Omniscience in Marvel

Title - Meeting with Old Friends

…

Peggy Carter was enjoying a rare evening off, sitting alone in a restaurant in New York City.

The establishment, appreciated for its quiet atmosphere and fine cuisine, provided her a brief respite from the relentless demands of her work with the SSR.

Peggy had just returned from picking up her desert and was just adjusting herself when she noticed something strange about her napkin.

Turning it around, she saw what was written on it. "Meet in the Alley in 5 minutes."

Relying on her rich spy experience, Peggy calmly looked up and accessed every single person in the restaurant only to find that none was acting suspiciously.

Turning her attention back to the napkin, she sighed softly and folded it and put it away before standing up to leave the restaurant through the back door.

As soon as she walked through the door, she was met with the darkness of the night before she slowly closed the door behind her and looked around into the darkness suspiciously.

"Miss Carter." A voice of British accent called out from the shadows prompting her to quickly turn towards it.

"Do I know you?" Peggy questioned as she immediately went on guard as the owner of the voice slowly walked out to reveal a middle aged man dressed in a three piece suit and a hat.

"Oh, we haven't had the pleasure." The man said as he approached her. "But we may…yet." His British accent, quite captivating as he stopped right in front of Carter and said. "You're coming with me."

Peggy's instincts flared and she moved, launching a right hook towards the man's face which connected, sending the man stumbling backwards.

Peggy only let out a single sigh as she spotted the lights of an incoming vehicle.

Jumping into action, she immediately made for her purse after which she took off her heels and made for the door only to find it firmly stuck.

As swiftly as she could she made for the next door only to find it in a similar situation.

Two more doors and she was caught in a dead end. However, before she could run too far the vehicle she saw caught up to her.

Without wasting too much time, she stuck her right hand into her purse and brought out a pistol which she used to accurately shoot at the front tire of the car causing it to go out of control and crash into a heap of garbage cans.

With her hand still positioned to shoot the driver, Peggy kept her full attention on the door of the driver's seat as it opened. To her mild surprise, a familiar face stuck out and smirked at her.

"I know. I should have called first…Did you miss me?"

With a heavy sigh that hid the mild happiness that threatened to expose itself at having met a friend during her trying moments, Peggy brought down her hand.

And just as she was about to walk over to Howard to give him a piece of her mind, the last door she had just tried opening opened up as another rather familiar walked out only to have a gun shown to his Face.

"Lucas?"

…

"They're calling you a traitor."

"I'm calling it a set up."

"And I'm calling it a quest."

"Huh?" Both the speaker of the first and second sentences paused and gave the speaker of the third sentence a confused stare.

"What are you on about now, Lucas?" The only female amongst them asked.

"C'mon. I'm just trying to lighten the mood. Look at the two of you being all tense just because of some careless skirmish." Lucas said as he rhythmically tapped the armrest of the car seat he was sitting in.

"I have a vault…'Had', I should say." Howard said in response to Lucas' statement.

"Ooh. How scary." Lucas intoned with a spooky voice. "I should be scared right? Advanced tech and stuff."

"Exactly. Sub-basement of my office…Triple-thick, lead-lined." Howard began. "It was where I kept my bad babies."

"Bad babies?" Peggy asked.

"Yeah.. inventions too dangerous for anyone…Even my friends." Howard replied and shot a glance at Lucas who was smiling leisurely from his seat in the front.

"Which begs the question. Why Invent them at all?"

"C'mon. Cut him some slack. He's a scientist. He can't help what he thinks up." Lucas said with a soft chuckle.

"Lucas is right.. I can't help what I think up, but I can damn well control what I sell." Howard replied. "At least, I could until last month."

"What happened last month?" Peggy asked. Her curious spy attitude kicked in at the mention of a secret that needed to be unraveled.

"He was probably in some fancy hotel with some fancy models or something…" Lucas said while looking into the night sky with a leisurely air.

"You…I'm still curious. Why are you even here?" Peggy, annoyed at Lucas' carefree behavior finally couldn't hold it in and barked.

"I had something I wanted to tell you regarding something personal. Seeing you walk out of the restaurant so hurriedly, I followed only to see the two of you having some late night reunion." Lucas answered with a shrug.

"...Well, can it wait for now?"

"Of course. I wouldn't have followed if it couldn't wait."

"Then please, take this matter seriously."

"What do you mean? I'm being serious. Ask him." Lucas defended himself as he shot Howard a knowing look through the rear mirror.

At the same time, Peggy turned to Howard who nodded with a lecherously smile that disappeared as quickly as it came. "I was in Monaco…with a lovely tax advisor."

"You see..?"

"Please…don't interrupt." Peggy said

"Yes ma'am."

"Good," Then turning to Howard, "continue."

"When I got back, I found a hole under my vault, all the way to the sewers." Howard continued with a regretful tone. "Somebody cleaned me out. A couple weeks later, my bad babies…They start turning up on the black market."

"But why run?" Peggy suddenly asked. "Why not tell the Senate the truth, ask for their help?"

Lucas merely chuckled at that but kept silent as Howard looked at Peggy and replied. "Apparently, it's not too big a jump to see me cutting a hole in my own vault and making some money on the sly."

Peggy in turn had a look of understanding at hearing the reasoning causing Howard to scoff. "C'mon. Really?"

"I'm just considering all the angles. Seems like you have a lot of them." Peggy replied, causing Howard to smile.

"Now that's the Peggy Carter I need."

"For what?"

"To clear my name."

"You can't be serious."

"I try not to be, but sometimes it just slips out anyway." Howard said with a sly smirk only to receive a deadpan stare from Peggy. "Oh come on Peg. You know darn well I didn't do this, which means the SSR is looking for the wrong guy."

"I want to find the right guy. But I'm gonna need someone on the inside. Someone I can trust. And Peg, there's no one I trust more than you."

"*Cough* Ouch..?" Lucas who'd been silent all this time did a fake cough. "You hurt my feelings Stark."

"Come now H, we both know that's not what I meant." Howard said to Lucas a bit apologetically only to receive an eye roll from him.

"You're basically asking her to become a traitor in order to prove that you're not one." Lucas turned to the back and replied softly while looking at Peggy. "You do see the irony, right?"

"Come on, guys. I know for sure that you're not even interested in the SSR again since the war ended and Peg, they're not using you right over there." Howard said, trying to make them see reason.

"You want a mission that matters? This is it. My technology in the hands of some nut that wants to be the next Red Skull…You have no idea how bad that could be. Right now, you're the only one that can stop that."

'Good emotional play right there bringing up Red Skull, Stark.' Lucas thought to himself and turned to sit down properly.

"Here's good." Howard said as they came by a shipping dock. "Kill the lights."

As soon as the engine was turned off, they all alighted from the car. A few distance from where they all came off was a speedboat Howard had prepared and to which he was briskly walking towards.

Seeing the boat, "Where are you headed?" Peggy asked.

"Some of my babies have already been sold overseas. I'm gonna pay them a visit. The rest of them are here somewhere, which is where you come in. Word is…one of the nasty ones will be hitting the market in a day or two."

"Damn." Lucas intoned as he casually took in the fresh air of the harbor. His casual bearings, a total contrast in comparison to the matter at hand.

"Lucas?"

"Apologies ma'am."

Sighing softly, Peggy turned to Howard who had just dropped his briefcase in the boat and walked back to them. "What is it?"

Giving Lucas a mischievous look, he turned to Peggy and said. "Just a piece of paper…My formula for molecular nitramene. Technically, we're not even sure if it works, but, well, let's face it…I invented it, so it works."

"Hahaha, this guy." hearing this, Lucas just burst out laughing. "This guy. I so much love your confidence."

"It's a perk of being me H. Not anyone can hope to match." Howard took Lucas' cruise in stride and joined him only for a soft ''Ahem'' to bring them back to the matter on ground. "Ah. Sorry. Where was I? Ah, that's right. If that stuff were ever fabricated…"

"Boom?" Peggy asked but Howard merely grabbed her hand and wrapped it in his. "This much would level a city block. And I'm not talking about the short ones… avenues."

"I'm gonna regret this, aren't I?"

"Absolutely."

"Definitely."

Lucas and Howard shared a short smile before Howard gestured to the man who'd brought them here. "But when you're not humiliating him, that fellow up there is my butler…Edwin Jarvis. He'll help you in any way he can." Looking deeply at Peggy, Howard added. "I owe you one, Pal."

Saying that, he pulled her into a hug before he separated and then did the same for Lucas before walking to the boat. "There are only a dozen fences that can handle something this hot. You just got to learn which one."

"You have no idea, Stark. She'd never have any trouble finding a man." Lucas added to Howard's tease.

"The trick is finding the right one."

"Hahaha." Howard laughed and drove away, leaving Lucas to handle the mess he'd created.

"And then…there were two." Lucas said, breaking the silence and then adding. "Will now be a good time to address that personal issue?"

"Sigh. Lucas, I thought you'd be in some villa out there eating and partying or something along that line." Peggy said and tore her eyes from the dot-like back of Howard and his boat. "And while I still find you annoying, I can't say it isn't nice to see you."

"Likewise, my dearest Maggie, Likewise."

"You fucker!" At being called the name she disliked the most, Peggy aimed a low punch at Lucas' abdomen, and being the man that he was, Lucas allowed her punch to land as he knew that she wouldn't really put much strength behind it.

"I've told you not to call me that."

"Only if you stop speaking like that."

"Like how?" Peggy asked with an exasperated sigh. "It's an accent, I can't possibly unlearn more than two decades of my life."

Lucas grinned, rubbing his abdomen playfully where Peggy's punch had landed. "Alright, alright. I'll refrain from calling you that… for now," he teased, stepping back slightly.

Peggy gave him a pointed look, crossing her arms. "You'd better," she muttered, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips.

Lucas chuckled. "So, how's life treating you, Peggy? Still burying yourself in work and avoiding all forms of fun?"

Peggy rolled her eyes. "Not everyone spends their days gallivanting around the world, Lucas. Some of us actually have responsibilities."

"Responsibilities? You mean the kind that have you dining alone in a quiet restaurant, looking all serious?" He tilted his head, his tone laced with mock concern. "When was the last time you actually took a break?"

Peggy sighed softly, her gaze shifting to the distant horizon. "It's not about taking breaks, Lucas. It's about doing what needs to be done. There's always something that demands attention."

Lucas nodded, his usual teasing tone softening slightly. "I get that, Peggy. But even the strongest of us need a breather now and then. It's okay to let someone else take the reins for a bit."

Peggy glanced at him, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Is that what you're doing here? Taking a breather?"

"Maybe," Lucas admitted, leaning back against the dock's railing. "Or maybe I'm just here to make sure you don't forget how to smile once in a while."

She smirked, shaking her head. "And here I thought you were the one who needed watching over."

"Touché." Lucas grinned, pushing off the railing. "But seriously, Peggy. You know I'm here if you ever need someone to drag you out of this relentless cycle. Even if it's just for a drink or a quick getaway."

Peggy's expression softened, and she nodded. "I'll keep that in mind, Lucas. But for now, I think we've got a bit more pressing matters to attend to."

"Always the professional," Lucas remarked with a playful sigh. "However, before the sun rises, how about we find somewhere quiet to talk."

"Talk..? Is this about the personal issue?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm."

"Can you not just give me a debrief as we return?"

"Hmm." Lucas hummed with a slight shrug. "If you insist."

"I insist."

"Alright then…Tell me Peggy, how much do you know about Alien Life?"