Timeless

Peggy Carter sat at the hotel bar, waiting. She read the mysterious message she found under her hotel door over and over again. “I have news about Steve. Meet me at 10 in the bar downstairs.”

A young man sat down next to her. He smiled and nodded at her and she noticed his remarkably blue eyes. He had thick curly hair and a somewhat messy beard.

“A beer please.” he asked the barman. Then he quietly told her “Thank you for coming, Ms Carter. You need to hear me out.”

“Who are you? Why all the cloak and dagger?” she asked looking around to see if it was a trap.

“It is important for me to stay in the shadows. My name is Leopold Fitz, but you can never put it in a file. Or this meeting of ours, in fact.” the young man replied.

Peggy Carter thought it was quite preposterous of this man to tell her what she could or could not do. “Why should I trust you, Mr Fitz?” she asked coolly.

He looked at her with a level gaze and said in a low, but clear voice, emphasizing all the words. “Because I am an agent of SHIELD.”

Peggy looked at him in disbelief. How could he know of her plan? SHIELD was her vision, but she has barely started…“How is that possible? I’ve never told anyone… yet…”

He nodded. “But it will happen. What you start as a project to keep HYDRA at bay will grow into one of the most powerful agencies in the world. And it will play an important role in the fights that will be fought for the soul of mankind. The last shield of humanity, as you intended.”

Peggy suddenly understood where he was going. “So you are saying you came here…”

“…from the future. Or some version of it... But in order for the human race to survive you must build this facility. In secret.” and he handed over a notebook.

“That sounds crazy.” Peggy Carter turned through the pages full of technical drawings. “This is huge, much bigger than any other nuclear bunker plan that I have seen. And I don’t even recognize some of this technology.” she said. “How am I supposed to build this on blind faith based on the word of someone who could be a rambling madman?”

“I know it sounds crazy. But if you don’t build this, all your other plans will not matter. Humanity will be destroyed by the inhuman powers we fail to understand or control. I wish I could prove it to you.” He fished around in his pockets, and found his mobile phone. “Look – this is something you don’t have yet. I cannot show you how it works, but 50 years from now, everyone will use these instead of telephones and cameras.”

“It could be fake.” Peggy said skeptically, but she couldn’t help being pulled into his story.

 “Ms Carter, you are a woman with a vision. You know about people with powers, objects with strange properties and different worlds. Why is travelling through time so unbelievable?” he asked then added after a pause “I mean I guess I wouldn’t have believed it either…” he added with a charming grin.

Peggy didn’t reply. The young man was right. She has seen things that she could not explain. Still she didn’t know if she could trust him. “You told me you have news of Steve. Or was that just the pretext to meet me?” she asked.

“All I can tell you that he will be found again and you will meet him.” he said with a warm smile, but she detected some sadness.

“Can you tell me where to find him?” Peggy inquired.

“I wish I could. But I don’t know where precisely he was found, and bringing someone as powerful as the Captain back again too soon would most certainly alter too many things for this plan to work. I cannot temper with events, because it will lead to too many parameters and eventually we will not be able to calculate the timeline.” he said and fidgeted nervously with his coaster.

“But you think, building a secret underground bunker will not change the future.” she snapped at him.

“I am hoping it will. But we must try to avoid causing too many ripples in time.” he said.

“Even if Steve and I have to waste years in the process…”

“What I found, Miss Carter, that love is an infinite energy that stretches through space and time. It is never wasted. He never stopped loving you, just as you never stopped loving him.” He said and there was a slight tremor in his voice. “Even when you are separated by distance or time, that love connects you.”

Peggy smiled at him “Sounds like you know a thing or two about being ripped apart. Does she have a name, Mr Fitz?”

“Jemma. Jemma Simmons. In fact, she may come passing through here. You were a childhood hero of hers and she is…”

“… let me guess, another agent of SHIELD.”

“Indeed. I mean she – when it comes to you, she is a hopeless fangirl, and she may behave a bit odd...” Peggy watched his smile grow wistful as he clearly got lost down in memory lane for a moment.  “If you see her, tell her that we’ll fix it together.”

“Fix what together?” Peggy looked at him inquisitively.

“Time.” he shrugged. “One more thing. Please tell me that you have found a white obelisk …”

++++++++++++++++++

When she was a young teen, Jemma always dreamed of adventures; glamorous, secret trips as a spy, exciting discoveries that revolutionized science. She always imagined herself looking like Peggy Carter; sophisticated and brave, with bright red lips staring in the face of danger unfazed. To see her childhood hero enter a bar near Lake Ontario was unbelievable, but also strangely logical. Of course, who else better to convince of building a secret base than the founder of SHIELD.

She had been in town for three days, trying to lay low and interact with people as little as possible. She sat in diners in the corner during days, and in the bar at night, watching people, trying to pick up clues that could solve the mystery of the postcard.

She felt it was her chance and took a deep breath as she walked up to her.  “Agent Carter, I apologize for interrupting your evening. You can’t believe what an honour it is to meet you. Would you mind if we talked for a moment? My name is Jemma…”

“Simmons.” Peggy Carter looked at her astonished. Jemma’s heartbeat quickened. 

“Yes. You met Fitz, then.” she said, her voice raising with excitement. Some of the patrons looked at them.

“I met him a few months ago.” Peggy replied looking at Jemma suspiciously. “He came to me with a rather outlandish story and a notebook. What do you know about it?”

“Well, if his story involved time travel and the destruction of Earth, then unfortunately, it is not only strange, but sadly true.” Jemma nodded. “Can you tell me what is in this notebook?”

“I can do one better and show it to you, Ms Simmons.” Peggy said. “Perhaps you can explain a couple of things to me.” She left some bills at the bar and led Jemma over to her hotel room. She rummaged around in her luggage, pulled out a thick moleskin notebook and handed it over to Jemma.

Jemma opened the book and lovingly traced her fingers over the numbers and schematics scribbled in Fitz’s familiar handwriting. She closed her eyes imagining him working feverishly, bent over the notebook. Then something occurred to her.

“I know it’s a strange question, but how old was he when you met him?” she looked at Peggy.

“About your age. 30ish, I would think. We only had a brief conversation, so…” the secret agent smiled.

Jemma smiled back in relief. So, Fitz figured things out quite quickly it seemed. That was a relief, they already wasted so much time – and they were in a real danger to endlessly chase each other through the maze of time and universes never to meet again. Or meet only ever so briefly, a bittersweet reunion just to say goodbye, she thought with grief looking at Peggy.

Peggy broke the silence. “Fitz said that I will meet Steve Rogers again.”

“Yes, that’s right. You will meet him.” Jemma smiled warmly.

“And I suppose you cannot tell me where to find him.” Peggy asked hopefully.

Jemma felt a lump in her throat as she could physically feel the other woman’s pain. “I am so sorry, but we cannot risk…”

“…too strong ripples in time…” Peggy finished. “That’s what he said too.”

Jemma nodded. “I will need some time to read through this.”

“Take the time you need. So I suppose if the story is true, I had better start building it. You know, that’s why I am here. As crazy as the story sounded, I started to scout out locations that fit the parameters your…” Peggy looked at her with questioningly.

“He’s my boyfriend, I guess. And so much more. It’s complicated.” Jemma said blushing.  They were undefinable. “You will build it here in this spot and I know it works, because I stood inside it and in one universe it holds everything that is left of humankind.”

“I guess I will have no choice but to do my part then.” Peggy said.

“I know that you will. You have been such an inspiration to so many of us.” Jemma said.

She continued to look through Fitz’s plans. It looked remarkably like the Lighthouse did in real life. Still, she noticed a couple of small differences, so she added some details, crossed out other parts, her neat handwriting lining up next to his. It was so mundane, something they have done countless times – still seeing their notes and ideas together made her strangely emotional. She felt his presence and absence keenly at same time.

Peggy watched her with a strange smile. “So that’s what he meant. That you will fix it together.

He told me to tell that to you.”

Jemma looked up from the notebook.  “Yes, that sounds like him.”

“I really hope you will find him again. Take it from me, do not to waste any time.”

Jemma nodded. The wasted time was her biggest regret. “Do you know where he went after here?”

“He went through the white monolith.”

“You have it then, that is good news.” Jemma sighed in relief.

“He told me to hide the thing and not let anyone use it, except you.” Peggy said.

“It’s important that you do that. But where did he go? Or I should say when? He couldn’t have known the coordinates.” she frowned. “Still by the time I am in the future, he figured it out… So why is he not there? Did he mention anything else to you?”

“That’s all I know Ms Simmons.”

“Jemma, please.” she interrupted with a wave of her hand.

“I am glad to have met you. If Agents of SHIELD are going to be like you, maybe all this work makes sense. You are a remarkable young woman.” Peggy put her hand on Jemma’s for a moment.

“Thank you. Maybe we will see each other again, Ms Carter.”

“Peggy. Good luck, Jemma. I hope your plan works out.”