Tony Stark landed outside the Ms. Marvellous Strip Club his Avenger team gathered around him waiting for his orders. With the SHIELD team of Avenger's neutralized and Melissa's Black Ops Team, consisting of two people who were his friends the Thunderbolts were the last Remenant of Gold's Regime to dismantle and thanks to one quick phone call he was about to achieve a swift and relatively bloodless takeover. As for the fee he had to pay, it wouldn't be long until Cobra slipped up and did something criminal again, and when he did he was going straight to the Raft and Tony would liberate the half a million he had to pay the Serpent Society.
"So this is the foul den of sin that the villain's are hiding in." Orion asked his armor glowing with pin point flecks of light.
"Looks can be deceiving." Hank Pym announced flying around Stature's shoulders, "Melissa brought the building using one of SHIELD's shell companies, apart from that we don't know anything, Fixer's security programming is pretty robust but I'll crack it soon."
"For now we'll just have to crack the Thunderbolt's skulls." She Hulk announced, "I still have radiation burns from Radioactive Man's last stand on the bridge."
"So what's the plan boss?" Hurricane asked as he clicked his fingers underneath the self made armor he wore. "Smash and Grab or Something more subtle."
"Neither we walk in and arrest them?" Tony replied walking past the bouncer who decided it would be better for him not to get involved with any on the freaks that seemed to be walking into the establishment this night. "I bet Carol's turning in her grave because of this." Tony stated scanning the patrons and staff the majority of them ignoring them, with a few drunken individuals whistling unadvised cat calls.
"See them?" Stature asked.
"No but the bartender has been flagged as Robin Braxton AKA the Gladiatrix, she was a member of the Grapplers." Tony announced, "Anyone think that's too much of a coincidence considering who was the most famous member of that group." he added, "Hey Bartender." he yelled getting Robin's attention, "I'm looking for a group of felons have you seen them?" he asked.
"No criminals here, except maybe some pervs who should know better." Robin replied as she dropped one hand under the bar to turn on a silent warning for the base under the bar and pick up a beer glass. "Why don't you all have a drink on the house of course." she added trying not to lose her temper and slug the armoured SHIELD agent around the face.
"Let me put it this way, how much will it cost for me to see your additional facilities." Tony asked
"A warrant." Robin answered, "And I'd suggest you get one before I call the cops." Tony was about to reply with a smart mouthed comment when his armor communications module beeped to acknowledge he had a message waiting. "Excuse me I have to take this." he told Robin before walking to the club's entrance and flipping the module open to revel the results of the autopsy on the dead woman in Melissa's office.
"JARVIS has anybody else seen these results?" Tony asked.
"No Sir results are confidential for Director's eyes only." the computer informed him, "What do you want to do with them sir?"
"Purge results from all systems and start a city wide scan for unusual acoustic anomalies." Tony ordered before turning back to the bar as Robin put down the glasses, "Time to deliver the hangover of the century to these punks," he told his Avengers, "I want the Thunderbolts alive and able to talk, I will find Gold if it's the last thing I do."
Cobra stalked into the room with the cages and surveyed the development of the new recruits; all five were coming along nicely but he wasn't taking any chances that's why he had employed a sixth member to his team, a low level mercenary named the Snake Charmer who had the uncanny ability to control reptiles. He still beloved that handing Black Mamba over was still risky and the new recruits and their undeveloped abilities were all the more reason to clear out as soon as the money landed in their account. Peering in he saw the newest member the Green Mamba looking back at him before she knocked on the glass before pressing her hand to her ear. Going to the console he clicked on the microphone activation in the cell before snarling, "What do you want?"
"How's the negotiations with Stark going?" Melissa asked.
"None of your business." Cobra hissed leaning to switch off the microphone.
"What is I could give you an advantage against Stark and SHIELD." Melissa statedm "Would you take it?"
"What would a street walker like you know?" Cobra hissed.
"I'm not a street walker before her death I was the body double to Director Melissa Gold." Melissa lied, "My genetic structure was laced with her DNA so we appeared identical."
"And this helps us how?" Cobra jeered
"Make me human and show me off on You Tube, threaten me and Stark will give you anything for my safety. He might be generous enough to throw in a tropical island or two." Melissa bribed.
"And what do you get out of it?" Cobra hissed.
"Melissa left secrets behind her that I know, once I'm free I can sell them to anybody willing to pay for them." Melissa announced, she felt surprised how easy it was to play the villain. "All you need is a syringe, a video camera and a good script. I'll do the rest."
Abe swept under the bridge as the Thunder Hawk rounded the corner already firing stun rounds from the main canon, the blasts striking cars and other electrical devices causing them to short out. Coming up the other side Abe drew level with the perusing helicopter and ripped the cannon off the vehicles chin before crushing it into a metal ball and throwing it in the river. The Thunder Hawk's pilot glared at him before veering back towards Avengers Tower, another pair of similar aircraft already taking off and locking onto Abe's location. Abe sighed he'd already taken out four Thunder Hawks as well as disabling a pair of Gad-Fly UACV's but Stark and SHIELD still seemed to want to chase him.
"Abe there's message for you." the Fixer AI, that the Thunderbolt of the same name had installed into the MACH VI Armor, stated, "You'll want to see this." Abe nodded and dive-bombed into the Hudson hoping that SHIELD wouldn't follow him with divers or patrol boats. Switching everything over the life support save data storage Abe activated his HUD's video function. What he saw made his heart stop, strapped to the chair and looking like she was beaten within an inch of her life was Melissa.
"Tony Stark." a voice hissed, "As you can see we have Melissa Gold alive unlike your company claims." Abe watched as Coach Whip strode into the room and gave a Melissa a quick lash with her whip. "We know that you need her out of the picture which is why we're threatening to leak this tape to wiki-leaks and You Tube if you don't cooperate. Pay us 5 million dollars to the account you used last time, within thirty minutes and we will not press send." the camera panned round to Copperhead leaning against a computer displaying a youtube upload link. "Once that's done we will call with instructions." the voice announced before the link died.
"How many other data streams has this been sent too?" Abe asked.
"None." Fixer replied, "It came to your armor only despite being addressed to Tony Stark. There is something else." he added rewinding the tape and filtering out the sound and enhancing the sub sonic frequency before playing it again.
"Abe this message if for your ears only." Melissa said. Abe figured she must be running on residual sonic energy that her body had absorbed from wearing her sonic harness. "I have a plan, the Serpent Society won't hurt me, they believe that this is a scam against Tony Stark. What I need you to do is to head to Brooklyn to Voelker Industries and talk to Sidewinder, get him to activate the teleportation devices in the King Cobra, Copper Head, Coach Whip, Rattler and Bushmaster and send them to the SHIELD base under Ms. Marvellous. From there I'll finish off Tony's little coup, he may have turned FACT against me but the SHIELD Military Oversight Board will still side with me especially when I remind them about the Skrull Invasion among other things. Don't worry about me I promise that I'll be fine, as soon as I'm free I'll call you." Melissa told Abe before the video went dark a second time.
"Fixer plot a course to Voelker Industries." Abe ordered as a file on the security company replaced the video link, "Preferably one where I'm not chased by Thunder Hawk's all the way." he added sarcastically.
Dallas watched as Bison moved one of the computers into the middle on the room, a sort of makeshift cover for when Stark and his Avenger's broke in. From up above the sounds of a struggle could be heard as Gladiatrix fought against the Avengers, from the sound of it, it wouldn't be long before she would be knocked out although the occasional grunts from other voices showed that the former Grappler wouldn't go down easily. Dallas checked her ammo and realized she was down to one magazine, it would be better to simply chuck the gun at the invaders rather then fire it at them. Leaning against the wall something behind her clicked before four sections of the wall opened up displaying a complete armoury of weapons.
"Was Melissa by any change channelling Q from James Bond?" Scorcher asked as she walked over before picking up a heavy Thermobaric M72 LAW stroking the barrel as she ran her hands over it.
"Wow Scorcher you're channelling your inner nerd." Tiger Shark sneered as he and Black Mamba walked over, the later throwing a P90 to Dallas before removing an M240 painted in red and black camouflage for herself. Scorcher was about to reply when the sound of fighting above them stopped and a bright light could be seen at the end of the steps down into the base.
"Positions." Dallas ordered, "Make Melissa proud that you were her Thunderbolts." she added as Blizzard ducked by the end of the steps waiting to freeze the passageway as soon as the Avengers entered. There was a thump as the door fell in and the sound of foot-steps down the stairs as Tony Stark stomped down before surveying the room.
"Stark came alone?" Bison asked.
"This is your last chance surrender." Tony told the Thunderbolts, "You will be treated with the respect that you deserve and I'll do everything in my power to keep you out of prison."
"Where's Chen then?" Blizzard asked as Tony walked past him.
"He's a hard-line Gold supporter for the country's safety he's been taken to a secure facility." Tony spluttered trying to find an elegant and less threatening way to say, "Chen's locked up and guess what your probably going to the Raft too."
Blizzard cocked his head and looked at Dallas who lowered her P90 a little signalling what she wanted him to do. With a well he leapt at Iron Man latching onto his arm and freezing the SHIELD Director's left arm before blasted with a Repulsor blast. "So disappointing." Tony stated as Bison charged in, with a second Repulsor Strike Bison went down and revealed Shocker his gauntlets charged right behind him. "Sorry Stark but we refuse." he leered firing and catching his target in a beam of sound, the blast shattering the ice and the gauntlet underneath it leaving exposed nano weave and flesh underneath. Tony staggered back as Blizzard got to his feet and closed in on him again. "Avenger's Assemble." he yelled before the whole room went dark, the Thunderbolts attack postponed.
"What is this stuff?" Bison snorted, "And where the hell is Stark?" he added as something shining shot past. Tiger Shark grunted as whatever it was struck him before digging into his flesh. "Somebody's shooting at us." he warned the others as more of the illuminated arrows flew past digging into the walls. Scorcher peered through the darkness and saw the shooter silhouetted as he fired another shot, holstering her flamethrower she brought out a flare gun and fired seven shots, the burning red projectiles lighting up the room. "Who said you should be afraid of the dark?" she asked as the shooter recoiled blinded by the light as Blizzard froze the ceiling, the light catching off massive ice spikes and lighting the entire room up and revealing Stark's Avengers. In an instant a hail of bullets was unleashed as Mamba and Vantage opened fire causing their foes to scatter and split up.
"Thunderbolts take them down hard." Dallas yelled as she targeted Stature who grew larger and larger until her head was scrapping the ceiling, her attention absorbed by Tiger Shark who leapt at her hand biting into the flesh before being squashed by the giant woman. "Why the hell do hideous things always try and bite me?" she asked as Tiger Shark kicked and punched her until she lifted her hand again, "Going down once again." she added swatting Tiger Shark across the room, the flying Thunderbolt barley missing Iron Man who was dodging ragged punches and uppercut's thrown at him from Bison before flying out of reach. Bison snarled before being tackled from behind by She Hulk, the green giant attempting to choke slam him as he struggled before throwing her off. "Talk about Rodeo." she announced as Hurricane slid into her, slipping on a frozen trackway laid down by Blizzard who had turned his attention on his old enemy Tony Stark.
"Blizzard come on." Iron Man joked as he flew past the Thunderbolt in question, "How long is it going to be before you start whinging about how I always defeat you?" he asked.
"Maybe you need another touch of frost." Blizzard announced firing up at the ceiling before extending a massive icicle down to trap Iron Man inside. Seconds later a Repulsor Blast shattered the cage before a second smashed into Blizzard, tearing through his Freon Pack and sending the Thunderbolt tumbling. "And cue the moaning." Tony announced as Blizzard picked up an office chair and threw it at him, "Or is this the furniture throwing part of the fight?" he asked as he lowered down to the ground. "Come on Donnie you get one free punch and then your done." Blizzard smiled under his mask and fingered the needle thin ice-pick that he had saved from the Thunderbolts home. Lunging he plunged the pick into the Uni Beam Generator causing the Iron Man to stagger backwards. "Hey you can't do that." Tony spluttered as Bison barged She Hulk off him and charged at the stricken Avenger only to be felled by an arrow fired by Orion, the Olympian quickly stringing another as Bison edged towards Iron Man.
"Hey Star Man," Tanya yelled raking the man with half an M240 clip, "What's your story and do you have a date?" she asked. Orion narrowed his eyes before answering, "I'm not currently betrothed."
"Bummer," Mamba announced, "because that makes this harder." she added projecting strands of dark-force energy at Orion before she felt it yanked away by a woman dressed in black. "Who the hell are you? Wait I know your that Cloak and Dagger Villain Ecstasy." she joked, "No wait the Silhouette from the New Warriors."
"It's Sepulchre." the woman snarled, "But rest assured," she added dark energy wrapping round her fingers, "I know who you are Black Mamba and I know how your powers work, about how you kill. It's time you saw what they see before you crush the life out of them." she added firing a stream of energy straight at Tanya, the energy wrapping around her, her choking lost among the sounds of battle.
Seth Voelker heard the tap on the window as he stirred from his sleep, while he didn't make a habit of sleeping at work, sometimes things got out of hand and the recent chaos after Gold's death had forced him to secure the vaults containing his client's property instead of making the usual deliveries. He had informed them that due to Law Enforcement being busy he would have to keep them an extra night and had cringed when he told them that there would be no charge for this additional storage. The tapping sounded again and he grunted, "Hang on I'm coming." as he smoothed out the suit he wore before looking out. "Oh it's you come in." he added unlocking the large window. "So what can I do for a fugitive tonight." he asked as Abe stepped through taking a last glance to see if the patrolling Thunder Hawks were still following.
"I need your help in locating members of the Serpent Society." Abe announced as Voelker sat down at his desk.
"I have nothing to do with them now, I find association with such criminals bad for business." Seth replied, "Yourself excluded of course."
"Of course." Abe repeated activating his armour's comm. jamming system in case Voelker tried to set him up or call for help, "Cobra, Bushmaster, Coach Whip, Rattler and Copperhead, where are they?" he asked.
"I don't know." Seth replied, "But I figure you want me to check on the old tracker." he added pulling a draw open and removing a large screen. "I suppose the usual co-operation package is what I receive." he moaned, "protection from the society when they are released and that's it."
"If that's all you want." Abe stated, "Melissa remembers her friends and she doesn't leave them in the lurch, if I remember correctly you were having some problems with members of the various gangs in this city ambushing your trucks. You were haemorrhaging money yet you refused to ally with any of them despite numerous death threats. You help us then you can consider the problem dealt with." he offered. "This offer is being recorded by my armor as a form of contract and will be transferred to the main database when Melissa is back in control of SHIELD."
"You speak as if this woman is alive." Seth suggested as he pressed the remote and brought up a map of the city, "From what Stark Enterprises have released she died in an explosion." Dots suddenly lit up the board, one was in Avengers Tower, probably Rachel, Abe thought, another was in the corner of the map in New Jersey, that must be Tanya he stated, interesting at least he had some co-ordinates. Aside from them there were two other results, one lone blip somewhere in the north of the city and a cluster on the Empire State University Campus. Seth pointed a finger, "There are eleven contacts there, five I know but the others are listed as Boa, Charmer, Naga, Indigo, Green Mamba and Shield Nose."
"Send them all." Abe ordered, "This point here," he added tapping the board.
Cobra walked past the chair angrily hissing to himself occasionally giving Melissa dirty looks and staring blankly at the clock on the wall. "Time's up Trudy, Stark's not budging, he hasn't sent any kind of reply."
"But he hasn't come charging in like a maniac either." Melissa announced as what seemed like a heat haze wobbled in front of her before erupting into blue light. Somewhere behind her there was a hissing scream before the light faded revealing blue icy covered walls and the sounds of angry people fighting.
"What where are we?" Bushmaster hissed, Melissa looked around everybody in the Serpent Society who had been guarding her had been teleported as had their prisoners. Obviously the genetic splicing had also involved some transmitter insertions allowing the future recruits to be located where ever they are.
"Stark." Cobra growled, "You," he turned on Melissa, "You set us up somehow."
"Really and when did I have time to do that, it's Tony Stark that betrayed you now go and punch him or something." Melissa ordered, "Or else just stand there and look picturesque, whatever the case do something."
Cobra hissed and cracked his knuckled before pointing at Iron Man as he fired a Repulsor Blast at Blizzard who was clutching an M4 Assault Rifle and popping off a few ineffective shots. "Serpent Society." he commanded, "Attack."