"It's ok. I promise, it's ok." the man said gently, placing his red, white and blue shield on the ground as he kneeled down to be level with Erik. "I promise, everything will be fine. Just take my hand."
The scream that came from Erik was something primal, full of anguish and rage as the man he admired most vanished underneath the waves. For all his super soldier strength, he couldn't hold onto the rocket like Erik could with his powers. It was a scream he had felt before in his life, when he had crawled out of the graves those Nazis had buried him in with his family, believing they had murdered all four of them. It had been a scream of such pain that had awoken his abilities, far too late to be of any use to him but had still changed the direction of his life forever. He gripped onto the rocket as tightly as could while the world seemed to slow, tears forming as flashes of memories blinded him.
"You don't like it do you?" Steve asked somewhat randomly, smiling slightly as he looked at Erik.
"It's fine." Erik lied, awkwardly trying to avoid Steve's gaze as the two sat against a tree, waiting for their target to arrive.
"Erik." the older man said simply, the teen not responding at first until Steve gently tapped his shoulder. "Erik, talk to me."
"I'm not American." Erik finally said, as he gestured towards the red and blue suit he was wearing. "None of this is me, this is something they wanted me to be. To match you."
"And that bothers you?"
"Being like you?" Erik asked as he looked at his mentor, instantly wanting to protest the very idea because Steve was the only man alive he wanted to be. But the courage to say those words, to voice just how much he appreciated what Steve has done for him, failed him and instead he spoke a different truth. "I don't mind matching you, but I know they are all ashamed of me. I'm German and I'm Jewish, and even though I learned English quickly people can still tell I'm not like them. So they tell me not to talk, to always wear the mask and always follow your lead."
"I've read the comics, did you know that?" he continued, the words coming out of him faster than he had planned. "That they made about us. They make me an American, a Christian who leaped at the chance to help the great Captain America win the war. A happy American orphan, completely ordinary and not different from what an American should be."
The two fell into a silence for a moment, shame and embarrassment coursing through Erik's body. He should have kept his mouth shut, should have just lied and said that the did like the suit and the lie he must keep up. Steve had done so much for him when he didn't have to, he could have just suffered in silence especially when there are people dying every day in this war.
"You like the red right?" Steve asked, making Erik swivel his head in his direction in surprise.
"Umm, yes? I mean, yes I've always liked red."
"And what else?"
"Purple? I haven't seen it often, but it looks nice."
"That's good. After this mission, we'll get someone to design you a new suit." Steve said, a tone of finality that meant that there will be no further discussion. "And I want you to promise me something Erik. Anyone ever tells you to hide who you are, you ignore them. You have nothing to be ashamed about and anyone saying otherwise isn't worth listening to."
Erik stared at him in surprise, feeling almost overwhelmed by joy as a small smile formed on his face.
It took Erik a moment to realise that the world hadn't, in fact, slowed down as he had thought, it was the rocket itself. There was no more wind colliding against him, threatening to push him off the rocket to his doom, and instead the rocket had slowed to a halt. And Erik could feel it, more than before he could feel all of it. Every panel, every screw, every copper wire that made up this destructive piece of machinery. He could feel it the same way he could feel every movement of his body, with an accuracy he's never had before until this moment.
"And then when Toro threw that fireball, the entire tank exploded. Did you see?" Erik questioned happily, while Steve only smiled.
The two were at the back of a truck, being driven back to the Allies headquarters to report on their mission. They were coming back from a mission in France where Erik and Steve had, along with the rest of the so called Invaders, had fought the Super-Axis, and their leaders would want to know what the group had been trying to accomplish.
"And then Baron Blood tried to attack Toro, but the Human Torch and Union Jack took him by surprise. It was amazing!" Erik finished, knowing that Steve had seen all of this himself but unable to contain his excitement.
"Yes it was." Steve said simply, continuing after giving a Erik a moment to calm down. "You like being part of the Invaders don't you?"
"Yes! It's great." Erik answered instantly, before hesitating. "Not that I don't like the Howling Commandos or anything. They are really good as well. It's just..."
"But you like being part of a team with people more like you?" Steve finished while Erik nodded, and the older man gave him a warm smile. "I understand. I can't do what you can do, or Jim or even Madeline, but since the serum I am aware I'm not like everyone else anymore. So it's nice to be around people who make you feel normal."
"Yes. It is really good." Erik said, his smile faltering as a familiar thought occurred to him which Steve noticed.
"It doesn't matter where our powers come from Erik. We're a team, so it doesn't matter that Namor comes from the ocean, or I drank a serum, or that Jim is technically a robot who isn't even old enough to start school." he explained, earning a small chuckle from Erik. "When this war is over, I'll help you find out where your powers come from. And you know me and the others have talked about finding others like you and Toro, because they will need help. But where your powers come from doesn't matter, what matters is what you use that power for."
He didn't know whether he was consciously deciding to do this or not, if this was his emotions deciding everything his powers were now doing or if his powers were just doing what he knew needed to be done. Whatever the case, what was important was how a large panel near where Erik was had broken off and moved him a sightly distance from the bomb, which slowly but surely was being dismantled. Screws and more panels were being broken off, the engine was tossed into the raging sea, the wires were gently moved apart until Erik found the source of the potential destruction, the explosives buried deep inside.
The tears were falling as Erik made bits of metal form around the explosive, forming a tightly contained sphere around it. With a yell of anger he threw his hands downwards, and the sphere shot into the ocean depths at speeds Erik didn't know he was capable of. He could still feel it even as it went miles deep, going further than he had ever sent anything before, and it was only then that he lost the connection to the sphere. And it was only then that Erik leaped into the ocean, ignoring the sudden shock of freezing water as he searched desperately for Steve.
"Erik, this is Margarete Carter."
"Please, just call me Peggy." the woman said with a British accent and a kind smile.
Erik smiled back nervously, rubbing his palms with his fingers slightly which he prayed they didn't see. They were on leave for the first time in what felt like forever, taking a break in England after taking out a group of undercover agents, and Steve decided that it was long overdue that he met the woman he was constantly writing to and talking about. The woman he very clearly loved with all his heart, not that Erik was old enough to understand anything about that. But he knew this woman was very important to his mentor and he wanted, he needed, to make a good impression.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Carter." Erik said as politely as he could, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice.
"And it's a pleasure to meet you as well Erik, but please don't call me that. As I said, Peggy is fine."
"Oh, sorry. Peggy." Erik added on, internally cringing and praying for a Nazi attack.
"I'm going to go find us something to eat and drink around here, you two just sit and get to know each other." Steve told them cheerfully before he vanished, much to Erik's horror though he believed he did a decent job of keeping that feeling hidden.
"Please, sit." Peggy said as she gestured towards a chair near a table, while she sat on one on the opposite end.
Erik, somewhat reluctantly, did as he was told and sat on the chair, looking around awkwardly as the deserted room. It wasn't much but it was the first thing they could provided Erik and Steve after their mission was complete, and it suited their needs just fine. But it didn't help Erik with coming up with a good way to talk with Peggy or create an excuse for him to leave, and internally he was screaming that he was letting Steve down and he would be so upset if he didn't try, so he needed to say something now.
"The weather is nice." he finally said, and he actually had to resist the urge to use his powers to make bits of sharp metal from around the room stab him to death.
"This is England, the weather is never nice." Peggy replied, her small smile never leaving her face even as she looked at him in confusion. "Why are you so nervous?"
Erik hesitated, wondering if he should answer and, like most teenagers, wondering if he could trust the adult to keep a secret. "Steve has been really excited about this. About introducing me to you."
"And that makes you uncomfortable?" she asked, concern in her eyes that made Erik panic.
"No, not anything like that. I have wanted to meet you." Erik explained quickly, pausing for a moment as he debated whether continuing. "It's just that you're important to Steve. He really cares about you and talks about you all the time, so I want to make a good impression because I know he wants us to get along."
Suddenly Peggy laughed a little, making Erik's eyes widen in surprise and confusion while she spoke. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed. It's just, I was nervous about meeting you as well. In all of Steve's letters, he always talks about you."
"He does?" he asked in genuine surprise.
"All the time." she confirmed with a nod. "He talks about how proud he is of you, how impressed he is with how you use your abilities, and how much he wants me to meet you."
Steve had told Erik he was proud of him often and while he had treasured those moments, part of him had always been convinced he was just saying it to be kind. But if Peggy was to be believed, he said all those things to other people when he wasn't around. Erik honestly didn't know what to do with that, though he couldn't help the smile form on his face.
"How about this." Peggy began. "Why don't we forget what Steve is hoping for and just start over? Because I would like to get to know you, if you want to do the same."
Most of the nervousness now gone, Erik nodded and smiled a bit more. "I would really like that Peggy."
Erik stretched out with his powers, ignoring the bits of metal in the ocean from the rocket and trying to find him. Steve's suit, despite what the comics like to portray, wasn't a skin tight cloth. There was metal there, not just his shield but also to simply hold the suit together and provide some protection, even for his belt. Erik just needed to find one, just one of those in this ocean. He hadn't prayed in a long time, but as his chest burned from holding his breath and his body screamed from the biting cold ocean, he prayed to a god he didn't know he believed in anymore for this one chance. This once chance to use his powers, powers he had never asked for and still didn't fully understand, to save the life of one of the few people he truly cared for in this world.
There. He could feel it, feel the metal. It wasn't separate pieces like the rocket, it was part of something, something being worn by an unmoving body. Erik wasn't sure if he was moving the metal in his direction or if he was pulling himself in the direction of the metal, but what was clear to him as he used every ounce of his willpower was that they were getting closer. Despite the heavy and powerful tides of the Atlantic, despite the distance between them, despite the absolute agony he was in, despite being unable to see anything, he could feel them getting closer. And then, very suddenly but much to his relief, Erik grabbed hold of the body just as he reached him.
His vision was blurring, he knew he was going to pass out from the lack of oxygen, but Erik used what little strength to summon a large piece of the rocket to them. He wasn't careful, didn't have the time to be careful, so the panel basically collided with their feet and flew them upwards, more pain shooting through Erik's body. However this was ignored as within a few seconds they were above the ocean again, Erik coughing almost violently as he breathed in fresh air while his body shook from the cold, before he turned to see the unconscious body of his mentor next to him.
"He's dangerous Captain Rogers. We don't know anything about the boy except that he's German and he can seemingly control metal with his mind. He can't, or won't, explain how he got these abilities." the general said firmly, his rather loud voice being audible to Erik even as he sat on a chair outside the door to his office.
"He's a fifteen year old boy. He needs to be helped, not interrogated and treated like the enemy." Steve's voice, while not as loud, was firm and Erik could hear him if he listened closely. "He's been through a horrific experience, so ask him for information if you must. But our priority for him is finding him a place to live, someone to look after him and give him his childhood back."
"He could be a spy for the Germans!"
"He's Jewish, so I find that highly unlikely."
"That's what he told you, he could be lying. He doesn't even look like on of them." the general replied, while Erik tried to contain his anger. "And even if he was one, that wouldn't mean anything. The Germans pay a Jewish kid to be their little experiment, give him superpowers and then have you find him where he feeds you that little story about a dead family and camps."
"He took us to the camp, you've read my report." Steve said and despite trying to keep his voice steady, Erik heard the anger in his tone.
"Yes, but we've already established that you're a bleeding heart. There's no evidence that camp wasn't for prisoners of war or anything else, no proof that it was for killing Jews and gypsies. And regardless, it's not for something either of us have the authority to decide on. My responsibility is deciding what will be done with the boy."
"Your responsibility?"
"You're going to take the boy to get a doctor and give whoever it is this note. The doctor will drug the boy and then he will be moved to a more secure facility so we can interrogate him more thoroughly." the general explained, with such calmness that terrified Erik.
The boy began breathing heavily, horrific thoughts rushing through he head as he considered everything they could do to him. He instinctively used his powers, sensing all the metal in the room, in the building and felt some start to gently shake. He needed to get out of here, if he was quick he could take out the soldiers before Steve found him, before the general found him. He won't be a prisoner again, he would die before that happened.
"I'm sure the eggheads know someone who can explain what exactly he is and -"
"No."
The finality of the word made the general stop talking while Erik froze, losing focus on the metal and instead waiting in surprise. There was silence for a moment, the sort of silence where you genuinely could hear all the things you wouldn't normally noticed, before it was shattered by a furious voice.
"What did you just say soldier!?"
"I said no. Sir."
The way Steve said the last word, with such disgust, seemed to enrage the general even more. "You listen carefully Rogers. You're nothing more than a glorified lab rat. If I wanted, I could have you join the stupid Jew outside in being cut up to figure out how to make more of the serum."
"Do it then."
"What?" the general, his voice now losing the anger, asked in confusion.
"Give the order. Arrest me. But I'm not letting you experiment on a child, we're supposed to be better than that. If the government I'm fighting for believes that to be justified, then I don't see any difference between it and the Nazis. So go ahead, give the order." Steve told him, and everything went silent again. Erik could almost imagine them, Steve standing tall and proud as he glared at the general at the desk, before he heard the super soldier speak again. "Here's what's going to happen. Erik Lehnsherr is now in my care, I don't care what documents I have to sign but that's what is happening. He wants to use his abilities to fight Nazis and while I would rather he was sent somewhere safe, somewhere he can be cared for, I don't trust you or anyone else to let that happen. If any Allies soldier, US or otherwise, touches a hair on his head or takes him anywhere without my permission, I will find him. And I will kill anyone who hurt him."
"You're bluffing. I know who you are, I've read your file. You're the idealistic sick kid from Brooklyn, you don't have it in you to do any of that."
"Maybe. Give the order to take the boy and we can find out."
The next minute was one of the longest in Erik's life, and he strained closer to the door to try and hear anything else he said. But he heard nothing, until the sound of steps being taken and his eyes widened when he realised what was happening. He narrowly avoided the door smacking him in the head, trying desperately to seem casual as Steve looked down at him.
"You heard everything didn't you?" he asked after a moment and shutting the door behind him, and without saying anything he nodded.
Steve sighed before crouching down to be at Erik's level. "Erik, I promise. He won't hurt you, nobody will hurt you."
"You can't promise that." Erik replied in a small voice.
"No, I suppose I can't. But I can promise you that I will do everything in my power to make sure they won't. I would prefer you were given a chance at a normal childhood, but if this is what you want I'm in your corner." Steve told him and, rather hesitantly to give him a chance to move away, placed a hand on Erik's shoulder. "I know you have been through something no child should go through. Things I can't even begin to imagine or understand. But I promise, you're not alone anymore."
"Steve..." he coughed out while his teeth chattered slightly, pushing at the man to try and wake him up. "Wake up...Please wake up..."
There was no reaction. Nothing, not a small moment or a single noise, just a body that didn't react at all to Erik. The tears were coming even stronger now, memories of his father, mother and sister almost replacing Steve's as Erik continued to try and wake him.
"Please...I can't lose you too...I don't...You're all I..." Erik pleaded desperately, clutching at Steve's suit while desperately trying to keep his focus so they don't fall straight back into the ocean.
But what was the point, if Steve was dead? How could he look Peggy in the eye and tell her the man she loved was dead? How could he go back, knowing he failed to save the man all of America admired and looked up to? If they wanted to cut him open and find out what he was before, nothing would hold them back now and in this moment Erik honestly wouldn't care. If anything, he would deserve it for failing Steve when he truly needed him. He should just stop focusing, just let his control slip and fall back into the ocean so he could -
A red gloved hand clutched his own and a stunned but hopeful Erik looked at Steve's face, where his eye lids fluttered before opening.
"Erik? What...What's going on?" Steve almost mumbled, slowly turning his head to look around. "Last thing I remember was falling and-"
Steve stopped when Erik almost smashed into his chest and wrapped his arms tightly around him, the nineteen year old babbling and crying harder with joy. After a moment Steve wrapped an arm around Erik, patting him on the back gently and simply allowed him to let his emotions out. Erik wasn't sure how long they were like this, but he would have kept hugging Steve for longer if it wasn't for the biting and freezing cold threatening to make him lose his concentration.
"Sorry." he said simply as he let go, allowing Steve to sit up. "I...I thought you were..."
"It's fine, pretty sure I owe you my life. You can hug me as much as you want" Steve said with a shaky smile as he patted Erik on the shoulder affectionately before looking, oddly not looking as nearly as bad as one would expect from having fallen into the freezing ocean. Undoubtedly one of the benefits of being a super soldier Erik supposed. "Are you controlling this?"
"Umm...Yeah...I think so." Erik answered, his head swaying slightly which made Steve's eyes widen in concern.
"Hey, Erik. Can you get us to land? I think I can see where we came from in the distance, if we can get there then we can get help."
"I can do it." he answered, somewhat hesitantly, before shaking his head and repeating himself with a more firm tone. "I can do it."
"I know you can." Steve told him, the pride notable in his voice.
Erik began straining his mind as him and Steve tried to get a good grip on the bit of metal they were on, which moved slowly at first before picking up speed as it head in the direction the rocket had shot from. Despite the agonising cold and blinding pain from having pushed his powers so much, Erik felt the comforting hand on his shoulder that reminded him that he wasn't alone.
Please let me know what you think and if there are any spelling mistakes or sentences that don't make sense. Originally this story was going to be more ambitious, having Magneto discuss his entire life and show the impact of this change over several decades. But I decided that was too much and knowing me I would get stuck going down a bunch of different tangents about what would change and would would be the consequences of those changes. So I decided to change it to a more emotional focused story about Erik and Steve. Also Bucky was going to be in this, but I couldn't decide which version to base him on since that would be a different dynamic with Erik and I was wasn't sure what to write about him in this.