The Howling Commandos hunted down every Hydra base they could find. There was one in particular they were searching for: the main base. You see, they had learned from Bucky and Captain America that there was one base where everything was being sent, but they had no idea where it was.
With the Red Skull and Arnim Zola dead, there was no one left to ask where this location could be. All they could do was destroy the Hydra bases they knew about and hope that, at some point, they would uncover a connection.
Even though the Red Skull was dead, his plans continued forward. Whatever nefarious idea he had, he always claimed Hydra was an organization where, if you cut off one head, two more would emerge.
"Cut off one head…" Steve had muttered once, shaking his own head, "…and they never stop growing back."
Was that just a saying, or was it the truth? Cyrus knew that it was kind of the truth. The truth was that Hydra was very good at hiding in plain sight. They would infiltrate and remain hidden, and they could do so for decades.
Hydra is stupid, Cyrus would think to himself. How in the world does it work? Is everybody in Hydra brainwashed? It's got such a weird, stupid ideology that doesn't even make any sense.
A rational person would not bother with it, and even if it could continue to exist, why would it continue calling itself Hydra? That would be like Nazis going underground and recruiting new people to their cause while telling them they had the honor of joining the new Nazis.
No one would want anything to do with them. Nazis had bad optics, and so did Hydra. And yet, somehow or another, they were able to infiltrate SHIELD and make up half the organization.
"They're like cockroaches," Bucky had once said grimly. "No matter how many you squash, there's always more."
Of course, the SHIELD TV show claimed they were worshiping some sort of Inhuman space monster that they were just dying to get to come back to Earth. But that's even dumber. I mean, if your Hydra god can't get back on his own, what the heck are you worshiping?
That just goes to show paganism is dumb too. These were the idle thoughts that passed through Cyrus's mind from time to time, for what little time he had to spare for them.
The Howling Commandos were suiting up for another mission. They had gone throughout the entire war theater, moving all over Europe. "We're not the Blitzkrieg," Dum Dum Dugan liked to remind the recruits. "We're the guys who hit back."
The addition of the GI robot had a massive impact on the effectiveness of the Howling Commandos. Cyrus would work on him in between battles, upgrading him, fixing him, replacing major parts that needed replacing. With the many repairs he made, he was pretty much a different robot altogether.
He had even replaced his head a time or two. The memories of father and mother had long since disappeared, which was fine. But the GI robot, even if it was more or less the third or fourth generation, continued in battle.
Its weapons had a massive impact. It could shoot a tank, blowing it up from the inside; no human could even approach it. "Big guy packs a punch," Steve said once, impressed, tightening the strap on his shield.
Cyrus became more comfortable finding a nice perch sniping enemy combatants, especially commanders. Of course, he always had Captain America's back. Every time the Captain found himself in a harrowing situation, a bullet would suddenly strike someone else.
"I'm glad to know that Bucky is there protecting you," Peggy had said once over comms, "I like his timing." It's not that he didn't help the other Howling Commandos from time to time; he would also save them, but his priority was certainly Captain America.
In one battle with Hydra, there was a village outside Belgium where they finally got some information leading them to the main Hydra base. Before the Hydra agent could take his cyanide pill, Cyrus was able to stop him.
"I don't want to make this hard for you," Steve said sharply as the man was restrained, "but I won't let Hydra succeed. If you won't talk to me, you'll talk to him." Steve pointed toward Bucky and the GI Robot. It wasn't clear who 'him' was, but the robot was far more terrifying to the Hydra soldier. Not allowed the sweet release of death, the Hydra agent spilled the plans after convincing.
There was a train that went to the Alps that had the exact location, or at least the command on the train did. If they could capture that commander, they would be able to learn the final location of the main base. Every other base had been destroyed. "Then we're not done yet," Steve said simply, lifting his shield.
Cyrus recognized that this was the moment when Bucky and Captain America were separated for seventy years. But was that necessary in this situation?
He certainly doubted that Hydra's firepower could force him off the train. But what good would preventing the MCU destiny for Steve Rogers do? Taking time to meditate through the Force, he reached out with his feelings, getting glimpses and images from the future.
He imagined different scenarios. His approach had been changing. When he first went to the Star Wars universe and took the place of Anakin for a time, he had changed everything to get the maximum number of benefits for himself. However, as he had grown wiser, especially with the combined experiences of the various Immortals he had killed, he came to look at his methods with a critical eye. "You can't save everyone," he remembered hearing once, and wondered if that was truly the case.
That was why he was so cautious right now regarding whether or not he would separate from Captain America.
Cyrus calmed himself and continued his meditation. This was a critical moment in the story of Captain America. Does he separate from Captain America and let him complete his mission?
He had the Tesseract, so there was no need to chase after that, but would the planes still exist? Would Captain America still crash into the ice? He didn't know. "I'm not going to run away," Steve had said when Cyrus warned him of the potential danger.
When the mission was ready to be carried out, Cyrus steeled his resolve to do what was important.
In the hangar, they were ready to swing onto the top of the train and make their play. "How many times do I have to tell you?" Steve said dryly as he tightened his gloves. "I don't jump without a plan." Cyrus didn't really get from the movie how this worked. The speed of the train, landing on it, and all that, the normal people who were part of the commandos should have been swept off.
Cyrus therefore suggested that instead of bringing the Howling Commandos with them, it should be Captain America himself and the GI robot. "Just you and me," Steve said, glancing at the robot, "and our metal friend." The rest of the Howling Commandos would prepare for the final assault.
They swung down the zip line, landing hard on the train. The wind immediately tried to tear them away. "Hold on!" Steve shouted. They slammed spikes into the roof, anchoring themselves. The GI robot simply magnetized his feet. "Show-off," Steve muttered.
Inside the train cars, the ambushes came fast. Cyrus deflected gunfire. When doors slammed shut between him and Steve, he tore them free with the Force. Flames erupted from a Hydra soldier. Cyrus reflected them. "That's all you got?" Steve shouted as he charged forward.
When the grenade blew out the side of the train, Bucky was sucked toward the opening. "Bucky!" Steve yelled, grabbing for him. The wind howled. Cyrus looked at Steve. "We do not share the same path. Each of us must go our own way."
"No!" Steve shouted. "I can save you!"
"It's not me you need to save." Cyrus let go and fell.
Steve stared after him, horror and guilt flooding his face. "I'm with you till the end of the line," he whispered, not knowing who the words were really for anymore.
Cyrus fell in silence, serene as the mountains rushed up to meet him. As he fell, he let out a silvery blob that fell with him. He spoke to it, "Activate Order 66," Cyrus said. The blob of silver separated into twenty-seven blobs. Transformed into bird-like creatures flying in different directions. They landed softly in the snow and concealed themselves.
Kalan hit the ground hard, apparently dead. Later, Hydra agents would drag his body away, unaware they had just brought a weapon into their own stronghold.
Steve and the GI robot captured the Hydra commander, Werner Reinhardt. "You're all monsters," Steve said coldly. "And I'm going to stop you."
The war moved toward its inevitable end. Steve went on his final mission not just to save the world, but to avenge his friend. "I'm not giving up," he said into the radio. "Not today."
Steve went after Strucker personally.
Inside the final Hydra facility, alarms blared, and red lights flashed as Steve advanced through the corridors. Strucker had prepared for this moment far better than the Red Skull ever had. "You should have stayed a symbol," Strucker sneered over the intercom. "Men like you belong on posters, not battlefields."
Steve burst into the command room just as Strucker was preparing his escape. "I'm not here to trade insults," Steve said evenly. "I'm here to stop you." Strucker fired wildly, retreating toward the control panels. Seeing Captain America closing in, Strucker made his choice. He sabotaged the controls, overloading the systems, and fled in a smaller escape craft, vanishing beneath the facility as explosions rocked the base.
But the larger plane still carried its deadly payload.
Steve fought his way onto the aircraft as it lifted into the air, flames licking the hull. Inside, he struggled with Hydra soldiers one last time, smashing consoles and tearing wiring loose. "This thing's not going to stop," he said grimly into the radio. "It's locked on course."
Peggy's voice crackled back through the static. "Then why aren't you on the escape plane?"
Steve hesitated, looking at the failing controls. "Someone's got to stay with it, if not thousands of people could die," he said quietly.
"We'll figure something out," Peggy insisted. "You could land it."
Steve shook his head, even though she couldn't see him. "I'm not going to be able to stop it. I'm going to have to put it in the water."
There was a long pause. "Steve…" Peggy said, her voice breaking.
"Peggy," he replied softly, "this is my choice."
The plane began to descend rapidly. Ice filled the forward windows. "I'm going to need a rain check on that dance," Steve said, forcing a small smile.
Peggy swallowed hard. "You better be alive for it."
"Sure," Steve added.
"Steve Rogers, you listen to me!" Her desperate voice rang out as tears streamed down her face.
Steve reached for the controls one last time. "I love you," Peggy said, barely louder than a whisper.
Steve closed his eyes for a moment. "I know," he said quietly.
The plane vanished into the icy abyss.
And when it went down into the ice, the world lost Captain America and Bucky Barnes.
For seventy years.