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swan-of-sunrise · 3 years

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Specs and the Flyboy (Chapter Nineteen-Part Three)

Summary: (Y/N), Jack and their friends finally face off against Leviathan and the Secret Empire.

Pairing: Jack Thompson X Reader

Word Count: 4.1k

Warnings/Disclaimers: None

A/N: Ya girl wrote this while dealing with sleep deprivation, cramps and the after effects of the vaccine, so I hope it’s good ‘cause at this point I can’t even tell lol Thank you all so much for reading! I hope that you enjoy!

Chapter Nineteen (Part III) Leviathan’s Weapons Facility, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Previous Chapter)

While the two of them were ushered down the staircase that led into the crate-filled warehouse by Michael and Dottie, (Y/N)’s mind raced as she struggled to think of a way out of their current conundrum. I’ve been in plenty of tough scrapes before but even I’ll admit that this one’s the toughest one yet, she thought to herself, her eyes rapidly scanning the large room; there were large, frost-covered windows towards the ceiling, several boarded-up skylights and the two metal doors she spotted were both guarded by Leviathan soldiers. By the time they reached the base of the stairs, (Y/N) had counted a total of twenty armed enemy operatives – seventeen Leviathan guards, Attwell, Underwood and Michael Carter – and from the brief glimpse she’d gotten of their friends hidden behind a stack of crates, it looked as though both Pinkerton and Sawyer were badly injured and the others were trying to bandage their blood-soaked wounds. So, we’re out-gunned and out-numbered, she concluded with a sinking feeling as she bit her lip in worry.

“So, Chief Thompson did survive his daring escape!” Attwell grinned, walking out into the empty space amidst the crates and standing before the two of them. “Truth be told, I was hoping that we’d meet again; I detest leaving loose ends, and killing the SSR’s golden boy once and for all would’ve been a genuine pleasure.”

Beside (Y/N), Jack’s shoulders tensed but he tilted his head to the side in mock contemplation. “What, you couldn’t do it without your Leviathan goons backing you up? What a real tough guy.”

Attwell’s fist quickly connected with Jack’s stomach and when he doubled over in pain, the man struck him across the face and sent him sprawling to the ground. “Stop it!” (Y/N) started towards her partner but the sudden feeling of a pistol barrel against the back of her neck stopped her cold; tearing her eyes away from Jack, she met Attwell’s gaze and struggled to keep her voice steady as she spoke, “He’s not the one who’s screwing up your deal with Leviathan, I am.”

“Of course, of course, the infamous codebreaker.” Attwell stepped closer but she held her ground, raising her chin in defiance and refusing to look away despite how uncomfortable his stare made her feel. After a tension-filled moment, his face broke out into a stomach-churning smirk. “It’s a shame that such promising talent’s being squandered by the SSR, by those who dismiss and condescend you at every turn. I was very much like you before joining Hydra; I was overshadowed at Cambridge by my perfect older brother and his two brilliant flatmates; while William, Michael and Adam flourished in their respective fields of study, I floundered and was subsequently expelled but as luck would have it, I was approached by Hydra and offered a chance to unlock my true potential; and here I stand before you, Agent (Y/L/N), to offer you that very-same chance. With the new Leviathan, your immeasurable skills would not only be recognized but they’d also be celebrated. You and Michael could work side-by-side in our efforts to break through as the world’s leading superpower and once we achieve our goal of fully weaponizing Zodiac, Agent (Y/L/N), you’ll have everything you’ve ever truly desired.”

Out of the corner of her eye, (Y/N) noticed Jack’s hand resting on his waist and while Attwell talked, her partner’s index finger had tapped away. It only took her seconds to realize he was sending out a message in Morse Code on the walkie-talkie still clipped onto his belt and once she did, she knew exactly what she needed to do.

“You know, it’s a good thing you’re decent at codebreaking, Specs, ‘cause you’d make a pretty shit spy. You fidget too much.”

If Jack can think up an off-the-cuff plan to get us out of this mess then I can buy us all a little time by being a good spy, she thought with resolve just as Attwell finished up his speech. Taking a page out of her partner’s book, (Y/N) raised an incredulous brow at the man as the corner of her mouth curled into a humorless smile. “There was a time when I would’ve given just about anything for people to recognize me and my skills, to appreciate just how hard I’ve worked to get where I am today. But then I grew up and realized that the only person whose appreciation I needed was my own. Mr. Attwell, I don’t need to be celebrated or appreciated by anyone, but especially not by a pathetic imitation of the Red Skull.”

The man’s expression instantly grew cold at the comparison. “Then it would seem that you’re of no use to us.” His gaze shifted to look at whoever was holding her at gunpoint and he nodded. “Shoot her, Michael.”

“Stop!” All of them looked over just as Peggy jumped out from behind their makeshift barricade with her rifle pointed directly at Attwell. “I’ll give you the key.”

“Peggy, no!” The barrel of the pistol pressed harder into (Y/N)’s neck and she winced in pain. However, her horror was quickly replaced with dawning comprehension when Peggy flashed her a pointed look before briefly glancing in Jack’s direction. She knows about whatever Jack’s planning, she silently realized, playing along with her old friend’s ruse by rearranging her features into a look of righteous indignation.

Moving to stand beside Attwell, Dottie raised the hand that wasn’t holding her rifle and gave the younger woman a small wave. “Hiya, Peggy. You know, you really should’ve listened to me back in New York; I told you there were currencies in the world stronger than money. I practically spelled all of this out for you! But the great Peggy Carter couldn’t figure it all out on her own, so she needed the help of…” Dottie turned to (Y/N) with a frown. “What’re those revolting nicknames you call each-? Oh, never mind, I don’t want to know.” Turning back to Peggy, the spy shrugged. “Well, I suppose not everyone’s perfect, are they?”

“No, they’re certainly not.” Attwell agreed, gesturing with his head for Peggy to lower her weapon and holding out his hand once she’d set it on the ground. “No tricks, Agent Carter. The key, and you and your friends are free to go; it appears that at least one of them is in need of medical attention, so I’d be quick about it if I were you.” When Peggy’s eyes flicked over to where Michael was standing behind (Y/N), Attwell chuckled darkly and shook his head. “No, I don’t think dear old Michael’s going anywhere but by all means, Agent, go ahead and ask him if you don’t believe me.”

For the first time since they were ushered into the warehouse, Peggy looked directly at her older brother. Her hardened expression slipped and for the briefest of moments, (Y/N) recognized the vulnerable young woman she’d known all those years ago at Bletchley Park who mourned her beloved brother’s death. While her lower lip trembled, Peggy finally addressed Michael. “Not too long ago, I had a dream about you and you told me that you’d be right alongside me if you could. I didn’t believe it was possible, even when (Y/N) and Jack told me it was, but now we have a second chance at being a family again. Michael, you can finally come home.” She blinked away her tears and gave him the ghost of an encouraging smile. “Please, Michael, come home with me.”

(Y/N) could feel the pressure on her neck ease up but just as she was beginning to think that Peggy had succeeded in getting through to him, Michael coolly replied, “This is my family, Agent, the only family I have in this world.”

Peggy’s face crumpled as Attwell laughed in amusement. “I told you so! Now, the key for your friends.”

God, I hope that whatever Jack’s planning happens sooner rather than later, (Y/N) silently prayed, sucking in a breath while the younger woman approached Attwell. Once Peggy reached into her pocket and withdrew the familiar Arena Club pin, the man looked over at Dottie and gave her a nod; the spy slung the strap of her rifle over her shoulder and made her way over to one of the many wooden crates near them, kicking the lid off of it and lifting a small metal box out of the loose excelsior. The box looked innocent enough but as Dottie walked it over to Attwell, (Y/N)’s blood ran cold and she knew that the moment Peggy handed over that key, Leviathan would possess one of the world’s deadliest weapons and they’ll have lost.

“Get up, Chief Thompson,” Michael barked and while Jack got to his feet, (Y/N) was roughly pushed towards him. “And you, stand over there with him.”

(Y/N) did as he said, standing beside Jack and keeping her eyes on the scene unfolding before them as she murmured, “You okay?”

“Yeah, you?”

“Peachy-keen.” She watched Dottie hand the metal box over to Attwell, her anxiety steadily building within her while he examined the box’s intricate lock. “Are you going to fill me in on the plan or what?”

The corner of Jack’s mouth curled upwards and he quietly replied, “Patience is a virtue, Specs, just be ready for it.”

“Be ready for wha-?”

Just then as Peggy’s hand stretched out to give Attwell the Arena Club pin, the warehouse wall opposite them exploded. Rubble and splintered pieces of crates flew through the air but before (Y/N) could fully react, gunfire broke out all around them. Amidst the chaos, Jack latched onto (Y/N)’s hand and ran, yanking her behind the nearest tower of crates as bullets whizzed past their heads; both of them crouched on the ground and peeked around the wooden crates, and her eyes widened in amazement at what she saw. The explosion that had knocked down part of the warehouse wall hadn’t been an explosion at all but rather one of the Howlies’ trucks and as (Y/N) watched, Daniel and Henry used the truck’s doors as barriers while they exchanged fire with the Leviathan guards. Moments later, she spotted Peggy dart out from one of the aisles to join her boyfriend behind the open truck door.

“Wa-Hoo!”

Dugan’s deafening war cry from across the warehouse was punctuated by a fresh barrage of gunfire, and (Y/N) couldn’t help but revel at the familiarity of it all; her eyes were suddenly drawn to two men sprinting down the aisle towards her and Jack, and it took her a tense moment to recognize them through all the chaos.

“There you guys are!” Howard exclaimed before ducking down beside them, followed closely by an anxious-looking Edwin Jarvis. Reaching into the satchel that was slung over his shoulders, the inventor withdrew two handguns and offered the weapons to them. “You know, you two’ve got a real habit of gettin’ into trouble…”

Jack rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Says the man who was mind-controlled into almost gassing all of New York last year.” Springing up, he fired off several shots before ducking back down. “How’re we looking, Jarvis?”

“Well, Chief Sousa’s dramatic entrance provided enough of a distraction for Mr. Fieldman to escort Mr. Pinkerton and Mr. Sawyer out the front; their wounds aren’t life-threatening, but Mr. Fieldman promised he’d help treat them once they reach the clearing.” The butler set another satchel on the ground in front of them. “And we’ve brought more guns and ammunition, as per your request.”

“You know, Thompson, you said in your message that you needed a big diversion, but that whole entrance was my idea; I actually took it from one of my studio’s newest scripts, where a gangster steals-”

“Of course, Mr. Stark, your genius knows no bounds.” Edwin hurriedly interrupted the inventor’s rambling, glancing over at (Y/N) with his brow furrowed in worry. “And have you broken Mr. Carter out of his brainwashing? Where is he?”

Looking around the edge of the crate, (Y/N)’s heart dropped when noticed that several important people were missing from the gunfight. “Where the hell did they go, Jack?”

Jack craned his neck to see what she was looking at and swore loudly. “Shit, I-wait, they’re on the stairs!” By the time (Y/N) spotted them, Attwell, Dottie and Michael had reached the top of the stairs and had disappeared around the corner. “Jarvis, stay here with Stark and cover us, then go help the others.” Edwin nodded and her partner turned towards her, his blue eyes scanning her face for any signs of trepidation as he asked, “Are you ready, Specs?”

“As I’ll ever be,” (Y/N) pulled an extra ammunition magazine out of the satchel and tucked it into her pocket before giving Jack a determined nod. “Let’s finish this once and for all, Flyboy.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Compared to the chaotic warehouse they’d come from, the rest of the facility was eerily silent and it wasn’t at-all difficult to follow the footsteps of the fleeing trio through the deserted hallways.

“You know that this is probably a trap, right?”

“Naturally.”

“Good. Just wanted to make sure that we’re both on the same page.”

Before (Y/N) could get another word in, a figure she soon recognized as Dottie dropped down from above them and began attacking; the spy kicked the guns out of their hands, ramming her knee into (Y/N)’s stomach and knocking the wind out of her before spinning and using her leg to slam Jack into the wall beside them. (Y/N) took advantage of Dottie’s momentary distraction and aimed a side-kick at her thigh, but the spy merely turned her sharp fall into a somersault; she stood and threw a punch that (Y/N) was quick to duck, and then she grabbed the spy’s extended arm with the intent of wrenching it behind her back. Dottie predicted the move, yanking her arm free only to wrap her hand around her throat and roughly shove her back against the wall.

The back of (Y/N)’s head erupted into a sharp pain while Dottie flashed her a condescending smile. “I already told you, you’re too easy! It’s almost pathetic to see you try so hard to be as good as Peggy.”

“Don’t need to be as good as Peggy,” (Y/N) choked out as the fingers around her throat tightened. “Just…just good enough to keep you distracted.”

Dottie frowned in confusion and that’s when Jack slammed the butt of his gun against the back of her head. The spy tumbled to the ground in an unconscious heap and (Y/N) doubled over, her hands firmly clutching her knees as she coughed and gasped for air. “(Y/N), you okay?” She nodded and allowed Jack to take hold of her shoulders, his soothing encouragements helping her finally regain her breath; once he was sure that she was fine, her partner handed over her dropped gun and rested his hand against the small of her back to urge her forward. “C’mon, let’s go…”

They left the motionless spy behind and continued down the hallway, turning the corner and finding themselves at the entrance of a dimly-lit boiler room. Beside (Y/N), Jack shuddered and she recalled the story he’d told her of the mission he and Peggy had conducted to investigate one of Leviathan’s training facilities; she nudged him with her elbow and gave him a brief smile, wishing that she could offer him more comfort but not wanting to distract them both from their mission. Jack nodded as if to say he was fine, but his shoulders remained tense while he silently gestured for her to go left into the room while he went right.

(Y/N) crept behind the various boilers and pipes, careful not to slip on the slick ground as she did. If I end up surviving all this, I think I’m going to sleep for a week straight, she thought to herself, her heart rate steadily increasing with each step she took. While she edged herself around another heavy piece of industrial furnacing, she found herself trying to think of how to break Michael out of his mind-control long enough to save him; Jack insisted that cognitive re-calibration was the only way but after being present for Peggy and Michael’s reunion, she wondered if reminding him of his past or even recent actions would also do the trick. But a sharp skid noise right behind her made her forget her train of thought and turn, dodging the knife just in time.

“You really should’ve taken my offer, Agent (Y/L/N),” Attwell spat out, slashing at her with the knife again and forcing her to stumble back into the center aisle of the boiler room; the blade sliced against her forearm and she stifled her cry of pain, dropping her gun and leaping out of the way as he aimed for her again. “Soon, you and your foolish friends will be dead and Leviathan will have more power than you could possibly imagine!”

“Don’t you ever get tired of hearing your own damn voice?” (Y/N) retorted, her hand shooting out and twisting the red-colored knob beside them; a pipe next to Attwell spewed out pressurized steam and he let out a shriek of pain as the steam enveloped the right side of his face. Not wanting to stick around, she turned and sprinted further into the vast room, a part of her hoping that she’d bought herself enough time to save Michael. Skidding around a corner, she was immediately met with the sight of Jack and Michael engaged in a vicious fight on the floor; her partner was trying to wrestle something out of the other man’s closed fist, but he was so preoccupied with his task that he didn’t see Michael’s other hand brush the handle of a nearby gun. (Y/N) kicked the gun away from him, pinning his shoulder to the ground with her knee and spoke the first thing that came to mind. “Visions, light, cheered, night, dream!”

As she finished reciting the five words he’d used to encode his final message to Peggy, something shifted in Michael’s dark eyes and his clenched fist relaxed, allowing Jack to snatch the Arena Club pin from him. Before any of them could say or do anything more, a fiery ache erupted along her shoulder blade and she cried out in pain as she pitched forward. “(Y/N)!” Jack looped his arms underneath hers and dragged her over to half-lean against a pipe; her vision was partially clouded by the pain, but she could still make out the bloody knife he’d just pulled out of her upper back and tossed onto the ground beside them. “No, no, don’t look at that, just keep your eyes on me!” He pressed his trembling hand tight against the wound and when she nearly whimpered, he held the side of her face with the other and frantically nodded, his blue eyes steadily filling with panic that he struggled to control. “I-I know it hurts, baby, but I have to keep pressure on it; it’s not very deep, but I can’t have you fainting right now so keep your eyes on me, c’mon-”

“How touching,” Both of them looked up to see Attwell and Michael standing before them, the former with a self-satisfied smirk on his half-seared face and the latter staring stonily down at them. “Let’s make a new deal, Chief Thompson: Give me the key, and I won’t let Agent (Y/L/N) slowly bleed out on the floor of this boiler room.”

“Bastard.” Jack spat back, but his hand left (Y/N)’s face long enough to retrieve the Arena Club pin from his pocket and throw it into Attwell’s waiting hand. “You better start lookin’ over your shoulder now, Attwell, ‘cause I won’t rest until I kill you myself.”

Attwell shrugged and ran his fingers over the pin, twisting it sharply to convert it into a key. “Such fiery attitude in the face of doom was precisely why I was looking forward to killing you. But then I realized, forcing a man like you to live with your mistakes is a far worse punishment than death; and to make this victory sweeter, I plan on unlocking Zodiac in front of you both, so you can see just how spectacularly you failed yourselves, your agency and your country.” He turned to Michael with his brow raised in expectation. “Are you ready to make history, old chap?”

Michael nodded. “Of course…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the metal box containing Zodiac; (Y/N) tried getting up, unwilling to sit back and let Leviathan win, but Jack’s strong arms held her in place against him. When she met his gaze, he gave her a barely-discernible head shake and with her jaw clenched tight, she watched Attwell push the key into the lock and turn it clockwise; the lid popped open and the man breathed a sigh of relief, reaching into the slightly-smoking box and holding an electric-blue colored vial with strange etchings carved into the glass.

“Beautiful, isn’t it? So much potential for war and destruction, and it fits within the palm of my hand.” Attwell looked up at Michael and continued, “My brother never appreciated such things, you know. He never truly appreciated you, either; once you were found out to be a deep-cover spy for the SOE, I saw an opportunity to mold you into the person you were always meant to be. Do you remember the first thing I told you after you came out of Hydra’s operating room?”

Michael’s hardened expression faltered, almost as if he was struggling to control his actions, and in an instant, he drew his gun and shot Attwell directly in the chest. There were tears in his eyes as he finally replied, “‘Michael, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.’”

The box and the vial slipped out of the dying man’s hands and as he began to sway dangerously on his feet, (Y/N) lunged forward and caught both in her hands before they could hit the ground. While Attwell’s lifeless body collapsed to the ground in a heap, she and Jack hurriedly placed the deadly Zodiac back into the box and slammed the lid closed; she let out a shaky breath, unable to grasp everything that had just happened. Michael dropped to his knees, tossing his gun to the side and rubbing his head with one hand; still mindful of her now-oozing wound, Jack held her a little closer as they both warily watched the unsteady man turn away from Attwell’s body to look at them. “I-It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Agent (Y/L/N). I’m Michael Carter, SOE.”

A smile slowly stretched across (Y/N)’s face and a sense of relief was beginning to wash over her as a familiar voice called throughout the boiler room. “(Y/N)? Jack?”

“We’re back here, (Y/N) needs some medical attention but we’re okay!” Jack called back, meeting (Y/N)’s gaze and flashing her a lopsided grin. “You’re gonna be fine, Specs, you hear me?” With a relieved chuckle, Jack leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her sweat-covered brow before resting his cheek on the top of her head. “We’re all gonna be fine.”

“Hey!” The first person who rounded the corner was Daniel, whose gun was already at the ready when he pointed it at Michael. “Hey, get the hell away from them!”

Jack held out a placating hand to the chief. “Easy, Danny Boy, he’s good right now; he’s the one who killed Attwell.”

Lowering his gun, Daniel limped over to where they sat against the pipe and knelt down as best he could to examine her knife wound. “Looks like the knife missed everything important, thank goodness. What the hell happened down here?”

Jack detailed everything they’d dealt with after hurrying out of the warehouse as their friends joined them; Edwin began treating her various wounds with Henry’s assistance, Howard carefully stowed the box containing Zodiac and its key into a satchel and Dugan worked on locating a weak point in the wall to blow a quick exit for them. There was a flurry of voices and activity surrounding (Y/N), but all her attention was on Peggy and Michael; they were talking to each other in low tones, Michael looking heartbreakingly unsure and Peggy trying her hardest not to cry, until they both surged forward and hugged one another. For the second time that day, (Y/N) was reminded of Freddie but while she watched the Carter siblings finally reunite, she didn’t feel sadness or envy, but rather pride. She was proud of herself, for having helped stop Leviathan’s plans and for having made-do on her promise to reunite her oldest and dearest friend with her beloved brother. If anyone deserves a second chance at happiness it’s those two, she thought to herself, taking a deep breath and resting her head against Jack’s strong shoulder.

They did it.

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A/N: Only one more chapter left!! Like I said, idk how I feel about this chapter as a whole so I’m sorry if there’s mistakes/it’s bad, but next week’s is gonna be great! Thank you guys so much for reading! If you haven’t checked it out yet, I created a Spotify playlist for this series and it’s linked down below!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/21pWY7OiMFj8LaYpxhtVtW

Chapter Twenty

“Specs and the Flyboy” Masterlist

Tagging: @nnon-it-up @fluffymadamina @remmyswritings @ourstarsailor @darkusangelus @josis-teacup @marvel-jackt-loki-buck @yeetyeetchickenmeat @sameoldbaby @theserenityspace @seeing-but-not-observing @supervoldejaygent @momc95 @brooke0297 @kinda-c0nfused @outoftheregular

#jack thompson x reader #agent carter #jack thompson #peggy carter #daniel sousa #howard stark #edwin jarvis #dum dum dugan #pinky pinkerton #happy sam sawyer #the howling commandos #michael carter #dottie underwood #marvel cinematic universe #strategic scientific reserve

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 4 years

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Can you write an AU where the reader is a ssr in a gacha game that the twst boys really want to pull? pick any boys you want, I'm not picky...I just really need encouragement to not pull on permanent card rate up banners, lol

...As much as I love Rook, this is a public service announcement: do not, I REPEAT, do NOT roll for characters that will eventually be added to the permanent pool!! SAVE FOR THOSE PRECIOUS BIRTHDAY BOIS AND EVENT LIMITED CARDS!!

@pianostarinwonderland and @jellyfishstuckinwonderland (members of the Azul salt squad) this one goes out to you poor, unfortunate souls.

Imagine this...

Clack.

“Checkmate,” Azul declared, whisking a black king piece off of a checkered board. He smirked, relishing in the taste of victory. His eyes cut to his opponent across the way, eager to drink in their defeated expression.

Azul was sorely disappointed to find Idia’s face buried in his phone, fingers flying across the screen.

“Idia-san. It is rather rude of you to be fixated on your device once again rather than engaging with your beloved board gaming buddy,” Azul lamented out loud, wiping at a nonexistent tear.

“C-Can’t talk,” Idia mumbled back, his eyes still glued onto his screen. “Gotta grind, get mats, rank at top of the leaderboard...th-then I can get all the dupes I need of the e-event exclusive card...and I can limit break it, use the leftovers to roll for the new OP SSR in the pool...Hihihihi!”

Azul heaved a sigh. “Whatever in the world are you talking about now? It sounds like nothing more than needless babbling to me.”

“Hmph. N-Normies could never hope to understand the genius that is Warped Looking Glass, but I thought better of you, Azul-shi!”

“Ah, that.” The octopus snorted, folding his arms. “You are well aware that I am not a fan of games of chance--those gacha of yours. You should not be surprised.”

The word gacha drips with both disdain and respect--disdain because the odds were never stacked in one’s favor, and respect because by the Great Seven, those games must haul in a boatload of money. And for what? Nothing more than PNGs? A businessman like Azul had to, at the very least, respect that.

Curiosity nipped at the back of his head--so he bit the bullet and dared to ask a question.

“What is even so appealing about those...‘waifus and husbandos’ of yours?” Azul made air quotes with his fingers as the unfamiliar phrase unceremoniously tumbled out from his lips.

“Wh-What’s so appealing? Wh-What’s so appealing?!” Idia tore away from his screen and stared at his club mate with bulging eyes. “I-I’ll show you what’s appealing...!! T-Take a look at the limited cards for the Song of the Sea event!!”

He shoved his phone into Azul’s face.

A series of images faded in and out of view--no doubt whatever overpriced PNGs were most coveted at the time.

First, a finely dressed noblewoman, seated at a grand piano. Her hair was pinned up in a seashell comb, set in a scattering of pearls.

Next, what appeared to be a younger girl in a wide brimmed hat of a strange, gelatinous consistency. She was seated at a pier, dipping her toes into the ocean.

And finally...

“Idia-san. Who is this?” Azul inquired, pointing to the third card on the banner. “This character with the charming smile.”

“Hihihi, impressed?” Idia snickered to himself. “That’s (Y/N), the super exclusive, event limited card that I’ve been saving up for months to roll for...!! Aren’t they so cute? They also have a r-really interesting backstory and personality. A-And look, their stats and skills are amazing too...! They’d be a perfect fit for my roster...!!”

Azul looked again, just as his companion instructed--and in that moment, he could perfectly understand how gacha games milked their players for so much Madol.

“...Do you have them?” he inquired.

“N-No,” Idia confessed, bristling, “b-but that’s why I-I’m grinding now! S-So I can have more pulls...!!”

“I do not see you ‘grinding’ at the moment, Idia-san.”

“Th-That’s because you...”

“Still not grinding, Idia-san,” Azul teased in a sing song. “I believe you’d best get your priorities straight, yes?”

“G-Gurk...!! Y-You’re right!! I need to get back at it!” With a growl, he ripped back his phone and set to pulling up the level select menu.

Azul let out a bittersweet laugh. “I suppose that leaves me to clean up after our match today?”

“I-I’ll pay you back with some fried chicken later,” Idia promised, though he only seemed to be half paying attention.

“No need,” Azul insisted with the wave of a hand. “All that I ask is that, when you finally pull (Y/N), you show them off to me. I am rather interested in learning more about them, you see.”

“Eeeeeh, so even the scheming capitalist octopus Azul-shi has a type...”

“Think what you will. I only wish you the best of luck,” Azul smirked. “May the Goddess of Fortune be ever in your favor.”

#twst #twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #Azul Ashengrotto #Idia Shroud #imagine this #twisted wonderland headcanons #twisted wonderland requests #twisted wonderland imagines #twisted wonderland scenarios #Reader #self insert

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weebtarurights · 4 years

Text

Sakyo Furuichi SSR ( Thanks for the Delicious Meal ) - Part 2

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 ||

(T/N: SakyoIzu crumbs y’all (ﾉŎꇴŎ)ﾉ*✲ﾟ*｡⋆ )

Story Title: “ A Yakuza(abbrv.) Who Likes to Save Money”

Izumi: ( I ended up coming here.... ) ( I didn't expect I'd be hooked with it... It is packed with unexpected and exciting development about duty and humanity and in such an unorthodox setting too) ..... The line is not advancing at all.

Sakyo: .... Geez. Why do I have to spend my precious day off in a place like this? Izumi: But Sakyo-san, you got hooked on it too. You stayed up all night watching the anime, didn't you? After that, you even read the original novel... Sakyo: That's because they omitted some scenes in the anime. It's only natural. Izumi: (He's one huge fan ) "Ganayaku" also added scenes in the animation. There's this scene where the main character rushed to help his younger brother! Sakyo: Indeed. That's why after reading the original story, I rewatched the anime from the 1st episode. Izumi: ( He's one die-hard fan...) Sakyo: Speaking of a good scene, after his younger brother's betrayal--- Izumi: Ah ! They haven't reached that part in the anime yet. Don't spoil me ! Sakyo: You're right. My bad. Izumi: It's fine... It's just that keywords such as 'betrayal' is making me super curious. Sakyo: Wanna hear about it? Izumi: I'll hold off! Thanks to "Ganayaku", we were able to study the pattern and theories of getting reincarnated to another world. Sakyo: As for the setting, I’d say it’s classic. The author understands that duty and humanity are indispensable for a yakuza. Izumi: --Ah, the line is moving.

Izumi: We finally reached the showpiece photo spot ! Sakyo: It’s the scene setting for the 1st season’s last battle. Izumi: The famous scene where they revealed the true identity of the main character's beloved younger brother. Sakyo: I didn't expect he's also reincarnated from the present world. Izumi: I was surprised! Sakyo: The best part was when the main character preached a line about duty and humanity. Izumi: It's extremely passionate, isn't it? Staff: Next person. Come this way, please. Izumi: Ah! They have the main character's sword and shield ! Staff: The staff will take a photo, please strike a pose. Izumi: Ehh !? ( I-it's kinda embarrassing...) Sakyo-san, do it! Sakyo: Aah? Izumi: It's a great reference for your role making! Sakyo: Don't you just want to push things on to me? Izumi: Well, well. Sakyo: Can't help it. "I can never forgive a man who tramples on his own duty and humanity. I'll defeat every single one of you!" Izumi: Ohh--! As expected of Sakyo-san, you're unshakable! Staff: It's perfect ! Izumi: Well then, let's head to the next spot--- Sakyo: ..... You made me do it, do it too. Izumi: Ehh?! Staff: Since you're already here. Please, come this way. Izumi: Uh, ughh. "I, I can never forgive a man w-who tramples on his own duty and humanity. I-I'll d-defeat every single one of y-you!" Sakyo: ..... You're a ham actor as usual. Izumi: It's not obvious in the photo so it's all good!

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NOTES:

1) Izumi refers to イロモノ (iromono) a general term for anything unorthodox.

2) Izumi refers to compound kanji '義理人情' (Giri ninjō) meaning duty and humanity; or a sense of moral obligation and humane feelings.

3) Izumi refers to ‘お約束’ (oyakusoku) it literally means ‘promise’--but in creative media, ‘oyakusoku’ refers to formula or ‘pattern’ of development that is repeated every time in different media.

(T/N: So many confusing words in this one..... (꒪ཀ꒪」∠)_ )

#a3 translations tumblr #a3! sakyo #sakyo furuichi #sakyo furuichi cards #sakyo furuichi backstage story #Autumn Troupe 7th Play #sakyoizu #a3! backstage #Welcome to Akebono-so

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peggysousfan · 4 years

Text

The Torment of the Future

Here is an Au series I have started where Peggy and Daniel are brought back from the dead and mix in with the Marvel movies on Infinity War and Endgame. This is just the 1st chapter, so this is just the intro. Enjoy the twist and surprises in store😉

There in the hidden bunker below, down and down you go far from civilization, they sleep. Two figure locked in cages, beaten and bruised like wild animals. They hold each others hands through the bar; a small comfort to hold their beloved in this time of torment.

All at once it seamed reality and their lives were flipped upside down. What started as a long over due reunion for the lovers, it was all ripped apart by an endless void. They clung to the other with all their might, but they were torn away. For what seemed like hours they opened their eyes again, and meet each other's gaze. Their hands reach out to the other, only to be stopped by the rusted, cold, metal bars. The woman's face began to stain in tears and her love wiped them away. They tried to get free, tried to hold each other again, but it was no use; and they noise they made only caught the attention of their keepers. For days, weeks, months, they didn't know, they were beaten and tortured; everyday for hours on end.

"Stop! Please- Just s- stop!"

The guard grinned, yanking the man's matted hair, caked in grime and blood.

"Plea- please..." She begged, her hands just out of reach from her beloved. "Ple- please don- don't... don't hurt h- him..."

Her face is drenched in the saltiness of her tears, and there's nothing she can do. She thought this part of her life was over. No more running, no more fighting. It was simply the darkness that took hold of her in her sleep that transported her to live anew, back into her husband's arms. He died several years before she did, and she longed to see him again; yearning for nothing more than a kiss and an embrace. Just one more time. And it seemed as if God had heard her prayer before death, too, took her away; and she was met with the loving face she missed do dearly. Now it seemed, they were alive and young again; only to be trapped and tortured.

"W-what do you want from us!?" She yells with a crack in her voice. And a crack in her will to continue living. She and her husband both agree its time to give up, to stop fighting; they won the fight of life a long time ago. They would die and hold each other as close as possible; returning to the light they once knew.

As she continues to listen to his cries of agony, she grabs the bars and shakes on the door, anything to get him to stop. And to her surprise it works, but it doesn't work out as she expects it too.

"No. No please no-" The guard hits him in the head and tosses him back into his cell as he enters the woman's, She backs away into the corner and tries to make a run for it, but he grabs her from her hair and drags her out. "Take me! Let her go and take me!!" He shouts, but to no avail."No.." He sits down and slides against the bars, as she cries out from the electric bar whipping her spine.

He recounts they day they met at the SSR, and he was so nervous. She was his first friend there, and the only person he liked. He fell too hard too fast, and was distraught when she declined his offer to go out for drinks. Little did he know, she was meeting with a friend to move into an new arrangement, and he took it the wrong way; so wrong he moves across the country to get away from her. He was afraid to be around the woman he loved and think she never thought the same; but he was entirely wrong.

She called him everyday, but he never answered. She flew across the country, saved his life, and asked him out; but he declined. She found out about his new girlfriend, and encouraged his happiness; so much that he actually proposed. And yet it didn't work out. All it took was watching her nearly die to know he can never fall out of love, to know he can never out run his feelings no matter how far he moves away. It wasn't until he was teasing her after she saved him when she actually made the first move. She kissed him so hard he lost his balance and they fell into his office chair; and they've never been apart since then.

There first date was out to get ice cream once the files were written up from the Isodine case. Then the were thrown into another problem; the attempted murder of a dear friend. Chief Jack Thompson got in over his head with the people he associate with, and it nearly got him killed stealing a redacted file on her. The woman now being tortured. Come to find out the man that shot Thompson was her long lost, dead brother; Micheal. He was kidnapped during the war and brain washed using an early Hydra program. They were able to help him get better and take down the SSR to get rid of the hydra operatives that slithered in.

Once the SSR was shut down, something new emerged; SHIELD. It was created to help the world from threats beyond the normal problems, and to get rid of Hydra once and for all; even if that meant some got int only to get dummy cases and be sent into death traps. But none of that matter now, because it didn't work. And now they are at the will and whim of Hydra; being tortured and starved for no reason at all. Not even an explanation of how they were brought back to life.

Lost in his distracting thoughts, he finally notices the screams have stopped, and turns around to find her unconscious in HIS cell. The guard watches as he rushes over to her, keeping her in his lap. He checks for a pulse and finds it, but its very faint.

"She need medical attention. Now!" But the guard does nothing but stare fro several more moments, then walks away. The man cries out and groans in frustration as he holds his wife closer. "P-Peggy." He stutters. "Peg you gotta listen to me, okay? You're gonna be fine, amada. I just need you to be strong and hold on." He looks down at her and she doesn't even stir; and his heart begins to shatter. his own face begins to stain as she moves slightly in his arms. "Peg?" She takes a gasp of air and sits up slightly. "Peggy!" He hold her against his chest, as she cries.

"D-Daniel? Daniel!" She exclaims, throwing her arms around his neck. Although it hurts, they refuse to let go. He only leans back to pepper her face in sweet, tender kisses. She leans forward and hold him close, giggling at his affection.

"I'm never letting you go again." He whispers. "Never!" He squeezes her tight nearly to the brink of pain, but she doesn't mind.

"I heartly concur." She releases his neck and attacks his lips with hers. At first he's in shock, then melts in the feeling. They kiss and kiss and kiss until their lips are bruised and their lungs are out of breath. Peggy snuggles against him, her body between his legs huddled close, as he leans against the wall, embracing her. They're hearts beat as one as they begin to relax and forget their troubles; content to only hold and love one another. The fall asleep holding each other, everything is quiet, that is until they hear a large bang. "What was that?" She asks untangling herself from him; but he doesn't let go of her.

"I'm not sure." They watch the door intensely, waiting for an explanation.

"Daniel..." She tries to walk to the door, but he doesn't let her.

"Not yet. Lets just...wait." She looks over her shoulder at him; giving him the look. "Peg we don't know anything. Not only can we barely stand up, let alone fight our way out of here, I'm not gonna lose you again. I just got you back." She looks into his eyes and sees the unspoken words and the fear in his eyes; so she stays. After several minutes of loud banging and yelling, the door bursts open by people in uniform, head to toe in government gear.

"Since when does Hydra keep prisoners locked in cages like this in a basement?" One of them says.

"Since when did Hydra resurface after Talbot and that whole charade with Thanos?" Another one says; this one is a woman.

"Oh. My. God." Another woman enters the room, in no tactical gear, and freezes at the sight of them.

"What? Do you know these people, Simmons?" The tall man asks.

"Know them?! How could you not. Especially her!" She says with an enormous smile on her face as she runs to the door and shoots the lock. "Are you both ok- oh no." She stops as she sees the extensive wounds on both of them. She turns to her peers and ushers them inside. "Quickly, we need to get them to med bay. Now!"

"We're aren't going anywhere before we know WHAT THE HELL is going on!"Peggy yells. "Who are you people!?" Simmons backs away out of shock. She didn't expect her outburst.

"Oh my God, is she-"The woman in gear starts to speak.

"I think so, May. She certainly looks like her." Simmons says and she grabs medical supplies from her bag.

"Am I missing something here?"The man asks

"You're always missing something Mack." May says sarcastically, but everyone can see the small smirk on her face; that's as close as she gets to a smile or any expression of enjoyment. Simmons reaches out to Peggy and Peggy balls up her fist ready to punch.

"Touch me and you'll regret it." She spews.

"Who are you people? And what do you want with us?" Daniel finally speaks as Peggy leans further back into him; not giving a damn who sees.

"Right now all we want to do is help you." Simmons speaks, gesturing towards the supplies. "We aren't with Hydra, quite the opposite actually. But given you're the founder of our organization, I would think you would understand where it is we work." "What?"

"We're working with S.H.I.E.L.D." Agent May speaks.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.? But-" Peggy looks at Daniel and sees his confusion. "That can't be right. S.H.I.E.L.D. fell in 2015 after Hydra destroyed it."

"You remember that?" Simmons asks

"Vaguely. Its not all clear but...It is hard to forget that my entire life's work went down because bloody Captain America couldn't help but put his nose in business that didn't concern him."

"Y-you remember that too?" May asks, shocked.

"Obviously. That wanker wouldn't stop visiting me while I was in the nursing home. He kept obsessing over the war and how he wished he could go back."

"He loves you. How is that obsession?"

"If he loved me," she looks at Mack. "Then he would accept that fact that I moved on with my life and was happy without him there. Its been what? at least 4 years the last I checked before I died. He needs to let me go and get over himself." Her blood starts to boil and Daniel holds her arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. The bracelet on her wrist starts to glow and gives her a small shock, and she groans from pain, and Daniel whispers in her ear to calm her down.

"What is that for?" "Don't touch me." Peggy snaps at Jemma's fascination.

"Please, Directer, let us help. We won't do you any harm." At first she's hesitant, but lets Simmons look at their wounds.

"Don't touch that!" Peggy shouts as she touches the bracelet. "Leave it be."

"What does it do?" She asks gently. Peggy doesn't answer, instead she looks over at Daniel and he takes her hand in his.

"It's for her safety. And all of ours." He explains. Everyone turns to him and May asks who he is. She's never seen his file.

"He's my husband." And as Peggy says this, they;'re all stunned. "You've never read his file because I destroyed it. No one could know his identity or about his connection and relationship with me." She explains.

"I guess that makes sense." Mack says. "Can you both stand? We should get you both back to head quarters to get you properly treated." The lovers share a glance and have a silent agreement. They both nod and are taken one the quinjet to the Lighthouse. When they get to the med bay they are all patched up and take care of.

"Your wounds are extensive, especially the ones on your back, Director. As for your husband..."

"Daniel. Daniel Sousa." They shake hands and she continues speaking.

"And as for your wounds, Agent Sousa, you have a broken rib and a a minor concussion." The married pair nod along as they listen. "I know you said you don't want me to take off your...wrist band, Director, but it has causes burns on your skin that need to be treated." Peggy looks down at her lap, and takes a deep breath. "May I ask why it is you want to keep a device that torture you on your wrist?"

"Because I need it. It...helps me." Simmons looks perplexed as she tries to figure out what Director Carter means.

"Peg..." She looks up at Daniel. "I think we can trust them. It's okay." He smiles at her, trying to bring a small comfort to her in this moment of fear.

"I need this because it helps keep it under control." She chokes up.

"Keep what under control?" Jemma asks, her brows furrowed. Peggy sighs and wipes away a loose tear.

"M-My...abilities."

"Abilities?! What abilities? How long have you had them?!" She fires up in excitement, quickly examining the bracelet.

"I'm not sure. We only found out about them while we were in the bunker,"Peggy says. "I'm not sure how long we were down there, but I do know that some days they would take me away from Daniel and..." She breaks away from speaking and and tries to gather her composure, but the memories continue to play in her mind. The torment an torture. Being tied down and cut into like a sack of meet. Being pocked with needles and having blood drawn, as well as odd colored injections.All of this was swirling through her mind and she had to ground herself and remember it wasn't real.

"Director...?" She looks up and notices Simmons patiently waiting.

"They did experiments I believe. My blood was drawn and I was constantly injected with an odd liquid that burned throughout my entire body. I wasn't sure what it was suppose to do until..." She stops again and looks at Daniel, who's hand is outstretched to her, and she takes it.

"Until she got so desperate and angry at the guard that beat me half to death," Daniel chimes in. "She screame at the top of her lungs from the pain in her veins. And that's when it happened."

"What happened?" Jemma asks, leaning in her seat like an excited child.

"She blew the bars off the hinges in a light show of an explosion from her hands." Peggy looks away but squeezes his hand. "Scared the hell outta the guard, and me. I think it scared her most of all..." He tips his head and peaks into her face, and she nods. "But she ran with it and blew a damn whole in the guards body like laser or something. It felt like all the energy in the room was vacuumed into her and she started to...glow." He says in amazement. "But more came in and tackled her down, forcing that band on her wrist. She never learned to control whatever it is she does. And she's afraid of it."

"That's...incredible. I-I mean awful that you went through that but, your abilities sound incredible. Now I can run some tests on your DNA to see just what we're dealing with. And I can take the band off and replace it with one that doesn't hurt. It will dampen your powers, but it will make sure not to burn you and cause you any sort of pain." Peggy agrees and then is taken to a different room for those tests.

"So...what does it say?"

"I-I've never seen anything like this before. Its like pure energy is coursing through your veins. I can also see molecule structure similar to what we find in space."

"Space? As in the stars and planets sort of space?"

"Yes. Those particles and structures discovered in astral phenomenons and super novas, that is. See here, how you cells are estranged from this set here and then this one?" Peggy nods. "These cells are inhuman, the other human; but yours...its as if its a hybrid mixture of human, inhuman, and something else. Something that Captain Marvel herself may very well posses."

"Who?"

"Oh shes an Avenger that has similar abilities to yours. She glows and fly's and has abilities that have to do with energy; but its not exactly the same as yours." Simmons continues to explain. "You see, your power has to do with everything around you, that and your emotions. It doesn't come from a source inside of you, not like it does with her. Yours is also very new and unpracticed. I think once you train and get comfortable with them, then you'll be just fine."

"What happens if I suppress them for too long or don't practice?" Jemma looks at Peggy and presses her lips together sheepishly.

"Well that's another matter we will have to test. But from what I can read from your incredible results...nothing good." She slouches in the chair in the lab as she lets this sink in. "If you don't want to suppress them and would like them to just be controlled so you can train, I can modify a device to do that instead."

"If you think that's best...then I'll do it."

"Only if that's what you want, Directer Carter."

"Peggy, please, or Agent Carter if you prefer." She corrects Simmons. "I'm not the director anymore."

"Alright, Peggy." Jemma smiles like a fan-girl. "If you would like to practice with your abilities and get them under control, then I can design something up for you and get your opinion."

"That would be great, thank you Agent Simmons."

"Jemma." She reaches out her hand and they shake on it. Peggy gets up and leaves the lab to find Daniel, and Jemma walks into the Director's office.

"Simmons. You're back. So what do you have to report on...them." He gestures towards the outside.

Jemma confirms they are the real Margaret 'Peggy' Carter and Daniel Sousa. They were brought back to life with the same alien DNA Coulson had, but their formula was different; so they won't go insane like he did. She informs him of the injuries that they have, but they will make a full recovery; and she also tells him about Peggy's DNA and abilities.

"Note to self, don't piss off Peggy Carter. Not unless you want to die in an actual nuclear explosion." Mack mumbles. "And I though May and Daisy were terrifying when they were mad...damn."

#peggysous #peggy carter #daniel sousa #Peggy x Daniel #peggysous fic #agent carter #agents of shield #au fanfic

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green-eyeddragonfanfiction · 6 years

Text

War of Attrition: Chapter 11

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier x Reader Summary: Best friends with Steve Rogers, renowned Howling Commando, and married to one James Buchanan Barnes, your life wasn’t perfect, but it was as close as it could possibly be in the middle of World War II. Then you fell from a train in the Alps, and everything changed. You spent nearly 70 years as a tool of Hydra alongside your beloved, though your past with him was more often than not forgotten. You continue to search through old SSR files for the information you lead, growing more attached to the people in the base than you’re sure is healthy. It’s only a matter of time until you find what you need, but will it be what you wanted? Warnings: Swearing (always), mentions of torture, blood, death Word Count: ~6,327 A/N: I’m sorry

Masterlist // Book One // Book Two

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

There was a long pause, then, “Understood, Misses Barnes. We’ll prioritize non-lethal weaponry and use normal guns only if everything else fails.”

You crossed your arms and glared down at the speaker. “I suggest you don’t fail, then.”

Fitz grinned tentatively you and Mack gave you an appraising stare. When Coulson spoke up again, his voice gentler than before. “We’ll try our best, Misses Barnes.”

After all the commotion had died down and the call with Coulson’s team ended, you went back down into Vault B. Sitting idly never worked for you, not when you were waiting on something important. You realized the antsy feeling in your gut was a familiar one. It reminded you of all the times you stayed back from a fight with Steve, Bucky, and the guys to run communications and logistics. Every second of it sucked, never knowing if they’d all come back in one piece or not.

Movement in the doorway caught your eye.

Fitz stood there, body half-covered by the wall. “They, uh... They’re back and-”

“Gill?” you asked tersely.

“Alive,” Fitz confirmed.

Tension you’d been accumulating since the call went out an hour or so ago finally left your body and you released a long, relieved sigh. “Good. That’s good.”

“We- We don’t know if- if he’ll be-”

“Brainwashed when he wakes up?” you asked, crossing your arms across your chest. Fitz nodded slowly. “The best way to keep your people safe is to secure him until you’re sure of his mental state. Until you find away to get the brainwashing out of his head you’ll have to be careful, for your sakes as well as his own. Just... don’t treat him like an animal or some sort of subhuman. He deserves better than that. He’s the victim.”

“Like you?” Fitz asked quietly and earnestly, gaze calculating even if his brain wasn’t working at the same level it used to.

You let out a long sigh. “I’m not innocent, Fitz. I’m not talking about the things Hydra made me do, either. I created weapons. Designed them to be just a little more deadly than the opponents, just a bit more efficient to construct. I could have created a weapon from the designs in my head at Azzano that could have ended the war in a week, but I didn’t.”

“Why not?” Fitz asked quietly, picking at some of the peeling paint on the door jamb.

You scowled. “For the same reason I think Hiroshima and Nagasaki were mistakes. Catastrophic loss of human life? The murder of civilians? I hate that the world somehow managed to accept that. Weapons that destructive don’t discriminate. Even if they did, who should decide who lives and who dies? So, you only kill all the enemy soldiers. What about the ones who joined up just to protect their family? The ones that joined because they had nowhere else to go? Nothing else they could do? The ones that cried every night while they thought about the people they killed and the friends and loved ones they lost? Should we create an algorithm like Zola and Hydra? No thank you. No, I wouldn’t be party to something so heinous. Didn’t stop me from creating guns with Stark that would get thousands of people killed, though, and reaping the profits.”

You lost yourself in your thoughts for a minute and looked up. You were halfway to apologizing when you realized he probably understood better than anyone else in this base what it was like to lose yourself in your own head.

You sighed. “But that kid? The genius who has trouble making friends and looks up to you? He made a few shitty decisions, sure, but he didn’t deserve to have his brain scrambled. If he hasn’t already, he’s going to eventually remember that he killed a lot of SHIELD agents in The Fall. He’s going to be seriously messed up, so I hope you have a damn good therapist on your staff. Or twelve.”

Fitz mulled that all over a minute, his gaze slightly unfocused. “Have you... have you had any- any luck?” he asked finally, eyes sliding back to you.

You grimaced and motion to the sizeable pile to your right. Four boxes. All thoroughly searched, no likely leads. “No, not yet. There’s a lot here, though, that never made it to the digital era. Things Hydra never knew about because it all stayed buried down here.”

“Is- is it dangerous that... that you’re-”

“Looking at all of this?” you asked, single eyebrow raised. He nodded quickly and you blew out a small sigh. “Honestly? I’m not sure. My memory is good but not perfect, especially not after all the deep fry treatments courtesy of the KGB and Hydra. I’d never give any of this information over willingly but...” your voice trailed off and you bit your lip, not wanting to say anymore.

“But they have- have the- the-” he made a frustrated noise, “-backups. In your brain,” he gritted out.

You gave him a long, sad stare in lieu of answering directly. You didn’t want to admit that there were backups to your brainwashing to SHIELD. Didn’t want that information to exist anywhere, not even in Fitz’s brilliant little head. “There’s a reason why I try not to fight Hydra in person. It’s too risky,” you said, as close as you’d get to admitting the truth.

You could tell from the look in Fitz’s eyes, though, that he understood.

You stayed away from Gill’s room when they brought him in. Apparently he’d come out of the brainwashing slowly without someone from Hydra there to command him. They even strapped him up to some crazy lie detector chair to make sure he was completely free of compulsion. He’d be monitored closely but they treated him like a person, which was all you could ask.

When Coulson had asked for your input on what they should do with him, you’d simply leveled him with a flat stare and asked, “Perhaps you should ask him what he wants instead? Last I checked you deemed him capable of free speech. I’d still veto any suicidal or homicidal trains of thought, though,” you said dryly.

The more time you spent on the base, the closer you got to Fitz. Even Mack warmed up to you a bit, though you caught him staring at you closely more than a few times. May ghosted you like a shadow whenever she wasn’t on mission. Morse, a very tall and imposing but personable blond, seemed to take watch whenever May wasn’t there (you hoped the woman was sleeping. You weren’t sure if May ever slept, but you felt like she needed it with the amount of shit Coulson’s team put her through). You got along with Simmons like a house on fire once she realized you weren’t going to kill her on sight. Her and Fitz were having issues at the moment so you spent time with them separately, quietly watching the way they looked at each other from across the room when they thought the other wasn’t looking.

It wasn’t until a few weeks after your first day on sight that you finally found a lead.

After the fall of Schmidt and Zola, most of Hydra’s assets had gone to the next most senior man in the organization. When Peggy seized the facility with Morita and Dugan all those years ago they’d taken everything on the base, a veritable plethora of occult and science goodies that made your skin crawl to read about. The SSR had taken all the files on the base along with any other evidence such as video reels and pictures and anything that wasn’t downright dangerous. Those files, added to the SSR ones, painted a very gruesome, well-documented picture.

Werner Reinhardt stared up at you in sepia, his beady gaze cold and calculating even through 70 years worth of photo deterioration. His name rang with a sort of familiarity in the back of your mind and it took you a second to realize why. The snake of a man had been mentioned in reports back in the 40′s. Peggy’s team had been after him while you and the guys chased down Schmidt and Zola.

Among the list of data in the files were mentions of a biological sample. It was timestamped before the Winter Soldier mission in Japan but after the fall from the train. The timeline was right. The files made mentions of it every few pages.

BSAM003: Extracted from BSAM002 and stored for further study.

BSAM003: Cells tested against variety of conditions. Results inconclusive.

BSAM003: Samples show cell regeneration similar to BSAM001. Further careful study recommended: Dwindling quantities of BSAM003 remains.

BSAM003: Unrefined reproduction of the enhancements of BSAM002 achieved from tests run on BSAM003. BSAM001 enhancements unreplicable. Original sample consumed by final tests. Cloned samples of BSAM003 lack the original’s genetic modifiers. Cloned BSAM003 tissue disposed of. BSAM002 possibly necessary for successful genetic mutation. Unrefined serum sample to be coded as IS-003 in further reports. Obergruppenführer Reinhardt notified of progress.

You turned over the last page and stared at the small pocket in the back. It was tied up with string and, if the other files were anything to go by, there were going to be some horrendous photos stuffed in there. The Hydra scientists were almost gleeful in the task of thoroughly cataloguing their experiments.

You untied the stiff, time-eaten string that kept the pocket secure and slid the photos out. You nearly blacked out when you saw the first one.

It was you. It didn’t show your face, but it was you. A picture of you on a cold metal table. Your legs were missing below the knee and every gash and scar on the body in the picture were ones you knew intimately. You knew that if the photographers had flipped you over there would have been a single long gash from your right shoulder to your left hip. If they zoomed in on your right hand there’d be a small circular spot from when you got a nasty infected bug bite as a kid.

What horrified you the most was that your stomach had been sliced open in the picture. It was a clean medical cut, not like the other jagged ones from the fall. One of the scientists was holding up a little sign, “BSAM002.”

The next photos were of “BSAM003.”

You set the photos down.

You wanted to stop looking, but you couldn’t.

It was tiny. Maybe four inches (ten centimeters) long. The scale showed it weighed no more than an ounce (28 grams). It was misshapen but unmistakably-

Unmistakably human.

A racking sob ripped through your throat.

Biological Sample: American003. To be stored for further study, was the note scribbled in German on the sign in the picture.

Zola, for all his duplicity and evil, had been telling you the truth.

You cried. You cried until you eyes were red and puffy and your tear ducts ran dry. You cried until your throat was so raw it hurt to swallow. You cried until your cheeks and nose were red from how many times you’d wiped at them.

After what could have minutes, hours, the entire evening, you moved beyond the gentle shaking of your shoulders. You finally had your answer. An answer that would eat away at your soul for as long as you lived.

The only problem was that it raised another question. What did they do with the serum they created? You hadn’t seen any mention of IS-003 in any of the pictures or in any other files yet. You couldn’t rest until you knew what had become of it. It was quite possibly the only thing that remained of your baby. You wouldn’t tolerate the possibility of it being in Hydra’s possession.

You were so engrossed in searching through the files for any mention of BSAM003 or IS-003 that you didn’t realize, at first, that you had company.

Mack, Hunter, Simmons, and May stood in the doorway. Hunter, Mack, and Simmons were all frozen, but May was looking at you with... pity? Was she capable of feeling pity? You’d spent over two weeks around the woman and you still weren’t sure.

Mack was the first one to step forward, his bulky frame somehow squeezing between May and Hunter. “What’s up, Footloose?” he asked softly, stopping just a few feet away from you. You supposed you had to look like hell if he was talking to you like that. You didn’t miss the way May and Hunter’s hands slid to their guns, ready for you to blow up or have a mental break.

You couldn't speak yet. Your throat was worn raw. Instead, you slid a single photo across the desk towards him, your lips mashed into a straight line. If you started crying again you weren’t sure you’d be able to stop any time soon.

Mack picked it up, took one look at it, and swore under his breath. Wordlessly, you shoved the photo of you- cut open on the table- to him. He didn’t even pick that one up. He took one glance at it and looked away.

He placed the first photo down and your eyes followed it. It was like you weren’t in the room, not really. Your mind was retreating in on itself in an attempt to preserve what little sanity you’d manage to scrounge up over the last few months.

You didn’t see Mack come around the desk. You didn’t even register his presence until his huge arms wrapped around you, pulling you tightly to his huge chest. He didn’t say anything, but then, what could he? “I’m sorry Nazis cut your dead body open, stole your unborn child, then brought you back to life like some sort of Frakenstein’s monster”? “I’m sorry the US government let them”?

You could just barely see over his huge shoulder. May had walked forward with Simmons and they were staring at the photos splayed out over the desk. May’s face was tight, shock and fury showing only in the way her eyes wrinkled just so. Simmon’s face was much easier to read. You vaguely registered her muttered horror, talking about the inhumanity of it all from a scientist’s point of view. Hunter was glancing over both of their shoulders. He turned white as a sheet and pointed to you.

“I’m getting you a beer, mate,” he said, already turning on his heel to scuttle out of the room.

“Whiskey. Or vodka,” you croaked after him.

Mack loosened his grip enough so that he could look down at you. “You want to go back to your car? Or into one of our guest rooms? The non-prison kind, that is. I can have Fitz get one set up for you. Or you can hang out in the lab with him. We need to... Well, we need to search the files and you’re more than welcome to take this one with you but-”

You shook your head slowly. Your head was still swimming from the sudden roller coaster of emotions followed by crying out 80% of your body’s moisture. “No, I can’t stop looking yet. They- They made something out of- of the tissues and- and I need to find out what they did with it.”

Hunter returned promptly with a huge bottle of vodka. It was the cheap stuff, but you didn’t care. You took the shot glass from his outstretched hand and knocked back four shots in one go. You didn’t even flinch even though it burned like hot coals down your sore throat.

“Woah! Hey hey hey, I know this is shitty but-” Hunter began, but you cut him off.

“I don’t get drunk easily. I have a bastardized version of the super soldier serum. Doesn’t do much in the way of increasing strength, but it keeps me young and in peak normal human condition with little upkeep on my part. It’s nice until I want to drink away my problems and I have to down an entire aisle of a liquor store to do it,” you croaked, throat now burning from the vodka and the crying.

“You’re supposed to save important information like that then sweep us all under the rug in a drinking contest,” Hunter jabbed good-naturedly, not quite able to pull a smile on his face.

You gave him a weak half-smile that was more of a grimace. “Who or what are you looking for? If it’s around the mid or late 40′s there’s a chance I’ve read about it. Might get you out of my hair faster if I can point you in the right direction,” you said with just a hair too much fondness for them to take it as an insult.

They shared a quick look then shrugged. If they were letting you into their secret information vault they might as well get some use out of it, it seemed.

Simmons gave you a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “We’re after information on an artifact one of our enemies is attempting to utilize. The only issue is that we don’t know a lot about it. It was seized from a Hydra facility in Austria in 1945 by Agent Margaret Carter and a small, elite task force. Not a lot of mentions of the Red Skull, but quite a few of one of his lieutenants, Werner Reinhardt.”

You stared at her for a long moment, convinced your ears had just played tricks on you. “Did... you say Werner Reinhardt?” you breathed.

Simmons frowned. “Yes? Why, have you heard of him?”

You slumped back into your chair, a short laugh leaving your lips. “Today just keeps getting better and better...” you muttered, confusing the other four people in the room. You let out a huge sigh and grabbed the vodka bottle by its short neck and down about a fourth of it. Simmons was wincing, Mack’s eyebrows were up as high as they could go, and Hunter was caught between looking impressed and scared. May had a single brow raised, though you couldn’t begin to guess what she was thinking.

“Yeah, I knew ‘im. Not personally, of course. He wouldn’t have lived through that encounter, even without all...” you motioned to your legs and hands, “this. Me and the guys stuck to Zola and Schmidt. They were the biggest targets. Once we got them, the rest would crumble. Or, at least, that was the idea. You can see how well that all worked,” you said bitterly. “Reinhardt was one of Schmidt’s commanders. High up, to be taken down if the opportunity presented itself, but not someone we went out of our way for, not with Zola and Schmidt still on the board. Peggy and her SSR team were in charge of keeping track of people at his level. I read about him in quite a few status reports. Like Schmidt, he was obsessed with the occult. Artifacts of power. Overcoming the limitations of mortality, of humanity. All that crap. Left quite a gruesome trail in his wake, but Peggy’s people managed to keep him more or less on the run.” You took a breath, a mockery of a smile tilting up the corner of your lips. “What made me laugh, though, is that I’m interested in him, too. Already went through his files and everything.” You pulled said file from the box and flipped it open, sharing its contents with the rest of the class. “Complete bio, psych eval, and even a picture of the slimy bastard.”

The four of them crowded around the table, but it was Simmons who spoke first. “Wait, no...” she murmured, gazing at the picture in confusion.

“Yeah, name’s right beneath it,” Hunter said, flicking the picture with the back of his middle finger.

“No,” Simmons insisted. “That’s Daniel Whitehall.”

“What, you mean it looks like him?” Mack asked.

“No, I mean it’s the same man! I’ve stared Whitehall in the face,” she argued.

“You’re joking,” Hunter said, staring at Simmons in confusion.

“Can’t be. He’d be old as hell now,” Mack argued.

You coughed not-so-subtly into your hand and Mack glanced at you, then tilted his head. “Alright, point taken. I just find the chances of another one of you century-old young people existing to be slim.”

“I would have agreed with you before ‘alien’ became a word we use daily,” Simmons countered. She turned her gaze on May, who was staring stoically at the folder. “May, I know I’m right.”

“I know I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s still as young and evil as I remember him, but somehow I am,” you mused.

She huffed and pulled out her tablet and began tapping away at its surface.

“Bobbi was dead on,” Simmons said, flicking through the files. “He did have a personal connection to Red Skull.”

You groaned and held up a hand. “Jesus, stop calling him that. His name was Johann Schmidt. He was an evil bastard with a fucked up face, but I’m sick and tired of this whole Voldemort vs. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named bullshit.”

The four of them looked at you in surprise. “You’ve read Harry Potter?” Hunter asked, file forgotten in his hands for the moment.

You rolled your eyes. “Listened to the audio book. Don’t have time to read when I spend all day writing code or working with my hands.”

“Huh,” Hunter huffed, returning his attention to the task at hand. “What is this guy, Asgardian?”

“It’s like he stopped the clock,” Simmons said quietly.

“Or turned it back,” May said, turning the tablet around so they could see the picture on the screen. It was a photo of Reinhardt, old and wrinkled, looking at them from underneath bushy overgrown eyebrows.

“Where’s that photo from?” Hunter asked, staring at the photo in surprise.

May gave them all a dubious look. “An old SHIELD prison called The Rat.”

“Lovely name,” you remarked dryly.

“How long was he kept there?” Mack asked, staring down at the tablet in May’s hands.

“For life,” she whispered, confusion clear on her face as she looked at the rest of them.

When you knocked on the door to Coulson’s office a few days later, he glanced up at you then back at the screen on the wall across from him, as though he’d been expecting you. “Come in, please, Misses Barnes.”

You stepped inside and were unsurprised when May followed you in. He was the director of SHIELD after all. The last time a Director was put in a Winter Soldier’s path he’d ended up bleeding out from three slugs to the chest (not that that had actually ended up killing him, the stubborn bastard).

You supposed it was better than having your limbs impaled and your entrails ripped out, though. Secretaries always got the short end of the stick, it seemed.

“I’m not going to ask to go with your team,” you stated. You couldn’t go and fight Whitehall. Not when there was even the remotest possibility that he knew the words.

“Good, because I wasn’t planning on letting you join us,” he said not unkindly.

“I know you’re after Reinhardt-Whitehall for different reasons than me. Something about aliens?” you asked, eyebrow raised.

Coulson smiled that secret smile of his and nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

“Different aliens than the ones that invaded New York a few years back?” you wondered, frowning.

“Different aliens,” Coulson confirmed with a nod.

You sighed heavily. “I really miss the days when the weirdest things in the world were blue laser guns, Stark’s floating car, and Steve,” you griped.

“And when you were never a brainwashed assassin,” Coulson added.

“And when I was never a brainwashed assassin,” you agreed passionately.

“I assume you came here for a reason, though. Other than to reminisce about the 1940′s?” he prompted gently.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to reminisce about the 1940′s? I built about a third of the things in this office myself. Or, at the very least, I designed them,” you said with a smirk.

“Depends, can you fix an original walkie-talkie wristwatch?”

“I s’pose that depends on how bad you broke it,” you countered.

“I set it to explode so I and Agent Skye wouldn’t die trapped in my office on The Bus,” he said, completely straight-faced.

“I’m sure it’ll buff right out,” you said just as dryly. Coulson smiled at that and the two of you stood there for a moment while you gathered your thoughts. “I’m sure May or one of your other agents has informed you of what I found.” You pressed on before he could say something that would either do nothing or dredge up all the emotions you’d buried for the time being. “I want to know when you take him out or bring him in. I highly suggest you put a bullet in his head, along with the waste of space you have trapped in a cage in Vault D, but it’s ultimately your decision. I just need him out of the way so I can gain access to all of his information without risking running into him.”

Coulson eyed you as he leaned back in his chair. “Because you’re worried he can re-trigger your brainwashing.”

You paused for a moment, staring the man down. “I respect you, Coulson. I’m going to say this once, in the nicest voice I can: Do not try and bring me in.”

Coulson smiled at you. “Wouldn’t dream of it. I know that car of yours packs more firepower than the quinjet and the bus combined.”

“Did Mack ever get under its hood?” you asked curiously.

Coulson’s grin widened a bit at that. “No, he could never get it open. It zapped him every time he tried. Not enough to hurt him permanently, of course. Just enough to sting.”

“I set it to taze mode. Figured you wouldn’t be too happy with me if your employee shocked himself to death trying to get into the Batmobile.”

“You call it the Batmobile?” Coulson asked, eyebrow raised.

You shrugged. “Who doesn’t love Batman?”

“You’re best friends with Captain America!” Coulson argued.

You shrugged lazily. “Was best friends. I’m not exactly returning his calls right now. Besides, the three of us rode motorcycles everywhere. Could you imagine trying to drive a car through a forest in Germany? Nightmare, that would have been. So I named it after the most well-known high-tech car I could think of. Batman reruns were on in the background, so... Batmobile.”

Coulson looked incredulously over your shoulder at May, who raised a single perfectly manicured eyebrow, refusing to take a side in this argument. He sobered after a second, though, and fixed his attention back on you. “If I refuse do we still get the information you promised us?”

“Yes,” you said without hesitation. The SSR files had shown you everything you’d asked for. Now it was a matter of finding out what happened to IS-003 and your crusade could finally end. You’d pick up another cross, though. Probably start wiping Hydra off the map, but closure was so close you could almost taste it. “Any information I have on Hydra is yours. If you agree, anything I learn after this will go straight to you, too. That includes information Reinhardt-Whitehall has squirreled away. If I find anything to... to reverse their brainwashing, you’ll be the second to know.”

“Second?” Coulson asked, confused.

You gave him a small smile. “Mister Barnes,” you said simply.

Coulson nodded at that. “Understood. We have a deal, Misses Barnes,” he said, sticking his hand out for you to shake.

You raised an eyebrow at it, then pointed to your own golden-wired hand. “You sure that’s such a good idea, Coulson?” you asked sardonically. “Built in joy-buzzer... that can kill an elephant.”

Instead of answering he continued to hold his hand out for you to take, looking at you expectantly.

You groaned and took his hand in yours. “You’re stupid. That was monumentally stupid,” you complained, even as you shook his hand then dropped it.

“I agree,” May said behind you, though you were thankful her anger was directed at Coulson and not you.

“Some advice?” you said, regarding him from your spot in front of his desk.

“Shoot.” He winced. “Poor choice of words. Go ahead, please.”

“Delete any record of me being here. Burn my lanyard the moment I drive through that front door. Purge the video recordings. Make sure none of your agents mention me. We both know Hydra’s still out there. We know what I mean to them. For the sake of me and your people, pretend I was never here.”

Coulson nodded. “Already taking care of it.”

You nodded. “And...” you took a deep breath. “If you need me, you know where to find me. If I move, I’ll be sure to get a message to you somehow.” He gave you a single nod of acknowledgement. “Now, I... I have something important to do. Thank you for your time and cooperation, Coulson,” you said, pulling a nondescript USB from your back pocket. You placed it on top of the papers on his desk and headed to the door, stopping before you passed May. “Oh, by the way, I’m taking some of the pictures with me. I left copies for your files, but I’m commandeering the originals.”

“I understand. Stay safe, Misses Barnes,” he said quietly. If you weren’t mistaken, there was a note of concern in his voice. Whether it was for you or the people around you was unclear.

You gave May a nod which she returned and you nearly smiled. That was the May equivalent of another person’s exuberant, loud goodbye.

When you made it to the garage Fitz and Mack were waiting by your car. Word traveled fast on the base, it seemed.

“Hey, Mack. Fitz. You got that transceiver patch down under six minutes yet?” you asked the blond by way of greeting.

They both turned to look at you. The blond shifted nervously. “Seven minutes thirty-two seconds,” he said anxiously.

You sent him a bracing smile. “You’ll get it. If I can fix highly-advanced cybernetic limbs without having any conscious idea of what I’m doing, you can patch a transceiver from muscle memory.”

“You can really do that?” Mack asked, eyeing your nano-skin covered legs.

You nodded. “I helped design them originally. Hydra tricked me into it. I always was better at designing things than their engineers. I made them so it’s an intuitive design for me. Even when I couldn’t remember my own name or what year it was, I could repair them. I’ve fixed Bucky’s arm and my leg more times than I can count... mostly because I can’t remember everything,” you said, taking a stab at darker humor. It earned you weak smiles, but you’d take it. “Point is, you can handle it. Coulson wouldn’t put you on it unless he believed you could.”

Fitz nodded. “I- I think I can do it.”

“Oi! Where do you think you’re getting off to without saying goodbye?” said a familiar voice from somewhere around the door that led deeper into the base.

You turned to see Hunter walking with a purpose towards the three of you, brown paper bag clutched tightly in hand. A quick backscatter scan revealed it to be a bottle of booze. Vodka, if you weren’t mistaken.

“Vodka. The good kind this time?” you asked with a smirk.

“What’s the point of getting the good, expensive stuff if it takes three bottles for you to even get a buzz going? Might as well just buy it in bulk, cheap,” Hunter groused.

“I like the taste,” you said, taking the bag from him with a grateful smile.

Hunter made a disgusted face. “You really did live in Russia for most of your life, didn’t you?”

You pulled the bottle half out of the bag and gave it an appreciative once over, then shot Hunter a wink. “Da.” It was the good stuff.

“Before you go, can I get a peek under the hood?” Mack asked, his eyes sliding over the Batmobile longingly.

“Sure,” you agreed easily. Mack hardly believed his luck. The three of them followed you to the front of the car and you placed your hand on the hood, smiling as it easily popped open at your touch. It was designed to open only to your specific hand print scan coupled with a specific electrical current.

All three of them took two huge steps back when they spotted the huge turret-defense guns sitting idly just under the hood. They shot a variation of the Stark’s repulsor blasts.

Mack stared at them for a second, then, “The engine’s in the back, isn’t it?”

You gave him a mockingly apologetic smile. “The engine’s in the back,” you confirmed.

“That’s cold,” Mack said as you closed the hood. He looked a little bit like a kicked puppy. A huge, muscular puppy. It almost reminded you of Steve.

“That’s the brand,” you sing-songed as you walked over to the driver’s side.

You were taken by surprise when Fitz wrapped his arms around you in a tight hug. It was slightly less of a surprise when Mack joined him. You had to nearly bite back a laugh when Mack reeled Hunter in with one of his big hands.

“No, I don’t do- Gah- Why are- Fine, aaaand we’re hugging now,” Hunter mumbled obstinately, his face close to yours, an amused smile dancing on his lips when he realized he wasn’t getting out of the group hug.

“Thank you,” you said quietly, earnest smile on your lips.

“Dunno what you’re talkin’ abou’,” Fitz muttered.

But you were sure he did. They were treating you like a person. A human being with feelings. And emotions.

“Yeah, jus’ don’t tell your husband about this, alrigh’? I fancy myself a tough man but I don’t want to be on Mister Barnes’ shit list,” Hunter half-griped, half pleaded.

You smiled as the group hug broke apart. “I dunno. I think he’d like you. All of you.” You suddenly had the urge to hang around longer, but they had a mission soon and you... you had a mission of your own.

“Alfred, run a system check. Eliminate foreign devices.”

“At once, madam,” came a synthesized British voice from the car.

There was a quiet zapping sound and a piece of metal flew a few feet into the air then landed on the ground with a smack.

“One such device found. It has been removed with prejudice,” your AI, Alfred, informed you.

You turned to smile at Mack, who shrugged helplessly, sheepish smile on his face. “Director’s orders. Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

You smiled at the three of them as the wing doors swung upwards. All three of them ducked in unison to get a peek inside as you slid in. Hunter let out a low whistle, Mack nodded his head in appreciation, and Fitz’s eyes were darting around, trying to take in as much as possible. His jaw was hanging ever so slightly slack.

The doors lowered back down slowly but you were already rolling down the window. You pointed to Mack and beckoned him forward. He gave you a confused stare but acquiesced and leaned down so his head was right next to yours.

You leaned forward until your mouth was right next to his ear and your voice was so quiet you knew no one else would be able to hear.

“You should tell them about the other SHIELD. If I’m being completely honest, I’ve dug pretty deep into any possible dirty laundry on both sides. I know how Hydra works. You’re both squeaky clean. If you’re not careful you’ll end up fighting each other and not the real enemy. And, no, I didn’t tell anyone else about this.”

When you leaned back Mack’s face was hard as stone, not that you’d been expecting anything different.

“Take care, Mack,” you said, flipping your car into gear. “You too Fitz, Hunter. Tell Simmons, Skye, Triplett and Bobbi goodbye for me, alright?” you said, throwing them a brilliant smile over Mack’s shoulder. Mack straightened after a second, eyeing you like he had the first week you’d been on the base.

The big door at the other end of the huge hangar area opened and you sped off towards it, hair flying in the breeze before you rolled up your window and sped out of the SHIELD facility, not glancing back.

Beside you on the passenger sat a folder full of pictures and intel. On the front were seven characters.

BSAM003.

You sighed and focused on the road, avoiding any and all cop cars that Alfred warned you about.

“Get me Bucky’s location, Alfred,” you said, heart heavy now that you’d left the base. The people there had been a small reprieve for the near-solitude you suffered.

“At once, Misses Barnes,” Alfred’s voice said through the speakers. A moment later his voice rang out, loud and clear. “Mister Barnes is currently residing in Puerto Rico.”

“Huh. I was expecting Bulgaria or something. How fast can I buy a boat that can accommodate the Batmobile?” you asked the AI, already getting on the closest freeway headed southeast towards the coast.

“It has been done, Misses Barnes,” Alfred informed you. I’ve changed your route so you’ll arrive in Miami at the marina where your new boat awaits. Estimated time of arrival: Four hours.”

“You’re a peach, Alfred,” you said, already gunning the engine to speed down the freeway.

“Always a pleasure to assist you, ma’am,” the AI said quietly.

You smiled and patted the dash affectionately. “Let’s go see the lord of the house, shall we?”

“I can hardly contain my excitement,” was Alfred’s dry, almost sarcastic response. Maybe you should have lightened up on the snark when you created him.

Next Chapter

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lokis-b1tch · 6 years

Text

Infinity War Conspiracy

Note: The following statements are sent to me by my friend. Feel free to then habe a mind palace discussion below.

~~~

*Prologue*

-The movie starts where the Avengers: Infinity War left off

-Everyone are reeling in shock about the loveones they lost

-Tony manages to operate Benatar(GOTG spaceship) along with Nebula off from Titan heading to Earth

-a mass Wakandan funeral pyre scene

-Wakandan officials elects M'Baku as a temporary viceroy of T'Challa to lead the country on the BlackPanther's absence

-World govts are trying to understand what tf just happened and summons the Avengers, only handful who have signed the Sokovia Accords were present to make a statement.

-Defense Sec. former Gen. Thunderbolt Ross blames the Avengers, Tony defends Avengers role in the aftermath of the Thanos Snap in national tv

-Tony learns Pepper is gone from Happy

-Tony breaks the bad news to Aunt May

-Tony finally reunites with Captain America for the first time, both were devastated and emotionally embraced.

-Nebula consoles the grieving Rocket Raccoon

-Thor plans to rebuild New Asgard in Norway, opens a Bifrost for the Asgardian refugees who have escaped Thanos' attack, this includes Valkyrie, Korg and Meik.

-Tony jumpstarts Avengers Initiative of SHIELD, re-establishing the new SHIELD under his leadership secretly funding peacekeeping missions of Cap's Secret Avengers. Cap gets his shield back.

-Col. Rhodes still a liaison to the Sokovia Accords.

- Secret Avengers led by Cap, along with Natasha goes on covert missions to keep the world safe.

-Cap orders Natasha(BlackWidow) in search of Clint(Hawkeye) who is MIA since the Thanos Snap incident

-Clint suffers nightmares every night replaying the incident of his family vanishing before his eyes during the Snap.

- to recover from that traumatic experience, Clint goes to Japan coping under the guidance of the elders and gets the identity Ronin, a dark version of Hawkeye.

-Tony establishes massive BARF(Binarily Augmented Retro Framing) tech centers across the globe to help families around the world overcome traumatic experiences from the aftermath of Thanos-Snap.

-Tony is obsessed on defeating Thanos and tries to learn the Infinity Stones using his memory, scanned thru his advanced version of BARF tech and he has help with his new young protege' Harley(the kid from IronMan 3).

-Tony learns more of Thanos via Nebula's memories using BARF tech. He also tries to figure out what did Dr.Strange mean in Titan.

-Tony realizes that the only way to undo the Thanos Snap is to possess the power of the Infinity stones.

-Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne still grieving to the absence of Hope Van Dyne(The Wasp), and Scott grieves for Cassie as well who both were victims of Thanos Snap.

-Hank Pym and Scott Lang(AntMan) goes to see Tony, and proposes the idea of getting the Infinity Stones from specific points of time in a parallel universe before Thanos had assembled the stones in the gauntlet via Quantum Realm access.

-Tony plans to create his own Infinity Gauntlet in order to harness the power of the stones.

-Thor rebuilt Asgard in Norway, making it a home to the Asgardian refugees and the grieving Rocket Raccoon who have alcohol problems.

-Rocket begs Thor to hunt Thanos down across the cosmos but Thor doesnt know to respond-- discouraged that he wasnt able to defeat Thanos, blaming himself for the Thanos Snap made him to refuse the plan.

-causing Rocket to break down, left New Asgard and travels to NY to convince Nebula join his crusade.

-in Wakanda, Cap arrives and knows that Shuri and Bruce were rebuilding Vision, here we learned that Shuri downloaded Vision's memories before he died in the hands of Thanos

-Thanos is now at peace on his Shrine he created in honour of her beloved step daughter Gamora, although years have passed he still mourned for her.

-Thanos constantly visits Vormir to commemorate Gamora's death.

-Thanos still possessed with the heavily damaged Infinity Gauntlet.The gauntlet is beyond repair and incapable of controlling the gems together but he can still use the stones one at a time.

-Hank Pym determined to get her daughter back as well as saving others who were victims of the Thanos Snap... proposes that if they harnessed the power of the Quantum Realm there's a possibility, that they will be able to open a portal to a parallel reality where Thanos hasnt yet gathered the stones.. In that way, they get the upperhand of getting the Infinity stones before Thanos does.

-as explained by Hank, Quantum Realm is a place where the concepts of time and space are irrelevant, hence molecular displacement in particular time periods to a parallel universe are possible..

-in Japan, BlackWidow tracks down Hawkeye who now identifies himself as Ronin.Natasha told him that Avengers needs him. Clint refuses to join, saying that all is lost referring to his family that vanished in the Snap, blaming the Avengers.

-BW later convinces Clint to join the team, when he told him that Tony plans to set everything right. The promise of getting his family back.

-Clint/Ronin, Black Widow, Cap, Rhodes/WarMachine, Bruce, Vision, Shuri and Thor meets Tony, Nebula, Rocket, Hank Pym and Scott in the Avengers HQ in the Upstate NY to devise the risky plan.

-Thor provides Tony and Shuri the schematics on how to create their own Infinity Gauntlet he got from Eitri in Nidavellir, calling it Stark Gauntlet.

-Hank Pym explains that in order for this Plan to work, each of the Avengers were given with Pym tech Quantum regulators they wear in their hands, so that in that way they retain their memories during their travel in the fabric of irregular space-time of Quantum Realm.

==Parallel Universe Quest using Quantum Realm==

-==Cap goes first in the Quantum Realm, and was spefically displaced back in time of World War 2, to ensure that Peggy and SSR(later SHIELD) gets a hold of Tesseract(Space Stone) from Hydra. Cap made the last dance with Peggy before going after the Hydra base of the Red Skull. Cap goes to battle Red Skull but escapes, and crashes again in the Arctic. (this ensures that Cap will be discovered by SHIELD in the Arctic and have the Tesseract)

-==Tony, Thor, BlackWidow, Ronin, Hulk, Antman, War Machine, Vision and Cap(who awakened from his icy slumber in the Arctic by SHIELD with his memory of the Main Universe) goes in the Quantum Realm to battle Loki in NY again.

-at one point, Cap weilds the Mjolnir to defeat Loki

- Loki was taken by SHIELD, Nick Fury interrogates him using The Scepter(Mind Stone), revealing Thanos being responsible for the Attack. Thor's agrees to imprison Loki in Midgard instead of being held in Asgard.

- while the Avengers deal with Loki..Thor travels back to Asgard to retrieve The Aether(Reality Stone) from the Vaults of Asgard. Odin seems to have the understanding behind Thor's actions and let his son have the Aether.( this averts the events of Thor: Dark World, the dark elf Malekith still in its deep sleep)

-Rocket and Nebula goes in the Quantum Realm to get the Orb(Power Stone) in Morag before Peter Quill retrieves it.(this caused for Peter Quill to be captured by Korath emptyhanded, the events in GOTG never happened but Quill managed to escape from the Kree by the help of Yondu)

-Meanwhile, the Avengers created a diversion to get the Tesseract(Space Stone) and Scepter(Mind Stone) of Loki knowing that SHIELD was infiltrated by Hydra already. They successfully got the stones. (this averts the creation of Ultron and the events of Age of Ultron to have never happened in this universe)

-Tony and Cap goes to Sanctum Sanctorum, meets Dr.Strange which already a Sorcerer Supreme by this time in this universe. Tony explains that they need the Time Stone. Dr. Strange told them that he is expecting to see both of them

-Somehow, Dr. Strange of the Parallel Universe communicates with Dr. Strange of the Main Universe peering thru the Eye of Agamotto(Time Stone) who was currently in Titan(as if the events of Avengers: Infinity War was about still to take place), checking 14,000,605 alternate timelines.(and this very moment, Dr. Strange of both realities sees that this is the ONLY way they can defeat Thanos, by making the Thanos Snap happen in order to have Dr. Strange INSIDE the Soul Stone). Dr.Strange realizes they have no way of getting that gauntlet off from Thanos hands but they have to destroy it from the inside.

-As they were speaking, the battle with Thanos in Titan takes place in the main timeline, events that happened in Infinity War.

-Dr Strange of the Parallel Universe awakens Dr. Strange of Main Universe inside the Soul Stone plane of existence. Dr. Strange of the Parallel Universe then provides Tony the Time Stone and a Sling Ring.

-Dr. Strange of the Parallel Universe also reveals to Tony that all those perished in the Thanos Snap are inside the Soul Stone in astral bodies trapped in an astral plane called Soul World.

-Here, also revealed that Dr.Strange puts a hex to the Time Stone and the Infinity Gauntlet so that by the time Thanos does the Snap, which Dr. Strange knew because Thanos himself told Dr.Strange what he will do once he gathers all the stones; if used together, the Gauntlet will break.

-==Back to the Main Universe using Quantum Realm==

- Avengers came back to Wakanda bringing Space, Mind and Time Stones respectively, Thor bringing the Reality Stone and Rocket with Nebula brought the Power Stone. 5 stones in all.

- Shuri completes the creation of the second gauntlet and struggles in placing the gathered 5 Infinity Stones except for the Soul Stone.

-Tony deduces that there's no way they'll sacrifice one of themselves in Vormir in return of getting the Soul Stone in the alternate reality although Captain America is willing to put forward his self as sacrifice. This caused a heated argument among the Avengers.

-Nebula instead put forward a plan to lure Thanos to Vormir for the Avengers to get the Soul Stone. Which they are doubtful if will work. Nebula who has a change of heart, tries to redeem herself with this act of sacrifice.

-meanwhile, Thanos learns that the Infinity Gauntlet in no time cant hold the Infinity Stones any longer due to the inflicted damage caused by the Snap and the stones arent working together properly to what he wishes..the stones powers were dampened Except for the Soul Stone. Thanos sensed that the Avengers must have been the reason behind it. Thanos orders for an attack, sending his fleet to Earth.

-Thor and Rocket proposes IF they will attack Thanos in his Shrine, the Earth would be render defenseless from Thanos armada. so Thor put forward a plan to gather a massive army, an alliance of sort, enough to repel Thanos forces that is coming to Earth. All agreed.

-Thor and Rocket travels the distant galaxies to summon an army using the Bifrost ability of the Stormbreaker, meets all Ravagers under Stakar's(StarHawk) leadership. The Ravagers joins them against Thanos.

-Captain Marvel receiving the Code Red distress signal coming from Nick Fury, alerts her.

-Carol Danvers were patrolling the Negative Zone, which she was tasked of guarding so that Skrulls-Kree war criminals will not be able to escape the dimension, which she use as their prison. Because of time dilation effects, Carol hasnt aged that much since the time she stayed in the Negative Zone.

-with the use of nega-bands, the device allows her to travel from Negative Zone to the main universe. Her having cosmic awareness 7th Sense ability, learns of Thanos and what he had done to the universe. Thor and Rocket met her along the way, joining allegiance to defeat Thanos.

-Avengers on Wakanda plans to enter the Soul World in order to contact Dr.Strange that is inside of it. AntMan proposes an idea to join Nebula on its way to the Shrine, to attempt on using his shrinking regulator to pass thru sub-atomic to enter the Soul Stone.

-as Thanos were about to go to Earth, he was put in a halt because of Nebula's arrival in the Shrine. Nebula tries to deceive Thanos telling him that she is giving her loyalty back and tries to convince him that there's a way to revive Gamora without undoing the Thanos Snap.(it was revealed that Thanos were trying to revive Gamora in the past but unsuccessful because the Soul Stone requires a sacrifice upon ressurecting someone -- "a soul for a soul").

-Nebula offers herself to Thanos as a willing sacrifice to Vormir in order to revive Gamora.Thanos dont believe her.

-Thanos uses the Mind Stone to read Nebula's mind, revealing the Avengers plan, and learns that its a trap. AntMan right away, uses his regulator to shrink sub-atomic to enter the Soul Stone. Thanos notices it.

-enraged Thanos, follows AntMan to the Soul World. Nebula's plan work, as Thanos astral body enters the Soul World he leaves behind his physical body vulnerable. Avengers(Ironman, Cap, Black Widow, and Vision) then sprint to action, hiding from the distance to get the Infinity Gauntlet off from the weakened, immobilized Thanos.

-meanwhile, Dr.Strange of the main universe awakens from dormant state inside the Soul World. He was contacted by his self from an alternate universe assisting Tony and Cap ensure they will win against Thanos. Dr.Strange then used his magic to locate other heroes like Spiderman, Mantis, etc in the Soul World. Mantis awakes all of these heroes.

-inside the Soul World, an astral plane inside the Soul Stone where trillions of trillions of souls trapped in hibernation. AntMan and Dr.Strange along with the rest of the vanished heroes meet. Antman gave Dr.Strange a Sling Ring provided by Tony. Thanos finds them and battles ensues. While this was taking place, the rest of the Avengers were battling the weakened physical Thanos in order to get the gauntlet.

-back on Earth, Thanos forces were about to enter the atmosphere but intercepted by the Ravagers, Thor, Rocket and Captain Marvel. in Wakanda, Bruce and Shuri were still working with the stones, placing them one at a time in the Stark gauntlet. Ronin and WarMachine watches from afar, ready to defend the Stark gauntlet at all cost from Thanos forces attacking Earth.

-Thanos inside the Soul World overpowers Dr.Strange, AntMan, The Wasp, Spiderman, BlackPanther, WinterSoldier, Scarlet Witch, Falcon, StarLord, Drax, Groot and Mantis. then Thanos realized it. He left his physical body vulnerable to attack and realized that this was all a diversion to get the gauntlet. Thanos hastily went back to his physical body.

-Avengers were unsuccessful to get the Gauntlet from Thanos. When the Mad Titan was about to use the damaged gauntlet, Dr.Strange unleashed the hex he casted in the Time Stone in their previous battle back in Titan. The hex caused disharmony among the stones. the Power Stone can no longer be hold into place, it exploded!!! Disrupting the Time stone, Reality Stone and Mind Stone while it caused the Soul Stone to broke off from the gauntlet.

-Thanos engages combat with the Avengers over the Soul Stone. Dr.Strange uses the Sling Ring to transport them out of the Soul Stone. They have now the fighting chance since Thanos cant use the other stones aside the Space Stone.

-with all of them together now, Cap finally said it "Avengers Assemble" and they fought Thanos with him using the power of the stones. Thanos still knock-out almost all of them. Cap is the last man standing facing the Mad Titan.

-Cap orders Dr.Strange to get them all out of here along with the Soul Stone. Cap tries to hold off Thanos so that they can escape with the Soul Stone. Dr.Strange opens a portal for all of them that lead them back to Wakanda. Cap left fighting Thanos and dies.

-in Wakanda, Bruce and Shuri places the Soul Stone in the Stark gauntlet, while the rest of the Avengers where wounded or knockout.

-Thanos teleports to Wakanda to stop them from using the Stark Gauntlet. Hawkeye and Warmachine attacks Thanos but they are no match. Thanos arrives in the lab but the Stark gauntlet is not there.

Clint stand up against Thanos for the last time with a ticking bomb arrow in his hand. Ronin dies.

-Thanos teleports himself to safety. Captain Marvel and Thor along with Dr. Strange fights Thanos. Bruce weilds the Stark gauntlet and inside the Soul World talks to his Hulk self. Bruce convinces Hulk to merged as one, ultimately becoming Professor Hulk.

-the rest of the heroes fights off Thanos in a epic brawl. Hulk finally comes out and has the intelligence of Bruce Banner. Finally, Prof.Hulk uses the Stark Gauntlet to get back to the moment Thanos wasnt able yet to do the Snap in Wakanda.

-the scene goes back to the time, the Stormbreaker hurled towards Thanos. This time, the Stormbreaker cuts of the left arm of Thanos, rendering him helpless and cannot use the Infinity Gauntlet.

-Cap gets the Infinity Gauntlet and uses it to end the battle. Thanos was exiled to a distant planet where he wished to live in peace as a farmer.

-Tony's wedding scene with Pepper, they have a baby named Morgan.

-Avengers petitioned to have the Sokovia Accords abolished. T'Challa declares the Sokovia Accords no longer valid in UN Summit, it infuriates Gen. Ross in some way.

-Clint got his family back, and abandons the Ronin identity.

-Scott reunites with Cassie and Hope. They lived happily with Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne

-Bruce lives with Natasha far from their troubled pasts

-Cap retires, gives the shield in the care of Bucky and Falcon.

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agent-actually · 7 years

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Peggy to the rescue

Starter for @purosdecorazon

An intern came into Peggy's office and dropped off the latest reports. She and Howard had every available agent scouring the world, following every story, every possible lead, and had done so for years. Peggy sipped her coffee and read the new information, pouring over the text and closely examining the pictures.

She had glasses perched on her nose, but they were just for effect really. Peggy didn't need them. Her vision was razor sharp, and had been now for the better part of sixty years. All her senses were. A beautiful ring in the shape of Steve's shield glinted on her hand as she held a photograph, staring at it intently. Howard had made the ring for her himself, at her request, the day her life changed…forever.

Peggy looked as young today as she had when she'd served alongside Daniel Sousa and Jack Thompson in the SSR. The reason for that was simple, and yet very complex. Peggy Carter was a vampire. No one aside from Howard knew, though.

Howard had managed to recreate the Super Soldier serum and had used himself as a test subject, successfully, and everyone else assumed that she had taken a dose of it as well. Most of her typical abilities as well as longer lifespan could technically be attributed to such an occurrence, and they had never corrected anyone. The ring she wore had been spelled to allow her to walk in daylight, thus assisting with the illusion that she was perfectly normal. Let them think what they liked.

As Peggy stared at the photo in her hands, something clicked in her mind. Sifting through the papers on her desk, she found the report she wanted. Yes, that was it. She was right. He was alive!

As much as she wanted to literally run into Howard's office screaming for joy, she was still one of the founding members of SHIELD, and had to act professionally. Peggy rose from her desk and walked, pertinent papers and photos in hand, slowly down the hall. Her heart pounded in her chest. A barely audible whisper still reached her ears, however. Everything okay, Peg? Not at all, Howard, but thank you for asking.

Outside Howard's office, she was greeted by his secretary. Peggy's years of patience kept her from visibly rolling her eyes, much less throttling the woman. "Mister Stark is in a meeting with Colonel Fury. The Colonel asked that they not be disturbed," the young woman, whose name was Lynnette, spoke up before Peggy even opened her mouth.

Now Peggy rolled her eyes. "Is that so?" she asked, leaning over, palms flat on the desk in front of her, looking Lynnette in the eyes. "You had a family emergency and had to leave early to deal with it. Because Mister Stark is in a meeting, I gave you the rest of the week off,” Peggy said to the young woman. Lynnette repeated the words back to Peggy, and then got up and left the office. Peggy watched her leave, smirking. "Ah, compulsion. What a wonderful thing."

Trying the knob on the door to Howard's office, and finding it locked, it was too easy for her to open it with a twist of her wrist. The doorknob now broken, the door fell open at her touch. She grinned unrepentantly at Howard and Nick. "Oops."

"Everything okay, Peg?" Howard asked, repeating his words from moments before. And as before Peggy replied, "Not at all, Howard."

Turning to Nick, she glared at him. "Might I remind you, Nicholas, that you do not give the orders here?"

Tears in her eyes, she turned back to Howard. "The latest reports…have you read them?"

"We both have, but there wasn't anything special to note in any of it," Fury answered.

"Are you certain of that, Nicholas?" Peggy asked him, her tone cold enough to freeze the air. "I suggest you look again."

She'd have made that last statement a compelled request, but she'd always caught a very mild scent of vervain around the former soldier. Peggy thought maybe he might have had a bit of it in his eyepatch. It would have been the perfect place for it. Peggy herself was largely immune to the plant that was commonly used as a weakening agent against vampires, in mild to moderate doses at any rate. Her mentor had taught her that by ingesting small amounts of it daily, she could build up a tolerance to its effects, and so she had been drinking it in her coffee every morning for decades.

"He's alive, Howard," Peggy stated bluntly. "And from what those reports indicate, he is a prisoner. Has been for many years. I am going to go find him…and bring him home." She spun on her heel, casually tossing over her shoulder to her old friend, "Are you coming, or do I have to do this all by myself?"

***

Back in her office, Peggy opened a secret panel in the wall. A door opened, and she stepped inside. Peggy stood in a small but serviceable room that held everything that she needed for this operation. Weapons, not that she truly needed any, as she herself was deadly now. Still, there were appearances to keep up, and it was nice to have options.

Also stored in this room was a suit specially made for Peggy by her godson, Tony. Very much like his Ironman suits, but in the colors Steve used to wear. Like his father, Tony also knew what Peggy really was, and wanted to protect his godmother at all costs, particularly when he'd heard some of the stories Peggy told about what life was like as a vampire. Once Howard found out Tony had made the suit, he'd gone over it himself to make sure it was immune to most, if not all of a vampire's weaknesses. He knew more about Peggy's life as a vampire than did his son, hell he'd lived it. Even invented a few things that had helped keep Peggy and her mentor Claire safe over the years.

Once Peggy had stepped into the suit and it had closed up around her, she glanced in the mirror out of habit. The main body of the suit was a muted navy blue, but across the chest were three stripes, done in silver versus white, so as not to stand out quite so much. In the center of the stripes was a star, colored red. This star was in the same spot on Peg's suit where Tony's arc reactor was in his suits. And like her godson's this section of the suit had a special purpose. The star was in fact a small hollow compartment, which held a fresh supply of blood, usually a few blood bags. Tony and Howard kept it that way when they knew she might use the suit for an extended mission. This certainly qualified.

Peggy and Howard's offices were on the top floor, and Tony had installed an exit in the roof for his godmother when she chose to use her suit. Bringing the onboard computer systems online, she spoke to Tony's AI. "FRIDAY, please inform Howard I will meet him at the airfield in fifteen minutes."

"Of course, Agent Carter," FRIDAY replied.

Then Peggy took off into the morning sky, towards Howard's private air strip. She could have flown there herself, it wasn't like the suit wasn't capable. Tony had flown all over the world in his suits after all. But she'd need Howard and his plane for bringing Steve home. The reports had given plenty of information, if one bothered to read them, but they did not say what state Steve was in. His physical condition, much less mental or emotional one. Peggy had no illusions that he'd likely been heavily and repeatedly drugged or even perhaps brainwashed. There was just no other way for anyone to have held Steve captive for this long.

Once at the airstrip she and Howard wasted no time. He'd gotten the plane ready so they just got on board and Howard took off as soon as he got proper clearance. Peggy slipped out of her suit and grabbed a fresh blood bag that Howard kept on the plane, making sure she'd be strong and ready to face whatever they found when the plane finally landed. After her meal, she decided to try and sleep some. It was going to be a long flight and she knew she'd be impatiently harassing Howard if she were awake the whole time, like a child pestering their parent during a long drive. He didn't need that right now.

She awoke several hours later and made her way to the cockpit. She'd been around Howard Stark long enough and in enough planes with the man…she could read an instrument panel almost as well as he could. She knew where they were…or more precisely, where they weren't. Glancing down at her old friend fondly, she ruffled his hair. "Would it help if I got out and pushed?"

Howard reached up and squeezed her hand. "It might," he winked. "I'm taking an alternate route…so we can sneak up on them. I mean Tony and I have this bird covered in stealth tech, but…" he paused meaningfully.

She nodded. "I know. Better to be safe than sorry. But you do realize…anyone that gets in between Steve and I…"

Howard shuddered lightly. "I keep forgetting that you're not just my friend Peggy sometimes. I forget that you're also…"

"A vicious killer?" Peggy teased. "I mean…I am. That's what vampires are, Howard, but I only kill those who deserve it. I've told you this before. Becoming a vampire is in many ways like taking the serum. The qualities you had before are amplified now. I've always been a good person, willing to fight for what's right, and defend those I love. I still am. Now…can we go rescue Steve, please?"

***

Howard landed the plane near the base where Peggy's information said Steve was being kept. The place was huge, reminding Peggy of Steve and Bucky's reports of the base where Bucky had been held captive at Azzanno. She and Howard made their way through the woods and fought their way inside, Peggy conserving her bloodlust for when they were closer to Steve.

Slowly and methodically the super soldier and the vampire went down halls and turned corners, cutting down everyone in their path. Until they came upon a group of soldiers surrounding a man in a suit very similar to hers…except his was solid black and had the HYDRA symbol on it in crimson red. The man…

"Steve?" Peggy breathed, unable to believe her eyes. Yes, she'd read the reports, but seeing it in person…Steve, her beloved Captain America…apparently willingly fighting for HYDRA? It just couldn't be.

#purosdecorazon #au #vampire!peggy

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hentaihunblog-blog · 6 years

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Hakumei to Mikochi – Episode 1 [First Impression]

New Post has been published on https://hentaihun.com/blog/2018/01/13/hakumei-to-mikochi-episode-1-first-impression/

Hakumei to Mikochi – Episode 1 [First Impression]

The premise of Hakumei to Mikochi (HTM) is that Hakumei and Mikochi are two very tiny people living in a big world; 9cm (3.5in), to be exact. They live in a tiny house at the bottom of a tree, cut leaves and prepare food with tiny utensils, and use beetles as transportation. It’s a really, really cute show to say the least. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

HTM reminds me a lot of Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou (Girls’ Last Tour), a title I started covering last season but dropped it just before the halfway point. Both shows feature two female leads, and even their personalities have many similarities (Chito = Hakumei / Yuuri = Mikochi). However I feel that Hakumei and Mikochi have a better friendship, although this might be partially due to the world that the shows takes place in (a kind world full of nature vs an empty world that is almost completely devoid of mankind). Another thing the two shows have in common is that each episode is made up of at least 2 segments.

But anyways, enough about the comparisons. HTM is a damn cute show. This episode’s two segments focused on two adventures: traveling up a mountain to see a special bird at dawn to get a wish fulfilled, and journeying to a seaside marketplace to do some shopping.

In the former, there is a report in the local paper about an evening kite (a large species of bird) being spotted up near the hills to the north. Hakumei wants to try catching it so it can help them move their belongings around more easily. However once they get going on their trip, there’s a snag – Mikochi has very little energy and has a hard time catching up to Hakumei, who is happily swinging her knife around to clear a path for them. They come across two beetles, who allow the girls to ride on their backs as they travel towards the hills. The girls use the opportunity to rest their legs and have some food.

Along the way Mikochi tells Hakumei about a pet bird she had many years before. She used to feed it minestrone soup, which it loved so much that all the soup would turn its beak a reddish color. Mikochi named her pet bird Kafu and she loved to give it soup once a day, but one day it stopped showing up and Mikochi never learned why.

Finally they arrive at the hills, and the view is spectacular. Night has fallen by this point so the girls can see the light from the other homes in the valley below, while twinkling stars span the night sky. The girls eat a peanut together and Hakumei starts to eat the last of the soup – but it’s taken from her! The evening kite is right behind them! It flaps its wings and the draft throws the girls onto the bird’s back, and away they fly ~

After some explanations from Hakumei, Mikochi realizes that the bird is her beloved Kafu. Dawns breaks and neither girl knows what to wish for (part of the intrigue behind the legend of the evening kite was that if a person came across it at dawn, they would have any wish granted), so Hakumei makes her wish be for Kafu to drop them off back at their house. Once the girls land back home, Mikochi immediately grabs some tomatoes and hurries to the kitchen to make some more minestrone for Kafu. The bird leaves later at dusk, with Mikochi saying that she’ll be happy to make more soup for Kafu anytime he stops by.

In the second segment, the girls are shopping at the Tsumiki Marketplace in the town of Arabi. All the shows are crammed together very tightly, and there are several different areas where people can shop (down by the harbour, in an underground market, etc). Hakumei has never been to this market before, so Mikochi takes her to meet her master. The two ladies have some drinks and relax after having already done some shopping, and this is when Mikochi realizes she’s lost her wallet. She wants to rush out to find it, but her master persuades her to take Hakumei sightseeing around the market instead and to look for the wallet as they explore.

Mikochi has a very refined pallet, and as the girls walk around Mikochi is often inundated with requests from different shopkeepers to try some of their wares, or to help them with a recipe. It is very overwhelming and Mikochi is more often than not torn between trying to stay with Hakumei and helping the shopkeepers.

The girls break for lunch in what used to be the centre of the original Tsumiki marketplace, a bright open space with a large tree growing up out of the ground. Afterwards they come across the fabric shops and Mikochi reveals that luxurious fabrics are her one real weakness. She especially loves Hiromuta cotton, but it’s very expensive fabric and is far beyond what the girls can afford.

Hakumei finds a 500 yen coin in her sleeve and uses it to buy Mikochi a bolt of cloth which is half cheaper cotton, half Hiromuta cotton, which Hakumei fashions into a scarf for her friend. Mikochi loves it of course. (✿◠‿◠)

In the late afternoon the girls are still exploring the market, and Mikochi again has several shopkeepers approaching her to ask for help. This time however Hakumei waves Mikochi off, saying she will walk around alone for awhile so Mikochi can do her thing. As the sun sets the girls make their way to the harbour where they watch the sun go down and listen to the song sung by the townspeople which announces the closure of the market for the day. Hakumei adds her own touch by blowing the conch shell Mikochi bought her earlier.

On their way back to Mikochi’s master’s pub, they meet a young male shopkeeper who has found Mikochi’s wallet and held onto it for her. When they arrive back at the master’s pub, the Port Lounge Kobone, the girls see that the master has prepared a grand banquet for them using some of the foods they dropped off earlier. All three ladies enjoy a wonderful meal together as night falls upon the town of Arabi.

So what do I think? Like I said earlier, this is a really cute show, and I love the friendship that Hakumei and Mikochi share. There are moments when they both get on each other’s nerves, but that’s normal and overall I feel like they have a very healthy relationship.

Thinking back to Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou (SSR), my only concern is that this will be an episodic series too. Not because it’s bad or anything, just because I often find those kinds of shows harder to cover. It’s one of the main reasons why I gave up SSR; there was an overall plot, but so little information was revealed about it that the show just became slow and boring. But HTM is a very sweet and heartwarming show, very much the opposite of SSR, so I am happy to cover it. I just hope that a larger plot will be revealed to help keep me interested. >>

The animation is gorgeous, with the characters and environments looking like they have a watercolor feel to them (at least to me). Very easy on the eyes. ^_^v

Possibility of Watching: High Possibility of Blogging: High