AN: Yes, I do not have any experience or knowledge of guns. This will mean that there might be gun and bullet mistakes.
Enjoy.
xXx
"Well lady and gents, what's your decision? Surrender peacefully or make a big deal out of nothing?" asked a calm Nick Fury who has his hands behind his back. "It's your choice. I just hope you pick the right one."
Batman glares at Fury who he believes to be too relaxed for his own good. He narrows his eyes as he scans Fury and notices how his muscles and facial expression lack any sort of tenseness. Which means he is under no sort of stress and is either cocky or confident that he has the situation under control.
Superman stays afloat in the air and keeps his eyes on the soldiers who are packing Kryptonite bullets. Bullets that will be able to actually kill him.
Wonder Woman nervously looks between the S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives and Nick Fury. She is nervous because she is at a crossroad as she wants to listen to the government authority but she also wants to remain loyal to the Justice League.
"Well? What's your answer?"
"This." Batman throws a handful of small flashbangs that forces the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Fury and the Avengers to block their eyes. When the light of the flashbangs dies down, they see that the heroes have vanished.
"Finally. My stomach has been killing me ever since the basterd hit me" groaned Hawkeye who rubs the same place where Batman hit him in the stomach. "I think he busted one of my ribs."
Black Widow ignores him and turns to face her superior. "Orders?" she asked Nick Fury who doesn't look any way displeased from the disappearance of the Justice League members. In fact, he looks quite happy with a big smile on his face.
"Let's head back. We got what we were after" said Nick who spins on his heel and walks out of the warehouse with his trenchcoat flourishing behind him. Black Widow nods and follows the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D., along with the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, a groaning Hawkeye and a sympathetic Captain America who pats Hawkeye on the back to comfort him, if only slightly.
( Brazil - Amazon Rainforest )
"They're beautiful, aren't they?" spoke Poison Ivy as she rubs one of the many lush flora in the Amazon Rainforest. She pulls back her hand when something warm and powerful fills the plant and she looks over her shoulder to see the one responsible.
"They are. It's just a shame that there aren't as many people who appreciate the beauty of nature" replied Naruto who is sitting in a patch of grass and basking in Nature Chakra. When in the city, it usually takes him ten minutes to gather up Nature Chakra because of the lack of trees and nature but in the largest rainforest, it takes him seconds. After collecting Nature Chakra, he releases it into the ground and allows it to spread into the forestry. One pulse of Nature Chakra and the scenery changes immediately. The grass almost seems to glow in health, any dying trees in a ten mile radius is now brimming with life and any seeds in the soil are now blooming with full grown flowers.
Nature Chakra also has the tendency to attract wild animals which is why Naruto is currently surrounded by rabbits, foxes, deers, tapirs and even a jaguar who are all lying around or on top of him so they can bask in the warmth of his Nature Chakra.
Ivy finds the scene strangely funny since the leader of a criminal killing group is now being used as a cuddle toy for animals. She admits that other than Harley, Sage is the only other person in the Akatsuki she actually enjoys spending time with because they both share a deep love for mother nature and want to protect her from harm. She's not too fond of everyone else in the Akatsuki as Gizmo is a nonstop cursing geek, Mammoth is too simple minded, Deadshot is too trigger happy for her liking, Red Hood is a smartass and she doesn't want to go anywhere near Ghost Rider. Their first personal meeting ended with the flaming skeleton trying to kill her until Naruto got it to calm down. Still, it glares at her whenever it can get a chance.
With Sage, they have a kinship for the need to protect nature. That is also the same reason why they are currently in the biggest rainforest in the world. A rainforest which is quickly dying because of all the companies tearing down trees and clearing out football fields worth of land every day for its natural resources. They've decided that it's time for the public to know that they can no longer abuse mother nature anymore. Not if they want to face the wrath of her protectors.
"Are you ready?" asked Sage as he stands up and shakes off the wild animals who get scared off from the sudden movement and run back into the forest.
Ivy smirks and walks past the forestry with a sway to her hips. "I've been ready for this for years."
Naruto smiles in amusement and follows close behind her. A few minutes of walking, the pair steps out of the edge of the forestry where they see nothing but a wide wasteland of dry soil and fifty construction workers who are busy cutting down trees and collecting them onto the back of trailers. Naruto looks to his left at Poison Ivy who looks like she's on the verge of going on a killing spree. "Remember, let nature flow through you. Don't fight her and she won't fight you."
"Right" nodded Ivy who cools down her anger at the workers who are cutting down trees in front of her and even not caring that they are harming mother nature. She closes her eyes and breathes in deeply, allowing the energy of mother nature to fill her being and provide her with strength. Ignoring the warm tingling sensation, she opens her glowing green eyes and smirks. She raises her arms and as she does so, massive roots explode out from the floor in the wasteland. The size of the roots are incredible as they make the tallest trees in the rainforest which are over fifty meters tall look like tulips in comparison. The tallest root is actually tall enough to pierce the clouds overhead.
"Fear the wrath of the Green!"
The sight of the roots popping out of the floor gives the loggers enough of a fright to run away from their posts and from the moving roots which are uplifting the floor from underneath their feet. A few roots slither their way to any machinery which is used to cut down their brethren. They wrap around them and easily crush the machinery like as if they are made of plastic. With Ivy's command, the roots throw the machinery towards the direction of the fleeing loggers. She has made sure to miss them but it still does its intended job of scaring them away even quicker than before. She would have loved to flatten the ones who dare harm the Green but she can't hurt the supposed innocents anymore. Doesn't mean she'll try to stop them from dying by a heart attack.
Looking around the destruction, Naruto nods his head and feels a hint of pride fill him at seeing the amount of control Poison Ivy has over nature or what she rather calls, the Green. For the past year, he has been training her to absorb a diluted portion of Nature Chakra and with good results. She can't absorb the full force of Nature Chakra as she has no Chakra Coils in her body to hold that much. It'll only cause her to turn to stone if she attempts to absorb the full brunt of Nature, something he has warned her about in case she attempts it without his permission. However, the diluted Nature Chakra is enough to amplify Poison Ivy's power and control over plants and trees tenfold.
Naruto winces and grabs his head as a flash of a memory surfaces. He can see a wide wasteland of destruction as powerful men and women fight each other. From their body structures, he can tell their genders but he can't seem to recall their faces. Nobody but a man with long brown hair, black symbols etched on his face and in red armour. From the memory flash, he can see the man control plants and beams of wood and use them in battle in an impressive show of battle prowess.
"Senju... Hashirama?" thought Naruto, remembering the name of the man before his head starts cracking in pain.
Pamela notices the Sage who seems to be in pain. "Are you alright?"
Naruto applies Chakra to sooth the pain and sighs. "Yes, nothing to worry about. Let's move on. There are plenty more logging sights and we have so little time to clear them out" told Naruto before he grasps Ivy's shoulder and teleports them away.
Being too focused on watching Ivy's progress, Naruto never notices a lone eye watching them from a nearby tree.
( Gotham - Docks )
In the middle of the night, the docks are usually empty except for the occasional security guard with a flashlight and stun gun. Tonight, it hosts one of the biggest criminals known in Gotham and six of his goons who took 'care' of the security guards.
"Search the crates. I know they're here somewhere" ordered Bane to his lackeys before he walks towards one of the many large crates to do his own searching. Cracking his knuckles, he pulls back his right fist and punches a hole in the metal door. Pulling his arm back, he rips off the door and looks into the crate but frowns behind his mask when he doesn't find what he wants.
"What are we looking for boss?" asked one of Bane's lackeys who opens a crate but curses when ice and fish spill out and cover his shoes.
Bane throws the door over his shoulder and opens another crate by using the same method. "Guns. Lots and lots of guns" answered Bane, throwing away another door which just barely misses one of his lackeys who rolls to the side in order to avoid getting crushed by the door which hits and leans against another crate.
The lackey gets up and glares at the back of his boss and silently curses him. He walks off to continue the search but a large hand suddenly pops out of the shadows between two crates and drags him into the darkness. Nobody notices the disappearance as they are too involved into the search for the shipment of guns.
"Black Mask supposedly ordered a large shipment of guns before his untimely death. He can't get them so I thought that I should just help myself" chuckled the Villain who tears through another large metal crate to find nothing of use.
Two of the lackeys walks farther down the trail to search for the guns. Halfway down the docks, one of the crates to their left suddenly skids outwards and flattens them against the one to their right. Bane and his remaining three lackeys hear the noise quickly run down the trail to find the source of the commotion before they find a crate in the middle of the path with blood leaking from the side it's pressing against the other crate.
"Spread out. Find out who did this" ordered Bane to his lackeys who reluctantly spread out with their AK47s on hand. Bane remains with the crime scene to investigate and see if he can figure out who did this. He walks around it but stops and narrow his eyes when he sees the shape of a fist denting one side of the crate. "At least I know Batman isn't involved." If there's one thing Batman refuses to do, it's to kill. That removes him from the list of suspects which only gets smaller after he sees the fist shape in the side of the crate that has killed his men. "And here I thought I was the strongest in Gotham" Bane said to himself.
"AAAAHHHHH!" Bane turns towards the source of the scream just in time to see several crates and two of his men flying up in the air. Without a second thought, he climbs up on top of a crate and starts hopping off of them to get across faster. After the flying crates fall, they pile up into a small tower which he climbs up to get a bird's eye view of what's happening. When he gets to the top, he looks down in surprise at what he sees.
In a wide empty circular area stands a large man who can possibly match himself in size and muscle. He is also holding one his lackeys by the head who looks puny when compared to the man's large hand. From his position, Bane can see his lackey struggle under the man's grip and frantically kick his chest. That is until the fist tightens enough to crush his skull. The man then throws the corpse away and turns to his direction, like as if he knows that he is being watched.
"Who are you?" asked Bane, narrowing his eyes as he looks down at the large man. His eyes catch the sight of something on the man's shirt on his left bicep and recognizes the red cloud symbol immediately. "You're with the Akatsuki? I've been wondering if I should take you guys seriously or not." Bane looks around the chaos of scattered crates and the corpses of his men. "And I've got to say, I'm not disappointed."
Mammoth glares up at Bane in disdain. A year ago, he wouldn't even dream about challenging someone like Bane. Not the same person who literally broke Batman! Now, he's just another speck of dust that Sage wants him to clean up.
So, without further ado, Mammoth walks over to the closest crate to himself. With one hand, he grasps the sides of the crate with his fingers digging into the metal and hurls it at Bane.
Caught off guard by the speed of the thrown crate, Bane jumps off of the pile of crates just in time to avoid the flying one that plows through the top three crates in the pile. Jumping off several more while getting closer to Mammoth, Bane front flips while at the same time, grasping the edge of the crate he jumps off of. Bringing the crate with him, he flips over Mammoth and swings the massive crate down on the Metahuman, flattening him in the process. Bane rolls to his feet and faces the crate that is now acting as a tombstone. He scoffs and walks away to continue his search for the weapons. "Newbie."
The moment Bane finishes his remark, the crate behind him suddenly flies high up into the air by a simple punch from the Metahuman underneath it. Bane turns around and to his surprise, he sees who he thought he just killed stand up without so much as a scratch on him. "Impressive. You're a lot tougher than I pegged you for" he complimented. "Do you have a name?"
Mammoth cracks his neck and glares at the Villain. "Mammoth."
Bane tries to think if he has heard of someone with that name but he can't recall. "Mammoth. A strong name for a strong man. However..." Behind his mask, Bane smirks as the tubes attached to him start to flow his personally made Venom into his bloodstream. With the drug in his body, Bane's muscles throb and shiver as they start to grow in both size and power. Mammoth holds back a gag as he sees the disgusting sight play out in front of him. By the time Bane stops the flow of Venom, his body is now twice the size as it usually is and he is now nothing more than a large mass of pure muscle and pulsing veins. "I'M STRONGER!"
With a battle cry, Bane runs at Mammoth with his large feet cracking the floor with each step he takes. By the time he reaches Mammoth, he throws a punch at the Metahuman who simply steps to the side and grabs the offending arm and Bane's hip before throwing him over his shoulder and into the pile of crates he made earlier. The crates all collapse on Bane as falls into the pile, burying him under thousands of pounds worth of metal. Mammoth grunts but before he can press the top of his Akatsuki ring, the pile of crates explode upwards to reveal a not so happy Bane who is already charging at the surprised Mammoth.
Before Mammoth can counter, Bane has already punched him in the jaw. This causes Mammoth to reel back his head before he turns and rubs his sore jaw. He glares at Bane who only eggs him on. "Come on, newbie. Show me what you got."
Growling, Mammoth throws a punch which Bane grabs with ease and punches him with his free hand. Mammoth grunts to the second punch to his jaw but he punches Bane in the stomach which causes to Villain to bend over slightly to catch a breath. Mammoth raises both his fists over his head to slam down onto Bane's back but the Villain raises both his arms to block to blow. The contact of Mammoth's fists hitting against Bane's large forearms cause a miniature shock wave and cracks the floor underneath their feet even more.
Bane pushes back and stands back to his feet to tower over the Metahuman. He swings his fist and hits Mammoth to the side of his face which also throws him away to the right and into the side of a crate which crumples under the force of Bane's punch and Mammoth's weight. Bane doesn't stop there and runs at his opponent before he jumps high in the air with the intention to slam a foot down on the Metahuman.
Mammoth growls as he stands up like as if Bane's punch did nothing and grabs the crumpled up piece of metal which use to be a crate. As Bane comes down at him, Mammoth swings the crumpled metal like as if it's a baseball bat and hits Bane away who skids away on the floor when he lands.
Bane stops himself by slamming his hands into the concrete floor which makes a small trench as he stops himself. Once doing so, he looks up at Mammoth who is slowly walking towards him with clenched fists. Clenching his own fists, Bane stands up and starts to jog at Mammoth until he changes it to running.
Mammoth picks up a little speed to start power walking until it turns into a light jog and then into a full blown run. Both large bodied men yell as they run at each other and get closer with each step that slightly shakes the ground underneath them. Once getting close enough, both reel back their right fists and throw them at each other. Their punches connect with shocking consequences.
The impact of their punches causes a more powerful shock wave to erupt which blows away the crates in the docks with most of them ending up in the sea. Spider web cracks appear and stretch out all across the docks, permanently scarring the floor.
Both men pull back their fists to throw another with Bane tilting his head to the side to just barely dodge while his connects with Mammoth's side. Mammoth ignores the pain as he and Bane throw another punch with his connecting with Bane's jaw and Bane's punch missing by a few millimeters after he slightly staggers from Mammoth's hit.
And thus begins a brawl between Titans.
( Chicago - National Bank )
"I said get the fuck down!" roared a masked robber as he points his automatic assault rifle at the innocent people who so happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It happened so suddenly that nobody had the time to think before four masked men with guns barged into the bank with bags over their shoulders. The guards didn't see them coming either as one was knocked out before he could notice them and the other is now lying dead in a pool of his own blood after getting gunned down for getting brave.
Now, two of the robbers are acting as crowd control while the others are breaking into the security safe in the back of the bank. From their positions on the floor, the captives can hear the police sirens and helicopter just outside the bank but know that they can't do anything unless they want to end up dead.
Deeper in the bank, the last two bank robbers are currently drilling into the large safe with the specialized drill that is designed to cut through the lock. Within a time limit of five minutes, the drill pierces through the locking mechanism which unlocks the large safe.
Grinning underneath their masks, the pair place their weapons on the floor and grab onto the handle of the safe. They pull with all of their strength to open the large and heavy door which slowly creaks open until it's open wide enough for them to walk in and out easily. The pair pick up their rifles before heading into the safe with eager expressions on their masked faces.
What they find isn't just amazing.
It's also horrifying.
Filling the large safe is a massive amount of gold bars that almost sparkle in the eyes of the bank robbers. However, they are not there for the gold but for the millions of dollars in cash that are much easier to carry. From the entrance, they can see trays and trays of cash that almost look seductive to them when on a few gold bars. However, cash and gold aren't the only things in the safe.
Standing in the very centre of the safe is none other than Red Hood who is calmly flipping a knife in one hand while the other leans against his hip. "Hello boys. Thanks for opening the door."
Before they can comprehend the fact that the infamous Red Hood is in an airtight safe with no signs of how he got in, Red Hood catches his knife by its tip and flings it at one of the bank robbers. The knife sinks cleanly through the skin, bone and brain matter of the robber's skull, killing him instantly.
The second robber attempts to lift his rifle up but Red Hood is already in motion and within a blink of an eye, he is in front of the robber and holding his gun down to the floor. The robber opens his mouth to scream but Red Hold covers it with his free hand and brings him down by pushing down hard with his hand and kicking the robber's feet from under him with his foot. The robber falls onto his back like a sack of potatoes with a hand still muffling his screams.
Red Hood reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his taser. "Now, tell me if this hurts" he asked before plunging the tazer into the robber's neck with enough force to pierce skin. With a press of a button, the tazer activates and injects several hundred volts of electricity into the unfortunate criminal. The man screams out in pain but Red Hood's hand muffles him to prevent the other two robbers from hearing him.
After twenty seconds of shocking the life out of the criminal, Red Hood turns off his taser and he places it back into his back pocket after getting off of the smoking corpse. Having been burnt to a crisp once before, the smell of cooked human flesh does little to disturb him. That won't mean that the other two robbers won't smell their cooked friend and investigate. Once they find out that their buddies are dead, they won't waste time killing hostages to get their way. That's why he needs to move fast.
Crouching low, he makes his way towards the front of the bank where the hostages are being kept. He exits the back room and ends up behind the door, where he notices three bank tellers on the floor with one robber aiming this guns at them. One of the teller's notices Red Hood who places his finger to his masked mouth and hushes him. Reluctantly, the teller keeps her mouth shut and pretends that she doesn't see him.
Red Hood waits for the right moment to strike since he needs to take down the closest bank robber without the second one at the entrance to notice him. He quickly finds his moment when the robber at the entrance starts making a fuss.
"Shut that brat up!" he roared while aiming his rifle at a mother and her crying daughter. His shouting and threatening manner only frightens the child even more and causes the child to cry even louder. "I said shut the fuck up!"
Red Hood uses this distraction to his advantage so he reaches into his jacket and pulls out his pistol. Reaching into his back pocket, he takes out a silencer and attaches it to his weapon. While still crouching low, he runs at the robber closest to him. The robber doesn't notice him until Red Hood wraps his left arm around his neck and shoots into his back three time. Red Hood leans the corpse to the floor so it doesn't fall and make noise.
The three bank tellers can only stare in surprise and a bit of fear as the same man they saw on television kill one of the robbers. He even ignores them and pays his attention to the robber in the entrance who seems to be on the verge of blowing a fuse and killing someone. The crying child and hushing mother only seem to add to his frustrations.
"Leo, Frank, are you guys done yet!?" he roared, turning around and not seeing his accomplice. "Jack? Where the fuck are you?" The robber goes to walk towards the teller booths, exactly where Red Hood is hiding behind with his gun at the ready.
It just happens he doesn't need it because a tile in the ceiling collapses overhead the criminal and hits him on top of his head. He collapses onto his knees and grabs his bleeding head but is soon knocked out when Black Canary falls out of the hole in the ceiling and lands on top of him. When she raises her head, the first person she just so happen to see is Red Hood who is poking his head out from the doorway to see what the source of the sudden noise is. She also notices the gun in his hand and narrows her eyes, dangerously at him.
Red Hood glances down at his gun and back at the not so happy Hero. "This isn't what it looks like?" he asked like as if more of a question than anything else.
"I always knew you were a bad case but to actually take hostages!" yelled Black Canary. "Do you have no shame?"
Red Hood steps out from behind the door and stands in front of the door with the gun still on hand. "Shame? Maybe if you actually got here sooner, rather than later, you would know that I was saving the day while you were twiddling your thumbs" he told her while gesturing with his gun. While he and Black Canary are talking, the hostages are now making their way out of the bank while trying not to make eye contact with either of them.
"Saving the day?" she asked, raising a brow.
Red Hood nods. "Yep. Killed the other three before you showed up. You're welcome by the way."
Black Canary gasps and looks over him. From her angle, she can see a non-moving hand in a puddle of blood. She looks back at Red Hood with eyes full of disgust and anger. "You monster! You actually killed them!"
Red Hood smirks underneath his mask. "Of course I did. I wasn't lying on what I said to you all. The Akatsuki are going to fix this dying world and you and the rest of the Justice League won't stop us."
Black Canary gets into her fighting stance and scowls. "We'll see about that."
Red Hood holsters his pistol under his jacket, clearly not intimidated by the Super Hero. "As much as I would love to kick your ass, I have other matters to attend to. Toodles." He presses the top of his Akatsuki ring and vanishes right in front of Black Canary's own eyes.
Black Canary blinks before she scowls, realizing that the vigilante has escaped and under her watch, no less. "I need to tell Batman."
( Central City )
Jeffrey Bravo has been the valet for the Grand Central Hotel for the last two of his twenty one years of life and he will admit that it isn't such a bad job. The pay is alright and he gets to drive loads of sports cars, even if it's only for a few minutes. At the moment, he's waiting outside of the fancy five star hotel for the next car which is most likely going to be driven by another snooty rich man or woman who is arriving at the hotel for the party being hosted by the businessman, Maxwell Lord.
Holding back a yawn and doing his best to ignore the cold bite of the night, Jeffrey looks to his right when he hears an engine roar nearby, signifying another car to park for the rich who are too lazy to do so. However, instead of a fancy sports car that is worth a thousand times more than his yearly salary, it's a flaming skeleton in leather driving a flaming motorcycle and it just so happens to stop right in front of him.
The flaming skeleton gets off of the motorcycle and stares down at Jeffrey who is shaking and on the verge of crying. It doesn't bat an eyelash, if it had one, and grabs Jeffrey's hand. Jeffrey mumbles out through his fear and tears and he can't move, especially when he feels the warm, yet somehow cold boney fingers grab his hand and put something metal in it. Jeffrey, reluctantly looks down at his open palm to see a set of keys attached to a key ring which is shaped as a skull. Feeling unsure on what to do, he looks up into the hollow eyes of the flaming skeleton which seems to be glaring down at him.
"Not a scratch."
With that said, it walks past him and when the moving skeleton enters the hotel without a care in the world, Jeffrey chooses that moment to let go of his strength and faint.
Ghost Rider calmly walks into the hallway and ignores all the gasps and panicked cries of the hotel's residents and employees around it. They aren't who it's after.
Rider turns its head to the side where it can see a pair of double doors which have loud music playing behind them. Standing in front of the double doors are two security guards in black suits. Rider walks over towards the doors as the guards pull out handguns when they see the walking flaming skeleton. They shoot at Ghost Rider with the bullets either bouncing off its bones or sinking into its leather jacket before melting away. Rider ignores the bullets hitting it and continues its trek towards the doors, knowing that the loud music is muffling the noise of the handguns.
One guard gets brave and charges at Ghost Rider while his partner reloads his handgun. Rider merely sticks out its left arm and clothesline the guard to the ground. It brings its foot up and ignoring the pleas from the man underneath it, it brings its foot down hard on the man's head, crushing bone and brain matter with ease. The second guard watches the scene with a bit of green touching his skin but he raises his pistol up and fires again but he only makes it to the fourth bullet before Rider grabs him by the throat. Rider raises him up with ease and the guard squirms from under his grip but goes limp after Ghost Rider squeezes hard enough to snap his neck.
Dropping the corpse, Rider walks over to the double doors for the hotel's ballroom and pushes them open to see around a hundred guests in expensive suits and fancy dresses while they dance, drink and laugh to their hearts contents.
Ghost Rider sees through their innocent smiles of enjoyment and see what they truly are, deep in their hearts. Their cold, black hearts that reek of the death of innocents.
Being a fusion of the human, Johnny Blaze and the Demon, Zarathos, Ghost Rider was a bit curious on how a partnership with the strange human could work. Turns out that their partnership is quite useful to have since the strange human who likes to be known as Sage is able to summon and control animals of all sizes and uses them to act as spies. Even now, Sage has hundreds to thousands of animals, spying on Cartels, Drug Lords, and Villains all over the world. Which means that Ghost Rider now has the addresses of the wicked who are just waiting for it to knock on their front doors.
If it had a tongue, Ghost Rider would lick its lips in anticipation as it stares into the crowds of the evil who are starting to notice its arrival. In front of it are the biggest faces that are involved with gangs, drug distribution and human trafficking in the city. All who have no problem destroying the lives of innocents to make their own ones slightly more comfortable. And standing in the middle of a group and socializing is one of the few with the darkest hearts in the room, Maxwell Lord.
Standing at attention by the walls are around twenty security guards in black suits and wearing dark shades, just like the two who are lying behind him, dead. If it isn't for their different facial structures, heights and skin colours, it would think that they are all the same people.
"What is that thing!?" screeched one of the female patrons who points at Ghost Rider, shakily. Almost immediately, the loud music and the celebrations cease as the security guards by the walls all move towards the uninvited guest with their handguns raised. The other occupants all back up, forming a wide space for the guards who all surround the Human/Demon Hybrid.
No questions are asked as the guards all fire at the Ghost Rider, just wanting it dead and done with. With the party involving the 'respected' businessman, Maxwell Lord and his guests with criminal backgrounds, they can't have the chance of someone seeing their faces and telling the authorities or the media.
Bullets rain into Ghost Rider, causing it to step back and flinch as the heavy barrage of lead bullets collide with its skull and bones. One bullet hits it in the face, causing it to twist its skull backwards from the force.
The criminals all watch in shock as the uninvited guest gets continuously sprayed with lead, yet isn't falling down dead like so many of their own victims. A moment later, all the bodyguards guns click, indicating that their weapons are now empty and in need of reloading.
Rider turns its skull back into place to show a smoking bullet in its teeth. The criminals and bodyguards can only watch in awe, horror and fascination as the bullets melt from the heat off of the Ghost Rider's flames.
"H-How?" stuttered a security guard before he gets his mind on straight and empties the clip from his pistol before loading a full one.
Rider turns to the same guard whom spoke before spitting the bullet out of its mouth with enough force to pierce through the skin and bone of his skull. Upon the death of the security guard, the party guests choose that moment to run towards the exit with some staying behind and taking out their own guns to fight back.
With the Ghost Rider blocking the main entrance, there is only one exit left which so happens to be the emergency fire door. Just as one of the guests grabs the handle of the door, his hand erupts into fire before the flames start to climb up his arm to cover the rest of him in a blaze of unholy flames. The man screams as everyone else backs away from the screaming and burning man. Within a few seconds, the man stops his screaming and collapses before the flames die out to reveal nothing but cinder and ashes. To further prove everyone that they can no longer use the emergency fire door and in a sense of irony, a wall of fire covers it
"What do we do now!?" yelled George Freeman, the leader of the city's human trafficking business, hoping that someone will have an idea on how to escape the Demon.
Rider grabs his chain from his chest and with a light pull, the chain unwraps itself and covers itself in fire. "Now, you all die." it spoke in a chilling voice.
Maxwell Lord organized the party for all of his investors with the intention to get more money for his upcoming campaign to become mayor of Central City. He can't see that happening when some freaky skeleton that's on fire is killing his investors. "Kill that fucking freak! Kill it now!" he ordered the security guard who reload their handguns and aim them back at the Ghost Rider.
Rider chuckles, darkly in amusement. If emptying their clips into it didn't kill it the first time, what chance is it going to kill it the second time?
Seeing no point on waiting anymore, Rider swings its chain at the security guard in front of him. The chain wraps around the man's neck, causing him to scream in pain because of the hot metal burning his skin. Rider pulls the chain back and pulls the security guard along with it. It grabs the screaming security guard and places him in front of its body just as a barrage of bullets start flying through the air. The bullets sink into its human shield with no care until their ammo runs out again and Rider flings the bleeding corpse at another security guard with enough force to slam them into the wall and break bones.
Now, it runs at another security guard who just finishes reloading his gun. He raises the pistol but Ghost Rider grabs it before he can shoot. The guard shouts in pain as the gun heats up and burns his hand, forcing him to let it go. He backs away as Rider drops the melting gun to the floor. Scowling, the guard throws a punch to Rider's chest but flinches and pulls back his now broken hand. Rider scoffs and throws a simple straight punch to his face which throws the guard across the room with broken teeth, cartilage and a cracked skull.
Grasping its chain tightly, Rider swings the flaming trail of metal over its head several times in a loop before swinging it lower at hip-level. Being within the hitting distance of the chain, the remaining security guards and even a few of the party guests suddenly find themselves cut in half by their waists.
"Die you freak!" roared a member of the Italian Mafia as he sprays bullets into Ghost Rider with his Uzi but just like last time, the bullets show no effect and melts off of its bones and leather jacket. Rider swings its chain which wraps around the man's torso and traps his arms along with it. Said man screams in pain as the heat of the chain starts to rise enough to cause him to start smoking and cause his skin to crack up. When Rider pulls its chain back, it cuts through the man's body which then turns into a pile of ash.
Ghost Rider swings its chain to its side, glaring at everyone in the room. "Who's next?"
( Coast City - City Park )
"Somebody, help!" screamed a woman before a hand grabs her mouth, muffling her screams.
"Shut up bitch or this will get nasty for you."
In the home city of the Green Lantern, crime is at an all time low, although there are still incidents which occur throughout the city. One of the said incidents are happening to a mother and her six year old child in the park's male restroom. In the restroom, two tall and muscular dark-skinned men are holding a mother and her son hostage with pocket knives.
The thug in a wife beater is holding the scared child by his shoulder with his knife against his neck. The second thug who's wearing a green jacket is holding the young mother with a lustful smirk on his face. The woman cries muffle in the thug's hand as he harshly gropes her breasts from under her beige blouse. "Keep screaming and your son will get hurt. You wouldn't want that, would ya bitch?" taunted the thug, groping her.
The second thug smirks and presses his knife closer to the crying child's neck to prove his point. The mother's eyes widen in fear for her child's safety and she reluctantly stops her screaming but whimpers as the thug cuts her blouse apart and throws it away before he starts groping her again through her lacy, black bra. "Don't worry. You'll be enjoying this soon enough" told the thug, using one hand to unbuckle his pants.
The child closes his tearful eyes to avoid watching the scene play out in front of him and prays. His mommy and daddy say that God is a powerful man in the sky who helps people in need. That's why he prays. He prays for God to save him and his mommy from the bad men. He prays for the Justice League to save the day like they always do on tv. He prays for anyone to save them.
The sound of the restroom door opening behind them causes the two thugs to face it, feeling annoyed that someone is interrupting them while the mother looks towards the door with hope that it's someone who will save herself and her son.
The anger and annoyance filling the bodies of the thugs quickly flee once their eyes land on the form of Deadshot who is aiming his left gauntlet gun at the thugs. Even the mother stares at him in fear since Deadshot is known worldwide as the second best mercenary in the world who never misses a shot. The only one not staring at the mercenary in fear is the six year old child who turns to face him with eyes full of awe and hope.
Deadshot looks down at the child, his facial expression hidden behind his mask but he speaks in a calm and soothing voice to ease his spirits "Close your eyes, child." The child blinks but does so, although reluctantly.
Once he's sure that the child has his eyes close, Deadshot glares up at the petrified thugs. "There are only a few things I can't stand but if there is one I despise, it's rape." Deadshot glances down at the child who hasn't opened his eyes yet. "And in front of a child. He's probably just a year older than Zoe." The father in him can't even think of how much trauma the child will have after witnessing such deplorable acts happening to his mother in front of his eyes. At least he won't have to see the end result, now that he's here.
The thug holding the child hostage presses his knife against the child's neck and opens his mouth to speak but the moment Deadshot's sharp eyes noticed the thug's arm move, he takes a shot which hits him square in the forehead. Thankfully, the child doesn't open his eyes so he doesn't have to see what he just did but he does flinch from hearing the loud bang. He faces the second thug who seems to be going through the fight of his fight or flight system and runs at himself with the knife he was using on the distraught mother.
Deadshot dodges a slash with ease and kicks the thug into the wall. The thug bounces off the wall but gets his head shoved against it by Deadshot's right hand. The last thing he sees is Deadshot's gauntlet gun before it puts a bullet in his head.
Deadshot let's the thug's head go and watches as the corpse sinks to the floor with a trail of blood following the head on the wall. He turns to face the mother and son who are now hugging each other and crying, not in fear but because they both realise that they don't have to be put through the hell of what the two dead thugs intended to do to them. Deadshot turns and walks towards the door, having more people to kill and so little time to do it.
"Thank you."
Deadshot stops and looks over his shoulder to see the mother, tearfully smiling from over the shoulder of her crying son. He doesn't speak but nods his head and leave, knowing that the cops will arrive soon since he called them earlier.
"I could get use to this."
( Watch Tower )
In front of the Watch Tower's supercomputer, Batman types away, frantically while the main heads of the Justice League watch from behind him. On the screen, there are pictures and information about a government initiation that they call the Avengers. From what information Batman can get from his hacking skills on the government secret servers, they discover that the group is a team of powerful individuals that is to fight against terrorists and threats to the planet. It's practically what the Justice League are but with the backing of the American Government and the United Nations.
Batman brings up more information but about the government branch known as S.H.I.E.L.D. and the head of it, Nick Fury. Unfortunately, there is little to no information about either subject, making Batman very frustrated. He's someone who prepares by knowing the enemy and creating countermeasures. He has a countermesure for every known Villain in the Batcave's database and being a paranoid man, he even has countermeasures made up on all the members of the Justice League, just in case.
"So that's it? We're put out to dry by the world governments? And after everything we did for them?" asked Barry/Flash, frowning in distaste.
"Not exactly" replied Batman, without looking away from the computer screen or from halting his typing. "The governments may put us on the red flag list but they can't be seen trying to harm us. We have the public support and they know it. That's what the Avenger Initiation is for" he told the group of Heroes. "The Avengers are the governments plan for a new face of Heroes. If they succeed, we won't have enough backing and will be forced to face the combined force of the world governments."
"That doesn't sound promising" muttered Hal Jordan, folding his arms with a frown.
"What of the Kryptonite bullets? How do you think they got so much of the rare rock?" asked Martian Manhunter who glances over at Superman who clenches and opens his hands several times, clearly showing how he is feeling frustrated over that fact.
Batman stops his typing and turns to face the group. "I have three theories" he told them, surprising the group that he actually has three ideas on the matter. "My first theory is that the government found a source of Kryptonite that we missed. Possible but unlikely." Some like Superman and Flash nod in agreement. They have made sure to check the planet of any sources of Kryptonite so nobody can exploit it and found none. They find it highly unlikely that someone found a source of the rare rock when they couldn't.
"My second theory is that they made some sort of agreement with Lex Luthor, seeing as he the only one I know which has an excess of Kryptonite on hand. However, it's very unlikely as he is now dead."
"Lex working with the government? Wouldn't surprise me" said Hal Jordan/Green Lantern.
"My third theory is the most disturbing" told Batman, frowning underneath his cowl.
The Flash raises a brow. "Which is~~?"
"Someone is producing it." Those four words are enough to take everyone back.
"Impossible! Nobody can simply make Kryptonite" exclaimed Superman in disbelief. The radioactive material can't simply be made like as if baking a cake!
"Not unless they have the right person working for them" remarked Batman, before he turns back to the supercomputer and types in a few keys. A new tab shows up on the screen, showing a man on fire, similar to that of the Ghost Rider but he has the skin and flesh of a young man. "Meet Firestorm, the combination of Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein. I'm sure you're familiar with them, Barry" he said, surprising Flash.
"Ronnie and the professor? If this is some sort of joke, I'm not laughing" told Barry with a scowl.
"What makes you expect them?" asked Wonder Woman, stepping forward and wondering about the connection between the pair and Kryptonite.
Batman types away on the keyboard with one hand and brings up more files about Firestorm, including the two people who make him. "Six months ago, I intended to invite Firestorm to join the Justice League. However, he had disappeared completely and left no traces to where he is. Both Raymond and Professor Stein vanished in thin air."
"What of their families? Wouldn't they know where they are?" asked Green Lantern.
Batman shakes his head. "I tried. They refused to speak about their whereabouts. No missing person reports have been filed for either of the two. I've also discovered that Raymond's mother and Stein's wife have been receiving money sent directly to their bank accounts every week from an unknown source. Everything screams government involvement."
Wonder Woman nods and folds her arms underneath her breasts. "True but what does this have to do with the production of Kryptonite?"
"I was getting to that" said Batman, bringing in one last file on Firestorm. "Firestorm possess many impressive abilities. Super strength, super durability, pyrokinesis, flight, intangibility and even Nucleokinesis."
Wonder Woman raises a curious brow over hearing the last ability. "What does this, nucleokinesis entail?" she asked since she has never heard of search an ability before.
"In other words, he's a nuclear power plant with no restraints on the power source."
The rest of the Justice League widen their eyes in surprise and awe over hearing what Firestorm can do. "Truly, an imposing foe" gasped Wonder Woman.
Batman nods in agreement. "True. However, it isn't that ability we should be afraid of."
"Seriously? What else can he do?" asked Flash, wondering how someone with that kind of power isn't a member of the Justice League already. From the reports on the screen, it shows a few times where Firestorm saved civilians from danger in New York so it's a good thing that he isn't a Villain. There are enough Super Villains out there and there's no need to start adding one that is powered by nuclear energy.
Batman frowns. "He can manipulate matter and transmutate anything at a molecular level."
Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and even Superman don't fully understand the dangers of such an ability but the Martian Manhunter gasps, knowing exactly what Batman means by that. "In other words, he can transmutate any rock into pure Kryptonite if he so wishes."
"Meaning an endless supply of Kryptonian repellent" explain Batman, looking over to Superman to gauge his reaction.
Superman widens his eyes in shock but calms down. He walks over to the wide window and looks out into the endless space. "Why do we have to be fighting each other when we should be pooling our resources together to fight as one. This is ridiculous" told Superman, glaring at nothing in particular. If what Batman ways is true, Kara and himself are in danger and by the world governments, no less.
Sensing everyone's negative thoughts, Martian Manhunter tries to change the topic. "What of the Akatsuki? Any word on them yet?"
As Batman opens his mouth to respond, the screen blares loudly and a digital world map shows up with red markers, most of them being in America. "We've got police distress calls in Gotham, Central City, Chicago, Coast City and in several more in Brazil." Batman types a few more times before scowling at what he sees. "It's the Akatsuki." On the screen of the supercomputer are pictures and videos of Akatsuki members.
Flash whistles as he watches the fight between Bane and Mammoth. The footage is being shown from a news crew in a helicopter just overhead the fighting. "They can take a punch, that's for sure."
"What's Deadshot doing in Coast City?" asked Green Lantern who doesn't like the idea of the mercenary being in his home city. Without waiting for an answer, he surrounds himself in the power of his ring's light and flies out of the room and towards the teleporter.
"That's my que to leave" said Flash before disappearing in a red blur so he can get to the teleporter and get back to his city. Turns out that the mysterious flaming skeleton is in his city and he'll be damned if he let's it get away.
"I'll head to Chicago" said Wonder Woman but stops when Batman raises his hand.
"No need. Black Canary was in the area and witnessed the situation. A bank robbery took place with no lost of innocent lives." Batman stares stoically at the screen. "The robbers on the other hand didn't make it."
"What happened? Was it Black Canary's doing?" asked the Princess of the Amazons.
"It was Jason."
Wonder Woman flinches and doesn't say anything afterwards, afraid that she might offend the Caped Crusader if she does so. "What's the story with Brazil?" asked Superman, walking up to Batman and looking up at the large computer screen.
Batman brings up a video feed of the Amazon Rainforest. "Look for yourself." Superman does so and is surprised to see five massive roots that are the size of the largest skyscrapers in Metropolis, sticking out of forest floor. "And look who's behind it" said Batman who zooms in on a concentration of flora which shows Poison Ivy lying back without a care in the world.
Wonder Woman walks behind the pair and places her hand on Superman's shoulder. "We'll head there and cut down her weeds before anything else can happen" she told Bruce before she nods to Superman who nods back. The couple fly out of the room to get to teleporter.
"Take over. I'm heading to Gotham" Batman told the Martian Manhunter as he runs off. The Martian nods with the usual blank expressionless face and starts to follow up on the news with the supercomputer.
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