Title: Earth's Mightiest Villains
Summary: A group of supervillains known as the Masters are gathered together for one purpose: the destruction of the Avengers.
Disclaimer: I don't own Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes or Batman, but i own my OC, Sarousch Luther, and others that i will add later on.
Warning: Rated T for mild violence, foul language, etc.
This fanfic takes place after "Gamma World" and before "Masters of Evil"
New York City, April 14th 2011...
It's a cool, quiet night in the Big Apple, perfect for everyone to be either outside contemplating the beautiful stars in the sky, or staying at home to drink some hot coffee with cookies, for the winter was coming in a few months. Everyone was getting peace and quiet, and sleeping peacefully in their soft beds.
Well, almost everyone...
In the Bank of New York, a group of men clad in purple outfits were outside the building, and they were placing something on the main door. It turned out to be an explosive bomb, activated for five seconds. The bomb exploded and the door was destroyed. Unfortunately, that activated the bank's alarms, but someone lifted a strange staff towards the alarm and pressed a button, directly shutting it. The person who did it was a man clad in a green and purple jumpsuit, full of question marks, and was wearing a purple eye mask.
"Okay boys, i have a question for you," said the man in green, who was supposedly their leader "When is the moment a computer is left unsafe?" he asked to his henchmen, but without expecting an answer, he immediately responded "Answer: when all systems shut down!"
The man and his henchmen soon began looting the bank, stealing every cent and dollar bill to their needs. While doing so, the leader suddenly got his eyes on a door with a sign of 'Authorized Personel Only'. He let out a smirk as he directed his question-shaped staff at the door's security index. Pressing a button, he easily opened the door and went inside the room. His henchmen accompanied him as they looked around the place. It was spaceous and very advanced for a regular national bank, but of course, one would be amazed at the wonders the year 2010 can do. What they didn't know, however, was that a security guard, who turned out to be a SHIELD agent, spotted them and pulled his communicator, hoping to contact the Avengers.
Meanwhile, in the dark skies of the city, Thor and Iron Man were doing nightly shift for patrol, and looking for any fugitive supervillain after the Gamma situation. Iron Man was really surprised that Thor survived the event without being affected by the Gamma energy, but then again, Thor was an Asgardian and mortal science holds no fear for them. Then, Iron Man's inner communicator vibrated and he answered it.
"JARVIS, please track the location of that call" Tony commanded.
"Indeed sir. The communication is being transmitted from the Bank of New York. A heist is being conducted"
"Well, looks like we have another one for the Negative Zone, Thor"
"Aye Iron Man, we must stop this villain before anyone gets hurt" the Norse God of Thunder replied.
"But first we must know who we are dealing with this time." Tony said as he and his teammate went up to the Bank of New York, where the man's henchmen were looking around for anymore cash to steal. One of them was in the hall, where a shadowy figure was following him. The brute noticed it and fired at the mystery figure, who jumped up to the sky and opened its cape, like a bat. It was then that the henchman recognized the figure as Batman. The Dark Knight jumped to the henchman, disarmed him and gave him a swift punch in the face, knocking him out. Another henchman approached him and was about to shoot, but was knocked out by a flying hammer directed at his. Batman noticed the hammer return to its owner, Thor. Two other henchmen came along and opened fire pinning them down. Bullets ripped through the air, but an energy blast knocked them out quickly. Batman turned around to see Iron Man and frowned.
"What brings you here, Tony?" Batman questioned as Iron Man narrowed his eyes.
"Same thing here, Bats. We had an agreement. I stayed out of your city and you stayed out of mine."
"Do you know this man, Stark?" Thor asked.
"Unfortunately" the billionaire replied bitterly. "Now Batman, what brings you here?"
"The Riddler came to your city and came to this computer store. He left Gotham two months ago and i've been tracking him down in four states."
"Four states. Surely that is a long tracking record." Thor remarked in amazement.
"Did you see where he go?" Iron Man asked.
"I saw him entering a disclosed door, that contained private information." Batman replied.
"You mean the 'Authorized Personel Only' door. I'm afraid i know what he wants"
"What is that this Riddler seeks" Thor asked again.
"An advanced computer chip that will grant him access to the government's systems, placing the whole continent under his knees" Tony informed.
"Exactly, so we don't have much time to lose. We must separate and begin to seek" Batman said, but Iron Man thought otherwise.
"Now hold it right there mister. After that disaster we had with Ra's Al Ghul, we agreed to never see each other. And now you're expecting us to help you?"
"It's either that or having your city ruled by a maniac like the Riddler" Batman countered back. Tony pondered for a moment, then gave in.
"I guess we have no choice. Then it's settled. Thor, go upside the building and look for the laboratory, Batman and i will search for the Riddler"
"As you say, teammate" the Asgardian son of Odin complied as he raised his hammer and went up to the second floor. He looked aroound and then sensed the presence of the Riddler, so he picked his earphone and contacted his armored teammate.
"I feel myself inside the laboratory"
"We're getting close, Thor" Iron Man replied as he and Batman went up to there. Meanwhile, the man known as the Riddler entered a secret room, and he spotted a highly advanced security lock. He easily opened it with his staff and moved the lock, opening the door in the process. Once it was open, it was revealed that it containted a little computer chip in the center. Satisfied, the Riddler approached the valuable piece of technology.
"With that microchip, soon i will become president of the United States" said the lunatic in green as he sprayed gas on the air, revealing infrared security lasers. Pressing another button of his staff, he shut the system down and proceeded to walk up to his prize. He was about to grab it, when suddenly he was disturbed by a noise. The source of the noise came from Iron Man busting out the door and approaching the Riddler. As if on cue, Thor came down as well as Batman.
"Give it up Riddler. That chip doesn't belong to you!" Iron Man exclaimed.
"Of course it does!" the madman shouted "And why using brute force when you can fight me with wits. So riddle me this: why am i as slippery as an eel dipped in grease?"
"Because you have a nasty attitude?" Iron Man taunted sarcastically.
"Wrong! The correct answer is, because i'm slipping right away!" the Riddler replied merrily as he pressed a button on his staff. Batman threw a Batarang and knocked it out of the Ridder's hand. The madman clutched his hand in pain, but as Thor approached him to deliver an electrifying blow, the clad-in-green psycho pulled a ball and threw it to the ground, generating a blinding cloud of smoke. The three heroes cleared it to see better, but it was no use, for the Riddler was gone.
"You could've told us how resourceful that guy is!" Iron Man sneered.
"I'm a detective Tony, not a clairevoyant" Batman replied.
Outside the building, police cars began their buzz as they looked around for the Riddler, who was hiding in the shadow of an alley, then began running to the other side. Just then, a black limousine parked right where he was standing. The limo's window slide down to reveal the chauffer. The Riddler gasped as he saw a beautiful blonde woman. She was wearing a dark green dress that was beneath a cream-colored jacket. The woman gave him a flirtarious grin.
"Do you need a ride, handsome?" she asked in a seductive tone. The Riddler seemed a little tense, then shrugged off as he gave her a knowing grin.
"How could i refuse, ma'am?" he replied as he went inside the limo, which departed away before the Avengers could come. As the windows closed, the Riddler turned to his female rescuer.
"My name is Amora" the woman said.
"Very appropiate" the mastermind replied with a smirk.
The limo was driving along all the way up to an abandoned warehouse, but not the one A.I.M. or HYDRA were using for their meetings. No, this one was an abandoned Stark industries factory that was shut down five years ago.
"My boys are still missing and far away" The Riddler reminded.
"But my friends are here" Amora said.
"Friends?"
Amora drove to the warehouse's door and, as if it were magic, it opened automatically without her needing a remote control, leaving the Riddler stunned. Once they got out of the limo, Amora led him to the inside of the warehouse, where there was an elevator. After getting out of it, the Riddler was stunned to see a highly advanced laboratory, but unlike the bright color scheme of other companies, this one was dark purple and was far more advanced than Stark Industries.
The Riddler gave a little tour and saw below himself a training room. He spotted a stone replica of Captain America, which was beheaded by a sword and then the rest was destroyed. The one responsible for it was a man clad in purple and magenta, and was wearing a mask that apparently was attached to his face. The man in question was Baron Zemo, Captain America's arch-enemy. Zemo approached the fallen head and smashed it with his bare boot.
The Riddler turned around to see another statue, this one was Black Panther's. Suddenly, there was a deafening sound that shattered the statue in a lot of pieces. This time, the person doing it was a man in his mid-fifties. He looked like Abraham Lincoln, only in a hunter's outfit, and was carrying a sonic gun where his right hand should be. The weapon then became an ax and the man chopped the Panther's statue head with it. The man was known as Ulysses Klaw, an enemy of Ant-Man and responsible for the death of King T'Chaka, the former king of Wakanda. But, wasn't Klaw supposed to be dead? After all, he was absorbed into the Vibranium after being turned into a sound creature, and his weapon hand wasn't supposed to turn into other kinds of weapons.
Suddenly, a horde of bats flew around and past the Riddler, who covered himself in defense, and then saw one of the bats beign grabbed by a large, hammy hand. That hand belonged to Carl Creel, the Absorbing Man. But he was just captured after the Leader was defeated, how come he managed to escape again?
"Gotcha, rodent" he replied as he touched the bat and, strangely, drank its vital energy, like a parasite. He then dropped it and walked away while burping.
The rest of the bats flew around a man clad in a dark scuba suit and wearing a big helmet. That man was the sociopatic assassin Black Manta, who blasted at the bats and managed to knock one down.
Then a green-skinned, redheaded woman stepped out of the shadows and made a plant grow out of the concrete floor. The plant wrapped one of the bats and then a Venus flytrap rosed out of the root. It opened its mouth and ate the bat, chewing and then swallowing it. The woman petted her precious plant.
"That's a good boy. Mommy is proud" she said in an affectuous tone as the plant burped. So far, this was the only one the Riddler knew. She was Poison Ivy, a plant-based eco-terrorist with the ability to control fauna and turn people into plants. Then it hit him: being led by a stranger to a warehouse that held extremely dangerous supervillains, and a meeting with said villains, it all made sense to him.
"I know what you're planning, lady. You're trying to create the Legion of Doom!" the Riddler exclaimed. He was a former member of the Legion of Doom, enemies of the Justice League, a group Batman was a member of. The Legion disbanded due to Lex Luthor's bad leadership and incooperation between the villainous members.
To the Riddler's surprise, Amora wrapped herself in a green smoke and suddenly transformed into her true form. She was Amora the Enchantress, Loki's servant and Thor's female enemy!
"We would rather be called Masters. The Masters of Evil" she said as the other villains came behind her.
"Call it as you want. It won't work. I know because i was part of an evil organization before." the Riddler said, not knowing a door behind him was opening.
"You know what they say, Riddler" a deep, suave voice was heard. The mastermind turned to see a mysterious man. The man is tall, black-hair tied in a ponytail, a fine beard and exotic asian eyes with red iris. He is wearing a gray business suit, which looks quite military due to the golden shoulders, black pants. To complete the appearance, he has a long, stoic face that looked like a primate's face. And yet, he showed some charm with that face.
"Working together, there's an unity" the man said with a sadistic smirk. The Riddler immediately recognized him.
"Sarousch Luther?"
(Theme song)
Meanwhile, back in the crime scene, the Riddler's henchmen were arrested and a bunch of interviewers and photographers surrounded Iron Man and Thor.
"That chip could cause a lot of chaos in the wrong hands" a reporter said to Iron Man.
"We must make sure that it belongs to the right ones" Thor replied.
"It's a miracle you were there" another reporter said.
"We do what we can"
The reporters began making more questions to Thor, when Iron Man approached him.
"We have a meeting, Thor. Captain America wants us in the mansion right now" Tony told him.
"Thy have to excuse us, mortals" the Asgardian said before flying away with the armored hero.
"I can't take this garbage anymore. This is not how superheroes should be worshipped."
"But we are heroes, Stark"
"Not tonight. This time we're facing villains who are far more dangerous than the ones we fought. We must be prepared to face someone like the Riddler."
Back in the mansion, Iron Man gathered all the Avengers, along with Batman to discuss the situation with the Riddler.
"So Tony," Hawkeye started "What are you going to tell us?"
"Yeah, what's the problem?" Wasp asked.
"We are the problem. We're not working so well like we should"
"But how is that possible, Tony? I think we work perfectly as a team" Captain America replied.
"But we're facing a new problem: the Riddler"
Everyone in the room stayed quiet and looked at their leader like if he was crazy. Except Batman, who knew this madman very well.
"Who is the Riddler?" Steve asked.
"He is simply one of the most dangerous criminal masterminds on the planet. In what he lacks of strenght, he makes up for intellect" Batman told them.
"He's like the Leader, including the big head and the green skin?" Hawkeye asked mockingly, earning him a glare from the Dark Knight.
"No, we actually got footage from him." Iron Man said as he projected a hologram from the madman. "According to Batman, the Riddler is a supervillain from Gotham City, and one of the planet's most brilliant minds"
"But his psyche led him to try and demonstrate that he is the most intelligent man in the world" Batman added.
"Reminds me of someone" Tony remarked.
"Tony, that's not funny, you know?" Hank said angrily.
"I wasn't talking about you Hank. I was referring to Doc Doom. Anyway, he tried to steal a chip from the city's National Bank"
"What does the chip do?" Wasp asked.
"It can be connected to a government computer system, which would give him access to the U.N. communication satellite. Therefore, he would scramble all connections online and get access to the President's main computer, gaining control of the United States of America" Batman informed them.
"But the good thing is that he failed to do so, right?" Cap asked, certainly furious that a psychopath like the Riddler would try to enslave his beloved nation.
"Exactly, Cap. Unfortunately, he got away before we could get him." Tony said "I'm afraid that Thor and i were unable to defeat him together. Ever since we formed, we have had a lot of issues. We have to work them out."
"And what do you suggest?" Hawkeye suggested.
"Practice" he replied. Hawkeye, Wasp and Hulk groaned in exasperation.
"Or what happened to us will happen again" Thor added.
"You can't be serious" the archer whined.
"But i agree with Tony and Thor on this one," Hank replied " We had a lot of trust issues and lately we didn't get along very well. Like yesterday when Hawkeye pinned the Hulk on the floor with one arrow, all because he ate Hawkeye's favorite sandwich"
"I was hungry!" the Hulk defended himself "Cupid was the one who started!"
"Now you're one to talk, Jade Jaws" Hawkeye replied sarcastic "Look, if you're going to eat anyone's food, ask for permission, or else, i'm gonna take you down"
"You couldn't beat me if you could, smart guy!" the giant replied as he and the archer glared at each other. Hank sighed.
"See what i'm talking about? And i agree with Tony that a little practice will repair our teamwork."
"Exactly, the Avengers must be prepared for anything. We don't want to make the same mistakes like Hank when he decided to stay in Wakanda instead of helping us with the Gamma Dome, or when Thor was absent during our trip to Wakanda."
Both the scientist and the God of Thunder glared at Tony, who groaned annoyed.
"What! It's true! Hank would have been useful against the Leader, and Thor would have to answer his stupid phone!"
"See? This what i'm talking about Tony. We should practice and-" Hank started before Tony interrupted.
"What do you think i'm trying to say here!"
"Enough!" Cap shouted and everyone turned to the American soldier "What Tony is saying is that a little more of teamwork wouldn't be so bad"
"Yeah, i mean, what do we have to lose?" Wasp asked.
"Time." Batman replied "You must know how resourceful the Riddler is, and besides i had my runnings with him before. You must leave it to me"
"Now listen there mister, your enemy came to us and it's our duty to stop the criminals here," Hawkeye told the Dark Knight before Tony turned to him.
"But he's right, Clint. Out of all us, Batman is the only one who knows more about these psychos. He knows because he faced monsters like the Joker, Poison Ivy, the Scarecrow, the Mad Hatter. But still, we must be prepared, for all we know is that the Riddler is probably one of the fugitives after the Breakout"
"That is improbable. Arkham Asylum wasn't the victim of the mysterious breakout that ocurred to the Vault, the Cube and the Big House." Batman corrected. This got the Avengers thinking.
"You mean to say that the breakout only afflicted to SHIELD prisons?" Hank asked, intrigued.
"Yes, but you must know the Riddler is extremely dangerous to deal with. As for you, it's true that you must work on your trust and training"
"C'mon, we've caught a lot of villains!" Janet tried to enlighten the mood, but failed.
"Some of them, out of pure luck" Iron Man said "For all we know, villains like Baron Zemo, Crimson Dynamo, MODOC and HYDRA are still free out there."
"So, what about the training?" Hawkeye asked again.
"We start tomorrow at six o clock A.M." the leader answered. Most of the Avengers groaned again, except Captain America.
"Tony, as a soldier, i usually wake up at five A.M." Cap stated as he approached the billionaire.
"Okay, then we should train at five past half A.M." Tony said, making his teammates groan even more.
"You can do your training, but i have some investigation to do" Batman said as he departed "I'm going after the Riddler"
Black Panther stopped him in his tracks "I know how icy mistrust is, Dark Knight. I know that some battles must be for alone. But it does not hurt to have back-up. You know about this man more than any of us. You could help us in finding the Riddler."
"I'm sorry, but i work alone" the Dark Knight replied as he left the mansion. After opening the door, a lightning flashed in the sky, and then Batman disappeared. The Avengers were dumbstruck, but nonetheless decided to practice tomorrow. What none of them knew, though, is that they were being observed by a flying camera.
Back in the abandoned warehouse, it was apparent that the villains, like the Avengers, were working into trusting each other, which was working far better than their enemies, though some would say otherwise. Poison Ivy was currently on the edge of a cliff.
"Are you doing it? Are you sure?" she called out the Enchantress.
"I told you i would do it" she replied.
"You know what will happen to me if you slip up"
"Just do it at once!"
The plant lady complied and closed her eyes. Extending her arms and turning around, she fell backwards. She was about to fall down below, but luckily for her, the Enchantress surrounded her with her magic aura, slowly and softly putting Ivy on the ground.
Next were Klaw and the Absorbing Man. The former was the jumper while the latter was the catcher.
"This time be more gentle, Creel!" Klaw shouted out.
"Just do it, Klaw. This won't hurt" the Absorbing Man replied in annoyance.
"I certainly hope so" mumbled the handicapped villain before turning around and extending his eyes. Closing his eyes, he fell backwards, and the Absorbing Man grabbed an ice cube and absorbed its properties, turning into solid ice. Extending one hand, he shot an array of snow on the ground and then shot at Klaw, entrapping his shoulders with a protector made out of ice. The bearded man fell to the snow and felt a little pain.
"I said gentle!" Klaw sneered as he rubbed his backside.
"Ah, stop whining, would ya?"
Zemo and Black Manta were next, the former being the jumper and the latter the catcher.
"Your turn" Black Manta said.
"You know i expect a better landing!"
"Don't be such a girl, Zemo"
"I heard that!"
As they were arguing, the Riddler was standing inside the observatory of the base. As he watched, the man who was known as Sarousch Luther approached him.
"Trying to get them to trust each other, huh?" the madman asked.
"Not the easiest thing for loners, sociopaths, and psychos." the mysterious man replied as they watched Zemo falling and Manta failing to catch him. A crash was heard, and both men cringed.
"Ouch" they heard Manta moan.
"Imagine the childhood they all had before" Sarousch said.
"Imagine what will happen when someone makes them a better offer" the Riddler counter-attacked.
"We're not in this for the money, but for different purposes" Sarousch replied as they watched each member of the Masters "Klaw is the foremost expert on Vibranium in the underworld, and is the mortal enemy of both Ant-Man and Black Panther. The Absorbing Man simply hates the Hulk and has the ability to turn into anything he touches. The Enchantress has promised me the world, and in return i convinced her to form this organization, so practically she follows my every command. And Baron Zemo has sworn a bloody oath against Captain America"
"And what about the other two?" The Riddler asked as he saw Zemo pulling his arm of Black Manta.
"Poison Ivy and Black Manta? It's simple: Manta only kills for the highest bidder and is one of the best assassins in the entire world. And as for Poison Ivy, i tricked into thinking that if she helped taking down the Avengers, i would help her restore Earth's fauna to its original state."
"And you're going to do it, right?" the clad-in-green man asked, knowing that is the purpose of his fellow female inmate in Arkham.
"Of course not. She will follow my orders like the others as long as they don't know the truth."
"And me? I suppose you thought about that too"
"You're a criminal mastermind, Riddler. But you weren't able to take over the world" Sarousch said as he walked towards the other side.
"I have tried, but now i assumed what i am"
"How are you going to feel in ten years now, when you're still escaping up the roofs, when your knees hurt and you suffer a lack of oxygen?" the man in a gray business suit questioned him. "This is our chance to be in command of everything once and for all. To prove how far we can get when no one else intervines"
"But the Avengers are so powerful, and my nemesis Batman is with them. How are going to stop them?"
In response, Sarousch turned to his computer and pressed a button, presenting a hologram of the Avengers in their meeting, which would explain the spy camera outside their mansion.
"By watching a lot of TV" Sarousch replied with an evil grin as he and the Riddler watched their enemies.
Training Room
05:25 AM
Ever since their encounter with the Riddler, the Avengers decided to (or rather fittingly, were forced to) have training sessions every morning. Since Cap was already up and spent half an hour training before the others came, he readied to train with the others as well. Ironman started with a holographic program of the city in the training room. Since it was his idea to begin the practice, the other Avengers forced him to do it first.
Once the program began, Tony walked quietly around, looking for any danger upon him. He looked around the place, looking for any threat. Suddenly, a drone appeared in front of him, and assumed the form of Crimson Dynamo, one of his deadly enemies. Iron Man fired his repulsors to the drone in the center of its chest, then sliced it in half, destroying it. Then came another drone, this one as Blizzard. It shot freezing rays to him, but Tony flew away and then took the Blizzard drone by the arms, then let it fall to the ground, breaking it self.
Another two drones came next, assuming the form of the Mad Thinker and the Red Ghost. The former shot a mental ray from its headband at Ironman, who skipped it and shot a repulsor to it, blowing it up. When the Red Ghost drone came, he tried to shoot it, but the drone turned intangible, like the real deal.
"Okay Hank, you're up here" said Tony as Hank was revealed to be perching on his shoulder while he was small. Growing up in normal size, Ant-Man used his helmet and contacted his favorite termite to go inside the drone and hack into its circuits, enabling it to become tangible and breaking down in the process.
Another drone came and Ironman readied his repulsor, but Hank stopped him. Tony did so when he realized the drone had taken the form of a little girl carrying a teddy bear.
From above, Hawkeye and Captain America were observing their teammates, and Cap was pleased that Tony's idea worked. They were definitely making a lot of progress.
"Not bad" Hawkeye remarked.
"We're not done yet, soldier" Cap reminded.
"So far so good, Tony" Hank told him, but suddenly a wrecking ball came trough the building. Both heroes turned around to see four more drones, now having taken the form of the Wrecking Crew.
"Thor, now it's your turn!" Ironman shouted as the Norse God of Thunder rushed to the replicas of his enemies. Using his ever faithful hammer Mjonir, Thor knocked out the Bulldozer drone the same way he did to the real one. The Piledriver drone attacked, but Thor tore its head apart, right before engaging in a battle with the Wrecker drone. The Thunderball drone sneaked up to him and was about to attack when, unknown to it, Ironman scanned it and discovered something.
"Thor, right behind you!" Tony screamed, which alarmed his Asgardian teammate, who turned around and saw the Thunderball drone. Quickly knocking the Wrecker drone aside, Thor readied his hammer.
"No Thor, it's a trap!" Ironman warned, but it was too late, for the hammer had already crashed the Thunderball drone, which suddenly exploded, sending Thor up in the air. Then the three heroes went upside and faced Cap and Hawkeye.
"It was a trap, Thor!" Cap scolded the Asgardian.
"How was i supposed to know it was a trap?" Thor asked.
"I scanned the drone with my armor. And since you don't trust technology, we had to warn you somehow" Tony explained.
"I had not thought about that"
"Great, can we go now?"Hawkeye asked.
"Not so fast mister. We just got started." Tony sneered with a smirk.
Meanwhile, outside the skirts of Gotham City, a big, mysterious flying ship was flying up in the dark skies. The spaceship turned out to belong to the Masters of Evil, and was intangible, making it invisible to the human eye. The Masters looked around and saw the magnificent views of the creepy yet astoundish city full of psycho criminals.
"What is this place again?" the Absorbing Man asked, apparently never having been in Gotham before.
"This place is known as Gotham City, a dark, gothic metropolis filled with some of the cruellest, most despicable beings in the entire planet" Sarousch explained while sitting on his commanding chair and tapping his fingers together "That includes Ivy and Riddler"
"Hey, that offends me!" the Riddler whined.
"So, where are we going?" Baron Zemo asked.
"I'm glad you asked Zemo. We're going to Arkham Asylum, an institution for insane criminals. That's where we are going to take the final member of our group" the leader said.
"Man, i hate that place!" the Riddler said in spite of having to see that damned asylum again.
"I wonder who of our delightful cellmates will be" Poison Ivy pondered sarcastically at the possibilities. Soon, the ship descended and landed on the gates of Arkham, where the Masters hopped off. They began marching up to the asylum until they got to the main doors. There, a few guards spotted them.
"Hey, this is a restricted facility!" one guard shouted.
"Get out of here!" another one added as they shot at the villains. The Enchantress created a magical shield around her comrades, protecting them from the bullets. The guards were stumped at this, and yet they were quite familiar with the magical villains that Batman apprehended.
"Now it's our turn" said Sarousch as he signaled Ivy to the guards. She nodded and marched up, lifting her arms. Vein roots from the ground sprouted out, and went up to the guards, who were soon strangled to death.
"And now it's time to enter, shall we? Black Manta, the freeze ray" Sarousch ordered the assassin, who complied and switched a button on his shooters. Upon firing, he shot solid ice at the gates of Arkham, freezing it completely.
"Klaw, it's time to bring down the house" said Sarousch as Klaw readied his right weapon and shot the same deafening sound barrier to the now fragile gate, breaking it into a million pieces. The Masters stepped inside the asylum.
"Now it's time to release your destructive impulses" Sarousch said.
Training Room
9:17 PM
Back in the Avengers mansion, the Avengers were still practicing their teamwork. Right now, Thor, Hawkeye and Captain America were surrounded by some Ultron battle androids, designed by Hank for battle practices, even though he complained to Tony about modiying his very own creations.
The Ultrons began shooting, and Cap protected himself with his shield and Thor threw his hammer to the lead drone. Black Panther was sneaking through the walls and began scooting away from the shooting. After stopping, he grabbed one of his Vibranium daggers and threw it to the Ultrons, ripping through three of them on the head. Another more Ultrons came, but Cap quickly beheaded them with his shield, which returned to him. There were four Ultron left, and Thor was about to throw his hammer, when Hawkeye jumped in the air and shot his arrows to the robots. Captain America was about to behead the last one, but Hulk stole his chance by crushing it.
"Hulk, that was mine"
"You don't know anything of teamwork, Jade Jaws" Hawkeye grumbled.
"You're one to talk, Clint" Cap sneered.
"Okay stop, everyone stop!" shouted Tony as he descended to the ground and turned to the Hulk and Hawkeye.
"What the hell were you two thinking? This wasn't your turn, Hulk. And Hawkeye, you should've let Thor handle those robots" he chastited.
"My practice time is over, Tin Man" grumbled the Hulk as he walked away. The other five Avengers just frowned at the departing giant.
"I'm also done, Stark. Call me when it's important" Hawkeye added as he left. Tony just glared at the two vitriolic best buds.
"Idiots" he muttered.
Meanwhile, back in Arkham, the guards began shooting at the Masters of Evil while the inmates went crazy and excited about another possible prison riot. The Absorbing Man took the essence of some iron and began pummeling the guards, while Klaw deafened some of them with his sonic weapon, right before turning it into a scythe and ripping some of the guards apart. Baron Zemo was beheading some of them with his sword. He spotted some shooting guards and ran away, just for Ivy to make vein roots sprout out, wrapping them and then some flowers popped up and bloomed, turning out to be Venus flytraps.
The guards from above began shooting them, but stopped when Amora approached them and cast a spell on them, which made them fight each other instead of her. The inmates turned even crazier, and some of the still active guards had to restrain them from wanting to escape. One of them pulled a cellphone and called the Gotham City Police Department.
"Hello, Comissioner? We have a problem. There's a breakout in Arkham, and you're not going to believe it, but the entrepeneur Sarousch Luther is leading some supervillains here. Come quick!"
Soon, the police forces responded and sent police cars and helicopters to the asylum. Police officers began shooting to the Masters, but the Enchantress shot magical beams to them, destroying the cars in the process. Black Manta aided her and shot some of the attacking officers, knocking them out. Sarousch and the other took it as their chance to get inside again. A helicopter approached them, but the Riddler thought fast and pulled his staff, pressing a button that enabled him to hack the helicopter's system, shutting it down. The pilot was forced to evacuate and jump out of his falling air vehicle.
More officers helped the asylum guards and continued to shoot them, but Klaw, Manta, Zemo and Ivy were rather easily taking them down, with Klaw deafening them, Zemo and Manta killing them mercilessly and Ivy casually feeding them to her baby plants. The Absorbing Man transformed his right hand into a hammer and slammed the asylum's wall with it, destroying it. Some cells were destroyed and the inmates took it as their cue to escape.
Sarousch and the others could care less, because none of those prisoners was the one Sarousch was looking for. A few more guards sneaked from down the ruins and began shooting them, as Creel turned both of his hands into a shield to protect his comrades. Klaw turned his right hand into an atomic disrupter and shot an energy beam to the guards, desintegrating them from existence. One of them, however, managed to survive and crawled in the ground. Unfortunately, when he looked up, he saw Black Manta aiming his laser and the last thing the guard saw, was a light before his eyes. God pray upon the poor man's family.
Sarousch and his teammates looked around the place and spotted a suspicious cook, who ran away in a panic. Sarousch narrowed his eyes, believing that the cook somehow was the key to their victory. The Masters got outside the asylum, where right now there were destroyed police cars, injured officers and escaped lunatics. The frantic cook took one of the functioning cars and drove away from all the madness.
"I think it's time for some more flower power, darling" Sarousch suggested. She gladly raised her hands, obviously pointing out the driving cook. However, her leader stopped her from doing so.
"Attack the pavement, just the pavement"
Ivy sulked as she once again made vein roots sprout out from the street pavement, which cars and other vehicles began to crash into each other. Such chaos was created that the cook crashed the car and was knocked out. He looked around for a means of escape, but the Enchantress approached him and wrapped him with her magical aura. She brought him to her leader, who was alongside his sidekicks facing the terrified cook.
"I'm just a chef!" he said in an attempt to be pardoned. Sarousch, however thought otherwise.
"And why do you use those sunglasses?" he questioned pointing out the overweight, bearded cook's round sunglasses.
"Dr. Strange told me to choose the ones i liked and..." the cook lied, but Sarousch wasn't convinced. He signaled Amora, who complied and she entered the cook's mind, causing him a severe headache.
"NOOOO!" he screamed in agony as Sarousch grinned cruelly. Amora then got out of his mind.
"He is actually Dr. Hugo Strange, apparently the curator of his asylum" she informed her master.
"Good. Now Dr. Strange, tell me: where are the most dangerous prisoners of this asylum?"
"Never! I'll never tell you, crazy bastard!" the doctor snapped. But Sarousch didn't take it well, and signaled Klaw with his weapon. The weapon dealer nodded and activated his sonic weapon towards Strange, deafening him with the same pain he inflicted to King T'Chaka.
"Now, take us to that wing, unless you want a hole in your stomach, good doctor" Sarousch demanded. Strange, fearful for his life, obliged.
Inside the asylum, Strange led the Masters to what many considered the most dangerous section of Arkham. As Sarousch followed the scared doctor, his team followed suit, looking around the modern-looking institution.
"So, which prisoner are we releasing Sarousch" the Riddler asked as they walked deeper in the West Wing. "The Scarecrow?"
"No" Sarousch said.
"The Mad Hatter?" Ivy asked.
"No"
"My friend Harley?"
"Close, but no. It's her boss who we are breaking out of here, prisoner #22309644" Sarousch replied. Ivy and Riddler soon exchanged fearful looks; they exactly who he was referring to. They just hoped he did not.
"Is he or she one of Gotham's most dangerous?" Manta asked.
"Yes, he is the key to our victory" said the leader as they reached the gate that said #22309644. Opening the door, he contemplated for a moment while looking at the horrified Dr. Strange, whom he shoved away before entering. The others followed suit, except Black Manta, who stopped his tracks upon seeing Strange, who was still scared. Making sure there were no one around, Manta did what only God knew to Strange.
Inside the cell, there was a containment cage that clearly said 'Not opening'.
"Would you release the shackles, dear?" Sarousch requested as Amora used her magic to easily open the cage. Ivy and Riddler were now wishing to have never joined, for they knew that the man they were looking for was definitely trouble.
Stepping out of the cell, a shadowy, creepy figure stood in front of the Masters of Evil, some of who were petrified upon seeing this infernal creature. Except Sarousch, who only grinned in triumph.
"Ladies and gentlemen, i present you the final member of the Masters of Evil" Sarousch exclaimed as the figure was revealed to be a lanky clown in a purple suit, with green hair, red crazy eyes and a large, creepy smile.
"The Joker" he said as the fiendish clown grinned sadistically, a lightining was heard.
Cliffhanger! End of chapter 1.
As you can see, this is my version of the Masters of Evil, which consists of: Sarousch Luther, The Enchantress, The Joker, Klaw, The Riddler, Poison Ivy, Baron Zemo, Black Manta and Absorbing Man.
So many mysteries, so many questions: "What is the purpose of the mysterious Sarousch Luther? What does he want the Joker for? How is it that Klaw is still alive? How did the Absorbing Man escape? And finally, will the Avengers be able to work together as a team, or are they going to be at each other's throats?
Find out next time in chapter two of Earth's Mightiest Villains.
For those wondering, i'm using the Batman and Joker from the movie 'Batman: Under the Red Hood', while the Riddler, Poison Ivy and Black Manta all come from Batman: the Brave and the Bold.