An Assassin Never Tells

E I G H T

December 13th, 2006

Today was the day! Not only was it my 18th birthday, but it was the day I became a true super-soldier! Sure I was scared about the procedure, but I was excited as well. I slept at the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility the night before so that the doctors could monitor my vitals and have a baseline as to where they should be. I followed all the little rules they gave me, 'no eating or drinking after midnight,' 'keep these stickers on your body, yes I know they're uncomfortable,' and 'take all of the medicine as directed.' It was annoying, but looking back, it was so worth it.

"Peg," said my dad as he knocked on the door, "Hey, happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Dad," I giggled, "What time is the procedure?"

"Just a couple of minutes from now. Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be. Do I need to wear anything specific?"

"Just the shorts and t-shirt you wore to bed should be fine. I'm proud of you, you know."

I hummed as I pulled myself out of bed so that I could look semi-presentable.

"You entered this journey at ten years old, not many people can say that they started becoming a super soldier at ten years old. And probably that same amount of people can say that they've been a part of a government agency since they were a baby."

"Well, it is a pretty strange situation, but a fun one none the less."

"Peggy," said a feminine voice as a knock came on the door, "it's Doctor Eliza."

"Come in," I said nerves taking me. Suddenly I was the small ten-year-old orphan receiving her first serum shot. I was the kid discovering she had these wack powers and learning to use them. Next, I was the fifteen-year-old realizing that this means that she'll never live a 'normal' life, but at the same time knowing that her life has never been 'normal,' and she was okay with that. Finally, I was the seventeen-year-old nearly woman, receiving her final shot before the full 'submersion' and having a mental freak out because of the fact that what's happening today will symbolize the end of her childhood, not her 18th birthday, not some traumatic event, but her becoming S.H.I.E.L.D.'s personal Super Soldier to use in their most desperate times. I'm thrown back into the present by my dad asking a question.

"Is it time?"

"Yes, Peggy, Agent Coulson, if you would please follow me."

Doctor Eliza led us down a maze of halls to our destination. It was a relatively warm room, not just in temperature, but in feeling (vibe) as well. The room was flooded with doctors, nurses, and engineers all bustling around to perform their duties. There was a boxed-in seating area where Uncle Nick, Natasha, Clint, Aunt Mel, Peggy, and a few others sat, all looking quite nervous. There was a silver table with blue, curved panels coming up from the sides. Dr. Eliza motioned for me to lie down on the table, so I did, dad joined Uncle Nick.

"We're performing this just as they did for Captain Rogers back in the forties. It's sort of like a presentation."

"Alrighty!"

"Ladies and Gentlemen," said Doctor Eliza, addressing the crowd as another doctor came over and strapped me down onto the table, "Today we take not another step towards human improvement, but the first step on the great scientific discovery. No offense Peggy. We begin with a series of microinjections into the subject's major muscle groups. The serum infusion will cause immediate cellular change. And then, to stimulate growth, the subject will be saturated with Vita-Rays."

At that point, there were two sharp panels connected to vials filled with blue liquid above my chest, one above each of my arms, above my calves, over my thighs, and finally one above my abdomen. Doctor Eliza made her way over to me as the other doctor gave me a shot.

"Oh! Hey buddy, a little warning next time, huh?"

"Peggy, you continue to amuse me. Serum infusion is beginning in five,"

Everyone in the room took a gulp of air.

"Four,"

Two sharp panels pushed their way into my arms.

"Three,"

Doctor Eliza placed her hand on my shoulder.

"Two,"

I took a deep breath and braced myself for what came next.

"One."

The vials emptied quickly, their contents traveling into my body. The pain was not as bad as I thought it would be, but it still hurt. I felt my body try to curl into a tight ball, but I couldn't. In my peripheral vision, I saw Doctor Eliza nod to one of the engineers. Said engineer nodded her head in response and pushed down on something I couldn't see. The sides of the table closed in on me and the table-turned-pod began to shift into an upright position. Doctor Eliza stepped up on a stool so that she could see me through the glass as she spoke.

"Peggy? Can you hear me?"

"Guessing it's too late to get some water, yeah?"

She turned around and said, "We will proceed."

It was then that the real pain set in. The engineer started charging the pod. I slammed my eyes shut as a bright light took over the pod.

"That's ten percent," said the engineer, "twenty percent, thirty, that's forty percent."

I felt as though I couldn't breathe, my muscles ached, I wanted to fall into a pile on the floor. It felt like I had just run a double marathon with little to no training and overexerted myself to come in the first place.

"Vitals are normal," said someone, I wasn't really sure anymore.

"That's fifty percent, sixty, seventy," I knew that was the engineer from before.

The pain was unbearable, I had lost control of my body. I screamed. I heard multiple pairs of feet race over to me, but I didn't really comprehend.

"Peggy," yelled Doctor Eliza.

"Make it stop," exclaimed someone. I knew that voice, that was my dad.

"No don't," it was Peggy, "it happened with Steve, she'll be fine."

"She's not Steve! Make it stop!"

"Peggy!"

"Keep going!"

"Kill the power Reg!

I couldn't let them stop this, I was already seventy percent of the way there, I couldn't stop then. I gathered up my strength to yell, "No! No, I can do it. I've got this! Keep...going!"

"Eighty, ninety...that's one hundred percent! Shutting down in ten, nine, eight, seven,"

The light got dimmer as the numbers got lower. The pain wasn't as bad as the end neared.

"Six, five, four, three, two, one!"

The light was completely out. I stood maybe two inches above where I once was, not a big difference, but you take what you can get, right. I draw my eyes downward to look at my body. My chest, which has always been rather large, still stuck out proudly, so I couldn't see the rest of me. But one thing was for sure, I felt stronger. 

A/N: Hey bups! Happy Friday! Today marks the end of the first semester of my school year and, even though I didn't do great on my finals, I'm very happy with how my grades turned out! Unfortunately, I'm a close contact with someone who has Coronavirus, which means I'm quarantined until Sunday when I can get tested. Fortunately, this means that I get more time to work on this book and upload more chapters. That being said, thank y'all for the reads and the votes! It means a lot to me! I love you all!