Alex may not have been familiar with the ammunition he discovered, but he decided to take an energy block and stash before returning to prepare it for Howard's analysis.
Back at the base, Alex couldn't help but contemplate the elusive super soldier serum. Despite seventy years of research, no one had been able to replicate it. He suspected that the serum's secret might lie in its connection to the Tesseract energy. After all, the color of the energy block he had found closely resembled that of the super soldier serum.
Observing Steve moving forward, Alex quickly trailed behind. His curiosity about the Tesseract was still burning.
Unbeknownst to Steve, the factory they infiltrated served not only as a HYDRA base but also as the headquarters of Johann Schmidt.
At this moment, Schmidt closely monitored Steve's actions through CCTV. When he heard an explosion outside, he turned to another monitor and witnessed four prisoners blasting a hole in the wall.
An alarm sounded, and guards rushed in. Schmidt then refocused his attention on Steve. He watched as Steve single-handedly incapacitated dozens of guards, drawing nearer to his office. It was both impressive and infuriating.
"Doctor," Schmidt addressed his chief scientist, "prepare for evacuation."
Dr. Zola, nervously eyeing the surveillance cameras both inside and outside the factory, replied, "I believe our forces can handle this..."
"Our forces have been defeated," Schmidt growled. "Let the count down begin," he added.
Schmidt glanced at a control panel and activated a countdown timer. Quietly, he made his way out of the office through a long corridor. It was evident that this switch was for self-destruction.
As Steve entered the hallway, he spotted Dr. Zola leaving the office and locking the laboratory door. Steve didn't know the man's identity, but the way Dr. Zola kept looking back at the laboratory door hinted at something crucial. After Zola walked away, Steve discreetly entered the laboratory and sealed the door behind him.
Meanwhile, Alex observed Steve and Dr. Zola. After a moment's deliberation, he decided to chase after Zola.
However, after a couple of steps, Steve gently laid his hand on Alex's shoulder and advised, "Don't wander off; it's dangerous here. Follow me!"
Alex had other plans but due to the delay, Dr. Zola had completely disappeared, leaving Alex with no choice but to follow Steve into the laboratory.
In the laboratory, an abundance of documents and archives cluttered the surroundings, while shelves held various specimen bottles.
The lab's monitor emitted a steady beep, and in the center of the room, a massive iron cage with a rusty drainpipe attached to it drew Steve's attention. He noticed a man's back inside the cage, and the man had fallen to the ground.
Upon hearing Steve's footsteps, the man spoke, his voice hoarse.
"Barnes. Sergeant James Barnes," he croaked. Steve was taken aback by the hoarse but familiar voice.
The man fell silent for a moment before asking, "Who? Who are you?"
Steve hurried over, squatting down beside the cage. It was really Bucky! Despite the scars and gray hair, Bucky was alive. Steve shattered the cage's door lock with a powerful punch, extended his hand into the cage, and exclaimed excitedly, "It's me, Bucky."
"Steve?" Bucky said, scrutinizing his friend's new appearance carefully.
"I thought you were dead," Steve confessed.
"I thought you were shorter than me," Bucky replied with a hint of humor. With Steve's assistance, he got up and stepped out of the cage.
The two of them stood facing each other, and Bucky couldn't believe his eyes. This was not the Steve he remembered. Compared to the skinny Brooklyn boy he grew up with, this Steve was taller, faster, and stronger.
Now, the tables had turned, and it was Steve's turn to rescue him—a remarkable twist of fate.
"Alright, we can catch up later. For now, we need to prepare to escape," Alex interjected as he observed the heartfelt reunion.
"You're the kid from the Future World Expo. You were captured by the Nazis too?" Bucky looked at Alex in surprise.
Before Alex could respond, an explosion rocked the laboratory.
Steve put his arm around Bucky and guided him out of the lab. However, he glanced at a map on the wall from the corner of his eye. He paused, noting that the European layout on the map was marked with HYDRA symbols.
Committing the information to memory, Steve hurried back to Bucky as another explosion reverberated through the facility. He called out to Alex and declared, "Alex, we need to get out of here!"
Successive explosions rattled the factory, making a swift escape increasingly challenging. As they retreated along the corridor, Bucky kept bombarding Steve with questions. He suspected that Steve had undergone some form of treatment or experiment; his transformation couldn't have occurred naturally.
(End of this chapter)
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