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A rapid pounding at the door. Jack opened his mouth to complain to Sousa about the heat and the lack of pizza in LA, but the pounding continued. He groaned.
“All right, they’re throwing me outta here. I gotta go.” Jack put down the phone with a sigh and reached for the doorknob.
“I’m leaving! Just give me a second!” He yanked open the door, and stopped dead.
Because there were Sousa and Carter. Sousa, who he’d literally just hung up with. On his office phone. They both looked a mess. Carter’s makeup was smudged, and Sousa’s hair was completely loose from its usual combed back style.
“Jack, there’s no time to explain. We need you to come with us,” said Carter.
He stared at her, dumbfounded. “Absolutely not. Who the hell are you, and what have you done with Carter and Sousa?” he ground out, hand reaching for his service weapon.
A combination of exasperation and hurt seemed to flash in Peggy’s eyes. “Jack, it’s us. We can prove it. I called you a good man just hours ago. I know your truth, and I promise I won’t ever use it against you again.” At that, Daniel gave an odd side-eyed glance, but said nothing. Carter continued, “But Jack, there’s no time to explain. You’re in danger. Come with us and we can explain everything.”
Jack was still utterly baffled by this turn of events, but there was no one else besides Peggy who would have known those things. Against all odds, it had to be Peggy and Daniel. Did that mean that the Daniel he’d just been talking to on the phone somehow wasn’t the real Sousa?
He turned around to grab his suitcase, but was immediately stopped by a hand on his arm. He turned around and met Sousa’s worried gaze.
“There’s no time,” he said, and began to yank Jack along with him into the hallway.
About four doors down, they ducked into a supply closet. There, hidden among the linens, Carter and Sousa unveiled an odd looking machine. It was shaped like a birdcage, but big enough for 2 or 3 people if squished together. Peggy and Daniel stepped into it together, Sousa briefly reaching out to squeeze Peggy’s hand. Jack filed that little piece of information away in his brain to deal with later.
He stared at the two of them. “You want me to get in that? What does it even do?”
Peggy grimaced. “It’s Howard’s. I’ll explain later. Now get in.”
Jack sighed. None of Stark’s inventions had killed him yet. May as well run the risk yet again. He stepped into the machine, and Carter pulled a lever on the wall. The thing began to shake, making a godawful racket, and suddenly everything blurred, leaving Jack feeling like his stomach had been left behind.
There was a crashing noise, and suddenly the machine was planted in the middle of what Jack recognized as the living room of Stark’s Los Angeles mansion. Swaying slightly, he stepped out of the contraption and put a hand on the wall, taking a second to get his bearings.
It was at this point that Stark’s butler bustled into the room, heading straight for Peggy.
“Ah, Miss Carter, I’m so glad to see you. And Chief Sousa, of course,” he said with a nod to Daniel. “I’m so grateful Mr. Stark’s machine worked. I was so afraid you might be stranded in time!”
And before Jack could think about that very odd sentence, Jarvis turned on him. “And Chief Thompson, you’re alive!”
Jack could’ve sworn he felt himself pale a few shades. He spun to face Peggy and Daniel, the explanation for the last 10 minutes finally beginning to dawn on him.
“Wait, you mean I was dead?!“