//------------------------------// // Arriving in London // Story: A New Brand of Freedom // by Spettro138 //------------------------------// In a few short hours, Steve had gathered up with the rest of the 107th and began making their way to the rendezvous point where they could take the transport plane back to London, England. A long group of Army Jeeps all drove down the narrow dirt road at the same steady pace, following behind one another so that they could get to their destination quickly, but safely. The mountain dirt roads near Tarvisio were moist and slick from the melting snow that had drained down from the mountains. The men took turns watching for falling rocks that had come loose during the sporadic wet weather that had occurred in between the dry days. Steve and Firebrand were in a jeep that was closer to the front of the line of vehicles, where most of their new friends were. Bucky's particular jeep was just behind theirs. For about two hours, their slow trek eventually began to bear fruit as the twisting and winding turn of the mountain roads soon led them back to base camp where they all got off and prepared to depart. Steve and Firebrand went back to the barracks where he gathered all of his clothes and bare essentials in his duffel bag. Steve noticed how interested Firebrand was in the barracks and all of the instruments that were being used at the base. He giggled as he messed with all of the buttons on one of the radios and played with the light switches in the room. Steve while carrying Firebrand, quickly made it all the way to the airstrip where the rest of the platoon boarded the C-47 Skytrain that was patiently waiting for all of them. First, though, they were all required to go to muster to sound off so that they could make sure everyone was present and accounted for. Thankfully, it went off well as everyone was accounted for that had gone off to Tarvisio. As they boarded, Bucky was there to greet them as he guided them to a free space. Steve noticed that Dugan, Morita, Gabe, Falsworth, and Jacques were all on the same plane but opposite ends as they all conversed with each other. "What are you guys gonna do when you get back into town?" Gabe asked the others. "All I'm thinking about right now is getting a pint and stuffing myself some real food at the nearest pub," Dugan replied tiredly. "After being in that dinky cell and eating nothing but moldy rations and dirty water for weeks, I'm gonna go on a rampage." "That actually sounds like a pleasant idea, I hope you won't mind if I come along as well," Falsworth asked. "Count me in too. It's been a few months since I've had a good time on the town," Morita added. "Eh, the more the merrier I suppose," Dugan replied. "Just no talking about what's on your resume alright? I got enough of that from Gabe back in Austria." Gabe simply laughed back at him. "Eh, fair enough I suppose. What about you Captain?" Gabe asked as he saw Steve putting Firebrand in his lap. "What are you and the little guy gonna do when you get to the big city?" "Well, the Colonel will probably want to debrief me, and then maybe I'm gonna see if Mr. Stark can help me to figure out just exactly what Firebrand is and what Schmitt was doing with him. Or Red Skull now I guess." "Red Skull? Sounds like a biker gang name," Morita replied with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, apparently when Schmitt used Erskine's serum....it turned him into something like me except...incredibly creepy," Steve explained. "His face was all gone. It mutated him into something unnatural." Steve began to stroke Firebrand comfortingly as he trembled at the mention of Schmitt's name. "Unfortunate for someone as young and innocent as Firebrand to see," Falsworth agreed. "Barnes filled most of us in on Schmitt's true form. Before he was captured, he found a painting depicting Schmitt without that....false face of his." "Well, I'm helping him through that as much as I can," Steve replied. "Maybe if I've got enough time during all of this, I can also try to find where he came from and maybe if it's possible to get him back." In no time at all, the plane began to whir and sputter as it slowly but surely came to life. Firebrand's ears moved in response to the sounds as he looked left and right trying to figure out where the unusual sound came from. Soon they all felt themselves being pulled in one direction as the plane began to go faster and faster and take off from the landing strip. "Everything's alright. We are just going for a little plane ride," Steve said comfortingly to the pony. "P-Pane ide?" Firebrand babbled questioningly. "Yeah, this whole thing is a plane, and we're gonna be flying high in the sky," Steve explained. "Flying smoothly and gliding against the clouds." "W-wike birdy?" Firebrand asked. "Yeah, a big birdy," he chuckled back. "You can probably see a big layer of clouds out of these windows." Firebrand clapped his hooves as he carefully climbed up onto Steve's shoulder and leaned over to the window. His golden eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as he saw the blanket of clouds stretched out across the sky like freshly fallen snow. He cooed as he gazed out at the beautiful site with a delighted smile. "Yeah, it's beautiful now, when you aren't falling 10,000 feet and smashing into water that feels like concrete." Dugan chuckled. Firebrand's eyes shrunk as quickly as they grew and then leaped back into Steve's lap as he clung to his torso for dear life with all his legs and started shaking so violently that Steve vibrated in his seat. Looking over to Dugan with a raised eyebrow, Dugan and the others began to wheeze with laughter. "Really?" After two hours of trying to calm down Firebrand, he finally got him to sit back down in his lap normally. By that time, the plane had finally gotten to the English Channel and the higher-ranked officers began their procedures for landing in London. A few minutes later, Steve looked outside the window and saw a spectacular sight just on the horizon. A grand city with earthen-colored buildings towering into the sky. Large balloons on strings the size of houses attached to those buildings towering even higher, forming a barrier over the city. Boats of various shapes and sizes floated in and out of the harbor as they passed under a large bridge connected by two towers. Thick black clouds billowed out of the smokestacks all over the city creating a secondary layer of smog covering the city. Steve picked up Firebrand and placed him in front of the glass window. "That's London out there little pal. We're meeting back up with Peggy down there." Firebrand turned from scared to enraptured in a matter of seconds as he pressed his muzzle up against the glass and 'oooohed' and 'ahhhed' at the city before him. He tried angling his head downwards against the glass as they went over the Thames and they saw the multitude of boats of varying shape and size going about their business. "Like my home do you?" Falsworth asked cheerfully. "Perhaps after a drink, I'll take you and the Captain to see the sights." "We'd like that thanks," Steve replied. "First though, like I said. I gotta talk to Mr. Stark and the Colonel and fill them in on what I found back at Schmitt's base. We need to know what Schmitt is up to if we're gonna be able to stop them and take them out." "Well, you know where to find us," Dugan replied. "We'll be loosening up and getting hammered." After another half hour, the plane maneuvered to the closest airbase and descended to the airstrip where they finally touched down in England. As the plane slowed down and finally came to a halt, everyone gathered their duffel bags and disembarked. When Steve and Firebrand got out, Bucky departed with the others while the two of them were ordered to go with a few higher-ranked officers over to the local Strategic Scientific Reserve office near Westminster Abbey. The only problem Steve had to deal with was Firebrand being forced to go through two shaky rides and a smog-covered city that disagreed heavily with the colt's stomach. Steve knew he would have to write quite a few apology letters as the poor foal heaved out his breakfast, lunch, and dinner every fifteen minutes. Going through the twists and turns of the cities various roads, their car steadily made its way through the peaceful roads of Southwark and over Westminster Bridge. Firebrand and Steve marveled at the grand sight of the clock tower Big Ben acting as the timepiece for the entire city. Firebrand especially was enraptured by its sight as he pressed his face up against the glass and pointed at every little thing that interested him. Steve did his best to conceal Firebrand from civilians as he wasn't sure how people would react to a creature like him. One of the Generals was kind enough to allow Steve to borrow one of his smaller trunks to place Firebrand in with the cover open. That way, Firebrand would be covered but still able to see Steve completely. When they finally arrived at the government building they were instructed to rendezvous at, Steve carefully picked Firebrand up and then placed him back into his harness with his shield still attached. "Hold on little buddy, I'm gonna cover you for a few short minutes. People here go crazy around things they don't quite understand. Okay?" Firebrand seemed to look nervous, but nodded anyway and covered his eyes. Firebrand felt himself being picked up and then wrapped in a big tarp that was stored in the trunk. Steve followed the other officers across the street and over to the door of the building while carefully keeping Firebrand out of sight. Once inside, Steve went through a few security checkpoints and repeatedly informed the guards of Firebrand. He then went into a restroom where he changed out of his combat gear and into his formal military attire so that he could appear presentable in front of Colonel Phillips and the rest of the high-ranked officers. Steve was escorted down various sets of hallways until he was finally led to a secret staircase to a lower level of the building where the SSR operated. Once inside, Steve and Firebrand who had poked his head out from inside the bag, saw just how large the office was and how numerous the number of officers and employees came in and out. They were so busy admiring their surroundings that they didn't notice a familiar short-haired female operative approach them. "Well, it's about time you two showed up," a feminine English voice said dryly. "I hope Staff Sergeant Williams didn't crash the plane on the way here." Firebrand's ears stood up as he turned his head and squealed with delight at what he saw. Steve felt Firebrand jump out of his duffel bag and dash over somewhere else as his little hooves began rapidly clopping against the floor. As Steve turned around he came face to face with the pleasant sight of Agent Peggy Carter patiently waiting for the duo. Firebrand reached up to her with his two front forelegs prompting her to pick him up; to which she did and calmly stroked his golden mane as the tiny red colt began to nuzzle her. "You are such a needy little thing aren't you?" Peggy said with a small sweet smile. "Agent Carter! Good to see you again." Steve greeted politely. "You as well Captain, we've been waiting for you to arrive so we could get the scoop on whatever you found on Schmitt." "Sure, I'll give you guys everything I can, but I'm not sure how good my memory is," Steve admitted. They began walking over towards a large table in the middle of the room that carried a large detailed map of Europe "Anything you can remember at all will help, trust me. The more we know where he's going to attack from, the more of a chance we'll have." "Plus, there were a few other things that I wanted to ask the Colonel and Mr. Stark. I wanted to get some counsel about the little guy. Maybe about what Schmitt was trying to do to him or where he came from? Cause he's all alone in all of this." Suddenly, the man in question came into the room with a few of his other employees and intelligence officers in tow. "Oh, I'm sure Stark will be glad to assist." the Colonel abruptly interjected. "As for myself, after you give us those base locations you told me about in passing back in Italy, I'm sure I can do a little digging on your pint-sized squirt there. Then we can see if we can't get Stark to whip you up some shiny new gear. Next Time: Stark Experiments with an Explosive Pony #1