Chapter 4 - Agent, Colonel, and Stark

From now on, the language used in speech will be English (since most of the dialogue will be in English from now on).

"Speech" = English

"Italic Speech" = German

I do not own anything!

January 1943

Thankfully, I had fallen asleep during the flight to 'America'. It may have been a relief to Dr. Erskine and the others because we had not stopped talking for hours. I had picked up a lot of words and some of the conjugation of verbs but there was still so much to learn!

The sleep, though, got me to 'America', in one piece and blissfully unaware of how long we had really been in the air or how we landed.

"Dr. Erskine, Mr. Elric, this way, please. A car is waiting." Agent Carter was standing at the exit of the 'airplane', motioning for us to follow her. We headed towards the parked car across the paved area and I glanced around, amazed at the change of scenery. Just the buildings in the distance were taller than any I had ever seen.

Bigger than any in Central and those were already quite large!

Even during the drive to… somewhere, I kept staring out the window of the car. Well, at least most of the vehicles looked similar to the ones back home. But those buildings! I craned my neck but most of them I could not see their top floors!

I was so engrossed by my surroundings that I barely noticed the car stopping and the others getting out. Thankfully, Dr. Erskine patted my shoulder, pointing towards the door.

We exited the car and followed Agent Carter down the sidewalk, trying to manoeuver through the crowd. Well, there were A LOT more people here than back home. No wonder they had to have buildings so tall! Where else would you house so many people?

"Ooh! What a dish! What are you doing tonight, Doll?"

I glanced towards the man that had called out but his complete focus was on Agent Carter. She continued to march down the sidewalk, ignoring him but he was a step behind her.

"What's he saying?" I breathed out to Dr. Erskine. I understood 'tonight' but… What the hell did the rest mean together?

"Woah there, where you off to? Say something, Doll!" laughed out the man.

"Something and I'm not interested," she snapped, not turning around.

He's bothering her then. I went to pick up my pace but Dr. Erskine grasped my arm, holding me back.

The man's attitude did a 180 as he yelled out angrily. "Stuck up, Broad! Go back to that shit hole you came from!"

Agent Carter stopped suddenly, briefly glancing behind her with a small tilt of her head. I glanced up at Dr. Erskine, confused. Did I hear what I thought I heard? Did I understand what that man said correctly?

"Changed your mind, you –"

Agent Carter whirled around, yanking the man's arm and twisting it behind his back. "Have you had enough?" she whispered, her voice even.

The man quickly nodded and Agent Carter released him, shoving him back from where he had come from. I watched him run away, smirking.

You go, Agent Carter.

She straightened her jacket, patting it down before resuming her walk.

The more I spend time around this woman, the more I find she resembles Hawkeye.

It sent a pang in my heart, remembering Amestris but at least I knew I could trust Agent Carter from what I've seen so far.

We walked in silence until we reached… Well, it looked like any other building around us so I can't really tell why this one was special.

Oh, I guess entering a code to get in was one of those reasons.

Inside, there was a grumpy looking man waiting for us, dressed in a military uniform. When he saw us, he bridged the gap, holding out his hand towards Dr. Erskine.

"Colonel Phillips, Dr. Erskine, a pleasure." The Doctor shook his outstretched hand before translating for me and presenting me.

But, at that point, I wasn't really listening.

Colonel. A Colonel. The gate had a really sick sense of humour…

"Edward!"

I was startled out my thoughts by the call and realized both adults were staring at me. "Sorry," I mumbled. "Pleasure, sir."

The Colonel frowned down at me for a moment before nodding and turning back towards Dr. Erskine. I wasn't fully listening to their conversation, not when I had been reminded of Amestris again so suddenly.

I needed to find a way back. And to do so I'll need access to books. Hopefully some will have information on alchemy or on some way to get home.

"Does he have to be here?"

The question brought me out of my thoughts. Was that about me?

"He is my assistant," replied Dr. Erskine smoothly without any hint of animosity. How he did that is beyond me…

The Colonel stared at me, a deep frown on his face and his lips pinched. Great. He doesn't like me. And I haven't even done anything to him! Or anything at all for that matter!

"Fine, but understand this doctor: if he steps out of line, he's out; if he makes a mess, he's out; if he causes problems –"

"He's out, I'm guessing?" cut in the Doctor with a small smile and a tilt of his head.

"Damn straight. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir," nodded Dr. Erskine.

The Colonel looked down at me, still frowning.

I forced myself to not frown back but I don't think it worked too well. Therefore, I added, half-heartedly, "Yes, sir."

I hadn't listened to Mustang more than half the time and I'm expected to fall in line for this guy? Someone whose face is frozen in a constant state of disgruntled acceptance that a stick is permanently shoved up his ass?

Stupid, fucking Gate…

"Agent Carter, show them where they'll be working," ordered the Colonel, waving us off and walking away.

Agent Carter nodded. "Yes, sir." Before she motioned to us to follow her.

We walked down some corridors and passed some soldiers – all of them were men. I wonder where the women officers were... Whilst most of the men ignored us, other gave Agent Carter a look of either disapproval or of lust. What the fuck was wrong with them? They're trained soldiers! She's an agent!

We're at WORK!

"Agent Carter?" I called out. She briefly glanced back at me, waiting for me to continue. "What uh… Rank? Position?" I asked Dr. Erskine quickly for the translation.

"Rank and position," he answered softly.

"Danke. What rank is Agent?" I wondered, looking back at her.

"If you're referring to military rank, there isn't one," she replied turning back to face the front. "I'm a special officer of the SSR."

Okay. I understood some of that and Dr. Erskine thankfully filled me in on the rest. The next question though, I didn't know most of the words so I asked it in German.

"Edward's wondering if it has an equivalent rank in the army," asked the Doctor for me.

Agent Carter stopped in front of a door, looking puzzled. "No one's ever asked me that before," she muttered. "Why do you want to know?"

The doctor went to translate but I waved him off. "Respect." Was my only answer.

Respect because I knew many female military officers who had the respect of their peers. Who weren't subject to condescending and disgusted looks from others. They had the respect because they were colleagues, not because they did something extraordinary… Why isn't Agent Carter getting the same thing for being a special officer of the SSR?

"Respect of what exactly?" she asked slowly.

"You. As person. As – what did you call it? – officer."

She scoffed, looking away but I spotted the faintest trace of a smile on her face. "One can wish, Mr. Elric. Now –"

"You have respect from me, Agent Carter," I cut in, hoping I used the right verbs. "And just Edward or Ed."

She hesitated, eyeing me carefully before finally conceding. "Thank you, Edward. Now," she took a deep breath, opening the door she had been standing in front of, "this is one of the labs you've been offered to work in."

We followed her into the large room filled with tables and electrical equipment. On the tables were dozens upon dozens of pieces of… something. What all of this could be used for was beyond me but…

I really wanted to know!

"Edward?"

I looked up from the arrangements of items before me, spotting Dr. Erskine and Agent Carter further in the room, standing next to a slightly shorter man. I quickly made my way over to them, studying the new man just as he was giving me a once over as well.

At least he didn't look displeased by the sight of me.

"Right," began Agent Carter. "Gentlemen, this is Howard Stark, he will be aiding you with anything you need," she explained, motioning towards the man. "Mr. Stark, may I present Dr. Abraham Erskine and Edward Elric. Edward is the doctor's assistant."

"Great to finally meet you, Doctor," said Stark, shaking the Dr. Erskine's hand. "I've started going over some of equations if you'd like to take a look."

"That would be wonderful, Mr. Stark," replied the Doctor, nodding.

Agent Carter glanced at both of them before bowing her head. "Well, gentlemen, if you need me, I shall be at my desk. I'll leave you to your experiments. Good luck."

"Thank you, Agent Carter," said Dr. Erskine, smiling at her.

She returned the gesture with a small smile of her own. Shen then turned heel and walked away. That seemed like the queue for Stark and the Doctor to enter a quick and deep discussion concerning the serum and what was needed for it.

Well, I think that's what the discussion was about: I only understood certain words in their conversation and I wasn't even sure I heard them correctly because of how fast they were talking.

I stood next to them for a moment, trying to catch some information but I gave up. I only had a few hours of English lessons and none of those hours really covered complex scientific vocabulary. My gaze moved to the tables nearby, at the equipment and papers scattered on it.

A series of papers, though, caught my attention.

Those looked like chemical equations.

I glanced at the still distracted men, happy to note that they did not notice how I was moving towards the set of papers. I picked them up, my excitement growing. These were chemical equations! So what is – ?

"Hey! Those aren't for kids!" cried Stark but I was already flipping to the next page. I actually understood this language of chemicals! His words though, I wasn't too sure what he had said but I could tell from his tone that he didn't want me anywhere near these.

Thankfully, Dr. Erskine came up to him and said something to calm him down. To me, in German, he added, "Please don't make a mess of Mr. Stark's work, Edward. Alright?"

I absentmindedly nodded as I flipped to the next page. What the heck was he making? These are incredible! The two of them must have gone back to talking because I could faintly hear some background noises but my mind was so focused on all these numbers and symbols. This here… Who would have thought to do that? And here… Wait.

"Berechnungsfehler."

Stark and Dr. Erskine paused in their discussion, turning towards me. I looked up from the papers I held, pointing at a line.

"Berechnungsfehler."

I glanced over it once more. Yeah, I was right.

"What did he say? Did he sneeze or something?" whispered Stark, glancing between myself and Dr. Erskine. The Doctor, however, had a look between surprise and pride on his face. He silently motioned for me to continue and I took a deep breath. Time to test out my English.

"Um… Here. This… Uh, wrong?"

I had no idea how to say a calculation mistake in English but the shock that spread across Stark's face let me know that he understood the gist of it.

He quickly snatched the papers away from me and scanned them, muttering something or another under his breath. All the while, Dr. Erskine stood back, smirking slightly. He caught my gaze and winked.

"I – No… Damn… The kid's right. He's right."

That part I understood and smiled smugly at him. Take that.

"I guess your assistant will be a good help, Dr. Erskine," stated Stark, patting my head.

I swatted his hand away, frowning, earning a chuckle from the Doctor.

"I'm sure he will be."

February 1943

"So, Edward, officially, how old are you?"

I looked up from the book I was reading, right at Agent Carter who held a clipboard in her hands as she stared down at me, waiting for an answer.

"Uh… What date?"

"Yes, date, year and age, please."

"No, I mean… today?"

Her expression changed to one of confusion as she replied, "The 5th of February."

I lowered the book, chuckling softly to myself. I completely missed it. Completely!

"Edward?"

"17, my age is 17. Two days ago."

Agent Carter blinked once before marking it down on the clipboard. "So, February 3rd, 1926 is your date of birth. Thank you. Dr. Erskine provided the rest of the information. He just couldn't remember when you were born."

He what? What information? I'll have to ask him when I can get him alone or else we'll just end up contradicting each other!

Agent Carter glanced over the papers on the clipboard for a moment before nodding to herself. "Thank you, Edward. That will be all." She turned around and took several steps before stopping. "And Happy Birthday."

"Thanks, Agent Carter."

I watched her leave and waited a few moments before closing my book and leaving the room. Where would Dr. Erskine be at this time of day? I needed to talk to him about what he told Agent Carter. If we contradict each other, it could spell bad news for both of us.

Well, they really needed Dr. Erskine so the bad news would be all mine.

I finally found him in one of the labs and bee-lined towards him. "Dr. Erksine, can we talk?"

He looked up from his notebook, took one glance at me and removed his glasses. "What seems to be troubling you, Edward?"

Scanning the area, happy to notice that no one else was present, I sat down in front of him. "What did you tell Agent Carter about me?"

He nodded in understanding, closing his notebook. "Well, I let you fill in your day of birth, she passed by I imagine?"

"Yes and she said you remembered everything but that. I need to know what that 'everything' is exactly."

"Alright then. I told her you come from the village of Hartem, in the Heidmark, an area in the north-western most region of Germany." I had no idea where any of that was… "No worries on getting details of the area correct, though. It doesn't exist anymore."

Oh… "What happened to it?"

"The Whermacht happened. They are the German militia and they took the Heidmark area in 1935 to build their training grounds and barracks. Hartem was one of the villages destroyed, it's inhabitants relocated."

Hartem. Heidmark. By the Whermacht. Okay, so far I can remember this.

"I chose that village in particular because of the story you had told me about your hometown. About the sheep festival. Hartem was known for its sheep farming."

"Well that's convenient," I muttered, surprised. "Did you tell her anything else?"

He nodded. "She wanted information about your family, contacts. I told her it may be difficult with your mother gone, and your father and brother missing. I stretched the truth and said it had been years, since the forced relocation that you hadn't seen them."

I sat back, taking a deep breath. Since 1935, I hadn't seen them in… Eight years. It's been a little over a month but it was starting to feel like that. It probably hadn't helped that Al and I had been apart since Baschool before the Promised Day.

"Thanks, Dr. Erskine," I muttered, standing. "I'll leave you to your notes."

I was halfway to the door when the Doctor called out to me. "Don't give up hope, Edward. Don't ever give up."

I turned back to him, smiling softly. "Thanks. I won't."

June 1943

I closed my bag, glancing around the room. I don't think I forgot anything. It wasn't like I had much to begin with… But, I don't think we were coming back here so it would be best to grab what I could or suffer it being thrown out by some jerks.

While most of the scientists had been kind – or more, tolerable – in the past few months, others had not taken kindly to our being here. Us being Dr. Erskine and myself. From what I gathered, it mostly had to do with our nationality: how being German was an incurable crime.

Dr. Erskine had already told me before we left Germany that the world has been in the middle of a war for the past 4 years, a war that had been started by Germans. However, I learned during the past few months how deep hatred for a nationality could run.

Thinking back, the Ishvalans suffered through discrimination much worse than this. Especially considering the civil war that had been started by those fucking homunculi!

Maybe… Maybe when I get back, I can help them.

Somehow.

Just then, Dr. Erskine entered the room. Something was off. He was usually in a better mood…

"What's wrong?" I asked, catching his attention.

He glanced in my direction, shaking his head. "What do you mean?"

"You're demeanor's different today. What's wrong?"

He sighed, smiling softly. "I cannot hide much from you anymore, Edward."

I rolled my eyes. Not when you spend everyday day together, working on perfecting the serum and the administration process for it. A serum I STILL don't know what it is supposed to do!

Dr. Erskine sat on his bed, breathing deeply. I tossed my bag on the floor and sat on my bed, cross-legged, and waited.

"The candidates for the serum. They are what are troubling me."

I had only briefly seen the list of soldiers that were chosen for the week of training leading to the decision of which candidate would be the test subject for the serum. Perhaps Dr. Erskine had met the men and… he didn't like them from the look on his face.

"So, are you still going to go through with it?" I asked.

Dr. Erskine nodded half-heartedly. "They know who my first choice is but –"

"No. They told you no. I'm telling you 'no'. Again."

Around March, Dr. Erskine had brought up the idea of having me be the test subject for the mysterious serum. Even though the US government flat out refused the moment they heard the idea, I wasn't a willing participant.

I had already been a dog of the military back in Amestris: I did not need to be tied to the US army in this world.

Dr. Erskine chuckled. "Fine, fine, fine. And to answer your question, I shall think about it, depending on how our outing tomorrow will go."

I paused, thinking back. What outing? We were leaving for Camp Lehigh the day after tomorrow. "Where are we going?"

"We are accompanying Mr. Stark to the World Exposition of Tomorrow where he is giving a presentation on one of his new inventions."

He was? Maybe he did mention something but I tune him out quite often, mostly because he talks about women more than work when Dr. Erskine isn't present in the room. I've just learned to ignore him as a general principal.

Dr. Erskine thankfully continued with his explanation. "There is a recruitment office there. I hope to find my own candidate there."

I shrugged. "Okay. You know better than any of us who you want."

"Yes, your replacement."

"Damn straight. I'm NOT doing it!"

Not as much happened but I wanted to introduce the dynamics between Ed and the other characters before introducing Steve to the story.

Also, Hartem did exist and all the information on it I found via Wikipedia!

Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter!