"Ughhh, my whole body feels numb," the guy groans, getting up from the floor.
"I am going to kill that son of a bitch for making a fool out of me," he mutters as he stands up and goes in the direction Kitty went.
To locate them easily, he steps out of the school building and scans through the windows. With it being nearly evening, the school is mostly empty.
Fortunately, he soon spots them. Kitty is seated by the window, chatting and laughing with a guy whose back is turned towards him. Despite not seeing his face, he recognises him as the same person who caught him off guard earlier.
"Arghhh!! I was the only friend that girl needed. You ruined everything for me, and you too, Kitty, betraying me this easily. I am going to bring this whole place down on you both!" He exclaims angrily, pointing his hands forward as his eyes roll back.
Sweat pours from his forehead as he clenches his teeth. The ground rumbles, and the earth cracks in front of him, the crack gets bigger and bigger as it advances straight toward the building.
Rumble Rumble
He keeps pushing his powers until the whole building starts shaking and the huge earth crack passes through it.
Opening his eyes and seeing the whole building on the verge of collapse, he smirks and limps away, not wanting to stay for the aftermath.
---
Rumble Rumble
"What is happening?" Kitty exclaims, getting up as the whole classroom shakes and the walls crack around us both.
I also get up, the face of the guy I had just knocked down coming to mind. "That little shit must be an Avalanche knockoff. I should have knocked him out cold," I murmur in irritation.
"It must be Lance. He must be doing this," Kitty says anxiously, also coming to the same realisation.
"Don't panic, Kitty. We can get out of here," I say as I try to grab her arms, but my hand goes through her body.
Crack! Boom!
The cracks abruptly intensify as the ceiling falls on top of us both.
"No, Luke, hurry grab onto me!" Kitty exclaims as she throws herself at me and hugs me tight.
I ready my forcefield but stop at the last second as the rubble harmlessly passes through us both.
Kitty opens her eyes while still hugging me, and we both look down at our legs, which are half-submerged in concrete, resembling the way they would appear if submerged in water.
The sensation is unbelievable. I can still feel my legs and even move them, but my eyes tell a different story, as if I was glitching from this reality, treating solid objects like a liquid or gas.
Kitty's face turns determined as she gets out of my hug but keeps holding onto my arm. She drags me out of the rubble, and we both pass through the submerged walls out into the open ground.
All this time, I felt a bit scared, thinking about what would happen if Kitty lost concentration and made our body parts solid again while inside the rubble. Would it become a part of the rubble? Or would it just be stuck in there?
But Kitty keeps holding onto my arm tightly and manages to safely brings us out.
"Lucas, did you see me? Did you?" Kitty asks as she turns towards me and throws herself into my arms with an excited smile.
"Yeah, wow, Kitty, you saved me, you saved us," I say with a smile as I caress her back.
"I am like a superhero now!" she says excitedly.
"Yes, Kitty, these powers are a gift. And you have used them well," an old man's voice is heard, and I see the Professor in his wheelchair arriving in front of us.
I also notice a crowd of people who were standing outside looking at the collapsed school in confusion.
"Who are you guys?" Kitty asks as she grabs my arm, looking at Ororo, Jean, and the Professor.
"This is Professor Xavier, Kitty. He runs the school I was telling you about," I introduce them to her.
As the Professor, Ororo, and Jean talk with Kitty, D.A.I.S.Y. fills me in on how the Professor controlled everyone's minds in the building and Storm helped lift them out with her wind.
I sigh, feeling a bit better knowing that no one was hurt. I had half a mind of tracking that little shit and pummelling him to the ground.
"Come on, Luke. We are going to my house," Kitty says, grabbing my arm with a smile.
"Alright, alright," I say, letting this Lance fellow go for now, as I still have an urgent thing to attend after this.
-----
"All this to make one Super Soldier"
"Paris has fallen. London might be next. If this works, you could end the war," Peggy says, looking at the skinny kid beside her. "We mere mortals can only dream of doing such things."
They both smile as they look at each other.
"Steve, it's time to start the experiment," the Doctor announces. Peggy and Steve stop their talk and go down from the observation booth.
Peggy approaches Dr. Abraham Erskine, Colonel Chester Phillips, and their wealthy patron Brandt, right behind Steve.
"Agent Carter, wouldn't you be more comfortable in the booth?" Dr. Erskine asks in his German accent.
Peggy looks around and notices that only the bigwigs are left here standing. She glances at Steve, who smiles back at her.
"No, I would prefer to stay," Peggy replies firmly, and the doctor nods, focusing back on Steve.
Peggy stands behind the crowd as Steve is settled inside the pod with three blue vials sticking out on the side. Looking around she sees the playboy genius Howard Stark preparing the machines.
"The serum will cause immediate cellular change. To prevent uncontrolled growth, the subject will be saturated with Vita-Rays," Dr. Erskine explains to the watching crowd.
As Peggy looks around, she notices a peculiar briefcase beside the machines and a man holding a lighter tightly. Her eyes widen as she realises what is going to happen.
"NO! Stop him!" Before she can shove the people in front of her, the man flips open the lighter.
BOOM!
An explosion rocks Peggy back to the ground.
Bang! Bang!
As she gets up, she sees the spy kill Dr. Erskine and run towards the central machine. She shoves the panicked crowd aside and takes out her revolver.
Bang! Bang!
"No, Steve!" she exclaims, seeing the skinny kid who tried to stop the spy being shot in the chest.
The spy takes a vial out of the machine and tries to run, but Peggy is ready for him.
Bang! Bang!
Peggy shoots two shots straight to the heart, no hesitation. The man collapses, the vial falling harmlessly from his hand.
"Steve!" Peggy checks on Steve, but he has no pulse and he isn't breathing. The shot was too clean—he is dead.
"Power levels are dropping!" Howard Stark yells as sparks fly around the facility due to the explosion. "We either do this now, or we lose the project!"
Colonel Chester sees Steve's bloodied chest and looks at Howard. "Stark, you go in!"
"What? Are you crazy? I push the buttons. I am the buttons guy!" Howard exclaims, shaking his head.
"Get in there!" Colonel Chester demands angrily.
"Sorry, tech and bullets don't mix," Howard says, trying to stop a fire advancing towards the main console. "Send someone else!"
"Do you know how much this costs? We won't get another shot at this," Colonel Chester says in frustration.
Peggy, amidst the chaos, closes Steve's eyes and lays his body on the ground. "Howard, get ready," she says, standing up.
"Agent Carter," Howard's eyes widen as Peggy approaches the machine, taking off her military shirt.
"Agent Carter, what are you doing?" Colonel Chester asks in surprise as Peggy places the fallen vial back in its place.
"This is our only chance," Peggy says, getting inside the machine in a sleeveless shirt.
"Now!" Howard exclaims, starting the procedure.
"Stark, don't do this," Colonel Chester yells as the machine closes around Peggy.
"Ugh," Peggy grunts in pain as the syringes gets inserted into her body.
Then abruptly she feels an unimaginable pain, as if her whole body is being destroyed.
"ARGGGGHHHH!"
"Peggy, are you alright?" A gentle voice breaks her reverie as she sees a handsome face in front of her.
---
"If you are not fine with this, we can still stop right now," I say, holding Peggy's arm as she gives me a pained smile.
"No, I was just reminiscing about an old memory," Peggy says, shaking her head, looking ahead at the high-tech laboratory that looks completely different from the ones in her memory, reminding her once again that she is in the future.
"How about raiding Luke's prized wine collection after we are done here?" Bobbi suggests with a smile beside her.
"Hey, you have your own private stash. Why are you raiding mine?" I ask in alarm.
"It is fine, alcohol hardly affects my system," Peggy says with a wry smile. "That is something you will have to worry about after today too, Luke," she adds, winking at me.
"Tut tut tut, you don't know him, Peggy. I am sure he will find, invent, or develop a way to get drunk if he really wanted," Bobbi says with a smirk.
"You can do that?" Peggy looks at me in surprise.
"Hmm, shouldn't be that difficult," I say, caressing my chin.
"Well, then please do it, as that would definitely help me out," Peggy asks with a sigh.
"Are you really fine, Peggy?" Bobbi asks, touching her arm in concern.
"I am fine. It is just that sometimes... this future world feels both familiar and oddly strange," Peggy says with a wry smile. "I haven't even fully processed all the updates that I have gotten yet: me having been awarded the Victoria Cross, England's highest honour; the fact that the Strategic Scientific Reserve, once known as the S.S.R., is now S.H.I.E.L.D. and led by an old friend, Nick Fury, who, incredibly, is still alive," Peggy adds, massaging her forehead.
"How about the fact that you are still legally alive since they never declared you dead, and you are still a British national? Your paycheck and pension must be quite impressive by now," I joke with a smile.
"Yeah, I should 'claim' it someday," Peggy says with a chuckle, her mood improving.
Isigh mentally, knowing what memories are haunting her right now.