Chapter 17: Heartbreaks and Shields.
Allied HQ
The next day Mitsuki tries to examine HYDRA cartridge, which Izuku brings with him. She still couldn't believe that this glowing thing is actually a huge power source for their weapons. It's sounds too big to be a true. However that didn't stop her curiosity to study it. But she examines it using a machine inside the glass chamber. She is not insane enough to study it without precautions.
"Emission signature is unusual. Alpha and beta ray neutral. Though I doubt Midoriya picked up on that. Seems harmless enough. Hard to see what all the fuss is about", explained Mitsuki to others in the room.
"You think Izuku overrating much?" asked Masaru in confusion. "I mean he had such levels of stress in the last days. Maybe he just imagines them to be so scary and powerful."
"I hope so. Or else we in grave danger", she answered at loud. "However I couldn't help but to agree with him that this blue glow is terrifying."
Masaru could only nod in agreement. He agrees that the glowing is spooks even him. Mitsuki then removes a glowing pellet. Then unexpected happened. The big explosion suddenly appeared and sends engineers flying across the room. Fortunately Masaru covers Mitsuki saving both of them from harm.
"Mitsuki are you okay?" asked Masaru in worry.
"Yeah, I am. But my head", she answers with biggest headache in her life. Realizing her position with Masaru she blushes and clears her throat, "Well first of all, can you get up?"
"Yeah, I think I can", he answers with embarrassment while getting up.
"Second of all, you write that down", Mitsuki orders one of the engineers. "And what time is it?"
"Almost 08:00", said engineer.
"Masaru can you guide Izuku here?" she asked him remembering their scheduled meeting. "Or else he would get lost."
"He is not little. He would find the way himself", said Masaru.
"Masaru just find him", she ordered.
With these words Masaru left the room. Both of them didn't know the problems which Izuku will have.
Somewhere else in the building
Meanwhile, Izuku walks around the building trying to find a lab. However the structures of the entire building have the same rooms. It's easy to get lost. Searching for the help he finds a young woman with average height, blonde hair and slightly older than him. Her name is private Lorraine. She is also Col. Chester's secretary.
"Excuse me. I'm looking for Ms. Bakugo" asked Izuku politely. Normally he would be nervous wreck around women. However with experience of Peggy he can now talk with them without problems. If they don't try to flirt with him.
"He's in with Colonel Phillips", she answers rudely not even looking at him, reading a newspaper. Hearing the answer, Izuku perches on the edge of a desk to wait for Mitsuki. However when private looks up and sees that the man is Captain America her demeanor is completely changes. The chance to become the woman of the Hero of the America is not so often. She will use it. She then shows him the newspaper showing his rescue mission. "Of course you're welcome to wait. I read about what you did."
"Oh! The…yeah! Well, that's you know? Just doin' what needed to be done", he said while stammering in nervous fright. He maybe learns how to talk with girls. However he didn't learnt how to act when woman flirts with him.
"Sounded like more than that", she continues to flirt with him making Izuku uncomfortable. "You saved nearly four hundred men."
"Really, it's not a big deal", he said trying to sound casual. And failing at it.
"Tell that to their wives", she counters while walking up to him making Izuku more nervous.
"Uh…I don't think they were all married", he said with red blush covering his entire face. She is too close to him.
"You're a hero", she said with smirk. It looks like she is getting on him.
"Well, that…you know? That…that depends on the definition of it really" he answers while trying to walk away. Unfortunately he didn't go so far as she grabs hold of his tie.
"The women of America, they owe you their thanks", she continues while dragging him to the corner of the office. "And uh…seeing as they're not here." [drags him to the corner of the office and kisses him]
Lorraine then does something unexpected that surprises even him. She kisses him on the lips.
Izuku couldn't believe what's happening to him. One minute he was searching for Mitsuki, the next minute he is kissing by a pretty woman. However it's not like he imagine his first kiss. It's supposed to happen with woman who he will love. And he doesn't even know this woman. He only hopes that nobody would see them. Unfortunately someone did.
"Captain!" called the familiar British voice.
Turning around the duo sees their interrupter and separates from each others. It's Peggy. And she is not looking happy. It looks like she is ready to beat both of them.
"We're ready for you. If you're not otherwise occupied", she said the last part annoyed even with hint of hurt and disappoint.
"Agent Shield, wait", he calls back running after her to explain himself.
"Looks like finding a partner wasn't that hard after all", she said the last part in disgust. She doesn't want to hear anything he says. It's already explained. He is just like others.
"Peggy, that's not what you thought it was", he pleaded to her. "It's her who kissed me. It caught me out guard."
"I don't think anything, Captain", she answered with disdain. She is too angry and hurt to listen to him. "Not one thing. You always wanted to be soldier and now you are. Just like all the rest. I even don't care about you anymore."
Hearing her words put Izuku in anger. It looks like their moments for her was nothing. It looks like she is already having a friend if everything were for here nothing. He is not gonna let her to go away with words.
"Well, what about you and 'your partner'? How do I know you two haven't been… fonduing?" he asked in anger.
Instead of answering Peggy comes to him and slaps him in the face leaving a print of her hand on his cheek. She then screamed, "You still don't know a bloody thing about women!"
With these words she left Izuku alone thinking about the last moments of his life, while nursing his cheek. He can't explain how all of this madness happened in the first place. Fortunately he have one who could help.
"Hello, Izuku", called Masaru who just enters the room. However his face shows that he heard talk of Peggy and Izuku.
"Hello, Masaru. How much did you heard?" Midoriya asked his friend.
"Everything", he answers in solemn tone.
"I don't understand women", Izuku sighed in disappointment.
"I don't think there someone who can", Masaru commented in humor. "Well Mitsuki waits for you. When we walk I think we could discuss some things. It could help in your problems."
Seeing nothing bad Izuku nodes and goes with Masaru.
In Bakugo's lab
"Fondue is just cheese and bread, my friend", said Masaru while entering the lab with Izuku.
"Really?" asked Izuku in surprise. He didn't the fondue is food. He never ate even a candy. It's too expensive."I feel myself like an idiot. I just didn't think…"
"Nor should you, pal", answered Masaru trying to reassure him. "The moment you think you know what's going on in a woman's head, it's the moment your goose is well and truly cooked. Or the minute you think that woman likes you she then screams at you for nothing. Or maybe that's just me. To not think about it I try concentrate on work."
"Which at the moment is about making sure you and your men do not get killed" said Mitsuki greeting them. By her smirk nobody could understand did she heard their talk or not. She then points them at the table with a piece of cloth and Izuku's old shield, "Carbon polymer. Should withstand your average German bayonet. Although Hydra's not going to attack you with a pocket knife. I hear you're uh… kinda attached?"
"It's handier than you might think", commented Midoriya in defense. It's true that at first glance it's just piece of junk but it help him to infiltrate the base. Izuku even thought that shield is better than sword. Sword is symbol of Attack and Shield is symbol of Defense. That's what he fighting for. To protect innocent.
"I took the liberty of coming up with some options", Mitsuki said showing him a few shields. "This one's fun. She's been fitted with electrical relays. It'll allow you to…"
"What about this one?" Izuku interrupts her. All of his focus was on the simple round silver looking shield.
"No! No! That's just a prototype", she answered in panic. It's too early to use that shield. It wasn't tested yet. The results could be unpredictable.
"What's it made of?" he asked in eager curiosity.
"Vibranium", Mitsuki simply answered with sigh, while Izuku is testing a shield. "It's stronger than steel and a third of the weight. It's completely vibration absorbent."
After hearing Mitsuki's description of the weapon, Izuku couldn't believe his ears. With material like this you could be go to the front with no fear. But it made him curious. If this material is so useful why is the only one?
"How come it's not a standard issue?" he asked in confusion.
"That's the rarest metal on earth. What you're holding there? That's all we've got", she answered in tired sigh. "You can't imagine how difficult it was for me to take this little piece from that African secret village."
Before Izuku could ask her about African village more, Peggy enters the lab still looking annoyed and disappointed from their last talk and comments while looking at Midoriya, "You quite finished, Ms. Bakugo? I'm sure the Captain has some unfinished business."
If Izuku is hurt by her words he didn't showed it. He don't need it. When he learns from Masaru that Peggy didn't have a partner it makes him happy to know that he maybe does have a chance with her.
"What do you think?" he asked her while holding the shield in honest interest. Her opinion is very important for him. However Peggy understood it differently. She thought that he just mocks her. Just like others.
She than picks nearby gun and shoots at Izuku. Luckily he used his shield to defend himself from bullets. The results surprise the lab. Both Izuku and shield is okay and unscratched. However he is in shock after shooting.
"Yes. I think it works", she comments like nothing happened. She then puts the gun down and walks out of the lab, leaving stunned Izuku and Masaru and very angry Mitsuki. Midoriya then remembers why he wanted to talk with Mitsuki in the first place and shows her his notebook with designs and ideas for uniform.
"I had some ideas about the uniform", he gives her his notebook.
"Whatever you want, pal", she said while taking the notes still angry at Peggy and her stunt. "Now excuse me. I need to chase Peggy to talk with her about safety repercussions."
With these words she left the boys alone. Both of them are slightly afraid for Peggy's safety.
When Peggy exited the lab she was still feeling angry about Izuku's 'betrayal'. Even shooting him didn't help her. She still feels pain and disappointment. Well what she did expect? He was weak before and nobody didn't even notice him and now he a big, strong, popular and famous. Now he has attention and uses it for his own desires. However before she could walk away further she was startled by the sudden shout.
"Peggy, stop your freaking legs and get your stupid butt back here!"
Turning around Peggy sees very angry Mitsuki Bakugo who slowly comes to her.
"Ms. Bakugo can we talk later?" Shield asked with tired voice. "I am already too tired for anything."
"Stop calling me 'Ms. Bakugo'!" Mitsuki bellowed so loud that Peggy's ears starts to hurt."I am not so old to call myself like that! I feel like I am some kind of an 'old hag'. And do you even know what you just did in my lab?!"
"Why are you worrying so much?" she asked in annoyance. "You told yourself that the shield is bulletproof. Even if it wasn't I don't think that Izuku will be so much hurt. Little bullets are nothing for him."
"Are you stupid, Peggy?!" she continued in disbelief. "If you missed you could blown us up to Dr. Erskine. And I want to have life after the war, if we win or survive it."
"Wait, what do you mean by 'blown us up'?" Peggy asked in fear.
"Peggy, I working with weapons, vehicles and explosions", she explains with sigh. "In the lab there so many explosives, reactive and radioactive that you could blow up an entire city."
That made Peggy gasped in horror. Because of her emotions she could kill all of them. And because of what? Because she have jealousy issues. She feels herself so stupid right now.
"I am sorry, Mitsuki", she apologized. "It's just something bad happened to me and I couldn't think straight. I am sorry."
"It's about Midoriya. Isn't it?" Mitsuki commented already knowing the answer. "And don't try to deny it. I know what's happening. But I can't help you if you don't tell me everything."
"Well, today I was searching for Izuku and find him kissing private Lorraine", she explained in sadness. "Can you believe it? She didn't even to notice him before and now when he changed and became famous he is suddenly women magnet. She just wanted to be woman of American Hero, not to be with Izuku Midoriya. And he is no better than her. He told me about his plans to find himself 'right partner'. He don't need it anymore. When I thought that I finally find a man who understands me and wants to be with true me. And now it means that all his kind words are lies."
All these words put Mitsuki in worry, sadness and sympathy. She could understand the problems Peggy have right now. She knows that it's difficult to find her a man if all of them looking at you like a piece of meat. And when you find him and he becomes your friend. It's become too hard to start a relationship with a risk to ruin your friendship or with risk to get the wrong choice. She knows this problems because she having them too. However between her and Peggy have a big difference.
"You know what, Peggy?" she suddenly asked. "There is no one, who understands you better than me. I know what's it's like to find yourself a man when for all of them you are just pretty face with money. However there is one thing that you forgot. Do you remember who he was before serum? He never could even stay still in the presence of woman. I don't think that his 'changes' made him confident in that department. In addition you told yourself that Lorraine pretty much was kissing him because she wants to have attention. You are right. She doesn't cares about him. She only wants him for his glory. I don't think that he is interested in her. He just didn't know how to ditch her without making her sad. Plus I saw how he looks at you. He looks at you in admiration. I think he really cares about you and wants to be with you."
Peggy was standing still with surprise. She didn't thought about her problem at that perspective. It opens her eyes that she just over reacted and screamed at Izuku for almost stupid reasons. Maybe she should give him a chance?
"Should I give him a chance and apology?" she said her thoughts aloud.
"I don't know", she answered with shrug. "I have the same problems. And I don't know how to deal with them. But don't talk to him for some days. He has some serious missions tomorrow. He doesn't need some distractions right now."
Peggy couldn't argue with her logic. She knows that Mitsuki is right. Izuku have missions and he doesn't need to distract himself with her problems.
"Thanks, Mitsuki. I really need that talk", she said gratefully. "You also should give Masaru a chance."
"I don't know what you are talking about", Bakugo bluffed with red blushing cheeks.
With these words Mitsuki went back to her lab. To prepare for tomorrow.
Tomorrow will change the war.
