Tales of the Kudoverse #3

Oh yeah, now this one might just have been my finest hour as far as these go. Not only was this one a personal favorite of mine, and possibly the best of the bunch, but it was a big fan-favorite as well among the people who read these on my other blog. It's the first part of a three part epic, still part of the "Secret Origins" cycle (which was actually the second cycle I wrote), featuring a character I have tremendous fondness for: Canary Kudo (Jillyana Von Zemo). To toot my own horn a little more, I really enjoy the dynamic I set up for the Red Skull, something that no one, ever, in the history of comic books (well, at least as far as I can tell) has ever attempted before.

*****


The Super Soldier formula was never duplicated. Its secrets were carried to the grave when Professor Erksine was murdered in 1941. Only one successful test was ever made--the test that created Captain America. No one could duplicate the serum, even though dozens tried. The scientists of Advanced Idea Mechanics made the only close approximation. Their test subject was the Red Skull. While initially the results appeared positive, the serum was flawed. After a pitched battle with Captain America, the serum began to eat away at the Red Skull's nervous system, and he barely escaped with his life. Only the efforts of the Skull's second in command, and chief scientist, Arnim Zola, saved him from complete deterioration. AIM was unable to improve upon the formula, and no further direct testing was done.

As such, when the Von Zemo sisters came under the care of the Red Skull, direct infusion of their version of the formula was considered unacceptable. Instead, under the direct supervision of Arnim Zola, a diluted strain of the serum was adapted for long-term use. Almost immediately upon arrival both Elspeth and Jillyana were inoculated with the dosed serum. At first one shot was administered per month while the science department closely monitored the effects of the serum. As their bodies began to adapt to it, the rate of inoculation was increased to weekly, and finally daily.

It took years for true results to show. AIM was near to writing the program off as a loss, but by Elspeth's 12th birthday the effects of the serum began to manifest. While nowhere near on the level of Captain America, she began to display increased strength, speed, and heightened reflexes. Jillyana, started at a younger age, developed even more rapidly. She learned fast and became exceptionally deadly. By the time she was 11, there was not a man among the Red Skull's warriors who could defeat Jillyana in practice combat sessions. By the time she was 12, she had put sixteen of the Skull's highly trained men in the infirmary. By the time she was 13 she was thoroughly bored.

August 1995.

Her sister left two years ago. She'd learned all she could learn from the Red Skull, and had gone out to learn more. Even though she kept in touch from wherever she was--Latveria, Miskatonic University, China--Jillyana almost never saw her. She was meeting Dr. Doom and the Mandarin and the Yellow Claw, but Jillyana was stuck there. The Skull and his men mobilized for some operation geared to attack SHIELD or Captain America on an almost weekly basis, it seemed, but Jillyana was stuck there. She was the deadliest living person in the entire instillation, and she knew it, and so did the Red Skull, but she only rarely was allowed out to have any fun. Just the easy jobs. Go out, kill an enemy, return home. She had 33 kills, but it wasn't enough. And nothing at all lately. Her swords hadn't tasted blood in over a month. She was bored.

Patience, the Skull told her. Always patience. Her time would come. The time when she would bleed the world dry would come. And her sister would eventually return for her. He always told her this. He spoke of their destiny, of how Elspeth would need her, how she couldn't fulfill her mission without Jillyana at her side. Be patient. But it was so far away. How long could she wait?

The Red Skull left the base the day before, off to challenge his nemesis once again with another grand scheme. He was always doing that. The confrontation was closer to home than usual. London. There was some kind of symmetry to it. She remembered what happened there. Someday those responsible would all pay for what they did. Jillyana wandered the halls of the base, waiting for the Skull to come home so that he could regale her with his tale of battle against the dread Captain. She waited and wandered, desperate to have something to do, desperate to be essential to the mission. Someday.

The Skull's ship returned shortly after midday. An emergency team was dispatched to the hangar. Minutes later, the Red Skull was stretchered into the main lab, where Arnim Zola was waiting for him. The Skull had returned the worse for wear many times before after battling Captain America, but this time was different. Something had gone terribly wrong. The Skull was battered, from a fall off a cliffside to the jagged rocks below. It had been an epic battle, but again the Captain prevailed. Only the loyalty of the Skull's men saved the life of their leader. They found him, near death, sinking to the ocean floor. The body missing, as always, SHIELD would remain and comb the area until they were certain one way or another if the Red Skull survived. As always, Captain America would remain as part of the search effort.

Led by Arnim Zola, the doctors worked feverishly to bring the Skull back from the brink of death. Zola was confident, having repaired the Skull's body numerous times over the years. This time would be no exception. Jillyana followed the stretcher down to the medical lab. She'd seen this before. They all had. But this time was different. Unobserved by Zola, Jillyana looked upon the broken, almost lifeless body of the Red Skull. She listened to his labored breathing, watched the doctors at work, saw the blood pool on the floor underneath the body. A single tear traveled down each of her cheeks before she turned and ran out of the operating room. Within minutes she was in her room, and a minute after that she had found what she needed. Then she was gone.

Jillyana ran down the hallways of the base that had been her home for nine years. Everyone kept out of her way as she passed. They could see the rage in her eyes. She reached the hangar, headed for one of the hover planes purchased from AIM. One of the technicians tried to stop her, knowing that no one had authorized any flights out. Jillyana hit him sharply in the throat without missing a step. The technician fell to his knees, choking. He was lucky she left him alive. She accessed the controls of the hover plane. They were child's play. Without a look back, Jillyana flew out of the hangar.

In the operating room, Arnim Zola is engaged in very delicate surgery. It is up to him now whether the Skull lives or dies. The surgery requires all of his concentration. As such, Dr. Zola is very angry when a very nervous young man carrying a clipboard interrupts him. Nevertheless, Zola is next in charge after the Red Skull, and he must be made aware of a situation. The man tells Zola what has transpired. Several seconds pass while Arnim Zola considers this.

"We could not stop her, Herr Doktor."

"No," Zola says. "I don't expect you could have."

"We have her on the scanners. She isn't answering the coms, but we have a trajectory on her possible destination."

"I know where she is going," Zola says. He looks down at the Skull's unconscious body. "Not good. Not good at all."

"What shall we do?"

Zola looks down at the Skull again. Due to the circumstances this is his call to make. Several more seconds pass as he considers the situation.

"Herr Doktor?"

"Call her."

Five miles north of London. SHIELD agents, along with Captain America, have set up a base of operations in the town hall. Divers have been searching up and down the coast for hours, finding nothing. Search parties on land have been similarly unsuccessful. The Captain knows, just like he always knows. The Red Skull has evaded death and slipped away. Again. The agents want to continue the search, just to be sure, but he knows it's pointless. When there is no body, they're always still out there. And they always come back. He could use a cup of coffee. Just then an agent on the roof uses the com. There's something they should see, out on the street.... the Captain in particular.

Jillyana Von Zemo stands in the middle of the street. Her swords are drawn. Dozens of spectators have cleared a large circle around her. The battle with the Red Skull was only hours ago. They don't know who the girl is, but they do know this is somehow related. Several agents are on different rooftops, lining up their shots if need be. They know the standing orders on Jillyana if she is ever encountered. Subdue if possible. Use lethal force only as a last resort. Even so, they need to wait for an order before they can take the shot. The order would come from the field commander of this operation: Captain America.

''CAPTAIN AMERICA. COME OUT AND FACE ME."

Agents approach her from both sides. One of them is a young cadet on her first field mission. Her name is Sharon Carter. She knows full well whom she is pointing her rifle at. Jillyana Von Zemo, at 13 years old, is one of the five deadliest assassins in the world. Another agent orders Jillyana to put down her swords and put her hands behind her head. The young girl sneers at him. She looks directly at Sharon Carter, and it is all Sharon can do to keep her hands from shaking. She's read the reports about how fast Jillyana is. She doesn't know if she could pull the trigger fast enough.

"I want the Big American Swine Hero. I don't have time to kill all of you. But I will. Bring him out to face me."

"Not going to happen, little girl. Put the swords down."

She moves to strike the agent down, but she's stopped in mid-stroke by a commanding voice. The enemy.

"Jillyana! I'm here."

Captain America, shield in hand, walks down the steps of the town hall. She turns to face him. Smiles.

"All agents stand down," the Captain says. They reluctantly do so. "I'll handle it from here."

The Captain and Jillyana face off. Blood sits in her eyes. He tries to talk her down, but she will listen to none of it. She turns into attack position faster than most eyes could detect, but the Captain has reflexes faster than most people. Her swords attack one after the other, but are deflected by the shield. He tries to take her down. He doesn't want to hurt her, but he knows how dangerous she is. They go back and forth for several minutes. Her blades come close to drawing blood several times, but the Captain is more experienced, and is able to avoid her strikes. He kicks her leg out, but she is up again before he can capitalize. Jillyana is boiling with rage, and he knows it, and uses it to his advantage. She thrusts both swords at him, fast enough to kill any of the other agents present. The captain grabs her arms and flips her over his head onto a nearby jeep. She lands hard. Her swords clatter to the ground.

"Stay down, Jillyana. I don't want to hurt you."

She knows she's already hurt. She can feel it. Her shoulder. Dislocated in the fall. But her rage has not abated. The enemy still stands. She rolls off the jeep to the ground, holding her shoulder. With a scream she slams her damaged shoulder backwards into the jeep. It pops back into place. She picks up her swords, ready to fight. The Captain offers her another chance to stop. It is a waste of his time. Jillyana charges again. He sidesteps at the last second, and bats her down with his shield. Again he tells her to stay down. She jumps to her feet. Her swords scrape and spark off of his shield. He knows now she'll never stop. He'll have to put her down. As soon as he gets his shot, he will. Jillyana gets closer and closer with her swords. The agents stand by, ready to fire on the girl if the worst happens. Sharon Carter watches the battle closely. She knows the Captain will eventually win, like he always does, but the waiting and watching is always terrible. Captain America swings his shield at Jillyana, who ducks behind him, and finally makes contact. The blade slashes across the Captain's back. He moved with it in time, enough to keep it to just a shallow cut. He still falls, and backs himself against the jeep, but is ready to defend himself. Jillyana is consumed with bloodlust, ready to make the mistake that he can use to subdue her. But the sight of the Captain's blood was enough. Sharon fires her rifle. A beam of energy hits Jillyana in the side, and she falls. The blast would have knocked most human beings unconscious, but Jillyana has been more than human for years. She crawls on the ground, towards her swords. She will not stop.

Sharon goes over to the Captain, who is standing again. He didn't want things to come to this. Jillyana is little more than a rabid animal now, almost to her swords. All the other agents have their guns trained on her. The Captain tells them no. This is his responsibility to finish, even wounded as he is. But before he can make a move a thick white beam of energy blasts between the Captain and Sharon, striking the jeep directly behind them. The jeep falls on it's side and the concussion of the blast sends both Captain America and Agent Carter sprawling in opposite directions. Sharon takes the worst of it, and lies dazed. The Captain sits up, starts to stand. All eyes look in the direction the blast came from.

Another young woman stands, holding a large energy weapon in her hand. Two-dozen field agents of Advanced Idea Mechanics stand behind her. The wind blows her black hair across her face.

"I think you need to get away from my sister right now."

(to be continued)