"In the spirit of honesty, I should probably inform you that HYDRA is still alive as well."
"What? But the Red Skull was beaten. We crashed the plane, didn ' t we? Steve Rogers … this world ' s Steve Rogers sounded pretty certain it was over and done with."
Tony gives her a look and Peggy knows what he's going to say before he says it.
"Cut off one head…" "… And two more will take its place."
He nods as she finishes the statement for him, looking sympathetic. Which is nice but it doesn't really help. At least her world had probably finished off HYDRA after her sacrifice… right?
"Red Skull was only ever one head of HYDRA, Captain Carter. His organization was only one branch of the greater whole. I can't speak for your world of course, but in this world, even the Red Skull's branch didn't fully die off… because the Peggy Carter of this world along with several other movers and shakers made the inadvisable decision to recruit Arnim Zola as part of something called Operation Paperclip after the war."
Peggy's face scrunches up in confusion.
"Arnim Zola? That simpering toady?" But Tony shakes his head.
"Never underestimate a scientist, Captain. That's exactly what my godmother and her superiors did when they recruited Zola and a dozen other enemy scientists with Operation Paperclip. They brought the enemy into the SSR and then into the new organization they were creating called SHIELD. And can you guess what happened next?"
Dread fills Peggy's chest as Tony smiles a wan smile.
"HYDRA grew again, Captain. It grew and grew until here and now in the year 2011, SHIELD is a husk of the organization that my father and my godmother created. Aunt Peggy had the best of intentions I'm sure, but she invited the rot inside and at this point HYDRA is just wearing a SHIELD mask. The men and women who are supposed to protect us are conspiring to take over the world and oppress us." Peggy doesn't know what to say to that. It's obvious Tony doesn't even blame the other her for this, let alone Peggy herself, but at the same time she feels like she's failed in some strange way.
"… What are we doing to stop them?"
Tony grins wryly at that.
"Plenty, Captain Carter. Nothing you can help with right now though, I'm afraid."
That brings a scowl to Peggy's face, but Tony just sighs and holds up a palm to her.
"Punch me."
Wait, what? "Excuse me?"
"I said punch me. Hit me in the palm as hard as you possibly can."
"… I'll break every bone in your hand and arm if I do that."
"No you won't."
"Tony, I don't think you understand-!"
"Oh, I understand. Do you think Howard gave up on making more Super Soldiers after Steve and you went into the ice? I bet your Howard didn't give up either. In 1991, my father even succeeded… and HYDRA killed him and my mother for it. So fucking punch me."
She's not sure why she does it. She's not sure why his words convince her. Maybe it's because he's said so many upsetting things and she's just ready to let out some of the emotion building up inside of her. Or maybe it's because she's clearly being underestimated again just because she's not some musclebound body builder. But either way, Peggy lets out a roar, rears back, and punches Tony Stark's palm. It's not her full strength given she's sitting down and what not… but it' s still more than enough force to maim a man.
SMACK!
Only Tony catches her hand. He catches her hand and holds her in place even as Peggy's arm muscles bulge with how much she's straining against his palm. She can't move him even an inch either. Looking at him in shock, Peggy thinks she sees a flash of orange in his eyes, even as he quirks up the corner of his mouth in a smirk that just screams Howard to her.
" Welcome to the twenty-first century, Captain Carter. I promise you, when the time comes … we ' ll take down HYDRA together, yeah? But until then they can't know you' re back in play. If they did… shit would hit the fan rather rapidly. Everyone wants a piece of the Super Solder Serum, even seventy years after Erskine died. Needless to say, we're NOT going to serve it up to them on a silver platter… are we?"
Swallowing thickly, Peggy shakes her head and answers instinctively.
"N-No sir."
Only to flush a moment later when she realizes what just came out of her mouth. It's just… this is the first man who' s managed to make her feel as weak as she looks since she was dosed with the Serum. Fortunately for her pride, Tony makes no comment on it, merely letting go of her fist and pulling back with a sigh.
"Not to worry, Peggy. You're not a prisoner and we very much are on the same side. Still, you've got seventy years to catch up on. Figure we'll start with that and then get into the nitty gritty of fighting HYDRA, yeah?"
Nodding, Peggy swallows past the lump in her throat.
"Yeah. That sounds good."
He gives her a broad smile at that and then gestures to the door.
"Shall we?"
Slowly getting off of the table, now well aware that Howard's son is somehow stronger than her, Peggy Carter follows Tony out of the room and down the hall. As they go, one thought fills her mind.
Howard had made one hell of a terrifying kid.
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