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Germany's evolution into a socialist state was gradual. It started with benign government mandates and regulation and changes in immigration policy. Between 1998 and 2002, 3.5 million non-white Muslims immigrated to Germany due to open invitation to foreigners by liberal leaders. The majority were Muslims and they did not assimilate to western culture. They brought their culture with them and lived in enclaves. Sections of Cities were unsafe for native Germans. Women were kidnapped and raped and girls were sold into sexual slavery by immigrant gangs. Terror attacks increased. Areas in once prosperous Frankfurt and Berlin were wholly abandoned by police.

The Elites of Germany appeared to not care as the poor whites of Germany were suddenly surrounded by gang violence and Islamic terrorism. It was not reported in the media. When a major terror attack occurred they never blamed Islamic Terror. They blamed lax gun laws. They blamed toxic masculinity. They blamed native Germans for not accommodating the Immigrants better. Mayors were no longer ethnic Germans. The common white man was strongly discontent with how their once proud Germany was now ravaged by foreign criminals. The was a strong sentiment among native germans to deport the foreigners. Some wanted to kill them. There was a push in anti-muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment. Nationalism and racial divisions were on the rise. In the German election in 2003 Kurt V. Koch, a socialist, was elected to the position of prime minister. He ran on the promise to make Germany a proud nation and to fix the 'immigration problem.' Koch began the systemic execution of suspected non-white criminals and increasing his power over the German government. He nationalized the major corporations in the country and cut all foreign aid and threatened to pull out of NATO. Koch solidified his position as the absolute leader of Germany in 2005. He created a police state that had no compunctions about using violence against immigrants and political dissidents.

Koch wanted to rule Europe. He wanted to keep the Muslims out of his country and the rest of Europe. He feared his culture would die in the invasion. He saw the mass immigration as an invasion and he squashed the invaders with impunity. He believed them sub-human. A sentiment that had been growing among the native German population. Koch was beloved among the Germans as a man of the people. An honest, hard-working man from humble beginnings.

France and the UK had similar issues with mass immigration but eventually adopted the policy of deporting prisoners back to Africa and heavily increasing the powers bestowed to lawmen. An unpopular decision at the time, but ultimately considered necessary among Europeans.

The DoD and the CIA began operations in Germany following the election of Socialist dictator Kurt Koch. Nothing kinetic, mostly intelligence gathering and infiltration. The ultimate plan was to assassinate Kurt Koch. They uncovered crimes committed by the state against non-whites. It was a genocide with the intent to eradicate all African Muslims from the continent. He likened it to a Holy War waged by God's champions against the blasphemers. Koch considered himself a classic Eugenicist along the same vein as Woodrow Wilson and Margaret Sanger.

The DoD was in a quandary. What was to be done? War with a nuclear power? Another Cold War? Socialist nation's and others with planned economies often didn't last long before becoming a failed state. But occasionally they ride the economic wave of war and nationalism and become powerful enough to threaten the world.

It is not common knowledge that the Army does covert operations in Germany. That type of stuff happened far more often than many likely thought. There were groups that openly recruited from the regular army. Undercover operations and electronic surveillance mostly. But some were active sabetours. Some were moles. Some were positioning themselves for the perfect moment to destroy Koch's Germany, not in a pitched battle but poisoned coffee or a knife in the neck.

Sergeant Perry Reed and Scott were walking towards the Commander's office. Scott had been released from the hospital. His bald head proudly displayed his mark.

"The Protectorate and the PRT are wastes. Those people have no balls. No idea what good they can do for our country. They are more a tool for the government than useful human beings. I tell ya Scott, there is no such thing as a real hero. Everybody is just fucked."

"Sure thing, Sergeant." Both walked into the Commander's office and noticed Captain Gardner was not looking happy. "Sir."

"Ah! Yeah, come in you two. I've got some news for you two. Let's get into the conference room for a moment." Scott knew that using the conference room was reserved for classified briefs and contained no unauthorized electronics. No windows and no cameras.

"Empire 88 has been getting a little bit of foreign influence. From what we've gathered members have been visiting germany and getting some kind of specialized training and indoctrination. At this point we're almost certain that at least the Brockton Bay branch of Empire 88 is operating as a foreign agent for Germany. As you know this makes it a matter for the CIA and subsequently us to deal with."

"This domestic assignment will be a bit different from what we're used to. Most of what you'll do is just do what the CIA delegates tell us to do. I don't have the clearance to know what they're going to do. I've planned to send the two of you to help out. Reed I expect you to teach Hebert here how we operate and for the love of god do not embarrass me in front of the Feds. I like our close relationship where it is."

A switch seemed to flip in Reed. He was now the picture of seriousness. "Sir, will we be relocating to Brockton Bay for this?"

"You will. I mean, I can't expect you to commute there and back every day. You will be leaving in 48 hours by TMP. You'll be dropped off and a Fed will be there to pick you up. I'm, not sure how long you'll have to be there or if I'll be sending any more. That's up to the Feds and how much they like you. Here I've got you a packing list. Don't be late." Scott knew the CIA was not what it used to be. When it first began operating, they strictly carried out intelligence gathering missions. At the beginning of the war on terror, they were freed from their leash and acted as judge, jury and executioner for any foreign agent deemed dangerous. Among intel soldiers they were known for having the most elite group of operators akin to SEAL team 6 or DELTA force. They were the literal knife in the dark. He had never heard of the CIA operating domestically. That was supposed to be a job for the FBI and Homeland Security, Not the DoD.

"Yes, sir."

As the two were leaving the Commander's office, Scott turned to Reed. "Has this sort of thing happened before? Getting random assignments Stateside on really short notice?"

"Yeah. It's not common but it happens. Now shut your trap about it."

Mollified, Scott kept quiet and went about gathering his things for his new assignment. He knew people all over Brockton Bay. His family lived there as well. He wasn't sure if it was a problem or not so he kept quiet about it. The Commander probably had already considered it when he was picked. He was internally quite excited. He'd get the chance to fight again! He could make the streets of his hometown safer for his family as well. Putting that training to use would be a welcome change.

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As Scott lay in his bed that night, he was amazed at what he could see with his eyes closed. He could feel the electrical impulses from the other nervous systems in the building. He could not differentiate between people and he doubted he ever could, but sensing warm bodies would probably prove invaluable. He hardly ever spoke to Lilian anymore. He merely had to think and listen to communicate with her. He didn't need to summon her physical form in order to hear her either. He had practiced with his eletrokinesis but he'd only managed loud shocks from about six inches away from his body. They were quite effective jolts for stunning but they weren't prolonged enough to really cause too much damage. It was like a shock of static electricity.

He was teetering on the edge of sleep when he heard a loud shout from outside.

He quickly stood up and looked out the window. In the parking lot were four men surrounding a fifth. The four looked to be civilians from their long hair. But the fifth was definitely a drunk Sergeant Reed. He was swaying between punches and seemed to give halfhearted swings in return that didn't land. He looked a bit roughed up.

Scott looked for a half-second more in utter confusion before he ran out the door and onto the parking lot barefooted. The civilians didn't notice the front door of the barracks opening. Scott sprinted straight towards the small crowd and tackled one of them, knocking him hard into the ground. Scott quickly spun to face another one and lashed out with a kick to the next one's gut. The group turned to face Scott.

"Oh look, he's got a Nazi buddy!"

"You're fucking dead!"

They were likely in college, given their fairly nice clothes. At least probably not gangsters.

Scott was not in the mood to share opinions and quickly moved on one with his fists. They weren't prepared for the savage assault and quickly took several strait punches to the face before falling to the ground. Another one went for Scott's legs and lifted him off the ground. Scott grabbed him around the neck and squeezed with one arm and punched him in the side with the other, aiming for a liver shot. It was only a moment before they both went down to the concrete. While still on the ground Scott swung his knee at his attacker's head and was quite satisfied with the dull thud the skull made. Scott let out a laugh as he gave another kick to the downed guy's body.

Scott saw stars as he was hit in the side of his head before he could stand up properly. He let out a whoop as he ran at the one who sent the punch and jabbed him in the throat followed by a punch to the jaw. Scott winced through his smile as his knuckles hit a tooth and the attacker choked a bit on the tooth knocked back into his mouth. Scott grabbed a slow punch and savagely twisted the arm, dislocating the shoulder. His scream was cut short by a strike to the chin and he fell bonelessly to the ground after Scott released him.

Reed was standing off to the side having knocked out the one that remained. "Ah fuck, that was fun! I knew I was going to have a bit of trouble with that one."

"You did this shit on purpose?"

"No, no. nothing like that. I was just talking a bit of shit at the bar and they followed me back to the Barracks. They really were some pussies." He accentuated his claim with a kick to man's side.

"Yeah. what are we gonna do now, huh? Do we call an ambulance?" The adrenaline was still pumping through his head. He has getting a bit nervous. People often got into trouble for fighting with civilians.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea. You got them pretty good. Good show soldier! Hell yeah!"

Calling an ambulance with one of the four's cell phone was easy. They didn't wait for the ambulance on the scene. They watched from inside to make sure they were picked up.

"You think the commander will hear about this?"

"Definitely. Those guys will file a police report and the MPs will come to talk the Commander. But he'll tell them to fuck off. This probably won't come back to us. I doubt it'll even affect our assignment."

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Scott had spent most of his life weak. He was thin and unintimidating. He had been bullied at the start of high school. He did try to fight back, and in his own opinion, he dealt them quite a bit of humiliation through pranks. It actually wasn't the fighting back that made them stop. That part had only made him feel better. What had actually stopped the bullies was his new friends. His father had called them "the wrong crowd" and Scott knew he could not really say any differently. They did drugs and did poorly in school. But Scott didn't care. The tables had turned on his bullies. This new group did not take kindly to having one of their own being picked on.

Leonard Odom was a large boy for his age. He was also quite dirty with long, stringy hair and unwashed clothes. He barely passed his classes. He lived in a run down part of Brockton Bay. More importantly he knew how to fight. He was considered a reject by the rest of the school. No self respecting girl would ever talk to him. He was a fat nerd who didn't ever try at anything except Pokemon and D&D. But he wasn't weak. He had a beefy strength only a Two-hundred and Thirty pound boy can claim. He didn't even need to close his fist to lay guys out. Scott and Lenny hung out with 3 or 4 other similarly rejected boys in and out of school. Scott had to admit they were all fucking weirdos. Scott knew he stood out even among them. He was in the advanced classes and he tried in school, at least more than his fellows. He was well groomed and always had clean clothes.

He knew his old buddies would only bring him down. By senior year he hung out with them less and less, embarrassed by their disregard for their futures and physical appearance. He made new friends with sports teams and he lost his 'reject' status.

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A/N

Yeah, I know it took me a while to pick this back up. Can't say it won't happen again. Work has a way of crushing the life out of me that's only cured by a night of drinking out on the town.

Pro tip: don't do shots of Kraken. Instant puke juice, I swear. Or Tequila for that matter.