บท 95: Lorraine
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07
—
06th October, 1945:
Pvt Lorraine Smith had spent the last five days casing the barn in the middle of nowhere, Wyoming. The closest house was 45 miles away, which was a part of the town of Alcova, and the town wasn't even that big. At most 50 people lived there.
And the placing of the Barn was such that not many people would even see it unless they went out of their way to look for it.
But she wasn't worried, not after these five days anyway. Sure, there had been other visitors to the place, all of them in disguises, but she recognised almost all of them as her former allies during the war. The Howling Commandos. The one man she didn't recognise was not someone she thought.. dangerous. He had all the mannerisms of a butler, or an errand boy for someone rich.
Which is why, on the date specified on the letter she had gotten, 0610, Lorraine is completely prepared, ready in her old Army uniform with a gun in her hand, as she knocks on the door to the barn, and opens it after a second.
Inside, she comes face to face with the barrel of a Winchester 1897 shotgun. Instead of being intimidated, or even bringing her own gun up, Lorraine looks at the owner of the gun and says, "Hello, Officer Dugan. Nice to see you again."
Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan, the voice of reason and the most experienced soldier within the Howling Commandos.
The gun slowly drops down, but she could tell that Dugan would shoot her as soon as she tried anything against him, which she wasn't planning on doing.
"Smith?" Dugan asks, a bit surprised at her presence, which she understands.
Lorraine wasn't an important part of the SSR, not like the Howling Commandos, or the Colonel, or even Agent Peggy Carter. She was just the paper pusher who had the good fortune of being assigned by the Army to Colonel Phillips.
Nodding, Lorraine walks inside and finds the five remaining Howling Commandos all inside, a wide array of guns in their hands in order to defend themselves. Lorraine could certainly appreciate the vigilance. They may have walked into what could still be an ambush, but at least they weren't completely relaxed.
Along with Dugan, she could make out Gabe Jones, Jim Morita, James Falsworth, and Jacques Dernier. The Howling Commandos that had managed to survive.
She turns back towards Dugan, and says, "I received a letter from Agent Carter two weeks ago, summoning me here on this day similar to what I assume happened with you."
Dugan nods, and as he lights up a cigar, he says, "Something is definitely up. Peggy wouldn't call us out of retirement if it wasn't."
Falsworth snorts, and says, "Well it better be important, Jacques and I had to get here from a different continent, you know."
Lorraine smiles, and asks, "I assume you'd gotten together before today, to prepare for this day?"
Dugan smirks, and says, "We're the Howling Commandos, we know we don't have a shortage of people trying to kill us, Smith. We needed to make sure that this wasn't an ambush, and what better way than getting together a week before the date?"
Lorraine doesn't mention that if she wanted to kill them during the days they came to check on the barn, she had plenty of opportunities to do so.
Someone else snorts, and says, "Fat load of good that will do if the whole barn blows up, you dumbass."
The sound immediately makes her straighten up as all 6 people in the barn snap to attention, their hands automatically going in a salute.
"Colonel Phillips!" Dugan exclaims, once he had realized what he had done, and who had made it happen.
Phillips smiles from his position at the barn door, and says, "It's good to see you boys, Pvt Smith."
Lorraine smiles at her superior, and asks, "Do you know what this is about, Colonel?"
'If anyone other than Peggy knows what's happening, then it has to be him,' Lorraine thinks.
Phillips snorts, and says, "I'm just as blind as you are in this matter. Carter didn't tell me anything, and she'd been out of contact with the SSR for two days before we even got the letters."
"So.. we wait for Peggy then?" Dugan asks, frowning.
Suddenly, there's a soft sound of the engine of a car speeding towards the barn from a distance away, making everyone become silent once more. Dugan gets to the front, his shotgun extended, while Gabe Jones stays behind him, a sniper in his own hands, as he looks through the scope.
Bucky Barnes may have been the primary Sniper of the Howling Commandos, but the others weren't half bad at it. They could at least shoot a car that's coming straight towards them.
As the car finally comes into their sights, Jones sighs, and says, "It's Stark. As usual, he has no tact or any affinity towards stealth."
That proved an accurate description, when a very shiny and beautiful Pontiac stops near the barn door. Exiting out the door, Howard Stark takes off his sunglasses, and spreading his arms wide, he grins at them all, and says, "Dugan, you absolute bastard! How are you?"
"I was pretty fine before I had to see your ugly mug." Dugan drily says, as he catches Stark in a one sided hug, and as everyone walks back inside.
"I didn't know Stark was coming. No offense, but I thought this was going to be a mission, not.. a reunion." Morita says, from his spot on a metal chair that was kept next to the wall.
Jacques looks at him, and speaks something in rapid French. Jim looks confused, and calls out, "Gabe? What did he say?"
Chuckling, Gabe says, "He was asking if the world is ending, because Peggy called for Stark."
Lorraine stays silent, letting the men talk it out, having their reunion.
"Something's bothering you." Colonel Phillips says, as he glances at her.
Lorraine nods, wondering if she should say it. But Phillips just gives her a look that says 'you better explain.' Lorraine looks around, and sees that the others were also looking at her in expectation, so she says, "I can't help but wonder if this was a trap. All the remaining Howling Commandos, Colonel Phillips, Mr Stark, and Peggy, all at one place? If I hadn't spent the last five days keeping an eye on the barn and checking for explosives before that, I would have been more worried about an ambush. I just don't understand what the purpose for killing me would be."
The barn remains silent for a while, as the people think it over. She had a point, she knew that. As good as the Howling Commandos are, they didn't find her when she was hiding literally on top of a hill, so it is doubtful they would see an ambush coming.
Mason was always the better one at this, tracking and using his senses for the better, closely followed by Captain Rogers. But now.. they were just normal soldiers.
"Revenge, perhaps." Gabe voices out. When Lorraine looks at him, he explains, "It wasn't a secret that you were in a relationship with Mason. Maybe whoever called us here wants revenge against the SSR, or against Mason."
Lorraine nods, knowing that it's possible. She and Mason might not have been in a serious relationship, but they were close, and people knew it.
But then, who can imitate Peggy's handwriting so easily? Any decent spy, her mind supplies immediately.
She gets her gun back out, having kept it in the holster when Colonel Phillips had shown up, and sees the others do the same. As one, they share a look, and start walking towards the door, but right before they reach it, someone else walks through.
"Agent Carter!" Lorraine whispers, in relief.
That relief vanishes when Carter looks at them all, and says, "I didn't call you here."
"Sorry?" Falsworth asks.
Peggy looks at him, and says, "I've been here since the last 9 days, and I heard everything you spoke about. I didn't call you. I received a letter three days before you all, from Colonel Phillips, with the coordinates to this place, and today's date."
"I didn't send you a letter." Colonel Phillips frowns as he says, and Lorraine hears the honesty within his voice while she is still recovering from the shock that Peggy has been here for nine days, and she didn't even see her anywhere.
Suddenly, and it was getting old now, someone else spoke up from behind them, saying, "That's because I called all of you here."
As one, the five Howling Commandos, Lorraine Smith, and Peggy Carter point their guns inside the Barn, while Howard Stark hides behind the bigger body of Dugan.
The person walks forward, coming out of the shadows, and Lorraine's heart skips a beat when she recognises the smiling face of the person now in front of them.
"Mason?"
"Aves?"
"Captain Avalon?"
A chorus of his different names sound out, as the seven guns pointed at him drop down slowly.
He waves his hand at them, smiling wide with genuine happiness, and says, "You have no idea how good it feels to see all your faces again."
He was alive? Mason was alive? So he did desert his post in the SSR, and in the British Army. Does Lorraine blame him? Not exactly. She knew what he had been through, what he had sacrificed. His career in the medical field, his childhood friend Timmy Roth, and then, his only equal in strength and character, Steve Rogers. Lorraine didn't blame him even a little for leaving when he got the chance.
'So why does it still hurt, seeing him here like this?'
"Goddammit, Aves! You couldn't have written a letter first, before deciding to spring this on us all?" Phillips yells, as he walks towards Mason and pulls him in a hug.
She notices something though, something odd.
"You already knew he was still alive." Peggy says in an accusing tone, looking at Phillips, and Lorraine is glad that she wasn't the only one to notice the lack of surprise on Phillips's face, at seeing Mason alive.
Mason grins at Peggy, and says, "Peggy, as deductive as ever."
The Howling Commandos stay back, not pointing their guns at who is definitely Mason, but not rushing in to greet him either, while Lorraine remains frozen in her place, conflicting emotions warring within her.
Peggy ignores him, and keeps staring at Phillips, who sighs, and says, "Yes, I knew he was alive."
"And I will tell you all about it, don't worry. That is why I called you all here, you know." Mason says, saving Phillips from an inevitable shouting match.
Lorraine's body finally starts working again, and she walks forward, towards Mason. He smiles at her, and spreads his arms to catch her in a hug. Surprising herself and him, Lorraine pulls her hand back and punches Mason in the face.
She knew he could have avoided it, but he took it to his face, and rolled with the punch, probably to not harm her fist with his denser body or something. As Lorraine looks at him with some anger, and a lot of tears, he smiles at her, not at all hurting, and says, "I definitely deserved that."
And then another punch lands on his face, this time from Dugan, and Lorraine knew that he had seen the punch coming from a mile away. This time, he spits some blood out, and as the ring shaped mark on his cheek slowly disappears thanks to his faster healing, he says, "I deserved that too. Hullo Dugan."
"You fucking bastard!" Dugan grits out, pointing his finger at Mason.
And then, he pulls Mason into a tight hug, making Lorraine smile through the tears. She wipes her eyes, deciding to go through her emotions later, and says, "Should we clear the room for you two, or can the others get a hug from him too?"
Mason and Dugan snort in sync, and with two pats on each other's backs, leave the hug. Mason then turns towards her, and says, "It's good to see you again, Lorraine. Really."
"I missed you. I thought you were dead, or captured once again. And you let me believe that. You let us believe that." Lorraine angrily says, not holding back.
Mason nods, and pulls her into a hug without her consent. But she melts once in his arms, as tears start leaking once again. He then says, "I know, and I'm sorry. But I promise I'll explain everything today."
He was back. He was alive. And wasn't that the most important thing right now?
Leaving the hug after a short while, Mason goes and hugs the others too, and she notices that with the men, it was as if they had never even separated, as if he hadn't made them all believe that he had died at all.
But she had also seen something else. Her training as a field agent, her observing Mason for the last three years had allowed her some sort of sense to Mason's emotions. And she could tell that Mason had changed a lot. And he had also stopped seeing her as a potential lover, which he had still done until March. He didn't love her, no, not even when they were rolling around in hay, so to speak. But there was the look in his eyes that said he wouldn't have minded settling down with her once the war was over.
And now, it wasn't there. He looked at her as a loving friend, nothing more.
Lorraine didn't know whether to be sad, or relieved that she wouldn't have to disappear off the face of Earth when Mason once again disappears.
---
Mason's POV:
Once the happy greetings were over, as I felt a bit sad about Lorraine and her realization of her feelings for me, we settled down in the metal chairs that I had brought here when I had set this place up.
I then look at them all, smiling wide, happy to see them face to face once again, and say, "There's no easy way to say this without you all calling me crazy, so I will show you and tell you." Waving my hand, I conjure a set of stools in front of all of us, along with plates of food on each stool, and a glass of whisky. Along with that, I transfigure all the rickety metallic chairs into proper wooden ones.
As they all, save for Colonel Phillips, startle and stand up, I say, "Howling Commandos, Peggy, Howard, Lorraine, I.. am.. a.. Wizard."
It takes a while to calm the no-majs down, while Phillips had kept looking at the door, no doubt waiting for the obliviation squads to show up. After I finally convince them that I'm not lying, the food is real and not poisoned, the chairs won't break underneath them, and that I was actually a Wizard, I explain about my situation.
I tell them about the Wizarding World War, of the ICW versus Gellert Grindelwald who was an ally to Hitler and Johann Schmidt. I tell them about how I fought the demon Gargantos, whom Hydra had summoned with Grindelwald's help, and about the decision made by the ICW.
I tell them how I fought Grindelwald, got defeated by him, but still managed to trick him into dying. Phillips had also mentioned that he was a squib, non-magical born to Magical parents, and that he knew I was alive because of the Magical newspaper that he was subscribed to.
I also explained a few basic things about the Magical world, about how the Magical world has an entirely different Government within each nation, or one in multiple nations, and how we have an entire civilization hidden away from the normal world, and I explained about the Statute of Secrecy, which Grindelwald wanted to shatter.
And now, they had remained silent for a minute, nursing the drinks they had in their hands.
"Will you return? To the.. normal world?" Lorraine asks, with hope in her eyes.
Smiling sadly, I look at her and say, "Unfortunately, no. I am a super-soldier, through experiments made by the Nazis. The British Army will either try to replicate people like me, or they will try and force me into service. So, unfortunately, Mason Aves, Captain Avalon, will have to remain dead."
At least, until the day comes when Captain Avalon is needed once again.
Howard snorts, and cheekily grinning, he says, "As if they stand a chance of trying to force you to do anything."
I smile at him, and say, "True, but I don't want to be branded a criminal, you know."
"I have a question." Peggy voices out, and I could feel half her mind focusing on one question. 'Can you find Steve's body?' while the other was focused on another question. She says, "If telling us.. no-majs about Magic is illegal, because of that.. Statute.. why did you tell us? Aren't you afraid that your government will punish you for telling us?"
I grin at Peggy, and say, "They won't know I've told anyone about Magic, Peggy. This place is my own property, and I have put up spells to prevent anyone from detecting me breaking the law. As long as none of you try to yell out to the world about Magic, all of us are safe. And I know you won't do that."
I then say, "As for why I told you.. well, you deserved to know. I said it before, do you remember Dugan? We fought as a team, and there shouldn't be secrets in a team as well built as ours. And I still kept secrets from you. I didn't want to keep them hidden from you guys any longer. You deserved to know that I was still alive, that I'm a Wizard, that I.. that I lied to you all for years."
I might never mention my Time Travel, I might never mention my reincarnation, I might never mention my future knowledge, but this? The fact that I'm alive? They're my friends, they deserve to know that I did not abandon them.
We spend a few hours talking, while I keep Lorraine and Peggy fed. They had literally spent days keeping an eye on the place, feeding themselves just ration bars and water.
Drinks are shared, stories explained, and we even toast to Steve and Tim, the boys we lost to the war. In the end, I was really glad I did this. I was glad that I called them here and explained things to them.
These people are my friends, my comrades, and while I won't be sharing all my secrets, they deserved to know that I was here, to help them if they needed it.
—
Four months have passed since I returned to my own time, with a wife accompanying me, and two days since I met with my muggle friends from the army, and revealed that I had survived the War.
In these four months, I've settled down in my new life(or old life), pretty well. I mostly spent my days with my wife, Selene or in the Library, or even the repository, while some days I spent in my various labs, experimenting. Or I worked on preparing for the dangers that I know are coming in the future.
I had been granted a seat on the Wizengamot after my win against Grindelwald, and that.. was a surprisingly good disappointment.
Wizengamot is made up of the Department heads from within the Ministry of Magic, the Minister for Magic and his plus one, and distinguished people who had been granted a seat on the Wizengamot for something they did or achieved. All of those, totalled a number of 55 members within the Wizengamot, at all times.
Of those, 15 were the Ministry people, including the Minister, while the others were the distinguished people, which included me.
The Wizengamot had no set duties or responsibilities, no. They were a Jury, so to speak, that was only called when an important trial is concerned, or when a very controversial Law is about to be debated upon. The Head of the DMLE and the Minister for Magic can decide which trial needs to be taken before the Wizengamot.
The defendant will be allowed to defend themselves, through witnesses, interrogation, and even Veritaserum if the defendant agrees. But only if they agree, surprisingly, it is illegal to force anyone to go through Veritaserum interrogation.
But when one refuses to take Veritaserum it just shows to the Wizengamot that in regards to this particular crime, they have something to hide.
And in these four months, I was only called to the Wizengamot for 7 times, five of which was for the trials of the British terrorists within Grindelwald's army, all of which happened in the first month's itself.
Blinky had settled in her life at the Elfland pretty well, but she still visited every once in a while. And I treasure her visits a lot, since she is a close friend. I still met with the Flamels, the Potters, and even my friends.
The MIS was running smoothly under Cassiopeia's capable hands, and I am glad I shafted her into this. Less work for me, this way. And the DOM, well they have improved in their behaviour at least. Tons. Actual recruitment pitches have replaced threatening and kidnapping, so there's that.
But all in all, other than the reunion I've had with my friends, not much has changed in my personal life since becoming Mason Aves once again.
An arm comes over my shoulder, as Selene hugs me from behind, making me reflexively smile. Looking up at her, I kiss her cheek, and ask, "Back from visiting Garbha-Hsien, my love?"
Selene groans, and says, "If I had to listen to his Immortal High Lords speech once more, I would have said fuck it and killed him."
Immortal High Lords, an organization that has been proposed by Garbha-Hsien and Crule since the last 5 centuries. It is supposed to be made up only of Externals, who try to move things around to suit them, by manipulating the rest of the world. Sort of like Hand, or Hydra, or even the Hellfire Club.
And every few years, they would call Selene to try to convince her to join them.
Snorting, I teleport both of us to our bedroom, and as we lay down, hugging, I say, "Let them do what they want. I am content with our life as is."
Selene sighs, and stays silent for a while, enjoying the cuddle. She then asks, "Did Candra contact you recently?"
Candra, a mutant External with Telepathy and Telekinesis, born some time around 1st Century BC. She was a blonde haired short woman, with her physical age around 30, and prefers to wear a skimpy red suit, and a red tiara. Like Garbha-Hsien, Selene and I, Candra also had some Magical talents, although she couldn't be called a Mage, or even a Sorceress. It was as if a part of her mutation allowed her to use Magic like a Mage.
I shake my head, and say, "No, not for the last.. 20 years, I believe. Why do you ask?"
Selene looks at me, a frown on her face, and says, "I find myself unable to feel her presence, which isn't unusual for a telepath like her, but this time.. something worries me. No one's seen her for at least 20 years, not even Gideon."
Gideon, an External born in the 15th Century with the ability to perfectly copy the Genes of anyone near him, even multiple people at a time. His gift allows him to copy powers, magic, and even some technological effects, just by being near someone. But when he is alone, his powers include super durability and strength around Victor Creed's level.
He also happens to be in a relationship with Candra.
"That.. is worrying." I say, frowning. If Gideon doesn't know where Candra is, then it definitely is worrying. They might not be.. in love, like Selene and I are, but they do like each other a lot. And if Selene too can't find her, something is wrong. "Should we try and look for her?"
I shake my head, not liking it as soon as I asked the question. I say, "Let's wait a couple years to see if we find something, or if she shows herself. It could be that she just wants to be left alone, and our approach might not be appreciated."
As much as I don't like this, Candra is an External. But we don't like each other that much. She's just a distant cousin, that's it.
Externals.. We all prefer to be left alone, most of the time. If we do find her, and if she happens to be busy with something, well, any goodwill we have with one another will be gone immediately.
Selene sighs, and says, "I don't like this, but I understand. And while Gideon is worried, he isn't running around scared, looking for her."
I kiss Selene on her head, and say, "Don't worry, we know she's still alive, I can feel that much through the connection, and no human, wizard, or Sorcerer can kill her. We must have some trust in her capabilities, no?"
Closing my eyes, I try to go to sleep, while thinking over who can actually harm, or capture someone like Candra. But as I said, I wasn't too worried. She's strong, if something is wrong, we would have already known it.
—
A/N: Okay, the catching up part is done, which means enough of these fillers. As you can tell, at the end of the chapter, I sort of spiralled around.
Lorraine misses Mason, and so she's confused about her feelings and what they mean. I'd just like to say once again that Mason won't be having a Harem. No. Just no.
Candra and Gideon might play an important part in the next arc, or not. I haven't decided yet.
Anyway, thank you for your support! Tata!
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง