Much to my surprise the fellas held an almost childlike curiosity for Jimmy and I's secret. I often found myself explaining the science behind the mutation itself like a school teacher would her class, even going as far as having Howard make me a copy of the Project Alpha file for reference. Jimmy on the other hand was prompted questions about the wars and the places we had been between them, my brother getting a particular joy out of telling them all the actresses he and Victor had wooed during our Hollywood days. Some of the questions, however, would have been better answered by Victor, the oldest sibling having the most accurate memory of us all. I had taken to giving the questions an answer of 'I'll have to ask Victor' and adding it to the list of things I would discuss with him once I saw him. Though the prospect of not getting an answer didn't stop them from asking.

The forest was surprisingly calm for a warzone. A heavy fog had settled through between the trees, the curling vapor adding a certain amount of stillness. Jim was crouched behind a tree by the side of the road while we were huddled a few feet back.

"Did you live in a forest like this?" Timothy suddenly asked, his head dropped back to look at the canopy of trees above.

Jimmy let out a snort. "Hell no."

"Think pine trees," I told him, attempting to be more helpful that my brother. "More wilderness, less countryside."

He nodded in understanding. "Like mountain men."

"Mountain men," Jimmy agreed, looking awfully reminiscent. "God I miss it."

I rolled my eyes at that. "You and Victor can have fun frolicking through the trees by yourselves, I'm staying in the city."

He scoffed at me. "This coming from the girl who didn't wear shoes till she was 16."

"She still doesn't," Buchanan added with a small smirk before looking over to Steve. "Middle of the night, two feet of snow, she takes her boots off to go chase after some Nazi's she heard," he explained. "Hands me her boots and tells me that if she's not back in five minutes to move on without her."

Steve looked over to me with a shocked expression. "You told them to leave you there?" he demanded.

I shrugged innocently. "It wouldn't have taken me 5 minutes," I assured him. "And if it had then I deserved to be left behind."

He let out a humorless laugh and shook his head. "Your logic terrifies me sometimes."

I couldn't help but smile. "You're not the only one," I told him. "It's been terrifying my family for years. Right, Jimmy?"

"Don't even get me started."

Steve went to persist but cut off when Jim blinked his flashlight at us.

Jacques sprung from his crouch and ran for the road, dropping down to lay flat just in time for a Hydra tank to pass over him. He jumped to his feet and covered his ears expectantly.

We collectively held out breathes as the tank continued down the road before exploding.

Jacques threw his arms up in elation before spinning around to beam at us.

Some of the men cheered while the rest of us smiled in relief.

The speakeasy was packed to the gills. Short skirted girls and men in tailored suits mingled together on the dancefloor and at the bar, charming smiles and flirty smirks being exchanged like friendly fire. The band stationed in the corner was doing its best to make as much noise as it could with the space they were given, the sound probably vibrating the floor of the shop above.

I was sat at one of front tables, sipping at a glass of scotch as I watched my brothers dance with a pair of redheads, the women vodka blushed and giggly. I smiled to myself and sipped at my scotch, glad that that they were having fun for once. My attention was stolen, however, when uniformed Buchannan twirled by them with a petit blonde in his arms. Soon Gabe danced by, then Jim. A moment later Timothy, Jacques, and Falsworth joined them, all in uniform with bright faced girls. It wasn't long before I spotted Steve standing on the other side of the dancefloor, watching his men with a fond smile. I threw back the rest of my drink and got up from the table, weaving through the other patrons as I made my way towards him.

He seemed to sense my approach and turned towards me, that kind smirk on his face. "Ellie," he greeted.

"Steve," I greeted back. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Why's that?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "You do know where we are, right?" I asked.

He looked around him. "We're at a USO dance," he answered before giving me a skeptical look. "Do you know where we are?"

My brows furrowed and I looked around, shocked to find that the crowded speakeasy had been replaced with a dance hall.

The short skirted girls were now in knee length dresses and the men in tailored suits were now in uniform. The band crammed in a corner now had a stage, the musicians now looking solemn instead of joyful.

"When did we….." I trailed off, scanning the dancefloor to find everyone still there except Victor.

"Can I have this dance, Ellie?" Steve asked as the band started up a new song.

I looked back to him, my confusion ebbing away at the hopeful look on his face. "Course you can, soldier," I told him, taking his offered hand.

His smile widened as he led me onto the dancefloor. He pulled me flushed to his chest once we reached the center, his hand splaying across my back while his other held mine off to the side. "I love you, Ellie," he mused, leaning down to press a kiss to my temple.

I rested my head against his shoulder as I smiled. "I love you too, Steve," I told him, kissing the underside of his jaw.

He let out a content sigh and rested his chin on top of my head.

"Lizzy."

I sighed in annoyance. "Yes?"

"Lizzy?"

"What?"

"Lizzy!"

I jerked awake at the sound of my name and sat up, my hand reaching for the gun at my hip out of instinct. "What is it?" I asked as I scanned the camp for any signs of danger.

"What was that guy's name? The one who ran the Chicago outfit?"

I blinked quickly as I looked over to my brother; not all that surprised to find him in the usual morning huddle of the Commandos. I sighed and slumped forward, a hand coming up to rub at my eyes. "Which year?" I asked back.

Jimmy's face scrunched in thought. "1910?"

"Um, Big Jim," I answered, clearing my throat. "James Colosimo remember? He was married to Victoria Moresco," I explained, kicking off my blanket and crawling to my knees.

Jimmy's face instantly brightened. "Oh yeah. Vicky."

I nodded my head to the side as I started towards them. "She was something," I agreed, the forest floor digging into the palms of my hands. "Why are you asking about Chicago?" I questioned, using Timothy's shoulder to steady myself as I brought my legs around to take the empty spot in the circle.

"I was telling them about prohibition," he explained with a shrug.

I scrunched up my face. "You should be telling them about Al then," I told him, reaching towards the campfire for the last ration packet that I knew was mine. Much to my amusement Steve had noticed that I often traded morning meals for extra sleep and had started preparing them for me so I would have time for both.

"I was getting to him," Jimmy defended. "Besides, it should be you telling them. You were the closest to him."

I smiled to myself as I took a bite of the military food. "What can I say? I was his favorite."

"Wait, wait, wait," Gabe said, waving his hand at us. "Al? Not Al Capone?"

I gave him a sheepish smile. "He let me call him Alphie."

"You gotta be kidding me," Jim deadpanned with a scoff. "You worked with Al Capone?"

Jimmy gave a nod. "Lizzy met him when he was a bouncer in one of Johnny Torrio's brothels," he explained, taking a puff from his cigar and blowing the smoke in my direction.

They all looked to me with surprised expressions.

"What?" I asked around a mouthful of food. "He was barely twenty with a wife and kid, he needed a friend," I defended, shooting each of them a glare. "Besides, Johnny asked me to keep an eye on him."

"But you met him in a brothel?" Steve asked, choosing those to be his first words to me. "A brothel?"

I scoffed and took another bite. "Don't flip your wig, soldier, I was just the bartender," I assured him before giving him a look. "Do you really think I have the temperament to be a lady of the night?"

"No," Falsworth and Jimmy snorted in laughter.

The rest of us looked to them in question.

Falsworth cleared his throat while Jimmy simply smirked.

"God bless those poor women," I said, shaking my head as I looked between them.

The men laughed at that.

"Where did you and your brother fit in all this?" Jim asked, looking to my brother. "You work at the brothel too?"

Jimmy chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, Vic and I ran merchandise through the city," he explained. "Glorified delivery boys."

I couldn't help the snort that left me. "Delivery boys," I muttered, shaking my head as I took another bite.

He huffed and looked over to me. "What would you call us?"

"Not delivery boys, that's for sure," I mused. "Delivery boys don't have outstanding warrants in multiple states."

"You had outstanding warrants too!" he defended, pointing an accusing finger at me.

I gave a nod of agreement. "Yes, but I wasn't calling myself a delivery boy. I was honest about what I was."

"And what were you?" Timothy questioned, looking down at me.

I held my head high as I flashed him a smile. "I was a Moll with ambition."

Steve choked on the swig from his canteen while Buchanan let out a laugh.

"You were a gangster's girlfriend?" Gabe asked, sounding more impressed than anything else.

"Is it really that surprising?" I asked back, taking another bite of the tasteless food.

Gabe snorted at that. "Considering that you're dating America's golden boy? Yeah."

"Golden boy?" Buchanan asked with a laugh. "Golden boys don't get into back alley fights with guys twice their size cause the fella talked during a movie," he said, looking to Steve with a glare that showed years of irritation.

Steve shifted uncomfortably as he looked anywhere other than Bucky.

I couldn't help the peel of laughter that left me. "When did he do that?" I asked.

Bucky turned his attention over to me. "An hour before the science fair," he answered.

I shook my head as I looked over to Steve. "Really? Because he talked during a movie?"

Steve let out a sigh. "He was bad mouthing the news reel on the war," he said as if it explained everything. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Not fight him in a back alley?" Bucky suggested, leaning closer to his friend. "He was three times your size. They're always three times your size."

Steve's jaw clenched in frustration but he still refused to look at his friend.

I glanced between the two of them before settling on Steve. "It's amazing how selective your flight response is," I mused.

He looked over to me with an arched eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

I dipped my head to the side. "Well, the only times I've ever actually seen you flighty was before the experiment and after I shot at you," I told him. "But you didn't hesitate to jump out that airplane or run into that burning building last week."

"That's different," he argued, sitting up a little straighter. "When I found out that it was Howard who was running the experiment I remembered his flying car from the science fair."

My smile instantly dropped. "Oh," I said, now just suddenly remembering that it had crashed and burned right on stage. "Yeah, that would be discouraging."

"Wait, Howard has a flying car?" Gabe asked, sounding almost insulted for having not been told sooner.

"He's trying," I answered with a soft shrug, "but the repulsor engines that replace the wheels won't hold the weight of the car no matter how much Howard adjusts them. He keeps claiming that the science isn't available yet but I just think he's stuck."

"He showcased it at the New York World's Fair, showgirls and everything," Steve continued, a wide smile pulling at his face. "He fired it up and it hovered for about half a minute before it kind of fell."

I let out a snort of laughter. "The engines imploded and it dropped like a stone," I corrected. "He tried to play it off like he had meant to do it but he sulked for days after."

"He should, it was a disaster," Buchanan agreed, his irritated expression changing to one of amusement. "If I'd known that it was him who was making all of our equipment I would never have agreed to come."

Steve coughed out a laugh and finally looked over to his friend. "You wouldn't?"

Bucky shook his head. "You'd be on your own."

"And I thought we were friends."

"We are but obviously I have more smarts than you."

"I thought you took all the stupid with you."

The two shared a small knowing smirk.

"You two are fucking adorable," Jimmy grumbled out around a smirk of his own.

I nodded in agreement. "Just as adorable as you and Victor," I stated, leaning across Jacques to tickle under his ear.

He twitched away from me and slapped at my hand. "Stop, Lizzy."

"Remember when we were kids and we used to sleep in a huddle so we wouldn't freeze?" I asked, tugging at his shirt now. "And I would get up early and you two would latch onto each other? That was so adorable."

"Lizzy, I'm warning you," he gruffed, jerking his shoulder out of my reach.

"Or when we'd go to the park and you would ride the carousal with me?" I persisted, grabbing ahold of the end of his sleeve to shack it back and forth. "Two grown ass men riding a children's ride with their little sister. Now that was adorable."

"You're pushing it, Lizzy," he growled out, struggling to pull his arm free.

Jacques had leaned back as far as he could without laying down, his eyebrows raised into his hairline as he looked between my brother and me.

"And we can't forget when you were teaching him how to dance," I continued, raising the tone of my voice a little higher. "He broke your foot three times and he cracked your head open on the table when he dipped you. There was blood everywhere and he kept asking you how many fingers he was holding up. God, that was so-" I cut off to roll back away from the circle as Jimmy lunged across Jacques towards me. "Oh calm down," I chastised, pushing myself to my knees. "I was only teasing."

He gave me an unamused look as he settled back into his spot, grumbling to himself as he pulled his cigar out of his jacket.

I smiled to myself and crawled around over to Steve. "Do you see what I have to put up with?" I asked, leaning against his back as I wound my arms around his shoulders. "He's so mean to me," I whined.

Steve chuckled as he reached up to overlap my hands. "You're not exactly innocent, you know?"

I let out a dramatic gasp and glared down at him. "You're supposed to be on my side!" I exclaimed. "What the hell, Steven?!"

The men chuckled at that.

"I'm just being fair, Ellie," he explained, craning his neck back to look at me. "You do tease him."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course I tease him, I'm his little sister, it's my job," I defended. "You would know this if you had a little sister."

"I have Bucky, doesn't that count?" he asked with a smirk.

The guys roared in laughter again.

Bucky scoffed and gave Steve the finger. "Fuck off, Rogers."

Steve just laughed harder.

I would be lying if I said that Hydra didn't put up a fight this time around. There were more soldiers than usual and I could have sworn that some of them had been trained, albeit poorly, to dodge Steve's shield. While I hadn't taken to timing how long it takes us to conquer Hydra bases but this time I did. 2 hours and 16 minutes. Much to Steve's dismay the fight only left one Hydra agent alive, a man who had hid during it all just to come out at last minute to surrender. While he was able to answer every question Steve asked about Johann he was awfully unhelpful when it came to my questions about Claus.

"Gibt es ein Labor hier?" (is there a laboratory here?) I asked, looking down at the agent.

He thought for a moment. "ich weiß es nicht," (I don't know) he answered with a small shrug.

I let out a frustrated sigh. "Gibt es einen Keller?" (is there a basement?) I demanded.

The agent looked up to me in alarm, his face going paler than it had already been. "Ich würde nicht dort unten gehen," (I would not go down there).

"Warum nicht?" (why not?)

His eyes darted over to one of the barricaded doors. "Das ist, wo wir den Wolf zu halten," (that's where we keep the wolf) he answered, his voice shaking.

My eyes widened with shock. "Der Wolf?" I asked before looking over to Jimmy.

He matched my expression. "You don't think…" he trailed off.

I turned my attention over to the door the agent was watching, the look of terror on his face more than enough confirmation for me. "Only one way to find out," I mused, already moving towards the door.

Steve, being the closest to me, jogged ahead and pushed the crates blocking the door out of the way. "Be careful, Ellie," he warned as I pulled the wood plank from in front of the door.

I gave him a reassuring smile and pulled open the door. My nose crinkled at the smell of old blood that wafted through the air but I started down them nonetheless. I blinked furiously against the sudden darkness I found myself in, the only light in the room coming from the now open door. My eyes were fully adjusted by the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, allowing me to see the contents of the room. When my eyes landed on the far wall my heart stopped.

I know this isn't much but I wanted to post what I have so far instead of leaving you guys hanging for another few weeks. My schedule is leveling out slightly but updates will still be uncertain till I get better adjusted. I hope you all will bear with me for the time being. Thank you all for those who reviewed with your ideas about Victor and what you want Ellie and Jimmy to explain. I'll explore further into that in future chapters.

Thank you all for reading!

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