Rose Sinclair in Captain America | A Bucky Love Story

Chapter Seven: Rebirth

           In the morning, Colonel Phillips, Dr. Erskine, Peggy, Steve, and I took a short flight to New York and split a car to the secret location. Peggy and Steve took a car together and I took a car with the colonel and doctor. I pointed out every spot that Steve and I had got into fights before. Everything changed so much even though it's only been 6 years. We stopped at a Brooklyn antiques shop and waited for our turn to go inside after the coast was clear. Dr. Erskine and I went in before Colonel Phillips and I was taken through a secret door and led down to a science lab.

          "Rose! You look lovely!" Howard greeted me when I reached Dr. Erskine, despite me wearing an Army uniform.

          "Mr. Stark, please save your enthusiasm for Steve," Dr. Erskine said.

          "I can't help it, Doc," he said and kissed my hand.

          "Always a pleasure," I said with a smile and our attention was brought to Peggy and Steve coming in, both were also in their uniforms.

          Steve came down and I tugged on his tie, "Relax. I'll be right here."

          He nodded to me and I accompanied Colonel Phillips in the viewing room. I was introduced to Senator Brandt and I was currently the only woman in the room. Peggy stayed with Steve as he got ready to get in the Vita-Ray Chamber. I was also introduced to Fred Clemson of the State Department. Most men analyzed me but to my surprise, Colonel Phillips defended me as being an exceptional soldier in the Army. Peggy joined us once Steve was strapped in but he looked nervous about Howard running the experiment. There were six vials that were going to be injected into Steve and I sat anxiously next to Peggy. She looked nervous too. Steve was locked into the chamber and Dr. Erskine explained everything that was going to happen over a speaker. As they proceeded, there was a shining bright light from the chamber that was nearly blinding us. Suddenly, Steve started to scream in pain around 70% of the power. Peggy ran out and demanded it to be shut down. Steve yelled over her that he could do it and they continued. At 100%, the power short circuited in the lab and I ran down to the chamber. When it opened, Steve was extremely masculine and was over six feet tall. I helped him get out with Howard.

          "How do you feel?" Peggy asked him.

          "Taller," he said breathily.

          The company in the booth came out to congratulate the success of the enhancement. In the commotion, Dr. Erskine looked at a man and I looked with him. The man set off a bomb in the booth and he drew a gun while the blast knocked us down and showered us in broken glass. Everyone fell to the ground and were trying to get back up.

          "Stop!" I screamed but it was too late.

          Dr. Erskine was shot twice in the chest and fell to the floor. I ran to him and rolled him onto his back. The glass shards cut into my leg but I couldn't feel it as I held the doctor's head up. Steve kneeled beside me and the doctor looked at him. He tapped Steve's chest twice and exhaled his last breath.

          I looked at Steve, "I'll take care of him. You get that son of a bitch."

          Without another word, he was gone. Dr. Erskine was dead and Colonel Phillips was assigned to protect the Senator. Howard escorted me while I carried the doctor to another room and we waited for everything to calm down.

          "Rose, we need that serum. I know this is a lot to ask but.." Howard said and looked at my hands that were covered in the doctor's blood.

          "On one condition. Steve needs to know," I said and left the doctor's body in the room alone.

          Howard nodded to me and I waited for Steve to come back. He told us that it was an agent from Hydra and they were trying to get the perfected serum. Steve was taken to a room to have his blood drawn because the serum is in his genetic code. My blood has a mixture from the mutation that would be difficult to isolate. When Steve was left alone with Howard and I, I was given a small vial of blood.

          "Steve, this is what I couldn't tell you. I'm the first mutant and you need to know the truth," I said as I opened it.

          Steve glanced at Howard as he held up a sheet for me to strip behind and I drank the blood once I was nude. I stepped out as Dr. Erskine and immediately wrote down the formula.

          "What the hell?!" Steve jumped up and stared intensely at me.

          "Forgive me, Steve," I/Dr. Erskine said.

          "What is this?" he asked.

          "It's a mutation. If I ingest the blood of another, I can become that person, fully," I/Dr. Erskine said.

          "This is why your enhancement was stunted?" he asked and calmed down.

          I nodded and the mutation began to wear off. Steve watched in horror as the clumps melted off my body and Howard tossed me my uniform. Both men looked away as I stood nude in the middle of the piles of biological waste. I got dressed quickly and handed the formula to Howard. As I adjusted my uniform Steve was still upset. We were the only two successful super soldiers but we lost our mentor.

          "So. You're like a superhero?" Steve asked now that we were alone.

          "You're the real hero. You stopped a German spy," I said.

          "What are we going to do now?" he asked.

          "I'm trying to get to England. I haven't heard back from Bucky," I said worriedly.

          "You can't enlist," he said.

          "Excuse me? How many times were you rejected, 4F?" I asked angrily.

          He quickly tried to calm me down, "That's not what I meant, Ro. The Army isn't sending women. I know you would do great, I've trained with you."

          I rolled my eyes, "Steve, don't you want Schmidt? He's leading Hydra and got Dr. Erskine killed."

          "Of course I do, Ro," he said.

          We both went out and I finally got a look at the Nazi spy submarine that Howard was taking apart. He was out of his league and I didn't know how it functioned either. They were too advanced for us and this was for a single spy. If they had this technology in the war, we'll be annihilated. Colonel Phillips was given new orders and he was taking Peggy and Howard to London to directly wage war against Hydra. Steve and I tried to tag along but we were going to be studied in a lab. However, Senator Brandt gave Steve and I another option and promotion. We were going to recruit more soldiers as officers.