章節 42: The Howling Commandos
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07
Just a clarification, which I've been forgetting about writing for so long lol. Mason only used Victor's blood, flesh, and bones in his Ritual. I know I wrote James's blood at one point, and I had thought that I had fixed it, apparently not everywhere.
I'm fixing it now, don't worry. Once again, Mason only used Victor's blood, flesh, bones, and he only got his mutation.
As for his Healing factor being slower than James's, that is true. I'd original written it that way itself, and made Mason's thoughts reflect it. I have no idea why I changed it, probably to make it reflect the comics or something, but I'm changing it back.
Victor<Mason<James this is how the Healing factor speed goes, currently, but Mason's healing speed will increase with time, thanks to his Magic. His Magic is also why despite him basically copying Victor's healing factor, it is faster than his.
Thank you, now read on!
---
"What are we doing here again?" Steve asks, holding his new Vibranium shield, as we stand in a boxing ring, still in London.
We were going to begin with our attacks on Hydra soon, but until we get the green light from the higher ups, we're stuck at the Italian base.
Facing Steve, holding two of my longer knives in my hand, I say, "You're currently stronger than me, there's no doubt there. You punch harder than me, when you want to, and your kicks have a good strength in them too."
"I'm.. sorry?" Steve says, looking confused, and then asks, "But didn't you tell the team that you're stronger than me?"
Pointing my right knife at him, I say, "I said I would win most of the fights we have. It's not the same. I'm strong, and I will grow stronger with age, but right now, you're definitely stronger. But that's not the point, the point is, you don't know how to use that strength. If you fight the Red Skull as you are now, you will lose."
Steve nods, admitting his lack in this regard, and says, "I've been trying to control it, limit my strength so I don't break anyone's bones unintentionally. But I'm still working on that."
I look at Steve, internally say, 'Fuck it' and run towards him, my knives extended. Within a few seconds, I reach him, and swipe at his head. Steve blocks the knife with his shield, and as his sight is blocked, I knee him in the gut, sending Steve skidding backwards.
As he looks up at me, betrayal and shock apparent in his expressions, I say, "You need experience to become better at controlling your strength. Your strength may have been enhanced, but your actual fighting skills are still close to nil. You're basically an untrained person, with just damn good instincts, strength, and flexibility. You need to train your body to be an actual fighter."
Nodding, Steve stands up, and this time attacks me with his shield, punching with his left hand at my head, the edge of the shield speeding towards me. I lean to the side to let the shield pass, and as Steve punches with his right hand, I turn around, catching Steve's punch, and throwing him away in a judo throw.
Thankfully, other than us, no one else was here to witness my show of strength, not even Peggy Carter. She was with the Colonel and Stark, going over the Hydra intel, while our team was going over the new Uniforms they had just gotten.
I wait for Steve to stand up, and ask, "That the best you got? Because you might as well quit now."
Standing up, Steve glared at me, and says, "I can do this all day."
I wave my knife towards him, in a 'come on' gesture, and say, "Well, show me then."
Steve runs towards me, and jumps up, his right leg extended in a high kick. I barrel roll under his kick, and immediately turn around, my knives primed to attack his back. But Steve was already ready, and the shield stops my knives in their spot.
Turning around, he lets the knife go towards the side, and punches at my head. I lean backwards, letting the punch go harmlessly, but then, Steve ignores my head, and holds onto my left hand, with his right.
I punch at his elbow with my right hand, and Steve dodges by moving his arm to his left. As my hand starts retreating, Steve catches it with his left hand, and locks our arms together in a battle of strength. I try to use my strength to separate our arms, and he uses his superior strength to hold them together.
My legs still free, I kick at the side of his knee with my right leg, making him drop down. He headbutts my stomach, barely missing my groin, making me drop down on my own knees, our hands still locked in a battle of strength.
He then surprises me, and headbutt's my face as soon as I'm down, making me lose my strength and drop down backwards, my nose definitely broken.
Thankfully Steve takes the time to take a few steps back, probably afraid of having hurt me. Getting up, I take my hands away from my nose, I chuckle. As my nose starts healing, right in front of Steve's surprised eyes, I say, "Now, that's what I'm talking about. Let's continue, shall we?"
I am strong, Steve is stronger. But I am also faster than him, with better instincts, and better fighting experience. This was a freebie, to show him that I'm not afraid of his hits, that his hits won't actually harm me.
And now, I can begin with actually making him a better fighter, someone who doesn't depend on his Strength and shield for everything.
Maybe this way, I won't have to worry about him dying in this war.
"That.. was.. weird to watch. Is this also part of your.. gift?" Steve asks, looking at the blood drop down on the ground harmlessly, as my wound heals.
This reminds me to take care of securing my blood. I'll do it tonight.
I shrug, and say, "For all I know, yes. Now that you know you won't kill me, can we get serious?"
Steve nods, and attacks with his right hand. Let's start training Captain America.
-
December 1943: France
Black trousers, black shirt, and a grey Carbon Polymer Chest protector. There was also a black helmet that Stark himself made, guaranteed to stop most handgun bullets. The trousers and shirt were plain, but the chest armour had an image of the British Flag painted on the right side of it, while the helmet had the image of the SSR symbol, wings, painted on both sides.
That was my Uniform for the Howling Commandos. To denote me being the Team Leader, the Colonel had asked Stark to add the symbol of the SSR as a light watermark on the front and back of my chest armour, and only mine.
On my tactical pants, and inside the chest armour, there were many throwing knives held by holders, since Stark knew that I like throwing knives. On two sides of my hip, were two handguns, while on my back was the Bren Light Machine Gun. There were many magazines inside the chest armour. All in all, the uniform protected me pretty well.
"Why do you even need that much armour? Don't you heal quickly?" Steve had asked yesterday, when I had first worn the uniform as a trial.
I had told him then, and I say this now again, "I might not stay injured, but every injury still hurts the same."
I made the error in getting shot on purpose once, and only the adrenaline had stopped me from breaking down into tears then. It fucking hurts, and I don't look forward to getting shot at again.
Steve still had the red, white, and blue uniform, only made to be more durable than the one he used in the USO. The entire Uniform of his was lined with Carbon Polymer. He also has the Vibranium Shield, now painted in red, white, and blue, the American colours.
The others had chosen their own colours, depending on their own preferences, but even their armours were designed to protect them, while also not slowing them down any.
Currently, we were all approaching the first Hydra Factory on our list, after 3 days of complete planning, and we had tried to compensate for everything.
This factory was the smallest, and it was the only one still standing in France. The only reason France hadn't taken care of it, is that they didn't know it existed. We had gotten the green light from France to carry out the attack against the base.
The factory was where they assembled guns, rifles, and bombs for Hydra to use, sending them over by trains.
Looking at it, I turn my head around to look at Barnes, who was about 100 meters away from me, sitting on top of a tree branch. Beside me, were Steve, Dugan, and Falsworth, waiting for the go order. Dernier, Jones, and Timmy were at the back of the factory, waiting for us to provide them the distraction. They were going to rescue any prisoners they find, if there are any, extract any information they can get their hands on, and plant bombs to blow the factory up.
Raising my hand upwards, I signal Bucky to start the attack, and start walking towards the base, my machine gun in my hand, the rest of the team right behind me.
Steve was holding a handgun in his right hand, while his left held his shield. Dugan had a shotgun in his hands, while Falsworth also held a Machine gun.
It doesn't take us long to gain HYDRA's attention, as I see a man point his gun at me. He dies almost immediately, courtesy of Bucky's bullet, but this catches the attention of the others.
Immediately, we start running towards the factory, not minding the gunfire raining down near us. My Telekinesis was taking care of it all, as my team and I were busy taking care of the ground forces.
As soon as we enter through the gates of the factory, dead bodies already littering the ground, I turn around to the left, Falsworth with me, while Steve goes towards the right with Dugan.
I see three soldiers on the ground, hiding behind barriers, while two point their guns at us from the windows of the factory. Falsworth shoots one of the window soldiers in the face, killing him immediately, while I fire at the hiding soldiers as soon as they appear out of hiding, killing them all.
Within a couple minutes, the grounds of the base is cleared, with only the factory remaining now.
Meeting at the door, I turn towards Steve, and say, "Do the honours, Captain America?"
Chuckling, Steve says, "As you wish, Captain Avalon."
For the public, despite not being a super strong Super Soldier, I was still a good enough soldier to lead a team and command the only known Super Soldier in the world. This was enough for them to start naming me a superhero too.
Captain Britain, which was my favoured nickname(by the public, not me), turned into Sir Captain Britain as soon as the news of my Knighthood got out. Thankfully, it didn't stick. It however didn't take long for the British newspapers to come up with the names Captain Avalon, the Howling Knight, Captain Knight, and many other names for me.
And as much as I loved the name Captain Knight, it wasn't in my hands. The public chose the name Captain Avalon, after a lot of propaganda by the British Government, since calling me Captain Britain would have been too arrogant, and would have totally copied the USA.
They literally took Captain Aves, and turned the last word to Avalon, to make me seem a bit.. more.
But, oh well, it could have been worse.
Pulling his leg back, Steve kicks the door down, and immediately puts his shield up, to block a few bullets fired at him. Walking inside the room, I point my gun at a soldier at the top floor, and shoot. Switching my aim as soon as I confirm the hit, I move on to the next person, trusting my team to carry their own tasks.
I, Jim and Falsworth were tasked with the balconies, and the upper floor, while Steve and Dugan were tasked with the ground floor.
As I aim towards a person that I see aiming his own Hydra energy rifle at Steve's back, his head explodes, thanks to a bullet hitting him in the back of his head. Bucky Barnes was tasked with killing as many people as he can, while keeping an eye on our backs.
Soon, Dernier, Timmy, and Jones join us five in killing Hydra soldiers, and without saying anything, we keep killing them all. We don't enjoy killing, none of us do, but this is a war, and none of us is going to hesitate in killing right now.
25 minutes after beginning our attack, Dernier yells, "NOW! RETREAT!"
There were still more than a few dozen soldiers still alive, firing at us from their hidden locations. But they won't be alive for long.
Taking Jacques's cue, the team starts running back out the door we had just broken in, while Steve and I stay at the back, giving cover fire, Bucky doing the same from the trees. As soon as we reach the treeline, some of the Hydra soldiers following after us, the Factory explodes, Dernier having planted bombs to ensure it.
BOOOOOMM!
The explosion is massive enough, that even from behind the trees, we're forced to cover our faces to protect our eyes. It also sends the Hydra soldiers that had followed after us flying towards us, dropping them harshly on the ground, still alive, but definitely injured.
Taking a few breaths to gather myself, I say, "Check them, see if anyone's alive. Steve, call for the ride. Let's go home and celebrate, boys, our first mission's a success!"
-
One Factory in France, in December of 1943. One Factory, and a couple of Nazi bases in Belgium, in January of 1944. This is what we have accomplished in these two months, and there's a lot more to come.
The SSR was still based in London, and we would go there after every attack, to plan the next move. Which is where we were right now. In the conference room, with the map of the War on the big table in front of us, were all of the 8 Howling Commandos, Agent Peggy Carter, Colonel Phillips, Pvt Lorraine Smith, a few corporals, as well as Howard Stark.
There in front of us, marked, were the Hydra and Nazi bases still remaining, but all of us had our attention on 4 marks in particular, all of them in Poland. Two of those marks were marked with the Nazi symbol, a slanted Swastika, while the other two were marked with the Hydra symbol, an octopus. I really find it weird how the symbol of Hydra, is a damned Octopus.
But, not the point. The point is, the two Hydra bases were very close to each of the Nazi Concentration camps, within a few miles in fact. Which means, we can't afford to hit them one at a time, since the other camp will know it immediately.
"I can't allow that, it's too risky, attacking with half our strengths." The Colonel says, arguing against the idea I just put forth.
Sighing, I say, "We don't have a choice. If we attack the Hydra factory first, then the Nazi camp will know, and call for aerial back up before we even begin our attack on them. And they might also threaten the prisoners. If we attack the Nazis first, Hydra will have more time to prepare. We need to attack them both at the same time."
"The Nazis aren't our responsibility, son. Just because Hydra plans on taking over the bases within a month doesn't mean it makes us our job to liberate it." The Colonel says, with what looks like regret on his face.
Steve, ever the passionate, stands up, and says, "We joined this War to defeat the Nazis, Colonel. Our primary target may have been switched to Hydra, but it doesn't make Nazi any less our responsibility."
Nodding, I say, "Tim, Falsworth, Jim and I will attack the Nazi camp, in a Rescue mission, and Steve, Bucky, Dugan and Jones will attack and destroy the Hydra camp. We'll do the same for the second set later, when we have planned for them enough."
The Colonel stares at us, and sighs. He says, "I wonder when I became so soft. Fine, plan your attacks, give me a briefing and then leave. I want both the Nazis, and Hydra gone." And then, he leaves, taking Peggy and Lorraine with him.
Looking at Steve, I nod, and say, "You'll lead your team. Ask Stark for the Factory's blueprints, and start with planning." Steve nods, and takes his team outside.
Now alone with my half of the team, excluding the corporals working there, I say, "Let's go somewhere private to plan, shall we? An infiltration mission is not something we can just describe out in the open."
The team nods, and we go towards the private rooms, where we can plan in peace.
-
At sharp 11 PM, two days later, our team succeeds in our mission, rescuing more than 100 Jews, and over 30 sympathisers from the Concentration camp. As soon as every prisoner is out of the Camp, I blow it up to Kingdom come, so that Hydra doesn't take over it anyway.
Meanwhile, a few miles away, we see a fire burning, the Hydra camp destroyed by Steve and his half of the team. And just like that, our first split team missions were done.
A few days later, we take care of the other pair of Nazi and Hydra bases, before the Nazis can plan too much for a defence.
And so, at the end of February, we cleanse Poland of any Hydra presence, while also liberating over 4000 Jewish Prisoners, and 1000 rebels. All in a few days of work.
"Are you seriously recording us right now?" I ask, annoyed at the SSR publicity crew, filming us tired soldiers, the rescued people, the burnt ground and even the destroyed Nazi camp, corpses of the Nazi soldier covering the ground.
A corporal turns towards me, apologetic, and says, "I'm sorry, sir. Colonel's orders."
I sigh, and let the men do whatever they want. The higher ups probably need proof that we're doing something. Plus, seeing Captain America and Captain Avalon doing a good job in the Army is bound to increase recruitment rate, and the sale of War bonds.
Fucking politics.
But, Steve is probably also acing a camera right now, in the base a few miles over. Just imagining him messing something up, however unintentionally, makes me chuckle.
Tim walks over to me, as we see the Corporals nurse the Prisoners, and asks, "You aren't going there? Aren't you a doctor?"
Snorting, I say, "I was a medical student, and I worked as a Combat Medic, during battles. These Corporals have more experience than me, and I'll just turn into an annoyance for them if I go."
Besides, I'm really second guessing my Doctor dream now. I mean, it wasn't mine in the first place, it was Child Mason's, but still, when we became one, I had all but embraced his dream, wanting to honour him, and our mother, that way.
But now, after seeing so many injured people, so many different types of wounds, and so many illnesses.. well, I'm really not sure about it anymore. I'm tired of seeing injured people.
But well, this is not the time to decide, not after a battle at least, or not after I was just shot.
I absently rub my shoulder, the Phantom pains irritating me just a bit. I'd bandaged the wound, despite it not being there anymore. It was a lucky shot, since usually I bend the bullets with my Telekinesis field anyway. This man was just too close to me, that I couldn't move it too much without my team getting suspicious.
Seeing the plane landing, ready to extract us, and the prisoners, I pat Tim on the shoulder, and say, "Come on, let's get out of here. I need a warm bath right now."
Tim chuckles, and supports me as we walk towards the smaller plane, Falsworth and Jim discussing something ahead of us.
As we sit down in the plane, along with a dozen other soldiers, I look at all of them, since these men had also taken part in the attack, and say, "You did good, Soldiers. Today's rounds on me."
Most of the men just nod, while Jim just raises his hand to acknowledge it, too tired to even cheer.
Well, they deserve the silence, and so do I.
-
For over a year, our team moved around Europe, liberating as many Hydra bases as we can find. The ones we had gotten info about during The Rescue Mission were already destroyed in the first few months itself.
Including them, we had destroyed a total of 17 Hydra bases, and 7 Concentration camps, after rescuing all the prisoners.
And all of us had improved a lot, becoming closer as the days went. Steve and Bucky were becoming famous in America as the Superhero and Sidekick duo, which Bucky was really annoyed about.
While I was becoming known as a superhero in Britain, the name Captain Avalon becoming a name everyone now knows me by. I was the first British superhero, someone who was leading the Howling Commandos into liberating the world of Nazis.
Right now, a day after our latest raid in destroying a well defended Hydra base in Austria, we were waiting for our next target. And this one was pretty well defended. The Howling Commandos had to lead an entire company of 150 soldiers against this base.
There were big Panzers, smaller tanks, and heavy artillery, not counting the 300 men defending the Factory. But, we had won, losing a few good men in the process. Alas, this is War, and death is inevitable.
I had already seen far too many of our men die, and my Eidetic memory means I remember all of their faces, and their names. I really just want this war to be over, despite how eager I was to join it in the beginning.
Seeing Lorraine going over some papers, I smile, a bit melancholic. Our.. affair.. was over now, both of us too busy with our duties to do anything save for talk infrequently. Besides, I never wanted to pursue her seriously. She's a muggle, and highly unlikely to ever be immortal.
Body enhancement Rituals don't work on Muggles the same, and the Ritual that I did, was of the same type. But well, at least we had fun in this short while.
"You're going to have to split up again, President's orders." The Colonel says, as soon as he walks inside the conference room.
I look at him, already dreading the answer, and ask, "What's the mission?"
The Colonel slides a file over at me, and says, "We have intel that Hitler is going after a weapon of the Gods, some occult weapon that could make anyone into a God. We don't rightly believe it, but even the President can't take the risk of letting something like that go into Hitler's hands. And he doesn't trust the regular soldiers to do it successfully."
I raise my eyebrow, after briefly reading the file, and ask, "The King agreed to this? Sending just me and Timmy, to Norway?"
The mission was legit, that much I know. Or at least, it's legit as far as the Colonel is concerned. Don't know about the weapon though, least of all what it actually is. A weapon of Gods? On Earth? Not impossible, but highly unlikely that Hitler will find something like that… not without help.
Fuck, damn you Grindelwald!
The Colonel nods, and says, "The higher ups have already talked it out, don't worry about it. The only reason just the two of you are being sent, is that you're best suited for it. Aves for Infiltration, and Roth for being lookout. Besides, Rogers's mission is something just as important." Sliding another file towards Steve, he says, "We have found Arnim Zola."
SNAP!
I close my file as I was reading it, and scowl angrily at the Colonel. I say, "If Zola is found, then I need to be there."
That bastard took my blood. I might have destroyed all of it, but that doesn't mean it's even. Heck, even the burned face I gave him doesn't mean it's even.
Snorting, the Colonel says, "And that's exactly why you aren't going, son. You've already burned his face, if you see him next, I doubt you'll leave him alive, and we need him alive. No, your mission is in Norway. Now, pack, and rest up. You leave in three hours, all of you."
Fuck! This smells like a manipulation, from very high up. Steve and I being sent on different missions is not rare, we've already done independent missions before. But this happening right when Zola is found? This is weird.
I look at Bucky, hiding my sadness at his fate from my face, as we start walking towards our rooms. I just realised.. this is the mission that he gets captured in, the one where he starts becoming the Winter Soldier. Seeing Steve and Bucky talk animatedly, with Bucky describing all he'll do to Zola when he's caught, I frown, thinking.
Should I interfere? Or will I unleash something far worse if I do so?
Sighing, I let them leave, not saying anything. Despite all that is fated to happen to him, Bucky becomes happy, not too soon, but he will be. There's no guarantee that by saving him now, I don't condemn him to a fat hundreds of times worse than this one.
I'm a really bad friend. Maybe I really should have stuck to the Wizarding side of the War.
But well, I have a mission of my own to focus on, one with a possibly Divine weapon, or just a Magical weapon. Wonder what Grindelwald's side goal is this time.
---
A/N: As many of you have noticed, the only ones going on Capture Zola mission are the ones who were already there in canon. Tim and Mason are leaving for their own mission, orchestrated by Grindelwald, or so he thinks.
Many people will condemn me, for trying to keep canon intact, and yes, I'm doing it like that. I can give many excuses on Mason's behalf, on why he isn't acting on his knowledge, but I won't.
Because this is my decision. Too many changes now, in the past, means that I won't be able to predict the consequences happening in the future. As a writer, I will get frustrated with all the ripples I'll create by changing something, and I don't want that. I'm not that good of an author to write those changes without crying myself to sleep.
So, canon, yay!
Thank you for your support! Tata!
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