Project: Super Soldier
1942
Steve yawned when he staggered out of the bathroom, running his hand through the spots of hair that had started to grow back after his hair had all been burned off escaping from the warehouse. It had grown back much lighter than it was before, coming in a very pale yellow instead of its previous sandy blonde. "So much for people recognizing me," he mused and pulled his clothes on, glad to be out of his hospital gown and being discharged.
"Hurry up Rogers, I don't want to be around these butchers any longer than I have to," a voice came from the doorway.
"Coming Major Fury," Steve rolled his eyes and grabbed his knapsack from under the bed and shouldering it. "Let's roll boss," he laughed as the man glared at him from his wheelchair. He ignored the man's complaints and took the back of the chair and pushed him through the halls of the hospital. Fury and he had been in the military hospital for close to 2 months now as they got patched up for serious burn damage, broken legs, and cracked ribs in the Major's case.
"Damn nurses and doctors won't even let me try to walk, they said if they saw me out of the chair, they'd lock me back up in my room," he grumbled; glad to be free of his casts finally. "How did you manage to sneak out and get back in and not get an earful from them?" he tilted his head and looked up at the grinning young man.
"Well, I am a hero you know," Steve smirked. "I did pull you from that burning building, saving your life, so they figured they could overlook me sneaking off to get my stuff," he shrugged. "Besides, they didn't catch me or find out about my sneaking out to look at the lab like you asked, so I think I did pretty good," he added the bit about the lab quietly. "Now be nice when we check you out, or I might have to crack some more of your ribs, see if we can get you an extended stay here," he laughed.
"I'll have you locked away in the deepest hole in the ground I can find," Fury glared at him.
"Now now, you need me, only piece of evidence of a successful experiment and all that," Steve laughed and pushed him into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. "Face it Fury, you're stuck with me," he patted the man on the back.
"That's Major Fury to you," he grumbled.
"Need I remind you, I am not technically part of the military yet, we haven't got that paperwork finished, especially since the originals all got burned up in the lab… but that is beside the point," he joked as the elevator doors opened. "Sure you want to do this? I mean they wanted you kept here for a few more weeks to monitor your recovery," he asked as he pushed them into the main lobby of the hospital.
"We need to get out of here and get to work on salvaging the project," he grunted and pushed himself to his feet unsteadily. "You got my jeep prepped outside?" he asked as he noticed his doctor walking quickly toward him from across the room.
"Yup, ready to go once we get out of here," Steve confirmed as he walked beside the Major who slowly and unsteadily shuffled across the floor.
"Damn it…" Fury swore as he saw the doctor getting closer and calling for him.
"Major Fury! Stop right there!" the man yelled.
"Damn it…" he swore before looking Steve in the eye. "Carry me, get us out of this damn hospital," he ordered reluctantly.
"You got it boss," Steve nodded and slung Fury up over his shoulder like it was nothing and took off at a dead run toward the front entrance.
"Stop them!" they heard the doctor yell to the MPs guarding the entrance.
The first MP swung his rifle to knock Steve down, but found his legs swept out from under him and his rifle snatched from his hands. The second MP found said rifle's butt slammed into the side of his head, knocking him out cold. "Nice grab on the rifle there," Steve panted as he ran across the parking lot to where he had parked the jeep.
"Not so bad yourself Steve," Fury grinned. They reached the jeep a few second later and Steve unceremoniously dropped Fury into the passenger seat and scrambled over the hood and pulled himself into the driver's seat, tossing his bag in the back. "I'm driving," Fury glared at him.
"I have the keys," Steve pulled them out of his pocket and stuck them in the ignition. "I'm driving, or you can go have a nice talk with Dr. Jones," he pointed at the hospital where the doctor was looking for them.
"Go, get us out of here," Fury gave in as the jeep started and tore out of the parking lot. "Where are my cigars I told you to get?" he asked as Steve reached over and hit the glove box so it opened. "That's more like it," Fury leaned back and relaxed after he lit one up, blowing a puff of smoke at Steve, making him cough.
"That stuff is nasty," Steve frowned as he waved his hand at the smoke.
"Get used to it kid, we're gonna have to toughen you up for the service before we get you in action," he leaned back in his seat.
"Great," Steve frowned. "Where are we headed then?" he asked as they came to an intersection.
"South, I have some friends at Fort Bragg that will overlook some of our…lack of paperwork for you until we can get you trained and present you to my superiors," Fury bit at his cigar. "Now get driving, since you wanted to drive so much, you can do it the whole way," he laughed as the Steve swore at him under his breath.
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"This better be damn good Sergeant!" General Sawyer shouted at the MP guarding the entrance to the base. "Calling me down here from my office, you better have a damn good reason or I'll have you thrown ou…" he stopped ranting when he saw the jeep outside the gate and the man in the passenger seat smoking like a chimney with a big smile on his face. "That will be all Sergeant, open the gate," he ordered, ignoring the scared look on the MP's face.
"Still scaring the grunts Sam?" Fury laughed when the General stormed through the gate and greeted him in a hug.
"Jesus Nick, I thought you were dead," the man smiled. "They said your project went up in smoke, literally," he added, taking in the haggard look of the blonde in the driver's seat. "What's with the driver?" he questioned.
"Fury is an ass," the man replied. "That's what happened," Steve grumbled.
"Hop in," Fury motioned to the back of the jeep. After the General had settled himself he turned to talk to him. "Take us to the Command Post for the base kid," he ordered Steve, ignoring the dark look Steve shot him. After the jeep started moving he spoke again. "My project was sabotaged," he explained to the General. "Some Nazi bastard blew himself up on the gas main, nearly got me and the kid killed," he jerked his head at Steve. "What do you know about the project?"
"Officially, you were working on new training techniques for soldiers," Sawyer rolled his eyes. "But there were all sorts of stories going around that you were experimenting on soldiers, shooting them up with all sorts of chemicals," he shrugged.
"If I find who leaked anything about the damn project, I'm going to have them tried for treason," Fury glared. "We lost ten men and the civilian scientist that was in charge of developing the serum when that Nazi blew up the lab," he explained. "The project was to develop a chemical serum to enhance soldiers, make them better, faster, and stronger," Fury puffed on his cigar. "The only people that know that we are alive that can connect us to the project are a couple of doctors and nurses back in New York, and the three of us," he glanced over as Steve laughed.
"Something funny kid?" Fury glared at him.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, what with all the wonderful training you had put me through on this beautiful scenic drive from New York to North Carolina over the last two weeks," he turned and stuck his hand into his satchel, feeling around for something. "There we go," he handed a handful of papers to the General. "All the people in New York have are our names, I grabbed all our files and destroyed my blood samples the night before we escaped," he explained.
"You need to tell me these kind of things," Fury's face grew red in anger.
"Yeah, well you need to not run me into the ground after making me drive all damn day," Steve shrugged.
"Escaped?" Sawyer asked as he skimmed the medical files, noting the injuries the pair had recovered from. "What the hell Nick, broken legs, cracked ribs, burn damage?"
"Well, the doctors seemed to want to keep me longer, so the kid and I made our escape so we could get back to work," Fury explained.
"More like you were sick of being in a damn wheelchair and had me carry you over my damn shoulder and make a run for it," Steve added as he made a turn.
"Who's the kid then, you'd never let one of your officers or soldiers talk to you like this Nick," Sawyer asked.
"The kid was the last subject we had in the program, the only success we had," Fury explained. "When the Nazi blew up the lab, he was on a breather in the tube we used to expose him to the chemicals," Fury continued. "I got trapped under a sheet of steel and thought I was going to die, and then this tough little bastard broke through the glass, got the sheet off of me, and got us both out of the fire and to the hospital," he explained. "This kid is the project Sam," Fury grinned.
"I'm not sure I follow you Nick," Sawyer looked at the wiry man driving the jeep carefully. "Looks like just another soldier to me, maybe a little on the small side, could use some more muscles," Sawyer shrugged.
"You should have seen him before," Fury grinned. "Stop the jeep," he said excitedly. He pointed across the grass at an obstacle course.
"God damn it Nick, I'm tired and hungry," Steve complained as he unbuckled himself from his seat.
"Food after, now get to it," Fury ordered as Steve took off at a run toward the course.
"What do you mean, what he was like before?" Sam asked as he watched the man run at a good clip toward the course and scale the first obstacle, a wall, with ease.
"The kid was scrawny, five and a half feet tall, if that. Maybe a 140 lbs dripping wet," Fury smirked as he watched Steve crawl on his belly for the next obstacle. "In the three months since he was exposed to the chemicals and serum the professor has developed, he's grown about eight inches and his muscles…they're building up at ridiculous rates," he continued as Steve took a running leap across a stretch of water, ignoring the rope that hung there to be used.
"So why are you here Nick?" Sawyer was impressed as he saw Steve finish up the course faster than he had ever seen any of his soldiers do it.
"Need a place to stay where no one will notice us, while I finish whipping the kid into shape and teaching him to fight," Fury explained. "Once I think he's ready, I'll get in touch with my bosses in the CIA that are in charge of the program," he chewed on his cigar thoughtfully. "We can't let any of the higher ups know we are here, in case there are more leaks," he added. "I came here because I figured you could pull some strings, misplace some paperwork, forge some documents, etc., for me," he grinned at his friend.
"Never a dull time with you around Nick," Sawyer rubbed his head, thinking of how to keep their arrival secret.
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"Not saying I like it, but I agree, this is the best way to keep people from asking too many questions," Fury frowned as he walked with Sawyer from his office to the Mess Hall where they had left Steve an hour ago.
"Look at it this way, the other officers will stay out of your ways, and the NCOs know better than to ask questions," the General smiled. "I'll admit he is a bit young and green for the rank, but if anyone can whip him into shape, it will be you Nick," the General laughed at his former Sergeant.
"Let's just hope the idiot hasn't done something to blow our cover already," he frowned as they entered the Mess Hall together, causing several calls of 'Attention!' as the room grew silent instantly.
"At ease men," Sawyer said automatically and the men went back to eating. "You'll need to teach him protocol fast," he muttered to Fury as they walked to where Steve was sitting and eating, not having stopped since they entered the room.
"As the little shit has told me repeatedly, he isn't in the military yet, so doesn't have to act like it," Fury frowned. "He said he won't act like a soldier until he is official," he frowned and closed in on Steve, noticing half a dozen empty plates and the soldiers looking at him curiously as he continued shoveling food in his mouth. "You even bother coming up for breath?" he asked as he sat down across from him.
"Cram it up your ass Nick, I haven't had a real meal since New York," he swore back at Fury.
"Cram it up your ass, sir," General Sawyer corrected him, sliding him a manila folder. "I'll overlook your attitude today Captain Rogers, because of recent events, but don't let it continue, understood?" he watched as Steve scanned the folder's contents quickly.
"Yes sir," he nodded at the General.
"General Sawyer sir, permission to ask a question," a young Lieutenant a few seats down spoke up after being goaded by the others near him.
"Go ahead son," Sawyer nodded.
"Who are they?" he asked simply.
"There will be a memo going out tomorrow about it, but you can start informing everyone about it today," the General explained. "Captain Steve Rogers here, will be on assignment here for his training for the 1944 Olympics. He has been given this special assignment by certain higher ups that want to see him show up some Nazis," he explained causing the men to cheer. "Major Fury here, is ex-Special Forces, and is going to whip him into the best shape of his life. They'll be around the base and you are to give them any assistance they request, understood?"
"Sir, yes sir!" the men replied loudly.
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"That him?" a soldier asked another as the members of the 82nd Airborne Division's Golf Platoon.
"Think so, don't know why he's out here with us though," another responded.
"Captain Rogers sir, what can I help you with today?" the company's eager Lieutenant asked the blonde.
"Don't act so cheerful, we're waiting on Major Fury," he shook his head as a jeep came out from around the corner and pulled up in front of the soldiers.
"All right men, fall in!" he shouted as he stood up in the jeep. "Not you Steve," he laughed at the glare Steve was giving him. "Gentlemen, I have talked to General Sawyer, he assured me that you were the most fit of the units here on the base as of the last PT tests, congratulations," he smirked as the twenty-five men in front of him cheered.
"That being said, your asses belong to me now," he interrupted them. "I am going to drive you into the ground and make your lives a living hell! You are mine, 24 hours a day!" he shouted. "Every day, from 0500 until 0700, you will have PT. After breakfast you will go about your daily training as normal, I will have several of you with me at all times, pulling you from your normal training to assist in whipping Captain Rogers here into shape! After your daily training is done, we will have additional PT from 1900 to 2100."
"You will not treat Captain Rogers as an officer during his training," he grinned as Steve held back the urge to hurt him. "When you are training you are to drive him into the ground, push him to his limit," he ordered. "He's a tough guy, he can take it, trust me," he laughed and lit his cigar, settling back down into the driver's seat of the jeep. "Lieutenant get your men do your normal PT for the day, I'm taking Rogers on a run around the base," he ordered. "Get running boy!" he yelled and revved the engine, chasing after Steve.
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At 0700 Steve staggered into the Mess Hall, followed by the still smoking Major Fury. Fury walked over to where Golf Platoon was starting to eat, with Steve following closely behind, drenched in sweat. "Lieutenant, you and your men take care of him for me, get him fed and cleaned up," Fury ordered. "I want him, your best fighter, and your dirtiest fighter in front of the barracks at 0900 in BDUs," he snapped before walking off.
"You heard the Major, get him some food," the Lieutenant ordered as the men spread out to make room for the exhausted Rogers. "You look like hell Rogers, how far did he make you run?" he asked as some of the privates scrambled to get food for him.
"Twenty miles is my best guess, dodging him in the jeep the whole damn time," he breathed heavily. "Thanks," he nodded as the food was placed in front of him and attacked the pancakes, fruit, and juice that were stacked there.
"Barnes, Riley, you're in charge of him today, got it?" the Lieutenant ordered.
"Yes sir," they replied together.
"I better go get him some more food…" Barnes watched as half the plate of food had disappeared already.
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"Just in time," Fury looked at his watch as the three men in camouflage exited the barracks together. "Fall in!" he ordered as the three men came to attention and spaced out in front of him. "Name soldier?" he asked the first one an Italian looking man with a crooked nose.
"Private Castillo sir," the man replied.
"You the clean fighter or the dirty one?" Fury responded.
"The dirty one sir," he replied.
"That makes you the clean one, Private…" he walked to the next man who stood a few inches under six feet tall.
"Private Barnes sir," he finished Fury's sentence.
"At ease, all of you," he ordered. "As you may have guessed, the Olympic story is our cover. We are training Steve here for covert ops behind enemy lines in Europe, and if you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will shoot you for treason," he threatened. "You're first Castillo," he ordered. "You and Rogers fight until I tell you to stop," he ordered and stepped back with Barnes.
"Sir are you…" Castillo stammered nervously.
"Kick his ass, or I will kick yours," Fury ordered.
"Just do it," Steve smirked and nodded at the man.
"Okay," Castillo shrugged before taking up a boxing stance and circling Rogers. Steve walked backwards keeping his attention on Castillo as they circled each other. Castillo jabbed out with his fist quickly, before Steve deflected the blow with his own hand.
"Fight dirty damn it, don't go for the face when you can hit him in the throat," Fury ordered.
Castillo nodded and started punching and kicking at Steve, striking him in the throat and gouging at his eyes several times, knocking him to the ground. "Get up," Fury ordered as Steve got back to his feet. "Fight back damn it, you have no problem fighting back against me, now fight back against him," he frowned as the fight continued and Steve was taken down again, not bothering to attack; only defending himself.
"God damn it Rogers, what is wrong with you?" Fury pushed Castillo away and knocked Steve over as he was trying to get up. "You like getting beat up or something?" he glared at him.
"He's not my enemy," Steve spat up some blood onto the grass and got to his feet. "I'm not going to hurt him," he glared back at Fury.
"You have no problem hurting me though," Fury looked into his eyes.
"You're an ass, and you can handle yourself," Steve stared back. "If I went off on him, he'd be in the damn hospital," he said through clenched teeth.
"Prove it," Fury pushed him in the chest and motioned for Castillo. Steve glared at Fury before turning back to Castillo. Castillo moved to jab at him again, but cried out in pain as Steve grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him off balance to the ground, placing his knee on his throat. "That's enough," Fury said quickly. "Castillo, you can go meet up with the rest of the men," he ordered as the man rubbed his throat and stumbled off. "You're next Barnes, I hope you can teach him a bit more than Castillo," he frowned.
"He was the dirtiest, I am the best," the Private grinned before taking a stance like Castillo had. He and Steve circled each other for a few seconds before both of them started swinging at the other.
Fury watched as the two young men fought each other, studying their moves. Barnes was clearly faster than the larger Castillo and close to being as fast as Rogers. Both of them were getting angry as neither was able to land a good shot on the other. He watched as Barnes blocked a strike by Steve before countering by swinging his back leg around and twisting so the foot was headed right at Steve's head. Steve's eyes widened as he reached up with his hands to block the strike, catching the leg and using the momentum to throw Barnes to the ground.
"That's more like it," Fury laughed as the irritated Private got up off the grass and stared back at Rogers. "Again, and no holding back anymore!" he ordered as the two men advanced on each other.
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At 1700, Golf Platoon, minus Private Barnes, were settling down to eat in the Mess Hall when the doors opened and Barnes limped in with Rogers as Fury followed behind them. "Get them food and get them patched up and ready for PT," he ordered before leaving the two men, Barnes sporting a bloody lip, and Rogers a black eye and swollen nose.
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The training continued uninterrupted for months. Steve stopped growing around 6'4" and quickly built up muscle due to Fury working him hard every day. He had made the men take turns fighting him, until it became evident that only Barnes could hold up against him for a short period of time, then started throwing two and three men at him at once. It was commonplace to see Rogers and half of Golf Platoon bandaged and bloody at any given time at Fort Bragg.
Summer passed and turned into Halloween, all passing without incident. The second week of November came and Fury sent the men on a run for evening PT after calling Barnes and Rogers aside. "Yes sir?" Barnes asked, curious as to why he was singled out and not wanting to fight Steve again.
"You two are coming with me," he ordered and pointed in the back of the jeep. Once they were all settled he floored the gas and drove the three of them toward the General's office. "Come on, we're expected," he ordered and barged into the building.
"Ah, Major Fury, Captain Rogers, and Private Barnes, do come in," General Sawyer smirked at his joke since Nick had already closed and locked the doors behind them. "Private Barnes, Major Fury has told me you show an aptitude for covert operations, judging by the training he has witnessed you and the rest of the 82nd taking part in," the General continued. "That and as he puts it," he paused to read from a folder on his desk. "You are the only one who can give Rogers a run for his money in combat," he quoted.
"Thank you sir," Barnes replied quickly.
"That being said, you time here at Bragg has come to an end," the General continued. "I am authorizing a transfer for you to continue working covertly with Captain Rogers and Major Fury," the General continued. "Nick, your friends contacted me and we have arranged transport for your team to go to England," he handed a folder to Fury. "You are officially reassigned officially to the OSS and will be working on missions based out of London," he continued. "Your records have been destroyed, you do not exist. Your gear will be waiting in London when you arrive, as will your contact," he continued. "You leave on January 4th, if you have family, you are on leave to see them until that time," he looked at the men.
"My family is dead sir," Steve replied.
"Mine, doesn't want to see me sir," Barnes added.
"Good, that means I get to work you two for another few weeks then," Fury grinned.
A/N: I know Fury was not involved with Operation: Rebirth in the comics and all. I am just pulling names from the Marvel Universe so people that may have read the comics can have a little fun seeing what I do with them. This is an AU story in case you didn't notice the whole Captain America fighting Voldemort thing in the prologue, so I get to take some creative leeway when I want.
And for all the reviewers asking about Harry; patience is a virtue. You can see the chapters are going by year, so there is still 1943/44/45 to go before it returns to the present. I promise in the first chapter back to the present, Harry will make his appearance.
And for the military people, I am trying to be as factual as I can from what I remember in my time in JROTC and ROTC and what I can wiki. Feel free to correct any errors I make.
And I know a lot of people like the longer chapters, but honestly, I write a chapter to complete a goal I have set in my head for the plot and don't really worry about the length, so you'll see that some hover around the 1700-2k words area, and occasionally I crank out some 7-8k word monsters, it all depends on what I wanted to get done in the chapter and what inspiration strikes when I am writing.