Peleliu, Palau Islands
It was the morning of the second day of the invasion of Peleliu, and the marines were awoken by the sounds of looming artillery shells and the oppressive heat. The men were awoken and readied though they would need to rely on pure strength and sheer force of will to get them through the day. There was a slight reprieve when the marines found some water and so they gathered around until they saw a rotting goat's head floating inside. The water was poisoned so any kind of relief the marines had was gone.
"Listen up, weapons! CO's got our orders!" Lieutenant Haney shouted so everyone gathered around Captain Haldane.
"All right, here it is. The entire division's moving across the airfield at 0900. First and second platoon will lead followed by weapons and third platoon." Captain Haldane said when a mortal shell landed about 50 yards from their position. "The only way to stop this Jap artillery is to get into those hills, and the only way into those hills is across this airfield. When we move, do not stop until we get across. You got it?"
"Aye-Aye, Skipper." The men replied.
"Any questions?"
"We need water, captain." Corporal Burgin said.
"I'm working on it, Corporal." Captain Haldane promised. "Get your gear ready and standby."
The marines readied themselves for what seemed like a march into hell itself. A barrage of Naval artillery hit the nearby mountains and hills along with spots around the airfield in an attempt to soften up the approach for the Marines. Because of the AA guns they weren't going to be close air support from Navy airplanes until they were dealt with.
"First and second platoon, move out!" Captain Haldane shouted, and the Marines moved with a purpose. They stayed low and moved fast unaware they were in the crosshairs of Japanese snipers and machinegun teams. As the marines made their way through the airfield artillery rounds and mortars began going off around them. Private Eugene Sledge of K company 3rd Battalion Fifth Marine Regiment ran alongside his mortar team as fast as he could over several hundred yards of white coral runway completely exposed without any kind of cover aside from the scattered remnants of buildings. Private Sledge and his team took cover behind a partially destroyed building to catch their breath when they heard the looming sound of an artillery round closing in right on top of them.
[Metallic shing]
Something flew through the air above them in a blur and caused the artillery round to go off in the sky. The blast was deafening and knocked the marines on their asses, but it saved them from getting killed. Sledge and the others were a bit discombobulated, and their ears were ringing but saw flashes of red light in the sky along with more explosions. Sledge looked to his left and saw a round shield of red and blue with a white star in the middle before someone picked it up and slid it onto their left arm.
"Are you hurt?" Sledge heard a man say. He looked up and the sun kind of blinded him as it was behind the man, but his vision cleared up and saw a large, tall man wearing a red and blue uniform with a large S-symbol on his chest. The man then held out his right hand. "Need a hand?" Sledge took Superman's hand and was helped back to his feet before he helped the others.
[Distant boom of artillery guns]
Superman looked to the north and the mountains before his eyes glowed red and he unleashed his heat vision. Explosions went off in the air as his heat vision destroyed the Japanese artillery rounds that would have otherwise hit the airfield. The Marines quickly took cover behind what cover there was as they let Superman take out the artillery before he raised his hand to speak into his communications watch.
"Dan, make a strafing run. Let up some pressure."
"I'm on it!"
Superman then looked at the marines. "Who's your commanding officer?!"
Their captain came forward. "I am! Captain Haldane!"
Superman took him to the side and pointed at the destroyed fuselage of a large transport plane. "That's your rally point! I want mortars set up and firing on that building to the right and to the left!" Superman pointed to two buildings about two hundred yards from the fuselage. "200 yards, left 1, down five for the right! Right 2 down three on the left! Don't stop until they stop firing and hold the men at that line! I don't want them caught in the crossfire!"
"Yes, sir!"
Superman fired another burst of heat vision into the sky, taking out more artillery shells before he fired a few bursts at fortified bunkers, light artillery, and machinegun nests to clear the way before he ran forward, moving at normal speed.
"All right, Marines! Let's move! On Superman!" Captain Haldane shouted, and the marines continued their run. Even all the way in the Pacific they had heard of the Superman so him fighting by their side had emboldened them but what comes next would give them all the courage they would need. To the disbelief of many marines, they saw a man in blue with large bug wings flying above them like an airplane. Then they saw the man's hands become weapons firing blue blasts of energy that blasted the Japanese defensive positions. He flew by and blasted the Japanese defensive line before strafing around and combining his hands to form a large laser that he used to blow apart the AA guns.
"AA guns are down! Carter, Shayera, you're clear to move in!" Dan Garrett replied before flying back around and providing air support.
Captain Haldane had his mortar teams quickly set up in their positions and saw Superman super jump into the air, clearing a three-hundred-yard distance and landing right into the Japanese enemy lines. The marines stayed behind cover as the Japanese were now more focused on Superman and the flying bug man than they were them. They witnessed the fable powers and strength of Superman that weren't just Allied propaganda but cold, hard truth. The Japanese unloaded at him with their light machineguns only for him to tank all their bullets like it was nothing. Bullets that would normally rip through Marines just bounced off him or ricocheted while Japanese bayonets and swords shattered when he blocked them with his arms and simple punches and kicks sent men flying around like they were made of paper and there were moments when he seemed to blur around and moved faster than the eye could see. Superman blocked some bullets with his shield before a shield backfist sent five Japanese soldiers flying back and he then vanished in the blink of an eye and a blur of red and blue raced around the area. Wherever the blur went Japanese soldiers were knocked out or sent flying around after being hit. The flying bug man flew back around and the Japanese opened fire on him, but his suit seemed to protect him as he fired more energy blasts at the Japanese.
"HA!"
The marines looked up and saw two large, winged things flying through the sky that were too big to be regular birds considering they were the size of people. The bird people were a man and a woman wearing gold and red and green and gold armor respectively with a bird motif given their hawk-themed helmets and the large, armored wings on their backs. The hawk man dove down with his wings tucked in, brandishing a large golden battle axe in his right hand and a golden shield in his left. The Japanese fired at him, but he raised the shield over his head and tucked in his wings before he crashed into a group. They were sent flying back as the man rolled back to his feet but jumped and spun in the air, his armored wings protecting him from Japanese machineguns and rifles before he landed. When he touched down he extended his wings out and hit two Japanese soldiers before slashing one across the chest with his axe and bashing another with his shield. Three Japanese tried to shoot him from behind only for the hawk woman to fly down and knocked them back with her wings. She spun through the air with her wings covering her before using her large mace to bash around Japanese soldiers. She hit one with an uppercut swing and then turned into a lateral swipe that cracked four charging Japanese soldiers across the skull when the fifth came in close with a bayonet. The hawk woman just turned into a jump spinning roundhouse kick that hit him in the face before extending her wings out and hitting more Japanese soldiers. She twirled her mace by the strap and threw it like a boomerang, and it spun around, hitting several Japanese soldiers in its arc back to her.
Japanese reinforcements arrived en masse with light tanks accompanying them to try and halt the advance or at least force more casualties now that their artillery wasn't working. Another salvo was ordered but like before Superman's heat vision made quick work of them, detonating the shells in the air before they could even get close to the Marines. The beetle man flew towards the tanks and the gunners opened fire at him. His cowl formed a protective covering for his face as the bullets bounced off against his suit and he nimbly dodged the tank shells before diving low, so he was flying just above the ground. He held his hands out in front of his body and put them together before his suit materialized a large battering ram. His jetpack sped up and he smashed through the first tank like a wrecking ball and hit a second tank from an angle, so it was knocked onto its side. When he came up to a third tank he slipped low and hit it from underneath causing it to flip over. The soldiers and tanks tried to take down the beetle man, but it left them open as the hawk man and hawk woman swooped in and took down the soldiers. The hawk man sliced the cannon off a light tank before cutting its treads loose while the hawk woman jumped onto a tank and used her mace to bash it into itself. A light tank aimed it cannon at her only for a red and blue shield to slice through the air and cleave the light tank's cannon straight down the middle. Superman was running right behind it and shoulder bashed into another tank before kicking another from the side and knocking it over. He picked up his shield and smashed the treads of another tank before flipping it and then fired bursts of his heat vision that took down the remaining ones.
The Japanese reinforcements were taken out quickly and the Marines managed to deal with any stragglers while mortar and weapons teams took out the Japanese entrenched in the nearby buildings. They had cleared the airfield.
Carter removed his axe from the treads of a destroyed tank as some marines were moving along Japanese prisoners before he walked over to Clark who was perched up on a destroyed Japanese tank looking north to the Umurbrogol mountains. It was a coralline limestone formation of sharp peaks, narrow valleys and sinkholes that made for an expert defensive fortification. That's where the reinforcements were coming from so to take Peleliu they would need to take that.
"They up there?" Carter asked and Clark nodded.
"It's a maze of tunnels and trenches with well-built fortifications all over the place. It's a death trap and the Japanese have secured all the paths in and out." Clark told him having used his x-ray and super vision combination to get an in-depth look at their next objective.
"Not an issue for you though, right?" Shayera questioned as she walked up to Clark and Carter with Dan at her side.
"No but we'll take it tomorrow. Let's give the marines the day off." Clark said.
[Round of applause]
Clark and the others turned around and the entire 1st Marine Division was cheering them on. Today was tough but it was because of them that they made it through.
"Superman! Superman! Superman!"
Clark still felt weird hearing that name chanted but everyone seemed to be in high spirits so that was important. Clark raised Captain America's shield high, and the men roared in applause as Navy airplanes flew overhead and made bombing runs on the mountains.
A few hours later…
The 1st Marine Division secured Peleliu airfield dealing with the dead Japanese and POWs while handling their own dead and wounded. They secured positions in the bombed-out buildings the Japanese had been using while everyone took number of supplies and ammunition. Superman told the Marines they would hold the airfield, and no advance would be made for the remainder of the day. Some major on a ship called in to complain about how the Marines weren't moving but when Clark got on the radio and told him they weren't moving then it was a done deal. Right now, the Marines deserved a reprieved and they needed their strength for what was to come. Clark, Carter, Shayera, and Dan helped with the wounded and did what they could. And one way in particular was universally lauded by the men.
[Whooshes of high-pressure winds]
The marines watched as large walls of ice were erected around the buildings where they were staying. Clark walked around, using his freeze breath to create large blocks of ice to not only provide some nice shade and cool the air but because of the heat they began to melt quickly, which in turn provided plenty of water for everyone as that was their most serious issue at the moment. The Hawks and Dan Garrett flew in crates of supplies from the ships which included ammo and food but when the water arrived it came in oil drums. That alone wasn't exactly a problem except for the fact that they weren't properly cleaned so the water was contaminated. If you drank it then you'd get sick. Clark took care of that using his freeze breath. Pretty handy with the South Pacific heat and it was an endless resource. When some of the ice walls melted down to puddles Clark could just make more. With them being given the day off many of the marines found themselves lying under the melting ice to enjoy the cold showers and some of the commanding officers made a stink, but Clark assured them they were fine. He would handle the perimeter watch and nothing would get past him.
Private Eugene Sledge felt some life come back to his body as the melted ice water soaked his clothing and wet his hair and neck. "God damn if this isn't heaven than I don't know what is." Corporal Snafu remarked.
"Just give us some blankets, a few coconut drinks and girls in swimsuits and it's perfect." Corporal De'Lau remarked.
"With Superman, the Hawks, and Blue Beetle then this war will be over by Christmas." Private Leyden remarked. "I always thought the stories out of Europe were just telltale stuff but now I'm a believer."
"Superman saved us from dying and gave us the day off. I'm not complaining." Snafu looked over at Superman and his allies speaking with the officers in the division about their plan forward. Granted he was really focused on Hawkwoman's ass in her armored pants. "But if this war did one thing for me, it makes me want to tap that bird."
"You do that and you're gonna end up with your head smashed in." Sledge joked and the others chuckled.
Everyone heard the rumble of large treads and saw a lone LVT roll up to them and the driver poked his head out from his hatch. "Is this Item company?"
"No, K-3-5." Lieutenant Hillbilly told him.
"I've got to get back to Baker-1-7. Do you have any idea where they are?"
"No, I don't! I need you to take our wounded back to the beach!" Lieutenant Hillbilly told him.
"No can do! We're moving out!" The driver got back into his seat and started the LVT back up. Clark just walked past the Lieutenant and Captain Haldane and stopped in the path of the LVT. Everyone got up to see Superman stop the armored vehicle from leaving and soon enough the Hawks and Blue Beetle surrounded the vehicle from all sides. To everyone's amazement they saw Superman climb on top of the vehicle and knock on the driver's hatch, so he opened up.
"You heard the lieutenant. Let them load their wounded, take them back to the beach and then you can find Baker-1-7. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir, Superman." The driver replied.
Clark jumped off the LVT and gave Captain Haldane a nod. "Get the wounded aboard!"
"You heard him! Let's get them aboard!" Sergeant Haney shouted, and they loaded the men up in the vehicle for transport.
Later that night…
The 1st Marines secured the area and as the sun faded and night came most if not all were able to get a good night's rest. They rotated watch but Superman assured him that with him around than the Japanese wouldn't be able to sneak into the perimeter so they all could sleep easy.
Private Eugene Sledge and his squad were all awake for their turn at night watch. They all felt good. Food in their stomachs, cool water in their canteens, shelter, resupplied ammo and had spent the day able to rest and recover. Tomorrow seemed daunting but with the Superman on their side they'd be ready. Still, the day's events had affected some of the men. One of them, Daniels, was repeatedly counting dead Japanese even though they had cleared them from the airfield. He was in a fugue state so likely lingering shellshock from fighting. Captain Haldane and Lieutenant Hillbilly got the doc to take him away and let him recover.
"Just as easily been me counting Japs I can't see." Sledge admitted.
"But it's not you." Hillbilly said.
"Sir, coming across the airfield today…I've never been more scared in my entire life." Sledge said and everyone nodded.
"Everyone's afraid." They heard and saw Superman walk over to them. "Anyone who says they aren't is either lying or dead. Fear is something universal. I'm not void of it."
"That sounds like a load of shit, sir." Snafu remarked and Captain Haldane gave him a look.
"It's all right, Captain." Superman eased him off. "Yes, as difficult it is to believe I do get afraid. There have been more than a handful of times when I feared for my life and the lives of others. Heck before I found out I was bulletproof I also feared getting killed by gunfire. I understand that things have been difficult here in the Pacific but the terrors in Europe were just as life-threatening and could shatter the resolve of even the best of men, me included. The experiments the Nazis did on POWs and civilians made many men question everything, but they pressed on. Before the war, I've read a lot of history books, and they were filled with wars fought for hundreds of reasons. Whatever they can say to justify it…if things have gotten to this point than it seems like all hope seems lost. I've done things I could never have imagined doing five years ago. What keeps me going is that I want to believe…no, I have to believe that every day that passes, every day we get closer to ending this war sooner means people can get home to their families and time will pass when everything just seems like a bad dream. All of you just take it one day at a time and remember one thing?"
"What's that, sir?" Sledge asked.
"Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgement that something is more important than fear. And for me…it's to make sure that the people fighting in this war can get back home sooner." Clark said before he patted Sledge on the arm. "Get some rest. We move out in the morning."
"Yes, sir." They all replied and watched Superman walk away.
"I get it now." Snafu said. They all did. He really was Superman.
The next morning…
The men of the First Marine Division were rested and ready. They were supplied with food and ammo and got all the cold water they needed. Their day of rest was over and now it was time to move into the Umurbrogal mountain. First up they needed to get through the Point which was a narrow chasm into the mountains, which themselves was a maze of narrow ridges of hard rock and coral landscapes. The officers warned the men that the fighting would get tough but with some air support having already bombed the area and the Superman on their side than things were looking up. Artillery guns had been set up on the airfield so they would have artillery support if needed.
[Distant Explosions and gunfire]
Captain Haldane had his company wait in their fallback position as the distant sound of explosions and gunfire let everyone know that the Japanese were already being engaged. He would take a scout force up to see what was going on while everyone else hung back. The Marines moved up the narrow paths into the mountains, hiding behind large rocks for cover as they saw similar rocky formations all around them and they were lit up. Gunfire and small cannons were going off as they saw the Superman climb over rocks and terrain. He punched and kicked any Japanese soldier who got too close before punching the ground itself. Each time his fist hit the ground there was a loud rumble felt in the ground like an earthquake. They saw him use his heat vision and blast apart a machinegun nest before destroying an artillery gun with his shield when they saw Blue Beetle fly down and land next to them.
"You're not coming this way. Too many snipers and machineguns. Superman is taking them down. He's asked us to lead you around the flanks. He found tunnels that go through the mountains, so we'll flank them from the sides while Superman has them occupied. It's tight quarters so bring machineguns and flamethrowers." Blue Beetle told him.
"Roger that. Fall back." Captain Haldane said to the men, and they pulled back to the rest of the division. He explained their plan to flank around the Umurbrogol while Superman took the main route. It was too narrow and exposed for the marines to handle it without unacceptable losses, but Superman could on his own and keep the Japanese focused on him. His earlier recon and x-ray vision revealed tunnels the Japanese were using to get around and he managed to dig into several before engaging so the Marines would use them on a flank with Blue Beetle, and the Hawks for support. The fighting would be close quarters, but their odds were better in the tunnels than going through the mountain.
A week later…
All the Marines and Army on the island were back on the airfield cheering as they had officially taken the island. The last of the Japanese on Peleliu had either been killed or surrendered so it was now theirs. It was hard fighting through the tunnels of the Umurbrogol but every inch they pushed through earned them their victory. Clark, Carter, Shayera, and Dan walked through the crowd shaking hands and getting congratulatory pats. The four of them had been crucial to the island's advance as they helped the Marines push through and kept them alive. The war isn't over yet but if this momentum could be kept than it wouldn't be long before they were on the main island of Japan and storming Tokyo.
October 1944
The successful invasions of the islands of Peleliu and Anguar in Palau secured the Allied flank, and Allied Commanders were now looking to their next endeavor which was the Philippines. Something of a pet project for General Douglas MacArthur, taking back the Philippines from the Japanese was the next step in their island-hopping campaign. At this point in the war the Japanese possessed fewer capital ships than the Allies did and after their defeat in the Philippine Sea it seemed as though the Japanese were on the defensive. Their remaining naval forces are incapable of achieving a strategic victory against the Allies, but they could contest them and deter their plans which would allow them to recover what strength they could. The Japanese knew the Philippines were important so repelling their invasion there could disrupt the momentum of the Allies. Allied intelligence informed Allied command of Japanese naval movements towards the Philippines. They were preparing a massive defensive strategy to contest an amphibious landing. The Japanese were outnumbered but numbers alone weren't enough to win a battle, so the admirals were planning for their attack. To either their detriment or advantage, depending on who you asked, General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz had to report to President Roosevelt to confirm the Philippines for their next target. That was a month ago and surprisingly the meeting had dragged on until a consensus between all Allied commanders could be reached. MacArthur's forces would start their invasion with the island of Leyte in Central Philippines. Amphibious forces and close naval support would be provided by the 3rd and 7th Fleet.
Reports from intelligence were still coming in but it seemed that the Japanese defense for the Philippines would compose of the combined remnants of the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th fleet. That totaled around sixty to seventy ships and who knows how many aircraft. Sure, the Japanese were now down to 1 fleet carrier and 3 light carriers but the Philippines were under their control so they could have more aircraft and bombers on nearby airfields much like Admiral Nimitz planned at Midway. That alone and if the Japanese were smart and could score lucky hits would be enough to repel a naval invasion. The last thing that needed to happen would be for this invasion to fail and the momentum for the Allies to falter due to arrogance. Even the Admirals knew that and surprisingly so did President Roosevelt. That's why when he sent back MacArthur and Nimitz with the approval for the Philippine invasion he told them to loop in Captain Kalvin Elbert AKA the Superman into their planning. Colonel Phillips had kept General Eisenhower and President Roosevelt informed of the plans of the SSR and Taskforce Vanguard during the war. He sang praises about Clark's strategic mind for years so Roosevelt telling MacArthur and Nimitz to include him in their planning going forward wasn't out of pocket and it made strategic sense. Superman was going to be their vanguard forward if Peleliu was any indicator so looping him in at the very least was a smart idea. He survived getting shot at by tanks, mortars, artillery shells and bombs from heavy bombers, so naval bombardment was nothing new.
This led to Clark being called to a strategy meeting aboard Admiral William Halsey's flagship, the USS Enterprise. They were in a large meeting room with maps of the Philippines and the surrounding ocean geography accompanied by boards with pictures of Japanese naval movements captured by air recon and all the possible data needed for planning an attack.
"With the latest intel we've received I believe this to be our best plan of assault. Prior to closing in on the Leyte Gulf at approximately 0800, my Task Force 38 will engage the airfields in Formasa and the Ryukyu islands to the north at approximately 0830 alongside the 58th Bombardment Wing. The Japanese bombers and planes are in range to catch us on our flank, so they need to be dealt with. No doubt they're going to know what's going on, so it'll be our air power against theirs." Admiral Halsey said.
"My friends and I can help with that. I have experience in dealing with waves of fighter planes and bombers in Europe and the others can fly and lend a hand." Clark said.
"Sounds good to me. With you, the Hawks, and Blue Beetle in the fight than it should go our way and our boys will back you four up." Admiral Halsey promised, and Clark nodded
After the fighting on Peleliu, word got out that Superman was leading a team of other super-soldiers in the Pacific and a reporter even got a picture when the four were leaving Peleliu. The subsequent picture and stories that accompanied it were circulated all across the globe. The first-hand accounts of the marines who fought beside him spoke of hope that just like the war in Europe, Superman would be able to help usher the end of the war in the Pacific just as fast, but it wasn't just him. Superman would have the help of Hawkman, Hawkwoman, and the Blue Beetle. Unlike Howard Stark who coined Clark's moniker as Superman, the Marines are the ones who gave the others their monikers/codenames. Hawkman, Hawkwoman, and Blue Beetle were fairly simple and based on their apparel and motifs. Carter and Shayera were adorned in hawk-themed armor while Dan's scarab was similar to a beetle hence their names. They officially joined Clark and Steve in the ranks of publicized super-soldiers. Many asked questions, no one got any real answers, but it definitely got noticed.
"Well then, if…I'm sorry, when…" Admiral Thomas Kinkaid fixed his word use. "…when air defenses are taken care of by Admiral Halsey's 3rd Fleet, the 7th Fleet will push the brunt of the attack to take out the remaining Japanese Carrier. Our latest intel puts them here near the Sibuyan Sea with a contingent of support ships including the Yamato and Musashi."
Clark picked up an aerial photo and noted two very large Japanese battleships that easily dwarfed anything the US fleet had. "Those are big ships."
"The biggest and most heavily armored and powerfully armed battleships we've ever seen. In a straight fight with our ships, we'll get torn to pieces." Admiral Kinkaid informed him.
"It won't be a problem." Clark put the picture down.