Camp Lehigh.
Strategic Scientific Reserve conference room.
Everyone present, whether it was a veteran Agent like Peggy Carter or the several high-ranking Military officials with stars on their shoulders, looked absolutely terrible.
A telegram marked "Top Secret" was being passed around the conference table.
Each handover was accompanied by suppressed breathing.
The contents were from the Western Front intelligence department in Europe.
The text depicted a scene of purgatory.
"...Of the thirty-seven soldiers in the outpost, none survived. No signs of large-scale firefights were found at the scene. The victims all died from dismemberment, with some limbs re-stitched onto other individuals; the state of them... is indescribable."
"According to the fragmented description from a surviving witness... who was sent to a rear hospital due to a mental breakdown, the attackers were a group of 'humanoid dolls' with strange movements, using non-standard weapons like bone saws and scalpels to carry out indiscriminate slaughter."
"Intelligence speculates that this is HYDRA's latest psychological warfare weapon, aimed at completely destroying the combat morale of our soldiers. The level of cruelty has surpassed any known war crime..."
Colonel Davis slammed the file onto the table, his chest heaving violently.
"Demons! These are F--King demons crawled out of hell!"
"What kind of things are we fighting against?"
For the first time, these soldiers, who had seen enough of life and death, read an intelligence report that made them feel physically nauseated and caused their souls to tremble.
Lynn sat quietly in the corner, never touching the file from start to finish.
He waited until everyone's fear and anger fermented to the peak.
Only when they were restless and anxious from finding no outlet did he speak slowly.
"Gentlemen, our enemies are no longer satisfied with killing with guns and cannons; they have started to create demons."
Lynn stood up, his gaze lingering on Dr. Erskine's compassionate face.
"Facing something like this, a warhammer like Soldier Boy might be able to destroy it, but it cannot soothe the human heart."
He mentioned that name which was in its prime on the battlefield, yet his tone carried just the right amount of exhaustion and reflection.
"A warhammer can smash a monster, but it cannot heal the wounds torn open by the monster, let alone dispel the nightmares it leaves behind."
"We need a symbol."
Lynn's voice became powerful.
"A guardian who can let our soldiers still believe that humanity and justice exist when facing this kind of purgatory! Someone who can tell everyone through his existence why we are fighting!"
His words, combined with that bloody battle report, stung everyone present.
Even Colonel Davis, who had been furious just a moment ago, fell into silence.
Lynn turned to Dr. Erskine.
His eyes were grave as never before.
"Dr., we don't have much time left; the World is waiting for a hero to appear."
This sentence became the final straw that crushed the doubts.
All resistance to the Super Soldier program vanished into thin air in the face of this extreme fear created by HYDRA's own hands.
No one mentioned physique again.
No one questioned Steve's frailty again.
They needed an answer.
An "Angel" who could counter the "demons."
And the young man with impeccable character that Dr. Erskine spoke of became the only answer.
...
That night.
Heavy rain poured down.
The rain washed over the training grounds of Camp Lehigh, shrouding everything in a wet darkness.
Steve Rogers was charging at the obstacle wall again and again.
The muddy ground made him slip.
His frail body simply could not provide enough explosive power.
He jumped time and time again, and time and time again he slid from mid-air and fell into the mud.
But he did not give up.
He just silently climbed up, retreated, and then sprinted.
He just wanted to prove he could do it.
A bottle of Water and a towel were suddenly handed to him.
Steve looked up and saw Lynn.
"I came from Europe."
Lynn didn't have any superfluous pleasantries.
He let the rain soak his trench coat, his tone carrying a sense of vicissitude inconsistent with his age.
"I have seen Soldier Boy."
Steve's movements stopped; that name was an unreachable myth to him.
"He can tear open a tank with his bare hands, and he can easily crush a person's neck."
Lynn's voice was very light, somewhat blurred by the sound of the rain.
"People cheer for him, and the generals treat him as their trump card. But I..."
Lynn paused for a moment, as if recalling some scene he didn't want to think about.
"I only see a stronger violence replacing another violence."
These words greatly moved Steve; he had never heard anyone evaluate that "war hero" like this.
Lynn told him a story.
A story about Soldier Boy.
"Once, we were pursuing a small group of German Army soldiers who had hijacked a truck full of civilians."
"Soldier Boy originally had the chance to stop the truck, but he discovered that the Commander of that group of German Army soldiers was fleeing in the opposite direction in another vehicle."
"He chose to hunt down that officer."
"The truck... was later detonated by the German Army. Everyone on the truck, not a single one survived."
Of course, this story was made up by Lynn.
But he told it with absolute realism; every detail, every expression, seemed as if he had witnessed it himself.
Steve's breathing became rapid.
"Why..." he murmured.
"Because his power makes him omnipotent, and it also makes him forget the fragility of ordinary people."
Lynn looked into Steve's eyes.
"To him, the achievement of a German Army colonel is more important than the lives of dozens of civilians. He believes that is a more efficient choice."
"Steve, never forget how you feel right now."
"Never forget why you wanted to put on this Military uniform."
Lynn stood up straight.
The rain dripped down from his hair.
"Your weakness makes you understand compassion and protection better than anyone else; this kindness is your most powerful weapon in the future. Don't let power devour it."
This profound "chicken soup for the soul" was like a bolt of lightning, splitting open the confusion in Steve's heart.
It also completely ignited the Fire in his chest.
He clenched his fists.
Looking at his hands covered in mud, his eyes were firmer than ever before.
Lynn turned and left, leaving space for the future hero who was undergoing a transformation.
He had already planted a seed named "Lynn Morris" in this heart.
Under the eaves of the barracks not far away, Peggy Carter had seen and heard everything.
The sound of the rain covered her tracks.
She watched Lynn's departing back, then looked at Steve, who had stood up again in the rain, his eyes having become completely different, her gaze complex.
This young reporter, whom Dr. Erskine called the "Discoverer."
This propagandist who created the myth of "Soldier Boy," had just displayed a profound way of thinking and humanitarian spirit far beyond his age.
He was more like a wise man who, after witnessing the cruelty of war, had become completely disillusioned with violence and turned to seek the "power of character."
A special consultant.
Peggy Carter suddenly felt that letting him participate in this plan might be a more correct decision than finding Steve Rogers himself.
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