Brooklyn, New York

1942

"Rose!"

I nearly fell over myself in my attempt to run to her for a hug. She caught me in the hug with the same high pitched giggles that I was wearing upon seeing her at the end of the school day.

"It's summer vacation!" She squealed, bouncing up and down with me in the hug. "No more school!"

"Just think of all the stuff we can do now!" I chimed in with her, equally as excited as my project lists came flowing back through my head freely.

Then, of course, the grim reaper of happiness herself came trotting up to us, effortlessly sucking our joy away.

"What are we doing first?" Lillian asked, looking between us with her eyes sparkling that annoying blue and buck teeth protruding out in a way that would only ever be cute as long as she was little.

She watched as our joy fell through the pavement below and frowned back, placing her hands on her hips very matter-of-factly.

"You promised already."

"Can't you just hang out with other girls your age?" Rose begged then, looking on at her little sister pleadingly. "Mary and I are doing woman stuff. You're not a woman yet."

"Neither are you!" Lillian's cheeks puffed up red in anger and I could practically see the steam from her ears blowing that horribly wonderful blonde hair of hers out of her face. "I'm going to tell Mother all about this-this- FIBBING!"

"Oh, did you learn that big word all by yourself?"

I couldn't help but taunt her with a roll of my eyes. Eight year olds were practically babies, especially when they were a grade lower than us. We couldn't be caught dead hanging around them. And, yes, maybe on a better day I'd have more patience for her and let her tag along, but we did that SO much already. She was practically spoiled getting to hang out with older girls all the time. Lillian really needed to learn to spend time with girls her age. It wasn't like she understood a lick of what I was talking about anyways when I worked on projects or wrote up equations to make them possible.

Rose, a girl way too pretty to hang out with me and my carrot-red hair, was not only good company when I worked, but she was also an excellent mathematician. This small fact was possibly the reason she hung out with me at all. We had each other.

And…Lillian.

"Go tell her." Rose challenged, taking my hand and turning us to walk south towards Flushing St. "She doesn't care anyway."

Lillian was huffing and puffing in anger when Rose and I walked off and then broke into a race with our backpacks tugging us either witch way with each step.

I am proud to report that I made it there first, especially since I'd insisted on being issued slacks instead of a dress back at home. Ever since I heard of the modern-age feminists taking the world by storm by making slacks and overalls fashionable for women, I couldn't help myself. Sure, it was a protest against making women wear dresses and skirts in mens working environments that we now had to fill as they were all off fighting the war, but it caught my attention nonetheless.

The reason for Rose's loss in our race was her opposite insistence on wearing fashion styles I wouldn't touch with a metal pole. She wore a skirt that went just barely above her knee enough to make a grown woman clutch her pearls in disgust. For that fashion choice, she was holding her skirt down the entire run here to avoid flashing anyone we went by.

It never bothered either of us while we worked on the car though.

"Are you seeing James soon?" She inquired in that not-so-casual way I could expect from the question.

"He's taking me and Steve to the Stark convention as my birthday present in two weeks." I smiled at the reminder with my wrench working on the last bolt to tighten in our homemade converter. "They couldn't be there for my actual birthday yesterday, but he said he'd make it up to me since turning ten is a big deal. I'm in double digits now."

"Oh, I'd love to come." She hummed longingly, giving the clouds a look like she was daydreaming about fresh baked gingerbread. Then she scoffed to herself in annoyance. "If only I weren't so committed to Girl Scouts. We're visiting a camp during the convention to mend uniforms and their gardens every weekend until school this summer."

"Ooh," I pulled my wrench out now that the nut was tightened down all the way and poked her loins with it. "Going to check out your future husbands?"

"Mary," She snatched it away from me with a laugh, "Am not!"

"Oh, you know you'll love it." I teased further with a grin, "I thought we were women?"

"Not enough for that." She laughed, "Boys are gross!"

"But not my older brother?"

She gasped at that, appalled, "He's not even your brother!"

"Close enough." I nudged her aside and looked over the hood of the car before shutting it. "Congratulations."

"What do you mean?" She looked back at the car with a bigger smile growing. "You don't mean-"

"Yup," I put my hands on my hips, puffing out my chest in pride. "The first electric vehicle in the whole world. We're geniuses."

"You're the genius." She marched past me, pulling the keys out of my pocket on her way to the driver's seat. "You made it."

"Eh," I shrugged it off, trying to make sure she was still included. "You helped with the math."

She nodded with a smile, "I did, didn't I?"

She stuck the keys in the ignition, turning it and getting nothing. We both stared at the car quietly for a moment, realizing, I think, the problem at the same time.

"We don't have any way to charge this, do we?" Rose asked, pulling the keys out again.

I could only burst into laughter at that, her following shortly after. "NOO!"

Falling all over ourselves with laughter in the junkyard was not the worst way to spend the last afternoon after school. We went back home with smiles despite the touch of disappointment that we both felt. Had it been a project I worked on alone, I might've been less inclined to laugh and more ready to cuss myself out for being stupid. I'd have thrown something, maybe kicked a few of the junk cars, but Rose always had this way of making things in life seem like not such a big deal.

I just went home with a smile on my face while Rose and I chatted about our project plans for the summer. Street lights started to turn on and we took a left at the phone booth, turning into the children's home. 'Mother' wasn't much for curfews aside from the street light rule. In fact, several boys a little older than us rushed in right after Rose and I on our way in. They got a quick shout from Sister Lois, making them slow down on their way to the stairs.

Rose and I entered quietly and got a smile from Lois.

"At least our young women are respectful." She shook her head on her way by. "Regardless of your nearly missed dinner."

"Oh," My eyes went wide with Rose as we exchanged panicked glances and then picked up the pace rather fast. "Thank you, Sister!"

As soon as we were out of sight from her, we rushed ourselves right into the dining room where several of the other kids were still picking off the food that was left.

Summer days, though literally longer, always felt like they flew by. That's why working in the scrapyard, raiding the library, and window ballet classes just sucked the time away like a vacuum. Two weeks flew by, and while we were stuck letting Lillian tag along a few times on our adventures, it wasn't ever a totally awful day. I always hated how summer skipped along without a care in the world while the school year dragged like a sack of heavy potatoes.

The day of the convention had me worried that it would fly by too, so I made the vow to enjoy every second in front of me.

"I think I want to be a nurse." Rose said then, extending a leg in a tendu into second position with me and the few other girls gathered near us. "When I'm older. And help soldiers during the war."

"Don't you think the war would be over by then?" I replied, staring hard into the studio window and trying to keep up with the real ballerinas inside like all the other girls around us that could only dream of paying for real lessons right now. "I hope it is. Then Steve'll have to stop trying to enlist all the time."

"Or a nurse after the war." Rose shrugged, "All I know for sure is that college for girls is so much more money than I thought. I mean, who pays so much money for stuff you can read for free in the library. If I'm a nurse for the army, they'd pay for my schooling."

"You just like the uniform." Martha, another girl scout, chimed in from behind us.

Rose whipped around to look at her with a glare. "It's not true and you know it!"

I blinked at the outburst from my best friend, shocked enough to stop dancing with the other girls. In all my years of knowing her, she'd never lashed out at that.

"I think you'd make a great nurse, Rose." I said then, hoping to diffuse whatever just happened, "Uniform or not. All that math would make you the best nurse ever."

"My father says the same thing." She turned back around to look at the window with a smile. "Did I tell you he wrote?"

I forced a smile at that mention. "You did show me that."

My excitement levels only elevated when I got to go out and meet them at the convention center. Mother had already approved of my excursion since I had an 'escort' of family friends the entire evening. She had more important things to worry about anyhow while Rose and a few other girls hopped on a bus to leave for an army camp just outside the city. I left around the same time, opting to wear my only owned dress tonight so I might look my best at the convention.

I've gone just about every year to at least one of these things. And I always loved to laugh and scoff at some of the inventions that Howard Stark came up with. Be my hero as he might, the man was always in quite a rush to put out mediocre work. If I were him, I'd take the extra time and put a bit more thought into some of the most basic designs of my inventions. He always fell short on critical thinking and testing phases.

Walking up to the convention, I could already expect that it would be a blast. The music was loud, the lights were bright and thrilling, and though my legs were still sore a bit from window ballet earlier, I was practically bouncing out of my socks in excitement.

"Bucky!" I shouted when I spotted him, only stopping short a few steps out of my run when I saw what he was wearing. "What?"

"Hey," He smiled, closing the distance to wrap me in a hug. "You made it here all on your own."

"I don't-" I shoved him off, looking between him and Steve while a sick feeling brewed up in my gut. "What are you wearing?"

"I enlisted."

He smiled like it was something to be proud of, only sparking what I recognized as anger in me.

"It's an honor to serve, Mary." Steve stepped in, realizing my reaction long before Bucky did. "He's doing what's best for this country and the world. Think logically-"

"I don't want to." I snapped, looking at Bucky with betrayal. "It's my birthday and you're telling me you enlisted?! That you're going off to die on my birthday? How can you keep making everything about you?!"

"Mary," Steve sighed, reaching out for my arm and making me jerk back a step. "It's okay. You know that this is the best thing to do. He's not going off to die."

"He is!" I shouted, tears starting in my eyes. "He's gonna go off and die like everyone else!"

"Mary, Mary," Bucky caught my shoulders, bending a little at the waist to see me at my level. "You really think I'm going to go off and die just like that? I'm going to kick some Nazi butt, right?"

I sniffled, biting back the potential for hysterical sobbing that threatened to spill from my lips. "You're a jerk."

"I know." He smoothed my shoulders, letting me wipe my tears away. "Why don't we just enjoy ourselves tonight? I'll tell you what; We can go in a bit early with some popcorn and get up right near the front."

"You're both a bunch of yucks." I declared then, snatching my ticket out of Bucky's pocket and sidestepping them to go towards the entrance. "If I go so much as one week without a letter, I'll assume you're dead and never speak to you again if you're not."

"Reasonable." Steve muttered from behind me, following along with Bucky.

"I hate the orphanage."

I handed my ticket to the man by the gate and he clipped it before letting me walk by. I waited by the other side for them to come along too.

"You said you'd come get me when you buy a house." I gave Bucky an accusing look. "This is not buying a house. Instead you're leaving me all alone."

"Steve will be here." Bucky smiled innocently. "You'll be alright, Ace-ette."

"I doubt it." I scoffed, thoroughly hurt that of all days, he decided to join the army on my birthday.

"Hey," Steve jumped in, already trying to lighten the mood. "Didn't you say you were working on an electric car recently?"

Damn, that guy was good at pulling me back out of my grouchy state.

"I don't have any way to charge it yet." I tilted my head and looked away when I saw how Bucky gave me an expectant smile. "Okay, well, Rose and I have been working on this idea to capture sun energy-"

Steve and Bucky let me explain my plans for this summer to them, seeming to not mind so much even as the auditorium lights started to dim to shine light on the stage. I had to shut myself down so I could see what Mr. Howard Stark himself had been up to since I saw him last year. I'll admit, the hover car was impressive and had me scribbling down new ideas in my notebook while he talked, but it was apparent that this was another of his rushed inventions made for public awe and admiration.

I had to wonder as that hover car smoked and dropped if it might function better with an electric traction motor.

That's not what I had to talk about though as we stepped away from the stage again. Instead, my mind had switched to more 'defensive' concepts.

"I'm just saying that I could sell my ideas to a defense contractor." I argued, marching along with Bucky down one of the halls in the museum section of the convention center. "I'm not saying I'll get involved with the war directly. I want to help if you're helping. It's not fair that only you get to."

"It's different with me." He patted my shoulder. "I'm grown enough to make that decision now. You should focus on school and getting into one of those colleges for smart people over in England as soon as the war is over. Which, as long as I'm fighting, will be pretty soon."

"Ugh," I rolled my eyes and turned to stop him in his tracks. "Will you at least hear out my sonic cannon idea? It would deafen the enemy without the need to get close. Then, while they can't hear you or are panicking about their lack of hearing, you knock 'em down. It'll be like taking candy from a baby. Incapacitate and then destroy. Screw the Nazis."

"Awe, now who taught you language like that." Bucky chuckled, "And in front of your idol?"

"It's his museum of failed work," I snorted back, "Not actually-"

"No, I'm interested in the sonic cannon idea."

I whipped around fast, nearly losing my footing and getting steadied by Bucky while he laughed.

My eyes widened at the man in front of me. "Oh wow."

"I get that a lot." Howard smiled at my reaction, reaching out his hand for me to shake, which I did readily. "Howard Stark."

"I know." I breathed, staring back at him with my heart beating nearly out of my chest. "You're so cool."

"This is Mary," Bucky introduced me since I'd forgotten, shaking Howard's hand next. "It's an honor to meet you, sir."

"No, you soldiers are the real heroes." Howard patted his shoulder. "I just make you look cool. I heard something about a sonic cannon?"

"Yeah," I sucked it up fast, realizing how rare of a chance I'd just been offered. "I have plans for a cannon that would send out high powered sound waves that could distort the enemy."

"I have a similar idea in my lab." Howard nodded along, "Can't say I've been inspired enough to start it yet."

"Do you wanna see the math?" I offered quickly, pulling my backpack off to get out my notebook again. "I got all the pieces planned out and my friend helped with the equations to keep everything proportional. They could be placed on top of jeeps."

Howard gave me a skeptical look when I held out my journal before taking it ever so carefully. "Where did you say you went to school?"

"Brooklyn."

"Ah," He nodded like he understood. "Hunter's college?"

"No," I shook my head with a smile, "Brooklyn Grade School."

"Why don't we talk somewhere more private?" Howard placed a hand on my shoulder, keeping his eyes on my journal. "You sure this is your work?"

"It's all hers." Bucky confirmed for me with a massive grin. "She's a real smart one."

"I see that." Howard nodded, closing the journal and looking up at Bucky. "You mind if I have a chat with this one? She your sister?"

"Sorta." Bucky nodded me along in my awestruck state from what was happening. "You're welcome to her. She's just gotta be back in her home by tomorrow morning."

"But I won't get to say goodbye." I fretted quietly, looking between them, "Bucky?"

"It's alright," He waved me off. "I've gotta go track down some friends of my own before I leave. I'll see you around, Ace."

"Girls, you mean?" I snickered at him. "And dancing."

"Not relevant." He shook his head back with a small smile. "Make history, alright?"

"You got it."

I gave him my half-assed salute before turning around with Howard and keeping up at his heel while he walked us away. Seeing Bucky leave certainly hurt, but it was only one pain in my heart that was easily covered up by how my chest swelled with pride at the idea of Howard flipping through my Idea Journal like it was the newest testament of god. His brow furrowed in thought in a way that I could expect myself to get easily used to. And I followed along like his overeager puppy- a role I knew I'd easily slip into as long as he'd let me.

He did so readily.

Mr. Howard Stark sat me down in a private room around back, walking us by a man named Jarvis at the door. The man caught my eye when he gave me an amused smile. I was a little grateful that I had chosen to take the time to put my hair in socks the night before to curl it and fit myself into a dress today. I looked presentable in front of my idol today instead of like a female factory worker.

Mr. Stark seemed skeptical at first, but as soon as he got going through my idea journal, both of our excitement levels increased exponentially with every passing moment. He wanted to hear my ideas. Not only that, but he also wanted to bounce more ideas off me to make my plans and inventions more efficient. It was…possibly the greatest day of my life.

"You come up with these all on your own?" Mr. Stark asked for the hundredth time tonight. "No help?"

"Rose helps with some of the math." I shrugged it off, "She's my best friend. I just do most of the work."

"What do your parents do?"

I stopped short at the question and felt my own face fall with my stomach. Of all the inquiries of the night, I disliked this one the most coming from him. Didn't he know I was in an orphanage?

"My father lost his job when the economy crashed." I lowered my voice, looking away and wanting to make no mention of their absence in my life. "He used to help design cars I think. For the Ford company."

"You think?" Mr. Stark raised an eyebrow.

"I only remember him from home." I shrugged lightly, covering the watch on my wrist as if to hide it from the prying eyes and questions of one Howard Stark. "He made music boxes and watches to sell. My mother was a school teacher, but she had to clean our building when she lost her job too."

"Lots of people lost their jobs in the crash." Howard hummed thoughtfully, nodding at that. "Your parents are lucky they kept a roof over their head."

I nodded, remembering how my parents used to remind me to be grateful all the time too. Adults were always doing that to me like it would somehow make my problems any better. I tried my best to look on the bright side like my mother and father always did, but Rose was more built for that mindset than I was.

"My brother didn't survive that time." Howard continued, catching my attention again. "Neither did my mother."

"I'm sorry."

I never knew what I was supposed to say when people were sad, but this time it felt a little different. It was like Mr. Stark might actually understand how much it hurt to lose someone at that time. That connection had me looking at him now like he was the next messenger of god.

"It was a hard time." He concluded carefully, "My brother, Edward, witnessed things he couldn't handle seeing and it caught up with him. My mother couldn't process losing a son. So it was just my father and myself left to start our company."

"Well," I looked away awkwardly, playing with my hands. "It is a really nice company."

"It is, isn't it?" Mr. Stark smiled at that, "I heard your comments about my hover car."

I looked up fast at him in horror.

"Don't worry," He laughed at my expression. "You're right about it being a show-piece. My work goes into the war effort right now. Hover cars…drones…they're all meant to keep up public morale. I can't exactly show off how my real inventions hold up on the battlefield."

A grin grew on my face, helping me to push past our last topic of discussion.

"I knew it."

"How about I buy you some lunch tomorrow so we can gab some more?" Howard offered, making me nod excitedly.

All my dreams were starting to come true. I could almost jump up and down for joy, but in an effort to be professional about my work in front of an adult, I had to at least pretend to have an ounce of maturity in me. I got up with him and checked my watch that read way past light's out at the home.

Mr. Stark handed my journal back at the open door and looked at Jarvis. "Edwin, would you bring our guest back to her home tonight? She's gotta sleep sometime. Same as us."

"Absolutely, sir."

I don't know if it was because Mr. Edwin Jarvis was tired or because he was genuinely interested in what I had to say, but he didn't interrupt me at all while I buzzed with energy all the way back to the home. We got to drive back in one of Mr. Stark's fancy cars and I must've spent the entire time chattering about the sonic cannon design that Mr. Stark was so interested in. Jarvis just listened with that small smile of his until I had to get out at home and thanked him for taking me back.

"It was my pleasure." He offered me a card, and with it, a nickel taped to the back. "Mr. Stark insisted I offer you a means of communication in an emergency. You have a number and a fare for the phone now if you need it."

"What if I just buy sweets with it?" I asked with a mischievous grin. "I could get at least five."

"Well, then you wouldn't have any means to contact Mr. Stark." Jarvis replied with a similar challenging smile. "That would be your call."

"Hm," I nodded then, offering out my hand to him. "I hope to see you at lunch tomorrow, Mr. Jarvis."

"I won't miss it." He shook my hand and turned to get back in the car. "Get some rest, Miss Reeds."

I had the worst trouble trying to fall asleep that night after brushing my hair out and wrapping it back in sock curls. It needed to be nice again for lunch the next day. Rose was spending the weekend nights at the soldier camps nearby, so she wasn't around in the room to be bothered by my late night activities. Eventually, I got so sick of tossing and turning that I flicked my lamp back on and pulled out my diary from below my bed to write about my day. Perhaps if I got rid of all the words in my head they'd stop bouncing around so much.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I fell asleep halfway down the page and woke up the next morning with a knot in my back and neck. Then, as if my morning couldn't get any more difficult already, my hair refused to cooperate.

Tears were shed as I tried to fix it for at least an hour that morning.

"I like your hair today, Mary." Bernard commented, coming down the stairs behind me.

I whipped around to glare at him with the tear-streaked cheeks now evident to his poor unsuspecting self. "It's disgusting! Don't make fun!"

"I-" Bernard opened and shut his mouth in shock, leaning back away. "I didn't! I just said it was nice!"

"You're lying." I turned back around in a huff, my heart already aching from the drama of this morning. "That's all boys are good for anyways. I might as well be dying and all you can do is taunt me. My life is over!"

Bernard probably rolled his eyes behind my back while I had to stop short in front of the dining room entrance. I took a deep breath, choosing to face this day with dignity as I pulled out a bandana I'd stolen from Rose's suitcase. She wasn't here to mind, so it was going to be the thing that saved me from utter humiliation.

I got a few comments that morning from the other girls though that I didn't expect. Minnie-Mae told me I looked grown-up with the bandana holding my hair up and hidden in one of the latest styles. When one of the older girls told me a similar thing, I started to wonder if maybe I was being a bit dramatic. It wasn't the look I wanted or planned, but I supposed that if the other girls liked it, then I had no reason to do anything other than hold my head up when Mr. Jarvis came to get me from the home.

The lunch was filled with more talk of my inventions and how I'd fix some of Mr. Stark's. On top of that, I got to eat fifteen cents worth of the best goddamn burger and fries around. Rose and I almost always spent our collected money on fast food. It was the newest thing and all the older girls went to fast food with their boyfriends. Sometimes we'd giggle if we caught them kissing. Today I was only preoccupied with the man in front of me though as he questioned me on my intellect.

The lunch wasn't all of how we spent the day though because Mr. Stark had a second destination in mind.

Steve felt a bit guilty when he agreed to the job on the spot. After seeing how distraught Mary had been when Bucky told her he was joining up, Steve knew he could expect a similar reaction from her when she found out about him. The only comfort he took in this decision of his was the knowledge that Mr. Stark had pulled her away to talk about her constant unsettling mechanical genius. Bucky seemed pretty sure that she had gotten her 'in' with the smart people of the world. If Howard Stark decided to keep Mary around, which Steve was pretty sure he might, he would feel a lot better about running off to fight for his country like he knew he was made to do.

He had already started a letter that night before he went away to camp, telling her about his decision and why he made it. It wasn't some long heartfelt goodbye, but he did try to remind her to keep her chin up about these things. They were living in a tough world and he saw how it wore on her, especially as she grew and matured.

Steve had the letter sealed and was ready to try and find someone nearby to mail it for him when a familiar face caught his eye.

Rose Anderson had a uniform draped over her lap with a needle and thread, patching up a pair of clean trousers in a small circle of other girl scouts doing the same. There was nothing quite like hand delivery, so ignoring the chances that she'd get angry with him too, he stepped out from the curtain and wandered over to the circle of young girls in uniform.

"Oh," One of them giggled immediately upon seeing him, turning to her friend to 'whisper'. "I think we found who gets that one."

"Oh," The other girl broke into giggles too when she saw him. "He's so little."

Steve just gave them a polite smile, having heard that crap all his life now. It wasn't like a bunch of little girls were going to suddenly make him insecure about himself. He'd looked in a mirror recently enough to know they were right.

Rose looked up at him too and her face fell a little. "Steve."

"I didn't get a chance to see Mary before I got called in." Steve held out the letter to her and Rose got up to collect it from him, abandoning the uniform. "Could you make sure this gets to her?"

"Yes," She bit her lip nervously, looking back at him. "Um, she's gonna be really mad."

"I know." He sighed a little, his heart weighing heavy at the idea of Mary breaking down in tears again. "She'll understand though."

"Okay," Rose took a careful breath, pocketing the letter in her apron. "Don't get killed."

"I won't." He smiled back, turning to leave.

Rose caught his arm before he could go. "Could you write if you see my father out there at all? Tell me how he's doing?"

Steve hated how she gave him such a hopeful look. It was a tough time to go without letters from your loved ones. Just the way she stared had him already vowing to not let Mary go without a letter from him while he was gone. He wouldn't leave her like Rose and Lillian with no news for months at a time.

"I will."