Chapter 7

New York City was known as a 'melting pot' of various cultures for many decades now. Historically, it was the point of entry for many cultures, not just European, but also ones from Asia and beyond. With the end of the Second World War, migration from abroad became much easier, and for those who wanted a better life, the United States was often the first choice. The Statue of Liberty, a famous landmark that had both existed in Bismarck's original world and in her current one bore the same inscription.

'Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!'

Depending on who you asked, those words either rang true today or were a hollow reminder of what the United States once was. If Bismarck remembered correctly, Steve's family, and subsequently her 'new' family were also these 'homeless and tempest-tossed' people. And now, she was in a restaurant run by people who were not native to the United States, but really, most people in the country today could barely trace their ancestry back more than two hundred years, let alone since its inception.

Taking a bite out of her Schwarma, she realized that it was extremely similar to Doner that she had in Hamburg. Perhaps they had a similar origin? The flavours were exactly the same, and she found the taste to be flavourful, much more than some food she has had in the U.S. so far.

And yes, she was purposefully ignoring the glances that Steve shot at her every so often. A restaurant that was half-destroyed, but still somehow operational was not a place for talking, but the fact that it was still open for business was a testament to the owner's perseverance.

Tony Stark, as he introduced himself as they were heading up to arrest Loki, finally decided to say something.

"Okay, cut the crap, what's going on with you and Bismarck?" Tony directed his words toward the American-themed hero, who took another big bite of his chicken Schwarma as soon as he finished his sentence.

Eating only delayed the inevitable, however, as his food will run out eventually, and he will have to say something. Bismarck decided to bail him out, again.

"We will talk once we are somewhere private."

She dug into her wrap, the garlic sauce really held it together and made it combine into one really well. Evidently, however, Tony did not like that response.

"We're somewhere private right now!"

They were in a restaurant, with the staff still working. His agitation, if Bismarck had to guess was because she refused to tell him anything about her rigging. He had actually tried poking it on the walk back to Stark tower, but he nearly had his finger bitten off by one of her 'sharks', he learned to keep his hands to himself afterwards. Nonetheless, when she dismissed her rigging, it faded into blue motes of light, as it usually did. That evidently caught Tony's attention, as he rambled on about 'light space storage' or 'particle deconstruction', he only stopped after they got to the restaurant.

"Are we really, Tony?" Steve also decided to talk now, his gaze still avoiding Bismarck.

As Tony scoffed, Bismarck thought back to the things she saw right after Loki was arrested. Quite honestly, she felt like she was just tagging along, having known nothing about why aliens appeared in the sky all of a sudden. Her eyes did widen slightly upon seeing what was called 'The Tesseract', it bore a significant similarity and if she was honest, felt like her own Wisdom Cube. She would have liked to inspect it, but it was currently kept safe by Tony Stark in a briefcase, and she wasn't about to ask him to 'take a peek' anytime soon.

"Fine, but I want a damn good explanation after this. What even are you two? Exes?"

Bismarck and Steve both choked on their Schwarma before they levelled a glare at him simultaneously. He raised his arms up, not eager to anger a walking Battleship and a super-soldier without his armour.

"Okay, not exes. I'll keep my mouth shut now."

It was a wise decision, Bismarck thought. The rest of the group also looked like they had burning questions as well, but they instead decided to keep digging into their food or just sit there, resting. The day's events had worn out everybody, even her.

As the group passed through the same lobby of Stark Tower they just left, she remembered what happened as they went down the first time. Someone named Alexander Pierce had demanded Tony hand over the Tesseract, along with their prisoner, Loki. Bismarck could still scarcely believe that Thor and Loki were actually real, but considering she knew Aegir and Odin back when she was head of Ironblood, it didn't surprise her that much. This world just had aliens attack it, Norse Gods being real was not number one of the most surprising things today.

Regardless, this 'Pierce' demanded the Tesseract be handed over, and there was a slight scuffle. Seeing as how it was quickly devolving into a large argument, Bismarck ended it by quickly summoning her rigging again and pointing her turrets toward the new group. Guns were raised at her, but Tony's point of arguing against someone who casually took out those flying alien whales made their threat a lot less intimidating. The Tesseract was now safely stored in a Stark tower vault, and Thor would be taking it back with him, along with Loki of course.

Now at the vault, Tony turned towards Bismarck, eager to finally get some answers. "Okay German girl, what's your catch? This is about the most private place you're gonna get in Manhattan, so spill!"

She took a deep breath, watching as everyone but Steve looked at her expectantly. Sighing, Bismarck knew that he was going to say something wrong or awkward, so she decided to just speak for the two of them.

"I am Steve's cousin."

She didn't have to say everything right?

Eyes were widened, but that particular tidbit appeared to not be what they were looking for. The two agents did not seem surprised one bit, however, though Thor nodded in approval.

"You have a strong family, Captain Rogers. Do you come from a clan of Warriors?"

Doctor Banner meanwhile looked between the two rapidly. "Well, I can see the resemblance…Are good-looking genes part of the Rogers family or something?"

Agent Romanov, or Black Widow as she introduced herself, stepped in. "A month ago SHIELD found one remaining member of Captain America's family still alive. Though what we didn't find was that you had these…"

She wanted to say 'abilities', but Bismarck's display earlier could scarcely be classified into simply abilities anymore. A choice had to be made, either Bismarck could tell them everything, but that ran the risk of more complications, or she could tell them the bare minimum. It would still be the 'truth', but telling them parts of the whole truth made it easier to mislead them. Siren technology had caused her downfall a lifetime ago now, she would not make the same mistake by letting them know her true capabilities. Heroic as their actions were, she still could not trust any of them just yet. Other than Steve, she quite literally met them a few hours ago and would need more time before she told them about anything potentially dangerous.

"It seems another introduction is in order." Bismarck stood to attention, her boots clacked on the cold concrete floor, its noise resounding throughout the vault's hallway.

"I am Bismarck, first of its class, and leader of the Ironblood. Make of that what you will."

She certainly wasn't going to tell them anything important, but she will have to tell Steve some things. And it seemed that he had to as well.

Having changed out of their 'outfits', Bismarck followed Steve back to his apartment, Brooklyn saw almost none of the fighting, and his street was entirely unscathed. The two SHIELD agents with them had said someone will come by Roger's apartment sometime later. The two did not speak a word to each other, and for the past fifteen minutes, they sat awkwardly across from each other in Steve's living room.

Steve, to his credit, spoke first this time. "Okay, I think we should do it this way. I say something about my life, and you say the same thing. Is that alright ?"

Bismarck nodded, it was something at least, better than sitting in silence for another fifteen minutes.

"I was born in 1918." Started Steve. If she remembered correctly, it was the birth year of Captain America in Bismarck's old secondary school history textbook.

It was her turn now. "My keel was laid down in 1936, and I was launched in 1939."

If Steve was confused, he definitely showed it, as his eyes widened at Bismarck's words. Clearing his throat, he moved on.

"I grew up in Brooklyn."

Moving onto where they grew up now? Bismarck could say Hamburg, as that was technically correct, but he probably meant something else.

"In this life, I grew up in Hamburg. Before that, I spent most of my time in Kiel." In her old world, Kiel was where the Ironblood main headquarters were located, so it was where she technically 'grew up'. Even if Kansen did not come out as children after being built.

"I joined the U.S. Army during World War Two." Indeed, that part was familiar to Bismarck. The famous story of Captain America partaking in a secret experiment to defeat Nazi Germany. Did he think…

"I did not have a choice. I was Bismarck, leader of the Ironblood."

She still was the leader of the Ironblood, but in this world, she was the only Kansen currently existing, so by technicality, all of Ironblood is her, by virtue of being the only one still remaining.

"I fought against HYDRA during the war."

HYDRA, a component of the SS that had apparently gone rogue. Bismarck knew of them from her compulsory history lessons, and she had to admit that Ironblood and Nazi Germany shared many similar aesthetics. With a completely different government, however, the Reichskanzler during her time as leader of the Ironblood was Jewish. She met the man on several occasions, and he was pleasant to deal with once the initial fear of meeting a Kansen was over.

"I fought against Azur Lane, during the war."

These words were completely meaningless to Steve, but she expected to explain what they meant to him later on.

With a muted expression, he continued on. "I crashed a HYDRA bomber into the arctic, freezing me for nearly seventy years."

He wanted to know how Bismarck was here now, Steve must have picked up on Bismarck being from a similar time period. Sighing, she too tried her best to ignore any painful memories resurfacing.

"I fought the Royal Navy all by myself, and sank in the Atlantic."

She cut whatever Steve had to say off, and pressed on. "Sixteen years ago, I 'woke up', as one Bianka Schulz. And ever since, I have lived my life not as Bismarck, but as a regular human girl. Now, as fate would have it, I have once more been forced to reveal myself as Bismarck, leader of the Ironblood."

Bismarck looked Steve directly in the eyes, both pairs of blue eyes locking onto each other with an intense stare.

"So tell me, Hauptmann Rogers, who am I to you?"

AN:

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