Man Out of Time - A Captain America / Avengers Fanfiction

Chapter 11

Since this is a superhero story, it's time to turn the action back to … well … some action!

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Chapter 11

They sat clustered around the table, a round table, of course. What other type of table would any self-respecting architect have designed for the superhuman men and women who made up S.H.I.E.L.D.? Not only did the round table remind the assembled super-egos they were here for a larger purpose, but it also solved the very practical problem of seating no superhero above, or below, the other. Enormous video screens rose from desktop to ceiling, a different part of today's briefing displayed on each screen. Laser pointer in hand, Nick Fury circled the room making his presentation. By not standing in one place, no single Avenger could accuse the S.H.I.E.L.D. director of playing favorites.

Steve noted what Fury was doing. Soothe one ego here. Stroke another there. Put this arrogant S.O.B. back in their place. Smooth it over so the one slighted did not seethe. A maestro, conducting his high-strung, extremely volatile orchestra. So very different from commanding a battalion of enlisted men … and yet not so different now that he was picking things apart and scrutinizing them. The men Steve had taken command of when he'd rescued the 101st Airborne from Red Skull's fortress had served under fire together for years during the Great War. The Avengers, with the exception of Clint Hawkeye and Natasha, had only recently been assembled from their separate missions.

His eyes drifted over to the empty seat at the table. Black Widow. Someday soon they were going to have to acknowledge she wasn't ever going to wake up and find somebody else to fill that seat. Hawkeye … he might as well be missing. He sat next to his lovers' empty seat, as though guarding it, his expression exhausted from too many weeks sitting at her side, pleading with her to come back from whatever trauma had left her body an empty shell.

"Commander Rogers," Fury said, giving him a pointed look. "Do you care to enlighten us what you found?"

"Oh … yes," Steve said, realizing his mind had drifted away from the briefing. He stood and took the laser pointer from Fury's hand, forcing himself to walk around the room as though he were inspecting a line of troops rather than stand in one place. Fury handled the Avengers with a firm hand. If Steve was going to lead them, it was time he learned that same skill.

"After Red Skull blew up the technology in his fortress," Steve said. "Howard Stark became obsessed with trying to piece together alien technology and see what it did. Some of this we know…"

Steve searched for the correct button on the remote control, fumbling as the first button he hit was the wrong one and the screen slid back to an earlier slide. Stark snickered. A five-year-old had more familiarity with the technology Steve had trouble grasping. He could fly any plane, shoot any gun, or lead a battalion of men straight through the gates of hell, but he still hadn't figured out how to make the clock on his microwave do something other than flash '12:00 – 12:00 – 12:00' no matter how many times he read the instruction manual.

"It's the big red one," Stark said, his dark goatee and impish grin giving him the appearance of a devil. "You can't miss it."

Steve suppressed his annoyance and hit the big red button. The picture changed to the slide he wanted to show. If he let Stark know he was succeeding in riling him, it would undermine his command.

"Thanks," Steve said, giving him a neutral response that did not match the irritation clenching in his gut. The last time he had felt this frustrated was when the USO had gone to France to perform his Captain America act for the remnants of the 101st Airborne and they'd thrown tomatoes at him. He'd responded by going AWOL and rescuing the missing members of their party, proving them all wrong. What he needed to do now was another show of leadership to prove himself all over again. Only this time, instead of him being the superhero leading a troop of ordinary men, he was the most ordinary member of the group. If he was going to win their respect, it would be his ability to coordinate successful missions which would win them over.