Awakening Grendel, a prologue

Ilsa hoped by wearing her old uniform it would make her feel strong again. It didn't seem to be working this time. She felt weak. She felt drained. She sat slumped down in her planning room, surrounded by alien technology stolen not only from the Rikti, but given to her by Ultraviolet as well. She looked down at her black SS uniform and ran her fingers over her Knight's Cross with Oakleaves and Swords, personally given to her by the Führer. It was 1941 and she was presented by her mentor Heydrich. The war was well underway by that point and Germany was strong and proud, marching it's way into history as the victor. That night Hitler had told her she was the most beautiful and dangerous of all his subordinates. He was strong and powerful then with such fire in his eyes, a far cry from the man she saw again in 1945. He looked frail and mentally exhausted; his hands shook uncontrollably. A tired shell where so great and god-like a figure had once been. Even the fire in his eyes had dimmed. She imaged that was how she looked now. Tired and weak, a shadow of her past glory.

Her jaw was still sore, as was her wrist where that mongrel had burned it with her vision though the marks were already receding. Even the old wounds on her once flawless back felt particularly numb and painful. The fresh injuries would fade in a matter of hours due to the more potent serum in her bloodstream (and the lack of drugs the US military had given her), but those were always present. Subconsciously she ran her hand down the back of her uniform, counting the bullet holes. She had put it off for far too long. There had been far too many distractions these last week months.

She held her gas-mask in her hands, not knowing why she had carried it in with her. Since sealing her pact with the Succubus she had no longer needed it, her natural body was that of a gargantuan Aryan goddess. Dr. Henderson had requested that she use her inhibitor to keep herself at this size until he could run some more tests on her blood. She didn't mind, in fact she would need a more delicate touch for what was to come. Turning it over in her normal-sized hands she realized that no matter how much she moved forward it was never enough. First she had used a clumsy harness to enhance herself, then just the gas-mask as her serum had become more and more potent. Even now, with her body and mass at levels she could never have calculated or dreamed of years ago, she had still been defeated by that Soviet bitch. At the apex of her strength and power, she was still a failure to the mission her beloved Führer had placed with her. He had trusted her.

Things were falling apart. Obersturmbannführer Koch had informed her that several cells had left the organization recently and that another had turned traitor. Just like Henderson's assistant. She was beset with enemies from all sides and within. The Obersturmbannführer herself was proving to be a boon however, ruthless and resourceful. Unlike her predecessors, Koch was also fanatically loyal. Her squad of "cape-killers" was a first class idea that she had run through her own thoughts more than once, but had ultimately decided to wait and not draw that much attention to the organization yet. Keller in particular was becoming a model soldier in her army, a near-perfect amazon in her own right. She might have to make the serum mandatory if it produced results like her. Ilsa rubbed her bloodshot eyes and pushed a few buttons on the table, pulling up red holographic projections of the globe, Angel-Falls and then specific parts of the city. Looking it over she pulled up a list of notated individuals, with it having marked their last known locations.

Matt McGinty, James, Daren, Jared and Levi: Koch had tested her new super-human squad against them with surprisingly positive results. Hostilities were ended however due to "cease-fire negotiations". Ilsa smirked. Reading between the lines, Koch and her girls had been beaten. It would be the last time these American bastardes got the upper hand. They had caused her enough trouble and one day she intended to finish it. On a more positive note, the cybernetic research Dr. Henderson had performed with this dead sniper had been beyond her wildest aspirations. It had provided a field-test for all her theories with dazzling results.

Fantastic Lin and La Femme Punisher: The "street" level superheroes of Angel-Falls, both of which had been problematic. Sending her new paramilitary squad against the vigilante would make quick work of her. The girls would have fun tearing that bitch apart for all of their sisters-in-arms she has murdered. Lin on the other hand would require her to fine-tune and rebuild her energy-sapping equipment, something that she had no time or patience for at the moment.

The Succubus and Mr. Black: Both mysteries, both powerful and mystical. Both seemingly allies for the time-being. She was more than used to dealing with the occult and the black arts from her time in the Thule Society, but it was their enigmatic behavior that bothered her. The Succubus occasionally came and went from this dimension, returning with gifts or simply for the two of them to fuck for hours on end. Ilsa played the part of the ignorant human too caught up in her own plans for now, just as Succubus played the part of a random, infernal slut. The Succubus was a schemer and a plotter and Ilsa was keeping a close eye on her. Mr. Black on the other hand had saved her life. He was more of a mystery than the demoness was, but for the moment he was far more helpful than a hindrance.

Ultraviolet: Ilsa enjoyed the fact that she was one of her dirty little secrets. Supplying her with technology and information all because secretly Ilsa figured she must hate the Sowjetische Superfrau over some slight. As an ally she was however, untrustworthy and unreliable. She has her own "chosen people". If a tie between the two of them ever came out, it would sully her cover-girl, red-carpet image and Genocide would be a liability. A liability she assumed the violet-haired woman would attempt to eliminate with prejudice. More a pity too because she surrounded herself with such powerful Aryan women like Dark-Star. She was a plotter and a schemer as well, like the demoness. Spoiled American rich girl playing at being evil like it was dress-up.

Walkiria: It sickened Ilsa that this American bitch had taken her name from Germanic Aryan myth. If she could she would jam her thumbs into her orbital sockets and mash her eyes to jelly in front of her Russian lover. She alone had spoiled Ultraviolet's scheme to make Sowjetische Superfrau a pariah to her own nation. She smiled wondering if the red-haired cunt realized just how much danger she had placed herself in by becoming a lover to that mongrel Slav. She savored the thought of dissecting her alive.

Finally there was Olga Xenia Yezhov. As her image hovered in the air and as Ilsa gazed upon it, a tiny ember of hatred was once again stoked the furnace of her heart. It gave her reason to be strong, reason to continue the struggle. She would make sure that her Führer was avenged and his dream made a reality. The Aryan people of her new 4th Reich would carve out a brave new world, a new Greater German Empire free of want and need, free of the leeching influences that weakened it. Everything and everyone else had been nothing more than distractions from these her ultimate goals. Distractions. She remembered something Hitler had told her once:

"The efficiency of the truly national leader consists primarily in preventing the division of the attention of a people, and always in concentrating it on a single enemy."

How could she have forgotten this? Raising a shaking hand to her eyes she wiped away a few forming tears. The anger in her rose like a wave of heat, bubbling up from within. She tossed the gas-mask away and turned her tear-filled eyes to the heavens, her voice choked with rage and frustration.

"Ich werde nicht verfehlen Sie wieder mein Führer."

Genocide pushed a few more buttons until Project:Grendel was displayed before her. Entering her password she quickly glanced through the summary of notes Henderson had left for her on Nausbaum. Everything was perfect. The final pieces were in place for an experiment that had been more than 5 years in the making. Koch and her team would give her the cover she needed to unleash Grendel at her hated enemy. He depressed the intercom button and took a deep breath.

"Herr Doktor Henderson, meet me in the cryogenic chamber. I think it is past time we activated Grendel."


To Be Continued...
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Special thanks to my good friend for this rendering of Ilsa contemplating her next move. It took her some time to complete and I think it was well worth the effort she put into it.

Genocide, Soviet Superwoman and Koch are all mine as is this chapter in their story.

The other characters mentioned belong to their respective owners who I sincerely hope don't mind being brought up in Ilsa's twisted thoughts. I love all you guys!

A dark chapter in