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Just in an updating mood.:) I am usually a slow updater.

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I do not own Avengers... don't sue me.

updated

Chapter 6:

Prediction

Colonel Phillips didn't know what he thought about the woman with no last name, but he knew he didn't trust the shit she was spouting. There was something odd about that woman and he was going to find out what it was. He didn't know what he was going to do just yet as he didn't want to hurt her. It went against his core to interrogate a lady with force, and no matter how much Toni pissed him off, he wasn't going to.

He watched from behind the glass as the Doctor spoke with her. Erskine had a way about that him that could get anyone to trust him, even without the accent. He wasn't skillful in interrogations as he had a bleeding heart, which wasn't a good thing; however, it seemed to be working. Toni was speaking with him, which was something Phillips wasn't able to get her to do. She was letting her shield down with him.

"It will not hurt you," Erskine stated.

Phillips eyed the pill bottle that Toni had refused to touch. That told him a lot about the woman, who no one knew anything about. It showed that she didn't trust people, granted he understood her situation. He wouldn't trust anyone either if he was handcuffed to a table in a locked room, but there was something else there. He could see that in her eyes. He doubted she truly trusted anyone in her life, which stroked him as odd as even a spy needed trust. She must have seen or been through something in her life.

He was beginning to wonder if she really was a spy, but even if she wasn't, she was something. A normal citizen did not have unknown devices on him or her that could keep the U.S. Military guessing, and the colonel did not care for that.

The Colonel kept his eyes on Toni as she spoke, "I'm fine. You can leave." He could see her shift in pain and it pulled at his heart strings as he disliked seeing a lady in pain, but there was nothing he could do.

He turned his attention back to Dr. Erskine, who had a calculating side to him and he knew when to push and when not to push.

"Wait, you're really leaving?" Toni asked as he crossed to the door.

"I respect a lady's wishes," the doctor stated as he turned back to her. "You did ask me to leave. I will not impose myself on you."

Phillips kept back his snort in annoyance as Erskine was able to get her. "Figures," he muttered to himself. "Though, it seems like the silence is getting to her." He knew she would because the silence was maddening.

"Then you should let me go?" she asked.

"You have to understand the situation that you're in." He retook the seat. "You were found trespassing in an empty lot, which looked like a bomb went off."

Phillips watched Toni's expression to see if he could read her. It appeared she was a master in hiding her emotions, but she had a few tells. He could see the worry and fear in her eyes.

"If was a bomb, I wouldn't just have got a broken arm. And it wasn't like I did it on purpose," Toni stated.

"There's also the fact that you were found with two unknown devices. Very interesting devices I must say," Erskine stated. "It's fascinating that you would intergrade the device into your chest."

The Colonel, as well, was interested in that, because he couldn't think of anything reason why someone would want a glowing object in his or her chest. What could that device possible do that would make it worth putting it in her body? As it was placed near her heart, it had to have been dangerous to intergrade it into her body. He guessed it had to do what that reactor did.

"It wasn't a choice," Toni muttered. "Without it, I will die."

Phillips knew, due to her freak out earlier, that taking it out would kill her, but her statement got him wondering. Did something force that device on her? Or did something happen to her that forced her to take it? He guessed it would have to do with what it did. Did it keep her heart beating like pacemaker did? If it did, why would a young thing like her need one of those? However, it might not have anything to do with her heart. Maybe it had to do with her blood. She might've been poisoned and that device could be keeping her blood clean. Or maybe, it kept her safe from someone. He didn't know what it did but he was going to find out.

It would be dangerous to let her go without knowing all of her secrets. The idea that she was a spy was less plausible now, but Toni could still be dangerous to the public. She could still be a terrorist or criminal, which was almost as bad.

Erskine looked at her. "What does it do?" he asked.

"It protects my heart," she answered, slowly.

Protects your heart? The Colonel thought about that for a while as it had answered one of his questions. If it was protecting her heart, her heart mustn't be the problem. There had to be something inside her that was attacking her body.

"It's cold in here, isn't it?" Erskine asked, after a few minutes of silence. "You should take one. I can see you're in pain." He offered her the pills again.

There was no way Toni would touch those pills and the Colonel knew this. If she had been poisoned and that device was blocking the poison from entering her heart, he knew she would not touch it. Was that why she didn't trust anyone? He asked himself. It didn't matter the reason why, because she wouldn't take anything from anyone.

"I'm good," she grumbled.

Phillips took a deep breath and crossed to the corner table. He wouldn't admit it, but Toni's pain was getting to him. He disliked seeing anyone in pain, but there wasn't anything he could do for her. She was the reason why she was in pain, and he couldn't do anything for her until she admitted the truth. "Just tell us everything and this all can be over," he stated, knowing no one could hear it.

"You've faced a lot in your life, haven't you?" Erskine stated, seeing through her worry like Phillips had done.

"I have, but that doesn't matter here."

That statement stroke Phillips, because she sounded broken. What had she gone through to make her like this? He wasn't sure.

"So are you going to tell me how it protects your heart?"

"Nice try, but I won't tell you anything," she snapped. Phillips had noticed the change in Toni as Erskine spoke to her. The time in that room was getting to her; silence could be one of the most dangerous tools in an interrogation.

"I wasn't trying to get anything out of you, Toni. I was making sure you're okay."

"I'm fine. You can go tell Colonel Salty that."

He had no idea why she kept calling him Salty but it was pissing him off. That wasn't his name and she should respect him enough to call him by his name, considering it was up to him if she would be freed. "She has a mouth on her," he stated, annoyed.

"She seemed to be an impressive woman," Agent Carter stated as she entered the room.

"I wouldn't say impressive. Maybe, you should check your dictionary," the Colonel replied as she turned to her. "She's a criminal."

"We don't know that yet," Peggy responded, eyeing Toni. "And you don't think she's a spy now?" She leaned against the glass, watching Erskine leave.

Phillips turned his attention back to Toni, who had started to pick at her cast. He could see in the muscles in her mind work as she stared blankly at the one-way mirror. "Where did the Doctor go?"

Peggy crossed to the door and looked out. She didn't see him in the hallway. "He must've gone back to the medical bay for something." She stepped away from the door and toward the Colonel. "How long are you going to keep her in there?" she asked, knowing how long she had been in the room.

"I'm not sure yet. I'm pondering what I want to do with her," he stated. "Did Stark figure out any of those devices yet? Any idea on that chest piece?"

"No, though, he can tell it gives off power and it can be used as a power source but other than that, he can't really know what it does until he takes a long look at it."

"He won't be able to do that," Phillips said as he stared at the glow coming through the nurse outfit. He almost did a doubt take as the glow seemed different, almost lighter. He hoped the battery wasn't dying on it. "It could kill her." Though he couldn't be sure that she was telling the truth, he didn't want to risk her death.

"If she's telling the truth," she stated, unsure of the girl. "He did agree though that it would be risky."

"And the other devices?"

Peggy reached into her pocket and pulled out a bag, which held Toni's communication device. "This device is no longer in working order. Though it doesn't look like it, Stark said the core and the battery were cooked by some kind of wave." She looked it at before offering it to him, but he didn't reach for it.

"Is it fixable?" he asked, still eyeing Toni, who had rested her head on the table. I wonder what she's thinking about, he thought. She was probably thinking of a plan to escape but there was no way that she could. This facility was impossible to escape.

"According to Stark with the core and battery fried, it would be impossible to fix. Then he joked like egoist person that he is, that only a Stark would be able to fix it," she stated annoyed.

"Can he fix it?" the Colonel asked.

Peggy laughed. "No, I don't think he can, but he keeps insisting with time he could be." She glanced at Toni who had picked her head back up and was glaring. It was clear she was restless and annoyed. "However, he's too busy trying to figure out the other device that was found with her."

"Did he get anywhere with it?"

"He's having a difficult time getting power to it to see what it's supposed to do. Every time he gets any power to the device, it burns out everything connected to do it. Either he can't find enough power or there is short in the device and it is overloading everything around it," Peggy stated. "If only, we can get her to talk. That device could be useful against Hitler."

Remembering an earlier conversion he had with Toni, Phillips knew she wouldn't allow them to use it as a weapon. "If she's telling the truth, she won't allow it. She states she doesn't and won't make weapons."

"If she doesn't consider it a weapon, what does she consider it? I think Stark mention that if he isn't careful, it could seriously hurt him."

"Sometimes, the best weapons weren't created to be weapons." He turned to the door. "Let's go find Doctor Erskine and Mr. Stark, and I want to speak with both of them."

"About what, Sir?"

"What we should do with the woman."

*O*O*

When Carter and Phillips arrived at the labs, they found Dr. Erskine speaking with Howard Stark. Toni's device laid on the table opened with wires attached to it, and each wire was burnt. Tools were spread around table as Howard couldn't locate the tool he wanted. Erskine was staring at blueprints that Howard had drawn up, trying to figure out what the device was supposed to.

"Dr. Erskine," Colonel Phillips spoke as he walked into the room. "I was looking for you." Peggy moved in quietly behind him, almost unnoticed. "I wanted to speak with you about your conversion with Ms….Toni," he said, annoyed he didn't have a last name to refer to her as.

The Doctor stepped away from the table. "I wanted to take another look at the chest piece's blue prints before speaking with you." After studying and scanning the rector, Stark, with the help of Erskine, had drawn out a basic design. They would not know what it did until they took a real look at it. "As I now know its prime function, I can better understand it," he stated.

"And have you found anything out?" Peggy asked from her spot against the door.

Howard turned toward them. "That chest piece works like an electromagnet though I cannot tell what's powering it. It's nothing like I had seen before. I won't know what that is unless I take it a part but I doubt she will let me do that as it is keeping her alive." He leaned against the table with his arms folded against his chest. "As for the other device, I don't have a clue. It keeps, for lack of a better word, eating all the power I supply it and spitting it back out, violently."

Peggy had seen the wires and heard what he had stated before but she didn't think it was that bad. "Violently?"

Howard stuck out his left hand and showed them. It was burnt. "I'm starting to think it has a mind of its own and it hates me, which is impressive as no one or thing hates me."

The Colonel took a deep breath as this was one of the reasons why he hated dealing with Stark. He couldn't stand his pride. "For someone who just got schooled by an unknown woman, you sure have an ego."

Both Peggy and Erskine almost choked keeping back their laugher. "He's a Stark for you," Erskine smiled.

Ignoring the Doctor, Howard glared at Phillips. "Let me talk to her. I'll get her to talk."

"No, I don't think that would be a good idea. She doesn't like you and I don't want to alienate her more," Phillips responded as he crossed to the other side of the table to look at the designs. Peggy followed slowly behind him. "So what did you do to anger her?" He didn't think that they had even met, but they didn't have to meet for Toni to dislike Stark. Howard Stark was the CEO of Stark Industries and a leader in the weapon business. "Break her heart?" he joked. She had stated she didn't make weapons. Maybe, she hated wars and violence.

The weapon expert turned to Phillips, who staring at him with a smirk. "I've been with so many petty dames that it's hard to remember all of them," he joked back.

Peggy sighed. "I don't want to know about your exports."

Howard smiled his cheesy smile at her before turning back to the Colonel. "Though I would've recognized a spicy brunette like Toni." His smile had turned creepy a little. "Or at least a dame with a glowing chest."

The Colonel let out a sigh as Stark was very annoying. "Let's get back to business," Phillips ordered. "I don't think it would be wise for you to speak with Toni."

"What are you planning to do with her?" Erskine asked. "Are you going to speak with her again?"

"No," he stated. "She won't open up or reveal anything to us."

Peggy glanced at Phillips. "She did admit something about the rector to Dr. Erskine. She might slip up again."

Erskine looked down at the blue prints. "It protects her heart, and we now know how. The rector is keeping something out of her heart and I don't think she will admit what or why." He took a deep breath. "That's what's worrying me."

"That's why I'm letting her go," the Colonel stated, surprising everything in the room.

"I don't believe that would be wise," Erskine stated.

"I thought you would have agreed with this, Doctor," Phillips stated.

Erskine was silent for a few minutes. "I don't believe she's a spy for Hitler, but we cannot be sure that she's not a criminal or a danger to the city."

"I agree with you."

Howard looked at Phillips and wondered what he was up to, but it wasn't his place as he was just the weapon expert. Peggy wanted to say something, but she knew it was best not to fight the colonel.

"Then why are you letting her go?" Erskine asked.

Phillips stepped away from the table and walked to the door in silence. As he reached the door, he turned around and spoke, "You cannot judge a person when she knows you're watching. It's when she thinks no one is watching that you judge. We'll see who she is then."

"You're going to have someone follow her?" Peggy asked.

He smiled. "Of course. Agent Carter, please return Toni's items besides that thing to her and release her." He turned leave, but he paused as he opened the door. "Mr. Stark, you can take the device with you. Your personal lab is better equipped to handle that than ours."

"You know she's going to ask for it," Peggy stated, playing with the unfixable communicate device.

"I know she will, and you will tell her Stark has it."

Howard narrowed his eyes. "Telling her that I have it would only send her to me to steal it back." He took a long look at the Colonel and he could see it in this eyes. "But that seems to be what you what."

Erskine's eyes widened as he realized Phillips plan. "If she does try to break into Stark Industries, we will know the truth and will have grounds to hold her. If she doesn't, we'll know that she's not a threat."

"She doesn't stand a chance against my Security," Howard said.

"You shouldn't underestimate your opponent, especially when she had already outsmarted you twice," Erskine smiled, looking at the devices on the table and in Peggy's hands.

Howard simply glared.

"You're counting on her doing as you plan but you don't know if she will," Peggy stated. "Why would she risk it for a broken device? If she's really as smart as she wants us to believe, she could just make a new one."

"I don't think it's unfixable and if it was, that doesn't change the importance of it," Erskine stated as he picked up the device. The burnt wires still hanged from it. "She wouldn't be making a big fuss about it if she didn't need it for something or if she could make a new one."

"And I know she'll go for it. I can see it in her eyes," Phillips started. "Once she's caught, she won't be able to talk her way out of it."

Howard took a deep breath. "She might be telling the truth that there's nothing to hide."

"Either way, we will know," Phillips responded.

*O*O*

It was stupid he knew, but he couldn't just sit around while others died for their country. However, there wasn't much more Steve Rogers could do as he failed his second attempt to enlist. He wasn't going to give up, even it was hopeless. He knew no one was going to want him, a frail man, who couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag, and he hated that. He hated that he couldn't help his country, that he was too weak to do anything. He wished he could do something to help.

"Am I good for anything?" he asked himself, as he passed yet another alley that he was beaten up. "You did save that girl," he told himself, remembering the woman he found in the empty lot a week ago. He hadn't seen a woman so injured before that he didn't know if she would survive. "I wonder if she's okay." After she was taken away, he hadn't seen or heard from her. He had tried calling the local hospitals to make sure she was okay, but there was no record of her at any of the hospitals. That worried him, but that didn't mean anything bad had happened to her.

Bucky already thought he was crazy as he kept trying to enlist, but if he knew that Steve was obsessing over a woman, who he didn't know, he would make him check into a mental hospital. He didn't understand what Steve was going through or what he was thinking. Bucky was a big and strong man, who anyone would want unlike him, who struggled to even open jars.

Steven took a deep breath as he recalled the events from the night that he found the woman. Just moments before he found her, he was laughed out of a recruitment office for the first time. Yes, laughed at, because no one could understand why anyone like him would want to enlist. He could hear the whispers from everyone, teasing that he could be killed by a look alone, and that hurt. It wasn't like he cared what others thought, but these insults hurt because he thought the same. "Can't think like that," he told himself. Like he was doing now, he had taken a long walk in the cold that night; however, he doubted he would come across a bleed woman again. God, he hoped not. He didn't need to be worrying about two unknown women.

Finding her was pure luck as he almost walked right pass the empty lot trying to forget his failures. She had been crying out for help but neither he nor anyone around him could hear her in all the noise. It had been a loud night that day in New York and her cries couldn't be heard over the loud music and voices. If it wasn't for the small cat he chased into the lot trying to save, he would have never found the girl.

That image of her was forever burned into his mind. At first, he was surprised she was alive because she was covered in blood and cut. It was also freezing, and it was a wonder that she was still alive in this weather. For a brief second, he wondered how she got here, because there were no signs that she was dropped here by someone or that she was here for long. The cold would've surely killed her if she was there longer than an hour.

Steve paused, closing his eyes, and took a deep breath. He was a gentleman, and he hated to see any dame in pain. Just by touching her, he could see that she was in extreme pain, and there was nothing he could've done for her a part from getting help.

"Who are you?" he asked. He remembered lowering himself down to her and being shocked at seeing a glow under her shirt. He wasn't sure what that was, but it peaked his interest. What could possibly be glowing under her shirt? At that moment though, he couldn't spend too much time on that as he had to save the woman. However, after making sure she was alright, his mind went back to the glow. He had mentioned the glow to the authorities, who stated he was imagining it. There was no glow. He dropped it, because they were probably right. Why would her chest be glowing? Even if it was, there was probably a reasonable explanation to it.

"And how did you know my name?" he asked, remembering her calling out to him. Taking a deep breath, he shook the memory as it was pointless. He would probably never see her again.

"It's cold. I should get home," he told himself. Bucky was probably worried about him, and he knew his best friend well enough to know that he would come looking for him if he didn't show up soon. Bucky knew what he was up to, and he was already worried about Steve's sanity.

As he rounded the corner the cornered, he noticed a woman, who she wasn't wearing a jacket. "Is she insane?" Steve asked himself. Just to make sure she was okay, he approached her, and to his shock and surprise, it was that lady. "Hey!" He picked up pace.

The woman turned to him with a surprise expression. "Rogers?"

Steve stared at the girl. How does she know my name? He wondered again.

:) I wasn't going to add Past Steve into this chapter but I decided to do so at the last second.

And I can't wait until May for Star Trek 2, Iron Man 3, and Fast & Furious 6...The only reason why I watched the Superbowl. ha ha.

Updated.