Chapter XI: The H.I.D.R.A. Plot! Part 4

"Okay, we need to divide and conquer…" Black Cat spoke to her gathered friends. "Sharon and I need to get into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s control room to be ready and override the helicarriers' launch code. In order to do that, you three need to take these and plug them into the helicarriers' main computers." Selina reached for her belt and pulled out three USB ports.

"How did you get those?" Flag wondered out loud.

"No time to explain. We have to hurry before-"

But it was too late. Alexander G. Godfrey's face appeared on the screen of the air-ship. Just as it appeared on the every screen at S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ. "My fellow agents, we stand here today on the basis of history. Once we have launched Project: Helicarrier, we shall never have to worry about this world's safety again." Fortunately, Selina had an idea; she dismantled the screen in their air-ship, and began to tinker with the wires. By now, Oliver had landed them down to where the helicarriers would take off, and the five heroes prepared for the worst. But Selina stopped Flag and handed him a small microphone.

"Not all of them are H.I.D.R.A., Flag…" She said softly. "They'll listen to you."

Steve took the microphone just as the agents were about to initiate the launch. "Attention all agents…" his voice calmly echoed throughout the building, catching everyone's attention. "This is Captain Steve Allen, though most of you know me as the Flag. You've heard a lot about me over the last two days. That my friends and I have betrayed you, but I think it's time for the truth. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been taken over by H.I.D.R.A. Rumlow and Henshaw have been undercover agents the whole time, and there's no telling who else has helped them. And they almost have what they want; absolute control of the world. They killed Director Amanda Fury, but they won't stop there. If you launch those helicarriers, they'll wipe out anyone who stands in their way. But we have a chance to stop them, because I know some of you truly want to protect the world. I'm begging you, as a friend and as a soldier; do not launch those helicarriers. Captain Steve Allen, over and out."

The control room fell silent; no one knew what to do or who to trust. Could it be true what the Flag said? Had H.I.D.R.A. really taken over S.H.I.E.L.D.? Just then, Agent Rumlow walked into the center of the room and addressed everyone. "We can't trust what he says!" his voice boomed. "He murdered Director Fury! This was her dream, and we can't let her down! Launch the helicarriers!" Rumlow made his way to the two men in charge of the launch sequence. "Well…?" He crossed his arms impatiently.

"We're not going to launch, sir…" one of them said at last. "Captain's orders…" Rumlow rubbed his chin and nodded in faux-understanding. Then he took out his heat-gun and aimed it directly at the man's head, enticing a gasp from almost everyone in the room.

"Launch those goddamned helicarriers before I blow your head off!" He roared. But the men still refused. Cobalt cocked his weapon and it hummed to life. But before he could pull the trigger, Agent West appeared out of nowhere, aiming some kind of blaster at Cobalt.

"You heard him, Rumlow." She said with a sneer. "Captain's orders." Cobalt aimed his gun at her, smiling as he saw Henshaw sneak up behind her. The older officer wrapped his arms around Sharon, unaware of the button she tapped on her palm. Sharon shrank down, grabbed Henshaw's wrist, threw him out the window, and chased after him.

Cobalt was shocked, but pointed his gun back at the man at the desk. But before he could fire, a bullet knocked the gun out of his hand and Black Cat dropped down and neutralized him. At this point, everyone in the room aimed their guns at everyone else. Nobody fired; they just stared at each other, uneasily.

Meanwhile, Flag, Steel Falcon, and Sharpshot made their way over to the launch pads. Before Flag could speed ahead of them, Steel Falcon called out to him. "Hey, Flag! How do we tell the bad guys from the good guys?!"

"If they're shooting at you, they're bad guys."

Oliver reached into his quiver for a grapple-arrow, fired at the first helicarrier, and zipped onto the deck. He was immediately met with numerous hostiles, as the H.I.D.R.A. agents saw no further need to hide themselves. As they closed in on him, he heard one of them refer to him as "easy prey." Sharpshot hit the first agent directly in the shoulder, causing him to swing his machine gun backwards and fire at his fellow agents. Sharpshot took advantage of everyone's surprise and made a run for the flight deck.

He removed three more arrows from his quiver and fired at hit three different targets: the sniper on the other end of the helicarrier, the machine gunner opening the door, and the automated lock that kept him out. He broke down the door, stormed the flight deck, and put an arrow in everyone who got in his way. At last, he plugged the USB into the computer and uploaded the override code. "Helicarrier one; disabled…" He spoke into the comm.-link before shooting another agent trying to sneak up on him.

At that moment, Steel Falcon was high in the sky and making his way towards helicarrier two. He spun through the air, dodging every blast made at him. "Hey, Flag, I think I found the bad guys!" he joked. One of the blasts hit him directly in the chest, forcing him to crash into the ground. The blast hurt, but the armor had protected him from serious injury. Luckily, he landed in a construction site and saw something that would help him take out the cannon.

He picked up the sledgehammer and took off back towards the helicarrier. This time, whenever a blast got close enough, he deflected it with the blunt of the hammer. For a moment, he wondered if this was how Thunder Woman felt when she used her own hammer to summon lightning. When he reached the cannon, he threw the construction tool into the barrel, causing the final blast to backfire and destroy the cannon entirely. He quickly made his way into the control deck, uploaded the USB's override code, and went back outside to continue the fight.

"Sam!" Sharon called into the comm.-link. "I could use some help with Henshaw!"

"On my way, Wild West!" He called back to his friend. He glided off of the helicarrier and was just around the building when something caught his leg.

"Been a while since I've killed a darkie…" Cobalt grinned under his mask as he slammed Falcon into the ground. "I'm gonna enjoy this…"

"What the hell did you just call me?" Sam got up and cracked his knuckles. "I'm gonna enjoy this a whole lot more." He retracted the wings and rushed at Cobalt.

At the same time, Flag had neutralized all of the H.I.D.R.A. agents and uploaded the override code in the blink of an eye. He was just about to go help the others, when he saw a flash of red and blue lightning rush into S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ. "Wally…" he gasped and quickly followed after him.

The Winter Speedster carried Baron Degaton into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vault and began the search for their ultimate prize. A few seconds later, Degaton smiled as he clutched Circi's scepter in his hands. "At last… the weapon of a god is mine to command." Degaton basked in his glory, knowing that H.I.D.R.A. would now have no choice but to acknowledge him as their leader. Baron Zero's plan had succeeded, but under Baron Degaton's command.

"That's what you came for?" Degaton turned around to see incredulous look on the Flag's face. "You infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., brainwashed my friend, and killed Director Fury for the scepter?"

"Oh, come now, Herr Flag…" Degaton paced as he spoke. "You must realize what I hold in my hands. This scepter has the power to control the mind of anyone I wish. I can rewrite their personality, reveal any secret I desire, and there is nothing the victim can do to resist! I don't need the helicarriers anymore, because once I find a way to increase the scepter's power, H.I.D.R.A. will rule the world!"

"Maybe next time." Flag threw his shield at Degaton, only for the Winter Speedster to catch it in mid-air. Steve gasped in shock. Degaton order the Winter Speedster to kill him, and the Speedster complied. He threw the shield back at Flag and rushed to attack. Flag caught the shield but left himself open for his old friend to tackle him to the ground, all the while, Degaton watched with interest.

Meanwhile, Selina activated the ventilation system, sending the knock-out gas out of the room. She removed her mask and made her way to Security Director Godfrey. "Well done, Agent Romanoff…" He smiled in gratitude. "I must say that was a very daring-" but he was cut off when Selina punched him in the face.

"Don't give me that, Godfrey." She sneered. "When we found H.I.D.R.A.'s data, we also found a complete list of active agents. Why did you betray us?"

Godfrey was silent for a moment. "Because this world is in chaos. Can't you see? This is our chance to finally bring order to our world. Freedom is what leads to massive killings, terrorism, and political warfare. Once the world is under one rule, we can truly have peace. And if that means the destruction of the old world, so be it."

"Sorry…" Selina forcibly lead Godfrey of to the main control console. "Your definition of peace doesn't exist in my dictionary." She activated the override procedure on the main console and held Godfrey's eye over the retinal scanner. Once the process was finished, she pushed him out of the way.

"The override code needs two level ten officers to be activated." Godfrey grinned smugly.

"Oh, don't worry; I brought a friend." Selina stepped out of the way, allowing Amanda Fury to come out of the shadows.

"You…" Godfrey stuttered. "But… you died."

"Almost." Amanda corrected. "But thanks to the Flag and Agent West, I managed to sneak away and get proper medical treatment. I had Agent Romanoff carry out my plan while I laid low until I was needed. Why did you do it, Godfrey?"

"The same reason you've done anything in your career, Amanda." He explained. "We can bring peace and safety to billions of lives by cutting off millions."

"I only did what I did to protect my country. But patriotism taken too far is fanaticism." Amanda moved to the retinal scanner.

"Don't you think by now we would've erased your-"

"I know, I know, you erased my password. Probably even deleted my retinal scan. But if you want to stay ahead of me…" The Director removed her eye-patch, revealing the most damaged part of her body. "You need to keep both eyes open." She held her blind eye over the retinal scanner and completed the override process, preventing the helicarriers from lifting off.

Godfrey knew that he had been defeated. He took out his gun and placed it under his chin before uttering his last words. "Hail H.I.D.R.A."

Sharon was still trying to put Henshaw out of commision, but the elderly officer was much tougher than he seemed. She shrunk down, pelted him with sting blasts, but he would not falter. Just then, an arrow zipped right past Henshaw's hip and stuck into the ground. Once Sharon saw the grenade pin dangling on the shaft, she sped away just before the explosion. Henshaw lay on the ground, a broken shell of the man he once was.

Sharon thanked Oliver and the two agents went to help Sam with Cobalt. When they found them, Cobalt was using powerful gauntlets that acted as pile-drivers against Sam's armor. The sinister agent was filled with wicked glee as the others rushed him. He positioned himself for an attack when his master called through his comm.-link.

"Cobalt! Are you there?!"

"Y-yes, Baron Degaton, but-"

"I need you! Return to me at once!" Cobalt sneered and grudgingly ran away from the battle.

At the same time, Flag was racing around the vault trying to keep up with the Winter Speedster. The brainwashed assassin tripped him up, but Flag grabbed onto his mask, causing them both to spiral out of control. Flag threw the torn mask to the ground, removed his own, and looked at his oldest friend with desperation. "You know me…" He said calmly.

"NO, I DON'T!" Winter Speedster screamed as he rushed Steve again. But the super-soldier caught him and threw him back to the ground. But he did not want to hurt him.

"Your name… is Wallace Rudolph Barnes…" He breathed heavily. "You're not the Winter Speedster… you're not a weapon… you're my son."

The Speedster took out his pistol and aimed it at Steve's head, holding the firearm with both hands. "You're my mission…" He said shakily. "YOU'RE MY MISSION!"

"… then finish it." Steve dropped his shield and fell to his knees. "Do whatever you need to… 'cause I'm here for you… 'til the end of the finish line."

The Speedster's face was fell. Conflict was eating away his soul, but he couldn't tell why. Degaton lost patience; he aimed his own pistol at Steve and fired. As the bullet left the chamber, time slowed down around Steve. He got off of his knees, knocked the scepter out of Degaton's hands, grabbed it, and moved in front of Winter Speedster. Time returned to normal once he held the tip of the god's tool to his friend's forehead.

"Remember who you are…" he said. The Winter Speedster buckled in pain, so many memories came flooding back into his mind; the memories of Wally Barnes. Fury and Selina stormed into the room, guns trained on the H.I.D.R.A. agents. Steve stood in front of Wally holding his hands up in defense. "Amanda! Selina! Wait! You can't!"

"That man has killed hundreds, Flag!" Fury barked.

"Please, you have to trust me. This isn't the Winter Speedster… not anymore." Fury was silent for a moment before she finally relented. "Wally, everything's going to be alright."

"Steve…?" Wally trembled. "Oh, God… What have I done?"

"Wally?"

"You should've killed me! All those people! I murdered them in cold blood! And for what?!" He grabbed the scepter out of Steve's hands. "For this damn thing?!" He raised Circi's weapon over his head and hit it against the ground.

"Wally, no!" But it was too late. The blinding light coupled with the powerful shock wave knocked everyone to the floor. Degaton was the first to recover, only to find that the Winter Speedster had vanished. Luckily, the scepter was still there

"Baron Degaton, sir!" Cobalt rushed in. "What happened? Where's the Winter Speedster?"

"Never mind that!" Degaton grabbed the scepter and handed it to his agent. "Take this back to H.I.D.R.A. NOW!"

"But, sir, what are you going to do?"

"Something that should have been done a long time ago…" As Cobalt left, Degaton unsheathed his sword and made his way over to the Flag's unconscious body. "Zemo's greatest mistake was ever allowing you to live, Flag!" He lifted the sword over his head when both of his legs suddenly froze all the way to the bone. He fell to the ground, howling in agony.

"If you think that hurts…" Degaton heard an icy voice whisper. "Wait until it thaws out." A young man dressed in a purple skin-tight thermal suit walked over to the injured Baron and shattered his legs to pieces. "Do you feel helpless? Humiliated? Scared? Good… now you'll know what my cousin and her allies endured!" The man grabbed Degaton by the arm and dragged him back to H.I.D.R.A.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Infirmary. A Few Hours Later.

Steve woke up to see Sharon and Sam sitting right next to him. Sharon explained that with the help of the data they gathered back at the quarry, S.H.I.E.L.D. was hunting down the remaining H.I.D.R.A. agents that had infiltrated them. Project helicarrier was being shut down permanently, and Director Fury even took the liberty of explaining the situation to the U.N. Sam decided to give the two some time alone and left the room. Sharon sighed and leaned back in her chair, feeling exhausted.

"I should be used to this…" she muttered. "But why is it that when something crazy happens to us, it can't be good-crazy?" Steve looked at his girlfriend as she continued to lean back.

"Sharon?" He smiled as she opened one eye to acknowledge him. "I love you."

"Aw… I love you, too, Steve." She smiled softly.

"Will you marry me?" Sharon was shocked. She sat up straight to look Steve in the eye. "Come on. We can run away, get married like a good boy and girl, and be happy for once. What do you say?"

Sharon cupped a hand over her mouth as tears ran down her cheeks. She hugged Steve tightly and laughed in pure joy. "Yes… the answer is yes…"

Over the next few days, Steve helped Sharon move all of her belongings into his apartment. The wedding was relatively short with Sam acting as the best man and Selina as a bridesmaid. Director Fury gave them one week off as a wedding present, so Steve picked Sharon up bridal style and carried her and their luggage to Paris. As Sharon was getting ready for bed, she noticed Steve standing out on the balcony, looking past the horizon. Somehow, she knew what he was thinking about.

"You're going to try and find him, aren't you?" She rubbed his shoulders gingerly. "Selina says you saw him die right in front of you."

"I saw him die right in front of me once before." He breathed lightly. "But now I know what I should have known back in '44; Wally's a survivor. And I'm gonna find him."

"Steve…" Sharon smiled and set two glasses and a bottle of red wine on the table. "You're simply too good for this world."

"What's the wine for, Sharon?" Steve cocked a curious eyebrow.

Sharon chuckled and let her hair fall down around her shoulders. "You ask too many questions, Steve…" Steve smiled and made his way towards his new wife.

Back In America

At the World War II museum, the security guards were shutting off the lights and making their final rounds. Once they were gone, a figure vibrated through the wall. Wally walked over to the glass display case and smiled fondly at his old uniform. "'Til the end of the finish line…" he whispered happily.

Wally was admiring his new outfit in the mirror when Steve walked in. "How's it feel?" he asked.

"It feels awesome!" Wally laughed. "Check me out! I'm Kid-Flag, the fastest cadet alive! C'mon, old man, let's nail those Nazis!" He raced alongside his mentor as they made their way into Germany. "This is the best day of my life!"

Epilogue:

Baron Zero shook his head in disappointment as he stuck another needle into Degaton's body. The cruel leader of H.I.D.R.A. pumped cryogenic liquids into Degaton's veins, causing the traitor to slowly freeze to death. He rubbed his fully-healed stab wound as he paced in front of the freezing agent.

"Do you know what I find ironic, Wolfram?" Zero put his arm around the young, thermal-clad agent. "Before I took over H.I.D.R.A., my predecessor had seven so-called 'legitimate' children. All of whom died without contributing anything to H.I.D.R.A. Whereas I, on the other hand, have one illegitimate son, who is like me in many ways."

"Thank you, Baron Zero." The young man nodded his head in respect.

Zero smiled under his mask and continued. "You see, nineteen years ago, I fell in love with a woman by the name of Marian Snart, and it wasn't long before Helmut was born. Much to my surprise, at age six, he developed cryokenisis, no doubt caused by the effects of Cold X on my body. And like any good father, I spent years helping him reach his full potential. He's served as my personal spy within this operation, protecting me from the likes of you."

"K-kill me… please…" Degaton cried.

"Baron Zero?" Arnim DeVoe's face appeared on a nearby screen. "Mr. Von Havoc has arrived."

"Ah, yes… him and his Masters of Doom." Zero aimed his cold gun at Degaton and froze his body until it shattered to pieces. "Tell Mr. Von Havoc that I will be joining him shortly. And Dr. DeVoe?"

"Yes, Baron Zero?"

"Due to Wolfram's sloppiness, S.H.I.E.L.D. will undoubtedly be looking for us. Have the troops go into hiding until further notice. If Havoc's plan succeeds, the Flag and his allies will no longer be a problem for us." Zero turned to his son and patted him on the shoulder. "Commander Blizzardkrieg shall take command until I return."

To Be Continued!

Commander Blizzardkrieg aka Helmut Snart(Helmut Zemo/Leonard Snart)

Masters of Doom(Masters of Evil/Legion of Doom)