Chapter 43

Sadly for her, most of the Howling Commandos are being tended. Morita is the only one in line, but they'll treat him soon, too. Also, Bucky is near Steve.

So with a sigh, she decides to return to where the super soldier is. After all, he will soon be debriefed and she will have to be there, too.

Apparently, she appears just in time because she can see Steve looking discretely around as he's guided by Peggy towards a building.

'I'm here,' she says as he steps into the building. Steve's body language softens, and Peggy quickly notices, arching an eyebrow at him, which he responds to with a shake of his head and a silent 'later'.

She squints her eyes at him, her demeanor slightly frostier than before, which makes her wonder about the cause of it. What has Steve done in the time she's been looking for someone to talk that made Peggy annoyed?

She shakes her head. She's not usually one for gossip, but she can't help but be curious about something she's sure she has watched but can't remember. Not that she blames herself. After all, it's been almost ten years since she last watched the movie. She loved the MCU movies and world but wasn't the type of fan that does a marathon every year or anything.

With a shrug, she sighs and continues to follow them underground. It takes them a while for them to reach a large room where there's a table with a map on it. Around it, there are three people. One of them is what she thinks is a secretary ready to transcript whatever Steve is going to say. She's more concerned with the other two: Colonel Phillips and… Howard Stark, who, unlike his actor counterpart, looks similar enough to Tony to be known that they're father and son.

She feels her emotions fluctuating between guilt and shame as she thinks of the man she's left behind on a plane. A man who's close to dying and with little hope left.

What he must be thinking of her disappearance?

She knows she's in the past and the future she's left hasn't happened yet, but she can't help but worry. What if, for some reason, she's not in this world when she reaches the time she left on? What will happen to Tony? Will he despair in silence, alone as he's always done whenever she's not with him?

She shakes her head. No, it's not the time to think about it. She's promised to change the future—to not make Tony's last words be done in the middle of a battle for the universe. And she will do so.

With her determination set in, she tunes in Steve's debriefing. She's surprised to note that he's already talking about the gates' explosion and him telling the imprisoned soldiers to escape.

It's when he narrates his search for more prisoners that he hesitates as he speaks of the 'outside help' he finds in one room alongside seven other soldiers. Not mentioning one of them was Bucky.

"What do you mean by that, soldier?" Colonel Philips is quick to see the hesitance in Steve's tone and posture. Steve, seemingly wanting to be done with it quickly, recounts everything from the moment he's seen her. Her alien looks and how it changed to a similar, bigger form made to tank attacks and protect them. Then he explains how she changed once again when they reached the outside to another form made to attack the enemy.

It must have felt to Steve that he was ripping a band aid, but for the others, herself included, it's like watching a train wreck.

Steve's eyes are forward, without looking anyone directly in the eye, which means she's the only one in the room who knows he's saying the truth and can appreciate the reactions of others. Peggy's incredulous gaze and Howard's amused disbelief work well with Colonel Philip's twitching eyebrow.

The funniest of all is the secretary. She's the most expressive, so to see her slacked jaw and her posture still in the middle of typing a word is gold.

Steve, who is finishing telling the part when she transformed into her last Deoxys' form and how the HYDRA facility was seconds away from exploding, is now starting to explain how she grabbed everyone with her mind in order to escape. He takes a deep breath because apparently the super soldier serum has also improved his lungs, to say everything with little intakes of breath in-between. However, he's still human and needs to take a break to drink some water.

He moves to take a sip and apparently, that movement is enough to snap the others out of their stupor. When they see Steve looks ready to continue, Colonel Phillips raises a hand, stopping him. He seems to be processing everything with a forced calm that makes him look constipated. His pinched brows seem ready to become one as he thinks hard.

Howard ignores the Colonel's need for silence. Like his son, he's quick to use his wit to better annoy others. "Steve, I think I speak for all when I say, what the hell?"

He's more excitable than Tony, who prefers the use of sarcasm than funny jabs. He's also more expressive in his mannerisms. It kind of reminds her of Tony's moods after he's stayed awake for too long and his blood is more coffee than anything else.

She's startled from her reminiscing when the Colonel turns sharply to Howard. "Erskine said that the previous user went mad after the serum, do you think…"

He doesn't finish his sentence, nor does he try to lower his tone of voice. Everyone can hear him clearly, included Steve, who has a kicked-puppy expression. Howard makes a pose as if mulling over it with his hand on his chin, stroking an imaginary long beard while he hums.

Colonel Phillips doesn't seem to appreciate the levity Howard displays with his actions. He's already turning a bit red in the face.

Steve clears his throat, which makes the Colonel glare at him, clearly saying without words to be silent. As if he's not seen anything, Steve continues, "She actually came with us."

They all blink.

"Who?" the Colonel asks at the same time Howards says, "She?"

Steve nods to Howard, but answers the Colonel. "The alien. She came with us. She took us all flying until a kilometer away from base, where we proceed to walk, her accompanying us."

Peggy, for the first time since the meeting started, speaks up, looking dubious, but seemingly wanting to humor him, "And where is this… alien you brought to this private meeting?"

Clearing his throat, Steve looks slightly apprehensive as it seems he finally realized he's brought an apparent unknown element to a meeting where important people are reunited. She knows he believes in her, but one thing is to trust someone and another to take them to his leaders without previous notification.

Still, if nothing, he doesn't back down even with that knowledge. He straightens up as he says, "She's here."

Howard makes an obvious show of looking around. "I don't see anyone here."

Steve blinks, looking at both of his sides, before sighing. "Lilith, please."

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I forgot to update here after doing so on my p@treon. So, sorry for being a couple days late.