Back in Time

Waiting

2 weeks later New York, NY

The trip to Central City was a success. Whatever it was Tony needed to get from Von Doom, he got it. It had taken a few more days than we thought but after intense negotiations and a lot of back and forth, we flew home with a medium silver case that my uncle refused to let anyone other than him or I touch. It was as we were on our way back home though that he had made sure to warn me that this new machine wouldn’t be like the one he and Bruce built for the team back in the day. For one, this time, unlike their old machine, it had real world consequences that would affect the timeline on a permanent basis. That should I not stick to the script, then whatever I did or said could and would adjust the present I have been living. 

Now that little bit of information had me pausing for a good day or two on whether or not this was a good idea after all. What if I did something that bumped someone off of their path and something important didn't happen? Or worse, something else happened and was the opposite of what needed to happen? Could I really handle the responsibility of the consequences? 

The other warning he had? Well Tony wasn't sure of the original time stamp I had been thinking of. Because as much as he had initially agreed of my going back to when Steve had gone to 1950, before he settled down with Peggy, Tony worried about the possible changes I might make or that real possibility that his niece might be detained as a spy. Post war, people had been very touchy with other governments trying to infiltrate their country. And with Carter's history, she may think I was an enemy agent out to get Captain Steve Rogers who, at the time, everyone thought was dead. It was a lot to think about for me so he encouraged me to take a few days to think things over on when I wanted to go back. 

Taking those couple of days I had checked in with Buck and Sam as well as Maria so that they’d all get off of my case. That, no, I wasn’t ready to come back from sabbatical just yet. But I would be. Soon. There were just some things I needed to wrap up first. And so I did.

First I told Tony I was ready to do this and with a lot of thought, I was going to stick with my initial plan. That I was confident that I would be able to manage. And so with my go ahead, he would get started. Though it would take him a couple of weeks to reconfigure the time machine’s design. As well as create something sleeker to house the time machine so that it wouldn’t stand out too much should I get caught up. More than fine with that, I told him that I had waited this long, what was a couple more weeks. 

The second thing I did was go into the city to the best retro and vintage shops for clothes and accessories and anything else my research had told me was what a woman from the early fifties would have on her at the time. That included watching the complicated makeup and hair tutorials on Youtube and for someone like me who liked a basic look... This was a lot to learn in a short amount of time. I had to get this all down like any other young woman off the street back then or else risk looking suspicious. After all, my uncle was right. That even though the second World War was over, it didn’t mean there weren’t still spies for the Soviets on top of Nazi’s fleeing justice integrating with the American people. I had to look, walk, talk and act the part or risk being swooped up. And with being back in the fifties I wouldn’t have anyone who was on my side. Well other than my grandfather who had died before I was ever born and my father who had no idea I existed.

But that was a problem for later. In the meantime I researched everything I needed to know about Camp Leigh and its surrounding area where Peggy Carter lived and worked at that time. Because that’s where my father would be going.

New Jersey.

Good lord. The New Yorker in me shuddered.

Pushing the where back of my mind, I instead focused on the who. For now I would avoid Camp Leigh and S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and focus on the neighborhood Carter lived in. My plan was simple enough. I would take the time and location stamp of my fathers last jump and meet him there after he’s had enough opportunity to say what he needed to say to Carter and then I’d knock on the woman’s door.