Chapter Text
‘I guess we never finished that lesson last Winter,’ Logan told Steve. ‘What lesson?’ Steve asked. ‘The one where I told you not to-do this your friends and family,’
‘I heard reports about the w-,’
‘About the war? Every-one has. FDR does not lack for troops,’ Logan explained. ‘So many m-,’ Logan cut Steve off; ‘Want to die for their country? I know. I see them every damned day. War is hard, it’s not for the weak. The Great War nearly broke me,’ He explained. ‘I’m not sending another Rogers to his death,’ Logan knew he sounded like a milksop. ‘What do you mean another Rogers?’
‘I once asked your dad for a favour. And it cost him his life. I remember giving your mom the stuff he had left behind in the barracks. Steve, I don’t think you’ll survive. And I’m sorry for thinking that. I under-stand you want to fight for your country, but I’m sorry, Rogers, you’re in no shape to-do so,’ Logan said carefully. ‘Do you understand?’ The older man asked. ‘I under-stand,’ Steve lied.
**
When Logan walked into the hotel, he went head-first for the front desk to see if the Doctor had contacted him yet. ‘Hi, Ethel. Do I have any messages?’
‘One from a Camp in Jersey,’
‘What was it about?’
‘A Mr. Howard Stark, said it was top secret. And said for you to get to Camp Lehigh,’
‘Thank you Ethel,’
‘You’re welcome. Mr. Howlett,’
Logan nearly ran to get his things and got in his truck and drove to Lehigh.
Camp Lehigh was okay. Logan had seen better trenches than this, however, this was just a camp. And he knew these young men needed to be prepared for it. Unless, some had already served in The Great War. ‘You okay?’ Asked a young man. ‘Yeah, just surprised,’ Logan answered. ‘I’m Bucky Barnes,’ Says the young man. ‘James Logan Howlett,’
‘You’re that beast that recruited most of us here,’
Logan blinked and raised an eyebrow at the young man. ‘They call you that because there are tons of rumours about you,’
‘Rumours?’
‘Some-one in the camp said you eat raw meat,’ Bucky whispered. ‘Okay,’ Logan was now creeped out by the camp. ‘And some say you have fa-,’
‘Who’s that around your neck?’ Logan asks not wanting to know about these rumours. ‘Saint George The Dragon Slayer. He’s the saint of knights and soldiers,’
‘That’s nice,’
‘My mother put it in my bag with-out my knowledge,’
‘That’s good, we soldiers need hope. Have you seen Mr. Stark any-where around camp?’ Logan asked. ‘Yes, he’s by the office,’ Said Bucky. ‘Thank you,’ Logan says before walking towards the office. ‘You’re welcome,’
‘Mr. Stark?’ Logan asks. ‘Mr. Howlett, I assume you’re here for the surgery?’
‘Yes,’ Logan answered. ‘Let’s head down-stairs,’ Howard said to him, shocking Logan with the fact this office had a basement.
**
‘Are you sure you want to-do this?’ asked the doctor. ‘Yeah, I want to do this,’
‘You want to be tested on?’ Asked Howard. ‘Yes, well no. I’ve already seen 2 wars, may as-well see a 3rd,’
‘A 3rd war?’ Howard looked Logan up and down. ‘The Civil War. I was a Union Solder. The Great War, I fought for my home-country of Canada. And this one I’ll fight for Canada again,’ Says Logan. ‘How is that even possible?’ Dr. Erskine asked. ‘The mutant gene, it slowed my aging process. I also heal quite quickly, and I can’t really die,’ Logan explained. ‘Why didn’t you ever tell us this?’ Dr. Erskine asked. ‘You never asked,’ Logan smiled slyly. ‘Well, let’s get you prepped for this,’
‘Doc, I have a question,’ Logan said. ‘Yes, Mr. Howlett?’
‘How long will this surgery take?’
‘About 12 hours,’
‘Will I be awake for this?’
‘Kinda,’
‘What do you mean? Kinda?’
‘Well-,’ Dr. Erskine started. ‘You’ll be on barbiturates for the last 6 hours of it,’ Howards stated. ‘Will Mr. Stark, help you work on me?’ Asked Logan who was scared. ‘No, I’m not that stupid,’ Said the doctor, ‘Good, I don’t want my doctors to be stupid,’ Logan snarked. ‘I have a feeling we’ll get along nicely,’ Said the doctor. ‘Should we start?’ Logan asked. ‘We start at first light,’ Mr. Stark said. ‘We?’
‘Mr. Howlett, to-night you’ll dine with Dr. Carter,’ Said Howard. ‘She’s a real genius,’ Howard added.
**
‘You know you shouldn’t smoke around here?’ Asked a young woman with curly hair and red lips. ‘Well, I don’t care,’ Logan responded. ‘I’m Peggy Carter,’ The woman held out her hand. ‘James Logan Howlett,’
‘Do you give your middle name out to every-one?’
‘Well, I prefer to be called Logan,’
‘Logan. That’s a good name,’ Said Peggy. ‘It’s a wonderful name,’ Logan told her, ‘Are you going to shake my hand or not?’
Logan held out his hand and shook hers. ‘Well,’
‘Shall we eat?’ Asked Peggy. ‘We shall,’
‘So…,’ Peggy whispered. ‘This is your 3rd war?’
‘Yeah, it is,’
‘How?’ Peggy asked. ‘You’re a smart gal you’ll figure it in a few minutes,’
Logan waited for her to catch up while he took a big sip of red wine; he finished and she finally under-stood by muttering the word; ‘Mutant?’
‘Of course, what else would you think I am?’
‘What kind of power do you have?’
‘Power is this some fantasy novel?’
‘I’ve heard of a young Jewish man who can bend metal to his will,’ Said Peggy. ‘And there’s a telepath who’s currently studying at Oxford,’ She whispered. ‘How ‘bout we just eat? And save the questions about mutants for later?’
‘Okay,’ She replied. ‘So, what do you like to do?’ She asked. ‘I don’t have any hobbies. Well, I guess I like to drink. However, I do catch a movie every once in awhile,’
‘What kind of movies do you like?’
‘I like Westerns,’
‘Westerns. Those are good ones. I like the noir ones,’
‘Did you see Stagecoach?’ Asked Peggy. ‘I did. I also read the book,’
‘How ‘bout Gone With The Wind?’
‘Read it. I also saw the movie,’
‘You read Gone With The Wind?’
‘Who hasn’t,’
‘I haven’t. However, I saw the movie,’
‘What about Citizen Kane?’
‘I’ve seen it,’ Peggy told him.
‘What else do you do Dr. Carter?’ Logan asked cutting a piece of meat. ‘You realize that meat is nearly raw?’ Dr. Carter asked. ‘So,’ Logan said as he put his fork to his mouth, ‘You shouldn’t eat that,’
‘Listen, bub. This could be my last meal, and want it to be good,’
‘Bub?’ Peggy asked. ‘Yes, bub,’
‘So, what part of Canada are you from?’
‘Alberta,’ Logan said sharply. ‘Mr. Howlett, you remind me of an animal,’ Peggy told him. ‘Dr. Carter, I am the animal,’
‘Okay, runt,’ She muttered. ‘What’d you call me?’
‘Runt,’ She repeated. ‘Runt?’ He said; the word sild perfectly on his tongue. ‘Okay, bub,’
**
‘To-day is the day,’ Howard said. ‘It is,’ Peggy said calmly. ‘How do you feel about Mr. Howlett?’ Asked Howard; ‘He’s nice,’ Peggy told him as she set up the tools they needed for the surgery. ‘Nice? The man’s an animal. How can an animal be nice?’
‘Howard have you ever had a pet?’ Peggy asked. ‘No, we were too poor. What about you?’
‘None. However, the ancient Egyptians did have their pets buried with them,’
‘You Brits are so odd,’
‘So are you Americans,’ Peggy said calmly. ‘I should get ready for the surgery, Mr. Stark,’
‘Then I’ll see you soon,’ Howard told Peggy.
**
Logan heard a pounding on his truck’s window. ‘Who the fuck is it?’ Logan said grumply; ‘It’s Howard,’
‘Oh, Mr. Stark. Good morning,’ He yawned. ‘I see you didn’t sleep in the same area as the boys,’
‘I couldn’t,’ Logan said. ‘Why not?’ Howard inquired. ‘Too many bad memories,’ Logan said. ‘You should wash before your surgery,’ Howard stated. ‘I should. Do you know where I can wash?’
‘Since you’re an animal there’s a man-made river 5 minutes away from the camp,’
‘What about a bath-room?’ Logan said with a laugh. ‘I guess we do give animals baths,’
‘So, where can I wash?’
‘I’ll show you,’
‘So, Mr. Logan, what’s war like?’
‘War is Hell on Earth,’ Logan muttered. ‘So this is your 3rd War?’
‘It is. And I like to keep that on the down-low,’
‘What makes a-,’ Before Howard could finish Logan said; ‘What’s for break-fast?’
‘Scrambled eggs and bacon,’ Howard said smoothly. ‘Have you eaten yet Mr. Stark?’
‘No, however, I’ll break my fast with you,’
‘Let me wash first,’ Logan began. ‘The showers are near the first bays,’
‘Thanks,’
**
When Logan arrived at the showers, he noticed Bucky Barnes, one of the men he helped recruit. ‘Good morning Mr. Howlett,’
‘Good morning Mr. Barnes,’
‘You showerin’?’ Bucky asked. ‘Yeah,’
‘Rumour has it you’re having surgery to-day,’
‘Who told ya that?’ Logan rolled his eyes. ‘The Guide said that over drinks,’
‘What kind of drinks?’ Logan asked with a glimmer in his eyes. ‘Ale,’
‘Ale. Haven’t had that in long time,’
‘Do you like ale?’
‘It’s okay. I like beer,’
‘What about mead?’
‘Mead is o-kay,’
‘How ‘bout wine?’
‘Wine is good,’
‘I’ll let you go,’ Bucky said walking back to his bays. ‘See ya bub,’
**
‘Mr. Howlett,’ Said Dr. Carter. ‘Yes?’ Logan answered. ‘Surgery is to start soon. Do you need to use the toilet before we start?’
‘No,’ Logan laid his naked body on the operating table. ‘I’m just going to wipe you down if that’s okay,’ Peggy stated.
‘Sure. I could be cleaner,’ Logan grumbled.
‘You’re an odd man Logan,’ Dr. Erskine said; ‘I’ve known this since I was a child Doc,’ Logan stated. ‘How old are you Mr. Howlett?’
‘I’m 110 years old,’
‘You look good for 110,’ Howard said. ‘You aren’t supposed to be here,’ Dr. Erskine said angrily. ‘Sorry, I just had to see him before we re-start his life,’
‘Re-start?’
‘You’ll have new bones. Which is basically a re-start,’
‘A re-start?’ Logan said to himself, ‘That sounds good,’
‘Ready to get strapped down?’ Dr. Erskine asked. ‘Yes,’
‘Here, you’re gonna need this,’ Peggy said, putting about to put some-thing some rubber thing in his mouth, ‘What is this?’ Logan asked, ‘It’s called a mouth-guard, it’ll help so you don’t lose your tongue due to pain,’ Said Howard. ‘Do you think liquor will help him with pain?’ Howard added, ‘Possibly,’
‘Do we have any-thing?’ asked Peggy. ‘We have wine,’
‘Where’s it at?’
‘In the ice-box next to the desk up-stairs,’ Howard told her, ‘I’ll be right back,’ Peggy said.
‘This feels like when Victor Frankenstein created life,’ Logan muttered. ‘Well, you’re not in Frankenstein,’
‘I’m in real life,’ Logan said.
‘Found it,’ Peggy said, spinning the cork off the bottle. ‘Here,’ she told Logan, handing him the bottle, he took a deep drink and laid down on the table; belly first, as he felt the scalpel go down his spine.
**
It was done. The surgery was a success. Peggy and Dr. Erskine patted each-other on the backs; After Peggy wrote down what she had learned about mutant bodies; wider bones then a typical human being, 2 spleens, a high pain tolerance. ‘I wish we could look into his brain,’ Said Peggy. ‘Maybe, some-one else can do that some-day,’ Howard said happily.