Hello Soldier

[alwaysdramatic]

There is a man in the Nexus. Standing tall, he is cut like a champion athlete or a Greek god. The uniform he wears proclaims him to be proudly American - a star emblazoned across his chest - and the shield that hangs on his back should leave no doubt as to who he is. He pores meticulously over one of the brochures, brows furrowed as he reads the strange information it provides. Having finished it, he shakes his head in disbelief before sliding it into a pocket and looking up to pay more attention to his surroundings.

"First a robot tries to take over the world and now this," he mumbles to himself. Passing a hand across his eyes he lets out a quiet sigh before straightening his shoulders and turning to the the Nexus at large. The instructions are to ask a question, and he seems to wrestle for a moment with his thoughts. Captain America has no room for doubt, but Steve Rogers? Well, he could use a fresh viewpoint, and if he's lucky this will all be some strange dream and he'll at least wake up with a little clarity.

"Duty entails sacrifice. That's a pretty cut and dried concept. How do you know if you're sacrificing too much? Is there a too much?"

((And we'll just keep this spoiler free!))

Comments

[brave_heart_verity]

He looks kinda like the Captain America she used to see on the news. But isn't Cap black now? This is so confusing.

"I think... 'too much' is more than a person is willing to give. It's personal."

[alwaysdramatic]

Well, he'd sure be happy to know that the mantle's been passed on to a good friend.

"That seems to make sense." He nods politely in her direction, seemingly satisfied by her answer. "Thank you, ma'am. Not many questions have such simple answers these days." The how much he's willing to sacrifice part however, is obviously 'everything.' Not that he's ever had much choice.

[brave_heart_verity]

((Point of order, Steve had a choice to not get involved in the Super Soldier program. He could have accepted he was not Army material and stayed out of the whole war. :P))

The 'ma'am' gets a little snerk from her. It's so ridiculously old-fashioned and inappropriate for her.

"Lots of things are pretty simple once you get past the lies."

[alwaysdramatic]

((Shh, he's a special snowflake. Duty is life. Not enlisting any way he could was never an option. He's stubborn like that. See username. :p))

If you're a woman he's just met, you're a ma'am. That's just the way he was raised, Verity. You'll just have to deal with it.

"God knows I've had enough of those."

[aw_hawkguy]

"Cap?" Clint is struck at the familiar, yet unfamiliar, friend before him. "Um. I was never the guy with those answers, I usually got 'em from you."

[alwaysdramatic]

Well this person seems familiar. He carries himself in a way that's very reminiscent of someone else the Captain knows, they resemble each other, but this very much isn't he Hawkeye he knows.

"Barton?" Colour him confused. "You uh, never seemed to have many doubts as far as I was able to see. Ask me, you seemed to be the most together out of all of us."

[aw_hawkguy]

There's enough of that color for both of them. "You're kidding, right? I was a mess when you met me. In prison, remember?" Beat. "Aw, crap, this is the Namor thing all over again. You're not the Cap I know, are you?"

[alwaysdramatic]

"I'm afraid you've lost me, son." One of the benefits of being 90 years old, you can get away with calling people that. "The man I know is a good man. May not always agree with his methods, but prison doesn't seem his style. Hang on..."

He pulls the brochure out again, skipping ahead to reread it. "Alternates. So you know a different version of me?" Damn it science, why can you never be simple?

[aphotic_auror]

All right, Captain, here's a witch for you; not a Mutant "witch" like Wanda Maximoff, but-- well-- a born witch. A born witch who seemed to arrive at the Nexus Forum alongside you, almost. And a "born" witch who really ought to remind you of yourself-- oh, about seventy-five years ago! Yes, she is a pale little 98 pound weakling, just like you once were; not asthmatic, fortunately, but still: definitely the "runt of the litter".

"Oi! What's this about "killer robots"? I mean, I could probably short them out just by standing near enough to 'em..." She grins at the good Captain, who seems somewhat-- familiar to her somehow, almost as if she's met him before... Even if she knows that's a silly notion, given how he looks so bloody American that he is virtually wrapped in a flag.

"And as for your question: well.... What are you willing to give? And more importantly, maybe: what's there to be gained by your "sacrifice"?" Because of course, if you want to talk about "sacrificing" things with a Slytherin, you'd best be prepared to make a case for what advantage that sacrifice will gain for him or her.

[alwaysdramatic]

The thing about being Captain America, is that in comparison, most normal people look pretty tiny. So when you're actually faced with someone who's diminutive at the best of times, it can end up looking pretty ridiculous pretty fast. Still, Steve's never quite forgotten what it was like to be that size, hence his soft spot for the fragile looking people.

At her declaration of her ability though, and the unexpected accent, he finds his head jerking around in surprise, regarding this little woman a little curiously. "Well ma'am, I'd say that would've been a useful ability to have a couple days ago."

"I've always been ready to give everything. I suppose the question's changed since 'what's there to be gained' has gotten a little more complicated lately." Back in the day it was just fighting for freedom, but now? Now it's a lot less clear, even if his place in the world is more cemented.

[aphotic_auror]

"Oh aye?" She beamed up at him, looking rather pleased with herself for shocking this Adonis-like Greek (American) god. "Only a couple days ago, then? I mean, sorry; honestly, I wish I'd been there to help you out..."

Her nose crinkled up with slight amusement at the answer to her question, that she had posed in response to his question, of course. "I dunno... I mean, honestly: I could tell you a bunch of shite-- oh, pardon my French, please, Sir!" She let out a little giggle, as she realised how bloody old-fashioned this man really was. After all, hadn't he just called her "ma'am" rather than even "miss", given her obviously young age? She couldn't quite place the time period he was from, but she knew that she had truly travelled back in time, to end up walking alongside someone who thinks that "ma'am" and "sir" are the only appropriate honorific's to use on an apparent adult. "I mean-- sorry... I meant only-- where was I talking towards, again...?" She let out another nervous giggle as she said this, even as she struggled to think back to what she was saying before she was so distracted with apologies for her language. She was also blushing a little too brightly for someone of her apparent poor health....

[kitty_of_light]

This is a question C'taqa, unfortunately, is kind of qualified to answer.

"...When someone else is doing it, of course there can be too much. But when you're doing it yourself...there's never enough."

He pauses, his ears flattening briefly forward, then goes on.

"But I guess if you can't do your job because of it, you had best cut back."

[alwaysdramatic]

Now Steve has seen quite a few strange things in his time after getting out of the ice, or at least things that would have been counted as strange in the 1940's. But a person with cat ears? That's something he's not exactly prepared for, as the expression on his face should attest to.

"Right. Yeah." Give him a moment there, dude. He's still getting used to the ears. After a moment he clears his throat though, before he's able to answer. "And if the job entails sacrifice?"

[kitty_of_light]

He's got a tail, too. Swish goes the tail.

"I think I'm still looking for that answer myself," he admits with a bitter smile. "Maybe if I find it...I'll be able to come to terms with my...strongest ally sacrificing himself for my sake."

[explicitambroseviolence]

Dean can hardly believe his eyes. Captain America, in the flesh. Even he, who usually doesn't really care much for comics and the like, knows who Captain America is. He sidles up to the large man.

"I'm not really one for "duty"... but I believe in doing what's right. If that means sacrificing things, then fine. As long as in the end, the enemy is beaten down and put out of action." The twitchy Anarchist rolls his shoulders and sticks out his hand "Dean Ambrose."

[alwaysdramatic]

The thing about being a symbol, was that even if you preferred that it not be the case, it often made you instantly recognisable. It's something Steve's had to get used to over the past few years, having museum exhibits installed about you didn't help much either.

"Sounds like a violent way to live, son. Sometimes beating the enemy down's the best way to ensure that the job isn't over." Is it apparent that Cap doesn't approve of extensive violence? Because despite his constantly growing battle skill, he really doesn't. Still, there's no reason to be impolite to someone he's just met, so he takes the offered hand with a tight smile. "Steve Rogers."

[explicitambroseviolence]

Dean shakes the super soldier's hand firmly then shrugs "Violence is just a means to an end, Cap. I learned early on that sometimes in order to do the right thing you gotta break some faces." The Lunatic Fringe cracks his neck "Although... SOME times a good plan works good too."

[therightpartner]

For a moment, Peggy could only stare. The uniform might be different but the rest was completely familiar. Or it seemed to be. Slowly, she took in the details. Not his height or the breadth of his shoulders but the color of his eyes and the color of his hair. The shape and tilt of his jaw that hadn't changed even after he had gained about a foot of height and a significant amount of muscle mass.

Others might someday might attempt to wear the uniform but no one else would have those particular traits that had been present even after the serum. "I do believe there is 'too much', Captain, but I think that more information is needed to answer the other question."

ASKF!$@ HELLO <3

[alwaysdramatic]

He heard her voice before he saw her. Not the one he'd been accustomed to since he'd woken up, not weakened with age and infirmity. Not the one he'd had to choke back tears to listen to the first time they'd met again. No, this was her voice the way he remembered it. The way it had sounded when she'd talked him down over the comms of The Valkyrie. The way it had sounded when he'd heard it for the very first time.

He turned slowly eyes on the ground, catching her feet first, before slowly, ever so slowly working their way up to her face. The look of absolute shock that graced his features must have been unlike anything she'd ever seen from him, but he couldn't keep it away. He had to swallow hard, fighting to regain his composure and failing miserably for several moments before he was able to answer.

It was his best girl.

"You know how it is," he fought to keep his tone light, and a roguish smile on his face. "It's classified."

I am so sorry. I never got the notif x_X Thank you DW

[therightpartner]

She had thought she might find Steve here. If there was a way to return, to keep a promise, he would find it. This place seemed like an ideal solution, if an unexpected one. At least it had given her a chance to prepare for the shock of seeing him so that she didn't give in to the tears that momentarily caused her vision to blur.

He looked just as she expected. There were a few changes. His hair was different now, cut in a style that she had never seen before. His clothes were different as well, but the important things... There might be more sadness in his eyes now, the weight of responsibility showing itself in subtle ways but every detail that mattered was true.

Her lips quirked in a smile as his gaze slowly moved upward. That was an unexpected change. Steve had usually only stolen glances instead of giving her the appreciative looks that some of the other soldiers had aimed her way. It was a change that she rather liked.

"Well... if it's classified, it will be difficult to give an accurate answer." Moving closer, she couldn't quite keep the worry from her voice. "What are you expected to sacrifice, Steve?"

[onemorebounty]

*Steve probably hasn't encountered too many women taller than him since his upgrade, but the blond woman looking him over now might just fit the bill. She weighs the question, and what she can see of him, for a moment before answering.*

The nature of the duty defines the depth of the sacrifice. The nature of the person doing it determines whether it's too much. But for everything lost, there should be something gained. Ask yourself what you've gained, or stand to gain.

[alwaysdramatic]

Women taller than him are definitely something new, but not something that he's overly put out by. Steve is nothing if not a pragmatist (though Fury would probably argue he's too idealistic for that) and statistically he knows there must be an abundance of people, men and women, who are taller than he is.

When she speaks though he turns toward her, contemplating her answer for a moment. "I suppose the greater good's too vague, huh?" He offers his signature brow-furrowed smile. "Sacrificing personal desires to protect people's gotta be counted a gain, right?"

[onemorebounty]

I wouldn't call it that clean-cut. Which personal desires? Which people? How fully are you protecting them, and from what? It's easy to speak in vague ideology, harder to live there.

[hudson_nottheriver]

"When it costs you your family and the ones you love, laddie," Hudson says cryptically.

[beyond_my_limits]

[Hope you don't mind a strange cat-like creature staring at your uniform and shield, Steve, because that's happening right now. The pokemon raises his head though, feeling compelled to answer the question.]

If the sacrifice ever out-weights what it intends to protect, then it becomes pointless. As for your second question: when the heart begins to quiver, the body begins to break, and the mind becomes unfocused and weak...that is when things have gone too far.