[Starriesky and ColdHarem] Steve's mission

[StarrieSky]

It's the Civil War. Heroes need to be registered, their identities known. Some follow the rules, others resist. Now a girl knows the answer to stop this war; either side could win with this information. Captain America will protect her. But will he succeed?

 

[ColdHarem]

Two days had passed since the last conflict. Captain America and his comrades had unwittingly stumbled into a trap, and battered, injured, and depleted, they'd been forced to flee their old hideout. The two day delay of escape had been spent waiting for Wiccan to wake up and spell them out of there, teleporting them to a new shelter. This one was yet another Shield building, though it was inaccessible without a teleporter thanks to the collapsed entrances and its being built underground. It had been a scientific research centre ten years ago, before a fire had hollowed out most of the contents and broken down the structural integrity. Steve wasn't all that sure it should be used for housing anyone, but beggars and now wanted criminals couldn't be choosers.


Now those of them that were still alive were trying to settle in, finding places to heal their wounded and rest their heads. The Captain, however, couldn't sleep. They'd lost so many all because of one stupid mistake, and as their leader he couldn't help but feel responsible. Guilt-induced insomnia therefore left him wandering the halls, exploring the broken research rooms of the place. Some were charred and unrecognisable, whilst others had been left untouched by the tragedy of ten years ago. It smelt like dust, ash, and death, and was hardly welcoming after their battle.


Still, it was a distraction. Shifting through the various draws and cabinets, Steve read through the research files. Most of the computers were smashed or dead, but a couple booted up, indicating that a generator or power source was still functioning somewhere - he'd have to see if they could harness that later. The screens froze repeatedly, and most of the data was corrupt, but there were odd bits and pieces from various investigations still on the system. Most of it was weapon development... scrolling through, Steve realised it wasn't any old weapon development. Whoever had worked here appeared to have been trying to harness the powers of superheroes in weapon form.


Steve had always known that Shield could be as shady as their enemies at times, but he hadn't expected something like this. Pulling back the swivel chair before the computer, which emitted a cloud of ash and dust when he sat down upon it, he looked through the remains of the computer files that were readable. Genetic experiments, human DNA splicing, autopsy reports, there were endless reports, all searching for one final outcome: the ability to artificially create a superhero from a regular human. Chemical compounds and genetic engineering of all imaginable varieties had been tested, all resulting in horrendous mutants and total failures. The experiments had been born stillborn, or deformed, and had died within weeks. Failure, failure, failure, fail-


Pausing, his finger hovering over the screen, Steve reread the file he was currently on. Instead of creating a foetus in a laboratory, some desperate soul had tried artificially altering a male's sperm in order to then naturally allow a super-powered child to develop. The power the spliced gene was supposed to give was that to travel back in time. Surely it hadn't worked though?


Scrolling through, Steve could find no final report. The man who was altered was detailed, but there was no conclusion as to whether or not the experiment had been successful. Running the man's name through the available database on the computer, Steve found that he did indeed have a daughter, named Emma Johnson. If the experiment had worked... with a power like that, she'd have the ability to completely alter the course of the war. Perhaps with her help, Steve could go back and change the very event that had triggered all of this...


Standing, he turned and left the room, walking briskly back to where the others had congregated. They were still recovering from their last bright idea, but now they had another mission. Find Emma Johnson.

 

[StarrieSky]

Emma was on the other side of town, in a small apartment she owned. The tv was on, and the girl was seated at the couch in front of her. Her legs were propped up next to her, her arm leaning on the armrest to keep herself comfortably seated. She watched as the tv showed the battle two days ago, with Captain America's team forced to flee. She felt bad for them, she understood their plight and secretly rooted for them. Her father had also fought on their side. When the images disappeared and the reporter started on another topic, Emma grabbed the remote and turned the tv off. She didn't really care about the rest, she had enough trouble in her own city. There were rumours on the streets that Captain America's team was now hiding somewhere in their city. No one knew where though, and Emma knew Iron Man and his team would be here soon to track them down. She just hoped she wouldn't get involved.


Standing up, Emma stretched before shuffling to her desk. Sitting down in her chair, she grabbed some papers. Emma was a journalist for the local paper, writing a small blog. She started writing about Captain America, and the other superheroes following him.

 

[ColdHarem]

Two hours later, Captain America was standing on the other side of town, outside an apartment block. Kate Bishop had located the girl, and Wiccan had gotten him here. Now it was time for him to get on with the real part of the mission. Approaching the door, he was dressed up in 'disguise', though the term felt so cliche. With his hair dyed, a pair of glasses pushed up the bridge of his nose, and an electrician's uniform on, he managed to get himself buzzed into the building by a gap-toothed kid living on the first floor. From there it was merely a matter of climbing the stairs and finding the apartment number he'd been given, scrawled on a yellow post-it note held scrunched in his palm.


Stopping outside the door, he looked around to check that he was alone and had not been followed, and then knocked quickly and succinctly upon the door. He didn't like lying like this, wearing a disguise to con himself into a young woman's apartment, but he saw no alternative. He didn't know whose side she was on, and she needed to hear what he had to say before she threw him out or called Shield. For all he knew, she was the groomed and obedient daughter of a shield agent, as loyal to the cause as any other. He just hoped for their sakes that was not the case.


"Ma'am, I've received a call that we've been getting odd readings from your power supply. D'you mind if I come in and check it?" Steve called, trying to alter his voice in case she was familiar with it.

 

[StarrieSky]

Emma had just finished her article when there was a knock on the door. She stretched her arms above her head, working the kinks out of her back, before she stood up and walked over to the door. She heard a male voice talking, and she furrowed her eyebrows at what she heard. Odd readings? She didn't do anything differently than normal. Why were they receiving odd readings? She opened the door and let the man in. "Are you sure you're at the right place? I don't think anything's wrong with my power." The man was very muscly and attractive. Emma glanced at him as she closed the door behind him. If he didn't wear glasses and had blond hair he would look like Captain America she noticed. Shrugging off the thought, she walked back to the living room. "It's in that closet over there." She pointed him in the right direction, getting back to her desk and grabbing her papers. She walked with it back to the couch where her laptop was. "I can get you something to drink if you want to." She placed the papers on her laptop, then turned her attention back to the male inside her apartment.

 

[ColdHarem]

(whoops, so sorry for blanking yesterday, flu has made me kinda forgetful atm, you have my apologies)


Steve had never before seen a picture of the mysterious Emma, so when she opened the door he hadn't really known what to expect, though he'd been imagining some battle-hardened, shield agent's daughter, probably capable of flooring him in under a second and as skilled with casual sass as Fury himself. The blonde with him he was met, however, didn't look ready to cut him if he dared try anything, instead she seemed... well, friendly. It made for a nice change, having faced every shield agent trying to kill him for the past couple weeks, and after the hell the life of a vigilante superhero had become, the calm was appreciated. She even offered him a drink; Steve couldn't remember the last time that had happened.


"I'm fine thanks," Steve said absently, walking in and looking around. There were no weapons around, nothing threatening. He counted the potential exits in one quick glance, and noted where the phones were. Here she was offering him a drink, and he was going into tactics mode. Trying to think like a normal human being for a moment, Steve turned back for her and smiled gently, almost apologetically, because regardless of who's side she was on, he didn't doubt that this news was going to be unwanted. If she was on their side, surely shield must not know about her or they'd have recruited her by now; if she was working for Shield, well, then she and Steve were going to have to deviate from pleasantries to something rather different.


"Emma - it is Emma, right?" Steve said, taking off the cap that came with his uniform, trying to look as harmless as possible. "This is going to sound a bit odd, but can I just ask you: The Superheroes war; who do you think is right?"

 

[StarrieSky]

(It's fine, take your time Hope you feel better soon)


Emma watched as the man looked at her apartment, wondering why he didn't just get to work. Though she guessed she'd do the same; she loved seeing how other people lived. It explained the pile of magazines lying on her table. She was glad she always closed her doors; it'd be awkward if he could look straight into her bedroom, as it was a mess. She hated cleaning it, and there were clothes scattered around her bedroom floor. She always made sure her living room and kitchen were clean, but she never bothered with her bedroom. As long as she could sleep and find her clean clothes it was fine with her.


When the male asked her a question, Emma furrowed her brows. What was with that question? "Uhm, I think Captain America's team is right, but why do you want to know?" She crossed her arms defensively in front of her body. "Are you a Shield agent or something?" She hoped he wasn't, as she doubted she could take him. The man in front of her was very muscled, and looked really strong. Emma knew some basic martial arts, but nothing noteworthy, just enough to protect herself from muggers. She'd have to flee if he was Shield.