//------------------------------//
// Super Soldier: Red Ball Express 
// Story: A New Brand of Freedom 
// by Spettro138 
//------------------------------//

The communications center elevator shook and creaked loudly in its shaft. It was clear that it was badly damaged and falling apart from weeks of disrepair. All of the panels on the inside of the elevator were rusted over, many of them with large holes. Firebrand was having fun enjoying how it was vibrating, shaking him up and down in his harness. Suddenly though, the two faintly heard what sounded like a mechanical shrill cry, followed by a large explosion that echoed through the elevator shaft and rattled the duo all about like they were inside a giant paint mixer. Steve struggled to keep his balance as the elevator moved around. 

"N-N-No m-m-m-more sh-sh-sh-shakey!" Firebrand cried as he ignited his horn.

Ribbons of red magical energy flowed from Firebrand's horn and coated the entire insides of the elevator, settling the shaking enough for Steve to stand up straight and activate his communicator.

"What the heck was that? Dugan, come in, we heard an explosion. Dugan, please respond." Steve shouted into his communicator.

"Sorry for the racket Cap. That was just me being my usual clumsy self...seems that I broke their pulse cannon." Dugan sheepishly said through the communicator.

"I don't want any more of the bouncey box Uncah Dummy!" Firebrand complained. 

"I'll try to aim better next time then," Dugan chuckled. 

Another more faint boom could be heard from outside, followed by some screaming. 

"Oops, sorry Cap, gotta go. I'll talk with you again in a bit."

The communicator turned off, forcing Steve to let out a sigh of resignation. 

'That guy is going to be the death of me, I just know it,' Steve thought humorously.

The shaking slowed down as the elevator finally came to a screeching stop and slowly opened. The duo ran into what appeared to be a large train tunnel with cargo containers stacked up against the walls. An alarm was blaring through the tunnel as dozens of Hydra technicians ran off left down the tunnel.

"Where are they going?" Firebrand wondered.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that too..." Steve replied thoughtfully. "I really hope the big guy didn't make too much of a mess."

Quietly following behind the large group of Hydra soldiers and technicians, they came out of the tunnel to find a scene wrought with destruction and chaos.

"Yep, that's Dugan's work all right," Steve chuckled.

"He made a mess. Is Uncah Dummy gonna get trap reminded?," Firebrand chattered.

"Reprimanded buddy. And I don't think the Colonel particularly cares how we deal with Hydra." he replied.

Outside of the tunnel, they found the train bridge across the canyon completely destroyed, fallen off down to the green valley thousands of feet below. The Hydra building on the other side was smoldering with large pieces of it blown off by mortar fire. Large boulders of granite were beginning to break off of the mountainside and tumble to the building below. Parts of the building were being crushed under the constant barrage, no doubt killing many of Hydra's troops inside.

"Find the man who did this," one of the technicians breathed out in terror. "If we kill him, Zola might spare our lives."

Taking advantage of the distraction, Cap went in for an attack on the technicians before they were aware of his presence. However, when Steve reeled his shield arm back for a powerful throw, Steve heard Firebrand make a noise and hop out of his harness. Turning around, Steve found Firebrand trying to get into a large opened crate covered by a tarp. Firebrand tugged away at the tarp, revealing a large mounted machine gun stored inside.

"Firebrand don't--" Steve tried to warn but was too late as Firebrand found the triggers of the mounted machine gun and started firing. 

The spread of the machine gun was wide and the amount of bullets it spat out at an alarming rate was frightening as Steve ducked out of the way while Firebrand used his magic to hold on to the handles of the machine gun for dear life. It was so powerful that it tossed Firebrand around like a rag doll. Steve was even more concerned by the fact that the colt was taking too much of a liking to it. Before long, most of the Hydra soldiers on the platform had been all but decimated.

"Well, I guess...that's one way to take out soldiers," Steve said unsure. "Peggy is going to gut me like a trout for letting you use that Firebrand."

"The shiny sticks blew through their heads!"

Steve sighed and rolled his eyes as he jogged over towards the colt, when all of a sudden, a loud crack echoed through the air and impacted into the ground below him.

Looking up, Steve saw three Hydra snipers perched atop a high balcony over a hundred feet away from their current position. Another shot was fired, as Steve danced around the ruined train platform trying to think of an idea. Remembering his physics studies with Howard Stark, Steve held his shield perfectly vertically and threw it overhead. Much like the discus throwers of olden Greece. The shield arced high up into the air and impacted against the balcony a hundred feet away with a loud bang. The shock wave from the shield caused something to blow up, sending the three snipers over the railing and careening to their untimely deaths below.

Now that the two had a free moment, Steve walked up to the edge of what used to be one of Hydra's main railway bridges. Cap knew that the destruction would surely slow their progress exponentially. He only hoped that it would actually help the Allied Forces in the long run.

"That little bit of chaos is a thing of beauty Dugan," Steve said approvingly through his comm device. "Now get outside and link up with the others if you can. Or if you're still around, keep looking for any sign of Falsworth. Firebrand and I need to give this castle a look around. Something really fishy has been going on here for a while now."

Then suddenly, the first they heard was a noise like a growl of a wild beast coming from the East. Many of the trees on the other side of the canyon began to creak and crack in the cold, dry wind. A large shape began to emerge over the mountain side, hanging low as if to stay out of sight. Steve recognized the shape almost instantly as it glided over the mountainside and creeped its way closer and closer to Castle Zemo. It was the Red Skull's personal Zeppelin. It was an enormous vehicle, over two hundred feet long and one hundred feet wide. The engine propelling the immense aircraft disturbed all of the environment around it. 

Scooping up Firebrand, Steve ducked back into the tunnel to avoid being seen as the Zeppelin closed in.

Firebrand began to shake violently as his eyes were set upon the aircraft.

"Red man is up there," Firebrand stated fearfully.

"Yeah, and we are going to have to face him soon buddy. That's a demon we are going to have to vanquish if we are ever going to get home." Steve said with dread. "And I hate to think about all of the things that might happen if we don't."





Miles away, the Zeppelin touched down at the air dock as an armed escort came to welcome the Red Skull to the castle. Arnim Zola hobbled out of a security door and approached the main door of the Zeppelin where he stood at attention, waiting for his master to emerge. He quickly brushed himself off and adjusted his coat to make himself more presentable for his better. 

The door of the Zeppelin opened with a chunk and wheezed outwards as it began to open. The door slid to the side, revealing the imposing figure of the Red Skull as he stepped out on to the cat walk. His pitch black coat gently blew in the wind as he maintained a brisk pace walking towards the castle. Zemo struggled to keep up with him, but managed relatively well as he greeted the man.

"Herr Skull...I assume your journey, was pleasant?" he asked courteously.

"It was....I quite enjoyed...seeing Bavaria's mountains again after all these years. Until I arrived to find my castle under attack." he said with vague irritation. 

"A minor annoyance, easily dealt with," Zola assured. "You, ah, did bring the Cosmic Cube with you, did you not?"

"Of course Arnim."

Schmitt presented it to Zola in a taunting manner as if he was holding a treat in front of a dog's face. Zola reached out for the case containing the cube, but Schmitt pulled it back before he could touch it.

"And with it, I will activate the Sleeper myself." he said with malice. "After of course, you give me Erskine's Serum and the source of the foal's magic."

Zola felt himself begin to sweat as he realized he had to pull himself out of a potentially lethal situation.

"Of course," he lied. "It is inside...where no misfortune can befall it."

"From this...."minor annoyance" Arnim?" the Red Skull growled.

"Nevertheless Herr Skull. What we do here today, will crush those idiots of the west. It will turn the tide of the war itself." Zola said, changing the subject.

The Red Skull simply chuckled evilly at that.

"The war?....No....The war....is meaningless. When both sides have weakened each other sufficiently; all the world will meet its true masters. And then we shall set our sights towards...our ultimate prize...A perfect world...of magic and science coinciding in perfect harmony. That foal...will lead me to it. The American will be powerless to stop me from doing so."

"And we will be ready Herr Skull. Hail Hydra. Now if you will follow me, I will show you to our operations here."

"I have received word that the Baron and Ophelia failed me. Where are they now?" Schmitt asked curiously.

"Strucker is being treated in a facility off site, and I do believe Madame Hydra is still on the premises. Though I heard she has locked herself in her barracks and refuses to see anyone or seek medical attention." Zola replied.

"I will deal with her in due time. Let her wallow in her shame and humiliation. She is still a valuable asset. Dump Strucker in the nearest Gulag." he said coldly. "There is a costly price for failure."

"He has children I believe yes?" 

"Yes...perhaps they one may one day prove to be much more reliable servant than their predecessor was."





Back in the train tunnel, Steve finally calmed down and stepped out of his hiding spot, sure that they were finally safe. For the moment at the very least.

"Where do we go now daddy?" Firebrand questioned. "Uncah Dummy wrecked bridge."

"We have only one chance to reach the Skull in time...if one of these trains goes in the right direction." Steve stated.

Firebrand was not pleased in the slightest with the thought of having to see the Red Skull again.

"Can we go home Daddy? I...don't want to be here anymore." Firebrand said mournfully. 

"We have a job to do buddy. If the Skull has his way, a lot of people are gonna be hurt, some a lot worse than you were. Plus, we can't just leave Falsworth behind. He's our friend and we owe it to him to bring him back home safely. I promise, after we get back to London, I'll take a short leave with you alright? We'll find a place with a lot of spaghetti and meatballs you can chow down on." 

The foal looked down in thought, still afraid, but knowing that everything that Steve said was the truth. 

'I'm really scared of the red man, but I'm scared of mommy and the nice people in Lon-Don getting hurt even more' Firebrand thought. 'I can probably help daddy'.

"Okay daddy," Firebrand relented. 

"Now. We need to find a train that heads north. This one here runs only east to west. And its only going one direction now that Dugan made this little mess."

Firebrand let out a small giggle, making Steve smile.

"There. That is what I want buddy." he said rubbing Firebrand on the head. "Keep yourself bright. Even when everything else doesn't."

Firebrand and Steve looked all around the destroyed subway for anything that might help them on their search. Eventually, Firebrand found a door on the far side of the tunnel complete with a console, blocking them from entry. Firebrand tried his luck with the console, seeing if watching his daddy would help him figure out how to crack the security. Manipulating the nobs and levers with his magic, he started to hear a shrill clicking and then a gauge that left him with only a small amount of time to complete the code. As the countdown ticked, Firebrand moved around the different controls and pressed different buttons. Gazing at one of the screens, Firebrand noticed that there was a pattern to all of the numbers and letters hidden inside the codes. Moving them around, Firebrand connected the characters together only a second away from the system locking down entirely.

"Firebrand? Where'd you go off to?" 

"I'm over here Daddy! I opened the door!" Firebrand cried out.

Coming around the train, Steve found Firebrand messing around with the security console as the door slowly slid open. He couldn't help but feel impressed that the youngster figured out such a complex machine. The feat only added another question on to the pile that Steve had about Firebrand and where he came from. The foal was growing rapidly not only in body, but also in mind. He would need some help from people that he could trust to unlock more of Firebrand's secrets.

"Great job! That's one less delay that we have to deal with," Steve congratulated. "Those panels are really tedious."

Heading into another passageway, the duo came across a lone Hydra soldier who was completely unaware of the destruction and mayhem that was going on around him. Before Steve could stop him, Firebrand rushed towards the soldier  and leaped hoof first into his helmet, sending him crashing into the wall. The impact left a large crater in that part of the wall, sending little chunks falling out. The soldier tried getting back up, but Firebrand stomped down on his face, breaking his nose and knocking him out. He looked up back up at Steve who had a shocked look on his face.

"I...keep forgetting how fast you are," he chuckled. 

Walking up to the next security door, he quickly cracked the code, allowing them entry into the next room.

"Now, let's see if we can't find the controls to all of the trains--" Cap started.

A large group of soldiers and wardens stood in his way as the door slid open. It took about three seconds for both parties to process each others presence, before all hell broke loose. One of them got jittery and threw a grenade right into the hallway where Steve and Firebrand were. Cap grabbed Firebrand and tossed him down the hallway and flipped his shield upside down, covering the grenade like a lid. A second later, the grenade detonated, sending a booming sound through the building and launching Steve a few feet into the air. 

Flipping his shield back around, he found the thick straps somewhat damaged, but still usable overall. His ears were spared for the most part from the debilitating shock of the grenade thanks to the serum.

Cap pulled his shield up when a blizzard of bullets came toward him. Firebrand tried running to his side, completely unable to hear anything He was forced to kick Firebrand out of the way back behind the door, knowing he couldn't withstand such an onslaught. 

Firebrand at that moment was going through such disorienting pain. A pain that comes from being unable to properly process the things in your immediate environment. After continued use of the mounted machine gun back in the tunnel, added with the sound of the explosion, his sensitive ears were beginning to feel the effects. When the gunfire started, his ears began to sting and ring loudly. He tried folding his ears down and holding on to them to cease the painful ringing that surged through his tiny skull. He pushed himself up on to his hooves, doing his best to power through it. He saw Steve pushing through the gunfire, advancing forward with his shield still raised up. He clumsily stumbled to the door frame and cautiously peeked around, still trying to shake off the ringing. The ringing gave him a major headache that clouded his vision somewhat, but he still had a small grasp on what was happening. He started to smell something foul, like rust or iron. When he brought his hoof up to his face, he could feel something wet and slimy blending into the crimson color of his fur. It took a couple of seconds to realize what was oozing out of his head. The sight disturbed the colt greatly.

Steve was powering his way through multiple soldiers while they stopped to reload their rifles, all the while avoiding the lumbering wardens who were constantly trying to swipe at him with their menacing claws. The room, quickly filling up with bodies, made moving around without tripping quite difficult. Watching where he was stepping and focusing on everything his numerous opponents were doing tested his attention and awareness. 

Firebrand meanwhile saw three more Wardens trying to swarm Cap as he tried to steady his shaking and rocking.  He stood up on his back legs and leaned up against the door frame and held up one of his hooves with the other, as if he was holding a gun. The ringing in his head was becoming worse every moment as it created intense migraines. He tried his best to hold back tears while he aimed at the Warden right in the center of the room. The single black horse shoe shot right into the chest of the Warden, compromising his chest piece and caving in his chest. He was forced backwards and slammed right into the other Warden, sending both of them falling over each other. 

When Steve saw Firebrand collapse again, he made quick work of the last Warden and ran over to the door frame. Firebrand was sweating and breathing hard. Steve tried to talk to the foal, but he couldn't get any sort of response out of him. Firebrand's eyes opened up, filled with tears as he tried his best to communicate with Steve. 

"Shell shock," Steve enunciated. "The first time is always pretty nasty."

"W-what?" Firebrand painfully asked.

"Just hold on buddy. Give me a moment. We gotta get to the Skull, but I don't want you to get sick. I'm sure as hell not sending you to any asylum."

Rummaging through the belongings of the soldiers he killed, Steve found a black and red bandanna and wrapped it around the foal's forehead, covering his tiny ears. He went to go looking for medical supplies, but Firebrand had already solved their problem for him. Searching around with his magic, Firebrand found a small portable case of gauze and cotton hidden in a nearby drawer. It most likely belonged to one of the grunts in case of emergency. Firebrand took off the bandanna and stuffed two pieces of cotton into his ears to soak up the blood. Ripping off a piece of gauze, Firebrand wrapped it around his forehead, covering his ears and then placed the bandanna back around his head. 

Steve was completely stunned by what he was seeing. Despite being disoriented somewhat, Firebrand handled his own injuries professionally. 

"Huh...." Steve breathed out. "You must have been a medic in another life little buddy. That was pretty impressive."

Now that the mini crisis had been averted, Steve got a better look at the room they entered into.

"This is the control hub for the entire rail line. Jackpot. If I can just get a train heading north, I can hitch a ride straight for the  Skull,"

Along one side of the room was a viewing port of the entire junction. A large circular cavernous chamber with fifteen tracks holding many of Hydra's high powered speed trains. Only four of the tracks were actual tunnels, signifying the different directions the trains could travel. 

Looking down at Firebrand, Steve saw he was still in some amount of discomfort, but he was doing his best to rest. His chest rised and fell normally, flinching every so often from the soreness. Steve placed the colt back into his harness once again to rest while he worked his way into the railway junction. Unlocking another coded security door, the man came out on to a catwalk and found a crank that controlled the entire rotating rail mechanism in the center of the room. Pulling on the rusted lever firmly, the rail began to spin to the right, passing two tunnels, before coming to a stop.

"Hmmm," Steve mumbled. "I need to go North, so one more turn should be just about enough."

Cranking the lever again, the railway finally aligned with the proper track allowing Steve to go down towards antechamber of the Northbound train. Circling around, he found the vehicle parked in the back on its own section of track and searched around for an activation mechanism. Upon further inspection, these trains were outfitted with special power sources, much like what was used to power Hydra's energy rifles. Parts of the engine were scorching hot, singing his gloves when he accidentally brushed up against it.

"Look's like Zola has been busy." Steve mused. "I'll have to bring back some of this tech to Howard. I'm sure he could do something useful with it."

Scanning the train, Steve found a small hatch and broke it open with his shield. Inside, he found a small cavity, containing a glowing red power cell the size of a football. He couldn't understand why, but the energy emanating from the power cell felt eerily familiar. Things were starting to show up all around the castle that gave him an aching suspicion that he couldn't yet confirm. Reaching inside with one arm, Steve barely managed to wrap his fingers around it and started to pull. It was held down by metal bands bolted to the main generator. Using a little bit of effort, the bands began to give and finally broke under the tension from his pulling, allowing him to pocket the power cell for Howard Stark.

Coming to the back, Steve found another lever up towards the back side of the train and cranked it, hoping that it would have the correct response that he was looking for. The cogs and gears grinded and screeched against the lever as the apparatus worked its magic. The train started slowly making its way down the tracks, as Steve had an internal celebration.

"It worked!" he cried triumphantly.

Following the train as it slowly began picking up speed along the tracks, Steve saw one of the doors blocking its way along the tunnel open up, only to reveal a second door further in still closed off.

"Doors are sealed up ahead....but if I can get this thing going fast enough, it won't matter," Steve said formulating a plan.

Along the side of the tracks, Steve found two emergency power boxes on either side of the tracks that sent power through the turning mechanism of the junction. Opening up a side panel, Steve hot wired it to send more power into the tracks, and sent the train into overdrive.

It started to make a shrill noise, sending excessive amounts of steam billowing out the sides. The lights in the front shined brighter than before as power began to build up inside the engine. Even for someone like Steve, he couldn't help but watch the mechanical marvel in awe as the wheels began to turn and crank gradually faster and faster. Before it got out of his reach, Steve hopped on board the back side and climbed up on top, all the while trying his best to keep Firebrand steady. His eyes burned when he climbed past an exhaust pipe that was billowing out an eerie red smoke. By the time he climbed to the roof of the train, it had already exceeded fifty miles per hour as it blazed down the tracks.

He realized that in order for his plan to work properly, he would have to use the momentum of the train as his weapon to make it through the sealed door without being crushed himself. So he swung down to the side of the train and began shimmying his way forward. Looking ahead, he saw a walkway that dangerously hugged the tracks very closely become larger and larger as he progressed through the tunnel. He only had a second to react as he found an indentation in the train large enough to lay in and held himself flat against it, trying not to squish Firebrand in the process. When the danger passed, Cap continued his progress until he was finally gripping the bars at the front and swung himself around.

Holding his shield behind his back in ready position, Cap watched the sealed door get closer and closer as he waited for the exact moment to act.

Before he knew it, when the door was but thirty feet away, he forcefully pistoned off of the train with his legs and held his shield out like a battering ram. The invincible shield acted like a hole puncher as the duo flew right through and landed far on the other side, killing one of the soldiers guarding the passageway with the force of the blow. The grunts were completely stunned by what happened, only to be shocked out of it by a familiar terrifying honking from the approaching train.

"NO IT CANT BE!!!" one of the grunts wailed.

It ripped the door open like paper, sending fire, shrapnel, and metal in all directions as it barreled through everything in its path. Finally, the seemingly unstoppable train could take no more damage as it fell off of the tracks and slowed down to a stop as it scraped against the wall of the railway tunnel.

Cap looked on at the carnage in awe and bittersweet sadness gazing down at the overturned train. As if it was a mighty beast that was taking its last breath. 

"Man, I really wish I could keep you," Steve said with glee. "Probably couldn't fit you on the plane anyhow.

Firebrand groaned and peeked over Steve's shoulder rubbing his large eyes with his foreleg.

"Can you keep it down?" he whined. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

He started to laugh as they continued their way down another dark passageway heading away from the railway tunnel. Completely unaware of how bad things were about to get for the both of them very quickly in Castle Zemo.

Next Time: Super Soldier: The Small Back Room