So, after suffering from major writer's block, I'm finally back with the conclusion of this arc.
Chapter 7
Ice Pack's Penthouse, Manhattan, NY
"I guess you didn't learn from the last beatdown I gave you," Rubberband Man says with a scowl.
Static smirks, "I'm not the type of person who gives up so easily after one minor setback."
"And like I said, you got lucky last time," says Bombshell.
"I'm giving the two of you one last chance to get the hell out of here, or you're gonna hate what happens next."
Meanwhile, Static has his right hand inside his jacket pocket, waiting for the elastic metahuman to make his move. "Do your worst Play-Doh."
Rubberband Man stretches his body and lunges at the two younger metas, but as he does this, Static pulls out a small capsule from his pocket and throws it at the super-powered record producer. The capsule latches on to Rubberband Man and it explodes, covering his entire body, save for his head, in a sheet of ice.
"Aah, what the hell?" he says as he tries to move, but it hurts when he does so.
"How about another science lesson Rubberband Man," Static says with a grin on his face. "Chemistry 101. What happens to rubber when it's super cold?"
"H…How?" the elastic meta now asks.
"Funny thing, I have a friend who is pretty tight with a certain bat who lives in Gotham. Gave him a suit that came with some of his usual bells and whistles. That includes that ice capsule I just threw at you, which is made from the same tech as Mr. Freeze's freeze gun. Now my friend, he's a genius in his own right. He was able to look into the design of these capsules, in which he was able to replicate it, therefore he could make more of them. I told him about our last fight and asked if I could borrow some. So, you still think I haven't learned my lesson?"
Rubberband Man continues to struggle, until he eventually gives up. Still cold from being covered in ice he speaks, "L…l…ook man, y…y…you don't understand. That s…s…song Ice Pack stole, it means something to me. Music has always b…b…been a part of my life. T…t…to have it stolen from me is like taking away a part of myself. Th…th…that was my life's work."
Static's face softens from the elastic meta's words, "And you think going in and attacking people is the only way to solve this problem? Better yet, here's another question, do you have someone you care about back home? How do you think that person would feel if he or she saw you right now?"
It was at that moment Rubberband Man realizes that the younger meta was right. If Sharon were to see him now, attacking a well-known rapper in his own home, she would not approve of any of this. All his life, Adam kept saying to himself that he wasn't going to take the same path his brother took, that he was his own man. By going on this warpath, this makes him no different from Ivan, and that is not the man Sharon fell in love with.
With that, he sighs, "Alright kid, you got a point, but I'm not gonna just let whoever stole my music get off scott-free. He needs to be brought down…hard."
"Then let us help you," says Static. "That friend I talked about earlier? He has friends who work for the police and the press. Both of them were able to do some digging and find out who exactly stole your music."
Bombshell cuts in, "Do you know who Marcus Young is?"
Rubberband Man nods, "Yeah, I was trying to get an exclusivity deal with his record label a few months ago. I sent out a few demos to prove I was legit. They never did contact me." That was when the elastic meta realizes something, and he facepalms, "Son of a…"
"Marcus Young is also Ice Pack's producer," Static points out then turns to the rapper. "Am I right?"
Ice Pack, who is still suspended in mid-air thanks to the deer head wall mount, nods, "That's right. He gave me the demo and I just rolled with it, didn't ask any questions or nothin'."
"And guess what," Bombshell chimes in. "You're not the only musician he's fucked over. There's an entire backlog of songs that he has stolen from them, as well as royalties he refuses to pay and a whole bunch of other shady business practices that would surely get his ass locked up for a long time."
"We're willing to help you, but you need to leave Ice Pack alone," Static finishes. "He's got nothing to do with this."
"He's right man," says the rapper. "I'm just an entertainer. Look, I'm sorry if that was your music he stole. If you let me go, I promise I'll make it up to you."
Rubberband Man looks up at Ice Pack for a second and then sighs, "Alright S…S…Static, we'll do it your way. N…n…now can you get me out of th…th…this?"
Bombshell cracks her knuckles, "Sure thing." She then raises her finger, and in seconds, the ice breaks and Rubberband Man is free.
"Alright, now I think it's time we have a little chat with Mr. Young."
But before the elastic meta could leave, Static says, "Uh, aren't you forgetting something?"
Rubberband Man looks up to where the younger meta is pointing and sees that Ice Pack is still hung up. He reaches up to him and pulls him down.
As the rapper brushes himself off, Rubberband Man apologizes, "Sorry about that man, it's just my music means so much to me."
Ice Pack puts his hand up, "It's cool man. Ice Pack is a lot of things, but he ain't no plagiarizer. When you see Marcus, tell him I'm ending our record deal. But I'd be careful though, he's a very dangerous dude, got a lot of connections."
"We'll be sure to watch out," says Static.
"Ooh, before we go…" Bombshell says as she walks up to Ice Pack. She then reaches into her pocket and pull out a small picture of the rapper and a sharpie. "Can I have your autograph? I'm a huge fan."
Static facepalms and groans while Rubberband Man raises an eyebrow.
Marcus Young, clad in a white jacket with a leopard fur collar, a white top hat and a fancy dark suit underneath, sits comfortably on the couch in the enormous living room of his condo. He watches a news report of Ice Pack's limo being attacked by the Rubberband Man. When being asked about the assault, Ice Pack's agent, as well as the rapper himself, both state that it was all just one big promotion for his new album. Marcus wasn't fooled by this one bit.
"Damn man, if those Bang Babies are coming after Ice, it's only a matter of time until they come knocking on my door. Don't matter, if that freak ever show up I got something waiting for him."
Suddenly two bodyguards are sent flying through the door, and are now lying on the ground unconscious. Static, Bombshell and Rubberband Man all emerge through the broken down doorway.
As three more bodyguards show up, Marcus stops them, "Whoa, whoa, hold up guys." The producer walks forward to get a good look at his intruders. He immediately recognizes one of the three metas, "Adam Evans, I've heard a lot about you. You are a very talented man. When my colleague played me some of your tracks, I just HAD to have them."
"So you stole them," the elastic meta confirms with an angry look on his face.
"Nothing personal Adam, I'm in the music business. It's the way we do things, but you're too tough to cheat. I'll see to it you get credit on the next pressing, I'll even give you your royalties."
"Cool, while you're at it, you can also give royalties to the other musicians whose music you stole from."
"Sure, sure, but first, I like you to meet some friends of mine. MONTANA, OX, FANCY DAN!"
Emerging from the living room were three men in high tech suits. (A/N)
One of the three men, who is wearing a yellow quilted suit and gauntlets, was the first to speak, "For the last time Young, I don't go by Montana anymore, it's Shocker."
Marcus raises and eyebrow, "But isn't there a guy who already goes by that name?"
Montana grits his teeth underneath his mask, "Don't you dare compare me to that phony. If I ever see him, he's gonna think twice before he tries ripping me off again."
"But boss," Ox interjects. "Didn't that guy used to work for OSCORP?"
"Yeah, and wasn't he the one who designed your suit and equipment?" Fancy Dan then asks.
"That still doesn't give him the right to take my moniker. At least I actually beat Spider-Man at some point. That guy couldn't even last more than three seconds with him. It's embarrassing."
"If you're done ranting," Marcus interrupts. "I've got some uninvited guests. If you could be so kind as to…show them some hospitality."
Shocker sighs and then powers up his gauntlets, "You want us to take care of these intruding rascals? You got it. The Big Man didn't hire us as your personal attack dogs for nothing."
"No he did not, I'm off to get a Big Belly Burger, they better not still be here when I get back." Marcus exits his condo.
As the Enforcers and the three metas stare each other down, Static says, "I guess Ice Pack wasn't lying when he said, Young had connections."
Shocker looks directly at the electric meta, "Ah, so you must be the new sheriff in town. Static was it?"
"Yeah, what of it?"
"You made quite a name for yourself in Brooklyn. The way you rounded up that metahuman group caught the attention of the Big Man. While he's busy figuring out how to squash the bug for good, he's had his eye on you for a while now."
"Good to know I left such an impact."
"Yeah, well, after the bug, The Big Man didn't want to take any chances with any up and coming "heroes". So I'm sure he'll be pretty pleased when he finds out that I did what that Ebon fella couldn't."
"Alright Quilt-Man," Bombshell cuts in as her hands start to glow. "Let's see what you got."
Static, Bombshell and Rubberband Man engage the Enforcers. Static goes after Fancy Dan, Bombshell squares off against Montana/Shocker and Rubberband Man fights Ox. Static fires electric bolts at Fancy Dan who is ricocheting off the walls. He was bouncing around so fast that the electric meta couldn't get a clear shot of him. Fancy Dan then flies into Static, knocking him off of his saucer.
"Man this guy is working my nerves," the electric meta thought as he lies on the ground. "His suit must be storing some form of kinetic energy. If I could somehow use that against him…"
As Static gets back up, he begins to build up massive amounts of electricity. Fancy Dan makes another beeline towards his foe. However, as soon as he was in close proximity, Static releases an electric charge that not only stops Fancy Dan in mid-air, but it also electrocutes him and renders him unconscious.
"Note to self, never bad mouth static electricity ever again," Static says to himself.
Meanwhile, Bombshell and Shocker are trading shockwaves. The brunette girl had to admit, he actually puts up more of a fight than the other one.
"You're out of your depth little girl," the yellow and brown clad, criminal says. "Go home while you still have a chance."
Shocker fires another blast from his gauntlets and Bombshell rolls out of the way. However, Shocker predicted where the young meta was going next, and he fires a shockwave right in her direction. Bombshell flies backwards and skids over a table.
Moments after she falls to the ground, Shocker blast the table out of the way and approaches her, "I tried to be nice kidl, now you're gonna see what happens when you get in over your head."
As he is about to deliver the final blow, Bombshell, immediately sits up and points her finger at Shocker's gauntlets, "Gotcha."
The gauntlets begin to spontaneously combust, leaving them permanently disabled.
"Ah, hell…" Shocker begins to say before getting immediately knocked back into a nearby bookshelf, courtesy of Bombshell's shockwave attack.
Upon seeing quilted clad villain's unconscious body, Bombshell says, "And now you see what happens when you underestimate me."
The brunette girl then hears someone say, "Get…offa me."
She then looks to her side and sees Rubberband Man wrapping himself around Ox. The large enforcer could barely move his arms and he waddles around the room, struggling to break free from the elastic music producer's grasp.
"Guys," Rubberband Man says to the younger metas. "A little help here?"
Static sees Ox walking near the doorway to the balcony and he gets an idea. He rushes over to his girlfriend and begins to whisper something in her ear.
Bombshell's eyes became saucers, "WHAT? ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?"
"Girl, look at him," the electric meta says as he points at Ox. "He's a big dude, he can take it."
Bombshell sighs, "Okay, I trust you."
Static nods and then calls out to Rubberband Man, "Hey super ball, let him go."
Rubberband Man looks at Static with a look of surprise, "What? Why?"
"Just trust me on this one."
After a couple of seconds, the purple clad meta releases Ox.
"BOMBSHELL, NOW!" Static calls out.
Bombshell then releases a powerful blast that knocks Ox through the doorway and off the balcony. His screams echoed as he falls, followed by a loud crash after a few seconds. The three metahumans look down from the balcony and they see Ox lying on the pavement, the impact of his fall creating a massive crater. As Static predicted, he is not dead, just unconscious.
"Probably should have planned that better," the electric meta then says. "He could have turned an innocent bystander into a pancake."
"Hey, at least we beat them all," says Bombshell.
Rubberband Man narrows his eyes, "Yeah, but the guy that we came here for had already split. Probably already skipped town."
Static and Bombshell both look at each other with sly smiles and then look back at the older metahuman.
"Actually Adam, you don't have to worry about that?" Static reassures.
"Yeah? How so?"
"Well, see for yourself."
The music producer looks down at where Static is pointing and sees a squad of police cars. Sure enough, a group of officers are escorting a handcuffed Marcus Young out of the building.
Static explains, "As soon as we left Ice Pack's place and was on our way over here, I may have, kinda sorta, tipped the police off. Figured we have a contingency in case things go south."
Rubberband Man then smiles, "Maybe bringing you kids along wasn't such a bad idea after all." He then looks back down at Young being carted off into a police car. "I guess that's it. Myself and a whole bunch of other producers will finally get justice over what that crook did to all of us."
"So what are you going to do now?" asks Bombshell.
"I guess I can just…go back to what I know, and that's making music."
"What about the whole…?" The brunette girl extends her right arm, in a fashion similar to how Rubberband Man does it when he uses his abilities.
The elastic meta then looks down at his hands, "I guess I just have to deal with it now. I mean, being a superhero isn't really my thing, not to mention I didn't really ask for these powers. I just…want to keep living a normal life you know? And look, I know we kinda got off on the wrong foot, but you don't have to worry about me causing you any more trouble like those other Bang Babies. I appreciate you helping me take down Young. No hard feelings right?"
Static then smiles and then extends his hand, "No hard feelings."
The two metas shake hands, and Rubberband Man departs soon after, his lower half forming a spring as he bounces from rooftop to rooftop.
McDuffie's Pizza, Brooklyn NY (The next day)
"So Peter and Kara couldn't make it?" Lana asks as she takes a bite out of a slice of pepperoni pizza.
Virgil begins to answer, "Kara had to work. As for Pete, he WAS with one of the Green Lanterns watching the Mets play against the Coast City Angels, but then he got a call from Patty to go to the docks on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Twenty of Hammerhead's men were picking up a shipment of narcotics there, then someone rolled up and ended up killing them all." ((A/N))
Lana's eyes became saucers,"Was it like a rival gang who did it? Like those who belong to that Tombstone guy? Was it Ebon? Did he somehow round up a new team of Bang Babies?"
Virgil shakes his head, "Naw, it was all one dude."
"Holy shit."
"Yeah, and whoever this guy is, he REALLY wanted to make sure nobody can track him. It's like he was trained by ninjas or something."
The brunette girl nods her head, and then changes the subject, "So, I hear that shady music manager we busted is going to do some hard time. Serves him right for stealing music that someone else put their blood, sweat and tears for. Not to mention Ice Pack signed on with a brand new record label. One that is NOT so shady. Good on him."
"Yeah, and Adam and all the other producers will be getting their long overdue royalties. Man, was this what it was like when you, Peter, and Kara took down that Roxxon guy?"
"Pretty much," Lana says as she takes another bite of her pizza. "It's a shame Adam chose not to do the whole superhero thing. I thought we all made a good team."
"To be honest, I'm kinda glad that he did. That manager we bust knew who Adam was, and he had a connection with Tombstone. It's not really a good idea to play hero when the bad guys know your face and possibly your name. Peter told me what happened to his last girlfriend when something like that happened. I don't want the same thing to happen to Sharon."
The brunette girl nods and takes another bite, "I guess you're right about that. Though about Tombstone, it seems like he's starting to see us a real pain in the ass. First Ebon, now Young, we even beat the shit out of his Enforcers."
"Which means at any moment he's gonna try to come at us."
Lana takes a sip of her glass of Mountain Dew and sets it back down on the table, "Yeah, well he doesn't scare me. I dare him to come at us."
"Don't be so sure about that, Peter fought this guy one on one before and got the hell beat out of him. If a guy who has spider sense can get his ass kicked that hard, then Tombstone ain't no joke."
"Yeah? Well neither are we."
Virgil couldn't help but chuckle, "Even after everything I just said, you ain't worried in the slightest."
Lana shrugs, "My grandma says I can be really stubborn."
"Well, she's right, but you know what? I love you for it."
With that, the brunette girl gives out a wide grin and she leans forward to give her boyfriend a well-deserved kiss.
Adam and Sharon's apartment, Manhattan, NY
Adam takes out his house key and unlocks the door to his apartment. After working with Queen Naija with a new song of hers, he was ready to head home and relax. After knowing that Marcus Young will be facing some serious consequences for his past actions, the music producer is the happiest he's ever been. Adam opens the door and when he arrives at the living room, he sees his girlfriend sitting on the couch, arms folded and with a serious look on her face. Adam knew that look, that's the look she always gives him whenever he is in trouble.
"Uh, hey baby, what's up?"
The ESU student doesn't say anything, instead she motions her hand over to a familiar rubber suit that is laying right beside her.
Adam sees this and sucks his teeth, "I knew I should have thrown that thing out sooner."
He looks back at Sharon, "I can explain…"
And that's exactly what Adam did, he tells Sharon everything. About him having powers, going after Ice Pack for stealing his music, everything.
Sharon just shakes her head, "You promised that you weren't gonna keep stuff from me anymore."
The music producer sighs, "I know, and I'm sorry. I…I didn't know how you would react if you found out that your own boyfriend is a Bang Baby."
"What, you think I was gonna freak out or something? Adam, you know I don't hate people with powers like my father does. I know there are people out there like Static and Spider-Man who want to use those powers to do the right thing. I could care less about your stretchy powers, because I know deep down you're still the man I love."
Adam takes both of Sharon's hands, "You're right baby, I should have trusted you more. It will never happen again, I swear."
The elder Hawkins sibling just smiles and gives her boyfriend a peck on the lips, "You're a good man Adam Evans, but you don't have to do everything on your own. I'm here for you."
Adam wraps his arm around Sharon and pulls her close, "Yeah, well, I've been known to not play well with others…but I'm willing to learn."
After a moment of silence Sharon says, "So are you keeping the costume."
"Nah, I already told Static that I have no interest in being a cape. Just not my thing."
"I still can't believe you actually met Static. What's he like?"
"He's cool, though nothing like how I'd imagined. I think he's about the same age as your brother."
Later that night, Adam is at a small convenience store down the street from where he lives. He takes some chocolate milk from the cooler and was about to head to the register when a man in a black beanie cap, a black, leather jacket and jeans walks right in.
A grey haired man behind the register sees this shady character walking up to him, "Can I help you?"
The man in the beanie cap pulls out a gun and points it at the guy at the register, "Yeah, give me all of your money, and I won't have to shoot you."
The grey haired man immediately obeys and begins to unlock the register.
Adam is watching the whole thing unfold, and begins to sigh.
The guy with the gun was beginning to get antsy, "Sometime today old man."
"I'm moving as fast as I…"
But before the man behind the register could finish, he hears a loud crash. He looks up and sees a giant fist in front of him. He then looks to his right and sees the window to his store completely shattered, and the guy who was holding him up earlier is now outside of the store and lying unconscious against a nearby red corvette. The fist begins to shrink down to its original size and the arm returns to the person who stretched it out in the first place. The man behind the register sees Adam approaching him, takes some money out of his wallet and sets it down on the counter.
The music producer then says with a smirk on his face, "Keep the change." And he exits the store. Adam sees some people crowding around the unconscious thug and says, "If y'all can stop being typical New Yorkers for one second, that man tried to rob that store here. Make yourself useful and call the cops." Adam opens up his chocolate milk, takes a sip of it and walks home. As he his walking and drinking his milk, he thought about what he did back there, "Okay, I'll it admit, that actually felt good. Maybe being a cape isn't so bad after all."
(A/N) It's their high tech suits from Spectacular Spider-Man.
((A/N)) A little teaser for what the next big arc of Hope and Responsibility is going to be.
Even as this arc comes to a close, don't think you've seen the last of the Rubberband Man. He will return someday.
Now that I've finally wrapped this chapter up, I'm sure a lot of you are ready for me to get back to The World According to Peter Parker and Karen Starr and Hope and Responsibility, and I will. Like I said, earlier, I already have the next arc for the latter planned out. You'll be surprised who actually shows up.
Be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts on the story so far. Until next time...
