ILove2Write13: Writing this chapter was really hard because it broke my heart :(

hayleyb29: Thank you! Here you are!

Counting Sinful Stars: I love Casablanca! ;D

Viviidity: I think I'm going to sob. You're review means the world to me. It seriously means a lot. I love long reviews and pleasant words. I burst into tears! Seriously, I really appreciate it.

Winter break is tomorrow! One day more! *dramatically reenacts into Les Misérables*

A huge thank you to Sarah for her hard work :)

Please Enjoy.

VI

S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier

Hull Hanger, Secure Storage 10-C

9:46 AM

Steve glanced around before grabbing the only barrier that was preventing them from entering the secure storage.

"Hold your horses," Lea said. "As eager as I am to witness your undeniable brawn, I found a passcode in the files. Give me a second."

Steve let go of the door and the female punched in a few numbers into the plate. The plate beeped, flashed green, and the door slid open.

Steve held his arm out in signal for Lea to go first and she dipped her head, entering a large warehouse filled with metal crates stacked up in mountainous piles. The pair ducked behind a pile as the guards strolled by. When the coast was clear, the two super soldiers looked at each other.

"Up there," Lea whispered, pointing a finger up at the catwalk. Steve peeked up to make sure no other guards were coming and waved her forward. He watched in amazement, his heart skipping a beat, as the female took a running leap and flew up through the air. Her hands found the railing and she clutched it tight, swinging up onto the upper level.

So it was the same for the both of them. Steve knew he could easily make that jump, but watching another super solider in motion was breathtaking.

Steve follow suit, sprinting across the floor and he coiled and sprung, landing on both feet on the catwalk. Lea grinned at him and they moved on.

They rounded a corner and Lea stopped in front of a door with the label FA1 on the front. She punched in a series of numbers three separate times while Steve kept look out for other S.H.I.E.L.D agents. There was another bleep and flash of green light and the door slid open.

Inside was a dark room full of what looked to be fog. Lea peered inside where the outline of a several large boxes sat in the corner.

"I'll see what's in the box. Watch my back," Lea uttered.

"Got it."

Lea carefully stepped toward one of the boxes and gently pried it open, the hinges groaning. Inside there were over five large cans with the letters XXE on one side and STARK on the other.

Steve's head shot up as footsteps approached from around the corner.

"Miss Stark!" he hissed.

The blonde shut the box and slipped out of the room, shut the door, and sidestepped around Steve.

The guards were rushing stairs, guns brandished. In unison, Lea and Steve both threw themselves over the catwalk bolted out of the storage room and down the hallway. They didn't stop until they were several hallways away from the sight of the crime and in the secluded training room. Lea burst into nervous laughter from the thrill of it.

"What was in the boxes?" Steve inquired.

"Cans of hallucination gas. Tony developed it and used it in some of the weapons he developed so I'm familiar with it...to a point. I know the dynamics and the effects."

"What is it? What does it do?"

"It's a type of gas that targets the memories and latches onto the fear section of your brain, turning them into something they shouldn't be."

"And they're allowed to have that?"

The female shook her head. "I don't know how they got it, but they did. And I'm certain they didn't want us to know about it."

Steve trailed after her eyes as they raised to the corner of the ceiling where a device that resembled a camera was watching them. Steve's jaw tightened slightly.

"We should do something productive," Lea suggested, eyes still glued to the camera. "I don't want Tony to think I was just loafing around."

Steve inclined his head in agreement. "I should get back to–"

As they both stood up and the two super soldiers examined one another, Steve couldn't go on. What exactly was there for him to go back to? Lea had the lab and her brother, Steve had his room, maybe a hall or two to aimlessly wander like the lost soul S.H.I.E.L.D thought he was.

Lea had her eyebrow cocked up at his loss of words as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Miss Stark, I don't..." Steve was having a hard time opening up and getting the words out. Since he had emerged from the ice, he felt as if he could solve the new technology easier than the people. The connection between him and humans seemed to be violently severed.

But with the youngest Stark, the words came easy. He didn't feel mystified or nervous as he always did with girls. He felt tied to her, knotted and wound tightly together through their bond from Howard and the serum. She was his anchor to the new, frightening reality.

And when he opened his mouth again, the words spilled out as if they would never stop. "I don't have anything. I don't have anything."

The blonde's gaze softened.

"Lea," she said, offering him his hand.

Steve's eyebrows came together and then he smiled. He gripped her hand and shook it.

"Steve," he replied.

The beat of sincerity was broken by a mischievous glimmer in Lea's blue eyes as she tightened her grip, twisted, and yanked him around so his hand was pinned up somewhat painfully behind his back.

"Not so super now, are you?" She teased.

Steve swung his foot back and knocked her legs out from underneath her and stood over the female super solider.

"We'll see about that," he responded as his lip quirked up in a devious smirk.

Lea jumped up, balancing on the balls of her feet, and put her hands up before her face in a boxing position. "Show me what you've got, Captain."

Steve held his hands up as well and shifted his weight and aimed a punch at Lea's head. She ducked, swung to the right, and landed and blow in his gut in a blur of crimson and blonde. His eyes barely caught her as she spun around him and kicked him–hard–in his back so he lurched forward.

He pivoted to get her but she was already gone, sliding through his grasp like a slippery snake. But he had learned from his last mistake and his leg was there to meet her, tripping the female so she stumbled. Steve caught her off balance, clouting her over the head and hitting her twice in the stomach.

Lea skipped backwards, taunting him forward, and roundhouse kicking him in the face. Before her foot could connect with nose, he snatched her ankle and flipped her through the air. Lea spun, using the momentum to her advantage so when she hit the floor, she pushed off with her hands and pounded both feet straight into his ribs. Steve fell back as she plowed on, hitting him with what would have been a nasty uppercut if she hadn't taken the edge off of it.

The male shook the stars out of his eyes and countered. He socked her in the jaw and knocked his foot into her shin, her returning with an elbow in the ribs and him then a kick in her face.

But before she could hit the ground, the blonde wrapped her legs around the man's neck in a tight vice grip. She bent back and landed on her hands, flipping over onto her feet and back into a ready position.

That was when Steve accidentally drove his knuckles straight into her face.

There was a crack and a wet gush as a waterfall of blood streamed in a torrent out of her nostrils and from a wide gash on her forehead from where his knuckles had smashed into her face. She staggered back with a loud "ouch!" and nearly fell on her butt.

Steve had nearly fell also. It felt as if he had been smashed in the face also, his nose stinging like crazy and whole head throbbing. He patted his face but no blood came. Lea hadn't even hit him.

The blond caught Lea in the crook of her armpit and kept her on her feet as she paled with a smile as she laughed through the pain.

"Shit, Steeben, I think you boke my nose!"

"Oh my gosh–I-I-I'm oh my gosh–wha–I'm so sorry I can't believe that just–" He fumbled his words in appall at what he had just done. Her whole face was contorted in pain and the weird angle her nose was sitting at didn't help either. That was soon fixed when Lea pinched the bridge of her nose and with another crack and exclamation she gruesomely reset her nose back in place.

Steve was still stuttering like a mad man, guilt threatening to cause his breakfast to make a reappearance.

"Hey, hey Steebe. It's otay, reely. " Lea's eyes were slightly out of focus. She giggled. "I dink because I wub you Steebe." She laughed harder at the sight of her blood all over his uniform. "Hey, hey Steebe. I dink you should change your name to Captain Crimson. Get it? For da blood?"

Oh my God, he had damaged her brain.

Steve grabbed her by the arm and hauled her out of the training room.

"Bhere are be going?" Lea asked as blood rushed down her face, the front of her shirt, and into her eyes. She pressed the back of her hand to her nostrils to try to staunch the bleeding but only managed to get her whole hand soaked. Her gaze found Steve's hand and she exclaimed, "Steebe you're hurt!"

Steve peeked down to see his knuckle split open and the bone showing. He hadn't noticed that his hand was bleeding vigorously when he could feel his heartbeat rattling in his nose and skull.

"I'm fine," Steve assured. "I'm so sorry, though. I can't believe–"

He felt so terrible and it only made him feel worse when Lea interrupted him to say, "Don't borry 'bout me, I can thsee you're bone!"

"We need to get you to Dr. Banner," Steve told her, swallowing his shame for the time being.

He felt so awful about hurting her that it literally hurt him in every fiber of his body. Not only that but his face was still aching for whatever reason.

"Hey! H-Hey, Steeben," Lea said with body shaking laugh that only made the gore flow down her face faster. "At least I'm bearing a bed shirt."

The Captain huffed a breath as he stifled a laugh, fighting not to giggle with the situation that was present.

S.H.I.E.L.D agents offered their help, eyes wide and spines straight when they saw the two super soldiers round the corner to the main section of the ship both wounded. Lea craned her head around to see that the pair had left a whole trail of blood leading all the way from the training room to the bridge.

"What the hell happened?!" Fury interrogated as they crossed his area to get to the lab.

"We were sparring," the two super soldiers said in unison.

"You might want to get something for that," Director Fury suggested.

"We're on it," the Captain informed.

"Die-wreck-tor, Steeben is ah-boosing me," Lea whined, shifting her hand slightly only to squirt blood all over two of his screens.

"Oh hell no. You did not just get blood all over that!"

"Sawbee, Die-wreck-tor."

Tony swore loudly at the sight of his sister drenched in blood and rushed to her side, yanking her out of Steve's grip and shouting for Bruce to get the med kit.

"What the fuck happened?!" Tony demanded.

"Be ber sparrin'," Lea said. "It bas an accident."

"Accident my ass! Look at you! I can't even see your face anymore it's so covered in blood!"

"I'm really sorry," Steve tried.

"I'm gonna kick your ass in a minute, you just wait your turn," Tony snapped, moving out of the way so Bruce could stop the bleeding in her nose and patch up her forehead. The oldest Stark then grabbed a wet towel from the sink and sponged his sister off, chucking one at the male super solider to press to his hand.

"See, this is why I wanted you to stay in the lab," Tony groused. "Look what he did to you!"

"It bas an accident!" Lea protested, snapping out of her stupor.

"No! You are on lockdown, missy! You are grounded!"

"You can't ground me!" Lea shouted. "I'm twenty-one!"

"Look what he did to your face!" Tony held up a mirror for her to see her gashed forehead and bleeding nose that had cotton balls in each nostril. "You're a mess!"

"A hot mess."

"Goddammit–"

"Steebe didn't mean too! Stop making him feel borse than he albedy does!"

"I can make him feel as bad as I want. This is all his fault! You two are not allowed to spar, you are not allowed to leave this lab unless you are going to our room, and you are not allowed to be near each other unless I am right next to you! I will get a leash if need be!"

"Dat's so unbear!"

"No, it's law," Tony growled. He then looked at Steve, grabbed him by the back of her shirt, shoved him out of the lab, and snarled, "Don't you ever touch her again!"

The glass doors slammed in Steve's face as he clutched the rag that was once white. Defeated and alone, he slowly headed off in the direction of the nearest medic.

The Lab

5:02 PM

Lea surlily tapped on Mini as she measured the gamma radiation in Bruce's calculations. It had been about thirty-two hours since she had seen Steve (she had counted every hour, minute, and passing second tediously in the back of her brain as she worked) and she still felt an itch digging into the nape of her neck. It was as if a nail was being hammered into her spinal cord and sending shockwaves throughout her nervous system. When she moved too fast her body twitched or when she sat too still it felt as if she was going to break out in hives. The blonde was fighting her anxiety the best she could but she felt as if something awful was going to happen. She couldn't shake the feeling when her whole body was a live wire pulsating with sweltering energy.

Lea's skin felt hot and sweaty, but was normal and dry to the touch. She felt like insects were worming and skittering under her skin. As she stared at Mini's screen, it split in two, a blurred line slicing horizontally across her vision until it expanded and consumed it.

"Lea! C'mon, Lea, aren't you coming?"

The blonde seven year old bit her lip, her neck sinking self consciously into her torso as her shoulders pulled inward.

"I want to," she mumbled to her friends. "It's just…"

"Just what?" Hannah put her hands on her hips and Rachel stuck her lip out in a pout.

"It's...it's just..." Lea scuffed her feet through the wood chips and tugged on her blonde pigtails that Tony had put in for her. "My brother wouldn't like it."

"Who? Toooooonnnnyyyyy? Who cares about Tony?! This is gonna be fun!" Hannah said brusquely.

"C'mon, Lea. Please?" Jessica begged. The five girls were all staring at her, their eyes pleading.

Lea huffed out a timid and shaky sigh. "We aren't supposed to go in those woods. They're off limits, remember? And we just had that big storm so we have to stay away…"

Lea trailed off as Hannah grabbed her hand, dragging her toward the forest as the other girls cheered.

The woods that had once throbbed with life seemed desolate. Branches creaked in the trees, swaying dangerously after the wind had ripped them apart. Somehow the six girls had managed to sneak into the woods without the teachers seeing. There had been some sort of distraction Hannah had apparently set up on the playground and–

"We're gonna play king of the hill!" Hannah commanded, pointing to the trunk of a huge oak that had fallen over. "I'll start and you try to push me off!"

The girls began in their game, giggling and squealing as they each tried to claim the trunk from Hannah. The defiant red head resumed her position every time another pushed her off, getting back at them twice as hard.

Lea didn't try. She hugged herself and watched, Hannah's triumphant eyes falling upon the blonde every time she claimed the trunk. The tenth time she overtook the throne, there was a loud crack as a thin, dying, and leaning poplar descended toward the exact spot where Hannah was standing.

As if the world moved in slow motion, Lea pushed off and jammed her feet upon the base of the trunk for support, her hands reaching up and holding the tree in mid fall.

Everything spun and sped up, Lea shoving against the tree with her hands and the oak trunk with her feet until it tipped and fell hard against the ground in the opposite direction. The girls ran with a scream, bolting out of the woods.

"Lea?"

The female super solider blinked and came back to life. Her brother was gazing at her, eyes wide in concern, as she pivoted away.

"I gotta pee," Lea coughed out. At top speed she sprinted out of the lab and into the nearest bathroom. The women's bathroom door screamed and nearly toppled off its hinges.

The youngest Stark ran hot water in one of the sinks, splashing it on her face and scrubbing her cheeks, then turning the water as cold as she could go to try to wake up from the anxiety creeping up her back.

When she looked up, face dripping, Loki was standing behind her in the reflection of the mirror.

Lea bit back a shout, instead popping the sink out of place so it hung by the pipe. Water squirted all over the tiling and soaked through her shoes. The liquid formed a circle around the perimeter of Loki's feet and did not touch him.

"I'm an illusion. The real me is still in the cage, if your curious."

"God freaking dammit," she cursed in a whisper. "Of course I was wondering how the hell you got out! Is this what you do for fun? Hang out in the girl's bathroom like a peeping Tom?"

"You think me a predator because I just appeared here as you were washing your face to speak with you?"

Loki crossed his arms. "I have no interest in spying on Midgardians or anyone now that we are talking about it."

"Yeah, and I'm sure that sounded a whole lot less awkward in your head, good lookin'."

Loki studied her, taking the bruises on her face, as she reached for paper towel and dried her face. "You are a mess."

"Congrats, Sherlock, you can conduct astute observations!" Lea praised sarcastically as she grouchily threw the towel in the trash and stepped away from the spraying sink.

"I could strangle you."

"Then why do you keep following me around?!"

'Because I can't help it! Because I need to! Because I was mildly, not even remotely mildly do not lie to yourself, interest in your wellbeing!' Loki longed to say but he did not. The Other was barking commands in his head and poisoning his thoughts.

Instead, he did not answer. The Other wanted him to make a smart remark that would sting. He did not oblige.

"I'm sorry," Lea apologized. "Tony would kill me if he knew I was talking to you."

"And it's all about Tony, isn't it?" Loki uttered. "What your brother wants, what is best for him, you playing puppet and he the puppeteer."

"Oh no." Lea waved her finger. "Don't drag me into your sibling angst. I'm already on the very of a panic attack, hot stuff, and the last thing I need is me doubting Tony, old sport."

"Don't call me that," Loki snapped.

"What, old sport?" Lea grinned. "Does that bother you, old sport?

"Yes–" Loki tsked and fought to get back on track. "I...I know the veracity of your condition. I read your files."

"Spying on me in the bathroom and looking through my stuff? Your not lookin' so good, old sport. Like what you find?"

Loki's eyebrows came together at her new and odd nickname for him but nevertheless he smirked when she was done speaking. "You would be surprised at what I know."

"What? That my dad made me into a super solider using Steve's serum? Wow, I'm impressed, old sport."

Loki's illusion let out a laugh of disbelief. "Is that it? You don't know?"

"Know what?"

Loki's simper grew.

"Know what?!"

"The things I've read about you, Amelia Stark, would make your skin crawl."

Lea choked on an inhale. "Stop it."

"I know all about the DNA, the serum, the Tesseract."

Lea shook all over. "Don't. Don't do that."

Loki advanced and he leaned his head down so he was at her direct eye level. "I know that Tony is Midgard's biggest liar, and not even your real brother." His lips moved slowly as he breathed out at a snail's pace, "Old sport."

Lea slapped her hands over her ears and tumbled out of the bathroom, Loki's heart aching and the Other laughing.

Somehow, through her confusion and tears, Lea ended up in the training room.

Steve was there, wailing on a punching bag, when the female stumbled into his back. He turned around, at first with a grin, and then chills shot up his spine at the expression on her face.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" Steve's forehead creased. "You don't look very good."

Lea didn't answer. Her brain was about to explode.

"L-Lea? Are you...are you…?"

Tears streamed down Lea's face as her heart hammered her body to a pulp, beating in her brain, roaring in her ears, ricocheting in her ribs, and suffocating her in her throat. She couldn't breath. The more air she tried to take in, the less she received. She was drowning in oxygen, swimming in it around her but unable to convert it into life as her lungs failed to function. She was going to puke. Some iron fist was wringing her organs, their purpose dripping away like water. The tighter it wound the more she felt as if her whole body would implode inside that dangerous, hating hand.

The paparazzi was swarming around her.

Tony was missing.

She was dying.

The ice was closing around her.

The plane was going down.

Poison veins were running up Tony's chest from his arc reactor and closing around his neck to throttle him.

She was on fire.

The lab was collapsing around the both of them.

A little boy slipping through her grasp, his eyes wide in terror, mouth open in a scream that wouldn't come, arm stretched out in false hope, and legs flailing as he fell to his death from the skyscraper.

She was screaming.

Steve was frozen, unable to move as he watched the female flounder. Her breathing was ragged and wheezing as if she had just run a thousand miles. He stretched his hand out to touch her, to help her some how, and as soon as their skin made contact Lea let out a blood curdling scream.

"Lea–" he tried, wrapping his hand around her shoulder.

Lea thrashed in this grip. "Get off me! Don't touch me! Don't touch me!"

Steve was petrified, utterly useless and unable to move. What was happening? They had only been talking about his crash…

Hands were strangling her, burning her with every touch. She needed them away from her. She didn't want to die.

All at once S.H.I.E.L.D agents were all around them, Coulson, Hill, and Fury at the lead. He could see Bruce, Natasha, and Thor in the pack. Everyone was looking, medics where trying to help Lea but she was screaming louder, hands clapped over her ears and crying harder.

"Move! Move!" Tony shoved his way through the crowd, several agents falling to the ground in his attempt to get to his sister. "Leave her alone! Stop it, you're making it worse!"

Stark pushed the medics aside, looking at all of them watching and his eyes flared with rage. "Goddammit, give her some space!"

Steve watched, still ice-bound as Tony placed both of his hands over his sister's where they were resting on either side of her head. She flinched but immediately recognized his touch as friendly. Tony helped lower her into a sitting position on the ground, as Lea's breathing slowed a bit.

"I'm s-s-sorry," Lea sobbed. "I-I'm sorry, I d-d-didn't m-mean it-t-t, I-I-I-I-I'm s-sorry."

"I know, kiddo, I know," Tony uttered, his voice calm and hands moving expertly while his forehead creased with worry.

"I didn't mean to let him fall," Lea weeped, stressing the importance of her sentence. "I-I didn't m-mean to let go. H-H-He s-sli-i-pped, Tony. I didn't mean to let him go."

"I know, Lea Bea, I know. I need you to take deep breaths, sweetheart, okay? Slow, deep breaths. Go to your mind palace, remember?"

Lea nodded fervently, her whole body shaking. Tony rubbed his hands up and down her arms as he crouched in front of his sister. Lea closed her eyes and did as her brother said, taking deep and slow breaths.

"Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; he will not see me stopping here to watch his woods fill up with snow," Tony started. Lea rocked slightly and her lips moved with his.

"My little horse must think it queer to stop without a farmhouse near, between the woods and frozen lake, the darkest evening of the year."

Lea dipped her head and Tony swept a hand through her hair.

"He gives his harness bells a shake to ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound the sweep of easy wind and downy flake."

Lea's posture relaxed and Tony helped the medics lay Lea on the stretcher. Lea clung to Tony's hand and when he didn't go, Lea uttered the last stanza of the poem.

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep…"

Lea's eyes opened and closed, drooping as her voice drifted off into unconsciousness. "And miles to go...before...I sleep."

Tony kissed the top of his sister's head and mumbled some instructions to the medics. They nodded, heading off in the direction of Lea and Tony's room on the Helicarrier. When they were gone, Steve suddenly found his voice.

"I'm sorry, Tony."

Tony spun around, eyes narrowed.

"For what?" he snapped.

"For not helping Lea," Steve said. "I-I didn't know–"

"That's right," Tony snarled, getting right in Steve's face. "You didn't know what to do or how to help or the ways to even help. You have no. Fucking. Clue. So stop pretending you two are so close or that you have some freaky science claim to my sister. You two may share DNA, but that doesn't fucking mean or will it fucking ever mean that you two are brother and sister or that you are a closer or better brother to my Lea. Check yourself before you wreck yourself, golden boy."

Tony stiffened as if realizing what had said. "Ignore that. I didn't mean–"

Steve had his eyes locked on Tony. "What are you talking about?"

Coulson stepped forward, coming to the rescue.

"They were going to find out eventually, Tony. You might as well just tell him."

"No." Tony shook his head furiously. "It's not the right time. I don't want them to."

Coulson scrutinized the billionaire. They had what seemed to be a heated staring contest before Tony groaned.

"Fine. Fine!" Tony heaved a huge sigh and ran his hand over his face. It was as if each word inflicted pain upon him. "I don't even know where to start, so I guess I'll have to start from the very beginning."

"Amelia was modeled after Steve because when my father couldn't find Captain America he decided to try to "remake" him. Using the blood they took from you in the 1940's and some high-tech technology he invented, he drew Steve's DNA out of the blood and the serum, implanting it into one of my mother's fertilized eggs and then he had her carry the child. To do this properly he used the Tesseract's energy and in the process...we believe...we believe some of it accidentally was infused in Lea's DNA.

"My sister was born healthy and, well, as a sort of "super baby". On my parent's way back from the hospital, they were in the fatal car crash that ended their lives when they were t-boned in the front by oncoming traffic. Miraculously, and with the help of the serum in her veins, Lea survived. She was dragged out of the wreckage and then when I arrived, I was given my sister and she was then placed in my care.

"The only thing was that...I knew something was up as soon as I laid eyes on her and it only became more obvious as she grew up. I didn't know about the program until I found my father's work and videos he had left for us. I knew something was up with her attentiveness and obvious strength. I found out about her being a super solider and the whole process from a video and files my dad left for Lea. Never in my wildest dreams would I had ever thought that thanks to a certain DNA donor she was born a blonde."

Steve shook his head, his blood pounding in his ears. "That's not possible."

"Have you seen me, Cap?" Tony exclaimed angrily. "Use your brain! I've got brown hair and brown eyes, my parents had brown hair and brown eyes, but Lea...Lea's blonde haired and blue eyed. Sure there are traces of me and our parents mixed in her features here and there but, by blood, she's all yours, Captain. By blood…"

Tony swallowed hard and his voice broke. There was agony in his eyes. "She's your twin."

~Illumini