Gold to Airy Thinness Beat

Chapter Six

By some miracle, she was chosen.

It didn't sink in right away. The other soldiers were packed up and moved out, and she stayed behind. Dr. Erskine let her move into the barracks so she could have an actual bed and her own bathroom for her final night there. It was a strange thing to walk in and see the room empty, the mattresses rolled up, the footlockers bare, and all because she'd been chosen over the rest.

She couldn't remember a time she'd ever been chosen over another option, any other option, unless it was by her family, who were obligated; and Bucky, who was not.

Bucky always chose her no matter what, or who, else was available.

A super soldier. Stephanie still didn't know exactly what that meant. There was little to do so, in the end, she unrolled one of the mattresses, sat on it with her hands clasped in her lap, and waited for her future to arrive.

It did about an hour later in the form of, once again, Dr. Erskine. It was then that she finally learned the entire story that had led to her being there. It was the first time she heard the name of Hitler's research division, Hydra. She learned about Johann Schmidt and Dr. Erskine's serum and the name of the division she was currently a part of, the Strategic Scientific Reserve. The SSR, under command of Colonel Phillips and was dedicated to finding new and, experimental, ways to fight against the enemy. It was for one of these experiments that she had been chosen.

Erskine wanted to make her better. To take every physical defect, every last health issue and flaw and make it perfect. Part of it sounded like every other person in her life who'd ever felt she wasn't good enough, who claimed they liked her but wanted to change everything that made her who she was.

But Erskine quickly made it clear that wasn't what he was saying. What he was saying was that he already saw her and what he saw he wanted to make better. He didn't want to change her. He wanted to amplify her, to turn her into an even stronger version of who she already was.

If it worked. If it didn't end with the vague sounding side effects he refused to explain. It was insane, science fiction even, and, admittedly, just the sort of thing she'd always dreamed about. Especially as a child, before she'd realized certain things were impossible. She'd used to tell Bucky about dreams she'd have where she was in a strong, perfect body capable of fighting evil in all its forms. He'd never laughed at her, that had come later from other children when she'd started school. Only then had it been driven home, quite cruelly, that she was weak and always would be.

Except, now, according to Dr. Erskine...perhaps not.

"I would imagine, if we are successful," Dr. Erskine said, "it will be impossible to hide the truth any longer."

"They'll find out I'm a woman," Stephanie said, relieved to be able to speak in her normal voice, or to be able to speak at all. "And you really believe they'll accept it?" Part of her honestly didn't care. Just the thought of having a strong, healthy body was more than enough to convince her to want to try.

Dr. Erskine grinned. "I think, if this works, they will not care what you are. They will simply care that you can fight."

***

The next day Stephanie returned home, not by train but in a sleek, black car complete with a driver and Agent Carter by her side.

It was an odd feeling, being back in those streets. It was even odder being there without Bucky. Being separated from him had driven home just how entwined with her life he truly was. She felt like she was missing a limb. She even found herself walking as if he was still present, her body automatically aligned to his even though he wasn't there to fill the space.