Dark Avengers - Chapter Three
P L A N E T : X A N D A R , 1 9 8 6
S T E P H E N
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All he could hear were the screams of the Xandarian people as loved ones were torn apart and separated into two distinct sides.
They had been taken by surprise, and had no choice but to seek shelter in the small shack outside of their small house and hope it would be enough to conceal them from the Titan’s wrath.
Sarah Rogers wrapped her son up in her arms and held him close to her chest. She silenced his short yelps with the palm of her hand, making sure they wouldn’t be given away.
Sarah felt tears trickle down her cheeks as she imagined what the madman had done to her beloved husband. The last time they’d seen them was when he was distracting The Titan’s soldiers by fighting back, killing a few of them.
Sarah let out a silent cry in anguish as she heard the love of her life yell out in pain as he was viciously stabbed through the chest, over and over again, until he was dead.
Her poor son had no idea what was happening, and he wasn’t aware that his father just died, but he was terrified nonetheless. He lay in his mother’s arms, panting as he prayed and prayed for the bad men to just go away, but sadly, his prayers were never answered.
He was confused at first when he saw the startling blu color seep underneath the door. Steve heard his mother inhale sharply and cover his eyes as the dark blue stream grew closer and closer until the smell hit him.
Blood.
His father’s.
Then he made the worst or best mistake of his life, he screamed.
His mother was too shocked by the blood seeping under the door of the shack, that she didn’t cover his mouth in time.
It was silent.
Then, something ripped the door off of its hinges, and the next thing he knew, his mother was ripped away from him by a dark grey creature, and he was thrust into the arms of another one.
He screamed and cried for his mother, but the last time he ever saw her, she was struggling in vain to free herself from her captors to no avail.
“STEPHEN!” Sarah screamed at the top of her lungs until it hurt too much to do so.
The last time she ever saw her son, he was at the far end of the court, his back facing her. A large purple hand was clasped firmly on the frail boy’s shoulder, and it appeared as if he was admiring something. She strained her neck to get a better view, and she only got a glimpse of...
A shield.
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“MOTHER! MOTHER! MOTHER, WHERE ARE YOU?! MOTH-” Stephen was cut off by a hand clamping his mouth shut and another grabbing his arm and hauling him away from the screaming crowd of Xandarians.
He clawed at his captor’s hand, and tried to get free, but to no avail. Finally, he was able to wrench himself free after he bit down hard on his strangely colored creature.
He heard the alien screech in pain and lunge at him in attempt to drag him back to his master, but Steve was too quick.
The young Xandarian may have been sickly and frail, but he was quick on his feet. He ran through the crowds and yelled for his mother, but there were too many other people in the crowds.
He didn’t see her.
Suddenly, a bluish grey alien grabbed his arm harshly, albeit gentler than his prior captor and thrust him into one of the screaming crowds of Xandarians. He was instantly swallowed by the crowd, and could no longer tell which direction was which or who he was even standing amongst.
Stephen tried to run away and out of the crowd after he was thrust right into the heart of it, but there were too many others around him.
But he never gave up.
He tried and tried, and became frantic once the guns were pointed straight at him. He closed his eyes and waited for the guns to fire, and for him to be killed.
The frail boy amongst hundreds upon hundreds of Xandarians prayed for his death to be quick, and that his mother hadn’t wound up in the same crowd as him.
He could feel the breath leave his mouth, and he imagined it being the last on he’d ever take, when a booming voice pulled him out of his trance.
“Not this one.” The Titan himself said, pointing at the young boy.
Hastily, two of his soldiers grabbed him by his skinny arms and dragged him through the remainder of the crowd and to the large leather-clad feet of the madman.
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All he could feel was shock.
Why him? Did the universe finally answer my prayers? What about my mother?
This last question caused him to come out of shock, and begin resisting the aliens dragging him to the best of his ability.
But Steve was a sickly child, and these soldiers were strong grown warriors and his futile attempts to escape only irritated them.
When they thrust him in front of the Mad Titan, he could feel his tiny body trembling, not in fear,
but rage.
With newfound bravery, the young boy stood up shakily on his two small feet and looked the Titan straight in the eye.
“What’s wrong, my boy?” The imposing figure asked the shaking child.
“My mother. Where is my mother?” Stephen boldly demanded of the Titan.
The huge man only chuckled, his eyes filled with amusement.
The huge man kneeled down, so he was closer to the golden haired child’s height.
“What’s your name?” The Titan asked.
“Stephen. Stephen Rogers.” The young boy answered.
“You’re quite the fighter, Stephen.” The Titan complimented the boy.
The Titan offered the brave boy his callused hand, and to both of their surprise, he took it.
Stephen let the intimidating man lead him away from the screaming crowds of Xandarians, and to their sacred temple where they worshipped their High Priestess.
The Titan knelt down once they were away from prying eyes and tortured screams. He reached behind his back and pulled out a round shield with a single white star surrounded by blue painted in the center. It had red and white stripes surrounding it, and it seemed huge to the small seven-year old.
“See this?” The supposed madman asked the child as he handed the shield to him. “Strong, isn’t it?”
Stephen expected the shield to be heavy, but to his surprise, it was quite light.
The Titan pulled out something else from behind his back, from who knows where and clasped it onto the young Xandarian’s wrist.
“What does it do?” The curious boy asked, forgetting about all his worries from before.
The Titan chuckled.
“This, my boy can be used to summon the shield to your arm in a matter of seconds by scanning brain patterns. It’s magnetized as well, see,” The Titan gently took the shield from the young boy and hovered it above the cuff on his forearm. It instantly attached, leaving the young boy speechless.
Stephen had never seen anything quite like it, since he was merely a civilian and didn’t have the privilege of living anywhere close to the High Priestess’ castle or court. As he looked down at the shield magnetized to his forearm, he felt an unfamiliar feeling.
Power.
“You see, my boy, there is only one star with an even amount of stripes surrounding it...
It’s perfectly balanced, as all things should be.” The Titan finished with a smile on his face.
A look of awe crossed Stephen’s face, and he yearned to hold the spangled shield once more.
The Titan must have seen the fleeting look on his face, because he used his sheer strength to remove the shield from the magnetized cuff.
“Here, you try.” He held out the shield to Stephen, and the young boy eagerly accepted it.
He carefully placed the shield on the ground, and focused as hard as he could on summoning the shield to his arm.
But it was hard to focus with all of the screams in the distance that would forever haunt his dreams for the rest of his life. He turned his head to look, but the Titan gently pushed it back towards the shield.
“Concentrate.” The Titan instructed him.
Stephen’s eyebrows scrunched up, and his eyes narrowed on the round body of the shield. All of the sudden, he heard a faint whoosh and the click of the shield connecting with his forearm. Surprisingly, there wasn’t much kickback, so he didn’t immediately fall over.
“There! You’ve got it.” The Titan gave the young boy a small grin and clapped gently on the back.
“But, I do have one question,” Stephen averted his eyes from the intimidating figure. “Where did you get this shield from?”
“Well my boy, you’re not the only young child who’s caught my attention these past couple of years. One of my children, Anthony, has quite the gifted mind. You see, he’s the one who designed and forged this shield clasped on your arm right now. I’m sure you two shall enjoy each other’s company.” The Titan finished, pride clearly evident in his voice.
Stephen smiled. He’d never really had any friends before, besides Bucky. But his former best friend had died a few years ago in a tragic mining accident led by none other than Stephen’s own father.
But then Stephen realized what the Titan was saying.
The infamous intergalactic warlord wanted Stephen Rogers to come live with him on his gigantic warship.
Just the very idea of it almost made Stephen laugh, before he remembered who was in his company.
Once again, The Titan held out his large hand for Stephen’s smaller one to take.
“Come with me, my boy. Together, we will conquer many planets and people alike. You can become powerful. You can help me save the universe!” The Titan encouraged him.
“Together?” The young Xandarian asked.
“Together.” Replied Thanos.
With one final glance over his shoulder, Stephen saw the pile of corpses and knew that there was no future here for him on Xandar.
So with his red, white, and blue shield in one hand and Thanos’ large purple one in the other, Stephen Rogers left the only life he’d ever known and started all over again.
But he never forgot where he came from.
