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Issue #12 by Steve Crosby
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“AMERICA'S BRAVEST”
Feathers were present in the blood, dirty white the sections that weren’t soaked red. Careful not to disturb the littered puddle, Detective Hall knelt beside the body. It was a white male, older that Hall and still middle-aged, in tattered clothing that had once been a well-made suit. The flesh was in no better condition than the fabrics, torn by the beaks and talons of mad pigeons.
“He’s here, sir.”
Detective Hall looked up, and saw Steve Rogers standing beside the police officer who had spoken. Rising to a stand, the detective addressed the civilian. “Mister Rogers, thank you for meeting me on such short notice.”
“You had said it was urgent, Detective.” The man who was also known as Captain America ran his eyes over the crime scene. It was a high-rise apartment, empty except for the body and a stack of unopened boxes in the far corner. Of the four windows on the wall, one was shattered inward. “This doesn’t look like the sort of thing I deal with.”
“Maybe not,” the detective conceded. Death by pigeon. It wasn’t something he could ignore. “The man I want to question isn’t available, however. Can you tell me where to find Sam Wilson.”
Steve Rogers shook his head. “We’ve been out of touch, but I could reach him through our Avengers frequencies. I don’t see how he can help you, though.”
“Look at this, Mister Rogers.” Detective Hall gestured to the body. “How do you think this man died?”
“Probably by the same means you think. But unless you have one of these birds in custody for Sam to talk to, he won’t be able to tell you who trained them.” Steve Rogers thought he could see where this was going, and he didn’t like it one bit.
Despite Captain America’s status with SHIELD, Detective Hall wasn’t about to divulge too much about the investigation. “No offense, Mister Rogers, but I would much rather hear that from him. Please let me know as soon as you get in touch with Mister Wilson.”
“Okay.” Steve Rogers nodded. “Although I’m sure he’ll contact you himself, as soon as he knows you want to speak with him.”
“I’m sure he will,” Detective Hall said, while thinking to himself, unless he’s a murderer.
# # # # #
“Sir, I can drive you back to your building.”
“Thank you,” Steve Rogers told the officer who’d brought him to the crime scene. “But I would prefer to walk. It’s a beautiful day.”
The day was anything but beautiful. Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and Captain America suspected rain at any moment. If the window to that crime scene wasn’t covered over with plastic soon, evidence might be lost. At that moment, Captain America didn’t know what to think of that. So he tried not to as he walked down the street, in the direction of his building but to nowhere in particular.
From his jacket pocket, Captain America pulled out his Avengers Communicard and held it up to his face. “Sam, its Steve. There’s been a murder relating to birds, and the police would like your expert advice. As soon as you hear this, please contact the Brooklyn precinct and ask for Detective Paul Hall.” His message given, Captain America slipped the communicard back into his pocket. Next, he pulled out a cell phone, and dialed the number of likely the last person who wanted to speak with him.
“Alias Investigations.”
“Jessica, please don’t hang up,” Steve Rogers quickly said. “I intend on doing whatever I can to explain things to you and make up for what I did, but right now I need to hire your services.”
There was a pause of silence, but at least Jessica Jones didn’t hang up. What he’d done was terrible, claiming to be Jessica’s great-uncle even though he wasn’t. Never mind that Captain America had been implanted with memories of knowing Jessica’s grandfather as a brother. He’d known the truth for years and had lied to her, for no good reason that Jessica could see.
Still, a job was a job, and Jessica Jones was at least willing to hear the offer. “What do you need.”
“The local authorities are looking for a friend of mine,” Captain America told her. “I’ve left him a message, but we’ve been out of touch. It may even be he’s in trouble. If you could help me track him down and make sure he’s okay, the authorities can ask their questions.”
“So I would be assisting the police?” Jessica asked. When Captain America replied in the affirmative, her next questions was, “I’ll need his name.”
“Samuel Wilson. His alias is Falcon.”
“As in Captain America and the Falcon? You’re old partner? Former affirmative action Avenger, former leader of the defunct Champions and current solo defender of Harlem?”
Captain America had issues with one of the statements, but kept it quiet. “Accurate for the most part,” he said instead. “Will you help?”
“Sure,” Jessica said after another pause. “I’ll give you a call when I find something.”
“Thank you.”
Putting his cell phone away, Captain America turned suddenly into an alleyway. The plain-clothes officer who had been following him does the same about a minute later. He finds an empty alley, however, and unseen on the rooftop above, Captain America sees him speak into a radio. His suspicious of being tailed by the police confirmed, Captain America steps from the rooftop’s edge. A description of Steve Rogers will have been circulated, and the sight of Captain America is difficult to miss. So as he ran across the rooftop, Captain America removed his jacket and turned it inside out, revealing an entirely different color and style of jacket. From one of the pockets he removed a wig that went onto his head, concealing the blonde locks beneath a mob of red hair.
Unseen, Captain America jumped from the rooftop onto an abandoned side street, wearing a different jacket and different hair. Minor changers, but those were what often worked best. Walking onto a main, crowded street, the disguised Captain America blended seamlessly into the crowd.
# # # # #
Jessica Jones, sole investigator of Alias Investigations, sat behind her desk in the center of the office when the door opened. Just as with every previous time Captain America had seen her, Jessica was smoking a cigarette. At sight of the disguised Captain America, she snorted and waved a hand. “We’re closed. Come back tomorrow.”
Sighing, Captain America removed the wig. “If you’re closed, shouldn’t you have locked the door?”
“How I run my business is none of yours,” Jessica said defensively. She puffed the cigarette, and blew smoke in Captain America’s direction. “Even with that stupid wig, you could have been followed.”
“I made sure that I wasn’t,” Captain America told her. “Is he still here?”
Jessica motioned at the side-door, leading into another room of her office. “He was getting antsy until you called. If you’d been any longer, I might have had to sit on him.”
Captain America was barely paying attention to her words. He strode across the room and flung the door open. Standing in the center of the small bathroom was a fully uniformed Falcon. “How are you doing, Sam?”
In response, Falcon pointed past Captain America to Jessica Jones. “She locked me in the bathroom.” His face was not happy.
“Now you can come out.” Captain America motioned for him. “Jessica, the blinds.”
The only thing Jessica did was roll her eyes over at the window, which was already hidden behind closed blinds. Falcon was still pointing at Jessica Jones as he walked into the office. “You need to clean that room up. Especially if you’re going to lock people up in there.”
“I’ll inform the night crew.” Jessica directed her eyes back to Captain America. “So what now? Should I call you back that I found him?”
“They weren’t watching the building when I arrived,” Captain America told them. “That may have already changed. Jessica, once Sam and I leave, you’ll be our cover.”
“Investigating the Falcon’s disappearance.” Jessica looked straight at the Falcon. “Damn, I’ve gotten really bad at my job if I can’t see what’s right in front of me. And what about you, Steve? The cops will find it suspicious if you disappear too.”
“As far as they’ll know, I’m off on Avengers business,” Captain America stated. With a glance at Falcon, he added, “As much as I would hate abandoning my friend, the world’s safety takes precedence. The team will confirm this.”
“One last thing,” Falcon broke in. “If the police are watching this place now, how are we supposed to get out?”
Captain America looked the Falcon’s uniform up and down. It was of a red synthetic fabric with steel alloy mesh, with the mask, v-neck and belt a stark white. Unseen were the Falcon’s wings, retracted into the uniform’s harness. Circuitry in the mask allowed Falcon to control the suit’s various functions designed and built by the scientists of Wakanda.
“That harness has the new hard-light wings, don’t they?”
“Yeah,” Falcon raised one arm, and a large wing of shimmering red light appeared. “It works a lot like that photon shield you used to carry, able to reconfigure into any shape.”
“You won’t be able to fly with it, but reconfigured properly those wings can be an invisibility field.”
Falcon grinned. “It’s been a while, but I think I still remember how to run across rooftops.”
“Wait,” Jessica Jones called out as the two heroes were about to depart. “Don’t I have a right to know what this is about?”
“This puts you in a safer position,” Captain America began. Falcon, however, cut him off with one word to Jessica.
“No.”
# # # # #
“We both agreed Jessica doesn’t need to know anything,” Captain America was saying. “But if I’m going to be helping you in this, Sam, I’ll need more.”
“The Maggia isn’t enough for you?” Falcon asked. The two old partners were traveling across the rooftops of Manhatten. Cajptain America was moving on foot, while the Falcon was back to flying through the air. “Are you certain we won’t be spotted?”
“Our tranceivers are tuned to the police band. We’ll know the movements of their helicopters.” Captain America jumped from one building to another across a wide street, clearing the distance easily. “This morning when you came to me for help, mention of the Maggia was enough. But now it isn’t. Did you kill that man?”
“No,” Falcon denied emphatically.
“But you knew the Maggia had framed you for murder. How?”
“You know about my carrier pigeon side business, right?” When Captain America nodded, the Falcon continued. “Well, I didn’t know about it at the time, but that dead Maggia suit was one of my clients. They were using my birds to pass messages, and as soon as I realized this I had Redwing watching the guy.”
As though on cue, Falcon’s own feathered sidekick Redwing flew into Captain America’s view. “Through his eyes I saw the pigeons attack. When I tried to take control and found I couldn’t, I ordered Redwing out of there and came to see you.”
“Just minutes ahead of a call from the NYPD,” Captain America finished. “A murder like that would have drawn fast attention, but not that fast. It must have been a tip off.”
“Or somebody inside the force,” Falcon suggested.
“That is the only thing stopping me from bringing you in,” Captain America revealed. “Not because I doubt your innocence, Sam. This would be much easier if we worked with the police. It will be difficult to find the Maggia by ourselves.”
The list was being formed in Captain America’s head, of the evidence they would need to help Falcon. One or more of the killer pigeons would be good, and the man who trained them even better. To find evidence, Captain America and Falcon would need to go through the smaller fish first, then beat out of them any information of those actually involved.
“I have locations that messages were delivered to,” Falcon told his old partner. “Probably just basic drops, and in all likelihood they’ve been abandoned by now. But it’s still worth checking out.”
Captain America nodded. “Who knows. We might just get lucky.”
# # # # #
Few people would consider themselves lucky to get shot at. For Captain America and the Falcon, however, they took it as a sign of a lead. Men in suits were firing at Captain America, their bullets bouncing off his indestructible shield. Others were shooting in the air at Falcon, who was deftly evading the bullets. Crossing his arms in front of him, Falcon dropped into the midst of the gunmen while his hard-light wings served as an effective shield.
“This feels just like old times,” Falcon exclaimed. He dove feet-first into the shooters, striking one man in the face.
Finding the floor, Falcon swept his arms wide, wings buffeting his opponents. Only a few men were left standing by Falcon’s stunt, and one throw of Captain America’s shield downed the remainder. As he caught the shield on its return, Captain America grabbed one unarmed shooter by the front of his shirt and lifted him up off the floor.
“One of your associates was killed early this morning. What do you know about it?”
The man’s response was to spit in Captain America’s face. Captain America’s response was to throw him against the wall. Spider cracks formed along the wall’s concrete surface as the man bounced off. Turning to observe all the other dozen or so gunmen, Captain America observed one reach into a duffel bag.
“Gun!” This time reacting faster than Captain America, Falcon extended an arm. “I’ve got it.” One of his hard-light wings stretched out, its sharp tip stabbing into the man’s wrist.”
“Aaaah!”
Captain America rushed forward and shut the man up with a hard kick to the face. “Good work,” he told Falcon as his partner withdrew the wing. “We should check the rest of them, gather up their weapons to avoid other surprises.” Captain America bent down and removed the rifle from the duffel bag. It appeared to be more advanced than most firearms.
“Cap, a couple of these guys I recognized,” Falcon stated. “My birds have seen them before while making drops. Maybe if I play the scary black man we can get them to-”
“We may not have to. Look at this.” Captain America held up the weapon. “This rifle is a custom design, one that I’ve seen recently. I think there’s an explanation for why you couldn’t control those pigeons.”
Falcon gave a stern nod, but then turned back towards the beaten Maggia goons. He punched a fist into his open palm. “All that means now, Cap, is that we can ask more specific questions.”
# # # # #
Sitting alone in a room, the builder’s long fingers were at delicate work when the commotion outside drew his attention. The disturbance was not entirely unexpected, and at the first sounds he reached for a nearby pistol. All around there was now activity, drones coming to life via remote command, even though the builder was using no remote device.
The thick wooden doors burst open at the first hit, as Captain America charged in shield first. Behind him were the scattered, unconscious bodies of Maggia soldiers, brought down by one man who was very much an army in his own right. The builder immediate turned around, those eyes beneath his red bushy eyebrows fixed on Captain America. The gun in his hand fired off one, two shots.
“It’s over, Machinesmtih!” exclaimed Captain America. The burst of energy bounced harmlessly off his shield.
“Not quite yet, Captain America,” sneered the man who had once been Starr Saxon. Useless as the gun was, he held onto it still. Behind him and to both sides, dozens of pigeons were now flapping their wings. As one they surged at Captain America, precisely because it was one mind that commanded them! “You will find that these missles won’t be so easy to dodge and deflect!”
High above, the skylight to Machinesmith’s laboratory shattered as the Falcon dropped through. As Captain America found himself against a swarm of deadly birds, the Falcon dived at Machinemsith. It was not a direct dive, as Falcon swerved to avoid blaster fire. Falcon ended up coming at Machinesmith from the side.
“Ah, if it isn’t the Red Skull’s old pawn.” Machinesmith made what appeared to be a dainty gesture, but in his robotic body it was a powerful backhand that sent Falcon reeling. “How unfortunate for you, that he didn’t use the Cosmic Cube to increase your mortal strength!”
As his partner lay stunned across the room, Captain America was keeping his head down and swinging his shield wildly. Beaks and talons raked across his body, slowly doing damage to the uniform. If Captain America could just get to Machinesmith…but he didn’t dare take his attention from the birds. The moment any got to his face, Captain America could be blinded or worse. Confident that he would not be interfered with, Machinesmith level his gun at Falcon, who was struggling back to his feet. “Hrn, whomever would have thought that swarms of birds could succeed where swarms of machines could not. Although they’re more a hybrid of birds and machines, so I am not too shamed.”
A shot was fired, but Falcon raised an arm and blocked it with a shield of hard-light. “What a coincidence. I’m something of a bird/machine hybrid myself!”
Crossing his arms, Falcon spread them wide while mentally shaping his wings into razor-sharp blades. Machinesmith was slashed across the head and torso, creating sparks as machinery was severed. The robotic villain dropped to the ground in three pieces, and so too did the pigeons battling Captain America.
“I suppose it’s too much to hope that he didn’t download into another body,” Falcon remarked. Machinesmith was notorious for cheating death in that fashion.
“No, I suspect we haven’t see the last of Machinesmith.” Captain America bent down and picked up one of the dead birds by its legs. He held it up, and Falcon saw circuitry embedded in the pigeon’s head. “However, I think we’ve found what we needed.”
# # # # #
The scene had returned to Alias Investigations. Captain America had just finished signing a check while Jessica Jones and Falcon watched on. Jessica extended a hand to accept the check as Captain America handed it to her. Falcon frowned at that.
“Most people wouldn’t accept that, you know,” he said to Jessica.
“Sure they wouldn’t,” Jessica replied as she folded the check and placed it into her pocket. “First they would make the token refusal. ‘No, Cap, I couldn’t. It was an honor to help.’ But you would insist, wouldn’t you, Steve? And they would reluctantly,” she made the quote sign with her fingers, “take the money. The only difference is I’m not going to make my sincerity. I was hired to do a job, I did the job, I get paid.”
“Thank you for the help, Jessica,” was all Captain America said. He then turned to the Falcon. “You’ll still need to meet with the police, tell them what you know. But now that they have the pigeons, they know you weren’t involved.”
Falcon nodded. “At least I can help put the real criminals behind bars. Thanks for the help Steve.”
But Captain America waved the remark off. “You could have handled it yourself, Sam. My biggest contribution was almost getting myself killed.”
Before Falcon could reply, Jessica Jones spoke up. “Please, could you two take the homoerotic ass patting outside? I’ve already reached my vomit quota for the month.”
Captain America gave Jessica a disapproving look, but the Falcon just laughed. “Heh, I’m starting to like you girl. And thanks. If I thought for a second Steve would let me, I’d pay you myself.”
Jessica shrugged and gave a grin. “Send me a pigeon when he’s not looking. Nobody has to know.”
# # # # #
He watched as her commanding body rose out of pool. Scarlet blood dripped from her naked figure, but strangely the light gave her skin a greenish tinge. Attendants were on hand to cover her with a robe befitting her station. It was a deep green with yellow frills, with a yellow multi-headed serpent on the back. A symbol of the organization she ruled and that he was allied with.
HYDRA.
When she extended her hand, Flagsmasher bent to kiss it. “Madame, how may I serve?”
“Power is soon to change hands in Russia. During this, we have an opportunity for chaos. The remnants that break away would be quick to join our newfound union.”
“I regret to say that I don’t agree,” Flagsmasher told her reluctantly. Her hand had retracted, and he had so straightened. “Even after stepping down, the Premiere will remain in a position of power, with the successor solidly under his thumb.”
“And no doubt resentful of this,” she informed him. “Whispers can turn resentment to betrayal. Similar wheels are turning in Cuba, where I suspect America will come to occupy a new bog. In Russia I will expect you to yield me results.”
“I will do my best.”
She turned her back on him and began towards a distant exit. “Excuses, however far given in advance, will not save you should you fail me again. Perhaps I will send my newest toy, the one you gave me, to kill you then.”
In the next room, a man floated in a stasis chamber. Men in suits similar to those worn by AIM, except a deep green with the serpent symbol, were monitoring the man’s vitals. At the entrance of Flagsmasher and their madame, the scientists bent in obedience to her.
“Madame,” they all intoned at once. “The immortal viper from which all others grow.”
She smiled at the recital of her mantra, a sinister sight that would have chilled the heart of the bravest man. “How soon until his mind is broken?”
“Not long, Madame,” stated the scientist that appeared to be in charge. “Previous experiences have made him susceptible.”
She crossed the room and touched a slender finger to a terminal keyboard. Data sprang into her view. “Increase these dosages.” She indicated the required chemicals. “His enhanced physiology must be taken into account. And the other?”
“Everything appears normal, but I would prefer to run more tests.” His eyes were downcast. “Please understand, Madame, it is not you I doubt-”
“The magic, yes,” she finished in a dismissive tone. “Run whatever tests you deem necessary. I will leave nothing to chance.” She turned again to face Flagsmasher. “How far does your loyalty go, diplomat’s son.”
“Madame, I would give me life-”
“For your cause, which we both know is not my own. Oh, you will aid me in destabilizing the world, because you believe a new, united one will emerge. And should that happen, you will do whatever it takes to preserve it, including betrayal toward me.” She stepped forward, until her perfect face was inches from him. “That is why, when my goals are on the cusp of fulfillment, I will kill you. When will you dare attempt the same?”
Flagsmasher said nothing. He simply stared straight ahead into those beautiful eyes of pure evil, every gram of his will focused on keeping a tight bladder. He knew when he would risk their partnership, and knowing he would be dead long before then was more than unsettling.
“Yes. That is what I thought.” A lowly agent of HYDRA entered the room, catching her eye. “You have it?”
There was the faintest of anticipation in her voice, and when the agent nodded she stepped past Flagsmasher. He may well have no longer existed to her. A piece of paper exchanged hands, and green eyes scanned the writing. Her terrifying smile came close to touching those eyes.
“Ah, this shall be the culmination of my perfect scheme.” She turned and addressed the Flagsmasher. “With him,” she indicated the stasis chamber. “His past will strike at him. With the body,” she nodded faintly at the shivering scientist. “It will be his present that strikes. But with this,” she waved the paper at Flagsmasher. “We will use his future to destroy him.”
Madame HYDRA chuckled, a sound that could freeze the marrow in a human’s bones. “The breaking of Captain America is nigh.”
Next Issue: Who is being brainwashed by HYDRA? On what body have they used magic? What of Captain America’s future do they possess? The answers will begin next issue, but until then don’t miss a special tie-in to the Kang/Ultron War! While investigating the assault on a SHIELD installation in the Savage Land, Captain America finds himself wondering: Why does SHIELD have an installation in the Savage Land?
“He’s here, sir.”
Detective Hall looked up, and saw Steve Rogers standing beside the police officer who had spoken. Rising to a stand, the detective addressed the civilian. “Mister Rogers, thank you for meeting me on such short notice.”
“You had said it was urgent, Detective.” The man who was also known as Captain America ran his eyes over the crime scene. It was a high-rise apartment, empty except for the body and a stack of unopened boxes in the far corner. Of the four windows on the wall, one was shattered inward. “This doesn’t look like the sort of thing I deal with.”
“Maybe not,” the detective conceded. Death by pigeon. It wasn’t something he could ignore. “The man I want to question isn’t available, however. Can you tell me where to find Sam Wilson.”
Steve Rogers shook his head. “We’ve been out of touch, but I could reach him through our Avengers frequencies. I don’t see how he can help you, though.”
“Look at this, Mister Rogers.” Detective Hall gestured to the body. “How do you think this man died?”
“Probably by the same means you think. But unless you have one of these birds in custody for Sam to talk to, he won’t be able to tell you who trained them.” Steve Rogers thought he could see where this was going, and he didn’t like it one bit.
Despite Captain America’s status with SHIELD, Detective Hall wasn’t about to divulge too much about the investigation. “No offense, Mister Rogers, but I would much rather hear that from him. Please let me know as soon as you get in touch with Mister Wilson.”
“Okay.” Steve Rogers nodded. “Although I’m sure he’ll contact you himself, as soon as he knows you want to speak with him.”
“I’m sure he will,” Detective Hall said, while thinking to himself, unless he’s a murderer.
# # # # #
“Sir, I can drive you back to your building.”
“Thank you,” Steve Rogers told the officer who’d brought him to the crime scene. “But I would prefer to walk. It’s a beautiful day.”
The day was anything but beautiful. Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and Captain America suspected rain at any moment. If the window to that crime scene wasn’t covered over with plastic soon, evidence might be lost. At that moment, Captain America didn’t know what to think of that. So he tried not to as he walked down the street, in the direction of his building but to nowhere in particular.
From his jacket pocket, Captain America pulled out his Avengers Communicard and held it up to his face. “Sam, its Steve. There’s been a murder relating to birds, and the police would like your expert advice. As soon as you hear this, please contact the Brooklyn precinct and ask for Detective Paul Hall.” His message given, Captain America slipped the communicard back into his pocket. Next, he pulled out a cell phone, and dialed the number of likely the last person who wanted to speak with him.
“Alias Investigations.”
“Jessica, please don’t hang up,” Steve Rogers quickly said. “I intend on doing whatever I can to explain things to you and make up for what I did, but right now I need to hire your services.”
There was a pause of silence, but at least Jessica Jones didn’t hang up. What he’d done was terrible, claiming to be Jessica’s great-uncle even though he wasn’t. Never mind that Captain America had been implanted with memories of knowing Jessica’s grandfather as a brother. He’d known the truth for years and had lied to her, for no good reason that Jessica could see.
Still, a job was a job, and Jessica Jones was at least willing to hear the offer. “What do you need.”
“The local authorities are looking for a friend of mine,” Captain America told her. “I’ve left him a message, but we’ve been out of touch. It may even be he’s in trouble. If you could help me track him down and make sure he’s okay, the authorities can ask their questions.”
“So I would be assisting the police?” Jessica asked. When Captain America replied in the affirmative, her next questions was, “I’ll need his name.”
“Samuel Wilson. His alias is Falcon.”
“As in Captain America and the Falcon? You’re old partner? Former affirmative action Avenger, former leader of the defunct Champions and current solo defender of Harlem?”
Captain America had issues with one of the statements, but kept it quiet. “Accurate for the most part,” he said instead. “Will you help?”
“Sure,” Jessica said after another pause. “I’ll give you a call when I find something.”
“Thank you.”
Putting his cell phone away, Captain America turned suddenly into an alleyway. The plain-clothes officer who had been following him does the same about a minute later. He finds an empty alley, however, and unseen on the rooftop above, Captain America sees him speak into a radio. His suspicious of being tailed by the police confirmed, Captain America steps from the rooftop’s edge. A description of Steve Rogers will have been circulated, and the sight of Captain America is difficult to miss. So as he ran across the rooftop, Captain America removed his jacket and turned it inside out, revealing an entirely different color and style of jacket. From one of the pockets he removed a wig that went onto his head, concealing the blonde locks beneath a mob of red hair.
Unseen, Captain America jumped from the rooftop onto an abandoned side street, wearing a different jacket and different hair. Minor changers, but those were what often worked best. Walking onto a main, crowded street, the disguised Captain America blended seamlessly into the crowd.
# # # # #
Jessica Jones, sole investigator of Alias Investigations, sat behind her desk in the center of the office when the door opened. Just as with every previous time Captain America had seen her, Jessica was smoking a cigarette. At sight of the disguised Captain America, she snorted and waved a hand. “We’re closed. Come back tomorrow.”
Sighing, Captain America removed the wig. “If you’re closed, shouldn’t you have locked the door?”
“How I run my business is none of yours,” Jessica said defensively. She puffed the cigarette, and blew smoke in Captain America’s direction. “Even with that stupid wig, you could have been followed.”
“I made sure that I wasn’t,” Captain America told her. “Is he still here?”
Jessica motioned at the side-door, leading into another room of her office. “He was getting antsy until you called. If you’d been any longer, I might have had to sit on him.”
Captain America was barely paying attention to her words. He strode across the room and flung the door open. Standing in the center of the small bathroom was a fully uniformed Falcon. “How are you doing, Sam?”
In response, Falcon pointed past Captain America to Jessica Jones. “She locked me in the bathroom.” His face was not happy.
“Now you can come out.” Captain America motioned for him. “Jessica, the blinds.”
The only thing Jessica did was roll her eyes over at the window, which was already hidden behind closed blinds. Falcon was still pointing at Jessica Jones as he walked into the office. “You need to clean that room up. Especially if you’re going to lock people up in there.”
“I’ll inform the night crew.” Jessica directed her eyes back to Captain America. “So what now? Should I call you back that I found him?”
“They weren’t watching the building when I arrived,” Captain America told them. “That may have already changed. Jessica, once Sam and I leave, you’ll be our cover.”
“Investigating the Falcon’s disappearance.” Jessica looked straight at the Falcon. “Damn, I’ve gotten really bad at my job if I can’t see what’s right in front of me. And what about you, Steve? The cops will find it suspicious if you disappear too.”
“As far as they’ll know, I’m off on Avengers business,” Captain America stated. With a glance at Falcon, he added, “As much as I would hate abandoning my friend, the world’s safety takes precedence. The team will confirm this.”
“One last thing,” Falcon broke in. “If the police are watching this place now, how are we supposed to get out?”
Captain America looked the Falcon’s uniform up and down. It was of a red synthetic fabric with steel alloy mesh, with the mask, v-neck and belt a stark white. Unseen were the Falcon’s wings, retracted into the uniform’s harness. Circuitry in the mask allowed Falcon to control the suit’s various functions designed and built by the scientists of Wakanda.
“That harness has the new hard-light wings, don’t they?”
“Yeah,” Falcon raised one arm, and a large wing of shimmering red light appeared. “It works a lot like that photon shield you used to carry, able to reconfigure into any shape.”
“You won’t be able to fly with it, but reconfigured properly those wings can be an invisibility field.”
Falcon grinned. “It’s been a while, but I think I still remember how to run across rooftops.”
“Wait,” Jessica Jones called out as the two heroes were about to depart. “Don’t I have a right to know what this is about?”
“This puts you in a safer position,” Captain America began. Falcon, however, cut him off with one word to Jessica.
“No.”
# # # # #
“We both agreed Jessica doesn’t need to know anything,” Captain America was saying. “But if I’m going to be helping you in this, Sam, I’ll need more.”
“The Maggia isn’t enough for you?” Falcon asked. The two old partners were traveling across the rooftops of Manhatten. Cajptain America was moving on foot, while the Falcon was back to flying through the air. “Are you certain we won’t be spotted?”
“Our tranceivers are tuned to the police band. We’ll know the movements of their helicopters.” Captain America jumped from one building to another across a wide street, clearing the distance easily. “This morning when you came to me for help, mention of the Maggia was enough. But now it isn’t. Did you kill that man?”
“No,” Falcon denied emphatically.
“But you knew the Maggia had framed you for murder. How?”
“You know about my carrier pigeon side business, right?” When Captain America nodded, the Falcon continued. “Well, I didn’t know about it at the time, but that dead Maggia suit was one of my clients. They were using my birds to pass messages, and as soon as I realized this I had Redwing watching the guy.”
As though on cue, Falcon’s own feathered sidekick Redwing flew into Captain America’s view. “Through his eyes I saw the pigeons attack. When I tried to take control and found I couldn’t, I ordered Redwing out of there and came to see you.”
“Just minutes ahead of a call from the NYPD,” Captain America finished. “A murder like that would have drawn fast attention, but not that fast. It must have been a tip off.”
“Or somebody inside the force,” Falcon suggested.
“That is the only thing stopping me from bringing you in,” Captain America revealed. “Not because I doubt your innocence, Sam. This would be much easier if we worked with the police. It will be difficult to find the Maggia by ourselves.”
The list was being formed in Captain America’s head, of the evidence they would need to help Falcon. One or more of the killer pigeons would be good, and the man who trained them even better. To find evidence, Captain America and Falcon would need to go through the smaller fish first, then beat out of them any information of those actually involved.
“I have locations that messages were delivered to,” Falcon told his old partner. “Probably just basic drops, and in all likelihood they’ve been abandoned by now. But it’s still worth checking out.”
Captain America nodded. “Who knows. We might just get lucky.”
# # # # #
Few people would consider themselves lucky to get shot at. For Captain America and the Falcon, however, they took it as a sign of a lead. Men in suits were firing at Captain America, their bullets bouncing off his indestructible shield. Others were shooting in the air at Falcon, who was deftly evading the bullets. Crossing his arms in front of him, Falcon dropped into the midst of the gunmen while his hard-light wings served as an effective shield.
“This feels just like old times,” Falcon exclaimed. He dove feet-first into the shooters, striking one man in the face.
Finding the floor, Falcon swept his arms wide, wings buffeting his opponents. Only a few men were left standing by Falcon’s stunt, and one throw of Captain America’s shield downed the remainder. As he caught the shield on its return, Captain America grabbed one unarmed shooter by the front of his shirt and lifted him up off the floor.
“One of your associates was killed early this morning. What do you know about it?”
The man’s response was to spit in Captain America’s face. Captain America’s response was to throw him against the wall. Spider cracks formed along the wall’s concrete surface as the man bounced off. Turning to observe all the other dozen or so gunmen, Captain America observed one reach into a duffel bag.
“Gun!” This time reacting faster than Captain America, Falcon extended an arm. “I’ve got it.” One of his hard-light wings stretched out, its sharp tip stabbing into the man’s wrist.”
“Aaaah!”
Captain America rushed forward and shut the man up with a hard kick to the face. “Good work,” he told Falcon as his partner withdrew the wing. “We should check the rest of them, gather up their weapons to avoid other surprises.” Captain America bent down and removed the rifle from the duffel bag. It appeared to be more advanced than most firearms.
“Cap, a couple of these guys I recognized,” Falcon stated. “My birds have seen them before while making drops. Maybe if I play the scary black man we can get them to-”
“We may not have to. Look at this.” Captain America held up the weapon. “This rifle is a custom design, one that I’ve seen recently. I think there’s an explanation for why you couldn’t control those pigeons.”
Falcon gave a stern nod, but then turned back towards the beaten Maggia goons. He punched a fist into his open palm. “All that means now, Cap, is that we can ask more specific questions.”
# # # # #
Sitting alone in a room, the builder’s long fingers were at delicate work when the commotion outside drew his attention. The disturbance was not entirely unexpected, and at the first sounds he reached for a nearby pistol. All around there was now activity, drones coming to life via remote command, even though the builder was using no remote device.
The thick wooden doors burst open at the first hit, as Captain America charged in shield first. Behind him were the scattered, unconscious bodies of Maggia soldiers, brought down by one man who was very much an army in his own right. The builder immediate turned around, those eyes beneath his red bushy eyebrows fixed on Captain America. The gun in his hand fired off one, two shots.
“It’s over, Machinesmtih!” exclaimed Captain America. The burst of energy bounced harmlessly off his shield.
“Not quite yet, Captain America,” sneered the man who had once been Starr Saxon. Useless as the gun was, he held onto it still. Behind him and to both sides, dozens of pigeons were now flapping their wings. As one they surged at Captain America, precisely because it was one mind that commanded them! “You will find that these missles won’t be so easy to dodge and deflect!”
High above, the skylight to Machinesmith’s laboratory shattered as the Falcon dropped through. As Captain America found himself against a swarm of deadly birds, the Falcon dived at Machinemsith. It was not a direct dive, as Falcon swerved to avoid blaster fire. Falcon ended up coming at Machinesmith from the side.
“Ah, if it isn’t the Red Skull’s old pawn.” Machinesmith made what appeared to be a dainty gesture, but in his robotic body it was a powerful backhand that sent Falcon reeling. “How unfortunate for you, that he didn’t use the Cosmic Cube to increase your mortal strength!”
As his partner lay stunned across the room, Captain America was keeping his head down and swinging his shield wildly. Beaks and talons raked across his body, slowly doing damage to the uniform. If Captain America could just get to Machinesmith…but he didn’t dare take his attention from the birds. The moment any got to his face, Captain America could be blinded or worse. Confident that he would not be interfered with, Machinesmith level his gun at Falcon, who was struggling back to his feet. “Hrn, whomever would have thought that swarms of birds could succeed where swarms of machines could not. Although they’re more a hybrid of birds and machines, so I am not too shamed.”
A shot was fired, but Falcon raised an arm and blocked it with a shield of hard-light. “What a coincidence. I’m something of a bird/machine hybrid myself!”
Crossing his arms, Falcon spread them wide while mentally shaping his wings into razor-sharp blades. Machinesmith was slashed across the head and torso, creating sparks as machinery was severed. The robotic villain dropped to the ground in three pieces, and so too did the pigeons battling Captain America.
“I suppose it’s too much to hope that he didn’t download into another body,” Falcon remarked. Machinesmith was notorious for cheating death in that fashion.
“No, I suspect we haven’t see the last of Machinesmith.” Captain America bent down and picked up one of the dead birds by its legs. He held it up, and Falcon saw circuitry embedded in the pigeon’s head. “However, I think we’ve found what we needed.”
# # # # #
The scene had returned to Alias Investigations. Captain America had just finished signing a check while Jessica Jones and Falcon watched on. Jessica extended a hand to accept the check as Captain America handed it to her. Falcon frowned at that.
“Most people wouldn’t accept that, you know,” he said to Jessica.
“Sure they wouldn’t,” Jessica replied as she folded the check and placed it into her pocket. “First they would make the token refusal. ‘No, Cap, I couldn’t. It was an honor to help.’ But you would insist, wouldn’t you, Steve? And they would reluctantly,” she made the quote sign with her fingers, “take the money. The only difference is I’m not going to make my sincerity. I was hired to do a job, I did the job, I get paid.”
“Thank you for the help, Jessica,” was all Captain America said. He then turned to the Falcon. “You’ll still need to meet with the police, tell them what you know. But now that they have the pigeons, they know you weren’t involved.”
Falcon nodded. “At least I can help put the real criminals behind bars. Thanks for the help Steve.”
But Captain America waved the remark off. “You could have handled it yourself, Sam. My biggest contribution was almost getting myself killed.”
Before Falcon could reply, Jessica Jones spoke up. “Please, could you two take the homoerotic ass patting outside? I’ve already reached my vomit quota for the month.”
Captain America gave Jessica a disapproving look, but the Falcon just laughed. “Heh, I’m starting to like you girl. And thanks. If I thought for a second Steve would let me, I’d pay you myself.”
Jessica shrugged and gave a grin. “Send me a pigeon when he’s not looking. Nobody has to know.”
# # # # #
He watched as her commanding body rose out of pool. Scarlet blood dripped from her naked figure, but strangely the light gave her skin a greenish tinge. Attendants were on hand to cover her with a robe befitting her station. It was a deep green with yellow frills, with a yellow multi-headed serpent on the back. A symbol of the organization she ruled and that he was allied with.
HYDRA.
When she extended her hand, Flagsmasher bent to kiss it. “Madame, how may I serve?”
“Power is soon to change hands in Russia. During this, we have an opportunity for chaos. The remnants that break away would be quick to join our newfound union.”
“I regret to say that I don’t agree,” Flagsmasher told her reluctantly. Her hand had retracted, and he had so straightened. “Even after stepping down, the Premiere will remain in a position of power, with the successor solidly under his thumb.”
“And no doubt resentful of this,” she informed him. “Whispers can turn resentment to betrayal. Similar wheels are turning in Cuba, where I suspect America will come to occupy a new bog. In Russia I will expect you to yield me results.”
“I will do my best.”
She turned her back on him and began towards a distant exit. “Excuses, however far given in advance, will not save you should you fail me again. Perhaps I will send my newest toy, the one you gave me, to kill you then.”
In the next room, a man floated in a stasis chamber. Men in suits similar to those worn by AIM, except a deep green with the serpent symbol, were monitoring the man’s vitals. At the entrance of Flagsmasher and their madame, the scientists bent in obedience to her.
“Madame,” they all intoned at once. “The immortal viper from which all others grow.”
She smiled at the recital of her mantra, a sinister sight that would have chilled the heart of the bravest man. “How soon until his mind is broken?”
“Not long, Madame,” stated the scientist that appeared to be in charge. “Previous experiences have made him susceptible.”
She crossed the room and touched a slender finger to a terminal keyboard. Data sprang into her view. “Increase these dosages.” She indicated the required chemicals. “His enhanced physiology must be taken into account. And the other?”
“Everything appears normal, but I would prefer to run more tests.” His eyes were downcast. “Please understand, Madame, it is not you I doubt-”
“The magic, yes,” she finished in a dismissive tone. “Run whatever tests you deem necessary. I will leave nothing to chance.” She turned again to face Flagsmasher. “How far does your loyalty go, diplomat’s son.”
“Madame, I would give me life-”
“For your cause, which we both know is not my own. Oh, you will aid me in destabilizing the world, because you believe a new, united one will emerge. And should that happen, you will do whatever it takes to preserve it, including betrayal toward me.” She stepped forward, until her perfect face was inches from him. “That is why, when my goals are on the cusp of fulfillment, I will kill you. When will you dare attempt the same?”
Flagsmasher said nothing. He simply stared straight ahead into those beautiful eyes of pure evil, every gram of his will focused on keeping a tight bladder. He knew when he would risk their partnership, and knowing he would be dead long before then was more than unsettling.
“Yes. That is what I thought.” A lowly agent of HYDRA entered the room, catching her eye. “You have it?”
There was the faintest of anticipation in her voice, and when the agent nodded she stepped past Flagsmasher. He may well have no longer existed to her. A piece of paper exchanged hands, and green eyes scanned the writing. Her terrifying smile came close to touching those eyes.
“Ah, this shall be the culmination of my perfect scheme.” She turned and addressed the Flagsmasher. “With him,” she indicated the stasis chamber. “His past will strike at him. With the body,” she nodded faintly at the shivering scientist. “It will be his present that strikes. But with this,” she waved the paper at Flagsmasher. “We will use his future to destroy him.”
Madame HYDRA chuckled, a sound that could freeze the marrow in a human’s bones. “The breaking of Captain America is nigh.”
Next Issue: Who is being brainwashed by HYDRA? On what body have they used magic? What of Captain America’s future do they possess? The answers will begin next issue, but until then don’t miss a special tie-in to the Kang/Ultron War! While investigating the assault on a SHIELD installation in the Savage Land, Captain America finds himself wondering: Why does SHIELD have an installation in the Savage Land?