Chapter Text
Chapter Fifty-Nine
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Agent Carter couldn’t tell them what Mia was up to because Mia had bolted as soon as she entered Switzerland.
Figures.
It was funny enough that Peter wasn’t even angry at Mia for doing it. Giving the feds the slip is always entertaining to hear about, even with Agent Carter doing her best to make it sound like a fluke.
But it wasn’t until today, almost two weeks later, did he find out why Mia had done it.
He’d been sitting at the breakfast nook, working through his syllabi and first batch of homework while working on his dinner, did a snippet of news catch his attention on the little TV set above the fridge.
It was an old thing, Aunt May had to constantly slap it to get the connection to work. Today, it was functioning well, as he listened with one ear to the evening news. “Onto the search of the rogue Avengers; over a month since the controversial Raft prison system was broken into, none of the former occupants have been re-arrested. Tony Stark has made a successful claim to freedom, while the rest remain at large, whereabouts unknown. Today, the President has made an interesting announcement…”
The TV cut to press conference footage at the White House, where President Ellis stood at the podium. A tall man dressed in a dark blue suit with a white star and red-and-white striping down his midsection stood next to him at attention. “It is my pleasure to introduce the citizens of these United States to our new champion of truth, justice, and the American way — Captain America! Please give him a warm welcome…”
Peter almost dropped his fork, but before he even heard the next words he knew immediately that wasn’t Steve Rogers. This man was a little too short, and the outfit was completely new. So, too, was the shield. Painted like Cap’s vibranium shield, certainly looked like one, a very good-looking replica — but it wasn’t the real deal. It probably wasn’t even vibranium.
A dollar-store replacement.
The TV cut back to the anchor. “After the disappearance of the former Captain America, the current Ellis administration has disavowed any and all actions he has made since the Sokovia Accords took effect. According to the White House Press Secretary, this new Captain America had been determined from a series of very selective trials. While his identity remains private, the White House assures that this man is a decorated war hero, and a graduate of West Point, he has already been tried and tested on the battlefield…”
“Gross,” Peter muttered under his breath, turning back to his homework with a more depressed air. The administration couldn’t replace the entirety of the Avengers, not so soon (and with so few contenders), but it didn’t surprise him that Captain America was the first one they replaced. Steve had always insisted he represented the people, not the government, of America. It seemed the government had different ideas, now that he was on the run.
An idle checking of Twitter and Reddit showed that this new announcement was not going down very well, which improved Peter’s mood a little. He was so busy doom-scrolling he almost didn’t catch the following announcement.
“For international news, you may have already seen the striking images of a massive satellite falling out of orbit…” The anchor began, and Peter only glanced up when the shot changed to handheld recordings of a massive something falling out of the sky, on fire and falling to pieces. He nearly dropped his phone. “This footage was posted online only ten hours ago, deep in Siberia. The landing set a record number on the Richter scale, and was felt as far away as London…”
Peter gaped at the screen, frowning in dismay at the terrible size of what was definitely not some regular satellite. The thing had to be at least as big as the International Space Station, and that was the biggest one out there. No way this black vertical monolith was built for orbiting planets. Might as well be an alien ship for all they know. Wouldn’t be the first time.
“Russian officials state this is an old Cold War-era satellite that finally fell out of orbit and has safely crash-landed to earth. No casualties are reported, though the event has certainly raised questions among the international community, such as the purpose of this satellite and why there was no prior warning to its sudden failure…”
Something tickled at the back of Peter’s mind, and he wondered, what if…
His phone started to ring.
Carter.
He picked up immediately. “Hello?”
“Peter. This is Agent Carter,” She began, as if he didn’t already have her in his contacts list. “ I already left a message for your aunt, sounds like she’s still at work? So I’m calling you, too. Mia’s coming home.”
Peter froze. Almost laughed. “Oh, for real, this time?”
She sighed heavily. “Yes. For real. ”
“Is she there? Can I talk to her?” Peter refused to believe it until he heard it coming from Mia herself. And if he could talk to her, then he could guilt-trip her into not pulling that kind of bullshit again for a second time. No, third time!
“She’s not here yet,” Carter said reluctantly, and at the sound Peter made, she added, “But she’ll be here soon. I already have transport ready to fly home in a few hours. Don’t worry, Peter — this time, she’s with an escort, and they won’t let her get away this time.”
“What kind of escort?” Peter asked, looking back up at the news footage of the crash site. Maybe it was just his eyes, or the blurry capture, but it sure looked like a lot of furniture had been tossed up in that wreckage. Like that “satellite” had been habitable.
“Can’t say, but they’re personally invested in her return as well,” Agent Carter said. “Twenty-four hours from now, and she should be home. I’ll make sure of it.”
Her promises meant nothing to Peter, but for once, he almost allowed himself to believe it.