Thorax: Cavalry Drone

by Authora97

Defeating The Squid

The front man was Steve. He led the charge. The others waited on a nearby hill. Steve would distract the HYDRA agents by having their whole attention. That meant the Howling Commandos could advance without any notice.

Thorax strapped himself onto a zipline. Dugan patted him on the back.

“You an alien?” Dugan asked. The others groaned.

Thorax paused. “Kinda.”

Dugan smirked. “Could ya shapeshift into the colonel?”

That’s another point to Morgan. “I don’t want to.” Dugan chuckled. “He’d find out!”

“It’d be funny though!” Dugan excused.

Thorax huffed.

Falsworth whistled. That’s the signal. Thorax leapt down. The cold wind was already blowing strong, but as he fell through it everything came even faster.

They smashed through the window of the HYDRA office. His fellow commandos shot at HYDRA agents. Thorax charged in, grabbing the shield.

“You!” Red Skull growled.

Thorax threw the shield at Steve. “Heads up!”

Steve grabbed it. “Thanks!”

Red Skull ran. Steve and Thorax chased him.

==TCD==

Red Skull started shooting back at them. The Tesseract powered weapon fired at the walls, missing them. Fellow soldiers came in. Thorax pulled them aside, doing his best to save his team.

Steve went back to chasing him. Red Skull turned a corner. Steve threw the shield. It bumped around the corner, making a loud metallic clang down the way. The two men chased.

A HYDRA soldier stepped out from the corner. He held up two large flame throwers. Steve dived behind a door. Thorax shifted into a tiny rat, falling to the ground. He rushed ahead and behind the HYDRA agent. He turned into his natural form, kicking the HYDRA agent in the head.

Gunshots came up from down the hallway. Thorax shifted back into a person. Steve stepped out. The HYDRA agent was on fire, down on the ground.

Steve hummed. “Does your gal think that’s weird?”

Thorax stared down at the body. “She’s into it.”

Steve was saved from answering by Peggy Carter. She led the charge of more soldiers coming round the way. He walked past Thorax to meet her.

Peggy locked eyes with Steve. He ignored the other soldiers, keeping his focus down on her. Staring at her like none of this mattered, like it was just her, because to him it’s probably true. For that one shining moment, the other person on planet Earth was Peggy Carter.

It seemed he came to a conclusion fast. That wouldn’t have happened to Thorax. Thorax, personally, would keep staring at his wife until his wife decided to move. Steve decided to say something else.

“You’re late.”

Peggy took that with grace. If Morgan said that to Thorax, he might start crying. From joy, anyway, but still crying. “Weren’t you about to-”

“Right.” Steve went off running. Thorax joined him. He needed to. HYDRA needed to be stopped. He shifted into a fly.

The shield had kept the doorway open. Steve pulled it out. He stepped in before the doors shut.

Thorax shifted back into a person again. Steve sighed. “You don’t have somewhere else to be?”

“Somebody needs to have your back.” Thorax changed into Steve. “Turns out I’m equipped for that.”

Steve shook his head. The two got back to running.

Red Skull had entered his ship. More allied soldiers shot at the HYDRA agents meant to help him fly. The ship flew off alone.

Steve grunted. Thorax turned back. The Colonel and Peggy Carter drove up in the Red Skull’s car.

“Get in!” Colonel Phillips commanded.

Thorax hopped on the car. Peggy scooted over to make room. The Colonel got back to driving. The plane got faster so the Colonel got creative. He pressed a button on the car. It made the car zoom. They caught up to the plane but there wasn’t a lot of time to board.

Steve climbed up. “Keep it steady!” Steve ordered. Thorax gripped the sides of the car, wincing.

“What? Not gonna shift?” The Colonel asked.

Thorax groaned. If he survived, he’s gonna prank DumDum so hard. “I hate DumDum.”

“Can Schmidt do it too?” Phillips asked.

“Nope.” Thorax sat up, steadily rising. “I was born with it. It’s just me. Let’s stop the car and talk about it!”

“Wait!” Peggy reached up. She grabbed Steve by the arm, bringing him back. “Go get him.” She pulled him in for a kiss.

He missed Morgan. He missed her for so long. It’s been a year. Thorax wanted her back. They should’ve been celebrating in New York. Thorax would’ve been dragged around the city, seeing familiar sights but in a new context. They’d be watching Lilac in her ‘secret life’. Thorax could be shapeshifting into a cat to sit in her lap while she worked. They could’ve been a real couple.

Thorax turned to the Colonel.

“I’m not kissin’ you!” The Colonel told him.

“You aren’t my type but thanks!” Thorax started climbing up to the ship. “I’ll talk to my wife about it!”

“You got any more surprises, Fritz?” Phillips yelled. Yes, Steve and Peggy were still kissing.

Thorax grinned. “Nope!” He shifted into Theo Price, but with longer arms. He grabbed the plane, swinging onto it.

Steve followed him. Thorax turned back into Theo.

The plane took off.

==TCD==

The wheels began ascending back into the plane. Theo shifted into a monkey, climbing up. Steve hopped after him. The plane came with a lower deck, so they could walk around. It’s clear what the other HYDRA men were for now.

Bombs. A handful of huge, people sized bombs. Thorax wasn’t good at math, not super good anyway. He did know that dropping bombs that big from this high in the sky was bad.

They came with labels. Boston, Chicago. Thorax stopped. One said ‘New York’.

That’s their city. His and Morgan’s. On his planet, they had their own version of New York called Manehattan. He and his wife worked there, building a community of peace for his people. Lilac stayed there for training. Their latest adopted daughter, Vanilla Cookie, lived there before moving in. He and Morgan loved living in that city. In the human world, he learned more about human cruelty than anywhere but also learned the complete human spectrum of love.

He saw riots over police violence, even marched in them sometimes. Thorax danced as a woman in the pride parades. Morgan endlessly praised the city. The memories of it are all full of her.

70 years in the future, she’s in it. She’s building a tower for them to live in. For them, and their kids. His eldest daughter is in that city.

And Red Skull wanted to bomb it.

Thorax, reasonably, lost his shit.

Steve tried getting his attention. It failed. HYDRA agents advanced. Steve prepared to fight.

Thorax was faster. He shifted again to a creature nonexistent on this planet. A big, hulking creature shaped like a bear but colored like a bumblebee. Large insect wings, striped carapace of black and white, a large stinger, antennae, all of it. The only things bear-like were the enormous claws.

Five HYDRA soldiers advanced on them.

Thorax slashed and hacked at all of them. Their blood and guts splattering all over the metal walkways and bombs. Limbs fell in chunks. Their heads bounced down the ways like pinballs.

Thorax stood in the carnage, panting in animalistic rage.

“Price!” Steve shouted.

Thorax roared in his face.

“PRICE!” Steve tried again.

It made him growl. Thorax wanted to hurt- to hurt anyone that tried anything. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt his family. Not now. Not ever. Never again.

“HEY!” Steve pointed up the way. “WE NEED TO GO!”

Go? Yes. Go. The Red Skull was still here. He’s still flying the plane. The bombs didn’t need to fall from the plane if Red Skull drove straight into it.

Thorax growled. He shifted back into himself. He still growled.

“We gotta-”

“She lives there.” Thorax hissed. He pointed with a hoof to the New York labeled bomb. “It- she’s there.”

Steve nodded at him. He glanced at the bomb. His face tightened, falling again. “We’re still stopping the plane.”

“Good.” Thorax galloped past. “What stopped you?” He reached the door. He tried opening it, but it wasn’t made for his hooves. “Stupid- thing- work!”

“Price?” Steve spoke up.

Thorax whirled around. “What?”

Steve held up his hand.

Thorax checked the door, then his hoof. “Oh.”

No laughter. No snorts or chortles. Just a sad, understanding silence.

“Thought she was German.” Steve admitted.

Thorax shifted back into Theo.

Thorax stormed off.

==TCD==

They snuck into the cockpit. The Tesseract sat in a chamber, powering the ship. Nobody was piloting it.

A noise came from behind. Thorax whirled around, summoning a magic shield. A wall of translucent blue popped up between himself and the Red Skull.

“You. I remember you.” The Red Skull sneered. “You were Zola’s man.”

Thorax clenched his jaw. The shield stayed up. “I was NOTHING for Zola!”

The Red Skull only laughed. “And yet, you stand here. Elevated! A god among men! You stand among fools!”

“If killing people is how you become a god, then I don’t want it!” Thorax dropped the shield. He rushed forward.

Red Skull fired. Thorax got the shield up in time, barely. It sent him flying back. He collided with a nearby pillar. Steve advanced.

“You don’t give up, do you?” Red Skull sneered.

“Nope!” Steve threw a punch.

Thorax braced himself. He grabbed the large device, holding it to steady himself. Steve and Red Skull continued fighting. Thorax breathed in, smelling the splatters of blood on his armor. He exhaled, gagging on it. He hadn’t quite thought this through.

“You could have the power of the gods! Yet you wear a flag on your chest and think you fight a battle of nations!” Red Skull yelled. “I have seen the future, Captain! There are no flags!”

“Not my future!” Steve snapped.

He threw the shield. It hit Red Skull. The man was thrown back onto Thorax. The two were thrown against the Tesseract container.

It started to open. Thorax shifted his body. Human, still, but a little more super. He grabbed Red Skull by the collar, slamming him onto the ground. Thorax punched him in the face.

Red Skull punched back. It rolled them over. “What have you done?!” He shouted. He shoved himself off Thorax, rushing to the Tesseract.

Thorax tried to grab him. It’s too late. Red Skull grabbed the blue cube.

The man screamed. The Tesseract glowed. Bright, brighter than Thorax’s magic. Sparks of lightning began firing from it.

A spark shot up to the ceiling. A crack appeared. It opened wide, revealing the deep expanse of space. Red Skull began to dissolve, floating up into the crack. He screamed all the while. The Tesseract fell to the ground.

Steve rushed to the pilot seat. Thorax shot up, running to his side.

“Can you fly a plane?” Thorax asked.

“No. How hard can it be?” Steve countered. He stared at the controls.

“Harder or easier than the motorcycle?”

“Probably a lot harder.” Steve tried looking again. “It’s all in German. Can you read it?”

Thorax leaned in. He could read it, yes. Except. Well. “I don’t know what any of this means.”

Steve grabbed the radio. “Come in. This is Steve Rogers. Do you read me?”

An immediate reply. “Steve, is that you? Are you alright?”

“Peggy! Schmidt’s dead. Price and I are all that’s left.” Steve reported.

“What about the plane?”

“That’s a little bit tougher to explain.” Steve replied.

Thorax checked the other controls. No warnings or readings, just an image of the plane and the bombs. All armed and ready. Their current directions pointed them right at New York. “Steve.”

Steve looked at it. He gripped tighter to the steering, trying and failing to move the ship.

“Give me your coordinates, I’ll find you a safe landing site.”

“There’s not going to be a safe landing. But I can try and force it down.” Steve warned her.

“I’ll get Howard on the line, he’ll know what to do.” Peggy tried.

“There’s not enough time. This thing’s moving too fast and it’s heading for New York.” Steve warned. He looked at Thorax. “I gotta put her in the water.”

Thorax gulped. He nodded. It’s the only way out. He knew that. The movie ending, for one. The other? He can’t stand putting his wife in any jeopardy. She’s not in that city now. It’s something she loved. A city that came with her happy memories. Thorax won’t let any HYDRA crew hurt that city.

If it meant he froze in the crashing ship? Then that’s just what happens.

“Please, don’t do this. We have time. We can work it out.” Peggy tried. But all the other solutions were pointless, and she had to know that.

“Right now we’re in the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer a lot of people are gonna die. Peggy, this is my choice.” Steve pushed the steering. The ship tilted forward. Thorax braced himself on the control panel. “Price?”

“Yeah Steve?”

“Sorry. About your gal.” Steve said.

Thorax shook his head. “Nah. We’re saving her. That’s okay.” He reached into his pocket, squeezing the phone. It stayed quiet and silent.

Thorax closed his eyes, thinking about her.

“Peggy?” Steve asked.

“I’m here.”

For so long, her hair was blue and silver. Now it’s black. He loves her curls. Long, short, whichever. Just seeing those curls made him smile. Her hair was always so soft.

“I’m gonna need a rain check on that dance.”

“Alright. A week, next Saturday, at the Stork Club.”

“You got it.”

Her eyes were always the same. This bright shade of amber, like sunshine. It’s gold. She laughed and they lit up the room. She’s angry? Lights up the room. Sad? Well that makes the room dark, but then he comes to her side and those eyes lighten.

“Eight o’clock on the dot. Don’t you dare be late! Understood?”

Morgan always saw him. Not a changeling, not a soldier, but the real Thorax. His phone buzzed. Morgan liked his terrible puns. He missed telling her bad puns. Wait what. His phone did what?

“You know, I still don’t know how to dance.”

“I’ll show you how. Just be there.”

“You’ll have the band play somethin’ slow. I’d hate to step on your-”

His phone. His phone, it buzz-

Author's Note:

==TCD==

Just finished Secret Invasion and I have Thoughts(™). How dare. How dare you. I could’ve had Loki season 2 but instead I got Secret Invasion. It’s fine, whatever. It would’ve made more sense for Loki and then SI because Antman had a Loki pcs, and the Marvels has Nick Fury, but no. Sure. Mix it up. Whatever. It’s fine.
Oh and one chapter left before the Avengers. I promise to make it sad- I mean happy. Yes. That is what I meant the first time. Definitely. You can’t prove otherwise.