35: Assion

  Nothing help you release stress better than a good and intense session of "fun" with a beautiful dy. John did ly boast of being virtuous and chaste, so being without a woman’s touch for so long had been a challenge in itself, sidering the kind of man he was. Even so, with the ongoing war, he knew he couldn't let himself be too distracted. Thus, he had made a great effort to suppress any al desires and focus on his war duties as expected.

  An effort that quickly vanished in the face of Peggy’s insiste seemed he wasn’t the only one yearning for a reunion, and like the good man he was, John made sure to meet the woman’s expectations for several hours until she finally passed out with a smile on her face.

  Unfortunate, since he still had plenty of energy left to use, but expected heless. After all, she was still just human. That she could st as long as she did was already a great dispy of her above-average physical capacity, but in the end, her stamina reached its limit and John had to let her rest, which was a little frustrating and, in a sense, disappointing, but he decided not to dwell on it for now.

  And so, with nothing else to do and no need for sleep, he left the woman’s room and began wandering around the base in good spirits. It was nighttime, so activity was minimal, but from time to time, John crossed paths with some staff members, whom he greeted courteously.

  Most of them he hadn’t met beforehand, so he made sure to memorize their faces. After all, if everythi well, he would be w with them for quite a while—of course, as long as they weren’t spies. Johhat sooner or ter, if it hadn’t already happened, S.W.O.R.D. would have some infiltrators. Charles might be a good safeguard for deteg in time those who would try to climb too high, but those who kept lower profiles would still be a problem that would grow as S.W.O.R.D. acquired more personnel.

  ‘There will probably o be some ups iaff from time to time.’ That way his good mood was slightly dampened. Fortunately, a rather attractive distra decided to appear at that moment to steer his mind away from such thoughts.

  “Jo—el.” John, whose walk around the base had brought him to the mess hall, turned around to see Jaering, who still seemed a bit sleepy if her slightly disheveled hair was any indication.

  “Miss Van Dy seems I’m not the only one up early around here. May I offer you a cup?” John then poioward the pot of the coffee maker he had just prepared a few moments ago, the coffee in it still releasing slight wisps of steam.

  For her part, Ja couldn’t believe her good luck. Ever since she found out that John would be returning to the base, she had been thinking about how to talk to him in private, and by ce, she had run into him in the mess hall of the base just when it ractically empty except for the two of them.

  It seemed that the good habit of waking up before everyone else had finally paid off. She probably wouldn't find a better opportunity than this, so, summoning her ce, she stepped forward.

  "Uh, sure." She could only hope her unication skills were up to the task.

  Seeing her awkwardness, John raised an eyebrow. He didn’t o be a genius to notice that the girl had something to say—he could see it in her eyes. His curiosity iqued, but he decided not to rush her and instead allowed her to take her time.

  Ja watched silently as John prepared both cups of coffee, trying to find the best way to start the versation she'd been wanting to have—but without much success. It seemed her brain had decided to take an unannounced vacation.

  "You know, I didn’t get a ce to thank you earlier."

  "Huh?" Ja blinked, somewhat fused, her risial crisis abruptly interrupted by John's sudden ent.

  "If it weren’t for your help, Dr. Pym’s research could’ve taken much longer. And although I know gaining your powers was actal, I’m gd you decided to use them for our be. Inviting you to S.W.O.R.D. has holy been one of the best decisions I’ve made."

  John was being unusually sihis time, without needing to fake anything as he had so often sihis sed life began. Ja would probably never know, but her tributions to accelerating the produ of more Vibranium had lifted a massive weight off his shoulders, alleviating many of his worries, and allowing him to feel more fident about his step.

  For that, he was truly grateful.

  Hearing this, Ja’s cheeks quickly turned a deep red. She was a bit embarrassed, but at the same time, the hesitation inside her shrank siderably. Without him knowing, his words were the final encement Ja o push forward and express the desire that had been growing within her for a long time.

  "Well… speaking of helping, I-I think maybe I do much more." John paused before turning to look at her, and Ja almost averted her gaze but mao stay firm, swallowing nervously before tinuing "What I’m trying to say is that I be more useful, offer something different—be more than just a glorified battery recharger for Dr. Pym... Uh, not that there’s anything wrong with that! I’m gd to tribute and make the research easier, but… maybe my potential is greater than that. Maybe I do something to really help!"

  Whehoughts that had been tormenting her mind finally came to light and were spoken aloud, Ja almost felt like a defted balloon. Her heart pourongly in her chest as a wave of mortification washed over her.

  Even though she had imagihis sario many times over the past few days, she hadn’t expected her attempt to go so disastrously. In her mind, everything had been much smoother—her words more eloquent and ving, her attitude more resolute and ceous. She wao show she was serious, to persuade John that this was a good idea… but when transted into reality, she came across as far too clumsy, even to herself.

  It was truly frustrating, and now more than ever, she ehe ability of others to express themselves freely and easily in front of people.

  With an audible sigh, Ja rubbed her left arm, embarrassed, before finally finishing her words in almost a whisper.

  "…I want to join the front lines."

  John remained silent for a moment, watg the dark-haired girl nervously close her eyes nervously as if she feared his response.

  Well, what was he supposed to do with this? To a certaient, he had expected Jao want to do more than just stay in the b, but he hadn’t anticipated her taking the initiative so soon. This could briain bes, but it also carried risks.

  He could simply say no, but the fire he had just seen in the girl’s eyes as she spoke about her desires wasn’t ohat could be tained for long—especially sidering her powers. If he said no, he risked her ag on her outting herself in unnecessary danger.

  That wasn’t a sario he was ied in, so the choice he o make was, in a sense, obvious.

  'e on, it’s not like this is the first time you’ve taken someoh no experiend brought them onto a battlefield, right?' He wao tell himself this was different, but iy, it wasn’t.

  "Alright."

  "Eh?" Ja opened her eyes and looked at John, fused.

  "I don’t know yet when we’ll leave the base," he tinued, "but I suggest you start preparing your things. From now on, you’ll be under my and and part of the team. You’ll raining, but that’s something we’ll haer." John could personally teach her the basics during the days they spent on the base. The rest, Ja would have to learn the hard way—out in the field. Perhaps that would make her regret her choice, though John doubted it.

  “R-Really?!” Ja couldn’t believe it. She had expected some kind of refusal, some opposition, but for John to accept so easily seemed too good to be true. For a moment, she wondered if she was still dreaming.

  John gave her a warm smile and pced a hand on her shoulder before speaking, snapping her out of her astonishment. And though his words were less sihan before, he made sure not to let that show at all. His act was truly improving by the day.

  "I see this is something you’ve been thinking about for a long time. Many others in your position would have taken different paths—safer paths, far from the fires of war. But instead, you’ve chosen to step forward and use these incredible abilities you’ve gained selflessly, for the sake of helping others, to save them. That takes a special kind of ce, Ja."

  If there were a happiness meter, the score Ja would be registering right now would have made the device explode. The smile that began to bloom on her face was too radiant to look at, her cheeks turned bright red, and her heart pou a thousas per minute. She felt like she was on cloud nine and almost started jumping with excitement.

  "Thank you, thank you! I won’t let you down, I promise!"

  John had to be careful not to spill the cups of coffee in his hands when Ja suddenly ran toward him and gave him a strong hug. Of course, he didn’t pin—being hugged by a beautiful girl was always wele in his book.

  Still, the moment soon ended, and she pulled away from him, leaving behind a soft st that reminded him of vender honey.

  "I o get my things ready!"

  Before he could say anything else, he watched her rush off, a bounce of excitement in every step.

  "Uh… and now what am I supposed to do with you?" John wondered looking at the sed cup of coffee now without an owner.

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  "Whew, I really needed one of these, thanks," Howard said, taking a long sip of the dark drink John had brought him.

  "Nothier to start the day than a good dose of caffeine," John ughed, taking his own drink, though in his case, it was more for the taste since coffee had no effe his system.

  After his talk with Ja, John didn’t spend any more time wandering aimlessly around the base and decided to meet with Howard, pulling the man out of his sleep and dragging him along without much expnation.

  "Alright, we’re here. Though I didn’t want to ask too many questions earlier, this time you really have to tell me why you made me bring this thing to this pce—which, by the way, wasn’t easy or cheap."

  After saying this, Howard approached a trol payping in a series of codes in quick succession. Then, the massive metal door that had been firmly shut began to open slowly, allowing them both to step inside.

  The room was mostly empty, as only Howard and Peggy were authorized to e apart from John. At its ter, covered with a simple white cloth, stood the capsule from Project Rebirth. After Howard had retrieved it from the gover, John had e was brought with them to Italy to make things simpler and faster.

  Approag the capsule, John removed the cloth with a smooth motion and reached out, running his hand over the mae with a touch of nostalgia. It felt as if it had been just yesterday when he walked toward this same capsule, filled with nerves and hope.

  Its name was truly fitting because, within it, John had been reborn. And now, it was time for his life to ge once again with its help.

  "Tell me, Howard, have you ever felt scared?"

  Faced with the ued question, Howard couldn’t help but blink in fusion and frown.

  "Well, I’ve certainly felt fear plenty of times, but that’s pretty normal for most people, isn’t it?" In this world, what kind of human hadn’t felt fear at least on their life? At least in Howard’s opinion, there shouldn’t be any.

  John nodded before shaking his head. "No… I mean a deeper fear, something more visceral than the occasional fright—something that burrows into your thoughts and steals your sleep at night."

  This time, Howard had to think more deeply. And, against his will, old memories began to surface, making his body tremble slightly. That kind of fear… he had felt it a few times, and every one of those occasions was something he preferred not to recall at all.

  "Seems like you’ve really felt it, huh? Sorry if I made you remember unpleasant things, but it’s something I o know. At least now I know you uand how I feel and why I’m going to do what I’m about to do."

  "What do you mean?" Howard truly wasn’t following where this versation was headed. Still, he could see that John was serious, whisettled him for some reason.

  "Expining it all is a bit plicated, but in short, I've realized that if I want to ensure we win this war, I o bee something much greater—more than just Captain America, much more than a supersoldier."

  Howard's fusion grew, along with his doubt.

  "Are you serious? With the vibranium we have now, we shouldn't—"

  "Vibranium was just insurance, Howard. You know I never intended for it to be used on a rge scale. No, my real pn was always something else."

  Here, John paused. He couldn’t tell Howard that his step was based on assumptions and theories he’d pieced together from another life, let aloion pound V and why he believed his pn would succeed.

  So, he had to e up with a story. Fortunately, he was already prepared for this.

  "Tell me, how much did Dr. Erskiell you about the serum?"

  Once again, Howard was fused by the apparent abrupt shift in the versation. Still, he decided to answer, hoping it might help him uand what was going on.

  "The truth is, not much. The man was really careful with the formu and never allowed aher than himself to know its exaposition, which made it really plicated to work with him."

  Although Howard had helped with many of the steps in the Rebirth Project, the truth was that he, like all the other stists involved in the project—except for Erskine—cked crucial knowledge.

  This, of course, was done deliberately by Erskio prevent the serum's formu from leaking easily to the enemy, whifortunately also caused it to be lost when the man died and made its recreation almost impossible despite the rge funding the gover utting into it.

  "Did you know the process was actually inplete?"

  This time, Howard couldn’t stop his eyes from widening in astonishment. His mind struggled to process the words John had just said. For a moment, he almost ughed, thinking the man was joking with him, but that ugh died in his throat when he saw the extremely serious look John was giving him.

  "Inplete? How?! That’s not—"

  "I see, so he didn't tell you. Seems like he was really a distrustful man by nature. To make it clear, he told me about it during one of the private meetings we had before I underwent the procedure. At first, I didn't know why he told me, what sense did it make? But now I think I uand, it was a safeguard, a key to true superior power."

  If Erskine had bee, he would have been just as shocked and fused as Howard. What nonsense was John spouting?!

  "The truth is… apart from the Vita radiation, there was another energy that o be used during the process—an energy you’re very familiar with."

  "Another energy? Wait!" Howard's body jolted as if struck by a sudden pression, making his mind dart bad forth between theory after theory, eaore outndish tha.

  "I see you've uood—the missing part of the process, and the key I o ensure I win this war is the energy of the Tesseract!" John excimed, theended his hand toward Howard, who was still stunned by such a revetion.

  "inally, I had no iion ing this to light, Howard, but with each passing day, doubts begin to grow, along with fears and worries. My responsibilities are immense, and if I want to ensure I fulfill my role, I o take this step no matter what. But... I 't do it alone. A process like this carries great risks. W with such exotiergies requires a certain level of finesse, something a soldier cks... which is why I hope you help me."

  Howard felt his mouth go dry. He looked at John's haeoward him with some uainty. All of this... it was something plicated to process. There was still so much he didn’t ua, but... in the end, they were both on the same side, right? He was the head of SWORD’s stific division; there was no oer than him to work on this. Besides, John sharing this secret with him was a clear sign of his trust. Could he really leave him alone in this and say no?

  But more than anything, Howard was curious. He wao know, to see with his own eyes what Erskine had hidden, to uhe mystery of what John called a "true superior power." And so, putting aside any doubts or caution, Howard took a step forward and csped John's hand, bringing a smile to the super-soldier's face.

  "I knew I could t on you."

  "Well, I 't let you do this alone and blow up the entire base by act, I?...." Howard could only hope he wouldn't regret this ter.

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  With Howard on board, things began tress quickly. inally, John had po do everything himself, but as time went on, that idea started to ge. As he had told Howard earlier, this process was extremely risky, and if he wao minimize the ces of something going wrong, he needed a true stifid at the helm.

  A decision that had already proven correct when he and Howard began modifying the Project Rebirth capsule to be powered by the Tesseract's energy.

  John had thought of simply eg many of the fiscated Hydra on batteries and eling their energy into his body at the same time as the Vita radiation, hoping that it would work.

  Howard thought better of it and decided that his idea was stupid—dangerously stupid. He then took charge as the true stist he was.

  The first thing he did was design a dual power system to allow both energies to be utilized simultaneously. The Vita radiation didn’t require much effort, but the Tesseract’s energy was far more plicated. Its votility caused several near-explosions during the process, but they finally mao extract a rge amount of it from the fiscated batteries and store it in a much more suitable tainer.

  The sed task was creating a liween the sources. John had told Howard he he two energies to bine—in short, to use the stabilizing capacity of Vita radiation to e the votility of the Tesseract’s energy.

  Howard felt the idea made sense and chastised himself for not thinking of it sooner. After all, in the current era, there was er stabilizing energy than Vita radiation.

  Thus, after a full day of work, Howard implemented aremely precise synization system. This system would bih energies proportionally using the liween their sources to prevent interference or overloads that could endanger John’s life—at least more than it already would.

  In addition, the capsule itself had to be upgraded. Vita radiation or not, the Tesseract's energy was still too powerful for the simple metal it was made of to withstand the levels John wao expose his body to.

  Fortunately, they now had a metal that would be ideal for the job. With vibranium in their hands, they could reinforce the interior of the capsule to prevent the energy from leaking, while also using its absorption and energy-redire properties to their advantage.

  Of course, these things couldn’t be done ht. The process to plete all the modifications would take time—more than John had inally pnned. Fortunately, he had thought that something like this might happen, which is why he left his personal radio in Warsaw, allowing him to stay in tact with the team and easily keep up with the situation on their side.

  For now, it seemed there had been no attempts at an attack from Germany, though some scouts from the AK reported increased activity from the Red Army he try’s borders—something that didn’t bode well. So far, John had chosen to ighe Soviet Union, knowing that their downfall iure was iable. But if they decided tain their influen Europe through Pond, then there would be trouble.

  In addition to staying up to date with the situation in Pond, when he wasn’t helping Howard where he could, John also spent some time overseeing the creation of equipment using the newly created vibranium. After all, that was also one of the reasons he had e to the SWORD base.

  The handling of the metal was still somewhat crude and basic due to the ck of deeper studies on its true potential. Still, this didn’t prevent work from being doh it, using the knowledge already avaible about the metallurgy of other metals. Soon, a team of highly specialized and carefully selected personnel was formed to has preliminary study until Howard was avaible again. Of course, they weren’t told where it had actually e from—only that there was more readily avaible now, and they o begin building equipment with it.

  Projectiles, knives, and ptes for bulletproof vests, as well as protective equipment for other parts of the body like helmets, elbow pads, and knee pads, were among the priorities. John made sure nothing was overlooked. They might not yet be able to create full-body armor, but at the very least, the body’s most vital points had to be as well-protected as possible.

  Raven helped a lot in izing each piece of equipment to the exact measurements of the other team members, and as a reward, she herself received several items that greatly increased her attad defense capabilities through the roof.

  She seemed especially excited about the vibranium bullets.

  Even though John didn’t hem, he decided to get some as well.

  Aside from that, John didn’t fet about Ja. Since he didn’t o sleep, he used those hours to begin training her—fog mainly on how she could use her powers to help the team in various situations.

  Although he was tough iraining, the woman didn’t back down or seem ined to ge her mind, which earned her a bit of his respect.

  On his side, Hank wasly happy when he found out that Ja would be leaving for the front lines with Johried to object, but in the end, it was Ja’s decision, and with John’s support, there was really nothing Hank could do to prevent her from leaving. So, he had no choice but to begrudgingly accept it, menting that he would now have to obtain Pym particles the traditional way.

  Thus, the days passed quickly until, finally, after nearly three weeks of intense work, everything was ready.

  "Are you ready?" Faced with Howard's question, John, who was staring at the modified capsule of the now-renamed Project Assion, could only nod without showing a hint of hesitation or fear.

  There were no more doubts; the time tret and turn back had long since passed.

  Now, the only option was to move forward, to plete the final step and bee something greater... or die trying.

  "I've never been more ready for anything in my life." Taking a deep breath, John began to undress with the help of a silent Raven.

  Apart from Howard, she was the only other person he had spoken to about Project Assion. The girl hadn’t been very happy upon learning of his possible fatal fate, and it had been quite difficult to vince her that this wasn’t airely terrible idea. But in the end, as with all the other times, she remained by his side even knowing the risks.

  Soon, John was down to his underwear and, with some familiarity, climbed into the capsule, lying inside and allowing Raven to pce the vibranium restraints around his body to secure him and prevent any sudden movements that could disrupt the process.

  "If things g, you know what you have to do." His whisper made Raven pause in her as, her eyes meeting his for what felt like years before she nodded solemnly. As his true right hand, John had entrusted many things to the girl, the most important being his tingen against Hydra if this experimeo fail.

  She might have been young, but John believed she was more than capable of carrying out his will and doing whatever was necessary to ehis world remained intact, even without him. Of course, she wouldn’t be alone in such a mission; the team and S.W.O.R.D. would provide enough support for her to push through despite future adversities, at least john believed in that..

  Soon, Raven finished seg him and stepped back to a safe distance, watg the part with a mix of anticipation and fear.

  She trusted John, but if he truly died, she didn’t know if she could live up to his expectations. For that reason, she fervently hoped this would succeed.

  Hoerformed one final thh check of all the equipment before deg that everything was in order and beginning to activate the maery, a low hum starting to fill the room.

  "Alright, starting iwo..." Howard hesitated for a moment and looked at John, as if expeg something—perhaps for him to decide to back out at the st sed. But he didn’t, and with no other choice, Howard could only grit his teeth and pull the activation lever down pletely.

  "Three!"

  The capsule sealed shut hermetically, enclosing John ihen, a blue light and a yellow light began to intensify as the dual power system activated at full capacity.

  The Vita radiation and Tesseraergy soon collided, and synization began. At first, it was turbulent, but as John had anticipated, the Vita radiation erfectly capable of stabilizing the Tesseraergy and soon, both energies began te into somethiirely new and different, blue and yellow bining in perfect harmony to create a ype of light—a deep greehat illumihe entire space with its exotic color.

  Then the assimition process began. Ihe capsule, Johhe new energy p over his body like a furious tide, crashing against every cell like a fre of extreme heat, a searing pain starting to assault every er of his mind.

  "Arghhhh!!!" John ched his teeth, refusing to scream, f his body to endure as best as it could. He could feel it deep within his being—the energy peing his body, pulsing through his atomic structure and beyond.

  It was as if his soul was being touched, and for a moment, his visio pletely dark.

  His sciousness began to drift into nothingness for what felt like ay, and he idly wondered if he had died once again. But as quickly as that thought crossed his mind, his searted to return, crashing into his awareness with full force, making his head buzz and his heart pound with far more vigor than before.

  "Whoa!" With a cry of both pain and euphoria, Johuro reality and ched his fists, his entire world now seeming to be bathed in a deep, ethereal green.

  Outside the capsule, Raven and Howard had to retreat almost to the point of hitting the wall due to the iy of the light and the nearly imperceptible energy pulses it was emitting. Even with protective goggles, it was impossible for them to see what was happening, and if things tihis way, ahquake could soon shake the base with it as the epiter.

  "The energy is out of trol!" Howard's shout nearly made Raven roll her eyes; she didn’t he annou—it was btantly obvious to her what was happening.

  Raven wondered if it was too te to rush in and try to shut down the mae, but before she could decide whether to attempt it or not, there was an even more blinding fsh, followed by a pulse of repulsive energy that sent her flying until she crashed into the wall, f all the air from her lungs.

  Then, as quickly as it came, everythiuro calm, and the light began to recede slowly until it verged into a single point.

  With her vision somewhat blurry, Raven took a deep breath and stumbled to her feet, trying to focus her gaze until she finally obtained a clear view that made her eyes widen with both awe and relief.

  There, floating casually above the ruins of what had once been the capsule, was a pletely naked John, his well-formed body surrounded by ahereal, fire-like aura that flickered in different colors but redominantly a deep green.

  "Well, I guess it worked."

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  Note:

  This chapter is a bit long! Thanks for your patience, guys!

  inally, I thought about adding more drama to the whole situation, but let’s be ho, no one really expected John to fail, right? That would be a pretty bad way to end a series, let me tell you.

  And while it would’ve beeing, I’m not that cruel or sinister, haha.

  Oher hand, I usually try to make the stific talk as digestible as possible, but this time I wa to be much simpler—if you call it that. In summary, I tried to make it less heavy, and I’m not sure if I succeeded or if I just made it more fusing. I guess it’s up to you, the readers, to let me know what you think of the result.

  So, you know what to do—leave your ents and tell me what you think ;D

  With that said I only hope that things tinue on the right track, December 25th is almost here so I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas in advance, I hope you all have a great time whether alone, with your families or friends, no matter what situation you find yourself in I wish you happy holidays :D

  If you want to support me you do it through my Patreon ( patreon.maCruzader )