Return of the Steve, Part 1
[OOC: Yep, that's right. After months and months of waiting for canon to throw me a bone, it's finally time for me to bring Steve back into the public eye! This is part one, in which redwings_sam comes to Steve's apartment the day after Sharon fell off the grid and Sam went to meet with Tony.]
Sam flew directly from Harlem to Sayreville, and landed only a little away from Steve's place to make the identity switch. Not the time for subtlety. He knocked on Steve's door. Hopefully he'd be in.
*
Steve had barely stepped out of his morning after-work shower when he heard the knock on his door. Pulling on jeans and a t-shirt, he stepped over to the door and peered out the peephole to find Sam's image inducer disguise staring back at him.
"Sam!" Steve exclaimed as he opened the door, pleasantly surprised. But the wave of happiness fell away as soon as it came, because the expression on Sam's face was far from happy. Motioning for Sam to step in, Steve closed the door behind him and looked him dead in the eye.
"What happened?"
*
"Sharon's gone. Dr. Faustus is back and he's working for the Skull and he's gotten to her. He might have been at her for awhile, now." Sam paused for a second. "I told Stark. He's investigating."
*
Steve staggered backward, taking a second to let the information process. "Gone? What do you mean, gone?" Steve was already pulling on a pair of work boots as he asked the question.
*
"She ran off, right after Batroc mentioned Dr. Faustus. We'd caught him smuggling and were questioning him about the Skull, and he told us Faustus was working for him. Sharon--she's been acting stranger and stranger, ever since you--your LMD--got killed, and since Faustus was involved, I'm thinking that was more than grief. I tried to catch up with her, but she managed to lose me in the sewers--that was last night. I went to Stark straight away, since I knew that was what *you* would do anyway, and he's going to see if he can figure out how Faustus got to him. We're thinking it was probably through SHIELD."
*
God, Sharon. He'd done all of this to protect her, and they'd still gotten to her.
Steve clenched his teeth. "Do we know anything new about the Skull's whereabouts?" There was no question that he was going to find him. Them. The Red Skull and Dr. Faustus had each caused more pain than a hundred thousand men had any right to cause. This had to end, before they could hurt more people. Before they could hurt Sharon more than they already had.
Steve rummaged for a coat from his hall closet. He didn't even realize his hand was shaking until he saw it tapping against the wire of his coat hanger.
*
"Not yet. Stark is looking." Sam didn't like relying on Stark, but it was the best he could do just now. "Steve?" he noticed his friend's distress. "We're going to find him. We'll get Sharon out and make them pay."
*
"Of course we are." Steve refused to consider the alternative.
He pulled on the jacket. "I need to go get something," he said, turning back to Sam, and he crossed the apartment to his bedroom. A second later, he emerged with his shield.
For months now, he'd been Steve Rogers - or Wilson Buchanan, depending on the day. He'd been self-absorbed, self-focused, concentrating only on Daniel, and Sally, and Tony, and Sam, and his firehouse, and his job. And those things were important - many of them he expected to be important to him for the rest of his life.
But right now, he needed to save a woman he'd failed. He needed to defeat a menace to millions. He needed to protect his country.
He needed to be Captain America.
*
Sam looked at the shield approvingly. "Welcome back, Cap." He'd missed this. Looking at the shield, he felt hopeful again, in a way he hadn't been in so long--ever since Steve's apparent death.
"Now, let's go fight some bad guys."
*
Steve was about to point out that, as much as he was ready to leap out the door right this minute, they still didn't know where they were supposed to go to fight the bad guys. But just then, he heard Sam's communicator beep.
*
Sam pulled out the communicator and read Stark's message. "Stark has a lead. Apparently--Lukin is the Skull." Sam paused for a second to try to wrap his brain around that one. They didn't seem like the sort of bad guys that would even get along very well, much less be the same person. But it was something at least, however it worked. "He wants to meet us at Lukin's headquarters."
*
Steve frowned for only a second at the confusing information. They could figure out how any of this made sense later.
"Upstate New York it is."
Sam flew directly from Harlem to Sayreville, and landed only a little away from Steve's place to make the identity switch. Not the time for subtlety. He knocked on Steve's door. Hopefully he'd be in.
*
Steve had barely stepped out of his morning after-work shower when he heard the knock on his door. Pulling on jeans and a t-shirt, he stepped over to the door and peered out the peephole to find Sam's image inducer disguise staring back at him.
"Sam!" Steve exclaimed as he opened the door, pleasantly surprised. But the wave of happiness fell away as soon as it came, because the expression on Sam's face was far from happy. Motioning for Sam to step in, Steve closed the door behind him and looked him dead in the eye.
"What happened?"
*
"Sharon's gone. Dr. Faustus is back and he's working for the Skull and he's gotten to her. He might have been at her for awhile, now." Sam paused for a second. "I told Stark. He's investigating."
*
Steve staggered backward, taking a second to let the information process. "Gone? What do you mean, gone?" Steve was already pulling on a pair of work boots as he asked the question.
*
"She ran off, right after Batroc mentioned Dr. Faustus. We'd caught him smuggling and were questioning him about the Skull, and he told us Faustus was working for him. Sharon--she's been acting stranger and stranger, ever since you--your LMD--got killed, and since Faustus was involved, I'm thinking that was more than grief. I tried to catch up with her, but she managed to lose me in the sewers--that was last night. I went to Stark straight away, since I knew that was what *you* would do anyway, and he's going to see if he can figure out how Faustus got to him. We're thinking it was probably through SHIELD."
*
God, Sharon. He'd done all of this to protect her, and they'd still gotten to her.
Steve clenched his teeth. "Do we know anything new about the Skull's whereabouts?" There was no question that he was going to find him. Them. The Red Skull and Dr. Faustus had each caused more pain than a hundred thousand men had any right to cause. This had to end, before they could hurt more people. Before they could hurt Sharon more than they already had.
Steve rummaged for a coat from his hall closet. He didn't even realize his hand was shaking until he saw it tapping against the wire of his coat hanger.
*
"Not yet. Stark is looking." Sam didn't like relying on Stark, but it was the best he could do just now. "Steve?" he noticed his friend's distress. "We're going to find him. We'll get Sharon out and make them pay."
*
"Of course we are." Steve refused to consider the alternative.
He pulled on the jacket. "I need to go get something," he said, turning back to Sam, and he crossed the apartment to his bedroom. A second later, he emerged with his shield.
For months now, he'd been Steve Rogers - or Wilson Buchanan, depending on the day. He'd been self-absorbed, self-focused, concentrating only on Daniel, and Sally, and Tony, and Sam, and his firehouse, and his job. And those things were important - many of them he expected to be important to him for the rest of his life.
But right now, he needed to save a woman he'd failed. He needed to defeat a menace to millions. He needed to protect his country.
He needed to be Captain America.
*
Sam looked at the shield approvingly. "Welcome back, Cap." He'd missed this. Looking at the shield, he felt hopeful again, in a way he hadn't been in so long--ever since Steve's apparent death.
"Now, let's go fight some bad guys."
*
Steve was about to point out that, as much as he was ready to leap out the door right this minute, they still didn't know where they were supposed to go to fight the bad guys. But just then, he heard Sam's communicator beep.
*
Sam pulled out the communicator and read Stark's message. "Stark has a lead. Apparently--Lukin is the Skull." Sam paused for a second to try to wrap his brain around that one. They didn't seem like the sort of bad guys that would even get along very well, much less be the same person. But it was something at least, however it worked. "He wants to meet us at Lukin's headquarters."
*
Steve frowned for only a second at the confusing information. They could figure out how any of this made sense later.
"Upstate New York it is."