[IC] Titans!

[Roman]

Dani smiled weakly as Ben arrived, silently thanking whatever divine being it was that meant he was her company rather than HYDRA soldiers. Well, mostly Ben. It was him, really, just not human. Not that Dani had much of a standpoint to make judgements based on alternate forms. At least Ben had a choice of what. And when. And why. She shook her head and got focused.
"Engineering cap...sure..." she muttered, not really meaning for it to be loud enough to count as a reply, but with the engines roaring she had to raise her voice just to hear herself. She decided she may as well go the full hog and try and strike up some casual danger banter - Ben seemed to enjoy it whenever he was doing his thing, and what better time to get to know your only-recently-met teammates than frantically working on fixing a giant machine that she knew nothing about that the functioning of ensured the survival of at least a hundred people?
She was getting side tracked again.

"Why can't we switch over to occult magic and demonic energies? Works fine for me and Strange, and I know how to work that!" She said as she darted across the room, hopping a pipe and trying not to stumble on the shaking grating that was the floor. She planted two hands on a wheel and span it counter-clockwise three turns. "Kind of...I don't know if that ritual really 'worked' for me in the long-term..." she continued, grunting with the effort of the last turn as pressure built up in the pipe she'd closed before spinning on the spot and bending at the knees to deftly spin two knobs clockwise twice and once, diverting fuel flow to where Ben had pointed out to her. She stood and moved along a few feet again in four graceful strides, doing her best to stay level despite the hiss of the pipes and the wobbling of the floor. Just one more to turn to push heat exhaust somewhere it wouldn't be interfering with the new fuel-line...

"Motherfucker son-of-a-cuckold-bitch!" She shouted, alarming herself with her vulgarity. She rubbed her palms together, the skin stinging and reddening where the scalding valve wheel had nearly burnt her hands. Guess she hadn't been quick enough to divert the heat flow. She swore again and breathed deep and low, blowing out her breath and drawing a big fresh one before holding it and grasping the valve again to turn it just once, repressing the urge to yell as the metal burnt her palms with blisters. But the wheel turned and clunked as it did so, and Dani could feel the metal seeming to tighten and lock up. That valve wasn't going anywhere, she thought, but the heat was redirected. At least no HYDRA agent would undo the repairs.

She turned around, smiling depsite the pain, satisfied that she'd been helpful. She held up her palms to show their red and puckered skin and dredged up a grin from somewhere, cracking a joke. "Hey, I've had worse." She'd had laughed, had a HYDRA soldier not cold-clocked her on the base of her skull with the butt of his rifle. She splayed forward, hitting the ground hard, but lay there for only a moment before being wrenched up again, in the rough grip of an agent. There were three in the room, and it sounded like at least five outside. Worse, they'd hit her rather than shoot her - so they weren't ordered to kill her.For a split-second she held the hope that such a merciful order had been applied to the general staff of the ship, but gunshots ruled that out. No, they were looking to capture specific targets - and she was one of them. She could field a guess why.

She looked at Ben, who was frozen in the moment. Hopefully he saw the plead for him to run brimming out of her eyes.

[YoshiSkittlez]

Slowly, the blue orbs of Rose’s eyes flitted open, only to be greeted by complete blackness. When the bag was then yanked from over the top of her head, she had wished that the blackness could have remained as she was sure that she was about to hurl from the lights penetrating her still dilated eyes. Blinking harshly and looking down to keep her stomach, garbled sounds came to her ear but it was all just white noise to her. She felt her body sway ever so slightly in the chair without her consent and finally lifted her head to look at her surroundings. Her vision was blurry however, and everything in the room seemed to be spinning. The last thing she remembered was telling Jason to leave…but why? Why did she want him to leave? She closed her eyes again, willing for the room to stop spinning around her, trying to plant her feet firmly on the ground. She tried to pull back her mess of blonde hair that had been pushed into her face, but her wrists were bound tightly behind her to the chair.

“Daddy…” She whimpered out, completely delirious to the situation as she continued to climb down from her drug induced state. Her head snapped back up, however, when her ears were rewarded with the sound of her father’s voice. She couldn’t make out the distinct words, but the low hum of his angry rant was unmistakable. Finding her father’s voice coming from a box, Rose pushed herself to try to focus; much like how she would have done when intoxicated and trying to hold a conversation with Jason. The black and orange mask of her father stood out on the box, which she quickly realized was a tv streaming him live from…wherever. Another voice picked up from behind her, another male from the deepened sounds that reached her ear in her stupor.

“It’s simple Mr. Wilson. I hold your daughter as insurance, if you will. And you will do a bit of my dirty work for me. I need a few men dead, a few powerful men…” The shadowed man continued to tell Slade. Rose tried to focus in on the man, but looking up into the bright light of the room to look at his face nearly made her lose her lunch again, but she understood loud and clear now what was going on. Her father was being blackmailed.

“You’re going to regret this. You’ll be lucky if you’ll even able to eat your meals out of a straw when he’s done with you.” Rose hissed at the man, averting her eyes from the hulking figure beside her. A harsh hand wailed down on Rose immediately, his calloused hand striking her across her face, drawing blood from her lip.

"You shut up!"

Rose grunted a bit, but took the hit as her pain receptors still hadn’t kicked back in quite yet, and instead gathered up the blood with her tongue and spat it on the man’s clean white suit.

“Go to hell.” Rose replied with a bloody smile.

[DeathstrokeSW]

DEATHSTROKE

The television cuts off, and I scream from sheer rage. How DARE he? My phone beeps and I receive the first of seven messages. Mr. Wilson, it reads, your first target is DDA Adam Pressly. I want him dead by midnight or I start sending fingers. I nearly crush the phone before realizing it is my only link to my daughter. Go dark, and he might kill her instantly. So I walk back to the cycle, and hop on it, riding as if the devil himself were on my heels.

I run through in my head the various possibilities. It's one of my enemies, come back to haunt me? Not likely. Wintergreen is dead, and Fyers was decapitated. So, new enemy? Again, it stretches the realm of belief. My true identity is known only to one person: Rose. One of Her enemies isn't likely as all of her enemies attack The Titans as a whole, not just her in particular. But the man squarely at the top of my hit list might have her. I shudder as I think of that possibility and pray that I am wrong. Hold on Rose, Hold on.

The city limits soon come within my field of view, and swiftly they are passed. Landmarks of the Bowery slip overhead, followed by those of Park Row. Soon, The office of the District Attorney Rob Liefield approaches. I kick in the door, murdering the secretary. From her security panel, I deactivate the cameras. Checking my wristwatch, I notice the time isn't quite midnight. DDA Pressly walks down the hall, having closed up his office.

"Hello, Pressly. A very important man wants you dead.

[YoshiSkittlez]

The second the television was cut off, Rose was wrenched from her sitting position on the chair and brought to her feet by two other large men in grey suits, no doubt working for now not-so-sharp-looking-white-suit-man. Still, her wrists she found had been handcuffed together behind her back, and each of the thugs had their meaty hands clasped tightly on her thin but muscular arms.

“He’s going to kill you.” Rose said simply to the man in the white suit as the men in grey suits proceeded to take her out of the room. “Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul..” She recited just as the men had her in the doorway, but Rose was fighting them. She wasn’t done talking to Whitey. If her father’s job was to come here and kill this man, then it was her job to get him nice and scared before he did so.

“The fuck is she going on about?” One of the men in grey suits asked out loud.

“Boss I think you hit her too hard…” The other replied.

“Idiots!” The man in white hissed as he approached the three in the doorway. “Do you know nothing?” The man stooped down to Rose’s level, his face just inches from hers and gripped her jaw tightly with his hand, forcing her head to tilt to the side.

“In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud.…” Rose went on without even so much as hitching her breath when the ‘big boss’ grabbed at her face.

“Slade Wilson has taught you well Rose. But I’m afraid English literature won’t be helping you out of this. In fact, daddy won’t be coming to save you at all…for you see…this whole elaborate scheme I’ve created will only end up with him being dead. And you…well…I haven’t decided what to do with you just yet. So much potential…”
Rose snapped her eyes back at him, forcing her face to face him straight on, unblinking.

“Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.” And with that, Rose brought up her knee, catching the groin of the man in the white suit all the while twisting her body and wrenching free from the two goons who had her only held with one hand each. With a deft move, Rose pocketed the pistol out of the first goon at the same time vaulting herself over the man in the white suit, clenching her arm around his throat and putting the gun to his head. The two men in grey suits looked at her, pure astonishment in their eyes.

“Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade-AAAAGH” Rose fell to a crumpled heap onto the floor, the man in the white suit slipping a high-voltage tazer back into his slick pants pocket and his beady eyes narrowing at his two goons.

“Either of you got any brass?” The man in the white suit asked his two thugs, turning to look at Rose who lay twitching on the floor, trying to muster up any amount of willpower she could to get back up.

“And yet…the menace…of the years Finds, and shall find, me…unafraid…” Rose continued on, though found it incredibly difficult to speak. Two shadows covered her quickly as the two thugs had reached her once again, one pulling her to her feet with both arms looped under her arm pits, holding her close to his chest while the other pulled out what Rose could only see as some sort of glove with metal knuckles.

“It matters not how strait the gate-“ The thug cracked his knuckles and drew his hand back.

“How charged with punishments the scroll.” Rose wheezed out as the first punch landed directly into her stomach, knocking out the air.

“I am the master of my fate-“ Another blow, this time forcing tears to her eyes and then another, a sickening cracking sound coming from her ribcage.

“I am the captain of my soul.”

[DeathstrokeSW]

The DDA stops cold in his tracks, his briefcase thudding from his hands as it fell to the floor. I don't even give him time to respond before shooting him in the skull. Lives mean nothing. It is my daughter that matters. Another text arrives, but by this time, I don't even need to play his game. From the first text, my cell phone automatically triangulates the sender's position. I designed it as a precaution against Rose's dating, but here it might save her life. Stepping out of the office, I leave the massacre for the police to find, and straddle the motorcycle. Great White Shark is behind this.

Speeding away, I drive to a condemned warehouse near the wharf. The cycle leaps over the gate, crushing a guard beneath its rear wheel, and collapsing the near wall. Going in guns blazing, I kill most of the security. Great White Shark turns as if he's been expecting me all night. "Mr. Wilson. I see you've triangula-" he doesn't get to finish his sentence as I unleash an enhanced fist. His jaw fractures. and I break four of his ribs, both legs, all of the bones in his hands, and rip out his collarbone before I finally snap his neck, ending him.

My attention turns to my daughter. "My poor Rose...What've they done to you?" Gingerly I lift her, loading her into a car. I pray her injuries aren't too extensive for my medical expertise.

[Hillan]

Scott had been sitting in his bunker, playing video-games. The new action RPG Metal Fist Fury 6, to be exact. However, his intense grinding session was cut short by the sound of gunshots in the helicarrier. “What the?..” Scott let out, as his monitor changed from the game to Nick Fury's face. “Pilgrim. Helicarrier is under attack. Suit up.” The director ordered, as the SHIELD issued suit popped out of it's hidden panel in Scott's wardrobe.

The Canadian shrugged, leaving the suit as he walked out of his room, to get to the main hall. “Come on, Fury. I'm the best fighter in the province.” Scott mumbled, the boy making sure to not get seen on his way to meeting up with Bucky. However, from out of the shadows, a Hydra agent charge, knife in hand. Scott sidestepped, taking a step backwards as he jammed his knee up into the agent's abdomen, and then double-elbowed him in the back, knocking him out.

Scott found the Captain and waved hello. “Hell of a way to start the day, huh?” Scott asked him, and upon hearing Bucky's joke, Scott's hand found it's way to his own forehead. “Dude. Lame.”

The two moved towards the control room, where a group of Hydra agetns came at them, but the Captain dealt with them neatly with his shield. “Nice one, dude!” Scott said, as Bucky turned a corner, Scott turning around the find the agent with a sub-machine gun aimed at him. “Watch this!” Scott yelled at Bucky, as the hail of bullet came. As if time slowed down around him, Scott dodged the bullets, leaning backwards towards the ground while doing so. As he heard how the automatic weapon ran out of bullets, he grabbed the gun from the ground, and lobbed it at the agent, hitting him in the face, knocking him out.

Scott got back up on his feet, and looked Bucky dead in the eye.

“I know Kung-Fu.”

[Enarr]

---

Training Room Simulation: Castle of The Nightingales, Titans Tower
10:43 AM, January 1 2016

Ricochet pushed himself off the ground with both hands and landed back on his feet. He spun around and popped Harley in the jaw, while she was still mumbling like a maniac. When his fist connected with her face, she spat out and coughed as she fell back, cornered.

Not giving the simulation the chance to hurt his friend again, he kept thrashing at her until she stopped trying to stand. From the corner of his eye, Johnny saw Tim's jaw drop as Harley went limp and slumped onto the floor. Tim looked at Johnny in horror as Ricochet turned back to him and grimaced.

"You didn't have to keep going!" Tim pleaded. "She was already done."

But, Ricochet merely sneered, "Are you even paying attention?"

"Of course I am! I just saw you beating a lunatic senseless."

"How is that bad?" Ricochet asked.

Tim paused before slowly whispering. "You didn't need to keep going."

"Who says? If the actual Harley Quinn shot at us and beat you as you lay on the ground while we were trying to rescue someone she was holding hostage, it's irresponsible to leave her conscious. All she is doing is endangering lives."

"So you beat her?"

"Yes!" Johnny shouted. "What do you think superheroes do? People at gunpoint don't get to walk away unless you actually stop the people waving the guns."

"But--we're not like that, though. We don't beat people who can't think straight."

"Yeah, we do. We imprison drunk drivers all the time. But people who's only thought is to ravage all things living get treatment and reeducation. I don't think you really understand what we do."

"Hey! Well it's not--..." Tim fell short as all of Johnny's worss sunk in.

"Exactly. If dressing up in a mask and beating people is bad, then we're all bad people. If it's not, we're in the clear. I'm just not afraid of going too far because of a little thing called self-control. Let people think what they want." As a final statement, he said, "If I really cross a line, I'd expect someone more responsible to stop me."

Then Ricochet grabbed Harley's mallet before he went up the stairs and marched into the highest room. There were three guards, a few more than Johnny was comfortable with, all standing around a chair in the center of the room. Johnny looked behind him to see that Scorpion was trailing behind, with a somewhat downhearted expression.

"Here's the plan..." Johnny whispered to his partner, giving him a full plan of action.

Seconds later, Ricochet sent a golden disk shuttling towards each of the guards. Two of the sentinels avoided damage by catching and slashing their disks, however the third was caught off guard and struck in the kidneys before a gas leaked out from the disk, rendering him completely disconnected from reality.

The two silent sentinels charged at Johnny, who initially posed as though he was about to take them on hand to hand. But when they got closer, Johnny stormed back to the stairs and launched himself down to the penultimate floor.

The two ninja came side by side down the stairway, each raising a katana and preparing to leap onto the silver-scalped hero. But when they did jump, they jolted forward and landed on their knees, their backsides were singed by a powerful blast coming from the Scorpion's tail, which had caught them from by climbing into the highest room moments before.

When they were unable to fight back because of the immense surprise, Johnny performed a spin-kick and smacked their faces simultaneously with the toe of his boot.

"Great timing, Tim," Johnny chuckled and playfully performed a curtsy.

Then, the two youths went back upstairs and grabbed the bound informant before carrying him down to ground level, at which point the exercise ended.

[DrewVonAwesome]

Ben leaned against the railing over where did her work. Looking a bit bored as he chit chatted small talk with Dani. Despite the fact that even with the 12th level intelligence Brainstorm has. He had very little idea what Dani was talking about with the magic and occult and so on. “Sure, demonic energies. Totally…” Ben muttered handling some of the work from above. “Need some high quality like magical stuff I guess.” Ben sighed as he scratched the side of his nose. “Why can’t Gwen be here so I know what she’s even talking about?” Ben asked himself as they finally finished ensuring that while the engine wasn’t fixed, it would provide enough support until they can get this ship put away and properly either repaired or replaced. Ben didn’t realize Dani burned herself until she came back. Still though she had a smile, one which Ben returned in kind. Maybe she wasn’t so bad after al…

Suddenly though Hydra caught the two of them off guard. Dani got knocked out hard by a blow to the back of the head while Ben got held by a small hoard of them. Who clinched him tight while he struggled to free himself. Brainstorm wasn’t a very strong alien, and it made it tough for him to free himself. Finally though Ben got a hand free, turning off the omnitrix, quickly turning himself back to normal. Now with a bit more strength to work with, Ben was able to get the Hydra agents off of him, and zip up his coat to get better protection. Finally he started swinging and when he could get some of the baddies off of him he quickly went to his own earpiece. “Situation red situation red!” Ben called, the code for a big emergency. “Hydra just took Dani I repeat Hydra just kidnapped Dani. They’re taking her southwest.”



“Understood, going to intercept now.” Hulkling responded as the three of them quickly changed direction. Now running in a mad dash to try and get to the Hydra agents. However they had a head start. So the three of them had to chase them down. Hulkling was trying to throw things at them to slow them down, Wiccan putting up force shields, and Hill unloading her weapons at them. However they practically had Hydra agents the whole way down. Constantly exchanging Dani between them. Finally though they got outside, and were just in time to see Hydra taking Dani into one of their ships.

[YoshiSkittlez]

Rose's father couldn't have come at a better time. While Slade was out killing the DDA, The Great White Shark and his two thugs continued to beat on her until she was too weak and in pain to continue talking. Sure they could have just drugged her again, but The Great White Shark had a personal vendetta against Deathstroke and therefore, torturing the one thing that he knew that Slade cared about most in the world was just something he couldn't pass up. Slade wasted no time in killing The Great White Shark however, as was apparent when Rose witnessed her father practically tear the man apart in little pieces. She tried to smile up at him from down on the floor in a crumpled heap, but she couldn't even raise her head to look at him. Not only were her arms completely black and blue from their earlier sparring session, and not only did she have a large bloody cut on her arm from his sword, but The Great White Shark and his men had done a number on her as well. Dried blood caked her feminine face, half of her right ear had been cut being the main source of the blood. Rose was also now sporting a black eye, swelling to the point where she could no longer open her right eye.

Upon being picked up gently by her father, she winced in pain as her ribs again felt as if they were on fire, the new pack of smokes that Jason had given her earlier pressing against her side harshly from her leather jacket pocket. No doubt in her mind that at least two of them were cracked, not to mention that her left kneecap had been dislocated.

"My poor Rose...What've they done to you?"

Rose forced her neck to move so that she could look up to the mask that hid her fathers face, and forced a tired, pained smile.

"Nothing that I knew you couldn't take care of daddy." She said weakly and then fell into her fathers chest as exhaustion won over finally in the end and she slipped off into a deep sleep. She was safe now, she could lower her defenses.

[Natty]

Tim once again removed his helmet, his eyes nervously going from Ricochet to the floor as the Nightingale Tower slowly sunk down into the floor and out of existence behind him. Was he right? Were they meant to beat the bad guys senseless? Sure it's the logical thing but aren't the good guys meant to do good rather than simply deal beatings. Giving the white haired teen a quick wave and an awkward smile, Tim scurried through the open door and out into the corridor, arriving in the elevator within seconds. After a further minute the tailed teen arrived in the building’s main kitchen, which overlooked the main lounge where the huge bay windows of the tower were held, giving anyone in the room the spectacular view of the city of Gotham.

The all so familiar sight gave Tim a smiled as he poured himself a glass of swash. Yet within seconds he was back to frowning, his mind on what Rivochet had said and done previously. Moving into the lounge, he stood against the window, drinking in hand and stared outwards thinking. This was nothing like Tim expected being a superhero would be like. Of course he understood that she was the bad guy and had to be stopped, but was it really necessary for them to kick the living bejeezus out of them? Tim needed someone to talk to. Someone who he could speak to about his problems. He smiled glumly, only for his reflection to do the same.
That was it! He could call Peter! Why hadn’t he thought of it before?

Moving quickly, he rushed back to the kitchen, his hands grasping the phone immediately. After putting in the number his “father” had given to him months prior, a familiar voice answered.

“Hello? Peter Parker speaking?”

“Hi… Peter” Tim responded, his voice cracking. “It’s Tim.”

“Tim!” Peter’s voice rose in what sounded like excitement. “How are y’ bud?”

“Could we… um… could we talk please?” Tim asked nervously.

After a short pause Peter replied. “Sure Tim. I should get off work in about an hour. Meet me at that pizza place we went to last time on 3rd? ”

“Okay, bye.” Tim nodded to himself as he hung up the phone, before heading towards the zeta tubes, a spring in his step as he did so. Nothing beat having pizza with Spider-Man in New York!

[Archangel89]

Titans Tower-Training/Simulation Room
Gotham, New Jersey
Hours After the LexCorps Incident

Connor sat on the railing of the observation deck in the simulatíon room of the Tower. The events of the day kept swirling through the super-teen's mind, an event that didn't happen very often. It wasn't the fact of the missile that bothered him, however, it was what Connor heard Luthor say that really put him in this uncharacteristic mood. The mention of the project that had given him life shook him to his very core. 'What is Luthor planning with NOWHERE, and what did it have to do with the weapon the he unveiled today?'. The phrase kept running in his mind over and over again.

Finally giving up on his pondering, Connor walked over to a console made for creating the simulations. With an ease that would surprise most who knew him Connor quickly tapped the screen adding his own personal touch to this particular simulation.

"Computer, add opponent...Superman. Set power restrictions to 80%, location Metropolis."

With his personal settings in place and a Superman at 80% his maximum power level, Connor floated down to the area that was to be his battleground. He often did this when he needed to truly let go and think about things. Connor watched carefully as the hard-light construct began to form and take shape, specifically the red, blue, amd gold emblem on the constructs chest...this was going to be one hell of a fight.

[Lord Wraith]

The dark silhouette of a great bird covered the buildings of Gotham, not that anyone would notice in a city constantly plagued by bats and owls. The bird shaped shadow made its way across the city, soaring as it descended upon the Titan Tower. Not bothering with the shield which concealed it from the world, the shadow passed through it as it transformed from a bird to a girl in a blue cloak. The girl, Raven as she went by was one of the first to have ever walked the halls of the strange 'T' shaped building. A founding member of the Titans, the team which resided within the doors before her.

With a wave of her hand, the doors to the tower open as Raven's feet left the ground as she levitated forward. The computer's voice could be heard announcing her entrance as it chimed 'B04-Raven' on the loudspeaker. Looking around the entrance way, Raven nodded solemnly that not much had changed since she had left to aid Zatanna and Nightshade. Yet at the same time the faces had changed and looking around, she could tell that her friends were mostly all gone. Listening to the sounds coming from around her, Raven predicted a training session had just been completed. No doubt another one would be starting soon, however she had no interest in joining in at the moment. Her first order of business was to ensure that no one had in fact taken over her room.

Rising up through the various levels of the tower, Raven made her way towards her room. With any luck she might run into someone she had actually knew.

[Taka]

Bucky chuckled at Scott after the teen had taken down his fair share of the villains. This was far too easy for what it was worth. Bucky could only wonder just why HYDRA had attack the helicarrier on this day. Their attack had not done too much damage to the floating base nor had they actually done any harm to Nick Fury. His mind raced with many thoughts on just what they were doing on the ship. Suddenly Ben's voice came through with the surprise of the day. HYDRA was after Dani and had kidnapped her. "I should have known. Scott get to that Control Room and help Nick clear it out and if you have to....fly the ship." Bucky commanded the Canadian hero as he turned in the direction of the deck. In a burst of speed, Bucky was off as fast as he could. He didn't know what HYDRA wanted with Dani but, it wouldn't be good regardless of their plan. No HYDRA soldier could stand before Bucky as he ran through the hallways that lead to the deck.

"Sorry but she's not going with you!" Bucky yelled out to the HYDRA force as he reached the deck of the ship, high winds blowing against him and taking off his hat.

Bucky raised his shield arm to prepare for a shield throw. Arm outstretched for only moment, Bucky swung forward letting the shield cut through the air faster then a bullet. The shield throw would soon become ineffective as a grotesque individual caught the shield as he stepped to the edge of the HYDRA ship, the light revealing his face. His entire face lacked any skin and resembled greatly a skeleton whilst his skull was a deep crimson. This man had effortlessly stopped Bucky's shield as if it was nothing and he intended to return it to it's rightful owner. There was no time for the surprised Bucky to move. The shield struck Bucky's forehead, taking him off his feet and into the pitch black of unconsciousness.

[DrewVonAwesome]

The train of motion had all happened so quickly. First the shield came flying out of the nearby darkness as Hulkling, Wiccan, and Maria were trying to get to the ship with no success. Then him showing up from the ship’s entry way on the top. The nazi era suit, the crimson skull, Maria Hill clearly knew who it was immediately. Hulkling didn’t have a clue himself, and neither did Wiccan. Although being a jewish boy from new york, the fact that the guy was wearing nazi memorabilia on him was enough to piss Wiccan off.

As Bucky was launched back from the shield being thrown right back into his chin. Red Skull gave an almost mocking salute from the top of the ship before he retreated back in. Maria gritted her teeth looking beet red in anger. “Wiccan! Hulkling! Get Bucky to the medical bay immediately!” She commanded at them, unintentionally putting a lot more fury behind it then she had meant too. “Yes mam!” Hulkling quickly replied as both him and Wiccan grabbed Bucky. Hoisting him up and with his arms around their shoulders as they quickly hurried to the medical bay. “Man why did I have a feeling today was going to be a crappy day?” Wiccan asked out loud.



Ben didn’t have the luxury of waiting around to have his omnitrix recharge. Since SHIELD had a worry this might happen in combat they gave Ben training in other areas so he’d be prepared as normal. Ben was able to get back to his own bunker, where he had one such training safely tucked under his bed. A riot purposed assault rifle, armed with non-lethal but still very painful beanbag rounds. Ben came into the main control room where Nick Fury was up to his armpit in Hydra members. Ben fired away, until finally the omnitrix was ready. Which resulted in whatever’s left getting clobbered by Wildfire as a now oranged colored Ben swooped around and laser blasted any Hydra agents remaining. Finally he landed down near Nick Fury, glancing around when he realized something. “Hey Mister Fury?” Ben asked raising a hand meekly. As Fury was a very intimidating figure to be near. “Who’s… actually flying the ship right now?”

"This is Captain Awesome Scott Pilgrim speaking, Thank you for flying with us today. Parachutes are to be handed out by flight attendants Bucky and Ben. We're all out out of peanuts."

Ben and Nick glanced up at the nearby speaker Scott Pilgrim's voice came out of, and then at each other… “Oh…” Ben awkwardly muttered as he scratched the back of his head. All while Nick Fury quietly stewed in anger, grasping at the bridge of his nose.

[Enarr]

Mars, Sector 2814

Enjoying the tranquility offered by the surface of the Red Planet, Kyle Rayner had been flying through the martian airspace pulling off maneuvers that could be dangerous on planet Earth. He'd been practicing his control over his ring and had been actively been being chased by a helicopter of his own design. But his time off was cut short by a message from his ring, declared by an urgent Nick Fury.

"We need your help, Kyle! HYDRA has declared war! They've invaded the Helcarrier and are trying to take over SHIELD! Our army alone can't do the job! Hurry Kyle!"

Moaning and rolling his eyes as his helicopter disappeared in an instant, Kyle huffed as he began rocketing towards Earth faster than any vehicle ever concieved by man. In space he could travel near light-speed, making a trip from Mars to Earth only a few minutes long. But it takes significantly longer to travel when within an atmosphere, due to safety regulations built into the ring.

---

American Airspace, Earth

Pulling into the atmosphere of Earth, Kyle heard a static-saturated message from Fury, "It’s about time you showed up, boy! You’re the only hope for our Flying Base."

"I’ll do my best! HYDRA won’t have their way with me." He said as the Helcarrier came into view. "Where do you need me?"

"Protect the fans from the enemy as long as you can. We'll get some of our own pilots out there ASAP, and the turrets should hold them off for now. But if they don't, it's up to you, kid."

Kyle gulped as he came closer to the Helcarrier. He saw several fighter jets working in conjunction to chip away at the oversized fan blades that were upholding the massive weight of the flying aircraft carrier.

He saw one in particular hitting more targets than the others. Stamped across it's underbelly was the serial number 'X-183'. So, forgoing the other pilot's defeat, Kyle momentarily pursued the one jet.

But it would appear that his friends had taken notice. A bright red spray of blasts jolted past Kyle, missing him by inches, but setting him on serious alert. He looked back and saw two other jets backing the first one up. They continued firing at him like he were a duck at a carnival game. But he made sure that they couldn't get a lock on him. The dog fighters frantically sent everything they had at the Teen Lantern, but they were caught off guard by his apparent finesse for dodging death.

They were less impressed, however, when he generated a gigantic battle axe and charged them head on. He landed on the left wing of one of them, looking into the cockpit and smiling hard as he raised his axe and dropped it on the wing of the jet. Immediately, the jet was thrown downward and began swirling like a top.

"Do an Aileron Roll!" Kyle cried out as he watched the jet go down.

But the second one was still fighting hard. Taking advantage of Kyle's momentary distraction, he actually blasted a series of six bolts that all found their mark: Kyle Rayner.

"Gah!" Kyle screamed as the fiery blasts made contact with his armor. "I just made that!"

Immediately elevating, Kyle quickly flew underneath the belly of the HYDRA jet, where he made a Sawzall that cut out the flooring of the jet, from where he ripped the pilot out of the cockpit and held him over the sky.

Kyle ripped the pilot's helmet off and looked him in the eye, growling, "You should find a new job," before dropping the frightened man ftom thousands of feet up. He did watch, however, as the man's parachute expanded into a banner that said 'Hail HYDRA,' before the seat suddenly exploded in a quick burst.

Staring like an idiot, he mumbled, "Bummer," before going back to fighting off the HYDRA soldiers. But then he saw, several SHIELD fighters taking over the sky.

Breaking the momentary radio silence, Fury messaged him again. "Rayner, come inside the Helcarrier, we could immediately use your assistance."

Jetting to the nearest entrance to the inside of the Helcarrier, he barked "Roger that, Fury."

[Roman]

There was a strangely serene moment, in the midst of being rough-handled by HYDRA soldiers, the ship vibrating with the echoes of sabotage, gunshots reverberating off the metal interior, that had Dani quite at peace for a moment or two. Maybe even three. Her teammates coming for her and her alone, despite her still only recent entry into their ranks...after 'escaping' from her hometown, it was nice to have a second's calm and the thought that perhaps she'd found a new place to belong. Of course, her peaceful epiphany was sharply intruded upon by the gruff tones of her captor barking in her ear.

"We got word you don't take to harm too easy." He said, Dani hearing the sneer he hissed through. She wondered what he meant, and then got word herself when she saw the open hangar ramp of the helicarrier, and a hovering shuttle flying beneath some fifty metres below. He thrust her forward and she dangled, for a second, legs thrashing in the open air kicking at clouds, and then she fell, the roar of the engines drowning out her screams. She landed hard on the shell of the HYDRA ship, shocks travelling from her feet through her shins to the core of her torso - but she felt little pain, and she sensed Zarathos growling as it dulled the damage. Some perks to be had, she thought, as she rolled toward a certain death on the ground miles below - no matter was growling Zarathos had to do - before a hatch opened and she was expertly snatched by another agent, dragged into the ship, and immediately black-bagged and bound. She felt a kick planted on the small of her back and lurched forward, and then smelt a strange substance. The bag seems a little unnecessary... she thought dreamily as the gas beckoned her into unconscious oblivion.

---

She awoke within brick and mortar, another cell but far less comfortable. On the helicarrier, her cell was such in function only, being outfitted with comforts and recreation, a room with some more protective modifications. This truly was a cell, though, something explicitly for holding prisoners. There was no warmth, no en-suite. No speakers or workdesk, no screen with which to watch and play. Not even a bunk. A bare room with a single barred window, and a stone floor. Dani stood and peered through the window. The sky was a miasma of oranges and pinks, with the sun hanging heavy and low just over the horizon, and a frozen landscape of white and blue tundra beneath both. The Helicarrier had been somewhere over the atlantic, and she supposed that the HYDRA ship she'd been thrown onto had headed north. She shuddered. She hated the cold. Zarathos felt eager inside her as she watched the sinking sun, and she turned away. Its strange squirming made her anxious and nauseous in equal parts. The front wall of her cell was barred like the window, but with bigger bits of metal Dani could more clearly see that etchings that covered the surface of the metal. She put a hand out to wrap around the cold iron, but quickly withdrew it after skin contact produced a violent hiss from Zarathos and an intense burning sensation on the flesh of her palm. She inspected her hand, but saw nothing. Protective wards, she noted. Nearly identical to those that worked her cell on the Helicarrier, but inscribed with far more malevolence. She looked out the window again. Half the sun remained.

There was a great metal creaking and ch-thunk-ing from down the hallway, and Dani heard heels clicking on the stone slabs of the corridor floor. A single man's footsteps, no others following or retreating. It didn't take long for the footsteps to reach the bars between Dani and freedom, and now she saw who they belonged to. A tall, vicious-looking man, dressed smartly in an obssessively-neat SS uniform, only the nazi pips on his collar and sleeves replaced with those of the HYDRA symbol. She felt Zarathos recoil and then slink closer, chuckling throatily, and a warmth on the back of her right hand where Mephisto's sigil began to glow a deep red. She nearly smirked.
"You're Red Skull." She said simply, surreptitiously looking out the window again. A sliver left. Red Skull said nothing. The last light of the sun fled away from Dani's cell, the soft glow of the moon beginning to illuminate what was now definitely night. Dani felt Zarathos growing within her, filling her bones. "You picked the wrong time to visit." She continued, almost a warning as she doubled over and staggered away, trying in vain to fight off Zarathos and tumbling into the corner, twisting in her agony and Zarathos' ecstasy.
"Actually," Red Skull finally replied as Dani's hair began to singe and the symbol on the back of her hand grew so bright as if to brand her all over again, "I find I have visited precisely as I mean to."

And then Dani couldn't hold Zarathos off any longer. Her hair burst into flames at the same time her hands did, and as the skin of her arms and face melted away to leave flaming bone, her screams morphed into laughter, the sound of her voice changing from a singular sound to the combined mad laughter of a thousand souls, the edges of her voice sounding like the licking and crackling of flames. Her clothing changed and spikes erupted from her new jacket's shoulder pads and her boots. She slowly uncurled, standing to her now full height of six feet, Dani no longer. Her skull wreathed in flames, and fire licking her hands from the sleeves of her jacket, Ghost Rider stood in the center of the cell, directly opposite Red Skull, who looked on with a stony gaze. Her skull's eye sockets sparked, tiny flames showing life within the bones, and she met his gaze.

Ghost Rider laughed, an agonizing, manic sound, filled with fury and power. She stepped toward the bars and opened her jaw, speaking in a voice backed by hellfire and a legion of condemned souls. She raised the bones of her hand and extended a single finger.
"Red Skull. You will atone for your sins." She said, and then pulled the finger into a fist, and pounded one of the bars of her cell. The iron sparked as she struck it, and her fist recoiled, the bars standing strong as the etchings glowed softly. Red Skull chuckled, and Ghost Rider opened her jaw, ejecting a stream of Hellfire from her mouth into the bars. It similarly sparked against an invisible but solid barrier, and she stopped.
"You will find you are stuck quite where I mean to keep you. Like the wards? They are of your own design. HYDRA can place a man where ever we find one is needed."
Ghost Rider ignored him and raised another fist, striking the bars again. More sparks.

"You have been Judged, and will face your Sentence." She hissed, and Red Skull turned and walked away. Ghost Rider did nothing, but began to strike the bars rhythmically.

[DeathstrokeSW]

I bite my lip to keep from swearing. Rose has just fallen into unconsciousness. This is all because of me; she wasn't fast enough or strong enough…and from the feel of it, her injuries are extensive. I had hoped to have more time than this, but I can't take her to the hospital; not on the motorcycle.

I sigh, and pull off the helmet. Her ribs are broken, and her knee is dislocated. Running a hand through my pure white hair, I reach into my utility belt and pull out a syringe. It isn't the serum that made me what I am, but a diluted version of it. She won't be as fast as me, nor will she gain my enhanced brain functions. But she'll have a healing factor, and have reflexes 2x faster than a normal human.

I kiss her forehead, and jam the syringe into her thigh. Now all that's left to do is wait.

As I wait, I think back to Shanghai, and Billy…

19 Years ago, Before Enhancements

Amidst the brightly lit Shanghai cityscape, a single skyscraper stands. It is not the largest, nor is it the grandest, but to the two black-clad men standing on the building opposite, it was the only one that mattered.

An abandoned office building had suited our purposes nicely, and as Billy set up the zip line, I did final weapons checks for myself. I'd had a bad feeling about this mission; but I chose to keep shut. Billy probably knew, but didn't care. He was usually the one charging in, guns blazing. Now wasn't the time to think on such things as with a final click, the zip line was ready. "Infil is green on prep. It's your call, Slade." Billy spoke. I took a second to holster my gun.

Clipping onto the line, I nodded to Billy. "You're clear, Billy. Fire." As we sailed across a 50 foot chasm 17 stories up, I cracked my neck. Little did I know just how much we were in for…

PRESENT DAY

I snap out of the past, alerted by my daughter. She sits bolt upright, and I hug her hard.

[Saarebas]

Gotham City,
Gotham National Museum
It was just a stroke after midnight at the Gotham National Museum when a lone guardsmen was making his last round of the exhibits. The guard on duty was Charles Anderson, a fifty-three year old retired GCPD officer divorcee and father of two of Gotham University's honor students. He was a burly man, though age had obviously had added more than a few pounds to what once was a fit figure, with balding white hair, a unshaved face and pale blue eyes. He was only two hours away from getting off his shift and being able to head back to his run down apartment in down town Gotham, which was littered with over do bills and empty beer bottles. Charles made his way through the empty museum, his heavy foot steps echoing through the halls. Sadly for Charles this would be the last time he patrolled this tomb for the relics of the past.

It was in the very next room that a menacing figure strolled throw the shadows, looking over the glass cases that held ancient tomes and artifacts of the past with only the faintest of interest. The figure was a man like any other, at least on the surface, with his ebony black hair and lightly tanned skin. He dawned a simple black T-shirt and jeans, which just barely covered the black combat boots he wore. His toned body seemed to glide through the space, his foot steps being soundless, as he moved his gaze from one case to another. It was when he reached the last row of glass boxes that the dim light of flashlight shined on him.

The elderly guard Charles stood at the entrance of the room with his flash light and night stick both raised at the intruder. "Stop right there!" Charles spoke in a gruff voice as he slowly began to close the gap between him and man. The intruder didn't acknowledge the old security guard's order and continued his browsing of the exhibits. It was when the trespasser's gaze found a old and tattered scroll that he came to a stop. He stepped forward towards the glass case that held the scroll, which prompted Charles to give another threat to stop. Charles was less than ten feet away from the man when he came to a halt, his night stick still pointed at the man. "What are you doing here?" Charles asked in a voice that suffered from years of smoking. This caused a slight smirk to come across the man's face, though he still paid no mind to the armed guard. "I said what the hell are you doing here?!" Charles said in an agitated tone. After more silence from the trespasser Charles let out a sigh of annoyance and began walking towards him again. "Alright buddy, I'm going to take you in and-"

Charles wasn't able to finish his sentence, his very last sentence. The man finally turned his head towards the approaching guard with a wicked smile on his face. It was the man's eyes that froze Charles, they were as if he had two flawless rubes instead of irises. "No, you're not." The man spoke in a cruelly amused voice before Charles could continue. Then like child the man held up his hand, imitated the shape of a gun and pointed it at Charles. The man then proceeded to 'pull the trigger' and a second after that there was a flash of green light from the man's finger tips and then a smoking hole in Charles' chest. The old guard was only able to let out a gurgling sound before he fell to the floor, the light quickly fading from his eyes.

The man let out a slight chuckle before he turned his gaze back to the scroll. He outstretched his hand towards the case and it passed right through the glass as if it wasn't there. He took hold of the scroll and pulled it out of the case, leaving the alarm it was connected to unactivated. Another smirk came to the man's face as he reviled in his work before stepped back from the case and looked towards the ceiling. He pushed off the ground and continued to float up towards the roof of the building when and he was suppose to hit his face against the ceiling tile he simply fazed through it, emerging out side of the museum. The man let out a laugh before he began to soar away from the building and off to the drop off point his resent employer told him leave the scroll. Though he didn't need the money the man planed on making a name for himself, a feared name. As he neared the drop off point he couldn't help but sneer at the thought of how far he had fell, having to work for others, but he knew it would change and he would be on top again, as Dan Phantom should be.

[Roman]

Deep in Blackgate, an entire prison of inmates rioting around him, whirling in a violent storm of crashing and shouting and chanting and banging bars with fists and mugs and shivs and heads - deep in Blackgate, Roman Sionis sat silent and still, mask un-moving, eyes fixed ahead. He watched, listening to the riot. Inmates, thugs, murderers, rapists . All Gotham's worst. And him. The absolute nadir. There were others, some with faces quite opposite Sionis' visage, but they were less...purposed. Driven. Ambitious. Sionis was the best of Gotham's underworld, at least according to him. And many others, depending who you asked. And when you asked them.

Vicious. Sadistic. Ruthless. Narcissistic. Criminal genius. Psychopath. Oh, the penitentiary's shrink had endless words for him. Sionis had one: efficient. He had more, too. A ruler. Lord of Gotham. Leader of his Society. One that worked for him now, in and out of his temporary shackles. Beneath the mask, his scarred skin curved skyward in a twisted smile as he heard the clicking of heels down the corridor. The Warden, Martin Joseph. Right on cue. Sionis took a breath and stood, an intimidating figure despite the fluorescent orange of his prison jumpsuit. The mask did it; it was naturally unnerving. It was why Sionis had created it, pushed himself into becoming something more than just a man. Roman Sionis? No. Black Mask. He lifted a hand to the seam between his mask and his neck, feeling the tight and puckered skin, the blistered wood. Black Mask, forevermore. The warden appeared.

"Aahh. Martin." Sionis said, standing mere feet away from the man, iron bars the only barrier between them. He watched the warden flinch slightly as Sionis used his name - a power play. Sionis had no compunctions about the two men's relative standings. The warden had two guards with him, flanking his sides, but both men knew they were little protection were the bars not in place. The warden swallowed, Sionis watching the muscles of his lower jaw and neck flex and shift, and then he opened his mouth to reply.

"What's your game, Sionis." He said, and Black Mask didn't move, just kept watching. His black eyes bore into the warden from within his mask. He shuddered, and continued. "The chanting, Sionis. What's your game? Think we'll release you by popular demand of your...'peers'?" He sneered, and Sionis let him have his moment of pathetic self-amusement. Martin Joseph was a bully, but held no power over Sionis. He almost pitied him. Such superficial control. What intangible power, nothing like Black Mask's hold on Gotham in the prime of his Empire. It made him chuckle, then, to think that soon, very soon, he would be showing him exactly how superficial his power was.

The chanting that had Joseph quite so agitated was of Sionis' name. Not his given name, no, of course not. His chosen name, his taken name. Cries, ecstatic, agonized, impassioned cries throughout the prison of "Black Mask", accompanied by rhythmic banging. There were False Face members in the ranks of the prisoners, both legitimate and planted. The arrested had been easy to rally; the planted had been given their purpose. There were a few guards paid off too - just the right ones. Black Mask didn't want to waste more money and resources than was necessary. Somewhere below and behind him he heard a slow, dull rumble. It escaped the notice of the ignorant warden.

"My game, Martin?" Black Mask replied. His voice was smooth, velvety but threatening, an edge of menace and a slightly off tone that curled his words. A persuasive voice that threatened to force you if you didn't comply willingly. And always, always that mask. "I've enjoyed my stay, but...I have a pressing business meeting I must attend." He smiled again beneath the mask and nodded at the guards flanking the warden. The left placed a heavy hand on Joseph's shoulder, and the right moved over to a locked control box on the wall opposite Sionis' isolated cell. He unlocked and opened it, and then, flipping a few switches, threw the lever to open Sionis' cell - and a few others besides. False Facers or not, Black Mask didn't really mind. More people to thank him for freedom. More criminals fresh on the streets looking for work. Sionis walked forward out of his cell, and looked sideways at Joseph, who was visibly panicking and squirming under the iron grip of the guard he'd brought with him. The wrong guard. Black Mask was almost dismissive of him. But still, he might get bored. He looked at the guard holding him.

"Bag him." The guard nodded, and suddenly wrenched a black bag over the warden's head, and then took him away. The other guard stepped to the side, allowing Black Mask to go first. He escorted him to the visitor's reception. There was a dry-cleaning bag there, and Black Mask opened it to reveal the pristine suit within. Tailor-made, a thing of beauty - he changed immediately, smoothing his lapels and doing up a single button. So much better than the ratty jumpsuit. When he stepped out into the lobby, the guard was wiping his face, layers of concealer coming off. His face - and indeed, the rest of his body - was completely covered in ink, patterns among patterns among patterns. Black Mask's lieutenant.

"Tattoo." Sionis said. "Good to see you." Tattoo nodded, and then they strolled out, like they owned the place. Black Mask chuckled as he stepped into the jet-black bentley that was dutifully awaiting him, another Facer behind the wheel. Soon, he thought. Soon, he would. They drove away.

[YoshiSkittlez]

Swirling in a mist of darkness, Rose's mind seemed to be lost; wandering. She felt as if she knew this place, which was strange considering it was pitch black without even a hint of light coming through from anywhere, and yet Rose felt her consciousness moving through the blackness, heading in a very specific direction. She felt as if her soul had been temporarily ripped from her body, hovering above herself as she soon then realized that she was looking down on herself, covered in blood and held tightly in her father's arms. Rose closed her eyes hard, pushing back the force that she felt keeping her away from him and let out a scream of pure anger and frustration...

The moment the needle penetrated Rose's skin and the diluted serum began to pulse through her blood, Rose's body began to twitch. It was slight at first, much like a dog trying to run in it's sleep, but the twitching quickly escalated into ravage convulsions similar to that of a seizure. Every muscle, every fiber in her being clenched tightly, her body now a rigid solid as her muscles clenched down harder and harder before she suddenly snapped out of her unconsciousness and bolted upright, immediately greeted by her father's tight grip around her. She let out a scream, unable to bear the pain that suddenly coursed through her body. Her blood ran hot, her skin crawling, her muscles burning, and her head screaming. Just what the hell had happened that had caused her to go into this fit of convulsions? She tried to focus on her father, trying to grab onto him to stabilize herself but only screamed out again as tears ran down her soft cheeks.

A loud snapping sound came from her ribcage as the bones began to quickly mend together. Her arms went from a coated black and blue to her natural skin color as the bruises began to fade away. She had to keep herself from itching at her ear as the cut healed and the skin began to mend itself back together and her leg began to kick uncontrollably as her kneecap was suddenly reset. Sweat poured from her forehead, causing the stray strands of white-blonde hair to stick to her face as she let out a third, much longer agonizing scream; her fingers clutching onto the shoulder pads of her fathers suit as if her life depended on it, and truly...maybe it did. And then...suddenly...it was over. Her body went limp in her father's hold once again, only the largest of her muscle groups twitched now and then from the strain she had just been put through.

"What...what the hell did you just do to me?" Rose asked looking up at her father with a tired, accusing glare in her eyes.