Back to GatefoldAnnual 2009 by Steve Crosby
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As it was in the modern era, decisions in World War II were made in cigar-filled back rooms. Here, four highly decorated generals met to discuss an issue of national security. Just hours ago, they had witnessed the start of a program that would have made the American military unstoppable. Minutes later, they’d witnessed the assassination of its sole architect, Dr. Abraham Erkskine.
“For the time being, gentlemen, we’re stuck with only one Super-Soldier. An untrained nobody.”
“He did well enough stopping the assassin.”
“If he’d done well enough, Erskine would still be alive and we’d be injecting the formula into actual soldiers.”
“This one success will have its uses. The best tacticians and physical trainers will begin will him tomorrow. A one-man counter-espionage and insertion team has advantages that whole divisions would lack. We also can’t dismiss the propaganda factor.”
“I have designers working on a uniform now. They’re thinking a shield, and I like it. Represents America as defenders of freedom and liberty. Citizens accept wars better when they think it’s about something.”
“Agreed. He’ll be of use countering this damned isolationist movement. The sooner we get into Germany and kill those Krauts, the better.”
“Don’t forget those Japs. It’s only a matter of time before they try for our Phillipines.”
“Heh, one war at a time.”
“We can’t just leave this breakthrough at one man. One bullet and it’s gone, or worse, he’ll defect. At least for now the Rogers boy is cooperating. Our physicians have drawn over a pint of his blood for study.”
“And if they manage to isolate the formula? We have no idea about this Vita-Ray machine. What the hell are Vita-Rays?”
“A mild dose of radiation. We have no idea how much or even what type. But the formula in Rogers’ blood is already altered, so we won’t have to worry about that.”
“Still, to be on the save side we’ll need to test. And with Erskine dead, we can now experiment on who we wanted in the first place.”
“I’m still uncertain about that. They may be soldiers, but they’re in prison for a reason. If it works we have a real danger.”
“Well, we can’t just test it on the niggers. Convicted soldiers are every bit as expendable.”
“And besides, once we’ve confirmed success, they die and we make some proper Super-Soldiers."
“For the time being, gentlemen, we’re stuck with only one Super-Soldier. An untrained nobody.”
“He did well enough stopping the assassin.”
“If he’d done well enough, Erskine would still be alive and we’d be injecting the formula into actual soldiers.”
“This one success will have its uses. The best tacticians and physical trainers will begin will him tomorrow. A one-man counter-espionage and insertion team has advantages that whole divisions would lack. We also can’t dismiss the propaganda factor.”
“I have designers working on a uniform now. They’re thinking a shield, and I like it. Represents America as defenders of freedom and liberty. Citizens accept wars better when they think it’s about something.”
“Agreed. He’ll be of use countering this damned isolationist movement. The sooner we get into Germany and kill those Krauts, the better.”
“Don’t forget those Japs. It’s only a matter of time before they try for our Phillipines.”
“Heh, one war at a time.”
“We can’t just leave this breakthrough at one man. One bullet and it’s gone, or worse, he’ll defect. At least for now the Rogers boy is cooperating. Our physicians have drawn over a pint of his blood for study.”
“And if they manage to isolate the formula? We have no idea about this Vita-Ray machine. What the hell are Vita-Rays?”
“A mild dose of radiation. We have no idea how much or even what type. But the formula in Rogers’ blood is already altered, so we won’t have to worry about that.”
“Still, to be on the save side we’ll need to test. And with Erskine dead, we can now experiment on who we wanted in the first place.”
“I’m still uncertain about that. They may be soldiers, but they’re in prison for a reason. If it works we have a real danger.”
“Well, we can’t just test it on the niggers. Convicted soldiers are every bit as expendable.”
“And besides, once we’ve confirmed success, they die and we make some proper Super-Soldiers."
"Shield of Freedom"
Sharon Carter was nervous about something, Captain America noticed. He was seated behind her as she was flying the small SHIELD jet, so admittedly his view wasn’t the best. But he had known SHIELD’s Agent 13 for a very long time, and it was the little things he picked up on. Like the way she was moving her head from side-to-side, and the slight rumblings of the jet as she flexed her hands.
“I appreciate you offering to fly me out,” Captain America said the woman he had once loved and didn’t entirely trust.
“You know it wasn’t exactly an offer, Steve,” Sharon said. “SHIELD attempts to monitor all traffic in and out of the Savage Land. Having your SHIELD liaison along will make getting in much easier. Then you’ll see what a big waste of time this trip is.”
“Being wrong in this case wouldn’t be a waste.” But Captain America had that feeling he wouldn’t be wrong. “You know it fits, Sharon. Antarctic Vibranium is perhaps the only means to destroy adamantium, of which a large supply has just been stolen. That was Ultron’s doing, and so was the attack on Wakanda. One of Black Panther’s new Vibraxas Corps was nearly killed. If the Savage Land hasn’t been attacked already it will be soon.”
“First, we don’t know if this is Ultron,” Sharon countered. “The only sighting of it was in Los Angeles, and that model doesn’t seem to be the megalomaniac mass-murderer we’re used to. Second, as I’ve already told you, anybody trying to reach the Savage Land would have to go through our SHIELD monitoring station.”
The jet traveled fast across the ice of Antarctica, and a thick plume of smoke could now be seen at the horizon. Captain America reached forward and turned on the radio. It was tuned to the SHIELD monitoring station, as Sharon Carter had spoken to them less than an hour ago.
“This is Captain America closing on your position. Please respond.”
“Roger that Captain. We have you on screen and advise you to veer off. High winds are present in our area and this has officially be designated a no-fly zone.” At this time, Sharon was now hovering the jet over the smoldering ruins of a SHIELD monitoring station, at the edge of the vast chasm leading into the Savage Land. “I repeat, veer off and steer clear until more favorable conditions develop.”
“Oh my god,” Agent 13 breathed.
“Ultron hacked the communications,” Captain America said to her. “Don’t argue, Sharon.”
“We need to land, check for survivors.”
“Good idea. If any of the agents got to their thermal suits then its possible they could still be-” But Captain America was cut off as Agent 13 plunged the jet deep into the chasm. “You’re right. It’s the tribes in the Savage Land we need to worry about now. They wouldn’t be a match for Ultron.”
“Will you be quiet about Ultron?” Sharon requested. “If that is who we’re up against, we’re both dead. I would prefer to think we have some chance at victory as I fly us into the unknown.”
There was another tell as Sharon said that last part. Captain America had a feeling she knew exactly what they were flying into, and he didn’t like the suspicion one bit. There wasn’t time for Captain America to voice his suspicions; the chasm gave way to the majestic Savage Land. Sharon leveled the jet off so that it just cleared over the jungle canopy. Looking upward, Captain America saw not bedrock but clear sky, an optical illusion sustained by the same alien machines that allowed such a paradise to exist in the Antarctic waste.
The thick canopy ended too abruptly to be natural, and once again Captain America saw the smoldering remains of a SHEILD base. This time it was a mining station. Before Captain America could say anything about his suspicions confirmed, Sharon spoke.
“Trust me Steve, it’s not what it-”
“I’ll get off here.” Captain America’s hand found the release and pulled. The jet’s canopy burst out from the frame, followed shortly by Captain America in his seat.
“Steve!” Sharon screamed as she fought to maintain control of the jet.
Her shout went unheard over the roar of the wind, and would have fallen on deaf ears anyway. Captain America waited until his seat had reached the height of its flight, just before it would begin to fall and the built-in parachute would open. Then he undid the straps and jumped, because floating to the ground would have taken too long.
Branches shattering against the shield helped to slow Captain America’s fall and, when the ground swiftly arrived, the shield again took the brunt. Captain America rolled with the landing and when his feet found the ground took it with a run. The clearing was just ahead and beyond it the aftermath of what had to have been Ultron’s attack. Bodies littered the charred ground, mostly SHIELD agents but some the corpses of native tribesmen. One thing that Captain America noticed was a complete lack of metal; everything in the area was either organic or plastic.
A thunderous crash drew Captain America’s attention, and he whipped his head up to see a massive Tyrannosaurus Rex charging out of the jungle. Knives had been plunged into the thick muscles of its neck, and gripping tight to those knife hilts was Ka-Zar, Lord of the Savage Land!
“Ho, Captain!” yelled Ka-Zar. “Run clear! This beast has been maddened by your outlanders!”
Captain America did run, but not before he threw the shield up at the approaching T-Rex. It struck the carnivorous dinosaur in the eye and ricocheted back in Captain America’s direction. He’d run at the trees, then jumped up against one to leap at the dinosaur. Using his shield as a springboard, Captain America smashed a foot against its face as the T-Rex reared from the pain in its eye.
Ka-Zar released on knife to grasp Captain America by the wrist. The American Super-Soldier swung around the Tyrannosaurus Rex’s neck and above the Lord of the Savage Land. A powerful elbow was smashed against the base of the dinosaur’s skull before Captain America made another springboard leap. In mid-air he grabbed the passing shield, and saw Ka-Zar leap off the dinosaur as it began to buckle.
With the tremendous crash the T-Rex fell to the ground, followed by the softer landings of Ka-Zar and Captain America. Ka-Zar wiped the knives on his loin-cloth and sheathed the blades, then turned to his visitor.
“You have my thanks.”
“Tell me about the outlanders,” Captain America said, the clarified, “The more recent ones. Are they machines?”
Ka-Zar shook his head. “Not entirely. The human that fled wore yellow suits with beehive hats. Doing their fighting were…not exactly machines, but mechanically enhanced men. I cut one up and saw metal with flesh.”
“One red eye on the head?” Captain America asked. When Ka-Zar nodded, he then said, “A.I.M. managed to develop MODOC squads then. The files I’ve seen had them in the experimental phase.”
“Perhaps you’ve read of a weakness then,” Ka-Zar said. “One was all we’ve managed to kill, and dozens have died in the trying. This base,” Ka-Zar swept his hand over the charnel field, “Is their work. Do you know what they did here, Captain?”
“I’m afraid so. But let’s talk on the hunt.”
Months passed, and the four generals now stood on the other side of a glass planet. In the room they were observing, a sole Negro man was seated on a cot. Physicians poked and prodded him, conducting various tests.
“He was the only one to survive out of the five. We need to figure out what kept him alive.”
“Maybe if we go back far enough in his family history, we’ll find some white.”
“It’s not that. Down the hall we only have one inmate alive, and he may not last long. He’s feeling excruciating pain all along his body, and though his blood were boiling.”
“Take the tests anyway. Even from failures we’ll learn. As soon as we’ve isolated what it is that made Captain America a success, we begin full production.”
“So soon? We would need to do further tests. Otherwise, we’d risk killing four-fifths of our army!”
“If it means getting soldiers ten-times better than what we have, so be it! Pearl Harbor’s been hit! We’re going to be fighting two wars on opposite ends of the world, and it may not be possible to win without an edge!”
Screams and knocking around from outside interrupted the conversation. Shots were fired, and the sounds of bone crunching could be heard. The generals turned toward the door, one reaching for the gun on his belt. The door was kicked in, and a heavily muscled man in ripped inmate clothes was standing in the doorway.
“Clinton McIntyre,” one the generals said. “Murdered civilians while on maneuvers and killed half his unit to keep it quiet.”
Another general raised his gun, but Clinton had already closed the distance and grabbed him by the wrist. Bones were crushed as he squeezed, and smiled sadistically when he did so. “And I’ll get around to the other half after killing the lot of you. The joy of murder is helping with the pain.”
The glass partition shattered as Isaiah Bradley crashed through. “Hold it right there! You aren’t killing anyone!”
A large red eye in the center of a purple head shattered when the red, white and blue shield smashed into it. The shield ricocheted twice, taking one MODOC at the knee and another in the lower back before finding the hand of Captain America. The lone Avenger leaped into the fray, accompanied by Ka-Zar and sabretooth tiger Zabu. The Lord of the Savage Lang plunged his knife into the chest of one shaken MODOC, while Zabu’s teeth took the throat of another. More circuitry was taken away than flesh and blood.
Captain America looked down with regret at the mangled bodies. “More machine that man. They would need an autopsy, but I suspect there was no going back for these men. An irreversible, worse abomination than those Prime Sentinels.”
“Then we did them a favor,” Ka-Zar said as he removed his knife from a body. “A pity. After all these things have killed, I would hate to think I brought them peace at the end.”
“By what you told me, this makes all of them.” Captain America scanned the trees with his eyes. “I need to find Sharon and get out of here. Ultron is out there and he needs to be stopped.”
Ka-Zar wiped fluid off his knife, sheathed it and nodded. “There should be a working radio at that SHIELD outpost. I need to show you something there anyway.”
Fifteen minutes later, Captain America was having difficulty breathing. He was staring into a pit, filled with the naked bodies of Savage Land natives. Ka-Zar was standing beside him, knelt down by the edge with Zabu at his side.
“SHIELD was using labor from the tribes to help mine the Vibranium. All these people, killed when AIM attacked. I checked the agents’ bodies. There was only a skeleton crew here, mostly technicians with a half-dozen trained field agents. This labor wasn’t forced, but these people were made targets with inadequate protection.”
“A mistake was made,” Captain America said in agreement. “Once Nick Fury’s made aware of this, he’ll make changes.”
“We learn from our mistakes.” Ka-Zar stood up. “Mine was granting SHIELD permission to mine here. I won’t do that again, and if they force the issue there will be consequences.”
Suddenly, Captain America saw a red dot appear on Ka-Zar’s bare chest. Moving faster than most men he dived, putting his shield between Ka-Zar and an oncoming bullet. The faint sound of a ricochet as they fell to the ground told Captain America he’d been successful.
“Stay down.” Grabbing Ka-Zar’s knife, Captain America rolled up onto one knee and threw in the direction of the shot. He’d learned a great deal about angles and distance in his years with the shield, and it paid off with the knife. Almost half a football field away was a rifle in the trees, and the knife sunk deep into the barrel. The source was so strong it knocked the shooter off his perch.
Captain America had started moving the instant he threw the knife. He jumped the wide ditch from a stationary position, clearing it easily. When the sniper had hit the ground, Captain America was there in time to punch him in the face.
“Who are you?” Captain America asked. The man was wearing a red uniform with a white star on each arm beneath the shoulder. It wasn’t AIM or SHIELD. Possibly former Soviet, Captain America suspected.
The sniper, coughing blood, started to raise an arm. Captain America grabbed him the wrist, and the man said with bloody words, “Chest…pocket.”
Using his other hand, Captain America reached into the pocket and found a folded note. Releasing the man’s wrist, Captain America planted a foot on his chest and unfolded the note. A SHIELD armpatch fell out. Captain America’s other foot smashed into the man’s face, shattering nose and teeth.
Ka-Zar had arrived just in time to see this act of brutality. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
Captain America handed his ally the note while reaching down for the armpatch. “It would seem Ultron’s hired out more than just AIM. This is too much of a coincidence to be otherwise.”
Ka-Zar quickly read the note, the raised his eyes to Captain America. “Who’s Protocide?”
“Maybe somebody new using an old name, or someone thought dead who wasn’t,” Captain America said. He was looking down at the armpatch. “He’s got Sharon though, and he’ll kill her unless I give up my shield. Unless I give Ultron my shield.”
Over half a century ago, Captain America was in a very different place. For months he’d been fighting German saboteurs and speaking out for the war. Now the war had begun and he was expected in Europe later that week. But instead of preparing he was in a secret military base, looking down and a Negro man who’d been beaten unconscious. Setting his triangular shield and the pack with a spare uniform against the wall, Captain America confronted the generals responsible for what had happened.
All four decorated men were bruised or bleeding in one form or another, but were alive and relative unhurt. In spite or their high ranks, each man felt intimidated under the commanding gaze of Captain America.
“It is your right to further test the serum,” Captain America said. “I don’t have any standing to question your judgement, but the facts speak for themselves. You made a convicted rapist and murderer into a super-soldier, and over a dozen good men are dead. You would have been included, if not for that brave man in there.” He finished by pointing in the direction of Isaiah Bradley’s room.
“Ahem.” One of the generals straightened his jacket. “With all due respect, this isn’t the time for assigning blame or handing out compliments. A dangerous killer is on the loose, and first priority should be getting him back here with as little attention as possible.”
“I’m sure you agree that the public shouldn’t know about this,” another of the generals said to Captain America.
“I do agree, about the public,” Captain America said with care to his words. “But once I’ve dealt with this man, a full report will be filed with the War Department, and the President himself.”
Several of the generals gave each other nervous glances. Before anything more could be said though, a great commotion captured their attention. Realizing the source, Captain America rushed for Isaiah Bradley’s room, and found the bed empty. Also gone were Captain America’s shield and the pack with his spare costume.
“Well,” Captain America turned to the rushing generals. “It looks like I’m not the only one out to deal with you mess.”
Boundaries of the Savage Land were ill-defined. Captain America had once read a memo about an expedition that tried to map the area, but were never heard from again. Crouched near one known boundary, Captain America wasn’t surprised. A section of the air was warped, likely due to the High Evolutionary’s technology that now maintained the Savage Land. All the intelligence gathered about the area had been compromised when it was destroyed and reconstituted.
The waterfall Captain America was moving towards was one such new place. It was a marvel unseen anywhere in the world. Instead of a river at the top, the Savage Land gave way to the vast icy wasteland of the Antarctic. Ice at the edge flowed into water that fell hundreds of feet into a lake that fed the Savage Land’s largest river. Captain America had the feel that if he followed the river he would find it flowing back into Antarctic ice.
A man dressed in a pale red imitation of Captain America’s uniform was perched in a hollow high up beside the waterfall. With him was a female shape, though from the distance Captain America couldn’t tell whether it was Sharon. He started forward a couple feet, stopping at the edge of the winding river when a voice shouted.
“Throw the shield from there! I know you can make it! Throw it now!” Captain America recognized the voice of the real Protocide, and saw him grab the woman’s hair. “Or I throw her over!”
Throwing the shield was what Captain America did best, taught to him by better men now dead. So he did as Protocide demanded and threw the shield, being sure to aim low. Protocide saw this immediately, suspected something and carried out his threat. As she was thrown over the cliff, Captain America was finally able to see she was Sharon Carter.
A millisecond after throwing the shield, Captain America jumped. The distance to the cliff was too wide to be cleared, but Captain America had aimed for a closer point high over the water. On its return, the shield reached this point at the same time, providing a springboard to clear the remaining distance. Though he could have, Captain America didn’t grab the shield in mid-air, preferring to keep both hands free. He put them to good use, catching Sharon Carter and grabbing a hand-hold on the cliff.
“Kickoff into the water,” Captain America said quickly. He released Sharon and she did what he asked. Captain America used the free arm to grab Protocide’s foot before it could kick him in the face. The weight behind the impact was enough to pull off the cliff, though, and both men fell into the water.
The good news that was no water was getting into Captain America’s lungs. The bad news was because Protocide’s hands were squeezing his throat. Not a position Captain America was unfamiliar with.
Captain America was out of his element. Up until this point, he’d fought Nazi saboteurs that hadn’t matched his strength or speed. But this man, Clinton McIntyre, he was actually stronger. The tackle had knocked him to the ground, but that was as far as Captain America got. Later he would try to say it was because the strength had surprised him, but that wasn’t it. Clinton McIntyre, the crazed military convict with a Super Soldier Serum in his veins, had overpowered him.
Captain America’s head was hanging off the roof, the killer’s hands on his throat. It was a choice between fighting off strangulation or fighting to stay on the roof. Plummeting nine stories was a faster death than oxygen loss. The time was well spent punching McIntyre in the face and thinking of a better alternative.
Aside from a bleeding eye and nose, McIntyre was unaffected by the blows. “I’m the real super-soldier!” He yelled into Captain America’s darkening face. “You’re just a prototype to be gotten rid off. So I’m committing protocide, ha!”
The laughing face gave Captain America an opening. His hands went to either side of the man’s jaws and his thumbs pressed when the bone met the neck. It wasn’t the pain Captain America wanted so much as the instinct brought on by the nerve pinch. Protocide was forced back and Captain America was momentarily out of danger.
“That’s not even a word, but it’ll make a good name.” Captain America pressed on, grabbing an arm with the intention of doing a flip. “Protect Protocide, failure.”
Using an opponent’s strength against him was a good strategy, and it may have worked if Protocide wasn’t also military trained. He hooked a foot behind Captain America’s leg and smashed an elbow against the side of his head. “I am not a failure!”
Captain America crumbled, having likely just suffered a concussion. Protocide was on top of him, screaming incoherently and raising his fist to strike again. However the point of a triangular shield struck him in the side, and Protocide turned to see a costume Isaiah Bradley barreling down on him.
Wearing Captain America’s spare uniform, it was evident that Isaiah Bradley was a larger man. The top wore like a half-shirt, stretched out over his large chest and arms. The mask had been so tight Isaiah had cut out the back and tied it on as a bandana. He rammed into Protocide with equal strength and speed, knocking him off Captain America. They kept going, over the side of the roof.
The shield fell next to Captain America. He rolled to look over the roof’s edge, but already had a sense of what happened from the sound and smell. From the corner of his eye the sparks were visible, and a clear view over the side confirmed it. The two men that were a second stage trial of the Super Soldier Serum had struck electrical wires on their way down.
Good news, it helped to break the falls.
Bad news, neither man was moving from his spot on the pavement.
With a terrific splash Captain America emerged from the water. He landed hard against the grass, crawling from the river and towards his shield. It was imbedded in the ground, waiting to be taken up.
It would not be Captain America that reached it first. Leaping out of the river and dousing Captain America with water, Protocide landed closer. Grinning with triumph at Captain America, Protocide pulled the shield from the earth.
“Such an idiot. You didn’t even bring a gun.”
Soaking wet, Captain America started to his feet. “No. I gave it to Sharon.”
BLAM!
With the warning, Protocide had raised his shield in time to deflect the gunshot. This also gave Captain America the opening he needed. Striking with better skill and experience that he had sixty years ago, he quickly made the shield drop. Protocide couldn’t feel his arm, and the elbow jab behind his left eye briefly made the world white. Next came a heel to the groin, and Protocide fell away in pain, feeling for a pouch on his belt.
Raising his recovered shield, Captain America took a step back. He was ready to attack or be attacked, while across the river Sharon Carter had a shot with her pistol. “It’s over Protocide. Surrender and tell me what you know about Ultron.”
“Just that when it’s done, you’ll wish you have given me the shield.” Finding what he’d looked for, Protocide pressed the device in his belt. In a flash of light, he disappeared.
“No!” Captain America cried. Less than a minute later, he was reunited with Sharon Carter. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, he was planning to rape me after he’d killed.” Captain America knew from Protocide’s history that Sharon wasn’t joking. “Probably would have raped your corpse too. Who was that sicko?”
“Another off-the-books government project,” Captain America said. “Similar to what’s been going on here.”
“Steve, you can’t expect me to defend-”
“Later. We need to get transport out of here. On the way back to New York, I’ll tell you all about Protocide. And the brave man who defeated him the first time.”
There was little response from Isaiah Bradley when Captain America went in to see him. Nearly five days since the fight, and the man still hadn’t regained consciousness. Worse, Captain America could see that his condition was starting to deteriorate.
“What do the doctors say?” Captain America asked the sole general in the room. Maxfield Saunders, the man who’d been in charge of the second Operation: Rebirth trials.
“As near as they can tell, the electricity reignited the serum. It’s continuing to develop his muscles. Thankfully it’s stopped, but as it stands he’ll be in agony when…if, he wakes up. There may even be neurological effects. The doctor suspects his symptoms will become more pronounced in the long-term.”
Captain America didn’t know if Isaiah Bradley had ended up luckier than Clinton McIntyre, who was lying in a slab several stories below. All he knew was the government wouldn’t do anything more to Isaiah. “I’ve read his file. This man has a pregnant wife waiting for him in Queens. Any follow-ups to his condition can be done there, and not by any doctors associated with you.”
“Now, wait just a minute-”
Captain America gave General Saunders a glare. “This isn’t for discussion. I’ve relayed a message to President Roosevelt. You’ll be lucky to walk away with an honorable discharge, general. But that’s exactly what this man is going to get, with full military benefits for the rest of his life.”
“And how long will that be? How long will you live? We still know so little about what Erskine did, and our one attempt to duplicate it is only good for leaking to the Germans as sabotage. There is so much more to learn.”
“You have a body downstairs that will tell you all it can. But Private Bradley here is has served his nation with dignity and will be left in peace. It’s the least we owe him.”
Many floors below, that deceased body was laid out before a team of scientists. However, as one of them was about to make an incision, Protocide’s hand stirred. Moving on a combination of training, instinct and insane rage, Protocide killed all the men around him.
Kneeling in a spreading pool of blood, Protocide looked down at his blackened, scarred arms and was afraid to look in the mirror. “Damn nigger tried to make me like him,” Protocide muttered.
Rising to his feet, Protocide grabbed whatever clothes were available. First, he had to disappear. Then, he would have his fun.
To be continued…
Follow the action in Kang/Ultron War! And look for Protocide’s return in a future issue of Captain America!
“I appreciate you offering to fly me out,” Captain America said the woman he had once loved and didn’t entirely trust.
“You know it wasn’t exactly an offer, Steve,” Sharon said. “SHIELD attempts to monitor all traffic in and out of the Savage Land. Having your SHIELD liaison along will make getting in much easier. Then you’ll see what a big waste of time this trip is.”
“Being wrong in this case wouldn’t be a waste.” But Captain America had that feeling he wouldn’t be wrong. “You know it fits, Sharon. Antarctic Vibranium is perhaps the only means to destroy adamantium, of which a large supply has just been stolen. That was Ultron’s doing, and so was the attack on Wakanda. One of Black Panther’s new Vibraxas Corps was nearly killed. If the Savage Land hasn’t been attacked already it will be soon.”
“First, we don’t know if this is Ultron,” Sharon countered. “The only sighting of it was in Los Angeles, and that model doesn’t seem to be the megalomaniac mass-murderer we’re used to. Second, as I’ve already told you, anybody trying to reach the Savage Land would have to go through our SHIELD monitoring station.”
The jet traveled fast across the ice of Antarctica, and a thick plume of smoke could now be seen at the horizon. Captain America reached forward and turned on the radio. It was tuned to the SHIELD monitoring station, as Sharon Carter had spoken to them less than an hour ago.
“This is Captain America closing on your position. Please respond.”
“Roger that Captain. We have you on screen and advise you to veer off. High winds are present in our area and this has officially be designated a no-fly zone.” At this time, Sharon was now hovering the jet over the smoldering ruins of a SHIELD monitoring station, at the edge of the vast chasm leading into the Savage Land. “I repeat, veer off and steer clear until more favorable conditions develop.”
“Oh my god,” Agent 13 breathed.
“Ultron hacked the communications,” Captain America said to her. “Don’t argue, Sharon.”
“We need to land, check for survivors.”
“Good idea. If any of the agents got to their thermal suits then its possible they could still be-” But Captain America was cut off as Agent 13 plunged the jet deep into the chasm. “You’re right. It’s the tribes in the Savage Land we need to worry about now. They wouldn’t be a match for Ultron.”
“Will you be quiet about Ultron?” Sharon requested. “If that is who we’re up against, we’re both dead. I would prefer to think we have some chance at victory as I fly us into the unknown.”
There was another tell as Sharon said that last part. Captain America had a feeling she knew exactly what they were flying into, and he didn’t like the suspicion one bit. There wasn’t time for Captain America to voice his suspicions; the chasm gave way to the majestic Savage Land. Sharon leveled the jet off so that it just cleared over the jungle canopy. Looking upward, Captain America saw not bedrock but clear sky, an optical illusion sustained by the same alien machines that allowed such a paradise to exist in the Antarctic waste.
The thick canopy ended too abruptly to be natural, and once again Captain America saw the smoldering remains of a SHEILD base. This time it was a mining station. Before Captain America could say anything about his suspicions confirmed, Sharon spoke.
“Trust me Steve, it’s not what it-”
“I’ll get off here.” Captain America’s hand found the release and pulled. The jet’s canopy burst out from the frame, followed shortly by Captain America in his seat.
“Steve!” Sharon screamed as she fought to maintain control of the jet.
Her shout went unheard over the roar of the wind, and would have fallen on deaf ears anyway. Captain America waited until his seat had reached the height of its flight, just before it would begin to fall and the built-in parachute would open. Then he undid the straps and jumped, because floating to the ground would have taken too long.
Branches shattering against the shield helped to slow Captain America’s fall and, when the ground swiftly arrived, the shield again took the brunt. Captain America rolled with the landing and when his feet found the ground took it with a run. The clearing was just ahead and beyond it the aftermath of what had to have been Ultron’s attack. Bodies littered the charred ground, mostly SHIELD agents but some the corpses of native tribesmen. One thing that Captain America noticed was a complete lack of metal; everything in the area was either organic or plastic.
A thunderous crash drew Captain America’s attention, and he whipped his head up to see a massive Tyrannosaurus Rex charging out of the jungle. Knives had been plunged into the thick muscles of its neck, and gripping tight to those knife hilts was Ka-Zar, Lord of the Savage Land!
“Ho, Captain!” yelled Ka-Zar. “Run clear! This beast has been maddened by your outlanders!”
Captain America did run, but not before he threw the shield up at the approaching T-Rex. It struck the carnivorous dinosaur in the eye and ricocheted back in Captain America’s direction. He’d run at the trees, then jumped up against one to leap at the dinosaur. Using his shield as a springboard, Captain America smashed a foot against its face as the T-Rex reared from the pain in its eye.
Ka-Zar released on knife to grasp Captain America by the wrist. The American Super-Soldier swung around the Tyrannosaurus Rex’s neck and above the Lord of the Savage Land. A powerful elbow was smashed against the base of the dinosaur’s skull before Captain America made another springboard leap. In mid-air he grabbed the passing shield, and saw Ka-Zar leap off the dinosaur as it began to buckle.
With the tremendous crash the T-Rex fell to the ground, followed by the softer landings of Ka-Zar and Captain America. Ka-Zar wiped the knives on his loin-cloth and sheathed the blades, then turned to his visitor.
“You have my thanks.”
“Tell me about the outlanders,” Captain America said, the clarified, “The more recent ones. Are they machines?”
Ka-Zar shook his head. “Not entirely. The human that fled wore yellow suits with beehive hats. Doing their fighting were…not exactly machines, but mechanically enhanced men. I cut one up and saw metal with flesh.”
“One red eye on the head?” Captain America asked. When Ka-Zar nodded, he then said, “A.I.M. managed to develop MODOC squads then. The files I’ve seen had them in the experimental phase.”
“Perhaps you’ve read of a weakness then,” Ka-Zar said. “One was all we’ve managed to kill, and dozens have died in the trying. This base,” Ka-Zar swept his hand over the charnel field, “Is their work. Do you know what they did here, Captain?”
“I’m afraid so. But let’s talk on the hunt.”
Months passed, and the four generals now stood on the other side of a glass planet. In the room they were observing, a sole Negro man was seated on a cot. Physicians poked and prodded him, conducting various tests.
“He was the only one to survive out of the five. We need to figure out what kept him alive.”
“Maybe if we go back far enough in his family history, we’ll find some white.”
“It’s not that. Down the hall we only have one inmate alive, and he may not last long. He’s feeling excruciating pain all along his body, and though his blood were boiling.”
“Take the tests anyway. Even from failures we’ll learn. As soon as we’ve isolated what it is that made Captain America a success, we begin full production.”
“So soon? We would need to do further tests. Otherwise, we’d risk killing four-fifths of our army!”
“If it means getting soldiers ten-times better than what we have, so be it! Pearl Harbor’s been hit! We’re going to be fighting two wars on opposite ends of the world, and it may not be possible to win without an edge!”
Screams and knocking around from outside interrupted the conversation. Shots were fired, and the sounds of bone crunching could be heard. The generals turned toward the door, one reaching for the gun on his belt. The door was kicked in, and a heavily muscled man in ripped inmate clothes was standing in the doorway.
“Clinton McIntyre,” one the generals said. “Murdered civilians while on maneuvers and killed half his unit to keep it quiet.”
Another general raised his gun, but Clinton had already closed the distance and grabbed him by the wrist. Bones were crushed as he squeezed, and smiled sadistically when he did so. “And I’ll get around to the other half after killing the lot of you. The joy of murder is helping with the pain.”
The glass partition shattered as Isaiah Bradley crashed through. “Hold it right there! You aren’t killing anyone!”
A large red eye in the center of a purple head shattered when the red, white and blue shield smashed into it. The shield ricocheted twice, taking one MODOC at the knee and another in the lower back before finding the hand of Captain America. The lone Avenger leaped into the fray, accompanied by Ka-Zar and sabretooth tiger Zabu. The Lord of the Savage Lang plunged his knife into the chest of one shaken MODOC, while Zabu’s teeth took the throat of another. More circuitry was taken away than flesh and blood.
Captain America looked down with regret at the mangled bodies. “More machine that man. They would need an autopsy, but I suspect there was no going back for these men. An irreversible, worse abomination than those Prime Sentinels.”
“Then we did them a favor,” Ka-Zar said as he removed his knife from a body. “A pity. After all these things have killed, I would hate to think I brought them peace at the end.”
“By what you told me, this makes all of them.” Captain America scanned the trees with his eyes. “I need to find Sharon and get out of here. Ultron is out there and he needs to be stopped.”
Ka-Zar wiped fluid off his knife, sheathed it and nodded. “There should be a working radio at that SHIELD outpost. I need to show you something there anyway.”
Fifteen minutes later, Captain America was having difficulty breathing. He was staring into a pit, filled with the naked bodies of Savage Land natives. Ka-Zar was standing beside him, knelt down by the edge with Zabu at his side.
“SHIELD was using labor from the tribes to help mine the Vibranium. All these people, killed when AIM attacked. I checked the agents’ bodies. There was only a skeleton crew here, mostly technicians with a half-dozen trained field agents. This labor wasn’t forced, but these people were made targets with inadequate protection.”
“A mistake was made,” Captain America said in agreement. “Once Nick Fury’s made aware of this, he’ll make changes.”
“We learn from our mistakes.” Ka-Zar stood up. “Mine was granting SHIELD permission to mine here. I won’t do that again, and if they force the issue there will be consequences.”
Suddenly, Captain America saw a red dot appear on Ka-Zar’s bare chest. Moving faster than most men he dived, putting his shield between Ka-Zar and an oncoming bullet. The faint sound of a ricochet as they fell to the ground told Captain America he’d been successful.
“Stay down.” Grabbing Ka-Zar’s knife, Captain America rolled up onto one knee and threw in the direction of the shot. He’d learned a great deal about angles and distance in his years with the shield, and it paid off with the knife. Almost half a football field away was a rifle in the trees, and the knife sunk deep into the barrel. The source was so strong it knocked the shooter off his perch.
Captain America had started moving the instant he threw the knife. He jumped the wide ditch from a stationary position, clearing it easily. When the sniper had hit the ground, Captain America was there in time to punch him in the face.
“Who are you?” Captain America asked. The man was wearing a red uniform with a white star on each arm beneath the shoulder. It wasn’t AIM or SHIELD. Possibly former Soviet, Captain America suspected.
The sniper, coughing blood, started to raise an arm. Captain America grabbed him the wrist, and the man said with bloody words, “Chest…pocket.”
Using his other hand, Captain America reached into the pocket and found a folded note. Releasing the man’s wrist, Captain America planted a foot on his chest and unfolded the note. A SHIELD armpatch fell out. Captain America’s other foot smashed into the man’s face, shattering nose and teeth.
Ka-Zar had arrived just in time to see this act of brutality. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
Captain America handed his ally the note while reaching down for the armpatch. “It would seem Ultron’s hired out more than just AIM. This is too much of a coincidence to be otherwise.”
Ka-Zar quickly read the note, the raised his eyes to Captain America. “Who’s Protocide?”
“Maybe somebody new using an old name, or someone thought dead who wasn’t,” Captain America said. He was looking down at the armpatch. “He’s got Sharon though, and he’ll kill her unless I give up my shield. Unless I give Ultron my shield.”
Over half a century ago, Captain America was in a very different place. For months he’d been fighting German saboteurs and speaking out for the war. Now the war had begun and he was expected in Europe later that week. But instead of preparing he was in a secret military base, looking down and a Negro man who’d been beaten unconscious. Setting his triangular shield and the pack with a spare uniform against the wall, Captain America confronted the generals responsible for what had happened.
All four decorated men were bruised or bleeding in one form or another, but were alive and relative unhurt. In spite or their high ranks, each man felt intimidated under the commanding gaze of Captain America.
“It is your right to further test the serum,” Captain America said. “I don’t have any standing to question your judgement, but the facts speak for themselves. You made a convicted rapist and murderer into a super-soldier, and over a dozen good men are dead. You would have been included, if not for that brave man in there.” He finished by pointing in the direction of Isaiah Bradley’s room.
“Ahem.” One of the generals straightened his jacket. “With all due respect, this isn’t the time for assigning blame or handing out compliments. A dangerous killer is on the loose, and first priority should be getting him back here with as little attention as possible.”
“I’m sure you agree that the public shouldn’t know about this,” another of the generals said to Captain America.
“I do agree, about the public,” Captain America said with care to his words. “But once I’ve dealt with this man, a full report will be filed with the War Department, and the President himself.”
Several of the generals gave each other nervous glances. Before anything more could be said though, a great commotion captured their attention. Realizing the source, Captain America rushed for Isaiah Bradley’s room, and found the bed empty. Also gone were Captain America’s shield and the pack with his spare costume.
“Well,” Captain America turned to the rushing generals. “It looks like I’m not the only one out to deal with you mess.”
Boundaries of the Savage Land were ill-defined. Captain America had once read a memo about an expedition that tried to map the area, but were never heard from again. Crouched near one known boundary, Captain America wasn’t surprised. A section of the air was warped, likely due to the High Evolutionary’s technology that now maintained the Savage Land. All the intelligence gathered about the area had been compromised when it was destroyed and reconstituted.
The waterfall Captain America was moving towards was one such new place. It was a marvel unseen anywhere in the world. Instead of a river at the top, the Savage Land gave way to the vast icy wasteland of the Antarctic. Ice at the edge flowed into water that fell hundreds of feet into a lake that fed the Savage Land’s largest river. Captain America had the feel that if he followed the river he would find it flowing back into Antarctic ice.
A man dressed in a pale red imitation of Captain America’s uniform was perched in a hollow high up beside the waterfall. With him was a female shape, though from the distance Captain America couldn’t tell whether it was Sharon. He started forward a couple feet, stopping at the edge of the winding river when a voice shouted.
“Throw the shield from there! I know you can make it! Throw it now!” Captain America recognized the voice of the real Protocide, and saw him grab the woman’s hair. “Or I throw her over!”
Throwing the shield was what Captain America did best, taught to him by better men now dead. So he did as Protocide demanded and threw the shield, being sure to aim low. Protocide saw this immediately, suspected something and carried out his threat. As she was thrown over the cliff, Captain America was finally able to see she was Sharon Carter.
A millisecond after throwing the shield, Captain America jumped. The distance to the cliff was too wide to be cleared, but Captain America had aimed for a closer point high over the water. On its return, the shield reached this point at the same time, providing a springboard to clear the remaining distance. Though he could have, Captain America didn’t grab the shield in mid-air, preferring to keep both hands free. He put them to good use, catching Sharon Carter and grabbing a hand-hold on the cliff.
“Kickoff into the water,” Captain America said quickly. He released Sharon and she did what he asked. Captain America used the free arm to grab Protocide’s foot before it could kick him in the face. The weight behind the impact was enough to pull off the cliff, though, and both men fell into the water.
The good news that was no water was getting into Captain America’s lungs. The bad news was because Protocide’s hands were squeezing his throat. Not a position Captain America was unfamiliar with.
Captain America was out of his element. Up until this point, he’d fought Nazi saboteurs that hadn’t matched his strength or speed. But this man, Clinton McIntyre, he was actually stronger. The tackle had knocked him to the ground, but that was as far as Captain America got. Later he would try to say it was because the strength had surprised him, but that wasn’t it. Clinton McIntyre, the crazed military convict with a Super Soldier Serum in his veins, had overpowered him.
Captain America’s head was hanging off the roof, the killer’s hands on his throat. It was a choice between fighting off strangulation or fighting to stay on the roof. Plummeting nine stories was a faster death than oxygen loss. The time was well spent punching McIntyre in the face and thinking of a better alternative.
Aside from a bleeding eye and nose, McIntyre was unaffected by the blows. “I’m the real super-soldier!” He yelled into Captain America’s darkening face. “You’re just a prototype to be gotten rid off. So I’m committing protocide, ha!”
The laughing face gave Captain America an opening. His hands went to either side of the man’s jaws and his thumbs pressed when the bone met the neck. It wasn’t the pain Captain America wanted so much as the instinct brought on by the nerve pinch. Protocide was forced back and Captain America was momentarily out of danger.
“That’s not even a word, but it’ll make a good name.” Captain America pressed on, grabbing an arm with the intention of doing a flip. “Protect Protocide, failure.”
Using an opponent’s strength against him was a good strategy, and it may have worked if Protocide wasn’t also military trained. He hooked a foot behind Captain America’s leg and smashed an elbow against the side of his head. “I am not a failure!”
Captain America crumbled, having likely just suffered a concussion. Protocide was on top of him, screaming incoherently and raising his fist to strike again. However the point of a triangular shield struck him in the side, and Protocide turned to see a costume Isaiah Bradley barreling down on him.
Wearing Captain America’s spare uniform, it was evident that Isaiah Bradley was a larger man. The top wore like a half-shirt, stretched out over his large chest and arms. The mask had been so tight Isaiah had cut out the back and tied it on as a bandana. He rammed into Protocide with equal strength and speed, knocking him off Captain America. They kept going, over the side of the roof.
The shield fell next to Captain America. He rolled to look over the roof’s edge, but already had a sense of what happened from the sound and smell. From the corner of his eye the sparks were visible, and a clear view over the side confirmed it. The two men that were a second stage trial of the Super Soldier Serum had struck electrical wires on their way down.
Good news, it helped to break the falls.
Bad news, neither man was moving from his spot on the pavement.
With a terrific splash Captain America emerged from the water. He landed hard against the grass, crawling from the river and towards his shield. It was imbedded in the ground, waiting to be taken up.
It would not be Captain America that reached it first. Leaping out of the river and dousing Captain America with water, Protocide landed closer. Grinning with triumph at Captain America, Protocide pulled the shield from the earth.
“Such an idiot. You didn’t even bring a gun.”
Soaking wet, Captain America started to his feet. “No. I gave it to Sharon.”
BLAM!
With the warning, Protocide had raised his shield in time to deflect the gunshot. This also gave Captain America the opening he needed. Striking with better skill and experience that he had sixty years ago, he quickly made the shield drop. Protocide couldn’t feel his arm, and the elbow jab behind his left eye briefly made the world white. Next came a heel to the groin, and Protocide fell away in pain, feeling for a pouch on his belt.
Raising his recovered shield, Captain America took a step back. He was ready to attack or be attacked, while across the river Sharon Carter had a shot with her pistol. “It’s over Protocide. Surrender and tell me what you know about Ultron.”
“Just that when it’s done, you’ll wish you have given me the shield.” Finding what he’d looked for, Protocide pressed the device in his belt. In a flash of light, he disappeared.
“No!” Captain America cried. Less than a minute later, he was reunited with Sharon Carter. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, he was planning to rape me after he’d killed.” Captain America knew from Protocide’s history that Sharon wasn’t joking. “Probably would have raped your corpse too. Who was that sicko?”
“Another off-the-books government project,” Captain America said. “Similar to what’s been going on here.”
“Steve, you can’t expect me to defend-”
“Later. We need to get transport out of here. On the way back to New York, I’ll tell you all about Protocide. And the brave man who defeated him the first time.”
There was little response from Isaiah Bradley when Captain America went in to see him. Nearly five days since the fight, and the man still hadn’t regained consciousness. Worse, Captain America could see that his condition was starting to deteriorate.
“What do the doctors say?” Captain America asked the sole general in the room. Maxfield Saunders, the man who’d been in charge of the second Operation: Rebirth trials.
“As near as they can tell, the electricity reignited the serum. It’s continuing to develop his muscles. Thankfully it’s stopped, but as it stands he’ll be in agony when…if, he wakes up. There may even be neurological effects. The doctor suspects his symptoms will become more pronounced in the long-term.”
Captain America didn’t know if Isaiah Bradley had ended up luckier than Clinton McIntyre, who was lying in a slab several stories below. All he knew was the government wouldn’t do anything more to Isaiah. “I’ve read his file. This man has a pregnant wife waiting for him in Queens. Any follow-ups to his condition can be done there, and not by any doctors associated with you.”
“Now, wait just a minute-”
Captain America gave General Saunders a glare. “This isn’t for discussion. I’ve relayed a message to President Roosevelt. You’ll be lucky to walk away with an honorable discharge, general. But that’s exactly what this man is going to get, with full military benefits for the rest of his life.”
“And how long will that be? How long will you live? We still know so little about what Erskine did, and our one attempt to duplicate it is only good for leaking to the Germans as sabotage. There is so much more to learn.”
“You have a body downstairs that will tell you all it can. But Private Bradley here is has served his nation with dignity and will be left in peace. It’s the least we owe him.”
Many floors below, that deceased body was laid out before a team of scientists. However, as one of them was about to make an incision, Protocide’s hand stirred. Moving on a combination of training, instinct and insane rage, Protocide killed all the men around him.
Kneeling in a spreading pool of blood, Protocide looked down at his blackened, scarred arms and was afraid to look in the mirror. “Damn nigger tried to make me like him,” Protocide muttered.
Rising to his feet, Protocide grabbed whatever clothes were available. First, he had to disappear. Then, he would have his fun.
To be continued…
Follow the action in Kang/Ultron War! And look for Protocide’s return in a future issue of Captain America!