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?
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As all the men from the observation booth head down to congratulate Howard and Erskine on their achievement, I begin to make my way back up. The experiment brought back memories I'd since supressed and I needed a moment alone but before I could stop anything a wave of intense heat radiates from the booth. I feel my back burn as I take the brunt of the explosion. Shards of glass ingrain themselves in my back as I use my powers to hold back some of the light intensity. Steve and Peggy need to able to see to catch whoever did this, I tell myself as I feel my energy draining. I faintly hear a gunshot but I'm too weak to do anything and I slip out of consciousness, my body crumpling to the floor.
I wake not five minutes later, the room descended into chaos. My eyes scan the room and I notice the absence of Peggy and Steve as well as the body of Dr Erskine on the floor. I take a moment to compose myself before removing the large chunks of glass from my back, as I can't heal large wounds without the cause being removed. I feel my back healing as soon as the shards of glass are gone and I run down the steps to assess the damage. "Howard?" I yell out, my voice barely heard over the panic. "Yeah I'm here, I'm here. Are you okay?" He asks, scanning my body, clothes burnt, blood dripping from a non-existent cut on my forehead. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Get everyone out of here, make sure they're safe. I'll sort out the mess in here, this has HYDRA written all over it." I stumble out as loudly as I can, already trying to clear the hubbub. Time goes by quickly as Howard and I try to fix this mess and soon we find ourselves waiting at the compound for Peggy and Steve.
'He deserved better than this' I hear Steve's voice loud and clear, echoing in my mind after he finishes. I run my hands over my face, gripping my now flowing hair. I sigh and begin to change into the fresh clothes Howard brought me, my previous uniform getting significantly fire damaged. I leave the drab room and head towards where Steve's blood samples are being taken. The second I open the door Steve pulls me in for a hug, I remain stiff, stoic. "Are you okay Vicky?" he asks worry lacing his tone. "Fine." I utter back, "I'm going to look at the sub, you guys coming?" I add. Peggy purses her lips but agrees nonetheless and the three of us head towards the tech lab where the vigilante's submarine has been taken. I mentally reprimand myself for doing nothing when I recognized Kruger's fake accent yesterday, but now I must avenge Erskine. My friend is dead and HYDRA will compensate for taking more away from me if it's the last thing they do. I wrote a letter to James immediately, expressing my distain about the situation, about how I wish he was here to tell me there was nothing I could have done.
The three of us enter the bricked room as Colonel Phillips asks Howard what we've got here, referring to the submarine. "Speaking modestly, I'm the best mechanical engineer in this country. But I don't know what's inside this thing or how it works. We're not even close to this technology." Howard explains, I shake my head at the advances made. The ability for those in the wrong to be so far ahead is taunting to me, like HYDRA are asking for me to come back, come back and finish them off for good. "Then who is?" Senator Brandt queries. "HYDRA. I'm sure you've been reading our briefings." The Colonel clarifies. "Yes I have." I scoff to myself as Brandt exasperates over the number of committees he's on. "HYDRA is the Nazi deep science division. It's led by Johann Schmidt. But he has much bigger ambitions." I state calmly. "HYDRA's practically a cult. They worship Schmidt, they think he's invincible." Phillips adds. "So what are you going to do about it?" The Senator wonders aloud. "Spoke to the president this morning. As of today the SSR is being retasked." Phillips' statement causes my head to whip around as Peggy asks for clarification. "We are taking the fight to HYDRA. Pack your bags Agents Carter and Somerfield. You too, Stark. You're flying to London tonight." Howard and I make eye contact as I make exasperated hand gestures about how where I want Phillips to stick it.
"Sir, if you're going after Schmidt, I want in." Steve pipes up. I raise my brow at Stark with a sly smile at Steve's ambition. "You're an experiment. You're going to Alamogordo." My smile fades and my fists clench. Phillips has no concept of Erskine's intentions. "The serum worked." Steve relents. "I asked for an army and all I got was you. You are not enough." Phillips says. I turn to him, "And I want to go to the moon. It ain't happening sweetheart. Time to accept that. Erskine didn't do this for Steve to be hidden away in a lab Phillips." I say, folding my arms across my chest defensively. Before Phillips can retort Senator Brandt steps in. "With all due respect to the Colonel, I think we may be missing the point. I've seen you in action, Steve. More importantly, the country's seen it." He says, gesturing to the newspaper with Steve on the front page, the headline reading: 'Nazis in New York - mystery man saves child'. "The enlistment lines have been around the block since your picture hit the newsstands. You don't take a soldier, a symbol like that, and hide him in a lab. Son, do you want to serve your country on the most important battlefield of the war?" Brandt asks Steve. "Sir that's all I want." Steve reassures.
"Then, congratulations. You just got promoted." Brandt says. However I get the feeling Brandt and Steve are picturing two very different 'battlefields'.
