"I know this neighbourhood," Steve voiced as buildings were passed, men striding alongside women over the sidewalks as children ran across them, he, Scarlet and Peggy drove over the road. "I got beat up in that alley," he continued with a point, then nodded.

"And that parking lot." Scarlet added and Steve lowered his gaze.

"And behind that diner." Steve finished.

"Most people note things like houses, restaurants, shops..." Scarlet remarked, distancing herself from the experiences that proved as milestones in Steve's life.

"You basically got beaten up in the entire city." Scarlet then added. "Really, you're talking to a woman by telling her about the places where you got beaten up?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Now you know why I don't have a girlfriend." Steve said with a smirk and Scarlet chuckled.

"Oh I'm sure you can get one." She assured him with a wink directed at Peggy.

"Did you have something against running away?" Peggy questioned curiously.

Steve opened his mouth and shook his head, but began again. "You start running, they'll never let you stop. You stand up, you push back – can't say no forever, right?"

"I know a little of what that's like." Peggy agreed. "To have every door shut in your face."

He fleetingly cast his gaze over her before inhaling. "I guess I just don't know why you'd want to join the army if you were a beautiful dame." He wondered. Scarlet choked on a laugh. His eyes were out the window before he turned back and attempt to improve his wording. "Or a beau- A woman. An agent – not a dame." He stuttered.

At her furrowed brow and probing stare he attempted to backtrack further. "You are beautiful but-" He gestured helplessly only to capitulate to Peggy's judgement.

"Great recovery," Scarlet snickered.

"You have no idea how to talk to a woman, do you?" Peggy asked rhetorically.

"I think this is the longest conversation I've had with one," Steve admitted with a self-depreciating smile.

Scarlet turned around in her seat. "Hey!" She started. "I resent that statement, Mr. Rogers." She snapped in mock-offence.

Steve turned his attention to her. "Oh, you don't count, Angel. I've known you since before I could speak." He told her.

"True." Scarlet agreed and turned back around facing the front.

"Women aren't exactly lining up to dance with a guy they might step on." Steve continued, his voice turning somber again.

"You must have danced." Peggy pressed.

"Well, asking a woman to dance always seemed so terrifying, and in the past few years, just didn't seem to matter that much – figured I'd wait."

"For what?" Peggy wondered.

He tilted his head briefly in consideration, eyes forward, before definitively nodding. "The right partner." He answered.

Peggy smiled softly.

"Ugh, romantic." Scarlet rolled her eyes.

_________________________________________________________________

The car pulled up to an antique store and parallel parked by the curb, 'BROOKLYN ANTIQUES' emblazoned on the storefront. Steve and Scarlet stepped from the vehicle to Peggy's following, and then she turned to walk towards the doors.

"This way." She instructed.

Men loitering by other cars noted them inconspicuously.

"What are we doing here?" Steve questioned.

"Going in in uniform isn't obvious at all," Scarlet drawled sarcastically.

"Follow me," Peggy merely said. Above the shop's displays there were extolled, 'ANTIQUES: Bought and Sold; We Buy Antiques; WATCHES & CLOCKS; COLLECTABLES: Specialists in Rare Time Pieces.'

_________________________________________________________________

A bell rang as Peggy pushed through the entrance, the dark interior lit only by scattered lamps and the daylight streaming in as she halted, Scarlet entered afterwards and Steve carefully shut the door to another ring. An elderly woman walked into the space from the curtained-off back area.

"Wonderful weather this morning, isn't it?" She greeted.

"Yes," Peggy agreed. "but I always carry an umbrella."

The woman turned from them to stand behind the counter, pressing the small white button secured underneath the surface with her pinky finger, an automatic rifle attached within easy reach as well.

_________________________________________________________________

Peggy stepped through the curtains to bypass the wall to her left, upon which hung empty, ornate frames, and the desk in front of her, Scarlet followed after and Steve trailing after before he stood at her and Scarlet's sides with cabinet supporting piles of aged books behind. Shelves laden with neatly packed books covered the wall in front of them, and they faced it for a few seconds before the bookcases swung forward like a pair of double doors and revealed a hidden grey corridor.

_________________________________________________________________

Steve looked from side to side in wonder as Peggy walked forward, stepping to her side as the doors shut behind them and they moved past a desk where on the wall a couple of signs declared, 'SSN CONTROLLED AREA: ONLY AUTHORIZED PERSONS TO PROCEED PAST THIS POINT'.

MP and others were stationed within the pristine halls before a pair of doors was opened before them and Steve and Scarlet stood at the rail overlooking the scientists and machinery the duo was to wade into. The ambient conversation ceased as each turned to gaze up at him for a moment, and the duo faced Peggy who met their eyes with her own serious-minded look.

Peggy turned with a deep inhalation and began to lead him and Scarlet down the stairs to the lower level.

Movement continued as Erskine met him and Scarlet by the foot of two open pods. "Good morning," he greeted calmly as he shook their hands. A bright flash emit from the camera a soldier held as he took a picture. "Please, not now."

Peggy brushed aside the curls of her bangs and then clasped her hands in front of her, Steve stared along the length of the device worked around a bed-like slab with walls and lid leant open.

"Are you ready?" Erskine asked.

Steve nodded unsteadily.

"Good. Take off your shirt, your tie, and your hat," he instructed. Steve raised his hands glancingly over the articles in question as he looked over his shoulder at Peggy, then obeyed while she turned her head behind with an amused quirk to her lips.

He handed the items to a nurse that approached him. "Scarlet, do you have something underneath your outfit?"

Scarlet nodded.

_________________________________________________________________

"Senator Brandt, glad you could make it," Phillips welcomed clasping his hand in a firm shake.

"Why exactly am I in Brooklyn?" Senator Brandt inquired.

"We needed access to the city's power grid, 'course if you'd have given me the generators I requisitioned..."

"A lot of people are asking for funds, Colonel," he defended. "Oh, this is Clem, uh..." he started as he gestured to the younger man wearing glasses that had turned towards their conversation.

"Fred Clemson, State Department," he met as he reached out a hand, Phillips accepting it. "If this project of yours comes through, we'd like to see it used for something other than headlines."

"Jesus," Brandt swore as he gazed through the glass. "Somebody get that kid a sandwich."

The female walked in the observation room above. She stood wearing her uniform; a olive green four-button coat with four pockets in olive drab with matching trousers and forest green long-sleeved shirt. She wore a leather brown Garrison Belt with a brass buckle around her coat and her footwear consisted of low quarter russet brown leather cap toe boots.

"Captain Silverthorne." The Colonel then said.

Scarlet stopped in her tracks and saluted. "Colonel Phillips sir."

"At ease. Senator Brandt, I'd like you to meet one of my best agents outside of Agent Carter herself. Only two women I trust in my business, this is Captain Silverthorne-Blake-Barnes." Colonel Phillips introduced. "She's one of two subjects."

"Hello Senator Brandt, pleasure to meet you." Scarlet told him as he kissed the back of her hand.

"Pleasure is all mine." The senator said.

"Silverthorne-Blake-Barnes, when this is over with if the kid survives, I want you checking on his mental capabilities. This serum is going into his muscles but we don't know what it will do to his brain." Colonel Phillips told her.

"How old is this guy? You sir and Howard keep calling him a kid. We aren't experimenting on children are we, sir?" Scarlet asked.

"The kid isn't really a kid, he just looks like one." Colonel told her. "Better get down those stairs." He reminded her.

_________________________________________________________________

Scarlet looked to Steve, and she saw how nervous he was about stepping inside these chambers. She turned Steve around so he was facing her, and without a second thought, she gave him the tightest hug she had ever given, and he instantly hugged her back. Scarlet closed her eyes, leaning her head on his as she rubbed his back. "Don't worry, Steve, we'll be fine - this is supposed to help us, remember?" She told him, pulling away so she could look at him.

He nodded, looking down, but Scarlet lifted his head up again, giving him a stern yet playful look. "Don't act sad - if I said we'll be fine, we'll be fine," she declared, finished her statement with a smirk. He smiled at her, nodding, and we pulled apart, standing next to their designated chamber.

"Steve? Promise me that after this you won't change."

"What do you mean of course I wo-"

"You'll be different after this, you'll look different, you'll be stronger. I don't want that to go to your head- Not like I think it will but..."

"I get it." Steve said to her squeezing her hand. "And I promise."

Scarlet leaned over and placed a kiss on Steve's cheek. "A promise is unbreakable, Steve." She whispered, moving away.

Steve stepped up to the side of the pod before turning to sit on the edge of the flat surface, vertebrae and shoulder blades pressing at the skin of his back as he used his arms to shift his body and lay down. He adjusted his head and wriggled for a moment before Erskine moved to his side.

Scarlet got into her pod, moving around for a moment to get comfortable.

"Comfortable?" Dr. Erskine asked the duo.

His sternum and ribs strained as Steve breathed, looking down at the length his small body left unoccupied and smirking.

"It's a little big." Steve admitted. Erskine chuckled. "You save me any of that schnapps?"

Erskine averted his eyes. "Not as much as I should have – sorry. Next time." He admitted. "Mr. Stark, how are your levels?" He then called out.

Scarlet pursed her lips.

"Levels at one hundred percent," Howard responded as he circled to Scarlet and Steve's sides.

"Good," Erskine adjusted his glasses before walking away.

"We may dim half the lights in Brooklyn, but we are ready... As we'll ever be." Howard added before he leaned over Scarlet's pod. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"Howard, I'll be fine ... I think."

"I'm just worried about you and what this might do to you. I don't want to lose you." He brushed away a few strands of her hair before placing a kiss on her forehead.

Steve's expression morphed into one of anxiety before he turned away and breathed, now with a harness strapped over his midriff.

"Agent Carter?" Erskine asked as he gestured upwards, "Don't you think you'd be more comfortable in the booth?"

"Oh, yes – of course, sorry," she said with a bashful smile as she turned.

"Good." The scientist repeated. Steve watched as she stepped away, Peggy pausing to send him an encouraging look before continuing. He turned his gaze to the ceiling.

Scarlet kept her gaze trained to the ceiling above her. "Howard?" She asked. "Sweetheart?"

"Yes, dearest?" Howard responded with a grin.

"I love you." She smiled.

"I love you too, dearest Angel."

Erskine flicked the head of the microphone he held, a thud sounding twice before feedback screeched over the PA system to wincing above. "Do you hear me? Is this on? Ladies and gentlemen, today, we take not another step towards annihilation, but the first step on the path to peace."

Mechanical arms lowered with thick plates attached to wiring and were placed over Steve's chest, a pair of scientists drawing a preservation chamber forward behind. "We begin with a series of microinjections into the- subject's major muscle groups." Erskine continued. Fourteen vials with thick blue liquid were revealed as the vessel was opened, thirteen carefully removed. Peggy was offered a seat above before Clemson took the chair behind her. "The serum-infusion will cause immediate cellular change, and then, to stimulate growth, the subject will be saturated with Vita-Rays."

Nurses placed three vials of the serum on each side of the pod Steve was lying in before the top of his left arm was swabbed and a thin needle pressed into his shoulder briefly.

Nurses then placed three vials of the serum on each side of the pod Scarlet was lying in before the top of her right arm was swabbed and a thin needle pressed into her shoulder briefly.

"That wasn't so bad," Steve commented.

"That was Penicillin," Erskine stated to Steve's fretful gaze, the doctor helplessly shrugging as he raised his eyebrows. He turned and announced, counting down.

"Serum infusion beginning in five..." Phillips and Peggy inhaled deeply from the observation deck. "Four..." Additional metal plates with sharp pricks of needles swung to press into Steve's upper arms. "Three..." He placed a comforting hand on Steve's shoulder. "Two," Additional metal plates with sharp pricks of needles swung to press into Scarlet's upper arms and then Erskine put a comforting hand on Scarlet's shoulder. "...one."

Gabriel squinted trying to get a better look but the glass was shaped funny on his side, which made the appearance on the floor, obscured slightly. He could make out a brunette and his heart jumped into his throat. "No!" He forced out.

A lever was shifted up, the blue liquid of the serum draining out of the vials and through the tubing.

Steve's muscles pulsed as they were injected, his teeth gritting as he grunted and squeezed his eyes shut, furrowing his brow before his eyes flashed open abruptly.

Howard pulled down a level topped in red, the pod Steve was laying in shifting with a whir from horizontal to vertical. Bright lights shone within before being obscured as the panelling of the sides swung around, the top piece lowering and the device encasing Steve.

Gabriel watched in horror. "NO!" He screamed.

"Silverthorne!" Colonel Phillips said glancing at him. "What is wrong with you!?"

Peggy swallowed nervously as heavy tubing was lifted and locked onto the top of the pod, Erskine stepping forward to knock on the exterior.

The pod Scarlet was laying in shifted with a whir from horizontal to vertical. Bright lights shone within before being obscured as the panelling of the sides swung around, the top piece lowering and the device encasing her inside.

"Steven? Anastasia? Can you hear me?" he asked as he peeked through the glass panel down at Steve.

"It's probably too late to go to the bathroom, right?" Steve retorted, Scarlet chuckled to lessen some of the agitation coiled in her muscles.

Erskine nodded to the scientist behind before turning away with a smirk. "We will proceed."

Howard moved to another section of the extensive control panelling, twisting a dial from zero to the halfway point of four-hundred.

Senator Brandt glanced to Phillips as the experiment proceeded, Phillips pursing his lips in apprehension.

Peggy walked over to him. "What's wrong Gabriel?"

"Why the hell did you pick Scarlet!?" Gabriel looked at her.

Peggy looked at him wide-eyed then gasped. "Oh my god... Scarlet Silverthorne is your sister."

Gabriel's forehead hit the glass as he watched in horror down below as the light in the pod got brighter.

"I'm so sorry Gabriel... I didn't know!" Peggy told her.

Howard unfolded a pair of tinted glasses and then grasped a wheel, wrenching it clockwise to increase the Vita-ray output. "That's ten percent," he announced as a bright light emanated from inside the pod, Erskine and the nurses flanking it raising a hand to shield their eyes. "Twenty percent... Thirty." The shine concentrated further. "That's forty percent."

"Vital signs are normal," the man monitoring one of the screens reported.

"That's fifty percent. Sixty... Seventy-"

A yell suddenly erupted from within the apparatus, building before cutting off, Peggy darting from her seat as Clemson leaned forward with furrowed brow.

Scarlet let out a scream. Gabriel wanted to break the glass and jump down below. "Scarlet!" He cried against the glass.

Steve shouted again as Erskine rushed forward. "Steven! Steven! Anastasia! Anastasia!" He called out.

"Shut it down!" Peggy ordered as she leaned over the rail above.

"Steven!" Erskine screamed, banging on the pod. "Anastasia!"

"Shut it down!" Peggy repeated.

"Kill the reactor, Mr. Stark!" Erskine commanded with a point as he turned to run to him. "Turn it off- Kill it! Kill the reactor!" Howard stumbled to another set of controls before another voice interjected.

"No!" Erskine whipped around to the pod the same as others' stares. "Don't!" Steve cried rapidly upon hearing the commotion over his screams. "I can do this!"

Gabriel collapsed sobbing.

A moment later a knock came from outside Scarlet's pod. "Scarlet? Do you wish to proceed?" Dr. Erskine asked her.

"Keep going." Scarlet called out, her voice strained.

Erskine hesitated for a second before quickly turning back to Howard, the man striding back to the wheel to continue increasing the Vita-rays. Peggy's breathing remained frantic as Howard pronounced, "Eighty." Phillips winced as the glare of the light caused most to avert their eyes. "Ninety." The hand of the dial was forced to the end of the scarlet area. "That's one hundred percent."

The panels emit faint wisps of steam as the electricity of the machine hummed, sparks shooting from the controls to Howard's flinching as all of the people in the space stared at the blinding glow at the top of the case. There were flashes of ignition as circuits shorted in hasty succession of one another, and then the room fell into darkness as the mechanism powered down.

Peggy and Erskine stared as those above stood in anticipation.

Peggy ran over and took Gabriel's hand. "We're going down."

Gabriel followed as Peggy pushed past the guard and opened the door.

They ran down the steps as smoke filled the air.

Peggy pushed them through and froze, Howard removing the glasses shielding his eyes as he gaped.

"Mr. Stark?" Erskine summoned brusquely. The panelling of the pod was opened.

Steve stood collapsed against the padding of the back, chest heaving as he panted. The nape of his neck now supported by the length of the arrangement, he stood over a foot taller, shoulders broader with wide biceps and triceps leading to his arms, and pectorals, abdomen, and obliques sculpting his torso before his long, powerful legs stretched down.

Scarlet's pod opened a few moments after. She stood collapsed against the padding of the back, chest heaving as she panted. Her legs stretched down but they were different; they were more bulky and silver and the grooves that went around her legs had red accents to them. Both her arms were encased in titanium silver metal making her arms look even more bulky than they were before. They both had also had red accents to them with the shoulders both having a red star imprinted on them.

"Steven, Steven, Anastasia, Anastasia." Erskine hushed as he grabbed one of his arms and helped him down, the blond's eyes closed as he panted. Excited mutterings ensued above at the sight, the men gathered standing and exiting to Phillips' huffing and disbelieving.

"The son of a bitch did it." Clemson smirked before rising as well, a slim silver case slipping from his pocket onto his chair.

Steve gasped as he was steadied, an arm around Erskine and Howard's shoulders as he was supported with their hands on his back and core, another scientist aiding and nurses close.

"I did it," Steve managed, sweat glistening at the base of his neck.

"Yeah, yeah," Erskine agreed. "I think we did."

"You actually did it," Howard uttered, eyes widened.

Scarlet stumbled out of the pod, nearly collapsing on the floor. Howard pushed himself away from Steve and gathered her in his arms. "I've got you."

Gabriel pushed through everyone and started nailing on his sister, causing Howard to pull him away.

"Silverthorne!" Howard said shocked.

The familiar eyes widened. "Gabriel?!"

"Wait you two know each other?" Dr. Erskine asked.

"This idiot is my sister!" Gabriel answered. "Scarlet."

Peggy pushed through the throng gathered around him and Scarlet to dart her eyes over him, breathing deeply as she looked up at him.

Scarlet held up a hand and stared as a green ball of fire appeared in her palm. "Oh my god." She hadn't even noticed that her hands were now metallic.

"Scarlet? Are you okay?" Howard asked, he stared at her arms and legs in both horror and confusion.

"How do you feel?" Peggy asked Steve.

Steve stared disoriented at his surroundings as he gathered himself to stand of his own volition, gasping, "Taller."

"Oh," Peggy muttered, one of her hands drawn up to the musculature of his chest before she immediately lowered it.

"Um," she grasped one of the shirts a nurse held in a pile at her side. "You look taller," she recovered, unfolding the clothing and holding it out for him.

Scarlet was staring down at the top of Gabriel's head. "Gabe." She said.

Gabriel wiped his tears. "I thought I was watching you die and I didn't even know it was you at first."

Scarlet leaned into Howard, her body shaking. Howard reacted by wrapping his arms around her frame and pulled her in, rubbing her back to try and warm her up. "Can we get a shirt over here?" He called out.

A nurse came over and Howard unwrap one arm from around Scarlet, took a shirt from the nurse, unfolding the clothing with one hand. "Here you go, sweetheart." He helped her get the shirt on. Gabriel then removed his jacket and put it around his sister's shoulders, helping her put her arms through the sleeves.

_________________________________________________________________

"How d'you like Brooklyn now, Senator?" Phillips quipped as he passed him.

"I can think of some folks in Berlin who are about to get very nervous," Senator Brandt retorted. Clemson loitered at the fringe. "Congratulations, Doctor," he said turning to look back up towards the empty observation deck.

"Thank you, sir." Erskine responded as he shook his hand in the crowd, before his eye was caught by Clemson. The man reached into his pocket to flip open a lighter to the doctor's disconcerted stare, and then upon the press of his thumb the device left above exploded.

Flames shot through the space as glass rained down, the men and women below ducking. Phillips rose behind Erskine, who was already facing Clemson as he lifted a gun and grasped the last vial of the serum.

Scarlet pulled Gabriel to the floor with her body on top of his. "Stay down!" She ordered.

"Stop him!" Erskine shouted, Gabriel poked his head up just in time to see two rounds were fired into Erskine's chest and he fell forward.

_________________________________________________________________

A woman screamed at the shots as the group tried to move to cover, Steve clambering to his side in panic as Clemson ran up the stairs. He shot the MP officer in his path as Peggy fired a shot that drilled into his arm before he managed to escape from the room. Steve turned Erskine onto his back to the doctor's groan, Clemson dashing through the halls to shoot another armed man before slamming the red button on the desk by the exit. Peggy ran up the stairs in pursuit as Steve furrowed his brow in denial of Erskine's fatal injuries, the doctor merely lifting a hand as the blond struggled internally. He pointed at Steve's heart in reminder of his character, before his head fell to the side as he died.

Steve raised his head slowly as he clenched his jaw, sharp eyes fixed on the path Clemson had run.

Scarlet's eyes widened as a rage quickly spread over her.

"Steve! Scarlet! No!" Gabriel yelled as she ran up the stairs.

"My god." Howard said in shock as he looked around him then helped Gabriel up. "Are you okay?"

"I...what the hell just happened?" Gabriel asked in a daze.

_________________________________________________________________

Above, Clemson tore through the curtains that blocked the back room and entrance from view, facing the rifle the older woman held in hand and shooting her before she could defend herself. The automatic weapon fired as her finger pulled the trigger, her body collapsing.

_________________________________________________________________

Clemson stowed the serum inside his jacket as he grabbed her gun, slipping out the front door, bellowing, "Move it! Move it!" He crashed past a man on the sidewalk.

"Get down!" Someone in front of him yelled, waving him past.

Two others fired shots at them from a storefront on the other side of the antique shop, Clemson's ally felled as he ducked into a car behind him. The two continued to attack as the vehicle pulled away, Clemson firing the rifle as he was driven by, the rounds shattering the windows of the car in front of them before hitting them.

Peggy rushed out as they drove down the street, Clemson clutching his arm in pain as she aimed with her handgun.

Clemson turned and detonated one of the cars parked on the curb, the explosion pulling her attention until she discerned the lack of current threat and turned back.

Peggy stood firm, aimed, and fired.

Her shot pierced through the rear window and went through the driver's head, his skull hitting the windshield as his body was flung forward and the vehicle now manned by a corpse.

The car swerved to crash into the side of a taxi, the driver stepping out as Clemson did and circling around. "What are you doing? Buddy, are you all right? Hey, this guy's been shot!" The driver asked the limp driver as Clemson moved into the cab and drove back with tires squealing.

_________________________________________________________________

Peggy remained standing in the middle of the road with handgun raised as Clemson drove towards her, firing two rounds that pierced the windshield on either side of his head as he flinched. The cab approached to her resolute position, her next shot aimed and fired at close range just as Steve burst from the store and tackled her away from the impact of the vehicle, altering the bullet's trajectory.

The two landed on the surface of the street to the side of the cab's force. "I had him!" Peggy shrieked as they climbed to their feet.

"Sorry!" Steve apologized as he clambered in the direction of the car, rising up to run haltingly because of the length of his strides and lack of lung constriction before straightening and dashing faster in pursuit.

_________________________________________________________________

At the sight of the cab screeching through a left turn, Steve banked left through an alley, watching the car's progress through the streets. Crossing a road, he moved to turn right but had accrued too much speed and sailed through the window of the storefront display opposite him.

"Real smooth, Steve," Scarlet teased.

"Not the time, Scarlet!" Steve shot back. "I'm sorry!" he then stuttered as he leaped through the wreckage back onto the road, the front of Audrey's BRIDALWEAR in ruins.

"Unbelievable!" The owner shouted after him.

Scarlet turned into an alley and jumped high up over a tall fence, her feet never touched the ground, and she looked down to discover that she was flying. Smiling slightly in this bad situation, she held her arms up and shot up into the sky.

She flew higher, a smirk on her face, pausing briefly in the air. With one hand, she grabbed her wristwatch and pushed the button to turn the handles. The underlying arm mechanics and motors sprouted out of the watch like tendrils wrapping around her arms while the armor plates slid into place to be deployed. The leg and waist armor plates slid down and began wrapping around the underneath assembly. The armor plates slid down the assembly and into place before rotating flat to cover the different sections of her body such as her legs and arms. As the arm plates flattened, the gauntlets fitted into place. The chest plates slid across and flattened to provide torso, waist, and back protection while her nuclear power cell began feeding full power to the suit. The shoulders and neck plates slid and locked into place as the helmet pieces were brought up from the back and fitted around her head.

Scarlet was now dressed in blood red battle armour, her wings unfurled. She shifted one of her fingers into a blade and then dragged it across her cheek.

It wasn't a big cut, it was just a small cut which was enough for her warlock abilities to activate, the skin quickly healed itself, leaving no scar behind.

With a flash of burnt orange, black oozed out of her pupils and coated the entirety of her eyes until they shone with darkness.

Scarlet then flew down, her wings folding against her back as she dove down.

Steve darted through the streets in chase, regaining momentum down another alleyway before a locked gate blocked the end in the distance. He lengthened his strides before throwing himself up and forward in a jump that cleared the height of the obstruction as he lunged over. He landed with a grunt onto his bare feet to the wail of tires as he crossed the street before vehicles' honking.

Scarlet's wings opened to the full length as she swooped down flying slightly above Steve. "This isn't a race, Rogers!" She mocked playfully.

"Woahwoahwoah woah, woah woah," Steve exclaimed as he held his hands out to the drivers and ran across the road.

_________________________________________________________________

Clemson noticed his form in the rear view mirror in befuddlement, turning to look back over his shoulder before swerving through the other vehicles on the road.

Steve surged to spring onto the hood and then roof of a car in front of him, then bounded from one vehicle to the next as he followed the cab. Landing on the open box of a truck, he flung himself sideways onto the roof of the taxi. Clemson stared at the roof of the interior at the thud, then weaved the vehicle to loosen Steve's extended hold of the car. He banked sharply left and through an alley to Steve's scrabbling before pulling out again and deciding to raise his gun and shoot through the ceiling.

"Steve!" Scarlet shouted, now flying beside him.

The rounds punctured the roof to Steve's dodging and covering his face with an arm, his body toppling sideways to hang onto the passenger side before Clemson turned to shoot through the window. Scarlet took the opportunity to land on the roof of the taxi, catching her breath. A heavy truck entered unnoticed before the car to Clemson's frantic jerking of the steering wheel, the cab T-boned and flung to roll roof over axel as Steve released his hold and threw himself up. He landed in a roll behind a door that had been torn off, Scarlet launched herself upwards, landing back down on the ground beside Steve, the taxi landing roughly right-side up before Clemson grunted and threw himself out of it as well.

Scarlet raised her arm and fired a blast at the taxi, hoping to kill Clemson. "Damn it!"

He pitched his eyes around as he crawled to his feet, raising his gun to fire a shot to Steve ducking before turning towards the group of bystanders that had screamed behind him. He went to try and impede Scarlet, firing two rounds that hit her directly in the chest. She grunted, falling onto one knee clutching her abdomen. She looked down at her own blood on her hand and choked out a sob.

"Oh God, no. Jesus. Jesus no."

Clemson swung back to impede Steve, firing another two rounds that hit the face of the car door he had lifted as a shield, and then lurched towards the mother who was pulling her son to the side before him. "Move - Move!" he yelled as he wrenched the boy from her.

"Scar!" Steve had his car door shield protecting the both of them.

"I-I'm fine." She wheezed, trying to push the bullets out of her. "I-it's n-no good. I can't push the bullets out." She looked up at him. "Practising your hold again?" She teased.

Steve shook his head. "Now is not the time to be joking around." He warned.

She let out a shaky chuckle. "It's like 1917 all over again." Steve went to apply pressure on the wound causing Scarlet scream out in pain.

"Stop it! Stop it!" She pleaded, Steve tried to calm her down.

"It's alright, it's going to be alright." Steve soothed. "We're going to stand up." He wrapped his available arm around her.

"Yes. Yes." Scarlet set her feet, Steve went to wretch her up only for her to scream out in pain once more. "No! I can't. I can't!"

The duo dropped back down. Scarlet was pale, blood was pumping out of her, her lips were already ashen grey.

"No! No, not my son! No!" The woman shrieked.

"Stop it!" The boy cried out.

"Don't hurt him!" The woman pleaded as she was pulled back by her husband.

Steve clutched at a stitch in his ribs as Scarlet lay on the floor dying.

"Get back!" Clemson warned, he held the boy about the waist as he aimed the gun.

"Scarlet, you have to get up! Bucky needs you."

Scarlet shook her head. "H-he'll find someone else."

Steve held her up and began to drag her to safety. The more Scarlet struggled, the more blood poured out of her wound.

Scarlet, suddenly snapped, she screamed like an animal, flailing savagely, clawing at Steve's chest and neck, spitting blood, struggling against him. "Put me down! Put me down, you bastard, please!" She roared. "Put me down!"

Once the two were out of harm's way, Steve moved to face Scarlet. Her whole face was colourless now.

Steve looked down. His eyes landed on Scarlet's shirt. It was crimson now, sopping wet with blood. Panic swarmed him. "You have to try to keep moving."

Scarlet was weakening. "Let's just sit... let me sit."

"We can't." Steve implored. He stared down at Scarlet, she was not lucid anymore. Her eyes were already glazing.

"You can start on without me. I'll catch up." She coughed out. "Go save that boy."

Her breathing was coming in short bursts. Steve held Scarlet's head up, she looked bewildered. Then some pain crept into her eyes, some awful knowledge. "I've been hit... What was it?"

Steve looked down at her, unsure how to answer. "You were shot."

Scarlet looked surprised. Her hand felt dumbly for her wounds. It landed on Steve's - he was stemming what blood he could. There was blood on Scarlet's lips. Her breathing was becoming laboured. "Am I dying?" She asked after a brief moment of silence.

"Yes, I think you are." Steve admitted sadly.

"Oh." formed on Scarlet's lips. Profound sadness followed the shock. She reached up slowly, and tapped her trouser pocket, Steve guessed her meaning - went to the pocket and pulled out a wallet.

"This?" Steve questioned.

"Inside..." Scarlet choked out. Steve opened the cover, inside were a bunch of letters, and a few photographs - one of Scarlet, her mother, her brother and her father. The second was a photograph of herself and Lance Corporal Thomas Blake. Steve held them up for Scarlet to see, he put the photographs in her hand, she pressed them to her breast. "Will you write to Bucky for me?"

"I will." Steve replied.

"Tell him I wasn't scared."

Steve nodded and let go of the pressure on Scarlet's wound. He held her hand. "Anything else?" He asked.

Scarlet was slipping away, tears welled and rolled down her cheeks. "I love him...I wish that... I wish..." It was half strangled by sadness. Steve held her. Death was close, stiffening Scarlet's body, it was already in her eyes. "G-go save that boy."

"Let me go!" The boy yelled as he struggled.

"Don't hurt him – no!" The woman screamed in the background.

"No!" The boy fought again.

"No, my son!" The woman repeated.

Clemson turned and ran a distance before whipping back to shoot at Steve, the blond ducking behind one of the large iron weights abandoned at the side of the pier before raising his eyes above cautiously.

"No! Don't hurt him!" Steve darted forward as Clemson wrestled with the boy around the corner, Steve leaning his head around before Clemson pressed the muzzle of the gun against the boy's temple.

"Wait, don't! Don't," Steve implored as he jumped into the open, raising his hands in supplication.

Clemson turned the gun on him and pulled the trigger, but a click echoed at the empty barrel. He groaned in annoyance and hauled the boy to the edge of the water.

"No don't!" Steve pleaded, again.

Clemson glanced back before beginning to run again, Steve turning from him to lean over the edge. "Go get him! I can swim!" the boy called, paddling to a lower vantage point as Steve raced away.

_________________________________________________________________

Clemson pushed a button on his lighter and a single man ship rose out of the formerly calm surface of the water ahead of him. Grey and cylindrical, curving to a point on either end with a smaller addition flanking its sides for direction and buoyancy, the clear-panelled covering of the cockpit lifted for his entrance. He grasped the controls and sealed himself within as Steve ran along the pier, the ship propelled forward before submerging completely.

Steve leaped with arms spread before bringing his hands together to dive into the water, immediately swimming behind the submarine as it rumbled through the dim expanse of liquid. Clemson focused on steering as Steve swam up behind him, kicking his legs furiously to reach and grab the sharp protrusion on the top of the ship and swing his fist around through one of the windows. Clemson flinched before gasping in a lungful of air as water flooded the small compartment, Steve dragging the lid of the cockpit up before grabbing the back of Clemson's jacket and pushing up from the submarine as he flailed in his hold.

Scarlet slowly managed to get to her feet. Her nuclear power cell having had activated mere seconds before death claimed her. She stared at the water before closing her eyes and covering her ears hearing the screams of the Titanic victims playing in her head. "I'm sorry, father." She whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you." She had torn off her bloody shirt.

"Anastasia." A voice said, Scarlet's eyes shot open and she spun around to see her father, Michael Joseph Huntington-Montgomery, stood in front of her in the state of which he had died. "My goodness, you've grown up so much."

Scarlet wanted to cry. "Dad..." she stammered with a broken hearted look in her eye.

"Anastasia." Michael said. "I will always be with you. There won't be a day where I'm not thinking about you." He stepped closer and then lowered himself down to her height, pressing his lips to her forehead. "I love you. I always will."

"Where's Tom?" Scarlet asked. "Please don't tell me he's already moved on...please." She begged.

Michael looked at his daughter. "You should feel something behind you." He smiled. "Right about now." He winked and then disappeared in a flash of white light.

"Hey, doll." A familiar voice came from behind her. He took a step to engulf her in a hug this time, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"Tom?" Scarlet turned around and nearly broke down sobbing. "Is it really you?"

"It's really me, doll." Tom soothed. His lips pressed against her neck before he sighed into her hair.

Scarlet relaxed against him, stringing her arms beneath his and around his waist. Tom leaned back, the sparkle in his eye prominent as he looked at her lovingly. He rested his hands against her jaw, a thumb darting out to wipe away a tear that had fallen. Scarlet tilted her head to rest her cheek completely in his palm and he grinned. "You're still as beautiful as the day I lost you." A smile danced behind his eyes.

Tom brought her closer to him again, his thumb lightly brushing the base of her neck in a soothing manner as she held onto him for dear life. "Don't leave me, please." Scarlet begged.

Tom gave her a sweet peck on the lips. "I know we can't stay like this. But before I go, I feel I must know. What am I?"

Scarlet swallowed. "Thomas Blake. You are the soldier that lives inside me. You are my sadness and my hope. And mostly you're my love." She pulled herself away.

"We have said goodbye before, so it stands to reason-" Tom smiled softly as he faded away.

"We'll say hello again."

"So long, my darling." His lips were against hers. He kissed her gently, carefully, for the last time. "We will see each other again. I promise."

Clemson was bodily thrown from the water to land on the pier with an aborted yell, Steve climbing the ladder after.

As Clemson gasped and turned at the blond's approach to swipe at his midsection with a knife. Steve knocked him to the ground, the blade and serum from inside his jacket flung to the stone. The glass of the latter shattered and the blue serum seeped onto the ground. Clemson lay on his back with Steve above, wrenching him forward by his lapels.

"Who the hell are you?" Steve interrogated.

"The first of many," He answered. "Cut off one head,"

Clemson dislodged a fake incisor from its socket with his tongue and bit down on it.

"two more, shall take its place."

Foam gathered in his mouth at the cyanide pill. "Hail HYDRA," he choked out, before convulsing and dying.

Scarlet was experiencing Déjà vu, she had seen this before. People kill themselves with cyanide so they won't be tortured or asked for questions. "Cyanide. HYDRA..." She muttered, thinking back to a story she was told about Hercules and his battle with a Hydra dragon. That must've been where they got the idea from.

A ripple of flames cut through the darkness in her eyes and brought them back to their original state, a sign that she was no longer using magic. Her lips were stained with blood. Her blood.

Steve breathed heavily as gulls chattered overhead, pausing in the still moment to stare down in awe at his panting chest and powerful arms.