Golden Eyes

The sound of someone slamming their fists into a punching bag filled my ears as I slowly approached. In an old, almost World War Two looking boxing gym, was Steve Rogers. A man out of time. I watched as he was pummeling a punching bag. With every swing, it's like a memory he's trying to fight off and repress. I watched Steve's rage kept building as he punches the bag. It gets harder with every hit. I felt sad for him and his pain. He was asleep for 70 years but I at least was able to be awake and witness time changing. He was just basically thrown into this world unwillingly.

Steve closed his eyes and goes at the bag harder. He opened his eyes and tears the bag down with a huge swing of his fist as the last memory kicks in. I don't think he can physically stop. He stands up straight, breathing hard, letting out 70 years of over repressed feeling. After taking a few breathers, Steve picks up another punching bag, which is laying next to another dozen bags. He hooks the bag up and starts punching again. I took a deep breath as well trying to get my emotions under control. He was going to have so many questions that I couldn’t answer and-.

“Are you just going to stand there and watch or are you going to come out and show yourself?” I realized my cover had been blown and let out that last bit of breath and took a step forward. I watch his face go from annoyance to confusion to shock. I took another small step forward and his arms dropped.

“Should I keep walking towards you or are you going to punch me as hard as you punched that bag?” I said trying to make this situation a little bit less stressful.

“You? But how? When?” He was fumbling for words and I smiled sadly. Now wasn’t the time.

I went to go open my mouth when Fury walked in and I snapped it shut stepping aside. I thought I was going this mission alone but I guess not. Steve looked between Fury and I before his eyes settled on my S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform and then my eyes. My eyes that were now no longer green and all gold. The transformation took place about a year after the war ended.

“Trouble sleeping?” Fury asked stepping forward and standing next to me. I looked at Steve as he continued to stare at me before addressing Fury.

“I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill.” He turned and started punching at the poor bag again.

“Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world.” Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down.

“I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost.”

“We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently.” Fury admitted. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Steve. When I last saw him he was happy, full of life, and now he seemed so…empty.

“You here with a mission, sir?” He simply asked as he stood up to walk towards us. I followed his movements and realized in the 70 years under the ice he didn’t lose any sort of muscle mass. I was slightly impressed. Me? I had to keep working out to keep my muscles toned and ready to fight. I went from the frail young woman in 1942 to basically a trained assassin like Natasha. She was one of the main ones to help me hone in on my enhanced senses and skills.

“I am.”

“Trying to get me back in the world?”

“Trying to save it.” I said stepping forward and handing Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects. Fury wanted to use all his new technology to present this to Steve but I talked him out of it because I knew it would be overwhelming to him. Besides we grew up in a time of paper and filing cabinets not this thing called a computer and the internet. There were just something I was good at and other I wasn’t. Technology was one of those things I wasn’t good at. I left all that to the other agents. “Hydra's secret weapon.”

“Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, that the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs.” Fury explained as Steve looked through the files reading everything I wrote for him.

“Who took it from you?” Steve asked looking up.

“He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know.”

“At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me.” Steve said quietly as he looked at me. I could only stare back at him and try and tell him with my eyes that I would explain later.

“Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment.” Fury bet as Steve turned and picks up a punching bag. He just then starts walking out of the gym with it like it weighed no more than a pillow. I chuckled slightly as how ridiculous he looked.

“Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now?” Fury asked before Steve could walk out the door.

“You should have left it in the ocean.” He exclaimed as the door swung shut behind him. I turned to Fury then.

“Sir?”

“Go follow him Carson.” I nodded and took off after Rogers.
“Steve! Wait up!” I jogged up to him and when he went to turn around the punching bag almost hit me in the face. I dodged it and turned away and ended up facing Steve’s back as he was now looking were I once was. I tapped his shoulder and he turned again this time I blocked the bag with my hand. “Woah there cowboy. That’s almost twice now you almost hit me.”

“How do you still look the way you do Vanessa?” Well he went straight to the point now didn’t he?

“The scientists that experimented on me remember? Whatever it was they put in me its been keeping me alive. We still don’t know what it is or how it works but all we know is that I do in fact still age, just slowly. Like I’ll be 24 for awhile still. I still get hurt and I can still die. My senses are heightened about 50 times more than a normal person and I can heal faster than most people as well. Basically like you.”

He stared at me and rubbed his head like it was hurting to think about it. “Why are you working with S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

“Where else would I work Captain? I can’t exactly get a job as a secretary in a law firm since you know, I don’t age at all. How would I explain that one?”

He shook his head and started walking again though at a slower pace so he could continue talking with me. The wind blew my dark hair out of my face and I could hear the crickets chirping from all around us. The moon was only half full but it was still a beautiful sight. I looked over to Steve who was watching me and I smiled at him. Before he perished into the ice we had all become really close friends and it had been really hard to move on for awhile. Peggy and Steve had had feelings for each other and I knew it hurt her the most. I could picture Peggy now in her bed at the retirement home. She had aged well and eventually ended up marrying a detective from her job after she left the military for a bit. She had two grown children who she loved to death and I was sad when I wasn’t allowed to be seen by them anymore. They were starting to notice I wasn’t aging and it was drawing suspicion so I have to visit Peggy in secret now.
“Did Fury send you or did you volunteer?” He asked stopping to looking at me. I turned to face him and the wind blew my hair into my face. I knew my golden eyes were piercing into his blue ones as I answered him.

“I volunteered. I had to see my friend for myself after 70 years.” I smiled at him and his stern look melted into a soft smile as he pulled me into a hug.

“It’s good to see you Vanessa.” I felt his muscles surround me and I felt my heart flutter. No! Mission first. Besides he didn’t care for me. He never would. Not like Peggy.

“It’s good to see you too Steve. Now I’m sorry to rush things but we have a helicopter to catch. I’ll answer anymore questions you have then.” He smiled and nodded turning to keep walking. I stood there for a moment and then followed after.

What did I get myself into.