Roman Phoenix- A Marvel Fanfiction

Chapter 4: No Formula and a Dancing Monkey

"What the hell happened out there?" Phillips asked once she had gone into his office and Peggy right beside her. "I had an assassin in the same room with all of us. Why didn't you protect Erskine? That was your one mission."

"Colonel, my main priority was to protect everyone from the bomb, in case it was bigger than anticipated. And Dr. Erskine had asked me to watch out for the others than himself. Had I protected him, everyone might have gotten more injured than what some are." She heard a couple of Senators had gotten hit by the glass, but all of them were not hurt far beyond that. That was when his next question came up, "Did you remember the serum?"

"No." she said, and the face Phillips gave her, it was comical, but she knew better than to laugh at him, "After spending months by his side, you didn't figure out the serum?" Natalie wanted to make sure no one had a reason to go after her. She stood at her own defense, "Erskine's work was all in another language, so I wasn't going to ask for a translation, and even then. He was glad I hadn't tried to memorize it all. Said it was a blessing for me so then HYDRA wouldn't send an assassin after me." 

"Fine, but you will be going to the front lines." Natalie felt her heart drop, the front line? It was what she wanted, but with the things happening in New York after this, she wasn't sure if she wanted to go to the Front anymore. "Are you having second thoughts, Natalie?"

"Of course I am." she noted, it was what she wanted to do when she first heard of Pearl Harbor. Now with all of Erskine's hard work spent on one man, she said, "I might wish to stay and watch over Mr. Rogers."

"He's a big boy, Corporal. You are going to the Front Lines. The 107th. That's an order." Nat wanted to shout at him, but Phillips was right, Steve had really gotten a better deal that she would have, if Erskine hadn't found someone to his liking. She was not at all upset about that. It was how Phillips has been treating her since she allowed the man to kill Erskine. Heading to the infirmary, she saw Steve throwing his shirt back on and Peggy stating that Erskine would not have regretted if the serum only had to work once. 

"And it made some improvements, it seems," she joked, Peggy glancing behind her and then Carter had left. "You don't seem so happy," Steve noted to Natalie who looked probably better than she felt. "I head out on new orders. Corporal for the 107th." 

"That's where Bucky is." He said and she nodded, "I know. I am not sure when I go, but I head out soon. Let's go see Mr. Stark and see how he has progressed in the submarine." She noted, if she headed out that night, she would rather do it with spending time around those who mattered. 

Seeing Stark, she asked, "Still no news?"

"No, this is a lot more advanced, and I am the best scientist out here." He said, Nat feared that was the case. Hearing the stories of Schmidt, she had only once had a nightmare about him and after that, she had asked Erskine not to speak about it. Or at least about the Red Skull. When Steve saw Phillips, it was an entirely different story. "Sir, let me go after Schmidt."

"Son, Erskine promised me an army, you are not enough." He said and Nat had to stand up, "You tell me to go because I failed in my main mission, in which I was instructed by the man I was to protect to worry about others and not him during that time, and with someone who wants to go, you're telling him to stay here and be a lab rat?"

"McGregor, stand down." Phillips said, Nat wanted to say more and Steve placed a hand on her shoulder, only making her realize she was now a lot shorter than he was, her standing at five foot four. "No need to fight on my account." 

"Steve-" she was going to tell him her own mind when Senator Brandt came over and started to speak to Steve about wanting to serve his country on another front. Nat took that as her leave as she went to work onto packing her bags to leave for the Front Lines.