Captain America: The First Avenger - Chapter Nine: "Vibranium"

"AGENT CARTER can you please go fetch the star-spangled man with a plan for me." Howard asked Peggy as Diana closely admired the new shield prototypes.

One in particular seemed to speak to her the most. The metal was completely foreign to her-- she had never seen something like this before. It was approximately 1/3 the weight of steel, the Princess examined, and was fairly strong. Vibration absorbent, she discovered when she knocked her fist against it lightly.

"Of course Howard." Peggy nodded and began to walk away when Diana stopped her.

"Stay here Peggy, I'll go get him." Diana said, holding out her hand to Peggy.

       Meanwhile, Steve waited patiently at the front desk.

"I read about what you did." Pvt. Lorraine said as she held up the newspaper showing his and Diana's successful rescue mission.

Steve scratched the back of his head, he wasn't so used to women talking to him with this tone. "Oh! The...yeah! Well, that's you know? Just doin' what needed to be done. And it's not like I did it all by myself. Dian--"

"Sounded like more than that. You saved nearly four hundred men." She continued, her sea blue eyes scanning him up and down in a manner that was more than friendly.

Diana did too. Steve thought, bringing himself away from the girl.

"Really, it's not a big deal." He said humbly, albeit not for the reason one may think. He was genuinely convinced all that he had done was not a big deal in the grand scheme of the war. He would only accept proper appraisal after Hitler was no more and Red Skull's operation was permanently wiped off of the planet.

"Tell that to their wives." She purred, standing up from her seat. Steve got nervous as she slowly made her way over to him. She was a pretty girl, but she held nothing against Diana. This one looked like someone that might've ignored him before the serum.

"Uh...I don't think they were all married." He brushed off, stepping backwards. Steve was almost paralysed, never having been put in this type of situation before.

"You're a hero."

"Well D- that...you know? That...that depends on the definition of it really." Steve stuttered nervously. Pvt. Lorraine grabbed his tie making him look up. He wondered when she got that close.

"The women of America, they owe you their thanks. And uh...seeing as they're not here." She said as she pulled him over to her desk and forced her lips on his.

Steve was frozen in shock. This was something fairly new to him and as much as he enjoyed it, his mind always went back to Diana. He was weighing in his mind whether or not to push her away.

"Captain!" The familiar voice of Siana hissed, making Rogers and Lorraine jump back.

It was like his constant thinking of Diana had summoned her.

On her end, she felt an unfamiliar feeling of hurt. It was like betrayal, although she knew that was a dramatic comparison. Her and Steve weren't together. She had no right to be angry. Somehow, this thought made her angrier.

Thousands of years in existence and she had never felt this way before. It was uncharted, confusing, and above all, frustrating.

"We're ready for you." She managed to spit out, although her anger with tightly concealed. "Unless..." Diana trailed off, her eyes glancing over Private Lorraine who looked embarrassed. Without saying much else, Diana turned on her heel and walked off.

"Lieutenant Prince, wait." Steve called after her, making her pause for a moment in confusion.

Lieutenant Prince?

"Looks like finding a partner wasn't that hard after all. Should I have danced with Bucky?" She scoffed as Steve came to walk in line with her. She was trying, trying very hard not to let her anger get the best of her. There were plenty more things to be angry about. A Goddess such as herself shouldn't have such a weak hold over her emotions.

"Diana, that's not what you thought it was." Steve said, his voice full of sorrow and his eyes pleading.

"You're mistaken, Steve. I'm not human." She stopped, turning and having to tilt her head upwards ever so slightly to meet his eyes. She was still tall, but Steve was unnaturally so. "Which means, I have responsibilities bigger than this, so no, I didn't think anything of it. We're friends." She solidified, almost cringing when the word 'friends' came out of her mouth. She was straight lying, but Steve paid no notice. He went bright red once she had told him they were friends.

"Well, what about you and Stark? How do I know you two haven't been... fonduing?" He spat out, then realising how stupid his words sounded afterwards.

Diana stared at him in disbelief. "You really don't know a thing about women." She shook her head and walked off.

     "Fondue is just cheese and bread, my friend." Howard said to the super-soldier as they met up and Steve explained his situation.

"Really? I didn't think..."

"Nor should you, pal. The moment you think you know what's goin' on in a woman's head, it's the moment your goose is well and truly cooked. Me, I concentrate on work. Which at the moment is about making sure you and your men do not get killed." Howard cut the man off. Although, his eyes wandered off to Diana. He supposed she was no regular woman, yet the same rules could apply— in theory.

"Carbon polymer." Howard said, breaking his stare and heading over towards the table with his former shield. He then gestured to it, and Steve, whilst he felt it got the job done, understood that it had no stand out qualities.

"Should withstand your average German bayonet. Although Hydra's not going to attack you with a pocket knife."

"I hear you're uh... kinda attached?" He said, tapping the shield.

"It's handier than you might think." Said Steve, giving it one last glance knowing it would most likely be the last.

"I took the liberty of coming up with some options." Howard said and continued to explain, but Steve didn't listen. He quickly glanced over before his mind made the decision for him.

"What about this one?" Steve said, picking up the same shield Diana had been examining before.

"No! No! That's just a prototype." Howard fussed.

"What's it made of?"

"Vibranium. It's stronger than steel and a third of the weight. It's completely vibration absorbent." Howard explained and Diana watched nearby. She had took the liberty of quickly mentioning to Peggy what she had stumbled across when going to get Steve.

"Bloody bastard." The English Woman had grumbled.

"How come it's not a standard issue?" Steve asked, ignoring the daggers Peggy was staring into him.

"That's the rarest metal on earth. What you're holding there? That's all we've got."

"Are you done now, Mr. Stark?" Diana spoke up after a few moments of silence between the two men. "I'm sure the Captain has some unfinished business." She continued as she and Peggy walked towards the table of shields.

Steve held up the shield to show to Diana.

"What do you think?" He asked. Diana gave an innocent smile. She looked to Peggy before reaching for her sword. With a charge forward, she hit the shield with more than half force.

Steve was pushed back, and when he gathered himself, he looked down to see a small slash near the centre of the shield.

"Yes. I think it works." Peggy laughed from behind Diana.

"That's a very strong metal indeed." Diana commented, genuinely interested in its properties. She unsheathed her sword, turning around and grouping with Peggy. She wasn't uninformed, she knew the shield wouldn't break, but it was great fun to see Steve fear for his life for just a moment.

"I am both frightened and aroused." Howard mumbled as both men looked at Diana stunned.

Shaking his head to himself, Steve tried to move forward. "I had some ideas about the uniform." He began, ignoring Howard's comment and handing him a piece of paper.

"Whatever you want, pal."