Chapter 18: World War II Legends
Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters or logos.
It was a dingy morning in New York by the time Nick Fury had dropped off of his two agents in the streets of Brooklyn. The general atmosphere was unusually dense as the clouds stretched as far as the eye could see, easily covering up any place where the sun could shine through. Despite the fact that it was still before noon, the surroundings created a tense atmosphere. Having taken a taxi to avoid the attention that a helicopter would have attracted from the locals, both Wolverine and Captain America were dressed incognito, wearing ordinary clothing as opposed to the X-Men uniform and superhero outfit that they usually wore on missions. To passersby, the two heroes would appear as nothing more than a pair of buddies walking the streets of New York.
Logan was clothed in a black shirt and tan pants, his dark hair and rough facial features in sharp contrast to the noticeably taller man behind him. Having taken off his hero outfit, his neatly combed blonde hair was visible to the eyes of others. Possessing a less feral appearance than his partner, he appeared as a normal Caucasian gentleman with light features and a square jaw. Needless to see they were both much older than they appeared to be, with the mutant's ability to regenerate preserving his youthful appearance while Captain American had been cryogenically frozen for several years since the end of World War II.
Although they were anything but helpless, both men were traveling through some of the worst parts of the city, having landed in the downtown area where crime ruled the streets and drug trade was just another part of their way of life. Several members of the New York City police department had been killed while working these districts, many of whom had attempted stop the local gang wars, while others had merely been shot on patrol as a sign to other law enforcement not to come around here. While it was said that he was last sighted in Manhattan, there was a high probability that the person they were searching for operated in the other cities, but might be hiding in the red light district with to avoid detection. In a place where criminal activity was so prevalent, it would be hard to locate one criminal so easily.
Walking alongside each other, the two agents moved about as casually as possible as Wolverine occasionally sniffed the air, trying to get some sign that the man they were searching for was nearby. He scowled in annoyance as they passed a group of scantily dressed woman, instantly knowing that they weren't just trying to look pretty standing out on the corner like that. Logan knew that he wasn't entirely innocent of crime himself, but some of the girls looked no older than the students at the institute, and it disgusted him when he thought of the people he knew participating in such a sickening practice. Clenching his fist, he resisted the urge to gut the pimp with his claws, and turned a blind eye as he continued after Steve Rogers.
Glancing around, the patriotic hero's gaze settled on the man behind him for a second. "Get anything yet?" he questioned.
"Nope… Not a single whiff of the guy we're looking for." Logan replied with a sigh of boredom. "This city's so huge that it was divided into a bunch of smaller cities, and the chance that we'll be able to find one guy in the middle of this dump is pretty slim."
The super soldier seemed to consider him for a moment before speaking again. "That reminds me… Before you were brought in to see me, Fury mentioned that your ability to manipulate those metal implements from your body is connected to the healing factor you inherited due to the mutant gene." He paused with a puzzled expression as if expecting his old friend to answer, but found himself unable to continue for the moment.
Wolverine sighed with a bemused expression, although after a short period of consideration, he smiled understandingly. "Since it's been years since the war, I might as well tell you a bit about the stuff that's happened to me since then. I'm hardly one to talk, but I guess it would be rude if I kept you in the dark after the incident left you in the deep freeze for over fifty years."
"You seem a little more willing to speak of it then you were earlier today." The super soldier replied curiously. "You always seemed so unshakable in the face of death during World War II, facing down the most fearsome enemies and taking on entire platoons single handedly. Bearing this in mind, your reaction from before was somewhat disconcerting."
The feral mutant let out a small groan in response to the statement. "Whether or not I'm willing to talk about it is usually something that varies by the day, but it's never been easy." He began with a hesitant note.
Captain America shrugged in response. "You were one of the greatest soldiers I met during the war, and in some ways even I looked up to your example. Throughout countless battles you never displayed signs of fear or doubt even while staring death in the face. It is frightening to think that something so terrible happened to you between then and now that still weighs so heavily on your mind."
"I'll begin by saying that what happened to me made the war look like a cakewalk, but the annoying part is that my memories of it all are still a but fuzzy." He unsheathed the weapons in his right hand with a glum expression, following it up with a nasty scowl. "The creeps that gave me these claws were afraid of someone like Hitler ever coming to power again, and because of that they were paranoid enough to turn people into living weapons."
"Fury hasn't explained very much to me on this subject… If you could a little bit of world history in your explanation, it would be greatly appreciated." The super soldier looked down at his own feet for a moment as the feeling of ignorance returned. Having been preserved for so long, he only possessed a basic knowledge of what happened after the war, and was hoping that this would make it easier for him to follow.
Wolverine glanced over at his old war buddy for a second and realized how hard it must have been to have woken up in an entirely different world than the one he had fought to save all those years ago. Thinking quickly, he decided to describe things in a manner that the captain could identify with. "Well let's just say that my own experiences in the following years were probably worse than anything that I ever experienced in the war."
The statement had its desired affect, causing Steve Rogers to react with a rather startled expression. "I fail to see how anything could have been more challenging than having to deal with standing on the front lines and fighting to stop the slaughter of millions."
"Well then consider yourself lucky that you didn't have to go through the hell that I endured during the following years." Logan grumbled with as noticeably less friendly expression.
His partner raised eyebrow, although he appeared more curious than upset. "I'm still not entirely certain what you mean, but why don't you start from the beginning and we'll go from there."
Wolverine took a moment to sigh before continuing his explanation. "Well, it all started after the fall of the Hitler's regime in Germany at the end of the war. I'm sure that the guys at SHIELD already told you some of the major stuff that happened after you were cryogenically frozen."
"Fury had some of the agents brief me on the state of affairs in the United States and even gave me a small overview of what had happened in my absence, but very little specifics were mentioned." Steve Rogers began with a mild sense of bewilderment. "I expected that the Red Army would eventually turn against us, which apparently did happen once the Nazis fell from power."
"People always went on about your combat abilities, but I always knew that you were a smart guy…" the ill-tempered mutant replied in an almost complimentary manner. "For a while there was a divide between the Capitalist and Communist powers, one side lead by the United States, and the other by the Soviet Union. Even though he had been our ally during the war, Stalin was apparently no better than Hitler morally speaking, and the competition to gain support for both systems of government created an era that people refer to as the Cold War."
The super soldier shrugged in confusion. "Nick Fury already explained this to me shortly after I was cured by the scientists in his organization, but I fail to see how the Cold War directly relates to you. It is apparent that no actual battles were fought during these following decades, so how exactly does your current condition have anything to do with this?"
Wolverine groaned again, although he was not angry with the patriotic hero, and did so more out of his own disdain towards explaining things to other people. "Well I can't say that you're wrong about that, which is what makes this story such a bitch to tell."
"What do you mean by that?" the captain added casually.
"Well there were no actually battles that took place during this time between the Capitalist and Communist states, which means that the creeps that turned me into a living weapon didn't gain very much in the long run." The Weapon X mutant began grumpily.
Steve Rogers relaxed his shoulders slightly, having expected a much more gruesome explanation from his old friend. "I see now. So you were also created as a weapon to serve your country, similar to the experiments that the allied powers performed on me during World War II." He sighed as if slightly relieved. "Looks like you and I have something else in common…"
"The story's not finished yet, captain." Logan suddenly interjected. "The Super Soldier formula used during Project Rebirth may have had some nasty drawbacks as you experienced, but the Weapon X Project that they subjected me to was probably the worse of the two."
"How so?" the patriotic hero raised an eyebrow. "Not saying that I don't believe you, but seeing how I almost died after serving the allies during the war, it's hard to believe that there could have been something worse in the works for you."
"Anyway, as I was trying to say, the project that turned me into a metallic freak wasn't something I care to think about." Wolverine sighed again, as he hadn't been looking forward to explaining this part of his life, although he felt almost obligated. "It began during the Cold War era when some freaks in lab coats thought they could turn mutants into living weapons for the cause. There were a few people involved in this, although of the group I was probably the more successful ones."
Captain America listened in fascination, although when his friend did not continue immediately, he spoke up. "If that was the case, than what happened to you during these experiments?"
The feral mutant let out a grouchy noise and turned away for a second or two, but having realized that he was probably the only friend Steve had left, he quickly concealed any signs of his annoyance. "You wanna know what happened? The creeps used my healing power to keep me alive while they turned me into a freak."
"Wait a minute… You mean to tell me that they…" the patriotic hero began hastily.
"Oh yeah, it was pain that you couldn't possibly imagine. The bastards ripped me open and treated my bones with adamantium!" he growled, his eyes flashing dangerously at the thought. "Shortly after that I was subjected to tests and treated like a lab rat. They eventually wiped my memories of the events and turned me loose, and here I am today."
Taking a deep breath, he bit the bottom of his lip to prevent curse words from escaping and continued. Wolverine felt his fingernails biting into his wrists as memories of his past resurfaced again, his claws beginning to slide through the slits of his gloves. Gathering up his anger the enraged mutant refocused his powers and retracted the weapons before they were visible. The blonde-haired man standing beside him looked horrified at the prospect, although his friend had been painstakingly blunt enough. The two of them continued on in silence for several minutes, walking parallel to one another, despite the fact that the captain appeared to be more distraught by the thought than his partner. After several more minutes passed, Wolverine growled in annoyance, prompting his old friend to raise an eyebrow in surprise.
"I'm sorry for what happened, although it was my fault for being so curious." Captain America answered ruefully.
Wolverine raised a hand as if to sweep aside his comment. "Nah, it's got nothing to do with you, and I can't blame you for being curious." He let out a low growl as if releasing the turmoil he had previously felt. "Just let it go… Nothing you coulda done to help me."
The blonde hero shook his head with a stoic expression. "It just makes me wonder how any human could put his fellow men through such a harrowing experience. I'm personally wondering how you managed to overcome something so awful." He paused dismally. "To be treated like an animal and then discarded once they no longer needed you just seems like something that any normal human would be incapable of."
"You of all people should know exactly what kind of people would do that." Logan added as more memories flooded his mind. "Hitler and his group of flunkies were more than willing to do it, and we saw the results of his insanity during the liberation of those death camps in Europe."
Captain America closed his eyes for a moment as his mind returned to those days, and for in that moment he saw the piles of bodies being disposed of in the concentration camps. To him it felt like these events had just happened weeks ago, and it pained him to think about some of the things he had seen. Looking at the man walking beside him, the patriotic hero felt a pang of guilt when he realized that his old partner had seen much of the same sights, and yet was forced to endure even more pain after that war ended.
In some ways the captain wondered if he had been fortunate to have remained in stasis for the last several decades. As he thought of Hitler's rule in Germany, another series of faces came to his mind, all of which had plagued him since his awakening in this modern world. The first was a teenager wearing a mask and costume very similar to his own, the second a tall muscular man wearing a monocle and wielding a sword, and the third was a hideously misshapen visage with piercing eyes, the man's body clothed in the garb of the Nazi party. Although he would not admit it out loud, the blue-clad hero still saw this face in his most terrible nightmares.
"So many people…" Steve Rogers mumbled with a note of regret, his eyes moving towards the ground at his feet.
Wolverine's gruff exterior seemed to melt away if only for a second, as if he had suddenly figured out what his partner was thinking. "It must be a real pain to wake up and have no idea where you are."
"And even worse when you find out that most of the people you knew are no longer alive. I would have to say that you're the only friend I remember from the old days that hasn't passed away in this modern world." The captain added in with a small frown.
"I know you feel like a relic here, but don't forget that I was older than you when we first met, and I've lived to see it all." The feral mutant added in a slightly more civil tone. "You got no idea how much I've seen during that time, and how many things that I wish I hadn't. If there's one thing I do know, it's that life doesn't always turn out the way you want, and you'll have regrets if you don't live it the fullest."
"A very wise sentiment… Although it is strange to hear something like that from the likes of you." The patriotic hero replied with a half-smile.
Logan spat on the ground and continued walking for a few paces, but a second later he wore a similar expression. "Who would have thought that the great hero of the allies had a sense of humor?" he remarked with a note of sarcasm.
The war buddies chuckled slightly at the small exchange, although neither of them was known for having an infectious sense of humor, and the small moment of laughter subsided fairly quickly. They were both soldiers at heart, men who had dedicated their lives to fighting, and yet the two of them had become weapons in the process. As the animalistic mutant sniffed the air for any sign of their target's scent, his partner found his thoughts wandering again to the days they had spent on the battlefield, although this time he saw the face of their third companion more clearly than ever.
Flashback
Three figures darted through the shadows as they continued their infiltration of a Nazi stronghold, located deep underground beneath the battles waging above. The allies had begun one of another series of raids on the concentration camps on the surface, but located deep in the underground bunker beneath the terrible facility rested something far more sinister. The labyrinth of hallways was designed to confuse intruders and prisoners held within to prevent their escape, having been line with metal to make each passage identical in appearance, but this did little to deter these three soldiers who had discovered the truth. In these passages beneath the battlefield rested a secret laboratory commanded by some of Hitler's most terrifying servants.
Captain America was at the head of the group, closely followed by a slightly younger version of Wolverine. Although his regenerative abilities had largely prevented him from aging, his face seemed less intense, and his appearance was generally less rugged all these years ago. There was no question that the Weapon X Project had changed several things about him, but even during the war he was accustomed to facing harsh conditions. Born as James Howlett in Canada, he had gone by a number of aliases and didn't much care how he was referred to by other people, and possessed a no-nonsense personality. The mutant soldier was known for his strength and ferocity in the heat of battle, and thanks to his keen senses, they were getting very close to the enemy with each passing moment.
The third soldier wore a blue soldier outfit and a matching mask over his eyes, along with pair of boots and gloves in a similar color scheme to those worn by their group's leader. Known as the captain's sidekick and protégé, Bucky lacked his mentor's scientifically enhanced abilities, but was still a skilled martial artist able to match even the most powerful enemies in hand-to-hand combat. He was a young man with an average build, yet despite this he had the skills to keep up with anyone, even the legendary soldier whom he was assigned to work with.
Seeing a pair of doors at the end of the hallway, Logan kicked down the door, knocking them off of their hinges as he broke the locks. He entered the room beyond, closely followed by his two teammates, yet despite their years of training, none of them had expected to see what was waiting for them beyond. The groups on a platform connected to a series of stairs, leading down into a large cathedral-sized laboratory. The room was filled with a number of platforms where research was being performed by scurrying scientists, and several human beings were being held alive within transparent cylindrical tubes.
It was no secret that the Nazis has been conducting medical research on several people held in concentration camps, but seeing it firsthand was like something out of a science fiction novel. Many of the people seemed starved due to the protrusion of bones and sunken facial features, while others looked sickly and were trapped sitting in their own vomit and waste. Bucky cringed slightly as he saw these individuals, but all three heroes found the indifference of their captors to be even more disturbing in some ways. A strange series of growling noises was also coming from the farthest corners of the room, although they were unable to see what lay beyond due to the sheer vastness of the lab.
Without waiting for the others, Captain America leapt down and flattened one of the soldiers with a well-placed kick to the head, using his shield to disable a second enemy as he converged on their leader. Standing at the opposite end of the room with his back turned to them was a man wearing the black suit and red armband of the Gestapo. The patriotic hero made a dash towards his nemesis as more enemy soldiers emerged to intercept him, but whatever threat they might have posed was quickly neutralized as his two companions joined in, effortless beating back the armed fighters with their bare hands.
"You're finished messing with people's lives!" Logan called out angrily, clenching his fists threateningly as he spoke. "This time we're not letting you get away."
Bucky stepped up with a glare. "You're finished, skull man!" he screamed in agreement.
As another squad of soldiers fell to the ground, as the three heroes rounded on their target, eliciting a small laugh from their host. The Red Skull turned around, revealing his hideous face and piercing features, both of which were attributed to his trademark mask that he wore all of the time. His chortle was low and mirthless, but the laughter quickly died from his eyes, revealing a powerful and unforgiving expression. Standing on the raised dais across the chamber, he bore down on them with an unshakable confidence, and seemed to find their presence more amusing rather than deeming them an actual threat.
"Very well played, my old friend… Unfortunately you seem to have forgotten that my strategic prowess far surpasses your own." The Nazi villain replied with a nasty smirk. He snapped his fingers, causing several soldiers to emerge from the shadows, each with a loaded weapon poised to fire. "While it always does well to begin with a strong offense, you must remember to prepare for any possible circumstance, just as I did with the three of you."
The Nazis raised their weapons as their leader spoke, each of them preparing to kill their targets as soon as they wee given the orders. The patriotic hero let out an angry scowl as he prepared to fight to the death, but a sideways glance at Bucky made him reconsider. Despite his prodigious skills, the youngest member of their team lacked their metahuman abilities, and now that they were cornered like this, it was abundantly clear that he might not survive the encounter. As they considered what to do, Logan tensed up and reached for his weapon, but the captain seized his friend's wrist and shook his head regretfully.
Captain American raised his hands in the air, causing Bucky to do the same. The mutant soldier hesitated for a moment before doing the same, having been placed under the patriotic hero's command for this mission. Although incredibly defiant the majority of the time, Logan knew what it meant to be a soldier and reluctantly followed their lead, allowing the soldiers surrounding them to remove their weapons. Their captors confiscated the captain's shield and Logan's they marched the prisoners over to the platform where the Red Skull was waiting, pushing them into the ground with deliberate force.
The skull-themed villain laughed again as he bore down upon his prey, his eyes darting around excitedly at having correctly predicted the weakest link in their group. "It appears that my inclination was correct." He began triumphantly. "While the two of you might have survived any escape attempt, the chances that the boy could have done the same are exceedingly low."
"So what are you gonna do? Kill us?" Logan snapped defiantly.
This reply earned the mutant a kick to the shins, causing him to double over in pain as the soldiers laughed at his predicament. His teammates watched in discomfort as their captors continued to beat him until repeatedly, only stopping once he had stopped moving. Bucky knew that the Canadian soldier was tough, but at the same time he knew that such a brutal show would have broken a normal man's body very easily, yet his teammate did not show them any sign he was in pain. Watching on in silence, the sidekick regretted his own weakness causing their capture. The Red Skull raised a hand to stop them, but oddly enough he shook his head in disapproval of their actions.
"Do not waste your time…" the Nazi leader sneered casually. "The man you attacked is known for his healing factor. His ability to recover from almost any injury at an alarming rate is one of the reasons why he was placed on the same team as the legendary Captain America."
"The Axis powers are still going to lose this war, whether we survive or not. I have faith that justice will prevail whether or not any of us are here to see the end of this conflict." Steve Rogers replied with a stern nod.
One of the soldiers smacked him with his own shield, causing the legendary hero back onto his knees as he recoiled in pain. Although such an implement was usually used as a defensive tool, it was made out of one of the hardest substances on Earth, and could be used to inflict major injuries as evidenced by the captain's reputation on the battlefield. The Red Skull called off the soldier before he could strike their captives again, causing his subordinates to stand back. Logan let out an angry sound, but was quickly silenced as a blade came inches from his throat. Looking up at his new enemy he caught sight of a German soldier with a shaved head and green uniform. Despite his age, the bald man seemed to be held in high regard by the others, indicating that he was one of the leaders.
"That will do, Wolfgang." The Red Skull reassured his more youthful collaborator.
"As you wish…" The young Baron Strucker sheathed his blade and stepped backwards, allowing the others to take their positions around the captives.
The Red Skull stepped down from his platform and greeted his guests up close for the first time, his eyes wandering over their faces as he admired the looks of animosity they wore. His arch enemy wore a proud expression that did not waver, while the sidekick seemed deeply upset. Logan on the other hand was beside himself with anger, although for once in his life he decided to hold his tongue in the face of adversity. Seeing their reactions brought joy to the Nazi commander's twisted face, and he turned back towards the raised platform.
"Do not fear, for I have chosen to spare your lives for the moment." He reassured the young soldiers in his thick Germanic accent. "You will all bear witness the beginnings of my master plan before you die! Consider it an honor..."
Captain America looked up with a puzzled expression. "Would I be correct to assume that Heinrich Zemo and the others have something to do with this?" he questioned angrily.
"I have no intention of allowing that fool to take credit for my brilliance!" the Red Skull shouted, his eyes widening menacingly. "What you are about to see is something that my scientists have been working on before the war began." He motioned for the scientists to turn on the lights. "Behold!"
The three allied soldiers gasped slightly as the darkened areas of the room were illuminated, revealing a series of much larger tubes than the ones that held the human experiments, each one of them holding an unfamiliar creature within. Their growls were muffled by the containment units, but if there was one thing certain it was that these beasts were not naturally born animals of any kind. Most of them were large with carnivorous teeth, although each one of them seemed like they were made of parts from different known animals. Most of them exhibited aggressive behavior, openly snarling and clawing at the walls of their confinement in an attempt to escape.
"Whoa dude… and here I thought you had issues before." Bucky commented.
"What the hell are those things?" Logan hissed, looking slightly disgusted by the experimental creatures.
Their captor paused for a moment as if he were contemplating what the best way to word his answer would be, a look of sadistic amusement twisting his features as if the mask were his own face. "You might say that we finally found a use for those filthy degenerates we've been holding in our little camps."
Captain America's eyes went wide with disgust. "You didn't!"
Wolfgang von Strucker stepped with a nasty smile. "Indeed we have…" he announced proudly. "We have given meaning to the lives of these unnecessary creatures by making them into something far more productive towards our cause."
"I am certain that the Fuhrer himself would be pleased to see the people he desired to eradicate are existing in a capacity that will benefit those of us who serve the Third Reich!" the Red Skull added proudly, his arms shooting into the air.
Bucky looked around with a confused expression, although he hesitated for a moment before voicing his question. "How did you turn innocent people into monsters? It just doesn't make much sense to me." He pondered fearfully.
Strucker crossed the room to where his superior was standing, motioning towards the containment units holding the dead and dying human subjects. "Several men and woman were taken to this lab, and it is here where our teams of scientists tested several unstable, experimental serums on living subjects."
"You sick bastards…" Logan hissed, earning a kick from one of the guards restraining him. He groaned slightly, but refused to do any more to show the enemy his weakness.
The Red Skull ignored him and resumed the younger Nazi's explanation as if they hadn't been interrupted. "As you can probably guess, many of these experiments did not go as planned, while others resulted in the death of the victims." He pointed to a half-dead prisoner in a nearby tube. "Many received some terrible side-affects from the drugs and chemicals, but due to the large amount of prisoners, we had a virtually endless number of subjects to work with."
The young sidekick's gaze hardening considerably. "It just wasn't enough for you to ruin their lives by working and starving them to death in your camps. You just had to take that extra step and strip them of whatever shred of humanity they had left! What could you possibly obtain by making these people into freaks?" he screamed with outrage.
"Don't waste you breath on these guys." Captain America replied disdainfully. "Don't you see? They plan on releasing these horrors onto when the allies least expect it, thereby turning the tide of the battle in favor of the Axis."
"As intelligent as always, aren't you?" the masked Nazi answered with a devilish grin. "The Allies won't even understand what they are fighting when these creatures are sent into the battlefield, in their moments of hesitation we will strike back with the force of a hammer, striking down the remainder of their resistance."
The enemy continued his explanation proudly, but as he began to ramble, the three prisoners fell silent and contemplated how to escape. Taking this short reprieve as a blessing in disguise, the heroes silently looked for a way to escape. It was fortunate for them that the Red Skull was busy explaining the details of his scheme, as he stood with his back to them, arms raised towards the ceiling as he marveled at the fruits of his labor. Noticing that the enemy soldiers were distracted by the explanation as well, the captain exchanged glances with his teammates and waited for the right moment to strike out.
Although they were unable to communicate their ideas of escape to each other, the trio had been in a number of tight spots while serving during this war, and likewise they were good at thinking on their feet during stressful times. The patriotic hero nodded very quickly, a small gesture that went unnoticed by their captors while catching the attention of the others in his group. Waiting for his lead, they waited until the captain made his move. Struggling violently, the super soldier threw off his captors with ease, elbowing the man hold his shield in the gut and retrieving his trademark weapon in one swift movement.
Logan followed suit as he slammed the man holding him in between the legs. Several more soldiers took out their weapons in an attempt to shoot him down, but the enraged mutant responded by spinning his hapless victim over his head and tossing him at his companions, using the man's body as a barricade to absorb the flying bullets. The men holding Bucky tried to take him hostage, but the young soldier flipped his former captor with a quick throw, kicking another Nazi in the head and dodging the gunfire of the third. Several more enemies emerged to attack, but their bullets were deflected by the front of Captain America's shield.
The Red Skull cursed in outrage, his eyes bulging madly as he aimed a shot as the trio, but was quickly disarmed by the captain's flying shield. "Do something, you fools!" he bellowed to his fallen subordinates.
Steve Rogers reached up and caught his weapon like a boomerang. "Fan out!" the patriotic hero ordered, earning a pair of nods from his teammates.
The three heroes began mowing down groups of enemy soldiers as they charged forward, having taken out almost a dozen by this point. The Skull fled in the opposite direction to the nearby control panel as his minions attempted to slow down the trio, but were quickly defeated despite having better weapons and greater numbers. The future Wolverine fought fiercely, literally dodging bullets with amazing agility. One of the soldiers pulled a pistol on him at point blank range, but the Canadian soldier wrenched the weapon from his grasp and shot him with it. He was peppered with several shots during the struggle, but his healing factor allowed him to continue fighting.
As his sidekick and Logan dealt with the remaining guards, Captain America leapt into the air and tackled the Nazi commander, aiming a punch at his arch nemesis as the two struggled on the floor. The masked villain smashed him in the lower jaw with a powerful punch, pushing the captain off of him and causing his shield to go skidding across the floor. The two combatants glared at each other as they tumbled sideways, but the super soldier responded by kicking his enemy in the stomach.
Seeing that most of the enemy soldiers were down at the moment, Logan ran towards the battle to help his friend but was intercepted by the movement of a blade. He flipped backwards as Wolfgang von Strucker drew his sword, facing him with a look of loathing. He held his sword up so that the blade shined in the dingy light of the underground lab, the young Nazi's grimace deepening as he swung at his enemy again.
"I had hoped to face the legendary Captain America, and instead my blade will be wasted on the likes of you!" Strucker replied angrily.
"Keep thinking that, and I'll bury you with that blade sticking through your heart!" the mutant soldier replied with equal ferocity.
Without any further banter, the young Nazi dashed forward and swung his sword in complex patterns, making several cuts on his opponent's body as they fought. It looked like some type of twisted dance as Strucker jabbed and sliced, using his master swordsmanship in a way that would have easily beheaded most people. Logan shot the last rounds from his weapon, but the baron dodged effortlessly, using the side of his blade to block some of the bullets as he backed his enemy into the corner. With a triumphant smirk, he lunged forward, his sword getting caught in the wall for a moment. The Canadian soldier ducked and swept his foot down, knocking the enemy off balance and disarming him in one shot.
"You filth!" Strucker screamed as he fell backwards, unable to defend himself as the opponent unleashed a powerful punch to the man's cheekbone.
His fellow combatant took the sword from the wall and tossed it away to prevent the defeated enemy from taking it back, sparing a moment to kick him in the shin with deliberate force. The young Nazi crumbled under the force of the blow, landing with a crash on his back as Logan ran past his defeated form. The mutant warrior felt his cuts close as his healing factor repaired the minor injuries inflicted by the enemy's blade, but his plans to help the captain were cut short as he was forced to aid Bucky against the remaining soldiers.
"This laboratory will be your grave!" the skull-themed bad guy announced.
"I have no intention of allowing you to win this time!" the hero retorted stubbornly.
Steve Rogers continued his fight with the Red Skull as they tumbled around, using whatever they could get their hands on as weapons. The masked villain rearmed himself with a gun from one of his fallen minions, but the captain flipped backwards to avoid the shots and retrieved his discarded shield. The super soldier tossed his shield again, causing it to smash into the masked villain, who fell into a control panel on the wall. Screaming in annoyance, the Nazi prepared to resume the battle, but was caught off guard by the loud metallic crunching in the distance. Having been pushed into the release switch had created even more complications for the group.
The scene froze as the tubes holding the experiments opened, releasing the creatures inside. Several dead bodies collapsed onto the ground as the containers which held them gave away, but the more monstrous creatures present seized this chance to attack. Snarling and roaring like savage animals, the carnivorous creatures charged anyone standing close by, ripping them to shred and devouring the remains as the human scientists attempted to flee to safety. One of the German technicians tried to escape, but was seized from behind by a pair of claws and pulled into the shadows where he was devoured by the beast.
"Fools! Do you have any idea what you've done?" the Red Skull screamed in outrage, making a grandiose gesture to the chaos. "Those monsters were not yet conditioned to follow orders, and now they will kill without restraint. You've ruined everything!"
Logan opened his mouth to retort, but was forced to dive sideways as one of the beasts attempted to shred him. It was roughly the size of a car with a lizard-like head and the body of a jungle cat, outfitted with strong back-legs and muscular arms ending in human-like hands. The mutant grabbed the monster's mouth and held it open with all of his strength to prevent the beast from snapping him in half with its mighty jaws. Shifting his own weight, the soldier used his attacker's own size against it, and sent the beast flying into a nearby wall. Another came at him from the side, but was quickly grounded by Captain America's trademark shield.
"Those rotten do-gooders may have ruined my plans, but that doesn't mean I cannot take my revenge." The Red Skull seethed angrily.
Using the chaos created by his escaped monsters, the masked villain typed in a pass code into one of the machines in the room, activating the failsafe mechanism he had created in case something like this happened. He snickered quietly as the ground began to shake, sneaking through a secret door in the midst of the ongoing battle. Soon the laboratory would be destroyed, and everyone trapped inside of it would be crushed in the tons of debris. Once the mechanism caused the walls to give away, it would only be a matter of time before the entire facility was buried underground, leaving everyone trapped inside.
Several of the enemy soldiers had begun fleeing the scene as they scrambled away from the monsters, but many of them were unable to escape and were ripped apart by the beasts. Bucky responded to his attackers by using his agility to outmaneuver the beasts, causing them to bite each other and fight amongst themselves. Two alligator-like creatures snapped their jaws at him, but the larger one missed and swallowed the other, allowing the superhero sidekick to escape the scene unharmed.
The fray continued for several minutes as the Nazis fled and the three heroes fought against the freed monsters, but after resisting for quite some time, the trio found themselves surrounded by the experimental beings. The animalistic creatures snarled in anticipation as they prepared to swallow their prey whole, but as the three soldiers prepared for their final stand, a large piece of cement came flying from the ceiling, crashing down on top of the beasts.
Bucky began looking around warily as the rumbling continued, already in shock from the first eruption. "What on Earth was that?" he screamed.
"The allies Red Skull must've set off some kind of failsafe mechanism. We need to get out of here!" Captain America replied.
"What do we do about the skull and that freak with the sword?" Logan added with a look of concern.
The blue-clad hero shook his head regretfully. "They're probably long gone by now, seeing how both ran when the experiments broke loose from their containment units. Right now we've got no choice but to get out of here before we're buried along with this laboratory."
Stepping over the rubble and past the confused beasts, they were careful to avoid the panicked monstrosities as the trio attempted to go back the way they came. As they headed into the tunnels from which they first emerged. The halls creaked and groaned violently as they headed off into the darkness, but they ignored the sounds as Logan moved ahead and began leading the others. Bucky took up the rear as they saw the exit coming up, but as they neared the stairs leading out of the underground passages, the walls split open with a resounding crash, the metallic walls straining as rubble fell from the opening.
Captain America turned around abruptly as he saw his sidekick call out for help, but before the other two could do anything else, the boy was crushed by another layer of falling debris. Rushing over to there the younger soldier had disappeared, the patriotic hero began digging through the mess with his bare hands in order to free his old friend. The future Wolverine ran to his side and began to help, but was forced to pull back as a large pipe sticking out of the wall erupted with a stream of hot gas, spraying the captain in the face.
Steve coughed violently as the air hurt his lungs, beating his fists against the wall of debris that separated them from his sidekick. "Come on pal, don't give up yet!" he beckoned between coughs.
Although he never received an answer from his fallen friend, the captain's continued his fruitless labor as he attempted to remove the increasing amount of rocks and debris. Logan stepped back fearfully as the gas filled the hall, covering his mouth with his sleeve as the fumes from the lab below filled the hallway through the busted gas line. As he breathed in the fumes, the captain's struggles became weaker, and after pulling the other man's limp form out of the way of a particularly large stone, he realized that there was no hope for them all to escape alive. The piles of debris only grew by the second, and any second it was possible that they could die.
Casting a regretful expression towards the crumbling tunnel, Logan made one of the hardest decisions in his life. Slinging the captain's unconscious body over his shoulders, the Canadian soldier ran the remaining length of the hall, barely escaping as another mass of falling rubble came inches from blocking their escape. Scooting through the remaining space, he dragged his teammate's body through the doors and sprinted up the stairs, coming out near the entrance to the tunnels. Although barely awake himself, the captain reached out his hand towards the tunnel as he was carried to safety, his expression of mingled horror and despair appearing as the last round of explosions sent a wave of fire spewing from the tunnels.
End Flashback
The two war buddies fell quiet again as the captain's thoughts revolved around the events of that fateful day, but Wolverine seemed to be thinking the same thing. Topping for a moment, he tried to find the right words to phrase his own thoughts on the subject, but it was clear that he was hardly the type of person to do this sort of thing. It wasn't as if he didn't know what his friend was feeling, but he had never been the best when it came time to comforting others. In the end they were really both soldiers to the core.
"Thinking about that day, aren't you?" Logan closed his eyes for a moment or two. "About the day, he died in that explosion."
"It wasn't like we didn't see plenty of that during the war." The captain answered curtly.
Wolverine shook his head in slight irritation. "Don't play dumb… You know that I was talking about that kid who played sidekick." he began bluntly, his expression softening only a little.
His companion nodded slowly as they continued walking, as if he were afraid to speak of it. "Yeah…" he answered quietly, his eyes moving off into space. Swallowing the lump that had begun to form in his throat, he continued.
"It wasn't your fault that he died in that accident." The mutant hero stated.
The patriotic hero hesitated for a moment. "I understand what you're saying, but I've often wondered if we could have saved him."
"I'm not gonna pretend to be the sentimental type and you of all people should know for a fact that I'm not. I dunno… Maybe I could've stayed behind longer, but if I had there's a good chance that we would've perished along with him. I wanted to save him" Logan replied solemnly.
Steve Rogers gave him a small nod. "The fumes from the lab were beginning to warp my perception at the time, but the fact is that I'm not certain if he was dead."
His partner gently scratched the back of his head, a shadow of regret passing over his face for a moment. After mulling it over for several seconds, the mutant shrugged. "Don't think that I ain't sorry about what happened, but after getting crushed by a tone of debris I sincerely doubt he would've survived." The mutant shrugged. "The chances he was even alive were slim, and if we had stayed a second longer, I'm pretty sure we would've joined him."
"I'm not sure if death was what he would've wanted." The captain replied solemnly.
"Of course he didn't want to die, no one does." Wolverine tried to keep his voice calm as he had his own feelings of regret for their fallen comrade, but his own experiences had given him time to see life in a more realistic sense. "You know as well as I do that when a man puts on his uniform, he risks getting buried in it. We all took that burden when we stepped onto the battlefield."
The captain felt a wave of irritation well up inside his chest for a minute, but upon seeing his friend's expression, he felt it slipping away. Thinking about what he had learned about Wolverine minutes before, he now realized that they had very different ways of perceiving this incident. It was clear that his old friend bore similar feelings of regret, but to the captain it felt like months ago, while Logan had been given years to ponder his experiences from the war. In addition to this, the mutant also had his own burdens to bear, some of which were much worse than most people could possibly imagine. Taking a deep breath, the super soldier felt his body's tensions slowly dissipating.
It took a little bit of effort to muster the nerve, but the captain smiled again, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by his companion. "You know what?" he began in a much calmer tone. "Everything you said before was absolutely right."
The former Weapon X raised an eyebrow. "Good to see you cam to your senses, cap."
"When we become soldiers, we take a risk for our country." The captain continued as if he hadn't heard the previous statement. "It was foolish of me to think otherwise just because I lost a friend."
"I only said the same thing you once told me all those years ago." Wolverine answered with an indifferent shrug. "It was pretty surprising to see someone like you dwelling on that, especially since you were always solid like a rock during the war. Looks like a waking up after spending over fifty years in the deep freeze can do that to a guy."
The patriotic hero's eyes seemed to wander off for a second. "That is certainly true." he began with a note of sorrow. "Every loss I have ever suffered seemed to flood my mind when Nick Fury told me how long it hade been. It took some time to accept it, but until now I wasn't sure if I would ever feel at home in this modern world."
Logan clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Take it from me… It's important to have a home, but even more important to know who you are." He paused briefly and nodded with a gruff expression. "I may not be some kinda philosopher, but it looks like you rediscovered yourself."
"Thank you, old friend…" the captain replied with a slightly less grim expression.
Wolverine chose not to answer and continued walking, deciding that there was little more to say on the subject. Not being the most emotionally sound individual, he was beginning to wonder why fate had dealt him this hand so suddenly. In addition to helping X-23 cope with her emotional issues, he now found himself faced with helping a man he had not expected to meet again. It wasn't as if the world expected so much of him right now, although he cared for these two people in his own way, and was doing his best to help them both.
Remembering the conversation he had with X-23 earlier, he hoped that the professor would grant his request for her. After all, being much more skilled than any of the other students, he knew that she was bound to require some special training and other types of work. It would be a challenge, but Logan found himself determined to help those around him right now. He wasn't great at helping people a lot of the time, but right now the former Weapon X mutant was willing to bear with it. He knew from experience that life doesn't always make things easy, but then again neither was this.
The search continued for another hour or so until a loud crack came from the distance, signifying that there was a gun fight going on nearby. He tried to ignore it at first, but as they moved closer, a familiar scent filled his senses, eliciting a growl from his throat. Wolverine sniffed the air again as he waited for the next sound, quickly realizing that their target was probably in the middle of whatever type of mess was going on down the street. Seeing several cars parked outside a building a block away, he guessed that something big was going on and they were soon going to be in the center of the chaos.
"The Chameleon must be in that building!" Logan replied, pointing towards the large storage facility nearby.
Steve Rogers nodded quickly, removing his outer clothing and placing his mask over his eyes. No doubt his appearance would cause a spectacle due to his fame, but he had expected no less upon accepting this field mission for SHIELD. If anyone figured out the truth, the world would know that the legendary Captain America was still alive. Reaching into the briefcase he had been forced to carry, the hero withdrew his trademark weapon and strapped it onto his wrist, adjusting the shield into a more comfortable position before turning to his companion.
Wolverine seemed not to car if anyone saw his face and removed his jacket, revealing his X-Men uniform underneath. "So cap, looks like this'll be your first fight in a while. You ready for this or not?"
"Let's go!" the super soldier stood straight up, his eyes focused and ready, and his face filled with a strong sense of conviction, looking very much like the soldier he had been before the incident left him cryogenically preserved.
Meanwhile
Inside the building, the battle was beginning to reach it boiling point as the Chameleon barked commands to his subordinates, looking rather nervous as the underground warehouse was raided by the Maggia enforcers. The blue-clad villain snuck between boxes of weapons, changing into a multitude of different people with his hologram belt as he attempted to remain hidden from the enemy enforcers. Several men wearing dark uniforms shuffled alongside him as they attempted to escape, ducking down to avoid the laser blasts raining overhead. The minions were garbed in dark red uniforms with bullet proof padding and helmets with dark visors to hide their identities. Each of them armed to the teeth as they fought against the enemy gangsters who were dressed in more traditional mob attire, wearing long brown coats and matching hats.
"Sir, several of our subordinates saw Tombstone leading this attack." One of the henchmen replied quickly. "We believe Silvermane may be behind this attack!"
What ever color was left in his face paled as the Chameleon heard this. "You can't be serious... How on Earth did that old fossil get his hands on such advanced weaponry?"
The second man shrugged. "Not a clue, but when the boss finds out about this he's not gonna be very happy." He explained hurriedly, looking quite anxious.
Diving behind another row of crates, the Chameleon punched a hole in the side of the box and armed himself with a pistol from inside, pressing the button on his belt in order to make himself look like one of the enemy mobsters. His own subordinates gave him a confused expression, but the shape-shifter shot him in sight of the enemy to remove any suspicion that he was one of them. Having copied the face of one of the opposing gangsters he had personally killed, the crafty mercenary had planned to infiltrate their group before reporting back to his employer about what was really going on.
As the last of his own subordinates fell, the remaining gangsters parted ways, allowing their own commander to survey the destroyed warehouse. The man was over six feet tall with a white complexion rivaling even the Chameleon in his normal form, although this Tombstone's sharpened teeth and light hair made him seem almost inhuman. Straightening his tie in a mocking gesture, the cold-blooded hit-man looked around, silently observing the remains of the weapons warehouse they had raided.
The pale enforcer snapped his fingers, pointing towards the door with his opposite thumb. "All right boys, we're taking all these resources back to Silvermane's joint." he ordered the others. "Load 'em up!"
The thugs began to pick up the crates and head for the exit the back door of the warehouse, but as they neared the exit, the door was smashed down, accidentally landing on two of nearest men. Tombstone looked up with an irritated expression to see two figures standing in the doorway, one garbed in a blue costume and the slightly shorter man standing beside him wearing a form-fitting black uniform. They stepped forward over the lifeless forms of those who had been killed in the previous struggle, looking rather indifferent as they sized up the dozen or so thugs and their leader.
"So, which one of your punks is the Chameleon?" Wolverine stated, looking indifferent to their murderous gazes as he took a deep whiff of the surrounding air.
A few of the thugs raised their weapons in the direction of their unwanted guests, and Tombstone cracked his knuckles menacingly. "I don't know who you're talking about, but you've both made a big mistake butting your noses into our business."
Captain America shifted uneasily and readied his shield. "Looks like we might have to do this the hard way?" he replied with a small shrug.
"Don't get me wrong, but I was kinda hoping they would say that." Wolverine replied with a disgruntled expression.
Note to Readers: Well this one took a while to write, but the big lack of support gets me down sometimes, and sometimes I'm just not sure what exactly to write next despite having a general idea of where I want the story to go. This one seemed a bit long, but I was trying to cram story and character development and action into this chapter to get to the Gang War in New York. Once that is over, I hope to get back to X-23 again. Oh, and as usual I apologize for any spelling errors or grammatical errors, but I write late at night most of the time.
I think comic fans will like this chapter due to the Captain America references. Also for those who might not be such big comic fans, I would like to note that the Baron Strucker from the captain's flashback is the same man who ended up becoming leader of HYDRA. Also, Baron Zemo who was briefly referenced is another Captain America villain, along with the Red Skull who got a major appearance in the flashback too.
Please REVIEW, because at this point I would really appreciate the support. I write chapters much monger than most authors on this site and yet the support I get is pretty limited. It's still fun to write, but it does me good to know what parts people liked or disliked, or even to know that there are people reading and enjoying the story.