SuperSoldier (SI-OC/MCU)

33: Champion

With his decision made and a clear objective, John began preparing to return to the SWORD base in Europe, which was located in northern Italy and was actually part of the Allied army base. The place, of course, wasn't a real base but rather a provisional front so that John and his team, as well as the scientific team led by Howard and the soldiers and agents under Peggy's command, could be near the warfront and carry out their mission against Hydra as needed.

John had planned for the true headquarters of SWORD to be built at a future time, once the war was over, preferably in some land or place that wasn't directly governed by any nation. Of course, there would be headquarters on every continent or in countries deemed important, but if he really wanted to be somewhat "independent" from world governments, SWORD needed to be in a remote location where it could clearly show that the agency had no preference for any nation or government.

Which wouldn't be easy, since there weren't many such places to begin with.

"Hey, do we really have to stay?" The whining voice pulled him out of his thoughts, making him refocus on the meeting room where he had been discussing a few things with his team.

After the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, a few more days passed until all the prisoners could be escorted to the outskirts of Warsaw, where the largest number of available Polish forces were concentrated. At the same time, some Allied forces that had arrived over time to provide help and reinforcements to the country were also present.

Thanks to this, many refugee centers were built for the liberated prisoners, something that was surely causing a major headache for the still-rebuilding government of the European country. John felt a bit sorry for them and silently thanked the fact that he wasn't the one dealing with such complex logistics.

Of course, not all civilians remained civilians. Many, filled with the resentment of losing loved ones and having been prisoners, joined under the command of the AK (Armia Krajowa), quickly swelling their ranks. They weren't the best soldiers, that much was clear; many could barely hold weapons properly, but the increased manpower helped lighten the load and make the resistance and reconstruction efforts more bearable. It would still take a few years before Poland could return to what it once was, but without a doubt, they would rise again, and stronger.

With that said, John and his team were currently in Warsaw, a place John had decided would be the most suitable for them to station until he returned.

"Yes, it's important that you stay here. Although our crusade for Poland has been quite successful, there are still many enemy bases and cities under German control. I don't know how many more of those monsters they can deploy, but I'd rather not leave this place unguarded," he said, looking at Cassandra, who had asked the question. The young woman frowned with clear disappointment but finally stayed quiet upon seeing the serious look on his face.

Even though the AK was now "stronger" than before, it was still far from being able to stand up on its own against the Third Reich and Hydra. Leaving completely without leaving some safeguard behind would be like giving their enemies an easy target to strike back. John hadn't put so much effort and time into liberating this place just to let something like that happen.

"You only need to hold the fort for a while. Think of it as a small break. You don't need to act unless something the AK can't handle comes up."

The thought of a break made Charles, who had been silent, sigh a little. These days had been hard for the boy—entering others' minds as he had been doing didn't come without consequences. At first, Charles had many nights of nightmares, which he was only able to endure because his mind was growing stronger day by day with the increasingly frequent use of his ability.

Things that once would have made him tremble in panic and fear were now nothing more than minor nuisances that he could crush with a casual flex of his power. Of course, this didn't mean they stopped affecting him; he was just getting better at dealing with them. Still, everything has a limit, and Charles preferred not to know where his own was if possible, which is why he felt relieved knowing he could rest for a while longer.

"Delaying our mission like this, I don't like it. We'll lose our advantage by giving them time to recover," James said, frowning. Of all of them, he was the one with the most urgency, for obvious reasons.

"I know, but don't worry too much. If everything goes well, I should be back in two or three days, a week at the latest. After that, I intend to speed things up. I think we have enough information to start closing in on Red Skull and Doctor Zola," At his words, James could only grunt in reluctant acceptance.

"And what about Mr. Melancholy?" Cassandra asked, pointing toward Erik, who had been staring out one of the windows at the half-destroyed city, lost in unknown thoughts. Noticing that the attention was suddenly on him, the boy turned to look at them, frowning in confusion. After all, he didn't know exactly what they were saying since he didn't speak English.

"He'll stay with you as well. I hope you can take care of him, and if possible, I'd like you to help him train his abilities."

At the request, James thought for a moment before nodding.

"I can take care of that."

Now that his drinking habit had vanished, James found himself with too much free time when there was no fight or mission in sight. Aside from trying to sleep, he usually spent time teaching a few things to the rookie rebel soldiers who followed the team on their raids, as well as the Xavier siblings when John was too busy to do it himself. And although his teaching methods were a bit rough, the experience James could offer was not to be underestimated.

Without John noticing, Raven, who had been sitting beside him, sighed inwardly when she realized the newly acquired metahuman member would be staying behind.

The reason wasn't that she disliked him—she didn't even know him well enough for that. It was simply for a more petty and selfish reason, one that had been slowly festering inside the girl as time went on.

Looking at all the metahuman members gathered in the room, Raven couldn't help but grit her teeth. Each and every one of them— they were supposed to be the same, all of them the next step in human evolution.

Then why?

Why was she the weakest of them all?!

That feeling had started gnawing at her mind for some time now, first appearing when a Hydra-controlled James fought John.

In that battle, she felt a powerlessness that reminded her of the day her powers first manifested and her father chased her with a gun in hand.

The helplessness of being completely defenseless and unable to do anything but run.

She thought she had already overcome that fear. Her campaign alongside John in northern Italy had made her feel strong, skilled, capable. She believed she could do it all. But then reality slapped her in the face, pulling her out of that sense of "invincibility" she had gained after so many victories.

Even so, at that moment, she managed to console herself, and in a way, she reluctantly accepted it. After all, James wasn't just a metahuman, he was also a supersoldier. It was expected and natural for him to be so strong, right?

But that consolation didn't last long, and it was challenged again when the Xavier siblings appeared. Whether it was Cassandra with her telekinesis or Charles with his ability to manipulate others' minds, each of them was extraordinary in their own way, and that was evident from the start.

Although John always assured her that her place by his side was permanent, Raven couldn't help but want to prove that she was worthy of it, to prove to him that she could continue by his side. For that reason, she began to push herself more, using her powers in more creative ways to gain every possible advantage and remain useful.

At first, she believed she had been doing a great job, as she had demonstrated in all her previous battles. The Nazi army and Hydra soldiers with their futuristic weapons had not posed much of a challenge to her, and thanks to her greater battle experience compared to the sibling duo, she was able to stand out enough to prove her worth once more in the various initial skirmishes that took place in the capital city of Poland, thus gaining the respect and trust of the people.

But it was at that very moment, when Raven was beginning to regain her confidence—both in herself and in her place by John's side, as well as in her abilities—that it happened.

The Hydra monsters arrived.

From that moment on and in every battle that followed, Raven had no choice but to take a step back every time one of those creatures was unleashed on the battlefield..

Completely useless, once again impotent.

It was extremely frustrating, although she knew she was still capable of contributing a lot in other areas, she couldn't help but feel her heart deeply embittered every time she was forced to hide alongside the common soldiers, compelled to watch as John and the others faced those monsters without being able to do anything to help.

Raven knew she had to do something to change the situation, but she wasn't sure what. Her power had clear limitations, and facing monsters more resistant than tanks and faster than bullets was undoubtedly beyond her reach at this time.

It didn't help that yet another metahuman, once again stronger than her, appeared out of nowhere, reminding her of her frustrations.

Part of her hoped that this trip with John to SWORD's headquarters would help her find a solution, or at least allow her to vent to him in private, which is why she felt relieved to learn that Erik would stay behind along with the others.

At least this way, she wouldn't have a constant reminder of her frustrations during the trip.

Raven had to abandon her thoughts and refocus on the meeting still in progress when John started talking once again.

"That being said, if you need anything else, you can go to Tadeusz and his men. I've already spoken to them, so there shouldn't be any problems, but in case something happens, I trust Charles can handle it." Upon hearing his name, the boy nodded, understanding what John expected from him.

After all, he was the only one able to communicate fluently with the Poles thanks to his power. In fact, he was also the only one on the team besides John who could communicate with Erik due to the language barrier.

It was a small problem that still didn't have an easy solution. John had considered asking Charles to simply download the knowledge of how to speak English into Erik's head, but that could bring some problems if done wrong. It would be really messed up if they accidentally turned the boy into a vegetable.

Anyway, it wasn't too inconvenient for now, so it could be postponed for later.

John discussed a few more things with the team before concluding the meeting and preparing to leave along with Raven.

Unfortunately for the girl, John didn't take the long route as she had hoped and instead began a rapid journey straight toward northern Italy, frustrating her plan to talk to him about her problem, at least for the moment.

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Somewhere, in a hidden place.

Johann Schmidt walked silently through a dark and long tunnel that descended into the depths, its interior dimly lit by the fire of torches carefully placed along the walls.

Finally, his walk brought him in front of a door made of wood and metal, tightly shut with thick chains around it.

'In the end, I couldn't avoid having to return here,' Red Skull couldn't help but think with disgust as he clenched his teeth.

Not many knew, but before Hydra was turned into the special weapons division of the Schutzstaffel, it was known by another name.

The Division of Supernatural Sciences.

It was no coincidence that Red Skull's research led him to the Tesseract, the ancient Nordic artifact of legend.

Throughout its existence, Hydra had gathered ancient knowledge from all over the world and from all civilizations that had ever existed—dark and mystical knowledge that Johann Schmidt classified and deemed too dangerous, not only for the world but also for Hydra itself.

Thus, using his influence as supreme leader, he had such knowledge locked away in a hidden place where sunlight never reached and where it could not be used by the wrong hands.

Many could say that Red Skull was playing with forces he didn't understand by using the power of the Tesseract, but what they didn't know was that, of all the possible paths Hydra could have taken, the Tesseract was the safest of them.

The most "correct."

'You've really cornered me to this point,' thinking of his mortal enemy, a cold and murderous gleam passed through his eyes. His perfect serum was not yet ready, and Zola's abominations were little more than mere nuisances for Captain America, no longer useful in delaying his advance.

If he let things continue as they were, his end would arrive imminently, and that was not something he was willing to allow, not without consequences.

Just as John had imagined, Johann Schmidt was not the kind of man to surrender so easily, even when his chances seemed to grow slimmer.

No, as long as he still had options, even if those options were dangerous and desperate, he would still fight to the end.

'If I will not rule this world, then this world does not deserve to exist.' With that thought, Red Skull did not hesitate and finally broke the chains on the door in front of him. Then, pulling out a bronze-colored metal key, he unlocked it, allowing the door to creak open, a cold wind blowing through along with specks of dust.

His superhuman eyes, a result of Professor Erskine's serum, easily scanned the dark room. Distant memories came to his mind, but he dismissed them—it was not the time to get lost in the past.

Stepping forward, he entered what appeared to be a very old library. The shelves inside, tall and sturdy, were packed with books of different kinds, sizes, and ages.

He glanced at them briefly before focusing his gaze on what he had come to find.

Since his time was short, he couldn't take just anything. He needed something more specific, something he could use with what he had available, and he knew exactly what that was.

"Using the Tesseract in this way is irritating, but only by harnessing its cosmic energy can I safely break the barriers between dimensions without relying on those ridiculous dark rituals." Looking at the ancient tome of invocations in his hands, Red Skull flipped through page after page until he reached the content he had been searching for.

There, drawn in black ink on the worn and yellowed paper, was the image of a grotesque being, a creature with hundreds of enormous tentacles that seemed capable of extending everywhere without any limit. Though it was a simple illustration, the sight still projected a palpable darkness in the atmosphere, as if the creature etched in ink could break the barrier between the page and reality at any moment.

"The champion of Hydra... I hope the legends about you are not just ancient tales." A long time ago, he had scorned the way those old high-ranking officials praised the creature, about how its arrival would bring Hydra's dominance over the world and beyond.

Fools, incapable of understanding that dark beings like this would never bow to the desires and wills of mere mortals. No, to believe they would obey like simple pets was an absurd fantasy. Creatures like this were dark forces, dangerous and volatile, which had to be handled with extreme caution. That is why he had dismissed the idea of bringing such a force into this world as soon as he became the leader of Hydra, despite the complaints and enmities that such an action had generated for him.

But look at him now, being forced to resort to this in the end. How low the mighty could fall...

With a silent sigh, he carefully stored the tome and began to leave, ready to begin the preparations for what he knew would be his final battle in this war.

Whether he won or lost, the world would never forget his existence and his name—he would make sure of it.

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Note:

And one more chapter! Delving into the thoughts and feelings of the characters is something complicated, but I hadn't done it properly for several chapters, so I thought it was time to do it, at least a little.

But don't despair! The action is coming, because as I said in the previous chapter, we are already in the final stretch of the war arc. I apologize if the chapters are taking longer to come out because of that; I want to prepare everything properly, and that is something complicated for many reasons.

I'll admit that I'm a bit afraid of messing it up and not delivering a satisfying conclusion, which holds me back when writing since I end up discarding as many ideas as I add, without being able to decide easily.

Maybe I should keep it simple and direct? Maybe dramatic and explosive? Maybe epic and wild? Complicated decisions that require different types of preparation and perspectives.

I hope you can give me your opinions, advice, and critiques on this. I'll be reading your comments and replying as much as possible.

If you want to support me you can do it through my Patreon ( patreon.com/EmmaCruzader ) ;D