Clark, Steve, and everyone else ducked or took cover as the man grabbed the last super soldier serum vial from the containment device. "STOP HIM!" Dr. Erskine shouted as the spy pulled out a Walther P38 and shot him twice in the chest.
"NO!" Clark shouted as he and Steve rushed over to Dr. Erskine. The spy rushed up the stair, shooting an MP who tried to stop him but Peggy did manage to shoot him in the arm as he ran away. "Dr. Erskine, hold on! We're gonna get you help!"
Dr. Erskine looked at Steve and Clark before pointing at their hearts. "Good luck…my friend." He whispered before his hand fell to the ground. The feelings of sadness and grief quickly turned to anger and revenge. That spy was not going to get away with this.
The spy got back to the antiques store front and shot the elderly agent, taking her Thomspon M1928 submachine gun and rushing outside. He knocked over two pedestrians as he ran over a nearby car where the rest of his team was waiting for him. "Start the car! Let's go!" He shouted in German as his partner ushered him over and shot at two plainclothes SSR agents who shot back.
The two SSR agents killed the spy who shot at them but the one with the vial got into car where the driver and another agent was waiting for him, holding an MP-40 German Submachine Gun. As the driver drove them past the store, the two agents opened fire with their submachine guns, killing the two SSR agents just as Peggy rushed out into the street. The spy pressed his lighter again, blowing up the car parked in front of the antiques store. While a momentary distraction, it didn't do much as Peggy lined up a shot and fired a bullet through the back of the driver's head. The driver was dead and the car swerved into a car on the street.
A taxi stopped to help with the accident only for the two German spies to steal his taxi and drive back down the street towards Agent Carter. She fired three shots that missed and was about to shoot the fourth when Clark rushed over and tackled her out of the way so she didn't get run over.
"I had him!" Peggy shouted.
"You're welcome! Steve, let's go!" Clark shouted as he and Steve took off running towards the taxi. Steve's new super soldier physique already had him running faster than an Olympic runner could and Clark's Kryptonian physiology already let him outrun a train when he was a teenager. He wasn't running anywhere near his fastest but it was more than enough as he and Steve already cleared four city-blocks in several seconds.
The taxi took a left so Clark and Steve did the same, cutting through a side street with the taxi still in view. Steve's turn wasn't perfect as he wasn't used to his new body yet but Clark grabbed his hand and kept him on his feet. "Come on, Steve!"
"Right behind you!" Steve shouted and the two jumped a fence in an alley and were now closing in on the taxi. The taxi took a right towards the harbor and the turn slowed it down enough that it Steve and Clark caught up. Steve ran up a car and jumped from it to another and then another before landing on the roof of the taxi which began to swerve to shake him off.
"Hang on, Steve!" Clark shouted as Steve adjusted his body position when one of the spies in the car shot into the roof. "Get clear!"
Steve let go and fell off the roof of the taxi allowing Clark to take a small leap forward and barrel into the side of the vehicle shoulder first, sending it into several flips before it crashed onto its side. Clark stopped, seeing the taxi land right side up and Steve rushed over as the two German spies fell out of the car. They shot at them so Steve picked up the taxi's discarded driver side door as a shield for cover from the pistol and submachine gun. One of the spies ran into the nearby pier taking a kid as a hostage and the other spy kept running down the street in the other direction.
"They're splitting up!" Steve told Clark.
"Get the runner. That guy's mine." Clark told him and Steve nodded, rushing after the spy who was running away while Clark followed the one who had the kid as a hostage.
The German spy who was running down the street blindly fired his gun back at Steve who was still holding the car door as a shield. To prevent him from escaping, Steve hurled the door like a discus and hit him in the back. The spy groaned in pain and reached for a concealed pistol only for Steve to knocked it out of his hands and knee him in the face before grabbing him by the jacket. "Who the hell are you?!"
"Followers of a great man who will end you all." The spy told him, using his tongue to remove a capsule from his tooth and crunched it with his teeth. "Cut off one head, two more shall take its place. Hail Hydra!"
The spy then began to foam at the mouth before he died. Clark rushed into the pier following the spy who would fire a shot from his pistol to keep him back.
"No! Let me go!" The kid shouted, struggling to get free.
"Stay back!" Clark told everyone, motioning them to stay behind cover before following the spy. The spy arrived near the water and when Clark stepped into view he pointed his pistol at the kid's head. "No, don't!"
The spy aimed his gun at Clark and pulled the trigger only to hear a click. Without any more bullets, the spy threw the kid into the water as a distraction before running away. Clark rushed over to see if the kid drowned but he was ok. "Go get him! I can swim!"
Clark nodded and chased after the spy who used his lighter to activate a nearby mini-submarine. He jumped into the cockpit and began to submerge so Clark dove into the water and swam after him at super speed. The mini-sub was fast but Clark easily caught up to it. He punched a hole through the cockpit glass and grabbed the spy. Said spy was then hurled out of the water and up onto the dock with Clark climbing up after him. The spy slashed him with his knife which cut open his shirt but the blade broke against his skin. Clark just grabbed his wrist and broke it before kneeing him in the face. His super strength ended up putting too much force into the blow and knocked out the super serum vial the spy had in his pocket, causing it to break when it fell on the ground.
Clark grabbed the spy by the neck and hoisted him up with one hand. "Who are you?!"
"The first of many. Cut off one head…" The spy crunched the cyanide capsule in his mouth. "…two more shall take its place."
The man began to foam at the mouth and struggled in pain before whispering two last words. "Hail…Hydra…"
And with that, the spy was dead. Clark dropped his body to the ground as Steve walked over to see if he had any more luck then he did but no. "Hydra?" Steve asked and Clark nodded.
"Johann Schmidt didn't want any more super soldiers but he's too late. He's got two and they're coming after him." Clark promised and Steve nodded.
Line Break xxxxx
SSR Base, New York City
Suffice to say that what should have been a big victory for the US and SSR was not a victory. Project Rebirth was a success in that the procedure worked for Steve Rogers and Corporal Kalvin Elbert, turning both men into super soldiers and proof of that was involved in the bad news. Hydra spies infiltrated the facility and assassinated Dr. Erskine, killed several agents and the last vial of serum was destroyed. That last part was kind of Clark's fault. Any dream of Project Rebirth creating more super soldiers was dashed. There was no more serum and its creator was dead so recreating it would take years of work but that would only be for one serum. Clark and Steve were able to get cleaned up and put on their military uniforms. Corporal for Clark and private for Steve and afterward, they were taken to the med bay at the SSR base in New York where blood was extracted. That was easier said than done for Clark.
A nurse brought over another tray of needles for the doctor who held Clark's arm and attempted once again to get a needle into a vein but it bent against his skin. The doctor threw it in the trash with the 12 other needles and syringes that had bent or broken tips. "I've never seen anything like this." The doctor remarked before taking a scalpel to see if that would work. He carefully took the blade to Clark's arm but didn't cut the skin. The razor sharp blade actually developed a crack. "This is extraordinary."
"I think that answers that." Clark rolled his sleeve down.
"Dr. Erskine's other serum must have done something to your skin. It's likely as hard as steel from what we've seen." Peggy told him.
"Yeah, I figured." Clark remarked as a nurse finished drawing blood from Steve. She had taken enough to fill 13 vials.
"Think you got enough?" Steve wondered, rolling his sleeve down while the nurse took the blood away for safe storage.
"Any hope of reproducing the program is locked in your genetic code but without Dr. Erskine, it will take years." Peggy explained to Steve.
"He deserved more than this." Steve pointed out and Clark agreed.
"The SSR is making arrangements for his funeral. But I know that if this could have only worked once, he'd be proud it was the two of you." Peggy told them when they saw Colonel Phillips walking in with Senator Brandt and his assistant.
"Colonel Phillips, my committee is demanding answers." The Senator told him as they walked through the base.
"Great. Why don't we start with how a German spy got a ride to my secret installation in your car?" Colonel Phillips asked, shutting up the Senator as they arrived to see Howard Stark working on the mini-sub that Clark stopped. "What have we got here?"
"Speaking modestly, I'm the best mechanical engineer in this country. But I don't know what's inside this thing or how it works. We're not even close to this technology." Howard told them.
"Then who is?" Senator Brandt asked.
"Hydra. I'm sure you've been reading our briefings." Phillips pointed out.
"I'm on a number of committees, colonel." Brandt reminded him.
"Hydra is a Nazi deep-science division. It's led by Johann Schmidt." Peggy explained as she walked in with Clark and Steve.
"Hydra has produced some of the German army's deadliest weapons and tanks. Schmidt is a member of the Nazi Party, the Thule Cult society, and a high ranking member of the SS. He's smart, devious and someone who stole Dr. Erksine's early formula and used it on himself. He likely sent the spies to stop the US from creating super soldiers to stop him." Clark added.
"Hydra's practically a cult. They worship Schmidt. They think he's invincible." Phillips finished.
"So, what are you going to do about it?" Brandt asked him.
"I spoke to the president this morning. As of today, the SSR is being re-tasked. We are taking the fight to Hydra. Pack your bags, Agent Carter. You too, Stark and you as well Corporal Elbert. We're flying to London tonight." Phillips told them.
"Sir? If you're going after Schmidt, I want in." Steve stated.
"You're an experiment. You're going to Alamogordo." Phillips informed Steve.
"Colonel Phillips, Steve should come with us." Clark told him.
"Duly noted, Corporal Elbert but it's my decision, not yours." Phillips replied.
"Sir, Steve can do this. I saw him out in the city. The serum worked." Clark pleaded.
"On two men. I asked for an army and all I got was two. It's not enough. Rogers is staying." Phillips stated before walking away. Steve felt defeated but Clark pat him on the shoulder and followed Colonel Phillips to try and convince him. "I've made up my mind, Corporal and last I checked I had the final say around here. You know that as a Corporal of the US Army and as a member of the SSR, isn't that right?"
"Yes, sir I understand that but I think you're wasting an opportunity here." Clark pointed out as Colonel Phillips signed some papers brought to him by a clerk. "Dr. Erskine's serum worked on Steve. He's fast, he's strong and he's what you wanted, a super soldier. Leaving him here stuck in a lab is a waste of time. Recreating more of the serum is gonna take years without Dr. Erskine."
"I am aware of that. The doctor never wrote anything down. Felt it was too risky so he kept it all in his head. If he had written it down I would have ordered the same procedure you underwent, Corporal." Colonel Phillips stated. "I read the report about what happened in the city. You barreled into the side of a taxi going 40 miles per hour and took a knife to the gut without so much as a scratch. It looks like you're no longer suffering from asthma anymore and it also means we can't take your blood to recreate a serum. We can with Rogers."
"Is that why I'm not staying behind? You could have ordered me to stay behind and have the SSR's best doctors figure out a way to get my blood and recreate a serum—" Clark was stopped when Colonel Phillips raised his hand.
"Do you know what happened when I spoke to the President this morning?" Colonel Phillips asked him and Clark shook his head no. "He told me that he was disappointed. The SSR promised him an army of super soldiers to fight the war…and now there are only two. You're able to keep up with a speeding car and take a knife to the stomach but you can't fly to Berlin and take Hitler from his office. A lot of money and resources were wasted on the project and at the moment, the military's interest in you is wanning. If they had it their way…you're right, you'd be going to a secret military installation and stuck in a room while they try to figure out how to recreate the serum. I kept that from happening by reminding them you're an SSR agent and you're under my command."
"And I grateful, Colonel Phillips but why just me?" Clark asked him.
"Rogers may have undergone the transformation but he's not you, Corporal. He's had two weeks of training…you've had months. Months of training at Camp Lehigh under Agent Carter and the drill sergeants there giving you more experience and making you better prepared to lead others into battle." Phillips told him. "I'm not going to let that go to waste. We're going to war and you need to prove that what the SSR did in putting you through this wasn't for nothing. Are you ready for that Corporal? Are you ready to actually do what you can for the war effort as you've stated you wanted to do?"
Clark came down from his high horse and realized that Colonel Phillips did stick his neck out for him with everything in Project Rebirth and with it going to crap, he was getting blamed for it. He didn't want to get sent to a lab to be poked and prodded and Colonel Phillips prevented that. "I'm ready to do what I can…however I can, sir." Clark replied, standing at attention.
Colonel Phillips nodded and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't let me down, Corporal."
Clark walked back to the others. He had more respect for everything Colonel Phillips was doing but felt that Steve didn't deserve to be stuck here. When he got back he only saw Peggy. "Where's Steve?"
"Senator Brandt happened. Convinced Steve that he could do more. Be a symbol for the war and help in his own way." Peggy answered. "He also got a promotion. Brandt's own way to make good of this situation and his good standing with the senate to keep everyone from asking how the Hydra spy managed to arrive here in his car."
"This shouldn't have happened. We should have spotted that spy before the bomb went off." Clark stated.
"You're right but Hydra is proving to be resourceful. Hopefully, now you might be able to do something about that." Peggy told him. "It looks like we'll have to put our date on hold."
"How about a walk through the city? Who knows when we'll be back?" Clark suggested and she nodded. The two walked out of the SSR base and took a nice stroll down the street. To the pedestrians they passed by, they were just two people going on a walk. Despite the newspaper headlines of the two mystery men who stopped the German Spies in Brooklyn, the pictures taken didn't show clear images of Clark or Steve's face so he was able to walk down the street without being hassled. He did get the occasional glance every now and then but that was usually women passing him by who thought he was handsome.
"I sure hope you don't let their glances and your newfound physical changes go to your head. I'd hate for you to turn into Howard." Peggy pointed out causing him to smirk.
"I don't think there's any kind of serum or experiment that could make that happen." Clark replied and Peggy chuckled back. "Howard's one of a kind. And if I started to act differently then I'm sure my mother would get into her pickup, come all the way to Europe and slap me upside the head. Trust me, she would. She actually threatened to do that when I was on the phone with her."
"She sounds like a remarkable woman." Peggy stated.
"She is. She's the most kind, caring woman there is but is tough as well." Clark remembered fondly and Peggy smiled. "I'm lucky to have a mother like her and she didn't love me any less even if she didn't give birth to me."
"You were adopted?" Peggy asked. "I'm sorry, I didn't know…"
"It's ok. It's not something I've told you before." Clark assured her before taking a deep breath. "We've known each other for about a year but there's still a lot I haven't told you. My parents adopted me when I was a baby. I never knew my birth parents."
"I'm so sorry, Clark." Peggy said and the two decided to walk to the water.
"It's ok. My life turned out great. My mother and father were amazing and even though they didn't give birth to me, they loved me like their own." Clark explained as they arrived at the waterfront. They got a nice view of the bay, some ships docked around the harbor, the caw of seagulls and the gentle breeze of sea air.
"What about your birth parents?" Peggy wondered as Clark took a deep breath and braced himself against a railing.
"That's uh…kind of complicated and a long story." He answered and saw she was confused. "Sorry. It's just, I thought about having this conversation for a while but I guess getting the words out is a lot harder than I thought."
"It's ok, take your time." Peggy told him, rubbing his shoulder.
"What I'm about to tell you is something only my parents knew…and Dr. Erskine." Clark said, earning a confused look from Peggy. "…I didn't need to go through Project Rebirth to do what I can…because I've always been like this."
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