Chapter 01: The Beginning

FROZEN WASTELAND. YEAR 2011.

After a long time of searching, the S.H.I.E.L.D Search Team was able to discover a massive wingtip with a skull and tentacles logo in it. Some German words are written on it.

At night, after taking off a lot of the ice, the group was able to cut a hole in the metal plane. Two S.H.I.E.L.D operatives went down the plane and discovered a white, blue and red shield and something more valuable.

One of the men, a S.H.I.E.L.D Lieutenant, spoke into the radio "Base, get me a line to the Colonel. I don't care what time it is." After a pause he continued "This one's worth waking up for."

NORWAY. MAY 1942.

At a stone tower, after forcefully opening it, Hydra Troops pour in surrounding the tower keeper. After a few minutes, footsteps were heard then the Hydra soldiers snapped to attention. A man clothed entirely in black, sunken eyes and pale waxy skin walked in.

"It has taken me a long time to find this place. You should be commended." Johann Schmidt said.

Schmidt tried to politely ask the tower keeper to hand over what he's looking for but the man courageously said no until Schmidt threatened him of using the tanks to fire at the town. The tower keeper, terrified, let's his eyes flicker to a wall.

After a few minutes of observing the wall, Schmidt saw a carving of a serpent and pushed on the snake's eye. A wooden box carved like a snake appeared with the Tesseract inside of it. He closes the lid and proceeded to order the troop to fire the cannons.

The tower keeper tried to lunge at Schmidt but was held back by some soldiers. He screamed "Fool! None of us can control that power. You will burn!"

"I already have." Schmidt replied.

HIDDEN UNDERGROUND LABORATORY. YEAR 1943.

In a room with a dim light, you can see a woman strap on a cold metal table with different machines connected to her. This is the sixth day of experimentations.

A short German scientist with glasses walked to the heart monitor and checked the condition of the woman. After checking all her vitals and double-checking all the equipment needed for the next stage of the experimentation, he let two of his assistants to administer the glowing blue gas like liquid from the thumb-sized bottle to the woman. After that, one of the assistants pushed the on button for a machine that sends continuous electric shocks to the woman for five minutes. The instant the electric shock reached the woman, an agonizing scream was heard all through out the room. The other assistant put a piece of cloth to the woman's mouth after the first five minutes of the long session. This process continued for half a day with decreasing intervals.

NEW YORK CITY. JUNE 1943.

"Rogers, Steven." The army doctor announced.

A frail small man stood up and approached the army doctor. Steve anxiously watches as the army doctor scans his file.

"What have your father died of?" The army doctor asked.

"Mustard gas." Steve immediately replied and the doctor looks up at him. "1918. He was in the 107th Infantry. I was hoping to get assigned to them if—"

"And your mother?" The army doctor asked cutting him off before he finished what he was saying.

Steve paused for a second before replying "Few years back, she was a nurse in the TB ward. Got hit, couldn't shake it."

After seeing the army doctor shaking his head, Steve immediately said "They weren't weak, Doc; they were fighters. If you just give me a—"

But before he could finish his sentence, the army doctor cuts him off again. "Sorry, son. You'd be ineligible in your asthma alone."

"You can't do anything?" Steve asked pleadingly.

The army doctor looked him in the eyes and said "I'm doing it. I'm saving your life." Then he stamps 4F on Steve's file.

After that, Steve went to a movie house to somehow lessen the depression he was feeling. In the screen, an advertisement is playing asking for able-bodied men to enlist and help in the war against Hitler. During the advertisement, Steve looks across the aisle and saw a young woman crying while watching. She obviously has a man overseas. While a few rows ahead, a jerk was continuously making negative comments about the soldiers. Then the jerk shouts at the screen again "Jeez, play the cartoon already!"

Steve decided to politely whisper to the man "Can you keep it down, please?"

The advertisement continues to play on the screen but the jerk shouted another irritating comment that made Steve lean over, fuming, and eventually shouted at the man "You want to shut up?!"

The man slowly rises from his slumped position, revealing a very big jerk. Steve looked at the man and involuntarily gulped. In an alley, the jerk punched Steve in the jaw, knocking him to some trashcans but he gets back up and tried to punched the jerk. Unfortunately it was too weak for the jerk to feel any discomfort. Steve tried to block the incoming punch with a trashcan lid but the jerk just yanks it away easily and pounds him again. Steve hits the ground hard and stays there for a moment before getting back up again.

The jerk shakes his head and said "You don't know when to give up, do you?"

Steve wiped his bloody mouth and replied "I can do this all day." Irritated, the jerk knocked Steve back into the pile of trashcans. Before the jerk hits him again, someone grabs his arm. When he looked back at the person, he saw a man in a military uniform.

"What's with all the fighting?" Bucky asked. "Don't you know there's a war on?"

The jerk tried to punch him but Bucky immediately slugs him, spins him around and plants an army boot in his ass. The jerk runs away while Bucky looks at Steve getting up from the pile of trashcans.

"Sometimes I think you like getting punched." Bucky sarcastically joked.

"I had him on the ropes." Steve replied. As he was getting up, a folded enlistment form falls from his pocket. Bucky picks it up and reads.

"How many times is this?" Bucky paused for a second, feeling conflicted. "And you're from Paramus now? It's still illegal to lie on an enlistment form, and seriously, Jersey?"

Steve ignores the comment and just looked at his friend's uniform.

"Looks like you got your orders." Steve said.

"107th ships to England first thing tomorrow." Bucky replied. "This is my last night."

"So what's the first stop, church?" Steve tried to brighten the mood.

Bucky grins and replied with "Yeah...maybe second stop."

They started walking out of the alley when Steve asked "Where are we going?"

Bucky whips out a newspaper and hands it to Steve and said "The future."

Steve looks at the newspaper and reads an advertisement saying "WORLD EXHIBITION OF TOMORROW"

While on there way to the place, the two were talking about the enlistment again.

"I don't see what the problem is. You're about to be the last eligible man in New York. You know there's three and a half million women here?" Bucky tried again to convince his bestfriend against the enlistment.

"I'd settle for just one." Steve replied seriously.

Bucky waves at somebody in the distance before replying to Steve. "Good thing I've taken care of that." In front of The Modern Marvel Pavilion, two girls waved back.

"What'd you tell her about me?" Steve said indifferently.

Bucky grins, still waving. "Only the good stuff."

While Steve was walking together with his friend, he saw something from his peripheral view that caught his attention. So he paused for a moment and looked at it. What he saw took his breath away. A beautiful woman of about 5'3 or 5'4 was standing beside a red car dressed in a flowy white silk dress and black heels. Her shoulder length wavy black hair, left in its natural state, was an unusual sight among the crowd of women with curled hairstyles. Another odd thing about her is that she's not wearing any makeup. But that only made her more beautiful. Steve was snapped back to reality when Bucky grabbed his shoulder asking if his ok. When he looked back at the woman, he was a little surprised to see that she was also looking at him. Then she suddenly smiled and nods to him as acknowledgement. Steve, flustered, smiled back and made a small wave.

Unfortunately, they arrived in front of the Marvel Pavilion already. They made a short introduction of each other. The names of the girls are Connie and Bonnie. After that, the two girls and Bucky hurry past the exhibit. Steve tags after, ignored. But before he followed them, he looked back again at the girl but she's not there anymore.