White Pantera was doing his standard patrol of Miracle City when an alarm went off at the city's mint. It took him no time at all to get to the mint, only instead of finding El Oso or Senior Siniestro stealing the money he found his father carrying a large stack of money.
"Papi, how many times do we have to go through this?" He disappointingly asked.
The elderly super villain glared at him. "It was a slow week, Rudolpho. What was I supposed to do?" Puma Loco yelled in frustration.
Just then, three objects trailing streams of smoke sped past them. When the smoke cleared, the money Puma Loco had stolen was gone. They looked in the direction that the objects flew to, to see what appeared to be three aerial villains flying away with the money.
"Give back that money, it doesn't belong to you!" White Pantera commanded running after them, using his boots to scale and travel on top of buildings.
"Give back that money, I stole it first!" Puma Loco commanded flying after them.
The father and son followed the fleeing thieves, all the way out into the desert until they somehow lost them.
"Where did they go?" Puma Loco asked
"There was no way we could've lost them: there is nowhere to hide out here." White Pantera summarised. Both hero and villain were then electrocuted by an unknown source, they both fell to the ground unable to move. They heard footsteps approaching and saw three pairs of black high-heeled boots walk in front of them.
"Guess I was wrong: they were stupid enough to fall for this." One of the assailants remarked cynically.
"Did you have any doubts?" One her partners asked, sounding exactly like the first one only sounding more like a machine. The first assailant didn't reply and kneeled down so Puma Loco and White Pantera could see that she was The Black Cuervo.
"Missed me?" She asked White Pantera as he just stared. "I have a few new tricks since I killed the Flock, and joined my brother." This statement made the father and son's eyes widen. "No screams of fear or questioning my sanity? Oh, wait. You're both under a curse that tightens your flesh until your organs rip in two. Sorry, old timers. It's funny, isn't it? You two are each one of the greatest heroes and villains ever. In the end, you two die in the middle of nowhere, wondering if your bowels will let go. And tomorrow, no one will care if you two ever existed!" The Black Cuervo told her victims as they felt their hearts tighten. She then stood up and turned to her accomplices. "Terminate them." She commanded.
Her partners walked to one of the Riveras. They picked them up so they can see that they were Cuervo Doppelgangers. They thrusted their hands into their victims' stomachs, before ripping out the spines of White Pantera and Puma Loco.
The Black Cuervo activated her communicator. "The Riveras are dead, shall we take the sombrero and boots?" She asked.
"No, they are of little use to me." Mega-Raptor responded. "Destroy them and call El Tigre." He commanded.
The Black Cuervo turned back into Zoe Aves and called Manny Rivera while the Cuervo Doppelgangers blast the sombrero and boots to bits.
"Hello?" Manny asked.
"Manny. It's me, Zoe." Zoe replied, putting on fake sorrow. "Your dad and grandpapi are dead". Hearing this made his blood run cold
"Who did it?" He asked with anger in his voice
"I don't know, but whoever did it had dark powers."
"What does that mean?" He asked angrily.
"Their skins feel tighter than the head of a drum, that's not a natural occurrence when someone dies. I'm so sorry, Manny." Zoe warned. She waited until Manny hung up, she then changed back into the Black Cuervo.
"You know the plan, ladies." She told her minions. "We need to return to the castle."
Manny sat in his room, he teared up at the news. His father and grandfather, the two men he looked up to the most were dead. In a fit of rage, he dived out the window, turned into El Tigre, and swung through the city. He knew who could've done it. With Mega-Raptor dead and Sartana forced to stay underground, it had to be Django. The only problem was that he never had done this before, but he will get his revenge.
Dr. Chipotle Jr and Señor Siniestro were robbing a bank, thinking that a team-up would get them a chance to either beat or escape any hero that tried to stop them.
"This is too easy." Señor Siniestro commented. "I thought that varmint White Pantera or the cops would be here by now." he said in his usual cowboy voice.
"Who cares? Let's get out of here while the goings goo-." Dr. Chipotle Jr started to reply before a van smashed into Señor Siniestro and knocked him through a wall. Dr. Chipotle Jr was yanked into an alley where El Tigre pinned him to a wall.
"El Tigre. What a surprise." Dr. Chipotle Jr said in a sarcastic tone.
"Can it, Chipotle." El Tigre snapped, "Where is Django?"
"You actually got my name right!" the young villain said. He was amazed about this because over three years, El Tigre never got his name right once. "But what makes you think I would tell you anything?"
El Tigre raised his free hand and held it over the Doctor's neck. He then extended his pinkie claw and pierced the wall. "I have three claws left, when I count to three… well, you better have told me by then." This made the Doctor sweat. "One." A claw pierced the wall. "Two." there was visible urine going down Chipotle's trousers as the second claw went through the wall. "Last chance." El Tigre warned.
"Alright! I saw him heading downtown with a girl." Dr. Chipotle yelled in fear.
"What girl?" El Tigre asked furiously.
"I don't know, they went by so fast I was lucky not to see Django. Please don't kill me!" at this point Chipotle was crying.
El Tigre dropped him and walked off. "Go and change your pants!" El Tigre yelled before leaping to the top of a building and ran off downtown.
Django and Frida raced through the city, causing considerable damage along the way.
"Where is he?" Frida yelled. She was losing patience and wanted vengeance.
"Calm down, Chica we'll find him, and we'll get what we want." Django assured, unaware of the foe behind them.
"Django!" El Tigre yelled. Both Frida and Django turned to see El Tigre, and he wasn't happy. "You are going to pay for what you have done." He growled before being knocked onto his back. He looked up and recognised his attacker. "Frida?"
She stood on his chest. "You are the one that's gonna pay, Rivera." she raised her claws only for El Tigre to push her off and start slashing.
The battle was fierce, and it wasn't long until Django joined in. El Tigre did his best to avoid Django's energy blasts and Frida's claws. It was unknown to them that Mega-Raptor and The Black Cuervo.
The Black Cuervo was worried. "Are you sure of this plan, Brother?" she asked her commander.
"He will pull through." Mega-Raptor replied.
"He's starting to loose it. I though you said he gets to live." his sister commented.
"I said that I will spare him. I never said anything about him being killed by anyone else." Mega-Raptor told her.
This made the Cuervo nervous. She slowly watched El Tigre get cornered and couldn't take it anymore. She shot at Frida, knocking her into a wall. The three teens looked up at Mega-Raptor, Circe and The Black Cuervo.
Despite what she did, Mega-Raptor ignored his sister's mistake and teleported in-between his enemies.
"Mega-Raptor? You're alive?" El Tigre asked.
"But how?" Frida asked.
"The details of my destruction were greatly exaggerated." Mega-Raptor replied. "My sister is still fond of you, Rivera."
"I don't care if she is the founder of his fan club! You die, now!" Django yelled while shooting his guitar. Mega-Raptor blocked the attack unaware that Frida was charging up a sonic roar, which sent him flying. Manny then saw his chance and tackled him using The Ancient Tiger Spirit. Django, Frida and El Tigre after Mega-Raptor fell to the ground.
"Is he dead?" Frida asked. Her answer was given when Mega-Raptor stood up, laughing as the damages in his armour quickly healed.
"It's good to see you and Django havens softened since our last encounter, El Tigre." Mega-Raptor taunted. "And Frida has learned a few new tricks." his enemies stared in fear. Mega-Raptor snapped his fingers and they all disappeared in a flash of red light, soon followed by The Black Cuervo.
El Tigre woke up to find himself on the ground in a large chamber, surrounded by Doppelgangers.
"Lightweights, you lost consciousness in mid-teleportation." Mega-Raptor said boredly over them as Django and Frida tried to get up. "Don't worry, the grogginess will wear off shortly."
"Where are we?" Django asked, still waking up.
"Castle Apocalypse 2.0." a Doppelganger replied
"We constructed a new one quite recently after the destruction you caused." another Doppelganger added.
"There is no escape this time." a Cuervo Doppelganger told them. "This fortress is airborne and currently thirty thousand feet in the air. "
Frida managed to sit up. "What's with the purple bots?" she asked.
"I have recently acquired my sister to join my army." Mega-Raptor explained as The Black Cuervo entered the room. "This works better to her and, to an extent, my advantage. The acquisition costed an arm and a leg, or I should say a mother and granny!" He followed with an evil laugh that scared even Django.
Frida worked up the nerve to ask the obvious question "Why did you bring us here?"
"I brought you and the bone bag here so that you wouldn't tear up the world trying to find me." Mega-Raptor replied. "I brought El Tigre for an offer."
El Tigre found the strength to stand up. "What kind of offer?" he asked, Frida and Django standing as he asked.
Mega-Raptor smiled behind his mask. "Join me and help me conquer the world!"
"Why would I join you?" the last Rivera asked angrily.
"Why not?" The tyrant asked.
"You don't care who you kill! you would step on anyone to get your way and laugh at the carnage. I may act the villain from time to time, but you're the monster here."
"You just can't see the big picture, can you?" Mega-Raptor asked the last Rivera. "I'm offering you the chance of a lifetime! All your life you were being told to do good or evil, not having the chance to decide for yourself. At my side, the choice won't matter. In World War two, the Nazis were considered good while the allied forces such as America and Britain were evil in their eyes." El Tigre thought about the comparison as Mega-Raptor continued.
"If I rule no one will tell you what to do, no one would challenge or threaten you, and there will be no conflict. That will help your mothers stress, won't it?" the young Rivera's eyes widened when he heard the mention of his mother.
"Besides, can you actually trust Frida? She envies your powers and blames you for half of the chaos that I created three years ago!" Frida took offence to this comment.
"I did not!" cried Frida.
Mega-Raptor scoffed "Really? That Implanter on the back of your skull told me otherwise." Frida froze in fear. "How did those thoughts go again? Ah yes, wasn't it 'I hate him, if he didn't have those powers maybe my papa would still be alive. Raptor may have conquered the world, but at least he'd still be alive.'?"
"You said that?" El Tigre asked.
"No…" Frida said feeling regret for the things she had said to her best friend.
Mega-Raptor felt that El Tigre needed a little more to push him over. "And is it a coincidence that little-miss-Faithful asked Django of the Dead, one of your worst enemies, for help? How many times has she turned on you? How many times has she betrayed you, and how much longer will she do it?" Mega-Raptor started to yell.
El Tigre looked at Frida with a look of betrayal on his face. "El Tigre…" Frida started, but was soon interrupted.
"When her daddy croaked, she went to him and not you! She finds comfort with an evil incarnate skeleton more than with you! The Cuervo convinced me to spare you, it's because of her that you are still alive." Mega-Raptor gestured towards his sister.
"… You did that for me, Zoe?" the one comment froze everyone in the room. Even Mega-Raptor was taken by surprise.
The Black Cuervo broke the silence. "How did you find out?" she asked removing her helmet.
"In some way, I always knew." El Tigre said to her before facing her brother. "So I can only guess that it's you, José?" he asked before Mega-Raptor's helmet retracted to reveal his face.
Frida was in utter shock to learn of this sequence of events. "So that means…" Frida started.
"That I played you like a Fender electric guitar?" José asked "no, it felt more like playing you like a kazoo."
Frida went into a fit of rage and pounced at José only to be knocked back with a swat of his hand. He then turned back to El Tigre. "It's time to choose, Rivera. Either you can rejoin the misfits that used you, or you can side with the most powerful man on the planet and the one person that would challenge him for you." El Tigre looked at Frida and Zoe before making the decision that will alter his life forever.