Tales From The Marvelous World: "The Eagle Protector"

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/32357146.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: F/M
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel, Captain America (Movies), The
Muppets - All Media Types, Agent Carter (TV), Agent Carter (Marvel
Short Film), Muppets Tonight
Relationship: Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter & Steve Rogers
Character: Sam the Eagle, Gonzo the Great, Peggy Carter, Professor Krassman
(The Muppet Movie), Dr. Phil van Neuter (Muppets Tonight), Natasha
Romanov (Marvel), Nick Fury
Additional Tags: Action/Adventure, Action, Agent Carter References, Captain America:
The Winter Soldier, Captain America: The First Avenger, Muppets
(Muppets), Muppet References, References to the Muppets, Hydra
(Marvel), Disney, Inspired by Disney, Disney Multiverse, Evil Plans,
Nazis, Nazi Germany, World War II, Alternate Universe - World War II
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2021-07-04 Completed: 2021-07-12 Chapters: 2/2 Words:
2133

Tales From The Marvelous World: "The Eagle Protector"

by LivingStoneWriter

Summary

Within the Marvelous World, Sam the Eagle is an icon of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a friend to
Captain America. But just how did he earn these accolades? In this 2-part Tale From The
Marvelous World, Sam shares his story with Gonzo the Great of the time he rescued Agent
Carter and the day he watched S.H.I.E.L.D. fall, earning the nickname "The Eagle
Protector."
Chapter 1

Part One
 It was a slow day at Muppet Central, the complex that used to be the New Avengers
Facility in upstate New York before it was granted ownership to Kermit and the rest of the
Muppets gang. Most of everyone was out on gigs, running errands, or simply unwinding. Some
stayed around Central, doing their own unique thing around the complex.

Gonzo, ironically, was bored out of his mind.

He could’ve come up with another inane stunt. With all that the Avengers left behind in the
facility, he was like a kid in a candy store. Trying on one of Tony Stark’s Iron Man suits and seeing
how far he could shoot himself into space? It was worth the possible chance of exploding before he
even reached the troposphere.

The more he thought about, the more he wanted to actually do it.

But, in searching for the room where Stark housed all of the suits, Gonzo happened on quite
the eye-catcher: a display of Captain America’s gear, including his iconic star-spangled shield.

“Whoa!” the weirdo gasped.

“Step away from the display!” a familiar voice with an air of gruff strictness demanded
him. Gonzo turned to see Sam the Eagle approach with that stern glare he always had in his eyes,
framed by his bushy unibrow.

“I wasn’t touching anything,” Gonzo defended himself. “I was just looking at it!”

“Well, look from a 12-foot distance!” Sam ordered. “Captain Rogers himself explicitly left
me in charge of everything in this display – the shield being the most important of them all!”

Gonzo stood amazed. “Wow, Sam. Cap really had a lot of trust in you. Makes sense, I
suppose, being his personal friend and all. You’re like the second guy he’s friends with who goes
by ‘Sam’.”

“Correction: I am the first guy he’s friends with who goes by ‘Sam’.”

Gonzo’s eyelids rose to the back of his head. “You mean to tell me you were friends with
Cap even before he was frozen in ice?! Well, now you’ve gotta tell me everything!” He pulled up
the nearest stool he could find and sat down.

“I cannot divulge in much of our history – much of those missions we were assigned by the
SSR are still classified to this day.” Sam caught himself reminiscing those old days and suddenly
remembered, “There was one mission I can share. The one that not only put me in a close
friendship with Captain Rogers but also made me an icon of S.H.I.E.L.D. And I’m not being
poetic. That eagle you see on the insignia – that’s me.”

Gonzo couldn’t believe what he was hearing with his own ears (if he had them). He sat
there on the stool, clinging to every detail of Sam’s story.

The year was 1944. We were fighting towards an allied victory against the Germans in
World War II, and much of it we had to thank to Captain Rogers. I, of course, didn’t see much
combat on the battlefield. I was assigned the role of “Senior Investigator” for the Strategic
Scientific Reserve, looking into the slipperiest of HYDRA operatives – ones not even Captain
Rogers and the Howling Commandos could find.

My greatest target was Professor Krassman, a HYDRA scientist and the world's leading
authority in the rapidly growing field of mind control in frogs. Peggy Carter – you know her best
as “Agent Carter” – was nearly Krassman’s first human test subject.

I pinpointed Krassman’s location to a barn out in the German countryside.

It was only Agent Carter and I out in the field. We split up to find Krassman, but he found
Peggy first. I only caught up to them after I heard her scream. By then, Professor Krassman
already had her tied to a chair connected to his machine.

My gun was on Krassman, ready to pull the trigger. But I hesitated.

“Surrender, birdie!” Krassman ordered me. “Or else I flip de switch and fry her brain like
eggs on de pan!”

Peggy remained more vigilant than ever. “He’ll do it regardless! Shoot him, Sam!”

Although you wouldn’t have noticed, bundled beneath layers and layers of feathers, my gun
hand trembled. Never once had I shot another being, evil or not. More to the point, I had to
consider Agent Carter’s life – it was in my feathered hands in that moment.

And then, a brilliant idea came to me!

“Krassman,” I said. “Your shoes are untied.”

That was your “brilliant” idea?!

It was brilliant in the sense of what happened next.

 While Krassman had a laugh at my expense, amused by my attempt at distracting him,
Peggy said, “Well, he forgot to tie my shoes.”

“Vhat shoes?” Krassman asked, looking down at her feet.

And that’s when she let him have it – a swift kick right to Krassman’s face.

I see now. He forgot to tie her legs down.

Correct! And it was this mistake that allowed me to free Agent Carter and, with her help,
put Krassman into the machine. We flipped the switch and, in seconds, Krassman’s mind was
rendered to an infant state.

We radioed to Howard Stark afterwards. Needless to say, when word got to Colonel
Phillips about our excursion, he was not at all pleased. But, nevertheless, he was impressed with
my work on the case and Captain Rogers was grateful for saving Agent Carter. They rewarded me
for my heroism and, by the 1950s, I was honored as the face of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Those years in S.H.I.E.L.D. were the happiest times of my life…

…until the day S.H.I.E.L.D. fell.

 Chapter 2

Part Two

“That’s right! You were there when it happened!” Gonzo recollected, his excitement
growing every second in listening to Sam’s story. “I remember Kermit, Fozzie, and me covering it
for The Daily Chronicle. You were one of our eye witnesses, but you left out a few details.”

“Well…uh…yes,” Sam stammered, “but mostly because I was under direct orders from the
higher-ups at the time. And I’m still not allowed to share them. But…” He stopped and considered
for a moment, looking around the room to make sure no one besides Gonzo was listening. And
then he told the weirdo, “I will divulge them only to you. But you have to swear not to tell a soul
about any of what you’re about to hear.”

“Cross my heart, spleen, liver, and intestines and hope to die,” Gonzo swore.

Sam shuddered at his odd way of pledging. “Alright. Here’s the entire account of what
happened…”

By the year 2014, I had celebrated over sixty marvelous years being the poster eagle for
the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.
 The what?!

That’s S.H.I.E.L.D. for short.

Oh. Right.

Anyway, on that faithful spring day of 2014, I stopped by the sublevels of the Triskelion to
check in with the facility’s resident researcher, Dr. Phil van Neuter.
 Yeah, I know him. He’s the original “Dr. Phil.”

Or so he claims.

I came to Dr. Neuter to check out his latest stool sample. He was a specialist in designing
the best stools you’ve ever sat on.
 Ohhhh! Stool sample.

Of course. What other type of “stool samples” did you think I meant?

Well, I thought…You know what? Never mind. Continue.

Just when I was about to test Neuter’s latest stool sample, there was a sudden transmission
over the Triskelion’s intercom. It was Captain Rogers, who – by that time – was still a registered
fugitive.

He gave quite the rousing speech, as he always does, and with it came that disturbing
revelation:

“Attention all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, this is Steve Rogers. You’ve heard a lot about me over
the last few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it’s time to tell the
truth. S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was. It’s been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander
Pierce is their leader. The S.T.R.I.K.E. and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don’t know how
many more, but I know they’re in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They
almost have what they want. Absolute control. They shot Nick Fury. And it won’t end there. If you
launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way.
Unless we stop them. I know I’m asking a lot. But the price of freedom is high. It always has been.
And it’s a price I’m willing to pay. And if I’m the only one, then so be it. But I’m willing to bet
I’m not.”
 I was in total shock from what I heard Captain Rogers say. The very organization I had
been the face of…the one I swore to serve and protect…it was a front for HYDRA for all those
sixty years!

After the speech, I instructed Dr. Neuter, “We must stay put here in your lab, until we have
determined who is friend or foe. Be wary of anyone. There’s no telling who we can or cannot
trust.”

And then I heard the sound of a large steel door sealing shut. I turned my head to see that
Dr. Neuter left his lab and stood outside, waving to me with one of his dirtied, gloved hands
through the only shatterproof window looking in. “Sorry, Sam,” he told me. “I’m one of those foes,
but I hope we can still be friends.”

“I will never be friends with a traitorous agent of HYDRA!” I declared.

“Now, ya see, that hurts me, Sam,” Neuter said. “Because I really enjoyed working for you
– giving you all those wonderful stool samples. That’s why I’m going to let you die, listening to
your favorite song.”

On that, Neuter took out a remote control that operated the stereo system he installed in his
lab. It did in fact play my favorite song, “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” at reasonable volume while
toxic gas began to cloud into the room.

Neuter gave a very flippant “Hail HYDRA!” and fled the scene.

I remained calm, using my SSR training to hold my breath as I tried to find a way out of
Neuter’s trap. As I examined the lab with only short minutes left, I realized that the gas came from
the loudspeakers – the stereo system itself functioning as the gas machine. With this knowledge, I
did the only resourceful thing: use Neuter’s latest stool sample to demolish the machine.

Not only did this shut it off, but it also unsealed the lab.

YES!

Thank you. It was quite the thrilling escape.

No, I meant “Yes” is the name of the rock band who sings your favorite song.

Ugh! Anyway…I knew there was little time in hunting down Neuter, as one of the Project
Insight Helicarriers had been shot down and crashed into the Triskelion. It was at that time when I
heard Agent Romanoff call my name over the comms: “Sam! Sam, if you’re still in the building,
meet us on the roof! We’re waiting for you in the chopper!”

So I rushed as fast as possible to the rooftop, finding Agent Romanoff and Director Fury –
who I was surprised to see alive and well – in the waiting helicopter. “I am here! I made it!” I told
them, although they were both confused to see me there.

I found out why when Agent Romanoff told me shortly thereafter, “Actually, I was calling
for Sam Wilson…not Sam Eagle. But, since you’re already here, get your feathered ass onboard.”

In spite of the mix-up between Sam’s, we were able to rescue Wilson before the entire
Triskelion collapsed into rubble.

“Wow! Years later, that whole experience still gives me goosebumps!” Gonzo rolled up his
sleeves to show the bumps. “Ya probably can’t see them underneath all the blue hair, but they’re
there.”

Sam cringed with disgust. “Um, yes…Although Dr. Neuter still remains at large and
S.H.I.E.L.D. is nothing more than a shadow these days, I remain vigilant in upholding its legacy
and that of Captain America… until a more worthy individual decides to take on the
responsibility.”

In his proclamation, the proud American eagle stared off into the distance, imagining who
or what the next Captain America would be like.

His focus was suddenly disrupted when he heard music playing in the room.

“Owner of a Lonely Heart” again.

Gonzo played it on a nearby, ordinary stereo system, without a single word of warning or
consideration to the PTSD that it triggered within Sam.

Regardless, the eagle refused to pass on the opportunity to jam along.

Please drop by the archive and comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!