Kindred Spirits

A Legend Is Born

  "Who the hell are you supposed to be?"

  Steve looked down at his outfit uncertainly before looking back at the men.

  "I'm.... Captain America," he announced uncertainly.

  I watched them visibly deflate at the news.

  "Merde," whispered one of them.

  "Sorry," I directed at the Frenchman, "But it was either him or the Army leaving you to rot."

  "We taking everybody?" one of them asked, looking over at a clearly Asian man.

  "Why, you wanna stay behind?" I asked, unamused.

  "I'm from Fresno, asshole."

  "Are there any others?" Steve interrupted, clearly not finding who he was looking for.

  "They took some of us to their isolation ward, I'm pretty sure to experiment on 'em. Nobody ever comes back from there though." He considered his words before passing out some pistols and grenades.

  "Well gents," I announced, throwing back my hood, "Looks like I'm getting you out of here."

  "Who put her in charge?" some of them grumbled as I moved towards the door while Steve went back up through the opening in the ceiling. Ignoring them, I kicked the door clear across the hall, using my knives to decapitate the men standing on either side of it. I tossed their guns and grenades behind me without looking at the now quiet crowd of soldiers.

  "Try to keep up," I called over my shoulder as I made my way down the hall. They quickly scrambled after me, trying to keep quiet as I readily dispatched any opponents in my way. Coming to the corner just before the exit, a quick peek revealed a small group of soldiers, one of which held a grenade launcher. 

  "Stay here, wait for my signal," I whispered without looking back. Pulling my hood up, I moved behind the crates they were leaning against until I was behind the one with the launcher. I silently slit his throat before leaping over the crate. Two were quickly stabbed through the back of their chests, the last one downed with a throwing knife to the eye. Grabbing the grenade launcher with an unsettling glee in my eye, I aimed it at the door, not bothering to crouch as it blew a substantial hole in the wall.

  "That's the signal," I called out to the hidden soldiers, holding the launcher out to one that came forward before taking my hunting knives out again. I emerged from the fog and began to quickly and quietly take out the soldiers on the outer edges of the fray. The crowd of prisoners were quick to gain the upper hand, two of them managing to commandeer a tank. We made our way to the woods at the northwest, following a creek bed to a small clearing.

  "Rest here," I called out, stopping the procession, "We'll wait for Steve while I take care of any injuries you have." I removed my trench coat, revealing a small medical kit strapped to my back.

  I moved through the soldiers freely, taking care of the more minor scrapes and burns. Our collective attention was grabbed by the base blowing up in several smaller explosions before erupting into a fireball. I gave it a passing glance before resuming my actions.

  "You're not worried about your buddy?" the soldier I was tending to asked, his eyes confused as I nonchalantly shrugged my shoulders, finishing with his sling for his broken arm.

  "He's a persistent little shit," I heaved out a sigh as I stretched my arms above my head, "I'd be more surprised if that did end up taking him out."

  About 20 minutes later, I had run out of bandages and began cleaning my weapons instead as we continued to wait for Steve. A whistle caught my attention and a soldier on watch pointed out a group moving in this direction through the shadows. Nodding, I put up my hood and moved into the shadows, approaching the group silently, though once I got within a few feet, I knew who it was. They didn't seem to notice, however, the soldier following behind them.

  I stalked forward waiting until just before Steve entered the clearing to strike. I kicked the soldier in the knee, causing him to let out a yelp that was silenced by my blade entering his throat. I kept my eyes on Steve as he whipped around, giving him a dry smile as I pushed the man to the ground.

  "Late and with unwanted company?" I tsked as I moved towards Steve and his companion, "You're slipping, Rogers."

  His response was cut off by the man next to him gasping, "I know you."

  Shifting my gaze, I was able to recognize the man, despite looking worse for wear. "I don't remember telling you my name." I raised a brow as a small blush crossed his face.

  "You're kinda hard to forget, doll."

  "Well," I moved closer to them, "We've got soldiers to get home, so how about we save this for later?"

...............................................

  Steve's transponder had been broken, so we were forced to trek back the thirty miles to base on foot. A few days was more than enough for me to tire of every last one of them. I brought up the front of our little party, using a rifle one of the men had nabbed to take out any enemy snipers in our way. This also kept me well removed from anyone that wanted to ask questions, though it didn't keep me from hearing them theorizing.

    "What's her story?" "What's she doing here?" "She got a man?"

  I rolled my eyes at the predictability of their questions. I ran ahead as the gates of the camp came into view. The rest of the group caught up as they started opening the gates, marching through camp, gathering a crowd that began to applaud as they realized what was going on.

  Phillips and Peggy moved through the crowd, Peggy wiping tears away as they watched us coming towards them.

  Steve snapped to attention in front of him. "Sir, some of these men need medical attention." Phillips nodded and several men moved forward to bring the most severely injured men to the medical tent. "I'd like to surrender myself for military action."

  "That won't be necessary."

  "Sir,-" 

  "How many orders do you plan on disobeying?" Phillips and Steve stared at each other for a moment before they started smiling at each other.

  "Yes sir," Steve responded.

    Phillips walked away, muttering to Peggy before moving back to his tent. Peggy moved forward and I backed away to give them some space, standing next to James as a result.

  "How about a drink to celebrate?" A low voice asked me, and I turned to him in a mix of amusement and surprise. I raised a brow at him before turning back to Steve.

  "Let's hear it for Captain America!" I called out leading to roaring applause from the surrounding soldiers, some of them moving to offer him pats on the back. I turned back to look at James, a little surprised that he was still watching me. I'd be lying if I said my breath didn't catch a little from the way he was looking at me.

  "Sorry," I gave a slight laugh, "You're a bit too young for me."