I WAS MADE TO HIT IN AMERICAAAA

[usavatar]

He should know not to go out at night by himself. Not because he's in any danger - Captain America in New York City on a less-than-average day doesn't have much to worry about. But because, almost without exception, he gets lost. Steve tucks his hands into the pockets of his jeans and squints up at the buildings around him, ignoring the college student who staggers by, stops to stare at him, and bursts out laughing before moving on.

He's used to that, too, by now. Apparently dressing conservatively these days isn't a reflection of care for the resources of the country, or a side-effect of living life as a soldier for two years - it's just "dorky." At least he doesn't feel like someone's taped a sign to his back, not since he asked Darcy - Agent Lewis - why he kept getting that reaction.

Of course the fact that she had to explain what 'Because you're a dork' meant didn't really help his... street cred. He chuckles to himself, only a little ironic, at managing to use both terms in one train of thought.

A few streets later he's getting very confused. Usually he's able to find at least one familiar street or landmark to point him in the general right direction, at least until he finds a cab to get him the rest of the way back to the mansion. He's done this enough in the months he's been here that his assigned SHIELD shadows don't pop a vein unless he's not back by morning - in this case, though, that's probably working against him.

Finally Steve sighs and digs into his pocket to pull out his cellular phone. He looks at it for a moment, smiling to himself and wondering what Howard would make of all this. Tiny phones with tinier batteries and communicators and jets that don't need runways to take off.

Well, for all Steve knows, Howard invented most of it. He still hasn't been able to bring himself to look at history texts to see how his friends lived out their lives. There's something too much like admitting he's never going to see them again in doing that.

He flips the phone open gingerly, poking the tiny buttons with his pinky because he's not sure how else to manage the thing, and dials in what he's fairly sure is Darcy's number. Agent Lewis's number. He could try calling someone else, but she's friendly, in her own way. She doesn't treat him like a loaded gun waiting to be pointed at the next Big Bad Guy.

Steve lifts the phone to his ear with a frown. "Uh. Hello?"

Comments

[toseethesunrise.livejournal.com]

Quorra blinks down at her phone--Sam had bought it for her shortly after they'd gotten settled into his apartment--staring at the unknown number. Not that it was a surprise to have it be unrecognizable, since she only had three numbers listed anyway (Sam's, Alan's, and Lora's). But she likes talking on the phone--it's really fun--so she slides it open and puts it to her ear.

"Hello?"

[usavatar]

Oh. That doesn't sound like anyone he knows. But then, he'd be the first to admit there are a lot of faces to which he can't put names. "Um, hello, this is Steve- Captain America? I'm on the corner of..."

He looks up at the nearest sign. "York and... an alley. I'm trying to get back to the mansion, but I think I've gotten a little lost." There's a pause, a wince, and he adds, "Sorry," hoping this person wasn't asleep.

[toseethesunrise.livejournal.com]

"Captain America?" she asks, scrunching her face. It's not a name she's heard before, and the confusion is probably evident in her tone. She meanders to the couch and sits down, frowning a little.

"I'm sorry, too--I'm not sure I can help you. I don't really know the streets yet myself. What mansion are you looking for?"

[usavatar]

"The... mansion." Well this is awkward. He doesn't think he's actually met anyone before who has absolutely no idea who he is - and that leads to an immediate and silent scolding for ego. "I'm sorry, I think I might have dialed the wrong number. You're not..."

He can't exactly ask her if she's involved with a secret government organization. "Anyway, I apologize if I woke you."

....Darn it, he doesn't know how to hang up.

[toseethesunrise.livejournal.com]

"Oh, no, I was awake already! Don't worry about it," she says warmly--she certainly doesn't mind talking to him, especially if he's lost. She can't imagine what would happen if she ended up lost somewhere by herself.

"I'm Quorra, by the way!"

sure let's do this in between vacuums. 8D

[hulk]

Bruce was actually awake - not that it's any real surprise given the whole living in a windowless basement thing. Add that to having nowhere to go, really, except for missions which could happen any time of the day or night (and did), and an already long-held habit of working until crashing and then crashing until waking up again... Dr. Banner's never really been one for the whole 'eight hours a night' thing.

But the point is that he's up to hear his phone start that tinny .midi mash-up of 'It's Not Easy Being Green' and 'Don't Worry Be Happy'. (The first time he'd heard it after Tony rang him up to demonstrate, he'd only been able to stare in disbelief. Tony hadn't stopped grinning for a minute and the whole week after was full of inane texts just so Tony could hear it go off again. Bruce still hadn't figured out how to change the ringtone - Stark must have gone and hacked the thing. He certainly wouldn't put it past the man.) There's only a few people who have this number, and of those people the reasons they'd probably have for calling him at any time of the d- n- whichever it was, the reasons most likely weren't going to be good. So it's with a long-suffering sigh and the heel of his hand scrubbing against his eyes that he finally opens the darn thing and answers.

"Yes?" He silently chides himself for sounding so exasperated, then dog-ears the page he was on before setting his book down on the bed next to him.. "I mean, hello? Uh."

[usavatar]

"Doctor Banner?" Steve's surprise transfers to his voice before he can stop it, and he hopes Bruce doesn't take it the wrong way. Bruce... seems to take a lot of things the wrong way, and given what they have in common, Steve is even more inclined to treat him gently and with kindness. His own guilt over having been a predecessor to the military program is part of it, yes, but there's a certain feeling of kinship with the much smarter man that he can't quite shake. "It's Steve. I'm sorry to bother you. I think I'm lost."

[hulk]

"Captain Amer- I mean, um. Ca- Mister Rogers? Sir?" He goes from resignedly annoyed to nervously excited inn the space of four syllables. The wonder and mild fanboy glee that followed learning he'd be - well, not him, exactly - working alongside a legitimate American legend hadn't lessened in the months since Bruce was signed onto this crazy team, and it doesn't look to do so anytime soon. "No, n- You're not bothering me at all, I was up anyway with th-"

Stopping himself from babbling, Bruce grimaces at himself. The Captain wouldn't care what he was doing, for one because it didn't really matter and for another, didn't he say he was lost? Right.

"Okay, uh. Well, if you can see any kind of street signs? I mean, I don't really know New York all that well myself, but if I can get a starting point, I can probably figure out a way to get you back to the house." He's already jumping from the bed and jogging the few steps over to the desktop computer S.H.I.E.L.D. was nice enough to outfit him with down in his cozy little bunker here, phone tucked between his shoulder and his ear as he typed. "Unless you'd- I'm just assuming you want to get back here," he says, trying not to sound too sarcastic or bitter there. It's not the Captain's fault after all. "If you're trying to go somewhere else and need directions to there, I can do that too. So. Whichever you need. Or want. ...Er."

He's practically choking on his knees now - the foot in his mouth's probably on its way through his intestine at this point.

[usavatar]

"You can just call me Steve," he says, grinning a bit. "Up with what?"

He squints up at the nearest street sign and frowns, unable to make out any of the letters. They're spray-painted over and peeling off. With a sigh, he keeps walking. "I haven't seen any that I recognize."

He's silent for a moment after Bruce stops talking, the squeeze of guilt doubly intense. He's not sure what to say. Dr. Banner didn't choose this life. He didn't know what he was walking into, from the files Steve has read and the stories he's been told. He was given a lie and forced to pay for it, handed a bastardization of Dr. Ersken's work and turned into a lab rat and a prisoner.

"The mansion," Steve says, subdued. "I appreciate it."

[hulk]

"Right, right, that's." He shakes his head at himself because seriously, how many times has Captain Rogers said that now? Bruce's lost track. "Sorry about that, I'll. Sorry." Never mind it seems superbly disrespectful to go and just call him Steve. Just- It's- Something about it is just no.

Humming in concentration and firing up Google Maps, he doesn't much notice Steve's tone at first. "Uh, hmm. Well. If you keep going until, like. You see some kind of intersection or any kind of address, then I can just use the computer and get you a way back." He chews on the inside of his cheek, he shrugs with his free shoulder. "Or I c- There's probably someone still up, uh, an agent. They probably have the tech to go and triangulate off the cell phone or the communicator, whichever you have on you and then send one of their SUVs. If you really want to get back now, that's probably the fastest way."

It's only about then that he realizes that oh, yeah, Steve asked him something else didn't he? Right. "Oh, that's. No, it's nothing. I'm kind of a night owl anyway, or at least. Some of the time. Ju- It's not important, obviously. Nothing that can't wait a bit longer." He's already waited on an answer for this mess for the better part of a decade now - a small postponement can be made to talk with Captain America.

[tasering.livejournal.com]

While Darcy normally would prefer to stay up late watching awesome TV on Nickelodeon or TVLand, it's been a long day of avoiding Fury and making out with Clint in shady corners of huge office buildings. All in all, a pretty productive day if she says so herself.

So when she's roused from just falling asleep by her phone blaring America, Fuck Yeah Darcy greets it with no small amount of grumbling why she searches for her glasses and her phone. Not necessarily in that order.

"Agent Darcy Lewis, super secret spy for Chechen rebels unless you're Putin. How may I help you?" A pause, because she knows that voice and, more importantly, knows that ringtone. Darcy just needs her brain to catch up with her a bit. "Hey Cap."

[usavatar]

He blinks. "Um. Agent Lewis. I'm not sure Colonel Fury would appreciate you picking up extra hours on the side."

Steve shakes his head, getting himself back to the present, and looks at the closest buildings for any sign of where he might be. "I'm a little bit lost. ...More than usual, actually."

He flashes a smile at a late-night commuter, who gives him a funny look in return, and turns the nearest corner to start back the way he came. Except this street really doesn't look like any he's seen on the island, and even at his most turned around there's at least a sense of familiarity to the city. He stops again. "I don't suppose you might be able to help me out."

[tasering.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, well, he's not the boss of me." Even though he totally is. Pushing up her glasses to rub the sleep from her eyes, she slides from her bed and ambles over to where her laptop is. Directions? Not a problem.

"I thought Coulson told you to take a GPS next time you decided to take a walk at night?"

Stifling a yawn, Darcy boots up the computer. It shouldn't take long - get him to a subway station and go from there.

[usavatar]

...He doesn't want to admit that he a) forgot about that and b) can't remember what a GPS is, other than something for when you get lost. Steve drags a hand through his hair, sounding sheepish. "I wasn't planning on taking a walk. I just... ended up out here."

That makes no sense. Sigh. He's moving again down the unfamiliar street, his sense of unease growing. Something isn't right here. The shop fronts, even closed, don't have the right character.

Also, the street signs at the corner are blank.

Steve stops and scans the empty sidewalks and the dark spaces between the buildings, which seem to be somehow bigger than the space should allow. "Darcy," he says, sounding calm in that way that suggests things are about to go to hell. "I might have to call you back."

[liesmith]

One of those shop fronts is a dainty cafe, complete with a small outdoor seating area. The vague shadows on the concrete solidify against the brick wall, then lengthen and flow along the concrete until hitting the legs of a chair. Building up like an oil spill in reverse, they fill out a lean profile lounging back in his seat and if there's any sort of doubt as to whom it is, it's dispelled when the outline of sweeping horns fills in.

"That would be a wise move, in all probability," Loki drawls idly, the black fading into truer colors (but still a lie, but that is what he does) of gold and dark green. With that and a flicker of fingers, the captain will find his cell reception suddenly nil. After all, this is a private party.

[stolenhair.livejournal.com]

Sif had, initially, gone into the bar for a simple drink. One drink had turned into another and had turned into another partly out of a challenge issued by another patron and partly because a different patron had offered to pay for her drink. She wasn't all that concerned with becoming drunk or even tipsy - Earth's best spirits couldn't match with those of Asgard, but there were (apparently) customs that dictated her actions about who she would return 'home' with.

Her answer, after implying 'No' quite loudly, was simply to pick up the offender and throw him. Straight through the window.

And perhaps into any hapless individuals who had been walking by.

[usavatar]

Steve drops the phone and starts to jump out of the way, then stops himself and catches the man instead, falling back a step to absorb the momentum. He looks in surprise from the man in his grip to the woman who threw him, and then down at his cellular phone, which is now a pile of smashed electronic bits underneath one of his feet.

...Oops.

"Um, excuse me," he tells the man, letting him go and trotting over to stick his head inside the bar, through the broken window, to make sure there's nothing going on he needs to sort out. "Is everyone all right?"

[stolenhair.livejournal.com]

"Quite."

Sif runs her hands down her armor to make sure that the man's roaming hands had not sullied it. The idea of cutting her visit to Thor, Jane, Darcy, and Erik short due to a man who was incapable of keeping his hands to himself was unappealing. Humans - on the best of days she could see what Thor found appealing, on the worst she wished to have done with the entire planet.

Once assured that everything was satisfactory, she gave the man at the window a second glance, a niggling familiarity pulling at her.

"Have we met?" It would be strange, she's met few humans on her trips here that would cause her to remember them, but stranger things have occurred.

[usavatar]

Oh.

Wow.

It takes him a second to recover himself, and when he does he ducks his head into a nod and tries to hide the fact that he's blushing. He doesn't stare at women. He doesn't do that.

Still, she did throw someone through a window with about as much effort as -

.....As Thor throwing someone through a window. "Uh. Yes, actually. Steve. Steve Rogers. Captain America? Thor introduced us."

And now the people in the bar are giving him funny looks. He withdraws from the window and enters through the door, not sure how to greet the Asgardian. He settles on a little half-bow. "Sif, right? Er, Lady Sif."

[stolenhair.livejournal.com]

"Sif is acceptable, Captain." She bows back, a smile creeping over her face. That was right - one of the Avengers that Thor fought alongside of. His brothers-in-arms here on Earth.

A pause, and she gestures back towards the bar. "Would you care for a drink, or will that delay you more than I have already?" Sif hadn't meant to throw the man into him and buying him a drink would be the least she could do for the moment.

[notfauxlivia.livejournal.com]

The street was empty a moment ago. Something in the fabric of the universe twists and warps, subtly enough to miss it unless you happen to be alert and lucky, and then a woman appears from thin air and hits the ground hard. She looks like hell, exhausted and bedraggled, red hair and thin white pajamas both dripping wet - and now she's probably badly bruised where she hit the sidewalk, but that's really the least of her concerns.

Olivia scrambles to her feet, takes stock of her surroundings with obvious dismay, and then turns to focus on the guy with the cellphone. The fact that he doesn't seem to be a Fringe Agent and isn't pointing a gun at her is at least mildly comforting. Nothing else really is.

Her tone is flat when she speaks, but not enough to entirely cover the edge of fading hope, or the despair creeping back in. "...this isn't Boston, is it?" She has to ask, though she's fairly certain she knows the answer already.

[usavatar]

He hangs up without putting the phone away, well aware that he'll probably be calling back in about ten seconds.

"No, ma'am." Steve is already half-way out of his jacket. He holds it out at arms-length, his other hand up to indicate he doesn't mean her any harm. He's always been good at reading people, and she doesn't feel like someone dangerous. Not to him. She seems like someone who needs help. "But we can get you there, if that's where you need to be."

[notfauxlivia.livejournal.com]

Olivia blinks at the jacket for a moment, a little startled by the immediate offer, and then smiles a little awkwardly and takes it with a nod of thanks.

"I... appreciate the offer, but I don't know how much that will help," she says slowly as she pulls the jacket on. She doesn't know what universe she's in now. She doesn't know if she's going to flicker back in a few seconds, or a minute... though this feels stable, solid, in a way her other jumps didn't. She's still half-tensed, waiting for the other universe to come crashing back in around her, but there's no sign of it so far. "Can I borrow your phone?"

[usavatar]

"Oh- of course." He holds it out, starts to explain how it works, and then cuts himself off. She knows what it is, which is more than he could say for himself the first time he saw a cellular phone. She probably doesn't need to know how to use it.

"Do you mind my asking what's wrong? I might be able to help." Him, or Thor, or Tony, or Bruce or Jane or any number of people at SHIELD. "I'm Steve, by the way. Steve Rogers."

[notfauxlivia.livejournal.com]

She starts to dial Peter's number the instant the phone's in her hand, her heart jumping a little despite herself. She knows he probably won't answer, but that doesn't stop her from hoping.

As the phone starts to ring, she holds it to her ear and glances back at Steve, hesitating for a second before he answers. Giving him her name if she's still in the wrong universe could be dangerous. Then again, standing out on the street, dressed like she is, when the police and Fringe Division and the army probably all know her face is dangerous enough as it is, if she's not home. Introducing herself isn't going to hurt at this point.

"Olivia Dunham. I just was trying to get home, but it's... complicated."

She was about to say something more, but then the phone clicks as someone picks up, and all her attention is fixed on that. "Hello?" It's a man's voice. Deep. Unfamiliar. Not Peter. Olivia hangs up without answering, and offers the phone back to Steve with a pained smile.

"Thanks. Um... this may seem strange, and maybe insane, but please, just... On September 11th, which buildings were attacked?" Yeah. She definitely sounds crazy. But she already looks - again - like she just escaped from a mental institution, and he still seems willing to help her. One question probably won't change that.