It had been almost a year since I had arrived at the Army Base in New Jersey. Every day had become a routine. I'd be awoken by the Drill Sergeant's horn, I'd get dressed in a long-sleeved khaki shirt and gray pants. I put my hair in a bun, brush my teeth, use the bathroom, then Peggy Carter would come to my door and we'd go to the dining hall for breakfast. It was still dark out at this time, the sun was just coming up over the horizon, but the streetlights that lined the pathways were still on. 

In the dining hall, Peggy and I sat together at a small table eating our breakfast. For the first two weeks, it took the cooks awhile to figure out what to feed me. It came to a choice of fruit and cream or cereal. And if they were out of options, lukewarm oatmeal so it wouldn't be too hot and mess up my icy abilities or make me sick. 

Over time, Peggy and I became close. She was good company and was very kind, as well as a good teacher in martial arts.

Once a week, at breakfast, a Private would come in with a bag slung over his shoulder, in the bag were letters to each of the soldiers from home. Sometimes I'd get letters from my parents, and sometimes I didn't, but that's just how it goes. When other soldiers didn't get letters from home, their buddies would sit next to them and read their letters aloud. There was one week, where I didn't get a letter from my parents, so I sat eating lukewarm oatmeal, then I heard my code name called from a table.

"Frostbite." I looked up and around, then catching the eye of a soldier sitting with his friends. 

"Come here." He waved me over. I looked at Peggy and she nodded. 

"Go ahead." 

I stood up and made my way over to the table. "May I help you, sir?" I asked. 

"Your name's Eleanor, right?" He asked. 

"Yes," I replied. 

"My name is Wesley Mattinson, you can call me Wes." He introduced himself. 

"It's nice to meet you, Wes. You can call me Ellie." I smiled. 

"Is it alright if we shake hands? There's a rumor going around that you'll turn me into an ice sculpture." Wes asked. 

"I've actually learned to control that, so we can." We shook hands and nothing happened. 

"Did you get a letter this morning, Ellie?" Wes asked. 

"No I did not, maybe next week," I answered.

"Sit down." He offered and the man sitting next to him scooted over, and I sat down.

Wes took the envelope that was sitting next to his food tray, he opened it and pulled out a photograph. He held it out for me to see, in the photo, a woman stood with a smile on her face, in front of her sitting on two chairs were two children, a young boy, and girl, they also had smiles on their faces.

"This is my wife, Adeline. That's my son George, and my daughter Lucille." He pointed to each person in the photo. 

"You have a beautiful family, Wes." I smiled at the photo. "How old are your children?" 

"George is coming on nine, Lucille is six," Wes answered. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"  

"No, just me," I replied. 

"Your parents are lucky to have such a kind and gifted daughter," Wes said. "And if anyone gives you trouble, you tell me." 

"Thank you, it was a pleasure meeting you," I replied. 

"Mind if I read the letter she sent this week?" Wes asked. 

"No, not at all." I smiled. 

Wes smiled as well and pulled out a piece of paper. The men sitting around us leaned in so they could listen in. After meeting Wes and his partners, I didn't feel so alone on the base. It was a good thing to recognize a face in a group of soldiers.

~

Before going into training, I'd join a running drill and Peggy would wait at the half-mile mark then we'd go to the Specialized Training Facility. 

At the S.T.F (Specialized Training Facility) I changed into a white t-shirt and khaki slacks to better my mobility and flexibility. Peggy had me stretch, do 20 push-ups (when I had first started it was 10, we gradually moved up over the months), and then we'd stretch again. By this time, I was able to kick my leg up above my head, better enabling me to perform martial arts. Peggy was far better than me at Martial Arts and hand to hand combat, but I would get there soon. After doing some hand to hand combat, Peggy had gotten me a glass of ice water, it was time to play in the snow. That's when Dr. Erskine would join us.

Before I had even started using my abilities, I first had to learn how to control what I can and cannot freeze. It took a really long time, but then it came down to it all being in my head. If I thought about it, it would happen, if I didn't think about it, it wouldn't.

~A Year and a Month in New Jersey~

"You got a letter, Ellie?" Wes called to me from his table.

"Yes, I did," I nodded and stood up to join him.

"So did I," Wes scooted over. "Adeline is teaching Lucille how to read, they've started Alice in Wonderland."

"I love that book," I smiled. "I always found the Mad Hatter so silly, and my father would give him a funny voice." 

Wes chuckled with a nod. "I would plug my nose when reading to George. I saw you training outside with Agent Carter the other day, you're getting really good at hand to hand combat." 

"Thanks, Wes," I replied. "Think I'll be able to take you on?" This was an ongoing joke between Wes's friends and me.

"Oh, Ellie, you know I'm the strongest man at this table-"

At this statement, the men at the table groaned. 

"You're pulling our legs, Mattinson!" Someone shouted from the table.

"Knock it off!" Another laughed. 

"Then why haven't any of you challenged me?" Wes turned to his friends.

"Fine then," one soldier smiled. "How about this afternoon?"

"Deal, Robert," Wes held out his hand and they shook. "Frostbite will be the ref."

"Oh no, that's above my pay grade," I laughed. 

"All you have to do is call the winner," Wes explained. "Which, will obviously be me."

This got more joking banter from the other men at the table. Wes grinned and I shook my head.

"Fine, I'll be the ref!" I held up my hands and the table clapped.

~~~

We had an hour of free time before we had to get to work, so everyone met outside a barracks hall, Wes and Robert stood across from each other, throwing jokes back and forth.

"Alright, I don't know how this works, so I'm just going to tell you to play fair, and don't kill each other," I said. 

"Easy," Robert shrugged.

Wes clapped once then ran towards Robert, taking him down with his weight and holding him to the ground. The other soldiers began laughing and cheering. Robert tapped Wes's arm and was released. 

"Come on, Wes, I wasn't ready!" Robert said as they stood up.

"And I didn't even say go!" I laughed. "You're all a bunch of kids!" 

"I got excited," Wes grinned.

"Yeah, okay- Go!" I shouted so abruptly that both Wes and Robert were taken by surprise and took a minute to actually start trying to best each other. 

It was mainly just the two of them trying to knock each other down without throwing any punches, but before anything could happen...

"Eleanor, vat's going on here?"

I turned to face Erskine and Wes and Robert immediately stopped fighting.

"It's some horseplay, we had an hour before we had to work," I explained.

"I zee..." Erskine scanned the scene, a smile glinting in his eyes. "I stopped you all before Colonel Phillips vould arrive, you're velcome."

"Thank you, sir," Wes replied.

"I guess I have training?" I asked and Erskine nodded.

I turned back to Robert and Wes, both of them smiling.

"So, who won?" Wes asked.

"Neither, you didn't even finish," I replied.

"It would have been me," Robert said.

"Ohohoho, no it wouldn't," Wes turned to him.

I smiled and shook my head before turning to follow Erskine to the S.T.F. A bit of fun before I had to work again.

~~~

"Zee, it's almost like ven performing, say, if a tightrope valker iz up there, thinking 'I'm going to fall' he iz more likely to fall because that image is in his head." Dr. Erskine said to me.
"But I tell myself 'Don't freeze it, don't freeze it'. And yet, I still do." I said.

"Yes, but you are thinking of it. If the tightrope walker says 'Don't fall, don't fall.' He is still thinking of falling." Said Peggy. "If you tell yourself, with confidence, 'I will not freeze it.' It is not going to happen."

She pushed a glass of water towards me at the table. I looked at it and took off the gloves on my hands. Next to us, Dr. Erkstine stood with another Doctor, who had a camera set up. We had a bit of footage of me freezing things.

I reached out for the glass and grasped it. 'I will not freeze it. I will not freeze it.'

The water did not freeze.

"Excellent." Dr. Erkstine nodded. 

"Great job, Ellie." Peggy smiled. "Let's try the projectiles. What do you think, Erskine?" 

"Sounds good to me." Erskine nodded. "Ellie, please stand over zer." He pointed to the middle of the room, the ground covered with a mat. 

I walked over and stood, one foot in front of the other, my head facing a target against the wall. It was a shooting range target used at police facilities, it was shaped like a man with different circle targets up and down the body. 

"Extend out your arm, almost reach towards ze target." Said Erkstine, he looked to his right, and nodded to some doctors who stood on the other side of a glass window, in their hands were clipboards, they were taking notes. Among them was Mr. Stark, he also had a clipboard in his hand, but there was no need for him to be taking notes. 

"Now, focus your concentration towards the tips of your fingers, almost straining them outvards." 

"Erskine, we did this last time, I popped a blood vessel," I said. 

"Vell yes, you vere trying too hard, you based it all on straining your arm and tensing it." Erskine replied. "It's based on mentality too, focus the coldness towards your hand." 

"Tell yourself to do it, like what we did earlier." Said Peggy.

I dropped my hand, breathed out, breathed in, then raised it again. I reached out towards the target, my hand open and fingers pointed forward, my muscles tensed and I felt the cold travel through my veins. It stopped at my hand. I pulled my arm back, and thrust it forward, at the moment, it seemed like a dumb idea, but it was worth a try. 

"Freeze!" I shouted and a shard of ice shot out from my hand and impaled the target just above the shoulder.

I dropped my arm and looked at Peggy and Erskine. They were both looking at the target. I then looked to the doctors behind the window, they were also looking at the ice and target before looking back at their clipboards and writing. Howard was clapping and cheering.

"Frostbite did it!" He shouted.

Dr. Erkstine, Peggy, and I walked into the side room where all the doctors were viewing. 

"We'll have to tell Colonel Phillips the great news." Peggy smiled. 

"Howard, vould you like to show Ellie vat you've been vorking on?" Dr. Erskine asked. 

"Oh yes," Howard picked up his clipboard and turned it around to show me. On the paper was a drawing of an outfit, like a costume design. A long-sleeved shirt and long pants, that seemed to be tight-fitting, and boots. "Your combat outfit, I'm still designing, but some of my ideas were to have the boots compatible with ice, so you don't slip anywhere." 

"Okay, and I'm expected to walk into battle, in a leotard?" I asked. 

"It's a work in progress, I'm planning on adding in some padding to work as bulletproof armor, but I have some other things that I'm working on," Stark replied. "Speaking of other things, I have to be in Queens tomorrow for the World Exposition of Tomorrow. Erskine, there might be some men enlisting for the army, that could give you a chance to enlist some people for Project Rebirth."

"That's not a bad idea, Ellie, vould you be interested?" Dr. Erkstine turned to me. 

"Sounds fun, I'd like to have a vacation." I nodded. 

"What do you say, Peggy?" Howard looked at Peggy. 

"I'll be busy, I am also uninterested." She replied. 

"Welp, Ellie, looks like I'm your escort." Howard smiled at me.