03.| guess i can't call you shorty anymore

"I know this neighborhood." Steve states as him, Peggy and Charlotte make their way towards the facility in which Steve's procedure was going to take place. Charlotte watches as young boys rush out of the street so they wouldn't get hit and a small smile appears on her lips, before glancing to her brother, who points out the window towards an alley. "I got beat up in that alley. And that parking lot. And behind that diner."

"Did you have something against running away?" Peggy questions him.

Steve shakes his head, "You start running, they'll never let you stop. You stand up, you push back. They can't say no forever, right?"

"I know a little of what that's like, to have every door shut in your face." Peggy says to him.

"I guess I just don't know why you'd want to join the Army if you were a beautiful dame." Steve says and a smile appears on Charlotte's lips, knowing how awkward her brother was going to get around her friend. "Or a... A woman. An agent. Not a dame. You are beautiful, but..."

"You have no idea how to talk to a woman, do you?" Peggy questions him.

Steve let's out a nervous laugh, "I think this is the longest conversation I've had with one, other than my sister."

"Damn right." Charlotte replies to him and he shakes his head as he stares at her.

"Women aren't exactly lining up to dance with a guy they might step on." Steve continues, ignoring is sister.

"You must have danced." Peggy states as she glances at him.

"Well, asking a woman to dance always seemed so terrifying." Steve admits. "And the past few years, it just didn't seem to matter that much. I figured I'd wait."

"For what?" Peggy questions.

"The right partner." Steve answers as he glances out the window.

Charlotte glances to her best friend to see that she was smiling at Steve, before glancing out the window. A few minutes later, the car pulled up to a building and the three of them climbed out of it and stepped outside. Once Peggy is out of the car, she glances to Charlotte, before to Steve.

"This way." She says and the three of them walk towards the entrance of an antique shop.

"What are we doing here?" Steve questions.

"Just follow us, Steven." Charlotte says to him and the three of them enter the store. Peggy and Charlotte glance around the building, until an elder woman enters, giving the two agents a kind smile.

"Wonderful weather this morning, isn't it?" She asks them.

"Yes, but I always carry an umbrella." Peggy replies to her.

The older woman walks around her front desk and presses a button, while the three of them venture towards the back room and stand in front of a large bookcase. Steve glances up to his sister and Peggy, watching as the bookcases swung open like doors. He stares at them in wonder, just as the two women walked through them and into the hallway.

Steve follows them through the hall, until they enter the large room where the procedure would be held. Steve walks right up to the railing and glances down to see the large chamber, in which he woudl be placed inside. All of the workers glance up to Steve and Charlotte and Peggy glance to him as well, watching as he stared over all of them.

After a few seconds, the two agents lead Steve down the stair case and over towards Dr. Erskine. Once they're closer to him, Dr. Erskine holds out his hand for Steve.

"Good morning." Dr. Erskine greets him, just as another man enters and takes a picture of the two of them. "Please, not now." He says to them, before turning back to Steve, who was staring at the chamber. "Are you ready?" Steve nods his head. "Good. Take off your shirt, tie, and your hat."

Steve does as he's told and he removes the items he's told. Once he's ready he walks over towards the chamber and he climbs into it. Charlotte glances at her brother and bites down on her thumb, just as Peggy does the same. Charlotte was worried for her brother, since he was one of the only things left that she had. Yes, she had Bucky, but he was too busy fighting in Europe. Steve was one of the only other things she had left.

Dr. Erskine walks up to him, "Comfortable?"

Steve let's out a nervous laugh, "It's a little big. You save me any of that schnapps?"

A guilty look appears on Dr. Erskine's face, "Not as much as I should have. Sorry. Next time. Mr. Stark, how are your levels?"

"Levels at 100%." Stark answers him as he approaches them.

"Good." Dr. Erskine replies.

"We may dim half the lights in Brooklyn, but we are ready as we'll ever be." Stark states as he glances over Steve and the chamber.

"Agent Carter? Agent Rogers?" Dr. Erskine says to them and the two women snap their heads around. "Don't you think you would both be more comfortable in the booth?"

"Oh, yes, of course. Sorry." Peggy says to him and the two of them turn around to leave. But Charlotte turns back around and rushes over towards her brother and presses a kiss to his forehead, before going back over towards Peggy. The two of them walk up to the booth where everyone else was and they quickly take their spots.

Dr. Erskine flicks his finger against the mic enough times to make it ring and get everyone in the booth's attention. "Do you hear me? Is this on? Ladies and gentlemen, today we take not another step towards annihilation, but the first step on the path to peace. We begin with a series of microinjections into the subject's major muscle groups. The serum infusion will cause immediate cellular change. And then, to stimulate growth, the subject will be saturated with Vita-Rays. Serum infusion beginning in five, four, three, two, one."

Charlotte watches as the procedure begins with pumping the serum into her brother's body and Peggy grabs ahold of her hand and gives it a squeeze. Charlotte doesn't glance at her, but she keeps her eyes on her brother as Dr. Erskine tells Stark that they were ready. She watches as the chamber is then lifted and they attach to pipes to the chamber. Dr. Erskine taps on the chamber to say something to Steve and Charlotte inhales deeply, not ready to watch what was about to happen to her brother.

As Stark began to turn on the Vita-rays, she could hear him read off the percents and hear that Steve's vitals were okay. Charlotte thought everything was going smoothly, until she could hear her brother groan in pain. Her eyes widen and she darts from her chair and out of the room, with Peggy right behind her.

"Steven!" Charlotte yells as her and Peggy reenter the room and she stares at the chamber. "Shut it down!"

"Steven!" Dr. Erskine yells as he slams his fist against the chamber.

"I said shut it down!" Charlotte repeats.

"KIll the reactor, Mr. Stark!" Dr. Erskine orders. "Turn it off! KIll it! Kill the reactor!"

"No!" Steve yells. "Don't! I can do this!"

Stark then proceeds to turn the Vita-Rays all the way up to 100% and Charlotte glances to Peggy, before back to the chamber. Her brother's groans were no longer heard and she bit down on her lower lip. Peggy glanced between the chamber and Charlotte, before sparks started to rain off of the machinery in the lab and the Vita-Rays began to dim within the machine. Once it was all gone, Dr. Erskine turns to Stark.

"Mr. Stark?" Dr. Erskine asks him and then the chamber suddenly opens to reveal Steve. But it wasn't the Steve that Charlotte knew. He was no longer the scrawny, older brother from Brooklyn. No. He was no much larger than her and more muscular. "Steven? Steven."

"Steve!" Charlotte calls out as she rushes down the staircase and over towards her brother and Dr. Erskine. Stark and Dr. Erskine help him out of the chamber, just as Charlotte and Peggy got to them.

"I did it." Steve gasps.

"Yeah, yeah." Dr. Erskine says as he looks at him. "I think we did it."

"You actually did it." Stark says in amazement.

Suddenly, Charlotte wrapped her arms around her brother's neck and pulled him into a hug. Steve let out a small laugh as he wrapped his arms around his sister for a few seconds, before they broke it off. Charlotte glances over him and her eyes meet his again, "I guess I can't call you shorty anymore."

"How do you feel?" Peggy asks as Steve let's out a small chuckle to his sister's remark.

"Taller." Steve answers her and Charlotte smiles.

"You look taller." Peggy stutters as she takes the shirt out of a nurse's hand and gives it to him. Suddenly, an explosion rings out from the booth and everyone hits the floor. Dr. Erskine glances over to see a man grabbing the final vial of the super soldier serum.

"Stop him!" Dr. Erskine orders, but then the man fires his gun and hits Dr. Erskine two times in the chest.

Peggy and Charlotte both jump to their feet and pull out their guns, firing at the man as he ran up the stairs. Peggy got him in the abdomen, while Charlotte got him in the shoulder. As Steve rushed over towards Dr. Erskine, Peggy and Charlotte made their way after the man. The two agents made their way through the antique shop and outside.

They ran out into the middle of the street and they held their guns up, ready to fire at the man in the car. But just before they could, an explosion happens behind them and they duck, as they glance around to face it. Charlotte then turns around and aims her gun at the car and she fires it, and then the car swerves before slamming into another car.

The man hops out and he rushes into a yellow car. The man begins driving again, but this time, towards both of the women. They aim their guns again and they both fire. But before they could get another shot in, Steve rushes out and tackles them both out of the way of the car, letting the man drive past them.

"We had him!" Peggy exclaims angrily and Steve pushes himself to his feet as the girls do as well.

"Sorry!" Steve apologizes, before he begins running after the car. Charlotte stares at her brother for a few seconds, before back to Peggy.