Chapter Text
Originally posted by bakmasenonlara
Camp Lehigh. Wheaton, New Jersey 1941
“Peggy!” you yelled, making a beeline for the military jeep, the mud from the recent rainstorms splashing everywhere as you went. You cringed as the freezing stuff made its way into your boots, a noise of disgust leaving your lips.
To your relief, the Jeep screeched to a halt and Peggy turned to look at you, surprised.
“(Y/N)! Done with Stark already?” she asked, smirking knowingly at you once you were within earshot.
You groaned and hopped into the back seat, not bothering to open the door. You gave the soldier driving it a courteous nod. “If the man wasn’t such a genius I’d sock him in his stupid face,” you said bitterly. The Jeep lurched forward, towards the center of the military base.
“I’ll trade you. You can go into the meetings with Colonel Phillips instead,” she said, grinning over her shoulder at you.
“Oh, pass. He always yells at me when I fall asleep in the middle of his briefings,” you said, grimacing at the thought.
“He does tend to drone, doesn’t he?” Peggy asked over the roar of the engine, a wide smile on her face.
You nodded, eyes rolling dangerously far back in your head. “And we both know you would actually punch Stark if you had to be around him as much as I do,” you said, leaning forward to rest your arms on the back of her seat.
“If he asks me out for fondue one more time I just might,” she said darkly.
You laughed at that. “He asked you out again?” you asked incredulously. That must be the… sixth time? This week?
She nodded solemnly. “Could be worse, though. It could be Colonel Phillips asking me out,” she said, throwing you a conspiratory wink as the Jeep came to a halt. You hopped out a half second later, wincing at the feeling of the mud in your boots.
“What do we have lined up today, boss?” you asked, falling into step beside her.
“I told you not to call me that,” she said, rolling her eyes at you as she pulled out her notebook.
She was your boss on paper only. In reality, the two of you were best friends but her claiming that you were her invaluable assistant was the only way she could get you onto the base. She knew your value; you were smart enough to keep up with Stark, after all, and whenever she trained with you, you picked up any techniques quickly.
But Peggy could have passed all of those things up because the one that mattered was that you were a good person. You cared about people. You were fierce and loyal and, like Peggy, you didn’t back down just because you were a woman. You knew your value and fought hard to make others acknowledge it.
It was why Peggy considered you to be her best friend.
“I don’t know, I kind of like it. Gives you an authoritative air, don’tcha think?” you said, giving her a lopsided grin.
Peggy ignored your comments with a huff, quickly reading over her schedule for the day.
“New batch of recruits. Seems I’ve been assigned to look them over. Care to join me?” she asked, raising a meticulously manicured eyebrow at you.
“Depends. You been told off for punching the cheeky ones yet?” you asked, sly grin on your face.
“No, it seems Colonel Phillips actually likes it when I do that,” she said, chuckling softly.
“The looks on their face are priceless,” you agreed, feeling a small surge of respect for the Colonel.
“He seemed quite adamant about today’s recruits. Something must have-”
Peggy’s voice died in her throat as the two of you rounded the corner. Although there was the usual cluster of cavemen-esque men, one of them stood out from the others… by being over a head shorter and about half the weight.
The two of you glanced at each other, confusion clear in your face. “Abraham told me that he was bringing in a recruit, but… I didn’t expect this,” you whispered as you and Peggy approached the group of recruits, most of whom were generally being loud nuisances.
“Well, let’s not be too hasty in our judgement,” Peggy said, eyes scanning the group critically. “Recruits! Attention!” she yelled at them. You grabbed the box of clipboards from the soldier that had arrived to assist Peggy, waving him off dismissively when he protested. You wanted a front row seat to this one.
Although the men snapped to attention instantly, they immediately began studying Peggy. You handed out the clipboards and forms to the recruits as you passed, barely sparing each one a glance.
“Gentleman, I’m Agent Carter. I supervise all operations for this division,” she said formally. You passed the little guy, taking note of his slender frame that was even smaller up close; surely you were just as tall as him. You gave him a small smile as you handed him the clipboard which he returned shyly. Man, those were some blue eyes.
“What’s with the accent, Queen Victoria?”
Peggy stopped walking down the line and turned to face the recruit who’d spoken out. If he was smart he’d just shut up, but-
“I thought I was signing up for the U.S. Army,” he said, smirking down his nose at her. Your blood boiled, but you knew that steely glint in her eyes all too well.
“What’s your name, Soldier?” she asked, taking a small step towards him.
“Gilmore Hodge, your majesty,” he said snidely, his New York accent clear. You were wearing a shit-eating grin that the little guy noticed, blue eyes flicking between you, Peggy, and Private Hodge curiously.
“Step forward, Hodge,” Peggy ordered, surprisingly calm. You relocated the giant box of clipboards to your hip, grin not faltering for a moment. Hodge smirked, glancing back at the other recruits, and stepped forward, a swagger in his step.
“Put your right foot forward,” Peggy said, tone neutral.
He did as she asked, but a sleazy grin on your face told you this wasn’t over yet. “Ooh, we gonna wrassle?” he asked, grinning salaciously at Peggy. “’Cause I got a few moves I know you’ll like,” he said, tone leaving little room for interpretation of his meaning.
You had to fight back a laugh. Oh, he’d just made a huge mistake.
In the blink of an eye, Peggy threw her arm back and let her fist fly, connecting to Private Hodge’s face with the most satisfying smack you’d ever heard. Hodge let out a pathetic grunt and fell to the ground immediately, clutching at his face.
Peggy stared down at him as though he was a particularly annoying gnat and you let out a quiet chuckle. You noticed the little guy was also holding back a laugh, broad grin on his face. You continued handing out clipboards, throwing Hodge’s on top of his writhing form as you passed.
“Agent Carter!” came a gruff voice from behind Peggy. Colonel Phillips exited the Jeep and walked over to the line of recruits.
“Colonel Phillips!” Peggy said somewhat stiffly, turning to face the Colonel.
“I see you’re breaking in the new candidates! That’s good,” he said, with what was as close to happiness as you thought he was capable of. He turned his eyes on Hodge, who was still lying on the ground. You handed a clipboard to the last recruit and returned the box to the nearby truck, not missing the Colonel’s next words. “Get your ass up out of that dirt and stand on that line at attention ‘till somebody comes and tells you what to do,” he said darkly, glaring at Hodge.
“Yes, sir!” Hodge said, sniffing as he practically jumped up. You were happy to see a little bit of blood trickling down from his nose. You weren’t sure if it was Peggy’s punch or the fact that it was a grizzled-looking old white man in front of him, but Hodge suddenly seemed very respectful. You hoped it was the former.
Unsurprisingly, Doctor Abraham Erskine had arrived with the Colonel, although you hadn’t seen him at first. It made sense that he’d arrived to assess his candidates in person. You sidled up next to him and he glanced at you, reading your confused expression in an instant. He leaned down to whisper in your ear, thick German accent coloring his words. “I will tell you more about it later. Just trust me and keep an eye on him for now, yes?” he asked, gaze beseeching.
You let out a long sigh and nodded. “Whatever you say, Doc,” you muttered resignedly. You barely understood Abraham’s serum; biology wasn’t your specialty, much less the advanced organic chemistry he knew. You resolved to do something even you could do: observe all the candidates with a scientist’s scrupulous eye while they went through training.
No matter what Peggy said, Private Rogers was everything you thought he’d be (at least physically). As much as you hated some of the other men in the group of recruits, they easily outpaced and outlasted Steve at every turn.
You felt more than saw Erskine appear next to you. “Are you going to explain why you brought him onto this base?” you asked as you watched Steve fail miserably at climbing a rope ladder.
“Because he is the clear choice,” Abraham said confidently. You looked from Steve, who’d just managed to untangle himself, to the German scientist in disbelief.
“Abe, I know he’s a good kid, but-”
He laughed at that. “Good kid? He’s only a couple years younger than you,” he said, smiling.
You frowned at that. He was so small you sometimes forgot he was an adult. You turned your scowl on him. “Doesn’t mean there aren’t other candidates who are more physically suitable and also happen to be good men. I know Phillips has his eye on Hodge, but he’s an ass, so he’s out of the running” you said bitterly.
Erskine laughed in earnest at that. “You always have quite the mouth! You’re not wrong, though. There are undoubtedly other good men here,” he said, smiling down at you.
“Then why…?” you asked, gesturing vaguely at Rogers, who was struggling in the mud under some barbed wire. One of the other recruits, presumably Hodge, had knocked one of the posts out, pinning him in the mud.
“We have enough big, strong men fighting this war. I think what we need now is a little guy,” Abraham said, smiling at Steve who seemed to be refusing to give up.
You sighed and ran a hand through your hair. “He’s tenacious, I’ll give him that much,” you said, crossing your arms as you watched his dogged progress.
“He is a good man. He is the only option,” Abraham said firmly.
You rolled your eyes. “You’ve already made up your mind, eh?” you asked, turning your head to look up at him, resignation on your face.
He looked down at you, his smile almost blinding. “But of course!”
You groaned, wiping a hand down your face. “Fine. I have to go see Stark. He’s been yelling about a breakthrough all morning. I’ve already had at least two poor privates deliver me very urgent, harried messages from him. If I keep him waiting any longer he’ll be insufferable,” you said, shoving your notebook full of observations into his hands. He flipped through it as you walked away, smile growing as he read your report.
“I’m glad you agree with me!” he said cheerfully. You didn’t bother to turn around and simply rolled your eyes at him as you headed towards Stark’s lab.
“(Y/N)! Where have you been? I’ve been asking after you all morning!” Howard said the moment you stepped into his makeshift lab. He popped out from under the hood of the ghastly red monstrosity he called a car, grease on nearly every inch of his body. He looked oddly bug-like with his protective goggles on.
“I was performing observations for Doctor Erskine. You know that, Howard,” you said, patience already wearing thin.
“Oh, right. I forgot he asked you to help out with that!” Howard said as he pulled his goggles onto his forehead. “Now, I’ve gotten really close to perfecting the reversion technology-”
“Howard, we’re less than a week away from Project Rebirth, and you’re messin’ with your car?” you asked, upset yet not surprised.
“Wait, that’s this week?” he asked, eyes wide.
“Yes, Howard! Five days from now, in fact!” you said, throwing your hands up in defeat. How did this man ever get anything done on time?
He looked stricken and your hands flew to your temples, trying to massage away the oncoming headache.
“Please tell me you at least worked out the balance issues in the pod?” you asked, glaring up at him through your eyelashes.
When he didn’t meet your eye and began stuttering out excuses, you let out a deep sigh.
“What about the microinjection apparatus? Did you finish calibrating it?” you asked, tone tight.
“Well, I, uh-”
“The Vita-Ray machine? Have you started implementing the fail-safes?”
“You see, I-”
“Howard Stark!” you yelled, causing a few of the lab techs to freeze and look at the scene in front of them, eyes wide with apprehension. “If you don’t start working on that technology immediately, I swear I’ll take a wrench to every inch of that damned car!” you threatened, eyes wide in anger.
Howard gulped, looking taken aback. You were usually pretty quiet, albeit stubborn. This was a new side he hadn’t seen yet.
“We’re going to New York. We don’t have time to go back and forth between sites anymore,” you said angrily. “Pack anything you might need. We’re leaving tomorrow morning.”
“You can’t tell me-”
“Howard, we’re behind! Do you want to be the one to tell Phillips we can’t do the experiment on time?” you asked, crossing your arms as you glared at him.
Stark groaned, running a hand over his face. “Alright, alright… You win. We’ll go to New York tomorrow. But… before that, can you help me-”
“If you ask me to help you work on that infernal car I swear I’ll show you firsthand the techniques Peggy’s been teaching me,” you said darkly.
Stark gulped, choosing to not talk anymore, and hurriedly began gathering his things up.
You sighed, tension leaving your body. You hated getting angry like that, but you refused to let this project go sideways. You had just as much invested in it as Stark and Erskine.
You turned and left Stark’s lab. You had to let Erskine and Peggy know what was going on… and probably let Colonel Phillips know that you and Stark were leaving the base for New York early (though you’d leave out why).
SSR Base. New York, New York 1941
“(Y/N)!” came a voice from behind you.
You spun, white lab coat billowing around you. “Peggy!” you said excitedly, throwing your arms around her. “Glad you made it safely!” you said, giving her a gentle squeeze which she returned. She released you, giving you a questioning look. “Just feeling a bit nervous is all, I suppose,” you explained, ducking your head a little bit in embarrassment.
You noticed the tuft of blond hair behind her and leaned to peek over her shoulder. Sure enough, Steve Rogers stood behind her, looking confused but determined.
“Private Rogers,” you greeted warmly, holding a hand out to him.
His blue eyes snapped to you, recognition flashing in them. You didn’t speak to Rogers often, but you were around the candidates enough that he recognized you easily. “Ma’am,” he said formally, taking your hand in his own. You weren’t surprised to find it was clammy; he was probably more nervous than you were.
You dropped each others hands and stood there awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed. Luckily, Peggy came to the rescue.
“This is (Y/N) (Y/L/N),” Peggy said helpfully, smiling at both of you. “You’re lucky she’s here. She’s a tech genius in her own right and has the most difficult task in this endeavor: keeping Mr. Stark on task,” she said, winking at you.
“Hey, credit where credit is due, Pegs. I helped bring half of Stark’s crazy ideas to life, too,” you said, pouting at her.
“A beautiful dame like you helped create all this?” Steve piped up, looking around the room with renewed awe. You raised an eyebrow at him and he seemed to realize he put his foot in his mouth because he froze a second later and began spewing apologies.
“I- I mean. A beautiful woman- Uh, a capable, intelligent woman-”
You laughed at his stuttering. Even Peggy was smiling along, shaking her head slightly. “It’s alright, Rogers. I don’t think you meant anything by it. If you’re ready, you can take off your shirt. Doctor Erskine will be here in a moment,” you said, smiling at him. He’d gone a truly impressive shade of red and seemed reluctant to take his shirt off in front of you and Peggy until Abraham came over and told him to do the same.
“Peggy?” you asked, raising an eyebrow at her. She was staring at Steve worriedly as he laid down on the table in the huge Vita Ray Pod.
“Hmm?” she asked absently, tearing her gaze away from Steve. You filed her curious reaction away for later study, focusing on the task at hand.
“Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in the booth?” you asked, throwing her a smirk as you jerked your thumb up at the glass-paneled booth above both of your heads.
“Oh, right! Yes! Of Course!” she said hurriedly, the slightest shade of pink dusting her cheeks.
You watched her quickly climb the stairs, studying her retreating form with interest. You looked over your shoulder at Steve (who just happened to be looking at Peggy), then back at her.
Interesting.
Erskine tapped insistently at the microphone and just like that, the experiment was beginning.
The lab was a wreck. Peggy and Steve were gone, chasing after the man who’d stolen the vial of serum and fled after blowing up half the room and shooting Doctor Erskine.
By the time you’d gotten to him, your mentor and friend was dead, eyes staring at nothing. People around you were battered and bleeding, and everyone was reeling from the blast. You were pretty sure one of your eardrums had been blown out and the other was ringing, letting you hear little to nothing.
You didn’t realize you were crying until your tears dripped onto his labcoat and your hands as they clutched the blood-stained fabric.
You wanted to scream and rage at the world. You wanted to shake him until he woke up, but you knew none of it would be of any use.
Why did he have to die, right when his greatest project succeeded? Where was the justice in that? The answer was that there wasn’t any. You kept crying on the floor of the lab room long after they’d removed Abraham’s body.
It was only once Stark placed a hand gently on your shoulder then picked you up bridal style that you realized how much time had passed.
“Come on, sweetheart. I miss the Doctor too, but we have some important information to decipher and even more important decision to make,” Howard said, sadly, carrying you towards the meeting room that was a few doors down.
“You should let her be, Howard. You don’t know much he meant to her,” came a soft, chastising voice next to you. You tilted your head back to look at Peggy, who was looking at you sadly.
“You’re back,” you murmured, the corner of your lips twitching upwards. The small smile slipped off of your face, though, when you noticed she was a little banged up. “What happened?” you asked concern lacing your voice.
Peggy gave you a sad smile. “I’ll tell you later, love, after you’ve-”
“No, I want to hear what happened now,” you said, voice making you sound stronger than you felt.
Peggy sighed, glancing up at Howard, who shrugged minutely, jostling you slightly in his arms.
“Put me down, please, Howard. I can stand,” you said quietly, willing yourself to be brave.
He seemed reluctant, but did as you asked, hands hovering next to your arms to catch you if your legs gave out.
“Steve’s about to give his report of what happened. We should grab some seats before it starts,” Peggy said, holding her hand out for you to take. You did, welcoming its comfort.
Howard opened the door to the room and you took a deep, calming breath. You would find out who killed your mentor and why… and you would make them pay.