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Secret Bit of Right From Wrong	By : ChrisCross Category: Marvel Verse Movies > Avengers, The Views: 9417 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Captain America or The Avengers. I make no money, and live on reveiws alone

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
A.N. Okay, okay. No cliffy this time, promise. Just a little bit of D'awww. Also, I may have managed to break Karen's more Sue-ish tendencies. As always, kindly review, even if you don't review kindly.
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The furry mutant grit his teeth against the pain of having his chest fur yanked like a jacket lapel. A negative reaction was expected, but still, there were such things as manners. “Eh, well, if you’d be so kind as to release me, I can give you a few hypotheses.” Once free from the grasp of the angry agent, he pulled out a small pad of notepaper and a pen to draw a diagram. “Miss Torque has aptly named herself, as her power is rotational. As the axis of rotation, she has greater control over the end of radius nearest her. She tried to send all of you here, but the addition of Reaper compromised her control of the far end.” Shooting an awkward glance at the waking teleporter, he trailed off, letting Torque take the more embarrassing half of the conversation.
“So where did you send them? Where is my sister?”
“Ah, well, Cate, that’s a good question.” The now awake teleporter blushed a deep crimson. “See, I don’t, ah, actually know. We narrowed it down a bit, though. The quantum physics aren’t my strong suit, but Dr. McCoy had the math worked out by some genius with a super computer he knows.” She looked gratefully up at him.
“What do super computers exist for, if not this sort of thing? It’s not a problem at all. I just wish we had a trustworthy telepath to run a Cerebro scan…” A soft, sad look crossed the feline face. “The X-Men have been understaffed in that department, and we don’t know who else here might be spies.”
“How do I know you’re not a spy? Latest briefings have you as an opponent to Magneto. You could be here to send me to the opposite end of the Earth from Steve and Karen.”
“Hank and I may be old enemies, but before that we were friends.” Magneto entered the room, obviously in pain, but still as steely eyed as ever. “Many from both sides were at one point comrades in arms, all working together with Charles. I hate to admit it, but when something like this happens, when I might have made a grave mistake, I will ask for help. I trust Beast with Haven’s secrets, and he has access to the tools and skills we need now.”
“Speaking of which, are you sure about Logan? He’s not a huge fan of yours. I can call him in, but the only reason you didn’t die on Alcatraz is that you appeared to be depowered.”
“He doesn’t even have to see me. But he needs to know that Viper is on the loose, and he was once a good friend of the man that needs rescue.” Guilt saturated his face and voice. “Together, they saved my life once, which is why he was hiding here in the first place.”
“His memory is still poor, but I’ll let him know.”
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Far away, Steve was waking. His whole body hurt. Not quite as bad as it had in the hospital, but still very much. Pushing himself upright, he saw that he was in a forest, surrounded by pine trees. The air was thin, something he could identify easier with his asthma. That high elevation, combined with the terrain added up to mountains. Scanning for landmarks, he saw the still figure of an unconscious woman in the distance. Recognizing Karen’s favorite bright yellow pajamas, he began running towards her. *Please, don’t be dead. Please, God, just, just don’t let her be dead.*
His silent plea was granted, as he reached her, she twitched a bit, bolting upright with a gasp of “Steve!” As he replied, she turned around and caught him in another crushing bear hug. It was a bit of a problem, that she seemed unable to control the tightness of her embraces, but he wasn’t complaining. “Oh my god. Steve, I just, I knew you couldn’t have died or anything, because of the grandfather paradox and all, but still…”
“So you saw my past, huh? When’d you wind up?” Grinning ruefully he tried to recall when she might have seen that she thought he might die, but the number was fairly high. He did serve in a war after all.
“October 17, 1931.” Seeing his shock, but misinterpreting it as amazement over her specificity, she hastily continued. “You were selling newspapers. The date was on the front page. And that horrible boy, I think he might have killed you, but apparently when ethereal energy-based life-forms grab rotten little trolls, the trolls freak out and run.”
“I think I might remember that day, but only because I wasn’t even supposed to be on that corner. I only got called because there was an extra edition.” Studying the girl he was quickly growing to care deeply for, he saw a glimpse of an emotion stronger than friendship in her eyes. He wouldn’t jump to conclusions like Tony, but for the first time he understood what the inventor had seen several weeks ago. “If I remember him correctly, you’d be right about Hutch trying to kill me; it looks like I owe you my life.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a way to return the favor.” Karen always got awkward and shy around guys she liked, especially when she was alone with them. Fumbling for a safe topic of conversation, she looked around her. “So, do you know where we are?”
“Hmm. It could be any mountainous region in the northern hemisphere. I want to say Europe, but that could be a matter of familiarity. It could just as easily be the Rockies. Wherever we are, it’s far enough away from Haven to make getting back more difficult than I like.” When she stood this close, he had to look down, if ever so slightly, to see her face. Positioned like this, the urge to lean forward to kiss her was strong. Pulling his desire back under control, he directed his thoughts somewhere less dangerous. “We should probably make a camp; it’ll be getting dark soon, and the night’ll only get colder.”
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They worked together dragging pine branches to the base of the tallest tree in the immediate area, forming a lean-to effect. It became clear that shelter was all they could accomplish that night. None of the groundcover plants looked like any edible plant either of them had seen; without even snare lines, hunting was off the table, even if Karen could have brought herself to kill something. Unable to find a river or snow, they had no water either, not that they had a canteen to carry it. The lack of basic comforts was taking its toll on Karen’s outlook, making her snappish and withdrawn. She knew logically that her behavior wasn’t helping any, but she didn’t even like camping when there were tents and s’mores involved. Add this to the fact that Steve was apparently Mr. Wilderness-Survival, and her mood tanked.
“I still don’t see why we can’t have a fire. A nice warm campfire, that’s all I ask. Is that too much?”
“Yes, actually.” As charming as she could be, Karen was also really capable of getting on his nerves. “We’re in the middle of a forest, where a single stray spark could turn it into a fiery inferno. Without water, a fire is too dangerous.”
“Well, aren’t wild animals dangerous? A fire would keep them away. Can we afford not to have a campfire?”
“Whether or not animals will avoid fire depends on their experience. In common locations for campsites they learn to associate fire with easy food. But it’s a bit of a moot point at any rate, because we don’t have any way to make a fire.”
“What about the two stick thing? It works in movies and on TV.”
“Yeah, but only in fiction. In real life, I’ve never met anyone who could make that work. Why is a campfire such a big deal to you? In all the time I’ve known you, I don’t remember you ever arguing as much as you are now.”
“I just hate this, is all. We’re in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere, with only the clothes on our backs, no food, no water, and I’m cold dammit! I just want one damn thing to go right.” Sighing, she rubbed a hand across her face, trying to snap out of her funk. “I’m sorry about yelling, I just don’t like being cold or sleeping outdoors. Too many bad memories from being an invisible.”
“I get it. Really, I do. The first Fourth of July I had out of the ice, I flipped out during the fireworks. Fury had to pry me out from behind a coffee table I flipped on its side. Even now, I know I need to put earplugs in on the Fourth, which really stinks, since that’s also my birthday. I wish I could change things, but we’re stuck outside for tonight.” He’d been working around the most common sense solution for the cold, because he wasn’t sure he’d survive a night with Karen in his arms, but seeing her so unhappy strengthened his resolve. “If you want, we can share body heat, though.”
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
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Later that night, they lay together in the cave-like space under the branches. Despite the chill in the air, Steve felt warmer than he’d ever been. Karen was asleep, nestled up against his side, her head on his chest. Her deep, even breaths were so at odds from the tense, irritable woman he’d fought with earlier. She looked so peaceful, and the only thing he could think of that had changed since the argument was their current position. He wasn’t going to presume her relaxation was all due to him, but he had to have something to do with it, and that delighted him.
- 17
- 18
- 19
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Secret Bit of Right From Wrong