agent rogers returns • j.thompson

i knew you were trouble.

and i realize
the joke is on me

C A L I F O R N I A
—
C H A R L O T T E

"This is a private club in America. You need a search warrant, probable cause! What part of 'this case is closed' was unclear to you, Carter?" Jack exclaimed, walking ahead of Peggy with Daniel and I trailing behind.

"I told you there was a conspiracy afoot," she protested. "The Arena Club is fabricating a future, just the way that they fabricated the story about Dr. Wilkes. The newspapers I found are proof! The headline read 'Anderson Ankles Election.'"

He turned around, his face contorted with confusion.

"What the hell does that even mean?"

"It means he's stepping down," Daniel answered quickly.

Peggy and Jack gave him a look while I lightly chuckled.

"I speak Hollywood now."

"The date on the newspaper is tomorrow's date!" Peggy continued. "They were giving Representative Anderson a warning —"

We stepped into the office as Peggy continued to explain herself. Daniel hung his crutch up on the wall.

"Do you have any idea the can of worms you're asking me to open?" Jack asked. "Rigging an election is a serious accusation."

"All the more reason to listen to Peggy!" Daniel interjected. "Where are those newspapers?"

"I-I had to leave them behind," she looked to me nervously.

"Well, of course you did. God forbid you bringing me actual evidence!"

"Jack—" I started, but I was interrupted by Daniel.

"Hold on, Jack! If something comes up on one of Peggy's bugs, we have all the evidence that we need!"

Then she awkwardly explained that the bugs had to be destroyed due to their countermeasures.

"So you got nothing? Why are we even having this conversation?!" Jack yelled in frustration.

"We need to dig deeper into the Arena Club!"

"It ain't happening!"

She protested again, but Jack wouldn't stop.

"God, you are so hell bent on clearing your pal Wilkes. I think your emotions are clouding your judgement!"

"You're being a coward!" She yelled back.

"Peggy!" Daniel and I called simultaneously.

"You are so afraid of ruffling powerful feathers that you're doing what you always do — burying an ugly truth and hoping someone will pin a medal on you."

He kept his jaw clenched before responding.

"You're done here. Get on the next plane back to New York."

Peggy stormed past him and Daniel quickly followed her.

I made eye contact with Jack, but he broke it right away. I kept my gaze on him.

"She's right. Not to bring that up, but the ruffling feathers thing. It's bigger than you know, Jack. More important than pleasing superiors," I said softly before walking out to see Peggy and Daniel.

I stopped short at the sight of the desk. The three of us looked at the floating objects, then at each other.

—

At Stark's mansion, Peggy stood with her arms out. Howard held pens in front of her and examined the scene while Jarvis, Daniel and I stood behind watching.

He dropped an expensive bottle of wine on the other side, causing it to shatter and Jarvis to groan.

"Everybody's so impatient. You're missing the obvious! Anybody?"

We stared back blankly.

"The temperature around Peggy is approximately 7 degrees cooler than the rest of the room."

He established a constant between her body temperature and the three men who froze to death.

"Relax," Howard replied calmly. "You're not freezing. You're not contaminated with zero matter. Who can tell me how I know this?"

"Are you teaching a class?" Peggy retorted.

But Jarvis raised his hand.

"There's a disruption in the gravitational field near Miss Carter."

"Excellent!"

"How do we get it to stop, Professor?" Daniel asked.

In the lab, Howard and Jarvis put together a chemical formula to make visible the force around Peggy.

When he sprayed the mist at her, an apparition appeared.

"Oh my god," I mumbled in disbelief.

"Dr. Wilkes!"

Howard coated his throat with the mist so he could speak.

Jason and Peggy exchanged tear filled glances.

"I've been shadowing you since last night trying to get you to notice me," he explained.

I looked over to Daniel, who's expression looked almost disappointed.

"Can we make him whole again?" Peggy asked.

"I don't know," Howard admitted.

"Thank you for getting me this far," Jason said to Howard.

Daniel stepped forward to ask what happened.

He told us that Whitney Frost showed up with a gun. They were fighting when the zero matter fell and caused an explosion.

His figure faded again, but Howard didn't have any mist left. Peggy, Daniel, and I met him and Jarvis outside moments later.

"Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Unless you can improve on my formula, or make it permanent, then no, you can't. I'll stay up day and night to figure this out for you, Peg. I know how important it is for you."

"Dr. Wilkes is a crucial part of my investigation," she said, scratching her ear.

"Of course," Howard agreed.

"And he's a good man who's in over his head because of me. He deserves a better fate than this."

I walked out with Howard and Jarvis. When Jarvis left to retrieve the items needed to continue, Howard and I went down to the lab.

"She totally likes him," I muttered to Howard as we walked down the stairs.

"Totally," he smirked back.