Entry

He's beat up, bleeding, bruised. Red Skull seems to be getting stronger. Each punch that lands sends an unspoken message: I am better than you. Surely you must realize that? How on Earth can one man be that strong? Oh. The faint blue glow around him…it has to be the Tesseract. No longer connected to the gun, all its energy is directed at Shmidt. If that's the case, we're doomed. Steve won't last much longer. I'm of no use, since the slightest movement makes my side erupt in pain. Unless… Maybe I'm not totally useless. Artificial adrenaline rush. It's worth a shot. I close my eyes and bring back bad memories. Growing up worthless. Bullying. Killing. Bucky's death. Leading soldiers on a suicide mission. Seconds later, hardened, docile Nicolette is gone. Tough, aggressive Freedom Fighter comes out. Able to find the strength to stand up straight, even walk, I slink closer to the battle. When the opportunity arises, I strike.

Caught unaware, Shmidt stumbles backward a few steps. A start. He recovers quickly. I move into a defensive position. Shmidt glances at Steve. My eyes follow. He's desperately trying to stand up. But my brain is only capable of one thought. I jump on the Skull and furiously kick him. He tries to pull me off, but my fingers are curled tight. If he goes down, I'm coming with him. Every kick is met with a satisfying thud. Maybe some left a bruise. I get sick of the kicking, so I spin around to his front, head-butting his face. If at all possible, his face gets redder. It resembles a station wagon.

A terrifying laugh escapes my lips. In the back of my mind, what little of Nicolette remains cowers, orders me to stop. Says my viciousness isn't necessary. That the beating Shmidt is receiving is uncalled for. Freedom Fighter says every punch, every blow, is needed. That my torn and bloody knuckles symbolize that. The blows are well deserved, even the nasty ones. The conflicting personalities, almost too much to bear… Rargh! Shut up and fight! Don't let him gather his bearings. Push forward! With a wild snarl, I lunge out at Shmidt, ready to bite his face off. Perhaps literally. Freedom Fighter is more of a soldier than Nicolette will ever be. Phillips would be proud. Bucky? Not so much. Wait, what are you doing, thinking about Bucky? No! Not acceptable! Intolerable!

Red Skull must be top priority. My attack isn't blocked at all. A powerful kick sends me flying across the room. I catch myself, sliding against the cool steel floor. Wow. I never knew I could do that. Propelling myself forward, I go in for an uppercut. Instead of my small fist, a large red one connects. Since when could I do that? Since now. Keep at it. Don't let him get the upper hand. I deliver a flurry of punches. I focus entirely on my attack. In the background I see Steve is up, watching the fight. Probably letting me prove myself. Good. Let him take notice of the new and improved Nicolette Storm.

I pull back my fist, but stop inches from his face. Something warm and liquidy is pouring down my leg. What? Blinking, I look down. Freedom Fighter retreats. Once again, my blood isn't where it belongs. I back off. Steve will deal with the Skull. Shmidt does not like that. He easily knocks me down and keeps me there. With all the ferocity gone, there's no fight left. I give up on standing and focus on breathing and staying awake. It's draining enough as it is. Against my will my eyelids close. Every so often I force them open to see how Cap is faring. Maybe I actually did help. Shmidt seems weaker. More…beat up. Perhaps my attack wasn't completely useless. Freedom Fighter would be proud. My brain demands an escape from the pain. I let it for a few minutes.

o8o

The room is quiet. Too quiet. No moving, shuffling, nothing. An eye cracks open to check. The room is empty. I glance at everything in my line of sight. Still nothing. I move my head. Still nada. I heave myself to my feet, take baby steps, attempt to figure out what happens. The Red Skull is nowhere to be seen. Neither is Steve. Wait. Red boots stick out from underneath the control panel. "Steve?" I choke out, my throat sore from animalistic snarling. No answer. "Steve?"

His voice comes from the panel. "Right here, Nikki. Just trying to repair this communicator radio thing."

"What about the Skull?"

"Oh, he won't be bothering us anytime soon. Not with what we did to HYDRA. And that beating you gave him? I almost felt sorry for the guy."

A thin etch of a smile comes as Steve crawls back out. Though his voice sounds almost cheerful, his face is lined with worry. Something must be wrong. My wound, perhaps? I sink into a chair. My, does it feel dandy to sit down. The short trip from where I rested against a wall to the controls took whatever energy I regained. This gaping whole, if not treated soon, will turn deadly. I can feel it killing me now. Steve bends down to inspect it. The worry lines grow deeper the more he notices: the blood covering my right half, the dirt and gashes covering my uniform, my chalky white skin. I know this much blood loss is a problem on it's own. "Please, don't worry about me right now. You have bigger problems."

"The radio is as fixed as it's going to be." Steve obeys and sits in the pilot's seat. Still looking at me with concern every so often, he programs the communicator with HQ's coordinates. Agent Carter answers right away. "Peggy, there's no place to land this thing before we reach New York."

Her voice crackles. "Captain Rodgers, there is no need for that kind of talk. Just send us your coordinates and we'll find you a safe place to land."

This goes on for a while. Convincing each other that they're right. All the while my fear grows. Steve is right; he's going to sacrifice us to save the Eastern Seaboard. Finally Peggy gives up. She settles for comforting us, my presence having been brought up. If not for my exhaustion I would be in a complete panic. Which will I die of first? Blood loss or hypothermia? Our impending doom comes closer. Now I know what Toro meant at the very beginning, before we even left for the mission. This is what he felt.

"Steve," Peggy says as the craft moves ever closer to the water, "I love you. I wish I could have all eternity with you. Especially you, Nikki. We could understand each other so much better. I-"

Peggy never finishes. At that moment we sink into the icy cold depths of the Artic Ocean. One last moment of bravery before the unforgiving ocean claims two more victims. Captain America and Freedom Fighter will never fight again.