Chapter
Fifty One: The
Legend of Captain America:
The
first hints of the sun coming out had given the promise of a great
day. It was precisely one week since the battle between the
Brotherhood and the X-Men had been caught on cameras. Needless to
say, pretty much everyone had seen the footage of that battle and
many were talking about what threat these mutants had and precisely
how many of them were out there. Even Washington was talking, as many
pushed for legislation to help regulate mutants, some of the more
outspoken calling mutants a threat to national security. It was
merely a waiting game to see what happened next involving the
mutants.
“People
are scared,” remarked Gwen as she walked with Peter towards the
X-Mansion early that Saturday morning. “Right or wrong, they
discovered mutants when they were in the middle of a violent battle.
That’s not a good first impression.”
“Yeah,
it isn’t,” said Peter, as he doubted that many would be able to
comprehend that some mutants were good and others were bad. “Xavier
knew this day would come. But not like this. And to be honest, I have
other things on my mind. I want to know what that Doomsday Device
is.”
“Peter,
maybe you shouldn’t worry about this,” suggested Gwen.
“You
can say that all you want and I try not, but I still do,” said
Peter with a half smile, but it was rather pained. “The way Fury’s
been talking, it’s something big. But what is it?”
“What
I want to know is why the stupid thing just wasn’t destroyed
instead of disassembled and hidden,” said Gwen with a frown.
“You
and me both Gwen, you and me both,” said Peter with a sigh, as they
had cleared the gates of the Mansion, which while not completely
returned to its past glory, had looked much better than it had a week
ago when a good portion of it was blown up.
“Not
too shabby,” thought Peter. “Then again, it helps when you have
mutant powers. It speeds up the construction process, just a little
bit.”
The
two teenagers made their way inside of the mansion, stepping inside,
as they heard the sounds of construction, coming from the Cerebro
Room.
“Come
in you two, the doors open,” said the voice of Professor Xavier and
Peter and Gwen entered, to see the entire group of X-Men assembled
around the machine, dressed in full uniforms, as if they were ready
to deal with some threat at a moment’s notice. “I have nearly put
the finishing touches of the database here at the Mansion,
cataloguing everyone’s powers. I believe everything is in order.”
“Then
we can get Cerebro back online,” stated Beast.
“And
not a minute too soon,” added Cyclops.
“Agreed,
now more then ever, its imperative that we get to new mutants and
help them, because the world could become a very harsh place for
those with the mutant gift before too soon,” remarked Xavier.
“Kitty, why don’t you introduce your friends to the members of
the team?”
“Oh
yeah, duh,” said Shadowcat as she turned to Nightcrawler, Storm,
and Rogue. “Guys, this is Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. Peter, Gwen,
these are the new members of the school that I told you about.”
“You
mean they know,” said Nightcrawler.
“Relax,
they can be trusted,” said Shadowcat.
“Don’t
worry, Ah think they can,” said Rogue, with a knowing smile.
“Oh
yeah, she knows, because I had her absorb my powers,” said Peter.
“Man, I really need to be a bit better in keeping my secret
identity…well a secret.”
Xavier
meanwhile scrolled through the files that he had on the members of
team, to ensure that they were all in place, as they appeared on his
screen one by one.
Name:
Charles Xavier
Codename:
Professor X
Age:
Classified
Abilities:
Telepathy, Telekinesis, Mental Manipulation
Name:
Scott Summers
Codename:
Cyclops
Age:
19
Powers:
Optic Blasts
Name:
Warren Worthington III
Codename:
Angel
Age:
20
Abilities:
Flight
Name:
Henry McCoy
Codename:
Beast
Age:
21
Abilities:
Enhanced Speed, Strength, and Agility
Name:
Robert Drake
Codename:
Iceman
Age:
17
Abilities:
Ice Manipulation
Name:
Jean Grey
Codename:
Marvel Girl
Age:
19
Abilities:
Telepathy, Telekinesis, Neural Reconfiguration.
Name:
“Logan”
Codename:
Wolverine
Age:
None of your stinkin’ business, bub
Abilities:
Accelerated Healing Factor, Enhanced Senses.
Name:
Katherine Pryde
Codename:
Shadowcat
Age:
15
Abilities:
Intangibility
Name:
Ororo Munroe
Codename:
Storm
Age:
20
Abilities:
Mastery of the Elements.
Name:
Kurt Wagner:
Codename:
Nightcrawler
Age:
16
Abilities:
Teleportation.
Name:
Unknown
Codename:
Rogue
Age:
17
Abilities:
Absorption of Life Energy/Mutant Abilities
“What,
pray tell, is neural reconfiguration?” asked Gwen curiously, as she
looked at the list of abilities.
“Its
rewiring the mind of a person to work or not work,” explained Jean.
“It could bring people out of comas, if used right. Of course,
there’s only a slight chance that it’s going to work right,
according to the Professor. There’s more of a chance I’ll just
turn someone into a vegetable.”
“Lovely,”
said Peter dryly.
“It’s
a power that takes a great deal of concentration and control,”
added Xavier in an absent minded manner as he continued his work on
the files. “It isn’t a power that you can practice in training as
it is…there we go, everything appears to have been in order.
Everyone can go on with your plans for the day. I would hate to keep
you in this room on such a beautiful day.”
The
entire assembled team left, with Kitty following Gwen and Peter.
“Everything
holding up okay?” asked Peter and Kitty just sighed.
“It’s
been mostly fine, we’ve been rebuilding everything in the Mansion
mostly, thankfully the Danger Room isn’t going to try and kill us
again,” said Kitty. “Of course, with Logan, you never know. A few
reporters have been lurking around. Logan convinced them that it was
in their best interests to buzz off.”
“I
imagine he did,” said Gwen, smiling.
“Did
you find out anything about that thing that Mystique was after?”
asked Kitty.
“Nothing,
in fact, I’m at a loss,” said Peter frustrated. “It’s
connected to the thing that Chameleon took…which was connected to
my parents, somehow. I don’t know how a pair of scientists that
died in a plane crash would have anything to do with a Doomsday
Device. Of course, I never really knew my parents. I only know what
Uncle Ben and Aunt May told me. Fury knows something, but good luck
trying to get anything out of that guy.”
“Yeah,
he’s a real piece of work,” said Kitty but she suddenly
remembered something and had a panicking expression on her face.
“What’s
wrong?” asked Gwen.
“School
project, it’s due on Monday, I nearly forgot about it,” said
Kitty in an exasperated voice as she bit her lip. “I can’t
believe I nearly forgot about it.”
“Well,
there’s been a lot going on,” offered Peter. “Maybe if you
explain…actually that sounds like a stupid idea.”
“No
kidding, rival mutant group blew up my mansion doesn’t sound like a
good excuse,” said Gwen. “Not now, not when Harry used in
Freshman year, I doubt it would fly well at any time.”
“Especially
considering when its sort of the truth,” agreed Kitty, but she
frowned. “But I’ve got to get a good grade on this paper. If I
don’t, I’ll fail and I’ll have to take this class over again. I
can’t believe it, I have to research a famous World War II figure
and the Internet at the Mansion is down.”
“Well
you can always look it up at the library in books,” suggested Gwen.
“People
still do that?” asked Kitty in shock. “Really, seriously?”
“Yes,
seriously,” said Gwen.
“Yes,
but they do have the Internet there…but today’s Saturday and the
library closes early,” said Peter.
“How
early?” asked Kitty, biting her lip.
“Oh
about ten minutes ago, I would say,” said Peter and Kitty just
looked horrified at that news.
“Well,
that’s it for me, I’m doomed, there’s no way I’m going to be
able to write a paper on….I don’t even know who the teacher
assigned me to write a paper on, hang on, let me check,” said
Kitty. “Oh of course, they would have to give me the lamest person
on there.”
“It
can’t be that bad,” said Peter.
“It’s
Captain America, of course it’s that bad,” said Kitty.
“Wait
a minute, Captain America, did you say Captain America?” asked
Peter.
“Oh
boy, here we go,” said Gwen with a slight smile and a roll of her
eyes.
“I
really don’t know what you’re complaining about, he’s the
greatest hero that ever lived, I mean, Captain America’s the
measure that all heroes are measured to,” said Peter excitedly.
“He
wasn’t around for that long,” said Kitty. “Even I know that.”
“He
made a difference through,” said Peter. “He’s still talked
about today. I remember Uncle Ben telling me stories about Captain
America and his adventures all the time. Granted, some of them seemed
corny today, but he was a true, blue hero and…there’s a Captain
America exhibit at the museum…that we fought Sandman in a while
back. Maybe we can go there and you can find something that will help
you write your paper.”
“Yes,
I suppose I really don’t have a choice,” said Kitty, who really
wished that this paper did not slip her mind.
XXXXX-XXXXX
“Well
if nothing else, they did a nice job of getting the place back to
where it was, after my little back and forth with Sandman,” thought
Peter. “It’s been a long time…actually can’t remember the
last time I was year…had to be a few months before Uncle Ben died
at least.”
“Okay,
we’re here,” said Gwen as she looked around at the exhibit.
“Looks a bit dusty and a bit…well it’s not kept up all that
well.”
“People
should show some respect, this is a great landmark, this is Captain
America, there’s his shield,” said Peter firmly. “He held it
with pride and fought with dignity. It was a different time. A time
where you didn’t need big guns or a bad attitude to be considered a
true hero.”
“Or
climb walls or use webbing that runs out about halfway into battle,”
added Gwen.
“Very
funny, Gwen,” said Peter but he looked around at the various
pictures depicting Captain America and his faithful sidekick Bucky in
action against various enemies throughout the war. “This is the day
where Captain America infiltrated the strong hold of the enemy and
managed to take all of the men down inside. All in one fell swoop.
I’ve heard this story so many times, that I can tell it by heart.”
“He
took out over five hundred men on his own,” said Kitty skeptically
as she read the caption on the painting. “That seems impossible.”
“Cap
was the ultimate solider,” said Peter with a shrug. “He had
strength, stamina, and speed beyond anyone else who had ever fought
in the war. He was one of a kind. I mean, just look at him, there’s
his statue right there, life sized replica….they really need to wax
it, but other than that, you get the picture.”
Kitty
just looked at the Captain America statue.
“Well,
he does look like he can take care of himself,” admitted Kitty
grudgingly. “Still, it says he fought tirelessly in the war, for
less than five years. What happened to him after it?”
“No
one really knows,” replied Peter. “I mean, anything could have
happened. Once the war ended, he just dropped off of the face of the
earth and what he did became the things of legend. Of course, I don’t
really see him working a nine to five job but what do I know?”
“He’s
got to be long gone by now,” said Kitty.
“I
wouldn’t be sure about that,” said Gwen as she read the paper.
“It says here that a super solider formula turned him into Captain
America and it was said to allow the subject to age a fourth as
quickly. He could be just in his thirties or forties physically.”
“Something
like that is hard to tell, because no one knows when Captain
America’s birthday is or who he really was,” said Peter, but he
wondered what ever did to become of Captain America. It was something
to consider.
“So,
no one knows what happens to the guy and he did a lot of impossible
things, that defy all conventional logic,” said Kitty but she
frowned, wondering how true these stories would be. There was some
bit of truth to them, but they were exaggerated over time. They had
to be.
“Halt,
who dares mock the Red Skull!” declared an angry voice, which
caused Kitty to jump three feet in the air and spin around, to come
face to face with a statue of in light brown, with a completely red
head, but his facial features were sunken in, looking very much like
a skull, with piercing yellow eyes with a murderous expression etched
into them and a sadistic smile.
“That
statue got me the first time Peter dragged me here too, that
recording is pretty clear and spooky” said Gwen in a sympathetic
voice.
“It
nearly caused me to phase through the ceiling, it freaked me out so
much,” said Kitty. “Statue? That thing looks rather real.”
“The
centerpiece of the exhibit, Captain America’s most fearsome enemy,
the Red Skull,” said Peter with a shiver.
“Few
men have walked this earth who could be called a monster and a terror
to humanity but one on this list would have to be the infamous Red
Skull, who masterminded the slaughter of countless during the war,
although given his harsh disregard for human life, many believe that
the Red Skull did in fact count and kept detailed records of every
man, woman, and child that he murdered, but that has been lost to
history. One thing is for sure, the Red Skull is perhaps history’s
greatest menace,” read Kitty before she shuddered. “I wouldn’t
want to meet him in a dark alley.”
“I
wouldn’t want to meet him in a well lighted area either, look at
him,” added Gwen as she shivered. It might have been a statue, but
the look on the Red Skull’s face looked rather unsettling.
“Well
what’s the chances of any us coming face to face with the Red Skull
any time soon?” asked Peter, looking rather relieved at this fact.
He could deal with people like Sandman, Chameleon, and Doctor Octopus
well and good but someone like the Red Skull was far more dangerous
than anyone he had ever faced ever. He even made Doctor Doom look
like a harmless girl scout.
“Wait,
there’s more,” said Kitty, as she read. “The Red Skull and
Captain America fought to the finish on a brutal June afternoon. The
Skull was being chased for weeks, as his subordinates lost one by one
to Captain America but before he could flee Europe, Cap caught up
with him. Details of the battle are mostly unknown but Captain
America managed to escape unscathed, while the Red Skull perished.
While many over the last few decades have briefly taken on the mantle
of the Red Skull in an attempt to drum up fear, none have lived up
the terror of the original.”
The
three teenagers shuddered and for good reason. Despite being a
duplicate, there was still something unnerving about the face of
someone who had killed countless staring at them. It was almost like
the specter of some horrific entity had lingered in the room.
Moving
to the side quickly, they saw more pictures seeing Captain America
battling several foes, embellished to an extent.
“After
his final battle with the nefarious Red Skull, Captain America was
seen briefly at a medical hospital to treat his relatively minor
injuries,” read Kitty as she looked over at the image of Captain
America handing a mysterious item over to someone that was shroud in
shadows. “Look at that guy in the picture. Look familiar to either
of you.”
“Fury,”
muttered Gwen.
“Yeah,
I saw that too, only with both eyes, I guess, resemblance looks
uncanny,” said Peter.
“No
one else could look like that much of a….” started Kitty but she
paused suddenly, before noticing something out of the corner of her
eye right to the side of her. She turned slightly and her mouth
opened in shock. Peter and Gwen turned. “Speaking of looking
familiar, look at that cylinder thing…its…its….”
“The
component that the Chameleon stole!” gasped Peter. Immediately he
took a step back and looked over everything. “And that’s the part
that was stolen from underneath the Xavier Institute…wait a
minute…oh my….read this.”
The
following words were written underneath the portrait.
Out
of all of the horrors that the Red Skull accomplished during his
reign of terror, one of the most horrifying was the one that he never
got an opportunity to unleash before he was thrwarted by Captain
America. The Red Skull created a Doomsday Weapon beyond anything that
has been seen before or has since been seen. Details are sketchy,
although historical scholars have debated on what the weapon is for
the past fifty years. There are whispers that an attempt was made on
the weapon, by a group of terrorists lead by a man passing himself
off as the Red Skull less than fifteen years ago but the plan was
stopped by agents of the government, before the weapon was dismantled
into three separate components, due to the fact that its instability
made it difficult to destroy. The story is mostly unconfirmed and
remains a historical curiosity.
“Think
we just confirmed something big,” said Gwen quietly after what
seemed like an eternity of silence.
“Big,
this is a huge!” exclaimed Kitty. “I thought this trip would be a
total bore….but as far as we know, there’s only been two parts
taken.”
“We’d
know if the third part was taken,” said Peter. “Whatever person
took it would be trumpeting loud and clear that he had put together
the Red Skull’s legendary doomsday weapon.”
“The
problem is no one knows what it does,” said Kitty. “And what’s
the third component anyway?”
“With
any luck something small and something buried where no person in
their right mind will look,” said Peter as they walked pass an
exhibit of various trinkets involving Captain America.
“Hopefully,
but whoever it is found out where the other two components are,”
said Gwen, as she leaned against a table, that had a few pieces of
paper along with a nondescript rusty old key slightly visible.
“Maybe
they saw this picture and did some research,” muttered Peter, as he
looked over it, but the problem was, it was hard to see if there was
anything else. The caption underneath the portrait said there was
three components.
“Of
course, that’s what they want you to think,” thought Peter as he
watched as Kitty took a few notes, but she seemed just as distracted
as he was. “Of course, given what we just learned, who couldn’t
be?”
XXXXX-XXXXX
“Any
luck with finding the energy readings!” barked Fury to the SHIELD
agents who had been working around the clock, trying to locate the
two already assembled components to the Doomsday Device. Fury had
briefly thought about getting the third component but he could not
risk it falling into the hands of any shapeshifters that might be
posing as SHIELD agents. Security was cracked down severely but no
security was fool proof and Fury was under the assumption that the
enemy always would make an attempt to get a set of eyes right under
his nose.
It
was a paranoid thought but it had allowed him to live far longer than
anyone in his position would have normally had.
“Negative
Commander Fury,” stated the agent, looking rather tired and worn
down.
“We
should have been able to find it by now,” said a second agent.
“Should
haves don’t cut it in this organization!” snapped Fury. “Must
be masking it. We need to find a way around it. Keep working. If they
get that device together, our goose is cooked.”
“Commander,
could it be…you know…him?” asked one of the agents, looking
rather terrified but Fury just ignored him. He had been chasing Red
Skulls for half of his life it seemed, ninety five percent of the
time being some hotshot imposter wanting to make a name for
themselves and it was not the real deal.
Still
something about this seemed even more unsettling then normal, with
the disappearance of several scientists around the country,
mysterious and without a trace.
To
add to the fund, mutants had been exposed to the general public at
the worst possible time imaginable. Any other time and it would be a
headache still but with this entire Doomsday Weapon fiasco, it was so
much worse.
“Any
luck with finding our mutual friend,” said Fury roughly to a pair
of agents, who had just returned.
“Dead
end,” said one of the agents.
“Maybe
he’s dead,” suggested the other agent.
“No,
SHIELD would know if he’s dead, he’s out there somewhere,” said
Fury. “Trained too well and he’s still got it out of all of these
years. He’s avoiding us. We need to drag his ass out of retirement,
because if it’s the worst case scenario, then he’s the only one
who might be able to save us. Find him or else.”
“We
need more time, Commander,” said the agent in an apologetic voice.
“Time
isn’t something we have anymore,” said Fury roughly. “No
sleeping, no eating, I don't want to even catch you taking a trip to
the bathroom, nothing, until either that Doomsday Device is found or
Captain America is. Do you hear me?”
“Yes,
sir!” shouted the agents around him.
Fury
just stood back, keeping an eye on the alarm where the third
component was located. If someone had touched it, it would alert Fury
immediately and he had a jet prepared, where he would take care of
the thief before he could even make it out of the front door.
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