I don't understand
Who: Steve Rogers What: Phase 2. Fears. Steve didn't win WWII...Things went horribly wrong. When: Early November Where: Berlin, Germany Rating/Warnings: PG...probably Status: Closed; [Complete]
Germany 1945. Steve Rogers, then Captain America, entered a Nazi stronghold in order to stop the Red Skull from using a doomsday weapon on the eastern United States. In our world, he succeeded and was frozen as a result. But this wasn't our world. This was something different.
On the day, Steve went for the doomsday weapon. It was a plane set to bomb major cities on the US coast. Steve didn't catch the plane. Instead, he was stuck in the middle of a Nazi Stronghold...alone. The Red Skull had been working on a device to deactivate the Super Soldier serum. The war went well into 1953, with no nukes being dropped on Japan. The Skulls bomber eliminated any threats, and Captain America was helpless to stop it. It was in 1953 when the Skull perfected his device.
On May 19th, 1953 the Red Skull caught Steve Rogers with his new toy. The ray blast from the gun deactivated the vita rays that made the man so exceptional. Standing there in a uniform that hung off him like a hangar, Steve was beat into submission by the Skull's Hydra soldiers. The Skull took Steve to the German capital, placing him in a cage at the heart of the city. The cage was exposed and open to the elements. In the summer, he burned. In the winter, he froze. There was never a moment of peace. The citizens walking by hurled insults, threw rocks, and every day at noon the Skull would visit.
He would let Steve out of his cage, as a show to his followers. This is how a typical day went.
"This man is here as an enemy of the state. He is a known terrorist to Hydra and Germany." The Skull would say as the audience booed. "His name is Steven Rogers. Not long ago, he was Captain America. A menace to our cause. But I have stopped him!." This always made the commoners cheer.
Normally bloody and broken from the previous day's show, Steve was hardly able to stand. The Skull would continue. "I say to you, Captain America, if you can fight and win, I will free you." Every day, Steve would try. But the Red Skull still had an early version of the serum. It wasn't as powerful, and had almost disappeared. But even as normal human strength, Steve was never a match.
He would lunch at him, only to be kicked in the chest. Once he got up and stopped coughing blood, he would swing a punch. The Red Skull dodged and hit him so hard he knew his jaw was broken. Everything Steve tried to do, he was stopped. There was no power here. No hope. America lost the War. The Skull ruled everything now. Steve was an example of what happened if you angered the Skull.
After each 'show' Steve was thrown back into his cage like a rag doll. The fight only ended when Steve was physically unable to get back up. That was 10 years ago. Steve was now in his 40's. If he wasn't stuck here, it would be a miracle. The doctors told him he would be dead by then with his string of illness. But somehow, he survived. It was almost like God was punishing him for something, but refused to tell him what.
Every night, a set of Doctors would come to Steve and fix the major damage Red Skull inflicted. On this night, as they stitched him and mended him, he spoke as he cried. There wasn't a single night that Steve didn't cry. "Why....Why won't he kill me?" Steve had tried to do it himself, but didn't have it in him. He had handled this for ten years, and was at the limit. His mind should have broken years ago. The doctor he asked, only looked at him. For a minute, Steve forgot there was no kindness here. Only hate and anger. The doctor spoke back as he left the cell. "You aren't work his time, Captain Rogers." The other doctors laughed as Steve lay in the cell. He was going to die here. There was no tomorrow. He knew this. As he accepted it, he lifted a scrap of food. Underneath was a knife someone had dropped close to his cage. Tomorrow, they were going to be in for a big surprise.