(A/N) Time for another update, everyone! We're entering our last few chapters now, as our heroes begin tracking down the Corpirate, so trust me when I tell you that shit's about to get real! This chapter has been written by the fantastic Minaethiel, and, like the last one, features the perspective of everyone's favourite FBI agent, Agent Joel Heyman! So let's see what we have in store for J-Roll today!
And yet again, (bear with me here) making sure that everyone knows that we're currently looking for writers for our Avengers/Hunger Games fic – In the End, You Always Kneel – so if you're at all interested in learning more about it, head on over to our forum of the same name or PM me for more information!
As always, enjoy!
Chapter Thirty-Seven – Plan G
Agent Joel Heyman
Written by Minaethiel
"My own heroes are the dreamers, those men and women who tried to make the world a better place than when they found it, whether in small ways or great ones. Some succeeded, some failed, most had mixed results... but it is the effort that's heroic, as I see it. Win or lose, I admire those who fight the good fight."
― George R.R. Martin
Agent Heyman sighed as he sat at his desk. When he'd been assigned to his position in Achievement City, the most he thought he'd have to handle were gangs. Certainly not robots and lasers. Or lasers and robots. And definitely not dragons. Yet here he was years later, his job mostly based around super villains and the opposing heroes, while he remained mostly powerless against the continuing destruction of peace in the city. People were getting to the point where they were afraid to leave their houses. Fear was proving to be more effective at enforcing a curfew than any police order in history.
His stomach was still feeling slightly queasy after seeing the condition that Zachary Miller had been left in, under the attention of the infamous Dr Zach. Joel had long wondered why Omega had hired her in the first place, but whatever her methods, he always had to concede that she got the job done.
Still, the level of torture that Miller had been subjected to was simply too much for him to stomach, and he made a mental note to bring it up with Omega the next time he met the man, who had left a few hours ago, leaving in the back of a specially-chartered helicopter. Of course, that left taking down the Corpirate in Heyman and Burnie's hands, but Joel was aware that Omega's work extended beyond Achievement City.
And if this much crap could happen here, God only knows what was happening in secret across the rest of the country.
It wasn't just the citizens of Achievement City that were scared either. With each new attack that occurred, he could see the same fear in each of the faces of his fellow agents and officers. Each new call that came in seemed to make them jump, and even Joel himself tensed every time he drove over a manhole cover. With morale becoming dangerously low in supply – and courage as well – it was important to finally strike a blow against the Community.
His partner cleared his throat from the front of the desk, and Joel turned to face him. Burns seemed as haggard as Joel felt, but his voice remained steady as he spoke.
"We have a press conference in an hour. Why are we bothering to bring in a freak show?"
Well, he was right about one thing. Time was ticking down. He had to give a presentation on their findings to the press in order to "soothe fears" and "restore confidence in Achievement City law enforcement." At least, that's what their boss, Omega, wanted. In reality, there were plenty of things the press and the citizens would be clueless about even after their presentation. The press conference itself had another purpose besides putting on a good face. It was also putting on a classic misdirection.
He and Burns hadn't been in the real thick of the fighting like X-Ray, Vav, Mogar, and Iron-Ryan had been, but after seeing the aftermath, he had pretty much decided that it was time for some real breathing room in the city.
"I called them here," Joel replied, "in order to formulate a plan. We can't take down the Corpirate by ourselves, we don't have that kind of firepower. And it's best that they know everything before we go public with the information we're presenting."
The presentation in question was, in reality, all a lie, but he didn't want to go reminding Burns of that until the group of heroes had arrived. By his estimation, it shouldn't take any of the four too long to arrive. X-Ray and Vav were usually prompt, as was Iron-Ryan, and he figured Michael would arrive promptly as well so he could get back to spending time with his girlfriend. As it was, a knock sounded at the door, and when Joel gave permission to enter, he was pleasantly surprised to see that all four had arrived together, plus an extra member. Evidently Michael couldn't leave his girlfriend at home, and she looked around apprehensively, a look which only increased when she looked over at Burns and Joel themselves.
Not ideal, but she had been issued clearance by Omega to assist in Dr Sorola's treatment of Mogar, so he supposed it was only fair that they involve her, if that's what Michael wanted. After all, Joel wasn't going to argue with a man who could turn into a giant, bearlike rage-monster.
"Thanks for coming on such short notice. As you know, with the Community's latest attack on the city, people are even more frightened than before. The Bureau is going to release a statement soon, and we want your cooperation with it. The Corpirate is the most evident leader that the Community have, regardless of the nature of his origins, so we want him gone. We want you to work with law enforcement to search the city."
Oh, he could see the warring interest and irritation on Michael's face, and the steady determination from X-Ray and Vav. Iron-Ryan was passive as always, but he still tilted his head slightly in a knowing fashion.
"You wouldn't call us here so soon before the conference to tell us this," he pointed out. "A full briefing would have been expected sooner if the situation was as simple as mere searching."
Joel nodded, getting up from his desk.
"You're right. What I just told you is what we're going to tell the press and the city itself. In reality, we're going to take the fight straight to the Corpirate. Even if he really is a robot, and is being controlled by someone else, we still need him taken out, and we need your help to do it."
When he had stopped talking, J-Roll had expected an avalanche of questions regarding what the plan was. In truth, he didn't really have a plan to execute. Basic threats – other humans, gang members and mercs – he could truly plan against and predict his opposition. With the Corpirate, he had to grudgingly admit that he was out of his league. Hell, the Community as a whole was out of the league of the FBI. There hadn't been classes on Superpowers 101 back in training.
"So then how do we want to do this? The last time Vav and I tried to take him down, we got our shit wrecked. Not to mention the fact that if the Corpirate feels like he's in trouble, he'll probably call his pet dragon to help him out," X-Ray was the first to speak up, rapidly followed by Vav, who added, "And we'd be absolutely mullered if Bullet-Beard decided to show his face again."
"If X-Ray and Vav get to have all the fucking action, then why were Iron-Ryan and I called here? I've got better shit to do than listen to battle plans," Michael put in irritably. Lindsay rested a calming hand on his arm, and the part-time behemoth shot her a grateful look. Perhaps it hadn't been a bad idea for Michael to bring her along after all, Joel reflected.
"Actually, I'm not looking forward going another round with the Corpirate. Last time we fought him, X-Ray nearly drowned, and I almost got killed by a train. A train that – by the way – didn't kill him, even though the bloody thing ran him over," Vav reminded the group.
X-Ray nodded, and finished what his partner was saying, "So, bottom line is we can't take him by ourselves. Not without a distraction, at least."
Joel was surprised at the admission by the dynamic duo. It wasn't like them to admit that someone – or something, in this case – was too tough for them to handle. But then, after the attack the other day, he supposed it was only safe for them to hold some caution. There was always the chance that some of the city's apparently still existent gangs would interfere with the heroes attempts to take down mysterious boss, again.
"If I may," Iron-Ryan began, having looked thoughtful during both X-Ray's and Vav's admissions, finally spoke up, "we worked much more efficiently by pooling our individual talents. I believe we'd have a much better chance of success against the Corpirate if we used the same tactic."
It was at that point that Joel began wondering how that hadn't been the first thing that came to the minds of the four men in front of him. Then again, he realized, none of them had worked closely as an entire unit. X-Ray had Vav had been partners for a long while, but neither had worked with Iron-Ryan or Mogar for long periods of time. In fact the most they had done together was fight each other before Mogar and Iron-Ryan had made strides to be one of the "good guys." Aside from that, both X-Ray and Vav were most used to working as a duo.
"Well what the fuck are we waiting for then?" Michael cut in, crossing his arms. "Let's go get this asshole and actually win something for once. Maybe without half the city exploding, that'd be a nice change."
"The only problem with that, mate, is we don't exactly know where the Corpirate is. He kind of escaped last time. That and he didn't show up with any of the gangs earlier. Just our mysterious dragon-friend, and that dude wearing a balaclava," Vav explained. "So I assume we're still going to have to hunt for him and all that."
"Actually," Joel finally cut in, "we know exactly where he happens to be. Burnie, roll out the blueprint."
Joel's desk had been cleared just for this purpose, and a large piece of paper rolled out on top of it. The building was one of the tallest skyscrapers in Achievement City.
"This is the Achievement City-"
"I know what that is!" Vav cut in excitedly. "That's the Tower of Pimps!"
"The Tower... of Pimps?" Burns asked confusedly, staring doubtfully at the blueprint. "I keep hearing people say that – what the hell is it called that for?"
"That's where they store all of the gold in Achievement City, isn't it?" Michael asked. "One of the doctors I work with – Gavin Free – swears that they must have a tower of the stuff in there. Like, four blocks high on a stand of onyx, or some shit. I can't remember what the hell Gav called it."
Vav snapped his fingers. "Must be obsidian your boy was talking about," he offered. "Smart lad."
X-Ray, Joel noticed, had to choke back laughter at Vav's self-complimenting, which only grew harder to do as Michael shot a condescending look at Vav himself. Joel himself met Burnie's eyes, who simply rolled his own towards the ceiling, and shook his head tiredly.
"Right, smart. If by 'smart' you mean calling a saw a pizza cutter, and making stupid jokes about any and all parts of the body during surgery, then sure. He's 'smart.' He's a fucking genius."
"Gentlemen," Burns cut in before Joel could, contempt lacing his tone. "In case you've forgotten, we have a freak that needs capturing, and you four are the ones that need to do it. So what's your plan? If you're working together, you kind of need to decide on your roles."
"Roles, schmolls. We'll improvise! That usually works for us, and we'll be able to improvise even faster with Ryan on the team."
One thing that hadn't seemed to change, Joel noticed, was X-Ray's support of his former co-worker. Even despite all that had happened – and what Ryan had become – there was an unwavering trust with him. He wasn't sure what Ryan could make of it, but the cyborg merely nodded in support.
"My golems are in the process of receiving several upgrades after their last bout, but I'm reasonably confident that I'll be able to provide a good degree of support. The only concern currently pressing on us is the civilian presence inside the building. The situation will rapidly become far too hazardous for them to stay inside."
"We'll handle that. Actually I've already requested that the AH Build Team Inspection Agency require the building emptied for an impromptu inspection of safety regulations. No one in the Trade Build-"
"Towe of Pimps," Vav cut in as a correction, and Joel sighed, unamused.
"No one in the Tower of Pimps knows about the inspection, and they won't until you are just about to head in. All of you will be free to take down the Corpirate, using whatever means necessary. He cannot be allowed to get away. We'll be able to offer you whatever support you need, and hopefully keep away most of the grunts from interfering with you four. We'll take him down tomorrow."
All of them nodded, and X-Ray shifted slightly. "So what do you want us to do until then? Look pretty for our adoring fans? Kiss babies?"
"I want all of you to fan out with the FBI and the ACPD and pretend to lead a city-wide search. We'll have the element of surprise, as long as they don't believe we know where they are. Our chances of success depend on the Corpirate not expecting X-Ray, Vav, Mogar, and Iron-Ryan to jump him. If he knows what we're planning, he could abandon ship long before we get to him."
Now that the foundations of a well thought-out plan were laid, Joel found himself both relaxing in some aspects and becoming anxious in others. The entire outcome of the battle tomorrow depended on the element of surprise, the strength of the heroes in front of him, and the coordination between all of them. If something got screwed up, the Corpirate would very likely get away, or something worse was likely to happen. Burns tapped on the desk next to him, and when Joel looked, the other agent nodded towards the door.
"We might as well start the conference early. These guys will need time to put on a good charade and make plans of their own."
Nodding, the veteran agent led the way to the door, stopping briefly before he opened it.
"I want X-Ray, Vav, and Ryan up on the stage with me. Michael, I doubt you want your identity broadcasted to the whole city, so you can either stay here or stay in the crowd, but I want you around to hear the conference."
"The crowd," Lindsay immediately said, speaking up for the first time. "People shouldn't question someone showing up to an announcement about the FBI catching the Community members."
Joel nodded in response and walked out, feeling the presence of his partner, Ryan, X-Ray, and Vav with him. Michael and Lindsay split off to take a different entrance out, while the rest of the group went right through the front doors of the FBI buidling. The scene was exactly what Joel expected. The crowd was loud with chatter, which only grew louder at their arrival. Camera flashed left and right, rather annoyingly, and various news stations had their video cameras tracing their movements. Questions were loudly shouted from reporters, each one desperately trying to be heard over the other. A throbbing headache was beginning to form as Joel stood at the podium provided and tapped the microphone a couple of times to get everyone's attention.
Thankfully the crowd immediately began to quiet, and Joel began to speak quickly to get the whole thing over with.
"As you all know, we've had a string of attacks from a terrorist organization known as 'The Community.' The attack a few days ago also has been attributed to them. As of this moment, the FBI and the ACPD are not going to sit around and wait for them to show up again. We will be working with X-Ray, Vav, Iron-Ryan, and Mogar to search the city from top to bottom until we can find the top members of the Community and bring them to justice. Rest assured, we are doing everything in our power to protect the citizens of the city. We've never wavered from that in the past, and that won't change now or in the future. Thank you for your continued support, and we will provide updates on the situation as we get them."
The second he finished speaking, a clamour rose of questions yet again, but Joel didn't stick around to answer them. Stepping away from the podium, he motioned to the heroes.
"Teams are already forming to begin searching. All four of you will take a different part of the city, but be sure to decide on a meeting place tomorrow, and keep me informed of what support you'll need. Go."
All of them nodded and fanned out to no doubt grab Michael. Joel sighed as he re-entered the FBI's building. It was over. Hopefully the Community wouldn't see them coming, but at this point, all he could do was carry on with their planned charade, and give the heroes the time they needed to prepare. Despite wanting to rest more than anything else, he instead waved Burnie over, sighing internally.
"We've got work to do. Summon the team leaders. We've got our own plans to make. Tomorrow is one of those days were we can't afford to screw up."
However he had an inkling that the four heroes could handle it.
This was what superheroes were for, after all.