agoodyarn | for andimwearingtights: Man of SHIELD

Steve watched through the one-way mirror. Natasha wasn't far from him, but he didn't look away from the two in the interrogation room. This didn't sit right with him. None of it. This felt too much like Hydra, felt too much like slime. He didn't like that they were just giving this guy over - that they'd brought him in and handcuffed him for... what reason? He hadn't done anything. Nothing to harm the world, anyway.

His hands clenched against the windowsill before he -- Well. Before he restrained himself from punching the surface into a dent and just walked a few steps away instead, circling back after just a few seconds.

"Hypocritical," he muttered. "This whole thing."

The 'alien' turned his head towards the mirror and gave a faint smile that seemed directed at Steve in spite of the reflective surface between them, followed by a little shrug. Beside him, Nick Fury grumbled in irritation.

"I get the feeling we're being watched as much as we're watching him."

"Sounds fair to me," Steve muttered under his breath. "Isn't that what you'd do if a disgraced intelligence agency picked you up on the word of some electronic-bandwith hijacking aliens? I'm a terrible spy and even I know that much."

Steve was a soldier. He was good at going in, drawing attention, surviving, and fighting back. That was what he did. Natasha was the spy, and she proved it with a quiet, "He's got a point. On both subjects. He really is a terrible spy."

"--well on this world, it's an S."

The alien, who no one seemed to want to find out the name of, gave her a sheepish smile before nodding as she started proposing another possible name for him given the 'S' on his chest.

He interrupted her with a single finger before standing up and heading over to the window, looking Steve in the eyes through the glass as if it wasn't there.

"Captain Rogers," and his voice was deeper, more resonant, when it was so close. The terrible acoustics of the room cut some of the lower register. "I understand your concern. I even appreciate it. But I came here willingly. And I submit myself to the world, to humanity, for them to do as they see fit in this situation."

This close, even through the one-way glass, Steve could see just how blue his eyes were. He could hear, and even slightly feel, the vibration of his voice. His stomach flipped over, gained a flock of butterflies. His heart gave a thump, and for a second, he was afraid. That hadn't happened since the serum, and feeling it again felt... normal, but scary, because that wasn't supposed to happen anymore.

Steve took a breath, swallowed, and looking right back at the alien that called Earth home, he said, "You might be giving humanity too much credit. We seem to be pretty damn fond of wars and killing each other for no good reason."

The alien smiled at him, warm and sweet and a little sad. As if he could see something, in Steve, in people, that he knew other people couldn't see. But there was no smugness to that. Instead--

"My father sent me to this world because he believed that the people here had an amazing capacity for good. I believe this as well; I've traveled the world and I've seen the heroism, the kindness, the potential of the human race to be a force for good." He ducked his head a little before looking back up at the good Captain. "It seems to me that all you need is someone to have a little faith. A little trust."

He stood up a little straighter.

"Whatever else I am, this is my home. And I stand with Earth. Whatever is asked of me."

"It's not something that should be asked."

Glass or not, Steve reached out, fingertips pressing against it. He could break it so easily. So could the man on the other side. Neither of them was willing.

"You belong here."

The man on the other side of the glass lifted his hand, breaking the handcuffs like they were made of glass to put his fingers on the other side of the glass from Steve's hand.

"I belong wherever the world needs me. And to be fair, I'm here because I chose to be."

He turned to look over at Fury.

"Sir, do you think we could dispense with all of this? I'm not your enemy."

Fury stared back and said nothing.

Steve couldn't stop looking at him, though. There was something about him that was... So captivating, and he desperately wanted there not to be a pane of glass between their hands, but--

But God, that was so inappropriate.

He pulled his hand back, flexed his fingers. Cleared his throat, even. And he said softly, "If he wanted this place leveled, it would be leveled. He's not going to hurt anything or anybody."

Which was another reason to defend him. Christ, couldn't they see this?

Fury looked over at Steve.

"We don't even know his name," he pointed out.

"Kal-El," the man provided quietly, "Though you're welcome to call me Kal."

Though his focus remained on Steve and his hand slid down the glass slowly, as if he didn't want to let go.

Steve glanced in Fury's direction. "Did you even think to ask?" But then he was looking at Kal again and he gave a faint smile. "I'm Steve. And I'm... going to come talk to you without being on either side of a window."

That was just... polite. Even if he wasn't sure he could keep from reaching for him.

"Flirt from a shorter distance, Steve?" Nat muttered under her breath.

Steve lightly kicked her heel on his way.

"I'm familiar with you, Captain," Kal said with a smile as Steve went to walk around. Kal turned to look over at Lois where the two of them shared a few looks in discussion. It went approximately like this:

Are you seriously flirting with Captain America?
Do you think I'm flirting?
You're flirting. It's kind of adorable.
I don't mean to. I know what's at stake right now.
You should. You deserve something to smile about if you're doing this, Clark.

Fury, on the other hand, shared only one phrase with Natasha, typed out on his phone and held out for her to see.

How difficult do you think he's going to be about this?

Nat took his phone instead of returning the favour with her own and typed out, He's already indignant. It's gonna get bad.

Steve opened the door to the interrogation room and, though his eyes went to Kal first, he walked over to Lois and offered his hand for a greeting. "Nice to formally meet one of the last sensible journalists in the world, Miss Lane."

She smirked just a little.

"I like to think there's a few of us out there. Though not so many that have heard the kind of stories I have about you, Captain. I don't suppose you remember a Margot Callahan?" Smile. "She'd send her regards if she knew I was getting to meet you."

Clark couldn't help smiling a little, since he could smell Lois angling for a story after this. And he was happy for her. He was a journalist himself; he entirely understood. And Lois deserved something good out of this whole mess.

Steve paused. And then he laughed. "I remember Margot. She was a nice girl. A nice lady, now, I bet."

But then he was looking over at Clark and it was...

It was like being drawn in by a magnet. He could feel the inherent goodness in the man standing in front of him and it made him want to have faith again, even with everything that had happened with Bucky and Hydra and SHIELD. It felt... It felt better than he could've imagined, and he wasn't sure what to think about it. Or what to do.

"And it's nice to meet you, too, Kal."

"Still kicking," Lois reassured her before leaning back into the chair to let him talk to Clark. Clark, for his part, leaned in and offered his hand.

"Captain. It's an honor." He looked towards the window. "And Colonel Fury, I hope we can come to some degree of trust between us. I'm here to help. I promise."

"I believe you." That, at least, Steve could promise. He did believe Kal. Though he did have to admit to himself that at the moment, he'd just about believe anything Kal said. He was almost certain that just like himself, Kal didn't lie.

Fury knew that Kal could hear him, but he pressed the button to project into the room regardless; Captain Rogers and Miss Lane should hear him too.

"You'll excuse me if I'm a bit skeptical. Now, I'm not exactly the type to trust some alien message hijacking my monitors, but this Zod seems to think you're a fugitive. You mind explaining why that is?"

Kal looked from Lois to Steve and back to the 2-way mirror.

"My father sent me here from the planet Krypton, where this General Zod came from as well. Zod was a criminal, a ruthless warlord who attempted a coup against his own leaders before the planet was destroyed. If anyone is a fugitive, sir, it would be Zod. Unless you can think of a crime that a day old baby could have committed."

"Revenge, then," Steve filled in, and looked over at the mirror. "Sound familiar? Like someone's younger brother?"

He'd read the files. He knew about the first invasion of Earth, with Loki and the Destroyer. About a town in New Mexico practically being razed. All for the sake of revenge. This was just larger scale.

"I think we need a better plan than just handing Kal over. Even if it means--" He glanced at Kal, and it hurt him to suggest it. "--Handing him over, temporarily, so he can find out their layout and get back to us."

Clark stood up a little straighter and Lois actually looked like she might sigh out loud.

"I intend to go there with honest intentions," he said plainly to Steve, and to Commander Fury in all honesty. "That doesn't mean I'll be going there with my eyes closed, however."

Fury hit the button again.

"If any of them can do what this one can do... what, exactly, do you think we can do to get him back once he's there?"

And Steve looked in the direction of the mirror. Unlike Kal, he couldn't see through, but he was firm when he said, "Whatever it takes. You don't leave an ally behind."

This was the man who had dropped into enemy territory and walked into a Hydra base in the middle of a world war just for the sake of one man. He'd do it again. Without hesitation.

"That's if the world decides to send me there," Kal said gently. Because even now, even after his treatment, even after what Steve had said, he hadn't actually been told he was going to be given to Zod.

"Let's hope they don't."

For reasons. Reasons he couldn't exactly explain just yet, if he ever could, but he knew that he didn't want to think about Kal being handed over just like that. It made something inside him twist with nausea and anger.

Kal just gave a soft little shrug, since he was resigned to his fate regardless. But the fact that someone wanted to fight for him, multiple someone's considering both Steve and Lois...

That felt good. That made him feel so much less alone.

Lois stood then, walking up to Steve as she tilted her head to Clark.

"How much pull do you have with the folks making the decision?"

Steve took a slow breath, evaluating his answer before saying, "Back in the war, when I was still shilling war bonds, I drew this picture of a monkey on a unicycle. Now, it'd pretty much be a monkey that can punch people."

He'd discovered that not so very long ago. He was still pretty damn bitter.

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