Chapter 5: The Spear and the Shield
The brass in Washington didn't know what to do with two super-soldiers. They wanted Steve in colorful tights selling war bonds, and they wanted Arthur in a lab being poked by needles.
But Arthur had a grand plan, and it didn't involve being a lab rat.
[ NEW MISSION: THE HYDRA SNOWFALL ]
Objective: Infiltrate the Schloss Klessheim facility.
Target: Retrieve the Tesseract blueprints and rescue the 107th.
Time Limit: 48 Hours.
Reward: 3,000 DP & Skill: [Vibranium Resonance].
"I'm not going on tour, Colonel," Arthur said, staring down Phillips in the strategic command room.
Steve stood beside him, looking uncomfortable in his new, massive frame. "Sir, Arthur is right. We didn't take that serum to sell stage tickets. Bucky is out there. My unit is out there."
"The 107th is behind enemy lines, Rogers! It's a suicide mission," Phillips snapped.
"Not for us," Arthur interjected. He leaned over the map, his [Tactical Calculation] skill lighting up the paper with glowing blue lines only he could see. "Hydra isn't using standard ballistics. They're using energy-based weaponry derived from the Tesseract. If you send normal men, they'll be vaporized. Send us. I'll provide the 'Spear,' and Steve will be the 'Shield.'"
The Forge: Preparation for War
Before they left, Arthur spent six hours in the workshop with a young Howard Stark. Since Arthur had 0 DP, he couldn't buy gear—he had to make it using his future knowledge.
"You want a collapsible staff made of high-carbon steel with a copper-wire core?" Howard asked, wiping grease from his forehead. "What for? To poke 'em to death?"
"To channel what I can do, Howard," Arthur replied.
He gripped the prototype staff. He tapped into his new [Vita-Cell] trait. A faint blue spark jumped from his palm into the metal. The staff hummed, the copper wiring glowing with an eerie light.
[ ITEM CREATED: THE KINETIC CONDUCTOR (RANK: RARE) ]
Properties: Channels user's bio-electricity into concussive blasts.
Note: Your System has logged this design. You can upgrade it later using DP.
The Jump: Behind Enemy Lines
Twenty-four hours later, a C-47 transport plane banked hard over the Austrian Alps. The door fell open, letting in a blast of sub-zero air.
"No chutes?" Peggy Carter shouted over the roar of the engines, looking at the two men.
Steve adjusted the straps of his circular steel shield (the vibranium version wasn't ready yet). "Arthur says we don't need 'em if we aim for the snowbanks!"
"I said I don't need one! You should probably tuck and roll, Steve!" Arthur grinned, then he stepped off the edge into the dark abyss.
[ SYSTEM: DESCENDING... ]
[ KINETIC ABSORPTION ACTIVE ]
Arthur hit the side of a snowy ridge at terminal velocity. Instead of shattering his bones, his [Adaptive Cellular Memory] kicked in. His body absorbed the impact, storing the kinetic energy in his muscles.
He stood up from a ten-foot crater, steam rising from his skin. Seconds later, Steve landed fifty yards away, tumbling through the trees like a human wrecking ball. He stood up, shaking snow off his shoulders, looking remarkably unharmed.
[ TETHERED FATE ACTIVATED ]
[ Steve Rogers has absorbed 10% of your Kinetic Resistance. ]
"You okay?" Arthur asked.
"I think... I think I liked the bus better," Steve wheezed, but his eyes were glowing with the thrill of the mission.
They looked down the valley. Nestled in the pines was a fortress of black stone and glowing blue lights. The Tesseract's energy was pulsing through the valley, a signal Arthur could feel in his very teeth.
[ WARNING: UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED ]
[ THE RED SKULL IS ON-SITE ]
[ ARCHIVIST DATA: CHAPTER 5 COMPLETE ]
Current DP Balance: 0.
Evolution Progress: 12%.