The end of Hydra
Mid-April 1944
With the winds of spring, everyone could feel the war in Europe closing to an end and with it, an end to World War 2. And it would be an Allied victory. For one thing, a Western Allied Offensive had pushed them into Western France and they took Paris. General Eisenhower's forces led a seaborne invasion into Normandy with a huge collaboration of American, British, Canadian, and Expeditionary forces from all the Allied countries. What would be known as Operational Overlord occurring on H-Hour D-Day, April 6th, 1944. It was thought that with the success of Operation Dragoon, the successful invasion into the Southern French Riveria, that a seaborne invasion into western France was unnecessary. Planning of a Seaborn invasion had begun over a year ago prior to Operation Dragoon when the Allies were still making their way through Italy and some questioned the merit of even launching another offensive when they already had a hold into France. Allied War Strategists realized that with the success of Operation Dragoon, their increased bombing raids and all the assistance with the aid of the SOE, the Howling Commands and Taskforce Vanguard in sabotage/combat missions behind enemy lines, their success saved them men and resources to be used in a seaborne invasion into Normandy. Tactically, it would allow the US and British forces to ferry men the shortest distance from England into France and with all the offensives the Germans were having to deal with, their resources were stretched thin so they'd be able to take Normandy with greater ease. A combined naval and aerial bombardment with Airborne troops dropped behind enemy lines to sabotage German positions and fortifications were the prelude to a seaborne invasion into Normandy. The key to its success was hotly debated but it succeeded. Normandy became a staging ground for additional forces to link up with the groups in Southern France and together they pushed into Paris, retaking the city. It helped that they had Captain America fighting with them. No doubt camera footage of Captain America taking German POWs into custody or him racing shield first onto the beaches of Normandy were going to make national headlines back in the US. Of course, everyone who knew Steve knew he wouldn't care but it made great propaganda which would only help them win the war sooner.
Clark was glad that things were going well although he did hear some really weird stories that floated among the soldiers that he wasn't quite sure what to make of yet. One of the soldiers working the supply line mentioned that his friend fighting in France told him of a story where they saw some giant man fighting in the Nazi Wehrmacht race across a battlefield to very tall woman over on their side. She was a civilian but when she saw the giant man she stole two M1919 Browning Machine Guns, wrapped the ammo belts around her arms and charged at him, dual-wielding the guns like she was a super soldier and he in turn fired at her. Strange enough on its own until the soldier mentioned that his friend said the man was a giant. 8-feet-tall built like a circus strong man and had grey skin with a lot of scars and suture marks. The woman was equally strange with the same grey skin, suture marks, and had her hair sticking up on her head that seemed impossible to manage without using a wine bottle to hold it up. The more odd story was some kind of special weapons project working with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Division. There was some kind of robot, a machine resembling a man of metal working and fighting alongside Easy Company. It was called G.I. Robot and part of a secret weapons project for the war designed by some of the best scientists in the US, designed to assist the US Army. Stories had sprung after the members of Easy company went to a bar to celebrate a recent victory where G.I. Robot decimated a Nazi regiment that tried to ambush them. When the others heard the story they asked Clark if he knew anything but he was clueless, which could mean two things. Either A) the whole story was just propaganda or B) it was real and he wasn't told because he didn't need to know. If it was the latter than this G.I. Robot program wasn't apart of the SSR and likely some other secure weapons project. It made him wonder what other kinds of weapons projects the US military had working and if Howard knew anything. Given how Howard was the greatest mechanical engineer in the US then his insight and intelligence would have been invaluable to the project. That is if he was on the project. If not then Clark imagined Howard would be very upset to learn that he wasn't asked to even advise on a project like that…but seeing him make a fuss about it would be amusing.
Anyway, after Steve and the Howling Commandos assisted in the taking of Normandy, they were assigned another mission from the SSR like Clark and Taskforce Vanguard were after their behind the lines mission in taking out the Dachau prison camp and the unexpected death of Dr. Frederick Vought. There were a few men in the top brass who were still angry at the lost of a potential new super soldier serum though considering that they were dealing with the Superman there wasn't much they could do. Clark and his team were formally reprimanded and everyone had their military careers effectively halted indefinitely though no one was going to be a career solider so that didn't bother any of them. It was the weeks of mess hall and latrine duty that was a pain in the ass though in all honesty it was a slap on the wrist in terms of punishments. They could have spent the weeks of latrine and mess hall duty in prison but with all of Taskforce Vanguard's success and Clark literally being one of the poster boys for this war than any general who tried to push for that would risk career suicide.
Eventually, the weeks of punishment were over so Clark and his team were put back into action. General Jacob Devers' 6th Army Group had pushed the Germans back into Germany and liberated Austria before pushing Northeast into Czechoslovakia and then went north into Poland, liberating as they did while the Soviets were pushing through the Ukraine and Belarus towards Poland from the east with some of their forces heading south into Romania. The Allied Generals who created this plan did so with the idea of a pincer move, surrounding Germany from the east via General Devers' Army group while Field Marshal Montgomery's 21st Army Group and the American 12th Army group would make the push from the west. A complete enclosure of Germany and surrounding them on all sides. Strategically, it made sense but another part was likely political. While they were allied with the Soviet Union, there were those that wanted to cut the Soviet Union off and prevent Soviet expansion and influence as the Germans retreated west. With the war in Europe coming to an end, no doubt there would be another conference between Stalin, Churchill, and President Roosevelt regarding the shape of post-war Europe. Clark didn't have the patience for politics so he kept himself focused on the task at hand which was ending this war.
Thankfully, the push into Poland also worked out for Clark as they could head to Northwest region of Morasko where they could take out a secret SS weapons project at Projekt Endstation. Run by Oberführer Wolfram Von List and Doctor Ulrich Vogel, the two have been responsible for a few of the weapons that have given Superman some trouble. First was a kind of super-soldier serum which turned an ordinary human SS commander in a red-skinned bulging monster with the strength and durability to give Superman some trouble. It was known as Projekt Kassenschalger AKA Project Blockbusters and was half the part for Projekt Endstation's ultimate weapon which was the Maschinensoldaten. Project Blockbuster enhanced soldiers wearing heavily reinforced armored suits powered by small kryptonite reactors that gave them more than enough firepower to take on an army. Over the course of the war, Clark and the SSR learned that Projekt Endstation was one of many weapons projects masterminded by Standartenführer Vandal Savage like the prison camp in Dachau where Dr. Vought was working on his serum and the Nova-6 gas from Von Strucker's manor in Belgium. They've run into a few of the Maschinensoldaten but with the constraints and supply shortages caused by the war they weren't being manufactured in a large quantity. Still, that didn't mean that they should leave the site functional. That kind of technology would be dangerous in the wrong hands so taking it out and all that Kryptonite was the next best plan. Prevent it from falling into the wrong hands and without that weapon's project than this war was one step closer to ending.
Occupied Morasko, Poland
From the intel they got at the Hydra facility in Austria where Steve fought the Red Skull for the first time, Clark and Logan's stealthy entry into the factory/warehouse back then led them to Vandal Savage's special lab. It was there they got the information on all the secret projects he had a hand in developing and where they learned of the Kryptonite. The intel also included the location of the main lab where the Maschinensoldaten and Projekt Kassenschalger were headquartered. The research facility was also a base for Oberführer Wolfram Von List protected by his own personal SS battalion Die-Wahrheit so the men working with him would be fanatical and loyal beyond a doubt. The facility was located in the region of Morasko, a small rural area on the outskirts of the city of Poznan. Plenty of woodland trails through the forests with several rivers and a few roads that housed small villages and towns. It is perfect to keep a secret base as it was remote enough to remain undetected so you wouldn't be disturbed but on the outskirts of a major city so you'd have backup and access to supply lines.
Clark and Taskforce Vanguard advanced into Occupied Poland behind enemy lines while the main force was slowly inching its way past the Southern border near Czechoslovakia. The SOE put them in contact with the Polish resistance and they were able to assist them through their network of operatives all of whom were working for the Soteria person Clark and the others first got wind of back in France before they went to take out the Nova-6 gas. Soteria had a large network of operatives helping people get to safety and avoid the Germans which included groups in Poland. This Soteria and their network had been instrumental in helping the Polish resistance and was more than enough to help Taskforce Vanguard get close to the lab.
Taskforce Vanguard were resting near a river prior to their attack on the factory. They were joined with some members of the Polish resistance who knew the terrain well and would provide some backup. Clark went to scout the area ahead of time so they could plan an attack. Everyone had their weapons at the ready with Lucas packing some extra explosives for the occasion since he figured they'd need to make the place go boom.
[Whoosh of air]
Dirt and leaves kicked up in the air as Clark super sped back over to the group. "How's it looking, boss?" Lucas wondered.
"We've got a problem." Clark told them and his team looked concerned.
Clark led his team and the Polish Resistance through the forest until they emerged at the boundary where it fed into a clearing where the base was supposed to be. It was there but the more concerning thing was the fact that there was zero activity whatsoever around the base. Watchtowers had no lookouts manning them, there were no troops on patrols and there were zero vehicles in the area. The base was abandoned.
"Is it…" Arthur asked.
"I checked the entire area. It's empty." Clark said, leading his team into the base. They all split up to give the area one extra look. Even if Oberführer Wolfram Von List and Doctor Ulrich Vogel were gone they might have left something behind that could prove useful. Unfortunately, it was slim pickings. The vehicle bays were empty and the fuel reserves were sucked dry so wherever they went they took the fuel to get them there. The soldiers barracks were empty and other than a few cases of rifles and ammo there wasn't anything else. When the team entered the main building they found more of the same. The offices were emptied and while a few occasional papers were scattered underneath desks or on the floor most were likely burnt because they found trashcans filled with ash and charred paper. Most of it was burned into indecipherable scraps or ashes but there were some pieces that managed to avoid the worst of the fire. From the lack of blood and the general controlled chaos of the area, it wasn't the remnants of an enemy force sweeping in to take what they could but more of an effective order by Von List to clean up the base with little to no evidence of what they were doing and this wasn't just on a whim. With the size of the base then this evacuation order was well planned and planned in advance since they took everything from the base, even everything from the commissary and medical wing. That combined with the empty fuel reserves in the base indicated that they would be traveling a good distance, perhaps back into Germany. With the war progressing as it was, they might have been recalled back to a base in Germany.
Clark descended down the stairs back onto the ground floor and didn't find anything that could be useful. When they left the base they took with them everything but he felt like they were missing something because they still hadn't found the lab where the Blockbuster serum was made or where the Maschinensoldaten suits were built. Clark took another look at the place with his x-ray vision to see if he missed something and he did. He walked towards the eastern section of the base which was were all the supply rooms were located. Even without using his x-ray vision Clark could tell there was something odd because the hallway appeared shorter than it should be. Clark had spent plenty of his youth helping his dad and others in Smallville rebuild houses and barns after bad tornadoes so he was very familiar with architecture and building designs to know based on the building's dimensions, the wall he was staring at should be further away from the storage rooms. That and also because when he used his x-ray vision he couldn't see through so it was made of lead.
Clark reared his fist back and punched a hole through eight inches of solid steel and lead, cleverly disguised as a wall. He saw what was behind it so he stepped back and his eyes glowed red. Using his heat vision, he was able to quickly melt a large hole to reveal an elevator that led down. Like at Castle Caldera in Belgium, they had to go down to find what they wanted.
"Uh, boss…"
Clark turned around and saw his team standing there. Lucas was standing next to a framed portrait, the only picture left in the base actually and pulled it from the wall revealing it to be a clever hiding place for a lever, likely the lever to open the secret wall he just melted through.
"Huh…must have missed that. Well, too late for that. Come on." Clark led his team into the elevator which took them down about a hundred feet. The team had their guns at the ready as the doors opened revealing manmade tunnels similar to the ones at Castle Caldera. Clark stepped through first since it was dark and his eyesight was better so he could see and luckily he saw a lever so he pulled it down and the lights turned on. Guess the generators still had some juice in them. The team followed Clark as he led the path until they arrived in a large open laboratory or what remained of it. It had to be as big as the base upstairs and like upstairs the lab had been secured and emptied but the remnants were enough to tell them that it was the place where the Maschinensoldaten were built.
What they thought was one giant open-spaced lab like some of them have seen at the SSR and how Howard worked was actually just an open space with smaller individual isolated labs. As the team spread out to secure the area they saw one room had smelting and metallurgy equipment so it's where the titanium-tungsten steel alloy metal for the suits was made. Another room had various gurneys and the distinct smell of Chlorine dioxide so with that and the remnants of medical equipment it must have been the lab where they tested the Blockbuster serum. Clark entered one room and saw some specialized science equipment but he had no idea what it was for or what it did. Science was Howard's specialty but as he walked over to a table he felt a small wave of nausea brush over him. Not enough to send him to his knees but enough that he felt something was wrong. He took a few steps away from the table before using his microscopic vision and his incredible eyesight allowed him to see tiny, microscopic flecks of a green substance on the table he was standing next to a few seconds ago and on the other tables as well. It was Kryptonite dust, likely having been skimmed or carved off in their experimenting with the meteorites. The dust was microscopic so no one would know it was there except for Clark because it affected him. Thankfully, since it was just flecks of dust then it wasn't as harmful to him as if he were in front of a large rock so he only got nauseous. This room must have been where they worked on the Kryptonite for the suits so Clark wisely stepped away.
"The place is empty. They took everything that wasn't nailed down." Arthur Kingsley reported as the team regrouped.
"I've never seen the Germans take such care in a retreat. To take everything from here is unthinkable." Polina Petrova remarked.
"Well, you saw for yourself firsthand what those armored suits were able to do at Dachau. If that were your project then you'd do whatever you can to make sure that it stays with you and no one can take it." Daniel Take-Yatsu told her and she conceded that. "The real question is how long this place has been emptied."
"Maybe with our advance into Austria and the Soviets pushing west Von List decided to save what he could and head back into Germany? Or he was recalled back?" Solange Hardewijk suggested.
"That's as valid of an idea as any. Maybe we can have the Polish resistance ask around and see if they noticed something. Give us a better timeframe for when they left and maybe we can then try and track them down again." Richard Webb said before he looked at Clark. "Kal, what do you think?"
Everyone looked at Kal and it was kind of hard to tell what he was thinking. Considering they came here with the hope of destroying a secret weapons project that was one of the few things that could really hurt him only to find nothing, they guessed he was feeling concerned.
"I'm thinking that with what we learned with Savage being back, he might have gone to Von List as well. Now we need to find them both." Clark said and his team nodded.
He was keenly aware of the danger they were in with the Maschinensoldaten so stopping the project before that technology got in the wrong hands was paramount.
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