CHAPTER TWO —
( I don't like bullies, no matter where they come from. )
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Evelyn arrived at Camp Lehigh in New Jersey to start the Strategic Scientific Reserve training for the Super Soldier test trials a day after the flying car fiasco in New York. When she passed, men turned her way, some laughing at her because they believed that a woman should not be in the army and some giving her flirtatious glances, wanting to get in her pants.
"Agent Parrish!" a woman with a British accent called out, making Evelyn turn around. Peggy Carter was power-walking up to her friend, a mischievous grin on her lips.
"Yes, Agent Carter?" Evelyn asked, a grin of her own making its way onto her lips.
"Colonel Phillips wants us to meet all the recruits. Roughen them up. That sort of thing," Peggy said.
Evelyn smirked. "Let's do it."
The two women began to walk toward a group of men who had all been chosen to participate in a trial in which one of them would become America's first Super Soldier. "Recruits, attention!" Peggy called. All the men straightened up and held their heads higher before frowning at the two women instructing them.
"Gentleman, I am Agent Parrish, and this is Agent Carter. We supervise all operations for this division," Evelyn informed them as she and Peggy walked down the line of men.
"Shouldn't you be off snoggin' Howie Starky?" One of the men spoke up.
Evelyn smiled lightly as she stopped and turned to face the man who spoke. "I'm sorry. Did you say something, soldier?"
He grinned as he shared glances with the soldier beside him. "I think you heard me."
"What's your name, soldier?" Peggy asked.
"Gilmore Hodge, your Majesty," he bowed to Peggy. "What's with the accent, Queen Victoria? Thought I was signing up for the U.S. Army."
Peggy and Evelyn shared looks, silently deciding who should have the honours to put him in his place. Peggy nodded towards Evelyn, who smirked.
"Step forward, Hodge." Hodge stepped closer to Evelyn, the two almost seeing eye to eye. "Put your right foot forward." He placed his right foot forward.
"Ooh, we're gonna wrastle?" Peggy handed everyone in line a clipboard with notes about what they would be doing and what the tryouts were for. "'Cause I got a few moves I know you'll like."
Evelyn smiled sweetly at him, "How cute." She quickly raised her fist and connected it with his nose, hearing a slight crack as she did so. Hodge went tumbling to the ground, holding onto his bleeding nose.
Evelyn then looked down the line of recruits and took mental notes on how each one presented themselves and how they acted, with just Evelyn and Peggy instructing them. Some were confused and not paying attention when Evelyn's eyes locked with a much smaller, skinnier man. He was the only man who seemed to be showing the two women respect, his head still held up high and his poster straight. When the man glanced Evelyn's way, she sent him a quick wink, and his face flushed.
"Agent Parrish! Agent Carter!"
Evelyn and Peggy immediately turned around and straightened their stance, quickly saluting Colonel Phillips as he approached them. "Colonel Phillips."
"I can see that you are breaking in the candidates, Agent Parrish. That's good!" He praised, then turned to Hodge, who was still moaning and groaning on the ground. "Get your ass up out of that dirt and stand in that line at attention till somebody comes and tells you what to do."
Hodge stood up with his head held high, "Yes, sir." He sniffled a few times, trying to get the blood to stay in his nose and tried to show that his broken nose wasn't hurting him.
"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." Colonel Phillips paused in front of the more petite man. "And because they are going to 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. And they will personally escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of hell." Colonel Phillips finished off his speech.
"No, go see a medic and get your nose sorted out before you all get ordered to return," Colonel Phillips instructed Hodge. Hodge nodded his head and headed towards the medic bay. His gaze then turned to Evelyn. "Pull your punches next time, okay, Agent Parrish?"
Evelyn smirked and nodded. "Will do, Colonel."
"Now fallout!" he called out, and all the men dispersed.
"Except for you, soldier," Evelyn quickly said, pointing at the more petite man.
The man looked around to see if Evelyn was pointing at someone else and then pointed to himself. "Me?"
"Yes, you. Everyone else, prepare for warmups. Meet back here in ten." Evelyn watched as everyone walked away, and the more petite man approached her.
"If you're going to kick me out, please don't kick me out. I will try my best at everything! I want to be able to help out," he quickly tumbled out.
Evelyn raised her eyebrows and let out a small chuckle. "I'm not here to kick you out. I want to know your name."
He relaxed instantly. "Oh, it's Steve Rogers, ma'am."
Evelyn tilted her head. "Ma'am?"
"Oh! I'm sorry, Agent."
"Parrish. My name is Evelyn Parrish," Evelyn told him.
"I know," Steve said, causing Evelyn to raise her eyebrows. "I went to the Stark expo with the flying car the other night."
Evelyn hummed as she looked down at him, noticing how he nervously played with his hands, and sweat began to drip down his face. "So, why do you want to join the army? To kill Nazis or for the women?"
"Neither," he said quickly. "No, Agent, I'm doing it because I don't like bullies. No matter where they come from."
That surprised Evelyn; she could barely keep the shock off her face. Then she raised her head higher. "Thoughts on Germans who aren't Nazis?"
"I have nothing against them."
"People with different coloured skin than us?"
"Should be treated the same way as us."
"Women being in the army?"
"They're just as strong as men, if not stronger, because they seem smarter than us."
A small smile made its way onto Evelyn's face. Never had Evelyn heard anyone say that before, and she could tell why Erskine decided to give him a chance with the SSR training. The majority of the soldiers she met just wanted to kill Nazis or get close to the female nurses who just can't seem to keep their hands off of them.
"Off you go, Rogers." Steve nodded and then walked away.
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The following days after starting the training program were a breeze. Most of them were in good shape before starting, except for Steve Rogers, who struggled with every activity he did. It didn't help that he had asthma and several other medical conditions. However, every time Dr Erskine came to see how the recruits were going, he would pull Evelyn aside and ask for updates on Rogers. She knew that Erskine was going to choose Steve to take the serum.
On the fifth day, Evelyn and Peggy set up a whole circuit for the recruits, which included climbing a rope wall, crawling under barbed wire whilst holding a rifle, and doing a lap around the base. By the look on all of the men's faces, they weren't pleased.
"Alright, gentlemen, get ready," Peggy told the men as she got her timer out. They all lined up in front of the rope wall. "Go!" All the men ran up to the wall and began climbing it. Most of the men flew up the wall, but the problem was Steve.
Evelyn walked up to the edge of the rope wall where he had begun climbing. "Come on, Rogers. You can do it!" He looked towards Evelyn and then back up the wall. Steve started climbing again when his foot got caught in the rope and fell backwards.
"Rogers, get off of there!" Lt. Mike yelled to him.
Evelyn didn't hesitate to start climbing up the rope wall.
"What do you think you're doing, Agent Parrish?" Colonel Phillips yelled out.
"Helping a soldier," she yelled back. When Evelyn was just above Steve, she reached for his hand. Steve was surprised, but he still grabbed her hand with great difficulty, and she hoisted him back up.
Steve breathed heavily as he looked at Evelyn with wide eyes. "You're really strong."
Evelyn smiled. "Thank you." She climbed up the wall beside Steve, and the two went down together.
In the next part, the men had to crawl in mud under barbed wire while holding a rifle up to their chest. Steve quickly threw on his helmet and picked up a gun. Evelyn walked around the side of the course and watched as Steve struggled, entirely out of breath already.
Then, Hodge decided it would be funny to kick down the wooden post holding up the barbed wire on Steve's side, causing it to fall onto him. "Rogers! Get that rifle out of the mud!" Lt. Mike yelled.
Evelyn walked to the course's edge and stood before Hodge. "Go back and pick it up," she ordered him.
"Or what, you'll smack me again?" He said with a grin.
Evelyn stepped forward and glared at him straight in the eyes. Hodge tried to look intimidating, puffing his chest out and holding his head high, but Evelyn wasn't easily intimidated. She was the same height as Hodge; she just tilted her head a little higher and raised her eyebrows. "Was that supposed to intimidate me?"
Hodge's smile faulted as Evelyn gave him a look. "Now, you will listen to me and put that post back in place before I order you off camp. Okay, Hodge?"
Hodge huffed, returned to Steve's lane, and shoved the post back into place. "Hodge! Finish the damn course!" Lt. Mike called. Hodge sent a glare Evelyn's way and then proceeded on with the course.
It helped Steve a lot, and he continued the course for at least another minute and stood back up at attention. "Are you alright?" Evelyn asked him.
"I'm good," he nodded even though his arms were shaking in pain and his breathing was heavy and quick. Evelyn nodded, and he continued with the course.
Peggy and Evelyn decided to ride in one of the cars to keep up with the men as they began to run around the base. They stopped at the halfway mark to wait for the men and went through all of the files on the men, namely the one on Steve Rogers.
"What do you think of Rogers?" Peggy asked.
"His physical condition doesn't allow him to do much, but his heart keeps him going," Evelyn replied honestly. "He's also respectful to everyone, does the right thing always, and even listens to us when we order the men to do something, whereas the rest make fun of us."
"He's a true fighter," Peggy said as she wrote notes on her clipboard.
"I've never met someone like him before," Evelyn said. Peggy grinned as she turned to look at Evelyn, who rolled her eyes back at her despite a slight blush on her cheeks.
"Come on! Faster! Faster!" Lt. Mike ordered. The women turned around and watched as the group ran up to the flag with Steve a few metres behind them. "Squad, halt!" All of the men stopped running. "That flag means we're only at the halfway point. First man to bring it to me gets a ride back with Agent Parrish and Agent Carter. Move, move!"
All the men except Steve ran up to the flag pole and tried to climb it. Hodge climbed slightly higher than the rest but then slid back down it. None of them were going to get the flag because they were strong enough or smart enough to climb it or pull the kegs out of the bottom.
"Agent Parrish was the last person to get that flag down. But before her, it was someone 17 years ago!" Some of the men turned and gave Evelyn astonished looks, so she grinned and waved at them.
The men continued to try to climb it but to no avail. Evelyn looked to the side and noticed Steve standing there, watching all of them. Now, fall back into line! Come on, fall in!" All of the men reluctantly ran away. Let's go! Get back into formation!"
"I was hoping someone would be able to get the flag down," Evelyn sighed.
"What, so you could sit with a stuck-up soldier who thinks we should be in the kitchen or see if someone could get it down after you did?" Peggy asked.
"The latter."
"Rogers! I said fall in!" Lt. Mike called out.
Evelyn and Peggy looked back and watched Steve walk up to the pole, crouch down, and pull out the kegs holding it up. The flag pole fell, and Steve walked to collect it. He handed the flag to Lt. Mike. "Thank you, sir," Steve told him, still out of breath from the run. He turned towards the car and hopped into the seat beside Evelyn, giving her a small smile. Evelyn just grinned in return, and the vehicle took off.
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Evelyn stood beside Peggy the following day and watched the recruits do push-ups. Evelyn loved to be mean to them and make them do one hundred push-ups. Steve, however, was falling behind as usual but still never gave up.
"Faster, men, come on!" Evelyn called out.
"My grandmother has more life in her. God rest her soul," Peggy said. Evelyn watched as Steve struggled to pull himself up. "Move it!"
When Evelyn had enough of watching the men struggle to pull themselves up, she ordered them to do something else. "Up." They quickly stood up, heads held high, even though they just wanted to collapse. "Jumpin' jacks." They began to do the jumping jacks.
"Come on, girls," Peggy sang out.
"You are enjoyin' this way too much," Evelyn laughed lightly.
"And you're not?" She smirked.
"It does give me some satisfaction watchin' the recruits do one hundred push-ups." They both chuckled together.
At the men's 50th jumping jack, something rolled on the ground towards them. "Grenade!"
All the men ran away from it and hid behind large objects, attempting to escape the blast. Evelyn huffed as she headed towards the grenade, knowing that it was just a dud because they weren't allowed to set off a real grenade in camp. Evelyn stopped walking, but Steve suddenly leapt onto it.
"Get away!" He shooed everyone. "Get back!"
Evelyn walked over to Steve and crouched down beside him. "You have some guts." He slowly looked up at her, then down at the fake grenade. "It's fake," she said as she picked it up.
"Was this a test?" he asked.
Evelyn smiled and stood up straight to hold her hand out towards him. Steve hesitated to grab her hand. "I don't bite. Promise."
Steve's cheeks tinted pink, and he grabbed Evelyn's hand so that she could hoist him up. Evelyn glanced over her shoulder at where Dr Erskine and Colonel Phillips were standing and sent Erskine a small smile with a nod. Steve was the clear choice to take the serum, and now they just had to make sure he was ready for the following day.
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That night, Evelyn and Dr Erskine decided to spend time with Steve before his life changed forever. They walked into his room to see Steve reading a book. "May we?" Erskine asked.
"Yeah," Steve replied, closing his book and placing it on his nightstand.
Evelyn looked at the book cover as Steve turned to them. "Is that 'Tender Is the Night' by Fitzgerald?"
Steve's eyes lit up. "Yeah, it is."
Evelyn smiled and hummed. "Good book."
"Can't sleep?" Erskine asked.
Steve shrugged. "I got the jitters, I guess."
Erskine chuckled, "Me, too."
Erskine pulled out a bottle of alcohol. "Can I ask you a question?" Steve asked.
"Just one?" Erskine asked.
"Why me?" Steve asked.
"I suppose that is the only question that matters," Erskine sighed and handed Evelyn three empty glasses. "This is from Augsburg. My City," he held up the bottle of alcohol before giving it to Evelyn so she could start filling up the glasses. "So many people forget that the first country the Nazis invaded was their own. You know, after the last war they, my people struggled, they...they...they felt weak and slow. Then Hitler comes along with the marching and the big show and the flags and all that, and he hears of me, my work, and he finds me. Then he says, "you." He says, "You will make us strong." Well. I am not interested. So he sends the head of Hydra East research division—a brilliant Scientist by the name of Johann Schmidt. Now, Schmidt is a member of the inner circle, and he's ambitious; even Hitler shares his passion for occult power and tatanic myth. Hitler uses his fantasies to inspire his followers, but for Schmidt, it is not fantasy. For him, it is real. He has become convinced that there is a great power hidden in the earth left here by the gods, waiting to be seized by superior men. So, when he has found my formula and what it can do, he cannot resist. Schmidt wants to become that superior man."
"Did it make him stronger?" Steve asked.
"Ya," Erskine said. "But, it had other effects. The serum was not ready, but more importantly, the man."
"The serum amplifies everything that's inside of you," Evelyn told Steve. "So, if you are a good person, you become a great person, and if you're a bad person, you become way worse. And that's why you were chosen, Steve."Evelyn reached over and grasped Steve's hand. "After you told me why you wanted to be in the army and all of your beliefs of humanity, you had me sold. You are a really good guy, Steve."
"Thank you," Steve bashfully smiled, his face bright red. Evelyn smiled back and let go of his hand.
Erskine pointed towards the three glasses of wine on the bedside table, and Evelyn handed them out. "Whatever happens tomorrow, you must promise me one thing. That you must stay who you are." Erskine leant over after receiving his wine and pointed at Steve's heart. "Not a perfect soldier, but a good man."
Steve held up his glass. "To the little guys," he cheered. They all clinked glasses and went to drink when Evelyn realised something.
"No, stop!" She reached towards Steve and grabbed his glass. "What are we doing? You can't have fluids in your system before the procedure tomorrow."
"All right, we'll drink it after," Steve said.
"No, we don't have procedures tomorrow," Evelyn gestured towards Erskine and herself.
"Drink it after? Drink it now." Erskine and Evelyn clinked glasses and then downed the wine. Once Evelyn finished, she brought Steve's cup to her lips and quickly drank that too.
The men raised their eyebrows at Evelyn. "What?" she asked as she looked between the two. "I have a high tolerance."