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Skies above the North Atlantic Ocean, Near European coast, March 1, 1945
The night sky over the Atlantic was illuminated by the glow of the massive Hydra aircraft, its engines roaring as it sped towards the American coast. Inside, the atmosphere was tense. Captain America, Bucky Barnes, and Peggy Carter, all enhanced with the super-soldier serum, moved with purpose through the labyrinthine corridors of the ship. Their mission was clear: stop the Red Skull and prevent the catastrophic attack on American soil.
As they approached the control room, the trio encountered fierce resistance from Hydra soldiers. The sound of gunfire and the clash of metal echoed through the halls. Bucky, with his enhanced strength and agility, took point, dispatching enemies with precision. Peggy, equally formidable, covered their flank, her movements a blur of efficiency and power. Captain America, shield in hand, led the charge, his determination unwavering.
They burst into the control room to find the Red Skull standing before the Tesseract, a malevolent grin on his face. "You are too late, Captain," he sneered, holding the glowing cube aloft. "With this power, I will reshape the world in Hydra's image."
Captain America stepped forward, his voice steady. "Not if we have anything to say about it, Skull. Step away from the Tesseract and surrender. Hydra is no more; we have destroyed you." Over the course of the war, with significant support from metahumans from Bharat and occasionally Aryan himself, as well as their own efforts, the Allies had managed to dismantle the network of Hydra and its agents, or so Captain America liked to believe.
"Hahaha, no, Captain, you are terribly mistaken. Hydra will always prevail. Remember, if you cut off one head, two others will grow back to replace it." Red Skull launched into his usual monologue about Hydra and then attacked them with the Tesseract (which was a fake).
The battle that ensued was fierce and chaotic. The Red Skull, empowered by the Tesseract, unleashed blasts of energy that tore through the room. Captain America deflected the attacks with his shield, while Bucky and Peggy flanked the Red Skull, their combined strength pushing him to his limits.
In a desperate move, the Red Skull attempted to harness the full power of the Tesseract, intending to obliterate his foes. As his fingers closed around the cube, a blinding light filled the room. The Tesseract, a fake replica imbued with Aryan's runes, activated its spatial warping mechanism. A wormhole opened, and the Red Skull was sucked into it, his scream of rage echoing as he vanished from sight.
"I guess he shouldn't have messed with the Tesseract so casually. Now he has to pay the price," said Captain America as he watched the Tesseract drop after the Red Skull vanished. He tried to reach out to it, but it slipped away, carving a hole in the ship and falling into the ocean.
However, time was of the essence. The immediate threat was gone, but the danger was far from over. The activation of the Tesseract had triggered the ship's self-destruction sequence and its automatic targeting system, setting it on a collision course with New York City. The control systems were fried, leaving the trio with no choice but to steer the ship manually.
Captain America immediately took the helm, his face set in grim determination. "We need to get this thing away from the city. Bucky, Peggy, help me with the controls."
"Yes," they said in unison as they moved quickly to help him.
Together, they wrestled with the ship's manual steering, their combined strength barely enough to alter its course. The engines strained as they redirected the massive aircraft towards the open ocean. The minutes ticked by with agonizing slowness, the coastline looming ever closer.
Finally, with a Herculean effort, they managed to divert the ship's path. It soared over the water, away from populated areas and towards the North Pole. As they reached a safe distance, Captain America gave the order to abandon ship. They leaped from the aircraft, parachutes deploying as they descended towards the sea below.
The Hydra ship, now a blazing comet, continued its doomed flight until it exploded in a brilliant flash, the shockwave rippling across the water. The threat had been neutralized, but the cost had been high.
As they floated in the icy cold water, waiting for rescue, Captain America looked at his comrades, pride and relief in his eyes. "We did it. We stopped him."
Bucky nodded, a rare smile breaking through his usual stoicism. "Yeah, we did."
Peggy, her eyes reflecting the glow of the distant explosion, added, "And we'll keep fighting, no matter what."
Vormir, the Realm of the Soul Stone
The Red Skull's scream of rage echoed as he was pulled through the wormhole, the blinding light of the Tesseract fading into darkness. When he opened his eyes, he found himself on a desolate, eerie landscape. The sky was a perpetual twilight, casting an otherworldly glow over the barren terrain. He had arrived on Vormir, the resting place of the Soul Stone.
Disoriented, the Red Skull stumbled forward, trying to make sense of his surroundings. The air was thick with an unsettling silence, broken only by the distant whisper of the wind. As he wandered, he noticed a figure standing nearby, observing him with an air of detached curiosity.
The figure was a woman, her appearance striking and otherworldly. She was tall and slender, with skin as pale as moonlight. Her eyes were dark voids, reflecting the mysteries of the cosmos. She wore a flowing black robe that seemed to absorb the light around her, and a hood that framed her face, giving her an ethereal, almost spectral presence. This was Mistress Death, the embodiment of the end of all things.
"Who are you?" the Red Skull demanded, his voice echoing in the emptiness.
"I am Death," she replied, her voice a soft, chilling whisper. "I have sensed disturbances in the timeline, changes that pique my curiosity. And now, I find you here, near the Soul Stone." She has been quite curious lately about the anomaly presented by Aryan and his actions, hence the reason why she was here as she sensed his involvement in bringing Red Skull here.
The Red Skull's eyes narrowed. "The Soul Stone? I sought the power of the Tesseract, not this… place."
Mistress Death's gaze remained steady. "The Tesseract brought you here for a reason. Your destiny is intertwined with the Soul Stone. You are to be its guardian, to guide those who seek it through the trials they must face. But you will never possess it yourself."
"Why?" he spat, frustration and anger boiling within him. "Why can't I take it for myself?"
"The Soul Stone requires a sacrifice," Mistress Death explained. "A sacrifice of a loved one. You, Red Skull, have never loved anyone. Your desire for power makes you the perfect guardian, for you can only observe, never obtain."
The Red Skull's face twisted in fury and disbelief. "This is my punishment?"
"Indeed," Mistress Death said, her voice devoid of sympathy. "You will remain here, a sentinel for the Soul Stone, forever bound to this place. It is your fate."
As she spoke, the reality of his situation began to sink in. The Red Skull, once a powerful leader of Hydra, was now condemned to an eternity of watching others seek the power he could never have. The desolate landscape of Vormir stretched out before him, a constant reminder of his eternal punishment.
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