“Welcome to the future, Abin Aman Surr.”

 

It’s been a few days since Nick Fury said that to me. I’m now in my apartment, a small one arranged by SHIELD in New York. I had never been to New York before, so I mostly stayed inside my small apartment since I didn’t know the area. However, I’m not alone in the apartment, though. I had a roomie now, a high-profile one. He was like me, a man out of time. The one they said was the greatest soldier of all time, Steve Rogers, the Captain America himself.

 

I still had not met him yet, though, as he was still busy doing missions worldwide for SHIELD. Today, however, was the day I was supposed to meet him. I can feel goosebumps every time I think about it. Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Scarlet Johansen as Black Widow, and the most important one of all, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill. Honestly, I’m a fan of hers. Of all the people in the MCU, I like Maria Hill the most. She’s not the most prominent figure in the show, but she’s one hell of a badass and pretty hot too. And despite being ordinary, she could stand toe to toe with the Marvel Heroes.

 

While I was still daydreaming, suddenly the apartment door was opened, and I finally met the man, the myth the legend, Steve Rogers himself. Whoa, the movie did not do him justice. Steve Rogers had Chris Evan’s face, but that’s all their resemblance. The dignity oozing from Captain America’s presence was something I did not see from Chris Evans.

 

“Who are you?” Steve questioned as his body tensed up.

“Nick Fury didn’t tell you? I’m your new roommate. Name’s Abin Aman Surr” I extended my hand to him.

“Oh yeah, Fury did tell me about that. Sorry, still tired from the mission,” Steve shook my hand, gripping it firmly as if trying to assess me through a handshake.

“Tired? Captain America can be tired?” I raised my eyebrow.

“In the end, I’m just as human as anybody else,” Steve smiled.

“Haha, true. So, I heard you’re also a man out of time?”

Steve raises his eyebrows, “Also?”

“Yup,” I nodded. “Apparently, I’m not from this time; at least that’s what Fury said to me.”

 

“You too? What year?” Steve asked.

“Ancient Egypt, apparently.”

 

Surprised, Steve now raises both of his eyebrows. “Longer than I am then. I’m from World War 2 era.”

“World War 2? What’s World War 2?”

“Uh right… It’s where Hydra and Nazi declare war against the whole world and….”

 

I held my hand up. “Haha… That’s fine, I already know. It’s always a fun thing to make people explain what’s this and that when I already know” The tip of my mouth curled into a smirk as I observed Steve’s reaction. Steve smiled back, and we started laughing out of nowhere, “Hahaha, not every day people teased me for being who I am. This is quite nice.”

“I’ll tease you a lot then.”

“Dude, don’t make it weird.”

“Sorry”

 

We spent the night talking to each other, speaking our tales, and getting to know each other.

 

“Morals back there must’ve been different,” Steve said to me, resting his arm on the sofa

“Yeah. It’s either killed or be killed,” I reminisced a little “But I like it now better. People are happy and free.”

“Happy and free, huh….” Steve looked up to the ceiling

“What’s wrong?”

“Just that, the price for happiness and freedom… Are really high.”

“Yeah, I agree with you there.”

 

As both men of war, we kind of understood each other. Me with my previous life and now and Steve with his life.

 

“Never thought I get to talk about this kind of thing with THE Captain America,” I joke

“Me too… Never thought I meet another man who’s out of time like myself,” he jokes back

“Right, I’m going to hit the bed. Fury needs us tomorrow at the Triskelion,” I said, standing up before giving Steve another handshake

 

“What’s this for?”

“Let’s just say I’m glad Nick Fury finds me.”

 

Triskelion, SHIELD

 

“Ready Cap?” I stood against Captain America in SHIELD battle gear. Fury requested us to spar to gauge my abilities further. Well, I’m not going to use my full abilities, though. I wouldn’t want HYDRA to know everything about me, after all.

 

Captain America readied himself, stretching and doing squats, “Yup.” He lowered his body, getting into a stance with both arms spread wide, “Bring it on, Surr.”

 

“RAAARRRGHHH”

 

We both hit the heavy object in front of us simultaneously as we tried to push it to the other side as much as we could. “I’m going to beat you, Cap,” I said, a small smirk forming on my mouth. “Ha, go ahead and try.” We tried to push for a while now, but the object barely moved. I said barely because it did indeed move in my direction. ‘Ho… He’s slightly stronger than me. He’ll make a good match for Nur.’

 

===

 

“Hey Surr,” Captain America approached me, still wearing full battle gear

“What’s up, Cap?”

“You uh, want to go out and hang?”

“Hang? What do you… Oh, hang together, you mean?”

“Yeah,” Steve scratched his cheek, “Me and the guys have a plan tonight, and since I figure you’ll do nothing anyway, why not invite you too.”

“You and the guys? Who? Nick Fury? I don’t think he’s the type of person to ‘hang’”

“No, but you’re going to love it.”

 

===

 

Avenger Tower, Main Longue

 

“Steve, buddy,” I patted Steve on the shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me we’re meeting with the Avengers?” I gasped. Holy crap, I’m about to meet with the characters I idolize.

 

“Did I? I don’t remember,” Steve said smugly. As for how Steve knew, this happened one day when I was doing “research” about the Avengers. I thought I was alone when he appeared behind me. From then on, he kept teasing me about being an Avengers fanboy.

 

”Yo Cap, how are you? Good?” A well-groomed goatee man approaches us holding two glasses of champagne. OMG, it’s Tony bloody Stark, and it’s Robert Downey Jr.

 

“Oh, you know, a mission here and a mission there.”

“Don’t you get tired of doing a mission for Fury? I mean, the guy is; literally, no offense looks like a dick,” Tony sarcastically said

“Not looks like he is a dick,” quipped Bruce Banner behind him, chuckling

“Yeah, well, if you have seen his soft side, maybe you’ll talk differently” a lady walks by gracefully, but with my training from my previous life and my time in Egypt, I still had difficulty detecting her. As expected from Natasha Romanoff

“Have you?” irked Tony

“What?”

“Seen his soft side?”

“No…”

“Then he doesn’t have one” Tony smiled.

“Lay of the guy Tony. Unlike you, he’s got responsibilities,” an annoyed Don Cheadle said back to Tony. Huh, this must be Rhodey, Tony Stark’s best friend

“I got responsibilities too” Not willing to lose, Tony sulked

“Like what?” Rhodey raised one of his eyebrows

“You know… Stuff”

“Yeah, well, Pepper handled all of that for you.”

“You wanna go, huh, Rhodey?”

“Yeah, bring it.”

 

The banter went on for a while before Steve broke it up

“Guys, guys, relax. Don’t act childish for a while. You’re in front of my friend.”

 

They all turned to me

 

“Huh, Captain America has friends” Tony spoke first

“I thought you were my friend Tony,” Cap replied

“Well, outside of the Avengers, I mean.”

“Huh…” Bruce looked at me with interest. “Nice to meet you; I’m Bruce.”

“Really? That’s all you’ve got? You should introduce yourself with more swag. Like hello, I’m Bruce, the strongest Avengers there is,” Tony scoffed at Bruce. “We’ll leave that for now. I’m Tony, the super-awesome genius who paid for all of them and a superhero.”

 

Dumbfounded, I could only mutter “Hello” in front of them.

 

“See Tony? You make the guy freeze,” jabbed Rhodey at his best friend. “Hello, I’m Colonel James Rhodes. You can call my Rhodey like everyone else.”

“So, you’re the new roommate of Captain America, huh,” Natasha said, observing me from head to toe. “Interesting. I always thought that only Steve would have it.”

“Have what?” Steve asked

“The no-guard-down stance”

“I don’t get it,” Tony said

“I don’t get it, too,” I replied unconsciously. “Uh… My name’s Surr; nice to meet you.”

“Weird name”

“I am from Egypt, after all.”

 

===

 

“Let me get this straight. You were fighting monsters with your brother and fell down in a hole, and somehow you’ve ended up here?” Tony reiterated my story

“Yup. Imagine waking up to Nick Fury’s face. I thought I was captured by the monsters.”

Tony froze before laughing his ass off. “I like you. We’ll get along nicely.”

“Haha… Thanks, Tony”

“So you’re like Captain America?” questioned Bruce

“A man out of time?”

“Superhuman,” Bruce said

“Yup. If you call beating Captain America in a spar superhuman, then yes, I am.”

“No, you did not beat me,” Steve protested, “We tied.”

I chuckled. “Like Cap said”

“Fascinating, a superhuman from ancient times,” Bruce wondered.

 

We continue to talk and talk until late at night. Steve and I said our goodbyes and returned to our apartments, slightly tipsy.

 

All in all, it was a good night.