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Chapter 130: The End and a New Beginning
HYDRA Headquarters, Alps
To construct the massive hangar and runway for the Valkyrie, Schmidt had his team hollow out nearly the entire mountain.
The completed Valkyrie was an impressive super bomber, showcasing HYDRA's cutting-edge technology.
It was enormous, with a wingspan of a hundred meters, resembling a vast aerial steel fortress.
The aircraft featured a flying wing design, lacking a tail, with its fuselage and wings integrated into one flat, elongated, entirely black structure.
Even by modern standards, this colossal aerial fortress would not seem outdated.
It is crucial to understand that the larger an aircraft's fuselage, the heavier it becomes, necessitating more powerful flight dynamics and structural integrity, which in turn increase the technical challenges involved in its design.
The successful completion of such a massive aircraft during that era demonstrated HYDRA's extraordinary technological prowess and the brilliance of Dr. Zola.
Beneath the Valkyrie, Schmidt was delivering a pre-battle speech, dressed in a long black trench coat. His head resembled a skull with only remnants of flesh, making him appear sinister and terrifying.
He walked slowly in front of the HYDRA soldiers and proclaimed, "Tomorrow, HYDRA will dominate the world!"
"Under the Valkyrie's blessing, we will achieve victory. The enemy's weapons are no match for us. If one aircraft is shot down, hundreds more will retaliate fiercely."
"Cut off one head, and two more shall take its place!"
"Hail HYDRA!"
"Hail HYDRA!"
Countless neatly dressed HYDRA soldiers shouted in unison.
Meanwhile, after receiving intelligence from Dr. Zola, the Strategic Scientific Reserve in Britain recognized Schmidt's ambitions and began planning their pre-battle strategy.
"John Schmidt should be thrown into a mental asylum. He thinks he's a god and wants to blow up half the world, starting with the United States," Colonel Phillips said, pointing at the map.
"Schmidt's power is beyond our capabilities. If he crosses the Atlantic Ocean, he could flatten the entire East Coast in an hour," Howard Stark said, taking a seat at the conference table.
"How much time do we have left?" a member of the Howling Commandos asked.
"According to our new friend, less than 24 hours," the Colonel replied.
"Where is he now?" Steve asked.
"HYDRA's last base is in the Alps, five hundred feet below the surface," the Colonel said, tossing the file he held to a Howling Commando next to him.
"So what do we do? We can't just knock on the door and walk in," another Howling Commando said.
"Why not?" Steve's words caught everyone's attention. "That's exactly what we'll do!"
In the Forest in Front of the HYDRA Base
Steve rode his Harley motorcycle directly toward the base. Though he was brave, he couldn't effectively fight against multiple opponents at once.
Under these circumstances, Steve was captured and brought before Schmidt.
"Arrogance may not be exclusive to Americans, but I must say, you embody it better than anyone else," Schmidt remarked, gazing at Steve, who was escorted by two of his subordinates.
"Yet even you have limitations, Captain. Or did Erskine tell you otherwise?"
"He told me you were insane!" Captain America, Steve, replied calmly, facing the terrifying Schmidt.
"Ah! He was jealous of my exceptional talent and sought to deny what was rightfully mine. But he gave you everything. So, what is special about you?" Schmidt asked casually, as if engaging in a friendly conversation.
"Nothing, I'm just a small guy from Brooklyn," Steve said with a chuckle, shaking his head.
Unfortunately, Schmidt clearly couldn't grasp his meaning. Schmidt immediately landed three punches on Steve's body.
"I can do this all day," Steve said, looking at Schmidt while being forcibly restrained by the HYDRA soldiers.
"Of course you can, but unfortunately, I'm a bit busy," Schmidt replied, not wanting to engage further. He pulled out a specialized energy pistol from his waist.
Just then, the assault team members, who had been prepared in advance, began attacking the base from the outside.
"Me too," Steve said, taking advantage of Red Skull's distraction. He pulled a nearby HYDRA soldier in front of him as a shield.
Red Skull Schmidt's shot missed Steve. At that moment, the Howling Commandos had already rushed in, raising their machine guns and opening fire.
"Tat-tat-tat!"
The HYDRA soldiers who hadn't reacted suffered heavy casualties. Schmidt didn't linger; instead, he gave up resistance and fled. Steve grabbed the round shield thrown to him by a teammate and pursued Schmidt.
Inside the base, the Howling Commandos drew the attention of the HYDRA camp. Outside the camp, Colonel Phillips, upon receiving the signal, led a large number of personnel in an attack on the base by air.
Although the HYDRA soldiers had advanced weapons, Colonel Phillips's side had greater numbers, causing HYDRA to retreat steadily.
Inside the mountain where the Valkyrie was parked, fierce fighting ensued, resulting in numerous casualties. Schmidt was the first to board the Valkyrie.
Using the Tesseract as the aircraft's power source, he activated the plane's systems, set New York as the destination, and changed the aircraft's course.
The Valkyrie, a strategic bomber with black matte delta wings, slowly moved out, propelled by the ice-blue flame of its energy engines.
Steve saw that the plane was already heading for the exit and could only increase his pace to catch up with it.
Unfortunately, he could only watch as the aircraft distanced itself from him. Just as he was about to give up, Colonel Phillips arrived, driving Schmidt's modified six-wheeled sports car.
"Get in," he said.
Schmidt noticed the pursuing sports car on his monitor and pushed the plane's thrusters to maximum. Fortunately, at the last moment, Steve leaped onto the Valkyrie.
Upon entering the aircraft, Steve was surprised to see self-detonating bombs equipped with flight devices. Inside the cabin, he fought off several pilots of the self-detonating bombs.
When he reached the cockpit, Schmidt was already waiting for him, wielding a high-tech weapon.
"You just never give up, do you?" Schmidt taunted.
"Bang, bang," he said, attacking Steve with an energy weapon.
"That's right!" Steve shouted, charging at Schmidt with his Vibranium shield. The two began to fight fiercely.
Despite their intense battle, both had undergone Super Soldier Serum modifications, leading to no significant difference in their combat power.
However, the cockpit sustained multiple damages during their fight. Without a pilot, the plane nearly lost control and fell from a high altitude.
Fortunately, Schmidt quickly switched the plane to autopilot mode, allowing it to continue flying toward New York.
John Schmidt pulled out a small energy gun from his pocket and angrily faced the "Captain America" who had almost ruined his career.
"You could have had the power of a god! Do you think wearing a flag on your chest means you're fighting for your country?" Schmidt roared, continuously firing energy blasts at Steve.
"I've seen the future, Captain. There are no flags in the future!"
"That's not my future!" Steve shouted, dodging while trying to reach for his shield.
Finally, Steve leaped with all his might, grabbed his shield, rolled, and used it to block the energy blasts fired at him. Taking advantage of an opening, he forcefully threw the shield at Schmidt.
Finally, Steve leaped with all his might, grabbed his shield, rolled, and used the round shield to block the energy blasts aimed at him.
Finding an opportunity, Steve forcefully threw the shield at Schmidt. The shield instantly knocked Schmidt down, and he crashed right into the energy pedestal where the Tesseract was placed.
The fragile pedestal couldn't withstand the impact and shattered. Ice-blue energy streams immediately began to fill the cockpit.
Frantically looking at the exposed Tesseract, Schmidt stood up and shouted, "What have you done? No!"
He suddenly reached out and grabbed the Tesseract. In his hand, it began to emit a dazzling light and send out arcs of electricity.
An arc of electricity from the Tesseract streaked across the top of the plane, reflecting specks of stars and the vastness of the Universe.
As he gripped the Tesseract, the energy peeled away layers from Schmidt's hand, starting with his glove, then his skin, muscles, and even bone.
The Tesseract's power spread throughout his entire body along his arm, revealing a dense network of dark blue veins beneath the bright red skin on his exposed head.
Red Skull's desperate howls echoed as his body disintegrated, and a massive burst of energy from the Tesseract filled the cockpit in a blinding flash of light. The Tesseract lost its support and fell onto the cockpit floor.
After picking up his shield, Captain America Steve saw the Tesseract burn through the plane's floor and fall towards the ground. Realizing the numerous bombs in the plane's belly, he sat in the pilot's seat, fumbling with the instrument panel.
"This is Captain Rogers, do you copy?" Unfortunately, of all the controls on the console, only the radio was familiar to him. He quickly adjusted the frequency and began calling the Strategic Scientific Reserve.
"Captain Rogers, you—"
A member of the Howling Commandos was about to speak when Carter, who was anxiously waiting beside him, pushed him aside and said, "Steve! Is that you? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine; Schmidt is dead," Captain America Steve replied from the control panel.
"What about the plane?" Carter asked.
"This is a bit hard to explain," he said, eyeing the complex control panel.
"Tell me the coordinates, and I'll find you a safe landing spot," Carter insisted over the radio.
"I might not have time to worry about safety," Captain America Steve said, glancing at several suicide bomb displays on a screen. "I'm going to attempt a crash landing."
"I'll let Howard listen; he knows what to do," Carter said, thinking of the technical consultant.
"There's no time. This plane is too fast and heading for New York. I have to put it down in the ocean," Captain America Steve insisted.
"Please don't do that. There's still time; we can figure something out," Carter pleaded.
"I'm over an uninhabited area. If I don't act immediately, many people will die." After a moment of silence, he added, "Peggy, this is my choice."
After speaking, Captain America Steve placed the pocket watch containing Carter's photo on the dashboard, then controlled the flight stick and headed towards the ground.
"Peggy."
"I'm here!"
"Help me look after my mother. It looks like we'll have to dance another day," Captain America Steve said, as if giving his last wishes.
"Alright, next Saturday at the Stork Club," Peggy Carter, on the other end of the radio, responded, already in tears.
"No problem," Captain America Steve replied.
"Eight o'clock sharp, don't be late, understood?" Peggy added.
"I still can't dance," Captain America Steve joked casually while piloting the plane.
"I'll teach you; just come!" Carter replied with a smile.
"Remember to tell the band to play a slow song. I don't want to step on your..."
Just then, a burst of static interrupted, and Carter could no longer hear his voice.
"Steve?"
"Steve?"
At this point, everyone who understood what had happened gave Carter space to grieve.
The massive silhouette of the valkyrie descended lower and lower, getting closer to the ground. The gigantic, sharp, triangular body, like a steel fortress, came down from the sky like a war god's sword.
The plane quickly made contact with the sea ice at the outermost edge of the ice field, plowing a long gash through the thick ice before crashing into it.
The wide, sturdy fuselage suffered minimal damage; only the weakest cabin sections on both sides fractured.
The ice layer could not withstand the plane's enormous weight, and it began to crack. Slowly, the plane slid into the cold ocean.
Captain America, Steve, who was playing dead inside the plane, was also engulfed by the ocean, awaiting a new century when he would awaken.
George, who watched the entire event through live monitoring by Monday, admired Captain America's spirit.
If he were in Captain America Steve's shoes, George felt he might not have been able to be as selfless.
A few days later, major newspapers began to publish articles reporting that Captain America had thwarted the Red Skull, John Schmidt's, plans for war extermination by crash-landing the bomber near Greenland in the Arctic Ocean, where it sank and disappeared without a trace.
The Tesseract was recovered from the seabed by Howard Stark and collected by the Strategic Scientific Reserve.
April 12, 1945
"My Lord, has something happened with President Roosevelt?" Monday reported.
"What happened?" George asked.
"Today, President Roosevelt passed away in Warm Springs, Georgia, due to a sudden cerebral hemorrhage," Monday replied.
"Unfortunately, he died before witnessing the complete surrender of the German army," George murmured.
"Monday, how is the Manhattan Project progressing?" George inquired.
"It has entered the final testing phase," Monday responded.
"Good. Notify me when there's progress," George said.
A few days later, in Dr. Erskine's laboratory, Bucky was making final preparations in a chamber similar to Captain America's.
"Doctor, is Steve really not dead?" Bucky asked.
"Do not question Mr. Swent's words. If he says Captain America is not dead, then Captain America must still be alive," Dr. Erskine replied earnestly.
"Okay, I understand."
Half an hour later, a neatly dressed Bucky stood before George. Though already tall, Bucky didn't have an overly exaggerated physique, but had become more coordinated.
"Not bad, congratulations, Doctor," George said to Dr. Erskine.
"It's nothing. I added some Eastern herbal medicines to regulate the spirit, and I didn't expect the effect to be so good. Not only did it eliminate side effects, but it also didn't reduce the enhancement effect. It just consumes a bit too much energy," Dr. Erskine smiled.
"Don't worry about that. We don't need to consume New York's electricity anyway. Since it's our power station, it won't cause unnecessary trouble. By the way, the remaining individuals can all be safely enhanced as planned," George stated.
"No problem," Dr. Erskine replied.
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