Ms. America

Chapter Eight

The Howling Commandos had been taking Hydra bases by storm. Before the group was able to regroup fully at one base, Rogers and Carter showed up with their team to take the base. The group had been out in the field for about two months, finding shelter as they could. While the group was tight-knit, everyone knew the authority landed on Steve, then Rose as they bounced ideas back and forth. The two worked well together, but everyone knew Rose had eyes for Bucky, and Steve had eyes for Peggy. On cooler nights, they would all see Rose lying a little closer to the Sergeant, as he would pull her in and keep watch over her. 

Dum Dum was happy that his friends were finding something special in all the chaos. Steve was in a similar boat, with a picture of the older Carter tucked nicely into his compass. While he had lived his life, it was nice to see the younger group beginning theirs.

The Commandos were taking a break from their siege on the Hydra bases, and focusing on capturing Dr. Zola, to stop the production of whatever was in its tracks. They knew Zola was moving on a train through the Alps and had a plan in place to intercept it.

"Alright everyone, remember we have a small window to make the train, if you miss it'll be like bugs on a windshield," said Steve, making sure everyone was focused on the task at hand. Through the wind, he was able to make out the sound of the train turning the corner, "You're up Rosie."

"Time to be bugs," Rosie said, as she grabbed her zipline, giving a yell as she left the ledge. Once she landed, she turned to see Steve and Bucky close behind. Before she could open the hatch, she was stopped by Bucky, who handed her the smaller section of his dog tags. They did this every time they went on a mission, he wanted to make sure she got back to him in one piece. She smiled, before tucking the tag into her suit, then placing a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Ok lovebirds, we gotta move," Steve chuckled, popping through the hatch first. While the three went to secure the train, the others went in search of Zola. However, their presence was already known, so Zola sent two men in heavy equipment after the trio in the back. Bucky noticed them first, locking Steve and Rose in the train car behind him, drawing the fire of one of the men. When Bucky ran out of bullets, Steve and Rose had finally gotten the doors open, taking out the one man.

"No! Fire, kill them all!" shouted Zola through a microphone at the second guard. He would not let the group take his machines again.

Rose was helping Bucky up when the second guard came in. He grabbed Rose, before blowing a hole in the side of the train. She screamed, trying to grab Bucky and Steve as they were blown out the side of the train. When Steve went to grab Bucky, he slipped, and Bucky fell from the train.

"Bucky?! NO!" shouted Rose, holding back tears. She tried her best to fight off the man holding her, but he knocked her head against a railing. Before she went fully unconscious, she was able to grab the dog tag Bucky had given her, holding it for dear life. She looked at Steve, who was devastated at the loss of his friend but was trying to fight to get Rose back. He couldn't lose them both in one day. A third guard came to secure Rose while the other fought Steve. The guard used a parachute and was able to escape with the girl in his grasp. Meanwhile, at the front of the train, the rest of the group was able to take the head, and secure Zola.

~

It had been a few days since the Howling Commandos returned to base with Zola but still defeated. The loss of both Bucky and Rose was hard on them all, but hardest on Steve. He couldn't save them, and he couldn't drink his pain away. He had been sitting in an abandoned bar ever since they got back, trying to numb his pain. Peggy finally found him after a few hours of trying.

"It's not your fault Steve," she said softly, sitting across from him. She was grieving her sister, but couldn't let Steve lose sight of the mission. Rose wouldn't want them to stop because she was gone. "Maybe she's at one of the other bases we haven't reached yet. Rose could still be out there."

The hope in Peggy's voice hurt Steve. While there was a chance she was right, he knew how much Hydra despised Rose for her work with him. But he knew he had to try. Steve followed Peggy to the war room, to discuss taking the final base. The one in the Alps where they lost the two most important people in their lives.

Rose awoke in a dark room, strapped down to a table. The only light was the one directly overhead, stopping her from seeing her surroundings. She looked down, to see Bucky's dog tag no longer in her palm, but around her neck.

"Well at least you aren't complete sociopaths," she muttered, despite the headache that began to grow. She realized she couldn't move her head, as it was stuck in a contraption that covered portions of her face.

"I'm glad to see you are awake Ms. Carter, it would have been terrible to see all that work not pay off," said a voice through the dark. A figure appeared, and Rose recognized him as Werner Reinhardt.

"Pleasure to meet you," she said sarcastically. She knew what Reinhardt was capable of, and while she grew anxious, she wouldn't show it. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this interaction?"

"Well, Rose, can I call you that," Werner stated, "I happened to notice through footage of your combat, that you are quite skilled in combat and marksmanship. There is a program Hydra is beginning, a very special program. And since Zola has been taken, I have been given the opportunity to take over the operation. And while Zola had some wonderful structure, he forgot one important piece in his puzzle. Someone to control the soldiers."

"And what does this have to do with me?" Rose questioned, trying to get as much information as she could.

"Well you Ms. Carter, have displayed characteristics of individuals who have special abilities that walk on Earth. I will figure out how to activate these abilities, and you shall become the Legion."

With that, Reinhardt walked out, allowing his team of scientists to walk in with the Tesseract and an object Rose had never seen before. It was silver in nature, but it couldn't be good because no one touched it with bare hands. Rose was removed from the table but restrained to the table that held the silver object. When she came close to it, symbols appeared in a glowing orange around it, and the object opened. The scientists had left the room at this point, leaving only her. A powder was released before she blacked out. As her consciousness faded, she heard Reinhardt over a speaker say, "Do not worry, science requires experimentation."