While one weapon was put through his paces with his new arm, the other was put into cryostasis to wait, now that the process had been properly refined and they could be certain of bringing him out of it. He was awoken a scant day before the test, and because HYDRA did nothing if not learn from their mistakes, he was properly restrained until they could finish warming him.
It was a way to test how quickly their weapons could recover from cold sleep - they might need to be deployed at a moment's notice, after all - and also a way to further even the field between them. There was an undeniable, inescapable physical disparity between them. The serum in one was just stronger, more pure, than the serum in the other. The metal arm could make up some of that difference, but not all.
Yet that wasn't all they wanted to test. Before being brought out into the training yard, they gave him a weapon of his own - a shield, perfectly round, painted pure silver but for a red star in the very center. He could appreciate the design of it, the subtle brilliance of it. A target might subconsciously attack the more visible color, after all, rather than the man in black wielding the shield itself. And while on the surface, the cold and logical side of him questioned the offensive value of a shield, he nevertheless accepted it without comment.
And when he hefted it on his arm, something about it felt undeniably, indefinably natural. He discarded his doubts immediately.
He was to combat another weapon that was apparently on the same level as himself, to test himself in a live combat situation and to prove that their conditioning would hold. They weren't to kill one another, and they were to stop fighting immediately if ordered. Beyond that...anything was allowed.
His steps faltered for a moment when he was led out into the yard, with only two guards this time and three scientists fanned out behind him. He told himself that it was only the faint surprise of properly seeing his opponent, a pause to assess him. Even just from the way he moved and walked, here was clearly a fearsome opponent. He would definitely be in for a fight.
But he would fight to the best of his abilities. There was no other way to carry on.
As he took his place on one side of the field, Steve favored the man with a nod, even a faint smile. All their conditioning still hadn't been able to leave him entirely empty of emotion. There was an unthinking ease and courtesy to him, something that even now might be called charisma. Eventually, they had allowed it to persist. After all, it made him easier to work with. One day, it might even make him a leader.
But otherwise, he waited for the signal to begin. Once it came, he would try to close immediately, keeping the shield between them until the very last instant he was ready to strike.
no subject
It was a way to test how quickly their weapons could recover from cold sleep - they might need to be deployed at a moment's notice, after all - and also a way to further even the field between them. There was an undeniable, inescapable physical disparity between them. The serum in one was just stronger, more pure, than the serum in the other. The metal arm could make up some of that difference, but not all.
Yet that wasn't all they wanted to test. Before being brought out into the training yard, they gave him a weapon of his own - a shield, perfectly round, painted pure silver but for a red star in the very center. He could appreciate the design of it, the subtle brilliance of it. A target might subconsciously attack the more visible color, after all, rather than the man in black wielding the shield itself. And while on the surface, the cold and logical side of him questioned the offensive value of a shield, he nevertheless accepted it without comment.
And when he hefted it on his arm, something about it felt undeniably, indefinably natural. He discarded his doubts immediately.
He was to combat another weapon that was apparently on the same level as himself, to test himself in a live combat situation and to prove that their conditioning would hold. They weren't to kill one another, and they were to stop fighting immediately if ordered. Beyond that...anything was allowed.
His steps faltered for a moment when he was led out into the yard, with only two guards this time and three scientists fanned out behind him. He told himself that it was only the faint surprise of properly seeing his opponent, a pause to assess him. Even just from the way he moved and walked, here was clearly a fearsome opponent. He would definitely be in for a fight.
But he would fight to the best of his abilities. There was no other way to carry on.
As he took his place on one side of the field, Steve favored the man with a nod, even a faint smile. All their conditioning still hadn't been able to leave him entirely empty of emotion. There was an unthinking ease and courtesy to him, something that even now might be called charisma. Eventually, they had allowed it to persist. After all, it made him easier to work with. One day, it might even make him a leader.
But otherwise, he waited for the signal to begin. Once it came, he would try to close immediately, keeping the shield between them until the very last instant he was ready to strike.