HALT! Other chapters have been released today! Go look at those first if you haven't already!

1945, October, Austria:

"Sind die Soldaten transportbereit?"

[Are the Soldiers ready for transport?]

"Jawohl. Cryo hält ruhig, Gott sei Dank. Unsere Verbündeten in Russland sind bereit, sie zu empfangen."

[Yes, sir. Cryo is holding steady, thank God. Our allies in Russia are ready to receive them.]

"Gott hat nichts damit zu tun, Müller. Das ist Wissenschaft."

[God has nothing to do with it, Müller. This is science.]

"Schmidt würde es anders sagen."

[Schmidt would say differently.]

"Schmidt ist tot. Captain America hat ihn getötet. Seine Mystik hat uns erst so weit gebracht, Müller. Es ist Zeit, sich auf die Stärke der Menschen zu verlassen, nicht auf die der Götter."

[Schmidt's dead. Captain America killed him. His mysticism only got us so far, Müller. It's time to rely on the strength of men, not gods.]

Müller fell silent, unsure what to say in response, and his superior, Meyer, returned to his paperwork while Müller looked out the window of the office, down on the activity below. They were transitioning the cryo tubes from their stations to the waiting truck, which took a combined dozen men for each tube. The tubes themselves accounted for about half the weight - the bodies within nearly matched that weight. The Soldiers were... dense. They'd discovered the phenomenon first with the woman - after the metal arm had been installed and after the serum had been administered and taken hold, moving her from table to table became a mountain of a thing. The scientists had needed to borrow a few of the soldiers for the task. X-rays did not explain the difference in weight, but the scientists theorized it came from the serum - that it had increased bone density along with the predicted changes in muscle mass. This seemed to be supported by the way the two Soldiers sparred; where either one of them could send a regular man flying, they exchanged blows between themselves with effects closer to two regular humans fighting. Their density kept them on the ground for the other Soldier's kicks and punches, and while it had been something nobody had considered, it was regarded as somewhat fortunate. They were damn hard to knock over, even with a vehicle (yes, they had tried that), and their superior strength and speed seemed to make up for the extra weight without an issue. Heavy as they were, they still outpaced any regular man or woman, and - their handlers could not stress this enough - their attacks were not slowed by this weight.

Müller had seen the Soldiers in action from the other side of steel bars, had seen one of the handlers make a mistake during training. The handler had electrocuted the male with the disciplinary rod, and left his back wide open for the female. She'd splattered his brains across the floor.

Before their files had been heavily redacted, Müller had gotten a look, and those had reported that the two had known each other before being captured and programmed for this higher purpose. Some part of them still knew each other, apparently. Müller was of the opinion that they should have been separated the moment The Asset was done training his former companion, but the higher ups said differently, and he knew better than to make a fuss about it. Not his fault if his colleagues didn't treat the Soldiers with the proper caution.

Downstairs, the men heaved the first cryo tube into the bed of the truck, and then stepped back, a few of them obviously catching their breath. One down, one to go. The truck was headed for a new cell in Russia, comprised mostly of previous Hydra agents that had escaped the Allies sweep through Europe, but Müller knew that they were in the midst of training new recruits there. The Soldiers would be instrumental to training the new recruits - if nothing more than healthy caution for things they didn't understand. Most of all, though, the veteran Hydra agents would be in charge of making sure that the new recruits did not give them away. Secrecy was their new bread and butter - espionage was the way of the future. If Hydra wanted to survive, it needed to keep under the radar. A couple hand-picked Hydra scientists had had their files purposefully leaked for the purpose of advertising to the stupid Americans their scientific advances. The rumor - one substantiated enough to be listened to - was that the U.S. was going to recruit scientists from Germany for their own purposes. A perfect opportunity to plant dedicated men right in the heart of their enemy.

Müller was unsure what his own fate would be, now that Hydra was mostly destroyed within Germany. He was no scientist, nor much of a soldier. He was a leader, and Hydra now had far more of his ilk than grunts. That would need to be rectified, eventually. For now, they would have to operate like they were new again. Carefully. Silently. The Soldiers, he would likely never see again, despite the time he'd put into their management. They would be taught Russian and Mandarin and a few dozen other things on top of the German they'd already been given, and finally they would become the well-rounded machines he knew they could be.

"Müller. Gibt es einen Grund, warum Sie immer noch in meinem Büro stehen?"

[Müller. Is there a reason you're still standing in my office?]

Meyer spoke, finally looking up from his paperwork to look somewhat expectantly at Müller. Just the slightest hint of derision was in his eyes. Colleagues they were, friends they were not. Müller shook his head, and headed for the door.

"Danke für deine Zeit, Meyer."

[No. Thank for your time, Meyer.]

A/N

Anddd that's the last for tonight! As you may have noticed, these glimpses are going to jump dates quite a bit! Let us know what you guys think!