Chapter 1

A punching bag was launched across the empty boxing club, sand spilling out everywhere. The man responsible for that act stared at it for a dozen seconds, memories of a past war raging in his mind.

He woke up in a new era where peace supposedly reigned, and major wars were a thing of the past. He initially welcomed the idea, that peace was finally achievable. But what of himself? Everything he had ever known was gone, different, changed, or nonexistent. Any number of words could be used to describe his feelings, but all of them would fall short for the man from a different era. Sighing, he picked up another punching bag, ready to hoist it up to a hook and continue the same act again.

These days, going to the boxing club was all he really did. The design of the club was familiar, it was something he felt comfortable in. Considering New York City now, it was almost entirely different from what he grew up with. There were familiar buildings sure, but the glass and steel structures that made up a large part of the city's skyline now would have been considered foreign back when he was born.

He felt out of place, out of time even. His purpose ended when he crashed that plane into the icy waters of the Arctic. The war that he fought hard against ended with him in stasis, and his actions were treated by many as a historical relic. Something that children in primary schools filled out on their many standardized tests.

'Who was Captain America?'

The man remembered seeing a documentary on his 'television' about it some nights ago. Though he could scarcely believe that the flat screen was a television, he could not deny it was much better for viewing compared to the boxes he was used to.

Just as he was about to hook another punching bag, however, a voice called out to him from the entrance.

"You know, someone's going to have to clean up that mess right?"

The man looked at where the voice came from, before seeing Nicholas Fury pointing towards the punching bag he launched across the room. Indeed, someone was going to have to clean up the sand around it.

"Guess I put a little too much force on it, something I can help you with, Sir?"

As Fury walked closer to him, the blonde man hooked the punching bag up, ready to subject the bag to another round of practice.

"We found someone."

Steve Rogers paused, his fists hovering in mid-air right before contact. SHIELD had found someone? He was sure it was just a pipe dream, but they apparently found a living family member. When he first woke up in this era, he was briefed slowly about what had changed. It had been nearly seventy years since he was on ice, after all, there were bound to have been differences.

Everyone he once knew was gone or retired in the case of Peggy, he found himself truly alone in this new world. He had no friends to fall back on, nor did he have any family either. But the latter was the same even when he joined the Army.

As SHIELD interviewed him, they asked if he knew any relatives other than his parents. Though Captain America's life was thoroughly researched by historians at this point, asking the man himself could always have yielded more information previously unknown. Steve remembered that his mother, Sarah Rogers, left behind a sister in Ireland, though he did not know what her name was.

That was months ago though, and he lost hope that he had any remaining family left. Until now that was.

Fury held out a file for him to read. Taking it with some eagerness, he opened it and immediately noticed an image of a long blonde-haired girl. She had some features that were similar to his mother, but he had to check back at his home for any more similarities. As he looked at her other information though, he read her name out loud, much to his confusion.

"Bianka Schulz…?"

Fury chuckled, clearly having expected this reaction. "Yeah, she's exactly as you think she is. Grew up in an orphanage, then to foster parents, but from the records we got from the German government we managed to trace her ancestry back to one Fiona Rogers. Sister of Sarah Rogers."

Steve looked closer at the information listed on the file. It said that her parents were killed when she was only a toddler, drunk driving apparently. Though she was twenty-two now, there was nothing in the section that listed her other family.

Looking back up at Fury, he chuckled again. "I know, I know, it sounds like some cosmic irony. But, so far she is your only family member we know for sure. The question is now, what do you want to do with this information?"

Steve was unsure, if this report was true then Bianka was one of the few links he had with his past. Fury spoke up again, seeing the indecision on his face.

"I'll give you some advice, Captain. You can't shut yourself off from this world for too long. This club only has so many punching bags you can rip apart. Why don't we contact her for you? Arrange a meeting in New York?"

An eyebrow was raised, how would SHIELD even go about doing it?

"Sir? I doubt she even knows she's related to me, what makes you think-"

"We have a number of charities and organizations under our influence. We can think of something, the question is, what do you want to do with her?"

Steve sighed, as much as he did not want to bother Bianka, especially if she was related, he decided that maybe he should take the offer. As Fury said, there were only so many punching bags in the gym before he ran out. He was running from his issues, rather than facing them head-on. It was definitely wishful thinking on his part, but at this point, he took what he had.

"If she doesn't want to, don't force it." Steve handed back the file to Fury as he said that.

"Don't worry, we're not that crass. We'll contact you again soon."

As Fury walked out, Steve was left alone with his thoughts. He still found himself able to chuckle at the irony of it though, his only surviving relative so far was German. Maybe God thought it was funny?

Bismarck stood on a Hamburg ferry pier, directly on the Elbe River. The city itself was intimate to her, in a way that was similar to knowing where you were born. Though obviously, she was no longer Bismarck, leader of the Ironblood. She was just a regular girl living in Hamburg, in an age where humanity has full control of its seas.

She was just 'Bianka Schulz', a regular girl working in a bakery. Looking at the riverfront she remembered the fanfare when she was launched in the Ironblood version of Hamburg, though the two cities were similar, they currently looked very different. Checking her phone, she had another five minutes before she had to head back to the bakery, ready to take over for another shift.

Rebirth was a concept that the Sakura Empire and Dragon Empery usually embodied in their cultures, it was supposed to have been a never-ending cycle until one could accumulate enough good deeds to break said cycle. From her actions in her past life, however, Bismarck knew that road will take her more than a thousand lifetimes to accomplish.

Standing on the pier now, she felt the calm winds of spring grace her face. Someone like her did not deserve a 'rebirth', a second chance essentially. That was her situation, however, and in this world, she was not the leader of Ironblood, nor was she even anyone important. Like everyone around her, she faded into the masses inconspicuously.

There came a point when she was growing up in an orphanage where she just suddenly 'remembered' being Bismarck. Though it could be called an awakening, she was not sure that it was a good thing, perhaps she would have been better off not knowing who she was before.

With her break nearly over, she began heading back to the bakery just a couple dozen meters in front of her. Her foster parents, loving as they were, found it difficult to connect with Bismarck. She would not blame them however, very few people 'woke up' with memories from a past life in a different world. Still, she talked with them every so often just to make sure they were doing well.

Sparing one last glance toward the Elbe River leading out into the sea, she felt a sense of longing in her heart. Shortly after 'awakening', she discreetly went and confirmed if she had her rigging or not. To her surprise, she did. It was completely intact and fully repaired, if she remembered her last memories well though, it should have been an impossibility. Her last memory as leader of the Ironblood after all was sinking into the depths of the Denmark Strait.

Reaching her bakery, she opened the front door, ready to begin another shift.

"Ah, Bianka, there you are! There's someone here to see you."

Looking at her bakery's countertop, her boss, Elsa, was talking to a man in a suit. His appearance wasn't anything remarkable, clean-shaven, with short hair and with a friendly disposition. Giving her a big smile, he put his right hand out, before introducing himself.

"Bianka Schulz? I'm Jeremy Philson, I work for a charity that helps U.S. veterans with acclimating to civilian life. Can we talk?"

A veterans organization? Bismarck had heard of those before, but why would an Eagle Union-American organization seek her out specifically? Though she knew next to nothing about her supposed parents in this world, she was sure neither of them were veterans or had connections to any army, especially in the U.S. Military of all things.

Gingerly shaking Philson's hand, she asked a question with her skepticism barely restrained. His German was good, but it definitely had an American accent to it.

"We can. But why do you want to talk with me specifically? I do not know any Veterans, especially ones from the United States."

Philson smiled, before taking out a binder in his briefcase.

"Miss Schulz, I think you should read the information we have here. We believe that you can help an uncle of yours."

Bismarck looked at Philson with even more skepticism in her eyes, she had a supposed uncle in the States? Regardless, her boss had already agreed to let Philson talk with Bismarck, the old woman nearing her eighties always tried her best to take care of the former Ironblood Flagship. Not wanting to let Elsa down, she relented and sat down with Philson.

The contents of the file she was given were…enlightening to say the least.

AN:

For first-time readers on this site:

Hello, this is just a quick note regarding this story. Originally it was all posted onto SB before I made the decision to transfer over here instead. What you're reading is the exact same thing from SB with a few slight edits, obviously there will be some errors in formatting and whatnot, so do be patient as I try and fix them on this wonky website. It certainly doesn't help me do quick edits.

Be civil in the comments below.