-August, 1944-

-Interrogation Cell-

Zola hesitantly steps through the threshold unsure what was waiting. The military police officer holds out Zola's glasses. Zola takes them. As the officer leaves Zola hastely puts them on. He always felt uncomfortable without them.

Zola watches the military police officer closes the door. Zola looks around the six by eight room. He stares at the double sided glass before moving to the table set in the middle. Zola stops noticing a gurney horizontally placed against the wall.

He notices the flecks of dried blood near the gurney's front right wheel.

A sudden creaking sound blasts through the room. Zola jumps and turns to see Colonel Philips walk in with a tray.

Colonel Philips walks up to the table and looks at Zola. "Sit down." Colonel Philips says before he sets the tray down on Zola's side of the table before taking his own seat. Colonel Philips removes a small folder from under the tray and slides it over to his side.

"What is this?" Zola asks as he takes his seat.

"Steak." Philips answers.

"What is in it?" Zola probes looking up at Philips. He blinks as the light blocks his view of the colonel.

"Cow." Philips said as he takes his seat opposite of Zola. "Doctor do you realize how difficult it is to get a hold of a prime cut like that out here?"

Zola leans back in his chair. "I don't eat meat." Zola smiles at the dumbfounded look on the Colonel's face.

"Why not?"

"It disagrees with me." Zola says.

"How about Cyanide, does that give you the rumbly tumbly too?"

Zola's smugness falls deflated.

Phillips slides the tray to his side and cuts into the meat himself. "Every Hydra agent we've tried to take alive has cracked a little tablet before we could stop them. But not you. So here's my brilliant theory: you want to live." Philips munches contentedly on the steak.

Zola tries to smile again. "You trying to intimidate me, Colonel."

"I bought you dinner." The colonel then slides over the folder to Zola.

Zola looks down at the paper confused as the Colonel continues to eat the steak and potatoes.

Zola brings the paper up closer to the light and reads aloud. "Given the valuable information he has provided, and in exchange for his full cooperation, Doctor Zola is being remanded to Switzerland -"

Colonel shakes the salt shaker onto his potatoes. "Sent that to DC this morning. Of course, it was encoded-say, you haven't broken those codes, have you? That'd be awkward..."

Zola begins to shake a bit, "Red Skull will know this is a lie."

Colonel Philips shrugs, "He's still gonna kill you. You're a liability, Doc. You know more about Schmidt than anyone."

"Oh and you killed Captain America's closest friend and kidnapped another" Colonel bounces his head a bit, "I wouldn't count on the very best in protection."

Zola's lower lip shakes.

The colonel puts down his utensils. "It's you or him. That's just the hand you been dealt."

Zola swallows the fear in his throat but you can still hear it in his voice. "Red Skull believes he walks in the footsteps of gods. Only the world itself will satisfy him."

"You do realize that's nuts don't you?" Colonel asks.

Zola shrugs. "The sanity of the man is of no consequence."

"Why is that?"

"Because he can do it." Zola says with genuine fear and belief.

"How?"

Zola leans forward as he searches for the English word. "With the help of a god."

Colonel Philips is caught off guard. A bemusement bellows in Zola's stomach as he realized the colonel, no the allies never knew. "Mein Gott, you can't hope to beat the Red Skull."

The Colonel slams his fist, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Surely the child has displayed uncanny abilities, Von Gott, Colonel his eyes would be a dead give away."

Eddie collapses to the ground.

"Careful!" shouts Valdo at the Hydra good who brought Eddie to the main room. Valdo grabs Eddie's chains and gently helps him to his feet. "He is important to Herr Skull's plans."

Eddie glares at Valdo. "Its only a matter of time for my friends to come and stop the Red Skull."

"You overestimate the Red Skull's intelligence and power." Valdo said as he pulled Eddie further into the Red Skull's lab.

"And you underestimate our will." Eddie said before he kicked the back of Valdo's knee. Valdo hits the floor hard. Eddie wraps his chains around Valdo's neck applying pressure.

"You're gonna walk me out of here now." Eddie growls into Valdo's ears. Valdo opens his mouth. Eddie pulls on the chain around Valdo's neck. Valdo gags.

"None of that speaking magic either."

"That is no way to treat your host Herr Kent." Says Red Skull as he descends from a nearby staircase.

"Whatever you want from me, Red Skull you're not gonna get it." Eddie warned lifting Valdo in front of him.

"That is one thing I always get." Red Skull says before shooting Valdo in the chest. Eddie watches horrified as Valdo falls to the ground in a heap.

The gun clicks. Eddie looks up to see Red Skull holding it to his head. "Now shall we continue without the theatrics."

"Wasn't he…wasn't he your…" Eddie stuttered.

Red Skull grabs Eddie's collar and drags the teenager through the laboratory. In the center of the lab surrounded by three lead domes and half a dozen cables and pipes leading in and out of the dome was the tesseract.

A warm feeling tides over Eddie. One of the scientist working on a nearby monitor looks up and nods at Red Skull.

Red Skull smiles victoriously and motions for one of the soldiers to attach a large cable to the Tesseract module.

Eddie's stomach twists. A large amount of energy was being pulled by that cable.

"So many things make sense to me now." Red Skull begins to monologue. "The man was right the power was someone else's but with you now." Red Skull runs a finger through the teen's eyeline. "I will have enough power to enact my plans."

Red Skull is knocked forward as the whole building shakes.

"What is the meaning of this?" Red Skull asks as the building is cacophony with shots and gun shots.

"We're under attack, Herr Skull." A soldier responds.

Run : says the stray thought. Eddie takes an unconscious step back.

Red Skull turns to the spot where Eddie was. "Where has the boy gone!" None of the guards respond.

Red Skull hollers. "How much energy were we able to extract?"

The scientist looks down at his instruments. "Enough for one bomb." Red Skull clenches his fist. "Then that shall be enough."

Eddie shivers as his foot crushes into the snow. 'How the hell did I end up outside?' he thinks to himself.

"Private!" shouts Colonel Philips as he drives up to the young man in his jeep.

"Colonel, where am I?" Eddie asks as he steps inside the jeep. Carter offers the teen a jacket.

"We're outside Hydra's final base. But first how did you escape?" Philips asks as he drives through a giant hole that was made with at least a dozen tanks.

Eddie shakes his head.

"We're glad your safe." Says Carter as she hands him his knock out gun.

"Thanks Carter."

A hydra soldier lunges from a nearby rock brandishing a rifle, "Cut off one head, two more..." A loud pop and hiss and the Hydra Soldier inhales a lungful of white smoke.

"Good shooting Private, now lets go find two more." Colonel Philips said.