Viktoriya Solovyova, aka Agent 1, was trained in the Red Room. She managed to escape and move to America and has since been working closely with Peggy Carter. When she meets a scientist with revolutionary ideas, how will she cope with the changes?
M...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Put your right foot forward" I faintly hear Peggy say to a recruit, it's been years and I'm still not used to being able to hear everything. "Are you listening Agent?" Colonel Phillips barks. "Of course sir, I was merely focusing on the fact that you almost missed the turning for the camp." I uttered. Phillips grumbled at me as we pulled up to see a recruit on the ground, Peggy must be breaking them in, I thought. "Agent Carter." Phillips acknowledges. "Colonel Phillips, Agent Somerfield." Peggy nods at me as I tilt my head in response. My eyes scan the line of recruits and they fall on the one person I expected to see, Steven Grant Rogers. Since meeting him that night I've investigated his history. Five exams in five different states, asthmatic, high blood pressure, palpitations of the heart, nervous trouble, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, sinusitus, chronic cold, contact with tuberculosis and diabetic family members. He was exactly what men like Phillips didn't want, but I see the fight in him, the drive, his need to serve and prove all those bullies wrong.
After telling the man on the ground to get up, who I found out was Gilmore Hodge and learnt that Peggy had punched, Phillips turned to address the recruits. "General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons but they are won by men. We are going to win this war because we have the best men." Upon saying best men his eyes fall upon Steve, instead of shrinking into himself Steve stood straighter. A smile graced my face as I was slowly being proved correct in my theories about Private Rogers. "And because they're gonna get better. Much better. The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an Allied effort made up of the best minds in the free world. Our goal is to create the best army in history. But every army starts with one man. At the end of this week we will choose that man. He will be the first in a new breed of super-soldiers." I look at Steve on the last sentence, knowing that I will try my damnedest to give him the confidence to follow through with this. His eyes meet mine and they light up in recognition of a familiar face, I gave him a knowing smirk and allow Peggy to continue with her training.
It's hard to watch Steve so far behind everyone else, the men here see him as weak, a sissy, someone to make them look better. I know Steve is determined, Bucky assured me of it, and I trust James' opinion, after all, he knows Steve better than he knows himself. I stand next to Erskine, judging the candidates, despite the fact that my eyes continually watch Steve. I wince slightly watching Steve so far behind all the other men. "Squad! Halt!" Sergeant Duffy yells as the pack of running men come to a stop at the flag pole. "That flag means we're only at the halfway point. First man to bring it to me gets a ride back with Agents Carter and Somerfield. Move, move!" He explains. All the recruits clamber up the pole in a desperate attempt to grab the flag but to no avail. It's clear why the flag hasn't been touched in 17 years, all the imps trying to get it are too power hungry. They want bragging rights, imbeciles. I'm itching to get the flag myself, my old competitive streak threatening to come back with a vengeance but as the men fall in line I see Steve approach the flag pole. He leans down and pulls the pins of the pole, causing it to fall to the ground. The loud sounds catches Sergeant Duffy's attention and he turns to see Steve with the flag in his hand. "Thank you sir." Steve says and climbs into the car whilst I fail to stifle a smug grin.
Once we arrive back at base camp Peggy and I instruct the soldiers to do some push-ups. After all, you can't be a soldier without any upper body strength, respectively of course. "Faster, ladies! Come on. My grandmother has more life in her, God rest her soul. Move it!" Peggy yells. "There are at least 17 ways this could be better, I'm counting them right now morons." I add. As I look up Erskine motions for me to join him just as Phillips walks up to him. " You're not really thinking about picking Rogers, are you?" He asks us both. I fold my arms over my chest as Erskine defends us. " When you brought a ninety-pound asthmatic onto my army base, I let it slide. I thought, what the hell? Maybe he'll be useful to you, like a gerbil. I never thought you'd pick him." We watch as Steve struggles to get up from his push up position. "You stick a needle in that kids arm and it's gonna go right through him, he's making me wanna cry." I can't help but roll my eyes at that, men and their standards. "With all due respect sir, I'd rather be pecked to death by a flock of birds than see someone as arrogant as Hodge hold that much power." I say, "We are looking for qualities beyond the physical." Phillips shakes his head, "Hodge passed every test we gave him. He's big, he's fast, he obeys orders. He's a soldier." Erskine and I grimace at the thought, "He's a bully." I nod in agreement.
"You don't win wars with niceness, doctor", groaned Phillips as he takes a hand grenade from the weapons store, "You win war with guts." He throws the grenade directly in the centre of the recruits yelling grenade as a warning. Everyone around us jumps in fear but I remain stock still. All the soldiers flee from the sight in fear of losing their lives except one. Steve jumps on top of the grenade and curls his body around it, shielding everyone who has been nothing about horrible to him, proving our point to Phillips. "Get away! Get back!" He shouts, waiting for the grenade to go off, but it doesn't. He opens his eyes to see my hand waiting for him to pull himself up, "It was a dummy grenade Steve." I explain. "The rest of you should be ashamed of yourselves. How can you claim to want to defend your country but aren't willing to risk your lives for the cause?!" I scold them, turning to Phillips once I'm done. "And you, don't doubt the decisions we make. I'm your only expert on this and you know that I'm not afraid to make you hurt for questioning me." I say in the sweetest tone I can muster. Phillips glares at me and walks away, muttering about how 'he's still skinny.'
