2014.04.04 - The Weird War

It's 1944. Welcome to the Weird War.

Searching for the 'silver bullet' that will turn the shifting tides, Hitler has pursued countless projects -- dabbling both in the occult and super-science -- in his pursuit of the ultimate German weapon. But thankfully for the Allies' cause, the vast majority of these projects are based on balderdash and poppycock.

This is not the case with the Laufpanzer.

The train transporting these machines -- which are, according to the OSI, as of yet non-operational -- is running across the rails that connect Germany to France, heading for a chateau. There are reportedly ten of them, loaded two to a car, strapped down. If they get to their destination -- and get past the testing stage -- they may be capable of halting the coming of D-Day. Therefore, derailing that train is of top priority.

Atomic Robo -- or just 'Robo' -- is dressed in a GI uniform; dark green camos with a helmet atop of his rounded metal face. Three grenades, an automatic rifle, a pistol -- and a bazooka strapped to his back. He is an unusual sight, and deeply unsettling to the majority of the soldiers who work with him -- a walking, talking robot. But the brass says he's trustworthy; he's one of their tech consultants. Hell, he is a piece of tech. According to him, these 'walking tanks' aren't just possible; they're feasible.

That might be why he's coming with Steve Rogers on this mission. It might also be because, according to reports, he's essentially bulletproof.

Sabotaging the rails isn't an option, regrettably; the few miles of track in occupied France are swarming with Nazis -- and even if they succeeded, they'd just stop the train and transport the 'walking tanks' by truck. The only shot they've got is to somehow get on the train and derail it, destroying the project -- the researchers -- and its secretive head, Otto Skorzeny -- in one shot.

It comes just as it crosses over from Germany to France; side-by-side with members of the French resistance who have worked to smuggle Robo and Steve past countless Nazi checkpoints, the two-man team peer down from the cliff face -- a good thirty yards up from the rail. A zipline connects this cliff with the next cliff over, slanted down -- it will bring them just five yards above the train, where they'll hopefully be able to just drop down on top, find their way to the front engine, and use explosive charges to send the whole thing tumbling to its destruction.

"...have you ever done this before?" Robo asks, as the train rumbles in the distance -- reaching up to grip the length of high-density cable he'll be zip-lining down.

Steve has obvious concerns about working with a 'robot'. At first he considered questioning the technical aspect of sending a machine in to handle other machines, but whatever reservations he has is waylaid by brass's insistance that this is a strategically good asset.

He'd still rather have his Howling Commandos.

Standing on the cliff's edge with his grim stained uniform, Steve takes stock of the gear provided for the mission. A Thompson slung on his back, an 1911 under his right arm and a sachet full of exploses. There were grenades, but he refused them... and of course his shield.

His helmet rests under his arm, wind blowing through the dusty blonde locks as he watches the steam of the train several miles down the track headed for their position.

"Once." He says to the question. "Let's hope this goes better."

"Goes better?" Robo responds. "What do you mean, 'goes better', what--"

"Get ready," Marco -- the man responsible for getting them this far -- hisses, interrupting Robo's synthesized voice. "We want to get you as close to the front engine as possible. Remember, your mission is to destroy the tanks -- whatever happens, those tanks /cannot/ reach the chateau."

"...right," Robo replies, his luminescent blue eyes swiveling back to watch the steadily approaching train. It's going... fast. Very fast. The Nazis are apparently intent on putting this project on a fast-track. The machine rolls his shoulders back with a click... and begins counting. "Ten... nine... eight..."

"NOW!" Marco barks, and he promptly -- kicks! -- Robo, right from behind. The machine man yelps, sliding down the metal cable, down toward the rapidly approaching train -- just as it swoops out beneath him. He releases, tumbling into... the sixth car behind the coal-feeder. A passenger car. There is a crash as he *slams* into it; seconds later, the rumble of the train is punctuated by gunfire. Steve Rogers is already being urged to follow immediately behind Robo.

"Don't worry," Marco tells Rogers, grinning crookedly. "Is bulletproof. Now, hurry--"

Steve glances at the robot when it asks the meaning behind the statement and is thankful for Marco stepping in when he does, even if it was to urge them forward towards the train. His helmet is slid on and buckled beneath his chin right before Robo is kicked off the ledge and sliding down the zipline. Then the Captain follows in kind.

His body angles so as to speed his descent, releasing a few feet from where the designation suggest would be optimal for landing and rolls backwards into a sumersault that drops him down into the hole created by the falling robot.

The shield whips off his back and is hurled at the first German to poke his head out of cover, pinging it off his bucket helmet and rebounding back into his left hand while the other pulls the pistol and fires at another.

The passenger car is spacious and luxurious; probably meant for German officers. There are seven soldiers currently present in the car -- three in the back, four up front. All seven of them have already dove into cover -- hiding behind the booths -- as they open fire relentlessly at Robo.

Robo is crouched in the middle of the train, bright blue eyes flashing, as bullets... ping off of him. Clank, clank, clank. As they do, Steve can hear him muttering: "Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch--"

The shield lances out, striking one of the soldiers up front as he begins to emerge, apparently realizing Robo isn't firing back -- except he didn't catch Cap's entrance. There's a loud *KRA-ACK!* as the shield hits its target, his head snapping back, eyes rolling up; he goes limp on the floor. The gunshot catches the second German, beside him, in the shoulder -- he spins around with a grunt and anguished cry.

"Behind you--" Robo starts, rising to his feet with a slow, metal crink -- swinging the gun around to point at the three Germans on their back. "--uh, I guess... use me as cover?" RAT-A-TAT-TAT -- Robo's opening fire at the ones behind them, prompting those Germans to duck and cover.

Cap twists his body in a long flowing spin behind the cover that is Robo, right as the big bulletproof robot is giving him permission... "Thanks." He says in reply, again letting loose his shield in a side arm hurl sweeping out around the robo-cover. It bounces and rebounds across the car, hitting a dinner cart and pinning back in another direction.

Giving him time to check the time and how long they've got at their current speed to complete their objective.

Cap sweeps out around the right side of the robot, wide enough to be out of his partners firing arc, and charges the German's position. His shield is caught in midrun and brought up to protect himself from whatever counterattack the group can muster under surprise and supression fire.

There's a good fifteen or twenty minutes before they hit the next depot; once they arrive there, the Nazis will probably board the train -- numbering in the dozens, if not the hundreds. This train must be stopped before that depot is reached.

Robo grunts as more bullets ping off of him, keeping up the suppressive fire. The dinner cart is hit, sent reeling down the aisle, briefly distracting the two remaining Germans up-front; the three behind risk Robo's steady stream of bullets to take potshots at the charging Captain America -- hoping to catch him mid-run. But that shield's rebounding off, swooped up in his arms already -- leaving the bullets to ping harmlessly over the vibranium. One of the soldiers shouts something in German; Robo hits him in the shoulder, and the chest -- he goes down. The other two are backing up, trying to put some distance between themselves and the charging Captain -- one of them at least has enough sense to try and aim for Captain America's /head/ with his next barrage.

Robo, meanwhile, has charged in the opposite direction -- swiveling his gun around to unleash a torrent of lead toward the front of the car. The bullets aren't to kill the Germans; they're to keep them from firing at Cap -- honestly, Robo just plans on punching them out.

Cap sweeps his shield around to swat through the air and ultimately dives low into a roll towards the German's cover. The bullets pass above and around him, whistling as they pass through the air entirely too close for comfort. When he comes up, the shield is leading the way, smacking one soldier and sending him flying against the wall. His foot comes up and straight forward into the second of the three German's, clearing him the rest of the way down the aisle behind the powerful kick.

The last soldier brings his weapon in shaking hands and pulls the trigger, rattling off an empty magazine.

Steve grabs him by the scruff of his uniform and tosses him out the window with a 'ayeeeee' as he tumbles into the snow.

WHUMP, WHUMP. Robo, meanwhile, has dispatched his two Germans by calmly walking up to them -- even as they continue to open fire on him -- and snatching them both by their helmets before... WHA-BANG! He smashes them together like a pair of coconuts. Both men crumple to the ground.

"--alright, let's get to the engine--" Robo begins, reaching for the door ahead of him and opening it. Right before -- CLUNK. Brzzzzt...

A pair of fist-sized 'super-batteries' snap onto the front of Robo's chassis; connected by a length of wire, they proceed to spark and crackle with electricity. Robo's bright, luminescent eyes flicker; his entire body goes rigid -- before he drops to the ground with a slow creak and clunk. The unusual weapon seems to have been fired from a large, cumbersome gun -- a modified grenade launcher -- currently held by a man in a Nazi officer's uniform. A man...

...known as Otto Skorzeny. A tall, broad-shouldered man with a particular roughness to him -- and a long, tangled fencing scar that descends down his left cheek, interrupting his lip and giving him the appearance of a perpetual snarl. Though his expression, at this moment, is one of absolute serenity.

The Captain might notice that his uniform is a little 'bulky' looking; is he wearing some sort of body armor underneath it?

"Ah, you must be... 'Captain America', yes? Is that what they call you?" Otto speaks, tossing the modified grenade launcher aside -- apparently done with it.

Cap is about to lead the way up onto the roof of the fast moving train when he hears the sound of electricity being volted behind him. He turns to regard the figure standing over his fallen comrade, then follows so that he's fully facing the German in his bulky armor. Bulletproof, but he's still made out of metal, Steve thinks to himself while gripping the handle of his shield with a bit more strength.

"You want an autograph?" He asks with a bit of a sardonic smirk, "I usually don't charge, but for fiends like you, that'll will be ten cent. American." Back when trash talk was so much more classy.

"You better not have destroyed my new robot friend, Doctor."

Otto Skorzeny is not amused.

An eyebrow lifts; the German officer steps forward -- carefully picking his way around the disabled robot. "--this so-called American wit," Otto confesses, "never fails to baffle me. 'Captain America' -- such an absurd name. May I call you 'Captain', instead? Your 'robot friend' is temporarily disabled. When we reach the depot, we will disassemble him and learn about the technology used to build him. But you..." Otto's mouth twitches; a ghost of a smile begins to form on it. "...you I have some respect for. You are a soldier, Captain, like me. A man of strength and tenacity. A warrior."

Otto's fist clenches. "You deserve something better. So I'm going to beat you to death with my own two hands."

"Don't get too comfortable with him, mister Skorzeny. He's coming with me." Steve doesn't flinch from the threat, nor does he back down from the man who spoke it. "You push people around and think that makes you a soldier... it doesn't. It makes you a bully." He takes a step towards the armored 'warrior' defiantly. "And bullys feed on fear, but I've got news for you buster, I'm not scared."

Cap makes the first move, stepping forward quickly with his shield coming around flat edge whistling towards Otto's midsection. If he's wearing armor, Steve is going to see how it stands up against vibranium. Pivoting on his left foot to bring his elbow back in to smack against the side of the 'good doctor's' head.

No sooner has the Captain thrown that shield does Otto lift a hand upward. He's got something in his hands -- it looks like... steel knuckles? Except more complex -- they're covered in wiring that extends up Otto's sleeve. No sooner has he lifted his hand then is his arm encased in a bright blue corona of light -- scintilliating electricity swirling around his fist. And then...

ZZZT! The shield is caught -- drawn to Skorzeny's hand, 'clunking' against the metal bracers, his fingers curling around the sleeve designed to hold it. No sooner has this happened then is that elbow smashing into Skorzeny's head; he grunts, falling back, head snapping to the left -- even as he swings the shield about like a massive club, aiming to SMASH into the Captain's upper chest.

"My bare hands," Otto corrects, blood trickling from his mouth as he grins viciously, "and the telluric vest -- one of the many weaponized Tesla technologies this train is actually transporting. Or did your 'OSI' fall for that ridiculous 'Laufpanzer' story?"

Cap sees his shield caught in midair by some contraption strapped onto Otto's hand and doubles his attack. He ducks beneath the swing of his own Shield once, twice, but then he's caught across the back of his shoulders in his left to right foot pivoting and throw up against the metal wall. He rebounds backwards, pushes a foot up against the side of the train and pushes his body into the air. He turns his whole body into a downward punch that catches the Doctor right along his jaw.

Down on Steve goes, ducking into another upward shove of both hands against the uniform to force the German back away from him. "When I stop the train, does it matter what's on it?" He asks with a shaking head, wiping a bit of blood from his own mouth as he presses the attack again. The shield comes around and Cap blocks it high on Otto's arm so as not to get his own arm sliced open by his own shield. His body turns into the Doctor's elbow, grabs his wrist as he pivots and yanks with his body bending forward. His intent is to throw him, but also to get his shield back.

"That's property of the United States of America. Get your dirty hands off it, buster."

"--you--"

Otto begins, right before -- SMASH. The punch hits, scoring a savage blow acros Skorzeny's jaw; his head jerks back again, grunting beneath the force of the blow, forced further back by the Captain's shove.

"--will not--"

The Captain manages to throw Otto -- a large, highly experienced soldier -- as if he was little more than a mook in training. Otto grunts as he rolls out of the Captain's grip, hitting the ground -- minus the shield, now plucked up and back in the Captain's abled hands. Otto is crouched near the center of the train car, now, his eyes narrowed with primal fury.

"--stop this car."

At which point, Otto -- still crouched -- extends both fists toward the Captain. A bolt of lightning lances out from those fists, aimed at the Captain's chest -- brilliant blue, it crackles loudly as it hits the Captain -- and sends him flinging back, toward the opposite end of the train's cabin. Smashing hard against the wall.

Captain, still holding now back in possession of his shield, celebrates this victory by getting hit with those pronged electrods fired from Otto's fists. When they hit, he screams out in clear pain and flies backwards against the far wall where he convulses as every muscle is excited by the sudden onset of painful electricity. Steve grinds his teeth against the pain and fights against his own muscles to get back to his feet. His body is alight with the current flowing through him until he swings his shield down and smashes the electrodes off his chest. Immediately he's breathing a sigh of relief and leaning back against the car for half a second to catch his breath. "That's a matter of opinion..." Said in a voice that's quiet after the shock treatment.

"And I don't remember asking your's."

He rushes at the man again, now using his shield as an extension of his arm. A celindrical melee weapon with an incredibly sharp end swings one direction across Otto's armor. Then back around in a cross cut. The Super Soldier steps into a straight kick aimmed at the Nazi's midsection. "Don't worry though. I'll make sure that you've got a good view of the trains from your holding cell."

"Grrk--" Skorzeny is getting to his feet as the Captain reaches him; the 'edge' of the shield tears through his uniform -- and manages to spark across what seems to be... metal, underneath. A vest, of some sort -- a somewhat fragile vest. The kick hits immediately after, catapulting Skorzeny toward the back of the car, the sound of metal crumpling heard. As he stumbles toward the other end, his face flushed with effort, he glares at the Captain.

"--you have no idea," Skorzeny informs him, "of the power you are trifling with." And then -- he's turning, running -- out that door. Toward the back of the train.

Robo is still on the ground, still out; the metal electromagnets attached to his chest continue to buzz, the wire between them carrying an obvious charge.

Cap slams the edge of his shield down on the cord to severe the current being sent into Robo. "Get up. We need to move." Said as he starts towards the front of the train. Whereever Otto is going, and he's certain it wont be good, they have a mission to finish. He's still catching his breath from the electricution and the fight, but the Super Soldier looks only slightly worse for ware. If one doesn't count the new scars and scorch marks in his armor.

"--before we reach that depot," Robo finishes an instant after the shield cuts through the wire, his eyes flashing back to life -- before... "--huh? What--" He looks down at the magnets attached to his torso, a metal hand reaching out to pluck them off of him with a *CLNK*. "This is..." He's rising to his feet, glancing in the direction Otto went in, before looking back to the front of the car, and... "--Tesla technology. Was that -- Skorzeny... applesauce. Captain, he's going to detach the cars -- the ones with the Laufpanzers on them -- that way it won't matter if we derail the train or not. You need to go get him -- stop him -- I'm going for the engine."

Robo's already rising to do just that, stepping through the door -- the electromagnets crumpling inside of his metal fist.

Cap skids to a stop and glances back in the direction the German went. "Alright, take this train out, I'll catch Skorzeny." He jumps up and hoists himself up onto the roof, then trucks it down the cars towards the back of the train. Glancing down between each pair of cars when he leaps between them to see if Otto is between them trying to pull the pin connecting them together.

The Captain doesn't have to go far to find Skorenzy. Apparently, the telluric vest isn't working; he's already yanked the steel knuckles off his hands -- he's one car back, past the next passenger rail -- where a large cargo train sits. Inbetween the two, he's working on undoing the cuplinks, his face flushed -- eyes narrowed in rage. When the Captain comes across him, Otto -- who keeps looking up in paranoia -- catches sight of him. Both eyes widen, then narrow again -- his scarred face twisting into a deep snarl: "--you!"

The Captain is fighting against the rush of wind with each jump, but when he sees Otto down in the gap between the two cars he pulls up short in a slide and swings down between them with his feet aimmed to kick the man against the next car over and away from the cuplink. "Tenacity, Mister Skorenzy. It's the American way." His shield still clutched against his left arm, Steve stands defiantly over top of the pin the man was working so hard to remove.

"Ungh--" Skorenzy is thrown back, slamming against the door to the cargo car -- hard. For a moment, he's left to stare up at the Captain, standing atop of that pin, looking down at him... He grunts, shoving himself against the door, his hand fumbling for the knob -- ah! There we are. With a click, it opens, revealing a yawning blackness behind him -- his face twitches into a slight grin. "So it seems." And then he vanishes -- slamming the door behind him. And locking it.

Steve slams his shield into the door several times until it's clear that he's not going to get through that way, then glances out around the side of the car to see if there are any windows along the length of the train into this particular cabin. That smile was unsettling, but in his experience they always have some contingency plan up their sleeves. If they didn't, why would they need to send a Super Soldier to fight them, right? He reaches for the big radio on his back, "How's things up front?"

Steve doesn't find a window on the side of the cargo train, but he does find a latch -- for another door, this one a slider. It's going to be tricky, unlatching it with one hand while holding on to the train with the other -- but after a few seconds of struggle, he'll probably manage.

Over the radio, he can hear gunshots, howls, screams in German -- followed by Robo's synthesized voice, rumbling back: "Everything's honky dorey, Captain. Almost at the front engine. Y'know, I'm starting to think the Laufpanzer thing might have been a ploy, some of the tech these guys are sporting looks... actually, uh, way more dangerous--"

Just as the metal door slides open, there's a soft humming whirr from within the cargo car... followed by a grunt. A growl. And...

A massive fist /slams/ through the door the Captain is opening -- causing the entire metal plate to bend, buckle, and fly off the side of the train. The fist is dark, stoney gray -- with a network of wires extending out and into the skin, woven through the flesh. It belongs to... a half-naked German soldier -- one who looks like he's been in the process of decomposing, only recently disturbed. Sorkenzy is in the corner of the room; the 'wired' Nazi 'zombie' stares out at the dangling Captain America, eyes burning with lightning. On his back is what appears to be an ornate 'battery-pack', running a constant flow of electricity through him.

"Say hello," Sorkenzy explains, reaching for a pistol, "to Germany's victory plan. The Blitzkrieg."

Captain works his way across the roof of the car and slides down the side where he hangs easily from one hand while fumbling at the latch with the other. He can barely hear the voice on the other end of his radio, as it's been put back on his belt, but what he hears has already been confirmed by Otto. The true danger of this tech, however, is about to be fully realized.

When the door flies off its hinges, Cap swings off to the side so as not to be knocked off as well. Then he's greeted by the electric eyes of the Nazi zombie. "This is madness!" He pushes off with one foot and swings into the car with his heel leg coming around in a sweeping kick towards the monsters head. "I knew the Third Reich was evil, but this is disgusting..." His shield is set loose on a collision course with Otto, while he busies himself with not getting grabbed by this hulk of a former German Soldier.

THWUNK -- the foot slams into the face of the Blitzkrieg, cracking hard against his jaw. His head jerks to the right -- but immediately snaps back in place. Apparently unphased by the fact that he just took a hard kick. Otto, meanwhile, is interrupted by the shield, slamming hard into the man's chest -- what's left of the telluric vest underneath his uniform crumples and cracks, as he's sent reeling to the wall. The pistol clunks to the ground, tumbling out the door -- Otto grimaces, moving toward the other, opposite door...

"--evil? No," Otto informs the Captain as he steps back from the battle -- the Blitzkrieg is already lunging at the Captain, trying to seize him up in one, massive, powerful arm -- on contact, any contact, he would feel a faint electric charge buzzing through his skin. Like being zapped from a dozen little static charges all at once. "This is war, Captain."

The door opens; Otto steps back: "That is why you Americans will never triumph--"

"Captain?" Robo's voice, faint, crackles from the radio at his belt. "--I'm at the engine, now, setting the charges--"

The little zaps are more uncomfortable than painful and they're not debilitating. At least as far as he realizes now, there's no telling what a thousand pinprick electric shocks will do later on. Cap has to deal in the now, however. He has to stops this monster and catch Otto. He has to make certain this train and everything on it is blown sky high.

He would encourage Robo to continue with the mission if he could reach his radio, but wrapped up in the monsters arms he can barely get a hand to his back. Let alone take the time to actually send the message.

His head slams forward into the monsters nose, then again, and again. The armored front plate of the helmet acting like a battering ram against reanimated flesh while he yanks and pulls trying to get one of his arms free.

"You've got it all wrong." He grunts. Yanking both arms out of the graps and slamming his fists down onto either side of the Blitzkrieg's neck, right near the scapula. Once, twice, three times trying to break the bones beneath. "We're not going to lose because our cause is right." His elbow slams into the creatures neck.

He's not even sure if he's hurting the thing, but as soon as it loosens its grip he'll be able to get free and do... something... about it.

The blows do damage the monster; the headbutts violently compounding its nose -- smashing it into its face with *CRNCH* after cruel, merciless *CRNCH*. But there's no blood flowing from the wound -- and when the Captain manages to get his arms free, and begins hammering the scapula -- when the bones begin splintering beneath his grip -- he may realize the monster doesn't care. If it's capable of feeling pain, it doesn't seem to show it -- just squeezing, harder and harder, his grip like a clenching vice. Incredible strength. No sense of pain. And, judging by the sheer damage the Captain has done to its face and head -- possibly unkillable.

"--your cause is--" Otto begins, sneering as he steps out the door -- but just then, there are a series of distant, rumbling BOOMS -- followed by the screech of metal, hollow and sharp. Otto's eyes pop open...

...and the world begins to reel. Spinning, wrenching, as the whole train is thrown from the tracks -- sending the Captain rolling with the monstrous zombie down, right out of the train's still-open side-door.

They hit the side of a hill -- one full of rocks and crags. It's to the Captain's benefit that he's able to control the roll and keep the creature beneath him -- rock after rock slams into its back with a rough *CRKT*. The battery pack crumples; vacuum tubes pop -- the creature groans, an electrical surge building inside of it -- before wisps of smoke exit his ears, his body going slack.

By the point they reach the bottom of the hill... the creature is limp, unmoving beneath the Captain. And the train, high above him...

...is coming down the hill, rolling in a massive avalanche of crumpling steel and iron.

Captain bobs and bounces with rock, he distinctly feels the force of this descent even if the monster rolling near him doesn't. It isn't until they reach the bottom and Steve is jumping back to his feet with his arms coming up in a typical boxing stance that he realizes that the Blitzkrieg didn't make it with smoke still pouring out if it's fried brain.

Yet, there's a rumbling sound from above him and with a glance he realizes what's causing it. He turns and bolts further down the hill. Now a bit more in control of his slide that he's initiated it himself. As they near to trees, with that train almost right ontop of him, he presses off the side of the hill in a great leap that puts him inline to catch one of the higher limbs and get him out of harms way of the twisted metal...

The tree doesn't survive the hit and starts falling. Cap grabs hold of the shaking limb as it splinters and breaks, then falls towards the flat surface near the hill. A few feet before impact he jumps straight out away from the tree and rolls across the rumbling earth when it hits.

Radio? Dead. Broken in the fall. So he just has to keep an eye out for his comrade after sliding his shield back onto his back.

It's going to take a while to find him. Robo apparently jumped tracks shortly after setting the charges; it's a full ten minutes before the machine man starts marching down the hill, catching sight of the Captain shortly thereafter. He's only a little worse for wear -- dirt and pine nettles clinging to his frame -- as he stomps his way down toward him. The bazooka is missing, along with the automatic rifle; all he's got left are grenades.

As he descends, he moves toward the Captain... and then, those bright, luminescent eyes swing over toward the zombified Nazi... and the crumpled remains of the car that was carrying him.

Several hours later, they're in debriefing. Robo is gone; the last the Captain saw of him, he was storming out of one of the general's tents, apparently intensely displeased. He exchanged only brief, polite words with the Captain -- a thankyou, and a 'try to stay alive' -- before vanishing to do whatever it is robots do.

The Captain was pulled in shortly thereafter; to give a full report on what he had seen -- Otto Skorzeny's bizarre telluric vest, the horrific Blitzkrieg -- as well as report on what Robo had done after they derailed the train.

"He destroyed," General Oswald informed the Captain, "every piece of technology -- including the Blitzkrieg itself -- after you had successfully derailed the train. Why didn't you stop him? Those sort of weapons -- the technology you're describing -- it could change the face of the war."

Captain stands with a group of soldiers speaking to them about what he's done over in Europe and hearing them eager to join the fight. His presence is inspiring, his sature impressive, but it's his ability to speak with his comrades that really makes him the 'hero' he is. When Robo comes storming out and exchanges words of farewell, Steve returns them with polite words of his own. He's still not sure how he feels about that kind of technology, but at least it's not the horrors he saw on that train.

When the General's aid comes to retrieve him, Cap gives a full report. Then the question is posed and he stands there at attention with his eyes focused forward. The smudges of battle still on his chissled face, "General, that kind of technology will change the face of the war, sir. It will change it into a battleground of monsters and a mockery of the very values we're here to uphold. We should not, no... no we 'cannot' let ourselves be dragged into that kind of warfare. It will shape the foundations of our world, sir. We're better than that."

General Oswald responds merely by rubbing at his temples. "--Captain--" he starts, before -- after a moment of staring at the sharp, unwavering stare Steve Rogers settles on him -- smeared with soot -- he simply shakes his head. "--nevermind. You did a good job, son. Dismissed."

Steve stands at attention and salutes the General, but he's steadfast in his disdain for that kind of warfare. It's a country of conscious or it's not at all and Captain America will walk a very fine line to assure it remains that way. "Thank you, sir." Then he turns on his heels and walks out of the tent to rejoin his Howling Commandos.