CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT —
( A wave of nostalgia. )

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Once they stepped out of the car after they parked in front of the army base, Evelyn glanced around, her heart racing as a wave of nostalgia surged through her. Memories of her and Peggy training new recruits, along with the sound of boots marching in unison, come to mind. Pre-serum Steve, who struggled through every challenge thrown his way but never gave up. He was willing to sacrifice his life for the other recruits, famously jumping onto a dud grenade to protect them. Steve's determination and courage stood out during those training days, and he captured Evelyn's heart, leaving a lasting imprint that endured even after six decades without seeing him.

Steve walked beside her, sharing a look as his expression reflected the memories swirling between them: meeting Evelyn, falling for her, and being chosen for the super soldier serum.

"I haven't thought about this place in a long time," Steve said as Evelyn held up a device that tracks anything unusual.

"I have thought about it a little," Evelyn replied, "but only because I sometimes dream about it." She let out a loud sigh and put down the device. "This place is a dead end. There are zero heat signatures." She then looked to her right and noticed a bunker she had never seen before. "Now, that's not right."

Steve glanced at the bunker and started walking towards it, with Evelyn following closely behind. "Army regulations prohibit storing ammunition within 500 yards of the barracks. This building shouldn't be here," he said. He removed his shield and broke the lock off the door.

Evelyn pushed open the heavy door to the bunker, and with a flick of a switch the space brightened, revealing worn wooden desks covered in dust and scattered papers. A grin broke across her face, an expression of disbelief and excitement in her eyes.

"What is it?" Steve inquired as he looked around.

"This was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s first base," Evelyn replied, her gaze drawn to the iconic logo on the wall.

They ventured deeper into the office, the air thick with dust. On a wall hung three framed photographs, each a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D: one of Colonel Phillips, another of Agent Peggy Carter, and lastly, one of Howard Stark. Steve studied them briefly but soon turned away, lost in thought.

Evelyn stepped closer to Howard's portrait, her heart racing, and in one swift motion, she punched the portrait, the glass shattering like a fragile dream. She carefully extracted the photograph and folded it neatly before tucking it into her pocket as if securing a fragment of the past for herself.

"If you're already working in a secret office," Steve caught Evelyn's attention as he moved a bookcase. She walked up to him as it opened up, revealing an elevator. "Why do you need to hide the elevator?"

Evelyn walked up to the keypad and held a device over the keypad and watched as it scanned the password. She pressed the numbers 8, 5, 3, and 9, and the elevator opened up and they stepped in.

As soon as Steve and Evelyn were in, they were taken down to another floor. When the door opened, they found themselves in a dark room. As soon as they stepped into the middle of the room, all of the lights flickered on.

"Surely, this isn't the data point. This technology is outdated," Evelyn said as she glanced around at the numerous computer screens. Her eyes were drawn to a USB plug. She inserted the USB into one of the ports, and a smile spread across her face as it lit up. Suddenly, all the machines began to power on, and a camera mounted above the screen turned to face them.

I N I T I A T E S Y S T E M?

A voice spoke, and Evelyn typed on the keyboard, "Yes." The computer began powering up. The screen in front of them lit up, and a face appeared.

"Rogers, Steven, born 1918."

The camera then turned to Evelyn. "Parrish, Evelina, born 1918." Evelyn could recognise that voice anywhere.

"It has to be some kind of recording," Steve said.

"I am not a recording, Captain. I may not be the man I was when you took me prisoner in 1945. But I am." A photo of Zola showed up on a smaller computer screen.

"You've been dead for years," Evelyn mumbled.

"Look around you, Annihilator. I have never been more alive," Zola said. "In 1972, I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body. My mind, however, that was worth saving on 200,000 feet of data banks. You are standing in my brain."

"How did you get here?" Steve asked.

"Invited."

"It was Operation Paperclip after World War 2," Evelyn told Steve. "S.H.I.E.L.D. recruited German scientists with strategic value."

"They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own. Cut off one head, two more shall take its place." An image of the HYDRA symbol appeared, and Zola's face was duplicated.

"We already knew this," Evelyn spoke. "I was stuck with HYDRA until the nineties. You experimented on me."

"I did, Annihilator," he agreed. "But what you didn't know is that the war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly.

"After the war, S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded, and I was recruited. The new HYDRA grew. A beautiful parasite inside S.H.I.E.L.D. For 70 years, HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war, and when history did not cooperate, history was changed." There was a short video of the Winter Soldier and the Annihilator killing people.

Evelyn quickly shook her head. "No, that's not right. It can't be. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s given me missions to kill HYDRA members."

"Members threatening to out us, and former members that we no longer needed."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. would have stopped you," Steve said.

"Accidents will happen." A newspaper article of Howard and Maria Starks death came up, also Fury's. Evelyn felt her heart pang at the reminder of the deaths of Howard and Maria Stark. She looked away from the screens and around the room instead.

"HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security." Steve grabbed Evelyn's hand. "Once a purification process is complete, HYDRA's new world order will arise. We won, Captain. Your death amounts to the same as your life. A zero-sum." Steve punched the computer screen, only for Zola's face to appear on another.

"They're going to use the Helicarriers to kill millions," Evelyn mumbled to herself.

"You are right, Annihilator. You were always in sync with what HYDRA was doing," Zola said.

"What's on this drive?" Steve asked.

"Project Insight requires insight. So, I wrote an algorithm."

"What kind? What does it do?"

"The answer to your questions is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it."

The doors behind them began to close, so Steve quickly threw his shield at them, but it rebounded harmlessly off the door. Evelyn's device started beeping, and she checked it. "Ah, we've got a bogey, Steve. Short-range ballistic. We have 30 seconds at most."

"Who fired it?" He asked.

"S.H.I.E.L.D."

"I am afraid I have been stalling." Evelyn pulled the USB out of the port and ran to Steve. "Admit it. It's better this way." Steve ran towards a vent in the floor and opened it up. "We are, all of us, out of time."

Evelyn quickly leapt into the vent just as a bomb was dropped onto the base. Steve stood over her, using his shield as protection. Suddenly, rubble began to fall, and a slab of concrete struck Evelyn on the head, knocking her out cold.

AUTHORS NOTE
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Pheebs / -rosepetal