Line in the Sand Chapter 3, an el tigre fanfic

Chapter 3, First Hints

It occurred to me that I haven't been indicating the day with the time. I'll try to add that when relevant, or in other words to help the reader keep the chronological crap down. I'll also be trying to integrate more action into the story, so tell me if you have any ideas you like and maybe they'll get integrated into the story.

Chapter 3, First Hints

Miracle City outskirts, Monday, 8:00 PM

"I'm glad you could all make it here this evening. Of course, with the city on high alert, but at the same time suffering an unforeseen shortage of police cruisers, it must have been hard for you all to come. After all, I'm each and every one of you would much rather be out pillaging now that the first stone has been thrown."

The collected villains stared at the green-lit man across the table. Some wore smiles, some wore frowns. Indeed, many present would much rather be out taking whatever the hell they wanted from the wounded city. M marveled at how resourceful the city was… no matter what happened to it, Miracle City was never hindered by the mayhem and unprecedented ruin it faced. That would make this game fun. He continued his speech.

"I would like to thank the three villains responsible for today's heist. Thanks to them, this little venture I'm attempting can now afford to pay you all for your first job."

He gestured towards an unlit area, which upon command was flooded with pale light. Large bills and several bars of gold littered the crates on which they sat; the precious metal glinted in the fluorescent light, calling out to the greedy assembly. The light went out quickly, and attention was returned to M. He smiled in the green light he basked in, pausing to collect his thoughts.

"And speaking of which, it's high time we started playing this game for real. The enemy is not yet aware of what is in motion, which is why we shall strike hard now. Today was just another crime to them, so they will react to tonight in much the same way. Here's the target."

He threw a map onto the table, containing details of tonight's move. Opening it, the villains found a list of names of those involved, and two locations to attack. The prison made sense… but what exactly were tetra-ionic batteries? Science fiction made real, is what they were… and what fun science fiction made real can be.

"I've enlisted the entire Flock of Fury for the prison break. You ladies are quite useful for these quick hits that I need." The Aves family smiled upon their reference and compliment, and removed themselves from the group. "Senor Siniestro… I've long pondered a use for you. I've decided that you will play the lead in the Science Facility attack. You are charged with the recovery of the tetra-ionic battery experiment. Simple extraction; get in, get out. I have a dozen banditos covering you in case trouble shows up, but they are expendable. They will only distract that trouble."

"I will be getting paid for this, right?"

"Of course. Everyone present will receive payment for whatever I have them do. Of course, failure will result in… just don't fail."

After selecting his cadre to carry out the attacks, M simply gave everyone else the order to cause mayhem on a grand scale; the more distractions for the heroes of the city, the greater likelihood of specific mission success. The room emptied after the meeting was adjourned… save for Zoe Aves. When everyone else had left, she stayed behind, and stared at the floor for a minute.

"… Is there something you want?"

She looked up, afraid to ask a personal favor of this man her Grandmami said was not someone to ask such things of. After breathing short breaths, she forced out her words.

"I was just wondering if you are what everyone believes you are…" she whispered, closing her eyes behind her visor. That wasn't what she intended to say, and it was a little more offensive than asking a favor.

"Is that all? Heh, well, okay." He stood up, humming whimsically as he stepped out of the green light overhead. In the dark, all that was present of him was his footsteps, echoing in the silent room. Zoe had lost track of him, until he spoke again, apparently just outside of the light. "I am indeed who I claim to be," he replied, raising the hair on her neck with the severity of his answer. "Now, what do you want? No one sticks around to ask something like that."

"… Never mind. You don't seem the type to do favors."

Black Cuervo is what her mother called her alias… she enjoyed that name. It was intimidating, and Zoe always tried to seem intimidating herself to make the name seem real. Now was not a successful time. As she turned on her heels and started walking out, a hand jutted out from the darkness. It was pale, bony, and though she wore her combat gear, she could feel the cold of his flesh. Maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her… but just the same, though she looked at the hand that stopped her progress, she dared not look at its owner.

"What is it that you have in mind?"

"I..." she whispered again, having lost her conviction. She swallowed hard, finding it again inside her heart. The cold went away and she balled her fists in defiance. She wouldn't be afraid of him. "I want El Tigre."

Now M was taken aback. Was El Tigre not one of his new enemies here? Surely the reports were not inaccurate. They never were, after all. Though Tigre was given to less than noble tendencies, he more often than not foiled the plans of genuine villains.

"Be more specific," he replied coldly. "There are many forms of want. Is it in vengeance that you want him?"

She lowered her head slightly, and he picked up at her meaning. "Ah. Hmm… well, I suppose I should reward you for your courage. The last time someone doubted me, they first begged me for mercy, and then drowned in their own blood."

He spun her around so she was facing the darkness. She could faintly see his features until he stepped back further, disappearing into the void. "The attack you are a part of should not last any longer than two hours… meet me here at midnight, and we can discuss exactly what you want, and how to get him."

And for the first time in months, Zoe smiled out of something resembling happiness instead of the typical malice.

Rivera Estate, 8:04 PM

Manny returned to his home in a fit of hysteria. He and Frida had spent most of the afternoon doing exactly what he said he'd be doing. Ah, the good times they had throwing stuff off that bridge… and what a glorious climax it all came to when Mayor Rodriguez had to suffer his gold-plated limousine getting painted with expired cake batter. Of course, the gremlins had to run like crazy when the limo driver pulled off the freeway to pursue the vandals on the mayor's orders. But that sort of exercise makes the endorphins run through you that much faster.

"Manny! Where have you been?"

"Uh," he stammered a bit as he tried to come with a reasonable excuse. Unfortunately, there was only one that could even come close to sounding reasonable. "Nowhere special."

Rodolfo sat silently at the dinner table, arms crossed and a look of disbelief worn on his face. "I recall you saying something about 'chucking stuff off a bridge.' Would you like to rephrase your answer?"

"What? Me? Nah!" Now was yet another chance to escape judgment. A good lie can turn any situation from bad to good. At least long enough for you to panic and try to fix the problem. That, of course, rarely worked out. "Me and Frida were at the arcade all day. On that subject, I'm out of quarters. Can I get my allowance in advance?"

That was actually pretty good. Simple, believable, and reinforced by an entirely related subject. It would have worked if it wasn't Manny's lie of choice. Rodolfo knew for a fact that Manny had no money left to spend today, because he already asked for his allowance in advance this week. One day ago, in fact.

"Go to your room."

"… Dang."

Manny's door slid shut just as the front door slid open. Through came the last Rivera, Grandpapi Jorge Rivera. He whistled in mock innocence as he strolled past the kitchen table, hiding an unknown article beneath his sombrero.

"Hello dad. How was your day?"

"Oh, just fine. Nothing major happened to me at all. Certainly no crimes today, not done by me."

"Well, that's nice," said Rodolfo. He took to reading the newspaper, and sighed in depression. It started off as such a good day. The front page story was about the grand opening of the Hall of Super Heroes exhibit in Miracle City museum.

"What's wrong son?"

Rodolfo sighed again, setting the paper down. "I lost a fight with El Oso. I let him get away from the mint."

"He was the one who robbed the mint?" Grandpapi slammed his hands on the table in disbelief, and then tended to his sombrero as it attempted to fall off.

"Yes… er, well, not by himself. Dr. Chipotle helped him. So did Voltura. I can't figure out why."

"Hmm. They don't seem the type to form a team." Grandpapi caught his slumping prize a second time, then decided it had to be dealt with. "Well Rodolfo, I'm sure you'll figure it out. Such a smart boy. Good night."

Rodolfo smiled and picked himself up from his self-doubt. As he enjoyed the compliment, Grandpapi slipped into his room and removed the sack of gemstones from his sombrero, pouring the contents onto his mattress. He stared down at the shining stones and marveled at how "cunning" he was.

Miracle City Prison, 9:45 PM

The attack was scheduled to go down ten minutes ago, but the new alarm system had thrown Cuervo through a loop. Charged with the disarming of the system, she had stealthily infiltrated the base to find that Mayor Rodriguez had actually scrounged up enough money to make the city a little safer. Instead of the usual wiring and coding mechanism, Cuervo was confronted with some crafty German device. She cursed upon this discovery and has been working on it ever since. It didn't help that she was distracted with her thoughts about meeting with M later that night. What did he have in mind? Could he actually help? Was he a predator? That last question made her shudder a bit. If his hand was that cold, what was the rest of him like?

"Stop thinking about it. Focus."

She shook herself out of daydreaming and kept at her work of rewiring the alarm. One more wire and… ta-da! She radioed in for the attack to start, albeit a little later than hoped, and waited silently. There was first a great rattling, and the lights flickered shortly after. But the alarm did not activate. Perfect! Cuervo opened her wings and rocketed down the hall, no longer hiding in the shadows as she made her way toward the exit. Phase 1 complete… phase 2 came into being when she arrived at the security desk. With a burst of her personal laser, the bullet proof glass shattered on her end of the hall. The security force assembling on the other side of the desk fired at her, not recalling that the glass was on their end as well. She smiled and radioed in again.

"Blow the south wall!"

A second explosion rattled the building, and bricks and mortar flew down the hall Black Cuervo had just flown through. When the smoke cleared, Cuervo threw the containment lever, letting out Miracle City's thugs and banditos. Having been through many jail breaks in the past, the villains poured out of there cells and through the opening. Cuervo exited in much the same fashion. The guards were quickly overwhelmed, and many surrendered now as they have often before. The courtyard filled with the brutes and thieves, and as they poured out into the streets yet again, Cuervo looked up to see her family drifting on the breeze, waiting for her. But first, phase 3. She looked down into the crowd, waiting for one person to exit the prison. M was quite specific about retrieving this person, who he insisted would be useful after tonight's mission. Seeing his distinctive green hat, Cuervo zoomed down and plucked a young villain out of the horde, dragging him up into the air. He objected with a thick, cowboy drawl.

"Hey! Put me down! I have villainy to do!"

"Shut up, or I'll drop you and say you got trampled by accident!"

"… Alright."

The Flock circled overhead and flew off into the night. Mission accomplished.

Science Facility, 9:49 PM

"The jail break was successful! Get the batteries!"

"Roger that, partner!"

With the roar of his jets, Senor Siniestro barreled down towards the front door of the sealed facility. The gate that held the way shut was made of hardened steel and reinforced by spent uranium rods. In short, few intruders could get through. With his new missile launcher, though, Siniestro was one of them. The left hand of his battle suit withdrew into the arm, and it was replaced by an obscure, almost spherical machine. Landing at the gate, he pointed and fired at the corners of the door, knocking it loose. He kicked the broken door in, where he was met with a curious sight. The prison was not the only government facility to get upgrades. As befitting a science facility, the entry was guarded by a squad of robots built inside spherical shells of armor. They popped their legs out first to stabilize, and then showed off their guns. Ten of these robots had both of their high-energy weapons pointed at the intruder, and they all began firing in unison. Siniestro took great measures to avoid getting hit until his right hand was replaced with an energy gatling gun. Then it was only a matter of time before each of the drones was ripped apart by a barrage of plasma shots. Walking towards the sealed elevator shaft, not at all caring about the alarm going off, Siniestro aimed and fired two missiles at the locking mechanism which kept the elevator shut up. The gate opened upon the manual removal of the locks, and the doors opened as well.

"Sorry, over the weight limit."

A third missile destroyed the elevator, sending its remains down into the basement below. Activating his suit's jets, Siniestro flew up the shaft until he reached the fifth floor: Energy Research. Blowing the door open, he entered the room to find more robots.

"Oh please. You aren't even close to ready for me…"

Rivera Estate, 9:54 PM

Rodolfo was almost out the door when the news broadcast had informed him that not only was the prison busted open, but someone was robbing the Science Facility. That was one target too many. White Pantera could not do both alone. He forced his son's door open, an act which could just as easily been embarrassing for them. Luckily, this isn't one of those times.

"Manny! The city's in trouble! You can make up for throwing things off the bridge by stopping whoever's at the Science Facility!"

Manny jumped off his bed smiling, itching for action after about two hours of having nothing to do. With a spin of his belt and the roar of a tiger, he stood leaped out the window yelling something that resembled "on it." Satisfied, Rodolfo rushed out after him, wanting nothing more than to make up for his previous failure.

Science Facility, 10:01 PM

"This would be a lot easier if I KNEW WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!"

Senor Siniestro smashed case after case in search of the tetra-ionic batteries. But, having no idea what a tetra-ionic battery looked like and running out of patience, it wasn't easy. Finally, growling in frustration he turned to crush a ruined guard robot into scrap metal when he read on the only remaining podium: Tetra-Ionic Battery experiment. Do Not Touch.

"Okay… found them."

He smashed the case open and pulled out three small cubes in a metal box. Closing the box tight, he radioed his companions to alert them of his success and location.

"Alright! I have the batteries! Meet me over the Science Facility!"

"We're en route."

With the batteries in hand, Siniestro pointed his missile launcher at the nearest wall. Despite the impressive blast the impact made, the wall did not give even a little.

"Okay, didn't see that 'a coming."

"El Tigre's coming down the street. Get up on the roof and pass the batteries to us."

"You got it, partner."

"Will you stop saying partner? You're not a cowboy."

Senor Siniestro made his way back to the elevator, flying up to the top of the shaft with great speed. El Tigre was getting faster and faster as the years progressed… he wouldn't have much time until the banditos were all disabled. Blasting out the top, Siniestro jetted out and landed hard on the roof, cracking it. Apparently no one would dare try to break into the Science Facility through the top. No one in Miracle City would take advantage of that little design flaw.

"Should've just tried that in the first place…"

Looking over the side of the building, Siniestro spotted his nemesis, and indeed he had made short work of the men M had sent. Looking up, Tigre spotted a huge suit of robotic armor perched atop the facility, smirked and leaped forward, burning with green fire as he scorched up. Expecting such a blitz, Siniestro aimed his missile launcher and fired a single shot. It hit dead on… or at least looked like it did. Though El Tigre was no longer attacking in the same way, he was not falling back to the earth. Instead he had grappled himself to the facility walls, and was now rushing up the side as if gravity didn't matter.

"Fine! But don't say I didn't warn you!"

Siniestro fired up his jets and took off, dropping a pair of high explosives down on top of Tigre as he ascended the building. The mines clanked against the wall, and the tiny sensors flickered orange as the devices were activated. Out of instinct, Tigre gripped the first mine and threw it out over the street. It detonated there, producing only a flash and a cloud of smoke. The second was thrown toward its owner; it exploded close to home, knocking the villain off course. He landed hard on a nearby rooftop, cradling his prize carefully. From his position, Siniestro saw the Flock jetting in from the distance and smirked in triumph. He stood and threw the batteries up into the air, where they were claimed by Voltura. The Flock flew off after that, and Senor Siniestro was joined by the agile hero.

"Looks like your back up isn't gonna' do you much good."

"I don't need no stinking back up!"

He leaped backward, firing his machine gun hard and fast at the hero. Tigre weaved and dodged as the bullets whizzed past him. This was a little more aggressive than he was used to, but still nothing that couldn't be handled. Burning again with the flame of the tiger spirit, he sprang forward with lightning speed, slicing through Siniestro's left arm. The missile launcher fell to the ground useless, the left hand still attached to it. Turning to see his loss, Siniestro first appeared angry, then laughed. Another pair of mines dropped from the ports in his back, clanking down on the populated building. And with that, Siniestro flew off of the building and down into the alley. He had only a short time to escape, which he took advantage of. El Tigre, however, had to deal with ticking time bombs. Gripping them in his claws, he threw one up into the air, and then the second in the same direction with twice the force. They clanked together and exploded loudly in the air. He watched the explosion dissipate, not even bothering to chase Siniestro down. He heard him escaping into the distance just as what remained of the untaxed police force rolled down the street. Tigre watched the officers arrest the pile of banditos and sighed. Now it was his turn to dwell on a failure. But at least no one got hurt.

Miracle City Outskirts, Tuesday, 12:00 AM

Cuervo paced about in the fluorescent lighting of the warehouse. When she first arrived, everything was dark. The building looked like no one had been there at all. Even all the loot was gone. No one could move all that by themselves… although, he had four hours to do it. She worried that maybe he would not keep his word, and was just making her feel like an idiot. As she turned to leave, she heard a light behind her buzz and flicker into life. Turning around, Cuervo saw only the green light pouring down on the empty chair. But she knew he was here somewhere, because her chill had returned.

"I watched tonight's news. You did well, Zoe Aves."

She hid her panic well. It was rare that anybody figured out the identities of the Flock of Fury. And most of those who did were not really what you would call outsiders. Zoe crossed her arms and retained her tough demeanor.

"So what, you figured my name out. Anyone with brains could do that."

M smiled in the dark. He rather enjoyed when women behaved so defiantly. Stepping forward, he reached out from the shadow and placed a strange module on the table. "Take this. Trap the voice of the girl he likes. Use her against him."

Zoe picked up the device. It seemed so low tech, really. It was small, but it was so conspicuous; its army-like design just sang out "look at me." She lifted the thing up and analyzed it in the poor lighting.

"You need to get close to use it. Engage in conversation with the record feature on, and bring it back to me. I'll work with her voice after that, and then you can make your move."

There was silence then, and the green light went out. When it did, Zoe got the sense that she was alone again, which was actually quite comforting. Whenever she couldn't see this man, she felt as if she were ill, like he possessed some power to make her uncomfortable just by being there. She hated that. But she loved that she had a way, now. Cuervo left the warehouse with the voice module in hand, and flew off into the night with a plan in her mind and a positive feeling in her heart.