Disclaimer: The character of Captain America belongs to Marvel Comics. All other characters are mine. This story takes place in an alternate universe.
Chapter 1. Battle for Freedom
In the halls of the Pentagon, Captain America enters his universal access code, the code which allows him instant access through every United States security system, into the access panel mounted on the door guarded by two battle-dressed Marines. Returning their precise salute with his own in a gesture of respect to the soldiers, he passes through the doorway, focused, lost in thought, contemplating this latest crisis, the reason for his summons in the middle of the night.
Apparently, from the summary he was given, a new organization was gathering strength. This organization seemed to call themselves the "Arm of the Iron Fist". The spymaster in charge of monitoring this new group received a new report alarming enough to summon him. That's all he knew at present. Finally, he reaches the door leading into the conference room. He stands before the door momentarily with his large trademark red and white striped bulls-eyed shield, a white star in a circle of blue in its center, slung over one broad shoulder.
Captain America appears in the prime of his life, although his actual age would shock anyone. The SSS(Super-Soldier-Serum) he had taken as a volunteer for a top-secret human weapon program back in the Korean War had transformed him into a super-human. Unfortunately, none of his companions survived the transformation process, and the horrified Dr. Edwards destroyed the formula before taking his own life, unable to bear the responsibility for the deaths of all those fine young soldiers. Somehow, though, Captain American had survived, the world's only true Superhero. He never talked about the experience again. He blocked off the entire experience, and spent the rest of his life becoming the utter epitome of a patriotic American hero, determined with an unholy fierceness to ensure that his brothers had not died in vain.
He is the perfect embodiment of the American soldier. Physically, he is a seasoned American icon with rugged boy-next door good looks coupled with super-human strength. He has a musculature bone structure much denser than average man, his skin is able to stop bullets, he has incredible recuperative powers, intense combat training, and amazing reflexes that all combine to make him the the living symbol of the American hero. The captain is tall, well over 6' in height and 225 lbs of lean seasoned muscle. Captain America's uniform is a dark blue latex type bodysuit that conforms tightly to his sculpted body. A big five point white star is set across his big chest below vertical red and white alternating spandex stripes that encompass his lower chest. His suit conforms tightly to his body, showing off each individual brick in his abs, each intercostal muscle along his ribs, each bulge and vein in his arms of steel. A worn black leather military style belt equipped with pouches is buckled around his athletic waist. Dark red elbow length leather gloves with pouches sewn into each forearm cover white spandex that transitions to blue near each big bicep. Accenting the uniform are big dark red combat style boots with thick black soles and tightly spaced red bootlaces laced synched up tight. The blue latex covering his broad shoulders and neck rises transitioning into a mask incorporated into the bodysuit. The mask covers his entire head leaving his face from the nose down exposed. The mask is integrated to allow for eyes and ears and has a white capitol lettered "A” imprinted on its forehead.
Captain America rolls his big shoulders repositioning the big shield on his broad back. The hall is dimly lit but as he strolled up to the door leading to the top-secret conference room the numeric security keypad affixed to the steel door is illuminated. The captain enters his universal access code again at the terminal. There is a mechanical click before the heavy steel door unlocks and opens inward slightly, becoming ajar. The captain pushes open one of the tall steel doors using the palm of his gloved hand before entering. Inside, the table is surrounded by high-ranking officials. Immediately his chief liason, General Carter, announces, "Thank you for coming Captain, please be seated, let me explain the latest development regarding the 'The Arm of the Iron Fist' organization."
The General describes a report just in from their operative inside the organization, "According to this report, the entire group revolves around their leader, known only as The Iron Fist. Somehow, this mysterious man is able to inspire fanatical devotion in his men. The operative reported that for some time he had heard whispered stories shared between the guards at night, stories of superhuman feats performed by their revered leader. Since it was clear that the Iron Fist crushed the spreading of these stories by harshly punishing anyone caught telling them, the operative couldn't be certain it was anything other than whispers and rumors. That is, until he became a first hand witness. A few days ago, he was rotated into a new duty assignment. He now served as one of the Iron Fist's inner guard and so was in the same room when the Iron Fist lost his temper one day. The enraged leader grabbed a solid steel door, and ripped the door off it's hinges. His reports ends by describing a new plan he just became privy to, a plan involving a raid on the Pentagon itself, to capture the Nations' greatest treasure, ... Then it ends. Apparently he was interrupted mid-transmission.” The general stopped, allowing time for questions. The Captain shook his head, flexing his bicep involuntarily and rolling his bowling-ball shoulders while looking up. He was about to speak, when suddenly an alarm began blaring INTRUDER INTRUDER INTRUDER.
Captain America sprang into action. The undefeated defender of Liberty sprinted out the door, shield in hand, consulting the monitor outside he quickly pinpointed the location where the security perimeter had been breached. Then the mighty hero races towards the breach, flowing smoothly, powerfully, more an unstoppable force of nature, the embodiment of heroism, then a man. Finally, he drops out of his run and into a silent stealth. Every massive muscle, every rock hard limb moving quieter than a cat, silent and deadly. He looks into the outer room, seeing nothing disturbed. Not a speck of dust seems out of place in the dim room. The window is sealed, but something set off the alarm. He scans the dim room. The brave hero didn't have to wait very long.
Suddenly from out of the shadows a larger figure makes his presence know! He moves triggering the motion detector, activating the overhead lights ,which in turn illuminates the barren room. The sudden illumination reveals a big young strapping man. He is as big, if not bigger, and as muscularly sculpted as the captain. The big man is dressed in similar taut spandex gear, conforming tightly to his powerfully built body! He is masked in a similar fashion as well only with a red capitol letter “F” imprinted on his forehead. He also has a large shield similar to the captain's slung over his broad back! His shield is of similar size and shape only predominantly red with a stylized iron gauntlet making a fist in its center. The big man's spandex suit is a dull golden yellow and has another stylized iron gauntlet proudly set in the center of his brawny chest! He wears the same dark red combat style boots with tightly spaced laces, yellow, synched up tight. A matching set of elbow length red gloves covers his big clenched fists that hang menacingly at either side of the strapping young man's sturdy frame. Unlike our brave Captain America though, the villain is wearing rather ominous looking black composite gauntlets that surround each big forearm and are integrated into each of his red leather gloves, it's clear these gauntlets are the ones featured in this villain's symbol, the stylized gauntleted fist.
The Iron Fist steps forward, each step sure and confident, his entire bearing and carriage radiating sinister competence and cruelty. Laughing, he says in a voice dripping with sarcasm, “So this is the mighty Captain America? Have you come to stop me? Have you come to prevent me from stealing the nation's greatest treasure, stored here at the Pentagon? Tell me Captain America, did your spy ever actually mention what that treasure was?” Captain America mastered the surge of irritation rising inside, did these idiots always have to waste time gloating? But he was worried.. clearly, this man knew about their operative, and just as clearly, didn't seem to care. What could that mean? Captain America answered, “I'm sorry, I can't allow that. Come with me quietly or not as you choose, but you aren't leaving this room unless it's under my custody." he said firmly, his hands planted on his hips.
The Iron Fist turns on a dime, beginning a superhuman pelt towards the far door.
In the prime of his life, Captain America is a perfect example of mature, seasoned muscle. Rugged boy-next-door good looks, his face partially covered by a mask, his trusty shield always at hand, his abilities of super-human strength, and a musculature/bone structure made impossibly dense thanks to the super soldier serum. The gifts also included incredible recuperative powers, intense combat training, and amazing reflexes all of which combined to make him the most dangerous man in America, and in fact the world, since no one had been able to duplicate the super soldier serum since the original formula was lost.
Confident in his abilities, confident in the certain knowledge of his superiority, Captain America turns only milliseconds after Iron Fist, following in a massive burst of heroic power towards the same door. They are both about the same distance from the door. However, it soon became clear that something was about to turn Captain America's day upside down.
The room passed in a blur, but suddenly to his utter shock, the Iron Fist arrives at the doors first.
Apparently the cruel villain was just as fast as the stunned Captain, perhaps faster. With time to spare, the Iron Fist grabs the door, and rips it off it's hinges. Captain America gasps in astonishment as the solid metal door is torn down. The Iron Fist grabs, grunts, flexes, and pulls, his firm tight muscles rippling with awesome power as the door rends and shrieks in protest, no match for the strength of this determined warrior. Captain America assesses the situation quickly. He could have done that... But as quickly, as easily, as effortlessly as that? Clearly, someone has rediscovered the super soldier serum, and it wasn't one of us. The thought created a sinking feeling in the pit of his gut.
His confidence was momentarily shaken. He geared himself up mentally for perhaps the toughest battle of his career. But he wasn't truly worried. Even if this Iron Fist might have physical abilities on par with his own, Captain America knew that he had a lifetime of honed training and discipline, a lifetime of pushing himself to his physical limits and beyond, developing the toughness of a true warrior, something no serum can give.
He quickly performed a mental exercise, designed to bolster his confidence and fine-tune his focus. He thought to himself, “I know I am tough, I know no criminal has the mental discipline, dedication, and drive it requires to be a true hero. That mental discipline, dedication, and drive comes only to those who serve Good. No criminal has the guts to endure the punishing discipline which gives the hero tremendous heart, stubbornness, and moxy. That moxy proves the edge in every battle. By definition a criminal by choosing evil always chooses the easy way, therefore no criminal would ever choose the harder path which leads to discipline and toughness. That's why the good guys always win. That's why I will win, why I always have won, why I always will. Even without the gift of the super soldier serum, still I would prevail because of that. For my fallen brothers, for their sacrifice, I will never fail and never falter.” Reassured of his invincibility, reassured of the justness of his cause, he was re-psyched and focused for battle, thanks to his favorite mental technique. All of this takes only milliseconds for the Captain and his lightning thought processes to perform. Just in time too, for the Iron Fist turns flinging the heavy door at the oncoming hero.
Without blinking, the hero's brawny arm ripples with power as his shield suddenly appears in front of him. With a massive battle-roar, Captain America bats away the heavy door, and leaps onto the deadly intruder from behind, just as he was going to make a liar out of Captain America and step out of the room, not in the hero's custody.
They both hurtle forward into the hallway, Iron Fist stunned as the trained muscle of the warrior-soldier-hero Captain America bears him to the floor. The boom of impact echoes through the hall, the onlooking Marines with their AK-47's not daring to fire, mesmerized by the sight of their role-model and hero grappling with the intruder.
Iron Fist roars in anger, pulling in his limbs, causing them to swell and turn to corded iron as he thrusts up to all fours in order to throw the Captain off and regain his feet. Captain America however was ready for this, and with a loud KAAAAIIIII of focused explosive power, the hero sinks his booted feet, his hooks, in deep beneath the villain’s unprepared legs. Extending his muscled legs, the force bears the bad guy back down, the soldier-hero's biceps turn into steel as his arms thrust forward, under the Iron Fist's hairy pits and behind his neck, locking on a deadly full-nelson.
Bearing down, the straining hero begins bashing the Iron Fist's forehead into the stone floor of the corridor. The next moment, mid-slam, a mighty roar of explosive power escapes from the villain trapped beneath him. Accompanying the roar, the trapped villain thrusts his legs apart, sending the Captain's boots sprawling from the explosive force. The bad guy overcomes the hero's resistance, sending a spike of pain through the big thighs of the American champion. He's not used to being overpowered. Heroically, he scrambles to find purchase and bash the Iron Fist to the stone again, but before he can, the cruel super criminal pulls his knees into his guts, gets his feet under him, and explodes to a standing position. The release of power shakes the mighty hero, striving to hold the full nelson in place against the storm of physical power that allowed the Iron Fist to regain his feet. Stubborn, tough, never back down grit powers the heroic arms of Captain America back into the fight, causing the chin of the evil villain to start sinking towards the spandex covered plates of steel pec muscle adorning the bad guy's chest. Every inch costing the Captain tremendous spurts of pure gut-powered hero determination and will. The villain starts to shake and shudder. His face remains calm, and he goes suddenly very still, then, before Captain America can understand what just happened, the Iron Fist lets loose a roar of exertion that sends winces across the faces of the onlooking Marines. His arms suddenly pulse with pure 100% unadulterated supreme manly muscle power. The unstoppable force of the villain's arms traveling downwards meets the immovable object of Captain America's full-nelson.
For a brief moment, a millisecond, it looked like the immovable object would win. Captain America upon hearing the battle roar of the bad guy, himself lets out a roar only a brief millisecond later, a roar of determination to stand firm, to absorb this blast of power and keep bearing down on the nelson until the bad guy was KO'd. His all behind standing firm, his every ounce into resisting, the shock of power from Iron Fist slams into the resistance of the Captain. It's a close thing... the closest contest Iron Fist has ever encountered, but after a terrible moment filled with an indescribable struggle, The arms of the hero, against their will, against everything and anything Captain America can do, are burst asunder, and the nelson overcome. The blast of his escape sends the stunned, disbelieving hero backwards into the corridor wall. His solid soldier-hero frame hits the steel with a sickening THUNNNNKKKKKK , and he stumbles forward, mentally dazed unable to process how he was overpowered. Knowing it was theoretically possible was completely different then actually experiencing it. The Captain, so much more powerful than other humans and training partners, even though he trained and pushed himself to his breaking point, had no experience with anyone able to match his power. This situation was a first. And yet... it seemed somehow that this Iron Fist had experience with opponents his own strength. He was beginning to realize how deficient that aspect of his training had been, leaving him unprepared to deal with Iron Fist with his full confidence and heroic presence. How was this possible? His fine mind began analyzing the problem while the part of his mind concerned with battle refocused.
Before he had recovered completely, his stunned surprise had cost him precious milliseconds, Iron Fist's arm blurs while he un-shoulders his predominantly red shield. He whirls the shield like a Frisbee spinning towards a stunned and off-guard Captain America. The shield plows hard into the captain's well developed abdominals and then spins off towards the other side of the hall. This the first time Captain America has been on the receiving end of a shield! The fierce impact the shield delivers to his red and white striped midsection is unlike any he has experienced before.
WHOOOMMMFFFFFFF
Captain America is hurtled backwards doubled over like a big limp red, white and blue rag doll, the wind knocked completely out of him! He and his shouldered shield slam hard into one of the hall's thick steel walls, the wall he just finished bouncing off of after the failed full-nelson, and the captain finds himself knocked on his ass again! Captain America groans clenching his stomach as he tries futilely to get up onto his feet while the Iron Fist coolly catches his returning red shield with great proficiently and re-shoulders it!
The blow does serious damage to the hero, the force behind that shield thrust was deadlier than any human force the Captain has ever been on the receiving end of before. It switches something inside the hero, causes him to dig deeper, to dip deeper into the well of hero moxie. Almost as if he were unaffected by the blow to his gut, the hero launches himself like a tiger towards the gloating villain, his fist aiming to plow into Iron Fist's jaw.
Almost... but, the brave hero for reasons that will become clear later, has made a deadly mistake, for this villain knows all to well about the hard path, about true toughness, and he demonstrates this now in dramatic fashion. With deadly grace, Iron Fist twists his torso and tucks his head out of the way of the oncoming fist. As he twists, somehow in some way his other fist swings up in the same motion. In the manner of a trained championship MMA fighter, the defensive move and the offensive counterblow are fused inseparably into the same motion. Unable to guard, unable to adjust for the deadly reaction speed of his opponent, all the bravery and moxie in the world does no good to stop the damage inflicted on our hero when the deadly iron gauntlet, the trademark weapon of the villain, powered by his own inexplicably evil strength, slams into Captain America's jaw.
CRUNCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
The unforgiving composite gauntlet covered fist rearranges the soldier-hero's facial features, sending the brave hero's jaw jutting out sickeningly to one side before it springs back. The hero’s head turns 180 degrees, taking the corded, deadly trained All-American muscle body with it, and a spray of blood and spit goes flying across the hall to spatter the wall. Stupidly Captain America realizes this is perhaps only the second or third time anything has ever been able to injure enough to draw blood, fascinated for a moment, hovering on the edge of KO, the hero is lost in the strange beauty of his blood dripping down the far wall. Time seems to have gone still.
Then, time returns, and the flash of pain and light shooting through the hero's skull is not a sensation he's able to process very well. Dimly, he's aware of falling to his knees and the mocking laughter of the villain. It's taking something deep out of the Captain, this battle... He's been forced to dig deep into his wells of moxie, and this battle is only just getting started. Every time he's come up with an attack, it's been countered in deadly fashion by this villain. Those gauntlets... the Captain had never been hit with anything as hard as those gauntlets.. Not bullets, nothing.. The Captain's confidence is shaking, but he knows what is at stake. To allow this criminal to carry out his raid here, in the Pentagon, the center of American might, would be unthinkable, would violate everything Captain America held sacred, for his brothers, he would prevail. HE WOULD. Like always, thoughts of his lost brothers caused new strength to flow in him, new determination. Grimly the hero, blood dripping from his mouth, the first in decades drawn by anyone from the world's only Superhero, raised his head, ready to fight again. He smiles grimly, and motions at Iron Fist, defiantly stating, "Is that the best you got? Bring it on. I WILL stop you. You WILL NOT GET PAST ME!"