Private Liberty

4 | The Party Begins

IMPORTANT: Alright, so I realized that I had no idea where I was going with the rest of this, and I decided I wanted to include the Avengers' battle with Loki, and this is the chapter where the battle starts. Sorry if this confuses anyone! And I did go back and edit the other chapters to make it fit, so I suggest going back and reading through them in case you get confused.

This chapter is very...eventful...to say in the least.

•••

"Stark? What is SHIELD hiding from us?" Steve questioned, following his fellow Avenger as Tony walked swiftly through the halls of Stark Tower, towards the lab.

"I don't know," Tony answered. "But it has something to do with Private Liberty."

"Jessica? But she's...she's...dead." The words seemed to hurt as they dropped from his tongue. "Why would they have interest in her now?" Steve asked him, standing behind him as Tony tapped away at his computer.

"I don't know," Tony told him. "That's what we're going to find out."

Fury's face appeared on one of the larger screens in the lab, and he looked sort of annoyed. "What is it, Stark?"

"It has come to my attention that you're hiding something from us, Fury."

"We're not hiding anything from you, Stark."

Tony looked unamused. "Tell that to the file that even I can't get into in your database. I can easily get into anything in your database, except for that one file. It's gotta be something big, Fury. We want to know what it is."

Fury glared at him. "That information is classified until further notice. Now don't contact me about this again, Stark." The screen went blank, and Tony went back to his computer.

Steve sighed, and walked out of Tony's lab, more confused than he was going in.

•••Flashback: 1945•••

Jessica woke up in a strange metal room. She was freezing. She sat up from the moth-bitten cot she was laying on, and looked around the cold cell, her head pounding.

She stumbled to her feet, noticing that she was still in her uniform, the fabric slightly wrinkled.

She moved slowly over to the door, peeking out through the small barred window, trying to make out where she was.

A face appeared in front of her and she flew back, frightened.

"Redskull," she said, her face hardening in anger as Schmidt chuckled, unlocking her cell door and walking inside.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Liberty," he said. "My sources tell me that you are rather close to Captain America, no?"

His German accent was thick, and Jessica couldn't stop staring at the spot his nose should be.

"What do you want with me?" She finally asked, annoyed.

"You, dear, are bait. We left a few clues for Captain America, that will undoubtedly lead him here. And when he gets here, we kill you both."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Jessica asked, her voice slightly shaky. Steve isn't exactly going to be easy to kill. He is a Super Soldier, after all.

Schmidt smirked. "That's for me to know, and for you to find out."

Two HYDRA soldiers walked in, and one held Jessica back as the other pressed a cloth to her face, effectively knocking her out.

•••

Jess woke up, her feet and hands bound tightly together, a thick gag in her mouth making it impossible for her to make a sound. She was crammed into a small space, only able to see out a small slot between two panels. Someone had hidden her on a plane.

She could hear someone talking, and she looked around, her eyes widening as she noticed a rather large explosive.

"Peggy." It was Steve's voice. "If you ever find Jess, tell her I-"

Everything went silent, the plane fell apart, and she went cold, blackness closing in around her vision.

•••Flashback Over•••

A loud explosion racked the helicarrier, throwing the Avengers backwards and - in Natasha and Bruce's case - through a hole in the floor.

"Put on the suit," Steve said to Tony, his eyes wide.

Tony nodded, climbing to his feet. "Yup."

Fury slipped off, running down to the secret lab, where nurses were running wildly around, making sure everything was fine, or close to it, at least.

He ran into Jessica's room, eyes widening as he saw her heart monitor picking up speed.

"Doctor!" He screamed, rushing over to the girl.

Doctors rushed in, and the heart monitor started to slow down, sending them into a flurry as they pushed Fury aside to get to the world's most famous sidekick.

She flatlined, and Fury was panicking.

"Defibrillator!" A doctor called, his face panicky, yet he remained composed.

A shout of "Clear!" Rang out in the room, and the sound of an electric buzz filled Fury's ears as they desperately tried to get Jessica's heart beating.

"Clear!"

Nothing.

"Clear!"

Nothing.

"Clear!"

And then they heard it...

A girl, gasping for air as her chocolate eyes frantically searched the unfamiliar faces above her. "Where am I?"

The doctors calmly filed out of the room, leaving SHIELD's director to tell Jessica Liberty when and where she is.

•••

Just before the Avengers could make their way to a jet to get down to New York, a voice called out for them. Or more specifically, Steve.

"Captain," Fury said, nearly out of breath. "There's something really important I have to show you. And after you come back from saving the world, I'll explain everything. But until then...Private?" He called, looking back and moving aside.

Steve's eyes filled with tears. "Jessica," he breathed, running for her.

"Steve," she cried, opening her arms and burying her face in his broad shoulder as he hugged her tightly.

"You're alive," he mumbled into her hair. "You're alive."

•••
A/N:

Short chapter! Sorry!

The next chapter will be much, much longer! I swear!

And Jess's uniform will be getting a little...upgrade. :)