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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters & properties that belong to Marvel or DC Comics. They all belong to their rightful owners/companies.
-March, 1942.-
"Just wait here, sir, I'll be back soon." The nurse said as she took the medical form and exited the makeshift medical room.
Steve Rogers sat down on the patient's bed watching the young nurse walk away as she pulled back the pale blue curtains and disappeared behind them. The young man then looked down at brown, tiled, floor; hoping that this would finally be one.
Ever since he first heard about the Third Reich had invading Poland and conquering most of Europe, Steve wanted to fight in the war. His resolve to fight the war was even more adamant during that fateful day on December 7th, 1941. When the Japanese attacked the Hawaiian United States Naval Base of Pearl Harbor.
After that horrible day rumors and stories of the Japanese soldiers committing atrocities to the people of China started to come out on the scene. These horrendous tales were also paired with the extremely bloody battles and massacres that the Nazi armies were inflicting to the Russian people and Red Army. And there was the accounts of constant air bombings and U-boat surprise attacks that were being on against England.
Each and every story he heard just made Steve more and more eager to join the war. He wanted to make a difference out there. There was only one problem with him realizing that dream; his own body. His thin and frail body had been the source of several of his medical forms being marked with a "Canceled" stamp.
"You're shoulder bone will shatter from firing a rifle just one time!"
"You'd die within one week of basic training!"
"You're not fit to fight in this war."
"I'm sorry son, but I'm doing this to save your life."
Steve's eyes narrowed as he remembered each of these doctors giving their reasons as to why they canceled his medical forms time and time again; but none of their reasons deterred him from trying.
"It'll be different this time…" The skinny man muttered to himself "It has to be."
He had never made it this far in the medical examination without getting 'shooed' away, so that was as promising of start as he could hope for. If his luck could keep just on holding up, he'd be out there soon…
'Maybe I'll see Bucky out there.' Steve thought.
Bucky Barnes, his best friend since childhood, if there ever was another reason as to why Steve would want to go out to the war; he would be it without a doubt. Bucky was always looking out for him, even when his parents died all those years ago, Bucky was able to convince his own folks to allow Steve to move in with them. Steve could never repay Bucky for that one; no matter how hard he tried.
Now he was out there, in basic training, sure, but still out there. Steve remembers when Bucky came to visit him one day fully dressed in a military uniform with his medical form having the "Active for duty" stamp freshly on it. Steve was so happy for his friend, but at the same time saddened because of how they wouldn't be going to fight in this war together.
Now was his chance to get there, now was his chance to prove everyone who ever dismissed him from joining the war to be wrong.
As he continued to stare down at the ground, the young Rogers couldn't help but notice how long it was taking the nurse to come back with his form. He had been sitting on the patient's bed for what was easily 10 minutes by now; what was going on?
Slowly getting himself off of the bed, Steve, slightly moved the curtains of the makeshift medical room to peek at what was happening. After scanning across the room for any sign of the nurse, Steve was able to finally locate her by the front desk. His eyes widened once Steve saw her in an intense conversation with another doctor and a burly soldier with an 'MP' arm band on his upper left arm. The young man became even more shocked once he saw her hand the doctor the form and point directly at the room he was in.
Steve quickly backed away from the medical curtain, as he backed up his eyes quickly fell on a poster to his left. The image was of a soldier pointing directly at Steve with the captions "Falsifying your medical report is illegal and a punishable crime!". Looking around the makeshift room frantically Steve was able to put on his jacket and shoes in less than a minute.
Steve then searched the room again for any sign of an exit, and was able to locate a window directly above the patient bed. Thinking fast the frail Rogers got on top of the bed and began to unlatch the lock on the window. Just as he was able to unlock the window the sound of the curtains opening made him look behind himself to find the a doctor, wearing glasses and having a beard on his face, stare up at the skinny young man with a look of combined look of utter confusion and complete surprise.
"What are you doing?" he asked in a heavily accented voice.
Steve looked at him, then at the unlocked window, then back at the doctor again. "I'm uhh, just opening up the window. You know, to get so fresh air in here."
The doctor just stared at Steve for a while before nodding his head. "That's would be a smart idea, it is rather stuffy in here don't you think?"
Now it was Steve's turn to look confused. "…I guess?"
The two just kept on staring at each other before the doctor spoke once again. "Well, go on then. Open it up."
The frail Rogers shifted his head back to the window and slowly raised up the glass covering allowing the cool air of a nearby breeze to come crashing in his face and into the recruitment room.
"Ah, that is much better. Is it not?" the doctor asked him.
Steve turned his head away from the breeze to look back at the older man. "Yeah, it is."
"Good, now how about you take a seat." the doctor said as he took a seat in the chair that the nurse was using prior.
Steve looked back out the window, it would be easy for him to take his leave now. He could just head back to Bucky's and wait a few days before he could try his hand again at being recruited for the war.
But something was stopping Steve from doing that, he looked back at the doctor who was sitting in the char and looking over his medical form, so far the man hadn't done anything drastic to Steve and the young man hadn't seen the Military Police officer that was standing next to him earlier, maybe he still had a chance here. Slowly coming down, Steve re-took his seat on the patient bed while the doctor still read over the medical form.
"Let's see here," the Doctor mumbled loud enough for his patient to hear him. "Eye Color: Blue…Hair Color: Blonde…Build: Very Light…Age: 24..." a smile formed on the doctor's face as he turned to the frail Rogers "Would you like to know something that's humorous?"
Steve stared at the doctor, the right corner of his mouth ready to form a smile. "What's that?"
The doctor flipped the form to Steve revealing its contents to him. "This form is exactly identical to five other forms that were failed in different areas of the city in the past few weeks; each one under a different name." he said as he flipped the form back to himself.
Steve's face went flat, he felt some beads of sweat fall down his forehead and heard his throat make a silent gulp at the statement. He immediately started to think that he should've gone out the window instead of staying here. This doctor knew, he knew that he was the one that was described in the other failed forms.
Looking back at the medical expert, Steve was surprised when the older man placed the form on a nearby desk. Taking off his glasses to rub his eyes before placing them back on, the man looked back at the startled man.
"So why do wish to go off and fight in the war, mien friend? Do you want to go out there and kill some Nazis?"
"No," Steve said shaking his head slightly "it's just…"
"Just what?" The doctor inquired having a hint of curiosity in his voice "Is there a more personal reason, or is it something that you aren't comfortable talking about?"
"No it's nothing like that, sir. It's just that I don't like bullies." Steve quickly responded.
"Hmph." Doctor hummed, clearly not anticipating that kind of response to his question. "So you do want to kill the Nazis then?"
Steve just shook his head at the question. "No, if I was able to, I wouldn't want to kill anyone while I'm out there." Steve then looked down at his hands, taking a breath before looking the doctor in the eyes. "But if I'm forced to kill an enemy soldier to ensure the safety of the other men and innocent people, then I'm willing to cross that line to ensure their safety."
Nothing happened after that, the doctor simply stared at the scrawny man before letting out a deep exhale through his nose and grabbing the medical form that was on the nearby desk.
"Mr. Wallace" he said in a higher tone that he was using for Steve's questions.
Just then the curtains opened up revealing the big Military Police Officer, making Steve tense up cower to his side as the man stepped into the room.
'This is it. I'm going to be arrested now.' Steve thought grimly.
Just as he got ready to make a quick break past the soldier to the exit, the doctor simply held up the medical form to the soldier who took it before saluting the man and leaving the room; surprising Steve very much.
"Is this a test?" Steve asked the doctor, who looked briefly looked at his alarmed patient.
"Ja." The doctor replied.
Steve reluctantly got comfortable on the patient bed again as he asked his next question "Did I pass it then?"
"Not quite yet."
Just as the words left the lips of the doctor the Military Police Officer returned in the room and handed the doctor the form.
"Thank you, Mr. Wallace." The doctor said as he looked over the form "You can wait outside." The soldier briefly saluting him and leaving the two alone once more.
"It appears that in order for you to pass," the doctor said as he took his eyes off the paper and back to Steve "Our mystery patient must first give his name and where he lives."
Steve took a deep breath at that statement, had used various alias and different neighborhoods that he knew of when he had filled out the last few forms. Using his natural name and neighborhood could be dangerous for him; but something was telling Steve this would be different. That this was his one, and only, shot he had at making any sort of difference out there.
"My name is Steve Rogers, I live in Brooklyn, New York."
The doctor reached inside of his coat and pulled out a pen, he began jotting down the new information. Once he finished he placed his pen back into his coat before handing the paper to Steve.
"I did spell your name correctly, Mr. Rogers?" he politely asked as Steve looked over the paper.
As Steve's eyes scanned across the paper he quickly lost his breath and his eyes widened, the contents of it (including his name) were all correct but that's not what was surprising him. What was surprising him was the big red-inked letters stamped on the bottom of the form. "Active for duty."
"Steven? Is everything okay?" the Doctor asked, not getting an answer to his previous question.
Steve's eyes blinked rapidly as he slowly came back to reality, "Sorry, Um, yes, you got my name right, sir."
The doctor then extended his hand and Steve handed him the form. "Congratulations, Mr. Rogers" he said before he got up and headed for the curtain.
"Wait a minute, sir." Steve exclaimed, making the doctor turn back to face the frail young man.
"What is it, Mr. Rogers?" the older man asked as Steve got off the patient's bed.
"I'd just like to know your name if it's not too much trouble."
The doctor's eyes narrowed slightly behind his glasses, he then let out a deep sigh before he answered. "My name is Dr. Abraham Erskine, and I live in Queens if you were wondering."
"Dr. Erskine," Steve said as he approached the doctor. "I just want to say thank you for giving me this chance."
Steve then held out his hand to the doctor who stared at the hand for a few seconds before slowly gripping it and shaking it.
"My pleasure, Mr. Rogers" He said with a smile.
"You don't need to call me that," Steve stated as his hand separated from the doctor's. "You can just call me Steve."
"Very well, Steve." The doctor replied with a small grin before heading out the curtains; leaving his patient by himself.
Steve smiled to himself as he stared at the ground, it finally happened. Today he got his chance; a chance to make difference in the world.
As he laid on his spring bed in the middle of the emptied barracks, Steve couldn't help but feel the soreness of his muscles, or lack thereof, on his body. When people were telling him he wouldn't last basic training they weren't kidding; the army had a brutal training schedule for him and every other trainee out here.
It was always nonstop running, pushups, and sit-ups day after day, once and a while they would change the pattern of the day with a rough obstacle that encompassed a long crawl which forced Steve to stay on his stomach as he made the long, agonizing, crawl under barbed wire that was laced with freshly bloodied pig guts; the stench of the crimson liquid alone almost made him puke his guts out halfway through the course. But if there one thing a person would know about Steve Rogers, it's that he never quits.
Steve steeled himself up against that disgusting course and pushed himself past it, just like he did with all of the other daily exercise that he was required to do daily. It wasn't an easy thing for him to do, especially with all of the drill sergeants yelling at him to give up, or saying he doesn't belong out here and should just go on back to his home. Yet, much to their surprise Steve continued, until he finished every single form of exercise right down to the number.
"Ugh!" The skinny Rogers grunted in slight agony as he tried to shift his body to a sitting position on the side of the bed.
Taking a couple of rapid breaths to try and quicken to the pain, Steve's head suddenly perked up once he heard a sharp knocking sounds come from behind him. Twisting his torso around Steve looked behind him to see the familiar sight of Dr. Erskine standing at the opened door of the barracks with, what appeared to be, a bottle of liquor and two drinking glasses in his hands.
"I hope you don't mind if I come in Steve, or would you prefer to spend the night by yourself?" he asked.
"I don't mind," he quickly answered, putting a little smile on the doctor's face. "Feel free." he said as he motioned for the the doctor to step on inside.
The doctor then walked into the emptied barracks, casually strolling up to Steve and took the bed in front of the malnourished man as his seat. Once he settled down in his seat, the doctor gently placed the two glasses on the nightstand; putting one close to him and one close to Steve. He then uncorked the liquor bottle and carefully poured out its contents, a dark red colored liquid, in his glass.
As he poured Erskine took a quickly glance at Steve who was watching pour out the liquid with a rather dull expression on his face.
"Are you nervous about tomorrow, Steve?"
The young man only lowered his head to stare at his sore, raw, hands…tomorrow…tomorrow was going to be nothing short of a big day for Steve. Tomorrow was the going to be the very reason that Dr. Erskine had even approved of Steve's form for the army recruitment all those long weeks ago; Project Rebirth. According to what he was told about the project from the doctor and other people, the goal of the project was to make a normal man into the perfect soldier, the perfect individual to fight in this war and other to follow.
Steve took a deep breath as he lifted his head up to the doctor. "Yeah I am. And I'm pretty certain that I won't get a wink of sleep tonight from the jitters."
Erskine smiled at the young man's honesty as he finished pouring the wine in his glass; moving on to the one next to Steve. "Not surprising, after all it's only completely natural for you to be experiencing nervousness."
Just as he finished saying those words, Abraham stopped pouring the liquid in the second glass and placed the bottle down on the floor next to the nightstand. The older man then grabbed his filled glass and raised it; Steve followed likewise.
"A toast to you, Steven."
The doctor then clanged his glass against the young Roger's before he lowered it down to his mouth and took a hearty sip of the aged liquid. While Steve just glared at his reflection in his glass, he didn't know what he could expect to happen to him tomorrow. Would he still look the same afterwards? Would he be different in anyway? He didn't know.
"Ahh." Erskine sighed as the sharp and delicious flavor of the alcoholic drink went down his throat, causing Steve set his glass on the table and revert his attention back at his older friend. "It's good." Erskine commented, before placing his empty glass on the nightstand and grabbing the wine bottle.
"Did you know Steve," he said while looking at the frail Rogers and pointing to bottle. "That my father gave me this as a gift for my eighteenth birthday?"
Steve only shook his head. "No, I didn't know that."
Abraham only smiled as he poured out the bottle's contents into his glass before setting it down on the wooden floorboards. He then grabbed his glass and twirled the liquid in a whirlpool style, watching the red liquid circle furiously in the confines of the glass.
"He was a brewer, my father," Erskine continued "Everyone in my village knew him for brewing a furiously strong ale."
Steve smirked slightly comment, watching the doctor take a small sip of his wine.
"Days were good back then." Abraham said in a happy tone, but his face quickly became one of seriousness, catching Steve off-guard with how fast it was. "Before the Nazis came." He said solemnly. The doctor then scoffed before he finished his second serving of the wine and placed the empty glass on the nightstand; opposite of Steve's still-full glass.
"You know, Steve," Erskine sighed looking at his young friend. "With the Nazis invading so many countries in their attempt to spread their fascist beliefs, many people forget that the first one they invaded was actually their own."
Steve blinked a couple of times before he responded. "Germany?"
"Ja." The doctor nodded, leaning back slightly; as if to prepare himself for telling his companion a long story like a parent would to a child. "Before the Nazis had officially arrived, I was a very skilled and brilliant scientist; who was enjoying the simple and quiet lifestyle that his village had to offer him."
Steve stared at the doctor, trying his best to imagine what a younger version of him would like in a small German village.
"Then Hitler and the Nazi party came into power." Abraham then took off his glassed to rub his eyes for a few seconds before placing them back on; looking back at Steve who was intensely engaged in his tale so far. "After that happened, Der Fuhrer," Abraham said with a tone of disgust. "Began recruiting as many of Germany's leading experts in as many fields of science as he could. Assigning each one of them to projects that were geared towards his rebuilding for the German army. By then it was only a matter of time before I eventually recruited for one of these projects."
The doctor paused for a second taking a deep breath before he continued.
"When they brought me to Berlin, Hitler wanted me assigned to a project that would enable him to create the prefect fighting man in the world."
"Project Rebirth…." Steve mumbled, yet audible enough for Erskine to hear him and nod discreetly.
"It made perfect sense, after all I had accumulated a strong knowledge of the human body and its functions from the books I would read at various schools that I attended while in the village and other parts of Germany. However once they had told me what they intended for me to work on during my time in Berlin, I openly refused to work for the Nazis."
Erskine took a deep sigh, while Steve still kept his eyes on him on edge from the interesting tale.
"It went without say that Hitler didn't handle my response very well, but they wouldn't kill me like the other doctors and scientists that refused before. Hitler was too obsessed with the project and I was the only one who could deliver the results that he wanted." The doctor took another sigh before he continued. "So Hitler decided to remove me from Berlin and he assigned me to a member of his inner circle; to a man named, Johann Schmidt."
Steve Rogers narrowed his eyes at the name, while he had never heard of the man before in his life. There was something in the tone that the doctor pronounced the name that made him feel as though the man was truly an iniquitous being.
"Once I met Schmidt, I was forced to work on the project, with the man watching my every move as I worked tirelessly throughout the day and into the night. After a few months of forced work, I began to learn of Schmidt's personal beliefs." The doctor paused as he caught his breath again. "Schmidt was a man who was absolutely fascinated by the concept of power, the mere concept of person standing over all others with absolute dominance and authority is something that deeply captivated Schmidt. So much, that he strived for all of his life in the pursuit of a power to fulfill the lust and hunger he had for it. But Schmidt believed that in order for a man to obtain such a power; he couldn't be a common man, nein, but a superior one."
Abraham then stopped to stare down at his two hands. "And he was sure that I could make him into that superior man." The doctor then lifted his head up to the eyes of the engrossed Steve who was patiently waiting for him to continue the story.
Clearing out his throat Erskine continued his tale. "So by the time a prototype of the serum I had spent several months developing was finally complete, Schmidt didn't hesitate to offer himself as the test subject; all in his pursuit to become the superior man he wanted to be in his dream of power."
"Did it work then?" Steve interrupted. "Did Schmidt become what he wanted to be?"
Abraham nodded his head at Steve in acknowledgement. "Ja, the serum operation was successful with Schmidt. But not without having…side-effects."
"Side-effects?" Steve asked with a confused and concerned look on his face. "What kind of side-effects?"
The German doctor took a deep sigh as he straightened himself up before he answered Steve's question.
"After the operation, Schmidt changed…not just physically, but in his personality as well. The serum changed Schmidt from being a man of ambition and evil, to being a man of arrogance and cruelty." The doctor paused to look at Steve in the eye. "And I suspect that the same effect will happen to you as well, Steve."
The scrawny solider quickly had a startled look on his face, his sore muscles were painfully tensing up after his ears were able to pick up the words from the doctor's mouth. Steve began to notice his breathing pick up, why was he chosen for this? If he knew joining the meant becoming arrogant and cruel then he would've outright refused.
The doctor though, seeing his young friend's reaction to what he said quickly raised his hand in an attempt to try and calm down Steve.
"I apologize for starling you Steve, I fear that I misworded the effects of the Serum." He then lowered his hand and leaned forward so he was at eye level with Rogers who was still a little shaken-up from the misinterpreted words.
"What I mean is that the serum will not only enhance you physically, Steve, but every trait and bit of what makes you Steve Rogers; shall also be enhanced as well." Suddenly a smile began to form on his face and he raised his right hand and pointed directly at Steve. "This is why I allowed you to join the army, Steve, and why you are the first one, out of all of the other candidates, to undergo the process of project Rebirth. Because you are not like Schmidt, Steve, you don't view power as a tool for your own glory."
He then pulled back his hand but still kept himself at eye-level with Steve "Nein, You respect the power that is given to you and understand that it must be used for the security and betterment of others rather than oneself."
The doctor then placed a hand on Steve's shoulder, making the frail man look as the hand clasped onto his body and followed it up to the hopeful eyes of Dr. Abraham Erskine.
"You are a good man, Steve Rogers."
Steve just smiled at the compliment, it truly meant a lot for him to hear something like that from somebody.
As the doctor removed his hand and began to straighten himself, Steve reached for his still full glass, looking at the red liquid with a different, clearer, understanding of his reflection, and the importance of tomorrow….
'Here's to the little guys back home.' Steve mentally toasted as he raised the wine-filled glass up to his lips and prepared to down the liquid.
"Oh, Nein, Steve!" the Doctor exclaimed making Rogers lower his glass; only for the doctor to take it out of his hand.
"No fluids in the body," he explained before downing all of its contents, smacking his lips together as the alcohol made its way down his throat and turning his head to a slightly amused and bewildered Steve. "It ruins the effect of the serum, especially alcohol."
"Heh" Steve scoffed amused by the excuse, as the doctor took his glass, in addition to Steve's own glass which was already in his hand, and the wine bottle off of the wooden floor. Erskine then made his way to the entrance of the barracks, ready to leave Steve and the building but he stopped at the door. Taking a breath, the German doctor turned around to see Steve laying on his bed watching the doctor as he stood near the door.
"Tomorrow is a big day, Ja?" The doctor asked with a smile as he made his way out of the barracks.
Steve kept his eyes on the direction of the doctor as the door slammed shut. The skinny soldier then turned his head until all he saw was the cheap wooden planks that were ever present on the barrack's ceiling. He had so many questions about tomorrow and the operations, and while he still had so many other concerns that would probably keep him from getting a good's night rest. He could at least take some comfort in all that he and the doctor discussed; about Rebirth.
'Maybe I'll get some sleep after all…" Steve hopefully thought.
As he took a deep sigh, Steve closed his eyes as the lights went out in the barracks he quietly muttering to himself. "Ja, big day."
Author's notes: In all honesty I've been holding on to this puppy for quite some time, ever since June of 2016, and I've spent a lot of time and effort plotting out the overall story and characters that will be used in them.
Sidenote if your familiar with the other story that I'm working on; this is why it is taking me a long time to post up the next chapter (and moving into college too.)
Now that those two statements are out of the way, there's only a couple more topics that I'd like to address until the next chapter is up and running.
First and foremost, yes this is going to be a Marvel/DC crossover, but when I was jotting down the plot points for this arc I just had to cover Cap's story first; since his is the 'First Avenger'. But don't worry some characters from the DC side of comics will be making a few appearances in the next chapter and it will only increase as the story goes on.
Speaking of the story...I'm not gonna lie, this is probably going to be the toughest and without a doubt most challenging story that I will tackle during my time on FanFiction. Net. The reason being it's going to be very, very, very, long; and with all of the characters I'm going to introduce and balance as the plot progresses. This is certainly going to be quite the challenge. But I'm determined to see it through to the best of my abilities so I won't be giving up easily. If I do though...then let's say you'll know it.
Aside from that feel free to review, I'm always open to them.
Well that's just about a wrap, see you next time comic book fans. This has been the AverageAnimeJoe wishing you all a good day.