05 ╸ game of survival

"CARBON POLYMER," HOWARD Stark tells Steve and Diana as they walk down the lab, Steve's hands in his pockets as Diana's hands hung by her side. They all looked down at a black fabric, "Should withstand your average German bayonet. Although HYDRA's not going to attack you both with a pocket knife. I hear you're kind of attached." Howard pats Steve's showcase shield as they walk down the table again. Diana was wearing a dark grey skirt with its matching jacket, a white collar peeking out from under the neckline of the buttoned overcoat and a hat was resting on her head. Her hair was put into a bun to make it stay out of her way.

"It's handier than you might think," Steve replies, watching Howard scoff.

"I took the liberty of coming up with some options," Howard says, different shields were resting on the table, waiting to be used, all of them looking a little different from the rest. They were hideous to Diana, but she kept her mouth shut. "This one's fun," Steve's eyes wander to a sleek circular shield. "She's been fitted with electrical relays that allow you to. . ."

"What about this one?" He bends to pick it up, Howard beginning to protest against that shield.

"No, no, that's just a prototype."

"What's it made of?"

"Vibranium," Howard answers, Diana's fingers sliding across the silver metallic surface. "It's stronger than steel and third the weight." Steve had grown to like Diana, her caring, reliable, influential character really easy to get used to. "It's completely vibration absorbent."

"Give it a nice blue and red paint job and you got yourself a shield, Steve," Diana says as the supersoldier slides his arm through the loops, and she knocks on it with her knuckles a few times, a dull sound emitting from it. Steve looked at her with a mix of confusion and happiness; he felt the small little vibrations from it when she knocked on it like a door.

"How come it's not standard-issue?"

"It's the rarest metal on Earth," Diana responds. "This is the only bit we have."

"Quite finished, Mr. Stark?" Peggy rounds a corner into the lab. She wore her standard-issue uniform, the skirt brushing against her knees as she walked to the group. "I'm sure the captain has some unfinished business." She was still mad at Steve for kissing that secretary, and even mad that he tried to deny the fact he was kissing her as well. Everybody kissed back on their first kiss. Steve turns to her and holds up the shield, "What do you think?" Peggy stares at him for a while before gritting her teeth, picks up the handgun on her left, and shoots the shield four times, Steve holding it up for protection. Steve looks back up at her with grief in his eyes; the woman he cared about almost killed him. Diana was in a fighting stance, one she wore into the battlefield, and Howard had his arm over his eyes, crouching low. Peggy gives out an audible sigh, "Yes, I think it works."

She sets down the gun and walks away, giving Steve a small glare, Diana relaxing from her position. "I had some ideas about the uniform," Steve hands over a piece of paper to Howard, handwritten notes scribbled on it.

"Whatever you want, pal."

   
STEVE PLACED THE rifle inside a holster that was nailed to the side of a motorcycle, placing a handgun on the one on his belt, his new shield at his back.
Diana put on her black cloak and her shield and sword were tucked safely inside it, her armor shielded away from unwanted eyes. She was going to go with the Howling Commandos, which was led by Steve.

Later in the day, they all burst into the warehouse the HYDRA men were hiding in, the Commandos shooting people down as Diana wielded her sword and struck many in the chest, effectively killing them. Outside, U.S. soldiers were fighting, killing all they could. Steve hit one man in the chest with his shield, striking another in the face. Diana was letting out war cries as she impaled a man with her sword, the Commandos running out from the building before it exploded. Steve came out on his motorcycle, Diana on her horse, both of them riding along each other.


THE RED SKULL arrived at the place a little too late, the town already burned down by the U.
S. Military. In one of the rooms hidden underground back in the States, a man moves a red flag from the map and hands it over to Peggy using a large stick, Peggy putting the flag back inside the box. Bucky was still in shock that his childhood hero was very much alive and fighting alongside him, despite being however many years old.

         


IN THE THICK fog in the forest, Steve led the Commandos through a forest, raising his arm to stop them, sensing something.
He steps into a small clearing and clearly sees something, throwing his shield with accuracy, a German soldier falling out of the tree he hid in with a groan. The men in front look back at the fallen man, eyes wide. Steve catches his shield and places it back on his arm, Diana giving him a small smile before they all went into battle. A truck exploded, the Howling Commandos running towards it, men firing their rifles and Steve and Diana raising their shields while running. Diana used her sword to cut through a man's chest, his blood splattering on her leg. Jim Morita, the only Asian American man on the elite squad, lets out a whistle to another, his flashlight shining for a few seconds. One of the Commandos run while clutching a metal cylinder in his hand, running under a tank and latching it on. He stands up after it drives over him without a scratch, seeing the small red light blink underneath the massive thing, covering his ears as it explodes in a flash of orange. He claps once, Dum Dum Dugan letting out a chuckle.

         


BUCKY AIMS AT the head of a HYDRA soldier, Diana kneeling beside him, keeping him protected from any stray enemies as he took the shot, killing the guy.
He cocks the sniper rifle again, Steve giving him a short salute before going inside. Diana claps a hand on his shoulder softly, causing the man's cheeks to go red.


STEVE JUMPS AND strikes down a man clad in black with his round shield, Diana beside him as she wielded her sword proudly and sliced down the men that were in her reach, Steve's body turning as he let go of his shield.

         


STEVE JUMPS ON top of a tank, using the edge of his shield to break the latch holding the door closed, grabbing a HYDRA soldier by the shoulder and throws him away, one of the Commandos throwing a pack of grenades to him and Steve throws it down, shutting the door behind him, and running off, the monstrous tank exploding in multiple places at numerous times.


"YOU ARE FAILING!
" Schmidt yells at Zola as they stare down at the damage done to the town. "We are close to an offensive that will shake the planet, yet we are continually delayed because you cannot outwit a simpleton with a shield and a woman with a sword."

"This is hardly my area of expertise," Zola counters, "I merely developed the weapons. I cannot fire them."

"Finish your mission, Doctor, before the American finishes his," Schmidt threateningly walks towards the short doctor, a soldier cutting him off.

"Sir!" He yells.

"I'm sorry, Herr Schmidt," a man with a suit and tie with brown hair tells the leader. "We fought to the last man." Schmidt brings out his gun and points it at the man, Zola looking away, "Evidently not."

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