April 18 1942 18:26 – Steven Rogers is 23 years old.
It had been a long day for the kid working in the toll booth. It seemed all people wanted to do was watch promotional clips from the war in Europe. America hadn’t been involved that long and those still at home were either too weak, about to be shipped over or women and children. There were queues as far as the eye could see just after lunch, everyone was lining up for the chance to cheer for their soldiers and their country. Not two minutes ago, a woman had walked up and ordered a tickets with tears in her eyes and tightly clenching a heart-shaped locket, no doubt with a picture of a man who might not return home, or worse, he’d return home with the demons that plagued so many men. As he stared into the street, a young frail man walked up to the booth. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, his body didn’t seem to be able to hold itself as he waddled over, pulling his coat tighter around his skinny frame. “Another one Rogers?” asked the box office attendant.
“Yeah.”
“You might as well build a house in there, the amount of time you spend in it.”
“What can I say, I’m a patriot.”
“If we had your determination in another man’s body, we’d have won the war in a week. You going to apply again?”
“I have to, why should I be any different than the guys risking their lives overseas.”
“Damn straight Rogers. It’s just through there, you know the way.”
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April 19 1942 – 10:42
“Steven Rogers, how many times have I seen you in here?” General Adams chuckled, “You just don’t give up do you? So, what’s your excuse this time, hmm?” Adams picked up the file that was lying on his desk and flicked through it. “You haven’t gained any muscle mass, your asthma hasn’t gotten any better and you damn well know I can’t put you out there until you’re physically fit!”
“General...”
“Steve, don’t.” He wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief and flattened his non-existent hair. “I made a promise to your father, I told him I’d keep you away from the army. No matter how much I wanted to train you to be just as good a soldier as him, I couldn’t. When he died I was thrown.” Steve looked away in anguish, his cheeks became hot and flustered and tears welled up in his eyes. He put his fist to his mouth in an attempt to cover the fact that he was gasping for air. General Adams rested his head on his hands and looked at his desk for a while before glancing once at the broken figure in front of him. He was a persistent kid just like his daddy, he thought to himself. He’d kept it together when his dad died. He was right there in the base playing with a few recruits when they were attacked. Adams sighed as he looked up to the broken, weeping figure that stood before him. “Tell you what Steve, I can’t promise anything will happen but I’ll put you through some tests. Not physicals but things like gun shooting and throwing grenades. We’re looking at bringing marksmen in for long range shooting. “
“Thanks, General”
“You get some sleep and I’ll see you here in the morn’. I’ll call it in and send somebody to meet you. You’ll sleep on camp tonight, we need one of our medical teams to take some blood. Go on now.” Steve stood up and walked out of the tent, looking back to the General once and nodded his head with appreciation.
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April 20 1942 – 03:11
“He might not be much to look at, but I knew his pappy.”
“Yes? He serve in this war?”
“No. He got shot down when our base was attacked by a small band of terrorists.”
“I am sorry to hear that. In Germany we have a saying tha--“
“I don’t care what saying you have in Germany, he’s off limits to your wacko experiment Frankenstein.”
“The boy should be feeling anger, but that is not the reason he wants to go to War?”
“No.”
“Well, what is?”
“He loves his country. The ideal man, and he can’t even go off to fight.” Steve opened his eyes a little at the two figures standing in the opening to the tent. He could make out one of them by voice alone, General Adams, but what did he mean by experiment? And who was the other man talking to him. He thought he heard them say Germany but that couldn’t possibly be right.
“Listen, General Adams. If we are to fight against the bottom of humanity then we need thhe most dedicated and strongest men available.”
“Look at him! He isn’t strong at all!”
“Not physically. Our experiment will fix that, we need strength of the mind.” Steve moved his head a little, trying to get a better listen to what they were saying. “If he wants to go off and protect his country then he will easily survive our experiment.”
“I don’t care how strong he is. You’re not having him.” Steve could see Erskine stepping away from the General as Adams made himself as tall as he could.
“Eurrr, General Adams? Sir?”
“Steve. I didn’t expect you to wake up.” General Adams face was now a little red and his eyebrows furrowed. He let out a deep breath before gesturing to the small bearded man who stood behind him. “This is Dr. Abraham Erskine.”
“Steven, I have heard good things about you. I was just having a discussion with General Adams here.”
“I heard.”
“Really, what did you hear?”
“That you’re from Germany.” General Adams stepped in.
“That’s all?”
“Yeah. I was half-asleep.”
“Alright. You get some sleep. Be ready at oh-nine-hundred, somebody’ll bring you down for breakfast and then the exercise is at nine-thirty.”
“Thanks General.” As General Adams and the German scientist left his tent, Steve dropped back onto the folded sheet he was sleeping on. He put his hands to his head and ran his fingers through his blonde hair. He had just come face-to-face with a German. A possible Nazi. No, Steve thought to himself, not all Germans are evil. Evil is the idea behind the face, not the face itself. He took some time, thinking about the conversation, looking for clues that weren’t all there, until eventually he fell asleep again.
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April 20 1942 – 09:00
Steve was finishing shining his boots and tying his laces when his camp guide showed up. Steve looked up and smiled, trying to make eye contact with the young private stood before him. The private stood straight, arms by his side and chin up high as he proceeded to shout “Mister Rogers, Steven. I have instructed by General Adams to lead you to the mess hall for breakfast.”
“Well, thanks. But I’m not a military officer, you don’t need to shout towards me.”
“My apologies Sir, the General made it very clear that you were to be treated with respect at all times.” The young man still refrained from making eye contact, shifting his head so he wasn’t looking at Steve every second.
“Really? I didn’t know he cared so much. How old are you? You look to be 15.”
“16. Sir.” The young man looked down at the ground and sensing his error looked back up swiftly.
“A little too young to be in the army, aren’t you?”
“I’m not officially in the army sir. I’m camp mascot.” He said with a smile.
“Well, I’ll be. What’s your name son?”
“James Buchanan Barnes. Sir.” He lifted his oversized army helmet and grinned at Steve.
“Well, mister Barnes. Shall we get going?”
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April 20 1942– 9:10
Steve looked around him, the mess hall was filled with soldiers talking and laughing. Faraway from the nightmare on the front lines he thought, this may be one of the only moments of happiness they got. “C’mon mister Rogers, eat up or it’ll get cold.” Steve looked down at the soup in front of him.
“I don’t feel like it James.”
“C’mon Steve, I thought you had some kinda training exer—”
“JAMES BUCHANAN BARNES!!!!!! WELL MASCOT! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU. YOU AIN’T WANTED HERE!” Barnes turned round to the soldier who was up to three time his size. Barnes’ eyes grew wide with terror as the soldier pulled back his fist and held him by the throat.
“Leave him alone.” Steve was surprised to hear his own voice. The soldier put the boy down and stared at Steve.
“Who’s this, mascot?” He sneered. “Your boyfriend?” The soldier lent on the table Steve was sat at and poked him in the chest. Steve didn’t move. “Just like I thought. A coward. He’ll say something but won’t do anything else.” Steve watched him turn back to Barnes.
“You heard what I said dim-wit. Leave. Him. Alone.”
“Dim-wit? Ooh boy, you shouldn’t have said that. Now I’m gonna have to teach you a lesson.” Steve stood up and grabbed his bowl of soup, throwing it towards the soldier’s face. It connected and the soldier tried to cover his eyes, attempting to soothe the burning sensation. As his opponent was still blinded, Steve swung his metal tray towards the man’s face and clocked on him on the side of the head and then again on the back. By this time, the big man’s buddies had surrounded Steve and James, making it two-against-six.
“Hardly fair odds.” Steve said as he held the tray up to block one of the soldier’s punches. The tray, now fully useless bent in half was discarded as Steve went for the empty bowl lying on the floor. He ducked as one of the soldiers tried to kick him in the mid-section but Steve dived for his knee taking him down. By the time he remembered James and turned around, the boy had already dismantled three and was one his way to dropkicking a fourth. Both feet landed firmly on the soldier’s face. They hadn’t noticed before, but a large crowd had gathered around, cheering on the unlikely duo. Steve winced as a fist slammed into his side from behind, he crumpled to the floor and the last remaining soldier lifted his leg, determined to stamp on Steve’s small frame. Steve, shut his eyes and clenched his teeth, waiting for the agony that would follow. Before the soldier but carry out his plan he was stopped by General Adams. James Barnes was escorted back to his room by two soldiers and Steve was helped up by General Adams, who wanted to talk to him outside.
“Steve. What happened in there?”
“They were bullying that kid.”
“I know that, but I mean, the fighting. You managed to take two guys down using a bowl and a tray!”
“General Adams--”
“That class you had 5 minutes from now. You ain’t taking it no more.”
“B-But General, I only did what I thought was--”
“Steve, you’re misunderstanding. I’m not taking your chance away from you. I’m giving you a greater chance than you had before. Come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“To see Dr. Erskine.”
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April 20 1942 – 10:15
“Ahh! Our hero returns!” Erskine chuckles to himself
“Hero?” Steve eyebrows rise.
“Yes. I saw your little heroic moment down there in the mess hall Ja? Adrenaline makes a man do wonderful things. So! General Adams, why have you brought Mr. Rogers here to meet with me?”
“The boy wants a chance. You’ve got something to offer him.”
“That may be.”
“I’ll leave you boys to talk alone.” General Adams leaves the room. Erskine gestures to Steve to take a seat.
“Now, Steven. The General and I have some very important plans to help us win the war. But to do this we need someone who will willingly be a symbol for America. We need someone to publicly take the fight to these Nazis and win with our hearts and our courage.”
“I’d gladly do it, but I’m not in much shape to go to different parts of the world.”
“That is what the General was talking about. We have a serum. A super-soldier serum. Granting the subject peak human abilities. To win the war against Nazis you can’t just be human, you have to be the best human. It will give you the body that everyman dreams of.”
“And you want me?”
“Your persistence and determination was what caught my eye in the first place. Your little show in the mess hall only impressed me more. We want you to be our test subject.”
“I’ll be the first to try this thing out?” Erskine looked away for a second and there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. Steve concentrated on his face and repeated his question. “Doc?”
“Yes.”
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May 20 1942 – 8:00
Dr. Abraham Erskine smiles as Steve Rogers takes his last puff from an inhaler. Over the last month, Steve had been put through mental and physical tests. The last 30 days being used to ready Rogers for this challenge. The challenge to become Captain America, the greatest of men. As Rogers had prepared, Erskine had developed the formula further, making sure it was truly ready for its final test. “Steven Rogers. Your country awaits you.” Steve smiled back and stood up, following Dr Erskine out of the room. After several minutes of driving, the jeep they were travelling in stopped. It came as no surprise to Steve that they built the lab on base. Not much chance of infiltration and they could disguise it as an intelligence building. Steve expected to be led into one of the side rooms but instead a high pressure door was opened in the ground. Steve followed General Adams as Erskine and his crew went straight down to the lower testing level. General Adams looked at Steve.
“Listen Steve, I need to know if you’re really ready for this.”
“I’m ready General, I’m sure of it.” Said Steve, underneath the exterior, his body was flooded with nerves. What if he died during the testing process?
“Kid, your dad would be proud of ya.”
“No matter what I did, he always was.” General Adams made his way to the safety box where other high-ranking military officials were waiting. Steve was shown the way down to the lower testing level by a group of scientists. Erskine was waiting for him at the bottom. In the middle was a bed with restraints, as Steve laid down on it, Erskine explained the process. “It’s quite a difficult process. The many mental challenges we set you was to prepare you for this moment. When we inject you with the serum, your body will reject it at first. It’s trying to transform you, only naturally, the serum will win in the end. How long it takes we do not know. You have to keep strong Steven. The restraints are for your protection…mostly.” Erskine readied the needle, Steve took deep breaths several times and shut his eyes as the needle inserted his body. Seconds after Erskine removed it, the whole table shook and Steve’s eyes turned red with blood. His heart rate became faster and faster and faster until it stopped completely. Up above, tears fell from General Adam’s face and his head drooped low. All of a sudden, the monitor started beeping again and Steve’s chest felt heavy. Erskine let out a cry of joy and Steve smiled before laughing. “WE DID IT! HAHA! WOOO!” Erskine shouted. “How do you feel Steve?”
“Like a million bucks.”
“I doubt even a million dollars would buy you that body.” He was right, Steve’s skinny frame was replaced by a well-toned, thick and built body which surpassed even that of an Olympic-level athlete. Steve’s restraints were being undone as the high-pressure door swung open and a cry for help was heard. “WE’RE UNDER ATTACK! GERMAN FORCES HAVE HIT THE BASE” Steve was the first to react, leaping up to the upper level. He ran through the door and bolted past the military officials. “STEVE!” Steve looked back and caught the mask that was thrown his way. He threw it on quickly and exited the tent. The scene outside was barbaric. Brave American men and women equipped with a petty machine gun against tanks and whole hordes of Nazi scum. Steve made straight for the nearest tank, leaping onto it. Even if he took out all three, the base would still be outnumbered 4-1 in manpower. He opened the hatch at the top and pulled the gunner out, tossing him over the barricade the American soldiers had created. Once inside, the Nazi was a dead man. Steve jumped in and knocked out the driver. Taking the controls himself, he fired on the two groups of German soldiers who had the most chance of breaking through. They were all injured, but none of them killed. Allowing for POWs and Intel. Steve exited the tank, leaving it in the hands of one of the soldiers who used it to fire at the other two enemy tanks. By this time, the US forces had been cut in half and the Germans were still advancing. Steve tore the hatch off of the nearest tank and used it to shield the remaining US forces as they retreated back into the base. When the troops had constructed another barricade, Steve jumped into the heart of the Nazi attack. Taking most of them out using the tank hatch as an offensive weapon. The Germans seemed to be paying him less attention and he was soon to find out why, they were slowly behind trapped between the existing US forces and 3 jeeps full of armed men. Not to mention the air support that had arrived. Cap wouldn’t know it yet, but Nick Fury and the howling commandos had just arrived.
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May 21 1942 – 4:00
The clean-up had been going on for close to two hours. Once support had arrived, the Germans tried to flee. A small percentage of them succeeded, escaping from the US forces, but not before they had killed and shot Erskine. A man with an eye patch had exited one of the vehicles and gone straight into a meeting with General Adams. Steve had used the moment everyone was called to the mess hall for a talk to slip back into his tent. There he took out the mask from underneath his bed sheet and stared at it, outside he heard footsteps approaching but assumed it was just a group of soldiers that were late for the talk. The cloth that hung outside the entrance pulled upwards and the astonished face of James Buchanan Barnes was in plain sight. His eyes were fixed on the mask in Steve’s hand. “Steve! You-You’re him! That masked her- ” Steve hand now covered Barnes’ mouth.
“James, you can’t tell anyone.”
“But Steve-“
“No buts. You can’t tell anyone.”
“Who would I tell? You’re my only friend in the whole camp. Over the past month, you’ve treated me better than anyone else has in my entire life.”
“Bucky.” As Steve had taken to calling him.
“Hey, can I have a costume too? I could be your partner! Stars ‘n’ Stripes! That could be our duo name!”
“Bucky! No! You’re not even meant to know this!” General Adams had turned up without making any noise. “General Adams! Erm, Bucky was just-”
“It’s alright Steve. Young Barnes here has quite the talent.”
“You mean-“ said Bucky.
“Steve if you’re willing. He can be trained to be your partner.”
“Wow, that’s fantastic! Bucky, we’re going to be heroes!”
“Damn right we are Steve!” gleamed Bucky.
“Now Steve, the reason I came here wasn’t to eavesdrop. It was introduce you to this man.” The eye-patched man from before walked through, smoking a cigar. “This here is Major Nicholas Fury. His team of “Howlin’ Commandos” were the help we needed badly. In 10 days time, after you’re fully equipped and trained. You’re going with his team to Germany itself. Steve, you’re going to win us the war.”
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January 5 1943 – 21:38 Steve Rogers is 24 years old.
Over the past eight months, Captain America and Bucky had gone on a variety of missions. They had battled the evil likes of Arnim Zola and Baron Zemo. Triumphed over scientific disasters such as Masterman and teamed up in the US with heroes like the Human Torch, Miss America and Black Marvel to foil evil Nazi spy plots and had saved countless people from the grip of the Nazi empire. But now, there seemed to be the biggest threat of all. A Nazi power known as the Red Skull had planned to launch a massacre in New York city. Using severely advanced technology to place heavily equipped Nazi troops into New York with little trouble. Cap and Bucky had been charged with saving them.
The plan was that the two would parachute into the Red Skull’s base of operations and take out their heavy weaponry so that the commandos could provide aid. Unfortunately , the plan had already fallen in pieces. The plane carrying them had already been flagged and was being tailed by two enemy planes already. It was the closest they could get, so they jumped. The dive wasn’t bad, both were falling at a relatively safe speed. They deployed their parachutes and Steve led with the shield covering his face, Bucky coming down soon after him. They were met with gunfire before they even touched the ground. As they unclipped their parachutes, a small group of Nazi soldiers burst through the tower’s door. Firing everything they had, Cap and Bucky defeated them with relative ease. Rather than enter through the front door, the two decided to scale the structure. “Stay with me, Bucky!”
“I’m right behind you Steve!” One of the German enemy planes fired on the tower, igniting the side on which they were climbing. Instinctively, Steve kicked through the window below him and helped Bucky inside. “Where do you think we are, Cap?”
“I don’t know, Buck. But from what I can gather, this must be where the Skull’s most important experiments are.”
“Who is the guy anyway?” Bucky whispered.
“Johann Schmidt. Apparently, one of Hitler’s favourites. And we’re taking him down for Uncle Sam. Wait here, I’ll scout ahead.” Bucky paused in his tracks as Steve peeked around the corner of the door in front of him. He crossed the hallway quickly and proceeded forward.
“Steve, wait!” Bucky’s warning was too late, Steve had knocked off a trip wire and now the hall way had exploded. Bucky safe on the other side at least. “STEVE!”
“I’m okay Bucky! See if you can’t climb down and get to the commandos. They should be in by now, I’ll head up and find the Skull.” Bucky nodded and climbed back out the window. Steve moved up the stairs and after he’d turned the corner, felt a hand slam his face against the wall. “Skull.” Steve spat the word out as the two brawled. Cap threw the first punch, landing it on Schmidt’s jaw. The Skull came back with a knee to mid-section which Cap recovered from with a head-butt to the Skull’s stomach. Cap blocked the Skull’s uppercut with his shield before slamming the shield straight into his face knocking him into the next room. Cap looked at the several bodies chained to the small wall. “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR SCHMIDT! WHO WERE THESE PEOPLE?!!”
The Skull laughed through his broken nose, “hehe, Jews and Americans. Scum.”
Steve kneed him in the face and kicked him into the centre of the room. “You can’t stop what is happening here American. This is god’s will!”
“God would never condone the murder of innocents!”
“How can you say you are all innocent, when your own side has betrayed you.”
“What?” Cap turned around and was greeted with a fist which cracked into his skull. He regained his bearings and stared at the man with the bowler hat before him. “Dum Dum?”
“That’s all you ever called me. Not Timothy, but ‘Dum Dum’ right? Well who’s dumb now Captain? Who joined the right side? ”
“Tim, the Nazis are not the right side.”
“I wasn’t talking about the Nazis.” He pulled a pistol from his side and shot the Skull in the head. “I’m talking about mine. The side which managed to kill the Red Skull even after Captain America had failed. Time to die Captain.” Steve lunged for Dugan’s pistol. He managed to disarm him but was shot in the knee as a result. Steve dropped to the floor in agony. “Let’s hope seawater will fix that wound.” Dugan grabbed a hold of Cap’s foot and as he begun to drag him, Steve passed out.
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January 6 1943 00:56
Bucky and the Howlin’ Commandos had managed to subdue and arrest the remaining Nazi soldiers by the time Dugan arrived, carrying the Skull’s corpse over his shoulder. “Dum Dum.” Dugan turned to Bucky with a menacing look in his eye. “Where’s Steve?” His face changed to a fake sorrow.
“He fought well, but the Skull shot him and threw him into the sea. I couldn’t do anything. Nick Fury patted Bucky on the back, “I’m sorry kid.” Bucky stared down at the ground. “C’MON COMMANDOS, LET’S MOVE OUT!”
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January 13 1943 8:45
“Sergeant Timothy Dugan. You managed to shoot and kill the Red Skull. You have our highest thanks and as such would like you to consider our offer of a large organisation who will protect the American public domestically at a higher level than any other previous organisation after the war. A world-peace keeping force if you will.”
“I have mister president. And I’m honoured and have decided to accept. I’ve even thought of a name.”
“Really. Out of interest, what is it?”
“H.A.M.M.E.R.”
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