Steve's Diary

August 13, 1939

Dear Diary,

They've called me to the lab for an 'emergency' so... here I am.

The first thing I've actually had to do in... what feels like forever.

—————

When I walked in, I was greeted by Agent Carter. She told me that since they had lost the serum and Dr. Erskine within an hour, she and Stark decided that it would be best for the scientists to try and recreate it.

I was led to a white room where a nurse waited for me with a bunch of clear tubes and a thick needle attached to them. I was sat down on the examination table and she stabbed it into my skin (which, surprisingly didn't hurt nearly as bad as I remember in the past).

"Think you got enough?" I asked, pulling down my sleeve, as the nurse removed the needle and placed the bottle in a carrying case filled with what had to be at least 20 others.

"Any hope of reproducing the program is locked in your genetic code," Ms. Carter replied as I walked over to where she stood. "But without Dr. Erskine it would take years."

I sighed. "He deserved more than this."

She looked at me for a second. "If it could work only once, he'd be proud it was you," she said, smiling up at me.

• • •

We walked out of the room and approached an area where there resided some rather large machines.

"But I don't know what's inside this thing or how it works," I heard Stark say faintly in the distance. "We're not even close to this technology."

"Then who is?" Another man replied in a voice I didn't recognize.

"Hydra," Colonel Phillips returned. "I'm sure you've been reading our briefings."

"I'm on a number of committees, Colonel," the other man retorted as Ms. Carter led me closer to where everyone had been standing.

"Hydra is the Nazi deep-science division. It's led by Johann Schmidt... but he has much bigger ambitions," she cut in, informing the man.

"Hydra is practically a cult," Colonel Philips interjected. "They worship Schmidt- they think he's invincible."

"So what're you gonna do about it?" The other man asked the Colonel.

"I spoke to the President this morning," he continued. "As of today, the SSR is being re-tasked."

"Colonel," Ms. Carter addressed him.

"We are taking the fight to Hydra- pack your bags, Agent Carter... you, too, Stark. We're flying to London tonight," Phillips said to them. I, honestly, felt left out. I was the only one in the room who could actually do something hands-on about this issue and I wasn't even included in this conversation.

"Sir? If you're going after Schmidt, I want in," I butted into the conversation.

"You're an experiment. You're going to Alamogordo."

An experiment? That's it? It worked, the serum... "The serum worked," I said, bringing up a very valid point.

"I asked for an Army and all I got was you. You are not enough," He replied, completely crushing me, and walked away.

"With all due respect to the Colonel, I think we may be missing the point. I've seen you in action, Steve. More importantly, the country's seen it," he motioned for his assistant. "Paper. The enlistment lines have been around the block since your picture hit the newsstands. You don't take a soldier, a symbol like that, and hide him in a lab. Son, do you want to serve your country on the most important battlefield of the war?" he asked me.

"Sir, that's all I want."

"Then congratulations. You just got promoted," he told me, extending his hand.

I took it and we shook on it.

—————

It wasn't until later that the mysterious man explained the details of the 'most important battlefield of the war' to me.

Apparently, I'll be in a play traveling all across the United States to perform as the starring role: Captain America. Kinda cheesy, huh?

The goal is selling war bonds to the public... I suppose that's all I'm worth now, isn't it?

~ S. R.