Issue #3: The Deadly Six

Fisk Tower

Wilson Fisk folded his hands, observing as much as he could through his tablet. Growing impatient, he pressed a button to make a call. After a few beeps and some static, the face of Dr. Eggman appeared on the other end of the screen, a maniacal grin on his face.

"You better be working, Doctor," Kingpin growled.

Eggman stroked his mustache and proudly proclaimed, "Of course I am, Fisk! Why I managed to snag an emerald with the help of an 'old friend' as it were!"

Narrowing his eyes, Fisk replied, "Hm, so you and Norman are working together again. Interesting."

A finger raised, Eggman cackled, "Indeed! We already have the whereabouts of half the emeralds and I intend to send my Zeti to grab another by the night's end!"

His hands folded, Kingpin nodded, "Very well. Do as you must, in the meantime I must make haste with my own plans." he ended the call and started another, earning the ire of a goggled woman.

"What do you want?" Lady Octopus asked.

"I demand to know the progress of your mission," Fisk demanded.

Lady Octopus sighed, "We made it to Silvermane's turf. We will let you know when we obtain the emerald."

"You better, I'm not paying you ladies to stand around and do nothing." Fisk snarled and ended the call, waiting for the results.

Silvermane's Building

"Was it Fisk again?" asked a woman wearing slim armor that gave her the appearance of the supervillain, Scorpion.

"Yep." Lady Octopus nodded, using her arms to manage the tablet radar, "Eggman's tech is impressive but still nothing compared to my modifications, it says the emerald is in here somewhere… a way more precise estimation than his own detection."

White Rabbit rolled her eyes, "It better be here. Otherwise that paycheck better triple on his end."

"Hmm… peculiar, the radar's sensing three other life forms among us…" Lady Octopus noticed, pursing her lips then reeling her head back once the screen turned to static, "What the-"

"What is it?" Scorpia asked.

Carolyn grunted, "The tablet! It just stopped working! Impossible!" suddenly without warning, Lady Octopus' arms began to move and slapped aside both Scorpia and White Rabbit, pinning them to the nearest walls.

"Hey!" White Rabbit shouted.

"It's not my doing! I ensured my arms never malfunctioned like this!" Lady Octopus insisted. She turned around spotting a short green figure, her fingers pointing at the villainess, "You? I thought you were an ally?"

Zeena laughed, "Listen, lady, we were told to stop anyone in the way of the Chaos Emerald, and yes, that includes you."

Scorpia tried breaking free from the arms, asking, "Betraying Fisk already? You have a death wish or something?"

Master Zik hopped on the arm and pried her free with his cane, delivering a swift kick to her cheek after the fact, "It's called precise planning, miss. We wish to obtain the emeralds before anyone else, and we mean anyone." the elder Zeti revealed, balancing on Lady Octopus' arm on one foot.

"Plus in the end death comes for us all, so it's not like anything changes…" Zor sighed, flipping his hair.

"...You okay there?" White Rabbit asked, genuinely concerned for the depressed Zeti.

"Oh yes… but you won't be." Zor replied.

Zeena smirked and shorted out everything Lady Octopus had, her tablet and her arms, causing her to feel the volts of her electric harness electrocute her and her allies, leaving them out of the fight and unable to make contact with Fisk.

"Good work, Zeena, now… let us obtain the prized emerald." Zik complimented his student with a grin.

Zor rolled his eyes, "There is nothing to gain from this emerald…"

"If by nothing you mean a way to get rid of our 'Master', then I'll hunt them all down. Even if I don't feel like it," Zeena scoffed.

"Fine…" Zor mumbled.

The Zeti explored the building, shutting down all of the defense systems along the way. Finally, Zik broke down a door, greeted by an older man with a cyborg body. Silvermane grunted, "So there were intruders… You made a grave mistake coming here." he stood up from his chair and brandished a weapon to fight the Zeti.

Zeena yawned and stretched out a hand, causing Silvermane to tense up before he could strike her. His eyes widened, "What?!"

"Ah. Your whole body truly is a metallic creation." Zik noticed, "That is a crucial error… Oh I see your power source." he examined Silvermane's chest, noticing the Chaos Emerald attached to his chest, powering his new body.

Silvermane snarled, "So your Fisk's goons, I assume?"

"Please. We don't take orders from anyone," Zeena declared, using her powers to make the cyborg fall to the ground.

Zor jumped on Silvermane's chest and yanked the Chaos Emerald out of the reactor core, causing the cyborg's body to start failing on him, "No! You cannot do-" his circuits were fried by Zik, leaving him unconscious and possibly comatose.

"At least he gets to witness the end I long yearned for," Zor commented on his defeated body.

"Whatever, we got the emerald. Just a few more than we can get rid of that creep controlling us…" Zeena grumbled.

Unknown Warehouse, Hell's Kitchen

Sonic hopped onto a rooftop, crouching and landing next to his old friend, Tails, who was looking over his Miles Electric, "Hey Tails, ya said you found something here?"

The fox nodded, "I did. I tracked a Chaos Emerald in that building. Weirdly enough, I also scanned multiple life signatures in there…"

"Think it's one of the crime families Pete mentioned?" the hedgehog wondered.

"Maybe…" Tails tapped his chin as he answered, just as curious, "I'm still learning about them myself. Actually I do have some notes…" he muttered, letting Sonic take a peek at the list of names, all of them accompanied by photographs of each criminal.

One name got Sonic's attention and he chuckled, "That's Wilson Fisk? Heh, dude makes Eggman look like the fittest guy we know."

Tails said, "I don't know Sonic, Peter says all that body mass is pure muscle…"

"Pssh. As if being big and bulky can stop a Spin-Dash," the hedgehog quipped.

Changing the subject, Tails asked, "Think the guy in there is him?"

Sonic shrugged, "Doubt it. He just sent an assassin after us not too long ago, and he seems to always live in some big tower named after him for whatever reason. Not like it matters, we'll just thrash the crime lord into next week anyway."

"Shame we can't just put him in jail…" Tails sighed.

"Man I wish this whole gang war stuff wasn't this complicated." Sonic grunted, "Whatever, one less emerald out of their hands is still a win for us, and that's all I'm concerned with right now."

"Has Peter said anything since you left?" Tails asked.

Sonic shook his head, "Nope. Not a thing. I should probably give him a call." he grabbed the other handle of Tails' Miles Electric as the fox made a quick call to their web-slinging friend.

"Yo guys! Kinda busy!" shouted Spider-Man on the other end, hastily swinging.

"Huh? What's up, Pete?" Sonic wondered.

"Green Goblin just stole a Chaos Emerald from Oscorp! I think I lost track of him but I'm scouring the city before I find Black Cat!" Peter explained, revealing the Green Goblin's return.

"Osborn?! Come on man, we just got done with him too… if he's back…" Sonic groaned.

"I feel like we would've known if Eggman came back…" Tails deduced.

"Where are you guys at now anyway?" Peter wondered.

"A district called Hell's Kitchen." Tails revealed.

"Classy," Sonic quipped.

"Ah. Well at least you're close to help if you need it." Peter said.

"…Help?" the hedgehog wondered.

Warehouse

'Heard some strange activity in here… rumors that Fisk was up to his old schemes again, hopefully I can get some answers before it's too late.'

A man clad in dark red armor with horns on the cowl perched on a loose walkway. His white lenses narrowed and he threw a baton with a string attached hanging off a light fixture. The Devil swung using his baton and landed on another obscured fixture, crouching down to focus his senses on his target.

"Ohohoho!" laughed Eggman, eyeing the Zeti that were present with him, "You slaves did great, soon we'll have all the Chaos Emeralds! We just have to wait for the others before we strike next."

Zavok crossed his arms, "All this ambition and for what? To conquer a single city? Foolish."

Eggman raised the conch, "No no, Zavok. You will not question me. Of course this isn't just about a city, it's the entire world that will bow down to me! And my crew!"

"I just want a sandwich…" Zommom muttered.

"Take it up with Fisk…" Eggman grumbled.

'Fisk… should've known he'd join with the madman that tried destroying our world. But what is he doing with the New York underworld? Seems a bit of a downgrade from his previous scheme…'

Daredevil mused this as he did his best to keep away from the Zeti Gang's line of sight. Unfortunately a drone flew in Daredevil's direction, giving him away and setting off an alarm.

"Hey, you got some chump in here!" Zazz yelled, cracking his knuckles.

"Ohoho! And I know exactly who it is!" Eggman cackled, facing the vigilante, "Welcome, Daredevil! To your final hour!"

Daredevil crouched down and narrowed his lenses at the doctor, saying, "So you know me. Odd, I never recall seeing you."

Eggman adjusted his glasses and grinned, "A certain mutual 'friend' of ours warned me about you. And how this part of New York is considered under your protection, foolishly and hopelessly might I add since I've been succeeding under your nose."

Daredevil jumped down across from the Zeti, "I've been waiting until you blew your cover. And you did with this emerald hunt I've heard rumors about on the streets."

Zavok stepped forward and grabbed Daredevil by the throat, "But will not live to warn anyone of this little game. A pity for you."

Glass shattered, dropping all pretense for stealth. It was none other than Sonic and Tails, who broke through one of the windows. The hedgehog spoke up first, "Oh so it is you, Egghead! Should've guessed. You really need better security… and a better hideout, this place reeks," Sonic quipped at his nemesis as he bashed Zavok's arm hard enough to free Daredevil from his grasp.

"Yeah, this is lame even for you!" Tails added.

"I do not need my resources with my new minions in tow!" Eggman boasted, revealing the Zeti to Sonic and Tails.

"Minions?" Zavok growled, clearly disgusted at being associated with such a demeaning term for him.

"Yes, minion. You work for me now, remember?" Eggman told the leader of the Deadly Six, holding up the conch as a means to intimidate him and his allies. He blew on it, causing the Zeti to recoil in pain upon feeling the frequency of the artifact tuning them out.

"Whoa…" Sonic muttered. He turned his head and found the red-clad vigilante, "So uh… who the heck are you?"

The vigilante picked himself up, answering, "Name's Daredevil. You must be the heroes that helped Spider-Man. You have my thanks."

"No problem, DD, but I think you can thank us after we kick these guys' rainbow-colored butts." Sonic replied, itching for a fight.

Zavok cracked his knuckles, recovering from the conch, "I've heard stories about you, Blue Blur. It will be an honor to have you die by my hand."

Sonic shrugged and leaped over Zavok's large fist, placing his palm on top of his arm and using it as leverage to deliver a spin kick to the side of his head, "Sorry pal, I appreciate the recognition, but I only do autographs!"

Zazz threw small moon shaped projectiles at Daredevil, who used his batons to deflect each one. The purple Zeti lunged after the vigilante, but Tails swooped in and slapped Zazz down with his namesakes, causing him to slide on the concrete floor. Daredevil turned to the fox, saying, "Your reflexes are impressive."

"Thanks. Years of practice would do that," Tails admitted, noticing Zazz try reaching for his leg. The fox raised his foot and stepped down on the Zeti's wrist, earning a loud but quick "yelp" from him.

Daredevil sensed tremors coming from behind him. Honing in on the vibrations, the vigilante deduced it was coming from the yellow Zeti, Zommom. The Devil of Hell's Kitchen swiftly moved his body to the side to avoid the large Zeti's elbow charge. As he moved, Daredevil threw a baton at the wall at just the right angle for it to bounce off and hit Zommom directly in the cheek, throwing him off and causing him to stomp over the still laying Zazz.

"Jeez," Sonic cringed at the sight.

"Don't get distracted, rodent," Zavok taunted the hedgehog as he hit him in the chest. Sonic gasped out and held his stomach, falling to his knees momentarily.

"Interesting…" Eggman muttered with interest as Zavok grabbed Sonic by an arm and held him up.

Zavok scowled at the blue hero, "We know about your little emerald race. I say it'll end here with you as a blue puddle on this concrete floor."

Letting out a cough, Sonic gave Zavok a confident smirk, "Please… as if you'd be the one to get me to stop running…"

"Sonic!" Tails shouted, running after his friend. Zavok turned his head and used his free hand to grab the fox's namesakes, lifting him in the air as well and slamming him onto the ground with no hesitation.

"Tails!" Sonic screamed, struggling to break free from the red Zeti's grip to help his friend.

Zavok darkly chuckled, "See where your bravado gets you, hedgehog? It would be wise to take the Deadly Six seriously, lest your friend here feels the consequences of your actions." he threw Sonic aside and reared his fist back at the struggling fox, intending to do him in right there.

"C-Come on…" Tails gasped, activating his arm cannon. However, it proved useless as it immediately malfunctioned as he aimed it at Zavok, "W-What…?"

"An electromagnetic pulse us Zeti can tune into. It's not as strong as I'd like it at the moment…" Zavok glared at Eggman as he said this, "…But it is enough to finish the job. Ending you."

Sonic was ready to run as fast as he could to reach Tails, but something pulled him back and kept him from going forward, "What the heck…?" he muttered.

A beam was shot out of Eggman's Egg-Mobile, the doctor saying, "I didn't have much after my last defeat, but this traction beam should be enough to stop even you." he mocked his nemesis.

Grunting and pushing through, Sonic tried to break past the beam. Alas, he fell and was unable to move even an inch.

Daredevil took notice of his new allies needing help. He looked both ways and spotted both Zazz and Zommom charging at him. Focusing himself, the vigilante did a massive backflip in the air, causing the Zeti to collide with each other. Daredevil swiftly threw a baton onto Eggman's machine, shorting out the beam and freeing Sonic.

"Thanks for the save, DD!" Sonic shouted, smacking Zavok with a Homing Attack. The attack distracted the red Zeti and kept him from harming the fox, "You ain't hurting Tails!" Sonic declared, uncurling to a knee and preparing for a fight, clutching his chest as he was still reeling from everything that just transpired.

Zavok huffed, "A foolish response. Perhaps you'd like to die with your friend."

"No one's dyin' on my watch…" the hedgehog growled. Sonic charged a Spin-Dash and zoomed after Zavok. The Zeti dropped Tails and caught Sonic's ball form with both of his hands, "What?!" the blue blur tried to uncurl and break free, but Zavok's strength proved too great even for him.

Tails was ready to snipe one loose shot from his arm cannon, noticing it was still stable enough to do something at the bare minimum. "This should… work…" grunted the fox, aiming his hand precisely where he needed to: The Zeti's back.

"Oh no you don't!" Zazz yelled, throwing moon projectiles at him. Tails' eyes widened and he stood up, moving and dodging all of them perfectly. Zommom stomped a foot down, creating a tremor that dazed the fox momentarily.

Daredevil knew he had to act fast. He jumped onto the Egg-Mobile, punched Eggman and grabbed the Cacophonic Conch. With a deep inhale, the Devil of Hell's Kitchen blew on it, creating a frequency that caused the Zeti to cease their actions. He stopped for a moment, saying, "We have to retreat. Find some help."

Sonic noticed Tails' condition and his own and nodded, "Right… I hate to run from a good fight but…" he and Tails managed to escape with Daredevil through the window, ensuring they were a good distance away to ensure the Zeti and Eggman wouldn't bother chasing.

"We must… go after them…" Zavok grunted.

Eggman shook his head, "No, Sonic and his friends are crafty ones, you'll just be humiliated again without the rest of the six. Consider that conch a punishment for failing your duties as my minions."

Zavok clenched a fist. He hated this so-called "master" of his, and if he could, he would break him into two with a single movement. But for now… he is stuck in this demeaning position of an underling.

Sonic, Tails and Daredevil paused on a rooftop, the trio catching their breath and looking over their battle wounds, "Well… that could've went better…" Sonic mumbled in disappointment.

"It could've. But we at least know what we're up against," Daredevil replied.

"What were you even doing there?" Tails asked.

Daredevil explained, "All the chaos from your little world-saving endeavor reached my home, heard some new gang was making rounds harassing the little guys so I wasn't going to wait around for someone to do my job."

Sonic managed a grin, "Well, at least you were there. I dunno what we would've done without the extra hand."

The Devil of Hell's Kitchen shook his head, "Best not to think of the alternatives. We're lucky to fight another day."

"Yeah seriously… so do ya wanna join us and find the Chaos Emeralds before these gangsters and nutcases get to 'em?" Sonic offered the vigilante a helping hand.

Daredevil answered, "…As tempting as the offer is, I'll remain in Hell's Kitchen. Someone needs to keep an eye here in case anything else goes wrong. However, if necessary I'll find a way to contact you."

"Do you know Spider-Man? You can reach him probably," Tails suggested.

"I know him. He's a close ally, and from what I understand, the same could be said for you." Daredevil elaborated.

"Well we kinda did save the universe together," Sonic quipped.

"Right," Daredevil said with a small grin, "I can trust you guys to finish this fight if you can manage that."

"We can do that," Tails agreed.

"Good. Best of luck to you, and send my regards to Spider-Man." Daredevil said, leaping and swinging away to continue his usual patrol.

Sonic chuckled, "Well that was a pretty cool team up… oh shoot, it's getting late… and I'm still a bit sore." he realized.

"We should probably head back to the apartment… and figure out what to do next when Peter gets back," Tails decided.

"Yeah, good idea, pal." Sonic agreed.

The Mobian duo set their journey back to their temporary home away from home, hoping to come up with a plan to stop the Deadly Six, Eggman and the imminent gang war.

A/N: And so the Deadly Six finally take action. As Eggman's new underlings, they seem to have ambitions of their own as it appears everyone is racing for the emeralds, allied or not. How that'll come to pass will be revealed later. For now though, we return to Spider-Man as he encounters the mysterious Spider-Woman.

Next Time: A Parallel Tragedy of Two Spiders.