A Super-Soldier for the Modern World
Chapter 26
Captain Steve Rogers pushed Amanda Carter out of the way. The two of them had gone unaccompanied into one of the tunnels to do some recon and had unintentionally wandered into an AIM pocket.
The two of them were now being fired upon and Steve used his shield to cover the both of them.
"Are you kidding me?! I thought that AIM had been taken down!" Amanda shouted as she dashed while the bullets flew.
"I guess the European leg didn't get the memo!" Steve yelled back at her.
He threw his shield and it bounced off of the tunnel wall and into two of the AIM gunmen. Both crumpled to the ground. The shield continued to the other wall of the tunnel and then Steve caught it effortlessly.
Amanda ducked down then leaned out to fire one of the guns she held. She took down another two AIM people and soon it was just Steve and one particularly burly AIM soldier left.
This last one didn't have a gun and he said nothing as he lumbered towards Steve.
Steve swung and his fist connected with solid metal. The sound echoed around them.
"Is he…a robot?" Amanda called.
Steve didn't answer her. He swung as hard as he could with his shield and took the android's head clean of. The enormous body clattered to the ground with a very loud thud.
Steve and Amanda moved to inspect the mechanical AIM agent when a distinct ticking sound was heard.
"Oh, shit!" Amanda shouted. "It's a bomb!"
Steve grabbed Amanda and pushed her in front of him as they ran out the tunnel the same way they'd come in. About ten feet from the entrance, the explosion knocked them the rest of the way out and they laid in the grass for a second as they regained their bearings.
"Are you all right?" Steve asked when he sat up and looked over at Amanda.
She sat up and flexed both ankles. "Aside from almost being blown up, I think I'm okay. How are you?"
"A bit singed, but otherwise okay."
"I think we might be headed in the right direction," Amanda smiled. "I just have this feeling."
Steve stood and reached down to help Amanda up.
They had been with Coulson's team for the last two weeks finding a bunch of dead ends before happily finding this tunnel in southern Germany.
The tunnel was under one of the castles that Hydra had taken as a fortress during the war and it was now a national landmark that was closed to the public for fear of giving out radiation poisoning. Apparently, it didn't deter some folks from using it, though.
"Are you both all right?" came Coulson's voice in their ears.
"We're good. I think you should think about calling in a strike team, though. I think we should strike while the iron is still hot," Steve said. "And you should be back aboard the plane," he said to Amanda.
"What?" she said. "Why would I…?"
"It's dangerous, Amanda," he said.
He'd spent those two weeks trying to convince Amanda that she should stay up on the plane if and when they found something. She was incredibly valuable to both him and SHIELD and he wasn't keen on putting her in such imminent danger.
The two of them began their walk back to the plane that had been hidden using some special technology.
No one was coming after them and that bothered Amanda a lot more than she wanted to admit. Why was no one else rushing to come after them?
"Steve, Captain…" she started. "You know just as well as I do that whatever you decide to go running into, I'm going, too."
The two of them came within a foot of the force-field and the bus appeared to the both of them.
Ward was waiting for them at the door.
"Our preliminary scans show that there is a head signature coming from the castle," he told them.
Steve nodded. "What kind of heat signature?"
"Weapons, mostly. But some we can ID as people, too," Ward replied.
"What about robots?" Amanda asked. "More specifically, robot-bombs?"
"Robot bombs?" Ward repeated.
"That's what exploded and closed off the tunnel," Steve explained. "There were four AIM agents and one very large robot-bomb."
Steve pulled off his right glove and showed both Amanda and Ward the purple bruise that was already forming where he had punched the machine.
"Did you say robot?" Coulson asked.
"It wasn't advanced. It walked like Frankenstein and didn't say anything," Amanda told Coulson.
"Didn't need to say anything," Steve said as he removed his helmet. "It said plenty when it exploded."
"Yeah, I'm not a fan of the blowing up part," Amanda said. "I coulda done without that."
FitzSimmons appeared a moment later. "We should scan you both…" Simmons said. "For radiation," Simmons explained.
"We want to make sure that thing didn't expose you to lethal doses," Fitz said.
Steve cocked an eyebrow. "Lead the way," he said.
He put his hand on Amanda's lower back and guided her in front of him as they followed behind FitzSimmons.
"Call in all of the back-up we have, Ward. I think we've found what we're looking for."
…
"How did they get here without anyone noticing?" the Red Skull shouted.
"I am not certain, Herr Schmidt," his minion told him.
"That is simply unacceptable. Rogers will not stand in my way anymore. He managed to foil my attempted in 1945, but now is a different story. I will come out on top. Find how they got here and destroy it. And get me my daughter!"
…
"I'm showing something on the scan, but it's not radiation from the blast," Simmons said to Amanda.
"What is it?" Amanda asked.
"Um…" the young woman stalled.
"What is it, Simmons?" Amanda asked.
Jemma looked over her shoulder at Leo Fitz and Captain Rogers. Her voice was low.
"You're pregnant, Agent 13," she said to Amanda.
Amanda didn't have time to process the news. She felt faint and passed out immediately.
When she started to come to, she heard Steve talking with FitzSimmons.
"Could it have been caused by the explosion?" Steve asked.
"Um, well…" Simmons said as she picked up her scanner before either man could read it. "It could very well be due to the adrenaline rush. It could have caused a sudden drop in her blood pressure which would just, you know, cause her to fall right over…"
Simmons was doing her best to cover, but Fitz was regarding her with a wicked gleam in his eye. Jemma was lying. He could always tell when she was lying.
Amanda opened her eyes and regarded all of them.
"Amanda, are you all right?" Steve asked her, his face etched with concern.
"I hate being the damsel in distress, but it seems I play the role so well these days," she said as she climbed from the exam table. "I'm fine, Steve. I'm going to let Agent Simmons finish her examination. So, could us ladies have some privacy?" she said as she shooed the men from the room.
Amanda wore a smile on her face, but quickly dropped it as she closed the blinds and locked the door.
"What do you mean that I'm pregnant?" she said to Simmons.
…
"We'll send Barton and Romanoff as well as anyone else on the teams that we can get together quickly. I don't think the World Security Council is going to take too kindly to this threat, or how we're handling it, but…" Fury told Rogers.
"I'm not so sure I care what they think. Either we do something to stop Hydra now, or we do it later. But I'm going to be fighting this battle."
Once Amanda had kicked him out of the examination room, he'd immediately gotten in touch with Director Fury.
"Rogers, we don't know what or who they have on their side."
"Are you talking aliens?" Steve asked.
"Aliens, Asgardians, does it matter? You don't have much intel and I'm concerned that you're taking my best…"
"Why don't you trust me?" Steve asked.
"I do trust you, Steve, but…"
"You sent me on this, Nick. You did. Now do you want me to take care of this threat or is this all because of something else?"
"Neutralize the threat, Rogers," Fury told him. "Your back-up is on the way."
The channel disconnected and Steve heard a knock on the door. Coulson peeked around.
"Do you ever get used to working for a man who basically talks in circles?" Steve asked.
Coulson smiled. "At least you could get a hold of him."
"I might have but I don't think it resolved much," Steve told him. "He is, however, sending back-up."
"You have full use of my team," Coulson said.
"Are they ready for something like this? Are they ready? This is war, Coulson," Steve said.
"This is what we prepared for, Captain Rogers. Ward and May will be helping lead them. And FitzSimmons can hold their own, even though they're science officers. And, of course, you have myself and 13."
At the mention of her name, Amanda walked into the room.
"Get the all clear?" Steve smiled warmly at her.
Amanda took a deep breath. "Yup. Not dying of radiation poisoning today," she smiled. "DO we have clearance for back up?"
"Fury is sending Romanoff and Barton. And some of the other available agents. We should have at least two dozen."
"Will that be enough?"
"We're reading heat signatures on about a dozen people in the whole castle," Coulson explained.
"That seems odd."
"No one has come in or out. The AIM agents in the tunnel were the only ones out of the centralized area."
"I feel like this is a trap," Amanda said. "I don't think…"
"Agent 13, you have an incoming call. Agent Romanoff…" May's voice came over the audio system.
"Thank you. Secure channel oh-eight-seven," Amanda replied.
"What do you mean you're pregnant?" Nat yelled in her ear.
"I can't talk about that right now…"
"You haven't told him yet?"
"No," Amanda said while attempting to smile.
"Hang up this phone and tell him. And catch the next transport back to the States."
The line went dead and Amanda hung up the phone.
"Everything all right with Natasha?" Steve asked. "Sounded like she was yelling."
"Well, you know, Nat…" Amanda said. "She's always angry about something or other. Hey Coulson, could I talk to Captain Rogers alone?"
Coulson blushed slightly and nodded. "Of course."
He nodded again and exited the room.
"Something's wrong. What is it?" he asked when they were alone.
"I'm pregnant."
Steve Rogers laughed. And he continued to laugh until he realized that his wife, Amanda Carter, wasn't laughing with him. She was standing there looking mad as hell.
"Wait? You're really pregnant?" he said as he looked down into her eyes.
Amanda nodded up and down. She wasn't telling a joke.
Steve smiled and picked her up to spin her around.
"That is the best news!" he said to her. "The best! Aren't you excited?"
"It's just…"
"We should see how we can get you back to New York…" he jumped in. "Maybe Stark can send a jet this way…"
"That's what I thought you were going to say," Amanda said quietly.
"I won't risk and our unborn child," he said. "So…"
"I'm not going back to New York. I'm staying here. With you."
She wasn't going to throw a temper tantrum. She was an adult. A married adult…and her husband…Captain America, was telling her what to do. Or at least he was trying to. She wasn't going to back down.
"Amanda, you cannot do this. And you shouldn't have gone into that fight today. You need to be totally checked out. Even I know that…"
"You have a lot of experience with pregnant women?"
"Well, no…"
"Relax, Captain. I will not go into battle. But I will be staying on this plane," she said, her hand behind her back.
"You won't fight?" he asked.
"Nope," she said with her fingers securely crossed behind her back.
… …
Author's note: My sincerest apologies for not updating much sooner than now. Hopefully, you'll forgive me and send me some reviews.
Also, I hope everyone has had a chance to see The Winter Soldier. Such an amazing movie!