11 – Under Threat – May 14, 2012

"It was defective," Peter Stewart told them. Aspen couldn't stop staring at the #3 tattooed into his arm. "I had this inked on so that I would never forget. I've been looking for a cure all this time."

"I thought it had worked. I read the log."

He let out a humorless laugh. "It did, at first. I had a heightened sense for everything. I picked up skills in seconds. But then the pain started. At first it was just a migraine here and there but then it was abdominal pains and then stabbing pains. I saw a specialist and he said the serum was overloading my brain. My brain was fighting it off like a disease, and it came out in pain. He gave me ten years. That was in 1996. I've already outlived my expectations, but only through antidotes that have a very small effect on the serum. I need a pure serum to heal me and give me the powers I should have had."

"And the proper serum would cure you?" Aspen asked.

"It should correct the components in my brain that are malfunctioning. I joined A.I.M. ten years ago and worked my way to the top. I've been trying ever since to recreate the serum," Stewart said, turning his eyes to her. "Is it really asking for so much? One little sample?"

"If you were just trying to cure yourself, but it sounds like you want more than that," Aspen told him.

"I can't help myself. I want it all. What can I say? I'm ambitious."

"What if we made one dose of the serum?" Aspen asked.

"Then I'd make more. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to pretend that I'm not going to use it to build an army. I don't like smoke and mirrors."

"And if we refuse?"

"Then who would you like to see die first? Ava, do you want to see your husband die? Your daughter? Aspen, do you want to see your parents die or your soldier?"

Aspen glared at him. Her mother looked at the floor.

"This isn't a negotiation. I'm just waiting to see who volunteers first before I start dropping bodies."

Aspen remained silent. She knew she would give in before she watched someone she loved die but people were going to die if she delivered the serum into Stewart's hands. She wanted to scream. She shouldn't have to be in this situation in the first place. The serum was a threat not a scientific marvel. It needed to be destroyed.

"I'm tired of playing this game," Stewart said. Before anyone could move, he grabbed Aspen, holding an arm around her neck. She struggled to free herself, but she was still weak from the poison. Steve made to move forward, eyes stormy with anger.

"Let go of her," he said.

"Are you going to make me, Captain?" Stewart said.

"This doesn't have to end badly. Just let her go."

"Make the serum!" he shouted at Ava. "Or your daughter dies right here and now. He pulled a syringe from his pocket and held it above Aspen's neck. "This poison doesn't take 24 hours, and I'm told it hurts a lot. Your muscles swell and then stiffen. It's like every inch of your body is trying to expand inside of your skin. You can't move, can't even think for the pain."

"Stop!" her mom shouted. "Just stop. I will make the serum for you! I will make it. Just leave her alone!" Her green eyes were vivid with fear and anger, and Aspen could see the strands of grey hair and the worry lines that hadn't been there before. She realized just how much she had been through since the explosion. Maybe realizing her parents hadn't had it easy either was the first step to forgiveness. Aspen waited to see how Stewart would respond. He lowered the syringe.

"No more of your tricks," he said.

"No more tricks," she promised.

Stewart pushed Aspen away from him, and Steve caught her, pulling her close. "Get started," Stewart said. "You two come with me. Reunion is over."

"I can help her," Aspen said.

"And plan your escape? I don't think so."

"How will I know she's safe?" her mom asked.

"I won't kill your incentive," he said. "I have no reason to kill her if you do your job. She was my best student after all." He jerked his head toward the door. Aspen looked at her mom.

"It will be alright," she said. "We'll figure a way out of this."

"I love you, Aspen."

"I love you, Mom."

She felt Steve's hand on her back as they left the lab. She suddenly wanted her mom so badly she had to force herself to keep walking. Only Steve's presence kept her going. She wasn't used to this feeling. To know that her mom was only a few feet away, the mom she'd thought she'd lost when she was four…it was nearly unbearable.

They traveled the same path they had taken before. Aspen's eyes darted everywhere, trying to find some weak spot. That wasn't the problem though. Even if they did escape, she had no idea how to get her mom out of her locked lab or where her father was or how to destroy any research that was dangerous in Stewart's hands. She touched her necklace and hoped that Clint was coming for them.

When they reached the open room that led up to their assigned room, she noticed that four guards had started trailing them. She tensed. Something was off. She took Steve's hand and squeezed it. He looked down at her, and she slid her eyes to the side. He glanced at the guards, frowning. Stewart paused before the stairs. "I think it's time we split you two up," he said.

Aspen's heart gave a jolt. "What? No!" She and Steve spun around as the guards closed in. Steve was ready blocking one blow and sending another guard reeling back, nose gushing blood. The other three worked on pinning him down. Aspen could tell they were highly skilled, but they didn't have Steve's strength or speed. He spun out of their grasp and kicked one of the guards into the wall hard enough to knock him unconscious. Aspen lunged at the guard with the bleeding nose as he came at Steve again. She grabbed him around the neck and tightened her grip until he struggled to breathe. He grappled against her arms, but she wouldn't let go. Finally he backed up and rammed into the wall. She loosened her grip, feeling dazed. He threw her off, and she landed hard on the floor. A jolt went up her leg painfully enough to make her cry out. In that moment, Steve lost his concentration as he looked to see that she was all right. One of the guards took advantage of his distraction and stabbed a syringe into his arm.

"Steve!" Aspen struggled to her feet, but Stewart grabbed her arm, holding her back. "What did you do to him?" she shouted.

"Just a little sedative to keep him under control," he said. Aspen was breathing hard, her anger threatening to overwhelm her. "We need a sample of his blood and to run some tests. It won't hurt much."

"He is not some experiment," Aspen growled before slamming her left foot down on Stewart's foot and twisting out of his grip. He yelped in pain. Before she could reach Steve, however, one of the guards grabbed her. She tried to twist out of his grip, but he held her firmly. She watched in horror as the three remaining guards pinned Steve against the wall. One of them delivered a blow to his face.

"Stop it!" Aspen screamed. "Stop hurting him!" She turned on Stewart. "Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"I just wanted to see what kind of reaction you'd have to watching him get beaten. Seems even the Super Soldier bleeds," Stewart said. He looked on as the guards continued to punch Steve. Aspen fought the guard holding her, but his grip was too tight, and she was feeling dizzy again. She screamed in frustration.

"That's enough," Stewart said. "Take him to the lab." The guards pulled Steve up. Aspen could tell whatever sedative they'd injected him with was taking its toll. He tried to fight, but he couldn't seem to keep his balance. They dragged him away while Aspen watched on, unable to prevent it. Stewart turned to the guard holding Aspen. "Take her to her room and lock her in," he said.

"You disgust me," Aspen spat at him as the guard pushed her past him.

"Oh, honey, I'm just getting started."

…

Steve was hazily aware of what was happening to him as he was strapped down in a laboratory room. A needle attached to a blood bag was injected into his arm. Men dressed in white moved around him like he was a specimen. He couldn't seem to move his limbs, and his thoughts were sluggish. He was afraid for Aspen, but Stewart needed her alive. He began to fear for himself when he realized Stewart had no reason to keep him alive.

He fell in and out of consciousness as the scientists studied his blood. Finally the needle was removed and the men in white left. "I suppose I should thank you for helping me complete my Super-Adaptoid." Steve opened his eyes to look up at Peter Stewart. "Your blood was the final ingredient needed. I now hold the power of replicating your strength and agility and memory. With this I can make my army physically strong and with the Superhero Serum, I can give them endless possibilities of knowledge. We will be unstoppable. There's just one more thing I need before my army is complete. I think Aspen will be just the one to retrieve it for me. She has what I'd call the specific knowledge needed to retrieve it. And the perfect incentive. She'd do anything for you, you know."

Steve tried to speak, but found he couldn't. He settled on glaring at Stewart.

"You don't see it, do you? You both spend so much time wrapped in your pasts that you don't even see what's right in front of you. A soldier out of his time and a girl who keeps clinging onto the ghost of her future that will never be." He gave Steve a pitiful look. "It's sad really. You're running out of time. No matter. It will be over soon. I'm afraid you and Miss Tolvar won't live to see my army march on New York. They'll be one Avenger down, but I dare say they wouldn't stand a chance even with Captain America."

Steve twitched his finger, and Stewart followed the movement. "I see you're recovering your strength." He turned to someone behind him. "Take him back to his room," he said. "Tomorrow the Tolvar girl retrieves the Eye for me. Let them say their goodbyes."

…

Aspen paced back and forth across the room. She was numb with worry and fear. What if she never saw Steve again? What if they killed him? Stewart had said he was going to take a blood sample but for what purpose? Her thoughts flitted to the Super-Adaptoid her mother had mentioned. If they had his blood then could they replicate his powers? She stopped at the bed and pried the post off. There had to be something in her parents' notes that could help her take Stewart down. She flipped through the notes, rereading everything that had to do with A.I.M., but Stewart wasn't mentioned. She supposed they had no suspicions at that point. Their notes ended with the explosion. She shoved the phone back into the post, growing in frustration. Her leg was throbbing, but she continued to pace, biting her lip and trying to ignore the pain.

If Stewart hurt Steve, she was going to kill him. She stopped at this thought. Was this going to be another episode like with Danners? She let out a hysterical sort of sob at that thought. She didn't want to kill anyone, but she realized if it meant saving Steve, she would pull the trigger. She needed to find a way out of this room. She stopped her pacing and began a thorough search of the room. Twenty minutes later had yielded no weak spots. There were no windows, no vents or grates, and she doubted even Steve could break down the door. She found no hidden cameras or microphones, so that was a comfort at least.

Aspen finally sat down on the bed, exhausted. She kept looking at the door, expecting Steve to walk through at any moment, beaten up but alive. Her blood boiled at the thought of the guards punching him just because Stewart wanted to get a rise out of her. The thought of losing him was nearly too much for her. Panic threatened to consume her, and her vision blurred. She put a hand over her eyes, trying to breathe properly. When that didn't work, she curled up under the covers of the bed and tried to pretend that she was back in her apartment, Steve a few blocks away in his own. She tried to pretend that she was still in New York and that none of this had happened.

She somehow managed to fall asleep because she woke up to the sound of the door unlocking. She leaped to her feet as the door opened and two guards shoved Steve into the room. He fell to his hands and knees as the guards shut the door, locking it behind them.