Chapter Twelve: Paranoid

"Katherine, are you sure you're ok?"

Bruce's voice woke Katherine up from her daydreaming, or most likely nightdreaming since there hadn't been anything pleasant about it. Even when she was doing things as simple as fixing her hair everything suddenly went back to that . . . lab if she could call it that.

She had thought that she would overcome it soon, after all she was Katherine Pierce, but so far nothing miraculous had occur and every three seconds she kept looking over her shoulder. The creepy red veins hadn't appeared again thank god nor had she burned anyone to death, everything seemed pretty normal.

She had even worn lipstick and eyeliner today for crying out loud and that was some improvement from a week ago when she had acted like a mummy and just stayed at her and Steve's apartment watching reruns of America's Next Top Model while eating ice cream, two things she rarely did.

Even Fury was slightly pitiful to her and had given her a break from any missions and instead had assigned her the lovely work of filing papers. Everyone seemed to have been keeping their distance except Tony and Bruce. Tony because he was Tony and Bruce because he was nice and knew that she was having a hard time with this (though he did try to bring up the b-word, but Katherine avoided him at all costs.)

Tony had been pestering her for the past few days so that they could test her blood, ignoring the not so subtle looks that Pepper and Steve threw. "What?" he had rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you don't want know what crazy thing has happened to her?"

Rest assure that hadn't made Katherine feel any better.

"Fine." She wanted to sound reassured, but she came out sounding scared.

Bruce sighed. "You don't have to do this you know."

Tony looked disappointed. "She has to-you want to don't you Kat?"

"Tony-"

"No," Katherine interrupted him. "He's right. Experiment away."

A white light was positioned over her body making her slightly twitch as she heard Jarvis's voice say. "Scanning."

From a few feet away Bruce and Tony were looking through the results. "Impossible," Tony mumbled. "It's almost uncanny, I've only seen it on someone else, Pep before. Well, Brucey it seems we have another super soldier."

"Don't call me that," Bruce said. "And what do you mean super soldier? Like Steve?"

Tony hesitated. "Not exactly, it's a type of super soldier, Aldrich created it when they couldn't create the same one as Steve's. This one's more . . . freaky. Katherine's blood system and body are all different now. She now has some of Roger's stuff, you know like super strength, slow aging, healing factor but it's mixed up with something also though I'm still not sure what it is, there's heat radiating inside her you know like fire."

"So you're basically saying that Katherine is a living flame." Bruce said flatly.

"Are you ladies done whispering?" Katherine called back annoyed. "Can you take the extremis out or can't you?"

"Listen, Katherine. . ." Bruce hesitated before he told her what they found out.

"But you can take it out right?" she pressed practically tightening her fist against the metal table. "Pepper was infected by it, and Tony you took it out."

Tony clicked his tongue. "Slight problem there Kit Kat, Pepper was given a small dose, you were practically bathed in it."

Katherine's face fell. "You mean I'm stuck like this?"

Neither of them bothered with a response.

"Are you sure you don't want to eat anything?" Steve pushed a plate of food in front of her.

"I said no," she said annoyed. "Stop asking me the same thing."

Steve flinched a little, but didn't pressed her and Katherine turned away, she did not need any more guilt.

"Talk to me, Kat," he whispered. "I want to help you."

Katherine lowered her eyes as she saw the red veins appearing on her hands again. She shook her head. Not again. She stood up. "I can take care of myself."

"Katherine, why must you must be so stubborn?" Bruce sighed looking exhausted as he led her into his office early the next day.

"Why must you be so persisting?" Katherine countered sounding very much like the old Katherine. "And can we hurry I have a fun girls' outing planned." Or forced to go through. Pepper had called her last night and told her that she had plans today with the girls meaning her and Natasha since Jane and Darcy were both in Arizona.

Bruce visibly relaxed apparently he hadn't caught her sarcasm. "I'm just worried about you, we're all worried about you." He clarified.

Katherine stood up. "Well, I'm fine."

"Katherine, so the baby is dead?"

Katherine froze as she closed her eyes. "No, Bruce the baby's fine and Steve is thrilled we're going to move to a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence and a dog."

Bruce smiled ruefully. "I get your point, I'm so sorry Katherine. You never told him did you?"

She gulped. "No, you?"

He shook his head.

"A man of your word Bruce, there are not many people like that."

Bruce said gently. "Katherine, don't you think that Steve deserves to know?"

She shut her eyes, practically feeling the salty tears. "Please, please don't tell him, he'll hate me forever."

"Katherine, he won't-"

"Bruce, please promise me," she said. "That you wont tell him, that no one will know about this baby besides you and me."

After a while he nodded.

Katherine looked satisfied. "Good, the last thing we need is another grave to mourn."

-End of Chapter Twelve-

Thanks so much for the reviews and remember Katherine Pierce is a survivor :)