NOTE: The events of this Spotlight take place in the three month time gap between chapters 3 and 4 of The Dark Phoenix.
DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners.
Infinity Verse Spotlights
John McClane: Old Habits Die Hard
The Chief told him that it was nice out in Florida. Nothing but sun and relaxation for old dogs like him. At least, that was the BS John was fed during his retirement party. At first, he was almost at peace to be done with the force after everything that he had endured during his time as a cop, not to mention everything else he had been entangled with in between. On the other hand, he knew from his friends in the NYPD that retirement was the ultimate death sentence. In his time as a street cop, John had faced death on a regular basis, and that was excluding the mess he ended up in at the Nakatomi Plaza and the other, as he called them, misadventures, he happened to wander into. But after all the bombings, rouge soldiers, revenge-seeking madmen, and terrorists coming out of the woodworks, the Department thought that it was time for John to retire. Really though, they were just done with John's wanton destruction of property and, more to the point, his total disregard of authority. To top it off, John knew the other reason they were tossing him aside: At 65, he was too old to be a cop.
Ever since he joined the police force, John always assumed that he'd die in a hail of bullets. Not that he wanted to, but if he died stopping some wacko with a handful of detonators, then so be it. The idea of him growing old and useless on some beach full of a bunch of old fucks was by no means appealing to him, but the NYPD wanted him out of New York and be someone else's headache, so he had no say in the matter. It also didn't help that he would be going to Florida alone. His family wanted nothing to do with him, which was very evident by the conversation he had with his son, who cracked him in the mouth during the argument they had at last Thanksgiving's dinner. John thought that perhaps it was best to leave his family for good and let them finally have the peace he had been inadvertently taking away from them for so long.
As John sat in the airport lobby, he looked up at a nearby TV showcasing the latest victory of the earth's greatest heroes: The Infinity League. Currently, the news was talking about the team's latest heroic exploit.
"Earlier today, the Infinity League managed to stop notorious supervillain, Mojo Jojo, from destabilizing the earth's core with a nuclear device," the news anchor began. "Though Mojo managed to escape from the League, the heroes were able to stop the machine from doing serious damage to the planet. We'll have more details after the break."
Thirty years ago, if you had told John that in the future the world would be filled with superheroes, he would respond that he'd rather have them by his side during the whole mess at the Nakatomi Plaza, not to mention every other misadventure he found himself in following suite. He liked the idea of super-beings lending a hand when the world needed it. The planet had been changing to the point that no normal human could handle it one their own, so maybe it was for the best that these living gods take the wheel on protecting the earth for a change. Plus, John was getting too old for this shit. He remembered a time back when he was still on the police force when he was caught in the middle of the Kraang invasion of New York and watched the Ninja Turtles liberate the city from the brain-aliens, and that wasn't even the craziest thing he hadn't seen in Big Apple during his time living there. From running for his life from a giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man to taking shelter with his fellow officers during Zilla's attack on Manhattan, John had seen more than enough proof in his life that the world needed these metahumans now more than ever.
As John sat in the lobby waiting for his flight, he noticed something that caught his attention away from the magazine he was reading. It was a massive gathering of news crews and press all gathered around one person that he couldn't quite make out among the crowd. Curious, or better put, bored, John got up from his chair and walked over to where the commotion was so that he could better see who exactly these media vultures were circled around. At first, John assumed that it was some pop star or celebrity, but when he was closer, he saw a young bronze-skinned woman with long black hair dressed in a plain white dress with gold jewelry adorning it. Standing next to the woman was a young Japanese boy in a striped blue shirt, jeans, and a yellow vest over his shirt standing close to her. Judging by the four black-suited bodyguards that flanked the duo from front and back, these to strange individuals were obviously people in importance, but the former cop had no idea as to who they were. John cocked his head to the side, confused by all the attention the duo were getting.
"Who the hell are these guys?" he asked aloud, though it was more to himself than anything else.
"Don't you know?" one of the news crews mic operators in the back answered upon overhearing the question. "That's Ishizu Kaiba. The wife of billionaire Seto Kaiba."
Seto Kaiba. Now that was a name that John had vaguely remembered hearing every now and again on the news. From what he recalled about the guy, Seto Kaiba was some big shot businessman who made his money from creating gaming systems or something. He also heard on the news about the time that KaibaCorp, along with a few major global companies, got in a bidding war over the remnants of InGen after they screwed the pooch with the whole dinosaur debacle a few years back.
"So, who's the kid?" John inquired. "Is that like her son or something?"
"No, that's Kaiba's little brother, Mokuba," the sound guy explained. "Seriously, dude, do you live under a rock or something?"
"Nah, I just never cared much for the lifestyles of the rich and the famous," the former cop admitted before asking "So, why are these two here and the big man himself isn't?"
"Jerry, we're on!" the sound guy's boss snapped before he had a chance to answer him.
Still curious, John hung around in the back of the crowd of reporters as they began to ask their questions to the duo.
"Mrs. Kaiba! Mrs. Kaiba! What brings you to America?" a newsman inquired.
"I came for a personal vacation. I've been suffering from a...terrible sleep disorder as of late," Ishizu answered in a calm voice despite the flashing lights that encircled around her like a swarm of bees. "My husband suggested that I take this vacation for a few weeks to relax,"
She then patted Mokuba on the shoulder and smiled down at him, who in turn looked up and smiled back at her.
"And this fine, young gentleman offered to join me during my stay in your country," she continued.
"But why isn't your husband here with you?" a newswoman chimed in. "Is your marriage already on the rocks?"
John grimaced at that rather uncalled for question. It reminded him of all the times that scumbag reporter, Richard Thornburg, and all the times he harnessed his wife and children. He never cared much for the media in general, always blowing things out proposition and scaring the masses into hating each other rather than trying to come together and work out problems. Hell, one time the media hounded him for days after a lookalike was spotted tearing up practically half of Moscow chasing after some Russian mobsters working for a high ranking official or some shit like that. The tabloids that followed drove John up a wall. Nowadays, the only times he ever watched a news channel was to get a weather update or when he needed the noise in the background while he ate dinner alone in his apartment. John half-expected to see Ishizu snap back at that remark, but instead, she only looked back at the newswoman with the same calm demeanor before answering.
"If that were true, then he wouldn't be fronting the bill during our stay here," she began. "Nor would he be joining us in the next three days, either."
John couldn't help but smirk at that. As the former cop watched the crowd of reporters follow the woman and her young brother-in-law, he noticed something strange among the group of the photographs. While many of the photographers were fighting among themselves to secure a good picture of the members of the Kaiba family, there were a few who were steady and rigid, like a well-trained sniper lining up to take their shot. Already on edge from just the strange sight, John then spotted a few security guards, who were also carefully watching the Kaiba family, but John had a feeling that they weren't watching out for their well beings, for past experiences had taught him that not everything was always as it seemed. Among the flurry of flashing camera lights and cacophony voices, one of the 'cameramen' aimed his camera at one of the bodyguards and hit the button to snap a picture, but instead of a flash, it instead fired a bullet that struck the bodyguard in the head, killing him instantly.
In that split second, panic gripped everyone in the airport. People began to run all across the scene, fearing that they would be the next ones to be gunned down. However, fear was something that John McClane never ran from. As more 'photographers' used the panicking as cover to fire more bullets from their 'cameras,' killing more of Kaiba family's security team as they tried to fall back to somewhere safe, John pushed his way through the crowd before getting close enough to tackle on of the would-be assassins to the ground. The retired cop managed to knock away the man's camera-gun before delivering punch after punch at the man's face until one of the assassin's comrades ran over and kicked John off of his teammate's person. While John was dealing with these two men, the other assassins had put away their weapons and were trying to grab Ishizu and Mokuba.
"Hey let me go!" the boy demanded as one the men hoisted him over his shoulder.
Hearing the boy's cries snapped the former cop back into action. The man who had kicked went over to him with a pistol now drawn, ready to end this distraction for good. But before he could pull the trigger, John shot up from the floor and grabbed his gun. As the two wrestled for control of the weapon, the pistol fired, killing the man who John had previously tackled to the ground after he had gotten up to help his teammate. Taken aback by the accidental death of his comrade, the would-be killer loosed his grip on the gun for just a moment, which was long enough for John to seize control of the weapon. When the man went for the gun again, the former cop shot him dead.
With the two men down, John turned his attention toward the other men who were now taking the members of the Kaiba family in different directions. John knew he couldn't get to both of them in time, so had had to choose to save at least one of them for now and rescue the other later, though that was assuming that whoever these guys were didn't kill them first. So, with that in mind, the former cop took aim and fired three shots into the back of the man who was carrying Mokuba away. The man dropped dead before he even hit the floor, allowing the young boy to be free from his grasp. Mokuba quickly took cover behind a nearby bench as the other assassins drew their guns and fired back at John, who took cover behind a pillar.
"Why me..." the retired cop muttered under his breath.
John returned fire at the three men who were shooting at him while the other four dragged the wife of Seto Kaiba away. John could only pray that he could save the woman before they hurt her, or worse. As the former cop returned fire, he saw Mokuba, who was still crouched behind the bench. Not only that, but he noticed that the three men who had been firing on him were trying to get closer to the boy in order to recapture him. At that moment, John knew what he had to do.
"Kid!" he called out to the boy. "I'm gonna draw their fire on me. When I do, I want you to come towards me, okay?"
Mokuba nodded in understanding, not wanting to be taken again. Taking a deep breath, John peaked out from the pillar and fired four more shots at the unknown assailants, forcing them to fall back for cover and even striking one in the shoulder in the process. As they shot back in defense, Mokuba stayed down as he ran toward the pillar where John was. As he did, one of the gunmen aimed at the boy, only to stopped by his teammate.
"No, you idiot, we were ordered to keep them both alive!" he shouted at him.
"Ordered, huh?" John noted to himself. "That's interesting"
As Mokuba managed to get behind the pillar, the retired cop pulled the boy close to him in order to put himself between the boy and any stray bullets that might hit him by mistake. John knew that it wouldn't be long until whoever these men where would have back-up arriving that would allow them to outflank and kill him before taking the kid. The cop then looked up to see light fixtures hanging above the gunmen, giving him an idea.
"Okay, kid, here's the plan," he began. "I'm gonna shoot out those lights above them. The falling glass should give us enough time to run off to those bathrooms down the hall, alright?"
"Okay," Mokuba acknowledged.
Taking careful aim, John leaned out from behind the pillar, though it was just enough to get a clear aim at the lights above the gunman. With two shouts, he blew out the lights, shattering glass all over the hired hitmen. With the gunmen distracted, John took the boy by the hand and ran toward the hall across from them and into the nearby bathroom, all the while dodging stray bullets that were being shot wildly at them. Upon reaching the bathroom, the retired cop kicked open the door and pulled Mokuba inside. Once they were inside, John grabbed a nearby trashcan and put in front of the door to stall their pursuers for a short time.
"You've got a plan, right?" Mokuba asked.
"Eh, I've got like half of a plan," John admitted as he looked around the restroom.
"Half a plan?"
"Hey I've made it through worse than this with less than half a plan, kid," the former cop answered.
"Will you stop calling me 'kid'. I have a name, you know," the boy demanded. "It's Mokuba."
"Okay, okay," John regarded. "Look, let's forget names for a sec and try to think of a way to get away from those assholes."
"What about Ishizu? They've still got her!" Mokuba addressed.
"I don't think these guys are here to kill you or your brother's wife," the former cop suggested. "I think you're only the bait."
"You mean, bait for my brother," the young heir reasoned. "That's a big mistake on these guys' part. Because attacking me or Ishizu is the last thing anyone with a brain would try to do to Seto."
"Yeah, well, it looks like these morons didn't get the memo," his protector pointed out. "Any ideas as to who might be behind this?"
"Way too many," Mokuba answered. "My brother isn't exactly liked by a lot of people."
As if the universe was trying to emphasize that point, the gunman who had been attacking them began to pound at the door. Thankfully, they weren't shooting through it out of fear of hitting the boy, but John knew that as soon as they broke down the door they'd kill him and take Mokuba. John quickly checked his ammo in case they had to shoot their way out, only to discover much to his dismay that he only had three bullets left. It was then that he spotted a vent and instantly got an idea. He quickly went over to the vent and ripped it open.
"This brings back memories..." he muttered under his breath. "Okay, Mokuba, here's what we're gonna do: We're gonna climb into these vents until we either find a way out of the airport or at least until we get somewhere safe."
Mokuba nodded at that before John helped him into the vent. No sooner had he done that did the gunmen began to break through the door. With split-second reflexes, John put a bullet through the throat of the first man through the door before firing his last two shots to wound a few of the others and disorient the others long enough to climb into the vent after Mokuba. After pushing their dead comrade out of the way, the other would-be kidnappers finally broke down the door and burst into the restroom, only to miss their target. Seeing that they failed to obtain the child, they would be forced to call it into their superiors.
"Sir, target two has escaped," one of the gunmen said into the COMM.
"What?" his commander said, angrily. "How did a child escape you?!"
"He had help from someone," the gunman explained. "He doesn't seem like a TSA agent. Could be ex-military or at the very least a cop. How should we proceed?"
"Hold your position until I get there," his leader ordered. "I'll deal with this wannabe hero myself."
During her capture, Ishizu did not struggle and remained silent as her captors lead her through the now captured airport, already knowing that she would only get the information that they would give her over time. From her own capture and how they were trying their best not to harm her, she gathered that they would show the same level of restraint to her young brother-in-law, should they capture him that is. This wasn't the first time she had faced death before, nor was it the scariest time she had faced it as well. These thugs didn't hold a candle to the trauma her father had put her and her siblings through or the monster her younger sibling became.
The billionaire's wife was lead into an office room where she was roughly sat down in a chair. Waiting for her were a pair of identical men dressed in blue business suits. These two men were twin siblings known as Tomax and Xamot, the co-owners of Extensive Enterprises. A corporate rival to her husband's company who had tried several times to buy Seto out, all of which ended in failure. However, the siblings were not just known for their lucrative business dealings, but also for the rumors of the darker dealings they had done. For years, it had been said that Tomax and Xamont worked in the shadows with the infamous terrorist organization known as Cobra.
There had been many times that lawyers, judges, and other lawmakers had tried to sentence the twins to prison for their alleged ties to Cobra, but the cases were quickly dropped before they could be taken to court, whether because of witnesses disappearing, prosecutors backing out, or judges dropping the cases altogether. No matter the accusation, the brothers avoided jail time without so much as a slap on the wrist. However, while the twins intimidated most other companies, Seto was undaunted by the brothers and rebuked their bids to buy him out.
"Ah, Mrs. Kaiba..." Tomax began.
"So nice of you to..." Xamot added
"Join us," they finished together.
Ishizu may have been forced to part ways with the Millennium Necklace, but she didn't need to be an oracle to know what the sinister twins wanted from her or Mokuba. She remained silent and kept her steely gaze locked on the twins, refusing to give them the satisfaction of trying to scare her.
"There's no need to be so cold, Mrs. Kaiba," Tomax said. "As you can already guess, you aren't in any real danger."
"Nor is Mokuba for that matter," Xamot furthered.
"Of course not," Ishizu finally said. "You need us alive as bait for my husband"
The twins smirked in unison, knowing that there was no need to hide their true intentions any longer.
"How very perceptive of you," Tomax answered.
"It wasn't hard to figure out," the billionaire's wife stated. "Though I doubt you'll even get a chance to speak to him since no doubt the Infinity League are already on their way now to stop you."
"Oh, but that's where your wrong," Tomax countered. "You see, Cobra has been planning for this occasion..."
"And we've created the perfect distraction..." his brother added
"To keep the Joes' new friends occupied," they said in unison.
To prove their point, Xamot switched on a nearby television which was playing the news.
"If your just tuning in we're in the midst of a breaking story," the anchorman began. "Thirty minutes ago, Godzilla made landfall in Washington, D.C. The Kaiju has been on a rampage across the nation's capital and destroying everything in his path! The Infinity League is on the scene to try to halt Godzilla's assault and protect both the citizens of the capital and its monuments from being destroyed!"
"It's amazing what you can reverse engineer these days," Xamot mentioned. "A while ago, Extensive Enterprise got its hands on the remains of one of one of the sonic devices used by the aliens of Planet X to control Godzilla and Rodan several decades ago."
The event that Xamot was referring to was a major event in Earth's history. In 1965, the earth discovered a smaller planet hidden just behind Jupiter. After sending a maned ship to the planet, they discovered that it was inhabited by a race of aliens who were lead by an enigmatic leader known only as the Controller. The Controller told the astronauts that had arrived on his world that his people were under siege by a great and terrible foe: King Ghidorah. A cosmic destroyer of worlds who had recently appeared on Earth the previous year in a bid to destroy it. Fortunately, the united efforts of Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra had managed to beat the monster back, though it would not be the last time he would attack Earth.
The Controller, desperate to drive the king of terror off his world, pleaded for the people of Earth to let them use Godzilla and Rodan to stop Ghidorah as they had done in the past. However, this was all a ruse by the people of Planet X to gain control of the two Kaiju with a type of sonic device. Along with Ghidorah, whom they already had control over, the Controller and his race launched an attack on Earth with all three monsters at their command. Thankfully, mankind freed the king of the monsters and the lord of the skies from the Controller's enslavement. Having their hold on them released, Godzilla and Rodan fought of the alien incursion and once again drove Ghidorah off-world.
"True, it can't control Kaiju like the previous model could, but it does draw the attention of whatever monster we choose to call out to," Tomax explained. "Godzilla's already destroyed the signal, but the whole point was to keep the League's attention focused squarely on him."
"And as far away from us as possible," his twin commented.
"So in other words, Mrs. Kaiba..." Tomax continued.
"In case you didn't get it before..." Xamot furthered
"There's no one coming to save you!"
'I'm getting really tired of that,' Ishizu mentally noted before speaking. "What do you want from my husband?"
"We just want to talk to him about a new lucrative business deal," Tomax replied. "You see, our partners have been interested in the holographic technology KaibaCorp has perfected."
"However, they have no interest in just buying the technology from your husband," his brother continued.
"So, it's simple," Tomax stated. "Either your husband let's Extensive Enterprises buy out his company..."
"Or you and your brother-in-law..." Xamot added.
"Are dead!"
Ishizu remained unfazed by their threats, already knowing the hell they had just brought down on themselves.
"Gentleman, I can already tell you that your plan has failed," she began. "If you think kidnapping Mokuba and I would be enough to take away the one thing my husband truly cares about above all else, then you are greatly mistaken. However, if you let us both go now, then I promise that no harm will come to either of you."
The twins collectively laughed off the woman's threat. It was then that one of their hired gunmen, no doubt a Cobra agent, came up to the brothers and whispered something into Tomax's ear. Ishizu didn't what was spoken to them, but judging by their angered expression, it wasn't good news for them.
"What do you mean the boy escaped?!" Tomax snapped.
Despite the tight corridors within air ducts, John kept up his pace with the boy who was crawling in front of him. Crawling through these vents, the retired cop's mind was filled with memories of climbing through similar vents in the Nakatomi Plaza while trying to evade Hans Gruber and his gang. Even in his prime, this was difficult for him to travel through. In a way, this was kind of funny to him. He tried to avoid situations like this, but the universe refused to let him go and have a normal life. His first and major concern was keeping Mokuba safe, which, judging by the number of people who were after them, would be much easier said than done.
It was strange. Here he was, trying to protect a boy that he hardly knew, and yet if the moment called for it, he would die for this boy. Holly would always tell him that he got a high off his time as a cop and that was why he charged headfirst into situations such as this. But honestly, John didn't see it that way. He only saw it as defending those who could not protect themselves. He took no joy in hanging out of a thirty-story building, or running from a crashing plane, or driving around New York solving riddles, or fighting cyber terrorists. He did this because it was the right thing to do. And right now, the right thing to do was making sure this boy was kept out of those bastards' hands.
"So, tell me something, ki-uh, Mokuba," he began. "Your brother, he ain't the nicest guy around, is he?"
"That depends on who you are," the boy answered. "If you don't have the same last name as him, then chances are that he doesn't like you."
"Noted..." the former cop muttered before asking "You think your brother is gonna give these assholes whatever they want?"
"Not a chance," Mokuba refuted. "If anything, my brother is probably on his way right now to give these jerks a piece of his mind!"
"Oh, really?" John said with skepticism laced in his voice. "What's he gonna do? Throw money at them?"
Rather than answer, Mokuba came to an abrupt stop, leading to John to nearly smash right into him.
"Why the hell did you stop?" he demanded.
"Because there's nowhere else to go," Mokuba explained. "It's just a vent leading into another part of the airport"
"Any idea where?" his protector inquired.
"It looks like the baggage sorting room," Mokuba replied, forgetting the room's actual name. "I think I can push the vent out so we can get out of here"
"Good thinking," John said. "Jeez, I'm starting to feel like a TV dinner all over again..."
"What?"
"Never mind."
The young heir pushed out the vent before climbing down from the venting shaft with John following close behind. Once they were both out, the retired cop put himself in front of the boy in case they ran into any other threats. John was without a weapon, so he needed something as soon as possible if he was to make it out of this nightmare. As he scanned the room as it continued to move people's luggage on its various conveyor belts, he hard a the cracking of glass behind him, making him turn around to see Mokuba breaking open a case containing an emergency ax.
"What? You don't have a gun anymore," the boy stated as he tossed him the ax.
"Uh, thanks," John said as he caught it.
"By the way, all this time I don't think I got your name, mister," Mokuba noted. "Who are you?"
"Oh, my name is-"
"John McClane!" a voice called out from above them.
The unlikely duo looked up to see a trio of figures glaring down at them from the upper levels. While two of the men were dressed in the garb of the Crimson Guard of Cobra, the man in the middle was dressed head to toe in a camouflaged camo suit that was adorned with various guns, bombs, and other weapons on it with a ski mask concealing his face. It didn't take long for John to put two and two together to realize that people who were behind this kidnapping plot was Cobra. John only knew about the terrorist organization from what was said about them on the news whenever they launched a new campaign for world conquest and their defeat that followed, whether it be from G.I. Joe or their allies at the Infinity League.
The man in the camo suit jumped down to where John and Mokuba were. John held his ax up for the coming fight while keeping himself between the masked man and the boy. Despite this display, the masked man only chuckled at his futile attempt to intimidate him.
"I gotta say, when I saw your face on the security footage I couldn't believe my eyes," he said "I'm a big fan of your...adventures. Or, better put, the collateral damage you leave behind. I'm something of a demo man myself."
"Oh yeah? And who am I making an autograph out to?" John questioned.
"The name's Firefly," the Cobra agent introduced. "And if your smart, you'll put that ax down and hand over the kid to me so you can live another day."
"Sorry pal, but the only way you're getting this kid is if you go through me," the former cop stated.
"I was hoping you'd say that," Firefly said.
Already knowing that this wasn't going to end well, John decided to make the first move in this fight.
"Kid, run!" John commanded as lunged at the Cobra agent.
Mokuba took off deeper into the massive sorting room as John swung the ax toward Firefly's head, only for Cobra's demolition expert to catch his weapon with both hands before striking the cop in the stomach with a shot from his knee. Despite the powerful blow, John held tightly onto the ax as he pushed forward, forcing Firefly up against the wall, pressing the ax handle against his opponent's throat as he did. The Cobra agent looked up to the Crimson Guards and motioned with his eyes for them to pursue their target. The elite agents leaped from the second floor and landed gracefully on a nearby conveyor belt before giving chase. This minor distraction caught John's attention just long enough for him to lose his hold over Firefly and for his enemy to push kick him off his person, forcing the retired cop to stumble back.
John swung his ax blindly to which Firefly easily dodged the oncoming blade before punching him in the stomach. The deranged demo man then grabbed him by the head and slammed it into a conveyor belt, making him drop the ax as he fell to the ground. As John collapsed to the floor, Firefly kicked the ax away from his opponent before he grabbed John by the shirt and began to repeatedly punch him in the face. The retired cop's mouth erupted in blood from the powerful blows the Cobra demo expert was delivering to his face. He then lifted John off of the ground and proceeded to toss him onto a nearby conveyor belt which he also climbed upon.
Refusing to quit, John managed to kick Firefly in the leg, causing him to fall down long enough for the former cop to get back to his feet, grabbing a nearby suitcase and smashing it over the terrorist's head. Firefly rebutted from the attack by punching the other man in the stomach and kept up the attack by shooting up from where he was laying and tackling him back onto the belt. The demo man then took out a hunting knife and raised it over his head, ready to bring down into John's chest. But just before the blade could pierce his skin, John reached out a grabbed another suitcase and put it between himself and the knife. With everything he had, John shoved Firefly off of his person, causing him to stumble back away from him.
Before he was too far away, John snatched up the ax he had previously dropped before heading deeper in the sorting room. A sudden gunshot rang out that made the former cop duck down. It was Firefly, who had drawn his sidearm and was currently trying to get a shot to end this fight.
"You live up to your reputation Johnny-Boy, I'll give you that," the Cobra agent noted as he tried to take aim again. "But this ends now!"
John jumped from one moving belt to another as Firefly kept shooting at him. John had to get in close, and the only way he knew he could do that was if he made an open target for the masked man. So, steeling his nerves, he stepped out so he was clear enough so Firefly could shoot him. No sooner did he step out into the open did a bullet rip into his shoulder with enough force to knock him to the ground. Thinking that he had put an end to his little problem, Firefly climbed over to where John's body now lay to put the finishing touch.
"Perhaps I spoke too soon," the demo man noted.
In an instant, John took hold of his ax and struck Firefly in the leg with the pick part of the weapon, causing him to scream in pain and drop his gun in the process. With everything he had, John knocked his opponent out cold.
"Yeah, you did speak too soon," John mockingly told the unconscious man.
"John, help!" Mokuba's voice called out.
John's head quickly turned to the sound of the voice to see that the Crimson Guards had managed to capture Mokuba and were exiting the room. John quickly grabbed Firefly's gun and tried to take aim and fire at the kidnappers, but had to stop himself from doing so out of fear of accidentally hitting the boy in the crossfire. However, the Crimson Guard didn't have the same problem and fired upon the ex-cop, forcing him to once again take cover. With their pursuer stopped, the Guards carried their prize away.
John, still reeling from the pain in his shoulder from the gunshot wound, had to think of a way to fight back. Knowing that an ax and a handgun with only half its ammo weren't going to cut it, he looked over to the knocked out arsenal that was Firefly, leading to a plan to form in his mind.
Mokuba continued to kick and punch the Crimson Guardsman that was carrying him into the office room where Tomax and Xamot were holding Ishizu. They shoved him over to where his sister-in-law was sitting, allowing them to be reunited once again.
"Did they hurt you?" Ishizu asked as she looked over the boy.
"No, no, I'm fine," her brother-in-law assured.
"Excellent work," Tomax congratulated.
"And what of Firefly?" his brother inquired.
"Dealing with a little pest problem," the guardsman answered. "He should be done soon."
Just then, the twins' COMMS went off.
"Hey, this thing on?" John's voice said through Firefly's stolen COMMS. "Hello? Anybody out there?"
"Who is this?" Xamot demanded.
"And where is Firefly?" Tomax added
"Oh, Bug-Brain's a little tied up at the moment. I'm John," the former cop introduced.
"Well, 'John', I don't know who you are..." Tomax started.
"But we can assure you..." his brother continued.
"That you're dead!" they stated together.
"You want a piece of me?" John asked. "Come and get me!"
With that, John switched off the COMM, further infuriating the twins.
"Sir!" one of the gunmen said. "We managed to trace the signal of the COMM. He's hiding in a plane on the runway!"
"Well, what are you fools waiting for?" Tomax snapped. "Get out there and kill him!"
"And this time get everyone you can find to make sure he's dead!" his twin commanded.
With that, the cobra soldiers, along with the Crimson Guard, quickly exited the room with their guns already drawn, ready to finish this.
Around thirty plain-clothed Cobra soldiers and Crimson Guardsmen had been gathered from throughout their various posts around the captured airport, forming a large posse meant to kill the would-be hero once and for all. They kept their weapons armed and their eyes peeled in case they saw their target, but the former cop remained inside the plane the entire time as they made their way toward the runway. It was odd to the death-squad that the man wasn't trying to leave his hiding spot, but then again, maybe he was too scared or too stupid to move.
Upon, reaching the plane, the agents of Cobra went inside, ready to put a bullet in John's head. Once they filed into the plane, they found it empty but pressed on with their search. As they continued to look through every part of the plane, one of the Cobra soldiers noticed something sitting on one of the seats: Firefly's COMM. He then picked it up and handed it to one of Crimson Guardsmen, who instantly called it in.
"Sir, we found Firefly's COMM, but the target isn't here," the Guard informed the twins.
"Well, keep looking" Tomax ordered. "He can't have gone far"
"Wait..." the Guardsman noted as he noticed something else. "There's something else here."
"What is it?" Xamot questioned.
"I don't know, sir," the Crimson Guard admitted. "But it's beeping"
"Beeping?" Tomax repeated. "But why would it be..."
Then it dawned on the twins.
"Get out!" the twins shouted. "Get out of there!"
Too late did the Cobra Elite noticed from outside the window that someone was standing several yards away from the plane. It was John, who had his middle finger up with his left hand and was holding something else in right: A detonator. After taking every explosive off of Firefly's person after tying him up, which was quite a lot, he had filled the plane that the Cobra agents were currently stuffed into with enough C4, grenades, and semtex to level a building. Realizing what was about to happen, the agents began to scramble for the door in an attempt to escape. But it was too late. The former cop flipped the switch.
"Yippee Ki Yay, motherfuckers!" he shouted.
The second he flipped the switch, every explosive John had managed to hide under the seats of the plane went off all at once. The aircraft erupted into a massive fireball that consumed every single Cobra agent that was trapped into. The strength of the blast was amplified by the heat of the blast setting off the jet fuel, which only made the explosion bigger and giving it enough force to knock John off his feet. The retired cop let out a laugh at the sight that he had just witnessed, surprised that his plan worked without a hitch.
However, John's celebration was short-lived when he heard the sound of jet engines fly over him. He looked up to see a trio of Cobra jets known as Hurricanes surround him. This was it, John was finished. He had used all he had to stop the troops he had just blew up, and it wasn't like he had anything that could stop three jets anyway. Defeat was a rare feeling for John, for usually, no matter what, he kept going. But this time it was much different. Now he had not only failed himself, but he had also failed Mokuba and Ishizu was well. Then another dreadful thought came to him. What would his family think? Would his ex-wife and kids think he was a hero or a madman who finally got himself killed after getting into another one of these adventures?
As John embraced his end, one of the jet's suddenly exploded into a ball of fire. Everyone, including the twins who were watching this unfold from the window of the room that there were in, were shocked and confused by the sudden turn of events. John then noticed something flying through the sky at a rapid pace. At first, he thought he was losing his mind because what he saw rocking through the sky was a small dragon. It took his brain a moment to adjust to the sight before him, but once he did, the former cop realized that it was a dragon-shaped robot suit.
The dragon suit's action did not go unnoticed by the pilots in the other jets, who broke off from their attack on John to pursue the unknown assistant. John had no idea what was going on, but he saw his opportunity to make his escape and rescue Mokuba and his sister-in-law while the jets dueled with the metal dragon. John wasn't the only one witnessing these sudden turn of events, for the twins had also seen the unknown intruder ravaging their air support. Seeing that their kidnapping plot was on its last legs, Tomax and Xamot each drew a pistol from their jackets as they began to silently lead the members of the Kaiba family out of the room.
"You know you've lost, right?" Mokuba noted as the began to talk down the hall. "Just let us go and you guys can go free!"
"Shut up!" Xamot snapped, striking the boy in the back of the head with his pistol, thus knocking him to the ground.
"Brother, what do you think you're doing?!" Tomax demanded.
"Sending a message to Kaiba," his brother sneered. "This what happens when you try to screw us!"
A gunshot rang out, but the bullet didn't come Xamot's gun. Standing several feet away from the duo down the hall was John, holding a smoking gun. The bullet had ripped into Xamot's stomach, causing him to collapse to the ground, to which his twin did the same due to the mental link they shared between them. As the twins cowered together on the floor, John rushed to Mokuba and Ishizu's side.
"You guys okay?" he asked.
"Aside from a major headache, I'm good," Mokuba assured. "thanks, John."
"Good, stay with your sis," the former cop advised before looking over to the twins. "And as for you two, you've got some explaining to do to the cops."
"I very much doubt that," Tomax refuted through the pain "We'll make sure you regret this one day, John McClane."
With that, Tomax threw down a smoke bomb to cover their escape. John cursed himself for not taking the shot when he had the chance, but the important thing was that Mokuba and Ishizu were safe. Another pair of explosions rocked the airport, a clear indication that the man in the dragon suit had dispatched the other jets. Shortly thereafter, the armored stranger smashed through the ceiling before landing in front of the group. The armor was standing upright and looked like the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, only in a more human shape. The dragon's opened as its head retracted back to reveal who was piloting it, though John couldn't say he was shocked by who his mysterious ally was.
"Hey, big bro," Mokuba said.
With Tomax and Xamot gone and the security cams scrubbed, there was no way to prove that the twin CEO's of Extensive Enterprises were behind the attack. Firefly had also managed to escape before the authorities arrived on the scene. What Cobra agents that remained in the airport had taken cyanide tablets to avoid capture, fearing returning to Cobra Commander more than death. As the EMT's checked out the members of Seto's wife and brother, John stood on the sidelines, keeping close to the two of them.
"Mr. McClane," Kaiba, who was still in his armor, said as he approached him "A word, if you will."
'Geez, what is it with these rich guys and robo-suits?' John noted before stepping away from the scene with Kaiba.
"I have a question for you," the billionaire began. "Have you ever been to Japan?"
"I, uh, can't say I have, Mr. Kaiba" John admitted. "You offering me a free trip?"
"No, I'm offering you a job," Kaiba corrected swiftly. "There are only three things I care about in this world: My wife, my brother, and above all else, my business, and you managed to save all three of them today, Mr. McClane. Before I left to personally deal with this little problem, I fired my entire security staff for failing to keep my assets safe."
'What a swell guy,' John mentally noted before speaking "Look, Mr. Kaiba, I'm flattered, but I don't think I'm the right guy for the job."
"Would you prefer going to Florida and wasting the rest of your life in God's waiting room?" the billionaire retorted. "I checked the flights. People your age only go to Florida to sit around in the sun and wait for the Grim Reaper to stop by. I'm offering you a way out of that fate, and I can assure you that you'll be handsomely paid for it. And as an added bonus, I'll let you personally rebuild the new security staff from scratch."
John couldn't argue with that logic. He hated the idea of just spending his days alone on some beach drinking himself to death. At least working for Kaiba he would at least have some purpose again, and he was starting to take a liking to Mokuba since he reminded him so much of his son. Besides, John had a feeling that Kaiba wasn't someone who took 'no' for an answer.
"Mr. Kaiba, you got yourself a deal," the former cop said with a handshake.
"Excellent choice, Mr. McClane," Kaiba answered as he returned the handshake. "Then again, you didn't have much of a choice in the matter."
