52

Chapter Fifty-Two: Falling

"Waste!!!"

This term had become Red Skull's mantra lately. With HYDRA's bases falling one by one to the Howling Commandos, no amount of strict defenses seemed to help. He had sent numerous forces to encircle them, but they all returned defeated.

Even luck wasn't on their side , one of their most heavily fortified strongholds, guarded by a large number of defenders and seemingly impregnable, was hit by a one-meter-thick lightning bolt during a storm, causing a devastating internal explosion...

"We're about to launch a world-shocking attack, but we're continuously delayed! All because you can't handle a fool with a shield and someone who just hides and shoots coldly!" he roared at Dr. Zola.

"That's not my specialty. I can develop weapons, but I can't make them fire. Also, the guy who only uses a cold gun is even more troublesome than Captain America."

An officer came to report: "Sorry, Mr. Schmidt, we fought to the last man."

That remark only fueled Red Skull's rage, and he ended the officer's life with a single shot: "Clearly not."

He then turned to Dr. Zola and bellowed, "Eliminate them, or face the consequences!" The repeated failures had nearly exhausted his patience. If Dr. Zola weren't genuinely useful, he would have been sent to a concentration camp long ago.

Dr. Zola's face was grim; he knew that Red Skull's threats were serious.

…

On this day, the Howling Commandos received information from Dr. Zola about a train traveling through the snow-capped mountains.

Unbeknownst to them, it was a trap. The immense pressure from Red Skull forced Dr. Zola to take drastic measures.

While Steve and Bucky were separated by a gate controlled by Dr. Zola, Thor found himself alone in a car surrounded by heavily armored soldiers. Their thick alloy armor was nearly impenetrable, even to the strongest armor-piercing rounds.

"Is this specifically aimed at my layout?" Thor looked up at the monitors. "Who told you I can only shoot?"

He pulled out his pistol and fired a few shots, not at the armored soldiers but at several cameras...

Meanwhile, under the onslaught of energy weapons, Bucky used his shield to protect Captain America. Unfortunately, his physical resilience wasn't on par with Captain America's, and he was blasted out of the carriage by a cannonball. He desperately clung to the crumbling handrail outside.

Furious, Captain America used his hammer to throw the enemy out of the car and crawled back out to reach Bucky.

"Bucky, grab my hand!" Bucky reached out, but before he could grasp Captain America's hand, he fell into the abyss...

"Bucky!!!"

As Thor approached with Dr. Zola in tow, Captain America was on the ground, gritting his teeth and trying to control his emotions.

…

As history unfolded, politicians didn't let Dr. Zola's talent go unnoticed, and that was irrelevant to Thor.

Grieving the loss of his friend Winter Soldier, Captain America channeled his sorrow and anger into his mission. After destroying several HYDRA strongholds, he finally located Red Skull.

The Howling Commandos launched the final battle against HYDRA.

HYDRA's forces fell back, and Red Skull, carrying the Tesseract, boarded a bomber headed for New York. Thor, Peggy, and the others held off the remaining enemies while Steve pursued Red Skull, boarding the aircraft for a decisive confrontation.

Red Skull was no match for Captain America. Steve, wielding his shield and hammer, defeated him swiftly.

In a desperate attempt to turn the tide, Red Skull grabbed the Tesseract.

But his power wasn't sufficient to control the Space Stone. The Tesseract's power erupted, causing Red Skull to vanish from Captain America's sight.

Captain America quickly took the pilot's seat, only to find that the plane's autopilot was set to New York. With a skilled flight crew, there might have been alternatives. But Steve lacked the necessary skills and could only attempt a crash landing.

He reported the situation to headquarters, connecting the channel to Thor. With the HYDRA soldiers cleared, Thor and Peggy would handle the aftermath.

…

"Have you made your decision? Maybe we should contact Howard; he might have a solution," Thor suggested.

Steve shook his head. "There's no time. I need to land immediately. If it takes too long, many people will die."

"This is my choice!"

"Alright." Although he had anticipated this moment, Thor was still emotional.

"Any unfulfilled wishes?"

"No, sadly, I won't see the end of this war, nor will I have a chance to see Bucky again." He pushed down the landing lever.

"There will be a chance..."

Peggy stood by, quietly observing as the two said their goodbyes.

"Boom—"

The plane crashed into the ice, sank to the bottom, and was buried in ice and snow.