CHAPTER 40

*

Returning to Fawkes' small house from the forest, the three of them were soaking wet.

"If you don't mind, I'll cook something, I don't know if you're hungry or not, but I, an ordinary human, are so hungry that my chest is pressed against my back."

Phil Cowson, who is a decent cook, offered to go to the kitchen to prepare food, and after a tiring day, he wanted to fill his stomach first if he couldn't take a shower first.

"Thank you."

Steve nodded at him.

"Then I'll go up and tidy myself up first."

Ishbelli was a little embarrassed to walk on the clean floor with her muddy skirt in her arms, and she lowered her head and tried to make her stride a little bigger, trying not to leave a series of footprints on the floor like a playful husky.

"Bailey, wait."

Steve stopped her, his brow furrowed a little more.

"Huh?"

She stopped as she was told, and stood there not daring to move.

Steve walked over and raised his hand to uncover the cloak she was using to decorate her back, "No, it's bad......" he muttered with a frown, then picked her up and walked upstairs, "You know what, your back is bleeding, when did you get hurt, damn I didn't smell blood." ”

"I don't know ......"

Isbelle replied in a daze, when she was attacked by a woman with a giant net on the grass, she did feel a tingling pain in her back for a moment, but the situation at that time did not allow her to pay attention, maybe she was injured at that time.

"The smell of rain and earth covers the smell of blood, plus the environment is too dark, so I didn't find out in time, I'm really bad, why don't you take a closer look at you."

Blaming himself, Steve carried her upstairs to the bathroom and moved a chair for her to sit down.

"Wait, I'll go find something sharp."

I don't know how badly she was hurt, the blood had already penetrated the dress and blurred under the cloak, and if it weren't for the light downstairs being too bright, he wouldn't have noticed the abnormal stains on the red cloth.

"Steve, don't be nervous, I'm fine, it doesn't hurt at all."

Isbelli sat in the bathroom, seeing Steve's panicked appearance, afraid that he would be too worried, and hurriedly comforted him.

"Stay there."

Steve answered her loudly in the room, then went downstairs to the kitchen with a "knock" and returned a minute later with a sharp saber.

"Wait until I see the wound, you always say it doesn't hurt, I can't believe you."

He didn't find any scissors in the room, so he went to the kitchen and asked for a small and delicate saber.

"It really doesn't hurt."

Isbelle replied weakly, at the moment she only felt a little cold, her back was numb, and she didn't feel anything.

"Turn around, don't move."

Steve ordered her.

“……”

Isbelle obediently turned around.

Steve sliced off the cloak with a knife, his fingers slightly picking up a little of the edge of the gown, and the saber slid in, moving slowly without touching her skin, separating the fabric from the gown.

"If it hurts, say it, you can't hold it back, Bailey, do you hear me?"

The fabric was about to be removed, and Steve was worried that the wound would stick to the fabric.

"Okay captain, I got it."

Isbelli felt that the atmosphere was too strict, so she deliberately replied in a mischievous tone.

“……”

However, Steve didn't relax a little, the wrinkle in his brow was still there, he pursed his lips, and his fingers pinched the fabric and carefully peeled it down.

"Oh Bailey......"

As the cloth was lifted, the bloody back was exposed to Steve Rogers' vision. A circular glow was embedded in Isbelli's back, bordered by a jagged metal blade that was emitting silver electricity that bleed into the surrounding skin with each release, and on the back of the thing was a striking S.H.I.E.L.D. logo.

"Cousson—"

Steve stepped back and shouted downstairs.

"Captain?"

Downstairs in the kitchen, Cousson was peeling a potato, a little confused when he heard the shout, but he put down the potato and went upstairs.

"Sorry, do you need anything?"

Corson walked to the bathroom door and stopped, not going in directly, for fear that he would see something he shouldn't see.

The door opened from the inside, and a grimacing Captain America stood there, stepping aside and motioning for Curson to look in.

"What is this?"

Corson was also shocked when he saw the round glow.

"It's the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo, and I thought you'd know something, like why you used such a vicious thing against Bailey. Aren't the shackles on her hands and feet enough to reassure you, and you have to carry a thing on your back that is ready to torture her, and you are satisfied? ”

Steve suppressed the anger in his heart, trying not to lose his temper, he clenched his fists and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry Captain, but I really didn't know Bailey would have this kind of thing behind her." Corson explained, "Wait a minute, I've seen this weapon in Fitz's research, maybe I can unravel it." ”

“……”

Steve didn't speak, turned back to Isbelli, got down on one knee, held her face with his big hands, and wiped the mud from her face with his thumb.

"Steve, I believe this has nothing to do with Phil, don't be angry, I'm fine, I'm really fine."

The thing on her back is probably on the S.H.I.E.L.D. fashion, and it was only activated by the woman tonight, so she didn't notice anything until now.

"Bailey, I'm so sorry." Corson walked in, his face full of guilt, "If it was really developed by Fitz, he should have set a password, as long as you enter the correct password, this thing will automatically fall off, I will contact him immediately." ”

"Thank you, Phil."

“……”

……

After contacting Fitz, the brutally designed weapon was successfully removed, but it left a bloody pit in Isbelli's back, and Steve could even see her backbone, enough to see how horrific her injuries were.

"Damn, I'll take you to the hospital."

Looking at the terrible wound, Steve didn't know what to do.

"I unlocked the five layers of stress ......"

At the door, Corson silently untied the five layers of pressure on the metal ring, and then went downstairs with the blood-stained weapon, thinking that he needed to contact Nick Fury.

“……”

With only five layers left in the metal ring, Isbelli closed her eyes and endured the pain to heal the wound on her back with the power of the mysterious stone in her heart.

The green luminous body traveled along the blood vessels in the wound on the back, emitting a soft glow in a circle, as if fireflies were flying.

After about an hour, the horrible wound was gone, and her back was smooth and snow-white again.

"Bailey, this is amazing."

Steve touched her intact back, and his frown finally loosened a little.

"I ......," Isbelli smiled weakly, and wanted to say something, but she was tired from exerting too much energy, "I want to sleep for a while, you...... You don't want to ......"

Before she could finish speaking, she had closed her eyes and fell asleep.

"Bailey?" Steve was stunned for a moment, then looked at the girl in his arms, and found that she was really asleep, breathing long and steady, and her little face still stained with muddy water was peaceful.

"I'm sorry."

He whispered, he didn't expect the people from S.H.I.E.L.D. to treat her like this, it was his fault, he didn't wake up earlier to find her, and he almost pushed her back into the demon cave with his own hands.

Whether Phil Corson knew about this incident or not, at least he was certain that he would never let Isbelle return to S.H.I.E.L.D.

……

After that, Steve turns on the hot water and wants to wash Isbelli's long hair. He and Bucky had done this many times during World War II, and she was like their dear little sister who was happy to tidy up for her sloppy when there wasn't a war.

After washing his hair, he wrapped it in a towel and began to undress her. God can testify, he didn't have any crooked thoughts, at least he didn't think about anything until he took off the top half of the dress, after all, Bailey was the same before and after World War II, and he had a boy's hairstyle cut by Barkit, so it was accurate to say that he treated her like a younger brother. But...... Now something is not right, his "younger brother" has grown up and changed, and his once flat chest will have a softness that cannot be ignored.

Just as Steve was embarrassed to decide whether to help Isbelle put her clothes back on or continue to help her shower, Tony Stark rushed up in steel armor.

There was a camera on the opposite side of the bathroom door, so Jarvis could see some of the footage from the bathroom, but Steve's tall body blocked Isbelli, and he could only see the area above his neck.

"Hell! Old popsicle, what do you want to do, let go of my Bailey! ”

Tony yelled loudly and tried to rush into the bathroom, but the steel armor was too big to enter, and in a matter of moments, Steve inside had quickly pulled up his clothes to cover Isbelli, and wrapped her tightly in his arms.

"Hey old man, how can you attack a girl so much younger than you, as a soldier, didn't your commander tell you to be honest and disciplined?" Tony opens his mask and glares at Steve.

"Bailey is asleep, are you sure you want to wake her up?"

Steve turned around with Isbelli in his arms and looked at Tony with a blank face, who moved his mouth and didn't say anything when he heard this, only waved his fist at him.

"Please, can't you see both of us in a mess? Or can you find someone to help Bailey clean up? ”

"I'm well suited to help with that." Tony's eyes lit up.

"Don't even think about it."

That makes Jarvis ...... "Jarvis can be recorded, perfect!"

"Shutup Stark!"

Steve couldn't stand him anymore and picked up Bailey to leave.

"OK, for Bailey's sake, I'm not going to hit you for a while." Tony grabbed him, "Give Bailey to me, I've already contacted the relatives of Harpy next to me, his daughter just came over today, I can ask her to help Bailey clean." ”

Steve squinted at him: "Thank you, but Bailey can't give it to you, and you can't even hit her in the future, or I'll beat you up so hard that you can't go out and harm anyone else." ”

"Hey old popsicle, do you want to fight?" If he hadn't been holding Bailey, he would have beaten him away.

"Wait."

Steve said he would take the battle book.