章 48: Chapter 48
This moment may have been to destress and rest but Clark was still ready for a fight and a part of him was still trying to figure out how the Germans could have launched such successful attacks so quickly. Based on their recent attack patterns and how quickly they got from point to point there was something in this that didn't make sense. He took out his journal and looked at the well-drawn map of the area he made which he used to mark Hydra's attacks. From their encounter with the British patrol soon after they disembarked in Eritrea to their attack at the border where he met Dan and the others and then Zambesi, they were moving at a fast pace but reasonable enough given their vehicles. But the distance to the attacks that Azzuri said happened in Wakanda were far away. Way too far to have been done by the larger force. Granted, it could have been a detachment sent ahead to begin probing Wakanda's defenses similar to how a smaller group was sent to Zambesi for Amaya's totem. But Clark's gut felt something else was at play here and he couldn't shake that feeling.
Noting that Azzuri and the others were still away and that they'd been sitting around for a while, Clark got up and walked over. The King's personal guard saw him coming so they blocked him off. "Let him through." Azzuri spoke so they lowered their spears, and he walked past so he could join Azzuri and Amaya who were perched up on some rocks near the edge of the ridge they were on. "Captain Elbert."
"Your majesty. Amaya." Clark greeted them both and they gave him nods and smiles. "What's wrong?"
"Why do you assume something is wrong?" Azzuri wondered.
"Well, we've been sitting around her for the past 30 minutes on what should have been a short rest while we waited for your scouts to return but no one has." Clark pointed out. "I have good ears, and no one has come or gone from the perimeter."
"It seems you do have good ears. The scouts have yet to make contact or return, which is troubling. They're good but they could have been taken prisoner." Azzuri informed him.
"But we know where the Germans are located." Amaya pointed down into the valley below the ridge they were on. Azzuri was about to hand him some binoculars but noticed Clark just step forward and gazed down into the valley. He used his super vision to get a look at the area and about three hundred yards away he saw a small alcove near a slow river with camouflage tarps used to cover vehicles and foliage was moved around in a way that wasn't normal to cover a certain area. Clark shifted to his x-ray vision which pierced through the tarps and foliage cover to see various Hydra and SS vehicles stationed around but didn't see any tanks so that was a good sign. What he did see was a makeshift camp and German soldiers sitting around and talking, about 200 soldiers with assorted weapons including Hydra's energy guns. Clark noted that there was a lot of gear in the cave of their alcove, and he saw the Maschinensoldaten suit there too keeping watch over some men who were tied up.
"Yeah, they're there. 200 soldiers with their weapons and gear. Their vehicles are on the outside of the perimeter disguised to hide them and they're using a cave to hold their gear. There's a Maschinensoldaten suit down there as well and he's guarding your scouts. They must have been found." Clark told them and they were intrigued on how he knew all that from this far away but more concerned with the news that the Wakandan scouts were captured.
"Is there any other entrance to where my men are being held?" Azzuri asked and Clark took a secondary look.
"No. That cave in the alcove is a dead end. One way in and one way out. If we attack head on, then they could get caught in the crossfire." Clark took out his journal and drew a rough sketch of the German camp and marked the cave and where the scouts were. "If we can draw them out of their camp then you could have your men slip in from the side here and get them. There's some foliage in the way near these two trucks but you could cut through while we have them distracted."
Azzuri thought it over and the idea seemed good enough with the situation at hand. Charging in head first would put the scouts at risk and Azzuri had no idea what this Maschinensoldaten could do. "And the Maschinensoldaten you say is guarding my men? How dangerous is it?"
"Dangerous for any of your men to go up against it alone. The others and I dealt with one, so we know how to deal with it. You should focus on getting your men but be careful of Hydra's energy weapons. They're dangerous." Clark warned him.
"Understood. Let's move now under the cover of darkness." Azzuri ordered and his men nodded. The others were quick to get ready and they descended down the ridge to the German camp, being extra careful to blend in with the darkness of the jungle which was aided as the sun had set and moon began to rise.
Clark, Amaya, and the others along with a small group of the Wakandan Royal Guard moved to the opposite side of the river and once they were in position, they would attack the camp. Azzuri and the rest would stick to the jungle and move to the camp on its flank so that when the fighting started, they were in a prime position to ambush the Germans and were close enough to the cave to get the scouts. Clark and the others hid behind a cluster of trees across the river from the camp. Now that they were closer, they could see the camouflage tarps and nets strewn around trees and suspicious bulges that were definitely vehicles. One of the Wakandan soldiers looked across the river and held up his wrist which had the same beads on it as Azzuri did. It seemed all the Wakandans had them. He tapped the side which sent out a small pulse across the river to Azzuri and the others. A few seconds later his beads began buzzing which was some kind of special morse code that he was able to interpret.
The soldier walked over to Clark and the others. "The King and the others are in position, but they feel that something is wrong."
"Yeah, I agree. Something about this doesn't feel right." Clark agreed. There was definitely something wrong and he could feel it in his gut. "Hold on."
Clark took another x-ray vision scan of the camp and saw what he did before. A makeshift camp, crates of supplies, Germans hanging around, the cave in the alcove with the scouts held hostage and the Maschinensoldaten. He decided to be a little thorough, so he shifted his x-ray vision into his thermal vision and that's when things got weird. Instead of picking up individual blobs of infrared heat from the various bodies, which would be easy considering the colder temperature of the jungle at night, all he got was one large mass of heat all over the camp. He couldn't discern anyone's position or where anything was, which was definitely strange. He decided to tune his hearing and that was the final nail in the coffin of weirdness as despite his x-ray vision telling him there were Germans moving around and talking all he got was the silence of the jungle.
"Kal, what's wrong?" Amaya asked him.
"Something's not right." Clark took a gamble and he super sped across the river, bursting through the German camouflage and cover right into the middle of their camp. It was big enough to hold 200 soldiers along with their vehicles and equipment but what he saw there confused him. SS and Hydra soldiers walking around, some talking, and he saw the Maschinensoldaten over in the cave watching over the scouts who were sitting in a circle with their hands tied behind their backs and their mouths covered but despite the fact that Clark just burst into their camp they didn't even pay him any attention. "What on earth is going on?"
Azzuri was quick to drop down in his full armor with Amaya, Dan, Carter, Shayara, and the Wakandan soldiers joining them, and they too were confused. The scouts in the cave seemed to notice their arrival and when they saw Azzuri they screamed into their gags and wiggled for his attention, so he and some men walked over. Carter saw two SS soldiers walk over to him but then suddenly they passed through him like they were ghosts. Or more accurately, made of light.
"It's just like the map and picture thing that Azzuri showed us from his wrist." Carter pointed out. Clark looked around and noticed a faint light coming from underneath the front bumper of a truck. He reached down and pulled it off to see it was a glowing metal orb with one end producing light like a flashlight. The orb was definitely something special and advanced beyond what the Germans or Hydra had at their disposal. Clark crushed it in his hands and immediately after that all the soldiers vanished, including the Maschinensoldaten, so it was just them. Azzuri had reached his men and quickly untied them before removing their gags.
"My King, run!"
"This is trap." Clark muttered in realization and turned his head to see several rockets coming at them towards the camp from their old position across the river. Clark moved at super speed past everyone and got in front before pushing one of the vehicles in the way, so it took the hit. A large explosion went off knocking over the people nearby while Clark stood his ground. "AMBUSH!"
Immediately everyone ran for cover as a barrage of bullets of various calibers and blue energy bolts rained down on them from across the river. Dan quickly used his wings to form a shield to protect him and Amaya while Carter and Shayara extended their wings out to cover each other and a few Wakandan soldiers. The other Wakandans quickly got behind whatever cover they could while some extended out their sashes which erected blue energy shields large enough to protect their bodies. A few moved over to the cave and joined their shields together to protect the king while he finished cutting the scouts free.
"Adola, get these men out of here! Everyone else, with me!" Azzuri ordered as they went to rejoin the others.
The Wakandan soldiers with Clark and the others aimed their spears across the ridge which then fired sonic blasts exactly like the one Vandal Savage used. Clark used his thermal vision across the river and was able to see the 200 Hydra and SS soldier set up on a firing line about 75 yards away in the trees.
"Tree line! 75 yards away!" Clark shouted, pointing in one direction and the Wakandan soldiers adjusted their aim, concentrating their fire. They could hear some German screams of pain and shouting as their sonic blasts easily tore through the jungle and the bullets but surprisingly when they clashed with a Hydra energy bolt, they cancelled each other out. Knowing that they needed to push, Clark saw a truck and got an idea. "Dan, Amaya, move around them from the left and hit them on their flank! We'll keep them occupied!"
"Got it!" Dan continued to cover Amaya as they ran out of camp into the jungle to move into a better position. Clark rushed over to a large truck and picked it up over his head.
"Aim for this!" Clark shouted before he hurled it across the river. The Wakandans did as he said and fired at it with one shot hitting the gas tank causing it to explode and crash into the jungle into the German firing line. The screams he heard was definitely a signal that he hit his mark.
"Let's go!" Azzuri ran past Clark, leading his men into the fight. Feline-themed armor aside, Clark could now see Azzuri was special because he raced past Clark at enhanced speed similar to Steve and then he saw him leap high into the air into the trees with the agility of a jungle cat. Clearly there was more to him than just the armor but that would be something to think about later. Carter and Shayara flapped their wings and took up into the air to follow them, easily disappearing thanks to the natural darkness of the jungle night. Clark ran across the river to join them when he saw a faint blur of red and Azzuri was thrown back from the jungle and crashed into the shallow riverbed. Whatever hit him hit hard but he was still alive as he managed to get to his knees. With bullets and the Hydra energy bolts flying around Clark pushed the burning remains of the truck he used on the rockets in front of Azzuri for cover.
Clark helped him up when he saw that blur of red race around and the Wakandan soldiers were being flung around through the air. Clark had no idea what was going on, but he recognized the cause. He had sent people flying like this before when he's moving at super speed so clearly there's something moving very fast around here. "What is that thing? Is this Hydra?" Azzuri asked as he and Clark stood ready, side by side as they saw the Wakandan soldiers getting tossed around.
"No, this is something else! Shayara! Carter! Do you see anything!" Clark shouted as they were high in the air with a bird's eye view. They weren't sure what was going on but then saw a blur of red lightning racing through the jungle.
"It looks like lightning! Red lightning!" Carter shouted but it was moving too fast. That's when they saw a bolt of red lightning coming at them. They raised their shields but were hit and dropped to the ground.
"Carter! Shayara!" Clark ran to go help them when all of a sudden something slammed into him from the side. He went flying through the air and tumbled into the river. Dirt caked part of his suit while he cut his face on river stones. The faint glow of the burning trucks in the German camp gave him the light to see a faint speck of blood on his fingers when he touched his cheek from where one of the rocks cut him. Clark turned his head and saw Azzuri flying through the air and smash into a tree. He heard a loud thud from behind and saw Dan and Amaya hit the ground but also saw a Maschinensoldaten. He was about to make a move when he was hit from behind and sent flying toward it only for it to punch him in the chest and send him crashing into some trees. Clark groaned in pain and looked up to see their mysterious attacker. It was a man. Blonde hair wearing black boots, pants, jacket, and gloves but the odd thing about him was that his body was sparking with red lighting and his eyes were glowing red. Clark was beyond confused but he could have sworn he saw a smirk on the man's face.
"I believe you've been looking for me." The man said but his voice was deep and distorted, almost like it was vibrating.
Clark took the initiative and super sped forward with everyone he had, cracking the sound barrier in milliseconds as he raced towards his mystery foe. He ran forward, edging closer and closer as he pulled his fist back for a punch but then saw the man move at super speed…at a speed faster than his. Red lightning flickered around his body as the man dodged Clark's punch with ease. The man then punched him, vibrating his fist as he did but Clark could have sworn, he saw a green glow before he was hit and smashed against a tree. Carter, Shayara, Dan, Amaya, and Azzuri saw Clark getting beaten and would have helped but were quickly reengaged by the German and Hydra soldiers and the Maschinensoldaten was in their way. Dan quickly formed an energy ray gun in his right hand and a sword in the other before attacking the Maschinensoldaten with the others helping fight it and the soldiers.
Clark groaned in pain as he pushed himself onto his back when the man super sped over to him. He then stopped vibrating and his eyes were no longer glowing red, showing their original blue color but Clark still didn't recognize him. On his right hand was a distinct green glowing ring, emblazoned with the letter L. The man knelt to Clark, holding the green ring closer to his face. Clark's skin began to discolor, and his veins turned a sickly green color as the Kryptonite did its job.
"I just love the feeling of a plan coming together. Pushing Savage to look for Vibranium and those attacks on the outposts drew you in like I knew it would." The man smirked as he looked at Clark's face and then at the ring. "I am glad to see that some things in this new timeline haven't changed. You can always bet on Luthor hating you, Superman. No, I'm sorry, Kalvin Elbert is the name your using now. Not exactly better than Clark Kent or would you prefer Kal-El?"
Clark pained look was the only one he could make but he was beyond shocked to hear the man use both his real earth name and his Kryptonian birth name. "It's strange. This new timeline is so similar in ways to the old ones but different as well. But one thing is certain and that is your existence here is a focal point. You go on to do so much and would be a thing of legend and one of great annoyance. But with you eliminated well, that means that this new timeline will be thrown into flux, the future can be changed, and my existence will be ensured."
"HA!" Azzuri leapt at the man from up on a tree, but the man turned around and threw a red lightning bolt. It hit Azzuri and he seized up, shaking in pain from the lightning. More importantly his suit went rigid, and he couldn't move.
"Vibranium is special, King Azzuri but not perfect. Something that you and your newborn son won't learn I'm afraid but hang on one second. Let me deal with this first." The man said, referring to Clark. Seeing no other choice, Clark summoned his heat vision to try and stop him. His eyes glowed red and he was ready to burn the man's head off—
[GASP!]
Clark gasped out as the man vibrated his hand through his chest right into his heart. "Ah-ah-ah. I don't think so, but I will commend you for going for the kill. At the very least, the you of this new timeline's not afraid to get his hands dirty. A part of me wondered if you would have kept to that as time went on or instead adopt your no killing rule. Then again, I suppose arriving decades earlier during a time of war wouldn't allow you to be so merciful to your enemies. But we don't have to worry about that. So long, Mr. Kent."
"THAWNE!" The man turned his head up and was hit with a fireball that send him flying back.
Clark was barely hanging on to life as he saw a group of strangers arrive. His eyes were beginning to dim, and vision faded in and out, but he could have sworn he saw a man in a duster coat with a glowing blue revolver, a woman in white with a bo-staff, a man in a red and blue metal suit and another man in a red star suit like Steve's but his skin was steel. Clark's vision began to fade as the man in the coat and the woman rushed over to him.
"DIE, YOU NAZI PIGS!" Heat Wave shouted as he used his heat gun to roast the Hydra and SS soldiers. Zari used her wind totem to blast the soldiers away and made Heat Wave's heat gun get hotter. Hydra and the SS soldiers screamed in pain as they were burned alive. The Maschinensoldaten knocked Carter and Shayara back when it was blasted from behind by a blue bolt of energy, so it turned around and was punched back by Steel.
"Blockbuster. Meet Steel!" Steel said before Zari blasted it back with wind as Heat Wave burned it. Steel helped Amaya up and looked at her fondly but only for a second and focused. "Don't worry, Amaya. We're here to help."
Amaya looked at the strange man in perplexity. "How do you know my name? Who are you?"
"Believe me that's a long story but now's not the right time." Steel raised his arm to block some bullets.
"Right." Amaya touched her totem and summoned the spirit of the tiger before leaping into battle.
"Just like old times." Steel remarked.
Carter and Shayara bashed some Hydra soldiers when one was going to shoot at them from behind, but he got blasted by a blue energy beam and suddenly a man in a red and blue armor suit appeared. He wasn't the Maschinensoldaten as his suit of armor was more sleek and advanced and he had a drawing of an atom on his chest.
"Carter, Kendra, hi. Sorry, Shayara. Hi. Nice to see you guys. I'm Ray Palmer, the Atom. I don't suppose you remember me, do you?" He wondered.
"Uh…" They both weren't sure what to say.
"Right, sorry. I knew but just hoped."
"RAY, WE NEED YOU!" Sara shouted.
"Got to go." He shrunk and flew away. That's when they saw man in an orange and red suit flying above their heads. His head was on fire, and he was sending down fireballs into the jungle to take out the Germans.
"What on earth is going on?" Shayara wondered.
"I have no idea." Carter replied before they got back in the fight.
Ray flew back over to Sara and Rip who were next to Superman's body. "Oh my god, Clark! What happened?" Ray asked.
"Thawne pierced his heart. I can still feel a pulse but it's faint." Rip said.
"So, how do we help him?" Sara asked when they saw Azzuri get up. He looked over at Clark and used his beads to scan over him. It gave him a full-body read out on Clark and they saw there was a glowing green ring in Clark's chest, and it was killing him.
"Whatever that ring is, it's killing him. You need to get it out." Azzuri told him.
"Ray. Get on it." Sara told him.
"Right." Ray shrunk down and flew into the chest wound from Thawne's vibrating hand into Clark's body to retrieve the ring.
"Who are you people and what are you doing in Wakanda?" Azzuri asked Rip and Sara.
"Apologies for these circumstances, your majesty but we are here to assist you and your compatriots." Rip promised.
"You're too late, Captain Hunter." Rip raised his revolver and Azzuri flexed his claws as Thawne was standing there with a smirk.
"You underestimate him, Thawne." Sara warned him.
"No, Ms. Lance because I killed him. His heart is shredded and with the ring there, even if Dr. Palmer gets it out, he's not getting back up. Don't worry, you all will be joining him soon." Thawne raised his hand and began vibrating it when his watch began beeping and rather urgently. Thawne seethed in frustration as that meant several things that just aggravated him.
"Guess that means your plan still needs some work." Sara pointed out.
"You got lucky. You won't be so next time." Thawne then took off at super speed, quickly opening up a portal and vanishing without a trace. Just as he did, Ray exited Clark's body with the ring. He tossed it in the air and blasted it into dust with his blasters. Everyone looked at Clark but the wound on his chest didn't heal up and he wasn't breathing.
"What's wrong? Shouldn't he be fine. He heals, right?" Sara pointed out.
"He should. Without the Kryptonite he should heal fine…" Rip muttered when he realized the key. "Sunlight. He needs sunlight. Firestorm!"
The burning man dropped to the ground much to Azzuri's shock. Seeing man with his head on fire but not dying will do that. He was concerned but he saw him before helping to deal with the Germans, so he wasn't an enemy. "We need yellow sunlight." Sara told him.
"The more powerful the better." Rip told him.
"Right. Everyone get back and cover your eyes." Firestorm said as they did.
'Remember, Jefferson. Concentrate it into a beam of light and fire.'
"I got this grey." Firestorm's hands ignited with fire, and he held them together, concentrating. A few moments later, a small yellow sun appeared in his hands and then suddenly a bright flash of sunlight hit Clark's body. Everyone had to cover their eyes, even the ones fighting, as it was so bright it actually created a pillar of light that lit up the night sky and could be seen from miles away like a beacon. The beam of light lasted for about ten seconds and when it was over, they looked and saw Clark's body was gone but then looked up and saw him hovering up in the air.
Superman was flying, all the bruises and cuts on his face were gone with his shredded heart and open chest wound healed up like they never happened. The veins under his skin glowed a dark red-orange and said skin was looking healthier than ever. His eyes were closed almost like he was meditating but soon enough the veins around them glowed a bright red. He opened them and they glowed almost like Thawne's did, but his red was more menacing and flickered like a raging fire. He then fired twin beams of heat that took out the Hydra and SS soldiers in quick succession. They didn't even get the chance to fire as he took them all out quickly and effectively with them being reduced to ash, mainly because his heat vision was going full blast. It stopped when all the soldiers were dead, but his eyes were still glowing red. The area was now littered by a twin trail of burning lines edged into the ground while small fires spread out.
"Yeah!" Heatwave cheered as he admired the blazing carnage, finding it a stupendous display. "That's what I'm talking about! Finally, a Superman I can get behind!"
Clark's time in the air ended as he suddenly dropped to the ground but caught himself, falling to one knee. He looked up and glared at the Maschinensoldaten before looking over at Azzuri. "Your majesty, would you like the honors?" Clark asked, holding out his right hand.
"Yes, I would." Azzuri grabbed his hand and Clark spun around before throwing him. Azzuri spun through the air with his claws out and slammed into the Maschinensoldaten like a cannon ball which was knocked onto his back with Azzuri flipping through the air and landed in a crouch like a cat. He raced forward and sliced the back motors on its left leg before slicing up its side and then its chest. His claws cut through the metal like they were made of tissue paper. The Maschinensoldaten tried to grab him, but Azzuri easily dodged its grip before slicing its energy weapon off its left arm and climbing up onto its back. He sliced his helmet open and then cut his throat with his claws before doing a front flip to the ground. The Maschinensoldaten couldn't say anything with its throat slit and fell onto its back, dead.
Clark gave its chest one burst of heat vision and melted the Kryptonite before his eyes stopped glowing because he wanted it to. Guess he got control of his heat vision and while he was still amped up from the yellow sunlight boost, he now had a chance to look around at the chaos of this fight and the arrival of some new people.
"What happened?" Clark asked.
"That is a very, very complicated." Rip answered.
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