Disclaimer: Not mine
Chapter 12
Galaxies away from Earth, in the darkness of space, activity picked up as a figure upon a throne lifted his head and smiled as he sensed the power surge. Finally.
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Charles walked into the kitchen to see his Mother at the fridge and he frowned. "Mother. What are you... I thought you were a burglar."
"I didn't mean to scare you, darling.," she smiled, and his suspicions firmed. "I was just getting a snack. Go back to bed," she told him, but he just stared, torn over what to do. "What's the matter? Go on, back to bed. I'll make you a hot chocolate."
"Who are you? And what have you done with my mother?" he demanded as he began lowering his mental shields. "My mother has never set foot in this kitchen in her life. And she certainly never made me a hot chocolate. Unless you count ordering the maid to do it," he explained firmly as his gift was loosed on the intruder who blinked and then his Mother's form melted away to reveal a young girl with blue skin and yellow eyes.
"You're not scared of me?" she asked timidly, and he smiled.
"I always believed I couldn't be the only one in the world. The only person who was different," he breathed before offering his hand. "And here you are. Charles Xavier."
She hesitated but then took his hand, "Raven."
"You're hungry and alone. Take whatever you want. We've got lots of food. You don't have to steal," he offered gently before an idea struck and he grinned. "In fact, you never have to steal again."
She stared at him with wides eyes, not sure what to believe but he let her eat her fill and then led her to a bedroom.
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James pulled himself up, looking out through the opening as the camp descended into chaos. He listened closely hearing the sound of massive engines…bombers. He watched in surprise as a young Japanese soldier began breaking locks, releasing the prisoners within the wooden buildings, waving at them to run.
He wished he'd stayed in Europe, but he had been reassigned to the Pacific. He wondered how Rogers and his group were doing in tracking down Hydra. The kid was wet behind the ears, but he had the kind of presence and leadership skills that would take him a long way if he stayed alive long enough. the idea of what was basically a science created being like them was scary but if anyone was going to be enhanced, Steve Rogers had been a good choice.
He dropped to the bottom of his 'cell' as the soldier approached and then he heard the chains and locks falling off. "Get out of here! Go! Go!" was yelled in heavily accented English and he looked up at the soldier, he was really young, poor kid.
"That was a B-29, Bub. That's only a warning of what's coming," he warned, he was safer where he was.
"Yashida! What the hell are you doing? Come over here quickly!"
"You're better off down here," he called, and the soldier hesitated before leaving.
Yashida turned and started walking over to the three officers who were getting ready to kill themselves using their swords, Yashida knelt beside them and watched the other three killed themselves, then he watched in horror as Nagasaki was bombed and consumed by a massive fireball. He readied his sword; it was his duty but just as he was about to do it the sword was grabbed.
"Run! Now!" James Howlett grabbed him and shoved him towards the pit that had served as his cell. They jumped into the well as the fire from the bomb overtook the POW camp. "Stay down!" As the fire swept into the well, Logan grabbed a metal door and covered Yashida with it.
When the fire faded, Yashida looked up to see James burnt to a crisp and watched in horror and a little fascination as he healed before his eyes, feeling scared Yashida rose and tried to get out.
"No, wait! No, no! Wait!" he held Yashida down, looking up at the sky, feeling something burning at his skin. "It's not safe."
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He fought weakly against the restraints, mind screaming to fight, to escape but there was so much pain! The stump where his arm should be hurt more than anything he'd ever felt. He would come, Steve would come for him, he just had to hold on. Steve would always come for him just like he would come for Steve if he was in trouble. He didn't know what they were doing to him, worse than anything Zola had done last time.
"Good morning soldier," a voice greeted. "I brought something we thought you should see."
He forced his eyes open, glaring at the man who chuckled but held a newspaper where he could see it. He looked at the date, that wasn't possible, was it? It was hard to concentrate but he was fairly sure of the date around his last mission…it couldn't have been six months….could it? And then his eyes wandered down and his heart froze. No! No, no, no. "No, no, no," his head was rolling on the cold table as he denied what he read, it was a trick! Who here would bother getting an American paper delivered.
"I am afraid it is very true. You…friend…was lost after he killed the Red Skull; he crashed the plan into the artic. The government is simply admitting the truth. Not even a super soldier could survive in those temperatures this long. Captain America, Steve Rogers, is dead. No one is coming to save you Soldier.
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Howard studied the chart, the government had abandoned the search, listed Steve as killed in action, but he didn't believe it. After everything the kid had gone through, had done, there was no way he would leave him for dead without a body. Even if he was dead, he deserved a heroes burial, Peggy deserved the closure. The war was finally over, and his attention should be on the rebuilding, on his company and instead he was in the artic. They had already recovered the Tesseract and without it there were no more readings to follow. If the plane had broken up it could be scattered over a considerable distance due to the currents.
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"Agent Carter," Howard smirked but it was tired, and she saw that.
"Mr Stark," she greeted with a return smile, glancing around the penthouse apartment.
"Drink?" he offered, and she shook her head as he waved her to a seat. "How have you been?"
"Alright, though it's not Agent anymore," she admitted, and he could hear the bitterness in her voice.
"Let me guess, Hydra is done, the war is over so all the women should scurry back home to keep house?" he asked, and she nodded. "I've seen you and the others in action Ms Carter, being a woman has never held you back." He poured himself a drink and lounged by the window. "How would you like a job?"
"Doing what? I am not going to be your secretary," she warned, and he laughed.
"Never! No, this is no desk job. I am setting funds aside for a new project and I want you to be part of it. I've reached out to the Commandos and Phillips as well, as many from the old SSR as I think are trustworthy."
"To do what?" she asked warily, and he smiled.
"To keep looking for Steve, and to ensure we really did get all of Hydra," he moved to lounge in the chair opposite her.
"You think we missed some?" one elegant brow went up and he shrugged.
"Maybe we did, but their little motto has me wonder. Did we cut off and burn all of the heads?" he asked, and she nodded, she'd had the same worry.
"We'd have no authority to act," she warned, and he smirked.
"Handled, President Truman is a fan of Captain America and the Commandos," it had taken a few conversations, but they had ironed things out, giving the group the authority of a government agency. "He even named the group, though it's a mouthful: The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." He pushed a few files over and she looked them over.
"What about Sergeant Barnes? No search was ever made for his body, despite Phillips promising Steve we would look," she told him, and he grimaced.
"I'll try to arrange a search but that's not an easy area to get access too. The war may be over, but the Soviets are not friends."
"Thank you," she smiled slightly, and he shrugged.
"No soldier should be left to rot so far from home," he murmured. He'd seen the connection between Steve and his best friend, they had truly been brothers and he hoped he could find a way to bring them both home.
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Loki was happy to see the war over, but the devastation left behind…the humans would recover and rebuild, they always did. He envied them their resilience and drive, something the other realms mostly lacked. He had gone to the area where the power spike had been but had found nothing. Working with Mother they had confirmed it had been the Tesseract and he feared that was where the rumoured Hydra weapons had come from. Who had it now? An Infinity Stone in the hands of mortals cold be very dangerous indeed. And now all the Realms had been alerted, even if they did not realise exactly where they power surge had come from.
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Peggy watched as the men were taken into custody, glancing at the object they had been trying to sneak away. Some sort of…obelisk. "These assets are now under the protection of The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. They'll be relocated and hidden out of sight, indefinitely. As will you." She informed the man in charge coldly. Howard had been right about them having missed some of Hydra.
"Cut off one head, two more shall grow in its place."
"Then I guess we'll keep cutting them off," she snapped as the Commandos and the men Stark had hired began rounding up crates and survivors.
"Looks like this was a storage depot," Dugan offered, and she nodded.
"We'll need to be careful moving this, who knows what else is here. I'll tell Howard to prepare the warehouse for now."
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Chester Phillips looked around the bunker hidden beneath the very camp where he had trained Rogers and the other applicants. As a base, it was dreary, but it made a good place for storage and the banks of 'computers' Stark was experimenting with. Peggy was elsewhere at the moment, overseeing the creation of a base hidden somewhere in the wilderness near the Canadian border. It was to remain top secret, even he didn't know where it was, only Peggy, Stark and the people building it did, then again the builders didn't know what they were building.
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Peggy smiled and clapped as Howard kissed his bride. The church was packed with well-wishers, business acquaintances, members of government and anyone who could get a seat. It was the society wedding of the decade for America. Howard cleaned up nicely in an expensive suit, but Maria stole the show.
Her dress had a full skirt, with several layers and scalloped Chantilly lace panels. It was embellished with an accordion pleated hem in front, lace and aurora borealis sequin details throughout. The chiffon train in back bustled in three points with the help of a couple of hook and eyes. The bodice was a nude illusion one with a sweetheart neckline and piped Basque waistline. There were decorative buttons down the centre back. Her veil featured a beaded pearl crown from which petals of fine tulle fell. She also wore matching creamy pearl beaded satin slippers. The fashion magazines had been speculating for months over what she would wear. She looked utterly beautiful.
She liked Maria; she had the common sense Howard sometimes lacked. She was kind and patient, she had to be to put up with Howard. Even after five years, it still hurt to see a wedding and to think of Steve. They had never had the chance due to the war. There had been a handful of quick kisses and the promises to dance and that was all. Maybe one day it would stop hurting and she could move on.
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Loki stood in a smart suite in Westminster Abbey, watching as Elizabeth walked down the aisle, dressed in an intricately embroidered satin gown, a long cloak hanging from her shoulders. She looked every bit the part of a Queen and he was proud of her.
The Archbishop stood before her to administer the Coronation Oath. "Madam, is your Majesty willing to take the Oath?"
"I am willing," she answered firmly.
"Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the Peoples of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon, and of your Possessions and the other Territories to any of them belonging or pertaining, according to their respective laws and customs?"
"I solemnly promise so to do."
"Will you to your power cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all your judgements?"
"I will."
"Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel? Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law? Will you maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in England? And will you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of England, and to the Churches there committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges, as by law do or shall appertain to them or any of them?"
It was interesting to listen to the oaths she was making; some were similar to those sworn in the other Realms, others were quite different.
"I will," she swore. She proceeded to the altar where she stated, "The things which I have here promised, I will perform, and keep. So help me God", before kissing the Bible and putting the royal sign-manual to the oath as the Bible was returned to the Dean of Westminster.
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, James Pitt-Watson, took the Bible and presented it to the Queen again, saying, "Our gracious Queen: to keep your Majesty ever mindful of the law and the Gospel of God as the Rule for the whole life and government of Christian Princes, we present you with this Book, the most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is Wisdom; This is the royal Law; These are the lively Oracles of God."
Elizabeth returned the book to Pitt-Watson, who placed it back with the Dean of Westminster.
He watched as she was handed the sword of state, smirking as he pondered what the people would think if they knew their new Queen was quite handy with such a weapon, as was her husband. Other royal objects were given to her and he felt sorry for her being weighed down by them, even if she was seated. "God save the queen!" he called out with everyone else in the Abbey three times at the exact moment St Edward's Crown touched the monarch's head, a small thread of his magic weaving around her, for protection, health and fertility. The princes and peers gathered then put on their coronets and a 21-gun salute was fired from the Tower of London.
He grinned as she looked out at the people and spotted him in the audience, a tiny smile flitting across her lips at his presence. He did not visit as much since the war ended, other duties and interests calling him away, but he always came to see her family when he did.
TBC…