(1943 - Battle of Azzano. Krausberg)
Members of the 107th were being held captive in a Hydra prisoner camp led by Johann Schmidt and his right hand, Dr. Arnim Zola. It also held a secret arms factory and laboratory where some prisoners were used as either slave labor or lab rats.
“As you can see, production of the Valkyrie is progressing on schedule; even with components of this size.” The spectacled scientist relayed to his superior.
“Increase the output by 60% and see to it our other facilities do the same.”
“But these prisoners, I’m not sure they have the strength.”
“Then use up what strength they have left, Doctor. There are always more workers.”
“And what of our experiments?” Zola asked. “Every prisoner we subjected to our mind amplification serum tests have perished… all except for one. That nurse. For some reason, she has been able to withstand every trial, no matter the intensity.”
“Then, what is the problem? All it takes is one success, Herr Zola. As with the Valkyrie, she will be the future of Hydra's continued dominance. Her DNA will serve as the lynchpin of a new breed of super soldiers.” Johann sneered. “See to it she is secured for transfer.”
A little while later, Steve Rogers, with the help of Peggy Carter and Howard Stark, landed behind enemy lines and launched a one man rescue mission to free the remaining P.O.W.’s. After releasing those held captive, including those who would be the Howling Commandos, Steve fought through Hydra’s forces and reached the laboratories where he caught Zola making his exit. He was about to give chase when he hears the exhausted groan of a woman. Steve rams down the door of a locked room to find the missing nurse strapped to what looked like Satan's version of a dentist's chair with an IV attached to her arm; her skin was pale, but she was otherwise alive.
“Georgia?” He whispered.
The young nurse’s eyes flickered open. Her vision was blurry, but soon cleared and focused on Steve's face.
“Rogers? Is that you?”
“Yeah, kiddo. I'm getting you out of here.” He begins ripping the straps from her arms and legs, places a sterile cotton ball and band aid on the puncture mark where the IV was and helps her to her feet.
“Wait! Steve…” She gasps. “Bucky is here.”
“What?” He asked with wide eyes.
“He's here.”
Steve's blue eyes lit up with hope when she said that.
“Do you know where he is?”
“Across the hall. I saw Zola take him in there before I got strapped in.”
The star-spangled soldier wanted nothing more than to just rush into the other room and save his best friend; but his current priority was the nurse he just rescued.
“I'm getting you out of here first.”
Steve carried Nurse Georgia Brown out of the factory and handed her to a couple of the escaped prisoners.
“Get her out of here. Protect her with your lives! I'm going back in!”
“You got it, Cap!” The soldier affirmed.
With a nod, Steve ran back in to the room Georgia said held Bucky. He was muttering his name, rank and serial number when Steve rescued him.
“I thought you were dead.”
“I thought you were smaller.”
Schmidt had initiated the self-destruct sequence and the factory was exploding around them; but Steve, Bucky and the P.O.W's escaped thanks to some acquired Hydra weapons and returned home to a hero’s welcome. Georgia Brown was returned to her fiance’, Sgt. Malcolm “M. K.” Banks. When the time came to raid the Hydra bases Steve memorized from Zola’s map, he already had a team in mind for the job: his Howling Commandos. Steve was talking it over with them in a London pub when they realized they'd need some medical support and they knew just who to call.
"How about Georgia? She put up a hell of a fight before she got captured. Managed to take out a few before they took her down.” Dum Dum Dugan recalled.
“She's a spitfire, alright.” Steve chucked. “I'll talk to her tomorrow.”
“After what they did to her, do you think she’ll even want to go back?” Morita asked.
“Can't hurt to ask, right?” Steve smirked.
--
(The Next Day)
Steve walked to the medical tent where Georgia was tending to some of the wounded.
“Georgia! How's the most beautiful nurse in the United States Army?” He smiled. Georgia just looked at him knowing a line when she hears it.
“What do you want, Rogers?” She asked with folded arms. “You only turn on the charm when you want something.”
“What? Can't I give you a compliment without suspicion?” He grinned after that accurate accusation.
“Yeah. Except you have a tell when you want something.”
“What tell?”
“When you flatter someone and have an ulterior motive behind it, your eyes have a mischievous twinkle.” She smirks. “Now, why are you here?”
He knew he could never fool Georgia. She could read people like a book.
“Okay, I'll level with you. I'm putting together a team; we're planning on raiding Hydra's bases in Europe and we're gonna need some medical support. We immediately thought of you. Dugan told me how you handled yourself against Hydra's men.”
Georgia looked at Steve with a stoic expression etched on her face. She didn't convey any emotion.
“So you want me to go back into battle with you guys? Are you crazy?!”
“Kinda.” This had Steve worried. But, then…
“That's why we get along so well. When do were start?”
The two friends smirk and shake hands and Georgia Brown became history's only female Howling Commando. After the end of the war, Georgia and Malcolm welcomed their baby girl, Deborah Banks, into the world. Throughout her life, Deborah exhibited traces of telekinetic powers which frightened her parents. She was urged to keep her powers a secret for fear of being discovered by Hydra.
--
(1968 - Camp Lehigh; New Jersey)
Former military base turned S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, Camp Lehigh housed one of the most powerful sources of energy in the universe… the Tesseract; the very object that powered Hydra's weapons during WWII. Howard Stark and a crack team of scientists including, Arnim Zola and newcomer, Dr. Gerald Turner were conducting research looking to tap into the full power of the glowing cube. On this day, Gerald Turner had a piece of the Tesseract no bigger than a marble grasped in the clutches of a metal claw. The experiment was being conducted in another room separated by a pane of glass with Gerald on the other side.
“Recording energy output of Tesseract fragment.” He spoke into the tape recorder. “Initiating contact with catalyst in 3… 2… 1…”
BOOM!
A wave of blue energy exploded through the glass engulfing Dr. Turner. Alarms blared throughout the compound and Howard ran to the fallen scientist who was covered in shards of broken glass.
“Gerald! Gerald, say something! Come on, man!”
After a few minutes, Gerald woke up disoriented, but conscious.
“Oh, what the hell happened?” Gerald groaned in pain.
“In short, you lost your marble.” Howard chuckled as he helped up Dr. Turner. “Are you sure you're alright?”
“I'm fine. I doubt there will be any after effects.”
“That's good to hear. I don't think Deborah will be happy with me if I let anything happen to her husband.” Howard chuckled.
Unknown to Gerald, he had absorbed the energy from the Tesseract explosion into his DNA but it lay dormant without manifesting further. Because of this uncertainty, he and his wife, Deborah Turner (nee Banks) did their best to delay having children because they knew their offspring would be a target for Hydra, but, on March 22, 1989, they brought their child, Gwen Turner into the world. They did their best to give their baby girl a normal, happy childhood.
--
(June 1991 – New York City)
Howard Stark was throwing a gala event to commemorate the opening of a new library. Dr. Gerald and Deborah Turner were invited along with their daughter, Gwen.
(Her outfit and hairstyle)
After a long speech, Howard finally got to the main reason of the large gathering.
“It is with great pleasure that I declare the Georgia Brown Memorial Library open!”
Howard Stark and the Mayor of New York City cut the ribbon that led to the front door of the newly christened library. The crowd of guests, including children, walk inside the spacious building. The walls were lined from floor to ceiling with books, encyclopedias and other publications covering every subject under the sun. Howard invited the children, who ranged from 1st to 6th grade age, to look through the stacks and pick their first book to check out. Gwen was the youngest child there being only 2 years old and seemingly not old enough to read yet. But, in a show of equality, Howard allowed the girl to pick a book for herself.
“Which book would you like, sweetheart?” He asked.
Gwen looked at the children's books, the same one the other kids were looking through and picked up The Bridge to Terabithia which surprised Howard and some of the other adults who watched the little girl happily hold her book.
“Are you sure you want that one?”
“Uh huh.” Gwen nodded.
“Isn't that a little…big for you?”
“No, I can hold it just fine.” She smiled as she skipped to an area with some raised steps. As she sat on the top step, she noticed a young man with dark hair and waved to him with a sweet smile. The young man smiled and waved back as he made his way to the child who was reading the book aloud.
“Good book?”
“Uh huh.” She answered.
“My name's Tony.”
“I'm Gwen.”
“Can I sit with you?”
Gwen made an adorable face like she was thinking. She looked up at her father who nodded.
“Well… you seem nice. I guess it's ok.” She said as she scooted over to let Tony sit next to her. Her parents were close by so she was never in any danger.
“What are you reading?”
“The Bridge to Terabithia.” Tony was surprised to hear such a young child pronounce such a big word so easily.
“That’s a really big word. Can you really read this book?”
“I've been reading it for the last five minutes.” Tony couldn't help but chuckle at the child's boldness.
“I see. Well, can you read some to me?”
“Yeah.” Gwen picked up where she left off as Tony looked over her shoulder. After a while, he picked up the little girl and set her on his knee. A crowd began to form as they caught sight of Howard Stark’s son with the granddaughter of history's only female Howling Commando sharing a book.
“How precious. Tony's reading to that cute little girl.” One female guest cooed.
“No, take a closer look.” Howard pointed out how Tony kept silent and how the child was holding the book in her tiny hands. “She's reading to him!”
The crowd murmured in amazement at the sight as cameras flashed taking pictures of the mismatched, but bonded pair. Gwen was reading a book classified a 6th grade level and she was only 2 years old! Every once in a while, Tony and Gwen would giggle at each other and a camera would capture the sweet moment for posterity.
--
(Later that night)
Gerald and Deborah tucked their daughter into bed and made their way to their own bedroom. Their faces were etched with concern for their only child.
“There's still been no signs of any powers. Maybe we're finally safe from Hydra.” Deborah whispered.
“I doubt that. Her DNA could still potentially harbor some latent powers. Just because nothing revealed itself now, doesn't mean it won't later. We're still in as much danger now as we ever were and once those pictures come out…” Gerald began. His wife couldn't hold back her tears.
“We can't stay here.” She whispered. "I'll be damned if I let them take our child!"
“I have family down South. We can hide there until this blows over.”
Deborah nodded as they went to sleep. Their thoughts on only one thing – keeping their daughter safe.
--
(January, 1992 – 10 p.m.)
A green Chevy was driving along a country road on their way to New York. News of Howard and Martha’s deaths reached them and they were driving to pay their respects to their friends. Their daughter was strapped into her car seat fast asleep. As they approached the state line, a masked rider on a black motorcycle rode up and shot at the car’s tires causing it to crash into a ditch. Gerald checked on his wife and crying child as the masked man walked up to the driver's side door, yanked it off and snapped his neck.
“GERALD!” Deborah screamed. She looked at the man who walked to her side. “Please, don't hurt my baby! Please!”
The masked assailant never spoke a word as he slowly choked the life out of her.
“MOMMY! DADDY!” Gwen cried out. The masked man looked at her making her scream, but before he could get to her, the child was surrounded by a ball of white light and vanished from her car seat. Not knowing what to do, the masked man rode off with no witnesses.
Back at a hidden location, the masked man's superior wanted a mission report.
“Где ребенок, солдат?” (Where is the child, Soldier?)
“Она исчезла в шаре света.” (She vanished in a ball of light.)
Those in attendance looked at each other in disbelief before another voice rang out.
“У нее есть силы. Найми ее!” (She does have powers. FIND HER!)
--
This is just part one of the intro. Part 2 is coming soon so please give me some love. Much appreciated! CIAO FOR NOW!