A/N: Jesus Christ, it's been a while O_O I'm so sorry for the delay. Between school, personal issues, SAT testing, college preparation...I'm sorry. But I'll make it up to you. Spider-Man is on the way as well but until then, enjoy this ^_^...


August 19, 1942, Dieppe, France


The waves smashed against the Landing Craft Tanks that James and around 6,000 other Canadian infantrymen were arriving on. The shore was covered in smoke screen and the visibility was rather low. No one knew what they were getting into...except James. He could smell the German soldiers and could hear them shouting out orders to each other. He knew for sure that there this raid was going to be disastrous. As their landing craft hit the beach and the gates were lowered, the men around James were hit by heavy machine gun fire and mortars. Limbs were sprayed all over the beach before James could step out and begin to fire his rifle. Screams of agony filled the air as men were cut down by the machine guns.

James raced onto the beach, as the sounds of war filled his desensitized ears. The Germans were heavily entrenched and the heavy smoke was doing them no good. Visibility was low and James really could only trust his ears which were being overrun by machine gun fire and his fellow soldiers' screams. As James looked around, the grisly images of decapitated bodies, blood still freshly pumping from the stump of their neck and disemboweled bodies of men screaming as they felt the slimy substance that was their intestinal tract. James continued running forward and ignored the sights, smells and sounds that were covering the beach as the smoke began to settle. Inside, he knew that this was a failed and suicidal mission.

The whistling of a falling mortar shell came too slowly for James and the shell exploded near his feet, sending his leg flying off at the knee. James howled in pain and groaned as his body slowed the bleeding. He quickly sniffed around for his scent and let out a sigh of relief. His leg hadn't been blown that far down the beach. James hopped up on one leg towards his dislodged limb and casually sat down next to it. He grabbed his leg and placed it against the stump. James hissed as he felt the skin, ligaments, muscles and bones reattach. Within a few seconds, he could move his leg just fine. He had discovered that he could reattach limbs a few years ago and it was hard to reattach both of his arms.

Men were dropping like flies around James, many getting picked off as they made their way off the landing craft. As James quickly scanned around the area and instantly noticed how dire the situation was growing. He and around ten other men were the only ones still pushing towards Dieppe. With this few men, there was almost no hope for successfully raiding Dieppe. In all regards, abandoning the mission would be the absolute best option. Before James could turn around, he heard Germans screaming and shouting. James faced his attackers and roared. Abandoning his rifle, James drew his claws and rushed the emerging Germans. The Nazi soldiers stopped short and fired at James. The bullets pierced his flesh at a rapid rate and he took more time to dodge. After weaving under gunfire, James came into contact with his first German.

They fell like all men would if their legs had been chopped out from under them, their heads sent rolling down the beach towards the water and their blood turning the beach into a crimson sand. James attacked with unbridled ferocity, leaping from man, shredding their flesh and slicing through bone with each strike. After he had pulled his blood drenched claws from the flesh of a dead Nazi, he turned to his right and to his left. To his equal disgust and surprise, he was surrounded. His fellow soldiers had all been shot to death. in the midst of his own fight, he hadn't even heard the gunshots or their cries.

James was taken out of the realization that everyone was around him was dying by a gunfire that peppered his torso, sending him crashing onto the ground. Writhing in agony, James willed himself to stand up. Before he could, the Germans were over him in swarms, continuously firing onto his body. James felt every bullet pierce and organ and he cried out in pain. However almost as soon as the bullets hit, his healing factor kicked in repairing the damages that were done. As his pain ended, he saw the Germans still standing over him and he growled and spat up blood into all of their faces. Without hesitation, one of the Nazis pulled out a pistol and fired directly into James' forehead. Before he went unconscious, James heard one of the Nazis yelling orders and then felt his body being lifted up and carried away.


Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland

"Aufwachen, Arschloch." a voice said as boiling hot water hit James' body. The searing heat caused James to scream as he opened his eyes and stared around ferociously, growing angrily. He pulled his arms and tried to break free from whatever was holding him, but it completely failed him. He stared up at the chains and saw how embedded they were into the wall. As James observed his surroundings, he realized he was in a dungeon-like chamber. Above him, skeletons hung onto rusted metal chains. The entire place smelled horrific, like death had taken over and sucked the life out of the area. Water dripped from the ceiling noisily, disturbing the rats that scurried at James' feet. James heard the creaking of the door as footsteps entered inside the cell. James stared forward but the sight that beheld him disgusted him. In front of him stood a man whose face looked as if the flesh had been carved from his face, leaving nothing but covered blood and muscle covered around his skull. His slate blue eyes looked across his body and smiled.

"So, you're the one that has my men shivering in their boots." the man said softly as he paced in front of him. He then stopped and his horribly scarred and disfigured face twisted in a smile, the muscles and tendons stretching as he revealed his toothy grin. "But it seems my face is enough to cause you to fear." James chuckled softly.

"Bub, I've done worser things to people than what you've done to yourself. I ain't scared you or any of your damn Nazi guards." James said defiantly. The man's face smelled like disease and death. His face smelled like it was rotting away and James couldn't help but smell it. His nose was much too strong to ignore the stench. The man seemed to catch wind of it as he grew closer to James' face and began to speak.

"What's the problem, friend? You don't like the smell?" he asked. The man then backed away and continued to pace. "I was told that my men unloaded their entire clips into your body and gave you a couple shots to the skull. Yet, you are still alive. My men are much too afraid of me to make up such lies, so I ask you, how did you do this? What type of magic did you use to survive their attacks?" he asked. James spat onto the ground in front of the man and stared at him. Instantly, the man sent the back of his hand into the side of James' face. He then looked the man up and down and sighed. "I'm trying my best to be civil with you, but do not take my kindness for weakness. I wish only for your secret, friend." he said. James growled.

"You're tryin' to be civil, but I don't even know your name? That's certainly civil of you." James replied in contempt. The man replied, seemingly understanding James' point.

"I see, I see. You wish to know the name of your captor?" he said as he smiled again. "My name is Johann Schmidt. But the men around this facility and those under my command know me more specifically as the Red Skull." he said. "Now, if you would be so kind as to introduce yourself to me, we can get these formalities out of the way." James frowned and growled.

"James Howlett." James replied simply. Schmidt shook his head in disgust.

"You Americans are so rude." he said as he sucked his teeth.

"I'm Canadian." James replied angrily.

"Even worse." Schmidt retorted. "Now, back to my question...how did you survive their attacks?" he asked. James took his gaze off of Schmidt, mostly to get his rotting face from directly in front of his nose and to consider his answer. He honestly didn't know how he had survived. He could tell Schmidt anything he wanted and he would take it as truth. But what could he do if he answered truthfully?

"I don't know..." James said. "Maybe something to do with my genes, my body." Schmidt laughed.

"Ah, I see. DNA. There is something about you that is far superior to human beings and it gives you these tremendous healing abilities. Well, I believe..." Schmidt said as he turned around and James heard the sound of a blade being unsheathed. Schmidt turned around and held a small scalpel to James' neck. "Dissection is in order to understand what is different." As James was ready to growl his displeasure, he heard something off in the distance like the sound of metal crashing against somebody's face. Schmidt didn't seem to notice or he didn't care. Probably the former since he continued to speak. "Whatever gift you have, it isn't fair for only you to have this ability. I don't believe that God would only gift you with this." he said. James growled. He had heard that before. It had come out of Dog's mouth.

"Believe me, bub. I ain't the only one. In fact, I know a worthless piece of shit that'll glad be dissected." he replied. Schmidt laughed.

"Too bad there's already one in front of me." he said as he closed in on James.

"Step back, Schmidt!" a voice called from the entrance to James' cell. Schmidt and James turned to the entrance and Schmidt's face frowned deeply while James stared in confusion. The man that stood in the doorway wore a brown leather jacket and a blue bucket helmet with a white "A" on the front. He wore paratrooper goggles and had a M1 Garand strapped to his back along with a large, circular red, white and blue shield that had a large white star in the middle of the shield. James stifled a laugh. He looked like a patriotic clown. Schmidt didn't share in his laughter. Instead, he seemed to tense up slightly.

"Captain America..." Schmidt said. He then lowered his scalpel from James' neck and twirled it around his fingers. "I thought I left you in Poland, bleeding out in an alley with rats feasting on your flesh." The man chuckled softly.

"You did. Thing is, I heal pretty fast. Anyway, there's nowhere to run now, Schmidt." Captain America said. James watched the two and stared confused. The two obviously knew each other from sometime, but never before had he eve heard of a fucking Captain America or a Red Skull. What the hell was going on? Was this war really not what he thought? Schmidt smiled.

"Who said anything about running!" he yelled as he raced towards the Star-Spangled Hero and sent a punch his way. Captain America raised his arm to block the hit but was then punished by a knee to his abdomen as Schmidt then grabbed him by his throat and flipping him and slamming him onto the ground. As he tried to descend onto Captain America again, the war hero raised his shield and sent it crashing into Schmidt's jaw, knocking up into the air and causing him to crash against the wall. Blood flowed freely from his mouth and spat as a small bloody tooth fell. Captain America's face remained hardened and Schmidt growled softly as he rose to his feet.

James yawned. Whatever purpose this "Captain America" was intended to serve, he had failed in his opinion. James began to pull at his chains as the two men continued to trade punches and kicks. The chains were tight enough to pull at his skin and rip it down to the bone. But that wasn't a problem. He had endured worse. James pulled as hard as he could to release his wrists, The metal creaked loudly and underneath that sound was the sound of James' groans as his skin began to rip and his left wrist began to become freed.

Captain America and Schmidt continued to fight, unwary of what James was doing. Their fighting was growing much more intense and violent as Schmidt began to slice at the Captain's throat with his scalpel, while Captain America was using the edge of his shield to serve a dual purpose; It was both a "blade" and a guard. Blood spurted against the wall and on the ground as James released his wrists from the restraints. With his left hand free, James unsheathed his claws and cut at the chains holding his right hand. The sound of the metal clanging caused Schmidt and Captain America to stop briefly band stare at James. James continued to slash at his chain until finally, he felt it weaken. With a strong pull, he pulled the weak link from the rest of the chain and then unsheathed his second set of claws. Sensing something was off, James looked up and saw the two men staring at him.

"What, you've never seen a man with claws before?" he asked as he cut the feet restraints and leapt towards the Red Skull, roaring. Schmidt instantly jumped into action, skillfully avoiding James' claws and grabbing him by his still healing wrists. With quick and decisive ferocity, Schmidt stabbed into James' bones with the scalpel, also cutting arteries and causing blood to spurt out. James growled loudly as he felt his wrist briefly become paralyzed. Captain America came from behind and grabbed at Schmidt's back, only to be backhanded by the bloodthirsty Red Skull. Schmidt tossed James to the ground and raised his scalpel above him.

"You are strong, Canadian. But you made a mistake trying to attack me." he said as he drove the scalpel down.

"No." James said suddenly as he grabbed Schmidt's arms, causing the Nazi to stare in shock. James snarled. "You made a mistake. You made me angry!" he yelled as he unsheathed his claws and sliced Schmidt's arm off at the shoulder. As the Red Skull's arm flew across the room, blood sprayed everywhere, painting the dungeon a deep crimson red. Captain America raised his shield and blocked most of the liquid while James simply embraced his enemy's blood. Schmidt's eyes were glazed over in shock as he used his one good arm to crawl into a corner. As James closed in to finish the job and take Schmidt's head for a trophy, he felt a strong hand hold him back. When he turned around, all he saw was red, white, and blue.

"It's over, soldier. He's finished." the Captain said. James spat.

"No, he's not." he said as he unsheathed his second set of claws. "Not yet." James pushed past the Captain's grip only to feel it clamp down on his shoulder, stronger than before. When James' turned, Captain America's serious blue eyes met his own.

"Yes, he is. He's done. He's in too much shock to even move. Killing him won't win this war. We need to take him back for questioning. Stand down, soldier." Captain America said, tightening his grip on James' shoulders. James pulled his shoulder away and stared over at Schmidt, who lied shivering in a pool of his own blood, staring blankly into space. Something about him was off. He looked like a man who was unprepared for death and had some sort of innocence in his eyes, not like a genuine frost-hearted Nazi. This man, whoever he was seemed like he didn't know what was happening. James pressed forward towards him, his claws sheathed this time. He leaned down in front of the man and stared into his eyes.

"Are you Johann Schmidt?" he asked. The man whimpered and quickly nodded his head. James growled. He smelled it. Even under his carved face, he had retained his sweat glands and despite being in shock, his heart rate would still rush if he was lying. Which he was. James stood up and growled.

"This ain't Schmidt. He's a goddamned decoy." James said as he walked past the Captain. Captain America turned around.

"What? How do you know?" he asked. James pointed to his nose.

"I can smell when a person's lying because they start to perspire slightly and I can hear it when their heart rate changes. This man isn't who you're looking for. Whoever the hell this Red Skull is, he's probably trained more people like this man to act like him and fight like him." James said. Captain America slammed his fist against the wall, causing cracks to stretch the entire dungeon.

"Damn it. So we just put an innocent man on the threshold of death?" Captain America said as he shook his head. James frowned and scoffed.

"You didn't. I did." he said. There was barely any shame or remorse in James' voice. In all true honesty, he didn't give a damn about this man. He was a Nazi and they all deserved to die. That was his drive. People who did what he did, whether they were the Red Skull or not were scum. As far as he was concerned, it was one less Nazi. Captain America shook his head.

"Looks like I'll have some explaining to do when I get back to base." he said as he turned to walk out.

"That's if you get out!" a voice called. James and the Captain turned around and saw the Red Skull impostor holding a detonator. "Don't you dare try to run! When I press this button, this entire facility will self-destruct. You will all..." he said. Before he even finished his sentence, the Captain's circular shield had ricocheted off his skull and back into his hand. However, the threat wasn't ended. As the unconscious man fell, his face on top of the fallen detonator. Suddenly, an alarm was sounded and James heard multiple Germans shouting and scrambling around outside the dungeon and on the floors above him. A voice came over the intercom and he instantly sounded frantic as he began to speak.

"Omega-Protokoll ist in Kraft! Alle Personen, die Evakuierungszone sofort zu melden!" he yelled. James turned to the Captain whose face had turned grave.

"You speak German?" he asked. The Captain nodded.

"Yes...and we don't have that much time. We need to get out of this place, now!" the Captain yelled as he raised down the hallway. He was much faster than James had thought and left him down the hallway as he observed his surroundings. He then waved over to James. "Come on, soldier! We don't have time to waste!' he said as he turned the corner. James spat. He wasn't fully sure of his healing capabilities but he was certain that he didn't want to test it out with enough explosives to take out an entire facility. James followed closely as close as he could after the speedy Captain who seemed to notice that James had trouble keeping up. James waved him ahead.

"Don't worry, go ahead! I'll follow your scent!" James yelled as the Captain turned the corner quickly. The entire hallway was lined with red lights and as James ascended up the stairs. He could the sounds of panicking Germans as they yelled amongst each other, possibly trying to find a way out judging from their fear scent. James followed the Captain's scent down the hallway and then farther to the left, running past a few soldiers who must've been caught in a stampede and trampled. He continued going until he made it outside and panted as he looked around. The Captain's scent was still heavy in the air and when James looked to his left, he saw the Captain waving his hand. He was standing next to what seemed to be a two-man fighter plane and he was urging him to hurry up.

James climbed up the ladder leading to the plane and at the Captain's behest, jumped inside. He turned to the blonde man , who was beginning to fasten himself into the front seat. In front of James, there was a machine gun and he looked at it and the Captain worriedly.

"You know how to fly this thing?" he asked. The Captain smiled.

"I think so." he replied. James frowned.

"Doesn't sound too promising."

"Don't worry. It looks like a heavily modified Messerschmitt Bf 109, probably designed for the real Red Skull. Anyway, once my adrenaline kicks in, I'll be able to fly it properly so I advise you to hold on until then." the Captain yelled. James groaned.

"That's just swell." he replied. Captain America was able to start the plane with no problem and drive it on the strip with ease. As he began to accelerate however, his piloting skills began to falter. The plane's speed caused James to be lurched forward multiple times as they hit bumps on the strip. The propeller's loud buzzing sound was making James feel nauseated, his enhanced hearing being a weakness for now. The Captain gave him a thumbs up as the plane rose up into the air. James shuddered as he watched the ground grow farther and farther away. He hated heights.

"How you doing back there, soldier?" Captain America yelled back to James. James looked behind him and sighed.

"Just make sure you don't crash the damned thing. I'm not really into the flying thing." James said. The Captain laughed.

"Yeah, you do seem like a man that likes being grounded." The Captan said. He then looked back to James. "By the way, I never got your name." he said.

"The name's James Howlett." James replied gruffly.

"Steve Rogers, but lately, everybody's been calling me 'Captain America'. I guess that's what seven months of propaganda work will get you." the Captain said. James looked the Captain up and down and sighed. Given his blatant American colors, it seemed like the Captain liked being a propaganda piece. However, judging from his combat skills, he was more than just that. In that regard, he had earned James' respect, if nothing else. If he could take him away from this hellhole and get them out in one piece, James would owe him his life.

The Captain's flying was going pretty well. The plane remained stable and the Captain seemed to be getting the hang of it. However, there was a problem. The advanced Messerscmitt's engineering happened to come with a radar system as well. And it was detecting something. When the Captain took a look at the radar, his face shrunk into a frown. Whatever he saw bad and from the beeping that James heard, it was far from an ideal situation.

"We've got a problem." Captain America said. James scoffed.

"Really now?" he asked sarcastically. Ignoring his tone, the Captain nodded.

"We've got about seven aerial hostiles that are rapidly approaching, Seems like we're not the only ones with advanced planes." Captain America replied. James heard several low fluttering sounds that seemed to be much closer to them then previously thought. When James looked out the machine gun sight, he groaned.

"I think we've got some company, Cap." Rogers looked at his radar and sighed.

"I'm picking up several fighter planes inbound." he said. James sucked his teeth.

"Then somebody's got some kind of radar interference because I see more than 'several' planes." James said. He then shrugged. "Might as well get to firing. Keep this damn bird steady, Cap." James pulled his finger back on the trigger as the recoiled made his head shake like a rapid-fire bobble head. Immediately, gunfire was returned and the Captain managed to keep the plane stable enough for James to make his shots. Once the belt ran out of bullets however and the Captain heard James' firing cease, he looped the plane downwards abruptly. James fell to the floor, growling and raking his fingernails into the floor like a cat.

"Everything alright back there?" the Captain asked.

"The hell do you think? Warn me next time you try to perform aerial theatrics." James yelled as he searched the back of the plane for another belt of bullets. When he found it, he gasped. There was a larger plane emerging from the clouds. The color of midnight in the depths of a black hole and the size of five fighter planes combined, the most prominent feature of the ship was the large red emblem on the side. As the plane grew closer, James could see the multiple snake-like extensions curled around the skull. James had never in his life seen a ship like this. It looked so far beyond this era that it was unreal. What kind of technology was this?

"Damn..." James heard Rogers say. He turned towards him and frowned.

"What the hell is that thing?" James yelled. Rogers shook his head.

"HYDRA..." he said softly. "HANG ON!" Rogers yelled as whipped the plane sharply to the right, sending it almost into a U-Turn. The immense HYDRA ship followed his movements almost exactly as it loomed over their small plane. James held onto his seat as they plummeted downwards. Rogers pulled up quickly and James felt himself hit the roof and then the floor. He growled as he looked outside of the plane and saw the HYDRA ship continuing to follow them. However, it seemed to have stopped. But it's guns hadn't. They were moving...and aiming directly at them.

"Cap!" James yelled. The plane began to weave back and forth and Rogers began to zig zag the plane before finally ducking downwards...but that was the very least of James' issues. As the plane began to descend, a bright blue beam sped towards the back of the plane. The impact set the cockpit on fire and the back of the plane explode, launching James' charred body through the windshield. The wind slapped his face as he rocketed towards the ground, clouds passing him by as the multi-colored sky began to transition into the singularity of midnight blue ocean. As James began to prepare himself for the painful face plant into the water, he felt hands grab him and suddenly felt his fall slow. When he looked up, it was none other than the Captain with a parachute.

"You alright, soldier?" Rogers asked. James spat.

"I wudda been fine." James replied.

"Your a tough guy, but even you couldn't survive this, pal." Rogers said. James scoffed.

"You'd be surprised." he said. James' ears pricked up and he looked up into the sky as the HYDRA plane appeared, lowering itself through the clouds. The massive plane's guns lowered and aimed towards the Captain's parachute. Without a second's hesitation, it fired again. Frantically, James cut the lines connecting them to the parachute and immediately the two began to plummet. The blue ball of fire that the HYDRA ship fired barely passed their heads and James growled as he saw the water grow closer. "Cap, if we survive this, I swear I'm going to kill you!" After those words left James' mouth, he heard another shot being fired. As the reflection of the blast hit the water, James sighed. "Aw hell."


Next, World War Part II...