STEVE'S POV

"Anyone know when Fury's gonna show?" Nat asks impatiently, drumming her fingers on the tabletop. We're all a bit on edge, considering we've been completely in the dark with what's been happening in the last few hours.

"He said ten, and he's nothing if not punctual," Tony replies. I check my watch. 9:57. We all wait in silence, the only sound being the clinking of Tony and Thor's shot glasses. And at exactly ten o'clock at night, Nick Fury steps out of the elevator and joins us in the living room of Stark Tower. He sits on the couch, a thick manila file in hand.

"Director Fury," I say, giving him a nod of respect.

"Rogers."

"So, Nickie, what do you have for us tonight?" Tony asks, gulping down a shot. Nat slaps him. Fury ignores both of them.

"Here's what we found so far, although the information is scattered, incomplete, and potentially inaccurate." He passes me the folder. "America Evans. Age twenty-six, lived in New York for a little over two years now."

"Her name is America?" Tony snickers. "Sounds like Capsicle's found his match. Only took him ninety years." Everyone ignores him, including me.

"What does she have to do with Hydra?" Clint asks.

"Evans has a false identity. She has no memory of her real one. So no, Stark, her name is not really America." I raise my eyebrows as he says this. "The earliest record of her existence in the United States was five years ago, in Miami. She lived there for a few months, then moved to Dallas. Then Louisville. Pittsburgh. Chicago. Cleveland. Philadelphia. And finally, New York. This is the longest she has remained stationary."

"That's a lot of places," Nat comments.

"What about the symbol?" Thor asks. His voice is a bit too loud, as usual.

"We ran DNA tests. Evans grew up in somewhere in the Russia/Sokovia area. However it happened, she had a run-in with Hydra as a young teenager. She quickly became a Hydra experiment. She has been injected with the Super Soldier Serum, Captain," Fury continues. My eyes widen. I know what it feels like to be injected. And she was just a kid. "In addition to being a Super Solider, she has enhanced speed. They experimented quite a bit."

"So basically, she's the Russian Flash," Tony jokes.

"Not the time, Tony," Bruce mumbles.

"She worked for Hydra for years. She was even on our radar. They called her the Night Wind, an assassin so quick that her victims never saw her coming. A few years ago, the Night Wind completely disappeared. This was when she somehow ended up in the United States."

"So she's a murderer for Hydra?" Clint asks, taking a few pages from me. I glimpse blurry photos of the girl in all black, armed. Expressionless face.

"She claims to have not done it willingly," Fury states. "That the Serum Hydra uses creates mindless soldiers. And she has blanks in her memory that back that up. They wiped her completely. Multiple times."

"How did you get this information?" I ask, sifting through the papers. Nothing jumps out at me, but I'm just skimming.

"She's been interrogated," he says simply.

Nat's eyes narrow. "Meaning what?"

"We needed information. Doctor Andrews had permission to use any means necessary." My fist clenches around the folder, crinkling the papers. Torture.

"Andrews?" Banner asks, aghast. "He's insane! I have no idea why SHIELD hired him, he enjoys putting people in pain. I had to fire him from one of my projects."

"Where is she?" I growl, although it's not really a question.

"Downstairs," he answers. "Detention level." I don't waste any time, slamming the door as I leave.

"JARVIS, take me to the detention level," I command. I'm still not sure how Tony's computer works, but I really couldn't care less, especially now.

"Of course, Captain." I just stand there, seething. The elevator door slides open, and I storm over to the guard by the detention center.

"I need to get in there," I say. The man squirms but holds his ground.

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow that, Captain," he replies.

"I wasn't asking," I say. "I'm here on behalf of Tony Stark, Director Fury, and myself. I will say this again: I need to get in." Over the years, I've learned exactly how to use my authority when it is needed most. His eyes widen and he quickly punches in a code. As soon as the door opens, I push past him, past Loki's cell, past everything. I finally find America asleep, curled up in a ball in the corner of her cell. 

"No, no!" She mutters distractedly in her sleep, twitching. Nightmares. I open the door and she startles awake. She scrambles away from me.

"Whatever you do, please don't take me back to that doctor." My heart breaks just the smallest bit. Whatever he did obviously scared the girl a lot.

"I'm not. I'm getting you out of here."

She raises her head. "Really?"

"Yes," I say. "Come on, we'll get you an actual place to stay." I offer a hand to help her up, which she takes, but after a few shaky steps, she falls. My eyes land on small circular objects around her legs. Weighted cuffs, I realize. So she can't run.

That enrages me even more. Without another word, I scoop her up and start to carry her down the hallway. Loki's shrewd gaze follows me until I exit the room.

"You don't have to do this, Captain," she mutters. "I can walk."

"It's Steve," I say. "And until we get those things off of your legs, it'll be a lot easier." The elevator door opens, and I step out in front of the rest of the team. Thankfully, Fury is gone. I don't really feel like talking to him anymore.

"What did they do?" Bruce gasps, moving forward automatically. He's the only one who's really on my side right now.

"I'm not sure, but it really hurt," she mumbles sarcastically. I set her down but keep a steady arm around her waist, supporting her if she needs it.

"She's not staying in that filthy cell," I say, looking at Tony. He can do something. He owns the place, after all.

"We don't have any extra rooms right now," he replies. I glare at him. The place is huge. There are definitely places for her to stay, he's just being difficult.

"I can sleep anywhere, it's really all right," she says quietly, not making eye contact.

"Maybe she can camp out on the couch," Clint suggests.

"I don't feel like she should sleep on the couch," I say. That seems very unchivalrous, not to mention rude, considering everything we put her through today.

"Why? I do it all the time!" Clint responds.

"Hey, are you all right?" Bruce asks America. She seems paler than before.

"Um, do you have any water?" Then she collapses. Everyone instantly crowds around her.

"She's probably weak from whatever that idiot did to her," Bruce says, shaking his head. As a human, he's not normally this aggressive. "And she probably hasn't had anything to eat or drink since this morning. She'll be fine, though."

"We still need to do something with the lady," Thor points out.

"I vote the couch!" Clint says, volunteering his idea once more.

"We're not putting the girl on the couch!" Nat snaps. "Not after everything she's been through today."

"She knocked you out," Tony says to Nat.

"But I'm fine now. She's not."

I make up my mind. "She can have my room. I'll take the couch tonight."

"Oh, Captain Rogers! How courteous!" Tony says in a high pitched voice, fanning himself dramatically. "What a hero! What a gentleman!"

"Stark, I will break you in two," I say in an extremely casual voice as I bend to pick her up. He stops immediately. I don't know if he got bored or if he actually believes me, but at least it's quiet.

My room is still relatively empty, considering I only moved in here a few weeks ago. I gently lay America on the bed and pull the blankets on top of her. I wish I knew how to get those ankle cuffs off.

Ever since my experiment, I've looked out for the underdog. If she isn't one right now, I don't know what is.

"I'm sorry about all this," I whisper before leaving and shutting the door.

Hey! What are your thoughts so far?