Chapter 20: Wars of the Past and Present
Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters or logos.
It had been a few hours since they had met the city's local hero and Wolverine had already contacted Scott and Jean to alert them of his arrival. If what the arachnid had told them was true, they were in for a much more serious situation than either of them had expected. He had found the masked hero annoying at first due to his beating around the bush and constant stream of sarcasm, but now that Logan had the time to think about what he had said, the kid was obviously no fool when it came time to dealing with criminals.
Steve Rogers walked alongside his war buddy as they proceeded down a much more respectable street, both heroes having changed into more incognito clothing before calling a taxi. The clawed mutant had made preparations to meet up with some of his teammates in Manhattan, but for some reason he had deviated from their course to take an unexpected detour. When asked directly, the only answer Captain America received was that there was something in New York he would be interested to see. Naturally he trusted his friend, and the old soldier followed along without complaint.
It was still night, but this end of the city had a much cleaner feel to it, largely devoid of the drug dealers and profane works of graffiti that littered the previous neighborhood's buildings. The people also seemed less hostile in comparison, although due to the late hour there weren't as many folks left on the streets in this side of the city. Several skyscrapers shot towards the starlit skies, the glow coming from the windows casting a soft light onto the streets and illuminating the darkened alleyways ever so slightly, and even the surrounding houses and stores seemed more welcoming here.
Looking out over the nearby waters, American super soldier silently enjoyed the ocean's gentle breeze for the first time in several decades. The lights in the distance alerted him to the presence of ships in the port, but for the last few minutes his eyes had been focused more on the large lighted figure which grew steadily closer with each step. The statue of liberty loomed in the distance atop its mighty pedestal, the green exterior of the monument bathed in a gentle light as it stared proudly over the surrounding domain.
As a citizen of the United States, Steve Rogers took time to appreciate the splendid sight, his own inner sense of patriotism emerging from the pit of his stomach. Several things had changed in this country during his long absence, but seeing this grand tribute to everything he had fought for during the war made him realize now more than ever, that it was still his home. His gaze wandering out into the depths of the ocean, the hero only snapped out of his trance when the man walking ahead of him came to an abrupt halt.
Captain America bumped into him, recoiling seconds later with an apologetic expression. "Sorry about that. To tell you the truth, I was too busy staring at Lady Liberty." He answered with a shadow of a smile. "It really has been a long time since I've seen her in person. Not since the beginning of the war."
"No problem." Wolverine let out a small sigh as he joined his friend in looking at the monument, but was much less fascinated by it and quickly grew tired of the spectacle. Clapping a hand on the taller man's shoulder, he appeared slightly amused.
"She looks as magnificent as ever… Thank you for bringing me here." Steve Rogers replied with a nostalgic expression.
Logan shrugged slightly. "Maybe if you looked around, you would find something much more worthwhile."
The blonde-haired man raised an eyebrow. "What exactly are you talking about?"
"Just look…" He pointed his thumb in the opposite direction, a crafty expression gracing his darker features as his friend followed the suggestion.
Steve Rogers turned his head in the general direction of his partner's hand, his eyes growing wide with surprise as he two familiar faces crossed his line of vision. Looming over the harbor and staring out at Lady Liberty were a pair of men, carved in stone, their faces serious and astute as they watched over the surrounding area. The figures were larger than life, perhaps ten times the size of the people they were depicting, but it had taken the captain less than a second to figure out who they were.
Looking on it was obvious that that first depicted his likeness, only dressed in the old Captain America costume in comparison to the more casual outfit he was dressed in now. The surprisingly accurate representation held the stone version of his trademark shield to his side in a relaxed manner, its hand resting on the shoulder of the second statue. The super soldier breathed in with a nostalgic expression as his eyes settled on the perfect likeness of Bucky, his long deceased sidekick who had died in the war that fateful day in the Red Skull's laboratory. The memory still made his blood boil, but this sensation quickly left him as Logan stepped into his line of vision.
"Brings back memories… Don't it?" Wolverine responded gruffly, a tiny pang of guilt crossing his face as his own gaze shifted towards the captain's former sidekick. When the other man did not answer, he continued speaking. "They built the monument in your honor, but I'm still sorry I couldn't do more to help him."
"I regret it too, but there wasn't anything either of us could have done to save his life." He reassured his companion. The taller hesitated slightly before continuing. "I wish it had been me who died that day, and I would have given my life for his had I been able."
Wolverine grunted slightly at the irony of the situation. "It stinks that young kids who show so much promise end up dead. Meanwhile fossils like you and me are still hanging around when we should have died decades ago." He pondered bitterly. "Talk about a messed up world, am I right?"
The duo fell silent again as they watched the stone figures through the night, the light from the base of the statues illuminating the faces and causing their features to stand out against the gathering darkness. After several minutes of silence, the mutant hero stepped forward and approached the base of the monuments, stopping only when he reached the protective iron fence which surrounded them. Slowly, he extended his hand towards the metallic piece at the base of the memorial, his finger indicating the engraved text upon the bronze plate.
Captain American followed and read the writing, his eyes scanning the print quickly before he spoke again. "In loving memory of Captain America and Bucky: True American Heroes." He iterated the words out loud.
The disagreeable anti-hero groaned, crunching his knuckles slightly. "Looks like no one got the memo saying you were still alive. I don't suppose anyone but me and the folks at SHIELD actually knew the truth about what happened."
He gave the mutant a small nod. "Seeing this statue now, I realize that Bucky wouldn't have had it any other way. Nothing would have stopped him from going with us that day, even the knowledge that he might not have come back alive."
"Talk about conviction?" Wolverine's voice betrayed signs of deep respect at this juncture. "The half-pint knew how dangerous it was to pal around with dangerous folk like us, and never once doubted that the risk was worth doing the right thing."
"Years ago, Bucky always told me that if anything ever happened to him, he wanted to be remembered as a hero." The proud patriot looked upon the stone likeness of his former sidekick with a sense of pride. "It does my heart some good to see that the world still hasn't forgotten his brave sacrifice, or the sacrifices of every soldier that lost their lives in the war."
Logan let out a low grunt as he remembered the face of their youngest companion, the smallest of smiles flashing through the flickering shadows cast by the surrounding lights. "Yup… There's not a single person in the United States who's never heard of you guys, although the same can't be said for me."
Captain America let out a small chuckle. "Maybe it has something to do with the costumes the government provided us. I mean who could forget the sight of a guy running across an open battlefield, wearing brightly colored underwear and spandex."
"On second though, maybe its better that no one mentions me in the history books." Wolverine snorted at how crazy the though was when mentioned out loud.
The two old friends shared a modest laugh as they thought of the scenario again. Maybe now in the modern era it wasn't unheard of to see costumed vigilantes running around and beating up the bad guys, but back when the United States first began the super soldier project, it must've been strange to the public to imagine men in flashy costumes doing the same thing. The clawed mutant had personally found the idea to be overrated in any case, considering that he didn't prefer to wear costumes all of the time. He even traded the blade mask and orange pads a year ago in exchange for a less gaudy appearance.
As they stood alone in the warm night air, the former Weapon X grew tired of the grim memorial and prepared to leave. Casually glancing at the timer on his communicator, the mutant hero stowed the small device back into his pocket and turned his gaze away from the monument, silently walking in the opposite direction. It wasn't as if he was trying to be rude, but for a man like him these types of things came much more naturally than being nice, and right now they had more important things to worry about. Several seconds passed before he realized that his partner was not following, prompting him to address the patriotic hero.
"Hey cap, you coming or not?" he interjected bluntly, causing his friend to twitch slightly. "We've got a pain-in-the-ass to catch, and there'll be plenty of time to get lost down memory lane once the bad guy's behind bars."
Pulled from his thoughts of the past, the patriotic hero turned his head to see Logan walking away. He hesitated for a moment before following after his war buddy, realizing that it wouldn't be very productive if they spent the entire night reliving memories in front of the statue. Had the situation been any different he might have stayed longer, but Logan was absolutely correct about the job coming first. Catching up with him rather quickly, Steve Rogers followed along after his friend, a sense of renewed vigor in his step.
Several moments passed as they walked through the dismal streets of New York. Although the area surrounding Manhattan and the harbor was certainly more welcoming than the backstreets of Harlem and Brooklyn, the city itself had proved to be a rather treacherous place for heroes such as themselves, and they both understood these dangers. His thoughts returned to the present situation again, but it was now that he realized they had no idea where to go, and the mutant's silent nature didn't help clarify where he was leading them.
Reaching forward he clasped a hand on Wolverine's shoulder. "Do you have a destination in mind or are you merely walking around in the hopes that the target's scent will just come to you?" he asked courteously.
The stocky man shrugged. "Don't really know… I did bring you down here to show you the statue, but after losing the enemy's trail we could be wandering around this place a while just trying to find it again."
With this negative sentiment out in the open, the incognito heroes continued onwards through the lighted streets, quietly slipping in and out of the view of street lights and shop windows as they passed through the city's jungle of skyscrapers. The captain felt like a thief looking for a house to plunder as they continued the search, prowling the streets at night without any particular destination. Maybe this was how these types of missions had to be carried out, but to a soldier like him, the very thought made him cringe in disgust.
Steve Rogers was used to fighting the enemy head-on, a stark comparison to the methods they were using right now. Having no where else to go upon his awakening, the American hero had joined SHIELD. Seeing how he was supposed to be dead and was out of touch with modern society, it hardly made sense for him to return to civilian life or rejoin the United State Armed Forces. In a way he was forced into this position, seeing how the world he had fought so hard to protect no longer had a place for him in it.
The shear strain of being trapped in the future made his head spin, but a glance at his brooding partner reassured him. Logan had apparently been through a living Hell in the last half of the century, his situation made worse by the fact that most mutants were hated and reviled by the general populace. He realized that if his friend could have made it through so much, there was a chance for him as well. Plus at the very least, he had at least one friend left…
Growing bored with the eventless vigil, Captain America addressed his partner. "Do you have any idea where the criminal might be?"
"If I did we wouldn't be in this mess right now, would we?" Logan remarked with a sarcastic roll of his eyes.
"Try and think about what we know about this enemy so far." The super soldier replied hastily.
"All we really know is that this shape-shifting menace can turn into anyone using a hologram belt, and might be hiding somewhere in this dump." The mutant hero let out an irritated groan as he summed up the facts. "Basically we don't know squat and this city is way too big a place to find one guy, even for me."
Steve Rogers struck a puzzled pose, gently stroking his chin in thought. "Think! Was there anything else Fury might have said that could help us?"
His partner shrugged at the seemingly hopeless prospect. "No, but that one-eyed menace might start riding my ass if we don't turn up results fast enough."
The pair of heroes grew quiet again as they walked aimlessly through the streets, both attempting to think of a way to simplify their search. Captain America considered the information that Fury gave them before the mission began, but after considering everything they had learned during the briefing, the situation still seemed rather hopeless. Casting aside the lack of results, his thoughts changed to the recent encounter with New York's crime cartel. If his partner had really caught the Chameleon's sent, then they had been inches from completing the mission.
Of course things were never that easy, which was another lesson both men had learned during World War II. They had burst in recklessly and lost the target amidst the confusion. When the situation worsened they received help from a crime fighter named Spider-Man, but their so-called ally spent the aftermath of the battle scolding them for incidentally getting involved in the city's gang war. The masked hero's words replayed in his mind for a minute or two before the super soldier came to a sudden realization.
"Logan, do you remember what that spider guy said to us?" Steve Rogers questioned.
"Unfortunately…" His partner responded with a small growl. "The web-head took his time mocking me after talking down to us like a pair of idiots. As far as I'm concerned, that annoying half-pint can go die in a ditch."
Captain America shook his head wearily. "No, I was referring to the part where he mentioned the gang war going on in this city." He piped up. "From what he explained, it's pretty clear to me that we meddled in something big, and it seems that the Chameleon is also involved."
Wolverine sighed before considering the situation, but one thing the web slinger had said suddenly established a connection between this current mission and the recent rescue of his female clone. If what he said was true, the same man who had tried to sell X-23 to Madame Hydra was currently affiliated with their current target as well. He had made this obvious connection earlier, but it slipped his mind.
"Wait a minute… That masked creep mentioned that the Chameleon was working for the top crime boss in this city." The mutant hero thought out loud before turning to his friend.
The super soldier glanced around calmly. "If anything this could make matters much more complicated for us. He did say that getting involved with the gang fights going on in this city would only result in meaningless losses."
"Not the point…" Logan interjected rudely. "It just so happens that the X-Men recently ran into this Kingpin guy. Get it… He's the same man who hired the shape-shifting bastard we've been looking for."
Captain American raised a blonde eyebrow. "How exactly does this help us, then?"
The clawed mutant's sour expression evaporated. "It means I know his boss, and when we find him, we'll find the Chameleon."
"If this crime lord is really as influential as we were told, I doubt he would find him sitting out in the open." The patriotic hero replied.
Wolverine cracked his knuckles together menacingly. "My teammates stationed in the city gathered some clues together and found out who this Kingpin guy is… We've got his name, and it turns out he's actually one of the big shot business men living in Manhattan. You know what that means don't you?"
His friend looked more optimistic now. "We have to do is keep an eye on places associated with this man. This would narrow our search and increase the chances we have of finding the target."
"Now you're getting it." Logan replied with a satisfied look.
The mutant decided that the next action they would take would be to track down Jean and Scott, and then they would plan from there. After checking to see how much his teammates had learned about the Magneto case, he would share this new bit of information with them in the hopes that they could devise some kind of plan. With these thoughts in mind, he decided that contacting them at this hour would be stupid, but now would be a good time to start asking questions. If everything went the way he was hoping they would be killing two birds with one stone by the time this horror in New York was finally over.
Meanwhile…
It had been a long night for the Hobgoblin by the time the costumed villain finally managed to crack the security codes, but soon the hours of effort would be worth it. Jason Phillip Macendale had been a petty criminal until one fateful night when his shady activities finally paid off. During a transaction with some of his less than reputable clients, he got his hands on some impressive technology in the form of a winged glider. Recognizing his new weapon as the same type of vehicle piloted by the legendary Green Goblin, and was immediately inspired by the master villain's legacy.
At the time the latter had vanished from the streets of New York, making way for a new man to take up his fallen legacy, and this Jason Macendale refurbished the glider and donned a similar costume, instead choosing to call himself the Hobgoblin. Over time he had traced the technology back to OsCorp and confronted the company's owner, during which Norman Osborn agreed to sell him the remaining weapons. For a while he continued to use stolen money to purchase and test new weapons for the greedy CEO, but eventually his reign of terror came to an unceremonious end.
At the height of his career, the Hobgoblin was subdued and captured by Spider-Man's meddling, and shortly after he was imprisoned in the Vault for his crimes. The legacy of the goblin had ended in failure yet again, but this time he had help. HYDRA had freed him from prison to use as a pawn in their game, but he had very little interest in whatever they were planning right now. Although they had commanded him to remain behind, the criminal found himself breaking into Norman Osborn's private laboratories in search of new technology to supplement his glider and weapons.
The masked villain glanced around the metallic room and the hard tile floor. The walls were entirely soundproof to prevent other unwanted guests from hearing what was going on inside the laboratory, and the windows constructed out of a thick safety glass. He also noted the presence of several vaults which no doubt held plans for new inventions, and a few crumpled sheets of paper on the ground. He guessed that these were failed designs that had been rejected and cast aside, and moved on to storage units instead.
"Bingo…" the Hobgoblin mused as he approached the nearest vault. He reached out to check the combination lock, but his hand stopped midway. "It's far too easy…" he muttered to himself.
Reaching into his bag, the master criminal removed a small bag of power. Upon tossing the dust-like substance into the air, the resulting cloud revealed the presence of several thin, red beams surrounding the vault. Pocketing the rest of it, he took out a small metal device the size of a pen and pushed the button on the side, releasing a small laser beam which began to chip away at the door of the vault as if it were made of cardboard.
"Almost got it…" the master thief whispered with an excited sneer.
"I think not." A second voice sounded from behind him, causing the criminal to slip up.
His hand jerked slightly, causing him to drop his cutting device as he turned to see a silhouette stepping through the shadows behind him. The lamps above his head flickered on, the sudden change in lighting revealing the familiar face of Norman Osborn. Fully dressed in his business attire, the famous CEO wore a blue suit and red tie, his expression betraying his sense of mingled amusement and disappointment at having found the robber so easily.
Reaching to the wall, he used a hidden switch to activate the security grid in the room, the doors and windows sealing shut trapping both men within. The laser grid vanished, but steel panels slammed down over the entrances to the cathedral-sized laboratory. Jason Macendale was slightly confused by this, having expected the wealthy businessman to run for his life before sealing him inside.
"What's your game, Osborn?" the Hobgoblin snapped, his masked expression betraying a sense of bewilderment. "If you knew I was here, why would someone like you bother risk confronting me alone?"
Osborn straightened his tie in a casual manner. "You'll find that the New York Crime Cartel isn't the only group with informants in this city. Even so, after you escaped from prison I had a shrewd suspicion that you would come back here searching for new toys. "
The masked villain reached into his orange cloak, pulling out a pumpkin bomb. "Considering that your company made this technology, do you honestly think you can stop me from taking what I want?" he smirked like a madman. "Go ahead, I dare you!"
A strong tension filled the air as the two men simply glared at one another, neither moving an inch as if expecting or even hoping that the other would make the first move. After a minute of this awkward staring contest, the suited man let out a chorus of deep laughter, his left hand discreetly slipping towards his pocket. If he noticed this suspicious gesture, the masked villain was too confused by his enemy's first reaction to question the second, and merely cast the company's owner a look of revulsion.
"What's so funny?" the villain screamed, his red eyes narrowing dangerously.
Norman Osborn's mocking demeanor was instantly replaced by an insane smile that seemed beyond human. "Did you really think that you could threaten me with my own technology?" he screamed wildly.
Before the enemy could react, he pressed another button on the remote he had grabbed seconds earlier, causing the Hobgoblin's glider to spring to life. The rocket sled's engine ignited with a burst of flame and levitated into the air, slamming into the back of its owner, and pushing him into the ground almost instantly. He cried in pain as the glider shoved him face first into the floor of the lab, landing beside his opponent several seconds later. The Hobgoblin screamed through fits of pain, his eyes widening in shock as the gas bomb he had dropped rolled away across the floor. He reached out to grab it, but a foot came down and crushed his wrist.
Norman Osborn raised his leg again and slammed the end of his shoe into the enemy's jaw, pushing his former assailant into a lying position on his back. A loud crunch echoed throughout the room as the victim felt his bones break, but his attacker reached down and lifted his limp form into a standing position. The Hobgoblin was at a loss for words as the other man's hands tightened around his throat, but his attempts to escape failed miserably. Osborn's grip was so powerful that it felt almost superhuman, perhaps even stronger than Spider-Man.
"How is this possible?" the masked villain stammered in shock.
"Why don't you see for yourself!" the other man replied in a devious tone that was at stark contrast with his businesslike appearance.
Without warning, the enemy tossed him with deliberate force. Jason Macendale slammed headfirst into damaged vault he had been attempting to rob earlier, the half-destroyed door falling off the hinges as his body collided painfully with the storage unit. His body pulsing with pain, the Hobgoblin's gaze wandered towards the mask inside of the newly opened vault. It was very similar to the one he was wearing, save for the green skin and yellow eyes, much different from the yellow skin and red eyes of his own mask.
"It can't be…" the Hobgoblin replied, a look of realization appearing on his face moments later. "Of course! That's how the original got his grubby green hands on your most advanced technology. The reason why he always had all of your best stuff is because you were the Green Goblin!"
Norman Osborn did not confirm or deny the statement as he slammed his foot into the intruder's spine, exerting enough pressure to cause him severe discomfort without actually breaking the crucial bone. Reaching his hand across the seam where the mask joined his victim's neck, the wealthy businessman tore it off of his face with an unceremonious tug, revealing the unkempt brown hair of Jason Macendale underneath. He tossed the mask on the ground and stepped on with a sharp glare, his eyes shifting back towards the man at his feet.
"To think I managed to catch you this easily… You are unworthy of wearing that mask." He replied icily.
His hostage looked up with a heated glare. "So, what do you plan to do with me now that I know the truth about you?"
"I never really did confirm or deny that I was the Green Goblin, and this Halloween mask is nothing more than circumstantial evidence that could have been purchased at any party store." The suited man shook his head knowingly. "As for your fate, I would say it's rather simple... Tell me who you're working for and I will not turn you into police."
The Hobgoblin froze for a moment as he considered the options, silently wondering what would happen if he chose the option. Trying to escape was useless considering that the man he was facing had sealed the building and taken away his glider. If he said anything then HYDRA would probably eliminate him, and if he was turned into the police there was a good chance that he would end up back in the Vault or worse for his crimes. The options didn't look too good no matter which choice he picked, although if he went on the lamb at least he would have a chance to avoid repercussions.
Without warning, the suited man picked him up, and threw him a table. "Time's ticking!" Osborn replied with an insane leer. "Which way would you rather do down?"
"No need for that… I'll talk." Jason Macendale shot back angrily.
His captor relaxed slightly, looking much more pleased with the outcome. "I'm listening…"
The unmasked villain took a deep breath, his eyes staring toward the ground. "It was HYDRA that freed me from prison. They promised me unlimited riches in exchange for a brief tenure of service to the organization, so naturally I was more than happy to oblige."
"So they are involved in this business…" the Green Goblin replied with a note of interest. "I had a feeling that something odd was going on when Silvermane suddenly found the nerve to directly oppose the Kingpin's control of Manhattan's underground. HYDRA must be the second financial backer than he was talking about during our last meeting."
"Silvermane? That old fossil is also involved?" the second goblin replied with a hint of surprise.
The older man seemed to shrug off the question and fell silent for a minute or two as he considered this new development. If such big players were involved in New York, then things were bound to get interesting. Thinking quickly, he wondered if his theory was correct, and if so, what did they have to gain by prompting this gang war. Sensing a rare opportunity, his mind began scheming ways that he could use this rare turn of events to reap any and all possible benefits from both sides.
"I see." Norman Osborn replied nonchalantly, his eyes boring into his captive. "I only require one more piece of information from the likes of you… … … Where is HYDRA?"
"There's certainly no benefit I can get out of telling you that, but if you promise not to let me go free, I might feel more compelled to say." His prisoner answered defiantly.
He considered this for a second before punching in a set of security codes into the panel on the wall, earning a look of pronounced suspicion from his prey. "I promise not to raise a hand against you, if you give me this information."
The Hobgoblin returned his stare in an attempt to discern whether or not he was lying, although it did him no good. Left with no other options, he relented in the hopes that his enemy would not be able to find the base even with his directions. "The HYDRA terminal is located in an abandoned subway tunnel somewhere in Manhattan. The number of this tunnel is 17B..."
Norman Osborn memorized this information rather quickly, but before his captive could respond again, a panel in the opened to reveal a pair of men in dark suits. Each of them was carrying a pistol, and neither looked as if they had come to talk. Reaching down, they forced the costumed criminal into an uncomfortable frog march, the larger man pressing a gun against the side of his head. Jason Macendale looked positively livid as he tried to fight off his new captors, but was too weak after the previous encounter to escape them.
"You said you would let me go!" he screamed in contempt, his eyes bulging in frustration from within his chokehold.
"I only said I wouldn't lay a hand on you or call the police… As you can see from this display I did neither of those things." The Manhattan businessman pointed out his own loophole with an eerie sense of calm. After ignoring the captive's protests, he addressed his security staff. "I would like you gentlemen to escort this man out of town and deal with him as you see fit."
"No problem." The larger man replied in an unusually deep-throated voice.
His partner shoved the Hobgoblin's head into a sack to silence his screams. "You got it."
Without so much as another word, the thuggish security guards dragged their prisoner through the trap door on the ground and closed the panel, leaving their employer alone in his laboratory. Now that things had quieted down Norman Osborn took the liberty of observing the private research facility, his eyes settling on the destroyed tables and cracked walls that had resulted from the brief scuffle. He had expected the goblin imposter to return eventually in search of new technology and had prepared by building a remote for his glider, and luckily things had turned out exactly as planned.
The grim businessman took a moment to indulge in a rare smile, his hand instinctively reaching for the mask sitting in the nearby vault. He had only recently begun to wear it again, but due to the recent tension in his life the goblin had begun to rear its ugly head, and he had no choice in the matter. He opened the second unit to reveal his goblin attire and quickly suited up, a new plan forming in his head now that he had everything he needed to plot revenge on those who had wronged him. If things turned out well, he would have everything he wanted and much more by the time this gang war was over.
Meanwhile…
The sun was beginning to rise as dawn approached, but the most impoverished districts of New York had since become a battleground. Civilians ducked into their homes as the flurry of bullets continued to rain down, shattering plaster and wood as they ricocheted off of the surrounding buildings and walls. The streets were in chaos as drug dealers and less reputable businessmen were forced to flee the backstreets in search of a safer hiding place as those unaffiliated with either side attempted to flee the scene. It had been several hours since this chaos began, men running into and out of buildings as they hunted each other in a display of guerilla warfare.
The henchmen belonging to the Kingpin wore dark purple uniforms and visor helmets, having traded in their pistols for weapons of a much higher caliber. In comparison the Maggia thugs sent by Silvio Manfretti were dressed in stereotypical mobster clothing, most of them wearing dark suits and carrying guns of several different varieties. Although it was hardly war at a national scale, gang conflicts such as these were fought by securing strongholds in buildings while sniping at enemy criminals from the windows, occasionally taking a moment to maximize damage with small explosives and hand grenades.
Several men had take control of a small grocery store and had stationed themselves by the windows, each of them taking turns to fire at the enemy gang members from the safety of the building. Standing behind them, Hammerhead had personally come to coordinate the attack in the case that they ran into any complications. Sending in the robots would have caused unnecessary destruction and unwanted attention from the city's many masked crime fighters, something that they were currently trying to avoid by fighting the gang war in a more conventional manner.
"Sir, they've entered the building!" one of the gunmen screamed in panic.
Hammerhead gestured to one half of the group. "You boys head downstairs and see if you can't hold off the enemy. The rest of you, fill 'em full a lead when I give the word."
The enforcer heaved his machine gun onto his shoulder and saluted. "No problem!" He baked before turning to the other half of the group. "All right, you heard the boss man, let's get going!"
As half of his enforcers exited the room, their leader closed the door and bolted it shut, signaling his remaining men to take up their positions nearby and await the intruder. Reaching into his pocket, the flat-headed mobster withdrew a pair of brass knuckles from the pockets of his striped suit, quietly sliding them onto his fists in preparation for the imminent threat. Several gunshots sounded downstairs as he heard the cries of the wounded, but the loud thumping coming from the lower floors quickly caught his attention.
"What's going on?" he snapped, sparing a few glances out the windows and pacing nervously as if the floor could give out beneath them.
Without warning, the floor beneath his subordinates fell through, causing the thugs to crash land on the first floor of the building. Looking through the opening, the flat-headed enforcer watched in surprise as several jets of green ooze melted the weapons into useless metal blobs. A large metallic appendage swatted the group as they attempted to flee. One of the men attempted to fire his destroyed weapon at the enemy, but the gun backfired, killing its owner instantaneously. Hammerhead dove sideways as the enemy leapt through the hole in the floor, revealing the attacker's identity at last.
He was a muscular man wearing a bright green spandex suit and matching mask, a series of thin darker green stripes running along his body horizontally. He wore gloves and boots in the same shade, but the most striking part of his appearance was the large tail-like attachment sticking out of the back of his suit. Matching the color scheme of his costume, the weapon ended in a point very similar to the tail of a scorpion. Of course this was how Mac Gargan had received his super villain name to begin with.
"We took down your guys… Gonna surrender yet?" the Scorpion dusted off his gloved hands.
"In yer dreams, dirt bag!" The mob hit man retorted angrily.
His opponent shrugged with an air of indifference. "I was hoping you would say that."
The Scorpion swung his tail at his opponent like a club in an attempt to flatten him, but the suited man jabbed his head forward, the sheer force of his skull reflecting the blow. Hammerhead watched carefully as the villain's tail swung in the opposite direction after being reflected by the adamantium plate in his skull. Using the small opening, he charged like a bull and head-butted the costumed criminal in the stomach causing him to recoil in pain. Gargan doubled over and received a series of punches to the jugular as his hard-headed adversary hammered him with a pair of brass knuckles.
Rugby tackling his opponent full-force, the mob enforcer sent Mac Gargan flying through one of the nearby windows, shattering the glass as he landed in the streets below. Bracing his hands against the edges of the broken window, Hammerhead catapulted himself from the second story in an attempt to stomp his fallen opponent into the asphalt, but the super villain recovered just in time to counterattack. The Scorpion spun around so that he was on all fours and ensnared the hard-headed hit man with his suit's tail, slamming him face-first into the street with as much power as he could muster.
"That's what you get for letting your guard down!" the costumed criminal shot back, his tail firing several jets of burning acid at the enemy.
His opponent rolled sideways to avoid the corrosive spray, jumping to his feet with surprising agility and diving behind an abandoned car for protection. The glass windows of the vehicle shield him from most of the acid, but a stray blast melted the metal of a nearby street light, melting through the base and causing it to fall like a felled tree in the forest. While the thick-skulled gangster managed to dodge the falling debris, the acid had also eaten through the supports on a nearby fire escape, causing the enter structure to fall.
A familiar shape sat atop a nearby building, silently watching the disorderly battle going on below. "Two of my enemies are beating each other to a pulp, so why exactly did I bother coming out here?" he mused out loud, his eyes darting toward the fray. "Oh yeah, that's why?"
Several yards away, an innocent mother and child had fled their apartment in an attempt to escape the gang war, but the collapsing object came closer by the second, and they were directly in its path. The woman shielded her child with her body in an attempt to save the young boy, but before either of them was crushed, a series of sticky white ropes shot out and bound the structure in place. Both civilians glanced up in relief as they realized they were still unharmed, catching sight of a familiar masked vigilante.
Spider-Man gave them a casual wave, wincing slightly as he exerted the extra effort to prevent the fire escape from crushing them. "Glad to see you guys are all right, but this thing is a lot heavier than it looks." He called out.
The mother seemed to mouth a quick word of thanks before fleeing the scene with her child, allowing the masked crime fighter to let go of his load. Once they were safely out of harm's way, he let go of the metal structure and breathed a sigh of relief. The feeling was short lived though, as he had attracted the attention of everyone participating in the gang war going on below. Several men on both sides aimed gunshots at him, forcing the web slinger to use his acrobatics skills to full affect. He danced around the flying bullets with ease but was quickly forced to reassess the situation as the Scorpion began shooting everything in sight.
Glad that the two major villains were too busy slugging it out with each other, Peter Parker wrapped his webbing around the fire escape's remains and heaved them upwards with all of his might, tossing them at the two combatants in an attempt to crush them both. Gargan had been inches from corning his enemy when the metallic structure came at him, forcing both to dive away from the sight of impact.
"It's Spider-Man!" a few random thugs called out unnecessarily, several others pointing or shooting at him on sight.
"I almost had him that time…" Mac Gargan screamed wildly, his glare directed at his longtime enemy. "Blasted wall crawler! You always ruin everything!"
Hammerhead also diverted his attention, yet looking slightly relieved from before. "This mess don't concern you, web head!" he added.
"When you creeps put innocent people in danger, it makes it my business." The masked vigilante retorted, his body moving naturally to dodge more gunshots. "Why don't you guys take this somewhere less crowded?"
"Why don't you shut up and die?" Scorpion screamed, breaking off his previous fight to challenge the hero.
The costumed villain launched himself onto the building and began to climb with his bare hands, using rain gutters and window panes to propel himself up. Spider-Man launched several shots of web which his enemy dodged, instead opting to do thing the old fashioned way. Seizing hold of the nearby water tower, he swung towards the Scorpion like man on a vine and kicked him in the midsection, pushed off the side of the wall. He clung to the wall using his spider stickiness, but the wall rumbled as his second enemy charged headfirst into the wall, causing the entire building to shake a little.
Peter Parker felt his grip lessen slightly, jumping again to another building as thugs from both sides of the battlefield targeted him again. "Oh great…" he muttered sarcastically. "Now they choose to put aside their differences and work together."
His eyes widened in shock as a large armored truck pulled up alongside of the alleyway, catching the attention of the group below. The mammoth vehicle was so large that it blocked off the exit leading out of the street. Several more men joined the battle, this group wearing different outfits than the previous two factions. Dressed in bullet proof vests and carrying pistols, the new group gunned down the remainder of the Maggia's thugs, instead reinforcing the group of henchmen sent by Wilson Fisk.
"It can't be!" Hammerhead shouted, looking surprised by this sudden and unexpected intervention.
The back of the vehicle opened to reveal the Rhino, who immediately began smashing through the Maggia's remaining members with the force of a wrecking ball, their bullets useless against the super powered man's iron-like hide. The masked vigilante was dismayed by this sudden interference, but was caught off guard as another shape darted through the sky and kicked him into the air, forcing him to swing and grapple to another rooftop. The man standing on the opposite building's roof wore a dingy green suit and had an almost bird-like appearance, his sharp eyes and wild hair giving him an almost feral appearance.
"Sheesh… I'm starting to wish I had stayed out of this mess." Spider-Man grumbled, silently wondering if coming here had been a good idea.
Hammerhead actually seemed to ignore the battle for a second, his attention shifting to the newcomer. "Owlsky, you traitor!" he snapped. "Manfretti gave us the deal of a lifetime, and instead you sided with the fat man!"
"The deal he spouted wasn't in my best interests…" the Owl answered bluntly.
"Your funeral, smartass…" the hard-headed gangster replied, the hand behind his back fiddling with a special communicator he had been given for this mission.
With this said, the battle continued as both sides targeted Spider-Man, but continued fighting amongst each other. Several minutes passed as the Maggia's dwindling group struggled just to stay alive under the threat of this unexpected betrayal. Peter Parker was forced to dodge the spray from below as he fought the newcomer in mid-air, the masked hero having trouble due to his opponent's animal-like agility and his chemical-induced ability to float in mid-air for short periods of time.
Down on the streets, the Kingpin's forces had the enemy in full retreat, but the tide of the battle was about to turn again. Several fighters looked up as a half-dozen flying robots rocketed their way towards the battlefield, immediately advancing on the Scorpion's faction. Laser fire replaced the previous rain of bullets as Alistair Smythe's mega slayers forced the enemy on the defensive once more, while also allowing Hammerhead to escape in the confusion as he was no longer needed.
The hard-headed villain had taken the liberty of alerting Alistair Smythe to their situation when they were first interrupted by Owl's gang, having done so in a very discreet manner. Slipping into an alleyway amongst the intense confusion, he kicked open a manhole cover and slid into the sewer system below, deciding that getting away was more important than his own reservations. Of course he had purposely neglected to give this order to the rest of his subordinates, knowing that the sight of them all running would have alerted the enemy to his flight plans.
Above the ground Spider-Man was relieved to see that most of the locals seemed to have left the area. He couldn't blame them, since even the police seemed hesitant to get close to the battle, having instead opted to take the civilians to safety. The few that had come had been instantly killed on sight as if their presence hadn't mattered at all, something that made the masked hero cringe at his own chances of escaping alive should the situation escalate any further.
"Ugh!" he groaned as the flying villain kicked him in the chest, causing him to lose grip on his webbing.
"You've lost, web slinger!" the Owl called out mocking as he landed safely on another rooftop.
Peter Parker tried to shoot another web blast to save himself, but realized now that he had run out. Scrambling to insert his spare, he was inches from the ground when a strange force stopped his descent, as if a pair of invisible hands had grabbed him in mid-air and prevented him from hitting the street. Once he touched down on the street, Spider-Man reloaded his web shooter, but one of Smythe's slayers had already targeted him. He held up his arms in defense as the mechanical monster prepared to step on him, but the blow never came.
A large red beam of energy nailed the robot in the chest, grounding the beast as an invisible force pushed it into a nearby power box, the surging electricity short-circuiting the automaton. A familiar woman with long red hair slowly lowered her floating form towards him, as a man with a visor ran to his side.
Jean Grey gently landed beside the masked hero, brushing sweat off her brow, "Phew… That was a close one."
"What is this, the third time we've had to save your butt?" Cyclops added with a note of sarcasm. "We hard about the commotion and thought you could use a hand."
Spider-Man didn't usually appreciate interference, although in dire situations help was always welcome. "Don't get cocky, we've still got more than a few problems right now." He forced their heads down as the other robots shot at the group. "Now we're even…"
"What's going on now?" Leland Owlsky leapt from the rooftop to rejoin the fray, but was tackled by a winged figure before he could lash out in anger.
Warren Worthington shoved the bird-like man away with an effortless strike, looking rather amused by the crime boss's flying technique. "Sorry I'm late…" he called down to Spider-Man and the two X-Men. "I got caught up helping some people escape this insanity."
"No problem…" Scott replied, using his heat vision to force back another mega slayer.
"Angel!" the Owl screamed as he recognized Manhattan's flying hero.
The winged mutant cracked his knuckles challengingly. "All right then… Let's see how well you fight without using flight as an advantage."
Note to Readers: Been a while since my last update… I wouldn't be surprised if people stopped caring at this point, but for some reason I've had very little motivation to work on this story lately. Not that I don't want to finish it, but it gets harder as the story goes on I guess. Sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors, but as usual it was late when I wrote most of this chapter.
I you want to thank someone for the update, thank Kairan1979 and Quill N. Inque for their near constant support. Special thanks to Rider Paladin also provided an excellent review, seeing how if people like something in particular, I really enjoy hearing about it. Also a special thanks to IronSavior for a more recent one. Thanks to anyone else who reviewed too, I appreciate it no matter how small the contribution, although like most writers I love longer reviews.
Don't know if I'll be able to continue and make the updates on a regular basis, seeing how writing this chapter was hard for me. Please review... Any comments, questions, suggestions, criticism, and support are all welcome.