Chapter Nine: Howling Commandos

THE LONG WALK BACK TO ALLY TERRITORY was just as rewarding as it was tiring. While there were many men who were rescued from the Hydra base, there were still plenty of casualties of brave soldiers. Many men were also severely wounded in their escape. Thankfully they hijacked some of Hydra's tanks and used them to transport those who were unable to walk due to injuries. Overall, it was quite the success. Hopes were high now that Captain America was leading this troop back to safety.

Walking side-by-side, Delphia and Steve leaned against each other as they marched alongside everyone else. The two were leading the pack of survivors back to base. Both of them were sure glad to find that they had made it out alive alongside plenty of free men. It was an intense escape for everyone, so they were all relieved to find that they could finally get back home.

Ever since Steve had risked his life and jumped over an exploding chasm, Delphia hadn't wanted to let him out of her sight. She had quite nearly exposed herself to not be human just to see if he was going to be safe. However, he surprised her by jumping over that gap with no injury to him, which she thanks any and every celestial being for that happening. The serum really did help enhance Steve to be beyond human at this point. She had been so relieved to see him safe as they all escaped. She wouldn't have been opposed to Steve knowing the truth about her, after all, she confided in him about the abuse she suffered while in the hands of Hydra. Sure, she isn't certain how he's going to react to it, but she hoped he would have at least heard her out about it. So if the chance arose again, she might just reveal herself to him. Only time would tell.

"You all right, Delphia?"

Steve's question pulled Delphia out of her thoughts. Her large hazel eyes turned up to look at him as she hummed in reply, "Hm, yes, of course. Just lost in thought."

He stared at her with worry on his face, "You sure? I'd think you'd be pretty shaken up after what happened." After all, a lady like her shouldn't have to face war like this. She shouldn't be put in the middle of this, in his opinion. Not that he didn't think she could hold her own or be apart of the war, but being in the line of fire and on the front lines certainly wasn't safe. The last thing he wants is for her to be unsafe, after all. Though it was her decision, and she was physically fine now, but still. Steve hated the fact that Delphia had come along. She was stubborn though, there was nothing he could have said to get her to leave.

Delphia smiled at his worry, "I have fought in battles before." She stated factually, since she had fought alongside her family before. It really wasn't until recently (recently being the past 200 years) that her parents thought to have a bit tighter supervision on her due to her visions of the future increasing in severity and frequency. "However, I will admit this was… tough."

He surveyed her as they continued to walk, "Schmitt seemed to know you quite a bit."

"He held me captive for some time." She stated simply, a feeling of uncertainty washed over her, "All he ever did was try to get to know me." Delphia felt like it would be better to leave out a few facts about what really happened. After all, she wasn't going to mention that he kept her captive and interrogated her to find out more about her home and abilities.

Steve clenched his fist at that. Yet another thing to hate Schmidt for it seems. Why the German man wanted to hold her captive was a bit beyond him, but it still didn't make him less upset. He looked down to her with sympathy in his eyes, "I'm sorry that happened."

Delphia looked up to him and stared at the crystal blue eyes that reflected his concern for her. She nodded her head in acknowledgement, "As long as I can make sure it does not happen to anyone else, I will be content."

"It won't. And he won't get you again either. I'll be damned if I let that happen." Delphia's heart soared at his declaration. Though she pushed it away, not needing to have any sort of conflicting feelings bubbling up in her. 

Eventually, after an extremely tiring and long trudge through the forests and mud, they came upon their safe haven. The barriers of the allies camp came into view, meaning that they had finally come home safe.

"Look who it is!" Someone exclaimed. The entire camp turned to find a plethora of men marching towards the camp. The men were the POWs who were held captive at the Hydra base! Everyone came out to see the commotion and found that it was their very own Captain America leading the men in with Delphia at his side.

As everyone marveled at their appearance and the medics started to tend to the wounded, Steve walked up to Colonel Phillips to salute him. "Some of these men need medical attention. I'd like to surrender myself for disciplinary action."

The man stared at him for a long moment before shaking his head, "That won't be necessary."

Steve smirked lightly, "Yes, sir."

Phillips turned to walk away but stopped at Peggy who stared at him with her own smirk, "Faith, huh?"

Through the throngs of relieved soldiers, Peggy approached the bright Delphia and triumphant Steve, "You're late."

Steve held up his broken transponder, "Couldn't call our ride."

Peggy rolled her eyes and then turned to point a finger at Delphia, "And you, missy, are in trouble."

"Oh, do not scold me!" Delphia couldn't help but giggle in relief to see her friend, "We came back, did we not?"

Peggy rolled her eyes, "Yes, but that doesn't mean I'm not still cross with you for going off on your own!"

"As I told you, I am not a weak maiden, I can hold my own on a battlefield."

The other woman sighed, "I believe that you can, Delphia. Though it would be better if you go into the battlefield with a plan."

Delphia smiles cheekily, "Where's the fun in that?" 

"Hey!" Bucky then called out, drawing everyone's attention, "Let's hear it for Captain America." All around them the group then cheered loudly for their hero. Steve puffed out of his chest proudly as Delphia smiled widely.

---

Down in the underground bunkers under the streets of London, soldiers were hard at work gathering intel and messages for the war. At this moment, Steve was supposed to be accepting a medal for his brave work from the President of the United States, however, there was important work to be done. Around one of the tables displaying the map of known Hydra bases, Steve was pointing out the locations of hydra bases he remembered. It was impressive to everyone how he memorized an entire map in just a few moments.

"The fifth one was here in Poland, right near the Baltic." Steve said while making a mark on the map, "And the sixth one was… about here, 30, 40 miles west of the Maginot Line." With all the bases labeled a soldier took the map away to show the others. He looked up to Delphia and Peggy with a sheepish smile, "I just got a quick look."

Peggy scoffed lightly in amusement, "Well, nobody's perfect."

"Amazing work, Steven." Delphia smiled, quite proud of him and his near perfect memory.

Now the group walked up to a map with all the marked locations of the factories. Quite the impressive collection of intel they had now. "These are the weapon factories we know about." Steve informed them, "Sergeant Barnes said that Hydra shipped all the parts to another facility that isn't on this map."

"Agent Carter, coordinate with MI6." Phillips ordered, "I want every Allied eyeball looking for that main Hydra base."

"What about us?" Peggy asked.

"We are gonna set a fire under Johann Schmidt's ass. What do you say, Rogers? It's your map, you think you can wipe Hydra off of it?"

"Yes, sir." Steve nodded, "I'll need a team."

"We're already putting together the best men."

"With all due respect, sir." Steve said, already having the guys in mind, "So am I."

---

Fashion on Midgard was certainly a bit different from Asgard, Delphia came to realize. She supposed that most of the clothing she wore back home was far more… modest, if that was the right word. The dress that Peggy had insisted that she wear was far more fitted to her figure and showed off a bit more skin than she supposed she was used to. Though Peggy had assured her that it looked perfect on her. The royal blue dress that hugged her curves was near perfect, as it flowed lightly at the bottom of her legs. It was slightly off the shoulder, something that had made her slightly nervous, but was reassured that it was perfectly fine.

Why she couldn't just wear normal clothing while going to see Steve, Delphia wasn't sure. However, Peggy had insisted on the clothing when they knew that they'd find him at the pub. Delphia is not that foreign to eyes constantly on her, she's a princess after all. Though it was different when it was Steve silently gawking at her. Which is what he had done when they walked into the bar and he caught sight of them. Everyone in the bar had taken a second longer look at the two beautiful women when they entered. As they should. They were quite breathtaking.

"Captain." Peggy greeted Steve curtly as she strolled over to Steve and Buck Barnes.

Delphia gave Steve as well as Bucky a bashful smile, "Steven. Mr. Barnes." She could feel herself heating up slightly at the stare she was getting from Steve.

"Agent Carter." He gave the two women a breathless smile, more than blown away by their appearance. More specifically, blown away by Delphia's dress, since he's used to seeing her in a professional uniform. Seeing her in a more fitted dress was certainly throwing him for a loop. He swallowed thickly, "Delphia."

"Ladies," Bucky said, blown away by their appearance as well. 

"Howard has some equipment for you to try." Peggy said, keeping herself professional, "Tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds good." Steve nodded.

Peggy glanced over to see that the men that were recruited for Steve's team were more than drunk at the moment. The happy group were all leaning against each other and singing loudly. She allowed herself to smile a bit at the silly display, "I see you top squad is prepping for duty."

"You don't like music?" Bucky asked the two.

"I do, actually." Peggy answered, giving the man a once over, "I might even, when this is all over, go dancing."

Delphia smiled, her eyes not leaving Steve even once, the same for him to her. "Music is always so amazing." She loved listening to the musicians in her homeworld. Though Midgaurdian music seemed so different and full of life, oh she loved it so much.

Bucky glanced between the two with a knowing glance, "And would you go dancing too, Miss. Delphia." He had never seen Steve so taken with a woman before. Nor had he seen a woman interested in Steve before either. He's known what it's like to be on the receiving end of a woman's gaze, so he could recognize it. Bucky just sure hoped that it wasn't just because of how Steve changed, and that Delphia had an interest in him because of his personality.

Delphia stared Steve in the eyes and answered honestly, "of course, I love dancing."

"0800, Captain." Peggy said, bringing the two out of their staring contest.

Steve collected himself and allowed his eyes to pull away from Delphia for a moment to say, "Yes, ma'am. I'll be there."

Peggy turned to sashay away, finished with her business there and more than ready to have a nice night. However, Delphia stayed. She would have loved to have Peggy bring her around the town and introduce her to many different activities to do, but there was something else on her mind. 

"Have you found a partner?" She asked Steve

He blinked in shock at the question, "huh?"

"For dancing?" Her angelic voice asked, "have you found a partner, I would love to have a dance at the moment."

It took a moment for the statement to register in Steve's mind. Delphia? She was asking to dance with him? Right? He was understanding this correctly, right?

It took Bucky jabbing him in the side lightly to get Steve to clear his throat and get a stuttered answer out. "Uh, n-no, no, I don't." He smiled awkwardly and straightened his posture, "would you like to dance?"

Like the gentleman that he is, Steve had offered her his hand, praying that she really was thinking of dancing with him and he wasn't over reading this. Delphia smiled brightly at the gesture and took his hand gently. It set her whole body on fire, something that she hadn't felt before at all in her entire life. I made her feel so amazing.

So for the rest of the night the pair laughed and danced the night away. Delphia was learning different types of dances since all she knew what to do was formal dances, and in return she taught Steve how to dance in that manner. Even the rest of Steve's team had joined in on some of the dancing. Through drunken laughter and fumbling feet, Delphia had such a fun time meeting the new team that Steve was putting together and getting closer to Steve. Even if there was a war looming over all of them at this moment, it was nearly forgotten right now. Right now, they are having a wonderful night together.

---

After the exciting night of dancing and happy moments, it was time for everyone to come back to the seriousness that they were in. Even if most of the men at the pub were certainly nursing hangovers, there was work to be done. There was a war to be won! As everyone was bustling around doing their jobs, Delphia was amongst them.

Delphia had been placed on some errand duty by Abraham. She had been tasked with picking up some important documents, getting them signed by the right people and delivered to the correct place. Of course, she was more than happy to do it, any way to help out Abraham she was more than willing to do.

As she turned the corner she came to a shocking sight. It was Steve being intensely kissed by another woman. Time had seemed to stop as Delphia registered what she was seeing. It wasn't exactly the sight that Delphia had wanted to come across. It hurt. Though really could she say that she had some sort of claim to Steve at all? They had one dance, she felt like there was something there, perhaps he didn't feel the same though. However, she needed to remind herself that she should feel hurt or anything like that. He's mortal, the happiness that she might find in him would last his whole life, but only a small fraction of hers. So she shouldn't imagine having him in that manor. It still didn't mean she couldn't have that sinking feeling in her chest.

Peggy rounded the corner as well and caught sight of Steve and the woman. It was quite the sight that she also did not want to see, though she saw how upset Delphia had suddenly become. The way that she had suddenly froze with eyes wide and breaking slightly in pain, it was not a sight Peggy wished to see. After all, she's well aware of how close she and Steve were, so she could understand Delphia's feelings about this.

"Captain!" Peggy called breaking the kissing pair apart. Steve appeared more than dazed while the blonde woman seemed pleased. After all, she just had a helluva kiss with THE Captain America. Though Steve's dazed appearance disappeared when he caught sight of Delphia and her conflicted expression. Peggy continued on with annoyance in her tone, "We're ready for you. If you're not otherwise occupied." Without anything else said she briskly turned around and grabbed Delphia along with her. The goddess just allowed herself to be guided away since she was still lost in her own thoughts about this.

"Delphia, wait." Steve rushed after them while whipping his lips as if they were tainted. He did his best to try to catch up and explain to Delphia, but Peggy kept them at a brisk pace. The last thing he wanted was for her to get the wrong idea. After all, he isn't interested in that woman at all. He needed to make that extremely clear to her.

Though Peggy just continued to pull Delphia to follow her, since she knew that the woman would not want to speak with him. She snapped at him, "Looks like finding a partner wasn't that hard after all."

"Delphia it isn't what you thought," Steve desperately said while leaning down to get a good look at the goddess. 

Peggy still spoke for the both of them as Delphia was still lost in her thoughts trying to process it. "I don't think anything, Captain. Not one thing. You always wanted to be a soldier and now you are. Just like all the rest."

That seemed to be the final say, as Peggy guided Delphia away from a distraught and defeated Steve. All he could do was watch them hurry away as his chest started to feel tighter. He had to make it clear to Delphia that he was not interested in that woman. Though what would he say? That he was interested in Delphia herself? Was he bold enough to say that at this moment? After all who's to say that she was interested in him too. He could just mess up any semblance of chemistry that they might have. Though he could do nothing as Peggy seemed dead set on keeping him and Delphia separated. So he came to the conclusion to let this be for the time being. He paused in his steps and watched them go. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. Steve knew that he had to make it up to her somehow, but how?

Steve hadn't been completely certain on how he felt about Delphia. He knew that she was beautiful and was captivated by her, who wouldn't? Though he enjoyed her company, her personality, her heart. He liked everything about her. It wasn't an ideal thing to happen now since they are in the middle of the war and anything could happen, but it was just far too sweet to ignore. The fact that she could make his heart race by anything she does makes him melt. He sighed heavily, he'll have to do something soon to make that clear to her.

After marching far enough away, Delphia gently took her arm back from Peggy. "Peggy, it's all right," she said softly. Delphia appreciates the protective stance that Peggy had taken over this, but it really wasn't necessary. Yes, she froze up a bit back there, but she could have handled it. It was a shock to see, but Delphia is a princess, she knows how to be cordial in any situation. Even ones that she has never experienced before in her life.

Peggy shook her head, "I saw the look on your face, Del, you were hurt."

Delphia looked away, hoping to hide the expression on her face, "I have no claim to Steve, he is allowed to do as he pleases."

"After all this time, you and I both know that's not it."

"Peggy, please."

Seeing how conflicted Delphia was starting to become, she knew she had to stand down just a bit. "All right," she said softly. She could see that it was starting to become a bit of a sensitive topic now. The last thing that Peggy wanted to do was make her friend feel even more uncomfortable 

Delphia cleared her throat and tried to plaster on her best small smile, though it looked more like a grimace, "I have to bring these to Abraham, excuse me." So she left with that being said. Things are getting complicated now. She knew that her vision showed her here on Midgard and surrounded by such wonderful people, but they did not show her with Steve, nor would that be possible. She will live a long life, and he will not. Perhaps she should save herself the heartache and stop any blossoming of their relationship from happening. Though who knows.