Winter & Summer: A Marvel Story in an Alternate Universe!

Chapter 8

There was something about the city of Tokyo, its sheer magnitude and the way tradition and innovation pulsed noisily through its electric veins, that made it the perfect place to hide. Somewhere in the Shinjuku skyscraper district, not at the top of the high-rise but rather, below - deep below under the feet of shuffling businessmen and women who could care less - Dr. Jon Kirishima works in silence.

He preferred it this way, as he plugged away in his underground laboratory. No, this was not a scrappy, slapped-together, makeshift workspace, nor was it a sterilized, white-walled scientific facility. Rather, it was something of a mix between the two, a cross between method and madness. Kirishima - a slender, pepper-haired gentleman in his mid-50s - kept his space ordered and organized, though he only worked off his laptop and secondhand equipment provided by HYDRA. But he had everything he needed, and he worked alone, with no people and no sound aside from the mild hum of the lights on the ceiling.

Pure, deadening silence. Just the way he liked it.

Kirishima was probably better off working alone anyhow. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s crackdown on HYDRA, led by that new Captain America, had grown increasingly effective over the past three years. Kirishima had found it sad and rather cowardly, really, how quickly the hidden pockets were being ratted out. And what's more, their top weapon - the last living Super Soldier from HYDRA's flagship program - was gone.

But there was hope. After years of research, Kirishima had finally cracked a replicate of the Super Soldier serum. All he needed to do was combine it with the compounds of the Summer Soldier's blood, and he would have an unstoppable antidote that could restart HYDRA's Super Soldier program and usher in its new rise to power.

And even without the Summer Soldier present, he had her coding. He had, essentially, the ingredients that could replicate her blood artificially. He knew her - her DNA, her functionality, her processes, her programming - better than anyone ever could...

Because he once was her master.

"Initiating animal test number one," Kirishima said to the camera. His voice carried a naturally rounded, operatic timbre.

Taking a syringe loaded with his combination of the serum and the artificial blood, he held the squirming rat within his wide grasp and injected it with the concoction. Placing the rat back in its glass container, he watched and waited, with the camera rolling.

Within minutes, the rat began writhing, thrashing and throwing itself against its chamber. Poor rat. Kirishima was rather amused by the thought of a Super Soldier Rat Army. Perhaps this was the key to HYDRA's victory, he subtly chuckled to himself.

But alas, the rat's struggle came to an end, and it collapsed. Dead.

Kirishima shook his head. But no big deal, the first test was bound to be unsuccessful. There was no reason to be frustrated.

That is, until months of testing continued to confirm his dreaded theory - that the artificial blood was useless. An inadequate substitute for the real, warm, living thing.

"I need the Summer Soldier," Kirishima said fervently on a secure video call with HYDRA's lead operatives.

"To try to recapture her would be a tall order," one replied. "Our resources have become few and far between since S.H.I.E.L.D. began tracking us down. Some of us are led to believe S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer has her."

"And once again, the faith is lost - why does this not surprise me?" Kirishima remarked. "The Summer Soldier is HYDRA's last hope. Have we given up so easily just because that walking, talking American flag now has wings?"

"That walking, talking American flag has led to the ousting of 157 HYDRA subgroups in the last three years. We need to rethink our approach while preserving the resources we have left."

"The longer you spend time thinking, the faster you'll lose this war."

"We are not at war, Dr. Kirishima. Remember, this is a subtle sabotage. A quiet entrance into society until we're in too deep for the world to turn back."

Kirishima breathed deeply, his anger smoldering within. "HYDRA has already been too quiet for too long. I am not throwing away decades of research for some unsubstantial philosophy."

"We are sorry, Doctor. But we are just not interested in risking the remaining vestiges of our organization for a single, antiquated weapon. If you truly want the Summer Soldier, you're welcome to find her yourself."

"Then I will."

"And do you have any leads on where she could be?"

"No, but I'll find one," Kirishima said confidently. "I always do."

And he slammed his laptop shut.