All the hurt, all the lies

All the tears that they cry

When the moment is just right

You see fire in their eyes.

When you've been fighting for it all your life

You've been struggling to make things right.

That's how a superhero learns to fly.

Every day, every hour. Turn the pain into power...


We arrived in New York a few hours later. I stepped off the quinjet and onto the tarmac of SHIELDS personal airfield, I was greeted by a violent wind and almost blown backwards. Before I lost my balance and hurt myself, a pair of hands grabbed me. I turned to see who had grabbed me and was greeted by a blond haired, blue eyed man. Even I, who had promised not to become smitten with any other soldier, could see that he was beautiful. I blinked back my surprise and allowed him to steer me into shelter. Once inside he removed his hands from my shoulders and smiled. "I'm Steve Rogers." He said.

"Yeah, I know. I'm Penny Hillson." I outstretched my hand for him to shake. He took it and shook it gently, like he was worried any extra pressure would hurt me. I smiled knowingly to myself and let go. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." He added, looking around me for Fury. He entered the building not long after us.

"Ah, good. You've met. Steve, this is Penny. You're new partner." Fury motioned towards me and I saluted Steve.

"The fellow soldier? I didn't expect you to be so small." He blurted. I chuckled.

"It makes me a great Soldier. I can get into places others can't." I smiled.

"So you're stronger than you look?" He narrowed his eyes at me, not sure if he should believe it or not.

"Yes. I'll show you sometime." I replied, matching his stare.

"I think she'll do." He smiled at me then motion for me to go first, always the gentleman. I stepped around him and headed on my way further into the building.


"So, you got an alias?" Steve asked me as we sat in the conference room.

"I've been a soldier my whole life, my handle was always "Tiny." but I hate it." I replied, looking at my hands. "I would like to avoid that name at all costs, if you don't mind." I looked at him.

"Alright," he half smiled. "How about we go with "The Lieutenant" for now?" He smiled properly now.

"Sure. Captain America & The Lieutenant doesn't sound too bad." I smiled back. He chuckled just as Fury walked into the room.

"Good, you're getting along. Right, this assignment. We will be sending you undercover to Wakanda. You'll be joining Klaw's crew. He's in the trade of stealing Vibranium and selling it on the black market. We need to know where it's going and how much of it. If you can't find out where, see if you can find out who his clientele is. We don't plan on bringing him in, we just need eyes on him for a while. That's your job. Infiltrate the crew as best you can." Fury handed me Ulysses Klaw's case file. He didn't look friendly.

"How do we know he won't figure it all out?" He asked.

"We don't. There's an extraction plan in place, just incase things go wrong." Fury added.

"Okay." Steve and I said this in unison. We glanced at each other and it seemed we had the same thought. We didn't trust this plan.

"Any questions?" Fury asked.

"Yeah, when are we leaving?" I asked, placing the case file back on the table.

"A week, so get some training in Lieutenant." He narrowed his eyes at me then left the room.

"Are you sure you're okay to do this, Penny? I won't blame you if you decided to back out, it's pretty dangerous." Steve leant across the table, towards me.

"I'm fine, Captain. I'm going to go and train, mind being my sparring partner?" I asked.

"Uh, sure." He smiled sympathetically and we headed towards to training rooms.


"Come on!" I yelled at him as he flipped me gently onto my back.

"I don't want to hurt you. I was taught not to hit a woman." He said.

"Times have changed, old man." I swung my fist and connected with his jaw. Sending him slightly backwards. He looked a little startled.

"So they weren't lying when they said you were an enhanced. Well, that changes things." He smiled and came at me. I dodged him.

"You can do better than that, boss." I taunted.

"Fast too. I think this partnership will be better than I thought." He looked to be getting excited.

"You can hit me. I heal fast too." I winked and he aimed for me again.

We spent a total of three hours sparring before he finally got frustrated with taking it easy on me. Before I knew what was happening he flipped me over his body and pinned me. "Why didn't you do this in the first place? It would have made for much better sparring." I grumbled as he pulled me to my feet.

"I wanted to see your strengths. See how much control you had. You're a little sloppy." He remarked, grabbing a bottle of water.

"Well, in my defence I've only been able to use these powers for six months. I may have faster healing but it still takes time to heal so many broken bones." I took a sip from my own bottle of water.

"Fair enough, come on." He placed his hand on the back of my neck and pushed me towards the door.


Where will you run,

When there's no place left for you to hide?

When your faced with the flood.

Will you stand for the future

And swallow your pride?