I apologise for the wait. This is the second to last chapter. Please tell me what you think. Sorry if anyone is OOC.
Also, to anyone who asked about the dog. She's fine, I just asked my friend to upload because if I stopped stroking the dog she would get upset!
I do not own any characters.
Merry Christmas if you celebrate it! Hope you have a good day if you don't!
1945 – Peter
It was too early in Peter's opinion. There were no windows but he still felt tired so it must be too early. None the less there was a knock at the door so he guessed it was time to wake up.
"Come in." Peter grumbled.
Light poured into the room as the door swung open.
"Breakfast." Came the cheerful cry of Dum Dum Dugan. Peter just burrowed his head further into his pillow.
"Nmmmmmmm." He groaned.
The man laughed as he yanked the thin sheet off of Peter allowing cold to envelop him. It was then Peter realised how sore his feet were. He had walked on hard ground in the snow in just socks. He didn't actually realise someone had taken them off in the truck but now he registered that he had walked on concrete/gravelled floor barefoot.
"Those are some nice blisters you got there, kid." Dum Dum said, poking at his feet. Peter flinched back from the ticklish sensation.
Peter rolled over and sat up, his hair covering his face. Although he'd lost his powers and beyond in strength, he was thankful that he didn't need his glasses again.
Dum Dum started rummaging about the room until he came back and sat at the end of Peter's cot with a jar and some tape.
"This'll ease the pain a bit and the tape'll help." Dum Dum said. "Got to get you some shoes and a change of clothes."
"I can't have a shower by any chance, can I?" asked Peter.
"I'll see what I can do. It all depends if you can stand by yourself today." Dum Dum said, rubbing the cream into Peter's feet. Peter nodded solemnly. "Does it hurt anywhere else?"
Peter thought about how his whole body ached slightly. There was a deep throbbing coming from his ribs where he had been roughly kicked by the Hydra soldiers. There was probably nothing Dum Dum could do so he just shook his head. No point being any more of a bother.
Dum Dum finished up and walked out quickly, hunting for spare clothes. He came back five minutes later with a shirt too big and trousers too small. He had also acquired a fresh pair of underwear that fit perfectly and some thick socks that would have to do until they came across the right pair of shoes.
"Come on, lad." Dum Dum said, easing Peter to his feet. "Come have breakfast with us. You can listen to the Captain America show."
"He has a show!" Peter gawked. Dum Dum let out a full belly laugh.
"It's hilarious, something to hold against him, I'm sure." Dum Dum said with amusement.
They reached a mess hall where there was a canteen and tables full of people. Peter was having to lean on Dum Dum. He wasn't feeling as weak as yesterday but it still wasn't good enough and his feet were not helping. One table at the back had a gaggle of laughing men. Peter recognised them instantly.
"It appears we missed the beginning of the show." Dum Dum said, grabbing a tray for Peter and getting him a mix of boiled eggs, bread and beans as well as a second helping for himself. He then took the food and Peter to the table at the back and sat down.
"-me Captain." Came the screech of a high pitched woman's voice.
"Hold on, my dear." Came a dramatic booming voice. "I'll save you."
The men fell about, laughing again.
A dramatic narrator started eagerly telling a story of how the dashingCaptain America saved his dame.
Peter had a hard time swallowing his food. It was a challenge not to spit it out.
"Oh please tell me you're not listening to that drivel." Came the British voice of Peggy Carter, standing behind them.
"Don't you want to hear about the exploits of Captain America and his dame?" Gabe Jones asked innocently.
Peggy rolled her eyes and sat on the edge of the bench.
"Yeah, come on Peggy, it sounds just like dear old Cap." Dum Dum joined in.
Peter almost choked on his drink to hide his laughter. Dum Dum just laughed and smacked him on the back to clear his airway.
"Got a problem with him saving women?" Happy Sam asked seriously. Peter coughed a couple of times before answering.
"No, but I heard Peggy shot grandpa after he had the serum." Peter pointed out. "I don't think she's a dame and I'm not sure how often she needs to be saved."
This set off another bout of laughter and Peggy shot Peter a warm smile.
"Yeah, he's definitely related to Cap. You can see it in how he talks to women." Dum Dum boomed.
Peggy gave Peter a one armed hug.
"No, that's just because he's a gentleman, unlike you slobs." Peggy shot back.
Peter just laughed. Falsworth stared at Peter for a second, noticing how confused he looked.
"What's wrong kid?" He asked, the radio play still nattering on in the background.
The other faced Peter who started turning slightly red at the attention.
"Grandpa told me a bunch of stories about you guys, how you're all really brave and amazing soldiers-"
"Nah, your grandpa's just a bit on the cuckoo side. His head's been out the trenches for too long." Sam joked.
"It's just weird seeing this side of things when you're all portrayed as heroes." Peter blushed.
"I hope I got a big monument in my name." Dum Dum joked.
"No, they made them in ratio with our brain size. Yours is the smallest." Joked Jacques.
And yet another argument broke out amongst them.
Falsworth quickly tired of the fighting and turned to Peter.
"Do you honestly call him grandpa?" He asked.
Peter thought about it for a second.
"Most of the time." Peter admitted. "It was a little odd at first. It's kind of like calling Peggy grandma. She doesn't look that much older than me. But I felt odd just calling him Steve so…"
"That's a sight," Sam chuckled at Peggy. "You being called grandma!"
"I thought they were your great grandparents!" Dum Dum interrupted.
"Well, yeah," Peter said looking confused. "What am I supposed to say, good morning great gramps – or, how was your run grrrrrandpa?"
The others chuckled at Peter's dry voice, finally agreeing at Peter's choice in name.
Everyone got up to continue their day. Peggy seemed left in a daze for a moment longer. She knew that Peter claimed to be related to her but being called grandma was something different entirely.
The day passed by with nothing interesting happening. Peter was left to his own devices which meant boredom. He couldn't beat up bad guys or watch TV and he didn't want to make weapons.
He actually spent a lot of his time considering his web shooters. He carried spare refills around in case one finished. It would be so much easier if he had web shooters with refills inside, sort of like a rotating system. And then if the capsules were a light weight clear plastic, they would be cheaper and perhaps he could make them carry more. He'd also be able to see how much was left in every container and….
Peter scribbled his ideas down with gusto. Anyone who came to check on him looked at his concentrating face, watched the speed of his pencil (that was moving far too slowly for Peter's liking), and saw random drawings and silly words splattered onto a page. After assessing that he was still alive and no worse than last time someone checked, they would turn around and walk straight out.
It was after dinner that he decided to go visit Howard again. One of the commandoes helped him to the lab and waited until he was sitting down before going back to Hydra Hunting where they looked at a map and planned an attack on their next base.
"What can I do for you, kid?" Howard asked, not looking up from the glowing green substance in front of him.
"I wanted to apologise for what I said yesterday." Peter mumbled. He knew what he said was true, that didn't mean he needed to be on the wrong side of a genius who could help him.
"Done," Howard brushed off. "Anything else.
"I need a favour." Peter blurted.
Howard looked over to the teen and placed a protective cover over his experiment.
"And why do I owe you a favour?" he asked with mocking curiosity.
"It's not much," Peter said. "But when you can, I need you to leave a note for your son. Anything just saying the date I arrived or something."
"You're sure my 'son' is looking for you?" Howard asked. It hurt Peter to think otherwise.
"I hope so." Peter said looking at his hands. "I mean, I've seen the lengths your son and his team would go through for a friend. Grandpa says he'd always look out for me. I have to believe they'd look."
"If I remember, I'll tell this kid of mine where you're at. Happy?" Howard huffed.
Peter nodded vigorously.
"Now, in return, tell me about technology. How do people travel? And TVs, are those still around?" Howard asked.
This led Peter to go into a detailed description of cars – no, hover cars did not exist – robots, phones, laptops, tablets, anything and everything. He made sure Howard didn't take down any notes and didn't answer any questions that would cause them to be invented earlier. He had seen all the movies and read all the books. Changing the past, even a little, is a bad idea.
They talked for hours.
"So people have a telephone in their ear?" Howard was asking. He looked bewildered at the concept.
"Not implanted there, it's connected to their mobile phone." Peter explained again. "It means they can use their hands while answering calls. Busy business people are often seen with them."
They probably would have talked longer if an alarm didn't start screeching.
"What does that mean?" Peter asked in a panic.
"We've got to evacuate!" Howard answered immediately rushing around his lab. "I've got to destroy this all."
1945 - Steve
Steve had arrived on the wrong day! He knew it was the wrong day because whatever raid had picked Peter up was gone. Steve had woken up on gravel with a horrible headache. He'd pocketed the time travel device and the settings device before scouring the facility. It must have been almost midday when he started moving. He found a bag to put anything useful he found including water and a gun with extra ammo. He'd also lost his shoes as he time travelled and found the changing rooms. Almost all of the available shoes were too small but one pair was a bearable size.
Once he had strapped the bag and his shield onto his back he started looking for a vehicle. He was so happy he found a standard army issued motorbike. It had fuel and looked in decent condition, unlike the rest of the destroyed facility.
Soon he headed in the direction the map had said. It had taken him longer than he thought and when he got there the facility was under attack, surrounded by at least twenty soldiers. It was a plain building in the middle of nowhere. He could see trucks trying to evacuate while soldiers fought back. It was hard to make out a lot in the darkness. Steve decided to join the fray. He leaped into the air allowing his bike to plough into the backs of Hydra soldiers and landed in the middle of the enemy.
He used his shield as a battering ram and a club, attacking as many people in one smack as he could. Soon, there weren't many people left outside to deal with so Steve left quickly and charged into the building. The video of Howard had said that he and Peter got split up. Maybe he could find Peter before that happened. He knocked every hydra soldier he found. Those who weren't hydra recognised the shield, they were just having a veryhard time believe that Captain America was holding it. After all, he wasn't in costume.
The floor had given way in the building, making a slope to the hidden base below. A large explosion came from close by in the building. Steve decided it was as good a place as any to investigate.
He came upon a group of Hydra soldiers all with their weapons pointed at one man. Howard Stark. Steve wasted no time using his shield as a Frisbee and disposing of the enemy.
"Holy Christ, it is you." Howard gawked.
"Good to see you too Howard." Steve said with a small smile. Within seconds he was focused on the task. "Howard, I need you to tell me, a teenager, boy with brown hair-"
"Peter." Howard nodded eagerly.
"Yeah, Peter, where is he?" Steve asked urgently.
"Peggy took 'im." Howard said, "they left out the back not a minute ago."
"Where are they going?" Steve urged.
"Some safe house," Howard said trying to remember. "Two miles east from here."
Steve nodded and started charging to a door.
"I can show you a quick way out." Howard shouted after him. Steve turned on his heels and charged after him.
They made it into the open air to see a truck shooting away from the facility with two motorbikes in tow.
With his superior sight Steve could make out Falsworth and Gabe leaning out the back with their guns, taking shots at their pursuers.
"Come on," Howard said, dragging Steve. "We need a car."
Peter
Peggy had come to retrieve Peter as soon as the alarms sounded, they'd charged down the hallway only to be stopped part way. Thankfully other Howling Commandoes had gotten the message and arrived on the scene clearing the way. Once outside in the cold night air, they had climbed in the first vehicle that would fit them all. Dum Dum had charged back in to grab Howard As soon as he went in there was an explosion. Apparently the man had been surrounded and some soldiers had started shooting at him. It wasn't long until the truck started being shot at, then they knew they had to leave.
Peter was shoved to the floor of the truck as hydra started shooting at them. Soon the facility was in the background but the gun fire didn't stop. Within a mile of leaving the building they had gained two extra tails, both on bikes.
"We have a problem." Peggy called from the driver's seat.
"We can see that." Grumbled Dum Dum.
"We're running out of gas!" Peggy shouted. It was then that one of the hydra soldiers shot at a tyre repeatedly until it finally gave out. The truck spun around a few times before veering off the muddy track.
Peter thought it couldn't get any more cliché for a car chase when they started sliding down a hill. It was then he decided to stop thinking before he jinxed everything.
They came to a halt by a large tree and he was pulled out. He finally had the strength to stand and walk on his own but he still didn't have any shoes. He felt twigs snap beneath his feet and stone pushed into the balls of his feet. If it wasn't for the thick socks he had on, he knew it would be a lot worse.
He stumbled along behind the others, deciding not to wait for back up to come. It would really help if his spidey sense wasn't going haywire right now. He doubted he was about to be shot in half the directions it was saying he would. Ignoring the feeling was hard though and was giving him a bad headache much to his dismay.
Someone shushed them all and Peter was tugged to the side to hide behind a tree. His tree hiding partner was Peggy. She had her gun ready and a fierce look on her face. Peter was right, she wasn't a damsel in distress.
They could see torch light if they peaked around the trees. Peter had never been so defenceless! Natasha had taught him how to fight without his powers but that was of little use when the enemy was constantly shooting at you and you could hardly throw a pebble.
Peter edged sideways to look at the approaching enemies. What he wouldn't do to have his web shooters. Just stick them to the tree and then wander off to safety. He didn't need strength for that.
Peter was yanked back behind the tree by Peggy who glared at him silently. Even in the dark he could feel the glare.
All hell broke loose seconds later when they opened fire at the treeline. Peter flinched at the sound. Peggy and the other started shooting back. Peter didn't dare look back and risk being shot at or watching people die. Peggy pulled Peter forwards and further into the forest, trying to drag him to safety. The others stayed behind to hold them off. It almost worked. They had been running for at least three minutes when Peter started wheezing. It felt like his asthma was back much to his horror. He stumbled, barely catching himself. Peggy stopped to pull him up.
"Come on, Peter." She encouraged him. "We have to keep going."
Peter wheezed more as he tried to catch his breath. A bullet brushed past his shoulder, cutting the oversized shirt but just missing the skin. Peggy yanked Peter to his feet and pushed him behind her, her gun pointing straight.
A Hydra soldier emerged from the trees, his gun pointed straight back.
"Gun down." He ordered in a deep German accent.
"Not going to happen." Peggy called back.
Peter tried to focus his senses. It would be great if his spidey sense was working right now. The ringing in his head dulled down as the seconds ticked by, it started making accurate assumptions of where the danger was.
It didn't matter. Soon they were surrounded. The Howling Commandoes emerged from the treeline with their hands on their heads. They looked annoyed rather than terrified. Peter assumed they had also been surrounded, he had no idea where the extra men came from, but he didn't think these men would just lay down their guns. The man who had told Peggy to put her gun down thrust it to face Jacques who was at the head of the line. Peggy huffed before throwing down her gun.
"Hands above your head!" The man shouted.
Peggy begrudgingly moved both her hands on her head. Peter followed shortly behind her. They were yanked from behind, grabbed by the elbow and roughly pushed into line with the other soldiers.
Each of them was forced onto their knees. The circle of enemy soldiers closed in on them and Peter could feel all the guns pointed at them. His heart spiked and his concentration on his spidey sense all went to hell. His headache just increased.
Out of the corner of his eye, Peter saw Peggy look down to the slight bulge that was her stomach. There was a flicker of fear on her face before it all vanished leaving a blank expression.
"Which of you is not from here?" the German soldier questioned loudly.
Falsworth shifted.
"I'm not," He sighed in despair. The soldier's eyes flickered over. "I'm from England."
Jacques and Dum Dum snickered but the soldier scowled. He walked over, pointing his gun straight at the British man.
Peter shifted nervously. He needed to help the man!
"Don't." Peggy hissed under her breath.
Peter heard the guns shift around them. The soldier was now directly in front of Falsworth.
"I will give you one more chance." He shouted. "Who here is not from this time?"
Peter heard a click from the gun and forced his eyes shut tightly.
"I am!" He cried out. "Sorry grandma." He whispered.
Peter heard a sigh of relief and several sighs of defeat.
There was a shove from behind causing Peter to fly face first into the twigs and dead leaves that littered the forest ground. He dared not move his hands from his head.
Peter felt himself being hauled to his knees and dragged in front of the others. He opened his eyes and saw the barrel of a gun being pointed directly in front of his face.
The soldier behind the gun had a wild smile plastered on his face. He shifted his eyes to the soldiers behind and Peter heard a variety of clicks. He tried to turn around but felt the barrel of a gun pressed into the back of his head.
"Please don't!" He begged. He knew what was happening. The soldiers had their guns trained on the World War Two heroes behind him and they were ready to shoot. Peter could hear the leaves shifting in the trees. Everything else was silent.
"Answer me this and we shall see." The soldier said gleefully. "Why were you picked?"
Peter hadn't even taken a breath to answer when something – someone – slammed into the ground in front of him.
Peter watched as the figure stood to his full height. Peter couldn't see the soldier's face but he could see that his gun had drooped to his side. Probably in shock! He could hear as guns shifted to face the intruder. Peter could see the shield by the man's side and knew who it was, instantly.
"You don't get to ask him questions." Steve snarled.
Tell me what you think. Thanks :)
YJF