agoodyarn | for andimwearingtights: Man of SHIELD

for andimwearingtights: Man of SHIELD

The alien had come willingly.

Given the strange appearance of the digitized message they'd received on every electronic device, they'd all assumed he might look different. As alien as the message had claimed he was. And yet, other than the strange blue costume and the great billowing red cape, he was simply a young man: black hair, eyes as blue as any ocean, and a sad, dutiful expression that only seemed to more genuine through each indignity he was put through. He'd come for the reporter, the one who knew who he was. He'd come to save a friend who'd kept his secret and for that, he was put in handcuffs and treated like a criminal without a single trial.

Now, he was in a room being watched by SHIELD personnel as he sat and chatted amiably with Lois Lane, of all people. Handcuffed, surrounded by more terrifying weaponry than most civilians saw their entire lives, and yet he seemed calm. Determined.

But still, somewhat lonely.

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That got a bit of a look before she tried to chuckle a little. It hurt, but she got out a laugh or two as they got to the barn. As for the gun, she took it. She'd send them straight to hell herself if she had to.

"Of course my boy... of course..." was all she said about that as she opened the barn door. The location of the ship was obvious enough since Faora had smashed her way down to the storm cellar.

She breathed in and out a few times before sighing tiredly.

"Whatever you need's in there. I'm gonna head back to the house and see what I can get."

Which was when the sound of distant explosions started.

"Ah, hell."

"That's in the town, right?" he asked, looking in the direction of those explosions. "I'll have to make it fast, then." Like changing targeting blades in helicarriers. He could do this.

"You get yourself taken care of. I told the sheriff to evacuate the town. Kal-- Clark-- will need you once this is over."

But then he was swinging himself down into the cellar, to the pod that was covered in writing that he made himself look at, made himself remember, because Kal deserved to know what it all said someday. With both hands, he searched for the slot that matched the command key, and then he held it in place, let it zip into the hole, and stepped back.

As the command key zipped in, a couple of compartments open. There were a few items: a strange box, a crystal, and something that looked almost like an ipad inside. There was also a piece of fabric, a flag with the sigil of El on it. And of course, the baby blanket that was still in the main compartment.

Quickly, carefully, Steve gathered them up, wrapping the crystal in the blanket, wrapping the rest in the flag, and he gathered it all into his arms. "I'll give these to him," he said softly, hoping Jor-El was listening.

There was no answer for the moment other than the sound of fighter planes flying overhead and a couple more explosions.

But with the bundle held in his arms, he had to stop, had to think. This thing... It needed to get to the ship, and he...

He was good, but he couldn't exactly carry it there.

That meant it was time to make a call. ...And probably owe Miss Kent some long distance charges. He jogged toward the farmhouse, bundle in hand.

The farm house was a mess and it was clear that the damage to her house pained her for reasons beyond the obvious. The way her hand lingered on the doorway, the way she walked slowly around the ruins of her living room...

When Steve jogged up, she gave him a wane smile.

"How can I help you, sweetheart?"

She had in her hands a photograph, one that had a younger version of herself along with an older man and a young man who could only be Kal. Clark. The glass was shattered.

"I hate to ask you for anything at a time like this, but I need a phone. We've gotta get that pod that he came in up to the ship, and strong as I am, I can't just throw it." And that photo...

Goddamn it, but somebody really was gonna catch a shield to the face for hurting this woman.

She squinted a little since the light was behind him but she reached into her pocket to pull out her cellphone and held it out to him without another word.

"If you're aiming to cram that thing right up this Zod's backside, I'll do anything I can. That asshole came here to hurt my son. I'm no soldier, but I'll do what I can to help you. So stop apologizing."

She managed a wry smile, a mirror to the one he'd seen on Kal's face a time or two.

"Besides, you're Captain America, ain't you? If I can't trust you, who can I trust?"

He took the phone and gave her a smile. "I'll do my best to keep being worthy of that trust." And then he was dialing Nat's number. He just hoped she'd actually pick up, despite the new number on caller ID. When she did, he exhaled with relief. "Nat. It's Steve. I need a quinjet to my location."

"Quinjet?-- Where are you?"

"Kansas."

"Should've known. We've got the Kansas invasion force on our radar. We'll be there soon."

"Make sure there's room for cargo."

"...I'm not gonna ask."

After a few minutes, there was a heavy impact from the front of the house and a voice familiar to them both--

"Mom!?"

Edited 2015-09-21 01:28 (UTC)

Hearing that, and having handed Miss Kent's phone back (after giving Nat the address), Steve stepped aside so Kal could see that she was up and walking and - probably bruised up, but - fine.

And he was fine. Kal was fine, too. "Thank God," he exhaled.

Clark was up the stairs and pulling his mother into his arms. She moved a little slower, clearly sore, but she had her humor about her.

"Nice suit, son."

Which got a smile out of him as he held her and seemed to take a moment just to absorb that she was alive. Then he turned to Steve.

"Thank you. For coming with me. And I'm sorry I had to leave you."

Martha looked over at her son.

"You knock that ass a good one, son?"

Clark blushed and nodded before carefully hugging her again.

But Steve shook his head, smiling. "Don't worry about leaving me. You had something very important to attend to. And, honestly, so did I."

His face went serious. "I know how to stop this. I found out how up on the ship. I've got a friend of mine coming with a quinjet. We're going to save Earth."

He kept his mother in one arm, turning to look at Steve.

"You know what they're planning." It wasn't a question. "How?"

There was no gentle way to say this, though he did try. "Your father told me."

Clark just smiled.

"So you got to meet him too. I figured you might have, given that he showed up."

"Your father?" Martha asked, keeping her voice quiet, the question gentle.

He gave her a faint squeeze. "My biological father, Ma. His name was Jor-El. The name he gave me was Kal-El. That's what this stands for." And he tapped his chest.

She looked at his chest then up at his eyes.

"What're you gonna do, son? These are your people."

"But they're not," he said quietly, "and they don't seem interested in sharing the planet. They want to make this world their new home."

And Steve nodded. "I was going to suggest we share this world, or give them one of the nearby planets; they have a higher tech level than we do, and if nothing else, maybe even Thor could point them to somewhere, but..." But they weren't interested. It even upset Steve a little, but they'd made their choice. "I wish they'd chosen something else."

But what he could do, and did do, was pick up the bundle he'd taken from the pod in the barn and offer it over to Kal. "These are yours. But I'm afraid we've got to use the vessel you came in to keep Earth safe."

Kal took the bundle, held it in his hands for a moment and looked clearly confused as to what he had to do before his mother reached over and took it.

"I'll keep this safe, sweetheart. You go off with Captain America and take care of things."

Clark looked at her for a moment before nodding, his mouth opening to say something else before he lifted his head up to see the quinjet descending. His mother started ducking back into the house, but Clark put his hand out to hold her.

"These are friends, Ma."

Then he looked over at Steve.

"I... might have made an impression on Commander Fury."

Steve's smile was... at least a little amused. "You've made an impression on a lot of people. Especially me."

He was looking forward to them saving the world. He wanted that dinner he'd been promised, and he wanted to try kissing again. ...Well, after a more proper time to know him. And probably after getting ribbed by Nat for not telling her that gender wasn't really a limitation for him.

"I've gotta go get that pod into the jet, and then get it to the ship." He half-turned to Martha. "Thank you, Miss Kent, for lending me your phone - and make sure you stay safe. I'll make sure you get some help out here to rebuild."

Martha waved a hand off. She'd fix up the house. They'd get it done. And he was doing something immeasurable for her: helping her son.

Clark looked up at the jet before holding up a finger. Then he was flying towards the barn, down through the hole. A moment later, the Kryptonian vessel he'd come to earth came through the barn doors, Clark underneath, as he flew it out towards where the quinjet was landing.

"That's my cue," he said, turning to Martha. "You have an amazing son. Thank you for ... taking care of him, and giving us-- me. The chance to meet him." But then he was jogging down from the porch, and then out to the quinjet.

Nat was standing on the deck in the back, the ramp slowly lowering for the incoming cargo. When she saw Kal, her lips tugged up into a smirk. "Well. Looks like somebody's back in one piece. Good to see you, flyboy."

Martha just watched him go with a faint smile on her face even as she turned back to her home with a tired sigh.

Clark, for his part, gave her a winning smile as he carefully placed the vessel into the back of the quinjet.

"Nice to see you again, ma'am."

"What was it like, being Steve's second kiss since 1945?" she asked, her smirk growing.

Steve only missed the question by a few moments, jogging up and nodding to see the pod already in place. "We need to get that," he said, motioning at it, "to the Kryptonian ship. Do we know where that is?"

"Luckily, we do," she nodded. "Metropolis."

Steve's face fell. Metropolis. Huge population center, central location, but it wasn't the country's capitol. What were they--

But the knowledge came at once. He knew. "The World Engine. We've gotta get there as fast as we can."

Clark had been about to answer Nat when he heard about the ship over Metropolis. Thinking at lightspeed, he looked over at the two of them.

"The World Engine will be on the other side of the world from there, somewhere over the Indian Ocean. We need to take that out while you deliver this to the main ship."

He breathed in deep.

"I have to take it out. Nothing from this planet will stand a chance."

for andimwearingtights: Man of SHIELD

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