Chapter 53

One week later…

Ardennes Forest Aalast, Belgium

January 1944

A new year had come and unfortunately for some it was without much fanfare as there was still a war to fight. For the Howling Commandos and Taskforce Vanguard in particular, their mission was of the utmost importance since it could mean the difference between the deaths of millions or saving them. The rustle of the cold winter wind bellowing against the tall trees of the Ardennes forest shook some snow loose which gently fell to the ground or rather on the camouflaged members of the 107th, Taskforce Vanguard and Howling Commandos. They were perched up on a ridge in the Ardennes forest that was overlooking castle Caldera from the east. The foliage kept them covered and with their winter camouflaged gear they blended right in. Castle Caldera was on top of a hill surrounded by flat plains of grass now covered in snow and forested areas giving it a 180 field of view at its surrounding area and had its back to a cliff face. The massive courtyard in the castle was where a lot of activity was going on with equipment being moved around.

Clark, Steve, and a few others were laying prone near the edge of the ridge with scopes and binoculars to scout out the castle. To avoid the risk of a reflective glare alerting Hydra sentries they had tapped up the tops and bottom of the lenses leaving only the middle for what was needed to see. A trick Logan picked up. The gruff Canadian looked through his binoculars, taking note of enemy positions and trying to ignore the shivering and sniffling coming from his left.

"Bl—bloody…h—hell…" Lucas uttered despite the chattering of his teeth. He was rubbing his hands up and down his arms to try and keep warm. Judging by his shivering it wasn't exactly working and the wind they were getting from their ridge's elevation wasn't helping either. Lucas had on double-layers but was freezing his butt off. All that was missing were icicles dripping down his nose. "I—I…n-n-nev—er…though—thought—I'd…mi—miss—Africa—so—mu—much…"

"You don't have winter in Australia?" Logan remarked.

"…N—not…like—this…" Lucas covered his mouth to stifle a sneeze and looked over at Clark who was the only one among them not wearing any cold weather gear. He was fine in just his Superman suit. "Boss…you—you're—not—cold?"

"No. Fringe benefit. And I've had bad winters like this is Kansas." Clark used his super vision to check out the rest of the compound when he saw something. "Ok, the castle itself isn't a problem. There are roving sentries moving around but we can move in easily enough. The problem is inside."

"What's the problem?" Steve asked and saw Clark pointing at the rear of the castle that was facing the cliff face and the mountains.

"They're a lot closer to being done with the gas than we thought they were. And they have German and Hydra weapons engineers who rigged up some special delivery systems." Clark took out a pad of paper and quickly drew a conical shape device which he passed around.

Logan got the pad next and like the others, he had no idea what he was looking at, but it did look familiar. "This was one of the scraps of paper we got from Savage's lab."

"Yeah. Howard mentioned to me what it is. It's called a rocket, and it uses some kind of engine to lift off the ground and fly through the air. Howard said that from the stuff we took from Savage, if one of those things were built it would be ideal for hitting a target from a long range." Clark explained.

"How long of a range?" Bucky questioned.

"200 miles easily if they have the fuel. It looks like Hydra and this group used the castles vast network of catacombs to build a rocket lab underneath the castle and that cliff face is where they come out. Like a hangar. I'm not sure how they got this done so quickly."

Logan saw something so he checked with his binoculars. "I think I've got the answer to that."

Clark and the others saw where he was pointing, and they saw a Maschinensoldaten moving heavy equipment around like it was nothing. "So, Hydra's got robots working for them now?" Dugan questioned.

"Another curtesy gift from Savage. How many of those things did they make?" Logan wondered.

"Clearly not enough for the regular army of we would have run into one by now. Colonel Phillips was right. They didn't have the material to make so many, so they likely sent what they had to special projects to defend." Clark wasn't exactly sure if that's what they were doing but if he was Savage or if this was his plan then that's how he work it out. Send those super soldiers to special weapons projects as a line of defense. "Well, this complicates things a bit but that doesn't mean we can't stop now."

"Kal's right. We need to get in there and take out the gas and those rockets. Kal, this was your plan. How do you want to do this?" Steve asked him.

Clark gave the area another look and had a million things running through his head. They needed to be quick and get the drop on Hydra and the Germans down there. With the Maschinensoldaten things would be bad if he and Clark fought in an enclosed space as it could risk doing damage to a part of the castle where they kept the Nova 6. If a container holding that was broken then they were all done for. Now, sneaking into the castle would be the ideal way to get this done. That way they could check things out, maybe locate the gas and those rockets, plant some charges, and hopefully get out without being seen but there was too many risks for that, and they were too big of a group not to mention there were too many soldiers and engineers to sneak past long enough before they were spotted. There weren't a lot of stealthy options but there were some diversionary ones.

"Steve, you're gonna infiltrate the castle from its flank. You can scale the wall near the cliff face with some rope and a grappling hook and there a side door near there you can use to get in. Anna's familiar with the place so she can help. Sneak in and head into the castle. Lucas, go with them. Find the chemical labs and do what you have to in order to bury the place and the gas with it. I'll give you a distraction to keep them occupied."

"All right. Let's get moving." Steve said and they left their perch.

An hour later…

A couple hundred yards off the main road leading up to the castle, a truck had parked itself near a tree while four Hydra soldiers were checking out the area after being tasked with some sentry duty. Although they weren't on their usual patrol patron as one of the soldiers could have sworn he saw a glint in the distance. The only problem was that they arrived at the spot where he saw the glint coming from and there was nothing. No signs of anyone in the area and not even so much as a disturbance in the snow.

"I told you there was nothing here. Let's go back." One of the soldiers said to his partner and they walked back to the truck. They trudged through the snow and saw their truck in the distance with their two companions already there. One of them was leaning against the side of the truck while the other was sitting on the ground like he was taking a break. Their CO would enjoy disciplining him and he was going to enjoy watching but when they got closer they noticed the other two weren't moving. He was about to call out to them when he noticed blood dripping down to the snow below.

[Knife squish-Knife Squish]

Arthur Kingsley and Richard Webb got behind the two Hydra soldiers and killed them with knives to the back before gently placing their bodies against a tree. Not two seconds later did Clark and the other members of his team minus Lucas and Anna joined him along with their backup in the 107th soldiers. Steve, Lucas, Anna, and the Commandos would be the insert team while Clark and the others would be the distraction and with the truck they now had part of a fast exit plan. They'd commandeer other trucks for the others, but Clark looked out at the main road leading up to the castle and other than the obvious four German Panzer and one Tiger tank stationed around in defensive formations the surrounding area was mined so any attacking force would be in for a surprise. Not for Clark as he could see them clear as daylight along with the other trucks in the courtyard they could use.

[Radio buzz]

"We're in position. On your go."

With Steve's radio that they were ready to move in, it was now Clark's moment to draw their attention, so he walked out onto the main road and began walking to the castle. As he did, his eyes began glowing red and the snow surrounding his feet began to melt into steam, showing just how hot his heat vision was. He still needed more training before he could control it's intensity.

Steve, Anna, Lucas, and the Commandos were lying in wait by some trees near the castle and would need to make a mad dash to the walls. Doing so now risked them being seen so they were waiting on Clark's distraction. A few moments after Steve radioed Clark that he and his team were ready they saw a faint red glow in the distance followed by more flashes of red and distant explosions. The castle immediately went on alert with the soldiers rushing to the front gate and main courtyard which included the soldiers on sentry duty near the wall where Steve and his team were heading.

"Let's go." Steve led the way, and they hurried as fast as they could. There were more flashes of red light in the distance followed by explosions and gunfire, so Clark was doing his job in getting their attention. Anna unspooled some rope and a grappling hook before throwing it up high where it hooked onto a ledge. Steve went first and climbed up the rope so fast that the others were barely starting to climb when he had pulled himself over the ledge. He slowly walked forward along the side passage of the castle, hugging the wall when he neared the corner. A quick peek showed him Hydra soldiers running out of the side door to the main gate and courtyard where they were likely going to man defensive positions. Two Hydra soldiers stuck around at the side gate, likely for guard duty in case of an infiltration but for Steve he could handle them no problem.

He walked over to one and kicked out his legs before punching him in the back of the neck before headbutting the other in the face, sweeping his legs out from under him and punching him in the face with his shield to knock him out. A third Hydra soldier had come out of the door and was going to shoot Steve when an ice axe was lodged into his head, and he tumbled to the ground. Steve turned and saw Anna was the one who threw it to save him.

"Thanks." Steve told her.

"You're welcome." Anna retrieved her axe as Lucas walked over followed by Bucky and the others. They disposed of the bodies by dumping them over the railing down the cliff face before heading through the door into the castle.

Deep underneath the castle in the catacombs that were now retrofitted into the weapons lab/rocket lab for Hydra, Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker was gazing at some TV monitors that showed security footage of the castle up above. While there was frontal attack that was keeping their forces occupied, an infiltration team had come in from the side door led by Captain America himself. Seeing how this complicated things, Strucker pressed a button setting of the emergency alarm throughout the castle and underground labs before he calmly walked over to an observation room placed over the rocket bay. It was there that Dr. Isabel Maru AKA Dr. Poison was working. The room was set up with various lab equipment and papers that had chemical formulas along with engineering calculations for chemical gas dispersal from the rockets. Wearing a white smock, and a protective cover for her hair with goggles perched up on her forehead, she crumbled a piece of paper in frustration as she knew what that alarm meant.

"Doctor." Strucker greeted her.

"Baron Strucker." Dr. Poison looked at the papers on her desk and gazed upon them much like an artist would at a painting that was being tarnished or lost. "So much potential. So much…beauty…and now…we are out of time. All of our work and effort…so close. And Freisinger is nowhere near, scurrying back to Germany like the coward he is."

"Freisinger believes himself to be the leader…his plan, his Project Phoenix is nothing more than a sham and Schmidt or the Allies will deal with him soon enough. But it was not all bad for Freisinger introduced me to you…and for that, I would not change anything." Strucker walked over and patted her on the shoulder affectionately. She reached up and traced her fingers on his hand, very much returning the gesture. "…I wish there was more time for us Isabel but fate, it seems felt differently."

"Will you stay?" She asked and he turned her face, so she was looking at him and gently traced his index finger against the ceramic mask she had on.

"If fate has decided on how my life should end then I will do my best to at least make it cost the Allies what they have cost us." Baron Strucker swore with a sense of loyalty and purpose that would have been admirable if it wasn't for his allegiance. That didn't matter to Dr. Poison who stood up and gaze at him lovingly in the eyes.

"Then I will be there…by your side as we meet that fate…" She placed her hands into his and he leaned his forehead down to touch hers. "…we may die…but our children will live on…and they will know that their parents loved them…and did not falter like cowards in the eyes of their enemies. They will be the best of us…and knowing they were taken to safety is all I need. I am with you…to the end."

Baron Wolfgang von Strucker leaned down and removed the ceramic lips so he could kiss her real ones. He didn't care about the scars and neither did she at the moment. The Hydra leader and evil scientist shared their tender moment before their gaze of love gave way to nerves of steely resolve. "I shall hold off Captain America. Prepare the rocket. We may lose this day…but so will the Allies…"

Dr. Poison nodded as they gazed down at the rocket bay where it wasn't just one rocket in the bay but five. Granted, only one of them was operational as the other four were still being built but one would have to do for now and it was the largest one with the longest range. It would easily hit London from their current position and the unique payload for this rocket was something special. In the rocket bay was a special secured vault where they kept the dangerous material and inside were six large cannisters of her functioning and perfected Nova 6 gas. Enough to spread over all of England with no difficulty but that wasn't the only payload for the rocket. There was also a large cannister holding a glowing blue energy core indicative of the glow of Hydra's energy weapons and next to that was a yellow-colored lead barrel with an atomic structure symbol emblazoned on in black ink. Something of an experiment from the German scientists that they hadn't yet managed to make work, but Freisinger used his connections to send them a badge of this supposedly dangerous material that would make the explosion from the rocket…extra special.

Line Break xxxxx

Steve led the others through the castle, running into a few German and Hydra soldiers but the castle seemed empty with most of the soldiers dealing with Clark's frontal assault. Once they cleared the ground floor and Lucas placed some explosive charges on key stress points or support columns they headed down to the lower levels. Descending down the old winding stone staircase they arrived in the old catacombs where graves/tombs of past Von Struckers were put to rest. Steve pulled out a piece of paper with a rough sketch of the layout of the catacombs that Clark drew as a makeshift map. Steve didn't know how Clark knew the layout, but he wasn't going to kiss a gift horse on the mouth and followed it. The catacombs were extensive with numerous hallways that could easily get them lost but Steve just followed the rough map. Clearly they were going in the right direction as the lights strung up on the ceiling definitely didn't fit with the medieval-style architecture. And it was only in certain areas where the lights were strung up, so they were also acting as a sort of guide to their destination.

They continued moving through the catacombs for what seemed like forever but was really just five minutes. Considering the need for urgency they were moving as fast as they could, but the catacombs were just that large. They continued following the lights and map Clark had drawn until they came to a dead end.

"All that effort with the lights and the map led us to a dead end?" Lucas wondered but Bucky felt different.

"No. Hydra wouldn't have gone through all this effort for nothing."

"Bucky's right. This has to lead somewhere like a secret wing. Check for a switch or lever." Steve said and they looked around for anything out of place that would get them to where they needed to go. Anna touched the walls and everything when she noticed an old torch holder wasn't as caked in dust and spider web as everything else, so she pulled it down like a lever. They heard a loud click and the dead-end wall swiveled open slightly like a door, so Steve pushed, and they were greeted with more modern accommodations that was clearly the work of Hydra's influence.

They continued on when some Hydra soldiers saw them and opened fire. Steve raised his shield to block the bullets while Bucky and Dugan shot them down. "Well, our cover's blown now." Dugan remarked.

Elsewhere…

At the V-2 rocket bay, Dr. Poison heard the distant cracks of gunfire, so they were running out of time. "Faster! Get the material into the rocket and do not drop it!"

The men nodded using some heavy lifting equipment to get the six large cannisters of Nova 6 gas into the chambers of the V-2 rocket. The Hydra energy core was already on the rocket as its energy would partially fuel its propulsion as well as add on extra explosive yield when it made impact. The last bit of work for the missile would be installing the supposed nuclear material the German Scientists said would make their best bombs be like pebbles in the wind, but she had doubts about it. Still, with how their scientists were wearing special lead clothing and were instructed to be extra careful or else they risked blowing up the entire castle she was willing to go on a little faith. It couldn't be understated how much it pained Dr. Maru to see her life's work all come to an end before it could be fully realized. This was her legacy before the birth of her and Strucker's children, her beautiful twins. They were safe, which was all that mattered but for her and Strucker, their times were at an end.

'If this must be how it ends…then I shall make their success be their ultimate demise.' Dr. Maru's head was filled with nothing but sheer determination in her fate and what she had to do. She walked away from the V-2 rockets with one destination in mind: The armory.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Please give your review and comments.

Also read 'Marvel : Superman' on my profile and give it your review and ratings.