'Cause I Can (Captain America fanfic)

Chapter 7

I was exhausted by the time Natasha finished teaching me ten different fight moves. After an hour of practicing, I went to go find Steve, who I found in the gym. He seemed like he was getting a lot of stress out. The punching bag he had ended up flying and tearing a hole in the top, causing sand to fall out.

"You okay?" I asked, startling him slightly.

"I didn't even notice you come in." He said.

"The gift of quiet feet."

"Did you have a good time training?" Steve asked.

"To be honest, I feel a lot like that punching bag you just threw." I said, pointing at the broken sandbag.

"Well, at least you haven't exploded." Steve said.

"Does that happen a lot?"

"It's a stress reliever."

"So you get stressed a lot?"

"Only when I think about the past."

I nodded.

"The past didn't treat you right?" I asked.

"It did. Until I missed my life."

"What does that mean?" I asked, confused.

"I was in World War II and was experimented on. I used to be short and super skinny, and not strong enough to handle the work out I was given for the war. So they decided to turn me into a Super Soldier. I didn't get to serve in the war for a while because I was considered an "experiment". When I did get to serve in the war, I had to fight a man who called himself the Red Skull. He was with a group called H.Y.D.R.A. At one point in the war, I took him down on a plane that was flying towards my home. If I didn't stop it, a lot of people would die because the plane was loaded with bombs. I decided to put it in the water and I was frozen for about 70 years. S.H.I.E.L.D. found me and got the ice to melt away so that I could wake up. Now I'm here." He finished.

"Oh. Wow. That must have been a lot to take in when you woke up."

"It was. All these touch screen phones, tv screens and nicer cars... It's not like it was back then." He said.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Who was the girl? The one you were talking about a few nights ago. Was she from the past too?" I asked.

"Her name was Peggy Carter. She helped found S.H.I.E.L.D." Steve said, looking down at me.

"You must be very proud of her." I said.

He nodded and smiled a little.

"What about your past?" He asked me.

"Well, my parents were Elizabeth and James Lloyd. My dad got cancer when I was 8... He died a year after he was diagnosed. My mom-" I felt tears stinging my eyes. I bit my lip and took a deep breath. "My mom tried her best to stay happy for me but I knew she was depressed. She um... She lost her job and then we lost our house... She got pneumonia. I tried to keep her alive... She said everything will be okay... I stole from drug stores or local hospitals and brought the medicine she needed but it was already too late..." I looked up at Steve with tears in my eyes. "One morning, I woke up... And she didn't... I was 11..."

Steve put his arm around me and I sniffed.

"I lost my parents too. After that it was just me and my best friend." He said.

I wiped my tears and sniffed.

"Yeah. Just me and Charlie. Like you and your best friend." I said.

We sat in silence for a while, thinking about the things we said about our past. After about 5 minutes I stood up.

"Want to get some ice cream?" Steve asked.

I smiled.

"It's like you read my mind." I said.

When we left the gym, we were greeted by a man named Bruce Banner.

"JARVIS and I found out who the man from H.Y.D.R.A. is." He said, leading us to the lab.

"Who's JARVIS?" I asked.

"Our computer." Steve answered.

"So why'd you name it JARVIS?"

"Technically Mr. Tony Stark named me, miss." A voice said making me jump.

Steve chuckled and shook his head. I quickly caught up with him, making sure not to touch anything I might break. Billionaire Tony Stark entered the room, snacking on an apple.

"Hey Brucie, Capsicle." Then he looked at me. "Person I don't know." He said pointing at me.

"Her name's Maddy." Steve said.

"Hello!" Stark said, waving at me.

"Hi." I said, smiling.

"Okay, so his name is Charles Marx. He works at a mall kiosk." Bruce said.

"Do we know where he lives?" Steve asked.

"Negative. He was last sighted in Kalorama Park. The mall he works at is the National Mall, here in D.C."

Steve checked his watch and saw that it was 5:58.

"It's almost 6:00, Shortie." He said to me. "We should get going soon."

I nodded.

"Hey! I'm the one who gives out nicknames." Tony complained.

"He's been calling me short since the day I met him." I said, laughing.

"Is that all the news we have on Marx?" Steve asked.

"So far, yes. We should have better luck tomorrow." Bruce said as he started to pack up.

"Alright. Come on, kiddo. Let's go get that ice cream." Steve said.

"Bye Capsicle! Bye ShortCake!" Tony yelled as we were leaving.

"Bye T." I said, causing him to laugh at his new nickname.

"Did you enjoy visiting my work?" Steve asked.

"It was so cool." I answered.

We opened the door, letting in the cold air. I hugged myself to keep warm. It wasn't that cold, but still. Steve handed me his jacket as we hopped on to his motorcycle and drove off to get some ice cream.

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I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Please comment, vote, and keep reading to find out what happens next😉