Raquel Nueva AKA Rebekka Rhines AKA the ex-Axis Force  supergroup 'hero' Wasser-Frau continued her life in the Germany of post World War II in the 1950s on the shore of the Rhine River, only a short distance from where her life started as a discovered abandoned unique-looking child found along the river's shore in 1910.

 

By this time this magical water sprite of a woman, now in her 40s, but looking late 20s, but with white hair, continued to help others out in her community and on what was once her family farm; a farm that she'd given over to the Wurst family.  The Wurst family were hard-working farmers willing to also help the community. Their youngest son, Stephan, aged 20 by 1950, had been sent to America before the war and raised there by relatives for the the war's duration until in1947 when he was flown back to his parents (who'd survived under the radar as simple farmers) where he now learned how to farm...something Stephan wasn't too interested in.

 

Raquel/Rebekka, although working hard to tear off the yoke of guilt that burdened her every day for the forced murders she had to commit as a controlled member of the Nazi supergroup called Axis Force, was living a lonely, secretive, sad life. She usually cried herself to sleep at night, thinking that she'd never find love nor true redemption, no matter how much she wished for both.

 

In 1947, when Raquel/Rebekka saw Stephan for the first time, she fell in love with him.  She knew he was too young for her, but she loved his kindness, friendliness and honesty.  His positive western demeanor he'd picked up in America was contagious to all around him, and made the local girls flock to him as if they were themselves in heat. That didn't matter to Stephan though. He was a thinker as well as being a gorgeous young man. He'd go down to the river's edge and contemplate or read books for hours on end, usually getting into trouble for not helping out on the farm. As such, on a couple of occasions, Rebekka/Raquel almost got caught being seen by Stephan while she was swimming at her unnatural hyperswimming speeds in the river where she usually swam naked.  Nonetheless, she'd hide herself from his view amongst the reeds and watch Stephan for hours as he sat on the river's edge reading, talking to the birds and critters and simply being something other than the ugliness she'd seen for the previous decades of her life of humanity. She wished that one day she'd find someone like him that was such a beautiful, thoughtful, educated and conscientious young man like Stephan. One day her wish eventually came true.

 

In 1952, Stephan's parents, while driving back from the market, were killed in a car crash with a drunk driver. Both died at the scene. Both Rebekka/Raquel and Stephan were devastated over the loss. Rebekka paid for the funeral and arrangements while Stephan reluctantly took over the farm's operations in the interim.

 

The afternoon after the funeral, Stefan went down to the Rhine River's edge and sat and cried.  Surprisingly, when Stefan saw movement in the water from amongst the reeds, he looked over and saw a naked Rebekka walking out of the water and up onto the river's bank where she sat beside him.  She hugged him and they both cried together over the loss of Stephan's parents.  With humility, Stephan eventually reached over and placed his jacket around Rebekka/Raquel to cover her body up. There, they sat late into the evening, with Stephan talking about his parents, his time in America and his hope that one day, he'd help Germany be something other than the nation of ex-Nazi monsters that the rest of the world considered them to all be now.  They both fell asleep on the shore, cuddled in each others arms.

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When the morning came, 'Raquel' was nowhere to be seen. In fact, all her things in her small one-room shack she'd been living in along the river's edge were now gone. She'd moved out, leaving only a letter with the lease for the farm in Stephan's name. For the next year, Stephan managed the farm and did all he could to be a good man. Every day, he was watched by Rebekka/Raquel from the water's edge.  She'd taken her things to a hidden location on the French side of the river. She was afraid she was falling in love with Stephan and knew everyone she loved...always died. As such, she loved him from afar, living off the land/water for the next year.  On the anniversary of Stephan's parents' death however, her distance from Stephan faded.

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On the anniversary of Stephan's parents' tragic deaths, Stephan came down to the Rhine River's edge of the farm's property to reminisce about his wonderful parents...but also to wish to see the amazingly beautiful woman he knew for that immensely short time as Raquel Nueva.  He'd asked about her from everyone in town, but it was always the same - she'd kept to herself and always seemed sad.  That night, however, while standing on the shore wishing to see Raquel once again, he indeed got his wish.

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As before, Raquel/Rebekka emerged from the water before Stephan, naked, and walked up on shore, standing in front of him without either saying a single word.

 

Neither spoke.

 

Both Stephan and Raquel simply looked into each other's eyes for what seemed like forever.

 

After what seemed like eternity the two slowly hugged each other and then kissed; a kiss that invited a longer kiss thereafter. Their passions ignited, they made love on the shore of the river that night under the stars with the only witnesses to the act other than our two star-crossed lovers being the crickets and fireflies that flitted about amongst them that night.

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The next morning, both were still in each other's arms.

 

It seemed that they both wanted each other and without saying a single word the whole night, now so much to discuss and tell.

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For the next few days Stephan and Raquel/Rebekka told each other everything about each other.

 

EVERYTHING.

 

Rebekka was afraid that when she told Stephan about what she did as Wasser-Frau that he'd leave her outright then and there for her atrocities (to which she, at that time, in her eyes, considered that being killed by Stephan as judgement would be worthy enough for  the cost of her sins). Stephan however, wept over what she'd told him.  He was saddened to know that one such as she was so mistreated, so abused and so desecrated. Stephan swore to her that if she'd allow him, he'd do all he could for the rest of his life to love her and help her recover from what she'd been forced to have endured. Rebekka not only said yes, but threw herself at Stephan, with the two engaging in over two days of passionate lovemaking thereafter.

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Within a month's time, Rebekka, as Raquel Neuva, married Stephan Wurst and became Mrs. Raquel Wurst.  It was a small ceremony, but one that was noted by the locals as a 'blessed' marriage.  Months later, Raquel gave birth to their first child, Riana, a girl.

 

Stephan, discovering he was better at teaching rather than farming, rented the farm out to another family to manage it, making profits from the sale of the crops, while Stephan completed his studies at university, earning himself a teaching fellowship at the nearby college.  There, Stephan quickly accrued an engaging reputation as a teacher of western civilization classes, igniting his students' passions for academia, experience and engaging fullfillment in whatever they wished to excel in. Raquel and Stephan selected an out of the way cottage on the river's edge at the edge of the college campus so that Raquel had easy access to the river to swim in. The crusty old faculty wasn't too impressed with him, but Stephan did bring in more students and more money from alumni.  As such, Stephan soon found himself a member of the faculty proper, ensuring and enduring career as an educator thereon in. Raquel, on the other hand was introduced to something far more exciting and engaging - national security work.

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As was the condition of Germany during the Cold War period, western Germany was officially designated as the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) otherwise called "West Germany", controlled and regulated with the winning side of World War II's Allied nations of France, Britain and the United States; the eastern side of Germany was 'taken over' by the Soviet Union and designated as the German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR)) otherwise called "East Germany".  The new Wurst family resided in West Germany and as such, became embroiled in their new nation's politics whether they wanted to or not. When the Berlin Wall went up separating the zones of control in Berlin, both West and East Germany engaged in the equivocal of a civil war. Eventually neither side was allowed to enter the others without severe restrictions; relatives and families were separated by this new 'iron curtain', and as such, everything became a political or military matter, to which the Wurst family was about to be part of thanks to an observant West German intelligence officer named Damon Kaufmann.

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In 1956, while staking out the colleges in West Germany, on the lookout for communist subversives, Damon Kaufmann learned of Raquel's secret, as well as that of her daughter, Riana, who had similar powers and skills. Rather than 'turn them in' on the basis of the United Nation's edict that 'no German citizens were allowed to exhibit, have or utilize superpowers or high tech weaponry or equipment, period. It was illegal to have powers, whether one was born with them or otherwise. In the early 1950s, Damon was told of several individuals, usually youths, exhibiting powers, to which they were sent to a secretive organization only know as Baltic Force. From there, these innocent superpowered children were never heard from again. Knowing there was a sinister theme to this Baltic Force, Damon was not about to turn over Raquel and Riana to his bosses. Instead, he monitored them and studied them further. 

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Months later, after observing and talking with others that didn't meet the United Nations' 'now superpowered Germans' edict, Damon decided to attempt a risky if not downright illegal operation - create a secret supergroup of German superheroes that could one day be used to help save Germany should the nation ever need superheroes.  In so doing, Damon contacted Raquel and Stephan.

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After a few days of secretive and agitated discussions amongst the Wurst family, Raquel agreed to help out, so long as she, her husband nor her daughter would ever be arrested, captured or turned in, ever. She also demanded that if she ever saw the group do anything other than good, she'd leave and never come back. Thus, the group, which codenamed itself the "Teutonic League" came into existence when Raquel, now codenamed as "Rhinemaiden", and a few other superpowered and high tech heroes stepped up to help their new country.

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Working in the shadows the entire time, Rhinemaiden was allowed to raise and take care of her family as well as train and go on missions, all with the intent of preventing the rest of the world from learning about them being "German" superheroes.  For the next few decades, Rhinemaiden performed over 200 missions for the newly secretive cover agency name of the Ministry of Agriculture, Division 8 which was a front for the Teutonic League's operations. Although there were times that Rhinemaiden was unhappy with the team's missions, she never once quit nor did she ever feel she wasn't doing 'good' overall. As such, she go to raise her daughter without issue, even so much as having a baby boy, Ezekiel, in the 1970s.

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Stephan eventually became a tenured professor as well as a home school teacher to his two children. With the kids' pointed ears and powers, they'd easily be discovered by people willing to turn them in. As such, Division 8's own people, wives and children, all became the Wurst family's new friends and extended family. Each of Division 8's family members helped each other out, baby sitting, educating and even providing friendship and fellowship in the process, making everyone feel less alone. For the most part, it was effective, but it still left the Wursts feeling segregated from the rest of the world; a condition they hoped to remedy one day for their kids' sake.

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During this time, Rhinemaiden encountered dozens of dangerous villainous groups, including the previously mentioned Baltic Force and the East German "Condor Legion" including dozens of other major threats to Germany. Both Riana and Ezekiel grew up to be astounding adults who later learned to wear prosthetics over their ears to fit in with the rest of the human population, all while going to college with both becoming essential paragons in their own fields of expertise.  Neither really wanted to use their powers for anything other than basic swimming; they also didn't want to join their mom's 'super secret squirrel hush-hush hero group' either. As such, the two oldest kids simply lived a normal, engaging life; a life both Stephan and Rhinemaiden wanted for them. Even as they both got older, Stephan and Rhinemaiden were still madly in love with each other and amazingly had another child, Miriam, in 1981.

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In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, as did the two German halves unto reunification as a new, whole Germany just a few years later. At the end of 1990, Division 8 also fell, and was shutdown for good, along with all its secrets. The public was never informed of what or who Division 8 was nor even the fact that they actually had dozens of German superheroes that secretly saved the day time and again for Germany and the world.  To that end, Rhinemaiden basically 'retired' from her secret superhero life and instead spent time with her aging husband of 60 years. In 1995, Stephan retired and both he and Raquel travelled the world, still loving each other like when they were younger. In 1999, at 89 years of age (to which no one knew what her lifespan was supposed to be anyway), Raquel gave birth to another daughter, what she deemed her 'miracle' baby, Anna.

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In January 2000, however, the Soltan Star Empire invaded Earth.

 

Stephan was killed in the first wave.

 

Riana and Miriam were killed in the second wave hours later.

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Ezekiel and Anna survived, but were sequestered away by a magical community called the "Conglomerate" that hid them from the Soltans...and Raquel...until after the invasion was over several months later. 

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Raquel was severely wounded in the Soltans' first wave. She died twice on the operating table in the remnants of the bombed out basement of what was once the Division 8 HQ, but came back to life each time...barely. When she did finally heal up weeks later, she learned of the status of the rest of her family. After properly burying her husband and deceased children, Rhinemaiden came back into action and erupted into a battle fury the likes of which she'd never done before, lifting entire volumes of river water and causing it to crash down onto Soltan transport ships pulverizing them into wafer-thin metal sheets. She drowned hundreds upon hundreds of Soltan troopers day in and day out, all while searching for her other children.  Sadly, as the magics were drained from the German lands, so too were Rhinemaiden's powers. Since her powers were tied to magic, she lost her powers by June of 2000, leaving her uncapable of fighting in a direct fight; instead she lead resistance forces and other superheroes into action, devising strategies, stealth missions and devastating blows to the Soltans in and about Germany and Europe. As such, thanks to hers and others actions, the Soltans fled Europe by July.

 

At the end of the invasion months later, a wash of magical energy reinvigorated everything and everyone once magical across the whole planet. Rhinemaiden was practically back to full fighting trim as a result of the new magical infusion, however, her spirit was tired and damaged from the losses she'd taken.

 

After the Conglomerate returned her children back to her, Rhinemaiden spent the next few years with them, helping them learn new combat and fighting skills to ensure the Soltans, or any other villain, would never get the drop on them ever again. 

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In 2003, an aged Damon Kaufmann contacted Rhinemaiden once again. Along with other superheroes, they decided to form up once again and whether the United Nations like it or not, they were going to get out there and do what they could to help Germany once again. Recalling back to the promise she made to Major Invader, she'd seen him in action during the Soltan Invasion and noted that he and his team of Allied Fighters paid a heavy price to stop the Soltans. Remembering her promise to him, she doubled down in her efforts with the supergroup who now publicly were called the Teutonic League...and became accepted as Germany's first 21st century premiere superhero team.

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Not long after, the real story of what happened to Rhinemaiden, even back to when she was Wasser-Frau and Rebekka Rhines, was finally told to the world. Expecting to be ostracized and spat on again, Rhinemaiden was surprised to instead be warmly accepted by the German people as well as the rest of the world, all of which seemed to forgive her for anything she may have been forced to do when she was under duress by Axis Force. She was granted a unilateral pardon for any deaths she'd caused and was honored with statues, memorials and even schools and buildings named after her. A recovering Major Invader attended one such ceremony and led a wave of praise for the hero that Rhinemaiden had since become since her days in World War II. He told her...and the world...she had truly redeemed herself and that she was truly a 'hero' in his and the rest of the world's eyes.

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Thanks to the Rhinemaiden's involvement in taking down what was once Baltic Force, its new iteration called 'The Exterminators' decided to get revenge not only on Europe's heroes, but specifically against Rhinemaiden and what was left of her family.

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Throughout the next decade's worth of time, Rhinemaiden performed with the Teutonic League as a truly  epic superhero. Ezekiel went on to become an advocate for superpowered beings, ensuring they received legal representation in all forms of lawsuits, while young Anna trained and trained every day to learn to be more like her mother, whom she called her own 'hero mom'.  

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In 2012, after dozens of attempts against the Tuetonic League and Rhinemaiden, The Exterminators finally found a way to hurt them.  After a spree of superpowered youth abductions, murders and mutilations, the Teutonic League was brought in to stop The Exterminators once and for all.  As the League was searching and tracking hot and cold leads about the Exterminators, the children of Europe's superpowered heroes, including Rhinemaiden's Anna and Ezekiel, were abducted right from under their own noses by The Exterminators.  

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The heroes pulled out every stop they had, eventually finding the secret base the Exterminators wanted them to find; the one set with traps for the incoming troops, superheroes...and abductees.

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After a professional tactical entry into the Exterminators Base (Trap), several of the abducted superhero children were found either mutilated, dead or chopped into pieces and fed to the dogs.

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Ezekiel was one of those who'd been killed, dissected and fed to the dogs. 

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A handful of other abductees were wired with various vile weapons, including acid packs, which could be triggered remotely or from one of any dozen or so of other manual triggers that could be unwittingly engaged, leading to instant deaths of not only the abducted, but those trying to save them as well.

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Rhinemaiden was able to save her daughter Anna from one such trap, but only at the cost of Rhinemaiden's own life due to her daughter's exploding acid pack that was meant to kill Anna.  Rhinemaiden had succesfully ripped the acid pack vest off of Anna and leaped away, up and out from Anna and the others, but unfortunately, the vest exploded, dousing Rhinemaiden with incredibly powerful industrial strength acid.

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Rhinemaiden died a grueling death minutes later after crashing to the ground.

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Anna, along with several other heroes and freed abductees, within hours, joined forces and found the real Exterminator base and performed acts of murder and destruction the likes of which cannot be described in this story nor allowed to be told of to the public to this day. The 'deaths' of the Exterminators at that base kept classified and instead 'reported' to have been as a result of the Exterminators use of their own base's self destruct devices.  Those that were there and survived, however, knew otherwise, but have never spoken about it since...Anna included.

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Rhinemaiden was given an international hero's funeral the likes of which had never been seen. Lauded with honors and accolades, Rhinemaiden indeed had truly and fully redeemed herself becoming a hero to the world...as well as her daughter, Anna.

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An infinity fountain sets the memorial ground at what was once the Rhine Farm along the Rhine River. There, the land is now a beautiful, serene, grass and water memorial made to the memory of Rebekka Rhines AKA Raquel Nueva AKA Raquel Wurst AKA Wasser-Frau AKA Rhinemaiden. There, Rebekka lied buried beside her husband Stephan and her deceased children, forever under a heroic statue made in a heroic Rhinemaiden pose.

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Anna, Rhinemaiden's daughter, has since carried on her mother's superhero name and has joined her mother's old team, the Teutonic League, to carry on the family legacy, hoping to become even half of the hero her mother truly was...and continues to be portrayed as in epic and legendary memorials, stories, movies and song.

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