In preparation for the procedure, Clark and Steve were given the night to rest before they would head to the facility the next day. No liquids, no food, and they just needed to wait. Steve was in his barracks and Dr. Erskine paid him a visit while Clark was currently calling his mother. He waited a few seconds and listened to the dial tone before it was picked up.
"Kent residence, this is Martha."
"Hey, mom." Clark smiled, hearing her voice again.
"Hello, Clark. It's good to hear your voice. I've been getting all your letters and thank you for the postcards from the Statue of Liberty and World's Fair. They are beautiful."
"Well, maybe one day you can come out here and see if with your own eyes. I could take you out for a night in New York City." Clark suggested.
"Sounds lovely. So, how are things?"
"Things are good. Uh…it looks like Project Rebirth is going in to affect. Dr. Erskine found someone else for the procedure and Colonel Phillips approved so he and I will be put through the process tomorrow." He told her.
"It's been so long that I honestly didn't think it would happen."
"I know, me too but I think this is it. I wanted to call you and let you know I'll be fine. If things work out…I might be shipping out of New York soon enough." He told her and hearing her sigh, he knew this wasn't easy for her.
"A part of me is still beyond worried, Clark. We hear all these stories, see the news reels at the theaters…and it just scares me. I know that you're different but after hearing what the Germans and the Nazis have done in Europe…are you sure that your gonna be ok?"
"I think so. Kelex has done some analysis and he thinks my durability…Bio-electric aura…whatever thing that has knives and needles break against my skin will keep me safe. At least from anything the German's could have designed for the war but he does advise me to avoid getting hit if at all possible." Clark explained. "I'll be careful and write you every chance I get. I'll come home. I promise."
"I love you, Clark. I'm worried but I know that you'll be able to help a lot of people and I can't be more proud. And I know your father would be proud as well. He's looking down at you now and I know he'll watch over you."
"Hopefully he's putting in a good word for the both of us." Clark said.
"So, what exactly is this procedure? Is this Dr. Erskine actually going to do anything to you?"
"From what I understand, no. No surgical implements he has can get into my skin. We tried. He's actually going to be fooling everyone into thinking that there's a different serum he'll be using on me. It'll all be for show. After it's done, everything I can do will be chalked up to what the serum did. They won't suspect a thing and even if they look closer, it'll be Kalvin Elbert they'll be looking at."
"Well, I hope this works for you Clark. While a part of me would like nothing more than for things to not change, I know you want to help so…my prayers will be with you and the SSR. Anyway, enough of that dour business. How are things going between you and Peggy?"
Clark chuckled as his mother was rather excited when he told her that he and Peggy went on a first date at the world's fair. From everything he told her about Peggy, Martha thought this woman all but walked on water and wouldn't be surprised if she did that as well. She could tell that Clark liked her and she was beyond ecstatic that he took her advice and asked her out.
"Things are good. After the fair, the training for the next batch of recruits came up so we're not able to do much. We talk all the time and eat at the mess hall together but that's about it." He told her.
"Clark, if you really like Peggy then you need to show her. From what you've told me, this Peggy is a real catch and a woman like that deserves to be treated with the utmost respect. Your father and I raised you right so I better not hear anything about you frolicking around like that Howard Stark or so help me you'll regret it."
Clark chuckled at that. If his mother ever met Howard, he had a feeling she would discipline him like a child who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Which did happen to him on one occasion and he didn't want to experience his mother's wrath ever again. "Don't worry, mom. I've been the perfect gentleman. Peggy wouldn't have even entertained the idea if she thought I had ulterior motives and she'd take me out if I tried to make a move on her she didn't like."
"Hearing all that makes me like this woman even more. I hope I get to meet her one day."
"Maybe, mom. But I did promise the next big date that Peggy and I can go on that we'd go dancing." He told her only to hear her start laughing. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"Sorry, Clark. You have excellent balance, can run faster than a train and clear a football field with a small hop but you can't dance."
"True which is why Peggy said she'd teach me how." Clark pointed out.
"Oh, that will be fun. Guess you have your father's charm, Clark."
"I'm not so sure about that. Peggy has been more than patient enough with me." He joked as he and his mother continued talking for a solid hour.
She kept him up to date on what was going on in Smallville. Five more boys from the town were sent to basic training. Three for the army, one for the navy and the other for the army air force. The town was doing ok but with many of the men going off to war, a lot of the women and teenagers around 16 and higher helped to pick up the slack. People who didn't have a lot or were having tough times were taken care of. One thing you could count on with Smallville was that everyone looked out for each other. Farms donated any extra crops they had while storing, jarring, and pickling anything they didn't eat. People knew how to make food last and deal with restrictions due to the rationing brought on by the war. Unfortunately, there was also some bad news as six men from Smallville were pronounced KIA on the list of casualties. Clark knew some of them and his mother told him it was devastating when their families were told what happened. He and his mother knew that even if he had gone out into the field sooner that he couldn't singlehandedly end the war in a week but those men were regular humans and went gung-ho for the war while he was just getting there. He just hoped that when he went out into the field that he would be able to prevent some more casualties.
After a nice, long conversation he hung up and wished his mother the best before walking through the camp to his barracks. He wondered if Steve was done talking with Dr. Erskine when he saw Peggy walk by on her way to her bunk. "Kal. Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just uh…got off the phone with my mother and decided to take a walk around." He told her.
"What did you tell her?" Peggy wondered.
"The truth. I've never been able to lie to her and she can tell when I'm lying but she can keep a secret." Clark assured her. "Trust me. She's not going to say a word."
"Well, we've known each other long enough that I can let this go." Peggy told him.
"Glad to know you trust me, Peggy." He replied.
"Of course, I trust you. We've gotten to know each other over the course of a year and we did go on a date. I wouldn't have done that if I didn't trust you, Kal." She pointed out and Clark smiled but it quickly went away when he realized how much she trusted him and he had still been lying to her. "Everything all right?"
"Yeah. Just some thoughts in my head." He told her. "Thank you, Peggy."
"You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early." She said, walking away when Clark called out to her.
"Peggy?"
"Yes?" She asked.
"Um…I know we're not exactly sure what's gonna happen after tomorrow but if we have a moment, I'd like to take you out on another date." He told her and she smiled.
"A night of dancing before you ship out?" She wondered.
"No, not dancing. Just dinner and a nice conversation." He corrected her. "You're one of the few people here I can really trust…and there's something you need to know about me."
"What is it?" She wondered.
"I'll explain it tomorrow. I promise." He told her before heading back to his bunk, unaware that tomorrow would change a lot of things.
Line Break xxxxx
Brooklyn, New York
Today was the day. Time for the Project Rebirth and to see if Dr. Erskine's research was really all it was cracked up to be. Steve and Clark dressed up in their military uniforms and were driven from Camp Lehigh all the way to Brooklyn. Agent Carter was in the front seat with the soldier who was driving them. The drive was quiet as the weight of everything that was going to happen started to build up.
The driver honked to get some kids out of the street. Clark wasn't familiar with Brooklyn but Steve was. "I recognize this neighborhood. I got beat up in that alley." He recounted. "And that parking lot. And behind that diner."
"Either you're a glutton for punishment or not a fan of running away." Clark remarked.
"You start running, they'll never let you stop. You stand up, you push back. They can't say no forever, right?" Steve pointed out.
"I know a little of what that's like, to have every door shut in your face." Peggy said.
"I guess I just don't know why you'd want to join the Army if you were a beautiful dame. Or a…a woman. An agent. Not a dame. You are beautiful, but…" Steve kept tripping over his words which Clark found amusing.
"You can stop now." Clark said to him.
"Thank you." Steve replied.
"You have no idea how to talk to a woman, do you?" Peggy asked Steve and he chuckled.
"I think this is the longest conversation I've had with one." Steve answered. "Women aren't exactly lining up to dance with a guy they might step on."
Clark looked at Steve and pat him on the shoulder. "Well, after this maybe things will change. We'll head out dancing to celebrate and I'm sure that you'll find someone to dance with." He told Steve.
"Asking a woman to dance always seemed so terrifying. And the past few years, it just didn't seem to matter that much. I figured I'd wait for the right partner." Steve replied.
"She's out there." Clark assured him when they stopped outside an old antique shop. Clark and Steve got out of the car and were confused a bit when Peggy walked by.
"This way." She led them into the antiques store where an elderly woman walked out of the back.
"Wonderful weather this morning, isn't it?"
"Yes, but I always carry an umbrella." Peggy replied. The woman walked behind the counter and pressed a button as Peggy led Clark and Steve to the back room which was a dead end. Nothing there but a bookcase which opened up to reveal a hidden hallway for the SSR complete with other agents and military MPs.
"Has this place always been here?" Clark wondered as they continued down the hall and through the double doors where they saw a large laboratory. There were scientists busy doing their work but in the center of all the computers and machines were two pods. Once Clark and Steve walked in, everyone in the room quieted down and looked at them. "You ready for this?"
"Only if you are." Steve told him and Clark nodded. The two followed Agent Carter down the stairs to the center of the lab where Dr. Erskine was going over the last minute adjustments to the project.
"Good morning." Dr. Erskine greeted them both and shook Steve's hand when a military photographer took a photo. Clark covered his face with his hand to block the flash but Steve was up front and center. "Please, not now."
The photographer nodded and walked away as Steve and Clark looked at the pods. "Are you two, ready?" Dr. Erskine asked and Steve and Clark nodded in response. "Good, Steve take off your shirt, tie, and your hat. Kalvin, remove your long sleeves, watch, and your glasses please."
The two did as they were told with Steve removing his hat and shirt while Clark removed the same but was able to keep on the plain white t-shirt he had on underneath. He had it be a size too big to help sell what was going to happen with the serum and had on the correct size underneath it. During the process, he removed the larger one to help show what happened. Something Dr. Erskine recommended.
Clark removed his watch, dog tags, and S-shaped necklace and gave them to Peggy. "Don't lose these."
"I won't, I promise." She assured him as Clark took off his glasses and stumbled a bit to the pod with some help from one of the scientists. Military personnel, politicians and important people in the US war department were gathered up in the observation booth, one of which was Colonel Phillips who walked over to Senator Brandt.
"Senator Brandt, glad you could make it." Colonel Phillips said to the Senator as he shook his hand.
"Why exactly am I in Brooklyn?" The Senator asked.
"We needed access to the city's power grid. Of course, if you'd given me the generators I requisitioned…"
"A lot of people are asking for funds, Colonel." Senator Brandt pointed out before introducing him to his guest. "Oh, this is Clem, uh…"
"Fred Clemson, State Department. If this project of yours comes through, we'd like to see it used for something other than headlines." Clemson told him as the Senator caught a glimpse of Steve stepping into the pod and the stark contrast between him and Clark.
"Jesus. Somebody get that kid a sandwich. Kind of a stark contrast of recruits." Colonel Phillips pointed out.
Clark and Steve laid down in their pods with the latter being a little nervous. "Comfortable?" Dr. Erskine asked them both.
"It's a little big." Steve remarked earning a chuckle from the doctor. "You save me any of that schnapps?"
"Not as much as I should have. Sorry. Next time." Dr. Erskine apologized. "Mr. Stark, how are your levels?"
"Levels at 100% We may cut out the lights in Brooklyn, but we are ready as we'll ever be." Howard remarked, patting Clark on the shoulder before he walked over to the console.
"Agent Carter, don't you think you would be more comfortable in the booth?" Dr. Erskine asked her.
"Oh, yes. Of course." She replied, walking over to the stairs but looked back at Clark and Steve. Clark gave her a nod and she nodded back before heading up.
Clark looked over at Steve and could tell he was nervous. A part of him was nervous as well. This was it. "See you on the other side."
"See you there." Steve replied as Dr. Erskine grabbed his microphone and touched it a few times to get everyone's attention.
"Do you hear me? Is this on? Ladies and Gentlemen, today we take not another step towards annihilation, but the first step on the path to peace." Dr. Erskine told them as the scientists attached the microinjectors onto Steve's chest while they wrapped similar microinjectors onto Clark's wrists and forearms. A scientist wheeled over a special cabinet that contained 13 vials of liquid. 7 were blue and the other 6 were white. Six of the blue vials were taken out and put into the injectors for Steve's pod while the six white ones were attached to the wrist and forearm injectors for Clark, leaving one single blue vial left. "What you see before you are two subjects for two different serums. Both will begin with a series of microinjections with subject A being given infusion into the subject's major muscle groups on the chest. Subject B will be given fusion into the subject's bloodstream. The serum infusion with cause immediate cellular change. And then to stimulate growth, the subjects will be saturated with Vita-Rays."
After his explanation, Dr. Erskine fake injected a syringe into Clark's arm while a nurse did the same to Steve. Steve got penicillin but Clark got just saline solution. "See you on the other side, my friend. And be careful with the shirt change." Dr. Erskine whispered to him and Clark nodded.
Steve took a deep breath as the nurse removed the needle from his arm. "Oohhh, that wasn't so bad."
"That was penicillin." Dr. Erskine pointed out, earning a concerned look from Steve. "Serum infusion beginning in five…four…three…two…one."
Howard pushed a lever and the microinjectors in Steve's pod clamped on and injected the serum into his body. It stung like hell but he toughed it out with an immediate change as his pupil color turned to blue. Clark's microinjectors did the same but he played along with Steve, mimicking pain but the needles broke against his skin and just poured in saline solution.
"Now, Mr. Stark." Dr. Erskine told him. Howard nodded and pulled a lever, causing both pods to rotate into upright positions and close shut. Dr. Erskine walked up and tapped on the window in Steve's pod. "Steven? Are you all right?"
"It's probably too late to go to the bathroom, right?" Steve asked and Dr. Erskine chuckled before checking on Clark.
"I'm good, Doctor." Clark told him and Dr. Erskine nodded to Howard.
"We will proceed." Dr. Erskine told him and Howard turned on the Vita-ray generator and began cranking up the concentration and exposure. A bright white light was seen from the glass of both pods as the doctors, nurses, and engineers put on their safety goggles.
"That's 10%."
"20%"
"30%"
"That's 40%"
"Vital signs are normal." A doctor reported.
Inside Clark's pod, he was completely fine and not feeling a thing other than some mild heat which was rather comforting and the bright light which did make him squint his eyes. Kelex assured him that the Vita-ray radiation wouldn't do anything harmful to him so he was essentially just waiting until the process seemed complete. While he was in the pod, he grabbed the shirt he was wearing that was too big and ripped it off to reveal the white t-shirt that was a slight size smaller. It showed his defined Kryptonian physiology after his entire life on earth, which was muscular, ripped, and toned. Kind of the epitome of what you'd expect a super soldier to be. He's gotten by with slouching and wearing larger or heavy clothes so his physique wasn't that noticeable but now it would be because that was the point. He carefully slipped the ripped shirt into his pants which he would discard later when he had a moment alone.
"That's 50%. 60%. 70%." Howard reported as he continuously turned up the Vita-ray concentration when Steve began to shout in pain.
"RRRRAAHHH!" Hearing Steve shout Clark did the same thing to help sell it. "ARGGHHHHHHH!"
Their screams of pain alarmed the scientists, Agent Carter, and Dr. Erskine. "Shut it down! Shut it down!" Peggy shouted, racing out of the observation room as Dr. Erskine rushed over to Steve's pod.
"Steven! Steven!" He pounded on the pod window to get him to respond but he wasn't. "Kill the reactor, Mr. Stark! Turn it off! Kill it! Kill the Reactor!"
"NO! DON'T! I CAN DO THIS!" Steve shouted, giving everyone a moment of pause.
Howard cranked up the concentration and the Vita-ray radiation making the bright light increased to the point where everyone had to cover their eyes. "80%. 90%. That's 100%!"
The console began to spark followed by the rest of the instruments in the room before the Vita-ray radiation was shut off and the lights powered down. Everyone was concerned and wanted to know what happened.
"Mr. Stark?!" Dr. Erskine shouted and he pressed a button on the console which opened up the pods. The two pods opened so everyone could see Steve Rogers and Kalvin Elbert. Clark's transformation was visible to everyone as they could see the ripped musculature and physique they didn't see before but Steve's was the most awe-inspiring. Gone was the skinny 5'4" 95 pound asthmatic and he was replaced with a 6'2" 240 pound super soldier. Dr. Erskine and Howard helped Steve out of the pod as Peggy rushed over to help Clark down from his with the help from one of the engineers. "Steven. Steven."
"I did it." Steve muttered.
"Yeah, yeah. I think we did it." Dr. Erskine said with a smile.
"You actually did it." Howard was in disbelief.
The engineer removed the wrist and forearm injectors from Clark and helped him down from the pod as Peggy looked him over. He was always handsome but looked good without his glasses and she was able to see how chiseled and built he was now. "How do you feel?" Peggy asked him.
"Good. I can see without my glasses and I'm enjoying it." Clark said to her and she smiled before she handed him his watch and necklace back which he put on before walked over to Steve who was still in disbelief at what happened and the physical transformation he underwent. "You ok, Steve? How do you feel?"
"Taller." Steve remarked as a nurse handed over a shirt which he put on.
"You're definitely taller, now." Clark told him as Steve put his shirt on. "We did it. We did it, buddy."
"We did it." Steve repeated and Clark hugged him and pat him on the back.
"Congratulations, you two." Dr. Erskine said to the both of them.
"How do you like Brooklyn now, Senator?" Colonel Phillips asked Senator Brandt.
"I can think of some folks in Berlin who are about to get very nervous." The Senator remarked as Colonel Phillips walked over to Clark.
"Corporal Elbert, how are you feeling?" Colonel Phillips asked.
"Good sir. Really good." Clark replied.
"Good is great. It's time to see what you can really do." Colonel Phillips told him and Clark nodded when his super hearing picked up a weird ticking sound. It wasn't a clock but something else. He also noticed Dr. Erskine looking over at one man who was further back from everyone else near the stairs. The man pulled out a lighter but didn't have a cigarette with him. That's when he touched the flicker and the observation room exploded.
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