Season 2, Episode 15 (#165 Overall) - Mojo Addresses His Audience, Part 3 of 5

"Alright Everybody Get Ready To be Amazed!," Mojo declared in a voice reminiscent of a carny hopped-up on Speed, Dutch Coffee, and Brown Sugar. The gigantic screens of The MojoTron flickered then the montage faded and was replaced by a rapidly expanding view of The Canadian Wilderness in the dead of night bathed in the pale silvery light of Earth's three remaining moons.

Everyone was instantly on the edge of their seats as Aaron came into view, his trademark immaculate suit was in tatters and he was barefoot. Not that the fives inches of snow on the ground and an average temperature of -33 °C (-27.5 °F) seemed to bother him, his breath wasn't even visible as he trudged through the snow carrying a beautiful shivering blonde in his arms wrapped in his jacket, her own red, white, and blue outfit in even worse condition than his own clothes.

Everyone was hungry for more as an internal monologue by Aaron could he heard, allowing every audience member to feel like they were in Aaron's head with him., "Just Another Mile or Two and We'll Be Far Enough From The Interference Umbrella of The Vault For Gog To Get A Fix On Us...," Aaron looked down at the woman he was cradling in his arms, her eyes shut tightly as she buried her face in his chest, her bare legs and feet wrapped in an insulated blanket to help shield her from the cold that Aaron barely even noticed., "... I Never Expected The Woman Frozen Back In The Vault Was Actually Still Alive...," The MojoTron's screens shimmered as Aaron briefly recalled the chaotic events immediately following his break out from The Vault, Canada's Premier Triple-Max Prison for The Most Dangerous of Supra-Normal Criminals within its borders. After nearly a year, Aaron had achieved all of the objectives that had brought him to The Vault in the first place and then some and he was finally ready to escape.

Everything was going according to plan until that is several prisoners freed from the **** and inhibitors that weakened or in most cases completely nullified their powers clashed with Department V's own super-powered guards and military-grade attack bots causing a large portion of the vast complex to collapse. Aaron had managed to protect himself long enough to escape the collapse, finding himself in a part of the facility that according to the blueprints he had memorized before allowing himself to be captured by The M.R.D. said shouldn't even exist.

"What Is This Place?," The Audience heard Aaron's internal monologue begin again as part of the flashback., "It's Some Sort of Cryo-Block...," Confirmed Aaron in his monologue as he surveyed the partially iced over monitors and electronics that looked like they hadn't been serviced in decades., "Gods Above These Computers Belong In A Museum... Some of Them Are Ancient... I Mean Seriously... Duotronic For Real?"

Most of the cryo-chambers were empty and in the case of those that were occupied at some point their unfortunate occupants had long since expired but a few of them were still beeping away. Aaron found himself drawn to the largest cyro-tube in the center of the room and inside was a half naked blonde dressed in what remained of a star-spangled red, white, and blue uniform with a circular concave shield at her feet. Aaron studied the shield for a minute, it was polished to a high shine with alternating concentric rings of red and white with blue and a large white five-pointed star in the center.

For reasons he couldn't explain, Aaron felt like he knew her and it had nothing to do with the fact that she was utterly gorgeous. Aaron stepped closer and wiped the condensation and ice away to see if he could find anything that could tell him who she was and why he felt like she was someone important to him. He couldn't find anything useful and the monitors measuring her vital signs were an unchanging horizontal line. He wasn't sure why but he felt like he had lost something, A part of himself that he didn't even know was missing but before he could come to grips with this unsettling realization he was blindsided by a searing pain that felt like his entire brain was on fire, taking him completely off guard and causing him to stumble backward into an auxiliary control console inadvertently beginning the revival process and the only thing more surprising than the fact she was still alive was when she looked up at him with those unfocused but still incredibly breathtaking blue eyes and called his name before excitedly grabbing him by the leg and began tearfully repeating over and over., "You Kept Your Promise, You Kept Your Promise!"

It took Aaron a long minute to calm her down, being a born protector Aaron was weak against crying or emotionally distraught women which made her hysterical sobbing almost more than he could bare as it tore at his heart strings and it took some serious restraint for him not to reach into her mind and render her peacefully **** but he resisted the temptation and he was glad he did. Once she calmed down enough, Aaron began asking her questions but her answers didn't make any since especially when he asked her., "What did you mean when you said I Kept My Promise?" The last three words came out somewhat harsh but for one of The Elder especially a member of The Kin'rit a promise was a serious matter not to be entered into lightly for even **** could not prevent its fulfillment.

What followed was one of the most surreal experiences Aaron could remember as she poured her heart out to him and for Aaron that was saying something but Aaron didn't get to brood on her words for long as his senses warned him of a threat a few kilometers away and approaching, his eyes glowing softly among the trees as the two approached each other from opposite directions, neither willing to change course or avoid the coming confrontation.

Once Aaron reached the opening to a large clearing he paused, looking down thoughtfully at the woman shivering in his arms. She looked so peaceful and content nuzzled into his chest like a tiny kitten... It was hard to believe the things he had seen in her memories... The times they had shared, the dates at the drive-in, the long hours in the lab, the two of them fighting Hydra and The Axis Powers side by side as Agents of Intelligence One, meeting The Red Skull and her Daughter, being on a plane about to blow up over The Arctic Circle, and so many more incomprehensible events that hadn't happened flashed before his eyes and as much as he wanted to dismiss the things he saw in her mind as the products of a warped or delusional mind he could find nothing wrong with her either physically or psychically, and he had explored enough minds by now to be able to discern false, confused, or implanted memories and he was sure that everything he saw in her mind was genuine and had in fact actually happened just as she remembered. So that meant that either she had met the Aaron of a different reality altogether or the events she had experienced simply hadn't happened to Aaron yet and if that was true it would mean that at some point he would find himself in the 1960s but he didn't have time to be in shock at such a bizarre possibility because the foe he sensed was almost upon them.

Aaron leaned down until his lips were only about an inch from the blondes left ear and spoke so softly his voice was barely a whisper., "Wake up Stephanie..." She shifted sleepily mumbling to herself., "Oh Aaron sweetheart you were incredible but I need a few minutes before I can go again..."

Aaron felt his heart race, his breathing quicken and an indescribable warmth bloom in his chest but he pushed the feeling aside because now was not the time. Aaron squeezed her tight and shook her slightly to get her attention, She drowsily opened her eyes and looked up at him, fear flashed across her eyes followed by confusion and realization before settling into a look that Aaron had seen many times in the faces of his Mother and Sisters... It was... Love.

"It Reminds Me of The Expression Monica Gave Me When She Told Me She Was...," Aaron banished the thought before it could open his wounds completely. It was too painful, He had taken the memory from his Mother and Sisters so that they would not have to suffer but he refused to give up this pain... He would not forget nor would he forgive. He would carry their memories and the burden that came with them for however long he lived... it was the least he could do... for Her.

Aaron lowered Stephanie to her feet and she tried to stand though her legs were a bit shaky having not used her muscles in some time. With a flick of his wrist the shield that had been in the ice with her appeared from the storage dimension in his bracelet and he handed it to her., "Take this and go hide behind that tree and stay there.," Aaron told her in a calm, measured voice as he pointed at a large snow capped White Fir Tree. She looked at the tree then back at Aaron and her grip on what remained of his left shirt sleeve tightened., "But I want to stay with you."

"I know but something dangerous is coming and I need you to be safe...," Aaron stated softly while his molten gold eyes scanned the distance before pushing her toward the tree he pointed at earlier., "You cannot be near me... I'll need room to fight and your muscles are still weak from the Long-Term Cryo-Stasis."

Stephanie's head dropped in resignation.

Aaron lifted her head and looked into her deep blue eyes., "I know you want to help but you can barely walk and what's coming is more dangerous than you can imagine... I have to be the one to deal with it... Alone."

Aaron pushed her toward the tree and he watched her stagger out of sight, Aaron blinked a couple of times and the tree in his line of sight vanished from view and he saw Stephanie crouching down. He felt a sense of relief wash over him. When she left his sight he felt a pang of apprehension, apparently the longer she was around him the more possessive he was becoming. He already missed the warmth of her skin and the sweet floral scent of her hair.

Aaron reluctantly turned his gaze forward just as the ground began to shake and the trees in the distance splintered. The trees and the night were barely an obstacle for Aaron's eyes as he watched the enormous creature approach and he stood his ground, the blood of kings and conquerors roaring in his veins. Before his awakening he might have been afraid but it had taken countless generations to produce someone of his character and power and with those immeasurable lives as his foundation fear was not an option.

Stephanie Rogers peeked out from behind the tree just as the gigantic beast stepped into sight and what she saw chilled her to the bone as not even the freezing 20 below Canadian air could. It towered over many of the 30 foot trees and it was nearly as long with a long sinewy tail. It's body looked like it was made from some sort of polished stone or metal that drank in the light around it and returned it as a faint purple glow that rippled across its black skin in unusual patterns. Stephanie's trembling gaze traveled down the creature's robust and powerfully built frame, every inch of its immense form crackling with barely contained power from its enormous head with its five eyes, its long thickly muscled neck, and broad shoulders to its ten muscular legs, each ending in a massive paw tipped with six huge curved claws that gleamed like black steel against the white snow.