The apartment was tucked away on a quiet London street.
It wasn’t large, and nothing about it suggested wealth or influence. The furnishings were modest, the décor understated. It looked like the home of an ordinary retiree.
In the bedroom, an elderly woman slept peacefully.
Age had stolen the strength from her body. Deep lines traced her face, and a pale complexion hinted at chronic illness. An entire collection of prescription bottles crowded the nightstand beside her bed.
Yet one glance at the framed photograph nearby made it obvious.
Time had once favored her.
The young woman smiling from that picture had been breathtaking.
She stirred.
"...Dotty?"
Still half asleep, she frowned slightly.
"Is that you again? Trying to scare me?"
"I’m pleased to meet you, Ms. Peggy Carter."
A warm male voice answered from beside the bed.
"But I’m afraid I’m not Dotty."
Peggy’s eyes snapped open.
Her expression remained calm, but one hand silently slipped beneath the blanket.
Despite the haze of old age clouding her eyes, the sharpness behind them hadn’t faded in the slightest.
This was Peggy Carter.
The woman who had commanded the Howling Commandos after Captain America’s disappearance.
The woman who had spent years hunting the remnants of Hydra.
The woman who had helped build the Strategic Scientific Reserve into the organization that would eventually become SHIELD.
Retirement had not dulled her instincts.
"My name is Evenson Richter."
He smiled politely.
"I’m SHIELD’s Special Affairs Consultant."
Peggy studied him.
"I’ve never heard of that position."
Her tone carried unmistakable skepticism.
A convenient title created to give someone’s relative a government paycheck? Has SHIELD really become that corrupt?
"It’s a new position."
Evenson reached into his coat.
"I can show you my credentials."
"No need."
Peggy withdrew her hand from beneath the blanket.
A compact pistol rested comfortably in her grip.
"If they’re fake, I have no way to verify them."
"If they’re real, then you hardly needed to invent a title I’d never heard before."
She relaxed slightly, though the pistol never left her hand.
"So..."
"What does SHIELD want with an old woman who retired decades ago?"
"First..."
Evenson smiled.
"I have good news."
"Very good news."
"But before I tell you..."
"I’d like you to stay as calm as possible."
He glanced toward the bottles beside her bed.
"...Considering your health."
Peggy almost laughed.
"My dear..."
"I’ve lived through a world war."
"I’ve buried friends."
"I’ve seen enough to accept whatever comes."
"I doubt anything can truly surprise me anymore."
Evenson nodded.
Then he said the words.
"We found Captain America."
Silence.
Peggy simply stared at him.
When she finally spoke, her voice was rough with emotion.
"I waited a lifetime to hear those words."
She closed her eyes.
"...I suppose my body can hold together long enough to attend his funeral."
Then panic suddenly overtook her.
"No."
She struggled to sit upright.
"I have to go now."
"Those damned scientists..."
"They’ll dissect him."
"I have to stop them."
She fought to climb out of bed, already imagining Steve’s body lying beneath harsh operating lights while researchers cut him apart in the name of science.
"Easy."
Evenson gently steadied her.
"You don’t need to worry."
"Captain America..."
"...is alive."
Peggy froze.
She slowly turned toward him.
Her eyes widened.
Then everything went black.
One hand clutched her chest.
The other pointed frantically toward the bottles of medication.
"I did warn you not to get excited."
Evenson caught her wrist before she could collapse completely.
Soft green light flowed from his palm into her body.
The pain eased almost instantly.
Her breathing steadied.
The crushing pressure around her heart faded away.
After several long breaths, Peggy looked down at her chest in disbelief.
"What was that?"
"I could feel..."
"...something."
"My job title isn’t entirely decorative."
Evenson smiled.
"I do have a few unusual talents."
Normally, he would never use life energy laced with fel magic to heal someone.
For Peggy Carter...
He was willing to make an exception.
She ignored the explanation entirely.
"Is it true?"
Her voice trembled.
"Is Steve really alive?"
"It’s true."
Evenson nodded.
"I actually spoke with him not long ago."
Very nearly convinced him to perform a street demonstration involving a boulder and his chest, too.
"What happened?"
Peggy leaned forward eagerly.
"Tell me everything."
"When the Valkyrie crashed, Steve wasn’t killed."
"He lost consciousness."
"The wreck came down onto a glacier."
"Before he could wake up, he was trapped beneath the ice."
"Fortunately, the Super Soldier Serum kept him alive."
"He entered a kind of suspended hibernation instead of freezing to death."
"A little over two months ago, an oil exploration team discovered him."
"He’d spent decades asleep."
"So..."
Evenson smiled.
"...his body hasn’t aged a day."
Peggy blinked.
"Not at all?"
"Not even a little."
"He technically qualifies for a retirement pension."
"But physically..."
"...he’s still a man in his twenties."
Relief washed across her face.
"Good..."
"That’s wonderful."
"He still has a chance to live the life he never got."
Yet beneath that relief...
Evenson caught something else.
Regret.
If Steve had awakened as an old man...
Perhaps they could have shared the twilight of their lives together.
Now...
That possibility was gone forever.
"He mentioned you."
Evenson continued gently.
"He told me he still owes you a dance."
A wistful smile appeared on Peggy’s face.
"So..."
"He remembers."
"He does."
"He wants to see you."
"He just hasn’t figured out how."
"And..."
Evenson spread his hands.
"You know as well as I do that Captain America can’t simply disappear from the public eye."
"I understand."
Peggy nodded.
"Thank you."
"Please thank Director Fury for me as well."
"I wish I could."
Evenson smiled apologetically.
"But I’m not here on SHIELD’s behalf."
"I came here on my own."
"SHIELD doesn’t know I’m here."
Peggy frowned.
"Then why are you here?"
"Because I have something even more important to investigate."
His smile disappeared.
His expression hardened.
"But first..."
"I need to show you something."
Evenson opened his laptop and turned the screen toward her.
Displayed on it was the image of a brooch.
Its central design resembled a large, stylized letter V.
Peggy’s eyes narrowed immediately.
"I remember that."
Her voice became distant.
"I spent years trying to track it down."
"And in the end..."
Evenson met her gaze.
"...the investigation went nowhere."
"Didn’t it?"
...
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