Chapter 22: Request
Bucky sat and talked with me for nearly an hour after that. He asked a couple of questions – about my abilities, about Yori's and Jimmy's and how I knew them. It wasn't all about that though. He asked about my family and I asked about his. We talked about random, meaningless things and laughed every now and then. It was just like how it had been back at Camp Lehigh, but now I didn't have to hold anything back.
I loved it.
When night was falling Bucky left, as much because he was starving and wanted to clean up as for propriety's sake. I was smiling as I changed into a nightgown and lay back on my cot with my copy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. For once, it didn't make me feel bitter or sad.
"Josie?"
Peggy poked her head into the tent and then stepped inside. Yori followed her in, concealed behind her clothes once more. I watched as Peggy sent an uncertain glance behind her. It twinged a little in my stomach, but I couldn't blame her. Even I had taken a while to get used to Yori.
"Colonel Phillips has said that Yori will be staying with us for the foreseeable future. We'll all be heading back to London soon," Peggy said, summing up what had happened at the meeting after I left.
"I bet that'll be nice, seeing home," I offered as Peggy began to pull a pair of pajamas out of her footlocker. "Pull something out of my clothes for the night," I offered Yori.
She shook her head. "I'd have to tear holes in anything you have," she disagreed. "I'll just sleep in what I have."
Yori began to strip off her hat and mask. Her coat slid off her shoulders and Peggy's eyes lingered on her wings and tail.
"Are you okay?" I asked Peggy. It was a pretty vague question but she knew what I meant.
Peggy gave a shaky exhalation. "I've found out one of my best friends has super powers. It's… surprising, to say the least." She gave a little laugh. "But I think mostly I'm annoyed."
"Annoyed?" That wasn't the reaction I was expecting. Was she mad I'd kept it from her?
"Yes. All those times we ran in the mornings or sparred… you were holding back, weren't you?" Peggy asked wryly.
Yori scoffed. "If she wanted to, Josie could have torn you apart. I should know, I taught her myself."
"You were always faster though," I submitted.
"Well yes. I can fly," Yori said smugly. I rolled my eyes.
"What is that like?" Peggy asked curiously as she changed for bed. "I've been in an airplane before but I can't imagine what it must be like to be outside."
"Hmm," Yori mused thoughtfully. "Exhilarating. Terrifying. Cold," she admitted.
I was relieved to see Yori and Peggy getting along decently. I was worried they'd disagree over a lot of things. Yori was intensely proud, bordering on arrogant, and she wasn't exactly fond of humans in general. I couldn't blame her for that though. You had to have a backbone to deal with Yori. Thankfully, Peggy had that in spades.
"Did your soldier speak to you?" Peggy asked slyly as she slid into bed.
I blushed and nodded into my pillow. "He did."
"Well?" Yori asked, settling herself in with her head at the foot of my bed on her side, her wings draping behind her. Her tail wrapped around my leg under the covers and squeezed coaxingly. "Don't keep me in suspense, I need to know if I have to rip his head off or not."
"You don't. He was… fine with it," I said dizzily. I still couldn't believe it. It felt like a wonderful dream.
Yori's tail squeezed once more. "Good," she said, and with that we all settled in for a decent night's sleep.
My decent night's sleep didn't last long. The next thing I knew I was being woken up by an intense pressure around my leg and my bed shaking. Someone was muttering in fevered Japanese.
A match struck to me left as Peggy lit the lamp. Her hair was a wild mess and her eyes were bleary.
"What's going on?"
At the end of my bed, Yori had her hands clenched on either side of the mattress. Her face was twisted in pain and anger. Her tail was starting to get painfully tight around my leg and she was murmuring wildly.
"What's she saying?" Peggy asked, creeping closer. "Is she having a nightmare?"
I nodded grimly. Yori had had nightmares for as long as I'd known her – I shouldn't be surprised they were still happening, particularly after all she'd been through with HYDRA. I listened to the words spilling out of her mouth and felt sick.
"Don't, not anymore, I can't take it. Please stop. Kill me, kill me, kill me," I translated, and Peggy gave a soft gasp of horror as I reached down, grabbing Yori's shoulder and shaking. "Yori, Yori wake up. Wake up, it's only a nightmare! Wake up!" I said louder, shaking her more roughly.
I shouldn't have been surprised by what happened next, but it still threw me off a little. Yori came awake with a start. Her tail yanked at my leg, dragging me down the bed. In one twist she was looming over me, wings spread as widely as they could in the tent. Her face was twisted in rage and her hands squeezed at my throat.
"Get off of her!" Peggy yelled, grabbing Yori's arm and tugging. Yori didn't so much as jolt from Peggy's frantic tugs but it did distract her enough for her to blink away the last dregs of sleep from her eyes. She realized what she was doing and whipped her hands back, sliding off of me and settling on her rear.
"Sorry," she said softly as I sat up, rubbing my throat. It hurt a little, but I could already feel that fading.
"Not a problem," I assured her. "You want to talk about it?"
"Do I ever?"
"No, but I always ask."
"And I always turn you down," Yori said, twisting to lie back on the bed and throwing one wing over her. It covered her entire torso and head. "Ignore me, go back to sleep," she said, the words muffled by the wing.
Peggy looked at me uncertainly.
"Are you alright?" she asked me worriedly. I pulled my hand away from my throat. "It's not even red," Peggy said in awe. I smiled.
"Advanced healing. Go back to sleep," I urged. "I'll handle her if this happens again."
"I don't need to be handled," Yori interjected, sounding offended.
"Sure. Go to sleep, Yori."
The base in London was disguised as the office building of an ink company. In the lobby there was even a very bored woman named Jenny who answered the phone with a monotone, "Kingsley Ink Company, please hold," every few minutes. Past her there was an elevator bank that led up to the top floors. Those were apartments for the operatives who lived on site.
It was when you took the elevator down that things got interesting. Covering the underside of a block or two there was a massive complex that included a lab, cafeteria, meeting rooms, planning rooms, communications array, gym, firing range, and a few other random odds and ends. That was the real SSR base.
Not many people stayed on site, only key personnel. Howard had been ordered to stay on site, actually, and so had I, by extension. Yori was staying nearby as well, more for lack of a better place to go. The SSR seemed to be under the impression that she was their cooperative prisoner though. Steve had a room down the hall from me. Phillips and Peggy also stayed along with a couple of other officers and lab workers. The rest of the personnel were set up in an apartment complex a couple of blocks over.
Jimmy had left before we even headed to the UK. He'd been called back to his unit by a very irritable Canadian man who'd sent orders by yelling them down the phone to a very nonplussed Phillips. I was a little sad to see him go – it had been a while since I'd seem Jimmy – but I knew very well that he was a soldier before anything else. He and his brother Victor fought in wars like it was a hobby.
"I don't know why I have to stay here," Howard grumbled into his whiskey as he and I shared drinks in his room. I rolled my eyes.
"For one, it wouldn't do you much good to have an apartment seeing as you rarely leave the lab lately."
Howard shrugged innocently and sipped from his glass. It was my family's label, and I'd very happily gotten him addicted. "It's not my fault you and Rogers brought me back such fun toys," he said chidingly. "I'm still playing with the cases, haven't even gotten to the glowy blue stuff. Besides, you can't judge," he said pointedly.
I really couldn't. Ever since we'd gotten back to a decent lab I'd been peering obsessively into a microscope, going over and over the samples of Bucky's blood. I wasn't entirely surprised by what I'd found. The blood now held similar properties to Steve's post-transformation. HYDRA was still working on Erskine's serum, and they'd used Bucky as a lab rat.
They weren't even close to the real product though. Near as I could tell, all they'd done was manage to make Bucky a little more… durable. He'd be a little stronger, a little faster, probably wouldn't get sick as often, and he would probably heal a little better. It was not enough progress to be concerned about.
I was still combing through the samples though because I was afraid of something spontaneously appearing, something that had reacted badly with something else or something that would spell problems for Bucky.
"Have I told you about Phillips' recent request?" Howard asked, rolling his eyes disdainfully on the last word. "I don't think he's realized yet that I don't technically work for him."
"Howard…" I chastened.
"Yeah, I know, he's an officer, but he can be a real ass."
"Hark who's talking," I mumbled into my drink, tipping the glass back to hide my smile.
"What was that?"
"What did he ask?" I said innocently, setting my glass down. Howard looked at me skeptically. I was pretty sure he knew exactly what I'd said, but he seemed willing to let it slide.
"He wants me to start working on better guns for his new 'elite team.' You know, the ones he wants roving the countryside blowing up HYDRA factories with Steve. " Howard snorted. "Guns are boring, there's only so much you can do to one."
"That elite team," I said thoughtfully. "Do you know who's going to be on it?"
Howard shook his head. "I know Phillips is combing through files of sharpshooters and combat experts but Steve's got his own plan. He wants to use a bunch of guys from the factory. Phillips has given him a green light to see if they're interested tomorrow night, and after that I think he's going to let them go on a trial run. See how effective they are before Phillips starts tossing marksmen at Steve."
Howard downed the rest of his glass and poured himself another, taking a long, pointedly tired gulp.
"What would you think if I told you I wanted to join them?"
Howard sputtered on his drink, hacking and choking. Quickly I leaned forwards, patting him on the back. His eyes were watering as he pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve. He dabbed at his red face as he stared at me incredulously.
"You what?"
This wasn't just a spur of the moment question. Ever since I'd heard that the plan was for Steve to lead a team, I'd wanted to be on it. Perhaps it was because so many of my family members were fighting and I wanted to do just as much as they did. Maybe I was running on Tigress's instincts and wanted a chance to flex my claws, so to speak. Maybe I was an adrenaline junkie just looking for my next fix. No matter what it was, I needed to at least ask.
"I want to help," I shrugged. "More than that, I can help. If nothing more than being a bullet shield-"
Howard went grey. "Don't say that," he begged hoarsely. "Please, I've seen you get shot once. I know it doesn't bother you, but it does me."
"I have these abilities, Howard, and I should be using them," I insisted, leaning forward.
"What about Yori?" Howard protested. "You don't see Yori signing up!"
I bit my lip. "Actually…"
Yori was where I'd gotten the idea. She was fully aware that as a citizen of Japan her status with the Army was very tenuous. She was looking for an opportunity to do something that would prove she wasn't going to pass over information. On top of that, Yori genuinely enjoyed fighting in the same way Jimmy and Victor did, and more than that, she was good at it. She had a bone to pick with HYDRA in particular.
Come down to it, I'd realized that I enjoyed fighting. I'd always known that on some level. I'd enjoyed my spars with various opponents more than I should. I chalked it up to instinct, but I'd never been in a real fight before the factory. Now I knew what it felt like, and far from being as afraid as I'd always thought I would be, I was excited by it. I had never felt so powerful or confident in myself before.
"Oh that's just great," Howard groaned, slumping back in his chair. "It's not like I own you, I can't tell you you're not allowed…"
"Yes, but you generously gave me this job when you didn't have to," I reminded him. "I don't want you to think I'm spitting on your charity just to run off and have an adventure."
Howard mumbled something about Southern manners into his glass. "I won't be offended," he allowed. "But you know Phillips isn't going to let it fly."
"You might be surprised," I countered. "He gave Steve carte blanche on choosing the men, didn't he?"
"Emphasis on men," Howard retorted.
"Then I'll go on a trial run just like all of the men. I've already proved myself once and so has Yori. We're more dangerous than any man Steve could possibly pick because of what we can do," I reasoned.
"How about this?" Howard bargained. "I'll back you and your wicked winged friend with Phillips, but only if you get the other guys Steve picks to agree for you to join them. All of the men, not just a majority."
I turned it over. Howard was a good friend, he really was, and he was a great ally. He could literally blackmail the Army, and he wouldn't hesitate to do the same to Phillips. People agreed to let Howard do things just to shut him up. I was pretty sure I could get Phillips on my own, but with Howard backing me it was almost assured.
"That includes Steve!" Howard added pointedly. "And you know he'll want Bucky with him. They won't want you in danger."
I bit my lip. "Then I'll just have to prove I won't be in danger. Alright Howard, you have a deal," I said, holding out a hand to Howard. He shook, and we went back to our drinks.
"Steve, are you open to company for a moment?" I called, tapping on his door. Yori stood beside me, dressed as usual. The SSR was aware of her appearance, but she still wasn't fond of the stares she got, or the whispers. I knew that ordinarily she'd just leave a place she wasn't welcome, but her position wasn't quite so secure here. To minimize, she kept herself covered and spent most of her time in her room.
The door opened and Steve was revealed. He was wearing a brown uniform with the jacket off. He held the door open for us, beckoning us in.
"Have a seat," Steve said, gesturing to a small table with two chairs. I noticed he left the door open and smirked slightly. Howard never bothered, which was part of why half the SSR thought I was sleeping with him. I didn't mind though, because half the SSR also thought every woman in the building was sleeping with Howard.
"Did you want to talk about something?" Steve asked, sitting on the end of his bed and leaning forward on his knees. He looked at Yori and added hesitantly, "Er… you can make yourself comfortable… if you'd like…"
Yori began to shed layers, looking mildly relieved. I knew that she was fonder of Steve than she let on. She was at least a little bit fond of anyone who didn't stare at her, even though she frequently threw her appearance in other's faces as a shock tactic or to establish dominance.
"We do have a question we want to ask," I said as Yori made herself comfortable.
"Go ahead," Steve urged, and to his credit, his eyes didn't linger for more than a second on Yori's face. I glanced at her and smiled slightly. Her eyes were narrowed and she was observing Steve icily. Yori was used to people being afraid of her. She didn't seem to know how to handle Steve treating her like any other person.
Suddenly she smirked. "We want to join your team," Yori drawled. "We want to join your crusade against HYDRA."
Steve's eyes widened. He looked from Yori to me, like he was expecting me to disagree or tell her to stop playing around. I just nodded in agreement.
"We both have abilities, and we want to use them to help," I continued. "The best way for us to do that is with you."
"No!" Steve shook his head frantically. He looked at us like we were crazy. "I mean, it'll be dangerous, you don't know what you're getting involved in."
"Don't we?" Yori challenged. "Of the two of us, which one has spent time in HYDRA's captivity, Captain America?" she countered. "Which one of us has the most right to tear them apart?"
Steve closed his eyes. He stretched out his hands to us pleadingly. "Look, I get wanting to help with the war effort, I do. But it's too dangerous, you're both-"
Yori's eyes narrowed. "You seem to be under the impression that I've never fought for my life before. When you look like I do, you get used to fighting. I know what I'm doing, and on top of that, I have more combat experience than you do, and they're letting you lead."
I placed a hand on Yori's arm calmingly. If she kept going we'd have no chance of talking Steve into this, and he was going to be our biggest supporter in getting the other men to agree to let us on the team.
"You were about to say we were both women, weren't you?" I asked Steve gently. He flushed guiltily.
"I didn't mean-"
"Yes, you did," I said bluntly. "Steve, if we were men coming to you with our abilities and asking you to let us help, would you hesitate even for a second?"
Steve looked like he would have dearly loved to say that yes, he would have told us to take a hike, but he was honest to the core. "Maybe a second," he admitted grudgingly.
"You understand what it's like to want to help with the war," I reminded him. "People told you that you couldn't because you are small and sickly. People tell us that we can't because we are women. But look at what you can do because you didn't let people tell you no. Can you do the same to us?" I asked him earnestly.
I knew I was being manipulative, bringing up Steve's own experience with rejection. But it was a similar situation. People saw our appearance and assumed we couldn't do anything. Steve had proved them wrong with his determination and his will to succeed. Yori and I could prove them wrong with our abilities.
"How about this," I offered. "We meet with the other men you want for the team. If even one of them is against it, we won't say another word about it."
Yori looked at me sideways. "Speak for yourself," she scowled.
"No," I interjected firmly. "You'll drop it Yori."
"The hell I will!" Yori snapped back. "Do you have any idea what they did to me Josie? Do you? Because I deserve to tear them apart. I deserve some kind of justice."
Yori's eyes were wide and desperate, a look I'd never seen in them before. When we'd first arrived Yori had been drugged and groggy, but aside from that she'd seemed okay. Then again, Yori was also a fast healer. There was no telling what had been done to her physically. The scars may have faded from her body, but they were clearly still raw in her mind.
Steve shook his head. "No," he interjected. "If you're going to do this, you can't do it for vengeance," he lectured Yori. "Do this because it's the right thing to do. Do this because you want to protect other people from what HYDRA did to you."
Yori stared Steve down, waiting for him to blink, but Steve didn't flinch, not even when her hand clenched into an annoyed fist and began to glow gently. I sat and waited for one of them to break. Somehow, I was sure it wouldn't be Steve.
Yori looked away and her fist relaxed. "I can't promise I will be entirely selfless," she murmured. "But I can promise that I don't want what happened to me to happen to anyone else. That's all I can offer you."
Steve nodded, smiling kindly at her. "That's enough for now."
"Does this mean you'll let us join you?"
"If the others agree," Steve stressed. "You're right, I know what it's like to be told you can't do something because people take you at face value. I didn't listen to those people, so I can't stop you from trying to do the same. But you'll have a tough sell," he warned me. "I'm going to ask Bucky to join me, and you know he won't want you anywhere near combat."
I sighed. "I know. That's why he's my next stop."
