When Steve stepped down from the lab table, he was almost unrecognizable from the man he'd been minutes before. Except for his face, everything had changed. His height had shot up by nearly a foot, and his once-slim frame was now packed with muscles, giving him the appearance of a compact Hulk.
"How do you feel?" Thor asked, grinning.
Steve flexed his arms, an incredulous smile on his face. "I feel incredible! like I could keep going all day!"
The room burst into applause as the onlookers, officials, and scientists moved in closer, eager to congratulate him. But amidst the celebration, Dr. Erskine noticed something unsettling—a HYDRA agent among them discreetly pulled out a lighter.
Erskine's eyes widened, but before he could shout a warning, an explosion rocked the lab. Chaos erupted as smoke and debris filled the room.
While everyone was reeling, the HYDRA agent snatched the last vial of serum, shot Dr. Erskine, and bolted. Thor managed to pull the doctor aside to safety as Steve, hearing Erskine's shout of, "I'm fine! Go after him!" sprinted after the fleeing spy.
Steve reached the agent just as he was climbing into a getaway car, yanking him out before he could close the door. The agent escaped his grip, shedding his coat and racing off toward the docks.
With his new superhuman speed, Steve should have easily caught him, but he was still adjusting to his newfound strength and was forced to slow down, mindful of the public's safety as they crossed through crowded streets.
The chase ended at the pier. The HYDRA agent attempted to take a child hostage before jumping off the pier and disappearing into a waiting submarine. But before he could fully escape, a pair of powerful arms—stronger than his own—smashed through the submarine window with a loud crash. Thor dragged the man out, hurled him back onto the dock, and pinned him down before he could try another escape.
Realizing he was caught, the spy gritted his teeth, smashed the serum vial, and yelled defiantly, "Cut off one head, and two more shall take its place! Hail HYDRA!"
With those final words, he tilted his head back and took his last breath.
Around them, the gathered crowd erupted into cheers. The world needed a hero, and today, they'd found two.
…
The next day, newspapers across the country were filled with headlines praising the daring heroics of Captain America. But the celebration was short-lived as grim news arrived: Dr. Erskine had lost the serum formula due to the shock and trauma of the attack.
Colonel Phillips was infuriated. He'd wanted an invincible army, not just one soldier, even if that soldier is Captain America.
With no other options, the military took samples of Steve's blood and assigned him to promote war bonds, sending him off to parades and rallies as a patriotic mascot. Meanwhile, Thor, regarded as the top recruit after Steve, was promptly sent to the front lines. Phillips couldn't hide his disappointment. If Thor had been the first to undergo the transformation, perhaps he could have saved Dr. Erskine or at least recovered the stolen serum.
Of course, no one doubted Thor's loyalty. As the military's unofficial "second super soldier," he stood to lose the most from the project's abrupt termination.
That night, as Thor prepared for his departure, he murmured to himself, "I'm sorry, Doctor." For Thor, the super-soldier serum would have had little effect, and the side effects could be severe, so he'd had no intention of risking a rewrite of history by taking it himself. Saving Dr. Erskine was the limit of his interference. The doctor's "amnesia" was Thor's doing, a subtle spell he'd learned during his time in Asgard. In addition to sparring, he'd spent those years reading old texts and learning a few basics of magic.
Thor was determined to end the super-soldier program here. While he respected Erskine and Steve, he knew that not everyone shared their noble character. In the wrong hands, mass-producing super-soldiers would be disastrous for the world.
After all, once one threat ended, another would inevitably arise. And soon, America itself would embark on an unjust war. The super-soldier project of this era needed to end before it could wreak havoc across the globe.
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