𝐋𝐈𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐘 & 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒 | 𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞

𝟎𝟓. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐝'𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐦𝐞

𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐄'𝐒 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 flashed open and she gasped, violently shooting up into a seated position, waking in a way that highly contrasted her sister. The room was overly crowded, nurses and doctors alike invaded her personal space. However, at the sight of her panicked expression, they took a step back and took the defibrillator with them.

The ache in her chest slowly subsided as the serum coursing through her veins began to work its magic. Charlotte forced her way through the crowd, stopping at her sister's bedside with wide eyes. "Are you alright?"

Lorene patted herself down, feeling as if she was missing something. She stopped as her eye caught the bandage wrapped around her arm. As a red liquid seeped through the white fabric, it was implied she tore through whatever stitches had been holding her arm together. There was something off-putting about the image, but she slowly nodded her head as she faced her sister. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Charlotte hardly let those final two words escape her mouth before smothering her face in a tight hug. "I swear if you ever pull a stunt like that again—you know what? It doesn't matter, we're going to get you some help."

"Help?" Lorene's brow furrowed in confusion as her sister continued to ramble. It finally clicked in her mind as she noticed the restraints that tied her down on the bed that she was probably being held in the psych wing of the hospital. "No, no, no. You've got the wrong idea, I just needed to get the serum into my bloodstream..."

Her voice tapered off as Charlotte's eyes gradually narrowed, pupils shrinking with her cold glare. "You did what?"

A master of poor timing, Howard Stark opened the door and entered the room at that exact moment, unaware of the tension and already midrant. "—so although the serum entered your bloodstream via different methods, it looks like everything's going to be alright... I missed something."

"Howard." His name was spoken between gritted teeth as Charlotte's slow turn was meant to be interpreted as dangerous. "Why didn't you tell me that Lorene had an extra dose of your poison?"

"The last time I saw a dame this mad she shot a few rounds in my lab," Howard raised his hands defensively as he took a step back while explaining, "I had no intentions of learning what a dame with super-soldier serum running through her veins might be capable of doing yet."

Charlotte raised a fist and he immediately took that as his cue to leave. She considered chasing after him, but Dugan gently took her fist in his hand and uncurled each of her fingers before intertwining his hand with hers. He placed a light kiss on the top of her head before reminding her what was currently important. "The two of you are alright. By the looks of it, more than just alright."

As Charlotte turned her head to give him a disapproving look, she stopped as she realized what he'd been implying. Prior to the serum, there had been close to a seven inch height difference between them, now she could look him in the eye without an issue.

"So now what?" Lorene asked as she tried to remove the restraints from her wrists, failing all the same. "We sneak out of here, punch some nazis, and end the war?"

Dugan laughed. Lorene frowned, forcing his brow to furrow. "You're serious?"

Lorene nodded her head, quickly but to the point. "Yes, I'm serious. We should be out saving the world, not locked up in some hospital."

"Lorene." Charlotte's voice was firm, and hidden anger could be detected just beneath the surface. "I understand that you want to run off and play hero, but you have no training for this sort of thing. You're undisciplined and reckless. Just because you have super-strength doesn't mean you're immortal. You're going to get yourself killed."