The Seventh Avenger - (Marvel x OC)

CH 1.3 The Ambush

It had been only a few grueling months since Bucky and Andrew traveled to Europe to fight. Their regiment had pushed on the edge of enemy territory and camped for the night. Andrew was sleeping as peacefully as one could in the barracks when he was suddenly awoken Bucky violently shaking him.

"Why do you have to be such a heavy sleeper!" Bucky yelled frustrated.

"Some of us need our beauty sleep!" Andrew yelled back. "What the hell is going on?" Andrew asked Bucky as the sound of gunfire and explosions echoed in the distance.

"We got incoming" Bucky said solemnly "Get up and get ready" upon hearing this Andrew jumped out of bed and began gearing up.

"What're we up against?" Andrew asked although part of him begged not to know.

"It's Hydra" Buck said with fear in his voice.

"Oh god" Andrew said before sprinting after Bucky. They ran out of the building and toward the front lines.

"Here they come!" A scout yelled as large Hydra force entered sight. The gun fight lasted a measly twenty minutes before Bucky and Andrew were forced to retreat and were cornered in the munitions building. Andrew's heart was beating out of his chest.

"Well, it's been fun, Buck" Andrew said between firing his firearm out the window.

"I got a feeling this isn't the end, ol' buddy" Bucky replied with a smile.

"Great. Can't wait to see what fresh hell we go through next then" Andrew said with a sigh. Not even ten minutes later, one-hundred and fifty soldiers, including Bucky and Andrew, had been captured by Hyrda, and were being transferred to the nearest Hyrda weapons facility. Andrew leaned over to Bucky and softly whispered, "I don't know about you, but I'm kinda wishing we were dead right now."

"No talking!" a Hydra soldier yelled in German before hitting Andrew in the head with the stock of his rifle, knocking him out cold...

Steve Rogers' eyes flickered open and his body burned in tired agony. He sat up and straightened his helmet. Steve stood and continued running, trying to catch back up to his fellow soldiers at Camp Lehigh. Thanks to a man introduced as Dr. Erskine, he'd been given a chance at fighting. Just a chance. He'd told Steve he knew about his five previous attempts but his persistence was exactly what intrigued him. And so, by a miracle, Steve had been escorted to training camp and he'd be damned if he wasted his chance.

A trio stood watching a small, skinny, and asmatic man frantically run after his troop along the ten mile dirt road track. One, a heavier set, older man in military garb with a scar on his left cheek. Another, a shapely young woman with thick brown hair curled at the bottom. She wore red lipstick and an agents uniform. Finally, a scrawny, frizzy haired, and aged scientist.

"He's too damn tiny, Erskine." The gruff and grizzled veteran military official barked at the doctor that had chosen Steve.

"Give him time, Colonel" The German scientist that had feld his home spoke calmly.

A pair of sweet brown eyes zeroed in on Steve as he desperately hurried to catch up.

"I think he has heart" An English woman's voice spoke with a smile.

"Bah!" Colonel Phillips turned and waved a hand at the brunette girl. "I didn't ask for your input, Carter."

The soldiers lined up after their run, Steve stood on the end shakily, fighting the urge to collapse.

"Attention!"

The recruites stood as straight as they could through their exhaustion.

"Gentlemen, I am Agent Carter. I supervise all operations of this division and unfortunately that means you're my responsibility. Do try to make my job easy."

"What's with the accent, lady?" The most 'outspoken' of the men smirked. "I thought I was signing up for the American army."

"Name, soldier?"

"Gilmore Hodge, your majesty."

"Step forward. Plant your right foot."

"We gonna wrassle? I know a few moves you'll love--"

Hodge's sentence was cut short by his face becoming more familiar with the grass than he'd like. Steve chuckled at the man's fate.

"I see you're breaking in the candidates, Carter!" Colonel Phillips yelled as he made his way over to stand next to her. "Very good."

"Colonel" Carter nodded respectfully.

Steve's mind lingered on the word 'candidates' used by Phillips.

"Get your ass up off the dirt. You're killing the grass" The Colonel barked at Hodge, who scrambled up and back into line, now complete with bloodied nose. "It's been said that wars are not won with weapons but by men. We are going to win because we have the better men. And we're going to get better" Philips focused on Steve, standing at attention. "Much better."

The rest of training didn't exactly turn the tide in Steve's direction. He got his foot caught in the rope ladder, Hodge kicked down a post holding up barbed wire and made his crawl through the mud more difficult, and then came the second and final ten mile run to close the day.

Steve spent the run being yelled at to catch up.

"Halt!" The man leading the squad yelled, looking up at a steel pole. "That flad means we're only halfway to the end. The first man to bring me that flag gets to ride back with Agent Carter."

Carter waived from the comfy vehicle as she watched the men.

All the soldiers scrambled to scale the slick pole. All but one. Steve stood quietly and watched the men pull themselves up only to immediately fall back down.

"No one's got that flag in 17 years!" The leader yelled. "Fall in!"

All the soldiers fell back into formation. All but one.

"Rogers! Fall in!"

Steve walked up to the flagpole. Removed the hook-like metal holding the pole steady and pushed it over. He folded up the flag and handed it to the soldier. He thanked him and hopped into the seat next to Agent Carter. He took off his helmet and grinned.

"I'm Steve" he watched her drive as he sat back.

"Peggy..."

Steve sat in his barracks alone. The rest of the men were outside doing something but Steve hadn't been invited and didn't want to be.

"Do you want to kill Nazis?"

Steve looked up to see Erskine walk in with a drink in his hand.

"Is this a test?"

"Yes."

"I don't wanna kill anybody" Steve sighed. "I don't like bullies. I don't care where they're from."

"There are so many big strong men fighting this war. Maybe what we really need is a little guy..."