[CENTER][COLOR=SLATEGRAY][B]C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T   P R O P O S A L[/B][/COLOR][h1][b]C A P T A I N   A M E R I C A[/b][/h1][hr]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/QQuTz6n.jpg?1[/img][h3][sup][sub]S T E V E   R O G E R S  ♦   S U P E R   S O L D I E R  ♦  H E L I C A R R I E R   A E T H O N   ♦   A V E N G E R S[sub][/sup][/h3][img]IMAGE/BANNER[/img]
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[CENTER][sup]"I can do this all day."[/sup][/CENTER]
[INDENT][INDENT]Steven Grant Rogers was born a small, frail child on July 4, 1922. His parents, Joseph and Sarah, were Irish immigrants with little to their name, and were often persecuted for their immigrant status. Still, they loved their country, warts and all, and Steve grew up with patriotic pride, and his parents instilled in him a strong sense of honor, hard work, and justice. But Rogers's early life was not to be a happy one. His father died when he was very young, and his mother followed in his teenage years.

While Steve lost the only blood family he ever had, he luckily had his best friend, James Buchanan Barnes, and the Barnes family to fall back on. James, or Bucky as he was known, was the complete opposite of Steve. A strapping, strong boy, he was the high school's star third basemen and all the girls wanted to be on his arm. Still, Bucky and Steve were like brothers, and were inseparable, with the Barnes family taking Steve in after the death of his parents.

While the two were attached at the hip during their early years, the onset of World War II tore them apart. Bucky went off to war, while Steve, desperate to join him, was rejected over his frailty. Steve went from recruiting station to recruiting station, being rejected at each one. At least until he was approached by a Doctor Abraham Erskine who offered him a chance.

Erskine had developed a serum that could turn a man into the pinnacle of human possibility, and he believed Steve, a wholly good man, was someone it would work on. Together with the Strategic Scientific Reserve, an Allied secret organization headed by Agent Peggy Carter, Erskine hoped to create a squad of super soldiers to combat Hitler's dreaded HYDRA and its leader The Red Skull.

In the end, Steve would be the only one transformed, as a HYDRA mole killed Erskine and destroyed all samples of his serum shortly after Rogers's transformation. In turn, Rogers was dubbed Captain America, and was given command of an elite squad of soldiers called The Invaders. Along with the super powered Rogers, he was joined by Namor, a mysterious man who could breath underwater and swim at amazing speeds, and the Human Torch, an android that could cover itself in flame. Not all faces on the Invaders were new ones, however. Bucky, now a crack sniper, joined to Steve's delight, putting brothers side by side on the battlefield as they always dreamed. Bucky's squad, dubbed "The Howling Commandos", were also part of the new Invaders. Agent Carter also joined the team, and soon her and Steve fell madly in love with one another.

The Howling Commandos went to work dismantling HYDRA, forcing The Red Skull to launch his doomsday device earlier than he wanted. During a climactic showdown, Steve defeated The Red Skull, though at a huge cost. Peggy fell to her death, and Steve and the doomsday machine crashed into the Arctic Ice and were lost to time.

Decades later, SHIELD scientists discovered Steve's frozen and perfectly preserved body in a melting portion of a glacier, and were able to revive him. Cap was amazed at the world of technological wonders he found himself in, and the amazing new powered individuals that filled it. He signed on with SHIELD, folding back into the military style life he was accustomed to. He was put at the head of SHIELD's Strike Team Alpha, known as A-Team, the organization's first response unit. There, he teamed with heroes from across the world in order to portray a globally unified front against super-villainy.

He also found one remaining link to his past, in that Bucky had survived into very advanced age. Still sharp as a whip, Steve often visited them man he considered a brother, and Bucky help fill him in on everything he had missed during his time in the ice.

A-Team came into constant conflict with Advanced Idea Mechanics, a technocratic terrorist organization that sought to use their incredible technology for world domination. Through the years since he had been unfrozen, Cap and his team has clashed time and time again with AIM and its various agents.

But terrestrial threats were not the only thing Rogers and SHIELD had to contend with. The emergence of Starro and in turn the Justice League told SHIELD director Nick Fury he needed a response team of his own that was answerable to a chain of command. So he started the Avengers Initiative.

This all came to a head during the Chituari invasion of Earth. While the Justice League attempted to stem the tide in space, the aliens opened a portal above New York in a surprise attack that threatened to destroy the city. Instead, the newly minted Avengers, comprised of A-team as well as the heroes Iron Man, the Hulk, and Thor, managed to close the portal and destroy the Chitauri mothership.

Now, Captain America stands at the head of both A-Team and the Avengers, while forces in the shadows plot the world towards a collision course it may not recover from.
[/indent][/indent]
[INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R   M O T I V A T I O N S   &   G O A L S:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][INDENT][INDENT]
Obviously I love playing Cap, but this is a setting I've never really played before. A more matured universe with heroes already aware of one another, and more interesting interplay between factions. Cap will still be a man out of time, with one singular link to his prior life. He'll be a man of duty, but one with lingering doubts about whether there is a place in this new world of Gods and Monsters for someone like him. There will be revelations that shock him to the core, but will mold him into being someone the universe as a whole needs.[/indent][/indent]
[INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R   N O T E S:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][INDENT][INDENT]
[hider=SHIELD]
The UN's peacekeeping force dedicated to studying, understanding, and protecting against metahuman activity, SHIELD is the world's foremost expert on all things meta. Born out of the Allied Strategic Scientific Reserve, SHIELD tracked and studied the rise and spread of metahuman activity throughout the decades that followed the second world war. As meta human occurrences increased, so did SHIELD's budget. Top scientific minds across all spectrums came to work for the organization, leading to incredible advancements like SHIELD's trademark Helicarriers.

[b]Director Nick Fury[/b] - SHIELD's commanding officer, Fury is a no-nonsense former soldier and the creator of the Avengers. He and Cap have a good working relationship, though Steve feels like there are more secrets lurking behind Fury's exterior.
[b]Commander Amanda Waller[/b] - Fury's second in command, "The Wall" is even more of a hardass, and has a stronger distrust of metahumans, even those under her command.
[b]Helicarriers[/b] - SHIELD's floating fortresses, the 4 helicarriers are named after Apollo's horses (Aethon, Pyrois, Phlegon, Eous). These flying bases of operations allow SHIELD to quickly and effectively respond to threats world wide.
[/list][/hider]
[hider=Allies]
[list]
[*] [b] James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes [/b] - Steve's lifetime best friend and adoptive brother, Bucky is nearly a century old, but unlike Steve he actually looks it. While Bucky's formerly strong physical body has aged, he is still sharp as a tack, and the two WWII veterans often get together to reminisce on their past lives.
[*] [b]Strike Team Alpha, aka "The A-Team"[/b] - Cap's primary team when out in the field. The team is made up of representatives of all the UN Security Council members.
[list]
[*] [b]Sam Wilson/The Falcon[/b] - A former advanced paratrooper that served in the armed forces in the Middle East, Sam provide aerial support and reminiscence for the team. He is probably Cap's closest friend other than Bucky.
[*] [b]Ryan Choi/The Atom[/b] - China's representation on the team, Ryan is a genius from Hong Kong. He has the ability to shrink down thanks to technology eerily similar to Hank Pym and Ray Palmer's, leading many to believe it was stolen by the Chinese and perfected by Ryan's brilliant mind. Ryan is torn between his duty to his country while also realizing the stranglehold the party has on its citizenry. 
[*] [b]Piotr Rasputin/Colossus[/b] - The team's powerhouse, Piotr is the team's Russian representative as well as the team's lone "Mutant" member. He has studied at Xavier's School for Gifted Youth and been a part of the X-Men in the past.
[*] [b]Joseph Falsworth/Union Jack[/b] - Britain's member of the team, Falsworth is a British lord as well as an expertly trained espionage agent. Falsworth's grandfather also served for a time with Rogers on the Invaders squad.
[*] [b]Vivian D'Aramis/Crimson Fox[/b] - France's member, Vivian has the ability to manipulate her pheromones, affecting how men respond to her. This is invaluable in infiltration. She is also trained in hand-to-hand combat.
[/list]
[*] [b]The Avengers[/b] - SHIELD's response team for Global Threats. The members of the A-Team are also considered part of the team, though the public view the following, along with Rogers, as the main cogs of the machine.
[list]
[*] [b]Tony Stark/Iron Man[/b] - A technical genius, Tony and Cap often butt heads as their personalities differ greatly.
[*] [b]Thor Odinson[/b] - The Norse God of Thunder, Thor is one of the most powerful beings to ever come to Earth. He and Cap are good friends.
[*] [b]Bruce Banner/The Hulk[/b] - The unpredictable wrecking ball of the Avengers, the Hulk can be friend or foe depending on his mood. Still, the Avengers have gotten on the goliath's good side, and he often aids them in their battles.
[*] [b]Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow[/b] - A stealth expert and one of the best spies on the planet, Natasha is valuable to the team even without the help of powers.
[*] [b]Clint Barton/Hawkeye[/b] - A SHIELD veteran, Clint is a master archer, almost to a superhuman level.[/list]
[/list][/hider]
[hider=Enemies]
[list]
[*] [b]Advanced Idea Mechanics[/b] - A technological terrorist organization bent on destabilizing and ruling the world. They are about to unveil their greatest weapon yet to terrorize the world.
[list]
[*] [b]MODOK[/b] - A former SHIELD scientist, George Tarlton became the villainous MODOK after a failed experiment increased his mental abilities but physically deformed him. He now controls AIM with the goal of destroying the world, and especially SHIELD.
[*] [b]Arnim Zola[/b] - A former HYDRA scientist, Zola preserved his mind in data and now helps AIM's nefarious goals.
[*] [b]TO Morrow[/b] - A robotics expert that helped AIM design their robotic soldiers.
[*] [b]Professor Ivo[/b] - Morrow's partner in robotics
[/list]
[*] [b]Kobra Cult[/b] - A new player on the scene, the Kobra Cult are a religious extremist terrorist organization.
[/list][/hider][/indent][/indent]
[INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]S A M P L E   P O S T:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][INDENT][INDENT]Steve could feel the beads of sweat forming on his forehead, the pressure of the situation getting to him, no matter how unflappable his public persona seemed to be. He studied the table in front of him, knowing that his next move could very well be his last. All the while, the timer ticked down to the moment where all this thinking would be for naught. He was running out of time.

Holding his breath, Steve winced, reached down, and made his move.

He barely had his eyes open, waiting for the sign that he hadn't just made a huge mistake. 

After a few seconds which felt like eternity, a small clink and a chuckle told him it was all over, "Checkmate."

"Are you kidding me?" Rogers groaned and inspected the chess board as the bright, late-summer sun shone across Central Park. He searched for any possible move he could make to escape his predicament, but there was none to be had. There never was. His opponent was far too good at this.

"You know, for someone who supposedly had their brain juiced by a magic serum, you really suck at chess," the old man across from Rogers smiled, the lines in his face getting deeper and more plentiful as he did. It was moments like these that Steve could hardly believe that this was Bucky Barnes, his oldest friend. Back in the day, when they were both just boys, Bucky had been the handsome one, the one full of life and boundless energy. Now he was nearly a century old, and though he still had all his mental faculties, physically he was a shell of his former self. Still, Steve was more than happy he had his friend for as long as he had after coming out of the ice.

"Hey, it didn't implant chess in my head," Rogers shrugged.

"It made you a strategic genius," Bucky's deadpan response drew a laugh from Steve. "You just never pay attention when we're playing. You'd stomp me if you weren't thinking about one terrorist or another."

Rogers narrowed his eyes at his old friend, who hit the nail right on the head as always. AIM had been quiet lately, to the point where Steve was worried about what they were up to. On and off for five years they had been causing trouble across the globe, but for the last three months SHIELD hadn't heard a peep. Some were sleeping better at night because of it, but Steve Rogers just assumed they were in the calm before the storm. And the longer the calm, the worse the storm.

"You're worried something's coming, huh?" Bucky roused Steve from his own thoughts.

"Call it a hunch," Captain America shrugged, and looked over the park. It was packed, as it should have been on a beautiful day. Steve saw a pair of joggers, possibly a couple, laughing as they exercised. A mother pushed her child in a stroller, smiling as the baby cooed. In the distance he could see a group of teens playing football. It was like a postcard, the kind of day a cynical man would find stereotypical and trite. But not Steve, he saw everything he had fought for in WWII, and what he continued to fight for.

He caught Bucky smiling at him slyly out of the corner of his eye. He turned to his old friend and raised and eyebrow, "What?"

"See a life you'd like to be living out there? One you could have if you gave all this up?"

Steve rolled his eyes, "No. The chance at that ended when Peggy fell and I went into the ice."

The words sting Buck as much as they do him. He still thinks of Peggy Carter often, and it's never easy. She was his one true love, the one chance he had at true happiness. But that was gone now, and duty was all there was.

"There's too much craziness in this world for me to even try, Buck," Steve added with an apologetic tone. He realized the last answer was far too harsh. "I'd never be able to sleep if I gave it all up and something happened I could have stopped."

"Steve...there's a guy flying around now who can lift ever HYDRA tank we ever trashed over his head with one hand. I'm not saying you're not needed...but there are people who could pick up the slack," Bucky smiled, but with a sadness. He knew no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't live to see his friend settled down and happy. Really happy.

"And not even he can do everything," Steve winked, but the playfulness he hoped would be in the gesture was absent. It was nothing but a reflex to try and assure his friend that he'd be alright.

Before either of them could say another word, a gust of air slapped them in the face. Steve gathered up Bucky's chess set before it blew away and handed it to him. 

"Speak of the devil," Buck muttered.

From above, the whir of an engine could be heard, and a black shape like a giant bird blotted out the sunshine. In a clearing, a Quinjet set down an out stepped a man whose skin radiated back the light. Piotr Rasputin, the mutant known as Colossus, approached the two men, "Captain Rogers. Lieutenant Barnes."

"Pete, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Steve?" Rogers sighed with good humor.

"At least once more, sir. We have an issue."

"AIM?"

"AIM," he confirmed.[/indent][/indent]
[INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]P O S T   C A T A L O G:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][INDENT][INDENT][i]A list linking to your IC posts as they're created. This can be used for a reference guide to your character or to summarize completed arcs and stories.[/i][/indent][/indent]