Chapter 3
Steve was not looking forward to telling the team about what happened. Part of it was a pride issue, not happy with himself that he wasn’t able to handle the situation without a casualty and injury. He fought literal aliens a month ago and was fine, but one guy with a gun in an elevator and he comes out with a bullet wound. But he really wasn’t looking forward to telling them about what happened to Celia. He didn’t even know what happened. This was something he was completely unprepared for. If he was being honest, he was scared to tell them about that part. He mostly trusted the team, but he wasn’t sure how they would react. Would they want to turn her over to Shield for testing? Would they see her as a threat they needed to take care of? He didn’t know and he was not looking forward to finding out the answer.
Tony strode out of the elevator doors, heading straight for the wet bar to pour himself a drink. Steve would’ve joined him, if alcohol had any effect on him anymore. Bruce shuffled him over to a couch, fussing over his shoulder like the mother hen he was.
“Who’s this?” Natasha called over her shoulder, still standing in front of the elevator with Clint. Celia was leaning against the corner of the elevator, looking like she’d love to disappear into the floor.
“She’s with me,” Steve answered, trying to stand before Bruce put a hand on his good shoulder, stopping him. He glared a little at the scientist, not liking being babied. Bruce just glared back, not letting his tough guy act slide. “Just let her through, okay?” Natasha slunk back into the room, perching on one of the stools by the bar.
“Welcome to our humble abode,” Clint said, opening his arms wide to present the room to Celia.
“It’s my abode and it is anything but humble,” Tony called from the bar, knocking back a shot of something before pouring himself a refill. Clint just rolled his eyes, motioning for Celia to follow him. She reluctantly followed, staying apart from the team, but still in the same room.
“Are you hurt too?” Bruce asked her, gesturing to the blood stains on her shirt.
“Um...no?” she answered, making it sound more like a question than a definitive answer. The rest of the team stared at her, not understanding her reply.
“Okay, I think the wait is over,” Tony declared, walking over to the sitting area with a full glass. “I want the story, now.” Steve groaned, knowing he couldn’t put it off any longer.
“Celia and I were on an elevator when a man came on,” he started.
“You were the only ones on the elevator?” Natasha asked.
“Yeah, and we had been for about 30 floors,” he answered. “She asked him what floor he was going to, because he hadn’t pushed a button. He said whatever one I was headed to would be fine. That was weird, so I was going to get Celia off of the elevator before I confronted him, but then he took out his gun. He made us move over so he could hit the emergency stop.”
“Did he know who you were or was this random?” Clint asked.
“He called me Captain,” Steve said with a frown. This secret identity stuff was really not working out for him. “He said he had a job to do, that he was going to take me back to his lab and use me to make more super soldiers.”
“How did he expect to get you to go with him? Hold you at gunpoint? Take a hostage?” Bruce asked, glancing over at Celia, who was still standing a little ways from the group.
“He had developed special bullets with electricity. I guess to try to knock me out with them so I would be easy to transport. I tried to talk him out of it-”
“Of course you would try to negotiate with a crazed gunman!” Tony interrupted, taking a sip of his drink.
“Didn’t I hear about you having a nice little monologue with Loki, right before he threw you out a window?” Clint asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
“I was stalling for time,” Tony justified, looking offended.
“So was I,” Steve said, getting back to his story. “I was this close to being able to grab the gun, but he fired as I made a move for it. And I was hit.” Steve paused to look over at Celia, who was looking pale. “We were hit.” Everyone turned to look at Celia, who took a small step back.
“You said you weren’t hurt,” Bruce said, looking between Steve and Celia, confused.
“I’m not, not anymore.”
“Explain, cause I’m getting really annoyed with this cryptic shit,” Tony spat out, downing the rest of his drink.
“The bullet went through me and into Celia’s chest. She went down and it was shocking her and then it stopped. I could’ve sworn she was gone, but a few seconds later she was sitting up and screaming,” Steve rushed out, wanting to get the words out of him as fast as possible. Celia looked like she was going to be sick, reliving what they went through.
“Okay, so the bullet didn’t really hit her, it just shocked her?” Clint asked, trying to make sense of the details.
“No, the bullet went into her heart. I saw the wound, I had my hand on it!”
“Well Cap, maybe you were so shocked about getting to second base with a woman that you got confused,” Tony quipped, earning a slap on the back of the head from Natasha.
“This isn’t funny Stark! She was dead and then she...came back,” he yelled, not in the mood for Tony’s jokes.
“That’s impossible,” Bruce said, shaking his head and pacing a little in front of the couch. “If she was shot in the chest, at that close of range, she wouldn’t be standing here, completely fine.” Steve looked over to Celia again, where she looked ready to run off. He couldn’t blame her, this was something no one would be prepared for.
“I was there and I saw it. I felt the blood coming out, I felt her bones moving. I watched her die and then I watched her come back. After all we’ve seen in our lives, what makes this the unbelievable thing?” Steve asked tiredly, putting his face in his hands. He felt so wrung out, needing his team to trust his word instead of question him.
“Okay,” Bruce said, taking charge of the situation, “Natasha, I want you to stitch up Steve. Just close up the wounds and the serum will take care of the rest. Celia, could you come sit down next to Steve so I can check you over a bit? Nothing invasive, is that alright?” Celia nodded, slowly walking over to the couch and sitting on the opposite end. Natasha left to go grab the med kit in Tony’s lab, the best stocked one in the tower. Celia quickly pulled her shirt off and Steve covered his eyes.
“We should give you privacy,” he stammered out, hoisting himself off of the couch as best he could in his condition.
“Wait,” Celia said, grabbing his hand and pulling him back down onto the couch. “It’s fine, I’m wearing a sports bra. I wear this at the gym.” Steve gave her a small nod, still averting his gaze to be polite. Tony had no such qualms, walking across the room to watch over Bruce’s shoulder.
“Where did the bullet hit you?” Bruce asked, using his best doctor voice. As often as he complained that he wasn’t a medical doctor, he could never say no when one of them needed help.
“Right here,” Celia answered, pointing to the center of her chest. There was still nothing there besides smooth, unblemished skin.
“Maybe you thought you were hit when Cap’s blood got on you and you went into shock?” Clint mused, peeking around Tony a little to see what everyone was looking at. Celia wordlessly started to rummage through her bag, grabbing the balled up and bloody shirt she had been wearing earlier. She flattened it out, putting her finger through the hole left by the bullet.
“Okay, then is the bullet still in you?” Tony asked, still looking skeptical. Steve pulled the bullet out of his pocket, holding it out on his palm. “So the bullet went through your shirt only, then shocked you and the trauma had you and Cap so confused that you thought you were hurt more than you were.” Tony nodded, seeming satisfied by his explanation.
“There is no way a bullet went through a tight t-shirt and stopped without even leaving a mark on her skin,” Natasha said as she strode back into the room. She knelt down in front of Steve, setting out the supplies she needed to patch him up.
“Makes more sense than coming back to life healed,” Tony rebutted. “Unless she was wearing some sort of body armor we haven’t been made aware of.”
“May I?” Bruce asked, gesturing to Celia’s chest with his hands. At her nod, he gently pressed along her chest, feeling for anything unusual. She looked down to watch him work and her eyes suddenly widened.
“Oh my God,” she murmured, looking down at her stomach.
“What?” Bruce asked, pulling his hands away in case he did something to make her uncomfortable.
“I had a scar on my stomach, but it’s gone,” she answered, sounding dazed. Steve watched her face, barely noticing the pinch and tug of Natasha neatly stitching his shoulder. He was impressed Celia had made it this far without freaking out, but it seemed like she was nearing the end of her rope.
“Scars fade all the time,” Tony brushed off, walking back to the bar to pour himself another drink. Steve was about to yell something to tell Tony off for being so stubborn when he heard Celia whisper something.
“What?” he asked, leaning his head toward her. She turned to look him in the eyes, a silent apology in them.
“Maybe they’re right.”