Justice Avengers: A Black Day in Hub City

Bucky shrugged. "Change of plans. Just another way to accomplish our goal." He breathed out through his nose, looking in the direction of Silvermane's apartments. He didn't really want to talk with him yet. Maybe tonight, if he returned there. For now...

"That's our first task, then. Time to find somewhere to train." He grinned to himself. "Should have a bed. You'll need to crash afterwards." With that thought in mind, he wracked his brain for a good location. The apartments were a good place to rest your head, but not really for a permanent base. If he had Slade...but he should get used to not having him around. Bucky was becoming Deathstroke for a reason.

Maybe...Zabo's labs should be clear now, shouldn't they? Damaged, but relatively isolated. "I might have an idea. We'll have to stake it out. It's a ways across town...the hideout of a man Slade and I took out not too long ago." Kind of.

"This way." Bucky gestured at Karate Kid to follow and began walking in the direction he remembered it being. West from that big skyscraper, wasn't it?

edited 23rd Dec '15 11:12:10 AM by Serendipital

Naturally, everything Winter Soldier said aloud was immediately transmitted from Spymaster to Anarky.

Hmm, though the young genius. He had already found out Slade was running for Mayor; that explained why he had passed on his identity to his pupil. He still wasn't sure why Karate Kid was working for them though. It could be an infiltration. Or maybe he really had turned to the 'Dark Side'.

"They are on the move" Spymaster whispered. "Should I follow?"

"Hmm... yes. But, make sure you're not detected. Otherwise, abort."

The masked mercenary then began following the duo from a distance, from rooftop to rooftop, an almost undetectable shadow. He wasn't the best for nothing.

Silvermane waved a hand dismissively at Yelena's apology in an odd juxtaposition to his fury when his grandkids had finally come home.

"It's fine," he assured her, "Nobody was hurt." Then he looked her over. "How are you feeling?" he asked, obviously referring not to her cold but to the wounds she had sustained during their encounter with Sionis.

Terra, Silvermane's Base

Once Silvermane's yelling was done, Terra walked into the room quietly and nervously. He had not recognized her when she escorted his grandchildren home, being more worried about them than caring about who their rescuer was, but Terra knew that the issue would be brought up at some point. Thankfully, Silvermane had let her stay the night. Terra breathed slightly quickly expecting the shoe to drop soon.

"Sir," Terra said quietly to get Silvermane's attention.

"Mr... Anton, was it?" Slade began, placing his pen in his pocket. "I'm sure you're highly aware of the situation this town is going through. Now, I should say that I did not enter the mayoral race to clean Hub City of its criminals, no matter what I might say to the cameras. I believe the underworld and overworld of Hub City can work together to protect its citizens from a larger threat."

But when I say the underworld, I don't exactly mean you. Slade autocompleted in his head, but his smile remained firmly in his face. "Whilst I would gladly accept any contribution from your employer, I will not let said money change my ultimate goals of bringing true, uniform peace to this city and to protect it from the superpowered mayhem that is slowly corrupting the very core of our society. Hub City will not become another New York. We will become a shining beacon in the middle of a diseased country."

"All I'm saying is... I will gladly assist you on some matters. But even a politician has principles. You understand that, don't you, Mr. Anton?"

"Harv, how could you be so thick-headed?" Ivy said in mock outrage. "I mean the days before you got that beautiful scar on your face. When we were just Pamela Isley and Harvey Dent. The... simple days. Don't be shy about it, after all... sometimes I find myself wishing for those days too. I almost wonder: if things stayed the same, if there was no Bat, no Poison Ivy, no Two Face... would we be married by now? Would we have kids?"

"I think your ideas are our ideas Mr. Wilson. Provided that a certain amount of "looking the other way" can be applied to our organization from you and your office, you can expect a campaign donation from my boss very soon. I just have one last question for you - what is your opinion of the man known as Silvermane?" Anton asked, flashing his gold teeth at the prospect of getting Wilson to their side.

"Said 'looking the other way' will be at my jurisdiction. As for the man known as Silvermane, in regards to my campaign and to the future of this great city... he is, at most, extremely unimportant." Slade said, confidently. It didn't matter if the Chechen wanted to rub this in Silvermane's face. Manfredi knew where Slade's real allegiances lied.

City Hall

"To you, maybe. He has given the family great insult and has stolen some of our business here in the city. We want him gone." Anton said, with a hint of malice in his otherwise jovial tone.

"Today, you can expect an anonymous donation of 1,000 dollars from us as a gesture of good faith. More will come depending on...how well we work together, so to speak. For example, two of our comrades are up for parole in a week, after being caught with just a bag of weed in their car when they were pulled over for speeding. It would help matters greatly if a mayoral candidate would publicly condemn this or even write a letter of recommendation for them." Andton said, before handing Wilson a piece of ripped paper with several phone numbers he could use to contact the Chechen or the First Bank of Hub City.

"We'll be in touch." Anton said, before turning and leaving. On his way out, he grabbed a blank form from the clerk's desk and then headed out the door.

Karate Kid nodded and followed Bucky to the labs. There, he would see the labs had been damaged by the explosion of the robot and gutted by the flames from the third floor lab. Posing a bigger threat to plans to shack up in the building were the numerous cars outside of the building. if he squinted, Bucky would be able to see the SHIELD logo on several of the cars.

"Da, the injuries from that fight are healing well." Yelena said before they were approached by the newcomer. "The girl from yesterday. I must thank you, Comrade, for helping to protect my charges and escorting them home when I was unable to do so." She said with a slight incline of her head.

   I'd be bored out of my fucking mind is what would happen!   

Dent's other half, meanwhile, was silent for a moment. "Sometimes I think back on what might have been, it is true. Maybe we could have had a normal life. But that is not reality. All any of these thoughts are is wishful thinking, nothing more." Dent reached for a cigar. "We have to live with the hand that fate deals us."

Silvermane Base

Silvermane squinted at Tara, as if he didn't recognize her at first.

"Oh, right. I threw a car at you," he said casually. "So why's a cape deciding to help me?" He shrugged and headed for the door. "S'pose it doesn't matter. You'll stay here where people can keep an eye on you until I'm finished with my business. Yelena, you're with me. Let's move, people!"

Terra, Silvermane Base

"I ain't a cape," Terra corrected Silvermane. "At least if by 'cape' you mean a hero like New York and Jump City have in abundance."

Terra looked over Yelena, knowingly smirking at her comment about Silvermane's children needing protection. They were mutants and showed off impressive abilities, and thus didn't really need protection from a baseline like Yelena. However, Terra merely sat down where she was. She could easily just use her power over earth to break out of here if she wanted to, but... she didn't want to.

"As mayor, I can't exactly make people disappear." Slade replied bluntly to the Chechen's idle complaints about Silvermane. "But your help is appreciated, and I'll do my best."

Once the Chechen was gone, Slade fought back the urge to send a message to Silvermane. There could be no sign that he and a mob boss were in cahoots, unless he wanted to see his campaign end before it even began. Returning to his seat, Slade clasped his hands and smiled. "About that mayoral debate?"

Poison Ivy lit up a match (god knows where) and helped light Two-Face's cigar. "Poetic as always, aren't you, Harv?" She said, chuckling. "What do we have in store for today? Other than an awfully boring debate. Should you even go in that thing? Won't your other side try to choke the other candidates?"

"...Maybe not," Bucky muttered, taking in the scene. He'd been hoping there would be some room untouched, but SHIELD's presence alone was enough to ward him away from the place. He stayed hidden on the rooftop, trusting Karate Kid to do the same.

"Let's see what they're talking about," he said, motioning for Karate Kid to follow. "We'll watch each other's backs." Slowly, he moved closer, sticking to the shadows as he climbed to the ground. He did not notice Spymaster's own sneaking.

Anarky's HQ

The young genius wasn't happy. Oh sure, he had almost completely rebuilt his hacker network (and his fortune) by now, but it seemed as if the conflicts around him were moving into the political arena- and that was an area unfamiliar to him. He was, after all, an anarchist. But, let them; he would continue working his own way, and strike at them when least expected.

His first priority, in fact, still remained: Spiral. She didn't fool him with her mortal disguise, though he had no idea why she would bother to run for Mayor. Whatever, this probably meant she was distracted. Which meant now was the time to strike at her.

And he knew just how. But, he couldn't do it by himself. As much as he hated it, he knew he was going to ask for help, specifically, magical help. And most magicians he knew were either not up to the task or would not likely be willing to help him. Which meant he would have to ask her again.

He left the stolen mansion wearing plain clothes, as well as the charms that kept Spiral from finding him. He wandered the streets of Hub City for a while, peacefully -probably for the first in a long time- until he arrived at the gates of a certain stately Mansion.

"This is Lonnie Machin" he announced himself. "I'm here to see Miss Le Fey."

Yelena nodded, and started following Silvermane out the door along with his men, who quickly started loading up the car with whatever guns they could grab. Assuming there were no further orders from the boss, the group would move out to the police station.

Outside the police station, Silvermane would be greeted by a scene quite different from the norm. Several SWAT trucks sat parked around the building, manned by heavily armed officers with deep scowls on their faces. Anyone who attempted to enter today was swiftly and roughly frisked before being allowed entry to the building, and several men were loading into one truck, clearly preparing to leave. It was clear something big was happening today, although what that was would not be clear.

Meanwhile, inside the station, the office was in a frenzy. Officers who usually were allowed to sit around and lounge all day were being ordered by superiors to run all manner of tasks, few of which made sense given the normal day operations of the office. The floor was a hectic mess of people running back and forth, trying to do things which they were not accustomed to doing. In the middle of the madness, Hisako had been ordered to man the front desk. This, however, was about to change.

"Ichiki! New assignment! One of our SWAT officers called in sick! You're needed for an assignment! Report outside to SWAT truck 2099! You'll be briefed on the way!"

The man at the front desk nodded at Slade. "Yes, sir, I'll make all the arrangements. Your "business" has been much appreciated.

Meanwhile, outside City Hall, police presence started to build as final preparations were made for the press conference that was beginning in the next few minutes.

"I have no choice, people will notice if I don't attend." He said as he took a puff of his cigar. "And my other side will stay quiet, he understands this is all part of the plan we agreed on, even if he disagrees with the methods."

   Fucking bullshit election crap. We should take the city by force! Kill anyone stupid enough to make a move against us!   

"That will just attract military attention, even if we can put down all of our rivals and the police department. Like it or not, we do not have the firepower or support for a hostile takeover."

This caused Dent's other half to mutter to himself angerly.

As the duo got closer, they would overhear two SHIELD agents talking, one a senior officer, the other a local agent.

"So, Roy, what's the damage?"

"No one's gonna be using this building for a long time. Lot of the foundation got blown out by that explosion in the basement. City will probably have to condemn it, which here means it'll stand here for 10 years until a chunk of it falls off and squishes some poor kid before the city can be convinced to waste the money on demolitions equipment, which they'll hand to what few convicted criminals they have to do as part of a work program. Then half of it will vanish into their pockets and get sold on the black market."

"We have any word on what caused it?"

"Nothing was left of whatever blew up but scrap metal. Whoever made it didn't want anyone else getting their hands on it."

"Labs?"

"Wiped clean. They wouldn't have had time to do it if this was an accident, reports say the building went up in flames the second it blew up, no one in the building would have been alive to hit any controls."

"So you're saying our friends here were attacked?"

"Seems like the likely conclusion. No witness reports, although in this city that's a given."

"Identification on who was running this place?"

"Most of the bodies were burned to a crisp. None of the clothing was intact. But some dental records have been matched to known HYDRA agents."

"HYDRA. Shit. They're active here then. What were they doing here?"

"Not enough left to know for sure."

"Right. I need to call HQ, report in to Fury. He'll want to know about this. Finish up here."

With a nod, the local agent left.

Without a word, the gates opened, allowing Anarky entry. As he walked into the building, a servant greeted him, and lead him to a dining room, where Morgan was busy eating breakfast.

"Ah, Lonnie. How nice to have a visitor at this early hour. Do have a seat. Have you eaten today?"

As he entered, he would likely notice Morgan had a TV in the room currently tuned into the press conference that was about to begin.

edited 17th Feb '16 12:53:30 PM by Meanken

Police Station Exterior

Silvermane frowned and chewed at his bottom lip at the sight of the SWAT cars outside. He hadn't expected this. No real cause for alarm, though. He was, after all, an indestructible cyborg.

"All right," he muttered into a walkie-talkie, "Just one small change. I'll go in first and clear out some of these vans. As soon as I make an opening, those who are going with me move in. Everyone else, keep people from comin' in or gettin' out." Then he turned off his car and walked right out as he strode brazenly towards the SWAT vehicles. "Gentlemen!" he called amiably. "I've got some questions I'd like to ask the chief about the way my tax dollars are being spent." He put a hand on the hood of one of the vehicles when he got close enough. "Namely, the fact that you guys are getting in the way of me tryin' to run an honest business. ...All right so it's not honest." He plunged a fist into the van and ripped an engine out. "Then again, I don't pay taxes. So who gives a fuck?" Then he lobbed the engine, one-handed, like a softball towards the station as hard as he could.

Morgan's Mansion

Lonnie bowed to Morgan and said, "Good morning, Madam. Good to see you again."

Then he sat at the table, though he did not touch any food on it.

"...My apologies for disturbing you, if I am" he began. "You have been a most gracious host. It is thanks to your aid that I have been able to walk the streets of this city safely again, and for that, I am most grateful. And fear not, I have not forgotten our deal. I will provide whatever help your chosen Mayoral candidate might need."

He allowed a beat, then continued: "I come today seeking yet another boon. I hope you won't find this too much of me to ask. But, it will ultimately prove beneficial to both of us, as it will eliminate a mutual enemy."

"You may or may not know this, but the woman running for Mayor? She's Spiral, the alien sorceress, in disguise. I don't know what she plans to gain by doing this, it's certainly not how she operated in the past. But, I'm counting on her being distracted for now, and plan to finally strike back at her, crippling her operations on Earth. But for that, I need your help."

"You see, I found her hiding place: it's located in the sky, far, far above this city. I have the means to disable it" he continued, producing a computer memory stick from a pocket, "but I need to penetrate its defenses, which are likely reinforced by magic. I need a powerful enchantment for that... one only a Sorcerer such as you can provide. Of course, I don't expect you to do this for free. I'm willing to bargain for it. Please tell me what I could do in exchange."

edited 17th Feb '16 1:19:37 PM by Sijo

"OH SHIT"

The engine struck the Police Station. It did not make a hole, due to the sturdy construction of the building, although a substantial dent now adorned the building.

"OPEN FIRE!"

Silvermane would find at least 30 assault rifles were now firing at him from all directions, along with a few machine guns that were mounted on the trucks.

The bang of the engine shook the whole building, and everyone stopped in their tracks as the lights flickered for a second. Then a loud siren went off.

"Red Alert! Red Alert! We are under attack! This is not a drill! All officers, arm up and prepare for combat!"

All around the office, Officers started tripping over themselves as they ran for their service weapons, while larger guns, such as shotguns, assault rifles, even a few sniper rifles, were being handed out by armory workers to anyone who passed.

Meanwhile, in the police chief's office, he reached for a phone and quickly placed a call.

Over at City Hall, anyone looking into the sky would see a news chopper suddenly turn and, for no obvious reason, leave the area, flying toward the police station.

"Interesting idea." she said as she sipped her tea. "I did notice her presence in the election. I, of course, would also benefit from her suffering. But such a spell will take time and effort to create. As for something I want..." She paused, thinking. "Hmm. There is an artifact I had my eye on. It recently came into the city. It is known as the Serpent's Crown. Legend has it that whoever wields the artifact will gain supernatural powers. Mind control, illusions, levitation, superhuman strength, and more. Such an artifact would be of use to me. Should you retrieve this for me, I will create your spell for you. My sources tell me that the group known as HYDRA currently possess it. But, I am far from the only one who desires this item. I have no doubt others will move to secure its power."

As bullets ripped through Silvermane's expensive suit and even more expensive skin, he threw back his head and laughed like a maniac. Then he bent down and grabbed a SWAT van by the undercarriage and attempted to lift it over his head so he could throw that, too.

Police station interior

The rookie Hisako Ichiki was on her station doing paperwork for the last day's captures. Her and Karima still had the credit for them but not without its fair share of work and questions almost in equal part. When the chief called her in for a SWAT assignment she had mixed feelings of course. For one this darn paperwork wouldn't be done and for other something exciting to do. She was heading down towards the vans to get briefed before the alarms started blaring. She immediately bolted back towards Karima. Once she found her she told her in whisper -"its time to suit up!"- eager to taste the power again but obviously concerned to be attacked.

Morgan's Mansion

-*Hydra, huh?* Anarky thought. Normally he would be wary of taking on such a powerful organization. However, he knew that they were still reeling from the blow the Suicide Squad dealt them. They were likely hiding, licking their wounds, and waiting for the chance to strike back. Which meant that it was the perfect time to sneak around and steal something from under their noses. He would have to focus much of his skills and resources on it, but it could be done.

"Very well" he said to Morgan, nodding. "It will require some time, but be assured, I will find and bring this crown to you. And I count on the effectiveness of your magic to help bring down our mutual foe."

At the press conference, and on any TV currently tuned to the broadcast, the image of the Chief of Police appeared as he stepped onto the stage, a somber look on his face. He held up his hands for silence.

"People of Hub City. Today I called this conference to discuss the continuing gang wars that haunt our fine city. However, I am afraid the situation has become far worse then even I could have imagined."

At this point, the broadcast turned to a live view of Silvermane's police rampage, as 3 men were flattened under a SWAT truck, and the rest started retreating into the station even as they fired on Silvermane, the bullets clearly doing nothing..

"As you can see, the police themselves are now under direct attack from these vicious criminals. These so called "Supercriminals", have up until now been impossible for our forces to defeat. But, today I am announcing that we are beginning a new offensive, to take back our streets from the gangs that have for so long haunted them. Together with private investors and other parties, we have created a new weapon to combat these criminals."

Those at the stage would hear a loud noise as something started headed their way. Then, with a loud band, a gigantic◊ 15 foot robot landed, painted in blue and white, with the letters "HCPD" painted on its chest.

Unit 001, ready to protect and serve

Over at the Police Station, three of these robots would land in the middle of the street and look over at Silvermane, a red and blue light not unlike a police light flashing on their heads. "Attention. You are under arrest for crimes against the people of Hub City. Put your hands over your head and get down on the ground, or your compliance will be forced. All of this would be visible as the Chief continued.

"These new additions to the arsenal of the HCPD will allow us to, for the first time in years, level the playing field against the criminal element. I can assure you, should you cooperate with these machines, no harm will come to you. Their firepower is considerable, but as those of you at home can see, and as you who are here with me will soon see, there are those who reside in our city who require such firepower to subdue."

"Now you're talking! Karmia said as she reached into her desk and pulled out two pills and some ski masks, which she handed to Hisako. "To the back, let's do this!"

Cutting through the room unnoticed, the two would quickly find themselves in an empty back room with an easy window outside. Karmia put on the mask and took the pill, then motioned for Hisako to continue.

"Wonderful. Then we have an agreement." It was after she said this that the broadcast played over the TV. Morgan watched with interest.

"Well. It would appear someone is getting serious about fighting crime. I do wonder where they got all those wonderful toys?" She asked with a sly smile as she sipped her tea again.

edited 17th Feb '16 7:09:27 PM by Meanken

Blue lipstick applied to her lips. A fine, respectable shade that was not overbearing and gaudy, but still unique through the choice of color alone.

She fluffed up her large hair. It was big enough to show power, authority, and presence, but not big enough to make others think she was still stuck in the 80's.

Tight fitting business opened enough to show cleavage. A respectable amount to reveal her beauty despite her age and act as a good distraction technique for the weak-minded, but not too open lest she give the image of being slutty.

Spiral proudly walked out of the building which would be her campaign headquarters for her human persona. It was easy to find an abandoned building somewhere in Hub City. The hard part was putting up a strong enough glamour to cover its true nature and then hiring workers to both spruce the place up for real and to do busywork to give the illusion of doing the busy work necessary to run a city campaign trail. Thankfully, Mojo's near billion year old network of employees, both paid and enslaved, made finding workers easy. Trick was to make them look human, thus adding to the glamour......

However, what Spiral was really thinking about was Slade. Thinking about his seemingly strange request now without having so much preparations to be done. When she had some free time, she looked back over the footage and found Wilson had told Bucky he was planning to run for mayor. The secretary had actually laughed out loud - literally laughing. The hilarity came not from Slade not being able to pull it off, but from the sheer absurdity of Slade suddenly wanting to go into politics. It was one of those moments that reminded Spiral that there were forces in the universe at work greater than even Mojo.

Stepping out the building and into an awaiting limo, Spiral, in the role of beautiful entertainment mogul Larisa Canips, would then be taken to City Hall to make the final preparations to lock in her spot in the upcoming election. In the meantime she decided to pull up some footage, and saw Silvermane outright attacking a police precinct, while at the same time the police news conference was held to reveal the Sentinels going in to apprehend him.

Seriously, one can not just created such awesome television like this sometimes.

Police Station Interior

"Alright!" she simply, but excitedly said, taking the pill and throwing on the mask, even though she knew it would be torn when she created crystal unless it went around her head like a helmet. It took the pill short to take action and once she'd created some experimental studs on her knuckles she went out the window, already covering herself in crystal.

Morgan's Mansion

Lonnie watched the events unfold on Morgan's TV set. He tried to appear unconcerned, but his brow furrowed a bit at the sight of the police robots. What, had these people never watched "Robocop?" He wondered if Morgan knew about this. However, he decided this would not really affect his plans; if anything it would create a bigger distraction to cover them.

Then, turning to Morgan, he smiled and said, "Thank you, my Lady. With your leave, I retire now. You will have word of my progress soon."

With that, he nodded, got up off the chair, turned around, and walked out the same way he had come into the Mansion. His mind was already working on a plan to find the Serpent Crown.

edited 18th Feb '16 5:09:54 AM by Sijo