Driving in two separate police vehicles, the members of StarCorps held apprehensive and worried expressions as they headed towards their destination, before Marcus asked through his communicator. "Hey, Thomas, are you sure the message came from Azumi?"

"Yes, and she said it was urgent. It regards the Cartel and they apparently have something big going on." The blond hero said in reply as he looked over the note that was found in front of their precinct, one of several the female vigilante had left in the past, usually alerting the police to locations of criminals she had 'left' for them to take away.

Part of Thomas wanted to call in the Protectors to help in the event things got heated, but knew that Davis and his team were focusing their efforts on finding the Dark Legion, especially after the Night Queen's latest attack and having used Nene against them.

Soon enough, the two cars came to a halt, parking adjacent an alleyway Azumi mentioned in her instructions, where all got out of the vehicles and headed down the path, keeping up their guards, before seeing the raven haired girl resting against the wall as she eyed them.

"What? No big shot heroes this time?" Azumi asked with some amusement in her voice, before sighing.

"Shame. I was hoping to show Cyberstriker what other skills I had." The raven haired girl added with a small smile behind her face mask.

"I'll be sure to pass that message along." Thomas replied as his left eyebrow twitched in annoyance, before he then asked. "Now, what did you want to see us about?"

"There's a ship arriving at the port in an hour or so. Word on the street is the Cartel has it filled with weapons, and not normal street ones, I'm talking hi-tech stuff. They plan to sell them off to the various street gangs still in the city, which will probably start a gang war in itself." Azumi informed, causing the StarCorps to widen their eyes in shock, before Yoshi excused herself to contact Commissioner Sampson and inform him on this development.

"Do you know which ship it is?" Keenan asked in concern, part of him hoping they could lockdown the ship before the gangs arrived.

"Yes, a few thugs I ran into were quite... talkative, once I got through with them. But from what they told me, several leads of the Cartel will be present to show off the goods. This could be a chance to deal the Cartel a crippling blow if we can catch them now, as well as you guys putting a few gang leaders behind bars." Azumi informed, causing the StarCorps members to think more on what she said, knowing it could not only help lower crime in the city, but help cripple an international crime syndicate in the process.

Returning to the group, Yoshi then informed the others. "Sampson's given us the go ahead, S.A.T. and Armoured Corp will be on standby nearby to assist as needed."

"They should also be informed to use rebreathers if Planteur Fonce is there, unless we want to end up fighting our fellow officers as well." Miki added, reminding the group of the plant based villainess with the Cartel, and her power to manipulate others with her pollen.

"Then let's get going. The longer we wait, the quicker this sale can go off!" Marcus then said with a fiery determination, refusing to allow the Cartel to bring more harm to the city through their greedy and corruptive ways.

-Sometime later-

As though to keep a low profile, the ship, which looked like a regular cargo tanker, seemed nearly deserted, with only a few guards on the top deck, in order to not draw any suspicions.

Sadly for said guards, they didn't see it coming as several shadow tendrils quickly came up out of the darkness, wrapping around them, and quickly knocking them out as Azumi and the police heroes quickly moved into the ship, before reaching the inner cargo hold, which was remade into a sort of showroom, with several known gang leaders all sitting amongst a large table, while Cartel guards lined the room, and several dozen large metallic containers filled the back.

Before the table, four individuals were present, three sitting, and one standing.

The first one sitting, where the StarCorps and Azumi quickly recognized as Planteur Fonce, causing the police heroes to quickly hit a button on their visors as protective face masks covered their mouths and noses, ensuring the blonde wouldn't be able to take control of them.

The individual next to the blonde villainess, meanwhile, was massive, looking like a cross between a man and a crab, with his body encased in a shell-like armour, while his left hand resembled a large, crab-like claw, where only a pair of red eyes were seen through what looked like eye sockets in the armoured being's head.

"Derek Wallace, aka Hardshell, rumored head of the Cartel's Australian operations, as well as one of their man muscles." Quickshot informed the others as she looked upon the villain's info displayed on her visor.

Next to Hardsell was a man who was wearing a black hoodie and jeans, but what quickly stood out was the fact that his arms, and his entire head, were covered in flames, save for a pair of glowing blue eyes that could be seen through the flames.

"Phil Anderson, also known as Blaze. His body is actually held together by a special combustive chemical, and he's one of the Cartel's main hitmen. Wanted on multiple accounts of murder and intimidation charges." The auburn haired girl then told her allies, having accessed the blazing man's information, knowing now that physical attacks would only result in terrible burns.

The last person, and the one standing, however, had caught the StarCorps and Azumi by surprise, for his face was one everyone recognized, Michael Hendricks, aka Deathstrike of the Dark Legion.

"Shit..." Cobalt Warrior groaned as the group backed up a little, all concerned as Starlight then added. "Seems the rumors that he was also a Cartel leader have been confirmed."

"Yes, and now we have to worry if there is some kind of alliance between them and the Dark Legion, and if this is all somehow part of the Night Queen's endgame." The blond haired hero said aloud as the group then turned and listened in on the conversation below.

"Gentlemen, ladies, I can remember a time when your groups were feared, when even the cops were too afraid to come after you, but what changed this, what caused us to be the ones left in fear? That's simple enough, more and more heroes began to show up, forcing all of you to hide in the shadows." Deathstrike said, smirking behind his mask as some of the gang leaders looked offended, but he knew he had them hooked.

"But that's all changed recently, hasn't it? Now many of those heroes are six feet under, and the cops are getting too tied up. But why let the Night Queen have all the fun? I'd say it's time you all retook your places on top of this city, and these are just the start." The gunslinging villain said as one of the guards opened one of the metal containers, taking out its contents, and handing it to his superior, giving the StarCorps a better look at what they were dealing with.

Astonished by what they saw Deathstrike now holding, Cobalt Warrior and the others saw the gunslinging villain now wielding a large cannon-like rifle based weapon in his hands, where the group noticed that between the barrel of the weapon and the trigger, there were several canisters lined on the sides, each charging with a light blue energy, with each linked into the weapon and giving it its power.

"I'm seeing a mix of tech in that weapon. Some of HiTech's, some KnightCorps, even some of our own." Cobalt Warrior told the others as he looked the weapon over, growing angry and concerned as to how the Cartel got their hands on most of the tech in the first place, before watching Deathstrike continue his presentation.

"Check out this beauty. State of the art, and it can turn even one of those annoying PD mech drones to a slag heap in seconds." The Dark Legionnaire said, just before the group heard the sounds of rolling nearby, looking to the side to see some of the Cartel guards wheeling in a deactivated Drone that they positioned for the demonstration, before quickly moving out of the way.

"Allow me to give you a demonstration." Deathstrike then said with a dark grin as he directed the cannon to the Drone, charging the weapon as he kept his finger on the trigger, before letting go and causing a massive surge of electrical energy to erupt from the barrel, quickly coming into contact with the Drone, where the electrical blast devastated the inactive machine, consuming it in a great and terrible explosion, leaving little to nothing of the machine in the aftermath.

Turning back to the table with a glint in his eyes, Deathstrike then asked with a smirk. "Now, who wants to be the top dog again? Ten thousand for each of these beauties."

Azumi and the StarCorps then heard the gang leaders clamoring, each wanting one of the weapons for themselves, before Quickshot handed Azumi a rebreather of her own, while Shadow Walker whispered into her comm to the police forces waiting outside. "All units, prepare to move in."

Then, nodding to one another, the police heroes and the raven haired vigilante quickly jumped down from their hiding place to the floor below, startling the gang leaders, surprising the Cartel as the three sitting leaders stood up and the guards to raise their weapons, and for Deathstrike to let out an annoyed sigh as he asked. "Who invited you?"

"We don't need an invitation when scum like you needs to be dealt with." Fighting Fury said as she slammed his fist into his open palm, ignoring the gang leaders as they ran for the exits, knowing the S.A.T. and Armoured units would apprehend them, allowing the heroes to focus on the four villains and their guards.

"I'm guessing that annoying tramp is responsible for you being here?" Planteur Fonce asked as she, Blaze and Hardshell moved next to Deathstrike who, much to the heroes' confusion, handed off the weapon in his hand to a guard, before drawing out his pistols.

"I said it was a good weapon, but I never said it was my style." The gunslinging villain said nonchalantly as he glared at Quickshot, wanting some payback for her interference the last time the StarCorps came to the Protectors' aid.

"Well, from what my mates have told me, the one in red's the tough one. Looking forward to seeing him crack!" Hardshell then said with a laugh as he brought his claw up, opening and closing it a few times to make his point.

"Can it, lobster head! Let's just leave them a pile of ashes and get out of here!" Blaze then added as the flames around his arms and head burned even hotter as he got into a fighting stance, ready to strike down those against him.

"Save some of them for me, messieurs. I can think of quite a few things to do with some of them." Planteur Fonce said with a dark smirk as vines began to grow along her body, including a pair of thorn-like blades as she prepared to fight.

"This ends now! We got some nice, cozy cells waiting for you, so either surrender quietly or we can do this the fun way." Fighting Fury said with a grin as orange electricity surged through his body.

"Fun way sounds so much better, mate!" Hardshell called back as he quickly rushed at the brunette, bringing his claw down, narrowly missing Fighting Fury as he jumped to the left, where he saw the indentation left by the force of the pincer.

"You've got a good left hook." Fighting Fury confessed, before clenching his left hand into a fist and saying with a grin. "But let's see whose is better."

Charging back at the half man, half crab being, Fighting Fury pulled his arm back, before throwing it forward as a powerful punch, smashing it into Hardshell's body, causing him to give a small groan from the impact of Fighting Fury's attack.

But living up to his name, Hardshell quickly recovered from the attack, showing his body hadn't suffered as much as Fighting Fury had anticipated, before the duo found themselves locked in close combat, each trying to strike the other with an onslaught of powerful arm swings and jabs, with the brunette managing to get in a few hits, only to see the damage was continuously absorbed by the thick exoskeleton that covered Hardshell's body.

Meanwhile, during the time Fighting Fury and Hardhsell had begun their fight, to prove who was the stronger of the two, Quickshot and Deathstrike were shooting things out, each taking cover around the metal columns that supported the large hold they were in, not only wanting to prove who was better with a gun, but Deathstrike wanted to put a bullet right between Quickshot's eyes.

'At least he won't try and use his rocket launcher in such a small area, not without risking damaging the ship and causing it to sink.' Quickshot thought as she took cover from another round from Deathstrike, who gave a dark grin as he stared the heroine down.

"You can hide all you want, but I always get my mark." Deathstrike declared, quickly turning around the pillar Quickshot was hiding behind and opened fire, causing the auburn haired heroine to act fast as she rushed and slid under the table, coming out the other end on her back, pistols drawn and fired back.

Nearby and meanwhile, Azumi was doing her best to dodge the onslaught of thorn tipped vines that were shooting out towards her as she tried to get closer to Planteur Fonce, but grew frustrated as she saw the villainess literally sitting in a chair as she attacked, a smug look on her face as she seemed amused that her opponent wasn't getting close to her.

"You know, despite the pain in the ass you've been, I think I'll keep you around and add you to my... 'collection.' I could always use a pretty thing like you in my services." The plant villainess remarked as her smirk grew, even as Azumi's eyes narrowed.

"Thanks, but I'd rather kick your ass and drag your beaten body to the police." Azumi said in reply, before letting out a loud cry as she swung her staff at the incoming vines, shocking Planteur Fonce as the sheer force behind the swing as it snapped all her vines, before the masked vigilante quickly closed the distance between them, causing the villainess to jump out of her chair and draw out her thorn blades as she ducked and parried Azumi's attacks.

As those battles raged on, Cobalt Warrior and Midnight Raven found themselves in a delicate situation as Blaze slowly walked towards them, having read enough on his file to know that, whether ranged or close combat, the fiery villain was dangerous.

"He can't use ranged too much in here, not without destroying the weapons, so we have some advantage there." The blond hero said aloud as he tried to figure out some way to fight this enemy.

"Do you really think I care about those cheap metals? The Cartel can always make more, but killing a few of Odaiba's 'Finests', now that's a better deal in my eyes." Blaze then said with a dark chuckle as he brought both hands up, causing a stream of fire to shoot out towards the pair, who quickly moved out of the way as the wall behind them began to melt, showing a lack of care for those around him, alongside his lack of mental stability.

Acting on his own, Midnight Raven took out several kunai and threw them at Blaze, who remained still as the flying weapons came towards him, before the ninja hero's eyes widened in shock to see the kunai all melt before they could reach their target, showing how much heat Blaze was now emitting.

"Is that it?" He mocked, always enjoying tormenting his victims and he wanted Cobalt Warrior and Midnight Raven to be no exception.

As the fighting raged on, with Starlight and Shadow Walker taking on the Cartel guards, one even firing one of the weapons in the air at Starlight, who moved just in time as the blast created a whole in the ceiling, Deathstrike mentally cursed at the situation, knowing that even if they managed to take these heroes out, the rest of the Odaiba PD were most likely outside.

They needed a distraction, and, looking at Hardshell's opponent, Deathstrike knew just how to make one.

"Fonce!" He called out towards his plant-based ally, who spared him a glance as she dodged Azumi's attack, seeing him tilt his head in the opposite direction, seeing where he was looking, before gaining a smirk as she knew what he had in mind.

"Sorry, dear, our playtime is over." Planteur Fonce commented as she pushed Azumi back, using her vines to quickly trip the girl, before jumping over to her destination.

"You put up a good fight, but this ends now!" Fighting Fury yelled, meanwhile, bringing his right fist back to try and punch Hardshell in the face, only for his arm to be caught in vines, along with his legs, as he felt someone press against his back.

"Now, now, monsieur, you need to relax." Planteur Fonce said with a smirk as several flowers grew along her outfit, releasing her hypnotic pollen as she reached around and quickly pulled the auburn hero's face mask off, first causing Fighting Fury to writhe around as he struggled against the restricting vines, only for his body to go limp and his eyes to glaze over as the pollen filled system, taking him over and allowing the blonde villainess to control him.

"Now, monsieur Fury, be a good boy, and kill your teammates!" Planteur Fonce commanded with a smirk as she released her vines.

Unable to disobey, Fighting Fury circled his fists in amber energy, before charging at Quickshot, who noticed the brunette coming at her from the corner of her eye, causing her to quickly duck and dodge as her teammate and boyfriend began to attack her for no reason.

"Fury, what are you...?!" The auburn heroines questioned in shock, before noticing his face mask missing and the blank look on his face, telling Quickshot all she needed to know about what had happened, concerning her greatly.

"Guys! Fonce got to Fury!" Quickshot yelled as she dodged her entranced teammates' strike, grateful for all the training she had done with him in the past, but now found it was being used against her, leaving Quickshot's teammates shocked to see Fighting Fury trying to strike down his girlfriend.

Acting quickly, Azumi, Starlight and Shadow Walker quickly came to Quickshot's aid, trying to help subdue their entranced friend, not noticing Deathstrike giving orders to the guards, who quickly began taking the cases of weapons out of the room.

'This isn't good...' Cobalt Warrior thought as he dodged another of Blaze's attacks, with the pyromaniac having set his hands ablaze once more and tried to blast the blond, while seeing not only Fury fighting his allies, but the Cartel beginning to take their weapons away to sell to someone else, seeing that the odds were being pushed against them and they needed a way to fight back.

It was then that an idea came to him.

Though it might cause them to lose the weapons, they could still prevent them from being used in the future as he whispered into the comms. "Quickshot, get Fury to punch a hole into the floor."

Confused by the command, Quickshot had to ask. "Are you crazy? If he does that, this place will flood."

"Trust me." She then heard Cobalt Warrior say as he gave a small smile. "I know what I'm doing."

While Quickshot thought such actions were still reckless and dangerous, knowing Cobalt Warrior's intelligence had never steered her wrong in the past, the auburn haired heroine nodded in reply, before focusing her attention back on Fighting Fury, drawing his attention with a few warning shots. "Hey! You want me, then come and get me!"

As if acting like the old Fighting Fury and falling for the taunt, the brunette shook off Azumi, Starlight and Shadow Walker from his being, leapt into the air, his fist was brimming with energy as he shot down and aimed for Quickshot's head.

However, at the last moment, the heroine quickly moved out of the way, causing Fury's fist to slam into the steel floor, creating a massive hole as the sea water erupted from the opening, quickly covering Fighting Fury, who began to cough from the water as it entered his system and flushed the pollen out.

"What the hell...?!" Fury yelled as he fell back, before blinking his eyes as he tried to regain his sense of awareness, confused as to the position he was now in, recalling Planteur Fonce trapping him in her vines before finding the rest a haze.

Meanwhile, as the water rushed into the small compartment, Blaze turned just in time for his eyes to widen as a small wall of water slammed into him, causing him to cry out as he was slammed against the wall, his flames dying down, before looking up just in time to see a pair of fist slam into what parts of his face were showing knocking him out in the process.

Seeing Blaze knocked out and Fury freed of Fonce's mind control, as well as the rushing water filling the hold, Deathstrike turned to his comrade and said. "Leave the weapons and let's get out of here."

"How do you expect us to do that?!" Planteur Fonce asked in annoyance as she pointed to the doorway out now underwater, leaving the only exit behind the heroes, before Deathstrike just pointed behind him as a dark portal opened up, surprising not only Fonce and Hardshell, but the StarCorps and Azumi as well as he began to walk into the dark void, with the two other Cartel leaders looking at one another, before doing the same, along with the remaining guards, before it closed behind them.

With DeathStrike and the Cartel gone and the ship continuing to fill with water, picking the unconscious form of Blaze up, Cobalt Warrior yelled to the group with great concern for their lives. "We need to leave, now!"

Not arguing, the heroes, heroine and their prisoner quickly exited as the ship, and it's cargo, sank to the bottom of the port, taking the weapons with it.

-A short time later-

Outside, dozens of police vehicles were present as officers led not only the gang leaders they captured into police cars, while a special escort moved Blaze into a special vehicle to hold him, his arms and head now in a special gear that not only contained him, but acted as a coolant system to keep his body temperature, and thus his powers, low.

Nearby, the StarCorps all let out sighs of relief.

Though they didn't get the weapons, and three leaders of the Cartel escaped, they captured their top hitman, several main gang leaders in the city, and made sure the weapons would never be used to harm innocents, so overall it felt like a victory on their end.

While Azumi had already left, asking the StarCorps to give her regards to the Protectors the next time they saw them, all the while, Marcus was feeling terrible for letting his guard down and nearly endangering his team, where as he started to apologize.

"Guys, I'm sorry... I should have..." He began to say, but stopped as Yoshi set her arms around him, holding herself close to his chest.

"It's alright, but you can make it up to me by buying dinner for the next... Month or so." Yoshi said with a smirk as she looked up at Marcus, who smiled down at her.

"It wasn't all that bad. We did take down the heads of several gangs in the city, and captured Blaze." Miki then stated, trying to keep up the positive mood.

"And now we know not only is Deathstrike a part of the Cartel, but that the Dark Legion is working with them. I wouldn't be surprised if starting a gang war was part of the Night Queen's plan to try and keep us distracted while she follows through with her goals." Thomas added in a serious tone, causing the others to sigh as he killed the mood, even though they knew he was right.

But gaining a determined look, Marcus said to the rest of the StarCorps. "We need to stay on our guards. I have a feeling the next few days might turn out to be hectic for us all."

He had no idea how right he was.