you worry. But you should be more confident, you know? You've been with her for 7 months now, I think you can be more confident about how she's feeling."
"Yeah, you're right. Okay, she's fine."
"Good to hear. I'm gonna let you go, call us when you land, or if there's any problems. You know everybody else really wants to see you."
"I know, I will. Talk to you later Tony." He ended the call and checked the time. They were more than in the clear, but he figured there was no reason to waste time."
"Time to leave?" He heard Carmen question.
"Yeah, it's time to hit the road." James agreed with the girl. He walked over and sat beside her, looking over the book she was reading. 50 Below, Robert Munsch, she's doing quite well for her age.
She pointed to one of the books and looked a little worried. "It won't be that cold…right?"
"Heheh. No, definitely not. In fact it hasn't even snowed yet, so nothing to worry about."
She nodded in affirmation, and closed her book. She simply looked around the house, and James felt like he could tell what she was thinking.
"I'm going to miss this place too, Carmen, but don't worry, if New York gets too much for you, we can always come back."
"I know…I'm just…a little scared."
"And don't worry it's alright to be. I was scared when we moved for the first time." James admitted.
"Really?"
'"Yup, I was a little younger than you, but it was still scary living in a new place. Living in a new place without my parents. But Uncle Tony helped me out, and now I've got you. So don't worry Carmen, I'm going to do my best to make sure this works for you."
"Right." Carmen agreed, and gave him a hug "Thank you."
"Of course Carmen. Now let's set off!" James announced,
He and Carmen went around the house turning off all the lights and making sure everything was unplugged until the next time they'd visit.
They found themselves back at the front door soon enough, and as they took one last glance into the dark and empty house. Carmen uttered a small "Bye." and just like that they were headed off. New York here we come.
BROOKLYN NEW YORK, BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, 569 LEAMAN PLACE, ROGERS APARTMENT, OCTOBER 8 EST, 2:45 PM EST
"This place is gigantic! America is huge!" Carmen exclaimed as they passed by the busy Brooklyn streets from their taxi cab.
She had been making such comments from the moment New York had come into view from the airplane. Her excitement had yet to damper and James couldn't help but be excited along with her.
He would mostly be doing the same thing that he had been doing for the past year, but he couldn't help but feel like it was different now.
"Well here's your stop sir." The Taxi Driver told him with a small smile, James looked in the car mirror and waited for an affirmative wink from the man, before relaxing and giving a smile of his own "Thank you sir, have a good day!" He proclaimed as he dropped some cash to the man.
He may have been a fake driver, just a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent doing their job, but he figured he didn't want Carmen to get suspicious.
Pulling out their luggage from the back of the cab he closed the trunk and stood in front of the large upscale apartment complex.
"We're going to live here?"
"That's right."
"Woah."
The large apartment complex was surrounded by an assortment of trees and had cars parked all the way down the street on both ends. It was a high-end apartment and you could tell this just by looking at the windows or the terraces. The red brick building housed 6 floors easily and James' apartment was located on the top floor, where there wasn't an abundance of other neighbours, just 3 other apartments on that floor it was ease to get in and out through fire escapes and roof entrances, he knew all of this when he bought because his father had used to live in the exact same apartment.
James had bought the apartment a little before the Annihilus mess believing one day he'd like to live in the city. However at the time it needed renovations and he was also content living in the Mansion with the others. After that he of course left for Colombia and had gotten Pym to watch it for him.
Now it was time to start living in his new home. James knelt down and put a hand on Carmen's shoulder, quickly grabbing her attention. "Listen Carmen, I know all of this is new so don't hesitate to tell me if you don't like something."
"Right." Carmen nodded in understanding.
"Right now my family is in the apartment, the ones you said you'd like to see someday, and I'm just letting you know that if you feel tired or anything, we can cut this short."
She seemed to contemplate this before nodding determinedly. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"Good to hear," James said and ruffled her hair affectionately, "Alright then, let's get going."
They walked up the stone staircase entrance to the old but beautiful building greeting the middle aged woman at the front desk who enthusiastically told James that she hadn't seen him in some time. And that his friend had come in a couple of times to check his apartment.
She was shocked when she noticed Carmen attempting to hide behind his leg, but eventually the small girl introduced herself, and James decided that he wouldn't make up any stories and simply told the woman he was her guardian.
She didn't ask any other questions and told James to enjoy his return to which James simply thanked her for her time. The duo headed up the elevator and James could tell Carmen was a little nervous, he figured he was as well, but for completely different reasons.
It's been nine months since I've seen them. I wonder what's changed. With the Avengers, Asgard, Wakanda, Stark Tech, and just their lives in general. I hope they've been good. It wasn't like he couldn't have talked to them while he was in Colombia but he made a conscious decision not to as he figured he'd be way too focused on his family and eventually want to come back.
As they walked up to the door of the apartment, James gave Carmen one last reminder, "Ready?"
"Ready." Carmen responded back easily enough.
James wasted no time swiftly knocking on the door, they only had to wait a couple seconds before it was answered, he could hear the immediate scrambling on the other side, he wondered if Carmen had developed enough to hear the same thing, but before he could think about it further, the door opened.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Captain himself. Please Mr. America, come in, welcome to your humble abode."
It was Francis because of course it was. James couldn't help but grin and roll his eyes at his antics, "Don't be so loud." He chastised before lightly socking him in the shoulder and giving him a one-armed hug.
"Francis, I missed you man." James admitted.
"Heh, me too man, me too."
Francis turned around, almost purposefully and walked further into the apartment. He no doubt saw Carmen but was going to wait for James to introduce the girl himself.
Despite the assurances the girl had hid behind the door the entire time, James didn't blame her. She could no doubt see the large amount of people in the apartment. He could immediately spot them.
Torunn, Azari, Pym, Tony, Bruce, and Francis made for six people she had never met before, however he was glad the others also didn't rush the door and allowed them some space.
He coaxed Carmen into the apartment and closed the door before she could second guess herself. "Okay Carmen, this is it."
The entrance to the apartment was large, specifically it was wide and while the Avengers were to the left, Carmen took one look over there and headed to the right where large windows displayed the view of Lower Manhattan and 4 doors down a corridor led to 3 rooms and a bathroom.
It wasn't hard to see the Brooklyn Bridge from the sill either, and Carmen seemed to already be fascinated with exploring that section of the house, and so James left her too it, heading to his friends who quickly rushed towards him crushing him in a group hug.
"James!" Pym exclaimed.
"It's been far too long." Azari added in smiling.
"It's nice to have you back James." Torunn told the Super-Soldier.
The three of them held him in a crushing group hug, but he figured after this much time it was the least he could do.
When they released him they looked to Tony and Bruce, "What not going to join in?"
"And damage these old bones, no way!" Bruce denied him, but grinned. "Welcome back kid."
"Thanks Bruce."
"Bruce is right, I am too old for one of those now, but it's great to see you James. How was the flight? Everything good?"
"It was good. Smooth going and Carmen seemed to enjoy it so…" James looked behind him for the small girl, but she was still down in one of the rooms. She can probably hear this.
"Speaking of the kid, aren't you going to introduce us?" Francis questioned.
"Yes, I'd love to meet the young warrior!"
"Not a warrior Tor," Pym quickly reprimanded "But it'd be nice to see your kid James, so hurry up and bring her here."
"Right, I've got to show her who the coolest Uncle in the world is." Francis remarked. And after that the group of Avengers quickly devolved into arguing about which one of them she'd like the most.
Tony simply chuckled and addressed James who had nearly froze since hearing the phrase "Your kid." "Come on James, you go get her and we got everything set up like you wanted so she's probably enjoying that right now."
"Right. I'll go get her." James affirmed and almost ran out of the room, he could hear them all chuckling about finally seeing the Sentinel of Liberty as a nervous wreck.
James left to the furthest room down the hall remembering it as the one he designated for Carmen, the doors to the other rooms were open, but obviously this one was the most interesting to her.
He saw her looking out the window holding one of her toys they had brought from Colombia. The way she looked at it happily made him feel like it had been a good idea to get movers to set up things early.
"I see you're enjoying everything. It's nice huh?"
"Yeah, it's great! Thank you!"
"Of course Carmen…you know the others would like to see you." James navigated slowly. "They are nice people, I promise."
Carmen looked around nervously before whispering "They're the Avengers…I-I knew they were but…seeing them…"
"It's kind of shocking isn't it? But Earth's Mightiest Heroes are just normal people…most of the time."
"Do you think they will like me? I mean-
"Of course they will Carmen, It's impossible not to. Now come on." James spoke and reached out his hand, slowly she put her in his. "Let's go say hello."
James brought the girl out into the hallway and towards the living room where the conversation slowed down as they all noticed the girl by James' side. She seemed to be fighting her urge to hide behind him, and was doing her best to not completely freak out.
"Alright everybody. This is Carmen. I'll be her guardian from now until…well forever." James finished sheepishly.
"H-hello. Ni-nice to meet you." Carmen spoke formally, despite that, the Avengers all looked like they were happy that she was even willing to talk to them.
"Guys, introduce yourselves." James ordered the Avengers sternly.
"Relax old man. The name is Francis Barton, it's a pleasure to meet you kid." Francis coolly introduced himself.
"I'm Henry Pym, but you could just call me Pym, it's nice to meet you!" Pym spoke cheerily.
"I am Azari, It's nice to meet you Carmen, I hope you have a great time here. We are all happy to see you."
"I am Torunn Thorsdottir of As-Ow! I mean I'm Torunn of-from New York." The girl finished lamely as the other Avengers snickered. "I'm very happy to meet you Carmen."
Carmen looked at James and wondered what she should say next, James simply prompted her to say anything, and so she said the first thing that came to her mind.
"Uh um….I love the way you punch bad guys!" Carmen blurted out. Causing the others to act surprised, as if they didn't already know that she knew their other occupations.
"Really, now well then who's your favourite?" Pym questioned, looking at the other Avengers, the way their eyes all sharpened he knew they were taking it as a contest.
"Well my favorites are Hawkeye and Ms. Torunn. I like how he shoots the bow and arrow, it looks so cool, and Ms. Torunn flies so fast and punches super strong!"
"Huzzah!" Torunn burst happily. "That's the spirit Carmen!"
"Ha, I knew you had good taste kid. Tell you what, I'll show you how to shoot a bow yourself if we ever have some time."
"Francis." James glared at the older hero before looking towards Carmen, who clearly wanted to take him up on the offer "Uh, we'll think about that. We should get settled before we start doing stuff like that."
Meanwhile Azari and Pym were half-heartedly sad, Pym especially wasn't having it. "Okay, Torunn I get. But how did I lose to Hawkeye, one he shoots bows, two his name is Francis!"
"Hey, watch it Pym!"
"I like all the Avengers." Carmen insisted, "I like how you change sizes and how Azari shoots out lightning and dresses like a panther."
"See no hard feelings Pym, she appreciates all the Avengers." Tony told the young boy, but the youngest Avenger only continued to pout before sighing "Ah, I guess I'll take it."
"I noticed you said your favourites were Hawkeye and Torunn, but who's your favourite?" Azari commented. He had a feeling he knew the answer.
"Well, the Avengers are all cool but…well Captain America…James is my favourite. He punches like lightning and he's really nice! He protects people like me and takes time to make sure we're all safe! Captain America…James is my hero."
"Awwwhhh." The group cried together. "That's cute." Pym admitted. "Good job James."
James couldn't help but rub his neck a little awkwardly at all the praise, he didn't talk to Carmen much about heroes or himself, but he obviously knew she felt that way. But it was still nice to hear her actually say that.
"Thank you Carmen."
"Well I guess that settles it, none of you can hold a candle to our resident Redhead anyway." Bruce said with a small laugh. "So how about we eat some of this food, and get to know our dear Carmen better."
"Sounds good to me, old man." Francis spoke and got up to get some pizza "Say Carmen, how old are you anyway?"
"I'm eight years old."
"Wow eight, and your english is already really good, I'm impressed." Pym added next.
"Thank you."
"What would you like to eat? We've got lots of stuff like-
"Pizza!"
"Sounds good, I'll go grab you some."
"So Carmen tell me, what do you like to do?"
Seeing his friends again was one thing, but watching them do their best to make Carmen feel happy and safe was something he would never be able to thank them enough for. Everyone from Bruce to Pym was engaging in whatever the young girl had to say, and did their best to make her feel as if she was the only thing that needed their attention.
"Come on James, you're not gonna stand there all day are you? Sit down and relax." Tony chastised him jokingly.
"Oh give him a break Tony, James is just taking in the sights, whaddya say buddy, Happy to be back here or what?"
Man am I ever. Colombia you were great but I needed this more than I realized. You helped me gain an understanding of what I want from life, and gave me a new family member. And for that I'll always be grateful. But honestly… "You hit the nail on the head Francis…I'm happy to be back home."
HEROES OF TOMORROW
