Rumors of War || The First Avenger

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Red Skull

Picture is Tatiana Maslany as Emma Jane Holmes.

Music is "American Patrol" by Glenn Miller.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: The Red Skull

"Did it hurt?"

"A little."

"Is it permanent?"

"So far."

We make our way through the facility, explosions going off around us, soldiers shouting as they make their exodus. Bucky is able to stand on his own two feet after a few minutes, and now we're on the walkways over the factory work floor. This is the same place where we first sneaked in.

Steve, Bucky, and I lean over the rails, looking for a way across. We can see our exit; we're so close, but a giant abyss of fire and smock stands in our way. The longer we wait, the more we realize that we might be stuck here while HYDRA escapes.

As the boys stare in horror at the explosion that goes off not ten meters from our faces, I turn to shield my face and spot a staircase moving up. "Boys!" They turn, and I point towards the staircase, already moving towards it. "Let's go!"

They follow suit, and the stairs take us up a level or two to a small, metal bridge that can take us across the fiery abyss. We hurry headstrong for the bridge, only to hear a German man shout in glee, "Captain America and Lady Liberty! How exiting!"

We stop suddenly, and I pull Bucky behind me, and Steve attempts to pull us both behind him. The man standing in front of us is unfamiliar to us all, but he seems to know us well. Beside him is the man who was in Bucky's experimentation room before we arrived. The short, rat-like man with a sniveling voice.

The tall, German man hands off a canister to the smaller man, and begins to walk towards us along the bridge. "I am a great fan of your films." Steve walks towards him as well, I follow, but Bucky takes my hand and tugs me backwards, simply shaking his head.

The German man in the leather trench coat with a red HYDRA insignia on the shoulder continues to talk. "So, Doctor Erskine managed it after all. Not exactly an improvement, but still...impressive."

Steve pulls back his fist and launches it at the HYDRA leader's face. He stumbles backwards. "You got no idea," Steve says in a low voice.

The HYDRA leader's face seems to be...sliding off, yet he stands again and launches a punch at Steve. "Haven't I?" Steve blocks the punch with his shield, but it makes a dent in the metal. Not even gunfire has done that, and we all watch in shock and horror.

Steve quickly draws his pistol, but the HYDRA leader knocks him off his feet and the gun out of his hands. As Steve lies on the ground, helpless, I jerk free of Bucky's hold and jump over Steve, launching my baton at the HYDRA man. With the force I apply, he flies backwards, hitting his head on the metal arms of the bridge.

In a jerk reaction, the short man silently watching from the other side pulls a lever that retracts the bridge, parting it in the center. Steve and our opponent stand, staring each other down as the fiery abyss opens up in front of us, and the German man breathes heavily with hatred. "No matter what lies Erskine told you, you see I was his greatest success!"

The HYDRA leader then places a grip under his chin and pulls off what seems to be a fleshy mask. Underneath, he is even more horrifying than before: red like blood and skin-less like a skull.

"In the name of the King," I gasp, realizing from what Steve told me about Erskine and his previous experiments who this man is. "That's...That's Johann Schmidt."