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[ The video turns on to a view of a man’s face, and those observant enough to notice nitpicky details might realize that this is a man who’s familiar with and comfortable using strange bits of technology. There’s no fear in his eyes, no outward confusion or panic. He looks calm and in control, and when he speaks, he sounds like it, too. ]

Hello. My name’s Steve Rogers and I just recently arrived from a city called New York. I was debriefed about the situation and I wanted to offer my help to anyone who needs it.

[ He pauses for a moment as he collects his thoughts. These days, it’s not often that he goes somewhere that people aren’t at least slightly familiar with who he is. Providing a brief resume is a somewhat novel experience. ]

I’ve been a soldier for a long time, but I’m also good with my hands. Construction, farming, hunting, good old-fashioned heavy lifting, I can help with that. I can speak a number of languages, too, if anyone needs translations done. I know I’m new, but I want to pull my weight. So if you know anyone who might need a hand with something, let me know.

[ Offering a faint smile, he gives the camera a short nod. ]

Thanks for your time.

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Phoenix? [Toro's brow wrinkles up a bit.] Doesn't ring a bell, Cap. We never fought a Phoenix back home. ...Does this have anything to do with what Ms Marvel said about you running around in the new millenium?

[Is this actually his Steve? He had taken it at face value at first because he really look like Steve. But maybe he should have questioned.]

Yeah, it does. Year twenty-twelve. It was an entity from another world. Some called it a god. Used to be an X-Men problem until things got out of control.

[ He's come a long way from fighting Nazis and lunatics, but as powerful as they are and as impossible as it seems, he's learned that gods can be stopped too. ]

Think you dodged a bullet there, Toro.

[He talks about it so easily. Like he was saying the sun was out or there might be a chance of clouds. Steve has always been the one that sounded so sure and kept together. He didn't lose his temper as often as Namor or even Pappy did. Still, it's strange seeing him look older--and maybe that's what was off about him before, he's not as young as the image in Toro's mind.

His smile is a bit awkward.]

You know how good I am at dodging those. [Except you know, that one time he got shot. And that other time.] You sound like you've been busy in the future. You missed out on a lot of the fun.

It's been an experience. I've met some great people.

[ But he doesn't belong in the future. In his heart, Steve's still stuck in the 40s, fighting battles he knows he's going to win and clinging to the people and places he belongs with. ]

But I wish I'd've been there with you guys. The future hasn't been the same without you.

Can't say things have been the same without you either. [His voice gets a little softer--he's not getting choked up okay, really. Even if he probably already knows about the other Caps and how they hid that he and Bucky died...or were thought to have died. Things just weren't the same.]

I've heard some weird stuff happens in the future. Like ol' Fishsticks being nice.

[ Nice is probably too strong of a word. ]

He's gotten a little better. And made some questionable alliances.

[ But to Steve, that's hardly surprising. Part of him wants to tell Toro about the future, yet sometimes it seems impossible even to Steve, and he's lived it. To someone else, it would probably seem hopeless and overwhelming. ]

So get me caught up. What've you been doing around here?

Then I hope you talked some sense into him. [Nita sure made it sound like he'd calmed down. Toro's still not sure it's ever possible. Really Namor not insulting people as soon as he meets them is "nice" to Toro.]

Not too much is going on here. The turtle's sick and they're rationing the food and major supplies because of it. The kedan blame us for it so they've gotten--kind of nasty. Gets worse as things keep up this way. You've already seen how different from humans they are. They're shapeshifters. Can you believe it? A whole race of shapeshifter would be so keen so see...if they didn't hate us.

Then that space tower thing fell out of the sky and wrecked a heap of things. And people were getting possessed by whatever had been in it. Nobody seems to be possessed anymore, but we're still rebuilding. It's just like saving New York all the time, only the people of New York throw us parades sometimes. [He laughs and Steve might want to step in before he keeps rambling.]

Shapeshifters?

[ That sets off a few warning bells. Steve wasn't there for the Skrull invasion, but he's learned about it since his return to life. It's not possible that this is a Skrull plot. Or is it? ]

This might be a strange question, but has anyone verified that the way they look is actually their true form? Because I've dealt with a race of shapeshifters before. So have a lot of my friends. And they hated us enough to try to wipe us out. Could be they're fixing to do it again.

[It is a strange question, but Steve never asks useless ones. If he's worried, there's probably a reason to be.] They're always kind of blue last I noticed, but they only look more human because of us, I think.

And like I said, they've only got really rude and hostile since I've been here. I've had a couple of people tell me they were a lot nicer before the turtle got injured and rationing started. If they hated us like those guys you mentioned, I don't think they would have been nice enough to give us jobs in the first place.

That's good. I'm glad to hear it.

[ Could the Skrulls have pretended long enough to befriend the humans and give them jobs? He didn't know, but he doubted it. The likelihood of this all being a Skrull plot was slim to none, but he couldn't take that risk without at least asking. ]

That's one potential threat off the list of hostiles, and believe me, it's a big one. You said they were nicer before the turtle was injured. Is it possible they have a symbiotic bond with it?

[Toro has to think about that for a moment.] I don't know. But the sicker the turtle gets, the worse everything gets. The water went bad once and the fish were getting really sick. There was a terrible smell, too.

That was the worst it had been, though. The kedan just...seem to think its all our fault somehow. Like we're the ones doing it do the turtle.

If we're affecting the turtle, why bring us here at all? And if they have to, if they're in trouble and they need us for something, why not put us somewhere else? On a continent or an island? Somewhere safe for everyone?

[ He doesn't expect Toro to have an answer, he's just thinking out loud. ]

Are there places like that? Actual land? Do you know?

It doesn't make a lick of sense to me either. Maybe they just don't like having share with us.

And the turtle is the island. The rest of them are all stuck together like some big turtle shell continent. I think they're dead already. We've stopped at a port once since I've been here, but it was freaking. They didn't even have any kids around.

[And now he's wondering if he should tell him about the sword he picked up. But then...this isn't a secure channel. He'll talk to him about it face-to-face.]

So the entire world’s made up of water and turtles. Dead turtles now. And this one. Sick. Possibly dying too.

[ It makes him wonder just how big the world is, if it’s home to these gigantic creatures. He doesn’t even know how large this one is, but considering the size of the city, it’s got to be big. He can’t even feel the ground under his feet moving as it swims. ]

What happens when it hits rough seas? If there’s a storm? How big is this turtle? Does anyone know?

We haven't had too many storms, but we don't even notice the big waves on the turtle. When the satellite crashed there was a wallop of one, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the little quakes from things that actually landed on the shell.

[He thinks for a moment.] If you want to know his full size maybe talk to Namor's cousin or one of the other water people. There are a few. They can probably do a dive and give you an estimation.

All right. I'll check into it.

[ Earthquakes on a turtle's shell. That's something Steve has never thought he'd be in the position to contemplate. ]

The more we know about it, the greater the chance we'll be able to find a cure for its ailment. [ And now that he says that, he has to wonder. Maybe it's foolish of him to ask, but it seems logical enough. ] Do you know if there are any biologists or herpetologists in the city?

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