[ Steve's got his hands and legs for weapons, but he could really use his shield right about now. He wonders if it was destroyed in the Storm with the rest of Earth.
It'd be a damn shame if it was. That shield meant a little more to him than he'd like to admit. After all, it wasn't just a weapon, but it was a symbol and an artifact that connected his lives together from the War to the modern-day Accords.
Conversationally: ]
Not everyone would think to patrol the camp for possible threats.
[ His footsteps are silent, he doesn't try to start conversation — but they fall into step seamlessly. Left and right, walking quietly through the undergrowth. Once upon a time he knew what it was like to work as a team. The instinct hasn't left him, it's just been asleep. ]
You're unarmed.
[ 76 has his gun, so does Ana, and it's unusual for a soldier not to be carrying one, or at least a knife. ]
Didn't think to bring one to the end of the world.
[ That and it had been left behind.
Still, it does make him feel a little vulnerable, being weaponless. If not his shield, he'd often be within close enough range of a gun or a small boot-knife. And failing that, he always had Natasha.
He suddenly finds the lack of Natasha on this planet, awake and ready to tease him, even more palpable than usual - not that it shows. ]
[ Not that it shows — and neither of them are threatened by the other's presence. He knows better than to say they're not guarded, simply means lack of active conflict. ]
How good are we talking? [ He looks at Steve with a brief quirk of the brow. ] I've seen a man punch through steel.
[ Bruce gives him a wry look — why does it sound like Steve probably would have if he could? ]
She's a special case. [ So's Clark, but he's trying to stay on the DL, so Bruce doesn't bring him up along with Diana. ] We call them metahumans, if they're not aliens. What about you?
It's stuff Steve doesn't quite understand, not in all of its scientific jargon anyway, but their DNA changed or they were born with that X-gene and they're different as a result. Powerful.
There are a few of them, a couple on his team. Experiments. Genetic 'miracles.'
And then there's him, a man who could barely call himself a man once, but now feels like his physical body matches the strength of his heart. ]
Or, in my case, super-soldiers.
[ It's no secret who and what he is, and he sees no reason to hide it from anyone here. ]
[ Super-soldiers in the DCU are bad news. But he thinks of Bucky in the same thought as Slade Wilson. Human squared. Common enough to have a designation. ]
Well, up until recently I used to think I was the only super-soldier around. Turns out that's not the case.
[ The Winter Soldier project more or less made that much clear. And if the Russians were tampering with a super-soldier serum, who knows who else might have had armies of their own before the Storm hit?
Maybe they're in some of those pods right now; it's hard to say. ]
Mutants, however, they're a species of their own. There were a lot of them around, all with powers of their own.
Someone more knowledgeable than me probably has a better answer for that. [ Steve admits. Yes, his answer is vague, but he's not exactly confident he can answer Bruce's questions with 100% certainty. There's a lot he doesn't know, a lot they don't tell soldiers like him - captain or not. ] I can only speak for myself and what little I've seen.
I'll admit, I've never really been much of a science guy either.
[ For being forthcoming about it. Bruce himself wouldn't be giving such straight answers. Wry, ]
And I thought one was enough trouble.
[ He doesn't resent Clark — well, anymore. But regardless, the world changed when he flew across the sky. The metahuman thesis finally solidified. And they have proof. ]
But Steve leaves it at that - for now. He does have to wonder whether Alan's going to look into it after all, find someone who can tell him a little more about mutants and supersoldiers. The only experts Steve knows are dead now, or maybe - like Peggy - they're asleep in pods, just waiting for that chance to be woken up.
Either way, it's not as important as the matter at hand.
Steve gestures for the other man to lead the way towards the edge of the forest brush where they can begin their unofficial patrol around the perimeter. ]
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no subject
[ Steve's got his hands and legs for weapons, but he could really use his shield right about now. He wonders if it was destroyed in the Storm with the rest of Earth.
It'd be a damn shame if it was. That shield meant a little more to him than he'd like to admit. After all, it wasn't just a weapon, but it was a symbol and an artifact that connected his lives together from the War to the modern-day Accords.
Conversationally: ]
Not everyone would think to patrol the camp for possible threats.
no subject
You're unarmed.
[ 76 has his gun, so does Ana, and it's unusual for a soldier not to be carrying one, or at least a knife. ]
no subject
[ That and it had been left behind.
Still, it does make him feel a little vulnerable, being weaponless. If not his shield, he'd often be within close enough range of a gun or a small boot-knife. And failing that, he always had Natasha.
He suddenly finds the lack of Natasha on this planet, awake and ready to tease him, even more palpable than usual - not that it shows. ]
But I throw a good punch.
no subject
How good are we talking? [ He looks at Steve with a brief quirk of the brow. ] I've seen a man punch through steel.
no subject
Through steel, huh? [ Probably not HYDRA-related. Can't be. ] Well I can't say I've ever done that before.
no subject
She's a special case. [ So's Clark, but he's trying to stay on the DL, so Bruce doesn't bring him up along with Diana. ] We call them metahumans, if they're not aliens. What about you?
no subject
[ Their DNA's got that special gene.
It's stuff Steve doesn't quite understand, not in all of its scientific jargon anyway, but their DNA changed or they were born with that X-gene and they're different as a result. Powerful.
There are a few of them, a couple on his team. Experiments. Genetic 'miracles.'
And then there's him, a man who could barely call himself a man once, but now feels like his physical body matches the strength of his heart. ]
Or, in my case, super-soldiers.
[ It's no secret who and what he is, and he sees no reason to hide it from anyone here. ]
no subject
How many are there?
no subject
[ In Steve's experience (and knowledge), there are good and bad of both. That complicates things ... a lot. ]
no subject
[ Why not both, if he's offering. ]
no subject
Well, up until recently I used to think I was the only super-soldier around. Turns out that's not the case.
[ The Winter Soldier project more or less made that much clear. And if the Russians were tampering with a super-soldier serum, who knows who else might have had armies of their own before the Storm hit?
Maybe they're in some of those pods right now; it's hard to say. ]
Mutants, however, they're a species of their own. There were a lot of them around, all with powers of their own.
no subject
A whole species?
[ His mind runs to experimental labs, government weapon projects, black sites. ]
Newly emerged, or always around?
no subject
I'll admit, I've never really been much of a science guy either.
no subject
[ For being forthcoming about it. Bruce himself wouldn't be giving such straight answers. Wry, ]
And I thought one was enough trouble.
[ He doesn't resent Clark — well, anymore. But regardless, the world changed when he flew across the sky. The metahuman thesis finally solidified. And they have proof. ]
ftb.
[ Plenty enough, in fact.
But Steve leaves it at that - for now. He does have to wonder whether Alan's going to look into it after all, find someone who can tell him a little more about mutants and supersoldiers. The only experts Steve knows are dead now, or maybe - like Peggy - they're asleep in pods, just waiting for that chance to be woken up.
Either way, it's not as important as the matter at hand.
Steve gestures for the other man to lead the way towards the edge of the forest brush where they can begin their unofficial patrol around the perimeter. ]