Earth-717: Captain America Vol 2

Chapter 9: She Has a Shotgun

"You know what I could totally go for right about now? A nice, big, juicy hamburger."

Steve chuckled as he and Sharon walked through a snowy forest. The winter frost had settled in on the woodland area, leaving it picturesque and calming. Even though the air was chilled, it was relatively light, leaving a soothing breeze in the air. Sharon's white combat suit that she had been wearing since their mission in Freetown perfectly matched the scenery.

Sharon held her hands out in front of her, holding an imaginary burger.

"Bigger the better. A thick hunk of meat. And I'm talking all the toppings, Rogers. Ketchup, mustard, barbeque sauce, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, hot peppers, bacon, cheese. All of it. And I want it greasy. I want to taste it and know that it's terrible for me. Awh. So good."

"You know, that doesn't sound half bad, actually," said Steve.

"Right?"

"I'll tell you something. Before the serum, I was a very skinny guy."

Sharon laughed.

"I knew that part."

"Used to go to this sandwich shop. Ron's. All the time."

Sharon raised an eyebrow as she listened to Steve.

"Knew the owner. My friend, Bucky, he would always go there with me. They made great sandwiches. Heh. But because I was so scrawny, I could never finish them. Gotta say, I was pretty sad when I got out of the ice and realized Ron's wasn't there anymore. So much of my world isn't there anymore."

"Not all of it is gone, Rogers. There's still a few things left. Good things."

Steve smiled at Sharon, who then turned and looked forward. The two of them got to the top of a hill, and stopped when they saw an industrial facility complex in a nearby clearing. There was also a landing strip for aircraft attached to the complex. Steve and Sharon dropped into a prone position, with Sharon checking the address in the data packet on her phone.

"This is the place."

Sharon then reached onto her belt and grabbed a small set of goggles. Strapping them on, she then tapped a small button on the side that transitioned them into binocular mode. Zooming in on the facility, she could see that there were multiple buildings in the complex, but only a handful of patrolling guards.

"Security's light," said Sharon. "They're not expecting trouble. Don't know what Zemo's doing here, but we'd better find out."


"Doctor Whitehall."

Whitehall turned to one his assistants in the control room of the complex. She was sitting at her station, and looking at footage from the facility's exterior security cameras.

"What is it?" asked Whitehall.

"Picking up two heat signatures on the exterior scanners. Humanoid. Should be in visual range in just a moment."

The assistant pressed a button on her console, magnifying one of the camera feeds to full screen mode. A second later, Steve and Sharon emerged into view, jumping over the perimeter fence and moving behind a parked truck.

"So," said Whitehall. "Captain America has found us. How interesting."

"I'll sound the alarm."

The assistant reached for a button on her console, but Whitehall blocked her.

"Don't."

"Sir?"

"Sounding the alarm will just delay our departure. We're almost ready to leave. I think it will be better if we allow them to walk into a trap, don't you think?"

The assistant nodded at Whitehall.


Steve held his shield at the ready, while Sharon had her pistol out. They were slowly making their way down a hallway, with both of them surprised at how silent the area was. Many of the offices had some furniture and miscellaneous items in them, but it appeared that they had been abandoned. Steve furrowed his brow as he saw a Hydra logo painted on the wall.

"Are they cleaning out?" asked Sharon. "I don't get it."

They got to the end of the hall, and arrived at a final door. Standing on either side, they prepared to breach it. Steve kicked the door down and rushed inside, with his shield held in front of him. Sharon followed right after, aiming her pistol at the room's corners. The room was completely empty, aside from a door on the other side.

Steve looked up and around the area. He then saw a light briefly shine from behind the door on the opposite side of the room. He took a few steps forward, leaving Sharon momentarily. Then, just as he crossed the middle of the room, a thick sheet of reinforced glass dropped from the ceiling. Sharon shouted as the glass dropped, and Steve barrel rolled forward to avoid being crushed.

The barrier landed with a resounding thud, instantly cutting off Steve and Sharon from each other. Sharon put her hands on the glass, and Steve bashed the barrier with his shield. The impact left no mark, and made them realize that they could not even hear anything from the other side of the barrier. Steve and Sharon looked at each other with worry as a holographic video screen appeared on both sides of the glass, showing Whitehall's face.

"Greetings, Captain America. And to you as well, Agent Carter."

Sharon scowled.

"You."

"Daniel Whitehall?" said Steve. "You look . . . ."

"You are correct, Captain. But I am not the Daniel Whitehall you knew. He was my father, and he passed both his name and his position in Hydra to me. Although he was a great man, he eventually passed on from this world. But I have continued his good work, and improved upon it. You remember the Corrupted Blood Virus, yes? He helped to create it. And now, with my own blood as the basis, I have developed the Theta virus, the one you saw in Sierra Leone. Brilliant work, wouldn't you say?"

Sharon rolled her eyes.

"Why is everyone in Hydra so fond of fancy speeches?"

Whitehall ignored her remark, with his interest seemingly being with Steve.

"I must say, Captain, it is so fascinating to see you in person. To know that you were the one who battled Hydra in the early days. To see that you have survived all this time, it is remarkable. But, like all things, your time must come to an end. However, I do want to present you as a gift to the Baron. He will be most pleased to get the chance to dispose of you himself, especially given that you murdered his grandfather."

At that moment, white gas was pumped into Steve's side of the room from vents in the floor.

"I wish I could chat more, but I have a schedule to keep. Farewell, heroes."

Steve started to repeatedly pound his shield against the glass barrier, but after a few strikes, he realized it was fruitless. Then, the door on his side opened, and a squad of Hydra commandos with gas masks and electrified batons stormed into the room.

Sharon pulled out her pistol and fired several shots at the barrier, but she fumed upon realizing that she was using her ICER, which rendered her shots useless against glass. She then gasped as Steve started to fight back against the Hydra commandos, but his energy was sapped by the gas. He fought valiantly, but was soon overtaken, and Sharon couldn't see him any longer once the gas completely filled the room.

"Steve!"

The door on Sharon's side of the room then opened, and two soldiers burst inside. One of them was holding an assault rifle, and the other one had a shotgun. They took aim, but Sharon was faster. She fired ICER shots at both of them, knocking them out. She then ran forward and peered around the door, seeing more Hydra soldiers making their way towards her.

Sharon looked down at her pistol for a moment, realizing that it wasn't going to be enough. She then thought about how far they had come, and what was at stake.

Fury needed her.

SHIELD needed her.

Steve needed her.

In that moment, she decided that she was not going to let them down.

Sharon reached down and picked up the shotgun, and also grabbed the soldier's ammunition packs. Strapping them to her belt, she then looked down at her new weapon. She smiled to herself, because the shotgun was her favourite weapon. Closing her eyes for a moment and taking a breath, she then pumped the weapon and pointed it around the corner.

She fired her first shot, blowing away the closest Hydra soldier. The rest of them stepped back in surprise, not expecting her attack. Taking their moment of surprise to her advantage, Sharon burst out and fired two more shots, putting holes through the chests of two more soldiers. Another one got back behind the corner and readied his assault rifle.

Sharon rushed towards him, so that when he peered around the corner, she was already almost on top of him. She bashed away his gun with the back of her own, before kicking him in the knee. He shouted in pain as he fell down. Sharon then jammed the barrel of her shotgun against his skull before pulling the trigger.

As the soldier's head exploded, Sharon looked up to see more Hydra commandos turning the corner at the far end of the hallway. Some of them had electrified batons and shields, while others had assault rifles. Quickly bending down and grabbing a grenade off the dead soldier's belt, she flicked off the pin and tossed the grenade forward.

"Grenade!"

The Hydra soldiers rushed away from the grenade, giving Sharon time to burst into a nearby office room which had more cover. The grenade exploded, blowing apart one of the soldiers as the rest of them filtered into the office area. Sharon quickly reloaded her shotgun as some of the Hydra soldiers laid down suppressing fire over her head.

Scowling, Sharon then peered out from the side of the desk she was hiding behind. Taking aim, she then fired another shotgun blast, severing a soldier's leg at the ankle joint. As he screamed and fell to the ground, she fired another blast at his head. She then got back behind the desk before kicking out at it with both legs.

The desk slammed against two of the soldiers, stunning them. Sharon burst back up to her feet, and blew away another soldier with a shotgun blast. She then jumped over the desk, kicking the other one in the face. A third soldier with an electrified baton took a swing at her, but she blocked it with her shotgun.

The soldier then jutted his shield forward, smashing her in the chest and causing her to drop her weapon.

"Ugh!"

Staggered by the attack, Sharon was then unable to dodge when the soldier jammed his baton against her stomach, electrifying her. She yelled in pain before throwing her shoulder forward, bashing the soldier across the face. She then grabbed the soldier's hand and forcibly jabbed him with his own baton.

As he fell back, she picked up her shotgun again and fired a blast at him. She then quickly turned around and slammed her boot down on the previous soldier's skull as he tried to pick himself off the floor. Once again reloading her shotgun, she then ran to the other side of the office. Suddenly, a voice from another nearby room yelled out.

"Release the creatures! Kill her!"

Sharon stopped in her tracks as she heard the sound of a laboratory tank open, followed soon after by a wailing screech. A few seconds later, a Theta beast tore through one of the doors ahead of her. It was on all fours, with much of its body ripped down the middle, with teeth lining the crevice. It scratched its claws against the ground as it growled at her.

Sharon narrowed her eyes.

"Try and stop me."

The beast roared before charging towards her. Sharon aimed her shotgun and fired once, blowing off a large chunk of flesh, but not stopping the creature's charge. As it leaped towards her, she fired another shot, killing the beast and causing it to flop to the floor. A second later, another Theta creature ripped through the wall behind her.

This one was a tall and thin cylindrical creature, with two legs but no arms. Instead, it had over a dozen thin, bladed tentacles writhing around the central cylinder. Sharon turned around and backed away from it as it slashed out at her with its tentacles. Barely avoiding one of its slashes, she then took aim and pulled the trigger, blowing the creature in half and splattering its blood all over the wall.

Running through the door that was torn apart, Sharon then sprinted through the lab that had contained the specimens. Another creature saw her and roared, but she just continued to run towards the other side. She tried to kick the door down, but it was locked. She then saw the nearby security panel. Shaking her head, she took aim at it and blew it apart with a shotgun blast.

The door instantly opened, and a scientist was on the other side. He shouted in fear as he saw the SHIELD agent. Sharon could hear the last Theta creature barrelling towards her from behind. Knowing that she needed to reload her gun, Sharon instead grabbed the scientist around the throat with one hand before tossing him towards the ravenous beast.

"NO!"

The Theta creature, which had a giant, spiral mouth with plenty of teeth on the inside, bit down on the screaming scientist. As it tore into his flesh with its teeth, Sharon took the opportunity to continue running down the hallway, reloading her shotgun as she moved. As she ran, more soldiers from nearby rooms opened fire on her.

Refusing to be stopped by anything, Sharon started running sideways and returned fire with a rapid succession of shotgun blasts. She was not even aiming at that point, rather just shooting randomly and operating on pure adrenaline. Once she was out of ammo, she shoulder charged the door at the end of the hall, finding herself outside.

Sharon's heart skipped a beat as she saw a large plane in the distance being loaded with some shipping containers. She could also see some Hydra soldiers boarding the loading ramp, with two of them carrying an unconscious Steve. Strapping her shotgun to her back, she then started running towards the plane.

The plane started moving down the landing strip after the last items were loaded. Sharon was in excellent physical shape, but even she was doubting whether she could cross the distance between herself and the plane in time. She was still a few dozen metres away. She breathed faster as she forced herself to sprint at her top speed.

"Come on. Come on. Stay alive for me. I'm coming for you, Cap. I'm coming!"

The loading ramp started to close as the plane picked up speed. She knew in that moment that she wasn't going to make it.

But then she remembered just how stubborn she could be.

Reaching down to her belt, she grabbed her grapple gun. Taking aim, she fired the grappling shot, and smiled as the hook latched onto the edge of the loading ramp. Clicking the button on the gun, she was then pulled forward as the line retracted. She was lifted into the air as the plane took off. As she reached the grappling hook, she rolled sideways and slid into the cargo area of the plane just before the loading ramp closed.

Sharon landed inside and breathed a sigh of relief. She then found a place to hide as she waited to see where Whitehall's plane was taking them.