Chapter 004: Captain America
Just as Mason clicked "confirm," he suddenly felt a searing pain shoot through his left hand. His smartwatch clattered to the ground, and a surge of heat coursed through his skin from his wrist up to the back of his hand. Then, everything went black, and he passed out.
In the darkness, he heard a commanding voice echo in his mind.
"Contract initialized!"
"Employee status: Probationary."
Onboarding mission activated: Deliver the vibranium shield to Captain America, Steve Rogers, within the specified timeframe!
…
What the hell? Mason opened his eyes and found himself floating in a dark void. On the back of his left hand was a uniquely designed mark. The background of the tattoo resembled a vast, boundless cosmos.
Engraved on it were two letters: DX
—standing for Dimensional Express.
"This tattoo is actually pretty sick," Mason muttered grudgingly.
Mason initially thought he was hallucinating from power failure, but the flood of new information in his mind constantly reminded him that everything he was experiencing was real.
"A dimensional delivery company?"
A strange expression crossed Mason's face. Everyone else who got isekai'd became overpowered heroes or billionaire playboys, but here he was, still stuck as a damn delivery driver.
"To maintain multiversal stability."
Mason glanced at the company's supposed mission statement and rolled his eyes cynically. But then, noticing the words "bio-fusion battery" clearly listed in the rewards section, his attention sharpened.
Was this reward just a coincidence, or was it specifically tailored for him?
Besides the bio-fusion battery, there was another mysterious item marked with ???.
"Please prepare for deployment. Teleportation countdown initiated."
Too much information was flooding his consciousness; before Mason could finish processing it all, the authoritative voice suddenly boomed through the dark space.
"Ten, nine, eight..."
"What happens to my real body?"
"What's the penalty if I fail the mission?"
Mason demanded urgently. He didn't want to return only to find his physical body dead in his shitty apartment.
"Three, two, one!" The authoritative voice seemed completely oblivious to Mason's protests, mechanically continuing the countdown.
"Teleportation commencing!"
Mason only saw a flash of blinding white light, and before losing consciousness, he heard the voice continue.
"Employee clearance insufficient for physical transfer. Original body placed in stasis, initiating consciousness descent!"
Special probationary mission benefit: Employee may utilize vibranium shield without damaging mission item!
"Welcome to the Captain America universe. Good luck!"
...
Pain!
Excruciating pain!
It felt like a massive boulder had crushed his entire body. His vision was dark, his mouth tasted of copper and blood, and his lungs burned with choking dust. Mason tried to open his eyes, but found his eyelids impossibly heavy, failing despite multiple attempts.
"What's going on? Where am I?"
"Did I really just drop into the Captain America universe?!"
Just then, Mason felt pressure on his body, as if someone had stepped over him, followed by a deep, menacing voice with a distinct German accent.
"It has taken me a very long time to find this place, I must commend you." The voice sent ice down his spine, like being targeted by a predator.
Mason felt a slight increase in control over his body. He carefully assessed himself and confirmed all four limbs were still intact, letting out an internal sigh of relief.
Just then, he heard heavy scraping, followed by something massive hitting the ground. The menacing voice spoke again: "The Tesseract was the jewel of Odin's treasure room." A sharp crack echoed. "It was not meant to be left in the hands of mortals, but I sense I am very close now!"
Mason's heart nearly stopped. A flash of recognition struck him; he finally understood where—and when—he was. In his previous life, he'd watched Captain America: The First Avenger multiple times and knew the plot fairly well.
This voice and dialogue were from the very beginning of the film, in Tønsberg, Norway in 1942. Red Skull had just seized the Tesseract from its hidden location!
A sinking feeling washed over Mason. This happened in Norway, and he was buried in rubble at the scene—his identity was now painfully obvious. He was that Norwegian local who only appeared for a few seconds in the movie, the poor bastard who got crushed to death when Hydra's armored vehicle smashed through the church wall.
"Son of a bitch, what kind of trash-tier Dimensional Express is this? Captain America, Steve Rogers, should be in Brooklyn, New York, trying to enlist, while I'm stuck in Nazi-occupied Norway!" Mason cursed internally.
Although the Tesseract was literally right in front of him, Mason had zero intention of trying to grab it. Red Skull was a super-soldier who received the prototype Super Soldier Serum even before Captain America, and while his abilities might not seem impressive compared to later MCU threats, right now he was someone Mason absolutely couldn't fight.
He controlled his breathing, lying perfectly still in the debris, waiting for Hydra to withdraw.
After an unknown amount of time, he heard that cold voice again, barking orders in German-accented English: "Open fire! Leave no witnesses!"
Rat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat!
After the muffled gunfire, everything fell silent.
Mason waited patiently for several more minutes, until he was absolutely certain he heard no more movement, before carefully pushing away the stones pinning him down. He brushed dust off his clothes and stood up shakily. At his feet lay an elderly man with white hair and beard, his chest stained crimson.
Following the massive hole that Hydra had blasted through the church wall, Mason cautiously approached. Outside, fires burned, and the cries of children and women filled the air. In the distance, heavy artillery and machine gun fire echoed. Hydra was using armored tanks to clear their path; after the bombardment, soldiers swept through behind them, executing survivors one by one.
Although the cyberpunk world he'd been living in was dangerous, and he'd experienced several life-or-death situations, all of that paled in comparison to actual warfare. After watching for a moment and confirming Hydra's direction of movement, Mason slipped into the shadows and fled toward the edge of town.
"Wait, wasn't I supposed to deliver Cap's shield? Where the hell is it?" As Mason was thinking, the tattoo on his wrist suddenly illuminated, and a small, detailed shield icon appeared on it. Judging from its design, it was definitely Captain America's shield. Mason tapped it lightly with his finger, and after a brief flash, the full-sized shield materialized in his hand.
"This sci-fi storage tech is way better than carrying boxes around," Mason couldn't help but marvel. He dematerialized the shield and summoned it again, experimenting several times until he was confident he could operate it correctly.
He was currently surrounded by enemy forces, completely unarmed except for this shield—which at least provided some protection. Now, all he needed to figure out was how to get out of occupied Norway and deliver the shield to Steven Rogers to complete this delivery mission.
Seeing that the main Hydra force had mostly pulled out, Mason darted through the dark alleyways. He vaulted over a wooden fence, turned a corner, and was about to sprint into the forest across the road when he suddenly felt something grab him from behind.
Something cold and metallic pressed against his lower back.
"Don't move, asshole!"
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