union_jill | Millicent Test Scene

Joe wasn't expecting Mills to be in town but he was glad to hear from her.

He arrived and smiled.

"Mills! When did you get in? It's been awhile." he said.

The Joe Rogers she knew didn't smile this much, if at all.

"What's up with you?" Joe asked.

Joe Rogers giddy? This was new.

"Just the other day, Joey," she said, giving him a smile. "Not much at the moment. Have a seat?"

"You are one of two people on this planet that can get away with calling me that." he said, shaking his head as he took a seat.

"Nothing going on across the pond?" he said, in his best faux-English accent.

"And I do so as often as I can get away with," she teased him.

"Why gee, Mr. Rogers, I can't reckon there is," she said in a horrible jumble of American accent stereotypes. "By the way, Dad would appreciate your improvement in faking a proper accent."

"Well, as long as your dad is impressed, I feel like I won." Joe said.

"Things are getting crazy these days. A school of mutants got outed a few months ago. Lot of the wingnuts didn't take it well. Some days it feels like the world is going to hell." he said.

"Peggy's doing better. Mr. Stark made her a prosthetic leg to replace the one she lost. She swears it has launch codes in it. My kid sister does not need launch codes in her leg." Joe said.

She listened to him explain things, something she had done often when they were young.

"I heard about Peg. I wanted to call, but I was in deep overseas at the time." She raised an eyebrow. "Peg has launch-codes? Dear lord."

She leaned forward, looking at him seriously.

"So are you still brooding and thinking you have to solve more problems than you can?"

"Lots of people called, sent flowers." Joe said. "She didn't let it stop her. She's probably going to go back to the Avengers or try to join SHIELD. I don't want her to, but she will." Joe said.

"I'm not brooding, Millie. I just...there are a lot of problems. I'm supposed to have answers and I don't. That bugs the hell out of me."

"Remember that girl I told you I got kicked out of Air Force Academy for? The one that died? Turns out she isn't dead. She broke her psycho brother out of prison and they're working as mercs now." he said.

"She nearly killed me three months ago. She's calling herself Madame Masque now. And he's calling himself Crossbones. I made them, so I have to handle them." Joe said.

"Peg's always been determined."

She raised a not-convinced eyebrow.

"Really? You're making villains now? Did you hand them masks and guns and say "Have a wild go of it."? Maybe you inadvertently created circumstances, but they made the choices, Joe. And why are you supposed to have the answers? Who decided that?"

"I did. When I put her brother in jail, after she asked me not to, I gave her the reason. So it's on me to bring her in and get her the help she needs." Joe said.

"If she hadn't met me, we'd both be different people right now."

She took a drink of her tea before looking him dead in the eye.

"You did what you bloody well had to. It wasn't your decision, it was her choice to be become a bloody menace. Christ, Joe, do you know how many lunatics out there blame someone for their problems because said person did that right thing? You want to stop them from hurting people? Good, that's what you do. However, I will not sit here and tolerate you blaming yourself for every independent action they take. You think my grandfather, mother, father, and uncles all felt personally responsible for the Baron Bloods? No, because they made their choices just as we all make are own. You want to blame yourself? Fine, but I will not enable you."

In his mind, Joe knew she was right. But he remembered Melissa's last words to him.

You did this to me, Joe. You did this to us.

"I loved her once, Mills. It's crazy because I met someone new and I'm worried I'm gonna screw this up, too, even though it would take an act of God, literally, to make that happen." Joe said.

"Her father just happens to BE a god, though. So I have to work extra hard to keep it from happening."

"You're human, Joe. Of course you're gonna screw-up, but I don't see you screwing up the important things." She raised an eyebrow. "A god? I've seen faeries and magic and such, but a god? Who is this girl that's caught your fancy?"

Joe grinned.

"Roxanne Danvers. We reconnected right after I came back. I didn't want to take up space at my parents' house so she offered me a room at her place. Her older brother, Alexander, moved in not long after." Joe said.

"She's really supportive but she's independent. She doesn't need me to open jars for fix things for her. It's been great." he said.

"So...you seeing anyone?"

"You never did pursue the fragile types."

Millicent gave a chuckle at his question. "I can't say I have. The work's been busy. I mean I've gone to my share of pubs and such, but with the way things are I have no time to even think about dating."

Joe laughed. She was right. He liked his women tough. It probably had to do with his mom being such a kick-ass woman.

"Why do I get the feeling you've had more fights at the bar than dates?" Joe asked, smiling a bit.

"Me? Engage in fisticuffs in a public establishment? Perish the thought, Rogers!" she said with faux-surprise.

"You're absolutely right. That's totally not lady-like at all. I think you and Roxie would get along. She's not afraid to punch someone out when they're being an idiot." Joe said.

"So when are you leaving MI 6 for SHIELD? I'm sure Fury would love to have you. And there's a team that could use another good agent that doesn't wear a mask." Joe said.

"She sounds like a winner."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "And why pray tell do you believe I would want to leave MI6?"

"Well, aside from the obvious benefit of hanging out with me all the time...you'd get to hang out in America more." Joe said.

"I know you love deep-dish pizza. And hot dogs. Lots of those here in America. Just sayin'." he said.

"All true, but why do I suspect there's something else going on here?"

"Mills, things are getting worse out there. I just had to send a guy my sister grew up with the Vault. A good kid. And now I have look his old man in the face and explain that." Joe said.

"Like I said before, someone just outed a school full of mutants up in Westchester. All those mutant-hating bigots out there aren't going to let that sit. Someone's going to try something and those kids could get hurt while we're going over it in committee. HYDRA is on the move. AIM has gone underground. You know they didn't pack up and quit." he said.

"If we wait for the bad guys to show themselves, we're gonna get rocked. Hard. I respect the Avengers, the Future Foundation, all of those heroes that came before us." he said.

"But they're all reactionary. They don't go looking for trouble." he said.

"Someone has to. Can I count on you if I need you?" he asked.

She listened intently before answering.

"In other words, you want to start something where you take the fight to these people down beforehand and punch them in the gob before they can have a chance to strike." She seemed to think on this for a moment.

"If and when you get this up and running, give me a call so I can give MI6 a heads-up." She smiles. "You can always count on me, Joey."

"Exactly. You hit the nail on the head, Mills." he said.

"When it's time, you'll be the first to know. Do you think MI 6 will go for it? This isn't going to be a sanctioned thing. Sometimes, we may have to end-run the law to get results." he said.

"Are you comfortable with that?"

"Officially no, but unofficially I think they'd see the logic in the idea. They'll likely disavow my actions and such, but that's par the course," she said.

"It wouldn't be the first time I ran afoul of the law while on the job."

Millicent Test Scene

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