The elevator doors were closed and Samantha Wilson was standing in a lobby with Jessica Jones.
Jessica was doing her best to seem nonchalant. Frankly, that was the charitable read. The less charitable read was that Jessica Jones, a woman who had spent years developing a carefully maintained attitude of indifference toward most things, was trying not to fangirl in the presence of Captain America. Jessica had her arms crossed. She was looking at the elevator doors.
Samantha Wilson was just a celebrity and war time hero. Be cool, Jessica told herself. Try not to be be impressed. Celebrities were impressed when you weren't impressed. Right?
"So," Jessica said.
"So," Samantha said.
"You good?"
"I'm fine. How about you?"
"Cool. Yeah, I'm cool."
"Have you worked here long?"
"Oh yeah. Been some years now. You know how to is. How about you? You, uh, been a soldier long?"
Samantha had this whimsy look on her. "Yes. Been some years myself."
"Yeah, cool, cool. You're, uh, Samantha Wilson, right? Sorry, I don't pay attention much to history and the news."
"Yes. Samantha Wilson. I do believe we've met and talked before."
"O-oh yeah. Yeah, we have, right? Yeah, I forgot about that."
Here was the thing: there was a huge difference between a group setting and a one-on-one with nothing but silence. Huge, huge difference. Jessica could hear her nonchalant heartbeat. It was very much NOT nonchalant.
Samantha looked at the elevator doors. Jessica looked at the elevator doors. The lobby was very quiet.
"I'm not going to ask for a photo," Jessica said.
A chuckle. "I appreciate that."
"I just want to say—" Jessica stopped. Started again. "The thing with the plane. And the ice. That was—you know. That was rough. I read about it."
"Thank you, Jessica."
"Don't mention it." Jessica uncrossed and recrossed her arms. "Mhm."
The elevator dinged.
Both of them looked up.
The doors opened and the board members waddled out like penguins. It was equally hilarious as it was concerning. These people were sweating and not making eye contact with each other. Collins had his hand over his mouth, Hartwell's heels were moving faster than was strictly dignified, and the bald CEO came out last of the main group, jaw set, eyes forward, and hands in his pockets.
Samantha stared.
Jessica stared too, then remembered she had a job. She awkwardly followed them and tried to speak to them. She got rebuked but she at least took them outside.
Samantha was left alone, eyebrow raised. Some minutes later, the elevator door opened again. More board members filed out, somehow in more of a panic.
Except for Felix. He was the last to come out and there was zero panic on him. In fact, the guy had the audacity to wave at Samantha.
"Hey, Samantha." Wave, wave, step, step. "You wanted to talk, right? Want to go for some coffee on the second floor?"
Samantha wearily glanced at the doors the board members had gone through. She looked at Felix. He was the only nonchalant person here. Talk about suspicious.
"Sure," Samantha said. "But what was that all about?"
"You know." Felix smiled. "Oscorp is shutting down."
"W—" She squinted. "What? Just like that?"
"Yep."
Samantha watched his face for the joke. There wasn't one.
"Oscorp has offices all over the world," Samantha said slowly. "And a lot of money, if I'm not mistaken." She tilted her head. "What happened in that meeting?"
"We came to a collective agreement to not become a megacorporation." Felix put his hands in his jacket pockets. "The plan is to break Oscorp apart and create dozens of smaller companies. Each division becomes its own thing."
"That sounds..."
"Crazy?"
"You make it sound so easy." A small chuckle escaped her despite herself. "I'm shocked anyone agreed to it."
Felix winked. "Nothing is impossible."
***
The cafeteria was sparsely decorated. Round red tables and red chairs intended to serve a good fifty people. At this hour it was empty except for one woman with a mop. She looked up when Samantha and Felix came through the door. Behind the counter, on the complete other end, their footsteps echoed in the silence.
The cafeteria lady blinked and blinked again.
Felix came up to the counter. "Any chance of two coffees?"
The cafeteria lady set the mop against the wall. "Of course, of course!" Smiling, the cafeteria lady smiled and walked back to the machine. She reached for cups. As she did, she glanced over at Samantha. The ordinary shift had suddenly become not so ordinary.
"Milk?" She was already pouring. "Sugar?"
"Sugar and cream, yeah," said Felix.
"Black is fine, thank you," Samantha replied.
The cafeteria lady glanced at Samantha again. She shrugged and rather than keep quiet, she spoke her mind.
"You know, all that business with the Sam Files." The cafeteria kept her eyes on the cups. "That's not your fault. What they did after you — that's the government being corrupt. That's all that is." She slid the first cup across the counter. "And you got iced after crashing a plane, for goodness sake. You helped end the war! People blaming you are idiots."
Samantha took the cup with a forced smile. "Thank you. I appreciate it."
"I'm just saying, I have a brother who always blamed himself for things other people did. Drove me insane." Laughing, the lady slid the second cup toward Felix. "Anyway."
Samantha chuckled in soft agreement. She…didn't quite know where to put the rest of the response, so she left it at the chuckle.
The cafeteria lady looked at Felix. "Ah, Felix. Gosh. Look at you. You know, I remember you coming in on your first day. And now look. Head scientist. Two years. I just think that's something. Oscorp is sure to have a bright future with you."
Felix scratched his cheek. "Haha, yeah…"
He took both cups and nodded his thanks, and they crossed the cafeteria to a table by the window. The city was outside. It was always outside, at every floor, from every angle. New York, doing what it did.
Samantha sat across from him and wrapped both hands around her cup.
"So," Felix said. "I want to say, I agree with the cafeteria lady."
"I figured."
"And me telling you the details of what happened…that won't do anyone any good."
"You're wrong. I have to know." Samantha tapped her temple. "I can remember the name of every soldier, every agent, every man and woman that has served with me. From the war, from this era, I know all of them. I consider that a privilege. To be able to carry a man's memories, that was the greatest gift I was given by Dr. Erskine."
"Samantha…"
"So please. Tell me."
He sucked in a breath, closed his eyes, and opened them. He told her everything. He told her the true story behind the experimentations from the 1950s and onwards. She was aware of the Hulk. She was aware of Wolverine. She was aware of some of these incidents.
"She lied to me." Samantha balled up her fist. "Peggy lied to me…!"
But those were the successes. She was not told of the failures. She was explicitly told by her good friend Peggy Carter that she personally shut down any attempt to replicate the super soldier serum as Director of SHIELD. Too much of a risk.
Peggy told Samantha that in the ten years following her disappearance in the ice, attempts to replicate the serum were made. Putting a hand on her shoulder, smiling, Peggy told Samantha that after those ten years, the experiments stopped because there was too much loss of life.
"More people died after 1955 than before. Greater advancements in genetics and America's fear in not having been able to replicate the serum caused a serum race, especially with the USSR."
In other words—was a bold-faced lie, because Peggy herself had been the primary enforcer for the experiments. All over the world, trying to use genetic diversity to her advantage and generally failing. She caused thousands of children to die.
Samantha stared at the bottom of the coffee cup. Without the coffee, she could no longer see her own face. She didn't want to either. Her fists were tightly clenched, drawing blood.
"Peggy was my friend. I owed her, I…if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have been…" Samantha shut her eyes. "Peggy…what the hell happened to you!?" Slam! "Not only did you hide that from me, but you…you did all that. And for what? For some stupid super soldier?"
No. To become immortal. Felix was not going to tell her that. He had to ask.
"In the history books, they say Peggy introduced you to Dr. Erskine."
Samantha nodded, head still down. "She did. She…without her, none of this would have happened to me. I was apart of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. We were postal clerks, cooks, mechanics. We were the only battalion of our kind, but…we weren't soldiers. We could never be soldiers. But Peggy…she saw something in me. She took under her wing. She brought me to Dr. Erskine."
"As the story goes, you weren't the original recipient."
"I wasn't. I was to be the fourth-option." That wasn't what the history books said. They said Samantha was second in line. "Regardless, it was Steve Rogers that was the forefront candidate. But before he take the serum, the Nazis attacked. I took his place because I was ordered to, and…" Samantha ran both hands down her face. "Peggy. Peggy. I can't believe it…"
The story wasn't a lie then. For once, reality and history aligned. Peggy told her subordinate to use the super soldier serum and to not waste it.
"A woman in a man's world—it was unheard of. It was terrifying, for me and everyone else. But…" Samantha squared herself. "We made it work. She well and truly helped me make it work. She was my number one supporter. Without Peggy…I…I'm not sure how far I would have gotten."
Her whole notion of being a hero, it had collapsed. From Samantha came the exhale of emotions that had been held for a while.
"Hey, if this is about the sincerity of your heroics—don't," Felix said. "What Peggy did after you doesn't change a thing. You're still a hero in my book. In everyone's book. You stopped a plane from crashing into the US coastline. You fought the Symbiote Hulk thing. You were trying to save people. It's not a fantasy."
"Thank you, Felix. Really." The melancholy smile on Samantha did not appear very thankful. "I know. Heroes exist. Good exists. And the road to good and justice is filled with mud." She started muttering, "Sometimes so much mud that you have to stop and look around. Check where you are." She looked at the window. "I stopped looking around because I thought I was following the right path. I was arrogant because there was no war. I thought I didn't have to look around because nothing was as bad as the war. I was…"
Samantha trailed off. They sipped their coffee. Samantha sighed into hers.
"I'm not supposed to be here," Samantha said, after a moment. "I broke out, you see."
"Broke out? From…SHIELD captivity?"
"They said it wasn't captivity." Samantha set the cup down. "But it was."
"Did they send agents?"
"They did. I took care of them."
"Woah." Felix looked her up and down. "Are you sure you'll be okay? Being here?"
"SHIELD will keep sending people," Samantha said, "and I'll keep sending them back. At some point they'll have to stop, considering the Sam Files. I know they will." She picked up the cup again. "Without Fury, they don't have the backbone to chase me with full force."
She said Fury's name without ceremony. Without grief, exactly, but without nothing either. They weren't best friends. They respected each other, that was the extent of it. To make hard choices in hard circumstances. A man of war, just like she was.
"Although, perhaps that is my arrogance speaking," Samantha remarked. "It seems I really need to calibrate on how I see people's characters."
Following a short chuckle, the cafeteria was quiet. Felix thought about telling her that he was Spider-Man and that he understood. But she didn't need that from him right now. She didn't need relatability. She needed a normal civilian to sit across from her in a cafeteria and just be a person.
He reached across the table and turned his hand so it was holding hers.
She looked down at it. She didn't pull back.
"Can I show you something?" Felix said.
She looked up. "What is it?"
"It's in Oscorp Tower. Follow me."
***
Security in Oscorp Tower was the same down in the basement levels. Entry required an ID and an actual reason for entry. As head scientist, such security was circumvented. Even at B4 where the magic of science happened and where the Vita-Ray Chamber 2.0 was located.
Where the super soldier serums were located.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
It never turned off. A total of twelve monitors blinked, protruding from a side wall while reading vitals, cell data, biology stability, and other variables that Samantha had zero understanding off.
However, most importantly, was the vial in his right hand.
"The Super Soldier Serum. Perfected."
"..."
That same hand then slowly spread and pointed at every section of the room. Felix was showing this to her. This was his work. His chamber. His pod.
And this wasn't mentioning the storage rooms or physical analysis areas that Luke once used.
"All this…to become me, huh?" Samantha said. "I see. It's much more elaborate than Dr. Erskine's."
What else could she say? Congratulations? After what he just told her? No, she was frowning. She didn't get why she was brought here. All that failure…for this? Samantha waited, because Felix had to have something to say.
"There's enough produced for twenty people, so far. Considering the success of Luke Cage, it's guaranteed and safe too. No one will die."
Samantha crossed her arms. "...I see."
"I expect the board members to try and steal this soon. As we speak, actually."
Samantha blinked and glanced over at him. "For what purpose?"
"You know why. They want to monopolize it. They want to sell it. Super soldiers will become a commodity."
"..."
"The serum itself, I estimate, has an eighty-percent success rate. With the Vita-Rays, it goes up to ninety-nine point nine. Effectively a guarantee—and painless too. My question then, Samantha is…should we destroy it then?"
He turned and posed the question. He wanted to look her in the eye and he wanted her to do the same. Samantha did that. She turned. She looked into his soul.
"No. The serum is a tool. What we do, what we become, it is up to people to decide." Samantha recrossed her arms. "But. If this is handed to the military, it will be a genie we will never be able to open again."
"Politicians coming up with excuses for war to sell this and make money—or maybe just the wanton destruction of it. This serum, commodifying it, it could change the world."
Samantha nodded. "Yes. It could. For the worse…or the better."
Felix smiled. "That's what I was hoping you'd say."
"Hm?"
"I'm really glad we're on the same page. Samantha, I plan to create a diluted version of the serum. It's cheaper to make, but more importantly, it'll be medicine. It can help anyone of any age with their immune system or, well, any injury. Imagine, having lung disease or a damaged heart, but by taking an injection of a special variation of this serum, you can heal it. You can live for years—no, maybe even decades longer."
Blink, blink. "Yes, that would be for the better." Then she squinted. "Hold on, is that why…did you…did you cause Oscorp to disband? So that you could stop this from getting into military hands?"
Felix smiled sheepishly.
Samantha laughed heartily.
The strong tall woman was suddenly her old self again.
"You've got some balls, Felix." Samantha put a hand on his shoulder and smiled beautifully. "Going up against all those board members? I know their type, they won't go down swinging."
"Me neither. I don't want to lose this invention—my and Dr. Erskine's invention to a bunch of vultures that care about profit. I really, really want to help people. I do."
"And you want my help? That's why you brought me down here?"
She caught on fast. "I'm hoping you can give me your help. There will soon be a new pharmaceutical company for this diluted serum, run by me. I want you to be my bodyguard and to stop those guys from swinging at me."
It was less so a matter of physical protection. Obviously, there was nothing Marsh or any of those board members could throw at him that Spider-Man couldn't handle. Send a hundred mercenaries, they'd all fail.
But…if he had Captain fucking America by his side, no mercenary would even accept that mission. And nobody would dare to question the legitimacy of his company too.
America's greatest hero, an actual super soldier, promoting a one-of-a-kind medicine was the best PR he could possibly have.
"I see…" Samantha suddenly frowned as she looked at the lab again. She looked quite sick of labs. "Are you sure this will work?"
"Samantha." Felix lifted a hand, solemn but not unkind. "Do you trust me?"
She looked. She turned. She stared.
"I do."
Samantha smiled and took his hand.