Cold War

Moscow, U.S.S.R.
Red Square, 1953

Soviet Superwoman rocketed towards her opponent, catching him by the arm and dragging him along behind her in the snow. American Hero grit his teeth under his mask as his legs bounced along the ground at the tremendous speed. He quickly pulled his sidearm and twisting upwards, blasted Olga full in the face with the high-caliber round. Her eyes stinging from the muzzle flash Olga reached up instinctively, dropping the would-be assassin. Hero tucked into a ball, anticipating her wild movement and landed hard on the frozen ground, rolling a few yards before coming up. He panted, catching his breath in the freezing air as he watched her slam hard into the ground, disoriented, but unharmed by his shot. She slid a few feet and shakily rose to her feet, her vision still blurred. Holstering his gun, he reached into his belt pouch and pulled forth a heavy grenade, armed it and threw it in her direction. The resulting explosion blasted the staggering woman forward, shredding her cape and much of her costume.

American Hero wasn't going to let this end like last year, where he barely managed to escape and spent weeks in an army hospital. Surging forward he snapped out a long, curved blade as he leapt over the crater his explosive had made in the snow-covered ground. He crossed the distance fast and his arm shot out towards her as she regained her balance. The blade sliced through her costume, but more surprisingly it cut her flesh. Blood welled up and spattered the white snow in crimson droplets. She cried out and spun to the side, catching him in the shoulder with her backhand. The blow was wild and off-balance, but still he felt his shoulder explode in pain as it was fractured by the force of her punch. Healing factor was already kicking in. He fought through the pain and pressed on, slashing her a second time across the midsection. It was not as deep as the first wound, but she had not actually been injured this badly in a long time. Lashing out with her laser vision she cut a swath towards the red, white & blue clad man as he flipped nimbly out of the way.

The man known as American Hero was a U.S. army colonel named John Smith. Smith, a rabid anti-communist and hero from the second world war was part of the team that had attempted and failed to drop Skinny Girl on Moscow at the conclusion of that conflict. Since that time he had gradually entered politics and in 1951 was instrumental in the exposing and execution of the Rosenbergs. He was the perfect man for newly elected president McCarthy to ask if he would volunteer for a radical new procedure a year ago. The experiment granted Smith enhanced strength, speed, agility and the ability to recover from almost any wound provided his brain was still intact. He had been trained in multiple forms of combat and was deadly with just about any weapon even before the experiment. Donning a costume and calling himself the American Hero, he was the US answer to the Soviet Superwoman, his personal adversary since she had been the one who stopped his mission to drop the bomb.

Months after becoming a masked avenger he got his wish to cross paths with Olga when they both met in Iran where he attempted to assassinate it's leader Mohammad Mosaddegh as part of a coup d'état by the CIA. American Hero had the element of surprise, but was no match for the Soviet Superwoman. He just only managed to escape. Now he had shown up here, in Moscow, on what was a day of celebration in Red Square and fired several shots at Premier Stalin. She had intercepted all but the first round which had struck the leader of the world's greatest superpower. Enraged and frightened at not knowing the fate of her beloved leader, who had treated her like a daughter almost half her life, she fired a second volley of lasers. American Hero again danced around them, but this time leapt at his opponent, blade flashing. She caught his wrist as he bore down on her, bringing all his formidable strength to bear. She dropped to her knees as she fought back, pulling at her own reserves of strength and will. Olga grabbed his other hand and twisted it down, feeling the bones begin to snap under her grip. Smith grunted and also fell to one knee, locking eyes with his hated adversary. He spat words at her as they wrestled for dominance.

"Coexistence with you and your kind is neither possible nor honorable nor desirable. My objective will always be the eradication of Communism from the face of the earth. I won't stop until every damn one of you lies dead."

Olga let out a bellow of anger and slammed her forehead into his face, cracking his faceplate and breaking his nose into several shards. Stunned, he lost his grip on the experimental blade dropping it nearby. Still keeping a hold of his wrists, Olga swung him around and let him go, tossing him like a missile. The injured patriot slammed hard into a brick wall, shattering it on impact. Shaking his head and spitting out a large gout of bloody phlegm, he barely had time to look up when she flew forward and kicked him in the ribs, splintering them like stained glass and throwing him up several feet into the air. He came down hard on his back and rolled over, disoriented. Olga was moving towards him again, walking slowly this time. Her face was stony and emotionless as she moved and he noticed she had his blade in her hands. Curling her lip, the Soviet heroine bent the dagger in half, slicing open her palms in the process and angrily tossing it aside.

"You have no escape this time. This time John Smith you will be brought to justice for your crimes."

Smith withdrew his sidearm from it's holster and began to unload what was left of the clip in her direction. The armor-piercing bullets merely glanced and ricocheted off her impervious body as she moved towards him. Another burst of lasers slammed hard into his calf, burning two holes through the muscle. There was no way he could heal so much trauma before she would on top of him again. Hero ripped free what was left of his helmet and tossed it to the side, his face bloodied, his dirty blond hair matted with sweat despite the cold. His eyes met hers for a moment and in them she saw nothing but hatred. A hatred she had not witnessed since Ilsa Hauppman, years ago as if the mere sight of her stoked the fires in his heart.

"There will be others like me." He said quietly before clapping the pistol to his temple and blowing his brains out.

His body slumped over in the white snow, bathed in a spreading pool of crimson under his blue costume. Olga stood shocked for a moment. That was not what she had anticipated, martyring himself for his cause. The Russian woman felt no remorse at his actions however, just surprise. She stared at his lifeless body, half expecting him to rise up to meet her again as they had in the past. After a few moments she turned back towards the Kremlin and took to flight. No more time would be wasted on the fallen Hero. She hoped that Premier Stalin would live up to his namesake as the "Iron Man" and survive the attempt on his life. The Americans would no doubt retaliate for the "murder" of their fallen patriot. Another war was coming, soon, and he would be needed.

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Once again, I have the mega-talented to thank for another fantastic piece of art! You sir are truly amazing!

Soviet Superwoman, American Hero and the text are all creations of mine.