Potential of the Sun Staircase — Revised

Steve Rogers had always dreamed of joining the army so he could serve his country. However, he had repeatedly been rejected because he failed the physical requirements. Clever as Rogers was, he had tried forging documents to enlist, but the military was not stupid. After several attempts, he was luckily placed on a permanent blacklist.

Fortunately, after World War II broke out, Rogers saw a new hope and tried to enlist again, only to be rejected once more. Sometimes Rogers felt discouraged. Seeing heroes who had made names for themselves in the war filled him with envy. Wolverine and Victor, those two mutants who were unstoppable on the battlefield, had entered Captain America's envious sight.

After the Stark Expo ended, Rogers was drawn over by a nearby recruitment advertisement. When James noticed, he tried to persuade Rogers to give up on enlisting. Yet stubborn Rogers still refused to give up. After bidding James farewell, Rogers slowly walked away. He failed to notice that Abraham Erskine, one of the researchers involved in the Super-Soldier project, had been watching him ever since he left. At that moment, Tang Tian, wearing a brightly colored handmade suit unlike anything from the World War II era and a pair of sunglasses, approached Erskine and raised a hand in greeting.

"Mr. Donaldson has a good eye. I also think he can serve as a test subject for our project," Erskine, a middle-aged white doctor with glasses, said with a smile in a secluded corner of the expo.

"That's right. Testing on a weaker body will give us the most comprehensive and accurate experimental data. Also, have you considered what I told you last time?" Tang Tian asked as he looked at Erskine.

"I have to admit, Mr. Donaldson, your proposal is very tempting. What the military doesn't know is that the main ingredient of the Super-Soldier Serum comes from the Sun Staircase, a giant African aster plant discovered by Umbrella. It is an uninfected byproduct isolated from the unfathomable Sun Staircase. But without a suitable reason, I cannot go to your company to conduct research."

Naturally, Dr. Erskine wanted to go to that company. The substances extracted from the Sun Staircase alone showed its research value, and that was tremendously appealing to a scientist.

"Don't worry about that. I've already prepared a genetically cloned double for you. You and Dr. William can research the latest biotechnology—the G-virus, which is roughly on par with the Progenitor Virus," Tang Tian said unhurriedly. In truth, he had prepared for this long ago. Anyone who had watched the movie knew that after Dr. Erskine succeeded in Captain America, he would be killed by a Hydra agent. The double had been prepared precisely for that situation. Furthermore, Umbrella's clones could possess memories exactly identical to those of the original person. Whether in movies or games, it was clear that Umbrella's cloning technology was highly advanced.

"Fine, I agree. I will join Umbrella Corporation," Dr. Erskine said happily. It was understandable, really. He could research the immensely valuable Sun Staircase plant, and Tang Tian had offered to make him the head of a research project. In the military, he was merely a senior researcher on a project. Dr. Erskine would not pass up such an opportunity to show his abilities. Of course, no one knew that this reputable company was secretly researching numerous dangerous biological weapons.

One more thing: Dr. Erskine and Dr. William copied all the Super-Soldier Serum research materials and experimental data. This was also one of Tang Tian's habits when it came to advanced technology—better to kill by mistake than let anything slip through.

Just like in the movie, Rogers underwent a physical examination, and Dr. Erskine walked to the doorway. Naturally, no one noticed that he was merely a clone nearly identical to the real man. Tang Tian's plan to fool everyone was to replace the real with the fake. After the false Erskine died, the great Boss Tang would persuade Erskine to join his company completely. During the lull of World War II, he would also keep traveling to movie dimensions to plunder technology and talent. Only then would he have the strength to defeat freaks like Sentry or Superman in Marvel's chaotic future.

Ahem, that was off topic. Back to the original plot.

Unlike in the movie, the Erskine who came this time was a clone. After Rogers's documents had been prepared, the military police told the examining doctor to leave, leaving a confused Rogers alone in the examination room. Rogers's mind short-circuited when he saw that forging documents was illegal. His first thought was to run as far away as possible, but when the guard entered, he did not dare make any rash move.

"So, you want to go overseas and kill Nazis?" Dr. Erskine's clone asked as soon as he entered, looking at the puzzled Rogers.

"What did you say?" Rogers watched the military police leave without saying anything, and immediately realized that this middle-aged man was an important figure.

"I am Dr. Abraham Erskine of the Strategic Scientific Reserve, Steve Rogers." Dr. Erskine extended a hand to the stunned Rogers, as though everything was under control. The clone's reactions were clearly faster than those of the original Erskine.

"Where are you from? Queens? 73rd Street, Utopia Avenue? Your five applications list five different cities..." Dr. Erskine's clone recited every detail from the documents with ease.

"Maybe the files got mixed up," Rogers said. Naturally, he was not foolish enough to admit it.

"No, I am not interested in the files. You tried five times, and you still haven't answered my earlier question." Dr. Erskine's clone closed the file and continued, "Tell me, do you really want to go to war and kill Nazis?"

"Is this a test?" Rogers asked doubtfully.

"Yes." Dr. Erskine's clone smiled faintly.

"I don't want to kill people, and I don't want to become a demon, no matter where they come from," Rogers said seriously.

"Fine. Plenty of big men have already joined. Adding one small man won't matter. I can give you a chance, just one chance." Dr. Erskine's clone pulled back the curtain and walked out.

"I accept." How could Rogers possibly give up when such a hard-won opportunity had appeared? If he did, he would truly be a fool.

"Very good." Dr. Erskine's clone was satisfied. He then asked Rogers, "Can you tell me where you're from? Tell me the truth."

"Brooklyn," Rogers said excitedly. Just when he had thought there was no hope left, a new path had opened before him. At last, he could join the army.

Dr. Erskine's clone handed Rogers the stamped documents. Rogers saw that his file stated he had been accepted with top priority, and he was overjoyed. Naturally, he did not know that all this was the result of a certain arms dealer pulling strings behind the scenes. Captain America was about to appear. Hydra had also obtained the Tesseract and was vigorously developing energy weapons. Everything was proceeding according to the plot.

P.S. The author just got back, so the update was late. Please support the story with more votes, recommendations, and bookmarks. Thank you, everyone. Next, Planet of the Apes 2001 and the Pandorum Dimension will be occupied as colonies, serving as bases for Umbrella's advanced weapons and the Iron Empire.

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