Disclaimer: I've been pretty distracted and heartbroken lately due to the passing one of my all-time favorite actors and comedians, so I apologize in advance in case this chapter isn't too good.
On behalf of the people and writers on this site and around the world, I'd like to offer my condolences to the family of Robin Williams. He was, IS, and will always be my top comedian and there will NEVER be another like him, EVER.
Thank you so much for all the memories, Robin. Rest in Peace.
Chapter XVII
A few years ago, Bolivar Trask used an abandoned oil refinery on the Lower East to house his range of Sentinels robots in the eventual hope of rounding up all mutants and super humans - or outright slaughtering them. Ultimately, the X-Men halted his plans indefinitely, Trask was arrested and the Sentinel program was cancelled. Now the refinery was all but closed but not silent. Pulling into the parking lot his limousine and stepping out, Wilson Fisk took in the look of the clearly dilapidated building. The smoke stacks were still standing, but they hadn't been active in years. It seemed like the perfect place for for groups of super villains to convene.
Wilson started toward the building when another limo rolled into view and stopped just near him. Whoever the driver was probably had the temerity to run Fisk down… and the limo would be the one suffering for it. The rear passenger door opened and an attractive looking woman with long, raven hair and dressed in a crimson red outfit and stepped out. Wilson smirked at the woman, who didn't bother to reciprocate the gesture in any way. The smirk came from the history between them; Fisk knew the woman to be Elektra Natchios, a former associate of his before she left his employ to become a solo mercenary. Soon after Elektra exited the limo, a middle-aged man followed.
Dressed in a white suit and sporting gray hair, the man hobbled out of the limo using a cane to stay upright. He still walked with a limp in his step and produced a scowl on his wrinkled face from the moment he and Fisk locked eyes. Fisk knew the old man to be Silvio Manfredi, publicly known as the semi-retired crime boss Silvermane. He and Fisk, who he was very much aware of being the Kingpin, didn't see eye-to-eye on much of anything, least of all who was best suited to control the underworld. It clearly showed on their faces, both producing a scowl of contempt.
Silvermane approached Fisk with Elektra staying as close to him as possible, and Fisk was hardly impressed. "Well, well, looks like someone finally fished Moby Dick out from the ocean." the old man said.
Fisk was still unimpressed and replied, "I should notify the Natural History Museum, tell them that I've found one of their missing fossils."
Fisk's response prompted Elektra to draw a pair of sai from her belt. "I wouldn't talk too much if I were you, Kingpin." she said with a hint of Asian dialect.
"Nice to see you too, Electra," Fisk mocked. "How the abdomen' still have the scar where Bullseye stabbed you, with your own sai?"
Elektra quickly drew closer and held the blade of one sai to Kingpins throat. Kingpin didn't flinch. "Do not think for a moment that I've forgotten how you sent your former lapdog to kill me."
"I seem to remember that he succeeded in killing you. Does that further refresh your memory?"
Elektra inched the blade closer so that Kingpin felt the cold steel on the skin, but Silvermane stopped by replying, "That's enough, Elektra! I think we can forgive Kingpin any lapses in proper respect, especially now that he's running OsCorp."
Kingpin smirked at the kunoichi when she stepped back and holstered he weapons. "Icy as ever, Elektra," he said, to which Elektra simply turned away. Kingpin refocused on Silvermane and stated, "I see you've heard of my most recent acquisition."
"Word travels fast in this town, Fisk. You know that. But I'm sure Osborn didn't see it coming. Now, I supposed we should get this summit underway." Silvermane was already walking toward the refinery with Elektra close behind.
"Age before wisdom." Kingpin mocked, prompting a sharp glare from Silvermane.
The two crime bosses and Elektra entered the old refinery, which was dark and lifeless from years of inactivity. Walking across the elevated catwalk and reaching the main floor, Kingpin and Silvermane noticed the long table with several chairs circling around it. Other people were there, including other lesser-known crime bosses who were likely not even a blip on S.H.I.E.L.D's radar. They were flanked by random enforcers and thugs who had the unfortunate task of standing around and waiting for someone else to make a move. Kingpin and Silvermane suspected them to be trigger-happy.
Elektra stayed close to the two crime bosses but more so to Silvermane than Kingpin, and she kept her hands close to her sais in case one or more these thugs became agitated. A long chair sat at the head of the table and was occupied by the strangest looking person anyone had ever seen. He wore a black suit with a white necktie underneath. That wasn't the only thing that was black. His entire face was black, his hair was black… everything was black and appeared like the negative of a photograph. It didn't take long for either Kingpin or Silvermane to figure out that the mystery man was Mr. Negative himself.
Mr. Negative stood from the chair to greet Kingpin and Silvermane. "How good of you to join us, Mr. Fisk; Mr. Manfredi." he said with a hint of Chinese dialect mixed with a faint echo tone.
"So you're the infamous Mr. Negative," Silvermane said as he took a seat. "I'm not impressed."
"I could say the same of you, given your status as the Old Guard," Mr. Negative replied before drawing his gaze to Elektra. "And you must be Elektra Natchios… a pleasure."
Kingpin stepped forward before Elektra could reply, assuming she planned on it. "I think we've gotten the pleasantries set aside, so let's get this summit underway."
"So says the new CEO of OsCorp Industries. Or is it simply in the interim?" Mr. Negative asked.
"For now, it's the interim," Kingpin said while he took a seat, as did Silvermane and Mr. Negative. "I'm confident however that the Board of Directors will make it a permanent arrangement."
"After which I assume you'll be sharing your newfound capital with the rest of us." said Mr. Negative.
Kingpin produced the slightest grin he could manage. "Actually, I intend to consolidate our collective run of the underworld under one form of leadership; that being mine. When I have all the power, I'll being running the entire city like it should be run."
"You think any one of us will stand by while you reap the rewards of running all of New York? You're out of you mind, Kingpin." Silvermane claimed.
"He's not the only one," a high voice suddenly said from the shadows. "So this where all the cool kids hang out? I've seen better."
It didn't take long to determine whom the voice belonged to and soon enough, Kingpin spotted the Green Goblin atop the catwalk. All the other crime bosses and their bodyguards reacted to the sight the Green Goblin as he hopped over the guard rail and landed atop his glider. The Green Goblin flew around the area above the summit attendees, moving too fast for any of the bodyguards to even try to shoot him down. Kingpin's eyes were locked on the Goblin and it was vice versa, since the Goblin came specifically for him alone. The other crime bosses were fodder at best. The Green Goblin descended to the floor, jumped off his glider and sauntered and two-stepped gleefully toward Kingpin. Kingpin was nonplussed by the Goblin's arrival, but he was fuming inside at the super villain's appearance.
"You miss me, big boy?" the Goblin asked with mocking cheer.
"Green Goblin. Last I heard, you were somewhere at the borderline between the Hudson River and Hell." Kingpin said.
"Really? Well, reports of my demise were greatly exaggerated. Cliché, I know, but it still works," the Goblin mocked before looking around at the other bosses. "I see you got the whole gang together for one, BIG happy shindig. That means more people to kill."
"How'd you find this place, Goblin?" Kingpin asked.
"Funny you should ask. I… inquired about your cute little bitty summit from Menken. If you want to take it up with him, I suggest you do so after he's been scraped off the roof of a Rolls Royce."
Elektra suddenly advanced on the Green Goblin, her sai drawn and held outward and straight ahead. Closing the distance between herself and her target, Elektra thrust her forward sai and missed when the Goblin shifted to his left. The Goblin avoided the other said when it came from the side and then avoided another forward thrust. He couldn't avoid taking a kick to his gut that drove him back, but he simply laughed it off as annoyance at best. Elektra advanced and attempted a series of strikes, thrusts and slashes, and the Green Goblin ducked, parried and dodged every one of them. Then he found his opening; he grabbed hold of Elektra's arm as she attempted another thrust and twisted, forcing the red-clad mercenary to drop the sai to the floor.
Elektra still had one sai and she tried to catch the Green Goblin off guard with a wide swipe. The Green Goblin caught the arm and squeezed until Elektra dropped the weapon. Then the Green Goblin proceeded to strike Elektra with precision blows to the stomach and the abdomen. He flipped her over his head where she crashed to the floor, followed by a swift curb stomp to knock her out. Most of the other thugs gasped and marveled at the sight of the Green Goblin besting a warrior the caliber of Elektra Natchios but Kingpin, Silvermane and Mr. Negative remained unconcerned.
"A word of advice to the not-so-wise, my dear; never, ever interrupt a psychopath with he's on a roll," he said to the unconscious woman before he turned his attention to the crime bosses, specifically Kingpin, Silvermane and Mr. Negative. "Now where were we? Oh, that's right; we were all discussing all of you turning over your criminal operations to me."
"That was a year ago and it didn't exactly pan out well for you, did it," Silvermane said. "What makes you think this time will be any different?"
"Since you were curious," the Green Goblin removed a small device from his bag-o-tricks. "A finely nuance maniac like myself is always ready for situations like this one. I've rigged this refinery to blow if you didn't give in my demands… or if you tried anything stupid like Little Miss Ninja over here."
"You're bluffing." Silvermane said.
The Green Goblin produced a wickedly twisted grin. "Is that a chance you really want to take?" he said, and he wiggled his finger around the button.
Kingpin stood up from his seat slowly to face the Goblin, appearing unconcerned and unafraid. The Green Goblin's gleeful expressions told Kingpin what he already knew; he came specifically for Kingpin. He didn't care about the other crime lords at that moment. He wanted Kingpin alone, and that was most likely because the Green Goblin and Norman Osborn were allied in some way. Kingpin had suspected that the Green Goblin was working for Osborn from the moment he first appeared. The Green Goblin being here, now, spoke volumes and told Kingpin that Osborn was out for revenge for Kingpin taking over his company. Still, Kingpin didn't flinch even as the Green Goblin's thumb inched down to the button.
"You won't blow this building up."
"You sound sure of yourself, don't you? Maybe you'd like to test that theory," and then the Green Goblin hit the button as hard he could and… nothing. There was no explosion, and the Goblin pressed the button multiple times to no avail. "Theses thing usually work."
Silvermane, Mr. Negative and every other crime boss and their thugs and bodyguards all rose up from their seats to face down the Goblin. Most of them brandished various weapons from blunt instruments to firearms. The Green Goblin jumped onto his glider and took off into the air. Like a buzzard eyeing its prey, he circled above the gangs and cackled that twisted laugh. The gangs with the firearms unloaded on the Green Goblin as he flew overhead. His agility allowed him to avoid the weapon fire like it wasn't even there, all the while cackling even louder and more often. He had the aerial advantage over the gangs and he aimed to take advantage of it. Silvermane and Mr. Negative backed away while their thugs cut loose on the Green Goblin.
From the air, the Green Goblin tossed several pumpkin bombs down toward the thugs. Some detonated after a short delay, while others blew on impact. Any thugs or crime bosses caught in the blast radius were either catapulted into a nearby wall or structure, burned by the blast or outright incinerated. The Green Goblin then produced another weapon; razor bats. He tossed the ultra-sharp projectiles at the unluckiest of his victims, some being slashed across their bodies and other being stabbed by a multitude of them. The Green Goblin turned his madness to Silvermane and Mr. Negative and launched a pair of razor bats toward them. They would have reached their targets if Elektra hadn't deflected them with her sai. The Green Goblin sneered at the ninja and gunned the engine of his glider. He launched the glider toward Elektra, engaging the razor-sharp double-bladed tongue. Elektra bolted the opposite direction toward the wall, and she ran right up the wall just as the Green Goblin stopped his forward momentum. Elektra was halfway up the wall before she effortlessly back flipped off the wall. The Green Goblin reversed the glider so he was back where he was before, but it didn't stop Elektra from tossing a sai at him. The sai struck the Green Goblin in the shoulder. It didn't penetrate the armor but it was enough to distract him.
Elektra tossed her other sai, this time catching the Goblin in the left arm and distracting him again. This allowed Elektra to make her move. She sprinted and leapt into the air, striking the Goblin with dual kicks to his chest and knocking him back on his glider. The Green Goblin recovered but was suddenly on the defensive against Elektra, who was quickly assaulting the villain with a series of blows. Most of them were blocked but some got through the Goblin's defenses. The Goblin still had the aerial advantage over Elektra but Elektra wouldn't allow him to use it. She was relentless in her attack.
Yet, the Green Goblin wasn't worried. In fact, he was laughing like the madman he made himself out to be. It became clear that he was taunting Elektra and waiting for her to eventually make a mistake. And she made it. She paused for a short moment and that was all the time the Goblin needed. Elektra lunged forward with a straight punch and the Goblin caught her by her wrist. She tried to get free from the Goblin's seemingly unbreakable grip before she attempted another straight punch. This blow was caught as well.
"I'll give you credit, little lady; you're stronger that I thought," The Green Goblin hoisted Elektra up and then stated, "But with due respect; you're not Spider-Man."
Elektra felt a massive jolt going through her body as if she'd just been struck by lightning. The Green Goblin used electrical shock circuitry in his gloves to send a wave through the helpless ninja. He shocked Elektra repeatedly until she was unconscious once more and then he tossed her aside. With Elektra subdued, the Green Goblin was able to refocus on the crime bosses, but they were no longer present in the room. The Green Goblin gunned his glider and rose straight up toward the ceiling skylight, crashing right through it.
From the air, the Green Goblin spotted the limos of Silvermane and Mr. Negative driving away. He also saw Kingpin getting into his limo, looking back at the Goblin as he did. He promptly gestured his middle finger toward the villain before getting into him limo. The Green Goblin rocketed toward the car just as it was driving away and tossed several pumpkin bombs toward it. The bomb detonated in and around the spot where the car was parked. By the time the smoke cleared, the limo was long gone and the Green Goblin screamed in anger at the loss of his target. Then a sudden, inexplicable explosion gutted the refinery, but the Goblin was hardly fazed by the shockwave.
After briefly looking back at the flaming building and wondering why it blew now, the Green Goblin snarled to himself, "Go ahead and run as far as your fat ass can take you, Fisk. I'll be coming for you. Then all that'll be left is Spider-Man."
Kingpin looked out the rear window of his limo at the burning refinery long enough to figure out that the Green Goblin wasn't bluffing after all. But as fortunate as he was to escape, he knew the Green Goblin would come after him once again. It wouldn't have been the first considering the Green Goblin's apparent vendetta against him, and Kingpin was now convinced that he and Norman Osborn were working together. If Kingpin only knew…
The built-in phone in the back seat rang out and prompted Kingpin to answer it. On the other end of the call was Mr. Negative saying to Kingpin, "I've spoken with Silvermane, Fisk, and we've agreed that the Green Goblin is as much a threat to us as he is to you."
"Get to the point, Negative." Kingpin said.
"We need to pull our considerable resources to put the Goblin down. This effort will no doubt attract Spider-Man's attention as well, but that may be a benefit. We can kill them both in fell swoop." Mr. Negative said over the phone.
"Or, we can use one of enemies to kill the other. Either way, they won't be in our way for long." Kingpin added to the call. "Alright, Negative. What did you have in mind?"
Author's note: I'm going to stop here for now. Personally, I don't like how this chapter came out since I've been pretty distracted lately.
We've finally gotten Silvermane and Mr. Negative in the story as well as a cameo from Elektra. Elektra seemed capable of holding her own against the Green Goblin, but I'll leave it open as to whether or not she died.
Aside from the brief Elektra/Goblin fight, there wasn't much to this chapter. As I said, it's been a distracting and heartbreaking time. So please leave a review and I'll be back soon.
IN MEMORY OF
ROBIN WILLIAMS
1951-2014