happiness_is



Recent bookmarks

  1. Public Bookmark *

    Tags
    Summary

    The phone shows a photo of the Captain kneeling on a mat in the middle of a nearly empty room. He wears thin gray pants and a white shirt. He looks tired. The Soldier notes that automatically, as part of cataloging the weaknesses of a potential opponent, but the thought lingers longer than it should. The Captain is enhanced like the Soldier, but better, his serum more powerful. He still looks tired.

    The Soldier swipes to the next photo. It shows the Captain from behind, his wrists and ankles caught in thick coils of strange bindings. They shine midnight blue in the soft light, their surface smooth and reflective, unlike any rope the Soldier has seen before. They look seamless and strong.

    “You benched him,” the Soldier says, slow and uncertain. The pictures have him off-balance. He remembers--not this, not this strong back and broad shoulders, but this pose, this hair above a much thinner neck. A handkerchief held in two bony fists, and don't let go or I'll stop, Stevie--

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    7,323
    Chapters:
    2/2
    Comments:
    46
    Kudos:
    1,063
    Bookmarks:
    212
    Hits:
    9,744

    05 Sep 2022

  2. Public Bookmark *

    Tags
    Summary

    The asset is programmed not to strike a handler. Not to struggle no matter who is doing what to it. And it complies. The asset is programmed not to shy away when technicians approach torch-first to take it apart and put it back together in the name of science, research, progress. And it complies. The asset is programmed not to object to the mouth guard, the restraints, the chair. Not to beg or plead when it is left empty and hungry in its cryo tube. And it complies. The asset is programmed not to so much as consider harming an operator, the highest of all members of the organization. And...

    And if the silent, liquid fury in the asset’s eyes is any indicator, the asset does not comply.

    (Or: The one where the asset is thawed out during the Chitauri attack on New York, escapes, and goes hunting for revenge with the Avengers hot on the trail.)

    Series
    Language:
    English
    Words:
    582,614
    Chapters:
    152/152
    Collections:
    3
    Comments:
    11,162
    Kudos:
    2,959
    Bookmarks:
    503
    Hits:
    152,153

    25 Aug 2022