Chapter 28. Operation Chrysalis

Time travel can be messy. When there is an agency, tasked with recording the truth about history, sending people back in time to observe, record, and publish the results of those observations, it isn't long before a human error makes the timeline deviate further and further from what it should have been. Complicating matters is that when the others are making their calls to Peri it's based on the time they left the future. Years could pass where they are in the past but in Peri's time only hours or days may have passed. The reverse is also true; minutes may have passed in the past but in the future, it could be longer, much longer. This chapter opens just after 1940 Merton has contacted Peri about the attack on Bucky, Sam, and Will, catching her off guard and forcing her hand into doing something she was delaying.

2142, Historians Guild headquarters, just after Merton requests medical help for Will and Sam.

Peri said goodbye to Merton, sighed and rubbed her forehead as she sat back. Perhaps it was time to implement the rest of the plan and bring in the future team. This attack that he just reported was never recorded. What she told Merton was a lie about it being known. She had been outplayed once again by Lowell Pierce Mason and his followers as they inserted deviations into the timeline.

Her own security team still hadn't found Ariel in the 24 hours since she was gone. Shaking her head, she debated with herself, because once she did implement Operation Chrysalis, she would be on a need-to-know basis and so much would be out of her control. Then again, no matter when she implemented it the plan could already be in motion if her future counterpart put her people on it. In fact, it could be happening now, as she sat there deliberating what to do. Quickly, she entered her codes into her keyboard and waited while the connection was made to thirty years in the future. As the older woman's face came into view Peri gasped at how much she had aged. Her future self didn't look well at all.

"So, you've just learned about the fight that almost killed Will Greening and Sam Wilson," said her older self. "You want me to begin Operation Chrysalis? You realize once I've begun you won't be in the know for security purposes. My agents will only contact you to give you the names of people to be taken into custody. For those who are in play in the 1940s the code will be "polka" and the response will be "Lindy hop." Whoever is contacted will be instructed then. Everyone, including Jim Ference but excluding Ariel will be in play. Do you understand?"

"I understand," said Peri. "It's just getting so complicated with all the interaction between the different timelines I'm amazed the Time Variance Authority hasn't intervened already. Can you tell me if we're ultimately successful or is this all for naught?"

Her older self's face remained impassive. So, no answer. At first, she was angry as she was the chair of the Historian's Guild but as her future self waited her out, she accepted that it wasn't her operation anymore. Too many deviations had already changed it.

"I can tell you this much," said the older woman. "If we are successful, we will have given Captain America and the Avengers everything they need to almost completely eliminate HYDRA from their future timeline. My agents will eliminate any remnants from your timeline. That organization will never ever rear their ugly heads again. That is why the TVA hasn't intervened, as we have the best chance to keep HYDRA from changing all timelines. When we cut the head off, we will cauterize the wound and prevent anymore heads of the beast from forming."

"Alright, but I still keep running my operation independently, correct?" The older woman nodded. "Then begin Operation Chrysalis."

The screen went blank and younger Peri sat back. That part of the plan was out of her hands now. She looked at her boards of what she would be dealing with next. She keyed in the code for a security team and two medical evacuations but put them on hold on this end. She wasn't going to send them to that time until she knew that Ariel was safe in this time. Still so much that could go wrong. As long as Ariel came out of all of it safely ... it was the most important goal of all.

2172, Historians Guild headquarters, just after Operation Chrysalis has been implemented

The older Peri Wayne looked away from the screen to see her handpicked successor, who had been watching from his position, nodding his head in acknowledgement. The rest of the council were watching virtually, as she had contacted them to be present at this moment. Ever since Ariel and Bucky's relationship had progressed faster than it should have, she had insisted that a failsafe plan be drawn up with only Peri and Merton from 2142 even aware of it. This Peri of 2172 would develop it and direct it as past circumstances changed because of the deviations brought about by Lowell Mason's interference. With word from 2142 that Ariel had been kidnapped from Peri's apartment and older Merton sent back to the 1940s as a younger man the older woman knew the plan had to be done and it would be up to her. With a small cough Peri looked at Merton who smiled kindly at her, best friends for so many years.

"I hereby tender my resignation, under article 12, section 2, of the Historian's Code of Conduct," she said out loud, knowing her naming the code would constitute this as a formal declaration. "I do this so that Operation Chrysalis can be implemented. As second chair of the council Merton Andrews will be promoted to the primary chair and take over command. All those in favour, indicate on your screens." All of the council voted green. "Thank you, for believing in me, and allowing me the latitude to eliminate the biggest threat to the sanctity of the historical timeline. It has been my honour to be a historian and I hope my final contribution will demonstrate my devotion to keeping the timeline as untouched as humanly possible."

"Peri Wayne, all of us commend you for your attention to your position," replied Merton. "I can only hope to be as good a servant to the truth. I accept the responsibilities of primary chair of the Historian's Guild."

There were words of encouragement for both of them from the rest of the council then one by one their images darkened, leaving the two friends alone. Standing up Merton offered Peri his arm and they walked slowly to the treatment room. For a moment they stopped as Peri experienced a moment of severe pain and almost doubled over from it.

"Do you want a wheelchair?" asked Merton, worried that she might not be able to walk as far as the persona treatment room.

"No, I'm going to walk in there just as I'll walk out," she insisted. "At least the persona reset to a young woman will delay the cancer from killing me. I just hope it's long enough. Will you make sure the virtual control box and the activation code is sent to Skye in 1943?"

He nodded. "While you're in transition I will send it," he said. "You're sure about doing this yourself?"

"Need to know, Merton," she smiled as she began walking again. "Besides, you're already there twice over. I don't think the 1940s can handle another Merton. I'll call in who I need to when I need it."

"Use modern Bucky," he suggested. "We know he went to see his parents and that Rebecca interacted with him. Your younger self will realize very soon that she will have to send him to 1943 or risk more interaction with his family."

"He handled those interactions well, I thought," said Peri. "But you're right. Letting him stay for too long would have made it harder for him not to interact with his parents. Let's hope all the deviations that Mason's interference has brought in didn't change that decision."

Smiling grimly Merton continued to walk her into the treatment room, helping her onto the transition bed. Holding his hand up to advise the technicians to hold for a moment he looked at her.

"I'll see you after the transition," he said, then picked up her hand and kissed it. "Dear friend."

"It will be alright," said Peri. "It's better this way, cleaner, with less contamination between the timelines."

An hour later, Merton sent a package through to Hal Leblanc, early in 1943, asking that it be hand delivered along with the code word Tempest to Skye Paxton.

"I thought she died," was Hal's response to who he thought was Peri Wayne of 2142, as Merton used a scrambled interface.

"She did," replied Merton, deliberately being obtuse. "I'll give you the name of her contact and an address. It must be delivered the week of April 6-10, 1943. Do not share with anyone that you have received or delivered the item, not even Merton or Andrew in that time frame. Tell the contact that when Skye receives a phone call with the activation code Tempest, she will receive further instructions then."

Carefully he gave Hal a name and an address then had him read it back. Satisfied that Hal would complete the task he signed off and returned to the treatment room to check on Peri's transition. He knew it was too soon as almost a hundred years of aging took considerable time to erase but he also wanted to make sure that it was progressing. Checking in from the viewing gallery he pressed the intercom and asked how it was going, getting a satisfactory update. From there he headed over to the wardrobe department and requested women's clothing for 2141. Going through their selection he picked several outfits matching them up with the persona. Then he went over to documentation and got the IDs sorted out, Paulina Azolman; the first part of the name being an anagram of Zola. She would be portraying a descendant of Arnim Zola, the HYDRA scientist from the 20th century who was responsible for HYDRA's Winter Soldier program. All they needed was her picture once she completed the persona treatment.

Several hours later Merton was called back to the treatment room and walked in, seeing only a tall, red-haired, blue-eyed woman waiting for him, as she sat, wrapped up in a sheet on the bed. It wasn't just a transition, it was a metamorphosis. She eyed him with sultry eyes and a slight smile. Stepping around the bed to take in her appearance from all angles he nodded his head in satisfaction.

"Are you pleased with the result?" he asked.

"I am," she replied. "She's exactly the type of woman he likes. Reinforces his vision of superiority, plus looks like she'll be a bit of a freak in bed. His perfect woman."

He offered her his hand to slip off the treatment bed and they walked towards the wardrobe department. "Just be careful," said Merton. "Modulate your language to something slightly more casual even though you have a PhD. You don't want to subconsciously use your phrases as May could recognize your speech patterns. You'll infiltrate Mason's organization ..."

"I know the plan, Merton," smiled Peri, making him blush at his presumptuousness. "It will work. You just keep making sure those deviations don't attract the TVA. Don't want them breathing down our neck."

2142, one day after Ariel's kidnapping, an apartment building in New York megalopolis.

She could hear the muffled conversation outside the door to her room then a realization hit Ariel as she opened her eyes. This wasn't her room. She distinctly remembered closing and locking the door after her confrontation with Bucky then everything went dark until just now as she heard the sounds outside. Sitting up she took stock of where she was. It was an older building, probably built in the mid-21st century, or a remodelled 20th century building as she noticed the wall entertainment unit. She was in a bed and was still in her clothes so the odds were she hadn't been assaulted while she was unconscious. Feeling with her fingers down inside her underwear confirmed no additional bodily fluids which brought a sigh of relief.

Standing up she went over to the window coverings, but they didn't respond to the controls, so she had no idea if she was in a tower, a private home, or a prison. The last possibility made her shudder. Quietly making her way to the entry wall she placed her head close to the outline of the door, hoping to hear whatever was being said outside but it was still muffled. A clicking sound inside the door alerted her to the imminent entry of someone and she retreated to the other side of the room, hoping to have some time to face her captors. That she was a prisoner was certain.

The doorway slid open and two people entered, a man with a weapon pointed directly at her and the other, a woman, with a tray of food. Neither one was known to her but they knew who she was.

"Ariel Paxton, as long as you cooperate you will not be harmed," said the woman carrying the food, which she placed on a table near the bed. "Since you've been unconscious for about 24 hours, we've brought you food to eat. I can assure you it is not poisoned or adulterated in any way."

"Who are you and where am I?" asked Ariel. "Why have you taken me?"

"Who we are isn't important at this moment," replied the man holding the weapon. "You are still in New York. As to the why ... think about it for a while and I'm sure it will come to you. Now, be a good girl, sit down and eat your food. If you don't you won't get anything until tomorrow."

They backed out of the room and the door slid closed. Ariel approached the tray as she was hungry. Taking in what was served to her she bent over and smelled the food on the plate, recalling that a savoury meal that smelled sweet or of chemicals was likely to have something in it. But the food in front of her smelled like regular vegetarian fare, quinoa with a mushroom based sauce, and roasted vegetables. Taking a couple of grains of the quinoa she held them on her tongue for several moments, doing the same with a taste of the sauce, mushrooms and vegetables. Satisfied that they were safe she hungrily ate then looked at the can of water. Checking the obvious spots where something could be injected she determined it hadn't been tampered with and opened the top, taking a small sip. A faint chemical taste spread on her tongue and she spat the water out but it was too late as she began to feel drowsy again. She barely had time to make it back to the bed before she felt herself succumb to the effects of the drug.

The door slid open and the two people returned. As the woman removed the tray the man made sure Ariel was settled on the bed safely. He looked at her impassively then shook his head and left. Down the hallway the woman entered a kitchen area with the tray, putting the dishes in a dishwasher and pouring the water down the drain. A duplicate of 1940s Ariel sat at the table, wearing headphones as she worked on the voice modification program, while another man, blond and handsome, was making adjustments on a virtual control panel. After several repetitions of a phrase the man pushed away from the table in anger.

"You're not trying hard enough, May," he said. "You have to convince young Bucky that you're Ariel. If you don't then he'll know something is wrong."

"I'm trying, Lowell," she said, taking the headphones off. "It's not easy, you know. Can't we just switch us out at night? If he comes to her bed, he won't have my voice on his mind. I can whisper then and close enough will be good enough."

Lowell Pierce leaned close to the younger woman, taking her chin firmly in his hands and glaring at her. "It's never good enough. I've been doing this a lot longer than you've been alive. Don't even think for a second that you know my job better than I do. Between the Supreme Sorcerer and the Time Variance Authority always searching for us any deviation is traceable and that includes voice prints."

With a sneer, he released her chin and stepped outside to the rooftop terrace. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a package of cigarettes, lit one and took a long drag.

"Have one for me?" said a woman's voice, one that made him smile as he turned around.

"Paulina, when did you get here?" he asked, taking another cigarette out of the package and offering it to her. He took in the sight of the tall, beautiful redhead, lighting her cigarette as she held it to her lips. "I wasn't expecting you."

"I heard you successfully took Ariel out of Wayne's residence and inserted May long enough for her to convince modern Bucky," said the woman. "My intel on how to infiltrate her security was obviously accurate."

"It was," said Lowell. "I would ask how you got it but that might make me jealous. You know how I feel about you."

"Just doing my job," she replied. "May is still having trouble with the voice?"

He nodded, then bit his lip. "It's enough to trigger the autonomous warning system. Why did Peri Wayne install that on Ariel? Do you think she knew there would be an attempt at a switch?"

"You don't get to be chair of the Historians Guild without knowing a lot of the future," replied Paulina. "She's a formidable adversary and has operatives in many time frames. I could be one for all you know."

Her eyes were twinkling when she said it and Lowell laughed. There was no chance of that. As a descendant of Alexander Pierce, he had learned enough about that man's successes and mistakes to know who to trust and who not to trust. Paulina Azolman, a descendant of Arnim Zola, had as much at stake in this multi century war as he did. Finding each other in their respective PhD programs at the college had started them on this journey together the year before as they both still supported the goals of HYDRA, the authoritarian organization first formed in the middle of the 20th century. If they could successfully impregnate May Weatherly with Bucky Barnes' child then they could create and control an army of natural born super soldiers, indoctrinated from birth and ready for Dr. Zola's treatment as Barnes was the most successful recipient of it in the original timeline. A new timeline would be created, one where HYDRA was always in charge, always in power.

"Can I see Ariel?" asked Paulina. "She's rumoured to be Peri Wayne's birth daughter. As if that woman had any sort of maternal instinct in her."

Lowell smirked. "Yeah, she's in the secure room. You're staying tonight, aren't you?" He ran his hand down Paulina's arm seductively. "It's been too long since we were together."

She took a drag of the cigarette then blew the smoke out in a way that always made him aroused. "I was counting on it, Lowell." She leaned in close. "Mama needs her Daddy."

His seductive touch turned into a grasp, and he pulled her close to his face, staring hard at her lips. "You know how you saying that affects me. Fuck, I could take you right now."

"Anything, Lowell," she whispered. "I've been a bad girl."

They kissed hard until the sound of a discrete cough made them step away from each other. "Lowell, there's an update, from September 1940," said the woman, Ruth, who had carried the tray. "Orville Remington did a very stupid thing."

"Coming, let Paulina see Ariel," he said to the other woman then he looked at his lover. "Come find me after you see her. I wonder what that idiot did."

Ruth escorted Paulina to the secure room and opened it, stepping inside. "She's knocked out for a while. We didn't drug her food, but we did drug her water." She heard the sound of yelling in another part of the building and rolled her eyes. "You okay being alone with her?"

"Go ahead," said Paulina. "If she comes around, I can handle her. She doesn't look like she would be much trouble."

When she was certain she was alone Paulina activated a button on her watch, knowing it would make the security camera experience a brief outage. She reached to a button on her shirt, peeling off a little patch and placing it on Ariel's tongue. It only took a few seconds then Ariel's eyes fluttered open. Paulina put her hand on the younger woman's lips.

"Don't talk, this will only revive you for a few minutes," she said in a low voice. "A faction that are HYDRA supporters has you. They took you to test out your doppelgänger on modern Bucky. Peri saw through it after the fact, but they're worried that a switch will be made in the past to have her impregnated by 1940s Bucky. I'm deep undercover so don't be upset if I get rough with you. I'm just playing a role. Know that when the time is right, you'll be rescued. Hold tight until then."

"Is Bucky in danger?" asked Ariel, bringing a soft smile to Paulina's face.

"Only because the modern man puts himself into it," she replied gently. "There is still love there, from him and for him, I suspect. He's not the same man he was in 1943, he's more, and you could have an incredible life with him, a long life together since you would retain the longevity of your time while his super soldier body ages slower. Think about it."

She stood up to leave and Ariel struggled to say one more thing before she passed out. "Who are you?"

"A friend," said Paulina, then when she was sure Ariel was out, she whispered, "and your mother."

Sealing the room Paulina made her way to what passed for a control room, in time to see Lowell throw a chair across it. She kept her face impassive, but she knew what had happened, having been there at the time to make sure her friend Merton was safe. Impulsive and unreliable Orville had adopted a "burn all bridges" approach by poisoning Merton's scotch with fentanyl, knowing that he would have some time after the attack on Will Greening and Sam Wilson where the apartment would be empty before Merton returned home. He also knew that it could have been offered to Bucky and Ariel, throwing a huge wrench into Lowell Mason's plans to restore HYDRA to its glory by prematurely killing either one of the young couple before his objectives had been attained. Now that Lowell knew what Orville did, the hope was that his operatives still in the Historian's Guild would expose themselves when the order to eliminate Orville was given.

"What's wrong?" asked Paulina, stepping further into the room.

"That ass just jeopardized the entire mission," raved Lowell. "He poisoned Merton Andrews and could have easily poisoned both Ariel and Bucky. What the fuck was he thinking?"

"Where is he?" asked Paulina. "I could deal with him if you wish."

"He's already in custody, probably already spilling his guts to the Historian's security chief," replied Lowell, still livid. "I need some time to settle down, figure this out." He turned to Ruth. "Why wasn't this known sooner?"

She shrugged. "Obviously the knowledge of the attempt was suppressed, made need to know. It's possible it was kept quiet from the council as well and our man on the council just found out. He wants to know his orders."

"I said to give me a fucking moment," said Lowell, angrily. "We can't just openly deal with him. Better to let Remington twist in the wind then take him out when the heat is off."

Paulina didn't react to any of that. They had someone on the council, a man. It was always suspected. Well, she had her work cut out for her then. Lowell would be very stressed by this act of sabotage by Orville, stress that could be relieved by some energetic sex play. It wouldn't be the first time he let something slip during their "playtime." Perhaps she could get him to say something tonight. She would still have to be careful. This final assignment for her was probably the most important work she would ever do for the Guild, and she needed to see it through to the end as so much rode on it. It's why she resigned as chair to take it on, not wanting to expose anyone else to the danger if they were caught. Once Ariel was safe and all the players were taken in custody she could then step back and consider the mission complete.

Just so everyone is clear, Paulina is a young persona of Peri Wayne, from approximately 30 years in the future. By doing this she is changing her future timeline but does it willingly to protect history, and to protect both past and modern Ariel, her real daughter.