America's Sweetheart (Steve Rogers) - 1

24

"We need to talk." Tony said as he grabbed Steve and pulled him into the meeting room. 

"Well you said it was urgent, so what is it?" Steve asked, turned back as the doors closed on them. He'd never heard Tony sound concerned, but the conversation they'd had just hours earlier had made him wonder what on earth had happened.

And where were the others? Shouldn't they be briefed too? 

Tony, for once, wasn't sure just how to put this. Telling Cap that his dead girlfriend was currently defrosting in the lab just down the hall under the watchful eyes of Banner and Doctor Helen Cho. He'd left the pair to it, the process was a delicate one - so much that it involved bringing the temperature of the lab to that of the chamber Mo Carter was entombed in, before slowly bringing it back up every hour so as her body didn't go into shock. 

"You might wanna sit down for this." 

"Stark, whatever it is just tell me!" Steve became irritated. What was Tony hiding? 

Tony looked around to make sure that no one was about to walk in, and then to Steve again. "We found her..." 

Steve looked at him. "Who?" 

Producing the Project F.R.O.S.T. file from where it was tucked under his arm, Tony passed it to Steve, who opened it, face crumpling. "Tell me this isn't true. That she didn't do this..." 

"Steve...it's true." 

He knew Tony wasn't lying just by the look on his face. "Where is she..."

"Banner and Helen are currently working on her in the lab." and immediately Steve was out of the door, Tony all but jogging behind him. "Steve we can't even be sure she'll come around from this!" he called as he struggled to keep up. "Dad's technology may have been advanced, but we don't know the effects, whether she'll even survive after being under for so long..." 

It was falling on deaf ears, and now Steve ground to a halt outside of the lab, looking through the glass and seeing Bruce and Helen hunched over the body on the lab table. Banner looked up and then headed for the door, coming out to see him. "Not yet..." he confirmed. "It's gonna take time." 

"How much time." Steve demanded. "Bruce, I have to see her." 

"and you will, but we can't let you yet - we need to run more tests, see what we're working with here, whether she responds well to the change in temperature."

"How does it look? Be honest." 

Bruce shook his head. "I can't say for sure yet, we've only just managed to remove her from the chamber."  they looked back through the glass, seeing Helen attaching some more monitors and a drip to Mo's arm. Still Steve couldn't see her beautiful face from where the Doctor was obscuring it. 

"Jarvis, two way glass please." Tony said and the view simply changed to a mirrored one of themselves so as no one else could walk past and look in. "Steve...let Banner do his work, she's in good hands." 

Reluctantly, he nodded, eyes going back to Banner. "Bring her back to me." 

"I'll do my best." Bruce nodded and returned into the lab, sealing the doors behind him. 

Steve braced himself against the glass, "Why would she do it?" 

"Why do you think?" Tony said. It was the obvious answer in the whole world. 

Steve glared to himself. It was like the situation with Bucky all over again, and even though Sam was currently on the case, they were still coming up with nothing. "She must have been desperate to even agree to do something like this." 

Tony now steered him in the direction of the rec room, more so the bar, cracking open a beer for them each. "Dad never mentioned her, not once. If I'd have known she was in that warehouse then..."

"SHE WAS WHERE!"

"Dad's old warehouse facility. In a secret room if you wanna get technical, but that doesn't matter. If i knew she was there then I'd have done this sooner." He paused. "Look, I'm just as in the dark about all of this as you are, but I hope that your girlfriend will just wake up and come straight out with it, because the thought of my dad keeping her on ice all this time is freaking me out." 

Steve's grasp on the bottle tightened so much that he had to stop himself from smashing it in his hands. "Likewise." 

**

Bruce monitored Mo's stats on the screen. She was doing well considering just hours before she'd been chilled to the bone. "She must have so many stories..." Helen now commented as they refilled the drip on the pilot's arm. "Has Steve ever spoken about her to you?" 

Bruce shook his head. "He doesn't like to talk about her." and rounded the table to make some notes. "She's always been a raw subject." 

"Think she'll wake up soon?"

"Her fingers have been twitching, her body must be a little tensed up, muscles and all." he said. "Hopefully soon she'll respond."

"I hope so, what a find...and a remarkable one."  Helen said in disbelief. "I mean...the story? It's one that everyone who's learnt about Captain America knows about. And now it has a different ending..." 

Noting Mo's fingers now make some more movement, Bruce looked at the heart monitor. They'd put her on life support just in case "We have her body at the right temperature and she's improved a lot. Let's try taking her off the support, there's a good chance she'll be able to breathe on her own."

Helen nodded and moved the oxygen mask from Mo's face. "I can see why Steve fell for her. She's even more beautiful than her pictures...look at how perfect her lipstick still is!" she said. The shade of red just as vibrant as it had been from the moment she'd gone under. "Ok, oxygen is removed, heart rate is steady..." 

Bruce looked up and smiled. "Now all we have to do is wait." and headed for the door. "I'm gonna go and get Steve. When she wakes up she's going to need to see a familiar face."