Captain America
In a Swap Month tale by
Ralph L. Angelo Jr
"Broken Promises and Other Despairs"
Splash page : Steve Rogers jogging over the Brooklyn Bridge, into the old neighborhood he at one time spent so much time in.
S R : (I haven't been back here in a while. There are some good, and some painful memories here.)
Disembodied voice thinks: (The painful ones are what we are here to examinethis day.)
Page 2
Steve comes to a stop in front of the building he lived in for a while.
S R :(Here's the place I met Bernie Rosenthal, my almost one time wife. I met many other good friends here as well. Josh, Jack Monroe came back into my life here. To many others to name. I had good times in this building. I can't believe it's been set for demolition. Soon all my memories as well as countless other peoples who at one time called this "home "will be all that remain of our stay here.)
Voice: (Ah, so this is what he is concerned with. Good. A plaything emerges.)
Page 3
Steve looks at the boarded up windows and the cities warning signs concerning trespassers and sighs.
S R : ( I used to live here. If Sam* hadn't alerted me to this when he got a notice on his desk concerning one of his cases being moved from this building, I would never 've seen the old girl again(He touches the brick wall) Goodbye old girl, you were both hearth and home to me for a while.)
*Sam Wilson, the Falcon, is a Social Worker by day Voice :(How...touching. Hahahahahahahaha)
Page 4
Steve turns his head quizzically
S R : (What was that? I could've sworn I heard someone laughing. And it wasn't a pleasant sound. It was akin to glass being dragged through gravel. Brrr, the sound almost sent shivers down my spine. Get a hold of yourself old soldier.)
Later that evening at Avengers Mansion...
Cap is dining , speaking to Jarvis about life as the two men sit around the Avengers dinner table.
Jarvis: " Captain, if I may say so, your mood is most melancholy this evening. May I be of some service to you?"
Cap A : "No Jarvis, I had some... personal dealings to take care of this afternoon. And they just tended to remind me of how life MIGHT have been for the last few years."
Page 5
Jarvis: "If I may say so Master Cap, you of all people have very little to be sad about. You've served your country very well, going above the call of duty many times as well as many personal successes beyond the ones known about you."
Cap A : "Well I suppose that's so Jarvis. But it's the personal things I've always been lacking in . Every relationship I've ever been in has failed miserably. Sharon was thought dead for years, and now wants nothing to do with me. I haven't seen her since before The Onslaught disaster. Rachel Leighton* was probably the right girl for me and I could never commit to her because of my duties as Cap. Bernie ran away from me when she decided to become a lawyer. And the list goes on and on."
*Diamondback
Jarvis: "Captain, you are not alone in your "What might have beens." Every man goes through them. None are immune to their touch."
Page 6
Voice : "Oh shut up you pompous old windbag ."
Cap leaps up from the table, pulling his mask down as he does, his shield is immediately in his right hand .
Jarvis stands, his eyes searching the room
Jarvis : "(In a whisper) Captain..?"
Cap A : "I don't know old friend. Someone, or....someTHING is here with us in this room."
Page 7
Voice: "Do not bother looking for me Captain. You, nor any of your complicated and otherwise trustworthy equipment will find me."
Cap spins slowly looking over every square inch of the room.
Cap : "Okay mister, what do you want?"
Voice: "I want to play a game Captain."
Cap :" A game? What if I refuse to play?"
Voice: "Why Captain, you have no choice in the matter. If you refuse to play, then you will never see your manservant again!"
In a puff of smoke and brimstone Jarvis disappears, his face frozen in terror.
Page 8
Cap A : "Okay who or whatever you are. Where's Jarvis? What do I have to do in your sick little game to get my friend back."
Voice: "Why you have to go for a walk Captain America, that is all."
Suddenly amidst another blast of smoke and brimstone a doorway appears .Above it hangs a mangled and aged sign . "Abandon hope all ye who enter here."
Cap A: "Am I to assume you're the devil himself? Mephisto come to drag my sorry soul to some nether worldly pit?"
Page 9
Voice: "Assume what you like dear Captain. I have said nothing so far about souls or where this tunnel leads."
Cap A: (Hhhmm, he did say it was a tunnel now. He likes to talk , whoever he is . Good .Know thy enemy. The first rule of war.)
Cap A : "Okay , I'll play your game, under one condition. My friend is freed no matter the outcome."
Voice : " Captain, you are hardly in a position to bargain."
Cap A: "Well what's to stop me from leaving this spot and never returning then? Or from gathering up enough Avengers to storm whatever place you're from and reducing it to rubble? I have to have some guarantees concerning Jarvis."
Page 10
Voice: "Ho hum, you are such a party pooper at times. Yes yes, I agree to your demands. Your friend goes free."
Cap steps through the doorway, instantly the door slams shut behind him andas Cap spins the wall becomes solid stone where the door had just been.
Voice: "By the way captain, I never said WHEN your friend would go free."
Cap A: (What's wrong with me? I should've realized that before I set foot in here. Damn! Wake up soldier!)
Cap walks in eerie silence as the rough hewn tunnel walls give off a mournful radiance that lights the dank, hot shaft he slowly makes his way down.
Cap A : (Someone is going through an awful lot to convince me he's the devil. Yes there are Demons in the world and God knows I've fought more then my share in life, but I refuse to believe that some evil from the pit is interested in me.)
Page 11
off panel voice from around a corner: "Und vhy is thzat Schweinhund? Are you zomething szpeczial?"
Cap spins and sees ..
Cap A : "The Red Skull! Of course, one of the biggest monsters ever to walk the Earth! You are, or were a Demon!"
"The Red Skull" is chained to a wall, flames burn his flesh as searing acid is poured over his head to douse the flames by a never ending stream of the vile liquid.
Skull: "And you vere inztrrumental in my defeat, my death! I owe you Captain Verdammt Amerika !"
Page 12
He tears himself free from the wall and attacks Cap, his limbs changing to snakes.
Skull : "Die you Amerikan curr! Die zo the reich may live again!"
Cap blocks the venom spitting snakes with his shield, punching the apparition before him solidly in the face.
Thwack!
With a backhand slash of the shield he decapitates both snake limbs in one move. Then kicking out to his chest , Cap topples The Skull.
Page 13
Cap A : "They'll be no Reich ever again monster! I'll stand against that monstrosity wherever it rears its head."
Suddenly the face before Cap changes form and shimmers into view as ...
Cap : "Bucky!?! What?"
Bucky: "You let me down old man. I died because of you! It's not fair! I had my whole life ahead of me MY WHOLE LIFE! And you took that from me! YOU! It should've been you who died on that bomb, not me! I was a kid! How could you kill me like that? HOW!?"
Cap(Visibly shaken) : "Bucky , I-I never meant for it to happen, you know that ! I tried to save you! I tried to make you jump off of that bomb before it exploded, but you wouldn't listen!"
Page 14
Bucky: "LIAR! You wanted me dead, you wanted us all dead!"
Cap; "All ?"
Voices from the shadows: "Yes Steve Rogers all of us, friends, lovers, comrades in arms. All of us."
Cap : "NO! I refuse to believe this! You're not real, you're all nothing but nameless shades."
Womans voice from behind him: "Are we dear Steve? I think not."
Cap Spins
Page 15
Cap A: "Sharon? B-but you're alive now. You never died!"
Sharon: But you wanted me dead, didn't you? You believed a taped image of me dying! You never looked to see if I was alive, never even inquired once, of anyone on your own. You left me to ROT where I was."
She punctuates the ROT with a slap to his face.
Another figure emerges from the shadows.
Diamondback: "What about me Captain? I would've done everything and anything for you. I proved myself to you time and again and you let me go. I sold myself practically into slavery for a cure for you when you were dying, and yet you couldn't have cared less."
Page 16
Bernie Rosenthal emerges from the stygian shadows next.
Bernie:"You were supposed to be my husband! We were engaged to be married!"
Cap A: "NO I refuse to believe any of this is real! I will not be broken by any of this! Whose doing is this Faustus? This has your particular brand of madness to it. Or maybe Mysterio, I've heard the parlor tricks are your stock in trade. Well you can stop them all right now. I refuse to be broken."
Another figure emerges from the shadows. It is a tall, thin and sad faced woman.
She stands to the side of all this and says nothing.
Suddenly other figures appear from the depths and encircle Captain America.
They are dead and long gone companions.
Thunderstrike: "You let me down Cap. I had faith in you. I listened to your every word , and yet you didn't prepare me enough for what lied ahead. Now I'm dead and rotting in the stinking ground."
Page 17
The Swordsman : "Yes, you were an inspiration to us all, and we paid the price for your incompetence. We followed your lead, and you doomed us to death."
The Original Human torch : "You left me to rot under the ground for more years then I can possibly say, yet you knew I wasn't alive, not in the sense you were. I could've been revived at anytime. You should've known!"
They all circle him, pointing , chiding, pushing, shoving. The oppressive heat beats down on him as the world begins to become a hellish vertigo as he drops to his knees amidst their constant taunts. Then the voice that started it all returns in ringing , demonic tones.
Voice: "Steven, oh Steven. Have you forgotten something? Your friend awaits you. But you must get to him first mustn't you?"
Suddenly an image of Jarvis inside an immense hourglass appears before Cap's shocked eyes. Sand pours over Jarvis as he fights for his life, but he hasn't much time left. The sand is already over his chest, and his eyes are frantic and pleading.
Page 19
Cap sees this and struggles to stand, but Bucky punches him full in the face. He tries to stand again, this time Sharon Carter kicks him from behind tumbling him over.
Sharon : "Stay down you old anachronism . Your day is over. You 've let us all down, time and again. You 've not allowed yourself the simple pleasure of a wife and family, using the excuse of "your mission". Well even career soldiers marry! There's no excuse for the lives you've ruined, none but your own selfishness! We hate you , all of us! You've ruined our lives and our deaths!"
They all speak in unison then : "Lay down and die Captain America, your dayshere are over. Lay down and die. No one needs you any more. You've done more harm then good in your to long life."
Cap : "N-no I-I refuse to believe that ! I've saved this world time and time again! I know I've done good, I know it!"
Diamondback: "Yes, but at what cost, always someone else has paid the price, never you, NEVER YOU!"
Page 20
He sinks to his knees, this living symbol of so much. He has never felt so beaten as he does now. This is not some masked and abstract villain who accuses him. These are his friends and loved ones! His loved ones.....
A hand touches his back, gently, and without malice, lovingly. A woman's voice begins to speak, and it's a voice he's heard before, many, many years ago.
Woman :" Stevie, stand up. These are not your loved ones, not your friends. Don't believe them, not a word they say! We all love you Stevie, the ones who really and truly count. We're proud of you! Proud of all your accomplishments. The ones you've made and the countless yet to come."
Cap turns and looks into her eyes. It is the woman who earlier stood to one side.
Woman: "Get up whatever you do Stevie, don't give in to despair! That's what he wants, don't give in to D'Spayre!"
Page 21
Suddenly the world around them explodes as a shrieking demon thing, in a torn and tattered cape, his skeletal visage practically aflame with anger, tears into the woman touching Cap, he hurls her away.
Woman : "Remember what I said Stevie. He can't hurt me, I'm long beyond that. Don't let this putrid wretch hurt you."
She begins to fade away.
Woman : "Remember son , I'm very very proud of you , and we always have been."
And with that she's gone.
Cap: "Mom?"
He leaps to his feet, suddenly invigorated.
Cap : "Enough games demon. This charade is over!"
Page 22
Cap begins to tear through the shades that surround him, The Pseudo Torch fires a blast of flame at him, that he easily blocks on his shield. Then turning he kicks out at "Bucky who was behind him in a rear thrust kick. As he does he simultaneously throws his shield at the "Torch" With each and every blow he delivers his so called friends, they burst into acrid smoke as would a bubbles from a childs toy, only they are made of more nefarious stuff.
D'Spayre: "I had you ! You were mine! That woman, she ruined it all. I had your oh so pure soul in my grasp! MY GRASP!"
Cap delivers a cutting swipe of the Shield to "Bernies" head and another bursts into smoke.
Cap : "Perhaps you did Demon, perhaps not. In any event you've lost. I will not succumb to your machinations . Now or ever!"
A flying kick sends the "Swordsman" back to the grave, as "Diamondback" throws her Explosive throwing darts at his back. With combat bred senses and reflexes honed in hundreds of battles , Cap ducks under the thrown darts, and rolls away as they implant themselves in D'Spayres chest!
BOOM!
The explosion knocks D'Spayre flying
Page 23
D'Spayre: "NOOO! What have you done? These have the same effect as the real worlds would have! "
Cap throws his Shield at "Diamondback" and she too, the last of the shades, disappears into a whiff of smoke.
Cap A: "What have I done D'Spayre? I've evened the odds!"
Cap leaps at his foe, delivering a powerful right to the demons face, then he follows it up with a blistering left uppercut to D'Spayres chin.
Pow!
Bam!
Cap : "Give up demon. I know your game now. You don't stand a chance once you're out of the shadows where you dwell."
Page 24
Cap pounds on D'Spayre, totally relentless is his attack. The demon lashes out, but Cap is faster, blocking the powerful creatures talon like hand on his Shield, and striking back with his free hand.
Cap: "This is over monster. I'm sure the Vault would love to have a demon incarcerated to probe and experiment on."
Cap delivers a savage standing football kick to D'Spayres face.
P-Kow!
The demon falls back against a cavern wall, his demeanor now that of a caged rat.
D'Spayre:" Y-you would imprison me? ME? Y-you forget I-I hold your friend."
He waves his hand and Jarvis appears, his face the only thing showing as sand covers his entire body and head in the hourglass.
Cap A: "Not for long!"
Cap hurls the shield, it rockets as if from a missile silo, shattering the hourglass as Jarvis tumbles out and to the ground, gasping for air, but nonetheless grateful to be alive.
Page 25
Cap turns towards D'Spayre.
Cap : "Now about your new home...."
D'Spayre begins to fade away as Cap grabs for him, his hands passing through his immaterial substance.
D'Spayre: "N-no Captain America, They'll be no imprisonment of the demon known as D'Spayre. Not today. We will meet again Captain, of that you can be certain."
Cap: "I look forward to it monster, and it may be sooner then you think."
With a look akin to fear on his ghastly face , D'Spayre fades entirely from view, as Cap and Jarvis suddenly find themselves back in Avengers Mansions kitchen.
Jarvis : "My word Master Steven, I-I Don't know how you do that day in and out! And lest I forget, Thank you for saving me once again."
Cap shakes Jarvis's hand.
Cap : "I'm sorry I cut it so close old friend . I know things got a little bit down to the wire there."
Jarvis : "Captain, never once did I doubt you. Not once. I knew you would save me from that predicament. Never once did I........despair."