So this is just testing out an idea that popped into my head, I wrote it up in one afternoon, so it might have a few errors. Please let me know if you liked it, like the idea of it, want to see how the story will go, any suggestions , all that jazz. Please don't forget to review!
Steve sighed after jumping at another stray cat that swiped at him from behind a dumpster. Sure, a morning jog through a ruined city filled with homeless, starving and decidedly violent people wasn't the smartest thing in the world, but the super soldier needed to get his mind off of things some days. The downfall of the nation he had known and loved was a lot to think about some days. It wasn't because of war, terrorists, a meteor, no; the death of 57% of the country's population wasn't because of any of that. It was a virus.
Ashepolesis Mortem is what they called it when it killed off the majority of a small town. Everybody started calling it Ash when it took out Chicago. It only spread from there. South America managed to ward off the disease for about a year, before it spread to their citizens. Canada is on constant watch, not allowing anybody over the border for fear of the virus spreading to their country. Nobody quite knew where it started, or when it will end, only that once an adult contracted Ash they had a 62% chance of dying. If a child contracted it (That usually including anybody under 25 because they're body and brain aren't fully developed yet) they're chances of survival dropped drastically, with an 83% chance of fatality. The good thing is, once you've survived, you're basically immune.
The children suffered the most. The process of suffering for them was almost twice as long as that of an adult, who suffered for only two weeks before they either recovered or died. A child, especially one under the age of 17, suffered for a little under a full month before they most-likely died or miraculously recovered. But it was what happened after recovering that had scared everybody the most. Reports of 8-year-olds uprooting trees or teenagers attacking people without laying a finger on them flooded in, forcing the government to take action.
Steve didn't exactly know why kids could do such things, but he put his trust in Tony's theory that went: "You see, the brain is a complicated thing, and we have yet to unlock so much more of its potential. A person's brain and body isn't fully developed until they're 25 years old, which is probably why the kids are dropping like flies, because they body isn't able to fight off the disease as effectively as an adult can. But you know how adults are immune once they've recovered, well it seems like an underdeveloped brain has to find another way to give the kid's body immunity. So it uses just a little more of the brain, it uses that empty space in the mind, and it seems like that unlocked untold potential within the mind, giving these kids freaking superpowers! It'd be awesome if it wasn't so damn horrible."
The soldier smiled remembering his over-eccentric friend. He was never too badly affected by Ash, recovering from the disease in a matter of days due to the effects of the super soldier serum. It was when Natasha contracted the virus was when the Avengers decided to take up Thor's offer for refuge in Asgard. She survived, thank god, but not without scared the living crap out of everybody on the team first. As far as Steve knew, Tony and Bruce were working on a cure right this very moment.
Steve decided to stay after only a few weeks in Asgard. Don't get him wrong, Asgard was beautiful, and as much as he wished every day to join his friends on there, he couldn't just abandon his country. He couldn't just sit around stuffing himself with Asgardian delicacies while the city he had called home suffered. While his country crumbled before his eyes. So he remained behind.
It was a horrible feeling, to know that you had gotten used to the new world he had awoken in, even beginning to like it, and then everything goes to hell. It was like a whole new world to adjust to again. But he still stayed.
In all truthfulness, he was still figuring out a way to help. The only thing he could do for now was offer out some of the food that Thor delivered for him every week to the people camping in the streets. It made him feel good when he could feed a family of six for the night.
He was very wary of the kids, though. As much as he wanted to help him, as much as he wanted to feed them, Steve knew he couldn't get too close. There was one day, just before dusk settled, Steve was out doing his rounds, offering food to starving strangers that littered the alleyways and street corners, when he came across a gangly looking girl. She was fairly emaciated, looked like she could drop dead any second, and Steve felt an overwhelming sense of pity or her. She didn't even look like she had hit puberty yet, the poor thing.
The soldier had approached carefully, offering a few plastic containers of Asgardian pasta, when she attacked him. He was always wary of being attacked by somebody, the terror in the girl's eyes and the searing burn of his flesh had caught him by surprise. She had shot an enormous ball of fire towards him, burning through his skin and left him gasping on the sidewalk. The girl had then stolen the pasta and his backpack full of food and fled from the scene, leaving burning footprints as she went.
Steve managed to drag himself back to the Avengers tower, where he lived now. The arc reactor running the building kept the security systems, electricity and even Jarvis running. Steve had just barely made it, somehow avoiding the many street gangs that littered the block, and was bedridden for almost two weeks, healing his extensive third-degree burns. It was a good thing Thor turned up few days after he had been hurt with medical supplies and Asgardian medicines, claiming that Heimdall had told him that Steve was suffering from extensive injury and he had come to help. He had stayed with Steve for a few nights, calming him down through his fevers and incoherent screams. So yeah, that was the last time he ever tried to get too close to a kid on the street for a while.
When the sun started to fully rise, Steve made his way back to the tower, wondering if this was the day he'd call Thor and finally take up his offer to stay on Asgard. He sighed when his conscience came knocking, listing, once again, all of the reasons not to go. Jarvis welcomed his as he stepped into the lobby (which was trashed due to a gang breaking in last year) and into the elevator that took him to the common room.
Steve picked up his journal, which he wrote in every day, and scribbled out his usual morning report on what he'd seen going on in the city. A lot of starving people, broken windows, looted stores, even a couple a gang members, which was surprising at such an early hour. He went down to storage to get breakfast, a strange syrupy mix with chunks of alien fruits, that Thor had assured was all edible and very delicious. So Steve sat for about half an hour, slurping down the syrupy goodness, while reading an old newspaper from 2013.
The article he was reading was praising billionaire Tony Stark for his continuous aid in the process of rebuilding Manhatton after the Chitauri attack, and providing aid for victims. It depressed Steve to read articles from Tony's collection of newspapers about himself, to read about how the country used to be. Reading about daily events before Ash struck, reading about how life in New York City used to be. Steve sighed again. He did that a lot lately.
He needed to get out again, despite his morning run, he was restless, and running usually kept his mind off of things. Because it was daylight, Steve strapped his shield onto his back, and because it was winter, he dressed warmly in black tracksuit pants and a royal blue hood. Dark colours kept you from standing out, but he was pretty sure the shield stuck out like a sore thumb. Better safe than sorry, he guessed.
He left the building, shouting a command to Jarvis to lock down the tower and that he would be back in a few hours. Steve exited, passing by a family camping out near the entrance, and made a mental note to give them an extra serving tonight, as they looked particularly skinny. He ran past a pack of looters, rummaging through a small corner shop for scraps. Steve doubted they'd find any, but he wished them luck, regardless.
A few people gasped as he ran past, recognising the shield on his back. He even got chased for a few blocks by a couple a gang members, thank god they didn't have any guns on them. They threw a knife, but he caught it easily and threw it onto the roof of a building and put on a burst of speed to outrun them.
After about two hours of weaving through abandoned cars and tipped over trash cans, Steve slowed down a little. He was entering a quieter part of the city, where there used to be sleek expensive houses and gated neighbourhoods. Now there were rundown mansions and an eerie quiet. This part of town had been looted long ago. The soldier slowed as he neared a rather large looking high school, probably a private school judging by the stone cross crumbling beside the gate. But that wasn't what made him stop.
There was activity inside. There were lights, and trucks moving around inside the grounds, and voices. Not people moaning about hunger or coughing up blood, more like commands over a loud speaker. Steve almost smacked himself when he realised what it was. A rehabilitation building. A place where they sent the kids who survived and developed powers. Steve had always been curious as to what went on inside there, had heard whispers on the streets about them. He had been waiting to stumble across one for a little while now, actually.
There was a shot a little to his left, and bullet whizzed past him, singing his hair. Steve brought up his shield instinctively, protecting himself from the unknown sniper. A few more bullets ricochet off of the vibranium, before someone shouted, "Hold your fire!"
Steve peeked over the lip of his shield, and watched as an older man dressed in black with a red stripe over his chest approached.
"Holy shit, is that who I think it is? Is that Captain America?"
Steve almost reeled back, deciding if he should run or stay put. He didn't think these people would attack him again, now that he realised who he was, but he didn't want to take any risks.
Steve pulled his shield back to his side; ready to defend himself quickly if the fired again, and met the man with a handshake.
"I can't believe my eyes! It really is you! We had all thought you guys fled the country or something, but it looks like at least one of you stayed. I'm sergeant Harrison Fennis, it's an honour Captain."
"Steve Rogers, glad to meet a friendly face. Are you the person who runs this place?" The soldier asked, gesturing to the school.
"No, but I can take you to meet him, if you'd like. He wouldn't believe his eyes if he saw you, he's a real fan. It'd also probably get me a promotion, so you'd be helping me out too. What do you say?"
Steve considered the offer. He still wasn't completely sure if he could trust these people to take him into an armed base, where he could be shot or injured, but he was a super soldier, he had handled worse. "Sure, why not."
He followed Harrison through the gate, and watched as he waved off the questioning glances he got from the other adults walking around. The office was fairly close to the entrance, and there was a sign that read 'ALL VISITORS MUST REPORT TO FRONT OFFICE.'
Harrison knocked on a simple wooden door, and gestured for Steve to follow him inside when somebody shouted for them to enter.
"Uh, Sir, I have a surprise for you. I know you don't like surprises, but I promise you you'll love this one."
He stepped aside to reveal a nervous looking Steve, clutching his shield with one hand, and rubbing the other one on the leg of his pants. It was almost funny to see the huge man sitting at the desk decorated with Captain America toys and ornaments, drop his jaw and stare in utter shock at the super soldier.
"T-Thank –you Sergeant, y-you're dismissed." Harrison nodded and left the office, closing the door with a soft click behind him.
The man in front of Steve was fairly average in height, not tall, but not short either. He had a clean shaven face, neatly combed auburn hair, and grey-blue eyes. He was also sporting a suit much like Harrison's, only with a red six pointed star of the left side of his chest.
Steve stepped forward and offered out his hand. "Nice to meet you, sir. Steve Rogers."
The man swallowed before extending a shaky hand out and shaking Steve's. "It's a pleasure, C-Captain Rogers. I'm a big fan."
Steve smiled slightly when he noticed the man in charge casually pluck a few of the Captain America toys off of his desk and place them out of sight.
They chatted for a good twenty minutes, with Steve signing a few posters and collectibles (even though they wouldn't be worth anything in this day and age) and telling of how he had been living throughout the past three years since Ash overtook the nation, he casually mentioned his curiosity of the rehabilitation centres and the man (who he had learned name was Trevor Nelson) offered him a tour of the place, which Steve gladly accepted.
To say it was horrible was an understatement. It was downright disturbing. The kids marched in uniformed lines to either their rooms, or their daily chores, their eyes blank and their faces devoid of any emotion. If Steve didn't know any better, he'd say that they were zombies, completely numb to the world around them, not really caring about anything. It was even worse when they stopped by a daily therapy session, and watched as the kids no older than eight years old listened to soft orchestral music, being lectured on how they weren't any use to the world unless the stopped using their powers, and reformed to a better society. Steve wanted to break down the door and usher them out, but there must've been at least two guards with guns for every child that was on premises, so he decided not to try anything.
Perhaps the most horrifying scene he witnessed was when a person wearing a black mask dressed in the same black suit, only with a red cross emblazed over his chest march in dragging two kids behind him. They were both girls, kicking, screaming and crying, trying to get away. It broke his heart; they must've only been fifteen years old, the both of them. They looked like sisters, actually.
One of them caught sight of Steve, and screamed for help, until guards rushed in and sedated them, then carried the two to a small yellow building out of sight of the other children who happened to be nearby. It physically pained him to stand there, smiling and nodding while Trevor explained proudly that that particular 'Hunter' as he had called the man who dragged the two girls in, was the best they had when it came to capturing kids off of the streets. According to him, it was the sixth capture that week.
By the time Steve had left, giving a watery smile and waving goodbye, he felt physically ill. Sure, the country had gone to hell since Ash struck, but this? This wasn't helping the kids to deal with their powers, or schooling them like he had thought, this was brainwashing them, until they stopped using their powers. And as Trevor had explained, if they stop using their powers for too long, they faded until they were weak and barely a threat anymore. It was sickening.
He arrived back at the tower after sprinting all the way back to write what had happened during his day, realising he had been out for almost five hours, he mentally cursed himself. He shouldn't leave the tower for too long, it was dangerous. He settled down for a movie from Jarvis's extensive library when he heard a rush of wind on the roof. Despite the horrors he had witnessed today, he smiled. He always looked forward to Thor's visits. Natasha usually accompanied him, because she was immune to the disease, and Steve greatly enjoyed their company.
He stood up as the elevator dinged, and met the mighty embrace of Thor. "Steve, it is very good to see you again, I hope you are doing well."
Steve patted him on the back, and walked right into Natasha, who hugged him just as fiercely. "We all miss you, Steve, and look! We brought you a surprise!"
Much to his surprise, Tony stepped out of the elevator as well. As rare as visits from Bruce, Rhodey, Sam, Pepper, Clint or even Jane (who all had accompanied the Avengers to Asgard) were, Tony was the least likely to visit, because of his weakened state. He wasn't as strong, or young as the rest of them, so if he contracted the disease, he was most likely going to die from it. So his visits were limited. He had only visited twice in the past two years, actually. "It's a pleasure to welcome you back to Stark tower, sir. Welcome Miss Natasha, and Mr. Thor."
Tony sprayed Steve with a blue liquid before hugging him, to kill any bacteria residing on his clothes. "It's really good to see you all, this week's been hell. The gangs are getting louder around these parts." Steve joked, trying to lighten the mood. He decided that it was a bad idea when he saw the pity flash through their eyes. "I'm okay guys, really. I'm helping people, remember?"
Instead of acknowledging what Steve had said, Tony shouted a command to Jarvis. "Jarvis, quarantine this floor, would you? I want to stay for a little while, and catch up with Capsicle here." Nicknames stuck for a while, apparently.
"Certainly sir." Came the AI's reply.
The Avengers chatted for hours, catching up with their team leader, drinking wine from Tony's perfectly preserved stash, and luckily for Steve, Thor was kind enough to bring some potent Asgardian mead with him, strong enough to make Steve a little tipsy, which he was grateful for.
After countless stories about adventures on Asgard, and a particularly cringe-worthy about Clint beating the finest archer on Asgard and having to lay low for a few days, Steve brought up what he had discovered that previous morning.
"It was appalling, guys. The kids, they're faces were just so… empty. And you should've heard what they were teaching them in one of the classes! It's the kind of stuff you read about in horror stories!" Steve ranted, retelling the horrors he had witnessed at the high school.
Thor and Natasha were fuming, and Tony looked vaguely pissed off, but resigned. "You know, Steve, there's plenty of space in the tower, and more than enough food available of Asgard, and I'm sure it gets pretty lonely around here." Tony babbled, his voice getting more and more excited by the second.
Steve shot Tony a mild glare. "Tony, you know I can't do that, remem-"
Tony cut Steve off with a wave of his hand. "Yeah yeah, I get that, but that was only one kid. Tell me, if you found a kid suffering, who was willing to trust you, and talk to you, wouldn't you offer them a place here?"
Steve sighed. "Yeah, but I haven't met a kid like that in all the time since this happened Tony."
"That's because you haven't been looking! Just one kid, Steve. We'll have Heimdall looking over you, to make sure you're ok. Who knows, maybe if it all goes well, you can start taking in kids off of the street, even breaking them out of the loony asylum-"
"No, Tony. It's too dangerous. That many kids? With Powers? I mean, really, that's practically calling for a reason to burn the tower down."
"Fine, try one kid, see how it goes. Just try, Steve. Get a kid to trust you, let them move in, change somebody's life. You're too lonely, and I hate the thought of you cooped up in here, wallowing in your sadness. Just try, please Steve. You said you wanted to help, and this is the best way to do it."
Tony looked pleading, one of the rare times the soldier had ever seen such a thing, and despite the growing list of reasons not to take a super-powered off of the streets and let them live in the tower, Steve just sighed again. "Fine, I'll give it a shot. But no promises."
Tony stood up, patting Steve on his shoulder. "Atta boy, stay strong soldier. I believe we are the guests of honour tonight, are we not?"
Thor nodded. "Yes, it is time to depart. We must allow time to get ready." The thunder god turned towards Steve. "You are always welcome in Asgard, Steve. Just call to Heimdall and he shall bring you to Asgard."
Steve hugged everybody again before waving goodbye, his thoughts churning. 'Could he take in kids off of the street? Could he break them out of the reform schools, or stop them from being sold on the black market?'
The super soldier handed out the nightly meals, and went to sleep soon after, his thoughts wild with the possibility of finally making a difference in this city, and helping people.
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