Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with Steven Universe or Steven Universe: The Future

March 1942

Night: Tonsberg, Norway

Church: Inside

A messenger runs across town into a church. There were sounds of bombs being dropped in the distance. He runs inside, locks the doors, and shouts in Norwegian, "They have come for it!"

The tower keeper walks down the stairs and tells him in Norwegian, "They have before."

The messenger denies in Norwegian, "Not like this." He steps away from the door.

The tower keeper steps forward to him, "Let them try. They will never find it." They hear a rumbling sound, and the building shakes, then it stops. They step back, and something breaks down the whole wall and door frame. The timekeeper quickly steps back enough as the stones fall from the ceiling and kill the messenger. The tower keeper steps back and covers his face from the dust. The dust clears and reveals a large machine that broke the doors and moved back. The tower keeper steps towards the stones and picks one up, showing the dead messenger.

Outside

The large machine continues to back up, and another fancy car pulls up and shows a HYDRA symbol on the car's hood. A woman steps out of the car and walks towards the broken entrance.

Inside

HYDRA soldiers try to lift the tomb's lid off, but it doesn't move. The tower keeper was on the floor, scared and looking at all of them. Another man, who was the commander, shouts at them, "Open it! Quickly before she gets-" He stops himself when he hears a rock move and quickly turns and sees the woman just outside, walking in through the broken doors.

The woman, revealed to be Spinel, the leader of Hydra, walks in on the rocks towards the tower keeper, "It has taken me a long time to find this place. You should be commended." She orders one of her soldiers, "Pick him up." The soldier helps the tower keeper to his feet. "I think that you are a great man of great vision. And I'm this way. We are much alike."

The tower keeper exclaims, "I am nothing like you." He glares at her.

Spinel calmly tells him, "No, of course. But what others see as superstition, you and I know to be a science..." She trails off and gives him a look.

The tower keeper tells her, "What you seek is just a legend."

Spinel looks at the stone tomb, then looks back at the tower keeper, "Then why make such an effort to conceal it?" She takes off her hat, hands it to one of her soldiers, then opens the stone tomb like it was nothing and picks up the glass cube from the skeletal remains of an old Viking. She looks at it, "The Tesseract was the jewel of Moon's treasure room." She turns to face the tower keeper and deliberately drops and smashes the glass cube, "Not something one buries. But I think it is close, yes?" She stands in front of the tower keeper again.

The tower keeper bravely tells her, "I cannot help you."

Spinel tells him, "No. But maybe you can help your village. You must have some friends out there. Some... some little grandchildren, perhaps. I do not need for them to die." The tower keeper looks at her, horrified at how casually she says that, then he turns to see the moving machine outside. Spinel turns around to see a tree carving on one of the tower walls. She walks towards it and explains, "Yggdrasil, the tree of the world. Guardian of wisdom and fate as well." She saw something out of place, and she pressed a button on the carving of the tree, and a piece of it popped out. She takes it out, turns around, glances at the tower keeper, then opens it up to reveal the actual cube. It was glowing as she looked at it, amazed, "And the Fuhrer digs us for trinkets in the desert. You have never seen this, have you?" She glances at the tower keeper.

The tower keeper tells her, "It's not for the eyes of ordinary men or women."

Spinel told him, "Exactly." She closes the box containing the glowing cube and turns to her soldiers, telling them as she grabs her hat back, "Tell them to open fire." She puts her hat on, heading to the destroyed entrance.

The tower keeper angrily tells her, "You fool! You cannot control the power you hold. You will burn!"

Spinel takes out her gun, "I already have." She shoots the tower keeper in the head and kills him. In the distance, she can hear the sound of large gunshots coming from outside as she touches her face like she's adjusting it.

Day: New York

Enrollment Facility

In the waiting room, many men with just underwear were reading newspapers and waiting to get checked. A man was reading his newspaper, reads a column about what's happening in the war, and said out loud, "Boy, a lot of guys are getting killed over there."

The 4F Doctor calls out, "Universe, Steven." Steven sat beside the man as he put down the newspaper he was reading and stood up to walk up to the doctor.

The man continues, "It makes you think twice about enlisting?"

Steven puts the newspaper down on his seat and walks past him, answering, "Nope."

Steven is standing half-naked in front of the doctor to examine him for enlistment. He is smaller and chubbier than the rest of the men.

The 4F Doctor looks at his medical papers, "Universe." He looks at Steven and asks, "What did your father die of?"

Steven quickly answers, "Mustard gas. He was in the hundred and seventh infantry. I was hoping I could be assigned-"

The 4F Doctor interrupts him, not looking at him, "Your mother?"

Steven again quickly answered, "She was a nurse in a TB ward. Got hit, couldn't shake it."

The Doctor looks at Steven's file, which shows he has a long list of health issues:

Asthma

Scarlet Fever

Rheumatic Fever

Sinusitis

Palpitation or pounding in the heart

Easy fatigability

Heart trouble

Nervous trouble of any sort

Has had household contact tuberculosis

Parent/Siblings' diabetes, cancer

The 4F Doctor looks at Steven, "Sorry, son."

Steven pleads, "Look, just give me a chance."

The 4F Doctor tells him, "You'd be ineligible on your asthma alone."

Steven sighs in disappointment and asks, "Is there anything you can do?"

The 4F Doctor responds, "I'm doing it. I'm saving your life." He stamps on his file 4F.

Later: Movie Theatre

Steven is at the movie theater, and a commercial about the war is playing before the movie, "War continues to rapid Europe. But help is on the way. Every able body young man is lining up to serve his country." Steven watches intently, "Even little Timmy is doing his part. Collecting scrap metal, nice work Timmy."

A man in the crowd calls out, "Who cares? Play the movie already." People look over at him, including Steven.

Steven quietly says, "Hey, you wanna show some respect?"

The commercial continues, "Meanwhile, overseas, our brave boys show the excess powers that the price of freedom is never too high."

The loud man calls out again, "Let's go. Get on with it." People continue to look at him, "Hey, just start the cartoon!"

Steven had enough and said more loudly than before, "Hey, you wanna shut up?!" The loud guy gets up and looks at him. Steven shrinks a bit in his seat, looking at how much taller and bigger he is than him.

Outside: Movie Theatre

Alleyway

The man from the theater punches Steven to the ground, and Steven quickly gets up. He punches Steven again, and Steven falls and again quickly gets up and grabs a garbage can lid as a shield. The man rips it out of his hands, throws it to the side, and punches Steven again on the ground. The man watches as Steven again gets up, puts his hands up to defend himself, and breathes heavily as he is in pain. He has some blood coming out the side of his mouth. He looks at Steven in disbelief, "You just don't know when to give up, do you?"

Steven, weak and clearly can't continue, says, "I can do this all day." And he goes to punch the guy again but gets punched down again. A voice stops him from punching Steven again.

Lars Barriga grabs him and pulls him away from Steven, "Hey! Pick on someone your own size." The man goes to punch him but gets punched by Connie Maheswaran, and the man goes flying back and gets kicked in the butt by Sadie Miller, and the man runs out of the alleyway. As Connie helps Steven up, Lars comments, "Sometimes, I think you like getting punched." Connie was holding a newspaper in her hand.

Steven lets Connie wipe the blood off his face with a tissue, then tells Lars, "I had him on the ropes."

Sadie picks up Steven's enlistment form from the ground, looks at it as Lars looks over her left shoulder and asks, "How many times is this?" Sadie hands it to Lars and takes it as he reads from the enlistment form, "Oh, you're from Paramus now?"

Sadie tells him, "You know it's illegal to lie on the enlistment form."

Connie quickly takes it from Lars and reads, "And seriously, Jersey?"

Steven looks at their uniforms, "Did you get your orders?"

Lars tells him, as Connie, Sadie, and Lars stand in front of him, "The 107. Sergeant Lars Barriga and Sergeant Connie Maheswaran. Both are shipping out for England first thing tomorrow."

Steven looks down, "I should be going." He brushes the dirt off of his arms.

Lars smiles and wraps his right arm around him, and they both walk forward, "Come on, man! It's our last night!" He gestures to him and the girls following behind them, "Gotta get you cleaned up." He throws the form behind him.

Steven asks curiously, "Why? Where are we going?"

Connie walks up to Steven on his right as Sadie walks up beside Lars, who wraps his left arm around her waist. Connie tells Steven, "The future." She hands him the newspaper she was holding. Steven opens it to see the ad for World Exposition as all four of them walk out of the alleyway.