Encountering Madame Morpho (House of TM)
[OOC: House of TM. Everything is beginning to unravel, as Madame Morpho makes waves. This takes place the night before Tony and Steve's anniversary, the day after Jean's freakout at the salon. Co-written by the wonderfully talented mun of daughter_of_m, who honestly deserves a lot more credit for this than I do.]
The sun was setting brilliantly over the Chrysler Building as Captain America and Iron Man flew high above the New York cityscape. Tony's metal-encased arm was wrapped around the red and white vertical stripes of Steve's waist, holding him aloft, the fading sunlight glinting off the armor as radiantly as it reflected off the water of the East River below them. Steve didn't really have much to do in the sky; his eyes, perfect by human standards, couldn't come close to matching the zoom capabilities of the Iron Man suit, and airborn fighting was not exactly his strength. But if they found Madame Morpho, which was the stated purpose of this particular flight, there was a good possibility that ground-level fighting with minimal civilian risk would be the best option, and Steve was much more equipped for that. In other words, though flying through a New York sunset with his husband's arm around him and a cool breeze on his face was a definite perk, Steve had much more legitimate purposes for being there, and it was those reasons that filled his mind.
"How is it possible that we know next to nothing about this woman?" Steve asked. "She doesn't even hide her face in photos."
"There's just no record of her," Tony replied, a little absently; he was running five sets of equations in his head even as he monitored ten separate surveillance cameras. "Before she joined the Brotherhood, that is. I've searched every database available. She's a ghost."
"I don't like fighting ghosts," Steve muttered, a little darkly. He'd always preferred the villains who came on you directly, stating their intentions outright. Then he could punch them a few times or knock them down with a flick of his shield, and his work would be done. This sort of fighting - waiting for the enemies to strike without being sure if they would strike at all, their reasoning inscrutible and their methods even more so - it reminded him too much of the war.
"Wait," Tony said, his iron grip tensing on Steve's hip. "I think I might be picking up something..."
She was upon them before they fully knew she was there. A young woman in a long cloak leapt seemingly from nowhere, hovering in front of the two men. With a swift flick of the wrist and a flutter of fabric, she separated Iron Man from Captain America, sending the latter tumbling to the street below. Steve landed roughly in a crouch and pulled out his Avengers communicator to call for back-up. Tony pulled himself out of the partial spin the woman's push had sent him into and propelled himself toward her. Cap watched from below, gathering his bearings; neither man could get a good look at the young woman. She was half-hidden in shadow and the cloak almost seemed to have a mind of its own, wrapping itself around her as she moved.
Iron Man sped toward the woman with his repulsors aimed forward, preparing to attack. Poised almost delicately on a street lamp, she waited until he'd nearly reached her before raising a single pale hand in a stopping gesture. Tony was held in place, transfixed by the deep blue eyes that were the only part of her face he could see. A bright light flashed, surrounding both, and Tony fell backward.
"Iron Man!" Steve yelled as his husband crashed to the ground, the metal armor making a sickening crunch as it slammed against the pavement. Reacting on instinct, Cap threw his shield, aiming to knock the figure off of the lamp post. But the woman dodged the blow easily, jumping down from the tip of the light and swinging around the pole to stick a flawless landing on the sidewalk below. The shield continued its trajectory to the nearest building, clanging off of bricks and nearly colliding with Captain America's chest on the ricochet before he caught it.
In the split second it took Cap to recapture the shield, the young woman took advantage of his distraction and pounced upon him, drawing him into an embrace. The bright light appeared again, enveloping both Steve and the mysterious stranger, and they vanished. Steve's shield and communicator dropped to the ground a block away from the downed Iron Man.
Steve and the young woman reappeared in a dark alleyway. Both were momentarily disoriented; the stranger clutched at Steve and shook her head once before stepping back. He looked over to find she was no longer cloaked in darkness. The young woman who stood before him was in her late teens, very pretty, with bouncy curled blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She didn't look at all like a Super-Villain or Hero, dressed as she was in a t-shirt that stated I Still Get Butterflies in bright yellow lettering, accompanied by black combat boots and bangles on both wrists. Though he was startled, Steve took mental note of the lack of anything resembling tech equipment that would explain her powers. The girl took a few steps backward and raised her hands.
"I don't want to fight, Captain," she said, "I'm sorry I had to take out your friend but he's not a good listener and we don't have much time."
Recovering from his disorientation, and not even bothering to question the strangeness of the "friend" designation for Tony, Steve felt his anger rise. "Who are you, and what have you done to us?" he demanded. He tried to grab her, but he found he couldn't move from his place, trapped by an invisible force.
"You've called me Madame Morpho, but that is only one of many names." The young woman gestured to a puddle of water between them. "Look." She dropped a small pebble in the puddle. "See the ripples? The whole world is like that, experience stretching out in all directions from a single event. Now, what happens if we drop the pebble over here instead?" She dropped a second pebble off to the side of where she'd placed the first. "Some of the ripples are the same but some change. New ones are created. Old ones disappear or converge. I'm special. I can see all the ripples, the real ones and the new ones...It's my job to know these things. Sometimes I hide what happens and sometimes I explain. That's my gift. Or curse. Every gift when turned upside down becomes a curse. She creates chaos, I restore order. You don't have any children."
Steve immediately took this as a threat. "What have you done with our children?" he asked, fire in his eyes. If this Morpho woman had harmed Sally, or Tommy or Billy, no force on earth would be able to control his reaction.
"Nothing. I am simply stating fact." She spoke without malice, her tone calm and her words precise. She nodded to the puddle; most of the waves had faded but their imprint glowed slightly in the artificial light. "Look again. Underneath the new rings the old ones still remain. They pull at your memory when you dream. They trick you when you are awake." She smiled and Steve was reminded of a cat. "Do you ever imagine yourself married to someone else?"
Steve started at Morpho's words. Wanda, he thought. And that dread feeling the other night that had felt much more like a premonition than normal anxiety... Puzzle pieces started to fall into place, but they built up slowly and systematically, corner pieces first, then a border enclosing nothing.
"Who did this? Who made this happen?" Cap asked. He wasn't even entirely sure what "this" was, but he needed to know.
"You don't want me to tell you, Captain. You already know." Steve shook his head, afraid to acknowledge the truth. "Everything she does is for love, but she is confused. I hate you, don't leave me, I love you, leave me alone. She needs help. But you won't want to help her. You'll be angry and weary of chaos. You will try to leave her behind and she will try to follow and neither of you will succeed. You will hate her and you will love her and you will want to save her and you will fail. She has to learn to save herself. And then one day she will save you. And order will be restored."
"What?" Steve tried to say, but the word stuck in his throat. He didn't understand.
"I'm sorry." Morpho cocked her head at him, the expression on her face thoughtful if not truly sympathetic. At Steve's confused silence she continued. "You will die, but not forever. The world needs Captain America. And while you are dead you will take the time to learn who you are. Your friends will try to fight your battles for you while you are gone, and you will want to help them. And when the world is ready you will return. And order will be restored."
Steve heard voices coming to the alley; a second later he recognized them as Jean's and Piotr's. They were calling his name, but he couldn't bring himself to respond. Morpho was watching him, sadly. "You do not want to believe me. None of you ever do. You will go home and cling to your husband and your daughter and your family. And tomorrow you will help destroy them. I'm sorry. I wish there was another way."
Steve opened his mouth to speak once more, but suddenly Morpho was gone, vanished with a puff of smoke. As Jean and Piotr entered the alley, Steve felt the last bit of Morpho's telekinetic control fall away, and he fell to his knees on the pavement.
"Captain? Are you ok?" Piotr asked, as Jean repeated the same question in his mind.
"Tony..." Steve croaked, pulling himself to his feet. He didn't know when his voice had become so hoarse. "Need to help him first." His voice became stronger. "You two scan the area; Morpho was here a second ago, and she can't have gotten far." The others nodded and fanned out in opposite directions, Jean's eyes narrowed in psychic surveillance.
Steve turned the corner of the alley to orient himself and spotted his shield and communicator a few yards away; Morpho had only teleported them a few hundred feet. Quickly gathering up his things, he ran another block to find Iron Man still sprawled across the ground. "Tony?" he asked, once, but at the lack of response he automatically initiated the voice-activated override codes Tony had given him long ago. Steve was the only person alive who knew them - the only person other than Tony himself who could operate the armor from the outside.
At his command, the armor sprung to life. "Good evening, Mr. Rogers," it greeted.
"Armor, activate life support systems," Cap ordered. He heard the whirring of a computer, and a second later a blessedly familiar gasp.
"Steve?" Tony's voice asked, sounding groggy. "What happened? Is she still here?"
"She's gone," Cap replied. "And I'm controlling the armor until I know you're ok." He wrapped his arms around Tony's iron waist, stepping on one boot for balance, and commanded the suit to fly upward. "We're going home."
Over his shoulder, Cap felt a brush of air like a cape twirling, and he turned his head. Invisibly, Morpho watched him rise into the air, and for a second Steve almost thought he could see her. But a moment later she'd disappeared with another chilling swirl of wind.
As he flew through the night skies, Captain America turned on his communicator and called Jean and Piotr off the hunt. "We're not going to find her tonight," he said, keeping his voice carefully expressionless.
But whether or not she would find them was another matter entirely.
The sun was setting brilliantly over the Chrysler Building as Captain America and Iron Man flew high above the New York cityscape. Tony's metal-encased arm was wrapped around the red and white vertical stripes of Steve's waist, holding him aloft, the fading sunlight glinting off the armor as radiantly as it reflected off the water of the East River below them. Steve didn't really have much to do in the sky; his eyes, perfect by human standards, couldn't come close to matching the zoom capabilities of the Iron Man suit, and airborn fighting was not exactly his strength. But if they found Madame Morpho, which was the stated purpose of this particular flight, there was a good possibility that ground-level fighting with minimal civilian risk would be the best option, and Steve was much more equipped for that. In other words, though flying through a New York sunset with his husband's arm around him and a cool breeze on his face was a definite perk, Steve had much more legitimate purposes for being there, and it was those reasons that filled his mind.
"How is it possible that we know next to nothing about this woman?" Steve asked. "She doesn't even hide her face in photos."
"There's just no record of her," Tony replied, a little absently; he was running five sets of equations in his head even as he monitored ten separate surveillance cameras. "Before she joined the Brotherhood, that is. I've searched every database available. She's a ghost."
"I don't like fighting ghosts," Steve muttered, a little darkly. He'd always preferred the villains who came on you directly, stating their intentions outright. Then he could punch them a few times or knock them down with a flick of his shield, and his work would be done. This sort of fighting - waiting for the enemies to strike without being sure if they would strike at all, their reasoning inscrutible and their methods even more so - it reminded him too much of the war.
"Wait," Tony said, his iron grip tensing on Steve's hip. "I think I might be picking up something..."
She was upon them before they fully knew she was there. A young woman in a long cloak leapt seemingly from nowhere, hovering in front of the two men. With a swift flick of the wrist and a flutter of fabric, she separated Iron Man from Captain America, sending the latter tumbling to the street below. Steve landed roughly in a crouch and pulled out his Avengers communicator to call for back-up. Tony pulled himself out of the partial spin the woman's push had sent him into and propelled himself toward her. Cap watched from below, gathering his bearings; neither man could get a good look at the young woman. She was half-hidden in shadow and the cloak almost seemed to have a mind of its own, wrapping itself around her as she moved.
Iron Man sped toward the woman with his repulsors aimed forward, preparing to attack. Poised almost delicately on a street lamp, she waited until he'd nearly reached her before raising a single pale hand in a stopping gesture. Tony was held in place, transfixed by the deep blue eyes that were the only part of her face he could see. A bright light flashed, surrounding both, and Tony fell backward.
"Iron Man!" Steve yelled as his husband crashed to the ground, the metal armor making a sickening crunch as it slammed against the pavement. Reacting on instinct, Cap threw his shield, aiming to knock the figure off of the lamp post. But the woman dodged the blow easily, jumping down from the tip of the light and swinging around the pole to stick a flawless landing on the sidewalk below. The shield continued its trajectory to the nearest building, clanging off of bricks and nearly colliding with Captain America's chest on the ricochet before he caught it.
In the split second it took Cap to recapture the shield, the young woman took advantage of his distraction and pounced upon him, drawing him into an embrace. The bright light appeared again, enveloping both Steve and the mysterious stranger, and they vanished. Steve's shield and communicator dropped to the ground a block away from the downed Iron Man.
Steve and the young woman reappeared in a dark alleyway. Both were momentarily disoriented; the stranger clutched at Steve and shook her head once before stepping back. He looked over to find she was no longer cloaked in darkness. The young woman who stood before him was in her late teens, very pretty, with bouncy curled blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She didn't look at all like a Super-Villain or Hero, dressed as she was in a t-shirt that stated I Still Get Butterflies in bright yellow lettering, accompanied by black combat boots and bangles on both wrists. Though he was startled, Steve took mental note of the lack of anything resembling tech equipment that would explain her powers. The girl took a few steps backward and raised her hands.
"I don't want to fight, Captain," she said, "I'm sorry I had to take out your friend but he's not a good listener and we don't have much time."
Recovering from his disorientation, and not even bothering to question the strangeness of the "friend" designation for Tony, Steve felt his anger rise. "Who are you, and what have you done to us?" he demanded. He tried to grab her, but he found he couldn't move from his place, trapped by an invisible force.
"You've called me Madame Morpho, but that is only one of many names." The young woman gestured to a puddle of water between them. "Look." She dropped a small pebble in the puddle. "See the ripples? The whole world is like that, experience stretching out in all directions from a single event. Now, what happens if we drop the pebble over here instead?" She dropped a second pebble off to the side of where she'd placed the first. "Some of the ripples are the same but some change. New ones are created. Old ones disappear or converge. I'm special. I can see all the ripples, the real ones and the new ones...It's my job to know these things. Sometimes I hide what happens and sometimes I explain. That's my gift. Or curse. Every gift when turned upside down becomes a curse. She creates chaos, I restore order. You don't have any children."
Steve immediately took this as a threat. "What have you done with our children?" he asked, fire in his eyes. If this Morpho woman had harmed Sally, or Tommy or Billy, no force on earth would be able to control his reaction.
"Nothing. I am simply stating fact." She spoke without malice, her tone calm and her words precise. She nodded to the puddle; most of the waves had faded but their imprint glowed slightly in the artificial light. "Look again. Underneath the new rings the old ones still remain. They pull at your memory when you dream. They trick you when you are awake." She smiled and Steve was reminded of a cat. "Do you ever imagine yourself married to someone else?"
Steve started at Morpho's words. Wanda, he thought. And that dread feeling the other night that had felt much more like a premonition than normal anxiety... Puzzle pieces started to fall into place, but they built up slowly and systematically, corner pieces first, then a border enclosing nothing.
"Who did this? Who made this happen?" Cap asked. He wasn't even entirely sure what "this" was, but he needed to know.
"You don't want me to tell you, Captain. You already know." Steve shook his head, afraid to acknowledge the truth. "Everything she does is for love, but she is confused. I hate you, don't leave me, I love you, leave me alone. She needs help. But you won't want to help her. You'll be angry and weary of chaos. You will try to leave her behind and she will try to follow and neither of you will succeed. You will hate her and you will love her and you will want to save her and you will fail. She has to learn to save herself. And then one day she will save you. And order will be restored."
"What?" Steve tried to say, but the word stuck in his throat. He didn't understand.
"I'm sorry." Morpho cocked her head at him, the expression on her face thoughtful if not truly sympathetic. At Steve's confused silence she continued. "You will die, but not forever. The world needs Captain America. And while you are dead you will take the time to learn who you are. Your friends will try to fight your battles for you while you are gone, and you will want to help them. And when the world is ready you will return. And order will be restored."
Steve heard voices coming to the alley; a second later he recognized them as Jean's and Piotr's. They were calling his name, but he couldn't bring himself to respond. Morpho was watching him, sadly. "You do not want to believe me. None of you ever do. You will go home and cling to your husband and your daughter and your family. And tomorrow you will help destroy them. I'm sorry. I wish there was another way."
Steve opened his mouth to speak once more, but suddenly Morpho was gone, vanished with a puff of smoke. As Jean and Piotr entered the alley, Steve felt the last bit of Morpho's telekinetic control fall away, and he fell to his knees on the pavement.
"Captain? Are you ok?" Piotr asked, as Jean repeated the same question in his mind.
"Tony..." Steve croaked, pulling himself to his feet. He didn't know when his voice had become so hoarse. "Need to help him first." His voice became stronger. "You two scan the area; Morpho was here a second ago, and she can't have gotten far." The others nodded and fanned out in opposite directions, Jean's eyes narrowed in psychic surveillance.
Steve turned the corner of the alley to orient himself and spotted his shield and communicator a few yards away; Morpho had only teleported them a few hundred feet. Quickly gathering up his things, he ran another block to find Iron Man still sprawled across the ground. "Tony?" he asked, once, but at the lack of response he automatically initiated the voice-activated override codes Tony had given him long ago. Steve was the only person alive who knew them - the only person other than Tony himself who could operate the armor from the outside.
At his command, the armor sprung to life. "Good evening, Mr. Rogers," it greeted.
"Armor, activate life support systems," Cap ordered. He heard the whirring of a computer, and a second later a blessedly familiar gasp.
"Steve?" Tony's voice asked, sounding groggy. "What happened? Is she still here?"
"She's gone," Cap replied. "And I'm controlling the armor until I know you're ok." He wrapped his arms around Tony's iron waist, stepping on one boot for balance, and commanded the suit to fly upward. "We're going home."
Over his shoulder, Cap felt a brush of air like a cape twirling, and he turned his head. Invisibly, Morpho watched him rise into the air, and for a second Steve almost thought he could see her. But a moment later she'd disappeared with another chilling swirl of wind.
As he flew through the night skies, Captain America turned on his communicator and called Jean and Piotr off the hunt. "We're not going to find her tonight," he said, keeping his voice carefully expressionless.
But whether or not she would find them was another matter entirely.