Louise exits a federal government car in the U.S. camp in Italy, finally getting her free time from the Senator. Rain poured heavily as Peggy exited next to her. They both jogged towards the empty American stage, Peggy goes first to find Steve as Louise prepares herself for questions. She breathes in slowly, knowing no one should notice except those in high command that she was the 'Blonde Phantom'. Her hair was back to her natural brown, curled at her shoulders, which she covered with a large trench coat before entering the stage cover.
Louise stepped forward, her small boots making slight noise as she had worked the trench coat, a button grey jacket and grey skirt. Steve looks up after setting down his journal, Peggy sitting high on the side stage steps as Louise comes into Steve's view. His head shoots up as she comes into view, his body quickly tumbling up the steps to swarm her with a tight hug.
"Lou." He says quietly, hugging her hard as he needed her at the moment as his friend. She returns the hug, holding him tight as she feels her mind wants to explain what she's done. Some guilt filled her mind as she wanted to tell him things.
"Steve. I see you've become your dancing monkey, or were you finally gonna choose a different path?" Louise says straight forward, and Steve chuckles as they pull back and he holds her shoulders.
"How've you been? I know Senator Brant sent you on something for the last few months." Louise tenses only slightly as she doesn't want to lie to her best friend.
"Most missions required a woman's touch, nothing too risky." She responds, giving Peggy a glance that meant she'd play along. A few shouts behind them alert them, and an incoming medevac truck pulls in front of a medical tent. Med doctors pull out a man on a stretcher to enter the tent.
"They look like they've been through hell." Steve says next to her, as Peggy speaks up behind them.
"These men more than most." They turn to face her, and Steve returns to his spot on the steps with Louise next to Peggy.
"Schimdt sent out a force to Azzano. Two hundred men went up against him, and less than 50 returned. Your audience contained what was left of the 107th. The rest were killed or captured." Both of the serum soldiers looked up, Louise's chest tightening as Steve spoke.
"The 107th?" He says and Peggy glances between them.
"What?" She says as Louise jumps off the stage, ignoring the rain as she stomped towards the commanding tent with Steve and Peggy hot on her trail.
"Colonel Phillips." Steve says as Louise stands with her brown hair lightly soaked next to him.
"Well, if it isn't the Star-Spangled Man With A Plan. And what is your plan today?" Colonel Phillips says from a table he sat at.
"I need the casualty list from Azzano." Steve says with a slight commanding voice.
"You don't get to give me orders, son. And none of your hocus pocus either." He points to Louise and she gives him a pointed glare.
"I just need one name. Sergeant James Barnes from the hundred and seventh." Steve speaks again,and the Colonel points the edge of a pen to Peggy next to Steve.
"You and I are gonna have a conversation later that you won't enjoy."
"Please tell me if he's alive, sir. B-A-R..."
"I can spell." Colonel Phillips says, pausing as he stands and sets something on a table behind him, before facing the trio.
"I have signed more of these condolence letters today than I would care to count. But the name does sound familiar. I'm sorry." Louise feels her chest ache, her face and body expression stone as she sidesteps to speak up.
"What about the others? Is there going to be a rescue mission?" She asks, and Steve looks to the map next to them with pins and strings attached to it.
"Yeah! It's called winning the war." The Colonel replies.
"But if you know where they are, why not at least...?
"They're thirty miles behind the lines. Through the most heavily fortified territory in Europe. We'd lose more men than we'd save. But I don't expect you to understand that, because you're a chorus girl." Colonel Phillips interrupts Steve again, and they all look to the Colonel.
"I think I understand just fine." Steve responds, and Louise clenches her hands to control her want to use her mental abilities.
"Well then understand it somewhere else. If I read the posters correctly, you got some place to be in thirty minutes." The Colonel finishes and passes them to look at something else. Both Steve and Louise look at the map, both eyeing the H.Y.D.R.A. symbol showcasing the location of a base.
"Yes, sir. I do." Steve responds as Louise follows him out, as Peggy continues to look at the map.
-
"What do you plan to do? Walk to Austria?" Peggy says as she enters a tent where Steve was packing. Louise stood just outside the opening, looking through a small address book for information.
"If that's what it takes." Steve responds and Louise knows the same thing is running through their minds on what to do.
"You heard the Colonel, your friend is most likely dead." Peggy pushes, and Louise takes a step in pausing.
"You don't know that." She adds in quietly, as she finds a name of someone who could help her.
"Even so, he's devising a strategy. If he detects..."
"By the time he's done that, it could be too late!" Steve says as he goes to exit the tent and steps to an empty uncovered government jeep outside.
"You told me you thought I was meant for more than this. Did you mean that?" Steve asks, glancing at both Louise and Peggy.
"Every word."
"Always." They responded, Peggy then Louise.
"Then you gotta let me go." Steve says as he gets into the driver seat and Peggy steps to his side.
"I can do more than that." Louise says, having found an informant and Howard Stark's radio signal. They look at her with a slight smirk, as they speak of ideas.
-
Louise quickly changes into her wig, leaving out her dress and opting for a very dark crimson catsuit of sorts. It had dark red sun emblems that were at each end of her collarbone, her hips, and at the sides of her knees. She zipped the chest piece up to her neck, keeping her thin armour hidden in the lining of the suit. Her hands check her separate tight pants that also had thin armour lining and her mid calf high dark red boots. She heard quiet rustling behind her as she stood back up and saw Steve behind her in brown civilian clothes.
"Where are you going? What are you wearing? The blonde-"
"I don't have time to talk, Steve. I can explain later." Louise says, knowing she was losing daylight in a tent. She attaches her guns at each hip, double checking her knives at her calves and upper forearms, before grabbing her domino mask.
"Lou, wait a second." Steve pushes as she passes him and goes to ride a motorbike outside.
"I can't, Steve. I've already arranged for Stark to assist you, Peggy already knows. I'll meet you there, I know how to make it work." She pushes, and grabs a hat helmet to attach.
"Louise, just wait. You can't go in there alone-"
"Isn't it what you're gonna do? I'm helping in the way I know how. I'll meet you there." Louise says in firmness and Steve silences, finally knowing what she looked like.
"You're her. The Blonde Phantom." He says, understanding that she's been on countless missions to get intel.
"I'll see you there." Louise says as she climbs onto the bike and speeds away toward Krausberg between the mountains.
YOU ARE READING
Ardent || MCU
Fanfiction"Are you ever gonna let me save you?" "I'm not your typical damsel, James." Louise was a woman with many skills, baking, dancing, knife throwing, undercover ops, etc. Well, she learned the last two while her best friends fought in the second World...
