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MAL KNEW ABOUT Captain America. How could she not? He was the world's first superhero. But she couldn't believe that in a few minutes, he would be sitting across from her on the jet, courtesy of S.H.I.E.L.D. They had been landed for ten minutes while waiting for the super soldier, but when he finally boarded and sat down across from Mal, she had trouble believing that this was her life.
"Captain, this is Mal Owens." Coulson introduced, gesturing to Mal with his hand. Steve smiled politely, his eyes scanning her over. She was young, very young, and Steve was trying to wrap his head around why a kid was being recruited for the Avengers Initiative.
"Nice to meet you, ma'am." Steve greeted Mal, who smiled back at him.
"Just Mal is fine, Cap," Mal said, shrugging a bit. Formalities always made her a bit uncomfortable when they were directed at her — she preferred just casual names, no ma'am, just Mal. Ma'am was for her mother, and Mal didn't need those reminders.
"Then you can just call me Steve." He said, and Mal's polite smile bloomed into a genuine one.
As the jet took off, Coulson handed Steve a high-tech looking tablet and then sat down at a computer station, slipping a headset over his head. Mal looked up at the skylight of the jet, watching the clouds zoom by quickly. She had been on regular planes a few times, but nothing like this.
"About ten minutes out from home base, sir." One of the pilots said, directing the statement to Coulson, who stood from his station. Steve looked up from the video on the tablet, eyes wide.
"So, this Doctor Banner was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?" He asked, videos and images of the Hulk flashing on the screen. Mal's gaze didn't waver from Steve, though she did purse her lips slightly. She, too, was the result of an experiment that was supposed to recreate the same serum used on Captain America. Clearly, things didn't work out as planned.
"A lot of people were." Coulson said, giving a quick glance to Mal. "You were the world's first superhero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula."
"Didn't really go his way, did it?" Steve said grimly, as the Hulk let out a roar from the device. Mal scoffed slightly, shaking her head.
"Does it ever?" She asked, making the super soldier look up at her. He couldn't read her, wasn't sure why she was even there. It was clear that she deserved it, however, because S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't invite some random teenage girl onto their home base.
"When he's not that thing though, guy's like a Stephen Hawking." Steve looked at Coulson in confusion, who clears his throat somewhat awkwardly. "He's like a smart person. I gotta say, it's an honor to meet you, officially. I sort of met you, I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping." Mal laughed loudly, and Steve stood, smiling slightly in amusement. Mal stood to join the two, a grin stretching across her lips. "I mean, I was present while you were unconscious from the ice. You know, it's really, it's just a huge honor to have you on board." Coulson stuttered, fumbling over his words.
"Well, I hope I'm the man for the job." Steve said unsurely, staring ahead. Mal moved to stand between the two older men so she could look out the front windshield of the jet.
"Oh, you are. Absolutely." Coulson assured the super soldier. "We've made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input." Coulson said after a moment, a little smug. It was clear that the agent idolized Steve Rogers.
"The uniform? Aren't the stars and stripes a little old fashioned?" The three were quiet for a moment, and Mal looked to Coulson for an answer. With a corporation like S.H.I.E.L.D., she would have thought that they would give him a new and improved suit, better for this time period.
"Everything that's happening, the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old fashioned." Coulsin said, his voice lowering. Steve nodded slowly, and Mal crossed her arms over her chest. Lots of things were going to change, and Mal wasn't sure she was entirely prepared for it.
–•–•–
"Agent Romanoff," Coulson addressed the woman who approached them as soon as they got off the jet. "This is Captain Rogers and Mal Owens." He introduced, gesturing to each of them.
"They need you on the bridge, they're starting the face trace." Natasha informed Coulson. Mal had no idea what they were talking about, but she was still staring up at the infamous spy in awe. This was the Black Widow that she'd heard so much about, standing right in front of her. Coulson nodded, walking away as Steve and Mal began to walk with Natasha.
"There was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice." Natasha said, looking over at Steve. "I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?" Mal let out a loud laugh, grinning widely. She knew all about the trading cards — Coulson had shown them to her multiple times.
"Trading cards?" Steve asked in confusion, looking between Mal and Natasha.
"They're vintage, he's very proud." Mal stated once her laughter had died down. Their eyes all landed on a nervous-looking man who was trying to avoid running into anyone. Mal recognized him from the files as Bruce Banner.
"Doctor Banner." Steve called, and Bruce steps forward to shake hands with him.
"Oh, yeah. Hi. They told me you'd be coming, as well as Miss Owens." Mal waved, before shoving her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket. It was a size too-big, but it was comfy and it reminded her of her mothers waiting at home for her.
"Word is you can find the cube." Steve said, nodding his head towards the scientist.
"Is that the only word on me?" Bruce asked, wringing his hands together nervously.
"Only word I care about." Steve confirmed, and Bruce nodded before looking around.
"Must be strange for you, all of this." He said, gesturing to the large machinery and the new high-tech jets.
"Well, this is actually kind of familiar." Steve replied, piquing Mal's interest. She wanted to hear all the stories he had to tell, all the experiences he had.
"Lady and gentlemen, you may wanna step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breath." Natasha said, as suddenly the Helicarrier starts shaking and agents begin running.
"Is this is a submarine?" Steve asked, walking closer to the edge, with Bruce and Mal doing the same.
"Really? They wanted me in a submerged pressurized metal container?" The three of them move closer to the edge of the Helicarrier and watch in awe as it starts to lift into the air. "Oh, no. This is much worse." Bruce said in horror, and Mal grinned again. No matter how many times she watched the carrier rise into the air, it never got old.
