Justice Avengers: A Black Day in Hub City

Slade didn't wait a moment before grabbing Larisa by the arm.

"Spiral?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He was pretty sure it was her- hard to forget a face when you slept with it- but he needed to be sure. Even if she didn't answer that question or lied, this woman's reaction would give him the true answer. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh my, forceful are we?" Spiral said, reacting to Slade grabbing her arm in mild surprise. One of the beige suited assistants reached out, by their boss held up a hand, stopping him. "Name's Larisa Canips, I'm one of the main nominations for the Mayoral position. You are......?"

Glancing offhandedly at the assistant, Slade didn't let go of Spiral's hand. "Slade. Slade Wilson. But I believe we already know each other, Larisa." He glanced at the assistant again, although this time it was more of a glare. "Do you have some time? I'd love to catch up with you... privately."

Larisa looked at her watch. "Sure, we got a couple of minutes before the debate," she said. "Lead the way. Just not by the arm," she added, pointing to Slade's hand on her arm.

"Thank you." Letting go of Larisa, Slade 'gently' lead her to an empty broom cabinet, one where they wouldn't have to struggle to fit in. It was only after he was sure that no one was outside peeking in that he turned to Larisa, furrowed his brow and (almost) shoved a finger right in her face. "Drop the act. What are you doing here?"

As Larisa and Slade went inside, the two assistants stood outside, standing guard, looking as casual as possible doing it.

Within the broom closet, Larisa, or Spiral, answered: "My boss wanted me to join in the electorial race for mayor of Hub City because he thought Dent would have it way too easy and win either by a landslide or by default, depending on whether or not he would actually have opponents. Honestly, if I hadn't checked the footage this morning when you proposed your idea of running for Mayor, I'd thought I'd be the only competition."

"And now that you know you're not, what exactly are you still doing here?" Slade continued, apparently not satisfied by her answer. "Your objective is to drum up interest in this race, right? Well, you got me. Now get away before your meddling starts turning this into something that'll threaten the safety of the city as a whole."

Hydra Warehouse

The explosions took Spymaster by surprise. Was the place blowing up? Or where they under attack?

One thing was for sure: the situation had changed. Chaos was likely to hit the place, making it more difficult even for him to skulk around. Drawing out his dart gun, he hurried towards the entrance of the sealed area. From a distance, he spotted the strangely costumed man -he seemed like something out of a Kung Fu movie- hitting the steel wall really hard. Either he was nuts, or he was much stronger than he seemed. Once again blending into the shadows, Spymaster prepared to incapacitate him and/or anyone who found them, hoping to still get a chance to obtain the Crown. He wasn't going to risk his life too much, though.

"Unfortunately, that's a no-go," Spiral said in a more serious tone. "My boss gave the order before you verbally stated your decision to become Mayor, and whatever the boss says, goes. I didn't like the idea at first, but I honestly crave the challenge of actually trying to pull this off, so I'm definitely sticking with this! This is actually my first foray into legitimate politics instead of just covering or manipulating it! Its actually really exciting!" she said with a wide smile.

"This is a game for you, isn't it?" Slade grumbled, letting go of Spiral. "It's just another part of your game. I'm trying to bring some semblance of reality back to the lives of the people out there. I'm trying to fight the enemy that is rotting this city from its core, and you're having fun. You will lose, Spiral." He narrowed his eyes. "You will lose."

"Don't worry your one eyed head about it," Spiral said. "I already made an agreement with Harvey's backer that if I win, I'll back out the position. Saves me the trouble if you ask me, I find the race more enjoyable than the goal I'm shooting for. Not to mention having to juggle running this crap city and my own job would lead me to having zero free time. However, while we agreed that I would not keep the position if I were to win, he didn't say that would mean that Dent would win.............."

A beat.

"Wink wink, nudge nudge," she said aloud.

"Are you suggesting a partnership?"

Slade stopped for a moment, smirking. "I like that idea... yes. Alright. A partnership could be do-able. You deal with Dent from one side, I deal with him on the other side. We bring him down, and I can give you something... a position on the cabinet, from which you could create some drama. How about it?"

At this, he grabbed Spiral by her hip, clearly trying to trigger some memories from their last encounter. "Do we have a deal?"

Spiral had a pleasantly surprised expression on her face when Slade suddenly pulled her hip to his. "I was actually just thinking of passing on my mayoral seat to you directly if I win, but your offering sound rather tantalizing!" she replied. She then brought her face closer to his....nearly his lips.....

"I'm still gonna fight you tooth and nail though," she said, spinning herself around closer to the door. "I'll think about it," she added. "Think of it as a post-game agreement. Can't let Harvey get paranoid about the competition ganging up on him." She grabbed the door handle and turned it. "Besides, our first debate is almost on us. See ya on the battlefield....." She clicked her tongue while winking at him, and then promptly left the broom closet, heading for the stage flanked by her beige wearing assistants.

He waited quietly until he was sure Slade was out of earshot. Then a fancy vase was picked up and chucked at the wall, shattering into a million pieces.

   FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK THAT FUCKING ASSHOLE! WHO THE FUCK DOES HE THINK HE IS GETTING IN ON OUR FUCKING RACKET!    Two Face turned to Ivy, pointing his finger in her face.    You find me every fucking merc in this city and hire them, pay them whatever the fuck you have to, money is no fucking object, I want this fucking "Slade Wilson" dead by sundown, and his head delivered to me on a golden platter!   

"No, what we should be doing is looking into this guy's backround. We have two unknowns in this race against us. We know why one is unknown, the alien who made up a identdy on the spot. But I've never heard of any Slade Wilson ever connected to politics in this region, and something about that man tells me he's not just any ordinary man. You can see it in the eyes. He must have some sort of history, some sort of paper trail. Find it. Figure out who he is, and we may find something to use against him."

He checked his watch, turning for the door before his other half could comment. "I have to go, Ivy. See what you can do, I'll be back soon."

Meanwhile, the preparations for the debate had been completed. 3 podiums stood ready on stage. In the front row, a table had been erected for the debate proctor to use. Behind him, the hall was packed with people, some of who were interested in the debate, some bored students driven here by teachers who promised extra credit for attendance, others just random passerby who were eager for a reason to get out from the gang war torn streets.

"Good day, fellow citizens of Hub City." The proctor said into his mic as he began. "Today, we host the first debate of the new elections for the mayor seat of Hub City. Let us not waste any time here. First, we will introduce the candidates. Our first candidate is a new addition to the race, who wishes to formally announce his candidacy at this time. Join me in welcoming Slade Wilson to the stage!"

A smattering of random clapping went through the room as many people stared in confusion and interest at this new development.

The exploding ammo did its job and drew the attention of a majority of the guards paroling the area. Thus, Steel Serpent and Spymaster would find it easy to sneak past any guards on their way to the wall. However, such a distubance caused HYDRA command to be quickly notified. A loud alarm sounded through the building as red flashing lights signaled an alert.

"Red alert, red alert, we have an intruder! All units, be on guard! Cut down any intruders you see!"

Steel Serpent, however, would find that the wall guards had not moved from their positions, their orders stating they were not to move under any circumstances. While their attention had been diverted by the bullets, Steel Serpent's blatant attempt to get past the wall drew attention quickly, and he would find two HYDRA guards in heavy armor pointing rifles at his back as his magic began to work.

"Freeze, get your hands on the wall!"

Spymaster, meanwhile, went unnoticed for the moment.

edited 19th Mar '16 6:07:40 PM by Meanken

"Sure thing, honey." Ivy said calmly, even as Two-Face's finger got inches away from her own eyes. "Sure thing."

"Thank you, thank you." Slade said gently as he stepped into the fray of the debate, smiling warmly and waving at the smattering of applause.

"I realize how late minute this might seem... and trust me when I say that I know the people of Hub City could use a little less... unexpectedness in their lives." Even with the eyepatch, Slade tried his best to seem as friendly as possible. But there was a visible edge to him, a sort of uneasiness. As if he was looking behind his back every second, even if his eyes didn't move from the reporters around him. He gripped the sides of his podium and took a deep breath. "Many people do not know me, so let me introduce myself."

"I am Slade Wilson. I was born in New York in 1979. When I was twenty two, I enlisted for the US Army. You'll find my time in the military is a matter of public record... and you'll also find that I spent a long time in Afghanistan as a hostage." He seemed to ease a bit, surprisingly. "Those videos are publicly available. You can find them on Youtube with a simple search. I managed to escape... lost my eye on the process.." He gingerly caressed his eyepatch. "... and returned to the United States a decorated veteran."

At this, he took a moment to breathe out. "For a long time, I couldn't do much. I moved to Hub City in order to find some peace and quiet, but... now, I..." He regained his fatherly stance. "Now I want to do more for my city, because Hub City is my home. And I plan to bring peace and greatness back to all who live in it. Thank you, and good luck to the other candidates."

Alleyway

Silvermane just glowered at the teleporting girl with an extremely weary expression before he attempted to walk around her◊

"I really don't have time for this," he told her flatly, "I don't know who that is, and if you're looking for someone to give a damn about your sob story, you're talking to a guy who is a fuckin' brain in a goddamn jar. Now get out of my way. I got business to attend to and I don't work with..." he cast his eyes upward and squinted in disbelief. "Muties?"

From the perspective of one of the Police-Bots, since Carl Manfredi did not have a known criminal record in Hub City, it would appear that a half-naked and thirty-years-younger Silvio was falling out of the sky at something resembling terminal velocity with an attempt to smash feet-first into its face.

Alleyway

Ty took advantage of Silvermane's distraction to hit him with a dagger in the back of the head, hopefully knocking him clean out or dazing him long enough for Cloak and Dagger to make their escape.

Escape they did, Tandy levitating over to Ty and teleporting them both away.

They reappeared on the other side of town.

Tandy sighed. "Well, that was a complete waste of time."

"At least now we know not to trust robots," Ty said, half seriously and half trying to lighten the mood.

edited 10th May '16 7:26:33 AM by emilyorthoclase

This post was thumped by the Shillelagh of Whackingness

Hydra Warehouse

The situation was unforeseen: the warehouse had been rocked by explosions. Spymaster didn't know the cause but he sure wan't sticking around to find out. No amount of money was worth his life- besides, he didn't really know if the Serpent Crown was actually here, and had no way to break into that steel vault anyway.

So, he bolted back towards the same opening he had used to enter the building. Once outside, he would report events to Anarky and wait for his response.

Outside

A nearby warehouse was rocked by explosions, and Tandy instinctively flew in front of Ty.

A man in a costume ran out of the warehouse, and the siblings exchanged a look.

In a flash of light, Tandy and Ty were right behind the man, and Ty tackled him, shoving him face first onto the ground.

Ty readied a shadow dagger. "Explain yourself, criminal, or taste the Darkforce, courtesy of Dagger." He was speaking in a voice a few octaves deeper than normal in an attempt to sound intimidating; judging by the amused look Tandy was giving him, it wasn't working.

There was a part of Ty that missed the intimidation factor of being Cloak. He didn't miss the voices or not having a body, but criminals were much easier to scare when they were dealing with something as obviously inhuman as Cloak had been.

"We're not going to hurt you," Tandy reassured the man as she floated in front of him so they could see eye to eye. "I'm Cloak, he's Dagger. We're superheroes. You can trust us."

edited 19th May '16 4:35:48 PM by emilyorthoclase

Outside the Hydra Warehouse

Spymaster turned around to see a couple of teenagers- a boy wrapped in shadows and a glowing girl- addressing him. One claimed they were superheroes.

Not having time for this, he simply began to dash in the opposite direction, hoping to lose them; he needed to find a place where he could hide, watch the aftermath of events with Hydra, and report them to Anarky.

But just in case, he prepared his tranq-dark shooter.

edited 28th May '16 1:50:26 PM by Sijo

Outside the Hydra Warehouse

The man shoved Ty off him and ran through Tandy. The siblings exchanged looks.

Ty seemed to glow with a kind of dark light as he launched three shadow daggers at Spymaster, his aim true.

Tandy appeared in front of Spymaster, hopefully distracting him long enough for Ty's daggers to reach their target.

If this worked, Spymaster would momentarily be immobilized and hallucinate his worst fear. It was temporary, lasting less than a minute, but it was usually enough to make villains more open to interrogation.

And if that didn't work, Tandy could always teleport him into traffic and see if that made him more polite.

Spymaster, being very much a pro, didn't lose the teenagers from his sight as he fled; he watched Tandy disappear and Ty launch some- things at him. He jumped, twisting in mid-air, and dodged the dark missiles.

However, Tandy appeared before him, blocking his way. He shot a tranquilizer dart at her, then turned around and shot one at Ty as well.

Just in case, he reached for a grenade from his belt as well.

Outside the Hydra Warehouse

The tranq dart went right through Tandy, embedding itself in a nearby wall, but the dart aimed at Ty hit him right in the arm.

Ty reached a hand out to steady himself before sinking to the ground. He felt tired, more tired than he'd ever been in his life, except for when he'd lost his Cloak powers and had to get used to eating and sleeping again like a normal person. Within a minute, he was gently snoring.

Tandy screamed, and her cloak wrapped around Spymaster, teleporting them in the middle of rush hour in Hub City.

Just as a car was about to hit Spymaster, Tandy teleported them back outside the warehouse. She rematerialized and threw herself on top of Spymaster.

"What did you do to Dagger?" she demanded. "Tell me what you did, you monster!"

The sensation of being teleported by Tandy, while not as bad as when it was done with Darkforce, was still unsettling even to Spymaster. He was momentarily off-balance, but recovered his wits quickly.

He was rational enough to realize he was dealing with a ghostly teleporter. Bad combination. His luck was really rotten today; at least it looked like the other kid was out of the fight.

He looked at Tandy. His response to her was to show her the grenade in his hand.

And then he pulled the pin.

-*Pffft*

It was a smoke grenade.

The alley filled with smoke in seconds. It was non-lethal, not even knockout gas, but most people would not be able to see in it, and it made it hard to breathe. His mask, of course, protected him.

He rolled out from under her and once again tried to escape, this time walking quickly but silently, trying to lose her in the cloud.