Chapter 38 - The World on Fire Part 2

POV: Baldur

Madripoor, 1943.

During the Battle of Stalingrad.

I was flying to Madripoor to take care of Strucker when I began to receive reports of the battle across Europe. The invasion plans were very brutal, relying solely on brute force, so I became a bit more apprehensive. I don't doubt the strength of my army; I doubt their lack of experience. They've never fought in a war as extensive as this. But according to the reports, everything was going very well. First, Amora took care of the ships, preventing a maritime attack.

Now, without the navy, the Nazis won't even get close to my city. Then came the Nazi planes; it took only three days to discover the position of all of them during our planning. It seems to be another total success; without air support, the Nazis will have many problems with transporting supplies and troops.

And finally, the ground attack on Stalingrad. We could simply land in Berlin if we wanted, but that would go against one of the reasons I declared war. I want everyone to see the power of my army. After conquering Stalingrad, we will advance relentlessly to the heart of Germany, ending the war.

Fortunately, the Allies have made no moves against us, but our spies are keeping an eye on their movements in case they try anything.

"Sir, we've arrived," my pilot tells me. I didn't want to come here using my mount this time because I'm bringing a prisoner with me. From the window, I see the beautiful city of Madripoor.

A small city located south of Singapore. Several sail fishing boats on the ocean and various sand-colored houses gave the city a timeless feel.

(My, what a beautiful city.)

My camouflaged plane lands on the roof of one of the largest houses in the city. This is the hideout that the WarDogs' spies are occupying while keeping an eye on Strucker.

When I meet with the WarDogs' agents, they brief me on Strucker's situation. In recent days, several Hydra agents have been on standby at a large mansion in the city, guarding Strucker, the leader of the Hand, who has just arrived in the city and is heading towards the mansion at this moment. Not a single man was spotted with the current leader of the Hand, which I found quite disheartening. I have knowledge about the Hand; I know that most of their soldiers are ninja assassins, but I didn't report that to the WarDogs. I found it disheartening that they failed to notice the ninjas following their leader in the shadows.

At least they managed to identify who the current leader of the Hand is; he was known as Jonin. His physical and martial skills are truly remarkable for a human.

Strucker has been looking for new allies since his current ally, Romulus, has been doing the same, so he kidnapped a talented girl from the Red room. The girl will undergo the assassin's ritual, enhancing all her abilities and making her completely loyal to the Hand.

Without further ado, I go alone towards the mansion where the meeting will take place. Out of curiosity about the ritual, I alter the light around me, reflecting it completely, making myself invisible—a small camouflage ability.

The mansion was well guarded by several armed men from Hydra, but I fly over the walls and land on the roof of the house. In the center of the mansion, there is a large open space where several Hydra agents are guarding two people. However, in the shadows, I can see several men wearing red ninja clothes hiding in the darkness.

The man who stands out the most is wearing a complete Nazi general uniform with several medals on his chest. He is bald, with a large wound on one eye, which he covers with an eye patch. In one of his hands, he wears a gauntlet that looks like a dragon's arm; this glove is his preferred weapon, called Satan's Claw. It has several hidden abilities, one of which is delivering powerful shocks to enemies. This is Wolfgang von Strucker.

Strucker has enhanced abilities due to the infection of the death spore virus, perhaps the deadliest virus on Earth. Instead of killing Strucker when he was infected, he gained a significant boost in abilities. One problem with killing him is that when he dies, the virus will be released from his body, so I have to take him to Genosha to deal with this matter.

The man beside him looks more like a Tibetan monk, bald, wearing a large white tunic. He is undoubtedly the current leader of the Hand, Jonin. The two of them are talking calmly, looking ahead, where a small girl with red hair is chained to the wall with metal chains. She is badly injured, with one eye swollen shut, yet the girl seems calm, even knowing what awaits her.

I enhance my hearing with my magic to listen to their conversation.

"We are very pleased to form an alliance with you, Mr. Strucker, but before we discuss the minor matters, allow me to take care of this pitiful child," Jonin says to his new ally.

"This child has killed more than twenty of my agents in various escape attempts since she was captured. I'm glad you're taking this burden off me," Strucker replies.

Jonin walks towards the child chained to the wall, taking out a small black tube from his robes. I can see black liquid inside it. The moment the child drinks it, she will be loyal to the Hand like a puppet. It will be difficult for her to escape this control on her own.

(It's time to make my move.)

Just as I was about to attack Jonin, I hear something that makes me freeze.

"This will end quickly, Miss Romanova."

I stand still in shock because I didn't expect that the chained child was, in fact, one of the greatest assassins and secret agents on Earth, Natalia Romanova, the Black Widow.

When I learned that someone from the Red room had been kidnapped, I thought of her, but I didn't think she was already alive and drawing enough attention to be kidnapped as a child, which is a good thing for me. If I'm lucky, I might even recruit her to my side. Hopefully, the Red room brainwashing isn't deeply ingrained in her yet.

"When you take this potion, miss, you'll be more than welcome into our family. You'll be our master assassin with an army at your disposal."

Jonin stands in front of Natalia, about to force her to drink the potion, when another event stops me in my tracks.

"Boom!"

There's a massive explosion from the east side of the house, blowing a big hole in the wall. All the well-trained soldiers aim their guns at it. Emerging from the dust cloud is a man wearing a uniform in the colors of Canada. He has long hair and sideburns like a mane, a lit cigar in his mouth, and a large machine gun in his hands. Fearlessly, he stands in front of all the enemy soldiers.

"Sorry about the wall, folks. Couldn't find the door," he says sarcastically.

"A wild animal has entered my house, kill him," Strucker says, recognizing the intruder.

The soldiers in front open fire on the intruder, who doesn't budge and also shoots back at them. The soldiers' bodies start dropping, but to their shock, the man, who has received hundreds of bullets all over his body, still stands and keeps shooting at them.

"He's a monster!" one of the soldiers says before getting shot in the head.

Soon after, all the enemies in front of the intruder are dead. His blood-soaked body still stands as if nothing had happened. I can see the bullets leaving his wounds, only to be completely healed moments later.

"What a shame. That was a fine cigar. Hard to come by in this war," he says, lamenting the cigar destroyed by enemy bullets.

"James Howlett. Aka Logan. What's a creature like you doing here?" Strucker asks, disregarding his dead men.

"It's Mr. Logan to you, buddy. I came for the girl," Logan says.

(First I meet the Black Widow, now the young Wolverine. Who's next? Ant-Man?)

This Logan still seems to have his memories, which means he hasn't undergone the experiments to become Weapon X yet. But what caught my attention was that the Black Widow showed no reaction to Logan's rescue attempt. On the contrary, she seems to be waiting for the right moment to do something.

"I don't care who this man is. He interrupted our ritual, so he must die," Jonin gestures.

A ninja in red attire appears behind Logan and slashes him.

"AAAH!" he cries out in pain.

Logan turns around, bone claws protruding from his hands, and slashes the ninja across the face, cutting him up. Other ninjas appear at his side and throw two chains at him, which wrap around his body and hold him in place. Taking the opportunity, two of them plunge swords into each side of Logan's abdomen.

"HA!"

I must say, I'm a little disappointed in how things are going.

Logan manages to break free from the chains by sheer strength, the two ninjas who were stabbing his abdomen backing off, leaving the two swords impaling him. He doesn't seem to mind them much; consumed by rage, he attacks the ninjas, roaring like an animal.

The members of The Hand are certainly well-trained in assassination, but once their surprise attack fails, I must say they're not very skilled in direct combat. Logan is tearing through them one by one, his healing factor ignoring the wounds, making him unstoppable.

Seeing that their enemy is getting closer and closer to them, Strucker seems about to act.

"You're a fool, Logan. You think I didn't know you were coming to try to save your friend?"

Strucker signals, and two men in Nazi uniforms appear holding two RPGs, immediately firing at Logan.

Boom! Boom!

Both rockets hit Logan squarely, throwing him towards the wall. He no longer looks human, covered in blood and burns, but fortunately, he hasn't lost any limbs.

"Impressive, you can survive even this damage. I wonder if he can heal after having his head ripped off," Strucker says, smiling.

"I am curious too, go ahead!" Jonin commands.

A ninja stands beside Logan with a sword raised high, ready to decapitate him. His wounds are healing rapidly, but not fast enough for him to move.

(I guess this is a good time to introduce myself.)

I remove my camouflage, appearing behind the ninja, surprising everyone. Unfortunately, the ninja in front of me doesn't notice. I grab a dagger from his belt and plunge it into his spine, killing him instantly. Then, I turn to face my hosts.

"Forgive me for coming uninvited, but there's a big hole in your wall, so I walked right in," I say, flashing my most charming smile.

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