"Johan, what are you doing?"
I look up from the book I'm flipping through to find Bruce standing next to the sofa I'm currently sprawled over in the living room, giving me a odd look. "I'm reading the phone book."
"I can see that" he says, adjusting his glasses "Any particular reason? I'm pretty sure Tony gave us free reign of the library if you're that starved for entertainment."
"Just trying to look up some people. Don't worry about it."
"O..kay..." Bruce says, giving me another uneasy look before settling down in the armchair next to the sofa, opening up the newspaper he was carrying under his arm. I return to my reading, flipping to the section I was looking for.
"Let's see... here we go, New Jersey, P section..." I trace my fingers down the listing, showing the residents of Jersey who's last names begin with P "Peterson... Perry... Damn, no Pines..."
No Pines family. I know that episode took place in 1961, but they would still be living there well into the 70's if they existed here. Well, it was a longshot.
I honestly don't know which result I was hoping for anyway
"Hey Bruce, does the name Glasshard Beach mean anything to you?"
Bruce looks up from his paper "...like, the name of an actual place? I can't imagine anyone wanting to live there, if it was real."
"There's a place in this city called Hell's Kitchen!"
"It's not the official name, and people don't exactly move there because they have a lot of options. Why do you ask?"
I sigh "Nevermind, just an idea I had" I slam the phone book shut and toss it on the table before settling back against the armrest, staring up at the ceiling. The lack of any Internet does put a rather annoying delay on any research I try, I'm only adapting as well as I am because I grew up without any of that stuff and actually remember how to do it the hard way, but it's still kind of a pain in the ass.
I've been making a list of fictional characters I remember from works either made during, or taking place in the 60's, for my own amusement if nothing else while I'm working on a list of actual events I remember from my own history that I might be able to prevent or improve somehow. Even fiction that didn't take place in the Marvelverse, just because. To no surprise, there's been little luck with the former list. There is no Stanley or Stanford Pines living in New Jersey, there's no Shawshank Penitentiary in Maine, much less an Andy Defresne to be wrongfully imprisoned in it, and on the topic of Stephen King, there's no Derry in Maine, or a Gatlin in Nebraska either.
Well, thank Jack Kirby for small favors, I have a feeling I'm going to have enough trouble without reality warping triangles or spider clowns to deal with.
One of these problems is currently sulking in his room upstairs, and making it worse, it's basically a problem I caused. Apparently, Steve isn't enjoying the 60's much so far. In retrospect, I could probably have been a bit more comforting during our talk, but I was never very strong in that department.
.....
"I wasn't expecting the war to be the last one, none of us fighting it did, but for Christs sake, did they even TRY?"
I shrug, flipping through the pathetically inaqdeuate history book from the 50's Steve dug up in Tony's library to try and catch up on some of the events he missed out on, only to discover that most of it was just transparent propaganda for anyone over the age of 10. "I doubt it. The last few months of the war was basically just a race to see who could grab as many Nazi scientists as possible like a slightly more horrifying game of Monopoly, just to get an edge in the future dick waving contest between the U.S and the Soviets. Like, literally the day after V-Day, the Cold War started, I don't think anyone even bothered changing clothes."
Steve rests his head against his arm as he leans against the bookshelf "After everything we did, everything we SAW... they just let the bastards go?"
"I mean, not all of them, there were quite a few show trials, but everyone who were valuable? I mean, it's not even just Von Braun, try talking into NASA sometime and yell Heil Hitler, they'll jump up like someone stuck a thumbtack under them. So, you know, the U.S got into space, but it came at a hell of a price tag. Oh, and some fancy weapons that can kill us all if there's ever a bad day. And that's not even counting the ones who just plain managed to escape, South America is basically a Wermacht reunion now."
Oh, wow, Cap has a hell of an angry face "Is this just a joke to you?! Do you have any idea what those men did?! And now you're telling me my own country just gave them all a pass?!"
I hold my hands up, trying to placate him "Sorry, sorry, I know that was a bit glib, it's just, I get uncomfortable, and try to hide it with humor. Yes, it's an absolute travesty, I know. But it is what it is."
His face falls and he moves away from the shelf, walking up to the library window that overlooks the mansion lawn outside. He sighs deeply "Sorry for lashing out like that, it's just... it's been a lot to take in. I know the war is just history for everyone else, but for me, I was still fighting it just a few days ago. The things I saw in those camps... and now, it's like none of it mattered. What was it all for?!"
I don't know what to say. To me, World War 2 is even more ancient history than for anyone else, even if I'm currently in a time where it's not that long ago. I've only ever seen the camps and the battlefields and the ruined cities in old, black and white photograps, and there's a disconnect there that's hard to ignore. What can I possibly say to comfort someone who's essentially stared into Hell, while all I know of it are second-hand accounts. And then I have to tell him that so many of the people responsible just walked away?
I know he grew up during the Great Depression, and he's no stranger to the idea that life is unfair, but there's unfair, and then there's the feeling that it's all just a cruel, cosmic joke.
"I... don't really have an answer for you, Cap."
He sighs, staring out the window "I wasn't really expecting one. Could I please be alone for a while? I need to think..."
....
"I think I screwed up pretty bad, Bruce..."
Bruce looks up from his paper in surprise "With what?"
"Well, you know how Cap has been frozen for 20 years?"
"I HAD noticed that, yes."
"Well, I tried to fill in some of the blanks he missed, but I don't think I did a very good job, in fact, I'm pretty sure I made everything worse."
Bruce sighs, folding up his paper "What did you tell him?"
"Well, I tried explaining about, you know, Operation Paperclip, and the Cold War, and how South America is basically just a beach resort for Nazi fugitives, and- He's a propaganda icon for gods sake, I didn't think he'd react this badly to political bullshit!" I pull the phonebook over my face, groaning in frustration "Oh god, I made Captain America depressed, I'm worse than Red Skull!"
Bruce smiles "Johan, I'd say it's more likely he's experiencing a combination of shellshock and survivors guilt, you giving him some unpleasant information isn't likely to compare highly to that."
"I guess..." I sigh as I struggle my way off the sofa "Still, you should have seen it, he's having a hard enough time as it is, I wish there was some way to make him feel better. 20 years doesn't sound like much, but it still means everyone he fought besides, everyone he knew in his civilian life, have moved on from the war and built new lives, while he's still stuck in the past. And, well, then there's Bucky..." He hasn't really talked about it other than his outburst when we thawed him out, but it's pretty clear that losing him is weighing heavily on Steve. And I can't really give him any comfort over that either, because even if Bucky IS alive, he's stuck in some Soviet hellhole in the middle of nowhere as a brainwashed puppet more machine than man, and I have no way of finding him.
Man, metaknowledge is frustrating as hell when you have no real way to act on any of it.
Bruce nods thoughtfully "Look, I'm no expert on these matters either, but while it probably won't be an instant cure, maybe getting Steve out of the mansion and actually try to interact with the world again rather than dwelling on his loss might help? It might help for him to see that there's still an America out there, even if it's far from a perfect one."
"You know, you have a point there..."
.....
October 12th, 1963
Steve blinks as I toss a cheap souvenir baseball cap in his lap.
"Suit up, Captain Sadsack, I'm taking you out to the ballgame. Hope you weren't a Dodgers fan by the way."