Chapter Six: The Procedure

NEW YORK WAS JUST AS BUSTLING AS it always is. Cars drove down the many roads, children played in the streets, and people idly walked on the sidewalk. Sitting in one of those cars, sliding across the cracked asphalt, Steve looked through the windows watching alleyways pass by. He was doing his best to try and distract himself for the time being. After all, today was the big day. His life was about to change if this experiment really worked. Though he had faith in Dr. Erskine's ability to get this procedure to work smoothly.

Next to Steve, Delphia fidgeted in her seat and wrung her fingers together. She did her best to try and hide the nervous feeling that chilled her to her bones. The Volva already knew how this day was going to go and she hated it. It was moments like these that her blessing of foresight really felt like a curse. This felt almost as horrible as the vision that had given her cause to leave her home. This time it involved someone who she had come to know and admire. Abraham has become her good friend, and she certainly wasn't ready to see him go. Though that may be one reason she never really left her home. Certain beings, especially on Midgard, had such short life spans. Why would she want to get attached to someone who would die within a short span of time? She lived for hundreds of years! Midgardians had such fickle lives that she would compare to those of a pet. Still, to make that connection with someone and to see their life taken in such a horrific way and before he was really meant to pass on, was even more heartbreaking than the fact that he had a short life, to begin with.

As Delphia continued to wallow in her own sorrowful thoughts, recognition flashed through Steve's blue eyes as he looked out the window. "I know this neighborhood. I got beat up in that alley." He pointed out, "And that parking lot. And behind that diner." He trailed off realizing that he probably shouldn't be pointing out how many times he had lost fights to the women in the car.

From the front passenger seat, Peggy turned around to look at the small man. One of her thin eyebrows was raised in question, "Did you have something against running away?"

"You start running, they'll never let you stop." Steve said strongly and straightened himself in his seat, "You stand up, push back. Can't say no forever, right?"

Delphia's admiration for his words broke through her worrying thoughts. For a moment, just a short moment, Steve had distracted her from the devastating images that were invading her mind. She smiled softly, though wasn't nearly as large as they usually are, "Very wise words, Steven."

"Oh, uh," his eyes widened at having been complimented by her. Sure, they've known each other for a while now and we're friends, however, he was still flustered whenever she did something like this. Who wouldn't be flustered by this goddess of a woman?! "I guess they are."

Peggy smiled at the interaction as she found it quite adorable. She cleared her throat to get the two to focus on something other than each other. "I know a little of what that's like. To have every door shut in your face."

"I guess I just don't know why you'd wanna join the army if you're a beautiful dame." He caught himself, seeing as he said something that would embarrass himself. He began to stutter over his words, "Or a beautiful… a woman. An agent, not a dame! You are beautiful, but…"

"You have no idea how to talk to a woman, do you?" Peggy asked, on the verge of laughing at Steve's unfortunate lack of social skills with the opposite gender. Though she found it quite cute, in a way.

He winced and turned to look out the window, in order to hide his pink cheeks from both women. "This is the longest conversation I've had with one besides Delphia. Women aren't exactly lining up to dance with a guy they might step on."

"I do not understand why," Delphia spoke up softly, drawing Steve's attention once again. He is such an interesting man to her and she honestly didn't know why women weren't willing to get to know him more. If people could just look past society's ideas of pursuing someone based on how attractive they are, people would probably be more confident in themselves. "You are quite an interesting man."

He cleared his throat, "Well, asking a woman to dance always seems so terrifying. And the past few years just didn't seem to matter that much. Figured I'd wait."

"For what?" The woman in the front asked curiously.

There was a moment of silence before Steve glanced between the two women, almost in embarrassment. A certain longing lingering in his eyes as he looked at each of them. "The right partner."

Delphia smiled softly while looking out the window bashfully. Delphia certainly isn't an oblivious woman, at least when it comes to something like this. The princess has lived long enough to have a couple of suiters court her while in Asgard, though none of them really caught her eye(They also may have been frightened off by her brothers who thought no one was worthy of their precious sister). She had a feeling that Steve may have developed feelings for her for a little bit, as she may have done for him. Though there was the thought in the back of her head reminding her that she couldn't really seek a relationship with him. There were just far too many complications that would come with it. However, that couldn't stop the way her heart fluttered whenever she talked with him.

The car finally arrived at their destination. A dusty old-looking antique shop was their stop for the day, which didn't make much sense to Steve. The trio climbed out of the car and headed to an antique store that was packed with plenty of miscellaneous, old knick-knacks.

"This way," Peggy said as they walked towards the small shop.

Steve looked between the two women in front of him and put on his hat, "What are we doing here?" It's a strange place to be, considering they're supposed to be heading towards his procedure.

"Follow me," she simply said as the two women led the way. They entered the dusty-looking shop as the eyes of a few men followed after them.

An old woman walked up to the trio with a kind smile, "Wonderful weather this morning isn't it?"

"Yes," Peggy agreed politely, "but I always carry an umbrella."

Steve watched the exchange with confusion painting his face. What he didn't know was that this was a secret code between the two. Delphia continued to lead Steve towards the back of the store where they stood in front of some bookshelves. She stayed quiet, a bit more quiet than she usually is. Both Peggy and Steven noticed it, but they chalked it up to her nerves. Since they all are quite anxious about today. Unbeknownst to them, she wasn't just nervous about the experiment. She already knew that it would work from her vision. Though she also knew about how both she and Abraham would be injured just minutes after their success. Of course, Abraham, her closest friend since she came to Midgard, would be fatally injured, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

They waited for a moment before the bookshelf opened up, to reveal a long metal hallway. They glided through the hidden passageway and started to march down the hall. Every nerve in Steve's body was buzzing. It slowly started to set in his mind that this is really happening, he truly was going to be experimented on. He had full trust in the work that they were doing, but he couldn't help himself to be nervous.

As they walked past the other soldiers and doctors, eyes followed them in a mixture of awe, skepticism, and hope. This scrawny man is the possible future of the US army, a piece in the defeat of the Germans, they hoped.

They finally made it to a pair of doors that were opened up by some soldiers and found scientists preparing their machinery for the experiment. Though at the sight of the trio, more specifically Steve, everyone paused to stare at them. Steve looked completely nervous about this, from the way he was starting to pale a bit and with all this attention on him. Delphia placed her delicate hand on his shoulder and squeezed it slightly. He gave her a small smile, grateful that he had his friend there to help calm him down, at least a bit.

They all climbed down the stairs as everyone resumed what they were doing. "Good morning." Abraham greeted them by first allowing Delphia to peck his cheek and then shaking Steve's hand. Though just as he did that, a photographer came up and took a picture of them with a blinding flash. "Please, not now." The photographer lumbers off as Steve drinks in the machinery that would hopefully turn him into a super-soldier. Abraham takes in his apprehensive expression, "Are you ready?" Steve just nods, "Good. Take off your shirt, your tie, and your hat."

Steve blushed slightly at the command, even more so when Delphia walked over to take them from him. Though he followed through with the instructions hastily. The brunette helped Steve settle onto the pod. The calm aura around her helped soothe Steve just a bit more as her wide eyes looked down at him, "are you sure that you will be alright, Steven?"

He nodded his head firmly, a small part of him not really wanting to appear weak in front of her. "Yeah, of course."

Delphia could see how he was keeping his apprehensions hidden, even though she is doing the same thing. She placed a comforting hand on his arm with her ever-present kind expression, "I have faith in Abraham and his work. There is no doubt in my mind that this procedure will be a success. We would never place you in a situation that would cause you harm, Steven" Her honey-coated words relaxed him even further, as the tight muscles in his body lightened up.

"Comfortable?" Abraham asked as he walked over to the two. Delphia slowly pulled herself away from Steve, a bit embarrassed that they had been caught in what she considered a bit of an intimate moment.

Steve nodded his head, "It's a little big." He then tried to joke a bit, "You save me any of that schnapps?"

"Not as much as I should have." Abraham cringed a bit, "Sorry. Next time. Mr. Stark, how are your levels?"

Steve raised an eyebrow in a bit of surprise at the playboy being here. Well, then again, who else would be helping with this. Howard Stark is one of, if not the, smartest men in the United States. The dashing genius walked up to them, "Levels at one hundred percent."

"Good."

"We may dim half the lights in Brooklyn, but we are ready as we'll ever be." He then laid eyes on the brunette that handed him a clipboard, "Delphia."

She rolled her eyes slightly at him with a small endearing smile, "Mr. Stark." He reminded her of Fandral. The dashing ladies man who tried to charm every woman they came across. It made her homesick in a way. While she found Fandral's attempts at flirting with her somewhat annoying at times, she still missed him. As well as her other friends on Asgard. She could only hope that she would get to return home soon. Though in order to do that, she must live through the vision that she had seen years ago.

To say that Steve didn't necessarily like the interaction, as small as it is, is a small understatement. Considering he's aware of Howard's reputation and that Delphia's extremely beautiful looks, it wasn't that hard for him to question if Howard had flirted with her. It didn't really sit right with him, but he shouldn't dwell on that right now.

Abraham then turned to the other woman besides them, "Agent Carter? Don't you think you would be more comfortable in the booth?"

"Oh, yes." Peggy cleared her throat, "Of course. Sorry."

"Good," As Peggy made her way up towards the viewing booth, Abraham was handed a microphone and he spoke into it, "Do you hear me? is this on?" There was a small bit of feedback from the speakers, which caused everyone to cringe, but Abraham continued on, "Ladies and gentlemen, today we take not another step towards annihilation, but the first step on the path to peace. We begin with a series of micro injections into the subjects major muscle groups." Abraham explained as the other scientists did as he said, "The serum infusion will cause immediate cellular change. And then to stimulate growth, the subject will be saturated with Vita-Rays."

A nurse walks up to Steve with a syringe and injects him with it. He cringes a bit, "That wasn't so bad."

Abraham and Delphia shared a look with each other. He then turned down to Steve, "That was penicillin." He looked back up with a small sigh, "Serum infusion beginning in five, four, three, two, one." The pads of needles settle onto Steve's skin and Delphia places her hand on Steve's shoulder as she sees him cringe in pain. She certainly didn't like seeing him in pain, at all. Though if he wished to continue with this, then she would not stop him. The blue liquid slowly is injected into Steve's body, it keeps going for a moment before Steve's blue eyes open wide. Delphia stepped back to watch to procedure from a bit of a safe distance. Since she wasn't necessarily needed for anything, she could really go up and sit with Peggy. Though Abraham knew she would much rather be down here to make sure that everything went smoothly. "Now, Mr. Stark." The millionaire slowly moved a lever which caused the pod to move into a vertical position and encased Steve completely. The others started to hook the pod up to the other machines as Abraham walked up to the pod and knocked on it, "Steven, can you hear me?"

"It's probably too late to go to the bathroom, right?" Steve said jokingly. Delphia couldn't help herself but giggle lightly. Even though this nerve-racking experience, Steve was still able to make small jokes. She found that so amusing.

Abraham chuckles slightly and turns to Howard, "We will proceed."

Howard manned the controls and turned a few dials, put on his stylish sunglasses, and moved towards a wheel. He started to turn it, "That's ten percent." A light started to grow from within the pod, so bright that everyone not wearing goggles had to look away from it. "Twenty percent. Thirty. That's forty percent."

"Vital signs are normal," a doctor called out. Everything was looking alright at the moment, there seemed to be no hitch in their plan.

"That's fifty percent," Howard called out, "Sixty. Seventy.

Though while everyone thought that this was going perfectly smoothly, Steve started to scream out from within the pod. Everyone grew alarmed, especially Delphia. Her heart started to race as she clutched her hands to her chest in anxiety.

Abraham too was overly concerned now, he shouted, "Steven!"

Peggy came running out of the booth, "Shut it down."

"Steven!" Delphia shouted out in concern. She couldn't really do anything at this moment. She didn't completely understand all of the science that goes into what this experiment is, so she didn't really know how to stop it. Though she certainly wants to now. Steve is in obvious pain, more so now than ever, and she wants it to stop.

Abraham jumped up and started to knock on the pod, "Steven!" There was no real reply from him except more groaning and shouting.

"Shut it down!" Peggy called out again.

Seeing no other choice but to make sure that he was safe, Abraham turned to the controller, "Kill the reactor, Mr. Stark! Turn it off! Kill it! Kill the reactor!"

"No!" Steve suddenly exclaimed from inside the pod, "Don't! I can do this!"

Everyone shared a look with each other, unsure if that was true. Delphia gnawed at her bottom lip and looked to Abraham for what to do. She certainly didn't want Steve to be hurt, or even die from this experiment. However, they've come this far. There wasn't much else they could do nor would they really want to stop. Though if Steve says that he can, then she believes him. Not only that, but she knew that this worked, in the end, the procedure would be a success. She just didn't realize that he had gone through pain like this to get there. Abraham looked to her for a second opinion and found her giving him a small nod. An indication to let it continue.

Howard called out, "Eighty. Ninety. That's one hundred percent."

All of the machines around them started to spark and crackle. The blinding light was starting to get too much, even for Delphia. Though eventually, the light dies down, and everything becomes still. Everyone in the room held their breath. There was no sound or movement from within the pod.

"Mr. Stark?" Abraham called out, telling him to open up the pod.

However, once the pod was open and Steve was revealed, everyone was in shock. No longer was Steve some scrawny little man anymore with a feeble body. No, He was now tall, muscular, and healthy-looking. Their experiment was a success! The first-ever super soldier had now been born!

Abraham moved to Steve's side quickly, helping him out of the pod. "Steven. Steven."

"I did it," He mumbles out while stumbling down onto his slightly shaky feet with the help of Abraham and Howard.

The older man nodded, "Yeah, yeah. I think we did it."

On the other side of Steve, Howard stared at him in awe, maybe not completely believing that they succeeded. "We actually did it."

Delphia quickly walked over to Steve with a new shirt to wear over his new physique. She certainly was impressed with the outcome in her vision, however, seeing it in person was a whole different experience. She wouldn't lie, she may or may not be completely flustered by him at the moment. Though what mattered was his well-being, not her racing heart. "Are you alright?"

Steve panted, a bit disorientated from what had just happened, "Yeah, yeah."

Delphia smiled widely, "How do you feel?"

He looked down at Delphia and breathed out happily, "Taller."

Delphia chuckled, seeing now that he was quite a bit taller than her, "I would suspect so."

The officials who witnessed this miracle congratulated Abraham. All of them are amazed at this feat in scientific history. Not only is this a big discovery within science and what they know is possible, but it also is a big help towards their efforts for the war. Imagine, super-soldiers used to help with the defeat of the Germans. This war certainly would come to a swift end.

Abraham was shaking the hand of a government official, "Thank you, sir." He looked over to Steve and Delphia who were happily speaking about how well this all went. He is not only elated that their experiment worked, but also that Delphia and Steve had become such good friends. Delphia, being an alien, had a bit of trouble conforming to how people lived and interacted with each other on Midgard. He knows that it was difficult for her to make connections with people. So he is more than happy to know that she has found a friend in Steve.

However, the feeling of accomplishment was short-lived in that moment for Abraham. For he caught a glimpse of a suspicious man standing behind the group. Abraham noticed as the man pulled out a lighter and pressed it. An explosion rattled the entire room as the observation booth was engulfed in flames.

In the confusion, the suspicious man grabbed the last vial of the super-soldier serum and tried to run off with it. Abraham shouted, and pointed at the man, "Stop him!"

Though it was too late. The disguised Hydra agent had already gotten off at least two shots. The first one, Delphia could predict. So she threw herself in front of Abraham to try and divert the bullet from hitting him. There were screams and grunts of confusion, but in the end, both Abraham and Delphia ended up shot.

The man ran from the room with Peggy on his tail. She effectively shot the man at least once in the legs, but he was able to flee with the serum in hand. As Peggy chases after him, Steve rushes over to both of their sides. He kneels by Abraham and holds him slightly. Abraham couldn't speak and only pointed to Steve's chest before he fell limp. Sadly, Abraham has died. His injury was far too fatal for him to recover from them, there was no way to help him.

As the fact of Abraham's death had just struck Steve in his heart, he turned to Delphia who was groaning next to him. Crimson painted her shoulders while blood poured out of it. She breathed heavily while trying to stop the bleeding. Delphia isn't necessarily new to getting injured, but this is a bit different from say a sword or dagger.

There was no way that Steve could lose both Abraham and Delphia, his two closest friends during all of this. He moved to help her with her injury and Delphia looked up to him with tears in her eyes. "No n-need to worry a-about me," Delphia got out with her weak voice. Though her eyes were hard, drowning in her tears, and filled with anger, "Go g-get that bastard."

Steve was apprehensive for a moment, not sure if he should leave her behind like this. Though the fact that there were a few other people here to keep an eye on her, he figured that he could go after the man who did this. He isn't usually one for revenge, but this was personal. So Steve rushed up and out of the room to chase after the disguised Hydra agent.

As a nurse tried helping Delphia with her injury, Peggy eventually came running back into the room. She was instantly at Delphia's side and started to help the other blonde-haired woman with Delphia's injury. The princess grunted slightly as they moved Delphia to lay flat on her back. They made quick work of making sure that there was pressure on her wound as others went searching for some more supplies to help them. Not only that, but there were a few others with minor injuries after the explosion. This was truly turning out to be a disaster.

"Delphia, hey listen to me," Peggy said to the woman in pain, trying to keep Delphia's attention on her. Peggy could already see the way that her eyes were glossing over and were starting to close, "you've got to stay awake alright?"

She knew that she should. Staying awake during this meant making sure that her injury wasn't going to kill her. However, sleeping for just a moment seemed quite nice. Not only was she in physical pain, but also emotional. Abraham died right next to her, she is emotional now, and taking a nap didn't seem so bad. Though Delphia was fighting for it, she eventually closed her eyes and everything went black.