A/N: Just a quick thank you to everyone reviewing, following, and adding this story to your favorites. I really do appreciate it, all the feedback and comments in the reviews really are great and help with my writing process. Enjoy the newest chapter!
Emma the next day took a car over to the Brooklyn location to the site for Project Rebirth with Doctor Erskine, Steve was following with Agent Carter a little ways behind them not to make it obvious.
Emma waited for Agent Carter and Steve to arrive at the desk by the doors. She was nervous for what to expect to happen, she got a glimpse of the equipment downstairs and it made her extremely nervous. She was worried what Steve was going to have to go through, it all looked too complicated and painful.
"Agent Walker," Peggy greeted her and she nodded her head to both her and Steve. She then joined on his left side.
The three of them walked in together and everyone stopped what they were doing to look up at them and they escorted him downstairs to get ready. As he undressed out of his shirt and tie in front of Agent Carter and Emma, they both looked at each other with worrying looks.
Mr. Stark came up and introduced himself to Emma, "Agent Walker, it's a pleasure to meet you. Doctor Erskine tells me you have done some research and knew his American associates the Barkers? They were close friends of mine."
Emma felt a pang at the mention of her parents but smiled, "Yes, a pleasure to meet you Mr. Stark, I've seen your work and it's incredible." If only he really knew what she meant by that.
Just then Steve started to get ready for the procedure in the capsule.
"Agent Carter and Walker, don't you think you would be more comfortable in the booth?" Doctor Erskine asked.
"Oh, yes sorry." Peggy said.
"I will stay down here, thank you." Emma said giving Erskine a hard look, he knew she wanted to see this up close and personal, to understand her own case with the serum.
Steve watched Peggy walk away and she looked back at him before heading up and then he looked up at Emma and smiled, "Glad you are here."
"I couldn't leave my favorite soldier." His smile turned into a grin at that.
"I am going to need you to step down by Mr. Stark, Agent Walker." Emma nodded to Doctor Erskine and gave Steve's shoulder a touch and then left.
Doctor Erskine grabbed the microphone and started talking to the booth above and explained what he was about to do. When Emma saw all the blue vials and how many they were going to inject in Steve she felt her stomach drop, that was way more than what she was given, she hoped Erskine knew what he was doing.
"Doctor Erskine has this covered, he'll be alright." Howard whispered close to her.
"Thanks, it's just Steve's a friend of mine and seeing this is…"
"Unreal? Yeah I know, when I was asked to help make a weapon, I didn't think I would be making a human weapon but like Erskine said he's to help bring peace not more violence. And Rogers seems like the right guy for that job."
Emma gave a small smile at that, "He is."
"Now Mr. Stark," Erskine directed to Howard.
"Showtime," he whispered to Emma and he started the machine and she watched Steve get enclosed in the capsule.
"Steven? Can you hear me?" Erskine asked once he was enclosed.
"Probably too late to go to the bathroom right?" Steve joked and Emma tried not to smile.
Erskine then gave them the nod to go and everything started, a bright light emitted from the capsule and Stark announced each percentage. At seventy percent, Steve started to scream. Erskine ran to the capsule quickly and Emma started to follow but Howard grabbed her arm.
"Stop it!" Emma shouted at Howard.
"Shut it down!" Peggy shouted from up top.
"Shut it down!" Emma screamed scared for him, she was afraid he was going to die. Even though she knew the outcome, for those brief seconds, she forgot her foresight at being a time traveler and was completely in the moment and afraid for Steve's life.
"Kill the reactors Mr. Stark!" Erskine shouted.
"No! Don't! I can do this!" Steve yelled.
Howard went back and continued till it was at 100 percent and everyone had to close their eyes against the light and most of the machines started sparking and then capsule finally stopped glowing.
"Mr. Stark!" Erskine yelled and Emma looked up as the capsule opened and gasped at what had happened to Steve.
He was not the same man he was before, still the same face but dear lord! He had grown at least up to 6 feet and he had muscles he never had before. He looked healthy and strong. Emma now understood why the serum affected him differently than her, the reactors helped the growth process while hers took over her life span to finally stop at 25, which Steve was already at and would stay at for the rest of time.
"Oh my God!" Emma whispered to herself, "It's Captain America." She quickly ran up to join Erskine and Howard who were helping Steve out of the capsule.
"We did it?"
"Yeah I think we did." Erskine said with a smile as he looked at Emma.
"You actually did it." Howard said in amazement.
Peggy came down and joined Emma by her side both just staring on in wonder and awe at the new Steve.
"How-" Emma couldn't find words.
"How do you feel?" Peggy asked softly.
Steve kept looking around in amazement, "Taller." He said breathlessly.
Peggy reached out and touched his chest briefly and then grabbed a shirt from a nurse.
"You look taller," Emma commented finally finding words. She then couldn't resist and reached out and touched his chest and shoulder and he gave a small smile.
"Still making sure it's me?" He asked as he realized her hand was still on his bare chest. Emma quickly pulled it away and handed Steve the shirt from Peggy.
"Uh, yeah you could say that." She stumbled over her words. Erskine was right, the serum changed to who you truly were on the inside and Steve was always this strong internally, fighting for his life every day and now he looked the part. And Emma had to admit, it wasn't a bad look.
Suddenly there was an explosion in the booth and Steve grabbed Emma and covered her as they ducked. Just as they were starting to get up gunshots fired behind them and Erskine fell down dead.
"NO!" Emma shouted and Peggy fired at one of the men getting away and followed after them. Steve ran over by Emma's side and Erskine pointed at both of their hearts and died.
Emma grabbed a gun and followed after Peggy and Steve followed behind her. Emma joined by Peggy's side to start shooting at the car coming towards them but suddenly something pinned them both to the ground and it was Steve.
"I had him!" Peggy yelled at him.
"Sorry!" Steve called and he ran after the car.
"Who was that?" Emma asked Peggy.
"The only people I know after us, Hydra."
Emma seethed at those words knowing they killed her parents. She wanted to get up and run after them but she became very lightheaded.
"Emma? Are you alright? You don't look well?" Peggy asked.
"I need to go," Emma got up and quickly left, to an alleyway nearby and closed her eyes letting the familiar sensation fill around her and then she heard a familiar voice.
"You did not join the SSR?!" Coulson's voice rang out.
Emma opened her eyes to see Coulson, Natasha, Clint, Maria, and Fury staring at her in the main conference room. She must've sensed them all there and that's why she chose to come back in that spot.
"Uh….I might have…."
Coulson just put his head in his hands and Natasha and Clint just mimed a slow clap with grins on their faces. Maria just rolled her eyes while Fury just shook his head.
"You didn't change anything did you?"
"Nope, but you could've forewarned me that Erskine died the same day as Project Rebirth!" Emma snapped taking a seat in between Clint and Natasha.
"I knew you would've tried to change it," Fury answered.
"Well I saw my parents and I didn't change that did I?" She retaliated. "I just would've liked a fair warning. Plus, even though I knew all about the Captain America files, I never saw pictures. Steve looks so different!"
"Steve?" Natasha teased like a little school girl. "I thought we called him Captain Rogers, Agent."
"Does someone have a crush? Are you turning into Coulson?" Clint teased back.
Emma rolled her eyes, "Thank you preteen twins. I-I don't have a…well I might have…" Emma couldn't find the words, her friendship towards Steve had changed during their time at Camp Leigh and she saw how he became the man he truly was and then seeing him completely change, it all just… She placed her head in her hands, her head started to hurt from such a long trip and all the thoughts going through her head. On top of that she was dealing with the death of one of the few people she met that had known her parents and had became a friend to her.
"She likes him," Natasha whispered over Emma's head to Clint.
"Shut up!" Emma whined like a preteen, damn it, now she was acting like them.
"What was it like?" Phil asked with actual interest.
"Okay, enough of this madness. He became the super soldier and everything happened like it was supposed to, so history is fine. Now back to business." Fury called everyone to order and got back to their debriefing.
"No, wait a second," Emma said thinking through the pain and haze in her head, "You said you had files on me, you knew about me and had been looking for me for years until you finally found me at the right time and place. You must've known then I was going to join the SSR?"
Fury shifted uncomfortably in his chair and everyone else in the room looked over at him.
"Maria and I, and Clint and Natasha had access to Emma's files, her file dates started in 1942 from her birth and then didn't pick up again till 1955 with her first sighting at the age of 3, accidentally going to her aunt's childhood home."
Emma gave a snort at the memory, she was angry at her aunt, adoptive aunt, whom was watching her at the time. She wouldn't let her have ice cream for dinner, so she imagined going away and ended up being in her aunt's playpen as a baby and threw toys at her until she cried. Emma then appeared back in her room, still pouting in time out from her punishment.
Fury shifted again and tried to change the subject but Emma cut him off, "Nick, is there more to my files?"
He sighed and closed his eye and put his fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose, he did this when he was irritated, and looked back at Emma, "Yes, there is more. You have a whole room dedicated to you. None of you are ready to see what is in that room or some of the files stored there as well. I only gave you files we figured out were events that have already happened, it is against codes of time travel to reveal the future or give information about a time traveler's future. You will receive more files and information over time, once events transpire."
Emma felt her jaw drop and everyone else was in a stunned silence. She quickly closed her mouth and shook her head, trying to help this new info sink in.
"Then what is my job?" Emma finally asked softly, if meddling time was restricted and learning and giving information about the future was forbidden, then what was the purpose of her job? She had already changed time and changed events in her job, which was her specialty. Was her whole life a lie?
"You will learn soon enough. Your job and your duties are different; you are saving lives and helping people by changing time, you are committing no crimes or harm to the space time continuum. But that's why you must take great care and caution. Now, let's continue with our session."
Emma felt a bit of unease, something wasn't right but she had to trust the people around her, because they were her only family.