Chapter Text
This is the story of how I died.
But, don’t worry, it’s actually a very cool story! And the truth is, it isn’t even mine. This is the story of a boy named Steve.
It starts with, of all things, the sun.
Now, once upon a time, a small drop of sunlight fell from the Heavens, and where it landed grew a beautiful golden flower. (Or so they tell me, anyway.) It (supposedly) had the ability to heal the sick and injured, and was rumored to enhance the magic power of anyone who possessed it.
Remember that. It’s important.
So, a hop, skip, and a boat ride away, there grew a kingdom. It was ruled by a beloved King and Queen, and equally beloved was their young son, the Prince. When a war started, the King went to lead his army into battle- and, well, he never came home.
Things just got worse from there. The Prince grew up to be small, and scrawny, and frankly, a bit weak. (And, yes: that’s Steve.) The war, which had stopped for a short time, started up again, tearing a lot of families apart. And it was about that time that the Prince got sick. Really sick.
He was dying, and the King was dead. The war was taking a turn for the worse. Much worse.
That’s usually when people start to look for a miracle. And- for once- they found one, in the form of a magic golden flower. A group of doctors led by a refugee from the other kingdom found the flower and made a serum out of it. Once they gave it to the Prince, he grew like, a foot, and got really, really ripped. He got, like, super strength and shit. To celebrate his health, the Queen and him launched a flying lantern into the sky. But because he was someone really nice, and wanted to help people, he decided to go to war.
He put together the greatest team of soldiers, the Howling Commandos, and led them into battle after battle. Suddenly, we were winning again, and it looked like everyone was going to come home soon. For a moment, everything was perfect.
And, as everything always does, that moment ended.
The Prince went on a solo mission- even succeeded, winning the entire war!-, but, he never came back. And just like that, he was gone. The kingdom searched and searched, but they couldn’t find the Prince- now known better by his rank of Captain- for deep within the ice, deep within the mountains, he was frozen.
A century passed. The legend of the price was handed down, never forgotten, and every year on the day he’d gone missing the kingdom would launch thousands of floating lanterns, remembering their Captain’s, their Prince’s sacrifice.
Around this time, a traveler from a distant land (and isn’t that cliche as all hell?) was searching through the mountains for the flower- and found Steve. He was a sorcerer named Loki, and he was looking to increase his magical power with the flower. (Told you it was important.) But Loki wasn’t picky. He knew that Steve could also help him gain power. So he defrosted himself one Capsicle, to go, and hid him away in a tower, sans memories. Loki told Steve that he and Loki were brothers, and that Steve had almost died. That Steve had to stay in the tower, for his own protection. And so, for almost four years, Steve did.
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Steve pushed open the shutters on the window, letting the sunlight in.
“Natasha! Natasha, we’re you go? Natasha!“
A shockingly red cat slinked around the corner of the balcony rail and into view, the spider-like pattern on her back plainly visible. She gave Steve a bland stare, as if to say, Really? I wasn’t even gone that long.
Or, at least, that’s what it looked like to Steve, so he replied to it. “You were gone that long. A whole week. Where do you even go, Natasha? How do you even get down?”
This seemed to amuse Natasha, because she tossed her head and flicked her ears in a way reminiscent of a woman tossing her hair and saying, I have my ways.
“I’m sure you do,” remarked Steve dryly. “And that’s all well and good, but I’ve got things to do today. Are you going to keep me company?”
Natasha gave what had to be the cat equivalent of a shrug, before lightly jumping down off the railing and walking over to Steve.
“Great, then let’s go.”
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Way over on the other side of town (so to speak), I stood on the edge of the castle roof, looking out over the kingdom. The view was, quite frankly, amazing. I decided the Ringsten brothers needed to know this.
“I could get used to a view like this,” I said, not even turning to look at them. I knew what I’d see: two tall, tan-skinned men, with shaved head and rough looks. One didn’t even speak English, had the other brother translate for him. (Though I kinda suspected he understood it.)
“Iron Man! Come on,” the one who did speak said, wanting to hurry.
Just to piss them off, I continued. “Hold on- yup. Used to it. That’s it guys, I want a castle. A cool one, too, not, like, a castle knock-off or a manor or anything.”
“We do this job, you can buy your own castle,” he said, sounding strained and forcefully patient. Like one might sound like talking to a petulant toddler. Not that, you know, I act like a toddler or anything. "Now let’s go.”
“Alright, alright, don’t get your panties in a wad,” I said, smirking behind my mask. I didn’t have the full armor that I dreamed about, but my awesome mask was enough to hide my identity and give me a kickass nickname. They handed me a rope, which was easy enough to loop around my waist. Quickly (but quietly), they lowered me into the room where the Captain’s iconic shield was kept. Legend said it was made of a unique metal, and I just had to have it. To examine it.
It was child’s play to grab the shield, slip it onto my arm. The guards weren’t even looking my way- they were facing the door. ‘This is too easy,’ I mused. Then, as if on cue, a guy sneezed.
Oh, I could not pass this one up. “Bless you.”
The guard turned to me. “Thank you.” Then he turned back around, and I signaled the Ringsten brothers to pull me up. I just caught a glimpse of his doubled take as I was being lifted out the window, and then it was all running. Like, hardcore running, me in the lead, Ringsten brothers behind us, the Royal Guard behind them. I laughed with exhilaration, babbling about how it was only eight in the morning and castles and oh, it was a big day!
Really, I had no idea.