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Camp LeHigh, Wheaton, NJ ─ 1942
Hannah stands stiffly at attention in the line of recruits. Her uniform's sleeves hang off her shoulders and swallow her hands in the cuffs. Good thing she brought a sewing kit for herself and Steve. Every part of the uniform is baggy, ill-fitting, and annoying, but she can't help grinning because it's her own. A thin piece of fabric has her name written over her heart and a thin set of metal tags lays cold against her chest. This really is happening to her.
She hasn't seen another female in the camp except for the nurse that patted her down and handed her the uniform when she arrived. But Hannah was informed that her bunk would be separate from the men's with another female officer. Hannah's beginning to doubt her existence.
Hannah runs through everything Dr. Erskine had told her about how her trials would be different from the boys. Although she'll train beside all the other recruits as though she is a man, there's less expectance of her to be good at any of it. No one is expecting her to keep up with the rest. No one is expecting her to make it to testing.
But Dr. Erskine told her the reason that he had pulled her aside is because he is expecting her to keep up with the recruits. He is expecting her to get to testing. In fact, he has money on it. Hannah merely grinned at him, telling him that she was planning on making it through.
She also had to attend "mandatory check-ins" with Erskine. Hannah is honestly looking forward to those. He assured her that he had no plans to go through with the questions and tests the military wanted him to put her through during that time. Instead the man said he would spend the few hours they would share after hours tutoring her in anything that she wished, whether it concerned military training or not.
Hannah is thrown from her thoughts as officers and agents appear and examine the line from afar. The first bubble of relief Hannah has felt since arriving at the camp rises in her chest as her eyes find a female agent walking down the line.
"Recruits, attention!"
The brunette stalks the line, eyeing each of the recruits up and down. "Gentlemen," she sends a softer smile to Hannah before continuing, "and lady. I am Agent Carter. I supervise all operations for this division."
Hannah smiles back at the Agent as she walks in front of her part of the line. She watches as Carter's eyes freeze on Steve for a moment before she is interrupted in her evaluation.
"What's with the accent Queen Victoria? Thought I was signing up for the U.S. Army."
Agent Carter turns to the smirking recruit, a terrifyingly calm look washing over her face, "what's your name, soldier?"
