by Alex Irvine
Soon, everything was in place. The team, including Peggy and Phillips, took a plane to a designated spot a few dozen miles from the base. Their hope was to land undetected, which would give Steve a head start. After that, it was up to him.
A few hours after landing, Captain America raced his motorcycle through the dense forest near the Hydra base. His team was behind him, getting ready for their part, and Steve was running on pure adrenaline. He was finally going to take the Red Skull down and make the evil man pay for all the death and destruction he had been responsible for. Whatever happened today, Captain America had only one goal—to face the Red Skull alone.
He was so focused on Schmidt that he didn’t notice when his bike unwittingly tripped a wire lying across the small road. Nearby, in a secret Hydra outpost, a warning light blinked. Seeing it, two Hydra guards leaped onto their bikes and headed toward the road. Soon, they had caught up to Steve.
The sound of roaring engines caused Cap to turn as the Hydra troopers drove onto the road. They were just a few feet behind him, and gaining fast. Revving his engine, Captain America shot forward. But the sentries were too close; they gained on him. Before he could maneuver away, one of them jerked his handlebars to the left, sideswiping Cap’s bike. The motorcycle wobbled, but Steve managed to steady it. Then he quickly jerked his wheel to the right, causing him to careen into the trooper. There was the sound of metal crunching as the bike frames crashed into each other.
Captain America needed to get rid of this trooper. Looking up ahead, he smiled. It seemed he’d just found a way. Gunning his engine, he hunched low over the handlebars and sped forward, the trooper staying right behind him. Then, at the last moment, Cap dropped his bike into a slide—ducking below a low-hanging branch. The trooper didn’t have time to react and—WHACK!—he hit the branch head-on. The Hydra agent went flying, his bike exploding in the fiery crash.
There was no time to celebrate taking down the guard. Gunshots rang out as the other trooper pulled his pistol and began firing. Cap ducked and wove his bike down the road, trying to stay out of the way of the flying bullets. But he couldn’t keep it up forever. Thinking quickly, he slammed on his brakes, the tires screeching on the pavement. In moments, the trooper caught up with him. When he did, Cap grabbed the handlebars of the other bike. Using all his superstrength, he clung tightly as the trooper swerved back and forth across the road. Steve stuck like glue. Seeing a huge pine tree ahead, Steve jerked the sentry’s bike toward it. Just before they were about to crash, Steve turned at the last possible second, saving himself from certain death. But the Hydra agent couldn’t get away. His bike slammed into the pine and exploded.
Steve smiled. Two down, a few more to go. It was time to get inside the Hydra base.
The Hydra base was built into the side of a mountain in the Alps, its outside buildings protected by a large wall topped with barbed wire. Alarms were already sounding as Captain America approached, but he didn’t care. This was all part of his plan. The plan he hadn’t told Peggy or Phillips about. But he did tell the Howling Commandos about it, and hopefully they were at the ready.
When he was about twenty feet away from the wall, Cap gunned his bike’s engine. A few feet later, he pulled back on the handlebars. As the engine groaned under the effort, he jumped the bike up and over the wall. He landed with a thud safely on the other side.
Hydra troopers immediately opened fire as Steve tore across the compound. With lightning-quick reflexes, he stayed ahead of the bullets and laid the bike down in an expert slide, leaping free to join the fray. He fought off as many Hydra troopers as he could, but there were just too many of them. They surrounded him, energy weapons leveled.
Captain America had been captured.
A few minutes later, Captain America found himself inside Johann Schmidt’s office. It was dark and oppressive. On one wall, a large picture of Schmidt, with his red skull showing in all its hideous glory, was displayed. Steve didn’t know whether it was supposed to serve as a warning to those who entered, or whether Schmidt was so crazy he just liked to look at his disfigured face.
The Red Skull circled him, with a sneer. “Arrogance may not be a uniquely American trait,” he said, “but I must say you do it better than anyone. Still, there are limits to what even you can do, Captain. Or did Erskine tell you otherwise?”
“He told me you were insane,” Steve said.
“Ah,” Schmidt said. “He resented my genius, and tried to deny me what was rightfully mine. But he gave you everything. So. What made you so special?”
“Nothing,” Steve said. “I’m just a kid from Brooklyn.” The Red Skull hit him, and he went down.
Struggling, he turned and tried to kick Schmidt, but Steve was in an awkward position and the kick went wide. Grabbing Cap’s foot, the Hydra leader swung Captain America into a wall, instantly knocking the wind out of him. But Captain America wasn’t ready to give up yet.
“I can do this all day,” Steve said, breathing heavily. Just like he’d said to the bully back in the Brooklyn alley. He had strength and power now, but he had always had will and determination. That was more important. That’s what Dr. Erskine had meant when, with his dying breath, he had tapped on Steve’s chest. Heart mattered the most.
“I believe you can,” the Red Skull replied. He pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Steve’s head, his hand steady. “But I am on a tight schedule.”
Captain America didn’t look scared or upset. In fact, he looked… happy?
“So am I,” he said just as the office window behind him shattered. Falsworth and the rest of the Howling Commandos crashed into the room, swinging from ropes and firing their weapons. Using the distraction to his advantage, Captain America rose to his feet and barreled into the Red Skull. The Hydra leader went flying into the far wall, leaving a human-size dent in it. Meanwhile, explosions rocked the base above.
Rage filled Schmidt’s red face, turning it even redder. Reaching out, he gave Captain America a one-two punch that sent him flying backward. As Cap tried to recover, Schmidt raced across the room and grabbed a titanium box. It was the same one that Steve had seen back when he had rescued Bucky. Whatever was inside must be important to Schmidt, he thought. Steve planned on taking it from the Hydra leader before destroying him.
As Steve watched, Schmidt bolted from the room. The rest of Steve’s team had taken care of the Hydra troopers who had tried to fight them and were now cleaning up the mess. Steve picked up his shield and made sure the area was secure… but he had to go after Schmidt! At the same moment, more guards entered and fired their weapons. All of them shouted, “Hail Hydra!” One went on, “Cut off one head, two more shall rise—”
Just then, a BLAM! finished the trooper’s sentence as he fell to the ground. Colonel Phillips strode through the base, machine gun in hand, and addressed the Howling Commandos. “Then let’s go find two more,” he said. Confident that the colonel and the Howling Commandos could handle the rest of the Hydra troopers, Steve turned and raced down the corridor.
Captain America was going after the Red Skull.
CHAPTER 14
The underground base was full of corridors that twisted and turned, making it easy to get lost. Turning a corner, Captain America saw the Red Skull up ahead, the box still clutched tightly in his hand. He put on a burst of speed. Hearing footsteps, the Red Skull turned and pulled out a gun. It looked a lot like the one Steve had seen on the train. As he watched, it filled with blue energy and the blast came straight at him. Quickly, Cap raised his vibranium shield, and the blue energy splashed against it in a brilliant flash of light. Amazing, Steve thought. He’d seen men completely disintegrated by those weapons, and their impact on the shield wasn’t any harder than a raindrop.
He’d lost a step on Schmidt, though, and when Steve started running again, Schmidt was already around a bend in the corridor. Steve heard the unmistakable grinding of a heavy mechanical blast door starting to close. There was no way Captain America was going to let the
Red Skull get away. Not when he was this close to taking down the Hydra leader. Pulling his arm back, he flung the shield so it glanced off the wall. With any luck, he’d nail Schmidt on his way through the door.…
THUNK! That was not the sound of the shield hitting a Hydra Super-Soldier. More like the sound a shield might make when it jammed itself into the narrowing gap between two sides of a heavy blast door.
Standing up on the other side, Steve looked around. There was nowhere to go but straight ahead. He quickly began running down the corridor only to come to a screeching halt. Standing in front of him, holding two weapons that looked like huge flamethrowers, stood a Hydra trooper. The trooper had a tank, filled to the top with the powerful and deadly blue substance, strapped to his back. Steve gulped. This wasn’t good.
Raising the twin guns, the trooper pulled a trigger. On his back, the tank gurgled and whined as it sent fiery blue energy through the tubes and into the guns. Cap lifted his hand reflexively, thinking his shield was still on his forearm. But then he remembered. It was jammed in the blast door around the bend ahead, thanks to his long-range shot at the Red Skull. He was completely defenseless. Steve pressed himself into a nearby recessed doorway as the trooper blasted the hall with a flaming geyser. Cap held his spot, feeling enough heat that he was surprised he didn’t just go up like a Roman candle. He had a feeling superstrength wasn’t going to make him fireproof.
The flame winked out. If the Hydra trooper’s weapon was like most flamethrowers, he had to interrupt the fire every so often or its barrels would melt. Steve glanced out into the hall. Everything that wasn’t metal was on fire. Seeing Steve, the trooper fired up the flamethrowers again. Uh-oh, Steve thought. He started to duck back into the doorway again, hoping he could time a jump out to disable the Hydra trooper the next time he let the flames go out.
As he moved, he heard a sharp burst of gunfire. He hit the ground as the Hydra trooper’s canister went up in a blue flare and he went down face-first onto the scorched steel floor.
When the smoke from the blast cleared, there was Peggy Carter coming out of a side corridor.
“You’re late,” Steve said, smiling at her. He had never been so happy to see anyone in his life. Peggy smiled back at him, her eyes warm. With a wave of thanks, Captain America took off after the Red Skull.
When he got to the blast door, he ducked under his shield and then jerked it out of the gap. The door finished grinding its way closed. Steve spun around, not knowing what to expect. He found himself inside a giant hangar built deep into the mountain. A rumbling filled the air. As Steve watched, a gigantic plane rolled past. But this was no normal plane. It was a design he’d never seen before: a flying wing, basically. Like a giant steel arrowhead, at least four times the size of the biggest US Army plane. It had four giant turbo propeller engines and it bristled with gun turrets. Looking around, Steve noticed that there were five more just like it! These must be the planes that Schmidt was going to use to attack the United States. They’re big enough to carry the blue bombs and thousands of Hydra troopers, he realized.
Looking back at the plane that was making its way down the hangar, Steve saw Schmidt sitting in the cockpit. The Hydra leader turned and smiled. Steve couldn’t stop him now. The plane began moving faster and faster. At the other end of the hangar, giant doors began to open, letting in the glare of sunlight. This wasn’t just a hangar—it was a runway!
Captain America started sprinting, but it was no use. The Red Skull was too far ahead. Steve was fast, but not as fast as a giant plane. His fists pumped at his sides as he tried harder and harder to pick up speed. He was just about to give up when the sound of a car engine came from right next to him. Looking over, Steve saw Colonel Phillips sitting behind the wheel of Schmidt’s custom Hydra roadster. Peggy was in the backseat.
Quickly, Steve leaped into the car as Phillips stepped on the gas, sending them shooting forward. In moments, they had caught up with the plane. The car shuddered as Phillips pulled it up next to the plane’s large back tire. The wheel was attached to long metal landing gear that extended up to the inside of the plane itself.
Captain America stood. He was glad the car was a convertible. It would have been harder to get onto the landing gear through the window. He was about to make the jump, when Peggy let out a shout. “Wait!” she cried. Then, before Steve knew what was happening, she pulled him into a kiss. For a moment, Steve forgot about Schmidt. He forgot about Hydra and the pending attack. For once in his life, Steve Rogers got the girl. Reluctantly, he pulled away. He had to go. Hopefully, he’d return from this mission and ask Peggy to a dance.
“Go get him!” Colonel Phillips shouted over the sound of the plane’s engines. “I’m not kissing you!”
Steve cracked a smile. After one last look at Peggy, he turned and jumped onto the wheel—just as the plane burst out of the tunnel. Behind him, Steve saw Phillips slam on the brakes and drag the car into a sideways drift. He breathed a sigh of relief when the car stopped just on the edge of a long drop down the mountain. They were okay. Steve’s own situation was a little more tricky. The jet was flying over a huge gorge, and Steve was losing his grip. If he fell now, there was no way he would survive.
Just then, the plane’s landing gear groaned and slowly started to retract. He let out a huge breath. That had been way too close for comfort.
Steve’s relief was short-lived. As he let go of the landing gear, he found himself looking at a huge flight deck within the belly of the giant plane. Eight fighter jets were armed and ready, their noses aimed toward the back hatch of the plane.
He’d been right! This was one of the planes that were going to attack the United States! And there were five more back inside the hangar—unless Phillips and the team had managed to stop them from taking off. Captain America had to find the Red Skull—now.
Unfortunately, that was going to be a bit difficult. As he watched, the eight pilots who belonged to those fighter jets ran down from the bridge above. All of them had guns trained on Cap.
Right as the first two troopers reached him, Captain America whipped around and slammed them both with a flying spin kick. They fell to the ground, unconscious. Another one came at him, and Cap simply picked him up and threw him across the deck. He hit the far wall with a thud. The fourth trooper got smashed in the face by Captain America’s shield.
Steve was holding his own—and then a huge pilot surprised him with a right hook. The punch sent Steve staggering backward onto one of the fighter jets. Inside, another pilot was sitting in the cockpit. He flicked a few switches and the jet burst to life. Another flick of the switch opened up the hatch, and before Steve could do anything, the pilot shot the plane forward—right into the open sky!
As the air whistled around him, Steve clung to the jet’s hood. Slowly, he crept forward, making his way toward the cockpit. But the pilot wasn’t about to let that happen. He executed a series of barrel rolls. Steve’s legs flew out behind him as he struggled to hold on. Then the pilot pushed down the throttle and the plane nose-dived. Still, Steve hung on. When the plane righted itself, Steve pulled himself forward another few inches. He was within reach of the cockpit. But to get to the pilot, he’d have to punch out the glass. And that meant letting go with one hand. Steve took a deep breath. Before the pilot could make another move, he reached back his hand and then—SMASH!—he shattered the cockpit’s glass, sending shards flying into the air. With one last pull, he made his way over the glass and, reaching down, released the ejector seat. Letting out a cry, the pilot was launched high into the sky.
With no one to steer it, the plane began to dive again. Climbing over the window, Captain America got into the cockpit and quickly pulled back on the throttle. When the plane was stabilized, he turned it around and flew back up, toward the Red Skull’s giant plane of death: the Valkyrie.
During Steve’s battle with the fighter jet, the Red Skull had flown the huge plane far ahead. Pressing the throttle forward as far as it could go, Steve rac
ed after it. Blue bursts of energy fired at him from bubble turrets on top of the Valkyrie, but Captain America dodged them. He was closing in. When he was right at the hatch, he let up on the lever and the jet flew into the bigger plane’s flight deck, landing with a flash of sparks and a shriek of brakes. Finally, it came to a stop. He had made it.
Still, the fight wasn’t over. Up in the cockpit, the Red Skull was steering the plane closer and closer to the United States. And if Captain America didn’t stop him, he would destroy everything and everyone Cap had been fighting for. The American Super-Soldier was battered and bruised and shaky, but he crawled out of the plane and stood up, his head held high against the evil Red Skull.
Steve had no way of knowing what was happening back at the Hydra base. He could only hope that his team, along with Peggy and Phillips, were in control and alive. He wished that he could talk to them, find out what was going on, and tell them that it would all be okay. But he couldn’t. Not yet.
Right now, he was going to get into that cockpit. And then he was going to take Schmidt down. He would figure out what was in that box Schmidt held so dear and destroy it. And then he would take the plane—and all the bombs it carried—and destroy it, too.
A year ago, Steve Rogers was just an ordinary guy hoping to join the army. Now he was the courageous Captain America. People had given their lives to get him here, and he wouldn’t let them down. Whatever the future held, he knew that he had to succeed. For Peggy and Bucky. For Erskine and Phillips. For the Howling Commandos. And most of all, for his country.
With heart, strength, and grim determination, Steve Rogers set off in the direction of the cockpit. It was time for the final confrontation. It was time for him to stop Johann Schmidt once and for all, no matter what the cost. It was time for the Red Skull—and all of Hydra—to learn that evil would never prevail over justice. Not while Captain America was still around to stop them.