I work out. (つ▀¯▀)つ [Sam, log complete.]
Sam wasn't the only one feeling cooped up on the train. Kate didn't have a real change of clothes with her when she arrived on the Orient Express, apparently all her clothes room was taken up by superhero gear. So instead she was rocking an official blue and white pajama top for a shirt with her jeans.
(Shut up, Clint. The top was longer and clearly a woman’s cut so it totally wasn't supposed to be with the random pajama bottoms you found.)
The observation deck had the most space and so Kate, overachiever that she was, got up early. Even if she couldn't go running, she could at least do sit ups, push ups, jumping jacks, a few yoga positions -- whatever routine she could come up so she didn't feel like a sardine.
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Sam had come to the same decision about the observation deck, but he was pleasantly surprised to see he wasn't the only one. He was in his workout suit, which was really his flight suit minus the wings, with a small towel draped over his shoulder. He grinned when he spotted someone else up this early.
“Glad I'm not the only one,” he said, tossing the towel onto a bench and setting aside his bottle of water. “How you doing? I'm Sam Wilson.”
He offered a hand.
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Kate got up and offered her own hand, “Kate Bishop. I don't think we've met before, you're the new Cap, right?”
Falcon was well known for the wings and now that Cap was black and flew around with wings, regardless of whether it was public knowledge it was pretty easy to guess Sam’s identity. “I'm the other Hawkeye.”
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Sam raised his brows, shaking her hand. “Me? Cap?” He laughed. “Wow, how many are on this train? I dunno where you’re from, but for me, Cap is Steve Rogers. Though we’ve got a Bucky Barnes that’s currently Captain America. It seems complicated to me.”
Her name made his grin widen. “The other Hawkeye. Aight, like Barton?”
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“Yeah. Like Barton. He's from an alternate universe, too. Thankfully it's not a feel homicidal as soon as I see you kinda deal.”
She paused and looked at him.
“So far. Last time I did the alternate dimension thing it was … rough. You're still The Falcon though, right?”
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Sam nodded. “Yeah. I’m the Falcon. Alternate universe, huh? Alright, I can wrap my head around that. I think. So, where you come from, I’m Captain America? How’d that happen?”
He grinned. “You know, just to be ready in case something happens I should know.”
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“Well…” Kate shrugged, “Steve Rogers is kinda getting up there in age. I mean, he's not fully retired and he's still a super soldier, but ever since he woke up in the 60s… I guess he felt it was time to pass the mantle.”
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Sam shook his head hard and blinked. “Whoa. Whoa. In the 60s? Damn, this is weird. Cap’s only, like, been outta the ice about three years now. He woke up in 2012.” Sam shook his head again, trying to put the facts together. “What about Barnes? Bucky Barnes? You know him?”
Yeah, he was going to have to do a lot of explaining if Steve found out about this.
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“The Winter Soldier? I met him once. I hear he works for SHIELD now, last I checked.”
Kate thought he was cute but decided not to share that less than stunning insight. Sam wasn't bad looking either. He looked younger than she thought he'd be.
“Alternate dimensions are weird. I met a giant mutant vampire bat version of me once. Any other questions?”
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Sam rubbed a hand over his face. “Mutant vampire b-- no. No, I don't want to know. Yeah, I do, but no. And here I am thinking it's wacked that Steve's the Winter Soldier and Barnes is Captain America.”
He looked at her. “So do I just call you Hawkeye the Second, or you got a name?”
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Hawkeye’s eyes got wide. She may have tried to look the part of the seasoned twenty year old veteran, but that news surprised her.
“Damn. Does he have the metal arm and everything?”
Maybe that was rude to ask. The Young Avenger blinked and remembered herself.
“Kate,” she said. “Call me Katie and I'll shoot you.” She was joking. Mostly. Only Clint got away with calling her Katie.
---
It was oddly gratifying to see her thrown. Maybe because she was so nonchalant about alternate universe. Sam let out a breath. “Yeah, metal arm and all. He's just got away from Hydra, so if you happen to run into him… maybe don't tell him he's Captain America, would you? Trying not to upset him. “
Sam gave her a smile. “Nice to meet you, Kate. So, how'd you learn about alternate dimensions before taking a ride on the crazy train?“
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“Uh, it’s kind of a long story. So I’m part of the Young Avengers, sort of like the JV version of The Avengers, but at the time it was disbanded after Cassie Lang died and Patriot quit. Wiccan and his boyfriend Hulkling were living with his parents and Wiccan tried to rescue the alternate version of his boyfriend's mom seconds before she died in another dimension since he has reality warping magical powers and instead was tricked by a monster pretending to be the alternate version of his boyfriend's mom. So then Kid Loki…”
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”Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Sam cut her off, starting to feel a migraine coming on. “Okay. You're gonna have to go a lot slower, and explain who some of those people are. Or… we can just concede that you know more about it than I do.”
Hulkling? Kid Loki? This was way more than he'd bargained for.
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“Nah. Out of the Young Avengers, the ones that knew the most about alternate dimensions were Wiccan, Loki and Miss America who has powers that let her jump different dimensions. Wiccan is Scarlet Witch’s son. Hulkling is actually half Kree and half Skrull, but since he can shapeshift and loves the Hulk, frequently makes himself look kinda like the Hulk meets an Ambercrombie and Fitch model. Kid Loki is actually just Loki, but after he died and was reincarnated as a kid by Asgard. Cassie Lang was Scott Lang’s daughter and had her own version of the Ant-Man-slash-Giant-Man suit. ...Miss America is from some sort of alternate Utopian dimension herself. Marvel Boy is sort of my ex, also an alien, but full blooded Kree so that was sort of a thing. There’s been others on the roster, but you get the idea.
“Mostly my alternate dimension experience boils down to a monster was trying to eat us, turn our parents into pod people, pose as our dead parents, and anyone over the age of twenty-two was incapable of seeing or perceiving what was going on as all of our alternate selves chased us through different dimensions trying to kill us.”
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Sam blinked. And blinked again. Then he slowly nodded. “Okay. I'm gonna take your word for it.” He definitely had a headache now. “Please don't try and tell Steve all of that. Not until I'm sure his head won't explode.”
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“When you said Steve Rogers was the Winter Solider, you mean that’s just his codename now, right? I mean, he’s better. It’s not like he’s still an evil brainwashed assassin, right?” Kate frowned at Sam.
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Sam frowned. “I mean, he's getting there. Brainwashed assassin, but I can't really say evil. He's… still mostly figuring it out. But he doesn't want to hurt anyone.”
Remembering the bruises on Bucky, Sam scowled a bit. “So long as nothing triggers him.”
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“Anything in particular I should avoid?” Kate asked with a frown.
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Sam shrugged. “Wish I knew. Just try to be patient with him. He seems like he's still working out that he's allowed to speak for himself.”
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“I’ll warn Clint,” Kate said. What she thought was Because Steve Rogers as a ticking time bomb isn’t terrifying at all. “Kinda makes you wish we had a telepath on the train. I don’t suppose you’ve seen any X-Men?”
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Confusion. “The what now?”
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“Nevermind. Maybe if we get a telepath so they can help with the…” Triggers that could turn a super soldier into a homicidal maniac in close quarters? “...stuff.”
There was barely a pause before Kate decided to change the subject: “So, you wanna train with me?”
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Glad for the topic shift (since her significant pause let Sam consider the same thought), Sam nodded with a grin. “Yeah. I would. If that's alright with you.”
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“Sure. I mean, I’m pretty good with a bow and arrow, and a sword, but my hand to hand could use some work.”
Kate looked around. There wasn’t really a good place to spar.
“Or we could start out with some yoga or something.”
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Sam shrugged. “Let's warm up first. Then we can figure out where to spar.” Maybe the roof. He wouldn't mind a chance to spread his wings while he was at it.