Justice Avengers: A Black Day in Hub City

The Trap

Silvermane's single stomp broke both of Black Mask's skulls—the charred black skull that had become his face was shattered, and so was his real skull, under his charred flesh. The remains of Black Mask's cranium stuck to Silvermane's foot in a tarry, bloody mush.

With some trouble, Yelena finally got up, though she was already starting to succumb to her wounds again. "Sir. We... go home now?"

Yelena looked over to her rescuer, Harm. "What about him?"

The Meet

Soon enough, the ARGUS helicopter had arrived by the building. A rope ladder was dispatched by an open window. Agent Wein and the Winter Soldier was the first to climb up inside, while Deathstroke and Agent Byrne were aboard the helicopter.

Inside, the floor in the old tenement began to creak some more. Thankfully, the trashcan fire that Firefly had started didn't spread quite yet.

Rorschach confronted Anarky, Firefly, and Deathstroke, blocking their way from the window.

"HaVE sOme iMPorTanT tHiNGs to dIsCUSs. WiLl tAlK wHeN wE'rE bAck aT thE HQ."

Without another word, Rorschach crawled out of the window and clambered onto the ladder, climbing behind Winter Soldier, and expecting her teammates to follow behind.

Devil's Corner

The address took Two Face & The Ventriloquist Hell's Corner, which was in the northeastern reaches of Hub City. The entire neighborhood was infamous for being Don Fortunato's stronghold, but it was otherwise just another series of tenements and shoddy buildings in Hub City. Nobody had arrived to take the cash deposit from the dumpster in the time that Two Face and The Ventriloquist had left.

The address was not specific about any sort of building or landmark, it simply showed the ensemble to an old street. One building stood out—a high-end looking nightclub stuck between two old tenements. There were more pedestrians cluttered around the nightclub than in any other part of the Devil's Corner, and a line was formed outside on the cracked gray sidewalks. Two of the greasiest Italian gangsters to ever walk the Earth◊ guarded the doors zealously, both wearing golden necklaces that most of Fortunato's men had a taste for.

"@[=g3,8d]&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"

Silvermane wiped his shoe clean on Black Mask's suit with a smirk. So much for getting first blood, eh, Sionis? He thought smugly. Then he turned his attention to Yelena, wincing internally at the sight of her. She looked a little rough.

"Yeah, we should go." He said calmly. "No use taking a car, I'll probably just get hit again. Would you be too offended if I carried you?" He looked at Harm, one mechanical eyebrow raised. "I don't normally deal with freaks, but...I owe you this one. You need anything, lemme know."

My various fanfics.

Two Face looked out the window at the location the address was clearly telling him to go to.

"Alright, looks like this'll be his place. Probably do a weapons check. Unload down to pistols only."

   We ain't walking in there without anything.   

Sounds of his goons removing other weapons from their person and putting them in hidden compartments filled the car as Two Face took out the phone and called the second car back at the drop for a status check. Wordlessly, he held it to his ear for a moment, nodded, then hung up.

"No pickup yet."

   If they don't take the money by the time we have the goods, we're taking the guns and cash.   

"Might not be a good idea to anger these people, we don't even know who they are yet. Besides, they won't be that stupid."

   Ya, ya. Spoilsport   

He pointed to one of the goons. "You, watch the car. Everyone else, with us." He got out along with the rest of the entourage and got into the line, standing out quite a bit with his goons even before one looked at his face.

edited 14th Jan '15 2:23:34 PM by Meanken

The Meet

As quietly as possible, Anarky made it sure that he was the last in line to leave the building...

...and as soon as he was out of sight of the rest, he turned around and returned inside.

He couldn't help but smile under his mask. Slade and the others had no choice but to obey; they could be tracked and have their brains blown up. But thanks to his magical cape, all the tech in the world could no longer find him. He imagined Waller's reaction when she realized she no longer could track him down. He wished he could see it in person and laugh on her face.

Of course, his identity and fortune were still compromised. He didn't care. He would start over from zero if he had to. But he was NOBODY'S pawn; he was one of the players.

He then found the hole that Zabo had disappeared into, and jumped down it as well.

edited 14th Jan '15 2:44:21 PM by Sijo

Firefly left the building and ascended up the ladder at speed, not noticing whatever occurred behind him.

He didn't find Rorschach's announcement that weird given the previous behaviour of the entire team, and simply made a note to find out whatever information she considered "important things".

And with Black Mask's death signaled by cracking under the pressure of Silvermane's feet, the cosmos rang out as the sound of millions of fanboys cried out in despair and anger. That bit of entertainment managed to lighten Spiral's spirits in lieu of the interference problem. And if the feeds do not lie, which they rarely do, Silvermane's fanbase actually grew from that bout of fan favorite murdering right there! Still though, Black Mask was a big contender and she may have to plan to find a replacement Legacy Character. Its entirely dependent on whether or not the merchandise continued to will sell well or not......

Oh look, the interference was gone from the main action! Fascinating.....

edited 16th Jan '15 11:42:33 AM by UdtheImp

DAMMIT MARK, STOP HOTTING HELPY!!

Robbie's Place

Domino was taken a bit off guard with how quickly Robbie recovered after taking the pills. One would think they would take a bit longer to work. She waited patiently as he took his younger brother to bed. Seemed like there was something wrong with the kids legs, or something. He hasn't stood up once and needed to be carried after all. This lead her to wonder where their parents were in all of this.

When Robbie came back, she waved off his thanks and said "Don't mention it. Least I could do after helping to steal your car." She let out a light chuckle at his advice on street racing when something suddenly dawned on her. The mutant looked over to the nearest clock and cursed. "Shit, is it past midnight already? Listen Robbie, the city is gonna be turning to shit for the next while. Even more shit than it is already at least. My advice is to keep your brother inside, theres gonna be some gang fights going on." She said.

With that out of the way, Domino turned to the door and waved over her shoulder to the supernatural drag racer. "I think I should probably get out of your hair. Catch you later Robbie." She said as she left his home. Wouldn't want anyone looking for her to stumble upon this relatively peaceful neighborhood after all. Now began Domino's journey back through the city to try and find her way back to her hotel.

The Trap

Yelena shook her head.

"I have been through much wors-"

Yelena staggered, clutching on Silvermane's shoulder for support. She wasn't amused. The mere idea of being forced to have her employer protect her was anathema, but she ultimately gave in. "If you think it's best, sir, go ahead. Carry me. We're not... too far... But the police will be coming..."

The Meet

Bits and pieces of the ceiling were falling around Anarky as he dropped down into the hole that Calvin Zabo vanished into. The whole building would be ablaze in a few minutes. The only trace of Calvin Zabo's existence was a pungent, sour odor that was quickly being replaced by the smell of burning smoke, and a bunch of scraps of clothing and clumps of hair scattered about the dirty floor. The doctor seemed to have escaped through another hole, this time in the wall.

Helicopter

Deadshot watched each of the ARGUS agents climb into the helicopter gunship, making rude quips as each one came aboard.

"Weinie. One-Armed commie bandit. Trenchcoat-wearing weirdo. 'Stroke, Firebug, I know you're alive down there, too. Looks like the gang's all here—Hey, now where's our glorious leader?"

Rorschach paused for a moment as she got aboard.

"I'Ll gO cH—AnaRkY wAs—KiLlEd."

Deadshot blinked in shock.

"Really? He's dead?" Deadshot asked, surprised. "He actually looked like he could handle himself. Can you at least go recover the bod-"

"BUIlDiNg oN fIrE."

"Great first mission, everyone. Great. Well. In the event of Anarky's death, I was informed that I'd get to be your new leader, and by that I mean I'm the person who's going to get punished the most for this. Anarky's going to get the last laugh while he's burning up in hell."

The helicopter ride was short an uneventful—It was only a short trip up to the northern parts of town, before the helicopter went straight back into the HQ's secret entrance. The security detail retrieved everyone's equipment as they left the helicopter. Amanda Waller approached everyone when their weapons were confiscated.

"Welcome back, agents."

She scanned over the group.

"Anarky?"

"Dead," Rorschach replied.

"What a pity. I suppose I should allow you all a brief moment of silence in his honor."

"Anyways, I would be congratulating you all for a job well done, but I'm afraid there's an issue."

Deadshot nodded. Amanda Waller pressed a button on a remote. A hologram displaying zoomed-in footage of Deathstroke and Winter Soldier appeared. They were both using sign language. Deadshot had been recording the fight the entire time while he was stationed as a sniper.

Deadshot crossed his arms "Sorry. I was keeping some secrets. But then again, so were you."

"The building that you are all present in is the most maximum-security prison in the state of Illinois. To punish you for your pathetic attempts to cross me, I'm assigning all of you to Cell Block X. You will cooperate together here at ARGUS. You will share your rewards evenly, and if I am not satisfied with your results in the field, you will be punished all at once. Do I make myself clear? Good."

Deadshot shrugged. "We haven't finished construction just yet, so you're gonna be living here without beds for a while. We don't have toilets or sinks in most of the cells, either. Hell, I don't even think Cell Block X has lights yet. Luckily for you, we haven't really gotten those tacky prison clothes yet, so you can wear what you got on right now."

Amanda Waller gestured to a group of men wearing green armor. Agent Byrne and Agent Wein were left behind, but everyone else was held at gunpoint and outnumbered by state prison officers in full tactical gear.

"Restrain them. Escort them to their cells."

Rorschach immediately surrendered to the guards, who took her hands behind her back and restrained her with a pair of high-tech cuffs.

"Do whAt tHey saY. DOn't fIgHt. TruST mE."

Rorschach looked at Winter Soldier for a long period of time, again. After an intense moment, he too was restrained, with a special series of chains that disabled his cybernetic strength.

Devil's Corner

The two bouncers guarding the nightclub entrance shortly took notice as Two-Face and The Ventriloquist stepped in line, and gestured to let them up to the front of the lines. Without a word, the two patted down Two-Face and Arnold Wesker, as was expected. When they were satisfied, the thug on the left slided over to Two-Face and The Ventriloquist, talking in a hushed tone.

"The goods are in the back room. You and whoever else should go through the back door to get the stuff. There's also a lot of bombs in there. Thanks for doin' business."

The thug on the right dismissed Two-Face and The Ventriloquist, and the line behind them. "Okay, party's over, people! Club's full!"

"Remember, go through the back door."

Whoever had spoken to Two-Face earlier was speaking the truth. The back door of the club was unlocked and unguarded, and the back room of the club was lined with expensive weaponry and technology. The walls were lined with high-tech assault rifles, high-powered sniper rifles, combat shotguns, and light-machine guns. There were enough firearms to arm every person standing in the club. Boxes full of grenades and plastic explosives sat in the middle of the room. A pipe bomb sat beside one of the boxes of explosives, not yet set to explode.

Meanwhile, back at the dumpster, a young man who appeared to work at the nearby ice-cream store walked outside, and looked satisfied when he peered inside and looked at the duffel bags. Pausing, he made a quick text on his phone, before climbing inside and grabbing the goods.

Spiral

Suddenly, Spiral received another call from the Mojoverse. "There you are, my little eye in the sky! I've gotten plenty of news from you, and I got plenty of news FOR you!"

Mojo scowled, and shook his clenched fists. The screen shook as his arms moved around. "Unfortunately, it's BAD news! The material is great—that's why it's so upsetting that there's so much interference going on! There's are some things down on Earth that aren't letting you film them, but that's not all! There's something in Earth's orbit that's preventing your film from coming to my receptors! Fortunately, you got me some great material, enough for a couple of good-sized episodes. I'll see if I can work in an excellent mid-season finale! You go find out what's blocking the reception. We won't be off air for lo—"

Mojo's message was interrupted, and immediately replaced by another broadcast. It was from somewhere in the United States. The speaker seemed to be male, and he had a gravely, wizened voice. Spiral couldn't see the speaker in any way.

"Greetings, extraterrestrial. I apologize that it took so long for you to receive a formal greeting to the United States of America. We have been aware that off-worlders have been entering the country and residing here for quite some time. Normally, they follow our rules and do their best to blend in. But you have been recording footage and broadcasting it to another party, illegally, and have disrupted government operations personally, enough to get my attention. It is my job to prevent subversive activities from occurring on American soil. Consider this your first warning, extraterrestrial. I have the bodies of spies from various nations mounted and stuffed in my office. I will do the same to you if you continue to work against this nation. Goodbye."

The mystery call ended.

edited 16th Jan '15 2:38:50 PM by TailsDoll

"@[=g3,8d]&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"

Silvermane smiled slightly at Yelena trying to put on a brave face in spite of her injuries. He had to admit, the girl had guts, real intestinal fortitude. More than a lot of people he'd worked with. Gingerly, he scooped her up and gave her a sly smirk.

"They won't catch up to us." He said confidently, sprinting suddenly down the street and leaping into the air in bounding jumps.

My various fanfics.

Two Face's reaction to the stash was uncontrolable laughter from his evil side.

   Hahahahaha! Jackpot! Look at all this shit, Dent!   

"Well worth the money."

Just then, his phone went off. He picked it up.

"Yo boss, we got movement down here. Guy's in the dumpster picking up the cash. Orders?"

   Now is the time, order them to kill his ass, and we can take all of it!   

"Do I need to point out that we are still standing in their place, and their territory? And that they probably have a lot more guns like this where they got it from?" He only got muttered grumbles in response. "We'll get a lot more value from them in a long term relationship then just robbing them blind."

"Er.....boss?" The goon still on the phone who had apparently been forgotten said.

"Ok, let em go. We need you to go back to the base and grab the truck from the warehouse job. The changes are done, right?"

"Ya boss, no one should be able to identify it as the stolen truck."

"Good. Grab it, bring it here."

   There's a fuck of a lot of shit here. Bring more with ya. We'll need a lot here loading the thing.   

"Understood, we'll handle it." He hung up. The goons started busying themselves looking around.

   Ventriloquist, where the fuck are ya!? Got a job for ya!   

Arnold scurried up. "Yes, sir?" Don't be a yes-man, jerk.

"We need someone to take a ledger of all the gear here. Make a list of everything that's here, something I can look back to later and check to make sure that one of my goons didn't take something when my back was turned.

   Since you look like a nerd, and half my goons are dumbasses taken from the streets who couldn't count their way out of a paper bag, we're giving this job to you.   

"We'll double check your counts as you make em to make sure no mistakes are made, but this will be your primary job."

   Unless you'd rather be part of the hard labor who gets stuck carrying the heavy ass boxes of explosives.   

"Probably wanna keep your distance from those, by the way, just in case."

Arnold gulped. "N-no, sir, making a ledger is perfectly fine. I will have it done." Quickly, he began the task, nervously looking over his shoulder.

The Meet

Anarky was wary of escaping through the hole in the wall. It looked like it had been broken out from the inside. Whatever made it might still be nearby.

But he had no choice. He had no time to look for another exit; the building was ablaze, and "his" team, or other ARGUS agents, might be looking for him now. He had to get away as fast as he could.

And so, he carefully stepped through.

The sorceress began to touch Savage's shoulders to help him calm down. "I know how you feel my dear, so much power at your fingertips, you think they are beneath your notice."

"However If I learned something fighting Arthur is that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. Fear might be powerful enough to delay rebellions for some generations, but if you earn their love you, they and their children will follow you until their last breath. That's how kingdoms that last millennia are made," she said addressing both Savage and the ghost.

She then walked towards the phantom and said, "My wish, will be that all ,without exception, shall hear, listen and feel what I want them to know. My thoughts and theirs shall become one."

---

After she had talked with Savage, Morgan walked toward the balcony and addressed the slaves ."Rejoice for your cries have reached the ears of your queen.— I want you to know the truth. There is no such thing as freedom. I come from that far away land. Those people you envy they think they are free, but their actually slaves with invisible chains. "When they are young they spend much of their lives going to a school only to be trapped in a prision they hate◊, doing a job they loath, until they die,◊ for the benefit of a master, that couldn't care less about them.◊ Is that truly that different from you?

"They are slaves of money and of the desires of others. How can they call themselves free when they don't own their own destiny? What good is money if you sacrifice your dreams to become a grain of sand in a desert? Go to school. Get a job. Get married. Is that truly what you all desire, when you can be so much more? They worship democracy, but in the end, Does it really matter who sits on the throne if we can give you everlasting prosperity?

"We won't give you the illusion of freedom when we can give you what you truly want; happiness— a purpose. However the fair retribution you seek shall be granted, but let it be known that those that follow us you will receive rewards beyond their dreams. From this day on, you shall not be my slaves, but rather my beloved subjects. Follow your King and Queen and we shall lead you to eternal glory," she shouted as she raised her staff above."

edited 16th Jan '15 3:53:31 PM by RPGLegend

Forgiveness is beyond justice, faith is superior than hope, redemption is better than perfection and love is greater than them all.

Terra, Deathstroke's Hideout

After an extended silence, Terra turned away from Karate Kid and pulled out the Golden Scarab that Savage gave her to check it. Karate Kid did ask how she got in and this was the only answer she had.

edited 16th Jan '15 5:07:51 PM by GameGuruGG

Wizard Needs Food Badly

Son of a bitch.

Slade didn't have much of a reaction when Anarky's death was so bluntly announced. He had tried to undermine him, and whoever he was, the world was probably a better place without him. The problem came after he realized they hadn't died immediately... which meant the whole injection thing Waller claimed to have on them was a lie.

And so, when the agent came to try and restrain him, Slade waited for the right moment before driving his elbow into the agent's gut and trying to step back, wrapping the chain link between the cuffs around the agent's neck. "One move and I wring the life out of him." He replied, sternly. "You lied to me, Waller. I don't let men who lied to me live. You won't be an exception."

---

Karate Kid eagerly leaned over Terra's shoulder, trying to take a look at what was on her hand. "Oh yeah. How did you get in, anyhow? The security systems should have picked you up."

"This, I think," Terra said to Karate Kid allowing him to look over her shoulder at the Golden Scarab. "I dunno what the hell this is, though."

Terra had an idea, though... She figured it was a magical device of Savage's creation which, among other things, can disable a security system.

"I'll need to keep it on me in case the security system picks me up without it," Terra added, keeping the scarab clutched and having a valid worry that might actually happen.

Wizard Needs Food Badly

"Let me take a look at it, then." Karate Kid said, holding out his hand. "It may not look like it, but I have some expertise when it comes to devices that can disable security systems. One of the many things I trained at the..." He trailed off, looking to the side, before shaking his head. "Never mind that. May I see it?"

"...Alright," Terra said, offering the golden scarab for him to look over. "Be careful, though."

Wizard Needs Food Badly

"Alright." Karate Kid said, grabbing the Scarab, promptly trying to snap it open. "Come on, there's gotta be some kind of latch here."

"Umm... If there isn't a latch, don't force it open," Terra tried to warn Karate Kid, since she knew the scarab might just be magical in nature.

Wizard Needs Food Badly

"I'm not forcing it open!" Karate Kid yelled back, clearly trying to force it open. "I'm trying to... gracefully... ask it... to open itself... UP!"

Deathstroke's Hideout

"Thank you, but give it back," Terra asked politely to Karate Kid, holding her hand out to take the scarab. "You've now confirmed a suspicion I had of the device."

Wizard Needs Food Badly

"Hold up, hold up." Karate Kid said, holding Terra back. "Let's crush it." He suggested, smiling. "Unless whatever suspicions you had goes against that."