Till the End of the Line

Chapter 10

Time skip (again): 1 week

~Diana's POV~

Howard and I are setting up the machine to get it ready for Steve. We're just making sure that everything is clear and not broken. Everything seems fine just as Steve walks in. I watch as his eyes alight on the rebirthing machine. 

"Diana? What are you doing here?" 

"Hey Stevie. I work with Howard here. I helped create this lovely machine." I smile as I pat the machine. 

"Since when?" 

"Well, I started on this machine about 5 weeks ago or so. But I started working with Howard here 7 years ago when he decided to almost blow up a building." 

"I was not trying to blow up the building." Howard comes up behind me as Dr. Erskine helps Steve into the machine. 

"Yes, you were." Howard and I continue our little banter quietly as Dr. Erskine checks on Steve.

"Comfortable?"

"You save me any of that schnapps?" Steve smiles at him.

"Not as much as I should have." He winces a little before turning to me and Howard, "How are your levels, Mr. Stark?"

"Coils are at peak, levels are 100%."

"We may dim half the lights in Brooklyn, but we're ready. As we'll ever be." I step in. 

"Agent Carter, wouldn't you be more comfortable in the booth?" Dr. Erskine points at the booth.

"Of course." She smiles at Steve, and he smiles back.

"She's kind of cute." I whisper to Steve. He just blushes a little. 

Dr. Erskine pulls down an overhead microphone. He looks to the booth, waiting until Colonel Phillips is standing near a speaker. He taps hard on the mic. Colonel Phillips winces, holding his ear. Dr. Erskine laughs a little.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this morning we do not take another step toward annihilation. Today, we take the first step on the path to peace. We will begin with a series of micro-injections to the subject's major muscle groups."

Howard and I ready the machinery. We check the monitors and an EKG beeps. 

"The serum will cause immediate cellular change. In order to prevent uncontrolled growth, the subject will then be saturated with Vita Rays." He clicks the microphone and nods to a nurse. 

She opens a case, revealing a gleaming aluminum syringe. She taps the needle, pulls back the plunger and injects Steve in the arm. He winces and then relaxes. 

"That wasn't so bad." Steve smiles.

"That was a tetanus shot." 

A panel slides back, revealing a carousel of blue vials. Seven tubes of serum stand at the ready. Dr. Erskine and I insert six vials into the injectors. I then nod to the tech, who deploys the injection pads. They bristle with hundreds of tiny needle tips. They close over Steve, pressing him to the table. 

"Beginning serum infusion in five, four, three, two... one." Dr. Erskine presses a switch. 

The injection pads click. Steve jerks as the needles deploy. The blue fluid slowly empties from the serum injectors. Steve's veins swell. His head begins to shake. Dr. Erskine hits another button. Padded restraints close in on Steve's head, holding him still. Steve's wide eyes glow an intense blue. Finally, the injector vials empty completely.