A Time of Gods

She made her way in to the restricted headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the guise of the Black Cat, using the main and proper channels and not sneaking in, as was her usual style. She felt more at ease around the high tech weapons and trained assains if she was in character.

If she were being honest with herself, Cat would have gone in to headquarters regardless. The infamous curiousity that was woven in to her very nature would have bested her in the end. Yet her 'orders' brought back the three day old memory of a certain trickster and Cat now shook her head in an attempt to rid her mind of the recurring thoughts. When her eyes closed she could feel those cool albastor fingers tracing her suple skin in the ever so suggestive manner. It had been such a tender action, with an underlying element of preternatural danger.

In the office of Nick Fury she turned her conflicting thoughts to other matters.

"I see you've stepped up security since I was here last," Cat mused, glancing to the glass wall that looked out on an abundance selction of employees. "And did I spy a hawk?"

"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with, you've made that quite clear."

Cat refrained from childish eyerolling but her words didn't follow suit, "Because I'm only here to speak to Mr. Freeze. My apologies, I forgot that I was now employed as your divisions personal therapist."

"I would employ Bruce Banner as a therapist before you got the job," Fury shot back with a tight lipped smile.

Cat leaned back in the chair, crossing one slender leg over the other. "But it's not Banner you need right now, is it?"



Cat watched him from above, balanced high up in the rafters. It appeared that he was focused solely on the heavyweight punching bag in front of him, while his mind raced with other things. His frustrations were relieved to a temporary degree every time a superhuman fist connected with the red leather.
Steve thought of his current situation. He had been known for his positivity and goodwill, yet since waking, Steve Rogers found a bitter ice surrounding his heart.

Why couldn't they let him be? To simply remain in his state of frozen animation until the end of things.

At this thought the bag tore from it's restrictive hooks and flew the length of the room. Sand flying in it's wake.
The perfect time for Cat to make her entrance.

Jumping down from her perch, she landed on all fours with the agility and grace she was known for.
Though her landing was like rainfall on moss, Steve span around when he heard the intruder. He hadn't expected to be confronted by anything or anyone, instead believing the noise was just the sound of the old building groaning and his super-sensitive hearing had caught it.

He wasn't prepared for Cat.
She was standing upright now, with her gloved hands on her hips, and a playful smile on her lips.
Steve didn't know what to do. No training had prepared him for her. He had never been good with women, he didn't have the confidence of Thor Odinson or Tony Stark, or even the natural charm of Clint Barton.
He had never even been on a proper date.
There was Peggy Carter, and she was beautiful, but she hadn't presented herself like these modern women. Steve was fast becoming accustomed to the dress of modern women, how they revealed more than was considered 'proper'. Though the costumes of heroes and villains were something else entirely.

Even Black Widow's costume was a tad more conservative than Cat's attire.
Black Leather? yes.
Form fitting? yes.
Revealing, well Cat won on that front.

"Captain, my Captain." Cat curtsied in mockery.

"Who are you?"

"I'm known as Black Cat, but you can call me Felicia." The name rolled off her tongue with relative ease, while in the guise of Cat, she didn't deal with the formality of birth names. Though she wasn't in danger - the authorities knew her true identity, she still found this process unfamiliar.

"What are you doing here?" Steve didn't mean to be so sharp, but the punch-bag hadn't rid him of all the anger bubbling inside.

"I asked to meet you."
It was a lie, wrapped in faint truth. Nick Fury had asked her to meet with Steve Rogers when all else to connect him to this modern world seemed to be failing. Though Cat had secretly wanted the meeting.

Was this yet another fan meeting for Captain America?
He hoped she wasn't bat-shit crazy like some of the others.

"You changed my life."

Steve's heart sank. Another fan. He really wasn't in the right frame of mind to deal with people.

"Glad I could help."

"Oh you didn't 'help', believe me." The bright green eyes of Felicia Hardy narrowed.
This finally got Steve's full attention. He had clearly never met this woman before, surely he would remember if he had. How could he have affected her life in a negative way?
"When the world presumed you dead, and with Erskine gone before he could commit his formula to paper, new serums were developed by the thousand. Few came close to satisfaction. No test subject matched the Great Captain America." Cat took another step towards him. "I was the last experiment, the closest they've come. I was built in your image."

"You agreed to test the serum?" Steve asked in awe. He was still very much aware of the vigorous training he had received in preparation for his own change, and what had driven him to sign up. The need which drove him to continually put himself through heartache and rejection so that he would be a part of war. The need to serve his country.

Cat knew he was looking at her now, but she didn't meet those blue eyes. "I had no choice. It was the demand of an evil man in exchange for my fathers safe return home."

"Where is your father now?"

"He died." She noticed his face fall. How could this stranger feel anything for her loss. He didn't know her. And Felicia - the true Felicia - immediately felt guilty for sharing her loss with this man. A man who had suffered more loss in his short, broken time-line than most are unfortunate enough to witness in a full life.

"I can't compare my story to yours. I didn't wake up to find everyone I know and love gone." She paused and gingerly placed a hand one of his toned, broad shoulders. Steve froze at the contact. "Everyone leaves," she said softly. "It may be difficult to do so, but you should look at this as your second chance. You were brought back when the world needed you."

"The world has coped fine without me." Steve said nonchalantly, his voice low.

"The fickle nature of the human race causes the faith in heroes to dwindle. Everything is taken for granted." Cat couldn't fully disguise the bitterness in her voice. "But they need the clambering green giant. They need the thunder God. Hell, they even need the...what was it you said? big man in an iron suit." Cat smiled, her hand moving from his shoulder to his bare arm so he would look at her again. This time their eyes locked. "Most of all they need their Captain. The symbol of hope and freedom. The average Joe turned superhero."

For the first time since 1945 a genuine smile crossed Steve's lips. "Do they just send you in whenever a pathetic so-called hero needs a pep-talk?"

"I only work special cases."
Cat moved her hand to reach into her suit, and pulled a small ivory card from her bra.
She handed it to Steve with a flick of her wrist, "In case you ever need a friend."
Cat leaned up to kiss the corner of his mouth. Had her actions not been so fluid, Steve would have blushed more fervently than was acceptable for a grown man as he watched her stalk away into the darkness.