Chapter Eleven
The Kid from Brooklyn
★★★★
After the death of Bucky, Steve had distanced himself from Diana and from the Howling Commandos. The day they returned, he had given his mission statement and left without another word. This left Diana to finishing the mission report herself, despite the tears that clouded her eyes.
Once she had finished, she excused herself from Peggy, who had been helping her, and went to locate Steve. She eventually found him in the tavern where she and Steve had had their first dance.
She crossed the broken chairs and tables and walked over the shards of glass to find Steve at the same table where Bucky and him had once been.
Steve glanced over his shoulder and saw Diana. He turned back and reached for the bottle of alcohol he had to refill his glass. "Doctor Erskine said that the serum wouldn't just affect my muscles. It would affect my cells. Create a protective system of regeneration and healing. Which means, um... I can't get drunk. Did he tell you that?"
Diana sighed and walked towards Steve to take the seat beside him. She slowly nodded and said, "He said your metabolism burns four times faster than the average person. He thought it could be one of the side effects."
Steve didn't reply and breathed in deeply. Diana bit her lip as she examined his red eyes and broken expression. She reached out and placed her hand over his, "Steve, it wasn't your fault."
"Yes it was, Diana."
"You did everything you could," She said in response. Steve refused to meet her eyes, knowing he would break when he saw them. He knew she was as broken as he was. Bucky had been her friend too.
"Did you believe in him? In Bucky?" Diana asked Steve, hoping he would look at her. Steve quickly glanced at her and remained silent. "Well, he believed in you. So stop blaming yourself. Allow him the dignity of his choice. He damn well thought you were worth it."
"How can you still believe in me?" Steve asked as closed his eyes. Diana raised her hand and caressed the side of his face, "Because you're worth it."
"I'm going after Schmidt. I'm not going to stop until all of Hydra is dead, or captured," Steve said to her as he slowly calmed down at her touch.
Diana nodded and added, "Then, you won't be alone. After all, we made a deal. And a deal is a promise, and a promise is-"
"Unbreakable," Steve interrupted her. Diana smiled when he lifted his head up to met her eyes. Steve couldn't help but thank the god in the sky for the woman before him. She was his strength, and he was hers.
★★★★
"Johann Schmidt belongs in a bug house. He thinks he's a god and he's willing toblow up half the world to prove it. Starting with the U.S.A," Colonel Phillips announced to the people gathered around the base of operations for their meeting.
"Schmidt's working with powers beyond our capabilities. He gets across the Atlantic. He'll wipe out the entire Eastern Seaboard in an hour," Howard said as he took the seat beside Diana.
Steve was on Diana's left as he revised the information in his hand.
"How much time we got?" Gabe asked.
"According to my new best friend, in twenty four hours," Colonel Phillips replied as he set down the documents in his hand.
"Where is he now?"
"Hydra's last base is here. In the Alps."
Jim furrowed his eyebrows and looked between the Commandos and the top officials gathered around the table, "So what are we suppose to do? It's not like we can just knock on the front door."
"Why not?" Steve spoke, for the first time since the meeting had started.
Diana lifted an eyebrow at his idea as he said, "That's exactly what we're going to do."
The people around the table looked down at him curiously and waited for a further explanation. Diana turned to him and said, "You mean to say that you are literally going to walk through the front door. In order to get captured?"
"Are you sure you don't have telekinetic abilities as well?" Steve asked her in a joking manner.
"You aren't serious," Diana said.
"I thought we made a deal?" Steve said to her, hoping she would agree to his plan. Diana clenched her jaw and sighed, "Fine. But where ever you go, I go."
"Deal."
The people around them merely stared at them as they had a conversation. Finally, the duo turned to the others and with a sigh, they explained their plan.
★★★★
Later that day, Steve mounted his motorcycle and positioned himself a little ways from the entrance of the base. Diana was hidden in the forest and would be flying beside him, yet hidden from man's view.
Steve stared the ignition of his bike and raced down the dirt trail, while Diana flew beside him. Eventually, a group of Hydra soldiers on motorcycles began to follow him. They ended up being not to lucky after Steve outwitted each one and eventually made it past the entrance of the camp after Diana used her Bracelets of Submission to give the soldiers following them one last knock out since her bracelets emitted a powerful energy blast.
Diana and Steve fought side by side past dozens of soldiers, before the duo were eventually caught of guard and detained by hundreds of soldiers. A group of them brought them inside the facility where they were met with Red Skull.
"Arrogance may not be a uniquely American trait. But I must say you do it better than anyone. But, there are limits, to what even you can do, Captain. Or did Erskine tell you otherwise?" Red Skull said to Steve as he approached the two.
"He told me you were insane."
"He resented my genius, and tried to deny me what was rightfully mine. But he gave you everything. So. What made you so special?"
Steve glanced at Diana, remembering his promise, before he replied, "Nothing. I'm just a kid from Brooklyn."
Diana smiled at his response. Red Skull didn't seem to take it as lightly. First, he punched Steve across the face, before hitting his abdomen and causing him to fall.
"Leave him alone!" Diana said to Red Skull in anger. He turned to the Amazon and gripped her jaw, "Please, woman, you stay silent."
Diana moved her head from his grip with anger, while Steve shifted on his knees and said, "I can do this all day."
"Oh, of course you can, of course. But unfortunately I am on a tight schedule," Red Skull said and pulled a gun from his waistband. He aimed it at Steve first, but before he could pull the trigger, a noise from outside caught their attention.
"So are we," Diana stated with a smirk. The Howling Commandos then broke through the windows and began to attack. Diana turned and knocked out the soldiers holding her down, before taking her weapons back from their possession.
She gripped her lasso and used it to round three soldiers up and then collided them against a group of four.
"Rogers. You might need this," Dum Dum said after he picked up his shield and threw it to him. "Thanks."
"Steve!" Diana called as she exited the room with him on her trail. The two followed after Red Skull as he attempted to escape. Using their shields, they managed to deflect any ray of energy shot at them.
Steve noticed the doors ahead closing slowly and launched his shield to stop them. A machine like the one they had seen on the train appeared before them and shot fire. Steve pulled Diana towards a door's entrance for cover. Diana pulled her shield and sword out and stepped out of cover. She threw her sword at the machine and managed to hit it straight in the middle and then used her lasso to knock it down.
"Let's go," Diana called to Steve. Steve stepped out and looked at her with a small smile.
The two ran towards the doors that had attempted to close, had it not been for Steve's shield. He removed it and rushed to catch up to Diana as the doors closed behind them. Diana and Steve entered the hangar to see Red Skull begin take off with his weapon, The Valkyrie. Diana glanced at Steve before she took off into the air. Steve watched her fly towards the Valkyrie before a black figure appeared and attacked her, throwing her to the ground.
"Diana!" Steve called and rushed towards her. Diana propped herself on her elbows and looked up.
"Hello, Aunt Diana," two voices chorused as they appeared before the Amazon and man.
Diana turned to Steve and glanced at the Valkyrie as it started to accelerate. Steve glanced at Phobos and Deimos and made Diana face him.
"I have to go," Steve said to her. Diana shook her head, "No, I'm going with you!"
Steve shook his head, "No. You have to stay and defeat them. Your battle is here, mine is with a Red Skull."
"I'm going with you," Diana insisted as she gripped his arms. Steve placed his hands to her face and shouted over the chaos around them, "I can save today. You can save the world, Diana."
Diana's heart raced and everything around her seemed to fade away- everything but Steve. She pressed her lips to his as a tear slipped from her eye. Steve pulled apart and smiled, "I love you! I wish we had more time."
"Steve, wait please," Diana said and gripped his arm, not wanting to let him go. Steve placed a kiss to her forehead and said, "Remember your promises."
Diana's heart ached as Steve turned away and ran off after Red Skull. A car pulled up beside him, being driven by Colonel Phillips and Peggy. Steve glanced at Diana once more before he mounted the car and the trio raced after Red Skull.
Diana turned back to find Deimos and Phobos watching the scene between Diana and Steve with large smirks.
"Are you done hiding now, Princess?" Deimos asked and pulled out a large bronze sword from his back. Diana gripped the sword in her own hand and said, "I have never hid from you, nephew. You have only been too cowardly to truly face me."
"Then, why don't we finally finish this, dear Aunt?" Phobos asked and twirled the blue scythe in his hand.
Diana didn't wait for another word to be spoken and attacked the two straight on. Deimos and Diana's swords clashed, creating sparks, while Phobos attempted to stab her from behind. Diana used her shield to deflect his attacks as eventually, the trio flew into the sky.
From the corner of her eye, Diana saw Steve enter the Valkyrie. Deimos took this second of weakness and slashed her arm, before knocking her down in the air. Diana shook her head and flew back through the clear blue sky. Phobos and Deimos used many counter attacks against Diana, yet all seemed to be stopped by here. Eventually, the twins got the upper hand and began to beat Diana.
The taste of iron was evident in Diana's mouth. Her body grew sore and she began to float down in defeat. In that moment, as she began to feel her body give up, her mind flooded with past memories.
You expect a battle to be fair? A battle will never be fair.
You are the God Killer.
You are my greatest love. Today you are my greatest sorrow.
Be careful of man, Diana. They do not deserve you.
Promise me you'll always believe in me.
Deimos hit Diana once more and cried, "Man does not deserve your protection!"
Diana dodged his fist and rose in the air. Her mind raced with every emotion and memory she had felt and made since she first stepped foot into man's world. These inspired her, it gave her a reason to fight for people.
"It's not about deserve. It's about what you believe," Diana said as she flew higher into the air. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the Valkyrie not far from them. Her heart swelled at the thought of Steve on the plane. "And I believe in love."
She gave her nephews a fierce look before she clashed her bracelets together with a powerful cry. The twins were caught off guard and thrown back by the energy. Diana gripped her shield and continued to attack them.
"I believe in good," Diana said as she hit Phobos. "I believe in the good of man."
Phobos had blood running down his jaw as he said, "And what has man ever given you?"
Diana smiled at him and said, "Hope."
With one final cry, Diana summoned lightening from the sky and struck Deimos and Phobos down. Left in their place was only black smoke and eventually, that disappeared too. Diana glanced around and saw soldiers fall to the ground, while others merely dropped their weapons and left.
Diana turned around to see the Valkyrie and found it no where in sight. Her eyes traveled down to see Peggy and Colonel Phillips reentered the facility and she followed them down.
"Are you alright?" Peggy said when she saw how beaten the demigoddess looked and pulled her into an embrace. Diana winced at the sudden touch and slowly nodded, "I'll be fine. Is Steve okay?"
Peggy turned to the control center of the plane and said, "Let's see."
Diana sent the Howling Commandos a forced smile as she took a seat beside Jim. As soon as she took a seat, Steve's voice was heard over the radio.
"Come in this is, Captain Rogers. Do you read me?"
"Captain Rogers, what is your-"
Diana placed a hand in Jim's shoulder. He glanced at her and immediately moved out of the seat, offering it to her. Diana sat down and pressed the button beside the microphone, "Steve, are you all right?"
On the other side of the line, Steve sighed in relief and replied, "Diana! Schmidt's dead. What of yours?"
"Dead too. And the plane?"
"That's a little bit tougher to explain."
"Uh, send me your coordinates, Steve. I'll have Peggy or Howard find you a safe landing site," Diana suggested as she waited for his answer in anticipation.
"There's not going to be a safe landing, Diana. I'm have to try and force it down."
"No, please, wait. I'll get Howard on the line, he'll know what to do," Diana said and breathed in deeply. Peggy watched her best friend's eyes swell with tears.
"There's not enough time, darling. This thing's moving to fast and it's heading for New York. I gotta put her in the water."
Diana felt her heart break in that moment. She shook her head and said, "Steve, please, don't do this. We have time, we can work it out."
"Right now I'm in the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer a lot of people are going to die. Diana, this is my choice. Okay... Diana?"
"You promised me, Steve."
Steve could hear the unsubtle cries from over the radio. He closed his eyes and searched his pocket for his compass. He pulled it out and placed it right in front of him, to see Diana's photo. Steve admired the photo of the love of his life, with a wide smile on his face.
"I'm sorry, darling," Steve said to her, his voice breaking at the thought. "Ya know, we never really even had a first date with everything going on."
Diana laughed at his comment and closed her eyes while more tears fell from her eyes. "Alright, how about, next week. Saturday. At the Stork Club."
"You got it," Steve grinned.
"Eight O'clock and you better not be late, Steve," Diana said to him and she tightened her hold on the microphone.
"Speaking of, what's your favorite type of flower?"
"Roses. I adore them."
"Of course. I'll have a whole bouquet ready for you, Diana. You deserve it."
"That sounds wonderful," Diana said and bit her lip. She closed her eyes and breathed out deeply. Her hand held the microphone tighter and she said through sobs, "Steve, I love you so much."
On the other side of the lien, Steve smiled at her comment. A tear fell from his eye as he looked ahead as the water neared. His lips trembled, but he managed to reply, "I love y-"
The radio cut off. Diana let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and cried out, "Steve?"
Silence.
"Steve?" Diana cried out for him. She pulled the microphone closer and called for him again. "Steve?"
She closed her eyes and felt the ache in her heart grow stronger than ever. Her head fell to her hands as she cried out for the love of her life. You promised me, she thought as she cried for her fallen soldier, you promised me.