Chapter Text
As cliche as it sounds, the first thing Peggy saw was white light. Her eyelids forced themselves shut, protesting against the glaring brightness. She blinked a few more times before the blurry shapes in front of her slowly took more proper form.
It appears she’s in a hospital room. That explains why everything was so bright and stark white. What that didn’t explain however, was the man with an eyepatch and a black trenchcoat standing at the foot of her bed. Peggy swore she knows who this man is, but she just can’t seem to find which part of her brain stored the information.
“Rise and shine, ma’am.” The man greeted her. His words carried a tone of sarcasm in it, though it was laced with some form of respect and admiration. “Do you know who I am? In fact, let’s start simple: do you know what year it is?”
“It’s…” Peggy's voice came out raspy, as if it hadn’t been used for years. She surprised herself with her lack of confidence in something as simple as the year. Now that she thought about it, she doesn’t really remember anything before waking up. She can almost see hazy memories of a room similar to the one she’s in right now, though more decorated, as if someone had lived there for a long time.
“Isn’t it 2016?” That was the number that popped up in her head, though she couldn’t explain why. It just felt right. But at the same time wrong.
The answer seemed to satisfy the man however as he straightened up and moved to sit at the empty chair by her bed. “Yeah, that seems about right.”
“So it is 2016?”
“Not quite.”
Peggy’s mind reeled. “Pardon?”
“You’re not far off, don’t worry. Only by 8 years.”
She did the mental math. The number that resulted hit her like a truck. “2024? No, that can’t be right. This is some kind of a joke. Who- who are you? Why do I get the feeling we’ve met before?”
“No, no, I’m dead serious. And as for who I am…” He pulled out a neat leather wallet from inside his trenchcoat. He flips his open and stretches it out for Peggy to take. A photo of the man on a formal-looking white card stared back at her. The card read: Fury, Nicholas J. Clearance level 10. Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. The name made the room spin on its axis once again. Just a simple acronym brought Peggy just out of reach from so many memories. So close she could almost see them, but so far they were nothing but meaningless fog.
“Now, here’s the important part.” The man, Fury, spoke again. “Do you know who you are?”
Now this one she knew with confidence. “Peggy Carter.”
Her confidence seemed to please Fury even more. Though Peggy couldn’t know for sure as he’s been sporting the exact same facial expression since she woke up. Woke up? Is that what it was?
“Ma’am, do you know who you are?”
“Yes, I just told you. I’m-”
“Oh no, I don’t mean that. You got that right.” He reached out a rough finger and landed on the white card. His finger tapped on the word. S.H.I.E.L.D. “Do you know who you are?”
Now this time, it really did feel like getting hit by a truck. Decades upon decades flooded back to her mind in a single tsunami wave of memories. Flashes of war, fighting Germany, an organization called HYDRA, super soldier serums-
“Steve.” she breathed out the name like a cold breath in a harsh winter.
“Yes. You and Captain Rogers.”
“Oh my god, Steve. I remember everything. The war, SHIELD, taking down HYDRA, Steve, he- his plane crashed- but he survived somehow. They pulled him out of the ice.”
“What’s the last thing you remember?” His voice was softer now.
“I-” Another wave crashed. “I should be dead.” She looked up at Fury. She almost didn’t want to know the answer to her question. “Did I die?”
“There’s no easy way of saying this, I’m afraid. But yes, you died. Passed away in your sleep on June 18, 2016 after battling Alzheimer’s for years.”
Peggy had always thought the weirdest thing to find out in your lifetime was all the family secrets your parents kept from you when you weren’t old enough. That’s almost laughable now. Nothing could compare to an eyepatched-man with an emotion for a last name telling you you died 8 years ago. All that’s left is one question.
“If I died already, how am I still alive? Did I ever really die?”
“Yes, you did. Had a whole funeral for you. About 70 people attended. But…” He took the wallet back from her. “HYDRA turned out to be a bit harder to take down than any of us thought they were. Smarter than we estimated. Infiltrated SHIELD right under our noses and did as they pleased with our resources. Even came up with their own little projects. One of them was you. Couldn’t let go of the founder of their number one enemy go away as peacefully as that, oh no. Cryofreeze. Similar to one as Rogers. Though he was in Arctic ice, they made their own concoction of ice. Ice that was meant to preserve a living human while maintaining them in their optimal conditions. Which is why you’re here.”
He flipped the mirror on the bedside table to face her. Peggy couldn’t stop the gasp from escaping her mouth. If she died in 2016, she must’ve been all old and wrinkly. She remembered fussing about her white hair to the nurses that took care of her. But the Peggy that looked back at her in the mirror was nothing like that. Her hair was a dark brown. The only wrinkles present on her face were those of exhaustion, not age.
“Their cryofreeze tech was nothing like the world had seen before at the time. Using some old HYDRA loot from the war, they managed to figure out how to both keep a human being from aging while simultaneously keeping them, or if needed, reversing their age. Doctors say they estimate you’d be the equivalent to when you were 35.”
Peggy was amazed at how her mind hadn’t shattered to pieces by now with all the information she was taking in. “How did you find me?”
“After SHIELD fell, all our agents scattered, off to their own wits. What was left of HYDRA escaped as well, though we took care of that one. Then once it was all clear, we went back and salvaged what we could find. Most of them were old tech and HYDRA projects. One of them was a cryofreeze chamber, with you in it. We didn't know how the tech worked at the time, but we figured it out eventually with some help. And now here we are.”
“Here we are.” She repeated. “And my family? Are any of them-” She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.
“Your family is alright, ma’am. Your grand-niece, Sharon, is still alive and well.”
“Where is she?”
“Work. I assume you remember that she’s a SHIELD agent? Still going strong as one of our best.”
Peggy felt a sense of pride well up in her chest at hearing about her niece’s success. Though that feeling was quickly replaced by the gravity of her own state.
Fury sighed and leaned forward in his seat. “I understand that this is a lot to take in right now, ma’am. And I understand completely if you want to walk away and start fresh. Shit, I’d do the same too, if I were in your shoes. But the remains of HYDRA I mentioned? They just keep climbing out of their graves no matter how deep we dig.”
“And you want me to help?”
“No one knows SHIELD and HYDRA more than you do, ma’am.”
“You said HYDRA is showing up again?”
“Our intel says so.”
“How much do we know?”
“Before I continue, I’d just like to ask. Am I understanding this correctly?”
“Yes.” Peggy said firmly. “Just like you said, Director, no one knows SHIELD and HYDRA more than I do. You need me.”
Fury let out a laugh. “Well then, I’d better introduce the taskforce to you.” He rose from his seat and dusted off his trenchcoat. “And no need for the formalities, just call me Fury. It’s good to have you back on board, ma’am.”
“I think it is good being back. If I am to call you Fury then you’d have to call me Carter. I’m not a big fan of ma’am, to be honest.”
"Good to know, Director Carter."