The Barnes Brothers

8: Hail Hydra

Hydra Base, 1944

Tommo woke up to the sound of the cell door creaking open. This was a daily occurrence. He would be taken out to a room full of doctors every morning. Then he would be injected with that painful syringe. And he would then be taken back to his cell. That was his routine.

He didn't know exactly how long he had been there but he could guess that it was a few months due to it not being as cold in his cell as it used to be. He used to freeze half to death as he had very thin clothes.

He also hasn't had a wash or at least a change of clothes for an extremely long time, but the army gave him a bit of experience with that. On the front lines, there was hardly any time to wash.

Two guards came in after a while and grabbed him by the arms. He was too weak to fight back and he knew by now that there was no point even trying.

He expected to be taken to the same room he normally was in but the guards took him to another room instead. This room had a large table in the middle of the room. It was similar to the other one but there was something different. This room had a glass wall on one side and two double doors on another.

Tommo was thrown harshly onto the metal table and strapped down. Arnim Zola (he had learnt his name after overhearing it) walked in with a briefcase. He pulled out a syringe with a very long needle and it was full of this black liquid instead of the usual blue. This unsettled Tommo even more than he already was.

The doctor slowly walked up to him, smiled and stabbed the needle where Tommo's, scarred over, bullet wound.

An immense pain rushed through Tommo as his veins turned black. Everyone around him ran out of the room and went behind the glass. He felt a sudden wave of strength wash course through him and he ripped of the straps holding him down. Jumping of the table, Tommo marched towards the glass and whacked his hand against it. It did not break. He tried again but with the same result.

The double doors to the left of him crashed open and armed guards poured through. They charged at him and he took them out one by one. It didn't even phase him. The guards had fired shots at him but none made any contact.

A familiar voice sounded over a loud speaker hidden in the room.

"Congratulations Sergeant. You've proved useful after all."

"What was that!" Tommo shouted at nobody in particular.

"A test," said skull-face calmly as he walked through the doors. "And you succeeded. You will be the future of Hydra soldier."

"Don't call me that!" Tommo charged at the red man but his move was anticipated, blocked and a bullet went through his shoulder.

"You never learn do you," the skull-man said, referring to all of the scars and wounds on Tommo's body. "Never the brightest of the bunch I can imagine. But bright in battle and that's what's useful. Take him back."

At that, the guards that were on the other side of the glass came through and dragged him back to his cell. Locking the door, one guard turned to him and said, "You've got a lot worse coming your way American. Hail Hydra." He walked away leaving a dazed and confused Tommo bleeding out on his cell floor.

What the hell did he mean? What could be worse than this? I'm away from my family, my friends and my life. How could anything be worse?

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The only sound for miles was the sound of heavy machinery. Explosions.

This wasn't unusual for the war but it was slightly different to the normal gunshots. These gunshots were from 'The Howling Commandos' led by so called 'Captain America'. And they were firing at a Hydra base. They had been tracking Schmidt and Zola for the past few months and finally tracked them down to here.