What if Superman arrived in the MCU and everything changed?

by choejhulkp9

The Multiverse is a wide and vast expanse of possibilities. Some lead to disaster and endless turmoil while others give birth to possibilities never thought possible. What happens when a new hope is brought to a new world? How deep would the changes go? How much of time and of the universe would change? Let's find out.

8. Friends from the future save the past

Hey, everyone. Here is Chapter 8 of What If…Superman. After Clark's unusual journey last chapter, he's got some recovering to do. From a cold, of all things but it does come with the fringe benefit of a new power which is going to come in handy. Now that he's back, it's time to push into Eastern Europe and take out the last of the serious weapons projects. The Germans now have a super soldier project of their own and they're working with the Reverse-Flash so it's time to end this time traveling adventure. Here we go!

What If…Superman arrived in the MCU and everything changed?

Friends from the Future safeguard the Past

London, England Late January 1944

The new year of 1944 started off with the coldest winter on record so things all over the warfront for the European campaign were halted but they were better than they were a month ago in December. The Allies secured the French Riviera and its ports so now were able to move men and supplies from mainland Italy to Southern France. The entire Riviera was secured and the Germans had been pushed back. Clark's expedition throughout France to reunite with his team and the Howling Commandos in country taking out the Hydra facility aided as well. All those efforts along with some assisted sabotage by the French Maquis and Clark's liberal use of his heat vision before he met up with them, the German's in France were stagnant. A lot of their artillery and tanks were taken out which left their army forces forced to defend what they could without them. As a result, many forces pulled back from the coastal areas as far back as Toulouse so they could consolidate their lines which allowed the American, British, and Free French Forces to prepare. Thanks to the efforts of Clark in securing the Riviera, they were able to quickly set up and fortify their bases and forward operating positions so they began sending recon and scouting forces into German-occupied territory as military command began making their next move.

Thankfully, conditions in the Riviera weren't as bad as near the mountains or further inland as the temperatures were cold but not freezing. The Germans had secured the inland of France but in doing so now had to deal with the colder weather and heavier snow fall. While the passage from Italy to France via the Alps was densely packed with heavy snow and normal travel was impossible, the securing of the ports allowed Navy ships to ferry men and supplies back and forth though the seas could be rough so extra care was taken and planes were used as well though with the surge of bombings and air attacks by the Luftwaffe those were in extreme cases. The RAF and US Army air force were in constant engagements with them and on bombing missions into German territory.

That was the bad news and thankfully the good news outweighed it. Among the good news was the work of the Howling Commandos and Taskforce Vanguard in their special operations behind enemy lines. They took out Hydra facilities and sabotaged the German war machine by hitting outposts, depots, and supply lines along with gathering intel. Their most recent mission in Belgium took out a special Hydra compound and chemical weapon facility preventing the use of a deadly gas known as Nova 6 in a special V2 rocket that would have hit London. The Commandos and Taskforce Vanguard had retreated back to Allied territory after their success and were preparing for their next assignment. Many of the generals in the Allied command groups were quick to want Superman back on the front lines as they figured he could make the same quick push into central France that he did when he helped them take the Riviera. With his abilities he could give them the push through the winter that could help them liberate all of France by Spring. Even the Supreme Allied Commander for the European theater of the war General Dwight D. Eisenhower agreed that it was a solid enough plan to at least take France during the winter months. Once France was secured the army groups could continue the rest of the way. That never happened as while it wasn't widespread news, Superman had returned from being MIA after taking out the Nova 6 V2 rocket destined for London. Colonel Phillips reported to General Eisenhower that Captain Elbert was enjoying some well-deserved R which was partially true but not the entire truth.

The actual truth? The Superman was recovering from a cold and Colonel Phillips would let him fully recover because the cold inadvertently revealed a new ability. How was a new ability for the Superman revealed by a cold? Because he sneezed and blew a hole in a reinforced concrete wall of the SSR base. So, to avoid any more collateral damage of friendly fire Colonel Phillips authorized Clark to rest and recover until he was back to 100%.

"Ugh…"

Clark was seated at the small table of the hotel room he was staying at for his recovery. He had a big fluffy blanket wrapped around him, a bowl of hot steaming water laid out on the table so he could breathe in the steam and a thermometer stuck in his mouth. He sniffled a bit before wiping his nose with a tissue and threw it in the trashcan next to him where it joined the other used tissues. Howard paid for him to get a grand suite complete with room service since he couldn't stay in the barracks or near the SSR because of his cold for risk of him getting others sick. Clark's toughed through bullets, bombs, tank shells, Kryptonite-powered battle suits and an evil speedster from the future but a common cold made him wish for all of that again. It sucked. For so long a part of him was always curious what it would be like to be human and now he was regretting it. Being sick was not fun.

Clark just sat there and inhaled the steam from the bowl, letting it fill his lungs when his hotel room opened and in walked the doctor and nurse assigned to help him. The nurse came in and put down a new hot water bowl before leaving with the old one while the doctor checked on Clark. Heartbeat, pulse, and blood pressure were normal…well, normal for Clark so he took the thermometer from Clark's mouth to check.

"98.6 so no fever." The doctor wiped the thermometer and put it away before checking over Clark some more. He took out a syringe and tried to extract a sample of blood for testing but it bent against his skin. "Ok, so your sickness isn't affecting your powers. How are you feeling?"

"Tired, my body's sore, I have a scratchy throat, my head feels congested, my ears are plugged up and my nose is dripping mucus." Clark wiped his nose again. "Ugh, this feels like death."

"Well, this isn't death, just the common cold." The doctor informed him, jotting things down on a clipboard.

"Well, I'm not exactly common. What's the cure?" Clark asked, wiping more snot from his nose. All the doctor did was give him a shrug.

"The common cold doesn't have a cure. You just have to let it run its course while your body heals. Luckily your symptoms aren't severe so it's just a mild condition. It should be over in a couple of days." The doctor replied and Clark just slumped his head down closer to the bowl of hot water and groaned in annoyance.

His hotel room door opened and in walked Peggy, Howard, and Colonel Phillips. Clark wiped his nose and quickly stood up but the doctor pushed him back down into his chair. Clark was feeling so bad that he didn't fight it. "At ease, Elbert. How are you feeling?" Colonel Phillips asked.

"Like my head is stuffed with cotton and my throat feels like I've got a porcupine stuck in it. Ugh…" Clark put his face back in the steam. "I can't take days of this."

"Sorry but that's the science of it. Your body just needs time to recovery. Get plenty of rest, stay hydrated and drink a lot of fluids so your body can heal. If your symptoms get worse or something else happens then let me know." The doctor told him and Clark nodded. The doctor bid everyone goodbye and left the room just as the nurse returned with a small cart.

"Oh, look at that. Room service. Glad to see I'm having a positive effect on you, Kal." Howard quipped with a smirk on his face but Peggy, Colonel Phillips, and Clark just rolled their eyes. Howard, being extra himself today took a tissue and walked over to Clark where he wiggled it at his nose to try and tickle a sneeze out. In response, Peggy smacked him upside the head.

"If I wasn't feeling bad I would throw you out the window." Clark told him.

"Well, then I'm fortunate that you're still suffering from the cold." Howard remarked as the nurse placed down a bowl of hot chicken soup, a bowl of fruit, some yogurt and a cup of hot lemon ginger tea.

"Here you are. Are you sure you wouldn't like me to set up a hot foot bath?" The nurse asked.

"I'm fine, thank you." Clark replied and the Nurse nodded before placing down some more tissues and a new small waste bin after taking the one currently filled with the used tissues and put it on the cart.

"If there's anything else you need then just call the lobby." The nurse bid everyone goodbye and left.

"Are you sure you don't want a hot foot bath? They can do wonders…" Howard's smirk dropped when he saw the look Clark was giving him. He wasn't in the mood. "…I'll stop now."

"A smart decision." Peggy remarked before looking at Clark. "Feeling any better?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I've never had a cold before so I've got nothing to compare it to." Clark felt a tickle in his nose and so he quickly grabbed a tissue and rushed out of his seat to the window which he quickly pushed open. "Achoo!"

Clark's head was out the window just in time and he avoided making a giant hole in the room he was staying in. Thankfully his sneeze wasn't as aggressive as the first one which blew a hole in the wall of the SSR base but it was still powerful as he blew a gust of wind from his mouth that easily blew the falling snow like London was experiencing a blizzard. The room he was staying on was on the top floor so the gust of wind from his mouth didn't hit any buildings.

"Ugh…" Clark let his head hang out the window for a bit in both exhaustion and annoyance. Since the whole power sneeze incident in the SSR base, he's had to rush to a window every time he felt a sneeze which had been a total of ten times since yesterday when he got back from his extra-planetary excursion. "I hate this."

"Which is the shared sentiment by everyone who gets a cold, I'm afraid." Peggy said as Clark closed the window and sat back down in his chair.

"I'm just astonished. Bullets, grenades, and artillery you're fine but the great Superman gets taken down by the common cold. So funny." Howard remarked. "With how indestructible you've been since Project Rebirth I'm still confused as to how you got sick in the first but with everything you said you saw at Castle Caldera and the kind of weapons on the rocket, guess it was enough to tax your healing."

"And the ice-cold plunge in the Atlantic ocean for two weeks likely didn't help either." Colonel Phillips added. That was the official story as how the SSR and everyone who wasn't Clark understood it as. When Clark disabled the V2 Nova 6/Tesseract rocket it exploded and he got caught near the blast radius and was adrift in the ice-cold Atlantic ocean for two weeks, unconscious until he was rescued. The cold was a result of Clark being in the ice-cold water for so long after being weakened by the explosion from the rocket. It was proven that the Hydra weapons could hurt him so it was easy for Howard to make that assumption. As for the whole being on another planet thing, they just chalked it up to Clark having a bad dream while unconscious.

Clark blew his nose into his tissue with everyone wincing in disgust and he quickly tossed it in the trash. "Don't worry, sir. I'll be back on my feet soon, I promise."

"Rest easy, Elbert. That's what you can do. You'll be no good to anyone if you head back into the field when you're not 100%. You already did enough by helping to secure the French Riviera and the lines have solidified with the winter snow allowing General Eisenhower to fortify our bases and prepare for a spring offensive. Just focus on getting better and that's an order." Colonel Phillips told him.

"Yes, sir." Clark nodded and Colonel Phillips walked to the door.

"If you need anything, Kal then don't hesitate to ask. The room and everything are covered and I've got my butler Jarvis working on a patented cold cure-all for you so don't worry. Just get better." Howard patted him on the back.

"Thanks, Howard." Clark replied before he left with Colonel Phillips while Peggy stayed behind. The two took the elevator down to the lobby and then exited the building where Howard's private car was waiting for them. They got in but didn't leave right away until the doctor who just checked on Clark walked out. He went to the car and handed them a medical bag which Howard opened revealing a brown paper bag containing all the tissues Clark had used for his nose. Ample samples of Clark's DNA.

"I wasn't able to extract a blood sample. The needle bent against his skin but the bag contains all the tissues he used." The doctor reported.

"Well done, Lieutenant." Colonel Phillips replied and the doctor saluted.

This revealed two things. One, that the doctor who was looking after Clark wasn't a regular doctor but an army doctor. Two, that Colonel Phillips was using Clark's cold to get information on what Project Rebirth did to his body. To this day, it still bugged the Colonel how closely guarded Dr. Erskine was about the adjustments to the procedure Clark went through. Because of the attack and Dr. Erskine not writing that information down, all they had was the data on Steve's procedure that turned him into Captain America. They tried to gather data but couldn't extract samples of DNA from Clark such as blood. While they weren't able to extract blood here either all the tissues Clark used had ample genetic material mainly saliva and mucus so it could be enough for their scientists to get some information.

Howard looked at the bag of tissues and the expression on his face began as intrigue and scientific curiosity but also confliction. "Colonel, I have to admit I'm a little conflicted going behind Kal's back like this."

"We're not doing anything wrong, Stark. Kal's wellbeing is at stake and with his skin still bulletproof we can't extract blood. Who knows what else is going on with his body after Project Rebirth so the only way we can make sure nothing else is going on with him is to test what we can. And in this case, his used tissues is the best we have." Colonel Phillips informed him and it was a solid point. That likely was part of it but no doubt Colonel Phillips also wanted to figure out more about what was going on with Clark's body. Howard nodded in agreement and the driver took them back to the SSR base.

Back in Clark's hotel room, he blew his nose into another tissue and groaned in annoyance and Peggy felt bad for him. It really looked like he wasn't doing well. "Is this what it's like for humans when they get a cold?" Clark asked her.

"We have them more often but basically and the doctor is right. You just have to let your body heal." Peggy told him and Clark groaned in annoyance. "Just out of curiosity, are you sure this is just a cold and not some kind of alien/Kryptonian sickness?"

Clark tapped his watch three times and his watch disassembled back into liquid-geo matter and formed Kelex's mini-drone. Peggy had seen Kelex before and she knew Clark was an alien but he was still a shock to see. "Greeting, Margaret Elizabeth Carter. It is good to see you again."

"You too."

"Kelex, can you give me a quick scan and make sure this is just a cold and not something else?" Clark asked and Kelex's faceplate shot out a beam of blue light that scanned him from head to toe several times before he processed the data.

"My scans have picked up zero traces of any kind of foreign matter or contaminant From my scans of your body, I can confirm that you are experiencing what the humans have correctly diagnosed as the common cold. Bed rest and fluids are the best method of treatment but by my estimation you shall recover within 48 earth hours. The yellow sun energy your cells are slowly absorbing are aiding in your recovery." Kelex informed him

"Thanks, Kelex." Clark replied. He was glad that this was just a cold and not some kind of infection he got from the alien planet. Kelex gave him a nod before shrinking back down and assuming his camouflage form as a watch. "Two more days of this is going to be torture."

"I believe that's a bit of an overexaggeration." Peggy sat down next to him and handed him the cup of warm tea and honey. "I'm still curious as to how you got sick in the first place. How?"

"When I woke up on the planet after the rocket exploded I saw red sunlight so the planet orbited a red sun like the one on Krypton. [Sniffle]" Clark wiped his nose with a tissue and sipped some tea. "As I mentioned before Krypton orbited a red sun and there we didn't have any special abilities. It's only under a yellow sun that I can do what I can."

Peggy nodded and began to understand. "So, when you arrived on this mystery planet you didn't have your abilities making you pretty much human. It was a good thing you had Kelex with you. From how you described it, it sounds incredibly dangerous."

"Yeah, and it wasn't fun." Clark's memories of that place were still fresh in his head and he likely wouldn't be forgetting them anytime soon. "If I hadn't lived through it then I wouldn't believe it either but it happened. Worst 24 hours of my life and I'm guessing Howard and Colonel Phillips don't believe me."

Peggy gave him a nod. "You can't exactly blame them as we have no proof and you can't tell them about Kelex so they just think it was a delusion or bad dream and that you were drifting in the Atlantic for the two weeks you were gone." Peggy then realized something. "That's another thing. How exactly did you get back?"

"Even I have no idea…" Clark then explained everything that happened after he took out the V2 rocket. Given the suddenness of his return yesterday and his illness and powerful sneeze, Clark was taken to see some doctors and then taken to the hotel to get some rest. He ended up passing out quickly after a hot bath and a fresh change of clothes and woke up this morning which is when the doctor took a look at him. Peggy listened in rapt attention as everything Clark described seemed so fanciful and unbelievable. An entirely new world that he explored would be the dream of any scientist though from the details of his descriptions it sounded more like a horror-scape, especially the ending where Kelex scanned and deduced what they thought were earthquakes weren't earthquakes. Given that he heard inhuman-like roars and screeching that made him remember when he saw King Kong in the theaters when he was a kid then he could only guess it was some kind of monster. Thankfully a beam of light and flurry of colors from the rainbow surrounded him and he seemed to be transported through said light until he was dunked in the Atlantic ocean. "…and I swam until a patrol boat found me. Thankfully they recognized the S on my suit and brought me back here."

"I'm just glad that the planet you ended up on had breathable air. And what was the light that brought you back here?" Peggy wondered and Clark shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know but Kelex was able to get some information on what happened through the science of it still kind of eludes me. The light that hit me was made up of trans-dimensional energy that transported me and Kelex from that strange planet back to earth near instantaneously." Clark explained but Peggy looked confused. "I know, I don't understand the science of it either as this is out of both of our wheelhouses. I think the basics of what happened is that the light was made of some kind of energy that basically transported me from that planet to here. The question remains who and why. Kelex doesn't have a record of that kind of energy in his database so whoever is behind my return is an unknown…"

"…but clearly they wanted you back here on earth meaning they could be an ally." Peggy suggested.

"I think so but I'm not exactly in a position to figure that out. I'm earthbound for the foreseeable future and I'd like to keep it that way for a while." Clark admitted.

"Good." Peggy grabbed his hand and intertwined her hand with his. "I would very much appreciate you staying on this planet for the foreseeable future."

Clark smiled and would have liked nothing more than to kiss her but given the fact that his head felt like an overstuffed sausage from his cold and his nose was dripping with mucus he felt it would be better to wait. He gingerly ran his thumb over the back of her hand and gave her a smile. "Earth is my home. You are my home and I have no plans to change that."

Peggy couldn't help the blush and smile that adorned her face before she leaned in and kissed Clark on the lips. It was soft, gentle, and pure love and it was definitely pure love because Peggy was willing to kiss him when he had mucus dripping from his nose. Not to mention that she was also risking catching his cold as well. She pulled away and used a tissue to wipe some of mucus that was on her upper lip and Clark wiped his nose.

"Wow…to think I couldn't love you even more but you kissed me when I'm sick." Clark said in awe and Peggy chuckled in amusement.

"If I catch the cold in a few days then we'll know why but it will have been worth it." Peggy remarked and Clark chuckled.

"And I'll be there to help you like you're helping me right now." Clark promised and Peggy smiled. Having Peggy with him there was tremendous in helping him deal with his first ever cold and while he was still miserable and wished it to be over, her presence and just them talking helped. This moment was just a nice reminder that he loved Peggy and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. If the war ended tomorrow then he would be meeting her family and then introducing her to his mother back in Smallville. Thinking that made him remember something he had come to realize during his time on the mystery planet. Considering all he could do there was just wait and think, he thought of a lot of things and one of them was his future with Peggy. "Peggy…we need to talk."

Hearing the seriousness in Clark's voice told Peggy that this was important and if this was any other situation then she might be worried that he was ending their relationship. Thankfully she knew that likely wasn't the case as he wouldn't have said what he said if he wanted them to go their separate ways. "Talk about what?"

"Our relationship." He said when he saw the look of concern in her eyes and quickly rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, giving her some reassurance. "I mean only to talk about how things will be with us in the future. Hopefully when this war ends and things go back to normal…our lives will be different."

Peggy was confused by what he meant. She understood that when the war would be over that the chance to return to their old lives was a possibility but she wasn't sure why that would be cause for concern. "What do you mean?"

Clark took a deep breath and wiped his nose before he took a sip of tea to ease his throat so he could speak with some ease. "A year or two from now, when this war is over and everything that has happened will be nothing but a distant memory, things will change. I'm hoping for the better and the chance to go home…and I was hoping that you would come with me. Being able to spend time with you when we don't have the timetable of war sounds pleasant and I think it'd be nice to introduce you to my mother and finally put a face to the name in all the letters I send her."

Peggy was a bit taken back and a blush crept up her face as she cleared her throat and recomposed herself. "…I would love that. I'll admit that I'm not quite sure how things will go when the war is over but that sounds quite lovely. Is that what you're so concerned about?"

"No, it's about how our relationship will work when the war is over." Clark said only for Peggy to look at him in confusion. "Peggy, I love you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life if you'll have me but I inadvertently gave our relationship an obstacle. Back when I first told you the truth before we arrived in London, I told you that I never anticipated falling in love with you. I don't regret that decision but you knew me as Kalvin Elbert and he has become the Superman and while that will remain a part of who I am for the rest of my life…when the war is over I had planned to go back to being Clark Kent. The whole reason I created my Kalvin Elbert identity was so that when everything was over I could go back to being Clark Kent and no one would know it was really me."

Peggy realized the issue that they now faced. While not exactly public knowledge or tabloid information for the news, there were many in the SSR who knew that Peggy was dating Clark's alter-ego of Kalvin Elbert. Howard knew for sure and Colonel Phillips likely knew too. They weren't public with their affection in the SSR given both were professional in the workplace but people had to suspect something. While Kalvin Elbert was technically an alter-ego for Clark as the Superman so he could use his powers without any kind of connection to Clark Kent they were pretty much the same person. It was just a way to disguise his origins so people now believed he was a result of Project Rebirth and not an alien. It was planned for Clark to join the war effort and hide his true identity with even expertly falsified birth and medical records made curtesy of Kelex so the ruse was perfect. He hadn't anticipated meeting and falling in love with Peggy when he made the plan because now it presented a slight wrinkle. Clark wanted to spend his life with Peggy and after the war he planned to return to his life as Clark Kent. He wanted to show Peggy his home and introduce her to his mother and eventually marry her and was sure she wanted the same. Only problem being she was currently with his alter-ego who didn't technically exist and if they kept it that way when the war was over then the greater the risk of people figuring out that Clark Kent and Kalvin Elbert/Superman were the same person.

"Yes, I see a bit of dilemma." Peggy admitted.

"Something I never planned." Clark held both her hands in his. "Margaret Elizabeth Carter, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You are strong, intelligent, powerful, driven, and compassionate with the biggest heart to match and you fight harder and stronger than anyone I've ever met. You've been fighting side by side with Superman since this war started. With everything that is happening and will happen…the question is if simple farm boy Clark Kent from Smallville, Kansas is enough for you."

Peggy tightened her grip on his hands and looked him in the eyes. Her gaze to him had the same look of love that he had to her. "I fell in love with Clark Kent. Him…Kalvin Elbert…Superman…Kal-El…they are all different parts of the same man. If he will have me…then I will have him. No matter what happens or difficulties we face…we do it together."

Clark smiled and kissed her hands. "Together." He sniffled and had to get a tissue to wipe his nose. "If I wasn't sick I would kiss you right now."

"I don't mind." Peggy leaned in and kissed him again, despite the mucus and his cold. If there was ever a truer sign of love then this then they couldn't think of one. Whatever came their way, they'd face it together.

And there would be plenty of obstacles for them to face.

Ukraine

About a mile east from the capital city of Kiev in the Ukraine, scout forces for the Red Army's 138th Rifle Division were performing some reconnaissance on German Wehrmacht movements and positions. Winter in the Ukraine province was known to be bad with temperatures easily going below freezing along with heavy snowfall. Luckily the Russians and Ukrainians had generations of experience with the weather over the Germans. The scout team were in camouflage gear to better blend in with the snow of their surroundings as they observed enemy positions, troop movements, patrol patterns along with any and all traps that were being placed. They had found a land mine field about 200 yards northeast of their position near the main road and large stone obstacles were being placed there as well to hinder tanks.

Another German patrol passed by the area so the scout team packed it up to return and report their findings. They kept quiet, moved in a single file line with the man in the rear covering up the tracks they left to reduce the risk of their movements being found and reported back. Minimize the risk of them being found meant the greater success they had in their mission.

[Thunder crack]

The lead scout in the front of the line looked up at the sky, seeing a few scattered clouds but no large grouping that would warrant rain or a thunderstorm so he was confused as to why he just heard a thunder crack. And he knew it was a thunder crack as it didn't sound like artillery and wasn't accompanied by the looming sound of a heavy round cutting through the air.

"Thunder but no lightning…"

[Boom]

The ground next to the scout team seemed to explode as something crashed down next to them, sending snow and dirt up into the air and the shockwave knocked the soldiers to the ground and jostled snow from nearby trees. The blanket of snow falling down from the trees was like smoke which combined with the kicked-up smoke and dirt from the impact slightly obscured exactly what happened. The soldiers on the ground were momentarily concussed and disoriented from the sudden impact but began to gather their senses just as the falling snow dissipated. There they got a look at what landed and it wasn't an artillery shell or even a fighter plane but a crouched man who soon stood up straight. He was a tall man, likely 6ft3 with brown eyes, dark brown hair that was combed back and had an impressive physique of large muscles primarily in his arms, chest, and his legs but the thing of note was his manner of dress. He had black boots and dark red pants that led to a gold-plated purple belt around his waist with the Nazi symbol on the buckle. To match the purple belt, he had purple gloves and a purple cape draped on his shoulders tied around his neck with a gold eagle clasp that blended nicely with the red uniform top he had on. Proudly displayed on the chest was a golden eagle which was the same iconography for the Nazi Party Logo. (1)

The soldiers looked at him in confusion as at first they thought it could be the Superman and while the man's attire was inspired by it, he was not the Man of Steel. The man's eyes began to flicker blue and glow before he held out his right hand and unleashed bolts of blue lightning from his fingertips. The team leader rolled to the side to safety thanks to his quick reflexes but the rest of his team weren't so lucky. The bolts of blue lightning struck the soldiers all over and they screamed in pain. The leader aimed his PPS-42 submachine gun at the man and pulled the cocking hammer back before unloading the magazine. The bullets hit his body and punctured various parts of his suit but they broke against his skin and dropped harmlessly down into the snow below where their residual heat let them slowly melt through. The leader kept firing until his magazine ran dry and all he got were empty clicks which is when he saw the mystery man turned his head at him and give him a devious smirk of delight. In all that time he kept up the lightning which turned the Russian soldiers into burning husks and with a simple flick of his hand his lightning sent their bodies flying off to the side like they were nothing.

"You fucking monster!" The Russian Leader quickly tried to reload his PPS-42, scrambling for a new magazine from his pouch. The mystery man marched over and tried to grab him. The Russian soldier jumped back, looping his arm out of the sling of his submachine gun which the lightning man grabbed and pulled out his Tokarev TT-33 pistol. He shot all eight bullets at the man's chest with a few hitting him in the head but like with his submachine the bullets broke against his skin. The lightning man closed the distance in a blur of super speed and had the Russian soldier by the neck. With one hand he lifted the soldier up in the air so his boots were dangling off the ground.

The Lightning man looked on in perverse glee as his fingers slowly tightened around the Russian's neck making the muscles constrict and his skin bleed. In a last-ditch effort, the Russian managed to unlatch his bayonet and quickly stabbed it into the lightning man's gut only for the blade to snap in half. Panic and fear spread on the soldier's face as he struggled for air in a last-ditch effort only to get his neck snapped like the bones were made of sticks with a matching sickening crunch. The Lightning man tossed the soldier's body aside with a look of disgust and wiped his hand on some snow. "Disgusting." He felt that the life he took was no better than garbage or an animal and the blood that stained his hand marred his perfection.

As he was cleaning his hand, one lone Russian soldier had stayed hidden behind a snow-covered tree with his camouflage allowing him to blend in perfectly with the surrounding environment. He had witnessed everything and despite the horrifying scene he kept perfectly still. He had a rifle with him but seeing as how bullets seemed to do nothing as did a bayonet the soldier came up with the next best option and slowly unhooked an F-1 grenade from his belt. Slowly and carefully, he got up to his knees and stayed behind the tree while the lightning man was preoccupied with cleaning his hands and after a moment to steel his nerves he pulled the pin and drew his arm back to throw. His arm came forward but before he could release, bolts of purple lightning struck him and caused the grenade to go off, killing the Russian soldier. It didn't come from the Lightning man as his bolts of lightning were blue.

More purple lightning flickered about as another figure descended from the sky, using said lightning to hover to the ground. This figure was like the man in that they had similar electro-kinetic powers but was a woman. She was shorter around 5ft6 with brown eyes and dark brown hair that was cut short to her shoulders. She was garbed similarly to her male counterpart but her colors were more purple and instead of gold coloring she had silver. She had a silver belt around her waist and she didn't have the Nazi Party symbol eagle on her chest but it was carved onto two silver bands she had around her biceps. (2)

"What are you doing here?" The Lightning man asked her.

"Saving you, it would seem."

"Oh, please like that grenade could have done anything serious. Besides, I knew he was there."

"Right." The woman rolled her eyes in disbelief.

"What are you doing here, Klara? Shouldn't you be with your husband safeguarding the camp?"

"Von List and Vogel sent another Maschinensoldaten to Dachau so we now have two of their little metal men watching over the camp. I'm not needed and Frederick busies himself with his research. I grew bored and heard you were busy here so I came to join you. It seems like I came at a good time, Klaus. I've been dying to stretch my legs and finally get to use my new gifts." She replied.

"Yes. Our gifts…" Klaus looked down at his hands and tightened them into fists before sparing a glance over at the burnt bodies of the Russian soldiers he killed with ease. "…our gifts your husbands genius has blessed us with and here we are in the freezing cold wilderness of this stupid Soviet state."

"Here we go." Klara shook her head in disbelief as she knew Klaus was about to go on another tirade.

"Don't tell me you're ok with this. Frederick reported the success of his serum to High command and yet they dither about in planning when we should be pushing the offensive. We should be heading east to Stalingrad and retake the city or better yet, head west and burn London or Washington DC to the ground. End this farce once and for all." Klaus told her. He was eager as he was impatient and hotheaded compared to the composed and controlled Klara.

"And you think that the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe will be able to keep up with us when we suddenly cross the Atlantic in a few hours? Or do you think that the Allies won't retaliate and have Captain America and Superman head straight to Berlin while we are absent? What then?" Klara countered before she shook her head in disbelief. "This is why mother and father always said I was the smart one. You are too eager and don't think things through. First, we get rid of Captain America and Superman, then we head west."

Klaus just shivered in delight as his mind went through how he imagined that fight to go. Him against the Allies super soldier, their ultimate weapon, the Superman. Long had the Germans heard how godly this man was but now he was a god and would soon have the false Übermensch broken, beaten and his spine snapping underneath his boot.

"Nothing would fill me with more joy then to end him." Klaus spoke when he heard the distant crack of a rifle and his head jerked to the side a bit. A sniper bullet hit him on the side of the head but like the other bullets it broke against his skin and fell down into the snow. Soon more bullets came from the surrounding woods as other Russian scout soldiers had arrived and opened fire with some moving to flanks. All the bullets hit Klara and Klaus but the bullets broke against their skin and fell down with neither of them injured or seemingly troubled. Klaus and Klara's hands began to spark with electricity when they saw a distant red blur of lightning zip around the forest. It was moving too fast for either of them to get a clear look but it took out the Russian soldiers one by one with slashes to their necks. They dropped one by one in a manner of seconds with only one survivor who had no idea what was going on but had enough semblance of self to not stick around and ran. He turned around and took one step forward only for the red blur to appear right behind him and snap his neck with ease. The body fell to the ground and the red lightning blur stopped moving revealing it was a man wearing a yellow and black suit made of material that definitely didn't belong in 1944. The thing of note for the suit was the red lightning bolt motif placed on the belts, the ears on the cowl and on the chest which was the most unique. On the suits chest was a red circle filled with black and a red lightning bolt emblem.

Klara and Klaus were stunned by the arrival of the mystery man in yellow and were ready to fight until the man pulled his cowl down revealing combed back blonde hair and blue eyes. They recognized his face and lowered their guard.

"Apologies for the sudden arrival but I needed to relieve some stress. It took a moment to find the both of you." Thawne told them.

"Mr. Thawne? What are you doing here? Better question, how did you get here and what are you wearing?" Klaus asked him.

"We haven't seen you since you and Herr Savage visited my husband and aided him in his research. No one has seen you since then so we thought you were dead." Klara added.

"Apologies for my absence but some matters required my presence to be elsewhere. Those matters along with my return pertain to a common problem that I believe we should discuss. Superman." Thawne said and he knew then and there that he had their interest. "As for my current garb and unique abilities…let's just say that like yourselves I too put myself through an experiment. However, I'm afraid to say that despite your new abilities, neither of you are a match for Superman."

"And what makes you sure about that?" Klaus questioned, insulted by what he thought as condescension from Thawne but was actually a well-founded and accurate statement given their current power levels.

Thawne then vanished in the blink of an eye and reappeared behind them faster then either of them could perceive. "Because I've faced the Superman and while he is not as fast as I am, neither of you are as fast as him nor are you stronger. Dr. Vought is an incredible geneticist and ahead of the current scope of medical science but I'm afraid that if you believed that alone would be enough to kill Superman than you're mistaken. If either of you faced him now then the fight would surely end in his favor."

Hearing all of that stung Klaus and Klara's egos with the former feeling small like he was a child being told he wasn't good enough especially after the pain from the serum injection while the latter was equally as upset but tempered that with some healthy reticence and skepticism on her part. Knowing Klaus's ego was hurt, she reached her hand out and grabbed his arm, preventing him from attacking Thawne and turning him from ally into enemy. She deduced that he had shown up and revealed all this new information including his abilities for a reason.

"If what you say is true and you are faster than both of us and Superman, why is he not dead by your own hands if you hold him in such discontent?" Klara wondered.

"Superman is among many I hold in discontent and my history with him is far more deeply layered than you could possibly understand. He is not someone who is easily taken down and his most annoying quality is his persistent in not staying dead. However, the Man of Steel isn't without chinks in his armor, one of which you may recognize…" Thawne reached into his belt and pulled out a knife that had a dark metal covering instead of a typical leather or cloth sheath. He slowly unsheathed part of it so the blade could be seen and instead of a typical steel blade it was green and glowed. The green glow shined on both Klara and Klaus's face who were memorized but quickly recognized the same eerie glow. "However, it alone is not a guarantee and unfortunately this Superman has gotten wise to what weakens him so he will not be easy to kill. To do so will require subterfuge, an intricate plan, and a part-time collaboration between us and others for the same goal."

"Part-time?" Klaus asked.

"I care little for the affairs of this war. I just want Superman." Thawne answered. Klara and Klaus looked at one another, gauging what the other was thinking and thankfully both had the same train of thought. They were more than ok with that.

Klara gave her brother a nod before looking at Thawne. "Do you happen to have an intricate plan?"

"The makings of one have already started. Soon enough they will fall into place." Thawne smiled. This alliance, while temporary, could be the thing he needed. Klaus Risinger and his twin sister Klara Risinger now Klara Vought were changes to the timeline much like Superman's history and the whole new reality of this new universe but could prove to be useful tools in dealing with Superman.

Line Break xxxxx

London, England

It had been about 24 hours for Clark and his cold was progressing. He would admit it was getting better as he managed to wake up this morning not feeling as bad as he did yesterday but he still wasn't back to 100%. As Kelex told him, the cold was only temporary and in another 24 hours he'd be back to normal. Now that he was on earth, his body would slowly reabsorb yellow sun radiation which was aiding him in his recovery but it was a slow process. When he arrived on the mystery planet, the red sun radiation made him lose his powers as when under a red sun Kryptonians do not gain any of their abilities like a from a yellow sun. Clark awoke on the planet's surface after the rocket exploded which somehow transported him there. He still wasn't sure how that worked but he had no idea how long he had been there and neither did Kelex since he was shorted out from the explosion and was back to 100% just before Clark woke up. Considering all the pain he felt and he didn't have his powers when he woke up then he had to have been on the planet for a few hours at the least for the red sun radiation to completely deprive his body's cells of yellow sun radiation. When he returned to earth his body began absorbing yellow sun radiation which is why his powers came back but he needed to fully refill his tank so to speak. His body has spent his entire life absorbing yellow sun radiation so now with it empty from the red sun of the alien planet it would take some time to reabsorb enough to bring him back to full power. The cold didn't help as his body was fighting it and with the colder weather and more clouds in the sky meant absorbing sunlight was not that easy but his powers were slowly returning. His durability for one since the doctors tried again to take a blood sample and their syringe bent. His strength was returning as he managed to snap the room service knife like it was a pencil. He wasn't sure yet on his speed and heat vision as Peggy was adamant that he rest up until his cold passed so he relented. He was bulletproof but when Peggy got mad she frightened him.

With nothing to do but wipe his nose of the dripping mucus and race to the window every time he sneezed, Clark had to find ways to kill time. Just sitting around and listening to the radio wasn't enough especially when the radio was often reporting the news on the war and he felt bad that he was sick in bed. Thankfully, Peggy had some time to stick around before heading back to the SSR base. They talked for hours about their current situation and the path for their relationship going forward. Though not said in the actual words, both of them made it clear that they wanted to get married with their obstacles being Clark's origins and the fact that his current identity was someone who wasn't real. Peggy wanted to marry Clark Kent and Clark Kent wanted to marry Peggy Carter so the issue was Kalvin Elbert. After a lot of brainstorming and discussion, Peggy and Clark figured out an idea and plan that had the highest chance of success and with Peggy being a spy and more crafty/sly then Clark, she was certain that their subterfuge would work. The one thing though was that it would take time which considering they had to focus on the war was actually a benefit as they could start small.

Peggy left after they managed to sort out all the details and soon after she was gone Howard dropped by in the afternoon with some books to keep him occupied along with some good news. His team radioed in and they were all fine. They had been conducting raids on German supply lines and camps in German-occupied French territory with assistance from the Maquis who have been stepping up their raids and activity with assistance from the SOE. They were emboldened by the Allies successful invasion into Southern France. Not only that but word of the invasion had been spread into occupied Austria and Poland with their resistance groups now more active in sabotage and information gathering. It was good to see that even with the stalling of winter that the war was still progressing with some good news for them.

Clark walked out of the bathroom wrapped up in a bathrobe after a long, hot bath which actually helped and he got changed into some clothes when he heard knocking. He wiped his nose with a tissue before he opened the door and saw Howard standing next to a taller gentleman wearing a suit who was pushing a hotel room service cart.

"Hey, Kal. How are you feeling?" Howard asked, seeing him a bit better than yesterday but judging by the sniffling and nose wiping he still wasn't 100 percent.

"Better." Kal stood back and let Howard and his friend come in. "Something wrong?"

"No, just wanted to see how you're doing and drop off something to help." Howard said as his friend pushed the cart in and began setting up some food. "Kal, this is my personal butler Edwin Jarvis. Edwin Jarvis, this man needs no introduction but allow me to introduce Captain Kalvin Elbert, the Superman."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jarvis. Apologies for my appearance and sickness." Clark waved, not wanting to shake his hand since he was sick.

"No apologies necessary, Captain Elbert and may I add it is an honor to make you acquaintance." Edwin Jarvis replied, with his accent and body language epitomizing posh English butler. "Mr. Stark informed me of your recent cold so I hope this will help. My wife's goulash and some fresh tea with homemade biscuits. I believe that a good meal should do wonders for your recovery."

"Thank you, Mr. Jarvis." Clark gave him an appreciative nod. He walked over and Mr. Jarvis pulled out his seat for him and even went so far as to unfold the napkin and put it on his lap. "That's quite all right, Mr. Jarvis. I'm not someone who needs to be waited on. I'm just sick, I'm not dead."

"Very well, sir." Jarvis stepped back as Howard walked over to the pile of books on the nightstand. They were the books he brought over yesterday to help him pass the time. The Hobbit, Murder on the Orient Express, Gone with the Wind, and the Maltese Falcon. A few of his favorites.

"So, how's the recovery? The books treating you well?" Howard wondered.

"They did. Thanks. It was a nice distraction and I've been wanting to read some of them for a while. You can take them back. I went through all of them last night." Clark told him.

"Really? These books? Hundreds of pages of complex plot and characters and you went through them all in one night. I find that hard to believe." Howard remarked so Clark tapped the side of his head.

"There are benefits to the serum that aren't physical. For one thing my mind is sharper and I'm able to retain information. Thanks to the serum I have a perfect memory." Clark said before he took a bite of the goulash and hummed in delight. "This is delightful, Mr. Jarvis. Please tell your wife thank you."

"Happy to be of service, Captain Elbert, and my wife will be delighted to hear it." Jarvis replied with a smile.

Howard, being Howard and intrigued by Clark's statement decided to test his claim on the new perfect memory so he picked up the Hobbit and skimmed through until he stopped on a random page. "My armor is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords…"

"…my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane and my breath death. Chapter 12 page 224." Clark finished Howard's quote without an issue. Howard was undeterred and flipped to another page.

"There were no more de—"

"…deer, not even rabbits were to be seen. By the afternoon they had reached the eves of Mirkwood, and were resting almost beneath the great overhanging boughs of its outer trees. Their trunks were huge and gnarled, their branches twisted, their leaves were dark and long. Ivy grew on them and trailed along the ground. Chapter 7 page 134." Clark recited word for word.

"Ok, I'll admit well done, Kal. I'm intrigued but novels are one thing. The good ones, like the ones I gave you are written to hook you in and make you remember the story. Anyone can get lucky twice." The mischievous glint in Howard's eye was shining like a star as he was going to have some fun with this so he gave Clark a pat on the shoulder and grabbed the books. "Rest up, Kal. I'll be back. Come on, Jarvis."

"Oh dear…" Jarvis sighed and followed Howard out of the room, giving Clark a head nod before walking out.

"Oh boy…" Clark muttered to himself before he got back to his meal. He turned on the radio and enjoyed the lovely goulash and tea. Mrs. Jarvis was an exceptional cook. When he finished he placed everything together back on the cart Mr. Jarvis left behind and sat by the window, enjoying the scenery. About two hours later, there was a knock on the door and in walked Howard with a very large and thick book that definitely wasn't for pleasure reading. Howard had a smirk on his face as he placed the book down on Clark's lap and on the cover read American Law Volume 1. "You have a law book?"

"Found it in the SSR base. Now, I'm not a lawyer and neither are you so go ahead and read through this thing and tomorrow I'll have a test ready for you." Howard told him while Jarvis cleaned up the empty plates from Clark's lunch.

"No need." Clark opened the book and began speed reading it right there in front of him. Clark was a blur of movement as Howard and Jarvis saw the book's pages flutter from the first to the final page until after about ten seconds the back cover was closed on the book. "Whew." Clark shook his head as his brain processed everything. "Ok, give me your best shot."

Howard, still undaunted, took the law book and randomly picked a page at random before he started reading. "Page 193. Civil Liability associated with agency is based—"

"…on several factors including the deviation of the agent from his path, a reasonable inference of agency on behalf of the plaintiff and the nature of the damages themselves." Clark recited, finishing the quote with the stunned silence and look of disbelief on Howard's face enough of a tell that he got it right.

Howard quickly turned to a page on the opposite end of the book and found a lengthy paragraph. "1031 exchange—"

"Also known as tax-deferred exchange refers to the ability of the investors and organizations to replace one investment for a similar one instead of keeping the proceeds. For certain transactions, the exchange allows the investor or organization to defer capital gains taxes until the new investment is actually sold for the proceeds. The initial property is typically sold for money but this money must be used quickly to acquire a new replacement investment governed by section 1031 of the Federal tax code." Clark recited it word for word without so much as a second though.

"Ok, that is incredible." Howard's face of disbelief quickly turned into giddy excitement like he just had a new toy. "Once this war is over and you're a hero and everything and we're back stateside, I want you to come work for me at Stark Industries. With your super brain now and your speed, you can do the work of 75% of my company in half the time. Not to mention combined with your growing fame fanned by yours truly, we'll mop up and inside a year I'll have you living the millionaire life like me, Kal. Welcome to the club."

Howard patted Clark on the shoulders and jostled him around like a kid who got a dog. Just pure excitement. Howard's imagination went wild as he imagined all the great things that he and Kal could accomplish in the future when the war is over. The Superman working for Stark Industries to help usher America and the world into a new age of technological advancement. With his speed and now enhanced brain capacity and perfect memory, Howard could make Kal as smart as he is, maybe even smarter. If he was able to completely memorize a thick Law book then all Howard had to do was put him in a university library for a few days and he'd have all that knowledge stuck in his head. The knowledge of higher education from around the world that would take a regular person like Howard years to learn could be absorbed and locked in Kal's head in a matter of days. While he wasn't sure yet on the limits of his now super memory it could still be tremendous. Even taking Kal's super memory out of the equation, having Superman work for Stark industries would bring them both uncharted fame and fortune. The genius engineer/scientist and the Man of Steel working side by side to end the war and fight Hydra then working together to help the world via Stark Industries.

It would be glorious.

Clark and Mr. Jarvis just watched as Howard was so enraptured by his own imagination which was likely going on and on about how great he was or whatever was running through his head. To the two of them Howard just had a stupid grin on his face like a mix of the high of a morphine drip and a child looking up to see his balloon floating away. Basically, he looked stupid and Clark would be holding it over his head for years to come.

"Has this happened before?" Clark asked Mr. Jarvis.

"Unfortunately, so. Give him a few more moments. He usually snaps himself out of this." Mr. Jarvis replied.

A few minutes passed in which Mr. Jarvis had poured Clark some more warm tea with extra honey and lemon for his throat, Howard finally snapped out of his little trip down imagination land and saw the looks he was getting "What?"

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Clark wondered. "And thanks for the job offer, Howard, really, thanks but I'm not sure Stark Industries would be a good fit for me."

"Of course it will. You love me so you'll love Stark Industries. You'll be working in Manhattan in New York City with all the glitz and glam coming your way from your new reputation. People are loving you so you'll get the full heroes welcomes when you return stateside. Hell, you'll probably be treated better than actors and even the president. If you're worried about an advanced degree or whatever then don't. I own the company so I've got final say on who I can hire and if you're that worried about it then no problem. I've got connections at Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, and other universities. I can send you there and you'll get your degree in no time. With your super memory and your speed, you'll have no problem. I'm actually jealous but it's ok. I'll just dock your pay a bit. Call it your super power tax." Howard joked and Clark chuckled a bit. Howard's tone was frantic but that was mainly due to his enthusiasm for this idea. He really wanted Clark to work for him and while it was partially for the great benefits of Clark's abilities it was also because he wanted his friend to work with him. The two were friends and Howard wanted to take care of his friend and have an excuse to do something important that didn't involve the war. It was sweet and Howard was rarely, if ever, sentimental.

"Look, Howard, I appreciate the offer, really I do but that's not really what I had planned for when the war ended." Clark told him.

"Really? Well, what do you have planned?" Howard wondered.

"Just go home and get back to my old life in Kansas." Clark answered and Howard was waiting for the next part which never came.

"That's it? Just go back home to your old life?"

"Pretty much."

"That's unacceptable." Howard looked offended and betrayed like if Clark had drunk all his Scotch with asking and without buying him more. "Kal, that's the craziest thing I've ever heard. You're famous now. You're Superman. That S you have on your chest is likely one the most recognizable pieces of iconography now on par with the Statue of Liberty and the Great Wall of China. There are kids back home reading a Superman comic book and playing make believe as Superman because of you. Wives and parents can rest easy knowing that your work has helped keep their loved ones safe. Newspapers have spread the tales of your great deeds and your handsome mug to every corner of the continent back home. You've helped the Allies push this war to end sooner and everything you've done deserves recognition. When you get home you could head to Los Angeles and hang out with Charlie Chaplin, go to a club with Humphrey Bogart, go to dinner and bed with Ginger Rogers and Rita Hayworth and they'd be all for it. Hell, bring Peggy in with the two of them."

"Yeah, that all sounds so appealing to me." Clark said with heavy sarcasm. "You know if Peggy were here she'd have slapped you in the head for those last two comments and then said something insulting to you."

"Look, Kal, take your old Midwest good boy charm and upbringing out of this for a second. If anyone deserves fame and recognition, it's you. I mean, hell you're the reason we secured Italy and the French are back in France. You're the reason German army units surrender and why Hitler has been having a very crappy year. You should be applauded, paraded, celebrated…"

"Cheered at by a mob of fanatical people who think I'm a god?" Clark countered, not liking where that line of thinking was going. "Hitler thought the same and look what's he's done to the world."

"Ok, a little melodramatic there, Kal. I mean—"

"Howard, let me just stop you right there…" Clark wiped his nose with a tissue before he cleared his throat. "…I appreciate the sentiment and everything, really I do. I get what you're trying to do but that's not who I am or am ever going to be. I don't want fame and fortune. I don't want an army of press taking my picture and I don't want people looking at me like I'm a god. I just want to do what I can, help who I can and then go home."

"Come on, Kal. I mean Steve—"

"If Steve were here with us he'd tell you the exact same thing. It's why I helped him leave the USO. We didn't do this for the fame. We're just two men trying to do what we can and that's it." Clark said and Howard relented, albeit reluctantly. Deep down he knew Kal was right. Howard enjoyed his fame and fortune that gave him the lifestyle he was accustomed to but Kal was not him. He didn't want global recognition and didn't seek fame or power to become the next president. He was just a kid from Kansas trying to help in the war and Howard had to respect that.

"You're right, you're right. I'm just…I guess with everything that's happened I figured you deserve something better." Howard told him.

"I appreciate that, Howard, I really do…but I don't need more than I already have. After everything that has happened…I'm ready to go back to my old life." Clark admitted. Howard smiled and sat down across from him at the table.

"I can respect that, Kal, I can and if anyone has earned the right to relax after the war then it's you. But…" Howard quickly adopted a look of unease. "…I can't help but feel that maybe your life may not go exactly back to normal. Not the fame or recognition part but with everything you've done I'm not so sure the army is just going to leave you alone."

"I figured as much but you don't think they'd do anything drastic, do you?" Clark wondered.

"Not drastic, no. With all the praise Colonel Phillips has been getting for the SSR with everything you've done then they know you're an asset. Like me they'll want to keep you happy but my situation is different than yours. I make weapons and build equipment that they'll buy and use whereas you're a soldier who can shrug off explosions and shoot out lasers from your eyes. With that kind of power, I guarantee that the army could try bring you back into service in the future if they deem it necessary. I'm not sure you'll be able to leave this like you're thinking." Howard warned him and it was a valuable warning. It was still too early to tell as they were currently fighting one war to think about another but Howard had a point.

"Being called back into active duty if I'm needed, I understand. It's what I knew signing up for the army in the first place but I mean, my situation is different, right? Technically, I'm a member of the SSR so would I really be beholden to orders from the army?" Clark pointed out and Howard was intrigued. There was probably a whole bunch of bureaucratic and administrative legal papers that would make things needlessly complicated to figure out but Clark may have just figured out a potential loophole.

"That's a good point and something we can figure out but then the only caveat to that could be that you stick with the SSR after the war is over. Still, not exactly going back to your old life but it could be something that works in tandem with it." Howard suggested. "Look, first off this is all guessing as we have no idea how things are going to be when the war is over. Who knows, maybe falling back into obscurity is an option for you and if anyone will have earned that right it's you. From what I hear you got chummy with the President so he's someone who could help you with that. Not to mention Colonel Phillips and yours truly. Just because you're not working for me doesn't mean I'm not going to help you. I've got some political capital I can use if it comes to it. Rest assured that even as Kalvin Elbert you've got me in your corner."

"Thanks, Howard." Clark told him.

"My pleasure but this comes with the promise that you stay in touch and visit. At the very least to come around for dinners every now and then and so that I can exploit your super brain." Howard joked and Clark just chuckled in amusement. He never expected to befriend the genius playboy Howard Stark but by some miracle it happened and here he was promising to help him when the war was over. Perhaps there was a possibility that Howard could join Peggy as someone who he could trust with an important secret.

Clark felt a tingle in his nose and quickly rushed to the window. "Achoo!"

Another powerful gust of wind blew out of his nose and mouth along with some loud noise that likely shocked some nearby people. Clark pulled his head back inside and saw Jarvis holding a tissue. "Thank you."

"You're welcome and bless you." Jarvis replied but Howard had a look of intrigue like he was observing a science problem.

"Yeah, bless you. So, the SSR incident was your first ever sneeze since Project Rebirth, right?" Howard asked.

"Yes. By the way, how's the base doing?" Clark wondered.

"They fixed up the hole this morning. Place is back in order." Howard answered and Clark was relieved to hear it. "One of your reports mentioned taking out a U-boat along the Riviera. Did you have any issue holding your breath underwater?"

"No."

"How long?"

"I guess in total maybe a few minutes but I was also pushing the U-boat to resurface during most of it and didn't have a problem. I felt like I could have held my breath underwater for much longer if I needed to. Why?"

"Because I've had this theory that your super powered sneeze is really just you realizing you have another ability this entire time that could prove useful to you."

"What? Sneezing?" Clark quipped and Howard just rolled his eyes.

"No, your lung capacity. With your sneeze blowing a hole in reinforced concrete and not being an issue when you're holding your breath underwater while resurfacing a submarine then your lung capacity has to have been greatly enhanced from Project Rebirth. Roger's too but he would likely just blow out a candle or toss some papers around. I'm betting if you take a deep enough breath and force it through your lips like you're blowing out candles then it could come out like a hurricane wind gale but this you don't need to sneeze to do it." Howard suggested and while it seemed ridiculous, his idea was based on some sound theory. "And like with your heat vision and your other abilities, testing it is necessary."

"I'm not going to blow a hole in this hotel." Clark told him.

"Nor should you. I'm happy to pay for your room service but I'm not going to spend millions of dollars rebuilding this place on a test. I'm gonna arrange a test for this once you get better. Before you head back out there it only makes sense that we make sure I'm right. In fact, I'm going to make some adjustments. Rest up, Kal." Howard patted him on the back and walked away while Jarvis gathered up all the dishes and stuff before exiting the room.

"Captain Elbert." Jarvis bowed his head and left the room, leaving Clark alone and at peace.

"Yeah…there's no way I'd be able to work for Howard." Clark said to himself before he wiped his nose with a tissue.

Two days later…

In the outskirts of London, Clark was standing in the same testing field that the SSR had used to test his heat vision but today they were testing what Howard was now calling his super breath. The engineers and scientists from the SSR were all decked out in some heavy coats but thankfully Clark had used bursts of his heat vision to heat up the area so it wasn't as bad as it normally would be. The engineers moved an old truck into the target zone for the test as Howard and the scientist jotted things down while Clark just waited, adorned in his Superman suit. Well, a spare that Howard had made.

As Kelex predicted, yesterday Clark was back to normal as his body finally healed and recovered from his cold. No more sneezing, sore throat, or stuffy head. His body would still need a little more time to get back to full strength and absorb enough yellow sun radiation with all the clouds in the sky but it was getting there. Clark was just grateful to not be sneezing anymore. He had informed Colonel Phillips that he was feeling better yesterday but the Colonel gave him the day to make sure so now he was back in active duty and the first thing to do was to test Howard's theory on his super breath.

"Ok, Kal…" Howard walked over wearing a thick coat and earmuffs to keep his ears warm. "…we're all set to test your super breath."

"Howard, not to be a downer and make all your hard work feel like a waste of time but I've been blowing air from my mouth and it's just like regular breath. I'm not sure what you're expecting." Clark told him.

"That's because you're treating this like regular breath. I mean you're able to breathe in and out without causing a tornado so it's not regular breathing that's going to make this work. If my theory holds true then I want you to take a really deep breath and blow it out as hard as you can like you're forcing it out. All right. You got this." Howard patted him on the shoulder before he walked behind Clark for safety. The other scientists and engineers did the same as Clark took a step forward and looked at the truck. Thankfully there were miles of forests in the distance so he didn't need to worry about collateral damage.

Remembering Howard's instructions, Clark took some deep breaths to prepare himself before he took one very deep breath. The air was sucked into his mouth and his lungs expanded, filling with a tremendous amount of air and when he felt like he had enough he blew it all out as hard as he could.

[Powerful gust of wind]

Like a sudden gust from a tornado sprang forth, an incredible amount of compressed air expelled from Clark's mouth. All the snow on the ground and surrounding trees were blown forward so none of it covered the area in front of Clark for at least a hundred meters and the truck that was the target was blasted forward like it was shot out of a cannon. Bits of it had come off from the sudden force but it crashed down into some trees about 150 meters away.

"Ha! I knew I was right!" Howard cheered while the scientists and engineers gave a round of applause. Clark was stunned in what just happened. Looks like he had a new ability to use though was a bit dismayed that Howard figured it out because now he was going to be insufferably smug about this for a while. Howard ran up to Clark and jostled him from behind. "Oh, boy do I love being right. Never doubt me, Kal. Never doubt me."

"Guess that's why you're a genius and I'm not." Clark admitted.

"And don't you forget it." Howard smirked in delight when his gaze was drawn to vapor that came out of Clark's mouth when he spoke and when he was breathing. Not just Clark but himself and the scientists and engineers. It was cold out so the warm, moist air from their breaths were turning into condensed water droplets and creating the visible clouds via condensation. It happened to everyone and was basic science 101 but it made Howard realize something else that could be possible about Clark's super breath. Howard rushed over to get some things and returned a few moments later with some metal sheets from the truck. He piled them together along with some chairs in the spot where the truck used to be. "Ok, Clark can you set this stuff on fire? Melt it or whatever."

"Uh sure but why?"

"Just do it." Howard told him so Clark relented and fired a quick burst of his heat vision at the pile of items. The sheets of metal melted into burning hot slag and the chairs caught fire. "Ok, now I want you do to the same thing as before but when you breathe the air out, purse you lips tightly."

"What?"

"Purse your lips tightly so you force the air through the narrowest opening possible. Just humor me." Howard told him so Clark decided to go with it.

Clark took a deep breath and breathed out like before but did what Howard said and pursed his lips so the air was forced out through a narrow or pressurized opening. He breathed out a similarly powerful gust of air which was more focused but instead of sending the molten metal slag and burning chairs into the sky they began to freeze until they were covered in ice. Clark stopped mid-way through his exhale because he was in disbelief while Howard was all smug smile. The once burning and scorching hot pile was now frozen solid in a blanket of ice.

"How?" Clark asked as he and Howard walked over to the frozen pile.

"The Joule-Thomson effect of Thermodynamics. Gases change temperature when expanding usually caused by pressure of transference through a valve or orifice. The smaller or more pressurized opening for the gas to escape and expand then the more significant the drop in temperature because of how gas molecules expand to fill whatever volume is available. The more pressure and smaller opening for the gas to expand and the greater the temperature drop you get. It's the whole science for refrigeration. Our breath can do the same thing. Large open mouth breathing is hot but pursed lips is cool. With you everything is taken to super levels so the amount of pressure your lips put on all the air you breathed out was so great it caused such a drastic temperature drop that when the air comes out it's freezing." Howard cracked off a piece of now freezing molten slag and tossed it to Clark. "Looks like you've got freeze breath as well as super breath."

"This is incredible. I had no idea…" Clark was stunned while Howard was all giddy and smiling. "You could do without the smugness though?"

"Is it smugness if you're a genius and you're right all the time? Maybe you're right because I'm feeling very smug right now. Do I look smug because I feel smug?" Howard quipped and Clark rolled his eyes. He was half tempted to use his super breath and send Howard flying away. That's when he got an idea.

"Oh…ah…Ah…" Clark's nose scrunched up and his lips quivered. Howard saw he was sneezing and so he scrambled for cover. He ran to the side but Clark's head followed him so he pivoted and ran the other direction only for Clark to turn his again.

"HIT THE DECK!" Howard dropped down and covered his head like a bomb was going to go off which technically was kind of true. Howard curled his legs into his body and covered his head with his hands as he waited for a tornado to blow past him…only it never came. He peaked his head up from his hands and looked around to see nothing bad happened so he turned around and saw Clark actually snickering a bit and looking down at him with a smirk. All signs he was going to sneeze were gone as it was now clear it was never going to happen in the first place. He had just been tricked.

"Ok, very funny. Ha-ha. Very amusing." An unamused Howard exclaimed at seeing Clark's little stunt.

"I thought so. Never thought I'd see you run and cower like that but I thoroughly enjoyed it." Clark quipped while Howard just glared at him. "Do I look smug? I think so. I feel smug so I must look smug."

"Ha-ha." Howard got back to his feet all the while Clark was as smug as he was a few moments ago. Sweet Karma.

All jokes and smugness aside, this was a good moment as this new ability, like the others that Clark discovered, was going to be a big help. Already the first thing that came to mind was how it would be useful in putting out fires.

Line Break xxxxx

Menton, France February 1944

The border town of Menton on the French Riviera and the Italian mountains was the first city Clark liberated during Operation Dragoon. It was acting now as one of the main hubs for the Allies with Nice being their supply hub because of its larger ports for the Allied ships. Large trucks outfitted with snow plows routinely kept the roads clean but the weather near the coast was more mild compared to further inland so they didn't need to worry too much. In Menton, the Allies quickly established numerous camps and command posts for the US, UK, and French forces along with all the expeditionary groups from various countries partnered with the Allies before they moved on to the other cities liberated from German-occupation. Forward operating positions were set up inland to conduct operations against the German defensive lines.

Aiding the Allies in this was the work of the Maquis who were emboldened by the Allies invasion of France and quick liberation of the Riviera. They aided the Allies with intelligence on the patrols and location for the German army along with sabotage and the aid of their smuggling/transportation routes. Those same routes were what aided the Howling Commandos and Taskforce Vanguard when they were deep behind enemy lines in taking out the Hydra Facilities in France and then the safe passage into Belgium. They still didn't know who Soteria was but the network of connections and safe havens they had was helping the Allies so they were fine with the mystery.

After their success in taking down Castle Caldera, Taskforce Vanguard and the Howling Commandos made their way from Belgium back into France with help from the Maquis though they were concerned when Clark went MIA. Still, Steve kept them on mission and they made their way back to the Allied safe zone, performing sabotage and reconnaissance missions along the way. With the aid of the Maquis, they made it back into Allied territory and aided Allied Forces in performing sabotage, recon, and offensive actions against German-occupied territory. The soldiers rallied behind Captain America who led them valiantly into battle.

The Commandos and Taskforce Vanguard were now enjoying some well-deserved R at one of the best hotels in Menton which was acting as a barracks for the officers and now them. Rest, recovery, and restocking of supplies along with some showers, warmth, and good food. Logan was sitting in the restaurant of the hotel at a small table, reading a newspaper with his cigar perched in his mouth and a small glass of whiskey next to the ashtray. He had just had breakfast and was now enjoying some peace and quiet while the rest of the team were sleeping in or doing whatever. Logan was someone whose past, much like Clark's, was definitely interesting and so rarely did he get to enjoy moments of peace like this. Just sitting around and enjoying a cigar while he read the newspaper was a godsend especially with everything the Taskforce has gotten involved with. He read over some articles about how things were going back in the states. Random celebrity news, movies, sports and such which were inconsequential considering the war.

He turned the page and read through an article that peaked his interest. Senator Jack Jennings of Kansas had been making waves in DC with his full support of President Roosevelt's introduction of African-America divisions into the European theater of war and calling for their equal rights and fair treatment citing the changing landscape of the world with the war. He went on to say how the US is fighting for freedom and a better tomorrow in Europe against Hitler and the Germans so they should be doing the same thing back home for everyone. His outspoken views have earned him plenty of criticism from other senators and politicians, mainly those with heavy influences in former slavery and current Jim Crow segregation. Senator Jennings was from Kansas which has been fairly progressive since it entered the Union as a freed state in 1861 and thankfully Senator Jennings wasn't alone as he did attract other like-minded Senators who shared similar views along with President Roosevelt with the greatest help being Superman. A few photos from the Legion of Merit commendation dinner had circulated of Superman and Senator Jack Jennings together helped since the friendship with the Allies driving force against the Nazi's helped public perception. Of course, the photos were circulated on purpose as Superman took them with Senator Jennings to help since he was ok getting involved in politics for the right reasons with the right people. Superman's speech during the medal ceremony and Taskforce Vanguard itself were proof of him standing by his morals so it did a lot in getting Senator Jennings both public and political support for equal rights. That and the Superman comics he was responsible for helped to subtly influence the next generation. Granted it was still way too soon to tell how much of an effect this would have as dealing with politics wasn't easy and they did have a war to worry about but perhaps starting now would make things easier in the future.

"Not bad, Kal, not bad." Logan muttered. He could care less about politics but it was nice to see that Kal was using his influence for something good. He put his cigar down in the ashtray and grabbed his whiskey glass when he noticed two people by the bar. It was Steve Rogers and Anna Drake, both of whom were wearing civilian clothes and having breakfast together. No one had recognized Steve as without the recognizable suit and shield then people didn't really know what he looked like which was a blessing so he wasn't bothered. Logan didn't need his usual keen eyes to tell that there was more going on between the two then just a casual breakfast between friends.

For one thing, the two were much too chummy for it to be casual. The flirtatious eyes Anna was given Steve which in turn made him blush or stammer a bit. The second thing was that Logan and the others had heard the late-night activities Steve and Anna had gotten up to last night. With Clark being on his own for a while first with staying behind after Tehran, heading to Africa and then going MIA after Belgium, Taskforce Vanguard worked alongside the Howling Commandos in the interim. Both teams got along with each other so there wasn't an issue and both were accustomed to irregular warfare for their missions. The increase in skilled operators/soldiers made their efforts twice as effective and there was good camaraderie between the groups. To everyone's surprise, Steve Rogers and Anna Drake got familiar. No one expected it but if this war taught them anything it's to expect the unexpected. Guess the time together allowed them to get to know one another. Steve was relatively charming and a good guy while Anna was fierce, determined, and resilient considering everything she went through with the loss of her husband when the Nazi's rose to power. It wasn't easy and a wall had been built up but Steve's good-hearted nature managed to get through that in the end. No one knew the specifics because Steve and Anna kept things to themselves and everyone respected that because no one wanted Anna's climbing axe in their leg.

"Not bad, boy scout." Logan finished up his whiskey and grabbed his cigar before heading out. He was going to take a walk around, see where everyone was while they were still on leave for the new few days.

He stepped out of the hotel and zipped up his jacket while he puffed his cigar when his nose picked up a scent. He sniffed the air a few more times and recognized it, quickly adopting a smirk so he followed his nose through the city to the US Army Division base. The MPs and soldiers there didn't give Logan any issue as they recognized him as a member of Taskforce Vanguard. He headed to the main command tent where the officers were gathered going over intelligence/reports and consolidating them for the next moves of the various divisions and battalions. The MPs at the command tent gave Logan a salute and he saluted them back before walking in to see the US, UK, and French officers around a table with the main map of the area. Standing with them was Clark dressed in his suit and he was explaining some recent recon he did for them on German patrol routes, movements and positions.

"…they were moving artillery and fortifying the surrounding towns around Gap here. It's set up at a strategic crossroads for the area and the Durance river is 5 km south so they were setting up here to the southwest at Tallard, along Montclar further south and to the east at Crots. They're using the river to ferry supplies from Gap to the surrounding defensive fortifications and set up solid barriers along the main roads and key bridges. The best bet would be to hit Tallard and Montclar first. Crots has hills and mountains in the surrounding terrain so if you take the other two first then it'll cut Crots off from reinforcements here in Gap. Heavy artillery were set up…" Clark took a pencil and made marks on the map at the two towns. "…here, here, here, here and along the northern shoreline of the Durance river about 3 kms south of Chorges."

"Thank you, Captain." The Major in charge said to him before he looked to his officers. "Get those coordinates to the nearest artillery positions and began prepping 5th battalion for the attack on Tallard. The British 7th will take Montclar with the French."

The officers all gave him a salute and got to work with the Major excusing himself to handle some letters he had to send as an office aid walked over with some papers for Clark to review. "How's the team, Logan?"

"Resting up. A few bumps and bruises but we're fine." Logan told him. "How'd you know it was me and not Kingsley."

"My nose is as good as yours and you're the only one who smells like cigars." Clark pointed out. Logan shrugged as he joined Clark at the table. "Glad you're all ok."

"Feels like I should be saying that to you. That stuff Hydra was cooking up in that missile must have been some seriously bad if it laid you out for two weeks." Logan remarked and Clark nodded. The story told to the Commandos and Clark's team was that the missile knocked him unconscious which is why he was MIA for two weeks. The only one who knew the truth about the situation being the alien planet was Peggy. "You sure you're doing ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Got a clean bill of health and had my own R . Ready to get back into the fight and we got new orders straight from General Eisenhower." Clark handed Logan a folder. He skimmed through it to see the detailed aerial reconnaissance photos taken by Army airplanes and intel collaborated by SOE agents imbedded with partisan groups.

"We're heading into Austria." Logan said in shock.

"General Eisenhower got word of my efforts in helping secure the Riviera so he wants a two-pronged attack for the rest of the war. Field Marshal's Montgomery's 21st Army Group and the American 12th Army Group are going to stay here and make the push to Paris and then hopefully Belgium and the Netherlands. They'll be supplemented with the 101st Airborne Division who are getting mobilized as we speak and of course General DeGaulle's Free French Forces will help them. We're taking General Jacob Devers' 6th Army Group and making the push into Central and Eastern Europe. We take Austria and then push east into Czechoslovakia and Poland." Clark explained and Logan understand why they might want to get to Poland before the Soviets could.

"Take out Projekt Endstation and keep the Soviets from getting any Kryptonite there. Makes sense. Anna is going to be happy we're heading north to Austria. An even bigger pep in her step." Logan joked only for Clark to look at him in confusion. "She and the boy scout got up to some late-night action."

"Oh…Oh!" Clark faltered a bit before it sunk in what Logan meant. "Huh…good for Steve…but how?"

"I don't know and I'm not planning on asking." Logan answered and Clark agreed. Best to not complicate things or make them awkward by asking questions and such. "I'll go tell the others to get suited up."

"You can belay that, Logan. The advance force for the 6th Army Group is still getting ready. All the heavy winter gear for the tanks and trucks was delayed a few days. Let the team enjoy the rest of their R . Plus, you have some celebrating to do." Clark reached into a bag he had on the floor and removed a small box which he gave to Logan. It was opened to reveal new chevrons for the Sergeant First Class ranking. "Congratulations Sergeant First Class James Logan Howlett."

"How'd you pull that off?" Logan wondered, looking at the chevrons in curiosity.

"The missions this team has handled have earned these promotions and Colonel Phillips gave me full discretion. Battlefield Commission is coming your way soon enough." Clark assured him.

Logan wasn't exactly someone who cared about his rank in the army but the fact Clark was doing this was a noble gesture and reflective of their hard work. Not to mention that the promotions earned them better pay when this was all over. "Thanks, Kal." Logan patted him on the back.

"You're welcome." Clark gave him a nod before he grabbed his bag. "Let's make it official to the others."

"Follow me." Logan led Clark out of the tent and through the camp back to the hotel where the team was staying. The soldiers gave the two of them a wide berth and saluted Clark as he walked by. When they left the camp and began walking through the streets of Menton, Clark drew attention because the French civilians recognized his suit and the S on his chest, giving him the same wide berth as the soldiers did. Clark was courteous with a smile and waved at them and they waved back.

They arrived at the hotel and Clark headed to the restaurant while Logan went to round up the team. He walked in and saw a few people sitting around having breakfast, just officers staying at the hotel but he did see Steve and Anna at the bar and they were being very chummy. Guess Logan was right about them.

Clark lingered there in the entrance to the doorway for a bit before walking in which is when Steve noticed his arrival. "Kal…" Steve got up from his seat and Anna turned around, standing up and straightened herself out when Clark motioned her to stop.

"Easy, Anna. Relax. You're off-duty so don't worry. I just arrived. I'm not here to interrupt anything." Clark assured her.

"Glad to see you walking about, Kal. We were worried for a while." Steve said as they shook hands.

"Yeah but I'm back and better. Thanks for looking out for my team." Clark replied and Steve nodded.

"Don't mention it." Steve told him. "You have another mission?"

"We've got our orders but we're still waiting on a few things. I'll go over everything when the others show up so I can explain it to everyone." Clark answered before looking at the two and seeing how they were doing their best to make it not awkward that they were just on a date. "And don't worry you two. My lips are sealed."

The two gave Clark an appreciative nod before they returned to finish their breakfast while he got a table nearby and just had some coffee. About thirty minutes later, Clark and Anna had moved to small conference room in the hotel where the rest of Taskforce Vanguard joined them. Steve had finished his breakfast with Anna and left to regroup with his team and give Taskforce Vanguard some privacy. Some of Taskforce Vanguard were walking a bit slower then others, mainly Lucas who drank too much last night so he and others walked in with mugs of coffee in their hands when they saw Clark and perked up.

"Boss? You're back…or am I'm too hungover and my head is messing with me?" Lucas wondered so Padma gave him a smack on the head. "Oh, not the head."

"This is real." Arthur quipped before he looked at Clark. "Glad to have you back, Kal."

"Glad to be back and to see everyone's all right. I know things have been…weird the past two months to say the least but I'm proud of how this team has handled it. The work you've done with Captain Rogers and the Commandos in my absence is nothing short of exemplary and Colonel Phillips and I can't thank you enough. I can't make it a promise but so long as I can help it, I'll avoid any more long hiatus from the team." Clark told them.

"Considering how after your hiatus you end up returning with a new ability that helps us then I think we're ok with it." Logan quipped and he did have a point. "I don't suppose you have another new one."

"You'll just have to wait and find out." Clark replied and everyone chuckled. "Wait being the key word for here. I'm back now but you've still got some days of leave left before our next assignment. Logan already knows this and I've informed command here but our orders come directly from Colonel Phillips who got them directly for General Eisenhower. He wants a two-pronged offensive going forward. Field Marshal's Montgomery's 21st Army Group and the American 12th Army Group are going to stay here and make the push to Paris and then hopefully Belgium and the Netherlands. They'll be supplemented with the 101st Airborne Division who are getting mobilized as we speak and of course General DeGaulle's Free French Forces will help them. We're taking General Jacob Devers' 6th Army Group and making the push into Austria. We're liberating Central and Eastern Europe."

Clark's declaration caught everyone off guard and there was a moment of silence for them to soak it all in before they all looked at Anna. Their new objective meant more to her than it did the others since it meant they would be liberating her home from Nazi/German occupation. Everything she and her people have suffered would finally be avenged and she was the most determined.

"When do we leave?" Anna asked him with clear interest and determination in her eyes.

"In a few days. We're still waiting on elements from the 6th Army Group to arrive but once they do then we make the push." Clark took out a map from his pocket and put it on a table for them to see. "We're heading back into Italy and then into the Trentino-South Tyrol area. It's the northern most part of the country and borders Austria and Switzerland. It's mountainous by nature but offers us the straightest path into Austria and then straight through over the border into the Rhine of Germany."

"I'll say. Munich just shy of the southern border there." Lucas pointed out.

"140 kms from Innsbruck, the 5th largest city in the country and at a prime crossroads to Switzerland to the west and the rest of Austria to the east. I used to go there all the time to ski." Anna said with fondness as old memories came flooding back but quickly refocused. "It's surrounded by mountains and no doubt will be heavily guarded but nothing you can't handle, Kal."

"No, it's not and while the mountains will be a pain in the butt to get through it's precisely why we're going that way. The Germans won't think we'd take that route especially in the winter but that's precisely why we will. It'll catch them off guard." Clark told everyone.

"And it also helps that you're basically a walking wrecking ball that'll be able to melt the snow if it becomes a problem." Solange remarked.

"Exactly. We push into Austria and secure Innsbruck. We liberate that city and it's the perfect place for the 6th army group to operate. We'll control all the main access roads in that part of the country and the army can begin poking holes in the German defensive line. They'll keep them occupied while we then move east through the rest of the country and then into Czechoslovakia." Clark explained and the team listened.

"What's our ultimate goal?" Arthur asked.

"A pincer move. We surround Germany from the east all the while the rest of the army does it from the west. Germany will be surrounded on two sides and we can box them in but we're also heading to Poland as soon as possible. The weapons project there needs to be stopped before those Maschinensoldaten end up in the wrong hands or they're able to make more. We take them out then all Hitler has left is his conventional army which is already losing ground as it is. This would be the culmination of everything we've done. All the combat, the recon, the grueling hours and days we've spent together have had a real impact and this isn't just me trying to make all of you feel better. Colonel Phillips and Allied Command know this as well. We take out the last special weapons project in Germany while Steve and the Commandos finish off the last of the Hydra factories then this war could be over before the year is out." Clark stated and everyone was ok with that. In fact, that statement seemed less fanciful and more probable. With everything they've been through and the miracles Kal has been able to do, they could help bring this war to a quicker end.

"Sounds good to me." Daniel Take-Yatsu replied.

"The Nazi used their own Blitzkrieg to take over Europe. It'll be nice to do the same to them." Halima added.

"If it means I can get back home a lot sooner then I'm all for it." Lucas quipped, standing up straight and feeling better like his hangover had abated, at least temporarily. Good news tended to have that effect.

"And to add on to the good news, I've got some gifts aside from the extra gear the SSR sent us." Clark took out some boxes from his pocket. "Six of you serving were former army prior to joining me and the SSR like myself and while technically we're all classified as agents, those in the military are able to keep their ranks. You've all put in hard work and it's only fair that it's properly recognized. Lucas, John, congratulations…both of you have been promoted to Sergeant."

Clark handed them their new chevrons and there was a round of applause for them. Lucas was still hampered by his hangover but he had a smile on his face as did Diggle who couldn't believe this was happening. The two saluted Clark who saluted them back.

"Next up, Richard Webb, James Howlett, Daniel Take-Yatsu, congratulations you three, you all have been promoted to Sergeant First Class." Clark told them and there was more applause, saluting, and exchanging of pleasantries. "Last but not least, Arthur Kingsley…congratulations on your battlefield commission to Second Lieutenant."

Everyone applauded Arthur as he and Clark shook hands. He had really stepped up in Clark's absence as the team leader so it was only right that his rank be reflected in that. He was now an officer and the promotion meant more authority and also greater pay once the war was over. Greater pay for everyone in Taskforce Vanguard as agents of the SSR even those that didn't have ranks like Halima, Solange, Padma, and Anna. Once this war was over, it was only right that their hard work be rewarded but first?

It was time to put in more work.

Line Break xxxxx

Italian/Austrian border February 1944

The town of Vipiteno Sterzing in the Terntino-South Tyrol region of Northern Italy was only 10 km south of the Austrian border. Given its location surrounded by large hills and mountains it was the perfect ski resort but also had connecting roads that led to other towns and cities further south so it was the perfect place for the 6th Army Group to use to converge for their push into Austria. Hundreds of jeeps and trucks carrying supplies or pulling artillery pieces converged with Allied tanks and halftrack armored vehicles. Nearby airfields housed Allied aircraft who would provide aerial cover for their border crossing until airfields could be established in Austria and as a deterrent against any Luftwaffe presence though with the current conditions air power would be minimal for both sides. With the weather being what is was in February, the path from Vipiteno Sterzing to the Austrian border was densely packed with snow and thankfully they didn't need to go through any mountains. Their path would take them through a valley so avalanches and bottlenecks were a possibility under normal circumstances.

Lucky for the Allies, this wasn't normal circumstances.

The road they were taking into Austria was strategic in that it would take them straight to Innsbruck if followed but also because it was a road that was practically barren with only two major cities/townships along the way. There were likely smaller little enclaves such as rest stops or a few small hunting lodges or farms but fewer towns meant the defensive fortifications the Germans could place in the area was limited and fewer chances of civilians getting caught in the crossfire.

At the border into Austria were a few German outposts which were small camps of soldiers who were tasked to report on the goings on of the area and report back to the bases further away. Given that the Allies had secured Italy it meant that they were on alert as any day they could cross the border into Austria and ever since they've been on alert. For example, a two-man sniper team was dressed in winter camouflage on a mountainside with a clear view of the surrounding valley and main road through the Austrian/Italian border. One man looking through the scope of his rifle while the other was looking around the area via binoculars. The crossing was manned below by German soldiers, some mortar crews, a few mobile artillery platforms, some halftrack vehicles, and one old Panzer Tank. Their camp was not too far from the crossing in a small alcove for protection as all the soldiers were on alert. They had scouts and lookouts on constant watches and multiple sniper teams so the one on the mountainside was one of many.

Like it had been for months since the Allies had invaded Italy, the sniper and scout teams reported no movement near the border crossing except for shepherds tending to sheep and goats though with the winter months they were no longer around. Only the occasional Ibex, Chamois, or wild boar along with a few brown bears were seen and luckily the Ibex and boars provided some excellent hunting for meat. One of the snipers looked through the valley with his binoculars, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary which wouldn't be that hard given that everything was covered in snow for miles so it would be pretty easy to pick up but again nothing like the last couple of months. He put the binoculars down and leaned back to rest his head when he noticed something in the distance. It was a faint glow of red deeper in the valley like a massive collection of lights were set up and powerful ones at that to be seen from kilometers away. Both snipers got a better look via their binoculars but couldn't really tell much. The hills blocked the view of the source of the red light and since the main road went around that hill and the red light was getting brighter then it was heading in their direction. The red light seemed to flicker like it was turning on and off and then back on again. They suspected it had something to do with the Allies but if it did then they just ruined any chance of a surprise attack. The sniper team quickly used their radio and reported to the border crossing about a possible situation so they could ready themselves.

One of the snipers saw the red glow getting brighter and closer before it stopped and saw someone crest over the ridge of the hill and it was a man in a red and blue suit. The man's eyes then glowed red and soon twin beams of red energy were shot out and washed over the valley. The two snipers and likely all the others in the area were witnesses to an incredible sight as they saw beams of red energy hit the surrounding hills and valley in short bursts which would explain the flashing of red light they saw before. Large clouds of smoke bellowed up from the valley, obscuring the view of the snipers only it wasn't smoke but steam. The intense beams of heat melted all the snow so quickly that it melted into water vapor which soon bellowed in the wind revealing the entire valley completely devoid of any kind of snow. The hills and main road were now completely clean and dry like it was the summer and not a harsh winter. Even from their far away position the snipers could feel the change in temperature which had risen above freezing when thick steam finally dissipated and they saw the once snow and ice laden valley had melted. Just grass, rocks, and dirt and the main road was all clear making it easier to traverse. The red lights from Superman's eyes stopped before he vanished from sight.

"Excuse me?" The sniper team turned around and saw Superman standing there with a smile on his face. "If you wouldn't mind surrendering that would be great. We have a schedule to keep and I promise that no harm will befall you."

The two snipers were momentarily caught off guard by the fact that Superman spoke in perfect German but quickly snapped out of it and registered his request. Seeing that he just melted an entire valley of ice and snow like it was nothing and then appeared behind them then they both knew there was nothing they could do so they raised their hands up in surrender.

"Smart choice. Thank you very much." Clark then picked them up by their arms and super sped away.

Twenty minutes later…

Clark stood at the German border crossing checkpoint/base into Austria with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He had a smile of pride on his face as he watched the convoy of Allied jeeps, trucks, and armored vehicles pass over the border from Italy into Austria. A majority of the convoy would continue on while some elements would stick around to secure the border crossing and set up artillery positions. Behind Clark were a company of soldiers from the 6th Army group who would be stationed at the border crossing taking over the task and camp from the Germans. The soldiers and some MPs quickly policed the German soldiers who surrendered and were now in Allied custody. The smoking and mangled wreck of the Panzer tank and the myriad bullet casings on the ground were evidence that while many of the Germans surrendered when Clark arrived, several of them didn't and they were now dead. Those were a few of the die-hard loyalists but this battalion at the border crossing was just German Wehrmacht and not SS so not all of them were willing to give their lives for what they saw as a complete loss.

As the convoy kept moving on, soldiers in the jeeps and trucks gave Clark salutes as they drove by and he saluted them back. They just entered Austria and were one step closer to ending the war.

It was time to put in the work.

A week later…

Innsbruck, Austria

The city of Innsbruck, Austria was well known for its ski lodges and as a great tourist destination but was also strategically located with it being the hub point for the main road between the eastern part of the country and then the road that led to Switzerland to the west. It was also the shortest distance from the German country border though navigating the mountains and hilly terrain would be a pain in the butt, it a strategic key point which is why it was so heavily guarded by the Germans and why the Allies had to take it.

[Sporadic gunfire & Artillery cannons]

A series of artillery crews located to the north of the city were moving in non-stop repeated motions to continue loading and unloading the guns for fire missions to help defend Innsbruck from the Allied invasion. Reports came in that the Allies has crossed the Austrian border so the city was put on full lockdown with everyone mobilized to fight, including civilians. Already, Allied artillery had begun hitting the city so the Germans fired back and the officers began moving their tanks and men into ambush positions as well as preparing traps for their vehicles and tanks. All good and well for a normal, conventional army.

An artillery loader noticed something in the distance heading straight for them. "LOOK OUT!"

[Crash]

Something smashed into the artillery cannon, crumbling the massive piece of war machinery into itself and producing a huge cloud of dust, dirt, and smoke. The German Artillery crews were in a panic as it felt like they were just bombed when something began moving through the smoke at incredible speed. The Germans were taken out in quick succession with many of them not able to get a shot off or defend themselves against their attacker. A few of them were even sent flying through the air before a speeding blur rushed out of the smoke and barreled through another artillery cannon like a wrecking ball. Said wrecking ball soared through the air before it made a three-point landing which finally revealed said wrecking ball was the Superman. Parts of his suit was on fire but it didn't bother him as he kept moving. In a blur of super speed, he blitzed forward and took out the rest of the artillery cannons in quick succession. Once they were taken out he continued on to the next group.

The sounds of German artillery slowly began to fade away until they were non-existent as Superman moved through the city at super sonic speed. After that he reported to his team who then relayed to the officers in command about German defensive positions, ambushes, and traps lying in wait so they organized attack teams supplemented with tanks and vehicles led by Taskforce Vanguard.

Within a few hours, Innsbruck had been liberated and became a key Allied foothold for their advancement into Central and Eastern Europe. To many in the 6th Army Group, they were quick to declare that the war would be over before Christmas as they would have nothing to fear with the Superman helping them.

A month later…

45 Km west of Vienna, Austria March 1944

It was a particularly cloudy day in a densely snow-packed forest of Austria. Despite it being March there was still a very cold winter chill in the air. The forest went on for miles and miles with the nearest town being hours away which added to its mystique and eerie nature. It also made it the perfect place to avoid detection as two German vehicles were driving along a narrow dirt road from Vienna and were heading west. One truck driving behind the lead vehicle, which was a Volkswagen Type 82Kübelwagen, a four-door jeep type vehicles. The cars were really moving indicating that they were in a hurry to get somewhere. Their speed coupled with a few factors like the cloudy conditions and the snow on the ground made it so the drivers didn't see the trap waiting for them until it was too late.

[Screech & Puffs of air]

The lead car and then the truck skidded on the road as something happened to the tires so the drivers slowed down to a stop, thankfully not veering off to the side and crashing. Everyone was confused as to what just happened so the driver of the Volkswagen got out and looked at the tires to see they were all deflated.

"Dammit!" He kicked the door in anger. "The tires are flat!"

"Here too!" The trucker driver shouted and all the soldiers got out of the vehicles while the drivers got the spares. The soldiers began securing the area with a few moving out to double-check the woods for an ambush. The officer of this little convoy look a closer look at the tires of the Volkswagen and saw that all four were deflated and punctured, not just one so they must have run over something. He then moved over to the truck and saw the same thing but upon a closer look he saw that the puncture marks were all small and in the same area. In fact, they were in a straight line across the tires like they drove over something. If it was a sharp rock or a stray piece of metal then it wouldn't cause the straight line of puncture marks on the tires. He signaled some of his men to begin scouring the road to find the thing that cut their tires and put everyone on alert. This wasn't an accident.

Three of the soldiers were heading back to the convoy after securing the area and spotting nothing out of the ordinary. One of them hung back so he could relieve himself and peed against a tree. He dropped his head back and relaxed as he relieved himself, unaware that he made a grave mistake in not maintaining his awareness. A few seconds later his throat was slit from behind and he crumbled to the ground as he bled out. His attacker unhooked the grenade from their belt and set something up.

The other two soldiers on the perimeter team diligently waited for their compatriot but when about five minutes passed they felt he was taking too long so they walked over and saw his body on the ground with a growing splotch of blood staining the snow below. They rushed over to help but one of them lifted his body up which caused something to roll underneath him and they saw it was an F1 grenade with the safety pin lying next to it. The body had been placed on the grenade so that the safety pin was kept in until the body was moved.

"GRAN—[BOOM]

The German officer and 8 soldiers by the vehicles heard the boom of a grenade going off to the west and they quickly scrambled for cover behind the truck. They had just found several spools of barbwire wrapped around trees on both ends of the road and hidden by snow so it was obscured when they drove by. That combined with the grenade going off proved that they were being ambushed so the soldiers got behind the truck for cover from what they were certain would be coming from the west where the grenade went off. They loaded and readied all their guns and waited. The officer peaked his head out slightly to the side but saw no sign of anyone moving in the forest. He signaled two his men to quickly finish replacing the last two tires on the truck so they could get out of there and they did while everyone else covered them.

Unbeknownst to them they were in the crosshairs of a scope for a rifle. The sniper lined up a shot and fired.

[Crack of a gunshot]

The two soldiers who were ordered to replace the tires fell to the ground with bloody holes in their heads. A sniper bullet went through the back of the head of one soldier which then kept going into the head of the second. A two for one headshot from a skilled marksman. The soldiers hunkered back down behind the truck for cover to avoid being hit by the sniper. The officer cursed as tried to spot where the sniper could be shooting from but with all the snow it was hard to tell. One of the soldiers with a scoped rifle tried to get a look before he was shot in the head and his body crumbled to the ground. That's when the officer noticed that his man was shot in the back of the head meaning that the shot didn't come from the west like the grenade explosion but from the forest to their backs in the east. That meant they were on the wrong side of cover which was proven right as two more gunshots went off taking out two more soldiers quickly.

"Get to cover!" The officer and the remaining five soldiers moved from the truck and took cover behind trees.

One of the men peaked his head out and saw a reflective glint in the distance so he picked up a stick and tossed it to the officer before making some hand signals. He followed the direction his men was point and saw the glint which had to be the sniper so he signaled two soldiers to stay behind here with cover and provide covering fire while the officer and remaining three soldiers would flank around. The two soldiers loaded their guns and fired controlled bursts at the reflective glint in the distance. The chances of them hitting the target were low but their bullets were just to keep the sniper pinned down. The officer and one soldier flanked left while the other two soldiers flanked right. They timed their movement from tree to tree based on the rate of covering fire they were getting. When their comrades stopped to reload they stuck behind cover but when they opened fire then they moved quickly. The two soldiers flanking right hid behind a large fallen tree for cover when one perked his head up and saw the reflective glint in the distance. It was coming from a small alcove near some trees and large rocks, perfect camouflage and cover for a sniper but they were nearing the flanks so they stepped out when one of them got shot in the head. The bullet pierced through the soldier's helmet and blood dripped down his face before he fell down. His comrade ran for cover only to get a bullet dead center in the chest and he fell to the ground. The two soldiers providing cover fire stopped to reload before they kept firing only to get taken out by headshots.

The officer hid behind cover about twenty feet to the left from the sniper perch and ordered his soldier to quickly move so he sprinted forward. He arrived at the sniper perch but there was no body and no rifle. The reflective glint was a mirror held up by string and next to it was a German army helmet propped up on a rock. It was a trap and the soldier was shot through the back and collapse to the ground dead leaving the officer all alone.

"Where are you?!" The officer blindly fired all around him as he scrambled backward through the forest. His pistol ran out of ammo and he quickly tried to reload it but all the nerves he was feeling was making his hands betray his mind, causing him to drop his ammo clip. He reached down to grab it but when he stood back up a figure stepped out from the trees behind him. The sniper was revealed to be a woman, about 5ft6 wearing a Soviet Red Army uniform that had been a bit modified. Combat boots and trousers with two pouches of rifle bullets wrapped around her right calf, on her belt were pouches of rifle ammunition along with a combat knife, canteen, and a Tokarev TT-33 pistol strapped to her right thigh. Above her waist she had a typical Red Army uniform but over it she was wearing a thick wool cloak that wrapped around her neck and on her hands were fingerless gloves to help her keep warm but so that she could continue to use her fingers. Her most striking features were two long pigtails of brown hair, the fur Russian cap she was wearing on her head with the Soviet Red Star on the front and last but not least was her deadly stare. In her hands was a knife but not a combat one and more like one used in a kitchen. The blade was short but just as sharp and in her hands, equally as deadly as she closed the distance and drove it into the officer's side and gave it a vicious twist before kicking out his right leg so he dropped to his knees. Without an ounce of remorse, she then slit his throat and let his blood stain the snow beneath her boots. She alone took out 12 German soldiers not through brute force or overwhelming fire power but through tactics, distraction, and skill.

She walked over to a nearby tree and grabbed her weapon which was a custom 3-Line rifle M1981 otherwise known as the Mosin-Nagant rifle. It was the typical rifle for the Soviet army but the one she was using was more custom having belonged to her father from the Great War. There were carvings on the wood to honor her late father and brother and it had a longer side-mounted scope for her sniping. This is Polina Petrova of the 138th Rifle Division of the Red Army but more commonly known as Lady Nightingale scourge of Stalingrad and credited with over 300 kills. She slung her rifle over her shoulder and began searching the German officer's corpse for the documents he had on him.

[Branch snap]

Polina halted her search of the officer's body before she slowly grabbed her rifle and quickly turned around, taking aim at the person behind her who ended up being Clark.

"Easy there. I come in peace." Clark held his hands up to show her he meant no harm. "You're a long way from Russia."

Polina kept her eye and rifle trained on him but she recognized the S on his chest and knew who he was. With all the stories she heard she knew that her rifle wouldn't do much against him but still kept it ready. "And you're a long way from France."

"Change of orders but rest assured they were for a good reason. I'm Captain Kalvin Elbert with the Strategic Scientific Reserve." Clark introduced himself.

"I know who you are. Everyone knows who you are but that still doesn't explain why you're here in Austria." Polina told him so he pointed to the dead bodies.

"I'm here for the same reason you are. Them." Clark said before looking behind. "Come on out! It's fine." A few moments later and out walked the rest of Taskforce Vanguard. "Rest assured, Ms. Petrova, we're after the same thing."

Polina was still wary but seeing as how the team were from the Allies and not Nazis then she lowered her rifle and slung it over her shoulder. "You know who I am?"

"Our intel from the Eastern Front may not be the best but we've heard tales of the Lady Nightingale. It's an honor." Clark told her and she gave him an appreciative nod. While nothing was said, her gesture pretty much meant the same thing. She was someone of few words. "What brings the Red Army's premiere sniper all the way to Austria?"

"Nazi hunting." Polina replied.

"Well then lass you might need some new intel." Lucas walked over and pushed the dead officer onto his back revealing instead of the typical Nazi or SS emblem on his jacket, it was the red and black skull and tentacles of Hydra.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Polina asked as Clark had his team check the other bodies.

"They're not Nazis or SS members. That emblem means they belong to Hydra which used to be the Nazi Party's secret science division before their leader decided he wasn't ok with taking orders from Hitler." Clark explained.

"They're still Nazis." Polina remarked.

"Sort of but they've also been fighting the Nazis since they struck out on their own about six months. The Red Skull's got his own plans for world domination." Logan remarked as he lit his cigar.

"Only problem is that he has the weapons that would allow him to win the war. Luckily we've been able to take out his weapons factories all over Europe and keep whatever grand plan he has from working. Our interest in Hydra is our task at the SSR but what was yours?" Clark asked her but he could tell she wouldn't give that up easy so he decided to keep trying. "We've pushed into France and now we're leading the charge here into Austria. We've secured several key cities but our commanders in charge want a total enclosure around German, a pincer move if you will. We were moving east when we got word from some partisans in the area that a Hydra convoy was heading in our direction. Likely traveling from the Hydra base in Czechoslovakia meaning that they were heading somewhere important. We figure out what they wanted or what they were doing and it could give us intel on Hydra. Why did you want them? Tell us and we might be able to help you."

"What makes you think I need your help?" Polina asked him.

"Everyone needs help once in a while and asking for it doesn't make you weak. If it's important than my team and I might be able to help. Besides, our last intel report informed us that the Soviets just managed to push the Germans out of Ukraine but hadn't yet pushed them out of Czechoslovakia meaning you crossed occupied German territory for this. It must be important." Clark pointed out.

There was a moment of silence as Polina weighed her options before she relented. She was outnumbered and outgunned so gaining allies would be better than making enemies. "I've been tracking them from the Ukraine for weeks now. This…Hydra…as you call it, I saw them all over. They were working with the Nazis, one in particular, a man called Freisinger."

"Untersturmführer Hermann Freisinger?" Arthur Kingsley asked and Polina looked at him like he grew two heads.

"How do you know him?" She questioned.

"We've had our own run ins with him. He's a Nazi connected to a lot of people including some in Hydra. We dealt with an associate of his in Belgium. The two worked together to build a special weapons project which we got rid of." Clark explained. "Who was he meeting with?"

"A few Nazi officers. I didn't get their names except for one. Vandal Savage." Polina said which drew Clark and Logan's attention.

"I don't think that's possible. You likely got the wrong name because Vandal Savage is dead." Logan told her.

"Are you sure?" Polina asked and got nods in response so she reached into her jacket and pulled out some photographs. "Then who is he?"

Clark took the photo and saw Freisinger meeting with some Nazi and Hydra officers, among them being the one Polina just killed but right there with them was Vandal Savage. Clark wouldn't be forgetting his face and he was right there. Clark then showed Logan and he expression turned into bewilderment. "What the fuck?"

"When was this taken?" Clark asked Polina.

"About a month ago."

"That's impossible. That can't be Savage." Logan stated with certainty.

"And why are you so certain?" Polina wondered.

"Because I killed him myself. I stabbed him in the back and then in the chest before I tossed him out of a third-floor window into a burning weapons factory which then blew up into a smoldering ruin." Logan recounted.

"Well, clearly he escaped because he was there. I saw him myself with Freisinger." Polina told him. "Once Hydra pulled out the Germans began to withdraw so I pursued them myself."

Clark patted Logan on the arm. He knew Savage was still an issue but now that they knew he was alive they'd make sure that the next time they saw him he'd stay dead. "That still doesn't explain why you would come all the way to Austria just to follow Hydra unless there's something else. What happened?"

The grimace on Polina's informed Clark that whatever the reason didn't have a happy ending. "I was a part of a scout team reporting on the German defensive lines near Kiev. We were to report on positions and make our way back. Things were going fine when they arrived."

"Who's they?" Clark asked.

"штормовой фронт (shtormovoy front)" Polina said in Russian.

"What's that mean?" Lucas wondered.

"I'm not sure on the direct translation. Uh…storm fore…storm prow…storm front, maybe? I'm not sure what it means." Clark said.

"It's what we call them. We've heard stories about them from civilians and survivors but we thought they were just propaganda. The Nazis were working on some special weapons that turned people into monsters. We've fought against those metal men but these two…they were different. Not so different from you, Captain." Polina said and everyone listened with intrigue. "Bullets broke against their skin, they had the strength of ten men and summoned lightning from their hands."

"You mean the Germans have their own super soldiers? Are you sure?" Clark asked.

"I was there when they attacked. A man and a woman. I watched as our guns did nothing and they slaughtered my men. Something I won't be forgetting anytime soon. Our reinforcements arrived when a third man arrived moving faster than I could see. Just a blur and lightning and he slaughtered them." She said and Clark was intrigued as that description sounded very familiar to him.

"A blur of lightning? Was this lightning red?" Clark asked and saw her eyes lit up when he brought that up. "A blood red and he was kind of like a blur like he was moving too fast for you to see."

"How did you know that?" Polina wondered as she and his team looked at him.

"I've had an encounter with this lightning blur. It was when I was in Africa but he's been MIA since then. I thought he was dead but clearly not and he's working with Savage. Guess he really is alive." Clark said to everyone but was keeping some things secret as he had to since it would be difficult to explain. "If this red blur is working with these new super soldiers and Savage then this important."

"That's what I told my superiors this and they called me delusional, said I was making the whole thing up and to not waste their time with more German Propaganda." Polina seethed in anger. "I've given my life for this war, my family, and they were just going to ignore everything and let them get away with it. Their incompetence was going to cost more lives."

"So, you went on an unsanctioned mission by yourself risking your life to cross occupied German territory to track them down." Solange said in bewilderment.

"Is that a problem?" Polina wondered.

"No…it's admirable." Richard Webb told her and the team agreed.

"What did this Hydra convoy have that so important for you to lay a trap?" Clark asked so Polina pulled out some pieces of paper from her jacket which was stained with a little blood and handed it to him.

"What's it say, boss?" Lucas asked.

"It's orders from Savage. Schmidt has agreed to send in Hydra reinforcements to a German work camp not far from Munich. He's stressed it's importance because of the camp's special weapons project headed by a Dr. Frederick Vought. It says the serum he's made will be crucial to the planned counteroffensive now that their two confirmed successful cases have been field tested. They're going to ramp up production as soon as possible." Clark read off.

"That doesn't sound good." Diggle remarked.

"No, it doesn't. Guess they're calling the deployment of the Stormfronts in Ukraine their field test and it must be powerful if Schmidt is willing to use Hydra resources to protect it. We need to take it out before they begin mass producing super soldiers and this war drags on." Clark told his team and they nodded before he looked at Polina. "Care to join us, Lady Nightingale?"

"Just give me a clean shot at them and let me do what I do best." Polina told him.

"Fair enough. Let's move. We're heading back to headquarters." Clark told everyone and they left quickly.

A week later…

Innsbruck, Austria

Clark and Taskforce Vanguard returned to Innsbruck which had become the Allied headquarters for the advancement into Austria. All advancements east into the country were staged from Innsbruck with its location and access to roads and trams being key to moving Allied gear. The 6th Army Group had been moving east at a blitzkrieg-like pace thanks to Superman and were now nearing Vienna, the capital. Once secured then they would pretty much have the country and then could begin going north from Vienna into Czechoslovakia and then Poland. From there they'd have Germany surrounded once the army groups in France liberated the country and then moved into Belgium and the Netherlands.

Unfortunately, the Blitzkrieg pace would slow down as Superman would not be helping the 6th Army group take Vienna. Instead, Superman and Taskforce Vanguard returned to Innsbruck because they had a new mission which would be to mount a surgical strike 130Km into Germany to take out a special secret soldier lab the Germans had in a workcamp. Clark had gathered Taskforce Vanguard and Polina Petrova in a command room to go over their plan for their mission with a large map on a table with various files, reports, and air recon photographs taken to help them plan.

"Ok, this is it. Apologies for the wait but I needed to confirm some details with command but we've been given the go ahead for the mission. Thanks to Ms. Petrova, we know that the Germans have a secret super soldier lab at a workcamp in Germany and after confirming with intel from the SSR and SOE, we were able to corroborate the rest of the intel. With what we were able to get from the Hydra Officer Polina intercepted in the Austrian woods, the Dr. Vought in the letter is most likely Dr. Frederick Vought." Clark placed the photo of him onto the table for all to see as he was one of their primary targets. He looked unassuming with short brown hair and glasses but the devil was in the details. "One of the premiere scientists for Nazi Germany with numerous PhDs in genetics from Munich. Apparently, his talent was so great that he was appointed as chief physician for the Nazi party before being given control over the workcamp we're heading to."

"Hitler really must be a sick fuck to put a genetic scientist in charge of a workcamp." Lucas remarked.

"He's a Nazi. It's what they are." Polina said in disgust.

"Well, it means we're going to be running into a nightmare but we have to. If that camp is where they're making their super soldiers then we need to take it and Dr. Vought out. He's gonna have a lot of blood on his hands so he's not getting away." Clark swore and everyone agreed with that. "Now according to the letter from the Hydra officer, the camp is located north of Munich in the city of Dachau. Thanks to the British they were able to get us aerial photos taken at about 12,000 feet."

Clark put them on the table for everyone to see. "That place is massive." Arthur said.

"About 25 acres. It used to be an old munitions factory but it's turned into a prison camp. From the aerial photos, everything to the east is mainly the secure command camp and living quarters for the guards and SS stationed there. There are even barracks there so this place is going to have a lot of soldiers. Lucky for us, they're separated from the prisoners and detainees which the SOE suspects to be located here to the west. The river here by these watchtowers acts as a natural separation between the Germans and the prisoners. These two columns of narrow buildings are the barracks where they keep the prisoners so that does part of our job for us in keeping them out of harms way. Our best bet to get into the camp with the greatest chance of success is to the use the railway tracks." Clark pointed to the railway cars seen on the eastern part of the camp. "We can use the train as a trojan horse to sneak into the camp. Once we're in then we can begin making our way through the facilities where we can locate their lab and destroy and find Dr. Vought."

"While the Germans are focused on us we could have our backup move in from the west and secure the prisoner barracks. If this camp has been around for years then odds are there are going to be a lot of prisoners there. How are we going to get them out?" Arthur wondered.

"That train seems like our best bet. We use that to get in but keep it in tact so we can use it to get out. It's the only way to evacuate with all the prisoners especially since we'll be going so far behind enemy lines without a lot of backup." Solange pointed out.

"And it needs to be that way. We don't have the time to bring in all the forces of the 6th Army with us when they're busy pushing into Vienna and we'd be seen from miles away which could give Dr. Vought or the SS the chance to slip away and we'd be back to square one. The Germans think we're pushing east so let's not make them think otherwise. The best chance at us taking out this camp and the lab is a sneak attack which means it'll be just us and a company of soldiers for backup. We'll be deep behind enemy lines on this on but I'm not gonna force anyone to do something they don't want to do so if anyone wants to sit this one out then you're more than welcome to." Clark said but no one looked like they would.

"I'm here to kill Nazis with or without you." Polina told him.

"Then you're doing it with us, Lady Nightingale. We're in." Arthur stated and everyone nodded. Clark gave them a nod in return when an office aid walked in.

"Apologies for the interruption, Captain Elbert but Colonel Phillips is on the radio for you."

"Thanks, I'll be there in a bit." Clark said and the aid nodded before leaving. "All right, police your gear. Get everything you need and pack a little extra. We have no idea what we could be facing. Lucas, get some extra explosives. Diggle, double-check with medical for the company coming us and pack extra gear. We have no idea the kind of shape the prisoners could be in so bring everything you can."

"You got it, boss." Lucas replied.

"On it." Diggle replied and the team filed out. Clark then headed to the radio room where the aid motioned him over to a radio set and handed him the headphones and speaker.

"This is Captain Kalvin Elbert, come in SSR. Colonel Phillips, are you reading me?"

"I read you loud and clear, Captain. How's your team looking?"

"We just finished the briefing, sir and they're determined. We're heading out to the border at 0300." Clark informed him.

"Good, Captain. I hate to tell you this on the eve of the mission but unfortunately I've been given my orders. Allied Command is aware of your mission and agree that it is of the utmost importance that it is successful and the camp is evacuated and destroyed…but…some new information has recently come to light."

Clark could tell from Colonel Phillips one that whatever new information he had it wasn't pleasant. "What's wrong, sir?"

"I've just been told that Allied Command recently got in touch with people possibly connected to Dr. Frederick Vought. The details were kept from me but the general idea is that he was negotiating a possible surrender deal."

"What?!" Clark's outburst was a first and made everyone around him jerk back in fright. "Colonel, please tell me you're joking."

"I'm afraid not. I wasn't given the details but I'm guessing that Dr. Vought is willing surrender to us and will hand over his supposed super soldier serum in exchange for immunity and protection. Your mission is now no longer a search and destroy but a recovery as well. Allied Command wants Dr. Frederick Vought brought back alive."

"Sir…"

"I'm sorry, Captain. I hate this too but this is an order directly from command. This is still your team and your mission but Dr. Vought needs to be captured and brought back into Allied custody. Colonel Phillips out."

The transmission ended there and there was a moment of silence before Clark grabbed his chair and threw it into a wall. It shattered into pieces and made everyone jump in fright. "Apologies for that." Clark cleared his throat and walked away. Suffice it to say he was angry.

Line Break xxxxx

Dachau, Germany

On the grounds of an old, abandoned munitions factory about ten miles from Munich in Southern German was Dachau, a Nazi POW/labor camp and the first one built by the Nazi Party in 1933. What begin as a camp to house Hitler's political opponents turned into a massive, forced-labor camp that soon came to hold imprisoned Jews, Romani, German, and Austrian criminals and eventually foreign prisoners of war from the countries that Germany invaded. A large barb-wired fence enclosed the perimeter of the camp with multiple watchtowers set up with snipers/sentries and some artillery pieces and machine gun nests set up. There were SS residential housing on site along with armories for the guards, garages for their vehicles, with barracks for the SS troops and Gestapo officers, a heating and gas plant, and the Administrative building which was primarily all grouped together on the eastern section of the camp while the prisoners were kept to the barracks to the west and the factories in the middle. The camp was large at 25 acres with the roads and railway being their main entry points. It was secure and isolated with a sizable battalion of troops for protection with some recent inclusions being the arrival of additional troops and armored vehicles curtsey of an agreement between the camp's commander Dr. Vought and a liaison to Hydra. Despite the fact that Hitler ordered Hydra to be treated like an enemy no different than the Allied Forces, Dr. Vought instructed the camp guards that the Hydra forces were a means to an end for their plans and no one was willing to argue with him.

One of the sentries on a watchtower set up over the river that ran up through the camp acting as a natural demarcation line between the POW barracks and the rest of the camp kept a close watch. He saw prisoners moving about their work in the factories or moving supplies to the various trucks or all the way over to the railway yard to be put onto a train for later delivery. Business as usual and while in the beginning there would be a few escape attempts, now there were none because they knew better. Even the possibility of attacks by the Allied didn't worry them as the guards knew that their camp had deterrents. The work of Dr. Vought had finally bore fruit and it would soon give them the chance to push back against the Allies.

[Hum of engines]

The sentry turned his head to the west because he heard a weird sound in the air. It wasn't a gunshot or artillery but sounded like a weird hum. He looked around and took a peak through his binoculars but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Unbeknownst to him if he had looked up he'd see the shimmering image of a large vessel flying above the camp and landing nearby but no one noticed anything.

[Train whistle]

The sound of a chugging train engine got louder as a ten-car train pulled up the tracks into the camp's train station. It slowed down as prison guards and soldiers fell into position for new arrivals. The sentries on the watchtower stood ready and one of the Hydra armored vehicles moved in with the gunner aiming the energy cannon at the train. The officer in charge of new arrivals walked over to the engine of the train after he double-checked his schedule.

"Hey! What's this? We don't have any new arrivals scheduled for today and pickup isn't until tomorrow." He shouted at the driver who had his cap down a bit to cover his face as he turned the engine off and engaged the brakes. "Hey! What's going on?!"

The train conductor then picked his head up revealing it wasn't the usual guy. In fact, it was Lucas Riggs of Taskforce Vanguard who had the biggest smirk on his face. "Sorry, Fritz. Change of plans."

Lucas pulled out a pistol and shot the officer in the head before quickly throwing two grenades out into the yard.

"GRAN—" [BOOM!]

The grenades went off, killing a few SS soldiers and guards but before the tank and other soldiers could open fire something crashed down onto the armored Hydra vehicle which made it explode. The explosion killed the crew and the soldiers standing near it while the shockwave knocked the people around it on their backs. From the smoldering, fiery wreck a beam of red energy took out one of the watchtowers before said wreck was thrown into the air where it landed on a machinegun nest perched up on the roof of a building.

Clark stepped forward with parts of his suit on fire as the front four train cars opened and out poured Taskforce Vanguard and their backup which were elements of Dog and Fox company of the 92nd Infantry Division AKA the Buffalo Soldiers, an all Black combat unit. They jumped out of the train guns blazing and shot down the SS and prison guards before they could recover.

"Let move! Form a perimeter! Dog Company, secure this train and the yard. Fox Company with us!" Arthur Kingsley shouted as they led the offensive into the camp towards the factories with Solange, Webb, and Diggle. The soldiers of Fox Company pushed forward following their officers and Taskforce Vanguard while three bazooka teams took aim and fired at two watchtowers and the roof of a building that had another machinegun nest. They quickly reloaded as another detachment of Fox Company headed in the opposite direction, east, towards the SS hospital and armory led by Logan, Halima, Lucas, Padmavati, and Anna. The Fox Company soldiers used PIAT Anti-tank launchers against an anti-air platform while the other bazooka teams took out the mobile artillery platforms and machinegun nests. The SS soldiers scrambled for cover and put up defensive firing lines against the Allied attackers with many heading into the armory to get heavier weapons.

Logan and the others took cover behind a storage shed and quickly reloaded their weapons. He peaked out and saw the hospital where Dr. Vought would likely be and about 100 yards to the right near some old train cars was a large building he recognized as a weapons/ammunition depot. "Fire team! Weapons depot!" Logan shouted and the soldiers nodded. "Covering fire!"

All the soldiers laid down suppressive fire while the fire team of two bazookas and a PIAT Anti-tank weapon reloaded before firing at the weapons depot. Their shots took out some parts of the building and killed plenty of SS soldiers but one hit from the PIAT set off some mortal shells stocked inside which caused the entire building to go up in flames.

"Fuck! That was bloody beautiful!" Lucas shouted as he and the others reloaded their guns.

"Halima, Anna, stay out here with half the men and keep us covered! Mop up the rest. Everyone else, move on the hospital! Let's go!" Logan shouted, leading the charge as he fired a few bursts from his Thompson and took out some SS soldiers.

Back with Clark, Arthur and the others they had taken out the SS soldiers and guards who surrounded the train along with a few watchtowers and machinegun nests and the armored Hydra vehicle so now they were pushing further into the camp. The guards and soldiers scrambled for cover and shot back against their attackers who proceeded to storm the camp in mass. While they moved through the camp from the train, a series of boats moved along the river up to the camp led by Daniel Take-Yatsu and Polina Petrova. With all the attention focused on the trainyard, the two plus squads of the 92nd Infantry division were able to take the river using boats supplied from the local partisans/Soteria group.

Daniel and Polina took aim with their rifles at the last remaining watchtower where a sniper and machine gunner were perched up. They compensated for their shots with the rocking boat and fired, taking out the two soldiers perched up there before they steered their boats to shore. Four men quickly got to work on the fence using a pair of bolt cutters to cut out a hole big enough for them to get through.

"Sergeant, take your team and secure the prisoner barracks. We'll cover you from the tower. Move." Daniel told the men and they quickly moved with purpose while he and Polina headed to the watchtower. Polina was quicker and proceeded to climb the watchtower with adept agility, forgoing the ladder as she moved faster without it. "Damn, she's fast."

Polina quickly pulled herself up into the watchtower and rested her rifle on the railing before taking shots. Daniel finished climbing up the ladder and activated his walkie-talkie watch. "Kal, Arthur we're up on the western watchtower. Our team is moving to secure the prisoners. Polina and I will keep you covered from up here."

"Roger that." Clark and Arthur replied as the two snipers took shots on the German soldiers in the camp. Daniel focused his attention towards the prisoner barracks while Polina kept her gaze towards the rest of the camp.

"Squads head into the buildings and clear them out!" Arthur Kingsley shouted as the elements of Fox Company split into small teams and proceeded to clear the buildings one by one. Arthur and Webb led their team through the SS troops barracks where the fight got intense and close quarters. The two passed by a building when a body fell to the ground in front of them with a hole in his back. An SS soldier turned the corner of a building ten yards away with a grenade in his hand when he was shot through the head and he dropped dead causing the grenade to blow him to pieces. Arthur and Webb looked to their left and saw the watchtower Polina and Daniel were perched up in. She was the one who just saved them from the grenade.

"She is good." Webb said and Arthur agreed before the two ducked back behind cover.

Solange and Diggle led their team north through the came by the gas station and administrative building when they saw some Hydra soldiers exit a building. Solange and Diggle took a few down but the Hydra soldiers had those energy weapons and killed a few of their assault team before Clark super sped and sent them flying through the air. He continued moving through the camp taking out or disarming the SS and Hydra soldiers of their weapons to make them easy pickings for Fox company.

Their surprise trojan horse attack had worked and things were going well. They hit hard, fast, and with Superman on their side they weren't giving the SS or the prison guards any chance to mount a serious defense as the main attack force kept pushing further into the camp while the rescue team secured the prisoner barracks. Daniel reloaded his M1 rifle and sniped a few more prison guards when he saw a big explosion from a large building near the factory. Daniel looked through the scope of his rifle and saw that the explosion wasn't one of theirs. The loading doors to the factory were blown open and out walked two of those metal machine soldiers with the glowing green rock hearts.

"Shit…" Daniel cursed.

"что за фигня! (chto za fignya/What the F! #) What is that thing?" Polina asked Daniel.

"Nothing good." Daniel flipped open his walkie-talkie watch. "Kal, we've got a problem. Two of those machine soldiers are here. They're by the factory next to the river."

"Got it. I'll handle them. Just focus on the camp and the prisoners. Leave them to me." Clark replied but also meant that for his entire team. He super sped through the camp, taking out and disarming a few more soldiers before he ran through the camp. He picked up a truck along the way and carried it over his head when he saw the Maschinensoldaten so he threw the truck at them. Both were hit before he used his heat vision and blew it to pieces, engulfing them in the fire before he sucked in some air and used his freeze breath. In a manner of seconds, the two Maschinensoldaten were completely incased in ice making Clark glad that Howard helped him learn this new ability though he would never tell it to his face.

He blitzed forward in super speed to knock them out of the camp and reduce the risk of his team or any prisoners getting caught in the crossfire and with them frozen they wouldn't be able to move. Just as he neared them he saw a streak of blue lightning come from the side and hit him. This was another rare moment of pain he has experienced during the war. First the Blockbuster super soldier he fought when extracting Mussolini, then the Hydra energy weapon Red Skull hit him with, the Kryptonite and Savage's beating, the Kryptonite beam from the Maschinensoldaten, his attack from the Reverse-Flash, and most recently his cold but now this strange lightning could be added to the list of things that have hurt him.

He had never experienced being shocked by lightning before and he could now say definitively it wasn't pleasant. His body seized up as the electricity attacked his muscles and nerves so he could feel them firing like crazy which his body and brain just interpreted as pain and while he wasn't burning alive, the lightning was trying its best to do so. All he could think about was the pain as the lightning made it difficult to think about anything else or even contemplate a counterattack. The lightning stopped him dead in his tracks from his super speed before he was thrown back, slamming through part of a building before he hit the ground hard.

"Gah…" Clark gasped out in pain as it felt like he got the wind knocked out of him and his skin was tingling from the lightning that felt like a burn but thankfully his skin was fine. He quickly picked himself up to his knees where he saw his attacker hover to the ground using his blue lightning. He was a tall man, about the same height as Clark with dark brown hair and a black and red suit that emphasized his exaggerated muscular physique in which he was built like a circus strong man. He had black boots and dark red pants that led to a gold-plated purple belt around his waist with the Nazi symbol on the buckle. To match the purple belt, he had purple gloves and a purple cape draped on his shoulders tied around his neck with a gold eagle clasp that blended nicely with the red uniform top he had on. Proudly displayed on the chest was a golden eagle which was the same iconography for the Nazi Party Logo. Given his manner of dress and the lightning coming from his hands then he must have been one of the super soldiers Polina mentioned.

"So, you're the so-called Superman." Stormfront chuckled in disbelief. "I expected you to be bigger."

Clark got back to his feet and his eyes glowed red but before he could fire a burst of his heat vision he was blasted from behind by purple lightning. His body seized up and the red glow faded from his eyes as he managed to turn his head and saw his second attacker. She was a woman around 5ft6 with brown eyes and dark brown hair that was cut short to her shoulders. She was garbed similarly to her male counterpart but her colors were more purple and instead of gold coloring she had silver. She had a silver belt around her waist and she didn't have the Nazi Party symbol eagle on her chest but it was carved onto two silver bands she had around her biceps. Purple lightning was erupting from both of her hands and her eyes flickered with it a little as she gave him an equally delightful and devious smirk. "I will say that you are handsome…" She said before her male counterpart joined her and blasted him with lightning as well.

"GAH!" Clark's scream echoed out into the camp as the two used their lightning to lift him into the air. His suit began to get slightly scorched, he lightly smelt like burnt bacon, and he couldn't move his body to fight.

"…but I will agree with my brother that I was expecting more. Quite frankly…I'm disappointed."

They used their lightning to slam Superman in the ground and dragged his body across the dirt before throwing him into some nearby gas cannisters which exploded. Clark tumbled on the ground as his mind was frazzled from being deep fried and it felt like he was burnt to a crisp but his body was actually fine. The lightning just really stung and it had the unfortunate secondary effect of seizing his muscles and monetarily scrambling his brain. He laid on the ground for a few seconds to catch his breath and looked through the fire of the burning gasoline cannisters to see the male Stormfront walk towards him while the female one used her lightning on the frozen Maschinensoldaten to free them. Clark knew he had to act quickly and seeing the gasoline on fire gave him an idea so he took a few sharp exhales before sucking in some air.

Klaus walked towards Superman as he made his hands spark with blue lightning in order to beat him into submission when a huge gust of wind hit him which in turn blew the gasoline fire at him. Klaus ceased his lightning and covered his face from the burning gasoline fire allowing Clark to race at him. Clark shoulder tackled him in the stomach and then tossed him into the air before grabbing his cape and slamming him back down into the dirt. Klaus picked his head up from the ground only for Clark to kick him in the face and he was sent through the air, involuntarily flipping backwards until he crashed through the walls of the factory. Klara saw her brother get sent flying so she adjusted her aim and unleashed her lightning at Superman who in turn fired his heat vision. Klara's expression of anger soon gave way to shock as she saw Superman's heat vision collide with her lightning and quickly overwhelmed it before hitting her. She was sent flying back and crashed into a truck, crumbling it in half when Klaus flew out of the warehouse toward Superman. The two collided and Superman was pushed back, his boots digging through the ground until he dropped his right leg back and anchored his position, grinding to a halt. Klaus's perfect hair was scuffed up with a few scrapes and cuts on his suit and he had a big bruise on his forehead with some dirt on his face but his expression of pure anger belied his physical appearance. The two super beings grabbed each other's hands vying for dominance with Stormfront using his flight and speed on top of his strength to try and get the edge but Superman pushed back proving he had the greater strength. Despite this, Klaus didn't that let deter him and unleased a current of lightning that shocked Superman before he headbutted him and delivered several lightning-infused punches to Superman's face and body.

While not as painful as the full brunt of the lightning, the lightning-infused punches still hurt like hell and where they struck caused his muscles to tense and constrict but thankfully they didn't scramble his brain and reflexes like usual. After the sixth consecutive punch, Clark blocked the seventh.

"Consider me disappointed too. I've felt more pain from my cold than from you." Clark shot back before landed a vicious punch to Stormfront's gut and then a straight right punch, a straight left punch, and a vicious uppercut to his face. Blood spurted from Stormfront's mouth as Superman grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed him into ground twice before putting him in a rear-naked choke which was a mistake. As Stormfront struggled in Superman's grasp, he lifted up his right hand and zapped him with lighting, causing his body to seize up. Superman's grasp weakened allowing Stormfront to break free and then grab him by the neck. He attempted to snap Superman's neck but Superman pulled Stormfront's arms away from his neck with his superior strength and threw his head back, hitting him in the face before elbowing him in the side. Stormfront's grasp weakened and Superman turned around to throw a punch only for Klara to grab his arm and punch him in the kidneys and then face. Her brother followed up with a punch to the face and then they both punched him in the gut before zapping him with lightning and throwing him back until his crashed into the frozen Maschinensoldaten.

He hit the ground and groaned in pain as he picked himself up and saw the two Stormfronts walk to him. Klaus had some more bruises on his face and blood at the corner of his mouth which he wiped away while Klara had some scorch marks on her suit and some burn marks on her face. Clark stood up and prepared a quick burst of his heat vision when he was hit from behind and sent forward to the Stormfronts who then blasted him with lightning. They lifted him high up into the air where Clark was able to see his team continue into the camp but then to his shock he saw German reinforcements coming from the north. One massive Hydra super tank careened over the nearby hill accompanied by smaller Hydra tanks and more armored vehicles along with trucks containing more Hydra soldiers. There were enough reinforcements to tip the odds in their favor.

Clark tried to warn his team but with all the lightning electrocuting him he couldn't get his mouth to form words, only guttural sounds of pain. He was then slammed into the ground, making a small impact crater and kicking up a huge cloud of dust. Clark managed to get up back to his feet when a speeding blur raced by and hit him from the right and he felt a searing pain on his right arm before another searing pain hit him on his left thigh. He looked saw small shallow cuts on his right arm and leg and they were bleeding meaning something moving at incredible speed managed to cut him and he had an inkling as to what it was. He was cut a few more times and the speeding blur was too fast for him to keep up with so he decided on another approach and released a huge gust of his super breath at the ground which sent a powerful gust of wind all around him along with kicking up a lot of dirt, rocks, and debris. The Stormfronts were blown back but Superman didn't stop as he spun around turning his super breath into a miniature tornado before he pursed his lips and his super breath turned into freeze breath. When he stopped all the dirt he kicked up around him had frozen solid into ice extending out about 25 yards providing a secondary layer of protection from anything getting too close. That's when he saw an obscured figure of yellow about 30 yards away that was vibrating at super speed and sparking with red lightning with matching glowing red eyes.

"Reverse-Flash." Clark said and the man ceased vibrating revealing a yellow and black suit with a red lightning bolt on his chest. In his right hand was a glowing green knife made of Kryptonite.

"Hello, Superman. Looks like you've picked up a new trick…only it's not going to do you any good." Reverse-Flash mocked before he threw a bolt of red lightning only for Superman to duck. He then super sped away so Superman was going to race after him only to get blasted in the back by a Kryptonite energy beam and crash through the ice he just created. His body tumbled and he slumped to the ground, feeling an incredibly painful stinging on his back as his suit was scorched from the impact while his face and body were cut up and bruised from being knocked through the ice he made. He picked his head up and saw one of the Maschinensoldaten had been freed from a combination of Clark knocking into him, Stormfront's lightning melting the ice and Reverse-Flash's lightning bolt finishing the job. His kryptonite energy cannon was powered up and the Maschinensoldaten used it to break the other one free. The two Maschinensoldaten powered up their kryptonite energy cannons and took aim so Clark quickly shot up and ran away in a burst of super speed only to get zapped from behind by the two Stormfronts. They lifted him up into the air, electrocuting him before the two Maschinensoldaten blasted him.

"GAH!"

Clark's scream was horrendous as felt like he was dying before the Stormfronts threw him through the air. His body was thrown west, crashing into a fenced entrance gate to the prisoner part of the camp. Clark felt a few ribs crack, his forehead had a big cut that was bleeding, and he spit out some blood from his mouth. The sun was shining down on him so he was slowly healing but then it was halted as Reverse-Flash appeared and stomped on his chest. Clark could barely utter a groan of pain as the speedster knelt closer and held the Kryptonite knife to his face.

"This was a fun game, Mr. Kent but I'm afraid that your part of this timeline is now over. Don't worry…I'll make sure that all your little achievements will soon be forgotten." Reverse-Flash promised as Clark's gaze saw part of the force rescuing the prisoners had been pinned down by the Hydra reinforcements that arrived via trucks a few moments ago. The Hydra armored vehicles took a little longer since they were slower but had finally arrived at camp. Clark managed to turn his head and saw Arthur and the others who noticed his need for help and they tried to get to him but they were pinned down by enemy fire. Up in the watchtower, Polina and Daniel saw Clark in trouble so they fired everything in their rifles only for the Reverse-Flash to turn and catch them all in one hand with ease. The two snipers looked on in horror as Reverse-Flash dropped the bullets before he turned his gaze to Superman. "Your time is up."

Reverse-Flash raised the Kryptonite blade and brought it down to Clark's head when he was hit by a white beam of energy that knocked him back. The kryptonite blade fell down to Clark's neck when a small flying speck of light grabbed it. Said speck then enlarged revealing a man in a blue and red mechanical suit who tossed the knife up into the air and blasted it into dust. Clark then saw the burning man fly through the air and rain fireballs down into the camp, taking out the SS and Hydra reinforcements that had his team pinned down and they were destructive. So much so that Reverse-Flash took off running when they came down at him. Firestorm provided aerial cover for the remaining misfits and strangers to arrive. Citizen Steel acted as cover for Zari, Captain Hunter, White Canary, and another blonde woman wearing a black tactical combat suit. Steel's metal body provided the perfect mobile cover for the members of the team against stray bullets. Captain Hunter peaked out from behind Steel and fired a few shots from his energy revolver, blasting some Hydra soldiers before they could shoot Steel. The blonde woman in the black tactical suit was using a similar energy pistol like Captain Hunter but had another energy rifle strapped to her back. The two used their energy weapons and fired on the Hydra and SS soldiers with Zari using her totem to blast them with wind while Sara closed the distance to a few and used her martial arts to take them out. Keeping watch over them was Firestorm who flew through the air, throwing fireballs down at the soldiers bunched up together and even blew up a few trucks.

"What the hell is going on?" Webb asked Kingsley as the burning man hovered in the air above them and threw a fireball down which took out a Hydra truck.

"I don't know but they're on our side. Keep moving!" Arthur ordered and the team followed him.

One of the smaller Hydra tanks drove over a fence and aimed its cannon at Clark so the Atom turned around and fired the blue energy bolts from his gauntlets down its cannon, blowing it up from the inside. "Whew, that was close…" Atom said before he helped Clark back to his feet. "Are you all right?"

"I'm good." Clark groaned as the yellow sun had finished healing up his injuries. "I sure am glad to see you guys again because I could use the help. Reverse-Flash has some friends."

"Don't worry. We brought some too." Sara Lance assured him as she walked over accompanied by Rip, the blonde woman, Steel, and Zari when the ground next to them exploded. Clark covered the Legends and saw the explosion was the energy cannons on the Hydra tanks as the rest of them arrived at the camp along with the super tank while trucks brought in more reinforcements some of which were Hydra brutes. The brutes were much larger men outfitted with large energy packs on their backs to power dual energy cannons on their arms or housed fuel for flamethrowers. On top of the packs, their suits were of thicker material making them sturdier against bullets.

He saw the Maschinensoldatens walk over, backed by the reinforcements while others headed into the camp. They powered up their Kryptonite energy beams when Steel got in front of the group. They fired and the green energy beams hit Steel, pushing him back slightly from the force but he was able to tank their energy beams, showing off just how powerful and sturdy his steel body was. Kryptonite was powerful but more effective against a Kryptonian. Captain Hunter and the Blonde Woman fired their energy guns and the energy bolts staggered the metal armor of the Maschinensoldaten with a few Hydra soldiers hit with Zari adding in a powerful gust of wind and Atom firing energy blasts from his gauntlets. The Maschinensoldaten were hit hard and knocked back as more Hydra reinforcements marched into the camp.

The Hydra Super Tank was the goliath in the camp, standing taller than the buildings so it got everyone's attention. It aimed its cannon down at Superman and the others when Firestorm flew by, carrying two people by the arms and dropped one of them down in front of the group.

Said person was dark-skinned, tall, and well-built with short, buzzed hair and a beard with a unique scar on over his right eye that formed the letter M. His attire was just as strange as the other Legends and definitely didn't belong in 1944. He had blue shin-high combat boots that led to blue combat pants with a yellow stripe running up his left leg that also had a smaller black line inside. Around his waist was a belt with an emblem of a red circle surrounding a black X. Above his waist was a blue combat shirt that was cut off at the biceps styled like his pants that had the same matching yellow stripe and black line which went up his left side onto his shoulder. On his shoulder blades and his biceps were yellow accents and to finish his ensemble he had a large orange handkerchief wrapped around his neck and a futuristic energy gun holstered on his left shoulder. (3)

The Hydra Super Tank fired its main cannon but the mystery man absorbed the energy of the massive blue energy bolt into himself. His eyes glowed white and the veins in his body glowed a bright purple before the energy traveled down to his fists. "RAHH!"

The man threw his fists forward and unleashed two powerful concussive blasts of biokinetic energy that ripped holes straight through the super tank, causing it to explode. The once mighty super tank was now just a smoldering wreck as the man turned around to face Clark and the Legends. "Oh, I'm really liking how you Legends do time travel."

"Yes, I'm afraid it's usually as chaotic as this but glad you're enjoying yourself, Mr. Bishop." Rip Hunter replied before he and the others ducked from the energy blasts as the other Hydra tanks closed in on them. The man now known as Bishop stood in front of the team and absorbed the energy from their cannons but before he could release the energy Clark stepped forward unleashed his heat vision. His twins beams of red thermal energy cut through the group of tanks with ease before he blitzed forward at super speed and took out the Hydra soldiers and returned to the same spot when finished.

"Wow. Even in the 40s you were powerful." Bishop remarked when he saw an energy bolt heading at Superman so he got in front and absorbed the energy. There were two Hydra tanks remaining and they advanced from the west past the prisoner barracks towards the heroes when Firestorm flew overhead and dropped off the last person he was holding. Said person flipped through the air on their way down and as they did their hair unfurled to reveal a long ponytail with the figure of said person revealing them to be a woman. She continued flipping through as she drew a Japanese katana from her back which began to glow with a purple aura of energy allowing her to slice through the cannon of one of the Hydra tanks when she landed and rolled forward. She moved into a butterfly twist from her forward roll and swung her sword at the last tank which sent the purple aura forward a blade. Said purple aura blade pierced through the tank's armor and hit the engine, causing it to sputter to a stop. The hatches on the top opened up and the crew shot at their assailant only for her to dive to the side. Her free hand glowed purple like the aura she had on her sword and she then threw the energy at the Hydra crew. Said energy turned into small bolts and struck the crew, quickly taking them out. She got back to her feet and spun her katana with a little flourish before sheathing it on her back.

"Not a problem. I make this look easy." Psylocke spoke and Clark picked up a distinct London accent.

This was another surprise for Clark who didn't see the two new arrivals the last time these team of time travelers helped him a few months ago but he wasn't complaining about their arrival. The woman with sword was Japanese but with the London accent then she was likely mixed. She had long hair that was dyed a hue of purple and tied into a ponytail that reached down her back to her waist. Her garb was a black combat/body suit that clung to her figure quite nicely showing how well toned and shapely her body was. A lean and graceful figure that seemed like one you'd expect on a top gymnast yet kept all the curves of feminine beauty. It also had purple accents on the thighs and waist with two lines that traveled up to her collar with a pair of matching black long sleeve gloves with similar purple accents. To finish off her outfit she had a purple sash wrapped around her waist. (4)

Clark had to admit she was a lovely young woman and despite her strange hair color of choice it actually seemed to highlight her well. If he hadn't already just seen what she could do he would've thought she carried herself like a soldier or perhaps a ninja would be a better term given the sword she carried.

Psylocke walked over to the team with Firestorm landing down next to them, completely the team of future people who would be helping Clark.

"That's one heck of an entrance." Clark remarked, taking note of her and Bishop and how different they were just like Captain Hunter and the others. "More people from the future?"

"Well, yes though the answer is quite complicated. Ms. Braddock and Mr. Bishop are recent additions to our little merry band of misfits pertaining to another separate time-related manner that I'm unable to go into detail—"

"Yes." Sara cut off Rip's likely long monologue and got right to the point. "Two of our team had to handle some other matters but Psylocke and Bishop were with us handling something else so when we found out Thawne was going to set a trap for you here they were more than willing to help."

"Got that right." Bishop added when Psylocke's head tilted to the side like she sensed something. "Psylocke?"

"We've got company."

Blue and purple lightning rained down on the group from the Stormfront's who were hovering in the air. They were battered and bruises but still putting up a fight. Bishop got in front and absorbed most of it but since it was so erratic and not focused or clustered together than some bolts of lightning strayed from his body. The team scattered for cover with Steel covering Zari from being shocked while Psylocke created a purple aura shield to protect her and Captain Hunter and Sara Lance. Superman toughed through the pain and unleashed a burst of his heat vision while Bishop fired an energy blast. Both hit the two Stormfronts who fell to the ground only for the Reverse-Flash to race by and whisk them away momentarily. Clark managed to keep track of the red glow of Reverse-Flash's lightning heading around camp and back towards them.

He took a big inhale of air and let loose a massive gust of super breath so powerful it actually blew the roof off the partially destroyed factory, causing it to crumble. The Reverse-Flash slid to a stop and spun his arms to make wind funnels, matching the super breath to a standstill.

"Ava, hit him again!" Sara shouted.

The blonde woman in the black tactical suit who was now revealed to be named Ava, unstrapped the energy rifle on her back and took aim before pulling the trigger. The same white energy beam Clark saw hit Reverse-Flash before, struck him again. His entire body seized up and his lightning flickered around his body erratically like something was wrong. Clark kept up his super breath and the Reverse-Flash was blown back until he slammed into the side of a building. He didn't let up and shot a burst from his heat vision while Bishop fired his energy blasts, Psylocke threw a psi-bolt, Firestorm threw a fireball and the Atom fired an energy blast from his gauntlets. All the attacks combined and struck Reverse-Flash, blasting him into a building which proceeded to collapse in on him.

"I sure hope that hurt." Clark remarked.

"I have a feeling it did. Mr. Thawne's speed has been momentarily disrupted." Captain Hunter told him.

"Sharpe, I'll take that rifle." Bishop told her so she tossed him the anti-speedster rifle and he tossed her the energy rifle he had holstered on his back in exchange. He looked it over and while it wasn't what he was accustomed to, for this instance he could work with it. "Yeah, this will work."

"RAH!/RAH!"

Two identical cries of adrenaline-infused rage cried out through the camp followed by surges of blue and purple lightning that shot into the air nearby. As they flew up, Clark saw that they looked better than before, not bruised or beaten up like they did a minute ago but noticed something else as well. He saw small empty vials drop from their hands on their fly up and while his look was momentary he did see miniscule droplets of a blue liquid in them. Could be that whatever was in the vials gave them the adrenaline boost and healed them. Whatever it was, it definitely got them amped up.

"Looks like the Nazi twins got a shot of adrenaline." Psylocke remarked.

Clark had been paying attention to the team from the future since they arrived and had concluded that while they were highly skilled, good in a fight and glad to have them here to help against these odds here against the soldiers in the camp…against the two Stormfronts and Reverse-Flash, they'd have a hard time. From what he could tell only Steel and Firestorm had powers and while Zari and the Atom had abilities that made them more than just regular humans, against the Stormfronts or the Reverse-Flash they would have some trouble. Bishop and Psylocke on the other hand, those two could help and luckily he wasn't the only one thinking that.

"Ok, Bishop, Psylocke, you two are the only ones with serious powers to stand up against the Stormfronts. You're with Superman. The rest of us will handle Hydra and help clear out the camp." Sara said and everyone nodded. Firestorm and Atom took off into the air to provide cover before Sara looked at the Bishop, Psylocke, and Superman. "Be careful.

"Likewise." Bishop replied. Sara, Captain Hunter, Ava, Zari, and Steel headed into the camp while Bishop and Psylocke joined Clark at his side.

"I know you're from the future and can't say much but can I at least get your names? I'd like to know who I'm fighting beside." Clark said to them.

"Lucas Bishop but just call me Bishop." Bishop holstered the anti-speedster rifle on his back.

"Betsy Braddock. Call me Psylocke." Psylocke said as they saw the two Stormfronts fly through the air towards them.

"If either of you two still want to walk away, now's your chance." Clark told them.

"Not on your life." Bishop stated.

"Same here. We've dealt with our fair share of bigots and monsters so this will be a cakewalk." Psylocke remarked, unsheathing her sword which began to glow with her purple psychic aura.

"Good to know." Clark said.

"I am really going to enjoy this. Always wondered what it would've felt like to kick the asses of the original racist bigots in history." Bishop's hands began to glow with energy as he, Superman and Psylocke charged at the two Stormfronts for a fight that was sure to be a spectacle.

Line Break xxxxx

Back with Logan and the others a few moments before the Legends arrive…

[Boom]

The main door to the SS hospital which had been locked and chained shut was blown open curtesy of a grenade from Lucas. Another grenade was thrown in and blew up, killing the SS soldiers by a makeshift barricade before Logan, Lucas and Padmavati rushed in with teams from Fox company of the 92nd Infantry division. They had their guns on full-auto and Padma blew apart SS soldiers with her shotgun. SS Soldiers had set up makeshift defensive covers with chairs and desks pushed into doorframes or hallways. The SS were diehard loyalists in their devotion to the cause and under strict orders from Dr. Frederick Vought they would defend the hospital with all they had. Even the other doctors and scientists were diehard loyalists and fanatics to Dr. Vought and his research and were willing to die to protect it.

Several SS soldiers set up a small barricade behind some desks and laid down fire with an MG-34 while some scientists were quick to dispose and destroy the research kept in the files. Logan and Padma hid behind the corner of a wall with Lucas at the other end as the bullets from the MG-34 ripped down the hall and began to chip away at the walls. Logan removed a grenade clipped to his chest and signaled to Lucas who nodded and removed a grenade from his satchel. Logan held up his hands and when he got to zero they pulled the pins and chucked them down the hallway where they went off. One of the grenade blew up near a storeroom containing some nitrous tanks which then exploded, taking out said storeroom and the three adjacent rooms. The explosion was large enough that it killed the SS soldiers and the makeshift barricade along with knocking out any nearby scientists.

Once they saw it was clear, Logan led the way with Padma and Lucas by his side and the 92nd Infantry division soldiers following them. They approached the destroyed barrier and saw the bodies of the SS soldiers and scientists. The fire had burned some of the papers but there was plenty more scattered on the ground or in file cabinets which were likely important but their priority was Dr. Vought so Logan turned to the men to dilly out tasks. "Lieutenant, take your men and secure the other side of the building before moving up. Go floor to floor, room to room and secure all the scientists and have men secure all the documents you can. Corporal, police these bodies and the documents here. The rest of you, with us."

"Yes, sir!" They all shouted diligently went about their tasks. Logan led Lucas and Padma along with a contingent of soldiers further down the hall until they made it to the stairways and went up to the second floor of the four-floor hospital. The first and second floor of the hospital were marked as troop treatment meaning they were the floors dedicated to the treatment and care of the SS soldiers, guards, and police units on the camp. Floor three was marked as test lab and floor four was marked as Dr. Vought's private lab so he'd be there.

The second floor of the hospital seemed to be empty as Logan and the others walked down the hall. They moved in tight formations with their weapons at the ready and clearing every single room, doorway, and hallway their path took them through. As they kept moving, small groups of soldiers would begin securing rooms and any kind of contraband as well as any information that from the camp. Logan halted at a hallway intersection and had his team halt. Lucas and Padma signaled to the team and everyone hugged the walls before crouching low with a few slightly opening doors to act as makeshift cover. Logan took small sniffs in the air as he picked up something up ahead and he was right. Waiting for them down the hall in some rooms were SS soldiers hiding behind cover with their fingers on trippers and grenades ready to be thrown and strangely enough were some scientists who had managed to cook up some makeshift Molotov cocktails with some chemicals in the hospital.

Logan signaled the soldiers to hold back while he made separate signals to Lucas and Padma. They knew what he was saying and Lucas removed his satchel and handed it to another soldier to hold before he took out a hand grenade for Padma, Logan, and one for himself while he took out a smoke grenade and two stun grenades. He tossed the smoke grenade to Logan and waited for the countdown before throwing the stun grenades down the hall. Logan threw the smoke grenade and there was a loud concussive blast and huge flash of light before a huge bellow of smoke appeared down the hallway where the Germans were. Logan, Lucas, and Padma then threw their grenades into the smoke cloud which went off and they heard the accompanying shouts/sounds of pain before the trio charged in.

Logan went through the smoke first and fired several quick bursts from his Thompson before kicking a door into a room and unloading the rest of his submachine gun. When it went dry he unsheathed his knife and proceeded to stab and slice his way through the SS soldiers and scientists who were still concussed by the stun and then explosive grenades. One SS soldier who was far away enough from the explosion so the concussive force wasn't as bad charged at Logan and drove the bayonet-tipped rifle into his side.

"ARGH! Fucker!" Logan unsheathed his bone claws from his right hand and stabbed the SS soldier in the chest, yanking out the bayonet before he roared in anger and tackled him through the wall into another occupied by soldiers and scientists. They tried to kill him but they were not at all equipped to deal with Logan and all that could be heard were Logan's shouts of adrenaline-fueled combat and the painful gasps from the soldiers and scientists who got to know what it felt like to be killed by bone.

Lucas killed some soldiers with his Owen gun when he was tackled from the side and knocked into a wall making him drop his submachine gun so he headbutted the SS soldier, kneed him in the gut and elbowed him in the back of the head. The soldier fell to the ground and Lucas used his pistol to shoot him in the head before taking out a few more soldiers while he was still covered by the smoke. When the pistol ran dry he saw an SS soldier raise his MP-40 up so he rushed forward, throwing the pistol in the soldiers face as a momentary distraction and push kicked him in the chest. The soldier hit the wall and Logan yanked the MP-40 away so the strap tugged on his neck. Lucas then wrapped it around his neck and pulled taught before pulling out his knife and stabbed the soldier in the side when he saw the smoke began to clear. Some SS soldiers saw him so he grabbed the handle of the MP-40 and unloaded the ammo clip into the soldiers. They were taken out and Lucas finished it off with a final knife stab to the soldier he was using as a shield.

Padma had rushed into a room and fired her shotgun in quick succession which took out several SS before a scientist grabbed the gun and pushed her against a cabinet. He tried to strangle her with the gun but she quickly kneed him in the groin and when he bent over she kneed him in the face before hitting him in the head with the butt of her shotgun. The other scientist in the room quickly picked up a gun from the ground and fired but Padma used the other scientist's body as a shield before she dove to the side. She quickly loaded a shotgun shell into the slide and shot the scientist in the chest and sending their body out the window. Padma quickly loaded more shells into her shotgun before rushing into the next room and took out some more soldiers with the last one getting hit in the leg. The soldier screamed bloody murder before she quickly loaded another shell and shot him in the face.

She walked out into the hallway and reloaded her shotgun to see Lucas gun down some SS soldiers using a meat shield soldier's MP-40 before taking out said meat shield with a knife stab to the back. The smoke began to dissipate so he tossed the man's body to the ground and picked up his Owen gun, reloading it with a new clip of ammunition.

[Thud]

Lucas and Padma aimed their guns down the hall and saw the body of a dead SS soldier was tossed out of a room. A second later out walked Logan who was looking a little bloody but perfectly fine. He strapped his Thompson over his shoulder and discreetly kept his right hand at his side so they couldn't see him retract his bone claws.

"You all right, Logan?" Padma asked and Logan nodded. She and Lucas walked over and peaked to their left to see the small aftermath of the fight Logan had. Basically, dead bodies, bullets, and Logan coming out with a few scratches.

"Bloody hell, Logan. You took them all on? Maybe we should call you Lucky Logan from now on. Ha-Ha." Lucas joked.

"Yeah, please don't do that." Logan reloaded his Thompson submachine gun. His nose picked up a weird scent when a red lightning blur raced by him and the others in the blink of an eye followed by a gust of wind.

"What the hell was that?" Lucas asked and Padma shrugged.

"Don't know but we've got a job to do. Let's keep moving." Logan told them.

The two nodded and headed upstairs with Logan with more men following behind him up to the third floor. They were one step closer as the third floor was the primary testing floor while the fourth floor was private for Dr. Frederick Vought and had been turned into one floor-wide lab/office. With a pair of thick rimmed glasses on his face and looking more comfortable in a lab, the man had a cold-apathetic expression on his face as he moved through the lab to gather various pieces of documents and placed them into a briefcase. All of the research on his work was being organized. Hours spent on genetic theory, days taken by advancing possible outcomes and months/years on human testing finally bore fruit proving that he was right and he was as smart as he claimed to be. Hitler, Himmler, and Goebbels now owed him a fortune as he proved them wrong with just how right he was, not that they'd be alive to actually pay him. Vought was preparing everything to go according to his perfect plan. The Allies had showed up to take him into custody, Klara would escape and scurry herself away into obscurity and get their daughter Chloe before the three would then meet up. As for Klaus, Vought didn't care as he never really cared for him but was curious to see if he would go with Klara's lead. Either he did and then he'd have another super soldier to control or he wouldn't and he'd be dead so either way it was a win-win.

"Nina! Where are those mitochondrial analysis reports?! They are imperative to the manufacturing of the serum?!" Dr. Vought shouted in annoyance. "Gods, of all the idiotic nurses I had to get stuck with it had to be her. Well, at least she's nice to look at—[Bang]

Dr. Vought fell the ground revealing his black haired Nurse Nina holding up a metal tray she had just hit him on the head with and she hit him hard since there was a sizeable dent in the metal.

"Невыносимый кусок дерьма (Nevynosimyy kusok der'ma)/(Insufferable piece of sh!t)"

Nina spat at Vought in Russian before literally spitting at him and took a key from around his neck. She headed to the wall safe and inserted the key into one lock before using a stethoscope to listen for and dial the combination. A key and a combination made it an extra secure safe but she got it. With a satisfying click, she opened the safe and carefully removed six vials of a blue-colored liquid. The serum that Dr. Vought was so hard at work for the last several years on and finally managed to make a reality after so much trial and error.

Compound V

Nina had to put up with years of working for the chauvinistic, egotistical, and annoying Dr. Vought but it was worth it as her organization would be using the serum from now on. Her look of glee though soon gave way to confusion as she saw six vials of the serum when the tray holding them had slots for eight. Two were missing and it wasn't Dr. Vought who took them because she remembered seeing him put all the vials in the safe yesterday and he didn't touch it since. Someone must have taken them.

[Explosion]

A powerful explosion further in the camp caused the building to shake a bit so Nina had no time to waste in figuring out what happened to the two missing vials. Six was still more than enough. She carefully wrapped them in a towel and placed them and the last of the papers into the briefcase before closing the safe, tossing the key to Dr. Vought's body and walking away. She walked into the hall and heard gunfire from two floors down so she ran in the other direction where an escape route she already had planned was waiting.

While Nina made her escape, Logan and the others headed up from the second floor onto the third. When they took a few steps onto the floor to clear it they were immediately with a powerful, pungent smell that was incredibly overbearing. Everyone winced immediately upon first smell with many thinking it was some kind of chemical or gas leak.

"Ugh, what the hell is that smell?" One of the soldiers asked before they continued on.

"Chlorine dioxide." Lucas answered as he pulled his scarf up around his nose.

"It's used as a cleaning agent. If this is a hospital and lab then they had it in spade." Padma added.

"But not like this." Logan said, feeling something else going on.

"What's wrong, Logan?" Padma asked.

"I'm not sure. Let's keep moving." Logan continued leading the assault team through the floor which was surprisingly empty. No rooms and just one singular hallway which was stark white and disturbingly clean but considering it was a hospital and Dr. Vought's lab then wanting it kept clean was natural. As they continued walking Logan began to feel more unease by the second when they kept seeing nothing until they finally arrived at what they thought was a dead end but wasn't, just a pair of heavy metal doors like a safe. The reason they thought it was a dead end was because of the heavy metal doors were installed with large thick sturdy walls that closed off the hallway completely, separate the part Logan and the assault team were in from the other side. Clearly it wasn't standard architecture or building design so Dr. Vought put this in to keep his lab highly secure. Clearly, he was taking all security measures to protect his serum.

Logan took a quick glance at the door and naturally it was locked from the inside and a pair of wire cutters weren't going to get them in. "Lucas, think you can get this open?" Logan asked and Lucas took a quick look.

"Lucky for us the boss had me pack extra." Lucas took out two sticks of dynamite and placed one on the door handle and used his knife to slice the other into smaller pieces to slip into the keyhole before taking out his lighter. Everyone took several back for safety before Lucas lit the dynamite and took cover.

[Boom]

The team waited as the smoke cleared before they peaked their heads out from behind cover and saw the bellowing smoke from a smoldering and cracked door handle/lock. Logan, Lucas, and Padma rushed over and thankfully Lucas's skill with demolitions was right as he managed to break the lock holding the door closed so the trio pushed open the heavy door into the lab though with what they saw a part of them wished that didn't enter.

"Oh my god…" Padma muttered in shock while Logan and Lucas were so shocked that they didn't have the words to form in the mouths.

What they saw was a clash of two different and combating themes. First being the clean, organized, and methodical setting one would expect from a hospital or medical lab. Things were set up in a manner for testing and producing a serum with medical/hospital equipment that the trio recognized and some items and machines they didn't. Refrigerated cabinets containing various colored liquids and chemicals were set up against a far wall alongside pinned research data and information related to the chemicals being used. It was a sight of pure scientific research and advancement but all of that belied the second theme of unimaginable torment, savagery, and pure evil. The reason for that was the reason why the first theme existed: Dr. Vought was using the camp's prisoners as human test subjects. Granted human may not be the best word because Dr. Vought sure didn't treat them differently from other lab rats.

There were ten gurneys set up in this lab and each one had a body strapped down that was difficult to see. Some had limbs amputated, others were missing vital organs and splayed out like a gutted fish, and one man had the top of his skull removed so his brain could be inspected. And unfortunately, it wasn't all men as it seemed that Dr. Vought didn't discriminate. Men, women, even children were strapped to the gurneys and had to endure horrendous torture for his super soldier serum.

[Blegh]

A few of the soldiers with weak stomachs loss their lunch at the ghastly sight and no one could blame them. Loagan, Lucas, and Padma steadied their nerves despite the deep pits they felt in their stomachs and moved in. There were no soldiers or nurses in the area and the team quickly moved in with the medic seeing if anyone on the gurneys could be helped but sadly no. Logan walked over to a file cabinet and ripped open the top drawer to see it was filled with files with a feeling that the other four drawers would be just as filled. He opened one file and saw it was records of the experiments done an elderly man complete with a black and white photo of his deceased body. Stamped on the papers was Subject Failure. He looked at another and the same thing. Men, women, children, the elderly of different ethnicities and races were all subjected to his experiments with cold, calculating efficiency. The more Logan read through the more his anger rose as it seemed as though Dr. Vought paid special attention to certain groups of people with unique genetic conditions like pairs of twins, those with biological abnormalities, and even those with medical conditions. Like a scientist, Dr. Vought was testing his serum on all kinds of people to figure out what worked the best.

Padma and Lucas joined him and took a quick sort through the files before checking out the lab. There they saw that some of the vials were samples taken from subjects during his experiments. Some unfortunate highlights included cerebral spinal fluid from a woman he subjected to radiation, adrenal extract from a man subjected to freezing temperatures, and brain matter from a set of twins that were burned alive.

"This guy is a fucking monster…and we're here to extract him?!" Lucas kicked over the cabinet in a fit of anger that no one could blame him for. After seeing the other files, Padma's stomach had enough and she threw up into a waste bin. Logan was keeping it together but only because he had been around a lot longer and been through more. Possibly that his own healing factor was helping him suppress the urge to gag. Whatever the case though even to him this was a whole new level of evil that couldn't even be called inhuman. Enough that he was seriously contemplating the parameters of the mission Clark had given them for this.

[Weak gasp]

Logan turned around and to his surprise and horror saw that one of the people on the gurneys was still alive. He rushed over to their side and saw it was a woman but her state was what shocked him even more. She had multiple incisions throughout her body that had been stitched up like someone cut her open and then sewn her shut, there were several bleeding scars on her forehead and the skin from her left hand and legs had been peeled back in pieces.

"…ple…die…"

"MEDIC!" Logan shouted so the medic rushed over though he froze when he saw her state. "HEY! DO YOUR JOB!"

Logan's shout jogged the medic back so he did what he could. He gave the woman a shot of morphine and treated her wounds as best she could but she needed serious medical attention. "We need to get her out of here."

"Ok…" Logan turned to the woman. "Don't worry. We're gonna get you out of here." The woman didn't seem to register his words as she was more focused on the pistol strapped to his thigh. Logan turned to the officer with them. "Move this woman to safety downstairs and secure all the documents and evidence we can."

"Yes, sir." The officer replied when Padma went wide-eyed.

"Logan!"

He turned and saw the woman had grabbed his pistol from his holster. Everyone went on alert thinking she was going to shoot Logan and raised their guns but instead she put it to the side of her head. "Wait, no! NO—[Gunshot]

One gunshot to the head ended the woman's misery allowing her to rest in peace. Everyone was shocked by what just happened, none more so than Logan. There was a moment of silence as they everything slink in. Logan grabbed his pistol and put it back in its holster as he stared down at the woman. This poor gal didn't even hesitate to end her life. It seemed that she left no life was worth living after everything she had no doubt endured and possibly seen as well. There was just no longer any hope in her eyes even when help finally came to her. He couldn't blame her for seeing an end to the pain and misery she must've carried all that time. He gently brought his hand up and closed her eyes before he pulled a tarp over the woman's head. "Padma, Lucas…with me." The two nodded and followed Logan through the lab and went upstairs to the final floor where Dr. Vought was.

[Explosion]

Another distant explosion jostled the building which shook Dr. Vought awake. He grabbed his head in pain and managed to sit up when he saw his briefcase was gone and his key on the floor next to him. He quickly scampered up and unlocked his safe only to discover that his serum was gone.

"No! NO!" Dr. Vought shouted before he kicked over a chair in anger when he saw Logan, Lucas, and Padma slowly walk into the room. "Finally! What has taken you Americans so long?! It doesn't matter! My serum is gone! We need to find it! Send men out in search around the camp! Look for my assistant Nina. She has to be the one who stole it. I always knew there was something about her I didn't like and if only I had listened to my gut and kept her on clerical work where she belonged than we wouldn't be in this mess. It's my fault but still, if we can find my serum then I'll deal with her myself. She couldn't have gotten far in this chaos."

Dr. Vought scampered around his office and grabbed his jacket and his suitcase like he was leaving for a trip when he saw Logan, Lucas, and Padma firm in place. "Hello? I am speaking to you in the plain English am I not? Get to work and find my serum!"

"Your serum…is that important?" Logan asked him.

"Of course it is, you idiot. My serum is the greatest revolution in medical scientist. It's why your government sent you to get me because only I know its secrets and if it's truly lost then only I can replicate it." Dr. Vought's voice dripped with his ego as the man thought of himself as a god. He looked out the window of his office at the chaos of the attack with a calm aloofness. "My serum is pure genius and it will have what that idiot Erskine created look like nothing but a cheap, inferior product. Luckily for me, your Allied countries will make sure I'm well compensated and taken care of for my services."

"And that…is worth everything you did?" Padma asked in contempt and Dr. Vought just looked at her in bewilderment.

"Not that it's any of your concern or you would even begin to understand but that is the course of innovation and advancement. For the future of science, tests are needed to advance the natural order. The Superman…Captain America…" Dr. Vought spat out in contempt. "I've heard the prisoners speak of them as I ripped out their organs and drained their blood. They held them up as gods…as perfection not knowing true perfection when it stared them in the eyes. Hitler and his final solution…pfft…idiocy. Their lives were worthless to begin with, just waiting in those cramped pens to be worked to death or killed. Hitler is as shortsighted as the idiotic men working for him but he gave me exactly what I needed. Him and this place has served its purpose."

"And that's it? We saw what you did! All those experiments, the torture to those innocent people. You treated them like cattle!" Lucas shouted and was ready to throttle him then and there but Logan held him back for now.

"Oh, please don't give me your sanctimonious prattle. Your governments can think themselves the heroes in this war but their histories are just as bloody as Germany's. The only difference being that people are willing to forget it now because there is someone else to turn their anger against. The Americans? A nation of playboys and dilatants who governmentally subjugated half their population even to this day and treat them like second glass citizens and don't get me started on the British as your nations were victims of their hubris and colonization. Canadian, Australian, Indian. All for the glory of the King and Queen. Idiots." Dr. Vought searched a draw to get one last minute item before he proceeded to dump every last remaining document in the office into a trash bin which he doused with some kind of alcohol and lit with a lighter. "Now that I am done with this, I don't plan on making the same mistakes."

"So, that's it? After everything you've done you're just gonna start over with a new life?" Logan questioned, barely hiding the contempt in his voice.

"Yes. Now, if there are no more questions from you three, let us get out of here quickly. I've had enough of this place as it is. The smell is getting to me." Dr. Vought said as he took his bags and strolled past them like a rich passenger trying to catch his train. He walked out of the room and down the hall but waited as Logan, Lucas, and Padma lagged behind. "Hurry up! I want to get this over with."

Logan, Lucas, and Padma slowly walked out of the professor's office all with the same unreadable stoic expression on their faces. "So do we." They said together before raising their guns up.

"What do you think you're doing?" Dr. Vought asked, trying to stay confident but the tremble in his voice indicated that he wasn't matching what he wanted to portray. "I bargained with your governments for my safety! You'll be shot for this!"

"Maybe but our captain always leads by example and told us to do the right thing." Logan pulled the cocking hammer back on his Thompson. "And this is one of them."

"Night-Night, doc." Lucas told him.

"This is for them." Padma added.

"NO!" Dr. Vought turned tail and ran like a coward out of desperation but never had a chance.

[Gunfire]

Flashes of gunfire could be seen from the fourth-floor windows of the hospital and heard from the floor below but ended just as quickly as it started. Bullet shells were scattered on the floor while the barrels of the Logan, Lucas, and Padma's guns were smoking from their rapid firing.

"…guh…ar…ah…" Those barely comprehensible words and other utterances of pain and gasps for air were all that Dr. Vought was reduced to as he fell to his knees. His body was littered with bullet holes from the Thompson and Owen submachine guns and he even had a huge chunk of his side and his right arm blown off from Padma's shotgun. Despite all the bullets he was shot with he was still miraculously alive or clinging to life at the very least.

Logan pulled out his pistol and walked over to Dr. Vought before lining up the barrel to the man's forehead. "Enjoy the trip the hell."

Logan pulled the trigger eight times, emptying his Colt pistol and its .45 caliber bullets into Dr. Vought's head turning it into mush. The body crumpled to the ground and there was a collective release of tense air from the trio. Despite the viciousness of the execution, they all felt justified and like some sort of karmic justice was served for the horrors that Dr. Vought had committed. While they disobeyed director orders…they had to do it. "Lucas, start laying down explosives around this place. Find a gas line or something. Let's bring this building down. Padma, let's go get some chemicals and make sure this piece of shit burns to a crisp."

The two nodded and got to work, saying nothing because nothing needed to be said. The horrors of the hospital would soon be burnt and the victims had achieved justice while outside the battle was reaching a fevered pitch.

Back in the camp…

Bolts of purple and blue lightning could be seen shooting through the air joining the bellowing of flames and rising smoke as Taskforce Vanguard and elements of the 92nd Infantry Division were making the valiant effort in taking the rest of the camp and combating the Hydra reinforcements. While the tanks were taken care of, the armored vehicles and soldiers armed with the Hydra energy weapons were still an issue. Thankfully some help came in the strange form of people with abilities much like Superman though they definitely weren't native to the timeline, not that anyone other than Clark knew that.

Arthur led Webb, Diggle, and Solange and a squad of men towards the north end of the camp where the SS headquarters was located along with the SS housing to make sure that they cleared the camp and that no one had a car hiding and would slip away. Whatever chaos and craziness was going on now could provide an excellent method for someone to slip away unnoticed so they wanted to make sure that no one did. They took cover behind the corner of a building and Webb peaked his head out before quickly pulling back to avoid the laser blast that nearly hit him in the head.

"Bollocks, that was close." Webb said as some Hydra soldiers grouped up with SS soldiers and formed a makeshift barricade at the headquarters with what weapons they had. A sort of Alamo-like kind of defense and situation. Once the SS and Hydra soldiers saw the Taskforce and Americans trying to advance and kept them pinned down with energy blasts and gunfire.

"They are dug in their tight." Arthur noted and everyone agreed. "Fireteam, get ready!"

The soldiers with the bazookas nodded and got to load them when Diggle looked up and saw the burning man flying in. "Incoming!"

Everyone ducked down and covered their heads as Firestorm flew above and launched a fireball at the cover, blowing it up and sending the Germans through the air. He then banked to the right and served back to the building as the SS and Hydra soldiers he didn't hit fired at him but he was flying too fast for them to get a good shot and they were likely still freaking out at the flying burning man. Freaked out enough for Firestorm to fly by for another fireball barrage before he flew away.

"That works for us. Let's go." Solange said and everyone moved forward.

Elsewhere, Hydra soldiers were being gunned down one by one curtsey of Captain Hunter and Ava as they moved from cover to cover over to the prisoner barracks. One SS soldier aimed a Panzerfaust at them only for a gust of wind to hit him when he pressed the trigger causing him to miss. Zari then rushed over and punched him in the face before summoning another powerful gust of wind and sent more soldiers flying. She joined Captain Hunter and Ava as they provided covering fire against the reinforcements while the rescue team sent to the barracks helped the prisoners. They were given sniper cover curtsey of Daniel Take-Yatsu and Polina Petrova from their watchtower. A group of SS soldiers flanked around and aimed at some of the soldiers only for the Atom, who had shrunk down to mini-size, flew over and hit them one by one. They were sent flying around before the Atom flew back over and enlarged himself when he landed next to Sara Lance who was fighting some Hydra soldiers with her bo-staff which she split into her two fighting sticks. Precise strikes and disarms were her signature as she moved with deadly precision and took down her opponents. Atom covered her back from gunfire and knocked out a SS soldier with a right hook before taking out another with an uppercut and then blasted him with his gauntlets before flying away. There he saw Steel punch one of the Maschinensoldaten or as Jax dubbed them Proto-Metallos when the other grabbed his arms from behind, trapping him. This allowed the other Proto-Metallo to punch him repeatedly in the face so Atom flew down and shrunk into the chest plate of the Proto-Metallo where he shrunk the Kryptonite until it was nothing more than a pebble and took it with him when he left. With it no longer powering the suit, the Maschinensoldaten's kryptonite laser powered down and when Atom flew out and enlarged, he blasted it in the chest plate with his energy blasts. Steel pulled himself free and punched the Proto-Metallo in the faceplate and then in the chest piece where he ripped the Kryptonite out. Atom then blasted the Maschinensoldaten in the faceplate before Steel grabbed it by the arm and threw him into a building. He tossed up the Kryptonite and the Atom blasted it to dust.

"Nice throw." Atom praised.

"Thanks, man and thanks for the assist." Steel said and the two did a quick bro-hug. "How upset do you think Mick's going to be for missing all this?"

"Spending time with his daughter is among his favorite things…and working with Snart to cause Barry some grief but he will be upset. We'll need to prepare a lot of beer." Atom suggested.

[Whoosh]

Something moving at incredible speed flew past them and they thought it was Clark but once they saw it was flying and generating Lightning then they saw it was the male Stormfront…who was holding onto Clark. The two traded punches with Stormfront flying up, using his advantage of flight. Clark's eyes glowed red as he was ready to unleash his heat vision only for Stormfront to grab his face and dig his fingers into his eyes.

"ARGH!" Clark's screams echoed out over the camp and Stormfront dug his fingers into his eyes but one good shot to the kidney's cause him to stop. Clark's eyes were bleeding a little but quickly healed back to normal before he clapped Stormfront on both ears causing some serious discombobulation. He further capitalized on the opportunity as with Stormfront discombobulated Clark was able to tackle him back to the ground while repeatedly punching him in the face.

[Boom]

Atom and Steel covered their heads as Clark and Stormfront's landing kicked up some debris. Clark was quick to capitalize on his advantage as he picked Stormfront up and then tackled him through a building, the impact and destruction caused it to collapse a few moments later.

"Wow, this Superman really doesn't hold back like the one we knew." Atom remarked. "I mean I knew that when he used his heat vision to kill the Hydra soldiers but still."

"Well, when you're trained as a soldier then it changes thing. Though with what we saw of the possible future if Thawne succeeds in killing Superman and that Compound V stuff getting out then I'd say this is a small price to pay." Steel pointed out when he saw the two Maschinensoldaten get back up. Even without the Kryptonite powering their suits they were still enhanced by the Blockbuster serum but not impossible to take down. "Ready for round 2?"

"Oh yeah." The Atom shrunk back down and flew forward, blasting the Proto-Metallos with some energy blasts as Steel leapt forward with a flying clothesline on one of them. While they were fighting, the rubble of a collapsed factory seemed to explode before a lightning blur raced away but it wasn't retreating as it began racing around at incredible speed.

Bishop was thrown through the air towards Psylocke who flipped over him with some impressive agility as she unsheathed her sword and attacked. Klara blocked the sword with her arms and tried to punch or grab Psylocke but kept missing. Psylocke spun under a punch and infused some of her psychic aura into her katana before making a lateral cut followed by a quick vertical cut and rolled to the side for distance. Stormfront held her left side in pain and looked down to see a small cut in her suit which was bleeding but then felt blood trickle down her right cheek and felt a cut there as well. A cut on her perfection.

The indignity couldn't stand.

"You slant-eyed bitch!" Stormfront shouted in anger and she blitzed forward at super speed but before she actually moved Psylocke threw a psi-bolt at her. Psylocke's telepathy let her know what Stormfront was going to do so she acted quickly and rolled to the right and threw a psi-bolt. When Stormfront blitzed forward she was hit with the psi-bolt and stumbled. She turned around and quickly leaned back to avoid a cut to the face before swerving to avoid a lunge and grabbed Psylocke by the neck and squeezed. Psylocke tried to break free and all the female Stormfront did was look on in demented glee. "I'm gonna enjoy this."

"So am I." Psylocke spoke back in German before her eyes glowed purple with a purple butterfly-like aura appearing around her head.

[High-pitched ringing]

"AAAAHH!" Stormfront grabbed her head in pain as it felt like something was searing into her brain.

Bishop stood up and saw Psylocke had Stormfront in a psychic stranglehold and was going to help her end this when he heard a loud boom and saw Superman return. Clark still had the male Stormfront in his grasp from his tackle who was punching his back and sides to try and get free. He then grabbed Clark by the neck and fell backward, taking him to the ground and getting into the mount position where he proceeded to strangle him. With Superman being stronger, Stormfront released a torrent of lightning through his hands as well to make it hurt and give him the edge. Clark screamed in pain but didn't let up as his eyes soon glowed red and he unleashed a burst of heat vision.

"ARGH!" Stormfront stumbled back and the right side of his face with his hands. Clark got back to his feet and saw Stormfront pull his hands away to reveal that the right side of his face had been severely burnt. No longer looking like the perfect specimen of Germanic perfection. "You insolent American DOG! I WILL PISS ON YOUR CORPSE!"

Stormfront unleashed a torrent of lightning only for Bishop to get in the path and absorb all the lightning. His veins glowed purple as he absorbed the energy before firing a powerful energy blast at the Stormfront and knocked him back. "Superman, care to give me a toss?" Bishop asked and Clark nodded.

"Hang on." Clark grabbed him from behind and spun around before he let go. Bishop flew forward and tackled Stormfront, digging a path in the ground as the mutant let out energy-infused punches on Stormfront. Each punch came with a satisfying sense of vindication and well-deserved pride for Bishop, a black man being able to pummel a literal Nazi and a rather despicable one at that. After the 15th consecutive punch, the energy Bishop had absorbed began to dim from constant use in the punching so Stormfront pushed him up into the air with his super strength. While he was physically weaker than Superman, he was stronger than Bishop. In a fit of rage, he flew up and grabbed Bishop by the neck before flying back down and slamming him in the ground. Clark blitzed forward punched Stormfront in the face, knocking him off Bishop and the two attacked the Nazi together. Clark came in with a punch to the face and blocked a counter while Bishop punched Stormfront in the side and then kicked out his left leg. This opened him up to an uppercut from Clark but surprisingly he managed to block it before grabbing his arm and swinging him into Bishop. Stormfront then spun around and threw Clark away, sending him flying through the air a good distance before he super sped forward and grabbed Bishop by the neck. Seeing as how he couldn't use his lightning or else he would just absorb it, he used his super strength and began choking him out.

Bishop gasped in pain as Stormfront tightened his grip and forced him onto his knees. While Bishop's ability to absorb energy also included storing some in his body to increase his general strength and a degree of durability, it had its limits. "You are a nothing but a shit stain on humanity! Your whole people are beneath me! Everyone is beneath me! You are not even fit to wipe my buttocks! Once I'm done with you I will reduce America to a crater! I will fry the continent of Africa until your people are nothing more than husks for me to build my throne! I will find everyone you've ever loved and will ruin them! Your women will be taken! Your men and children killed and I will use your skull as a codpiece! You are inferior!"

Clark super sped back over and saw Bishop being strangled but didn't want to risk super speeding over. While his speed likely wasn't the same, Stormfront could still snap his neck in the split second before he got close. That's when he remembered Bishop's unique ability to absorb energy.

"Bishop!" Clark fired his heat vision and hit Bishop's back. He kept up his heat vision and to his relief he saw Bishop absorb the energy and it also seemed to reinvigorate him. Bishop's eyes glowed as he grabbed Stormfront's arms and began to slowly pull them away from his neck. The more energy he absorbed from Clark's heat vision the stronger he was getting to the point where it could get himself free. His muscles began to enlarge slightly as his veins glowed purple, brighter than they ever had before with the heat/power of a sun fueling him.

"I'm a mutant and proud of it. You're are just another piece of shit racist that got powers from an even bigger piece of shit racist! And I'm beating you! You know what that means? It means you're the real inferior one!" Bishop mocked as he began to glow brighter and brighter as he absorbed more energy.

"DO IT!" Clark shouted, keeping up his heat vision and Bishop absorbed more.

"Tell everyone when you get to hell that it was Bishop who sent you! RAH!"

A powerful purple colored explosion went off and it kicked up a massive mushroom cloud and made a huge shockwave. Everyone in the camp was alerted though at this point the last of the Hydra reinforcements were just about taken out so it was just Taskforce Vanguard, the assault team and the POWs they liberated. The large explosion and shockwave was enough of a disturbance that it faltered Psylocke's psychic hold just enough for Stormfront to get a moment of clarity. In that moment she grabbed Psylocke by the face and slammed her into the ground to cease the psychic attack before grabbing her by the leg and hurling her away where she slammed into a car.

She turned to look at the explosion before the mushroom cloud faded and saw Superman and the black man still standing and in one piece. Neither of them looked harmed at all but Klaus was. His arms had been blown off, there was a chunk missing from his right side, one of his legs was mangled and half the skin on his face was gone. He was more corpse than man and definitely not the poster child for Dr. Vought's super serum. His body slumped back and he died. Despite the serum in his body, he had been defeated.

"Whew…that felt good…but took a lot out of me." Bishop said so Superman helped him stand. The explosion stung but with the sunlight he was already quickly healing any kind of minor burns and bruises he suffered which alone was enough to show the difference in innate power he had over Stormfront.

"KLAUS!" Stormfront's irises flickered with lightning before she raised her hands and began unleashing lightning all over the camp. Parts of buildings were destroyed and people were struck by lightning while others scattered for cover. She then flew over to the prisoner barracks and began killing indiscriminately. Prisoners, soldiers and even SS it didn't matter. Collateral damage as she was going to make Superman and his team suffer for what happened. Clark super sped around to get the soldiers to cover when something happened.

[Thunder crack]

A massive crack of thunder was heard but it wasn't Stormfront and before Clark could even think he was hit from the side with a punch to the face by something moving at incredible speed. Whoever punched him hit with an incredible amount of force that it was like a B-24 bombing run had just occurred because the shockwave was powerful. Powerful enough that Clark was sent flying through the air.

The shockwave from the punch that sent Superman flying away shook the watchtower Daniel and Polina were on for their perch. The impact was so severe that it began to crumble so the two quickly jumped out before it collapsed with them in it. They hit the ground rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the collapsing watchtower. Polina winced in pain as when she jumped she did a bad landing on her left shoulder. Seeing what Stormfront was doing and wanting her own form of payback Polina grabbed her rifle and pulled the slide back to see she was down to her last bullet so she'd make it count even if it killed her.

She tried to hold it up but winced in pain as her left shoulder wasn't cooperating so she couldn't exactly hold her rifle steady. That's when Daniel walked over and placed the barrel of the rifle over his right shoulder to provide a steady platform. "Make it count." He told her and Polina nodded. She looked down the scope and put Stormfront in her crosshair watching and waiting for the perfect shot. She saw Bishop run into the path of some soldiers to protect them from lightning which made Stormfront put her focus on him since he did just kill her brother. The only problem was that Stormfront was moving around too much so she couldn't get a clean shot when she saw Psylocke run back over. Her hand glowed purple and her psychic aura manifested into a whip which she threw out and wrapped around Stormfront's neck and pulled her back. Seeing her chance, Polina took a deep breath and steadied herself.

"нацистская сука. (natsistskaya suka/Nazi B!tch)"

She pulled the trigger and the bullet traveled down the barrel through the air until it found its target right in Stormfront's left eye.

"ARGH!" Stormfront grabbed her eye in pain before she turned around and zapped Psylocke, sending her flying back. She turned back over to Bishop and removed her hand from her face to show her bleeding eyehole and unleashed her lightning at the prisoners in retribution. Bishop moved in front of some of them to take the lightning so Stormfront zipped forward at super speed and kicked him in the chest. Bishop flew back, crashing through one of the barracks and tumbled on the ground while Stormfront marched over and began wailing on Bishop. She punched him across the face and knocked him to the ground before doing it again and again and again and again and with no Superman to save him this time. "I'm going to finish what my brother started. You will suffer in regret and death for the sheer audacity at playing a part in my brother's death. The very idea a piece of filthy garbage like you played a role is an insult! Do you now grasp who we are! We are the Übermensch who are the perfection of humanity while you and all others are nothing but filthy mongrels polluting the gene pool with your existence!"

She picked up a piece of broken metal from the ground which was sharpened at one end and reared it back. "People like you should never have been born. I'm doing the world a favor—[gasps]"

Stormfront spat out blood from her mouth as a purple energy coated katana pierced her from behind and came out her chest. Psylocke smirked in delight and gave the sword a violent twist which only made Stormfront gasp out in pain. The location of Psylocke's thrust put the blade through Stormfront's spin so she no longer had feeling in her lower body and much of her arms.

"So am I. Enjoy the torture in hell."

Psylocke pulled her katana out which made Stormfront slump to her knees, powerless and unable to stop what was coming. She looked up at the sky and saw the smoke cover the sun like her time was at an end.

"Es war so schön. Wie wir dort zu dritt gesessen, im Schatten eines Apfelbaums. Erinnerst du dich an den Tag Frederick? Chloe hat die Arme aus dem Autofenster gestreckt. Wir haben den perfekten Platz am Fluss gefunden, im Schatten eines Apfelbaums. Es war das erste mal dass Chloe frische Äpfel gegessen hat... war so glücklich. Es war herrlich. Ich wollte dass er nie zu Ende geht." (5)

[Shing-squish]

Blood began to seep down Klara's neck before her head fell down followed by the rest of her body. Behind her was Psylocke who flicked her katana clean of blood and sheathed it on her back. She was battered, bruises, and definitely needed a vacation but felt good in that she took down an evil Nazi.

"Oh yeah…that felt good." Psylocke said before helping Bishop up. By now the fighting was over with the camp cleared of all German and Hydra soldiers. The two looked around when they noticed the person who was missing. "Where's Superman?"

Superman landed in an open field about three miles from the camp, making a big impact crater. That punch hurt less than the Kryptonite but he was feeling the most pain he has felt in the war. He pushed himself up only to knocked back down by Reverse-Flash who stood over him with his body flickering with red lightning. He was battered, bruised, cut up and he was beyond angry with the expression on his face being that of resoluteness. "It ends now. No more talking, no more interruptions. You die now!"

Reverse-Flash vibrated his hand and drove it down but Clark managed to catch it at the last second but a second too late as it managed to dig into his chest. Clark grit his teeth through the pain of having something pierce his chest but thankfully managed to prevent it from going too deep.

"Goodbye, Mr. Kent…" Reverse-Flash vibrated faster to try and push down when he heard something.

[Inhuman shriek & roar]

Thawne went wide-eyed and pale faced when he heard that and looked down at his right wrist to see his watch was damaged, likely from the blast he was hit with before and the building that collapsed on him. Since it was damaged it didn't give him the alert and now the thing he feared was closing in on him.

"Oh no…" Thawne tried to get up and run away but Clark had his wrist in a death grip and didn't let go.

"What's wrong, Thawne? Where are you running too?" Clark held on tight despite all of Thawne's tugging, grasping and panicked attempts to try and get free.

"No. No! NO! Let me go! Before he finds me!" Thawne was panicking like a scared child but it was already too late. They heard another inhuman roar like before and both turned their heads towards the source to see a red blur of lightning race over and stop on a nearby hill. The lightning was similar to Thawne's but the suit wasn't as it was black. Clark used his super vision to get a better look and saw that whatever was in said suit was human in shape but definitely wasn't. For one, the face looked like a monstrous ghoul with burnt/decrepit skin and lifeless eyes.

"What the…" Clark was stunned to say the least and Thawne took that distraction as a chance to get free. He slipped out of Clark's grasp and ran but only made it a few feet before the creature in black cut him off and grabbed him by the neck. It then impaled Thawne in the heart like he had tried to do to Superman a few moments ago. Thawne gasped out in pain as he looked the monstrous black speed demon in the eyes before it pulled away.

Thawne gasped in pain and Clark watched in stunned disbelief as his body began to crack apart like he was made of glass but instead of crumbling and falling to the ground he began to disappear like ash bellowing in the wind. His feet, legs, torso, and arms were all gone until his head was the last thing remaining. "AHHHH…."

And just like that, the Reverse-Flash was gone. Suddenly the black clad figure appeared in front of Clark.

"Gah!" Clark jumped back in fright as the monster roared in his face before it super sped away in a blur of lightning before a blue portal appeared and it was gone. "What on earth was that?"

With still no idea exactly what happened but clearly it meant that the Reverse-Flash was gone, Clark reorientated himself and super sped back to the camp. He arrived back noting how the camp looked like it had been through a warzone which was true but all the German and Hydra soldiers had been taken out so the elements of Dog and Fox company were helping move the prisoners over to the trains for extraction. With all the noise they made with the battle it wouldn't be long before they had visitors. In fact, Clark was surprised that they hadn't arrived all ready. He walked through the camp and saw the soldiers of the 92nd Infantry now helping the freed prisoners but they gave him salutes when he walked by while the prisoners had looks joy and hope. He smiled and greeted them when he saw Arthur organizing men to begin loading the prisoners onto the train while Diggle led the medical team who were treating those that needed immediate medical attention. The Legends were doing what they could to help and while people still looked at them in confusion they weren't exactly in a position to argue. Atom used his suit to deal with some of the rubble when he saw Sergeant John Diggle Steward tending to some injured.

"So, that's Diggle's grandfather." Sara said as she walked over and joined him. "They really do share a family resemblance."

"Yeah, kind of uncanny to be honest." Atom replied in astonishment before the two helped the next group of prisoners onto the train.

Clark walked over and saw Bishop and Psylocke move the bodies of the two Stormfronts over together so they were side by side. Klara's head and body was put next to what was left of Klaus. "Are you two ok?" Clark asked them and got nods. "Good. Sorry I couldn't help at the end."

"It's all right. If anything, I'm glad I could do it." Psylocke replied as Clark stared at their bodies before his eyes glowed red and he used his heat vision. He kept it going for about a minute and when he was done there was nothing left but ash. "Good riddance to bad rubbish."

"Hell yeah." Bishop agreed.

"Thanks again. Do you two mind helping to get the prisoners to the train?" Clark asked and they nodded. "Thank you."

Clark then super sped away to check on the others. Psylocke looked over and saw Daniel Take-Yatsu getting patched up before he went to help others. "That's your grandfather?" Bishop asked and Psylocke nodded.

"On my father's side. Quite the legend. Listening to all his stories growing up were what inspired me to join SHIELD and then when my powers manifested…well, it only made more sense with how things worked out." Psylocke admitted. "What about you?"

Bishop looked over at Arthur Kingsley and was glad to see his ancestor was alive and well. With all the possible changes to the timeline in effect there was a chance that if things went wrong then Bishop's very existence would have been jeopardized. Time traveling with the legends sure was different than his previous experience. Bishop then took out an old photography of himself when he was younger with his mother and family and considering how they were all still in the photo then things were looking good.

"We're good." Bishop told her and the two went to help whoever they could.

Logan and his team had returned to the train after their mission was complete. The hospital/lab was now a burning/smoldering wreck from the explosives Lucas left behind. There was a somber aura around Logan, Lucas, and Padma and the assault force for that mission, something that Clark picked up when he saw them.

"Logan, Lucas, Padma…are you all right?" Clark asked them out of concern. Mission be damned because his team came first.

"We're fine, sir but I'd like to formally submit myself for disciplinary action." Logan stated.

"We all would, Captain." Padma and Lucas stood next to Logan at attention.

All of them were being incredibly professional which already was a sign that something was wrong because Clark kept a fairly laxed mood with the team with professional attitude only used with the top brass or politicians. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"We failed, Captain. We were unable to accomplish the objective you gave us. Dr. Vought is dead." Lucas replied.

"Whatever punishment command will deem as sufficient for our failure we willingly submit to." Padma added and Clark looked over his team for a moment. He wasn't sure what was going on but clearly something happened that affected them all.

"His research?" Clark asked and Logan had one of the men bring over a file they took. Clark took a quick skim but what he read through was enough for him to make an educated guess on what likely happened. "Well, considering the circumstances I don't see a reason why disciplinary action is necessary."

"Captain, please don't feel the need to protect us. We know what we did, consequences and all so please don't fall on your sword for us." Logan told him.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Logan because you did nothing wrong. None of you did. Dr. Vought was clearly unhinged and the circumstances forced your hand but you handled it the best way you could. Dr. Frederick Vought, while incredibly brilliant, was unhinged and deranged from the factors pertaining to this camp and the growing stresses of the war. When you arrived to extract him, his behavior was erratic and would not listen to your orders as things in the camp began to escalate. After you finally managed to deescalate the situation, Dr. Vought's paranoia reached a fevered pitch and stole one of your sidearms from you in a desperate attempt to escape. You all tried multiple attempts to deescalate the situation but Dr. Vought would not listen and with the pistol in his hands your lives were in danger. While regrettable, you had no choice but to defend yourselves and that unfortunately meant that Dr. Vought was killed. The situation in the camp escalated and Dr. Vought and his lab could not be recovered other than his research. I believe that's what happened and I find no reason why any of your should be punished or suffer consequences for a situation that was out of your control. Besides, from what I can see…Dr. Vought's research was so heinous and monstrous that it took a toll on his mental health. Of course, we'll need to go over the entire event to make sure all details have been covered but that's really a formality." Clark told them. "Well done."

Basically, Clark told them that whatever happened was done and he was ok with it. He didn't like the mission but he saw no reason why his team should suffer for that Nazi scientist. Logan, Lucas, and Padma stood at attention and saluted him. "At ease. I trust that all relevant information Dr. Vought had was recovered." Clark said.

"Yes, Captain. The men brought down and secured his research though some of it was damaged and burned in Dr. Vought's deranged state. He was so deranged that he destroyed the serum in question." Logan answered.

"Excellent. Now fall out. Help who you can. We're leaving in ten minutes." Clark told them. Lucas and Padma left but Logan stuck around. "Something else, First Sergeant Howlett."

"Just something of interest I'd thought you'd like to see. Some of Dr. Vought's personal effects." Logan handed him some pictures of Dr. Vought with various members of the Nazi party. He kept looking through the pictures until he stopped at two in particular. One of Dr. Vought standing next to his bride at their wedding and then another of him, his bride and her brother at the same wedding. "He has a family."

"He had a family. His wife and brother-in-law were the Stormfronts that Polina mentioned." Clark told him.

"And now?"

"Joining him where they all belong. Thanks Logan." Clark said and Logan nodded before the two separated.

The train out of the camp kept filling up with passengers and it got to the point where Clark had to bring over another and attach another train car. Thankfully the train yard was spared most of the destruction in the attack so he brought over one of the empty cars.

Psylocke and Bishop helped some prisoners move when she saw Logan helping get the last of the prisoners onto the new train car Clark attached. "Holy crap, it's really Logan. He really is older than he looks."

"Told you so." Bishop chuckled in amusement before the saw the telepath giving Clark another look over.

"Superman looks the same in the future as he does now. It's insane." Psylocke said in disbelief before getting a certain look in her eyes as she smiled. "Just as handsome today as he will be decades from now, like his sons."

"I can certainly see the personality resemblance as well as the physical." Bishop remarked before he grinned. "Still bummed things didn't work out between you two in the future?"

"Psylocke frowned at him before crossing her arms. "A woman can still dream, can't she?"

Clark gave the camp one last look to make sure that no one was left behind, even the dead and any that were unfortunately killed they brought with them. Better than leaving them behind. Clark finished using his x-ray and super vision before switching to his super hearing and to his surprise there wasn't the sound of any kind of German communication regarding the camp attack and no communication about coming to investigate.

"If you're wondering about a counterattack, don't." Clark turned around and saw Captain Hunter and Sara Lance walk over. "Before we arrived we took some measures to ensure that no one would find out."

"Considering the last time you were here you mentioned how dangerous it would be if I knew too much doesn't that apply to you also messing with events?" Clark wondered. "Not that I'm complaining since you came to help but how?"

"I think it's best that we keep that to ourselves. As for our intervention…well, this team is a bit like a chainsaw and we do make a mess but it's a good kind of mess." Captain Hunter admitted, gesturing to the state of the camp and how the battle got crazy.

"I'm partially responsible for that too so I understand. I know you can't say anything but I'm guessing that the two enhanced people and this camp were part of why you were here besides Thawne." Clark said but the two kept their mouths shut on that. "Yeah, I figured."

"Speaking of Mr. Thawne, what happened to him? Did he escape again?" Captain Hunter asked.

"No. I think he's dead." Clark answered with Sara and Captain Hunter intrigued. They knew that despite how powerful Superman was the Reverse-Flash was still much faster than him so without the anti-speedster weapon a fight between the two would tend to be one sided. "I'm still not sure what happened but this…ghoul…monster…ghost thing arrived. It had red lightning like Thawne did and it killed him."

"This ghoul thing? A black suit like Thawne's with a lightning bolt and when Thawne was stabbed he crumbled into light." Sara said and Clark's look was all she needed to know that she was right on the money.

"You've seen that thing before?"

"I have and it means that Thawne is no longer a problem. Let's just say that we weren't the only ones who was after him for trying to mess with the timeline. Thankfully, if you saw him then that means Thawne is gone and our job is done here. Things should go back to normal. Well, however normal they can get." Sara assured him.

"That's good and I know that you know who I am and I don't know who you are but thank you." Clark said and Captain Hunter gave him a smile and nod before they shook hands. "All of you. You quite literally helped save my life and I can't thank you enough."

"Please, Mr. Kent. You've done more than enough for us…well, you will and that's all I'll say on the matter." Rip remarked.

"And if anyone deserves thanks its you. Thank you." Sara said to him before she shook hands with him.

"I'm guessing I'll see you all again…in the future? Hopefully?" Clark wondered.

"In time…yes." Rip promised. "But do make sure to keep what happened here between us."

"You don't have to worry about that but I'm not exactly sure how much help that's going to be considering what everyone saw. I can promise my team not to say anything but everyone else…I'm not so sure." Clark admitted.

"Don't worry. We've got that covered." Rip walked over to the train as the last freed prisoners got on. "Excuse me, everyone! I no doubt understand that you're all ready to leave this place and believe me I understand but if I could just have a moment of your time. My name is Captain Rip Hunter, former Time Master and founder of the Time Bureau. If you could all look over here please."

"You might want to turn around." Sara turned Clark around so he didn't see Captain Hunter hold out a futuristic device which he held up to everyone.

"If you'll all look over here. I understand that you all have questions and I guarantee that this little device here will have all your answers." Rip smiled at them before the device powered up.

[Flash]

A week later…

Innsbruck, Austria

Clark stood at attention with the members of his team in the command tent of the Allied base in Austria as they were currently being chewed out for disobeying direct orders from command. Once the train was loaded up, they left Dachau and made it back over the border into Austria where medical was already waiting for the freed prisoners. Things were a bit of logistical nightmare for a while but they got better. When they left, Webb contacted command and Clark gave his report that their mission was a success and the lab was destroyed but Dr. Vought and his serum could not be recovered. The result of that was a high-ranking general and Colonel Phillips himself coming personally to see them. The general was not happy because upon the reporting of the mission to his superiors and by superiors he meant politicians, they chewed him out so now he was chewing them out and had been for about five minutes straight.

"…and quite frankly if this team was unable to accomplish a simple objective despite its stellar track record then that would call everything in question, now wouldn't it, Captain Elbert?" The General spat out as he paced in front of Taskforce Vanguard which also included Polina since she was a part of the team for the mission. He stopped at Logan and gave the Canadian a death stare. "And you, Sergeant Howlett. Don't let your promotion get to your head because there are thousands of other sergeants who aren't incompetent enough to not follow through with simple orders. You let a high valued target not only take your gun but you were unable to successfully disarm him and instead you resorted to lethal force. Remind me again who you belonged to before being brought to his cesspool of ridiculousness."

"Canadian First Special Service Force, sir." Logan replied.

"Special Service Force. An exemplary force from what I understand and yet one doctor caused you to mess up and now I'm dealing with the brunt of your idiocy." The General mocked.

"Sir." Clark stepped forward. "With all due respect, Sergeant Howlett and his team did the best as they could with the circumstances, sir."

"And that is precisely my problem, Captain. I'm not an idiot nor was I born yesterday. I know a flagrant lie on an after-action report when I see one. This Taskforce has accomplished too much for this kind of screw up to occur which means that either you all are truly incompetent or you willingly disobeyed direct orders and are now covering your ass." The General said before he took a deep breath to find his center. "Look, I'm not willfully oblivious to what you and your team saw. I read the reports and took a look at what you brought back. Nightmare is a generous term but orders are orders. You all know this and insubordination, no matter the cause, justification or rank/influence of the accused is serious. That last thing Command needs to worry about is if whether their best special operations team can follow orders when we are so close to ending this war. Let me remind you that just because you are apart of the SSR does not mean you are exempt or given special treatment."

"I understand general but I stand by the report. This is my team, my mission, and my call. This is on me." Clark stated and the General sighed in exhaustion.

"Well, you've put us in a difficult spot, Captain Elbert. No sane politician will go against Superman, who has been single-handedly pushing the advance against Hitler. I hope you're comfortable with where you are because all of you can consider your careers in the military at a standstill effective immediately. That's as far as General Eisenhower is willing to go but I'd advise you to watch your backs, all of you. Others in command may not be willing to forgive and forget." The General told them before he fixed his jacket and walked out.

"Attention!" Colonel Phillips shouted and everyone stood at attention for the general. Once he was gone, Colonel Phillips looked at the team. "Officially, I am of the same mind as the General and Command. No team, no matter how important or successful cannot go unpunished for insubordination. Effectively immediately you are all put on latrine and mess hall duty until further notice."

"Yes, sir." They all replied.

"Dismissed." They all gave him a salute and excited one by one. "Captain Elbert, stay behind a second."

Clark did and stood at attention. "Yes, Colonel?"

"You heard my official stance but unofficially…well done." Colonel Phillips said as a small smile creeped up at the corner of his mouth. He sat down at his desk and glanced through a few photos taken from the hospital files. "From what I read in the report what Sergeant Howlett, Briggs, and Balan saw is tantamount to hell. How are they doing?"

"Fine, sir. Still at unease but if anything, more motivated then ever to continue the fight and I wholly agreed with their assessment, actions, and take full responsibility for them." Clark replied. "I should have been there to protect them from that."

"You know you've likely lost any chance now of being promoted any further." Colonel Phillips pointed out.

Clark gave him a small smirk. "Jokes on them then since I never really cared about being promoted so there punishment is worthless." He then got a solemn look. "Besides a man doesn't need medals and stars to serve his country, he just needs the courage and heart to fight for what's right. I was reluctantly going to comply with those orders which I was disgusted by. However my team surprised me by disobeying and doing what was right and put down a criminal whose crimes against humanity itself were evil. I don't care if this means America has lost its chance for more super soldiers. We're already winning this war and I would've felt ashamed to have allowed all those innocent people to go without the justice they deserved."

Colonel Phillips look at Clark before taking a deep breath. He reached into his desk and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and poured two glasses. "One thing you learn when you begin leading men into battle is that there are usually two options in every situation: the bad and worse. No one can prepare for all of them but you focus on your men cause that's what will get you through. And hope you never had to choose. Your attention was needed elsewhere in dealing with the super soldiers at the camp and the odds were stacked against you with the reinforcements from Hydra. You adjusted to the situation as best you could and your team handled it like you trained them to. You lead by example and I'm glad to say it's among the finest I've had the pleasure of seeing."

Clark said as he smiled a bit. "Thank you, sir."

Colonel Phillips handed him a glass and the two clinked them together. "May those who suffered there finally get peace."

"Amen." Clark drank his whiskey in one gulp and while it did nothing it was in the moment. "Sir, there was one part of the report that wasn't wrong and that Dr. Vought was indeed erratic. From what Logan, Lucas, and Padma told me when they found him he said that his serum was stolen before they even arrived."

"By whom?"

"His assistant. A woman named Nina. She must have taken it before they arrived and escaped. Once the battle was over we tried to track her down but there wasn't the sign of her or the briefcase Vought said she took. It's possible she caught got up in an explosion during her escape because we didn't see any sign of her." Clark told him.

"I'm hoping that's true but that's wishful thinking without proof and unfortunately with what we're dealing with we're going to need more. I want your team going over the files from the camp on the hospital staff to find everything you can on the assistant. If we find that information then it could allow us to figure out more. If she is alive and has the serum that Vought used on those Stormfronts then we need to find her. If it just made two of those things that gave you a challenge than we can't let it get into the wrong hands." Colonel Phillips stated. "Captain, you think this may have been a scheme by someone else?"

"You're referring to the information that we got from Dr. Vought's office?"

"I was." Colonel Phillips replied. Said information Clark was referring to were letters written between Dr. Vought and Vandal Savage regarding aid with the doctor's research. Nothing new as they figured with Savage being a power broker with his hands in a lot of pots that one of them had to be with Dr. Vought and Savage was likely how those Hydra reinforcements showed up. The correspondence show that the two were in contact as far back at 1940 but some papers showed that the two had been talking recently with one letter being confirmation that Savage was sending extra reinforcements to the camp in preparation for an attack. The date was three weeks ago so with this as well as Polina's confirmation and the picture they were able to confirm that Vandal Savage was alive. "Looks like Savage survived your incident at the Hydra factory."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around how that was possible. From what I saw with Logan it must have been a miracle." Clark said.

"The thing about miracles is that they don't have a habit of repeating. Now that we know he survived we'll make tracking him down a priority for the SSR. It's possible that Savage's collaboration with Dr. Vought was just to fuel his research and then take it for himself. Could be that Nina was his spy. Another theory could be that Savage wasn't working alone and Schmidt was working with him to take it for themselves. I don't find Hydra's reinforcements just to be a favor from their past partnership, especially considering how much manpower and tanks Schmidt just lost. Something else has to be play here and we're not seeing it. If that serum does indeed make more super soldiers with abilities like yours then whoever has it just became a lot more dangerous." Colonel Phillips' worry was palpable. Clark won against two Compound V enhanced super soldiers but would he be successful against an army? Clark did have some concern but considering that everything with Captain Hunter was considered done then it meant that in the future Compound V wasn't as dangerous as Colonel Phillips was worried it could be. Maybe not a lot of serum was taken or that it doesn't work for everyone or whoever stole it wasn't able to escape. A lot of ifs that needed to be answered.

"I agree, sir but I think there is some good news. I don't understand all the science from the research we were able to take with us but from the numbers present I don't think Dr. Vought was able to mass produce the serum like he wanted to. Supplies and equipment at the camp were affected by the war and from what Logan said he saw the lab didn't have the material for mass production. I'd like to get a second opinion but it could be that only a small amount of serum could be made and that Dr. Vought was betting on making more when he was in Allied Custody. If there was indeed more of the serum then there would be more than the two I faced." Clark told him. It sounded good but they needed more.

"I hope your right, Captain but we can't bet on that. I'll send what we have to Stark and see what we says and I'll have every Allied spy tracking down Nina and this serum. It needs to be found before Schmidt and Hydra get it or it winds up in the hands of Hitler and this war drags on. Our best with that could be finding Savage. With what you and Sergeant Howlett learned from the Hydra factory, there's still one collaboration of his that we should eliminate. General Dever and his forces have begun pushing into Czechoslovakia and you will join them once your punishment is over." Colonel Phillips said and Clark nodded. "And speaking of housekeeping there is something we need to discuss and that's Ms. Petrova. The Soviets have been made aware that she is currently with us and officially she is AWOL."

"I'm aware sir but I'm hoping that since she was instrumental in the rescue from the camp and its destruction that the Soviets might be a bit more lenient."

"Leniency isn't exactly something they're known for but I'll get in touch with our Soviet coordinator. At the very least, perhaps we can fix this if she's willing to stay and join Taskforce Vanguard. They might be ok with that if we say we recruited her and her AWOL was just a mistake in clerical paperwork." Colonel Phillips suggested.

"I'll speak with her and something tells me that so long as she gets to kill Nazis then she'll be ok with it. She has built a good rapport with the others and her skills would complement us nicely." Clark pointed out.

"I agree but still, keep your head on a swivel." Colonel Phillips told him and Clark saluted him before he turned to leave. "One more thing, Captain. Was there anything odd occurrences at the camp that didn't make it in the official report?"

"Odd, sir?" Clark was confused as to what he could mean.

"When our medics were tending to the prisoners we've been going over their stories to try and paint a better picture of everything that happened before and during the rescue we noticed some discrepancies. Many of them had trouble recollecting much of what happened but a few of them mentioned…" Colonel Phillips took out a report and read off it. "…a tiny flying man, another man of metal, a cowboy in a duster trench coat, a blonde woman with a metal spear, a large explosion of purple, a Japanese katana, and flashes of red lightning."

"Well, sir things did get crazy down there and I wrote in my report the Stormfronts had some kind of electrical abilities that resembled lightning. I was struck many times but I'm not aware of any of those instances. Could be that with everything that was going on that their minds misinterpreted what was there. The man of metal most likely referred to the Maschinensoldaten, the large explosion was from the Hydra weapons and the tiny flying metal man could have just been a piece of debris. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary and everything I wrote in my report is how it happened."

Colonel Phillips didn't fight that explanation as even though there were memory lapses with the prisoners the doctors agreed that with what they experienced it could have left psychological scars. The reports from Clark's team backed up his report so there was no reason to doubt that. "Very good. Dismissed."

Clark gave him a final salute before walking out of the tent with a small smirk on his face. Ignorance was bliss and what would be the alternative. Tell the truth? That a team of heroes from the future arrived to help him face off against two evil Nazi super soldiers and an evil speedster from the future who was trying to kill him to change said future?

Yeah, right.

End of Chapter 8

1). Stormfront from the Boys but the comic version, the male version and the same suit.

2). Stormfront from the Boys TV show, the female version and the same suit. They're twins.

3). Bishop in his appearance from X-Men '97, uniform and all. Face claim is Yahya Abdul Mateen II.

4). Elizabeth Betsy Braddock AKA Psylocke. Her uniform is her attire from Uncanny X-Force comics. Her face claim is Sonoya Mizuno from House of the Dragon, Ex-Machina, and Terminator Zero.

5). "It was so beautiful. How the three of us sat there, in the shade of an apple tree. Do you remember the day Frederick? Chloe's arms out of the car window. We found the perfect spot by the river, in the shade of an apple tree. It was the first time Chloe ate fresh apples. I…was so happy. It was wonderful. I wanted it to never end." It's the translation for what Stormfront says which is the same thing she mutters during the season 2 finale. Should be right but if not then let me know.

Hey, everyone. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. A big one so take your time to read it and if you need breaks then take them. A big action chapter as Clark has faced off against the Stormfronts and Reverse-Flash's scheme is over with. Now things can progress as they should and go back to normal. Well…normal-ish. Sorry for the delay, general life stuff and just wanting to add more and more to make the chapter better. Hope everyone likes it.

And Gasp, Bishop and Psylocke have appeared and are members of the Legends? How did that happen and what sort of time-travel craziness were they involved with? Who knows? Do you know? Do I know? What do you think? I'd be happy to hear your guests as this amalgam world leaves many possibilities to be had. That's what makes it fun but trying to keep it all together? Phew, it gets stressful. I'd like to shoutout Masamune X23, my beta-reader. Without him I wouldn't be able to make my stories as good as they are as he's someone I'm really able to bounce ideas off and even gives me better ones than what I originally had. He beta-reads and helps out on What IF Superman, Crimson Speedster, the Perfect One and Omniverse Earth-38 which I think are some of my best stories so please give him all the love. Check out his stuff and thanks again Masamune X23.

Next Chapter, The war in Europe is dragging to its end and the final fight with Hydra approaches. The Red Skull and Vandal Savage vs Captain America and the Superman. Until next time!

Updates for October: Mandalorian Maverick and the Blue Wolf for October 31. Happy Spooky Month.

Again, thanks to everyone for all the suggestions, reviews, and words of encouragement. Special thanks to Masamune X23, my Beta reader. He gives me a lot of great ideas for this story as well as my other ones as well. Also, thanks to War Sage, JhotoLoraxius, Omni-Creator Kami of Anime and all the other people who PM me with ideas for my stories. Thank you, guys. They help a lot. Also, make sure to check my DeviantArt every now and then for new pics I'll put up. I've made cover photos for about all my stories, but I'll have more pics made so check them out.

Again, thanks to everyone for all the suggestions, reviews, and words of encouragement. Special thanks to Masamune X23, my Beta reader. He gives me a lot of great ideas for this story as well as my other ones as well. Also, thanks to War Sage, JhotoLoraxius, Omni-Creator Kami of Anime and all the other people who PM me with ideas for my stories. Thank you, guys. They help a lot. Also, make sure to check my DeviantArt every now and then for new pics I'll put up. I've made cover photos for about all my stories, but I'll have more pics made so check them out.

Also, not sure if you checked my profile page but I do have a P-A-T-R-E-O-N page now. It's Choejhulkp9 writing endeavor. Don't feel pressured to sign up. Regardless, I still plan on doing what I'm doing. Writing for free and updating on and I'm slowly working on Wattpad. Sorry I'm really bad about that. But for those that would like to help with what they can or are feeling gracious, it would be greatly appreciated. I've got tiers for any small amount. And some exclusive stuff for the time being to start a new possible story. Again, don't feel pressured.

Clark Joseph Kent/Birthname: Kal-El

· Born: February 28th, 1921, by Earth Standard. 35EORX 9998 by Kryptonian calendar AKA 0BCE

o Human Age: 22

· Kryptonian

· Fake name: Kalvin Elbert

· Moniker: Superman, the Man of Steel

· Appearance: Tyler Hoechlin from Superman and Lois

o Wartime outfit: Custom fitted Carbon Polymer blue and black field jacket with black diamond shield and red S-symbol on chest with small lead-lined plates underneath for Kryptonite protection. Custom fitted black paratrooper pants, combat gloves, combat boots, and combat belt with a Colt M1911A1 handgun holster on right thigh. SSR/Stark Tech Wristwatch Walkie-talkie. Vanguard Team symbol: Clark's diamond shield with wings inside surrounded by a spade, heart, clover, and star.

o Casual Outfit: dark blue or black sneakers, jeans, blue or black t-shirt and either a red flannel shirt or jacket. Or a grey or navy-blue suit with a hat. Black rimmed glasses. Or Military Uniform. An S-shaped key necklace given to Peggy Carter for safe keeping.

· Kelex Watch: Camouflage appearance for Kryptonian Liquid Geo AI robot known as Kelex. Incredible intelligent and able to assist Kal-El with any issues or technical advice it can offer.

· Personality: Ingrained with a strong sense of purpose, morality, and compassion. Is hardworking and has a deep value for helping others for the right reasons. Brave, kind-hearted, and protective of people and those he cares about. Self-loathing of being different and not being normal. Idealistic and looks for the good in people but time will tell how rock solid that will remain. Has a temper. Afraid of heights.

o Awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (UK) and Silver Star (US) for Operation Husky. Awarded the Distinguished Service order medal (UK) and Legion of Merit (US) for capturing Mussolini. Bronze Star (US) for rescuing 400 POWs captured by Hydra.

Powers: Derived from Kryptonian physiology and exposure to Yellow Sun. His body is a living solar battery which absorbs and metabolizes energy from the Yellow Sun of earth for his unique abilities. Said abilities will continue to develop over time.

· Super Strength: Enhanced strength greater than that of a human. Able to lift a 2-ton tractor with one hand, crush stones with dust and easily bend or twist metal. Able to leap tall buildings or great distances in a single bound. Unknown limit. Current Maximum Strength: 150 tons.

· Super Speed: Able to move and run faster than a speeding bullet. Current top speed: Unknown Limit. Current Maximum Speed: 1600 MPH. Mach 2.

· Super Stamina: Does not tire like a normal human does. Able to do various difficult or physically strenuous tasks with no issue.

· Accelerated Healing: Possesses remarkable recuperative powers that allow him to quickly heal from wounds and is immune to all forms of human or earthly diseases, illness, viruses, and toxins. Never has gotten sick.

· Invulnerability/Bio-Electric Aura: Highly resistant to injury. His body is more durable and able to withstand extreme pressure and impacts. Possesses the ability to manipulate one's own bio-electric aura, an invisible field of condensed bio-electricity which functions as a second skin and can extend far from the body and can make the user's skin invulnerable on various levels. Without practice, the aura doesn't extend far from skin but with practice the field can be extended. Combined with super strength, allows user to lift large objects and move them without buckling like psychics dictates and adds additional power.

· Superhuman Brain: Possesses genius-level intelligence and eidetic memory. Can process and understand a multitude of information in nanoseconds. Multi-lingual.

· Superhuman vision: Senses grant him the ability so see farther and with greater accuracy and detail than humanly possible. Possibility to see invisible frequencies and energy fields that human beings cannot perceive, i.e., radio waves, infrared radiation, and full electromagnetic spectrum.

o X-ray Vision: Ability to see through solid objects. The only exception is lead.

o Telescopic vision: Allows him to zoom in on far away objects, sometimes hundreds of miles away.

o Microscopic Vision: Allows him to zoom in on objects at a cellular or molecular level.

· Superhuman senses: Heightened sense of smell, taste, and hearing.

o Superhuman Hearing: Can hear far more sounds with far more detail and at far greater distances than normally humanly possible, including sounds on frequencies undetectable by human ears.

· Heat Vision: Ability to project solar energy from his eyes. Resembles bright red laser-like beams which is invisible at low temperatures and extremely bright at high ones. The intensity, heat, and concussive physical force of heat vision can be adjusted to super-heat any substance and even melt through metals. Veins near the eyes protrude and produce an orange glow and shine of red light. Effective range, width, height, and intensity of beams can be adjusted. Able to control its usage but additional training is required to control intensity.

· Superhuman breath: Ability to inhale and exhale huge volumes of air with great force, capable of extinguishing large fires and moving heavy objects. Also allows to hold breath for extended periods of time.

o Freeze Breath: Ability to release high compressed air through his pursed lips and cause it to drop radically in temperature. Can cool objects to freezing and sub-zero temperatures.

Weakness:

· Kryptonite: Due to Kryptonian physiology, various types of Kryptonite radiation is harmful. Green Kryptonite causes incredible pain and molecular damage along with weakening powers. Long enough exposure can be fatal.

· Red Sun Radiation: Due to Kryptonian physiology, exposure to the energy from a red sun like the one from the home planet of Krypton will neutralize his abilities. Kryptonians under a red sun are no different than humans.

SSR Taskforce Vanguard: A hand-selected personal taskforce that is under the leadership and command of Captain Kalvin Elbert/Clark Kent to combat the forces of the Axis powers. Provided equipment, intelligence, and backup from the SSR.

· Second Lieutenant Arthur Kingsley of the British 9th Parachute Battalion: Second in Command. Armed with Modified Sten Submachine gun.

· Sergeant First Class Richard Webb of the British 9th Parachute Battalion: Radio Operator of modified SRC-300. Armed with Modified Submachine gun.

· Sergeant First Class James Logan Howlett of the Canadian First Special Service Force: Recon/Scout. Armed with Thompson M1A1 Submachine gun.

· Sergeant Lucas Riggs of the 20th Brigade, Australian 9th Infantry Division: Demolitions/Explosives expert. Armed with Australian Owen Gun.

· Sergeant First Class Daniel Take-Yatsu of the US 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Sniper/Recon: armed with Modified M1 Garand Rifle with sniper modification.

· SOE Solange Hardewijk-Dutch Aruban: Tactics and Strategy. Armed with FG-42 Paratrooper Rifle.

· Halima Sambardi of the Somalia Resistance-Italian Somalian: Horse Calvary/Asymmetrical combat specialist. Armed with Modified MP-40 Submachine gun.

· Padmavati Balan of the Indian National Army: Recon/Scout. Armed with Modified M12 Shotgun AKA Combat Shotgun.

· Sergeant John Diggle Stewart of the 93rd Infantry Division: Medic. Armed with Paratrooper variant of M1A1 Carbine.

· Anna Drake of the Austrian resistance movement: Recon/Scout/Mountain specialist. Armed with an MP-28 submachine gun and ice axe.

· Second Lieutenant Polina Borisnova Petrova of the 138th Russian Rifle Division of the Red Army: Recon/Scout/Sniper. Armed with a custom Mosin-Nagant rifle with Sniper modifications.

Disclaimer: I don't own Superman or any related DC comics or Marvel properties, all rights belong to their respective owners. I'm just a big fan.