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Rated M for Mature
Appropriate for readers 18 and over. May contain extreme violence, sexual themes, nudity, or profanity.
Note- This series takes place during the same time as Project X: The Secret Files of Wolverine.
Project Rebirth: The Secret Files of Captain America, Chapter 4- Identity Crisis
July 8, 1915
Before leaving his home, Joseph Rogers went to his son's room, expecting the usual. In fact, his son never wanted him to leave the house, including his family. Joseph had known that his son, Matthew Rogers wouldn't like the idea of his own father, getting killed by the Germans. The thought of it, might give him some nightmares.
But as a 11-year old kid, Matthew had sure grown up to be just like his father. Except that there was one minor difference. Matt hated his father for joining the ranks of an American army.
Sleeping on his bed, Matt tossed a cheap comic book away on the floor. Joseph had noticed his quite attitude, despite everything of what had happened earlier. Not to mention, he had quit a very important job.
"Hey kiddo," Joseph said, sitting by the side of his son's bed. He ruffled his hair, but Matt wouldn't let him.
Joseph sighed. "Listen, Matt. I know this sounds... risky. But..."
He stopped because he felt there wasn't any point of an explanation. And most of all, his old-time friends had also joined the war last year. This time, Joseph decided to take a stab at it.
But the thought of leaving his family behind... Joseph also felt he might make the biggest mistake in his life. Sure, people would take certain risks in saving their country for the better good. At this point, there was no turning back.
"Don't go, Dad," Matt said. Joseph smiled a little, and kissed his forehead.
There were often times that they would play together. Certain amount of games, and whatnot. Sometimes, Matt went to Jack Rumlow's house to hang out with his friend. Being a rich, snotty kid wasn't his style. But he figured that hanging around with him, would do some good while Joseph was busy at work. For that matter, Joseph felt happy about it.
"I'll be back soon as you know it, son. I promise."
"When would that be?"
"I... I don't know." Yes, the man who was about to leave the house in a couple of minutes, had no idea when. Or when the war will be over. But if something went wrong, he'd come back home, safe and sound.
"Take care of your mother. Okay, kiddo?"
Matt didn't say a word nor nod his head. He was still upset about his father, leaving everything behind. But if things had turned out to be okay later on, considering the fact that Joseph had been a great father to him, he'd surely become a better soldier.
From that moment on, Joseph Rogers left his family, saying goodbye. Heartfelt moments. Sarah cried in tears, and Matt... Well, Matthew Rogers never left his bedroom, as he stared out the window. He looked at his dear father, leaving the house in the middle of the night.
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Once Steve Rogers and the Howling Commandos reached an abandoned building, they led the civilians out. Seeking shelter was one thing. But encountering their enemy was another. Both Dino and Gabe didn't say a word. Not even while Gabe drove the army truck all the way here.
As far as anything goes, Steve lifted the masked mercenary away from the prying eyes of both comrades and civilians. Taking Crossbones to a secured place, would become a better idea, not the worst because Steve had just learned the enemy's true identity, and he didn't want anyone else to know about it.
The soldier who tended Mary's injury, stepped out of the truck, and helped her get down while her husband, Thomas followed her. The night was dark as usual. And they could still hear the explosions from the faraway side.
God... Thomas thought. I wished this war was over. He looked at Captain America, while lifting the masked enemy towards the building.
"Who do you think Crossbones is?" Dino asked the black soldier.
"How the hell should I know?" Gabe sounded upset. He still didn't like the way when Steve ordered them not to take off the enemy's mask.
"Okay people," Gabe said. "We'll just stay here for the night."
"What about the others?" a 20-year old civilian said among the group.
Gabe sighed. "We'll look for them. I'll tell my men to go out and..."
"Hey Gabe," a soldier called out to him. "Take a look at this."
"What is it?"
"Come here, and take a look."
"Alright. I'll be right there." Gabe ordered the men to look for the other civilians. Then he approached the soldier, who held a mysterious object in his right hand.
"What the hell is that?"
"Don't know, sir. Some kind of device or something?"
"Well... if it's those Germans out there, they might have a thing for it. Or they probably left it behind. Who knows?"
"A bomb, you think?"
"Hmm..." Gabe picked up the square-like object away from the soldier's hand. "That could be it. But it sure as hell doesn't look like a bomb to me." He looked at the building. "Hey Cap! You better come here quick." But Steve Rogers didn't reply to him.
"Just leave him alone, Gabe," Dino said. "Maybe, he knew Crossbones too well."
"Yeah, that's what I figured. The guy don't tell us jack$h!t."
Thomas came closer towards him. "Um... Mr. Jones?"
Gabe looked at the middle-aged man. "What's up?"
"Um... I don't know if I should tell you this. But... I'm afraid."
"Look man. If you got something to say, then say it. I'm sure Cap wouldn't mind."
"Yeah... that's the problem. I know..."
"Hey Gabe," the soldier said, interrupting their conversation. "The object is glowing."
"What?" Gabe looked down at it. The object glowed so bright that he could barely even see.
"Jesus Christ!" He dropped it down. The Howling Commandos didn't know what they were dealing with. Even the civilians for that matter.
"What's it doing, Gabe?" Dino asked him.
"Christ, Dino. How the hell should I know? This man here had just found..." He stopped, when everything went white.
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Meanwhile, Steve Rogers had tied up his new enemy called Crossbones, behind the wall post. Despite the fact that he had seen his true identity, Steve couldn't think of anything else of what to say. Rather, he'd wished that the person, standing there before him, didn't become the masked mercenary in the first place.
But when few minutes had later passed, Crossbones finally woke up, and found himself being captured by the American super-hero, alone. Not even he could free himself from it, despite the Super-Soldier Serum, which had been given to him. It was wearing off...
Damn it, The mercenary thought. It was said that Dr. Abraham Erskine had created the perfect test subject called Captain America, and this happened way back in May 20 1942. But... certain candidates had failed the experiment, and they died from it as a result. For Crossbones, the serum had sometimes worn off, and he felt too weak to stand against an enemy.
Steve Rogers came up to him and said, "Tell me your real name."
"What?" Crossbones wanted to laugh at the thought of it. "You know who I am."
"I want to hear it from you."
There was a moment of silence. Then he replied, "Crossbones."
"Wrong answer!" Steve punched him on the face.
When the masked mercenary came back to his senses, he said his code-name again. Then Steve gave him another punch.
"We could do this all night," Steve said, breathing a little. "I... I want to make sure."
Crossbones stared at him for a while. Then he said his code-name, the third time.
Steve punched him again, and gave a hard kick on the shin. Crossbones felt so much pain that he almost knelt down.
"Your real name."
Crossbones looked up at him and thought, Always persistent. Just like...
"TELL ME YOUR GODDAMN NAME!" Steve interrupted his thoughts.
Another silence. Then Crossbones stood up slowly, and looked back at him. He said, "Alright, Steve. You wanna know my real name is? I'll f***ing tell you. It's..."
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Steve Rogers stopped running, and tried to forget the dark past. Whatever Psi-Borg did to him, it had unlocked his memories further from the deep recesses from his own mind. Escaping from Project Rebirth had proven too futile to the point that he may not able to survive in the coming days ahead.
But Steve had survived the war. Countless battles, and the Germans never managed to defeat him. Not even the Red Skull himself. If it weren't for Steve Rogers, they would have lost the war. But becoming an experiment for HYDRA... it was his worst nightmare that came true.
Imagine if people had found out about it. Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos... The people whom he cared and loved the most. His friend, Bucky Barnes...
No... It's not my fault. I was... brainwashed. Steve continued running on foot. But he stopped again when he heard a series of footsteps coming his way.
It must those German guards again, Steve figured, since they were out to get him. But it wasn't really them. Instead, it was a group of HYDRA super-soldiers, who were sent to recapture Captain America.
"HAIL HYDRA!"
To be continued in Project Rebirth: The Secret Files of Captain America, Chapter 5- The Other Side of Darkness.
HYDRA super-soldiers? Things will go from bad to worse, even for Captain America. But who is Crossbones again? And what's up with the shiny object that a soldier found on the rubble? Find out in the next chapter of Captain America.
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