Chapter Four
Butch Bandon had set up the Newsboy Legion's mobile command in a garage she was renting as an apartment. If the homeowners found having a fifteen-year old renter odd, they never mentioned it. Butch's obvious physical trait was her bright blue hair, cut boyishly short. The Young Justice squad had spotted the discreet KnightsQuest street patrols. This was one of two districts in Gotham that didn't pay taxes to Empress Penguin or license fees to Knightfall. The KnightsQuest of the Order of St. Batman kept the crime rate frozen at near non-existence. Only Devil's Square was likewise exempted.
The Newsboys members came and went with reports of interesting events and occurrences throughout Gotham. During the Occupation, the Newsboy Legion had been the most effective intelligence service in the field. They'd fed Azrael, Batwing, and the KnightsQuest the locations of their targets and enabled supply raids. That hadn't changed despite Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys leaving town with Tomboy and Little Miss Redhead. They needed to get back to Metropolis and pray that their parents would ever let them out of their houses again. All without giving up their costumed identities. Gotham wouldn't ever be a destination again. Butch would miss them.
But with the crisis passed, she was having a hard enough time keeping membership up enough to cover the city. Tweens and teens were moving on with their lives. The Newsboy Legions eternal battle since their five members in Suicide Slum assisting the original Guardian during the late 1930s into the 40s. But those five had managed to pass on membership just as Jim Harper had been cloned to remain Guardian throughout the decades that followed.
The 90s and the creation of the internet expanded the Newsboys into a national movement. Now there were even chapters in Canada and Mexico. Adolescents willing to risk their lives for a better world.
The rise of Young Justice just made the serving members more convinced that they too could make a difference. Butch would make certain they could before she aged out of the Newsboy Legion. The Founding Five had made eighteen the max age for any Newsboy and Butch was already approaching sixteen. She wouldn't be in leadership much longer much less a member. So Young Justice arriving at her rented garage was startling. Not that she believed they were who they claimed to be until they showed her their gear they were packing around in duffels, backpacks, and a bow case.
"We're trusting you so you'll trust us," Red Robin explained.
"What do you need?" Butch asked.
"Anarky," Red Robin said grimly.
In conference with the JSA, the JLI decided to deal with the potential threat posed by the Injustice Gang. The GCPD wasn't able to dissuade Signalman's crew from openly parading about. They were properly licensed to find and take Hellequin and Red Alice hostage. With no official category for them handing them over to Intergang to collect the reward. Or handing the recovered cash over to Black Mask rather than back to Intergang.
Traffic and pedestrians froze as the Injustice Gang strode through the city. The arrival of the Invisible Jet hadn't been completely unexpected. Superman and the Justice League descended.
"You will cease and desist and break up this unlawful assembly," Superman declared.
"You've been coached by Gordon," Signalman smirked, "Not totally unexpected."
"Will you disperse?" Superman asked.
"What do you think?" Signalman sneered.
"I think you'll resist arrest for unlawful assembly," Superman smiled.
"No shit, Sherlock," Signalman laughed, "Come and get us."
Their confidence worried most JLers. But not enough of them, who saw an easy victory.
The All Star Racer built by Pat Dugan delivered the non-flying members of the JSA. Green Lantern delivered an identical ultimatum.
"That was coached," Major Disaster remarked.
"Are you resisting arrest?" the Flash inquired.
"Don't be stupid. Of course we're resisting," Libra sneered.
"Mistress, should we prepare to leave?" Scarab inquired.
"No. Despite the platitudes I gave Saturn Queen, my revenge is to be found here," Disco Mummy informed her acolytes, "Knightfall will suffer at my hand and be dethroned from Gotham's heart. I am the only empress this city will ever have."
"When do we begin?" Ghazia inquired.
"Is the new Green Mummy prepared?" Disco Mummy asked.
"The Hom-Dai is completed. The curse is laid and her undead powers activated. You should be able to sense her soon as her soul is bound in death," Ghazia promised, "Myra Pyram is with her now to oversee her taming."
"If she fails, I will personally break the new Green Mummy," Disco Mummy said easily, "She is not beyond my power."
"As you say," Ghazia bowed low.
"You still haven't mentioned when we shall fly into action," the Black Pharaoh reminded Erishkigal.
"You presume much familiarity," Disco Mummy said evenly, "Do not presume to be my equal when you so clearly inferior to me in every way,"
Black Pharaoh's pride burned in his heart but he knew even he didn't have enough power to thwart Disco Mummy's plans much less defeat her in open combat. Her power over death trumped everyone except for Black Hand, the maker and master of Black Lanterns.
"We simply await your word to act," Scarab deescalated the building tensions. It wasn't the first time Black Pharaoh had overstepped. Scarab doubted it would be the last. His darting gaze at Ghazia confirmed she felt the same.
"And where is my Wraps?" Disco Mummy chuckled over the name Aten Khalis had been given by the media.
"Standing by to assist Myra Pyram," Ghazia answered, "Should she need it."
"Let the heroes knock themselves against the forces of evil gathered in Gotham this day. Afterwards, they shall be crushed, when they are exhausted yet overconfident in their victory," Erish decided.
"A wise plan," Ghazia fawned.
"Yet, still Black Pharaoh doubts," Disco Mummy wore a cold smile, "It seems his pride needs breaking as well."
"I'm standing right here," Black Pharaoh protested.
"Then you should heed the warning in my words," Disco Mummy told him, "You amuse me. when you cease to, you will cease to exist as an independent creature. And there will be no reincarnating from that."
"Ask the Green Mummy," Scarab advised Black Pharaoh, "Perhaps you should observe Myra Pyram's progress even now."
"And think well on what happened to our previous Green Mummy when he displeased me," Disco Mummy advised Black Pharaoh, "Or of Scarlet Rose's fate. She thinks she has been released and has free will. But she is merely my tool that obeys my every whim. Perhaps that is already your fate."
Black Pharaoh when he left to check on the priestess' progress, clearly discomfited.
"Arrogant jackal," Disco Mummy snorted.
"He'll need to be dealt with," Scarab warned her.
"He's a snapping dog with no teeth. He can't harm me," Disco Mummy assured him.
"But there are now those on this world that can. Can we guarantee Black Pharaoh will not betray you to a rival? A real rival?" Scarab asked.
"Or that an interloper like Saturn Queen won't?" Ghazia asked as well.
"Saturn Queen worships the Blue Flame of Chaos. In my own way I also serve the Blue Flame's ambitions. I will see an Age of Chaos created and maintained until Existence ends," Disco Mummy smiled coldly, "As such, the Lords of Chaos will not allow Saturn Queen to betray me."
"I meant no disrespect," Ghazia begged forgiveness.
"Of course you didn't," Disco Mummy's smile became benign, "How could you? It's no longer in your nature after these long millennia."
Scarab felt a chill at those words. Peter Ward was the reincarnation of Kor, a high priest of Ra. Kor had been given his power ring by Nabu after Khufu and Chay'era were cursed and murdered and Black Adam was entombed. Nabu was elevated as Lord of Order thereafter and left Scarab alone to defend Egypt. Unaware that the ring created a reincarnation loop that would always reunite the ring with Kor's newest life.
Peter Ward had been an industrialist and amateur Egyptologist when the ring came to him after being "lost" for centuries. With the ring came Kor's memories and the discontented lives that had been separated from the ring throughout three thousand years of pain and torment caused by Scarab's enemies when they killed Kor. Scarab briefly attempted to be a modern superhero but quickly came under Disco Mummy's sway.
Meeting Ghazia had changed Kor's eternal destiny. The two souls were now intertwined. Scarab and Ghazia would reincarnate together or not at all. They both found it odd that neither served the gods they had become clerics to in their first life. But both were willing to spend eternity to achieve Disco Mummy's victory. A victory that Glorith, Saturn Queen, and the Emerald Empress seemed blissfully unaware of its coming in the far flung future. Instead they wasted time courting Vandal Savage. Erishkigal could deal with them in that future.
The Evil Queen and Wicked Witch of Oz were both immortal and long term rivals to contend with. Renfri knew it. Dorothy Gale was too short sighted to recognize it yet but she would. Disco Mummy had decided to eventually take her war to other Realms of Existence. But first she needed to secure a foothold in this one. As her plans changed so to did her choice of locations.
Knightfall inadvertently chose Gotham as Disco Mummy's target when she paraded about exulting in a victory she had little to do with. Hellequin and Red Alice had created the super villain coalition that defeated the Nazis and Imperialists. The Outlaws had been a happy side effect. Personally eliminating the Masked Leader and the Dragon King without implicating who hired them and helping disperse the Fourth Reich's remnants. Given the political climate with the advent of the horror stories of daily brutality under the occupation, even Secretary-General Luthor buckled under popular opinion.
He condemned the Masked Leader and Dragon King's ambitions for a separatist fascist state despite his having secured a majority of General Assembly votes to officially recognize it after the results of the rigged referendum were to be announced. It was no small achievement considering that the United States, United Kingdom, the Republic of France, the Russian Federation, and the People's Republic of China were united in opposition. But it was a "revenge vote" to punish the USA for any and all grievances. Now of course every nation had united in condemning attempt with rare exceptions. The North Koreans and the Islamic Republic alone still championing the Masked Leader and Dragon King's cause and demanding investigations into their murders.
The rest of the world was simply glad they were gone. Having now realized what a precedent that recognizing artificial regimes or rebel factions would have created for their own ideological opponents. Stormwatch and the Shadow Cabinet firmly entrenched in the resolution that they would never serve political aims again no matter how grave the need seemed to be.
Knightfall had persuaded Mayor Grange into keeping the Pax Mundi in the streets as peacekeepers even after the fascists were gone in order to insure that order would be maintained while Knightfall consolidated her control over Gotham's criminals. Dagar the Desert Hawk had consented to diverting the bulk of his forces to other crisis hot spots that Luthor directed the Pax Mundi's attention to. The GCPD, though understaffed, wasn't demoralized. Instead the largest Police Academy class in the history of the Department was enrolled following the Occupation.
Jacob Kane's Crows Security was also heavily recruiting from military units as US forces began a draw down in conflict zones. Dagar stayed on in Gotham, unwilling or unable to trust a subordinate to navigate the political minefields that arose every day as both the public sector and privatized police forces continually argued that the Pax Mundi was interfering in routine police matters and investigations for reasons yet unknown.
Even Empress Penguin had grown irate with the Pax Mundi as they dutifully released criminals licensed for crimes whether they exceeded the mandate of their licensed activity or not. Public complaints were spiking as criminals reacted violently even in the face of compliance or exceeded the express mandates of their license agreements. Such violations were followed by license holders refusing to pay their tax burden for the haul. The GCPD and Crows had been intended to carry on in Knightfall's plan for public confidence and to weed out such violations. The Pax Mundi's repeated interventions simply let the perps walk without an inspection of licensing terms. The GCPD and Crows responded by not reviewing any crime not involving homicides and underage sex crimes and drug abuse.
Knightfall was livid. Hellequin and Red Alice immediately abusing their guaranteed "free passes" to strike five Intergang controlled banks, simultaneously nonetheless, had created a shit storm for her with the Director and Big Boss, the Northern American Operations Manager. Now Black Mask was openly challenging her position. Intergang wanted to make an example of Hellequin, Red Alice, the Mad Hatter, and the Wonderland Gang and Knightfall wouldn't interfere. She'd given her word she herself wouldn't impede their operations, together or separately, but she hadn't excluded outsiders from doing so.
Intergang, rather than waste their own talent pool, hired professional contractors to kill the offender and recover the funds. Black Mask didn't care about what happened to the crew but he was willing to hand over fifty percent of the recovered cash as a finder's fee. Over one billion dollars of unregistered and uninsured dollars were up for grabs. And Knightfall alone knew what had happened to the money. Hellequin and Red Alice had sent her photos.
They'd filled an unknown number of warehouses with the cash and threatened to burn it all. Even Charise Carnes couldn't fathom simply destroying a billion dollars. Of course, the Wonderland Gang had kept millions to fund Mad Hatter's further nanotech production and buy the Gang's silence. But neither Hellequin nor Red Alice gave a damn about the money. The point of the exercise had been to wreak havoc. Which they had.
Even the Jokerz' excesses seemed to pale in comparison. Regina Swann was under strict orders not to assist or impede Intergang's investigators. Even though she felt she'd sent the Agatha detectives to their graves. Plastic Woman, Morgan, and Black Siren had confirmed that the Agathas entered Devil's Square quickly followed by Chelle Parker. Plas and her team were ordered to maintain a distance and not enter Devil's Square. But they were to keep Party Girl's car untouched. If the private investigators managed to live long enough to escape Devil's Square they'd need a reliable vehicle to flee in.
The former federal agents in Plas and Morgan wanted to go into the district but Black Siren grounded them. Even Empress Penguin lacked the authority to send people itno Devil's Square since they shared the same writ of immunity that Hellequin and Red Alice had been gifted for their part in restoring Knightfall to power. The triad of forces were to be the public menaces that galvanized the public around Knightfall's measured response to crime. No one had anticipated the largess of Hellequin and Red Alice's opening gambit or the Jokerz' recent restiveness.
Bank robberies were federal crimes since banks were federally insured. But the FBI was dismayed to learn all of the individual banks' listed assets were untouched. No robberies had officially occurred despite the deaths and property destruction. Which brought it back to the GCPD and the Crows. The five banks, owned on paper by Selina Wayne, refused to even attempt to explain emptied vaults. They merely cooperated in the murder investigations.
Commissioner Gordon and Agent Moore fed the FBI details of what they'd seen inside the banks. But the monies had never officially entered the banks. Which were used as repositories before the funds were moved to Trump casinos in Atlantic City and traditional mob casinos in Las Vegas to be laundered. All of whom were eager for Intergang to cover all gambling losses handed out to winners and overhead expenses in exchange for circulating the cash provided into the winnings and wages handed out in exchange for a reasonable percentage of the daily take. The percentage generally outperformed the losses at nearly five hundred dollars to one. For the casino owners it was pure profit margin. Who could ask for more?
The only price was to avoid asking questions regarding where the funds came from. That kind of business opportunity appealed to the greed of vain men who wanted to be attributed with great wealth and luxurious properties while doing nothing for it. After all, none of them could possibly ever be "losers". That was for lesser beings and especially for women. This was especially applicable to a certain real estate mogul that was also a reality TV star who got his jollies off telling people what losers they were and uttering the death sentence, "You're fired".
He'd supported the Masked Leader's bid for power so he could replicate it once it was established in international law when he would declare himself a literal "King of New York" and his family to be a line of succession. Then he would repay every imagined slight he'd thought he'd ever endured. Revenge politics at its most literal. Disco Mummy already had plans for egoists. She'd give them what they desired: power and literal immortality. The unspoken price: they would slaves to her every whim. And Disco Mummy could he quite whimsical. The price of going mad after five thousand years of being entombed alive. She hated the living. Which was why she would rule over a world of the dead. All damned to obey her every desire.
"Hey ladies! What'choo doin' How's it goin'?" a small mob surrounded Grace and Agatha Adams.
"No, no, no, that's not how we conduct auditions," the limp haired but custom label adorned J-Man chided them, "It's all about the unexpected, not handing out STDs. You want them to have a chance to go feral and beat you back at your own game."
"We don't have anything worth taking," Grace advised them all.
"We can negotiate the form of tribute we're owed thanks to your trespassing, Ms. Adams," J-Man advised her.
"You know who we are?" Grace was astounded.
"We have philosophical allies scattered throughout Gotham. Those that believe in our particular…genius," J-Man told them.
"What you need is to wash that green gunk out of your hair and cit it into something manageable," Agatha chided him.
J-Man broke into a fit of hysterical laughter, "You heard her boys. Now go wash your minds out with soap."
"What do you want with us, if you know who we are and why we're here?" Grace took over the conversation again.
"I want to tell you how I got these scars," he indicated the lines cut into his face from the corners of his mouth to his cheekbones, "Should I tell you?"
"I wouldn't care to know," Grace said coldly.
"It's tragic tale to be sure," J-Man shrugged, "But another time perhaps."
"What. Do. You. Want?" Grace grated.
"It's not what I want but what you want, isn't it?" J-Man inquired sharply, "You want Hellequin and Red Alice. I want into their little parlor of tricks. I was simply going to trade information with you but you were rude. Now you have to fight for it."
"Fight how?" Grace asked. J-Man opened his suit jacket to reveal it lined with sheathed knives.
He tossed two to the women, "The last one standing gets to ask me any question."
"But there's two of us," Grace reminded him.
"I know!" J-Man broke into another bout of laughter, "The rules equally apply to everybody."
A shot rang out and one thug's brains splattered.
"I guess I cheated bringing a gun to a knife fight," Chelle said as she approached. One of the toughs made to move on her and she killed him as well.
"Chelle Parker," J-Man said very slowly, "You should settle up your bar tab and leave this matter between us while you still can."
She killed a third man.
"He wasn't moving," Grace was shocked.
"I felt threatened though," Chelle explained.
"I believe her!" Agatha quickly added.
"Then I guess we even the odds," J-Man snapped his fingers. The twin sisters known as Dee Dee came cartwheeling in on one side and Card Queen flanked Chelle on the other side. Harvey Dent's daughter, Duela, had previously been known as Joker's Daughter as she admired the Joker far more than the neglectful Two-Face. But the Joker himself had rejected her before his "disappearance".
Card Queen had originally gathered the like-minded Jokerz. But the Phantasm's interference had liberated the upstart Punchline and Alexis Kaye seized control from Card Queen after the death of Neo Joker. Hellequin had disavowed the Jokerz after Knightfall and the Penguins cut through them to kill Christina Bell.
Punchline quickly proved her value and even Hellequin and Red Alice had sought her assistance during the Occupation. Securing the Jokerz' release from Knightfall's licensing requirements in exchange for the Jokerz' involvement in the resistance. If Hellequin had learned anything fighting the Justice Lords on Earth-2 and Red Alice at the feet of Red Claw on Earth Prime, it was how to run an underground army. Hellequin and Red Alice recruited Gotham's traditionally elite criminals or their legacy holders and the Injustice Gang to cooperate with Knightfall's public comeback.
A thorn in all the plans had been how to deal with the Masked Leader and the Dragon King. But whoever mysteriously hired the Outlaws to assassinate them did everyone a favor. Knightfall's contacts within the Outlaws and Intergang conformed that wasn't Waller or her intended dupe, Derek Powers, though benefited them greatly. Rumor was that Nyssa Raatko ordered the hit even after installing the Occupation.
But the Light had interrogated Nyssa and Ra's al Ghul and neither Black Canary nor her wife had actually hired the Outlaws even through a League of Shadows proxy. Prof. Hugo Strange of the Shadow Seven that oversaw the League of Shadows gained traction by installing a chapter of his Schoolgirl Sorority of Evil in Gotham U. in a negotiated settlement with Knightfall. But that was the only apparent gain any member of the Shadow Seven earned with the Masked Leader and Dragon King's demise. Prof. Strange had even abandoned his claim on Arkham Island in lieu of Jack Crane becoming Director of Arkham Asylum. Seemed that having the new Scarecrow in charge of the inmates appealed to Prof. Strange. But his rivals and opponents, Fright and Madame Crow, were enraged.
Deidre and Denise Dennis, better known as Dee Dee, disarmed Chelle.
"Too bad, Party Girl," they taunted her in stereo.
J-Man tossed Chelle a third knife, "Better get carving, Party Girl."
"Remember, last one standing can either join the Jokerz or ask one request of us," Card Queen reiterated the terms of the challenge.
"Get behind me," Chelle instructed the Adams as the auditioners lined up for the chances at the presumed easy prey. But one turned on the others and fights broke out between them.
"Distract Card Queen," Chelle whispered to the Adams.
"Which one is she?" Agatha adjusted the gain on her hearing aid.
"The one that brought her own gun," Chelle grated. Agatha went after Duela with her umbrella. Grace threatened her with J-Man's proffered knife. Chelle threw the knife at Dee Dee. While they dodged, Chelle dropped to one knee and Party Girl drew her backup piece out of her boot.
Chelle preferred Sig Saur pistols. She carried a compact 9mm as her main weapon and a .380 caliber as her second gun. She fired a round into Deidre's leg and that Dee dropped Chelle's pistol. She hit Denise's shoulder as that Dee went to retrieve the gun. Party Girl easily picked up her own weapon and fired with both at Card Queen as the Adams stopped in stunned silence. A 9mm round hit Duela's shoulder as a .380 hit her leg. The two knife fighters left standing halted. Party Girl ended them. Then she took aim at J-Man.
"Two guns. One target reaching into his jacket for a knife. What do you estimate my odds as being?" Chelle asked.
"I knew I liked you as soon as you started killing people," J-Man laughed.
"I'll give you an audition," Chelle offered, "Answer one question and you live."
"Ballsy, but stupid. You should've asked for free passage through our territory," J-Man chuckled.
"I'll take our chances," Party Girl replied.
"Ask and maybe I'll answer," J-Man offered.
"Are Hellequin and Red Alice even in Devil's Square anymore?" Chelle inquired.
"No, and quite a few have died trying to crack their puzzle box," J-Man's hand was inching towards his jacket. Party Girl put two bullets in him and he went down. Both of these went into his chest.
"You killed him anyway!" Grace exclaimed.
"He's wearing body armor under that customized suit," Chelle answered, "You can tell by the tailoring. But he'll be waking up in a minute and we need to be gone. I can get you out and a ride to your hotel. Then we're competitors again"
Chelle was as good as her word. Plastic Woman, Morgan, and Black Siren had kept Party Girl's car safe from potential vandals coming in and out of Devil's Square. They quickly vanished as Morgan spotted the trio emerging alive. The Adams were renting a furnished apartment by the week and Chelle delivered them to the front door inside the building.
"Why?" Grace asked.
"Why what?" Chelle wondered.
"Why come after us?" Agatha clarified, "Don't be stupid."
"Then you shouldn't have been. The first rule regarding Gotham is learn which districts are run by whom and the price of operations and admittance to each," Chelle explained, "So far working for Intergang has bought you an open door policy"
"We're working for a law firm. Mouthpiece and Assoc.," Grace replied.
"And who do you think their client is?" Chelle could only tolerate no much naivety.
"We'll be finding out, won't we?" Agatha glared at Grace.
"They're high end clients with plenty of work," Grace defended her choice.
"Sounds like they're mobsters. Or tools of them," Agatha accused.
"I'd listen to her," Chelle urged, "And they're just plain tools. They hired me in case you got killed. That, and I operate in Gotham all the time."
"Our office is in Hell's Kitchen," Grace defended the Adams Detective Agency's street cred.
"And you still almost got raped and killed tonight. And think they wouldn't postponed their Jokerz audition long enough to do a little gang rape. So you really want to put you r aunt through that? Again?"
"What do you mean 'again'?" Grace demanded to know.
"Grace, I think it's time we finally talk about why I never married," Agatha offered.
"What?" Grace was confused beyond words.
"Stay until your week's rent is up and then leave Gotham and don't look back," Chelle urged them, "Go back to Hell's Kitchen. You'll be safer there."
"You don't know the first thing about us," Grace snapped.
"Grace, honey, we really do need to talk a few things over," Agatha insisted, "Thank you, Ms. Parker. We really do owe you our lives. If you need witness statements, we'll be available"
"The cops and Crows won't go into Devil's Square and the Jokerz won't report anything anyway," Chelle shrugged, "Meanwhile, I need to have a little chat with some certain guardian Penguins."
"Excuse me?" Grace was baffled beyond reason now.
"She knows what she's doing," Agatha promised, "Thank you again, Ms. Parker."
"It's just Chelle," Party Girl offered.
"Agatha and Grace," she offered in return.
"Ms. Adams," Grace scowled.
"Have a safer night Agatha, Ms. Adams," Chelle said as she left. Then she called the Iceberg Lounge to schedule a meet with Plas, Morgan, and Black Siren.
Young Justice had geared up at Butch's garage apartment. The Newsboy Legion pointed them to the Narrows. Empress Penguin had ceded direct management of the district over to the Bonez Gang. Butch arranged for the KnightsQuest to provide rides from Tricorner to the Narrows. Those specific Questers, who'd been a former biker gang, settled in at a dive bar to await Young Justice's return.
"We need to avoid the Bonez," Red Robin told the Justicers, "They may not be endorsing Anarky's movement but it serves their ends."
"How do you know they aren't?" Flag Bearer inquired, "Endorsing him?"
"They didn't endorse me but they benefited from my actions against the city," Red Robin had told them the secret of his former identity against Dick Grayson's advice, "But the panic that my actions created fueled the Bonez' takeover of the Narrows. It enabled them to push the Neon Gang out far enough that Empress Penguin paid them off with another district."
"A paint factory?" Arrowette was skeptical.
"Green Arrow, the second one, used one in Los Angeles. Factories make for natural fortifications because the assembly lines and catwalks make natural mazes," Static explained, "A lot of old factories in Dakota City have been taken over by gangs."
"Nobody just squatting?" Flag Bearer asked.
"They get pushed out," Girl Detective explained, "And there isn't any power or heat readily available. The gangs at least pay for illegal hookups."
"But they don't pay the utilities and eventually get shut down again," Raven Red recalled, "So they have to bribe utility workers again in order to keep their drug production or shooting ranges running."
"We'll need to scout the territory," Arrowette warned them.
"Leave to me," Blue Streak darted off. A few minutes later she reappeared, "Many people with many guns. No outside power but have many generators."
"Which means they have to find a way to vent the monoxide fumes," Girl Detective deduced.
"Did they set the generators up in the smokestacks and just run power cords to their equipment?" Red Robin asked.
"Da," Blue Streak answered.
"Arrowette, do you have anything powerful enough to knock all the generators offline at the same time?" Red Robin asked.
"No. My EMP arrow is strictly short range intended to kill computer networks. But I have four explosive arrows. If we set timers and drop them down stacks, that'll kill most of their generators," Arrowette explained.
"It would leave just one stack cluster operational," Raven Red observed.
"Would also alert enemy," Blue Streak argued against it.
"They'll know we're coming even if you run in and start knocking people out," Flag Bearer warned her.
"So we don't go in," Static offered, "I can try and disable all five generator clusters together. They'll sweat it out but fear will drive them to come out and face whoever knocked them out."
"They'll be expecting an ambush," Raven Red counseled.
"So we give them one at just one exit/entry point to flush them out of the rest," Arrowette stated, "I just need Devilina's help."
Devilina Dare had been quiet until now, "That's workable. Cissie and I can hit at further ranges until Virgil gets back on the ground."
"Three exits," Blue Streak offered before anyone could ask, "One north. One northeast. One southwest."
"What a fire trap," Flag Bearer complained.
"That's the way they built them in the day," Red Robin grimaced, "Arrowette and Devilina, take the Southwest corner and push them back."
"That still leaves us two corners to control," Raven Red complained.
"Not control. Observe," Blue Streak already understood the underlying strategy.
"She's right. We're pushing this Anarky to a secondary position. One that isn't as reinforced. The bulk of his people will scatter to avoid capture. But Anarky himself and his top lieutenants will relocate. We simply follow them and take them there," Red Robin explained.
"What if we can't identify Anarky?" Girl Detective asked.
"We'll have to split up to follow leading suspects," Static countered, "They'll cluster despite urgings not to just as an instinctual precaution."
"You three have the most experience," Raven Red indicated Red Robin, Arrowette, and Static, "You all in on this?"
Flag Bearer was miffed her tenure with the Shadow Crusaders didn't seem to count. They all agreed to the plan as is.
"Then I just to get on the roof," Static grinned after everyone bought into the plan, reluctantly or not.