CHAPTER FOUR:

A NEW HERO

DR. ABRAHAM ERSKINE was dead. Only a few hours had gone by since Steve Rogers had been given the super soldier serum, becoming the very first super soldier in the entire world. The blonde had been able to catch the man that had shot at Erskine, though when the foam entered his mouth, he died right in front of the super soldier.

Inside of a small room, Steve could be seen in a different pair of clothes, his now much bigger figure sitting on a small bed as a nurse stood beside him, taking his blood. He had been here for a little bit now, the nurse taking quite a bit of his blood. Across from him, the Carter sisters could be seen as they waited for everything to be done.

Beside her sister, Y/n was leaning against a counter as she held a notebook to her chest, her eyes occasionally glancing at Steve while also looking out the window. She couldn't help but clench her jaw a bit at the sight of the nurse eyeing the super soldier, clearly finding him attractive with the newfound muscle and body he now had.

"Think you got enough?" Steve asks when the needle was taken out of his arm, pulling his sleeve down.

"Any hope of reproducing the program is locked in your genetic code. But without Dr. Erskine, it would take years." Peggy informs as he stands up.

Steve frowns. "He deserved more than this."

"If it could work only once, he'd be proud it was you." Y/n tells him.

Feeling her hand gently rest on his arm, the blue eyed man looks up from where he had been staring down at his feet and towards the young woman. When their eyes meet, she gives him a gentle and tiny smile just when the sound of Colonel Phillips' catches all their attention, making them glance out the window.

They watched as Colonel Phillips had some men following behind him as they talked about what had happened. Howard could be seen standing beside the submarine that the man had tried to escape on before Steve caught him. The three walked out of the room and began heading down the stairs when the sound of the men talking about HYDRA could be heard.

"Hydra is the Nazi deep science division." Peggy calls out.

"It's led by Johann Schmidt. But he has much bigger ambitions." Y/n adds.

Colonel Phillips nods. "Hydra's practically a cult. They worship Schmidt. They think he's invincible."

"So, what are you gonna do about it?" Senator Brandt questions.

"I spoke to the president this morning. As of today, the SSR is being retasked." Colonel Phillips announces while he moves to face the sisters. "We are taking the fight to Hydra. Pack your bags, agents. You, too, Stark. We're flying to London tonight."

"Sir?" Steve calls to him before he could walk off. "If you're going after Schmidt, I want in."

"You're an experiment. You're going to Alamogordo." Colonel Phillips argues.

"Colonel, the serum worked." Y/n intervenes, stepping forward.

"I asked for an army and all I got was him." Colonel Phillips states before turning back to Steve. "You are not enough."

And with that, not bothering to listen to anything else they had to say, he turned around and walked off, leaving them to watch him leave. Taking off his hat, Senator Brandt moves until he was standing in front of the super soldier, catching his attention.

"With all due respect to the Colonel, I think we may be missing the point. I've seen you in action, Steve. More importantly, the country's seen it." Senator Brandt recalls, snapping his fingers at his assistant. "Paper."

His helper steps forward as he unfolds the newspaper. Steve looks over at the paper as the man holds it up, the words 'MYSTERY MAN SAVES CHILD' printed in all caps in bold black letters at the top with a picture of him holding a car door as a shield beneath it.

"The enlistment lines have been around the block since your picture hit the newsstands. You don't take a soldier, a symbol like that, and hide him in a lab." Senator Brandt continues, resting his hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Son, do you wanna serve your country on the most important battlefield of the war?"

Steve nods. "Sir, that's all I want."

"Then, congratulations. You just got promoted." Senator Brandt tells him as they shake hands.

At the news of this, Steve felt a little smile twitch on his lips while he shook the man's hand. When they pulled away, he glanced back over at where Y/n was standing, seeing she nodded at him with a smile on her lips.

* * *

ITALY - NOVEMBER 1943

AS IT TURNS out, the promotion Steve got was to perform on stage in front of little kids with a blue, white and red suit on and a shield with the same colors to match. He was now known to the world as Captain America. He didn't know how many times he had fake punched a man dressed as Adolf Hitler, but the kids always loved pointing to the man sneaking up behind the new superhero.

There were comics all about the new hero, about Captain America. The children would be out of their seats every time he came up on stage. Whenever they were playing on the streets with their friends, children would act as if they were him and use anything they could find as a shield. There would be videos of him playing everywhere, acting as if he were in the war and fighting.

Instead of a usual children's show, Steve found himself in the usual suit with the weak metal shield in his hand as he stood in front of the microphone. Unlike the other shows, the women were not on stage with him. The blonde could see that the soldiers wanted to be anywhere but where they currently were from the blank stares they were giving him.

"How many of you are ready to help me sock old Adolf on the jaw?" Steve speaks into the mic, getting nothing but silence from the soldiers. "Okay. Uh, I need a volunteer."

"I already volunteered! How do you think I got here?" A soldier yells out, causing laughter to emit from the crowd.

"Bring back the girls!" Another soldier adds.

This receives cheers and whistles from the other men, clearly showing they wanted the girls. Taking many glances to the side of the stage where the group of dancers were, Steve opened and closed his mouth many times as he figured out what to say. He had remember catching a glimpse of Hodge within the crowd and had been waiting for the man to say something.

"I think they only know the one song, but I'll see what I can do." Steve assures.

"You do that, sweetheart." A man praises.

Hodge lifts his head, moving his hand to his mouth so he could be louder. "Nice boots, Tinker Bell!"

Steve sighs. "Come on, guys, we're all on the same team here."

"Hey, Captain! Sign this!" Another man exclaims as he stands up, grabbing the hem of his pants.

When he moved his back in Steve's direction and pulled his pants down, showing his bare ass to everyone, Steve looked away with an uncomfortable expression as the other soldiers laughed and cheered him on. Another man stood up and began throwing things at the super soldier, to which he quickly blocked away with his shield.

When others started throwing stuff too, the blonde was able to block them from hitting him before he walked off the stage. One of the dancers moved on the stage as she spoke into the mic with a smile, the cheering getting louder when she announced a performer to perform on stage for them. Steve didn't register the name till he walked by a familiar person.

With her guitar in her arms, Y/n was dressed in a bright dress, which was the colors red and blue, yet the skirt was longer than the dancers skirts. The men all cheered at the sight of the women they had seen performing in bars before. Getting them to quiet down a bit, Y/n gave them all a fake smile before she started strumming to the strings of her guitar.

From backstage, Steve froze at the sound of the familiar voice as she sang into the mic, the strumming of her guitar adding to her singing as the soldiers cheered for her. Taking off the mask he had to his suit and placing his shield down, Steve moved to the side of the stage when he finally noticed her figure on stage.

The men were whistling and cheering for her as she sang the song, none of them knowing that she wished she was backstage at this moment instead of being in front of all of them, singing. She'd rather be drowned in her notebook, writing whatever lyrics came to her mind and then putting it into a song with her guitar.

When she finished her song, the soldiers were cheering loudly when the dancers came on stage, showing they'd take over. Steve had to move off the backstage when all the dancers were rushing up the small stairs in their little heels, forcing smiles on their red lips before they got up in front of the men. And with a sigh, Steve walked off.

* * *

THE SOLDIERS HAD all gone back to training after the performances were all done, though many of them had gone back to their tents where their cots were since it had begun pouring rain outside. Many were holding up their coats above their heads so they didn't get too soaked, their shoes getting mud all over them with every step they took.

On the steps of the backstage, Steve could be seen wearing a coat now over his Captain America uniform as he held a pencil in his hand, the other one holding a book. His blue eyes stared down at the paper while he drew a monkey on a unicycle, wearing a similar uniform to what he had been wearing the past few weeks now.

"Hello, Steve." A voice greets from behind him.

Tearing his eyes away from the paper, he looks behind him to see Y/n standing there, wearing a coat herself over the dress she had been given to wear for her performance. He felt his eyes widen at the sight of her, not expecting her to still be here after thinking she had already left and he felt his heart skip a beat as well.

"Hi, Y/n." Steve greets back, watching as she moves to sit next to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was asked to be here to perform something for the men. And here I am." Y/n tells him with a shrug. "That was quite a performance you had."

"Yeah. I had to improvise a little bit. The crowds I'm used to are usually more..." Steve begins, trailing off with a sigh. "...twelve."

The young woman only hums as she hugs her jacket against her body more, the coldness getting to her a bit. Glancing at her, the blonde had been quick to notice the notebook she had underneath her jacket, a notebook he noticed she had almost every time he saw her and it always made him curious as to what she wrote in there.

"If you don't mind, can I ask what that is?" Steve asks as he motions to her notebook.

Y/n glances down, chuckling as she takes it out from underneath her jacket. "Oh. This. I write lyrics in here."

"Lyrics?" Steve repeats with raised brows, getting a hum in agreement. "What kind of lyrics?"

There's a moment where the woman seems to contemplate something before she slowly opens it up to the last page she had been writing on, handing it to him. Placing his own notebook aside, the man takes it from her and into his gentle grasp as he reads off the lyrics, his heart beating with every word he read.

"'Chasing Cars'?" Steve reads off the title at the top, glancing back at her. "Is that what it's called?"

Y/n shyly nods, crossing her arms. "It is. It's not the greatest title, but I'm still getting used to writing my own songs. Usually, I'll just sing songs that people want when I'm performing."

"I know." Steve replies rather quickly, making her raise a brow that had his eyes widening. "I-I mean, I've seen you performing before on stage. You have an amazing voice."

"Thank you." Y/n whispers to him. "I usually don't let people read my lyrics. I'm too scared they're not gonna like it."

"Well, you shouldn't be. It's beautiful." Steve reassures.

A quiet silence passes by as they stare at one another, a small smile etching on the woman's lips before Steve looks away. However, Y/n continues to look at the side of his face, her smile slowly fading when she notices the deep thought expression he seems to have on his face.

"What is it?" Y/n questions, resting her hand on his arm.

Steve shrugs. "You know, for the longest time, I dreamed about coming overseas and being on the front lines, serving my country. I finally got everything I wanted... and I'm wearing tights."

At this, a frown replaces the smile on Y/n's face as she gently squeezes his arm when the sound of rushed footsteps breaks the silence. The two look over, seeing Peggy rushing over while holding her coat above her head so she didn't get soaked. When she reached them, the woman greeted the super soldier before turning to her sister.

Slowly nodding to what her sister was saying, Y/n hesitantly took her hand off of Steve's arm, both feeling a sense of loss at the loss of their touch as she stood up to her feet. While the females spoke, the sound of honking caught Steve's attention, making him glance over his shoulder to see some men getting injured soldiers out of the back of the vehicle.

"They look like they've been through hell." Steve speaks up, catching their attention.

"These men more than most." Peggy informs when she followed his gaze. "Schmidt sent out a force to Azzano. Two hundred men went up against him, and less than fifty returned. Your audience contained what was left of the 107th. The rest were killed or captured."

Steve snaps his head up, panicked eyes looking at her. "The 107th?"

At his sudden panicked face, the sisters looked at him in confusion before he was shooting up to his feet, moving out and into the rain, ushering for them to follow. Both holding their jackets above their heads, the women followed him till they were soon under a tent and moving towards Colonel Phillips.

"Colonel Phillips." Steve calls out.

"Well, if it isn't the star-spangled man with a plan." Colonel Phillips comments at the sight of him. "What is your plan today?"

"I need the casualty list from Azzano." Steve demands.

Colonel Phillips shakes his head. "You don't get to give me orders, son."

"I just need one name, Sergeant James Barnes from the 107th." Steve tells him.

Colonel Phillips points at Peggy, ignoring him. "You and I are gonna have a conversation later that you won't enjoy."

"Please tell me if he's alive, sir." Steve pleads. "B-A-R--"

"I can spell." Colonel Phillips interrupts, slowly standing to his feet. "I have signed more of these condolence letters today than I would care to count. But the name does sound familiar. I'm sorry."

"What about the others? Are you planning a rescue mission?" Steve asks.

Colonel Phillips nods. "Yeah, it's called 'winning the war'."

"But if you know where they are, why not at least--" Steve begins.

"They're thirty miles behind the lines through some of the most heavily fortified territory in Europe." Colonel Phillips states as he points at the map. "We'd lose more men than we'd save. But I don't expect you to understand that because you're a chorus girl."

Steve clenches his jaw. "I think I understand just fine."

"Well, then understand it somewhere else." Colonel Phillips commands, moving past him. "If I read the posters correctly, you got someplace to be in thirty minutes."

Steve doesn't say anything right away as he stares at the map that the colonel had just been pointing at before agreeing that he did. Y/n only watches as he storms out of the tent and in the direction of his own. Looking at the map where he had been staring at, her eyes examine the piece of paper before they widen in realization.

In panic, her hand grabs her sister's arm to see that Peggy had also seemed to realize what Steve's plan was. The sound of Colonel Phillips' voice speaking to them could be heard, yet the younger sister didn't register anything as she thought of how she'd be able to talk Steve out of this, or at least convince him to be safe about it.

With only a couple minutes that go by, the rain had slowly come to a stop with the occasional spit coming down from the grey sky. The ground was muddy, though it didn't stop the soldiers from training and jogging around for practice. With a more comfortable outfit on, Y/n found herself moving to Steve's tent, stepping inside to see the super soldier packing a bag.

"What do you plan to do, walk to Austria?" Y/n panickily questions.

"If that's what it takes." Steve replies in the same quick tone.

"Steve, I'm sorry, but you heard Phillips." Y/n reminds with a frown. "As much as I hate to say it, your friend is most likely dead."

Steve shakes his head. "You don't know that."

"Even so, he's devising a strategy. If he detects--" Y/n starts.

"By the time he's done that, it could be too late." Steve points out, interrupting her.

After getting his jacket on and his bag was all packed, the blonde grabs the handles of his bag and his shield before storming out of the tent, hearing her call after him. They move to a vehicle where Peggy rushed to them as she had been waiting outside the tent. He stops as he stares at them, eyes lingering on Y/n.

"I believe I'm meant for more than this." Steve admits. "Do you think so, too?"

Y/n nods. "Of course I do."

"Then you gotta let me go." Steve concludes, hopping into the driver's seat of the vehicle.

"We can do more than that." Peggy tells him.

At the sound of this, Steve stops from pressing his foot against the gas of the car as he glances between the two women. When his eyes meet Y/n's, she nods at him, to which he looks back at Peggy and nods at her.