Kapitel 231: Chapter 229. Red Skull
"Well, from the things here... Looks like they're real."
Looking at all the information in front of him, Dio was a little impressed by Hydra's intelligence division. He hadn't revealed the Stone Mask and the vampire plot for too long. Unexpectedly, they had collected so much information about the creatures. A typical example of a plot forcing the rhythm forward.
"But, looking at these data... seems like Schmidt isn't a vampire."
With his eyes on the file, Dio frowned and said, "According to the file, Schmidt captured a vampire in a church in Tønsberg, Norway. Hydra's research on the vampire led Hydra to develop a method to turn people into undead. These transformed soldiers gained strength, and bullets won't kill them. But... they're afraid of the sun..."
"Afraid of the sun?"
What the information revealed reminded Steve of the scene earlier when the Hydra agent tore off his mask and exposed himself to the sunlight. He couldn't help but whisper, "Their weakness seems like the ones in the legends."
As Steve spoke, his eyes looked around and noticed the Stone Mask on the table.
"This is...?"
"According to the data, it's called the Stone Mask. Looks like Hydra found it with the vampire in Tønsberg."
Looking at the strange and pale Stone Mask, Steve subconsciously frowned, sensing the unsettling nature of the mask. However, Dio simply reached out and picked it up.
"If this mask was found with the vampire, there must be some hidden secret in it."
"It could also be useless. Otherwise, why would Schmidt leave it here?"
Steve glanced at the Stone Mask in Dio's hand and said so.
"Yeah, you might be right."
Dio nodded, but rather than putting the mask down, he tucked it away.
Raising an eyebrow, Steve didn't say much about it. He was far more concerned about Hydra's experiments with vampires than the mask in Dio's hand.
Rumble --
However, just then along with a loud explosion, both Steve and Dio felt a sudden rumble beneath their feet.
The countdown Schmidt had started has ended, and a large number of bombs inside the base activated.
"We gotta get out of here!"
Steadying his feet, Steve shouted at Dio, grabbing the shield behind him to protect them; they headed back to the hallway.
"Bucky?!"
The two men fled outside, one after the other. As they passed an isolated room, Steve noticed movement inside. Looking in, he found his best friend, Bucky, tied to a bed and struggling.
"Bucky! I thought you were dead..."
Steve couldn't hide the excitement on his face as he freed Bucky from his bonds and looked at his frail friend.
"Steve? I thought you were smaller..."
Bucky opened his eyes, looked at Steve, who appeared in front of him, and struggled to overlap the tall figure with the thin appearance in his memory. He couldn't help but wonder.
"What happened to you?"
"I joined the army ..."
"Guys, it's a good time to catch up."
Interrupted the conversation between Steve and Bucky, Dio covered his' injured' arm and said so.
After Dio's reminder, Steve also reacted and quickly helped Bucky, who was weak, to run out.
The main location of the explosions was the first floor of the base. If Steve and the others wanted to avoid the explosions, they had to keep running upwards.
"Captain America!"
The three men climbed up the stairs...
As they were halfway up...
Suddenly, they heard a hoarse voice coming from the other side and turned their heads to see Schmidt, whom they were struggling to find, standing on the platform on another side of the hall.
"How exciting!" Extending his hand, handing the case containing the Tesseract in his hand to Dr Zola, Schmidt looked across at Steve. He smiled as he stepped forward, "I'm a great fan of your films! So, Dr Erskine managed it after all. Not exactly an improvement, but still, impressive."
Looking at Schmidt, who appeared in front of them, Steve thought of Dr Erskine's death. Without hesitation, he raised his hand and punched him in the face.
With the Super Soldier Serum in effect, Steve's punch was powerful. However, the blow to Schmidt's face only caused him to stumble a little, covering his struck cheek with a deep red tinge in his eyes.
"Schmidt, I finally found you. That punch was for the Doctor."
Twisting his stiff neck, Schmidt looked at the righteously angry Steve and grinned with a stiff expression, "Is that so? Then, your punch was quite disappointing."
As he spoke, Schmidt suddenly stepped forward and threw his own punch at Steve's face.
Faced with Schmidt's menacing blow, Steve quickly raised his shield.
Bang --
The powerful blow left a deep fist mark on Steve's shield.
Like him, Schmidt was also injected with the Super Soldier Serum. Therefore, in terms of strength, he didn't lose much to Steve.
Looking at the dented shield, Steve hastily reached for the pistol he had on him. But Schmidt got the chance to kick him down on the narrow iron aisle.
"I'm disappointed, Captain America. You acted quite well in your movies." Taunting Steve, Schmidt stepped forward and was planning to get rid of him right now. Suddenly, a blond figure rushed out in front of him, blocking him and waving his fist at Schmidt's face.
Bang --
With a dull thud, Schmidt, who had at least stumbled from Steve's punch, faced Dio's punches without a single jolt.
"Brave, but useless."
Rubbing his somewhat misshapen face, Schmidt gave Dio a cold grin and kicked up towards Dio.
"Look out!"
Standing up, Steve saw Schmidt's attack and threw his shield out almost without thinking.
Bang --
With Steve's superhuman strength, the flying shield was like a cannonball that sent Schmidt flying backwards.
At the other end, Dr Zola saw the scene and quickly pulled the lever that disconnected the iron walkway.
Standing up, Schmidt looked at Steve, who was getting farther and farther away and spoke with an agitated tone, "No matter what lies Erskine told you... you see, I was his greatest success! "
As he spoke, he raised his hand and tore the fake skin off his face, revealing a skeleton-like face as red as blood.
"You are deluded, Captain. You pretend to be a simple soldier, but in reality, you're just afraid." Raising his hand and throwing the mask he had torn off into the flames of the explosion, Schmidt, no, Red Skull, looked at Steve and spoke with a crazy look in his eyes, "You're just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind. People like us should embrace it proudly! Without fear!"
"Then how come you're running?! "
While Red Skull spoke his mind in a high-sounding tone, the movement of his feet betrayed his thoughts.
"Because I'm chasing something bigger and much more powerful! "
Walking into the elevator, Red Skull held the suitcase in his hand and whispered so.
In the next second, the elevator closed.
...
"Senator Brandt, I regret to report that Captain Steve G. Rogers went missing behind enemy lines on the thirst aerial reconnaissance that has proven unfruitful. As a result, I must declare Captain Rogers killed in action. Period."
At the front line, inside the camp, Phillips dictated the contents of the notification of Steve's death to his aid, who typed it down.
Carter came in with her own information.
"The last surveillance flight is back. No sign of activity."
After a moment's silence, as he looked at the information in his hands, Colonel Phillips then said, "I can't touch Stark. He's rich, and he's the Army's number one weapons contractor. You are neither one! You know what we will face because of your decision."
"Because of your personal decision, America's golden boy and another good man are dead."
"With respect, Sir. I don't regret my actions. And I don't think Captain Rogers and Private Brando did, either."
"What makes you think I give a damn about your opinions?" Looking at Agent Carter, who had a determined and sorrowful expression in front of him, Colonel Phillips spoke coldly, "Because of you, they're going to shut this division down. You are going to face more than a reprimand."
The trust that he had managed to build up with the senator and the people in Washington, to win this war with the use of Captain America's identity had all gone down the drain with Steve's death. Colonel Phillips could almost see how these people would look once they heard the news.
It definitely wouldn't look too good.
"They're back!"
"I can't believe it! They actually did it! "
"Unbelievable, how on earth did they do that!?"
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein