So I have this story stuck in my head and decided to make it part of a new story
Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or any DC affiliated stories
"When a good man is hurt, all who would be called good must suffer with him." -Euripides
A Hero's Belated Return
Mount Justice: September 8, 09:42 NST
The Team was assembled in the main room standing in front of Batman, both Green Lanterns, Captain Atom, Aquaman, Red Tornado and Black Canary. Since the League members not including Batman, Black Canary, and Red Tornado ever appeared regularly on Mount Justice it piqued the Teams interest at the new mission.
"Yesterday at 03:00 a team of scientists studying the effects of the melting of the polar ice caps off the coast of Svalbard discovered the remains to First Lieutenant James Stephen a.k.a Mr. America." This was followed by the computer changing showing side to side photos of a young man with brown lush hair, blue eyes and a well tone body. Another photo came up showing said man dressed up wearing dark red gloves with a dark navy blue military jacket. He also wore a standard issue military helmet with goggles over his eyes. On his waist he wore a belt with a silver five tipped star as the buckle with a holster for a gun on the left and a pouch on the right.
"Mr. America?" Kid flash smirked.
"What is with that tacky outfit?" Artemis asked.
"Never heard of him." Robin remarked. This was followed by the Team talking amongst themselves on who this guy was and why he was such a big deal.
All talking stopped when the Team noticed the glares they were getting by not just the Batman but also Captain Atom and the Green Lanterns. Their glares were not on par with the infamous Bat-glare but it was close enough to shut the teens up.
"Mr. America can be considered America's first super hero. During World War Two the Axis powers were pushing back the Allies. What was really pushing back the Allied forces was Nazi troops using advanced technology. It was believed but not proven that the Third Reich ordered the research of non-traditional military technology. It is believed that the weapons that the Nazi's were using were non-terrestrial in origin." The Team were surprised by what Batman had to say at this new information, but still failed to understand the importance of it.
"In 1941 the U.S. had a secret project known as Project Juggernaut. Polish scientist Jeffrey Langemeier devised a serum that would enhance a human's performance. Increased strength, reflexes, speed, not to mention hyper-regeneration this made the serum all too tempting." Hal Jordan continued from where Batman stopped. "In 1942 the experiment went into its testing phase, using a then Private James Stephen, a young man from Chicago, IL." A photo of a scrawny brown hair teenager then popped up on the screen. The Team at first didn't understand the importance of the kid until they noticed that he looked slightly familiar to the buff soldier from before.
"Are you telling me that, that teenager turned into a super soldier?" Wally asked in disbelief.
"I don't understand, it says here that he was only 15 when he enlisted. The army wouldn't have took him in since he was underage right Batman?" asked Robin getting a nod in return from his mentor.
"That is correct Robin. It seemed at the time Professor Langemeier believed that a good soldier had to be one who was more willing to sacrifice himself rather than gain glory and age did not matter in that. Stephen became the prime candidate when during a training exercise on a military base, Stephen stopped and helped a comrade who injured himself to complete the exercise. This selfless act drew the attention of Langemeier. After the procedure his appearance changed he was promoted to First Lieutenant, and was given the name Mr. America."
Captain Atom stepped forward and continued from there. "After the procedure, from what records showed Professor Langemeier took Lieutenant Stephen to a meal where after a toast of brandy the Professor died. Examinations showed that the brandy the two men were drinking was in fact poisoned, but due to the Lieutenants regenerative abilities the poison was broken down and became harmless to him."
"You mentioned that he was considered the first super hero. What did you mean by that?" Superboy asked. Batman answered the question typing in something on the computer and footage began playing.
"When Mr. America was sent over to Germany, he and seven other men were sent behind enemy lines to investigate a possible enemy weapons depot. Not only did Mr. America and his men find the depot, they also destroyed the compound and attacked an enemy P.O.W. camp. The next morning Mr. America came back to the American camp along with over two hundred Allied troops. He became a national sensation overnight." At this claim everyone was deeply impressed and shocked at what this soldier did.
"In 1943 near the ending of the war in Hamburg Germany, American troops attacked a weapons factory led by Mr. America. As the battle ended up becoming a war of attrition, Mr. America was able to bypass the battle and right into the enemy factory." Batman then began to play yet another video of said battle while turning back to the team while they watched the film. "It was there that Mr. America radioed that the enemy was planning to send out bombers to America from that particular factory. The Lieutenant did what he did and before the bombers could take off blew up the factory. The explosion broke apart the land and caused majority of the structure to fall into the North Sea. The Lieutenant did not make it out." There on the screen the Team and the League members watched as several of the American troops cheered followed by many bowing their heads in silence realizing what the cost might have been.
"An investigation team went to the remains of the factory and found that the bombers routes were to America. The targets being New York, Chicago, Gotham, Central, and Washington." The Team were shocked by this information. In fact they were shocked throughout this entire briefing. "The investigation team also uncovered the design of the bombs the enemy was planning to use. Thanks to modern day research we believe the bombs were nuclear in nature." Yup, the Team just couldn't stop being shocked.
"From what information we could find, the Lieutenant's body was on top of some debris and his body merely floated along the coast until it went Nouth where his body fell in to the water and over time froze along a glacier. He was only able to be identified thanks to his trade mark belt and the color of his uniform." Captain Atom stated. Aqualad stepped forward and asked the question that most of the Team had.
"Why is it that we never heard of a Mr. America until today?" The Team nodded in agreement to the question.
"To the civilians, Mr. America was merely a propaganda tool to encourage enlistment and patriotism back home similar to Rosie the Riveter. As time passed, and new heroes began to appear in the world Mr. America faded out of history and completely forgotten." As Batman finished what he said several pictures of the League and other heroes popped on the screen. "To the military however, he was much more. And now that his body has been found it has become an issue. Since his body was found there has been…..disagreements on who hold claim to the Lieutenant's body. Star Labs, Cadmus, and several American governments want to get a hold on his body. Since the death of professor Langemeier the Project Juggernaut Serum was never recreated and because of the poor filing system that the government had the only proof that the experiment ever existed is now the body of Mr. America. Besides labs and government groups in America there has been an increase of chatter from Rhelasia, Bialya, and several other countries with interest of the body. However, there are still some military higher ups that remembers the sacrifice of Lieutenant Stephen and would like to lay him to rest properly. That is your mission; you are to escort the carriers back to Washington. You are to guard Lieutenant Stephen's body, expect trouble." Batman said with finality. The Team nodded their heads in understanding except Aqualad who looked like he was in deep thought.
"What is wrong Kaldur'ahm?" Aquaman asked his partner in concern.
"It is nothing my King." Aqualad responded, but The League members were not convinced. Black Canary stepped forward and placed a hand on the young Atlantean's shoulder.
"It's alright, speak." Canary said smiling at the young man who she has trained for the past six months. Reluctantly Aqualad spoke his mind.
"I am a soldier, I understand what it means to sacrifice your life for a cause….for your people. To sacrifice it all and to be forgotten…everyone wants to be remembered. And now that he has resurfaced the only people who care are those who wants his body to experiment on…..it is sad." Aqualad said with a sigh as everyone around him softened at his explanation.
"That is why you are going on this mission. Give Mr. America the proper respect and protection. Bring the hero home and let him rest in peace." Hal Jordan said with sympathy in his voice. Aqualad straightened his back and turned to his Team.
"Mission Acknowledged." And so the Team walked towards the bioship for their mission.
Undisclosed Area: September 8, 10:00 NST
Black Manta walked into a dark room surrounded by screens hiding the appearance of each face in a blinding white light. One of the hidden faces spoke up.
"Black Manta, we have a job for you."
A/N: I just noticed the back story of my OC is very similar to Marvel's Captain America so I should say porps to Marvel and that I do not own Captain America.