Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted materials contained herein. They are the rightful property of their respective creators and/or associated companies. I make no profit from this whatsoever and I have no intention of changing this in the future. I write because it's fun and because there are those who enjoy reading my stories. Therefore it would be greatly appreciated if no legal action were taken against me. I can assure you that my assets wouldn't cover even half of your legal fees.

Note: I know by now a lot of you would like an answer as to why I chose to turn Xander into X-23 rather than choose someone else. You've made a lot of suggestions in terms of alternatives: Winter Soldier, Cable, Punisher, Citizen V, Grifter and Deadpool. The reason I did not go with characters like them is threefold.

First none of the above people have an ability or tool that would allow them to remain in fighting shape from the beginning of the MGS story (MGS3) through to the end (MG Revengence). Sure Deadpool has his healing factor that potentially like Wolverine's could let him live a good long while and still be able to kick ass but then we get to the second reason.

The second reason I didn't go with any of these characters is basically due to a lack of familiarity with them. My comic book reading has been pretty much restricted to X-Men titles, Spider-Man titles and occasionally Avengers titles. As such I do not feel like I could do justice to the proposed characters and would likely only trip over myself trying.

Third and probably least important of the three would be I try (emphasis on TRY) to keep myself from doing what is expected or has been done before. People have been writing BtVS stories and crossover stories for years and some things have already been done to death. I do what I can to branch off from the path travelled by so many others and try something new. I might not always succeed but I do try. As such while I knew I'd need to give Xander attributes that'd help him in the MGS universe I needed to choose someone who people wouldn't immediately think of.

Well enough of this! ON WITH THE SHOW!

Stalingrad

Xander's POV

I hope I made the right choice. he thought walking behind the woman who only went by the codename The Joy.

A full day had passed since he'd first met the woman who was only three years older than the body he currently inhabited. It'd been during that first meeting that the blonde had explained that she was the leader of a special unit, the Cobra Unit, that had been formed to turn the tide against the Nazi's by whatever means necessary. It'd sounded a little shady but the fact that they'd saved his shapely butt from the two Nachtkrapp soldiers put them in his plus column nonetheless. The Joy then explained that she'd been watching his fight with the German operatives and had been impressed with the skill he'd shown even if he hadn't won. As a result she was prepared to offer him a place in her unit and commented how it could help bring the war to a close a little bit sooner. The offer was tempting and it could lead to him getting out of Stalingrad sooner rather than later since a special unit would get priority transport if they requested it. Also he'd read in his high school history books how many soldiers from the Allied countries had died before the war came to an end. If he could reduce that amount by even a dozen then it'd be worth it.

Even more so if he could somehow find Willow's grandfather and get him out of the Nazi death camp he was in sooner rather than later.

Mister Rosenberg never told the whole story about how his father had died in the camps but he had remarked about how if his dad had only held on for another week Allied troops would've rescued him before he'd been herded into the gas chamber.

Still he'd inquired about what sort of strings would be attached, what sort of obligations he'd be required to fulfill before he could walk away, and that'd led to some questions being fired his way. When he'd been asked his name he gave the same one he'd given Svetlana and her team: Alexis Kinney. When he was asked where he was from he just said a little town in America but that he hadn't been there in a while which was true since it'd been years since he'd even been stateside. Then of course had come the question about how he'd come to be in Stalingrad but in this case he didn't have to lie. He explained how he'd lost consciousness during a gathering of his friends only to wake up in a building in Stalingrad. He went on to explain how he'd met Svetlana and her team helping them to defend the supply cache for the Soviet troops. He could tell that neither the Joy or the Pain and the Fear liked the black hole in his story involving how he'd been dropped in the middle of the war but they didn't press for more.

The Joy then explained that her unit officially didn't exist and they couldn't leave even a hint of their presence on any battlefield they were sent to. They were to be ghosts, shadows, that the Nazis spoke of in the trenches and cause them to look fearfully into the darkness wondering if the same specters were waiting to swoop in to end their lives. As a result each of them had a prototype bomb implanted in their bodies with the trigger tied to their vital signs. If they ever flatlined the bomb would detonate utterly destroying their bodies to the point where there'd be nothing for anyone to identify even if they gathered up every piece they could find. Naturally he didn't like that idea one bit and plainly stated that he refused to have any explosive implanted in him for any reason. She didn't seem to have a problem with that since his regenerative powers would make dying a major issue for him. She also stated that while he was a part of the unit he'd be obligated to carry out the missions the unit was assigned and never speak a word about them to anyone lacking the authorization. Not friends. Not family. It didn't matter how powerful or how high up the ladder the person was. Unless he was plainly told by her or someone already in the know that they could be told he would not even acknowledge the existence of the missions much less what happened on them.

With that level of secrecy it was likely that whatever they'd be doing would raise a major shit storm if the facts every reached the public or even those not cleared to know them. That meant that it could heat up the war even further or involved elements that were so morally black that a government other than the Germans could face a coup de ta at the hands of their own people. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing for him to get involved in such matters but he'd been concerned that if he tried to walk away The Joy's first mission would be to find and capture him. His regeneration ability would be valuable to all of the Allied nations and finding a way to pass it onto their troops would make any evil deed condonable for all the good that could be done in the future. In the end he'd agreed to join the unit but only until an opportunity came along to vanish from all sight. He had no desire to be any nation's wet works operative but he wasn't stupid enough to think he could just buy a home in Kansas like any other Joe America.

He'd probably need to go underground for at least a decade and avoid hot spots where the intelligence agencies of the major powers would be operating. If he did that they'd likely forget about him since they'd have other things on their plates more important than hunting down a single girl with a unique ability. As long as he didn't do anything to pop up on their radar he'd be safe. Hiding from them would hinder his efforts to make the future better but he'd still try nonetheless. Keeping his head down in some small country would give him all the time he needed to develop plans while mastering the body he was in. The war would probably go a long way with that, firsthand experience and all that, but some things needed a place with zero distractions. Working the kinks out at a hut in the middle of nowhere would do it just fine.

When he'd maxed out on all the progress a person could make training on their own she'd put the fruits of her efforts towards changing the world for the better. He'd go after the tyrants, the dictators and the murderers of the world ending their lives before they could bathe in the blood of innocent men and women. He could already think of a couple off the top of his head and had a good idea of where they could be found during the next fifty years. He'd likely still have to do some hunting about to find them but with the senses he now had he didn't think it'd be all that difficult.

All in all for the time being he'd play along with the Cobra Unit and do what he could to bring the second world war to an end sooner rather than later.

"So…where to now?" he asked as Svetlana's supply cache became too distant to make out clearly.

"We meet with the other members of the unit and then begin our counterattack against the Nazis." The Joy replied without looking back at him, "If they're allowed to claim victory here it'll give them the spring board they need to make it all the way to Moscow. If one of the three major powers opposing Germany falls and its resources fall into Hitler's hands…"

"…Then no place on Earth would be safe." He said finishing the woman's statement with a logical ending.

"Precisely." She said sounding like she wasn't thrilled at the idea either.

Good enough reason for him to go all the way to ensure that the city didn't fall to the Nazis.

"We'll do it." He said with conviction born of determination, "No doubt about it."

"Yes. We will." She said with equal resolve.

He just hoped that in defeating evil their souls didn't become poisoned in the process.

Communications Tent, Russian Forces Camp

The Joy's POV

"Then it's official?" she asked in order to confirm what she'd been told by the man on the other side of the radio signal.

"Yes. She might not be from the same 'school' as you or the others but her abilities would make her an asset on the battlefield." The man said sounding like he had no hesitation about his decision, "Seeing as how we won't be able to send you further support Miss Kinney's presence in an unexpected but welcome boost."

"Your not concerned that she might not be ready for the missions we'll be going on?" she asked wanting to make sure she knew where he stood.

"Based on your summary of her fight with the Nachtkrapp she's capable of holding her own, unarmed, one on one against a member of that group. Given what Ally intelligence has on them that's good enough for her to handle conventional German infantry easily enough." The man replied sounding like it'd been a deciding factor, "The same could be said for armored vehicles assuming she has the needed weapon. If you're concerned that she might slow you down then use the downtime between missions to train her. Have all your unit members train her."

"We have a war to fight." She said pointing out an important fact, "There's not going to be a lot of time to train her conventionally."

"Then train Miss Kinney unconventionally." The man said not backing down from his position, "Use whatever methods will get the best results."

"Why are you so insistent that she remain a member of my unit?" she asked growing suspicious of the man's motives.

"Why are you so opposed?" the man asked to counter her question with another.

"The missions we will be sent on will be both important and dangerous. Not to mention…ethically questionable." She replied figuring if she gave a little the man would as well, "Alexis Kinney is an unknown quantity. She might have potential but the war could prove to be too harsh a crucible for it to be realized. What if she breaks?"

"Very well. How about this as a compromise?" the man asked sounding like he was willing to try a different route, "Use the situation in Stalingrad as a testing ground. Give her a series of assignments, each successive one more difficult than the last, nothing that would compromise your mission objectives but enough to gain her measure as an operative. If she fails to get a passing grade I'll facilitate a transfer to another unit. If she passes then she becomes a permanent member of the Cobra Unit and each of you will take time to pass on some of your skills. Is this more agreeable?"

"Yes." She replied finding the compromise acceptable, "I won't give her any leeway. She either passes or she fails."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you." The man said with respect in his tone.

"What's our first mission?" she asked moving on to what she considered a more important matter.

"Based on intelligence gathered thus far the Stavka believe that the Germans will be weakened by the harsh Soviet winter. It's then that they're planning on going on the offensive." The man replied letting the previous topic slide, "Our analysts agree with this but to make sure the Russian counter-offensive succeeds your Cobra Unit will be tasked with undermining German munitions and supply posts around the city. The Nazis are already stretched thin in terms of manpower and requests for aid from Berlin have gone unanswered. Weakening them further will increase the odds of the Russians counter-offensive succeeding."

It was a sound plan.

Every soldier was at their best in the environment they'd grown up in because they knew of its dangers as well as how it could be used to their advantage. However put them in a drastically different environment and their prowess on the battlefield was halved unless they were very good at adapting to new situations. Given what she knew she doubted that any German had actually taken the time to learn the particulars of the Russian climate in person. At best they consulted whatever books and maps they could get their hands on. When winter really settled in on Stalingrad the Germans would likely underestimate what they would need in terms of clothing, maintenance equipment and proper shelter. The Russians on the other hand would know all too well what to expect and be better prepared for it even if supplies from Moscow were sporadic in their arrival.

If her Cobra Unit made things even harder on the Germans then a Soviet victory would be all but certain.

Still…I'll have to make sure our strikes are subtle. She thought as plans began to form in her mind, It is the top mandate of the unit that no evidence of its existence be permitted. If we attack the Germans too hard those with the clearance will suspect the truth even if it's only passing speculation.

The people giving her orders, the successors to the original Philosophers, wouldn't like that one bit and would make their displeasure known to her in some way.

"Understood. Any other mission criteria I should be aware of?" she asked knowing that those that gave orders often wanted them to carried out in specific ways.

"None that you haven't already thought of. No witnesses, no evidence and given the importance of the mission failure is not an option." The man replied with firm authority, "The same will be the case for every subsequent mission until the conclusion of the war."

No witnesses.

That meant that if any Russians or any other Ally nation citizen saw them in action their mandate would leave them with no choice but to eliminate them. It wouldn't matter if the citizen had aided them in some crucial manner or might've seen nothing potentially useful to anyone who questioned them. If there was even a sliver of a chance that information on the Cobra Unit could get out every member of the team would be under orders to kill the person suspected of possessing the information.

She found this distasteful but at the same time she understood the reason for it.

A secret weapon only remained effective until it ceased to be a secret.

If information about the Cobra Unit reached the Axis Powers they would begin devising and implementing countermeasures that could prove quite effective. This in turn would prolong the war in complete opposition to the purpose of her team to shorten the duration of the war by striking at enemy targets like a team of grim reapers.

Invisible killers that only became visible to their prey moments before taking their life.

If keeping their existence a secret required the deaths of a handful of people so that they could go on to save thousands more…then that was the cost of war.

"Understood. Joy over and out." She said before turning off the radio and removing the accessory intended to keep others from listening in.

Putting the device into a pouch on her waist and left the radio room to brief her unit on their mission.

While the Soviet commander in charge of the location they'd regrouped in hadn't been thrilled at being told to vacate his communications tent or be made to stay twenty feet away at all times her impeccable ability to speak his language and her credentials made him comply. As far as the officer was concerned the Cobra Unit was a special operations team contributed by the United States and currently under the command of the KGB. Fortunately it was a universal fact that the military didn't like spooks and it didn't matter what country either side was from. American soldiers didn't like the CIA and Russian soldiers didn't like the KGB. At the same time though soldiers knew who had the superior authority and resources as well as the reduced ethical issues to make trouble for them if they became too big of a problem. It gave her and her unit the leeway they needed to take what they needed without anyone else getting too curious and they'd likely be forgotten soon after they left.

Looking ahead of her she saw her unit and imagined what sort of future awaited them.

The Fear, The Fury, The Pain, The End, The Sorrow and The Joy.

Come to think of it Miss Kinney needs a codename as well. She thought as her team noticed her approach, I will need to watch her until something inspires me.

Assuming of course that Miss Kinney passed her tests and proved that she would not be a liability to the unit.

It all hinged on that.

The Outer Edge of Stalingrad

Xander's POV

At least they had an outfit in my size. He thought looking down at the military uniform that'd been acquired for him, Hopefully it'll last longer than my last set of clothes.

Seeing a flash of light pass over his head he shoved thoughts of fashion aside and pulled the Welrod Mark Two pistol from its holster. Ideally The Joy said she'd prefer it if the mission was completed without any sign that he'd been there aside from the desired results but if some Nazi's needed to be eliminated in order for the goals to be accomplished then he had authorization. Taking a deep breath and immersing himself in the military training bouncing around inside his head he then began to creep in the shadows towards the Hungarian Second Army's main guard post. The others would be infiltrating more heavily guarded locations around the perimeter of Stalingrad but this was to be his first test to see if he could run with the rest of the Cobras. He'd been a bit surprised when The Joy had told him but then conceded it made sense that she'd want to know what he was capable of handling. The others probably had credentials three pages long to speak for them but he had literally nothing since all he'd had when he'd arrived here were the clothes on his back.

Now he didn't even have those.

Time to NOT make an impression. He thought as he let his senses guide him through the guard post's defenses.

He'd already managed to make it past the minefield the Hungarians had set up on the Stalingrad side of their offensive line but now he had other things to worry about. There'd be patrols, searchlights and possibly a sniper or two on the lookout from their nests on or near the high points in the area. They'd have a tough time seeing anything given the distinct lack of sunlight but they'd probably been trained on what to look for in terms of shadowy movements. Still as long as he kept his distance from the beams coming from the spotlights his odds of getting by without being spotted were pretty good.

As he got closer to the guard post he began to hear the Hungarian soldiers speaking and much to his not surprise he could understand them just as he'd been able to understand the Russians. He was seriously beginning to wonder just how many languages had gotten crammed into his head thanks to his 'partnership' with Laura. Not that he didn't like being able to understand the people he was encountering but it was still a little unsettling to suddenly know something you didn't recall learning. Apparently the latest request for reinforcement and resupply had been rejected leaving the men allied with the Germans to make due with what they had. It was good news for the Soviets and the Cobra Unit but not so much for those who'd stupidly decided to ally themselves with Adolph Hitler's little band of genocidal maniacs. Bringing his focus up a notch he listened extra carefully while also making an active effort to decipher the scents his nose was taking in. Step by step he navigated his way around the enemy soldiers, sometimes being forced to remain perfectly still in hiding until it was safe, but seeing as how the alarm hadn't been raised he hadn't been spotted yet.

Well here's the food supply tent. He thought as he swiftly crossed the small gap between a Hungarian truck and the tent, Time to get to work.

Reaching for a metal container on his belt he opened it to reveal a mostly padded interior along with a syringe loaded to capacity with a fluid. Taking out the syringe he carefully began to move around to each crate and container to deposit some of its contents inside. What were the contents? A concentrated and highly virulent variation of Tuberculosis that once introduced into the body of a human being would produce the symptoms in half the time the normal strain would. Even if the Hungarian soldiers didn't consume the infected food immediately the virus would remain viable until they did. Humans couldn't survive without food for longer than three weeks and that was assuming they kept their activity to a minimum. For the Hungarian soldiers they wouldn't purposefully starve themselves. At best they might try to stretch out their food supply for as long as possible in order to make sure they survived until the next shipment arrived. As a result they'd become infected and once the symptoms began to manifest themselves their ability to fight the Soviets would decrease significantly.

With the rest of the unit sabotaging the other camps like this I give Hitler's boys a month, maybe two, before they can barely keep the ground they've got. He thought even as he made sure to keep an eye out for Hungarian soldiers, The Soviets won't have much trouble taking them down then.

It took a little under five minutes before the last bit of food got the final drops of the virus but when it did he began his exfiltration from the guard post. He didn't let his guard down though using all the senses he could make sense of to keep tabs on everyone within their range so that he wouldn't be spotted. It was hard on the nerves knowing that one slip up and he'd have to fight his way through every Hungarian soldier at the guard post in order to exit the area. He was also fairly certain that if that happened The Joy would consider it a failure on his part since the unit operatives were forbidden from leaving any trace of their existence whether it was witnesses or physical signs of their presence.

Dead bodies, damage to the guard post itself and other signs of battle definitely counted as traces of his existence.

It took him ten minutes to get clear of the guard post and when he confirmed that there were no sounds of alarm or detection coming from the men he'd left behind he oriented himself before heading off for the next target location. He had two more places to visit before he could head back to The Joy to say mission accomplished and two more syringes to empty into the food supplies of those places. Overall it was a tedious and tense assignment but it was the only viable option at the moment that held the least risk of exposing the existence of the Cobra Unit. If this were an action movie his job would be to take out the guard posts by killing everyone there and blowing everything capable of being blown up. Unfortunately that was too flashy and attention drawing making it the complete opposite of what the Cobra Unit had been ordered to do in terms of the M.O. He figured when they got a mission to take out a Nazi research facility or eliminate a weapons depot he'd get to see some fireworks and have a lot more freedom in how he could handle things.

He may understand stealth and have some skill in it but he much preferred the less stifling open combat…

…Even if it did mean he'd have to kill the people in the area rather than simply sneak around them.

He still felt a bit sick at the killing he'd have to do but was resigned to follow through with his commitment to the Cobra Unit. In his mind it was still the best option for getting through the war intact and then eventually slipping away from the various governments that would no doubt he THRILLED to have him sign on officially with one of them and only one of them. In fact he wouldn't be surprised if his teammates wound up covertly probing the possibility with him in conversations between missions to see how receptive he'd be. He'd have to stay on the fence when it came to that topic, make it seem like he wanted to wait until after the war to set down any roots, and hope he could slip away before being confronted for a final answer. He'd been present during enough dealings with the various government representatives during the reconstruction of the Council to know what they were like. They'd haggle you to get the best deal for THEM that they could get and then try to pull off some scams under the radar to get even more. The Old Council managed to keep the various governments on their side with their similar 'tastes' and a generous amount of 'gifts'. He'd always thought that the Old Council had spent the money that should've gone towards supporting the Slayers on themselves but as he'd later found out that support money had gone to the governments of the world.

Needless to say neither Giles or Buffy had been willing to follow the same path but they'd still needed a way to keep the other nations 'friendly'.

So they'd threatened to pull Council aid from those nations who refused to sign the new magically binding treaty.

Giles had been the one to drop the ultimatum since none of the others thought they'd be convincing enough to the representatives to make the bluff work. The reps had countered saying that they had their own anti-supernatural forces and that the Council's aid wouldn't be missed. Giles of course had stated that while it was true that every major country had a division whose sole purpose was to combat the supernatural they'd only been around as long as the countries had. The Watchers Council on the other hand had been around for millennia in one form or another and had the ancient knowledge to prove it. While The First Evil's assault had damaged the holdings of the Old Council the new one under Giles and Buffy still retained the lion's share of the assets. As such they could do a far better job handling the demons and the dark mages that threatened each country. The Reps had then tried to call the bluff by saying that if their countries went down the world would go with them. Giles had chuckled and pointed out that not every nation would be so reluctant to sign the new treaty. Many of those that did had their own nuclear arsenals and while a nuke wouldn't kill every demon it'd kill most of them while at the same time eliminating any opposition that would obstruct the clean up teams afterwards.

Amazing what the threat of being bombed out of existence can do to change the minds of arrogant assholes.

All the reps signed the treaty, some VERY reluctantly, and so Giles was able to leave to focus on more important matters.

I refuse to be some nation's assassin! He thought with resolve stronger than the metal coating his claws, I'm my own boss and I refuse to fight for anything I don't believe in.

He might no longer be the teenager he once was but he still chose to fight according to his heart's will.

The Russian Resistance Base Camp

The Joy's POV

"So how did she do?" she asked The Fear once she was sure that they wouldn't be overheard.

"She did well. Almost TOO well." The Fear replied sounding like he suspected something.

"What do you mean?" she asked willing to give her subordinate some leeway to air out his concerns.

"Her infiltration of the enemy guard posts and administering of the virus was too smooth. Smoothness like that only happens through repetition. Experience." He replied sounding serious with his tone, "Are you sure she's not a government operative from one of an Allied nations?"

"I was not given any information on Miss Kinney or even informed she existed. I saw her for the first time at the same time you did." She replied after a minute of consideration, "If she is a government operative then her arrival here in Stalingrad couldn't have been a coincidence. Someone must've known the unit would be assembling here or at least expected that our 'benefactors' would send someone here."

"Should we question her?" he asked implying that he didn't like a spy being in their midst.

"Not yet. Her reactions and her behavior aren't as polished as one would expect from a fully trained and experienced agent. It's possible she doesn't know anything on a conscious level." She replied with a slight negative shake of her head, "Either that or she's a VERY good actress but I'm more inclined to think it's the former possibility."

"We'll need to be wary of her then." He said looking like he was mentally making plans, "Wait for signs of any hidden conditioning coming to the surface and then eliminate her if she becomes a threat."

"Yes…or we attempt to undo her conditioning and truly make her one of us." She said as she considered a more ambitious possibility, "The only thing more beneficial than eliminating an enemy's weapon is making it your own. If we can free her then her gratitude will make her loyalty to the unit unbreakable."

"Ambitious. I'm in." he said with an approving smile, "I'm sure the others will agree to help you as well."

"I hope you're right." She said as she looked away, "Now go. Rest. I'm sure we'll have another mission soon enough."

With a nod The Fear left her to think in her tent and consider the future.

While she would have to see for herself if he was right concerning Miss Kinney's smoothness of action for the time being she'd take it at face value. Unlike the others she knew about the unseen cabal of powerful men and women that existed in the three major nations of the world. While the current roster of The Philosophers wasn't anything like the founding members they still liked to play at being the puppeteers behind the curtain manipulating everything. She had little doubt that during the course of the war they'd be ordered to performed tasks that wouldn't benefit the Allies but rather the Philosophers themselves. Any cutting edge or experimental advancements developed by either side of the war that attracted their interest would be squirreled away for later use with any evidence that they even existed being eliminated. It sickened her how an organization originally formed to steer world history away from needless warfare now only cared about controlling the world for their own personal gain. Indeed it was looking more and more like the three nations and their respective 'Philosophers' would be going their separate ways after the war.

Arrogantly believing that only THEY deserved to wield the massive fortune that her father and his allies had created for benevolent reasons.

While no faction, no nation, had directly declared their intent to betray the others in order to take everything for themselves Miss Alexis Kinney could very well be the opening move in such an operation. Her regenerative abilities alone would give her a large advantage over the rest of the Cobra Unit and if her combat capabilities were as formidable as her infiltration abilities then she could be a serious threat.

Keeping a close watch on her would indeed be necessary until her true purpose and intentions became known.

If there was a chance that Kinney could be turned, convinced to turn her back on her superiors, then she would take it.

However if the dark haired young woman couldn't be swayed she would handle the elimination herself.

Shaking her head to rid herself of such thoughts she turned her mind towards the war as a whole and speculated about where her unit would be sent next. With the various guard posts and installations surrounding Stalingrad now tainted with poisons and viruses in less than two weeks the soldiers of the Axis powers would be in poor condition. Too poor to fight very well against the coming Soviet counter offensive. Would they be tasked with further weakening the Axis forces in the area? Or would they be ordered to leave the area for other important areas in the war?

Unknown.

From a soldier's point of view it wasn't her job to guess at the future orders but simply to carry them out when she received them. As her instructor had told her a soldier's only concern was the mission and carrying it out. Anything else, from politics to personal feelings, had no place in a soldier's world. She respected her mentor and saw the reason in his words but still couldn't quite perfectly apply his mindset. She supposed that that came from the fact that it'd only been recently that she'd gotten real field experience rather than the controlled environment of the training camp. She'd been a little startled in the opening minutes of her first real fight but had adapted quickly enough and fine tuned her own actions to suit the conditions of the battlefield. She hadn't faced everything yet so she was sure that there'd be some more changes to be made but for the moment she was confident she knew just how far she could push herself.

As for how far she'd be able to push her unit in the field…she'd have to finish her in person evaluations before she could define that limit.

She'd already seen The Fear and The Pain in action well enough that she had a pretty good idea where to put them in various situations. As for The Fury, The End and The Sorrow she could only say that they didn't appear to be dead weight in the making. The End was their sniper and from what she could see was old enough to be her great grandfather and didn't look like he could move quicker than a turtle. However with the position of sniper he wouldn't need to move swiftly and so long as he could get out of a nest once it'd been compromised she wouldn't take action to have him removed. Plus if the rumors about him were true she couldn't ask for a better sharpshooter. As for The Fury he was the unit's fire trooper in charge of flushing out enemies from their hiding places and handling large numbers swiftly.

As for The Sorrow the file she'd been given stated that he was a medium that could communicate with the dead. This could provide them with advance knowledge of enemy position and make tracking down targets easier than it'd be if they just did it the traditional way. She wouldn't rely on it though. Only a fool became reliant on any one tool or weapon. Versatility, adaptability and a mind sharp enough to take the battlefield as it was rather than as they wished it to be was what made an average soldier a good soldier.

Besides if Miss Kinney's senses are as good as I think they are then she'll be a suitable alternative to The Sorrow's gifts. She thought with contemplation, Assuming of course she isn't an enemy agent of some sort.

A large part of her didn't think the girl was but her duties as leader of the Cobra Unit insisted that she consider the possibility and seek out evidence to either prove it to be true or disprove it as a lie. There was too much on the line for her to simply listen to her instincts and make her decisions based on them.

Still she hoped that Alexis proved to be precisely what she appeared to be: a strange but good teenage girl with unusual abilities that potentially could make her a great soldier.

On a team of only men it'd be nice to have another girl around.

A German Facility a Short Distance from Stalingrad

Doctor Kraus' POV

"This is UNACCEPTABLE!" Herr Herrmann yelled before taking out his sidearm and shooting the young lieutenant who'd brought him the latest report from the forces assaulting Stalingrad, "The Fuhrer has made it clear that he wishes Stalingrad taken and will not tolerate failure! You assured me that the Nachtkrapp would cut down the Soviet dogs like grain before the Reaper's scythe! This is something I have yet to see."

"My creations are still a work in progress Herr Herrmann." He said trying to make the military officer understand, "It was you that insisted they be deployed before I had solved their shortcomings. Still…Adela and Aldo have fully recovered from their encounter with the unknowns in Stalingrad. I have even been able to recalibrate their enhancements so they will be able to remain in the field longer."

This seemed to calm the officer noticeably but there was still fury in his eyes and traces of it on his face.

"Good. And the others?" Hermann asked sounding like the answer would determine what happened to the rest of the fury.

"Since you allowed them to remain here rather than deploying them into the field I have finished the last of their enhancements." He replied as he looked over to the room that housed the remaining members of the Nachtkrapp, "They will still require some recovery time. At least a day."

"They have twelve hours Herr Doctor." Herrmann stated with absolute finality in his tone, "After twelve hours they are to deploy and reinforce the Eleventh Corps on the northern flank with Adela and Aldo in command. They are not to stop until EVERY Soviet soldier has been killed."

"But Herr Herrmann! With so short a recovery time…I cannot guarantee that complications will not develop!" he protested as his medical mind began producing numerous negative possibilities.

"There had better not be any 'complications' Doctor Kraus or else I shall make sure one befalls you soon after." Herr Herrmann warned with deadly intent, "A complication most…PAINFUL. Understand?"

"Yes…I understand." He replied knowing full well what happened to those of insufficient rank who failed to live up to their commanding officer's expectations.

With a sharp nod Herr Herrmann left the room with his men taking up their usual guard positions in order to 'keep him safe'. He knew the real reason they were there was to spy on him for their commander and keep him apprised of the progress being made. He had little doubt that should the order be given they would 'sanitize' the entire structure ensuring that only they would be leaving the area alive. They would likely also do whatever they needed to do in order to ensure that the Soviets did not capture him or any of the 'research material'. Whether that meant relocating all of it to a more secure place or destroying utterly every piece present he did not know.

Likely it would be whatever proved most expedient and least troublesome for the soldiers.

After all while there were a few decent minds in the Third Reich the majority of them were merely strong backs on which to build the future empire.

Sighing at having to work with people who didn't understand the delicacy and precision required in his line of work he turned and began to walk to where his creations were undergoing final preparations.

Of all the scientists that Hitler had charged with creating the perfect super soldier he had been the only one to produce viable prototypes that could be deployed…even if it was only for a limited time at the moment. He'd gotten the idea for the process from reports he'd received on the Soviet soldier known as 'Thunderbolt' but sadly his early efforts to create soldiers capable of matching electrical output ended in failure. In every case the subjects wound up burning themselves out and expiring just as they approached the infamous man's maximum output. He worked diligently to overcome the problem but when he suspected harsh repercussions if he didn't produce positive results he decided on another tactic. Instead of making a single soldier capable of matching Volgin he would produce a unit that when working in concert could match the man's power if not possibly surpass the sadist. He'd even found a way to utilize it in ways that no artificial source could match.

In Adela he made it so that with the turning of a dial on the back of her neck she could accelerate the rate which bioelectric signals could be sent to every part of the body. It allowed for superhuman reflexes and with a slight boost increased speed as well rendering the woman superior to any normal soldier. When used in conjunction with a specially prepared blade the weapon became capable of blocking and in some cases repelling any object possessing metal that had a strong enough reaction to electromagnetic fields. If the dial was turned that much further Adela's natural output of bioelectricity could be pushed even further making her impossible to touch and allowing for limited short range electrical discharges. The reason he had called her a work in progress to Herr Herrmannn was because regardless of the setting so long as she used her enhancements she was gradually wearing down her nervous system. Naturally the second setting would make it happen much sooner than the first but that didn't get rid of the overall flaw. He was certain that if he'd been given a bit more time, a year or two, uninterrupted in the lab back in Berlin he would be able to make the enhancements perfectly safe to the subject.

Sadly those in the military were not the most patient of people when it came to the pleas of the scientific community.

As for Aldo his enhancements worked on similar levels albeit differently.

For him the increased bioelectric output was stored outside the body in special storage cells strapped to the man's back numbering eight in total. Once even a single cell was fully charged it could then be channeled to Aldo's main weapon, the electromagnetic cannon, which was capable of firing a metal projectile that was highly susceptible to electromagnetic fields. At most the projectiles were recorded as travelling at an average of just under Mach three point five but this was easily capable of allowing them to penetrate all but the toughest of metal armor. However it limited his shots to eight before he would need to rest in order to recharge them. He had done the best he could to minimize the recharge time it still took Aldo at least fifteen minutes to fully charge one storage cell so in order to recharge all eight…roughly two hours in total.

Not the amount of time the Nazi officers would find acceptable for taking Aldo off the battlefield.

Entering the room containing Aldo and Adela along with the remaining five members of their unit he was gratified to see that none of them appeared to be unwell or suffering from any unforeseen complications caused by their enhancements. All of them looked to him from their beds and he could tell from the looks on their faces that they'd heard every word of his 'discussion' with Herr Herrmann but like true Germans were not going to complain. He had already repaired Aldo's weapon and administered what medical care he was capable of to the wounds he'd received from the unknown girl he'd fought. There was still some minor quivering in Adela's limbs as a result of the use of her enhancements but when she saw him looking her willpower caused the trembling to cease.

"I trust you all heard Herr Herrmann's orders?" he asked as he closed the door behind him.

"Indeed we did Doctor Kraus. Worry not." Aldo replied with a look of conviction on his face, "Well will be ready to sortie in twelve hours without fail."

"And we will show those Soviet swine the cost of doing battle with the Nachtkrapp." Adela boasted sounding quite confident that they would return victorious.

"Do not grow careless Adela." He warned as politely as he could manage, "Remember that while I have made you and Aldo more than ordinary human beings you still possess weaknesses that the enemy could exploit if you allow it. It is your task to run interference for Aldo during the time he needs to recharge his storage cells just as it is his task to eliminate those with the power to overwhelm your speed. Just as it is the task of the Feathers to strike down the riff raff so that you may focus on the truly important targets."

"I will remember Doctor." Adela said though he detected a hint of annoyance in her statement.

"And I will be sure to remind her should she forget." Aldo said with a slightly chiding tone of voice, "Through your genius we have been given the privilege to fight for the Reich like no others can. We will NOT fail you. We will NOT fail the Reich!"

"Your words reassure me Aldo." He said with a grateful smile on his face, "Now rest and take the supplements as I instructed. The time to turn the Soviet's counter offensive into their terrible defeat will come soon enough."

A nod was all he received but in retrospect it was all that was needed really.

He made the rounds with the Feathers to ensure that their enhancements were truly being accepted rather than rejected and once he was satisfied he left for the improvised laboratory the soldiers had assembled for him. It was nowhere near as complete as the one back in Berlin but he'd learned to make do rather than request more from Herr Herrmann. He'd either be ignored by the man or lectured about how grateful he should be for what he'd been given thus far rather than be selfish and ask for more. Add in the odd comment about how the Reich's resources were needed on other fronts and…well…it was just too much bother to ask for something he'd never receive.

At least it is sufficient to allow me to tend to my creations for the time being. He thought as he went over to see how the latest tests had turned out.

Granted if something serious were to occur with any of them then at best he might be able to slow their deterioration until they were back in Berlin. Even if Aldo and the others didn't survive the degradation enough of their bodies would so that he could analyze what went wrong and make the needed changes in the next batch of subjects. Science was after all a process of trial an error, theorizing and then working to either confirm it or go back to the drawing board, so in a way no failure was without value.

Too bad those in power amongst the members of the Third Reich failed to realize this.

For them a failure was something to be despised for it would forever stain the reputation of the one who'd been unable to accomplish the task before them. Failures were also all too often made examples of in order to motivate those still working to do better. Unfortunately for them fear had a greater tendency to increase the frequency of mistakes rather than reduce them because afraid people were more concerned with their own survival than making sure they got their facts right the first time.

Still with any luck their performance will prove adequate enough to get me back to Berlin and have my funding increased. He thought as he focused his mind on his work, Then I can truly devote my work to something more worthwhile than war.

Indeed.

Was there nothing so foolish as man making war upon itself? It was ultimately pointless and it achieved little that could not be done during peacetime as well and on a far more civil level.

Why was it that no one understood this?

The Russian Resistance Base Camp

Xander's POV

"You're pretty good." The Boss said after the latest exchange of blows in their little sparring match, "But your moves aren't quite yours are they?"

Damn.

He'd been hoping that she wouldn't catch onto that but he supposed it was inevitable. Even with all the meditation he'd been doing to try to integrate Laura's skills into his conscious mind it still wasn't smooth enough to make it past the eagle eye of a seasoned veteran. That wasn't to say that he hadn't made any progress since he'd like to think he'd gotten far enough in getting the hang of X-23's efficient fighting style. His movements had less unnecessary steps to them and he was improving with his ability to read The Joy's body language in order to anticipate her next movie. Not that that was too difficult considering that at only a few years older than the body he was now in she was quite the hottie. Not that her current uniform, a standard American one with a little customization, exactly flattered her figure but then again things were still pretty prudish in the forties.

Still it helped keep him from getting distracted that the leader of the Cobra Unit wasn't wearing something from either Buffy or Cordies high school closets.

"Not completely." He admitted figuring that a little truth and a little lie would be best, "I learned some of it from my sister Laura. Some she taught me, some I just tried to copy, but I'm not at her level. It's probably going to take me years before I can call myself her equal."

"You'll have to introduce me sometime." The Joy said sounding intrigued, "I'd be interested in finding out what a fight with her would be like."

"I would but she went missing a little while before I wound up here." He replied being somewhat truthful with his words, "She did that from time to time, all through school, and no one could get the details out of her when she got back."

"I'm sorry to hear that." The Joy said sounding genuinely disappointed.

It looked like the blonde woman would've said more if she hadn't been interrupted by the sound of increased activity in the camp that the unit was calling home. Immediately she and The Joy stopped fighting choosing to instead look about to see what was going on because if the number of people moving about was any indicator it was BIG.

The Sorrow arrived moments later with the rest of the unit and the look on his face did not imply good tidings.

"The northern flank forces are under attack and are being pushed back." The Sorrow said with an odd calmness.

"How?" he asked sounding a little confused at the news.

Last he'd heard the Soviet forces were making good progress in their counter offensive and given enough time would manage to completely defeat the Axis forces. He'd even overheard some of the Soviet officers saying that they'd intercepted German communiqués that stated the forces assaulting Stalingrad would not be receiving reinforcements anytime soon.

"It's the two German super soldiers you encountered and they brought friends." The Sorrow replied with the needed grimness, "Five more to be precise. They don't appear to be as powerful as Adela and Aldo but they're proving to be effective at generating interference for them."

"How'd you learn all that?" he asked thinking that news had to just be coming in about how the fight was going.

"Some people when they die don't realize that they're dead right away. They keep behaving and moving as they did when they were alive." The Sorrow replied looking towards the northern front, "Some of the Soviet soldiers who died fighting these Nachtkrapp came here to report what they'd seen. While their still living allies could not hear them I can."

It wasn't that he didn't believe the man was a medium or that he could talk to dead people, he'd seen enough people capable of that in his life, but he hadn't seen conclusive proof from The Sorrow yet. What he'd revealed right now could just as easily have come from hanging around the communications tent or the first group of wounded being brought back from the northern front. Still how they got the information wasn't nearly as important as the info itself.

"We've got to go." He said as he began to move to put on his gear, "The Soviets won't stand a chance against that terrible twosome and their flock by themselves."

"No." The Joy said making it clear she wouldn't condone such action, "Our mandate makes it clear that NO ONE is to know we exist or anything about our missions. Helping the Russians on the northern front would require that we eliminate any who saw us along with the Nachtkrapp."

"I KNOW but you saw how good Adela and Aldo were." He said half turning towards the leader of the Cobra Unit, "How many Soviet soldiers do you think they're going to kill before someone manages to bring them down? A helluva lot more than if we go now. Besides we don't have to take center stage to help them. If we can get The End to the right sniping spot and The Pain distracts them with his bees it could be enough to bring them down."

"The Pain's bees aren't endless. They can run out just as easily as bullets." The Joy pointed out not budging from her position, "We also don't know enough about their clothes to know how bullet resistant they are. The End's shots might not make it through."

"Neither of them were wearing helmets when I fought them. As long as the old man's good enough to shoot'em there it'll work out." He countered unwilling to give up on his desired course of action.

"What if they are wearing helmets this time?" The Joy asked crossing her arms across her chest.

"Then we see if gramps is a good enough shot to put one through their eyes." He replied showing his resolve on his feminine face.

He waited for her to say something else, to find some other flaw he could shoot down, but she didn't. She merely looked at him with a face that clearly said 'we are NOT leaving this camp' and no doubt hoped that her sheer authority would be enough to keep him from taking action.

If the woman only knew how many times he'd defied women wearing the exact same expression she would've tried for something a LOT more effective.

"Fine. I'll go alone." He said as he reached the halfway point in gearing up, "I wasn't an official part of the Cobra Unit anyway."

"And you honestly think we won't stop you?" The Joy asked with a raised eyebrow of challenge.

"I HONESTLY would like to see you all try." He replied as he let one set of claws pop from his right fist.

He didn't really think he'd go as far as slicing up the members of the Cobra Unit just for this but it was a contest of wills meaning he had to show that his was stronger.

"Miss Kinney, while rash, is right." The Sorrow said causing The Joy to turn to him with a modicum of surprise, "Russian intelligence has heard nothing of these German super soldiers before. If they are prototypes then this is their proving ground. Success here will likely mean an army of them will be created. This cannot be allowed."

"So you think that if we defeat them here and now Germany will abandon their little experiment?" The Joy asked sounding like she'd take his words a bit more seriously.

"At the very least they'll be forced to return to formula in order to find out what they did wrong." The Sorrow replied not giving a lot of what he was feeling away, "Something that could take months if not years. Time enough for the Allies to devise a countermeasure other than us."

After hearing these words The Joy entered a period of consideration, her eyes open but not seeing the world around her, and he hoped it didn't take her long to reach a decision. As it turned out it only took ten minutes for the leader of the Cobra Unit to reach a decision and once it was made it would take much to sway her from it.

"Very well. You've both made your points." The Joy said sounding very much like a commander of soldiers, "However we will do this my way. No discussion."

While he didn't like the whole no discussion bit he decided he'd play along for the time being since if he didn't like it he could split.

"Only myself and Miss Kinney will expose ourselves to the German and Russian troops on the northern front. The remaining members of the Cobra Unit will remain at a distance providing long-range support ONLY." The Joy stated in a no nonsense tone of voice, "AND we will only fight until the Nachtkrapp have been eliminated as a threat. Once that's done we will leave the Nazis to the Soviet forces to resolve the conflict. Acceptable?"

"Yeah. Assuming the Nazis let us leave after we take down their heavy hitters that is." He replied with a nod of his head, "With it being just the two of us they might think their chances of killing us off is pretty good."

"Then we'll just have to prove otherwise." The Joy said with a feral and challenging smile, "Won't we?"

For the first time in a long while he remembered what it was like between Buffy and Faith.

The memory made him smile.

The memory made him nod.

Arriving at the Northern Front

The Joy's POV

Using a commandeered Soviet jeep they were able to make it to the northern front quickly enough but when they arrived she felt justified in her decision to act without orders on the matter.

Based on what she could see the Soviet forces were trying to put up a solid defense to stop the Nazi advance but every time it looked like it might coalesce the Nachtkrapp shattered it. It didn't matter if the defense was composed of tanks or men they both met the same fate at the hands of the prototype super soldiers. If they continued to act unopposed it would not be a stretch to say that Stalingrad would fall to German control inside of a week. That could not be permitted. If she'd allowed that to happen just because she hadn't been given a precise order from THEM it would be a failure of terrible proportions.

"You all know your roles." She said looking over her shoulder to the rest of her unit, "Let's get this done."

With that she advanced towards the Nachtkrapp and as she did so she evaluated how they reacted to the weapons the Soviets were using against them. From what she could see they did not shy away from bullets as one would if they had no protection but neither did they march with impunity towards the Soviets. Evasion, use of cover and teamwork implied that while glancing shots were permissible direct hits were to be avoided. Explosives were avoided all together with each black clad super solider making sure that they were clear of the blast radius of both grenades as well mortars. One might think that this would be their Achilles heel but that weakness was negated by the speed as well as the agility of the Nachtkrapp. If the super soldiers were limited to the prowess of ordinary humans it would be no problem but the killers of Soviets had speed as well as strength that surpassed normal men and women. While it was clear to her that Adela and Aldo were superior to their teammates in terms of what their bodies could do that did not mean the lesser super humans were easy to hit.

In terms of weaponry it was clear that Aldo was the tank of the team sticking to the rear of their group and sending fire to wherever it could do the most damage.

Adela on the other hand was her team's spearhead plunging headfirst into the Soviet defenses leaving dead bodies in her wake but there was a method to such recklessness. Her hunch was proven true a moment later when the woman veered towards one of the higher ranking Soviet soldiers who was attempting to rally his men. The woman was targeting anyone with command authority while adding to her body count as a side benefit.

As for the five subordinates their weapons were modeled after submachine guns but looked to fire projectiles similar to Aldo since according to her eye they were shaped like black feathers. Their speed and agility were at best half what Adela's was but they used their numbers as well as some acrobatics to confuse their opponents. In the end the Soviet soldiers opposing them simply began to spray bullets over the general area their targets were located no doubt in an effort to get a lucky hit. A waste of ammunition and perhaps that was the point. Slay who they could while making sure that the Soviets wasted resources trying to hit something moving too fast for that to be possible.

As for the normal Nazi soldiers they stayed behind their superhuman team but they still took advantage of any openings the Nachtkrapp created to increase the level of damage done to their enemies. With the Soviets unable to mount a sustained defense against them she imagined that it must feel like shooting gallery to the Nazis where they could pick targets at their leisure.

Time to show them that the monsters their Reich has created aren't as invincible as they think. She thought as she finally reached the center of the conflict.

With Miss Kinney following closely behind she started things off by targeting Aldo since without his heavy artillery the Soviets would have an easier time presenting a unified defense. Firing off successive rounds from her submachine gun she watched as the German man jerked to the side with the impact of the bullets. However she knew what came next so without hesitation she dove behind cover only to crawl along behind it as quickly as she could in order to clear the impact radius of the counterattack Aldo would send her way. Her prediction came true when thunderous impacts tore through the brick wall she'd dove behind. As soon as she was certain that her target had consciously come to the decision that his shots had hit their target she peeked over the top of her cover. She waited for the man to look away from the direction in which she was located before she once again rose above her cover to fire upon him.

Too bad while she'd been focusing on Aldo his lesser comrades had chosen to advance in her direction.

Before she could pull the trigger on the man she was forced by honed survival instincts to adjust her aim to threats in closer proximity to herself. While the lesser super humans being closer to her meant the odds of her missing went down the same could be said for them so while she fired in short bursts to discourage their approach she also chose to close the gap between them even further. When facing opponents with a superior number of firearms the key to victory wasn't giving them room to use them but rather to do what you could to make it impossible to use those firearms.

One way was to get so close that the chance of friendly fire would make them hesitate and where it was possible to physically change the direction their gun barrels were pointing. It was a risky move but that too worked in her favor since it inspired incredulity in her foes since few would actually advance towards danger. With mental recollection of the layout of the land between her and the lesser super soldiers she darted out from cover firing as she went mentally calculating when they'd return fire so there'd always be cover to obstruct the path of the projectiles. Near misses followed but fortunately the rigorous training she'd undergone in preparation for her role hadn't taken fair play into account so she wasn't being pushed quite past her limit just yet.

When she finally reached them that was when things got tense as she was forced to constantly maintain awareness of where her opponents were while at the same time calculating their aim and when they'd likely pull the trigger. Still it appeared that unit loyalty was alive and well amongst the Nachtkrapp since there was unmistakable hesitation in their actions as though they didn't want to accidently hit their comrades. However she knew it was only a matter of time before they did the obvious thing and attempt to put some distance between them and her. Once they did that she'd be seconds away from death by converging lines of fire. As a result she unsheathed her combat knife with one hand while wielding her submachine gun with the other in an effort to dispatch as many of the lesser super humans as possible. She made her movements random in appearance but beneath the surface there was a true strategy in the works that she believed her opponents would be too busy to pick up on.

Naturally the optimum move in this situation for her was to take out each of the super humans in as few moves as possible since time was not on her side. However she knew that they'd expect this so she chose instead to aim for disabling strikes disguised as glancing blows in an effort to reduce their movements to normal human levels. Once that was done killing them would be easy enough allowing her to reinforce Miss Kinney so that they could kill Aldo and Adela. It was a strategy that required a significant amount of skill to pull off but fortunately she had been trained to fight to that level and with a combination of time as well as experience surpass it. In the blink of an eye her actions became almost instinctual as her long years of combat training came to the forefront of her consciousness but every new wound she inflicted told her it was worth it. Thus it was only when she'd reduced the number of lesser super humans to two that the survivors managed to break free of her strategy to retreat as well as regroup with their commanding officers.

Using this moment to get behind cover she sheathed her combat knife and put a fresh magazine in her submachine gun. Seeing the old clip she could see that if the fight had gone on another thirty seconds it would've run dry leaving her in an unfavorable tactical position. Once the new clip was in she carefully brought her head above the cover she'd been hiding behind to survey the situation and decide on her next move. The first thing she saw was Miss Kinney dancing between Aldo and Adela showing a respectable amount of skill in dealing with them but it was clear that the most she could do was keep them busy.

BANG!

A shot from a sniper rifle forced Aldo to focus on protecting himself rather than what he'd intended to do a few moments before which was to use his large weapon to kill Miss Kinney. It became clear that The End intended to act as backup for the young woman preventing her opponents from dealing a fatal blow. Though considering the regenerative ability the girl had exhibited it would be difficult to determine what would constitute a lethal blow. By Miss Kinney's own admission she had been successfully struck by the weapon once before in the stomach and had managed to recover in short order. Therefore it was clear that something more serious, perhaps being cut completely in half, would be required to send the young woman to meet her maker.

The End had likely come to the same conclusion and was therefore preventing the opposition from lining up a more effective kill shot.

Seeing as how the two surviving lesser super humans were on their way back though she needed to move quickly to prevent that regrouping from happening or Kinney would be overwhelmed.

Bringing up her submachine gun she began to advance towards her fleeing former foes firing at them in bursts either to kill them or force them to engage her in the interests of survival. It wasn't easy with both the Soviet forces and the Nazis adding their own bullets to the mix with little care to ensure that she wasn't hit. More than once she was forced to duck behind cover and wait for a barrage to end before she could resume pursuit. As it was she only managed to dispatch one of the two remaining lesser super humans before the last one got into the mix with Aldo, Adela and Miss Kinney. To Alexis' credit she didn't hesitate to adapt her tactics to accommodate the extra participant but it did look to be more than she could handle. Whereas before the girl had managed to fight without being temporarily injured now flesh wounds were manifesting regularly sometimes hindering her movements for a second or two before the damage healed. If this continued defeat was highly likely especially since the openings for The End to shoot were reduced with another body added to the mix.

Quickening her pace she reached behind and pulled out a little something she'd made during the downtime between her first encounter with the super humans and the present. It was based on a theory she had that didn't have a lot of evidence to back it up but it was better than nothing. Maneuvering herself so that she'd come up on Adela on her blind spot she waited until Aldo voiced a warning before lunging forward with makeshift weapon aimed for a vital spot.

As she hoped the weapon found its mark creating a sizeable gash in the woman's neck just shy of nicking the artery.

When she'd been thinking about Alexis' first fight with the two super humans she'd tried to think about why the metal claw implants had succeeded in harming Aldo's weapon but not Adela's. Upon reviewing her memories the best theory she'd been able to come up with was that was that much like electromagnetism was behind Aldo's weaponry perhaps it also increased the durability of Adela's weapon. It might even produce a field that kept any metal implements from actually making contact with the sword with the one example being Miss Kinney's claws. If that was indeed the case then it was possible that more than just the woman's weapon was protected that way. As such she'd taken a suitable piece of wood and using her combat knife had sharpened it into a blade good enough to part flesh.

Judging from the blood that now coated it and Adela's reflexive attempt to keep what she had from pouring out she felt her theory was confirmed.

"ADELA!" Aldo bellowed seeing his partner in mortal danger.

His emotional outburst proved to be his undoing for it allowed Miss Kinney to duck under his defenses and ram her metal claws into the man's stomach. It was almost comical the look on the man's face as he realized his mistake but to his credit he quickly fought to keep death at bay even as he slammed his head into Kinney's causing her to back away.

"Do not think you have won! The Third Reich is not so feeble as that!" Aldo said even as he fought to keep his insides on the insides, "In death we will claim VICTORY!"

With that the man tore off his bird themed coat to reveal an armored torso composed of metal, cables and various dials. She imagined the dials were meant to allow the scientists in charge of Aldo's care to adjust whatever system allowed the man to fire his weapon. It was impressive to see especially the containers on the back because inside of most of them danced violent arcs of electricity. However when she saw Aldo's hand move a handle attached to the center of his chest armor her concern spiked as her mind discerned an inkling of what the super human intended to do. Immediately she brought her submachine gun up to shoot the German in the head in order to stop him but before she could get a shot off the man gripped the handle and PULLED.

This removed a rather technical looking piece of hardware and a hard yank severed whatever lingering connections the component might have had with Aldo.

It also apparently robbed the man of the last of his strength as he dropped to his knees less than five seconds later. Almost immediately she noticed a change in both the super soldier and the containers on the back of the torso armor. For the former she noticed a steady increase in spasms as well as black veins beginning to appear before black smoke began to rise up into the air. In the latter she saw the electricity containers grow rapidly in brightness and intensity. Given these signs it became all too obvious what was going on.

"Kinney! RETREAT!" she yelled even as she began to run as fast as she could away from Aldo, "He's going to blow!"

Hoping the girl had more sense than bravery she didn't look back to confirm that the newest member of the Cobra Unit was indeed getting some distance from Aldo. Looking ahead she could see that the Soviet soldiers had caught onto what was happening as they were breaking their defensive line to flee as well. Sadly Fate only decreed that they got a little over ten seconds of delay before the blast and it was instinct that had her dive behind cover at the last possible second. As it was that probably saved her in the end because with the blast came a storm of electrical energy that lashed out indiscriminately in every direction with Aldo likely as its epicenter. While her cover kept the energy from reaching her she could still feel the effects every time the electrical energy made contact with it. It made her wonder how much longer she'd be safe but it turned out she needn't have worried since a couple of seconds later the storm died off.

Nevertheless she waited a whole thirty seconds before rising up from behind her cover to assess the situation.

What she saw had her concerned about what the future could hold for the German's super soldier efforts. All that was left of Aldo was a burned and blackened husk with the area around him for almost a hundred yards utterly devastated. While the destructive effects were most concentrated within the first fifty yards that didn't mean the damage further out weren't just as impressive. It was enough to convince her that had she been a few steps closer her cover wouldn't have been enough to protect her. It certainly hadn't saved those Nazi and Soviet soldiers who'd been too close as she saw bodies in both uniforms in only marginally better condition than Aldo. Stone was shattered and in some cases it had an orange glow to it signifying intense heat. The vehicles and the metal weapons that had been within fifty yards of the blast were utterly destroyed leaving behind remains that she'd expect from intense electrical bombardment. It was a nasty piece of work but she was uncertain as to whether or not Aldo had simply removed some kind of regulator or had activated a self-destruct mechanism.

Either one would've fit the scenario.

"Uuuuuhhh…" came a groan signifying that someone was alive close by.

Curious more than anything she advanced towards the source but kept her submachine gun at the ready either to eliminate an enemy soldier or end an ally's suffering once and for all. Moving around the remains of an overturned military jeep she saw a sight that made her think of all the more graphic photographs she'd seen of soldiers too slow to evade a flamethrower's payload. Lying on the ground, barely alive from what she could tell, was a human with their clothes and most of their skin turned black with almost none of either in good enough condition to be recognized. She could only presume that whoever it was had suffered multiple direct hits from the electrical bombardment but not enough to kill the person instantly.

She was about to put a bullet through the victim's head to finally end it when something miraculous happened. The skin, indeed the entire body, began to heal itself at a rate she never thought was possible much less that she'd ever be able to witness up close. Bit by bit flesh knitted itself back together and skin either went from charred black back to a more healthy shade of pink or was replaced by new skin altogether with the dead bits shed like snakeskin. Before the process was halfway done the identity of the fallen person was revealed to her: Alexis Kinney!

She didn't escape the blast? She thought with a bit of confusion, She should have easily been fast enough to clear the danger zone.

Indeed from what she'd seen of the young woman's abilities both Kinney's speed as well as her agility should have been enough to get to a safe distance and behind cover. As she watched the regeneration finish up the last few bits of healing she knew she'd have to find out why the girl hadn't been able to save herself. If it was simply due to an unforeseen environmental factor then it could be forgiven but if it was due to carelessness then it was a point of training that'd need to be worked on.

"Note to self: getting hit by lightning bolts HURTS!" Kinney said as she began to push herself up into a sitting position.

"A normal person would do a lot more than hurt if they'd been as hurt as you were a couple of minutes ago." She said as she began to look about for opportunistic Nazi soldier or anyone who might've seen Kinney's regeneration.

It'd definitely get mouths gabbing if word got around that there was a woman on the battlefield that could heal from serious wounds in seconds. THEY would consider this a violation of the 'leave no trace behind' mandate because even if the majority who heard the tale dismissed it as fantasy there would be some who would consider the possibility of it being fact. That would be unacceptable to THEM. Fortunately for her it looked like both sides had drastically mistaken what the safe distance was because no matter where she looked she could see no sign that Kinney's resurrection had been witnessed by anyone unauthorized.

Still…just to make sure…

"TJ to TE. TJ to TE." She said pressing the transmit button on her communication radio, "Any unwanted spectators in the vicinity?"

She waited since with a sniper scope it'd take some time to survey the surrounding area but like the expert he was The End didn't make her wait long.

"No spectators within eyesight TJ. You're clear." The End said via the radio.

Good. With the sharp eyes of the Father of Sniping involved the odds of her subordinate being in error was nonexistent.

"So do we count this as a victory seeing as how we stopped the Nazi advance AND eliminated most of the super soldiers?" Kinney asked as she got to her feet while looking about the area.

"No. At best we'd call this a tie." She replied as she deduced that the girl was looking for replacement clothing, "We might have stopped the Nazi's offensive but a significant amount of Soviet equipment has been destroyed and now there is no one protecting this front. While the deaths of the German super humans will buy the Russians some time it's still a matter of which side will return here first."

"Then my money's on the Russians." Alexis said walking a few steps away before picking up a Soviet officer's jacket that looked to be mostly undamaged and putting it on, "They're in a tight spot and they know it. If they lose ground here to the Nazis it could lead to a string of losses and they won't want that. Desperation and fear make people move quicker than they normally would."

"And make more mistakes than they normally would." She said pointing out a flaw, "Now do you mind telling me why you were hit by Aldo's electricity? I didn't think you'd be so slow that you couldn't evade it or at least get behind cover quickly enough."

"One of the Russian soldiers froze up when the light show started." Alexis replied looking a little sheepish, "I pushed him away from where Aldo was but got hammered by a bolt from behind. Don't remember much after that aside from the pain."

"Then you won't be able to return to camp with us." She said quickly discerning the after affects of the battle.

"Why not?" Kinney asked with some puzzlement.

"If that Russian soldier you saved managed to make it back to camp then he likely believes that you died as a result of the electric bolt hitting you." She replied slinging her submachine gun onto her back, "It'd raise more than a few eyebrows if you returned completely unharmed."

"And that would make your bosses unhappy cause it'd stick out in people's memories." Kinney said catching onto the problem, "So where am I supposed to go? Camp out someplace and wait for you and the others to pick me up for missions?"

"Unfortunately yes." She replied figuring that that was the best course of action, "Go hide in the ruins of the Stalingrad Industrial Pedagogical Institute. Everything topside is rubble but according to the file I received about Stalingrad it had a basement that should still be more or less intact since the main building didn't suffer any direct hits."

"And the reason the Soviets or the Nazis aren't using it?" Alexis asked sounding a bit concerned.

"They're both probably concerned that if they set up shop there the other side will just blow it up with them inside." She replied recalling what she knew of the players and their tactics, "Neither side can afford to lose soldiers with the likelihood of getting reinforcements so low."

"But you think I'LL be okay?" Miss Kinney asked sounding somewhat worried.

"You'll just be one person and I'm sure you can slip in without being seen." She replied confident that the young woman would be able to get into the basement of the Institute unseen.

"Okay…just…get me some fresh clothes and drop them off when you can." Kinney said wrapping he officer's jacket tighter around her body, "It might be better than nothing but it's still cold out here."

"I'll see what I can scrounge up." She said with a small grin of amusement at the young woman's predicament.