ethereal | book one

6

Steve and Peggy chased the man who destroyed the laboratory after he shot at everyone; the ambulance arriving only a few minutes subsequent to the two departing from the venue.

Rose leaned against an area of the wall that didn't hold a machine, tugging at the blanket the ambulance men slung over her shoulders. She had her eyes glued to the floor, not wanting to witness the men placing Doctor Erskine's body on a gurney and wheeling him out.

Rose had never witnessed a death with her own two eyes before, nor a shoot out. The scene would be traumatizing to anyone who has seen it; so with Rose — someone who has never witnessed more than a large wound — it was horrifying. But she instantly felt the need to suck it up, to remember that's how life is; it gives and takes and everyone else is just watching on the sidelines.

Rose held a paper cup filled with water to her chest, taking sporadic sips when she noticed someone who wasn't head-to-toe in an ambulance worker's suit, step in front of her. Instead, they sported shiny ebony oxfords and matching trousers.

When Rose looked up to see who exactly was invading her personal space, she nearly dropped her cup.

"You are Steve Roger's close friend, correct?" Howard Stark spoke swiftly. "Because you don't look like anyone I've ever seen before."

Rose pressed her lips together awkwardly, for in this moment, she was speaking to an amazing inventor.

"Uh," she spoke shakily, attempting to conceal her nervousness, "yes. My name is Rosemary Knight."

She put her dainty hand out to shake and Howard smirked and took it in his own.

"Howard Stark." He introduced himself before placing a soft kiss to the back of the girl's hand. Rose's cheeks hinted with a rosy red, but it was only a little noticeable on her pigmented skin.

"So, Rosemary-"

"Oh, I go by Rose." She said with a smile.

Howard nodded contently and finished what he was going to say. "I saw what you can do. Bullets everywhere, one even barreling towards you, but somehow you blocked it from penetrating your skin."

Rose's eyes widened with panic as her heart began to gradually thump harder. If Stark saw what she could do, then who else did? She cursed herself, feeling as if she could've done a better job at discretely using her abilities. But it doesn't matter now; the authorities are probably going to toss her into a containment unit and do all sorts of tests on her.

"P-Please don't tell anyone. Oh, god," Rose pleaded. "Do you think anyone else saw?"

Howard placed a warm hand on Rose's cotton sleeve and smiled in a way that comforted Rose a little.

"I don't think you should be worried." He spoke softly. "I'm sure if anyone other than me saw what you are able to do, you would already be at a police station."

His words calmed Rose, giving her hope but the nerves that she had still hung on by a thread.

"Rose, I would like to give you an opportunity." Howard began on a more serious note than before. "In a way, it is similar to what Doctor Erskine had done for Steve, but not exactly."

"Would I be getting muscles like Steve? Because I would prefer not to." Rose joked, even though she was dead serious on the inside.

Howard smiled. "No. I would just like to study how you make this function; how it interacts with your brain and the nerves in your body. And the only way for me to do that is for you to use your abilities."

Rose's eyes widened a little at the thought of using her abilities more than she already has. What if something seriously destructive occurred? What was she supposed to do then?