Chapter Twenty One: The Death of Katerina

"Everyone has a part of themselves they hide, even from the people they love the most. And you don't have forever none of us ever do."

-Aunt May

The breeze was cool even on top of the helicarrier which helped Steve calm down to some degree. He had finally gotten Bucky back, but he hadn't seen him and he couldn't believe that Katherine had attempted suicide.

Thanks to the serum she had done little harm, but it was still terrifying. Steve looked above and saw that Katherine was walking as well looking a little lost. A SHIELD guard was a few feet off probably keeping an eye on her.

Her hair was no longer half blond, but back to her dark brown hair that suited her much better and her eyes weren't green, but brown as well. Steve couldn't help but notice that she had exotic features, perhaps she was Italian or something.

"Miss Pierce?" he questioned and Katherine looked up suspiciously. "I realize that you haven't been out for a few days and well, if you want I can show you around. Maybe around Central park?"

The smallest amount of glee appeared on Katherine's face, but it quickly disappeared. "I would love too." She cocked her head towards the guard. "But as you can see I'm under surveillance so unless you want him to tag along. . ."

"I'll take care of it." After a few minutes of arguing with the guard, Katherine was free. "All done."

"How did you do that?" she asked suspiciously. "Given I could have knocked him unconscious, but I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in jail."

"Well, I like to use the act of persuasion without . . . violence." Steve said. "Ready to go?"

Katherine cocked an eyebrow. "Aren't you afraid that I'm going to kill you?"

"I'll take my chances."

Katherine couldn't remember the last time she had gone to Central Park, heck she couldn't remember the last time she had gone out without constantly looking over her shoulder. Katherine licked the last remaining ice cream of her Popsicle. She had come to the conclusion that Steve wasn't that bad, a little up tight and old fashion but not bad.

And next to Banner and Gwen he was her favorite, though she hasn't really meet the other Avengers yet.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Katherine asked as both she and Steve sat in a bench at the park. They were surrounded by people, but at that moment they might as well be the only people around. "I did try to kill you and you could have finished me off."

"You weren't yourself." He argued.

She shook her head. "That's no excuses, though truth be told I haven't been myself for a very long time. I can't even remember what myself used to be like."

Steve looked confused.

"I assume that Banner told you that I was a vampire, you know before my doppelganger shoved the cure down my throat and made me human and the whole HYDRA business."

"He . . . mention something along the lines." Steve said. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want too."

"I know I don't have too, but you have to hear it." Katherine sighed. "My name, my real name was Katerina Petrova and I was born on June 5th 1473 in Bulgaria. In 1490 I had a baby out of wedlock and my family kicked me out and they gave my baby away."

"How did you turn into a vampire?" Steve asked.

"Now there's the fun part." Katherine scoffed. "In 1492 I meet the original vampire named Klaus he wanted to become a hybrid and he wanted to drain me out of my blood in some creepy ritual. I ran and I become a vampire and I've been running ever since. I'm not going to pretend Steve I've done things I've regretted for the past 500 years, but I'm not sorry that I did them, everything I've done is to survive no matter how cruel."

Steve gulped. "Was it worth it?"

Katherine closed her eyes. "To some degree, yes. I was alive, that's all I ever wanted to be alive." She lowered her eyes. "I don't know if Bucky or Banner told you, but when I was working for HYDRA . . . I was taken advantage off and I became pregnant and I poisoned myself to end both of our lives. I only ended up killing my baby. This was my second suicide attempt, I guess everyone has a breaking point sooner or later."

"Why did you change your name to Katherine?"

"Well partly so that Klaus couldn't find me." Her voice became quiet. "And partly because I needed to kill Katerina to become Katherine. Katerina would have never survived in my world she was sweet, naïve, pure. . ." she trailed off and her voice became hard. "I never want to be that scared little girl who couldn't defend herself. So if it means being cruel so be it."

Steve didn't say anything for a moment. "Why were you given the cure?"

"I was given it by my doppelganger Elena." She said coldly. "Every few hundred years there is another doppelganger, my doppelganger was named Elena Gilbert, I was going to kill her and she fought back."

"Why were you going to kill her?"

"I was jealous." Katherine blurted out. "She got to have everything that I never had a family, friends who would die for her, people that would do anything for her. She never had to run, she never had to hide she was always free like I never was. Isn't that pathetic, I'm jealous of Elena Gilbert of all people because I can't have a normal life, especially not now."

"That's not true." Steve said. "Maybe you can't have a family, but you can have friends you don't have to let HYDRA control your life. You can have a normal life."

Katherine scoffed in disbelief. "Oh, that's sweet but let's be realistic, everyone hates me. I have a weird serum floating around in my veins that makes me a super human. I'm a reformed serial killer who has HYDRA breathing down her back who would want to be my friend?"

Steve shrugged. "I would want to be your friend."

Katherine blushed at the comment and the sincerity of Steve's tone. "All right, but I'm warning you that I'm vain, and shallow, and not a nice person."

Steve smiled. "I can live with that."

-End of Chapter Twenty One-