Charles "Charlie" Rogers (borntolead) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2010-02-24 19:15:00

Entry tags:

anya stark, inactive - charlie rogers, inactive - swashbuckler, team - avengers

Anger management
Take it easy. That's what they told Charlie when they released him from the medical bay. Take it easy. Don't overwork yourself. Rest.

He couldn't do that. Not after the way he screwed up. He couldn't "take it easy". He couldn't just lie around on the game room couch, watching t.v.

Charlie made his way to the workout room, ignoring the aching pain still shooting through his entire body. He couldn't sit still. No-he didn't WANT to sit still. His teammates often poked fun at him about his "workout addiction". Normally, he'd just laugh along with them, but right now? Charlie didn't want to deal with any of that. Right now, he just wanted to blow off steam, and take out some of that pent-out frustration on a punching bag.

When he entered the workout room, Charlie placed his shield next to one of the weight benches. He shouldn't be lifting weights without a spotter. He shouldn't be benching that much. Hell, he shouldn't be lifting weights at all.

Toni had been kidnapped by those Dark Rider bastards. Toni had been kidnapped, and he couldn't stop them. He tried, but it wasn't could enough. He tried, and he got his ass handed to him.

They said that it wasn't his fault. His parents told him. His teammates. Everyone. They told him that he was overpowered, and they didn't blame him. Once they knew where she was, they'd go and get Toni.

He didn't believe them. He fucked up big time. He could've stopped Toni from being kidnapped. He let her down, and the entire team.

It was all his fault.

Not caring how much he was sweating already, Charlie continued to bench weights, ignoring the sharp pain shooting through his entire body.

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swashbuckler
2010-02-25 12:46 am UTC (link)

Steve had, by means of knowing Charlie better than some of the others, been self-elected to go talk to him. In-between rounds of trying to comfort Anya over Toni's kidnapping. To say his girlfriend was not a happy camper was an understand.

And he hadn't even been able to do anything in the damned fight himself, other than try and coordinate. All because he'd been stupid enough to leave his costume and weapons behind. Never again.

He found Charlie in the gym. "Dude. Gonna hurt yourself that way."

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-25 12:52 am UTC (link)
	Charlie glanced over in-between reps. Normally, he was always up for talking to Steve. Hell, if he was in a better mood, he'd probably ask him if he was up for a few rounds in the ring. But he is not really in a good mood right now. "I'm fine," he said, going back to pressing weights, breathing heavily. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

swashbuckler
2010-02-25 12:57 am UTC (link)

"Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, Rogers," Steve said, trying to get him talking.

He understood how Charlie felt, after all. Between the responsibility he felt from Anya's getting kidnapped--why the hell didn't he go out to see her more often, school and Avenging be damned?--and his own uselessness compared to, well, just about everyone else on the team, he understood guilt.

He moved closer, to take up a spotting position.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-25 01:07 am UTC (link)
	"Never been..." he grunted, ignoring the pain shooting through him as he lifted the weights over his head, "Ngh. Better." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	swashbuckler 2010-02-25 01:16 am UTC (link)
	Steve frowned. "Rogers, you are not fine. I can smell bullshit a mile away." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-25 01:19 am UTC (link)
	"Good for you." Charlie nearly slammed the weights down, before getting up and walking over to one of the punching bags. "I'm sure it'll really come in handy next time we need the bad guy to spill his guts." He didn't even bother with boxing gloves, opting to just slam his fists into the bag repeatedly. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	swashbuckler 2010-02-25 01:22 am UTC (link)
	Steve moved over again and grabbed the bag, pulling it out of the way. "Dammit, Charlie. You're not gonna do anybody any good if you run yourself ragged like this." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-25 01:31 am UTC (link)
	Charlie glared at him, as he wiped some of the sweat off of his brow. "Ya wanna put that back?" His knuckles were red. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	swashbuckler 2010-02-25 01:39 am UTC (link)
	"No. Not especially," Steve told him flatly. "You gonna make me?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-25 01:48 am UTC (link)
	"I might." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	swashbuckler 2010-02-25 01:53 am UTC (link)
	"Look, Rogers," he said, "much as I ordinarily love taking you to school, now is not the time." He let the bag go. "But if you don't stop acting like an idiot, I will." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-25 02:12 am UTC (link)
	"I'm just working out," Charlie said, landing a punch on the bag as he let it go. "Nothin' wrong with that." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	swashbuckler 2010-02-25 08:11 pm UTC (link)
	"Charlie..." Steve started. "Look. We're all upset about Toni. But you're heading into self-destructiveness here." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-25 08:33 pm UTC (link)
	"Shut up!" Charlie threw a hard punch at Steve's jaw. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	swashbuckler 2010-02-25 11:22 pm UTC (link)
	The blow spun Steve's head around and made stars explode behind his eyes. He forgot, he always forgot, for all his bravado, just how much of a true edge Mister Junior Super Soldier had on him. He teetered on his feet for a moment, stumbled, and massaged his jaw. "Feel better?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	anyastark 2010-02-25 11:52 pm UTC (link)
	The door opened and Anya walked into see Charlie socking Steve. "What the hell are you two doing?" she yelled. She ran over to get between them. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-25 11:57 pm UTC (link)
	"Nothing," Charlie folded his arms over his chest. "Just blowing off a little steam." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	swashbuckler 2010-02-26 12:08 am UTC (link)
	Steve was still rubbing his sore jaw. "Just trying to keep Rogers from having a breakdown," he said. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	anyastark 2010-02-26 12:09 am UTC (link)
	"Nothing? Cause it looked like you just hit your best friend. Start explaining." Her arms folded across her chest. "Now." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-26 12:43 am UTC (link)
	"I'm fine." He glared at her. "There's nothing to see here." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	swashbuckler 2010-02-26 12:45 am UTC (link)
	"Rogers, I've known you all my life. You are not "fine.'" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-26 12:49 am UTC (link)
	"Never been better, Barton." He folded his arms over his chest. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	anyastark 2010-02-26 12:51 am UTC (link)
	Anya's eyes narrowed. "You're full of shit, Rogers. Start talking." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	swashbuckler 2010-02-26 12:53 am UTC (link)
	Steve folded his own arms. "You heard the lady." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-26 01:06 am UTC (link)
	"I have nothing to talk about. Nor do I have to explain myself." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	anyastark 2010-02-26 01:09 am UTC (link)
	"Charlie, tell us what's bothering you. Please. You're not normally like this. We're your friends. Your teammates. Your family. Tell us what's wrong and we'll help fix it." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	swashbuckler 2010-02-26 01:17 am UTC (link)
	"Dammit, Charlie," Steve growled. "You're the only one blaming yourself here. It could have been any of us." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-26 01:25 am UTC (link)
	"But it was me, okay!" He roared at them. "I was the one that fucked up! I was the one that let them get away with her, not you!" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	anyastark 2010-02-26 01:28 am UTC (link)
	"Is that what this is about? Toni?" Anya shook her head. "It's not your fault, Charlie. It's no one's fault except the people who took her and the others. We will get Toni and the others back." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-26 01:32 am UTC (link)
	"It is my fault, Anya. I slipped up. I let those bastards get away with her." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	swashbuckler 2010-02-26 01:34 am UTC (link)
	Steve stopped for a second. "It's not just that," he realized, with what was probably unusual insight and self-awareness. "You're taking this personally... because it was personal." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	anyastark 2010-02-26 01:40 am UTC (link)
	"Charlie, you can't take the blame for every bad thing that happens or is going to happen to us. We knew the risks when we signed up for this. We knew what could happen. If you start doing this, you'll drive yourself crazy. What you need to do is work with us to make a plan on how to get them back. You need to focus." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-26 04:07 am UTC (link)
	Charlie didn't say anything. He just stared at the floor. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	anyastark 2010-02-26 04:38 am UTC (link)
	She put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, she's my best friend and I have to believe I'll see her again. You need to believe that too. So how about we get started on finding her?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	swashbuckler 2010-02-26 10:02 pm UTC (link)
	"We're the Avengers. Rescuing people is what we do. Even for our own," Steve said. He was rather impressed with his little bit of detective work. Even if no one else was. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-26 10:16 pm UTC (link)
	Charlie exhaled. "Alright. I'm sorry, I've just been...on edge." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	anyastark 2010-02-26 11:02 pm UTC (link)
	"We know and we understand," Anya said. "Otherwise we'd have to kick your ass." She smiled and kissed his cheek. "We'll get her back." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	swashbuckler 2010-02-26 11:03 pm UTC (link)
	"Which I could totally do," Steve added. "Just for the record." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-27 12:01 am UTC (link)
	That got Charlie to crack a small smile. "Maybe in your dreams, Bowhead." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	anyastark 2010-02-27 12:03 am UTC (link)
	"And I can kick both of your asses. C'mon. Let's go find Toni." She hooked one arm with Steve's and the other with Charlie's. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	swashbuckler 2010-02-27 12:11 am UTC (link)
	"Okay, now that part I agree with," Steve said. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	borntolead 2010-02-27 12:55 am UTC (link)
	"Swiftly and with no mercy." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	anyastark 2010-02-27 12:57 am UTC (link)
	"Darn tootin'," she said. "Let's go be big damn heroes." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	swashbuckler 2010-02-27 01:08 am UTC (link)
	"All we need now is our own theme music," Steve grinned. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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