Post by ReadingTrance on Sept 13, 2013 20:33:34 GMT -5
Issue #3: Stars and Stripes – Part 3
Steve stood in line behind several people. There were a handful of men taking the physical fitness test, all much larger than Rogers.“What are you doing here, bub? Doesn’t seem like your scene.” A deep voice from behind Steve asked him while waiting.
Steve nervously turned around and faced his interrogator. The man had a badass ‘you don’t want to mess with me’ look going for him with his messy hair, massive muscles and slick sideburns.
“I’m here to fight for what’s right.” Rogers answered as the line progressed forwards.
The man smiled. “I guess that’s the spirit. Are you going to be working behind a desk then?”
“No.” Steve shook his head. “I’ll be on the frontlines. They’re going to make me look a little more like you.”
He laughed. Steve didn’t take it as a chuckle in mockery, but more of a laugh of surprise.
“You’re up, bub.” Steve’s new friend tilted his head forwards, indicating Rogers had reached the front of the line.
Steve turned around and found Staff Sergeant William Carter with a stopwatch in hand. Unknown to Steve at the time, he was Sergeant Peggy Carter’s father.
Carter cocked an eyebrow as he stared at Steve. “What’s this scrawny boy doing in my line?”
Steve stood there, unsure of what to say. What could he say? A Staff Sergeant was staring him down and practically calling him unfit for duty.
That’s where Erskine stepped in. “Give him a shot. He’s performed well in every other trial. If Project Rebirth’s results are as predicted, then the outcome of this test will be nullified anyways.”
The Staff Sergeant grunted before stepping out of the way. Rogers took a deep breath. He heard his new acquaintance whisper ‘good luck’ from behind him.
Steve sprinted towards the first obstacle, a climbing frame – also known as monkey bars. He leapt at them and grasped the first bar with both hands. Using the momentum in his favor, he swung to the next bar. And the next. Soon, he was past the first three bars.
However, his weak arms began to fail him.
Steve Rogers fell from the climbing frame four bars short of the finish, landing on the hard floor below him. Without hesitation or letting embarrassment settle in, and ignoring the laughter in the background, Steve quickly recovered back to his feet.
He ran through several hanging sandbags, barely pushing them aside as his skinny frame squeezed in-between. Rogers then made quick work of the tires laid out in front of him, putting one foot in front of the other as he stepped through each tire.
The final obstacle course was a long and thin wooden balance beam. Steve didn’t slow down, knowing he had to show he was capable of keeping up with the other candidates.
Steve ran up the beam and kept his head down, carefully placing one foot in front of the other while maintaining a steady pace. Before he knew it, he had neared the end of the beam. Rogers casually made his way back safely to the ground.
“Not a bad time, Rogers...” Carter said as he looked at his stopwatch.
Steve felt victory wash over him as he leaned over to catch his breath. Unfortunately, Staff Sergeant Carter wasn’t finished speaking.
“...if you’re a teenage girl.”
Half of the candidates in line snorted in laughter. Rogers noticed Erskine look disgusted by Carter’s comment as he approached Steve.
“Let’s go, Steve. You have nothing to be ashamed of.” Erskine put a hand on Rogers’ back.
“Hey!” The badass that talked to Steve in line shouted. “The kid did pretty damn well. Cut him some slack.”
Carter grinned and turned to the man. “You think you can do better, pretty boy? Howlett, is it?”
“Yes, sir.” He gave half a salute.
“Have at it then.” Carter gestured towards the course.
Howlett smirked just before bursting into a sprint.
The crowd watched as he easily swung past the monkey bars, and then powered through the sandbags, followed by amazing agility during the tire course and as he concluded the course with ease on the balance beam.
“Best time of the day.” Howlett said as he walked past Carter and out of the room.
The Staff Sergeant glanced at the stopwatch and then looked up at Howlett as he walked through the door.
“He’s right...” Carter muttered to himself.
Erskine and Rogers followed in Howlett’s footsteps, exiting the room.
“Is he here for Project Rebirth too?” Rogers questioned Erskine.
The doctor kept as head down as he continued to walk. “No, he is not. There are several other experiments taking place today. America is doing all they can to have an advantage over their enemies. Let’s go get started.”
– Sometime Later –
“Inhale.” Erskine gently pressed a plastic mask against Steve’s face.
Rogers took a deep breath, breathing in a noxious gas. Steve began to cough as the doctor pulled the mask away.
“What,” Rogers covered his mouth as he cleared his lungs, “is that?”
“It will coat your insides so they don’t melt during the procedure.”
Steve’s eyes widened. “Wait, melt?”
Erskine looked at him and smirked. “Did you expect to eat some spinach like Popeye to gain these abilities?”
“No.” Rogers didn’t laugh at the joke, staring off into the distance.
The two, along with several others, occupied the testing room where Project Rebirth was to take place. Peggy Carter had already taken the coating agent, while another man waited behind Steve for his turn.
“Let’s get this moving!” Staff Sergeant Carter tried to speed things along.
From watching Peggy earlier, Rogers knew where to go next. He got off of the stool he had been sitting on and walked several feet over to a metallic chair. He planted himself in the seat, followed by the Staff Sergeant securing Steve with several straps.
The two locked eyes before Carter turned away. The man respected Rogers for having the bravery to go through with this, even if he would never admit it. Steve was still a scrawny unworthy soldier specimen.
“All set, John.” Erskine said to the third man after removing the plastic breathing mask.
John looked the part of a soldier. He was of average height, muscular build and had short dark hair, but the quality that stood out most was his intimidating broad brown eyes.
After everyone had taken their positions in their respective seats, Staff Sergeant Carter stood in front of the volunteers and began a speech.
“I can guarantee you one thing today. No matter what happens today, it will change the future forever. The three of you will either become a new breed of humanity or, and God we hope not, provide us with more information to strengthen the formula. Either way, I’d like to thank you for your bravery and courage. What you are doing today shows that you are true heroes.”
The Staff Sergeant looked at each of them before giving a ‘good luck’ nod.
Carter turned around. “Let’s get this going, Erskine.”
The doctor pulled several levers and pushed a couple of buttons – science stuff.
Steve and the other two volunteers felt pins pushing into their backs and small needles entering their wrists. Rogers had a sudden urge to look over at Peggy for reassurance, as this may be his last chance to, but he was unable to move.
Numbness overcame Steve. First he lost feeling in his legs and then felt it slowly crawl up his body, eventually losing feeling in everything below his neck. As blinking was all Rogers could do, that action began to speed up until he finally blacked out.
– Several Minutes After –
“Rogers, are you okay?” The sound echoed in his head.
Steve felt a hand gently slapping his cheek to wake him up. His eyes opened, revealing hazy eyesight. Several blinks later, he realized it was Peggy standing in front of him.
“I think I’m okay.” He stepped forward, falling to his knees.
“Whoa.” Peggy knelt beside him, placing a hand on his back. “Your mind and body need to adjust to your enhancements.”
She tossed his left arm over her should and helped him to his feet.
Rogers looked up to find Erskine, Carter and John staring at them.
“Not used to being the size of a soldier, eh Steve?” Carter respectively mocked him.
Rogers weakly put his right arm in front of him and examined it. It was huge! He was even more muscular than the Staff Sergeant.
“This is a scientific breakthrough!” Erskine exclaimed. “Absolutely amazing the work that has been done here today.”
“Doctor Erskine,” John spoke for the first time, “I am very impressed with this and I appreciate your efforts. You must be quite proud you’re the only person that knows about this formula.”
Erskine raised an eyebrow, surprised by John’s comment. “Why yes, I am. But I couldn’t have done this without help. I’m just proud I could pull it all together.”
John flashed a wide smile. “Perfect.”
No one predicted what came next. John took a step behind Erskine and placed both hands on his head. Before anyone in the room could react, John twisted his handhold. After a loud snap, the doctor’s body immediately went limp and it dropped to the ground.
“No!” Peggy shouted.
John quickly began to step back and shouted goodbye in his native tongue. “Auf Wiedersehen!”
The traitor then turned around and ran.
“Get back here!” Carter drew his sidearm and chased after him.
“Go! Get him.” Steve ordered Peggy, pulling his arm away. “I’ll be fine.”
Peggy looked him in the eye as he weakly held himself up.
“I’ll come back.”
She then took off after her father and John with enhanced running speed.
Steve tried to stand up, but crumbled to the ground. The project must have taken an extreme toll on his body, as it was the least prepared for this type of transformation. Rogers rolled over onto his back and tried to endure the effects, hoping that his body would quickly adapt to the situation.
– The Next Day –
Steve stood next to Peggy in front of the Staff Sergeant. The two Carter’s were unsuccessful in their attempt to apprehend John the prior day. Rogers had recovered from his painful experience after a short period of time. Now, everyone was moving on.
“We suffered a major casualty yesterday and we are all mourning the loss. It turns out John was a Nazi spy known as Johann Schmidt. Even though we have no idea how he got by undetected, we cannot make a mistake like that again.” Carter spoke to his daughter and Rogers while accompanied by several soldiers. “But we need to continue to push forward. The enemy obviously isn’t resting and neither can we.”
Two soldiers stepped forward, arms filled with gear.
“Steve, today I make you an official soldier. A man fighting for America’s wellbeing.” He motioned to the soldier on his right. “Today, you become a new man.”
The soldier stepped forward and handed Steve some equipment. Rogers used his newly acquired massive arms to hold the gifts.
“Peggy, I am very proud of you. Today, you also have become a new woman. You’re a fearless leader and I have no doubt you’ll help this country.”
The second soldier handed Peggy her gear.
“You will both find a unique weapon and America inspired outfits to wear in the battlefield. You two have become American icons and will lead our army to victory.”
Rogers looked down and found a square shield sitting on top of his clothing. It had red and white stripes, while the top was dark blue painted with white stars.
He then glanced over and saw Peggy had a similar circular shield.
“Those two shields are made of a rare metal called vibranium. Our scientists had to work extremely hard to find it, so hold onto those unique weapons. Not even bullets can penetrate those shields. They will serve you well on the battlefield.”
Both super soldiers took a second take, examining their shields.
“Since you two are now icons, I think you deserve some admirable titles.” He smiled proudly. “Steve, you will be called Colonel Stars and Stripes. I think you’ll be quite accepting of the title of Colonel.”
Steve’s eyes widened in happiness. “Yes, sir.” He saluted.
“And you, Peggy, will be called Captain America.”
Her feet snapped together as she silently saluted. Carter returned both of their salutes and concluded his speech.
“Now let’s win this war and kill some Nazis!”