Summary:Steve Rogers and Kai meet on the boardwalk and discuss a little bit of the past, as well as a little bit of the future. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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With no job and no shortage of funds, Kai can afford to come out to Coney Island every day if he wants to. And he does! He's walking the boardwalk, taking in the destruction left by the Sentinel attacks of 2014. He's got ever present coffee, and he's in a t-shirt and jeans. The wind ruffles through his curls, He doesn't notice the glances he gets in passing. Say what one wants to about the elf, he's easy on the eyes.
*
In a brown bomber jacket with the lapels up about his ears to prevent side-swipes of the ocean air from chilling his neck, Steve is also observing the remnant of the attack. With hands in his pockets, he's leaning on the railing of the boardwalk and simply staring at the construction project still on-going. The Dodgers baseball cap survived to see another day and he wears it in a bid for anonymity. Whether or not it works is all up to those who see what they wish to see.
His gaze is a thousand miles away. Embroiled in the fiasco and having lived to tell the tale, it's one of the myriad nightmares that haunt him in the dark hours of the evening. It doesn't keep him from glancing up at movement nearby and smiling to himself. A lift of his hand is silent greeting to the Elf.
*
Kai nods to Steve when he catches the gesture. He meanders over, sips from his coffee cup, then says, "I see the hat survived." He smiles wryly, though the expression fades as his attention returns to the destruction. "I used to walk my dog down here," he says. "I had a little mutt so spoiled and fat, he was like a little ball with legs. Took him back to Alfheim with me, and he lived his short years in bliss." He sounds sad, but fond. "I've heard bits and pieces," he says with a nod to the destruction. "But… what happened?"
*
Steve reaches up to scratch at the band of the baseball cap where it briefly tickles at his hair. He's clearly more used to an entire helmet; the flow of cold air in the open half-circle is too novel.
"It lived," he confirms with a wry little smile. His eyes return to the distant movement of construction vehicles beyond the fluttering cordon of CAUTION tape, battered by salty breezes and replaced periodically as permitted.
"People gave in to fear." At first, it seems like that's all the Captain's going to say, but he then shakes his head. "It started with the government wanting mutants registered. I didn't agree. The Avengers didn't agree. We disbanded in protest. Some of us registered, some of us didn't. It took a few years for the pressure to build, but when it burst, it was a disaster. Sentinel robots landed, took out everything from Brighton and over, down to the Upper East Side. U.N. took the main hit. We all came out of the woodwork and stopped it, but not before we took losses." Steve continues staring, again miles and years back by the distancing of his gaze.
"Martial law took over for a time. Took a few years to stabilize and only recently did the government redact the registration bill. I guess we'll call it peace now."
*
Kai grimaces. "We were afraid something was going to happen," Kai says. "We didn't know what, but we knew you couldn't trust the government." He sighs. "All we marched for, and all we fought for, and all that was sacrificed, and it was for nothing." He's quiet for a time, and his usual light nature dims somewhat. He was there for the birth of the civil rights movement. They were building a better tomorrow. It wasn't supposed to go like this.
He drops his gaze to his coffee. "At least there's peace," he says. "At least people are freer than they used to be. We can even get married now." No use even trying to be in the closet in 2019; he barely passed in 1965. "But some things must be bought in fire, I guess."
*
"Some things only grow through it," Steve agrees, voice quiet in abstraction. He blinks and seems to come back to himself by the rise and fall of his chest beneath the coat. "Dunno if I'd call it true peace, but…it'll do. There're still sites around the city where things linger. Not the robots, but other things, drawn by the chaos and the pain. The residue. Some of it's psychic. Guess it was bad enough to bleed through into the other dimensions." He glances over at the Elf. "That's what I got out of the explanations given to me from the folks who can sense that stuff anyways. Figure you know about the concept."
He looks off into the city and then out towards Turtle Bay. "Still a mess to clean up. The city's growing though. Folks are coming together to make sure everyone's got a helping hand. It's not all sunshine and rainbows, but it's a start."
*
"Oh yes," Kai says, "I know about the concept. I know all about things being drawn by chaos and pain." With the t-shirt, one could catch a glimpse of the tattoo running down his back. At his neck, flowing over his shoulders, are silvery mesh tattoos with little hooks seeming to draw real drops of blood, but on closer inspection, it's just really good ink. Or looks like it, anyway.
"I shouldn't have left," Kai says. "I should have stayed to fight. But I was broken-hearted, and I had to go lick my wounds somewhere safe. It's no excuse, though. This city needed me." He frowns, then sighs softly. "Well, I'm here now."
*
"It's not worth lingering over, not being in the city. Used to spend lost time in wondering how things would've gone if we'd been banded together, the Avengers. What if I'd woken up a few hours earlier for my run. What if I'd gone for lunch later in my shift instead of trying to fit it between meetings and a late arrival at the U.N.? Lots of what-ifs." Steve shifts his weight to change the cross of ankles and then settles back against the railing again.
"We can let the past influence us. It can define us, if we want. But the now? This is important. This is where the healing begins. You're back, good. What can you bring to the table?" His eyes flick to Kai and linger.
*
Kai glances up at Steve, and he does have to look up. He's not a very big guy. "I can fight," he says quietly. "Bullets bounce off me. I have a bag of tricks at my disposal and a good pair of knives." With a wry smile, he adds, "I'm no longer bound to an arch-villain who will end up leaving me after I sacrifice all my good will for him. I'm done with bad boys." He sips his coffee. "Above all else, I bring with me a deep love of this city, and of this world, and a desire to see it persevere."
*
A curt nod from the Captain. "You bring a good set of skills to the city's table. Even if you run as a vigilante, I can tell you'll be doing more good than harm. You'd be surprised. I know a few folks who can only fix a problem by causing another one in the process." He spans his eyes with his hand briefly and rubs at them before emerging again.
"Here." Out of an interior pocket of his coat comes a business card. It's plain, black ink on white cardstock, and has the SHIELD insignia upon it along with a number. "If you catch wind of anything out of the norm, call this number. You can ask for me if you want, but if I'm away from my desk, talk to someone anyways. They'll reach me, one way or another, or at least be able to see if they can send aid."
*
Kai takes the card, looks it over, and tucks it in his pocket. "I will," he says. "I think I'm about done with my vigilante days. I've got a political position to think about now." He grimaces a little at that. Ugh, responsibility. "So I think I'll try coloring within the lines. If something comes up, you'll hear from me."
Then his phone starts ringing, and he glances at it, He's already picked up the appropriate embarrassed look as he says, "I have to take this." Then he wanders a little bit away and starts having a quiet conversation into the phone.