Chapter 19

Peggy and Clark walked out of the SSR base and joined the civilian traffic of London. Despite the reputation and stories being circulated by the Man of Steel, there wasn't a clear photo of his face, so Clark was able to walk with Peggy without any issues. Peggy brought Clark to a small family run restaurant she had been to a few times before and they had a nice meal together. It also gave Clark his chance to try Fish and Chips. Peggy remarked that it was kind of stereotypically British, but it was good. They had good food and a nice conversation. With his secret out in the open, Clark was able to be more like himself with Peggy which was a first. The only time he was able to be this open and relaxed was usually with his parents. His entire life he had a wall up around him and could never get close to be people but now he could.

Ater the meal, he and Peggy took a walk through the city. Clark would be in London several times for the duration of the war but now had a chance to take a leisurely walk with someone who was familiar with the city. London had been through a lot in the early war so far but hopefully things were getting better.

Clark and Peggy used their nice leisurely walk to talk more, and he was able to tell her more stories about his past and childhood and vice versa. "So, you really sent a baseball flying miles away?" Peggy asked him.

"I did. My dad and I were playing a game and I didn't have the same level of control back then as I do now. It took my dad hours to find it. He eventually did on the other side of town." Clark remembered fondly. "I keep it in my room as a reminder."

"So, you weren't always as strong as you are now?" Peggy asked and Clark shook his head no.

"No, I wasn't. When I was a kid, sure I was stronger than your average nine-year-old but back then I wouldn't have been strong enough to lift a tank let alone my dad's tractor. Although I do remember one day helping my dad on the farm where I pulled the old plow through the field." He remarked. "My powers developed over my time on earth. As I grew up, I got stronger and developed more abilities."

"So, what exactly can you do? I mean, everything?" Peggy wondered.

"Not exactly. I can bend steel with my bare hands, lift a two-ton tractor with one arm behind my back, bullets and knives break against my skin, I can hear a dog barking from ten miles away, I can see through solid objects, and I can run faster than the speed of sound." Clark listed off and Peggy stopped for a moment.

"Um…I'm sorry. Could you expand on your seeing through solid objects power." Peggy held her hands and arms up to cover her chest.

"Peggy it's not—" Clark stuttered before taking a deep breath to find the right words. "It only works if I focus and concentrate. And I would never use it on you."

She could tell that he was telling the truth, so she lowered her arms and the two continued walking. "So, I'm assuming you didn't need the glasses you wore when I first met you?"

"No, I didn't. I liked how they looked on me, but I've never needed corrective lenses and I've never so much as gotten a cold." He admitted.

"How? I mean, I get that you are not from this planet but how can you do all this?" Peggy asked, continually amazed at everything she was learning about Clark.

"Kryptonians evolved differently on Krypton then humans did on earth. Physically we look the same and I have eyes, nose, a mouth, a brain, a heart, and a stomach. I eat and I go to the bathroom…it's just other things that are different. Kelex says that Kryptonians evolved with different organs and such that are the reason for my abilities but it's also the planet as well." Clark said and that earned her a look of confusion. "The solar system that Krypton used to be a part of had a Red Sun at its center. From the way he explained, Kryptonians on Krypton were no different than humans. It's only under a yellow sun that it changes and why I have these abilities. My body absorbs yellow sun radiation in a way that gives me my abilities."

"Interesting. So, you're like a walking alien plant-man." Peggy joked and he chuckled because it was kind of true. He absorbed yellow sun energy and used it for energy for his abilities like how plants take solar radiation to grow.

"I guess you could you say that." Clark replied. "I'm glad we're getting this all out there, Peggy. I know you must have a lot of questions, and this is a lot but take your time."

"It is. Although it makes me wonder if there are other species out there that look like humans." Peggy wondered.

"It'd be more accurate to say that humans look like Kryptonians. Despite what church believers and scientists would like to think, Krypton had been around for several millennium when dinosaurs still roamed earth." Clark said and Peggy couldn't hide her look of shock. "I know. I felt the same when Kelex told me. The universe is a vast and wide place, Peggy and humanity has been around for a fraction of it."

"So, why here? Why did your parents send you here of all places?" Peggy wondered.

"Kelex told me that my father sent me here because he knew under the yellow sun, I'd be safe. And Kryptonians have visited earth in the past. How do you think the pyramids of Egypt were built?" Clark told her, earning a genuine look of shock. "That was a joke."

"Oh." Peggy muttered and he couldn't hide his laugh. Peggy rolled her eyes and playfully shoulder bumped him as they kept walking.

"To be honest, I don't know the whole story, but Kelex did tell me that my father was here when he was younger. A sort of rite of passage, a pilgrimage you could say. He sent me here to keep me safe and that's when my adopted parents found me. Everything else is history." Clark told her.

"Incredible. Your story is so…unbelievable." Peggy told him.

"Well, I'm here right in front of you so it is believable." Clark assured her and they continued their date. They were just able to talk and enjoy each other's company and when it got dark the two of them went dancing. Peggy walked Clark through dancing, and he eventually got the hang of it. The night ended with a slow dance as Clark held Peggy close to him and the two just swayed to the nice, slow music. She leaned into his embrace, her head nestled into his neck as the two rocked to the music before she looked up and he smiled at her. She smiled back and the two leaned in for their first kiss. Their whole worlds stopped and for a brief moment, it was just the two of them.

For Clark whose abilities let him feel and sense things that most humans couldn't…it was like wearing his heart on his sleeves. He was experiencing something new for the first time. He was scared, he was vulnerable, and he was ok with that. It felt like he was floating through the air and that was actually kind of true. It was for a moment but if anyone had been paying attention then they would have seen Clark and Peggy hover a few inches off the ground for a bit.

Clark had no idea what would happen in the war but for this moment…he felt right.

Line Break xxxxx

SSR Base London, England

After a fun day and night out with Peggy that ended with their first kiss, the two returned to work the next day. Both promised that despite what was happening between the two of them that they would keep it professional while working. Clark woke up bright and early and entered the planning room at the SSR for the mission to capture Mussolini. All the relevant information, intel, and files he requested had been piled together and would take probably a few hours to go through completely which is why he was doing it at super speed.

Howard walked into the room with a cup of coffee and saw Clark sitting at the large table. He was pouring through various files and intel reports but what was curious was that he saw him doing it at super speed. Clark was like a blur as he read through a pile of a hundred reports in a second but stopped before continuing since he saw Howard at the door. "Oh, hi Howard. Can I help you?"

"No, uh…I was, uh…I just got in. When did you get here?" Howard asked him and looked at the clock. It was currently 9am local time.

"Two hours ago. I've been spending that time going over all the intel we have on the area to prep for the mission, and I think I have enough to paint a good picture of what it looks like." Clark got up and walked over to the corkboard on the wall where all the information on the area Mussolini was being held captive was put. Geography, elevation, reports from people in the area along with a rough layout of the terrain.

"Yeah, yeah, that's all good but we can talk about that later. How'd it go with you and Peggy? Well, I hope judging by the fact that you're not off moping in the corner." Howard guessed only but Clark kept his gaze on the board. "Aw, come on, Kal You've got to give me something."

The door to the room opened and in walked Peggy with two cups of coffee. "I don't see how you need to know about our personal lives, Howard." Peggy told him as she walked in and handed Clark a cup of coffee.

"Call me invested. You two are my closest friends here and I've been watching this will they/won't they thing for the past year so I think I'm entitled to know exactly what's going on." Howard pointed out only for Peggy to shake her head in disbelief as she sipped her coffee. Clark just chuckled and did the same. "Wow. After all we've been through together. Seriously guys, come on. I can keep a secret. What's going on?"

"He's not going to stop talking about this, is he?" Peggy asked Clark.

"I don't think so." He replied. "Look, Howard…yes, Peggy and I are working on our relationship, but we agreed to keep things professional while working which includes talking about it. So, if you wouldn't mind, I would prefer if we focused on my next mission."

"All right but I'm glad you two are working things out." Howard told them. Clark and Peggy smirked before the three focused on the board. "So, how's the mission look?"

"Complicated. Mussolini is deep behind enemy lines under the watchful guard of 200 Italian National Police at the Hotel Campo Imperatore in Abruzzo. It's about 130 kilometers from Rome. The area is mainly grassland with high plateaus and mountains ranging from 1,500 to 1,900 meters in height. The Hotel is actually a popular ski resort for the nobility and wealthy but it's big and built on an easily defendable higher position to the surrounding area at 2,112 meters above sea level." Clark explained.

"Wow, that doesn't sound good. Just the hike up there alone is gonna take some time." Howard remarked. "Although skiing there sounds nice."

"What were the German plans to rescue Mussolini?" Peggy asked.

"They would drop into the area on gliders." Clark answered as Peggy walked to the board and looked over the map. She began going through the ideas in her head and the options were limited. She wasn't the biggest military strategist, but she knew someone who could help.

"Kal, I know someone who might be able to help plan an effective mission." Peggy suggested. "I worked with her at the SOE before I was recruited into the SSR. She's far more brilliant than I am so she might be able to see something that we can't."

"If you think she can help that I'm all for it. I'd like to meet her." Clark replied. "In the meantime, I've got the files for the people I want on my team. Granted they still have to agree to it."

"I think that's kind of an easy answer, Kal. Going on a mission to get Mussolini with the Man of Steel himself? If anything, you'll have volunteers." Howard pointed out. "But while we're on this subject, I'd like to take the opportunity to discuss this whole moniker you've earned for yourself."

"Ok?" Clark wasn't sure where this was gonna go.

"Not that I don't think it's a great title for you, Kal, especially after I saw you take a shotgun shell to the stomach. But that's exactly what it is. It's a title. You need a codename." Howard suggested and Clark just shook his head in disbelief. "Now, I know how it sounds but just hear me out. All of us here aren't exactly fans of that Senator Brandt but what he and the USO have done with Rogers is smart."

"What, parade him around in a costume because I'm fine with the uniform you made me." Clark assured him.

"And so am I. What I'm talking about is a name." Howard stated. "Steve Rogers became Captain America and now he's wining and dining with the Hollywood elite while dancing up on stage in that admittedly ridiculous outfit. But it's working and the people back home love him. Bond sales are up, and the Politicians are reaping the benefits. So, we need to turn Sergeant Kalvin Elbert into something greater. Someone the war effort can get behind. I'm telling you two that years from now, teachers will be explaining to their students how the SSR with the help from Howard Stark and Stark Industries turned a regular farm kid from Kansas into…Superiorman."

There was a moment of silence to let the moment sink in. Howard had the biggest smile on his face while Clark and Peggy looked at him in disbelief. "Superiorman? Really? That's the best you could come up with?" Clark asked Howard with not-so subtle hints of disappointment in his voice.

"What? It's great." Howard assured him.

"It sounds completely idiotic, Howard." Peggy told him.

"Agreed. Idiotic and it doesn't even sound good either." Clark added. "How did you even get to the idea of Superiorman as a name?"

"From all the talks with Dr. Erskine. How Hitler and the Nazis wanted his serum to be uh…what's it called, Ubertman." Howard butchered the German word completely.

"It's Übermensch, Howard. The term Nietzsche coined as a concept in his book. The Übermensch is supposed to be a goal humanity set for itself. Give meaning to his life on earth, admonish the otherworldly values and escape from his world of Christianity. And the translation isn't Superiorman. That's just what Dr. Erskine said Hitler and Schmidt wanted them to be and give reason to their whole war. Depending on how it translates it could be Overman, Aboveman, Beyondman." Clark listed off.

"Ah, those names are terrible." Howard brushed those ideas away.

"The German language is tricky." Clark pointed out.

"Ok, Superiorman is gone but I think there's something there that can work for you, Kal. Not that Man of Steel isn't great, but you need something shorter. Something powerful, something memorable, something…iconic." Howard suggested when Peggy got an idea.

"I've heard that the interpretation for Übermensch was Superman. That sounds better." Peggy suggested and that clicked for Howard.

"Oh, I like that. The Superman…Sergeant Kalvin Elbert is the Superman." Howard said and he liked how it sounded.

"I don't know. It sounds arrogant." Clark admitted.

"Kal, you've taken a point-blank shotgun blast to the chest and if half the stories I've heard about what you did on Sicily are true then believe me, it's not arrogance but the truth." Howard corrected his assumption. "Superman…the Man of Steel. Oh, that's it. That's you're new moniker. I need to get that trademarked."

"Yeah, please don't Howard." Clark told him. "And if we can please move on from trying to give me a name so we can get back to the mission. I've got some people I'd like for the team."

Clark walked over and hefted up a pile of 9 personnel folders. "I'll get these to Colonel Phillip, and they'll be brought here as soon as possible." Peggy told him.

"Good. Howard…you go keep doing what you were doing at the lab." Clark told him.

"Aye-aye, Superman." Howard joked before he and Peggy left.

"I really hope that doesn't stick." Clark muttered.

"It will!" Howard called out from the hallway.

Several days later…

Clark was in the mission planning room for his assignment behind enemy lines to capture Mussolini. He had the help of some SSR analysts as well as the friend that Peggy said might be able to help with the planning. Her name was Solange Hardewijk, a Dutch Aruban born in the Netherlands. Her father was Dutch, but her mother was from Aruba. She was an excellent track runner and brilliant at physics with a degree from a university in Amsterdam where she taught. When the war broke out, Hardewijk and several Jewish students fled and settled in London. Her keen intellect and advanced degree is what got her notice by the SOE and it's where she met Peggy. She was more of a strategist, but she was also battlefield trained like Peggy was. She had short hair which she kept neat and combed, a scarf around her neck and she was wearing a lighter version of the British army field service jacket with the sleeves rolled up, form fitting trousers and boots. She may have been wearing a British military uniform, but she had replaced the British flag on her shoulder with the Dutch.

He and Solange were discussing the plans for the mission and with all the variables in play, Solange suggested that doing an airdrop was the best option to get into the area. The nearby town of Castel del Monte would be their staging area and there were some partisans in the area they could meet up with for help and transport but getting in was the easy part. Getting out was going to be hardest as they were going to be far behind enemy lines.

Their planning was interrupted when Peggy and Colonel Phillips walked in. "Sergeant Elbert, can I have a moment of your time?" He asked him.

"Of course. Peggy, are they all here?" Clark asked her.

"They're waiting in one of the meeting rooms." She answered.

"Thanks. You and Solange go ahead. I'll join you shortly." Clark said so Solange and Peggy left. "What can I do for you, Colonel?"

"It's about the candidates for your team, Sergeant. I know I let you handpick the people who would go out there with you, but this has to be the oddest grouping of people I have ever seen." Colonel Phillips admitted.

"I know, sir. I know my picks are unorthodox but it's a team that I believe can do this." Clark assured him. "I wasn't just looking for regular soldiers but…people with talent, skill, and above all else good hearts. It's what Dr. Erskine looked for in me and Steve."

"I'm definitely seeing the optimism and hope Dr. Erskine had in you, Elbert. It's good for making people feel better but it's another on the battlefield. I hope you understand the importance of this mission, Sergeant because we've earned some pull with the Arms Service Committee and war board, but this might be a step too far." Colonel Phillips warned him. "Nothing like this has been done before."

"There's a first time for everything, sir. And I'm not trying to be pedantic but genuine. A lot has changed in this war and how we fight so why not the people who do the fighting. I'm going to meet them now, Colonel. Come and maybe you will see what I do." Clark suggested.

Colonel Phillips nodded and the two left the planning room and walked down the hall. "Did your parents raise you with all that hope and optimism or was it something you were born with?"

Clark couldn't help but smirk as they walked down the hall. "A little bit of both, sir."

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