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Earth-82647
New Drake City, Gemina
The streets of the city were full of hustle and bustle, beings of all kinds going about their day. Deep in the dankest alleys of the lowest levels, two young girls distributed food they had taken from a greeedy businessman to a group of street urchins. They were grateful for the duo and their efforts, dispersing with their goods soon after. Zarya Moonwolf was the brains of the operation. A fair-skinned human teen with short lavender hair and green eyes, she was dressed ruggedly, a navy and crimson jacket over a cyan hoodie and worn jeans, carrying a brown satchel. Her friend Piper Willowbrook was a young elf (by the standards of her species, anyway) with tan skin and reddish-brown hair done up in pigtails. Unlike Zarya, she had a more colorful wardrobe, with a pink, white, and blue dress, black shorts, and a purple backpack with gold wing attachments.
"Another good job, Piper," Zarya commended, placing a hand on her hip. "You picked our easiest mark this week."
"He was a real jerk," huffed Piper, although her annoyance at the greedy executive they'd looted from didn't last long from her friend's praise. "I'm glad we plucked that cat's whiskers!"
"That's an admission of theft," a voice stated, causing the duo to jump in surprise. "If someone were to contact the authorities…" The voice belonged to a mysterious woman dressed in a black cloak, holding a glyph in her hand, playing the duo's conversation. "…your illicit activities would be brought to an end."
"Hey, we aren't doing… whatever it is you said!" said Piper, pointing a finger at the stranger.
"What do you want?" demanded Zarya, standing defensively in front of her friend. "If you're gonna threaten us, we aren't scared."
"That fat cat you stole from has a hand in many pockets, if I took this footage to him, he could bring every officer in the city down on your head. Unless… you steal something for me."
Zarya wasn't convinced, narrowing her eyes at the stranger. "Why exactly should we do anything you say?"
All of a sudden, the two were suspended in the air by shadowy tendrils, which swiftly restrained their arms and legs, covering up their mouths for good measure so they couldn't call for help. The stranger held her other hand out, sheathed in dark energy, no doubt controlling the tendrils.
"You're in no position to make demands," she snapped, pulling up another glyph displaying some kind of circle. "There's an artifact in the Royal Museum-the Dragon Disk. It contains great power, and I want it for myself. Bring me the disk in thirty-six hours time, and I delete this footage."
Zarya tried saying something, so the tendrils moved away from her mouth. "How do we know you'll keep your word?" she asked.
"Because I don't care about what happens to you," the stranger replied, releasing the tendrils and putting both her hands away. "All I want is that disk." She then vanished in a puff of smoke.
Piper stretched her limbs, an unhappy expression on her face. "That lady was a huge jerk," she muttered.
"No kidding, Pipes," agreed Zarya, scowling. "But she means business, so it looks like we've gotta steal that Dragon Disk thing."
"Well let's get to it!" said Piper, and would have begun walking off had Zarya not grabbed her by the backpack.
"Hang on, you can't just waltz into the Royal Museum," she chided. "We're gonna have to strategize."
"I can stratamatize," retorted Piper, crossing her arms. But regardless, agreed to wait.
Some time later
The New Drake Royal Museum was a prestigious establishment, home to all sorts of artifacts collected from the Goodfey Royal Family. Thousands visited each month, taking in all the exhibits from gryphon harnesses to heirloom jewels. There was also a large, gaudy display celebrating the current president, Gawayne, which was completely at odds with the rest of the museum.
Hanging above the main lobby was an impressive tapestry depicting a giant green woman fighting off against numerous shadowy figures. Nobody knew what exactly it was an image of, but it was a striking image nonetheless, one that prompted great intrigue from those who saw it.
The last of the guests were clearing out, and the night guard was prepared to take her post. Emerald Goldenbraid ("Em" to her friends) was a blonde dwarf clad in a purple button-up shirt, slacks, and glasses, and equipped with the material a security guard would need such as keys and a flashlight. Stepping into the security room, Em set her things down, preparing for the long night ahead of her.
"Okay, just another night," she told herself, fixing her glasses and filtering through her key ring. "I don't know why I'm concerned, it's not like anything ever happens here."
As the day drew to a close, the last of the guests were ushered out, the last of the staff went home, and Em was completely alone, with only the exhibits for company. After locking the door, she decided to do a once-over of the museum, ensuring no guests had remained behind after closing. In her quest to do so, however, she hadn't noticed two figures outside the main entrance, or the fact that they had managed to replicate her keys.
During her lookthrough of the first floor, Em walked by a glass case containing odds and ends from the old royal palace. The standout of the collection was the most innocuous: a simple circular disk, gold in color with an engraved dragon on the front. Nobody knew what the Dragon Disk was, only that it was an artifact which had remained with the royal family for a long time. Gawayne had wanted to buy it for himself to use as a paperweight, but they had simply given him a replica they sold in the museum gift shop.
She didn't wait around long, continuing her rounds soon after. As she left, Zarya and Piper made their presence known, sneaking alongside the case to avoid being seen by cameras. Upon the former determining the coast was clear, they stood up, glancing at the contents inside.
"Ooh, look at all this stuff!" Piper cheered, circling the case with delight. Two objects that particularly caught her interest were some sort of stone rectangles, with what looked like a recessed indent on one side and a handle on the other. "Hey, what do you think these things are? Some kind of knuckle dusters?"
"Piper, focus," chided Zarya. She reached into her bag and put on a pair of gloves, tossing an extra pair to her cohort. "We're gonna need to be very careful with this."
The two walked to either end of the glass case, lifting it from the top of the display table and setting it on the floor nearby. Their prize was so tantalizingly close…
"Hey!" An unexpected voice made the duo jump, as the security guard came into view. "And just what do you think you're doing?"
"Uh… we… we wanted to get a closer look a-at the exhibits?" offered Piper, smiling as innocently as she could muster, while Zarya sighed in frustration at how easily their operation got busted.
She grabbed Piper's arm and began running for the exit, Em giving chase soon after. As they tried making their escape, Piper lost her footing, the duo tripping over themselves and allowing Em to close the gap between them. Producing two sets of cuffs, she stood over the pair with an unimpressed look.
"Alright, I'm taking you to my office and calling the city guard, they'll decide what to do with you." She picked up Piper, who tried to wriggle free but got her wrists cuffed all the same.
Zarya groaned in exasperation, thumping her head against the floor as she felt Em take hold of her wrists. "Could this night get any worse…?"
Her question was answered as an explosion rocked the building, sending all three to the floor. Stepping in over broken glass was a towering figure; he was mostly a dark black in color, save for bony white armor on his shoulders, forearms, and boots, as well as his skull-like face, alongside horns and glowing red lights in his chest and eyes.
Em was paralyzed in shock, as were Zarya and Piper, as the intruder stomped over. "I'm told the Dragon Disk is being held here," he stated. "Give it to me, and I shall spare your lives."
"It's… It's not for sale," stammered Em.
The intruder growled, glancing towards a nearby statue of Gawayne. He stepped towards the statue, placing his hand against it as it withered and crumbled to dust in mere seconds.
"I can only assume the name of Dreadbane has been forgotten," he said, turning back to the three, "but know this: I never ask for anything twice, so hand. It. Over."
Em got to her feet first, a little shaky, but she stared hard at Dreadbane. "If you want that disk, you'll have to go through me," she declared, spreading her arms out to take his eyes off of Zarya and Piper.
Dreadbane stared, then he chuckled darkly. "So be it, it's your funeral."
He began to charge her direction, as Em ran away from him as fast as she could. Zarya and Piper used the distraction to get to their feet, slipping back towards the opened display case. With no eyes on the prize, Zarya was able to swipe the Dragon Disk.
"Zar, wait!" said Piper, glancing back at Em and Dreadbane. "What about that guard lady? What'll happen if Dreadbane gets her?"
"Then he won't get us, Pipes."
"But she could get really hurt!"
Zarya already had her feet turned towards the exit, but Piper's words made her pause. She glanced over, watching Em start losing her breath, before her pursuer launched some sort of purple thunder bolt at her feet, sending her flying. The dwarf girl groaned when she hit the ground, vision blurred without her glasses (which had been knocked off her face by the impact), before being forced onto her back by Dreadbane, who began pressing a foot into her chest.
"Since you refuse to forfeit the disk, you shall instead forfeit your life," he growled, sounding almost satisfied as he drove his foot down harder.
"Hey, ugly!" He halted from that voice, turning to the museum's stairs. Standing at the top was Zarya, holding the Dragon Disk in the air. "Is this what you're looking for? Come get it!"
Dreadbane took his foot off of Em, letting loose a roar as he charged towards his target. As he neared the top, Zarya leaped from the top of a railing, landing back on the ground floor and sprinting for the doorway. She had no idea where she was going, just that she had to get Dreadbane away from Em and Piper.
The duo in question watched as she retreated. "Where does she think she's going?"
"I dunno," shrugged Piper, cupping her hands over her mouth and calling, "Hey, Zarya, where are you going?!"
"She still has the disk!" said Em, grabbing the other girl's arm. "C'mon, elf, we're going after her."
Stepping outside, she saw a train line heading over the museum, pumping a fist in victory as she launched a grapple from her wrist. Within moments she was on the track, weaving around tram cars as she made her retreat. There was no way Dreadbane could catch her now.
Zarya had once again tested her luck, as she heard a sound like a thunderclap behind her, eyes boggling out of her head as she saw what had caused it. Dreadbane was now easily several stories tall, and looking right at her. He launched another bolt, blasting the track out of the sky, and sending Zarya to the ground. Em and Piper also managed to catch up by this time, the latter holding her hands to her mouth in shock as her best friend hit the ground, tumbled a little ways, and finally stopped.
Zarya groaned as she opened her eyes, pain searing through her entire body. The ground quaked beneath her, no doubt the result of Dreadbane closing in. She tried lifting herself up, but her left arm gave out beneath her. Dragging herself onward regardless, her hand soon felt something beneath a piece of rubble: the Dragon Disk. The human pulled it free, when suddenly it began to glow.
"What the…" she muttered, oblivious to the looming shadow of Dreadbane.
"Your foolish games end here, child!" he bellowed, raising a foot high above Zarya and bringing it down hard.
But it never made contact.
A bright, shining emerald barrier was keeping it at bay, protecting Zarya within. She was having her own inexplicable experience. As she held onto the disk, she could feel bones snapping themselves back into place, bruises healing, and she rose up to her feet for some unknown reason.
"What is going on?" she asked, glancing at the hand with the Dragon Disk. A small green light began shining from within, and the disk-for lack of better word-unfolded, now resembling some type of eye mask. Her arm began moving of its own accord, trying to bring the mask closer to her face. "Wh-What… hey! Stop doing that!"
Zarya grabbed her arm, trying her hardest to keep the strange mask away from her face, but it continued to creep closer. She turned her face away, one last ditch effort to keep the mask away, when a phrase popped into her head.
"Ultrawoman… Arkayna?" she repeated, noticing too late that the mask was almost over her eyes. "Wait, wait, wait-!"
But it was too late, once her eyes were covered a huge blast erupted, knocking Dreadbane off balance and tripping him up. When the light cleared, a giant stood where Zarya was. She was predominantly silver, with green markings along her abdomen and pelvis, and a blue light in the center of her chest. A golden fin ran along the center of her head, a similarly colored dragon tattoo wrapped around her left arm. Her most notable feature, however, was the green mask over her glowing amber eyes.
Em and Piper couldn't believe their eyes. "Oh my goblin…"
"Arkayna," growled Dreadbane, raising a hand. "I've thought long and hard about what I'd do if I saw you again. But the answer is quite simple!"
He unleashed a torrent of energy her way, but the now-named Arkayna blocked it with her palm, the bolts arcing harmlessly into the sky. Once it let up, she charged forward, taking Dreadbane by surprise as she tackled him, shoving him away from buildings. He eventually managed to wrestle free, facing his opponent.
He punched Arkayna in the chest, knocking her back, but she quickly recovered, grabbing his wrist and slinging him over her shoulder, the impact cratering the ground beneath him. Suddenly, Dreadbane's foot began sparking with energy, before he slammed it into Arkayna's leg, forcing her to the ground. Staggering up, he began charging up another energy strike, but the fin on Arkayna's head began glowing, and she launched an energy projectile at his arm, causing Dreadbane to aim his blast at the ground beneath him instead.
Large, jagged cracks appeared beneath him, which Arkayna noticed. Rising to her feet, she stomped a foot down hard, which had the effect of sending chunks of the ground (and Dreadbane) into the air. The dragon on her left arm began to shine brightly, so she splayed it outwards, her right arm bent in an L-shape, before bringing her arm inwards again, placing a fist against her right elbow. A green flame erupted from her arm, hitting Dreadbane and sending him flying into the distance.
The two onlookers were gobsmacked, watching as the giant began glowing, shrinking down in size, before dissipating to reveal Zarya standing there. The human girl gasped, patting all over herself, culminating in placing a hand to her jaw and wagging it repeatedly. She finally snapped back to reality, noticing the Dragon Disk in her grasp, folding back up into its precious compact form.
She had no time to process this information before something tackled into her side, Piper wrapping her arms tight around her. "Tha was so cool!" the elf cheered. "The way you got all big like, 'shuwatch!' And then you beat up that jerk and sent him flying, it was fabtacular!"
Em was much more subdued, too dumbfounded to find the proper words. "How… How did you do that?" Zarya herself was too dumbfounded to reply. Instead, she grabbed hold of Piper and fired another grapple at another tram. Em growled in frustration, once again giving chase.
The duo let go once they reached the same alleyway they had met the stranger in. And there she was, standing in the exact same spot she had met them in.
"Alright, we've held up our end of the deal," said Zarya, pulling the Dragon Disk from her bag. "Now delete that vid."
The disk was snatched out of her hand by a shadowy tendril, the stranger taking it for herself. She turned her glyph in their direction, pressing the delete button on the footage. As her thumb touched the screen, the duo immediately spun on their heels and tried running away, but shadows immediately grabbed at them, holding them place.
"It's a pity you wanted that footage erased, it'll be the last time you were witnessed alive," she taunted, raising a hand up high.
A flash of light distracted her, dissipating some of the shadows as well. It was Em, shining a flashlight into the alleyway. "High-intensity crystal!" she shouted. "Your tricks won't work here!"
The stranger snarled, trying to send tendrils Em's way, only for them to fade into nothingness upon reaching the light. "I have what I came for, I'll deal with you fools at my leisure!" And with that, she disappeared into shadow, Zarya and Piper thudding to the ground.
Em turned her flashlight their direction next, stomping over with a twitch in her eye. "You… You are in so much trouble!" she cried, jabbing a finger in their direction. "You broke into the museum, stole the Dragon Disk, and then gave it to that shadow lady!"
"Uh, who says I gave it to her?" retorted Zarya, getting to her feet. She reached into her bag with a smirk, pulling out the Dragon Disk.
"Good, now I'll take that back-" Em tried taking the disk back, but as soon as she laid her fingers on it she immediately pulled them back, letting out a cry of shock. "What the-?! Did it just shock me?"
Zarya was also surprised, inspecting it for herself. "Weird, I'm not being shocked. Maybe it was some kind of static electricity?"
Piper chose that moment to pop up between the two. "Ooooooooorrr, maybe it wants to stay with Zarya!" she suggested.
"You… you think it wants to be stolen?"
"Hey, she seems to trust me with it," defended Zarya.
Em blinked. "She?" she repeated.
"Ultrawoman Arkayna. That's… That's the name of the giant I turned into. It sounds a little wild, but I dunno, she seems to like me."
Em pondered if she should've been a gryphon trainer instead. "By the Hammer of Harmon… Let's go back to the museum, we can figure all… this out there."
As the trio left, it began to rain. It was a steady drizzle at first, but the weather soon turned rough, storms already forming along the coast. In a stone temple sat on the edge of a seaside cliff, the stranger smiled as she held up the Dragon Disk. All the work she had put in, awakening that brutish Dreadbane from his slumber, seeking out the perfect patsies for the job, and now her agenda came ever closer to fruition.
"Let's see how powerful this disk is," she said, only for the disk to glitch out of existence. "What? A copy?! No… No! Those thieves will know my vengeance!"
She held her fists skyward as lightning struck outside, illuminating the temple's throne room. Of particular note was a statue, depicting a feminine humanoid with a featureless mask, jagged crown, and a scepter in her right hand. A dark figure from a dark time, one that should never be awakened.
The next day…
News spread quickly about the dark sizeshifter who broke into the museum. On Drake City's main channel, President Gawayne made a statement.
"I want that thief found and shown no mercy," he declared. "He destroyed my statue! That was genuine elven marble, for crying out loud, do you know how expensive that was? He'll pay for every milligram of stone if it's the last thing I do."
"But mister President, we heard the thief came for the Dragon Disk," a reporter interjected. "But the night guard was able to keep it safe."
Gawayne's attitude flipped on a dime. "Pfft, big whoop. Everybody knows I have the real one. The one they have there's a fake, they give 'em out in the giftshop all the time."
In Em's apartment, Zarya had to snicker at the newscast. "I guess he's got a point there," she jested, spinning the disk on a table.
The broadcast soon went back to the newsroom. "Museum security guard Emerald Goldenbraid chased down the thief, who had stolen the Dragon Disk from the museum's collection. The museum tells us that while abandoning her post was against regulations, her actions were still commendable all the same."
Em, sitting at the kitchen table, ran a hand over her face. "I'm just glad I got to keep my job," she muttered.
Piper, sitting upside down on the couch, let out a frustrated groan. "This stuff is so boring!" she whined, before cartwheeling off the couch and spinning with a flourish. "They haven't even gotten into Arkayna and that Dreadbutt's fight yet!"
"A major theft like that will need to be talked about," remarked Zarya, turning back to Em. "Oh, and B-T-Dubs, thanks for not ratting us out."
"I really should have," replied Em, the bluntness of the remark making Piper frown. "You did break into the museum, and would've stolen the Dragon Disk if Dreadbane hadn't appeared. But, you did save me, and you… Arkayna… however that works, you stopped Dreadbane's rampage."
"That's fair." She set the Dragon Disk down, standing up and stretching. "So, what's for breakfast?"
"Whatever's in the cabinets," retorted Em. "I'm letting you stay here, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna be your personal chef."
Zarya scoffed, but relented and set about finding something for breakfast. Overnight, her world had been upended, and it was still a lot to take in. There was still the mystery about why Ultrawoman Arkayna trusted her, of all people, to wield her power. But she decided to deal with things one at a time, have her breakfast and then figure out where to go from there.
Earth-857
Manhattan, New York
Ben and Johnny were in the workshop, making some adjustments and tuneups to Herbie, the latter unimpressed with his current task.
"So, is there a reason you're doing this?" he asked, checking the pressure of the car's rear right tire.
"I told you, I'm takin' Alicia out tonight, and I need a ride," replied Ben, wiping down Herbie's windshield. "So Herb's gotta look nice n' spiffy."
"I get that, but why him? Shouldn't you take a car that's more… you-sized?"
"Hey, he needs to get out."
"Tch, whatever. Not sure what you're doing by cleaning him, he's already washed up." No sooner did he finish talking, he felt something splat down on his foot. Pulling said appendage out from underneath Herbie, he found a puddle of oil decorating his boot. Herbie let out a few short honks that sounded a lot like laughter. "Furukane…"
"Get that cleaned up, Matchstick. Yer comin' with."
"Why?" demanded Johnny. "If I'm chauffeuring you around, it's a bad idea to make me drive a car that hates me."
"Nah, Alicia's got kids, yer babysittin'."
Johnny blinked. "…Huh?"
"Yeah, Frankie and Val said they wanted to hang out with 'em, you can be adult supervision."
Johnny ran a hand over his face, groaning as he began to leave the workshop. "Okay, whatever. It's not like I had stuff I wanted to do today anyway."
"And what stuff is that?" Instead of a parting comment, the pyrokinetic held a familiar finger in Ben's direction. He just scoffed, patting Herbie's roof. "The kids said that their Johnny won Le Mans at twenty-two. He only ever made the podium when he was twenty-six, so he's got a chip on his shoulder."
He chuckled, getting back to his task. After all, his date was in just a few hours, so he and his ride needed to be presentable.
A few floors below, Reed and Susan were in their office. The Future Foundation, despite hosting supergenius students who created supersuits of armor and superhero identities of their own, wasn't actually a superhero academy, and thus the two were drafting a request to host hero training courses at their campuses. As they were working, however, they could hear voices coming from down the hall. Halting their progress for the moment, they wandered out to see Franklin and Valeria at the table in the lounge, some sort of picture between them. The two raised their hands, looking ready to come to blows, so Reed stretched his arms out to separate the two.
"Alright, what's going on?" he demanded, as Sue looked at the picture. It depicted a sepia toned figure dressed in a dark bodysuit with an all-encompassing helmet, a large star placed where the face would be, and stripes along his abdomen, holding a circular shield with a star covering up most of it. Alongside him was an androgynous figure in black-and-white, wearing fatigues, some kind of utility belt, and goggles over their eyes, holding a pistol.
"Did you make this, Franklin?" she asked.
"Y... Yeah, I did," he replied, smiling proudly.
"Too bad he doesn't know what color is," Valeria muttered under her breath.
Franklin growled, telekinetically picking up a pillow to toss at his sister's head. At this, Reed picked the two up by their heads, dropping them on opposite ends of the couch. "We use our words here!" he scolded, and at this the two seemed genuinely ashamed. "Alright, so, what's the problem?"
"I was trying to make a picture of the Invaders, an old superhero team from our world," explained Franklin. "But then Valeria kept telling me I was doing it wrong."
"You could at least make them match," she said quietly, although thankfully nothing more came from that. "They're old, there were never any color pictures of the group. That guy there-" She pointed to the star-spangled man in the picture. "-Captain America, his suit's never been seen since World War Two."
"Well, maybe instead of nitpicking his work, you could try helping him?" suggested Sue. "Try giving him some prompts or something."
"He's not an AI," retorted Valeria, looking genuinely insulted by the suggestion.
"Well, work something out," said Reed at last. "If we hear another argument, you're both grounded."
He wondered for a moment if he had been too harsh with the kids, but at the very least their voices were more subdued, and Valeria was giving genuine advice rather than barbs.
Earth-082717
Undercity
The Baum-Fleming Inn wasn't the classiest joint in the city, but for many denizens it was home. One such resident braved the rusting stairs to reach their apartment on the second floor, finding door number 96 and stepping inside. They flipped the light on as she came in, revealing the crummy interior of the apartment itself as well as their appearance.
The occupant was a pale young woman in her late teens or early twenties, brunette hair shaggy and unkempt. Her attire was especially curious, with a set of WW2 goggles on her forehead, gray fatigues printed with "SPD", a cobalt bracer on her left arm, an Old West waistcoat and gun belt, gunmetal boots, and a very curious purple weapon on her hip.
She glanced to the corner of the apartment's foyer, where a pod was sat, a silver coffin-shaped apparatus with a heavily-fogged up window on the front. Before she could approach it, however, she heard footsteps coming from the opposite corner. Unholstering her gun, she pointed it in that direction. There stood a mysterious blue box that definitely wasn't there before, and standing in front of it was a dark-skinned bald woman, holding her hands up when she saw the weapon pointed at her.
"Easy, easy," said the intruder, trying not to alarm the woman whose home she had broken into. "I'm just here to talk."
"You can talk by explaining how you got in here, buster," the brunette demanded. "And what's up with the box?"
"Okay, so… the box is my means of travel. I simply materialized it inside your apartment." Slowly lowering a hand, she pressed the door open. "See for yourself."
Gun still trained on the intruder, the brunette glanced inside the box, and immediately stumbled back in surprise. She took a step back, glancing at the sides, then wandered to the door, peeking out to ensure that, yes, it was in fact bigger on the inside.
"I see you're impressed. My name's the Doctor."
"Doctor, huh? There weren't a lot of lady doctors in my time, glad to see that's changed."
The now-named Doctor smiled, crossing her arms and leaning against the box. "Since we're giving names, mind if I hear yours?"
The brunette lowered her gun, but didn't holster it, glancing between the Doctor and the pod. "My friends call me Bucky. For now you can just call me Barnes, Doc."
That earned a chuckle. "Bucky Barnes. I've met a number of people with that name. You don't quite match their description, though, Rebecca." That made Bucky's eyes widen, grip tightening on her gun. "Don't worry, I'm familiar with the Multiverse, I've met several of you." Unsure if that would calm her down, she pointed to the pod. "That pod, Captain America's in there, isn't he?"
Bucky frowned, glancing that same direction. "Yeah, he is," she said. "We got separated during the war, putting down some fancy gizmo of the Nazis. By the time I made it home, Government stooges were keeping Cap on ice for some dumbass reason, and the world was about to be destroyed."
"Ah, the Anti-Matter waves?"
"No, it was a weapon, Z-something. I got him here, but I have no idea how I'll even unthaw him. I sure as hell didn't wanna ask any of those stooges."
The Doctor hummed, walking up to the pod. She tried wiping the frost away, but it was layered too heavy to have any effect. So she peered inside, discovering a Japanese-American man with short black hair preserved inside, eyes closed in frozen slumber. He was dressed in fatigues, the name tag reading "H. Hoshi." This was definitely a unique Captain America, for sure.
"Megs, think you could help switch this off without upsetting our friend in there?"
"I'm not familiar with the technology of that universe," answered a voice, which came from a device on the Doctor's hip, "but I'm pretty sure I could."
She turned to Bucky, giving the girl a warm smile. "I can help take him off the ice," she said.
"Y… You can?" Bucky also began smiling at that. "You can help him?"
"Of course." The Doctor placed her hands on her hips. "If you don't mind, once he's solid, could I ask the two of you to help me with something?"
"She's planning a rescue mission from the middle of Decepticon territory," continued the voice, the Doctor unclipping her device so Bucky could see the screen. "You've encountered the Decepticons before, haven't you?"
"Yeah, they trashed most of the worlds I ended up in," she answered, smiling even wider. "Pounding them into scrap metal, heh, that'd be a real gas. I'm in."
"In that case, I'll get started unfreezing him right away." The Doctor held out a hand, which Bucky shook with enthusiasm.