Fire and Ice | Avengers/Steve Rogers

prologue.

April 16th, 2005.

Culver University, Virginia.

"Good morning, Betty, Bruce." Vera nodded to her co-workers as she set her coffee down on one of the desks near her and took off her coat, replacing it with a lab coat provided by the university. Her brother followed suit after her, hurriedly, throwing a grin at everyone in the room. His charm never failed to sweeten the blow even if the twins were running late, which they never usually were.

They were alike in that way; the Caro twins were charming. Their inviting personalities were pure magnetism, they possessed a power. Their aura oozed allure, they were the epitome of charm and charisma, they were good people. They made larger than life expressions, they made their emotions felt by the way they expressed themselves when they spoke, and people wanted to listen.

Vera chuckled at her brother.

Vera and Wyatt Caro were the official lab assistants of Dr. Bruce Banner and Betty Ross, General Ross' daughter, on the Bio-Tech Force Enhancement project in Virginia.

However, the project itself had never sat well with Vera. They were given minimal information on the project, as far as they were aware they were attempting to create weapons for the General. She tried to shake the negative thoughts out of her head, it was an amazing opportunity for her and her brother.

Both Bruce and Betty threw a quick hello at the twins and returned to the computer and to Harvey, who was working on the machine inside the chamber.

Vera pulled the hair tie from her wrist and wrapped her hair into a quick, tight bun, ready to throw herself into her work. That wasn't unusual for Vera, she wasn't much of a people person, never had been, she preferred to throw herself into any distraction she could. Vera was what people would describe as a quiet soul, she had excellent people skills, yet she preferred to keep to herself, she didn't like the attention she got. She was modest.

Her style was simple, but it was what people would call classically beautiful, she was well presented and had an elegant edge to her, her beauty was simple yet striking with soft features. Her bright green eyes were outlined with eyeliner and mascara, making them stand out, her full lips painted with her most work-appropriate lip balm.

She cast a look at her brother, who was nibbling on the biscuits provided.

It was painfully clear that Wyatt was the opposite of his sister, like fire and ice. He was handsome in a way that was bluntly obvious to those around him. He was as well presented as his sister but in an assertive way. His features were prominently sharp. His eyes were the same bright green as his sisters, but his lips were thin and were always adorned with a boyish grin. Wyatt modestly basked in his own self-confidence.

"Ready for work, V?" Wyatt grinned at his sister, who returned the smile.

"Let's do this." She nodded and walked towards the two doctors who were hunched over the lab computer.

She watched as Harvey continued fiddling with the circuits and electrical wiring, casting a confused look at Betty, who shrugged and sighed, giving the boy a concerned look.

They were all aware that General Ross was pushing them for time to complete the project.

"I think the circuit's kinda fried I – I don't know, maybe you wanna come take a look at it?" Harvey questioned no one in particular, knowing the two twins would already be here knowing Vera's need to be decently punctual.

"Okay, I'll be right there." Bruce walked into the chamber to attempt to locate the fault in the circuit.

Vera and Wyatt were taking notes on what was happening, they oversaw the progress, assisting Bruce with anything he needed, from collecting tools for the machine to writing project reports for the General. Vera usually did the latter as Wyatt was more practical, more hands-on.