Tales From The Marvelous World: "The Eagle Protector"

muppetwriter

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Another "Tale From The Marvelous World" that I wrote and published online yesterday for the Fourth of July. This one is split into 2 parts and features :attitude: and :concern:, the former of whom tells the story of how he became an icon of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a trusted friend to Captain America. Enjoy! :smile:
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Part One


It was a slow day at Muppet Central, the complex that used to be the New Avengers Facility in upstate New York before it was granted ownership to Kermit and the rest of the Muppets gang. Most of everyone was out on gigs, running errands, or simply unwinding. Some stayed around Central, doing their own unique thing around the complex.

Gonzo, ironically, was bored out of his mind.

He could’ve come up with another inane stunt. With all that the Avengers left behind in the facility, he was like a kid in a candy store. Trying on one of Tony Stark’s Iron Man suits and seeing how far he could shoot himself into space? It was worth the possible chance of exploding before he even reached the troposphere.

The more he thought about, the more he wanted to actually do it.

But, in searching for the room where Stark housed all of the suits, Gonzo happened on quite the eye-catcher: a display of Captain America’s gear, including his iconic star-spangled shield.

“Whoa!” the weirdo gasped.

“Step away from the display!” a familiar voice with an air of gruff strictness demanded him. Gonzo turned to see Sam the Eagle approach with that stern glare he always had in his eyes, framed by his bushy unibrow.

“I wasn’t touching anything,” Gonzo defended himself. “I was just looking at it!”

“Well, look from a 12-foot distance!” Sam ordered. “Captain Rogers himself explicitly left me in charge of everything in this display – the shield being the most important of them all!”

Gonzo stood amazed. “Wow, Sam. Cap really had a lot of trust in you. Makes sense, I suppose, being his personal friend and all. You’re like the second guy he’s friends with who goes by ‘Sam’.”

“Correction: I am the first guy he’s friends with who goes by ‘Sam’.”


Gonzo’s eyelids rose to the back of his head. “You mean to tell me you were friends with Cap even before he was frozen in ice?! Well, now you’ve gotta tell me everything!” He pulled up the nearest stool he could find and sat down.

“I cannot divulge in much of our history – much of those missions we were assigned by the SSR are still classified to this day.” Sam caught himself reminiscing those old days and suddenly remembered, “There was one mission I can share. The one that not only put me in a close friendship with Captain Rogers but also made me an icon of S.H.I.E.L.D. And I’m not being poetic. That eagle you see on the insignia – that’s me.”

Gonzo couldn’t believe what he was hearing with his own ears (if he had them). He sat there on the stool, clinging to every detail of Sam’s story.

--------------------------​

The year was 1944. We were fighting towards an allied victory against the Germans in World War II, and much of it we had to thank to Captain Rogers. I, of course, didn’t see much combat on the battlefield. I was assigned the role of “Senior Investigator” for the Strategic Scientific Reserve, looking into the slipperiest of HYDRA operatives – ones not even Captain Rogers and the Howling Commandos could find.

My greatest target was Professor Krassman, a HYDRA scientist and the world's leading authority in the rapidly growing field of mind control in frogs. Peggy Carter – you know her best as “Agent Carter” – was nearly Krassman’s first human test subject.

I pinpointed Krassman’s location to a barn out in the German countryside.



It was only Agent Carter and I out in the field. We split up to find Krassman, but he found Peggy first. I only caught up to them after I heard her scream. By then, Professor Krassman already had her tied to a chair connected to his machine.

My gun was on Krassman, ready to pull the trigger. But I hesitated.


“Surrender, birdie!” Krassman ordered me. “Or else I flip ze switch and fry her brain like eggs on ze pan!”

Peggy remained more vigilant than ever. “He’ll do it regardless! Shoot him, Sam!”

Although you wouldn’t have noticed, bundled beneath layers and layers of feathers, my gun hand trembled. Never once had I shot another being, evil or not. More to the point, I had to consider Agent Carter’s life – it was in my feathered hands in that moment.

And then, a brilliant idea came to me!


“Krassman,” I said. “Your shoes are untied.”

That was your “brilliant” idea?!

It was brilliant in the sense of what happened next.


While Krassman had a laugh at my expense, amused by my attempt at distracting him, Peggy said, “Well, he forgot to tie my shoes.”

“Vhat shoes?” Krassman asked, looking down at her feet.

And that’s when she let him have it – a swift kick right to Krassman’s face.

I see now. He forgot to tie her legs down.

Correct! And it was this mistake that allowed me to free Agent Carter and, with her help, put Krassman into the machine. We flipped the switch and, in seconds, Krassman’s mind was rendered to an infant state.

We radioed to Howard Stark afterwards. Needless to say, when word got to Colonel Phillips about our excursion, he was not at all pleased. But, nevertheless, he was impressed with my work on the case and Captain Rogers was grateful for saving Agent Carter. They rewarded me for my heroism and, by the 1950s, I was honored as the face of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Those years in S.H.I.E.L.D. were the happiest times of my life…


…until the day S.H.I.E.L.D. fell.

 

muppetwriter

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And now, the conclusion of "The Eagle Protector"! :attitude: :concern:
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Part Two


“That’s right! You were there when it happened!” Gonzo recollected, his excitement growing every second in listening to Sam’s story. “I remember Kermit, Fozzie, and me covering it for The Daily Chronicle. You were one of our eye witnesses, but you left out a few details.”

“Well…uh…yes,” Sam stammered, “but mostly because I was under direct orders from the higher-ups at the time. And I’m still not allowed to share them. But…” He stopped and considered for a moment, looking around the room to make sure no one besides Gonzo was listening. And then he told the weirdo, “I will divulge them only to you. But you have to swear not to tell a soul about any of what you’re about to hear.”

“Cross my heart, spleen, liver, and intestines and hope to die,” Gonzo swore.

Sam shuddered at his odd way of pledging. “Alright. Here’s the entire account of what happened…”

----------------------​

By the year 2014, I had celebrated over sixty marvelous years being the poster eagle for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.

The what?!

That’s S.H.I.E.L.D. for short.

Oh. Right.

Anyway, on that faithful spring day of 2014, I stopped by the sublevels of the Triskelion to check in with the facility’s resident researcher, Dr. Phil van Neuter.



Yeah, I know him. He’s the original “Dr. Phil.”

Or so he claims.

I came to Dr. Neuter to check out his latest stool sample. He was a specialist in designing the best stools you’ve ever sat on.

Ohhhh! Stool sample.

Of course. What other type of “stool samples” did you think I meant?

Well, I thought…You know what? Never mind. Continue.

Just when I was about to test Neuter’s latest stool sample, there was a sudden transmission over the Triskelion’s intercom. It was Captain Rogers, who – by that time – was still a registered fugitive.

He gave quite the rousing speech, as he always does, and with it came that disturbing revelation:


“Attention all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, this is Steve Rogers. You’ve heard a lot about me over the last few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it’s time to tell the truth. S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was. It’s been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The S.T.R.I.K.E. and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don’t know how many more, but I know they’re in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want. Absolute control. They shot Nick Fury. And it won’t end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way. Unless we stop them. I know I’m asking a lot. But the price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it’s a price I’m willing to pay. And if I’m the only one, then so be it. But I’m willing to bet I’m not.”


I was in total shock from what I heard Captain Rogers say. The very organization I had been the face of…the one I swore to serve and protect…it was a front for HYDRA for all those sixty years!

After the speech, I instructed Dr. Neuter
, “We must stay put here in your lab, until we have determined who is friend or foe. Be wary of anyone. There’s no telling who we can or cannot trust.”

And then I heard the sound of a large steel door sealing shut. I turned my head to see that Dr. Neuter left his lab and stood outside, waving to me with one of his dirtied, gloved hands through the only shatterproof window looking in. “Sorry, Sam,” he told me. “I’m one of those foes, but I hope we can still be friends.”

“I will never be friends with a traitorous agent of HYDRA!” I declared.

“Now, ya see, that hurts me, Sam,” Neuter said. “Because I really enjoyed working for you – giving you all those wonderful stool samples. That’s why I’m going to let you die, listening to your favorite song.”

On that, Neuter took out a remote control that operated the stereo system he installed in his lab. It did in fact play my favorite song, “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” at reasonable volume while toxic gas began to cloud into the room.

Neuter gave a very flippant
“Hail HYDRA!” and fled the scene.

I remained calm, using my SSR training to hold my breath as I tried to find a way out of Neuter’s trap. As I examined the lab with only short minutes left, I realized that the gas came from the loudspeakers – the stereo system itself functioning as the gas machine. With this knowledge, I did the only resourceful thing: use Neuter’s latest stool sample to demolish the machine.

Not only did this shut it off, but it also unsealed the lab.

YES!

Thank you. It was quite the thrilling escape.

No, I meant “Yes” is the name of the rock band who sings your favorite song.


Ugh! Anyway…I knew there was little time in hunting down Neuter, as one of the Project Insight Helicarriers had been shot down and crashed into the Triskelion. It was at that time when I heard Agent Romanoff call my name over the comms: “Sam! Sam, if you’re still in the building, meet us on the roof! We’re waiting for you in the chopper!”


So I rushed as fast as possible to the rooftop, finding Agent Romanoff and Director Fury – who I was surprised to see alive and well – in the waiting helicopter. “I am here! I made it!” I told them, although they were both confused to see me there.

I found out why when Agent Romanoff told me shortly thereafter,
“Actually, I was calling for Sam Wilson…not Sam Eagle. But, since you’re already here, get your feathered tail onboard.”

In spite of the mix-up between Sam’s, we were able to rescue Wilson before the entire Triskelion collapsed into rubble.

-------------------------​

“Wow! Years later, that whole experience still gives me goosebumps!” Gonzo rolled up his sleeves to show the bumps. “Ya probably can’t see them underneath all the blue hair, but they’re there.”

Sam cringed with disgust. “Um, yes…Although Dr. Neuter still remains at large and S.H.I.E.L.D. is nothing more than a shadow these days, I remain vigilant in upholding its legacy and that of Captain America… until a more worthy individual decides to take on the responsibility.”

In his proclamation, the proud American eagle stared off into the distance, imagining who or what the next Captain America would be like.




His focus was suddenly disrupted when he heard music playing in the room.

“Owner of a Lonely Heart” again.

Gonzo played it on a nearby, ordinary stereo system, without a single word of warning or consideration to the PTSD that it triggered within Sam.
Regardless, the eagle refused to pass on the opportunity to jam along.



 

The Count

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So this took place within Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier, the only film in the Captain America franchise I've seen. Actually saw it in the cinema with my real-life best friend that week we wwere in New Orleans in April 2014.
Also, did you attach a video at the end of Part 2 of the fic? Because there's a message there about the video at YouTube being unavailable.

Nice oneshot and good to read from your Marvel Muppets font. :big_grin:
 

muppetwriter

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So this took place within Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier, the only film in the Captain America franchise I've seen. Actually saw it in the cinema with my real-life best friend that week we wwere in New Orleans in April 2014.
It's hard to tell exactly what point in the "Marvelous Muppets" timeline this tale takes place, as it'd be a spoiler to the main story. But the final image with :attitude: in between the two Caps should be a hint. :wink:
Also, did you attach a video at the end of Part 2 of the fic? Because there's a message there about the video at YouTube being unavailable.
Dang it! I hate when that happens. Weird because it's playing fine for me. Not sure what's going on. :confused:
Nice oneshot and good to read from your Marvel Muppets font. :big_grin:
Thanks! I'm publishing Part One of another "Marvelous" tale here shortly. :smile:
 
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