"I know this neighborhood," Steve stated, looking out the window as we passed a street where a few boys were playing baseball.
I looked over as well, a little pleased to find that I knew it too.
"I got beat up in that alley," he continued, pointing to it as we drove by. "And that parking lot….and behind that diner," he said, his eyes dropping down to look at his hands.
I couldn't help but smile. "You really don't like running away from things, do you?" I asked.
"You start running, they'll never let you stop. You stand up, you push back," he said, looking up to me with a grin. "They can't say no forever, right?"
I shook my head. "Not forever," I agreed. "We're proof of that. Neither of us are really supposed to be here."
Confusion pulled at his face. "I wanted to ask you but I didn't want to be nosy…" he trailed off.
"Nose away," I told him.
He thought for a moment. "I guess I just don't understand why you would want to join the Army if you were a beautiful dame," he said before wincing. "Woman. Beautiful woman," he amended, a blush sweeping across his cheeks.
The rare compliment sent a flutter through my chest. "I grew up around it," I answered. "Me and my brothers."
"Brothers?"
I nodded. "Victor and Jimmy; both older," I answered. "What about you?"
He nodded. "Bucky," he said, a smile stretching across his face as he looked up to me. "He's the closest thing I have to a brother."
"Is he in the army?"
"Sergeant in the 107th. He was the reason I was at the fair," he explained, an almost uneasy laugh leaving him. "He dragged me and these two dames along."
My eyebrows furrowed. "He wasn't with you when you enlisted?" I questioned, a little surprised that the person he considered a brother wasn't there when he made a considerably big life decision.
A small sigh left him and his smile dropped. "Nah. The girls wanted to go dancing and, well….." he trailed off with a shrug.
"Well?" I pressed.
"Women aren't exactly lining up to dance with a guy they might step on," he answered, his tone going a little bitter.
"Have you tried asking them?"
A humorless chuckle left him. "Well, asking women to dance always seemed so terrifying," he admitted, shifting to look out the window again. "And the past few years, it just didn't seem to matter that much. I figured I'd wait."
"For what?"
"The right partner," he stated, glancing over at me before turning his gaze back out the window.
The smile that spread across my face was not a conscious decision and I struggled to get it to go away but as much as I fought it, it simply refused. By the time the car pulled up to the curb I honestly didn't care who saw me grinning like a complete idiot.
Steve opened the door and got out, holding it open as he offered me a hand.
"Such a gentleman," I mused, placing my hand in his and allowing him to keep me steady as I crawled out of the car. I paused once out, taking a moment to make sure my balance was there before walking towards the antique shop, the heels on my feet and skirt on my legs threatening to betray me at any moment. I had argued with Philips when he told me that I would have to wear the female uniform but I was quickly silenced when he threatened to not let me go.
"What are we doing here?" Steve asked, following behind me with a confused look on his face.
"Don't worry," I told him, moving to open the door only for him to practically leap forward and do just that. I looked at him, startled for a moment before nodding. "Thank you," I told him, stepping in to be greeted by the familiar old woman I had never gotten the name of.
"Wonderful weather this morning, isn't it?" she asked, her tone a little overly pleasant.
I nodded, silently cursing the person who had come up with this stupid code. "Yes, but I always carry an umbrella," I told her.
She moved around the counter and pressed the button hidden underneath, the bookcase through the curtained doorway opening to reveal the hallway to the lab.
I gave her a thankful nod and stepped forward, glancing back to make sure that Steve was still following me.
The two MPS at the end of the hall reached over and pulled open the double doors, the basement like lab waiting behind it.
As soon as we stepped out on the stairway landing every eye in the room turned to look at Steve, gawking slightly as if not knowing this was who they were going to work with.
"Ignore them," I told Steve as I stepped past him and walked down the stairs, my hand gripped firmly on the safety rail as I did.
"Good morning," Ab greeted, walking over to shake Steve's hand just in time for a camera to go off, the flash blinding anyone who hadn't been prepared.
I glared over at the military man holding the offending object. "Buzz off, bub."
He jumped slightly and made a strategic retreat.
"Are you ready?" Ab asked.
Steve pulled in an uneasy breath and looked to the machine at the center of the room. He watched it for a moment before giving a small nod.
"Good," Ab praised. "Now, take off your shirt, your tie and your hat," he instructed, gesturing as he did.
With a quick glance over at me he did just that, pushing himself up to lay flat on the machine once the nurse had taken his clothes.
"Comfortable?"
"It's a little big," Steve joked weakly.
Ab laughed at that.
Steve swallowed nervously. "You save me any of that schnapps?"
"Not as much as I should have," he answered, shaking his head. "Sorry. Next time," he promised before taking a step away. "Mr. Stark, how are your levels?" he asked.
Steve's head jerked over at that, his interest peaked at the familiar name.
"Levels are at 100%," Howard answered, casually strutting up to the machine, his hands in his pockets. "We may have to dim the lights in Brooklyn," he started, looking Steve over, "but we are ready….as we'll ever be."
Steve's expression turned worried at Howards statement.
"It's going to work," I said, forcing a bright smile onto my face. "They know what they're doing."
He didn't look convinced.
Howard looked to me with a smile. "Good morning, El," he said cheerfully.
"Good morning, Howard," I said, giving him the same forced smile I had just given Steve. "So glad to see that you didn't blow yourself up again."
He gave a few sarcastic laughs. "Ain't she a doll?" he asked, looking down to Steve.
I rolled my eyes and pushed him back towards the control panel. "Everything's going to be okay," I said, side stepping to take Ab's spot next to Steve. "You're going to be fine."
"Are you trying to reassure me or you?" he asked, that nervous smile back on his face.
"A whole lot of both," I answered, my hand coming up to grab his, attempting to ignore how both of them shook. "Remember how I said you could do anything you set your mind to?"
He nodded, his fingers wrapping around mine.
"I need you to set your whole mind to this, okay?" I asked. "Because when this is over I'm going to ask you for a dance and you better be able to do just that."
To say that he looked surprised would be an understatement. He recovered quickly, however, and gave me a bright smile. "In that case I better set a mind and a half."
I shook my head and leaned down quickly, pressing kiss to his cheek before I retreated to the control panel where Howard was now fiddling with the a few buttons. "This is going to work, right?" I asked him.
He glanced up to me. "I only understood what the Doctor explained to me, other than that I have no idea," he answered.
I pulled in a deep breath and grabbed his arm, my fingers digging into his muscle. "Howard, now is not the time to be honest with me," I told him, my tone hard.
His eyes widened, from pain or realization I wasn't sure. "Oh, then yes, it's going to work. I know what I'm doing. I understand everything," he said, flashing me that cocky smile of his. "Everything's going to be fine."
I watched him for a moment before letting out the breath I had been holding in. "That is a horrible false sense of security," I told him, letting his arm go and digging through my pockets for the carton of cigarettes I desperately hoped I had.
"You okay, El?" he asked, taking the packet and the lighter from me. "You're shaking," he pointed out, pulling out a cigarette.
"I may have gotten attached," I told him before closing my lips around the raised cigarette and inhaling when he flicked the lighter and held it to the end.
He raised an eyebrow. "Attached how?"
"If you make me say it out loud I will put this out in your eye," I threatened, pinching the white cylinder between my fingers and pulling it away to blow the puff of smoke in his face. "You know how."
He let out a low whistle. "I didn't know he was your type, El," he said, looking over his shoulder to Steve. "I mean, there's not much to him."
"Not everything is about looks, Howard!" I snapped, reaching up to flick his earlobe.
He yelped and covered the throbbing appendage, his eyes narrowed as he looked to me.
"I'd like to see you climb into that thing and do what he's about to do."
Howard rubbed at his ear as he seemed to think for a moment, the gears in his head turning. "You actually like him, dontcha, El?" he asked, his voice a little softer.
I looked away from him and took another drag, the smoke seeping through my teeth towards the ceiling.
"Well, if he's caught your eye then he must be something special," he mused. "He's going to be just fine."
I shot him a tense smile and turned my attention back to Steve as they buckled him into the machine while a cart carrying several vials of blue liquid was pushed over.
Ab stepped in front of the machine, a microphone in his hand as he addressed the military and government officials who were watching from the observation room. "Do you hear me? Is this on?" he asked, flicking it a few times, an annoying high pitched noise coming from the speakers as a pleased smile appeared on Ab's face. "Ladies and gentlemen, today we take not another step towards annihilation, but the first step on the path of peace."
I wrapped my free arm around me and leaned against the panel, my foot tapping against the concrete in its usual nervous fashion as I inhaled another lungful of smoke.
"We begin with a series of microinjections into the subject's major muscle groups. The serum infusion will cause immediate cellular change. And then, to stimulate growth the subject will be saturated with Vita-Rays."
Ab nodded to them before setting the microphone down and walking back to Steve, watching as they gave him a shot.
"That wasn't so bad," Steve stated, almost sounding relieved.
"That was penicillin," Ab told him, his voice a little grim.
Steve didn't seem so relieved anymore.
Ab gave him a small shrug before looking to the lab assistants. "Serum infusion beginning in…five…four….three…two….one."
I kept my eyes locked on the ground as they worked, not having the heart to watch.
"Now, Mr. Stark," Ab instructed.
Howard gripped a red lever and slowly lowered it, the machine raising vertically and closing, leaving only what looked like a pod or a coffin of the future.
"Steven, can you hear me?" Ab asked.
"It's probably too late to go to the bathroom, right?" Steve asked, his voice muffled.
Ab nodded and looked back down to Howard. "We will proceed."
Howard placed a pair of goggled over his eyes and began to turn one of the many wheels.
The window of the pod glowed bright, several assistants shielding their eyes and looking away.
"That's 10%!" Howard announced as he steadily turned the wheel. "20% 30. That's 40%!"
"Vital sighed say normal!" one of the doctors called.
"That's 50% 60. 70!"
The cigarette fell from my fingers when Steve's pain filled yell broke through the pod, my heart stalling in my chest.
"Steven!" Ab yelled, rushing forward to look through the window.
I clenched my jaw and forced myself to take normal breaths, the words 'he can do this' shouting through my head like a mantra.
"Shut down the reactor, Mr. Stark!" Ab yelled. "Kill it! Turn it off! Kill the reactor!"
Howard moved to do just that.
"No!"
Everyone froze and looked to the machine, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Don't! I can do this!"
Ab and Howard looked to each other before Howard continued to turn the wheel, putting the reactor at 100%
The machines were deafening as they worked, spark flying through the air as the lights dimmed and flickered. After what seemed like a life time the light in the pod faded and everything went quiet.
With my eyes still locked on the ground I listening to the pod opening once again. I didn't look up until Howard muttered a 'holy shit'. My head snapped up and I found myself frozen once again.
Steve was, to say the least, not Steve. He was at least two heads taller and every muscle he hadn't had before was now present and rather impressive. The only thing that I didn't understand, and probably the most trivial, was how his pants fitted around his new waist.
Without much thought I rushed over to him, watching as Howard and Ab helped Steve step out of the machine.
"I did it," Steve gasped, still slightly panting.
Ab nodded, the amazed expression still on his face. "Yeah, I think we did."
"You actually did it," Howard said, his mouth hanging open.
"How do you feel?" I asked, clenching my hands together to keep them from fretting over him, the urge to make sure that he was okay almost overwhelming.
Still breathing heavily he looked down to me. "Blue."
My eyebrows pulled together. "You feel blue?" I questioned.
He laughed lightly and shook his head. "Your eyes. They're blue. I couldn't tell before."
A little part of my brain reminded me that he had been color blind, a medical condition that has seemed to have been remedied. I couldn't help the blush that burned across my face at the fact that my eye color was something he pondered. "You did it," I said, deciding to change the subject.
His smile widened. "I did it."
"Never doubted you for a minute," I told him before noticing the nurse standing off to the side, a white T-shirt clutched in her hands as she looked Steve over. My smile dropping slightly I snatched the shirt from her and held it out to him. "I hope that fits," I mused.
He laughed again as he pulled the shirt over his head.
Allowing the relief filled sigh to leave me I looked to Ab, a congratulations on my tongue before I saw his expression. "Ab?" I asked before an explosion ripped through the booth above us. I stood my ground and watched as one of the senator's men grabbed one of the vials.
"Stop him!" Ab yelled.
This was one of the times I wished my paranoia had had me on high alert. The man's gun was raised and fired twice, the bullets hitting Ab square in the chest.
I was too late to react. I was too late to save one of the few people who knew what and who I am. I didn't look back, I didn't stop to see who else might have been hurt. I simply ran after him.
It always amazed me how many casualties a spy could rack up in a short amount of time. The deaths aren't their mission but their survival, making them desperate enough to be at the top of their game when it comes to their getaway.
A frown pulled at my lips when I found the elderly woman lying with her machine gun by her side. I swooped down and picked it up, swinging the strap over my shoulder while I kicked the dreaded high heels off. I ducked behind the doorframe of the front door when the man and his friends drove by, machine gun blasts cutting through the operatives outside and the store front. I shouldered open the door and stepped out into the street, machine gun raised and aimed.
My smile returned when I took the driver out with one shot, the black car swerving to a stop. I shot off a few more rounds as he high jacked a taxi cab. The only mercy I was allowed was the fact that the cab was facing towards me. I readjusted my stance, crouching down and alternated my shots between the windshield and the front grill of the car. The frustration grew when the car didn't waver and the man didn't die.
When I was about to give up on the strategic attack and just let loose on the car a rather solid something slammed into me, throwing me out of the cars path just before it would have hit me.
"God dammit," I cursed, looking over my shoulder to find that it had been Steve who had pushed me out of the way. "What the hell, Steve?!" I yelled.
"Sorry!" he called as he pushed himself up and running after the taxi.
I growled and tossed the gun to the side before getting to my feet. I dusted off the horrible skirt and walked over to the failed getaway car, silently hoping that the driver had a few moments of life left to squeeze some information out of. I jerked open the driver's side door and leaned in, my fingers going to the man's neck as I checked for a pulse.
"Nazi piece of shit," I muttered, slamming the door shut and heading back to the lab.
~Two Days Later~
I've never been overly fond of morgues. I didn't like the cold and the smell of death always reminded me of the Civil War.
Ab's body laid on the metal slab before me, a white sheet covering him and the bullet holes in his chest.
Most would think that after years of being surrounded by nothing but death I would be used to it; used to people I had idiotically gotten attached to dying. I think it's easy to say that I have not, in fact, gotten used to it.
"Goodbye, Ab," I whispered, patting his arm before I stepped out of the room and walked over to the room they had taken Steve to when he had gotten back from his chase. I opened the door and stepped in, a little surprised to find they had found Steve a full uniform. "Do you think you have enough blood?" I asked, noticing the several jars of blood on the table next to him.
The nurse jumped and spun around. "A-Agent Howlett," she said, a hand pressed to her chest. She cleared her throat and nodded quickly. "Yes, we should have enough."
"Then scoot," I said, gesturing to the door I had just come through.
She nodded again, collected her things and bustled out of the room.
I watched her leave before looking back to Steve. "Are you okay?" I asked, stepping closer to him.
He gave me an unamused look. "I should be asking you that," he said, buttoning his sleeve. "You knew him better than I did."
I gave a soft laugh. "He would probably give us a lecture on how it's not wise to linger on thoughts of the dead," I mused.
He gave a laugh of his own. "I can see him saying that," he allowed, his thumb kneading the palm of his other.
"Hey," I said, reaching out to rest my hand on his shoulder. "Honestly, how are you feeling?'
"I, uh," he started, his eyebrows furrowing, "I don't really know. I feel fine but it's…"
"Different," I supplied.
He nodded.
"Steve," I sighed, "I would be worried if you felt anything but," I told him. "I mean, you're-" I broke off to look him over, "7 inches taller and 130 pounds heavier."
A sad smile pulled at his lips. "A new body."
"A new life," I corrected, patting his shoulder. "You didn't get it the traditional way but, I've found that you tend to break traditions."
He reached up and caught my hand, his now overly large hands all but consuming mine. "I owe you a dance," he noted.
I smiled like an idiot and glanced away out the window. "You do," I agreed, a sigh leaving me when I recognized Senator Brandt walking with Phillips through the lab, "but we'll have to take a rain check," I told him.
Steve looked up, noticed my distraction and followed my gaze, a frown pulling at his lips. "I know him," he mused.
"Senator Brandt," I told him. "He's the one who got us the government funding for the experiment. Come on," I said, walking to the door and heading down the stairs a few feet away.
"Colonel Phillips, my committee is demanding answers," the Senator stated.
"Great. Why don't we start with how a German spy got a ride to my secret installation in your car?" Phillips asked, shooting him a look before looking to Howard who was messing with the submarine like machine the spy had tried to get away in. "What have we got here?"
Howard let out a tired sigh. "Speaking modestly, I'm the best mechanical engineer in the country. But I don't know what's inside this thing or how it words. We're not even close to this technology," he answered, gesturing to all of it, a look of utter frustration on his face.
"Then who is?"
"Hydra!" I called.
The three men's attention shot to me.
Phillips smiled fondly at me. "I'm sure you've been reading our proofs."
Senator Brandt gave him an unamused look. "I'm on a number of committees, Colonel."
I rolled my eyes and stopped before them. "They're a Nazi deep-science division," I explained, a small smirk pulling at my lisp when the Senator took his hat off. "Johann Schmidt runs it behind the back of Hitler, clearly a man of much bigger ambitions judging by what he named the division."
They all gave me confused looks.
"In Greek mythology a Hydra is a creature that if you cut its head off then two more will grow in its place," I explained. "I believe it's safe to assume that Hitler is the first head and Hydra is the second."
Phillips nodded. "Hydra is practically a cult," he stated. "They worship Schmidt. They think he's invincible."
The Senator seemed far from impressed. "So what are you going to do about it?"
Phillips paused for a moment before turning to look to me. "I spoke to the President this morning. As of today, the SSR is being retasked."
That news was more than staggering. "What?" I blurted out.
"We are taking the fight to Hydra," he told me. "Pack your bags, Howlett. You too, Stark. We're flying to London tonight," he stated before walking passed me.
"What?" I blurted again.
Steve didn't seem to like it as much as I did. "Sir?" he asked, stepping forward. "If you're going after Schmidt, I want in."
Phillips turned and looked at Steve with distain. "You're an experiment. You're going to Alamogordo," he stated with a dismissive tone.
"The serum worked," Steve stated, confused by the fact that he was being pushed aside.
"I asked for an army and all I got was you," he stated. "You are not enough," he told him before walking off.
"Bullshit!" I snapped, ignoring the shocked expressions of the Senator and his man as I followed after Phillips. "What the hell are you doing?" I demanded.
He gave me a tired look. "I understand that you might have gotten attached to the class pet but the last few months have been a waste," he said. "We are retasked and there is no changing that."
"Class pet?" I asked, my eyes narrowed. "Is that what you thought of this whole thing? Of Ab's work? Of our work?"
He shook his head. "I'm not going to argue this with you. Say goodbye to your boyfriend, we're shipping out."
I resisted the urge to stab him as he walked off once again. I pulled in several calming breaths before walking back over to Steve.
"With all due respect to the Colonel, I think we may be missing the point. I've seen you in action, Steve. More importantly, the country's seen it. Paper," the Senator said, gesturing to his assistant who stepped forward.
I was a little surprised to find a picture of Steve using a detached Lucky Star Cabs door as a shield.
"The enlistment lines have been around the block since your picture hit the newsstands. You don't take a soldier, a symbol like that, and hide him in a lab."
I couldn't help but think that Steve was hearing exactly what he wanted to. I knew that he didn't want to be in a lab and I knew that he would want to fight.
The Senator put his hand on Steve's shoulder and started to lead him away. "Son, do you want to serve your country on the most battlefield of the war?"
"Sir, that's all I want."
My heart dropped at that.
"Then congratulations. You just got promoted," he said, shaking his hand.
I watched as the Senator gave Steve a set of instructions so they would be able to hammer out the details of what Steve would be doing for them. They shook hands once again before the Senator walked off with his little toady followed behind him.
I growled before stepping up to Steve's side. "Steve, are you sure you want to do this?" I asked him, concern running through me. I knew what Senators like him wanted and I knew that Steve wasn't going to get what he wanted if listened to him. He wasn't going to get to fight.
He looked down to me, his jaw clenched. "It's better than sitting in some lab," he stated, his voice taking on that bitterness again.
I grimaced at that. "I know, trust me, but you're not going to get to fight if you go with the Senator," I told him, reaching up to grab his arm. "He's not interested in winning the war, he's interested in the money it's making him."
"He's not war profiteering," he defended.
"How would you know?" I demanded.
He let out a frustrated sigh. "Eleanor, I'm doing this," he stated, moving to walk past me.
"Okay, okay," I allowed, my grip on his arm tightening to stop him. "Listen, I won't try to stop you from doing what you want, I don't think I could, but I just want you to be careful," I told him. "Things like this tend to get out of hand very fast."
He watched me for a moment before his tense stance seemed to slump. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be taking this out on you. It isn't your fault," he said, shaking his head and leaning a little closer to me. "This wasn't how this was supposed to happen."
"Believe me, I know," I agreed. "And I'm sorry."
He nodded, a sad smile pulling at him lips. "I am sorry too but…" he trailed off. "I'm not sorry that I met you though."
Like many times before I couldn't help my smile. "I'm not either."
He shifted his stance, his hand coming up to grab mine off his arm, once again consuming mine. "Would it be okay, and you can say no, but would it be okay if I wrote you?"
The questioned took me by surprise but I recovered quickly and nodded. "Of course you can write me," I told him. "I-I don't know where we're going to be but when we settle I'll send something to Brandt."
His smile widened. "Thank you, Eleanor."
I shook my head. "This isn't just for you," I told him. "Compromising position of favoritism, remember?"
"You're not the only one in a compromising position," he said, squeezing my hand before walking away.
I sighed as I watched after him, a knot growing in my chest as I watched him disappear.
"You all right there, El?" Howard's voice asked.
I looked down to him, a little amused that he only came up to waist with him standing down in the mechanics pit. "I'm all right," I said before looking back to where Steve had disappeared. "He has no idea what he's getting into."
Howard shook his head, wiping his hands on a white shop rag. "They never know until they're shoulder deep in it."
"This isn't what Ab wanted for him."
He let out a sigh and pulled himself out of the pit. "How are you doing? With his death?"
I pulled in a deep breath. "You would think I would be used to it," I commented.
"Honestly, El, I would hate it if you were," Howard told me. "Everything's going to be okay."
I let out a humorless laugh. "Another false sense of security," I mused before he threw his arm around my shoulder.
"Listen to me, El, I know things seem bad at the moment but I want you to stay positive," he said, a certain calm in his voice. "For me?"
I shook my head. "Alright, Howard, I'll stay positive- but just for you," I said, poking him hard in the chest.
Little did I know it wouldn't be that easy.
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