Any chance of rain?

0037

New York, Brooklyn.

In a black car, Arthur was feeling a bit nostalgic. Steve was sitting next to him looking out the window.

Choices affect lives and Arthur got to see the historic moment that changed Steve's destiny. With his own eyes, he saw how Steve jumped at the grenade to protect his comrades, his competitors even, without any regards for his life. And quite frankly, the military needed such selflessness; as people losing themselves in power is an age-old cliché.

Decisions can determine fate. When Steve decided to protect his comrades with his own body, he set a precedent that no other recruit could exceed.

Arthur did not interact much with Steve since he did not want to interfere with a Hero's fate. A person can be born kind but only circumstances can birth a hero. Each action he took was a ripple that moved him further from the plot he was familiar with. And he definitely did not want his actions to bite him in the ass.

'Fate' was troublesome to mess with.

Not to mention the infectious personality that is induced into others just by standing near the protagonists. An ally? Oh, the once rational person is bound ky kindness and love and what-not and sacrifices themselves. The enemy? This should be in the top 10 list of "How to Reduce IQ Instantly" list. Just by being the enemy grants you {-50% IQ}, {35% more like to make mistakes}, {100% less accuracy}, {100% more likely to be shot}, {99.9% more likely for a failsafe to fail} and the list goes on and on and on.

…

"I know this neighbourhood! That's the bar I visited frequently and even fought... well, got beaten in that alley… and that parking lot.", sitting in the car had made Steve rather nervous and it did not look like his Sergeant, Arthur, was going to speak anytime soon.

The salutations, being called 'Sir' or 'Sarge' or even 'instructor' gave Arthur a weird feeling but he could not stop them since he was their Sergeant for a time.

"If you meet them now, you might as well shoot them directly.", Art made an off-handed comment.

"Oh, Sergeant, I cannot do that. I will not kill a person over these things... and I never intend to hurt anyone."

"Then why did you decide to be a part of the army in the first place? Don't tell me you won't attack the enemy."

And sure enough, Art heard the guy speak the typical holy saint speech: "It is because I was always bullied, so I hope that I do not hurt anyone… nor bully anyone. I have known what being bullied almost all your life feels like..."

Art just watched the people passing by from the window.

"Sir...", Steve once again asked for his attention.

Arthur could only sigh and look at him, urging him to speak his mind.

"Sir, what will happen in the experiment?", Arthur doesn't say anything but maybe his silence told Steve something that hardened his mind: "No matter what the outcome, I will accept it."

As for what inspiration Steve gained from silence, we may never know.

-- Haiz these protagonists… Who knows what goes on in their heads~ --

But his curiosity made him ask, "If you could gain power beyond imagination upon a simple wish, what would you wish for?"

"I… Um…", a little hesitant, Steve asked, "Can I grow taller?"

"Hahahahaaaa… of course you can. You will be as tall as me. Maybe even taller.", Arthur burst into laughter.

"That's really good." he smiled: "If I can gain enough strength, I will win the war, and then find a woman to live my whole life with."

Arthur just smiled. The exchange had released Steve's stress.

Soon the car stopped. At a very unassuming street. They had arrived.

__Brooklynn Antiques__

Art got off after Steve. Looking at the street, he could see many onlookers subtly looking at them.

--Should have hidden this place better--

After glanced at the surrounding environment, the corner of the summer night rose slightly.

"Are we in the right place?", a reasonable question. "This way. It will be a whole new world for you."

A polite and sweet old lady greeted them, "Wonderful weather this morning, isn't it?"

Arthur: "Yes, but I always carry an umbrella with me."

Indeed a sweet lady that will make 600 holes in a minute if you gave the wrong answer.

The bookshelf opened, revealing a hallway, assistants in white walking around and a familiar face waiting for them.

Carter: "You arrived later than I thought."

"I wasn't the one who scheduled our drive, so telling me won't do anything."

Arthur shrugged, "Take him to the doctor, he should be expecting him. I'm going to look around."

Carter: "Did you find someone suspicious?"

"Calm down, you're going to disturb the workers here." –Take the hint woman! –, "I'm bored. I'll just look around."

At this moment, Steve who understood Arthur's hint properly changed the subject: "Is there anything I will need to prepare before the tests?"

"No. Everything will start once you meet up with the doctor..." Carter was successfully distracted and Arthur took his chance to slip away.

In fact, he did a double take when he saw the bookshelf on the way back, he really wanted to take them with him...

But considering that this place was monitored, he'd rather not take his chance. Pity that they got destroyed in the original timeline.

"I thought you would like to watch it with your own eyes." the old lady mentions.

Arthur sighed, explaining, "I would like to too, but I would rather not congest the room too much... By the way, under whose name is 'SM 553A' registered?"

"Let me see...", the old lady had a hunch but did not raise any complains.

After all, no matter how careful you are, Murphy's Rule still haunts the brightest of plans. Walls have ears.

"This car belongs to Fred, from the State Department, he should be inside with the doctor."

The lady smiled and looked at him: "Any chance of rain?"

"Thank god I have an umbrella. Won't you agree?"