Chapter 12: The Awakening
Nick Fury, director of the secret spy organization S.H.I.E.L.D., walked into a monitor room where two women were waiting for him. One was his second in command, Maria Hill, standing at attention before him, and the other was Daisy "Skye" Johnson, who was at a computer terminal, going through some encrypted files.
"I trust there's a good reason for me being called here," he addressed.
"There is," Hill replied. "We just got a communication from our salvage team near the Arctic Circle."
"Guessing they found something."
"A big something… we found it."
Fury's eye went wide. "The Cube?"
"Found it at the bottom of the ocean floor. And that's not all."
Fury cocked an eyebrow, looking down at Skye, who smiled in response.
"They found him."
Fury was surprised. "Well, I'll be damned."
"They found his body in a patch of ice. They're working to free him now."
"Well, that all sounds well and good," Fury noted, a stern look on his face. "So why do I feel like a second shoe is about to drop?"
Both Hill and Skye turned to each other before turning to face Fury again.
"You remember those files Natasha recovered from Gorgon Castle a while back? Well, I did some digging into them, and… it's not good. Looks like HYDRA's been looking for the same thing."
"Not a surprise," Fury remarked. "Everyone's been looking for him."
"Yeah, but these reports seem to show they're eying the exact same place we are."
"... shit. How long ago was the word from the recovery team?"
"About half an hour ago."
"Tell them to get the hell out of there at top speed. Hill, get the STRIKE Team mobilized and ready to move out!"
"Yes sir," Hill replied, heading off.
…
Onboard the sub, they had just finished cutting Cap's body out of the ice and brought it on board, allowing them to take off away from the area. All the while, S.H.I.E.L.D. technicians were studying the Cube in the onboard lab.
"This thing is incredible," one of the lab techs commented. "The energy capacity is unparalleled. And I'm even picking up some… low-level gamma radiation."
"I'd save the analysis for when we're in safer waters," another one of the technicians told him. "Just got a communication that HYDRA forces are closing in on us. We've gotta get out of here and fast."
"I'm not too worried. We're hundreds of miles away, and we've got a massive head start on them. By the time they get here, we'll be long-"
Suddenly, something collided with the side of the sub, rocking the occupants inside.
"What the hell?"
…
Outside the sub, another much larger back submarine with red highlights trailed behind them. It fired two more torpedoes, hitting the engines and stranding them in the water. This allowed the larger stub to pull up to the damaged watercraft. It moved over the research sub, opening up a panel on the bottom so it could lower itself down and trap the smaller sub inside.
…
Inside the research sub, the technicians all braced themselves as they felt the smaller sub being engulfed by the bigger one. They all grabbed weapons that were stored onboard in case of an emergency, readying themselves for whatever was coming their way. Just as they began arming themselves, the hatch into the sub was being cut. All the technicians stepped back, readying themselves for what was coming. Finally, the entrance was blown open, creating a cloud of smoke that blinded the technicians. This created enough of a disorientation for several HYDRA agents to bust in and start shooting at the S.H.I.E.L.D. technicians. The technicians opened fire on the agents, some of them getting shot as a result.
While more HYDRA agents stormed the sub, a man dropped down inside, walking past several downed soldiers and technicians. One of them was slowly crawling away, prompting the man to reach a metal hand out and grab him by the back of the neck. He picked him up, letting the technician see his attacker was an older man in a HYDRA uniform with a monocle.
"Baron Strucker…" the technician let out.
Suddenly, the gauntlet sparked with energy, causing the technician to cry out in pain. Before Strucker's eyes, the technician began to age rapidly, as if his life was being drained from him. Said life was then being siphoned into Strucker, making him appear younger by a few decades. Satisfied, Strucker tossed the technician aside, marching forward into the sub with a look of satisfaction on his face.
…
Miles away, a SHIELD shuttle blazed across the sky, rocketing toward the sub's last known location. Inside the shuttle, Clint Barton was stocking up his quiver, making sure he was well-armed for the fight ahead. By his side was Natasha Romanov, who was dressed in a black bodysuit with a belt that had a red hourglass on the buckle and two yellow bracelets that she was locking into place.
"How much further until we reach the target?" she asked, turning to one of the agents.
"We're about ten minutes out from the sub's last reported location," Brock Rumlow, leader of SHIELD's Strike Unit, reported as he slid two taser sticks into holsters on his belt.
"Sub will most likely be submerged when we get there. While the ship lays some cover fire, we'll drop into the water next to the sub before swimming toward it. Once there, we breach the sub via the bulkheads. When we get in, we protect Cap's body and the Cube, no matter what."
"You heard her, STRIKE. Let's move out!"
…
Back on board the sub, the remaining SHIELD techs were either dead or captured, held at gunpoint by the HYDRA soldiers on board. As the last of the techs were brought into one room, Strucker walked out, looking them over. Glaring at them before proceeding to walk toward his soldiers.
"What is the status of the Tesseract?" Strucker inquired.
"We are transporting it onto our sub as we speak," one of the soldiers answered.
"And ze Captain?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. was in the midst of defrosting him when we arrived," another soldier told him. "We are finishing the process and are preparing to take his shield to one of our onboard laboratories for analysis."
"Excellent. Once ze Captain is fully defrosted, begin extracting his DNA so he may reproduce the super soldier serum."
"Yes sir!" the agent replied, giving Strucker the HYDRA salute.
"With both the Tesseract and the Captain's DNA in our possession, we will obtain a level of power not even the Red Skull could have conceived. Hail HYDRA!"
"Hail HYDRA!" the soldiers shouted back.
...
In one of the labs, HYDRA soldiers held two SHIELD technicians at gunpoint as they finished thawing out Captain America's body. Once he was thawed out, one of the soldiers came over with a syringe and drew some blood from Cap's arm. He turned back toward the scientists, unaware of the subtle stirring of the downed Captain.
"This shall be the first step of HYDRA's mastery of the world," the soldier mused before turning to the others. "Prepare Captain America's body for transport. Kill the rest."
The soldiers nodded before aiming their guns at the scientists, both groups completely unaware of the Captain's movements a few feet away. Just then, Cap's eyes slowly opened up, allowing him to look around and catch a glimpse of his old enemy. Instantly, he snapped awake.
"No!" he cried out.
One of the soldiers turned toward Cap, only to get punched in the face as a result. Cap quickly kicked another soldier aside before springing to his feet. One of the HYDRA soldiers tried shooting at him, but Cap quickly dashed forward and aimed the gun upward, causing him to shoot the ceiling instead. Cap then socked the soldier on the jaw, knocking him to the ground and causing the syringe he was carrying to shatter on the ground. Cap looked at the soldier's uniform, seeing the HYDRA insignia on it, causing him to narrow his eyes.
"HYDRA," he said under his breath before grabbing the soldier. "Where have you taken me?! Where's Bucky?!"
"Who?" the soldier asked.
Ticked off by his answer, Cap knocked him out and let him fall to the ground. He then turned toward the scientists, who were in awe
"Captain… America?" one let out.
"Where am I? What's going on?" A distant explosion shook all three of them. "Nevermind. Get to safety."
"W-wait!" the other scientist scrambled over to the table, grabbing the shield. "You'll need this."
Cap smiled, taking the shield and placing it on his back before rushing off into battle.
…
In the air above the sub, the SHIELD shuttle was laying down some fire on the sub, causing it to rock back and forth. Meanwhile, the STRIKE team geared up in scuba gear, ready to infiltrate the sub. Hawkeye opened the exit hatch, allowing him to leap out into the water below. One by one, the STRIKE team dove into the water, swimming toward the sub. Once they reached the underside of the sub, Natasha pulled out a device that she stuck to the side of the sub. It produced a laser that cut through the side of the sub, giving them a hole to slip through. One by one, Barton, Romanoff, Rumlow, and at least three other agents made it inside seconds before the bulkheads sealed up. Once in, the team shed their scuba gear and readied their gear. Widow checked to make sure her stingers and firearms were fully loaded. Barton unfolded his bow, drawing an arrow in preparation while Rumlow pulled out a gun and a taser stick, giving the latter a spin.
"Shall we?" he remarked, moving out.
The other agents started moving out, with Natasha and Clint moving out side by side.
"Still hard to believe they found him after all this time," Clint remarked.
"The ice must've kept his body preserved for all this time," Nat reasoned as she raised her gun. "Leaving him prime for HYDRA's scientists to pick apart."
"Fortunately, that's why we're here. Now, how about we kick some HYDRA ass?"
"Let's," Nat agreed as the two took off. "Before they drain Cap dry."
...
Inside the SHIELD sub, Cap used his shield to smack a HYDRA soldier aside before turning to another and blocking its gunshots. Cap ran across the room before leaping onto a nearby table and throwing his shield at the soldier, knocking him to the ground. As the shield returned to his hands, Cap quickly made for the ladder and began climbing. He opened up the hatch and climbed out, surprised to find himself not only exiting a submarine but inside the confines of a much bigger submarine.
"A submarine… inside of a submarine?" Cap questioned, leaping down to the ground. "Can't focus on that now. Gotta find a way out of here. Regroup with the other Commandos. Gotta find… Bucky…"
He paused for a moment, before shaking his head and returning to the task at hand.
"Focus up soldier. You got a job to do."
…
Meanwhile, the SHIELD STRIKE team made their way through the sub, engaging with the HYDRA forces along the way. Natasha opened fire on several soldiers, even engaging a few in hand-to-hand combat when forced to. She quickly flipped one onto the ground before spin-kicking another in the face. She then ran toward one and leaped on top of him, contorting her body so she'd flip him to the ground and she would land in a dramatic pose. She then turned toward one last approaching soldier and aimed her wristband at him, firing a widow sting that knocked him to the ground.
Hawkeye meanwhile fired arrows left and right to take out as many HYDRA soldiers as he could. He fired one arrow at a soldier's boot, firing a grappling line up at the ceiling and yanking him upward and dangling him upside down. He quickly spun around and fired another arrow at an oncoming soldier, electrocuting him and causing him to drop like a fly. As a third approached, Clint spun around and used his bow to strike him in the gut. As he keeled over, Clint socked him across the face, knocking him out. Hawkeye then drew one more arrow and fired it at a cluster of oncoming HYDRA agents. The arrow exploded upon contact with the ground, sending the HYDRA soldiers flying.
Rumlow shot down every HYDRA soldier he saw, wasting no time dispatching one soldier after another. As one came in close he elbowed him in the chest before striking him with his taser stick, shocking the soldier so intensely, it knocked him out almost instantly. He then swept another HYDRA soldier off his feet before emptying three shots into his chest, killing him easily.
Once all the HYDRA soldiers were down, the three, and their fellow agents, pressed forward and made their way toward a sealed door. Natasha walked forward and pulled a decrypter device from her belt and attached it to the keypad. After a few moments, the decryption device managed to override the lock. This caused the door to open up, allowing the STRIKE team to move on. They found themselves in a large open room, with no sign of the sub or Strucker. As they entered the room, the door suddenly slammed shut behind them. The lights suddenly switched on, revealing several HYDRA soldiers staring them down with weapons at the ready. At the forefront of them was Baron Strucker, looking them over with a smug smile.
"Welcome, agents of SHIELD," he addressed. "You are just in time to witness HYDRA's ascension to mastery over the world."
"Might wanna rethink that statement in about two seconds," Clint remarked, notching an arrow.
He fired it at Strucker, only for the seasoned HYDRA leader to snatch it out of the air with his gauntlet. He held it up smugly, energy surging through it as it crumbled to ashes before them.
"Tell me that wasn't your best idea," Rumlow remarked.
"I'm open to suggestions," Clint replied.
"Open fire!" Strucker ordered.
The HYDRA soldiers opened fire on the agents, causing them to scatter.
…
As Cap made his way through the sub, he overheard the gunfire coming from down a hallway. Curious, he quickly went down the hall in order to investigate.
…
Hawkeye unleashed one arrow after another, nailing HYDRA soldiers in rapid succession. Widow quickly leaped out of the way of some fire, rolling on the ground before getting in a crouched position and shooting another widow sting at an oncoming soldier. Rumlow shot down every HYDRA soldier he saw, showing no remorse as he carried out his mission. The other agents opened fire as well, with one getting shot down as a result. As the fighting continued, Strucker walked down toward the battle, surveying everything that was transpiring. As he passed by one of the shield agents, he grabbed it by the throat, using his claw to drain his lifeforce of the agent before tossing him aside.
As the fight continued, the four remaining agents were slowly being herded into a circle, easily becoming overwhelmed by the HYDRA forces. The third agent ran out of ammunition in his rifle and tossed it aside, pulling out his pistol. However, Strucker simply drew his sword and slashed at the agent, causing him to drop to the ground dead. Only Hawkeye, Widow, and Rumlow remained, surrounded by Strucker and his HYDRA army.
"A valiant effort," Strucker mused. "But a futile one. Surrender now, and you may yet live."
"You hear that guys?" Clint remarked. "We get to live if we give up? Isn't that just the biggest load of crap you've ever heard?"
"One of the biggest," Natasha agreed.
Strucker just sneered at the two of them. He turned toward Rumlow, who just shrugged it off. Strucker noticed something though, a slight flicker in the eye that caused him to turn back to Hawkeye. Strucker smirked at the prospect.
"Well then."
Strucker shot his claw out, wrapping it around Clint's throat.
"Clint!" Natasha let out.
"This will be my message to Nick Fury. That nothing, not even the forces of SHIELD, can stand against the power of HYDRA!"
He raised Clint up, the life force slowly draining from his body as Nat and Rumlow watched on. Before it could go too far though, something flew across the room and struck Strucker's hand, causing him to drop Clint and the lifeforce to return to his body. Strucker looked on, seeing what appeared to be a metal disc bounce off the wall before returning to its own, Captain America. The four were shocked by the sight before them.
"It can't be…" Nat let out.
"No… way…" Clint mustered.
"Captain America…" Strucker let out in disbelief.
"You…" Cap let out. "Let. Them. Go."
Strucker narrowed his eyes at the sight of Cap, ignoring the SHIELD agents to focus on the shield-wielding hero.
"This is impossible. You can't be alive!"
"I've survived worse than that," Cap replied, looking at the elderly HYDRA soldier in surprise. "Strucker?"
"You recognize me?" Strucker noted, smiling. "Excellent. Then your demise will be all the more satisfying when you know it comes from my hand!"
Strucker charged forward, swinging his blade at Cap. Cap ducked under it before striking Strucker in the face with his shield, knocking him back. Cap quickly ran forward and tried taking another swing at Strucker, but he quickly ducked under the shield before trying to thrust his sword forward. Cap sidestepped the blade before grabbing Stricker's arm, holding it in place so he could swing his shield at the sword, breaking it in two before throwing Strucker aside, causing him to collide with a wall.
"I must say, you do not disappoint," Strucker remarked. "You retain all the skills and prowess that HYDRA dreaded."
"And yet, you fight like every other goose stepper I've taken down," Cap retorted.
"Oh, I assure you, Captain," Strucker replied, raising his gauntlet and causing it to surge with power "You will find I am different zen most.
With that, Strucker ran at Captain America, swinging his metal gauntlet at him. Cap quickly stepped away from every swipe, avoiding the attacks. Cap retorted by elbowing him in the face, sending him stumbling back. Cap ran towards him, meaning to attack him again, but Strucker quickly backhanded him with his gauntlet, knocking him to the ground.
"An impressive display, Captain," Strucker mused. "But in the end… It wasn't good enough.
As Strucker tried to grab him with his gauntlet, Cap quickly grabbed the gauntlet and kicked Strucker in the chest, knocking him into a nearby control console. The contact resulted in a spark of electricity that caused it to explode. This caused alerts to sound throughout the sub, signaling them that it was suffering severe technical difficulties.
"This vessel has been compromised!" Strucker called out. "All HYDRA personnel to the escape pods!"
Strucker and the remaining HYDRA agents made their way to escape, something Natasha was quick to take notice of.
"You two get the Captain out of here," she ordered. "I'm going after Strucker!"
Clint and Rumlow nodded as Natasha took off after Strucker.
"Come on, Cap," Rumlow directed. "Let's get you out of here."
The Captain looked at the direction Strucker had run off to, wanting to pursue. However, he was still not at full strength after his dip in the Arctic, so he knew he couldn't continue the fight. Reluctantly, he went off with Clint and Rumlow, looking to make it to safety.
…
Elsewhere in the sub, several HYDRA soldiers were piling into the escape pods, including one handling the Tesseract. Strucker was one of the last to arrive, only for a gunshot to hit right near the entrance to one. He turned around, seeing Black Widow aiming her pistol right at him.
"Baron Strucker!" she called out. "By order of SHIELD, you are under arrest!"
Strucker stared down Widow, slowly raising his hands in response. Widow narrowed her eyes, cautiously approaching Strucker to subdue him. As she got close enough though, Strucker shot his gauntlet out, trying to grab her. She quickly grabbed the gauntlet by the wrist, inches away from her face. As the two struggled, Strucker reached into his belt with his free hand and pulled out a pistol. As soon as he aimed it at her face, she dropped down and kicked his legs out from under him. He tried to pick himself up but was greeted with the barrel of Widow's gun in his face.
"Stand down," she instructed.
Strucker glared for a moment. Just then, he grabbed her leg with his gauntlet and slammed her against the wall, disorienting her enough so he could get to his feet. He tried punching her, but she quickly rolled out of the way, firing widow stings from her gauntlets. He brought up his gauntlet to block them before grabbing a pistol from the ground and firing at her. She backflipped away from the shots, allowing Strucker to pull an explosive device from his belt and lob it at her just as she landed on the ground. Having only half a second to react, she dove out of the way just as the device went off, blowing a hole in the side of the sub and causing water to pour in. As she picked herself up though, she looked around, seeing that Strucker had vanished. She slammed a fist on a nearby wall, cursing in Russian before taking off to meet with Clint and the others.
…
Meanwhile, Cap, Clint, and Rumlow continued making their way toward the exit.
"Just called in our ride," Clint reported as they approached the ladder. "Should be waiting for us once we surface."
"Another sub?" Cap assumed.
"Uh… not exactly."
Finally, the three reached the exit hatch, climbing up it one by one. Cap was the last to exit, climbing onto the roof and seeing the scale of the sub he was in. Just then, a loud whirring noise rang out above him, causing him to look up. He was wide-eyed at the SHIELD shuttle flying toward them. The advanced technology before him, combined with the strain of being frozen and the battle, all became too much. Rumlow looked over and saw the weariness in Cap's stance. Finally, he passed out, slumping over as Rumlow caught him.
"Cap's out," he told Hawkeye.
"Fine time to take a nap," Clint lamented. "Just get him on board."
Rumlow nodded as the shuttle came to their level and the hatch opened up. He carried Cap onboard as Clint activated his comm.
"Nat, our rides here. Where are you?"
"Making my way to you! Strucker rabbitted! Almost there!"
…
Inside, the sub was beginning to fill up with water. Natasha raced through the hallways, hoping to make it to an exit in time. Spotting a downed HYDRA soldier, she ran over and grabbed a grenade from his belt. She lobbed it at the ceiling, causing it to explode and give her a clear escape. She then fired a grappling line from one of her gauntlets, allowing her to zip upward. Once she got up, she eyed the shuttle still hovering above her. She ran along the stretch of the roof, making one final leap toward the shuttle. When it looked like she would come up short, a grappling arrow shot out toward her and wrapped around her arm. She smiled, seeing Clint reel her back into the shuttle as it took off.
"Always gotta go for the dramatic approach, don't you?" Clint remarked as he pulled her inside.
"Look who's talking, circus boy," she jeered. "How's Cap?"
"Out cold. We're taking him back to base."
"Well, at least this wasn't a total waste," she remarked, taking a seat and seeing Cap laid out unconscious on a row of seats.
…
Sometime later, Strucker arrived at a HYDRA base, disembarking from his escape pod as several HYDRA soldiers came out to greet him.
"Sir, welcome."
"I trust the Tesseract is secure?" Strucker assumed.
"Indeed. We have already begun work on harnessing its power. Our arsenal will be ready within a few days."
"Excellent. With the power at our disposal, we shall finish what the Red Skull started, and pave the way for a new world… ruled by HYDRA."
…
Meanwhile, Steve Rogers slowly started waking up. At first, he considered if everything he went through on the sub was some kind of dream, but the new, unfamiliar surroundings he had awoken to seemed to confirm otherwise. As he sat up, he looked around, seeing that he was wearing SHIELD sweats and that his uniform and shield were laid out on a chair nearby. In another chair next to his bed, a blonde woman was looking over something on her phone. Finally, she looked up, seeing that Steve had awakened.
"Oh, good," she let out, putting her phone away. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"
"Alright," Steve muttered, still a little groggy. "Where am I?"
"Medical wing at SHIELD headquarters. I'm Agent 13. SHIELD Special Services. Here to help with your… transitional period."
"Transitional period?"
"You were… frozen for a long time."
"How long?"
"... there's… plenty of time for-"
"How long?" Steve pressed. "... please."
Agent 13 took a breath before speaking again. "Almost eighty years."
Steve was floored by the revelation. He fell back in his bed, trying to process what he had heard.
"Eighty years… but, the explosion… how am I alive?"
"Not sure honestly. I spoke to some of our specialists. Their best theory is that the combination of the Super Soldier Serum and the intense cold put you in some form of… suspended animation."
Steve suddenly thought of something. "The war? Did… did we win?"
Agent 13 smiled. "We did. Thanks to you."
Steve sighed in relief. "But… HYDRA's still out there."
"Some people tried bringing back old ideas."
"Like Strucker," Steve recalled. "How is he still alive?"
"There will be time for that later," Agent 13 replied, getting to her feet. "For now, just get some rest."
Agent 13 then walked out of the room, leaving Steve to come to grips with his new situation.
…
Meanwhile, Barton and Romanoff were meeting with Fury in his office, debriefing him on the situation.
"Where are the survivors?" Fury asked.
"STRIKE found them in escape pods a few miles away from the sub," Clint relayed. "A few HYDRA soldiers as well."
"Not counting Strucker I assume."
"No," Natasha lamented. "He managed to get away. No sigh of the Tesseract either."
"So the Cube is back in HYDRA's hands?" Fury remarked, spinning around to face them. "Fantastic."
"I can get STRIKE assembled to go after them," Clint offered.
"No. For this, we're gonna need something a bit more… versatile."
"What are you suggesting?"
"... we start recruitment," Fury decided.
Clint was taken aback by that. "Sir, are you sure that's a good idea? The names you're suggesting aren't exactly what I would call a 5-star lineup."
"Maybe so," Fury admitted. "But they may also be our only defense against this threat."
Clint let out a sigh of defeat before speaking again.
"Alright. You're the boss."
"Damn right. Now, I need you on the kid."
"Seriously?"
"You're good with kids."
"Yeah, but him-"
Fury just gave him a look, causing Clint to sigh again.
"Fine, I'm on it," he replied, heading off.
"Good," Fury replied before turning to Natasha. "Romanoff, you handle the big guy."
Natasha snorted.
"You're sending me after Stark? You know he trusts me about as far as he can throw me."
"Oh no, I've got Coulson on Stark," Fury corrected. "You get the big guy."
Natasha froze up, realizing what Fury meant.
"Bozhe moi."
…
Unbeknownst to SHIELD, someone else was watching the events regarding the Tesseract unfold. From an icy prison, a man dressed in green watched as SHIELD set out to retrieve the Cube, smiling the entire time.
"Well… this is promising."