The next day.
The meeting room at the Strategic Scientific Reserve was thick with smoke.
The aftermath of yesterday's chaos had yet to subside.
Lynn Morris, Colonel Davis, Peggy Carter, Howard Stark.
And several senior military officers who had rushed over from Washington sat together.
Steve Rogers was absent.
He was shut away in the laboratory, undergoing comprehensive physical testing.
"We have to send him to the battlefield!"
Colonel Davis slammed his palm on the table, making the cigarette butts in the ashtray jump.
"Those Hydra bastards have already unleashed their monsters! Now that we have another hero who can fight them, are we supposed to let him rot away in the rear?"
"I object."
Peggy Carter spoke up.
"We know nothing about the limits of his abilities. Dr. Erskine's notes and the spare serum are all gone. Steve is the only sample we have left, and the last. We can't take any risks."
"Risks? Agent Carter, my soldiers are being torn to pieces by those puppets! That's the real risk!"
"Then can you guarantee he can stop an MG42's bullets, Colonel?"
Peggy refused to back down.
"Soldier Boy can, but what about him? The preliminary report says his physique is at the peak of human potential, but he isn't some invulnerable god!"
The argument in the meeting room went on and on.
Some wanted to use him as a sharp blade to break through enemy defenses, while others wanted to treat him as a spark that needed to be closely guarded.
Lynn sat quietly in the corner. Only when everyone had mostly finished venting did he speak, unhurried.
"Everyone, we've overlooked one thing."
The moment he spoke, all eyes turned to him.
In some respects, this young man had already become Dr. Erskine's ideal "spokesman."
"What we need isn't just a super soldier."
Lynn stood up and looked around at everyone.
"We need a name, a symbol."
He pretended to think, then, with everyone watching, spoke slowly and deliberately.
"He fights for this country. He's the embodiment of courage and hope. Why not... call him 'Captain America'?"
Captain America!
It was simple and powerful, a name that carried strength and patriotism.
Even Colonel Davis, who had been furious just moments ago, found himself turning the name over in his mind, approval in his eyes.
"Good name!"
A general was the first to voice his approval.
"That name alone is worth a division!"
This was exactly the effect Lynn wanted.
He waited for everyone to absorb the excitement the name had stirred before presenting the heart of his plan.
"I agree with Agent Carter. Sending the Captain to the battlefield now would be too risky."
"Soldier Boy's job is to destroy, but the Captain is different."
Lynn's tone grew solemn, reflecting on the war.
"The fear Hydra has created can't be dispelled through killing alone. Our soldiers need hope, and the people back home need confidence."
"My suggestion is to make Captain America a national idol first."
"An idol?"
Colonel Davis frowned.
"Yes, an idol."
Lynn met his scrutinizing gaze, his thoughts perfectly clear.
"Send him on a nationwide tour, have him demonstrate his strength onstage and give patriotic speeches."
"His story-the story of a scrawny kid from Brooklyn who gained divine strength to serve his country-is the best publicity we could ask for!"
"We can use these events to encourage people to buy war bonds and raise more money for the front!"
"One performance could bring in millions, even tens of millions, in military funding. Colonel, isn't that worth more than having him take out a machine-gun emplacement?"
Silence fell over the meeting room.
The generals' and politicians' eyes lit up at once.
What did it take to fight a war?
Money!
They already had the invulnerable Soldier Boy charging into battle on the front lines.
Using this weaker version of a super soldier as a "mascot" to bring in money...
It was a stroke of genius!
"As for these publicity events..."
Lynn put on a suitably thoughtful expression.
"I'm willing to take charge of planning them. This was Dr. Erskine's final wish. I want him to see that he created more than a soldier. He created a symbol capable of lifting the spirit of an entire nation."
No one objected.
The plan perfectly balanced everyone's wishes.
The meeting ended.
Everyone left with satisfied smiles.
Lynn was the last to leave.
A tour?
Fundraising?
What he had on his mind was the kickback he would receive as "chief planner" from every sale of war bonds.
He wanted to build up his wealth as quickly as possible.
Then he would use that money to invest in Stark Industries, buy up arms factories, and infiltrate Wall Street...
Ultimately, he would build a superhero company of his own.
"You've turned a hero into a circus star."
Peggy Carter's voice sounded beside him, filled with bewilderment and disappointment.
Howard Stark also came over, looking at Lynn with great interest.
"No, Agent Carter."
Lynn faced them both, his expression so sincere that it showed no flaws.
"War has two battlefields: the front and the home front. I've simply chosen another battlefield for him, one that's just as important."
"A battlefield that makes money!"
Howard whistled. He had seen the business opportunity in it.
"A cash cow dressed in the Stars and Stripes! Lynn, I'm starting to like you!"
Peggy frowned. She couldn't refute Lynn's argument, but her instincts told her it wasn't that simple.
Lynn offered no further explanation. He needed to go reassure the real protagonist now.
In the training room.
Steve Rogers was pounding a sandbag, punch after punch.
In front of him, the sandbag had become a ridiculous toy.
He had gained the strength he had always dreamed of, yet he had failed to save the benefactor who had given him all of it.
Now, he couldn't even become a real soldier. Instead, he was going to be treated like an... exhibit.
Bang!
His fist split the sandbag's canvas, and sand poured from the tear.
"Feeling useless, aren't you?"
Lynn's voice came from the doorway.
Steve turned and looked at this "friend," who still carried an air of grief about him.
"What do they want me to do? Perform tricks onstage like a clown?"
Steve's voice was full of suppressed anger.
"Davis was right. I'm a coward!"
"No, you're not."
Lynn walked over and handed him a towel.
"Steve, what do you think is most important in a war? Planes? Or tanks?"
Steve didn't answer.
"It's the human spirit."
Lynn answered his own question.
"It's what gives a soldier the courage to get up and charge an enemy position after freezing all night in the mud."
"It's what makes a mother willing to send her son to war even after losing her husband."
Lynn looked Steve in the eye.
"Your story and your very existence are hope. Dr. Erskine didn't choose you because he wanted to make a sharper knife, but because he wanted to light a brighter lamp."
"Go, Steve. Go shine a light on the places shadowed by war."
"Go tell everyone why the United States fights, and why justice must prevail."
"When you bring hope to millions of people, everything you do will mean more than killing a thousand enemies on the front lines."
Those words brought Captain America a sudden realization.
The confusion and anger in his eyes gradually gave way to an entirely new sense of mission.
"I understand."
Steve nodded firmly.
"Thank you, Lynn."
Lynn patted him on the shoulder, a gentle smile on his face.
This fool.
We could sell him out, and he'd still have to thank us for it.