The Avengers: The Marvelous Masquerade

Consequences

(A/N: Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to read this so far! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and feel free to drop a comment and let me know what you think!)

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Voices surrounded Steve as his eyes fluttered open. He squinted against the raging light overhead. Confusion riddled his brain at first, before his memories started to return.

Stark. The potion. Then nothingness.

Steve bolted upright, nearly toppling off the gurney.

"Whoa, take it easy mate!" Steve swung his gaze to the left and saw Bucky, Sam, and Peggy rising from their chairs to join him around the bed.

He was in the hospital wing.

As he looked down, the air seemed to vanish from the room. Steve's mouth fell open as he ran a hand across his chest, then down his arm. He was... different. Taller, stronger, faster. He didn't even have to set foot on the ground to know that he could outrun half the students at Hogwarts. A sense of elation burst through his veins. For the first time in his life, he felt powerful.

"It... it worked." As soon as the words left his mouth, Steve knew the words were insignificant and hardly representative of the pure awe simmering inside of him.

"Indeed it did," Peggy responded. Steve gulped at the sight of her. Her expression was hard to discern, but he supposed she was still displeased at his decision.

"Where's Stark?" Steve asked, trying to see beyond the curtain that separated them from the rest of the hospital wing. "Shouldn't he be here to gloat?"

No one answered at first. Steve inspected each of their faces, his eyes narrowing. Bucky was the first to break the silence.

"You don't remember the explosion?" He seemed hesitant to meet Steve's gaze, which worried him even further.

"Explosion?" said Steve. "What... no, I don't remember any explosion."

"You must have been passed out already," Sam said, keeping his eyes fixed anywhere but Steve's face.

"What happened?" Steve swung his legs over the side of the bed, waiting.

"The cauldron exploded," Peggy answered in a cool tone, as if this proved that the entire idea had been infantile.

"Is Stark alright?" Steve asked, inching off of the bed. Bucky stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Professor Frigga's still working on him," he said. "We haven't heard much but... well, it didn't look good."

Steve was silent for a moment. His stomach twisted. He ran a hand through his hair, then scratched the back of his neck.

"Oh Merlin..." he breathed.

"It's not your fault," Bucky murmured, ruffling Steve's hair like he'd done since they were just kids on the playground.

Before anyone could say anything further on the matter, footsteps approached from outside. Steve tensed, holding his breath as the curtains parted, revealing Headmaster Odin and his wife, Professor Frigga. The Headmaster wore a calm, but stern expression.

"Mr. Rogers," he said. "I'm pleased to see that you're still with us after such a foolish endeavor." Steve cleared his throat.

"Yes, Headmaster, you see I -"

"That won't be necessary," Odin interjected, exchanging a glance with Peggy. "I've received several accounts of what transpired last night, and Miss Carter has informed me that she wishes to take responsibility for allowing things to escalate the way they did."