Mister Rogers ⍟ || Steve Rogers

1

Once we reached the Triskeleon, Agent Rumlow, Natasha, and the rest of the S.T.R.I.K.E. team were already waiting for us in the Quinjet. The second we stepped inside, it immediately closed. I looked around and noticed all eyes on me.

Rumlow glanced at his watch, "It's 7:17. You're late." He crossed his arms and stood taller, clearly aggravated.

I ducked my head sheepishly, "Right, sorry."

Briefly, I locked eyes with Steve, who offered the smallest grimace of sympathy. As the vehicle began to lift, we turned to face the monitor where Rumlow began debriefing.

"The target is a mobile satellite launch platform: the Leumarian Star. They were sending up their last payload when pirates took them, ninety-three minutes ago," Rumlow zoomed into a diagram of the Leumarian Star on the monitor.

Steve inhaled, "Any demands?"

"Billion and a half," Rumlow answered. I raised my eyebrows slightly.

"Why so steep?" Steve asked.

"Because it's S.H.I.E.L.D.'s."

Steve looked down, "So it's not off course. It's trespassing."

"I'm sure they have a good reason," Natasha turned to face Steve.

"You know, I'm getting a little tired of being Fury's janitor," he challenged.

"Relax. It's not that complicated," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"How many pirates?" Steve inquired.

"25. Top mercs. Led by this guy," Rumlow paused, tapping the screen a few times, "Georges Batroc. Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He's at the top of Interpol's Red Notice. Before the French demobilized him, he had thirty six kills missions. This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties."

I stepped forward so I was side by side with Steve, "Hostages?"

"Mostly techs. One officer. Jasper Sitwell."

"What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship?" Steve muttered under his breath, then, loudening his voice to give orders, "All right, Jones, you and I will sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat, you kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep aft, find the hostages, get them to life pods, get them out. Let's move."

"S.T.R.I.K.E., you heard the Cap. Gear up," Rumlow ordered the team.

I scanned the blueprint for a good landing point on the desk. Natasha and Steve talked behind me.

"Doin' anything Saturday night?" Natasha said to Steve as the pair browsed the channels.

I turned back to the blueprint. A curl of my hand summoned a faint glow at my finger tips. I continued to stretch my fingers, warming up my abilities, before focusing on summoning the light around me to create a source.

I waved my hands around the ball of light energy I formed, then channeled more energy into converting it into physical matter.

"Well, all the guys in my barber shop quartet are dead, so no, not really," Steve said, bringing my attention back to his and Natasha's conversation.

"Coming on the drop zone," the pilot's voice from the intercom warned.

Steve and Natasha headed my way. I was able to create a physical platform from the light I had summoned. Steve tapped his knuckle against it and nodded approvingly.

Over the wind, Natasha yelled, "You know, if you asked Kristen from Statistics out, she'd probably say yes."

"That's why I don't ask," he yelled back, adjusting his helmet. He turned to face me.