The Beginning (Steve x Reader x Bucky)

(11) The Serum

Kids quickly get off of the roads in Brooklyn, as a black Sedan passes through. Steve is riding in the car with Peggy and YN. He's staring out to the familiar streets.

"I know this neighborhood. I got beat up in that alley... and that vacant lot... and behind that diner." YN shakes her head, remembering all the times she had to wipe blood from his face, and give him ice for swollen eyes and bruises.

"Did you have something against running away?" Peggy asks. "You start running, they'll never let you stop. You stand up, you push back... they can only tell you "no" for so long, right?" he tells the Britain.

"I know a bit what that's like. To have every door shut in your face." the red head agrees.

"Who'd shut a door on you? I figure guys would be climbing over each other to hold them open." the blonde says. YN face palms at her best friends comment.

"Depends which door you're trying to go through." Peggy tells him. "I guess I don't know why a beautiful... agent... why would she want to join the army anyhow? She could do whatever she wanted. And YN if your working for the SSR then are you wanting to join the army too?" the blonde rants.

"Doctor Erskine, me and Peggy work for SSR. And SSR is partnering with the army since we will create a Super Soldier. So, technically I'm apart of the army." YN shrugs her shoulders, Peggy and Steve nod.

"You don't know an awful lot about women, do you?" the red head asks. Seemingly smooth, Steve tells her, "You got me all wrong, Agent Carter. I don't know anything about women."

"He really doesn't." YN teases. Steve gives her a death stare. Peggy laughs a little. 

"I wish I were kidding. Think about it; I don't have any money, so I can't take them to dinner. I'm... kinda short. That doesn't help. Ever. And I don't dance, so that's off the table." Steve finishes.

"You must have at least danced." Peggy states. 

"Standing on my mom's feet when I was seven. I don't know. Asking a girl to dance seemed so terrifying, and then in the last few years it didn't seem so important. I figure I might as well wait." he tells her.

"For what?" the girl with the British accent asks. 

"The right partner." Both YN and Peggy's hearts drop, both wishing they are the right partner for him. Steve doesn't see his comment affected them. 

The car begins to slow down. "This is it." Carter says. The Sedan pulls up to an antique store. Two bums hang about near the entrance, and two men in suits stand near a row of cars. Steve gets out of the car, confused.

"Why did we stop here?" the confused blonde asks. "We needed a few things." his best friend responds. They open the door to the shop and the bell above them rings. The store owner turns and nods her head to the three entering.

"Lovely weather this morning, isn't it?" the store owner asks. "Yes, but we always carry an umbrella." both girls answer in unison.

"I suppose you can't be too careful." the old lady responds. "Best to be prepared for a shift in the wind." Peggy adds.

With the code now exchanged, the old lady pushes a button underneath the counter. The button is placed right next to her submachine gun, hidden. Peggy and YN lead Steve through a door in the back. Once they enter they see a Marine guarding a large metal door. As the doors whoosh open, the Marine salutes.

The three have now entered the rebirth lab. Steve steps onto a raised platform and stares in awe. The huge, ultra- modern rebirth lab stretches underneath them, by far, bigger than the store they just walked out of. Tech guys monitor the machines. Engineers man the monitors. A film crew is setting up. They all turn and look at Steve, respectfully.

His eyes flicker over to the rebirth device. Shining lenses surround a man- shaped cradle. Pneumatic panels fold below it. Six vita- ray reactors loom behind. Dr. Erskine scrambles about in the middle of all the people prepping. Steve takes in everything, looking over to the observation room where a few men gather.

Inside the observation booth, Colonel Phillips, Senator Brandt and other men stand around. Senator Brandt is conferring with his aides. "Senator Brandt. Glad you could make it." Colonel states.

"Why exactly am I in Brooklyn?" the Senator questions. 

Phillips looks to the machine below them. "We needed access to the city's power grid. Of course, if you'd given us the generator I requisitioned..." he trails off.

"Lot of people asking for funds, Colonel." Suddenly, the Senator remembers something. "Oh, this is Clem..." The man next to Brandt sticks his hand out to Phillips as the Senator fumbles his name.

"Fred Clemson, State Department. If this project of yours comes through, we'd like to make sure it's used for something-" he pauses, looking to Brandt. "Other than headlines." Little does everyone know, this man is Heinz Kruger, a Hydra worker.

Phillips nods, and Brandt looks through the window at the lab. He eyes Steve, "Jeez, somebody get that kid a sandwich."

Steve is helped into the device by Doctor Erskine. "Comfortable?" he asks. Steve looks extra small in the outline of a much larger man.

"You save me any of that schnapps?" the small man ignores the doctors question, asking his own. The doctor winces at the name. "Not as much as I should have." the old man answers.

The doctor looks away from Steve to the attendants, nodding. They begin hooking him up. Steve looks around and sees a man in a suit making adjustments. "How are your levels, Mr. Stark?" the doctor asks.

The man steps out from behind a device. Steve blinks, dumbfounded, he's in the same room as Howard Stark. "Coils are at peak, levels are 100%. We may run half the lights in Brooklyn, but we're ready. As we'll ever be." the suited man answers.

Steve looks at the man wearily. "I was at the Expo. Did you ever get that Cadillac in the air?" the curious blonde says. "Had her flying three full minutes." the brunette answers.

"Then what happened?" he continues asking questions. 

"We landed." Howard pauses. "Technically." answering the blonde. He pats Steve's shoulder, who isn't at all reassured.

Erskine jostles with a nervous Peggy and YN, as he tries to squeeze by. "Agents, wouldn't you be more comfortable in the booth?" he asks them. The girls get the hint and begin to turn around, but Howard stops them.

"Actually, before we start, may I speak with YN?" the girl looks at Dr. Erskine confused, and the doctor returns the look before nodding. Howard and YN go to a secluded corner in the room, away from prying ears.

"You know the other serum we've been working on?" Howard asks the girl. She nods. "Yeah, well, it's ready and I think you should take it." YN is taken aback, mouth gaping open, looking for words but nothing comes out.

After a few moments she begins talking, "Are you positive it works? I don't want you making me some big, ugly mutant." she lightly chuckles. Howard nods, confirming it works.

"This serum will give you special abilities, but, unfortunately, we won't know what they are until after the procedure..." the man trails off, as YN sighs.

"Howard, I'm trusting you. I'm going to say this serum is 85% ready because you don't know what will happen to me. But I'll do it, as long as it's safe." the girl tells him.

"Oh, it's definitely 100% safe. Once everyone leaves we can begin. But now I need to go do the twigs procedure." YN gives him a death stare for calling Steve a twig. "What?" he asks.

"Don't call him that." the girl says walking away to Peggy, who's waiting for her. They make their way back up to the platform they were once standing on when they first entered the room.