"Bastards!"
Despite the fragility of the blind woman, it still took two men to hold her back as she wildly lashed out, trying to grab her friend. Her voice wavered when there was no response. The train hadn't left, she could still hear the pistons hissing, smell the dreadful oil that had taken her other friend months before.
Now, they were taking another. Just like Bucky, Steve didn't tell her goodbye. Bucky had distanced himself the moment he was given his orders. Instead of inviting her to the Stark Expo he knew she had wanted to visit, he took Steve and two other girls, leaving her lost, broken, and alone in the shared apartment.
She wasn't jealous. There was no reason for her to be jealous over any girl Bucky had on his arm. They changed about as quickly as he changed socks. It hurt more that Steve didn't invite her either. Hours she sat alone in her bedroom, sewing to keep her mind occupied, wondering if they were coming home.
After Bucky had left for England, Steve practically stopped talking to her, thanking her for breakfast and supper, but never saying goodnight. For the first time in years, Lorelei felt truly alone. Steve never speaking only solidified the message.
She didn't matter.
When they had first taken her in, she believed they were showing pity to a stray. At the time, she had no connections and no purpose. Only after they had given her a place to stay did she start to show true talent in her seamstress work. According to Bucky, Steve had become quite a catch since his clothing fit.
She felt her skin rip as she fell to the ground, the men no longer holding her back. Long, deep cuts from the night before had broken open beneath the bandages as well as her knees getting scraped. It hurt. God, did it hurt. What was she supposed to do? She had lost her will to live.
"Miss?"
She lifted her head, unable to know exactly who had spoke to her. It was familiar, sending a waning to her chest. German?
"I would like to ask you a few questions," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Would you come with me?"
With no place to go and no one waiting for her, she nodded. What was the worst that could happen? She was blind, and without Steve and Bucky, rather pointless. The two people she poured her heart and soul into killed her reason to exist.
From what she could tell, he man was taller than Steve, possibly Bucky's height. The rough fabric of his jacket made her skin itch, but she didn't say anything as he looped his arm around hers. He smelled like chemicals, an odd sour, bitter scent, reminding her of the bizarre medicine shops she had passed.
"My name is Doctor Abraham Erskine. Your passion has me intrigued." When she didn't respond, he cleared his throat, "Your love for your friend has made me wonder about the wounds on your arm." She tensed at the the attention, though she wasn't surprised. "Do you truly believe Steven does not return that love?"
"How do you know his name?" Her tone was dark, full of warning that the doctor wasn't sure he was ready to handle.
"I met him at the expo. Did you know he's applied five times?"
She clenched her fists, "You're experimenting on Steve, aren't you?"
His other hand gently grasped her other arm as he turned her to face him, "Miss Winters, what if I could heal you of your blindness and multiple sclerosis?"
"You can't," she answered bluntly.
"I believe I can. If it is a successful experiment, Howard Stark will help you find a new life outside Brooklyn."
"And if it fails?"
"Mr. Stark has agreed to take the fall and not only compensate you, but take care of you for the rest of your life."
"I'll do it," she said, not giving the decision another thought.
If it failed, Steve wouldn't be able to take it. She had no one, nothing to keep her going. Not even a plant to water.
A door opened, scratched against the concrete floor. Looping his arm around hers once more, she allowed Doctor Erkstine to lead the way. Many voices, all male, bounced off the walls, whispers following, and saying how unfortunate she was to be another experiment.
"We will need you to change into new clothing," the doctor said, a bundle of clothes placed in her hands.
The familiar smoothness of another woman's hand gently touched her arm to lead her to a changing room. The surprise of pants had caught her more off guard than the odd cotton material they were made from. The shirt she had been given felt larger than any shirt Bucky had ever owned. Even all the shirts she had tailored had never been this size.
Stepping from the changing room, she was once more led to a man who briefly warned her that he would be placing her on a table and strapping her down. "Just in case you change your mind when it's too late," he lied as he finished the buckle on her neck and walked away.
A rough hand gently grabbed hers, "Hello, miss. I'm Howard Stark. What do you want to be the first thing you see?"
"My friends," she replied, but frowned shortly after. "Never mind. It doesn't matter what I see first."
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "Alright. Let's get started."
She was left alone, though she could hear and feel a lot of shuffling around her, people poking and twisting her skin to get better angles on the needles they were sticking in her arm.
"Doctor Erkstine?" A hand gently grabbed hers in response, letting her continue. "Why me?"
"Steven told me the only person who truly deserved a second chance at life was you, Lorelei. He said only you would be able to truly appreciate the beauty the world had to offer. Only when you could see the world would the world have a chance at victory. I want to see the world through your eyes. A world with hope."
She began to feel light headed, "I don't feel so good."
The doctor's hand felt so warm. "That's normal," Erkstine replied, gently rubbing the back of her hand. "You will experience more pain soon, then the procedure will be over."
"Okay," she murmured, her eyes starting to close.
A dreadful shock hit her, pulling her from her comatose state. She screamed, but only out of fright. The pain radiating through her body was almost soothing. She could feel the vibrations healing every nerve, a glow began to appear before her eyes.
"Miss Winters? Can you hear me?" Doctor Erskine asked, following the questions with an annoying knock on the hollowed metal casing she was in.
"I'm fine," she replied, wincing as her eyes slowly absorbed the light.
The machine hissed as it opened, a person standing by her, a warm smile on his lips. Once the restraints were removed, she took a shaky step forward, her knees not buckling under her weight. Her eyes drank in her surroundings, curious as to what everything was called.
"Miss Winters?" The person was a man she could now confidently call Doctor Abraham Erkstine.
From the wrinkles on his face, she concluded he was old, since Bucky and Steve had smooth skin. The hair on his chin was a color unknown to her, but she knew it was a beard since Bucky had grown one once just so she would know what it was.
She reached out to him, placing her hand on his head, "This is hair?"
He nodded with a smile, "My hair is grey."
"Grey," she repeated before grabbing the first layer of clothing on his person. "This is a jacket."
"You know more than I thought," he approved, "It's brown."
She continued touching his clothing, verifying what it was and getting told the color. She ran around, pointing and asking questions about the various buttons, lights, levers and wheels in the room.
"Well, it worked," Howard Stark said, his lips twisting into a smile that made his black pencil mustache twist. "As agreed, I will give you whatever you want."
"A job," she answered, her eyes focusing on the dark irises that stared back in surprise. "I want to work for you, Mister Stark."
He rubbed the back of his neck, his shock turning into regret, "Not what I expected, but I'm a man of my word. We'll begin your lessons immediately so you can get caught up with everything happening in the world."
His first lesson was appearance. Her ashen hair was straight, lacking any volume or ability to curl. Howard had the mess cut, hiring another woman to teach her how to style it and how to do her makeup. How that woman made her hazel eyes seem so lovely was like watching a magician, then learning the tricks of the trade.
Her determination had surprised everyone that remained after Doctor Erkstine left for New Jersey. Howard Stark checked on her regularly, always finding her sitting on her bed, staring at a book. Within hours of receiving the serum, she had learned how to read and recognize colors. Her most recent discovery had been physics and engineering, the topics he required her to know. Three days after the injection, she was learning directly from Howard Stark, creating things and talking to him about different machines he could create with what types of material.
When a week had passed, she was so infatuated with building things, she didn't go with Howard to see the next super soldier be made. With their primary source of income being weapons, she had to focus and create more that would end the war sooner. After she nearly blew off her own arm, she decided to take a different approach to winning the war: safety, and Stark forced her to go to boot camp to learn proper gun safety.
When she returned, her seamstress talents soared as she flew through multiple ideas, fabrics, metals, and other resources.
"Lorelei, we're leaving," Howard announced as the girl pulled the trigger of an AK-47.
Walking to the tested fabric, she ran her fingers over it, finding no holes, only indentations. After grabbing a clipboard, she read over the testing she had done so far. It had survived guns, knives, weather, water and fire. Her last test was a grenade.
"Where are we going?" She asked as she started grabbing all the materials needed to create another uniform for an actual soldier to wear, as well as other materials for the helmet and boots.
"Italy. Colonel Phillips has asked for our assistance to penetrate the enemy's code, and they were shipped faulty equipment from our Maine branch."
She didn't reply as she closed the large chest, easily picking it up with one hand and following the man who had already packed her bags for her. Once on the plane, she ignored all of Howard's flirtatious remarks, seeing as how he had no one else to talk to. Every word he said she took to heart when she was working on something. At the moment, it was her measurements for the uniform she was creating.
"Where did you get these measurements from? Captain America doesn't need this," he took her as she continued sketching.
"I've never met Captain America. These are Bucky's measurements. Besides Steve, he was the only man I constantly touched to measure. Sometimes he would buy bigger clothing just so I would have a challenge, as if Steve wasn't challenging enough. So far, they've passed all my tests, but I haven't tried to blow it up yet."
"That's a bit unfair to the soldiers, don't you think?"
"The Maine branch sending faulty equipment isn't?" She asked, doing her best to keep her anger in check.
The gun was simple to make. It had the ability to use the friction heat from the initial gunshot to melt the gun casing, creating a second bullet. It was so simple, but the forces on the front line had been shipped over six hundred faulty guns. The branch was immediately shut down, every employee arrested in case HYDRA had gotten in. The mass suicide confirmed it.
Lorelei was put to work the moment the plane landed. Her primary goal was to fix the guns. She had managed to compartmentalize the war from her day to day life creating weapons, but the wall had been destroyed when HYDRA ruined her reputation with weaponry.
"You're the inventor of this gun?" A level, but authoritative voice asked as he entered the tent.
"Yes," she answered shortly, not looking up from the gun as she finished putting in the last screw. "Use them or don't, I don't care," she stood, facing the old man wearing colonel pins. "I will not sit here and allow my weapon be described as faulty. I'm going to fix every single gun here, and if you have a problem with it, you'll have to tie me up and ship me somewhere where I can't come back."
He was taken aback from her outburst, as was everyone else in the tent. "Doctor Erkstine was right. You're just as passionate as that Rogers boy but more disrespectful."
Lorelei snatched the gun from the table, shoving it in the Colonel's hands, "Distribute them how you see fit. There are nineteen more in the corner."
Once they left, she wasn't bothered again, except by someone bringing her food. Two days into the stay in Italy, and she had finished the guns, never telling anyone, except by placing the crate outside the tent. She couldn't focus on the grenade test so she began drawing up plans for the boots. If she was able to find a way to create a malleable shoe that wouldn't trigger landmines, she would be able to start an actual test run on her nearly complete combat uniform.
Her attention was pulled from another rough draft she was tossing away. The large man was panting, his blue eyes focusing on her as rain dripped down his face. Dressed in what she recognized to be the Captain America costume, she couldn't help but wonder why he desperately wanted to see her.
He looked confused, "I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm looking for Lorelei Winters."
"Well, you found her," she replied as she put her notepad down. "What can I do for you, uh, Captain?"
She was taken aback by his teary smile and dumbfounded by his words, "Lovie, it's me. It's Steve."
"Am I supposed to be happy to see you?" She asked, picking up her notebook. Two people called her Lovie, Steve and Bucky.
Again, she started sketching a boot, followed by various elements and effects that would come with each test.
His large hand gently touched her shoulder, earning him a punch so hard, he flew out of the tent. Furious did not describe the level of anger Lorelei felt as she stalked out of the tent, glaring down at her mud covered friend. His blue eyes showed their guilt and slight shock of betrayal.
"You abandoned me. Both of you abandoned me, Steve. Do you know what that was like? I was worried sick when neither of you came home, then I find out you went to the Expo without me? For God's sake, Steve, I don't ask for anything! My one request every year is to go to that damn expo." She sniffled, wiping the running makeup from her face. After a pain filled laugh, she looked at him, "You didn't notice, did you? It fell on my birthday this year." With a deep breath, she turned away from him, "Don't speak to me."
"Lovie, if you're going to ignore anything else I say, let me tell you one last thing. I'll be leaving soon to save Bucky. I don't know if I'll come back."
"Good luck. I hope you succeed," she told him, going back to the tent to finish working on the boots.
"I thought he was supposed to be a super soldier, but he just got knocked flat on his ass by that girl," she heard a soldier say as she passed.
In an instant, the man had found himself in the mud, staring in horror at the small woman that had just taken him down. "I thought you were supposed to be a man, but you just got knocked on your ass by a girl."
"Lore!" Howard waved her over. "Put that uniform of yours on. You're going with Rogers on that rescue mission."
Grumbling, she headed to her tent, mad that Stark knew she had created a smaller uniform for herself just in case she got dragged into this mess. She was technically a soldier, after all. It was the same dark brown combat boots with loose legged army green pants tucked inside. Her longsleeved shirt was the color of sand, an army green jacket shrugged on over it.
Rummaging through her chest, she pulled out all the weapons Steve would be carrying, only tailored to her size. Strength didn't matter if the weapon couldn't be used properly. She finished clipping on the Bowie knife as she met up with Steve, Howard, and to her surprise, Peggy Carter.
Lorelei frowned when Steve dropped a helmet on her head, strapping it down for it as Howard and Peggy discussed a plan for how they were going to drop Steve and her on the borders of the enemy line.
The plane ride was awkward, Lorelei rolling her eyes shen Howard asked Peggy out for fondue. She was confused about the bizarre shield Steve was carrying. Maybe it was for good luck. They were almost at the drop off point when shots were fired from below. Without argument, the two super soldiers jumped, Steve spreading his arms as Lorelei dove.
She wasn't careless. Practicing with weapons and new safety equipment included parachutes. Two thousand feet was close to her limit, making a drop off like they were doing probably painless, but she pulled the shoot so Steve would be able to find her after she landed.
"You can't just jump out of planes like that," Steve scolded as they stealthily ran through the woods.
"I've been testing parachutes, and we can survive a fall from about two thousand feet. We would have been fine."
She noticed the nervous glance from the man before focusing on the mission once more, "I'm not going to kick your ass until we get back to camp. Right now, you're Captain America and I'm Private Lorelei Winters. I know what I'm doing, if that helps."
Steve released a shaky breath, "Good. I didn't want to worry over you killing me in the middle of this thing."
"No, I have to kick Bucky's ass, too," she replied seriously.
"He's not a super soldier, so you can't hit him as hard," Steve reminded.
"Like hell I can't," she scoffed.
He chuckled, "It seems we've all changed since we last saw each other. I wonder how Buck's doing?"
"Probably not so great," she answered with a frown. "We need to go in there and destroy everything. Anything and everything HYDRA has to be destroyed." She looked at him from the corner of her eye, "Including people, Steve."
"You don't have to worry about me," he smiled.
The two paused when they heard trucks coming their way. They made it. She was grateful for the trucks. There was no way they would have been able to sneak by those spotlights and guards.
With ease, they boarded a truck, freezing when they realized they weren't alone. Before they could make a noise, the super soldiers sent hard punches into the men's faces and tossed them before they reached the gate.
So far so good, but when Lorelei had seen the odd glow of the weapons those men had, she knew something very dangerous was waiting inside. When the truck stopped, a man barely got to peek through the curtain before Steve punched him in the face with his patriotic shield.
Chances were, splitting up was a mistake. Still, she was small and easily looked over, making killing guards rather simple, allowing Steve to get farther in without getting noticed.
Her hair stood on the back of her neck as she snuck into a room made of metal and glowing in blue. The guards seemed more focused on the workers below than any infiltration. Killing off more guards seemed to not catch anyone's attention, but something set the guards off, making the stealth mission a chaotic destruction of the base.
She began destroying anything that was glowing blue. Anything from miniature bombs or just shooting the machines, she had to destroy it all more people seemed to appear, more weapons and chaos instilling as she did her best to continue to destroy the machines.
Her feet came to a stop as she stared at the man in front of her turning to ash. The gunman aimed his gun with the blue glow at her and pulled the trigger. When the blue light hit her, she expected pain, but she only stumbled a few steps back.
She didn't die.
Something was wrong, an odd chill running through her veins for only a moment. Pulling her gun, she shot the man, destroying the machines until only one was left. A quick analysis of the machine helped her figure out how to remove the bright cartridge, and she ran, hoping the cartridge into her pocket. Her feet came to a stop when an explosion blocked off the hallway she had aimed to take.
With ease, she jumped up, grabbing the metal railing nearly three floors above her head. Continuing her more or less guess of how to get out of the building, she continued to run, but stopped when she noticed a fast shadow heading her way. When he turned the corner, she found herself breached against the pole, her gun just under the man's chin. A sigh of relief shook from Steve's lips as they rushed on.
With no warning, Lorelei bolted across their only path to cross, an unstable beam that was ready to break under the shaking building and intense heat from the explosions below. She stretched out her hand as the injured man neared her. When the beams began to collapse, he jumped, grabbing onto her arm.
She easily pulled him up, gently pushing him to the side as Steve demanded they leave him behind. "Steven Grant Rogers, if you do not get over here now, I will jump over there and throw your sorry ass!" Lorelei threatened.
Steve decided to take the risk and jump. With a running start and wildly flailing arms, he managed to make it when the injured man and Lorelei grabbed him, pulling him onto the pathway.
"Lovie!"
Her eyes followed his pointing finger to a man with a red face and no nose. He looked like a red skull, bulging eyes included, but his freakishly monster face didn't bother her as much as the blue cube in his hands.
That. She needed that.
She had a gun, but she jumped, Bowie knife in hand, stabbing through the elevator as it began to rise. The metal had been softened just barely by the heat as she shoved her knife deeper, slicing a hole into the door, large enough for her to reach in. Using all her strength, she forced a hole into the door and looked back to Steve and his injured friend.
"There's an exit here, go that way," she yelled over another explosion, pointing at the exit and jumping into the elevator shaft.
The elevator was starting to come down again, so she climbed out, jumping into the top of the elevator as it continued to descend. She almost felt sorry for what she was about to do. When the elevator came to a stop, she shoved her foot through the roof, effectively destroying the top entirely, allowing her to fall to the ground. It had startled the man enough to make him lose papers from his briefcase, but he still managed to crawl out from under Lorelei and get into the massive car.
Sneering, she gathered up the papers, shoving them into her shirt as she jumped at the car that had sped out of the garage. With a calming breath, she pulled a gun, aiming it carefully at the car and pulling the trigger. The moment the bullet hit the car, something caught fire, but he still managed to escape.
It was a dangerous bullet, just a shock fire in case important information needed to be found, which was the case. With a huff, she walked around the burning building, looking for any sign of life.
The first twenty people she found were HYDRA soldiers that ended up dead after a bullet to the head. When she heard an American accent, she sighed in relief, stumbling from the shadows after tripping over a hidden sniper HYDRA soldier.
Officially fed up, she pulled a gun, shooting the man in the head and walking away, only for it to explode a second later, gore splattering her back. The wonderful smell of gun smoke, bombs, and sweat wrapped around her, shortly followed by the dreadful stench from her back.
She heard a gun behind her, so she drew hers, pointing it back at the man, ready to fire.
"A HYDRA agent survived!"
"Dammit," she grumbled, tossing her gun to the side as she fell to her knees, waiting for Steve to get her.
She was surprised by how sturdy her uniform had been as she fell to the ground, after a man pushed her down with his foot. Having someone's disgusting boot on her neck was not ideal, but at least she didn't have to look at the eyeball that was apparently stuck to the back of her shirt and was staring back at them.
"You said a HYDRA agent?" She heard Steve from the back of the quieting crowd. "I can't believe he would have a woman here."
Her eyes met Steve's as he stepped from the crowd of soldiers. "What the hell were you thinking?! You could have died!"
The five soldiers that had her pinned down were tossed back as she got to her feet. She opened her mouth, ready to yell and argue with him. Rather than be disrespectful, she simply bowed her head, "Won't happen again, sir."
Her eyes moved to the tree just above them. Steve looked up as well, "You can't make that."
"I've jumped up the side of a ten story building. Just because you haven't tried it doesn't mean it isn't possible," she replied, easily jumping to the branch, grabbing on and pulling herself up.
Taking a few steps back, she knew she had disappeared into where even straining their eyes, they wouldn't be able to find her. Still, she noticed Steve looking at the shadows trying to find her. "Once the wounded are tended to, we're heading out," he announced, cupping his hands so she could hear.
"Steve, you don't have to yell," she replied patiently. "Want me to scout ahead?"
"No, we need more medical supplies. Think you can find some?"
She pulled the papers from her shirt and dropped them, "Protect that paper. I managed to get it from that short guy with the glasses."
With ease, she jumped from the branch, over the crowd of soldiers, landing at the fiery entrance of the base. She wished he had been more specific about medical supplies. Would this place even need medical supplies? That guy was a leather coated skull.
Shuddering' she stepped into the fire, taking the stairs down. It was surprisingly cool, despite the inferno above. It would probably cave in in a few minutes, so she had to be quick.
Humming, she nonchalantly moved from room to room, looking at all the chains and torture chambers. Her feet came to a stop in front of a goldmine. There was more than enough medical supplies, but the books were familiar. The text was that same language of the papers she had picked up. It wouldn't take her twenty years to translate that handful of papers.
She beamed at the convenient duffle bag, grabbing it and shoving first aid kits and books on top of the potentially dangerous items in the bottom. Pleased with her find, Lorelei sauntered out of the building, finding a perturbed Captain America, pacing in front of the building.
"Guess what I found," Lorelei announced as she headed to Steve's side.
Before she could brag about her findings, the large man hugged her, wrapping her in sweat and soot. "You are going to be the death of me," he whispered as he pushed her back, looking her over. "How are you not dead?"
"Where's that paper?"
Dropping the bag, she took the papers, her back to the fire so she could read the confusing language. "Medical stuff and other sketchy things are in there," she told him as she pulled the eight books from the bag and walked away to let him handle that.
"Winters, I need you on stitches," Steve ordered amused by the girl's groan.
"Cap has some favoritism to you," one of the soldiers noted as she gently cleaned the wound she needed to stitch together, glancing at the numbered card.
"Okay," she replied the needle over a small flame to sterilize it. "Deep breath."
"Don't worry, doll. I can handle-Mother fu-"
Ignoring the rest of his pain, she continued sewing, like she used to do, though she knew it wasn't exactly the same. Placing a bandage over it, she handed him his shirt, "Next!"
Tossing the gloves, she grabbed a new pair, cleaning the cut in front of her face. Running the needle through the fire, she readied herself for another suturing, "Deep breath."
The man jumped away from the needle, staring in horror as he pulled his pants up, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
After a blank look, she trashed her gloves, grabbing a new pair, "Next!"
"I hope that didn't bother you too much," the man in front of her said as she began to clean the wound, looking at the number on his card.
"What didn't bother me," she asked, cleaning the needle over the fire, "Deep breath."
He sat up a bit straighter, shuddering as the needle went through his skin on his chest. "You know, having his...in your face like that."
"Is that what it was? With it being so small, I didn't really notice."
Her patient had fallen to tears, looking at the glaring man next to him, "You did that to yourself."
"Alright, where is the next one?" He turned so she could start working on his bicep.
"You know, you're cute," he commented as she finished sewing that wound shut.
"The battlefield is hardly the place to flirt," she replied. "Where's your next one?"
He turned his back to her, "If not the battlefield, when? Only women at camp are interested in good ol' Captain America. Or have you been won over by America's hero?"
She paused for a moment, "There's nothing to be won. The ones I loved the most..." She placed the bandage over the suture, "Next!"
She caught Steve's look from the corner of her eye as she moved onto her next patient. No comment, wise crack or flirt could bring another word from her. By the time the sun had started to rise, the soldiers that needed stitches had been taken care of and they were on their way. Everyone able to carry had a weapon in their hand, Lorelei included.
Sitting on the top of a truck, she had placed her gun in her lap to read the confusing notes and books to figure out why the Norse mythology was so important to HYDRA. As more words became clear, the odd story of the Tesseract became known. Her sketchy duffle bag had come with many presents, including a tiny notebook with more words she needed to translate as well as a pen so she could make her own notes in the books.
She scratched her head as she read over the notes written by a timid hand. Someone had angrily scratched out the word magic and written science as boldly as he could, some parts of the paper having tiny holes where the pen nearly ripped it. At the top, written by the same anger was a reminder, MAGIC IS SCIENCE WE DO NOT YET UNDERSTAND
Lorelei would be willing to debate that this Tesseract business was dangerous, seemingly uncontrollable by man. She had been shot with its power, and there were many Tesseract powered weapons around her. Howard was going to lose his mind when he found something beyond his understanding.
Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the blue cartridge that had started to ice over. Frost giants had been mentioned a few times, enemies of Oden. She humored the thought of being a descendant of the monstrous race, the ice thickening as she thought about the odd ability.
Putting the cartridge back in her pocket, she focused on her hand, a small whirlwind blowing around in her palm until snowflakes began to form and float in the wild currents. When she thought of having super powers, she thought of hard training, but she got to surpass all of that with the super soldier serum. Was this the same?
It was hard to get used to, but that was to be expected. It wasn't natural at all. Sighing, she turned her attention to the darkening sky. They would be stopping soon, camping for the night so they would have the strength to fight if an enemy attacked.
"Winters! Check the wounded," Steve called.
Strapping her gun down, she jumped off the truck, placing all her work inside the truck. Everyone with serious injuries lined up, letting her look at their stitches and change their bandages.
"You know, doll, you could sit with us tonight," a man winked.
"I'm afraid I have standards," she replied as she inspected the sutures of another soldier that started laughing.
"You should stop talking, Lopez. She's already seen more of you than she needed to, and you're just digging your grave with a chance with her," her current patient said with a crooked smile.
"No one has a chance with me, kid," Lorelei clarified.
"I like those odds," he smirked down at her as she gently ran her fingers over his arm.
His confidence made her laugh, "Is this how you win every girl's heart?"
"Why? Is it working?"
She looked up at him, his face dangerously close to hers, "No."
All the men laughed at his failed flirting. He winked, "Well, we'll just have to change that, won't we? Everyone calls me Sarge."
Once all the men had been taken care of and fed, Lorelei was put on watch, gun ready for anything to come their way. Of their two nights of travel so far, nothing had happened, despite traveling on open road. The silence gave Lorelei time to think and play with her bizarre ice ability.
A distant rumble caught her attention, making the powdery snow fall from her hand as she stood. The other man that stood guard couldn't hear them, so she headed out to destroy the threat before it came.
Jumping into a tree for a better vantage point, she realized just how much was coming their way. Three trucks, two tanks, and a small army of HYDRA agents were walking toward the camp. She had five minutes.
Even with access to the Tesseract powered weapons, Lorelei took on the army with only a knife. Starting from the back, she easily managed to slit all forty throats of the foot soldiers before breaking into the trucks and killing their passengers and drivers. Questions were pushed to the back of her mind as she ripped the top of the tank off, killing the three men inside before moving to the next tank and doing the same.
She headed back to camp, stretching as she looked at the sleeping watch guard. Thankfully, nothing else had happened or she would have gotten an earful from Steve. Her attention dazed out as she watched a small snow flurry blow in front of her face.
When the camp started waking, the watchman did as well, yawning and stretching before he stood up. Lorelei narrowed her eyes when she saw the genuine shock on the man's face as he looked at the lively camp.
The gun going off silenced the camp as the watchman fell to the ground, head exploding shortly after the bullet penetrated his head. She walked up to him, ignoring Steve calling to her. Kicking the gun away, she searched the blood soaked body, mentally preparing for a serious backlash that could already be heard behind Steve.
Reaching into the man's pocket, she pulled out a small thing she had seen before, a transmitter with HYDRA on it. He had every reason to be surprised after sending the signal they had stopped for the night to the small army that had come after them.
"Steve, you're not going to believe this," Sarge called.
She dropped the transmitter to the ground, taking a few steps back and shooting it, jumping farther away when it exploded. She was a bit disappointed that there were traitors in their midst and that she would have to search every single soldier and all of their items to make sure there wasn't another hidden in plain sight.
"Winters!"
She holstered her gun, following Steve's voice. The morning frost was stained red with blood, the air almost metallic from the gore. Looking at Steve then the small army, she wasn't sure why he had called her over.
"What the hell happened last night?" Steve asked, watching her scratch the back of her head. "You're covered in blood!"
"Well, I heard something, so I decided to check it out. They were pretty far away, but still not far enough for me to be able to get you in time, so I killed them."
"Looks like they're all HYDRA," a soldier announced.
"I don't want to say it, but-"
"Search everyone and everything. If there are more trackers, they'll be able to ambush us again, and you can't handle another night like that," Steve told her.
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not. You haven't eaten in days, and you just took out a small army. You're barely able to stand, Lovie."
She hadn't even realized she was leaning on a tree to keep herself vertical. When had this happened? Blaming it on the ice power she had been using, she pushed herself off the tree. "Fine. I'll start searching the men."
The men lined up, grumbling then smirking when she reached into their pockets, front and back, tapping down their legs as well.
"Who's going to pat you down?" Sarge asked.
"Why? Are you volunteering?"
He looked stunned, Lorelei glancing for his reaction as she finished patting down his legs. She stood, looking up at him, "Step up your game, Sarge. It's hardly any fun if you can't keep up."
"And how do I do that when I don't know your name?"
"Lorelei Winters. Sorry, I don't have a neat title like you."
"That's alright," he leaned down a bit, blue eyes focusing on hers, "Angel Eyes."
She gave a small sigh of relief, "I can deal with that."
Angel Eyes stuck. Every soldier after him decided they needed to place their opinion in on the matter, some debating that blue eyes were decisively the color of an angel's eyes, though others believed the mixture of browns and greens in her irises resembled that of some goddess of nature.
When the pat down and over all search of the camp had been completed, Steve found her, enjoying the new nickname. "I like it. It really suits you, you know."
"With how many people told me that Blue was the default of an angel, it seems you should be Captain Angel Eyes, not Captain America."
He laughed, "Look, Lovie, I don't want you looking at those books or walking today. Get some rest. We'll need you at your best."
"You know I can't sleep," she said, watching a soldier walk by. "Resting won't do much good."
He sighed, "Don't make me do this, Lovie."
She crossed her arms over her chest, "You're not a real captain."
"But, I'm a real Sergeant," Sarge said as he walked to Steve's side. "Go, that's an order."
"Dammit," she grumbled, walking to the nearest truck and jumping to the top.
Folding her arms behind her head, she sighed, watching the dark clouds overhead. It was bizarre how she could suddenly tell snow clouds from rain clouds. Frost giants...how stupid could those legends be?
"Hey, Lovie," a distant voice called from somewhere beyond Lorelei's consciousness.
She felt so groggy as she slowly opened her eyes, blinking at the blurry world. Rubbing her eyes, she blinked at the blond talking to her, "Oh, hey Steve."
He smiled, "How do you feel?"
After she stretched, she managed to stand and stretch the stiffness from her back, "Ready to take on the world."
"How about eating first?" He suggested as he moved out her way.
She slid off the truck, stumbling a bit before she gained her footing again. He laughed as he helped her stand, "You were more graceful when you were blind."
She followed him to a group sitting around a campfire eating something out of a can.
"Well, good morning, Angel Eyes," Sarge greeted.
"You look like you feel better," a man named Jim pointed out, opening a can of whatever and handing it to her.
"Thanks, I think," she replied, smiling at the weird food inside the can. "I don't think I've seen this before."
"Well, from what Captain America told us, there's a lot you haven't seen," another man by the name of Jacques pointed out, his French accent radiating with every word.
"There was no way to cover you being able to take out a small army of HYDRA agents as well as ripping off the top of some tanks," Steve explained.
"Because luck just couldn't be the answer," she grumbled as she took a bite of the weird vinegar cabbage she was unable to pronounce.
"I can't push on luck when you haven't slept in almost seven months, and God knows when you ate last."
She pointed her fork at him, "That's besides the point. You could have let me tell them." She directed her attention back to Jim, "You're...I've never seen you before."
He laughed at her awkward way of asking his race, introducing himself as Jim Morita and that he was of Asian descent.
She was also confused by the man they lovingly called Dum Dum, who looked like a leprechaun she had seen in a book. She had never seen red hair such a ginger color, which had confused her on what had happened to the descendent of Ireland.
Gabe Jones described himself to be African-American, how he appreciated the lack of prejudice coming from the formerly blind girl.
Jacques Dernier explained his reasoning of being with the American military, though he was a member of the French Resistance. She loved listening to the short side conversations he had with Gabe, who could also speak French.
Another man with an accent that reminded her of Agent Peggy Carter was there as well, a British man by the name of James Falsworth. His mustache reminded her of Howard, a comment he didn't take offense.
Another man that described himself as African-American, Samuel Sawyer was late to the party, pulling a babyfaced man named Jonathan Juniper with him.
"You know, I've been hearing about the woman with us, but this is the first time I've actually seen you. You're just as pretty as they've been saying," Jonathan complimented.
She smiled at the awkward compliment, but kept her tone even so he wouldn't feel so awkward, "Thank you."
"How's your research going?" Steve asked, making the woman frown.
"Do you actually care, or are you going to make fun of me again?"
He smiled, "It's a little funny."
She glanced at the men sitting around her, "I'd rather not discuss it."
"What? After everything you've searched, you still don't trust us?" Dum Dum asked as she stood.
She gave him a blank look, "It hardly matters how many times I search you. I still haven't figured out the notes." Sighing, she ran her fingers through her disgusting hair, "Whoever HYDRA is firmly believe in Norse mythology. There's Oden, the god of Asgard, his son, Thor, the god of Thunder, and Loki, the god of Chaos. Oden has this room of treasures, and one of its jewels is called the Tesseract. I don't know how it ended up on Earth, but HYDRA managed to find i and pull its power from the stone, using it to create these weapons that can obliterate people. It warns throughout the legends that Men cannot handle its power. HYDRA did not listen to that warning."
"Well, it seems like they've managed to take control of its power", Jim said.
"The Tesseract isn't the jewel," she began drawing in the dirt with her finger, "The jewel is in this cube I don't know what will happen if the cube breaks, but it's basically diluting the power of the gem right now. Direct contact with the gem would kill someone."
"Cap, what part of her story was funny?" Sam asked.
He smirked as Lorelei reached into her pocket, pulling out the iced over cartridge. His amusement faded to concern, "It's thicker than last time."
"I was shot with the Tesseract gun. That being said, I also learned about Frost giants. It was a joke, at first, but every day, it's getting stronger and easier to control. Within the next month, I'll probably be able to create a blizzard or something."
"You think you're a frost giant?" Sam asked.
"Worse," she said as she rubbed her terrible drawing out with her foot, "I think I'm a descendent of a god."
She wasn't surprised when Gabe decided he didn't believe a word of it and left to get some sleep. Slowly, they left until only Sarge and Steve remained.
"A blizzard, huh?" Steve asked as she opened her hand, a small flurry appearing in her palm. "Hey, you are getting good at that."
The snow floated from her hands, wrapping around the fire, but not melting. She wiped a small tear from her eyes, "I, uh, learned that the Tesseract had a protector sent with it to Earth, but something happened and the protector had to return home. The sole reason that family existed was to protect the Tesseract, and someone in the lineage failed. I think that's why it didn't kill me."
"Think you could get hit again?" Steve asked.
"I don't want to try it," she replied with a small smile. "I doubt I could go two for two. It didn't hurt nearly as bad as the guy that got obliterated made it seem."
The two smiled at the crappy joke, Sarge gently placing his hand on hers, "Whatever happens, we'll be by your side, Angel Eyes."
"I hope so," she said quietly.
Giving her hand a gentle squeeze, Sarge left the two super soldiers alone at the small fire. She could feel Steve watching her, analyzing the way her body was positioned. He knew it all too well.
"Sometimes I forget how much younger you are," Steve admitted. "You just turned twenty. You should be in Brooklyn, enjoying a night out. I remember how you laughed when you danced with Bucky or cried when someone offered a dance, then backed away when they found out you were blind." He chuckled, "I remember how you used to accept drinking challenges from anyone that dared to take you on, and always winning by a landslide, still practically sober. Then, you had this meltdown after drinking two bottles of whiskey. You begged us to let you go. You were an invalid, and you didn't matter. You passed out when we got home. That morning, we heard you in the bathroom, and we pushed it off as a hangover." He shook his head, trying to get the images to go away, "We thought we had lost you. We didn't take you in out of the goodness of our hearts, that's for sure, but I don't think we realized how much you meant to us until then."
"It's not like you to talk of the past. What's wrong?"
"Just a lot on my mind. What else have you found out about the Tesseract?"
She intertwined her fingers, resting her elbows on her knees as she stared at the fire, "If we don't get it from HYDRA, no one will be able to stand against them. They'll kill us, Steve. Specifically us. We were created for war. And," her voice lowered a bit as she tried to keep her emotions in check, "whether I like it or not, we have to fight until we can't. Perhaps Doctor Erkstine wanted it to be this way. Someone willing to die for his country, and someone willing to die getting her revenge."
"Revenge?"
"Do you remember when you left for Jersey?"
"Yeah, but I don't see how that's relevant," he replied, brows furrowed in confusion.
She managed to crack a smile, "I followed you. It took two men to hold me back from getting to you."
His eyes widened, "I remember that. Those men were covered in blood."
"I broke the sink and fell into the porcelain. I managed to get the pieces out and a bandage job that would have made Bucky proud, but they still broke when I got to the station. My revenge is not focused on you or Bucky, but this war that dared to take you from me."
"So, you became a weapons specialist to try to end it faster."
"More or less," she replied with a shrug. "Now, I'm a weapon, like I'm supposed to be."
"Lovie, are you okay? You killed a lot of men."
"They forfeit their lives when they signed up for this, just like we did. I can't allow myself to feel guilty when they have just as much reason to kill me as I do them."
That was the lie she was forcing herself to believe. She had met so many people, none deserving the painful deaths that awaited in the battlefield. Now that she had stumbled across her potential, she couldn't help but wonder what that held in store for her future.
Frosty air left her lips as she watched snow fall in front of her face. It had gotten cold, even Steve pulling his new jacket closer. She allowed a smile before her gaze moved to the flames, "Get some rest, Steve. An army isn't worth much without their captain."
He laughed dryly, "Cute. What do you plan to do the rest of the night?"
"Probably just sit here. I was so excited to learn more about the tesseract, and now, I'm afraid of it."
"Afraid? Why?"
"We're human. We crave power, and I don't want the Tesseract to become some obsession like it has become with HYDRA."
"If everything you know is true, then we can find a way to get the Tesseract back to Oden. You're some..god descendent or something, so you'll be able to get it back, right?"
"That was speculation. However, theoretically, that would make sense. If there was a way to get in touch with this Oden, I should be able to somehow."
She looked over her shoulder as Sarge lifted a blanket, putting his arm around her and pulling her to his side to keep himself warm. "For someone with ice powers, you're really warm," he commented as she grabbed the edge of the blanket, cocooning the two together while Steve laughed.
A warm smell washed by making her eyes heavy. She knew that scent, musky and sweet like a spring breeze. She rested her head on Sarge's shoulder, nuzzling into his neck.
"Tired?" He asked gently, clearly smiling.
"Just homesick," she replied, relishing the scent.
"Happens to the best of us, Angel Eyes."
Her body became too heavy when he put his arm around her, gently laying her down where her head was in his lap. The position felt familiar as he ran his fingers through her hair.
The shameless flirting was soothing, reminding her of Bucky and Steve. Despite the tears that fell from her eyes, she smiled, enjoying the nostalgic feeling of a tired day in Brooklyn.
Morning was rough, checking bandages and starting everyone down the road again. Sniggering could be heard throughout the group since everyone woke up to Sarge and Steve debating on how to wake Lorelei up without causing a scene. The men enjoyed teasing the shameless flirt, joking that he was actually getting ready to settle with one girl instead of a different one every night.
"At least Angel Eyes is classy," Dum Dum laughed loudly.
Lorelei had missed most of the comments, her eyes moving to the Sarge as she stood behind him. She had dreamed of Bucky and Steve, running through the streets of Brooklyn on a rainy night. Though she had never seen Bucky, Sarge had been her visual stand in for her lost friend.
The walk became miserable as a winter drizzle covered them, soaking and freezing them. Many of the men wanted to snuggle up and keep Lorelei warm, but she refused all blankets and coats. A lot of pain had been brought out with the last shared warmth, and she didn't want to experience again.
The drizzle turned into a terrible pour, making everyone more miserable. Lorelei frowned as she watched the drops pool into her palm and turn into a slush that fell heavily to the ground. Why did they have to be doing this in November?
They didn't bother to stop for camp as the rain continued to fall well into the next morning. By the time noon rolled around, the soldiers had returned to their base, tired, wet, and relieved. Soldiers she had met welcomed her back, hugging, kissing, and laughing as they moved from soldier to soldier, looking for their closest friends, but happy to see their friends home, nonetheless.
"Let's hear it for Captain America!"
She with the rest of the soldiers, cheered for their friend. Their new leader had been placed on them, and things were going to turn around. After a decent meal and a nice shower, she was given regular Soldier apparel since she had nothing else to wear. Dog tags had been placed on her bed, symbolizing her official part in the army.
Seeing her name engraved on the metal made everything hit home. If she died, this would be her only identification. Sighing, she adorned the necklace and sat on her bed, rubbing her face with her hands. She was exhausted. This had been her first time truly using the abilities she was supposed to have. Officially able to claim the super soldier status, she laid down and closed her eyes. Research could wait.
"Lovie?"
"Shut up, Steve. The shop doesn't open for another hour," she grumbled, rolling onto her back, away from the man.
"Actually, if would be time for you to close shop if we were in Brooklyn," Steve replied, a smile in his voice.
Reality slowly began to sink in as she opened her eyes, blinking away the blur she still wasn't used to. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes, "Damn."
Her eyes moved to the large man standing by her, "Steve? Why are you in here?"
"We're going out tonight, and they didn't believe me when I said you could outdrink them."
She yawned, "I'm trying to be classy, not trashy. Evidentially, you didn't tell them how fast I can down two bottles of whiskey before I start making questionable life choices."
"So, you're in?"
She was ready to decline, but found herself nodding instead, "I'll meet you there."
Reaching under her bed, she pulled out a box with FROM HOWARD written in classy, but scratchy script that she was all too familiar with. He always gave her clothing as parting gifts, never failing to try to make her dress as fashionably as possible.
She was thankful for the navy color of the dress. The quarter sleeves did a decent job covering her scars, the skirt reaching her knees. The tailored dress was for dancing, not just an evening of fun.
Once she finished her makeup, she placed a few bobbypins in her hair to keep it from falling in her face. Her hair had little to be desired, unable to be fluffed or curled like the styles of the day demanded. Why Steve and Bucky always told her she had beautiful hair was beyond her.
With a sigh, she stepped from her tent, following other traveling men at a distance as they headed into town. Her destination seemed rather quiet to have so many men in there, but she quickly realized why when Peggy walked out, a smug smile on her lips.
Once the noise had started to return, Lorelei stepped into the bar, sneaking to the back.
"I'm invisible," a man said, distraught. "I-I'm turning into you. It's like a horrible dream."
Steve clasped the man's shoulder, "Maybe she has a friend."
Steve smiled, "Hey, Lovie. Feel like dancing?"
She laughed, "You don't even know how to dance."
"I wasn't talking about me. Peggy turned him down," Steve grinned as he placed his hand on Sarge's shoulder.
"She's a pretty girl, Steve, but I think Sarge can do better than her," Lorelei smiled, trying to cheer up the sergeant from his slump.
"I'll say," Sarge said as he stood, walking by to speak with a red head that had walked in.
"God, he's an idiot," Steve sighed as he took the seat by Lorelei.
She smirked, "So, where are the men that decided I can't hold my liquor?"
Lorelei grinned as she put down another empty pint, her eyes focused on Dum Dum, the last competitor in their drinking game. Eleven pints in and Dum Dum had just started to get rosy cheeks while Lorelei could probably snipe a bee from the air.
"You're turning pink," Lorelei laughed.
"Shut up, Angel Eyes," Dum Dum said as he was given another pint.
She took the pint, looking at the dark brown brew before looking at the man that had brought it to her, "Out of beer?"
"Steve said your weakness is whiskey, so we decided to give it a go," he said with a smirk.
"Wait, Dum Dum can't handle this much liquor," she said, hoping to stop the Irishman.
He was already half way through his when she started drinking hers. She finished hers just as Dum Dum fell over, blacking out from the amount of whiskey he had inhaled. Smiling, she jumped up, immediately regretting it as she stumbled, grabbing onto the nearest solider.
Sarge gave her a kind smile, "You should probably sit for a bit."
Steve frowned when his friend took a seat at the bar, ordering water to help cool herself off. "Lorelei, why did you drink so much? Last time you did that, the stray cat in our alleyway had died."
"I was hoping to forget," she sniffled, slurring slightly as she rested her head against his arm. "I'm a terrible person, Steve. I...I didn't even want to help him. I was so selfish, so stupid. He was my friend, Steve. I loved him so much. And, I love you, Steve. But, what are we supposed to do? We didn't find him, Steve." She looked at him, "We have to go back. We have to go back for him, Steve."
"Who are you talking about?"
She furrowed her eyebrows, "Bucky, of course. That's who we looked for and didn't find."
Steve stared at her for a moment, "I can't tell if you're being serious."
"Of course, I'm serious! Why would I joke about that?"
He pointed at the man dancing with a brunette, whispering something into her ear, making her cheeks pink. "No, that's Sarge," Lorelei told him.
"Lovie, you're drunk. You need to trust me. That is Bucky."
She shook her head, "No, Bucky would have asked me to dance by now."
Steve looked at his suddenly sober friend, "Where are you going?"
"Back to camp," she replied with a smile. "I've got some research to do."
She kissed his cheek and left, taking a deep breath of the frigid night air.
"Hey, where are you going?"
She turned to see Sarge standing just outside the bar. He almost looked panicked, but he was trying to hide it.
"Back to camp," she replied.
"I didn't get to dance with the prettiest girl in there," he said as he approached her.
"I don't feel like dancing, Sarge. Steve...kinda ruined my night."
"And how did America's greatest ruin your night?" He asked, gently placing his hands on her arms, gently rubbing them to help her stay warm.
"A dear friend of ours died, but he kept saying...you're him. But, that's not right. Bucky...he always saved me a dance."
"Angel Eyes, I did save you a dance. It's only been three hours. I wanted you to be sober for our dancing, just like always," he whispered.
She smiled slightly, "Thank you, but I can't. I hope you find who you're looking for."
"Yeah, she's walking away, just like I did," she heard him scolding himself for his actions.