A Whole New World.
A man out of time.
July 4, 2012
I felt a light pressure on my head as I slept, and it forced me to open my eyes. The sensation tickled my hair lightly, and it wasn’t going away. Curious as to what was causing the odd feeling; I peered up at Tony Stark’s goateed face as the billionaire technology addict grinned down at me. “Happy birthday, Gramps.” Tony greeted me. I sat up in my bed, in MY apartment, wondering how Tony managed to sneak in. Whatever Tony had placed on my head was still there, and I got up and moved to the mirror. On my head was a pair of round black ears. Not understanding what was going on, I turned back to my close friend.
“What is this, Stark?” I demanded, pointing up at the odd hat. Tony just laughed and tossed me a pair of pants to pull over my underwear, which I did so quickly, suddenly embarrassed that I had been caught sleeping without any trousers on. Once I had buttoned a shirt on over my broad chest and added my leather jacket, I followed Tony out of the apartment. Not wanting to look like a fool, I pulled off the ears. We got into one of his snazzy cars, and Tony started to drive through the streets of New York. I didn’t bother asking where we were going, but as soon as we started to reach the airport, I knew. “Don’t think you can get me in that thing again, Stark. I never could get used to the flying beast back in my day, what makes you think I can now?” I said.
Tony stopped his car right next to his jet, and I frowned at him. “Get out and get in the plane. And put your ears back on, you’ll look like an ass without them.” Tony reprimanded. I sighed and followed him up the stairs into the jet. Natasha Romanoff stood up from her seat as we entered the jet, and she beamed up at me before kissing my cheek. “Happy birthday, Cap.” She said as I blushed. “Thank you, ma’am.” I muttered, slightly flustered. Bruce Banner and Clint Barton both nodded their acknowledgment to me, and Thor, the “god of thunder” (god, my rear end) stood up and clapped me on the back. “Happy day of birth, Captain of America.” He said with a giant grin that matched his large face.
“Thank you, Thor. Where exactly are we all going, Stark?” I asked. Clint held up his beer bottle and chuckled. “I’m going to Disney World, bitches!” he shouted. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “What exactly is Disney World?” “You’ve never heard of Disney World, Steve? You’ve been unfrozen for two years. How do you not know what Disney is?” Bruce asked. I took my seat as the pilot announced takeoff, and buckled my seatbelt quickly. “I don’t know… It’s not as if you bother teaching me these things…” I said softly. “It’s the happiest place on earth, Steve. That’s what it is.” Natasha said. Tony scoffed from his seat. “The happiest place on earth is actually my bed, but if that’s how you want it to be.” He said.
It took two hours until we landed in Orlando, Florida, and from there, Tony had a long black car (they called it a “limo”) pick us up. I took in the view of palm trees and small houses as we passed them, until finally we stopped in front of a lot of people. My eyes widened as my friends led me through line after line, until we were inside the place. “Welcome to Magic Kingdom, Steve Rogers.” Tony said softly, pushing me through a small group of people (that all stared up at me, of course. I’m not exactly small) to show me a cartoon mouse head made out of flowers. “Where are we going first?” Clint wondered as he stared distastefully down at some small children running around nearby. “I want to go on Pirates of the Caribbean and find me a Johnny Depp lookalike.” Natasha said. “I would much rather be in Epcot. But since we’ve got to be fairy princesses for Steve, I’d like to go on Space Mountain.” Tony said.
I was extremely confused by everything that they were saying, so I occupied myself with staring at the train that stood in front of me. Natasha nudged me, and she pulled me through the crowd with the others. “I feel like we don’t fit in here.” Bruce said quietly as we gained more and more stares. All of a sudden, a small boy caught my eye. He was walking around with a replica of my shield. It was like time froze as he noticed me. “Mommy! It’s Cap America!” he shouted, pointing at me. I felt a grin spread across my face, and he ran over to me. His mom followed, and I knelt down to be at eye level with the small child. “What’s your name, son?” I asked. “Steve!” he responded with a big grin. I looked up at his mother, and she nodded to confirm it. “You saved my life in New York City two years ago. I found it appropriate to name the miracle you kept alive after you.” She explained.
My friends smiled around me, and I took the shield from the little boy. “Anyone got something to write with?” I asked. Tony handed me a marker, and I wrote something across the boy’s shield. He wrapped his small arms around me, and I smiled again and hugged his tiny frame. “I’ll see you around, Steve.” I said to him. I saluted, and everyone laughed as he saluted me back. “See you, Cap!” he called back. My heart was warm as I walked with my friends towards the first “ride” we were supposed to go on, and the day was off to a good start.
I thought it was off to a good start, at least, until a scary looking woman approached us. She wore a large white fur coat, and her hair was half black and half white. I grimaced as she reached out and touched my shoulder, cackling. “My, aren’t you pretty?” she said. “Relax, Steve. She’s just acting.” Clint whispered to me quietly. “Hey, Cruella? Why don’t you go flirt with someone a bit more animalistic. I hear you like animals. I bet Goofy’s available.” Tony said. I watched as “Cruella” withdrew her hand from me, and she glared at Tony. “I’d love to make a leather coat out of you.” She snarled, and Tony laughed in her face. “I’m like a cereal box. Wait until you see what surprise I’ve got inside.” He retorted.
Finally uninterrupted, we reached the line for Space Mountain. It was ridiculously long, and we all got cranky quickly in the hour-long waiting period. When we finally got on the ride, I was terrified to see that we were basically completely in the dark. We shot off suddenly, and I fought the urge to scream like Nat currently was from beside Clint. Just as soon as it started, it was over. My legs were wobbly, and I walked out of the ride with a lot of difficulty. “Why don’t we take him on something a little easier? Like the Dumbo ride?” Clint said. Tony nudged him and whispered something, and the two of them took off without the rest of us. “I would like to go on the fast ride again, Black Widow. I enjoy the space.” Thor said loudly. Natasha giggled at the scene the Asgardian was causing, and I was glad to not be alone in my lack of understanding of these traditions. Nat led Thor to the end of the line for Space Mountain so that he could go again, and she came back and sat down beside me. “Are you hungry, Steve? I can buy you an ice cream, if you’d like…” she offered. I perked up at the sound of ice cream, and Nat laughed. If there was one thing I loved, it was food.
However, before she could leave to get me food, Tony and Clint reappeared. “Come along, Captain.” Clint said with a giant grin. We followed them through the park, and reached a restaurant. They led us inside, and Tony raised an eyebrow. “Where the hell is thunder boy?” he demanded. “Space Mountain appealed to him. I bet he’ll spend the rest of the day there.” Bruce spoke up. I took a seat at the table we were seated at and rested my chin in my hand. “Told you this wasn’t a good idea.” Tony whispered to Natasha as they went to get food from the buffet. Characters were walking through the restaurant, and I stared at them, trying to adjust to the complex idea of fun that I was being faced with.
But Tony was right. It wasn’t a good idea. As fun as it all was, as entertaining as the “Mickey Mouse” ears that had made their way back onto my head were, or the rides that took us to an entirely different place every time were, I truly didn’t belong. I really was a man out of time. But as a giant fluffy bear (Clint called him “Poo” but I thought that was quite rude even for his standards) came over and hugged me, I realized that I was going to make sure that I had a damn good time for my best friends. The Avengers.
I felt a light pressure on my head as I slept, and it forced me to open my eyes. The sensation tickled my hair lightly, and it wasn’t going away. Curious as to what was causing the odd feeling; I peered up at Tony Stark’s goateed face as the billionaire technology addict grinned down at me. “Happy birthday, Gramps.” Tony greeted me. I sat up in my bed, in MY apartment, wondering how Tony managed to sneak in. Whatever Tony had placed on my head was still there, and I got up and moved to the mirror. On my head was a pair of round black ears. Not understanding what was going on, I turned back to my close friend.
“What is this, Stark?” I demanded, pointing up at the odd hat. Tony just laughed and tossed me a pair of pants to pull over my underwear, which I did so quickly, suddenly embarrassed that I had been caught sleeping without any trousers on. Once I had buttoned a shirt on over my broad chest and added my leather jacket, I followed Tony out of the apartment. Not wanting to look like a fool, I pulled off the ears. We got into one of his snazzy cars, and Tony started to drive through the streets of New York. I didn’t bother asking where we were going, but as soon as we started to reach the airport, I knew. “Don’t think you can get me in that thing again, Stark. I never could get used to the flying beast back in my day, what makes you think I can now?” I said.
Tony stopped his car right next to his jet, and I frowned at him. “Get out and get in the plane. And put your ears back on, you’ll look like an ass without them.” Tony reprimanded. I sighed and followed him up the stairs into the jet. Natasha Romanoff stood up from her seat as we entered the jet, and she beamed up at me before kissing my cheek. “Happy birthday, Cap.” She said as I blushed. “Thank you, ma’am.” I muttered, slightly flustered. Bruce Banner and Clint Barton both nodded their acknowledgment to me, and Thor, the “god of thunder” (god, my rear end) stood up and clapped me on the back. “Happy day of birth, Captain of America.” He said with a giant grin that matched his large face.
“Thank you, Thor. Where exactly are we all going, Stark?” I asked. Clint held up his beer bottle and chuckled. “I’m going to Disney World, bitches!” he shouted. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “What exactly is Disney World?” “You’ve never heard of Disney World, Steve? You’ve been unfrozen for two years. How do you not know what Disney is?” Bruce asked. I took my seat as the pilot announced takeoff, and buckled my seatbelt quickly. “I don’t know… It’s not as if you bother teaching me these things…” I said softly. “It’s the happiest place on earth, Steve. That’s what it is.” Natasha said. Tony scoffed from his seat. “The happiest place on earth is actually my bed, but if that’s how you want it to be.” He said.
It took two hours until we landed in Orlando, Florida, and from there, Tony had a long black car (they called it a “limo”) pick us up. I took in the view of palm trees and small houses as we passed them, until finally we stopped in front of a lot of people. My eyes widened as my friends led me through line after line, until we were inside the place. “Welcome to Magic Kingdom, Steve Rogers.” Tony said softly, pushing me through a small group of people (that all stared up at me, of course. I’m not exactly small) to show me a cartoon mouse head made out of flowers. “Where are we going first?” Clint wondered as he stared distastefully down at some small children running around nearby. “I want to go on Pirates of the Caribbean and find me a Johnny Depp lookalike.” Natasha said. “I would much rather be in Epcot. But since we’ve got to be fairy princesses for Steve, I’d like to go on Space Mountain.” Tony said.
I was extremely confused by everything that they were saying, so I occupied myself with staring at the train that stood in front of me. Natasha nudged me, and she pulled me through the crowd with the others. “I feel like we don’t fit in here.” Bruce said quietly as we gained more and more stares. All of a sudden, a small boy caught my eye. He was walking around with a replica of my shield. It was like time froze as he noticed me. “Mommy! It’s Cap America!” he shouted, pointing at me. I felt a grin spread across my face, and he ran over to me. His mom followed, and I knelt down to be at eye level with the small child. “What’s your name, son?” I asked. “Steve!” he responded with a big grin. I looked up at his mother, and she nodded to confirm it. “You saved my life in New York City two years ago. I found it appropriate to name the miracle you kept alive after you.” She explained.
My friends smiled around me, and I took the shield from the little boy. “Anyone got something to write with?” I asked. Tony handed me a marker, and I wrote something across the boy’s shield. He wrapped his small arms around me, and I smiled again and hugged his tiny frame. “I’ll see you around, Steve.” I said to him. I saluted, and everyone laughed as he saluted me back. “See you, Cap!” he called back. My heart was warm as I walked with my friends towards the first “ride” we were supposed to go on, and the day was off to a good start.
I thought it was off to a good start, at least, until a scary looking woman approached us. She wore a large white fur coat, and her hair was half black and half white. I grimaced as she reached out and touched my shoulder, cackling. “My, aren’t you pretty?” she said. “Relax, Steve. She’s just acting.” Clint whispered to me quietly. “Hey, Cruella? Why don’t you go flirt with someone a bit more animalistic. I hear you like animals. I bet Goofy’s available.” Tony said. I watched as “Cruella” withdrew her hand from me, and she glared at Tony. “I’d love to make a leather coat out of you.” She snarled, and Tony laughed in her face. “I’m like a cereal box. Wait until you see what surprise I’ve got inside.” He retorted.
Finally uninterrupted, we reached the line for Space Mountain. It was ridiculously long, and we all got cranky quickly in the hour-long waiting period. When we finally got on the ride, I was terrified to see that we were basically completely in the dark. We shot off suddenly, and I fought the urge to scream like Nat currently was from beside Clint. Just as soon as it started, it was over. My legs were wobbly, and I walked out of the ride with a lot of difficulty. “Why don’t we take him on something a little easier? Like the Dumbo ride?” Clint said. Tony nudged him and whispered something, and the two of them took off without the rest of us. “I would like to go on the fast ride again, Black Widow. I enjoy the space.” Thor said loudly. Natasha giggled at the scene the Asgardian was causing, and I was glad to not be alone in my lack of understanding of these traditions. Nat led Thor to the end of the line for Space Mountain so that he could go again, and she came back and sat down beside me. “Are you hungry, Steve? I can buy you an ice cream, if you’d like…” she offered. I perked up at the sound of ice cream, and Nat laughed. If there was one thing I loved, it was food.
However, before she could leave to get me food, Tony and Clint reappeared. “Come along, Captain.” Clint said with a giant grin. We followed them through the park, and reached a restaurant. They led us inside, and Tony raised an eyebrow. “Where the hell is thunder boy?” he demanded. “Space Mountain appealed to him. I bet he’ll spend the rest of the day there.” Bruce spoke up. I took a seat at the table we were seated at and rested my chin in my hand. “Told you this wasn’t a good idea.” Tony whispered to Natasha as they went to get food from the buffet. Characters were walking through the restaurant, and I stared at them, trying to adjust to the complex idea of fun that I was being faced with.
But Tony was right. It wasn’t a good idea. As fun as it all was, as entertaining as the “Mickey Mouse” ears that had made their way back onto my head were, or the rides that took us to an entirely different place every time were, I truly didn’t belong. I really was a man out of time. But as a giant fluffy bear (Clint called him “Poo” but I thought that was quite rude even for his standards) came over and hugged me, I realized that I was going to make sure that I had a damn good time for my best friends. The Avengers.