"The Strategic Scientific Reserve, or the SSR, is a top secret Allied war agency. We try to keep ourselves as under the radar as possible. You father, Thomas, was one of our top agents,"
Charlotte Watson's eyes were wide as she followed behind Doctor Erksine. She was in an underground facility in New Jersey, approximately an hour away from where Steve was being trained at his camp.
They passed multiple SSR agents in their uniforms, and scientists in their lab coats. Lottie tried her best to ignore them all, though, keeping her focus on Doctor Erksine as he weaved his away around the inter-workings of the lab.
"I was recruited as the lead scientist on Project Rebirth, the same project that I'm almost certain your lover Steve Rogers will be perfect for,"
Lottie's cheeks flushed red as Doctor Erksine turned back to her with a smirk. She stumbled over her words, hoping the red in her cheeks would disappear.
"We're just friends, Doctor,"
"What a shame, you'd be so perfect together. I've chosen Steve as my top candidate for the program because he is different. He is good-hearted, he does not want to kill Nazis, only protect the people of this country. These were the same reasons that I chose your father as my first candidate,"
Doctor Erksine stole a look back at Charlotte, whose eyes were wide as saucers. He smirked, turning back to the path before him.
"Project Rebirth is my formula to make the perfect soldier, a super soldier if you will. Hitler and his subdivision, HYRDA, sought out me and my work and used it before it was perfected. Now, more than ever, the world needs a super soldier if they are to win the war. The recipient of the serum would have increased stamina, strength, and would be the perfect weapon to help win the war."
"But you couldn't use my father because he was killed in action," Charlotte concluded. The Doctor stopped in front of her, pulling her to a stop as well. Erksine turned back to Charlotte, his eyes swimming with sympathy.
"Your father could not receive the serum because he died protecting it from HYDRA confidants," Erksine admitted, looking down on the young girl beside him before turning and walking away. "Your father died a hero."
Lottie shook off her shock, suppressing the information as she ran to catch up with the Doctor.
"I don't understand what this has to do with me, Doctor Erksine. If Project Rebirth is designed to make a super soldier and you've chosen Steve to receive it, then where does that leave me? You said you were offering me a chance, what chance is that?"
Erksine stopped in front of a table, hidden away in a back conference room. He grabbed a file that sat upon the table, sliding it over to Charlotte. She opened it, reading along with the file as Doctor Erksine spoke.
"Your father spoke of you often. He talked about how he trained you to out smart your opponent when you know you can't beat them physically. He preached the idea of living boldly and taking a leap of faith. When he passed, I reflected on his words for awhile, and it was his words that inspired a side project of mine. It's called Project Athena."
Charlotte looked up from the file and to the Doctor, who was now walking around the table and looking around the walls.
"Athena is known in Greek Mythology as the Goddess of wisdom, battle strategy, courage, and justice among many others. Howard Stark joined me on this project, as well as Project Rebirth. Together, we created a serum that targets key functions of the brain and improves upon skills. It improves all of the key cognitive functions of the brain through a series of tests along with the serum: perception, attention, memory, language, visual and spatial processing among others. Project Rebirth is about strength. Strength alone will not win you a war. Project Athena is about wit and smarts, but that alone will not win you a war. Pair them together, and they might just be unstoppable."
"And you want me to take it," Charlotte whispered. Doctor Erksine looked up at her, meeting her eyes, but he couldn't respond before the door behind them was opened.
"Wow, she really is perceptive. She caught on pretty fast!" Charlotte turned, her eyes widening as she came face to face with Howard Stark. He smiled down at the girl, clamping a hand down on her shoulder. "Nice to finally meet Thomas' kid. I'm Howard Stark."
"I know, I was at the Expo. I watched you try to make a car fly," Lottie retorted, smiling as she saw Howard smirk fall for a second. It was back in no time, though.
"Like I said, it might take me a few years," Doctor Erksine joined Howard's side as the man picked up with file on the table next to Lottie. "This serum was designed for you, Charlotte. There is no one else in the world that we would want to give this serum to."
"This is the chance I'm offering to you, Lottie," Erksine walked forward, placing a hand on Lottie's shoulder like Howard has. She looked up at the older man, watching him intently. "Your father made his choice, and I doubt he has any regrets. Now you have your choice. You can go home to your mother, take care of her and her alcoholism and live your life watching Steve from the shadows. Or, you can take a leap and live boldly, you can take this chance and become someone who I believe you were destined to be. You can have a clean slate, Charlotte Watson."
The young woman looked between the two scientists before her. Stark held his famous smirk, who Erksine looked down at her with a kind smile. They were offering her the world, a chance to remake herself. They were giving her the chance to make her father proud, to become something he would be proud of.
"If I do this," Lottie started, taking a step back from the two men and crossing her arms as they watched her closely. "I need to know what it will entail. I need to know what will happen."
"Well, we wouldn't throw you into the fire right away, that's for sure," Howard spoke before Erksine could, crossing his arms. "Basic tests to see where you're at physically right now, along with basic memory and knowledge tests so we have something to compare at the end."
"Once these tests are done, you'll move into serum stages," Erksine added on. He took the file from Stark, opening to a specific page and sliding it over to Lottie. "Project Rebirth happens all at once, while Project Athena happens in stages. You'll be given multiple injections over the next few months, followed by stages of training on different functions. If all goes as planned, you'll be ready for action days before Steve is set to receive the serum."
"Can I see him? Or Sargent James Buchanan Barnes? May I speak to either of them?"
Howard and Erksine exchanged a look before Stark turned back to her.
"You and Steve will be too consumed in training to be able to travel. As for Barnes, I believe he is already overseas. We can get you addresses so you can write to them both, though."
"What do you say, Lottie?"
Charlotte took one last look down at the file before her. She looked at the picture of her father that was clipped along the sides, along with the picture of Steve that hung below it, before looking back up to Howard and Erksine.
"When do we start?"