AN: So, I am so sorry this is late. On a plus side, it does mean Chapter 3, might be up faster.I had to modify this chapter a bit. It's not my favorite. At least the next one is more action-based. It does set up one of the plots of this story, thankfully. Also the ending... i learned from the best. ;)
Also never joke about having a cold... You will have a cold. No, not a cold, a flu!
From now on in, aside from the final chapter in the whole series, each chapter is named after the lyrics in a song. For this book, at least, it will be the first line. This chapter is named after the opening lyrics of Firework by Katy Perry. It's about overcoming obstacles, which is important in this chapter, and the next.
Do you ever feel like a plastic bag? Drifting throught the wind?
The next day, Abbie and Steve were called to a different SSR base, this time in Manhattan. Steve had to give blood, and some swabs were very, very carefully taken from Abbie. Then they went down stairs with Peggy. Colonel Philips and Senator Brandt were discussing something to do with Hydra. Both Steve and Abbie pricked they're ears up at that. They had discussed what they knew about HYDRA from Greek mythology, that morning. It was creature which sure enough, if you cut of one head another two took its place.
"Hydra is the Nazi deep-science division," Peggy explained. "It's led by Johann Schmidt, but he has much bigger ambitions. Apparently their phrase stems from Schmidt and Sterben being referred to as the two heads."
Abbie shuddered; remembering about the other man with a Soul-creature, the eagle. The idea that a soul-creature could be another referred to as another head of a human, crept her and Steve out. Then again in the short time she had spent with Steve, it felt like they were two heads, so perhaps not so creepy.
She and Steve had also researched the name Sterben too. When Bucky had become a Sargent, he had sent home to Steve a German dictionary. Sterben had meant death, which either meant Schmidt was sadist, psychopath or had an ironic sense of humour. Steve and Abbie suspected it was the former two options.
"Hydra is a cult," Colonel Philips argued, "They worship Schmidt, and his damned bird. Now we at least know why HYDRA keep it around. They think their invincible."
"So what are you going to do about it?" the Senator asked nervous. The world was becoming a mad place.
"Spoke to the president this morning. As of today, the SSR is being re-tasked," the Colonel explained.
"Colonel?" Peggy asked, confused. Abbie felt a shiver of excitement, whether it was from Steve or her, she was unsure. Finally they may get to see some action.
"We're taking the fight to Hydra," the Colonel declared, "Pack your bags Agent Carter. You too, Stark. We're flying to London, tonight."
"Sir?" Steve asked, "If you're going after Schmidt, we want in."
"You are a pair of experiments. You're going to Alamogordo," the Colonel declared. It hit them both like a death knell.
Abbie's jaw dropped. Alamogordo… where the hell was that? They weren't just experiments! She wasn't a hindrance, nor was Steve. Neither were they lab rats, to poke and play with!
"The serum worked!" Abbie protested. Then she added, "Sort of."
"I asked for an army, all I got were you pair. You pair are not enough," the Colonel said sadly. He then walked away.
"But we could be an army," Abbie whimpered desperately, "We could be a two being Army."
Steve looked at Abbie sadly, putting a hand on her neck. She looked as distraught as he felt. The senator walked up to him.
"With all due respect to the colonel, I think we may be missing the point. I've seen you in action, Steve and… Abbie. More importantly the country's seen it. Paper," Another man brought a paper to him. On it two pictures, one of Steve and the door, another of Abbie diving into the river. MYSTERIOUS MAN & WILDCAT SAVES BOY. He continued, "The enlistment lines have been around the block since your pictures hit the newsstands. You don't take a soldier, a symbol like that, and hide him in a lab. Son, do you want to serve your country, on the most important battlefield of the war?"
"Sir, that's all we want," Steve answered, honestly, desperately. Abbie nodded too, pleading.
"Then congratulations, you just got promoted," the senator grinned.
That's how Steve and Abbie went travelling in the USO show tour. Most important battlefield of war, they were selling bond sales! It was a joke really. Neither thought they were doing anything effective. Someone had given Steve a name, Captain America, and a shield. They also gave Abbie a name, the All-American Cougar. They travelled across America trying to sell war bonds. They ended up in comic books, and films. Children loved it, especially when Abbie talked, or Steve punched Hitler. They did it for almost the best part of half a year, and they both hated it.
The official story about Abbie was that she was a tamed cougar. She had been in an experiment to get animals to take orders, to kill Nazi's. Instead she'd gained human intelligence due to a chemical. Her experiment was shut down at the same time as Steve's. She was meant to be destroyed, but Steve had taken a liking to her and had adopted her as a pet. There was a major warning never to touch her, as this was apparently her one pet peeve. Abbie and Steve had both laughed at the cover story; it was a bit ridiculous, but still they went along with it.
Over five months, they both noticed the change in confidence of the other. Abbie noticed Steve became more self-confident and less socially awkward. His speech became clearer, and he became more confident when talking with others. She also noticed how he became more assured in his own values, and not those of the USO or America. Sometimes when he disagreed with something, or believed someone had been wronged: he's go out of his way to make it right. Often this meant crossing with authorities.
At the same time, Steve noticed Abbie became less nervous of humans, less shy and awkward. She would make jokes, and do her best to cheer people up, and often succeeded. He noticed she blamed herself a lot less, after a certain amount of time. Abbie became a more cheerful creature. During this time, Steve noticed she started to look more majestic, taking pride in her appearance, and she completely lost her slouch in her walk, and often held her head up high. However it wasn't unusual to find her standing near a gaggle of children, showing them some silly trick or other. She also developed a rather humorous, yet annoying habit of shortening names of people she liked.
The other thing that also flourished in this time was their friendship. During this time they both grew up, becoming more independent. They learnt how to live with each other. They learnt the others likes, dislikes and odd habits.
Steve was often unintelligible until after breakfast. Abbie hated it when people surrounded her, or she couldn't see Steve. Steve had a fear of roller coasters, and oddly chickens. Abbie despised it when it rained. Both had a shared, strong, absolute, dislike of bananas. Both however loved art, and visited many art museums. However, Steve believed Picasso's Guernica was the most inspiring painting ever. Whereas Abbie was enthralled by the hope and misery of Van Gogh's Starry Night.
They also developed some deeper communicative skills, and could convey entire conversation in expressions alone. They even had a few in jokes, and would cheer the other up, where others failed. Steve would tell Abbie stories; even if there was a 85% chance she probably knew them. Abbie would let Steve cuddle and hold her on nights when there were storms, or he worried for Bucky, reciting lines from Robert Frost. They're favourite thing however was simply to just be together, often at night in semi-darkness and talk.
It wasn't until November, when visiting the front lines in Italy, did they finally see action. They had been booed off stage, and Steve was sitting drawing in the rain, with Abbie's head on his lap. They were feeling fed up, of the tour, the arrogance of others, and the almost omnipresent depression in their heart. It was Agent Carter who found them, feeling very fed up, sad and wet.
"Hello, Steve and Abbie," Peggy smiled at them, coming to sit on a few steps above them, just off the stage.
"Hi," Steve looked at her surprised.
"Hello Peggy," Abbie smiled. Peggy's appearance made Steve blush like a school girl, and definitely brightened their whole demeanour. Abbie resisted the urge to start purring, instead she asked, "How was your autumn?"
"Busy, contrary to the main review: I found your show a relieving break," Peggy answered honestly.
"What are you doing here?" Steve asked, curious.
"Officially I'm not here at all," She sat down, "That was quite a performance."
"Yeah… We had to improvise a little bit," Steve looked at his drawing, "The crowds we are used to are usually more…"
"…12," Abbie finished for him. She glared at the floor. Both she and Steve felt a bit odd on their sides, as some stray tomatoes had hit her, and it had hurt them both. Abbie could not help but think how rude. Even though the soldiers had made a point about how childish the show was, they were acting like the childish ones. She understood now why Erskine had chosen Steve.
"And I understand you are 'America's New Hope'," Peggy smiled sadly.
"Bonds sales take a ten percent bump in every state we visit," Steve mumbled.
"Then a month later, so does the mortality rate," Abbie whispered miserably. They knew that the people enlisting now were barely 16, if that old. Neither she nor Steve wanted to send children to their deaths. If only they could convince someone, anyone, that by sending them in, they'd save hundreds of soldiers.
"Is that Senator Brandt I hear?" Peggy replied to Steve sarcastically.
"At least he's got us doing this…" Steve sighed.
"…Philips would have had us stuck in a lab." Abbie added sourly.
"And these are your only two options? Lab rats or Dancing monkeys?" Peggy asked. Abbie huffed at that, they were neither, and they knew it. She was a goddamn Mountain Lion, not a monkey or rat.
Peggy looked at them sadly. They looked pathetic. She knew this wasn't the man from Brooklyn whose soul was so brave it was giant cat. She knew she had to encourage them. Surely this was still the Steve Rogers and Abbie who had wanted to fight. This was the Steve who had defied social norms, and insisted he could fight in this war, whether he was a 90 pound asthmatic, or a 240 pound Super Soldier. She added, "You were meant for more than this, you know."
Abbie and Steve looked at one another, depressed. She was right. Both he and Abbie looked around. Abbie curled under Steve's coat. The rain was falling splattering their clothes and fur with mud. They felt useless, but they felt at the same time exactly where they should be. Steve looked like he wanted to say something.
"What?" Peggy asked them.
"You know, for the longest time We've dreamed about, coming overseas and being on the frontlines, serving our country," Steve murmured looking around; Abbie cuddled her body closer to his, "We finally got everything we wanted, and we're wearing tights, or bracelets."
A red-cross van horn pulled Abbie and Steve from their funk. They watched as a group of paramedics ran to the vehicle. They pulled a dying man out who was lying unmoving on a stretcher. It looked futile, as far as Steve could tell the man was probably going to die. It only took three weeks performing on the front lines for him to become use to the ever present feeling of death.
"They look like they've been through hell," Steve muttered, looking on uselessly at the paramedics.
"These men more than most," Peggy agreed with him. Steve and Abbie looked at her as though to convince her to continue. She obliged, "Schmidt sent out a force to Azzano. Two hundred men went up against him, and less than 50 returned. Your audience contained what was left of the 107th. The rest were killed or captured."
"The 107th?" Steve asked, suddenly alarmed. It was like a light had suddenly rekindled in his and Abbie's eyes.
"Bucky…" Abbie hissed in an almost whisper, remembering. She suddenly felt very protective of a man she'd never in her life met. She guessed it must be everything Steve told her about him, his brother, their brother, their older brother. Steve's best friend could be captured, or worse. She shook her head, do not think like that. Also they had been here for three days, why hadn't they been informed of this? Steve had been less than 50 miles from his friend for three whole bloody days.
"What?" Peggy asked, confused.
"A friend of mine… he's in the 107th! He's a sniper…" Steve trailed off panicking, '…less than 50 returned'. He exclaimed, "I have to find out if he's alive!"
Suddenly both man and wildcat were on their feet. They sprinted towards the tents, where the camps superior officers stayed. Peggy ran behind them, her coat over her head.
The trio burst in, it was Colonel Philips whom was sitting at the desk. Steve realised by some odd misfortune, despite being kicked out of any SSR business, the senator had posted him right where they were. He wondered if Brandt had done it on purpose.
"Colonel Philips!" Both Steve and Abbie yelled surprised.
"Well, if isn't the cat that can and star spangled man with a plan," The colonel smiled sarcastically, "And what is your plan today?"
"We need the casualty list from Azzano," Steve ordered.
"You don't get to give me orders, son," Philips told him, dangerously.
"We need just one name: Sergeant James Barnes from the 107th," Steve begged.
The Colonel pointed at Peggy.
"You and I gonna have conversation later, that you won't enjoy," the Colonel grimaced.
"Please tell us if he's alive, sir?" Abbie asked, she tried very hard to whimper.
"B- A- R-" Steve began to desperately spell his friends name.
"I can spell," Philips murmured. He tugged a particular letter out, "I have signed more of these condolence letters today than I care to count, but the name does sound familiar. I'm sorry."
They all paused for a moment. Abbie opened her mouth, before closing it again.
"What about the others?" Steve asked.
"Are you planning a rescue mission?" Abbie added, hopefully.
"Yeah, it's called 'Winning the War'," The colonel answered, sadly.
"But if you know where they are, why not send at least…" Steve began. Maybe, just maybe, Bucky might be alive, but captured.
"They're 30 miles behind the lines, through some of the most heavily fortified territory in Europe," The colonel argued back, "We'd lose more men that we'd save, but I don't expect you pair to understand that, because you're a pair of chorus girls."
"We understand just fine," Steve murmured coldly, annoyed and hurt. Abbie held herself a little higher, lashing her tail in anger. She let out an intense angry cold growl.
"Well, then understand it somewhere else. If I read the posters correctly, you pair have got some place to be in 30 minutes," The Colonel told them.
"Yes, sir. We do," Steve muttered determined, staring at the map on the wall, before storming out.
He and Abbie stood outside for half a seconds. Another ambulance truck squelched and rumbled through.
"We're going to get them, aren't we?" Abbie asked nervous, but with a readiness which encouraged Steve.
"Yes, if there's possibly a chance that they might be alive, that he might be alive, we are going to get them," Steve answered determined.
They looked at one another. Abbie slow blinked at him, to show she agreed with him. He put one hand on her head.
"Fine, but no offense you can't simply walk into Austria dressed like that," Abbie looked at him.
Ten minutes later, Steve was changing into more suitable pair of pants and combat boots. Steve decided to keep the Captain America top with a star on. It with any luck might be recognised, and rally the troops. He put on a brown leather jacket over the star costume, so that he didn't get recognised by the wrong parties. He loved the jacket in question; it had been the second thing he'd bought with his first pay check.
They decided to keep the shield, as it was a form of protection. Steve had long ago worked out it could be used as a form of weapon too. They found a spare pistol in supplies. It was a Model 1911A1.
Steve was changing, when Peggy found them.
"What do you pair plan to do? Walk to Austria?" She asked sarcastically.
"If that's what it takes." Steve explained his speech reasonably calm. Abbie had slid into a pair of blue and red metal leg gauntlets with white stars on them. Someone had them made her for the shows. They were designed to 'protect' her legs and paws, while giving her a lot of movement. Whether they did actually protect her was yet to be seen.
"You heard the colonel. Your friend is most likely dead," Peggy argued.
"You don't know that," Steve retorted, only letting a strain of worry into his voice.
"Even so, he's devising a strategy," Peggy tried, "If he detects that-"
"By the time he's done devising that, it could be too late," Steve shouted, picking up his stuff, walking out. Hydra hadn't waited about with Erskine. Abbie trotted next to him.
"Steve!" Peggy ran after him.
"You told me you thought we were meant for more than this," Steve told her, standing by an open top jeep. "Did you mean that?"
"Every word," Peggy answered sharply, honestly.
"Then you gotta let us go," Steve told her, starting the engine.
"I can do more than that." Peggy replied, smiling. Steve smiled back, remembering why exactly he liked her so much. She picked up the radio on the jeep, tapping a code in quickly. Speaking into it, she asked, "Stark, how fast can your plane be ready for take-off?"
Forty-five minutes later, Abbie and Steve found themselves inside of a small, weirdly comfortable plane. Abbie couldn't quite hear what Peggy had been telling Steve about the HYDRA factory/ base/ mountain hidey hole. All she knew is she felt like throwing up, whether from nerves, worry, or motion sickness she was unsure. Also her ears hurt (or rather Steve's did). On the other hand she was quite excited and been allowed to sit Shotgun in the front of the plane, with Howard. She liked seeing where she was going, and Stark didn't mind.
Howard Stark, who was flying the plane, had decided to fly them mostly because, 'I owe Carter a "no questions asked"'. What exactly a 'no questions asked' was, Abbie had no idea. Stark had simply said read the label.
He then proceeded to answer every single one of Abbie's questions about the plane, and flying it. She found the mechanisms behind it quite interesting. She looked out at the dark landscape around them. It was the night of a new moon, so there was very little light, but she could vaguely make out trees and mountains. Every so often the wind would buffet the plane, giving them turbulence. This didn't bother stark much.
Howard was yelling something about doorsteps to Steve, which brought her brain from the darkness outside. She found herself liking him, as how many people would fly a hyperactive soul-Cougar, a female secret service agent and a worried 6ft2 super soldier to a HYDRA base? Against direct orders? Mostly on the slim possibility Steve's best friend, who was ultimately a nobody, at most a talented marksman, might be alive.
She heard Steve tell the more than eccentric pilot, "Just get us as close as you can". He then added to Peggy, "You know you two are going to be in a lot of trouble when you land?"
"And you two won't?" She answered.
"Where we're going if anybody yells at us, I can just shoot 'em," Steve replies. A gust of wind blew the plane, it sounded high pitched. It was creepy. Steve flinched. In the process, he must have hit his head, pain flared behind his eyes.
"They'll undoubtedly shoot back," Peggy leaned in close to him. He shut his eyes for a second, he needed to think clearly. The pain stopped.
"Well, let's hope these are good for something," Steve hit his shield, and Abbie clapped her foreleg gauntlets together at the same time.
"Agent Carter, if we're not in too much of a hurry, I thought we could stop off Lucerne for a late night fondue," He yelled. Abbie then noticed a tiny mass of lights far away down below them.
"What's that?" Abbie asked.
"Fondue?" Stark asked, confused, "Bread and cheese."
"Ugh, no, I don't mean you and Carter's date later, I mean that!" She indicated at the lights with her paw.
"We're not, uh, never mind. Kreuzberg," Stark told her, "That's where you and Rogers are heading."
"How many miles from it are we?" Abbie asked. She suddenly felt something cold. There was something bad there, she knew it. She suddenly felt very afraid of what she may find.
The plane hit some turbulence, it made Abbie jump. For a moment, she thought it was a wolf howling in pain, then she realised it was the wind. She felt silly as she should probably have realised that. Although there had been something distinctly wolf-like about that gust of wind.
"Three miles. You ok kid?" Stark asked.
Before she could answer, Steve asked, "Are you sure this thing works?"
"It's been tested more than you pair, pal," Howard answered. Then gunfire exploded around them.
"So much for a polite welcome," Abbie muttered sarcastically. She then bounced out of her co-pilot chair, running up to Steve, "Thanks for the info Stark."
"No problem kid. Next time you want to talk engineering, or flying, talk to me. You're oddly good company," Stark grinned at her, "Hey maybe next time I can teach you to fly one of these!"
"No opposable thumbs!" She laughed back.
"Rogers, then! Or I'll work around it!" He yelled turning back to flying out of the way of bullets. Abbie smiled.
"…We're taking you all the way in!" Peggy was yelling at Steve, Abbie sat next to him. It was very dark outside but the sky was illuminated with gunfire. She suddenly felt very unprotected.
A part of her, a part she had never known existed before, suddenly awoke. For the first time she felt fear. She had memories of Steve's fear, but nothing like this. She wanted to stay on the plane, away from this probable death trap. How she knew this was beyond her… All she knew is, she'd be safer on the plane. There was something much worse down in that factory, and she could feel it. She was about to risk her safety for a man who she'd never met, who might be dead, and didn't seem too impo…
She stopped that thought. It stopped almost as suddenly as it had begun. It was as though someone else had been whispering it in her mind. It had been someone who knew Bucky, who knew why they were going in. BUCKY WAS IMPORTANT, it would be an honour to save his life. Every man they saved, it would be an honour to die for. That doubting voice she'd just heard, and was not a hundred percent convinced was her own, was gone.
"As soon as we're clear, you turn this thing around, and get the hell out of here," Steve ordered, grabbing hold of Abbie by the scruff.
"You can't give me orders," Peggy yelled back.
"The hell I can't! I'm a Captain!" Steve smiled, holding Abbie close. He whispered, "You ready?"
"Of course, let's save people" She whispered, smiling. The voice in her seemed quiet, and sad. Abbie ignored it.
Then they jumped.
