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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