[23 days after Stark's kidnapping]
[SITE-602, Germany]
Margaret "Peggy" Carter believed she had lived a full life. Sure, she had her regrets, just as everyone did. Yet, she still believed that she had seen everything the world had to offer.
The work she had been doing following the war had allowed her to see and know far more things than most people; she had seen alien bodies and impossible artifacts.
She now also realized that she couldn't have been more wrong. She had seen nothing, barely even scratched the surface of what the world had to offer when it came to the impossible and unbelievable.
When they had first come for her, she had been confused, her mind going between sharp and incredibly cloudy. She hated that she had become so weak and helpless. Yet time was merciless, and even she couldn't fight against it.
She had believed that fighting against time was pointless and impossible. Yet, she was wrong there again.
Far too weak to put up resistance, she had spent the time as their captive going between worried and completely unaware of what was happening to her. Just waiting for death, it wasn't something she was scared of anymore.
However, they never did kill or even harm her, just kept her their prisoner. She didn't know how long they had held her.
Then suddenly, one day, after so long, she saw him, Steve. Yet the joy had been short-lived, as her failing mind had forgotten about it all too soon.
Then, she remembered music, the best she had ever heard. She was sure she would never forget it. Even if her mind once more started failing her, she doubted it would ever forget that music.
The music had ended far too soon. She had looked to the side and there he stood, a club in his hands raised above his head and ready to strike. He wasn't looking at her, but at the music player and the timer displayed.
He looked as if he was ready to smash the machine, to stop the music by force if he had to. Seeing him like that, his focus entirely on a task had brought memories she was sure she had lost of the revenging of time back.
She had whispered his name, "Steve," And it had been enough to get his attention. She remembered the way he looked at her, his eyes filled with hope. hope and fear.
Yet, before long, they held only tenderness and kindness as she found herself in his arms. Something she had wished for, for such a long time.
Following that, she was taken out, Steve pushing her bed as she was put before some doctors. They ran countless tests on her, all while Steve stood by her side.
Once that was done, she was left alone with Steve, finally able to ask the questions filling her mind.
How? How was he back again? Where? Where were they? And what? What had they done to her?
The first round of answers he had given her had been lacking. He didn't know much himself. She couldn't help but feel rather helpless about him.
How could he not try to find more information? Had it been her in his place, she wouldn't have been able to do anything but try to get as much information as possible.
Yet maybe that was what she liked about Steve, that he could be so simpleminded when thinking about others.
Knowing that he had survived the crash, that he had been frozen and alone for a lifetime, had been hard to take. She should have done more to look for him and not been so quick to give up on him.
If they had only continued to look, they might have found him. She could have had her dance.
Where were they? Steve had known so very little, so secret a facility belonging to some foundation—what foundation? He only knew they apparently were secretly dealing with unnatural things and claimed to be the protectors of the world.
She couldn't help but draw parallels between them and the very organization she had founded together with Stark. Apparently, they were much the same, merely this one being much older and more powerful yet also colder and less humane.
As to what they had done to her. Steve, that foolish man had sold himself to the devil in exchange for having her cured. She was touched but also angry; she wasn't someone who needed or wanted to be saved.
She still wasn't sure if it was all worth it just yet, even if she did understand that it was what he wanted, and maybe even what was best for him. Even more so since Bucky Barns apparently was alive as well.
In the end, she herself couldn't bring herself to blame him, even more so since she was allowed to escape the fate of forgetting everything, of becoming nothing but a hollow shell of what she once was.
She was still feeling slightly embarrassed about having cried herself to sleep in Steve's arms after that.
While her mind might have been cured, her body was still old and weak. Something that should have been impossible to change, but not for these people.
Since that day, they would bring her back into the room where she first heard that music; they would administer some drugs to her while letting her hear that song again, all while Steve remained by her side, always with the club ready to strike.
She had since learned that while the song could do amazing things, it was also very dangerous, too much, and it could cause death or even fates worse than that.
Even now that Steve accompanied her for every treatment, even now she felt and looked better than she had been in decades.
Still far from as young as Steve looked, but she was getting there. Once again, she was able to move around on her own and take care of herself.
It hadn't taken very long for her to know that she was missing something, that there was something she wasn't being told.
She quickly noticed the very strict security surrounding the medicine she was being given. Clearly, this was something incredibly important, very precious, and they were giving her multiple doses of it.
She had finally cornered Steve and learned from him more about the deal he had made. It was then she learned that apparently, Hydra was still around; more than that, they had somehow taken root inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
The very organization made to bring about their downfall had instead allowed them to grow bigger and stronger than ever. She hadn't wanted to believe it but had been allowed to look at the proof.
She had quickly been able to put two and two together. They didn't just want Steve, the reason they used that drug on her was because they wanted her as well. Even Bucky, the legendary Winter Soldier, was brought into the fight against Hydra.
She also had to admit she now understood why Steve accepted the deal. Not only would it allow him to reunite with the two people who meant the most to him, but he would also be able to continue the fight he never got to finish.
While working against S.H.I.E.L.D was something she had never considered she would ever be doing, much less with Steve at her side, she now knew it had to be done. More so, she agreed that she would need the support of something big if they were to deal with Hydra as they were now.
"I don't like it, but sometimes we gotta make tough choices, don't we?" she muttered as she turned to, yet another page filled with information about Hydra and its reach.
"What was that, Peggy?" Steve asked from behind, where he was busy working out.
"Nothing Steve, just thinking aloud." She replied, not wanting to turn around and look at him. Really, he should know better than to work up a sweat while shirtless around her. She didn't want to be considered a cougar, she wanted to at least wait until she was back in her twenties again.
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[25 days after Stark's kidnapping.]
[SITE-009]
Natasha once again found herself called to meet with Alexandra Ricci. She hadn't expected to be called again so soon; this would only be the third time she had met with her, even if she had seen her around the mansion a few times.
"Ahh, good to see you are doing well, Natasha; I heard your last mission was a rather dangerous one." Ricci greeted as soon as Natasha sat down on a sun lounger near her.
"It was certainly more dangerous than the last few, but even then, the danger was minimized due to the information we had." Natasha didn't just try to sound modest; she had been looking up information about the first Foundation encounter with 247, and it wasn't pretty.
So, indeed, compared to that, this last mission had been a walk in the park.
"I guess you might be right. The unknown is often the most dangerous we work with. Not that merely knowing is enough to make it safe to deal with, mind you." Ricci said before once against sinking back into silence.
"Natasha, you have spent some time here now, gotten to know us and our mission; I think it's high time you are offered a proper position within the Foundation to become a true member of us." Alex said after letting the silence become uncomfortable.
This wasn't what Natasha had expected. Her relationship with Shield wasn't easy to ignore. Yet, she had to admit, she was tempted. There were so many restrictions on her right now, so much she wasn't allowed to know.
"I admit, I have been thinking much about the future. And I can indeed see myself as part of the Foundation, but Shield, that's still a problem for me, isn't it?"
"Natasha, the Foundation has many times the power of Shield; we fear them not. That doesn't mean they aren't of interest to us. Merely that if we want something, we don't mind taking it from Shield."
Natasha could only nod in response to that. After all, there were plenty of examples of the Foundation doing just that, taking things from Shield. "Say, if I agree, if I say I want in. Then what?"
"If you accept, you will become a field agent. You will be given access to more information and allowed to learn more about some of the threats you will be working to contain. Then, you will be returning to Shield."
The promise for greater access to information was tantalizing yet the talk about returning to Shield was chilling. "Returning to Shield as what, exactly?" Natasha's voice was calm, but the undercurrent of tension was palpable. "A double agent?"
"We are currently of the belief that Shield has gotten their hands on SCP-002; we need someone to verify that. You can do what our agents have been unable to." Alexandra said with her voice as calm as the water in front of her.
"Is it dangerous?" Natasha couldn't help but ask, knowing that Hydra had so deeply infected Shield he couldn't help but worry about something powerful or dangerous falling into Shield's hands and, thereby, Hydra's.
"Not too dangerous, but it is a Euclid object, meaning it isn't fully understood. It is entirely possible that inexperienced handling will turn the object into something Dangerous; not the first time that has happened."
"I'm not sure about returning to Shield as a double agent, but I do want to join you," Natasha finally said. As she did, she returned Alexandra's soul-piercing gaze, staring right back into her blue eyes.
"Natasha Romanoff, can I put my trust in you? Can I believe that you will be loyal to the Foundation?" Alexandra asked while starring right into her eyes.
"Yes." Natasha replied, her gaze unwavering. "Yes, you can."
Alex didn't just leave it up to feeling as he judged Natasha. Oh no, she had an ace up her sleeve. One of the recent rewards she had gotten from SCP-093, the Red Sea object, was the Trait: Reflection Mastery.
It was a rather useless trait, at least on paper. It allowed Alex to know every detail of something that was in a reflection. The reason this trait wasn't entirely possible was the good old saying that the eyes are a window to the soul.
While Alex couldn't see someone's soul, she was able to judge if someone was lying with 100% accuracy. Something that had been tried and tested by her using many different and skilled people.
There might be other uses of this trait left to be uncovered, but even this was more than enough to satisfy Alex. "Then let me congratulate you on your new path in life, Agent Romanoff, and welcome to the Foundation."
A/N
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