**A/N: I just wanted to mention that my OC Bethany Stark was for the most part inspired by Claire Bennet from Heroes. I think Hayden Panettiere is insanely gorgeous, and when I had established the plot line, I just couldn't for the life of me get her out of my head. I tried, believe me.

I clearly don't own any of the characters, names or plots other than the ones you don't recognize from the original movies.

2019 A/N: It's been FIVE years since I wrote this story. I felt the need to add this little note after Endgame was released and viewership for Cap fanfiction is on the rise.

In the five years since I wrote this, I've become proud of the story. However, there are things I would definitely change. I've had readers accuse Bethany of being a stereotypical fanfiction character, which I've always thought was odd since I've never encountered a character like her yet. Because I didn't want her to be perfect. And she isn't in this story. In fact, it might be very hard for you to like her. I understand that. I didn't write her to be likeable until later on because it shows the journey a person takes.

Second, my writing has changed drastically. How could it not? It's been 5 years, 4 stories, 157 chapters and 1,126,302 words later. In this time, I graduated from university with a history degree (specializing in women and sexuality during the 1940s btw) and took my fair share of literature classes. In that time, I loved and lost and changed as a person. Are there spelling and grammar issues in this story? Hell to the yes. Are there some issues that don't really play out correctly now that we know more about the Avengers? Of course. And I would love to edit it one day. I would love to make this as perfect as I can because it is a passion project of mine. Which brings me to my last point: reviews.

This story is like a baby to me. I've spent so much time and effort crafting it. I adore reviews, but if you have nothing nice to say, please just close the tab. It's extremely hurtful when someone criticizes something you've worked half a decade on. One negative review always hurts more than 10 positive ones. Especially on a site where someone can be anonymous and I don't get the opportunity to defend myself, my characters and my stories.

With that, please enjoy this story. It's long af, so it'll keep you busy if you stick around like so many others have.

Chapter One

"I won't do it," Bethany Stark almost yelled. "It's a lie! His entire life is gone and you want me to waltz in there and tell him that everything is okay?! I'm surprised you passed your annual mental evaluation, Director Fury, because you are sure as hell not making any sense right now."

Fury crossed his arms, displeased with her words. "Miss. Stark, all I want is for him to wake up and feel safe and comfortable. You're the only one who can provide that."

"I'm not lying to him," Bethany stated defiantly before her face fell a little. "In fact, I don't even think I'm the person he wants to see."

"Even if that's true Agent Stark, you're all he has now. And I'm starting to get the impression that you don't want to face him for personal reasons. It's been seventy years. Whatever it is, you should have gotten over it long ago."

"I may have," She agreed, a crack in her usual hard-cold exterior. "But he hasn't. It's yesterday to him. I'm not lying to him. So find someone else."

With that, Bethany left the room at the SHIELD building in New York, storming her way to the bathroom. The air of anger around her was enough to have the other SHIELD agents in the room leave before Bethany could throw them through the wall. And they knew she could.

Looking at her reflection, her anger grew with the image before her. It had been seventy years since she last saw Steve Rogers, him in his customary blue, white and red suit, ready to go off and save the day. It had been seventy years and she looked nothing like she once did. Her eyes were filled with fatigue, war and death, something that followed her everywhere she went. Her cheeks were tight, a smile not gracing them in a long time. Her hair was a dark shade of bottled brown, pulled high into a pony tail opposed to the light blond curls that hung around her face before.

Seventy years had turned her into a killing machine. When SHIELD first started, she was one of the first agents they had. Her job was simple; eliminate the enemy. Or at least, it was simple after the twenty deaths brought by her hand. Howard had assured her that she was only saving the world from another outbreak of war, from more deaths and more countries being influenced by a corrupt leader. While he was right, it didn't make it any easier. Not at first, anyways. A lot had changed since then.

Seventy years had changed her completely. But while those seventy years changed her personality and hair, they didn't change her appearance as it did everyone else. She wasn't old and frail like so many of her friends, or dead with legacies living on like Howard. Yes, a lot had changed since the last time she saw Steve Rogers, but her age wasn't one of them.

Her nostrils flared as she remembered some of their last words and she threw a hard punch to the window, it shattering around her fist. Bethany looked down at the shards of mirror sticking out, blood running down her arm. The pain, as always, was a friendly reminder that she was human. That she, like everyone else, felt pain. The pieces of glass began to push out of her skin, clanking on the countertop by the sink before falling to Bethany's feet. The cuts began to heal instantly and the pain was gone. All that was left was the trail of blood and the shattered mirror.

Turning on the facet, she washed away the red and looked into the shattered glass, only to see the same disappointing image as before. As she turned off the facet and started to dry her hands, "all agents, code 13" rang loudly, bringing attention to every SHIELD agent in the building. Bethany huffed in annoyance, rolling her eyes before touching her gun delicately. It was something she always did as reassurance.

She knew the alarm was indication that there was a problem with their newest weapon, the super soldier out of time. It couldn't be for anything else. And despite the fact that Bethany wasn't ready to face Steve, it was her job.

Pushing the bathroom door open, she saw the familiar built body run through the halls, completely terrified. Before Bethany could stop herself, she was running after him. She knew he was scared, as he should be, and she was always the best at comforting him, as he always comforted her. They would stay up all night sometimes, confessing their fears, childhood stories and the pain that captured their hearts. She knew him better than anyone else. As much as she wanted to abandon him, she just couldn't bring herself to do that to him. She couldn't let him down. Not again.

He was faster than her. That she knew, but she grabbed her gun, knowing she wouldn't use it, but that maybe he would stop running. At this rate, he'd reach Canada within the hour.

"Steve, stop!" She yelled over the New York traffic. She saw as the soldier's body tense, halting and turning slightly at the familiarity of her voice.

Alarmingly, he looked at her, and her firm hold on the gun, his arms going up in a motion of surrender. Steve Rogers surrender? She asked herself. Never. But there was still fear in his eyes.

A heartbeat passed, a crowd of curious New Yorkers gathering around. A couple SHIELD agents had joined Bethany, each with their own gun in hand. Why the citizens weren't scattering like mad, Bethany wasn't sure. What she was sure with though was that the generations hadn't gotten much brighter in the regards of street smarts, that's for sure.

"Bethany?" Steve asked in almost a whisper. In response, she lowered the gun and took a couple steps forward.

"I told them not to do that," She explained, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "The little show? I told them you weren't an idiot. You'd think after seventy years of service, they'd actually listen to me."

"Bethany, what are you talking about?" He asked, looking around.

For the first time in years, Bethany felt her heart fall a little. He looked like a little lost kid in a grocery store, wanting desperately to ask for help, but too afraid to do so. "Steve…" she began, putting her gun back in its holster. "You crashed the plane into the water and froze. You've… you've been asleep for seventy years."

Steve looked around at the lights surrounding them, big obnoxious advertisements, before shaking his head, "This isn't funny Beth."

She felt a small tug at her lip, a foreign feeling of a smile forming at a nickname that was seldom earned. "I'm not lying Steve. It's… the twenty-first century."

"You've gotta love the twentieth century, little sister." Howard said throwing an arm around her shoulder. "All this? They never would have dreamed of it thirty years ago."

He was gesturing to the expo in front of them, many of their inventions on display. Bethany had to admit, it was impressive. "Imagine what it'll be like thirty years from now," she agreed.

"It's gonna be one hell of a universe," Howard remarked. "And once Project Rebirth takes off-"

"Can you hush?" Bethany snapped, sending a playful hit to his stomach. "That's a secret."

"Which is why it has a codename," Howard reminded her. "Now get off my stage. It's almost show time."

Bethany exhaled heavily, but complied, making her way to the crowd that had gathered around to see exactly what the brilliant Howard Stark had thought of this week. Technology was more important now than anything with the war raging hard. It wasn't just strategy that mattered anymore. Each side was developing more and more weapons, each more advanced than the last in effort to come out on top.

Bethany watched Howard's show with little patience. The man was a Casanova, and he couldn't seem to turn it off—ever. But as the wheels of the car were removed and the car started to rise, she felt a surge of pride fill her. Her brother was a genius.

"Holy cow," she heard someone say behind her as the car continued to float upwards. Then, in typical fashion, the car fell back towards the stage.

Howard gave an embarrassed chuckle as the crowd started to clap leisurely. "I did say a few years, didn't I?"

Bethany laughed at his quick save, shaking her head. Her brother was a genius, yes. But he never knew when to ask for help, especially from his kid sister who had taken one look at the blue prints and known instantly what the problem was. Howard refused to listen to her, as usual, and Bethany just accepted this.

Howard caught her gaze and gestured towards the recruitment office that had been set up. She sighed, but nodded. Making her way through the crowd, she picked out the body of Dr. Abraham Erskine, standing in his white lab coat.

"You're late," he spoke when she walked towards him.

"Sorry," she answered truthfully to her mentor. "I had to see Howard fail for myself."

The German doctor smiled, shaking his head. He was endlessly amused with the Stark siblings. "Well now that you have, can we focus on the task at hand, Miss. Stark?"

"I still think that kid from Connecticut is the best choice," Bethany spoke as she looked around at all the men who were on their way to enlist.

"You know very well that I am looking for aspects beyond the physical," Dr. Erskine reminded for what was most likely the tenth time. "Take a look at that boy there."

Bethany followed his gaze towards where two men were undoubtedly arguing. The first was already dressed in his army uniform, a clear indication to Bethany that the scientist meant the other one, the very short and skinny man. "Exactly, a boy." Bethany stressed. Even without her heels, she would be taller than him. Maybe not by much, but by enough.

"Listen to his words," he told her. "Despite his size, he wants to fight. But not just for himself, but for his country."

Bethany sighed, knowing that the good doctor had already chosen this boy. They had been on the hunt for the perfect soldier, moving from state to state. Every tall, strong and able-bodied man was overlooked simply because of the reasons why he wanted to fight. Bethany wasn't even sure why she was surprised at Erskine's find. "Don't give him a ticket to the boot camp just yet. If you're seriously considering him, talk to him. He may not be everything you think he is."

Dr. Erskine nodded, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I agree with you, but he is my number one prospect."

"Of course he is," Bethany voiced with a smirk.

The two men parted, the shorter one walking towards the recruitment line. "As you know," the scientist began, breaking their silence. "I have many men to attend to. Will you watch over him for me?"

"I'm not a babysitter," she protested, but with no resentment or anger in her voice.

"No, no, no," Erskine assured her with a smile. "Just find out what you can about him. You know your approval means a lot to me."

Bethany gave him a little smile before nodding and following the boy.

Howard had introduced Bethany to Dr. Erskine when he first came to America. Howard knew that if anyone was willing to give her a chance, it was Dr. Erskine. Growing up, she and Howard had taken a love to fixing things. While Howard trained his craft on mechanics and innovation, Bethany quickly learned that fixing objects didn't have the same reward as fixing people. She studied nursing, but when her chances of being a doctor where crushed by the mere aspect that she was a girl, Dr. Erskine had come along and given her the chance. Sure, there were women doctors. But she wouldn't have be able to get the same opportunities in a medical school surrounded by stupid, judgemental men as she would with someone who actually cared about her education.

She had learned a lot from the doctor, more than just suturing and diagnosing illnesses. He had enlightened her with science. Which is how the two ended up at the expo, searching for the perfect candidate to give the serum to. She didn't necessarily disagree about the man chosen needing to have a good heart. After what happened with Schmidt, it was with a doubt the first quality they should look for, but there had to be one man out there with a good heart who was also strong. And preferably taller than the man in question. Nonetheless, Bethany followed Erskine's instructions and casually followed the boy. Along the way, she found a white lab coat and slipped it over her rich red dress that Howard had bought for her for her twentieth birthday.

Standing behind the table, she watched as the boy approached her to look over his enlistment form. She could tell that he was trying to look tall, brave and strong, but his eyes avoided her own. He handed his enlistment form to her shyly, as if the very idea of being close to her was completely terrifying. Bethany took it with a small smile, telling him to sit and wait until she called him. He complied without a moment's doubt and Bethany began to read his forms.

There was one thing about enlistment forms that Bethany loved; the history each one told. With a few pieces of paper, she could read so much about a person; his age, next-of-kin, health issues, family. This small stack of papers allowed Bethany to get to know details about a man within seconds of meeting him. She had quickly learned to decode things that weren't necessarily stated on the paper. What caught Bethany's attention on this Steven Rogers' enlistment form was his beautiful penmanship. An artist's hand, she thought as she scanned over it again.

He wasn't a boy. In fact, his date of birth had him older than her. She noted with mild interest that he was born on America's birthday, but quickly looked at his list of health ailments. How he wasn't dead already, Bethany didn't know. And why he would ever risk leaving the house was another debate on its own. If not his height or weight making him unqualified for battle, his asthma easily did the trick. One night in the mucky trenches would irritate his lungs enough to send him to the Red Cross tents. Although, Bethany had a feeling that Steven would go to those tents reluctantly, possibly even dragged.

A normal person would throw his enlistment forms away without a second thought, but Bethany knew Dr. Erskine well enough to know this would only excite him even more. The serum was supposed to bring a human to the brink of perfection. And while Bethany hated to admit it, giving Steven Rogers the serum would be an exciting experiment.

Experiment. The word echoed in her head. Yes, what they were planning was exciting. But if something went wrong, their lab rat would suffer the consequences and Bethany would feel forever guilty. It wasn't going to be an easy transformation, and no doubt painful. She wasn't sure if he could handle it.

She moved her gaze over the top of the form towards where Rogers was sitting. He was looking around with interest. Bethany studied him carefully, trying to create a deeper impression of him. He had a long face, sunken in from poor health and lack of weight. His nose was a perfect slope, but there was a small bump on the side of it, his lips full but slightly chapped. It was a little hard to make out, but quickly consulting the enlistment form, his eyes were revealed to be blue. His hair was cut in a very typical way, pushed out of his face in a soft wave, which fell over his eyes when he looked down. Bethany decided that, despite his size, he was quite handsome.

Bethany pushed her chair back, it screeching against the tiles. Standing up tall, she made her way over to a cabinet that had copies of enlistment forms of the men determined unfit. Erskine had requested these for future reference and consultation. She hadn't questioned it then, and she was glad she hadn't. Her fingers danced over the files until she reached 'R'. She gave an amused chuckle and picked out Rogers' previous attempts. Closing the cabinet with a firm slam and reaching for a spare file folder, she placed all the enlistment forms in the folder.

"Rogers, Steven." She called out. He immediately shot up, and she gestured for him to follow her. She brought him to an examination room, offering him a smile. "Sit down, a doctor will be in to look over you in a moment."

"Thank you ma'am," he replied, mirroring her smile and following her orders. Bethany's mouth fell open slightly at how deep his voice was, frozen in her place for a moment. It didn't seem to fit.

She snapped her mouth closed and gave him a tight lipped smile before walking out in search for Dr. Erskine. When she finally found him, she sighed, handing him the folder. "You really know how to pick them."

"You like him?" Erskine asked, taking the folder.

"He's said a total of three words to me," Bethany answered. "Look at his attempts though. By looking at his hometown, you'd think he's nomadic. The boy has passion. Born on the Fourth of July too. Patriotic."

"I guess we'll just have to ask him where he's really from," Erskine decided with a smile. "I will keep my promise to look at all the candidates before making a decision, but he is on top of my list."

"Understood," Bethany answered. Erskine nodded to a soldier who ripped the sheets covering the examination room away, revealing Rogers who was looking more antsy than when Bethany left him. Erskine stepped forward and excused the soldier. Bethany, not knowing if Erskine wanted her to follow him in lingered by the sheets. Erskine went to open his mouth, then realized Bethany's absence.

"What are you doing? Get in here, fräulein." Bethany attempted to hide her amused smile, but failed. The doctor's tone of voice and accent always made her chuckle. Even when he tried to be serious, he always brought a smile to her face.

"So," Dr. Erskine began. "You want to go overseas. Kill some Nazis."

"Excuse me?" Steve asked, clearly shocked by the straight forward question.

"Doctor Abraham Erskine. I represent the Strategic Scientific Reserve. This is my assistant Bethany Stark."

"Steve Rogers," the skinny man answered, nodding his head politely to Bethany before turning his gaze to Erskine. "Where are you from?"

Erskine put Steve's folder down on the observation table. "Queens." He answered casually. "Before that, Germany. This troubles you?"

"No," Steve answered lightly.

"It's funny you asked that," Bethany spoke up. "We were going to ask you the exact same thing, Mr. Rogers."

"Yes," Erskine agreed, looking at the enlistment papers in front of him. "Is it New Haven? Or Paramus? Five exams in five different-"

"It might not be the right file," Steve interrupted, trying to save his skin.

"Relax, Mr. Rogers." Bethany said, folding her hands together neatly. "The exams aren't what we're interested in. The five tries however…"

Silence fell over them briefly before Erskine filled it. "You didn't answer my question, Mr. Rogers. Do you want to kill Nazis?"

With their gazes turned to him, they waited for his answer. Steve didn't hesitate long before answering with simply "Is this a test?"

Bethany put three of her fingers over her red-rimmed lips in an attempt to cover her girlish chuckle. "Yes," Erskine answered expectantly.

Once again, silence filled the area, but only briefly. "I don't want to kill anyone," Steve confessed. "I don't like bullies. I don't care where they're from."

Bethany's fingers stayed over her lips as she turned her head to Erskine. They shared a knowing look, but Bethany couldn't shake the hold his words had around her heart. It was beating fast, his wisdom affecting her in a way words never had before. "That's beautiful," she whispered. Steve looked at her quickly, then lowered his head, a blush overtaking his skin.

"Well," the German scientist started, interrupting the moment. "There are already so many big men fighting in this war. Maybe what we need now is a little guy. Huh?" Bethany's smile reappeared as she saw the joy in Steve's face. This kid is going to be the end of me, she thought, noting only for a moment that Steve was actually older than her.

"More details will come," Bethany told him, watching as his hopeful eyes turned to her. "But we can offer you a chance. A chance. As in one."

"I'll take it," Steve rushed. Erskine had gathered the papers together and turned to leave the room. Bethany followed him, Steve hot on her trail.

"Good," the doctor said happily. "We were hoping you'd say that. Now, where is the little guy from, actually?"

"Brooklyn," Steve said with a smile.

Erskine nodded, stamping his paper with a green IA approval and handing it to him. "Congratulations, soldier."

"So?" Howard asked as Bethany met up with him later that night. He was waiting on a bench by the stage, the area almost completely deserted. "Doctor Genius find anyone he saw fit? Or did you have to remind him that we're on a clock and to just pick a random person."

Bethany rolled her eyes at her brother, taking a seat beside him. "First of all, we don't pick random men. Everyone we've chosen, we've chosen for a specific reason. And secondly, yes. I actually think he's made his decision."

"And?" Howard asked, taking a puff of his lit cigarette. "Do you agree? Or better yet, will I agree?"

"Oh, you'll agree. Just like I agree. He'll be a challenge. Should have an interesting turn-" she waved away the smoke from his cigarette. "Will you put that thing out, please?"

Howard complied, giving her a face. "A challenge? How so?"

Bethany crossed her legs, but bluntly answered his question with "I could pummel the guy in 10 seconds flat."

Howard frowned for a second and then laughed. "He picked a twig?" Bethany nodded, picking at a loose thread on her skirt. "I guess he did say that physical qualities wasn't his first- hey, I just bought you that. Will you stop?"

Bethany sighed, letting the thread go. 'Just' was an overstatement, since it was a few years old by now. "He's a really nice guy. Shy, that much is sure. But very patriotic. He's a true American, wanting to fight not for the glory, but because he truly believes…" She uncrossed her legs, restarting her sentence. "Erskine asked him if he wanted to kill Nazis. Steve replied that he didn't want to kill anyone, but he didn't like bullies."

Howard scoffed, "How noble."

Bethany laughed, "He's a gentleman, too. And hey, Colonel Phillips wanted an All-American man. Steve Rogers is that."

"Yeah, but Phillips won't be happy about his twig status." Howard added, going to pull out his lighter to light another cigarette before stopping himself and resorting to biting his nails.

"It's not the Colonel's decision in the end," Bethany reminded her brother. "It's Erskine's formula. Without him, we wouldn't even be having this discussion."

"Personally," Howard said, placing a hand over his heart. "I think I should get a say. It's my Vita-Ray machine that will complete this little transformation."

"Assuming the Vita-Ray machine will work," Bethany said with a smirk. "Good thing Erskine didn't see your little show."

Howard glared at her. "Like you could've done better."

Bethany shook her head, smiling. "You know I could've. I know what went wrong. All you have to do is ask."

He stood up and began walking towards his car. Bethany chuckled a few more seconds before following him. "Howard, wait." Her brother stopped in his tracks, and with his hands in his pockets, slowly turned to her. "You're a genius. I know that. The world knows that. But you can ask for help every once and a while, you do know that right? It doesn't make you any less of a genius. It makes you human, capable of error."

Howard said nothing, just looking at her. "Can we leave now?" He finally asked.

Bethany nodded, sensing that it was better just to drop the conversation. "Of course, unless you have somewhere to be? A certain show girl's place? Or is she coming home with us?"

Howard smirked, "Nah, not really in the mood to entertain tonight." He threw an arm around her shoulders, leading her to his car.

"Well, that's a first," Bethany teased.

Howard chuckled at the truth of her words, opening the door for her. "I want to work on the Vita-Ray machine, Beth. Do some extra tests. I don't want it to be my fault it doesn't work."

Bethany nodded, slipping into the passenger's seat. "Understandable."

Howard closed the door and moved around the car, climbing into his own seat. They sat in silence for a few seconds before Howard sighed. "There's no room for error in this experiment. It's a man's life we're talking about."

Bethany looked over at her brother, seeing his age for the first time. Howard was always so carefree. It was weird to see him actually worried about something, let alone someone. She placed a comforting hand on his. "Don't worry, I just have a feeling this Rogers guy is meant to do something great. The universe wouldn't dare mess it up."

Howard looked at her green eyes for moment before nodding. Lifting a brow and tossing her his famous smirk, he changed the topic completely. "Wanna stop for some ice cream before we go home?"

Bethany smiled in agreement. "Do you really need to ask?"

**A/N: So I'm not going to beg for reviews, since being an avid fanfiction reader myself, I know it can actually be a hassle. If you do happen to leave a review, let it be a positive one, or constructive criticism. That means actually giving me advice instead of just ragging on me. If you have nothing nice to say, don't say it at all.

All-in-all, thanks for reading :)