Hi everyone! Finally I'm bringing you here the story of Summer and Steve :) The beginning is slow but I had to show you all the characters first, this is not just a love story…! Hope you like it!
English is not my native language, so please let me know the grammar mistakes! And sorry for that D:
[February, 1969]
Every story has a start. A moment in time you can point and say "Yeah, this is the beginning of everything". When Lynette crossed the hall and walked through the large room she didn't know that was the time.
The girl couldn't believe she was actually there; it was like a dream coming to life. Seconds later, when the magic of the moment disappeared, she felt like a fish out of water. Lynette was too petite for her age; of course she was only seventeen and maybe wasn't finished to grow up yet but the other girls in the room looked so radiant. Her brunette hair was too short; it couldn't hide her round cheeks! Her eyes weren't big or had an unusual color; in fact they were too small and brown. Such a common eyes she though and her teeth clenched in anger. Besides her non good looking face there was the body. Too skinny, like a little stick you could break so easily. The dress didn't help her to look better.
Lynette borrowed it, at least she said that to herself (it wasn't stealing! Not at all! She would return it as soon as possible), from Cecilia's clothes dryer, the prostitute that live next to her. Cecilia was taller than her, so the dress seemed larger than actually was. It was red and left little to the imagination causing her cheeks blushed every time a stranger looked at her. But at least was enough elegant for the event of the night.
She forgot every thought about her appearance when he showed up to the party. Howard Stark was the reason. The man was surrounded by a group of women that captured his attention, Lynette though that all of them looked like Cecilia but more horny. Maria Stark, Howard's wife, was holding his husband's arm with victory while looking at the women with disappointment. Howard rejected all the invitations but his eyes promised a secret night of lust when his wife wasn't looking.
Lynette didn't want to hear him calling her: 'beautiful', 'pretty' or whatever that women wished for; she was looking for a "you're the smartest girl I ever know." She needed those words as her personal award.
"Mister Stark." She tried to catch his attention but the voices of the women were louder "Shit." There wasn't a chance of pushing the women out of him; the only option left was waiting for her turn. So she did. "Mister Stark." He was in front of her now. With his expensive suit and perfect smile, he smelled like a mix of alcohol and something Lynette couldn't recognized. "Name's Lynette."
"Nice to meet you, sweetheart." He smiled, it wasn't the same that he offered to the women. "Did you come here with your parents?" Lynette grimaced feeling a little offended but smiled to him instead of reproaching.
"No, I came alone." She leaned the head. "You know, they're too busy for this."
"For this wasting of time?" He asked nicely but his eyes sparkled a little, Lynette noticed them instantly. "Just enjoy the moment." Howard looked at his wife trying to finish the conversation with that sign. For him the girl was just another fan, a little girl fascinated by his experiments (like the flying car he showed once to the public).
"I'm sorry if I offended you, Mister Stark." Lynette moved quickly to be in Howard's way, she would never give up on this. Not now. Not when she is so near to get what always wanted. "But I really need your attention." The girl practically begged but Howard wasn't listening at all, his eyes were at the free bar. "You don't understand! You need me." A sarcastic laugh escaped from his lips, it wasn't the first time he listened that, and instantly Maria brought an elbow to shut him up. "I can prove it." She reached in her purse the papers, they were full of investigations and evidences. " I-I-I…" She stammered nervous, maybe that man was a jerk but still be one of the most brilliant minds of the decade- "I just- I just improved your serum. The super soldier one."
"What?"
Now he was surprised, but Lynette couldn't say if it was in a good/bad way. Howard looked angry, maybe because she stuck her nose in his work. He was obviously worried too; the super soldier serum was a secret. Nobody knew about except the people who worked for it, and for sure that kid wasn't one of them. He grabbed the papers automatically wishing for this to be a joke, but was not. At first sight the formulas seemed correct. It wasn't exactly the same serum, well, it wasn't at all. Maybe Lynette knew perfectly how to catch his attention.
"What was your name, sweetie?" Lyn was fast, she took her papers back before he could hide them from her. Howard clicked his tongue in frustration. Lynette smiled victory knowing that she got him. And for a second, Howard think she's the most beautiful woman in the room.
"Lynette." He waited for the last name but didn't come. "Just Lynette for you."
"Well, Lynette, I think this is an unexpected association."
[December, 1991]
Howard was dead, and also his wife Maria –but she wasn't the point. Lynette couldn't believe it even she heard the new in the radio or read the newspaper: It couldn't be possible. Of course Howard was human and, like everyone in the Earth, destined to die… But she never thought about it. Apparently the man and his wife were killed in a car accident on Long Island, his son Tony Stark inherited Stark Industries –becoming, at age 21, the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company. She felt sorry for that kid when looked at his picture in the newspaper, Tony was so much like his father -with that brown and deep eyes… She would give anything to see her image in that eyes just one more time.
"Mum!" The steps of her oldest daughter distracted her from the new; she tried to smile like nothing happened. "She did it again!" Lynette looked at her with confusion, the teenage girl sighed while crossing her arms. "Win' stole my shirt again. She did it in purpose! I was going to wear it in the audition, what am I going to wear now? Ah?"
"I don't know, honey, just choose another shirt." The eyes of her kid sparkled with indignation and deception; she waited for a vengeance against that little monster not for a kind solution.
"That's all you're going to do?" Lynette sighed and shrugged her shoulders, it wasn't a good idea being the judge in that fight. "Good." She rolled her eyes. "What's going on in the world today?" Lynette showed her the newspaper with a tired smile (or maybe one that tried to hide her mood). The death of Howard Stark occupied the entire front page. "Wow, I think there's another rich we don't have to care about." She moved her eyes quickly to the kitchen clock. "Shit! Sully's going to be here in less than a minute! He's gonna kill me if I'm late."
"Summer." Lynette called her daughter and she turned around instantly. Summer Strauss, her oldest daughter, was eighteen and Lynette saw herself in her every day (the skinny body, the brown eyes, the way she saw the world…). There was a big part of herself in Summer and that scares her a little, a part she didn't see in her other child. A part of her she buried when met Aaron Strauss, her actual husband and the love of her life. "Do you know how much I love you?"
"Ugh! Mum! Not now." She rolled her eyes and moved quickly to leave the kitchen, Lynette found herself alone again.
Lynette lowered her eyes seeing again the new, still feeling unreal.
Summer wasn't at home yet so she took advantage of it. Her sister's room were more bigger than hers and her wardrobe, oh that lovely wardrobe!, was full of so many clothes she loved. Like that shirt she already took an hour ago. The door didn't make a noise when opened and the little kid entered without thinking twice. The walls of the room were painted in beige; hers were pink and god she hated pink with all her heart; and the sun come out from the window perfectly through the white curtains. It was like living in a soft dream.
One of the walls was decorated with a lot of photographs and she stared to them for a while, imagining herself in that places. Her favorite was one of her sister that was taken a year ago, Summer wore a ballet outfit and was sat in the ground while looking at nowhere. A big smile in her face showed her enjoyment, she loved dancing. All the photos were taking by Sullivan Bomer, the official pain in the ass. That boy was the perfect image of Ken, the insufferable Barbie's boyfriend (so fucking blond and those blue eyes…), but with one exception. Ken had a preference for other Kens, not interested in Barbie anymore.
"WHAT?" The little girl shook her body with surprise when heard his father's voice. Aaron was a quiet man, she never listened him shouting like this. "What do you mean with leaving, Lyn?" Leaving? Where? She asked herself in silence and tried to get closer to the wall, her parents were talking in the next room so could heard them clearly. "You can't be serious! And what happens with the girls? What am I going to tell them?" Her mother was leaving them behind, her heart started to beating really fast with agony. It couldn't be possible. "Lynette…"
"You knew this was going to happen one day." Lynnette seemed calm while talking, like she did this every day. Her father wasn't calm at all. Aaron was out of his mind. "Today is the day, Aaron… Just do me a last favor, do it for us, destroy everything. Give up on this investigation that is going nowhere." Investigation? Well, that was new. How far she knew Aaron was a professor at college that spent his free time watching the reposition of Little House on the Prairie, that freaking show where all the characters seemed to be patients of an Asylum. And her mother…, well…, Lynette was the prototype of housewife (so boring sometimes…). So what the hell was 'this investigation'? "I'm sorry, I'm sorry for everything."
[Present day]
Sully smiled. Summer lost herself in the dance; the slow deep music surrounded the all theatre. With every note everybody felt floating in Wonderland. It was incredible and beautiful, he could notice it even didn't appreciate the ballet at all. His camera portrait a part of the magic but a photograph couldn't catch all the emotions he felt at that moment. His best friend was dancing for the first time in front of a thousand people, he was so proud of her. Summer finally got the part of Alice –the main character of the ballet 'Alice in Wonderland'- after working really hard during the last two years. After the performance, they'll go to celebrate it.
"You. Were. Amazing." Christine, one of the girls that worked in the theatre, let him to enter in the private side of the state when the ballet ended. Summer was there with the other dancers; she's still wearing the blue dress of Alice. His friend turned around when realized he was actually there. "Congratulations." They smiled together and Sully spoke during an hour about how amazing the play was, Summer listened him trying not to laugh for his new fascination. "Come on, change your clothes, we're going to have fun." Summer opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the blond guy. "No, I don't want excuses. You deserve it, okay?"
"You win, blondie, but no fun after midnight."
"Why? Are you going to transform yourself in a pumpkin or something?" Summer gave him a withering look and Sully smiled.
They were friends since first grade and became inseparables even were too different. Sullivan was all energy, mischief and pure instinct. Summer was the opposite.
"I'm not going to let you chose the site the next time." Sully complained and looked at his coffee with deception. They were in a fucking cafeteria. No music. No alcohol. No cute boys around. Except the blonde cutie that sat behind Summer, but the man was too concentrated in drawing something. Not interested in searching couple, what a tragedy. "You know that I love you so much but you need to go out more often." He pointed the mug with one of his finger. "And not going out to a place like this."
"This is what I want." Summer drank her coffee and Sully saw her sad expression for a moment, catching instantly what was in her mind.
"Is this because of Ben? Because that moron doesn't deserve your happiness." She sighed avoiding his eyes. Of course it was because of Ben, Sullivan frowned feeling suddenly worried for her. "I thought you said you moved on. But you clearly didn't." Summer wanted to explain her thought, but Sully didn't want to hear excuses. She suffered enough for him, now was the time to move one. "Summer…"
"You! You! You! You need—You have- You should—I'm not your problem, Sully, just leave me alone. It's not like you are much better than I with relationships." She stood up quickly grabbing her hot coffee with one hand. The mug was so full that the liquid flew away and fell on one of the clients of the cafeteria. "Oh!" Sully thought that the handsome blonde was still hottie even with the coffee in his hair and face. "Shit." The mug fell down to the ground when she tried to catch some napkin to help the guy. "I'm really sorry! Oh my god!" She looked at the table, the entire drawing was full of coffee. It was ruined. "I—I just…" Summer searched for Sully hoping his friend will help her, but he was enjoying the moment and had no intention to take part. "I hate you, Bomer." She whispered looking at him with anger.
"Sorry?" The guy asked confused and Summer blushed trying to explain herself with speaking quickly and moving her arms with nervousness. The man was her age too, he had a blond hair and a beautiful blue eyes. Just the opposite of the arrogant Ben, who broke up with her a month ago because he thought was too cool for her. "Are you okay?" Summer looked at him for the first time with calm, she was too nervous to stop talking or moving… The boy seemed truly worried. She couldn't believe it. Another person would be mad at her for what happened.
"Yeah… I'm actually okay." She answered and pointed with one of her fingers the drawing. "I'm sorry… I really messed up your drawing. Can I compensate you in some way?"
"I volunteer as a naked model." Sully appeared next to her with a big smile in his face, his friend gave him a withering look. The guy was so confused and so full of coffee that Summer had to bite her lip to not to laugh. "My name's Sullivan, but you can call me Sully or honey or the love of your life. I'm up to the last option." He ignored the leg of Summer kicking his own. "Ah, and she's Summer Strauss. Yeah, Summer, like the season."
"Strauss?" The blondie asked with his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Did you know Aaron Strauss?" She confessed instantly that was her father. "He was one of my soldiers… He was too young… Oh my god, he's still alive after all." Sully looked at Summer with alarm in his eyes. Did he say'my soldiers'? The weird alarm sounded loudly in his mind. "How is he?"
"He's not young at all, I can swear." Sully grabbed his best friend's arm. "I'm sorry, Van Gogh, but we have to go now. Y'now, staff to do. Nice to meet you though." He practically pushed Summer out of the place. "What the hell was that? Did you hear him? He—He's just thirteen, right? So how's supposed to be in the war with your father?" Summer shrugged her shoulders with no interest about knowing the answer. "Someone escaped from the asylum."
"Yeah, you did."
Judith Strauss, Aaron's younger sister, practically took the place of Lynette in the mother role. She was patient with the girls and helped his brother to move on. Her eyes were the same color as Aaron's but her hair was darker contrasting the pale skin. Too pale. The day she felt so exhausted even to stand up of the bed Judith knew was something wrong with her. She went alone to see the doctor and after some tests, the diagnostic was clearly: Leukemia. Her bloodstream was collapsed with all the bad cells, the doctors said there was nothing to do with her. She smiled to them, thanked for the attention and went home to see her family.
"You're not going to die." Aaron was the first to talk after listen the new, Summer was too shocked to even say something and Win, oh her little Winnifred, looked like her world was suddenly destroyed. "They lied, There's gotta be something-" Judith said no with her head trying to transfer her calm to him.
"Everyone has to die one day, no one lives forever." But it's too earlier, she thought but didn't say something. Judith knew she was the 'center' of the family, the big magneto that made the family stayed together. "I don't want any treatment." But Aaron wasn't listen at all, he stood up and seconds later was gone of the house. Judith hoped he respected her decision.
"Are you going to leave us?" Win hugged her instantly and started to cry like nothing could console her.
Against Judith's wishes, Aaron started to investigate about her illness. He left his job at the university and created his own lab at his basement. The girls had no permission to go there. Judith was no stupid, all the machines Aaron had didn't appear from nowhere. He had them before she got the leukemia, Judith was sure.
"OH. MY. GOD." Judith rolled her eyes. Phoebe Book, a blonde blue eyes chick, was helping his brother with the investigation. The girl was really young, maybe was the same age as Summer, but when she concentrated enough in her job Judith could see the brilliant in her. Now wasn't one of that moments. "How fabulous is Pepperony, right? Right? Just look at them and imagine all the pretty babies she could have. I'd pay anything to take care of that little genius." Phoebe was looking one of the magazine she brought with her. "I love them." Her eyes sparkled with something Judith described as madness.
"Pepper Potts is pregnant?" Judith knew she was going to the wolf cave with participant in the conversation, but was too bored for ignoring her.
"No, but she is in my imagination." That was freaking weird, the Strauss woman thought but tried to smile calmly. "What about you, Juddy? Do you want to have kids?"
"I already have two." Phoebe smiled catching the information instantly. Summer and Winnifred were like her daughters to Judith.
"Yes!" Aaron, ignoring all the conversation, moved his arms with victory and looked at his sister. "You're not going to die soon." The smiled he showed scared her.
The doctors couldn't explain her case, the bad cells as she called them, were actually there, in her veins, but the illness was like "frozen in time". No symptoms. No needing of blood transfusions. Judith felt a new energy floating in her veins, it was incredible –the leukemia felt like a distant nightmare. Aaron was full of enjoyment, he cooked a special dinner for them to celebrate the good news. The girls couldn't explain it too, they knew their father did something of course, but were happy to have Judith back so didn't ask question. No questions, no answers. The happiness of ignorance was all they wanted.
"Cool, it smells really good." Sullivan, who invited himself to the dinner when Summer told him about it, was already sat waiting for the food. Win gave him a withering look wishing he felt out of the place, but that didn't happen. "What's up, Winter?" Win tried to kick him in the leg but Sullivan was too fast for her. "Little Winnie is going to cry." He moved quickly trying to escape from Winnifred's kicking. Sully pushed Aaron, who was walking behind him holding the salad.
"Be careful!" But the advertisement of Judith was too late. Aaron fell and so the salad did. Judith moved her arms trying to hold the plate of food but she was too far.
Then the plate stopped to fall like it was held by one invisible thread.
"What the hell—" Sully opened his mouth totally surprised. Judith looked at her hands; she felt the energy flow from her body to her hand. Aaron touched the object with one finger, it was totally real. "Can somebody explain this to me, please?"
"It's…" Aaron held the plate of the salad with his both hands, he couldn't move the object from there. "It's frozen in time." He looked directly at Judith, who made a step back. Suddenly the plate fell to the ground when Aaron moved his hands to stop his sister. "We need to do more tests."
His experiment was more effective than he thought at the beginning. Aaron tested the new ability of her sister a couple of times: He was sure she could stop time. Of course it had a scientist explication: the cells of Judith mutated after he used the serum in her… giving her the ability of controlling time.
He knew that was possible, Lynette worked in genetic mutations before they met. But she never was succeeded when tried to create a mutant. And, oh, he was. The results were so well matched for the army, they'll love it. They'll beg for having it.
His thoughts stopped at that point. What if Judith, his patient zero, was just an exception? What if the serum didn't work with others? That could be a serious problem. He needed to use the serum in another subjects to prove his theories.
"Mister Strauss?" A male voice asked and Aaron turned around to see a young guy, he frowned. "Is Phoebe here, sir?" Aaron stared at him for a while until recognized him. He was Matthew Lee, Phoebe's boyfriend. The boy was around his thirty, had glasses and a short brown hair. "Do you know where I can find her?" He was orphan, Phoebe told him once, and was sure his assistant didn't love him at all. He was perfect.
Matty broke up with her. No explanations, just a message in her phone at midnight. Phoebe couldn't believe it. Matthew was a good guy, maybe too good, so it was unbelievable he used the freaking phone instead of talking face to face. And that one wasn't the only surprised of the day. When she went to Aaron's house to start the journey, he fired her. No explanations again.
"Why is this happening to me?" Phoebe was crying like a little girl while Judith tried to console her, but it was a hard job 'cause the blondie didn't listen her at all. "Is because of Karma? I'm a good girl! I did everything right!"
"It's not your fault, Phoebs…" And Judith knew her words were true. Her brother closed to himself after he found out about her new abilities. Aaron moved his lab in the middle of the night without telling to anyone. When Judith asked why he did it, Aaron never answered. He just smiled –but not in the same way he used to. She was worried, really worried. "I'm sure you'll find a new job pretty soon."
"You really think that?" For the first time Phoebe listened to her and suddenly smiled with her habitually craziness. "Can you imagine me working at the Stark Company?" Judith made a face. Poor Tony Stark, she thought for a seconds but nodded when Phoebe looked at her. Judith was afraid to contradict the mad blondie. "Cool! I'm going to see Aaron. Maybe he could write me a letter of recommendation for the new job." She stood up from the sofa with decision. "Give me luck, Juddy."
"You don't need it." Phoebe smiled to her with tenderness and Judith knew she was going to miss her so much.
Aaron wrote the numbers in his notebook.
Judith Strauss – The patient zero. Ability: Molecular Immobilization. State: Alive, no desires of cooperation.
Matthew Lee – Number one. Ability: Telekinesis. State: Deceased, killed accidentally when number two escaped.
Phoebe Book – Number two. Ability: Electric Manipulation. State: Alive, escaped from the lab. No desires of cooperation. Missing.
Sullivan Bomer – Number three. Ability: Immortality. State: Alive, no desires of cooperation but locked up in the lab.
Ben Scott – Number four. Ability: Clairvoyance. State: Alive, collaborator with the investigation.
Jaquelin Carlton – Number five. Ability: Telepathy. State: Alive, collaborator.
Six examples of the usefulness of his serum; was a good beginning. The only problem was the willfulness of his experiments; the most of them were included in the project by accident. Phoebe came out searching for a letter of recommendation; he gave a sedative injection to her to ensure her participation. When the girl woke up was so afraid that acted without thinking, she only wanted to survived. Matty tried to stop her, but died electro shocked. Now Aaron wasn't sure where Phoebe was. Sully was a friend of the family so it was easily to convince to come at the lab alone, he wasn't exactly a team member (no desires to be involucrate in the experiment) but again Aaron used the power of the sedatives. Sullivan was locked up to ensure he didn't escape like number two did. Ben Scott, who was a police, came to the lab looking forward the three missing people… He was narcissist and took the change to be more powerful without thinking. Jaquelin Carlton was a tramp, no home to go after the night came out. It was easily to convince her, promising her a warm place to sleep and a better life.
But Aaron needed a seventh member. No, in fact, he wanted recognition. The hole world will know his name, his work, his contribution to the human life.
He will be better than Howard Stark. And Lynette will finally know it.
Summer waited three hours under the rain for Sullivan but he never came, she hoped to see him in the public like every night at the theatre but he wasn't. Her friend was missing: no calls, no letters, no smoke signals… He seemed to dissipate into thin air. The police tried to find him but there wasn't a clue where he could be. Summer was worried about him. Sully wasn't the typical guy who was in problems or with bad companies, and he'll never disappear without telling her. She checked her watch again, it passes three hours since the play finished. Summer needed to go home before someone start to worry about her.
Someone shouted trying to warn her.
A car was out of control because of the rain; his driver couldn't stop the vehicle. The brakes didn't respond. The road was too slippery. A truck tried to avoid the car with a sharp movement, the wheels slipped without control.
Summer looked up astonished for what happened. The car left uninjured but the truck didn't suffer the same lucky.
It only took a second. A bus crashed into the truck violently. Summer couldn't remember the moment she was involucrate in the accident but suddenly everything was black.
"Oh my god!" The voice of a woman came to her from the distance and so a baby crying. "Help! Help! Someone call the ambulance! Please!" She shouted desperate and then everything went black again.
"I'm calling! I'm calling!" There was a second voice when she woke up, it belonged to a woman. Summer moved her head knowing that she lost her consciousness for a seconds, she couldn't afford falling into the black again. She was surrounded by metal, maybe was under one of the vehicles. Alive but trapped. "Hello? We're-" Suddenly the eyelids were too heavy to open them. She closed the eyes feeling a calm through her body. "Potts, I'm Pepper Potts." She heard the woman again, her voice returned her to the reality.
"Eh!" She felt tired, shattered. "Pepper! There's someone trapped here!" Now the voice sounded near to her and one of the pieces of the car moved, one moonlight came to the little hole and Summer blinked to adapt her eyes to it. "Eh, eh, what's your name?" There was a man looking at her through the little hole. Little by little the vision of him was becoming blurry, her eyes couldn't focus clearly. "Listen to me, everything is going to be okay." He swore and for a moment the statement sounded like an order not like one that tried to calm her. "Hey, sleepy beauty, open your eyes for me." Summer nodded but it was the hardest work she did in her entire life. "What's your name, sweetheart?" He asked again. His voice tried to sound calm but Summer catch the nervousness in his tone. "Pepper! My suit! I need it!" He shouted moving his eyes to someone Summer couldn't see at all. "Your name, tell me your name."
"Summer…" She stuttered and then started to cry. Everything wasn't going to be okay, the expression of the man confirmed it to her when he looked her body. The adrenaline was hiding the pain from her because she couldn't feel the wounds. No, she couldn't feel anything at all. The voice of the woman called him, Summer found out that his name was Tony. "No! Don't go please!" She begged when realized that the woman wanted him to come where she was. Summer tried to move her hand, reaching for him. "Please, don't leave me here… Please." She watched her hand for a moment, it was full of blood. It was her blood or maybe belonged to another person? It doesn't matter, she thought. "Don't leave me alone…" The darkest called her again, now was much powerful and threatened to shallow all the light. "Don't go… Don't…" A sweet song started to sound in her head; she lost herself in the notes. And suddenly there was only peace.
Tony looked down. It was over. The ambulance was coming quickly but was too late for her. The face of Tony Stark was the last face she saw and he couldn't do anything to help her.