Chapter Text
The gray skies rolled over the German sky as the fortress loomed over the cliffside. Hidden in the dark woods of the fatherland, just beyond the gunfire and distant bombs, was Germany’s last chance of winning. Top-of-the-line scientists and generals planning the final victory for the Third Reich, creating superweapons and ubermensch to crush the Western World and reign supreme, so that every corner of the world could utter the single command they preach:
HAIL! HYDRA!
“How’s it look?” Frenchie asked the stone-cold sniper as he looked into the Hydra base, “Come on, Buck!”
“Calm down, you chicken,” Bucky said as he spotted the guards patrolling the walls, “We got a fifteen-second window, Dugan, can you set the explosives?”
“I don’t know, does my wife nag at me?” The man said tipping his bowler hat, “Is Fury coming with those reinforcements? We don’t know how many there are inside, and once I do this--”
“There’s no time,” said the tallest man amongst the commandos, who looked to the man carrying a heater shield in one hand and a pistol in another, the only man amongst them who was wearing a blue leather jacket with a star on the chest, bearing a capital A on his helmet: Captain America, “Izzy, how’s the bike?”
“It’ll be fine,” Izzy said as she wiped her brow, shaking her head at the dents and scratches, wagging her finger at the star-spangled man, “Just don’t drive it off a cliff again, alright?”
“I’ll try my best, Izzy,” Steve said as he looked down at a photo of a woman. Peggy Carter. Just the thought of her smile made Steve forget he was in the middle of a war-torn Europe. He folded the photo and kept it close to his chest pocket as he turned towards Buck, who kept his voice low,
“Steve, are you sure about this?” Bucky said, “We don’t know what the hell they got in that castle. Should we get the Human Torch here, or try and contact the Submariner again? We can even get that Canadian guy over, Howlett the berserker paratrooper?”
“The Skull’s been sighted in this area, Bucky. If we get the drop on him, we may be able to turn the tide on this war,” Steve then smiled to the group, “It’s about time we get home by Christmas!” The commandos howled in agreement, setting off the plan they hatched.
Dugan rushed through the field, carrying a stack of dynamite. He made sure the wire wasn’t tangled on anything as he rushed over to the wall, clenching the cigar in his mouth as he planted the explosives. He ran back quickly, just in time as the spotlight passed through his area. He hopped over to their hiding spot, readying the ignition lever as Steve climbed onto his motorcycle,
“Ready? Ready? Okay… CONTACT!” KABOOM!!! The wall exploded apart as the motorcycle roared to life, rushing into the base as Captain America jumped in. Hydra soldiers rushed to blare out the alarms as the Howling Commandos charged after. Captain America lifted his shield, holding it up as he fired his gun at the guards above, then immediately reeled his shield back as he bashed it into the third nazi in front of him. Steve gritted his teeth, punching the men who served evil with his red leather gloves. Behind him, a Hydra agent lifted a knife as he screamed out,
“HAIL HYD-- AGGHH!!!” Blood splurted out of the soldier’s head, Steve looked across the field to see Bucky saluting him. Steve smiled and charged into the fray once more with Bucky watching his back.
Captain America’s strength and speed were too swift for the Hydra Agents, their bones broken or teeth broken. Steve never did like using his gun, but sometimes broken bones weren’t enough as he fired lead bullets at these bastards. Otherwise, his shield smashed their ribs apart, piercing their lungs as they gasped out their last breath. He just can’t wait for this war to be over.
Steve unclipped the empty load from his pistol as he took cover, bullet fire focused on him. His costume and powers were doing their job, as the howling commandos flanked and covered Cap, allowing him to move up as he dismantled the enemies in front of him. They then got to the front doors of the base, likely barred by a wooden barricade, the doors loomed over the men. Steve stepped forward, placed his boot on the door, and kicked it open with ease.
Gunfire fired on them as Captain America raised his shield, taking the blows as he charged forward. He somersaulted above the tables and experiments, holding his shield close as he fired in the air, time seemed to slow itself down as Steve hit every single one of his targets. He landed on his feet, turning his head as he lowered his shield. He remembered how President FDR sent him the shield, a gift for America’s number one soldier on the front lines. In truth, Steve thought it was a little bulky, carrying it all the time as he ran ahead on the frontlines.
The Commandos rushed behind as Captain America stared at the Nazi’s secret weapon: A rocket! Steve could only wonder what its intentions were, or what the payload was. He then looked up at the scaffolding and spotted him .
Dressed in black leather, his bald head as red as the armband on his uniform, was the man who used to be Johann Schmidt. But with the development of Abraham Erskine’s supersoldier serum, Johann stole away a prototype of what Steve was given, and became… a ghoul , a monster of a man that cared only for the agenda of the nazi regime,
“Ah! Captain! It’s such great timing to see you and you Americans, but I’m afraid it’s too late! The Third Reich shall receive its final victory, and we shall deliver the Master Race!”
“You’ll never win, Red Skull!” Captain America said as he looked for a way up, “You’re kind never does!”
“My kind? Why, we are the same, Rogers!” Red Skull said with his yellow eyes deep in dark pits, his gaunt features warping whatever humanity was left, “We are but mere stepping stones for the true Master Race! A future where the superman rules! Do you want that?”
“You don’t want the supermen to rule, you want to annihilate any who you call weak or inferior!” Captain America said as he began to climb up the scaffolding, “That’s not a future that I’ll let come true, Skull!”
“Then come Rogers, and meet failure! Fire!” The Red Skull said, his men popping behind the corners as they took aim at the Americans. Red Skull stepped into his rocket as the gunfire went off, grinning as he was lifted to the control bridge of the rocket.
Down below, Bucky took out his revolver and fired at the men aiming at Steve, climbing behind as the other Commandos covered them. Steve threw his shield vertically, letting it drive through the floor as it homed straight into the Hydra guards above, swiftly knocking them down as Captain America got up to the top. He then turned, fists cocked as he grabbed his shield dug into the rocket, and breathed relief when he saw Bucky, who took out a gun and fired at the guy behind Steve,
“Thanks, Buck,” Steve said as he looked at the rocket, gasping as it began to shake. The top of the building opened up as smoke began to fill the floor below. The Commandos retreated, yelling for Steve and Buck to follow. Captain America looked at his partner in crime, and grinned, “One last ride?”
“Of course Cap,” Bucky said, grabbing two knives out of his ankles as he dug into the rocket. Steve followed suit, driving his shield into the rocket as they climbed up the construct of evil’s last gasp. They climbed up the rocket as the jets started it off, the heroes feeling the G-Forces as they held on for dear life.
It felt like hours when Steve noticed that they couldn’t see land anymore, the air growing colder as the rocket traveled farther up north. Steve looked down to see Bucky struggle, stabbing at the rocket as he pulled himself up with every strength he had left in his body. Steve gulped, looking at his steel-forged shield as he looked back at Bucky,
“Look, Bucky, we gotta turn back and--”
“Steve! Look out!!!” Bucky said as a bullet rang out. Steve turned to see the Red Skull sneering, cocking his pistol again and firing. But he kept missing, why wasn’t he firing at Steve. Steve then looked back, and saw blood coming out of Bucky’s chest, blood spluttering from his mouth, “S-steve?” Bucky’s gripped the loosened, dropping from the rocket,
“BUCKY!!!” Steve roared out, turning to the Red Skull with fury as he launched himself forward, lifting the shield to keep digging closer and closer to the genocidal monster. Red Skull cocked his gun and aimed it at Captain America, who held onto the shield with one hand,
“Any last words Captain, before I change the world forever?” Red Skull asked, furrowing his rigid brow as Captain America pulled something with his teeth, a safety pin. Red Skull froze with fear as Captain America tossed a grenade into his cockpit, his face would’ve turned white if it weren’t blood red,
“Burn in hell, Skull!” Steve let go as the cockpit exploded in fire and brimstone, the rocket erupting into a gigantic blast of flame and metal. The next thing Steve felt was the feeling of falling into ice-cold water, his vision darkening as the air left his lungs.
Steve lay motionless, his closed eyelids not being able to keep away the bright light outside. Was this heaven? Was he at the pearly gates, St. Peter there waiting for him? Steve was never one to think he would make it to heaven, believing that he might have a much warmer spot reserved for him. Or the dark thought of there being nothing that haunted the men he fought with on the frontlines occasionally dripped into his mind, but never would he think it was heaven. It was when someone forced open his eyelid, shining a flashlight in his face that he realized that he was not, in fact, dead.
Steve launched his fist across the scientist's face, shooting up as he looked around the room with sore eyes. Everyone was shocked, wearing white uniforms in a room covered in clean, polished metal. Steve didn’t know where he was, but he wasn’t gonna let Hydra make him their guinea pig and went to work. Doctors rushed out of the room as some tried to slowly confront the man in the tattered leather uniform, holding syringes as Steve regained his sense of balance. He swung his leg around, glass shattering as the men in white fell to the ground, blood coming from their broken noses. Steve looked across the room, seeing his vibranium shield covered in cool water as he picked it up.
Steve ran down the hallway, noticing that whoever these men were took his gun. So be it, Steve always preferred to fight with his fists rather than bullets. The lights above were abnormally brighter than the ones back home, there must be some underground bunker the fuher was building to hide in. Steve took cover just before a fork in the hallway, seeing a squadron of men run down to where he came from. They wore dark clothing, covered head to toe in black and white, bearing an eagle symbol. These weren’t nazis that Steve was familiar with, so what’s going on here?
Steve dashed down the clean maze, peering into offices as these men and women rushed around the base, looking for him. They spoke English, though they used words that Steve never heard of before. What was this sick game, another one of Arnim Zola’s experiments, an American world run by the Third Reich? But not once did any of these men or women end their conversations, their chats, their talks with those two dreaded words that Steve tried to anticipate. None of these people were hailing Hydra.
Steve turned the corner and saw a massive window that showed the outside, but he was more preoccupied as a scientist sprinted down with soldiers behind, carrying tranquilizers and batons that held electricity,
“Wait, wait, hold your fire!” Said the scientist as he looked at Steve, who held his shield up as the man stepped forward. Steve noticed as the man stepped forward that his clothes were much different than anyone he’d met so far sneaking around. A red and black jumpsuit that looked much more advanced than any uniform that Steve’s encountered, “Captain Steve Rogers, it’s okay. We’re friends--”
“I don’t know you well enough to call each other friends,” Steve said as he furrowed his stare, “Is this Hydra, son?”
“No, no! Hydra’s long been dealt with, Cap,” The scientist then placed a hand on his chest, “My name is Hank Pym, and this is SHIELD--” Steve took his chance, rushing over to the window as he slammed his shield through the tough glass, falling to the ground before, “No, wait!”
The heater shield drove into the side of the building as Steve slowed down his descent, the beaten and battered steel shield snapping as he managed to land on his feet on the pavement, breathing in the fresh air as he sprinted through the base he was on. It seemed like an island, but Steve could see buildings across the harbor as he rushed towards the docks. In fact, some of those buildings looked familiar, like that one looked like the Empire State Building, and that bridge looked like the Brooklyn Bridge, and that--
Steve stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes unmoving as he stepped forward. He gasped, lifting his battered red gloved hand to his mouth, tears that he didn’t notice welled up in his eyes as he looked on, watching her stand. She stood up high, bearing her torch for all those who would come to this city, ensuring that there was Liberty for all. Steve then gasped as he looked around again, and found himself in New York City. He was home, and the soldier made it home.
But, the buildings looked different. In fact, everything looked different as he looked at the trucks and boats, looking slimmer and curvier than the bulky cars that took him to the front lines with the Howling Commandos. He turned to see the same scientist, Dr. Pym from before, standing in front of him,
“Doc… What the… Where is… What’s going on here?” Steve said, fighting off the nerves that gripped his arms and legs,
“Captain Rogers, what do you remember?” Hank asked as Steve hummed,
“The Skull. The Red Skull, he blasted a rocket, and me and Buck--” Steve stopped, remembering the blood that came out of his best friend, “Bucky. Did he make it? Where are the other Commandos?”
“Please, Captain Rogers, you took down the rocket and fell, right? Into the water?”
“What does that matter!? Where are the boys?” Steve said as he stomped over to Hank, trying to withhold his anger as he clenched his fists,
“Dead, Steve. All of them,” Stepping toward the men was a man covered in scars, the largest of which was blocked as a large eyepatch covered the missing eye. He looked grizzled, his beard the only hair on his head as he lit a cigar, “My father was one of those men. Sergeant Nicholas Fury, right?”
“F-father?” Steve said as he grimaced over at the man in front of him, “But he wasn’t even in his fifties yet, you’re the same age as him!”
“Cap, when you went into the water, your body froze. The supersoldier serum kept you alive, waiting for someone to find you. But while you slept, the world kept turning,” Fury said as he puffed off the cigar, “World War 2 is over. The Germans are no longer our enemy, and neither are the Japanese. The Russians were our enemy after them, but we got it down to a steady stalemate, one that we would like to keep that way. Right now, in our age, America’s biggest enemies are healthcare and diabetes!”
“Wait, you’re saying that I’ve been on ice for years?” Steve said, looking around, “Ten? Twenty?”
“Cap, it’s been almost seventy years since you disappeared,” Steve felt like he was knocked out of himself, and couldn’t stop his hands shaking. Seventy years? It was 1944, and the Germans were on the run as he saved men, women, and children from the death machine the Nazis kept alive, and now it’s… the 21st century? His mom, Steve’s mom… She was dead. His friends back home, his friends on the field, the Commandos… They were dead. Everyone… Everyone Steve knew… Everyone… They were… They were…
Steve dropped his Shield, his knees thudding into the ground as he fainted. Fury sighed as he looked over at Hank,
“We tried to make it a warm welcome, too bad he woke up before we were ready,” Fury said as he smoked his cigar, “How’s his vitals?”
“Besides the trauma of the last greatest war in human history and the mental torment that we just now put him in? He’s in peak condition!” Hank said as the men lifted Captain America up, “Be careful with him, that’s a hero!”
“Moreso than anyone here at this base,” Fury said as he shook his head, “We got a lot to do with this one.”