Freya had no idea what an expo was. But whatever it was or was supposed to be, it was the most amazing thing she'd ever seen. There were even exploding lights in the sky.
A 20-foot tall model of Midgard and some type of fast-moving ship was zipping around the entire place.
Between all the people and children running around and the smell of foods she'd never tried in the air, Freya thought it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
She wondered why Odin didn't send anyone to Midgard more often, especially if their celebrations always looked like this.
"This is amazing. We do not even have parties this big on Asgard. Louder definitely but not nearly as big. Do you do this every day?" she asked.
"Uh, not exactly. This is the first one Howard Stark has ever put together" Steve said.
"Is that your king?" she asked.
"I'm sure he thinks he is" Bucky scoffed.
Hearing a woman call out, the three of them glanced up. "Hey, Bucky!"
"You brought a date?" Steve asked.
"Well I would've brought one for you but I figured you'd be busy taking care of-" Bucky said, gesturing to Freya who had already wandered off, staring at the different exhibits.
Steve sighed as he walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. "You okay?" he asked.
"Yes, I have just...I have never seen anything like this. And I have seen some pretty amazing things" she said.
"It is pretty cool. Stark's kinda known for being a bit eccentric" Steve said as he glanced at Bucky who was standing with his date, waiting for them.
Freya turned to see what Steve was looking at and smiled. "Who's that? She's really pretty" she said.
"Oh, um, Bucky's date. I'm not sure what her name is though I've-"
"Oh! Did you have a date too? I'm so sorry, I can find the recruitment building myself. You have already been so helpful" she said.
"No. No. I, um...I don't have a date. Not that I don't date. I do. I mean not often. Not never" he stuttered. "A normal amount. An average amount of dating."
Freya laughed, barely understanding his rambling but she still thought it was sweet.
An announcer's voice came across the speakers as a large crowd formed at a nearby stage.
"Welcome to the Modern Marvels Pavilion and the World of Tomorrow. A greater world. A better world!"
"I think the show's starting," Steve said, gesturing to the stage.
"Oh, let's go! We shouldn't miss it" Freya said, grabbing Steve's hand and tugging him along. Forgetting her own strength she apologized as Steve nearly tripped over his own feet to keep up with her.
They stood next to Bucky and his date as a woman's voice came across the speakers. There was a line of women, dressed up in the same outfit, standing in front of a shiny red car on the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr.Howard Stark!"
Everyone clapped as a man ran on stage, loud swing music playing from the speakers.
Freya clapped and cheered along with everyone as the man took the microphone before kissing one of the women, winking at the crowd as she walked away.
"Ladies and gentlemen, what if I told you that in just a few short years, your automobile won't even have to touch the ground at all?" Howard asked as the crowd gasped.
Freya turned to Steve and whispered. "What is an automobile?"
"It's the car," he told her as the women began pulling the tires right off of the one on stage.
"With Stark Gravitic Reversion Technology you'll be able to do just that," Howard said, as he walked over to a stand at the corner of the stage and pulled on a lever.
As he did, the car began to rise off the ground and everyone in the crowd gasped and went silent. "Holy cow" Bucky mumbled.
Freya wasn't exactly too impressed, seeing as though Asgard already had flying ships but she decided not to say anything.
But before the car could even make it a few feet off the ground, it crashed to the ground with a loud bang. Still, the crowd loved it, cheering Howard on anyway.
Amused, Freya began to look around, her focus elsewhere. When her eyes spotted a building reading United States Armed Services Recruitment she began pushing through the crowd.
Noticing her leaving, Steve followed after her.
"Freya! Freya, wait!" he called out, running to catch up with her.
"This is the building you were talking about, yes?" she asked.
"Yeah, but..." he trailed off, not knowing how to tell her they would just think she was crazy.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Well, it's just...everything you've told me. I mean Asgard and Midgard-"
"You don't believe me do you?" she asked. But instead of looking insulted, she had a small smile on her face. "It's okay. I know that my people have fallen into myth and legend here. But I am confident I can get them to believe me."
As she continued walking toward the building, Steve stopped her again. "I'm not in the army" he called out sighing as she turned around. "I mean Bucky is, but I'm not."
"Why not?" she asked.
"Well it's not for lack of trying, trust me," he said.
Freya didn't say anything as she looked at Steve and back at the recruitment office. When she looked back at him there was a hint of a smile on her face.
"I think we can help each other."
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Freya stormed into the office, Steve following behind her, not quite knowing what she was going to do.
But as she reached down to her waist and pulled out a long sword adorned with a golden handle he instantly began to regret following her.
Bucky was right. She was crazy.
"I need to talk to whoever is in charge now," Freya said, holding her sword in front of her.
Men began standing up, pulling out guns, weapons Freya had never seen before, and pointed them at her.
"Stand down now," one of them said.
"Freya" Steve hissed. "What are you doing?"
But she ignored him, still holding up her sword. "I will not stand down. Not until you do as I request and bring me whoever is in charge."
"Um, excuse me," a man said, as he walked over, holding his hands up.
"Are you in charge?" she asked.
"Of this station, yes. Dr. Abraham Erskine. I represent the Strategic Scientific Reserve. May I ask who you are?" he said.
"Freya. Daughter of Njord and Goddess of Love and War. I am here because someone in this realm has found something very powerful that belongs with my people" she said.
Erskine slowly nodded, still holding up his sword. "Of course. Why don't you put the sword down and we can talk" he said.
Freya sighed as she lowered her weapon and turned to Steve. "See, I told you they'd-"
A loud bang went off as someone fired their gun and the room went silent. Freya looked down, feeling something pelt her in the stomach. She looked down to see a small metal pellet lying on the ground.
As she reached down to pick it up, another shot went off. This one too, bounced off her skin like a BB gun pellet. Quickly, Freya realized what their weapons were. With ferocity in her eyes, she marched over to one of the men and grabbed his weapon, easily crushing the barrel of the gun and rendering it useless.
As everyone stared at her in awe, Freya turned back to Eskrine. "Now. Are you going to continue pelting me with...whatever these are, or can we actually talk?" she asked.
"Um, yes, you know what, why don't you follow me," he said, now understanding that there was probably something to what she was saying.
"Oh, wait. Steve!" she exclaimed, pulling the man towards her. Steve was still speechless, just watching bullets bounce off her skin and how she crushed a gun with her bare hands. Now he wasn't sure if she was crazy or he was.
"Steve" she started before turning to him and whispering "What's your full name?"
"Um, Rogers. Steve, uh Rogers. Well, Steven Grant Rogers" he stuttered.
"You have three names?" she asked before clearing her throat and turning back to Eskrine. "Steven Grant Rogers wants to join your army and as Goddess of Love and War, I demand that you let him."
Seeing as though that was the least craziest thing that just happened, Eskrine nodded. "Right. Um, why don't you both just follow me" he said.
Stunned, Steve followed Freya as Eskrine led them both to a small medical room near the back of the building. Closing the door behind them, Eskrine turned to Freya.
"You know, as a man of science, I would ask you to prove that you are who you say you are. But I suppose watching you just take two bullets point blank is enough" he said.
"Yes well, as I said, my reason for being here is very important. Steven-"
"Just Steve" he interjected.
"Right, my apologies. Steve has informed me that you are in a war with your enemy, creatures he called Nazis" she said.
"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that," Erskine said.
"Regardless, I believe they are the ones who have something extremely powerful. It is called the Tesseract and it is much too dangerous to be in the hands of man. I have to bring it back to my realm, Asgard" she told him.
"Uh-huh. And let me guess, Steven Grant Rogers, you want to kill Nazis?" Erskine asked him.
"Um, is this a test?" Steve asked.
Erskine thought about it for a moment before he nodded. "Yes."
"Well, I don't want to kill anyone. I don't like bullies. I don't care where they're from" Steve said. Freya smiled at his answer and was happy that she was right about him. That he'd make an amazing soldier.
"Well, there are already so many big men fighting this war. Maybe what we need now is a little guy, huh? I can offer you a chance. Only a chance" he said.
"I'll take it," Steve said.
"Good" Erskine nodded before turning to Freya. "Although we should probably get you some different clothes."
"Oh my god" Steve sighed. "Bucky is gonna kill me."
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While Steve was shipped off with the rest of the men to Camp Lehigh, Erskine had Freya accompany him, under the guise of her working with him and the Strategic Scientific Reserve.
Only a select few individuals knew the truth about who she claimed to be. And while she had explained much to Erskine about Asgard and the nine realms it was clear he was still hesitant to believe her. But he knew her strength and power was nothing to be laughed at.
While she told him the reasoning for it was that she was half Asgardian, half Vanir, a people from a neighboring realm to Asgard, Erskine was sure that whatever the reason for her strength, pieces of her DNA would help him complete his research.
While Freya was hesitant to allow him to take blood samples, Erskine told her it was to finish a serum he was creating, one that would be used on Steve to make him a better soldier and she agreed.
Freya, along with Erskine and Colonel Phillips, arrived at Camp Lehigh a few days after Steve and the rest of his infantry did. When they pulled up, Freya noticed a woman standing in front of the group of men and punched one in the face.
She couldn't help but let out a small laugh and it wasn't lost on her that this was the only other woman she had seen so far and wondered why Midgard didn't have more women soldiers.
"Agent Carter" Colonel Philips called out as they got out of the truck.
"Colonel Philips," she said, saluting him as they arrived.
"I can see that you are breaking in the candidates. That's good!" Philips said.
Seeing Steve, Freya waved and he smiled back at her.
"General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons, but they are won by men. We are going to win this war because we have the best men. And because they are going to get better. Much better" Philips said, cautiously looking at Steve.
"The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an Allied effort made up of the best minds in the free world. Our goal is to create the best army in history. But every army starts with one man. At the end of this week, we will choose that man. He will be the first in a new breed of super-soldier. And they will personally escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of hell."