Abandon All Hope, Embrace All Chaos

by Zeroth17

During the Science Fair in Megaville, a gate has opened to unleash a force beyond imagining. Now the heroes scramble to survive, the villains reign, and Chaos Descends upon the multiverse. Rated M for Violence, Foul Language, Sexual Themes, Nudity, Horror, And References to other 40k Fics and TTS. (Powerpuff Girl Doujinshi/Warhammer crossover) (Cover Art by Symptom99)

8. Tales of An Old Soldier

Opened File: The Lost and the Damned

The Lost and the Damned is the fraction in the Forces of Chaos openly given to the multitude of fractions that have turned to Chaos, the vast majority of whom are the ordinary mortals, mutants and other species fighting for Chaos. The Lost and the Damned are combining forces of a diverse and infinite collection of warbands, Traitorous Militias, renegade armies and hordes of cultists around the multiverse and 40k universe. New Factions put aside their differences to their petty wars like the Chaos Insurgency, Locust Horde, the Insurrection, the Locust, Cerberus, and the Fiends joined the ranks of the endless tide of the Lost and the Damned to fight for the Forces of Chaos. When the Lost and the Damned united together by the offerings for the blessing from the gods and lead by rising Champions of the Lost and the Damned in hopes of getting the attention of the Ruinous Powers.

Many of the Lost and Damned come from either people looking for a purpose or seduced by the Ruinous Powers, hence the name; Lost and Damned.

Close File

---

Superman sighed as he sat down, thinking about all of the recent events that have occurred since the Incident at Megaville's science fair.

The league and the GDF have been following the Emperor's requests ever since the Bombing of Detroit, Cadmus has been getting more resources from Congress, and the fact that public unrest has grown significantly in just weeks. And that's not even getting into Buttercup's vision of the future.

Speaking of public unrest, there have been protests across the country about the bombing of Detroit and the incidents at Los Angeles, New York, New Orleans, and Megaville. Counter-protests also broke out and almost all of them ended violently with even some heroes needing to step in to quell the riots. Senator Abraham Stampingston and General Walter Crozier had called for the president to enact Martial Law due to the alarming rise of crime that has been plaguing the world as of late.

He spoke to Batman, but the Caped Crusader told him that while he understood how Clark felt about this, the truth was that they may have to make an exception of their 'no killing rule' when it came to the Forces of Chaos. Granted, Batman admitted that the daemons aren't alive in a traditional sense, so by technicality he hasn't killed anybody yet, but he says that when it comes to people that have been corrupted by Chaos, they may have no choice.

While Superman understood what he meant, the thought still made him have conflicting feelings.

"Maybe Pa Kent can help." Superman mumbled to himself as he got up and walked off, thinking that maybe his adopted father could help him get through this.

---

Smallville, Kansas

Superman landed on the Kent farm along with Supergirl, whom had volunteered to come along with him to Smallville. The two were immediately greeted by Ma and Pa Kent, whom invited them inside the farmhouse. Turns out, Smallville has been doing fine despite the events since the incident. Sure, there was the occasional paranoia drunk and some unrest here and there but other than that, the town was alright.

"So, Clark, what brings you back?" Pa Kent asked his adopted son as Ma Kent set down some tea and cookies for the two.

Clark lets out a sigh as he answers, "Well, it's been rough since the incident at Megaville. People have been going crazy, the GDF are overworked, multiple governments are declaring martial law, and a man calling himself The Emperor has begun gaining influence

While Ma Kent seemed puzzled, Pa Kent had a shocked look on his face before he asked, "Does he have long hair, golden eyes, and a bit of an ego?"

Both Superman and Supergirl blinked before looking at each other, and then the former answering, "Yeah, that describes the Emperor."

Pa Kent blinked repeatedly in surprise before he slowly got up from his chair and walked over to a cabinet, opening it to retrieve a bottle of whiskey and a glass. This shocked the two Kryptonians; Pa Kent rarely ever drank, even when on a busy day.

"Wait," Clark quickly realized something, "Do you know the Emperor?"

The nod he got in response shocked Clark even more as his adopted father poured a drink for himself. Finishing his drink, Pa Kent set down his glass and spoke, "It was back during Operation Overlord. Back on D-Day."

---

Omaha Beach, Normandy

Dog Green Sector

June 6th, 1944

"Those were better times. We all signed up on mass to defend our country from the Nazis and Nips. Eh, sorry, old habits. But as it turns out, there were more at stake than just the freedom of America."

The swarms of landing crafts shifted through the roaring waters of the ocean, the sky clear as glass, waves of oceanwater crashing against the steel frames of the crafts and rocking the soldiers inside. Anti-tank obstacles were planted around the beach, impeding any armored assault that was to be carried out by the Allies. Saline water continuous flowed through the steel obstacles, neither rough nor soft.

The air was still and cool like the breath of the reaper looming over them; a disjointing calm before the storm.

"I was assigned to Operation: Overlord like many of boys in town. But what I didn't know was that there was something else in the sector. Something that was being unearthed by the Nazis."

"What was it, Pa?"

"In a minute, Clark."

On one of the boats was Private First Class Jonathan Kent. A sturdy young man with unkept brown hair, clad in the green uniform and green painted helmet as the rest of the troopers around him. He saw one of them putting chewing tobacco in his mouth while the sergeant took a likely alcoholic drink from his canteen. Just a second later, a few soldiers vomited from seasickness but he paid none of them heed.

"Back then the army was also sent in soldiers equipped with experimental weapons from the eggheads. The one we were set up with was an experimental armor that could block bullets. Reason it wasn't mass produced was because... well, it was experimental."

Kent spotted a soldier wearing a silver plate around the back and chest, the side revealing numerous layers of thin silvery metal stacked atop one another. The soldier wearing the armor was stonefaced but the rifle in his hands was noticeably shaking.

"But I'm getting ahead of myself. We were reaching the beach line and let me tell you; I ain't ever been more scared than that moment. Like I could feel the blade of the reaper's scythe gliding down the back of my neck."

The private shivered, trying to keep in the looming sense of dread that was breathing down his spine. It was the same with the other men in the landing crafts, even the sergeant and driver. Each man was silently screaming out in fear or mentally crying for God to give them mercy but kept their expressions like stone as their devotion to their country outweighed their fear.

The Landing Craft Coxswain glanced behind him before turning to his charge. "Clear the ramp! Thirty-seconds! God be with you!"

"Port-side stick, Starboard-side stick. Move fast and clear those murder-holes." The Captain ordered his soldiers as they saluted before turning his attention forwards.

The soldiers are nervous and anxious because for many it was their first time in action. For some, they are only 18 years old. One is crossing his chest, praying to God, and another kisses his crucifix necklace while muttering a prayer for mercy.

"I want plenty of beach between men. Five men is a juicy opportunity; one man is a waste of ammo." Sergeant Horvath was obviously referring to the German machine guns. He wants the men to spread out to better withstand German machine gunfire.

"Keep the sand out of your weapons, keep those actions clear!" Captain Miller paused briefly, "I'll see you on the beach!"

The assault whistle is blown, the handwheels on the bow door metallically rattle as the Coxswain lowers the ramp.

"Clear the murder holes!"

"Clark? You know that saying? 'No plan survives first contact with the enemy.'"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, it's got one helluva grain of truth to it."

Nay a minute the ramp drops, soldiers were immediately gunned down by MG42s. Bullets whizzed through the air, embedding themselves into the skulls of the soldiers that were to be first out from the ramp. Swaths of landing crafts quickly had their soldiers cleared out by MG42s, soldiers dying in droves. The ones that survived were those that ran the swiftest or those that ducked for cover via the metal crossbeams.

Private Kent was one of those sprinting across Omaha Beach, some how avoiding the bullets and mortars that seemed to be flying around the battlefield like rain. The soldier wearing that the laminate armor took bullet after bullet to the chest and didn't even flinch but his charge was finished after a bullet was deflected off the plate and into his skull. A flash burst out as a mortar landed in front of Kent, knocking the private off his feet and into the blood stained sand.

The private was nearly concussed but by some miracle he remained conscious and free of wounds. Kent sat up with a groan and kept his rifle close to his chest, but his gaze caught the sight before.

"Now, I admit my memory can be a bit disjointed. But... I'll never forget what happened that day."

Men march asleep, any had lost their boots, but limbed on, blood shot. All went blank, all went blind, drunk with fatigue, deaf even to hoots of disappointed shells that dropped behind.

Gas, more gas, running soldiers of the other lines, an ecstasy of fumbling, fitting the clumsy helmets get in time. But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, floundering like a man in fire or lime. Dim, through the misting pains of thick clouds of dust and ash under the gangrene sea, he saw him.

A soldier running away, abandoned his helmet and rifle as he rammed his loosely tied boots through the blood stained sand, his face the perfect expression of fear. In but a flash, a bullet ripped through his skull and several more pierced their chest.

In all his dreams before his helpless sight, he lunges at him, guttering, choking, drowning in his own blood come gargling from froth corrupted lungs. Flung into the decayed wagon on cracked wheeling as the reaper carried him to the unknown, and saw the white eyes writhing in his hanging face like a devil sick of sin.

The sounds of mortars sent Kent out of his daze. He forced himself on his stomach and crawled through the sand wet with seawater and blood to whatever cover he could fine on the beach, silently praying to whatever God was out there that he would come home safe. The private looked on through the ironsights of his M1 at the rest, most were gunned down by the bastards in the murderholes before they even had a chance to cross the recently opened pathway made by the Bangalores and explosive filled satchels. He then noticed that one of the bodies was that lad with the experimental laminated chest armor.

Steeling his nerves and his stomach, Private Kent heaved the body's arms over his shoulders, ignoring the stench that bolted up to his nose as he used the body as a shield against the gunners. Immediately, bullets began flying at him, only to ricochet off or be stopped by the laminated plate on the body he carried. The private felt the impacts from the bullets, breaking the ribs of the body as he sprinted across the battlefield as he managed to get to the surviving soldiers at a nearby barricade.

"Holy hell, Kent!" The sergeant yelled out as he saw the private, "You're a tough one."

Kent just nodded and stayed silent as he got down next to the rest of the remaining soldiers. A radio operator was beside the captain, prompting him to grab the radio operator to send words back to whatever chains of command are on the other side.

"Shore party! No armor has made it ashore, we got no DD tanks on the beach, Dog One is not open!" He then turned towards his men, "Who's in command here?!"

A soldier glanced at the captain, taking note of his helmet's marking that designate Miller as a captain. "You are, sir!"

Captain Miller took a moment to gather his thought, spotting a familiar face. "Sergeant Horvath!"

"Sir!"

A spray of bullets kicked up sand into the air, forcing them to lay down lower, but that didn't stop their dialogue.

"You recognize where we are?!"

"Right where we're supposed to be, but no one else is!" The sergeant responded.

"Nobody's where they're supposed to be!" Another soldier shouted over the deafening sound of MG42s.

The captain immediately turned around and grabbed the radio operator by the shoulder, pulling him close to his face. "Shore party! First wave, ineffective! We do not hold the beach, say again, we do not hold the beach!"

"We are all mixed up, sir!" A soldier explained their situation, while Sergeant Horvath moved while keeping his head low, rolling through the sand towards his commanding officer. "We got the leftovers from Fox Company, Able Company, and George Company! Plus, we got some Navy Demo guys and a Beachmaster!"

Captain Miller processed this new information and turned back to the radio operator.

"Shore party!" He turned the radio operator over, "Shore party!" He stopped, noticing that the radio operator's face has completely caved in.

Captain Miller pushed the corpse aside and grabbed the radio pack, lifting the receiver to his face to contact Cat-F: Commander Amphibious Task Force that's overseeing the Allied Invasion of Normandy. "Cat-F, Cat-F, Ca–" He stopped upon noticing smoke trailing out from the radio.

"More useful as a doorstop, Cap." Kent reported as he examined the destroyed radio. With a frustrated and resigned look, the captain discarded the broken radio to formulate another plan.

Just then, two privates sprinted through the rain of bullets and explosions, finally reaching their destination, throwing themselves behind cover. "Reiben here, sir!"

"Anybody else?" Sergeant Horvath asked, reloading his rifle.

"Jackson, but that's about it."

"Mellish here!"

"Lawrence here!"

"Caparzo!" Another private named Caparzo sounded off, "We got DeForest's back there with Wade. He's hurt so bad he says he sprung a hundred leaks! Wade says he's all used up."

Captain Miller then ordered his men, "Get his attention." They all made an attempt to get Wade's attention, shouting his name "Wade!"

Kent was able to see Wade and other medics continued operating on DeForest, going far as using a corpse and rolling it over to cover the wounded man.

"Alright, get him off the beach." Captain Miller ordered, causing Mellish to ditch his cover and retrieve their medic.

"I got it! We stopped the bleeding; we stopped the bleeding!" Kent heard Wade's voice before the sound of a bullet piercing the skull was heard. Silence rang through the air for a moment before he heard Wade screaming out, "Just give us a fucking chance you son of a bitch, you son of a fucking cunt!"

"Wade! It's Mellish!" He grabbed the medic by the arm, urgently pulling him back to the group. "Wade! We found Miller! Let's move, let's move!"

Mellish dragged Wade towards the elevated cover while the latter continued to hurl profanities at the Germans, and began weeping once he reached the seawall. "Oh, God. Oh, God."

"This is all? Is this all that's made it?" Captain Miller asked calmly over the volley of gunfire.

Kent answered as he pressed himself to the ground, "We got scattered pretty bad, sir. There's bound to be more of us."

"Not enough. This is not enough."

"This is Dog One exit." Sergeant Horvath pointed at his right. "It's gotta be the cut on the right or on the left! Shit!"

"No, no, no, no. The airfield is to the West," He gestures with his hand to form a picture of the locations. "this is Dog One."

A soldier nearby grabbed planted a firm hand on the captain's shoulder. "They're killing us! And we don't get a fucking chance and that ain't fair!"

"Gather weapons and ammo!" Captain Miller's voice cracked slightly as he tore the plastic package to access his rifle. They'll have to clear the bunkers, with or without the numbers.

"Gather weapons and ammo!" The sergeant loudly repeated.

"C'mon, bring that –" An explosion tore through the seawall, killing a handful of American soldiers, proving that they need to press on or die on the spot.

The soldiers hastily ditch their covers to run back to gather ammo and weapons from deceased soldiers and the wounded.

"Reiben! Hey, Reiben! Reiben, Reiben, wher-where's your BAR?" Sergeant Horvath asked the private.

Private Reiben glances back at the sea. "Bottom of the channel sir, the bitch tried to drown me."

"Go find a replacement" Captain Miller ordered, to which the private complied, scooting down to find replacements. "Bangalores! Bring up some Bangalores!"

"Engineer's coming!" A soldier announced as soldiers carrying Bangalores moved in. "Grenades, grenades! Bring us some grenades, get them over here!"

"Bangalores up the line! Bangalores up the line!"

"Bangers coming your way!" Sergeant Horvath handed his team the equipment. "Come on, come on, come on!"

"Jackson here, sir!" "Reiben back, sir!" The two privates kept their heads low, having safely made it back from gathering ammo and weapons.

Screams of pain and weeping mashed with the sound of explosion and gunshots as the soldiers strained to remove one of the German's defensive positions so that they can continue their offense.

"One more, give me one more!" A soldier handling the Bangalore shouted.

"Oh, my God, it hurts!" A soldier screamed in pain as his arm was being worked on by two medics. "I'm gonna die! Oh, my God! Oh, Jesus! Oh, my God!"

"Keep it moving. Keep it moving. Almost got it." A crew of four soldiers manning a Bangalore worked quickly to set it up explosive charge.

A bullet ricochets off one of the soldier's helmet, startling him but leaving his head unharmed.

"Jesus! Lucky bastard." Caparzo said to the soldier, impressed.

The soldier in question took off his helmet and examined it for any holes, then his head. At that moment a bullet caught him in the forehead and the soldier slumped over, rolling down the sandy dunes. The crew working on the Bangalore continued despite being one man short. "Keep it moving! You got it?"

The focus cuts back to Wade tending the screaming soldier.

"You're not gonna die. You're fine. Don't look at it!" Wade shielded the wounded soldier's eyes with his arms while he worked on his torn upper arm.

"Bangalores!" Captain Miller shouted over the firefight, assisting Corporal William Sampson in prepping the Bangalores. "Clear the shingle!"

"Fire in the hole!"

"Fire in the hole!" Sergeant Horvath put a hand on his helmet and duck.

"Fire in the hole!" Corporal Sampson shouted one last warning, sliding the Bangalores over the top.

"Fire in the hole!" Wade repeated, covering the wounded soldier with his entire body.

The Bangalores went off, destroying the barb wires, wooden posts, and any other obstacles that were nearby – Clearing a path for them to advance. Meanwhile, German soldiers were taking up positions to halt their advancement, nestling down behind sandbags.

Sergeant Horvath scooted slightly to get a better view, quickly backing down. "We're in business! Defilade! Other side of the hole!"

Private Kent and the other soldiers began sprinting through the opening, fire and metal speared through the air above him as he and several surviving soldiers went over the top, sprinting in full gear towards the seawall, or ducking behind what little cover they could find while enduring heavy gunfire. Those remaining behind were mainly the wounded, the dead, and the medics.

Wade remained, injecting medicine to the wounded soldier before moving onto the next with the Senior Medical officer.

"That's it! Let's go!" Said the Senior Medical officer. They steadily went over the wounded soldiers laying on the sand. "Inspected, morphine!" He went and check on another. "Routine!" Another soldier, who appeared to be having trouble breathing, or is in great pain. "Priority!" The next one wasn't moving as he felt his hand. The Senior Medical officer glance back at Wade, who had his head turned back, causing the officer to whack Wade's helmet. "He's gone!"

The focus returns to Captain Miller and his men taking cover behind a large concrete wall laced with some barbed wires. He pushed a corpse off the rubble so he could peak behind the wall.

He immediately pulled back, narrowly avoiding a string of bullets and a rocket-propelled explosive.

"Son of a…" Sergeant Horvath didn't complete his curse and placed a hand on Mellish's helmet "Get in here."

Private Mellish squirmed a bit, "Fuck, I can't move."

"Mellish." The captain seemed to have an idea despite their tight positioning.

"Yes, sir?"

"Give me your bayonet."

He retrieved the bayonet and wordlessly took the gum that Mellish was chewing from his mouth. By wrapping the gum around the tip of the bayonet, Captain Miller can attach a mirror to it, allowing him to safely observe the German's entrenched position.

"Two MG42s and two mortars. Add 20, left 30."

Sergeant Horvath crawled forward to take a look for himself using the mirror. "There's a little defilade, but it's the perfect position if we got any God damn armor on the beach!" He said the last part of his sentence with sarcasm.

If only they had armor on the beach, then this wouldn't be a problem.

"Well, we gotta open up this draw! Get this draw open." He turned his attention to his men, "Reiben, Mellish! Let's get into the war! Grab some cover and put some fire on that crew! Davis, DeBernardo, Young, Valk, get ready!" They got into position; their guns trained on the German crew manning the defilade. "Covering fire!"

Everybody opened fire on the defilade, ultimately allowing their brothers-in-arms to advance.

"Go, go, go!"

They soon overwhelmed the German defenders, forcing them to hide behind the sandbags.

"God damn firing squad." Sergeant Horvath quipped to his commanding officer.

"It's the only way we can get everybody the hell outta here. Lawrence, Payton, McDonald, Parkes! You're next!"

The sergeant made another wisecrack, "Why not hand out blindfolds cap?"

"All we'll do here is die." Captain Miller entertained before jutting his submachinegun out, "Covering fire!" Letting loose a spray of bullets before retreating behind cover. "Go, go, go! Come on! Come on!"

"Go! God damn it!"

With the four soldiers got past the firing sight of the German's defilade, only a handful of soldiers were left. Captain Miller observed the defilade with his mirror, calculating his next step in dealing with the German's defense.

"Jackson."

"Sir."

He lifted the mirror for Jackson to see. "See that impact crater?"

"Yes, sir."

"That should give complete defilade from that machine gun so just get in there and give me some fire. Wait for my command." He gripped Jackson's backpack, ready to push him out. The young man held his cross necklace tightly, kissing it in silent prayer. Captain Miller stepped out from cover, exposing himself directly in front of the defilade to draw fire. "Go!"

The crew manning the machinegun nest wasted no time shooting at the captain just as he briskly dropped behind cover, allowing Jackson to barely slip by. They quickly changed target, but the young soldier managed to evade the hail of bullets, throwing himself into the impact crater.

"Captain if your mother saw you do that, she'd be very upset!" Sergeant Horvath half-heartedly admonishes his captain.

"I thought you were my mother!" Captain Miller joked back.

Stationed in the impact crater, Jackson steadily trained his rifle at the German soldier operating the MG42. "But be not thou far from me."

He took the shot, silencing the German machine gunner.

The focus shifts to the soldiers on the beach as more troops arrive on Omaha Beach.

"O, Lord. My God, I am sorry for offending Thee. I detest my sins for having offended Thee, O Lord. Listen to me, Lord." A military chaplain and a wounded soldier were praying amid the battle.

At another part of the beach, a scared soldier was praying on the rosary in Latin.

The focus returns to Jackson, calmly quoting Bible Psalm 22:19. "O my strength… Haste Thee to help me."

He fired at a weak point in the German's defilade, causing the sandbags to fall apart and collapse down the hill. A German soldier was unfortunate enough to be among the falling sandbags, immediately getting gunned down as he fell to the ground.

"Dog One exit… Right here!"

"We're in business!" The sergeant throws out his chewing tobacco as he climbed over their cover.

"Move, move!" They hastily charged up the hill towards the bunkers and trenches, followed by a throng of soldiers.

The Allied troops fought their way through hills, meeting small resistances along the way. The Germans were quickly overwhelmed by the numbers of Allied soldiers pouring through their defenses. The tide of the battle was sharply turning to the Allied powers, but it's a long way before this battle, much less this entire war will end here.

Captain Miller and his men reached the first bunker, taking cover behind a concrete bunker door.

"Reiben." Sergeant Horvath called out the private to prepare a grenade.

"Let's go, sarge. Go!"

"Reiben!" The private pulled the pin on the grenade and toss it to the sergeant, then another one for himself to throw.

The two lobbed the grenades into the trenches of the bunkers before diving for cover. Chunks of solid concrete and dirt flew up into the air as the grenades exploded. They sprang out from behind cover and secured the area, training their guns down the trench that's perpendicular to another bunker's doorway.

Not soon after a German came running out from the bunker and was shot. Two more tried to flee but were also gunned down. They quietly closed in on the bunker intending to clear it out.

"Come on Doyle!" Captain Miller urged their flamethrower operator into the trenches while they toss a grenade into the bunker.

Doyle paused upon seeing Sergeant Horvath unintentionally blocking his way. "Sarge?"

The man quickly moved out of the way for the flamethrower operator to move. Everybody pressed themselves to the walls, waiting for the grenade to detonate. A small shockwave shook the bunker as the grenade went off, sending clouds of smoke through the bunker door.

"Doyle, do it!"

The bunker immediately lit up in a spectacular roar of orange flames. German soldiers silently screamed in agony as they burned, throwing themselves out of the portholes in a desperate attempt to escape.

Just below the bunkers, Allied soldiers watched their enemies wither and burned away. "Don't shoot! Let 'em burn!"

Throughout the sector, the Germans were slowly losing ground; surrendering or retreating.

A German soldier was the first to surrender, only to be shot.

The other German soldiers followed suit, though they were more fortunate than the first one. Allied soldiers moved in to secure the prisoners of war while the rest spread out along the German defenses to continue the fight.

The Allied soldiers mowed down their fleeing enemies with impunity. Routed German soldiers were chased and gunned down, eventually finding themselves surrounded by a swarth of Allied troops.

"Cease fire! Ceasefire! Cut it out!" Sergeant Horvath motioned for his soldiers to stop firing on the cornered Germans. "Cut it out! Ceasefire!"

"Sugar Cane, Sugar Charlie Three." Captain Miller cupped his mouth cover the radio. "Say again, Dog One is open. Send in the doers. I'm waiting to tie in my flanks. Over!"

He took notice of two seemingly German soldiers approaching a pair of soldiers with their hands in the air.

One of them appears to be speaking in Czech. "Please don't shoot me! I am not German, I am Czech, I didn't kill anyone! I am Czech!"

"What?" One of the American soldiers shouted back, guns pointed at them. "What? I'm sorry, I can't understand you!"

The two mercilessly gunned down the surrendering soldiers, calmly strolling over to loot their bodies.

"What'd he say? What'd he say?"

"Look, I washed for supper." The soldiers laughed and started taking what they can find.

Captain Miller witnessed the entire ordeal and didn't look very pleased about the war crime that was just committed in front of him. He forced himself to look away and regroup with his men.

The Allied forces have secured Omaha Beach, demolishing all of the German's massive field guns and artilleries should it ever be retaken.

"Hey, Fish."

"Yeah?"

"Look at this, a Hitler Youth knife." Caparzo handed a knife he took from one of the German soldiers and handed it to Mellish, who took it with interest.

"Now it's a Shabbat Challah cutter, right?" Private Mellish starts laughing before breaking down into tears. His silent weeping turned into soft sobbing, finding it hard to believe that he survived what could be described as hell.

Caparzo looked somberly at his teammate before looking down on the ground as Mellish fiddled with his helmet, seemingly wanting to take it off but is too fearful to do so.

Not far from his men, Sergeant Horvath was somberly scooping up dirt into a small metal container. He closed the lid that contained the words FRANCE written in blue marker and placed it into his pouch that had more metal containers containing dirt of other countries and continents.

The sergeant kept his eyes on the beach, looking downcast. "That's quite a view."

Captain Miller shakily and slowly unscrewed his canteen to take a drink. His eyes were wide and attentive to what laid before him. "Yes, it is… Quite a view."

The ocean water was red from the blood of soldiers whose blood was spilled on that beach. Corpses of Allied soldiers littered the beach. Their bodies swaying gently to the ocean waves or remained still in the sands. As far as the eye can see, the sea was crimson red and the bodies of their fallen comrades laid there at rest, blissfully away from the horrors of war that will continue on amongst the living.

---

Present

"That's what they tell everybody anyway." Pa Kent finished as he set his glass down after taking another drink of whiskey, "The truth objective of Operation Overlord was the obliteration of an occult base in Normandy."

That certainly got the attention of the two Kryptonians. "The Nazi's had an occult branch?" Kara asked Pa.

"They called themselves the Ahnenerbe Obskurakorps. The occult division of the Nazi regime." Pa Kent explained, "A spy in the regime leaked that Hitler had just signed Special Order #666: a top secret project to create super-soldiers from occult means. Hitler himself was actually skeptical of the supernatural but maybe his advisors convinced him. Regardless, the Allies knew the threat that this represented to the world so they sent a secret taskforce to eliminate their main base."

---

1944

"The team consisted of me, Corporal Lawrence, Private Grey, Captain Miller, Sergeant Horvath, and Private Ryan. The one leading us was Colonel E. Moloch."

It was night, the moon shining down on the ruined village as the selected team were gathered around the ruined house, all standing at attention as they were about to be embarked to the true purpose of Operation Overlord.

"Private First-Class Kent, reporting for duty sir!" Kent saluted the colonel as he passed by.

"Corporal Lawrence, reporting for duty sir!" A 30-year-old lean man with brown hair and an emaciated look saluted the colonel.

"Private First-Class Grey, reporting for duty sir!" A 21-year-old with strangely grey hair saluted the colonel.

"Captain Miller, reporting for duty sir!" The captain saluted the colonel.

"Sergeant Horvath, reporting for duty sir!" The sergeant saluted the colonel.

"Private Second-Class Ryan, reporting for duty sir!" A private with short blonde hair saluted the colonel.

The colonel himself was a curious man; a tall, well-built man with unkept neck length brown hair, a stern face, and with his eyes covered by aviator sunglasses. His uniform was the same as theirs expect that he was also wearing a leather jacket with a medal on the left breast pocket. The colonel seemed to have an aura of authority that nobody could describe.

"Alright, get your gears, maggots." The Colonel commanded them in a tone that left no room for argument, "The base is only two clicks away but likely guarded. So be prepared."

The team all nodded and got the equipment from the bags that the Colonel had laid out in front of them.

"The Colonel might have been in league with a shadow organization, but it felt like he was a league of his own. The equipment he gave us wasn't odd; just some extra ammo, replacement flak jackets and helmets, and some first aid kits. But what we found odd was the next sentence he uttered to us."

"Gentlemen." The Colonel uttered to them as they geared themselves up, "Believe me when I say that what comes next may turn the non-believers into believers. It will be like a fairytale or folk legend, but it ain't gonna be. What comes next is gonna be like a nightmare came to life."

The team all had bemused looks on their faces but shrugged it off.

"At first, we all thought he was talking nonsense. But just an hour later, we realized what he meant."

An hour later, the team was geared up and then moved into the ruined village, with the survivors of the initial assault crawled behind. Just as they entered through the main path, a few observed that the village in question was remarkably unremarkable; a few shops and houses lined the area but there were no landmarks or recognizable paths that lead to any other nearby villages.

Things grew even odder as they continued to trek through the village; there were no farms or pens for stallions, pigs, or heifers, a sound of running water rang through the air though there was no river in sight, no cars or carriages, not even bodies of the people living here killed during the invasion. The worst part was an awful smell that Kent never smelled in his life, like smoke and chemicals burning but there were no engines in sight.

It was when they got to the center of the village that came the thing that nearly caused Kent to question his sanity.

The center of the village had an ivory fountain that looked like it had been designed by the angels themselves, twin angelic statues sat atop the center of the structure and connected by the wings while spraying water from holes in their mouths. The most confusing aspect was the fact that it was gleaming like the moon.

"Gentlemen? You want to know the reason for all the weirdness?" The Colonel asked the soldiers as he could see from their faces that the strangeness was getting to them.

At the unsure nods of the soldiers, the Colonel then uttered several words that none of them ever heard or recognized. Suddenly, the village seemed to ripple like water before collapsing away, revealing the truth appearance of the area.

The land was in ruin; storm clouds of smoke bellowed from the pillars of iron and steel, massive gears grinding against each other under vast nightmare engines, on the surface was a massive factory that seemed to be reach larger heights than it actually had. The dirt around the factory had been reduced to a semi solid bile that bubbled and writhed as if in perpetual agony, radiant green liquid spewed out of pipes coated in vulcanized rubber and into large tanks that emitted a crackling sound while white smoke bellowed out of the vents between.

Kent's jaw dropped in astonishment as did the other soldiers as they watched the veil fade away and the truth reveal itself to them.

"There we go boys." The Colonel yelled out to the soldiers, "What the Nazi's have been hiding."

"According to the Colonel, the base was hidden by what he called anti-memetic symbols. Some hocus pocus that makes you forget or changes your perception. They had made the facility invisible to everyone except the Germans."

Several of the soldiers almost fainted when they saw the facility but composed themselves as the Colonel lead them to their mission. There was an unguarded access line near the left wing of the facility which the Colonel lead the team through while the soldiers stayed behind to scout for other enemy forces, most of the gritty yet sterile white halls with red lights were void of any guards but had several sealed doors that seemed to be thicker than lead to believe.

As they checked their corners and continue to travel down the corridors, some of the team noted that the air seemed to be, for lack of a better term, 'cleaner' or easier to breath while simultaneously a feeling of dread ran down their backs as they descended the facility further. The feeling grew as they reached three floors down, where they came to a directory that was written in German.

The Colonel scanned the text while mumbling to himself before turning to the team, "This way." He pointed down a staircase to his left which they immediately descended down.

When they arrived at the floor, the team was greeted by a long corridor filled with heavy doors with viewports and placards sitting beside. Captain Miller raised an eyebrow as he slides one of the viewports open and peered inside the room, only to reel back and close the viewport shut. The Colonel walked up to the captain and asked what happened.

Miller said while pointing to the door, "I saw a... a... thing made of shadows or... something, I don't know."

The Colonel peeked through the same viewport but remained calm as he closed it, "So that what they've been doing." As they were talking, the rest of the team looking into the various viewports around the corridor, curious as to what was here.

"Apparently, the Nazis had found and contained several... I'll just call them entities. They contained several entities in specially made cells and kept them hidden from the rest of the world."

Kent looked through a viewport with the placard reading: Tooth Fairies. Inside were several black and white butterflies that fluttered around without a care in the world. Looking closer, the private noticed that some were in the center of the room, and they were feeding on human teeth of various sizes.

Corporal Lawrence found a placard that read: The Puppetmaster. In the room that he peered into was a tall and impossibly lanky vaguely humanoid thing, composed seemingly of ebony and burgundy wood, in place of a face was a featureless mask of red wood resting on a head of short ebony wooden spikes, and trunk-like legs seemingly made of ebony interwoven roots. By the entity were several corpses of SS officers and guards, likely sacrificed to contain the entity.

Sergeant Horvath peeked into a viewport whose placard was labeled: The Dream Weaver. In the room was a massive spider web composed of thin silver wires that seemed as malleable as clay. Suddenly, an arachnid-like entity composed of needles and silver places crawled into Horvath's line of sight, pulling a line of 'silk' from its abdomen and weaving it into the web.

Private Grey noticed that a placard was removed and the word "hello" was scratched in, with the corresponding viewport being wielded shut. Though a subconscious part of him was relieved as a feeling of wrongness came from the sealed door.

Private Ryan found a placard that read: Red Right Hand. Peeking in, Private Ryan saw a humanoid that was white as milk with shoulder length hair and dressed in white stained tattered clothing. It was then that the private noticed that the entity's right arm was red as blood with several arcane symbols carved into the skin that gleamed gold. The thing then turned around, revealing that its face only had six eye-like markings instead of eyes, a nose, or mouth. The private then immediately then closed the viewport.

"There's got to hundreds of these cells here." The Colonel thinks out loud as he looks around the corridors while walking through the corridor before he came to a balcony, "Oh... Make that thousands."

The team all looked at each other in confusion before they all walked to where the Colonel was standing... only to gawk at what they saw.

"At first, we thought it was only the first few floors that had the cells but... that thought went away when we saw the rest of the facility."

The complex reached depts unknown, red lights illuminating the darkness and the rest of the complex that ended in a massive series of black cubes with several chains binding them together as they shifted around the darkness. Countless levels of cells containing an unknown number of horrors, giants clad in black plated armor and armed with massive firearms stood guard on each level and flying skulls with mechanical augmentations and blaring red lights scanned each level for any sign of breaching containment.

Kent caught a sight of one of the skull-like drones, which had a symbol that gave him chills, resembling an eight-pointed star.

"Here we go." The Colonel seemed more excited than horrified upon seeing the symbol, "Captain, come with me and Horvath to the north. Corporal Lawrence, take Privates Grey and Kent to the south."

The soldiers all saluted and headed off.

---

Present

"It was after we separated off that we discovered the reason for the facility." Pa Kent continued on with his story, "At first, they were attempting to weaponize the entities but, after numerous failed attempts, they scraped that project and settled for containing them. Things took a turn for the worst, however, when we discovered that they found something else."

The family looked at each other and then at Pa before Clark asked, "What was it?"

"I can't remember what it was called but it got the scientists at the facility buzzing." The old farmer replied before continuing his story, "Apparently, whatever it was gave their test subjects..." Pa paused, trying to recall what it was that the thing granted, "...Something, I still can't remember, but its importance was revealed to us when me, Lawrence, and Grey came across intel in the labs."

---

1944

The door was kicked open by Corporal Lawrence, as he and two privates entered a small laboratory that only held a operation table, a few cabinets, and a table with a chemistry set that was currently creating a green gleaming fluid that was held in a flask.

Both of the Privates kept guard while the Corporal noticed some notes, letters, and files on the operating table. He called the two to his side and looked over the documents, thankfully he knew German.

To: Dr. Amonolith

From: Dr. Heinmal

Subject: Testing on Entities

We have confirmed from Himmler that the Fuhrer has terminated our initial project. I am actually thankful as no progress has been made to control the entities, but we have few plans aside from the first option. We will need to discover something that will please the great leader.

XXX

To: Dr. Heinmal

From: Dr. Amonolith

Dr. Heinmal, I pleased to announce that we have discovered an object that is emitting an unusual energy source. What piqued my interest was when the officer that delivered the object suffered mutations in the skin, growing black chitinous scales on his palm. The scales were removed from his hand and revealed to possess altered human DNA.

The thought of using the object for our experiments crossed my mind. What say you?

XXX

Test #108

Results: Nominal

Subject undergone teratomorphic process; developing grown tusk-like growth around the arms and torso. Removal and examination revealed that the composition of the tusk was of dense calcium and coated with a thick layer of tooth enamel. Upon autopsy after termination, it was revealed that subject's heart had grown eight legs that resembled an arachnids with each artery ending in a mouth resembling a lampreys. Body subsequently sent to incinerator.

Notes: While not expected, there seems to be potential. Tests must continue.

XXX

To: Engineer 242

From: Engineer 129

Subject: Control of Hazardous Toxins from Incinerator

We're having some trouble controlling the waste backup in the pit. The substance is supposed to be piped off-site, but it keeps getting sucked back up the air intake into the power station. The substance is quite toxic; I do not want to send any of my men in the intake to clean it out. Either we shut off the machine long enough to go down there and clean it up by hand, or we're going to have a pretty serious issue here in a while.

XXX

"What do you think, Corporal?" Grey asked.

"I think the Nazi just unearthed some bad shit."

Just as the Corporal read through the notes, a noise came from a steel door that was beside one of the cabinets. The noise was of a deep groaning or moaning, as if in some quiet agony. Kent looked at the others, who looked as unsettled as he was, before he slowly crept to the iron door as the noise grew tingly louder and metallic.

Grey and Lawrence look at each other before Kent grabbed the handle of the iron door and swung it open. The three soldiers were reduced to near breathlessness at what they saw next.

It was the bodies of several men, women, and children; mutations riddling them to where they were more akin to the entities that were chained up in rusted meat hooks with agony clear on their faces. The drop in temperature and mist emitting from the units unseen implied that it was for preservation, while a groan of pain muttered out from the back.

As the three soldiers reeled in horror, footsteps rang out from the corridor. The soldiers jumped at the sound but acted quickly, closing the steel door and hiding wherever they could as a doctor and several guards entered the room. The scientist was a middle-aged man with black hair, dressed in a lab coat under a white shirt with a yellow tie, black pants, and black shoes while the guards were standard SS soldiers.

[Oh, there it is.] The doctor said in German taking the notes that they were reading, [It must have been there all along.]

When they were distracted, the Americans snuck out to the corridor and silently hid nearby. They all decided to talk about what they just saw but being quiet enough as to not draw the attention of the guards.

"What the hell was that?!" Grey harshly whispered to the others.

"Don't know, but I think we have to get to the Colonel." Lawrence ordered, looking over the corridor incase the Nazis were coming out, "He knows more about this then we do."

The Privates nodded when suddenly a gunshot rang out, hitting Lawrence in the arm. The Corporal flinched and saw that the Nazis had noticed them and were coming quickly down the corridor. He grunted in pain but bit it down as he fired his M1 on the approaching Nazis, missing but causing them to retreat back to the lab to regroup and form a new strategy.

The Corporal then looked to the Privates and yelled, "Go!"

"But sir-!"

"Go! I'll hold them off!" Lawrence interrupted Kent, not willing to let these two die, "I'll be alright! Just get to the Colonel and I'll catch up!" The two privates looked at each other uncertainly before they fled, leaving the corporal. Kent took one last look at his fellow soldier.

"Lawrence!" The Corporal turned to Kent, who saluted him along with Grey, "It's been an honor."

Corporal Lawrence saluted back with a proud smile on his face, "Honor's all mine, boys. Now go!" The two privates nodded and ran off, hearing yelling and gunshots as they escaped to the other corridors.

"BRING IT ON YOU NAZI CUNTS!" Kent heard Lawrence yell out before more gunshots rang out, fading in the distance as the two sprinted through the corridors of the complex.

---

Present

"We barely managed to escape from the guards that were after us. After that, it was just me and Grey." Pa Kent finished that part of the story, shivering at the memory of that awful place.

"What happened to Corporal Lawrence?" Clark asked the old farmer.

Pa gained a regretful expression as he muttered out, "To this day, I don't know. He never made it back to the group, and... Well, I... couldn't face those laboratories again, so I... I never looked." The retired soldier took another drink before he continued, "Me and Grey managed to get back to the others, but the Nazis caught up to us and I was separated with the Colonel, while Grey was back with the others. Despite our best attempts though, they captured us and took us to the head of the facility: Dr. Franz Amonolith."

---

1944

The Colonel and Private Kent grunted as they were escorted in cuffs to the labs. The Colonel's sunglasses had been confiscated, revealing his radiant golden eyes on his grumpy expression. Kent couldn't help but stare at the Colonel's eyes even as they were entering the laboratories. This one being an observation room with a short stairway to a control panel on the upper floor with a door leading to the other laboratories.

"The doctor was like Satan had come to earth and had taken the form of a man. And then decided to warp the flesh of every man, woman and child to his twisted whims."

There, they were met by a lean man with high cheekbones, slick greying hair, red eyes and a frowning expression. He wore the standard lab coat and business suit as were the scientists around him.

[Subjects for you, doctor.] The guard that was escorting them pushed the two to the floor, [Do whatever the hell you freaks do.]

The doctor watched stoically as the guard walked out of the lab before he examined the two, muttering in German, [Hmm... This one seems anomalous while the other seems normal... Dmitri, have them assigned for experimentation. I want to hear what sounds they make before they die.] That last sentence seemed to irradiate sadism as a smile curled into his face.

The other scientists nodded, fear leaking from them as Amonolith left the labs. The two were dragged to a bench where they came under the watch of Dr. Dmitri Harmon, a meek looking man with blonde hair and pale skin wearing the typical labcoat and business attire, having a Luger pointed at the two in case they tried anything.

Kent just had a bitter expression on his face while the Colonel remained stoic as the remaining scientists left the room, leaving the scientist along with the two Americans. But suddenly, the scientist looked to the two and asked in English but with a heavy German accent, "Do you know?"

Both of them blinked, looking at each other before directing their gaze back at the doctor, with the Colonel asking, "Know what?"

"The experiments, the object, and the mutations. Dr. Harker says that you found the failures." Dr. Harmon clarifies, knowing the soldiers had found some of their first attempts, "I believe that must have given some questions."

"Oh, that." The Colonel replied to the doctor, both of them now getting what he was trying to imply, "I think we have an inkling."

"So, why have the Allies come to this place?" The doctor replied, pointing his Luger directly at the Colonel's head, whom was unfazed in the slightest, "What is the reason for this invasion?"

"We came because of the threat it might be to national security. I think you're concerned also, right?" The Colonel charismatically reasons to the scientist, able to tell that they were having their doubts on the experiments.

Dmitri looks hesitant before he walked to the doorway and looking both ways, checking for any of the guards or scientists loyal to Amonolith in the area.

"You think he'll take the bait?" Kent whispers to the Colonel, who shrugs.

The scientist came back after confirming that he was indeed along with the two captives, "Yes, I am concerned. And the others feel the same as I do. But we're powerless."

"Then let us help you." The Colonel responds to him, laying in the final nail in the coffin. Dmitri looks conflicted but sighs, deciding he was damned if he did, damned if he didn't.

"You see, most of us believe that Dr. Amonolith and her followers have changed the direction of our research into something evil, monstrous." Dmitri began as he recalled all that was happening in the labs, "You see, the Obskurakorps was formed to produce weapons from the occult that would end this war. We drew from multiple sources; alchemy, anomalous creatures and people that we've smuggled from around the world, sorcery, anything! We eventually scrapped the project when we found no way of controlling the entities."

"And all the entities you captured or created were locked away in the facility." Kent replied, thinking back to what they saw in the cells.

"Yes." Dr. Harmon confirmed, "But a breakthrough came a year ago when we discovered an artifact that emitted a unique energy signature. Expose to the signature caused mutations in the flesh, though they were always random. One mutation in a child resulted in the breakthrough, with our following experiments producing super-soldiers capable of incredible regeneration that we have coined 'Tyrants.'"

"Wait, I think we saw those. They were guarding the cells." The Colonel recalls, as did Kent with the Doctor nodding.

"Yes, those are special Tyrants called Wardens." Dr. Harmon replied, "They are tasked with guarding the cells while the normal Tyrants are being mass produced for the Reich. But our concerns began growing when Dr. Amonolith began to grow obsessed with the object, to the point where he has begun to seclude himself and his followers, only coming out when it was time for more experiments."

The Colonel had an expression of complete resignation as he knew what he was dealing with, "Are they ranting on about 'Gods in the Warp?'"

Dr. Harmon seemed surprised at the question, answering in a surprised and uncertain tone, "Yes. How do you know?"

"Let's just say I've dealt with stuff like this before." The Colonel answered, almost in a bored tone, "Anyway, Doctor, the solution is simple: Take your Tyrants and shoot Amonolith and his followers until they're dead."

"Wait?!" Dr. Harmon nearly yelled at them, "I cannot do that! If I were to kill the lead researcher, I would be fortunate to choose my choice of execution!"

"Then kill yourself after they're dead." The Colonel deadpans, before he changes his tone to one of seriousness, "Look, all joking aside, I am explaining in the national solution I can. If this spreads, then the world as we know it will go down in flames and we will die screaming, Dmitri! Which do you choose? You die in the most painful way imaginable while your soul is rended apart or you wanna die and have your soul intact?"

Dmitri, thoroughly intimidated, nodded intensely, "V-Very well, I will input the-" He was cut off by a bullet piercing his skull and blowing his brains out. The Colonel dropped him almost instantly as he and Kent saw the perpetrator of the shot.

It was Dr. Amonolith, holding a Luger with a furious expression on his face at the door frame that he left in.

[So, Dmitri told you of our plans, eh?] The doctor spoke in German, walking from the door and down the stairs to the two whom both backed away, [I should have-] He then paused when he stared at the Colonel's eyes, [You... You're... I'm an idiot! I'm a complete idiot!]

The two paused and looked at each other before the Colonel responds unsurely, "Well, I'd joke that about how you insulted yourself but-"

[That is not the point!] Amonolith yells, interrupting the Colonel's quip, [You are the anathema! You will ruin our power over the world! I CAN NEVER LET YOU LEAVE!] The German scientist bellowed as he opened fire on the two.

The Colonel moved his body aside and moved arms up to the bullet's path, causing the projectile to smash through the cuffs around his wrists. With his hands now free, the Colonel swiftly grabbed Dr. Harmon's Luger and fired eight shots before the doctor could even react. Each shot hitting the doctor's backside, sending the screaming man to the floor as he writhes in pain and as the two American soldiers sprinted out of the labs.

"GUTEN TAG, MOTHERFUCKER!" The Colonel yelled back as he and Kent sprinted through the corridors.

---

Present

"Wow, that does sound like the Emperor." Supergirl responded, knowing about the immortal's tendency for cracking all kinds of jokes at others expense or even in serious situations.

"Yeah, he does have that charm about him." Superman pondered, "Sorry, can you please continue Pa?"

"Sure." The old farmer responds, putting a hand to his chin in thought, "Now where was I? Ah." He snapped his finger when he remembered and continued on.

---

1944

"Me and the Colonel had managed to get back to the others but unfortunately, Dr. Amonolith survived the shots to his back as he ordered all of the disloyal scientists to be killed and for us to be killed on sight. We ended up fleeing to the station that controlled the cells."

Captain Miller ducked under a Tyrant's arm as it attempted to punch his head off. The Tyrants ranged from 7 to 12 feet tall, with entire body was wrapped in metallic plates, curving around their body as if it were fabric. Wires ran across the armor's surface and steel tubes down its back, with their heads covered by a large helmet polymerized with a gasmask with red tinted lenses. In their arms were large Heavy Machine Guns with an ammunition belt coming from the backpack attached to the armor.

The teams ducked under volleys of shells that would have ripped them in half like a fat kid through cake, running through corridor after corridor as they were being chased by both the Tyrants and the security teams alike in an attempt to preserve all their research. While Miller and Grey shot a few guards, but their bullets bounced harmlessly off the armor of the Tyrants, forcing them into a fighting retreat to wherever safe place they could hide.

Eventually, they managed to get through the doorway of an empty corridor with several cells as the Colonel slammed his fist down on a button, causing the door to close just as the enemy was turning a corner around to reach them. The team then quickly got to a security booth that had a control panel in it, with the Colonel locking it as they all hide under the panel to get some respite.

"Good lord, what is this?" Kent asked the Colonel as they looked over the control panel which had all kinds of switches, buttons, and dials. The biggest was a red button the size of a man's palm that read in German: System Purge.

"I... think this button opens all the cells." The Colonel hypothesized as he looked over the control panel. Most of the switches seemed connected to all cells in all of the floors in the wing and the button seemed like it released all of them.

"Wait: all of the monsters contained at that site could be released by just pressing a big red button?!"

"Believe me, Kara, I didn't believe it either. Now where was I?"

Suddenly, shouts in German rang through the corridors, causing the Americans to duck under the panel. The Colonel peaked over the panel for a second before ducking back down and mouthing, "SS and Tyrants. And lots of them."

They all silently groaned, checking their supplies for another shootout. Problems arose when they checked their ammo; Kent and Grey only had a clip or two, Horvath and Miller were well stocked, while Ryan barely had half a clip left. Not only that but there were Tyrants and guards galore, even if they had plenty of bullets, they wouldn't last five minutes.

But then again, what if they could get some allies in the fray...

"Oh, man." Kent groaned at his own idea before he relayed his plan to the leader of the group, "Colonel? I just got a terrible idea. You said that the red button releases all the monsters?"

"Yes, what-?" The Colonel was about to ask before he stopped himself when he realized what Kent was implying, "You're right. That is a terrible idea. And unfortunately, I don't have a better idea. You guys?"

"No." "Nope." "No, sir." "Not one, sir." Answered Private Grey, Private Ryan, Sergeant Horvath and Captain Miller respectively, the latter looking over the control panel and seeing several guards and Tyrants approaching them.

"Well, then Kent: Let's get this party started." The Colonel said as he flipped all the switches around the control panel and then slammed his fist down on the big red button.

A buzzing sound rang through the facility, along with the sounds of mechanisms unlocking and grinding against each other. The guards and Tyrants stopped their advance in confusion when they heard the buzzing sound, which then slowly turned to horror as they saw the nearby cells as they slowly began to open.

"Oh, Scheiße." Kent heard one of them say before the nightmare began.

The second the doors opened, the guards and Tyrants fired upon all the entities that began escaping. Some went down in the hail of bullets, while others were utterly unaffected by the bullets and slaughtered the soldiers. Screams rang through the corridors and all through the facility as thousands upon thousands of hostile entities emerged from their cells and began their slaughter.

A Tyrant was bitten in half by a massive green snake with a bone-armored hide, multiple mandibles around its jaws and sharp teeth. It spat out the meat in its mouth in distaste as it killed another Tyrant with its tail ending in a spiked bone club, caving it skull in.

A lanky humanoid entity covered in spikes and composed of stain glass of various colorations and designs and ebony malleable flesh impaled its lance shaped arm through a Tyrant's abdomen before extending the fingers of its left hand into claws that it used to decapitate the super soldier's head. Letting the body slide off and shaping its arms back to a normal form, the stain glass entity was fired upon by two guards sent to contain it, blowing massive holes in its torso and head. But almost immediately, it regenerated, stain glass and all, before extending its fingers into tendrils that impaled the two in various pointing before retracting them.

A horrific entity that resembled the upper half of a human attached to the lower half of an arachnid had a screaming guard in its arms before biting down on his head. It had four limbs on each side on the upper half and five thick arachnid legs on each side of the lower half, the face had eight black lusterless eyes with no nose or ears and an elongated jaw with rows of sharp teeth. It let out a giggling screech before a Tyrant grabbed it by the head and ripped it clean of its shoulders.

An entity resembling a disturbingly attractive female with long black hair, gleaming golden eyes, a flawless face, and blood red skin strutted around, looking around the carnage with a serene smile. As some guards came to contain her, the entity smiled as her hair became black tentacles that impaled three guards at once before slashing the remaining guards heads off with another tentacle. The female entity then takes one of the severed heads and drinks the blood spilling out of the wound.

The Puppetmaster let out a piercing howl that caused the entities near it to stop and bow down before it, while it crossed its arms smugly. It then pointed at a nearby squad of guards that were coming in to contain them. As if like puppets on strings, the entities then roared and pounded on the screaming guards, ripping them apart while the Puppetmaster watches in amusement.

A swarm of the Tooth Fairies flied into the mouths of several Tyrants, ripping out their teeth and eating them whole. Suddenly, those that had eaten the teeth split in two before each half regenerated the lost side, increasing their numbers drastically as they begin to attack the other Tyrants and guards for their teeth.

The white entity with the red right arm walked towards several guards that were shooting at it frantically, only to see that the bullet merely gouged its flesh instead of piercing it as if it were clay before sealing up like liquid. It then raised its red right hand as the glyphs on its flesh appeared beside it, cancelling all sound around it before launching at the guards, burning them alive as their mouths made so sound despite their screams.

A massive amorphous mass of ebony protoplasm lashed out several tentacles at several approaching guards and Tyrants, dissolving them on contact and consuming the remaining substance. A facial featureless humanoid entity with ebony flesh that resembled a black latex skintight outfit and feet that resembled stilettoes pointed a finger at some of the still living guards, who then vomited their entrails out before being hung by them. The Dream Weaver impaled a Tyrant through the chest with its wire silk, dissolving its innards before stringing it up and feasting on the resulting soup.

Harlequin-like entities in black, white, and red attire and smiling porcelain masks danced around several shooting guard, before lashing out translucent strings in their hands, slicing them apart in bloody displays. An entity composed of cloth and blades giggled as it lobbed the head of a terrified scientist before screaming in agony as guards armed with flamethrowers came in. A humanoid entity with a white rabbit's head dressed in a black coat under a black shirt, black pants and shoes, and a derby hat hummed "the Nutcracker" as various boney protrusions erupted from the Tyrants that came near it. An entity with a head composed of white writhing worms on a long, lean and spiked body of black plastic slithered its arm into the mouth of a screaming guard as he cried for his mother, pulling out his liver and intestines as the worms unfurled and devoured the organs.

Black entities resembling leech shaped voids burrowed into the skins of some guards, bulging as they ate the organs, muscles, and bones, multiplying until they filled the skin like a human sized sac of dirt. A humanoid entity composed of pulsing blue tendrils fed on the bone marrow of a scientist who attempted to escape the labs by piercing her bones with the tendrils on its chest. An entity resembling a medial knight composed of bright blue flames slashed several Tyrants and guards apart with its white flaming longsword, reducing them to ash that it absorbed into its being. An entity that resembled a Jester with a silver mask and an outfit of black and white laughed in rapturous pleasure as fired a torrent of black lighting from its scepter that killed a scientist that was fleeing from it. A long and lean humanoid entity with a black cross tattooed on its chest and a face that only consisted of two burning eyes set several approaching guards ablaze as it ate the shadows produced by the flames.

While the entities were tearing the Nazis apart, the team ran through the empty corridors away from the slaughter. And throughout their escape, they had to fire upon the many entities that surrounded them.

Captain Miller shot a zombie-like entity with grey sagging skin in the head, the wound spewing out green gunk instead of blood as it fell dead. Grey shot an entity that resembled a heart with spider legs and a scorpion stinger, causing it to burst into blood and pieces that splattered against his uniform. Kent ducked under the claws of a mantis-like entity as it tried to slash him in half while Ryan was shooting at a cluster of brambles and vines that were slithering towards them. Horvath plunged his knife into the head of an entity with emerald eyes as it attempted to eat his heart and soul, while the Colonel threw a grenade at a monster made of sludge and smoke that ignited the moment it went off.

They raced through the corridors; shooting down the massive humanoid entity made of cervine skulls, ducking away from the swarm of boiler beetles, and sprinting for dear life away from the massive flaming plant monster as it tried to eat them with tentacles ending in purple flaming roses.

"As for how many entities or monsters were either ran away from or shot down, I don't know many. But eventually we managed to get to the central part of the facility."

The team managed to get to a closing gateway as most of the surviving scientists and guards dived in while they slid in at the last second, just as the massive wall-like doors sealed behind them. The entities and monsters on the other side banged on the metal walls, despite the use of their abilities to tear down the layers of anomalously indestructible metal, causing all those on the other side to breath a massive sigh of relief.

[Well, all things considered,] The Colonel spoke in German as he and the squad got up from the ground, [That went pretty well.]

Everyone else laughed or nodded with agreement but the Colonel made a cutting motion to his neck when some of the team were about to question why they weren't being arrested by the Germans. With the enemy distracted, the team swiftly went into a nearby corridor as the surviving staff went to work in trying to contain the breach.

The Colonel led them to an abandoned room that had all kinds of stations holding screens that showed various entities rampages through the breached wing, with the windows overlooking several corridors. As they watched, the team saw several larger Tyrants adorned in the same armor as the others except grey with red intersections, armed with large flamethrowers, laser cannons, or larger machine guns. Alongside them were several guards wheeling in a series of advanced-looking twin cannons on wheels while others were armed to the teeth with guns or flamethrowers.

"They're beginning their recontainment of the escaped entities." The Colonel relayed, "Meaning we've got a small window of time to finish our mission before they realize who caused the breach."

The team all nodded, quickly grabbing any supplies that they needed before silently treading through the dark corridor connected to the empty control room. After getting out of sight from the Nazis, they began sprinting towards their objective.

---

Present

"Because of the massive breach in containment, most of their forces were being expended to sealing the breach. And like the Colonel said, that gave us an opportunity to destroy the base while they were preoccupied." Pa Kent continued on with his story, "The problem was that the base didn't have a self-destruct mechanism, so we had to resort to the next best thing."

Clark and Kara then gained worried expressions, looking at each other again. "And what was the next best thing?"

The old farmer then spoke in a tone that meant he dreaded what he was about to say next, "A device called: The Thresher."

---

1944

"The Thresher is a device that had the ability to warp reality through... something, I can't remember, but I think it was a precursor to a superweapon like the atom bomb, only a thousand times stronger. It was still a prototype though, so it was still in testing, thankfully. But by the time that we got to the lab where the Thresher was held, someone was waiting for us."

The squad were sprinting through the corridors to the labs, stopping at each intersection and checking the corridors for any guards before continuing their sprint through the base. Unsurprisingly, there had been light security as the Nazis were directing all their forces to the breach, giving them amble time to get to the lab that had the Thresher.

As for how they got information for the Thresher, the Colonel caught a scientist and compelled her to give him information, revealing the Thresher and its function. After that, the team then raced off to get to the Thresher. Eventually, after almost an hour of running through the near sterile corridors, the team managed to get to the stairwell that led to the lab where the scientist had said where the device should be.

Captain Miller kicked down the door where they found themselves in a circular room with a massive, vastly complicated machine composed of various gears, servos, pistons, and tubes compressed into that shape of a sphere, connected to a massive conduit that stood at the center of the room. Lights surrounded the machine; control panels lined the upper levels of the walkways around the machine.

The team all gawked at the machine in front of them when they suddenly heard a sound from their left.

It was Dr. Amonolith; completely naked and covered in runes carved into his flesh with blood gushing from the cuts, a rusted knife in his right hand and his severed genitals in his left hand. His eyes were now glossy with his eyelids cut out, his cheeks were ripped off as well as his lips, causing his breath to come out as a tittering hiss that had droplets of blood in between.

Kent then noticed a syringe imbedded in his sternum, with a label stamped on that read: "Entity Serum" in German.

"Ascended... Ascended... Ascended..." The doctor rasped, blood and saliva flying out between his teeth, getting progressively louder and louder, "ASCENDED... ASCENDED... ASCEND-"

The good doctor was cut off by a bullet between the eyes. He was silenced as blood flowed out of the bullet hole, yet he was still standing. Then more bullets pierced his torso and chest, finally sending the madman to the ground.

With that taken care off, the team lowered their rifles as the Colonel chuckles, "Finally, he was getting annoying." The others chuckled as they walked up to the walkways around the machine, searching for anything they could use to activate it. Unseen to then was the Colonel reading a booklet that he found by the control panel.

"This says that the Thresher is meant as a means of controlling the battlefield by warping the environment to disrupt enemy formations and strategies." The Colonel read out loud, gaining the other's attention, "Apparently, any usage exceeding the power limit will cause... what this thing is calling 'Local Ontological Destabilization.' No, that's not ominous at all." He snarked as the soldiers chuckled.

After a minute, the Colonel snapped his fingers, "Here we go! Says here, 'If facility is compromised, activate Thresher by inserting Himmel key into primary control panel.' All of you look around for anything that looks like a key!" He ordered the team, who quickly complied as they got off the walkways and searched the room for anything that they could find that could be the Himmel key.

"But as always, things just couldn't be that easy."

Suddenly, the doctor's body began bulging and contorting with disgusting sounds ringing from its innards. The flesh underneath the skin blackened before becoming liquescent as the eyes popped out of their sockets and the teeth curled inward. The soldiers all turned to see the bulging body in both disgust and bewilderment, backing away in caution.

The skin bulged before bursting, causing a spray of black translucent fluid to splatter everywhere. The soldiers all covered their eyes to protect themselves from the fluid, but when they uncovered them, a horrific sight awaited them.

In the body's place was a large black humanoid entity composed of liquescent pliable flesh with several bulging radiant red eyes placed randomly around its body and a grin of red fangs that wriggled like insect legs. Its frame seemed to pulse like a beating heart, the eyes didn't seem to twitch or move around, and light seemed to be both drunken and reflected by its flesh rather than the latter.

The entity that used to be Dr. Amonolith extended its arm towards the team, who jumped out of the way as the limb pierced through the floor. Captain Miller shot at the entity, but the bullets seemed to merely pass through it like liquid, not even reacting at Horvath threw a grenade that landed on and sunk into its chest before going off, merely forcing its flesh to expand before reforming to its humanoid shape.

Several tendrils then shot out of its body, piercing the walkways and floor but not hitting the Thresher. More shots were fired, hitting the head and chest but doing nothing to it as the bullet holes sealed up.

"Lure it away from the Thresher!" The Colonel yelled out as he continued to search for the Himmel key, "If it damages or destroys the Thresher, we're fucked!"

The team all nodded with Captain Miller leading the charge. "Come get me, you bastard!" He yelled, firing his machine gun at the entity as it began following them, still not affected by the bullets. Breaking into a sprint, the soldiers fled down a walkway that was connected to the breached wing, hearing the sounds of screams, gunfire, and roars of things that they wished to forget.

Behind them was the entity, walking in an odd limp as it seemed to be grinning at them, though it was hard to tell. while running, Horvath, Grey, Kent, and Miller continued to fire on it despite knowing it is futile. However, their dash ended abruptly when a beam of white flames from the entities below shot through the walkway, cutting them off from the rest of the path as they came to the pseudo end of the walkway.

"Oh, shit!" Horvath yelled out in shock, before he and the others turned to see the entity catching up to them. Seeing that they were done for, the soldiers all looked at each other before they all silently decided that they weren't going down without a fight. They all raised their guns up, angry and defiant scowls on their face even as the entity elongated its fingers into claws...

...only for a series of wooden tendrils to impale its chest.

Both the soldiers and the black entity looked at the tendrils in shock before they traced it back to the side. There they saw the Puppetmaster, whom was on the wall nearest to them, the tendrils coming from its hands. It then grabbed the tendrils with one of its free hands and pulled them like a rope, the black entity was pulled off its feet and grabbed the railing as it was dragged off the walkway, shaking it before the railing that it grabbed break off. It was dragged to the Puppetmaster's grasp before slamming it to the wall.

"REMEMBER ME, DOCTOR?" The Puppetmaster abruptly spoke in a reverberating yet whispery voice as it dragged the screaming thing that used to be Dr. Amonolith to the festival of slaughter behind them. The soldiers all stared on as the entity that used to be the head doctor was dragged down to the massacre between entities and Nazis, where it died a screaming death from the knight with the flaming sword and the Red Right Hand as they reduced it to ash.

"Well, he wanted an army of monsters... and he got one." Grey noted the irony of the doctor being destroyed by the army of monster that he had a hand in creating as the other soldiers nodded and chuckled in agreement before they ran back to the Colonel and the Thresher.

When they got there, the team found the Colonel heading towards the control panel with a grey colored key in his hand. When he saw them coming into the room, he sighed in relief and wiped sweat off his brow, "You must be fucking lucky, Captain."

"Must have God looking over me." Captain Miller laughed alongside the others who laughed at his joke, "How's the search for the key?"

"Well, I got it," The Colonel held the key, "But there's a problem." He motioned for them to come to him. The soldiers all looked at each other before climbing up the stairs to reach the man by the control panel.

The Colonel then pulled out a map of the facility, pointing to the center by the silos, "We are here and the exit to the facility is here." He pointed to the south of the facility, "If I activate the Thresher now, we wouldn't have a ghost of a chance to escape."

The team all grimace, now realizing what the conundrum that they were in.

"Meaning?" Grey asked, dreading the answer he would receive. And the Colonel's answer only confirmed his fears.

"Meaning someone will have to stay behind to activate the Thresher."

The soldiers all have conflicted yet resigned expression as they all look at each other, silently asking each other whom was gonna stay behind and activate the Thresher while they all escape.

"I'll do it."

Captain Miller's voice rang out louder that the thunder crack of a gunshot. Each of the team looked at the brave faced man in shock and disbelief while the Colonel had a stony but sad expression as he handed over the key to the captain.

"Just insert the kay into that one, turn it and then hit the red button when it lights up." The Colonel explained to Miller, who was listening intently, "Then captain, do yourself a favor and put a bullet in your skull. It'll be a blessing compared to what comes next." Miller nodded, knowing what was out there.

"Captain, I-" Horvath was about to refuse when Miller held up his hand, silencing his protests.

"Horvath, you and the others go with the Colonel. That's an order." Captain Miller ordered out, his tone one of finality and resignation. The squad all looked conflicted on whether or not to leave the captain, but the Colonel saluted him.

"Been an honor, Captain."

Miller chuckled and saluted back, "Honor's all mine, Colonel." The soldiers all saluted their captain as they tearfully retreated from the labs, leaving the captain to his fate. The captain looked at the control panel and then at his retreating men, resigned to his fate as he inserted the key and turned it until the panel lit up. Praying to God once last time, he slammed his fist on the button.

The Thresher slowly spooled up; sounds of energy arching and a loud hum rang through his ears, gears and servos began turning as light grew from the inner parts of the machine as the ground shook. Seeing what was happening, Captain John H. Miller exhaled calmly before bringing his rifle up to his chin and pulling the trigger.

Back with the others, the Colonel held up his hand as it suddenly glowed as bright as the sun. The soldiers all covered their eyes from the brightness of the light but a feeling came over them, like they were flying through forever in a sea of light and water.

Just as sudden, the light and feeling went away the soldiers opened their eyes only to be shocked to their core by the sight before them.

They were outside of the facility, mainly near a mile or two away from it. Conveniently, the soldiers that they had left behind were nearby, perhaps having been driven off by the

The soldiers that were left outside noticed them and ran over, asking about what happened and how they suddenly appeared directly outside the facility. Before they could, a deafening crackling sound and an equally deafening hum filled the air. They all turned to the source of the sound, seeing the facility distort as if seen through water before it was enveloped in a flash of white, causing the soldiers around it to cover their eyes from the brightness.

A second later, the light died down and the soldiers all uncovered their eyes only for another shocking sight to befall on them.

The facility was gone, leaving only a massive flaming crater in place of where it once stood.

Jaws were nearly to the ground while eyes were nearly out of their sockets from the shock, yet the Colonel was the only one of them that had any composure to show at the moment when he suddenly turned to the others.

"Gentlemen, from now on..." The Colonel pointed to the flaming space where the facility used to be with his thumb, "Today never happened." The soldiers could only nod as they slowly got out of the village, too shaken by the current events to question the Colonel.

But there was one thing that Kent noticed before he left that dreaded place: a small stonework clock with golden hands ending in hook-like curves and archaic symbols instead of numbers, able to fit in the palm of a man's hand, sitting in the ruins of a connecting outpost with the facility. In spaces between the outer and inner layers were golden gears craved with holy seals visible, and on the center of the clock was a symbol akin to a two headed eagle with its wings spread out.

Just as the private took in the sight of the odd contraption, the stonework clock began ticking.

---

Present

"...And the ticking of that clock haunted my dreams ever since then." Pa Kent was nearing the end of his story, "After that, we were all forced to take a vow of secrecy by the attorney general. I never saw the Colonel again but like I said, he sounds an awful lot like the Emperor. But I'm not sure what he could be planning next."

Clark and Kara were stunned silent by the story that they've heard, the former having a saddened and sympathetic expression while the latter had her hands to her mouth and tears in her eyes. The fact that their father figure went through that nightmare was almost unimaginable. Ma Kent looked like she was about to faint when she heard the story, slowly sitting down.

"Clark, Kara, I know that you both are uncomfortable with killing but if the things that are coming are like the things, I faced all those years ago," Pa Kent looked at his glass full of whiskey, "Then you're gonna have to break your rule as many times as needed until you beat them."

Superman and Supergirl both look at each other solemnly as they also nod to their father figure.

---

Omaha Beach, Normandy

A chaos cultist squealed in fear as a bolter round pierced her brain, curtesy of Alistair who was dressed in black suit under a green dress shirt, black pants, and black dress shoes. The Acolyte sighed as he holstered his Bolter while looking over the family of cultists he just massacred after being sent here to investigate.

"Freaking finally. It took me for..." Alistair trailed off when a muttered ticking sound pricked his hearing from somewhere in the room. He looked around for wherever it was coming from before he pinpointed the sound to an abstract painting that was sitting behind him.

Walking over, the Acolyte gently took down the painting which revealed a small vault integrated into the wall. Curious, Alistair used his strength to tear the metal door off the wall, revealing the contents of the safe.

It was a small stonework clock with golden hands ending in a hook-like and archaic symbols instead of numbers. The thing was big enough to be held in his palm, while between the outer and inner layers were golden gears craved with holy seals visible, and on the center of the clock was a symbol akin to a two headed eagle with its wings spread out: the Imperial Aquila.

Alistair looked at the small clock strangely, checking the watch he had on his wrist. The time on it was off: the time was only 5:30 but according to the clock...

It was ten minutes to midnight.

---

If you know what midnight means in this context, you'll know how ominous that means.

The scene of D-Day was given by Dahmiel.

Also, I know this chapter feels more like from the Cabin In The Woods and/or the SCP Foundation instead of Warhammer 40k, but I've been watching a lot of the former two, so I figured, what the hell why not? You would not believe what kind of things I had to come up with while thinking about the monsters in the cells.

But in case no one has heard: on July 29th, Bruva Alfabusa announced that If the Emperor Had A Text-To-Speech Device has been put on indefinite hiatus. I could go on about how upset I am about it but I'm not. I just wanted to spread the word. The silver lining is that its on indefinite hiatus not cancelled, so there's hope that it'll come back.

Anyway, see you guys in chapter 9!