First Entrance

[stark_spangled]

He'd been to visit Peggy when he got the call from Director Fury to check in. He was making it a routine, every Tuesday afternoon when he wasn't on a mission. Then it became every Tuesday afternoon and every Saturday morning. It's funny how long it took him to work up the nerve to see her, and now it's all he can do to stay away. She's still his best gal.

He parks his bike in his usual spot in the underground garage next to the Triskelion, shoulders the bag with his gear in it, and starts walking to the elevators. He's wondering what kind of mission Fury's sending him on this time when the sun catches his eyes ... wait, where's that coming from?

He blinks hard, and when he opens his eyes ... this is not the elevator. This isn't the garage, heck, this isn't even D.C. He's in a room, some kind of restaurant or bar. People are milling about, some in uniform and others in civvies, and outside the windows ... jeepers, that's a lot of stars.

His hand tightens on the strap of his bag and he plants his feet shoulder's width apart, jaw set. He isn't sure what kind of trick this is, but if he doesn't get answers soon he's going to start demanding them.


[ooc: Hello! Steve is pre-Winter Soldier, but only just, and he has entered the room in civvies. Slacks, button-up, leather jacket, boots, his usual affair. His cowl is in the bag, along with his shield and a few other things, but by all accounts he looks like an average guy. Well, an average tall, strong guy. Any takers welcome!]

Comments

[decideformyself]

Philip nods in response, but he's distracted again, thinking about the implications. "Whatever is responsible for this phenomenon is something unknown to me, then." A new threat, completely unheard of.

The grin that appears on his face when he realizes this is a little scary. "How thrilling."

[stark_spangled]

Steve doesn't look scared, but he does look suspicious. He crosses his arms, eyebrow arched. "You're used to this kind of thing, then?"

[decideformyself]

"Not with this specific 'kind of thing'," he clarifies. "I have experienced a fair number of unusual circumstances in general, is all."

[stark_spangled]

"In Fuuto?" he guesses, trying to keep his intel straight. There's clearly more than meets the eye to this guy, just judging from his quirks. Maybe he knows something that can help Steve. "I'm Steve Rogers, originally from Brooklyn, New York."

[decideformyself]

"And where is New York?" Philip asks simply.

[stark_spangled]

"Uh. America," he responds, feeling a little silly. It's not the worst thing he could have been asked, given that World War II was just a few years ago for him, and his face was plastered all over propaganda posters the whole time. "We've had some problems with otherworldly visitors in the past."

[decideformyself]

Oh, America. He's heard of that one.

"What sorts of problems?"

[stark_spangled]

"The sort that level half of New York," Steve grimaces. "That's, uh. A lot of city blocks."

A big enough mess that they're still going to be cleaning up for years to come. "This may sound like a strange question, but ... what year is it?"

[decideformyself]

"A strange question indeed," Philip concurs. He looks skeptical as he replies, "2011. What reason do you have to ask?"

[stark_spangled]

Steve looks thoughtful for a second or two, before half-cocking a bitter smile. "Because it was 2014 about five minutes ago."

This may not be SHIELD or Asgard, or anything else Steve knows, but something is definitely rotten in the state of Denmark.

[decideformyself]

There's a look of pure confusion on his face, at that.

Philip ducks his head, hand over his mouth, deep in thought. "An alteration of the timestream? Or perhaps memory manipulation-- that might be simpler..."

[stark_spangled]

"Memory manipulation?" he repeats. He can feel the small hairs on the back of his neck rising on end. He doesn't like the sound of that. At all. "Like something drug-induced?"

[decideformyself]

"...for example, yes," Philip replies after a second. He hadn't been thinking of that, but that could be the case.

[stark_spangled]

Steve frowns deeply, and takes a harder look around the room. He doesn't recognize anyone.

"I once slept for almost seventy years," he grouses. "I don't like the idea of being knocked out or losing large chunks of time."

[decideformyself]

Now that is a statement just interesting enough to distract Philip from what's really important. He takes a closer look at Steve, circling around to one side.

"How curious. I was under the impression that patients in comas continued to age regularly. You don't appear to be seventy years old."

[stark_spangled]

Steve watches as Philip circles with a slightly stunned expression on his face. "Uh."

It makes him just this side of uncomfortable. The only time somebody circles like that is when they're getting ready to drag him in an alley and beat the stuffing out of him. Anyway, that was back before Project Rebirth, but the memories are hard to forget.

"I guess you could say I was an experiment," he says. "Not the freezing part, that one's on me. But the drugs they gave me kept me alive."

[decideformyself]

It's not Steve's discomfort that makes Philip stop and back off; it's what he says. Something almost like recognition appears on the boy's face, but he's wary, too; the last lab experiment he met besides himself hadn't exactly been friendly.

Everyone was different, though. He knows that.

"Who are 'they'?"

[stark_spangled]

The shift in his demeanor is hard to miss. Without moving, Steve readies himself for anything that might be coming, keeping his focus on Philip's movements.

"United States government," he answers simply. He doesn't want to bring Dr. Erskine or Howard Stark into this until he knows better who he's talking to.

[decideformyself]

"I see..." At least Philip has dropped that look of manic interest. Now it's just mild interest, and maybe a little concern. "Highly fascinating. And when you say 'freezing', you can't by chance be referring to cryogenics? Where I come from such technology is still merely a hypothesis."

[stark_spangled]

He blinks.

"I guess I did say that," he murmurs, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh, no. Well, sort of. It wasn't in a lab, if that's what you're asking. I was lost in the Arctic. Plane crash."

[decideformyself]

"How bizarre. I will need to look into this further." He turns to one side, rubbing his chin and taking a few steps away from Steve. "Naturally-occurring freezing. Amazing..."

He's kind of forgotten he was in the middle of a conversation.

[stark_spangled]

Steve blinks rapidly. Is that it?

"What do you mean, 'look into this further'?" he calls after him. It's not like it's the first time he's been looked at as interesting or bizarre, but sometimes people want to know for curiosity's sake, and sometimes they want to know in order to figure out his weaknesses.

[decideformyself]

"I've never heard of it before," he replies, stopping and turning back toward Steve with a grin. "It should prove to be a highly compelling subject, wouldn't you agree? Ah-- but after the current mystery is solved. I have to take care of that first." He almost never has this much on his plate back home. It's so thrilling.

[stark_spangled]

Steve isn't sure whether this kid makes him feel more uncomfortable, or ... well, he laughs. It's quiet and a little wry, but it's still a laugh. He's interesting, at least.

"Right," he nods. "OK, you take care of this mystery, and let me know what you find out. But, uh. Before you go poking around about me, do me a favor? Ask."

Steve's a nice guy, willing to talk if you ask your questions just right, but his first instinct is to protect his country. Always.

[decideformyself]

Philip blinks curiously. Ah. Right. Personal boundaries -- sometimes he forgets. Well, Steve isn't a Dopant or anybody else he needs to be suspicious of, probably, so that's probably a good rule of thumb. "Of course," he replies as though he'd intended that all along.