France Late December 1943
December, a time of year in France for what would normally be spent preparing for the end of the year celebrations along with Christmas and other similar holidays was instead a shadow of its former self due to the looming specter that was the German/Nazi occupation. For two years, France had been occupied/controlled by Germany after using their blitzkrieg tactics to demolish the French/British attempts to stop their advance westward. After the Armistice of June 22, 1940, Germany occupied the Northern and Western part of the country while the remaining southern and eastern part was given to a puppet government that had become known as Vichy France because of its capital in Vichy. Marshal Philippe Pétain became the prime minister and Vichy France became a collaborationist regime. Initial the typical French citizen supported the regime but as the war progress that opinion began to turn as Germany began taking more and more from France and conditions worsened. In November 1942 after the Allied landings in French North Africa, Hitler and Germany assumed total military control over the Vichy France region. While the government remained in power for basic civil matters, Germany had now occupied all of France. The turning point for many and with the Allies success in taking Italy out of the war, Germany was tightening its grip as they knew that France was next.
With the winter weather, Germany was tightening their defenses and bolstering their forces on both fronts. Russian forces in their summer advance from August 1943 to December have pushed back the Germans into the borders of Ukraine and parts of Belorussia. The failure of the Germans to capture Stalingrad earlier in that year was coming back to bite them but with the winter months coming the lines were beginning to stagnate. The Russians were now preparing for an offensive push into eastern Ukraine after their success in pushing the Germans past the Dnieper river and later retake Kiev. They were keeping up the momentum, but the fighting was tough. With the Germans on the constant retreat in Italy from the US/UK, it allowed them to basically pull out a majority of their forces from country who were then pushed to other fronts. Many of their fighting forces were moved to the Eastern front and the rest were used to reinforce the Western Front and Atlantic wall. The additional troops, supplies, and armored vehicles made the Eastern push by the Russians cost them dearly and now the demarcation lines for the war were set for the moment. And with winter, those defenses were heavily reinforced with rumors and stories spreading that Hitler's various super weapon projects were being used in beta-phases on the Eastern Front. Stories of gas bombs being used in towns and mentions of giant monsters in metal suits probing Russian offensive lines were making the rounds, but no one was able to confirm or deny anything yet.
Things were quiet on the Western Front. Hitler and German High Command anticipated a Western advance into France now that Italy was captured by the UK and US. The most likely attempts would be the western shores of France as they were the closest to the UK via ships and the various shallow ports/bays would be perfect for their ships to land. General Eisenhower was still working out the specifics of the plan with Allied command, but the stage was set for a cross-Channel invasion into France. On paper, it was the most solid plan there was. Short distance from the UK shores to France and once a foothold was established, more could be pushed in to take the country and then push into Germany, then Belgium, the Netherlands and into Germany. With half of Hitler's forces occupied by the Soviets it seemed solid enough, but it wasn't going to be easy. Hitler may be an idiot but the people advising him weren't and they had been reinforcing France ever since the Allied set foot in Italy. Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox himself, was put in charge of inspections and maintaining it for a Western invasion. While the plan seemed manageable enough on paper, the logistics would be a nightmare which would require specialized gear and vehicles for the invasion and a lot of troopers not to the mention the efforts to catch the Germans off guard so that they didn't run into too many problems. Time was both helpful and a hindrance for the Allies. Helpful in that time would make sure they could prepare but a hindrance in that the more time they had to prepare, the bigger the difficulties, hardships they would face and the more the odds of luck stacked against them.
That would be the case if this war progressed as normal without unusual circumstances but because of said unusual circumstances that were present…the Allied has a new opportunity.
Menton, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azurregion, France
Perched up on a mountain overlooking the city of Menton on the French Riviera near the Italian border was Clark, dressed up in a repaired Superman uniform with four large bags of supplies laid down in the snow around his feet. It was midday yet despite the fact that it was winter, and the mountain already had the first snowfall of the season which was pretty significant at over a foot in total, Clark stood there completely fine. The heat didn't bother him and neither did the cold in this instance as his body was always kept at a perfect temperature. A sort of fringe benefit of his powers as he could be naked right now and feel completely fine but that's beside the point. He was using his super vision to scope out the city/town of Menton and then used his x-ray vision so knew who was where. With this being a border town to the Italian border not to mention on the on the Mediterranean coast, it was of strategic importance for Germany, so it was heavily fortified. Blockades and roadblocks manned by the German Wehrmacht and French Collaborators with more stationed around in the town. A total of about a Battalions worth of soldiers mixed up between infantry, tanks crews, and artillery. Artillery positions were set up nearby with large guns such as Pak 36 and Pak 40 anti-tank guns and even larger artillery like the 15 cm sFh 18 guns set up in the German army camps around the town. Not to mention the Panzer 2 tanks set up around town to create kill corners and the lone Tiger 1 Tank protected by various squads of soldiers nearby. The Germans clearly put a lot of effort into the thinking out the defenses of this town to prevent it from being taken without heavy losses.
To bad for the Germans, their military planning and preparation didn't consider the Superman as there were no Blockbuster super soldiers or Maschinensoldaten there. If there were, Clark would be more worried but now? They were one step closer to ending this war.
Clark focused his sight on the radio tower in the German camp as his first target. With that, they couldn't radio for help or alert nearby battalions of what was going on. The veins around his eyes began to glow red which illuminated the skin around his eyes before said eyes glowed as well. Twin beams of red thermal energy erupted from Clark's eyes in a short burst, sailing through the air and sliced through the radio tower like a hot knife through butter before destroying a generator right below which knocked out the power to that antennae and nearby communications tent just in case. Clark looked around the town and fired more short bursts of heat vision all around the town taking out fortifications and weapons emplacements. The formidable artillery guns were now in shambled with the bursts of heat vision having sliced through making them useless. Various armored vehicles including the two Panzer 2 tanks were immobilized with half of their treads vaporized and burning holes in their engine blocks. The tanks crews were immediately forced to ditch and regroup with whatever nearby squad of company were nearby. Other than the random blasts of red energy there were no shots or sounds of mortars or artillery rounds, but they quickly mobilized into ready positions.
In the German camp in the town, the soldiers scrambled into positions while grabbing their gear and weapons while dealing with the bracing cold. Some Germans managed to get dressed and run through their tent camp when one of them ran into a steel wall and bounced off. He hit the ground and groaned in pain as the wall hurt when he realized there shouldn't have been a wall in the middle of the camp and saw that what he hit wasn't a wall but a man. The Superman.
"Guten Tag. Wir haben schönes Wetter. Bitte kapitulieren." Clark gave him his best smile and held his hand out, for the soldier to take. (Good day. Nice weather we're having. Please surrender.)
"Wir werden angegriffen!" The soldier scrambled away in a panic, shouting at the top of his lungs to the point where anyone nearby likely heard and they spread the news. (We're under attack!)
Clark just let out a sigh of defeat mixed with exhaustion. "So much for letting this go down the easy." He cracked his neck and began walking through the camp to follow the German soldier. He was likely headed into the town where the Germans were preparing for a force from the Italian border crossing. As he walked past some tents, one SS captain had hidden inside a tent waiting for him to pass so when he did he stepped out and aimed his Luger pistol at the back of his head before pulling the trigger at point blank range. The only thing that accomplished was having the bullet ricochet right back into his own head, killing him.
Clark turned around and saw the dead SS captain on the ground when two more SS privates came at him from the flanks with their bayonets attached to their rifles. They ran full speed to pierce him but the second they made contact their bayonets snapped and shattered into pieces. Clark turned around, knocked aside their rifles before grabbing soldiers by the chest and throwing them around. They crashed into nearby tents, and he kept walking. When he arrived into town, any civilians in the area quickly ran into their homes though with the weather there weren't that many standing around outside. He walked down the main street of the town and passed by a German Machine gun team perched up on the top of a water tower. They opened fire but the bullets from the MG-42 didn't have any better luck than the Luger pistol from the SS captain. Clark just turned his head to look at them and saw their looks of astonishment which quickly turned into fear as the soldier stopped firing and they raised their hands up in surrender.
"Thank you. Please get down safely and put yourselves here. I'll be back momentarily." Clark said in perfect German before he continued on. He navigated himself down several more streets in Menton and encountered a few more ambushes but like the two he just faced they had the no effect. Clark took them out quickly and tied them up to light posts or to the side of beings, but they seemed to surrender willingly once they saw that their bullets were nothing.
Clark turned from the intersection into the main road leading in and out of Menton where the heaviest defenses were set since it was the first line of defense before the border to Italy. There all the German soldiers and French collaborators were set up in defensive positions heavily fortified with sandbags and makeshift defensive covers for multiple firing lines and MG-42s. Once the SS commander for the town saw Clark step into view he smirked in delight.
"Fire!"
A cacophony of gunfire could be heard from a mile away as the Germans and French Collaborators unloaded everything they had at Clark. Bolt-action rifles, submachine guns, pistols, and then light-machine guns were fired at him with bullets zipping through the air. The barrels of the MG-42s quickly got hot because of all the bullets they were firing but the cold air of the winter months was actually helping them so they could fire longer before the barrels began melting. There were a few lulls in the gunfire as guns needed to be reloaded but they didn't stop and stoon enough grenades were thrown as well and a nearby mortar crew began launching rounds at Clark.
After nearly two minutes of continued sustained fire, the SS commander signaled everyone to stop so they did. Once the last bullet was fired there was an eerie calm and absence of noise over the area. One second too much and now not enough. From all the grenades and mortar fire at Clark's position there was a thick plume of smoke that completely covered him, but it started to fade and to the complete and utter shock of the German and French collaborators the Superman was still standing and very much alive. Clark stood there having not moved a muscle at all and not so much as a scratch or scuff on his uniform. Clark's super hearing picked up the sound of a powerful engine and a large series of treads moving which was the telltale signs of a tank. The Tiger 1 turned on to the street and fired it main gun at Clark, but he took two steps to the left and it zipped right past him, destroying part of the barricade and killing some Germans and French collaborators who were just shooting at Clark. The crew inside the Tiger quickly reloaded the main gun while also firing the MG-34 machine gun attached but before they could fire another shot Clark's eyes glowed red and he used his heat vision. Twin beams of intense heat melted through the main gun in seconds before he adjusted his sight and melted the treads on both sides.
Clark turned back around and stared down the Germans/French collaborators. They were all frozen in fear except for the Waffen SS commander in charge who quickly reloaded his gun, but Clark dashed forward in a burst of super speed and held him up off the ground by his neck before throwing him into a parked truck. The commander slumped to the ground unconscious and Clark's glowing red eyes were an ominous warning to the rest of the men who wisely threw down their guns, got down onto their knees and raised their hands up in surrender. If their guns and tanks couldn't do anything than why bother?
"Smart move." Clark told them.
It took a few minutes but soon enough all the enemy combatants were tied up together and disarmed. Their weapons were off to the side and the men were put in groups since there were so many of them, but he'd let the MPs take care of them and he was sure that command would want them interrogated for information. Once they were all secure, Clark super sped over to the border crossing into Italy about two miles away from Menton. The entire area was covered in thick snow, so Clark's eyes began glowing red before he used his heat vision. Several blasts later and his eyes stopped glowing revealing a perfect level crossing devoid of snow or any obstructions. He super sped back to Menton after going up to the mountain to retrieve his bags of gear and returned to the same spot he was before. He opened one bag to take a new type of radio backpack built and modeled after the variants Hydra uses and took the transceiver.
"This is Captain Elbert, Authentication Alpha-Bravo-Delta-57. Objective is captured and causeway is open. You are clear to move in."
"Roger that, Captain Elbert. We're coming in."
Now Clark just had to stand and wait. When Clark returned from his mission to Wakanda he brought back with him one of Hydra's radio backpacks he recovered. He did it not only for them to better crack Hydra's coded transmissions so they could listen to their communications, but its range was greater than anything the Allies had. Howard Stark had managed to figure out what made it tick and quickly began making more. The first two he made he gave to Clark which he had with him. One would be for Taskforce Vanguard and the other he'd give to Steve and the Howling Commandos. This way they could go into missions deeper behind enemy lines and still stay in contact with Command in London, all they'd need to do is encrypt their communications to make sure they weren't being snooped on.
15 minutes later…
Clark watched as a large convoy of trucks and tanks began moving into Menton from the Italian border into French territory. Elements of the First Army group began moving in and securing the town with many MPs taking the German and French collaborators into custody while British and American soldiers began setting up bases. The First Army group was a formation of British, American, and Free French forces who had originally fought as part of Operation Torch in French North Africa but were given a reprieve in Operation Husky and the invasion of Italy. Now they were reassigned to be a part of the first invading forces in Operation Dragoon, the name given to the Allied invasion of Southern France. Planning for it had begun as far back as the 1941 but it was really just planning until the success of Operation Husky and then the rapid success and lightning campaign on the Italian mainland. Thanks to the efforts of the Superman in pushing the Germans back and preventing any gridlock or excessive causalities in the Italian campaign, Allied Command have been working out the plans for invading France since September. They were also working on plans to go up into Central Europe through Yugoslavia after the Tehran Conference in an effort to get to Germany before the Soviets did but that was still ongoing. With Clark and Taskforce Vanguard essentially being the driving force in the Italian campaign, countless men and resources that would have otherwise been lost during the fighting were not. This allowed Allied Command to move into Operation Dragoon without needing to wait for additional resources and men.
After Clark returned from his trip to Africa and stopped the Hydra forces looking for Vibranium, he informed Colonel Phillips that he managed to control his heat vision. He still needed more training to control its intensity as it was basically just coming out at full power for now, but he was able to control its use enough to return to the field. Colonel Phillips had him stay at the SSR base for a little longer than expected as they had some intel he wanted to go over with Clark and before he reunited with his team he wanted to put his new ability to good use. With the winter months, the progress for the war would grind to a halt as the weather and coming snow would make their normal moves almost impossible to achieve. It would essentially put the war onto hold for three months and give the time for the Germans to solidify their defensive lines and with the reports about potential new weapons being used on the Eastern Front against the Russians than they risked losing the momentum in the war. The Allied Leaders agreed that they needed to keep up the pressure somehow and part of that would be the work of Taskforce Vanguard and the Howling Commandos, who would take out Hydra facilities and other German Weapons projects thanks to the information they got from Savage's lab at the Hydra facility in Austria. They could do serious work against the German war effort, but once Colonel Phillips informed General Eisenhower about Clark's new ability he suggested that Superman be used as the vanguard force into France. With the Italian borders secured, all they needed was to take the next step into France which they haven't done because the route was heavily guarded and impassible due to heavy snow, already accumulated in November. Any kind of travel would just get them stuck, which is where the Superman came into play. He was basically their battering ram into Southern France and cleared the way for the rest of the army to move in.
"Captain…Captain…Captain!"
Clark was brought out of his little contemplative thought by General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French Forces. When Allied Command made the tactical decision to commence Operation Dragoon, General de Gaulle was the first to volunteer to lead his forces back into France. He wanted to be there when he and his men were returned to their country.
"Apologies, General. I was deep in thought." Clark spoke in perfect French that anyone could mistake for him being a native Frenchman. That was just how good Clark was with languages.
"It's quite all right, Captain. You especially out of anyone can be forgiven for a lapse in concentration." General De Gaulle said to him as he joined Clark's side as they watched the parade of men and vehicles move into the town. Many of the civilians in Menton greeted the Allied Forces with cheers, especially their French compatriots who were back home. "This will be something for history, Captain Elbert. For years, Philippe Pétain and the Vichy government have made a mockery of our land. My men and I were driven from our home but now we have a chance to reclaim it. I thought you'd like to say a few words of encouragement to the men. This is your victory."
Clark gave him a cordial smile and a nod of respect. "Thank you, General but that should be your prerogative. I think it would mean more to your men coming from you."
General De Gaulle smiled in appreciation, shaking Clark's hand, and patting him on the shoulder before he stepped up onto the back of a jeep. "Gentlemen!" His shout attracted the attention of the Free French Forces who gathered around him with some American and British soldiers as well since he was speaking English. "Two years…two years since we have been driven from our home. I know many of us have prayed for this day…I am one of them. From the shores of England to the sands of North Africa to mountains of Italy, through fire and blood we have come home!"
"YEAH!" All the soldiers shouted in unison.
"Hitler and his men have pillaged and sacked our cities…our homes…our people…but now we are back! And I swear that I die in battle before I'm forced to leave my home again! For so long, Hitler and his war machine seemed unstoppable, and France seemed to be forever trapped in their vice grip but here we are! And it won't stop here. We will not stop until all of France is free and then our way to Germany to end this war! Vive La France! Vive La Liberté!"
[Deafening cheers]
Military photographers and journalists snapped photos of General De Gaulle embracing the roar of the soldiers and managed to catch Clark standing behind him. Soon enough, the story would make the rounds in every Allied Nation and across all radio broadcasts.
The Allies have invaded France. The war was entering its final phase.
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Nice, France
Nice, France, the second-largest city on the Mediterranean coast and the second-largest city in the region after Marseille. It was well known for being a stunning getaway on the French Riviera with the natural environment mixed with the mild Mediterranean climate making it ideal for the rich, wealthy, and powerful and that didn't change even with the war with the German's maintaining control over the area because of its strategic importance in the Mediterranean and its large ports which would be perfect for Allied naval ships. The Germans were aware of that, so they took extra measures to ensure Nice's safety and security. The last remaining German Battleship in the area was permanently docked in the harbor around Nice acting as a permanent floating artillery platform and the entire surrounding sea area was mined not to mention a surprise waiting down beneath the water.
German U-Boat U-73 was deep beneath the water surrounding Nice, keeping a watch over the surrounding sea around the French Riveria which was more important now than ever before. The Allied war and merchant sheets were on the other side of the Mediterranean sea on the coast of Italy. The Germans were aware that the Allies would need to make use of French ports to move troops and resources so denying them that was key. If they got the ports that the foothold for their invasion was absolute. With the way the war had been progressing German naval presence in the Mediterranean was limited to U-Boats now who had to be careful as the Allies maintained predominant control over the sea with their capture of the Straight of Gibraltar. They were outnumbered but all U-Boats were given orders to report Allied navy tactics and positions and to sink any ships heading for France. It was suicide but would slow them down.
In the command center of U-Boat U-73 it was business as usual for them. The engineers monitoring the sonar kept a watchful eye on the screen but as usual it wasn't picking up anything out of the ordinary. They were several miles off the coast of Nice and other than their sea mines it wasn't picking up anything within range.
[Sonar ding]
The engineer perked up from his cup of coffee and checked the sonar monitor to see it was picking up something coming in from the Northeast at approximately 45 degrees. It just popped up on the screen, so it just got within range but on the next sonar sweep it had suddenly jumped several hundred meters and was closer. Another sonar ding a few seconds later and it was on course for collision.
"Captain! We've got incoming!"
[Boom & Loud Crashing noise]
The entire U-Boat shook violently out of nowhere as everyone held on to whatever they could for dear life, but many were knocked into walls or jostled from their chairs and seats. Sirens began to blare to life all around the U-Boat but miraculously despite the heavy impact the lights/power systems remained on, and the vessel hadn't exploded. Crewmen all over the U-Boat were confused as were the men in the control room. The captain was jostled out of his chair and hit the ground hard but suffered no serious injuries other than some cuts.
"Status report?!"
"Acceleration and steering are not responding. We've lost all manual control of the vessel, sir. We're dead in the water." The helmsmen reported while the First Mate picked up the radio call from engineering in the engine room.
"Up periscope and sonar! I want a full visual on what's going on." The Captain got his crew in working order fast and efficiently. A helmsman taking control of the periscope to get a look around them while the sonar engineers kept watch over the radars. The first mate hooked the radio receiver on the wall and rejoined the captain.
"Engineering reports that the engine room sustained little damage. All the boilers are operating per normal, and all stations reported in. No signs of flooding or any compromised hull damage. Do you think we ran aground or hit something?" The First Mate wondered.
"No. We didn't hit anything. Something hit us." The Captain was sure as that impact was definitely telling.
"Sir!" The radar engineer shouted. "Sonar is picking up something on the radar. It's circling around us…and it's moving fast. Averaging speeds of…"
"Of what? Spit it out?"
"Average speed of 500 knots." The engineer reported.
"Sir, I think I see it!" The helmsman on the periscope reported that he saw something moving in the water around them.
"What is it? A ship? Another submarine?"
The helmsman looked through the periscope and saw something small and nimble through the water at incredible speed and when it passed by, he couldn't believe what he saw. "No, it looks like a man."
[Boom & Loud Crashing noise]
The submarine was hit again by whatever was outside which happened to be Clark. Holding his breath, he swam at super speed and took out the propellers in the back to keep the submarine from moving and was currently underneath the submarine. The metal hull of the vessel bent and crumbled underneath his hands and shoulders as he kicked as hard as he could to swim at supersonic speeds combining his super speed and strength to force the submarine to resurface. Clark's current maximum strength was about 150 tons and the average water displacement for a submarine was around 1000 tons. Taking out the propellers so the submarine couldn't move and his super speed in the water aided in Clark's efforts in a situation he would normally find difficult.
There was immense struggle on Clark's face which was due to the sheer physical strain he put himself under along with the fact that he was holding his breath underwater, but he powered through all of that and kept pushing the submarine up to the surface. The crew inside the ship held on for dear life to whatever they could grab as they were jostled and knocked around.
[Splashing of water and crashing]
The submarine broke through the surface of the Mediterranean sea with the crew in pain and confusion as to what just happened. Clark swam at super speed and broke the surface of the water, landing on the hull of the submarine before forcing open the hatch. Inside, the submarine's sirens wailed as the crew struggled to find their footing. The crew near the topside hatch heard a lot of clanging and metal groaning from the hull. That combined with the fact that they were forced to resurface put them on alert that they were being boarded so they readied themselves. There was an officer there who had a pistol on his belt, but some crewmen had arrived with rifles and submachine guns they had taken from the weapons locker on their way to the topside hull and handed out extras. With what happened they thought they were being boarded so they grabbed weapons on their way.
Two crewmen armed with rifles walked over to the topside hatch, ready and waiting for whoever was here to make the first move. The second the hatch opened they would fire.
[Bang]
The hatch opened but not the way they thought it would. It was punched in and came crashing down, hitting the two crewmen and knocking them out cold. Two more crewmen stepped forward while the rest took up defensive positions in the nearby room. They had their weapons ready when a soaking wet Clark jumped down and laned in a three-point landing crouch. His hair was damp, his suit was soaked but otherwise he was fine as he stood up and looked at crewmen. "Permission to come aboard?"
The two crewmen looked at one another before they opened fire. One had an MP-40 and the other a Kar98k bolt-action rifle. The gunfire deafened the corridors of the submarine as loud noises in an enclosed space was not a good idea and it wasn't even worth it. The bullets bounced or broke against Clark's skin, fall to the ground or ricochetting all around. Clark walked forward and when he got close he grabbed them both and slammed them into the walls of the corridor. Another crewmen rushed at him with a submachine gun, but Clark just picked up the submarine hatch he punched off its hinges and hurled it like a ball, hitting the crewmen in the chest.
The crewmen waiting in the next room opened fire which Clark just ignored as he walked into the room and pushed the door against the wall, knocking out a crewmen hiding there. He tossed one crewmen up into the ceiling and hurled another into some equipment when one brave soul punched him in the face only to break his hand. Clark just gave him a smirk followed by a slap that knocked him into the ground. Seeing their efforts for nothing, the remaining crewmen quickly surrendered.
"Thank you." Clark gave them a smile.
A few moments later all the German crew of the U-Boat were tied up, gagged, and locked in the commissary or the bunks so they wouldn't get in the way. Clark climbed back outside of the submarine and looked to the horizon where Nice was. He used his super and X-ray vision to find the sea mines planted deep in the water before his eyes glowed red and he used his heat vision. The twin beams of red thermal energy sliced into the water going deep down until they hit a naval mine. Once struck, it exploded setting off the other sea mines in rapid succession that would have obliterated any submarine nearby but from Clark's point of view all he got was a small air pocket that bubbled up to the surface.
Once that was done, Clark jumped into the ocean and swam behind the submarine to begin the long, arduous task of pushing it into port.
Two hour later…
Clark stood in the harbor and watched as MPs of the British and American armed forces took the German soldiers and crewmen of the submarine and the German Battleship he disabled while the rest of the army moved in. Word had already been sent and Allied ships from Italy would be moving in to the ports by tomorrow. After the long time spent pushing the Submarine to Nice, Clark disabled the battleship and took out the sailors inside. Like with the submarine, some put up a fight at first but once they realized it was pointless and recognized the S on his chest, they surrendered. The rest of the army in Nice wasn't as easy. It was heavily defended and with two SS battalions who were diehard loyalists and would die fighting. But without any Maschinensoldaten or Hydra weapons than it wasn't an issue and during the fighting Clark managed to find the SS command center in Nice and stole some valuable intel. He'd need to make a report for Colonel Phillips to send to Allied Command. Based on his translations, there was a piece of the intel there that could help them fill in the gaps of information regarding one of Savage's weapons projects. Once Nice was secured, Clark made sure the perimeters were secure and would stay the night.
Tomorrow would be securing more of the towns on the French Riviera.
A week later…
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
Clark skid to a stop in the dirt and looked around at the surrounding area. He was about 26km southeast of Vichy and about a mile from the isolated town of Le Mayet-de-Montagne in a field. He saw trees and woods around him, but the most important things were the paved-out road that led to town and the piles of rubble scattered all around that were clear indicators of a large facility/factory. That along with the tell-tale smell of explosive residue stuck on charred bricks and melted metal that Clark picked up in the air than it had to be a weapon's factory. He kicked over a stone to see a metal plate beneath it emblazoned with the Hydra symbol revealing it was one of the Hydra facilities Steve Rogers saw on the map from the Austrian facility they blew up.
Clark looked around at the place and began to formulate and consider what likely happened in the area. He noticed familiar .45ACP caliber casings on the ground along with .30-'06 casings not to mention destroyed Hydra laser guns was enough to tell him that likely Steve and the Howling Commandos along with Taskforce Vanguard. They must have formulated a plan and hit this facility. Judging by how long things seemed to be exposed to the elements and judging the smell and how faint it was, it must have been at least two weeks.
Flashback…Two weeks…
[Explosions/rumbling followed by the sound of gunfire]
The Hydra soldiers and guards inside the main weapon factory building immediately went on alert and stood ready. The workers for the factory quickly got down under tables or behind cover. The workers were POWs Hydra had taken from German POW camps before Hydra's split with Germany. Before the Hydra soldiers could act the main large double-doors in the warehouse were busted open and in came Captain America and the Howling Commandos. Steve AKA Captain America led the charge in the middle holding his Vibranium/Proto-Adamantium shield in front of his body for cover, now painted with red and white rings surrounding a blue colored center with a white star in the middle. With that was a matching new uniform partially inspired by his USO gear, but more military/combat orientated. Red, white, and blue with a white star on his chest and a new modified helmet with an emblazoned A. He had a belt of pouches for ammo and other items and was using a modified Colt M1911A1 pistol to shoot the Hydra soldiers in the warehouse. Flanking him on both sides were the members of the Howling Commandos using their respective weapons to gun down the Hydra soldiers in the room, making sure to hit just their targets.
Several Hydra soldiers were gunned down before they could raise their laser rifles, but the rest were quick enough to move to cover. The continuous gunfire from the Commandos kept the Hydra soldiers pinned down with a few getting hit in the shoulders or legs.
"Keep them pinned down! Buck, Dugan, with me!" Steve relayed his orders while reloading his pistol before he rushed forward with Bucky and Dum Dum Dugan right behind him. Some Hydra soldiers got them in their sights and opened fire, the blue energy blasts zipping through the air at them. Steve used the shield to block a few energy blasts that got too close and unlike his old regular steel shield that crumbled when hit, the Vibranium/Proto-Adamantium shield absorbed the energy with no damage. Bucky and Dugan gunned down some of the Hydra soldiers shooting at them allowing Steve to rush forward to where a cluster of the POW workers were taking cover. Hydra had them chained together via their ankles connected to one anchor point on the floor so they couldn't escape. Steve smashed his shield into the anchor point, breaking it and the chains connected to it. "Go! Take cover!"
The POWs quickly removed their chains and ran to the exit with a few grabbing the weapons of dead Hydra soldiers. They rushed outside while Steve and the Commandos pushed into the factory. Once the POWs exited the building they were greeted with the sight of an attack at the factory. Taskforce Vanguard, led by Arthur Kingsley in Clark's absence moved in coordinated formations across the yard of the factory putting down effective fire against the Hydra soldiers while taking cover from their energy rifles and other weapons. Vanguard was split into two teams with Arthur leading one and Logan leading the other, but both were supplemented with members of the Maquis AKA the French Resistance and two platoons of the 107th Infantry Regiment of about 20 soldiers each. The Commandos and Taskforce Vanguard met up with the Maquis thanks to intel from the SOE and they were instrumental in helping both groups navigate France undetected by the Germans and would assist in the raids. It was supplemented by volunteers from the 107th who would work with Captain America and the Commandos, providing them additional fire and manpower.
Kingsley, Solange, Halima, and Diggle took cover behind a building along with some Maqui and 107th soldiers while Logan, Lucas, Padmavati, and Anna Drake were across from them at another building. Both groups were taking cover from the intense fire from a chokepoint that the Hydra soldiers had pinned down. One Hydra soldier had climbed up to the roof of a building to flank the attackers but got a bullet through the head and fell to the ground. Said bullet came from Daniel Take-Yatsu who was in a sniper position overlooking the factory with Richard Webb spotting for him while manning the radio pack. From their position, they were able to support the ground team with Daniel's modified M1 Garand Rifle fitted with a scope and silencer and Webb could use the radio to keep them informed of what was going on.
"Arthur, the other side of the building you're up against is clear for the moment. Move there and you can flank the chokepoint." Webb radioed to them.
"Roger that." Arthur radioed back using their wristwatch walkie-talkies which all members of Taskforce Vanguard and the Commandos had. Arthur looked over at Logan and sent him some hand signals about their plan. Logan nodded in response before he blind-fired behind cover at the Hydra soldiers. Lucas took out two smoke grenades and tossed them out before Arthur and the others moved in their flanking maneuver. Logan and his team kept Hydra occupied while Arthur and his team made a flanking maneuver. Logan tossed a grenade from behind cover, knowing it couldn't reach but did so to make Hydra focus on them. Arthur and his team did a dynamic entry into a building flanking the Hydra chokepoint and several sporadic bursts of gunfire later, they tossed some grenades at the chokepoint and took out the soldiers there allowing Logan and the others to keep moving. Their job was to secure the rest of the area along with any kind of Hydra Intel while Steve and the others take out the main factory.
More POWs were freed who joined in on the fighting and Taskforce Vanguard managed to infiltrate the various buildings in the complex and took whatever intel they could find before planting explosive charges. The Howling Commandos did the same, running out of the main factory building after planting the explosive charges while Captain America rode out of the building on his motorcycle. He looked back at the burning building and smiled in satisfaction. With all the Hydra personnel in this base taken care of, they were ready to take on the next one.
End Flashback…
"All right. Next one." Clark took off at super speed to catch up with Steve and his team. On his way to the next Hydra compound his super hearing picked up something nearby so he made a quick detour.
A single horse-pulled wagon was heading into a small town. It had four occupants. A husband and wife, their young daughter and a cloaked, hooded figure sitting in the back of the wagon nestled next to a few meager buckets of food. The horse followed the road into town as it had done countless times before but this time an unfortunate hiccup came in the form of three German soldiers who were hanging around near their truck parked by the side of the road leading into town. The husband held his wife close as the Germans saw them and ordered them to pull up for an inspection. The Germans were likely looking for anything of value as they usually did and extort the local people.
The horse stopped and the husband got out, assuring the soldiers that they didn't want any trouble only to get a rifle butt to the face. He hit the ground and held his nose in pain as the second soldier yanked the man's wife from the wagon. Their daughter came out to help but the third soldier backhanded her to the ground. He raised his hand to strike her again when he was stopped by the hand of the cloaked figure who had gotten out of the wagon. Said mystery figure then stabbed the soldier underneath the armpit with a knife before using his body as a shield from a deluge of bullets from an MP-40 and pushed forward. The figure kicked the dead German's body to his two friends and removed their cloak revealing that that he was actually a she. A French woman wearing boots, blue trousers, a belt with pouches for ammo and a German Walther P-38 pistol tucked in. She had on a brown jacket over a white button-up with an armband of the French Marquis wrapped around her left bicep and was wielding a French MAS-38 Submachine gun. She hit both German soldiers with the buttstock of her gun for distance before gunning down the one in front of her with a barrage of bullets. She faced the last one and knocked his rifle to the side and hit him in the nose with her gun's buttstock before taking his knife and stabbing him in the head.
Some blood stained her face, but she wasn't scared or disgusted as her face was that of a warrior, a soldier who made the choice to stand up and fight when she saw her people suffer. The Germans kept everyone in fear, but a life of fear is no life at all.
She was brought out of her little moment when she heard some men yelling in German. She quickly gathered the family she protected, and they hid behind a building as some soldiers came in from the town and opened fire at them only for a speeding blur to race by and knocked them to the ground. Clark stopped in the dirt and walked towards the soldiers who all shot at him, but their bullets bounced against his skin. Before he could take them down they were all gunned with bullets and Clark saw it was the woman who killed them while they were distracted.
"It's ok. I'm on your side. I'm American. There are no more Germans in town." Clark spoke in perfect French putting the woman and the family at ease.
"Thank you." The woman shouldered her submachine gun when Clark offered her a rag for the blood on her face and noticed the symbol on his chest. "You're a long way from America, Superman."
"I'm here on special business. Captain Kalvin Elbert. Pleasure to meet you." Clark shook her hand.
"Beatrice Mercier. Why are you here?"
"I'm regrouping with my team that was sent here to take out special weapon labs. I was nearby when I heard what happened, so I came to help." Clark moved the bodies away from the road and put them into the back of the truck. "You should get them to safety. I'll deal with them."
"Thank you. Your friends are likely headed north. The Germans mostly occupy the main roads. There are many small ones that they cannot man because they do not have enough men to spare in the winter months." Beatrice told him.
"Thank you." Clark gave her a smile before she left with the family to safety. Clark put all the bodies in the truck and moved it into the woods nearby where he burned it with his heat vision. Once it was done, he moved on to catch up with his team hopefully before they hit the next Hydra compound.
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