The Conceptual Deck

Chapter 38: On the young

Fury led us to the elevator, stepping in and to the side, letting Ema and I step in behind him. The emergency phone, which I was carrying in my pocket, vibrated once. Confused, I pulled it out, only to find that Ema had accessed it and was showing me search results for Carter. I quickly read through them, nodding my head. As I suspected, her history was vastly different from her comic counterpart. She helped found Shield rather than join it after it was created, and had done so at a time when women were believed to be weaker. Her list of achievements was long, as was the rumor mill about what kind of relationship she had had with Captain America.

"We are going to have to get you a new emergency phone." Fury said, pulling me from my reading. "That one has been compromised."

"From you calling me?" I asked.

"Yes." He replied simply.

The elevator doors opened and Fury stepped out into a hallway. The design of this floor was much different than the other floors I had been to so far. Its interior was much more akin to a dorm or a hotel than an office building. Fury led us through the hall and stopped in front of a door, armed Shield agents on either side. He knocked gently and waited.

"Come in." An older woman's voice called out.

Fury pushed open the door and we all entered. Inside was a relatively well furnished and decorated room, larger than an average hotel, though still built like one as it lacked the amenities of an apartment. Laid on the single twin sized bed, tucked into the corner of the room was an old woman. She looked alert if not tired. Another woman, blonde and dressed in a simple shield uniform and not much older than me, sat on a simple chair beside the bed and held the older woman's hand.

"Ah, welcome back Nick." The older woman said in a British accent. "I see you managed to get a hold of your mystery asset."

I stepped forward, the sitting blond woman sizing me up. I ignored her for now and focused on the elderly woman.

"Hello Ms. Carter. I apologize for not being able to give you my real name."

"It's quite alright, It's understandable that someone with your purported abilities would want to remain anonymous for as long as possible." She said with a smile. "Now Nick here suggested an idea that seems a bit far fetched, even with what I read from your file. Are you certain you can do this?"

"There is a high probability Ma'am, though I'm not sure I'll be able to do it with what I have on me. I might need to leave and make something specific. Before I do could I ask why you're so willing to do this?"

The woman looked away for a moment, gripping the blonde girl's hand as she looked out the window. After a moment she looked back at me, a determined look that belayed a core of solid steel.

"I've lived a full life since I met Steve during the war. A life with a husband and two children, God rest their souls. I am not the same woman I was back then. I don't know what will happen, if" She trailed off for a moment before continuing. "Regardless of what may or may not happen though, I owe Steve. Meeting him was one of a few turning points in my life, one that set the rhythm for everything until now. When he returns he will be lost, confused, and hurt. I owe it to him to help where I can."

I nodded and looked around the room, meeting the eyes of everyone else.

"If anyone attempts to touch what I am about to give her besides Ema, Ms. Carter or myself I will shoot them dead. No warning, no second chances. A bullet through their skull." I said simply "I want everyone who enters this room to know that. And yes Fury, my lie detection belt is on."

I get a serious nod from Fury and a worried look from the blonde agent, who I am beginning to suspect is the family member Fury was talking about. I stepped closer and carded my amulet off of my neck and pushed it out into my hand. Ms Carter leaned forward and I slipped the amulet around her neck. It glowed for a moment, and the older woman let out a groan.

"What's wrong?" The younger woman asked, giving me a sharp look.

"It's nothing Sharon, the pain in my hip is fading. It has been a long while since I haven't felt that ache."

"That's going to happen Ma'am. Most of if not all of your medical problems are going to fade." I explained, turning to find a chair, sitting down to face the bed. "That includes your alzhiemers Probably. It wasn't designed to cure age, just heal in general."

"Please, call me Peggy, just getting rid of my hip is more than enough for that." The older woman said with a smile. "If this works on my alzhiemers you could call me whatever you please and I wouldn't complain."

The older woman chuckled, a smile on her face. We stood and listened for a few minutes while Peggy described how all of her aches and pains were fading.

"How long will this take?" Sharon asked."And how will we know it's working?"

"I have no idea." I admitted with a shrug. "As for knowing if it's working Ema, think you could do some scans?"

Ema nodded from beside me and stepped closer to the bed. Her eyes glowed and a familiar scanning beam came out of her emerald eyes, trailing over the older woman's body. When she was done she stepped back.

"She is slowly healing from various things. In a few minutes she will be the healthiest eighty nine year old on the planet." She said, but continued with a shake of her head. "But she will still be eighty nine."

"Crap. Alright, give me a few hours to try and put something together"

I trailed off, already trying to figure out what I would have to combine to get a de-aging object. I could combine a few clocks with anti aging cream, maybe try to find something that makes things go backward

"Maker Maybe you could use a spark?" Ema suggested.

For a moment I tried to figure out what she was talking about before my eyes went wide.

"That Alright, we can try that." I said with a nod, turning back to Fury. "I'd like the room please. For at least ten minutes, obviously Peggy can stay."

"I don't think-" Sharon started before Fury cut her off.

"You get five." He said, giving Sharon a look, which she matched for a moment before nodding.

After they left and shut the door I walked closer to Peggy, who leaned forward for me to take the amulet off.

"Let me know if any of those aches come back." I said as I leaned and lofted the amulet away, getting a nod in return.

"I was under the impression you didn't want anyone to know how your ability worked."

"I don't." I answered with a smirk. "It's a good thing you're not just anyone then I guess."

Peggy chuckled as I sat down next to her bed, taking the seat agent Sharon had been sitting in.

"Truth is I refused to share how my powers worked because in the beginning I needed every advantage I could get. Now that I have had more time to build I'm much less vulnerable. There are still a few more things I want to do before I'm ready to shout how this all works from the rooftops, but I was already planning on telling Steve Rogers about how my ability worked anyway. As long as you don't tell anyone outside of emergencies I don't mind you knowing either."

"I'll keep your secret."

"Good. Ema, do a scan of the room."

Ema spent a full minute scanning the entire room, eventually returning to my side.

"There are a few listening devices, but no cameras." She said, getting an annoyed scoff from Peggy.

"That will have to do." I said, turning back to Peggy. "I can give you and Steve a better explanation later, but for now"

I took the carded amulet and showed it to Peggy, who looked at it with a raised eyebrow. I then took one of Thor's sparks and did the same, before combining them together, showing her the result while I examined its concepts. The magic inside of the amulet had spiked, as did the healing. I added a second spark before pushing the amulet into my hands, wincing as it shocked me with a loud zap. I put it on a nearby table for a moment, letting it sit.

"That was not what I expected." Peggy said, having watched my whole process. "I'm not sure what I did expect but that wasn't it. I'm not sure what I just watched."

"I'll explain it in more detail later. For now" I picked up the amulet and carded it, making sure it wasn't building up a charge on its own, pushing it out when I was sure.

The amulet was still made from the same red stone, now shaped in a circle. The outside ring was metal, lined with slightly glowing Norse runes. The interior was the same modified caduceus staff as before, though now it also glowed faintly. After I was done examining it I leaned and secured it around Peggy's neck.

"Alright guys, all set!" I called out while standing from the closer chair and sitting down in my original spot. "Ema, keep scanning her."

Sharon and Fury returned, the former rushing in, only to see I was already sitting down away from Peggy. She rushed to sit back down in her seat, taking Peggy's hand.

"How do you feel Aunt Peggy?" She asked, taking her hand again.

"Good, better than I have felt in a long time actually." She said with a smile.

The white beam of Ema's deepest scan ran slowly down the older woman. After a full minute or so the beam ended by her feet.

"I think it's working." Ema said with a smile. "She isn't being de-aged as much as her old age is being fixed. It's going to take a while but it's working."

I nodded and leaned back, smiling happily. Peggy smiled as well, while receiving a hug from her niece I think? That is if it was the same as in the comics. Nick Fury simply nodded, turning to me.

"Just to point this out, this is not a service I will be handing out to everyone." I said to the eye patch wearing man, before he could comment.

"Understood. For now, I need to keep my eye on our other guest. Behave yourself Maker." He said, leaving the room with a dramatic sweep of his duster like jacket.

"Behave myself? You don't even know me!" I called after him, before leaning back in my chair. "Honestly, I've been nothing but accommodating."

"I'm sure." Peggy said with a smirk before getting serious."Thank you Maker, for giving me this opportunity. The idea that Steve would be lost in this world, by himself?"

The elderly woman shook her head, looking sad for a moment before focusing again, looking at her niece.

"Sharon dear, I'll need a better outfit. Something from the house. And a purse." She explained. "I'll want a pistol as well. I refuse to go unarmed, not when I'll soon be able to shoot without shattering my arm."

"What did you shoot?" I asked. "Any particular preference?"

"Oh anything I was issued really." She said with a shrug. She already looked like she had more energy. "I did always enjoy the Walther though. Subtle and easy to conceal."

"Well if you'd like I could make you something special." I offered. "I just finished making some weapons for Natasha, as well as building my own arsenal."

We chatted for a while, talking about her days during the beginning of Shield and some of its earlier hurdles, all the while watching her slowly regain her strength. Ema scanned her frequently as she changed, keeping an eye out for any complications. It was bizzare to watch someone slowly get younger looking. By the time it was ten PM she looked like she could pass for sixty.

"This is honestly incredible Maker." She said with a smile, sitting up in her bed all on her own. "I feel light. Like I haven't in decades."

"You should feel even better in a few more hours." Ema said, running another quick scan. "The amulet seems to be picking up steam."

As she sat down Sharon opened her mouth to say something when there was a knock at the door. Sharon and I shared a look before Peggy beat us to it.

"Come in!"

The door opened and in stepped Natasha, smile one her lips as she gave me a look before focusing back on Peggy and Sharon.

"Sorry to drop in so late." Natasha said as she closed the door behind herself. "Fury said our miracle maker was here and I wanted to see if he had finished my order."

"Agent Romanoff, hello. Yes he didn't want to let his little amulet out of his sight, rightfully so I would imagine." Peggy said.

"You look incredible Mrs Carter." She said, standing by the foot of her bed. "Fury said Maker had done it but"

"Yes I know, it is truly incredible. Every time I move I wince, expecting an old pain to flare up." She said with a smile. "You said you had business with Maker? You made an order with him?"

"Yes, I wanted to see if he had enough time to finish my commission." Natasha asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, I finished everything." I said with a nod. "We need to go over some questions and they are all yours. I was kind of hoping to do this at a gun range of some sort but"

"He made you weapons?" Peggy asked. "How interesting. He offered to make me something special earlier I don't suppose we could all go down to the shooting range?"

"Aunt Peggy I don't know"

Peggy had a small smile on her face as she pushed herself out of bed and stood easily, surprising Sharon. She hugged the blond agent, rubbing her back before pushing her away gently to look into her eyes.

"Sweetie, I will always appreciate the care and time you have offered me these last few years. You made getting old just a bit more bearable and I will always love you for that." Peggy said, cupping the blonde's cheek. "But I feel better than I have in decades and I need to move around, stretch my legs."

"Are you sure?" Natasha asked. "Fury was hoping to keep your new found youth a secret, or at least keep it quiet."

"Just sit me in my wheelchair." She said with a shrug. "My hair is still gray, no one will look twice."

"Alright, but we should call Director Fury and let him know." Sharon said, getting a look from Peggy. "I can't just ignore my boss Aunt Peggy."

With a sigh she nodded, and Sharon pulled out her phone to call Fury. While she talked to him in the corner, I went through Natasha's questions. I was a bit more invasive than I had been for Clint, which she clearly picked up on. That being said she didn't complain once as I probed into her life and thoughts. Eventually, when I was satisfied she wasn't a secret Hydra agent or anything else, I stood and smiled.

"You're pretty good at working through double speak and asking questions I couldn't worm my way out of." Natasha admitted as we both stood. "Assuming you can actually tell when someone is lying."

"It was collaborative between me and Ema." I explained with a shrug. "We bounced questions back and forth and tried to worm our way out of telling the truth."

Once we were done playing twenty questions it didn't take the group very long to make their way down to a shooting range, riding the elevator down to one of the basement levels. Luckily due to the late hour the building was mostly empty, save some roaming security and a few workers. When I asked Natasha about it she only shrugged.

"Some floors are busier than others at night. And a few never stop being busy." She explained as we stepped into a well maintained gun range. "This is nothing on the Triskelion. That building is never calm."

As we walked to one of the larger bays I noticed a few familiar looking briefcases stacked in the corner, looking suspiciously like the briefcases of money I've been handed before. Natasha noticed this and nodded.

"That's your payment Maker. You can have it when we are done."

As me and Natasha got to the bay, Peggy quickly stood up from her wheelchair, both her and Sharon following us but staying back to watch. With a flourish I summoned the four cards that held her new weapons, before pushing them out onto the waist high counter that you shoot over, laying the rifle across it last. When I turned Natasha was holding out ear protection for me.

"Introducing the Romanoff specials." I said with a smirk, taking the earmuffs. "First two completely silent Glock 34's. Each magazine carries one hundred and nineteen rounds without any weight increase."

Natasha stepped forward and picked up one of the pistols, checked it expertly before clicking the safety off and firing down range, peppering a paper target. Eventually she switched to the other pistol and tested it out. Eventually she pulled the mag, inspected it and slid it back into place.

"A hundred and nineteen each?" She asked. "That is Impressive."

"If you think that's impressive, then check this out." I said with my best salesman voice before gesturing to the P90. "Your P90 does not have a suppressor, as I'm sure you can tell. Instead I focused on combating muzzle flip. Give it a try!"

Natasha rolled her eyes at my act, before picking up the compact sub-machine gun and inspecting it quickly. When she was done she racked and fired, first a dozen single shots, then in quick bursts before firing in full auto for a few seconds.

"That barely drifted at all." She said, nodding in appreciation. "How big is this capacity?"

"Five hundred and thirty five." I said with a smile. "All of these take normal magazines as well."

Natasha put the P90 down and went through the same process with the AWM. When she was done putting it through its paces, or as well as she could do indoors, she looked back at me.

"I seem to remember you promising that you would prevent me from ever being unarmed again." She said with a smirk. "These guns are impressive but I can't exactly carry the AWM around when I'm undercover."

I picked up one of the glocks and handed it to her after clicking on the safety.

"See that button there? Go ahead and press it."

Natasha took the gun from with a raised eyebrow, pressing the button. The gun slowly shifted into its ring form, getting a gasp from Sharon. We both looked back at the audience, me with a smirk and Natasha with a nod of agreement. She fiddled with the ring for a moment before finding the button and pressing it again, soon holding the full pistol.

For the next ten minutes she deployed and retracted all of the firearms, putting on all of the jewelry when she was done. At my request she handed me one of her new rings. I pressed the button on the ring and the gun deployed, which got me a frown.

"I thought no one else could use bound equipment." she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I had to pick between the ring and the pistol being bonded to you." I pointed the pistol down range and attempted to fire it off a few times to demonstrate my point. "I figured someone not being able to use your weapon against you when it was deployed took precedence. If you give me some more binding materials I can bind the rings to you as well."

"I would prefer that, I-"

Natasha's response was cut off by a muffled thump, followed by a vibration settling through the walls and ceiling. Ema and I shared a look, while the rest of the woman reacted.

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