I seem to be what I'm not, you see. I'm wearing my heart like a crown.

[usavatar]

[The lab at the NTS gives Steve the crawls, no matter how many times he ends up there. Maybe it's the wasteland backing the place, the radiation warning signs or the huge pits where gamma-based explosive have ripped chunks out of the earth. Maybe it's the way the self-contained facility circulates purified air until the entire place tastes stale. Regardless, when Howard says there's 'something interesting' there and that General Phillips has requested Captain America's presence at the base ASAP, Steve doesn't exactly have a choice but to go.

The surroundings are still unsettling. The air still tastes stale. But there's a wildness to the place that Steve's never seen before. Scientists rushing back and forth, holding conversations that are at once hushed and excited. He almost has to pry one away from her clipboard in order to find out where Phillips and Stark are waiting. "Requested SSR personnel are supposed to go to observation room three," she says, and by the time he manages to get directions there he's already looking forward to stepping back out into the Nevada heat.

What he doesn't expect when he gets to Observation Room Three is to see Peggy and a half-dozen higher ups whose names and faces he knows but whom he's never personally met. What he doesn't expect is to see a man restrained in the otherwise empty cleanroom on the other side of the glass. Steve's escort stays on the other side of the door when it gets shut. He drifts to Peggy's side, saluting the Phillips at the same time.]

General. Is... What is this?

[Phillips raises his eyebrows at Steve in a look the Captain knows too well by now.]

Funny.[Phillips gestures at the glass.]I was hoping you could tell me. Stark got Skull's toy box open - ripped a nice shiny hole in the wall of his lab and spiked radiation levels in the entire facility. And also gave us him.

[Steve moves to the glass, resisting the urge to press a hand against it and peer closer, like the prisoner is a new exhibit at the zoo.] I'm not sure I follow, sir.

Came through the hole, took out two scientists and five guards - and then things got interesting.

[Steve frowns, still watching the prisoner.] ...Sir?

He took one look at the uniforms and started demanding to see you.

Comments

[arches]

He's about to open his mouth and say he's not much of a drinker--though he's considering making some significant exceptions--when Peggy reappears.

"I appreciate that... ma'am."

He shifts from one foot to another, considering this. "Howard. That's Howard Stark, right?"

Who, if memory serves, is about as smart as his son will be. That's a reassuring thought.

[usavatar]

"It is. You said his... child. Is a superhero." Because the idea of Howard Stark having a kid still boggles Steve's mind a little bit. That's clear enough in his tone. "Stark could probably outfit himself for the front lines if he felt so inclined, but I think he likes the lab too much."

Steve gestures back toward the living room. "How much can you tell us about the Avengers?"

[shootingshields]

Peggy leads them into the living room, sliding her hand from Steve's back into his own hand, locking only their fingers. The tea is still set on the table, but it's bound to be cold by now. She once again sits on the couch, keeping her hand in Steve's to pull him down next to her.

Howard with a child is baffling to her, too. The man's far too involved with his work, and she can't even begin to fathom him settling down long enough. "Give the man technology, and he's lost to it for days."

But she has nothing else to add, her questions and thoughts hanging in the air vocalized by Steve. Because Avengers.

[arches]

Clint finds his way to a wall and crosses his arms over his chest. It's a familiar position, a way he thinks. And he's not really sure what to tell them. He decides the truth is a safe enough bet.

"A little while ago, New York suffered from an alien invasion. It wasn't the kind of thing SHIELD was ready to tackle. So our director called in the big guns. Tony Stark, well, he goes by the name Iron Man. He uses his technology to make himself unstoppable. Then there's Thor, who's... well, he's Thor. He's a god."

Clint pauses, swallows. "Dr. Banner is a scientist, kinda like Stark. But he's also got a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on. Me and my partner, the Black Widow, we handle the things those guys are too big to notice. And then there's you, Cap."

He rubs a hand over the back of his neck. "Those are the Avengers. We haven't faced anything that big since we stopped the aliens, but we exist. We're a team... sometimes."