Helloo! I have the next chapter for y'all. I hope you enjoy because I had a lot of fun writing this one...hence why it is out so fast.

Shout Outs!:

CHSHiccstrid

Yes! I cheered when I wrote that. Haha, I succeeded.
Of course they had too, the Archipelago and Wakanda needed to become best country friends.
Unfortunately, felt bad about that.
I'm glad you like Ivana

GuardianDragon98

Yup, I had to do it :)

PizzaParker00

Good, 'cause I'm excited for you to read it :) You and me both. When this story started Loki was never even supposed to make an appearance but then someone said it would be funny and I agreed, so I wrote it, then y'all asked for more and...here we are :)

Journal 2, Entry 15: "The First Avenger Pt.1"

Hiccup cheered alongside the onlookers, a dozen of whom were from Berk. He threw his hands up as the flying machine took off and flew, not floated or glided, on its own power, the first to do so outside of Archipelago or Wakanda. Not that the Archipelago used such machines all that often, it offended the dragons unless the load was obscenely heavy.

The flimsy machine touched down after a short, low flight—but it was progress, and Hiccup was all too eager to cheer for the inventors. He continued to watch while most of the others turned away, the brothers now observing their machine and discussing together. The show was over.

It was amazing how fast the world was advancing. After some nine-hundred years of slow advancements, within the last fifty, they were exponentially progressing. Not that he was one to talk much, he'd brought the New Archipelago up to a standard that rivaled Asgard in many ways within his first hundred years…according to Loki, anyway. And as the world was moving now, he could only see them making more advancements with more fervor.

He finally turned away as they started dismantling the flying machine. He was going to have to make changes to the Archipelago's shield. It was imperative they keep on top of the new technology so they could predict problems before they happen. For now, the magic shield still held, but he didn't want to push their luck and have something accidentally detect their shields.

The world was a mess. Hiccup sat with his head between his knees, fighting back tears. He'd seen his fair share of wars, participated in plenty, passively viewed hundreds—even the ones that seemed to encapsulate the known world. None in his lifetime compared to this.

When it first broke out, several recon teams had been scattered throughout the world, something that was becoming so constant that the Berserkers were creating a program for it and making it a part of the New Archipelago's defense system. Afterwards, the war had grown beyond just a localized skirmish or even continent wide war, spreading to the edges of the New Archipelago's borders. Though those areas were not yet in the war, just their countries, small teams had been sent to keep close tabs on the movements of both sides.

One group was amongst the Allies in the Ypres salient when a projectile flew into the town square. They recognized the style of container and the sound and tried to evacuate people, but the non Archipeligans had no idea what the new object was. They couldn't fathom it.

Astrid entered the hut and silently sat next to Hiccup and held him as silent tears trickled down his face.

They lost one of their own that day. The first in so many years to outside forces. He died protecting a child, had given the boy his helmet that had extrapolators in it to breathe comfortably in the thin air his Timberjack loved to fly in. It filtered out the gas enough to let the child live.

He'd recalled all groups at that point. No one dared speak against the High Chief and all were quite shaken by the new weapon of the war.

*O*

The years of that war passed slowly. Hiccup formatted all helmets to filter in only oxygen, no matter the mission or if they even left the Archipelago. Wakanda had already retreated into their silent visage. Even their outer, seen farmlands nearly fell off the radar. The New Archipelago fell into something beyond myth, working in the shadows in small ways to ensure the Central Powers wouldn't win.

Hiccup shuddered at the thought of if they did. He trusted the shielding around the New Archipelago to hold but leaving? Ever having a hope that one day things could change? That would be far beyond his lifetime.

He also became aware of how lacking their healing was. Well, maybe lacking wasn't the correct word but how much they could ameliorate it. Magic was amazing, but it could not be relied upon in the field, be it war or simply with dragons—far too few had it to be a reliable solution for all.

That dreadful war ended, after too many bloodied years, after enough blood was shed to make even the Berserkers of old look away in disgust. Hiccup started delving more into his idea, a curiosity mostly: if there was a way to have some kind of tonic that a Midgardian could carry around to act as a first response. It would seal wounds, cleanse lungs of harmful substances, heal burns enough so they were not lethal…something he could send with his people so the fully Midgardian among them had a chance when things went wrong. Because he knew they would not sit out from protecting their lands, people and dragons simply because they were not as well safeguarded against unknowns. It was an insult to heritage.

The world was surging again. Many people wanted to turn a blind eye to it. They'd just ended that war, they were tired, they wanted to ignore it happening yet again. But he saw it occurring all over again and he couldn't turn that blind eye. All he could see were those few he lost in the last war. He couldn't let that happen again, he wouldn't. That was how he found Erskine.

He knew the project could take a while so he adopted the name Hakon Hyse and took the form of his fifteen year old self, partially to mess with people and also because he knew that the youthful were always viewed with less suspicion. He infiltrated Germany to find Erskine with ease even without magic. Convincing Erskine to work with him, however, was more of a challenge.

Abraham Erskine was surprised to meet someone so young with such knowledge, a little suspicious at first too but they quickly hit it off after Hakon made some suggestions about his current project, and they talked over several meals. Hakon eventually brought up his idea and Erskine was intrigued—and with some thought, agreed to work with Hyse, as a side project for now.

*O*

Hakon was going on three days of no sleep, which was not that big of a deal for him—his people traditionally going two weeks without sleep for the Midday Sun—but it was disconcerting to Erskine who found him hunched over a stack of notes with focused, but red rimmed eyes.

"Hakon, I know Project Asclepius is important, but we're supposed to be working on the mask regulators right now. Which is important because we're still finding gas canisters. This can wait until after we're done with that," Erskine chastised his young partner.

Hakon absently pointed to a pile of papers without looking up from his own. "Calculations are already done, ran a couple simulations, and wrote down the results. Oh, and I also made some notes for mask-helmet improvement—make it a little more comfortable while still keeping it air tight."

Erskine sighed and picked up the papers, leafing through them. His eyebrows rose at the suggestions, good ones, but none he would have thought of at this stage. He peeked over at the young man who was quickly becoming something akin to his charge, already making a mental note for the materials used in the filter and to run tests on the effect on lungs. "How long has it been since you slept?"

Hakon blinked, finally looking up from their notes. "Uh…couple days? I'm fine, gone long without."

Erskine's shoulders fell. "Johann!"

His brunette lab assistant poked his head through the door. Erskine handed him the stack of papers, missing the way Hakon clenched his hand when the name was called. "File these please, and set up the new tests. I need to get our young friend to bed since he is incapable of doing so himself."

"Hey!" Hakon cried, glaring at both men who smiled pleasantly at him. A large black dog lifted his head and barked, instantly nuzzling and shoving the boy out of his chair. "Tor!" He cried as he fell to the floor, papers scattering.

Erskine and Johann laughed at Hakon's plight. He finally managed to get his feet under him, one of them clinking quietly within the specialized boot. Erskine held his arm and guided him out of the lab.

Hakon nodded to Johann as they passed. "Night, Schmidt."

Johann smirked. "It's eleven in the morning, Hakon."

Hakon felt heat rising in his cheeks as he looked out the window then at the quietly ticking clock. "Hu, so it is…my bad."

Johann shook his head. "Get to bed, can't lose one of our best minds because they refuse to take a little nap."

Hakon rolled his eyes but let Erskine lead him out, Torbjörg shoving him along from behind. "I was wondering… about Asclepius, what if we tweaked the ratio of glutamine and arginine to the…"

Johann listened until the outside door swung shut then started looking through the revisions Hakon had made. His eyebrows shot up almost to his hairline, and he looked into the empty hallway, then back at the notes. Finally, he barked at the other assistant and handed him a few sheets of scenarios that Hakon hadn't run.

He tucked the papers under an arm and walked over to Hakon's desk, shifting the papers around to see what progress he had made. It was astounding. In only a few short months, Erskine had thought up a rudimentary formula that Hakon had built exponentially on. It was far from complete, but it was well on its way.

His head tilted as he took in the formula more and, after some thought, grabbed a pencil and copied Hakon's handwriting as he made a few little additions to the formula. It had the opportunity to do what Hakon had originally thought of, but it also had the opportunity to be so much more.

He smirked as he walked away. Hakon, unlike himself or even Erskine, was not a Pathologist as the colleges were inclined to call them today. He was brilliant, there was no doubting that, but little things like this would escape his understanding. Indeed, it was a miracle the boy could keep up with them at all since he had yet to enter manhood—let alone attain higher education from a college…yet, his work spoke of his brilliance.

He looked at the notes again and frowned in thought before grabbing a few sheets of blank paper and copying the notes, folding them carefully and hiding them in his pocket. He had a budding Führer to speak with.

*O*

Johann opened the door to Hakon and Erskine's lab-office. Hakon jumped a bit as the door opened and Torbjörg growled at his entry, but quickly quieted upon seeing him. Hakon, however, continued to look at him warily. The boy always unnerved him. It was as if he could see through any lie he told, and even now, he seemed suspicious of their friendship which surprised Johann as he actually considered Hakon as close to a friend as he would ever make.

He dropped off a stack of results he and the other assistant ran while Hakon and Erskine worked on Project Asclepius for a few minutes. "They came back positive. We should begin the next phase of testing the fabric."

Hakon nodded, barely looking over the papers. "Yeah, sounds good. Hey, uh, are they actually letting Hitler have Sudetenland?"

Johann paused then bobbed his head. "Yes. It'll avoid another war, give us better land to grow crops on, and pay our debt. It is also full of German history, settled by our people."

Hakon huffed and turned back to his work.

Johann lifted his chin but tilted his head curiously. "You do not believe so?"

Hakon's nose wrinkled. "History is filled with men who make promises then do not keep them. If his spoken reasons were the honest ones, he would not have gone about it by threatening war at all"

Torjbörg chuffed in his bed beside the table.

Johann could have sworn the dog was agreeing with his master. He ignored it and shrugged. "So, what legends have you grown up on?"

Hakon looked up, surprise marring his face at the sudden topic change. "Uh…what?"

Johann sighed and grabbed a chair, sitting next to Hakon and glancing at the notes and progress he and Erskine made. "You know, the gods of the Norse. You are from that area, right? Your name fits it."

"Oh." Hakon's cheeks flushed hotly and looked at the ground, lips pursed. Eventually he shrugged and said, "The usual, I guess. Whatever's in the Eddas."

Johann leaned back in his chair, smiling easily but it made Hakon's skin prickle. "You know, I've heard some interesting myths not written in the Eddas but spoken in whispers—mothers to children, or even among accolades, the few that still exist today."

Hakon looked at him oddly. "You're awfully interested in this stuff, especially for a Thytæsk."

Johann's eyebrows rose. "Now there's an old world for my people."

Hakon eyed him carefully and said in measured words, "I'm from a small, isolated village. Our language progressed slowly and we honor traditions by keeping the old tongue alive. It's not so odd. It happens in pockets all over the world."

Johann smiled. "So you do know some unknown tales."

Hakon's lip turned up as he asked, "What is your interest in this all of a sudden?"

Johann held up his hands at Hakon's hostility. "I have always been interested. I just thought I would find a companion to talk with about my interests. Not many here in Germany are interested in Scandinavian tales."

Hakon looked him over and gathered his papers. "Well, I guess that wouldn't be so bad."

Johann beamed. "Wonderful! I have so many questions. If you're people were secluded more, they no doubt have purer stories…"

Hakon and Erskine laughed as they tromped through snow back to the lab after a wonderful dinner from a little restaurant not far from their lab. Hakon was giddy with an idea breakthrough for Project Asclepius and Erskine was too intrigued by it to say goodnight to his companion.

Erskine flipped on the lights to the front room while Torbjörg padded on ahead, intent on finding his bed and crashing for the night, knowing both scientists were likely to fall asleep in the lab yet again.

Erskine froze and Hakon reached for the dagger always hidden in his boot when Torbjörg suddenly halted in the threshold to their lab and started growling, hackles raised and his tail ramrod straight.

"Erskine, Hakon, please, it's alright."

Torbjörg barely acknowledged the person while Hakon jumped, dagger raised, and Erskine sighed as a figure emerged from the opposing dark corner. "Johann! What is this scare for? You are supposed to be gone for the week…did your mother not pass away? If so, why are you here?"

Johann winced and walked towards the doorway to his coworkers' lab. "Ah, many years ago. I am sorry for the deception."

Hakon gripped his dagger and fought down his flaring magics. He knew something wasn't entirely right about Schmidt, and as Torbjörg continued to growl, he knew they weren't alone.

Johann glared at Hakon's dog, relieved the animal hadn't tried attacking, or the poor boy would have lost his friend. "Hakon, please call him back if you want him to keep breathing."

Hakon's eyes widened and whistled for his friend but the dog barely flicked an ear, remaining in place and snarling into the darkened room. Quickly, he moved to stand by his side and flicked the switch on. "Great Odin's ghost!"

Behind him, Erskine gasped and tried to back pedal but a gun cocked and pressed against his spine before he could go more than a step. He turned his head to gape at Johann, betrayal written plainly across his face. "Johann, how could you do this?"

Hakon growled, mimicking Torbjörg to a frightening degree—prompting several of the guns within the second room to turn away from his life-long friend to him. This was something Torbjörg did not appreciate, and he took a step further into the room. Hakon snapped forward and grabbed him around thecollar, keeping him from pouncing on the nearest guard.

"Schmidt spoke highly of both of you." A man rose from the couch that Hakon all too often fell asleep on. His dark, toothbrush-like mustache twitched as he smiled. "I had hoped for a warmer welcome, considering the offer I bring."

Erskine stepped close to Hakon and gripped his shoulder, Torbjörg still growling at the men and pressing close to his other half. "We are not interested, but thank you for your offer, Hitler."

Hitler's eyes pinched in concern and sympathy though Hakon could easily read through its falseness. "I know you, Hyse, have no connection to the Fatherland. But surely you, Erskine, you do not want to see us weak? Our people have struggled unfairly from the war. They feel weak, small, abused. You, both of you, could make us strong."

Hakon sneered at the offer, almost balking outright as he spoke of the previous war. He glanced back and glared at Schmidt still standing behind them, gun trained on Erskine and felt his hopes plummet. He didn't want to use his magic to escape this, that would raise far too many questions and Schmidt was already asking some uncomfortable questions. And if he even heard whispers of the oldest tales…well, he was smart. But he also didn't want his idea, the thing he'd envisioned that could save so many lives, to be warped and misused so grievously.

Erskine tightened his grip on Hakon's shoulder for a moment before addressing the Führer. "Thank you, but we are not interested. I have seen enough bloodshed and Hakon does not need to see any. Let the wounds of the past be that and let us move on."

Hakon averted his eyes from the guard as Erskine spoke of bloodshed, too many memories and faces flying past his eyes. If only you knew.

Hitler sighed and shook his head. "I cannot. They have insulted us when we are superior to them. Our leaders were weak for surrendering. I will not allow us to be that weak again. You will make us strong."

Erskine shook his head and pulled Hakon back, ignoring the gun at his back. Torbjörg came away eagerly with his other half, wanting to be far away from these men. "Again, we decline. Good evening gentlemen."

They turned but hadn't gone more than a step when Hitler snapped and Schmidt sidestepped them and held his pistol an inch from Hakon's forehead. "Erskine, Hakon, please don't make me do this. You both still have so much to offer."

Torbjörg barked at the traitor and Hakon had to quickly wave him off as well as send waves of reassurance through the bond to get him to back down as several of the guards shifted and aimed again for the snarling and frothing dog. "Bud, please stop." He glared at Schmidt. "You wouldn't happen to be related to a Johann that once traded with the northern Vikings, do you? We have stories about him. He was a trader and friend of the chiefs for years, until he sought a fabled treasure and revealed himself to be a traitor the entire time, selling them out to their enemies and manipulating their moves. Eventually, even his lies and deceit got the better of him, prompting Loki to killing him. You two seem to have an awful lot in common."

Intrigue sparkled in Schmidt's eyes but he said, "What is your answer, Erskine? Join us, or we will kill your family, starting with Hakon."

Erskine jerked and looked at Hakon with fear, though oddly enough, Hakon showed little except for disgust. "I cannot complete the formula without him."

Schmidt didn't take his eyes off Hakon. Something deep down warned him that to do so would be a grave mistake. "Sure you can. Not as easily, of course, but you are the mastermind behind the formula, not Hyse."

Hakon's lip twitched as Schmidt shifted to a more comfortable position, Erskine deflating. "My family will not be harmed? Will you let them leave for Switzerland?"

Hakon's shoulders fell but he understood his fear for his family.

Hitler walked around them and stood beside Schmidt, arms held behind his back and chin lifted in a way that reminded Hakon irritably of Viggo. "Of course." He turned to Schmidt and nodded. "I will leave them in your care."

Schmidt grinned and looked at his colleges. "Let's get packing then."

Erskine shifted uncomfortably. "We are not staying here? But my lab—it's already set up and-"

Schmidt laughed, lowering his pistol once the guards Hitler brought with him surrounded their new members. "Of course not. You'll be going to a nice location with a lab that makes this one look like a child's."

The guards prompted them to start walking by hitting them in their backs with the butts of their guns. Hakon gripped some of Tor's neck fur, afraid to let him go and risk one of the guards getting trigger happy. They were already twitchy and dragon hide was not bulletproof.

*O*

Hakon curled around Torbjörg and mumbled quietly into his fur. Occasionally, Schmidt or one of the other scientists assigned to assist and watch Hakon and Erskine would look over, almost positive that he was talking to someone but there was no one around for him to be talking to.

Schmidt's brow wrinkled as he watched the latest series of mumbles in Hakon's native tongue. He knew a fair amount of the Scandinavian languages, a must as he researched for his great prize, but even he did not know this one. Finally, he turned to Erskine who'd been the quickest to dismiss the boy's odd behavior. "I do not recall him ever speaking in his sleep before."

Erskine glared at Schmidt as he packed away the vials of their recent tests for the night. "He was never under such great stress before."

Schmidt sighed and locked the cabinet. "He will be remembered well for his contributions."

Erskine growled at Schmidt and said nothing more as he marched over to his cot and laid down.

Schmidt shook his head at his friend's consternation. Why couldn't he see the good that advancing the formula could do? Maybe if he spoke to Hakon about it…something about Hakon made him curious. He almost seemed to know about the powerful jewel no mere man could handle. Unfortunately, that piqued his curiosity of the boy in a bad way.

He paused by Hakon's bed and locked eyes with his mutt who was not yet asleep and watched him leave warily. He left before the dog could get any ideas, not that he had acted on any of them yet…Well, he had once, but that was also Hydra's fault.

In their attempts to get Hakon to work, the boy had been obstinately refusing to assist, they'd taken the mutt. Hakon had gone into a panic as the guns were trained onto his friend and Tor…Two of his men lost their hands and another his foot. No one knew what happened to the guns. Shots had fired, but no one had gotten hurt—Tor had batted at least one away before viciously attacking, chomping down on the firing wrist of one soldier. However, as soon as he was back at Hakon's side, he calmed down and lost his rabid apparel. He didn't look happy by any means, and Schmidt could see the gleam in his eyes that he was asking for another chance to take someone's limb off, but he remained calm and obediently by Hakon's side.

It paid off in the end. Hakon agreed to work with them lest something happen to Torbjörg. However, the guards also refused to come into the lab anymore, leaving the watching of the detainee scientists to the other volunteer scientists. And now that it's lights out, only a two way radio watches the room with a window that the occasional soldier passed by.

Hakon glared at the now locked door and buried his face in Tor's fur.

~Hiccup, are you sure you'll be okay? Nuffink can get Loki and get you guys out.~ Astrid's muffled voice barely reached his advanced ears from under Tor's thick fur.

"Yeah, I promise and please don't. Schmidt knows about the thing. You remember what I told you we found just before Grimmel kidnapped me the last time?"

She huffed and her voice was cold. ~Yes. I don't tend to forget you getting kidnapped. I can still vividly remember when Alvin did it the first time. Anyway, about the thing, he knows about the Tesseract? How? And what does it matter? Both you and Loki said that Grimmel had placed wards around it so people couldn't get to it.~

Hakon winced and curled into Tor more who shifted then laid his head on top of his other half's. "Because he's been changing the formula from what Erskine and I intended it to be. He's making himself more than normal…he'll be like us, sans magic."

~Then get out of there!~ She hissed and Hakon thought she was going to try and reach through his communicator and drag him back to New Berk.

"Astrid, I can't. If I leave now, I'll have to use Æsir and that will make him way too suspicious. He's already grilling me about the Tesseract."

Astrid groaned. ~And you just have to be the worst liar and actor in the realm. How is it you're Loki's Chosen?~

Hakon smiled softly underneath Tor. "I promise, as soon as we can leave without suspicion, we will. Did Erskine's family make it to Switzerland?"

There was an annoyed chirp from Stormfly on her end and he could practically see Astrid rolling her eyes. ~Yeah, they almost didn't. It's a good thing you had us following them.~ It was silent for a moment before she asked again. ~Are you sure you don't want us to get you out?~

"Do you have a way of explaining dragons or magic or half of our inventions to Hydra and the Third Reich?"

~Damn. I hate this.~

"I know, me too. Just, please try to keep Loki out of this for as long as possible."

She laughed. ~No promises. If he comes here asking I'm not going to try and lie to him.~

"Fair," Hakon sighed then yawned. "I'll call again soon."

~Better be within a week or I'm sending in the Berserkers.~ Astrid warned warmly.

"Duly noted. I love you, M'lady."

~Night, dragon boy.~

Torbjörg wuffed and nuzzled into Hakon's chest. "Yeah, good night, bud."

*O*

Hakon rubbed his eyes as he stared at the equations and formulas. Eventually, his head collided with the table and groaned. "I should have left this stuff to Ivana…she gets chemistry more than I do."

Schmidt and Erskine looked up from the chemicals they were mixing, Erskine with sympathy and Schmidt with curiosity. Finally Schmidt said, "You must teach me your language some time. It will be immensely helpful in my research."

Hakon glared at him. "I pray that Grimmel breaks through Loki's wards and drags you to Helheim."

Schmidt smirked. "I caught Helheim. It's not nice to swear out your partners."

"Partners." Hakon sniffed. "Like a Grimora partners with a dragon."

"German or English please, Hakon, unless you are willing to teach me."

Hakon scowled at him. "I hope Thor strikes you down."

Schmidt laughed. "Ah, hold on to that hope, my friend."

Torbjörg bore his teeth from his place on Hakon's bed, but did not growl and Hakon turned back to the papers.

Schmidt faced Erskine again and looked at the violet fluid. "So, professor, do you believe it is ready for use?"

Erskine snorted and put down the pen and pad of notes. "Ready? For heaven's sake, Schmidt! We just stabilized the formula. We must run tests and calculations on it first before I would even consider subjecting a rat to that serum—let alone a human!"

Schmidt capped the vial and placed it in the sampling stand. "Very well. We'll begin those tomorrow."

*O*

"Schmidt, this is madness. They are but fairy tales told to children," Erskine argued.

Schmidt shook his head as looked at the vial and over the notes again. "No, failing to seize this opportunity would be madness." He glanced at Hakon who refused to acknowledge him. "The myths, as little told as they may be, are clear. The superior man will not be born, professor, he will not be a member of any 'master race'. He will be a race unto himself. And you are going to help me make him. Make me."

Hakon's head shot up and stared warily at Schmidt before looking away. He knew it was his end goal the entire time but it didn't make it any more comfortable when he outright said it.

Schmidt walked over to Hakon who was making little tweaks to the formula and nodded approvingly, grabbing his shoulder. "What do you say, Hakon? Haven't you ever wanted to become like one of your gods? With this serum, you could end wars."

Hakon leveled him with a contemptuous stare. "No, they seem like stuck up pricks to me."

Schmidt laughed and looked at Erskine who shook his head sadly. "You work with the Nazis, yet you do not follow their ideology. It is a wonder the Führer hasn't sniffed you out yet."

Schmidt grinned and shook his head, staring out the little window into the outer room. "He is delusional with his war and my promises for an army of Super Soldiers. He does not see what this has the opportunity to be."

Hakon snorted. "Typical. You work for him till he's too much of a hassle to continue pretending for, then overthrow him. I guess it's his own fault, too, for not keeping closer tabs on his science division, though…it is often the turning factor of wars."

Schmidt nodded and pat Hakon's back, earning another scowl and a low, warning growl from Torbjörg. "Very true. I'm glad you see it, my friend. If only the Führer had your wisdom he would not dismiss Hydra as a second rate branch of that division."

Hakon scratched Tor's ears and calmed him down a bit but he still stood and crawled up into Hakon's lap, continuing to watch and glare at Schmidt. Hakon looked down at his friend in amusement. "Don't burn him to a crisp and blow our cover yet, bud."

Tor shook his large head in frustration while Schmidt looked disapprovingly at Hakon but let it slide as the dog finally stopped staring at him with the intention to use his leg as a chew bone.

"Well," He grabbed Hakon's notes and gave them another once over, "let's implement this and begin our live testing—do you agree professor?"

Erskine snatched the papers from Schmidt without a word and looked over Hakon's latest suggestions. Finally he nodded and handed them back to Schmidt with a sigh. "Yes, I suppose."

"Good!" Schmidt beamed and walked out of the room, locking it behind him.

Hakon and Erskine shared worried gazes, Erskine breaking contact first and sitting heavily at his desk with his head in a hand.

*O*

Erskine grabbed Schmidt's arm as he reached for the latest batch of serum. "Schmidt! I'm telling you it is too early in the process to move on to human testing!"

Schmidt smirked at Erskine and ripped the vial away from him while drawing his pistol, holding it at Erskine's chest. "The rats and rabbits have responded quite well—you are holding it back. You are holding me back."

Hakon snorted from the side, watching almost impassively as they fought. "Clearly. You're crazy and delusional enough without superhuman strength adding to it and your ego."

Schmidt glared at Hakon who shrugged innocently. He put his gun away as Erskine finally packed down—knowing, ultimately, resistance was futile. "Hakon, get me the injector."

Hakon's hand glided over the shelf until he found it then slapped it into Schmidt's hand. "I hope you choke on it."

Schmidt smiled pleasantly at Hakon. "Your words of worry are touching."

Hakon grabbed Erskine's arm and they backed away several steps as Schmidt sat on Erskine's cot, prepping the injector.

He looked up at the pair as he rolled up his sleeve, eyes narrowing. "Is there a reason you're backing away so far?"

Hakon's eyebrows rose with a 'duh' look. "You were present for the previous testing, right? You saw how they reacted to the change. I'd like not to get slapped across the room, thank you."

Schmidt chuckled. "Always one for cheek, Hakon. You are lucky I enjoy your humor."

Hakon shrugged and looked down at Torbjörg who somehow looked annoyed. "Well, it's not the first time it's gotten me into trouble."

Schmidt smirked then pressed the injector against his upper arm, grit his teeth, and pulled the trigger. His back arched and he screamed in pain as fire traveled down his limb and to his spine then radiated across his entire body.

As soon as Schmidt's finger twitched, Hakon grabbed Erskine's arm and snatched the folder of papers he covertly collected and stacked into it and flipped his cot onto its side—dragging Erskine behind it. Tor ran up to the door and pulled a string then joined the two hiding behind Hakon's overturned cot. Two seconds later, the room shook with an explosion and filled with smoke.

The guards stationed down the corridor shouted and ran to check on their buried comrades, then check the room—Schmidt was still screaming in agony with a few words about sabotage and betrayal almost incoherent.

Hakon jumped up from behind the cot, his dagger gleaming in the thin shafts of light poking through the smoke. One guard fell with a gurgle and another screamed as Torbjörg tore into him.

Erskine eyed his blade dumbly, wondering how he hid it from the numerous inspections and it was far too ornate to have been snagged off of someone.

"Come on, Erskine!" Hakon urged his 'older' friend.

Erskine quickly scrambled over the debris and ran behind Hakon.

Another guard ran around the corner. "Halt and surrender!"

Hakon shoved the folder into Erskine's hands and flung the dagger at the guard, quickly snatching it out of his fallen body then attacking the other who was about to round the corner.

They continued running down the hallway, Erskine panting for breath but not daring to stop for a break. Torbjörg ran ahead on several accounts to silently attack a group of soldiers until Hakon joined and took out the remaining with terrifying efficiency of the dagger.

They eventually ran into the garage and Hakon cheered. Tor took off again and ripped into several soldiers stationed there while Hakon shot several with his appropriated rifle and led Erskine to a motorcycle with a sidecar. "Hop in."

Erskine paused and dubiously looked at the sidecar attached to the bike. Gunshots rang out across the garage and ricocheted off the trucks, spurring him into jumping into the little car.

Hakon gripped the handle to the motorcycle and hesitated. How does this thing go again…twist the handle? The bike roared into action, startling both its passengers. Hakon hunkered close to the belly of the motorcycle and gunned it, aiming for the doors and the soldiers running to fill in the gap while firing. He subtly cast a shield around them, putting extra magic into keeping it invisible, so it looked like the soldiers had terrible aim.

Erskine peeked over his shoulder then looked around wildly. "Where's your dog?!"

Hakon smirked and almost had to shout over the wailing alarms. "He'll be with us." He nodded to the shadows behind the firing soldiers.

A piece of the shadow broke off and attacked a man, several of his comrades yelping in surprise and breaking away from the line.

They tore through the hole that was made and raced down the dirt path.

Erskine looked back at the enormous building and carefully breathed a sigh of relief. "Will he catch up to us?"

Hakon nodded, not daring to look back, he could already hear the motors revving to life and he could faintly hear Schmidt screaming in fury, tinged with notes of pain.

"After them! I want them back here alive so I can kill them personally!"

Hakon drew in a breath with a hiss. "Oh, he's mad, he is very mad."

"Schmidt?" Erskine looked over at Hakon curiously, he could barely hear over the motor. Must be his younger ears.

Hakon nodded quickly. Once they were out of sight of the base, though not from the men for long, he pulled the motorcycle over and urged Erskine out before fiddling with the machine for another second and sending it unsteadily on its way without riders. "That oughta distract them for a few minutes. It'll help that it's dark. Come on."

They hoofed it through the woods, Erskine almost shrieking in surprise when Torbjörg bumped against his side, tongue hanging out and lips pulled back into an impossibly wide smile. Hakon laughed and rubbed his head before continuing on at a light trot. He could hear the soldiers canvasing the woods a ways behind them.

They slowed down for a bit to give Erskine a chance to catch his breath. Their quick pace, combined with the cold from winter's thaw, tiring the older man out quickly.

Hakon squinted as the sun started to rise. "We need to find cover or some way to camouflage ourselves."

Erskine looked over his young companion in a new found light. "How did you make that bomb? We barely had anything in that lab."

Hakon smiled mischievously. "You have your specialties, I have mine. I may be bad at lying, but I excel at mischief and chaos."

Erskine smiled and shook his head. "I never thought that would be a good thing."

Tor wuffled and padded past Hakon who chuckled. "You'd be surprised."

They walked or trotted in silence for what felt like hours and when Hakon looked at the sun's position, he determined that it had been two since the sun had risen already—not counting the unknowable hours they spent running in the dark. At that time, he stopped their journey to freedom and started collecting sticks with leaves, ferns, grass, mud and other natural objects.

While Erskine's nose wrinkled at the thought of having to utterly coat himself in the earth—he was quite a cleanly man—but he understood the necessity of it, so did so without complaint.

They traveled for almost a straight day after that, and Erskine felt ready to collapse but only once the sun went down did Hakon feel safe enough to stop. Erskine breathed deep and ragged, almost collapsing as he laid against a tree. "Do… do you think we lost them?"

Hakon looked around for a minute before sitting down next to Erskine. "Yeah, I think…for the moment. You do realize Schmidt's going to hunt us down, no matter where we go, now? He doesn't want others like him."

Erskine's face pinched but he nodded. "Yes, I know…What did you do to the formula? I thought we had it stabilized. The previous tests showed as much. Schmidt wouldn't have tested such a drastically unstable formula."

Hakon winced. "No, they didn't, not really. There was a discrepancy between the formula and the size of the animals. They did okay because they were so small, but once you got to something any larger than a-" He almost said Terrible Terror but quickly stopped himself, "a—uh, raccoon, it started to destabilize. I kept those notes out of Schmidt's hands, sorry I didn't tell you, but I-I hoped…" I hoped it would kill him.

Erskine tiredly pat his back. "It is alright. I understand and hold no anger. I… thought something looked a bit off but didn't much care. However, Schmidt might be a little more upset."

Hakon chuckled and sighed as Tor curled up next to him, resting his head on his lad. "Yeah…I imagine."

Erskine closed his eyes and breathed deeply again, sore lungs grateful for the air. "So…what do we do now?"

Hakon looked at the dark forest floor and twirled Tor's fur around his fingers. "I—I figured I would go home…It's pretty well hidden, Schmidt can't find it. You're—you're welcome to come, you and your family." He said carefully, a little unsure, but Erskine deserved to have some peace if he wanted it. After all, it was his idea that got him and Erskine into this whole mess in the first place. He owed that much to Erskine.

Erskine looked up at the small patch of stars. Both were silent for a long time. Eventually, he broke the quiet, still half lost in his thoughts. "No, I cannot go with you. I… I created a monster and he will rip apart my home and so many others in his search for power. You heard how he spoke, Hakon; if he does not find the thing he seeks, then he will tear apart the world until he does, and if he does happen to find it…And what man, what army can stand up to him then? The serum worked, even if not without side effects."

Hakon winced then groaned, burying his head in his knees. "You're right." He whispered. Oh gods, I screwed up.

Erskine gently laid a hand on Hakon's curved back. "We can make this right, my friend. We have been out of the loop for a while, but if Schmidt was this desperate for the serum then there must be people fighting against him and the Reich."

Hakon looked up at him. "And do what? Make more super soldiers? I see that going haywire in a thousand different ways…even if the serum works perfectly…especially if it works perfectly."

Erskine strained a smile. "Then we find the right man."

Hakon looked up at him, still not convinced. As much as he hated the thought, he was almost positive he was going to have to call in the Archipelago to clean up this mess and pray to the gods and Norns that it didn't call too much attention to them. "How? Even if we find the perfect man, as soon as we 'make' him, whoever we're working for is going to want more."

"Then we…lose the formula." Erskine winked at Hakon, a devious smile toying with his lips.

Hakon thought it over and asked, "Do you think one man is enough to stop Schmidt?" I'll still have to find a way to tag along. This is my mess. I shouldn't leave it to someone else to clean up, not entirely.

Erskine nodded. "As you said, even if we find one man—that alone will be difficult enough. You helped me make that concoction. It enhances the mind and strengthens their core characteristics…we cannot let another Schmidt happen."

Hakon laughed dryly. "I agree…I just, it feels wrong to let someone else deal with our mess."

Erskine pulled Hakon into a side hug. Don't let Loki see this, Hakon thought as Erskine said, "I feel the same way—but we cannot fight this alone."

You have no idea. Hakon wryly thought but he still felt hesitant about pulling the Archipelago into this conflict when they had something so amazing and precious to hide. It would go so catastrophically wrong if they become exposed. "Yeah, you're right."

Torbjörg suddenly stiffened and started growling quietly, Hakon and Erskine shared scared expressions but Hakon gestured for Erskine to stay quiet. Tor silently crept away from them and Hakon slung the rifle off his back, kneeling in front of Erskine with the tree to their backs.

Tor snarled loudly and the bushes a little ways ahead and to the right rustled. Presently, a man yelped as Tor talked him out of the thicket. Hakon raised the gun as he crouched, Erskine preparing to run again.

"They never told me these woods had wolves!" The man shouted in English with an American accent.

Hakon almost dropped the gun in shock, Erskine did stumble a step as he tried to get a better view of the man. After regaining his wits, Hakon whistled for Tor and the dog carefully backed off but still growled warningly at the soldier.

The man tilted his head back in surprise before rolling over and scrambling to his feet. "Who are you?"

"I-" Erskine started to answer but Hakon cut him off, fearing his accent would make the American trigger happy.

"We're scientists," He said, making sure to keep his heavy Nordic accent to distinguish himself from the Germans that roamed these woods like cockroaches. "We just escaped a German base…I'm not sure how far away. We've been running all day and most of the night."

The American lowered his weapon and looked over the bedraggled pair. "Follow me…One of you wouldn't happen to be Professor Abraham Erskine, would you?"

Erskine perked up and grinned. "That is me! Why are you looking for me? How did you know I was a prisoner?"

The soldier shrugged and started back through the woods, keeping an unsure eye on the dog walking faithfully by the boy's side. "An intelligence officer was stationed near your lab when you still worked in the city. He noted your absence and what you had been working on."

Hakon's eyes lit up. "The other assistant?"

The American shrugged. "I don't know. It isn't my place to. You can ask my CO though, he might know. He if doesn't then the lady agent will."

They spent the remainder of the half-hour long march in silence, both Hakon and Erskine on high alert, even more so than the soldier. As they walked back, they met up with several men of the company. Eventually they came upon another dirt road with a gate and sentry at the end.

The American they first met and the sentry exchanged some quiet words, the sentry looked up at the disheveled pair in surprise, then hurried them through. They were led into a tent, startling the occupants within—a middle aged man and young woman.

The man looked up from his map, disgruntled at the soldier's intrusion. "What is it? Have the planes confirmed the base's location?"

"No," The American said, standing at attention. "My squadron just got back from scouting and… ran into the targets."

The man's eyes widened while Hakon squawked, "Targets?! Look, I did not go through all that just to end up as someone else's pet project!"

Erskine held Hakon close and said softly. "I don't think that's what he meant."

Hakon scowled at the soldier and his commander, keeping the stunned woman in his peripheral. "Really? Then they could have chosen a better description for it."

Erskine frowned and looked down at his muddied companion. "How long has it been since you last truly slept?"

Hakon scowled and looked away, muttering something.

"What was that?" Erskine asked calmly.

"A week," Hakon growled, eyeing the commander distrustfully. "I had to work when Schmidt wasn't around but I'm fine."

Erskine pinched the bridge of his nose and uncharacteristically swore in German.

Hakon blushed furiously and turned away from all prying eyes.

Erskine smiled at him before looking up at the group. "I'm Abraham Erskine and this young fool is my partner Hakon Hyse. Though, I presume you knew that given what this young man has said."

He gestured to the soldier still standing by the tent's entrance flap.

Tor barked and Hakon rolled his eyes. "And that's Torbjörg, my best friend and snacker of Hydra soldiers."

The commander grunted as a laugh bubbled up and nodded to the soldier, dismissing him, who shot Hakon a sympathetic smile as he hurried out. He stood straight and clasped his hands behind his back. "I am colonel Chester Phillips." He gestured to the woman standing poised beside him. "This is agent Peggy Carter. We were sent on a rescue/recovery mission to find you, Professor Erskine. And you, Hakon Hyse? Odd name. How did you end up with the Germans?"

Hakon shrugged. "I had an idea I wanted to discuss with Erskine…he just happened to be in Germany. Wasn't my intention to get kidnapped by them."

The colonel smiled and couldn't hold back a small chuckle but quickly sobered up as he took in Hakon in his entirety. "Aren't you a bit young to be working with scientists? Let alone such distinguished ones such as Erskine."

Hakon shrugged and looked away irritably, beginning to regret his choice of choosing such a young age. Erskine chuckled and rubbed Hakon's back, knowing his temper was shorter due to his lack of sleep.

Peggy, done being left on the side, stepped forward and smiled brightly. "Well, I am glad you both could escape. Made our jobs much easier than trying to infiltrate the base. Would you mind telling us how?"

Erskine's face went blank and slowly shook his head. "My dear lady, if I knew half of what happened that night—my head wouldn't be spinning as much as it is now. As it is, all credit must go to my young partner. He's the reason we got out."

Hakon looked down, cheeks burning. Torbjörg didn't help matters when he startled huffing in a way that sounded suspiciously like laughing. Hakon scowled at his best friend. "Oh, shut it." He finally looked back up at their would-be rescuers. "I wouldn't mind…but can I have a bath first? The mud's drying and it's getting kinda itchy."

Erskine nodded emphatically. "Yes, I would like one as well before we enter any discussion."

The colonel bit his tongue to not laugh and quickly agreed before going any farther in their talks.

Hakon nodded as he left and followed the soldier standing just outside to the showers. He glanced down at his communicator. Astrid's going to be relieved when she hears…then probably upset when she hears the plan. But I doubt she'll have any better idea without dragging the Archipelago into this and exposing everything we've fought so hard to hide and keep safe…I hope I'm doing the right thing.

And scene! I know its not FA proper but its close enough and deals with its characters. See you soon!