Kindred Spirits

Unexpected Developments

  The day came where we drove to the site of the experiment, me once again following behind on my bike. Lots of men had asked to take it out for a test drive, but they were exceedingly baffled by the startup system. There was no key for the bike, seemingly coming to life just from my touch alone. It had been a gift from a very generous king after we had rescued a shipment of weapons leaving one of their ports. It was connected to a slim silver bracelet with subtle African motifs that tracked my heart rate and location.

  I followed silently behind Steve and Peggy as they walked into a nondescript storefront. The woman behind the counter looked at us expectantly as we came closer. I examined the surroundings, ignoring Peggy and the woman as they spoke a code phrase, only turning back once we were granted passage. We moved into the elevator, descending into the testing floor, an overlook protected with most likely bulletproof glass. It was filled with various military and government officials that had clearance.

    Erksine is scrambling around to prepare the machine, dozens of helpers rushing around to help, including one rather famous face.

  "Howard," Peggy moved towards him, her tone decidedly professional, "How are the preparations going?"

  "Just about done, doll face," he threw a wink her way before seeing me. "Is this lovely young lady another assistant for me?"

  "If you mean assisting by bruising your ego to a manageable level, then yes," I deadpanned, not missing how his smirk shrank the slightest bit before returning full force.

  "Feisty, are we?" he joked, moving closer, attempting to put his arm around my shoulders.

  I grabbed his arm, twisting it behind him and slipping a knife against his throat. "Deadly is more like it."

  I held him for a second before releasing him, my knife once again hidden. His face was pale as he recomposed himself.

  "Steven!" Dr. Erkisne came towards us, pulling Steve away to get him prepped for the procedure. I observed as he was placed into the machine after his shirt was removed. A shot was injected into his arm, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut.

  "That wasn't so bad," he chuckled nervously as the needle was removed.

  "That was penicillin," Erskine informed him, the smile on Steve's face falling. He was strapped in, two large metal pads with needles pressing down into his arms. The sides of the machine closed over him, the window to tall to see him through.

  "Steven, can you hear me?" Erksine asked as he tapped on the glass.

  "Is it too late to go to the bathroom?"

  I chuckled as Erksine stood back from the pod, handing me a pair of googles. Settling them on my face, I watched intently as Howard began to power up the machine. It began to emit a soft glow that only grew stronger as Howard increased the power. About halfway to full power, Steven started yelling in pain, alarming everyone outside as they began to shout to shut it off.

  "No!" I yelled, at the same time that Steve shouted from the pod. "He can do this." I insisted, knowing that Steve would never be able to live knowing that he didn't go through with this.

  "She's right! I can do this!" Steve sounded desperate, to finally prove everyone that doubted him wrong. I stepped closer to Peggy, drawing her eyes as I nodded slowly at her, and she finally nodded to continue the procedure. Howard kept increasing the power, dimming all other lights in the room as the glow from the pod grew even stronger. Finally, the machine was at 100%, and everything else was starting to short circuit. Everyone moved to avoid the sparks while I remained in place, eyes locked on the pod as it finally powered down.

  It was silent, broken by the doors automatically opening, releasing a flood of smoke. I walked closer as Steve slowly came into view. He was almost bigger than the pod now, in regards to his height and shiny new muscles. I helped him out, whistling as I got an up close and personal look.

  "Damn, I would never think that these were made in a lab."

  He let out a breathless chuckle as he stood shakily. Peggy approached, struggling very much to not stare at his fully defined chest and abdomen. "How do you feel?"

  "Taller," Steve announced unironically.

  I gave some side eye to Peggy as she briefly touched one of Steve's pecs. Smirking, I looked over to Erksine, though my lips fell as I saw a man behind him reaching into his jacket.

  "Gun!" I shouted as I ran towards him, moving to protect Erksine. I heard a gunshot go off as I grabbed his arm, pulling him towards me as gunshots continued to go off. I felt several bullets entering my back, but I lost consciousness as I fell back, oblivious to the chaos that erupted around me.

    Coming to as Erksine was moved off me, I felt something liquid seeping into the various wounds on my back. I could feel something changing in me and I stumbled to my knees, startling everyone in the room that believed that I was dead. The rest of my wounds healed as I stood to my feet, turning to look back at what I had fallen into. 

  A pit of dread formed in my stomach as I wiped the back of my shirt, revealing that the blue liquid on my back was the same as the one on the floor, surrounded by broken glass vials. Without looking at anyone or saying a word, I took off before anyone could get their wits about them. I made it back to my bunker in record time, ensuring that I wasn't being followed.

  I moved down to the lab, drawing some blood and placing it under a microscope. It looked completely different from the previous samples I had looked at. My DNA was apparently very agreeable to the super soldier serum, and I would need to conduct very rigorous testing to even know the extent of how much had been changed.