"Incredible... It's really him! It's really Captain America!"
Hank Pym, dressed in his civilian clothes for the first time since I met him, stares down at the melting block of ice currently resting on a metal table in Stark's private lab at Stark Industries, and it's frozen occupant. Janet Van Dyne, also out of her Wasp costume, is next to him, rubbing at the ice with a cloth to get a better look inside. Next to him stands a slightly built, blonde man in a lab coat, a walking stick in one hand.
"Remarkable, I've never seen a case like this before." Dr. Donald Blake, the civilian identity of The Mighty Thor, says as he moves a stetoscope over the surface of the ice. "It's very faint, but I'm getting signs of life. He's actually alive in there!" He turns towards me "How did you know?"
I shrug "I mean, I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure you don't look like you just laid down for a quick nap after you've been dead for 20 years, even if you're frozen for it. And unless the super soldier serum ensures you leave a handsome corpse, it seemed logical that he was still alive, just in hibernation or whatever. And since you're the only DOCTOR doctor I know, I figured I'd give you a call!"
"Man, Thor secretly being a doctor, I would not have guessed that." Stark says with amusement. "Must've made med school interesting. Or did you get your degree back in Asgard or whatever?" I don't think Stark is really sold on the idea that Thor is actually, well... THE Thor, so the remark has a good deal of glibness behind it. No matter, he'll learn quickly that nothing is too ridiculous to be true in this world.
"It's not quite like that, we're simply two people sharing the same body, our situation is similar to Dr.Banners, except the transformation is voluntary. Sorry, Bruce..." He gives an apologetic smile to Banner, who nods back.
"It's alright, Don. I'm getting used to it. Not having to wake up in the middle of nowhere wearing ragged pants all the time helps a bit..."
Trying to change the topic back to more pleasant matters, Stark knocks on the ice experementally. "You know, we're not waiting for a frozen pack of hot dogs to thaw out in the sink here, we should probably try to speed this up. Sunshine, you're basically a walking sunlamp, get over here and wake up Sleeping Beauty already!"
"Is that safe?" Pym says uncertainly "What if thawing him out too fast will have a detrimental effect on him?"
"Well, there's literally no medical precedent for this situation, so I really have no idea" Blake says with a shrug. "But if I had to guess, whatever's been keeping him alive all this time will react more or less the same wether he's thawed out fast or slow." The Avengers turn to look at me expectantly and I shrug, pulling off my new winter coat and tossing it over a chair, before rolling up the sleeves for my shirt and walking up to the frozen man. I stretch my hands out over the surface of the ice, and begin focusing my power into my hands. Quickly, they begin to glow with a warm, golden light, beginning at my fingernails, before spreading out over the rest of my hands. The ice quickly begins to melt as the heat beats down over it, creating small rivers of clear water that drips down on the floor. Stark gives the growing puddle an annoyed look.
"Should've put down some tarps or something..."
Pym gives him an odd look "You already knew we'd be defrosting someone, why didn't you?"
"Well I'm sorry, but when you get a call about someone finding a legendary war hero literally frozen in time, sometimes details slip your mind! Bah, I'm unappreciated in my time!" He pats me on the back "That's a pretty versatile power, Sunshine! You ever need extra work, I might need some help working on my face tan now that fall is on top of us."
Janet looks up suddenly with a worried look on her face "Hey, should we have called someone about this? Like, someone official?"
Stark raises an eyebrow "Call who exactly?"
"I don't know, like... the army, or something? Whoever would be in charge of this kind of thing."
Banner clears his throat, adjusting his glasses "While I understand your worry Janet, like Dr. Blake said, this is fairly unprecedented. If this was a regular soldier, I'd guess it'd fall under the jurisdiction of Veteran Affairs, but Captain America? I wouldn't even know where to begin. His exact identity isn't even known."
Wait, what?
I almost lose my concentration at that, Cap is only slightly more obscure than Superman or Batman, atleast in the U.S, not knowing who Steve Rogers is is like not knowing who Clark Kent is. But then, somewhere in the back of my mind, there's a memory reminding me that, yes, Cap's identity really WAS a secret in the comics. Because he was a superhero, and superheroes had secret identities. Hell, I think he even met Bucky when he accidentally stumbled across Steve changing into costume.
Do I say something? There's no reason for me to have any idea who the blonde guy in the ice is. I'm spared from making a decision when there's a loud cracking noise, and the ice covering one of Cap's arms finally melts enough to crack and fall off into chunks. "Uh, guys, you might wanna get ready, because Capsicle is starting to defrost!"
That stops the conversation dead, and the Avengers quickly gather around me to watch as we bring Steve Rogers back to the land of the living.
....
It takes a while, but the last of the ice finally sloughs off to the side of the table, leaving Cap uncovered for the first time since '45. He's wearing the brown, ragged shreds of an army uniform, but underneath is the familar blue, white and red chainmail of the Captain America suit. His hood is pulled back, revealing his blonde hair and handsome features, which look remarkably peaceful, like he's just been taking a short nap. His shield is lying across the left side of his chest, which Tony lifts off, allowing Dr. Blake to examine our patient. He presses his stetoscope against Cap's chest.
"Remarkable! His heartbeat is there! And it's getting stronger!"
Well, I know what comes next. "Guys, you might want to stand back a bit."
Blake turns towards me with a confused look, but doesn't have time to ask any questions before a muscular arm lashes out, smacking him across the chest and nearly knocks him off his feet, if not for Banner catching him in time.
"BUCKY!!!"
Steve Rogers bolts upright on the metal table, looking around at his new surroundings in a daze, his eyes still looking glazed and unfocused from decades of stasis. He tries getting up, but his legs, still not quite awake, buckle under him, and he falls to his knees. Stark and Pym rushes over to him, trying to calm him.
"Woah, Cap! Take it easy! You're safe!"
They try to help him to his feet, but the dazed and disoriented Rogers struggle against them, and when a man who's full of Super Soldier juice tries to break loose, there's not a lot that can stop him. Pym stumbles backwards, jossled, but Stark hangs on undeterred.
"CAP! CAP!! Stop! You were in a plane crash, remember? Calm down, it's over!"
Rogers shakes his head frantically "No, no, you don't understand! Bucky's on the plane! We have to save him! Let me go!" Stark is barely hanging on now, I better step in. I raise my hand, and a glowing band of light appears around Rogers arms, locking him in place. He tries struggling against them, but even he can't break out of this kind of restraint. Blake steadies himself on his walking stick and limps over towards his patient, grasping his chin and forcing eyecontact between them.
"Stop! I'm sorry Captain, but Bucky isn't here! Please, you're going to hurt yourself if you keep this up."
Rogers struggle begins to subside as he looks into Blake's eyes, blinking as he tries to clear his vision. "W-who are you?"
"I'm Dr. Donald Blake. I've been overseeing your recovery. What's the last thing you remember, Captain?"
"I... there was a mission. We were supposed to recover an experimental plane from Dr. Zemo, but..." his face falls "...it was a trap. There was an explosion on the plane, and... after that, it's all black..." he looks up in a panic "Please, if I'm still alive, there's a chance Bucky might be too! You have to go back for him! PLEASE!"
Blake shakes his head sadly, before giving me a nod to remove the bonds. The light dissipates, and Rogers arms are freed. Stark begins to help him to his feet, and I walk over, taking him by one arm and getting him back up.
How do we put this...
"Well, Captain, I got some bad news. And some good news. Oh, and then some worse news..."
Stark rolls his eyes "Smooth, Sunshine..."
"Sorry, this is a little out of my comfort zone, Stark!"
Rogers looks between us "Would someone please just tell me what on God's Earth is going on here?! Who are you people?!"
"Okay, so..." I motion for him to follow as I walk toward the large panoramic window taking up part of the wall "Good news first, the war is over, we won, you were a super big help by the way, buuuut...." I point out the window to the city beyond, which doesn't look quite as different as it did for the Rogers of the MCU, but even in just two decades, New York City has changed quite a bit. "I'm afraid it took quite a while longer to find you than everyone would have prefered."
"You're back home, Cap. I'm sorry it took 20 years to get you here."