London was celebrating. The allies had won the war. Victory in Europe! Victory for all! Crowds and crowds of people gathered outside, waving flags, hugging, kissing, merry making all around. But even so, the triumph did not come with out a cost.

The remaining members of the 107th had gathered on that day. Their glasses filled with strong liquor and ready for the toast.

"To the Captain." Declared Monty in a solemn voice.

"To the Captain." The rest of the men chanted back before they unanimously took a sip. Around them, men and women of all ages were laughing, talking, and ignoring the group of war worn heroes. Funny how quickly normal people could forget their hardships. But they would remember. Their friends would forever live on in their memories.

-permafrost-

"Sir!" a bespectacled young man cried.

Howard looked up form his brooding position. His eyes never left the unending waters. Those dark treacherous whitecaps, forever changing and yet always looking exactly the same. He walked over to the console the boy was operating. In the screen a claw could be seen holding a glowing cube. "Take us to the next grid point." He ordered to the captain of the ship.

"But there's no trace of wreckage." Protested the youth. "And the energy signature stops here."

Howard bristled, he'd be damned if an ignorant young boy was going to get in the way of finding his friend, "Just keep looking." He commanded softly, his gaze returning to the infuriating waves. He had to find one of them. He just had to.

-permafrost-

Boxes where everywhere. The SSR base in London was being packed up and put away. Peggy was currently helping organize some files when Colonel Phillips walked up to her. Delicately, he placed two thick classified files down in front of her before giving her one last sympathetic look and marching away.

The top file read 'Steven G. Rogers'. Across it, in bright red ink, was stamped 'Inactive'. The Second file, was similarly stamped; however, this one belonged to 'Lucille M. Barnes.'

Peggy's breath caught in her throat as she read the two names. Then carefully opening each file she picked up their pictures. Pain and happiness hit her like lightening striking from the ground and the sky. It had been so long since she had seen their faces. Their images had almost become a fuzzy shadow in her mind. But looking at them now brought back every detail she could remember. Her chest filled with so much emotion she wondered if it was almost better to forget. Closing the files she reminded herself, the pain was real. They were real and they deserved to be remembered. She would carry on their legacy so their deaths would not be in vain.

-permafrost-

I wonder if the soldiers are gone, Lucy mused still hiding in her little ice den. She felt herself drifting in and out of sleep as the winds sung to her an eerie lullaby. The darkness of the cave prevented her from knowing the time. Listening intently she tried to hear through the howling winds. The only thing was, everything was silent. Cracking open her eyes Lucy squinted, waiting for them to adjust to the dimness.

It wasn't just silent, it was peaceful. Looking down she saw she was sitting in a pool of water. Then an unexpected sound caused her to snap her head toward the cavern opening. It was, birdsong.

But that was impossible; it was the middle of winter. Peaking her head out she could not believe what she saw. The weather wasn't just warm enough for birds. It was hot. There was fried grass, wilting trees, and a single drop of water was nowhere to be found. The weather was even blistering enough to start melting the ice that made up her little frost den. Confused out of her mind, Lucy cautiously climbed out of the hole to begin investigating.

Miles she walked. Far down the mountain she traveled. A full day went by and she was still walking alongside a stream she had found. Her best hope was that it lead to a little town or village. There perhaps she could find somebody to tell her what day it was.

Then as the sun began to set she saw smoke. Happiness spread through her like a warm drink at the first sign of human life in days. As she entered the village she noticed something. Everyone looked content. No one was giving her distrustful looks; all she attracted was mild curiosity. Stopping a middle aged lady Lucy asked in German, "Excuse me. But I seem to have gotten myself lost. Do you think you could tell me where I am and what day it is?"

The woman nodded and kindly told her the name of the village and the surrounding area. It was not too far from a major city. The date however caused Lucy to ask again.

"Sorry." She replied shaking her head, "What year is it again?"

"1965."

1965. Had she really been asleep for 20 years? It felt like a horrible dream, one where her body refused to wake up and she was just pulled along. Like a puppet on strings, forced to follow the commands of a master. Except it wasn't a dream. She felt physically fine and she looked exactly the same. That's what scared her. There wasn't one new wrinkle, not a single grey hair, she was 45 for god sakes, this shouldn't be happening.

-permafrost-

Getting a call across the pond had been difficult.

"Hello, this is the Stark residence, Jarvis speaking. How may I help you?" a melodic British voice floated out of the speaker.

Lucy took the phone away from her staring at the contraption. Since when had Howard gotten a butler? "Hello. Could I speak to Howard please?" she spoke slowly into the device.

"Mr. Stark is busy at the moment. Could I perhaps take a message?"

"No." she pleaded, "This is urgent, I don't know if I'll be able to call again. Tell him its Lucy Barnes. He'll know who I am."

There was silence on the other end, "One moment, please." And a slight click as the phone was set down.

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief, if there was one person she could contact and who could help get her back to America, it was Howard. From the other end she could hear stomping footsteps and angry yelling coming closer and closer.

"Listen here, pal." Spat the furious tone of Howard Stark, "I don't know how you got this number or who you are but I will find out. And when I do, you're going to wish you never made this phone call…."

"Howard!" Lucy spoke quickly before he could hang up on her. "Its me! Its Lucy!"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line.

"Prove it."

She sighed, searching her memories for something only Howard would know. Then it hit her, "Howard, this is a level 10 emergency."

Again there was a pause before Howard croaked out, "D...Doll? Is that really you?"

-permafrost-

Howard sent a jet to bring her to D.C. There, Lucy was reunited with Peggy and Howard. There was so much she had missed: Hitler committed suicide, the microwave oven was invented, the UN was founded, the atomic bombs were dropped, bikinis, the sound barrier had been broken, the 'big bang' theory was formulated, the Korean war, color TV, polio vaccine, segregation was made illegal, space exploration, the Beatles, and most recently US troops were sent to Vietnam. Peggy was married and even had kids. Unfortunately, there was one smiling face she had been longing to see since 1944 that was missing from the crowd.

"Where's Steve?"

The smiles melted off their faces quicker than water off an oiled surface.

-permafrost-

1966

Adjusting to the times had been difficult, but it was nothing Marie Rogers couldn't handle. After returning from the dead, Lucy decided to take up a pseudo name for her work as an agent of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. She did this in an attempt to keep her identity a secret. Many people around the world still searched tirelessly for the super soldier serum and she had it running through her veins, a living memory of a time long past. It was also her way of honoring him.

For the first couple months back in the land of the living, Lucy never left her lab. Test after test she did on her own blood trying to figure out what happened to her. She could never draw her own blood though, for that she enlisted one the nurses for help, Maria Carbonell. She struck up a quick friendship with the sweet nurse. Maria never prodded and it was nice to talk with someone who wasn't Howard or Peggy. They were busy anyway, they didn't have time to teach an adult woman things a toddler should know.

One positive aspect of the new age was the advancement of science. Things that used to take her days took mere minutes to complete. It seemed Zola's butterfly protein worked better than he thought it would. Instead of just keeping her from freezing, it also slowed the aging of her body. It wouldn't last forever though, unlike the super soldier serum, her cells did not continually replenish that particular protein. Perhaps in a few decades it would wear off. Even so, Erskine's serum would keep her body at optimal levels for a long time.

-permafrost-

1967

Lucy had been inducted into Howard and Peggy's organization at the highest level possible. Clearance level Alpha, on par with the status of a director. She wasn't not however a real agent. Her position was more on a consultant level. When not on a field mission with Peggy, she found herself mainly losing herself in different countries. Ignoring her past was the only thing that kept her sane. She made many contacts all over the globe, always under different names. Her proudest accomplishment to date however, was introducing Howard to Maria, whom she still visited on a regular basis. The two hit it off nicely; she had never seen him so smitten. Lucy had even gone engagement ring shopping with the former playboy.

-permafrost-

1970

Tears dripped down her face, a few even landing on the forehead of her newly born godson sleeping soundly in her arms. Anthony Edward Stark had just entered the world.

"Hi there." Lucy whispered softly, "Hey Tony." Sniffing she rocked the precious baby, "I'm your Aunt Lucy, nice to finally meet you." A grin cracked across her face, "I'm also your godmother and I love you. Nothing will ever happen to you if I'm around I promise you that."

-permafrost-

1991

It was the middle of December. She had come to spend Christmas with the Starks. But the holiday happiness had been cut short. She had gotten the call this morning from Peggy. Howard and Maria were dead, killed in a car crash. She couldn't believe it, after everything they'd gone through. It was just an accident, she kept telling herself there was nothing she could do, but that didn't stop a little niggling thought in the back of her mind.

She was 70 years old now, but her body still seemed 26. There came a point where living in the present was all she had. Secrets and favors were worth more than money, and the only way to get things done was to do them yourself.