A Clean Slate

They'd seen what powers the cube could grant Hydra, they had the results they were looking for, all that was left was to figure out the process. Operation paperclip had helped bolster both SHIELD's avaliable man power as well as their knowledge, but putting blind faith in the words of their old enemy wasn't a risk SHIELD was willing to take. While some groups dealt with dissecting Hydras research and proceeding from there, their group was burdened with the task of blind research on the Tesseract finding their own discoveries to hopefully find any flaws in the details they were given, whether by error, ommission or malicious intent.

Starting with inanimate materials the research had too many avenues to count but with the cube's seemingly unlimited energy and the factory known as the US population steadily churning out brilliant minds, research avenues were swiftly broken up and disseminated creating the need for new scientists to move on to more animated subjects.

White mice, insects, arachnids, primates, felines, canines and finally the taboo was broken, an influence had been growing within SHIELD, expanding both the reach and depth of SHIELD leading to some quieter voices to grow in number, some that the general public should never hear.

This lead to today, not directly as he wasn't the first but John found himself strapped to a gurney being addressed by an agent dressed in military fatigues.

"Walter Johnathan Wakefield, previously held the rank of private, convicted of attempted desertion of active duty during war time. As of article 58. Any person subject to military law who deserts or attemps to desert the service of the United States shall, if the offense be commited in time of war, suffer death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct."

John lay haggard from malnutrition, bearing signs of abuse as he stared up at the ceiling, numb to it all, as any protest, plea, or threat that he could imagine to rescue him from his fate, had already left his lips long ago.

"Due to being diagnosed with, amnesia, multiple personality disorder, psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, and several other mental disorders; the state is granting you leniency and the opportunity to receive a pardon for your crimes."

A fleeting shine may have slowly crept into John's eyes but his body lay unmoving whether due to his poor state or being still strapped to a gurney, an unusual form of transport for prisoners, whether pardoned or not. It's unclear but regardless the agents monotone continues.

"The state has granted you the opportunity to participate in a series of experiments and on completion, you shall be cleared of all wrong doings and honorably discharged with your previous rank intact."

As John was wheeled into the operating room, the scientists observing read through his files, some frowning at the crime, others revealing pity at the symptoms displayed while other were left perplexed or bare faced at his claims of reincarnating, being from the future and Walter Wakefield not being his true identity. Further down his medical diagnoses detailed his malnourishment and physical damage due to violent interactions with other court-martialed soldiers due to his deserter status being leaked.

Finally as John's gurney passed the center of his room he could see the Tesseract ready to begin the experiment. His breath hitched, pupils widened before screaming and thrashing against the gurney restraints.

"SPACE STONE! INFINITY STONE! IT'S NOT REINCARNATION, IT'S TRANSMIGRATION. CAPTAIN AMERICA, CAPTAIN MARVEL IRON M..."

Before John could fully voice his epiphany the agent administered a sleeping agent and placing a muzzle on him till he passed out. Due to John's poor or perhaps lucky choice of words the people around him dismissed them as the ravings of a lunatic, as, if he had referred to the space stone as the Tesseract he would've woken up in a CIA interrogation room being asked how he knew secrets only know to Nazis, Hydra or key high ranked personnel. That might have actually been John's choice as opposed to scattered across all of space or teleported to who knows where, all via disintegration being his likely two options when human experiments and the cube is involved.

The scientist weren't heartless but John wasn't the first human test subject and he certainly wouldn't be the last. The reasons to continue had already smothered any reservations they had and a lunatic already sentenced to death was far more valuable in their hands than those of the firing squad. John would be remembered as a brave sacrifice in the name of progress... if his details weren't swiftly scrubbed from the face of the earth once the day was through.

First blood, tissue, bone, hair and viscera samples were extracted and tested in contact with the cube, along with various substances trying to impede or halt the destructive energy of the cube in any way. The scientists were old hands at these steps by now and each test was completed swiftly, draining the time John had left on this earth with callous efficiency.

Finally all the tests were done except the last, they had already checked all manner of DNA with the cube and the previous tests were specifically to compare John's in cases of an anomaly, leaving him relatively unharmed and still blissfully unconscious as the scientists retreated to safety and activated motors bringing John forwards.

First came the super-soldier serum, diluted heavily from Dr. Erskine's creation as the supply was currently unrenewable and highly desired by all departments that were classified to know of it, then the lab was lit with excess vita rays in the hopes of making up for what the serum concentration lacked. Fortunately the cube provided enough energy to spare the city's power supply from being drained fully. Lastly John's gurney was rolled along tracks towards the cube, lining up so that his large toe was the first to come into contact with the cube, giving the longest period till it's energy reached his brain, as short as that time may be.

And Contact.