Ms. America

Chapter Three

Steve was called into the exam room the next morning. As he sat on the table, a nurse pulled the doctor from the room. Assuming he had been made, Steve quickly went to getting dressed, to make it out before the military police came in. When he went for the curtain, he found it opened by the police and a doctor.

"Hello Mr. Rogers, please take a seat. This will only take a moment," the man in the lab coat said, "My name is Dr. Abraham Erskine, I am part of the Strategic Scientific Reserve. I just have a few questions. First, where are you from exactly?"

"Well I, uhm-"

"Is it New Haven, or Paramus, or Ohio?"

"I, see sir I can explain." stammered Steve.

"No no, it's quite alright. Truly I don't care where you're from, I just want to know what gave you the urge to try and enlist five times in five different cities. Do you want to fight Nazis that badly?"

"I-, is this a test, sir?" questioned Steve, completely relieved but alarmed at where the conversation had led.

"Yes," Erskine stated, awaiting the answer.

"I don't want to kill anyone. I just don't like bullies, I don't care where they're from, I just want to stop them," Steve answered honestly, hoping he could save himself from the legal issues he now faced.

"Well, there are already so many big men fighting this war," said Erskine, seeing the disappointment roll onto Steve's face, "But maybe, it's time to give the little guy a chance."

And with that, Erskine approved Steve Rogers for active duty, the one thing he had been chasing since the war started. The men walked outside, where Erskine handed the file to Rose.

"Listen, kid, this is only a chance ok? We can't promise anything once I get you to base," Rose said, looking down at the boy. She could tell he was older than her, his file clarified it as well, "So where are you from, truthfully?"

"Brooklyn, ma'am," Steve responded, "Hey, aren't you that girl that works with Howard Stark?"

Rose simply smiled before waving at Steve to follow her out the door to the car. Next stop, Camp Lehigh.

Once at camp, Steve was fitted for his uniform. Rose felt guilty as even the smallest size swallowed the small boy whole. Feeling his embarrassment, she decided to leave to meet with Peggy, Erskine, and Phillips.

"Doctor, your recruit is onsite, should be out here in five minutes, Colonel," Rose stated, then nodded at Phillips. He smiled at the girl. She worked twice as hard as her sister, who worked twice as hard as his men. They gained his respect, but he could never really show it without losing the respect of his soldiers. Steve eventually fell in line with the rest of the men who were asked to work on Project Rebirth.

"Gentlemen, welcome to the worst week of your life. Behind me are the Agents Carter and Dr. Erskine. This team has been assigned to separate the weak from the strong. By the end of these next seven days, one of you will be chosen to be the first participant in Project Rebirth. Agents Carter will be in charge of your training. They may look sweet, but they are some of the most lethal agents in the SSR, so be wary of stepping out of line," introduced Phillips, before walking away with Erskine, to discuss the final preparations for the project.

"Ok boys, please state your names. I am awful with faces," said Rose, looking up from her clipboard. She was met with a chorus of chuckles from the men, no boys, already out of formation.

"Hey, what's with the accent, Queen Victoria? Thought I was signing up for the US Army, not some British tea party," stated one of the men, looking smug as his statement from the rest of the men in line. Rose noticed that Steve stood to attention still, looking only at her sister. Fear was mostly in his eyes, but there was something else too, she just couldn't quite pin it.

"What's your name soldier?" questioned Peggy, taking a step forward. She knew Rose was strong but wasn't prepared to face down men like this. Not that the younger Carter couldn't beat the man senseless, she was just too kind to defend herself.

"Gilmore Hodge, your majesty," Hodge responded, throwing a little bow in at the end.

"Step forward Hodge," Peggy said curtly. Rose caught on to what was happening, smiling at her big sister for defending her.

"I'd recommend putting your right foot forward their soldier. Wouldn't want you to get banged up too badly on the first day," smirked Rose, looking back down at her clipboard to cover for Peggy later on. She looked at through her lashes, noticing Hodge hadn't prepared.

"What you gonna do princess? I got a few moves I'm sure you'd lik-" Hodge didn't get to finish his harassment as Peggy packed one on his right cheek. Hodge fell to the ground and looked up with terror in his eyes.

"Now, step in line, boy," Rose smirked as she and Peggy stood over the man, noticing the others fell back in. "I think some laps will straighten them out, what do you think Pegs? How about 10 miles?"

"I couldn't have said it better myself Rose."

All week, the sisters noticed how Steve Rogers failed just about every task given to the group. Yet every morning, he was the first one at the lineup, awaiting instructions without fail. Their concern for his physical health grew, but they didn't notice how he learned so much about his competitors. When running laps the final day, the troop stopped at the halfway point, the flag pole.

"The first man to bring me that flag, gets to ride back with Agents Carter," shouts the squad leader. The men all scramble to reach the top of the pole first, and all fail. Peggy noticed Steve hanging back, and nudged Rose to take a look. The boy had a smirk on his face as he squinted up at the flag. When the other men grew tired, they fell back in line. Just before the run began again, Steve walked over and pulled the two pins holding the flag in place. Rose laughed as she saw him push the pole down with one finger, grad the flag, and hop in the back seat with her.

"You may be a tiny cookie, but you sure are a smart cookie kid," she laughed, looking at Rogers.

"Thanks, I think?"

Steve's antics led to quite the discussion at lunch. Erskine, Peggy, and Rose all backed the idea of putting Steve in the chamber. Phillips thought Hodge was the better fit.

"I have a brilliant idea," Rose stated, jumping up from lunch and walking out the door. Puzzled, the three adults followed behind, as the girl grabbed a dud grenade before walking over to the live ammunition boxes. All the men on camp saw her at the live munitions but hadn't seen her earlier grab. From there, she called the men into the lineup, stood in front of them, pulled the pin, and threw the grenade at them. Nine men ran and scrambled for cover, while one jumped on the grenade. No surprise to her, Steve Rogers was yelling at her to get back, along with everyone else.

"Hey kid, look at it real quick," she smirked, perching her sunglasses on her nose.

Noticing it was a dud, he threw it back to her, "Is this a test?"

"Yeah kid, something like that." Rose turned and looked at the other three, Phillips looked agitated but nodded his head at the girl. Rogers was to be the Rebirth.