Now that the time had come to return to the front Werner found himself wishing that he had never left the camp. Painful as the experimentation had been the rest of his time there had been relatively peaceful. This moment had been something that he had feared for months now. He had barely slept the night before on account of the memories that haunted him. What he had done to others and what had been done to both himself and the men he knew. That he returned to the war a much different man than he had left it could not change some things. Sitting alone in the back of a truck Werner took deep breaths to calm himself.
There had been a ceremony before they left Berlin, in the early hours of the morning. Hitler had been there to heap praise on them before a gathering of the usual crowd of officials and generals. A whole lot of optimistic talking without a single enemy having been slain. Markus had been slack-jawed with wonder through most of it as Werner forced himself to swallow his contempt for the whole thing. More attention had been paid to arranging them all for the photos and film recordings than anything else. In the early years he had been as attracted to the promises of restoring Germany's pride as anyone else, despite other reservations that he had. For all that had been regained even more stood to be lost now due to the ineptitude of the leadership. How else could one explain the state the country was in? Right now there was little that Werner could do to change the situation. Too many things were like that for his taste.
Klaudia had been there as well, though Werner had barely had time to exchange a few words with her. Since their last visit it seemed that his schedule had become so full that he could barely find time even for rest. He had been kept away from Markus as well, though that hardly bothered him. It was almost as if they were each being segregated from one another. Politics was something that Werner had always tried to ignore. Now he was caught up in it.
The previous day Himmler had unveiled the entirety of his plan to Werner. While he made no claims towards being a strategic genius Werner had picked up enough knowledge over the years to know when a plan spelled trouble. Not so much for him given his invulnerability but for everyone else. There was to be a wide front with the panzermensch spread out along it in ones and twos to reinforce the conventional forces. Each Battleship would penetrate the enemy lines independently and break up the major Soviet formations while the rest advanced to mop up what was left. Too few men trying to do too many things against an enemy that outnumbered them. Werner had done some of the math in his head for how many men he and Markus would each have to kill to even things out. It was not a promising number.
Finally the truck came to a stop. Getting up Werner banished all of his doubts. He was a weapon and he had his mission. That was everything that mattered now.
"Battleship Siegmund, it is an honour to accompany you today!" The commander of this section said as he approached. After everything Werner found himself struggling to remember the man's name. It was awkward enough having to go by a designation but that was what had been decreed by the High Command.
"I hope that I live up to the expectations, Colonel Weber." Werner replied once the officer's name came back to him. It seemed to make the man happy enough and he barely noticed the pause.
Walking through the camp the men all around them stopped to gawk in amazement at Werner. There had been an announcement that the new wonder weapon would be revealed today. Not like the Soviets could do much to prepare even if they knew what was coming. Still it was one thing to hear the promises of a weapon that would change the tide of the war and quite another to see it walk right through the camp. What Werner saw concerned him though.
"Will they really be necessary?" He asked Weber quietly, nodding towards a group of young soldiers. Werner used the term 'soldier' loosely to describe them. Not one of them could be eighteen yet and they had the unmistakable air of fresh recruits. In fact there were few people in this entire formation that looked like proper soldiers to him.
"The Reichsfuhrer ordered that all available forces be brought up for the attack," The Colonel sounded sympathetic at least. "We've tried to put the less experienced units behind yourself and Siegfried. There is likely to be less resistance there than in other parts of the line."
"Right. I'll be back in a moment." Werner left Weber and walked towards the largest group of boys. As he approached it looked like more than one was ready to piss themselves. When he had been as raw as they were at least he had been a volunteer rather than a conscript.
"I want a show of hands. Who here has actually shot their rifle at someone? Not just a target during training?" Not a single hand raised. "Who here has a sweetheart waiting for them back home?" That got over half the group. "Those of you who don't have a sweetheart, hopefully you still have your mothers?" Every hand was now raised. Motioning for them to put their hands down Werner continued. "Picture them in your minds. They are why you are fighting. They are why you are going to be careful out there today, so that you can make sure that you go home to them safely."
"We-" The boy who had spoken up stumbled over his words as Werner looked at him. "We aren't afraid to fight!"
"Of course you aren't. But I have seen what you will be facing. The average Bolshevik was born and raised in a hut that you would not keep a pig in. His whole life has been a chain of violence and treachery and mercy is something alien to him. As wretched as a single one is there is a whole horde of them out there just waiting for you to stumble into them. Now to prove a point I want you to take your rifle and shoot me. Just don't hit the uniform." When the boy hesitated Werner turned towards Weber, who had made his way closer to them. "Colonel?"
"Soldier, you are to do as Siegmund commands." There was a hint of uncertainty in Weber's voice as well. From his briefings he would have known that Werner had nothing to worry about but again, there was knowing and there was seeing.
With trembling hands the boy raised his rifle. At first Werner doubted that the boy would even be able to shoot straight if he kept on shaking so but eventually he found his nerves. There was a bang and Werner felt a little prick along his cheek. It was a strange thing, a sensation of being hit without pain. Looking down he could see the flattened bullet in the snow. Picking it up he held it out in front of him. By now an even larger crowd had gathered.
"I am bullet proof. You are not. There are many ways to be a hero and most of them don't involve dying face down in the muck. I fully expect that you will all be able to tell your grandchildren about this one day. Remember, the Reich has lost too many of its sons already. It does not need to lose you. Take care and keep your wits about you and you will live to see another day." Leaving it at that Werner went back to Colonel Weber and continued to walk along.
"A fine speech." Was the Colonel's only comment.
"Just keep them from rushing off to do something stupid. Germany will need them to rebuild after all this," Werner took out his pocket watch to check the time. He would have to keep a close eye on how long he was going to be active. Running out of energy in the middle of the enemy was not an attractive thought, even if Klaudia had proven that they had more leeway than the panzermensch. "Looks like it is time."
Reaching the front of the force Werner took one last deep breath before charging forward. Like with any weapon he had been pointed at the enemy and his trigger pulled. Now he just needed to do what he was meant to.
There were flashes in the distance, almost like lightning except that it was a clear day and still winter to boot. Maria had thought that the first one was a trick of the light but then there were more. Strain her ears as she might there was no sound of thunder either. Distant booms of tanks and artillery but no thunder. It seemed liked more and more of the booms went silent after each flash. Something about it made the little hairs on her arms stand on end. Today was going to be a strange day.
Word had come earlier that the Germans would be trying to attack. The whole unit had taken up positions around the village that they were in. Tanks were half hidden in the streets and men were waiting behind anything that could be used as cover. Maria had chosen a spot up under the half-collapsed roof of a building to make herself a little sniper nest. There was a bell tower attached to the church but that tended to be the first place that people shot at when they thought there was a sniper about. That there was more than one way out of this building was the other reason that Maria had picked it. She despised feeling backed into a corner.
Reaching down she grasped the pistol that she kept on her belt, just checking that it was there. Everyday Maria made sure that it was clean and in good working order. In this war she had no intention of surrendering if it ever came to that. A bullet through the head would be quick. What the Germans did to her corpse afterwards was none of her concern. Just so long as they could not tough her while she still lived.
Glancing down at the men below Maria wondered where Lev was. The night that she had spent with him had proven fruitful and she would hate for him to do something foolish like dying on her. A good potential husband was one who stayed alive. Returning to scanning the horizon Maria let out a little sigh. Patience was one of a sniper's most important skills but it would have been nice to have some company. She had tried talking to herself before but found that she could not stop doing it even when there were people around. There were more than enough strange looks directed at her without the added attention.
A movement in the trees caught Maria's eye. Sure enough it was a man, creeping forward. Bringing her cheek tight against the butt of her rifle Maria lined up a shot and waited for the men below to open fire. No point in announcing her presence so soon into the battle.
It only took another minute for someone to see what Maria had. Gunfire from below, now was her time to shine.
The first shot caught the man in the shoulder. Boy was more accurate though. A shame that it had not gone through his pretty face but he was good enough as dead. Then the boy who tried to drag the first one back joined his friend on the ground. Sentiment was a sniper's best friend.
That was when Maria saw one of the strangest things so far in the entire war. A particularly large German came out of the trees and made his way forward. Taking aim at the man, thanking him for presenting a considerately wide target, Maria was not able to press the trigger before he charged forwards like a shot. Swinging her rifle to try to keep up with him she did not think that she had ever seen a man move that fast. Firing off a round she was certain that it had hit him even though he showed no sign of slowing. Then all hell broke loose.
A ring of blue lightning appeared around the man's head and next thing Maria knew a flash of light hit one of the tanks below. When it cleared most of the gun and half the turret had been left a melted mess. Another flash took out a second tank as the man reached the edge of the village. Leaping over a wall he grabbed hold of the first soldier there and sent him flying metres through the air to collide against the side of a building with a sickening crunch. With the men firing wildly at the German giant Maria swivelled back to the main German force. They were taking advantage of the chaos to try and charge forward. Maria made sure that they reduced their pace back to a cautious crawl.
Eyes flickering between the advancing Germans and their seemingly bulletproof friend Maria wondered if the rest of the world had finally joined her in madness. Men were literally being taken apart below her. The big German stopped his assault for a moment, looking up towards the rooftops and second floor windows. He knew that there was a sniper. A great crash announced the fall of the bell tower. Once more Maria's instincts had been proven right. Some kind soul decided that it would be a good time to lob a grenade at the big man. Maria would have to find that person and kiss them afterwards. By the time the German looked down and tried to move it was too late. A few steps and boom!
It was a decided let down from what you usually saw. The big man was thrown onto his back and Maria went back to taking shots at the far group. One of the remaining tanks joined in. Glancing down again Maria saw the big man staggering back onto his feet. Just what was he? Struggling to load another magazine into her rifle Maria ended up locking eyes with him as he wavered to and fro. When the blue light came back she knew that he had seen her. Caught halfway through reloading there was little that Maria could do but stare down her doom. Above her the ceiling began to fully collapse as the light encompassed it. A falling chunk of debris hit Maria in the shoulder as she tried to protect herself.
A shot rang out below and the light quaked. The big man screamed and reached for his head while the circle of light collapsed inwards violently. In a moment his head was gone in a terrible spray of blood.
Even with her shoulder aching Maria forced the magazine into the rifle and focused once more. One dead enemy did not end a battle. Having lost their freak the Germans were now caught out trying to cross the field at the edge of town. Very few made it back to the treeline.
With men shouting below her Maria decided that now as as good a time as any to go take a look. Making her way through the rubble she was able to descend to the ground floor and out onto the street. A crowd had gathered around the corpse of the big man. As Maria elbowed her way forward into it she could see someone trying to slice the body with his bayonet. The blade just bounced off without leaving a mark.
"Make way! Move damn it!" Came the shouts of Popov. Red faced as always the blustering officer forced his way through to the body. "Who was the one to bring him down?"
"It was the light, I just shot at that damned light..." Maria thought that it was Reginov who answered. Once things died down a bit she would make sure he got his kiss.
"Grab the body and pack it up! Someone is going to want to see whatever that was!"
Men went forward to pick up the body. Checking how much ammunition she had left Maria started to look around for another spot to shoot from. Somehow she knew that the battle was far from over. Walking passed Reginov she planted a kiss on his cheek. The man was so shocked from the battle that he did not even acknowledge her. All around them men were looking to see who was dead and who was just wounded. Once things were safer Maria would take count of how many friends had survived today.
Looking out to the distance she could still see the flashes of light every now and then. Thinking of what the man here had been able to do she wondered how much those flashes were destroying every time they went off. For the first time in this war Maria's instinct was to run before she could find out.
"That will be their undoing, a lack of belief, a lack of conviction! Where would we be today if I had not believed in the abilities of our scientists to create exactly what we would need to win this war? Yet again the superiority of the German spirit has been made manifest." The Leader was in fine form tonight. Dinner had begun over an hour ago and he had maintained his monologue at the same pace throughout.
Familiarity had certainly lessened some of Hitler's mystique in Klaudia's eyes. That and she was knew most of the details of how the ubermensch had come about, having been there herself. There were many things that he said that were stretching the truth at the very least. What else might he have done that with?
Taking a sip of her wine Klaudia looked at the guest of honour for this meal. She was mostly here for his benefit after all. Mussolini was much to her surprise a quiet and withdrawn man. He sat there and nodded along with what the Leader was saying, adding very little to the conversation himself. The few times that he had met her gaze gave Klaudia the feeling that he had already been defeated. More than half his nation was under control of the Allies and the rest depending on Germany. Seeing the former firebrand sitting there dejectedly made Klaudia wonder if anything could ever bring the Leader to such a state? Now that Hitler had the ubermensch at his disposal defeat did not seem likely but still she wondered.
The Leader continued on his speech and Klaudia slowly but steadily drained glass after glass of wine. Had she still been human she was certain that she would have been a tangled mess on the floor by now. Immune to its intoxicating effects at least she could enjoy the flavour. Which did wonders for banishing every hint of the sweetness left over from the bowl of glucose she had dined on.
For Mussolini's benefit she had put on a little show outside of Berlin upon his arrival. A half dozen tanks, an impromptu bunker and near an acre of empty land all turned to twisted remnants by Klaudia's gaze. Having been treated to the sight of just what the halo could do on a large scale the Italians had then been promised that they would have panzermensch of their own soon enough. All of the testing and training would be done by Germans of course. There was no need to guess just what the relationship between the two fascist powers was.
A messenger entered the room, approaching Goebbels at his seat. Klaudia was starting to recognize all of the members of Hitler's inner circle as the same crowd seemed to attend every event. The man who had been at the first luncheon and every event after was Speer, an architect and labour leader from what she knew. At least he seemed genuinely interested in her while he had been discussing her experiments with the halo.
Whatever the messenger had said to Goebbels the propaganda minister nodded and rose from his seat. Approaching the Leader he was able to lean in during a pause and pass along the message.
"Ah, it seems that the British have decided to provide some entertainment this evening. A large group of bombers is making its way towards Berlin as we speak," Hitler rose and looked at Klaudia. "Battleship Sieglinde, you have my leave to deal with these interlopers."
Getting up and saluting the Leader before leaving the room Klaudia found herself strangely apprehensive. As much as she had looked forward to a moment like this having it framed the way that the Leader had done somehow tarnished it. Focusing on the image of Leon amidst the flames helped her overcome that feeling. The Allies dared to attack this city and its people under her watch. They needed to be made to pay.
The journey back to the flaktower was silent as Klaudia worked to feed her apprehension to her anger. By the time she began to make her way up to the roof she could barely contain herself. The gnawing hunger for revenge had been reawakened in her.
Upstairs the crew was working to get the flak guns loaded. Not that they would be necessary tonight but Klaudia supposed that it was a sign of good training. When the alarm sounded they rushed to do their job whether they were needed or not. Just like she would. Walking over to the commander of the crew she leaned against the lip of the wall that surrounded the tower and waited. He would be in contact with the nearby radar station and would tell her when the Allies were almost upon them. For now Klaudia closed her eyes and tried to preserve her strength.
It was unfortunate that they Allies had chosen today of all days to do this. The period that an ubermensch could remain active for was a tricky thing to decipher. Generally it began as soon as a major expenditure of energy was made whether it be in the form of using their superhuman physical abilities or the halo, setting the clock ticking. Having done the demonstration for the Italians earlier Klaudia had already used up some of the preciously short period of the day where she could truly act as a superweapon. Right now she was able to stay active for four consecutive hours but they had never tried breaking up the activity. There was no doubt in her mind that she would have enough strength left over to defend the city. She would push herself as hard as she needed to in order to make sure of that.
"Sieglinde, we have confirmed that they will be here soon. The radar and spotters report that the attack is coming in waves. We will want to wait right until the first wave is over Berlin to attack otherwise the latter ones might break off the attack before we can strike them." The commander explained to her.
Nodding Klaudia turned to face the direction that he had indicated the attack would come from and began to watch the horizon. Much as it had been at Pforzheim she could see at night well enough for it not to be a hindrance. This time at least she would be waiting for them rather than having to try and chase them down. For once she was not too late. Even being called that idiotic designation did not bother her that much while she imagined what was about to happen.
At first they were little specks that were barely visible at all. As the minutes passed they became clearer. More planes than had been at Pforzheim. For that matter, more planes than Klaudia had ever seen in one place before. With the flak crew running around behind her she gripped the wall she was leaning against, her fingers piercing the concrete. It was agony waiting like this.
The guns began to fire. From the brief training that Klaudia had been given it had been decided that having the flak guns fire as usual would lull the Allies into a false sense of normality. No German interceptors would be going up tonight though in order to make sure that Klaudia could act without having to hold anything back. With the spotlights and tracers up in the air it made it all the easier for Klaudia to see the advancing bombers. When she strained her eyes she could almost make out most of the details on the planes. She wondered just how close they would be allowed.
"Now Sieglinde!" The commander relayed to her as the radio crackled to life. She did not hesitate for a moment.
Once again the light of the halo wrapped around her face. Then Klaudia let loose all of the anger and frustration that had been building up inside of her.
The guns fell silent as members of the crew stopped dead in their tracks to watch what was happening. Above them the sky was filled with the light of the distortions. An entire field of them spread out along the front of the bombers. Even Klaudia was taken aback for a moment when she saw the number that she had managed to summon. It was so bright out that looking across Berlin one would almost think that it was daytime. Those sequestered away in the radar control saw a much different picture. Watching the readings from the radar they saw droves of contacts disappear in moments as the first wave was decimated.
Caught up in the moment Klaudia barely realized that she had destroyed the bombers in less time than it had taken at Pforzheim. Watching all of those planes carrying all of those bombs destroyed before they could drop even a single one was enthralling for her. The commander was shouting at her about something. Snapping back to reality for the moment Klaudia listened.
"Move on to the second wave before they have time to turn around!"
Dismissing the nearby distortions Klaudia repositioned the new ones further back. The strain was more pronounced now. Not only was the scale of what she was doing incredible but the increase in distance made it all them more taxing. She was not going to let that stop her though. Even as their pilots tried to take evasive action the second wave began to suffer the fate of the first. It was not as complete, already some managed to veer off in time and Klaudia was having difficulty keeping such a large field active.
"The last waves are starting to turn, it's over," The commander sounded grateful. "See if you can take out the last few then you can rest-"
"No!" Klaudia was not about to let these murderers slink back home to lick their wounds. Filled with bloodlust and unable to reach her targets she did the only thing that she could think to do. Leaping up onto the wall she jumped.
For a brief moment as she plummeted to the earth the sober part of Klaudia's mind began to scream at her. Clenching her eyes shut she ignored it and waited for the impact. Slamming into the ground below Klaudia stumbled forth out of the crater and got back onto her feet. She was unharmed even though her knees had not appreciated the sudden jolt. Now she began to run.
That most people were already hidden away in their basements or shelters made maneuvering through the city easier. At the speed she was going Klaudia doubted that vehicles or people would be able to survive a collision with her. Trying to focus on both the distant forms of the Allied bombers and the obstacles in front of her Klaudia was able to gain more ground until she felt that she was within range to use her halo once more.
This time she did not use the wide field. It had been successful in reaping sudden destruction but it took too much effort. Instead she did what she had during her first attack and fashioned a single large distortion. Wielding it almost like a club she swung it back and forth through the Allied planes. There were still more in the air trying to escape but now even Klaudia's rage was starting to fall prey to her exhaustion. Her earlier exertion was amplified by her attempts to continue moving as quickly as she could while using the halo. Soon enough her pace slowed and the movements of the distortion above became erratic.
With the muscles in her thighs screaming in pain Klaudia roared in frustration as she stumbled to a halt. Some planes, not very many compared to all there had been at the beginning, had escaped her. Letting go of her halo she slammed her fist through a nearby brick wall in frustration. Only then did her rage subside enough for the gravity of the situation to set in.
She had lost control. Panting from exertion Klaudia looked around as she squatted down with her hands on her knees. That only lasted for a few moments as she fell back onto the ground. Her surroundings were completely foreign to her. Looking back the way she had come Klaudia could make out the wide spread holes that her footfalls had left behind. Just how far had she run and where was she exactly? Those questions were quickly lost as the blinding pain of a halo-induced migraine flooded her head.
Just like after Pforzheim Klaudia was equally satisfied and disgusted with what she had accomplished. There had been no need to do this, no need to go charging out into the night like a fool. What if she had run right through someone who could not move in time? Some defender she would have been. Trying to clear her head of the pain and the doubt Klaudia rolled on to her stomach and pushed herself up with shaky arms. It took time to get back on her feet, stopping to rest once she was there. Slowly she took a tentative step to see if she could even walk without falling. Her legs continued to complain but Klaudia remained upright. That was a small victory at least.
The buildings around her were blacked out but still Klaudia could make out small movements behind the windows here and there. No one came out into the streets to get a better look. They must have seen enough already. Right now a few words of thanks would have been welcome. As she slowly began to walk back none were forthcoming.
It was fine. If they wanted to cower inside, just as she once had, let them. After tonight Klaudia doubted that the Allies would ever try to bomb this city ever again. If they did then she would be waiting.
The sounds of trucks reached her soon enough as they followed the path that she had left during her charge. Almost as soon as one came to a screeching halt near her Klaudia's legs finally buckled on her. Soldiers approached cautiously to pick her up, waiting for her to motion them forward before actually touching her. They were afraid of her and Klaudia was fine with that too.
With her aching body lifted into the back of a truck the last thoughts that Klaudia had before she blacked out were of Leon. If this had not been vengeance for him then she did not know what would be.