Chapter 52

Orleans, France

Captain America, the Howling Commandos, Taskforce Vanguard, and the men of the 107th alongside members of the Marquis moved through a dense forest to the Hydra Facility in the region. Hydra and the German army both closely monitored the roads throughout the area, so they stuck to the forest to avoid being discovered. Captain America was in the front, leading everyone through the fog covered forest as his senses and sight were better than the others so he would be able to pick up any signs of a trap or patrol. The only sound in the forest were the light crunch of their boots on the snow-covered ground. He signaled the others to keep moving as he looked around when he saw something in a tree. He hurled his shield like a discus and knocked a Hydra sentry out of his perch way up in a tree. The man hit the ground hard as the shield bounced back to the Captain's hand.

A flare was shot up into the sky above the trees and not soon after they heard the distance sound of mortar shells and artillery cannons being fired. "Let's move!"

Captain America led the charge forward through the forest to their target as mortar and artillery shells rained down around them. They crested a hill and looked down to see the Hydra facility along with several defensive lines erected for its protection. Given their current situation, the only plan of attack was to keep moving as they couldn't hunker down for defense in their exposed position and Hydra likely had the entire forest pre-sighted, so they needed to charge.

Captain America led the charge with his shield up front, blocking any bullets that came their way along with any Hydra energy blasts. His Howling Commandos were right by his side followed by Taskforce Vanguard and the 107th. Mortar and artillery shells exploded around them, but they didn't let up and kept moving. They came down from the hill and managed to get some cover in ditch when several heavy machine guns and Hydra energy machine guns opened fire, keeping all of them pinned down.

Steve leaned his head up to get a glimpse and saw the heavy enemy fire coming from a ridge about twenty yards away, but it was heavily entrenched and covered but worse of all was several Hydra armored vehicles arriving. They emerge from the woods and the energy cannons opened fire, forcing Steve to duck back down.

"Well, that's not good." Steve admitted.

"You got a plan for this?" Bucky asked him.

"I'm working on it." Steve held his shield and was about to make a break for the machine gun line when a powerful red beam of energy came from the east, completely obliterating it. Several more bursts of the red energy beam hit the other entrenched positions and defensive fortifications Hydra put in place with them even taking out the Hydra armored vehicles. Steve saw one of the vehicles only had its tired melted and was still semi-operational so with the rest of Hydra occupied he jumped out from his cover and charged towards it. The energy canon gun on its turned to shoot him but he dove to the side in a quick dodge and hurled his shield. It flew through the air like a discus and smashed the front gun, breaking it in half before it ricochetted back to his hand. The rear hatch opened up and the three Hydra soldiers inside the vehicle had gotten out. Steve held his shield in front of him to block their bullets before he push kicked one Hydra soldier in the chest with enough force that he was sent flying into a tree. He shield punched the second soldier in the face before landing a roundhouse kick on the third, knocking them both out. He saw several Hydra soldiers break from their cover and run from whatever attacking them, so he hurled his shield at one of them, hitting him in the face. The shield then ricochetted around and hit a few more Hydra soldiers but then it got stuck in a tree. The Hydra soldiers took aim at him when something crashed down in front of them, making a powerful shockwave that knocked them back.

Said something was Clark who had arrived in style. He saw more Hydra soldiers coming their way, so he pulled Steve's shield from the tree and threw it. It ricochetted all over, hitting the Hydra soldiers and taking them out one by one until it bounced all the way back into his hands. Clark looked at the shield in surprise as Steve walked over to him. "Huh…I have no idea on the science of how that worked but I'm not complaining. Here."

"Thanks." Steve took the shield back and shook Clark's hand. "Good to see you again, Kal."

"You too, Steve. Looks like I got here just in time. We've got a lot to catch up on but first we've got some business to take care of."

"Right." Steve looked back at the others who began to emerge from their cover. "Let's go!"

Steve and Clark led the charge up the hill to the Hydra facility. Many were still confused as to what had just happened except for the Commandos and Taskforce Vanguard as they saw Clark and knew they had reinforcements.

"Oh, this'll be fun." Logan popped his cigar in his mouth before loading his Thompson and moving out with the others following him. When they crest the hill they saw the Hydra compound was on alert with several buildings and vehicles already in flames. The source of that was Clark as he used bursts of his heat vision to take out the Hydra armored vehicles and tanks along with watchtowers, sniper perches, and machine gun nests. There were flashes of light seen from the skylight in one warehouse indicating a lot of gunfire and soon enough several Hydra soldiers were bashed through the windows before Steve came out and continued into the compound.

"Let's move! Daniel and Webb I want you on sniper and lookout support. Barnes, take your team and flank left. I'll take Vanguard and we'll hit them from the right. Let's move!" Arthur Kingsley ordered, and they quickly got to work.

Superman and Captain America made quick work of the important defenses in the compound which allowed the others to move in. They rescued captured POWs who were used as force labor much like the other Hydra compound and once they were done they destroyed the factories and left before any German army groups could arrive.

?, France

After taking out the Hydra Facility, the French Marquis led everyone to one of their safe houses where they operated out of. Clark was the only one who wasn't aware of where they were going as he had just arrived, but they seemed to be staying at a massive old vineyard with acres of grapes fields for harvest. With it being winter there wasn't much around except for dead plants and snow so a vineyard during the winter was practically empty which made it perfect for the French Resistance. They walked over to an old well where a rusted old bucket and ladle were hooked on for when it was in use. One of the members took the ladle and banged on the bucket in a rhythmic pattern that no one but members of the resistance would recognize. After he was done they waited a few seconds and heard what sounded like a giant lock click before the ground around the well began to shake. To Clark's amazement it began to move revealing that the well was actually a fake and beneath was a heavily reinforced steel door. It was so well hidden that not even Clark saw anything out of place at a first glance so he doubted the Germans would either which was likely the point. The large steel door opened revealing a staircase, so they went down into a very old cellar that was massive, likely stretching underground throughout the entire vineyard which was easily several acres. There were at least a hundred members of the French Resistance along with their families and the place was well stocked with food, water, and weapons.

With their successful return families were reunited and a general joyful atmosphere began to spread. Clark saw that the members of the French Marquis were well organized with many members tending to the injured POWs they rescued from the Hydra facility while others dropped off the goods they took from the Hydra compound before they blew it up. He heard tales of the French Marquis's work in occupied France but clearly he hadn't heard everything. "What is this place?"

"One of our many safe havens. This place and many others were built long ago during the revolution. Lost to history for so long until they were rediscovered. We've been using them since the Germans invaded our country to help smuggle people to safety." One of the French Marquis members pointed to the wall where a small symbol was carved in like it was there when the place was constructed. A symbol that was rather unique. It was of three moons with the moon in the center having a pentagram inside and it was flanked on both sides by crescent moons. "This is one of many scattered throughout the country. All of them share that symbol."

"And it's not just here. We checked with the SOE contacts in France and according to their sources in other countries working with various resistance groups that symbol keeps coming up. Belgium, the Netherlands, and Poland. Other resistance groups have found safe havens thanks to that symbol, and they've been using them to get refugees to safety." Steve added

Clark was intrigued to say the least. A large seemingly unconnected set of resistance groups in Nazi-occupied countries all working together thanks to a pre-established group of safe havens that clearly took some planning, time, and money. "Who built them?" Clark wondered.

"They are known as Soteria. No one knows who they are but whoever they are established a network of safehouses that we use. They help us coordinate the evacuation of refugees and has been helpful in getting us intel to get to you. Speaking of, we need to get to work on the refugees and prisoners we rescued today. So, if you'll excuse us."

The French Marqui stepped aside so they could get to work. Clearly this wasn't their first time doing this as they knew what they were doing, which was good for them. It also meant that the Commandos and Taskforce Vanguard could focus on their work. Steve led Clark over to a corner which was their own designated spot.

"Here." Clark put down the four large bags of gear. "Resupply and some new radios curtsey of Howard. Longer range and encrypted so we can communicate with command in London."

Richard Webb and Jim Morita took the radio backpacks and looked them over. They were the radio operators for Taskforce Vanguard and Howling Commandos respectively so they would be the ones using them. "This is impressive work." Jim Morita praised.

"Thank Hydra for them. Took a radio set they were using, and Howard managed to work out the inner workings of it to make more. Came here with them and supplies after making a few stops."

"And judging by how you used your new ability, I'm guessing we don't have to worry about any eye issues, right?" Logan remarked and Clark chuckled. "How'd that go? Enjoy your vacation?"

"I wouldn't call it that. I know you guys were busy here, but I had some issues of my own I had to deal with." Clark then explained what happened while they went to France, and he had to stay back at the SSR after Tehran. He left some stuff out like when he gave his after action report to Colonel Phillips but gave them the broad strokes, mainly Hydra sending teams into Africa, so Clark went to stop them and learned to control his new ability. That's what allowed him to secure the southern coasts of France in Operation Dragoon. Starting in Menton near the border to Italy then to Nice, Toulon, and Marseille. The Allies now secure the vital French ports in the Mediterranean sea on the beaches of the Côte d'Azur. All with the help of Clark and his new ability.

"Heat vision? That's what you're calling it?" Steve questioned and Clark looked at him confused.

"What else would I call it?"

"Laser Eyes? Eye Beams? Easy win?" Logan quipped only for Clark to roll his eyes.

"I'll stick with heat vision."

"You helped push into Southern France and pushed us a lot sooner to ending this war. You can call it whatever you like." Arthur Kingsley preached, and the others agreed. Now that the Allies were in Southern France, they knew this war was nearing its end and they were on the winning side.

"But until then we've got some more work to do and this…" Clark opened up one of the bags and pulled out an SSR file. "…this one takes precedence. Colonel Phillips and Command sent this to me while I was still in Toulon. Our next target needs to be the compound Hydra has in Belgium."

Steve took the file and saw some aerial reconnaissance photos from spy planes and plenty of ground photos as well depicting a massive castle-like compound protected by Hydra soldiers and a special SS battalion. The pictures seemed to focus on a three people in particular. One was a Hydra lieutenant or higher up given the medals and such on his uniform, another was an SS officer, and the last one was a woman who seemed to have the left side of her face covered in ceramic plates like she was hiding an injury. The rest of the Commandos and Taskforce looked over the files to see for themselves.

"Compound? This place is a fortress." Lucas Riggs corrected him, but Anna Drake seemed to recognize the area and castle.

"I know that place. That's Castle Caldera." Anna Drake's recognition of the place earned her some looks of confusion, and she rolled her eyes in response. "I've been there before years ago. A great place to sky and hike but that castle is easily hundreds of years old. I remember it's been owned by a very old family…uh…the Von Struckers."

"Yup. And that…" Clark showed them one photo in particular. The one of the Hydra lieutenant. He was bald with a monocle over his right eye and his right arm seemed to be in a kind of brace from the elbow down. "…is Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker. According to the intel Logan and I recovered from Vandal Savage's room at the Red Skull's factory in Austria, Strucker is a Hydra higher up tasked with a special project Savage himself helped put together with Schmidt."

"Savage had to have been setting this up for a while now, right?" Arthur questioned.

"It looks like it and it matches up with what the intelligence on him reports. A broker and man of connections for the Germans. Clearly Hydra and our own metal soldiers aren't the limits of what he's got working." Clark answered but that still left a lot of questions up in the air.

"But why? What was his goal?" Solange Hardewijk questioned.

"Well, considering the fact that he's burnt to a crisp, he's not alive to see us tear it down." Logan popped his cigar in his mouth to light, but Halima took it away.

"We're in an enclosed space down here." She reminded him and Logan grumbled in annoyance.

Lucas picked up a photo of the SS officer speaking with Strucker and stared. "I think I've seen this bloke's face before."

"You have? Where?" John Diggle asked as Lucas tapped his forehead to try and remember the details.

"Back when I was in Libya. My commanding officer told me and my mates to investigate an enemy camp and this bloke's mug was in a picture with Rommel. A fancy bugger, that's for sure. Who is he?" Lucas wondered so Steve pulled out the SSR/SOE/MI6 Intel on him.

"Untersturmführer Hermann Freisinger. Only child of a wealthy family with a long history of military service in German. Was in the military police before joining the Gestapo and was then made a leader in the SS. Intel is a bit sparce but clearly Freisinger is someone connected to a lot of people. SOE say that he's been in contact with a lot of important leaders within the Nazi Party all over Europe. Looks like Savage connected him with Strucker for whatever they have planned at castle Caldera." Steve looked through the reports when he saw the photo of crates of chemicals that were being moved, all of which was supervised by the woman with the ceramic plates covering the left side of her face. "Who's she?"

"Dr. Isabel Maru. Spanish and she comes from a long line of bad people. Her father was one of Germany's chief weapons engineers that helped them create the mustard gas they used during the last war. They called him Dr. Poison and he was hanged for his crimes when it was all over, but the rest of his family fled back to Spain where his daughter picked up his knack for weapons of mass destruction. And unfortunately, we've already gotten glimpses of what she can do." Clark removed one photo in particular and placed it on the makeshift table they were using. Suffice to say that what it showed was grisly to say the least. "They used test samples of her latest gas to push the Russians back from their Eastern offensive in the Ukraine. One 12oz pressurized cannister of gas spreads over a mile. They had no idea what was happening until it was too late."

"My God…" Steve muttered in disbelief. Everyone reacted in similar manners as this meant that Germany wasn't taking their losses sitting down and were resorting to drastic measures.

"How bad?" Bucky questioned.

"There were four other incidents like that reported on the Eastern Front…and rumor has it they've also been testing on POWs in prison camps." The tremble in Clark's voice showed them that this really was the stuff of nightmares and was of the utmost importance. "They call the gas Nova 6. It's sulfur based and its composition is unlike anything doctors have seen and nothing like what was used years ago. The second you breath it in you're done for. Vomiting, violent coughing, muscle convulsion, burning of the skin and bleeding from the eyes while you suffocate to death and your lungs tear themselves apart. The doctors say it's got a 100% fatality rate so if you don't put on a mask before the gas hits you than you're done for. And the ones used in the field are just test batches. If they managed to stabilize and complete the formula than this will kill thousands if not millions. Castle Caldera is where they're making the gas so we're heading there and taking it out of commission before they mass produce it."

Seeing the severity of the situation, no one on either team argued with their next mission and time was of the essence so they needed to leave now.

"Felipe!" Steve called out and the French Marquis member he called out turned around. "How fast can you and your friends get us into Belgium?"

"How soon would you need to get there?"

"Yesterday." Clark added, stressing the severity of them needing to get their sooner rather than later.

"We'll do the best we can."

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