[IC] Age of Heroes

[Protagonist]

Oroku Saki stood on a mat above a concrete floor, without his armor. The room was filled with incense, and behind him stood a large flag with the foot clan insignia. He was practicing Tai chi. He was at ease, alert but very calm. Suddenly, he sensed a presence behind him. One of his foot ninjas had tried to get his attention by tapping on his shoulder. But before he could, the Shredder grabbed his arm and threw him in front of him.

The ninja should have known better than to actually try to touch Master Shredder. Any attempt to touch him would be considered an attempt on his life at the Shredder's discretion. The Ninja got up, and did a bow before Oroku Saki.

The Shredder didn't bow back, instead continuing to go about his tai chi, and ignoring the presence of his underling.
The ninja said "Master Shredder. Gotham City? There's a man who goes by the alias of the Joker. He seems to have a supply of chemical weaponry we'd like access to."

At first, Saki wasn't phased by the information. After a few seconds he spoke. He said "Very well. Send a few Ninjas to...speak to this man and bring back the chemical weapons. Also, in New York...this SpiderMan? I would very much like to meet him."

[Soul]

"Ya know, a little respect would be nice." Peter Parker, or Spider-Man as his alias states, easily tilted his head to the side as soon as the bullet was an inch away from his head. The group of three muggers shuddered in fear, before gaining morale and releasing a hail of bullets in the spider's general direction. Spider glanced up, noticing a sturdy-looking balcony a couple dozens feet up from his position in the shady alley. A stream of durable, sticky weapon blasted from the hero's wrist, and he blasted onto the balcony, just as the hot lead coming from the guns completely tattered and scorched the alley wall behind him.

"The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout..." He began to sang out creepily, leaping off of the balcony's edge and onto a water-pipe running up the alley's wall. He heard the heart rate of the thugs intensify, and the fear of the victim, hiding behind a trashcan, ebb away slightly. Deciding to end this quickly, Spider-Man began to crawl over the wall like an actual spider, grinning beneath his mask.

"Down came the web and that's where the song ends..." Spider-Man, once directly above the thugs, leaped into the air and turned upside down, launching web after web like a gatling gun. Once he made it directly above the web-covered thugs, he belly-slammed the closest one, knocking him out immediately.

"All in a day's work. yo, you're okay bro?" He called out to the victim, whom had already ran away into the night. He shrugged, and began to sling away. "No rest for the wicked..."

[salamimike]

"hum de dum de dum" The joker sang as he twisted the fuses on another of his bombs. The comical look of TNT with an alarm clock, appeased the joker and he giggled softly with himself. Throwing the now complete bomb into the pile next to him as he began on another. The door to the large warehouse slid open as Harley walked in, carrying a large box "Got the other Fuses Mr J " She said happily as she dropped them down next to the joker, as he finished another bomb "You have to be careful with those Harley we are dealing with explosives here" The joker remarked softly as he dangerously tossed another complete bomb into the pile. He turned his head to look around the warehouse he was in. Toxic chemicals in large vats all around him "Check the parameter Harley" he ordered as she gave a fake salute and skipped away. The joker began to make his bombs once again whistling softly.

[Dblade26]

The Joker's happy whistling was interrupted by the sudden, quickly growing roar of a motorcycle engine shortly followed by shattering glass and a squeal of tires on cement as a figure smashed through a window of the warehouse and skidded to a stop in front of the Clown Prince of Crime. Steve Rogers, the man better known throughout the world as Captain America, grinned disarmingly at the Joker with his trademark shield in one hand as he slipped off his bike.

"Sir, I believe I'm gonna have to ask you to step away from the large pile of dynamite before you get hurt. SHIELD Agents will be closing in soon and I think it would do you a lot of good to just cooperate with me. I can even put in a good word with the staff at Arkham, maybe get you a nicer straight jacket or less terrible food. This sort of thing doesn't always have to end with that fella they're calling The Batman dumping you off at the Asylum gates battered and bruised, so how about it?"

Steve didn't really expect The Joker of all people to agree to come along peacefully for psychiatric treatment. He'd heard too much and seen too much regarding the kind of despicable villain he was; not to mention he'd seen too much of what kind of city Gotham was to believe that it would work. But still, the man was mentally ill, so he had to make the effort just in case. Not that he was letting his guard down for even a second. He almost expected The Batman to try and attack him for fighting crimes on his territory as much as for the Joker to pull some trick. But the explosives and chemical stockpiles had caught SHIELD's attention and Steve had always wanted to see what Gotham had turned into since he'd woken up, so here he was.

[Nobodyman123]

Labella's Bar, Cadmendoh

Cuch pushed the back door of Labella's bar with both arms and ran out into the streets. Green Lantern newbie Hal Jordan was right behind him. As soon as Cuch bolted, he activated his ring and flew after him.

"Sinestro, he's on the move!" shouted Jordan into his ring. No response from Hal's crimson skinned friend. Sinestro has been assigned to take Hal out into the field and give him an easy assignment. But now it seemed like Hal Jordan was on his own. "Fantastic. Thanks, for nothing, Sinestro." Jordan thought to himself. Irritated, Hal increased his speed in an attempt to catch up with Cuch. Cuch was a typical criminal. Not very brave and or smart. But he did somehow managed to kill Green Lantern legend Abin Sur, an act that Cuch obviously didn't plan on his own. Hal and Sinestro's mission was to bring Cuch into custody.

That is, if Hal Jordan could catch the damn squid.

Hal was fast, but Cuch was moving sporadically, throwing things in Hal's way in an attempt to slow him down. Mind racing, Hal Jordan came up with an idea that seemed workable. Using his ring, he constructed a green brick wall in front of Cuch.

"Hey, Squidface!" Yelled Jordan. Cuch had just enough time to look behind him before running straight into the brick wall. The unconscious Cuch slid of the constructed wall and fell to a heap on the ground. Hal, after getting over how hilarious that was, constructed a pair of hand cuffs on Cuch. Before he could try his ring to call Sinestro again, a familiar voice spoke up from behind him.

"Your constructs are improving. They have gone from "The worst I've ever seen" to just "Horrible". Said Sinestro, floating before Jordan with his arm's crossed.

"Thank you, sir." Said Jordan with only a hint of sarcasm. "I'm fine, by the way." Sinestro was always watchful of Hal Jordan's attitude.

"Don't sound so indignant. I was watching you to make sure you didn't completely screw up." Sinestro turned to very unconscious Cuch. "Atleast you did your job right. I'll take him to Oa from here. Go back to your sector." Said Sinestro as he lifted Cuch with his ring and flew away.

"God, I hate that guy." said Hal as he lifted off and flew towards Earth.

[salamimike]

"Ah captain" The Joker began standing up and placing his hands in his purple jackets pockets. "Such a nice surprise, I always preferred the red and blue to the dark bland black the Batman always uses." The Joker removed a small detonator from his pocket. "You see Capt I have this whole building set to explode." a small light on the TNT bombs beside the Joker lit up as he clicked a button "We wouldn't want to BLOW this out of proportion would we" He joked laughing softy to himself as Harley burst in "Puddin ! Men in fancy suits are surrounding the place" She said stopping in her tracks when she saw Captain America. "Who's the star spangled jock?" She joked giggling softly as she rested her side on the doorframe. "Well my dear he will soon be paste if he doesn't call off the men in suits " The Joker stared into The Captain his all too well known twisted smile on his face.

[Dblade26]

"Come on now Joker, don't be too hasty. I'll call off the men outside them, but you have to ease your hands off of that detonator first. Here, as a sign of goodwill, I'll even put down my shield nice and easy so I can't throw it at you. Everyone knows I don't lie, right?"

Cap spoke calmly and slowly so that his commlink to the SHIELD agents outside picked up every word and made it obvious he was doing so, then slammed his own shield into the floor of the warehouse so it embedded an inch or so into the floor by his foot to prove he wasn't going to try anything. Not that he wasn't confident that he could take the Joker and probably survive any risk of explosion, but the SHIELD agents outside might not be so lucky, and given the amount of chemicals stored in the warehouse, the people of Gotham wouldn't be either if the explosion vaporized any of these chemicals and put them in the air.

Not that Rogers was entirely a fool either. If it so much as seemed like the Joker was about to push the button, he'd already positioned and stabilized his mighty shield perfectly to kick it from it's upright position on the floor right at the Clown Prince of Crime's wrist and knock the detonator from his grasp with all the speed that his peak human reflexes gave him. It wasn't technically a lie if he kicked it instead of throwing it.

It also helped that the initial plan to begin with was for Steve to come in loud and noticeable while some of SHIELD's best agents snuck in around the back as support, with the perimeter secured as extra insurance. Now to hope the 'best agents' in question were actually listening in and had managed to infiltrate the building. He only said he'd call off the men outside after all.

If they hadn't gotten in yet, well sometimes the old ways were best. "So Joker, I have to wonder now that you've got me trapped with pounds and pounds of explosives, what is all of this for anyways." If villains today were still anything like the ones from the 40s, then they could never resist a monologue.

[Protagonist]

A flying convertible soars through the air, and lands carefully on the top of the warehouse.
Phillip Coulson opens up the console. Inside are a few pistols, including a Glock, a revolver, and his good old ICER Pistol. He puts the third inside his holster.
He gets around to the back of the car and opens the trunk. Inside are some tools, a gasmask, and a rope. He puts on the gasmask and grabs the tools. He presses a button on his SHIELD earpiece. "Alright, we're ready to infiltrate the building. Who's calling the shots for this op?"
Someone on the other end calls in "Steve Rogers."
Agent Coulson suddenly becomes a little light-headed. He takes a deep breath and walks over to a skylight. He can see the back-side of the Joker, who's having a chat with the Captain. Coulson nearly starts to tear up a little. He then does a little wave to Captain America, but then mentally kicks himself in the ass. He's on a mission!
He puts an extended finger over his mouth, making a 'hush' gesture.
He takes the tools and carefully removes a panel of the skylight, and then uses the rope to climb down skylight.

He suddenly gets a message from the Captain. The agents outside are not to enter. He can't use his comm to verify (it would make too much noise), but his knowledge of SHIELD protocol allows him to know that deduce that he's supposed to continue the mission; otherwise, the Captain would have ordered a retreat of the agents inside.

[salamimike]

"Ah Capt you have placed us both in a pickle haven't you" The joker smiled as he dropped the detonator to the floor. "happy?" He asked as he listened to the captain "now now captain i couldnt give away the performance before the show now can I . You should just sit back and watch the fireworks, But for now don't you have some nazis to punch somewhere?" The Joker walked slowly towards the Captain un-threateningly and when they were within reaching distance he stopped "I always wondered what your shield was made out of.Lead? Adamantanium? Nazi Skulls? Vibranium?"The joker seemed to ponder "I imagine it doesn't matter as long as you can slug someone with it." He chuckled and turned his back to Steve, walking back to the position he was in "So now what happens? The boys bust in and take me away before i have a chance of killing everyone?" The joker laughed.Harley still stood by the door, patiently waiting for whatever the Joker was planning.

[Dblade26]

Steve was actually surprised when the Joker dropped the detonator altogether and surrendered, though he didn't take his eyes off of the Joker for a minute as he tried to assess this new development.

"Well yeah, something like that at least. SHIELD takes you and Ms.Quinzel into custody and processes you and depending on how things go you'll both probably either wind up back at Arkham or in SHIELD holding cells under psychiatric supervision."

He didn't move a muscle as the Joker walked up to him to examine the mighty shield, just in case something went down.

"Isn't it obvious? It's made out of truth, justice and The American Dream." This said with a slight edge of sarcasm. "So, are you gonna come with me quietly to meet the boys outside or are they gonna have to storm in here? I think I've got some of those fancy handcuffs SHIELD likes so much somewhere. They're not made out of the same stuff as the shield but I think they work just fine on clowns."

Cap slipped a pair of magnetically locking cuffs out of a belt at his waist and moved to try and cuff the Joker with them, trusting Coulson to cover him while he did.