Not for the first time Steve silently thanked Lucy for her gift of a heavy duty motorcycle. It had served him well on every mission and he regretted what he was about to do as he revved the powerful engine. Racing through the trees Steve attracted a squadron of Hydra soldiers riding on their own motorcycles. They tailed him and shot streams of blue energy that bounced off of his shield. Looking down at the right side of the handlebars Steve flicked a switch. This released a trip wire that embedded itself deeply into the trunks of a pair of near by trees. The first couple of soldiers managed to duck out of the way but the last few weren't so lucky. Instead they caught their chests on the rope and were flung high up into the air, knocked completely off their vehicles. Next Steve activated the fire torch. The tail of flames licked its way behind him incapacitating another two motorcyclists. The final pair had raced around him, trying to block him off from the front. But Steve speed between them, activating a bomb as he passed. Up ahead was the entrance to the Hydra secret base.
A tank was rolling out in a last attempt to impede him. Steve shoved his shield in front of the bike to deflect he pulses of energy, and flicked another switch. Boom! The tank turned into a colossal fireball with twin shots from the front of the motorbike. Using the sloping entrance as a ramp, Steve sped up the concrete and into the camp. Turning on one final switch Steve jumped off the motorcycle, "Sorry, Lu." He winced as he watched the vehicle run into the building, destroying itself and blow a huge hole in the wall as the last explosives went off. Fighting off multiple men, two soldiers with flamethrowers finally incapacitated Steve and the rest of the masked men surrounded him.
Handcuffing him, the Hydra men walked him deep into the building, finally coming to an office. The room had high vaulted ceiling and was dimly lit, most of the light came from the wall of windows in the back.
"Arrogance may not be a uniquely American trait," exclaimed Red Skull stalking out of the shadows and into view, "but I must say you do it better than anyone. But," he paused dramatically, "there are limits to what even you can do Captain. Or did Erskine tell you otherwise?"
"He told me you were insane." Steve mocked.
"Ah." Schmidt nodded in understand, "He resented my genius and tried to deny me what was rightfully mind. But he gave you everything. So, what made you so special?"
Steve smirked, "Nothing. I'm just a kid from Brooklyn." In anger Schmidt punched him in the face, and again in the stomach, causing him to drop to his knees, "I can do this all day." Steve breathed out heavily.
"Oh, of course you can, of course. But, unfortunately, I am on a tight schedule." Red Skull declared as he brandished a pistol between Steve's eyes.
Thwap! From out side the wall of windows, zip lines embedded themselves into the rocky mountainside. Distant figures could be seen, quickly solidifying and gaining detail.
"So am I." Steve asserted grabbing the guard him back and shoving him in front of Schmidt's blast. Then Monty, Gabe, and Dum Dum crashed into the glass windows and fired furiously at the Hydra soldiers.
"Rogers." Monty exclaimed, grabbing Steve shield and throwing it to him, "You might need this!"
"Thanks!" Steve replied and rushed off to follow Red Skull.
Hydra soldiers were swarming everywhere; they knew they were under attack. "We're in!" Jim barked into his communicator, "Assault team, go!"
Colonel Phillips nodded at the message and relayed to his men, "Move out."
"Move!"
It was entirely a battle of confusion. Soldiers ran to and fro trying to avoid enemy fire as they stormed the Hydra base. From each side, explosions where going off, blasting men off their feet and into the muddy ground.
"Keep your spacing!"
Brave soldiers could be seen disappearing into a fine blue mist, left and right. In return for their fallen comrades, the Allies replied with rounds and rounds of gunfire.
As the Hydra men lined up to protect a breach, one shrieked, "Cut off one head, two more shall…"
With a well-aimed shot, he was silenced. "Let's go find two more!" Phillips sneered with delight. This was what he had worked tirelessly for the past few years. Taking down Hydra, and today their moment had finally come.
Steve was still in pursuit of Schmidt. Evading the pulses of energy, Steve flung his shield to prevent a set of sliding doors from closing. However, before he could follow, he was unwillingly made to duck into an alcove to avoid another flamethrower. On the other side of the flame wielding man, Peggy strode up and fired at him with her submachine gun.
"You're late." Steve grinned greeting her and the rest of the soldiers.
"Weren't you about to?" Peggy nodded after Schmidt, reminding him of his chase.
"Oh, Right." Steve muttered and continued on grabbing his shield along the way.
Peggy shook her head and continued on her way, shooting down enemy after enemy as she marched down the hall. She could feel her veins pulsing with energy, the thrill of the fight. The confidence she had in her abilities and the conviction she had in the SSR, this was how she could honor the memory of her lost friends.
Red Skull had made it to his colossal, obsidian colored airplane, the imposing Valkyrie. He vaulted up the ladder and inserted the cube into its position, powering up the craft. Climbing into the pilot's seat he switched on the controls and prepared to take flight. The engines started to whirl and flames shot out of the back. The wheels twisted and the airplane taxied toward the runway. The destination, New York.
Steve entered the large cavern where the aircrafts were kept. He could see the Valkyrie moving off down the runway. Blocking his path were countless Hydra soldiers currently engaged with other Allied forces. Running to catch up with the large black bird Steve knocked down man after man. Then with a jump he reached up and grabbed a hanging chain, lifting himself off of the ground and swinging over the heads of the last few soldiers. Even with his increased speed, Steve would never make it to the plane as it sped up about to life off from the runway.
"Get in!" Phillips yelled from Schmidt's armored car, which he proudly just commandeered.
Red Skull could see his car gaining on him and he growled, opening the garage doors.
The Colonel in turned punched a button pushing them forward at even greater speeds. Fire was roaring out the back and sides of the vehicle.
"Keep it steady!" Steve bellowed standing up from his seat.
"Wait!" Peggy cried and reached into her pocket. She handed him a gift he had long since forgotten. It was the compass. He hadn't looked at it in weeks finding it too hard to see her face. Then giving his cheek a peck for good luck she smiled encouragingly, "Go get him!"
Phillips looked over at the pair, "I'm not kissing you." He retorted.
Steve let out a short laugh and moved along the side of the car. They were right beside the Valkyrie now, moving closer Steve narrowly missed one of the rotating blades. It sliced across his back bouncing off his shield. With a grunt Steve launched himself off the car and landed on the rear wheel of the plane. The Colonel jerked the wheel, spinning the car before they flew off the edge of the mountain. The wheels squealed in protest as they spun wildly out of control trying to stop their impending doom. With a loud shutter, the automobile came to rest with one quarter of the wheels hanging off the cliff. Peggy and the Colonel let out twin sighs of relief as they scarcely avoided death, and then looked up as they watched the Valkyrie take flight.
The landing wheels that were the size of the super soldier himself, retracted into the plane, taking Steve with them. Inside Steve saw the giant bombs, labels for each city they would destroy. New York, Chicago, and the list went on and on. Hydra soldiers were running through the plane when Steve intercepted their destination. Swinging down from above he knocked one man over the side of the rain, punched another, and threw a discarded knife at the last soldier. Going over to the manual controls, he deployed one of the bombs, causing the masked man who was sprawled across it to fall out of the ship. Picking up another man, Steve threw him out the opening as well, flailing as he went far down to the ground below.
From behind one of the soldiers stole aboard a one man aircraft and started to deploy. Steve jumped on top of the glass with another soldier on top of him. Flying recklessly through the air, the masked man tried to shake Steve. Instead the top hatch was pulled open and the soldier ejected from the plane, mid flight, as Steve climbed in to take his place. Flying around the Valkyrie, Steve crash-landed in the back of the larger plane.
Navigating the strange and foreboding halls Steve found his way to the command part of the aircraft. Looking around, Steve saw no one was in sight. Approaching the pilot chair, he saw that too, was empty. Then from behind, the tell tale sound of a powering up blaster could be heard, announcing its presence.
"You don't give up, do you?" admonished Schmidt still firing at the soldier.
"Nope!" Steve stated running forward and hitting Red Skull with his shield.
The two super humans battled each other across the entire deck of the Valkyrie. Neither one really had the upper hand on the other until Steve slammed Schmidt into the consol. Sparks flew everywhere and the airplane took a steep nosedive straight down toward the earth. Both men were surprised by the lack of gravity as they were propelled into the ceiling. Pushing Steve away, Red Skull reestablished the flight course of the plane.
Then taking out a pistol from his jacket Schmidt yelled, "You could have the power of the gods." He fired randomly trying to hit the fast moving super soldier; "Yet you wear a flag on your chest and think you fight a battle of nations I have seen the future, Captain. There are no flags."
"Not my future!" Steve grunted flinging his shied with a tremendous amount of force, across the room into Red Skull. The impact knocked over Schmidt and caused the cube to disengage.
"What have you done?" Schmidt cried as he picked up the cube with his bare hands. For a moment he stared at the seductive beauty of power. The ethereal wisps of sparkling energy floated up into the air, almost like an aurora, mesmerizing any who came near. Then the cube shot a beam into the air opening a portal to another world. Strange and colorful galaxies floated above Steve as he tried to figure out what they were.
"No!" Red Skull screamed as the flesh melted off his fingers. His body was disappearing into the next dimension. Then with a final agonizing scream Johann Schmidt turned into a blinding stream of white light, rocketing into the heavens. Red Skull was no more.
The portal closed, causing an energy ripple to shot out and around the plane. The cube dropped onto the floor. It melted layer after layer of the Valkyrie before it plummeted into the raging waters below. The godlike source of Hydra's power was lost.
Recovering from the supernatural experience, Steve ran to the command console. There he saw the course of the aircraft. "Come in. This is Captain Rogers. Do you read me?"
Peggy, Jim, and Colonel Phillips were pacing in the command center of the secret Hydra base. "Captain Rogers, what is your…" Jim began before Peggy shoved him aside.
"Steve is that you? Are you alright?" she called out frantically.
"Peggy! Schmidt is dead."
"What about the plane?"
Struggling with the various buttons and knobs Steve shook his head, "That's a little bit tougher to explain."
"Uh. Give me your coordinates. I'll find you a safe landing site."
"There's not gonna be a safe landing. But I can try and force it down."
"I…I'll get Howard on the line. He'll know what to do."
"There's not enough time. This thing's moving too fast and it's heading for New York." Steve paused realizing his next course of action. An enormous weight settled in his chest. Clearing his throat he continued, "I got to put her in the water."
"Please, don't do this. We have time." Peggy begged of her friend. She couldn't lose anymore of them, not now. Not when they were so close to a victory. "We can work it out."
"Right now I'm in the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer, a lot of people are gonna die." Looking out at the dazzling view Steve continued, "Peggy, this is my choice." Then from a hidden pocket Steve pulled out the last thing she had given him. Slowly opening the top, he caressed the image that had been stuck to the compass. He would never see her again. Never again could he hear that laugh, touch that face, and explore that mind. Then placing it on the console next to him he took a deep breath and steered the magnificent Valkyrie into a steep nosedive. Still staring at the picture he requested, "Peggy?"
"I'm here." She sniffed trying to disguise the crack in her voice.
"As my final order," he could see the ice now. Gone were the happy playful clouds. Here awaited the barren lonely landscape that would forever be his resting place, welcoming him in with icy arms. "I command you to find Lucy."
Peggy let out a short hysterical laugh, "You can't give me orders." She repeated from a time long, long ago.
"The hell I can," Steve cracked a watery nostalgic grin. "I'm a Captain." Then becoming serious again he requested. "And Peggy?"
"Yes?"
"When you find her, tell her… tell her I'm sorry." His eyes trailed over to the compass again as it rattled on the dashboard. He had to get this out, it was important. The one thing they had yet to say aloud. "And tell her…tell her… that I lov…" and the radio transmission cut to static.
"Steve?" Peggy questioned, then in a harsher tone she commanded, "Steve!" after a pause she spoke one last time in disbelief. It just wasn't possible. "Steve?" tears streamed down her cheeks as Agent Margaret Carter finally broke down.
On that day, the Allies defeated Hydra. Consequently, they lost countless lives, including some of their best agents. Standing up Peggy gathered herself and instructed one of the Privates, "Get Stark on the line. You heard the Captain, we've got ourselves a mission to accomplish."