This was written for the
intoabarchallenge. I got Steve Rogers from MCU and Londo.
Summary:
Steve Rogers travels to 2258 with the Pym particles and meets an interesting man.
Notes:
For rhe community, Into a bar.
For Steve Rogers, I got Londo Mollari of Babylon 5.
Steve knew he should have known better than to let Tony use him to play with the time travel device. They had stolen a large cache of Pym particles and Tony was feeling adventurous. He would, he wasn’t the one sent to God knows where and when.
Steve checked his GPS as soon as he arrived. The year was 2258 and he was at a place called Epsilon III in the Epsilon Eridani system. He appeared to be on some sort of ship.
He retracted his space suit and was dressed in jeans and t-shirt from his own time. He looked around and didn’t seem to look that different from the people who weren’t in uniform. Oh my god! Not all the people were human! Not even humamoid!
He decided that he was in some sort of marker type area. There were shops and kiosks selling all sorts of things. He saw restaurants and bars, what appeared to be ATM type machines. And people stood around news monitors much like in his own time. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry, just like home.
He saw a place called the Dark Star. He went in. There were all sorts of aliens and humans sitting around, drinking and watching women dance. The women’s attire was pretty skimpy and became more so as he watched. The featured dancer was a beautiful woman with no hair except for a ponytail on the back of her head. She was voluptuous and very little of her clothing was left on. He stared.
“Stunning, is she not?” He turned to see who the man with the odd accent was. It turned out that his accent was not the only thing odd. He appeared to be maybe in his fifties. He was dressed in a uniform that looked almost Napoleonic to Steve. His hair was the thing though - it was fanned like a peacock’s feathers, standing up a good five inches on the man’s head.
“She is.”
“You are new to the station? Come, sit and we will watch her dance. A beautiful woman is a joy to behold, no?”
Steve sat on the stool beside the man.
“I am Londo Mollari, Centauri ambassador to this circus.” He waved to the bartender. “Bring this man one of I’m drinking and put it on my tab.”
“Steve Rogers.”
The drinks arrived and Steve took a sip. Wow! It was stronger than Thor’s Asgardian stuff. He’d have to be careful not to drink too much of it. He’d be flat on his face.
“Are you here with Earthforce?” Mollari asked. Steve had seen the insignia on several of the military uniforms he’d seen walking through the area.
“Nope. Just visiting.”
“You’re a big one, Mr. Rogers. I’ll bet the ladies never leave you alone.”
Steve laughed. “So far, most have ignored me.”
“I find that hard to believe, my young friend.”
“So why is an ambassador hanging out in a strip club?”
“This place is a desert in the middle of space. I was sent here because I am annoying old man, always talking about the grand days of the Centauri Republic. I am irrelevant.”
Steve certainly felt that way even now at home, being over a hundred years old and having the body of a man in his thirties. Some of the things the others talked about were still things he didn’t know, even after all these years.
He nodded and sipped his drink.
“You’re too young and virile to know what I mean. I’ll bet you’re never alone.”
Steve had been alone so long that he could barely even remember what love was like. It felt like his time with Peggy was a sort of surreal dream that never really happened at all.
“You might be surprised, Ambassador Mollari.”
“Your drink is almost gone. Let me get you another.” Mollari ordered them both another one. Steve was feeling the buzz himself and it appeared that the ambassador had several drinks in him before Steve sat down.
“Let me tell you something. Live your life for love and friendship, not duty. I have three wives. I call them famine, pestilence and death for they are truly that. I married them out of duty, not love. Well, I loved Timov but she thinks I’m a horse’s ass, so that doesn’t count.” He drained his drink and smacked the glass on the bar. Steve was surprised that it didn’t break. “Another!” he shouted and was served yet another.
Mollari looked at Steve. “Where was I? Oh! Marry for love. Have a house full of little humans. Dance! Never forget to dance, my boy!”
Steve sipped his drink and looked at the new dancer. She was human and every bit as beautiful as the Centauri woman had been. She was quite tall and curvy with red hair that reminded him of Natasha’s. She caught his eye and smiled at him. He smiled back.
“She likes you. For a small price, you can spend some time alone with her, if you like.”
“I’m good.”
The young Centauri woman who’d been dancing a few minutes before came up to Mollari and sort of attached herself to his side. “How are you, tonight, Ambassador? Will your new friend be joining us?” She looked over Steve like she would love for him to do just that.
Mollari smiled at her. “No, my dear. I find I want you all to myself. He is young. He can find his own companion.”
She kissed Mollari’s cheek and he stood.
“It was nice to meet you, my friend Steve. Remember what I told you.”
“What was that?”
“Do as I say, not as I do, and you’ll have a fine life.” He took the young woman’s arm. “Though one night of fun couldn’t hurt either, could it?” The two of them left the bar.
Steve smiled and sipped his drink, watching the woman remove most of her clothes. He was not unaffected by her grace and charm. She left the stage and another Centauri girl took her place. Steve started to get up when the redheaded dancer came up to where he sat.
“I’m Maria.”
“Steve.”
“Would you like to come with me? We can talk in a more private place.”
He pulled his empty pockets out. “Sorry but -”
“That’s all right. The ambassador covered that.” She held out her hand to him. “Follow me?”
He stood and took the proffered hand. It was only one night. Why not?
*
Garibaldi stopped by the Dark Star late. The crowd was thinned out and the shows were over for the night. He sat down and ordered a soda.
“Mr. Garibaldi, Ambassador Mollari said to give you this,” the bartender said and handed him a piece of paper. He opened it. Damn Mollari! It was a bill for a large number of drinks and ‘other entertainment’. He was going to have to have a talk with that rascal!
When he left the bar, he stopped at the banking kiosk and paid the bill. At least someone had some fun tonight, he thought as he’d noticed that Londo had paid for two companions.
Some guys had all the fun.