Here is chapter two! Enjoy! I had a hard time visualizing Egypt in the 1940's for this chapters, I did look it up but all my descriptions sucked so if I'm being honest I modelled it after a couple scenes in Indiana Jones.

There is minor violence in this chapter, but nothing to be concerned about.

Disclaimer: I own nothing from the MCU franchise :)


Chapter II

Cairo, Egypt, 1942.

Boom. A loud noise rang out, imitating the sound of thunder. Boom. Boom. Boom. Lucy always hated thunder, ever since the night her father murdered her mother. The sound had caused her not only to just to develop a serve case of anxiety, but she was also taken back to that night, again and again, each time she heard it. She hated it, every minute of it.

God, how she wished that noise was thunder, she thought as she tumbled over a low stone wall, falling clumsily. Anything was better than gunshots getting fired at her.

Hitting the ground with a thud and the air exiting her lungs, Lucy sat up hastily and looked over the wall frantically, noticing the troops were right behind her. Fear rose in her chest, and she knew she had to move or she would be shot.

"Shit!" She hissed as pieces of stone went flying as bullets hit it. Lucy clumsily took up in a run, making sure she was still clutching her dark brown messenger bag as sand went everywhere. She knew she could not lose that bag, no matter what happened.

Running as fast as she can through the alleys, her back was soaked with sweat and her heart pounded in her chest but she never once stopped. Like a gazelle, she took off with break-neck speed. She had always been one of the fastest girls in her high school in physical education, and thank God it was paying off now. Never did she think it would ever come in handy in the case she would be getting shot at though.

Running through the alleys and trying to move past merchants and locals, she yelled "Move!" in Arabic as loud as she could. More gunshot sounded and the sand in front of her went up like a wave, bullets hitting mere inches in front of her. They were on the roofs, she realized as the locals screamed and tried to take cover as she doubled back to the alley she had been on before, trying to avoid the soldiers above. They were everywhere, she realized in a panic.

She jumped over a wooden crate that was in her way, ignoring the angry man who yelled at her as he unloaded the contents from within it. Bullets continued to ricochet off the walls of the simple Egyptian homes beside her, and she instinctively put her hands up to stop any kind of debris from getting into her face.

Turning left onto a busier street, she found herself looking lost amongst a hoard of people. Women covered in head to toe with burqas and niqabs, while others wore hijab's and wandered close to their families. Men in white linen and sometimes a simple coloured tunics wandered around what she assumed was likely a market. Others wore red, brown, and orange garb, as beautiful women wore modest clothing and young children ran around in a similar dress, sometimes not wearing shoes. With all the civilians around, Lucy attempted to try not to stand out too badly, avoiding drawing attention to herself. She could see men in uniform, some of them wearing shorts past their knee in khaki and tan colours, while others were wearing pants and olive coloured military shirts that matched. Others like her looked out of place and they stuck out easily and for the sake of blending in Lucy only hoped she didn't look quite like them.

Trying to walk calmly and keep her decorum, Lucy realized she stuck out like a sore thumb. Not only was she one of the only people of European decent present, besides the few Italian soldiers manning the streets, but she was also a woman in pants. And although women wore pants there as well, she couldn't have looked more out of place if she wanted to.

Lucy brushes the hair out of her face and tried to pin it back in her updo as she walked calmly through the crowd. She straightened her brown leather jacket, which she regretted wearing but kept it on since it was a gift from her sister Adeline, since it got quite cold in the early mornings in the desert.

Clutching the messenger bag like her life depended on it, she kept it glued to her side as she tried to casually blend in. Usually, when entering a new country with a culture different from her own she tried not to seem like such a foreigner. Wearing a simple headscarf and linen garbs were usually enough to earn her fewer looks, but at the moment she couldn't have looked less out of place.

She would have done much better if she was in the more modern area of the city, complete with amenities found elsewhere. But this area was poorer and more rural, and much of the architecture and lifestyles hadn't quite caught up with the fast-paced lifestyle of the '40s that most major cities were now taking on. Clearly, the war had not been so kind to the people living in this area of the city, compared to wealthier sections that were developing at a fast rate.

The braying of donkey's echoed the square and people yelled in Arabic attempting to sell spices, fruits, and ceramics. Small children hassled her from money and approached her but she tried to shew them away, telling them no. Women stared at her, clearly wondering why she was dressed in such a manly manner, sometimes either giving her looks of disapproval or longing.

Walking through and getting behind a rather large man, attempting to get cover from the soldiers she was passing, she heard the familiar yelling of the men on the roofs above her. The soldiers near the entrance of the market suddenly became more alert, their hands on their rifles at the sound of their comrades yelling.

Her heart pounding in her chest as she tried to blend in as much as she could, Lucy wiped away the sweat on her brow. It was almost unbearably hot, and she seriously regretted that her brown leather jacket held so much sentiment to her. If it hadn't she would have ditched it in a heartbeat long ago.

It only took a few seconds more until the soldiers spotted her and the blood in her veins suddenly turned to ice. She heard yelling as they pointed to her location, and once again the constant spitting of bullets was released. People screamed in the center, and Lucy pushed some of them out of the way.

Running through a little shop, she heard the wailing of people as a few innocents were hit. A woman screamed as she saw a frazzled, sand and dirt covered woman enter into her place of living and work, and Lucy yelled in Arabic, "Where's the exit?!" Thankfully, she knew just enough of the local language to get her by, but it still wasn't enough to have complete conversations.

The woman dropped the bowl of dates she was carrying and pointed a shaky finger to a window in the back. Lucy rushed forward as the door behind her was kicked down and she jumped out the window just seconds before bullets hit where she was previously standing. From having jumped yet again, Lucy was on her belly in the sand from falling clumsily, and she covered her head with her arms as bullets went through the wall and hit the one behind her, exploding in a loud noise as her ears rang.

Hearing the men cursing and having to reload their weapons she stumbled to her feet, falling slightly from her balance being off from her ears ringing so badly, she realized there was nowhere else to go. The window the lady pointed to her led into an alley, and high walls of houses surrounded her on three sides. She could hear men coming from the one side that was open, but she realized she was trapped.

Looking frantically for some way to climb up the walls of the houses, Lucy's eyes bounced off of everything. She could taste the blood in her mouth from where she bit her tongue, and her mind raced a million miles a minute, not being able to focus on anything.

Finally, her hazel eyes landed on a solution. There were wooden crates piled up half way on the side of the wall that she figured she could towards them, she realized she only had a few seconds before the men perusing her were on her tail. Looking out the window from where she just jumped, two men's faces appeared and they spotted her. Yelling, they also quickly emerged from the window just as Lucy had climbed to the last crate. They wobbled underneath her, and she was worried they would break under her weight.

Trying to reach the top of the wall with her hands, she realized she couldn't. Her heart pounded in her chest as the men began piling out, yelling things at her. Lucy had one option, but it would fail terribly if it didn't work. The crates wouldn't support her weight if she jumped on them, so she had to make sure she didn't miss the ledge the first time.

She didn't look behind her, but she knew the first man had raised his gun at her as she jumped. To her surprise, her hands grasped the edge of the wall and she laughed until a bullet missed her head by a mere centimeter.

Shit shit shit shit! she thought as she pulled herself up, using strength she didn't know she had. Climb! Was all that went through her mind. Heaving herself above, another bullet missed her but she managed to pull herself to safety moments before.

Getting on top of the simple roof, she almost laughed in relief before she soon recognized she was just as much in danger up there as she was down in the alley. Men stared across from her on the opposite roof. They had their rifles raised and began firing as Lucy scrambled to her feet.

What the hell did I get myself into? She shielded herself from the pieces of the stone roof that were being hurled back at her from the bullets that were striking it.

Lucy ran as fast as she could, still holding onto the messenger bag in her grasp. She didn't dare look back at the soldiers who were firing at her. Either they were the worst shots in the world or she was remarkably lucky; she realized as she jumped to another rooftop, falling slightly under the impact once she hit it.

The fact she had the physical capability to do the things she was doing shocked her. But clearly her fight or flight was kicking in and it renewed her with new energy.

She had been put in dangerous situations before. After all, it was an occupational hazard these days. But prior to the war's break out, her job had always been tame and dare she say even boring at times. Oh, how she longed for the days people weren't shooting at her.

She couldn't really complain though. Lucy knew what she was getting into when she enlisted in the military. When she had come home after getting her uniform and arrived at Beatrix's doorstep, she had never seen her sister react like that before. Even after her parents died, Beatrix had been the strong one. But showing up in those dark green olive garbs, skirt down to her knees, a dark coat over a white shirt and green tie, her sister had burst out in tears.

They had spent the night waiting for Adeline to show up. Beatrix's two children ran around and tried to get attention from their Aunt Lucy. Beatrix's husband, Jonathan, stood there against the counter and smoked a cigarette in the kitchen as the ladies sat at the simple table. He was quiet for most of the night and Beatrix scolded him saying he better not run off and join the army once the American's got involved.

That was what the problem was. It was early in 1940, before the bombing of Pearl Harbour, and her sisters couldn't understand why Lucy would want to join a war that their country was trying their damn hardest to avoid.

Lucy never intended to join the army. She loved her job, being a professor at a cushy university, but when a Lieutenant from the British Army in uniform arrived in her office hours accompanied by an American Captain and asked for a moment of her time, it took her some persuading to enlist but she eventually came around.

The sat across from her desk, looking serious as they passed her a folder or pictures. When Lucy opened it, her heart dropped, and when they asked her to consider joining she answered originally with a 'no' but changed her mind before they walked out the door. Before she knew it, she was signing paperwork and enlisting that day, having quit her job at the university. Since then, she had never had a single regret for changing her mind and telling them yes.

However, when she thought of joining the military almost a year and a half ago, she didn't think she would be so close to the action. After all, she wasn't a professional soldier. She was a professor, and not to mention, a woman.

But when duty calls you can't just ignore it.

Yet, never before had she been under this type of heavy fire though, literally having to run for her life. Lucy tried her best to jump over small obstacles in her way and she ran so fast her hair whipped across her cheeks, falling slightly out of her updo.

The heat of the sun beat against her back, and bullets continued to whizz past her. She was running out of roof she realized again, pushing some garbs out of the way on a clothing line. She ran faster, hearing the yelling behind her fall further behind, but the firing didn't stop.

She took off faster and jumped as she neared the edge, legs, and arms flailing as she flew across another alley. This time, she didn't fall as sloppily though. Instead, she was able to land in a type of roll. Although it didn't look nearly as skilled and controlled as she thought, it at least helped her get back up faster.

The men were hot on her tail again, a few choosing not to jump. But some were braver than the others and still in pursuit of her. Lucy's heart was pounding in her chest, threatening to jump out. Her lungs were burning, and she was positive she never sweat as much in her life as she had in that moment. Her combat boots fell heavily on the roof as she ran, and she pumped her arms and trying to get the momentum she needed to make the next jump.

That was when the bullet grazed her arm, blood splattering everywhere and she fell from her leap, sliding down the building and into a canopy where there were people underneath. The impact of her fall knocked the breath out of her, and she had a moment of fear where she thought she might have broke something.

Covered in fabric and dust, Lucy coughed as she got to her feet. Men swore at her in Arabic, but above one voice she heard the distinct British tone of a man yelling "Bloody hell!"

Getting to her feet and noticing her slight cut in her jacket and feeling the blood dripping down her arm, she stumbled forward and tried to ignore the pain in her ankle from her fall and the shooting ache in her side from where she collapsed against the wall.

A man was trapped under the canopy, swearing and struggling to get out and find the light. Lucy yanked the fabric off of him, sand flying everywhere and was shocked to see a familiar face.

"Ah! Doctor Heinrich!" The man let out a cheeky smile and shot to his feet with too much energy, "Where've you been off to? I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Lucy's eyes widened and she yelled in shock "Charles?!" She stared at the chubby face of her assistant.

"I was worried sick about you, you know—," She cut him off by grabbing his shoulders and looked him in the eye. It was then he was about to ask what in God's name happened to her, as she was covered in dust and sand, her face smeared with it. Her sweaty hair clung to her face and fear was in her eyes, "Run!" She yelled at him as more bullets hit around him.

"OH MY GOD!" The man screamed in a girlish manner as he took off after her as she began escaping through a street. "Are they SHOOTING at us?!"

"Yeah, they're shooting at us!" She yelled back, "Run faster!" She noticed him falling behind her.

"Oh God, oh God, ohGodohGod!" Charles chanted over and over again, trying the best he could to keep up with her. "Who's shooting at us!?" He demanded to know.

Lucy stopped as she rounded a corner and came to a hard halt. She slammed Charles against the wall to keep him from going any further. A wave of bullets tore the stone wall to pieces where they would have stood if Lucy hadn't seen the machine gun around the corner. "The bad guys!" She yelled back, both of them shielding their faces and crouching low to take cover.

"I know that! But they're not Italian, are they? They're not speaking it!" Charles yelled over the bullets, covering his ears.

"No! They're German!" She yelled back, and then grabbed him by the front of the shirt and took off running the moment the machine gun stopped spitting out bullets.

"What the hell are they doing here?!" Charles yelled as he took off after Lucy, his heart pounding in his chest as men yelled in a foreign language and began charging up their machine gun again and loaded their rifles. "Isn't Cairo under the Italian occupation?" It wasn't odd for two allies to be in the same area, but it was when a few days previously it had only be strictly Italians present in the city.

Lucy kept running, further ahead of Charles, who was a bit pudgy and not exactly good at running long distances at a fast pace. "Who knows! But they were looking for this!" She held her messenger bag up for him to see, but didn't reveal the contents to him.

Charles didn't know what was in the bag, but he assumed it wasn't good whatever it was; and clearly, Lucy wanted to keep it out of their hands.

As they ran up a narrow street, three men appeared at the end of it, all with rifles raised.

Lucy darted right down the next street so quickly Charles couldn't even process it. He dove left, missing getting hit by a half second. Lucy kept running even though she knew they separated and Charles ran on the other side, hearing the distinct yell of her panic "Wait, Charles!"

Lucy thought to go back and chase after him, but she could only move forward.

The Nazi's would have to separate at the end of the street to go after them. She only hoped Charles would be alright. After all, he was a timid, soft-spoken man with a gentle nature and a chubby face which bore wiry glasses, and Lucy imagined this was likely the first time getting shot at. Not as many people took to it as well as she had, and she knew if they both got out of it alive, Charles would give her an ear full.

As Lucy approached a corner, a large man in a green-uniformed appeared out of nowhere and Lucy didn't have time to stop. Colliding into the solid mass, she heard a distinct German voice swear upon the impact.

The collision had sent them both flying, and Lucy's shoulder ached upon impact and her head was spinning. Clambering to her feet, feeling dizzy, she noticed the soldier also struggled to get to his feet, his gun laying in the sand next to them.

They made eye contact roughly at the same time, and both came to the realization that they needed to get to that gun first. With blood spilling from a gash on his forehead, the German soldier reached for the gun but Lucy delivered a swift, hard kick right to his face. His head jerked back from the sudden impact and he cried out in pain as she grabbed the gun, the sand falling from it as she picked it up. She shifted the gun in her hand, and with all her might, slammed the butt of the rifle into his face, hearing a sickening crack.

Blood erupted from his nose and he fell in a thud, completely unconscious. Lucy flinched from the sudden movement and her arm still being remarkably sore from where she was grazed. The blood still dripped down her arm and down her fingers, leaving droplets in the sand every few meters.

Taking a deep breath in, she tried to catch her breath until she heard more rushed guttural German voices. Rolling her eyes and taking off again, Lucy held the rifle in both hands and started off, knowing she had to find Charles.

She looked down at the automatic rifle, she wondered just exactly how it worked. After all, she had only ever used pistols. Never before had she had to use an assault rifle, let alone a German one.

Trying to figure it out, she realized it didn't matter how it worked, all she needed to know was how to fire it. Although, when it came down to it, Lucy wasn't sure if she'd be able to pull the trigger. She had gotten away with not having to use a weapon so far in the war, and she wasn't sure if she really wanted to start now.

Hearing more Germans yelling, she quickly ducked into a house, holding the gun upright and close to her. She slid in, the sweat now making a large spot on the front of her chest and there were droplets falling down her face. She breathed heavily, not realizing until that moment how hard her heart was pounding and how terribly her lungs burned.

Lucy panted, and she breathed heavily and tried to catch her breath while she could. Her entire body shook, and the dampness of her skin was not helping her get more comfortable.

It was almost too late when she noticed another presence in the room with her. A young girl stared at her with large, opened eyes which reflected a fear Lucy recognized all too well. She must have looked like a madwoman, she realized. Her hair wild, sweat making a dark spot on her olive, button-down shirt as blood leaked down the sleeve. Not only that, but she must have looked straight out of hell with the crazy look in her eye and the assault rifle in hand.

Lucy immediately put the gun up and gently shushed before the girl could open her mouth and scream. "Shhh! Shhh!" Lucy held her finger up her mouth, and gently placed the gun on a table nearby. She held both hands up, showing she wouldn't hurt the girl, who clutched a doll tightly from where she sat in the ground, "I'm not going to hurt you," Lucy assured her, although she wasn't she'd understand her. Lucy only had to ensure she wouldn't scream, that was all.

The girl only swallowed tightly, and flashed her eyes to the rest of the house, likely looking for another member of her family to help her.

"Please," Lucy begged, still panting hard and having her arms raised, proving her non-threatening position, "Please, don't say anything. I'm not going to hurt you." Slowly putting her one hand down to go into her messenger bag, the girl scurried to a standing position, clearly scared of the strange woman in her house.

Lucy moved slowly and grabbed a small ring out of the bag. Donned in red, blue, and yellow, a gold scarab beetle ring was in her hand and she slowly extended it to the young girl, who looked terrified at her with her big brown eyes, wearing a light linen garb and a headscarf. She couldn't have been more than seven years old, Lucy realized, thinking that her own niece was likely the same age. "This is for you," She told the girl, and placed the ring in her hand. The girl couldn't have known it had come from an Egyptian tomb that Lucy had been in days ago, a short while away from Cairo which she had to ride a camel to get to. The ring was extremely expensive, and not to mention rare, but she figured after looking around in the simple home and at the young girl's dirty face and thin frame that she needed it more than the British government did.

The girl clutched the ring tightly and admired it. She only looked at Lucy and saw that she was nothing to be afraid of. She wasn't like the men who carried around the same weapons, but she was scared as well.

The young girl just held the ring, looked at Lucy, and then walked away into another room, separated by a curtain of beaded strings. "Wait!" Lucy whispered loudly, not wanting to be left alone.

The girl disappeared into the next room and Lucy was alone, heart still pounding so hard she thought it would carve its way out of her chest.

She shuffled against the wall as she heard German soldiers shouting outside the house. More sweat gathered on her brow, and she immediately reached for the gun as another figure appeared from the room the little girl had just entered.

A woman stood there and pushed the little girl behind her frame as Lucy went for the weapon, but the woman said something hastily in Arabic in a gentle tone before putting her hands up, showing she was no threat.

Lucy couldn't see what she looked like since she was shrouded by a burqa, but she held the black fabric in her one hand. Lucy didn't grab the gun as her first instinct suggested. Instead, she frowned as the woman came near her, the young girl still hiding behind her mother. The woman passed her the black garbs and then said something gently in her own language.

Lucy looked down at what she had passed her and her eyes shot up, realizing what they were.

The woman grabbed her daughter tightly and then began to back away. Lucy touched her hand to her heart as a way to say thank you, and then the woman disappeared into the other room. Unfolding the garbs, Lucy almost laughed at her luck.

The woman had passed her a burqa so she could hide. Trying to get the garbs on, Lucy winced at the pain in her arm but was thankfully able to get on the clothing without too much difficulty. Lucy wasn't sure if she was committing some kind of sacrilege by wearing the traditional garbs, but all she knew for sure was that this woman may have just saved her life.

Making sure her messenger bag was still under the clothing, Lucy took a deep breath before heading back into the streets.

A group of soldiers ran right past her and didn't even look twice. She wanted to laugh, but instead, she kept quiet and pressed her lips firmly to keep the joyous noise from escaping.

Walking right past more soldiers and not even earning a second glance, Lucy became unbelievably grateful to the little girl and her mother.

The blood still dripped down her hand, creating a warm and sticky feeling within it. The sweat pouring into her eyes didn't help at all, and she was now at a risk for heat exhaustion due to the khaki pants she was wearing, the olive shirt, brown leather jacket and combat boots she was issued all underneath the black garbs that soaked up the midday sun.

She had never been so hot and parched in her life, she realized. Even in the hot days of her childhood where the sun would beat into the apartment, she used to live with her parents in couldn't compare to this. Lucy knew she would become dangerously dehydrated if she didn't get water and some shade soon enough.

But that was a problem for later. She needed to find Charles first. The only problem was that she didn't know where he was, or whether or not he had been captured. Or even worse than that, killed.

Lucy rounded a corner and got into a large square, crawling in Italian and German soldiers alike, and she hoped Charles was far away. This would be the last place he should be, with his clumsy composure and ability to stick out like a sore thumb, he would be in greater danger here than anywhere else.

Looking around and straining her neck, Lucy could barely see anything. Her adrenaline was easily wearing off with each passing moment and without it, she began to notice how much pain she was actually in. Her shoulders both ached and her foot hurt to walk on. Never mind the aching ribs she had or the fact her arm felt as though it were on fire from the gunshot graze.

Lucy had to find Charles quickly, especially before someone else found him. Charles would very much crack under pressure, and within a first few seconds of being tortured without doubt he would spill every little detail about their mission.

Lucy strained her neck more, trying to find the peculiar little man that she had come to call her friend. He was nowhere in sight, Lucy hoped he would at least make it to their rendezvous on time, which was dangerously coming close.

By the height of the sun, Lucy imagined they had half an hour to spare before getting to the extraction point, otherwise being stranded in the city. He would be lost without her, she realized. Knowing that there was no chance in hell that the man would be capable of getting there on his own.

Just as Lucy was about to give up and turn around, she noticed a rather odd sight.

A woman who was dressed very similarly to her continuously tripped on her black garbs. And not just once or twice, it was like the woman had never worn such a long garment before. Lucy's brows furrowed as she looked in wonder at the out-of-place woman who stumbled about as if drunk.

Suddenly it dawned on her, and she slowly went forward to near the woman that was earning looks from others as well.

Lucy sauntered as slowly as she could as to not arouse suspicion. The odd woman was glancing over her shoulder near a small cart set up with fruits and different tea leaves. She awkwardly stood trying to gaze at something and strain her neck. Lucy appeared right to her side and gently touched her elbow.

"Please don't hurt me!" The woman wailed in shock from the physical contact in a distinctly British male accent and cowered from Lucy.

"Good God, man!" She removed the top part of her burqa to reveal her face and she scowled "It's me, you idiot!" Lucy hissed.

She couldn't see Charles' face, but she knew his eyes likely lit up upon hearing her voice and he exclaimed, "Doctor? Oh, thank heavens! I thought I lost you!"

She frowned, although he couldn't see it "You thought you lost me?" She asked ludicrously , "I've been looking all over for you! Where did you get the burqa?"

"I just stole it from someone's laundry line! I figured I needed it more than them to hide. Now, what's the plan of action to get to the extraction point?"

"I uh," She was drawing a blank, "I haven't figured out that part yet." She was grabbed Charles by the wrist and began pulling him in another direction as she glanced over her shoulder at some men who were looking at the suspiciously.

"You know that we have less than twenty minutes to get there, right?"

"Yes, Charles! I'm painfully aware! Now stop talking, people are starting to look at us!" Lucy scolded as they received many looks for not only speaking English but also because Charles had a masculine voice.

"Right, right," He agreed, speaking more and Lucy wanted to roll her eyes.

It would become increasingly difficult to escape undetected by herself. But now that she had an infant in a man's 5'7 body, which would make it nearly impossible.

Lucy tried not to think about it, and focused on just getting them out of there alive.


Still no Bucky yet, but don't worry! He'll show up eventually. I think before integrating actual characters its important to establish the backstory for Lucy, since she will be the main focus. Also, Im not sure if anyone caught the last name of Lucy's adopted parents last chapter but I made their last name Lee as a means to pay homage to Stan Lee! :))

Feel free to favourite, follow, and review!

- Amelia