One Year Later...
The shouting from downstairs was the only thing that made me want to move from the fluffy bed. Chester's scratchy voice was reaching me from the living room downstairs and I groaned, throwing a pillow over my head. The alarm clock on my bedside table was chirping loudly and I moaned in frustration. Chester had set the darn thing to wake me up every morning at the horribly early hour of six. I knew how to turn it off but I knew that all that would earn me was having my enrollment date in the United States Army pushed back. And that was not something that I wanted.
So I weakly rolled over and smacked the alarm. Slightly too hard as the metal bent under the pressure. I grimaced at the sight of the thing and stuffed it in the bedside table. Thankfully we would be leaving for Camp Lehigh - all the way out in New Jersey - today. That meant that I wouldn't get the question of why I needed another new alarm clock. Chester's voice rang throughout the large house hollering at me to get ready. We would be leaving in about two hours, judging by the schedule that was set out on my table. Chester had ensured that I knew exactly when I had to be ready and that I knew exactly what it was that I had to bring. I was notorious for being late and never having what I needed.
"Victoria! Are you up yet?" Chester's old voice echoed through the house.
Turning to the door - clothes in hand - I shouted back. "Hold your horses, old man! I'll be down in a little bit!" I could hear him rattling around in the kitchen and I smiled as I walked out of my bedroom and into the bathroom.
It wasn't that I was really even mean or rude to Chester. It was just the way that we spoke to each other. It had started as a few teasing comments to each other, but before long it had bloomed into that type of relationship. We couldn't be serious or polite to each other for too long. It came from wanting to keep our relationship friendly without being awkward. Many of Chester's colleagues thought that we acted just like father and daughter - and as far as they were concerned, we were. Chester and I didn't dare tell them the truth of our odd relationship.
The past year had been good for the both of us. Chester was a rather gruff man but I enjoyed it. His personality made for some good nights of witty banter held back and forth between the two of us. He was a traditional man who upheld strong values of loyalty and creating strong soldiers. But one funny thing about Chester was that he - unlike most of the other military men - believed that a strong and trained woman could be useful. It was because of this - and his ranking - that once I was out of my shower I would be on my way to Camp Lehigh.
While there I would have two jobs. My main job would be working in the labs. Dr. Abraham Erskine - who I had yet to meet - was working on some type of serum to create super-soldiers. They called it Operation Rebirth. He was a German scientist who was actually on our side for the war. Chester had told me that this serum that they were working on was enough to push normal human abilities to superhuman level. Advanced strength and speed, among others. Erskine evidently thought that I would be good for it. He had promised Chester that if I was able to help create the serum I would be given an honorary degree in Genetics from Harvard University. It would be near impossible for me to get a degree any other way. No prestigious university wanted to take a woman for a degree like genetics.
I only knew so much about Operation Rebirth. Chester had told me that Erskine would tell me more when I actually went to meet him. Evidently they had already been working on the serum for three years with very few advances. Before they could begin testing on live human subjects they would have to have the mortality rate to eighty-five percent. That meant that someone needed an eighty-five percent chance of survival. I was honestly surprised that it wasn't even higher. Oh well, it wasn't me going into that chamber.
The other thing that Chester wanted me at Camp Lehigh for was to train the new recruits. I was still curious how he thought that it was going to go over with the new recruits - having a woman instructing them. Although I had a feeling that the men wouldn't get a chance to say otherwise. Chester would not take it well if the men couldn't tolerate having a woman with them. He thought that this would be a good way for me to prove that I was more than just a wannabe scientist, keep my powers up while learning how to blend in, and teach the men to respect everyone - even those that they valued as less than themselves.
There would be a basic schedule that we would be following. I knew their daily schedule well enough. They would be awake at five-thirty sharp every morning. I had agreed to be awake at five. We'd see how well that would work. At six in the morning they would be ready for breakfast. Lunch would be at either eleven in the morning or noon - depending on what unit they were a part of. Dinner was at six. Training would last on average ten hours a day. Some days would be as short as eight hours. Lights out would be at nine o'clock. There were no exceptions. Unless they had nighttime duties or activities - which I would be overseeing, considering my advanced vision.
We would be living in Camp Lehigh for ten weeks with the recruits. Once they were done with their nine weeks they would be deployed. Most to Germany. Some to other places. The weaker ones would be staying at home, working on the bases. That would be determined on how well they did over the nine weeks - technically ten if you counted Zero Week. Zero Week was essentially the break-in period. It was for transition and adapting to Army life. It was also a good time for medical examinations - which I would also be present for. Week one was mostly designated for fall in period. It was the classroom learning. I would mostly be with Erskine for that week. In week two they met the Drill Sergeants and began to learn things like first aid and map reading.
Week three was where I would begin to be a looming pretense. It was endurance. Physical and mental. Mostly they would be simulating combat scenarios. Week four was all about marksmanship. Everything from cleaning the weapon to holding it, firing it, shooting from different positions, and how to breathe properly. Week five was a follow-up from week four. They would be firing for a completion certificate and performing on the Fit to Win Obstacle Course. Week six finally teaches the recruits to learn and help one another. It was all about camaraderie. An army is not just one person. It's exactly that - an army. Week seven focused on building up the confidence that recruits were slowly gaining. Hand grenade training, live fire, foot marching, and overall physical fitness. Week eight is Victory Forge, where we put to test everything that the recruits have learned over the past few weeks. It's a three day field retreat to prove that they have what it takes to be an Army Soldier. Week nine is always what they looked forward to. Graduation. Family and friends would always come to watch.
It had taken the higher-ups some convincing to let me in on the training but last month they had finally agreed. Of course that was only under the pretense that Chester supervise my sessions and I only train them for one hour a day. Something about not wanting to put additional stress on my feminine mind. I had enjoyed listening to Chester shout at the men until they had agreed to let me train the men for two hours every day. But it was still under his supervision. He had given me clearance to do anything that I wanted; with the exception of electrocuting them, dropping a boulder on them, lighting them on fire, invading their minds, and breaking their bones. He never lets me have any fun.
I understood why he was telling me that, though. No one knew about my mutations other than Chester. Chester had evidently met a mutant when he was younger and had become friends with her until her death - an accident. She had believed that she was impervious to disease. Cancer had taken her. He told me that I reminded him of her. He liked to encourage me to use my mutations and help perfect them. He was much easier than Stryker had been. Although he did yell at me every time I tried to read his mind and he found out. Most of the time he didn't know. And there had been quite a few disasters with the force fields. Many of Chester's old lamps were broken because I'd gotten overconfident.
As far as spending the last year with Chester, it had gone well. We had become literally everything that someone could imagine. Sometimes we were like siblings, picking on each other in every way imaginable. Sometimes we acted like husband and wife, shouting at each other all day long before hugging it out at night before we went to bed. Other times - most times - we were like a father and daughter. We supported each other without getting mushy, constantly called each other out on things that we did wrong, enjoyed embarrassing each other, but always loved each other. Chester was the father that I'd always wanted. One night I'd told him that. It was the only time I'd ever seen him emotional. In his words, I was the daughter that he'd never wanted, but gotten anyways. And he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
The only thing that hurt about my new life was that I hadn't heard from Logan since leaving him after escaping from Stryker's laboratory. A few months after our miraculous escape I had slipped into his mind. It was hard but I found him. The strangest thing was that he seemed to almost not even remember who he was. The inside of his mind had gone mostly dark. But he was still alive. I knew that he was. Once Chester passed on and I found myself out of work I had made it a point to go and find Logan, if nothing else just to see what had happened to him.
There had been no word from Stryker. As far as I knew, he was still alive. I had brought him up with Chester once and since he had been placed on a watch list of sorts. If he was still alive he was doing well hiding from the world. Of course over the last year I had been working hard to forget Stryker and everything that had happened to me during my time at Project X. Sometimes it felt like just a nightmare. Other times I would remember it all day long and have a hard time remembering that I was safe now. Chester was always good to help me realize that I was safe. He had promised not to let anything happen to me. And so far he had done just that.
Unfortunately there had also been no word from Bucky or Steve either. Apparently Chester had found some applications to the Army from Steve but none had been accepted. I was pretty sure that he'd been denied seven times or so. All due to medical problems. It hurt my heart to see that he was being turned away. Steve loved this country more than anything else I'd ever met. If anyone deserved to be out there defending it, it was him. Although I also knew why he was being turned away. It was safer for him to be a civilian. And I respected that. As far as Bucky, no word from him. It was probably because he was looking out for Steve. The thought made me smile. They were twenty-three and twenty-four years old but they still treated each other like children.
Hopping out of the shower, I wiped the steam off of the mirror and took a look at myself. I looked like a completely different person then I did when I was in Stryker's captivity. Despite the fact that I didn't age anymore I still looked older. Probably because I was no longer emaciated. Chester had cut my hair himself the first day that I was with him, just so that I didn't look like a wild animal. He had later taken me to a salon. It was currently back to its normal white-blonde and hung just below my shoulder-blades. It had a slight wave to it but today - as I brought the flames up around me to dry off - I began to curl it. I wanted to look as professional as possible.
A few months ago I had that I'd grown slightly over the past few years too. Due to the lack of food I hadn't gotten very tall. I was only five feet tall. A few inches below average. However what I lacked in height I made up for in shape. The curves had come in as I gained weight back. Of course they only got so big before the muscle would take over. It was thanks to my supercharged metabolism. They were just enough that having a shirt unbuttoned past one button would be considered 'inappropriate' for me. My eyes had gone back to their startling brilliant yellow color. I looked the right age, early twenties. (I had just recently turned twenty-two.) I wondered what people would think as I aged in years but never in appearance.
Walking away from the mirror I grabbed the clothes that I had laid out the night before. My bags were already packed with clothing, toiletries, a few journals, and guides that I had thought might be helpful. Chester had our security badges. The clothing that I had laid out wasn't really good for proving that I was a professional woman, rather that I could manage myself in the Army. The shirt was one that a woman would wear. Beige, with sleeves that went about a quarter of the way over my arms. It was a button down - with all but the very top button done up. On my legs were a pair of beige pants - not like the beige shirt that should have hit just below my knees - which the men would be wearing. I had on a pair of black boots that went around my ankles with my pants tucked in.
"Victoria! You done yet? Only got ten minutes until we have to leave!" Chester called up to me.
There was a reason that I'd waited so long to get ready. I knew that Chester would say something about what I was wearing and I wanted to make sure that we didn't have enough time for me to get changed. With my bags in hand I darted down the stairs and over to where Chester was making me a plate of eggs and bacon. I dropped the bags at the door before walking back over to the table and dropping down in my seat. Chester already had his bags at the door as he took a seat across from me.
I began to shovel the eggs into my mouth quickly. We were going to have to leave shortly. I could already hear the Army trucks outside getting ready to come in and grab our bags. Chester looked over at me and stared at my outfit. "You are aware that I left you proper garments to wear today?" Chester asked with his normal blank stare.
"The skirt is in my bag. I'll wear it when we're there, I swear! Just for today, let me wear this. Come on, you know that the men are going to have a cow if they see a woman in a skirt is going to be working with them. Training them," I added.
Chester stared at me for a moment before nodding. "Just today," he snapped. "Come in!" Chester yelled to the men through the screen door so that they could come in and begin loading our things.
The men from the trucks grabbed our bags and a few offered greetings to 'Colonel Phillips and Miss Phillips.' I smiled at them and looked over towards Chester. "Thanks, Dad," I chirped playfully before leading over and kissing Chester on the cheek. He grumbled and swatted me away.
The men walked back into the trucks and smiled at us. "We're ready to go Sir, Ma'am," one of the men wearing a dark suit called out to us.
We both nodded before standing and walking into the truck that was at the front of the pack. It was the one that would take us straight to the barracks. Chester and I would be living in the upper barracks. The ones that were reserved for higher-up members. Chester would be living in one wing and I would be living with another woman - whose name I had yet to learn - on another wing. I would meet her briefly before Chester would bring me to introduce me to Dr. Abraham Erskine. From there I would learn what it was that I was to do with Operation Rebirth. In the afternoon we would be starting Zero Week. We would meet the new recruits that we would be working with and getting to know each other. The last part had been at my own insistence. If we were going to be working as a team I thought that we should get to know each other.
Chester was currently driving the truck as I leaned back against the seat and let Chester's hat tip over my eyes, shading me from the rising sun. "Victoria." I glanced up through a cracked eyelid. "What was that boy's name? The one that you wanted to know if I ever saw his file?" Chester asked.
My heart gave a little skip. "Steven Rogers?" I asked.
Chester shook his head. "The other one," he said.
"J-James Buchanan Barnes," I said awkwardly, stumbling over my own words.
This time Chester nodded, glancing over at me briefly. I steeled my face. "That's the one. Born March 10th, 1917 to George M. and Winifred C. Barnes?" Chester asked me. Once more I nodded weakly. "Got a file in for him the other day. He'll be at Camp Lehigh for training," Chester told me.
Bile rose in my throat as I stared over at him. "Will he be in our division?"
Chester shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure. We won't know until we actually meet the men under our care." Looking over into the mirror I saw that I had gone nearly stark white. "You alright, Victoria?" Chester asked me.
"Yeah. Just don't know if I'm ready to see him again," I said softly.
Chester was the one person that knew absolutely everything about me. He laid a hand on my knee and I smiled weakly. He knew the entire history between Bucky, Steve, and I. "Since you've been with me I thought that you've wanted to see them again. So that you could say something and explain why you left," Chest told me. Once more I nodded.
He wasn't wrong. I'd wanted to speak to them for years. Just to get a chance to try and explain myself. "I have. But... I don't know. Some part of me thought that I would never see them again. I haven't thought about what I want to say. I don't even know if I can tell them about myself. I can't tell them what I am and that means that I can't tell them why I left. I guess it was just something that always seemed so perfect in my mind but now that it's here I don't know what to do," I tried to explain.
"You love these boys?" Chester asked me.
"Of course."
"They love you?" I was pretty sure that they loved me. Any time that I had managed to slip into their minds it had seemed like they still loved me. Even long after I'd disappeared.
"I think so."
Chester took a turn and I glanced up to see the sign welcoming us into New Jersey. I smiled and laid my head back against the headrest, trying to beat back the nerves. "Then tell them what happened. They might not be as freaked out as you think."
"I can light myself on fire," I said dryly.
Chester gave me a small grin. "Maybe save that one until they make you mad," he told me. I laughed softly and shook my head. "Do me a favor. Speak to the boy," Chester told me.
It was almost identical to what Logan had once told me. I smiled and nodded at Chester. "Maybe once I see him. Give me time though. I'm not even sure where to start." Chester seemed pleased enough with that answer.
We drove in silence for nearly another ten minutes before Chester called out to me once more. I saw a sign for Camp Lehigh that was telling us that we were only a few minutes away. "Just make sure that his eyes stay above the shoulders," Chester growled. Laughing heartily, I grabbed him by the shoulders and smiled. He would have made a good father. He never did like the way that men looked at me.
The rest of the drive was made in a comfortable silence as we arrived at Camp Lehigh. Chester had seen this place plenty of times before. He himself had been trained here. But I had never been here before. As we drove into the gated area I looked around at my home for the next ten weeks. There were large oak trees all over the place and we drove in on a dirt road. There was a small platoon of about ten men running. Each saluted the car as we drove through. All of the buildings were large, rectangular, and grey. We passed what looked to be the dining hall first. Behind those were the barracks. Those buildings were the most evident around the camp. There was a weapons bunker as well and the entrance hall. We stopped there.
The men that had been driving behind us ushered us out of the truck. We all jumped out and began our walk towards the barracks. Most of the ones that we were passing were for the recruits. With each building we passed they got nicer and larger. I could tell that the one that Chester and I would be in was towards the back of the camp. It was the largest of them. It seemed to be able to hold at least eighty people, comfortably. I assumed that most of the women on site lived here. They were typically kept separately from the men, because living with men would be - as most things were - inappropriate.
We walked up to two men that were guarding the entrance. They were each holding clipboards in their hands. I assumed that they were going to tell us where we were assigned. "Colonel Chester Phillips and Honorary Sergeant Victoria Phillips," Chester said, motioning over to me. I cocked my eyebrows at him. I wasn't aware that we were calling me anything but my name.
"Women are not Sergeant's," the man on the right said. He was rather large and looked nasty. I snarled under my breath and glared at him. Thankfully Chester stepped up. I knew that it was not my place. Not while we were here.
"Do you have something to say to me about the way that we do things here?" Chester asked the man. "Because I'd be more than happy to explain the system to you," Chester continued. The man held a steady face but I knew that he was nervous. No one wanted to be on a Colonel's bad side. Especially not one as stern as Chester Phillips.
"No Colonel," the man said slowly. A few men standing around us snickered but quickly went back to their jobs. The men that were guarding the barracks took steps off to the side to allow us through.
The inside really wasn't much nicer than the outside. The walls were a deep brown and there were a few pictures hanging up. Most of them seemed to be previous Generals. The others just were landscapes. I assumed that it was to try and calm people down. Rooms were off of all of the wings. Each wing had its own specification and there were four wings. The first was for all high ranking men. The second was for women that worked mostly in records. The third were for the scientists and those in special divisions. The last wing was not labelled.
A man in a black suit walked us into the main area and motioned down the first hallway. "Colonel Chester Phillips. Wing One, Room Thirty-Two," the man said. Chester nodded. "Honorary Sergeant Victoria Phillips. Wing Four, Room Fifty-One," the man told me.
It was my turn to nod. Chester turned towards his hallway and I turned towards mine. "Go and get settled in," he told me as I took my bags from the men that had been walking with us. "I'll come get you and we can go see Dr. Erskine," Chester told me. I nodded and turned down the hallway. No one followed me. I watched as the doors passed and I stared at the numbers. Twenty-three... Thirty-six... Forty-five... Fifty-one!Before throwing open the door I let my mind wander in. I couldn't see anything but I could sense another figure in the room. I assumed that it would be the woman that I would be living with. Chester had told me that her name was Peggy Carter. Pushing the door open, I walked inside. The beds were both made but one had things laid out on it already. One small black suitcase and a smaller case that I was sure was for toiletries. There were a few pairs of shoes lined up and on a hook on her side of the room was what appeared to be her nightgown and a robe. The bathroom door was closed, I assumed that she was in there. The shelves that were over the bed had a few things on it. A couple of books and a few paintings. One of her drawers in the bedside table was slightly ajar. Despite wanting to look inside I pushed the thoughts away. It was her private life.
A small voice from the bathroom called out to me. "Make yourself at home! I'll be out in just a moment," the woman called out to me. My eyebrow raised. Was she British? That was what her accent sounded like.
"No rush," I called back to her.
The room was actually rather large. We each had a decent enough space to ourselves. But it did appear that we would be sharing the bathroom. I unpacked my clothing first. It all went into a small wardrobe on my side of the room. A few smaller things - like my undergarments - went into the drawers in the nightstand. On my shelves I placed a few books - some for fun and others that were actually educational - and a set of dog-tags. Logan was the reason that I'd had them made. It was to remind me that someone had helped me, someone that I could never forget. One said Wolverine, the other said Savage. My toiletries stayed in the bag as I waited for Peggy to come out of the bathroom. I placed the one pair of heels that I owned, a pair of running shoes, and another pair of boots by the door.
I sat on the bed for a moment before leaning back down to my suitcase. I grabbed the one thing that I had thought would remain in there for the entire time that I was at Camp Lehigh. But something came over me. I grabbed the small photo frame and placed it next to the dog-tags. It was a black and white photograph of Steve, Bucky, and I. One day while I had been poking around in Bucky's old apartment - late at night so no one saw me - I found the photograph under Bucky's bed, pushed into the corner. He must have missed it when moving out.
The picture was from a trip to Coney Island when we were younger. Steve was in the background of the photo, looking like he might hurl. Bucky and I were laughing as we dragged him forward. We had just brought him on one of the insane roller coasters that he hated so much. Bucky had his arm placed around me and I was barely able to stand, laughing brightly. We all looked so happy. I smiled at the photo and pushed it back against the wall. At the same time the door to the bathroom opened. I turned back to see a very pretty woman smiling at me.
She was everything that someone would imagine from a young British - which I was still assuming she was - woman. She was rather tall, probably towering over me. She, unlike me, was dressed typically for a woman in the military. She was wearing a dark green blazer with two buttons buttoned and a white collared shirt underneath, buttoned up all the way, of course. A black tie was tucked in. A reasonably tight skirt was on her legs, going to just below the knee. Her hair was a soft brown and it fell in waves down to her shoulders. A small piece was twirled up. It looked very pretty. She had on bright red lipstick - the only makeup that I could see that she was wearing. She also had dark brown eyes that were currently assessing me just as I was to her.
We moved forward at the same time to shake hands. Her grip was tighter than I was expecting for a woman. I tightened mine a little as well. She was still smiling at you. "Lovely to meet you, Victoria Phillips," Peggy told me.
"Just Victoria, please. Vic or Vicky if you'd like," I told her. Peggy smiled at me.
"Margaret Carter, but just Peggy, please," she told me and I nodded at her. "Glad to see that you've unpacked. Let me know if you need me to move anything. How are you finding Camp Lehigh?" She asked.
"I haven't been here long. I just arrived with my father only about twenty minutes ago or so. So far it seems to be about what I've expected. Although I haven't seen many recruits around here," I told her.
She nodded at me and walked to sit over on her bed. I took a seat on mine. "They won't be here for a few hours. This is a transitional day. The beginning of Zero Week. They have to come and sign in and then we'll go to meet them. We can leave from here together if you'd like," Peggy offered.
I smiled at her. I had never had a girl friend before. This could be the start of a good friendship. "I think its best that we stick together. I have no doubt that these men won't take kindly to two women ordering them around," I told her with a grin.
She gave me a nod back that told me she'd already thought about that. "Yes I've realized that. How's your right-hook?" Peggy asked me.
For a moment I just stared at her, wondering if she was being serious. She cracked a small smile and I began to laugh softly. After a moment our quiet laughter had turned loud. "Probably better than most of theirs," I told her honestly. She smiled and nodded at me. "I have somewhere to be for a while this morning but this afternoon I'll return here and we can go together."
"Well I'll be here until it's time to go. Might I just say - and I hope you don't take offense - your eyes are stunning," she said with a smile. For a moment my eyes narrowed at her. Was she making fun of me? Peggy seemed to realize that she had said something that might have offended me. "I wasn't joking! I've just never seen eyes like yours before. They're beautiful," she told me with a small smile.
She seemed to be honest but I wasn't sure that I could believe her. So I slipped into her mind. Yellow eyes, I've never seen them before on someone. I wonder how she got them. Much more fascinating than brown eyes. I smiled at her and nodded. "Thank you." She smiled back, seeing that I had forgiven her comment. "I'm sorry about that. My nickname in High School was Yellow Eyes," I told her.
Peggy frowned at my words. "It's stunning how cruel kids can be. I understand, when I came here people were constantly questioning why I had even bothered coming. Calling me Queenie and Your Majesty. Although I suppose Yellow Eyes is worse," she said, giving me a sympathetic smile.
"We didn't deserve either one of those nicknames," I told her with a smile that she responded to. "Pardon my asking, and you don't have to answer, but why did you come here?" I asked her.
The question didn't seem to offend her as she smiled at me. "It's somewhat of a long story," she told me.
I smiled back at her. "I have time," I told her gently, letting her know that telling me how she got here was her choice.
"Well I was raised in England. In 1939 I was a member of the British Royal Military. Unfortunately I was a woman and that meant engaging in more simplistic office work. But by 1940 I was working as a code-breaker in Bletchley Park. I-I was engaged to Fred Wells, who worked with me. The man that I worked for, Mr. Edwards, informed me that I had been recommended for the Special Operations Executive. I was a fool at the time. I had been tricked into believing that a woman should not fight, so I turned down the offer." I smiled at Peggy and grabbed her hands. She looked up at me with a slightly surprised face.
"I completely understand that. Believing that you're a woman and our place is in the kitchen. It's why we're here. You and I, we're going to change that. It starts today," I told her with a small smile.
Peggy gave me a bright one back. "Yes we are. Anyways I introduced my fiancé to my brother Michael at our engagement party." Glancing down quickly I saw that she wasn't wearing a ring. "It broke my heart but Michael believed that Fred was not good enough for her me. He thought that I had more potential." Peggy gave a bitter smile. "It turned out that he was the one who had recommended me to be a field agent. We discussed if the wedding was truly what I wanted. Michael told me that as it wasn't yet my wedding day, I still had time to change her mind. I was a fool. In spite of his assurances that I was meant to be a fighter, I refused to listen and stormed away. I continued to focus on my upcoming preparations were cut short when we were informed that Michael had been killed fighting in the war. I never got to tell him that he was right," Peggy said, tears building in her eyes.
I had never been good with crying before but I knew that someone had to say something to her. So I got up and took a seat on her bed. I grabbed her hand and smiled at her. "Peggy, he knows. He knows that you loved and appreciated him. And he's watching you right now. He's smiling down at you. He's proud," I told her.
She smiled and wiped the back of her eyes. "Thank you. When he died I realized I had lost the only person who truly understood who she was. But it prompted me to reverse my earlier decision and pursue the field agent position. My marriage was called off. I eventually joined MI5. As an MI5 operative, I was loaned here. To the Strategic Scientific Reserve. I'm an advisor now. In November of 1940 I infiltrated Castle Kaufmann, it's the headquarters of the SS General Johann Schmidt."
The name rang a bell. Chester had told me about him before. "He's the leader of the HYDRA division, isn't he?" I asked her.
She nodded. "I'm not sure how much you know about it yet. But yes. He is the leader of HYDRA, Adolf Hitler's top secret science division. I disguised as a maid Eva. I freed the captured Abraham Erskine. You know who he is, I assume?" She asked me. I nodded. Soon afterwards I was assigned as a liaison from the British government to help you Americans combat the Nazis. Now I'm serving under your father. For now I just do what he needs me to do. Once we're ready for human test subjects for Operation Rebirth I'll be working directly with you and your father," she explained.
We sat in silence for a moment before I nodded. "That's quite the adventurous life you've had there," I told her with a smile. Peggy laughed and nodded at me. Peggy stood and began to look at the things that were on my shelves. She turned to me when she realized that I was watching her.
"I'm so sorry. Here I am prying through your things while you're sitting right there," she told me abashedly, coming to sit back with me.
I waved her off and motioned back to the shelves. "Please. Feel free. I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't already looked through your things." Peggy smiled at me before walking over to my shelves once more and looking through the few things that I had stacked up.
Her hands traveled over my books. She stopped at a few and opened them up before placing them back, exactly where they had been. She was sure not to knock anything out of place. She picked up a book on human mutation and stared at it curiously for a moment. "I'm no fool but I don't understand half of this. You do?" She asked me.
Nodding at her, I leaned back against her bed. It seemed that we had gotten comfortable with each other enough to at least slightly invade each other's private space. "Yes. Genetics and mutation, they're my specialty," I told her.
She grinned down at me. "Good that you're here then. Why did you get into mutation?" She asked after a moment.
"Humanity has slowly evolved through the years. Blue eyes? They're a mutation. Being born with an extra toe or one too few fingers. All mutations. But there is evidence that humanity has recently taken a large... jump in mutations. People being born with certain abilities. I've never met one before but I'd like to see if it's actually possible," I told her, blatantly lying.
Peggy missed the lie. I waited for her to see how she gauged the news of people being born with strange abilities. "What do you mean by certain abilities?" She asked me.
"All sorts of things. Sometimes it can be something as simple as advanced strength. Better vision, advanced speed. Things like that. But there are some bigger ones. Invisibility, the ability to read minds, control over the elements. There are so many more possibilities. That's just a few of them," I told her. She was wide-eyed and curious.
"You believe that this is real?" She asked me. I nodded. "I'd love to meet one. Just to see what it's like and see what they're like. Can you imagine? A human that's more than a human. They could even help us win the war. I suppose that's part of what Operation Rebirth is. Mutation," she said quickly.
I smiled at her. "That's exactly what it's about," I told her.
She went back to look at the shelves that held my things. Her hands ran over the dog-tags for a moment and I watched as she picked them up. She read over each one carefully. "Wolverine. Savage," she said slowly. "What are these? If you don't mind me asking," she said softly.
"That's... a long story. One day I'm sure that I'll tell you," I told her with a smile.
She nodded and didn't bother saying anything else about the dog-tags. She seemed to pick up on the fact that they were not a story that I was willing to share as of right now. She looked over a few of my other things before settling on the photograph of Bucky, Steve, and I. She picked up the picture and a small smile slipped over her face. "This is cute. Who are they?" She asked as she came to sit with me once more.
"They were my best friends. I moved away from them when I was younger. That's Steven Rogers. We just call him Steve. And that one is James Barnes. Everyone calls him Bucky," I told her with a small smile. "I lost contact with them when I moved. I haven't seen them in about eight years. I tried tracking them down once but it didn't really work," I told her, the smile fading from my mouth.
She frowned at me and laid a hand on my knee. "Perhaps the day will come that you see them again." I nodded at her and sighed. "He's quite handsome," Peggy continued, a small grin on her face as she looked at Bucky.
My face immediately went red. "Uh yeah - yeah, I-I suppose he is," I stammered stupidly.
Saving me from any more of the awkward conversation - which I was sure that Peggy wouldn't have let go - Chester walked in. He looked at both of us and nodded. "I see that you're getting on well," he said, to which the both of us nodded. "Agent Carter, go ahead and get together the files on our new recruits, will you?" Peggy nodded and stood.
She placed the photograph back on the shelf and stood at Chester's side. "Yes, Colonel. I'll see you at Zero Week Commencement, Vicky," Peggy called back to me before leaving the room, two men in tow.
"You ready?" Chester asked me.
"You know it, old man," I told him before standing and smoothing out the sheets on Peggy's bed. Chester watched me as I worked before moving to the side and allowing me to walk out of the room. We headed out of the barracks and I assumed that we were heading towards the Operation Rebirth building.
As we walked through the camp I noticed a few of the new recruits had arrived. Many were saluting Chester and those same men stared curiously at me before giving me little grins. I rolled my eyes and walked past them. I was not some little girl that worked in records. I could beat them all into the ground if I really wanted to. As I walked through the camp I heard a few of their thoughts. They were so loud that it was like they were screaming at me. Look at the dame. That's quite the bird. Pretty dish.
As sweet as most of the thoughts were I wanted to shout at them. I was not here to be their looker. I was here to get things done. To show that women belonged in the Army. To show that we were more than secretaries. And I was here to prove that mutants were not things to be hunted down for game. We could live like normal people. And I was going to be sure to do that. Between training the new recruits and developing the super-soldier serum, I was going to prove that I was more than just the little freak with yellow eyes.
Our small group stopped near a large building on the back corner of the camp. Very few people were back here. There were even signs urging people to stay out of this side of the camp. The building had six armed guards standing on the outside. All of the men that had been flanking us dropped away. It left only Chester, myself, and one other man. We walked into the building that was about twice the size of the barracks that I was living in. We were met by a few men in the front entrance hall. The man that was clearly Dr. Erskine stuck out like a sore thumb.
Dr. Abraham Erskine was a friendly-looking man that appeared to be in his late sixties or so. He had the typical appearance of a German man. Although it appeared that his time in the States had made him slightly more tanned than most Germans. He had a good bit of pepper colored scruff on his chin and cheeks that suited the exhausted scientist. He had white hair that was fading slightly in the middle. He also wore wired-rimmed glasses. He was currently in a maroon three-piece suit with a white lab coat over it. He was grinning brightly at both Chester and I.
Chester was the first man to walk forward. I followed him, keeping at a slight distance. "Erskine. This is my daughter, Victoria Phillips," Chester said, motioning back to me.
The doctor took a step forward. "Hallo Artz Erskine," I said, incorporating some German. I wasn't quite sure if he would appreciate it or not but I figured that I might as well try.
The man smiled brightly at me as he took my hand to shake. "Ah, a Deutsche speaker. Not many around here. Good to meet you, Fraulein Phillips," Erskine said, a thick German accent lining his words.
"Just Victoria, please," I told him.
Dr. Erskine smiled at me. He motioned for just Chester and myself to follow him. "Please. Follow me. Victoria, I'd like to show you to your area," Dr. Erskine said as we walked through the halls. They were dimly lit as we took a staircase down a few levels. This place was heavily protected. There were guards everywhere. They looked over Dr. Erskine but their gazes narrowed on Chester and myself.
"Did you say my area?" I asked as we descended over another level. We must have been at least five levels below the surface.
Dr. Erskine looked over at me and nodded. "Yes. Each one of my scientists will have their own areas to work. You will be heading the genetics and mutation division," Dr. Erskine said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
My heart soared. It felt like it was a balloon that might burst at any moment. "You - you're having me lead a division?" I asked Dr. Erskine.
He glanced over at me before sending Chester a pointed smile. "Ja, liebes. I don't think that anyone is more qualified." Chester grunted and I blushed slightly as Dr. Erskine tipped his head at me. Of course he knew what I was. It only made sense that he would take me on his team if he knew what I was. He knew that this type of engineering - genetic - was my specialty.
We walked down into the final level and I watched as the small hallway opened up into a large room. There were cubicles and desks everywhere. Each person was in a lab-coat - similar to Dr. Erskine. People were walking back and forth. Each one was holding a clipboard and barely watching where they were walking. A few men were even colliding with each other as they walked. They didn't bother to stop and apologize. There was a large raised area that seemed to hold a viewing area. Probably for once the serum was completed. Electrical panels were all over the building and I felt the electrical currents zipping from one area of the room to another. A few scientists stopped to glance at us before continuing on.
There were only a few women in the laboratory and they seemed to be receptionists that were picking up files. Everyone that actually seemed to work here were men. Figures. Dr Erskine motioned for me to follow him over to the corner of the room. "Chester, you may go take care of your recruits. I'll have Victoria up by the time Zero Week commences," Dr. Erskine said.
Chester gave me a quick glance. "You alright?" He asked me. I nodded and watched as he turned to leave. I noticed a few men watching him closely as he left the laboratory.
Once he was gone and the doors behind him closed once more, Dr. Erskine turned to me. "Would you care to meet your team?" Dr. Erskine asked me. I nodded excitedly, much to his amusement. He walked me over into the far corner of the lab and I saw a group of five men. They were all crowded around a whiteboard and arguing. They stopped immediately as Dr. Erskine walked up.
"Good morning, gentlemen. This is Victoria Phillips. She will be leading the Genetics and Mutation Section for Operation Rebirth." The jaws of the five men dropped. I had been expecting that.
The one man that had been arguing the loudest stepped forward. He had deep brown hair that was combed back neatly, although it was slightly ruffled, probably from fingering it as he worked. His bright blue eyes were staring at me accusingly. "Erskine, did you just say that she was leading this section?" The man asked.
Dr. Erskine turned to him and nodded. "Yes I did, John. Victoria is one of the brightest minds for both genetics and mutation. I guarantee she knows more than you do. She will be the head of this project. If you would care to say something against my choice I welcome you to. And the door is right there," Dr. Erskine said. I mouthed a 'thank you' to him before stepping forward. None of the men took his suggestion. "Good. I have a few things I need to check up on. Don't worry about getting any work done. Introduce yourselves. I will see you shortly, Victoria."
With that Dr. Erskine vanished through the edge of the small office that we were all in and I turned back to look at the men. "As Dr. Erskine said, my name is Victoria Phillips. It's a pleasure to meet you all," I told the men, despite the fact that I was not pleased at all to meet them.
"Why are you here?" The man, John, questioned.
I turned to stare at him awkwardly. "What do you mean?" I asked.
"What have you done to actually get yourself here? Where did you get your degree from?" He asked me.
A small blush was slowly coming to my face. "I don't have a degree." John and the other men chuckled. "No Universities will take a woman for a degree in Genetics. This is my only way of getting a degree. But that doesn't mean that I don't know more about genetics or mutation than you do," I said proudly.
Once more John laughed. "What could a woman know?" He teased.
"Beside the DNA present in the nucleus, where else is it present?" I asked. There was no answer. "The mitochondria. Where do we inherit our mitochondrial DNA from?" I asked. They all answered 'parents.' "Wrong. Mitochondrial DNA is only inherited from the mother. Nuclear DNA comes from both parents. Bees are the one exception that inherit mitochondrial DNA from the father. Only two percent of the human genome contains information regarding the formation of proteins. All the rest are so called non-coding regions. Those are the regions that we must tap to create the successful formula. We'll need to use some form of radiation to enhance the process without causing harm but not Gamma. Gamma is too dangerous. Something lower. Perhaps combining it with the actual serum. If we can get our hands on something like Chronicle. I have a feeling we could work with that. Also we need to be making attempts to mutate the DNA strands without destroying them. That will be the hardest part." The men were all staring at me with blank faces.
They probably thought that I was just here because my 'father' was Chester Phillips. "Now should we stand here staring at each other for a while longer or should we learn to work together and figure this out? We're all a part of this country and we all want to defend it. If that means that you have to listen to the instructions of a woman I expect you to do just that. And if that means that I have to suck it up and deal with chauvinistic pigs that believe that I'd be of more use in the records office, I will do just that. Now would you care to introduce yourselves or should I just make up names for you?" I asked all in one breath.
A tall man with blonde hair and green eyes stepped forward first. His grip on my hand was tight. It was probably to the point that it would hurt the average woman, but I felt nothing. He was trying to be tough. "William Madison," he greeted. I smiled at him and tightened my grip, feeling the bones in his hand crunch. Pain flashed through his eyes before I released my grip.
He stepped back, trying to hide the fact that he was shaking out his hand. A man with black hair and blue eyes stepped forward next. He was the only one that was smiling at me. "Robert Price," he said as he shook my hand.
Once I had dropped his hand he stepped back and the next man came to take his place. "Joseph White," the next man greeted. He had brown hair and brown eyes. He was rather unremarkable. He barely touched my hand before dropping it and stepping back into line.
A moment later the last of the men stepped forward. A younger man that seemed far too small to be in the Army - even as a scientist - stepped forward. "George O'Neal." His voice was squeaky and matched his mousy look. He had brown hair and green eyes. I nodded at him and looked over at John, who had yet to come up to me.
He seemed to take the hint as he nodded at me. "John Allen," he called out. He didn't bother shaking my hand but I wasn't completely sure that I wanted him to. So I nodded and took a step backwards.
"Good to meet you, gentlemen. We'll be spending a good bit of time together. Some of my time will be split training the new recruits. I'll be spending one to two hours with them once they get to week three. Up until then I'll only be checking in on them from time to time. When I leave I'll leave behind instruction. We can get started tomorrow. I'd like you all to begin explaining to me what progress you've made so far when I arrive back here tomorrow morning. Until then you are all dismissed. Enjoy the festivities today," I said with a small smile.
They might not like me right now but I knew that I should be doing whatever I could to try and be friendly with them. If nothing else, cordial. Most of the men chirped back something along the line of, 'you too' or 'good evening' considering I wouldn't be seeing them until tomorrow. John had something else entirely to say.
"What could you possibly do to train the new recruits?" He asked me with a haughty laugh.
Just when I thought that we had made some progress, the other men laughed. I smiled and walked up to John with my hands clasped behind my back. He was grinning down at me. "I can show you, if you'd like," I offered with a mischievous glint in my eyes.
He smiled back at me with his arms crossed over his chest. "I make it a point not to hit girls."
Once more I smiled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder as I passed by. "Good. That makes two of us." The men all stared curiously after me as I walked out of the small office area and through the laboratory. Dr. Erskine was standing over a few vials of what I assumed were blood. I wasn't sure whose it was though.
"You are heading to Zero Week?" Dr. Erskine asked me.
"Ja," I responded to him. He grinned up at me. "What time do you want me in the office tomorrow?" I asked after a moment.
"Eight would be preferable." I nodded at him, letting him know that eight wouldn't be a problem. "Enjoy meeting your new recruits. I will see you tomorrow, Fraulein," Dr. Erskine said. I waved back to him before stepping out of the laboratory and making my way up the stairs. Chester was already waiting for me in the lobby. He motioned for me to follow him. The sun was setting in the sky. It must have been later than I had been expecting. The days would pass quickly here with so much to do.
As we walked out to meet the other recruits I realized that the camp was completely filled now. Men in uniform were running every which-way and many seemed to be lost. There were Officers standing every few yards to direct new recruits. Some were saying goodbye to friends that had been assigned to different divisions. They would all be under command of different Sergeant's and Officer's. Chester and I made our way under the tent that was currently set up for Phillips. Underneath were two lines of smaller lettering. One read 'Phillips - Junior' and the other read 'Carter - Junior'. There were already a few men standing around. As I glanced through I saw that there were about twenty or so men milling about.
Chester walked up to the front of the tent - the men still hadn't noticed him. Peggy came up on my other side and I smiled at her for a moment before turning back to the men, a solid glance on my face. These men couldn't have anything extra to laugh at me for. The camp was startlingly loud as men were trying to find their divisions and leaders. It was good to see that the men that we would be dealing with were all introducing themselves to each other. There were so many of them that it was next to impossible to pick out who was who.
Giving a quick glance over at Chester, he finally nodded. I let out a high-pitched whistle and the men suddenly ceased all movement. They fell into line almost immediately. "Gentlemen. My name is Colonel Chester Phillips. You will address me only as Colonel. Is that clear?" Chester called out, more authoritative than I had heard him pretty much since I had known him.
"Yes, Colonel," the men all answered back in synchronization.
"Good." Chester was walking up and down the line of recruits. Peggy and I were still standing at the edge of the line. We were both standing tall and proud with our hands knitted behind our backs. "I will be overseeing the majority of your training. I'll be assisted by these two. Ladies, introduce yourselves." All eyes shot curiously over to Peggy and I.
I motioned for Peggy to introduce herself first. "Gentlemen, I'm Agent Carter. I supervise all operations for this division. You will be working under my supervision along with Colonel Phillips and Sergeant Phillips," she said, motioning backwards to myself.
"As Agent Carter said, I'll be working with you as well. You'll be spending most of your time with Agent Carter and Colonel Phillips. I'll begin overseeing the majority of your training beginning week three. My name is Victoria Phillips," I called out to the men.
One of the men scoffed and looked over at us. "We have two women training us?" The man called out. I glanced over at him and stared curiously. He had shaved brown hair and bright blue eyes.
"What is your name?" I asked.
"Marcus Cole," the man said proudly.
Another man spoke before I could say anything else. This comment was directed towards Peggy. "What's with the accent, Queen Victoria?" I growled under my breath. "Thought I was signing up for the U.S. Army," he continued. Most of the other men laughed. "Why don't you two head back down to records where you belong," the man suggested.
Like his friend he had shaved brown hair. But his eyes were the same brown as his hair. Peggy and I both stared at the two men that had spoken for a moment before reacting. "What is your name?" She asked the other man.
"Jeremy Gaines, Your Majesty," he answered, just as proudly as Marcus had said it.
Peggy gave me a nod that told me that she was thinking the same thing that I was. "Jeremy and Marcus, please step forward." Both men glanced at each other for a moment before laughing and stepping forward. Jeremy was standing in front of Peggy while Marcus was standing in front of me. "Stand with your right foot forward," I instructed.
The two men laughed. "We gonna wrestle? Gonna show me some moves, doll? I got a few that I think you'll like," Marcus told me. I could hear Jeremy teasing Peggy the same way. We turned to each other for a moment before nodding at each other.
In the blink of an eye Peggy had pulled back and hit Jeremy square in the nose. He dropped to the ground, clutching his bleeding nose. Before Marcus got a chance to do anything else I grabbed him by the arm, in a crushing grip. He groaned in pain as I grabbed his shoulder and used his body weight to swing myself up. My legs went around Marcus's neck and I tightened them, cutting off his airway. As I continued to swing around him I used his body weight and my momentum to send him toppling to the ground. He hit roughly as I spun off of him, hitting the ground on my feet and staring down at him. He was clutching his neck, trying to get the air back to his lungs. The entire thing had happened in three seconds.
The men that were still in line were standing there and staring at us with wide eyes. Chester moved forward with a proud smirk on his face. "As you'll see, any words like that and you'll be sent straight to these two. They'll straighten you out. Now get off of your asses and get back in line," Chester snapped at Marcus and Jeremy, who sprung up and weakly limped back into line. "Introduce yourselves to Agent Carter and Sergeant Phillips. When you're done you'll be allowed dinner. Sleep well tonight. Training begins tomorrow in the medical offices," Chester said to them.
They nodded and I watched as he walked away. Peggy started from the far end of the line and I started from the opposite. I met all of the men. Most of them seemed more than willing to speak to us now that they'd seen what we would do if we decided that we didn't like the way that they acted with us. Most of the men were reasonably polite. Although I did hear a few thoughts that were less than pure. But since they were thoughts I realized that I couldn't do anything about it. So I merely continued down the line meeting the men - most of whose names would take me weeks to actually manage to remember - before coming to the last man.
I had been walking slowly, only stopping long enough to let the recruits tell me their names. But this man standing at the end of the line made me stop dead in my tracks. My face fell, my heart picked up its pace, and my hands began to sweat. I had known that he was here. Chester had told me that much. So why was it so hard to find myself standing face to face with him?
Here he was. After eight years, here he was. He was dressed in the typical soldier garb. He was wearing a pair of deep brown pants with black boots on his feet. His pants were tucked into them. On his top half was a black shirt that was tucked into the black pants. He was the same handsome man that I remembered from my childhood. He had gotten taller. He now towered over me. He was freshly shaved and his hair had been recently cut. It was brushed back over the top of his head. He looked older now, which made sense considering he was twenty-four. He was staring at me as if he had seen a ghost.
It's her... It has to be her. "Vika," Bucky said so low that I barely heard him.
He made to take a step forward to me but I backed off before he could. Peggy was looking at me with wide eyes and I realized that tears were forming in the corners of mine. Damn me. "A-Alright. Thank you for introducing yourselves. Agent Carter and I look forward to seeing the types of men you develop into over the next few weeks. You're dismissed. Get dinner and be ready for the first day of training tomorrow," I said.
The men began to dismiss themselves and Peggy started to walk over to me. Before she could, Bucky ran up to me. He kept a tiny bit of distance between us but he was definitely standing closer than anyone else would dare to. "Vika. Y-you're here. How?" He asked me.
My mouth opened to try and say something but nothing came out. It was only a stupid stutter. When I finally managed to say something, I wanted to smack myself for how stupid it was. "Hey Buck."
The look on Bucky's face was disbelieving. He opened his mouth and a small smile came out. He laughed softly as he shook his head. His hands went to burying themselves into his pockets and he stood with a confident swagger. "Eight years. I haven't seen you in eight years but the only thing that you can say to me is 'Hey Buck,'" Bucky said.
Suddenly the air felt overly suffocating and I had a burning desire to be anywhere but with Bucky. He reached out to me but I took a step backwards. "I have things that I need to get done. Have a good first day of training, James," I said, adopting my professional attitude. I needed to keep a distance from Bucky until I could figure out what I could do to make him forgive me.
The dismissal didn't go over well with him. "Hey! Vika," he ran back after me and laid a hand on my shoulder. "Now you're back to calling me James? I don't think that I've ever heard you call me that. What happened to you?" He asked me softly.
"A lot," I said weakly. "A lot has happened over these eight years. Just know that I didn't leave without thinking it through. I made the decision that I thought was right. It just happened to not be," I said softly.
I turned to leave once more but Bucky beat me to it. "Have dinner with me," he called after me.
I turned back to him and shook my head. "We can't eat with the recruits. You should be introducing yourself to the others," I said to him, motioning around to the men that I was sure were trying to overhear the conversation. He'd be hearing about this all night.
Bucky leaned into me and smiled. It was the same smile that had made me melt a thousand times before. He reached out to me and placed a hand on the side of my arm. "One night, Vika. Have dinner with me. I think that you owe me that much."
His last words made a sharp pang go through my chest. He was right. If nothing else, I owed him dinner for one night. And he was still my friend. I still loved him. I just could barely look at him without remembering the mistake that had cost me seven years. And two friends... "Just for tonight. I'll meet you in the dining hall in a little bit," I told him before turning and stalking off.
Even as I walked away I let myself slip into his mind. She still loves me. She has to. She got away from me once. I'm not letting her go this time. As I walked away I couldn't help the small smile that came to my face. And as I walked towards the dining hall, Peggy came up to me. As we walked and waited for the men to come in she grilled me about Bucky and what had happened to us. I told her just a bit, enough to convince her that I was in love with him and was smart to take him up on dinner. She had also offered to eat with us. I had thought about it for a moment before turning her down. I liked Peggy and appreciated her, but this was one thing that I had to do by myself.
Bucky's P.O.V.
As Bucky walked back to the barracks to drop off his things before heading to dinner he thought about her. His Vika. He had her back. It made him smile the entire time that they were walking. A long eight years had passed since he had last seen her. He's always hoped that he would see her again. But something in the back of his mind had always told him that he wouldn't get to see her again. He had always thought that she was gone. He could love her as much as he wanted but she would be gone.
Now, here she was. He couldn't even begin to describe how strange it was to see her again, after all of these years. He had been at a complete loss for words when he'd seen her earlier. He couldn't even begin to imagine what she was doing here. She was a woman. Women were rarely allowed on the Army bases. And never as anything more than a secretary. She was a Sergeant. He couldn't imagine that she would have gone and enlisted in the Army without telling them. She would have been too young anyways. She was fourteen when she had disappeared. Women couldn't enlist until they were eighteen. And there was no way that she had become a Sergeant in four years. So what had happened?
He intended to get all of this out of her at some point or another. He wanted to know why she had left without a word to either Steve of himself. It drove him insane knowing that she really had left in perfectly good health. Seeing her right now he could tell that nothing physically was wrong with her. She hadn't been sick. She would have said something. He had to believe that she would have said something. And now here she was, almost looking at him like she was afraid of him. Or like she was afraid of saying something that she shouldn't.
Bucky dropped onto his bunk and laid his things out around him. He would straighten himself out when he came back tonight. As of right now he wanted to make sure that he was ready to see her again. He wanted to live up to the boy that she had known years ago. She certainly lived up to the woman that he had known years ago. She was just as pretty as he remembered. Her hair still fell the way that it used to. Almost white, hanging over her shoulders. She had curled it today, something he had rarely known her to do before. Her eyes were still the same brilliant yellow that he had always loved. He used to sometimes just like looking at them. She even looked like a woman now, although he would never say that to her. That would have been improper. He just wished that he'd gotten the chance to see her grow up.
Across the bunker men were getting changed for dinner and speaking to each other about what life would be like now that they were in the Army. Bucky had made friends with a few men from the other divisions but none yet from his own. "What about the dames that are supposed to be leading us," one of the men guffawed. Justin, he was pretty sure that his name was.
It was a slightly older man in his thirties who had made comments about every pretty bird that they had passed since coming into the camp. His friends, Carl, answered back. "Nice looking dames, could use someone to ring their bells," he said.
Bucky found his fists bunching together. Not just for Victoria, but for Agent Carter too. No man should disrespect a woman the way that they were. "You see what the one broad did to Marcus?" Another one of their friends, Harlan, asked. "Someone needs to put the bitch in her place."
Bucky had to admit that he'd been stunned when Victoria had attacked Marcus. That wasn't to say that he hadn't deserved it. And that wasn't to say that Bucky hadn't thoroughly enjoyed watching her do something like that. He liked seeing that she wasn't a soft little girl. He liked seeing a girl that could hold her own. But he'd been surprised enough when Agent Carter had hit Jeremy. When he had expected Victoria to hit Marcus as well she had done some type of move that he had never seen before. Victoria had always been tough. She could always beat him in races and when the pair used to wrestle for control of the radio she would almost always win. He had always enjoyed having a girl in his life that he didn't have to worry about hurting. The more that he watched her the more he wondered if he would have to worry about her hurting him.
"I'd be more than happy to show her what women should really be doing," Justin added, making lewd gestures down to his pants. Bucky broke out of his thoughts and began to button his shirt faster.
The men all laughed as Bucky began to change into a darker dress shirt. He found himself yanking at the buttons harder than necessary. "The broad is definitely a dish. She's got yellow eyes though. You see those things?" Carl asked.
Justin laughed and patted his friend on the back. "I don't give a rat's ass what her eyes look like. I just want to know what kind of noises she'd make," he laughed. Bucky accidentally snapped the bottom button of his shirt off. He tucked it in roughly anyways. He turned to leave before the men could make him any angrier.
"Hey Barnes!" Harlan called out. Bucky turned back to look at him with gritted teeth. "She seemed to know you. You get a little friendly with her? She as tough in the sack as she is out there?" Harlan asked with a wicked grin.
"I knew her when we were kids," Bucky answered shortly.
The men all stared at him strangely for a minute. It wasn't just the three of them. All over the bunker the men were talking about Victoria and Agent Carter. Most of the conversations weren't anything that should be said of two respectable young women. And he hated hearing how many of them had something to say about Victoria's eyes. He knew that they were always a soft spot for her. She hated how people looked at them. She would never realize that her eyes were his favorite thing about her.
Justin's voice brought him back into reality. "Well you might have known her when she was a kid but I ensure to know her as a real woman. What do you think? She a share crop?" Justin asked Bucky with a small smile.
In the back of his mind Bucky had somewhat been expecting Justin or one of his other friends to say something like that. But waiting for them to say it and hearing them actually say it were two different things. And Bucky was furious. He had heard far too many men say things like that about women through the years. It had always bothered him. But no one ever said anything like that about Vika. Not that he had ever heard. As the men laughed Bucky felt something in him snap. Despite the repercussions if they were caught, Bucky acted.
He went after Justin first. Harlan backed off, as did Carl. The other men had dropped their conversations to watch. Justin tried to get Bucky off of him but it didn't work. Bucky's hand was caught around Justin's shirt as he shoved him back against the metal walls. The men in the room were all egging him on and laughing. Bucky shoved Justin back against the wall before rearing back and hitting Justin square in the nose. Bucky dropped his grip on Justin, who went sliding to the floor. Bucky could tell that he was trying to stand back up but he couldn't. There were stars in his eyes as he leaned back against the wall. Blood was dripping out of his nose.
Bucky knew that he should have left it like that but he couldn't. So he leaned down in front of Justin and grabbed his collar. "Never speak about either one of those women like that again. Do you understand me?" Bucky snarled. The man just barely let out a little groan.
With nothing left to do, Bucky dropped Justin back against the wall and turned to leave the bunker. He had just walked out of the room - heading to his dinner with Vika - when he heard a call. "Private Barnes," he said Colonel Phillips call out. He groaned. Getting in trouble on the first day in camp was not something he wanted.
He turned back with a slightly guilty look on his face. "I'm sorry about that Colonel. It was unprofessional. I will accept the consequences of my actions," he said. He could have left the room but he had attacked Justin. He knew what it would earn him.
The corners of Colonel Phillips' lips turned up before his face fell back to being stoic. "What are you talking about? I didn't see a damn thing. Get to dinner," Colonel Phillips said. Bucky stared at the Colonel for a moment before nodding with a small smile and turning to walk away. "Private Barnes," he called out once more. He turned back and nodded. "My daughter means the world to me. Thank you," he said before turning and walking away.
"She means the world to me too, Colonel," Bucky said before turning to walk away. He swore that he saw Colonel Phillips smile once more as he walked through the camp. Bucky knew that Colonel Phillips was not Victoria's father. He knew that her parents had died when she was young. She had never told him how. But that didn't matter. He was glad that she had found a father figure that she seemed to love as much as he loved her. Now the only other thing that he needed to do was make her love him.
Victoria's P.O.V.
I was sitting nervously in the dining hall. Men and women were walking around everywhere, getting to know each other. A few men from the division that Peggy and I were leading had come up to say a quick greeting before walking off. They were the ones that I assumed would end up actually respecting me. Dr. Erskine and Peggy had stopped by for a while too while I waited. The doors finally opened once more and I turned back to see Bucky. He had changed his shirt so that it was now a deep blue dress shirt. I smiled weakly and looked down at the table. He looked good.
He grabbed a tray of food before coming over and sitting in front of me. He smiled at me before handing me a small chocolate cupcake. This was the one day that they would be allowed to have dessert. I smiled and laughed softly. We used to try and make cupcakes from time to time. They were always awful. "Remember those cupcakes that you used to make that were awful?" Bucky questioned.
I smiled and placed it on the edge of the tray. "I resent that. They were gross, they weren't awful," I said softly. Bucky laughed and began to chow down on his food. We sat in silence as I thought of what to say to him. Once I hadn't known when to shut up. Now I couldn't think of a damn thing to say. "Hey..." I said, trailing off when I couldn't finish the thought.
Bucky laughed once more. It was one of the things about him. He could always manage to smile. "All those years together and you were never at a loss for words. What changed?" He asked me.
"Perhaps the fact that I haven't seen you in eight years. Things have changed. We aren't the same people anymore. You're a grown man. You - you've moved on," I said weakly. Bucky almost flinched at my words.
"Do you really think that I ever moved on?" He asked me. There was a seriousness to his words that I didn't like. And I knew the truth. He had never moved on. Not really. He'd tried to date and he'd tried to forget about me but he couldn't. "You were my best friend. You and Steve. The two of us knew everything about you." I flinched slightly. He thought that he knew everything. In reality he knew nothing. "I thought that you would always be there." Another flinch. "You were always my favorite girl."
My eyebrows raised and I smiled as I popped another piece of chicken into my mouth. "Your favorite girl?" I asked softly.
Through all of the years that I had known Bucky I had never known his to regularly hang out with anyone other than Steve and myself. "Come on, Vika. You know that," he told me.
He reached across the table to grab my hands. For a moment I let him. The buzzing of electricity under my skin began to run rampant and I pulled back from him. The last thing that I wanted to do was electrocute him right after meeting him again. "Yeah. I do," I said softly. Bucky went to take back his hands before I realized that there was a slight red tinge to Bucky's hands. I grabbed them and examined them closely. "Do you have blood on your hands?" I asked softly.
My eyes had widened as I stared at Bucky. He bashfully smiled at me and nodded. "Oh, yeah. A few guys in there were saying some unsavory things about you. Had to straighten them out," he said, grabbing his hands back from me with a reassuring smile.
Smiling at him I shook my head. "I'm not a kid anymore. You don't have to always be coming to my rescue," I told him. And it was the truth. I could kill any person sitting in this room. But I wasn't going to tell him that.
"I'll always come to your rescue," he told me softly to make sure that none of the people in the dining hall could hear us. I glanced down at the metal table and saw that a brief pinkish tinge fled into the yellow in my eyes. I blinked quickly - trying to push it out - before glancing back up. Bucky was still smiling at me. "You haven't changed. Not really. Same old Vika," he said.
I smiled back. He was the same sweet-talking boy that I had always loved. "And you're the same old Bucky," I said softly.
A small smile lit up his face. "I knew that you could only call me James for so long," he teased. I laughed softly and shook my head.
"It just doesn't suit you."
The two of us chuckled for a moment before going back to our food. We are in silence for a few minutes before Bucky spoke once more. "Vika..." he trailed off. I glanced up and nodded. There was a pained look in his eye. "Why did you leave?" He asked.
I knew what a knife wound to the chest felt like. I knew what a bullet wound to the face felt like. I knew what it felt like to have pain receptors fried. Nothing was as painful as hearing Bucky's voice crack at the question. "Oh. It's - it's a long story," I said stupidly.
It was a bad answer. But I couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth. "We have time," Bucky gently prodded. Perhaps it would have been better for me to tell him. But I couldn't. I had to lie. The day would come that I would tell him the truth - I could feel it. But that day wasn't yet.
"I can't tell you. Not yet. Just know that I didn't leave you or Steve without thinking for a long time about what would happen if I left. I left because I felt like I had to. There were things that I couldn't tell you both. Things that I still can't tell you. I left because I thought that I would be doing the world a favor... you a favor. I was wrong," I said softly.
Bucky looked completely confused but I knew that he wouldn't push it. Not with the promise that one day I would tell him what had happened. "Why would you have ever thought that leaving would be doing the world a favor? We both loved you. We were your family. And then you just vanished without a word," he told me.
The more that I heard other people say it the more I hated myself for ever doing it. I was such a fool for leaving. If I could go back and change it I would. But I couldn't I could only try to right things now. "Because there are things about me that you don't know. Things that make me dangerous."
Bucky didn't look like he believed me. "You aren't dangerous, Vika. You're the girl that stumbled into my apartment and changed my life." I smiled and shook my head. "You're the girl that always made me feel like a twit," he said and I laughed. He was a twit. "You're the girl that can't dance to save her life but will if you prod her enough. You're the girl that goes on roller coasters, and wears trousers, and picks fights with people ten times bigger than her just to prove that she's tough. You're the girl that I've always looked up to," he said with a smile.
They were things that no one else knew about me. They were things that no one would dare say to me other than Bucky. "Do you remember the day that you promised me that you would never leave me?" I asked him. He nodded. "Today I'm going to make the same promise to you. I'm never going to leave you. Not again. Because you always deserved better than that," I told him truthfully.
He stared at me for a moment before nodding. This was my way of making the past up to him. "No, Vika. I always deserved you. And I would have waited for you. Forever," he said.
There was a small twinge that went through my chest. "I went back to your apartment when I came back to New York last year. You were gone. So was Steve," I said softly, letting him know that I had tried to look for him.
He nodded at me and looked down at the table. "Yeah. Our parents have..."
I grabbed his hand and shook my head at him. "I know. One of your neighbors told me when I was looking for you two. I'm sorry to hear that. Your parents, Steve's too, they were all great people. They would be proud of you," I told him with a smile.
And it was the truth. They would be proud to see him like this. "We moved a few months after it all happened. Steve and I moved in together. We lived in a little apartment near the edge of Brooklyn. Lived there up until I enlisted," he told me.
Suddenly my thoughts came to a grinding halt. I knew what had happened to Steve and Bucky's parents, I knew what had happened to Bucky, but I had no clue what had happened to Steve. "What happened to Steve?" I asked.
Bucky smiled at me. "Steve is fine. He's still living in the apartment. Told him that I'd be back for the little punk later." I grinned into the cupcake. Steve and Bucky were always calling each other names. "He's tried enlisting a bunch of times. Keeps getting denied for health reasons. I can see that it hurts him every time," he said sadly.
Steve did have quite a few medical problems. Nothing dangerous but things that made him ineligible to be a soldier. He had asthma, his mother had fought tuberculosis, and he'd had scarlet fever, chronic colds, heart palpitations, nerve trouble, diabetes, scoliosis, and fatigue. I had always thought that it was funny that a guy like Bucky had become best friends with a guy like Steve. "But he's alright?" I asked.
All of those medical problems could mean trouble for Steve later in life. I just hoped that he would be fine for now. "He's fine. You know, he still has the asthma and everything else that you could imagine." I laughed under my breath and nodded. "But I like to tell him that all of those things are only going to make his comeback even better," he said proudly.
Grinning up at Bucky I went to tell him that Steve would be proud. But the scientific part of my brain kicked in before I could. I thought about the few files that I had read before about Operation Rebirth. They wanted men in top physical condition to be doing the super-soldier serum. But what if that wasn't a good idea? There wasn't much more that they could do. The reactions wouldn't be as drastic as they would in someone with minor diseases and medical hampering. Their DNA would be different too. If I could get blood work done on people of all medical standpoints I could make a big jump in the super-soldier serum.
"Disease..." I muttered, as thoughts were shooting through my head.
Bucky suddenly looked very worried for me. "Vika?" He asked softly.
Leaning forward in the chair I grabbed his hand and pressed a small kiss to Bucky's face. He could have just helped me drastically here. Bucky was smiling at me as I sat back in the chair. "Bucky, you're a genius! Thank you!" I shouted.
He was grinning at me but still looking slightly confused. "You're welcome?" Bucky asked more than said. I laughed softly. "Come on Vika, we always knew that I was the smart one," he said.
We both stared at each other for a moment before laughing. We all knew that out of Steve, Bucky, and I, it had been me by far that was the most intelligent. "If it helps you sleep better at night. Seriously, thanks. I've got another little project that I'm working on while I'm here and I think you might have just helped me figure something out," I told him.
He suddenly looked very proud of himself. "Well let me know if there's ever anything that I can do to help. You know where to find me," he said. He was right. I knew where his bunker was and I knew where he would be training.
I smiled and began to stand, grabbing the files that I had been walking around with. Chester had given them to me on each recruit. "I'll see you around," I said, turning to leave. Before I could though I felt a small stirring in my stomach. I turned back and spit it out before I could stop myself. "Bucky, do you want to have lunch tomorrow?" I asked him quickly.
Bucky grinned at me before shaking his head. "What happened to not being able to eat with the recruits?" He asked me.
Giving him a small smile back, I brushed my hair off of my face. It was falling in curls over my shoulders that were bothering me. I hated having it curled. I liked letting it fall naturally. "I never did like the rules," I teased.
Bucky grinned back at me and gave me a little wink that made an irritating flutter bounce around in my stomach. "Tomorrow it is. I'll be here around noon," he told me.
I nodded and gathered the rest of the files that were on the table with Bucky's help. "See you then." I turned to leave once more before turning back again. One day I'd actually get around to leaving. "Hey Bucky... One day I'll tell you what happened. Where I went. Why I came back. But that day isn't today," I told him with a smile.
The day was going to come when I told him all about Stryker and Project X. But I had to know that he wouldn't run the moment that I told him about myself. Although in the back of my mind I knew that he would never run. Bucky smiled at me. "You take as much time as you need. Tell me whenever you're ready. I'll be here to listen," he said. As I turned to walk away Bucky called after me. "Hey Vika, don't go disappearing on me now."
He wore a teasing grin that I smiled back at. "Why would I? Someone has to whip you into shape." Bucky laughed and nodded at me. "Get to bed, Recruit," I told him.
He went into a salute. "Ma'am yes, Ma'am," he called out. I giggled slightly before grabbing my things together and turned away from Bucky, giving him one last smile before leaving.
As I dashed from the dining room back towards the barracks I let my mind fill with all sorts of thoughts about what I was going to. First thing was to try and alter the serum. Someone already in top physical condition didn't have much to improve on. But someone with diseases and sicknesses... That might work. The second thing I needed to do was earn the respect of the men that I would be working with - scientists and recruits alike. The last thing that I needed to do was make up the last eight years to Bucky. He needed to know that the girl that he thought so highly of was deserving of his thoughts. A few minutes later as I laid in bed and giggled with Peggy about startling the recruits earlier I realized something. This was the first night in a long time that I had felt at peace.
A/N: And there you have it! The big reunion. I know that it wasn't much in this but it will come more into play in the next few chapters. I wanted to get back into the whole 'woman in a man's world' in this chapter. And I also wanted to establish her relationship with Chester Phillips and have her meet Peggy Carter. Howard will be coming in soon! A few chapters away. Maybe sooner. Since I know very little about military training in the 1940's, this is based off of current (recent actually) United States Army training. Sorry it's probably historically inaccurate but I tried!
Share Crop: A sexually promiscuous woman
German Translations:
Hallo: Hello
Artz: Doctor
Deutsche: German
Fraulein: Miss
Ja, liebes: Yes, dear
If you're wondering how the rest of the story will be structured, the next few chapters will be to set up Victoria and Bucky's relationship as it grows now that they've been reunited. There will be one for each week of training. The next nine chapters will focus on Bucky's training and Victoria as she begins to work on the super-soldier serum. After that it will be a brief period of time before we get to the events of Captain America: The First Avenger. I know its long but bear with me! It will be worth it! Thanks for all the follows and favorites! Please review! Keep them coming! Until next time -A
Anonymous: Thank you so much! Yes, she's gone through some pretty terrible things. I'm glad that you liked her interactions with Logan. Hope you liked this one!
HistorianKate: Thank you! Yes, I realized the television thing after I'd written it already and I didn't feel like going back and changing it. Normally I'm so good about that too! Oh well. I'm glad that you liked Victoria :) I think Wolverine is great. He's from the X-Men and at some point I'd like to briefly incorporate them into the story. Yes, I've unfortunately gotten a few rude reviews on my stories. I try to brush them off but when you spend so much time on a story it can be hard to ignore. Thanks so much! Your review made me feel much better :) Hope you continue to enjoy.
