“What happened?” Bruce asked once the couple returned.
Elsie was still processing what had occurred. The day felt like a dream to her, too surreal.
“I’m an Avenger,” was all she could get out.
The team erupted into cheers, Tony, Steve, and Nat with knowing smiles on their faces. Elsie was elated to begin her journey as one of “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.” They were big shoes to fill, but she had proved herself.
“And you, Miss Ma’am, are following me and your uncle,” Natasha says as she pulls Elsie away from the rest of the group.
“To where?” Elsie asks.
“You’ll see.”
The trio headed to the elevator, Nat pressing a button to a lower level. Elsie wondered what was going on as they made their descent.
The elevator soon stopped, and the doors slid open with a soft ding, revealing the Avengers’ tech floor bathed in a cool, bluish glow. Elsie stepped out behind Natasha, and her curiosity piqued. She had been here many times before, but never like this.
Rows of display cases and suit pods lined the sleek walls, flickering with holographic schematics and faint pulses of arc reactor-blue light. The heart of Tony Stark’s tech haven. But today, it felt like something more.
“Uh… am I gonna be given some form of a super serum?” Elsie joked, unsure of what was happening.
“Your own strength and heart are your superpowers,” Natasha replied, smirking as she led her toward a round platform in the center of the room.
“Plus, I know you have a fear of needles,” Tony adds as he steps towards the pod.
With a tap of a button on his touch panel, Tony activated a smooth metallic case to rise from beneath the platform, slowly rotating and unfolding like a flower in bloom. Inside stood a suit.
Elsie’s eyes widened.
It felt like the room itself held its breath, even the arc reactors paused to admire what stood before her. At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a suit designed just to fit Elsie’s frame; however, it held the signature tactical strength of Captain America’s: functional, strong, built for the battlefield. But this one was hers.
The base color was a bright, clean white. A rich blue star gleamed proudly in the center of the chest, catching the glow of the lights above. Her bodice displayed alternating stripes of red and blue, forming a sleek pattern that evoked both power and elegance. The gloves and boots mirrored Steve’s in structure, but were laced with finer detail—more refined, more agile. Her mask only covered the top half of her face, allowing her to let her hair flow freely if she chose.
The wristlets caught her eye. They were streamlined and subtle, but clearly high-tech. The small rockets laced on them made them dangerous.
She smiled widely. “This is…mine?”
Natasha gave her a soft smile. “Designed it myself.”
“And I built it,” Tony added, tablet in hand and a smug look on his face. “Well, the bots did, but I told them how to do it. And an absurdly high thread count.”
Elsie turned in slow awe, eyes shining. She then paused. “Wait, Fury just put me on the team today. How did you know-?”
“We’ve been talking with him for a while,” Nat confirmed. “Between S.H.I.E.L.D. collapsing and how solid you’ve been on missions, it wouldn’t be right not to have you as an official Avenger.”
“But how did you have the time to design it?”
“Well, when you're benched with cracked ribs and too much time on your hands, designing a superhero suit becomes weirdly therapeutic,” Natasha said, folding her arms. “As for what to call you, Lady Liberty felt right. Kind of a dynamic duo thing. You and Steve? Kind of a match made in heaven.”
“And we figured the pageant world would sue if we called you ‘Miss America,’” Tony added dryly.
Elsie let out a joyful laugh, still stunned. “It’s perfect.”
She stepped forward and placed her hand on the wristlet. Her heart swelled in her chest.
Natasha turned back to Elsie. “So? You ready to suit up?”
Elsie nodded, her voice a whisper: “More than ready.”
“Welcome to the team, Lady Liberty.”
-
The doors to the Avengers' briefing room slid open with a hiss. Elsie stepped into it with Natasha, a cool and confident smile on her face, and her heart was pounding beneath the weight of her brand-new suit.
The elevator makes its ascent. When it stops, familiar voices echoed—Tony’s sarcastic banter, Steve’s calm authority, Sam’s steady confidence, Bruce’s soft-spoken logic, and Clint’s deadpan snark. It was all so normal. But this? This was anything but normal.
“You’re about to make one hell of a first impression, kid,” Natasha said from beside her, adjusting her red hair behind one ear.
Elsie took a deep breath, squared her shoulders as the elevator opened.
The room went quiet. All heads turned as Lady Liberty stepped into the room.
There she stood. Her suit gleamed beneath the lights, the blue star on her chest catching every eye. She stood tall, steady. The red-and-blue striped bodice hugged her frame like armor forged from purpose. The cherry-red ends in her hair tied the look together perfectly. Her eyes sparkled behind the navy-blue mask, her confidence rising with every passing second.
Steve gave her a proud smile.
“Lookin’ like justice herself walked in,” Sam nods in approval.
Tony gave a dramatic slow clap. “And that, kids, is what happens when you combine Stark tech, spy fashion, and actual taste.”
“You clean up better than most of us,” Clint complimented.
“You look incredible,” Steve finally says.
“So I fit in?” Elsie smiled, warmth blooming in her chest.
Steve took a step closer. “I think you were already part of the team before any of us knew it.”
“Sokovia,” Maria Hill announced as she entered, eyes scanning the gathered team. “Hydra has a facility there, and intel confirms they’ve been experimenting with powered individuals. It’s going to be a coordinated strike.”
The team was now focused as a holographic map of Eastern Europe was then projected across the table. The mood shifted in a blink.
“Loki’s scepter is believed to be there,” Hill continued. “And we’re going to get it.”
“Lady Liberty,” Steve said, glancing over at her, voice steady and sure. “You’re with me.”
Elsie nodded. “Let’s bring the fight.”
And just like that, she wasn’t just Elsie Walker anymore.
“On your feet,” Natasha instructs after Elsie is knocked down. “Don’t quit on me now, kid.”
The other woman scoffs and jumps up, a bead of sweat trickling down her back. “Who said I was?
Ever since Elsie joined the team under Agent Hill, Natasha had been training her in combat almost daily. The Stark Tower in New York had been transformed into the new Avengers Headquarters tower, and there was a whole gym equipped for exercise, training, target practice, and skills building. The two women utilized it so well, the exercise mats they trained on practically had their footprints memorized. Natasha almost never made it easy on her, but being the fast learner she was Elsie adapted quickly.
She got into her stance again, and Natasha high-kicks at her head. Elsie blocks it, Natasha kicks at her again, and she bends backward to dodge and catch Natasha’s punch. Turning into Natasha’s chest, she elbows her in her stomach and flips her over.
Catching her breath, Natasha sits up and smiles proudly. “You’re getting stronger. That’s what we wanna see.”
A proud smile forms on Elsie’s exhausted face as she was seeing all of these training sessions with Nat finally pay off.
“And look at your abs!” Nat points out her toned stomach that shows between her shorts and sports bra.
“Steve has been doing exercises with me,” replies Elsie as she helps her up.
The two then grab their gym bags and shoes before exiting the gym, Nat patting her sweaty face dry with her towel.
“A little birdie told me Steve was taking you to dinner tonight,” she comments as they take the elevator to the Avengers’ apartment floor.
“Would that little birdie be someone named Clint Barton?” Elsie jokes, the elevator ascending.
“Well, he mentioned a conversation he had with Steve about you two, and Steve said he was treating you to a nice place near where he grew up.”
The elevator stops, and the two women step off onto their floor.
“Well, it’s one of those semi-formal,” Elsie explains as they stroll through the hallway toward their rooms.
“Oh, what are you wearing?” Nat asks, her eyes lighting up.
“It’s just a simple black dress, but it hugs me in all the right places.”
“Simple and sexy? Rogers is definitely going to be weak in the knees. Or be tongue-tied.”
Elsie giggles. “Or his ears will turn red as a fire engine.”
“That, too,” Nat agreed with a chuckle.
The two part ways to their rooms, and Elsie makes a beeline for the shower. She wanted to look like the most beautiful diamond Steve had ever seen in his life. He always told her how beautiful she was, even when she was a total zombie in the mornings; but tonight, she wanted to see hearts in his baby blues.
After washing her hair and shaving, she turns off the water and dries off with a towel before slipping on her peach-colored bathrobe. She tosses her sweaty gym clothes into the hamper and then begins to dry her brown-and-red locks. Despite her patience with hair-drying that of a bottle cap, she blow dried it anyway in order for her to style it.
Since S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, Tony had turned Stark Tower into headquarters for the Avengers, and that came with apartment spaces for the team. A deck on the top floor was used for parties and other occasions or just to relax, and it had a beautiful view of New York. Below that was the lab and second deck used for mission meetings. Then, it was Tony and Pepper’s apartment above the kitchen, and then the Avenger complex. Other offices, weaponry, and everything else was on the lower levels.
Steve and Elsie really made their apartment a place they could call home. If she were being honest, she liked it a lot more than the apartment in Washington. More space, a brighter area, and not having to hear sirens blaring almost every night (thanks to a soundproof system Tony designed for sleeping).
The move also meant the hunt for Bucky came to a standstill. Combine that with when the tracer to find him was destroyed by a virtual firewall, they had to stop. Elsie hated seeing Steve so defeated, but they had no choice but to wait until they somehow got a tip from somewhere.
“We’ll find him,” she had encouraged him many times.
As she carefully styled her hair, Elsie couldn't help but wonder what Steve had planned.
Was tonight the night? She had an inkling, but part of her still hoped for the surprise to be just that--a surprise.
By that evening, Steve and Elsie were ready for their date. She was clad in the mini black dress she mentioned to Natasha, and the off-the-shoulder look was sexy but classy. Just what Steve liked. The Captain was in a black suit and tie, but what he didn’t tell his girlfriend was that there was something special for her in his pocket.
In the weeks and months following the situation with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Bucky, Steve had thought long and hard about his relationship with Elsie; and the mission had made him realise that he had found the woman beyond his wildest dreams. While she was strong and courageous she remained a very sweet and kind woman who just has so much love in her heart to give. She was his rock as he was hers, and he decided to take that big step in putting a diamond on her finger. While it was nerve-racking to take just a giant leap, he was ready. After getting Tony’s blessing, Steve found the ring.
He took a deep breath, his hand still in his pocket, feeling the weight of the box. He could feel his pulse in his fingertips, the moment he'd dreamed of since they'd become a couple. He never thought he'd get to this point, yet here he was, about to ask the love of his life the most nerve-wracking but exciting question.
The couple arrives at the restaurant, and a host dressed in a suit welcomes them warmly. The soft clink of silverware and the low hum of chatter filled the air as Steve and Elsie were escorted to their table. The rich scent of garlic and fresh-baked bread wafted through the air, and the candlelight flickered gently on their table, casting soft shadows around the room. A soft and romantic harmony of violins and cellos were the cherry on top.
“This place has had such an upgrade since the last time I was here,” Steve noticed as he took in the luxurious-looking establishment.
“When was that?” Elsie asks.
“1944. Celebration dinner for the 4th of July.”
“And your birthday?”
“No,” he shook his head. “My men did a private party for me earlier that day.”
Elsie smiled. “As I’ve said before, you’re mother raised you well.”
After ordering their food, Steve sits up a little straighter as he feels his ears begin to turn a bright red. He clears his throat.
“Elsie,” Steve's voice dropped to a softer, more serious tone, and for a split second, Elsie thought she heard a slight tremor in his voice.
Her heart fluttered. Was this the moment?
He took a breath. “I love you.”
She smiles and replies, “I love you, too.”
He takes her hand as his other hand reaches into his pocket. “And you’re the woman beyond my wildest dreams.”
“Steve?”
The Captain was already next to her and on his knee as he pulled the box out, his heart beating out of his chest. Elsie’s eyes begin to pool with tears of joy as she knew now what was happening.
“S-Steve?” she softly squeaked. A few of the other restaurant patrons began to notice the exciting event, a few “oohs” and “ahhs” erupting as Steve opened the box that revealed the diamond ring inside.
“Elsie Walker,” he says as a grin appeared on his face, “will you marry me?”
“YES!!” she squealed before bursting into happy tears, the other customers applauding for the now engaged couple.
-
“I knew he was going to propose!” Natasha exclaimed when the couple returned from dinner. “Barton, you owe me ten bucks.”
Clint rolled his eyes and pulled two crumpled Abraham Lincolns from his pocket. "You know, the two of you could've waited one more day. I had a good feeling about Friday."
"Man, you should've seen the look on Cap’s face when he asked me to help plan everything,” Sam grinned from where he was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. “Dude was sweating more than me during basic."
Elsie laughed, her cheeks glowing. “It was perfect. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
Her hand finds his chiseled cheek, her mind still spinning at the thought of officially becoming Steve’s wife.
Tony strolls in with a Dirty Martini in hand, arching an eyebrow at the crowd. "Well, I'm glad everyone's enjoying the world's cutest military engagement announcement. Mazel tov.” He takes a sip. And blinks. “I’m going to be legally related to Steve Rogers."
"Now, there’s a Christmas card you won’t see often,” Nat chimed in.
“Just remember, Cap,” Tony adds. “Hurt her, and I’ll build something that hurts back.”
“With another robo-suit,” Clint banters.
"In all seriousness," Bruce said gently from the corner. "Congratulations, you two. It’s nice to see things looking up around here."
Elsie was about to reply when-
“I hate to interrupt the wedding bells.” All heads turned as Nick Fury stepped out, wearing his usual long coat, shadowed expression, and only half his usual scowl.
He looked between Steve and Elsie with something bordering on a smirk.
"I’d like to have a word with the bride and groom," he said, nodding at both of them.
The room quieted. Steve and Elsie exchanged a glance, and she felt her heart pick up just a bit. Steve’s posture had already straightened into soldier mode as he and Elsie followed Fury.
He led them into a quiet conference room, and once the door shut behind them, he turned, hands clasped behind his back.
"Walker," he began, voice low and even, "you've proven yourself time and again -both in the field and under pressure. I've seen enough to make a call."
Elsie tilted her head slightly. “What kind?”
“From what you’ve shown in the last year, I don’t believe you’re meant to be an agent.”
Her heart stops for a moment—was she being dismissed? Reassigned? She had never seen Fury smile unless it meant trouble. “Sir, I’m not sure I understand.”
“You will,” Fury adds.
“Is it good or bad?”
Fury’s mouth twitched, the corner of his mouth showing a rare hint of a smile. "Depends on how you feel about becoming an Avenger."
Elsie kept her eye on Steve as the ER doctors cleaned his wounds and patched him up. Her attention to the nurses and doctor caring for her was almost non-existent as she worried for her boyfriend so much. She was thankful he survived all he went through on the jet, but she still wondered what would have happened had Bucky not pulled him out of the water. While she didn’t have any new wounds except the bruises on her neck and a sore scalp from Rumlow, she was given some antibiotics so her newer stitches in her arm didn’t get infected.
Steve was then admitted to a room where he could be monitored, and Elsie followed him in as a guard stood outside the room. The captain slept as the IV and antibiotics ran through his veins, and Elsie sat at the edge of his bed and held his hand.
Sam comes in a few minutes later with two cups in his hand.
“Coffee?” he offers her.
“Thanks,” she weakly smiles and takes it. The first sip of the hot and bitter beverage calmed her instantly.
“How’s he doing?” Sam asks, pulling up Marvin Gaye on his phone and playing the music on a small speaker before sitting in the chair by the bed.
“He’s stable,” she replies. “They want to keep him for a few hours just to monitor him, but with the serum in him he won’t have anything major to worry about.”
“What about you?” He motions to her neck.
“Rumlow, and he pulled my hair really hard, but nothing serious.”
Sam whistles. “You’re a warrior for fighting him and coming out with only bruises.”
“Thanks,” she chuckles. “Didn’t you fight him not long after?”
He nods. “When the tower crashed into, he got caught in the collapse just before I jumped into the chopper.”
Elsie nods and looks over at Steve, who was still sleeping. After being on the run for two and half days and battling people whom they once considered their friends, it was nice to have some peace and quiet for a while. Of course, Tony wasn’t gonna be happy that she had been face to face with death numerous times, but it was going to be quite the story to tell him.
It’s silent for about twenty minutes before a groggy voice says, “On your left.”
“Hi, sweetheart,” Elsie smiles at him before gently kissing Steve’s cheek, a tear rolling down her cheek. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I went ten rounds with Mike Tyson and Muhummad Ali,” he says, wiping her tears away with his bandaged thumb. “Please, don’t cry, doll.”
“Then, stop giving everyone heart attacks when this happens,” Sam jokes. “Just glad to see you’re still alive.”
Steve then notices Elsie’s neck and lightly touches the bruising. “Who did this?”
“Rumlow,” she answered. “I kicked him off me before he could finish the job.”
“Are you sure you weren’t given the serum?” he lightly jokes. How he got so lucky to have a strong woman in his life, he wasn’t sure.
“Well, it’s hard to kill someone when they’ve got something to live for,” she replies.
Steve then looks around and then at both of them. “Who pulled me out of the water?”
Elsie and Sam glance at each other before she answers, “Um, as crazy as it sounds, Bucky did. I was taking cover in the woods when he pulled you out, and when I approached you, he didn’t attack me. Steve, he looked at me as if he knew me.”
He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Obviously, Elsie wasn’t around during the war, so Bucky wouldn’t have known her. However, she had similar features to Peggy despite having a different eye color, being a few inches taller, and not having as round of a face.
“Whatever the case,” Sam finally says, “the whole thing’s over, and our names are cleared.”
“Let’s hope Capitol Hill thinks so,” Elsie says. “Natasha’s headed there for a hearing, so we’re back to holding our breath.”
“Hopefully not for long. They’re nuts if they think we’re still the bad guys.”
-
Steve is eventually released from the hospital, and Sam lets the couple stay with him for the time being. The crime scene at their apartment had been cleared, and that allowed them to gather some clothes and toiletries they would need. A lot of repairs would need to be made, but they didn’t want to think about it now. They were just happy to have a place to sleep.
The following morning, Steve receives a message from Fury to come meet him at the cemetery. When the trio arrive, they find his gravestone with his name and a Bible verse inscribed beneath it along with his birth and “death” years.
“So, you’ve experienced this sort of thing before,” Fury says as he approaches them. He was dressed in dark clothing made from jeans, a hoodie covering his head, and sunglasses on his face rather than his eyepatch.
“You get used to it,” Steve replies, remembering how everyone he had fought with thought he had died in the ice.
Fury stares at his own gravestone for a moment before looking up again.
“We’ve been data mining HYDRA’s files,” he informs. “Looks like a lot of rats didn’t go down with the ship. I’m headed to Europe tonight. Wanted to ask if you’d come.”
Steve thinks for a moment, his heart telling him to find Bucky. “There’s something I gotta do first.”
Fury turns to Sam. “What about you, Wilson? Could use a man with your abilities.”
“I’m more of a soldier than a spy,” he replies.
Turning to Elsie, he offers, “How about you, Walker? You’ve shown a fighting spirit and strength in combat. Just need the proper training to improve.”
“That’s a matter for me to speak with my uncle about,” she responds with a soft smile.
“Alright then,” he nods and shakes their hands as a goodbye. “Anybody asks for me, tell them they can find me, right here.”
“You should be honored,” another voice tells them as Fury leaves. Natasha. “That’s about as close as he gets to saying thank you.”
“Not going with him?” Steve figures as he walks towards her.
“No.”
“Not staying here?”
She shakes her head. “I blew all my covers. I gotta go figure out a new one.”
“That might take a while.”
“I’m counting on it,” Natasha says with confidence. She then hands him a folder with Russian writing printed on it. “That thing you asked for, I called in a few favors from Kiev.”
Steve scans the cover. Maybe this would give him some answers on what happened to Bucky.
“Will you do me a favor?” Natasha requests looking over at Elsie and Sam talking. “Don’t ever let go of her.”
He looks over at Elsie and smiles. “I don’t plan on it.”
“Good, because she’s never gonna stop fighting for you.”
Before she walks away, she turns back around and gives him one final warning. “Be careful, Steve. You might not want to pull on that thread.”
As she walks off, Steve opens the file and sees a 9’ x 11’ photo of Bucky inside a metal chamber surrounded by ice. A smaller square photo of Bucky as a war sergeant was paperclipped to it.
“You’re going after him,” Elsie figures as she and Sam approach him.
Warnings: slight angst, use of weapons, violence, near death experiences, mentions of blood, explosions
The first few corridors she ran down, no one was guarding anything. It almost seemed too easy, and it was scary how quiet it was despite the loud explosions outside. She caught a view of the main floor at some point, and multiple staff members and agents were scrambling to get to safety as the PA announced the emergency call. Her gut instinct told her to stay in stealth mode, and she thanked her lucky stars she did when Rumlow’s team was distracted with something else and didn’t notice her sneaking by.
“Falcon, status?” Hill was heard over the ear piece just as Elsie rounded another corridor where a few agents were escaping from.
“Engaging,” Sam replied, thunderous explosions erupting around him.
Elsie pauses just before she reaches the large floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the launch pad, and a quarter of it is covered in smoke. She keeps out of sight while her eyes search for Steve and Sam, but a flash of metallic red catches her eye.
“Eight minutes, Cap,” Hill alerts.
“Working on it,” Steve replies.
“You’ve got this, sweetheart,” she whispers before continuing on her quest.
Meanwhile, Steve makes it onto the first ship and into the databank, switching out the first server blade.
“Alpha lock,” he reports to Hill.
“Falcon, where are you now?” the agent asks after the computer confirms the switch.
“I had to take a detour,” Sam replies over gunfire. When he finally makes it into the next ship, he switches out those blades. “Bravo lock.”
“Two down, one to go.”
When Elsie passes another window, she spots S.H.I.E.L.D.’s battle jets going up in flames. Upon closer look, she spots a silver arm flashing in the sunlight.
“Oh no,” she panics. She then radios in. “Steve, Sam, if you can hear me. Move fast. Our friend is back, and he’ll go in for the surprise attack.”
“We’ll keep an eye out,” Steve replies.
Elsie then picks up her pace, not caring she was going to get caught. A couple bullets zoom by her, and she turns to see S.T.R.I.K.E. firing at her. Aiming at them, she takes her shots before diving to the floor and crawling away. She stands up again once she’s in a safe area that has an exit that leads out to the woods.
Peering around the next corner, she spots the control room. Keeping her gun ready, a few agents including Sharon are still alive but injured and Rumlow was at one of the computers controlling his team and the jet that hadn’t been overrun yet. His back was towards Elsie, so she could subtly give hand signals about the nearby exit to the agents who saw her.
“Six minutes,” Hill alerts.
“I found other agents,” Elsie whispers into the communicator. “Rumlow is there trying to control the last ship.”
“Get the other agents out,” Hill instructs. “If that means fighting Rumlow, then you gotta fight.”
Her nerves were going haywire, but remembering Sam’s pep talk about being scared, she pushed forward. As soon as she was at arm’s length from Rumlow, she pointed her gun at the back of his head.
“I was wondering when I’d get the honor to come across you again, Agent Walker,” he scoffs before turning to look at her.
“Agent Carter,” she instructs while keeping her composure and her eyes locked on his, “get everyone else out.”
Sharon nods and helps the agents still alive out of the room, a few limping from injuries when Rumlow’s team first attacked.
“So, the ex-rookie is now giving orders,” he taunts as he leans back on the desk. “Cute. Too bad your boyfriend isn’t here to back you up.”
“Keep Steve out of your mouth,” Elsie spat.
Rumlow scoffs. “Come on, put the gun down.”
When he attempts to push her hand away, his other hand reaches for his gun behind. Elsie kicks him in the groin and punches him in the jaw. Rumlow then grabs her by her hair and yanks her to the floor, his other hand around her neck and fingers squeezing her hard to choke her. She kicks him in the chest, and he lets go, stumbling back. Elsie jumps up just as he goes to take a swing at her, but she’s quick to grab his free arm to throw him over her shoulder and into the large TV screen across the room. Before he could have a chance to get up and chase her, she breaks into a run and heads out of the exit.
“Agent Hill, I got the other agents out,” she reports as she keeps running, her neck bruised.
“Excellent work,” Hill compliments. “Get to a safe area for now.”
“What about Steve, Natasha, and Sam?”
“They still have to finish their mission. Just do as I say, and I’ll come find you.”
“Elsie, head the woods,” Sam alerts her. “Go towards the water and stay out of sight.”
Her feet pick up speed towards where he said to go. Her heart raced with both adrenaline pumping and nervousness, and her lungs burned. She was tempted to just jump into the water to cool off, but there was a chance she’d be targeted again.
Once she found a safe spot, she sat down to catch her breath. She could see the third jet still hovering, and if she looked hard enough, Steve could be spotted despite being the size of a flea from where she sat.
“Falcon?” Hill alerts. “Rumlow’s headed for the Council.”
“I’m on it,” says Sam.
Elsie continued to watch the jet, Steve now in battle with Bucky. The two tossed each other around, the shield flying back forth between them at times. A few muffled gunshots went off, and Elsie nearly screamed. She silently prayed that he’d be alright.
“30 seconds,” Hill alerted, her voice laced with panic.
“Steve, please hurry,” Elsie whimpered.
The jet then begins to ready its guns. HYDRA was close to eliminating millions in a matter of seconds, but just before she could run she heard Steve say in a breathy voice, “Charlie lock.”
The guns were disengaged.
“Okay, Cap, get out of there,” instructs Hill.
S.H.I.E.L.D.’s large missiles were then redirected to fire at the jets. Steve was still up there.
“Fire now,” he commands, out of breath.
“But, Steve-” Hill and Elsie cried.
“Do it! Do it now!”
Elsie couldn’t watch as the jets fired at each other and the missiles going off. She buries her face into her hands, her heart breaking as Steve could be losing his life in the line of duty.
A few tears fell from her eyes before she looked up again. The jets were falling fast and crashing into Headquarters. The hovering launch pad was also damaged and crashed into the Northwest Tower.
“Please, tell me you’ve got that chopper in the air!” Sam cried over the communicator as the sound of debris falling around him came through.
“Sam, where are you?” Natasha asks, the chopper heard in the background.
“41st floor! Northwest corner!”
“We’re on it! Stay where you are!”
“Not an option!”
Elsie kept her eye on the tower in question. The helicopter was there where Sam had said, and the building was collapsing fast. Sam jumps out of the window and into the chopper.
“Hill! Where are Steve and Elsie?” Natasha asks. “You got a location on them?”
“I’m in the woods,” Elsie responds. “I can see you from where I am.”
“Shoot a flare, and we’ll find you,” instructs Natasha just as Elsie sees the shield fall from the jet. It spins lopsided in the air, but it comes to a stop on the shore about thirty feet from her.
Jumping to her feet, she rushes to the shield and scoops it up the surprisingly light object. She then puts a flare bullet in her gun and shoots it up, the red spark making a loud whistle as it flies. The chopper then flies towards her, and she flashes the shield up to them.
As if her worst nightmare came true, Steve falls out of the jet as debris hits it. Elsie screamed for him, her voice almost silent to her as everything seemed to move in slow motion. He hits the water, but someone dives after him and pulls him to shore. Bucky. Carefully, she moves closer to them, but freezes when he spots her. She puts her hands up to show she wasn’t there to fight. Their eyes lock as if to come to a sort of understanding. It saddened her that this was the face of her lover’s best friend, but his mind was trapped in a cage with no doors or windows. However, his face seems to recognize her for a moment before he walks away.
When he’s gone a safe distance, Elsie tosses the shield down and rushes to Steve’s side. Checking his pulse, she breathes a sigh of relief that he’s still alive. She immediately cradles him, crying and kissing his bloodied forehead. A tear falls on his cheek, and seems to stir a little.
“I’m here, Steve,” she sobs as the chopper hovers over the water near them. “You’re okay, now.”
Fury keeps the chopper steady, and Sam and Natasha hop into the water and run towards them, Hill coming out of the woods to them as well. Sam carries Steve fireman style as Natasha helps a sobbing Elsie up and Hill grabs the shield.
Warnings: slight angst, mentions of loss and being put in the hospital
Steve figured his girlfriend had enough of the battlefield for now, and he was happy she was getting the rest and recovery her body needed. As much as he wanted Elsie in the meeting with him and the rest of the team, he didn’t want her in any more danger than he had put her through.
As an agent guarded Elsie while she slept, Steve, Fury, Hill, Sam, and Natasha discussed their next plan of action in another room.
“This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize,” Fury says as he stares at an old photo of Pierce. “He said peace wasn’t an achievement, it was a responsibility. See, it’s stuff like this that gives me trust issues.”
“We have to stop the launch,” Natasha concludes.
Fury sits up straighter. “I don’t think the Council’s accepting my calls anymore.”
He then opens a case that housed three transparent server blades.
“What’s that?” Sam asks.
“Once the helicarriers reach 3,000 feet,” Hill explains, “they’ll triangulate with Insight satellites, becoming fully weaponized.”
“We need to breach those carriers,” Fury continues, “and replace their targeting blades with our own.”
“One or two won’t cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational, a whole lot of people are gonna die.” Her tone was more serious now.
“We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA. We have to get past them, insert these server blades, and maybe, just maybe we can salvage what’s left-”
“We’re not salvaging anything,” Steve objects. “We’re not just taking down the carriers, Nick. We’re taking down S.H.I.E.L.D.”
“S.H.I.E.L.D. had nothing to do with this,” Fury argues.
“You gave me this mission. This is how it ends. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s been compromised. You said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose and nobody noticed.”
“Why do you think we’re meeting in this cave? I noticed.”
“How many paid the price before you did?” Steve questioned him.
Fury goes silent for a moment. “Look, I didn’t know about Barnes.”
“Even if you had, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalized that, too? S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA, it all goes.”
“He’s right,” Hill agrees.
Fury glances at the other two in the room, Natasha nodding in agreement with Hill.
“Don’t look at me,” Sam shakes his head. “I do what he does, just slower.”
“Well,” Fury sighs and leans back in his seat, looking back at Steve, “it looks like you’re giving the orders now, Captain.”
Once the meeting is dismissed, Steve has the team rest for a while before beginning preparations to stop HYDRA’s mass genocide. After checking up on Elsie, who was still sleeping soundly, he takes a walk outside, pondering over seeing Bucky again after a very long time. He had accepted the fact that his best friend was gone after waking up from the ice, but seeing him alive and now under HYDRA’s control was a double whammy.
As he stops by the railing looking over the dried up dam, his mind wanders back to when his mother passed away.
1937 Brooklyn. Church bells rang a sad tune in the distance. It was cold out, fitting the sadness that was glooming over him. He was eighteen turning nineteen, and Bucky walked him home after the funeral. Steve was still the small guy he was, but Bucky was pretty buff and could protect him despite Steve always wanting to fight the bullies off himself.
“We looked for you after,” Bucky says as they walk up the stairs to Steve’s apartment. “My folks wanted to give you a ride to the cemetery.”
“I know,” Steve sighs. “I’m sorry. I kind of wanted to be alone.”
“How was it?”
He shrugs. “It was okay. She’s next to Dad.” He wipes his tears from his face as they reach his floor.
“I was gonna ask,” Bucky proposed the idea of Steve coming to stay with his family as he had no one else left.
“I know what you’re gonna say, Buck,” Steve interrupts him as he frantically searches his pockets for his house key.
“We can put the couch cushions on the floor like when we were kids. It’ll be fun. All you gotta do is shine my shoes, maybe take out the trash.” He moves the stray brick hiding the extra key and hands it to Steve.
Pondering the idea, the thin boy shakes his head. “Thank you, Buck, but I can get by on my own.”
“The thing is, you don’t have to,” Bucky reminds him and puts a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’m with you to the end of the line, pal.”
“He’s gonna be there, you know?” Sam’s voice pulls Steve out of his thoughts.
“I know,” he nodded.
“Look, whoever he used to be and the guy he is now, I don’t think he’s the kind you save. He’s the kind you stop.”
“ I don’t know if I can do that.” It was a large and bitter pill to swallow, even if Bucky could still potentially be saved.
“Well, he might not give you a choice. He doesn't know you.”
Steve looks him in the eye. “He will. Gear up. It’s time.”
Sam puts his hands on his hips. “You gonna wear that?” he half-jokes.
“No,” Steve says as he walks back inside. “If you’re gonna fight a war, you got to wear a uniform.”
When he walks by her bed again, Elsie is awake and in a new agent suit sipping on some tea as she reads something on a tablet. Steve was confused and wondered if she was the same woman sleeping after being on the run for two and half days.
“I thought you were actually sleeping this time,” he says as he enters the bay.
“I did,” she confirms as she sets her cup down on the side table. “Four hour nap, and I’m good to go.”
Steve sighs, a little disappointed that she didn’t sleep longer, but knowing her, she never backed down from a fight. She was Peggy made over with a dash of bubbly added.
Elsie’s face falters. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“I just don’t want you in another hospital bed,” Steve sighs and holds her shoulders gently. “I don’t want to lose you.”
He had lost so much in the past already, and the thought of Elsie being on that list of people hurt too much. He never wanted her to be in any danger because of him, but here she was fighting tooth and nail for him and never backing off.
“Steve, my world has been a mess these past few days,” she sighs. “I’ve been shot at, beaten up agents, fallen through glass, been in a bombing, jumped out of a moving car, just things I could never imagine even as a trainee. And in some weird way, it’s been the best adventure.” She pauses and ponders her words. “Okay, maybe not the best adjective, but all of this to say is that if this is what it means to fight for the man I love with my whole heart, then bring on the bullets.”
She cups his chiseled cheek and stares into his baby blues for a moment. He had been through an infinite hell for God knows how long, but if she could walk through the fire with him she’d do it while holding his hand and never letting go.
He breaks into a smile and whispers, “You’re with me to the end of the line?”
She smiles back. “And beyond it.”
…
Since Steve’s suit was destroyed in the Wheaton camp’s bombing, he ended up breaking into the Smithsonian and stealing his old suit from World War II. While it had aged with time, it still fit like a glove. Even Elsie thought the design was sexier than the navy and silver the other suit had.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters was a short hike in the woods away, so Steve, Elsie, Sam, and Hill went that way while Natasha disguised herself as one of the Council members to enter the facility. It was weird to be entering the facility as wanted criminals, but if they succeeded, they could possibly walk away free depending on how their peers reacted. Hill knew a secret way into the facility without being detected, so the four of them sneaked in and took a stairwell to the security room. Using a small device, Elsie scrambled Security’s earpieces, which made someone get up to check it out. When they opened the door, they weren’t expecting the Captain to be standing there along with the other three having their weapons drawn.
“Excuse us,” Steve says calmly, the man getting out of their path with his hands up.
He then finds the PA system while the other three guarded him. Removing his helmet, he presses the announcement button and delivers his message.
“Attention all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents,” he announces, “this is Steve Rogers. You’ve heard a lot about me over the last few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it’s time you know the truth. S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was. It’s been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The S.T.R.I.K.E. and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don’t know how many more, but I know they’re in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: Absolute control. They shot Nick Fury, and it won’t end there. If you launch those helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way. Unless we stop them. I know I’m asking a lot. But the price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it’s a price I’m willing to pay. And if I’m the only one, then so be it. But I’m willing to bet I’m not.”
Steve lets go of the button, and Sam approaches him with a proud smile.
“Did you write that down first?” he half-jokes. “Or was it off the top of your head?”
Multiple gunshots were heard in the distance, and the water in the football field-sized fountain concealing the launch bay began to disperse as the doors began to open. HYDRA was infiltrating and moving forward with their attack. Jet engines were beginning to fire up, and Hill was monitoring everything from a computer.
“They’re initiating launch,” she warns.
Grabbing his shield, Steve straps his helmet back on and prepares for battle with Sam.
“I’m coming with you,” Elsie insists.
“No,” he shakes his head. “I need you here. Find and help other agents to safety. Keep in touch with us and Agent Hill.”
Hill hands her an earpiece and communicator to attach to her wrist. As much as she hated not being able to back him up, she knew she had a duty to do. She would be going into the heat of battle alone, but she wasn’t going to let fear poison her mind.
“Don’t you dare get blown up,” Elsie replies. With one last kiss to his lips, she grabs a gun and sprints her way to the control room.
Warnings: slight angst, mentions of blood, surgical procedures
“It was him,” Steve confirmed, staring at the floor. “He looked right at me like he didn’t even know me.”
All four of them were bound by large metal arm cuffs, left arm over right, and riding in the back of one of the S.T.R.I.K.E. cars. Steve and Elsie sat by each other faced Sam and Natasha while two guards sat keeping an eye on them. Had it not been for the restraints, Elsie would hold Steve in her arms; but the best she could do was lean against his broad shoulder.
“How is that even possible?” Sam questioned. “It was, like, 70 years ago.”
“Zola. Bucky’s whole unit was captured in ‘43. Zola experimented on him.” He looks up a bit as he puts the pieces of the whole puzzle together. “Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him and…”
“None of that’s your fault, Steve,” Natasha sighs, her voice groggy.
He hung his head. “Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky.”
Natasha was turning paler by the minute, and if she wasn’t treated soon she could bleed to death.
“We need to get a doctor, now,” Elsie begged the guards.
Sam noticed and demanded, “If we don’t put pressure on that wound, she’s gonna bleed out here in the truck.”
One of the guards held out her electric rod to him as to warn him if he didn’t shut his mouth. She then attacks the other guard until he’s knocked out, throwing the four in cuffs off guard. Removing her helmet, the guard revealed herself to be Agent Hill.
“That thing was squeezing my brain,” she groans, her dark hair falling around her face. She then looks at Sam. “Who is this guy?”
“What are you doing here?” Steve asks.
“What does it look like, Captain Rogers?” she replies as she unlocks the restraints with a fake thumb ID.
As soon as Elsie is free, she removes her jacket and balls it up to try to put pressure on Natasha’s wound.
“You’re gonna be okay,” she reassures her, trying not to cry.
“Not the first time I’ve been shot,” Natasha replies with a soft smile as Sam applies pressure.
The truck comes to a stop, and Agent Hill blasts a whole through the floor. She lets Steve and Sam crawl through first and roll into a large tunnel, and they help Elsie and Natasha through, Hill being the last one. Running as quickly as they could to a nearby car Hill had parked, they could hear Rumlow and his team get out and order four holes to be dug.
As soon as they’re in the car, everything that had happened since Fury’s murder overwhelmed Elsie, and she broke down into hysterical crying as the car drives off. Thankfully, they weren’t caught, but Steve did his best to try to calm her. He had seen her crying before, and he was there to dry her tears. She had never had a breakdown like this before. He felt helpless and just wanted to take the pain away.
“What‘s happening, Steve?” she wailed. “Why do they hate us? What did we do wrong?”
“Agent Walker, we’re almost there,” Hill tries to calm her as they drive into a wooded area.
“Angel, breathe,” Steve instructs her as his thumbs dry her tears. It hurt seeing those joyful green eyes red with fear and anxiousness. All of the attacks and being on the run had gotten to her, and she was scared. Nothing she had been trained for prepared her for this.
“Elsie,” Sam says as he assists Natasha with her wound, “I know you’re scared, and that’s okay. We’re all scared and wanting to know why everyone we know has their backs turned on us, but we can’t give up just yet. We’ve got to push on.”
She just nods, and lays her head in the crook of Steve’s neck.
Soon, they arrived at what looked to be an old dam. Elsie had calmed down by then, so when they got out of the car she helped Natasha inside with the boys following behind them.
“GSW!” Agent Hill calls out as they run down a long hallway. “She’s lost at least a pint.”
“Maybe two,” Sam adds.
“Let me take her,” another agent motions for them to get Natasha to the medical wing.
“She’ll want to see him first,” Hill says.
The four look at each other in confusion but follow Hill to what looked like an underground medical facility. They approach a plastic curtain, and when Hill pulls it back, Fury is lying in a hospital bed. Alive.
He looks over at them and says, “About damn time.”
…
Natasha is treated for her wound, and Steve has Elsie taken to be checked over and get some rest. One of her stitches in her arm had reopened at some point during the Winter Soldier’s attack, so she had to have it resewn. She was also given some ice for her head to ease the redness and swelling on her bump. Even though her head hurt and her body was sore, she could still listen to the conversation going on next to her.
Fury had suffered multiple injuries after being shot two days prior but managed to fake his death in order to get to the bottom of the mystery. He had done so by using a drug Banner developed to try to slow stress, and it fooled everyone.
“Why all the secrecy?” Steve questioned Fury. “Why not just tell us?”
“Any attempt on the Director’s life had to look successful,” Hill explained.
“Can’t kill you if you’re already dead,” Fury adds. “Besides, I wasn’t sure who to trust.”
He had a point. With everything going with S.H.I.E.L.D. you never knew who was your ally or enemy.
Once Natasha is patched up and given something to eat, Steve comes over to check on Elsie who was also given some food.
“How are you feeling?” he asks as he sits on the bed she lay on.
“Truthfully,” she scoffs after downing some ramen noodles, “like I just went ten rounds with Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. But I’m getting some food in my system, so I’m not starving.”
Steve chuckles a bit and holds her hand. “You’ll feel much better resting here than running all over the place.”
She nods with a sigh, her eyes drifting off.
“What are you thinking?” he asks.
She’s silent for a moment before asking, “Was joining S.H.I.E.L.D. a mistake?”
His eyebrows furrow. “What do you mean?”
“All my life, I’ve just wanted to help people any way I can, and when I moved to New York for college, two options came to mind: working for my uncle, or becoming an agent. Obviously, I picked the latter. With the training I’ve gone through in the last six months, no one talks about what happens when there are parasites within your workplace wanting to overthrow everything you helped build.”
“If I may interrupt for a moment,” Fury speaks up and slowly turns towards them. “Agent Walker, when was the first thing I told you when you joined the field?”
She thinks for a moment and remembers back to her first day on the job. “Always do the right thing, even if everyone else says to open fire.”
Fury nods. “So, are you gonna give up what you worked for because someone shot at you a few times? From what I’ve been told, you and the Captain make an excellent team.”
Warnings: character death, falling from buildings and highways, major vehicular crashes, use of weapons, explosions, violence, character is shot, mentions of bleeding
For the next three hours, the four of them come up with a plan to not only clear their names, but also stop the infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. They would have to be subtle about entering as agents and S.T.R.I.K.E. could be waiting at any and every corner of D.C. If the Winter Soldier was waiting, they would have to be ready. None of them were expecting the best outcome, but they prepared for the worst and hoped for the opposite. Anxiety over Elsie’s safety still ate at Steve, but he believed in her despite his fears. He had made a promise to Stark, and he was not going to break that promise. Elsie was just as scared for Steve, but she was going to make sure he was cleared of everything, even if it meant giving up being an agent.
When it was time to go, they headed into the city in Sam’s car. During that time, Natasha gave her a lesson on how to operate the laser gun but safely as to not fire it on accident. Elsie’s head was spinning now that she fully understood what her former coworkers went through when on real deal missions. It was scary, but she knew her team had her back.
Soon, they get to an alleyway across the street from a restaurant where they knew Sitwell would exit within a half hour. Sam gets out and blends in by going to the deli right there by the and buying himself a drink. Meanwhile, the other three head inside the building and Elsie gets into position by the window. Nat pulls out her scanner and does her tech magic to disguise Sam’s caller ID as Pierce’s to trick Sitwell into answering his phone.
“Yes, sir?” Sitwell answers the phone once Sam calls him.
“Agent Sitwell,” Sam greets, “how was lunch? I hear the crab cakes here are delicious.”
A pause. “Who is this?”
“The good-looking guy in the sunglasses, your 10 o’clock.”
Natasha rolls her eyes with a slight chuckle.
“What do you want?” Sitwell asks nervously.
“You’re gonna go around the corner to your right,” Sam instructs. “There’s a gray car two spaces down. You and I are gonna take a ride.”
“And why would I do that?”
Elsie points the laser at the center of his tie.
“Because that tie looks really expensive,” Sam warns, “and I’d hate to mess it up.”
…
“Tell me about Zola’s algorithm,” Steve demands after punching Sitwell through a wall, the officer landing on the roof of the building.
“Never heard of it,” Siwell answers nervously as he quickly stands and puts his glasses back on. He was being backed up to the edge as Steve aggressively approached him, and the girls were marching towards him in the same fashion.
“What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?”
“I was throwing up. I get seasick.”
He’s about to fall over the edge, but Steve grabs him in time and angrily stares at him. Sitwell just smirks.
“Is this little display meant to insinuate that you’re gonna throw me off the roof?” he taunts. “Because it’s really not your style, Rogers.”
Steve lets go and backs up. “You’re right. It’s not. It’s hers.”
He nods to Natasha, and she doesn’t hesitate to kick him off of the roof.
“Just out of curiosity,” she says to the couple as Sitwell is falling, “who made the first move?”
“Oh, he did,” Elsie replies, a little taken back by the sudden question.
“Oh, cute! How did you do it?”
“Nothing fancy,” Steve shrugs.
Elsie chuckles. “He just said, ‘Can I treat you to dinner, Friday night?’ I said yes.”
“I need details on your first date soon,” Natasha requests just before Sam flies up carrying Sitwell and dropping him back onto the roof.
Sam’s metallic wings retreated back into the pack strapped onto his back, and the other three strutted back towards Sitwell.
“Zola’s algorithm is a program,” Sitwell confesses out of breath, “for choosing Insight’s targets.”
“What targets?” Steve asks.
“You. A TV anchor in Cairo, the Under Secretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa City, Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who’s a threat to HYDRA. Now, or in the future.”
“In the future? How could it know?”
Sitwell just laughed. “How could it not?” -he stands up- “The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it. Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores! Zola’s algorithm evaluates people’s past to predict their future.”
“And what then?”
A look of horror shadows Sitwell’s face. “Pierce is gonna kill me,” he groans.
“What then?” Steve demands, Elsie keeping him from throwing punches too soon.
“Then,” Sitwell continues, “the Insight helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few million at a time.”
Mass genocide, Elsie realized, on people possibly as young as small children and as random as a construction worker on a regular Thursday afternoon. They had to act fast, and they needed to act now.
Sitwell was immediately brought along with the team as they headed to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Sam drove, Steve sat shotgun, and Elsie sat in the backseat between Natasha and Sitwell. The two women kept an eye on Natasha’s scanner on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Project Insight based on what he had confessed.
“HYDRA doesn’t like leaks,” he explains himself.
“Then why don’t you try sticking a cork in it?” Sam replies in annoyance.
“Insight’s launching in 16 hours,” Elsie informed. “We’re cutting it a little bit close here.”
“I know,” Steve nods. “We’ll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the helicarriers directly.”
“What?” Sitwell sat up straighter, his eyes wide. “Are you crazy? That is a terrible, terrible idea.”
A thud on the car’s roof interrupted the conversation, and the left passenger’s window was smashed. A metal arm then reaches in and throws Sitwell out of the vehicle.
Natasha sees a pair of boots and gunshots are fired. She then pushes Elsie onto Steve’s lap to keep her out of the gunman’s firing range while she takes cover behind Sam. Elsie ducks her head as more shots are fired. Steve puts the car gearshift in park, throwing the assailant off the vehicle as it’s forced into a stop on the highway.
The assailant stops himself by using his metal arm as a break, sparks flying from metal on concrete. He slowly stands, his long, dark hair blowing in the wind. He’s dressed in Soviet style military wear, and a black mask covers most of his face with his forehead partially showing. The Winter Soldier.
Just as Elsie points her gun to take a shot at him, a larger car rear ends them hard, making her drop the gun and the back window’s glass shatters. The other car pushes them towards the Soldier, and Sam tries to keep the car in control. The assailant then runs on top of their car, and Sam slams on the brakes, the tires giving an ear-splitting squeal.
“Elsie, get your gun!” Natasha orders as she pulls out her own.
Leaning down to find it, Elsie keeps a hold on Steve while she reaches for the said weapon on the floor and does her best not to cut herself on the broken glass again. Just as her fingers touched it, the Soldier smashed his arm through the windshield and ripped the driver’s wheel out, Sam cursing at him. Elsie then gripped the gun and pulled the trigger in the man’s direction but missed.
With no control on the car for Sam, they begin to swerve in and out of lanes. The other vehicle keeps smashing into them while the Soldier comes back to attack them. Steve had to make a split decision and went with it. Grabbing his shield and pressing it against the car door, he holds Elsie by the waist tightly.
“Hold on to me!” he orders.
Without another thought, everyone else in the car grabs onto Steve. Using his strength, he breaks off the car door as it acts as a second shield for them as they fly out of the car and onto the highway. The car is totaled as it flies over onto the road below. Sam rolls off, and the other three hang onto the door as it slides. The trio quickly gets up and prepares for whatever hell they’re about to face.
What they weren’t prepared for was the Winter Soldier receiving a large machine gun by the men in the other vehicle. He fires a missile in their direction, Steve pushing the girls out of the way. It hits his shield and sends him soaring over the highway bridge.
“STEVE!!!” Elsie screams as she watches him fall down to the Earth below and crash into a bus that causes a domino effect of a wreck.
Natasha pulls her behind some vehicles that people were already escaping from just before machine guns opened fire on the team.
“No time to cry now,” she tells her as the men march closer to them. “Get your gun out and start firing.”
Elsie nods quickly and whips out her weapon as Sam runs for safety. The women utilize their bullets as much as they can but have to jump onto the other highway just as another missile is fired and destroys a vehicle. The two dodge oncoming traffic halting to a stop as more people are heading for shelter from the rain of bullets. Another missile, and it hits a car right by them. The women jump together and Natasha uses a grappling device to swing them down to safety.
“They’re gonna shoot the moment they spot us,” Elsie warns as they head to where Steve had crashed.
“Just run when I tell you,” Natasha encourages her as she keeps an eye on the Soldier’s shadow.
The shadows weren’t exactly underneath the bridge, so Natasha stops them both when they’re right under the assailant’s nose. Pulling her pistols out and pointing them up, she whispers to Elsie, “Run and find Rogers,” and pulls the triggers.
Sprinting into a run, she hears Natasha fire five rounds, which buys her time to take shelter behind one of the buses that had landed on its side. Thankfully, the passengers had already escaped, but she still needed to find Steve.
More gunshots rang out as other people on the street ran for safety. Elsie ran to the other crashed bus and found the bus driver helping passengers out of the vehicle. She spots Steve’s shield on the ground, but before she could try to reach for him, the Winter Soldier's team were now at ground level with them and firing in their direction. Elsie took a few shots at them, but her pistol was nothing compared to their machine guns and assault rifles. While the bus would act as a shield for now, it would be a matter of time before gasoline would spill and catch fire.
“Steve, get out of there!” Elsie cried.
As the bus begins to go up in flames, Steve bursts through the emergency door’s window, grabs his shield and covers himself from the bullets. Sam returned to the action and stole a weapon from one of the men, which gave Elsie a window of time to dive behind Steve.
“You need to get out of here,” Steve instructs her over the roaring firearms.
“I’m not leaving you,” she refuses, holding onto his jacket and firing back at the Soldier’s team.
The couple step closer to the assailants as Sam takes overhead shots at the men from the highway. As they get closer to the last man standing, Elsie ducks behind the car as Steve goes in for the attack. The man falls on top of the car, and the Soldier fires at Sam, Steve sliding beside Elsie.
“Go! I got this!” Sam shouts before firing at the Soldier again.
Grabbing Elsie’s hand, Steve gets them both behind a car to take cover before all hell breaks loose again. They watch as police start to show up and the Soldier obliterates the first vehicle that arrives on scene. Natasha had created a diversion for him before she attacked in combat and used a device to electrocute his metal arm while she ran. However, before she could hide, she’s shot in the shoulder.
Breaking free of Steve’s grip, Elsie sprints towards Natasha, who took refuge behind another car.
“Elsie, no!” Steve wails, but the Soldier is not far behind.
She makes it to her injured friend, but Natasha just tells her, “Get out of here, and save yourself!”
The Soldier finds a place on top of a nearby car and points his missile at the girls. Before he has a chance to fire, Steve runs towards him and blocks a lethal punch with his shield.
“How bad is it?” Elsie asks, trying to help Natasha with her wound while the men battled.
“I don’t think there’s a bullet,” Natasha groans. “But it does hurt like hell. Trust me when I say it’s not fun.”
Holding her burned fingers up, Elsie softly smiled. “I couldn’t agree with you more.”
Without any gauze or any medical treatment, Natasha would have to apply pressure to her wound until she was able to do so. Elsie kept watch and held her gun at the ready in case the Soldier would attack again, but he seemed so focused on eliminating Steve. Her teeth clenched each time Steve was punched or kicked, and her instincts were screaming at her to help him. However, the Soldier was too strong, and she would be dead if she tried to fight him.
At one point, Steve managed to unmask the Winter Soldier, and everything seemed to go in slow motion when he saw the face of the assassin.
“Bucky?”
“Who the hell is Bucky?” the Soldier replied.
The man was indeed Bucky, but Steve had no idea why he was now a murderous tyrant. More questions flooded his mind as he remembered that day on the mountain. He had witnessed his best friend fall to his death, but now he was alive and hadn't aged a day? How was this possible?
Bucky points a gun at Steve, but Sam flies in on his wings and knocks him over. He quickly stands and tries again, but Natasha picks up the missile rifle and fires a shot but misses. When the smoke cleared, he was gone, and the S.T.R.I.K.E. team arrived in multiple vehicles and a helicopter overhead.
Elsie rushes up to Steve, but he stops her. They had to surrender now no matter how much they would hate it. Rumlow and his team all surrounded the foursome.
“Drop the shield, Cap!” he ordered as guns were pointed at Steve’s face. “Get on your knees!”
As Sam was arrested, officers ordered Elsie and Natasha to drop their weapons, and they complied before they were cuffed.
Warnings: explosions and a building collapse, head injury
Once the dust settles, Steve punches and kicks away at the larger chunk of debris, him and Nat both coughing up dust. Elsie had been knocked unconscious, and Natasha pulled her out before checking to see if she was hurt anywhere. No blood, but there was a small swell to Elsie’s head.
“I’ve got her,” Steve says and scoops her up as she starts to wake up. Elsie holds onto him as he and Natasha carefully step out into the open, but the world feels as if it was spinning around her. She was dizzy, exhausted, and didn’t want to fight sleep anymore.
“Rest, doll,” he tells her just before multiple jet engines could be heard in the distance.
Steve and Natasha make a run for it, staying out of the choppers’ bright lights. He then remembers Sam lived near him and Elsie and directs them towards his house. When they couldn’t run anymore, they decided to walk despite having to make the journey that lasted until sunrise, Elsie unconscious through all of it.
By seven o’clock in the morning, they reach Sam’s back porch door. Natasha knocks on the door, and Sam answers it within a matter of seconds.
“Hey, man,” he greets them, a bit sweaty from his morning run and a surprised look on his face. He didn’t bother to question why his friend was holding an unconscious woman in his arms or why they and Natasha were dirty.
“I’m sorry about this,” Steve apologizes, out of breath. “We need a place to lay low.”
“Everyone we know is trying to kill us,” Natasha adds.
“Not everyone,” Sam replies. He leads them inside his home and closes the screen door.
Natasha immediately goes in search of an ice pack, while Sam leads Steve to a spare room for Elsie to rest.
“I know who the redhead is,” Sam says, “but who’s the brunette?”
“This is Elsie,” Steve introduces as he lays her gently on the bed.
“Friend from work?”
A blush color appears on his cheeks as he shakes his head. “No, she’s my girlfriend.”
Sam cheekily smiles and crosses his arms. “So, the Captain does have a girl.”
Steve smiles and rolls his eyes at him. “Okay, that’s enough.”
“Is she okay though?” Sam asks, taking the situation a bit more serious.
“I think she hit her head from where we were,” Natasha says as she comes in with an ice pack wrapped in a towel. “She didn’t bleed, but I felt a small bump on her head.”
She then feels around Elsie’s scalp and locates the bump before carefully placing the ice pack on it.
“I’ll watch her,” Steve says and holds the ice on her head. “You go wash up.”
Sam heads back to the kitchen, and Natasha heads to the bathroom.
It wasn’t but five minutes until Elsie woke up, her head pounding.
“Steve?” her voice cracked.
“I’m here, angel,” he reassures before kissing her hand.
When her eyes open and look around, she’s confused and her throat feels dry. “Where are we?”
“The camp was bombed,” he explains. “We got out, but something hit your head when the building we were in collapsed. We’re at Sam’s house.”
She just nods before chuckling at seeing him all dirty. “You gonna hit the showers, Captain?”
He lets out a small smile. “Just wanted to make sure you were okay first.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Steve then helps her sit up before taking the hairpins and scrunchie out of her messy brown and red locks.
After Natasha is done in the shower, Elsie takes a turn but not without Steve standing on the other side of the curtain to make sure she didn’t have a concussion or fall. Natasha took everyone’s clothes to the laundry, and they were cleaned within a few minutes.
When Elsie finishes in the shower, Steve steps out of the bathroom to let her get dressed in private while he finds another bathroom to wash his face and hands. Natasha was in spare room towel drying her hair.
“You okay?” he asks Natasha as he steps out of the bathroom.
She nods. “How is she?”
“She’s fine. She’s not used to things like this, so I think it’s starting to take a toll on her. But she’s tough as nails.”
Natasha glances in the direction of the bathroom she was in before looking back at Steve.
“You know,” she says with a soft smile, “I’ve never seen anyone else put themselves in danger to protect the one they love.”
“The last thing I want is for her to get hurt,” Steve replies.
“I wasn’t talking about you protecting her.”
Steve looks at her confused.
“Elsie chose you over her own position as an agent-in-training the moment she escaped arrest by jumping out of an elevator with you, knowing she most likely lost her job. She’s not told anyone else about the drive, took a bullet for you, and even pretended you two were engaged, all because she wants to protect you as much as she can. If that isn’t true love, then I refuse to believe it exists.”
Steve is silent for a moment as he ponders over the last 48 hours. The last thing he wanted for Elsie was to put her in this position, especially now that she had a bounty on her head for being a witness to Fury’s murder. She had been injured, but she always pulled through. With the amount of danger they had been in, Elsie never held back from fighting or tried to run away. She knew from the start what dating him would entail, and her actions told him she was in it for the long run no matter how dangerous it would be. Like Steve, she could do this all day.
Elsie soon steps out of the bathroom fresh as a daisy and in clean clothes, her hair combed through with the red dye starting to fade a little from being washed. She spots Steve and Natasha in the other room and joins them, sitting at the foot of the bed with Steve.
“I’ll go see if breakfast is ready,” Natasha says and grabs her jacket.
It’s silent for a moment before Elsie takes Steve’s hand.
“I owe you one,” she tells him in a hushed voice.
“It’s okay,” he shakes his head.
Elsie sighs. “Sweetheart, be honest with me for a minute, if it was the other way around, and it was down to me to save your life, would you trust me to do it? Same goes for Natasha.”
He looks her in the eye. “I would,” he swears. “And I’m always honest.”
“You seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they died for nothing.”
He wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her closer to him. “Well, I guess I just like to know who I’m fighting.”
Steve leans in to kiss her when Sam’s voice announces from the doorway, “I made breakfast. If you guys eat that sort of thing.”
Elsie chuckles. “I am actually starving,” she nods and stands. “Care to join me, Captain?”
…
Wolfing down eggs and bacon, Elsie was forever grateful Sam gave them food to eat. It had been at least a whole day and a half since any of them had eaten, and she felt her energy return once some food was in her stomach.
“You’re an excellent cook,” she tells Sam. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” he smiles at her, refiling her glass with orange juice. “Just don’t choke now.”
“So, the question is who at S.H.I.E.L.D. could launch a domestic missile strike?” Natasha changes the subject while sipping on some milk.
Steve thinks for a moment, and then realizes something. “Pierce.”
“Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world,” Elsie adds after swallowing her last piece of bacon.
“But he’s not working alone. Zola’s algorithm was on the Lemurian Star.”
A light bulb went off in Natasha’s head. “So was Jasper Sitwell.”
Steve’s gears begin to function as he comes up with a plan. “So, the real question is, how do the three most wanted people in Washington kidnap a S.H.I.E.L.D. officer in broad daylight?”
“The answer is, you don’t,” Sam chimes in as he walks towards them with a manila folder in hand and tosses it on the coffee table.
“What’s this?”
“Call it a resumé.”
Nat takes it and examines the photo on top more closely.
“Is this Bakhmala?” she asks. “The Khalid Khandil mission, that was you?” She looks at Steve. “You didn’t say he was a Pararescue.”
Steve takes the photo and sees the other man in the photo by Sam. “Is this Riley?” Sam’s military partner.
“Yeah,” Sam confirms.
“I heard they couldn’t bring in the choppers because of the RPGs,” Natasha adds.
“What’d you use? A stealth chute?” Elsie wonders as she comes over to join the rest of the group.
“No,” Same replies and hands them another folder. “These.”
Steve’s demeanor changes as he sees the label on the file titled “FALCON,” and it wasn’t talking about aircraft. “I thought you said you were a pilot,” he says as he looks up at his friend.
A proud smile grows on Sam’s face. “I never said pilot.”
Steve was about to jump the gun at the idea, but he hesitated. He had already put Elsie in danger, and now Natasha was just a wanted criminal like them. He didn’t want another person he cared about to get hurt.
“I can’t ask you to do this, Sam,” he finally says. “You got out for a good reason.”
“Dude, Captain America needs my help,” Sam insists. “There’s no better reason to get back in.”
Realizing he was right, Steve goes for it. “Where can we get our hands on one of these things?”
“The last one is at Fort Meade. Behind three guarded gates and a 12-inch steel wall.”
Warnings: explosions and a building collapse, head injury
They made it out of the mall without anyone else recognizing them, but they had to get to Wheaton now. Steve’s motorcycle was already out of the question, and no subway led to their destination. Stealing a car was their best bet, and thankfully they found a truck with no valuables inside it. Steve hopped into the driver’s seat while Natasha slid into the backseat and Elsie took shotgun. Each of them removed their subtle disguises, the glasses and two hats tossed into the back seat.
Fatigue was starting to hit Elsie again, and she was regretting not sleeping enough in the hospital when she had the chance. She wasn’t sure how long the drive would be, so she decided to lay her seat back and rest her eyes for a bit. Steve held her hand while he drove.
“Where did Captain America learn how to steal a car?” Natasha questioned him as they crossed the New Jersey state line.
“Nazi Germany,” he answered. “And we’re borrowing.”
Staring at his hand linked with Elsie’s nail-polished one wrapped in gauze, she thought back to about half an hour ago at the mall. Her curiosity got the best of her, so she sat up a little straighter.
“All right, I have a question for you, which you do not have to answer,” she rambles. “I feel like you probably won’t answer it though, but you’re kind of answering it, you know-”
“What?” Steve replies in annoyance.
“Was she your first kiss since 1945?” Natasha nods to Elsie.
“That cheesy, huh?”
“No, I didn’t say that.”
“Well, it sounds like you were saying that.”
Natasha shrugged. “I just wondered how much practice you’ve had.”
Steve shakes his head. “You don’t need practice.”
“Everybody needs practice.”
Elsie opens her eyes and sits up since she couldn’t get much of a nap in anymore. “I was his first kiss since ‘45,” she confirms.
“I knew it.”
Steve just chuckles and shakes his head. “It’s hard finding someone with shared life experience, but I took a chance with her.”
She softly smiles. “I may not have a ton of life experience, but I want to share life experiences with Steve.”
Natasha sighs happily, proud to see her friend in love. While she didn’t know her that well yet, Nat had a feeling Elsie was going to be part of Steve’s life for a long time. It wasn’t because she showed him love or that he showed it back to her, but rather that Elsie wasn’t afraid to fight for the man she loved.
By sunset, they arrived at the location in Wheaton and parked the truck in front of an abandoned, gated facility, which was an old training camp from the war. They hop out and take in their surroundings as they approach the wire fence. It was quiet with a light breeze blowing, and a dog barking in the distance was all that broke the eerie silence. The building itself seemed to have been sitting there since Steve fought in the war, and the stop signs lining the gate had faded over time.
“This is it,” Steve confirms.
“The file came from these coordinates,” Natasha agrees.
“So did I.”
When they sneak in, the trio explores around as the sun sets. Natasha uses her scanner to follow a beacon on where they precisely needed to be in order to find what they were looking for.
“This camp is where I was trained, “ Steve recalled.
Flashbacks of when he first entered the army pre-serum swarmed his thoughts. Most of the ruff and buff militia around him were the ideal people to fight for the United States, but he often was bullied and ridiculed by them. He was a scrawny twenty-five year old man with multiple health problems, but Dr. Erskine saw through the physical aspect and chose him to become the Super Soldier.
“Change much?” Elsie asked as she looked around.
“A little,” he shrugs.
He could still hear the commanding officer calling out instructions during one of their training exercises, and he could clearly picture the exact spot where his smaller self often lagged behind his team and got yelled at by the commander.
“It’s a dead end,” Natasha’s voice breaks him out of his thoughts. She was reading her scanner, but nothing came up. “Zero heat signatures, zero waves, not even radio.”
“Then, whoever wrote the file must have used a router to throw people off,” Elsie concludes.
Steve then spots something behind the girls. It was a facility Steve recognized, but it was out of place. He was starting to think that may be a clue to something.
“What is it?” Natasha asks.
With no hesitation, Steve beelines it to the structure, Natasha and Elsie following closely behind him. “Army regulations forbid storing munitions within 500 yards of the barracks. This building is in the wrong place.”
Using the edge of his shield, he breaks the lock on the doors, allowing them to enter and descend down some stairs. He then finds a switch and turns it on, overhead beam lights beginning to illuminate one by one. Multiple office desks, rolling chairs, and other supplies had been left abandoned there for who knows how long; but a certain insignia with a bird shape stood out to them on the back wall.
“This is S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Natasha realizes as they slowly walk through it.
“Maybe where it started,” Steve guesses.
He then finds a door that was still unlocked and opens it, leading to another hallway. The first thing they spotted were three photographed portraits in what seemed to be the late ‘40s, one of the people pictured was someone Elsie was familiar with.
“Well, there’s my grandpa,” Elsie points out the portrait in the center.
“Howard,” Steve adds.
“Who’s the girl?” Natasha asks when she noticed the portrait by Howard’s.
Steve doesn’t answer as he just walks away.
“Peggy Carter,” Elsie whispers to her. “She’s kind of the reason I joined S.H.I.E.L.D.”
With Steve’s reaction, Natasha figured Peggy was an old flame of his. Elsie’s response surprised her a bit, but she decided to put the conversation aside for another time.
A faint buzzing sound came from behind a dusty bookshelf, a spider web covering two conjoining shelves that didn’t touch each other.
“If you’re already working in a secret office,” Steve says before prying open a hidden elevator behind the shelves, “why do you need to hide the elevator?”
Using her scanner, Natasha found the code to operate the moving transport. Once the doors were open with a ding, the three entered inside. Their only option was down, so down is where they went. When the doors opened once again, they were met with a pitch dark room. Walking through, it was a haunting silence until the lights came on automatically. Multiple computers covered in dust and other electronic gadgets sat dormant with cameras not in operation.
“This can’t be the data point,” Natasha shakes her head. “This technology is ancient.”
However, one piece of equipment looked fairly up to date. A small, black, rectangular device with cobalt blue lighting seemed to be on, and it was plugged into the computer. Following a hunch, Natasha plugs the thumb drive into an open. Every device in the room immediately came to life as they powered on, and whirring sounds came from old tech lining the walls.
A robotic voice from the large computer in the center of it all then and green letters across the black screen asks, “INITIATE SYSTEM?”
Finding the chunky keyboard, Natasha spells out “Yes.” The computer then powers up.
“Shall we play a game?” she jokes, quoting Saw. “It’s from a movie that-”
“I know,” Steve nods. “I saw it.”
On top of the main computer screen, a camera from the 1970s pointed towards him, and a green face began to appear on the screen in a coded and warbled manner.
“Rogers, Steven,” a warbled, robotic voice with a European accent recites his name, “born 1918.”
The camera then moves around to identify the two women in the room. “Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna, born 1984. Walker, Elsie, born 1992.”
“It’s some kind of recording,” Natasha downplayed.
“I am not a recording, Fraeuline,” the computer insists. “I may not be the man I was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945. But I am.”
On a smaller screen, an image of a balding man in round glasses appears, and Steve immediately knows who it is.
“You know this thing?” Elsie questions Steve with a raised eyebrow.
He begins to walk around the giant system, wondering if this was all some sick joke.
“Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull,” he explains. “He’s been dead for years.”
“First correction, I am Swiss,” the computer Zola sassed. “Second, look around you. I have never been more alive. In 1972, I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body. My mind, however, that was worth saving on 200,000 feet of databanks. You are standing in my brain.”
Steve returns to the center. “How did you get here?”
“Invited.”
Elsie then remembers something she had read in the S.H.I.E.L.D archives once. “It was Operation Paperclip after World War II. S.H.I.E.L.D. recruited German scientists with strategic value.”
“They thought I could help their cause,” Zola continues. “I also helped my own.”
“HYDRA died with the Red Skull,” Steve shoots back.
“Cut off one head,” -the HYDRA symbol appears for a moment- “two more shall take its place.”
“Prove it.”
The other small screens began showing images of old news clippings and footage of early S.H.I.E.L.D. days.
“Accessing archive.”
A video then begins to play as Zola narrates the story. “HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize was that if you try to take that freedom, they resist. The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly.”
Some of the footage was of Steve in his early days as Captain America, and Elsie did her best not to blush. Why did she have to react like that at the worst possible moment?
“After the war,” Zola continued, “S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded, and I was recruited. The new HYDRA grew. A beautiful parasite inside S.H.I.E.L.D. For 70 years, HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war, and when history did not cooperate, history was changed.”
“That’s impossible,” Elsie chimes in. “S.H.I.E.L.D. would have stopped you.”
An article dating back to two months before Elsie was born pops up announcing the accidental death of her grandparents.
“Accidents will happen,” Zola calmly answers. “HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once a purification process is complete, HYDRA’s new world order will arise. We won, Captain. Your death amounts the same as your life. A zero sum.”
In a fit of fury, Steve punches the large screen, a web of cracks causing Zola’s face to disappear. The computer beeps, but Zola just reappears on another screen.
“As I was saying,” he continued.
“What’s on this drive?” Steve interrupts, demanding answers.
The drive. How long had they been listening to Zola? Elsie realized they could be targeted here now, and it wouldn’t be long until they were caught by S.H.I.E.L.D.
“Project Insight requires insight,” Zola answers Steve’s question, his girlfriend trying not to panic. “So I wrote an algorithm.”
“What kind of algorithm?” Natasha asks. “What does it do?”
“The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it.”
“We need to go,” Elsie says before the doors behind them begin to close.
Steve throws his shield to keep the doors open, but it is no use as it boomerangs back to him. Natasha’s scanner begins to beep.
“We’ve got a bogey,” she warns. “Short range ballistic. 30 seconds tops.”
“Who fired it?” Steve asks.
“S.H.I.E.L.D.”
“I am afraid I have been stalling, Captain,” Zola chimes in. “Admit it.” -Natasha snatches the drive from the port- “It’s better this way. We are, both of us, out of time.”
Steve rushes over to a steel covering on the floor and yanks it open, revealing a hollow escape route. The girls jump into it after Steve just before the ballistic bombs the facility, Elsie screaming in fright. The trio lay low as Steve uses the shield to protect them from all of the debris crashing down around them. Elsie could hear the strain in his voice as he used his strength to keep them safe, and it was the last thing she heard before everything went dark.
Elsie had to get to the hospital fast. Steve knew she needed medical help, and he needed to get the thumb drive. Thankfully, Elsie had friends in the ER, and they promised to not reveal the couple was ever there. They tended to her wounds quickly and gave her an IV since she was dehydrated and exhausted.
“She should be fine in a few hours,” the ER doctor told Steve once she was all bandaged up. “She’s very lucky to have only second-degree burns on her fingers and no broken bones from that fall. However, she did need twelve stitches on her arm, but no trace of glass was in her.”
“I’m just happy she’s alive,” Steve says as he slips his hoodie on. “If S.H.I.E.L.D. comes looking, we were never here.”
Giving his sleeping girlfriend one last kiss on her forehead, he heads to the floor where the vending machine was to retrieve the thumb drive. However, to his horror, the bubblegum space was completely empty. A popping sound is heard behind him, and he sees Natasha’s reflection in the glass, her chewing away on the bubblegum. When he turns around to see her standing there, he knows she took it and immediately drags her into an empty room.
“Where is it?!” he growls, pushing her against a wall.
“Safe,” she replies calmly.
“Do better.”
“Where did you get it?” Her brows furrowed.
“Why would I tell you?”
A beat. “Fury gave it to you. Why?”
“What’s on it?”
“I don’t know.”
Steve was getting impatient. “Stop lying.”
“I’m not,” Natasha insists. “I only act like I know everything, Rogers.”
“I bet you knew Fury hired the pirates, didn’t you?”
She looks at him shocked. “Well, makes sense. The ship was dirty, Fury needed a way in, so do you.”
He grips her harder. “I’m not gonna ask you again.”
Knowing he wasn’t gonna give up, Natasha decides to tell him what she knows. “I know who killed Fury,” she finally says.
Steve is silent. Maybe he would finally get somewhere with what she had to say.
“Most of the intelligence community doesn’t believe he exists,” she continues. “The ones that do call him the Winter Soldier. He’s credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years.”
“So, he’s a ghost story,” Steve says, not sure if he believed her.
“Five years ago, I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran. Somebody shot out my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff. I pulled us out. But the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him” -she lifts up her shirt to show him her scar- “straight through me. Soviet slug. No rifling. Bye-bye, bikinis.”
“Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now,” Steve retorts.
She just stares at him for a moment before continuing. “Going after him is a dead end. I know, I’ve tried.” She finally hands him the thumb drive she had hidden in her pocket. “Like you said, he’s a ghost story.”
He takes the device. “Well, let’s find out what the ghost wants.”
Steve then heads back to Elsie’s room to check on her. Still napping, but her phone was lighting up non stop with missed calls and texts. Stark was trying to get in touch with her. How the phone didn’t get crushed or smashed after what happened, he didn’t know.
“I’ll handle this,” Natasha says, taking the phone and answering the many missed calls while Steve stays by Elsie’s side.
“Stark,” she answers once she’s outside of the room.
“Romanoff?” Stark replies. “Where’s my niece? And why are she and Rogers wanted fugitives like they’re Bonnie and Clyde?”
“To answer your first question, she’s in the hospital, but she’ll be fine. Your second question is a little more complicated to answer.” She looks back at her teammate. The man she saw now was not the guy who angrily interrogated her five minutes ago. This man was gently holding his girlfriend’s hand while she slept, brushing her brown locks out of her face, and basically acting as her guardian angel looking at her with love and worry.
“What do you mean complicated?” Tony pressed.
Natasha took a deep breath. “Did Elsie ever tell you she had a boyfriend?”
There was a long pause before Tony spoke again. “She never said it was Steve Rogers,” he groans. “Okay, why is she in the hospital, and how long are they keeping her?”
“About three hours. Long story short, she and Rogers were escaping arrest, and she got some cuts and bruises. They’re mainly letting her sleep and making sure she’s hydrated.”
“Don’t let either of them leave until I’m there,” he demands. “I’m going there now.”
“Okay.” She hangs up before Tony could say anything else.
“Stark’s on his way here,” she announces as she comes back into the room, placing the phone on the side table.
“I’m guessing he’s not too happy,” Steve replies, not taking his eyes off of Elsie.
“More or less. I think he’s mostly concerned with her being in the hospital, but I told him she’s going to be fine.” She sits at the foot of the bed, careful not to disturb Elsie. “Did Stark not know you and Elsie were together?”
Steve shakes his head.
“And you two have been dating for how long?”
“About a year.”
Natasha’s eyes grew wide. “And neither of you thought to at least tell someone?”
“We wanted to,” Steve snapped. “But life got in the way, and we didn’t know how to tell without freaking everyone out.”
“What do you mean by ‘freak out?’ Because in all honesty, I think you two are the cutest couple. And I’m not saying that because we’re friends.”
He sighs. “I just don’t want to be kicked off the team.”
Natasha laughs. “Rogers, no one's gonna kick you out of the Avengers for dating Elsie. You’re literally the leader.”
“Stark could try.”
“Dude, you’re not in Romeo and Juliet.”
“No,” Elsie chimes in with a yawn, “he’s just dramatic.”
Looking over at Elsie, Steve smiles softly. “You’re supposed to be sleeping,” he points out, kissing her hand.
“Then, you two should have been whispering.”
Natasha chuckles before standing. “How are you feeling, Agent Walker?”
“Okay for the most part,” Elsie shrugs. “But I think ‘Agent’ has been thrown out of the window. No pun intended.”
“Sure it wasn’t,” Natasha shakes her head, “but you’re still an agent in my book.”
About an hour later Tony showed up, a look of both relief and annoyance on his goatee-clad face. He wasn’t in his usual t-shirt paired with an expensive suit and vans combo topped with sunglasses, but rather in pajama pants, tennis shoes, a shirt, and a coffee in his hand.
“Let me get this straight,” he pondered as he entered the ER bay she was in and stood by her bedside, “I’m having a nice breakfast with Pepper. Sunny side up eggs, pancakes, maple syrup, and don’t forget the orange slices and milk. And then I look up at the flat screen connected to S.H.I.E.L.D. to see my precious niece’s face next to Captain Rogers, all because the man is now a wanted fugitive and somehow Elsie is involved. She’s now in the hospital because you two escaped?”
“Pretty much,” Elsie nods. “Are you done?”
“Not quite,” he replies while giving his coffee a stir. “To top it all off, the man Elsie has been dating for a year now is also Captain Rogers.”
“Tony, I just have a few stitches on my arm and two burn marks on my fingers,” she defends. “I’m okay. And I told you that we needed to talk, so let’s talk since you’re here. Yes, I’ve been dating Steve for a year, and I’ve been living with him for about five months.”
“Why didn’t you just say ‘Hey, Tony. I’m dating Captain Rogers’?”
Elsie sighed. “We didn’t know how, and I didn’t want you to freak.”
“I wouldn’t have freaked,” Tony scoffed, taking a sip of his coffee. “Kept you apart? Possibly.”
“Same thing.”
Before he could shoot something back, Steve steps in. “Look, Stark, we were going to tell you, and we’re sorry you had to find out like this; but if we don’t finish this mission that we have-”
“Mission?” Tony’s brow raised.
Elsie didn’t want to put her uncle in danger, and while she wanted to tell him everything, she was keeping her promise to Fury.
“If we tell you,” Elsie gulped, taking her uncle’s hand, “one of two things can happen. Either a bounty is placed on your head like there is mine and Steve’s, or you rat us out to S.H.I.E.L.D. We can’t trust anyone.”
Tony thinks for a moment before nodding in understanding. “Can I still sign you out of here?” he asks. “Just leave your co-pay to me.”
…
After Elsie is released, Tony takes care of her hospital bill and promises to never tell anyone she, Steve, and Natasha were ever there. While he didn’t like the idea of his niece putting herself in danger, he had faith in her that she was going to do something great.
“Just promise me she doesn’t get hurt,” Tony requests before heading back home.
“I’ve got her,” Steve swears.
Natasha then makes a quick run to a nearby thrift store to get Elsie some new clothes and helps her tie and pin her hair up in a way that conceals her bright-red ends underneath a heather gray beanie. Steve is given some fake glasses and a baseball hat for a disguise, and Natasha wears a jacket with the hood up to keep a low profile. Once out of the hospital, Natasha discards the bloodied S.H.I.E.L.D. clothes in a nearby trash can outside the hospital. The three of them then head to the mall to find an electronics store where they would have access to a computer in order to subtly try to decode what’s on the thumb drive.
The mall was a good place to hide out for the time being, and being a regular Tuesday afternoon in April it was packed. Perfect place to hide if agents were there, but at the same time, someone could recognize them easily.
The whole being on the run thing was new to both Steve and Elsie, so they were thankful Natasha was there to be their guide.
“First rule of going on the run is don’t run, walk,” she instructs as they navigate through the mall.
“If I run in these shoes, they’re gonna fall off,” Steve complains, his feet practically sliding around in the first pair Natasha had grabbed for him.
They find an Apple store and beeline to the first available display laptop there. Natasha immediately logs into it while Steve and Elsie keep watch.
“The file has a Level Six homing program,” she informs them, “so as soon as we boot up, S.H.I.E.L.D. will know exactly where we are.”
“How much time will we have?” Steve asks.
“About nine minutes from” -she inserts the thumb drive- “now.”
Elsie sets her watch to time it. “Go quickly,” she tells her.
Natasha focused on the task at hand, searching through files until she found what she was looking for.
“Fury was right about that ship,” she realized. “Somebody’s trying to hide something.” Another file pops up. “This drive is protected by some sort of AI. It keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands.”
“Can you override it?” Elsie asks.
“The person who developed this is slightly smarter than me. Slightly.”
Elsie checks her watch. “Five minutes.”
“I'm gonna try running a tracer,” Natasha decides and begins to type away. “This is a program S.H.I.E.L.D. developed to track hostile malware, so if we can’t read the file, maybe we can find out where it came from.”
A satellite image of the U.S. East Coast pops up followed by a signal seemingly pinging from the Northern region.
“Can I help you guys with anything?” a male employee with long blond hair, a stocky build, and a beard approaches them in a friendly manner.
“Oh no,” Elsie quickly replies, shaking her head and giving him a smile. “My sister was helping my fiancé and I look for honeymoon destinations.” She holds Steve’s hand and looks at him adoringly.
“Right,” he follows along, kissing her temple. “We’re getting married.”
“Aren’t they cute?” Natasha adds with a soft smile before focusing back on the computer.
“Congratulations!” the man rejoiced. “Where are you guys thinking about going?”
Steve glances at the computer as a location lights up. “New Jersey,” he says, hoping the man didn’t figure them out. Elsie keeps an eye on the screen, trying to play off the story they just gave.
The employee gives Steve a look as if he knew something about him. Had they been caught by an undercover agent? Were they recognized?
“I have the exact same glasses,” the employee finally says, Elsie letting go of a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.
“Wow, you two are practically twins,” Natasha sarcastically chimes in as she keeps her focus.
“Yeah, I wish.” The man chuckles before admiring Steve’s physique. “Specimen. If you guys need anything, I’ve been Aaron.”
“Thank you,” Elsie nods.
Natasha continued to find as much information as she could, but she was cutting close on time. S.H.I.E.L.D. would be arriving with the S.T.R.I.K.E. team at any moment, and they had to leave now. Elsie’s watch beeped, and she quickly shut it off.
“You said nine minutes,” Steve reminds her impatiently. “Come on.”
“Relax,” Natasha shushed him before finishing up. “Got it.”
A location popped up: Wheaton, New Jersey.
“You know it?” Elsie asks Steve as he looks at it with a sense of familiarity.
“I used to,” he confirms. “Let’s go.”
Once he removed to thumb drive, the trio exited the store, Elsie lacing her fingers with Steve’s as they briskly walked. Agents were now searching the mall and they had the S.T.R.I.K.E. team with them.
“Standard tac team,” Steve alerts the two women. “Two behind, two across, and two coming straight at us. If they make us, I’ll engage, you two hit the south escalator to the metro.”
“Shut up and put your arm around Elsie,” Natasha commands. “Laugh at something she said.”
Elsie quickly puts Steve’s arm around her shoulder, and he turns his head towards her to where their eyes meet. Steve laughs like he’s told, Elsie and Natasha following along as if they all cracked a joke as agents walked by them. Steve looks back and sees the agents walk away, but he still holds onto his girlfriend to keep up the act.
The nearest exit was down one floor, but when they took the escalator, Rumlow was coming up the opposite one to search the floor above.
“You two, kiss,” Natasha commanded as she pulled a fake phone out.
“Excuse me?” Elsie was taken aback. She loved giving Steve kisses, but was now the time?
“Public displays of affection makes people very uncomfortable.”
“Yes, they do,” Steve agrees and turns Elsie to him.
He embraces her and presses a kiss to her lips while Natasha pretends to text someone and keeps her head down just as Rumlow ascends by them. Once they had passed him, he let go of her.
“Still uncomfortable?” Natasha asks as they reach the first floor.
“Not exactly the word I would use,” Steve replies, smiling a little at Elsie.
Warnings: surgical procedures, character death, violence, explosions, mentions of blood, use of a firearm
When the EMTs and other agents arrive, Elsie tells them what happened before Sharon got there to call for help. Now that the news of her and Steve were together, Elsie was given a few stares from the other agents, but she tried not to care. She was too shaken up from the last thirty minutes and wanted her boss to be okay.
She couldn’t stop shaking as she and Steve arrived at the hospital. He tried to calm her, but her breathing wouldn’t slow down. All Elsie could do was watch as the doctors and surgeons worked tirelessly to save Fury from the other side of a glass window. Steve grabs her hand and holds it, which calms her a little; but she still tries to take some breaths, realizing how close she was to being in the same position Fury was had Steve not been there.
Nat then bursts through the door and rushes up next to them.
“Is he going to be okay?” she asks calmly as she also witnesses the operation.
“I don’t know,” Steve replies, not peeling his eyes away.
“Tell me about the shooter.” Nat was in investigative mode now. It didn’t matter if someone was dying or still alive left with trauma. If something happened, Nat was going to get to the bottom of it.
“He’s fast. Strong.” A beat. “Had metal arm.”
Agent Hill is the next one to enter, and without taking her eyes off of Fury, Nat asks, “Ballistics?”
Hill shakes her head. “Three slugs,” she answers, “no rifling. Completely untraceable.”
“Soviet-made.”
As if out of a nightmare, Fury’s vitals begin to flatline, and a defibrillator is rushed in.
“Don’t do this to me, Nick,” Nat whispered, her voice shaking as if she were about to cry.
Even with the doctors’ efforts to revive Fury, it was no use. Steve turned away and was out the door before the time of death was called. Elsie followed him out as she tried to keep her tears from falling down her face.
She wasn’t exactly close with Fury, but she did know him through her uncle. However, she wasn’t sure why she was upset. Was Nick’s death a shock? Yes. Is it sad? Of course. But was Elsie sad because of it, or was it because her training hadn’t quite prepared her for being so close to what was now clearly an assassination? Whatever it was, she was going to be brave for Steve.
…
The room was eerily quiet. Steve, Natasha, and Elsie stood in silence as they looked over the now deceased Nick Fury. Even as Elsie held Steve’s hand the entire time, the air was just still and cold. She wanted to give Natasha a hug and tell her everything would be alright. However, none of them knew what was going to happen now the Fury was gone.
“I need to take him,” Agent Hill says upon entering the room.
Steve then slowly goes up to Natasha, and she eventually walks out, the couple trailing behind her.
“I’m gonna go find something to drink,” Elsie informs him before going to search for a vending machine with drinks. Hopefully, some water or soda could help calm her nerves.
“Okay,” Steve nods before following his fellow team member.
“Natasha,” he calls after her. She quickly turns around, looking at him as if he just grew cattle horns out of his temples.
“Why was Fury in your apartment?” Natasha questioned him.
Remembering what Fury had instructed, Steve just shrugged. “I don’t know,” he lies.
Natasha then spots Elsie coming back with a water bottle in hand. “Okay, then why was Stark’s niece there?”
Before Steve could try to come up with an excuse, Agent Rumlow, a buff man with a stubble, approaches. “Cap, they want you back at S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Steve turns to him and says, “Give me a second.”
“They want you now,” Rumlow insists. “Same with Agent Walker.”
“Okay.”
Natasha then puts two and two together. She knew he was going to spill his guts sooner or later.
“You’re a terrible liar,” she smirks when he turns back around.
Without another word, Natasha walks away, and Elsie returns to his side.
“Everything okay?” she asks Steve.
He meets her eyes with a worried look, unsure of what’s going to happen now that Fury was dead and their relationship couldn’t be kept a secret anymore.
“They want us at S.H.I.E.L.D.,” he simply tells her. “You may want to call your uncle just in case.”
Before they walk towards the S.T.R.I.K.E. team, Steve hides the thumb drive behind some gum in the vending machine before the man restocking it returns. Elsie knew she was in danger of knowing about the item, however, she refused to give into her fear. It was time to put her training to use.
Hand in hand, the couple exits the hospital with the team. Elsie shoots Tony a text saying that she was okay but they needed to talk soon. Once at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, she was brought into questioning by another agent in a separate room, but they released her since she was a witness. Elsie was then handed some fresh clothes as Steve changed into his suit to meet with Alexander Pierce. She waited outside for him patiently but not without exchanging glares with Sharon.
Waiting for Steve was no fun, either. Other agents would give her looks or whisper to each other while staring, and Elsie even picked up some of the things they were saying. It did sting a little knowing some of her friends from work were calling her every name in the book like the mean girls from middle school. However, she was too tired and hungry to do anything about it. If they wanted to start rumors, that was fine with her.
Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait too long as Steve was out of the meeting within about twenty minutes.
“How’d it go?” Elsie asks him once he exits the room.
“I have more questions than answers,” he replies as they head to the glass elevator at the end of the hall. “Did they say anything to you?”
She scoffs. “Does listening to a bunch of your coworkers call you a ‘slut for sleeping with the captain’ behind your back count?”
He gently holds her hand. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.
Elsie shrugs and yawns. “I’ve been called worse for simply being related to Tony Stark. But in all seriousness, I’m just a witness to the whole situation.”
“Well, the good news is that we can maybe crash at Sam’s to rest and eat until the apartment is cleared. I just need to check something first.”
“Your running buddy?” she remembers, and he nods.
All she thought about now was eating some pizza or a burger and a long nap. After the initial shock from the night before, her nerves had stopped going haywire, the adrenaline coming to a calm.
“Operations Control,” Steve says once they step onto the elevator, Elsie leaning against him and holding his hand.
“Confirmed,” the PA says.
Before the doors could close, they’re opened again by Rumlow followed by another team member.
“Keep all S.T.R.I.K.E. personnel on site,” he commands as the two enter, Elsie standing up a bit straighter.
“Yes, sir,” the other man replies.
Rumlow requests for Forensics and the elevator PA confirms it.
“Cap,” he greets with a nod. “Agent Walker.”
“Rumlow,” they acknowledge him.
It’s an awkward silence for a few seconds as they descend until Rumlow speaks again.
“Evidence Response found some fibers on the roof they want us to see,” he informs the captain. “You want to get the tac team ready?”
“No,” Steve replies, refusing to look him in the eye, “let’s wait and see what it is first.”
“Right.”
The elevator stops on a floor, more agents and security piling in all carrying identical metal briefcases and requesting varying floors. When the contraption moves again, the couple moves to the center.
“I’m sorry about what happened with Fury,” Rumlow apologizes in a monotone voice. “It’s messed up, what happened to him.”
“Thank you,” Steve says.
He looks over at a man mumbling something to himself, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face. Another stop and three buff men enter the elevator requesting Records.
Something didn’t feel right. Elsie squeezed Steve’s arm, her usual way of telling him she didn’t feel comfortable or safe. He had already picked up on the fact that the first two men with them were suspiciously holding onto their concealed weapons. They weren’t leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. without fighting their way out.
“Get ready to duck,” Steve whispers in her ear.
After a moment of silence, he says, “Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?”
That was her cue to get down, and just in time before one of the buff men attacked Steve with an electric rod. The other agents started to hold Steve down with some magnetic cuffs, a few attempting to do the same to Elsie. Before they could succeed, she and Steve kicked the men back, the cuffs going flying as they battled. Elsie had taken self-defense, so she used that to her advantage before punching a few noses. Rumlow managed to hold down Steve’s right wrist and attack him with the electric rod that was concealed within a faux briefcase, but Elsie grabbed his pistol and struck him in his back, knocking him to his knees. A few more agents went in for the attack but electrocuted each other. Elsie fired the pistol at the cuff, freeing Steve and denting the glass wall before she had to fight off another agent and knock him out.
“Whoa, you two,” Rumlow croaked as he stood again, a rod in each hand. “I just want you to know, this isn’t personal!”
Rumlow took another swing at them, Steve pushing Elsie out of the way. He received a few shocks before punching Rumlow’s knee and tossing him up, knocking him out cold from hitting the ceiling.
“It kind of feels personal,” Steve growls.
Pulling herself up, Elsie steps over the fallen men and towards him.
“You okay?” Steve asks as he helps her.
“Yeah,” she nods, catching her breath while he kicks up his shield. “You?”
“For now.”
Pressing the emergency stop button again, the doors open, but they’re met with more S.T.R.I.K.E agents, their guns pointing toward them.
“Drop your shield and weapon and put your hands in the air!” orders the commander.
“Hold on to me!” Steve orders Elsie just before he cuts the elevator power lines with his shield.
Holding onto each other, the elevator drops several floors at high speed, nearly triggering her motion sickness. Thankfully, she didn’t vomit once they came to a stop.
As they were stuck in between floors, Steve pries open the doors to the floor above but quickly closes them once he sees more agents rushing towards them. They were trapped.
“Give it up, Rogers!” an agent demands. “Get the door open! You have nowhere to go!”
“What do we do?” Elsie panicked, her hand gripping the stolen gun. “They’re practically on every floor waiting for us.”
Steve steps back before breaking into a run and grabbing her by the waist and using the front of the shield to break the glass as they jump through. Elsie held onto him for dear life as they fell through ten stories of air, and if that didn’t wake her up, she didn’t know what did. She lets out a scream as they fall through the glass roof of the headquarters’ main floor, Steve’s arm breaking her fall.
A few agents who witnessed their fall either gasped or ran away. It took a minute for the two to recover, a few grunts of pain and Elsie’s arm bleeding from the shattered glass. They had no time to get medical treatment, so they continued to run. They didn’t stop until they were in the garage and hopping onto his Harley.
Putting his helmet on for him, Elsie gives him a kiss for the road.
“We can do this all day, Captain,” she encourages as she holds onto him.
Just as Steve began to drive and pick up speed alarms blared loudly, and the steel garage doors began to shut in an attempt to trap them. Elsie ducks, but they make it out in time.
However, a jet flies out and turns towards them, a machine gun being discharged as a voice from the engine commands, “Stand down, Captain Rogers. Stand down. Repeat, stand down.”
Steve didn’t listen. He only sped up, and Elsie cocked her gun and pointed it at the jet.
“Fire at the engines,” Steve instructs her.
Before she could pull the trigger, the jet opened fire, bullets speeding at them and bouncing off the concrete and coming closer to them at lightning speed. A bullet knocked the gun out of Elsie’s hand, burning her fingers in the process followed by her squealing in pain. Steve immediately throws his shield at the engine, and it’s a hit.
“Elsie, jump!” he commanded, and she jumped off the bike, landing on her shoulder and rolling until she was almost at the edge of the bridge. Steve jumped at the same time she did, but he landed feet first on the jet to do more damage to it as the bike rolled away.
Steve then jumps off the jet before it crashes and rushes over to Elsie. He scoops her up in a bridal style and begins to run from the building.
“My hero,” she sighs in admiration for her boyfriend, her energy draining as she lays her head in the crook of his neck.
Memories both sad and wonderful rushed back to him in that Smithsonian exhibit. He was a part of history and a symbol of hope to many, according to what the museum narration said. If only they knew it wasn’t all heroic at times. Despite the many victories, he could never get past the loss of his best friend on the mountain. Even seeing Peggy’s face on a few displays pierced his heart a bit.
“They make war seem glamorous,” a woman’s silvery voice scoffed next to him.
When Steve looked towards the source, a young woman with long, chocolate brown hair dyed bright red at the ends stood next to him. She was a fairly tall woman around five foot nine, and her skin was as fair as porcelain. Her eyes were the most beautiful shade of green as if they were made of emeralds, and a few of her features reminded him of Peggy. Her outfit was styled both in comfort and chic. What stuck out to him were her deep red lips, so perfect and blossom-like. Just seeing her there made him smile from ear to ear.
“By the tone of your voice,” Steve chuckled a little, “you don’t seem too pleased with the exhibit.”
“The exhibit’s great,” she defends herself, “it just seems like it’s putting the concept of war into some fairytale.”
“I know what you mean.”
“Because you were there?” she lowered her voice.
“I think we both know the answer to that,” he smiles and gently pecks her cheek.
Elsie Walker. Twenty-two years old, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in training, a college graduate with a Bachelor’s in Mass Communications, and the kindest heart Steve had ever known, she had captured his heart in so many ways after meeting her at NYU where he had spoken at an assembly. He was lost and needed directions to the auditorium since things had changed within the last seventy years, and she happened to be hanging posters for a theater production coming up. Something about the graduating senior just fascinated him, and after their first date to a ‘50s-themed diner, the two were practically inseparable when he wasn’t on hero duty. However, the two had to keep the relationship secret, even from the other Avengers. There was a reason why Steve had turned down offers to go on blind dates Nat tried setting up, but she took it as him not being interested or too busy with his job.
“Sweetheart, we’re in public,” she pushes him off of her playfully as her cheeks blushed a bright pink.
“A kiss to the cheek isn’t PDA,” he argues with a laugh.
“Fair point,” Elsie giggles before noticing a short film playing and hears Peggy’s voice.
She had known Steve had loved her, but she wasn’t jealous. Not because Peggy was now old in age, but rather she understood how much she had meant to him and to S.H.I.E.L.D. If given the chance, she’d shake hands with her and thank her for being an inspiration to change the world.
“Come here,” she pulls Steve by the hand and leads him towards the movie.
The couple sits down and listens to all Peggy had to say back in the early 50s. It was adamant she missed him, but she praised him for his bravery and mentioned how Steve was still changing her life.
Steve then pulls out the compass he carried with him and opens it, Peggy’s old picture still tucked inside.
Elsie noticed the picture and smiled softly. “She was beautiful,” she whispered.
“I’ve been meaning to replace it,” he says, shutting the item again. He wasn’t expecting his girlfriend to react so positively.
She shakes her head. “No. Don’t.”
When the short film ends, the two leave the museum on his motorcycle and head back to their apartment. Steve’s head was still swimming with thoughts of his past love from the movie they watched. In his heart, Elsie was the girl he wanted to be with now he was given a second chance, but he still had a place there for Peggy. He just needed to see her again.
“Hey, do you mind if I go see her?” Steve asks after Elsie gets off the bike. “Peggy?”
Elsie softly smiles and nods. “Go,” she says. “Tell her hello for me.”
“I won’t be long,” he presses a loving kiss to her lips before speeding off again.
She then heads into the apartment building and heads up the stairs. The two had moved to D.C. together after she graduated about four months prior, so they both had their own set of keys by now. There wasn’t too much going on as far as decor went, but they still made the space their own. There was a large flatscreen for them to watch their favorite shows, some nature paintings hanging around the walls, and sitting on a small shelf by the recliner was a record player Elsie gifted Steve for Christmas. While they didn’t have that much time to add more, it was home.
However, there was a little problem as far as neighbors went: Sharon. Everyone else at S.H.I.E.L.D. knew Elsie was living with her boyfriend, but she never gave his identity. Not even Sharon knew Elsie was neighbors with her as she avoided being seen by her. To Sharon, Steve was the only one who lived in the apartment down the hall. Sharon wasn’t a mean person at all. She and Elsie actually knew each other from S.H.I.E.L.D, but they were more acquaintances at work rather than friends. Elsie knew the blonde woman was trying to flirt with Steve whenever she could, however, Steve never caught on to what she was trying to do. And for whatever reason, Steve knew her as “Kate”, but Elsie figured maybe she was trying to keep her identity secret as most veteran agents did when undercover. Steve once asked why Elsie avoided being seen by their neighbor, and her answer was always, “You never know who could be an agent.”
Thankfully, Sharon wasn’t home, so Elsie could peacefully head inside the apartment. She turns on the record player for some music to relax while she does some work on her laptop while she waits for Steve to come home.
Normally, she wouldn’t turn on music without putting her headphones on first (as to avoid Sharon) or if she and Steve had a night where they would just dance together (Elsie taught him how), but she figured since she was home alone for a little while, why not? They had a healthy record collection of all kinds of music of varying genres from different decades, including the soundtrack to Dirty Dancing. After watching the movie one time, Steve insisted on learning every dance from the film.
A few hours later, she comes to a stopping point and goes to change into some more comfortable clothing. When she comes back into the kitchen, she can hear voices outside. Steve was home, but of course, Sharon was out there, too.
“Oh, I think you left your stereo on,” Sharon is heard saying, followed by the sound of a door closing.
“Damn it,” Elsie whispers under her breath.
…
Rather than opening the door, Steve sneaked into the apartment through the window and grabbed his shield. He knew Elsie was home and liked to turn on the record player for some music, but not whenever Kate was home.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Elsie smiles when she sees him in the small hallway, causing him to jump a little. “Why are you coming in through the window?”
“Hi, angel,” he greets her before kissing her cheek. “Why is the record player on?”
“I needed background noise for some work. Was Kate home already? I heard voices outside the door.”
Steve nods and relaxes, but when they were about to round the corner to the living room, neither of them was expecting to see Nick Fury sitting in a relaxed position in the recliner, causing Elsie to jump a little.
“I had no idea he was here,” she says.
“I didn’t want to disturb you while you were working,” Fury says before looking over at Steve, “in the captain’s home.”
“Fury, I can explain.”
“That’s a matter for you to speak with your uncle about, Miss Walker.”
Steve kept his guard up. He wasn’t sure why Fury would just show up unannounced, but whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.
“I don’t remember giving you a key,” he says, clutching his shield.
“You really think I’d need one?” Fury says, sitting up with a pained grunt. “My wife kicked me out.” He pulls out his phone and begins to type something.
Wife? Fury? Everyone knew he was single, so something was definitely up.
“Didn’t know you were married,” Elsie replied, being quick on her feet to use her training. Seeing how Steve was standing, she quickly moved behind him.
“A lot of things you don’t know about me.”
“I know, Nick,” Steve sighs and turns on the lights as the couple walk into the living room. “That’s the problem.”
Fury gives him a look and hand gesture that tells him not to turn any lights on. This left the two confused, but it confirmed Elsie’s suspicions that something was up.
He then shows them what he had typed: EARS EVERYWHERE
Yep, they were in trouble.
“I’m sorry to have to do this,” Fury breaks the silence, “but I had no place to crash.”
“Who else knows?” Steve asks.
Fury types something else and shows them: SHIELD COMPROMISED
“Who else knows about your wife?” Steve asks, his tone more serious now.
Another message: YOU AND ME
“Just my friends,” Fury answered as he stood slowly.
“Is that what we are?” Steve spat.
“That’s up to you.”
Loud gunshots broke the tense silence, Steve grabbed Elsie and used his shield to help them dodge the bullets puncturing the windows. Fury cried out in pain as he was injured by them. Finding her pistol inside one of the large fake books on the shelf, Elsie rolls Fury over and points it towards where the bullets came through in case more were fired. The couple then dragged an unconscious Fury into the kitchen so he was away from the windows.
Before they could investigate, Fury grabs Steve’s arm, coughing and struggling to breathe as he did so. He handed him what appeared to be a giant thumb drive.
“Don’t…trust…anyone,” he wheezed as he slips into unconsciousness.
Three bangs on the door rang out before it was broken open.
“Captain Rogers?” a woman’s voice called out.
“Stay with Fury,” he tells Elsie before going to peek through the shelf that separated the kitchen from the living room.
Kate was tiptoeing through the apartment still dressed in her pink nursing scrubs and wielding a pistol as Elsie had.
“Captain Rogers, I’m Agent 13 of S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Service,” Kate reveals to him, keeping her gun at the ready.
“Kate?” He was confused.
“I’m assigned to protect you.”
“On whose order?” Steve asks her.
“His,” Sharon says, looking straight at an unconscious Fury. She immediately drops to her knees and checks his pulse before pulling out a radio. “Foxtrot is down, he’s unresponsive. I need EMTs.”
“Do we have a 20 on the shooter?” an agent on the radio responds as Steve prepares for battle.
“Tell them I’m in pursuit,” he says before jumping out of the window to chase the mysterious assailant.
Elsie watched him go, the worry she felt each time he left for a mission creeping up on her while she looked at him with admiration. She was proud of him, regardless, and she hoped maybe one day she’d get to fight alongside him.
Sharon looked towards her, and her eyes grew wide in shock at the site of a trainee in the home of Captain Rogers.
“May I ask what you’re doing here, Agent Walker?” she asks with an arched brow once Fury is stabilized.
“Nice to see you, too, Sharon,” Elsie shot back in a sarcastic manner. “But if you must know, I live here.”
“With Captain Rogers?” the agent scoffs in disbelief.
She nods. “I told you I live with my boyfriend.”
Sharon double-takes and rubs her temples. “You and the captain are a couple? Captain America is your boyfriend?”
“Are you done?”
Sharon looks at her and exhales sharply. “I just don’t believe it, yet. But is this even allowed?”
Elsie tilts her head confused. “Suddenly dating Steve is forbidden because he’s an Avenger?”
“No,” Sharon shakes her head. “I just… does your uncle know?”
She shrugs a little. “Kind of. He knows I’m living with my boyfriend. He just doesn’t know it’s Steve.”
A/N: Wow! I didn’t post another update in 2021? Well, I’m slowly returning to writing, so be prepared for my updates this year.
-
Autumn turned to winter, and it wasn't long before the first snowflakes created the first white blankets covering the school grounds. While Professor Flitwick kept the Ravenclaw common room warm with a large fireplace, the same could not be said about the gusty open halls of each corridor throughout the castle. Potions class was the worst as it was down in the already chilly dungeon no matter what time of year it was. The boiling cauldrons helped some, but Colleen managed to create a luxurious fur muff by using a transfiguration charm on a stray piece of string. However, she had to keep it out of Snape's sight.
"I do feel so sorry," Malfoy jeered one class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."
Colleen just sighed and rolled her eyes. Ever since Quidditch, Malfoy acted much more bitter and petty, specifically towards Harry; but everyone else knew he was just sore Slytherin lost.
"Are you going home for Christmas?" Valerie asked as she was subtly helping Colleen with the assigned potion.
"Ron and I were planning to go with our brothers," Colleen explained, "but Mum and Dad wrote to us saying they'll be visiting Charlie in Romania."
"He studies dragons, right?"
"Mmhm. Dangerous, but Charlie likes adventures."
"Miss Weasley and Miss Dursley, what did I say about unrelated chatter?" Snape's monotone voice warned them as he glided by.
"Sorry, professor," the girls apologized.
The two exchanged looks that said it was better off not defending themselves as to not risk losing house points. By now, they knew not to argue with Snape if he caught someone "not following classroom etiquette." As much as the House cup didn't matter to them too much, they still respected their houses by doing their best not to tamper with their points.
Once class was dismissed, the girls immediately head to the Great Hall for lunch, Seamus and Dean trailing behind them. However, Dean stopped them as he glanced at his watch.
"We still have half an hour before lunch," he reported. "Why are we going to the Great Hall now?"
Colleen giggled to herself. "The other day, I overheard Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick talking about decorations for the holidays, and Flitwick said he'd work on them today."
"Mam always said Hogwarts looks spectacular around Christmas," Seamus piped up.
"Maybe she's right, but let's see for ourselves."
The quartet didn't waste another moment and dashed off to the Great Hall, Seamus tripping and nearly dropping his books. Once they had caught their breath upon arrival, they peaked their heads in and gasped at the sight. Twelve Christmas trees lined the walls, holly and mistletoe were strung around the room, and little icicles seemed to decorate a few trees. Professor Flitwick was making golden bubbles bloom from his wand to add more ornaments to the trees.
"Gorgeous," Colleen sighed contently.
"I know," replied Seamus as he stared at her.
When she turned to tell him about her family's usual Christmas traditions, she couldn't help but notice the boy's freckled face had turned a deep pink hue.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
Seamus nodded quickly, seemingly snapping out of his daze.
"Anyhow, Christmas at Hogwarts is going to be brilliant," cheered Colleen. "Which reminds me, I have to finish wrapping presents. I'll meet you three for lunch."
Colleen's feet carried her to the end of the hallway, where she disappeared around the corner.
"I'm going to go find Harry," Valerie said before waving farewell.
"Mate, you do realize you're blushing mad, right?" Dean told Seamus as they began to walk to the courtyard.
"I was?" the other boy blinked. Dean nodded.
While Colleen was known for having a kind heart, she was also considered the prettiest girl in their year, according to the other first-year boys. Terry Boot tried sharing his Halloween sweets with her, Neville offered to tie her shoelaces for her once, and it was rumored that Malfoy seemed to not mind her presence. However, Seamus seemed to be-actually, he was head over heels mad for her. Just about everyone knew he followed her almost everywhere like a lost puppy despite them already being close friends.
Although he wouldn't admit it to anyone else, Seamus liked Colleen, but not for just her looks. There was much more to his Housemate's sister than having brains and beauty. She was kind, clever, and always wanted everyone to have a bit of sunshine in their darkest hour.
"Even if she becomes your girlfriend in a few years," Dean continued as they headed towards the courtyard, "she has six older brothers you'll have to get through."
"And one of them is our roommate," Seamus sighed, shaking his head.
What no one but Seamus knew was that he already had a Christmas gift for Colleen. Well, not physically with him, but he had written to his mother about Colleen and about wanting to do something nice for her for the holidays. He had saved up enough to find -with the help of his mother- a simple heart-shaped locket with an elegant but traditional Irish engraving on it.
When his owl came in during lunch that afternoon, it delivered both his presents from his relatives and his gift for his special friend, all to be opened on Christmas morning. Seamus just hoped Ron wouldn't kill him afterward.
While Colleen was sad that most of her Ravenclaw Housemates went home for the Holidays, she was happy Valerie would be staying as Harry refused to go back to his relatives' house. She never felt lonely as she was considered a social butterfly, but she wanted at least one person to talk to.
Just before everyone left, Colleen was able to give them their presents, all handmade by her. She even gave some special sweets to all of her favorite teachers such as Professors Flitwick, McGonagall, and even Headmaster Dumbledore. However, no one could figure out how she was able to afford such nice gifts. While the Weasleys weren't necessarily poor, they certainly weren't the richest at all. Colleen, however, didn't spend any money on the presents. In her free time, when she wasn't spending time with her friends, she would practice her Charms and Transfiguration spells in order to create jewelry, scarves, gloves, and even a sweater from small items stranded around the dorm or school. A shard of glass from a broken potion bottle was transformed into a diamond broach, some grass with dewdrops was made into a jade-colored bracelet, and a set of pearl barrettes were formed from snow and small, old woodchucks.
Everyone was thankful for the kind and thoughtful gifts she had made, and before long, Colleen was celebrating the special holiday with her siblings and new friends that remained at the castle. While exchanging gifts with Valerie after some Christmas dinner, Colleen feels two light taps on her shoulder. Seamus was standing there all glad in warm Muggle-like clothing and a small blue box tied with a silver ribbon in his hands.
"Happy Christmas, Seamus," she greets with a small smile.
"Eh..." he gulps before shoving the box in front of him. "Happy Christmas, C-Colleen."
Colleen takes the box, curious about what he could have gotten her. She carefully unties to ribbon and opens the box, finding the golden locket nestled inside.
"My goodness, Seamus!" she gasps, carefully pulling the necklace out. "This is beautiful. What is his marking on the front?"
"It's the Dara Knot," Seamus explains, smiling while rocking on his feet. "It's the Irish symbol for strength. Me dad told me that we all have roots and grow from there without stopping."
"Well, my family does give me strength, even though they drive me crazy at times. You're rooming with at least one of my family, but Ronald has always been there for me."
She then unhooks the chain and puts the necklace on, the golden locket gleaming in the candlelight.
