Young Justice: The Hunter

by NewMystery356

"The Bow and Arrow: Beautiful in its simplicity. Is it coincidence that every culture on Earth developed it independent of one another? Or is it something else? Something in our blood? Something... primal, that allowed us to manifest it? Of course, the trickiest part about hunting, is making sure you're the hunter, and not the hunted. Which are you? I know damn sure what I am."

14. From the Borderlands

NeoNazo356: Alright, we've got a bunch of good Reviews here, given that last-chapter we revealed a few more pseudo-crossovers. From ForteOfTheBallad98 we have- "I like how Virgil's attracted to Yoko, but several questions; is she his age in this story, and will anything come of it in the future?" For the record, ANY hot-blooded male would be attracted to Yoko's "badonkadonks" as Tiny Tina would say, so his male attraction towards her goes without saying. As for her age, this iteration is in her 30s. For those of you that don't know, in Yoko's first canon appearance, she's only 14, yet she looks like THAT. Big shocker huh?

Spaceman: The heroes of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann are the analogues of the Hunterverse. Unlike the universe in which the fear of Spiral Power forced the remnants of humanity into the depths of the Earth and they used that same power to pierce the heavens, Team Gurren have lived "normal" lives. I use the word "normal" subjectively, because even in the Hunterverse there uniqueness shines through. They were born free of oppression, but it's still a mad world of Capes.

NeoNazo356: I've given hints as to another two characters from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, but the majority of their backstory won't be explained yet since it isn't relevant. From Tz342 we have- "What I want to know is how much impact you character will have on the canon Young Justice story & how will you deviate from the series events."

Spaceman: In the beginning the amount of interaction between Virgil and the Team would be very little. The Team has their own missions and Hunter has his own, the main difference is Hunter knows the meaning of the word "Covert". Interactions will increase as Hunter makes his own contributions and interacts more. Hunter will never be part of the (YJ) Team, but they will know of his existence in the future.

NeoNazo356: Introducing a new character to the core of a universe's lore is like tossing a rock into a pond with lily pads. All the little stuff gets moved ever-so-slightly. Like how in the Flashpoint Paradox, when he went back in time and prevented the murder of his mother, it made Aquaman an adulterer, the Amazons were man-haters, Lex Luthor and Slade Wilson were good guys, and so on. Lastly, from Naruto-Hiraishin we have- "¿el nano-suit se unirá simbioticamente a virgilio?" –which translates into- "Is the Nanosuit symbiotically joined to Virgil?"

Spaceman: The Nanosuit is symbiotically connected to Virgil, but unlike the protagonist of Crysis it's not completely fused into his body. Virgil's body is filled with nano-machines, but the majority of his power lies when they are joined together.

NeoNazo356: In future pre-chapter Author's Commentary, only 3 questions will be answered from the Reviews of the previous chapter. That means if you want to know something not yet stated in the story, assuming it isn't Spoiler-related, you'll have to ask via Review. "Guest" Reviews don't count. Also, don't be afraid to say what you do or don't like. Comments that don't fall under "good story" or "update more" help improve the quality of the work.

Spaceman: The Hunter is not the only Epic Story that I'm helping Neo develop. There is also a RWBY fic dedicated to the late Great Monty Oum (taken too quickly). If you want to see another bad ass in the making, another world of adventure, go check out Giant-Slayer. Two Words: Honey Badger.

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

Bludhaven
September 13, 08:30 EST

"VIRRRRGILLLLL! MAIL CALL!" Tina's voice called out the following morning through the bedroom door.

"I'll be down in a minute!" Virgil said from his spot on the floor. At the moment his Makarov Pistol was disassembled on the floor in front of him, the pieces organized atop a large army green bandanna. That morning, he had disassembled his firearm mainly to get the motions down into memory, so that someday he could disassemble, clean, and reassemble it like it were second-nature.

While he estimated that his accuracy with a bow and arrow was anywhere from 90 to 95% in favorable conditions, those estimates were from before he'd lost his bow and arrow more than a month back in what used to be Manhattan. If he didn't find a place to practice, and a bow to practice with, his accuracy with the long-standing weapon was sure to take a nosedive. Until he could acquire both, he'd have to settle for a sidearm.

Being an employee for Marcus Munitions, he was privy to the firing range underneath the store that dedicated patrons could use to test their firearms before buying. Unfortunately, he was not exempt from having to pay full-price for the rounds he would go on to spend while honing his accuracy with a firearm.

Of course, that was assuming he bought his ammo from Marcus.

It was a little under-handed, but by going over Marcus' head to his boss, Balalaika, he was able to acquire 9x18mm Makarov cartridges at a slightly-reduced margin.

To clarify, he didn't get it from Balalaika herself, but one of her people who handled distribution of ammo.

Still, no firearm in the world could replicate the satisfying tug of a bowstring against your arm as it's drawn back. Or the gratifying *thunk* of an arrow landing its target.

"Accept no substitutes," Virgil muttered to himself as he rose from his seat, flexing his right arm as he did so.

Locking his door behind him, and satisfied that no-one would mess with Makarov (yes, he named his gun), he walked down the stairs into the living room where, true to form, there was a package waiting for him. It was about the size of a shoebox wrapped in nondescript brown paper. There was no return address, only a white sticker that said To: Vincent.

While Virgil's name was legally Vincent, he still preferred to call himself Virgil. It wasn't like there was anything wrong with calling yourself a different name than what you were legally, as long as you didn't do so on any documents where that would be considered falsifying information.

And of course, his name now being that of one of the iconic characters from Final Fantasy VII, was also a source of much good-natured teasing once he'd shown everyone his new ID showing he was now legal. There were even jokes thrown around about having Athena making him an authentic-looking triple-barreled revolver for Christmas.

Such a thing in real life might've had the stopping power to knock a full-grown gorilla onto its ass. And give it a total of five nostrils to breathe through instead of two. And potentially the recoil to break every bone in his wrist.

Still, it would be a nice sentiment.

"Alright my little paper-wrapped friend," Virgil said as he dug his balisong (Bailey) out of his pocket and twirled it open. "Let's see what you've got under the hood," he said sliding the knife between the folds, shearing the paper free in only a few deft swipes.

"What'chu got there?" Tina asked peeking over his shoulder.

"Don't know yet," Virgil said as he tossed the paper away, seeing a nondescript shoebox within, held in place by a piece of twine. Snipping the line, the lid was now free to be pulled free. Sitting on top of something wrapped in more paper was a new smartphone, colored black with silver accents, and underneath the phone was a note that said-

Don't call us. We'll call you.

"Of course that's what it says," Virgil said as he turned the phone over in his hand. On the back was the same symbol that was on the canister of Nanobot Primer back in NYZ, casting aside all doubts that the package was from the same people that made the suit. "I guess the signing bonus must be in here," he said poking a finger under the paper barrier in the way.

"How much you think's in it?" Tina asked.

"Not sure. But the majority is probably filler accompanied by a small amount of large bills," he said lifting the paper free and then turning the box overhead. "Or…" he gawped as a small *thud* sounded. "It could be zero filler and all bills," he said looking at the numerous stacks of dollar bills laid out in front of him.

"Daaayumn girl! You must be pimping yourself out to these people hard!" Tina blurted out as she leafed through large stacks of 5 and 10 dollar bills.

"Who's pimping themselves out?" Athena said before her jaw dropped. "Oh my god! What on Earth are you doing for these people?!"

"Well I'm certainly not pimping myself if that's what you're thinking!" Virgil snapped before he turned his attention back to the money. As far as Moxxi and her daughters knew, he'd stolen an experimental battle suit from a corrupt government faction, and the rightful owners were paying him for future services rendered. "Geez, it's going to take forever to count all this."

A moment later and a slightly beat-up digital money-counter was dropped on the table with a *Thud*

"Not with Sir Moneybags it won't," Tina stated.

" . . . She named the money-counter?" Virgil asked Athena. "Why do you even have one of these?"

"Hey, my mom can rake in a ton of tips, and using one of these is simply faster than counting them by hand," the resident genius answered.

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

After an hour of counting nearly 1800 bills, and then re-counting to make doubly-sure, the sum total of the 5s and 10s in the package equated to $10,000 exactly. They were all fresh off the presses with non-sequential serial numbers, and they were undoubtedly real. Something Marcus had insisted upon teaching him, should he ever have to man the register while the husky Russian was out of the store, was the ability to recognize counterfeit bills at a glance.

"So… What're you going to do with it?" Athena asked as she and Virgil sat on the couch, the box filled with bills situated between them, Tina off to the side snoring away.

"Well, I can legally start a bank account now, but if I tried putting all this in the bank, I'd look really guilty," Virgil stated as he pat the box filled with money. "For the time being, I'll stash this away under my bed or something and pull money out of it as I need it," he said as he dipped his hand into the box and fished out a couple 10s and a number of 5s.

"That would be the smart thing to do," Athena admitted. " . . . So you're really going to work for those people, huh?" she asked as she looked at the emblem on the back of the smartphone that came with the money.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I can't just go to 'back to normal'. Not after what I've seen."

"If you don't mind me asking… what did you see?"

" . . . I'm not comfortable talking about that right now."

" . . . Don't you trust me?"

"That isn't it. It's just… It hurts when I remember."

"Oh… I see…"

'No… You don't…' Virgil said as he picked up the box and went upstairs.

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

Bludhaven
September 19, 22:45 EST

The week following had been business as usual; with the exception of Nanosuit-clad after-hours activities. Virgil would wake up at six, eat breakfast and have lunch packed by seven thirty, work at Marcus Munitions from eight to three, and train with the Russians from three thirty to six-thirty. He'd get home by around seven, help out in the bar if need be, eat dinner at around nine, and be in bed by ten.

With the money from the signing bonus he'd received, he'd been able to buy one or two more things that had been on his To Do list.

While he had a sidearm that could be kept on-hand while he walked the streets, home-defense was a completely different beast altogether. Given he lived in the bad side of Bludhaven (though compared to NYZ it was like a walk through a flowery meadow), and home invaders could range from thieves to crackheads to drug fiends, he needed something with plenty of stopping power that could put a man down in a single shot.

Self-defensively of course. And that's where Jakobs manufacturing came in.

Founded by Montgomery Jakobs some three hundred years ago when the man bolted on the sandalwood grip onto the company's first revolver, Jakobs was one of the longest-standing firearm manufacturers the world over. Though the employees of Jakobs no longer shared the same last name, they still treated their own like family, and it reflected in their dedicated customer service towards those who purchased their firearms. Though their manufacturing techniques were highly unorthodox, in that they used human-manned assembly lines with dedicated craftsman as opposed to machine-manned ones, the company was built upon a strong following since the 1700s that continued to persist upon generations of satisfied customers.

While nowhere near the fanciest thing on the market, Virgil was pretty satisfied with the Well Kept Coach Gun he'd ordered from Jakobs HQ in Austin, Texas. Breech loaded and double-barreled with simple iron sights, based on how he'd turned the firing range dummies into confetti, he wagered that anyone unfortunate enough to be on the business end of it would be given thirteen or so superfluous new assholes. And lead poisoning.

If there was one thing Jakobs was good at, it was making a damn powerful firearm that could blow a man clean in half. Hell, Texas' law enforcement accredited their state's lack of supervillains to Jakobs' line of pistols and revolvers. They weren't anything that would make you change your religion, but when you bought from Jakobs, you bought the same guarantee that saw thousands of families through the expanding frontier.

After buying from America, he then went on to purchase some Russian-made tools. A little loyalty went a long way with Hotel Moscow, and it showed when they started teaching him how to throw knives. He'd purchased a box set of thirty and had gotten pretty good at it. Not to the point he'd be willing to re-enact a William Tell scene, but good enough that he could let one fly before the guy in front of him could line up a shot from close range. Boris had even shown him how to use a Ballistic Knife, since the last thing most people expected was for you to shoot your knife at them.

The old adage is "Don't bring a gun to a knife fight.", but with a Ballistic Knife you could have both.

He still had a great deal of money left over, and he could easily put down a deposit on a new place, but he decided to hold off on moving out until he got a dedicated paycheck from the woman he had become contractually obligated to.

Apart from what he spent on guns and knives, he put a decent amount into Moxxi's tip jar to pay for the food, electricity, and water that she spent on him. She may've been a little loose when it came to who she shared her bed with, but if you look past all that and Madeline "Mad" Moxxi was genuinely a good person.

Better than most he'd met in Foster Care. Like the Sweds, or the North Koreans.

"I wonder just how long they'll make me wait," Virgil asked from his spot on the couch as he looked at his phone. Like the last one, he'd had Athena run an in-depth analysis of the handheld device, and apart from the large memory and processing power that surpassed most everything else on the market, there wasn't anything too remarkable about it. There weren't any bugs for reverse-tracking either, so trying to find his prospective employers was also a bust.

As for why the last one self-destructed and Athena hadn't caught it. It wasn't so much the blow-up-in-your-face kind of self-destruct, but closer to an electronics-frying self-destruct that turned the innards into useless slag.

'At least I won't have to worry about this one going up in flames,' he thought to himself as he put the phone in his pocket. Lacing his fingers behind his head, he leaned back and closed his eyes, reflecting on the past week before the creaking of couch springs to his right caught his attention. Looking to the side, he saw Athena typing away on her laptop, and from what he could tell she was looking at nautical charts, running calculations on a separate screen. "What'cha up to?"

"I'm trying to extrapolate when our housemates will return from overseas," the blond answered.

"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about them. The ones who live in four of the other rooms on the third floor, right?"

"Yes. Their work schedule is pretty infrequent, but when it comes down to the major holidays, those guys can pull off a miracle and get back to the states at a moment's notice."

"I see, I see," Virgil nodded. "What're they like?"

"Well…" Athena said as she scratched her cheek. "They really fit in with our zany family if that's saying anything. Tina almost seems normal next to those guys."

"Huh. Good for her," Virgil said with a smile.

*Tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap*tap* " . . . " *Tap* " . . . Oh my goodness!" the blond suddenly blurted out. "Mom! Mom! You need to see this!" Athena said as she scampered down the stairs, laptop in hand.

" . . . I don't think I've ever seen her so flustered," the brunette stated. "Hm. I wonder what's on TV," he said hitting the power button on the remote. "OOH! World's Dumbest indeed," he said channel-surfing onto a scene of a man sitting atop an airbag before detonating it.

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

Bludhaven
September 20, 06:35 EST

As it turned out, the return of Moxxi's other tenants from overseas had come around sooner than expected. Most of the time, in whatever part of the world they were in, they seldom had a reliable internet connection, so communication overseas was spotty at best. Moxxi usually had a few days' notice of when they'd get back to the states, but this time around they'd managed to slip under the radar.

At that very moment they were in the final leg of their trip home, returning to the states by sea on your run-of-the-mill passenger/cargo ship. When Virgil asked why they didn't simply come home by plane, since the same trip in hours by air took days by sea, he was only told that their job wasn't really conducive to the airlines. Having his own secrets, Virgil chose not to try digging any deeper than that.

Tina was practically bouncing off the walls after hearing they were coming back, and the previous night they'd actually had to tranq her with a rag of chloroform so she'd go to sleep.

After breakfast that morning, while Moxxi opened up the bar for the early-comers and Rina stayed behind to help out, Shaula, Athena, Tina, and Virgil all circled around Moxxxi's Red Light Bar to the garage behind it.

"So we're going to be driving downstate to pick them up, right?" Virgil asked.

"Pretty much," the older girl replied from his right. "Oh, by the way, you'll need these," she said reaching into her pocket.

"Hm? Car keys?" Virgil asked as nondescript set of keys were dropped into his hands. "What're these for?"

"Because you're going to be driving us on the way down. Duh," the dark-haired girl sighed.

"I know that," Virgil snapped back. "I'm asking why I'm the one that's driving us down there."

"Because you've got a legal learner's permit, and mom wants you to get some practice in before you apply for your license," Shaula replied.

"Ah… Okay then…" Virgil replied as he stuffed the keys into his pocket. He wasn't super confident in his driving ability, but that might've been because last time he was behind a wheel, he had to run over fifty mutated pedestrians before ducking into the sewer for three hours.

Shit got real crazy in New York Zero.

"Oh, and that reminds me for whatever reason. You know how to drive stick, right?" Shaula asked as they rounded the corner to the garage.

"Um… No…" Virgil answered as the doors rose.

"Well, the van's an automatic, so you're in luck," Shaula said as the doors rose all the way, the morning light pouring into the garage-sized storage unit. Held therein was a black and metallic gray GMC Vandura van, with red stripes on the side, black and red turbine mag wheels, and a rooftop spoiler.

Overall, it looked like something straight out of the A-Team series.

"Yes, it looks like the A-Team's van," Shaula said taking the words out of his mouth, ushering the others in.

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

Happy Harbor
September 20, 07:45 EST

Driving a car in a video game had nothing on the real thing. Same with guns.

Thankfully, Virgil was a fast learner, and he managed to avoid hitting anything on the trip downstate. Compared to Gotham and Metropolis to the north, Happy Harbor was pretty light on the villain-count.

Happy Harbor itself was a small municipality in the state of Rhode Island, your typical small port town that couldn't gain enough economic momentum to warrant becoming a city. Everything about it was pretty typical from the stores to the schools to the ports that largely dealt in passenger transport, as Happy Harbor lacked the facilities to handle larger cargo ships.

Or rather, almost everything was typical.

Right on the outskirts just to the north was a large mountain known as Mount Justice, the former HQ of the Justice League before it was moved to the more-public venue in Washington DC. While tourists were not allowed to go in, they were still free to take pictures from the outside, and the sight of it was able to bring enough people to qualify as a tourist attraction.

Of course, the ones riding the A-Team van weren't there for any of that.

Bringing the A-Team van to Park at the harbor, the moment the van doors opened, the smell of salty ocean air washed over Virgil's senses. Now, living in Bludhaven, and Manhattan before that, the smell of ocean air wasn't all that new to him. However, the subtle differences were pretty noticeable. He wasn't sure if it was the Nanobots in his system or not, he'd have to ask just how far his senses were being pushed next chance he got.

Back to the point… The air near Happy Harbor's port had a "cleaner" feel to it than Bludhaven. Possibly because Happy Harbor was rural, while Bludhaven was decisively more urban. Also, rampant chemical spills in Bludhaven's past had scared off a great deal of the aviary wildlife, so the squawks and calls of seagulls was another big difference. Overall, Happy Harbor just seemed so much "brighter" than Bludhaven. Probably where the "Happy" prefix came from, since it was actually pretty nice in general.

"Hm. It's nice, but I wouldn't want to live here," Virgil said as he shut the van door behind him. He was a city-kid at heart after all, and not even five minutes in Happy Harbor already bored him to tears.

"Who're you talking to?" Athena asked.

"No one. Just talking to myself," the brunette replied. "So… When's our ship coming in?"

"Hmmm… There appears to have been a delay out at sea, so they actually won't arrive for a couple hours past initial projection," the blond hummed to herself. The reason they left as early as they had was so they'd beat the morning traffic, and it was a Sunday, so they might as well relax a little.

"Aw maaaan. That totally sucks," Tina pouted.

"Don't mope. They'll get here when they get here. Until then, all we can do is wait," Shaula said lacing her fingers behind her head, the ocean wind brushing through her hair. "Hey sis. There anything to do around here?"

"Well…" she said typing into her handheld computer. "There is the Bowl-o-Rama, and we could always get lunch at the Sandbar Internet Café. Their ship should be coming into port at around one. Two at the latest."

"Well, that settles it. We're going bowling," Shaula said as she reigned Tina back in. The little blond only got this excitable whenever her housemates got back from overseas. Or she got her hands on some good nitroglycerin. Or whenever Saturday morning cartoons were about to come on.

And don't even get me started on when all three happened to coincide.

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

The four of them proceeded to bowl for a couple of hours at the Bowl-o-Rama, especially since they were having a special that day. Shaula being the most-athletic scored the highest at an average of 260 out of 300 per game, Virgil trailing behind her at about 240. Tina managed around 210, if only because she came close to strikes, the typical mindset that came with hand grenades. Athena's score… was less than impressive.

All the math in the world didn't mean a thing if you couldn't carry the equations out off-paper.

After that came lunch, though instead of having it at the internet café, they had it on the boardwalk since it was closer to the docks. The stuff they ate was practically swimming in grease, and choc-full of calories, but it was the weekend, and none of them attended public school, so what the hell?

And thus, in the blink of an eye, one-thirty rolled around, and the ship they had been waiting for finally came into port. It was your typical, middle-sized passenger/cargo ship that was pretty nondescript in the way that you could mistake it for the hundreds of others like it out at sea.

"Are they here yet?"

"No."

"Are they here yet?"

"No!"

"Are they here yet?"

"YES! Yes, they are here!" Shaula screamed.

"LIAR!" Tina shrieked indignantly.

'There are many things I'd be willing to do for my friends. Do their chores, drive them downstate, take a bullet for them,' Virgil thought to himself. 'Throwing myself on the live hand grenade that's Tiny Tina Nobel… is not one of them.'

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

While the actual time between their arrival at the port and their friends returning from overseas was only a few minutes, with Tina's incessant prattling, it dragged on for what felt like an eternity. What's worse is they couldn't just use chloroform on her, which for some reason Shaula kept on-hand, because that would lead to all kinds of misunderstandings in a public venue like that.

Eventually, their torment came to an end as the ship finally got roped down to the moorings, and Tina instead settled for bouncing on her heels as passengers began to disembark.

"So… What exactly am I looking for?" Virgil asked Shaula, wanting to know just who he was supposed to be flagging down.

"You ever watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?" the older girl asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"Well, imagine that, except they're human, and they're mercenaries, and one of them's a girl."

" . . . That doesn't sound anything like TMNT."

"Yeah… Probably wasn't the best example," Shaula shrugged. "Oh well, it doesn't matter."

"Why not?"

"Because Tina already flagged them down," Shaula said pointing off to the side, Athena standing in the company of three men and one woman. Tina at the moment had climbed onto the shoulders of one of them, and was asking questions without end.

The one being asked questions without end was a tall man with brown skin, dark brown eyes, and well-muscled giving off a soldier's vibe. His attire consisted of a gray muscle shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a black-and-green Kevlar chest plate, desert camouflage cargo pants, and black boots. Around his neck he wore a faded red scarf, and a black cap with a short visor and a pair of silver goggles over his head. On his left shoulder, forearms, knees, and shins he wore army green armor with red accents bearing numerous dents and scratches, a pair of gray leather gloves on his hands. On the small of his back, he was synching what appeared to be a large combat knife.

At his side was a lithe, but athletically-built woman with a slight hourglass figure, pale skin, and golden-colored eyes, her shoulder-length scarlet-colored lochs brushed to the right, and gradating into white at the tips. Her attire consisted of a red tube top revealing a small bit of her cleavage, a faded yellow hoodie zipped up halfway with the sleeves rolled up, a leather gray-colored vest with a fur-lined collar, black shorts, brown leather chaps, and black boots that stopped mid-shin. At the moment she was securing a gun holster to her right thigh containing a pistol, a set of gray fingerless gloves on her hands and red bands around her wrists.

The thing that stood out about her the most, was the intricate array of wavy, almost alien-looking blue-colored tattoos that covered most of the left side of her body. They covered the side of her neck, the entirety of her arm, her sternum and her left breast, the left side of her visible midriff, and her left thigh as was visible through a tear in her pants. Underneath her left eye were a trio of matching dots arranged horizontally, which really brought out the color of her eyes and hair.

Standing off to the side with his back turned to the others was a rather skinny man with only a small amount of muscle on him. He had slightly-tanned skin, but the majority of his features were covered by a brown leather mask that covered almost the entirety of his face, his eyes covered by red-lensed goggles, black dreadlocks spilling out the back, and a pointed beard on his chin. His attire consisted of a blue short-sleeved shirt that stopped at the bicep, a padded brown leather vest over that, a red sash around his waist, black pants with cargo pockets, and brown leather boots wrapped in black mini-belts. He had a thick leather vambrace on his left arm, black leather gloves with red accents, and he was securing a silver and black-accented revolver on his right hip.

They say you shouldn't operate heavy machinery while drinking, which he was. Only, instead of heavy machinery, he had a bird on his arm. And not just any bird, but an African Crowned Eagle. Its crown was a rufous-tinged shade of brown with a prominent oft-raised black-tipped touble crest, the upper parts of its body a blackish brown-grey color with a variable tinge of blue. Its throat was brown, while its underbelly and breast was white overlaid densely with blackish bars and blotches. The wings were white at the base, broadly tipped with black and crossed by two black bars, the tail black with brownish-grey bands. Its thighs were barred and closely spotted with black and white, its feet covered in yellow scales and long black talons that easily gripped the drinking man's arm. Its forward-facing eyes were colored like gold, and when he and it locked eyes, he could just tell it had killed Humans before. And probably a lot of other things.

Found in the rainforests of tropical Africa, the African Crowned Eagle measured around 90 centimeters long and possessed a 2 meter wingspan. While only weighing anywhere from 5 to 10 pounds, this bird of prey was capable of hunting creatures up to 77 pounds. Known as the "leopard of the air", its main killing weapon were its deadly talons which were strong enough to crush the skull of a monkey and kill it instantly, sometimes causing its eyes to pop out of their sockets. Even the mandrill, the largest monkey in the ecosystem, was not safe from the attack of the African Crowned Eagle. In prehistoric times, these eagles preyed on our australopithecine ancestors as well, evidenced by the talon marks found in the two million year-old skulls of juvenile hominines.

Of course, the only reason Virgil knew any of this, was because he happened to catch a special on Animal Planet the day before.

And the internet, but only because something called the "leopard of the air" warranted further research online.

The last of the four, whose shoulder Tina was sitting on, well, to put it frankly, he was fuckin' biiiiiiig. Standing well over six feet in height, the guy was a veritable mountain range of muscle, and it looked like he had more muscle than the other three did together. His hair was buzzed incredibly short, a scar running up his left cheek from his lip, across his right temple, with other less-noticeable scars across his face. He was far from pretty, but the guy looked like he could get shit done, and didn't take shit from no-one. The man's arms were as thick as tree trunks featuring numerous scars, some deep, others not, and his massive meat hunks (Scooter-talk for "hands") looked like they could pulp a man's head like a ripe tomato. Over his chest he wore a sleeveless gray muscle shirt, and the article of clothing was practically struggling to accommodate his muscular frame, every slight movement causing the slabs of muscle covering his body to visibly shift like tectonic plates. The blue jeans he wore struggled similar to their neighbor upstate, and the guy looked like he was one good squat-thrust away from being buck naked, a number of horizontal tears visible across the material. On his feet he wore brown leather boots with extra plating crudely bolted into place, while on his forearms he wore dirty gray bandages above fingerless gray gloves, metal plates with bolts crudely attached placed over the backs of his hands.

All in all, if someone told him this guy was the world's strongest human who wasn't an SPB or taking performance-enhancers, he'd believe them in a heartbeat. The guy looked like he was swimming in testosterone, so the brunette could only imagine what kind of shit the guy could fuck up on an adrenaline high.

Probably turn Bane into a greasy smear on the ground, but that was neither here nor there.

"Who… Who are these guys?" Virgil saw fit to ask with a slightly dumbstruck expression on his face. Now, most things couldn't surprise him anymore, but the vibe the four of them gave off, especially together, just screamed "Badass!" So naturally, his curiosity was piqued.

"Your housemates," Shaula answered, completely nonplussed by their appearances. "The guy who doesn't know how to smile is Roland, the redhead is Lilith, the drunkard is Mordecai, and the pillar of muscle is Brick."

"What're their last names?" the brunette asked.

"They don't tell, mom doesn't ask. It's easier that way," Shaula shrugged off as she walked over to them, Virgil taking the cue to do the same. "Mordy, hitting the sauce pretty hard ain't ya?" she asked the drinking man.

"Hey, it's five o'clock somewhere," Mordecai said as he took another swig. The guy looked like a lightweight, but then again appearances could be deceiving. For all Virgil knew, the guy could shave the wings off a fly's back from a mile away while under the influence. And not kill the fly.

Of course, the little bugger might have a teeny-weeny heart attack and die anyway, but that's beside the point.

"Hey Shaula," Lilith said with a wave. "Who's the kid?"

"He's your housemate and Marcus' newest errand boy. Virgil."

"Sup?" Lilith greeted.

"Um… Not much," the brunette replied. The redhead in front of him wasn't quite as sexy as Yoko, but her hair, eyes, and the tattoos across the left half of her body gave her an exotic look that the busty photographer couldn't match.

"So. How did you wind up staying at Moxxi's?" Roland saw fit to ask.

"That's his way of saying hello," Lilith said with a wave of her hand.

"I uh... was kinda down on my luck, didn't have anywhere else to go, and she was kind enough to take me in after I helped Tina out of a bind," the brunette answered.

"He took out the trash Robo-Cop style," Tina said making kung-fu chops and kicks.

"It didn't happen quite like that, though a dumpster may have been involved," the brunette admitted.

"Well, it's nice to meet you," Lilith said extending her left hand, and giving Virgil a strong shake. "Tell me, how's old man Marcus doing?"

"He's still a fat, slightly out-of-shape Russian if that's what you're asking."

" . . . I think we're going to get along just fine."

"We should get moving. This whole area is a poor tactical position waiting to happen," Roland said keeping an eye on the crowd, those on the docks parting around them like the Red Sea.

"I take it your friend there is all-business?" Virgil asked.

"Yeah, but that's just the way he is. You'll get used to it," Lilith replied.

"Keep your shirt on soldier-boy," Shaula said pulling out a list from her pocket. "With you and Virgil here, we've got ten mouths to feed, so we'll need to pick up some things from town before heading back home."

"There's probably a farmer's market around here we can use," Athena said cuing up the information on her personal computer.

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

After squeezing into the A-Team-esque van, Brick's head touching the ceiling even from a sitting position... on the floor, the party of eight managed to arrive at the Happy Harbor Farmer's Market without incident. The group disembarking from the van in short order, it was obvious from the get-go that the group returning from from overseas, the Fortune Hunters as Shaula told them, cut an impressive figure among the more placid populous. It may or may not have had to do with the fact that one of them was the tallest person in probably the entire state, while the other had a bird that looked like it ate house pets for breakfast. While an officer did confront them about their weapons, the Fortune Hunters were able to cast suspicion aside after displaying their mercenary paperwork, which similar to bounty hunters, enabled them to carry weapons on their person.

Within reason.

Heck, Virgil had Makarov, Bailey, and his Ballistic Knife (which he had yet to name) stashed away on his person in case shit hit the fan.

As the last Fourth of July demonstrated, shit could hit the fan at any given moment, and it would go everywhere.

With Shaula's shopping list divided into pieces, the group of eight split off into groups of three to stock up. It was a miracle all eight of them were able to squeeze into the van like they were, and with enough food to feed ten people it was bound to only be worse, but Athena was sure they could safely make their way back home after loading up.

Roland remained at the entrance, back to the fence and arms crossed, his military training compelling him to guard exit, his mere presence frightening off juvenile delinquents like scared rabbits. Brick and Tina went off to buy meat, the little girl riding high atop the man's meaty shoulder like it were a park bench. Shaula accompanied Mordecai and Bloodwing, the two of them sent off to buy dairy and grains. This left Athena with Virgil Shaula, who were stocking up on fruits and vegetables.

"So Lilith, if you don't mind me asking..." Virgil said as his eyes glanced at the pistol on her hip. "What exactly do you and your friends do for a living? If you mind me asking."

"A little of this, a little of that," the woman replied casually.

"Ah. Neat," Virgil replied. That didn't really tell him anything, but he could safely guess it involved mercenary work in warring countries. Mercs didn't have the most exemplary reputation since the advent of super-powered mercenaries, but the Fortune Hunters didn't seem like your conventional to-the-highest-bidder group. If Moxxi could trust them, let them into her home, then he could trust them too.

"What about you? I hear you're Marcus' new errand boy. Anything else I should know?" Athena asked as she came up upon a fruit vendor and began looking over the apples.

"Well... I do have other work lined up, but I'm still waiting to hear back from them," Virgil admitted.

"Hm. I see," Lilith said as she had a few apples bagged up. "So... The two of you a couple or what?" she prodded playfully, motioning to how the two of them were practically shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Wh-Wh-What?!" both Athena and Virgil stuttered. "We-We're not like that!" the blond stammered. "We're just friends! Just, friends!" she punctuated nervously, her face heating up into a flush. Virgil was equally red-faced, clamping his mouth shut.

"Well, I'm just saying," Lilith said with a shrug of her shoulders. "The two of you make a cute couple."

"U-Um... Well I... uh..." Athena said trying to find her tongue as the older woman teased her. Looking for some avenue of escape, she then pointed off into the distance. "Look at that!" she stated, both Lilith and Virgil following to what she was trying to distract them with.

"Brick! Put those pigs down!" Lilith shouted after following the blond's finger, prompting Virgil to turn around, his jaw dropping a second later.

You know that thing where you're holding up two pieces of fruit to compare them for both weight and ripeness? Well, Brick was doing the same thing. Only, instead of melons, he was hefting up a full-grown swine in each hand, bobbing them up and down while looking between each one as he appraised the two walking meat platters. Each one looked like they weighed around 250 pounds, yet the giant was manipulating them like a pair of ripe apples.

"But Athena, the list said to get bacon and pork chops," Brick replied, whining like a child... Who happened to be over six feet tall and likely more than three-hundred pounds of raw muscle.

"Brick, we are not taking full-grown pigs home with us! We barely managed to squeeze into the van!" Lilith snapped back like a mother to their child who wanted to load up on sugar-laden cereal. "Now put those things away and get what's actually on the list."

"Awwww..." Brick, and Tina, moaned as the giant of a man put the swine back into their keep.

"Now then..." Lilith said as she took a calming breath to center herself. "Where were we?" she asked as she turned around, only to see no-one there. "Hello?"

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

*Pant*Pant*Pant*Pant*

"Athena! Where're we going!" Virgil cried as he was dragged along by the arm. Eventually, the red-faced blond came to a stop, diving behind one of the stands. "Whoa!" the brunette yelped as the back of his pants were grabbed and he was suddenly yanked into the shadows as well. "Oof!"

"Oh god, that was so embarrassing..." Athena groaned, holding her hands over her face and shaking her head.

"Is she always like that?"

"Eep!" the blond cried as she turned around. "Virgil! What're you doing here?"

"You dragged me here, remember?" the brunette answered plainly.

"Oh... Right..." Athena said bashfully.

"So... Why'd you react like that?" Virgil asked as he scratched the back of his neck.

"W-What do you mean?"

"Well I mean, you're totally red-faced. I've never seen this side of you before."

"Lilith's question just caught me off guard, you know?"

"Why?"

"Well I mean... You're a really great guy and all and... my sisters are really comfortable around you and... you've been a really great friend to all of us so..."

"Athena... Where is this coming from?" Virgil asked, feeling somehow nervous, excited, and terrified at the same time.

"Virgil..." Athena said nervously as she turned around to face him. "The thing is..."

"Yes?"

"What I'm trying to say is..." she said removing her glasses.

"Y-Yes?"

"The thing I want to tell you..." she said as she folded them in her lap.

*Gulp*

"I... I really... I really-" At this point her pupils were beginning to dilate.

"Ahem," a voice cut between them. The two looking away from each other, they looked up to meet the eyes of the vendor whose stand they had sought refuge behind. "Not that this isn't really sweet and all, but could you take your teen drama somewhere else? I'm trying to run a business here."

"I am so sorry!" Athena blurted out as she scrambled to her feet and bolted. A moment later her hand darted back in and grabbed Virgil by the back of the collar, hauling him to his feet as well.

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

"So... The two of you have a little rendezvous or what?" Lilith asked the two with a mirthful tone once they met back up a minute later.

" . . . Just shut up and get the fucking vegetables," the blond said with a bit of hostility in her tone, face heated up in a flush as she put her glasses back on her face.

" . . . Wow this is awkward," Virgil said in response to the tense atmosphere around him, trying to quell the fluttering of butterflies in his stomach.

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

Happy Harbor
September 20, 5:10 EST

The remainder of their trip to the farmer's market went off with, thankfully, no incident. The Fortune Hunters didn't stray too far from one another, so Virgil was able to get a bit of a bead on them based on how they interacted with the others.

Roland may've been stiff-as-a-board, but nothing escaped his attention, and overall he seemed like the kind of guy who could've survived in the Red Zone no problem. Lilith was a little more free-spirited, giving off a big-sister vibe, and completely confident with how she carried herself, even when her alien-looking tattoos became the object of scrutiny from passery-by. Brick was like a kid at heart, kinda like a giant teddy bear, with enough muscle to bench press a full-grown steer; and that's no joke, he saw Brick bench press a full-grown steer on a dare from Tina. Mordecai... Virgil's opinion on the guy was a bit iffy, reminding him of the "black sheep" in the family that drank too much for his own good, yet with how calmly Shaula walked with him, it seemed like the guy could be trusted. Then there was Bloodwing, and while he could've easily carried off one of the smaller pigs in his talons, thankfully, all he swiped was a sausage link or two from one of the stands.

Because no one knew it was tamed, the vendor was a mite upset, but paid it no mind since to anyone who didn't know, it was just an act of god.

By some miracle, they'd managed to fit everything into the back of the van with enough room to fit the eight of them inside for the trip home.

Or at least that was the plan anyway.

Before they could leave town, Brick suddenly came down with a really bad case of the munchies, and the only cure apparently, was a good old-fashioned American cheeseburger. While Roland said it could wait until they got home, a moment later and Tina came down with the munchies, and as expected of a hyperactive thirteen year-old who had certain energy requirements, it wasn't exactly something that could be ignored. A comment of "I could eat" from Shaula had sealed their fate, forcing the group of eight to redirect their bearing towards a diner by the shoreline, instead of leaving town like originally planned.

'Well now...' Virgil hummed to himself as he nibbled at a place of mozzarella sticks. 'These guys certainly draw a lot of attention to themselves,' he thought as he took note of all the people looking their way. And why wouldn't they? Between the armor-clad soldier, the redhead covered in tattoos, the drunkard with a bird on his arm, and the giant who needed two seats because one alone could not support his weight (muscle weighed more than fat), the Fortune Hunters were very attention-grabbing, even without trying.

The restaurant they had stopped at was a family-owned joint right on the water, selling both fast food and seafood made from fresh fish taken out of Happy Harbor's own waters. Virgil and the others had taken to sitting outside on the deck right by the water, Tina crumbling up crackers and chucking them into the water for the fish while the others made small chat.

"Feels good to be back on American soil again," Roland said in the most-relaxed tone he'd taken since getting off the boat.

"Yeah. Food's much better," Lilith replied as she nibbled on some fish & chips.

"Drinks too," Mordecai said drinking from a tankard of beer, Bloodwing circling around before plucking a fish right out of the water in one fell swoop.

"Ditto," Brick replied as he chugged down an entire pitcher of soda. The cheeseburgers on his plate soon followed, the man biting entire halves of them away in single bites.

'Where is he putting it all?' Virgil wondered as the thick sandwiches disappeared one-by-one-by-one-by-one-by-one.

"Guys. Guys. Guys. Guys. Guys," Tina said incessantly.

"What?" Shaula asked in an exasperated tone.

"There's something in the water."

"Uh, yeah, they're called fish. There's a lot of those in the water," Mordecai said plainly.

"No, I mean something else in the water," Tina argued.

"Like what?" Roland asked.

"A giant tentacle monster."

"Uh... Could you run that by us again?" Lilith asked.

Before Tina could do so however, the water just beyond the restaurant was suddenly churned upwards, the spray soaking half the people on the deck. Not a moment later and a massive body suddenly rose from the water, a long shadow cast onto Happy Harbor from the setting sun at its back. Those that weren't sputtering from the sudden saltwater bath looked up to see a massive red-colored squid-like body, like something straight out of a monster movie. The center of its mass was dominated by a large blue cycloptic eye with a vertical slit pupil surrounded by jaw-like bone armor, a gaping vertical-running maw filled with criss-crossing needle-like teeth situated just below it, and stretching outward from its body were massive tentacles covered in pulsing veins.

Overall, it looked like a Lovecraftian calamari platter.

"EYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Run for your lives!"

"It's going to kill us all!"

"I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

Suffice it to say, panic ensued.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Roland shouted as the group swiftly abandoned their table. Not even a moment later and one of the creature's tentacles swept over the deck, sending chairs, tables, and people flying in all directions.

"Why the hell would we know that?!" Virgil shouted as they all jumped behind the outdoor bar.

"Whatever it is, it's hungry," Brick said matter-of-factly.

"What makes you say that?" Athena asked. In response, Brick pointed to the creature, a number of screaming and flailing civilians wrapped in one of its tentacles, before they were all dropped into its gaping maw. Their cries of terror ended when its jaws clamped down around them, a geyser of blood bursting into the air.

"Oh god, I'm going to be sick," Shaula groaned, a hand clamped over Tina's eye moments before blood spewed into the air.

"We need to get out of here!" Virgil asserted. True, it was cowardly to run, but running head-first into the maw of a monster was just plain stupid. Back in NYZ before all the living people disappeared, he'd seen dozens of people with shovels and power tools who thought they were hot shit, get overwhelmed by the horde in under sixty seconds. The only way to fight monsters, was with monster-sized guns.

"We can't just leave these people to fend for themselves," Lilith argued.

"Don't need to. The police are here," Mordecai said pointing to the sky, where a trio of police choppers had mobilized and were flying toward the monster. A moment later and a brilliant pink-colored energy beam lanced through the chopper on the left, the metal heating an incandescent orange before violently exploding, the chopper on its immediate left pelted with debris and sent into a tailspin, while the remaining chopper suddenly flew out wide, another like beam narrowly clipping the tail.

"A laser squid?!" the lithe red-head cried as a loud *VWOOoom* cut through the air.

"This is a load of shark-jumping bullshit?!" Virgil cried as the beast's cycloptic eye let loose another death-ray.

"It's the Destroyah!" Tina cried frantically. "See, see, see, it's just like on the movie poster," she said pointing to a Japanese movie poster, featuring a mono-eyed squid monster shooting choppers out of the sky.

"Why do you even have that thing?!" Virgil demanded as he drowned out the sound of panic around him.

"Virgil, she keeps a lot of random crap on her person. Best not to question it," Shaula said as Tina rolled up the poster with a huff.

"We're sitting ducks out here. We need to get our weapons," Roland stated.

"How? They're back in the van, and in case you hadn't noticed, the entire waterfront is a giant killzone!" Virgil raged as he peeked over the edge of the counter, fires and ruin spreading out as far as the eye could see as the creature rampaged.

"All I need is a distraction, I can be back in a flash," Lilith answered.

"And how're we going to do that?" Shaula asked, not too keen on being live bait.

"Don't worry ma niggas. I got this!" Tina said thumping her chest. Setting down a pink backpack covered in bunny, flower, and dynamite print in front of her, she unzipped the top before widening the gap, revealing the child's bag to be filled with hand grenades of all kind and color.

" . . . YOU'VE BEEN CARRYING LIVE EXPLOSIVES THIS ENTIRE TIME!?" Virgil yelped as he crabwalked backwards until his back met the wall.

"Ya huh," the little blond answered with a bob of her head.

' . . . What the sharp-jumping fuck did I miss?!' Virgil mentally cried out as the others pulled out hand grenades like they were picking out party favors. "I say I shouldn't be surprised by anything anymore, yet I am," he sighed as he reached in and pulled out a couple frag grenades. "So. When do we make our move?"

A second later, and a tentacle smashed the space to their immediate right with a loud *CRASH*

"NOW!" Lilith shouted as she ran sidelong and vaulted over the counter. The "Destroyer's" eyes landed on her and was about to make a grab for her, but a yellow-colored grenade burst overhead, spilling flaming oil on its tentacles, drawing its attention back to the bar where Roland, Mordecai, Brick, Virgil, and Shaula had vaulted over the counter, throwing grenades at whatever part of the beast they could reach. Tina was about to join the fray, but Athena grabbed her by the back of her shirt and pulled her back down into cover.

"Fire in the hole!" Virgil shouted before pulling the pins out of two grenades with his teeth, holding them in his hands for two seconds, and letting them fly. The pre-cooked grenades detonated practically on impact, an enraged shriek filling the air as blue-colored blood spewed from the wounds as two large meat chunks were jettisoned into the air. Many more grenades followed from the others, until their supply of party favors had been completely depleted.

"Come get some!" Brick bellowed as he grabbed tables, chairs, and whatever else wasn't bolted down to the floor, and chucked them at the Destroyer. The laser-shooting tentacle monster raised its tentacles in defense of its eye, its most-obvious weak point.

Now out in the open, Virgil was able to get a fuller grasp of what they were fighting. Two massive tentacles fenced everyone in, wrapping almost completely around the restaurant and parking lot, while numerous smaller tentacles flailed angrily towards anything that moved. Occasionally one would get hold of another person, lift them up, before dropping them into its maw. However, a number of people were saved when Roland ran up and slashed the tentacles into calamari, freeing the hapless victims he was able to save to flee. Those that headed toward Mordecai had their ends blown clean off as he whipped out his revolver. Fanning the hammer and reloading with the speed of a world-class marksman, whatever tentacles came his way had their ends blown off, and they were forced into retreat. Shaula leaped around and slid under whatever tentacles came her way, stabbing them with whatever sharp and pointy objects she could find to divide the beast's attention.

Yet through it all, the massive beast towering over them did not retreat. Its singular eye peeking out at them from a wall of tentacles guarding its ocular organ, even now, the large chunks of its body blown away by the grenade barrage moments before began to heal over. Those that fell victim to the beast were likely being used as fuel for such a bodily reaction.

"Where's Lilith with the big guns?" Virgil shouted as he whipped out his pistol and started shooting the ends of whatever tentacles came his way.

"Any second now!" Roland assured as he pinned a tentacle to a table before slashing it lengthwise. At that very moment, the hairs on the back of Virgil's neck stood on end, and whirling around, he was greeted with the sight of a massive plume of flame erupting in mid-air. A second later and with a loud *Thud*, Lilith with a large trunk underneath her suddenly materialized.

"Get 'em while they're hot!" Lilith shouted as she threw the lid of the green military-style trunk open. Held therein was enough guns and ammo to evaporate the entire restaurant and its staff; prior to half of them being eaten or crushed to death. Roland, Mordecai, Brick, Shaula, and Lilith herself selected their arms. However, before Virgil could grab anything *KRNCH* a tentacle came down from above and crushed the case, and its contents, like a tin can.

"Shit!" Virgil swore as he rolled to the side, only to suddenly trip on an overturned chair. The back of his head meeting the wood with a *THUD*, stars exploded in his vision. The hairs on his neck standing up, even blind, the brunette rolled backwards, the sound of wood splintering where he laid moments before following a moment later. His vision returning to him, he continued to backpedal from the tentacles that slashed and stabbed in his direction, his back suddenly meeting a wall. "Fuck!" he swore as he dodged to the side, the bladed end of the Destroyer's tentacle clipping his shoulder. "SHIT!" he swore as a hand went to his bleeding shoulder, the cloth of his shirt turning dark red as the tentacle moved once again to skewer him.

"I got ya, slab!" Brick shouted as he grabbed the tentacle right at the base of the blade with his right hand. Lifting his left leg and pinning it to the ground, he then pulled, pulled, and pulled some more until the appendage tore in the middle, spraying him with blue blood.

"Th-Thanks, Brick," Virgil sighed in relief, his vision finally returning to him.

"No problem, Slab," the man said giving him a thumbs-up.

'I guess he means me,' Virgil thought to himself, before a loud *CRACK* went off over his head. At the telltale sound of a sniper rifle, flashbacks of almost losing his ear and being deaf for two days flashed in front of his mind, the teen throwing himself behind an overturned table, the same loud *CRACK* repeating several more times as he curled into as small a ball as he could. Several shots passed, and realizing it wasn't him who was being shot at, he pulled himself over his cover, looking up at the roof of the restaurant to see Mordecai holding a long bolt-action Jakobs sniper rifle, firing from a kneeling position and blowing chunks out of the Destroyer's smaller tentacles. "You know-" *CRACK* "I'd feel a lot better-" *CRACK* "If he weren't drinking-" *CRACK* "Between shots!"

"Yeah, but-" *BLAM* At this he evaporated an approaching tentacle with his shotgun. "Mordy is the best in the business."

'A drunk sniper. Imagine that,' Virgil thought with a sigh before a loud- "EYAH!" -met his ears. 'Oh no!' "ATHENA!" he shouted as his eyes darted around the chaos, before finally locking eyes with the terrified blond.

A tentacle wrapped completely around her waist despite her flailing, as she was dragged away from the bar, his body seized up entirely. Roland, wielding an assault rifle, was held at bay as bladed tentacles swung at him, stopping any attempts at rescue. The same for Lilith with her SMGs, forced on the defensive from flailing appendages from above and the sides. Larger, more-meaty tentacles assailed Brick, the giant's progress barred and his feet digging trenches in the wood flooring. Mordecai was taking aim, but the flailing of Athena and the tentacle holding her, kept him from getting a clean shot.

"Sis! Don't give up!" Shaula shouted as she tried to mount a rescue, only to be held at bay, her twin pistols clumsily blasting the approaching tentacles that herded her away from the terrified blond.

'No... No, this can't be happening!' Virgil cried as memories of NYZ assailed his mind. 'Not again!' His feet refused to budge. 'Not again!' he repeated, Athena's nails slowing her progress by the slightest of margins. 'Move dammit! Move! PLEASE!'

On your feet soldier! a voice suddenly shouted at him through the recesses of his own mind, a jolt of lightning suddenly coursing through his body, down his spine from head-to-toe.

*Bm*Bmp*

His heart pounding against his ribcage like a mortar shot, his blood turned to napalm in his veins and his pupils dilated as teeth gnashed. The colors in his wake becoming painfully bright, the smell of the sea, blood, and fire filled his nostrils as energy flooded his body. Vaulting over the table and drawing his Makarov pistol, he shot forward, past where the others were being held at bay. As flailing tentacles sailed his way from the sides and above, another *Bm*Bmp* rumbled through his chest, and the world began to slow. Leaping over the sweeping tentacles like hurdles on a track field, those that whipped out at him nicked his skin as he weaved from side to side, his breath growing hot in his lungs. Raising the iron sights of his pistol, one by one he fired the magazine's eight rounds, each explosion of gunpowder a slight buck against his arm, spent casing thrown from the ejection port as the projectiles of lead left the rifling. In short order all eight peppered the same square foot of the tentacle a few feet away from Athena's waist. Twirling his balisong with his free hand, in a final lunge he slashed the bloodied appendage, Athena unceremoniously dropped to the ground.

"Athena!" Virgil shouted, his breath coming out in short gasps. "Run for it!" he roared at the dazed blond, who snapped out of it just in time to avoid being grabbed again. Before the brunette could join suit, one of the tentacles wrapped around his waist, pulling him off his feet with his gun arm pinned at the side, his balisong .falling from his hand. Brought before the eye of the Destroyer, the creature's fanged maw warbled angrily, the single eye narrowing angrily at the one who had interrupted its meal. "Oh yeah? Well you ain't no prize either?"

It wasn't so much that he understood it, but that a similar face had been made at him back in high school.

"Virgil!" Athena shouted as she ran towards him, only for Shaula to grab the back of her coat and drag her away.

"Don't worry about me!" Virgil shouted as he struggled against his bonds. "I'll be fine!" he reassured, and much to his relief, Shaula and Athena heeded his words, dragging Tina out once the fighting had slowed. 'I survived New York Zero... I can get through this...' he told himself, though he made the mistake of looking down. 'Yeah, fuck that,' he told himself as he brought his ankle up to his chest, and with his free hand pulled back the pant leg. "Hey squid-face!" he shouted as he pulled the pin on his sheathed ballistic knife, before drawing it from his ankle and taking. "Got something in your eye!"

The button on the handle depressed with a *click*, a loud *POP* was quick to follow. The blade jettisoned at fifty-eight feet per second, a glint of silver against the setting sun was the last thing the Destroyer saw before the knife blade flew into its slit-shaped pupil and blinded it. However, instead of being dropped, the creature's grip on him only tightened, an angry shriek spilling into the sea air as he was suddenly flailed about wildly, the world becoming a blur as his neck nearly snapped in two.

"Looks like he made it angry!" Lilith said following the brunette as he was thrown about like a ragdoll.

"Can you get him out of there?" Roland asked as he blasted another tentacle.

"It's no good, he's being thrown around too much," the woman growled with a clenched fist.

The next moment and the beast threw him with all its strength, the brunette sailing end-over-end.

"VIRGIL!" Athena cried out as he disappeared into the horizon. A loud warbling filling the air, all eyes turned to the Destroyer, and even as blue blood spilled out of its eye, the damaged tissue began knitting itself back together.

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

Even though water is a liquid, when its surface tension is undisturbed, hitting it is the equivalent of slamming into a brick wall.

Ergo, the general consensus is that from a high place, you should try to land feet-first to break up the tension to avoid killing yourself.

"Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit!" the brunette swore, the world a blur of color as he tumbled heedlessly end-over-end.

*CLAP*

His body smacked loudly against the water as he landed on his side, his momentum making him tumble and skip like a stone three times before he began to sink. The shock of the impact had stunned him, his left arm was limp at his side, and precious oxygen bubbled past his lips as the surface grew more distant. All of his energy completely exhausted in the wake of his adrenaline high, his head swam and his vision began to darken, the darkness closing in around the edges of his vision. Coughing another bubble of oxygen as he regained his bearings, he tried to swim upward, only for his limbs to seize up from the effort.

'Ugh... dammit... I can't move anymore...' Virgil swore as his body tilted back, the distant light of the sun above replaced with the darkness of the abyss below. 'So... This is it, isn't it?' he asked himself, his eyelids growing heavy. 'This is really the end...' His body began to grow cold, his heartbeat slowing in his chest as the darkness began to smother him. 'At least... for a little while... I had a real family again...'

*Br-R-r-r-rn*WREEE-EN*

' . . . The fu-oof!'

Were there any air left in his lungs, it would've been knocked out of him when a massive body slammed into his from below. Pressed down against a very broad back, as the light of the surface grew nearer, the salt brine pushed against him, and would've swept him over the side had a hand not held him in place. Ocean spray and sunlight exploding across his vision moments later, two silhouettes were visible through the haze in front of him. Murmured talking filled his ears, one of the figure dropping to a knee before placing something over his chest. A moment later and the water in his lungs suddenly started moving like it were alive, the brunette convulsing as it was drawn up his throat before it spewed out his lips.

Rolling onto his side, Virgil coughed and wheezed, filling his lungs with sweet, sweet air. His heart beating once more as Death's icy grip was torn away, blinking the fog from his eyes, he coughed the last of the brine from his lungs, getting his wits about him.

'Am I... on a whale?!' Virgil asked himself as he ran his right hand over the body underneath him. Nearly fifty feet in length with long fins and a knobby head, a blowhole like a pair of nostrils spewing saltwater a couple feet away, and covered in black leathery skin, there was little else it could be. Later, he would recall it to be a Humpback whale, but at the moment he was more focused on the fact that he was still alive.

Another fit of coughing racking his body, soaked to the bone as he tried to steady himself on the gentle giant beneath him, a hand found its way to his shoulder, stabilizing him as he coughed the last of the brine from his body.

"Are you alright?" a voice asked him.

"Gluhgh…" Virgil gurgled pitifully. "I'm… urgh… fine," he groaned as he ignored the ache from his little swan dive. And that his left arm was dislocated. Oh, and that he kinda died ten seconds ago. That was fun.

The person that helped steady him had brown skin, light blond hair that was closely shaven, pale green eyes, high cheek bones, and a lean swimmer's build, looking around fifteen years of age. His attire consisted of a skin-tight, full-body red-and-blue swimsuit that exposed his arms and feet, a set of small dorsal fins on the back of the calves, a golden A-shaped symbol (closer to an upside-down V) on his belt buckle. He had black-colored eel-like tattoos running down his arms, and on his back was a black and silver waterpack, a pair of silver handles with inlaid lines and ergonomic grips sticking out the back.

To the rest of the world, he was simply known as Aqualad.

The costume, and gills, kinda gave it away.

"That was quite a plunge you took. Had I not summoned this gentle giant, you'd have surely met your end this day," another voice stated. Looking past Aqualad, Virgil saw a tall, muscular, bearded Caucasian male with short blond hair, aqua blue eyes, and a strong build, the man looking like he was in his thirties. His attire consisted of an orange scale-mail tunic and dark green leggings, a golden belt clasped with a stylized letter A, golden gauntlets on his wrists, and dark green greaves.

To the rest of the world, he was simply known as Aquaman. While not possessing visible gills, the tunic that made him look like a man-sized goldfish gave it away.

That and the massive golden trident he held in his hand.

"If you're looking for a thank you, you won't get one from me," Virgil spat as he took a seat, his tone seeming to offend Aqualad more than the King of Atlantis. "Your giant demon pet is the reason I took that swim in the first place," he said as he pointed to the Destroyer in the distance, still fighting the Fortune Hunters at the shore.

"I assure you that whatever that creature is, it was not sent by Atlantis," Aqualad assured him.

"Yeah, well, excuse me if I'm a bit skeptical," Virgil replied as he stroked the whale's head. He couldn't tell if the waterlogged bellow the gentle giant let out was because of the petting, or if it had eaten some really good krill. Still, it was certainly a step up from swimming with the dolphins.

"Aqualad, ensure to this young man's safety. I will try and drive that beast away from the shoreline," Aquaman said as he dove off the side of the whale and into the water.

"Yes, my king," Aqualad replied as Aquaman's orange-clad body disappeared into the distance.

"You know, you're a little late from the party," Virgil said as he hugged his knees to his chest, shivering as rivulets of water dripped down his face. "I may've gotten it in the eye with my knife," he said lamenting the loss of said knife, "but that thing had shot down couple police choppers before I could blind it."

"I sense Ocean Master's hand in this," Aqulad replied trying to assuage the brunette's suspicions towards Atlantis. When an explosion from the shoreline blasted the end of one of the Destroyer's tentacles clean off, his eyebrows rose in surprise. "I didn't think there were any other heroes out here."

"There aren't," Virgil replied flippantly. "That thing just happened to make the mistake of attacking a bunch of armed mercenaries who just got back from overseas."

"I see…" Aqualad replied. Staring out at the Destroyer as the whale they were riding neared the shore, his brows furrowed before he stated- "Whatever that creature is, it must not be natural if Aquaman has not been able to subdue it," he said placing a hand to his temple.

"The fact that it has a single laser-shooting eyeball should've given that away," Virgil deadpanned as he rolled his eyes.

"Will you be alright on your own while I assist my king?" Aqualad asked.

"Assuming the big guy here doesn't beach himself bringing me back to shore, I think I'll be fine," Virgil retorted. If Aqualad was offended by the tone, he didn't let it show as he dove into the water after his mentor. "Riding a whale…" the brunette said to himself as he pat the creature he was sitting on. "Not really something I thought I'd be doing today. Or, you know… ever."

Unlike most people, he was pretty nonplussed about seeing one of the Justice League's founding members in person.

Probably because he didn't have a fangasm whenever he was in five feet of one of those yahoos.

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

You'd think after the twenty-minute firefight that the Fortune Hunters possessed enough guns and ammo to take on a small army, and that it'd be more than enough to handle the Destroyer.

You'd be wrong on that. Upon returning to the states, the Fortune Hunter's arsenal was at its bare-minimum, so as to avoid looking like they were intentionally smuggling weapons back into the states. People still got flattened, squeezed to death, or eaten, but things could've been far worse, and thanks to the Fortune Hunters' efforts, the deathtoll was kept comparatively low.

Of course, when their ammo and grenades had been expended and they were forced into a melee battle, things looked pretty grim. Though Virgil had blinded it, the Destroyer possessed other sensory organs to fight with, because it was still able to get a bead on them.

It was fortunate that right as they'd expended the last of their ammunition, that Aquaman had shown up, leaping high out of the water and driving his trident into the Destroyer's already-blinded eye, coursing thousands of volts through its body. A moment later and a half-dozen sharks dove into the well-cooked calamari platter, going to town and ripping it to shreds before dragging it back out to sea.

Once the fighting had ended, those that were in hiding began poking their heads out, either reuniting with loved ones, or mourning those that were slain this day. As cries of both joy and sorrow filled the air, the Fortune Hunters gathered, unironically, where they had all been sitting only minutes before.

"So... That was a thang," Tina chirped, bouncing on her heels like the whole thing had never happened. Then again, her homemade hand grenades may've had a hand in her good mood.

"We need to get back to Bludhaven," Roland asserted as he sheathed his knife. "So soon after getting back to the states, media coverage is the last thing we need."

"What about Virgil?" Lilith asked.

"Yeah, we can't leave yet!" Athena argued. "He's still out there. He could be dead, or worse!"

"What could be worse?" Shaula asked, the sudden bellow of a whale call drawing hers and the others' attention to the shoreline. Seeing something atop a whale of all things in the distance, she snatched the sniper rifle out of Mordecai's hands, zeroing in on them. "Well would you look at that. Virgil ain't dead after all."

"Let me see!" Athena said snatching the rifle out of her sister's hand, peering down the scope before a relieved sigh left her lips. "Thank god... He's still alive."

"I'll bring the van around. Brick, Mordecai, gather our gear together. Lilith, you grab the kid and get back here ASAP," Roland ordered.

"You got it," Lilith said giving a mock salute, vaulting up onto the edge of the deck before leaping out over the water.

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

"You know..." Virgil hummed hummed to himself as the Humpback whale underneath him leisurely made its way back to the shoreline. "People always talk about how life-changing it is to swim with the dolphins. You'd think riding a whale would be a little more... epiphany-inducing. Hmmm..." he hummed as he racked his brain for anything life-changing. "Maybe all this is a sign I should swear off of seafood."

*FWOOOOM!*

"What the hell?!" Virgil yelped as a fireball suddenly combusted above his head, causing him to fall backwards. A moment later and Lilith landed in a crouch in front of him. "Lilith? How the heck did you get here?"

"Just one of my special talents," the red-head said with a shrug of her shoulder. "How come on, I'm getting you out of here," she said as she pulled his good arm over her shoulder, wrapping her left arm around his waist and holding him against her body. "Don't worry, it's your first time, so I'll be gentle," she said as she adjusted her grip on him.

"What're you-"

The next moment Virgil felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, the giant beneath his feet letting out a distressed wail. The red-head's body turned opaque like glass, filled with nebulous shades of purple into white, violet, and pink, arcs of other-worldly energy flowing through her. The world gained a bluish tint, and he looked down at his hands to see that he had become similarly transparent as well. Suddenly, everything about his and her beings were drawn into a mote of light the size of a pinprick, there was a sudden rushing sensation, and then-

"Bluurgh!" Virgil groaned as he was suddenly dumped back in the parking lot, heaving the contents of his stomach onto the concrete at the sudden return to real-space.

"Yeah... first time's always the hardest," Lilith said rubbing his back as he continued to heave, his dinner long gone. "But hey, was it good for you too?"

"Lilith, leave the innuendos to my mom," Shaula sighed tiredly. "They just sound weird when you do them."

"Virgil! You're alright!" Athena cried as she ran up to him, tip-toeing around the puddle of vomit, before hugging him tightly to her frame. "I was worried sick! Don't ever do something so reckless again, you hear me?"

"Uuurrrgh..." Virgil groaned pitiably as his eyesight started coming back to him. 'Never... teleporting... ever again,' he groaned to himself. 'That is the epiphany I'm taking away from all this.'

"Yeah, yeah, warm-fuzzies all around," Mordecai waved off. "Now come on, we gotta get out of here before-"

"It's the paparazzi!" Tina shouted pointing at the approaching wave of reporters, microphones, recorders, and cameras all pointed their way.

"We don't have time for this," Roland growled as everyone piled into the van. "Tina, you have any-"

"Fire in the hole!" the manic pre-teen suddenly shouted as she chucked a black metal sphere toward the throng of reporters. Their lines of questioning ended as the device rolled to a stop at their feet, the lot panicking and leaping to the side. When the device failed to go off after a few moments, some of them turned their attention back to the van. However, before they could make their move, the sphere suddenly began belching out a massive cloud of black smoke.

The reporters made to choke on it, by the time the smoke cleared, the armored van containing the gunmen that had fought off the giant laser-shooting tentacle monster was long gone.

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

"Well... That was one hell of a homecoming," Lilith said from the front passenger's seat, Roland behind the wheel and peeling rubber out of Happy Harbor as quickly as local law enforcement would allow. Brick was in the far back, Tina and Shaula sitting at his sides under his arms, Mordecai was in the middle row behind Roland with Bloodwing roosted on his arm, Virgil groaning pitiably behind Lilith as he tried to keep the contents of his stomach down, Athena at his side and rubbing his back while she fretted over his saltwater-drenched form.

"That was a close call. Next time we get back from overseas, no detours, we go straight home," Roland asserted.

"Well I had fun," Brick chuckled, waving around a piece of tentacle.

"You actually kept one of those things?" Shaula barked, leaping back in revulsion.

"Ya-huh," Tina replied, waving around a tentacle chunk of her own. "Who wants calamari for dinner?"

"Never... say that word... ever again," Virgil groaned as he avoided dry-heaving.

"Hey, you alright kid?" Mordecai asked as he picked a stray piece of the Destroyer out of his bird's feathers.

"I can't... feel... my arm..." the brunette answered as he held his limp arm at his side.

"Your shoulder's been dislocated," Athena summarized after giving him another once-over. "We'll have to put your arm back in. Brick!"

"Don't worry," the giant of a man said as he cracked his knuckles and neck with a loud *Kr*kr*krack*. "I got this."

"Wai-wai-wait!" Virgil yelped as one hand clamped down around his shoulders from behind, the other gripping his arm before popping the ball-and-socket joint back into place like the arm of an action figure with a loud *POP* "HWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he shrieked as a lance of pain shot through his body, Bloodwing screeching and leaving its roost, the van swerving wildly as chaos unfolded in the confined space of moving metal.

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

[UNKNOWN LOCATION]
September 20, 20:25 EST

The room was almost completely pitch black, the contours of the circular floor and ceiling just barely visible through the dim lighting. Said light was provided by a semicircle of screens floating in midair, colored an incredibly light shade of electric blue, partially distorted silhouettes a painful shade of white contained within each one. There were four screens present at the moment, number one bearing the silhouette of a large man with broad shoulders, a slightly smaller figure whose silhouette came up into two points after him, a silhouette of a bald-headed man, the final screen bearing a pillar-like silhouette with a rounded top and no other noticeable characteristics.

Standing before the four screens was a figure you could see, his figure masculine and his bearing quite regal, his body covered in a black diving suit. Over said suit he wore purple-colored armor, consisting of spaulders, fingerless gauntlets, and greaves with his feet completely bare. Pointed slivers of armor were located above his ribs, while in the center of the belt on his waist was an upside-down crescent moon shape. Atop his head was a fish-like helmet with fins down the center and around the eyes which consisted of red opaque lenses, only his face visible. The armor bore an aquatic motif overall, featuring protuberances shaped like fins on his greaves, the shreds and rips on the base of his cape making it resemble a caudal fin.

To the rest of the world, Aquaman in particular, he went under the moniker, Ocean Master.

"Well?" the armor-clad man asked at the screens floating before him, a slightly-impatient edge in his tone.

"Hmmm..." the first screen hummed, he voice partially distorted. "The might of your creature was indeed impressive."

"Maybe. But it was still nothing more than a savage beast, flailing about angrily," the second silhouette spoke, as though the beast's performance was a direct insult unto himself.

"I agree," the third silhouette added. "You promised us resources that could take on the Justice League, but a few hired guns and a kid with a knife are all it took to bring it to ruin."

"I'll have you know this failure isn't only mine," Ocean Master argued. "I risked discovery so that thing would have something to poke an prod at," he said pointing at the fourth screen. "He made the blasted creature, I simply provided the base material for him to work with."

"The death of a single specimen is of no consequence," the fourth silhouette spoke in a heavily-synthetic voice. "Another, 'stronger' specimen can be cultivated in a few short weeks."

"I should 'hope' it is stronger, and not simply a waste of our time and resources," the first spoke.

"That being said, your creature shows 'some' promise, and in light of the recent showing, we on the committee have come to a decision," the second added in.

"We thank you, Ocean Master, for seeing the light," the third silhouette.

*FROM THE BORDERLANDS*

NeoNazo356: Well, it's sooner than I initially planned, but I finally got around to introducing the protagonists from the first Borderlands game; given I've already introduced Moxxi, Marcus, Dr. Zed, Scooter, and Ellie, what else would you expect? Unrelated is that in the first game I played as Roland because he could drop a turret, in the 2nd game I played as Gaige because she had an awesome robot, and in the interquel I played AS the awesome robot. 1812 Overture accompanied by cannon fire is a total BEAST! As is making the baddies explode into meat-chunks. That's fun too.

Spaceman: The introduction of DC super heroes is happening sooner than planned, but it is being done due to the developing plot. Sometimes you can't completely predict a story's evolution, but as long as it fits the plot and enriches the characters, plans can change. This wasn't done because someone asked, it was done because the plot matured quickly.

NeoNazo356: The reason I changed their names from Vault Hunters, to Fortune Hunters, is because on Earth-16H there are not any alien Vaults lying around, so they're closer to "Soldiers of Fortune". Hence the name, Fortune Hunters.

Spaceman: It's not only heroes that fight against the monsters of the world, even those without powers will still fight to protect all they care about. In the world of capes the monsters are so powerful the normal police are ill-equipped to handle them, but they continue to fight despite there fears and that is what makes them heroes. There are many stories about fragile human beings fighting battles against insanely powerful inhuman beings and winning. One example would be the soldiers from Starship Troopers fighting the massive armies of lethal arachnids. Heroes don't surrender to fear or despair caused by monsters, they rise and fight with all they possess.

NeoNazo356: Also, the part about a shoebox being able to contain $10K in 5s and 10s is accurate. The dimensions of an average shoebox are 11.5"x7"x3.75", and a US dollar bill has dimensions of 0.0043"x2.61"x6.14", meaning you can fit 1744 bills laying flat. 1,488 x $5 = $7,440, 256 x $10 = $2,560. Add them together and you get 1,744 bills equaling $10,000 in value.

Spaceman: I'm the one who did this Insane Math. I found out how many bills you could fit in a shoe box online, then calculated the exact amount of 5 and 10 dollar bills needed to amount to $10,000. I research to make sure NeoNazo can write at his best and I feel a little smarter doing it.

NeoNazo356: And remember, if you have any notable comments, please put them in a Review to let us know that we've done a good job, or if we've done a bad one. Also, if you have a question about the chapter, or just the story in general, feel free to ask, and it might be answered in the next pre-chapter Author Commentary.