Chapitre 90: 88 hits -88
Steve slowly started to come to. His memories hazy, his head clouded and his body hurting all over. Ever so slowly, the clouds started to part, and his memories became clear. His fight with Redskull, the plane, and the crash. "Peggy!"
He gasped aloud as he remembered. He had crashed; he should have died, and he was sure he would. Yet, yet somehow, he was still alive, relieve filled him as he moved to sit up, only to find himself unable to.
His mind quickly turned crystal clear as he took in his situation and surroundings. He was in a stark, white hospital room, the smell of antiseptics heavy in the air. The room was pretty bare. There was his bed, another bed behind a screen. He could see the silhouette of someone else in that bed as well.
He also realized that he was bound to the bed with some thick strong-looking chains. It was while he tried to test their strength, he suddenly heard the radio from outside the room.
(translation coming, keep reading)
"Und in den neuesten Nachrichten zum Kriegseinsatz wird der unerwartete Verrat und der Fall der Hydra-Organisation im gesamten Vaterland gefeiert." The radio announcer proclaimed with fervent enthusiasm. Music began to play, a patriotic song that was popular during the period, its melody both uplifting and somber, reflecting the national mood of pride mixed with the reality of war.
"Ihre gefährlichen Pläne wurden durch die tapferen Bemühungen unserer Soldaten vereitelt, und ihre Technologien, entwickelt von deutschen Geistern und uns gestohlen, sind zurückgekehrt und werden unseren schnellen Sieg herbeiführen."
"Darüber hinaus wurde in einem herausragenden Akt des Mutes der amerikanische Supersoldat, Steve Rogers, gefangen genommen. Seine Gefangennahme markiert einen Wendepunkt im Kampf gegen die Feinde des Reiches."
Now, his German wasn't very good. However, the mere fact that the radio was in German wasn't a good sign at all.
Trying carefully to understand the report he was able to catch something that sounded along the lines of.
"And in the latest news on the war effort, the unexpected betrayal and fall of the Hydra organization are being celebrated throughout the Fatherland. "
"Their dangerous plans have been thwarted by the brave efforts of our soldiers, and their technologies, developed by German minds and stolen from us, have returned and will bring about our swift victory. "
"Furthermore, in an outstanding act of courage, the American super soldier, Steve Rogers, has been captured. His capture marks a turning point in the battle against the enemies of the Reich."
With his heart racing in his chest, he quickly looked around again, this time spotting small details he had missed the first time. The bookshelf he had dismissed earlier in the corner had German books on it. He even saw a copy of Mein Kampf.
Realizing he had indeed been captured by the German, he quickly started to tug at his bindings, trying to get free. To his dismay, his attempts must have been heard as the door suddenly opened a little, and a nurse-looking girl stuck her head inside.
She gasped in shock, seeing him awake, and quickly slammed the door shut.
"Er ist wach! Er ist wach!"
"Not good." Steve whispered as he threw his attempts at stealth to the wind and struggled with all his might to get free. However, his attempts still didn't succeed and he remained unable to move very much.
Steve's mind raced as he heard footsteps approaching rapidly from outside the room. The urgency in the nurse's voice as she announced his wakefulness sent a clear message: he needed to escape, and fast. Despite his enhanced strength, the chains seemed designed to hold even someone of his abilities. It was clear that his captors had taken no chances, understanding the threat he posed even in captivity.
He ceased his struggling momentarily, trying to think through his situation more strategically. If brute force wasn't going to free him, then perhaps he needed to be more cunning. He scanned the room again for anything that might aid his escape or offer a clue as to where he was being held.
As he lay there, feigning a sense of calm he didn't feel, the door opened again. This time, more than one person entered the room. From the corner of his eye, he could see a group of soldiers accompanied by a figure he would recognize everywhere.
"Captain Rogers, it seems you are awake," Adolf Hitler said in accented English. "I must admit, when I was told you were alive, I had my doubts. Could anyone really survive such a crash?"
Steve's heart skipped a beat at the sight of Adolf Hitler standing before him. The man was an embodiment of the terror and atrocities of the war, and his presence here, in the flesh, was both shocking and deeply unsettling. Steve realized then that his situation was far graver than he had initially feared.
Hitler continued, a twisted smile playing on his lips, "But here you are, the American super soldier, in our grasp. Your existence is a testament to the remarkable achievements of science... and now, a valuable asset for the Reich."
Steve fought to keep his emotions in check, knowing any sign of weakness would be exploited. "I'm no asset to you or anyone else. And you won't get away with this," Steve countered, his voice steady despite the turmoil inside him.
"Oh, but we already have, Captain," Hitler responded, his tone dripping with arrogance. "Your capture is a significant victory for us. Do you think we'd simply squander this opportunity? No, we have plans for you."
Steve's mind raced for a solution, any way out of this predicament. It was clear he was being held for more than just propaganda; the Nazis intended to use him, perhaps even attempt to replicate the serum that had transformed him.
"What ever you have planned won't work, you will lose!" Steve said as he struggled against his chains.
Only for Hitler to laugh at the attempt. "Ahh, you don't give me enough credit, sure we weren't doing too well before, but now? The eastern front has been dealt with, all thanks to the bombs recovered together with you."
Steve froze, the implications of Hitler's words sinking in. The only bombs he could be talking about had to have been the Hydra ones, the ones meant to wipe out all the great cities in the world. If the German has those, the damage they could do!
Hitler's smile widened, sensing Steve's expression and fear. "Ah, yes, the marvels of HYDRA technology. Your crash provided us with an unexpected bounty. Not only did we recover you, Captain, but also the advanced explosives intended for Berlin. With the Eastern Front stabilized, we can now focus all our efforts on the West."
Steve let the words sink in. he knew that Redskull had planned to destroy even Berlin. Though from the sound of Hitler's words, they hadn't recovered all the bombs, maybe they only had gotten their hands on one of them.
If that was the case, then there might still be hope. Though he needed to get out of here still, if the Germans had indeed bought themselves some time, he couldn't allow them to get the serum in his veins; if they used the time they had to make an army of super soldiers, they might really be able to win this war.
"Yes, I really must thank you, Mr Rogers; if not for you, I would not have been able to deal with Hydra so easily," Hitler continued. "In fact, I wanted to ask you a favor," he said with a smile.
Then, from his back pocket, he produced a comic; looking closer, Steve could see that it was the first issue of Captain America. On the front, he could see a comic version of himself punching Hitler in the face.
Hitler also looked at the comic and paused. "You know, in these, you really do end up punching me a lot, don't you?" he continued. "Say, how many times has the good captain punched me?" he asked one of his guards.
"The guard answered far too easily. "88-time Mein Führer."
Steve was pretty sure that the whole exchange was pre-planned. There was no way some random person would know how many times he had hit Hitler in those comics, even he didn't know.
Hitler chuckled at the guard's response, turning his attention back to Steve. "88 times, quite a feat, Captain. Though, it would appear I owe you quite a few myself." He shoved the comic off to his guard and pulled up his sleeve.
Steve could do nothing as the dictator stepped up beside him and started punching him in the face. "Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier, Fünf, Sechs."
After slamming his fist into the captain's face six times, the Führer seemed pained and nursed his fist with his other hand.
"Is that all you got?" Steve managed to spit out, blood trickling from his lip, despite the excruciating pain from the blows. His body might have been weakened, but his spirit was unbroken. He refused to give Hitler the satisfaction of seeing him in agony.
Hitler, grimacing and obviously in pain from punching Steve's nearly indestructible body, shot him a look of pure hatred. "You think you are so clever, Mr. Rogers. Your resilience is indeed remarkable, so I will leave the last few hits I'm owed to my men here." Hitler sneered, stepping back and gesturing to the soldiers.
Hitler stood by and watched as Steve was punched time and time again. Each strike was far harder than the ones the Führer had managed.
To get a room around Steve's bed, one of the soldiers had pushed the screen separating Steve's bed from the other one. Not that Steve noticed as he was busy glaring unbrokenly at the Führer even as he got beaten.
As the final of the 88 hits landed on him, Hitler's smile had somewhat dropped; clearly, he was annoyed that it hadn't broken the spirit of his enemy. "Take a rest, Mr Rogers; we wouldn't want you to die before we can milk every drop of that serum out of you." He sneered before taking his men with him and leaving.
"Is that all? I can do this all day!" Steve shouted out after the men as the door closed. Only then did he allow himself to collapse once more, his face now hurting as much as the rest of his body.
Try as he might, his body was clearly still not fully recovered, and after that, it needed some rest. Slowly, the world turned dark, and he passed out.
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"Steve, Steve! Wake up, we got to go, Steve."
Steve woke up to someone shaking him awake while calling his name. Opening his eyes, he saw the face of the person waking him up, and he froze.
"Peggy?" He whispered, not daring to believe what he was seeing.
"Come now, Steve, you can't be sleeping here; you owe me a dance." Peggy said as she unlocked his chains.
Sitting up and freed from the chains, he remained confused. "How come you are here, Peggy?"
"Well, they aren't really keeping it a secret that they have captured you." Peggy said, reminding Steve that yeah, they did play the news loudly over the radio.
Steve looked around, the room suddenly feeling less like a prison and more like a stepping stone to freedom. "I can't believe you're here," he managed, his voice thick with emotion.
"There's no time for disbelief, Steve. We need to move, and fast," Peggy urged, her eyes scanning the door. "We've caused enough chaos to cover our escape, but it won't be long before they notice you're missing."
Steve was about to follow her when he suddenly paused. "We can't leave; they got by blood, Peggy; if we don't destroy it, they will make an army of super soldiers."
Peggy clicked her tongue. "Damn, we will need to deal with that, though I doubt they are keeping it here. This place isn't really a lab."
Steve couldn't help but feel disheartened to learn that it wouldn't be that simple. "Then we have to capture someone and get them to tell us where they are storing it. Is Hitler still here?"
"Hitler? He is here?" Peggy asked, surprised.
"Yeah, he can't be far. If we can capture him, we can end this war." Steve said, suddenly feeling his body surge with energy as he found a possible way to end his horried war once and for all.
Peggy, for one, paused for a moment, looking up at Steve. "We will be on our own, so tell me honestly, do you feel like you can do it?"
"I can do this all day!"
A/N
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