Chapter 2
1943- New York City
The Stark Expo. The first, and only of its kind. I mean there is always the World’s fair. The showcase that showcases the nations of tomorrow. But that is child’s play. No, I am planning for not just tomorrow but 100 years from now. And counting. And that is where my expo comes in. I’ve been helping the Allies to defeat the Nazis, but what have I been doing to help the people? Weapons aren’t really useful in everyday life. And the war can’t last forever. Ideally. So I am going to take this time to invest in something big. Something life changing. Something innovative. So I introduce you to the first ever hover car. Licensed and owned by Stark Industries—.
I furiously crossed out the ink on my page. The Expo was in a month’s time and I had nothing. And don’t get me started on the hover car itself. I spent hours on the car only for it to sputter out and sadly sink into the floor about 99% of the time. Now I may be an inventor but I am not a mathematician. But even I can tell you that these numbers aren't looking so good. It was frustrating to say the least because on paper the design was flawless. My execution was flawless. And yet here I was, with a defective hover car. I pushed away from my desk and looked at the analog clock that rested beside me.
11:09
I tossed my pencil to the side, taking a break from the page to focus back on the invention itself. As I stood up to stretch and dive into my work, a sharp knock broke into my thoughts.
“Mr. Stark, sir, Ms. Carter would like to speak to you in her office.”
I didn’t even spare a glance at the unfortunate soul who was sent to relay a sheepless request. I continued on with my work, looking into a smaller identical model of the hover car’s engine. My goal was to make the car itself as light as possible with the most powerful engine possible. And that would get cheaper to make over time as technology and my company advanced. However it seemed like the singular reason the car could not reach its prefered height off the ground laid within the engine. The engine is connected to not just the gas, wheel and axle, and exhaust, but as well as the jet propulsion system created to allow the car to hover. In other words, Icarus’ wings did not contain enough wax. Now in order to fix that I would have to completely take apart the current engine, and tinkle with the composition a bit. It was obvious that if the engine was where the problem lied, then it meant that energy was not being properly divided into its necessary parts. This meant that I would most likely have to create a sub engine chamber to manually assign designated energy into—
“Sir?”
I take it that he didn’t leave. I stuck my hand out to wave him off.
“Don’t interrupt me while I am thinking.”
As I was saying. I would have to create sub chambers to split the energy being generated by the engine into its calculated ratios. The ratios themselves were easy to tackle. Approximately 52-63% of fuel produced energy would be used solely for the propellers. Another 7-18% would be given to the air conditioning unit and other luxuries that the car may provide. And the remaining 30% would be placed in reserve just in case the driver decided that he missed the road. I began to pace while deep in thought. If I was to compartmentalize the engine, that meant I would have to rework the mechanics of the vehicle. Personally this was no big deal. However, in order for this to be mass manufactured, the building process had to be relatively simple. I don’t want to insult factory workers, but I highly doubt they are as smart as Howard Stark. Who knows? They might get their red and blue wires mixed up. But I could start with a complicated design now to get the hover car to work, and during its beta stage I can simplify it.
“I don’t mean to interrupt sir, but Ms. Carter made it seem urgent.”
I stopped pacing. At least this time he let me finish my thought.
“Well if it was so urgent, then she should’ve come to me.”
I was waiting to hear a response. A few seconds passed and I still heard none. I moved towards my replica of the engine.
“And if I did?”
I could not mistake that obnoxious British accent for none other than Peggy Carter. I turned on my heels to the direction of the voice. There she was. In all her British glory, standing at the threshold of my laboratory door. I caught a glimpse of the soldier set to retrieve me quickly heading off behind her figure. I tossed her a quick smirk.
“What is it that you need, Peggy? I am working.”
She returned the smirk.
“I take it that you are still playing with your toy car. I wouldn’t see this as work though, since it doesn’t really help us win the war.”
I sighed. She didn’t really support my expo. Peggy along with many others believed that my brain power should be directed towards making more weapons. And not just any weapons, but weapons that would make our side much more powerful and unstoppable. In other words, weapons of mass destruction. As always. I sat back down into my chair, slouching.
“It’s to boost the people’s morale.”
Peggy scoffed.
“Last time I checked, morale isn’t taking out enemy lines. And it's sure as hell not leading the charge in tactful warfare.”
I sighed. Her thought process wasn’t uncommon. She was consumed by war.
“The war isn’t going to be here forever Peggy. And I personally don’t want to be building weapons for the rest of my life. So excuse me for looking into other business endeavors.”
“Well the war isn’t going to be gone when you wake up tomorrow Stark. So your little floating car is only a distraction. Your future business endeavors aren’t stopping our soldiers from dying on the field right now.”
“And when the war is over? When the soldiers return home searching for a taste of normal again? What happens to your weapons then? Because you and I both know that the day is nearing. So what will your weapons do for the people?”
“It will keep them safe.”
I paused. I let put a quick sigh before replying to her.
“Why did you come here?”
She walked away from the door. She neared my work station. Peggy swiped her finger along the surface and rubbed it with her thumb.
“They are sending me to a boot camp. To work with the new enlisted soldiers.”
Thank god she is leaving. I for one personally could not stand Peggy.
“And what does that have to do with me?”
I directed my attention back to the model of the hover car’s engine. I reached out my hands towards the display to start deconstructing it in order to enact my newfound plan. Before I could make contact, Peggy sat on the edge of the desk, directly in my eye line. I sighed, pulling my hands back in retreat and looking up to meet Peggy’s piercing gaze. She slowly parted her lips to speak.
“I would like you to come with me.”
I placed my hands into my lap and shook my head gently as a chuckle escaped my lips.
“Absolutely not. I don’t know if you noticed, but my hands are tied at the moment.”
She leaned in closer to me. As I maintained unwavering eye contact with her, she moved to spread her legs, blocking me from getting up.
“Stark, do you really just want to sit around and do nothing while everyday people risk their lives for you?”
I shot up. I pulled my chair back away from her legs, stepping out of her vicinity. Peggy Carter always had the audacity to speak to everyone like she knew them. Like she knew me. However, I was not going to allow it this time, especially not on this topic. She will always have the legacy of a general, a soldier, after the war is over. And I will only be remembered as the monster who created the weapons of mass murder. She did not understand all that I put at risk for her precious war.
“Need I remind you, Carter, that the gun you carry in your holster has my name written on it. The cars you carry your soldiers to their death on the battlefield with are paid for with my money. I am not a fighter, but do not make it seem like I have done nothing for you. When I sure as hell do all I can.”
I approached her slowly, as she obviously contemplated her next words. When I reached her, I placed my hand on the small of her back, guiding her to remove herself from atop of my work desk. Her eyes broke away from mine as she let up, moving herself to the side standing stoically as her eyes still rested on me. I grabbed the arm part of my chair pulling back towards the desk and taking a seat in it. I stuck my hands out, grasping the engine model and rotating it in my hand to get a good look at it. When I finalized my examination, I grabbed a small wrench and began my journey of taking apart the engine. Behind me, I could hear Peggy take tentative steps in my direction. I sighed, placing the wrench down and tilting my head to the side. I spoke calmly.
“I hope you enjoy your time at bootcamp, Ms. Carter. I still have some work to do, so I see it as you will show yourself out?”
I picked the wrench back up and waited for her response. Instead I was greeted with the clicking of her heels towards the door of the laboratory. I expected to hear the clicking of her shoes fade from earshot, but was surprised to hear them stop. I was met with the sound of her accent again.
“A flying buggy won’t save lives, Stark. But I figured you would want to witness Project Rebirth change them. I suppose I was wrong.”
After a brief pause, she continued out the door. Her heels finally fading out with the distance. I placed the wrench to the side once more and stared at the far wall within the lab. I shook my head as I stood up from my chair slowly, fighting against everything in my body telling me to sit back down. I turned towards the door. I dropped the model engine onto my desk and screamed out hoping Peggy could still hear me.
“Peggy, wait up!”
I ran after her, hoping it would be worth it. The hover car could wait.