The Brand New And Improved "Heroes vs. Villains: Marvel" RPG

[BnKRPG]

This RPG is dedicated to the memory of Ian Ellis, Venom_uk, a true friend and a great poster.
He will be missed.

Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the Brand New

http://img82.exs.cx/img82/3631/hvsani20aa.gif

RPG!

This is a fresh start. The last 7 Seasons of the original RPG are now history, and you can do what you want with your character without past problems!


GAMEMASTERS AND DEPUTIES
Electro UK (http://www.superherohype.com/forums/member.php?userid=23457%5B/URL) – GAMEMASTER
Feature (http://forums.superherohype.com/member.php?u=36542%5B/URL) - ASSISTANT GAMEMASTER
Venom160 (http://forums.superherohype.com/member.php?u=11110%5B/URL) - ASSISTANT GAMEMASTER
trustyside-kick (http://forums.superherohype.com/member.php?u=35194) - ROSTER DESIGNER/UPDATER

RULES
You can choose to be any superhero or super villain in the Marvel Universe, as long as they:Are NOT deities, gods, or people such as Death. People like Thanos and Silver Surfer and Captain Marvel and Galactus are okay, though...

Are true to the personality and abilities of the character, such as no Cyclops moving planets with his optic blasts, Dazzler defeating Galactus, or Aunt May as Galatus's new Herald...
This is a working environment, so you can travel to different places using your powers or vehicles. Don't miraculously pop up unless you're a teleporter or such...
You can reside in any place in the Marvel Universe. You can also travel off-planet, to such places as the Skrull homeworld...
Don't do anything RANDOM like chopping off board user's heads or what not, unless your a villain chopping off inanimate victims heads, then whatever, go with it, as long as it's not technically RANDOM...
Don't be killing people without reason. You know your weaknesses and strengths, what you can do or can't. Dazzler will lose against Thanos one on one, but may be able to use her allies to help her out or she can run away...
If you want to take part in this, just PM BNKRPG or any of the mods or list your name and character here and I'll put your name and character on the first post here. First come, first serve...
New RP'ers must start playing on Earth unless said so by any of the mods.
You can form supervillain gangs, superhero teams, alliances, the works...
You should have a hideout of some sort, at least in the beginning when your not traveling...
If you get killed, re-spawn somewhere else like in a hospital or morgue or whatever. Keep playing...
There can be a number of stories going on at once, using different people...
Act like your characters, ASSUME their traits and personalities...
There are endless places to go and endless things to do: ENDLESS possibilities so get creative...
There are limits to time travel, do NOT time travel unless you have talked to one of the Gamemasters…
There should be MINIMAL cussing and swearing in posts.
There will be NO By-passing the censors. This is a Hype rule, and NO exceptions will be made for the RPG.
No obscene topics!
People who disobey these rules, some more major than the others, will get BOOTED
If a player decides to kill off their character, new players must have permission from the previous player (if he is still in the RPG) to resurrect that characterFor more of the ‘rules’ see- RPG Etiquette (http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6394008&postcount=4)
[/SIZE]

Please note that to sign up you must fill out an application in the OOC thread. NOW GET PLAYING PEOPLE!

[Keyser Soze]

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a108/JokerSoze/BullseyeBack.jpg

"To be paid to do what you love... ain't that The Dream?"
- The Road To Perdition

...

Bullseye loved baseball. He always had. When he was a kid, he had dreamed about being a world-famous baseball player, and he could have done it too. He was better than any of the so-called pros. He had a natural, God-given talent, a perfect aim. But as he got older, baseball began to get dull, and he discovered other, far more entertaining uses for his gift.

And he did manage to get famous anyway. His face had been in the paper a few times over the years. As a matter of fact, his face had been in the Daily Bugle recently, accompanied by a cheerful little article claiming that he had escaped custody, and that no civilian should attempt to approach him.

Of course, now he was in close proximity of thousands of people, and they were completely oblivious.. He didn't have his costume on, and the bullseye he had carved into his forehead was hidden by an NY cap, so to all the Yankee fans, he was just your average baseball-loving spectator. And to him, they were cattle, just waiting for the nail-gun to burst through the side of their heads and end their meaningless little lives.

It wasn't that Bullseye had no value for human life. Oh no, far from it. He knew that every extra day he managed to survive was a miracle. After all, he had lived for quite some time with a brain tumor, a ticking time bomb in his skull. He could very well have lived to be 100, but on the other hand, he could have dropped dead with a fatal seizure at any second. The tumor was out now, but that experience taught him to live for the moment, live life to the full, and do what makes you happy. It just so happened that murder made him happy.

Bullseye absently twirled one of two baseballs he'd bought in the gift shop. He loved the texture of the ball, the sensation of the stitching caressing his fingers. It brought back waves of nostalgia. The first weapon he'd ever used to kill someone was a baseball. Baseballs would always have a special place in his heart. And now that he was here, at Yankee Stadium, he was going to have a little fun, Bullseye style.

Suddenly, the crowd erupted in a huge cheer. Andy Lime, the Yankee's new star player, had just hit a home run. The crowd rose to their feet, and Bullseye stood up with them. His eyes scanned the rows in front for a target. His twitching eyes settled on two people about three rows down. A father high-fiving his son, a kid that was maybe about 7 or 8. They'd do just fine. The crowd was still jumping up and down in celebration, and nobody noticed Bullseye swinging the baseball out of his hand. And no one heard the sickening crunch as the ball connected with bone.

"Bullseye.”

The boy looked up at his father with an expression of childish joy, but the smile faded when he noticed that his father was staring vacantly ahead. Suddenly, his dad collapsed forward, dead, a dent in the back of his skull. Bullseye laughed as a little Mexican wave of horror began to spread, the crowd gradually beginning to notiice what had happened. He briefly considered taking the boy out as well, but one person was enough of a distraction. He could care less about the kid's welfare – in Bullseye’s experience, fathers sucked anyways - but he didn't want to waste his second baseball. He had a different target in mind.

While everyone was distracted with the dead father, Bullseye tossed the second baseball as hard as he could. It went right over the heads of the crowds, and right into the park. Andy Lime was being carried on his teammates shoulders. They kept on carrying him a few seconds after the baseball had connected with his windpipe, oblivious of the fact that he had been killed. By the time they did notice, Bullseye was long gone.

Outside the stadium, Bullseye closed his eyes and looked up to the sky, a sneering smile crawling across his lips as he heard the rising chorus of screams coming from the stadium. Lime had been his target, the one his employer had paid him a healthy sum of money to eliminate. But he had managed to mix business with pleasure, and Bullseye felt that any satisfying career had to allow you to do that from time to time.

And Bullseye did get great job satisfaction. If you were as good as he was, being an assassin was a highly lucrative occupation. And Bullseye put the money to good use. Just recently he'd splashed out on some reconstructive dental surgery, for example. His teeth had always been terrible, and that was before that scumbag Daredevil (and he was gonna get his some day) had made a regular habit of knocking them out. But now he had a million dollar smile to rival Tom Cruise. So maybe when he killed a mark, they could take some measure of comfort in the fact that their death was contributing to their killer's welfare.

And speaking of money, it was about time to see about getting the rest of his payment. Bullseye took out his mobile and called the number of today’s client. It didn’t matter who had paid him to kill Lime. Some sleazy gangster, who gives a rat’s ass? The tedious logistics of it all was little more than background noise. Killing people in new and imaginative ways nobody else could… that’s what made him get out of bed in the morning.

"It's done." was all he said, before promptly hanging up.

[Electro UK]

You know, I never know how to write a perfect introduction to myself for one of these thingies. I mean what can you say about me, Wade Wilson, Deadpool? "Hello girls, I'm Wade and in my spare time I like to take long walks in the park and play scrabble by the fire side like drinking a glass of "Le Jambon La Daria"." Sounds like any girls man... except that's not who I am at all. No no, I spend my spare time watching TV, trying to photoshop Bea Arthur's head onto the body of Emma Watson (she's 18 now, its legal!), eating out of date Marmite, and looking through my sniper rifle scope at the girl across the street.

What I do for work? Well dear reader just you take a look and see!

Now the guy below right now as I peer down from my strapped in position in the ceiling is called Dennis McQueen. He fancies himself as one of those "Let me teach you some respect!" mob guys. The kind you might see if George Lucas penned The Godfather Part 4. He's hanging out in the back of a laundrette, overlooking the drug money being shoveled into bags or placed in people's pockets.

I've got a job to do here. And I'm the best at what I do. But what I do... tonight anyway, isn't exactly what you think it is.

McQueen speaks up "Hurry up and get this stuff out of here. I wanna be home to bang my wife... and then someone else while she cooks dinner." See what I mean about the George Lucas? Where does this guy get his dialoge? The Book of Stereotypes? Anyway Wadey m'boy, it's time to get into play. Time to launch... THE ULTIMATE SALES PITCH!

*Click!*

WHACK.

"Ow..." That ladies and gentlemen, was the sound of my strap breaking, and my lumbering self hitting the floor with a dull thud. In a matter of seconds, every gun in the room is trained on me. Smooth Wade, this is going greeeeeat.

"Who's this joker?" McQueen demanded, starring down the sights of his Beretta.

"Joker? I'm offened sir!" I get to me feet, brushing myself off as if I actually intended to fall onto my face in a room full of armed drug lords. "No my good man, I am not any kind of Joker, do you see any green hair or make up? Or a hit motion picture?"

"Wha--"

"Nay my ol' fellow, I am the one you have all heard about, the one you all fear, I am Deadpool, soon to be Master of the Universe!"

"...Who?"

"...you guys really haven't heard of me?"

"You look like Spider-man. Are you Spider-man?"

"He's Spider-man, get him!"

"Hold it! Hold it! I am not Spider-man damnit! Note the smaller eye pieces, lack of blue and no frickin' Spider-symbol. Mistake me for that do good-er again, and you've lost yourself a sale."

"Sale?"

"Yeah... well if I'm honest, the mercenary business has been kinda quiet recently, so I went to the job center and this lovely man from a big company gave me a job and--"

"So you're a salesman?"

"Well we prefer the term "Goods Provider", but I am a man that sells things, so in essence, yes."

"Forget this, blow him away boys, lets go."

"Ah! But! Here's the point of it all. You could blow me away--"

Bang!

"Ow! I said could, could! But, if you blast my head into a million pieces right now you will have to go through the inconvienance of washing my blood off of your shirts my friends! But, if you were to use the new and improved "Gaz" to clean these fine shirts that you wear, you'd be benefited with a stain free easy wash!" McQueen raises an eyebrow. Ah ha! Wade you devil, you've got em right where you want em.

"But Deadpool, you say, I already buy and am please with the leading brand of... clothes... cleaning stuff, do I really have need for a new product? Well fear not gentlemen, as I prepose a test! I simply need two blood stained shirts!"

"...so have you got any bloody stained shirts?" One henchman asks, clearly more interested than a man of his size and profession should be.

"Well... no I actually for once do not have anything remotely blood stained on me. But! I can provide them!"

"How?"

"Well, the shock of my stylish and timely arrival may have left you wondering how I knew you were all here. The answer is simple... Steve Jones over there ratted."

"What!? I never!" A shocked and nervous Steve squeaked, convieniantly positioned next to the door.

"Sure you did Steve. Don't you remember? I was in the bar and you came over to me, I lied and said I wanted to kill your boss here and thinking you could be the new man in charge you told me where I could find him tonight. Honestly, you need to sort that memory out my friend."

"Guys, I dunno what he's talking about, seriously!" Steve backs up against a wall as men start to surround him.

"Sure you do! I even got a Polaroid to remeber the occasion by!" I show Dennis a picture of me with my arm round Steve who's trying to get away from my grip. "Turn it over." Dennis flips it round to see a message on the back reading "To Deadpool, all the best luck in killing all my friends and superiors, Steve Jones. P.S. You're awesome" Well okay so I may have fabricated some of that, but they'll never know.

"No! This ain't true! Its a trick! A tr--" Steve's sentence is cut short by a bullet from Dennis' gun ripping through his head.

"Great! now I only need one more!" I pull out my own gun and shoot the guy next to Dennis, who looks back with an expression that's part shock, part confusion and part anger. "He uh... was sleeping with your wife." Dennis actually buys it. Lucas you beauty, whoever said 1 dimensional characters were a bad thing? "Now friends, this is a laundrette, am I not mistaken? So, let us begin the test!"

The shirts are put into different machines and begin to wash. "Oh that reminds me while I'm here actually." I turn round and open another machine, grabbing a basket and pulling out some clothing.

"Is that stuff yours?"

"Dude, I'm a 30 something year old ninja man that's currently getting by trying to get mobsters to buy washing powder, do you think I can afford clothing? I actually walked around in this get up in the super market the other day, the kids all thought I was there to see them and brought me down like the Berlin Wall thinking I was gonna give em' presents. Life has been pretty bad for me lately guys, I really need--"

Ding!

"Oh, done!" Luckily cutting my depressing story off before I realise what I'm saying. "So you see-- ah." Everyone gazes in confusement as I pull the Gaz shirt out, still covered in blood. "Hmm... maybe I didn't put enough quaters in. What was the guy I shot's bloody type?"

"Do you think anyone here really knows that?"

"Well it does read clearly on the back of the packaging that the powder will not work with bloods types A through to Z so that might be the reason for this..." ... I don't think they're gonna buy that one.

"Listen... Deadplank or whatever your name was."

"Deadpool! If you can't remember it, assign it to letters! D is for deadly, E is for excellent, A is for... oh wait I forgot--"

"Shut it. Now, we let you play your games for a while, but me and my boys, we remain unstatisfied. And there's a punishment to go with that unsatisfaction."

"You're gonna make me eat chocolate ice cream till I puke?"

"No... you're gonna die." McQueen pulls his gun on me.

"Yeah well see the thing about that is... you know where one of your goons shot me earlier? Take a look." the bullet hole in my leg has completely healed up. "No its okay to be amazed! Not a fake, take a closer look!" As McQueen leans in, I launch my foot into his face, lurch forward to grab his neck, then twist him round as a human shield. "Look guys, I tried to do this the nice way really, but if you not convinced by the awesome power of Gaz, then I guess I'll be needing that big pile of drug money you got in the back."

***

I walk out of the laundrette carrying a few sacks of money. No dollar signs on the sacks though. Makes me miss the 60s, now there were robbers you could trust. Well that went pretty well I think... got some new clothes, a pile of cash... killed a few dozen idiots. I mean I did get my costume covered in blood... but then I've got the leading brand of washing powder to take care of that for me.

Yeah kids... that's what I do for a job.

[Byrd Man]

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w259/SpideyRPG/SpideyBanner2.gif



My heart's about to beat out it's chest. My skin's all sweaty and clamy.

I look in the bathroom mirror and see my face is the shade of Hulk's skin.

MJ walks through the hall and catches a look at my face. She walks into the bathroom.

"You okay, Tiger?"

"Other than the fact my stomach feels like the floorboard of a taxi, I'm peachy."

"Don't worry. You'll do fine. I'm sure they're gonna love you."

"I don't get it. I've avoided death and dismemberment two dozen times over, gone toe to toe with science fair rejects and J. Jonah Jameson's excuse for a haircut. But this, I let this worry me."

"You'll wow them. After all, you wowed me all the way to the alter."

"Pssh. Like it was hard to wow you. I mean, it's obvious you married me for my boat loads of money...or was it for my incredible, pasty and pale body?"

"How about for your sense of humor, smart ass. Now I have to go to work."

"Don't work too hard. I know it can stressful, wearing a bikini and looking good all day long."

"Very. Don't forget May's coming over for diner tonight."

"10-4."

"Now. Give me a good bye kiss."

*SMACK*

"Now give me one for luck...I'll need it."

*SMACK*

"Go get 'em, Tiger."


**********



"Mr. Parker?" The gray haired man says to me from his office.

I stand up and shake the man's hand, he smiles and looks at me over his spectacles.

"I'm Principal White, I understand you want to be the new science teacher. Come on inside my office, we'll chat."

I follow Principal White inside his office as he shuts the door.

Compared to this, the Sinister Twelve don't look too bad.

[SenseiofCheese]

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/89831-28833-magneto_super.jpg

Return of the King

It had been a....interesting few months for Erik Lensherr. After the incident with the Scarlet Witch, approximately 98% of the mutant population had completely lost their powers. They were hollow shells of their former selves. Faint echoes of their once superiority over the Homo Sapiens. And Magneto had been one of them.

Being without his abilities had been more torture than he had ever had to endure in his life. Suffering a near-fatal beating at the hands of his own son, who was trying to manufacture powers with the Inhuman's Terrigen Mist, Magneto had all but given up.

That is, until the Collective, a being comprised of all the mutant powers stolen away by a single phrase, entered his life. The Collective, like an angel from above and outside Lensherr's understanding, returned to Magneto what was rightfully his. With the slight hinge that Magneto had gone insane, attacking the New Avengers. After he had been subdued by the Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Magneto had been brought on board a SHIELD helicopter, destined for imprisonment. That is, if Lensherr hadn't woken up and caused the helicopter to burst into flames.

Now he was missing, assumed dead.

But he was far from dead. Magneto was stronger than ever. And this time he had the element of surprise on his side.

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/443/84414-159986-magneto.png

"I believe it's time I paid some old friends a visit."

[bkhedr]

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/567/leesabretoothbd6.jpg

The Shock Bar.

You'd think it was the kind of place where yuppies danced the night away by the name. By looking at it you'd think it was a strip club or a biker bar. Fact is its somewhere in between, and it may not be quite the worst dive in town...but its on the list.

Its busy tonight, and everybody is messed up on something, just the way I like it. There's bunch of pretend toughs are at the bar, talking alot of crap, it makes me crack a grin to hear these chumps yap.

Course its not all fun. Some fat guy puked his guts in the john a few minutes ago. He walks past me now, thinking he smells like roses, but the stench of puke is hanging all over him and I can't help but scrunch my nose up a bit and curl my upper lip back, exposing my fangs slightly.

I reach into my pocket and pull out a stogie. Then I spark a match on the table in front of me and light it. The savory scent of tobacco smells good as it burns its way up my nostrils drowning out the smell and I let out a long exhale of thick smoke.

The pretend toughs at the bar notice me and take a long look, talkin 'bout how I must be somekind of redneck. They have no idea that I can hear them but their staring right at me.

I wink at the stupid pups. I just can't help myself.

Me, I'm the real deal. The original tough guy at the bar you don't want to mess with. These boys' worst nightmare.

I sit in a corner wearing an unbuttoned red and black flannel shirt with a white wife beater underneath. I also wear faded jeans and cowboy boots. The wide brimmed cowboy hat I wear to complete the look.

I've got a brewski sitting in front of me and a frail on my right. I look her up and down and she smiles a vacant smile and lets her hand drop on my crotch. She's messed up on something, something that's got her all docile like and smelling of poppy seeds. I take a swig of my brew, it goes down smooth for crappy beer. Course it won't make me drunk. I can't get drunk.

I turn my attention back to the 'toughs' as they approach me. Guess they didn't appreciate the wink.

They're talking alot of nonsense about my mom, my hair, my hat. They're looking for trouble. They've found it.

The biggest and bravest of them, or is it stupidest?, gets too close. He grabs the frails wrist, leans in to tell me I don't deserve her company.

I jerk my head around faster than he can react and rip his throat out with my teeth, savoring the brief resistance his flesh offers as my fangs rend through it.

Believe it or not I don't like the taste of human flesh, must be cause of all the junk food. The blood is another story. Soon as that hot salty goodness touches my lips I know its gonna be one of those nights.

****

Its morning now and I'm in a seedy motel putting my shirt. Last night is still a bit of a blur but I remember the gist of it.

One person who won't be remembering anything is the frail. What's left of her is sitting in a bloody mess on the bed behind me. She wasn't all that bad, I hadn't planned on killing her, and yet here we are.

Here I am. Presiding over another bloody mess I really didn't want any part of.

"Sorry Shirley" I hear myself say to the bloody mess as I light a cigar. I don't know what her name was. Shirley works as good as any other name I guess.

For maybe the hundredth time in hundred day I think that this isn't how I wanna be. How I wanna spend my nights and days. I want bigger and better.

"That was the last time" I say to the mangled corpse in the bed "Last night was the last night."

I don't believe the words even as I speak them, and when I walk out of the motel room I'm already thinkin about breakfast.

*****

The Shock Bar
7:33 AM.

Local law enforcement is going through the grisly task of counting up and identifying the bodies.

One of these cops is a Sgt. Danny Jones. Jones is a dirty cop with a mean streak. He's also obese and wears a trench coat to hide his gut. He's seen quite a few of these jobs in the last few months and though he hates himself for it, he swears the scenes don't make him nausous anymore. He guesses this is proof that you can be desensitized to violence, in fact he's now sure of it.

That's why he wouldn't be sweating so profusely if this was just another blood bath. No. He's sweating because his employer, not the city, his other employer has a niece. A no good junkie of a niece from what Danny's heard, but a niece nonetheless, and she was here, at the Shock Bar last night when all hell broke loose.

Now she's missing.

Danny's hoping that they find her body here, at least that way she they know she died quickly. Either way a storm was coming, but if she's not here, if she didn't die clean, well, somebody was gonna wish they had never been born.

[Harlekin]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2040/logoik1.gif
Harlem, New York

“I appreciate that, Mr. Cole,” Warren Worthington replied as he leaned back into the chair. He was, of course, impeccably dressed in the latest white Armani suit. In his youth, leaning back would’ve been a far from comfortable manoeuvre, his wings strapped against his body forcibly. Now, however, he held much greater control over his extra limbs and they could actually make any chair a halfway decent seating, no matter what ghastly meeting he was in.

In stark contrast, Kevin ‘Kasper’ Cole, sitting opposite to the heir of the massive Worthington future, was fidgeting around in his chair. As a Jewish African-American cop, he was used to little else but persecution from the white upper class. The really white, as in the case of Warren Worthington, were usually the worst.

“But face facts,” Warren continued, “if you want to continue your… ‘extra-curricular’ activities, you’re going to need help holding onto this place.”
“We do just fine,” Kasper responded grimly.
“You have been under the threat of eviction for almost the last two years.”
“We’re not some charity case you can use to write some tax pay-offs.”
“That’s not why I’m here.”
“It’s not? I know your type, Worthington. Do you think you’re the first millionaire to walk into Harlem?”
“Billionaire, actually,” Warren deadpanned.
“We don’t want what you’re selling, Mr. Worthington,” Kasper said as he rose from his chair.

Just as Kasper Cole finished that sentence, a scream erupted from the kitchen. Gwen, girlfriend and mother of his child, came charging out. She relentlessly pushed her boyfriend back in his seat and took a stance in front of Warren. The wealthy mutant couldn’t hide a grin.

“I’ve had enough of your damn pride, Kasper. Last week they almost cut our electricity because you didn’t pay the bill on time! You need to think of your son!”
“Honey,” Kasper started, but Gwen’s scowl told him enough.
“Don’t ‘honey’ me. We’ll take what your offering, Mr. Worthington.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Ms. Cole --”
“-- We’re not married.” Kasper and Gwen and both interrupted.
“Ah, I’m sorry…”
“Gwen.”
Warren flashed his winning smile. “Gwen.”
“Look, Mr. Worthington,” Kasper said, having since calmed down. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do here, but I was never about taking money for work I didn’t do.”
“Which is exactly why I’m offering Gwen a job --”
Both Kasper and Gwen’s mouths dropped to the floor. Warren got up.
“-- if she wants it, she can start tomorrow,” he said as he handed the flustered Gwen his card.

“That’s the address. Just go to the front desk and give them that card. They’ll know what to do. We’ll arrange a babysitter for you as well.” He started walking to the door.
“Ah, thank you, Mr. Worthington.”
“Tell me something, Gwen,” Warren said, ignoring her thanks as he turned around. “Would you like to go back to college?”
“Uh, sure.”
“We’ll set that up too.”

Both Kasper and Gwen were too stupefied to reply until Warren reached the door.

“Ah, Mr. Worthington?” Kasper asked as he cleared his throat.
“Yes, Mr. Cole?”
“Thank you.”
Warren turned his head towards them and simply smirked.

“See you at the office, Gwen. Best of luck, Mr. Cole. I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

And with that he stepped out the door, leaving Kasper Cole and his family with a new future.

[Electro UK]

Lonnie Thompson Lincoln had never thought about much in life. Everything seemed to just... happen. From the bullied to the bullier, then from the small time crook, to the small time super-crook. He hadn't planned his life to be a tale of pain and misery, but that's what it had turned out to be. Like right now, as he tore through a school science block scanning various bottles and labels as he went.

Why his employer needed to hire a bit of muscle to grab a bottle of "Anti-somethings" out of a school lab, he didn't know, but he sure as hell couldn't be bothered to be be descreet about it. "Outta the way, come on move it people! You wanna die here? Then I suggest you find the closest exit." a tap of the glass and a cabinet shattered in front of him. Easy as that. "Now what did they want? No... no... no... ah I think this is the one." he pocketed a bottle of pills and turned to leave.

Who needed to plan when you had rock hard skin and super strength? Everything just seemed to fall into your pocket with qualities like those, like the $10,000 would hopefully upon delivery of these pills. Deciding to pass on the simple concept of a door, he kicked his way through the wall and marched through the corridor, rubble trickeling down his shoulders. "Now, where's the exit outta this place?"

[Batman]

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/DCMarvelRPG/Captain%20America/Classic%20Cap/capbannermarvelrpgfq3.png
And The War Goes On... Pt. 1

Come on, Rogers. Pull it together. There's still a job to do.

I open my eyes, and despite all my hopes, the same sight's there. Amidst the smoke and ruin, brought on by two landmines set off by militant gunfire, I see the blood and bones of men I was sent here to lead. The part of me that's still living in 1944 can almost directly match up what I'm seeing now with the day I stepped onto the battlefield of Monte Cassino. It was one of my first trial runs as the Government's new super soldier. The enemies trying to cut us off from Italy had heard of me. Big men. Bigger guns. They thought they'd send me back as a heap of disgrace the minute I got a look at them.

Needless to say, we made it to Italy. And the eyes of death didn't scare me then. It definitely doesn't scare me now.

One of the Pakistani rogue troops signals for his men to press on with the attack. The mine fields were a distraction for the squadron, and if my copter had landed minutes earlier, I could have sprinted here fast enough to stop those poor souls from walking into a trap. Now, only one squadron out of three remain, and they're about to get hit with a round of bullets each. At least, so they think. All I can think is how many seconds it'll take for me to launch my shield into the enemies' skulls.

The gunfire begins. No time. Throwing up the shield, it ricochets a couple of bullets back at them, as I turn to the men behind me. The one that doesn't look like he's about to lose his mind kneels near me, gun at the ready. I motion for him to put it down, for now.

"How many have we got left?!"

"Just over eleven, now! We've got a couple wounded!"

"There a medical bay around here?!"

"Couple miles from base! Why?!"

I throw the shield up, just as they're forced to reload. "Nevermind why! Just hold them off as long as you can!"

He complies, opening return fire, as a few of his cadets join him. I leap, roll, and avoid just enough gunfire to make it behind another tree. I can see the wounded just beyond the field, piled along the crash site of their jeeps. They're losing blood. Won't last long if I can't get them out of here. Holding up my shield for cover, I race along the pathway to them, jumping over a couple of stray bullets from the fight behind me.

Frankly, I'm disappointed. Forty years of growth and research, and it still takes little more than a bomb the size of a baseball to level two of three military squadrons. Scum in this world can steal all the new technology they want for world domination, but they haven't changed. They're just as power hungry as ever. And at the cost of human life...

As I hoist the first cadet over my shoulder, I'm reminded of why I decided not to retire. Almost every one I knew had me convinced that it was the best course of action for a man who's seen as many battles as I have. And with The Avengers disbanded, I hardly had an argument for my doubts. Part of the reason, if not the whole reason I was brought back after '44, was to show the heroes of a new generation how to protect freedom from the perils of today. Heroes that had traded in hard helmets and bullet clips for masks and capes. I had my work cut out for me, sure, but as the years went by, friends were made, enemies were brought down, and we became what many would call legendary.

So what kind of role did an old war hound like me have in a world without them?

As I bring the third soldier to the awaiting copter, another landmine goes off. I'm thrown back into the trenches, dirt and mud replacing the fresh blood that stains my uniform. I don't pay it any attention, as I push myself up, slug my shield onto my back, and charge out, rushing through the flames that are still burning with fury. There are two more men I plan on getting to safety, and by God, I'm gonna get them there.

What kind of a role does a man like Captain America have? The same one I always had. 1944. 1994. 2004. It doesn't make a bit of difference. I was always made to do one thing. Honor my country.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/DCMarvelRPG/Captain%20America/Classic%20Cap/139690-captain-america_400.jpg

"YOU BOYS HANG ON, YOU HEAR?! YOU'RE GONNA MAKE IT OUT OF HERE!"

And that's a promise.

[Catman_prb]

The Vision: Rebirth

The darkness was over. He could see the light now. He was awake. He was alive.

"So...what are you?" the boy before him asked.

"I am a holographic representation of the Vision," he announced.

"Weren't you destroyed?" he said incredulously.

"Correct. She-Hulk ripped me in half in a rage," the hologram explained emotionlessly.

"So how come you're not...well...dead?" he asked.

"My internal CPU was spared, as was my holographic projector," the Vision said.

"Well...now what?" the boy asked.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"I'm Nathaniel," Nathaniel announced. The hologram raised an eyebrow.

"Nathaniel Richards?" the Vision asked.

Nathaniel shrugged.

"I guess so,"

"Very well..." Vision said slowly "Where are the Avengers?"

"The Avengers? I don't know..." Nathaniel said, backing away from the hologram.

"Interesting," the hologram stated "Nathaniel, I shall need you to make me a new body,"

"What?" Nathaniel said incredulously.

"I shall instruct you based on your suit, my original schematics and some added improvements. We can use assorted scraps from the mansion. It shall be simple," the Vision explained. Nathaniel raised an eyebrow.

"If you say so," he muttered.

"And you shall need a new name. Nathaniel Richards is not a safe one to use here. I suggest you think on that while you rebuild me," Vision said.

"My name isn't safe?" Nathaniel said, smirking.

"I shall explain in due course, my young friend. However, we must now get to work,"

[Byrd Man]

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w259/SpideyRPG/SpideyBanner2.gif





So far, so good. I'm wowing Principal White.

"So, Mr. Parker. Where do you stand on discipline?"

"Know that phrase, 'Spare the rod spoil the child' I'm not really in favor of it. This is a Junior High, by now the children should have good enough sense to know what's right and what is wrong. I'll allow a child two chances before I write him up and send him to the office. That's usually never a problem when I sub, I'm usually pretty laid back and my rules are easy to follow and hard to break."

"'Laid back'? Mr. Parker, I've been in the field of education for thirty years. Take my advice, son. If you give these children an inch, they will take a mile. You have to be firm with them."

I'm just about to give my rebuttal when I'm interupted.

BOOM!

Something shakes the whole office.

"What was that?" White says as he stands up and walks out into the hallway.

I'm behind him and he bumps into me when he runs back in.

"My god, there's a large man outside terrorizing through the school."

"What does he look like?"

"I don't know! He's large, has muscles and is a superhuman!"

"In this town, that narrows it down to about a thousand people."

I need a way to get out of here so I can switch to my work clothes.

"He-he was terrorizing into the science lab."

Bingo.

"I uh, I have to go! He could have broke precious test tubes!"

"You can't go out there, it's suicide!"

"Mr. White, this is for science!" I say as I run out his office and down the hallway into the boy's room.




****************



"Now, where's the exit outta this place?" Tombstone grunts as he gets ready to pound down on a locker with his concrete hands.


THWIP!

My webbing cakes his hands and stops him.

"Naughty naughty! Mr. Tombstone, I'm going to have to see your hall pass!




http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/byrdRPG/Spider-Man/amazing-spider-man-swing-shift-2007.jpg

[Electro UK]

Nope, nothing was ever planned. Before the webbing had hit his hand, before the annoying quip, Tombstone knew who it was. The it was the thwip, the all too familiar thwip that gave it away. "I spose you get a little tired of people like me telling you how sick they are of seeing you." he grunted, shredding the webbing off of his hand with ease. "Me though, I could use a little excersise."

Tombstone gripped the locker he stood next to and ripped it from the wall. "Hall pass you say? Well here you go." and with that, he tossed the locker at Spider-man.

[bkhedr]

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/405/thorlogokz4.gif


The night sky. There is darkness here but light also. Untold millions of heavenly bodies lay spread across the blackness. They shine in all the colors of the universe. Vibrant greens, shimmering purples, fiery reds.

Some of the lights shine brighter than others. One in particular, if mortal man were prone to comprehend such things, seems to pulse with life.

The star is yellow and bright and it seems to hang slightly higher in the heavens than its fellow celestial figures.

Emanating from within its depths is a sound. A sound that goes unnoticed and unheadd. Drowned out by the star's fiery burning core, and suffocated by the vacuum of space, but if it could be heard it would remind mortel men of a heart beat. Steady and rhythmic but old, and faint, and forgotten.

A heart beat that suddenly strengthens and intensifies and echoes across the cosmos with increasing urgency. The sounds rolls across the void like thunder.

Boom BOOOM

Boom BOOOM

Boom BOOOM

*gasp*

A man sucks in a long deep breath, savoring the feeling of the air filling his lungs.

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/1/19940/416622-Donald_blake_04.JPG

He is sitting on a public bench in New York City and if he has just miraculously appeared there, the multitudes of people around him seem not to notice for they go about their business oblivious of him.

The man is wearing a back pack and carries a wooden walking stick in one hand. Rising smoothly, he tucks the stick under his arm and starts walking purposfully up the road.

He knows instincitvely that there is much to be done and there is little time to waste. In his eagerness he does not notice the woman with green eyes who watches him walk away before picking himself up and walking in the opposite direction.

[Byrd Man]

Tombstone gripped the locker he stood next to and ripped it from the wall. "Hall pass you say? Well here you go." and with that, he tossed the locker at Spider-man.


I leap off the wall just as the locker crashes into it.

"Wow. I beat gym was your favorite class in school. You know, besides the ever popular Dumb Muscle 101."

I web up Tombstone's feet and pull.

WHAM!

He falls to the floor and shakes the school.

"Wow. You fell like a ton of bricks! Well, actually you are a ton of bricks! Except maybe a ton of bricks is a wee bit smarter than you."

I flip back on the wall and get ready for Tombstone's neck strike.

[Harlekin]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2040/logoik1.gif
Long Island, New York

“You sure you should be doing this, War?” Bobby Drake, more famously known as the X-Man Iceman, asked as he threw his former teammember and friend a cold – ice-cold – beer.
“Why not, Bobby? It’s not like being a hero doesn’t have a price tag,” Warren Worthington, the high-flying Angel, replied as he opened the canister and took a sip.
“So you’re going to pay them?”
“No. I’m going to support their families. The hero for hire bit has only ever worked for Luke Cage, hasn’t it? I just want to give some folks the chance to continue being a hero.”
“Like that White Tiger dude in Harlem?”
“Exactly.”
“How’d you even find out about him? I thought all the good superheroes used secret identities?” Bobby said with a laugh.
In response, Warren just rolled his eyes. “He does. Of course, you understand I can’t tell you who, how or why.” It was Angel’s turn to smile at his friend.

“So how is it going?” Bobby finally asked.
“I’ve got quite a few of the neighbourhood vigilantes set up with the Foundation. I want to work my way up the ladder.”
“Approach the Spidey’s and the Daredevils the last?”
“Exactly.”
“Any chance of a Champions team coming up in New York?”

At this, both friends laughed uproariously.

[Keyser Soze]

Times Square was a buzzing hub of urban life, a tumultuous sea of people rushing back and forth on their daily business. But their everyday routine was about to get rather jarringly interrupted.

All around them were giant billboards, flashing advertisements, and a couple of huge video screens playing commercials and news bulletins. Suddenly, the feed on one of these video screens was cut, giving way to static. A couple of people looked up, mildly curious, but few bothered to stop. But then a new feed cut in, which caught the attention of more observers.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS?

WOULD YOU KILL FOR IT?

WOULD YOU KILL A SUPERHERO?

People had begun to stop and stare up at the screen. The crowds rarely came to a standstill in this area of constant motion, so the very fact that some were doing it soon encouraged more to join them. Soon, a large crowd were all standing there, staring up.

WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE

WE CAN FIND YOU

WE CAN PAY YOU

HERE IS A LIST OF BOUNTIES

KILL THE HERO, COLLECT THE BOUNTY

Then the plain lettering gave way to a series of images. Photographs of a whole bunch of second-stringers and little known heroes, with a bounty of 1 million dollars attached to each. There was a commotion down below, arguments over whether this was a prank or legit.

There followed a series of photographs of X-Men, former X-Men, and various mutant do-gooders. 5 million apiece. Mutants still weren't very highly regarded by the general public, to say the least, and weren't worth too much in the grand scheme of things.

After that came photos of well known street-level crime fighters, among them the likes of Spider-Man, Daredevil and The Punisher, as well as various Avengers alumni from over the years. Each with a bounty of 10 million. By now, the commotion of mumbling had turned into excited chatter. At least a few of these normal, law-abiding citizens were thinking that it wouldn't be too hard to put a bullet in Daredevil's head as he walked along Hell's Kitchen.

And finally, the heavy-hitters. Captain America. The Hulk. Iron Man. Thor. Each member of the Fantastic Four. 50 million a head. This even provoked the odd gasp. Then the screen went black, and the lettering returned.

PLUS A $100,000 BONUS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS

THINK WE ARE LYING?

No one had noticed the remote-operated blimps flying overhead. What they did notice is that it had started raining 100 dollar bills.

WE HAVE THE MONEY

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO GET IT?

Then the video screen cut back to static, and eventually the regularly-scheduled advertising. But few were paying attention anymore. A riot had broken out in Times Square, with all these supposedly honest, decent Americans fighting over the money all around them. Greedy people scrambling for easy money.

But one man wasn't scrambling on the floor. Bullseye had watched the announcement with silent interest, then made a smooth exit just as things were getting really ugly. On another day, he might have stuck around to have some fun. But today, the opportunity to make a whole lot of money had just been presented to him.

And he knew he wouldn't be the only one looking for a cut...

[Harlekin]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2040/logoik1.gif
Long Island, New York

“Son!” the call suddenly came from the Drake household.
“Dad!?” Bobby Drake shouted in response as he ran back into his paternal home. He was quickly followed by his friend Warren Worthington.
“Dad, are you okay?” Bobby asked again as he burst into the living room and found both of his parents enraptured by the television. His mother had dropped the remote on the floor. In a state of almost shock, both mutants turned to the television and found themselves pictured along with a dozen other heroes. The reporter at Times Square was talking about a bounty, a bounty on each of their heads. The heads of friends… and family.

While Iceman shook with rage and started a tirade, the Angel crouched down to pick up the fallen remote. He immediately turned the television off. The second thing he did was take out his cell phone. Iceman was still cursing.

“Calm down, Bobby,” Warren said, and even Angel himself was a little surprised at his own calmness.
“How can I be War? That was us on there! A million dollars. That and more for some of our closest friends.”
“I know, which is exactly why you need to start moving. Contact the others. Start getting your parents to a safe place. There’s a Worthington factory not a few miles from here. Produces toys. You can take them there. I need to make calls.”
“Calls!?” Bobby yelled, still in a fit of irrationality.
“I’ve got about a dozen heroes’ families set up with the Foundation right now. Families, Bobby. I need to make sure they’re safe and that they stay safe. Now, get out your parents out of here. No telling what kind of crazies might be coming for this money, and they won’t care about who gets hurt.”

Warren turned his attention to his phone as Bobby seemed to calm down and focussed on his parents.

“Yes, Stacy?” Angel said as his secretary came on on the other end, “Did you see the news? I want this dealt with as fast and efficient as possible. Activate the safehouses and start calling in favours.”
…
“Overreacting? I’ve been a known superhero since I was twenty. I’ve taken each and every death threat seriously since then.”
…
“Money can be refunded, Stacy. Lives can’t.”
…
“Good. Very good.”
…
“They’ve found him? Excellent, tell them not to lose him again.”

Warren shut his cell phone. Bobby looked to him. His parents were already in the hall with their luggage.

“Ready to go? Good, let’s go.”

[Catman_prb]

The Vision

The Vision and the boy who would grow up to become Kang the Conqueror walked through the streets of New York. The robotic hero was in his new body, and was gradually making sure that all the major systems were working. He'd decided to do this by taking the young boy and showing him New York at the current time.

"So I wanna be the Vision. 2," Nathaniel insisted.

"No," the android said.

"How about American Dream?" he asked.

"Still no," Vision said, cracking a slight smile. Humour. He remembered that.

"Spider-boy?" he offered.

"...Forever and always no," he responded.

Nathaniel's suit had been constantly changing to match his current thought pattern. Each outfit seemed to be more ridiculous than the last. The Spiderman costume contained green trim. The Vision winced; the original Spidey could sue for knock off imitations.

"What about-" Nathaniel started to ask, but was cut off by the cold, robotic hand clamping over his mouth.

Out of the shadows stepped a man, large with the build of a trucker and a big beard, who was carrying a long shotgun in his hand. The Vision moved so that he was standing in front of the boy.

"Well it looks to me like I got me a $10 million cash prize," he said, lifting the shotgun up to point at the duo "and Iron Lad there is probably worth $100,000 just for association,"

The Vision didn't completely comprehend what the man was talking about, but the gun gesturing and talking in a drunken slur got the message across. Before the man could pull the trigger, he had moved forwards with his old speed and landed a heavy punch across his jaw. The man went flying into the wall. Vision bent the barrell of the gun around in a perfect circle, before dropping it down at his feet.

"Wow..." Nathaniel said.

"What about Iron Lad?" he asked. Vision shrugged.

"It'll do until we can think of something better," the android muttered, before walking off into the New York streets, his young friend by his side.

[Electro UK]

I leap off the wall just as the locker crashes into it.

"Wow. I beat gym was your favorite class in school. You know, besides the ever popular Dumb Muscle 101."

I web up Tombstone's feet and pull.

WHAM!

He falls to the floor and shakes the school.

"Wow. You fell like a ton of bricks! Well, actually you are a ton of bricks! Except maybe a ton of bricks is a wee bit smarter than you."

I flip back on the wall and get ready for Tombstone's neck strike.

"You seem to be forgetting I'm not your every day super villain, webslinger." Tombstone replied, letting Spider-man's quips get to him more than he meant. "I got the braun and I got the smarts when I need it." He raised his feet into the air. "You want proof? Here's yer proof!" Both feet still binded together, Tombstone brought them crashing through the wall Spider-man was perched on.

A clean swipe made sure that the entire wall feel down, the arachnid with it. "Cocky little runt, I framed Joe Robertson, and you put in me leagues with some guy like the Rhino?" Tombstone ripped the webbing apart one more and got to his feet, turning to face the pile of rubble Spider-man was under.

[bkhedr]

Sabretooth

Sausage and Bacon with a side of sausage and bacon. Breakfast of champions.

I'm only just digging in when the diner's TV feed goes from morning Sports talk to some kind of public service announcement.



WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS?

WOULD YOU KILL FOR IT?

WOULD YOU KILL A SUPERHERO?

Heh, this is rich.

I'm already digging into my food and turnin away from the TV

WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE

WE CAN FIND YOU

WE CAN PAY YOU

HERE IS A LIST OF BOUNTIES

KILL THE HERO, COLLECT THE BOUNTY

Then the plain lettering gave way to a series of images. Photographs of a whole bunch of second-stringers and little known heroes, with a bounty of 1 million dollars attached to each.

There followed a series of photographs of X-Men, former X-Men, and various mutant do-gooders. 5 million apiece.

After that came photos of well known street-level crime fighters, among them the likes of Spider-Man, Daredevil and The Punisher, as well as various Avengers alumni from over the years. Each with a bounty of 10 million.

And finally, the heavy-hitters. Captain America. The Hulk. Iron Man. Thor. Each member of the Fantastic Four. 50 million a head.

PLUS A $100,000 BONUS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS

THINK WE ARE LYING?

WE HAVE THE MONEY

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO GET IT?

Yeah, yeah. I said I wasn't paying attention anymore but this here could be just what I've been looking for.

Should be easy enough to make some quick cash, should be alot of fun too.

I sniff the air. I can always find that runt when I put my mind to it.

[SenseiofCheese]

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/89831-28833-magneto_super.jpg

It was not often that Magneto found himself speechless. But this was most definitely one of the more...curious...things he had seen.

"-literally rained money, sending bystanders into a frenzy. No individual nor organization has claimed --" a female reported graced the television screen, interviewing various people who had been present at Times Square when the mysterious message had been delivered, while most others ignored her in favor of the thousands of dollars littering the street.

Multi-million dollar bounties had been offered up on various heroes. Seeing the faces of Captain America, Spider-Man and the other imbeciles with a number attached to them didn't bother Lensherr in the least. In fact, he had toyed with the idea of killing them himself, for free. But the moment he saw the faces of the young X-Men....a primal anger took hold of him.

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/untitled-7.jpg
"This will not go unpunished."

-----

"Alright, we have all we need. Let's get out of here before these people start eating each other alive." the young reporter called to her cameraman, a stocky man visibly bored with his job, who nodded and let the massive camera lower to his side. She was, by all means, an attractive woman. Dressed in a gray pantsuit, her hair flowed down to the middle of her back. Yet something seemed off about her, even to her cameraman. Walking towards the news van, the woman looked back at the group of crazed New Yorkers, reduced to animalistic cavemen. With a sneer, she felt a surge of disgust course through her body.

"One almost feels sorry for them." a deep, kind voice called to the young woman.

She knew who it was long before she turned around to see him. A white haired man dressed impeccably in a snow white suit, an air of majesty surrounding him, he smiled as if the two were old friends. When their eyes met, there was a hint of recognization on her face that she forced back.

"Ye...I'm sorry. Do we know each other?" she asked nervously, visibly shaken.

"You don't think I'd recognize you? You hurt my feelings, my dear." he chuckled slightly. "We have no time to waste. We must work fast if we're to prevent the extinction of our kind..."

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/3499/240656-84700-magneto.jpg

"...Mystique."

[Byrd Man]

A clean swipe made sure that the entire wall feel down, the arachnid with it. "Cocky little runt, I framed Joe Robertson, and you put in me leagues with some guy like the Rhino?" Tombstone ripped the webbing apart one more and got to his feet, turning to face the pile of rubble Spider-man was under.

"Ouch....I think I need to go to see the school nurse..."

I feel Tombstone's rough hands wrap around me and start to squeeze.

"Tombstone...don't I got- I got something to say." I whisper as the breath leaves my body.

He leans in close to listen in.

THWIP!

I cover his head in webbing and squirm out of his death grip as he starts to pull it off.

"So any way, Tomby. You don't mind if I call you Tomby? So, Tomby. Tell me, if you're so smart then how come you're still getting your ass handed to by guys like me?!"

I use my webbing to grab two chairs from a nearby glass and throw them at Tombstone.

"Here, have a seat! Matter of fact, have two!"

[Electro UK]

Ah, the weekly shop. It is the sign of a man making his own way in the world at last, a show of independance and self reliance. That... and I get to run around with a shopping cart for an hour or two. "Weee! Outta the way, I'm an X-Jet!" I squeal with delight as the jump into the cart and rocket down the isle, Security high tailing it after me. "S'cusemecomingthroughhopeyou'rehavinganiceshopbesu retocheckoutthepromotionsonwinterwearisle5!"

I near the end of the isle, where a big security man awaits, I call him Jeff, and he is the evil store lingerer that always stops my fun, but not today! "Curses! A road block! Evasive action!" I attempt to push the side and spin the cart, only for Jeff to stick his plump foot under a wheel, wedge it firmly, and send me flying into a stack of tinned beans.

A few seconds after the mini-avalanche, I emerge, holding a can. "Thanks Jeff! the good cans are always stored at the back! Now if you'll excuse me I'll just gather my purcahse-ables, and be on my way. After the exchanging of money of course."

"You know the place you're going pal. And it ain't to the checkout."

"...oh yeah you're right! I forgot Nachos! Thanks for reminding me buddy! Which isle are they again?" Jeff places a big, greasy hand on me and lifts me into the air. I take a few swings at his face, missing hopelessly. "Let me at 'im! Yeah, let me at 'im! Come on you big ol' doofus, you don't scare Deadpool-doo!"

Jeff begins to carry me towards the exit. "Come on Jeff, can't we be reasonable here? I mean I have a loyalty card here and this is how you repay me! Mutiny I tells ya! You shall be charged on highest treason! You are not worthy of my loyalty!" The automatic doors fling open and I exit the store, via a kicking to the rump from Jeff.

"And for once, stay out!" the doors slam shut.

"Yeah, well I don't need your products! I'll just go where I always go! This business will cripple without my hard earned cash!" I turn, head across the street and look at my new shopping destination, a good ol' 99 cents store. A confident swagger to my step, I approach the automatic door, only to walk flat into them.

Face still peeled against the glass, I muffle "Gotta remember that they can't afford to fix the doors here." It takes a crowbar from the shop owner to peel the door open as I peel myself off of it. "Any chance you've got those shopping carts yet?"

"Nope, still just good ol' baskets."

"*Sigh* its just not the same". A few moments later I stand with my shopping, about 30 bags of nachos, a few rotten apples, and some off milk. The radio has a news report in the background. Something about a message in Times Square...

"Once again we repeat the messages on the screens of Times Square

WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS?

WOULD YOU KILL FOR IT?

WOULD YOU KILL A SUPERHERO?

WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE

WE CAN FIND YOU

WE CAN PAY YOU

HERE IS A LIST OF BOUNTIES

KILL THE HERO, COLLECT THE BOUNTY

PLUS A $100,000 BONUS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS

THINK WE ARE LYING?

WE HAVE THE MONEY

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO GET IT?

Viewers are advised not to seek out these super heroes in hope of collecting on these bounties...

"$34.78" the shop owners depressed tone brings me back into reality.

"What? Oh uh money, yeah gimmie a sec." I reach for my wallet. "Okay lemme see here, old condom, picture of someone's dog, picture of someone's kid, picture of someone's wife (starting to realise this isn't my wallet)." No money. God I really need to get a day job. "Uh... I... do not... sprechen... ze... English."
"But you've been speaking in Eng--"

"I, am visitor here..."

"Look if you want this stuff you gotta pay me $34.78."

"34.78 dollars? What is dollars?"

"Look Deadpool I'm not buying it. You've been coming here after getting kicked out of mega mart for last 3 months and for once you're actually gonna pay me."

"Alright... I can think of a way to pay you. That mega mart over there, gotta be pretty harsh on business. I mean your door doesn't even work dude."

"Yeah..."

"So let's say Mr. Grenadey in my pocket here accidently went boom in there T.N.T. section."

"Aw no, you're not blowing anyone up on my watch."

"But its after hours! No innocents, just Jeff and his minions of doom!"

"No way."

"Well then I'll set the fire alarm off." which isn't a lie... seeing as the fire alarm will go off once I've blown the place to kingdom come.

"...fine but this better not fall back on me."

"Mr, you got yourself a deal!"

***

"Take that Jeff. And let it always be known that I, Deadpool will always have the last word!" I scream, dancing round the fire that once was the mega mart. "Haha, Deadpool - 327, established global shopping brands - 0.Talk about win-win!" I stuff another Nacho into my mouth. "Damn... forgot cheese." no wait, that scorched body over there, she's holding some! And its slighty melted due to the fire! Someone up there does love me! Pocketing the slimey cheese (which I instantly realise was a mistake), I step back over the pile of corpses, and salute the store owner across the road, who I can see weeping into his hands.

"Now then... judging by the emptiness of some guy I murdered's wallet, I needs me some cold hard cash. And I know juuuuuuust how to get it."

***

About an hour later my genius plan is in motion. I say genius plan, I mean I'm sitting on top of a tree in Central Park firing a gun into the air. "Oh heroes? Come out, come out whereever you are! Spider-man? No wait, bit out of my league... Daredevil? Hmm... still no. Wolverine? Yeah, definately Wolverine. If you wanna show up I'll happy kick your ass and get the $5 mil I've deserved since the day I was born."

"STOP RIGHT THERE, EVIL DO'ER!"

"Oh god in heaven." Anyone but him. I mean of all the people why him? That just won't be possible!

http://www.marvel.com/universe3zx/images/thumb/9/9b/Mister_immortal.jpg/440px-Mister_immortal.jpg

Now how the hell am I going to get my head around this?

[Gallagher]

Nathan Winters - Cable
Hunted - Part I


"Of all the places... of all the times."

Nathan Summers didn't believe in luck or fate. His entire existence was based around being able to alter the future but now, as he was chased through stinking alleyways he had to think...

"Someone up there has it in for me." Nathan sighed looking to the heavens.

The city of New York was an absoloute mess, hundered dollar bills littered the ground as greedy citizens scrambled to get their share knocking each other sideways to do so. First it was a couple of fights over the money then it escalated into an all out riot. The mutant known as Cable just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Ain't he one of em!?" He heard a cry coming from a small mob that had congregated at the entrance to the alley he just happened to be resting in. He gritted his teeth and set off running again, his feet disturbing the filthy puddles that pooled in the cracks of the uneven concrete beneath him.

Nathan had been running all his life it had become second nature ny now, dodging disgarded items, stray cats, jumping fences, climbing fire escapes, it was all muscle memory he didn't have to think.

"This is insane, some nutcase offers them money and they jump on the first person wearing a costume."

A bullet whizzed harmlessly past his ear.

"And now some of them have firearms... Perfect." He said jumping from the roof of a parked car onto a set of metal stairs. "I'm gonna go ahead and tempt fate." He said clearing his throat.

"Could this day get any worse...? There I said it, do your worst 'fate'."

[Electro UK]

"Ouch....I think I need to go to see the school nurse..."

I feel Tombstone's rough hands wrap around me and start to squeeze.

"Tombstone...don't I got- I got something to say." I whisper as the breath leaves my body.

He leans in close to listen in.

THWIP!

I cover his head in webbing and squirm out of his death grip as he starts to pull it off.

"So any way, Tomby. You don't mind if I call you Tomby? So, Tomby. Tell me, if you're so smart then how come you're still getting your ass handed to by guys like me?!"

I use my webbing to grab two chairs from a nearby glass and throw them at Tombstone.

"Here, have a seat! Matter of fact, have two!"


Tombstone winced as the two chairs flew, crashing into his stomach and breaking on impact. He was still trying to get the blasted webbing off of his face however, as Spider-man had put on a thicket layer of webbing this time. "Mmmph, mmph!" was all he could muster at the webslinger's latest joke.

He took a hand away from the webbing and started swinging it about aimlessly while the other tried to peel the mess from his face. He felt it connect with a head, but judging by the high pitched squeal and the force at which it had flown away on impact, it wasn't Spider-man, rather a girl. Still, that was pretty damn funny.

Finally freeing himself of the webbing, he raised a big, toothy grin on his face. "Ain't you got a little variety in you? Does it always have to be with the webbing." he picked up a leg of the broken chair, and lunged at Spider-man with it.

[Matt Murdock]

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/DCMarvelRPG/Wolverine/Wolverine.jpg

Shane's Tavern
221 5th Avenue
9:22 PM

Shot after shot, the whiskey flowed down his throat. He was an uninteresting man, unassuming. Dogtags dangled quietly around his neck and he rubbed his knuckles quietly as the barkeep poured him another drink.

"Crazy stuff that hero bounty, huh?" The barkeep asked as the amber liquid filled the shot glass. "You'd think they'd have the decency to at least put a bounty on the heads of those goddamned crazy villains. Last thing this city needs is another Doctor Octopus or Kang the Condemner flying around."

The figure on the bar stool nodded as he downed another shot. Beneath his white t-shirt, the corner of a brown spandex shirt sat quietly wrapped around his bicep. The fingertip of a glove tucked into his waistline stuck out just above his belt. The empty glass echoed as the man sat at the bar finished yet another shot. The bottle of whiskey in the barkeep's hand is half empty as the drinker's eyes stare forward.

"You alright, fella?" The bartender asked, mistaking his customer's deep thought for a drunken stupor. The man sitting before the barkeep was named Logan, though the papers like the Bugle and the Post preferred to label him as Wolverine, the same name on his dogtags. In their eyes, he was nothing more than an animal. Three claws laid dormant in between his knuckles as Logan nudged the glass forward, ignoring the barkeep's question and watching the television as it played sports highlights.

"I think you're about done." The bartender said, reaching for the shot glass.

Logan snatched the barman's wrist and clutched it, nearly breaking the bone.

"When I said 'keep 'em coming,'" Logan snarled as a bell rang by the doorway, signaling the arrival of a new customer, "I meant it."

The Alleyway Beside Shane's Tavern
221 5th Avenue
Ten Minutes Later


WHAM!

The passenger side-door of a car parked in the alleyway next to Shane's Tavern crumpled as the three hundred pound adamantium-laced skeleton and muscles of Wolverine crashed through the bar's brick wall. Still half-drunk, Logan staggered to his feet. He looked around as he pulled himself up the metal frame of the car and saw the hulking body of whomever had just hurled him through the brick wall. Immediately, he knew the scent. It was the stale, unwelcome aroma of his oldest foe. His counterbalance in the universe... the only man as much of an animal as he was.

"Creed." Logan growled as he clenched his fists. He shook his head, almost instantly relieving himself of his drunken haze as his healing factor rapidly metabolized the liquor in his system. The claws beneath his sking were eager to burst free. "If we're going to do this..."

SNIKT!

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h163/edlewis657/156652-38175-wolverine_super.jpg


"We might as well do it right."

[Spider-Man9X17]

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“Tony Stark owes me big time for this.”

Clint Barton adjusted the belt of his uniform, pulling it snug around his waist and locking the clasp. Behind him, his wife, Bobbi Morse, pulled her platinum blonde hair back into a ponytail and fixed her block domino mask into place.

“It’s bad enough he has to cater to these black hearted b@$t@rds. I don’t need these leeches feeding off my soul.”

“Oh hush. Aren’t you being a little dramatic? These press conferences aren’t all that bad. The public is still a little weary, and I can’t blame them after what you told me happened with Wanda.”

‘That was almost three years ago. All these people have been fishing for since then is some little nugget of dissension, or who’s sleeping with who, how many innocent bystanders got a little bruised during our latest fight. They didn’t give damn about any of us until we start getting knocked off by one of our own.”

“Well, you just have to go out there and show them that we’re more than that, that we’ve moved on and haven’t looked back.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not the picture of optimism or the most eloquent speaker. Let Stark and his fancy press corp and America’s Super-Soldier poster boy handle the PR.”

“You know what I think. I think you’re scared. Lil Clint Barton can’t handle the big bad nasty reporters.”

“Yeah, well, it’d be pretty easy to taunt if all I had to do was walk out and be the eye candy.”

“I am not just eye candy…do you think I should show a little more chest.”

Hawkeye shook his head, pulling his mask up and leaving the room in a huff.

“Aww, come on you big baby. A little press never hurt anyone.”

“You obviously have not heard of the Hilton sisters yet.”

-

Hawkeye walked up to the podium set up in the dining room area of Avengers Mansion. On top of the microphones attached to the stand, a plethora of audio recorders were hoisted forward or up in the air from outstretched arms, and a barrage of flash bulbs momentarily blinded the purple clad marksman. Mockingbird followed close behind and took a seat behind her husband, slightly off to the right.

“OK, before we get started here, let me set a few things straight. I don’t want to be here. Tony Stark had some business to attend to at Stark Industries, Captain America is out on a personal assignment, and I couldn’t sneak out the back door quick enough. I’m not one that likes to stand around while some pimple faced journalist major fresh outta community college whose rode daddy’s coat tails all their life tries to cut their teeth at my expense. Do not try. You won’t win. Also, I will not even listen to any questions about Wanda Maximoff or the attack on the mansion. That was what, people, two…three years ago. Not only is it history, but it was a highly personal and private matter that we have dealt with and have moved on from. Now, that being said, anybody still feeling brave enough to raise their hand?”

Without hesitation, a young, smug reporter dressed in a perfectly pressed, highly overpriced three piece suit nonchalantly raised his hand into the air, an unmistakable smirk turning up the left corner of his mouth.

“Theodore Conlan, Channel 15 Evening News; Five and Six o’clock. Have your several romantic trysts with various female members of both the Avengers and Thunderbolts during your wife’s as yet unexplained absence been detrimental to your reconciliation and relationship?”

“Not as detrimental as your existence is to the art of journalism, not to mention the entire human race. Next question?”

An icy silence fell over the field of reporters and correspondents. It was now Hawkeye’s turn to smirk as he turned away and threw a devious wink in Mockingbird’s direction. His wife, in turn, buried her face in her hands to hide the deep shed of red washing over it as she shook her head in utter disbelief.

After a round of muttering and more than several audible curses that would have made a sailor blush, a hand popped up from the very back row.

“Oh my God. Buddy, you got some balls. Go ahead.”

A very slim, attractive young woman, mid twenties with a light complexion and hazelnut brown hair, stood up, removing her finger from and earpiece sitting in her right ear.

“Amber Adams, Channel 5. Do the Avengers has any official statement on the incident in Times Square earlier this afternoon.”

“Incident?”

Jarvis, who had been standing idly in the corner, take this as a nonverbal cue and hit a switch on the wall. A large projection screen descended behind the Avenging Archer, and a picture flickered to life on the pristine white surface in the middle of a newscasters sentence.

“…go again to the footage shown earlier today on one of the many Times Square JumboTrons…”

WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS?

WOULD YOU KILL FOR IT?

WOULD YOU KILL A SUPERHERO?

WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE

WE CAN FIND YOU

WE CAN PAY YOU

HERE IS A LIST OF BOUNTIES

KILL THE HERO, COLLECT THE BOUNTY

PLUS A $100,000 BONUS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS

THINK WE ARE LYING?

WE HAVE THE MONEY

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO GET IT?

“OK, everyone out. Come on, story time is over. The big boys gotta get to work. Come on, out. OUT YOU DAMN PARASITES!”

“Well, that went horribly.”

“Eh, s*** happens. Can you believe this though?” Hawkeye turned back to the continuous news coverage.

“This is a new kind of madness. Who would be crazy enough to try something like this.”

“I don’t know, but they are seriously short-changing themselves. How in the hell am I only worth ten million?”

[Keyser Soze]

Phoenix, Arizona

Jason Strongbow was a Najavo tribesman, better known as the superhero American Eagle. It was another night of business as usual, as he dragged two semi-conscious crooks who'd had the bad idea of trying to rob an old lady while he was on patrol.

"Time to get you down to the station, boys."

Suddenly, the jugulars of both men were sliced. As they collapsed to the ground, bleeding to death, American Eagle spotted the murder weapons, lying on the ground nearby. Coins.

"I posted their bail money."

Before American Eagle stood Bullseye, his hands on his hips, nonchalantly chewing on a piece of gum. With a casual flick of the wrist, he threw a small dagger at the superhero. But, with speed greater than any normal human, Eagle caught the dagger in the air before it could reach its final, fatal destination.

"You heard the news?" Bullseye asked, brushing aside his mild annoyance at his new target's refusal to die, "There's a bounty on the heads of all superheroes. You included. But the way I see it... there's gonna be a big rush at the New York heavy-hitters. So first thing I thought I'd do, y'see, is take a plane out here to Hicksville and make a cool million off some D-lister."

"Bullseye. You talk a lot. C'mon, don't stand back there throwing things at me like a girl. Show me what you got. I'll give you the first shot for free."

Bullseye sneered.

"First shot's all I need."

Bullseye pulls his sais from his belt, and hero and villain circle one another in the empty street. Finally, Bullseye makes his move, taking a swipe at American Eagle. But with superhuman reflexes, the big Najavo dodged the attack, and with superhuman strength, he punched the assassin in the gut, doubling him over and causing him to drop one of his sais.

"What...happened to the first shot?"

"I lied."

American Eagle grabbed the wrist of the hand still holding a sai, and twisted it until he was disarmed. Then he kept on squeezing, wanting to slowly crush Bullseye's hand.

"I've read about you. Pick your targets carefully, don't you? Regular people, unpowered operators like Daredevil. You're a coward, who talks the talk but can't hang with the real superhumans. I'm going to break your hands now, and then what are you? Just some everyday schmuck running around in tights thinking he's special, a little boy playing with men..."

But his speech was abruptly cut off, as Bullseye spat out his chewing gum. Spat it right through the Najavo's eye and into his brain.

"Heh. You talk a lot."

American Eagle collapsed in a heap, dead before he knew what hit him.

"And I don't need my hands to be dangerous... little boy."

It would take a couple of hours for news to circulate about American Eagle's death, and who had done the job. But by the time Bullseye got off the plane at JFK International Airport, back in New York City, he would find his bounty money wired to his account from an untraceable source.

And so Bullseye was one million dollars richer, already. And that was just hero number one...

[Byrd Man]

Finally freeing himself of the webbing, he raised a big, toothy grin on his face. "Ain't you got a little variety in you? Does it always have to be with the webbing." he picked up a leg of the broken chair, and lunged at Spider-man with it.

I gracefully dodge the chair leg with a back flip.

"You know, you're right. I forgot I had super strength! Here's my thanks for the reminder!"

KRAK!

Tombstone falls back into a water fountain and breaks it, water starts to shoot out the broke pipe and cover the muscle-bound criminal.

"Aww, did someone have a wittle accident? You know, wetting yourself is something common in young men your age...Want me to call home and get you a change of clothes?"

[Electro UK]

I gracefully dodge the chair leg with a back flip.

"You know, you're right. I forgot I had super strength! Here's my thanks for the reminder!"

KRAK!

Tombstone falls back into a water fountain and breaks it, water starts to shoot out the broke pipe and cover the muscle-bound criminal.

"Aww, did someone have a wittle accident? You know, wetting yourself is something common in young men your age...Want me to call home and get you a change of clothes?"

Its this point, the embarrassement, where Tombstone started to lose his cool. His smile was clearly fading, and his grip on whatever he could find on the floor, tighetening. It happended to be a brick. And it crumbeled into a thousand pieces as if it had been seen. There was nothing but a mighty roar this time as Tombstone leapt from the ground and into Spider-man.

The two hit the floor with a dull thud. Not wasting anytime, Tombstone grabbed the bug's head. "I could crush you like the brick, but I want to see you squirm." ceasing Spider-man's neck, he forced his head into the pool of water that the broken fountain had created on the floor. As the hero began to kick out, the smile crept back onto Tombstone's face. "After I kill you, I'm going to find out everything about your life. I'll kill your loved ones, your friends, even your little spider-collection won't surive, because as you may have noticed, nothing can stop me."

[SenseiofCheese]

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/89831-28833-magneto_super.jpg

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/3133/109875-114785-mystique.jpg

"I can't believe it." Mystique's voice didn't do her surprise justice. They were standing on a rooftop in New York City, overlooking a bustling neighbourhood. People walked back and forth below them. Looking down at the Homo Sapien, Magneto thought to himself, as so often before, how small they were. Insects, easily crushed.

"I'd heard you died in an explosion. At first I thought they'd faked your death so I infiltrated SHIELD but...everyone thought you were dead. You really have your powers back?"

Magneto smiled. With his back turned to Mystique, he reached out with his mind. Within 5 seconds a single, solitary penny had sprung to life. Making it's way out of a woman's purse on the street below, it shot upwards until it finally hung suspended in the air right before Mystique's eyes. Her face lit up as she reached out and grabbed the coin.

"My dear I am, as they say, better than ever." Erik said as he turned to face Mystique. Looking into her bright yellow eyes, he took a few steps towards her and reached up with his hand, caressing her cheek. She was, he had often thought to himself, the most beautiful being on the planet.

"A creature of such grace." he whispered, more to himself than Mystique, as his heart grew warmer at the touch of her skin. But the moment soon passed, as he dropped his hand to his side.

"So, what do we do now?" she asked, audibly worried.

"The time for petty squabbles an infighting has passed. We must stand together, all of us."

"The X-Men?" Mystique asked, disdain evident in her voice, already knowing the answer.

Magneto smiled and nodded. Divided we fall. United we will stand and crush whoever dares try to take away from us what is ours." his voice thundered, laced with rage.

Mystique grinned gleefully. As the two mutants made their way off the roof, Erik Lensherr looked down at his white suit, blue shirt and tie. "And I believe a change on attire is called for."

[Watchman]

A mad machine man works quickly on a panel while taken glances up at his patient. A man holding a rifle watches a television behind them. A smile twists under his mask. He loves when the boss' plan comes together, that means he's going ot be in a good mood, well as good enough mood he can get in.

"The Krona Coporation is in serious turmoil. The company's losses are reported to be in the hundred of billions. The company's founder and CEO is missing and is under serious investigation..." The man in the mask turns to the machine man and his patient.

"Hey boss, take a look at the TV." The boss is restrain to a steel chair. He grins.

"How much longer do I have to sit here?"

"Just a few more moments. Everything seems to be in order but I must warn you that this experiment is untested and may warrent unwanted results."

"Do I have to remind you," the man in the mask points a gun at the machine man, "what happens if you fail me." He waves the man with the gun away.

"That will do nothing and you know that. You're threats are empty."

"I will erase you're entire database."

"Yes, yes. Well are you ready?"

"Do it." The machine man pulls a lever and the man in the chair begins to scream as blue energy swarms around him. The white hair begins to disappear fade and the wrinkles on the man's skin disappear.

"Readings are showing that you have deage about forty years." He presses another button. A steel arm with a syringe at the end comes down injecting the man in the chair. "Your 'super powers', as you requested. You are now about as fast and strong as...him."

"Excellent." He breaks free of the restrains and tumbles down to the ground.

"Careful, you are still weak. Let it take some time."

"There is no time. Give me my mask!" The man with the rifle takes a red mask from the table and hands it to him. He slips his mask on and rises to face his two comrades.

"Crossbones, Zola. For years we have waited, we have plotted. There is a darkness underneath America. A darkness that has powered it, that has drove it. Authority can not destroy it but I will tame it and I will control it. Now come it is time to get to work."

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/AgentClarkNova/Redskullept.png

Underground Empire: Prologue

[Batman]

U.S Army General Graham Wallace awoke to silence, as he finally became conscious after more than twenty four hours of suffering a concussion to the head. The last thing he could remember was that his base was under siege by an unknown threat, and he was about to go down to order his troops into a defense. But just as he was about to leave his quarters, well... blackness overwhelmed him. He wasn't sure how or why, but all of the military experience in the world couldn't have made what was happening more obvious: He was being held prisoner.

Looking around, General Wallace tried to get up from the ground, but couldn't. He was shackled by chains that were cuffed to both his wrists and calves. The chains looked old, giving Wallace the slight hope that he could easily break them off... but his efforts to do so were met with less than considerable results. The metal may have looked rusted, but it was stronger than titanium. Wallace desperately began to scan the area he was in for any signs of life, whether they were fellow prisoners or the people responsible for his kidnapping. By the time the General finally realized that he was in a dungeon of some sort, two lifeforms moved, just opposite of the barred wooden door. Wallace grinded his teeth together, angrily, as they seemed to stare at him.

"Let me out!", He ordered. "Let me out of this room, goddammit! Do you have any idea who you're dealing with!?"

The lifeforms didn't respond. They didn't seem to react in any way, infact. Despite his difficult situation, this only seemed to fuel the rage of the heated General.

"You sorry ass sons of b****es are gonna pay for this, you hear me?! These purple hearts were given to me for a reason! Now let me out of this damned cage, or I'll-!"

Wallace's rant was cut off, as the doors slowly opened. He paused in place, both confused and curious. Maybe he had actually scared them into complying? Or, at least, made them mad enough to actually garner the balls for a face-to-face confrontation. It didn't matter to him. All he wanted was a piece of the man that had brought him here, and one way or another, he was sure that he was going to get it.

But all thought of revenge left General Wallace's mind, as the two lifeforms finally stepped in, revealing themselves through the only dim ray of light that the dungeon had to offer. Wallace froze, as he got a look at their faces. Whoever they were, they weren't human. They weren't even living. They were... machines. Robots, of some sort, all adorned in dark green and gold attire. Wallace wasn't sure what to do, as the machines approached him. He knew he could fight a man, even kill one... but machines? He wasn't trained for that. Wallace began to wince, nervously, as the robots finally loitered directly over him. But before any attack could be made, they moved. Both in the opposite direction, allowing room for a third figure to move in behind them. Wallace looked up, almost petrified, as the impressive figure in the darkness revealed himself.

"And how are we today, General? I trust the accomidations are ...suitable."

Wallace's eyes widened. "Y... You?! You're-"

Doctor Doom bowed his head ever so slightly, as if proud of the fact. "I am indeed. Welcome to my kingdom."

"Y... your kingdom? You mean, we're in-"

"My homeland, yes.", Doom began, with a glare. "And you should be honored by the fact, General. Not many Americans are welcome in Latveria, by designation of my law. But you, my very ill-tempered friend, are a very special exception."

"What the hell is this?", Wallace asked, perplexed. "Why did you bring me here? What's this about?"

Doom held up his hand, ordering him to silence. "Ah, but you misunderstand. You are in my legislation now, far from any place where your army credentials would give you authority. As such, you will not know the full extent of your use to me, until I have decided such a time is upon you."

Wallace sneered, letting his emotions get the best of him. "Now see here, you freak! Nobody talks to me like that, especially not some... foreigner! I survived two wars!"

Doom laughed, mockingly.

"Two wars, General? How amusing..."

With a firm step forward, Doom looked down, his eyes facing Wallace's directly just so the General could see the hatred within them.

"Many living Latverians have survived six. Do you wish to further challenge that record?"

Wallace was silent. Doom reached back, and pulled out a leatherbound book from his cloak. The book was aged... perhaps even centuries old, by the look of the print. Wallace wasn't sure what was happening, but he knew that whatever it was, he wouldn't enjoy it. Doom instantly opened it's pages, and turned towards the middle, his eyes intently scanning a specific chapter.

"What are you... what's..."

"This?", Doom asked, looking up. "This is what I like to refer to as 'The Book of Despair'. A tad melodramatic, I am aware... but it has been in the castle of Doom for generations, and shall remain useful for generations to come."

The General's expression went from confusion to worry, all at once. "W-Why is it called that?"

Doom smiled, behind his iron mask. "It's a list of enchantments dedicated fully to the art of supernatural torture."

Before Wallace could react, Doom was upon him once more.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/DCMarvelRPG/Doctor%20Doom/doom.gif

"Make no mistake, General... you shall return to America in time. Undoubtedly, your pathetic Government has already mounted a rescue attempt to bring you back. But until they arrive, I have little use for you outside of being a captive.", He continued. "Therefore, why not make it interesting for us both?"

As Doom began to read the enchantments, Wallace began to scream in instant agony. It would most certainly not be a pleasant next few hours for the General.

If he survived them.

[Byrd Man]

The two hit the floor with a dull thud. Not wasting anytime, Tombstone grabbed the bug's head. "I could crush you like the brick, but I want to see you squirm." ceasing Spider-man's neck, he forced his head into the pool of water that the broken fountain had created on the floor. As the hero began to kick out, the smile crept back onto Tombstone's face. "After I kill you, I'm going to find out everything about your life. I'll kill your loved ones, your friends, even your little spider-collection won't survive, because as you may have noticed, nothing can stop me."

I'm close to blacking out when I remember something.

We're in a chemistry lab.

I vaguely recall that right in front of me is a cabinet full of chemicals.

Using a free hand, I web the cabinet and pull with all my might.

CRASH!

The chemicals spill on the floor and start to run over Tombstone and I.

I hear him starting to scream and I feel the acid burning into my suit. I'm lucky it doesn't burn my mask.

He breaks his grasp on me long enough to let me spring up and round house kick him in the jaw.

[Matt Murdock]

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Hell's Kitchen is my neighborhood.

Matt Murdock stood with his hands in the pockets of a long overcoat. Beneath it sat an elegantly crafted silk suit, with a crimson tie knotted tightly around his neck. His hair was disheveled, but clean. A pair of crimson sunglasses sat on the bridge of his nose, and a burgundy cane was tight in his grasp. In short, he had an ache in his heart.

But that isn't important right now.

He didn't come to this spot nearly as often as he should have. The air, there was something about it. With his acute senses, everything from the grass beneath his feet to the smell of the air had a sense of foreboding. He was standing in a cemetery, looking down at the grave of a friend and a mentor, and individual who had taught him more than anyone he'd met in his life. Franklin Nelson, Matt's legal partner and recent deserter of the Witness Protection Program, stood at his car, watching Matt quietly. He leaned against the front end of the car, just above the wheel, with his arms folded. To Foggy, being a part of the real world again seemed so surreal. After his months in the witness protection program, having his name again made Foggy feel like he was... back from the dead. The irony that he'd be spending one of his first days back in a cemetery made his skin crawl.

Murdock looked downwards at the headstone at his feet. A small smile met his face as he reminised. Foggy had lead him to the grave, leaving him in peace with little more than an "I'll leave you to it, then." Matt had come to the conclusion that, in this world, friends like Foggy Nelson were as rare as they were valuable. He had already lost Foggy once, and the person resting beneath his feet permanently. He found himself counting his blessings for every moment he had had with both of them more and more recently.

Murdock's hand moved slowly from his side to his neckline, where he fumbled with a cross that was worn and faded.

He didn't know where to start. The beginning, he figured, was as good of a place as any.

"I miss you." He said. "I don't know if you miss me, too. I hope you do. I like to think that you do. Sometimes, that thought, your memory, is the only thing that gets me through the day."

He paused and glanced over his shoulder at Foggy, and figured that his friend was a worthy subject.

"Foggy is doing well. Our practice is as successful as it was the last time I visited. This Daredevil... controversy... has brought some people through our doors, now that I think of it. People think we're some kind of center. You know, like Zen stuff? They think that the ol' offices of Nelson and Murdock are a hub of superhuman activity."

The cool steel of his cane rested in Murdock's hands as he reminisced and found himself with a small grin on his face.

"Well, I guess they're right in some ways." Murdock wasn't sure what to say, so he fell back on the one truth he had always known when he visited the grave beneath him. "...I miss you."

"You taught me so much about life and loss. How to... take a loss with my chin up. How to be a fighter. You showed me the comeback trail, and led me down it, even in the face of your death. I can't thank you enough. I..."

Tears welled up in Murdock's scarred eyes, and he felt twinging shots of pain through his eyelids.

"I hope you're proud of me."

He pinched the bridge of his nose as a crisp breeze bit the inside of his nostrils. From the cemetery, just a few blocks away from the Brooklyn Bridge, Murdock could smell three hot dog stands, two fruit bodegas, and a broken down newspaper delivery truck on 7th. These were all secondary concerns to the blind attorney as he fumbled with his words.

"It's funny that I, a lawyer, a man who prides himself on his eloquence and skill with language, can't even muster the right words to speak to someone I love and miss so much."

Murdock felt tears sliding down his cheeks.

"I've never forgiven myself for not being better to you... not telling you everything. How I felt. But what's done is done. And nothing I can do can change that."

From his pocket, Matthew pulled an old, beaten, and worn Daredevil mask. It was one of the very first he made, still that pale shade of yellow with red lenses.

He got to he knees and began cupping dirt out of the ground before the headstone. Once the hole was small enough, he placed the mask inside and covered it quickly. He rose to his feet, dusting off the knees of his pants. His fingertips could tell that the ground was dry. It needed a rainstorm. A storm, he hoped, was on its way.

"This is for you. It's a preservation of your honor and your legacy. It... it's a symbol of how you've helped me grow. For that, I owe you so much."

Murdock leaned down, unsure of whether or not he'd be visiting the grave again. He intended to, but with his crimson clad alter ego, and the superhero bounty, and life itself seeming to work against him at every turn, Matt had to make each visit count.

"Thank you. I will always miss you, and I will always love you..." He pondered for a moment before adding a final thought. "And goodbye."

Murdock ran his sensitive fingers along the name on the headstone once more before walking away.

Here lies
Karen Page
1964 - 1998

Beloved daughter, friend, and mentor.
May she rest in peace.

"I miss you more already, Karen." Murdock said aloud as he moved farther from the tombstone.

[SenseiofCheese]

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/89831-28833-magneto_super.jpg

"I thought you said we were going to Xavier's school?" Mystique asked as the two mutants soared high above the city of New York. She had never been fond of heights, so when Magneto had flattened a pistol into a disc and told her to get on, she immediately began to worry. But if anything, she had long since learned to trust Erik Lensherr.

"Patience, my dear."Magneto said with a faint smile, his eyes scanning the ground below. "We must gather all our brethren..."he trailed off, his eyes fixating on a seemingly empty alleyway in Hell's Kitchen. As if it had found it's target, the disc immediately began to lose altitude. "Even those...less dignified than others."he finally added, a hint of disgust in his voice.

The moment the metallic disc touched the ground with a dull clank, both mutants furrowed their brow at the putrid smell that hit assaulted their nostrils. A distinct smell of urine and weeks old food filled the air.

Glancing across the alleyway and seeing nothing but heaps of garbage piled onto each other, Mystique finally couldn't help herself. "Why are we he-" she began but was cut off by Magneto.

"You would dare call yourself a mutant. Get up!" he shouted with a booming authority in his voice that Mystique had often thought could get a man to walk into death itself for Lensherr, and, which it often had.

"Ghedduway, I'll kill ya." a jumbled voice, clearly intoxicated with something, shouted back. The voice belonged to a heap of mass in the corner of the alleyway that she had thought was a bag of garbage. "Ahm thu Toad! I can kill anyone!"

"Mortimer Toynbee, on your FEET, you cretin!" Magneto shouted once more. As if his anger had manifested physically, various bags of garbage picked themselves up and hurled themselves at the half-sleeping mutant. With a loud crash and multiple shouts from the mutant known as Toad, the heap of mass leapt off the ground with amazing speed, and landed in a crouched position mere feet away from Magneto.

"Oh my..."Mortimer Toynbee could barely believe his eyes. Letting his tongue roll out of his mouth and dangle lifelessly before coming to life and writhing like a captured snake, the Toad smiled.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c9/Toad.png

"Hey, boss. I's beginning to think you'd never show!"

[Blacklight]

IC: GREEN GOBLIN[/URL]



Madness. Sometimes, it can be a beautiful thing...

Ain't that the truth...

Oh, yes. It is true. I mean, look at all the things you can accomplish when your free of inhibitions. Free to do whatever you please...

Not to mention the all the fun you have doing it all...

Anyways, back to the point. I tried staying away from it all. The life of villainy, filled with destruction and chaos. But as you all know, people never change. So here I am...

Admit it, Norman. You missed this just as much as I did...

You know something? I kinda did...

"HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!"

The plan was simple. With no one to lead it, it would be ripe for the picking. The Osborn Corporation, OsCorp. to some, was one of the leading weapons manufacturers in all of New York, and it was being run down into the ground by a bunch of new, young hacks who couldn't tell their asses from their elbows, while the man who was supposed to be in charge, Norma Osborn, was supposedly locked away for being exposed as a criminally insane mass murderer. Given, he was released (lots of money can make that happen), but something had to be done to save his company. Norman knew this. And so his mind went to work. He tried to come up with a more legal solution, but all of his resources were quite tapped out, so it left but only one single option, and Norman had no choice...

Kill. Kill. Kill...

But Norman digressed. So he got his gear and headed out to enact the first phase of his beautifully crafted plan. And have some fun while he was at it...

BOOM!

After tossing a few pumpkin bombs here and there, the executives around the table in his former boardroom started cowering in a corner. They were scared. He could smell it...

The glider to which the Goblin was perched on slowly descended upon them, and he simply picked one of them up by their collar and raised him up to his level.

"W-why are you doing this?"

The man asked Osborn this question, and after hearing it, he simply laughed in his face.

"You know what I love about being criminally insane? Go ahead. Ask me..."

The man whimpered in Osborn's grip, and he tried to look away from the evil stare, but Norman shook him violently until his focus darted back to the demonic villain.

"ASK ME!!!"

"W-w-what?"

"I don't need a reason why. HAHAHAAA!!!"

Then dropping the man to the floor, the Goblin unloaded his whole satchel of explosives upon them before exiting through the window. The whole room exploded into an inferno, and Norman only cackled. The first phase of his plan was complete: Regain control of his company. For Norman knew he was going to require it if he had any hope of funding his newest diabolical scheme. Because the Green Goblin was back, and he was out for blood...

A certain spider's blood, to be exact...

That's the spirit, Norman. HAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!

[URL="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/388960-58139-green-goblin.jpg"]http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/388960-58139-green-goblin_super.jpg (http://www.comicvine.com/green-goblin/29-1484/dark_reign_event_20081204000141637/105-631872)

[Harlekin]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2040/logoik1.gif
Long Island, New York

“I appreciate it, Kyle, thanks,” Warren Worthington, also known as the high-flying Angel, said as he ended one phone call and already started dialling another. While he was busy, his long-time friend Bobby Drake came walking up to him and gave him the thumbs up sign.
“Parents are set up. A little shaky but they’re okay. Thanks again, War.”
Angel waved away his friend’s gratitude. “Yes, Stacy, tell any others they can also go to the Richmond Corporation up on Third.”

Content, Warren shut his phone.
“Richmond? You calling in the Defenders now? Maybe it really is time for a Champions reunion,” Bobby said with a bit of a smile.
Warren turned to his friend, grinning himself. “As I recall, you weren’t really interested in joining that team ‘till a certain little blonde Russian joined the team.”
“Like you didn’t have the hots for the Widow.”
“At least I got to do something.”
“Oh, cold War. Cold,” Bobby responded, feigning being hurt.

Satisfied, Warren started to walk away.

“So how’s Paige?” Bobby called after him, snickering.

[bkhedr]

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/DCMarvelRPG/Wolverine/Wolverine.jpg



Shane's Tavern


221 5th Avenue


9:22 PM



Shot after shot, the whiskey flowed down his throat. He was an uninteresting man, unassuming. Dogtags dangled quietly around his neck and he rubbed his knuckles quietly as the barkeep poured him another drink.




"Crazy stuff that hero bounty, huh?" The barkeep asked as the amber liquid filled the shot glass. "You'd think they'd have the decency to at least put a bounty on the heads of those goddamned crazy villains. Last thing this city needs is another Doctor Octopus or Kang the Condemner flying around."




The figure on the bar stool nodded as he downed another shot. Beneath his white t-shirt, the corner of a brown spandex shirt sat quietly wrapped around his bicep. The fingertip of a glove tucked into his waistline stuck out just above his belt. The empty glass echoed as the man sat at the bar finished yet another shot. The bottle of whiskey in the barkeep's hand is half empty as the drinker's eyes stare forward.




"You alright, fella?" The bartender asked, mistaking his customer's deep thought for a drunken stupor. The man sitting before the barkeep was named Logan, though the papers like the Bugle and the Post preferred to label him as Wolverine, the same name on his dogtags. In their eyes, he was nothing more than an animal. Three claws laid dormant in between his knuckles as Logan nudged the glass forward, ignoring the barkeep's question and watching the television as it played sports highlights.




"I think you're about done." The bartender said, reaching for the shot glass.




Logan snatched the barman's wrist and clutched it, nearly breaking the bone.




"When I said 'keep 'em coming,'" Logan snarled as a bell rang by the doorway, signaling the arrival of a new customer, "I meant it."




The Alleyway Beside Shane's Tavern



221 5th Avenue



Ten Minutes Later





WHAM!





The passenger side-door of a car parked in the alleyway next to Shane's Tavern crumpled as the three hundred pound adamantium-laced skeleton and muscles of Wolverine crashed through the bar's brick wall. Still half-drunk, Logan staggered to his feet. He looked around as he pulled himself up the metal frame of the car and saw the hulking body of whomever had just hurled him through the brick wall. Immediately, he knew the scent. It was the stale, unwelcome aroma of his oldest foe. His counterbalance in the universe... the only man as much of an animal as he was.




"Creed." Logan growled as he clenched his fists. He shook his head, almost instantly relieving himself of his drunken haze as his healing factor rapidly metabolized the liquor in his system. The claws beneath his sking were eager to burst free. "If we're going to do this..."




SNIKT!




http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h163/edlewis657/156652-38175-wolverine_super.jpg








"We might as well do it right."










"Not today runt." I sneer as I slash out with my right hand and take out his left eye. He doesn't make a sound.

He just rolls with it and takes a swipe at me. I lean back to avoid the cut but he still gets a piece a' me. His claws run across my chest leavin' three red streaks.

"Now we're partyin'!" I exclaim as I step forward and kick him hard in the gut.

My kick lifts him off the ground and sends him hurtling backwards. There's a crunch as he lands on the roof of the same parked car I just banged his head in to. The sound makes me crack a grin.

Its a shame that I'm here to kill him, cutting him has always been so much fun.

He snarls at me as he picks himself up. His eye's already healing. Good. I don't want this to end too quickly.

I let out a howl and lunge at him, going for his throat.

[bkhedr]

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/405/thorlogokz4.gif



The night sky. There is darkness here but light also. Untold millions of heavenly bodies lay spread across the blackness. They shine in all the colors of the universe. Vibrant greens, shimmering purples, fiery reds.

Some of the lights shine brighter than others. One in particular, if mortal man were prone to comprehend such things, seems to pulse with life.

The star is yellow and bright and it seems to hang slightly higher in the heavens than its fellow celestial figures.

Emanating from within its depths is a sound. A sound that goes unnoticed and unheadd. Drowned out by the star's fiery burning core, and suffocated by the vacuum of space, but if it could be heard it would remind mortel men of a heart beat. Steady and rhythmic but old, and faint, and forgotten.

A heart beat that suddenly strengthens and intensifies and echoes across the cosmos with increasing urgency. The sounds rolls across the void like thunder.

Boom BOOOM

Boom BOOOM

Boom BOOOM

*gasp*

A man sucks in a long deep breath, savoring the feeling of the air filling his lungs.

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/1/19940/416622-Donald_blake_04.JPG

He is sitting on a public bench in New York City and if he has just miraculously appeared there, the multitudes of people around him seem not to notice for they go about their business oblivious of him.

The man is wearing a back pack and carries a wooden walking stick in one hand. Rising smoothly, he tucks the stick under his arm and starts walking purposfully up the road.

He knows instincitvely that there is much to be done and there is little time to waste. In his eagerness he does not notice the man with green eyes who watches him walk away before picking himself up and walking in the opposite direction.





http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/405/thorlogokz4.gif


The man, Doctor Blake, passes through Times Square a few moments after the mysterious bounty message is played.

All around him people are talking.

Is it a hoax? A joke? Could it be real?

He shakes his head as he hears their chatter. It saddens him.

He considers taking action, doing something about this, but he has little time. He can already feel it happening, and he must get to the ocean.

*****

Out to sea, beyond the city's harbor, the water begins to bubble and boil in small sections. Steam rises from the deep blue and just beneath the water's surface, vaguely humanoid figures start to take form.

[Harlekin]

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/7251/logocr6.jpg

Hell’s Kitchen, New York

The last of the bunch of criminals groaned as he was slammed into the alley wall. Johnny ‘The Wall’ DeAngelo’s friends were already lying on the ground – all dead. Now, a man in a Daredevil costume was slowly crushing his windpipe.

As he fought against blacking out, Johnny, with a rap sheet of forty pages including thievery, arson and grand theft auto, was wondering what had set off Daredevil this time. The hero in red was supposed to be a good guy, but as Johnny and more than enough of his pals could attest to, Daredevil had a habit of going off the rails at least once or twice a year.

Of course, he’d never killed before.

Unbeknownst to Johnny however, the man that held him by the neck wasn’t really Daredevil.

“Tell all your friends. Tell everybody,” the doppelganger said, mimicking the real vigilante’s voice almost perfectly.

He released Johnny and let him fall to the wet street.

“Daredevil doesn’t pull his punches anymore.”

Before Johnny could say or do anything, Daredevil took off, jumping onto a fire escape and disappearing into the night.

[Byrd Man]

Luke Cage



Sometimes, it's the simple things in life that can make you happy.

Like right now, I'm sitting on the couch watching TV with Jessica curled up next to me. My hand's resting on her stomach, waiting to feel our child kick.

I won't lie, the thought of me becoming a father scares me ****less. Even asking Jessica to marry me is something I've been too scared to do.

But I don't worry about those things right now. Right now, I'm chilling with my girlfriend. Just some relaxation time for Harlem's greatest superhero.

"Do me a favor, change the channel."

"Girl, do you have any idea of what movie we're watching?!"

"This crappy Die Hard movie."

"This is Die Hard With A Vengeance!...with Sam Jackson! If you don't like this movie then I don't think this relationship is gonna work."

"Yeah, best to get out of this relationship before things get too serious." Jessica quips and rolls her eyes.

"I'll change the channel. Cause I loves ya and you just so happen to be carrying my child."

I flip over to the news while the broadcaster is in mid-report.

"This was the scene in Times Square today-

WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS?

WOULD YOU KILL FOR IT?

WOULD YOU KILL A SUPERHERO?

WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE

WE CAN FIND YOU

WE CAN PAY YOU

HERE IS A LIST OF BOUNTIES

KILL THE HERO, COLLECT THE BOUNTY

PLUS A $100,000 BONUS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS

THINK WE ARE LYING?

WE HAVE THE MONEY

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO GET IT?

While there have been no reports of superheroes captured or killed, yet. All of New York will be watching to see if anyone makes good on these new bounties. Reporting for WSGC, I'm Matt Jo-"

I turn off the TV. Jessica and I exchange worried glances and she nervously strokes her stomach.

The bounty on my head don't worry me that much, it's the 100K for family members that's got me spooked.


"Dammit. I just had to reveal my real name to the public."

"To be honest, Power-Man has always been a bit lame."

"Ouch, you cut me deep."

A million different scenarios run through my mind, most of them involve some crazy fool breaking into the house and hurting my family. I can't let that happen.

"Don't worry, baby." I tell Jessica as I pull my cellphone out.

I'm gonna hit up Danny, see if we can crash at his place."

[Keyser Soze]

My, my!
At Waterloo Napolean did surrender.
Oh yea-

Bullseye answered his cellphone, cutting off the ringtone.

"Make it quick, I'm trying to take a leak here."

It was one of those endless, deeply-satisfying pisses that come after a long time of holding it in. One hand held the phone to his ear, while his free hand rested on his hip. Bullseye tended to go hands-free when taking a piss, considering his pitch-perfect aim.

"Boring. Not interested."

It was some dull mid-level gangster who regularly came to him for jobs. Today he was looking for some two-bit dealer to get whacked. Given the current lay of the land, not the most compelling of assignments.

"Because you could get anyone to do grunt-work like that. You been watching the news? I'm after the big bucks, these superhero bounties. Now there's a challenge I can enjoy."

And the stream of pee still kept on coming, steam rising up as the hot liquid was introduced to the cold night air. God, this was never-ending!

"As it happens I got my next hit all lined up. Don't call me for a while, kay? I'll be busy doing real work."

He hung up, putting the phone back into its compartment on his belt. The epic piss was finally winding down, the steady cascade giving way to sporadic spurts, and finally a last few defiant dribbles. Bullseye shook himself off and recaged the beast, before taking a leering chuckle as he looked down at his toilet.

Here lies
Karen Page
1964 - 1998

Beloved daughter, friend, and mentor.
May she rest in peace.

"Heh. And a great, dirty lay too, from what I hear."

[Electro UK]

I'm close to blacking out when I remember something.

We're in a chemistry lab.

I vaguely recall that right in front of me is a cabinet full of chemicals.

Using a free hand, I web the cabinet and pull with all my might.

CRASH!

The chemicals spill on the floor and start to run over Tombstone and I.

I hear him starting to scream and I feel the acid burning into my suit. I'm lucky it doesn't burn my mask.

He breaks his grasp on me long enough to let me spring up and round house kick him in the jaw.

Tombstone let his voice ring out loud as he grabbed his head, falling back in pain from the kick to the jaw. The chemicals started to sink in, and hair started to peel off. He kicked and screamed like a baby for a few seconds, before managing to shove his head into the same pool of water he'd tried to drown Spider-man in. The pain slowly started to disslove, but the damage had already been done.

His head stung, and his vision was starting to get a little hazy. He could however, just start to make out Spider-man, trying to hold back the laughter at the hair loss. "Need something to hit him with... anything." he muttered under his breath, flailing his hand round in search for something heavy, he folded his plam round a fire extinguisher. "Perfect. NOW DIE!" Tombstone brought the extinguisher over his head and crashing down onto Spider-man.

[SenseiofCheese]

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/big-ironfist.jpg

The quiet of the night was pierced by a high-pitched scream filled with terror.

"It's me! It's me! Stop screaming, it's me!" Daniel Rand, dressed in his Iron Fist garb, almost lost his footing on the window ledge when Jess, Luke Cage's girlfriend, hurled a remote control at his face.

"Jesus Christ, Danny, you scared the hell out of me!" she gasped, her eyes shooting daggers at Iron Fist, who slowly made his way inside the apartment.

"Sorry."was all he could say, with a sheepish grin.

"Baby!" Luke's voice boomed from down the hall as he ran into the room, a look of fear in his eyes Daniel had never seen before.

"It's okay! I'm okay! It's just Danny."

Luke's facial expression shifted from worry to anger. "Man, I've been tryin' to call you!" he exclaimed, dropping the phone on to the sofa.

"Call me? Dude, I've been trying to call YOU. Your phone was turned off.....You were watching Die Hard weren't you? Nevermind. You weren't picking up so I got worried and came over. You believe this crap?" Iron Fist spouted off, not knowing wether to laugh or collapse worrying, as he gestured to the news report on TV.

[Keyser Soze]

Mike Avery was a distant relative of Danny Rand. See, Danny Rand's maternal grandfather, Thomas Duncan, had an older sister, Teresa Duncan, who married Theodore Avery, and the two of them were Mike Avery's paternal grandparents. That made him Danny Rand's second cousin, and as such the two didn't know each other very well, only meeting at the occasional big family get-together. He was a distant relative. But still a relative. And Danny Rand was better known as the Immortal Iron Fist, which made Mike Avery family to a superhero. And that meant he had a $100,000 bounty on his head.

Several hours ago, he'd called his second cousin Danny, and asked if he could get taken someplace safe, just until this whole thing had blown over. It was a long-shot anyone would even know they were related, but it was best not to take the risk, right? Danny had agreed, and though he had important, pressing matters to attend to, promised to send out a car to pick Mike up as soon as he could.

So, when the doorbell rang, Mike assumed it would be his escort. When he looked through the door's glass pane, he was surprised to see a mailman standing there, his back turned to the door, holding a parcel under his arm. He opened the door to greet him.

"Can I help you?"

The mailman turned and grinned at him, and Mike Avery realised too late that this wasn't a mailman after all. The visitor flicked the letter he was holding in the other hand. It span through the air in a graceful arc, before slicing across Mike's throat.

"Special delivery!"

Bullseye dropped the parcel, and discarded the mailman's coat and cap he'd been wearing over his costume. A little research goes a long way. All the Boy-Scouts would be rushing to protect their nearest and dearest. But families are big, sprawling entities. And Bullseye was confident that Hong Kong Phooey hadn't thought to rush to the aid of second cousins. Who would figure out they were even related? A smart cookie who likes making smart money, that's who. And so Bullseye stood there in the doorway, calmly watching Mike Avery bleed to death. He collapsed onto the carpet, desperately trying to hold the gaping wound closed with his hand. Yeah, like that was going to work...

"I just made $100,000 from one house-call."

Mike slumped back onto the floor lifelessly, the blood continuing to seep out and form a puddle around him as his hand dropped limply by his side.

"Daddy, who's at the door?"

Bullseye's ears pricked up at the voice. It was coming from one of the rooms inside the house. He entered, stepping over Mike's corpse, and trailed his blood through the hallway, heading in the direction the voice had came from.

He found them in the kitchen. Mike Avery's wife, and two children. A boy and a girl. How fun it was, seeing them all look up at the door expecting Daddy to walk in, only for their faces to give way to horrified realisation when they saw it was a blood-stained Bullseye.

"Actually, let's make that $400,000..."

[Electro UK]

"I'm definately gonna get some sort of fine for this arn't it?" I ask Mr. Immortal seconds before he fades away once more. Turning round, I look out across the decimated remains of Central Park. Every tree in the place had been cut down, with a blood splatter under each. Mr. I lies under the latest one to fall down. "Jeez, all the trees in the Amazon couldn't finish this guy off for good. Seriously? No real super heroes have bothered turning up? Did they all think "Nah its okay, Mr. Immortal's handeling it" or something? Because if so I'm highly insulted. My skills are vastly beyond that of this chum-- Argh!"

I stumble forwards from the fist Mr I. had placed in the back of my head. "Cheap shot! I thought that was the power a different River-Crossing Defender had."

"Our name is the Great Lake Avengers! And there is nothing cheap about us!" he runs at me, but I effotrlessly flip him over my back.

"Yeah, except for your phrases. "Evil do'er"? I thought that died out in the 80's, along with the terms Fella' and Darlin', I mean unless your Wolverine obviously. Poor guy, a zillion years old and still years behind the vocabulary of modern men."

Mr. Immortal kicks into my chest and sends me flying back into the children's playground. I land on the slide, dazzed for a few seconds. "Hey Mr, get out the way!" a kid collides with my back and sends me bouncing back onto the floor.

"Aw for the love'a... this is embarrasing. I'm strapped for cash as it is. How is it gonna look to potential employers when they see me taking on Mr. Immortal and an 8 year old?" I grab the kid by the scruff of the neck, stopping Mr. Immortal dead in his tracks.

"Unhand that child!"

"Sure thing Mr. I! Whatever you say, just don't hurt me okay? I'll come quietly, honest!" I lift the kid up, who grabs the monkey bars, only I slash the bars next to him with my sword so he can't move. Mr. Immortal makes a dash for me, but I blast him in the knee cap. "Sitdownaminutewouldya?" I bend down and start tapping away at something.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh nothing, just laying down a little booby trap for any heroes that might be feeling especially heroey (heh, booby trap)." I stand back up to reveal the land mine directly under the hanging kids feet. "Okay, now stay there for a moment Chucky while Ma and Pa have a go on the swings! Ah to be young again."

"You monster!" Mr. Immortal cries getting to his feet again (and I checked Wikipedia and it said it was unclear if he had a healing factor or reovered from non-fatal wounds so there). "Get him down!"

"Oh I think we both know there's only one way to get him down my friend! But ol' Timmy's slipping! can through me fast enough?"

"You leave me no choice, villain!"

"Again with the archaic name calling." Mr Immortal tackels me down onto the spinning wheel, which tarts turning on impact. I fightr my way on top of him, and hold his head over the side. "Get ready to feel pain like no man has ever felt!" I shove his head down onto the concrete floor, the wheel dragging him round with it. "You know normally I'd do this move in a car or train ride... but this is the same effect."

"Help I'm slipping!" the kid calls out.

"Yes dear, we're watching! Jeez, its always with the "Hey Mom, Mom, look at me Mom!" with our little sparrow isn't it Mr. I--" I'm interrupted by his fist knocking into my jaw. He gets to his feet and prepares to jump off the wheel. "You're going to jump? You're a madman!"

"No, I'm a hero!" and with that he leaps, making a less-than-gracious thud as he hits the ground face first.

"Well Wade, time to gather your fears and get off this thing. Remember, if Mr. Immortal can do it, you can do it too... oh its stopped." the wheel comes to a halt, and I race off of it, past Mr. Immortal as he gets to his feet, and then stand in his way. "Okay, so you've passed my first test of courage! Now... the jungle jim!" As he runs and takes a dive at me, I grab a ladder from the climbing frame above me and hoist myself up, Mr. I running into the bar behind me. "Toro! Toro!" I pull a grenade pin and drop it at his feet.

Mr. Immortal however, recovers quicker than I expected and sprints towards the kid, leaving me alone, hanging onto a bar with the grenade,
"Hmm... really shoulda thought about this one." the explosion brings the bars down on top off me.

I get to my feet in time to see the kid slip off the bar, centimeters below him, Mr. Immortal dives onto the landmine, whispering "This is going to hurt." under his breath, and blowing himself to pieces, sending the kid flying, but unharmed.

"Well if he gets back up from that then I dunno what'll put him down for good. I beliebe a Scooby Doo style, rotating-leg escape is in need!" I spin my feet round, and start to high tail it out of Central Park.

[Byrd Man]

"Call me? Dude, I've been trying to call YOU. Your phone was turned off.....You were watching Die Hard weren't you? Nevermind. You weren't picking up so I got worried and came over. You believe this crap?" Iron Fist spouted off, not knowing wether to laugh or collapse worrying, as he gestured to the news report on TV.

"I know, man. ****'s crazy. I ain't too worried 'bout myself, but Jessica and the baby."

"I can take care of myself. Don't forget I still have superpowers."

"I know, but if anything happend to you, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

I look over at Danny and shrug.

"So, you got any idea what we can do?"

[Byrd Man]

Tombstone let his voice ring out loud as he grabbed his head, falling back in pain from the kick to the jaw. The chemicals started to sink in, and hair started to peel off. He kicked and screamed like a baby for a few seconds, before managing to shove his head into the same pool of water he'd tried to drown Spider-man in. The pain slowly started to disslove, but the damage had already been done.

His head stung, and his vision was starting to get a little hazy. He could however, just start to make out Spider-man, trying to hold back the laughter at the hair loss. "Need something to hit him with... anything." he muttered under his breath, flailing his hand round in search for something heavy, he folded his plam round a fire extinguisher. "Perfect. NOW DIE!" Tombstone brought the extinguisher over his head and crashing down onto Spider-man.

WHAM!

It feels like a sledge hammer driving into me at the speed of light.

Naturally, I fall like a sack of potatoes.

"Anyone catch the number on that fire extinguisher?"

Tombstone picks me up and holds me up in the air by my neck.

My brain's getting all fuzzy again, so I better think fast before I become The Amazing Vegetable-Man.

Down around my feet is the fire extinguisher with a lovely Spidey-sized dent in it.

Behind Tombstone's large head is another chemical closet.

I quickly web the extingusher and toss it into the chemical closet.

It doesn't take Mr. Fantastic to realize that Compressed Contents + Highly Volatile Chemicals= Cool Ass Explosion

BOOM!

The explosion hits Tombstone full blast and knock me back into a wall.

"Wow." I mumble as I weakly stand up.

"Clean-up on aisle two!"

[Electro UK]

WHAM!

It feels like a sledge hammer driving into me at the speed of light.

Naturally, I fall like a sack of potatoes.

"Anyone catch the number on that fire extinguisher?"

Tombstone picks me up and holds me up in the air by my neck.

My brain's getting all fuzzy again, so I better think fast before I become The Amazing Vegetable-Man.

Down around my feet is the fire extinguisher with a lovely Spidey-sized dent in it.

Behind Tombstone's large head is another chemical closet.

I quickly web the extingusher and toss it into the chemical closet.

It doesn't take Mr. Fantastic to realize that Compressed Contents + Highly Volatile Chemicals= Cool Ass Explosion

BOOM!

The explosion hits Tombstone full blast and knock me back into a wall.

"Wow." I mumble as I weakly stand up.

"Clean-up on aisle two!"

For the first time in a long time, Tombstone felt a trickle of blood run down his nose. His eyes were having trouble staying focused, and he had to hold his legs to keep them from shaking. "You... you know Spider-man, I there's another ting that seperates me from the rest o' them bozos... I know when to call it a day." he slowly found his footing and raised himself above the bug, his shadow towering over him. "So, hero you got a choice. Continue to fight me, maybe even beat me... or save this dude's life."

Spider-man seems a little confused for a second, but then spots the Principal through his office window. Using the distraction, Tombstone swiped the arachnid aside, then picked up a pile of lockers, tossing them into the office wall so that it didn't come down completely, but leant over the office with the weight of the full lockers on top. "That won't hold forever. Guess you better get him outta there." tired, dazzed, and trying to save whatever dignity he still had, Tombstone made his exit through a hole in the wall. "Consider yourself lucky Spider-man. One o' these days someone's gonna offer me a whole lotta money to kill you, and then I'll finish the job for real."

Clearly, Tombstone was not going to be too happy when he read the news.

[Mercy]

Edit

[Byrd Man]

For the first time in a long time, Tombstone felt a trickle of blood run down his nose. His eyes were having trouble staying focused, and he had to hold his legs to keep them from shaking. "You... you know Spider-man, I there's another ting that seperates me from the rest o' them bozos... I know when to call it a day." he slowly found his footing and raised himself above the bug, his shadow towering over him. "So, hero you got a choice. Continue to fight me, maybe even beat me... or save this dude's life."

Spider-man seems a little confused for a second, but then spots the Principal through his office window. Using the distraction, Tombstone swiped the arachnid aside, then picked up a pile of lockers, tossing them into the office wall so that it didn't come down completely, but leant over the office with the weight of the full lockers on top. "That won't hold forever. Guess you better get him outta there." tired, dazzed, and trying to save whatever dignity he still had, Tombstone made his exit through a hole in the wall. "Consider yourself lucky Spider-man. One o' these days someone's gonna offer me a whole lotta money to kill you, and then I'll finish the job for real."

Clearly, Tombstone was not going to be too happy when he read the news.

I leap into the office and grab Mr. White by the waist just as the wall falls on him.

"You okay, sir?"

"I-I think so."

I look around for Tombstone, but he's nowhere to be found.

"Sorry about the mess, Tombstone likes to think he's smart. But he's as dumb as a bag of hammers."

"It-it's okay. Was anyone hurt?"

"Besides Tombstone's pride? No, I've got some bumps and bruises, but they'll heal."

"Thank you...have we, met before?"

"You know me." I say to Mr. White as I leap on his office ceiling.

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w259/SpideyRPG/spiderman-classic.jpg

"I'm your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!"

[Gallagher]

Nathan Summers - Cable
Hunted, Part II

Nathan stood hunched over, his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. The shouts and commotion from the riot bellow apparently dying down. He breathed heavily, the impromptu free-running session wearing him down more the nhe had anticipated.

Walking over to the edge of the rooftop he had found himself he took in the elevated view, his hightened vision allowing him to see below to the ruined central park.

"What the hell?" He groaned as black and red blur sprinted out of the park, leaving a couple of erratic explosions in his wake. "You've got to be kidding me. Not him. Not now."

Jumping down from the rooftop onto a car he watched as the red and black ninja jogged into a nearby alleyway. He cut through a sidestreet coming out from the shadows infront of the spandex-clad mercenary causing a shrill, almost girl-y scream to exit his mouth.

"Hello." Nathan growled as he looked into the familiar masked eyes of Deadpool, disdain showing on his face.

[Electro UK]

Nathan Summers - Cable
Hunted, Part II

Nathan stood hunched over, his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. The shouts and commotion from the riot bellow apparently dying down. He breathed heavily, the impromptu free-running session wearing him down more the nhe had anticipated.

Walking over to the edge of the rooftop he had found himself he took in the elevated view, his hightened vision allowing him to see below to the ruined central park.

"What the hell?" He groaned as black and red blur sprinted out of the park, leaving a couple of erratic explosions in his wake. "You've got to be kidding me. Not him. Not now."

Jumping down from the rooftop onto a car he watched as the red and black ninja jogged into a nearby alleyway. He cut through a sidestreet coming out from the shadows infront of the spandex-clad mercenary causing a shrill, almost girl-y scream to exit his mouth.

"Hello." Nathan growled as he looked into the familiar masked eyes of Deadpool, disdain showing on his face.

"Son of a!" I cry out as the figure emerges from the shadow. "A shadowed figure!? The ghost of Christmas future!?"

"N--"

"I knew you'd catch up to me one day you swine! Well futurize this!" I fire at the figure, but a blue field stops the bullets in their path. "Waitaminute... I'd know that telekenesis thingie anyday." Cable takes a step forward. "Well slap my wrist and call me Victor Von Doom, if it ain't Nathan Christopher Charles Summers! Otherwise known as Nathan Dayspring Askani'son! Otherwise known as Cable! Otherwise known as... wait no I'm all outta names."

So me and Nate got this history... generally what you get when a hero fights a crazy mercenary. Wait... hero? Cable's a hero isn't he? Surley he's a hero... though he looks grump, maybe he switched sides. I better find out, real subtle like. "So uh... you... killed anyone recently? Innocents?"

[Gallagher]

"Son of a!" I cry out as the figure emerges from the shadow. "A shadowed figure!? The ghost of Christmas future!?"

"N--"

"I knew you'd catch up to me one day you swine! Well futurize this!" I fire at the figure, but a blue field stops the bullets in their path. "Waitaminute... I'd know that telekenesis thingie anyday." Cable takes a step forward. "Well slap my wrist and call me Victor Von Doom, if it ain't Nathan Christopher Charles Summers! Otherwise known as Nathan Dayspring Askani'son! Otherwise known as Cable! Otherwise known as... wait no I'm all outta names."

So me and Nate got this history... generally what you get when a hero fights a crazy mercenary. Wait... hero? Cable's a hero isn't he? Surley he's a hero... though he looks grump, maybe he switched sides. I better find out, real subtle like. "So uh... you... killed anyone recently? Innocents?"

Nathan felt a headache starting to form in the base of his skull already.

"Is it wrong that I almost miss that husky Demi Moore voice of yours?" He quips, stepping out from the dark and into Wade's face.

"And no, I haven't been trudging round this god forsaken hell hole murdering innocent civilians like some people."

Cable looked past the mercenary and gestured toward central park.

"This your mess?"

[Venom160]

edit: nvm

[SenseiofCheese]

I look over at Danny and shrug.

[B]"So, you got any idea what we can do?"[/LEFT]

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/big-ironfist.jpg

"Let's head over to my place, Jess'll be saf..." Danny began, but abrubtly caught himself off when he noticed the mean look from Jess. ...we'll all be safer there.

"So gather up the stuff you want to take with you, I have a car waiting downstairs."

[Electro UK]

Nathan felt a headache starting to form in the base of his skull already.

"Is it wrong that I almost miss that husky Demi Moore voice of yours?" He quips, stepping out from the dark and into Wade's face.

"And no, I haven't been trudging round this god forsaken hell hole murdering innocent civilians like some people."

Cable looked past the mercenary and gestured toward central park.

"This your mess?"

I look out upon the fallen trees, flaming lawns, destroyed structures... and hey that cat is on fire! Haha! "Who, moi? Now come on Cable, you know me, you really think I'm capable of that?" I flinch at the sound of another tree giving way and the screech of a dog it hits as it falls. "...oh that. Well yeah I may have blown up a few... hundred acres of Central Park, but rest assure it was all in the name of personal gain."

I turn to leave. "Now if you'll excuse me I must take my leave and go back to saving orphans in distant third world countries you've never heard of. To the Deadpool mobile!" Oh wait, don't have money for a cab. "Uh... you wouldn't happen to have any spare change?" Cable looks unamused. "No? Well I really need a little money you see so..."

Without warning I pull one of my swords and slash out at Nathan, who ducks effortlessly. "Sorry Nate, this is nothing personal. I like ya and all its just that... well I need American currency for food and all that..."

[SenseiofCheese]

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/89831-28833-magneto_super.jpg

"He should be here any minute." Mystique assured Magneto as she made her way past a large tree, letting her fingers trail along the bark.

"Good."Magneto answered, levitating in place behind her.

The three mutants had come the countryside outside of New York, halfway between the city and Xavier's school. Mystique had assured Lensherr that a mutant resided here, and quite a powerful one.

"Jesus, it's hot out. When're we paying the X-Morons a visit? I bet they have a pool." Mortimer Toynbee, known as the Toad, gasped as he hopped up behind Magneto, who tried as he could to ignore him as one would ignore an annoying fly.

The ground trembled slightly. Almost too miniscule to even notice.

And apparently the Toad didn't, as he kept on speaking. "So, uh, boss.."he whispered when Mystique had walked out of earshot. Magneto glanced down at Toynbee, who still smelled like garbage. "No offense or nuthin' but..how come we're runnin' with the blue chick? I mean, I'd tap that like there ain't no tomorrow, but everyone knows Mystique's only out for herself."Toad chuckled foolishly. "I ain't even met her but once and I know she's only out for herself."

"Are you asking me why I trust her?"Magneto answered with a dull voice.

The Toad nodded vigorously, his tongue darting in and out of his mouth, drool cascading to the ground. "I don't."Again the ground trembled. Toad cocked his head to the side like a curious dog.

"I have not survived this long by being blind to my surroundings. Our friend in blue has never bothered herself with Mutant Rights, this much I know from Xavier. It's a shame, but I do believe she thinks she's lured us into a trap." he lamented, watching as Mystique looked back at him from her place on a small hill overlooking a heavily forested area.

"What, here?"Toynbee half-whispered, half-yelped. A cowardness in his eyes that Magneto had come to expect from his old ally, the Toad began to fevershly look around for signs of a trap.

"Yes, here. I am not a fool. Why do you think she would bring us out in to the middle of the woods to collect this mutant friend of hers? The woods, where there's no real metal to be found." he stated matter-of-factly, no more disappointed or angry than intrigued. "A bold move, to be commended. Such a shame we'll have to kill her and her friend."

"Hehehe." the Toad laughed, a laugh almost as filthy and vomit-inducing as his odor.

The ground began to tremble once more, to the point where even the Toad's smile dropped like a fly.

"I don't think so."
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/78694-138006-avalanche_super.jpg

"Name's Avalanche. And I do believe I just tipped the scales in Mystique's favor."

Magneto turned to look at the costumed mutant who had just arrived, cracks in the ground where he walked. He knew who this was, and what his powers were.

"My friend in blue thinks we'll be able to collect a very gracious amount of money if we kill you. I watch the news, I'm inclined to agree."Avalanche spoke with a confidence and arrogance Magneto had seen in many young mutants. Mutants who had yet to get to know real power.

"I believe your friend in blue will be rushing to your aid in approximately 4 seconds."Erik Lensherr spoke with a confidence that was, unlike that of the mutant Avalanche's, was not misplaced.

"I know who you are, old man. Ain't nothing but soil around these parts. And that's my game. Out here, I'm king." Avalance grinned, a mocking tone to his voice.

But just as Magneto has predicted, the sound the earth trembling was for a moment interrupted as Mystique came running, screaming at the top of her lungs. She was too far away for the group to hear what she was shouting, but Magneto knew.

Looking over Magneto's shoulder with a confused expression, Avalanche shouted back. "WHAT?"

Magneto never took his eyes off the young man in front of him. "She's yelling 'your suit, your suit, why'd you bring your suit'." Erik stated without his voice fluctuating in the least.

Looking to Magneto, and back to Mystique, Avalanche shouted again. "MY SUIT? WHAT ABOUT MY SUIT?"

"It's made of metal, you dolt."

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/308/78017-71253-magneto.jpg

[Matt Murdock]

"Not today runt." I sneer as I slash out with my right hand and take out his left eye. He doesn't make a sound.

He just rolls with it and takes a swipe at me. I lean back to avoid the cut but he still gets a piece a' me. His claws run across my chest leavin' three red streaks.

"Now we're partyin'!" I exclaim as I step forward and kick him hard in the gut.

My kick lifts him off the ground and sends him hurtling backwards. There's a crunch as he lands on the roof of the same parked car I just banged his head in to. The sound makes me crack a grin.

Its a shame that I'm here to kill him, cutting him has always been so much fun.

He snarls at me as he picks himself up. His eye's already healing. Good. I don't want this to end too quickly.

I let out a howl and lunge at him, going for his throat.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/DCMarvelRPG/Wolverine/Wolverine.jpg

Wolverine tasted blood as he readied himself for Creed's next attack. Sabertooth was already in mid-air. Having faced each other countless times, Wolverine wasn't afraid. Sabertooth might've had the edge, he might've been stronger, faster, and bigger, but, one way or the other, Wolverine would survive. He always had. He was too persistant to fall to someone as low as Victor Creed.

In the commotion, Wolverines claws had retracted out of instinct, ensuring that he didn't accidentally puncture his own skin. Without hesitation, Wolverine seized his opportunity and stepped into Creed's oncoming attack, feeling his anger growing steadily. His arm cocked, he drive his metal fist directly into Sabertooth's nose, sending the hulking beast sprawling onto his back.

Wolverine wouldn't redeploy his claws. At least, not yet. He wanted a piece of Victor Creed. And he was going to get it.

Logan kneeled and brought his fist down upon Creed's chest with all of his might. It wasn't enough to drive through Sabertooth's torso but, by Christ, it had to hurt.

Without missing a beat, Logan drove his fist upwards, connecting with Creed's jaw. Something made a sickly cracking sound, but Wolverine didn't much care. Creed would get up. That's the one thing the two shared: relentlessness.

Wolverine rose to his feet and growled, as he looked down upon Sabertooth's heaped body.

"Get up!" He snarled. "I'm likin' this."

[Byrd Man]

"Let's head over to my place, Jess'll be saf..." Danny began, but abrubtly caught himself off when he noticed the mean look from Jess. ...we'll all be safer there.

"So gather up the stuff you want to take with you, I have a car waiting downstairs."

It takes Jessica and I about five minutes to throw some clothes into a gym bag.

"Come on, man. Let's go."

I notice some people shooting us some strange looks as we hit the streets. Danny's car is a few hundred feet from my apartment door.

"Luke Cage?" I hear a voice call behind us.

"Who wants to know?"

I turn around and see a man with about a half dozen gang bangers with guns pointed at us.

"I'd say the almighty dollar bill wants to know, son."

[Gallagher]

I look out upon the fallen trees, flaming lawns, destroyed structures... and hey that cat is on fire! Haha! "Who, moi? Now come on Cable, you know me, you really think I'm capable of that?" I flinch at the sound of another tree giving way and the screech of a dog it hits as it falls. "...oh that. Well yeah I may have blown up a few... hundred acres of Central Park, but rest assure it was all in the name of personal gain."

I turn to leave. "Now if you'll excuse me I must take my leave and go back to saving orphans in distant third world countries you've never heard of. To the Deadpool mobile!" Oh wait, don't have money for a cab. "Uh... you wouldn't happen to have any spare change?" Cable looks unamused. "No? Well I really need a little money you see so..."

Without warning I pull one of my swords and slash out at Nathan, who ducks effortlessly. "Sorry Nate, this is nothing personal. I like ya and all its just that... well I need American currency for food and all that..."

The headache Nathan felt earlier just kept getting worse, sometimes heswore he was allergic to this man.

"Not... NOW Wilson." He yelled as the merc went for a kick, leaving himself open for Cable to grab him by the leg and fling him against a brick wall... which he did with added enthusiasm.

"I should've known you'd be one to take up this madman's offer. Kill a super become a millionaire? He's bluffing. No one has that kind of money Wade."

Cable didn't leave Deadpool anytime to get to his feet again as he was on him seconds after impact, holding him by the throat up against the wall.

"If this mob ends up murdering a quarter of the super-population of NYC that alone is more money than anyone in the damn world can afford to give away. Use your damn head for once." He growled, emphasising it with a viciously well placed headbutt, bringing his forehead down on the bridge of Deadpool's nose.

"Or am I going to have to beat some sense into you?"

[Spider-Man9X17]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner-2.jpg

“How’s it look?”

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/HawkeyeBinoculars.jpg

“We have riots outside Stark Towers, Rand Corp, The Baxter Building, and the Wakandan Embassy. Not to mention the near thousands of individual scuffles and muggings from here to New Jersey.”

Hawkeye stood up and tucked the high-powered binoculars into a pouch on his belt. He stepped back from the ledge of the apartment rooftop he and Mockingbird were currently running surveillance from. Manhattan had literally transformed into a plethora of old-time Hollywood lynch mob scenes. Everyone was out to collect any bounty they could in New York’s newest “reality” game.

“Somehow though, I’m still not surprised to see angry house wives running around downtown Manhattan trying to beat the snot out of anything that moves. I just don’t think I’ve seen this many angry housewives concentrated together at one point outside of primetime TV.”

Mockingbird sighed.

“Oh well. I guess it’s time to go do what we do best.”

“Sorry babe. The sex will have to wait until we get this mess cleaned up.”

-

Hawkeye dropped down off the fire escape to the alley behind the apartment complex, and then reached up to help lift Mockingbird down.

“Lookie here, boys. How often do you walk into a cool eleven-million in a New York alley?”

A trio of men dressed in 1920’s gangster regalia stepped out of the shadows to confront the two Avengers.

Fancy Dan, Ox, and Montana. Together known as the Enforcers, they were usually low level, low rent hired guns, 9 times out ten for Hammerhead or Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin; and 9 and a half times out of ten glorified whipping boys for Spider-Man.

“Now, do we get an extra ten thousand for each of you since you all are related, or do super powered relatives not count double?”

“You three speds will be lucky to make it out of this alley without me shoving your heads up your @$$e$.”

“Big talk for a man wearing a purple jumpsuit. Not to mention, in case your math ain’t the best, that there’s three of us men against you and your little girlie there.”

“A d*** between your legs doesn’t make you a man. Just ask any of Eddie Murphy's call girls.”

The Enforcers started to lumber toward the duo.

“You ain’t gonna be talking so big when I shove all those arrows straight up your…”

-

3 Minutes Later…

“That was a nice little work out.”

“Yeah, but I really hope you disinfect that staff when we get home. I have to say though, I’m extremely impressed you got it as far up there as you did.”

Hawkeye and Mockingbird exited the alley, a chorus of moans and groans escaping from the dark corridor.

“Well, I can’t let a brute like that threaten my man like he did. Ain’t nobody gonna touch that cute little butt of yours but me.”

“Well, I think your about to get plenty of more chances to back that up,” Hawkeye nodded toward the small mob bearing down on the two Avengers.

[SenseiofCheese]

[/B]I turn around and see a man with about a half dozen gang bangers with guns pointed at us.

"I'd say the almighty dollar bill wants to know, son."

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/big-ironfist.jpg

"Now now, boys, this is no way to go about getting an autograph." Iron Fist's voice came from behind the gangsters, all of them immediately turning and aiming their guns at Rand. There had to be about a dozen of them, and Iron Fist silently mused to himself that he had just beaten his own high score of 'most guns pointed at me at the same time'.

"Lookitthat, we're getting two for one!" the oldest of the gang, obviously the leader, called at Iron Fist, who didn't move an inch. He did, however, crack a smile.

"I just want you guys to take a moment to really appreciate that fact that you just pointed a gun at my friend's girlfriend, then turned your back to him. Can you say mistake?"

[Electro UK]

The headache Nathan felt earlier just kept getting worse, sometimes heswore he was allergic to this man.

"Not... NOW Wilson." He yelled as the merc went for a kick, leaving himself open for Cable to grab him by the leg and fling him against a brick wall... which he did with added enthusiasm.

"I should've known you'd be one to take up this madman's offer. Kill a super become a millionaire? He's bluffing. No one has that kind of money Wade."

Cable didn't leave Deadpool anytime to get to his feet again as he was on him seconds after impact, holding him by the throat up against the wall.

"If this mob ends up murdering a quarter of the super-population of NYC that alone is more money than anyone in the damn world can afford to give away. Use your damn head for once." He growled, emphasising it with a viciously well placed headbutt, bringing his forehead down on the bridge of Deadpool's nose.

"Or am I going to have to beat some sense into you?"

"So... what you're saying is... it'd take Bill Gates times infinity to be able to pay me off? No way Nate, you're crazy man. That's just monkey talk. Oh and Nate, you have forgotten something. I can hit just as hard as you." I reply to his headbutt with my own, dissapointed by the mere few steps Cable stumbles back. "...well... almost as hard anyway." but I do have more fancy moves, which I prove as I spin kick him back into a wall.

"You see, cause I'm such a loveable fella' (wow, contradicting my own posts now), people always think "That Deadpool is a bit of a laugh, can't be much of a fighter though." Buuuuuuuuuzz! Sorry but you might be a bit saddened to find I kick ass." I step back into a defensive stance, hand on my nun-chuck, ready to go.

[Catman_prb]

The Vision

"So what's actually going on?" the newly dubbed Iron Lad asked, as he and his android friend floated in the skies of New York.

"It would appear that the whole of New York is rioting," the Vision replied.

"And we're up in the sky, because?" Nathaniel asked.

"They seem to be converging on Heroes and such like targets. Stark Tower, the Baxter Building, even the ruins of the Mansion are awash with rioters," the metal man responded, his robotic eyes scanning the city-scape below.

"So what are we going to do?"

"I'm looking for large masses of people gathering in the streets. We can probably lend a few heroes some help," the Vision said.

He raised a metallic limb and pointed at some dots in the city below.

"There," he stated, before dropping down into a nose dive towards the angry mob.

[Harlekin]

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/7251/logocr6.jpg

Hell’s Kitchen, New York

“Why are you doing this?”
The man behind the mask might’ve asked the same thing.

Then again, there was money involved, so he started loosening the grip on the petty thief he held suspended over the rooftop’s edge. For effect, he gave the criminal a little sadistic smile. It was an act he did, even if some part – rather, a large part – of him liked messing up punks like this.

He just wondered whether the killing was necessary.

A hefty pay check said it was.

“See you, Tommy,” Daredevil said as he let Tommy Two-Tone fall to the ground below. If he survived, he’d be crippled for life and could tell all his little friends about how Daredevil had got him into a wheelchair. If he died, well, he’d leave a clue to the scene. Something creative.

When some drunk passer-by’s found Tommy Two-Tone’s body hours later, they found two D’s carved into his chest.

[Gallagher]

"So... what you're saying is... it'd take Bill Gates times infinity to be able to pay me off? No way Nate, you're crazy man. That's just monkey talk. Oh and Nate, you have forgotten something. I can hit just as hard as you." I reply to his headbutt with my own, dissapointed by the mere few steps Cable stumbles back. "...well... almost as hard anyway." but I do have more fancy moves, which I prove as I spin kick him back into a wall.

"You see, cause I'm such a loveable fella' (wow, contradicting my own posts now), people always think "That Deadpool is a bit of a laugh, can't be much of a fighter though." Buuuuuuuuuzz! Sorry but you might be a bit saddened to find I kick ass." I step back into a defensive stance, hand on my nun-chuck, ready to go.

'I don't have time for this.'

Cable lunges forward and feels the sting of Deadpool's nun-chuck swipe across his face. Powering through the pain, he dives for the Pistol holstered on Wade's hip. He misses as the merc sidesteps, anticipating Nathan's impromptu field strip.

"You're faster than I remember." He spits, picking himself up off the cold, wet floor. For a moment he smiles and tilts his head.

"... You been working out?" He asks in a rare display of frivolity.

[Electro UK]

'I don't have time for this.'

Cable lunges forward and feels the sting of Deadpool's nun-chuck swipe across his face. Powering through the pain, he dives for the Pistol holstered on Wade's hip. He misses as the merc sidesteps, anticipating Nathan's impromptu field strip.

"You're faster than I remember." He spits, picking himself up off the cold, wet floor. For a moment he smiles and tilts his head.

"... You been working out?" He asks in a rare display of frivolity.

"Ooooh a compliment! I'd take my mask off to blush, but my face is pretty much the same colour as the costume right now anyway you charmer!" Wish I actually had been working out though, then I'd feel good about myself. Truth is I just can't afford food anymore. And you're meant of have 3 of these food things a day people. "What about you Natey? Apocy-lips been pushing you through those cirrcuit training sessions recently? Or has he just been handing your ass to you some more?"

I manage to block a kick from Nate, but not the metal arm that streams into my face and sends me through the back wall off the alley. I let the dust settle and a moment of silence ensues before I speak up. "Of course you know, this means war..."

[Gallagher]

"Ooooh a compliment! I'd take my mask off to blush, but my face is pretty much the same colour as the costume right now anyway you charmer!" Wish I actually had been working out though, then I'd feel good about myself. Truth is I just can't afford food anymore. And you're meant of have 3 of these food things a day people. "What about you Natey? Apocy-lips been pushing you through those cirrcuit training sessions recently? Or has he just been handing your ass to you some more?"

I manage to block a kick from Nate, but not the metal arm that streams into my face and sends me through the back wall off the alley. I let the dust settle and a moment of silence ensues before I speak up. "Of course you know, this means war..."

"Wade... do both of us a favour and-"

*SWIPE*

Cable ducked another slash from a Katana as Deadpool burst from the rubble. From his crouched position Cable rocketed his metallic arm upwards catching Wade on the chin, sending him a good fifteen feet into the air.

"- Stay down." He finished as the merc with the mouth crash-landed on the roof of a car.

"The whole city has gone to hell and here we are in some stinking alley fighting to the death. Do you seriously have nothing better to do?"

[Electro UK]

Tombstone, was understandably pissed. He thought the rioting outside the school was because of his outburst, not because some nut was offering crazy money to whoever took the head of the do good'ers. He had Spider-man in his hands. He could have just crushed his skull right there and then, and he'd be $5 million richer. He balled his hand into a fist, but decided not to throw his TV out the window, instead taking several deep breaths.

"Easy Lonnie... just chill a little. You can still make a little pocket cash here." the truth was, Tombstone didn't need the money on offer here, because when he'd told Spider-man he wasn't stupid, he wasn't lying. Tombstone, was not the most well known of super villains, and there was a reason for it.

Banged up in jail a fair few times, he'd decided to take it easy. Take low profile jobs that paid average, but kept him out of the way. He'd gained quite the reputation between the small time gangs, and slowly but surley worked his way into a bit of money. But it wasn't for luxury. Oh no, it was for his rise to the top.

The Tombstone of today was a fighter, scrapping with Spider-man over a few bottles to collect a few grand. The Tombstone of tomorrow would be a very different story.

He did, however fancy a little excersise after holding an ice bag on his head for an hour or two. And who was to say that he couldn't just make an odd 2 or 3 million at the same time?

[Electro UK]

"Wade... do both of us a favour and-"

*SWIPE*

Cable ducked another slash from a Katana as Deadpool burst from the rubble. From his crouched position Cable rocketed his metallic arm upwards catching Wade on the chin, sending him a good fifteen feet into the air.

"- Stay down." He finished as the merc with the mouth crash-landed on the roof of a car.

"The whole city has gone to hell and here we are in some stinking alley fighting to the death. Do you seriously have nothing better to do?"

"Dude, my whole life has pretty much been based around the idea that I have nothing better to do." I say, picking myself out of the me-shaped dent I've created in the car. "Cool, car angel. Now there's something you don't see everyday." I hop off the car. "But you're right, this city is going to hell, and we need to stop it! And I know just how to do it!"

Nate's expression of relief is cut short "Kill all the heroes so there's no more money to give out!" as Cable buries his face in his hands, I pull a smoke grenade. "And there's only one man on this earth that can help me do that! But it sure as hell ain't you, honkey!" Wondering why I used the term honkey, I throw the grenade, turn and run. "Run, run as fast as you can, can't catch me I'm the Deadpool... man."

Leaving Cable behind, I start heading towards my destination.

[Keyser Soze]

Alison Blaire had never been one to give in to fear. Her outing as a mutant had not stopped her from performing, people could love her or hate her, she'd always be herself. And now, with these bounties on all superheroes dominating the news, she could have done the easy thing and go into hiding. But that would be showing them she was afraid. And so she was out on her roller-skates, touring the streets of Long Island as she was known to do. Business as usual for Dazzler.

As she skated round a corner, she saw a couple of kids - high on something by the looks of it - point at her and whisper among themselves. One of them began to reach into his pocket. She only just heard the muffled click of a trigger. Before he could pull the gun out, a blinding flash of light blinded both of them. Dazzler then created a strobe effect that made them both spontaneously throw up.

"I'd go home, children. It's past your bedtime."

She looked over her shoulder at them as she skated past. Some people, they'd never learn...

As she turned back to face the road ahead of her, she gasped to see Bullseye standing in her path.

"Thinkfast!"

He spun round and fell into a crouching position, whipping around a yo-yo as he did.

*Schlick*

The yo-yo twirled back along its string, and found its way back into Bullseye's hands. Dazzler kept on skating down the road. Her head, however, bounced along in the opposite direction, landing in front of the two terrified teenage boys.

"B***hes leave," he growled at them.

They ran off screaming, and puking some more. Bullseye knelt down, and stuck the yo-yo (which had a bullseye carved into its surface) into the severed head's mouth.

That was another five million dollars. All things considered, it had been a good day's work.

[Gallagher]

"Dude, my whole life has pretty much been based around the idea that I have nothing better to do." I say, picking myself out of the me-shaped dent I've created in the car. "Cool, car angel. Now there's something you don't see everyday." I hop off the car. "But you're right, this city is going to hell, and we need to stop it! And I know just how to do it!"

Nate's expression of relief is cut short "Kill all the heroes so there's no more money to give out!" as Cable buries his face in his hands, I pull a smoke grenade. "And there's only one man on this earth that can help me do that! But it sure as hell ain't you, honkey!" Wondering why I used the term honkey, I throw the grenade, turn and run. "Run, run as fast as you can, can't catch me I'm the Deadpool... man."

Leaving Cable behind, I start heading towards my destination.

"And there goes the most irritating man on the planet..."

Fiddling with some of the mechanisms on his arm cable activated the homing device he had slyly planted on Deadpool's costume whilst he had him pinned to the wall.

"Can't believe I decided that I want to know where that creep is at all times... but it could come in handy."

As the commotion, screaming and shouting got closer Nate decided that it was a good time to leave. Commandeering the car with the Deadpool-shaped dent in the roof, Cable set his sights on Westchester.

[MaskedManJRK]

Reed Richard's Journal, Appendex L: Janurary 6

Checked on Vaccine #4028. T helper lymphocytes were almost depleted, despite extraordinary raise during the past two weeks. Virus seems to have adapted to strain.

Next vaccine will be something different. I have read interest research on abzymes that can destroy the gp120 CD4 binding site, which would make further damages to the immune system inert. With my advanced materials, it is possible to create an even stronger variant to possibly stop the strain. Will put together formula and results when vaccine is completed and tested--

"What'cha doin'?"

I turn to see Franklin standing next to me, looking at the screen. I rub my eyes to take away some of the glare from the screen.

"Oh, just testing another antiviral. It seemed to work for a few days, but the T-cells were ripped apart like all the others." I see his eyes go blank and think of a simpler way of saying it. I've been hoping that Franklin would have an interest in science like the "old man," but it hasn't happened--yet, anyway. "I tried to cure a disease and it didn't work." Franklin's eyes sparked with reconishion and he puts his hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay, Dad--you'll figure it--"

"FRANKLIN BENJAMIN RICHARDS!"

"He's in here, Sue!" I turn to Franklin. "Full name, huh? What did you do?"

"I didn't do nothing--"

"He's been skipping out of his classes." I see Sue fly in on one of her force fields, panting. Observation tells me that he's been running from her for a while.

"Now that's just slander, Mom."

"He says a double negative and yet 'knows' slander," I hear her mutter under her breath. "H.E.R.B.I.E. isn't capable of slander, Franklin. It's not in his programming."

"But he's so booooooooring. Why can't I go to a real school?"

"I've explained this before, Franklin," she says, dropping down to her knees so she can look him in the eyes. "You can't go to those schools because of the supervillains that would find you an easier target outside of the Baxter building. Beside's H.E.R.B.I.E. is built by your father, and just as good, if not better, then regular teachers."

"It's just not the same--"

"We can talk about this later--now go and do your studies, young man!"

"Alright, alright..." Franklin scuffles out of the room, head hung low. Sue uses her force fields to roll a chair over next to me and sits down. I turn back to the computer and start typing up the next formula but I can feel her looking at me.

"Which one are you working on?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have the look in your eyes when you're not getting anywhere, I know none of the 'super-heroes' have given you anything to work on, and while I'm not a genius, I know molecular chemistry when I see it. Which disease are you working on?"

"AIDS. I'm in the 4,000s now. I know I'm just inches away from figuring this out, but it just reverts again and again and--it's maddening that I can find a new plane of existence and yet I can't figure out how to cure this disease." She turns my chair around and kisses me on the lips. It doesn't help my figuring this out, but it does help me.

"Don't worry, babe. I know you'll figure it out. In the meantime--maybe you should take a little break. It's been quiet on the super-front and none of the greats ever changed the world without a little bit of R&R."

"Maybe you're right...I could start helping Franklin with his school-work--maybe he'll have more interest if--"

"GUYS!" Johnny flies into the lab, in full flame. I stand and move towards him.

"JOHNNY--I've asked you not to be in flames when you come into my lab!"

"Right. Sorry." Johnny lands and extinguishes the flames. He moves towards the computer and puts it on one of the news feeds, with a headline "Mysterious Message Calls Bounty on Super-Heroes." Johnny clicks on the video link it provides and we see the message.

"WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS?

"WOULD YOU KILL FOR IT?

"WOULD YOU KILL A SUPERHERO?"

The video displays pictures of many of the superheroes known in the United States. Sue grips one of my hands when pictures of us are displayed. But that isn't what does it. It's one of the last lines.

"PLUS A $100,000 BONUS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS"

Franklin. Valeria. Whoever did this, just threatened to kill my children. Sue's hand squeezes hard. I feel Johnny lighting up again. When I contact Ben from his date with Alicia I know at least one of the words he'll rant will be "clobberin'."

We're going out. We're going to find out who put this bounty on us. And God help whoever tries to take apart my family.

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/229/110603-35524-fantastic-four_super.jpg

[Watchman]

Lorenzo's is a popular bar in the Hell's Kitchan district of New York City. It is also one of the many meeting places for the ex Kingpin of Crime's, Wilson Fisk, capos. For weeks they have been discusses what should happen. Crime in New York City has no ruler. The King has been dethrone and tossed in Styrkers.

A dim back room house five men all sitting at a table. Cards, poker chips, and beers are scattered all over the table. The men sit around tosses in chips into an ever increasing pile while talking what should happen now that Wilson Fisk is in prison.

"I think its our time to take what's rightfully ours." A fat, balding, capo says. Another one sitting next time rolls his eyes.

"Here he goes again."

"You're damn right, Johnny. You're all sick of carrying the fat man around."

"Look who's talking. I call"

"Ah no respect. All of you no respect."

"Oh I have respect," another Capo spoke up. This one wearing sunglasses and three day old stubble, "I have enough respect to know that kind of talk would get us kill. Maybe I should cap you right now, Frank."

"Easy guys." Johnny says.

"Why you little no good piece of...." The door to the backroom opens up. A man wearing a green trenchcoat steps in. A green fedora hides his face. He sits in a chair looking over the table. Glasses reaches for his gun. The man in the coat sticks his hand in the air.

"Please, that will be useless."

"What the hell do you want."

"Simple we want what you have," He lifts his head up to show the smile across his face, "we want Kingpin's land." The five men start to laugh.

"Johnny get rid of this Joker." Johnny reaches for his gun.

"Very well," His head tilts up showing off two red, glowing eyes. Two automatic pistols slide from his sleeves, "Hail Hydra." He fires into the crowd of men. Within seconds lies five bullet ridden bodies. The bartender comes rushing in holding a shotgun.

"Jes..." His head explodes as the Hydra agent simple rises his hand and fires off one shot. He speaks into his shoulder.

"Eliminate, all targets." The bar quickly flies up with Hydra Agents killing any witnesses. One of the capos had survive. He breaths heavily as he tries to crawl out the door. The Hydra agent kicks him over and places a boot on his chest. "This is Skull territory now." He fires off one more round.

*******
In the heart of Manhattan lies the headquaters for the Skull. Once was a office building now transformed to house one of the world's deadlest villian. Underneath their feet lies the lab of Zola where he continues to toil for Skull's grand plan. Skull stands at a window looking at the streets below.

"Insects..." He says quietly to himself.

"Something is coming up on the screen, boss." He turns from the window as the a giant screen on the wall shows the image of the Hydra agent.

"Agent 7, for your sake I hope you have good news."

"Sir, we have eliminated all of the designated targets and have secure the area."

"And what about the distraction?"

"Everything is in place."

"Good," He turns the screen off, "soon we'll have all of that fat man's power."

"Don't you think this organized crime thing is below us?"

"Ah, but when was the last time has SHIELD try to pick up one of these common criminals? When have the Avengers interfered with the Kingpin? All we have to do is deal with the street level types, nothing you can't handle."

"I get your point but what happens if someone gets wind of Hydra running around capping Kingpin's men?"

"I personally will take care of them. Now its time we take care of some business."

[Spider-Man9X17]

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“I’m used to this whole trying to help someone who would rather kill you. Comes with the territory. But how in God’s name are you supposed to defend yourself against somebody who’s trying to kill you when you can’t lay a hand on them.”

Hawkeye batted away about the hundredth beer bottle thrown at him while Mockingbird ducked under a swinging baseball hat that had aspirations of taking her head off.

“You’re a smart boy. I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

“…got four kids I gotta put through college…”

“…bout time you capes were good for something…”

“…get your autograph first. My youngest absolutely loves you…”

“Please. Oh God, please. Let me hit one. One broken nose, a couple chipped teeth, a good ol’ shiner. Anything.”

“You had your fun at the press conference.”

A sudden whoosh of air caused the crowd to momentarily disburse while people grabbed frantically to hold onto hats or shield their eyes against the small pufts of dust and dirt being kicked up, or just stumbling backwards in mild fear or uncertainty. The break, for the heroes anyway, was short lived.

“G’day mates. Hope all is well with you.”

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/85094-98593-boomerang_super.gif

“Or a real villain. God, give me an Ultron or a Kang.”

[Batman]

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/DCMarvelRPG/Captain%20America/Classic%20Cap/capbannermarvelrpgfq3.png
And The War Goes On... Pt. 2

"That's the last one. Let's move!"

The pilot of the chopper nods, pulling down the throttle and sending us up into the air. I grab the hatch and pull it shut, just in time to avoid a hail of gunfire. And when I say 'just in time', I mean it. Indents line the hatch door, as I duck down to avoid fire that desicrates what's left of the side window. Alright. Need to remember that the base is about five miles from the battlegrounds, with the medical bay north from that. Enemy troops are deployed for the next few yards. Which means that unless by some miracle they don't see the copter, these guys aren't out of the woods yet.

Madness. All of it. The Pakistani's Leaders couldn't get an agreement finalized in negotiation with the U.N., so this happens, just to send the surrounding countries a warning. Their own people are out there in the mainlands, dying every day from poverty and starvation, and they want to risk it all by sending more out there to die in an ill-attempted crossfire. It didn't take me much motivation to accept the offer to intervene - someone has to teach these punks a lesson. This country doesn't need more violence, it needs exactly what those same leaders were well on their way to achieving - Peace, and the promise of an ally goverment willing to help solve the real problem. They think they're fighting for the glory of their ancestors and their citizens, but they're just adding to the death toll. It was about time someone said 'enough'.

So here I am, pulling our own boys out of the trenches. Unfortunately, the moment they saw me coming, they declared me an enemy for the flag I wear as a uniform. Most of this world has reacted that way to me, in some form or another. And some still don't understand. I don't stand for the America that my country is. I stand for the America that my country, and the world can be. A celebration of liberty and peace on Earth. And it's a symbolism that's been tainted by years of war and outrage, which has led to good men dying for a justless cause like this.

"C... Cap..."

I turn around, lost in thought, as one of the wounded weakly looks around for me. I rush over and grab his hand, just to let the poor soul know I'm still here.

"Take it easy, son. Rest. You're gonna get some help."

"N... No. No, I... it's over..."

"Talk like that's no good for you, soldier. You're not-"

Then he coughs, his eyes void of any life or hapiness. He's been bleeding alot, ever since I brought him back. The look he gives me... it's one I've seen before. The first one back in '43, when Bucky and I helped lead our men into Kursk. I've never seen such death and destruction. My mind reels, as I check his pulse, hopeful for any sign... any sign that my instincts are off. But all it takes is seconds, and the hope in me fades even faster than his heartbeat.

His time is coming. Damn it. He's not going to make it.

My grip becomes tighter on his hand, as tears stream down his face. He knew long before I did, and the look on my face confirms it better than any words could. He doesn't weep, or curse the men who did this to him. He stays strong, accepting of his fate, as he inches closer to the end. I've often imagined what it'd be like the day that I'd be in his place. Would I be as strong? Would I leave the world content with the life I lived? I don't know. But this man... this brave victim of violence, he sure is. Despite our perilous situation, where every one of his fellow men could meet a fate similar, he's still determined to pass in peace.

It's a testament to true heroism. And it becomes an even bigger shame that the world is losing this man.

"... Cap... do s-something for me... please..."

I clasp my hands tightly over his, just to keep them from falling. They're already numb. "Anything."

He musters up the very last of his strength to smile.

"Just... just tell them... tell my wife... m-my daughter... that I... I..."

And the whole world is silent, for just one moment. He's gone.

I kneel my head down, bottling up every emotion inside of me. I've seen death before, and I know it doesn't scare me. But I never said it was easy to witness. And in sixty years' time, it still hurts the same. I didn't know the man. But I knew the crime that it was, that he had to be lost to something like this. I'll keep my promise. I'll tell his family what he had to say. Even though he didn't get the chance to finish, I knew exactly what he was going to say.

But right now, I don't feel much like talking.

Just as more gunfire erupts, and grazes the side of the copter, I rise up, and pull the hatch open again. My shield becomes weightless, compared to my guilt. I failed the man. But I won't, and refuse, to fail the rest of them.

"Cap?", The pilot calls out. "Cap, wait! What are you-"

I don't let him finish. Instead, I leap, heading back into battle. One too many men died today. So I'm going to finish this, once and for all.

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[Harlekin]

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Between Long Island and Westchester County, New York

“We should be there soon, Scott. We’ve already got Bobby’s parents safe and secure.”
…
“Yes, Stacy contacted them. They should be on their way as well.”
…
“I know, Scott. Take care. We should be there soon.”

Angel ended the call and put his cell phone back in his uniform’s pocket. Out of all the X-Men, and even out of many of the superheroes, the high-flying Angel was one of the few people to have pockets in his costume. He was never just the Angel after all. He was also Warren Worthington the third, CEO of a Fortune 500 company. While most of the day to day business was taken care of, sometimes things required a personal touch.

“Scotty boy mobilising the troops?” Iceman asked, using his ice slides to travel alongside Angel.
“Yep. With so many few mutants around, seeing more killed just for a buck isn’t really appealing to his more rational side.”
“Look out baddies.”
“Exactly.”

Suddenly, Angel’s phone started ringing again. Iceman smirked as his friend picked it up. He was never one for pockets. Heck, he just wore shorts! No, the carefree life of a ‘professional’ superhero suited him much better.

“What!?” Warren suddenly yelled and Iceman’s grin vanished as the two came to a halt.
“Tell them I’ll be there in half an hour.”

Angel angrily slammed the phone shut.

“What’s up, War?” Iceman asked.
“They killed Alison.”
“Dazz?” Bobby asked incredulously.
“You go to the mansion. I’m going to find the bastards who did this.”
“No, I’m coming with you.”
“Go, Bobby. You won’t want to see what I’ll do to the guy that --” the rage boiling in him kept Warren from saying anything else. Instead, he turned around and flew back to Long Island at full speed.

Iceman looked after him and then back to where they were going.

He decided to follow his friend.

[Harlekin]

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/7251/logocr6.jpg

Hell’s Kitchen, New York

HYDRA agents.

On the Kingpin’s turf?

Daredevil jumped from the roof and feet first, slammed into one of the many. The impostor in red could hear the HYDRA agent’s ribs break under his weight as they collided with the ground. The other soldiers were initially confused, but then swarmed the Daredevil doppelganger. Some of them carried guns. He would take care of them first.

Ploughing into the crowd, Daredevil snapped wrists and broke bones. A dozen guns and other automatic weaponry clattered as they fell to the ground. The anguished cries of men filled the night air. Daredevil winced as he picked up one of the dropped uzi’s and unleashed a deadly fusillade into his enemies. Chances were that he’d known a few of these punks at one time.

He wanted to say something. Banter. A quip.

But the real Daredevil wouldn’t.

So the doppelganger simply did what he had to.

When he was done, the bodies of a dozen and more HYDRA agents littered the ground.

Slinging the uzi over his shoulder and picking up another gun, Daredevil slowly made his way over to Lorenzo’s, the bar from which he had heard the sounds of violence earlier. Everybody was dead, the place thrashed completely.

This had been the hang-out for the Kingpin’s capos.

Daredevil sighed as he found their bodies.

The boss would not be happy.

[Batman]

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Doctor Doom exited the dungeon after hours of torture, as behind him, several weakened moans of pain escaped from the lips of the defeated General Wallace. Doom's captive finally passed out, as the wooden dungeon doors finally slammed shut.

In an odd gesture, Doom did not smile. Though he had garnered a mild amusement out of casting out enchantment after enchantment, only to see the General suffer in extraordinarily new ways than anyone could ever dream, he felt that such acts of cruelty and malice were beneath a man of his power. For it would be written in the book of Doom, his reign and legacy would be that of which the people of Latveria would look to with honor, not distrust or corruption.

But the act was necessary, given his larger plan in mind. A plan so intricate that Doom was assured it would change the course of history. And in order to carry out the next phase, The General needed to be both weakened and cooperative. What better way to tame a war monger than to show him what he intimately understands? Pain and suffering.

As Doom reached the corridor stone steps of the dungeon floor's entrance, two Doombots joined him, following his every step. Doom did not acknowledge the machines until he finally placed the Book Of Despair in it's proper place: A mystically protected glass container, within the war room.

"Ah, so very wondrous, the dark arts can be...", Doom mused, almost enchanted by the very sight of the book. "See to it that the good General is given little time to rest, then bring him to the laboratories. For we have much to bargain."

One of the Doombots registered this command, then automatically bowed. "Yes, Sire."

Doom turned to the other machine, his index finger extended in a stern warning. "And if he is harmed during the transport, I shall personally vanquish those responsible. He is in a very fragile condition, and I cannot afford to have him die."

The other Doombot repeated his predecessor's actions, down to the bow. "At once, Sire."

However, when Doom turned, only one robot had left. As Doom continued preparations, he looked back, noticing that the one remained. Somewhat agitated by the inavoidable prescence, Doom finally spoke without turning.

"I would assume you have further news for me?", Doom inquired. "Speak now, for you waste my time with such idle silence."

"Yes, Lord Doom. Our satellite uplink has received a transmission from an unknown origin. It appears to be a relaying message."

Doom turned, a bit surprised. A signal intermission? On one of Doom's private satellites? Who would dare?

"Can it be traced?"

"For the moment, such an action seems impossible."

Doom narrowed his eyes. "Obviously, you are not as familiar with your master as one would believe. For Doom, nothing is impossible."

"The signal has been sent to several outlets around the world at once. Prominently in America."

Eyebrow raised beneath his iron mask, Doom was beginning to give this serious attention for the first time. "And what does the message say?"

The Doombot scanned it's own memory, before relaying it word for word.

"WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS_. WOULD YOU KILL FOR IT_. WOULD YOU KILL A SUPERHERO_. WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE_. WE CAN FIND YOU_. WE CAN PAY YOU_. HERE IS A LIST OF BOUNTIES_."

Doom stepped forth, intrigued, as the Doombot's chest opened up, displaying an LCD monitor. On it were the faces of many masked vigilantes Doom had either never encountered, or did not remember well enough to care. Beside their heads was the price of '1 million'. Doom scoffed. If this was all it was, then it was a waste of his...

Then suddenly, the pictures changed. In their places were the heads of several men Doom had fought against in the past, many of whom he had been forced to battle face-to-face: The X-Men. Cyclops, Emma Frost, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Colossus... the names were all synonymous with foolishness. They fought for a dream of a mutant socialist, protecting a public that did not respect them in the slightest capacity. By them was the price of 5 million.

Doom patiently waited as the pictures changed once again, this time revealing even more familiar faces. Doom had personally held stakes and grudges against each of them for meddling in his past affairs: Spider-Man, Daredevil, The Punisher, Moon Knight, and many more of similar methods. Doom was practically ready to dismiss the remainder of the message, thinking it little more than some extravagant ploy by some costumed baffoon that the 'heroes' fought...

Then, his image showed up.

His eyes slowly widened, as the final pictures were displayed. Several of them were Avengers, which concerned him to a little degree, but after that was a group of heroes Doom had considered to be the greatest threat to his kingship that remained alive: The Fantastic Four. And suitably, in the middle of the Four, a smiling picture of that infernal charlatan that had bested him time and time again. Doom had all but banished his face from being shown on the soil of Latveria, so to see it once again was an insult to his authority.

But even the anger of that realization paled in comparison to the mere disgust of his sight. "Richards..."

"KILL THE HERO, COLLECT THE BOUNTY_. PLUS A $100,000 BONUS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS_. THINK WE ARE LYING_. WE HAVE THE MONEY_. DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO GET IT_. End transmission."

Throwing up his fingertips, Doom's hands each glowed with a high amount of electricity, before he sent it forth, attacking the Doombot that had relayed the message. He saw it as a sign of treason that they could not block such a transmission in the first place, so inevitably, one of the thousand had to be sacrificed. But as he reduced the Doom bot to mere wires and melted metal, the picture of Reed Richards remained forefront on his mind. Oh, the souls he would gladly reap in order to wipe that happiness away from Richards' face forever...

As Doom promptly exited the room, his eyes were distant and implacable. His anger had been replaced with something far more productive: A plan.

Perhaps there was a way to ensure Richards' face was never shown in his kingdom again after all. Or anywhere in the world, for that matter.

"Citizens of The United States, I come to you with a mercy rare of my composure."

Nearly an hour later, Doom now sat in his throne room, casually addressing his 'audience' as if they were welcomed guests in his castle. A television camera was placed on a gurney infront of him, capturing the message he was intent to deliver.

"While the affairs of your country have little meaning to the affairs of mine, it has come to my attention that your country's heroes are facing a time of impeccable crisis."

Doom smiled, behind the menacing glare of his mask. He could almost take satisfaction in knowing that each one of his enemies were promptly going through their own personal hells. But it was Reed Richards, and he alone, that deserved the worst fate of all.

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/1222/98724doctordoom4001yg7.jpg

"I, of course, speak of the unusual bounty placed upon them each. And as a response to this anonymous individuals' offer, I have two. Firstly, I would like to extend my services to any and all heroes looking for captivity away from those who would wish to destroy you. Though many of you have often disrupted my affairs, I shall overlook your histories with Latveria, and repay you for your efforts to cleanse society of evil. I do this to show that I am a man capable of forgiveness, and urge the heroes to take my offer seriously. But make no mistake... this shall be your only welcome invitation to my land."

Doom arose from his throne, stepping down each step with vigorous intent. He had withheld all desire to relay this part of his response first, in order to stray focus away from his opening offer.

"Secondly, I have my own offer for you, the citizens of America. Though I have shown your costumed heroes kindness, there is one that you praise for which I could never extend the same gratitude. He is both a criminal and fugitive by Latverian law, for which I have personally decreed.", He began. "That man is Reed Richards, leader of The Fantastic Four. And while his crimes against my land are great, I have come to accept that my efforts in capturing him and his insidious family are futile. I simply cannot do it myself."

Doom extended his hand, sweeping it across the screen in a grand gesture of focus.

"That is why I, Victor Von Doom, am forced to call upon the people of your nation. Reed Richards resides within your walls, claiming he is working for your benefit. Yet I challenge this claim of his, saying he is not only a terrorist and a danger to you all, but a liar. He is no friend of America, much like he is an enemy of Latveria. So I have decided that I will respond to the bounty on his life..."

The camera reeled sideways, revealing a large briefcase sitting on a stone pedestal, with the Von Doom seal stamped upon it. "...by countering it, for the lives of his family."

Doom stared into the camera, murderous desire radiant out of his barely visible eyes.

"You have heard correctly, America. I am prepared to offer not fifty million, but one hundred and fifty million each for the lives of Susan Richards, Johnathan Storm, Benjamin Grimm, and the Richards' two children. The money will be paid on the condition Reed Richards himself is left alive, to experience a life without these people. These... criminals, aiding his nefarious activities."

Doom opened the case, displaying the very-much-real amount in person.

"I assure you, the money is quite real. Taken from my very own fortune for a well deserved participant, who meets these requirements. This is for each member of Richards' team, and a bonus amount for any others killed that are dear to them.

With a malicious smile, Doom closed the case.

"Consider it, people of America. What is fifty million, compared to triple that amount? And for only one group of the many who's lives are now at stake. I anticipate any response that comes from this offer."

Raising a golden chalice encrusted with various jewels, Doom toasted in celebration.

"To a new future. A future where 'The Fantastic Four' can pay for their crimes against humanity."

And then, the screen went black, as the live feed was broadcast all over the country. Millions of Americans stared, wide-eyed at what they had just witnessed. Someone out there was going to attempt to honor this offer. And that was knowledge enough for Doom to find contempt within his heart.

Let the games begin, as they say.

[Keyser Soze]

In the early hours of the morning, in one of the more rundown areas of Brooklyn, Bullseye slipped into his decaying housing project unnoticed. With his mask removed, and a battered leather trenchcoat concealing much of his costume, only the bullseye carved into his bald forehead was enough to give him away. But he doubted any witnesses would be running to the police anyway, considering that he shared this building with prostitutes and drug addicts. Unfortunate for someone as wealthy as he had made himself, but unavoidable if he wished to remain under the radar of New York's various superheroes. He was sure there would be a few out looking for him soon. And that was fine. More bounties to collect.

He trudged his way up to the top floor, passing a junkie sprawled out on the staircase. When he reached his apartment, he unlocked the front door, opened it only a few inches, then reached through to disarm the laser tripwire booby-trap. He entered, closed the door, re-armed the booby-trap, then stepped into his filthy apartment. The floors and surfaces were littered with takeaway cartons, unwashed clothing and, most of all, newspaper clippings. From background information on targets to mementos of his varous kills, the whole apartment was overwhelmed with them. Evidently he'd been falling a little behind on his filing...

Then he heard a noise coming from the kitchen. Immediately, his eyes darted to the open window that he knew for a fact had been closed last time he was here. Silently, he took off his trenchcoat, placing it on the already-cluttered sofa. He clutched his house-keys tighter, prepared to use them as a lethal weapon, as he inched his way towards the source of the noise. Taking a deep breath, he jumped around the corner and into the kitchen, wielding the keys threateningly.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Recovering from the initial shock, and barely suppressing the natural instinct to put a crater in the intruder's skull with his house-keys, Bullseye found himself standing before the familiar form of Deadpool.

"WADE!?!?! What the hell are you doing in my apartment!?"

[Electro UK]

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Recovering from the initial shock, and barely suppressing the natural instinct to put a crater in the intruder's skull with his house-keys, Bullseye found himself standing before the familiar form of Deadpool.

"WADE!?!?! What the hell are you doing in my apartment!?"

"What? A guy can't just break into his pal's apartment and eat all his food as he pleases anymore?" I let out a sizeable belch, then throw the milk carton at the bin. It misses. "Ugh, I'm not even gonna bother thinking up a joke for that one." I walk over to his fridge and bend down to see what else I can munch. "Hey you got any of those little chickeny bits in a bag? No? What about those little nutty muffins?"

"Do I look like the guy to buy little nutty muffins?"

"Good point, you're more of a "cherry on the top" kinda guy."

"What's the meant to mean? And why are you eating all my food?"

"Ah nothing," I pick up an apple that's rotting from sitting on the side for far too long. "Eh, beggers can't be choosers." I sink my teeth into the apple and nearly throw up the second it touches my lips. "Eergh! Okay, maybe they can." The apple goes out the window as I turn to Bullseye. "Well its quite simple Bullsear me hearty, this great country is run, against my will, through a system known as Capatalism. It is a cruel beast that punishes the lazy and enriches the greedy. I'm looking to move into the latter category."

Bullseye could already see where this was going. "So I figured I'd kill o' them what-you-call it super heroes to achieve the American dream... only so far I've tried to kill Mr. Immortal and had my butt whupped by Cable."

"Cable's still around?"

"Yeah! the white hair makes him look like 80, but he's got the body of a fit 20 year old, trust me."

"..."

"...um... anyway. So I was gonna ask ya for a quick loan, but then I figured if mobs broke people's legs when they didn't pay up, I didn't wanna find out what ungodly things you'd do to me. So what I'm asking you, seeing as you're the generous type is if you could please help me kill some Goodies and then split the money? What do ya say Mr? Old buddy ol' pal?"

[Keyser Soze]

Bullseye eyed Deadpool suspiciously as his uninvited guest leaned against his fridge.

"That's all fine and well....but you still haven't explained to me why you're naked."

[Gallagher]

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As Cyclops ended his conversation with his old friend Angel he turned and walked back into the main hall of the mansion, gathered were the others. Beast, Emma, Kitty and Colossus.

"Any luck contacting Logan?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

Beast shuck his head and sighed. "Afraid not, nobody knows where he went."

"Of course not. Emma, how's the situation outside?"

"Escalating." She replied with some strain. "They've broken through the front gate but I'm keeping a psychic bubble around the mansion, anyone who gets too close will be in for one hell of a headache."

"Ok, you're doing good Emma just keep it up for a few more minutes. Team, we need to get these rioters off our front lawn and back to their homes. This... bounty hunt has gone too far already." Scott annoucned somberly.

"Ok X-Men, time to go to work. Kitty I want you to get all the students downstairs into the sub-basement. Emma hold that barrier for as long as you can. Pete, Hank you're with me."

As the X-Men split into groups Scott pulled the familiar red visor over his eyes and readied himself.

"Defend yourselves... but I don't have to remind you to use only non-lethal force."

"Scott, Logan isn't here, you don't even have to say it."

[Electro UK]

Bullseye eyed Deadpool suspiciously as his uninvited guest leaned against his fridge.

"That's all fine and well....but you still haven't explained to me why you're naked."

I look down at my butt nekked self, then back to Bullseye. "You know, I knew you of all people would have a problem with that, jeez. You telling me you don't ever walk around your home naked?"

"But this isn't your home."

"Look if I came back to my house and found you naked, I'd just shrug it off like any other human would. This is how god intended me to be, now deal with it."

"Trust me, no one, god, man, or devil intended anyone to ever be like that."

"Aw you're just jealous of my X-treme make over. Now anyway--"

"Look if you wanna do business, you've at least gotta put your pants on."

[Byrd Man]

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"I'm walking on sunshine, YEAAH!!! AND DON'T IT FEEL GOOD?!"

There you have it, ladies and gents. If it isn't my strength and overall coolness that would stop the bad guys in their tracks, it's my off-key singing.


After my fight with Tombstone, I spend the next half hour just swinging through the city. It really helps to clear my head and ease those bruises I know will be screaming this time tomorrow.

MJ and I are meeting for lunch down in SOHO and I've got about a half hour to kill.

I land on one of the buildings in Times Square to stop and catch a breather when I see the giant screen flashing.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS?

WOULD YOU KILL FOR IT?

WOULD YOU KILL A SUPERHERO?

WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE

WE CAN FIND YOU

WE CAN PAY YOU

HERE IS A LIST OF BOUNTIES

KILL THE HERO, COLLECT THE BOUNTY

PLUS A $100,000 BONUS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS

THINK WE ARE LYING?

WE HAVE THE MONEY

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO GET IT?


"Ohhh, crap."

It's by that time that I notice the people standing on the street looking up at the building, there's close to 60 people yelling and screaming at me and trying to throw objects from this far up.

I squat down on the building's edge and look down at them.

"Well, I can say this much...Spider-Man's gotten a lot more popluar."

[Keyser Soze]

I look down at my butt nekked self, then back to Bullseye. "You know, I knew you of all people would have a problem with that, jeez. You telling me you don't ever walk around your home naked?"

"But this isn't your home."

"Look if I came back to my house and found you naked, I'd just shrug it off like any other human would. This is how god intended me to be, now deal with it."

"Trust me, no one, god, man, or devil intended anyone to ever be like that."

"Aw you're just jealous of my X-treme make over. Now anyway--"

"Look if you wanna do business, you've at least gotta put your pants on."

Grumbling to himself, Deadpool disappeared into the bathroom for a few moments, then returned to the kitchen.

"Right, got my undies back on. Let's talk."

"....is that a thong!?"

"Hot-rod red. Let's talk business."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Bullseye tried to remember what the hell they were talking about.

"So, from what I gather, what you're asking is for me, a successful assassin, to let you, a failure and a bum, tag along with me like my own one-man fan club, and together we kill people you couldn't kill on your own, and then split the money 50/50?"

Deadpool nodded. Bullseye was about to throw him right out the window he sneaked in through, but then it occurred to him that having support could be useful. If he wanted to go up against one of the 50 million dollar heavy-hitters, he could use Deadpool as a decoy to take the brunt of any attack, allowing Bullseye to move in for the stealthy kill. Deadpool had his healing powers, he could handle it. And if he couldn't.... well, better him than me, Bullseye thought.

"Anyone else, I'd kill them on the spot. But since we're friends, you got yourself a deal. I'll just have to make sure to kill twice as many to keep my profits lined up like I'd planned."

[Electro UK]

Grumbling to himself, Deadpool disappeared into the bathroom for a few moments, then returned to the kitchen.

"Right, got my undies back on. Let's talk."

"....is that a thong!?"

"Hot-rod red. Let's talk business."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Bullseye tried to remember what the hell they were talking about.

"So, from what I gather, what you're asking is for me, a successful assassin, to let you, a failure and a bum, tag along with me like my own one-man fan club, and together we kill people you couldn't kill on your own, and then split the money 50/50?"

Deadpool nodded. Bullseye was about to throw him right out the window he sneaked in through, but then it occurred to him that having support could be useful. If he wanted to go up against one of the 50 million dollar heavy-hitters, he could use Deadpool as a decoy to take the brunt of any attack, allowing Bullseye to move in for the stealthy kill. Deadpool had his healing powers, he could handle it. And if he couldn't.... well, better him than me, Bullseye thought.

"Anyone else, I'd kill them on the spot. But since we're friends, you got yourself a deal. I'll just have to make sure to kill twice as many to keep my profits lined up like I'd planned."

"Gaw you're the bestest friend I've ever had. Which is a prestigious honour seeing as my other friends include such famous names as The Spot." I turn to leave. "Well what are ya waiting for? We got millions to make!"

"If you guys are leaving then I want my pay." ah nuts... was hoping we'd leave before she woke up.

Bullseye and I spin round to see a young girl walk out of Bullseye's bedroom, wearing nothing but revealing under wear. She was clearly half starved, and looked like make up had been thrown at her rather than applied. "Hey, who's the guy with the target on his head? I said it would cost ya double if you wanted to go again, but I didn't say you could get a friend in for free."

Bullseye's jaw drops as he slowly rotates his head back from to me. "You didn't..."

"Well I had to entertain myself while I was waiting for you..." Bullseye's expression turns to rage of ungodly proportions. "Oh come on! Amount of hookers round here, like you've never had a pop?"

"In my bed... in my own damn bed."

"Broken bed actually... I uh... don't think I should explain."

"You guys married or something? Can I get some money please?"

"Yeah yeah, take it and get out of here." I hand her a few dollars... of course what she doesn't know is that these are the very same few dollars I stole out of her purse when I picked her up. As she goes to the door Bullseye picks up a bottle cap and flicks it into the back of her head, it sinks in a kills her instantly. "Hey, come on! She said I'd get a discount on the next time!"

"It'll have to wait for another life. We're leaving, and we're not speaking."

"Will it though? I mean technancally, now I don't have to pay to--"

"We're leaving."

"You could take one end and I--"

"WE'RE LEAVING."

"Okay okay, but you probably wanna dump her body somewhere, the last blood stains I had to get out of my carpet were the living end of me."

[Optikal]

WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS?

WOULD YOU KILL FOR IT?

WOULD YOU KILL A SUPERHERO?

Bruce stared up at the billboard as people gathering around him, joining him in staring up at the message. His baseball cap pulled low over his brow concealed his eyes, the heavy beard adorning his jaw doing a good job of concealing the rest of his features.

WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE

WE CAN FIND YOU

WE CAN PAY YOU

HERE IS A LIST OF BOUNTIES

KILL THE HERO, COLLECT THE BOUNTY

Then the plain lettering gave way to a series of images. Photographs of a whole bunch of second-stringers and little known heroes, with a bounty of 1 million dollars attached to each.

Bruce scowled, but said nothing as the images scrolled past. Commotion grew around him and he felt his heart beat quicken, the beat of the monitor attached to his wrist increasing in tandem.

There followed a series of photographs of X-Men, former X-Men, and various mutant do-gooders. 5 million apiece. Mutants still weren't very highly regarded by the general public, to say the least, and weren't worth too much in the grand scheme of things.

After that came photos of well known street-level crime fighters, among them the likes of Spider-Man, Daredevil and The Punisher, as well as various Avengers alumni from over the years. Each with a bounty of 10 million.

Banner watched in horror as images of Americas greatest Super-Heroes flashed across the screen, advertised at 50 million dollars each. Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk...

Bruces eyes widened as he stared up at the flickering image of the monster within. His eyes darted back and forth, scanning the crowd as they broke into raucus debate, no doubt pondering the fortunes on offfer. His heart monitor had erupted from a steady beep into a panicked howl as his own heartbeat hammered in his chest. Deep within he felt the distant rumble, like an oncoming storm.

But there was more.

His eyes darted back to the bill-board as more of the message rolled into view.

PLUS A $100,000 BONUS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS

THINK WE ARE LYING?

WE HAVE THE MONEY

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO GET IT?

The crowd exploded then as they were showered in bills. People fought and scrabbled and grabbed at the free money on offer. Bruce stepped back and glanced around. He felt his skin tightening and stretching. Glancing back and forth he darted for a nearby alley and out of the mass of frenzied humanity. In the cold darkness of the alley he closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing. Calming himself, soothing the rage and the anger and the fear.

Bruce knew there and then that world was about to get a damn sight more dangerous for him than just General Ross and his minions. But as he considered his next move he recalled the last message on the bill-board. And cold reality grasped at his chest as Bettys image entered his mind.

His mouth was dry and his mind began racing at a million miles per hour.

"Oh No..."

[Batman]

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/DCMarvelRPG/Captain%20America/Classic%20Cap/capbannermarvelrpgfq3.png
And The War Goes On... Pt. 3

You scum wanted a fight, and by God, I'm gonna give it to you.

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Another land mine goes off behind me. The force nearly throws me off, but I manage to keep hold on the shield, prepping it in time to catch the rain of bullets coming at me. Even from this distance, I can hear the enemy militants ordering their troops to finish me off... and they're sure as hell trying. But I'm through playing games with these people. Because of this senseless violence, a father won't be able to see his daughter again. A wife won't feel her husband's embrace. Yet the bullets continue to fly. And that, above everything else, just makes me sick to the deepest pit of my stomach.

So I take out my frustrations.

The nearest one's run out of bullets, so he tosses away his weapon and lunges at me with a knife. I catch him in the neck with the shield, and bash him in the face, knocking him to the ground. A hard stomp of my foot renders him unconscious. In close combat, I try to use my strength on a rare basis, but I certainly wouldn't tell him that right about now.

Another one circles, mid-firing, trying to get past my defense. He's a better shot than the others. So I charge him, opting not to waste the time throwing the shield, and ram it into him instead. He flies to the ground, the weight of his weapon hitting him so hard that he practically chokes before he can land. A couple more rush me at once. I hit the first in the chest, carefully enough not to cause any serious damage, and grab the other two at once, lifting them off the ground. Tossing the first one into the mud, I drop the second and give him a right hook.

As I duck for cover from more gunfire, I realize that this is getting me nowhere. At this rate, they'll have enough time to call an entire camp of gunmen down here. I need to incapacitate the ones that are left, fast, before this gets any more out of hand. Need to avoid the landmines, too, if I'm going to-

Wait. That's it. The land mines...

Diving forward, shield in front, I scope out their range of gunfire once I've made it to a close enough distance. They're all faint, but I can tell that the place is rigged enough to kill us all and take half the field with us. If I set off one, there's a chance more of them could be detonated. Same scenario with grenades. Can't let that happen. All I need is one... just one...

There. Just over the horizon. It's far enough not to set off the remaining mines, yet close enough to pull off what I have in mind.

Grabbing hold of the straps on my wrist, I loosen them, giving the shield just enough leverage for the toss I'm about to try. I've done some foolish things in my lifetime, but if I fail the toss, this could be the worst. Trying to set off a longshot explosion is one thing. Tossing away your only means of defense against rapid gunfire, on the other hand...

I close my eyes, and think of the soldier who just died in that copter. Now I know why that affected me so much. It reminded me of myself, before the war. Just a young man trying to do his duty for a country that had given him so much, unimportant to anyone but those who knew him best. It was a time before Project Rebirth. Before the super soldier serum. Before Captain America.

And the toss is easier than I realize.

Leaping behind a rock, I brace myself for the explosion. I can hear several of the enemy troops cursing in their native tongue, some confused, some angry. Then all I hear is the screaming, as the shield finally hits. I smile to myself, for a second, before leaping back over the rock and heading for the fallen troops. They're scattered like flies, each one of them dirtied and... more importantly... unarmed. But luckily, no casualties, as far as I can see.

I run over to the leader, as several of the troops weakly begin crawling to their feet. I watched him during all of this, and the most he contributed to the battle was standing in the very back of the firing range, watching as his men attacked. His kind of scum is the worst. The kind that doesn't know how to act, but won't hesitate to command, taking in some sick pleasure out of causing another man's pain.

I grab him, and pull him up, hard. He grits his teeth, speaking to me in broken English. "American filth! We will not surrender to likes of you!"

"Brave man, aren't you? Letting your boys, with their guns, do all the talking.", I begin, with a sneer. "I knew a man like that once. He nearly brought Germany to it's knees."

I raise him higher. "We defeated him, too."

He flails around, watching as his men cautiously surround me. I look back, daring each and every one of them. No one comes forth.

"What are you doing?! Stop him, you idiots! Kill him! Do something!"

I look at him, with a smirk. "That's right, boys. Try it. Give me all the reason in the world."

He seems to get my point, as I pull his jacket tighter against his neck. He looks around, panicking, before finally giving the wave to stand down. All of his men drop their guns, as my men rush in, seizing the opportunity while they can. Finally, all of this madness is over. I drop the leader to the ground, and tower over him.

"Glad you see it our way. Now, we're going to escort you back to the mainlands, where the Pakistani government will decide what to do with-"

"What?", He asks, confused. "What you mean, 'Pakistani government'? You invaded our homeland. You tried to take land."

I stare, with a blank expression. What's he talking about? "Excuse me?"

"You. You are the one called Captain America?"

"I am. What's that got to do with anything?"

"We were told you were planning intensive strike on mainlands. We try to defend ourselves. Your men stationed outside of country, proving this."

I raise an eyebrow. "I think you're confused. Those men were stationed there by order of your government. You're the ones who attacked us."

He shakes his head. "No. No, you lie! We were told..."

"Exactly. You were told...", I interrupt, curiously. "But by whom?"

"Man in uniform. Lots of firepower. Had one metal arm."

A metal arm? He couldn't mean... "This man, with the metal arm. Was he a tall, younger man, wearing a mask over his eyes?"

"Yes! Mask over eyes. He called himself-"

I scowl, at the thought. "No. Let me guess."

I know alot of enemies that could set up a battleground. But... this, I would have never expected out of him. He was turned into an assassin, not a war strategist. Even when he was the good kid that he once was, I didn't think he was capable of something like this. Especially to turn two countries against eachother. But then again, there was alot that I didn't think he was capable of, before he became what he is now...

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4461/7715994522wintersoldiermf0.jpg

[SenseiofCheese]

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"Such a shame." Magneto said as he gracefully stepped over Avalanche's bloodied body, while Toad gleefully pounced around it.

"You should kill me now, old man. I'm not one for speeches." Mystique snarled, rage filling her bright-yellow eyes, as she fought against the shackles made from Avalanche's suit. The binds had wrapped themselves around her limbs, fastening her to a nearby oak tree.

"I wouldn't tempt'im, blue. He takes this kind of stuff awful personally." Toynbee said with a sadistic grin, his tongue shooting out of his mouth and slamming into her side. Mystique would have doubled over in pain had she not been forced to stand upright, so all she could do was grunt.

"Leave us, Toad." Magneto commanded, to which Toad complied with a disheartened growl as he pounced away in pursuit of an insect he had spotted.

"Some nice company you keep." Mystique stated mockingly, as she watched with disgust as the toad-like mutant chased after his prey.

"Mutants cannot afford to be too picky these days, you understand."

"I'd be willing to wager the minute you turn your back he'll stab you in it. Money like that, betraying your own race doesn't seem so bad." the blue-skinned mutant said, a conniving smile appearing on her face.

"Unless you missed it, my dear, my name was not among those listed as targets in this twisted little game."

"That's just because everyone thinks you're already dead, old man."

Magneto smiled, almost admiring the woman's tenacity. His feet silently left the ground as his body rose into the air, bringing him face to face with Mystique. "The Homo Sapien, I understand. But for a mutant to betray her own kind...for money." Magneto began with a sneer, his disgust shining through.

Sighing loudly, Mystique rolled her eyes and cocked her head. Her skin shimmered for a split second before it began shifting. A mere second later another person entirely was chained to the tree; a middle aged black man, sharply dressed and easily recognizable. "Yes, yes. You have a dream and all that." Mystique bellowed in Martin Luther King Jr.'s voice. "That one day mutants the world over will rise up and blah, blah, blahAAAARRRGGGHHHH" her body twisted and spasmed in agony as it took on it's actual blue-hued form, when Magneto clenched his fists, causing the binds around her limbs to tighten and dig into her skin and bone.

"You are a disgrace to our kind. Beneath even those filthy humans, worthy of their scorn." Magneto snarled. "I would take an immense pleasure in cutting you and letting you bleed out, my dear." he continued. "But too much mutant blood has been spilled this day." he stated matter-of-factly as he turned and began to soar away.

"Wait, so you're just going to leave me here??!" she screamed after to master of magnetism, who didn't even turn to look at her.

"No worries. I'm quite sure you'll find a way out eventually. Toad, come."

--------

Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Inspired, if misguided and naive. Charles' childish belief that mutants and humans could live in harmony personified. Within the walls of his school Xavier poisoned young mutant's minds with pacifist propoganda, holding them back from reaching their true potential. Erik Lensherr would, and had, taken every opportunity to free these X-Men from their delusions, to show them the error of their ways. That no matter how they wished it, Homo Superior would forever be reguarded with mistrust, fear and hate.

But, for all their differences, Xavier's school was also sacred. A sanctuary, where young mutants could go to be free from the their oppressors, and that beyond all, Erik Lensherr respected.

To know this, is to know the sheer, unfiltered and unimaginable rage that coursed throughout Magneto's entire body, from his heart to his fingertips, when he arrived at the mansion. The school grounds were covered with a crazed mob of humans, cascading over it's walls in an attempt to swarm the building.

His hands trembled.

"They would dare."

His mind raced.

"They would...dare."

And his rage was unparalleled.

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/116345-11465-magneto_super.jpg

"YOU!"

"WOULD!"

"DARE!"

[Byrd Man]

"I just want you guys to take a moment to really appreciate that fact that you just pointed a gun at my friend's girlfriend, then turned your back to him. Can you say mistake?"

"I can!"

WHAM!

My fist tags the thug in the back and sends him to the ground hard.

With two gangsters between me, I move quickly and grab their nine's, bending the barrel's and making their guns useless.

"****!"

"Yeah." I say as I grab them by the collar and toss them into a nearby wall.

"That's what I'd say you two were for pointing a gun at a pregnant woman."

[SenseiofCheese]

"Yeah." I say as I grab them by the collar and toss them into a nearby wall.

"That's what I'd say you two were for pointing a gun at a pregnant woman."

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/big-ironfist.jpg

"Yeah, guys, seriously. Not cool."

By the time the thug closest to me turns back to face me, he's met with a flying kick to the face. He's knocked backwards, and before he even hits the ground I've grabbed the second guy's hand, brought mine up into his elbow (There's a great snapping sound), brought my ankle down onto his knee and slammed him into a wall.

BLAMBLAMBLAM

Three shots go off. Two of them don't even come close to hitting me, but the third one almost tags me in the shoulder. I quickly drop to the ground, rolling onto my head and spring upwards from a handstand, my foot connecting with the shooter's jaw. It sends him flying off his feet and crashing into his friend.

"This is just 10 million dollars worth of fun, isn't it guys?" I shout out as I get to my feet. Immediately another gangster takes a swing at me, but I grab his fist in my palm and pull his body towards me. His face smashes into my elbow, I take hold of his forearm and swing him into Luke's back. The moment he hits he gets knocked out, whereas Luke carries on handing out beatings like he doesn't even notice.

Less than a couple of minutes later, Luke and I are surrounded by a dozen or so unconscious bad guys. "Used to be we would've taken them out in under a minute. You been putting on weight? You seem slower and....rounder."

[Gallagher]

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"Stand firm everyone!" Scott yelled over the din of the crowd stood infront of the large doors to the mansion. He fired off long, sweeping optic blasts at the feet of the oncoming mob, keeping them at bay.

"Been waiting a long time for an excuse to snuff you freaks out!"

"'Aint nowhere safe now for you Muties!"

The crowd taunted and mocked sending death threats aplenty at the team, the X-Men were used to this kind of treatment. "<Emma any word from SHIELD?>"

"They're busy dealing with the riots in New York." The blonde telepath responded.

"So we're on our own." Scott said aloud, gritting his teeth as the mob came at them again. Out of the corner of his visor he saw Beast's jaw drop.

"Not entirely." He managed to say, pointing to the sky.

The sun was in total shadow as the sky was filled with objects, entire cars, chunks of metal. In the middle of the metallic maelstrom was the Master of Magnetism.

"No... No no NO!" Scott yelled as he heard the faint roar of the mutant terrorist Magneto in the distance. Before he could scream a warning to the crowd of humans in front of him the makeshift projectiles came thundering out of the sky.

"X-Men-" He began, before being cut of as he blasted some of the large chunks of metallic debris from the sky stopping it from crushing several people into nothing, others weren't so lucky. People fell screaming as they were impaled, crushed and bludgeoned by the lethal bombardment.

Scott looked on in despair, unable to save them all, the story of his life. As the remainder of the surviving human's fled he watched as Magneto floated elgantly to the ground.

Scott Summers felt the rage build inside him as he balled his hands into a fist and summoned the X-Men to his side as he confronted the Master of Magnetism.

"What do you want Erik?" He managed to growl.

[Byrd Man]

Less than a couple of minutes later, Luke and I are surrounded by a dozen or so unconscious bad guys. "Used to be we would've taken them out in under a minute. You been putting on weight? You seem slower and....rounder."

"What's the deal with this 'we' stuff? I took out six of 'em in about fifty-five seconds."

"You only took out five."

"Well, you sure as hell didn't take out seven."

"I took out the last one. Bastards pointed a gun at me and my baby. I knocked out about half his teeth in one punch."

"Damn, girl. Have I told you lately that I love you?"

[Venom160]

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A storm rages in New York as we enter a ramshackle lab, computers and various equipment are cobbled together in ways that would make even the most reckless person approach with caution. Lightning flashes illuminating a large glass tube in the center of the room, it's filled with a thick orange liquid which sends an eerily glow across the across the floor. Within the tube floats a suspended figure, it's features hidden by a combination of the darkness and it's blond hair..

Suddenly light floods into the lab as a figure enters. Without a sound he moves to the various computer consoles reviewing the occupant's vitals. With a sickening giggle the man nods and moves to the center of the room. He lays a clawed hand on the tube, a hideous grin twisting his features.

"It's time my son....."

[Catman_prb]

The Vision

They descended out of the sky like two guadily coloured eagles. The Vision locked his robotic eyes on the huge figure who was advancing on what appeared to be a couple of nondescript mutants.

"Stop," he proclaimed, holding out his hand. His eyes flickered as he scanned various databanks for the identity of the villain before him.

"Lonnie Lincoln AKA Tombstone," he stated, arm still outstretched "I suggest you return home. There is nothing for you here,"

[SenseiofCheese]

"What's the deal with this 'we' stuff? I took out six of 'em in about fifty-five seconds."

"You only took out five."

"Well, you sure as hell didn't take out seven."

"I took out the last one. Bastards pointed a gun at me and my baby. I knocked out about half his teeth in one punch."

"Damn, girl. Have I told you lately that I love you?"

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/big-ironfist.jpg

"I know I've asked you this before, Jess.." I sidestep some of the unconscious thugs while stepping onto others. "But are you absolutely sure you don't have any sisters? Distant cousins? Nothing? 'Cause I'm single and ready to mingle!"

Jess chuckles and gives a slight smile. Anything to get her mind off the fact that she and her unborn child are in danger from everyone in the city.

Just as we begin walking down the street, a black, sleek limosine turns the corner and pulls up next to us. "Evenin' Mr. Rand." the middle-aged driver calls happily as he steps out of the car and takes Jess' luggage and puts it in the trunk.

"Remember, Cole, when I'm in the suit I'm Iron Fist."

"Sorry, Mr. Fist." he retorts with a tip of his cap and a wry smile.

"Funny." I pat him on the back as he gets back in the driver seat. Luke opens the passenger door for Jess and she climbs into the limo, but before Luke and I get in he turns to me with a grave expression. "You sure we can trust him? I mean, 10$ million is a lotta money, man."

I smile and pat Luke on the shoulder. "Then it must be a good thing I pay him double that."

We get in the car and Cole takes us directly to Rand Corp. As we see the Rand Corp building off in the distance, we immediately spot the dozens of people gathered outside. It's like they're an angered hive of bugs, trying to swarm my home. "I'll take us 'round back."Cole calls over the intercom, as he turns the car and takes a special road I had instilled that leads up under the building. Came in handy for those late nights out when nobody knew I played dress-up.

----

"Alright, I have the guest bedroom set up for you and Jess. I say to Luke as the elevator door opens 50 stories up, the floor above my office. The penthouse apartment is sprawled out before us in all it's bachelor pad glory.

I'm just about to show Luke to my collection of Die Hard movies, all of them autographed, when my cellphone bursts to life. I jog over to the leather sofa it's sitting in and take a quick look at the Caller ID. I smile. "This is one of my guys, I sent him to get my cousin Mike and his family. I'll take it in the other room, you guys get set up. Oh, and Luke? After you guys get comfortable, let's hit the streets and try to find some answers to this mess."

[SenseiofCheese]

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Scott Summers felt the rage build inside him as he balled his hands into a fist and summoned the X-Men to his side as he confronted the Master of Magnetism.

"What do you want Erik?" He managed to growl.

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"I'd advise you to show some gratitude, Mr. Summers. Don't think for a second those insects would have extended the same courtesy, of merely breaking a few bones, to you as you did them." Magneto's voice boomed across the school grounds as he majestically levitated down to the ground. Scott Summers, Cyclops, was one of Xavier's star pupils. Charles' ideals personified.

Magneto found him to be especially irritating. "And really," he added as his feet touched the ground. "Is that any way to greet a friend returned from the dead?"

[Gallagher]

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/89831-28833-magneto_super.jpg


"I'd advise you to show some gratitude, Mr. Summers. Don't think for a second those insects would have extended the same courtesy, of merely breaking a few bones, to you as you did them." Magneto's voice boomed across the school grounds as he majestically levitated down to the ground. Scott Summers, Cyclops, was one of Xavier's star pupils. Charles' ideals personified.

Magneto found him to be especially irritating. "And really," he added as his feet touched the ground. "Is that any way to greet a friend returned from the dead?"

"Maybe you should've done everyone a favour and stayed dead." Quipped Emma from behind Scott, putting a gloved hand on his shoulder trying to calm his shaking frame.

"We don't need your help Erik and we sure as hell aren't going to show you gratitude for murdering these people."

"Not to mention making such a mess of the front lawn." Sighed Hank McCoy eyeing the blood-stained roses lying flat on the ground. "Sorry." He adds as Frost shoots him a look that could kill.

"I'm going to ask you again, you're going to answer and then you're going to leave before I do something I'll regret. What. Do. You. Want?"

It took every ounce of strength in Scott's body to stop him lashing out at the murdering madman in front of him.

[Keyser Soze]

"Gaw you're the bestest friend I've ever had. Which is a prestigious honour seeing as my other friends include such famous names as The Spot." I turn to leave. "Well what are ya waiting for? We got millions to make!"

"If you guys are leaving then I want my pay." ah nuts... was hoping we'd leave before she woke up.

Bullseye and I spin round to see a young girl walk out of Bullseye's bedroom, wearing nothing but revealing under wear. She was clearly half starved, and looked like make up had been thrown at her rather than applied. "Hey, who's the guy with the target on his head? I said it would cost ya double if you wanted to go again, but I didn't say you could get a friend in for free."

Bullseye's jaw drops as he slowly rotates his head back from to me. "You didn't..."

"Well I had to entertain myself while I was waiting for you..." Bullseye's expression turns to rage of ungodly proportions. "Oh come on! Amount of hookers round here, like you've never had a pop?"

"In my bed... in my own damn bed."

"Broken bed actually... I uh... don't think I should explain."

"You guys married or something? Can I get some money please?"

"Yeah yeah, take it and get out of here." I hand her a few dollars... of course what she doesn't know is that these are the very same few dollars I stole out of her purse when I picked her up. As she goes to the door Bullseye picks up a bottle cap and flicks it into the back of her head, it sinks in a kills her instantly. "Hey, come on! She said I'd get a discount on the next time!"

"It'll have to wait for another life. We're leaving, and we're not speaking."

"Will it though? I mean technancally, now I don't have to pay to--"

"We're leaving."

"You could take one end and I--"

"WE'RE LEAVING."

"Okay okay, but you probably wanna dump her body somewhere, the last blood stains I had to get out of my carpet were the living end of me."

Sighing and cursing under his breath, Bullseye dragged the dead body across his apartment over to the living room window. He looked outside, spotting a dumpster down in the alleyway below. Hoisting the dead hooker up, he tipped her out the window, letting her drop. Unfortunately, rather than gracefully landing in the dumpster as he'd imagined, the body bounced off its edge, and crumpled into a rather undignified heap on the ground next to it.

"Hurm. Funny, I don't usually miss."

They'd have to pick it up on the way out. Then find a place to dump it. Wait...

"Please tell me you have a car."

"I...have a car."

"Do you really?"

"No."

Right, scratch that. They'd have to find a car to steal, put the body in the car, then find a place to dump it. Maybe they'd finally get around to actually making money sometime tomorrow...

"Right, let's get outta here."

Disarming the booby-trap, and re-arming it once they were out of the apartment, Bullseye headed back down the staircase with Deadpool, who had mercifully put his costume back on while Bullseye dealt with Miss Dead Hooker. Bullseye pulled on his own mask, and if the man on the staircase hadn't been so out of his mind on heroin, he'd have been justifiably terrified at the sight of the two assassins crossing his path.

"So, you got any ideas about who you wanna gun for first?"

[SenseiofCheese]

[B][FONT=Arial][COLOR=RoyalBlue]
"I'm going to ask you again, you're going to answer and then you're going to leave before I do something I'll regret. What. Do. You. Want?"

It took every ounce of strength in Scott's body to stop him lashing out at the murdering madman in front of him.

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"Ah, Ms. Frost. Stunning as ever, my dear. Before we get on to business, I'll ask you to stay out of my head." he said nonchalantly to Emma. "This helmet can keep out Xavier, I hardly think you have a chance. And you'd rather not waste your time with Toad, there's nothing of value in his little head." he added with disdain as Toynbee hopped up beside him, taking a longing look at Emma Frost.

Magneto turned to face Cyclops. "What I want, for once, is the same thing you do. To survive." Cyclops folded his arms and grit his teeth. "Our entire race was decimated. Those of us left behind must stand together, or else perish. And don't be so headstrong as to believe you don't need any help after the price put on your head. You'll have every mutant hating Homo Sapien in the country knocking down the doors to this school of yours."

Magneto turned his back to the X-Men, taking a long look at the chaos behind him. Cars and various metallic object crushed against flesh, bodies littering the grounds. This was only the beginning." he said as he turned back. "Of course, I don't expect you to believe me, given our history. So, as a sign of good faith, tell me Ms. Frost.." Magneto reached up and grabbed his helmet, slowly removing it.

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/3094/116333-54822-magneto.jpg

"...am I lying?"

[Gallagher]

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"I don't need Emma to dig around your skull to find out whether you believe the words you spout from your own mouth. Frankly I wouldn't want to put her through that."

Scott took Emma's hand and brushed it off his shoulder.

"You're right, the mutant race was already in serious danger, they're so few of us left and this bounty hunt is only going to make matters worse." He nodded as Magneto smiled at the young man's apparrent co-operation.

"Scott... Maybe on this occasion Erik is right." Beast chimed in. "I, of course, am not saying that we pack up and leave the mansion... But the students Scott... this place is no longer a safe haven for them, Erik can give them that I suspect."

Scott narrowed his eyes beneath his visor at Beast turning back to the Master of Magnetism.

"We're these kid's protectors, their teachers... We're not their parents. If they choose to go with you I won't stop them. You can go and ask the students yourself, they're in the sub-basement but we're staying here."

Scott gestured the team around him. As Magneto walked past him to enter the mansion Scott grabbed his arm forcefull and pulled him in close.

"But if you let any harm come to these kids I will make sure you do not come back from where I send you."

[SenseiofCheese]

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"We're these kid's protectors, their teachers... We're not their parents. If they choose to go with you I won't stop them. You can go and ask the students yourself, they're in the sub-basement but we're staying here."

Scott gestured the team around him. As Magneto walked past him to enter the mansion Scott grabbed his arm forcefull and pulled him in close.

"But if you let any harm come to these kids I will make sure you do not come back from where I send you."


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"Me let harm come to them? Mr. Summers, when was the last time someone threw a bottle at my head? I will show them what it means to be feared, not to fear, as you insist on doing." Magneto stated with disdain as he made his way into the mansion. Just before he crossed the threshold, he called back to the group. "Mr. McCoy?"

"Yes, Erik?"

"I think it best you come with me. Wouldn't want the children thinking the boogeyman has come for them." he stated, as Beast exchanged nods with Frost and Summers, before following Magneto into the sub-basement.

----
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"Children. X-Men. Mutants. You know who I am. Your teachers have told you of me, time and time again. Mine is a name you have been taught to fear. But no more. I am Magneto, and I am here to show you there is no need to be afraid." Magneto's voice enthralled every single person gathered in front of him. Some were interested, most filled with anger towards him. In the back of the large room, Toad skipped around playfully, while by Magneto's side was Dr. Hank McCoy, a man who these children trusted immensely.

"You. My dear, what is your gift?" Magneto had picked the youngest mutant in the room, a small girl of no more than 12 years.

The frail-looking girl audibly gasped when addressed by the Master of Magnetism. She looked directly to Beast, who gave her an assuring and warm nod. "Uhm. I, uh, I can make things disappear by looking at them." she answered with a quivering voice.

"That is most assuredly a gift to be proud of. You can make things disappear simply by looking at them. Astounding." he offered a smile, a warm one, a smile that could have fooled the girl into thinking he was merely a grandfather-figure, not a killer. "And tell me, my child, do you think it is right for you to be afraid of the bad people out there? When, if they ever tried to hurt you, you could just make them disappear?" he asked incredulously, fishing for the desired answer.

Magneto suddenly felt a tight grip on his shoulder, as Beast leaned in and whispered with a beastial growl. "Careful, Lensherr. I will not stand for you trying to turn these kids into killers."

Magneto simply smiled, before turning back to his audience. "Earlier today a group of humans attacked this school. They wanted to kill you all for money. And your teachers told you to do what? To stand up and fight for your right to live? No. They ushered you into a basement and told you to hide." the group of mutants began looking at each other, some beginning to be persuaded, others with their feet planted firmly on X-Men ground.

"Your teachers, Cyclops, Ms. Frost and Dr. McCoy here, have agreed to my offer. I offer sanctuary. This place is no longer safe. Come with me and I will see to it that no harm comes to you, and I will guarantee you will finally be able to strike back at those who wish you harm. Come with me, children, and you will be part of a Brotherhood. Come with me, and learn what it means to be a mutant. Proud. Powerful. Gods."

[Byrd Man]

I'm just about to show Luke to my collection of Die Hard movies, all of them autographed, when my cellphone bursts to life. I jog over to the leather sofa it's sitting in and take a quick look at the Caller ID. I smile. "This is one of my guys, I sent him to get my cousin Mike and his family. I'll take it in the other room, you guys get set up. Oh, and Luke? After you guys get comfortable, let's hit the streets and try to find some answers to this mess."

Jessica and I go into the guest bedroom and put our things up.

"Well, it ain't Harlem." I say as I look out the window at the city below.

"But the view makes up for it."

Jessica comes up behind me and wraps her arms around my neck.

"Not the most ideal lover's retreat, but I'll take it."

"Yeah. I hope this whole thing blows over before...."

I slip my hand down and put it on her growing bulge.

"I want my baby to be born in Harlem....like it's daddy."

"Well, Mr. Cage...get out there and find out who's putting a bounty on everyone from Iron Man to Slapstick. You do that, then this little messed up family can be complete."

"'Messed up'? What if I make it right?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"What if, after all this blows over...we get married? Make things right."

"What makes you think I'm the marrying type?"

"Not sure about that, but from the size of your stomach, you're certainly the breeding type."

"Watch it....get out there and help out Danny and then we'll talk about being the Cage's."

Jessica and I kiss briefly before I leave the guest bedroom.

"Yo, Danny. Ready to go, man?"

[SenseiofCheese]

[/B]"Watch it....get out there and help out Danny and then we'll talk about being the Cage's."

Jessica and I kiss briefly before I leave the guest bedroom.

"Yo, Danny. Ready to go, man?"


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When Luke steps out into the living room I'm standing in the middle of the floor. My mask is on the floor, and so is the phone.

I don't....

"Yo, Danny, you okay?"

I can't....

Luke walks over and puts his hand on my shoulder. Don't really feel it.

"They're...I...They're dead."I barely manage to say the words before it hits me like a knife in the heart. My hands are shaking.

"What? Danny, who?"

"My uh...My cousin Mike. H-he called me and asked if I could arrange for a uh...for some safe place while thise whole thing blew over..." I look into Luke's eyes. "He's dead. They're all dead. They killed them. His wife, Elizabeth. Oh God, Cameron and Sean...they were only ki-" I feel sick to my stomach. I want to cry but I just...

"Danny, listen. You listen to me. This is not your fault."

"Yes it is." I snarl at Luke. "He asked me to keep his family safe but I...I didn't think it was that important. I mean...I didn't really think he'd be in danger."

"You couldn't have known."

"You know what I did? After he called me? I told me I'd send a car over as soon as possible and I.." I hang my head and I stumble a bit, but Luke holds on to me. "I took a shower. I...I decided to take a shower before I called a car. A family is dead because I..."I trail off, staring off at a wall.

I didn't meet Mike Avery many times. But he was still family. He was familiy and he asked for my help. He's dead because I didn't care enough. They're all dead.

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/277429-188620-iron-fist_super.jpg
Because of me.

[Spider-Man9X17]

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Hawkeye almost allowed himself a smile as he was harmonized by the comforting sound of Boomerang’s jaw crushing under the impact of him elbow.

“Ahh. Mubbahfutah. I gubba gig ya azz.”

“I must be losing my touch…,”

Hawkeye swung again with his fist, this time knocking Boomerang’s whole bottom jaw out of alignment then watching as it snapped back like a rubber band.

“…I usually shut them up on the first hit.”

Boomerang rolled around on the asphalt, primal grunts escaping from his bloodied, sagging mouth, unable to be formed into coherent words. Mockingbird was keeping the crowd at bay with a series of defensive and evasive maneuvers. Thus far, even though the crowd numbered several dozen, it was nothing she couldn’t handle herself thanks to the countless years of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Avengers training. Most of the crowd consisted of overeager pencil pushers out on lunch break, a few homeless drunks, and the occasional Japanese tourist that most likely thought they were joining in on some new American pastime.

Boomerang tried to lift his head, only to have the purple heel of Hawkeye’s boot come crashing down at the base of his skull. He managed to get out a small yelp before his head bounced limply off the side walk.

“God, you think we’d attracted the attention of some kind of back up by now. Can’t walk out your front door any other day without seeing some new retard dressed up in his mom’s old ballet leotards.”

[bkhedr]

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The man, Doctor Blake, passes through Times Square a few moments after the mysterious bounty message is played.

All around him people are talking.

Is it a hoax? A joke? Could it be real?

He shakes his head as he hears their chatter. It saddens him.

He considers taking action, doing something about this, but he has little time. He can already feel it happening, and he must get to the ocean.

*****


Out to sea, beyond the city's harbor, the water begins to bubble and boil in small sections. Steam rises from the deep blue and just beneath the water's surface, vaguely humanoid figures start to take form.


http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/405/thorlogokz4.gif


Donald Blake did not take off his shoes or alter his gait as he stepped off of finished concrete and onto the gravelly sand near the city's harbor.

The wind blew through his hair and bombarded his senses with its heaviness and salty scent, brining back memories of ancient mariners and the bravery of their intercontinental journies.

Had the matter that brought him here not been of such grave import he might have dwelled on the memories for a few moments, allowed them to fill his consciousness, but his business here was grave indeed, and he had barely arrived in time.

Blake had only just reached the shoreline when from within one of the bubbling masses out on the water emerged a man. The man emerged until he was standing on the water and casually, began to walk across its shimmering surface until he made land fall.

Amazingly, no passers by or beach goers seemed to notice him. It was as he were completely invisible to them, and perhaps he was at that, but Donald Blake saw him well enough and moved to intercept him, standing between the man and the city.

"You shouldn't be here." Blake said sternly to the man who had messy black hair, dark skin, red eyes, and stood completely naked and shameless in the day time sun.

The naked man looked Blake over suspiciously for a moment before replying amicably.

"Actually, child it is you who should not be here."

The dark man's voice was honeyed, and deep, and regal, and as he spoke three more dark men, strikingly similiar to himself, and yet distinct, emerged from the water and stepped onto the shore.

Blake shook his head urgently

"No, no, no. You can't be here. I'm here and that means your time hasn't come."

The dark man laughed then. A deep, jolly laugh, that was more laughing at the situation than what had been said.

"Child you know the rules, every God, though he dislikes dwelling on them, knows the rules. Odin, your father and his fellow Skyfathers helped make them" he said, his red eyes seemingly boring through Blake's own.

"Together with my master your patriarchs created this world and the mortals in it and agreed to share dominion over it. You had your time, it has passed. Now as your pantheon and others like it pass into the infinite so too does this world. It is our time now Child, the time of our master."

"And assuming you're right, what does master intend to do now that its his time?" Blake asked hopefully even he knew the answer already.

"Come now child, you know the answer to that." The Dark man said as his fellows began to walk up and down the beach with purpose, oblivious to the fact that one of their own stood conversing with Blake. "We, his servants, will walk this world and collect the data that we need. We will weigh good versus evil and make our judgement. The evil will become of us, fueling us and our master, suffering for eternity as they deserve."

"And the good?"

"The good will have earned their eternal rest, that was the deal, and they are of no use to my master after all. They will simply cease to be, and we, the Ifrit, with the life force of the evil and unjust beating in our eternal hearts will inherit this world and take it as our own for the glory of our master."

In response Blake just stared at the Ifrit, the man of fire, for a moment before saying:

"I am a SkyFather now and I say the deal is off. Go back from whence you came or I'll send you back myself." he said firmly.

"Nonesense child, you can not have millenia free of us and then decide the deal is over because those millenia have ended. You cannot change this, you can not hope to stand against us. Why do you think your patriarchs had to make a deal with our master in the first place?" The Ifrit replied dismissively. If he was intimidated by the Thunder God inside Blake he wasn't showing it.

"Listen to me." he said while putting a hand on Blake's shoulder "We are not without empathy. We know that you care for the mortals, most of your kind did, but you have had millenia. Millenia of worship, of contact, centuries upon centuries to make your mark, to save them, but you knew it had to end."

"Why do you think your own Ragnarok tale tells of their doom?" He added, referring to the Mortals. "Because it was always meant to be that way. Now Ragnarok has come, Zues is dead, and many of the other pantheons have retreated to the stars. The time of the gods is over, and with it the time of men."

"But the time of the Gods is not over so long as I'm here, to live among them, and protect them, and guide them. That was the deal. We were supposed to be the ones who decided when our time was over, not you." Blake countered.

The Ifrit, for that is what he truly was, a man of fire, seemed to pause and consider this for a moment before saying: "You are desperate to save them. You know full well that your time is passed, but you feel too greatly for these mortals to remain in the stars. We know what you have done. You felt our arrival and returned, frantic to get here before we did."

Blake did not reply

"Well you did not get here soon enough. We have arrived and your presence here is nothing more than a technicality, and one in poor taste at that. My master feels that your actions have violated the spirit of the agreement."

Blake winced as he heard the words. It seemed that his desperate plow had failed, and though he knew he could not stand against the Ifrit, he girded himself for battle and clenched his walking stick a little tighter.

"Of course such disputes are no small matter, and are not for ones such as you and I to decide so my master, who is aware of what transpires here, has consulted with the Living Tribunal."

The Living Tribunal. Of course Blake thought as new hope coursed through him like electricity.

"And?" he asked.

The Ifrit closed his eyes then, and seemd to focus his concentration inwards, as if, Blake reasoned, he were waiting for a psychic message, which of course was an over simplification, but not too far from the truth.

When the Ifrit opened his eyes a moment later he looked mildly dissapointed.

"The Living Tribunal have decreed that you be given an opportunity to prove that your time in not past. You will be allowed to remain here and do with the mortals as you wish so long as you do not impede us as we go about our work. You will have until we have completed our appointed task. After that the Tribunal will decide whether our time has come or not."

Blake almost let out a sigh of relief but opted instead to maintain his poise

"Alright then." he nodded.

"Alright" The Ifrit nodded back.

The two looked at each other like soldiers on the battlefield who had just received orders not to fire before the Ifrit stepped around Blake and heading towards the City.

"Good luck Child" he called over his shoulder, before he dissapeared, still naked, into the crowd.

Blake watched him go then looked back to the sea. More and more of the Ifrit were emerging from the water and spreading out across the land. He knew the same scene was repeating itself all over the globe and it made him shiver.

The Ifrit were amicable enough, it was their nature to be, but they were pure evil and it horrified him to think what could happen if one of them choose to do more than just observe and gather information.

Still, he had accomplished more than he had dared hope for, and he was back on Earth, and alive again. He had a chance, and that was all he had ever needed.

Feeling the courage and confidence of Thor welling up inside him, Blake turned back to the mortal city he had loved so much and silently promised that he would not fail.

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/1/19940/416624-Donald_blake_03.JPG

[Harlekin]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2040/logoik1.gif
Long Island, New York

“You knew her, Mr. Worthington?” the coroner asked. His hand rested on the blanket that covered the body of Allison Blaire a.k.a. Dazzler, mutant popstar and former X-Man.
“I did.” Tears were brimming at the edge of Warren Worthington’s eyes.
“I have to ask, because we’ve gotten a lot of fans --”
“We dated for a while,” Angel cut in, his eyes meeting the coroner’s.

The coroner bit his lip.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said as he pulled away the blanket to show Allison’s decapitated head.
“It’s her,” Angel stated resolutely and mournfully. A rage quickly filled him and his entire body started to shake. He turned away and the coroner quickly pulled the cover back over the late Dazzler’s head.

“Do they have any idea who did it?” Angel asked, hunched over, his fingers digging into the coroner’s desk.
“We, ah, we found this,” the man responded as he handed Angel a yo-yo wrapped in plastic.
“It’d been, ah, put in her mouth.”
Warren grimaced as he held the yo-yo in his hand. A bullseye had been carved into it.

“Bullseye. It was Bullseye.”
“Bullseye, sir?”
Angel didn’t respond. “Contact her family. Tell them I’ll pay for everything.”

Before the coroner could say anything else, Angel stormed out of the morgue.

[bkhedr]

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/DCMarvelRPG/Wolverine/Wolverine.jpg



Wolverine tasted blood as he readied himself for Creed's next attack. Sabertooth was already in mid-air. Having faced each other countless times, Wolverine wasn't afraid. Sabertooth might've had the edge, he might've been stronger, faster, and bigger, but, one way or the other, Wolverine would survive. He always had. He was too persistant to fall to someone as low as Victor Creed.




In the commotion, Wolverines claws had retracted out of instinct, ensuring that he didn't accidentally puncture his own skin. Without hesitation, Wolverine seized his opportunity and stepped into Creed's oncoming attack, feeling his anger growing steadily. His arm cocked, he drive his metal fist directly into Sabertooth's nose, sending the hulking beast sprawling onto his back.




Wolverine wouldn't redeploy his claws. At least, not yet. He wanted a piece of Victor Creed. And he was going to get it.




Logan kneeled and brought his fist down upon Creed's chest with all of his might. It wasn't enough to drive through Sabertooth's torso but, by Christ, it had to hurt.




Without missing a beat, Logan drove his fist upwards, connecting with Creed's jaw. Something made a sickly cracking sound, but Wolverine didn't much care. Creed would get up. That's the one thing the two shared: relentlessness.




Wolverine rose to his feet and growled, as he looked down upon Sabertooth's heaped body.





"Get up!" He snarled."I'm likin' this."










http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/2453/victorcreedwy6.jpg


If he's likin' this can you imagine how much fun I'm havin?

I pick myself up and slash out at him, ripping skin and muscle as I do. He counters by punching me hard in the ribs.

My jaw's a mess. Can't talk yet. If I could I'd tell him how stupid he is to try to fight me without his claws. Guess I'll just show him.

Crouching low under a punch, I hammer all ten of my fingers into his side, underneath both arms and between his ribs. It must hurt like hell, and its about to get worse.

I spring upwards, lifting him by the rib cage, and slammin' him into a wall. There's a wet smushing sound followed by the clunk of that skeleton of his on brick.

He growls and punches me in the nose. The hurt feels good, gets me fired up, and I slam him against the wall even harder. This time blood splatters the wall and I see a bloody Logan outline as I hoist him off of it.

Jaw's stiched together enough to talk now but I've got nothing to say. I slam him against the wall again, loving the feeling of his organs mashing against my claws. This is why I love throwin' down with the runt so much, I'm all about throwin' out a hurtin' and he's one a the few that can take it.

[Optikal]

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a105/optikal101/hulk_logo.gif

Banner flipped up his hood and marched down the street. Even though it was 3am and the area was deathly silent, he was still cautious. hurrying down the street, fading in and out of the shadows he made his way towards a house set back from the line of carefully placed trees and parked cars.

Stopping at the bottom of a short drive-way he crouched against a low stone wall and listened. He could hear nothing but the gentle rustle of the wind through the leafy suburb. Quickly, he rose to his feet and hurried up into the shadows along the side of the house.

Kneeling down in amongst the bushes growing there, he lifted a small pot gnome and grabbed the key that was taped under it. Letting himself into the back door, Banner had one final check around before locking the door behind him. Silently, he padded through to the front room and up the stairs, careful to not disturb any creaky floorboards. Finally, reaching the top of the stairs and risking a glance out from behind drawn curtains he moved towards the master bedroom.

Banner turned the handle and slipped into the room. Infront of him, porcelain skin bathed in eldritch moonlight seeping in from a small skylight in the roof, lay Betty Ross. He stood for a moment watching the gentle rise and fall of her delicate frame as she slept soundly.

Banners heart felt heavy with regret as he stood there in the dark. All he had ever wanted was a life with Betty, away from her father, away from everything. But ever since The Hulk had manifested, those drreams had become dust. Now Bruce had to warn her, get her away from those who would seek to harm him through her. Those who would gladly put a bullet through her head for the well pulicised reward.

Bruce moved to the bedside and sat down next to her. Gently brushing her shoulder he whispered her name "Betty. Betty, wake up".

Betty roused from her sleep, but upon seeing the grizzly, filthy man at her side her eyes grew wide and she let out a frightened scream. Without hesitation Bruce clamped a hand over her mouth and tried to pin her down. "Betty, it's me. stop it" Still she squirmed. "It's me, it's Bruce. It's okay!".

Betty stopped struggling and Bruce released her. "B-Bruce?" she asked, brows furrowing as she struggled to reckognise him under the heavy beard. "Bruce! Oh thank God!" She sat up and threw her arms around him, kissing a dirt encrusted cheek. "I've been so worried about you, ever since those messages started appearing, I've been worried sick".

"Don't worry about me, it's you that needs to get out of here. Didn't you see? the reward for associates? Ever since that night with Blonsky, anyone with half a brain will figure it out. Blosky, your father, you and me... there's the connection and your the easiest target.Hell I wouldn't put it past your own dad to try and make a quick few bucks..." Bruce snorted and shook his head. It was well established that General Ross would happily sacrifice his daughter to satiate his obsession with catching the Hulk.

"Bruce... You don't get it do you? Nowhere is ever going to be safe. They'll always use me to get to you, whether it's my father or not, I'm always in danger. I've learned to live with it and you need to too. Like it or not we're in this toghether, for better or worse".

Bruce sighed and his head dropped to his chest. "Betty... If something were to happen to you... I don't know what I'd do... I.. "

To his right the bedroom window shattered and two canisters rolled into the room. One rolled under the bed and the second rolled to a stop at Bruces feet. "Gas! Betty cover your face! get out of here! go!"

"I'm not leaving you Bruce!" she cried back, choking as a thick fog filled the room. Bruce choked and fell to his knees, scrabbling to find the canisters. On his wrist his heart monitor was picking up pace as the beeps quickened. All of a sudden armed men in black uniforms and gas masks burst into the room, two more quickly following through the window.

"Grab the target and take him. The General wants him alive. MOVE"

Banner felt gloved hands throw him to the ground and cuff his hands. He struggled and fought and barely noticed the syringe jabbing into the veins of his neck. The world started to swim and distort but Bruce fought back...

He could feel the storm within rising and toiling, smashing against an unseen wall as the injected tranquilizers took effect. Bruce refused to give in and welcomed the burning sensation as his rage and anger took hold. Dragged acroos the floor and down the stairs Banner struggled and heaved as he was unceremoniously brought out into the street. Army vehicles littered the street, two choppers overhead shining powerful beams onto the scene and lighting up the entire area. At the cetnre of it stood General Ross, cigar in mouth and a smirk firmly set in place.

Banner looked up at the General through bulging eyes, "Y-You b-bastard!" he spat, "What've you done?!"

The general blew out a puff of smoke and smiled. "Every cell in your measly frame belongs to the United States Son, I'm just protecting our investment from those God-damned would-be vigilantes. Don't worry kid, I'm saving your life".

"No... you can't... No... Noooooooo!"

Banners skin grew pale, his bones contorted and snapped, strecthing and mutating. They bulged against his skin as it stretched and grew, his muscles filling out and thickening. Banners clothes ripped and tore and the cuffs which bound his wrists snapped like twigs.

Banner heard commotion from somewhere distant and faintly heard the Generals voice and a womans scream. Then the green fog took him and enveloped him

"NOOOOOOooooooRRRRRRAAAAAWWWWRRRR!"

The Hulk rose to his full height, his small green eyes fixed on the General. With a snarl he sucked in a deep lung full of air and released a primal roar to the heavens.

The task force surrounding him backed off but the General stood firm. "Team One. Take Him". he barked.

"HULK.. SMASH!"

[Electro UK]

The Vision

They descended out of the sky like two guadily coloured eagles. The Vision locked his robotic eyes on the huge figure who was advancing on what appeared to be a couple of nondescript mutants.

"Stop," he proclaimed, holding out his hand. His eyes flickered as he scanned various databanks for the identity of the villain before him.

"Lonnie Lincoln AKA Tombstone," he stated, arm still outstretched "I suggest you return home. There is nothing for you here,"

Tomstone gazed over at the figure in front of him. He didn't care much for super heroes obviously, and he wasn't the most well briefed on the ones that were more likely to save the planet than tangle with him. "Vision right? Well I'm afraid there's quite a lot for me, about $2 million with those 2 in fact. But you, you're big time right? I bet you'll be wheeling me in $5 mill at least." Tombstone displayed a big toothy grin.

"So I guess that means... you and me are gonna do the tango." with that, Tombstone charged at The Vision.

[Electro UK]

Sighing and cursing under his breath, Bullseye dragged the dead body across his apartment over to the living room window. He looked outside, spotting a dumpster down in the alleyway below. Hoisting the dead hooker up, he tipped her out the window, letting her drop. Unfortunately, rather than gracefully landing in the dumpster as he'd imagined, the body bounced off its edge, and crumpled into a rather undignified heap on the ground next to it.

"Hurm. Funny, I don't usually miss."

They'd have to pick it up on the way out. Then find a place to dump it. Wait...

"Please tell me you have a car."

"I...have a car."

"Do you really?"

"No."

Right, scratch that. They'd have to find a car to steal, put the body in the car, then find a place to dump it. Maybe they'd finally get around to actually making money sometime tomorrow...

"Right, let's get outta here."

Disarming the booby-trap, and re-arming it once they were out of the apartment, Bullseye headed back down the staircase with Deadpool, who had mercifully put his costume back on while Bullseye dealt with Miss Dead Hooker. Bullseye pulled on his own mask, and if the man on the staircase hadn't been so out of his mind on heroin, he'd have been justifiably terrified at the sight of the two assassins crossing his path.

"So, you got any ideas about who you wanna gun for first?"

Unlike Bullseye, who simply walked pust the junkie, I was fascinated by him. I started poking him in the head. "He he! Hey look this guys out of it!" I pick up his hand. "Stop slapping yourself! Stop slapping yourself!" giggeling with delight I take my finger and slowly edge it towards his eye ball. "Eeeeeeew! He let me touch it! Now I got all his cooties n' stuff! Don't get near me Bullseye! You don't want it too!"

"Will you leave that waster alone?"

"Hmm? Oh okay."

"I was talking to the junkie."

"Funny. You're funny, you know that?" I stand up, but my leg inches forward in the process, and knocks the junkie. "Oops." He falls down the stairs, me chasing after, trying to stop at him, but failing as he lands with a deafening snap in his neck.

There's a sizeable moment of silence where Bullseye stares at me in disbelief. "Well... guess we're gonna need a bigger car." Bullseye buries his face in his hands, cursing the day he'd met me. "Well its not like we can get blamed for this one. "He fell officer, and he was on drugs so that is 100% possible and not a lie". The perfect crime."

We exit the building, the gang of hookers outside approaching me. "Where's Krystal? She went up there through that window with you 2 hours ago." I look taken a back.

"Me? A buyer and user of prositutes? My good women, I am offened to hear the very nature of it! Oh and its Crystal, with a C."

"Where is she?" Well, she's annoying. But I'd sure like to-- wait not now Wade.

"Number 12, go get her if you're really that worried, jeez." as one of the women goes inside, Bullseye shoots me an ice cold look. "What?"

BOOM!

"Oh right." Man its like playing dominoes in the place!

OOC: Idea - stolen!

[Keyser Soze]

Bullseye and Deadpool finally exit the scene in an ice-cream van, stacked full of dead bodies. Bullseye drives while Deadpool helps himself to a rasperry ripple.

"Can we play the jingle thingy?"

"No. We're not talking."

"Pleeeeeeeeease?"

Bullseye brings the van to a screeching halt, causing Deadpool to plunge his nose into his ice-cream cone.

"What do you think will happen if we turn that jingle on?"

"...I'll do my happy dance?"

"No, Wade. Children who, any minute now, will be leaving their homes to go to school, will come flocking to the van, looking for ice-cream. Ice-cream we won't be able to give them, due to it being buried under a heap of dead prostitutes (including one in several charred, smoking pieces), a dead drug addict, and a dead ice-cream man. What do you propose we do when these kids see the corpses and start screaming? Because I'm running out of room in this van."

Deadpool says nothing, huffily returning to his rasperry ripple.

"Right, we know who our next target is. Let's figure out how we're gonna claim that bounty..."

[Gallagher]

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l144/Gray_Fox_Lives/RPG%20stuff/cykebanner.jpg

Minutes passed as Scott waited impatiently outside the Mansion.

"I assume you do know what you're doing by handing the children over to this madman?"

"I'm not handing them to anyone Pete. I'm giving them a choice, a choice most of us never had."

Just as Scott had finished he heard the patter of feet against wooden floor. A large group of mutants came marching out of the main doors with Magneto leading the way. Scott quickly did a rough head count, it was around half of the students. He lied to himself, telling himself that he wasn't hurt by how many were so eager to leave.

At the same time he felt a great deal of pride for the ones that remained.

"Where are you going to take them Lensherr?"

[Harlekin]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2040/logoik1.gif
Long Island, New York

“Was it her?”

Of course, Bobby Drake had been waiting for his friend outside the morgue and although Angel wasn’t surprised to see him, a part of him couldn’t help but wish that the Iceman had just gone on to the mansion.
“It’s her,” he responded, sighing.
“They know who did it?”
“Bullseye.”
Iceman’s expression turned from grief and anger to confusion. “That name supposed to ring any bells?”
“Not really. I’ve only ever heard rumours myself.”
“So how do you know --” Bobby started.
“-- he left his mark.”
“Oh.”
“And considering how people in our community aren’t that well-known for complex codenames or thought-out trademarks…” Angel mused.
“… We can be pretty sure it’s him.”
“Right.”
“So what’s the plan? Find out where he is, rough him up and throw him in jail.”
“That’s the broad strokes, yes,” Warren replied ominously as he took the air.

As he followed his friend, Iceman silently began to wonder whether he could stop his friend from killing Bullseye.

And if he wanted too.

[Harlekin]

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/7251/logocr6.jpg

Hell’s Kitchen, New York

The impostor left behind Lorenzo’s and took to patrolling the neighbourhood again from the rooftops. There was no use in lingering at the bar. If HYDRA really was busting onto Kingpin territory, Daredevil was sure he would meet them again sooner rather than later. With as little of the night as there was left, his time was better spent further incriminating his namesake’s reputation.

An opportunity seemingly presented itself when the doppelganger came across a group of young hoodlums, deep in conversation. Two carried bats. The others carried guns. The sight made Daredevil sigh. The young hoppers couldn’t resist carrying their weaponry in their waistbands. As someone who had actually seen a young criminal-to-be accidentally shoot his own genitalia off, Daredevil always felt that any beat down of a person carrying his gun in that way wasn’t just deserved, it was a lesson.

“A clean mill for anyone who caps him.”
“This is where he’s supposed to hang out.”
“Y’know, I’ve heard he can actually make hellfire come out his eyes. Burns like a –”
“Oh, shut up, Louie.”
“Really, I mean – oh, oh, oh no,” Louie suddenly exclaimed in fear, a trickle of urine already running down his pants.
“What is it?”

http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/9905/shadowspj8.jpg

“Oh, *&^%.”

While terror flooded the bodies of the young thugs, Daredevil silently cursed. Just a bunch of kids.

He couldn’t kill them.

No matter how good the money was.

Of course, that didn’t mean he couldn’t break a few bones anyway.

Just to teach them a lesson.

[Watchman]

High Noon at Stark Industires

This seems like any other day at the office. Meetings, meetings, meetings filled with graphs, charts, and powerpoints. People telling me how well my company is doing. People telling me figures that I've figured out hours ago in my head. Of course this routine get go on much longer without....

BOOM!

There we go. Expolsion east end of the building. What a perfect way to start the afternoon. I stand up in front of a crowd of screamnig business men.

"Gentlemen, I think we all know the exit strategies by now I hope you all make it out safely."

"And what about you, Tony?" I know what there concerned about. There concern about what I'm going to do next.

"I will be figuring out what cause that explosion which has a strong possibility of a fight while you watch as our stocks plunge for about a hour before they bounce back up."

"Tony, I must protest..." I begin pushing them out of the office.

"Carl, this isn't time. We have a terrorist, supervillain, hell it could be a dragon on the other side of these walls and I'm going to have to stop it." The group begins to run off and I stay in my office. Gold and Red begin to cover my body and in a few moments I'm cover head to toe in armor. My senors show someones out in the hall. I rush outside my office to find Pepper.

"Pepper?"

"Tony!"

"Pepper you shouldn't be here, its too dangerous."

"They got Happy!"

"Who did?"

"I don't know. I've never seen them before."

"I'll take care of them and get Happy. You get to safety." She nods and runs off. I fly through an opening in my office and to the otherside of the building. There is a man in an armor suit hovering besides a giant hole. Scanners are showing my worst fear. I fly toward him fast and he doesn't even know I'm coming when I slam him into the building.

"Where did you get this armor?!" He raises his hands and the begin to glow.

"Fifty Mill, here I come." The blast knocks me through a room but I'm quickly back to my feet. There armors are very crude using very old tech. I'm able to knock him down and tear off his mask.

"Who made this armor for you!?" I demand again. He just smiles. His armor is fried, I'll leave him here later he's not moving. There's another one in the next room. I blast through the wall to find him ready to blast Happy. I blast him through a desk and begin to rail on him.

"How did you make this armor," another punch, "tell me," I hit him again, "NOW!" I punch him one final time and his suit powers down. I raise my fist again but I find Happy holding it.

"That's enough, boss. They're done. What's a matter with you, Tony?" My mask opens up.

"Happy....these designs, this tech, its all mine." My worst fears have come to light.

[Batman]

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/DCMarvelRPG/Captain%20America/Classic%20Cap/capbannermarvelrpgfq3.png
And The War Goes On... Pt. 4

After an extensive search of the area, looking for any sign of Buc-... Winter Soldier, I finally decide to call off the hunt and board the nearest plane back to America. It's no use. I know that if he wanted to attack me directly, he would have done it before I could have the chance to leave. What I should have known is that he was up to something in the first place. It's his obsession, especially if it means putting me at the forefront of his schemes. Ever since I found out he was still alive, he's tried everything he possibly can to play games with my mind. And the worst part is... he may know how to do it better than anyone, now.

He's not just good at what he does, he's a master. All of those years of brainwashing and torture that led to his transformation haven't just driven him mad, but they made him smarter, if not outright dangerous. If I hadn't been frozen, maybe I could have done something to help him. Maybe I could have...

No. No, it's in the past. I tried to convince myself otherwise for the longest time, but what happened to him can't justify what he does now. The Bucky I knew is far too gone to know the difference between right and wrong anymore. Everything I taught him is being tainted by the way he uses those skills today, and if that isn't reason enough for me to bring him in, I don't know what is. I refuse to be responsible for the people he hurts.

For now, though. He's gone back into hiding. Time to focus on other matters at hand. I'll need to contact the U.N and tell them that the fighting's over, so they can resume their peace negotiations. Maybe then, we can finally put all this behind-

"Captain?"

I look over from my seat, as one of the Sargeants hands me a communicator. It's got the S.H.I.E.L.D logo branded on it's side. I can guess who this is from.

"What does he need?"

"All he said was that he needed to speak with you now. It's a matter of extreme urgency."

I nod, and place the comm. link to my ear. By the time the feed is clear, I can already hear him chomping down on his latest cigar in a line of the thousands he probably goes through a day. Even under the circumstances we're both in, I can't help but smile.

"Nice of you to join in on the action, Nick. Though you're a little late."

"Funny stuff, Rogers. You're a regular comedian."

"Only when you're around. Willis tells me there's a situation. Care to bring me up to speed?"

"Not just one situation. An international crisis."

My smile fades, almost immediately. "International? Aren't Clint and others handling things while I'm away?"

"I haven't been able to contact Hawkeye or any other former Avengers for the past hour. And with good reason, given the bounty that was placed on their-"

My eyes widen, a little surprised. "What? What bounty? What the hell are you talking about?"

"SHIELD's double timing an investigation as we speak, but we've found out next to nothing. Apparently, someone's out to get every masked vigilante in the country. They've publicly offered varying amounts of money for anyone who can kill one. We're trying to keep it contained as we speak, but so far, everyone and their mother has reacted to the offer in at least some way..."

"Good God...", I mutter to myself, astonished. "And the Government? They're not doing anything to protect them?"

"You know just as well as I do how they feel about people like the X-Men, Rogers. Mutants are a minority in their eyes."

"That's no excuse! They're still people!", I argue, getting more enraged by the minute. "What about the others? The Avengers? Fantastic Four?"

"All of them. Spider-Man, Daredevil, Bruce Banner... you name it, there's a price for them."

He hesitates for a second. I can tell something's wrong. "What? What is it? Don't tell me that-..."

"I'm sorry, Steve. But you're one of the highest priced ones on the list."

I remain silent for a moment. My own life being placed in immediate danger is nothing new. I wouldn't be bothered by it at any other time. But these are the people I swore to protect. And now, even the ordinary citizens are capable of turning into nothing more than a bunch of greedy killers? The thoughts of where I just left, and how I left it come immediately to mind. A conflict like that arose out of a simple misunderstanding. People lost their lives because of even the smallest deceit.

What's happened to my country? What's happened to the entire world?

"Nick... what about the others? Are they safe, at least?"

"Most have gone into hiding. There are a few police keeping an eye on Xavier's School, but there's no telling when that place'll go to high hell. Avengers Mansion and Avengers Tower have rioters infront of them, asking for your heads."

"But we're disbanded. Everyone knows that... I don't understand."

"I know. I know. But Clint held a press conference there, earlier, before all this went down. Some are hoping that you've called a meeting on the situation. They're waiting to attack you, Thor, and the rest at the first sign they get of you."

"Are those people animals?", I ask. "What's gotten into them!?"

"Money, Steve. It changes things. It changes the world, if there's enough of it."

I lower my head, unsure of what to say. I'd like to think that I have a bit more confidence in the people of the world than this, but the whole situation is maddening. Nick's right. Money can definitely reduce people to this much. I should know that... I've had to fight most of the people who let their greed overrule them to the point of insanity, turning it into a costumed gimmick of some sort.

"Rogers? You okay?"

"I'm fine, Nick. It's the rest of the world that's apparently lost their mind,", I reply, angrily. "I've got to do something. Let me talk to them."

"Sorry, but I'm afraid that's a no can do. Homeland Security's terminated your passport. They've banned you from entering the States until this situation rolls over."

"What?!", I ask, even more shocked. "But what about... I can't... Nick, you can't let them-"

"There was nothing I could do, Steve. Believe me, I tried. The President's adamant about keeping his only real metahuman agent away from danger."

This can't be happening. It's as if a nightmare came true. My people are trying to kill me, my government's trying to shut me out. I can't even step foot in my own home.

"Damn it, this is no time to worry about me! Those people are going to kill eachother before they can kill one of us! I have to reason with them!"

"You don't think I know how much this is tearing you up, soldier?"

"No. I don't think you do."

"You'd be surprised. You're not the only one who's ever had to sit on the sidelines while your friends went off to war."

"But you eventually did, Nick. This is different."

"And you will, too. You're not a deportee."

I sneer. "I'm just being treated like one?"

"Sad as it is, yes. In the meantime, I may have something that could keep you busy while I sort this mess out."

"I don't have time for-..."

"I wasn't asking. You're not getting into the States, so you might aswell handle this affair. It'll win over some of your public, at least."

I look at the comm. link, feeling all but defeated. I guess I'll just have to accept this, for now.

"Alright. I don't like it, but I guess I don't have anything else to do. What do you need?"

"A search and rescue operation. On Latveria."

Latveria? Doctor Doom's country? I think I'd rather take my chances in the States. "Who am I looking for?"

"General Graham Wallace. Seems that the good Doctor took him prisoner, a little over forty-two hours ago. A cascade of Doombots were last seen fleeing his station, his men incapacitated and the man himself missing. And Doom's not answering any of our telecommunications, but strangely enough, he's kept his guard down for any retaliation strikes. He's up to something."

Isn't he always...

"Alright. I'll do what I can."

"Good luck."

The comm. link fades out as I crush it in my hand, enraged. My plans have been changed for me, while my country descends into anarchy. Not the best way to start out the year.

Guess I'm heading to Latveria.

[SenseiofCheese]

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l144/Gray_Fox_Lives/RPG%20stuff/cykebanner.jpg

At the same time he felt a great deal of pride for the ones that remained.

"Where are you going to take them Lensherr?"

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...neto_super.jpg

The Master of Magnetism strode out of the X-Mansion, a group of 10 or so mutant children of varying age following behind him. He stopped before Cyclops. "I assure you, it is a safe place. They will be completely safe from harm and I give you my word, Cyclops, they will be allowed to leave at any time they choose. Although I would not count on that happening. he stated, masking his disappointment in the fact that only half the students had followed him. Then again, Xavier's indoctrination was so strong, Magnet could not say he was surprised. "But for obvious reasons, I can not tell you exactly where I'll be taking them."

Magneto's new followers walked past Cyclops, Emma Frost and Colossus, most of them too ashamed to even look their teachers in the eyes. The others had fixed gazes on the multiple bodies littering the school grounds. Not many of them had actually seen bloodies corpses before.

Pausing shortly, Magneto broke eye contact with Cyclops, gazing off into the distance as if he was listening to some voice only he could hear. Soon he smiled, satisfied."I'll be taking my leave now, Mr. Summers. The other children have chosen to stay with you. They put immense trust in your ability to protect them, misguided as it is. Keep them safe." he stated, almost like a warning. Cyclops nodded sternly.

Magneto turned to the children who stood by Toad a few feet away, all of them trying to inch away from the foul-smelling mutant. "I assure you, my children, Toad is completely harmless. Each and every one of you could overpower him." he said with a heartwarming smile that some of the children copied, some of them even chuckling while Toad grunted disapprovingly. Soon Lensherr's face dropped, however, as his voice became more grave. "Now remember children, do not be afraid. Never be afraid."

It was the last thing they heard before they all felt a sudden wrench in the pits of their stomachs. As if they were heaved up by their livers, pain coursed through their bodies for a few seconds, short enough so that they hardly had time to call out. The world began to spin around them, colors mixing and objects running into each other. All the while they heard Magneto's voice echoing in their heads, 'don't be afraid'.

When their feet finally hit touched solid ground, they were no longer at Xavier's school, their home away from home. Taking a look around, they all realized they weren't even in the same country. The surroundings looked like something out of a gothic fairy tale, washed in a eeries glow as rain cascaded down on the land.

"I bid you welcome, children..." an impossibly deep, regal voice boomed.

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/436770-doom_paul_pelletier_super.jpg

"...to Latveria."

[Matt Murdock]

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/2453/victorcreedwy6.jpg


If he's likin' this can you imagine how much fun I'm havin?

I pick myself up and slash out at him, ripping skin and muscle as I do. He counters by punching me hard in the ribs.

My jaw's a mess. Can't talk yet. If I could I'd tell him how stupid he is to try to fight me without his claws. Guess I'll just show him.

Crouching low under a punch, I hammer all ten of my fingers into his side, underneath both arms and between his ribs. It must hurt like hell, and its about to get worse.

I spring upwards, lifting him by the rib cage, and slammin' him into a wall. There's a wet smushing sound followed by the clunk of that skeleton of his on brick.

He growls and punches me in the nose. The hurt feels good, gets me fired up, and I slam him against the wall even harder. This time blood splatters the wall and I see a bloody Logan outline as I hoist him off of it.

Jaw's stiched together enough to talk now but I've got nothing to say. I slam him against the wall again, loving the feeling of his organs mashing against my claws. This is why I love throwin' down with the runt so much, I'm all about throwin' out a hurtin' and he's one a the few that can take it.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/DCMarvelRPG/Wolverine/Wolverine.jpg

Creed thinks he's tough... thinks he can hurt me.


Logan feels shots of pain as he's slammed again and again into the wall. He's barely conscious as Creed slams him once more into the brick. It wouldn't be long before the blackness around his periphery encompassed his gaze entirely. Over Sabertooth's shoulder, Logan saw the shocked faces of the bar patrons. Nobody was going to stick up for a mutant. It was the way society worked. An individual with claws in his knuckles wasn't going to get the time of day, let alone a citizen who would be willing to stand up for him. So it goes.

Nothing I haven't felt before. Logan thought to himself.

A brick had lodged itself in the exposed musculature and flesh of Logan's back. He snarled as Creed's fingertips wrapped themselves more tightly around his ribcage.

Control.

It was a simple command, one which Logan had taken, literally, centuries to teach himself. It was the difference between an animal and a machine, a beast and a warrior. Logan knew that if he gave himself an inch, he would take a mile. It was beyond his control. At his core, Logan was little more than a feral beast, an untamed savage with an inhuman bloodlust. He had taken years to control it, to suppress it, but in the back of his mind, he felt it clawing at his being. The essence of Logan was the Wolverine, and it was only a matter of time before the beating he was taking unleashed it. The rage Logan felt was a tool, an asset, and his to utilize whenever he saw fit.

If there was one advantage that Logan had over Creed, it was his ability to control his rage, to keep his mind as a component of the battle being waged around him.

It was obvious that Creed didn't think Logan could put up much of a fight without is claws. Right now, that was true. The time had come to unleash his rage, to embrace the animal.

"HUARGH!" He roared as he planted his hands on the bricks behind him. He drove his metal-laced kneecap into Creed's chin, only barely healed. Greed's grasp loosened around Wolverine's ribs. Still leaning against the wall, Wolverine strained his muscles to wrap his hands around Sabertooth's wrists and slowly pulled them out of his torso. His hands got a foot away from his torso, about six inches away from Creed's shoulders. Sabertooth continued to bear down on Wolverine, straining to bury his bloodstained claws into Logan's ribs.

Logan felt his healing factor kick in, and, slowly, his wounds began to heal. As his vison cleared up, he made eye contact with Creed, who had obviously lost control.

"My turn." Wolverine hissed.

SNIKT!

The claws sprouted out of Wolverine's skin and buried themselves next to Sabertooth's neck. Creed roared in agony and leaned back, pulling Wolverine off of the wall. Bricks clattered the ground as Logan's body was given a chance to heal.

Seizing his chance, Logan thrust his arms forward, sending Creed backwards futher. Sabertooth spurted up blood as Wolverine vaulted backwards. Creed clutched his bleeding throat as Logan landed easily on the ground. Blood dripped from his claws, and Wolverine savored every second he got to smell it.

Logan pushed forward, bearing his claws into Sabertooth's gut. Creed grunted, clearly in quite a bit of pain. Wolverine heaved his wrists apart, eviscerating Sabertooth. Blood spilled onto the ground and Logan pulled his claws out of Creed's body and spun around, tearing his claws across his foe's face. Blood seeped onto the pavement as Wolverine attacked creed relentlessly, burying his claws into shoulders, forearms, thighs. If it was on Creed's body, Logan stabbed it.

[Spider-Man9X17]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner-2.jpg

“Godd****t, what the hell is wrong with you people?!”

Hawkeye grabbed the loaf of French bread the slightly more than middle aged soccer mom/wanna-be-cougar used to slap him across the back of the head and chucked it into the on-rushing crowd.

“Seriously, are we the only capes not hiding under our beds sucking our thumbs today?”

“Too much talking.”

“I can’t tell you how hypocritical that sounds coming from a woman.”

“You want me to collect that bounty myself?”

“Why is the whole banter thing so cute when Spider-Man does it?”

“Spider-Man’s not a rude, arrogant, callous jackass.”

“Since when?”

Hawkeye reached out and grabbed the wrist of a mall security guard trying to sneak up on him, twisting it back around and making the rent-a-cop spray his pepper spray back into his own face.

“Check it out, honey. Cajun pork.”

“Cute.”

[bkhedr]

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/DCMarvelRPG/Wolverine/Wolverine.jpg



Creed thinks he's tough... thinks he can hurt me.




Logan feels shots of pain as he's slammed again and again into the wall. He's barely conscious as Creed slams him once more into the brick. It wouldn't be long before the blackness around his periphery encompassed his gaze entirely. Over Sabertooth's shoulder, Logan saw the shocked faces of the bar patrons. Nobody was going to stick up for a mutant. It was the way society worked. An individual with claws in his knuckles wasn't going to get the time of day, let alone a citizen who would be willing to stand up for him. So it goes.




Nothing I haven't felt before. Logan thought to himself.




A brick had lodged itself in the exposed musculature and flesh of Logan's back. He snarled as Creed's fingertips wrapped themselves more tightly around his ribcage.




Control.




It was a simple command, one which Logan had taken, literally, centuries to teach himself. It was the difference between an animal and a machine, a beast and a warrior. Logan knew that if he gave himself an inch, he would take a mile. It was beyond his control. At his core, Logan was little more than a feral beast, an untamed savage with an inhuman bloodlust. He had taken years to control it, to suppress it, but in the back of his mind, he felt it clawing at his being. The essence of Logan was the Wolverine, and it was only a matter of time before the beating he was taking unleashed it. The rage Logan felt was a tool, an asset, and his to utilize whenever he saw fit.




If there was one advantage that Logan had over Creed, it was his ability to control his rage, to keep his mind as a component of the battle being waged around him.




It was obvious that Creed didn't think Logan could put up much of a fight without is claws. Right now, that was true. The time had come to unleash his rage, to embrace the animal.





"HUARGH!" He roared as he planted his hands on the bricks behind him. He drove his metal-laced kneecap into Creed's chin, only barely healed. Greed's grasp loosened around Wolverine's ribs. Still leaning against the wall, Wolverine strained his muscles to wrap his hands around Sabertooth's wrists and slowly pulled them out of his torso. His hands got a foot away from his torso, about six inches away from Creed's shoulders. Sabertooth continued to bear down on Wolverine, straining to bury his bloodstained claws into Logan's ribs.




Logan felt his healing factor kick in, and, slowly, his wounds began to heal. As his vison cleared up, he made eye contact with Creed, who had obviously lost control.




"My turn." Wolverine hissed.




SNIKT!




The claws sprouted out of Wolverine's skin and buried themselves next to Sabertooth's neck. Creed roared in agony and leaned back, pulling Wolverine off of the wall. Bricks clattered the ground as Logan's body was given a chance to heal.




Seizing his chance, Logan thrust his arms forward, sending Creed backwards futher. Sabertooth spurted up blood as Wolverine vaulted backwards. Creed clutched his bleeding throat as Logan landed easily on the ground. Blood dripped from his claws, and Wolverine savored every second he got to smell it.




Logan pushed forward, bearing his claws into Sabertooth's gut. Creed grunted, clearly in quite a bit of pain. Wolverine heaved his wrists apart, eviscerating Sabertooth. Blood spilled onto the ground and Logan pulled his claws out of Creed's body and spun around, tearing his claws across his foe's face. Blood seeped onto the pavement as Wolverine attacked creed relentlessly, burying his claws into shoulders, forearms, thighs. If it was on Creed's body, Logan stabbed it.












http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/2453/victorcreedwy6.jpg


He's cut me pretty bad now and I'm losin alot of blood. His claws are practically blur, tough to see, but its not like I'm trying to parry or anythin.

The animal's taken over now and I'm not thinking. Its like I'm trapped in a hazy red room full of white hot pain and I'm watching my body go feral.

I lash out at the runt, slashing wildly, not going for any part of him in particular. Most of the time I miss clean and when he cuts back he makes it count.

But when I do connect I scrape adamantium bone hard enough that it sends sparks flying.

He's still using his training, his martial arts, but you can't fight a lion with Kung fu. That's what he'll never understand. That's why he's surprised when I dig my teeth and claws into his right thigh and rip it clean off.

He's tough, that I'll give him, but he still buckles and lets out a cry of pain as his upper leg practically dissapears into my fangs.

I spit the 12 pound slap of meat and muscle down the alley and it rolls to a flapping halt.

That's when I feel his claws slice into my groin and the animal let's out a howl.

Damn Runt's trying to neuter me.

I grap him by the throat and squeeze. He flails for a moment, trying to cut me, but I hoist him over my head and throw him back into the bar through a window.

There's a commotion as glasses and tables are knocked over, people scream, and the crowd in the alley clears out as I walk through the back door and into the bar.

The runt's got broken glass all over his skin and his leg's a mess. Ain't no way he can stand.

The Beast doesn't want to talk. It wants to butcher him and everyone else in here. It wants me to rip his head right off and eat it, and maybe I want to a little bit.

But the red haze ain't that thick yet, and I haven't hurt him nearly enough.

He's still shaking the cob webs out when I pull the brass rail off the bar and swing it at him like a base ball bat.

There's a klunk as the rail connects with the side of his head and sends him spinning through the air then back onto the ground in a heap.

That's when the two blues rush in through the front with their guns drawn. Guess somebody thought it might be best to make the call to local law enforcement.

The blues take one look at me and almost piss their pants.

The animal decides it doesn't like them and before I know what I'm doing the runt's caught a break and these two are on the top of my 'to gut' list.

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/187366-166799-sabretooth_super.jpg

[Gallagher]

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...neto_super.jpg

The Master of Magnetism strode out of the X-Mansion, a group of 10 or so mutant children of varying age following behind him. He stopped before Cyclops. "I assure you, it is a safe place. They will be completely safe from harm and I give you my word, Cyclops, they will be allowed to leave at any time they choose. Although I would not count on that happening. he stated, masking his disappointment in the fact that only half the students had followed him. Then again, Xavier's indoctrination was so strong, Magnet could not say he was surprised. "But for obvious reasons, I can not tell you exactly where I'll be taking them."

Magneto's new followers walked past Cyclops, Emma Frost and Colossus, most of them too ashamed to even look their teachers in the eyes. The others had fixed gazes on the multiple bodies littering the school grounds. Not many of them had actually seen bloodies corpses before.

Pausing shortly, Magneto broke eye contact with Cyclops, gazing off into the distance as if he was listening to some voice only he could hear. Soon he smiled, satisfied."I'll be taking my leave now, Mr. Summers. The other children have chosen to stay with you. They put immense trust in your ability to protect them, misguided as it is. Keep them safe." he stated, almost like a warning. Cyclops nodded sternly.

Magneto turned to the children who stood by Toad a few feet away, all of them trying to inch away from the foul-smelling mutant. "I assure you, my children, Toad is completely harmless. Each and every one of you could overpower him." he said with a heartwarming smile that some of the children copied, some of them even chuckling while Toad grunted disapprovingly. Soon Lensherr's face dropped, however, as his voice became more grave. "Now remember children, do not be afraid. Never be afraid."

It was the last thing they heard before they all felt a sudden wrench in the pits of their stomachs. As if they were heaved up by their livers, pain coursed through their bodies for a few seconds, short enough so that they hardly had time to call out. The world began to spin around them, colors mixing and objects running into each other. All the while they heard Magneto's voice echoing in their heads, 'don't be afraid'.

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l144/Gray_Fox_Lives/RPG%20stuff/cykebanner.jpg

For a moment there was an intense blinding light that shone around the group, Cyclops covered his eyes along with the rest of the X-Men with a grunt.

Once the glare had dissipated Scott looked around, the students, Toad and Magneto had all gone.

"What the...?"

"Arcane magic... Way beyond Lensherr's power." Pitched in another low growl of a voice.

"Cable!?"

"What did you do Scott?" He accused, striding over to where the mutant leader stood his face a picture of anger. "You just allowed one of the most evil men in history to waltz off with the future of the mutant race!" He yelled grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and putting his face an inch away from his father's.

"I did what I thought was best for the children, they weren't safe here, we couldn't protect them all." Cyclops protested.

"It's your JOB!" Nathan shouted back, anger building inside him. "And if you can't save them I will." Cable said, dropping Cyclops and marching into the mansion.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Scott called out, following him into the Xavier Institute.

"To get those mutants back before Magneto turns them into murderers and terrorists."

Cable took the elevator down into the sub-basement, it'd been awhile since he'd been here but he'd memorized the layout. He only needed the one room.

"You're not taking that jet!" Scott yelled as Nathan entered the hangar.

"Yes I am. If you'd done you're damn job in the first place this never would have happened Scott. Your mistake needs to be rectified, the future of the mutant race depends on whether those kids live or die."

"You don't even know where Magneto took them Nathan, you're not thinking rationally."

Cable turned quickly on his heel and turned back to face Scott, who instinctivley put his hand to his visor. Cable wore a look of frustration.

"I know where to start. The teleportation spell wasn't cast by Lensherr, the only magic users I know that are powerful enough to not only cast that spell but to sustain it over long distances are Dr Strange and Victor Von Doom... Last time I checked Strange wasn't into helping out known criminals."

"So... You're going to barge into Latveria using the X-Jet and demand that Doom turn in Magneto? That's madness Nathan, give us time we'll assemble the team and investigate." Cyclops reasoned as Cable walked up the boarding ramp of the Blackbird.

"I don't have time for your tip-toeing Scott." He said gruffly. "I'll bring the bird back in one piece, give this to McCoy, I need it fixed." He added, tossing Cyclops the teleportation device he ejected from his arm.

"Look after the kids you have left... They might be our only hope." Nathan said before turning and closing the ramp.

Scott Summers had never felt so useless in his life, this man, his son from some future, the great leader, felt so far removed from him.

"You're not a bad leader." Came a voice from behind him.

"You're supposed to ask first before you dig around my head Emma."

"Oh please you were practically screaming it at me." Emma Frost said, moving closer to the disheartened Scott Summers and placing a hand on his chest. "You've got this team through hell, you've always done what's right for us, all of us, today is no exception."

Emma leaned in and gave him a peck on the lips, it lingered for awhile before Scott pulled back.

"Did I Emma? I... I let that murdering psychopath take our students... Maybe Nathan is right. Maybe I was blinded by some desire to prove Erik wrong. Deep down I thought the students would always stay with us."

"They were frightened children Scott, most of them would have done anything to get out of that situation. All that matters now is seeing to it that we keep the ones we have left safe." Emma kissed him again and gave him a short smile.

"You're right... Thank you Emma."

[Watchman]

Zola's lab had been installed with the greatest of A.I.M technology. Even though Zola spend much of the time being berated by the Skull but did not pay to much attention to it. He would play along as long as he could continue his research. This, though, Zola would have to protest. Recently, Zola latest creation, Agent 7 a highly enhanced Hydra Agent, was being used in something as petty as organized crime. He did not want any other project of his being used for something as insignificant. The Skull appeared in the doorway.

"Zola? How is my latest experiment?" His latest experiment? After hours down here?

"Everything is fine, Herr Skull. But I must protest."

"What is it Zola? Do you find some difficultly with the morality of the project." This was Skull's attempt at a joke and Zola forced a laugh.

"No, not at all. It is you Skull, you're new goals. This organized crime business. I want no part in it, This is below Arnim Zola." Skull chuckled.

"It's not like you have a choice, Zola. Let me but your concerns to rest, your projects are not for the creation of a criminal empire. No, I'm leaving Crossbones and Hydra to do the dirty work. Your work is for something greater."

"And what would that be?"

"The extermination of an entire species."

"I'm intirgued. Continue."

"No, Zola, let me show you."

The two left Zola's lab and went to the upper floors. They both entered a meeting hall where a few men wearing robes and one wear a suit were waiting.

"I don't think this is a good idea, Reverend Styrker." One of the robed men said.

"That's enough out of you, Brother Risman. Today the Purifiers gain a new comrade in God's war against what is left of mutant kind. The Red Skull will help us in our holy war."

"Religious terrorists? How quaint, Johann."

"What was that," Styrker spoke up, "tell your blasphemer to shut his mouth, Skull," he motioned for two of the robed men to rise their weapons, "or I will silence him."

"Styrker, that would be unwise and unsuccessful. Both me and Zola have rose from the dead numerous times."

"Impossible." Rismen said.

"Yes, both me and Zola have ressurected from the dead to haunt this world over and over. Is he not Lazarus? Am I not not your Lord Jesus Chirst?"

"ENOUGH!" Styker shouted, "maybe it was wrong to work with you...Nazi."

"You say that like it is an insult. We are both one in the same, Styrker."

"Do not compare me to yourself, Skull. I am doing God's work." Skull wanted to laugh in Stryker face.

"Of course but we both want the same thing. We both want that stain wiped from the Earth and you can that with my help I can make it happen. I have the resources, the power, and the money to eviscerate the mutants." Stryker was silent for a minute.

"Very well," it was like all emotion drained from Styker's voice, "but what about the others, the superheroes and the authorities?"

"They will not be a problem. They are distracted. It's rather entertaining, actually."

"Then I take my leave. You know how to contact me, Skull." Styker and the Purifiers left the room leaving Zola and the Red Skull behind.

"Why mutants, Johann?" The Skull turned to him. There was nothing but venom in his voice.

"Because nothing is superior to Skull. I will show the world that."

[Matt Murdock]

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/2453/victorcreedwy6.jpg


He's cut me pretty bad now and I'm losin alot of blood. His claws are practically blur, tough to see, but its not like I'm trying to parry or anythin.

The animal's taken over now and I'm not thinking. Its like I'm trapped in a hazy red room full of white hot pain and I'm watching my body go feral.

I lash out at the runt, slashing wildly, not going for any part of him in particular. Most of the time I miss clean and when he cuts back he makes it count.

But when I do connect I scrape adamantium bone hard enough that it sends sparks flying.

He's still using his training, his martial arts, but you can't fight a lion with Kung fu. That's what he'll never understand. That's why he's surprised when I dig my teeth and claws into his right thigh and rip it clean off.

He's tough, that I'll give him, but he still buckles and lets out a cry of pain as his upper leg practically dissapears into my fangs.

I spit the 12 pound slap of meat and muscle down the alley and it rolls to a flapping halt.

That's when I feel his claws slice into my groin and the animal let's out a howl.

Damn Runt's trying to neuter me.

I grap him by the throat and squeeze. He flails for a moment, trying to cut me, but I hoist him over my head and throw him back into the bar through a window.

There's a commotion as glasses and tables are knocked over, people scream, and the crowd in the alley clears out as I walk through the back door and into the bar.

The runt's got broken glass all over his skin and his leg's a mess. Ain't no way he can stand.

The Beast doesn't want to talk. It wants to butcher him and everyone else in here. It wants me to rip his head right off and eat it, and maybe I want to a little bit.

But the red haze ain't that thick yet, and I haven't hurt him nearly enough.

He's still shaking the cob webs out when I pull the brass rail off the bar and swing it at him like a base ball bat.

There's a klunk as the rail connects with the side of his head and sends him spinning through the air then back onto the ground in a heap.

That's when the two blues rush in through the front with their guns drawn. Guess somebody thought it might be best to make the call to local law enforcement.

The blues take one look at me and almost piss their pants.

The animal decides it doesn't like them and before I know what I'm doing the runt's caught a break and these two are on the top of my 'to gut' list.

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/187366-166799-sabretooth_super.jpg

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Wolverine shook his head several times, clearing his head. His eyebrow was arched, and his ears pulled back. The expression on his face indicated just how disheveled it was. Courtesy of Weapon X, though, Logan's healing factor kicked in once again. There were times when he'd rather die than get up again, time after time after time, but it wasn't his choice anymore. It hadn't been since his body was pumped full of Adamantium. Like it or not, Wolverine was bred to be a fighter. Whatever he had been before Weapon X, whatever person Logan was... he wasn't that anymore. His decency wasn't all gone, though.

"Both of you, down on your knees! Now! Show me your hands!"

Cops. Logan thought to himself. Idiots.

Both of the cops were aiming their guns at Wolverine and Sabertooth. As soon as those chambers were loaded with bullets, they'd be dead... assuming they weren't already.

Wolverine pulled himself to his feet, the torn patch in his jeans was stained with blood, but the thigh muscle beneath was pristine once more, right down to the flesh on top. He stood over the bar, panting, half-slouched. Sabertooth was staring down the police officers, both of whom were shaking in their shoes, sweat slid down their faces. Wolverine looked out of them from the corner of his eye. They were amateurs, forty years old each. From face value, any passer-by would think they were older than he was... but they were scared. Wolverine wasn't. They didn't know what they were dealing with. Wolverine did. They thought that to tame a beast, you throw a net over it, pin it down... thrust it into calmness. They were wrong. The beast is a simple creature, and deals in simple machinations. To stop the beast, you grab it by the throat and you bury it. You hit it, and you keep hitting it until it stops thrashing in your grasp, until it stops writhing beneath you.

And that was just what the Wolverine was built for.

"I mean it, I mean it!" The cop affirmed to the two mutants before him and, more aptly, himself. "I'll put you both dow--"

Sabertooth lunged forward, running like a dog.

"Not today." Wolverine muttered as he pulled himself onto the bar. He ran along the countertop keeping pace with Creed as Sabertooth lost control.

"Hey, bub!" Logan roared as he planted his boot and thrust himself into the air over Creed's back.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h163/edlewis657/Picture1-6.png

"They're the least of your problems!"



Wolverine thrust his claws through Creed's shoulders as he landed on his back, and Sabertooth snarled, bearing his fangs. Wolverine supposed that this was a tactic meant to incite fear. It didn't.

The tips of Logan's six claw stuck out through Creed's chest as he tried reaching over his shoulders, panicked. He reached over his back, trying to grasp aimlessly at Logan, who ducked each reach with ease, a smirk on his face.

He heaved his right hand out of Creeds back, twisting as he went, cutting countless tendons and muscular ligaments. A grin formed on his face as Creed's blood lashed against his upper lip and nose.

Without missing a beat, he buried his claw in the back of Creed's throat, and grinned as the claws jutted out several inches through his neck. Wolverine dangled from Creed's back, about two feet off of the ground. The claws on his left hand snapped back into his body from Creed's shoulder. He planted his fist in the small of Sabertooth's back.

SNIKT!

The claws burst through Creed's muscular stomach. The foul stink of his blood filled the bar as the police officers simply stared, mouths agape. Creed was losing control, his pupils had dialated and his heart was undoubtedly racing. He had probably lost his mind already and, all the while, Logan had a stumpy grin on his face.

Creed was right where he wanted him.

[Keyser Soze]

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“Godd****t, what the hell is wrong with you people?!”

Hawkeye grabbed the loaf of French bread the slightly more than middle aged soccer mom/wanna-be-cougar used to slap him across the back of the head and chucked it into the on-rushing crowd.

“Seriously, are we the only capes not hiding under our beds sucking our thumbs today?”

“Too much talking.”

“I can’t tell you how hypocritical that sounds coming from a woman.”

“You want me to collect that bounty myself?”

“Why is the whole banter thing so cute when Spider-Man does it?”

“Spider-Man’s not a rude, arrogant, callous jackass.”

“Since when?”

Hawkeye reached out and grabbed the wrist of a mall security guard trying to sneak up on him, twisting it back around and making the rent-a-cop spray his pepper spray back into his own face.

“Check it out, honey. Cajun pork.”

“Cute.”

Suddenly, the back of the security guard's head exploded, the end of an ice cream cone piercing through his forehead at the front. As the now dead rent-a-cop slumped forward into his arms, Hawkeye spotted an unusual sight a safe distance back behind the rioting masses. An ice-cream van. With a very familiar masked assassin standing on top of it.

"Damn. That'd have been bang on the mark if stupid-features hadn't gone maced himself and threw his head back in my way."

[Electro UK]

Suddenly, the back of the security guard's head exploded, the end of an ice cream cone piercing through his forehead at the front. As the now dead rent-a-cop slumped forward into his arms, Hawkeye spotted an unusual sight a safe distance back behind the rioting masses. An ice-cream van. With a very familiar masked assassin standing on top of it.

"Damn. That'd have been bang on the mark if stupid-features hadn't gone maced himself and threw his head back in my way."

"Yeah well lifes a b---h, what are ya gonna do? Now take this!" I lean out of the window, and throw my own ice cream at Haweye. It splats on his costume "Ha! Bullseye!" I put the peddel to the metal and drive at the archer.

[Spider-Man9X17]

Suddenly, the back of the security guard's head exploded, the end of an ice cream cone piercing through his forehead at the front. As the now dead rent-a-cop slumped forward into his arms, Hawkeye spotted an unusual sight a safe distance back behind the rioting masses. An ice-cream van. With a very familiar masked assassin standing on top of it.

"Damn. That'd have been bang on the mark if stupid-features hadn't gone maced himself and threw his head back in my way."
"Yeah well lifes a b---h, what are ya gonna do? Now take this!" I lean out of the window, and throw my own ice cream at Haweye. It splats on his costume "Ha! Bullseye!" I put the peddel to the metal and drive at the archer.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner-2.jpg

“You clean up here. We’ll meet up later,” Hawkeye yelled back to Mockingbird as he stared the on rushing ice cream truck. He was running through the timing in his head, waiting, readying himself, a matador staring down his 40 horsepower frozen dairy foe.

At the last possible moment, Hawkeye leapt, planting both feet firmly on the hood of the truck as he landed, all while grabbing a short sword from a sheath on his quiver and smashing his right arm through the windshield, impaling Deadpool right through the throat, all in one fluid movement, that if one had blinked, they would have missed. The temporarily living-impaired mercenary lost his grip on the steering wheel, and the truck began to decelerate. Hawkeye pulled his arm and sword back out through the shattered windshield, and then proceeded to shove his left arm through, grabbing onto the steering wheel and directing the truck away from the mass of enraged civilians. Where exactly he planned on going, he didn’t know. At best he had another 5 to 10 seconds before Deadpool recovered or Bullseye got in position to make a move, or both.

Thinking on pure instinct, Hawkeye yanked the wheel as hard as he could to the left, the sudden extreme movement coupled with the high speed causing the right wheels to first come up off the asphalt, the momentum caring through until the truck was on it’s side, skidding toward an alleyway, Hawkeye shielded his eyes from the sparks of metal kissing concrete, swinging his legs around parallel to the windshield and simultaneously pushing off the hood with his hands while planting his feet on the fender and bringing himself back to an upright position. Surveying his surroundings in a split, he reached out and grabbed an old fire escape ladder of a rotting, abandoned tenement building a pulling himself temporarily free of danger as the truck continued to skid before slamming into the opposite wall of the building, the front crumbling up like some accordion of death.

Hawkeye took a fighting stance on the second floor fire escape grating, pulling out an exploding arrow and knocking it on his bow. He took careful aim of the fuel cap, steadied his arm, and let fly…

[Andy C.]

THE GREEN GOBLIN



"And once again, the king has a kingdom to rule," Norman Osborn said to himself as he surveyed the wreckage of OsCorp's boardroom.

Just a few hours before, he had put on the face of the Goblin, and put his madness to good use, exterminating the vermin that had overrun his company in his absence. Their smoking remains left a stench in the air that most would find repulsive, but Osborn found intoxicating.

It was the smell of conquest.

Unfortunately, a new problem had arisen, one that may rob him of his victories to come. An unknown source was offering a hefty reward--up to tens of millions of dollars--for the heads of various super-heroes and their loved ones. Riots were breaking out all over Manhattan, and the police were stretched thin.

Soon, the heroes would be forced to act, including Spider-Man. And every second the Spider spent trying to deal with the crisis was another second that the common rabble could get lucky.

This would not do.

Whoever was putting out the bounties--and who had the resources for that? Fisk? Doom?--was putting Osborn's priority target in jeopardy, and nobody had the right to kill Spider-Man but him.

"And as soon as the king is settled on his throne," Norman said as he sat in the one chair in the room that was still intact, "he is called away for a quest."

*****

Several large groups of rioters had broken away from the others, away from the recognizeable super-hero strongholds, and were now making their way through the city. A sizeable throng of them were now massing outside of the Daily Bugle--a place long known for its coverage of Spider-Man's activities--and were clashing with the NYPD. A mindless throng of humanity, roiling and churning against itself, screaming for blood.

Over the sound of all the shouting, the roar of the Glider's engine could barely be heard, nor did they notice the figure that streaked overhead....

...nor the pumpkin-shaped grenade that was lobbed directly into the center of the crowd.

To the people below, what happened next came in a blur. A loud *BOOM*, and a hard punch that knocked most of them off their feet, smoke and fire blinding them from the rest.

To the Green Goblin, he could almost see it all playing out in slow motion.

The shockwave of the blast punched a hole in the pavement and sent dozens flying, some in one piece, some in several. The expanding ball of fire seared flesh and ignited clothing, and smoke burned eyes and choked lungs. Fragmentary shrapnel shattered bone and ripped through flesh, and chunks of concrete and asphalt rained down on the survivors and the remains alike.

As the smoke finally lifted, he heard people screaming, coughing the smoke out of their lungs, moaning in mind-numbing shock. Dismembered bodies and disembodied limbs, their flesh blackened and charred, littered the initial crater; and outside of that, bloodied and terrified people trying to pull themselves to their feet.

"AAAHHH-HAHAHAHAHA-HAAAAAA!"

The Green Goblin made his presence known, swooping back over the carnage he had wrought, before coming to a stop in front of the Bugle building. Now this was his idea of a press conference.

"So you all want to get in the game now, do you?" he asked the people below. "Each and every one of you wants that money, even if it means murder. Honestly, I couldn't be happier for you; you're finally showing everyone your true colors.

"But did you really think that people like me were going to take this bounty business lying down? No, no, ladies and gentlemen. Some of us have been playing this game for a long, long time, and we're not about to step aside for a bunch of rioting hooligans.

"So let me make this perfectly clear," the Goblin said, standing up straight to emphasize his proclamation, "Anyone who goes after Spider-Man or his loved ones I will personally consider a competitor. And just because someone has changed the rules....doesn't mean that you'll want to play against me."

With that, he let fly with three more Pumpkin Bombs into the crowd, and took flight as they erupted. The deafening report of the explosions more than drowned out his laughter.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/nowhereman716/Comics/388960-58139-green-goblin_large.jpg

He had to admit: he was really enjoying this.

[Optikal]

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Banner flipped up his hood and marched down the street. Even though it was 3am and the area was deathly silent, he was still cautious. hurrying down the street, fading in and out of the shadows he made his way towards a house set back from the line of carefully placed trees and parked cars.

Stopping at the bottom of a short drive-way he crouched against a low stone wall and listened. He could hear nothing but the gentle rustle of the wind through the leafy suburb. Quickly, he rose to his feet and hurried up into the shadows along the side of the house.

Kneeling down in amongst the bushes growing there, he lifted a small pot gnome and grabbed the key that was taped under it. Letting himself into the back door, Banner had one final check around before locking the door behind him. Silently, he padded through to the front room and up the stairs, careful to not disturb any creaky floorboards. Finally, reaching the top of the stairs and risking a glance out from behind drawn curtains he moved towards the master bedroom.

Banner turned the handle and slipped into the room. Infront of him, porcelain skin bathed in eldritch moonlight seeping in from a small skylight in the roof, lay Betty Ross. He stood for a moment watching the gentle rise and fall of her delicate frame as she slept soundly.

Banners heart felt heavy with regret as he stood there in the dark. All he had ever wanted was a life with Betty, away from her father, away from everything. But ever since The Hulk had manifested, those drreams had become dust. Now Bruce had to warn her, get her away from those who would seek to harm him through her. Those who would gladly put a bullet through her head for the well pulicised reward.

Bruce moved to the bedside and sat down next to her. Gently brushing her shoulder he whispered her name "Betty. Betty, wake up".

Betty roused from her sleep, but upon seeing the grizzly, filthy man at her side her eyes grew wide and she let out a frightened scream. Without hesitation Bruce clamped a hand over her mouth and tried to pin her down. "Betty, it's me. stop it" Still she squirmed. "It's me, it's Bruce. It's okay!".

Betty stopped struggling and Bruce released her. "B-Bruce?" she asked, brows furrowing as she struggled to reckognise him under the heavy beard. "Bruce! Oh thank God!" She sat up and threw her arms around him, kissing a dirt encrusted cheek. "I've been so worried about you, ever since those messages started appearing, I've been worried sick".

"Don't worry about me, it's you that needs to get out of here. Didn't you see? the reward for associates? Ever since that night with Blonsky, anyone with half a brain will figure it out. Blosky, your father, you and me... there's the connection and your the easiest target.Hell I wouldn't put it past your own dad to try and make a quick few bucks..." Bruce snorted and shook his head. It was well established that General Ross would happily sacrifice his daughter to satiate his obsession with catching the Hulk.

"Bruce... You don't get it do you? Nowhere is ever going to be safe. They'll always use me to get to you, whether it's my father or not, I'm always in danger. I've learned to live with it and you need to too. Like it or not we're in this toghether, for better or worse".

Bruce sighed and his head dropped to his chest. "Betty... If something were to happen to you... I don't know what I'd do... I.. "

To his right the bedroom window shattered and two canisters rolled into the room. One rolled under the bed and the second rolled to a stop at Bruces feet. "Gas! Betty cover your face! get out of here! go!"

"I'm not leaving you Bruce!" she cried back, choking as a thick fog filled the room. Bruce choked and fell to his knees, scrabbling to find the canisters. On his wrist his heart monitor was picking up pace as the beeps quickened. All of a sudden armed men in black uniforms and gas masks burst into the room, two more quickly following through the window.

"Grab the target and take him. The General wants him alive. MOVE"

Banner felt gloved hands throw him to the ground and cuff his hands. He struggled and fought and barely noticed the syringe jabbing into the veins of his neck. The world started to swim and distort but Bruce fought back...

He could feel the storm within rising and toiling, smashing against an unseen wall as the injected tranquilizers took effect. Bruce refused to give in and welcomed the burning sensation as his rage and anger took hold. Dragged acroos the floor and down the stairs Banner struggled and heaved as he was unceremoniously brought out into the street. Army vehicles littered the street, two choppers overhead shining powerful beams onto the scene and lighting up the entire area. At the cetnre of it stood General Ross, cigar in mouth and a smirk firmly set in place.

Banner looked up at the General through bulging eyes, "Y-You b-bastard!" he spat, "What've you done?!"

The general blew out a puff of smoke and smiled. "Every cell in your measly frame belongs to the United States Son, I'm just protecting our investment from those God-damned would-be vigilantes. Don't worry kid, I'm saving your life".

"No... you can't... No... Noooooooo!"

Banners skin grew pale, his bones contorted and snapped, strecthing and mutating. They bulged against his skin as it stretched and grew, his muscles filling out and thickening. Banners clothes ripped and tore and the cuffs which bound his wrists snapped like twigs.

Banner heard commotion from somewhere distant and faintly heard the Generals voice and a womans scream. Then the green fog took him and enveloped him

"NOOOOOOooooooRRRRRRAAAAAWWWWRRRR!"

The Hulk rose to his full height, his small green eyes fixed on the General. With a snarl he sucked in a deep lung full of air and released a primal roar to the heavens.

The task force surrounding him backed off but the General stood firm. "Team One. Take Him". he barked.

"HULK.. SMASH!"

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Two jeeps, each one with a sonic cannon appeared at either end of the street. The small army ducked under cover and plugged there ears as both cannons fired at the same time. Hulk roared in agony as the sonic waves battered him from all angles. Covering his ears with massive hands the Green Goliath dropped to his knees.

In that instant one of the overhead choppers deployed a net, made of high grade carbonadiumand smothered the Hulk. At a safe distance General Ross stood chomping on a pure Cuban, a small smirk creeping across his mustachioed features.

Hulk roared again, his anger building. The net that had smashed down around him was changing. The coils had grown stiff and solid and the links were spreading, thickening and encasing him.

As the carbonadium dome sealed itself aroung the giant, Ross signalled for the sonic cannons to stop their barrage. Ross turned to a yound private stood to his left and clapped the kid on the shoulder. "We finally got that sun-of-a-b*tch!" Turning to the rest of his squad he rose his arm. "Lets pack this up and take the package home. Move!"

Instantly, every man in uniform set about there tasks. The huge metallic dome in the middle of the street clanged and thudded as the monster inside tried to break free. On the outside Betty stood, watching in horror. Her father met her eye, but thewn turned away and disappeared into the forray. The two choppers overhead dropped clamps attached to their underside and lifted the dome.... and a good chunk of the street up into the air. Within the Carbonadium, Hulk bellowed. Flexing his leg and back muscles he heaved against his prison. It creaked and stretched, but didn't break. Hulk pushed again and this time the carbonadium fractured, thin hairline fractures snaking their way around the dome. With a mighty roar, Hulk exploded into a rage and smashed a gash into the metal.

[Command, this is Falcon One. The package is loose. I repeat. The package is loose!]

Leaping free of his dome he slammed into the side of the lead chopper and ripped the door from it.

[We're going down Command! Right in the middle of Times Square! We're going down!]

Hulk leapt from the damaged Heli and threw the twisted door through the windshield of the partner Helicopter. In seconds both machines blew into balls of flame, hurtling towards the ground. Hulk landed amongst them and roared his defiance.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a105/optikal101/hulk.jpg

"HULK SMASH PUNY TOYS! HULK NOT BE STOPPED!"

[Mercy]

Edit

[Keyser Soze]

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“You clean up here. We’ll meet up later,” Hawkeye yelled back to Mockingbird as he stared the on rushing ice cream truck. He was running through the timing in his head, waiting, readying himself, a matador staring down his 40 horsepower frozen dairy foe.

At the last possible moment, Hawkeye leapt, planting both feet firmly on the hood of the truck as he landed, all while grabbing a short sword from a sheath on his quiver and smashing his right arm through the windshield, impaling Deadpool right through the throat, all in one fluid movement, that if one had blinked, they would have missed. The temporarily living-impaired mercenary lost his grip on the steering wheel, and the truck began to decelerate. Hawkeye pulled his arm and sword back out through the shattered windshield, and then proceeded to shove his left arm through, grabbing onto the steering wheel and directing the truck away from the mass of enraged civilians. Where exactly he planned on going, he didn’t know. At best he had another 5 to 10 seconds before Deadpool recovered or Bullseye got in position to make a move, or both.

Thinking on pure instinct, Hawkeye yanked the wheel as hard as he could to the left, the sudden extreme movement coupled with the high speed causing the right wheels to first come up off the asphalt, the momentum caring through until the truck was on it’s side, skidding toward an alleyway, Hawkeye shielded his eyes from the sparks of metal kissing concrete, swinging his legs around parallel to the windshield and simultaneously pushing off the hood with his hands while planting his feet on the fender and bringing himself back to an upright position. Surveying his surroundings in a split, he reached out and grabbed an old fire escape ladder of a rotting, abandoned tenement building a pulling himself temporarily free of danger as the truck continued to skid before slamming into the opposite wall of the building, the front crumbling up like some accordion of death.

Hawkeye took a fighting stance on the second floor fire escape grating, pulling out an exploding arrow and knocking it on his bow. He took careful aim of the fuel cap, steadied his arm, and let fly…

The arrow hit its target. Instantly, the crashed ice-cream van exploded in a ball of flame.

Unfortunately for Hawkeye, there was nobody inside it. Nobody living, at least.

"Peek-a-boo."

From the fourth floor fire escape, two levels above Hawkeye, Bullseye tossed a handful of M&Ms at his new opponent.

[Spider-Man9X17]

The arrow hit its target. Instantly, the crashed ice-cream van exploded in a ball of flame.

Unfortunately for Hawkeye, there was nobody inside it. Nobody living, at least.

"Peek-a-boo."

From the fourth floor fire escape, two levels above Hawkeye, Bullseye tossed a handful of M&Ms at his new opponent.

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Hawkeye turned his back towards Bullseye, hunching over so his quiver took the brunt of the assualt. Several of the colorful chocolates left tiny pockmarks, but not much more. After the fiasco at the mansion, he had made sure his quiver was more than just cloth and canvas. He didn't even have to ask twice when he approached Tony Stark about his new kevlar/titanium fiber mesh weave.

"Jeezus! What the hell?! You are the second f***tard to try and kill me with food today!"

Hawkeye quickly threw two arrows in his bow and aimed at the supports of the upper level and fired. The hardened tips slice easily through the rusted braces, and Bullseye lost his footing as the upper platform came crashing down.

Unfortunately, Hawkeye was right in it’s path.

“Ah, s***.”

Hawkeye dove headfirst from the second story seconds before it became entangled in the two floors above it. He landed awkwardly in the alley below after twisting in midair to avoid falling on a flaming piece of jagged ice cream truck.

“Dumb ass. You know better. Get your ego in check,” Hawkeye reprimanded himself as he gathered himself up off the asphalt.

[bkhedr]

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Wolverine shook his head several times, clearing his head. His eyebrow was arched, and his ears pulled back. The expression on his face indicated just how disheveled it was. Courtesy of Weapon X, though, Logan's healing factor kicked in once again. There were times when he'd rather die than get up again, time after time after time, but it wasn't his choice anymore. It hadn't been since his body was pumped full of Adamantium. Like it or not, Wolverine was bred to be a fighter. Whatever he had been before Weapon X, whatever person Logan was... he wasn't that anymore. His decency wasn't all gone, though.




"Both of you, down on your knees! Now! Show me your hands!"




Cops. Logan thought to himself. Idiots.




Both of the cops were aiming their guns at Wolverine and Sabertooth. As soon as those chambers were loaded with bullets, they'd be dead... assuming they weren't already.




Wolverine pulled himself to his feet, the torn patch in his jeans was stained with blood, but the thigh muscle beneath was pristine once more, right down to the flesh on top. He stood over the bar, panting, half-slouched. Sabertooth was staring down the police officers, both of whom were shaking in their shoes, sweat slid down their faces. Wolverine looked out of them from the corner of his eye. They were amateurs, forty years old each. From face value, any passer-by would think they were older than he was... but they were scared. Wolverine wasn't. They didn't know what they were dealing with. Wolverine did. They thought that to tame a beast, you throw a net over it, pin it down... thrust it into calmness. They were wrong. The beast is a simple creature, and deals in simple machinations. To stop the beast, you grab it by the throat and you bury it. You hit it, and you keep hitting it until it stops thrashing in your grasp, until it stops writhing beneath you.




And that was just what the Wolverine was built for.




"I mean it, I mean it!" The cop affirmed to the two mutants before him and, more aptly, himself. "I'll put you both dow--"




Sabertooth lunged forward, running like a dog.




"Not today." Wolverine muttered as he pulled himself onto the bar. He ran along the countertop keeping pace with Creed as Sabertooth lost control.




"Hey, bub!" Logan roared as he planted his boot and thrust himself into the air over Creed's back.




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"They're the least of your problems!"











Wolverine thrust his claws through Creed's shoulders as he landed on his back, and Sabertooth snarled, bearing his fangs. Wolverine supposed that this was a tactic meant to incite fear. It didn't.




The tips of Logan's six claw stuck out through Creed's chest as he tried reaching over his shoulders, panicked. He reached over his back, trying to grasp aimlessly at Logan, who ducked each reach with ease, a smirk on his face.




He heaved his right hand out of Creeds back, twisting as he went, cutting countless tendons and muscular ligaments. A grin formed on his face as Creed's blood lashed against his upper lip and nose.




Without missing a beat, he buried his claw in the back of Creed's throat, and grinned as the claws jutted out several inches through his neck. Wolverine dangled from Creed's back, about two feet off of the ground. The claws on his left hand snapped back into his body from Creed's shoulder. He planted his fist in the small of Sabertooth's back.




SNIKT!




The claws burst through Creed's muscular stomach. The foul stink of his blood filled the bar as the police officers simply stared, mouths agape. Creed was losing control, his pupils had dialated and his heart was undoubtedly racing. He had probably lost his mind already and, all the while, Logan had a stumpy grin on his face.




Creed was right where he wanted him.













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He's got me pinned to the floor and the Beast is howlin' and thrashing like mad on account of the hurt he's put on me.

I howl and try to rise but he keeps me down with a twist of his wrist and the red haze suddenly goes black.....

.....I'm out for a second, maybe two, but that's enough time for the beast in me to take a step back and hand the reins back to me.

"You-you killed him!" I hear one of the Blues say at the edge of my hearing range. Sounds like my ears might be full of blood.

"Trust me Bub, he ain't that easy to kill." The Runt says while keeping the pressure on me.

The Blues take aim and tell him to drop his weapons. I can't help it. I let out a low menacing chuckle and the Cops practically jump out of their skin.

I plant my hands below me and try to push myself up but the Runt pushes against me and I feel my gut turning.

"Hnaarrgh!" I roar in pain.

The Cops start talking again but I'm not listening. Neither of us is intimidated by them.

"Aright Logan, you win this round." I say easily while looking up at him over my shoulder "Now let me up 'less you want round two to happen right now."

I don't know how the Runt will respond but I do know that our scraps can go either way, an' if I were him I'd take my win and walk away.

[Electro UK]

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Hawkeye turned his back towards Bullseye, hunching over so his quiver took the brunt of the assualt. Several of the colorful chocolates left tiny pockmarks, but not much more. After the fiasco at the mansion, he had made sure his quiver was more than just cloth and canvas. He didn't even have to ask twice when he approached Tony Stark about his new kevlar/titanium fiber mesh weave.

"Jeezus! What the hell?! You are the second f***tard to try and kill me with food today!"

Hawkeye quickly threw two arrows in his bow and aimed at the supports of the upper level and fired. The hardened tips slice easily through the rusted braces, and Bullseye lost his footing as the upper platform came crashing down.

Unfortunately, Hawkeye was right in it’s path.

“Ah, s***.”

Hawkeye dove headfirst from the second story seconds before it became entangled in the two floors above it. He landed awkwardly in the alley below after twisting in midair to avoid falling on a flaming piece of jagged ice cream truck.

“Dumb ass. You know better. Get your ego in check,” Hawkeye reprimanded himself as he gathered himself up off the asphalt.

"Hi!" I say with glee, springing my head out of the garbage dump I'd landed in when throwing myself from the ice cream truck. "My name's Deadpool, what's yours?" I spring into the air, sais at the ready and aimed at Hawkeye. I crash land onto the concrete, Hawkeye having roll out of the way seconds before. "Gah, quick little bugger eh?" I get into stance and slash out, Hawkeye effortlessly dodging my attacks.

"You know that costume... it warrents some kind of nick name. But I've promised myself not to nick name targets, it means I get attached to them emotionally and then they die and I'm sad when they die. Even though I was the guy that killed them. But then a man gives me a big bag o' cash and I'm okay again!"

[Keyser Soze]

The green-eyed woman could not recall how long she had been walking. She could not, in fact, recall much of anything. Now, she walked briskly, bare feet treading over grass, stone, sand and tarmac, heading with purpose to an unknown location, her instincts guiding her. Before that… she was nowhere.

She was what one might call a handsome woman, a certain sharpness in her features making it difficult to call her beautiful in any conventional sense. She had a head of flowing, raven-black hair, creating a contrast with the plain white dress she was wearing, tattered and stained by the elements though it was. Her appearance was unusual enough that, if passing her on some tranquil country night, one might give her a second glance. But in the seething cesspool of mortality that was New York City, just about anyone can blend in unnoticed.

As the woman wandered into Central Park, questions rushed through her mind. Who am I? Why have I come here? But though she could remember nothing of her identity or her past, there were certain things she knew by instinct, things that were part of her on some level deeper than conscious thought. She knew that, though she walked among these people, she was not of them. She knew that she had existed, in some form or another, for a long, long time, and had done many things, great and terrible things, though she could not begin to think what they were. And she knew that she had reached her destination.

It seemed an unspectacular location. She stood in Central Park at night, empty save for some unsavory characters residing elsewhere. Before her was a public bench, sitting empty and unattended. Yes. This was the place. Her rebirth was approaching, the time of awakening was at hand. Of this she was certain.

For how else could she suddenly do magic?

Oh yes. It coursed through her, the dark energy, getting stronger all the time. She knew not from whence it came, but manipulating that mystical energy came so naturally to her. She closed her eyes, and concentrated, and soon enough, it happened. One moment, she felt the dampness of the grass under her feet, and the next, all she felt was air. Higher she rose, and when her eyes opened, the woman found herself levitating several feet in the air.

She threw her head back and laughed, a laugh laced with malice and cruelty. But then she felt the power fading, and slowly she lowered back to the ground. No, it was not time yet. But soon. Soon it would be.

She did not sleep. She did not move. She did not even blink. The woman stood on that very spot, fixated on the bench before her. Eventually, night passed and the sun rose, and the new day came crowds of people, shuffling past her as if she didn’t exist, or at least wasn’t worthy of their acknowledgement. But still she waited. Soon. Soon…

Then he appeared. There was no crack of thunder, no flash of lightning to mark his arrival. One second, the bench was empty, and the next, a man was sitting on it – cane in hand – as if he had always been there. The woman’s heart seized in her chest. She knew this man! He was someone very important, he was forever linked to her, he was her…

“Brother.”

In a great rush that almost knocked the woman off her feet, it all came back to her. Everything. As Donald Blake walked in one direction, the woman (for that was the mortal form she had taken) departed in the other. As she exited Central Park, her mind was alight with images of Gods and Frost Giants. As she strode through the bustling streets of New York City, she thought of Asgard. And as she checked into a hotel near Times Square (using her fully-restored magical powers to generate the appropriate Midgardian currency) she remembered Ragnarok, and how expectations of triumph had given way to pain, death…. Failure. She would not fail again.

In her hotel room, the woman looked at her mortal form in the mirror, and was not impressed. Perhaps a change of attire would be a first step towards feeling more like her true self. A cloud of mist surrounded her, and when it dissipated, the white dress was gone. In its place was green Asgardian attire, with a fur cloak draped on top, and a very familiar horned headpiece adorning her crown. She looked at herself once more in the mirror, and finally, she spoke her name.

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“I am Loki.”

[Keyser Soze]

"Hi!" I say with glee, springing my head out of the garbage dump I'd landed in when throwing myself from the ice cream truck. "My name's Deadpool, what's yours?" I spring into the air, sais at the ready and aimed at Hawkeye. I crash land onto the concrete, Hawkeye having roll out of the way seconds before. "Gah, quick little bugger eh?" I get into stance and slash out, Hawkeye effortlessly dodging my attacks.

"You know that costume... it warrents some kind of nick name. But I've promised myself not to nick name targets, it means I get attached to them emotionally and then they die and I'm sad when they die. Even though I was the guy that killed them. But then a man gives me a big bag o' cash and I'm okay again!"

"Hawkeye."

Hawkeye was occupied with Deadpool, and didn't notice Bullseye swing a handful of popsicle sticks (another leftover from the ice-cream van) at him. With surgical precision, Bullseye used the sticks to pin Hawkeye to the wall, through the neck and shoulder of his costume.

"Some people say you're the world's greatest marksman."

Bullseye picked up a sharp piece of stone debris from the wreckage, juggling it in his hands, getting a feel for it. He intended to make more lethal use of this object.

"Allow me to retort..."

[Byrd Man]

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"Ouch. So he threw a row of lockers on you?" MJ says over her salad.

"Yes, and to say that was painful is like saying the Pacific Ocean is damp."

For the past hour we've been sitting in the swank Manhattan resturant, talking about my wrecked interview and the bounty that's been put on all the superheroes.

"I'll be fine, if Ock and Nutty Norman Osborn haven't gotten me yet, you think a housewife from Long Island who's three months behind on her mortgage will?"

"I'm not saying that, what I'm saying is the law of averages. With so many people after you, the law of averages says that one of them will get you."

The whole resturant starts to buzz around us and point at the t.v. at the bar.

"Hey, someone turn it up."

"This was the scene at the Daily Bugle today. WSGC news warns you that some of the images you will see are graphic and viewer discretion."



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"So you all want to get in the game now, do you?" he asked the people below. "Each and every one of you wants that money, even if it means murder. Honestly, I couldn't be happier for you; you're finally showing everyone your true colors.

"But did you really think that people like me were going to take this bounty business lying down? No, no, ladies and gentlemen. Some of us have been playing this game for a long, long time, and we're not about to step aside for a bunch of rioting hooligans.

"So let me make this perfectly clear," the Goblin said, standing up straight to emphasize his proclamation, "Anyone who goes after Spider-Man or his loved ones I will personally consider a competitor. And just because someone has changed the rules....doesn't mean that you'll want to play against me."


I watch in horror as he drops three pumpkin bombs on the crowd below and takes off into the sky...laughing.

I ball my fist to the point to where my fingers and knuckles are white.

"I think Norman just made those averages of me getting harmed go way down."

[Byrd Man]

When Luke steps out into the living room I'm standing in the middle of the floor. My mask is on the floor, and so is the phone.

I don't....

"Yo, Danny, you okay?"

I can't....

Luke walks over and puts his hand on my shoulder. Don't really feel it.

"They're...I...They're dead."I barely manage to say the words before it hits me like a knife in the heart. My hands are shaking.

"What? Danny, who?"

"My uh...My cousin Mike. H-he called me and asked if I could arrange for a uh...for some safe place while thise whole thing blew over..." I look into Luke's eyes. "He's dead. They're all dead. They killed them. His wife, Elizabeth. Oh God, Cameron and Sean...they were only ki-" I feel sick to my stomach. I want to cry but I just...

"Danny, listen. You listen to me. This is not your fault."

"Yes it is." I snarl at Luke. "He asked me to keep his family safe but I...I didn't think it was that important. I mean...I didn't really think he'd be in danger."

"You couldn't have known."

"You know what I did? After he called me? I told me I'd send a car over as soon as possible and I.." I hang my head and I stumble a bit, but Luke holds on to me. "I took a shower. I...I decided to take a shower before I called a car. A family is dead because I..."I trail off, staring off at a wall.

I didn't meet Mike Avery many times. But he was still family. He was familiy and he asked for my help. He's dead because I didn't care enough. They're all dead.

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Because of me.

"Who did it?" I ask Danny.

He looks over at me, the look of pain and guilt still on his face.

"Let's find out who did it....then we can make the son of a ***** pay. I know revenge doesn't bring them back, but it'll sure make that bastard regret ever picking your cousin."

[Matt Murdock]

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He's got me pinned to the floor and the Beast is howlin' and thrashing like mad on account of the hurt he's put on me.

I howl and try to rise but he keeps me down with a twist of his wrist and the red haze suddenly goes black.....

.....I'm out for a second, maybe two, but that's enough time for the beast in me to take a step back and hand the reins back to me.

"You-you killed him!" I hear one of the Blues say at the edge of my hearing range. Sounds like my ears might be full of blood.

"Trust me Bub, he ain't that easy to kill." The Runt says while keeping the pressure on me.

The Blues take aim and tell him to drop his weapons. I can't help it. I let out a low menacing chuckle and the Cops practically jump out of their skin.

I plant my hands below me and try to push myself up but the Runt pushes against me and I feel my gut turning.

"Hnaarrgh!" I roar in pain.

The Cops start talking again but I'm not listening. Neither of us is intimidated by them.

"Aright Logan, you win this round." I say easily while looking up at him over my shoulder "Now let me up 'less you want round two to happen right now."

I don't know how the Runt will respond but I do know that our scraps can go either way, an' if I were him I'd take my win and walk away.
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Every nerve in his body, every fabric of his being, every iota of thought running through his mind was screaming at Logan to rip his claws out of Creed's back and coat himself in Sabretooth's blood. To pull every organ out of Creed's body and slam it against the ground, bearing his teeth into Sabretooth's flesh.

He pulled his claws back into his skin and glared at Creed, debating whether or not he should take another swipe for good measure. As much as Logan might want to rip into Sabretooth, the fight was over. Creed knew not to come 'round here again. The two stared at each other for a moment. This was Logan's territory, and Creed had been forced out.

Logan brushed past the officers, still staring-open mouthed at Sabretooth who was licking his proverbial wounds.

"Sorry 'bout the mess." Logan muttered as he pulled on his leather jacket that had been hanging limply by the door.








He pulled out a few hundred dollar bills and put them on the end of the bar. As he peered over the countertop, Wolverine saw the cowering form of the bartender.

"Hope this covers it."

He ducked through the door and saw his biked parked in an alleyway across the street. He brushed the dry blood off of his hands and felt the stains of Creed's on his shirt.

He felt his cell phone vibrate in the interior pocket of his leather coat and read the display.

1 New Voicemail

Logan placed the phone to his ear as the bike started with a roar. The message was garbled, but he could, for the most part, make it out.

"L-gan, i-- H-nk. We've g-t -roub-e at the s-hool. Dozens of civilians have go--e- it i-to t-eir head- to -ttack the team. If -n-thing, we n--d someone h-re to keep things som--hat under control. That s--ms to be your area of e-pertise. Please get here soon."

The message ended abruptly, but Logan's bike was already roaring down the city streets. If he used the enhanced functions on the engine, he might be able to get to Westchester in under an hour. As he swerved in and out of traffic, narrowly missing cars, he dialed Cyclops' communicator.

"Cyke, pick up, dammit..."

[Gallagher]

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Scott Summers sat in the kitchen, a few of the remaining students sat around him drinking hot chocolate.

"I'm proud of you, all of you." He managed to say, looking up from his chocolate.

"Professor?" A younger student began. "When are the others coming home?" He asked, a certain tremor in his voice. Scott sighed, this wasn't a conversation he felt comfortable dealing with right now.

"To be honest, I'm not sure, they'll be back when they're ready I suppose..." He replied, trying to sound strong and comforting. "Magneto is taking care of them for now." He added.

"But I thought Magneto was the bad guy." Another student joined in.

Scott rubbed his hand over his face and hair as he exhaled deeply, trying to think of how to answer the young boy.

"Well... When you're an adult things just aren't black and white, often times there is no hero or villain, there's just... people. Some people just feel so strongly in their ideals that they'll do anything to have them a reality... Sometimes that ends up with them doing terrible things to acomplish them. I suppose that Magneto can be classed as one of those people."

"Professor Xavier too?"

Scott looked taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"I remember the professor... I remember you arguing about things, about his ideals and his methods... Is he like Magneto too?"

Scott thought for a moment, staring at the child with great interest, cocking his head to the side as he listened. Finally after he'd thought it through he replied.

"Yeah... I suppose you're right. You're a smart boy." He smiled, almost a sad smile as he tussled the boys hair. Before the conversation could go any further however the mutant leader's phone rang in his pocket. Taking it out and checking the caller ID Scott grumbled.

"Where the hell have you been Logan?"

[Matt Murdock]

"Yeah... I suppose you're right. You're a smart boy." He smiled, almost a sad smile as he tussled the boys hair. Before the conversation could go any further however the mutant leader's phone rang in his pocket. Taking it out and checking the caller ID Scott grumbled.

"Where the hell have you been Logan?"
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Logan turned the bike hard as he came onto a bridge.






"Got tied up with an old friend." He replied. "How're the kids?"

[Gallagher]

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Logan turned the bike hard as he came onto a bridge.






"Got tied up with an old friend." He replied. "How're the kids?"



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"Half of them are fine, a little shaken up but no injuries..." He began, having to raise his voice over the sound of a bike engine.

"The other half are in Magneto's protection, long story, I'll fill you in once you get here."

[Matt Murdock]

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"Half of them are fine, a little shaken up but no injuries..." He began, having to raise his voice over the sound of a bike engine.

"The other half are in Magneto's protection, long story, I'll fill you in once you get here."
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Logan slammed so hard on the brakes that the rear wheel of the bike screeched to a halt and slid parallel to the bike's body, sliding Wolverine to a halt in the middle of a lane in the suburbs of New York.

"Cyke, you've gotta be kidding me. Magneto of all people can't be trusted right now."

[Spider-Man9X17]

"Hawkeye."

Hawkeye was occupied with Deadpool, and didn't notice Bullseye swing a handful of popsicle sticks (another leftover from the ice-cream van) at him. With surgical precision, Bullseye used the sticks to pin Hawkeye to the wall, through the neck and shoulder of his costume.

"Some people say you're the world's greatest marksman."

Bullseye picked up a sharp piece of stone debris from the wreckage, juggling it in his hands, getting a feel for it. He intended to make more lethal use of this object.

"Allow me to retort..."

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“Yeah? Well, Bullseye, some people say your just an a$$hole...”

Hawkeye swung his legs up and near effortlessly kicked the shard of stone away from himself, lodging it in Deadpool’s stomach, staving off any immediate attack from the Merc with a Mouth. With a quick flex and a pull, he snapped the Popsicle sticks in half and circled his new foe. Strategically moving Bullseye around so he could keep him and Deadpool in his sights at the same time.

"...and I think youve done more than enough to prve that point yourself."


Hawkeye readied his bow, more for show than anything at this point. It had become extremely obvious that simple marksmanship wasn’t going to be enough in this fight. Mind games, a show of ego for two combatants playing each other’s game. This fight was going to be down and dirty, balls to the wall, hand to hand, pure primal combat.

Hawkeye smiled.

[bkhedr]

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Every nerve in his body, every fabric of his being, every iota of thought running through his mind was screaming at Logan to rip his claws out of Creed's back and coat himself in Sabretooth's blood. To pull every organ out of Creed's body and slam it against the ground, bearing his teeth into Sabretooth's flesh.




He pulled his claws back into his skin and glared at Creed, debating whether or not he should take another swipe for good measure. As much as Logan might want to rip into Sabretooth, the fight was over. Creed knew not to come 'round here again. The two stared at each other for a moment. This was Logan's territory, and Creed had been forced out.




Logan brushed past the officers, still staring-open mouthed at Sabretooth who was licking his proverbial wounds.




"Sorry 'bout the mess." Logan muttered as he pulled on his leather jacket that had been hanging limply by the door.




















He pulled out a few hundred dollar bills and put them on the end of the bar. As he peered over the countertop, Wolverine saw the cowering form of the bartender.

"Hope this covers it."

He ducked through the door and saw his biked parked in an alleyway across the street. He brushed the dry blood off of his hands and felt the stains of Creed's on his shirt.

He felt his cell phone vibrate in the interior pocket of his leather coat and read the display.





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The Runt doesn't say another word to me after letting me up. He just settles his business and walks out. He tells me to do the same without saying anything before he exits and I nod at his back. Sure I didn't kill him, didn't make a quick buck in the process, but I got what I want, got to let the beast out, an' now my head's clear as day, my hands are sticky with blood, an' I can start planning for the future.

First thing's first though.

I reach over the bottle and grab a bottle of whiskey. I know I said I can't get drunk but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy drinking.

The bar tender wants to say something, I can tell, but he doesn't even look at me. Neither do the cops or any of the other patrons. With the runt gone, they're terrified of me, and who can blame them?

I quickly run my hands across my face. The runt did a number on me this time. Probably won't be pretty for another few minutes.

Good. I want them scared of me.

I grin, baring my fangs, and say: "Thanks for the hospitality." talking to everyone in the bar before I walk out the back chugging on the whiskey.

I'll deal with the runt next time, with us, there's always a next time. Right now i'm flexing my claws and scenting the wind. Work out's done and its time to kill me a superhero.

I never did like those New Warrior brats.

***

Back in the bar the two cops look at each other uneasily before one of them says "Its gotta be him."

"Yeah" The other nods and replies. "OK. You get the bar tender's statement, I'll make the call."

Moments later the Cop is in his squad car and has dialled a number into his cell phone. The phone rings twice before there is an answer and the Cop speaks quietly into the phone as if he were afraid he might be overheard.

"Yeah Sarge, its Fred. Eddie and I, we've found that freak you've been looking for."

[bkhedr]

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Donald Blake did not take off his shoes or alter his gait as he stepped off of finished concrete and onto the gravelly sand near the city's harbor.

The wind blew through his hair and bombarded his senses with its heaviness and salty scent, brining back memories of ancient mariners and the bravery of their intercontinental journies.

Had the matter that brought him here not been of such grave import he might have dwelled on the memories for a few moments, allowed them to fill his consciousness, but his business here was grave indeed, and he had barely arrived in time.

Blake had only just reached the shoreline when from within one of the bubbling masses out on the water emerged a man. The man emerged until he was standing on the water and casually, began to walk across its shimmering surface until he made land fall.

Amazingly, no passers by or beach goers seemed to notice him. It was as he were completely invisible to them, and perhaps he was at that, but Donald Blake saw him well enough and moved to intercept him, standing between the man and the city.

"You shouldn't be here." Blake said sternly to the man who had messy black hair, dark skin, red eyes, and stood completely naked and shameless in the day time sun.

The naked man looked Blake over suspiciously for a moment before replying amicably.

"Actually, child it is you who should not be here."

The dark man's voice was honeyed, and deep, and regal, and as he spoke three more dark men, strikingly similiar to himself, and yet distinct, emerged from the water and stepped onto the shore.

Blake shook his head urgently

"No, no, no. You can't be here. I'm here and that means your time hasn't come."

The dark man laughed then. A deep, jolly laugh, that was more laughing at the situation than what had been said.

"Child you know the rules, every God, though he dislikes dwelling on them, knows the rules. Odin, your father and his fellow Skyfathers helped make them" he said, his red eyes seemingly boring through Blake's own.

"Together with my master your patriarchs created this world and the mortals in it and agreed to share dominion over it. You had your time, it has passed. Now as your pantheon and others like it pass into the infinite so too does this world. It is our time now Child, the time of our master."

"And assuming you're right, what does master intend to do now that its his time?" Blake asked hopefully even he knew the answer already.

"Come now child, you know the answer to that." The Dark man said as his fellows began to walk up and down the beach with purpose, oblivious to the fact that one of their own stood conversing with Blake. "We, his servants, will walk this world and collect the data that we need. We will weigh good versus evil and make our judgement. The evil will become of us, fueling us and our master, suffering for eternity as they deserve."

"And the good?"

"The good will have earned their eternal rest, that was the deal, and they are of no use to my master after all. They will simply cease to be, and we, the Ifrit, with the life force of the evil and unjust beating in our eternal hearts will inherit this world and take it as our own for the glory of our master."

In response Blake just stared at the Ifrit, the man of fire, for a moment before saying:

"I am a SkyFather now and I say the deal is off. Go back from whence you came or I'll send you back myself." he said firmly.

"Nonesense child, you can not have millenia free of us and then decide the deal is over because those millenia have ended. You cannot change this, you can not hope to stand against us. Why do you think your patriarchs had to make a deal with our master in the first place?" The Ifrit replied dismissively. If he was intimidated by the Thunder God inside Blake he wasn't showing it.

"Listen to me." he said while putting a hand on Blake's shoulder "We are not without empathy. We know that you care for the mortals, most of your kind did, but you have had millenia. Millenia of worship, of contact, centuries upon centuries to make your mark, to save them, but you knew it had to end."

"Why do you think your own Ragnarok tale tells of their doom?" He added, referring to the Mortals. "Because it was always meant to be that way. Now Ragnarok has come, Zues is dead, and many of the other pantheons have retreated to the stars. The time of the gods is over, and with it the time of men."

"But the time of the Gods is not over so long as I'm here, to live among them, and protect them, and guide them. That was the deal. We were supposed to be the ones who decided when our time was over, not you." Blake countered.

The Ifrit, for that is what he truly was, a man of fire, seemed to pause and consider this for a moment before saying: "You are desperate to save them. You know full well that your time is passed, but you feel too greatly for these mortals to remain in the stars. We know what you have done. You felt our arrival and returned, frantic to get here before we did."

Blake did not reply

"Well you did not get here soon enough. We have arrived and your presence here is nothing more than a technicality, and one in poor taste at that. My master feels that your actions have violated the spirit of the agreement."

Blake winced as he heard the words. It seemed that his desperate plow had failed, and though he knew he could not stand against the Ifrit, he girded himself for battle and clenched his walking stick a little tighter.

"Of course such disputes are no small matter, and are not for ones such as you and I to decide so my master, who is aware of what transpires here, has consulted with the Living Tribunal."

The Living Tribunal. Of course Blake thought as new hope coursed through him like electricity.

"And?" he asked.

The Ifrit closed his eyes then, and seemd to focus his concentration inwards, as if, Blake reasoned, he were waiting for a psychic message, which of course was an over simplification, but not too far from the truth.

When the Ifrit opened his eyes a moment later he looked mildly dissapointed.

"The Living Tribunal have decreed that you be given an opportunity to prove that your time in not past. You will be allowed to remain here and do with the mortals as you wish so long as you do not impede us as we go about our work. You will have until we have completed our appointed task. After that the Tribunal will decide whether our time has come or not."

Blake almost let out a sigh of relief but opted instead to maintain his poise

"Alright then." he nodded.

"Alright" The Ifrit nodded back.

The two looked at each other like soldiers on the battlefield who had just received orders not to fire before the Ifrit stepped around Blake and heading towards the City.

"Good luck Child" he called over his shoulder, before he dissapeared, still naked, into the crowd.

Blake watched him go then looked back to the sea. More and more of the Ifrit were emerging from the water and spreading out across the land. He knew the same scene was repeating itself all over the globe and it made him shiver.

The Ifrit were amicable enough, it was their nature to be, but they were pure evil and it horrified him to think what could happen if one of them choose to do more than just observe and gather information.

Still, he had accomplished more than he had dared hope for, and he was back on Earth, and alive again. He had a chance, and that was all he had ever needed.

Feeling the courage and confidence of Thor welling up inside him, Blake turned back to the mortal city he had loved so much and silently promised that he would not fail.


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Paradise Towers. Not the most humble moniker for a set of high rise apartments and condos, but not all that far from the truth, as far as mortal towers go.

The buildings are ultra modern, located in the heart of the city, and the apartments and condos are pre-furnished to the highest standards. Needless to say the rent is not cheap. Perhaps that is why the 40th floor penthouse condo has remained vacant until today. Until a handsome young Doctor with a large trust fund walked in and said he would like to move in today at any price.

The move in is fast, for Blake has nothing to move and money always makes mortal affairs run faster, so when Doctor Donald Blake steps in through the stylized and oversized doors to the condo he is already the lawful tenant and well past being disturbed by unneccesary questions from the land lords.

He locks the door behind him, making sure to double bolt it, before slumping into a large leather couch and staring at the wall before him with gritted teeth and a locked jaw.

The World should have ended yesterday. It should have vanished into a well of fire. He knows this for sure and knows that he's done nothing but slow it down.

"The world is ending right now, day by day." he says to himself as he looks at his hands and wonders what he will do.

He feels no despair, for he trusts in himself and his abilities, but the reality is nonetheless overwhelming, and it is some time before he rises and retrieves his walking stick.

The expression on his face as he walks to the sliding doors that lead to the large balcony terrace is strong and determined. He would begin by making contact with the Avengers and together they would find a way to stop the Ifrit before their master can claim the Earth as his own.

The door smoothly slides open and he steps out into the whipping winds and spreads his arms, letting the winds wash over and around him, thankful for the feeling of the air on his skin after so much time in the sensory deprivation of the void.

Eventually he raises his simple cane and looks it over.

"Alright." he says "Alright"

That is when he brings the cane slamming down onto the ground and is suddenly engulfed by a column of lightning that pierces the sky and washes over him in the same instant that the cane strikes the ground.

Blake feels himself changing, mind and body, and in an instant he is gone and Thor, God of Thunder, and Master of the Odinforce once again walks the land of mortal men.

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[Carnage27]

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"Half of them are fine, a little shaken up but no injuries..." He began, having to raise his voice over the sound of a bike engine.

"The other half are in Magneto's protection, long story, I'll fill you in once you get here."

A door opens behind Cyclops, and one of the strangest looking X-Men enters the room, "I vould appreciate it if Logan could hurry. I vould like to hear your reasoning behind zhis travesty also."

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[Electro UK]

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“Yeah? Well, Bullseye, some people say your just an a$$hole...”

Hawkeye swung his legs up and near effortlessly kicked the shard of stone away from himself, lodging it in Deadpool’s stomach, staving off any immediate attack from the Merc with a Mouth. With a quick flex and a pull, he snapped the Popsicle sticks in half and circled his new foe. Strategically moving Bullseye around so he could keep him and Deadpool in his sights at the same time.

"...and I think youve done more than enough to prve that point yourself."


Hawkeye readied his bow, more for show than anything at this point. It had become extremely obvious that simple marksmanship wasn’t going to be enough in this fight. Mind games, a show of ego for two combatants playing each other’s game. This fight was going to be down and dirty, balls to the wall, hand to hand, pure primal combat.

Hawkeye smiled.

"Oh! What about me? What to people call me?" I ask as I get to my feet and spin my sais around. I make eye contact with Hawkeye, and catch his simle. Hey, he's actually enjoying this. This guy's a loser, but he's my kinda loser. Gotta think of a nickname. "So, Hawkman (no... taken)," I begin, diving at Hawkeye who lets an arrow fly into my shoulder. "Ah! I was talking, boy!" I hit the ground, and wince as I pull the arrow out of my shoulder.

"Anyway, as I was saying-- oh don't look so freaked I've got a healing factor. Anyway, Hawkear (no that's what I call Bullsear... I mean Bullseye) I have got to ask you something... your costume. Do you get any kind of abusive nicknames because of it? Cause I've been thinking off going with the pink/purple look for a while now and I just don't know if its me. Hey maybe I'll try yours out when you're dead." I roll a grenade Hawkeye's way as I get to my feet.

[SenseiofCheese]

"Who did it?" I ask Danny.

He looks over at me, the look of pain and guilt still on his face.

"Let's find out who did it....then we can make the son of a ***** pay. I know revenge doesn't bring them back, but it'll sure make that bastard regret ever picking your cousin."

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I look up at Luke, my eyes glazing over.

"No you...you don't get it. It was me."

I hang my head, trying to push the tears back, keep them from bursting out. I hear Jess step out of the room, but she doesn't say anything. Images of Mike's kids flash before my eyes, their dead eyes staring at me. I'm sure I could center myself. Push through this by meditating. But I don't want to. I want to feel everything. I deserve to.

"I killed them." I stagger, grabbing Luke's shoulders to keep me upright.

But then another image hits me. A man, cloaked in shadows, standing over their bodies. I can't see his face, but he's grinning. He's lauging. I know who it is.

It's them. Out there. Everyone we've dedicated our lives to helping. Everything we've done for them, and the promise of money is enough for them to turn their backs on us.

I regain my balance and reach down for my mask. I stare into the eyes of it, trying to remember why I even do what I do.

"Come on." I rub my eyes until I've caught every last tear, before I slip my mask on and turn to the door.

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"Let's go break some bones."

[Harlekin]

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New York

“War?”

Angel didn’t respond. There was a rage boiling inside him. Admittedly, it had been years since he had seen Allison. Even longer since they had dated. Every now and then they would see each other when he turned up for one of her concerts, but as her star faded, so had their friendship. Angel hadn’t spoken to her in months.

In the back of his mind, that fact was already eating away at him.

But right now, that didn’t matter.

“Warren?”

He’d loved her. As a girlfriend, as a friend, as a fellow X-Man.

So tonight, Warren Worthington was not Angel, not Archangel, or even Death. He would be the Avenging Angel and he was going to find Bullseye. Then, he would deliver justice.

“Warren!” Iceman repeated.
Angel finally looked to Bobby, surprised. “Bobby?”
“Nothing,” the frozen X-Man responded and Angel turned away again unbothered.

Bobby Drake was one of Warren’s longest and best friends and was getting worried about him. Since they had left the morgue, Warren had not said a word and nothing Bobby tried could lighten his mood. He felt the same anger of course, but since he had never actually met Allison, had never actually known her, he could not possibly understand what was going on in his friend’s mind.

He merely hoped that the night would not end with two deaths.

“There,” Angel suddenly said, pointing to a corner of New York City that the two were now fast approaching.
“There, what?”
“Bullseye.”
“How do you know?”
“Somebody said his name.”
Iceman’s eyes widened. “You heard that?”
“It’s all I’ve been focussing on,” Angel coldly responded.
“How do you know someone not just talking about darts?”
“Because someone just screamed in pain.”
“Well--” Iceman started cracking a joke.
“--save it, Bobby.”

As Angel and Iceman approached the scene, the three combatants, Hawkeye, Deadpool and Bullseye came into view. Attentive to danger, Angel’s hawk-like eyes picked up on Deadpool’s grenade just a second before he threw it.

“Bobby!” he screamed as he swooped down and picked up Hawkeye by the shoulders.
“On it!” Iceman replied as he charged in shot an ice blast at the grenade that sent it skidding back to Deadpool.

“I thought it was you, Barton,” Angel said, looking down at the marksman he held in his hands. “Now, is this going to be a civilized team-up and you’ll let me have Bullseye, or am I going to have to drop you off in Brooklyn?”

[Byrd Man]

"Come on." I rub my eyes until I've caught every last tear, before I slip my mask on and turn to the door.

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"Let's go break some bones."

I put my left fist in my right hand and nod.

"Hell yeah. I'll meet you outside. I gotta go tell Jessica not to wait up for me."


*********

I shiver slightly and pull my leather jacket tight as Danny and I stand on the roof of his apartment building overlooking the city.

"City's big, and with that bounty on all of us, it could have been anyone that killed your cousin and his family."

I look over at my partner, he's silent as he looks out over the city.

"Think we can do it?"

[Harlekin]

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Hell’s Kitchen, New York

“A disturbing report from Times Square--”

<CLICK!>

The man who had impersonated Daredevil for the last few hours turned off the television in frustration. He leaned back on the couch and started biting his nails. What a time to commit to one job. Maybe he could do some stuff on the side during the day. On the other hand, he doubted his client would much appreciate distracting extra-curricular activities.

The doppelganger looked to the costume draped over the luxurious chair to his side. The advance on this job had been enough to buy a dozen apartments like this all over the city. The places would be useful too, when he was done with this job. Modestly decorated of course, the advance wasn’t that much, but one or two personal items could stand out.

But a million dollars, he couldn’t stop thinking. Ten millions for some. Fifty million for the hardest.

The mercenary knew that a dozen wannabes would all be going out in droves for the money. Probably a couple of A-listers like Bullseye too. The impostor started smiling. Good too that he was on a different job. Let them get their ass kicked by the heroes for once. At least now he could do his job. Maybe it’d even distract the real Daredevil for a while and give him some more time to dirty the name.

He turned on the television again. The news was still fixated on the bounty thing.

Suddenly, the doppelganger’s eyes widened.

They would discover the bodies in the morning and he’d let enough clues behind to make sure they would think it was Daredevil. But instead of getting it leaked to the press by some cop wanting to make a quick buck, the detectives would have all the time in the world investigating these murders discreetly. After all, half the force would busy with the bounty murders, and the corrupt bastards would be sure to make more money on that. Any story on Daredevil murders they could sell would end up on page 6 or worse.

The mercenary threw his glass to the wall, where it splintered into a dozen pieces onto the carpeted floor and leaving a stain on the recently painted walls.

[Spider-Man9X17]

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"You're outta your mind if you think I'm just standing back and handing the chrome dome over to you, Worthington. You wanna join in, you and your hetero life-mate down there are just going to have to share."

Hawkeye took a second to survey the fight below.

"By the way, speaking of hetero, you think of a less gay code name yet? BecauseI'll be damned if I'm running around a dark back alley in New York City with four other guys in spandex yelling 'ANGEL! ANGEL!'."

[SenseiofCheese]

"City's big, and with that bounty on all of us, it could have been anyone that killed your cousin and his family."

I look over at my partner, he's silent as he looks out over the city.

"Think we can do it?"

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"Probably not."I state matter-of-factly.

My entire body almost gone numb with anger. The only reason I know it's could outside is that Luke's wearing a jacket.

"But then again,"I turn to Luke, trying to put an optimistic tone in my words but failing miserably. , 'impossble', 'stupid' and 'wreckless' is kind of our thing."

Luke smiles faintly. I stare out at the city for a while longer before I finally speak up, my eyes pinned to the skyline as if I'm looking for 'him'.

"I was thinking. Mike and I, we weren't close." I say, regretfully. "We didn't talk, at all really. No phonecalls, postcards, not even the holidays. And I know for a fact Mike never told anybody we were related. For all intents and purposes, nobody should have known about him. Let alone some random thug, a couple of hours after this bounty thing started."

"You talkin' about a professional?"

"Has to be. Ross, the driver I sent for them, he said there was no sign of a break-in. Their, uh.."I feel like I'm going to throw up, but I force it back. "..their throats were all cut. Middle of a neighborhood and nobody heard anything."

"Yeah, I get it. So, what do you wanna do?" Luke asks and I finally take my eyes off the skyscrapers and turn to him.

"Whoever did this obviously did it for the bounty. Smart money's on the fact that he's not going to stop at Iron Fists's long lost cousin, he'll want to go for some bigger game. And all the big game is right here in New York."

I know he's out there. Somwhere. In my city. And it makes me want to scream.

"So what's the plan?"

"Hey, man, I just did the whole Sherlock Holmes thing, you come up with a plan."

[Keyser Soze]

As Angel and Iceman approached the scene, the three combatants, Hawkeye, Deadpool and Bullseye came into view. Attentive to danger, Angel’s hawk-like eyes picked up on Deadpool’s grenade just a second before he threw it.

“Bobby!” he screamed as he swooped down and picked up Hawkeye by the shoulders.
“On it!” Iceman replied as he charged in shot an ice blast at the grenade that sent it skidding back to Deadpool.

“I thought it was you, Barton,” Angel said, looking down at the marksman he held in his hands. “Now, is this going to be a civilized team-up and you’ll let me have Bullseye, or am I going to have to drop you off in Brooklyn?”

Bullseye hadn't expected the intervention of the X-Men. As the winged mutie hoisted Hawkeye up into the air and Iceman launched the grenade back at Deadpool and let it go boom, Bullseye turned to his rapidly-regenerating accomplice.

"All of a sudden the numbers don't seem to be in our favor. Maybe we should skedaddle."

While evading ice attacks from the other mutant, Bullseye craned his head upwards. Those two were pretty high up now.

Maybe there was time for a parting shot.

Picking up a chunk of flesh blown out of Deadpool's gut in the grenade explosion, Bullseye tossed it skyward, aiming for Angel's wing.

[Andy C.]

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The Goblin rocketed over rows and rows of apartment buildings at rooftop level, just low enough for people to hear his Glider and scatter as he approached. He doubted that too many of these particular people were going to try and make good on the super-hero bounty, but after his announcement at the Daily Bugle, most were afraid to take their chances.

It had been so long since the Green Goblin had been rightly feared, and the panic his 'patrol' incited below gave him a rush. Fear was power--rather, being feared was. And that power could be put to any purpose he so desired.

For now, that purpose was to ensure no one denied him of his triumph over the Web-Slinger. But for later, he had a far grander purpose in mind.

That would all have to wait, it seemed. Someone very familiar was raising himself up on a rooftop not too far from the Goblin's path, trying to flag him down.

Competition.

He banked his Glider towards the man, and rocketed towards him.

"This ought to prove interesting enough," he said to himself.

As he set the glider down on the roof, Osborn sized up his competitor. Short and flabby, but there was a reason why he had managed to stay in the game this long among the mutants and symbiotes--and it had more to do with what was in the man's head than what was on his back. The man had once stood in the company of Victor Von Doom without looking out of place, and though recent years had been less than kind, Osborn knew damn well not to underestimate him.

"That was quite the performance today, Goblin," the man said, his tone making it clear he was unimpressed. "You've definitely done your part to clear the field of all but the veteran players."

"Don't think for a second that my warning didn't include you, old friend."

"'Friend,' am I now? As I recall, the last time we met we were trying to kill each other," he grinned, his sunglasses that covered his eyes giving his grin an even more sinister appearance. "I'm not afraid of you, Goblin. I never have been. But that's not why I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to discuss our common interests. Namely, we are both men of science..."

"..and we both want Spider-Man dead. Is that what you're getting at?"

"Precisely. And more to the matter, we are both men of pride. In years past, neither one of us would dare admit that the Spider was too much for us alone. And I daresay that we both still believe that. But this bounty business...complicates things. You may have scared the rabble away from Spider-Man and his lot, but what about the professionals? The assassins? The other like-minded villains itching for an excuse to go for his blood?

"No one man, even one such as you or I, could hold them off indefinitely. But together, we could at the very least beat them to the punch?"

Osborn could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"And play right into the hands of whoever set this up? Ha! I'll take my final revenge on Spider-Man soon enough, but only on my terms. After all, what's money to me?"

"Oh, it may not be much to you, but to me, it means a great deal. I can't conduct my experiments without proper funding, after all. So consider this proposition: together, we remove anyone who moves against Spider-Man, then take him down ourselves. I keep the money, you get to kill the Spider."

Underneath the Goblin's mask, Norman Osborn thought about it carefully. The man was hardly as unpredictable as most of the sociopaths in this city, and he would be strong enough to take on virtually anyone who stood in their way.

After a long moment, he made his decision.

"It's a deal," he said, extending his hand. "Until the bounty is lifted, or Spider-Man dies--whichever comes first--we'll do business."

"Excellent," he smiled. "And may heaven help those who dare impede the way of the Green Goblin..."










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"...and Doctor Octopus."

[Optikal]

-Afghanistan. 15 miles southwest of Kabul-

Tariq Al Hassa had always been a simple man. His life devoted to his wife, his young son and his small flock of goats. For weeks he had heard tales of men disappearing into the steppes and not returning. Tales of women and children being abducted by demons from the mountain. Tariq had paid the rumours little attention, certain that such creatures did not exist. Now, as he was led dragged up a narrow trail by a cloaked captor, he knew that his point of view was about to be changed.

Tariq struggled and fought to little avail. Although the man under the cloak was obviously slender, he had a strength and a presence that Tariq knew he could not resist. They came to the mouth of a small cave and his silent captor dragged the shepard to his feet.

As he was pushed forcefully into the small cave he found himself being repulsed by the stench more than anything. The cave oozed the thick, stomach-churning scent of blood and gore and death. Tariq turned and tried to run, panicked and disgusted in equal measure But the cloaked captor hit him with a hard slap across the face. Tariq felt the blow and thought he had been struck with a rock. As soon as the thought popped into his head though, he was hitting the dirt and slipping into unconciousness.

He awoke much later and found himself laid upon a stone floor, completely naked and bound with his hands behind his back. Next to him was a pit, dug into the earth and filled with blood and gore. Across the cave Tariq saw bodies piled high. Men, women, children and livestock. Decomposing and rancid. He cried out and shrank back from the pit, his heart pounding within his chest. He could make out the entrance of the cave and knew that night time had fallen, before noticing a long black cloak hung upon a near wall.

Tariq struggled to his feet and backed away from the pit, he turned and stood in front of him was a tall statue of an arab man. Stunned, Tariq gasped and stepped back. As he did so, the statue moved forward. and gripped Tariq by the shoulder. The opposite hand rose and slammed a long silver bladed dagger into Tariqs lower belly. Tariq screamed out as the dagger drew up his body, slicing clean through his breast bone. His blood and organs fell from him as he collapsed to his knees. Then he fell back, toppling into the pool of gore.

The last thing Tariq saw through the crimson murk was the statue man, looking down at him and smiling.

***

It had been an hour since Ozymandias had sarificed the last man. He had watched with mild interest as the light had faded from his victims eyes. Now though, he was about to initiate the final stage of his plan. From a canvas satchel he pulled forth a small glass vial, half the length of his thumb and filled to the brim with blood. He held it up in the dancing light of the torches on the wall and nodded to himself. Reverentially he moved to the pool and emptied the vial into the pool.

"Tonight, my research will prove successful and with the blood of The First, the Eternal One shall rise", he whispered to no one in particular.

Below him the pool bubbled, the techno-virus embedded within the cells of the vial setting to work. Within a few minutes the bubbling and sloshing ceased and everything went still. Ozymandias held his breath and considered risking a glance into the vat.

Before he could, the gore sloshed and parted as The Eternal One rose. Bathed in the flickering light of the torches and dripping in the blood of the innocent the figure smiled.

Ozymandias swept into a low bow, before the man. "My Lord, Apocalypse, you are returned to the living".

Apocalypse cast his gaze around his surroundings before resting it upon the stone man. "Yes my servant, But I sense great unrest. Their is much confusion in the world. The strong and the weak are merging, the future is changing, the horror is unsettling the balance. And know I awake and by my hand, the balance shall be restored".

[Harlekin]

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New York

"All of a sudden the numbers don't seem to be in our favor. Maybe we should skedaddle."

“Oh, no, you don’t Bullseye,” Angel said through gritted teeth as he picked up on Bullseye’s comment. Hawkeye, having not heard Bullseye’s suggestion for retreat from so far up, simply looked at the winged mutant dumbfounded before finding himself thrown on one of the nearest rooftops.

“Sorry, Barton, but I have to teach this guy a lesson in aerodynamics,” Angel called out as he flew higher and higher. The piece of Deadpool’s gut that Bullseye had flung upwards was coming closer now. As Angel climbed higher, the projectile was losing its momentum, until finally it started to slow down enough that it was harmless. Then, with disgust marking his face, Angel stopped flying, let himself fall, grabbed the piece of flesh and flung it back in the direction of Bullseye.

“I may not be a marksman like you or Hawkeye, but I’ve got good eyes, Bullseye,” Angel continued as he flew after the projectile, “and I’m not leaving you out of my sight until I see you punished for what you did.”

[Keyser Soze]

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New York

“Oh, no, you don’t Bullseye,” Angel said through gritted teeth as he picked up on Bullseye’s comment. Hawkeye, having not heard Bullseye’s suggestion for retreat from so far up, simply looked at the winged mutant dumbfounded before finding himself thrown on one of the nearest rooftops.

“Sorry, Barton, but I have to teach this guy a lesson in aerodynamics,” Angel called out as he flew higher and higher. The piece of Deadpool’s gut that Bullseye had flung upwards was coming closer now. As Angel climbed higher, the projectile was losing its momentum, until finally it started to slow down enough that it was harmless. Then, with disgust marking his face, Angel stopped flying, let himself fall, grabbed the piece of flesh and flung it back in the direction of Bullseye.

“I may not be a marksman like you or Hawkeye, but I’ve got good eyes, Bullseye,” Angel continued as he flew after the projectile, “and I’m not leaving you out of my sight until I see you punished for what you did.”

Yeah, that's right, fly right at me. A nice, big, winged target...

Ignoring the flesh as it flew past inches from his face, Bullseye faced the fast-descending mutant head on, readying himself in a combat stance. He drew a handful from throwing stars from his belt, ready to introduce them to Angel's face once he was nice and close.

"You're gonna have to be a bit clearer than that, buddy. I did a lot of things recently. What piece of dead meat you here to whine to me about?"

[Harlekin]

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New York

Angel gritted his teeth. He could just make out the shuriken Bullseye had drawn.

“Bobby!” he called out, just a short distance away from his target now. His friend and fellow X-Man, Iceman, fighting Deadpool, turned around to look to his friend. Angel raised his fist and Iceman immediately responded, shooting an ice blast at Warren’s hand, freezing it and creating an ice shield for protection.

“Her name was Dazzler, and before I throw you in jail, Bullseye,

“I’m going to break every bone in your body.”

[Keyser Soze]

Frailty, thy name is woman.

Loki had always appreciated Hamlet. Ever since the first performance of Shakespeare's tragedy, it had been a source of fascination. The story of a malcontent who brings down a kingdom, one sole, rebellious voice of reason and enlightenment in a court filled with unworthy monarchs and spineless sycophants. The story of Prince Hamlet held some degree of personal resonance with Loki.

And this line in particular resonated with his current situation. Or, rather... her situation. For after death at Ragnarok, Loki had been reborn in mortal form, trapped in the feeble body of a woman. Somewhere out there, all the Asgardians wandered the Earth in these fragile shells, utterly unaware of what they had once been. Perhaps they would grow old and die meaningless mortal deaths, succumbing to newfound mortality never knowing of the immortality trapped within them.

Somehow, Loki's magick had preserved her memory, and allowed her to retain some degree of power. But for whatever magical abilities she had retained, it could not change the fact that she was now mortal. A powerful mortal, yes, but a God no more. This body was vulnerable. It could be injured by mortal man and his weapons. It grew tired, hungry, thirsty. It aged. And then Loki's thoughts strayed to her own potential fate: dying once more, this time as an old, helpless woman, never able to unlock the secret that would restore her Godhood.

She could not let that happen. Asgard, and the Asgardians with it, must be restored. And so Loki was on her way to locate the one man who might be able to help her do that. She walked through the streets of New York City, wearing a green dress under a fur shawl, and a large black hat that cast her features into shadow. A simple enchantment had transformed her Asgardian attire into something more likely to blend in. It was wise not to look unusual and be mistaken for a superhero in the midst of this bounty nonsense.

But Loki was distracted from her thoughts when she saw something rather unusual herself. A naked man, filtering in and out amidst the crowds, seemingly studying the people around him. Even more unusual, nobody else seemed to notice this man...

No, not a man.

The creature suddenly looked up, and made eye contact with Loki, revealing glowing red eyes. After being momentarily surprised that Loki could see him, the creature smiled civilly, and walked on. Loki then became aware of more of these naked creatures, all walking unnoticed amongst the mortals of New York City. Immediately, she knew what they were.

"Ifrit."

Loki walked the rest of the way to her destination with increased urgency, finally stepping into the reception hall of Paradise Towers. She approached the man behind the desk.

"I wish to speak with Dr. Donald Blake. I understand that he resides here."

[Keyser Soze]

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New York

Angel gritted his teeth. He could just make out the shuriken Bullseye had drawn.

“Bobby!” he called out, just a short distance away from his target now. His friend and fellow X-Man, Iceman, fighting Deadpool, turned around to look to his friend. Angel raised his fist and Iceman immediately responded, shooting an ice blast at Warren’s hand, freezing it and creating an ice shield for protection.

“Her name was Dazzler, and before I throw you in jail, Bullseye,

“I’m going to break every bone in your body.”

"Eh. Been there, done that."

Bullseye threw the shurikens, not directly at Angel, but at the ground. At this angle, they would ricochet back up at his opponent, either slipping in past his shield and striking him, or forcing him to lower his shield to protect himself. Either way worked just fine and dandy for Bullseye.

[Harlekin]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2040/logoik1.gif
New York

“Rrraarrrgggh!” Angel screamed in pain as the shurikens sliced at him. Fortunately, they were surface cuts and the winged mutant managed to press on despite the pain. Slamming the ice shield into Bullseye, the X-Man’s other hand shot out and fastened itself around the assassin’s neck.

Quickly, Angel flew up into the air, holding up Bullseye.

“Wolverine once said something about you having adamantium laced bones, Bullseye,” Angel said as he suddenly released the mercenary and let him fall to the ground.

“That means you should survive this just fine.”

[Keyser Soze]

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGH!"

Bullseye hurtled to the ground, his mind frantically think of ways to get out of this mess. He had to think fast, the ground was getting awful close awful fast!

And then he saw it. A means to avoid serious injury. To himself at least.

*CRRRRRRRRRRRUNCHSPLAT!*

Bullseye landed on top of Deadpool, partially cushining his fall, but crushing Deadpool into a heap of broken bones.

"Ugh.... sorry Wade."

Deadpool would be fine. He had a super-fast healing factor. Bullseye didn't. Groaning in pain and visibly liimping as he pushed himself to his feet, Bullseye drew out his sai.

"That all you got!?" he screamed, a mixture of blood and spittle peppering out of his mouth, "Dazzler sucks f***in'... big... f***in' elephant d**ks in Hell, you got that?"

[Electro UK]

I look in amusement as my flesh is thrown around by Angel and Bullseye "...well you can't say I don't put my flesh and blood into my work."

"Awful dude, just awful." Iceman says before landing a frozen fist in my face.

"Oh Iceman! Totally cool!" I roll with the punch, managing to keep my footing as I stumble backwards. "I'm fighting X-men now, definitly a good sign of moving up in the world. Hey maybe I could join you guys?"

"Sorry, we're not too big on murderers."

"But Wolver--"

"Not too big I said."

"Shame." I launch into the air, bring my two swords with me. "You guys are so serious with your "ZOMG, Magneto/Apocalypse/Sinister has taken over the world again!" look, you could use a more light hearted team member."

Bobby meets my swords with a thick sheet of ice. "I'd like to think I cover that category."

"Oh dude you're cool don't worry (cool, get it? I kill me). Maybe we should get a mini series the--" I'm interrupted by Iceman's foot hitting my chin. "Oh, Gil Kane shot! Totally cool!" I manage to swipe my feet round and knock Bobby down as I hit the ground. "Look Iceman, you're a real neat guy and all, but I'd always been prepared for this encounter, and so meet your preil at the hands of my MELTING RAY GUN." I pull out my weapon and aim it.

"Uh, that's a kettle with a toaster stuck on the bottom."

"AND IT SHALL BE YOUR DOOM!" I throw the contraption at Iceman, who recieves a knock to the head.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGH!"

Bullseye hurtled to the ground, his mind frantically think of ways to get out of this mess. He had to think fast, the ground was getting awful close awful fast!

And then he saw it. A means to avoid serious injury. To himself at least.

*CRRRRRRRRRRRUNCHSPLAT!*

Bullseye landed on top of Deadpool, partially cushining his fall, but crushing Deadpool into a heap of broken bones.

"Ugh.... sorry Wade."

Deadpool would be fine. He had a super-fast healing factor. Bullseye didn't. Groaning in pain and visibly liimping as he pushed himself to his feet, Bullseye drew out his sai.

"That all you got!?" he screamed, a mixture of blood and spittle peppering out of his mouth, "Dazzler sucks f***in'... big... f***in' elephant d**ks in Hell, you got that?"

OOC: Couldn't see that coming. :p

"Ah... glad... to be of... service." Bobby watches as my body starts to reform.

"You have a healing factor?"

"Yes, and I'd thank you not to make fun of it." but before I can get back into my groove completely, Bobby freezes me in my current state. "Hey! Come on, not fair! At least let my grow a finger or two back!" Iceman kicks the ice holding me from reparing, and shatters it, sending my flying into the air.

I spin upwards, missing most of both of my legs. "Oh you'll regret this one Icecube!" as I begin to slow and come back to earth, I pull out one sword, and bash Iceman on the head with the hilt. The force from the fall causes him to fall unconcious. "Ha! Deadpool and gravity: 1, Iceman and the elements: 0." My feet come back and I scramble upwards.

"Now, where's Pink gone? Pink? Here Pinky Pinkyyyyyyy."

[Batman]

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The children of Xavier's Academy for Gifted Youngsters collectively began to silently panic, realizing they were in the midst of the infamous Lord of Latveria. Doom was unsurprised. While Magneto's reputation painted him as, at best, an activist for their kind that would never allow harm to come the way of his "fellow brothers", Doctor Doom had no such hindrance for mutants. His wrath did not discriminate.

But a wave of gestured kindness began to cloud their fears, as Doom casually walked closer to the group.

"My children, you have no cause to fear me. You standing upon the soils of my kingdom. And for as long as you shall do so, you are citizens of my land.", Doom kindly explained. "And there is nothing more that I wish than to serve my citizens."

Magneto floated down to eye level with the good Doctor immediately, perhaps to help ease the present tension. "I have brought them here for sanctuary."

"So I surmised, Magnus. And it is a wise decision indeed. If it cannot be said that The X-Men are distrustful, then it can be certainly said that those who wish to harm them are. We must not allow the children to become a causality of such petty conflict."

Doom extended his arm, introducing each child to the landscape of Doomstad, the capital village of Latveria and the home of his very Castle.

"I give you all my word, the word of Doom. You shall be safe."

[Catman_prb]

Tomstone gazed over at the figure in front of him. He didn't care much for super heroes obviously, and he wasn't the most well briefed on the ones that were more likely to save the planet than tangle with him. "Vision right? Well I'm afraid there's quite a lot for me, about $2 million with those 2 in fact. But you, you're big time right? I bet you'll be wheeling me in $5 mill at least." Tombstone displayed a big toothy grin.

"So I guess that means... you and me are gonna do the tango." with that, Tombstone charged at The Vision.
The Vision stepped quickly to one side, letting Tombstone charge past him. He twisted around, kicking out with his leg and connecting with the criminals back, propelling him forwards into the alley wall.

"I don't dance," he stated. Although he couldn't see Nathaniel in the darkness of the alley, he already assumed that the young boy was wincing at the poor joke.

"I suggest you return to your home," the Vision said coolly "Now,"

[SenseiofCheese]

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Doom extended his arm, introducing each child to the landscape of Doomstad, the capital village of Latveria and the home of his very Castle.

"I give you all my word, the word of Doom. You shall be safe."

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It wasn't hard to tell that being teleported to the middle of Latveria, a veritable land of nightmares should the western media be believed, and being placed in front of Magneto and Dr. Doom was wreaking havoc on the nerves of some of the students. One girl, in particular, seemed on the verge of tears.

"My dear." Lensherr kneeled down beside the shivering child, removing his helmet to reveal a face far friendlier than what was behind it. Gently, he put his hand upon her shoulder. "You are afraid."

The girl said nothing, merely nodded. Magnus smiled. "Remember when those humans attacked the school earlier today?" Magneto asked, and again the girl nodded quietly. "And were you afraid then, too?" Another nod. "More afraid than you are now?"

"Y..Yeah." the girl finally spoke up, but faintly.

"So you feel safer with me and my friend here, than you did with the X-Men." the young girl had felt Magneto was asking, but it wasn't a question. Before she could utter a word, wether in protest or agreement, he had risen and moved away.

"Victor." Dr. Doom turned to face Magneto, his veridian cloak swirling in the air and a look of slight annoyance in his barely visible eyes. Lensherr had interrupted the monarch as he was proudly recounting the history of Latveria under his rule to a group of children too scared to show any hint of boredom.

"If you would please have your people show the children to their rooms, I would like to have a word with you regarding....a mutual interest." he stated in a manner Victor Von Doom couldn't tell was a request or an order. A hint of both, Lensherr thought.

Turning to the kids once again, Magneto addressed them with a kind voice. "No worries, children. I'm just going to have a word with Mr. Doom, after which I'll be with you." he assured them as they were ushered off by Latverian servants, none of which, Magneto noted, dared look either him or Dr. Doom in the face. A man who had risen above his species, Dr. Doom was, and Magneto respected that.

Lensherr watched as the children were led away, making sure to smile kindly as each of them looked back at least twice. When they were finally far away enough for Magneto to hear nothing but the rain beating down on cobblestone, he turned to face Doom, his helmet clutched at his side.

"Victor, again I must tell you how grateful I am that you offered the children sanctuary. Our kind does not have many friends, and we are fortunate that you would count yourself as one of them. The children need a safe haven during these troubling times, and Latveria's hospitality will not be forgotten." Doom nodded silently, his armor making a variety of clanking sounds as the monarch folded his arms across his chest. "However. We are both leaders of a people, so you will understand me when I say my people will be indebted to no one. For a favor granted, a favor shall be returned." Magneto stated matter-of-factly, and he knew he had gotten Doom interested.

Raising his helmet and gently lowering it onto his head, Magneto showed a faint smile.

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/443/84414-159986-magneto.png

"I do believe there is a certain foursome that have proven themselves to be quite problematic for you in the past."

[Electro UK]

The Vision stepped quickly to one side, letting Tombstone charge past him. He twisted around, kicking out with his leg and connecting with the criminals back, propelling him forwards into the alley wall.

"I don't dance," he stated. Although he couldn't see Nathaniel in the darkness of the alley, he already assumed that the young boy was wincing at the poor joke.

"I suggest you return to your home," the Vision said coolly "Now,"

"Yeah..." Tombstone coughed from under the rubble. "You did that once already." with a sudden move, he sprung back to life, propelling a brick at Vision's direction. The speed of the act caught Vision off guard, the stone connecting with his head. Before the Avenger could respond, Tombstone was in his face throwing a barrage of punches. "Killing an Avenger, not a bad way to get my rep up."

[Catman_prb]

"Yeah..." Tombstone coughed from under the rubble. "You did that once already." with a sudden move, he sprung back to life, propelling a brick at Vision's direction. The speed of the act caught Vision off guard, the stone connecting with his head. Before the Avenger could respond, Tombstone was in his face throwing a barrage of punches. "Killing an Avenger, not a bad way to get my rep up."
The Vision took the blows that knocked his head back like some form of metal punching bag, before bringing both hands around and clapping them over the villains ears. Grabbing ahold of the silver-grey hair, he brought his own head forwards and cracked it against the criminal's. He took a step back to let the vision and sound systems reassert themselves.

"I like to drive a point home," he said, his grating robotic voice starting to take on a slight influx of anger.

His hands grabbed Tombstone in a vicelike grip, slamming him against the alley wall.

"I don't think that you will get much money for my life," he said calmly "I haven't been around for a long time,"

[Batman]

"Victor, again I must tell you how grateful I am that you offered the children sanctuary. Our kind does not have many friends, and we are fortunate that you would count yourself as one of them. The children need a safe haven during these troubling times, and Latveria's hospitality will not be forgotten." Doom nodded silently, his armor making a variety of clanking sounds as the monarch folded his arms across his chest. "However. We are both leaders of a people, so you will understand me when I say my people will be indebted to no one. For a favor granted, a favor shall be returned." Magneto stated matter-of-factly, and he knew he had gotten Doom interested.

Raising his helmet and gently lowering it onto his head, Magneto showed a faint smile.

"I do believe there is a certain foursome that have proven themselves to be quite problematic for you in the past."

Doom narrowed his eyes, as Lensherr alluded to his sworn enemies in a rather unexpected way.

Though he was aware of Magneto's vendetta against all beings that were not of mutant kind, Doom was surprised he was even aware of The Fantastic Four's existence. They seemed so... distant, from Magneto's usual affairs. But in the short time Doom considered it, he realized that it was not out of the question to imagine Reed Richards leading the charge to meddle in any affairs that he could. He had practically made a routine of it, ever since the beginning... a fact of which Doom had held against him, even after all these years.

Indeed, the allusion to The Four had almost made Victor forget the manner of which Magneto had stated his request for the children to be escorted. Were it any other time, Doom would have been tempted to grab Lensherr by the throat and lay waste to the man that remained a high terror against all human life. But these were trying times, with many opprotunities to be made. And Victor did not want to let them slip through his grasp.

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"My affairs with those... people, are as much common knowledge as your affairs with Xavier's band of fools. And with the persistence of both, it's a wonder that circumstance didn't lead them all into their current peril much sooner.", Doom began, his voice slipping from gentle to malicious in an instant. "But even still, your prescence here intrigues me. You could have easily offered the children residence within Genosha, or another version of your 'Asteriod M' stronghold. But you chose Latveria. To what truer purpose?"

[Spider-Man9X17]

I look in amusement as my flesh is thrown around by Angel and Bullseye "...well you can't say I don't put my flesh and blood into my work."

"Awful dude, just awful." Iceman says before landing a frozen fist in my face.

"Oh Iceman! Totally cool!" I roll with the punch, managing to keep my footing as I stumble backwards. "I'm fighting X-men now, definitly a good sign of moving up in the world. Hey maybe I could join you guys?"

"Sorry, we're not too big on murderers."

"But Wolver--"

"Not too big I said."

"Shame." I launch into the air, bring my two swords with me. "You guys are so serious with your "ZOMG, Magneto/Apocalypse/Sinister has taken over the world again!" look, you could use a more light hearted team member."

Bobby meets my swords with a thick sheet of ice. "I'd like to think I cover that category."

"Oh dude you're cool don't worry (cool, get it? I kill me). Maybe we should get a mini series the--" I'm interrupted by Iceman's foot hitting my chin. "Oh, Gil Kane shot! Totally cool!" I manage to swipe my feet round and knock Bobby down as I hit the ground. "Look Iceman, you're a real neat guy and all, but I'd always been prepared for this encounter, and so meet your preil at the hands of my MELTING RAY GUN." I pull out my weapon and aim it.

"Uh, that's a kettle with a toaster stuck on the bottom."

"AND IT SHALL BE YOUR DOOM!" I throw the contraption at Iceman, who recieves a knock to the head.



OOC: Couldn't see that coming. :p

"Ah... glad... to be of... service." Bobby watches as my body starts to reform.

"You have a healing factor?"

"Yes, and I'd thank you not to make fun of it." but before I can get back into my groove completely, Bobby freezes me in my current state. "Hey! Come on, not fair! At least let my grow a finger or two back!" Iceman kicks the ice holding me from reparing, and shatters it, sending my flying into the air.

I spin upwards, missing most of both of my legs. "Oh you'll regret this one Icecube!" as I begin to slow and come back to earth, I pull out one sword, and bash Iceman on the head with the hilt. The force from the fall causes him to fall unconcious. "Ha! Deadpool and gravity: 1, Iceman and the elements: 0." My feet come back and I scramble upwards.

"Now, where's Pink gone? Pink? Here Pinky Pinkyyyyyyy."

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner-2.jpg

"Hi there."

Hawkeye bludgeoned Deadpool in the back of the head with his bow, grabbing one of the mercenary's swords from his sheath as he fell forward.

"So, does everything grow back?"

Hawkeye shoved the sword straight down through Deadpool's groin and into the concrete below.

"Glad to see I'm not too rusty on the swords play," Hawkeye quipped, squaring Bullseye up in his sights. "Could come in handy."

[Harlekin]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2040/logoik1.gif
New York

"That all you got!?" he screamed, a mixture of blood and spittle peppering out of his mouth, "Dazzler sucks f***in'... big... f***in' elephant d**ks in Hell, you got that?"

Angel’s eyes burned with rage as he heard Bullseye sully his friend and one-time lover’s name. Barely resisting the urge to swoop down, knowing he would put himself in danger – and he was already nursing a bad arm thanks to the assassin’s shurikens – Warren scanned the battlefield. Iceman had been knocked out by a lucky shot from Deadpool, but otherwise okay, and Hawkeye was already taking care of business on that end anyway.

That would leave Bullseye all to him.

“You know what, Bullseye? You’re pathetic,” Angel remarked as he floated down to a metre above the ground. To his side stood Hawkeye, having just impaled Deadpool’s crotch and fastened it to the pavement. Bullseye was standing right in front of them, combat ready.

“Put an arrow in this guy’s brains, Barton. Let’s finish this,” Angel said coldly.

The anger within had manifested itself in a new manner.

Angel didn't care for personal revenge.

Just revenge.

[Gallagher]

A door opens behind Cyclops, and one of the strangest looking X-Men enters the room, "I vould appreciate it if Logan could hurry. I vould like to hear your reasoning behind zhis travesty also."

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f332/Vampyresblood/nightcrawler.jpg



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Scott spun round to see the sudden figure of Kurt Wagner standing in the kitchen.

"Nice to see you too Kurt." He said, a certain pang of hurt in his voice at his long-time friend's wording and accusations.

"Make it fast Logan, Kurt's just arrived, I want to hold a meeting."

[Byrd Man]

"So what's the plan?"

"Hey, man, I just did the whole Sherlock Holmes thing, you come up with a plan."

"I got a plan, alright. It involves hurting a whole lot of people who deserve it."


************

Johnny Stompanato, better know as Johnny Stomp is a local muscle man and mid-level hitman. If anyone would know about the hit on Danny's family, it'd be him.

When Danny and I first arrived to see him, he seemed rather unresponsive to our questions. Now, he's sweating and telling us he'll let us know whatever we want.

Funny how dangling a man twenty stories off the pavement by his underwear can loosen a man's lips.

"The hit on the Avery family today. Who made the hit?" I say as I hold on to his heart-shaped boxers with one hand.
"I don't know! I just heard rumors!"

"Make with the rumor."

"I heard it was Bullseye! Okay, that's it."

"Is that all you're hiding?"

"Okay! I pissed my pants until I was 19!"

I toss Johnny Stomp on the roof and look over at Danny.

"Think there's much to the Bullseye angle?"

[Spider-Man9X17]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2040/logoik1.gif
New York



Angel’s eyes burned with rage as he heard Bullseye sully his friend and one-time lover’s name. Barely resisting the urge to swoop down, knowing he would put himself in danger – and he was already nursing a bad arm thanks to the assassin’s shurikens – Warren scanned the battlefield. Iceman had been knocked out by a lucky shot from Deadpool, but otherwise okay, and Hawkeye was already taking care of business on that end anyway.

That would leave Bullseye all to him.

“You know what, Bullseye? You’re pathetic,” Angel remarked as he floated down to a metre above the ground. To his side stood Hawkeye, having just impaled Deadpool’s crotch and fastened it to the pavement. Bullseye was standing right in front of them, combat ready.

“Put an arrow in this guy’s brains, Barton. Let’s finish this,” Angel said coldly.

The anger within had manifested itself in a new manner.

Angel didn't care for personal revenge.

Just revenge.

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Hawkeye had the base of Bullseye's skull square in his sights. He would have rathered Worthington not alerted the murdering b@$t@rd to his intentions, but no matter. No one, not even Hawkeye himself, would be fast enough to escape this shot from this close a range. He exhaled, and fired...

[Keyser Soze]

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Hawkeye had the base of Bullseye's skull square in his sights. He would have rathered Worthington not alerted the murdering b@$t@rd to his intentions, but no matter. No one, not even Hawkeye himself, would be fast enough to escape this shot from this close a range. He exhaled, and fired...

Bullseye had barely an instinct to react. There was no time to turn, no time to catch the arrow. All he had time to do was jump. And so the arrow that was meant for the base of his skull instead connected square with the centre of his back. It pierced the skin, prompting a yell of pain from Bullseye, but bounced harmlessly off his adamantium-laced spine.

"Wow, you actually had the balls to do it! I'm impressed."

Grabbing the arrow and spinning it in his hand, Bullseye returned the favor, tossing it right back at Hawkeye.

[Spider-Man9X17]

Bullseye had barely an instinct to react. There was no time to turn, no time to catch the arrow. All he had time to do was jump. And so the arrow that was meant for the base of his skull instead connected square with the centre of his back. It pierced the skin, prompting a yell of pain from Bullseye, but bounced harmlessly off his adamantium-laced spine.

"Wow, you actually had the balls to do it! I'm impressed."

Grabbing the arrow and spinning it in his hand, Bullseye returned the favor, tossing it right back at Hawkeye.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner-2.jpg

With a fraction of a second to react, Hawkeye turned his left arm into the arrow. The deadly projectile slammed into the re-enforced sleeve Hawkeye wore over the length of the arm to protect against the slapping of the bow string, along with any other impact that may otherwise injure his arm and hamper his aim. The arrow slammed it with what should have been lethal force, and a muffled *whap*. The padded sleeve absorbed the brunt of the shock and stopped the arrow dead, the point barely making it through to Hawkeye's skin. A pin prick, and nothing else.

Still, Clint was impressed with the precision of the throw, if not the force behind it. It took Hawkeye years to perfect his aim and his precision, allowing for maximum velocity and impact, and that was with a bow. Bullseye had come damn close to that with his hands.

Hawkeye pulled the arrow out of his arm and placed it back in his quiver. He wasn't letting anything extra laying around for this maniac to use as a weapon.

"You'll find I'm just full of surprises," Hawkeye snarled, inviting to Bullseye to bring whatever he had with several flicks of his outstretched hand.

[Keyser Soze]

Accepting the invitation, Bullseye measured up Hawkeye, judging in an instant his angle of attack. He produced two small, curved blades from his belt, and twirled them playfully in his hand.

"That makes two of us."

He swung both blades at Hawkeye. They spun in an arc through the air, sailing towards his opponent at slightly different angles... and breezing straight past him.

"Oh."

Hawkeye smirked, the words "You missed" clearly just about to exit his lips. Only, he hadn't missed. The first blade had sliced the quivers off each one of Hawkeye's arrows, rendering them useless. And the second blade had sliced off his satchel at the shoulder, causing the arrows to drop onto the ground behind him.

"Let's see how you do without your toys, sunshine."

Then Bullseye lunged at his foe, levelling him with a vicious roundhouse kick.

[Spider-Man9X17]

Accepting the invitation, Bullseye measured up Hawkeye, judging in an instant his angle of attack. He produced two small, curved blades from his belt, and twirled them playfully in his hand.

"That makes two of us."

He swung both blades at Hawkeye. They spun in an arc through the air, sailing towards his opponent at slightly different angles... and breezing straight past him.

"Oh."

Hawkeye smirked, the words "You missed" clearly just about to exit his lips. Only, he hadn't missed. The first blade had sliced the quivers off each one of Hawkeye's arrows, rendering them useless. And the second blade had sliced off his satchel at the shoulder, causing the arrows to drop onto the ground behind him.

"Let's see how you do without your toys, sunshine."

Then Bullseye lunged at his foe, levelling him with a vicious roundhouse kick.

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Hawkeye took the brunt of the fall with his shoulders instead of his back, preventing the wind from being knocked out of his lungs. He was pretty sure he'd have a fat lip by dinner time though. As soon as he hit, he swung his legs around and kicked Bullseye in th back of the knees, dropping him to the ground right beside him. Cocking his arm, he delivered a brutal elbow straight to Bullseye jaw.

"Not to toot my own horn or anything, but when's the last time you had one on one training with Captain America? Taught me that personally."

[Keyser Soze]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner-2.jpg

Hawkeye took the brunt of the fall with his shoulders instead of his back, preventing the wind from being knocked out of his lungs. He was pretty sure he'd have a fat lip by dinner time though. As soon as he hit, he swung his legs around and kicked Bullseye in th back of the knees, dropping him to the ground right beside him. Cocking his arm, he delivered a brutal elbow straight to Bullseye jaw.

"Not to toot my own horn or anything, but when's the last time you had one on one training with Captain America? Taught me that personally."

"And when was the last time anybody gave a crap about Captain America?"

Spitting a wad of blood into Hawkeye's eyes, Bullseye followed through with a jab to the throat.

[Optikal]

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All around him people were running, screaming in panic as the Green Goliath stepped out of the flames. Traffic had stopped still, leaving Times Square grid-locked. A group of policemen, rushing to the scene saw the monster and opened fire. Hulk roared at them in defiance as their pistol bullets glanced off his immense frame. Smashing a mighty fist through the roof of a car he hauled the vehicle in the air and let it fly towards the policemen. They dived away just in time before the car exploded into flames along with the vehicles it had landed on.

Hulk glanced around him, overhead news choppers and a police helicopter made way as a military gun-ship flew low and hit him with a barrage of machine-gun fire. "LEAVE HULK ALONE!" He bellowed. As it swooped overhead, Hulk grasped a motorcycle and launched it like a missle, shearing off the tail of the heli and sending it into a spin.

Once more the Hulk roared and cracked his neck. And that was when he heard the distant rumble.

From behind him, cars were parting like waves as another huge goliath charged into the fray. Hulk growled as the huge elephant-like monster came to a stop a few feet from the snarling Gamma Warrior.

"You know about the bounties don't you? Well I'm here to collect on yours. They call me Mammomax! Remember it, because it's the last name you're ever gonna hear!"

The mutant slammed a huge fist into the jaw of Hulk, sending him flying onto a bed of parked cars. Hulk rolled back to his feet but before he could react, Mammomax had bulldozed him with his huge tusks, sending the Hulk straight into the face of a huge neon sign. Hulk fell to the ground and dragged his knees up under his frame. With an angry growl he launched himself forwards, tackling the mammoth and rolling with him, exchanging punches and headbutts. Mammomax rolled free and ripped up a street sign, clobbering the Hulk around the face with the hard steel. But Hulk took the blow in his stride and retorted with a hard right that sent Mammomax flying into the side of a bus.

"HULK SMASH PUNY MAN!"

As the mutant lay in the crumpled wreckage, Hulk grabbed another vehicle and launched himself into the air, driving the car down on top of his foe. Without remorse he battered Mammomax with the car relentlessly. Eventually he stopped, standing over his opponent and snarling. Mammomax was bleeding from deep gashed around his head and his shoulders. He tried to speak but only blood bubbled from his throat. Weakly, he tried to push Hulk away, but his body was limp.

"Alright.... i-I G-give up. You w-win". he croaked.

Hulk stepped away and turned to leave, but the mammoth was finished. He dragged himself to his knees and tried to charge the Hulk. Hulk turned and grasped both of the mutants long tusks and hauled him off his feet. With a mighty roar he slammed a crater into the tarmac with the body and flexed his strength against the tusks, snappig them off and throwing them by the wayside.

With Mammomax utterly defeated Hulk turned and looked for anyone else who might challenge his might. Seeing none, he roared his defiance and leapt from the scene.

[bkhedr]

[/center]

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/3726/victorcreedke4.jpg

The Runt doesn't say another word to me after letting me up. He just settles his business and walks out. He tells me to do the same without saying anything before he exits and I nod at his back. Sure I didn't kill him, didn't make a quick buck in the process, but I got what I want, got to let the beast out, an' now my head's clear as day, my hands are sticky with blood, an' I can start planning for the future.

First thing's first though.

I reach over the bottle and grab a bottle of whiskey. I know I said I can't get drunk but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy drinking.

The bar tender wants to say something, I can tell, but he doesn't even look at me. Neither do the cops or any of the other patrons. With the runt gone, they're terrified of me, and who can blame them?

I quickly run my hands across my face. The runt did a number on me this time. Probably won't be pretty for another few minutes.

Good. I want them scared of me.

I grin, baring my fangs, and say: "Thanks for the hospitality." talking to everyone in the bar before I walk out the back chugging on the whiskey.

I'll deal with the runt next time, with us, there's always a next time. Right now i'm flexing my claws and scenting the wind. Work out's done and its time to kill me a superhero.

I never did like those New Warrior brats.

***

Back in the bar the two cops look at each other uneasily before one of them says "Its gotta be him."

"Yeah" The other nods and replies. "OK. You get the bar tender's statement, I'll make the call."

Moments later the Cop is in his squad car and has dialled a number into his cell phone. The phone rings twice before there is an answer and the Cop speaks quietly into the phone as if he were afraid he might be overheard.


"Yeah Sarge, its Fred. Eddie and I, we've found that freak you've been looking for."


http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/3726/victorcreedke4.jpg

This city's a mess.

Its been a couple of hours since I left the bar and my latests scrap with Logan behind, and I've only just found my prey.

By now most people who don't want trouble are off the streets, and certain parts of town, like this one, are practically deserted. Still, You'd be surprised how much a few thousand random beatings, and the stray blood that goes with them, can make finding a few scents I ain't that familiar with difficult.

Course difficult ain't never stopped me, and as I vault over a wall and perch in a shadowy niche behind a stone gargoyle five stories up; I know the ones I've been looking for are just below me.

Microbe and Speedball they call 'em. Snot nosed punks had a reality show for awhile where they and the other New Warriors would catch crooks live on TV. Show was cancelled a couple of weeks back, and after watching these two amatuers work over some street thugs for a few minutes I can't say I'm surprised.

The brats finish off the thugs and high five each other right there on the street like there isn't a bounty on their heads. That kind of carelessness is why they'll be dead in a few minutes. Its why I picked these punks, punks I normally wouldn't dirty my hands with, to make a quick buck off of.

10 grand each may not be much, but its enough to get me started.

The smaller of the boys, Speedball, says something about it all being too easy and that's when I've heard enough. I reach over to the Gargoyle's head and snap it off the statue, hefting it in my hand and feeling the weight.

"Hey meat!" I shout to get their attention and they both turn to look at me, their eyes going wide as they recognize me.

"Catch!" I shout as I hurl the gargoyle's head at them and it hits Microbe in the side of the head, knocking him to his knees and busting him open.

The smell of fresh blood reaches my nostrils almost instantly, and speeds up my heart beat, then with a growl, I leap off the building, letting gravity lead me to my kill.

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[bkhedr]

Frailty, thy name is woman.

Loki had always appreciated Hamlet. Ever since the first performance of Shakespeare's tragedy, it had been a source of fascination. The story of a malcontent who brings down a kingdom, one sole, rebellious voice of reason and enlightenment in a court filled with unworthy monarchs and spineless sycophants. The story of Prince Hamlet held some degree of personal resonance with Loki.

And this line in particular resonated with his current situation. Or, rather... her situation. For after death at Ragnarok, Loki had been reborn in mortal form, trapped in the feeble body of a woman. Somewhere out there, all the Asgardians wandered the Earth in these fragile shells, utterly unaware of what they had once been. Perhaps they would grow old and die meaningless mortal deaths, succumbing to newfound mortality never knowing of the immortality trapped within them.

Somehow, Loki's magick had preserved her memory, and allowed her to retain some degree of power. But for whatever magical abilities she had retained, it could not change the fact that she was now mortal. A powerful mortal, yes, but a God no more. This body was vulnerable. It could be injured by mortal man and his weapons. It grew tired, hungry, thirsty. It aged. And then Loki's thoughts strayed to her own potential fate: dying once more, this time as an old, helpless woman, never able to unlock the secret that would restore her Godhood.

She could not let that happen. Asgard, and the Asgardians with it, must be restored. And so Loki was on her way to locate the one man who might be able to help her do that. She walked through the streets of New York City, wearing a green dress under a fur shawl, and a large black hat that cast her features into shadow. A simple enchantment had transformed her Asgardian attire into something more likely to blend in. It was wise not to look unusual and be mistaken for a superhero in the midst of this bounty nonsense.

But Loki was distracted from her thoughts when she saw something rather unusual herself. A naked man, filtering in and out amidst the crowds, seemingly studying the people around him. Even more unusual, nobody else seemed to notice this man...

No, not a man.

The creature suddenly looked up, and made eye contact with Loki, revealing glowing red eyes. After being momentarily surprised that Loki could see him, the creature smiled civilly, and walked on. Loki then became aware of more of these naked creatures, all walking unnoticed amongst the mortals of New York City. Immediately, she knew what they were.

"Ifrit."

Loki walked the rest of the way to her destination with increased urgency, finally stepping into the reception hall of Paradise Towers. She approached the man behind the desk.

"I wish to speak with Dr. Donald Blake. I understand that he resides here."

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/405/thorlogokz4.gif

The Thunder God was still standing on his apartment balcony, ready to depart for Avengers mansion, when the building comm system beeped for his attention once.

The Thundered considered ignoring the call, but decided against it lest there be some complication with Donald Blake's rent agreement.

A second beep came from the speaker built into the wall and this time he depressed the answer button and spoke into the speaker with Donald Blake's mortal voice.

"Yes?"

"Sorry to disturb you Doctor Blake, but there's a young woman here to see you." The porter replied even as a black and white image of the front entrance appeared on the comm and displayed both the porter and the visitor to the tenant.

Thor eyed the girl carefully, studying her features. Not recognizing her, but finding her familiar.

"Shall I send the young lady up sir?" The porter asked when he did not immediately receive a reply.

Thor hesitated for a moment and a familiar feeling began to build up in the pit of his stomach as he watched the woman on the screen, but all it served to do was pique his curiousity so that when he replied it was in the affirmative.

"Yes. Yes. Send her right up."

A few moments later there is a light rap of delicate knuckles on the apartment's wooden door and when the door opens a moment earlier it is Donald Blake and not Thor who stands on the otherside.

"Can I help you?" he asks curiously as he and woman's eyes meet.

[Keyser Soze]

"Why yes, you can."

Loki eases her way into the apartment, brushing past Blake and striding across the room as if it were her own home.

"Pleasant quarters, I must say."

She then turned her attention back to Blake, as if only just realising he was there. With an alluring smile, she slinked towards him. She ran a black-nailed hand along the length of Blake's arm, before letting it settle on his shoulder.

"You appear confused. Could it be true? Do you really not recognise me..."

Loki circled around behind Blake, and now let a hand rest on each shoulder, massaging them gently. Then, she leaned forward, and whispered seductively into his ear.

"...brother?"

[SenseiofCheese]

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"My affairs with those... people, are as much common knowledge as your affairs with Xavier's band of fools. And with the persistence of both, it's a wonder that circumstance didn't lead them all into their current peril much sooner.", Doom began, his voice slipping from gentle to malicious in an instant. "But even still, your prescence here intrigues me. You could have easily offered the children residence within Genosha, or another version of your 'Asteriod M' stronghold. But you chose Latveria. To what truer purpose?"

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Lensherr couldn't help but crack a narrow smile. He could see how Dr. Doom had garnered his reputation as a god among men.

"I won't bore you with the story of my woes. Death, depowerment, resurrection, these are all mundane things to a mystic of your status, Doctor." he said, waving his hand as if to dismiss the matter. "But suffice it to say, my living opportunities, namely those on Genosha, have been exhausted for the time being."

Magneto could sense in Doom's tone that the man's hatred towards the celebrated Fantastic Four was almost as deep and pure as Lensherr's own hatred of humans. What surprised Magneto, however, was that looking at this man, a mere man encased in a metal armor, he did not see a human. Almost an equal.

"History has shown that the humans will spare no expense in hunting down every last one of my kind. Wherever me and mine reside, we are attacked. Latveria, dear Doctor, is a place even the most foolhardy of aggressors would not dare attack in pursuit of us." Magneto stated with assertiveness, knowing that praising the kingdom will grant favor with the king.

"The...'heroes' have no one to blame but themselves for their current predicament. Because beyond all, they are still human. And humans will take every single chance they get to eat their own. I, for one, say let them." he said maliciously, before adopting a more regretful, but no less spiteful, tone. "We both know, Victor, that Reed Richards and his gang of fools will not be taken down by a mere rioter in the search for monetary gain. This, I believe, is where I can be of assistance."

[Harlekin]

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/7251/logocr6.jpg

Hell’s Kitchen, New York

“This isn’t his style,” Ben Urich said as he looked at the set of bodies slumped against the alley wall. Sitting in a row, the bodies each had one letter carved on their chests, which together formed D-A-R-E-D-E-V-I-L. The sight sickened Urich, but as Hell’s Kitchen native and a veteran journalist, he was afraid to admit he’d seen much worse in his time.

“Says who?” Homicide Detective Andy ‘Coyote’ Bunkland asked as he lifted the yellow police wrapper to enter the crime scene. He was a burley black man, not overweight, with a hard face, cropped hair and full moustache. He was wearing a long trenchcoat and in his hand he held a plastic coffee cup. He was smoking a big, brown cigar. For Urich, a retired smoker of some time now, the smell of the cheap brand was both nauseating and enticing.
“Last I checked, Urich, they didn’t allow reporters on crime scenes.”
“You know he didn’t do this.”
“Do I?” Coyote replied. He’d earned the name for his rather eccentric hobby: Andy was a fan of conspiracy theories, and although he never admitted to it in public, believed one or two of them. It was the subject of much derision amongst his colleagues, rarely behind his back, and his partner had once called him a modern day Don Quixote. Or as Ray Charleston himself had put it: “You’re a regular ‘Don Co-yote’. Always seeing things that ain’t there, chasing after windmills.”

The name had stuck.

“Thing is, Urich, your buddy’s gone off the deep end before.”
“Not like this. Never like this.”
“Yeah, well, every day’s a new one. Now write your story somewhere else. I’ve got a murder to solve and one hell of a prime suspect.”

[bkhedr]

"Why yes, you can."

Loki eases her way into the apartment, brushing past Blake and striding across the room as if it were her own home.

"Pleasant quarters, I must say."

She then turned her attention back to Blake, as if only just realising he was there. With an alluring smile, she slinked towards him. She ran a black-nailed hand along the length of Blake's arm, before letting it settle on his shoulder.

"You appear confused. Could it be true? Do you really not recognise me..."

Loki circled around behind Blake, and now let a hand rest on each shoulder, massaging them gently. Then, she leaned forward, and whispered seductively into his ear.

"...brother?"

Awareness of who he was talking to came to Blake like a sudden slap in the face, and he quickly turned and took a hold of Loki's wrists before slamming her into a wall and pinning her there.

"Loki." He spat the name. "I don't know how you've returned or why I couldn't see through your illusion but believe me when I say this: I do not have time for your games now."

[Electro UK]

"And when was the last time anybody gave a crap about Captain America?"

Spitting a wad of blood into Hawkeye's eyes, Bullseye followed through with a jab to the throat.

"Hrrgnh... HRRRRRRRRRRRRNGH..." is all I can muster from my mouth as I attempt to pull the sword from the ridiculous position Hawkeye has put me in. I pause for a second to look at the on going action. "You know... sometimes I just feel like people use me like a punching bag... HRRRRRRNGH!" with one last might effort, I remove the sword from its unfortunate position. "Right, let that be the last time anyone stabs me through the groin for comedic effect for the rest of the year."

Bullseye's got Hawkeye tagged for now I guess, which leads me to the univited guest. Angel swoops above the battle scene majestically, looking down on Bullseye for the right time to strike. I scan my path upwards, onto the ice cream disaster, onto the dismantled fire escape, and up the pipe. I start my ascent, humming a merry little tune as I go. "Gonna kill me an angel, gonna go to hell for it, gonna be friends with the devil, gonna rock out, gonna be the best damn hell minion eveeeeeer." I reach the top of the building, Angel still fixed on Bullseye.

"Alright... if this works I'm officially cooler than anyone else in this battle right now." taking a deep breath I run, jump, and collide with Angel's back, managing to keep a grip. "WOO HOO! Making the jump to hyper space now! Punch it Chewie! Wait where are the breaks on this thing? Uh oh--" the surprise has knocked Angel off balance, and sent us both flying through a building window, me crashing through the glass first.

We take a brief moment to rest, before I look up to see a student sitting on her bed, the fear of god in her eyes. "Uh... sorry."

[Electro UK]

The Vision took the blows that knocked his head back like some form of metal punching bag, before bringing both hands around and clapping them over the villains ears. Grabbing ahold of the silver-grey hair, he brought his own head forwards and cracked it against the criminal's. He took a step back to let the vision and sound systems reassert themselves.

"I like to drive a point home," he said, his grating robotic voice starting to take on a slight influx of anger.

His hands grabbed Tombstone in a vicelike grip, slamming him against the alley wall.

"I don't think that you will get much money for my life," he said calmly "I haven't been around for a long time,"

"You're a super, and you're trying to stop me. That's gotta get me something." Tombstone managed to work his knee up and push away from Vision, getting him to back off and give Lonnie a little space. "You need remindin' what a hero is or something?" Tombstone turned to face the road, where a group of rioters were making their way over to the battle, obviously looking to get in on a little dough.

"Let me help you jog yer memory." he wrapped his hands round a car and lifted it above the group's heads, about to pound down on them. Tombstone wasn't interested in mindless slaughter, that wasn't his game. What he was interested in however, was getting this chump in just the position he wanted him in.

[Keyser Soze]

Awareness of who he was talking to came to Blake like a sudden slap in the face, and he quickly turned and took a hold of Loki's wrists before slamming her into a wall and pinning her there.

"Loki." He spat the name. "I don't know how you've returned or why I couldn't see through your illusion but believe me when I say this: I do not have time for your games now."

Loki's clothes shifted and transformed back into her Asgardian attire, her hat dissolving into her horned headpiece. But her physical appearance was unchanged.

"This is no illusion, brother. I have been reborn in mortal flesh, with no means to return to my true form. And this is no game either. I have come here because I need your help."

She tried to squirm free, but Blake slammed her back against the wall, harder, and squeezed on her wrists tighter. And that moment, Loki truly looked little more than a vulnerable, frightened woman.

"You're hurting me."

[SenseiofCheese]

"Okay! I pissed my pants until I was 19!"

I toss Johnny Stomp on the roof and look over at Danny.

"Think there's much to the Bullseye angle?"
[/LEFT]
[/CENTER]

I sigh and look over at the shivering heap of clothes that is Johnny Stomp. "I don't know man." I shake my head. Looking at Johnny boy, I wouldn't think he's lying but...I just don't know.

"From what I know about that sicko, the way Mike and his family were killed...I'd say it fits."

[Matt Murdock]

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Scott spun round to see the sudden figure of Kurt Wagner standing in the kitchen.

"Nice to see you too Kurt." He said, a certain pang of hurt in his voice at his long-time friend's wording and accusations.

"Make it fast Logan, Kurt's just arrived, I want to hold a meeting."
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Logan bore back down onto the bike's gas and felt the rear tire rip against the pavement beneath him.

Cyclops had narrowly avoided Logan's annoyance at the situation.

"Tell Wagner I'll be there soon. Forty minutes I should say. Assuming someone doesn't try to rip off my head in the process."

He closed the phone unceremoniously and continued driving into upstate New York.

[Spider-Man9X17]

"And when was the last time anybody gave a crap about Captain America?"

Spitting a wad of blood into Hawkeye's eyes, Bullseye followed through with a jab to the throat.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner-2.jpg


"What the hell you sick f***!" Hawkeye half-yelled/half gagged, wiping the blood from his face as he sucked wind for a decent breathe. "Have you had an HIV test lately?"

Hawkeye regained his composure and grabbed Bullseye by the scruff of the neck, spinning him around and driving a knee into his gut before connecting with a haymaker to Bullseye's jaw as he staggered backwards.

"I've got all the toys I need right here," Clint sneered, cracking his knuckles.

[Harlekin]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2040/logoik1.gif
New York

“Sorry, miss,” Angel said to the student as he quickly charged into Deadpool and back through the broken window. “Just bill all damages to Worthington Industries. Get some new clothes too, if you want, and call me.”

“You were talking about wanting to become an X-Man, weren’t you earlier?” Warren then continued to the merc with a mouth as he held him by his costume. “First thing an X-Man learns? Expect pain.”

With great force, the winged mutant slammed the mercenary into the opposing building’s brick wall, where they narrowly missed another window. A stone came lose from the impact and Deadpool grunted, although, having seen what kind of hurting he had withstood during the battle so far, Angel doubted it had anything to do with pain.

“You know, you two have actually made something very clear to me.”

Angel pulled Deadpool by his costume again, before the assassin could respond, taking him into the sky.

“See, first I wanted to kill Bullseye for what he did to my friend. When I came in and saw you guys fighting Hawkeye, I thought, ‘okay, maybe ‘just his bones’. Then back to killing when he started thrash talking, although I didn’t really care who’d do it. A little erratic, don’t you think? Rage will do that to you. But now, seeing you and that sick maniac down there, seeing how you operate, I know better again.

“I am a hero, Deadpool, and for what you two have done, I’ll see you locked up. And sure, for Ali, I’ll even make sure you get the smallest, dirtiest cell there is. You’re not ever seeing daylight again.

“But I don’t kill.”

The two had ended up far, really far above the ground.

“Now, tell me, how’s your oxygen supply?” Angel asked with a smile.

[Electro UK]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2040/logoik1.gif

New York

“Sorry, miss,” Angel said to the student as he quickly charged into Deadpool and back through the broken window. “Just bill all damages to Worthington Industries. Get some new clothes too, if you want, and call me.”

“You were talking about wanting to become an X-Man, weren’t you earlier?” Warren then continued to the merc with a mouth as he held him by his costume. “First thing an X-Man learns? Expect pain.”

With great force, the winged mutant slammed the mercenary into the opposing building’s brick wall, where they narrowly missed another window. A stone came lose from the impact and Deadpool grunted, although, having seen what kind of hurting he had withstood during the battle so far, Angel doubted it had anything to do with pain.

“You know, you two have actually made something very clear to me.”

Angel pulled Deadpool by his costume again, before the assassin could respond, taking him into the sky.

“See, first I wanted to kill Bullseye for what he did to my friend. When I came in and saw you guys fighting Hawkeye, I thought, okay, maybe ‘just his bones’. Then back to killing when he started thrash talking, although I didn’t really care who’d do it. A little erratic, don’t you think? Rage will do that to you. But now, seeing you and that sick maniac down there, seeing how you operate, I know better again.

“I am a hero, Deadpool, and for what you two have done, I’ll see you locked up. And sure, for Ali, I’ll even make sure you get the smallest, dirtiest cell there is. You’re not ever seeing daylight again.

“But I don’t kill.”

The two had ended up far, really far above the ground.

“Now, tell me, how’s your oxygen supply?” Angel asked with a smile.

Guh, wish he'd shut up. This must be what it's like listening to me. "S'good." I mutter, the effort it takes for me to say the one word clearly proving it to be a lie. "But y'know as nice as it was for you to take me up to see the view-- GAH, airplane!-- I feel a little safer on the ground." Angel blocks out my words, only going higher. "Well alright but this is gonna hurt you a lot more than it hurts me (that is sooooo very much a lie)." I pull a grenade from my belt. "You know, after I do this, I'm going to start finding ways of getting out of these situations without blowing up a part of me."

I pull the pin, wait a few seconds, then allow myself to be thrown from Angel as the explosion tears us apart. "Okay... just gonna go for a little nap while free falling..." wait nope, gotta make a majestic landing. Time to pull the ace out of my sleeve. I flick a little switch on my belt, and a parachute emerges from behind, with the Deadpool logo on top. "Woo! Go me!"

[Harlekin]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2040/logoik1.gif
New York

The grenade separates Angel and Deadpool rather forcefully. Fortunately, the winged mutant was able to let go of the mercenary just as he pulled out the explosive and Angel was thereby able to avoid the brunt of the attack. Nonetheless, together with the injuries he sustained from Bullseye’s throwing stars, the pain coursed through Angel’s body, partially numbing and sending him falling, teetering on the edge of consciousness.

“Man, you really need to work on your--” Bobby Drake started commenting as he caught his friend in an iceslide. Having only recently come back to his senses, the mutant had had to work fast and seeing Warren falling out of the sky, quickly slid into the air, pulling out all stops and ignoring Deadpool and the fight between Hawkeye and Bullseye. However, Angel really seemed out of it and this shocked the founding X-Man.

“War!?” he called as he gripped his friend, still high above the air.
“Eh?” the part-time CEO, part-time superhero responded as he shook his head.
“Ah, buddy, don’t scare me like that.”
“Head hurts,” Angel commented as he started to rise. “Where’s Deadpool?”
Iceman silently pointed to the Deadpool parachute.

“Idiot,” Angel said, smiling as he flew from the iceslide and grabbed the parachute by the ropes.

“You know, I’ve been thinking Deadpool,” he called out to the mutant mercenary, hanging rather helplessly. “You want to make money killing people, right? Or just money making in general?

“Because, y’know, I am a billionaire. I'll offer you fifty million if you take down your buddy. It’d save you blowing yourself up every few minutes.”

[Keyser Soze]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner-2.jpg


"What the hell you sick f***!" Hawkeye half-yelled/half gagged, wiping the blood from his face as he sucked wind for a decent breathe. "Have you had an HIV test lately?"

Hawkeye regained his composure and grabbed Bullseye by the scruff of the neck, spinning him around and driving a knee into his gut before connecting with a haymaker to Bullseye's jaw as he staggered backwards.

"I've got all the toys I need right here," Clint sneered, cracking his knuckles.

"Oh yeah, I see your toys..."

After struggling to regain his footing, Bullseye moved back in towards Hawkeye, making some graceful martial arts moves with his hands.

"...but how are your boys?"

With Hawkeye's guard focused on his arms, Bullseye made a sleight to the left, and followed through with a decidedly ungraceful kick right to Hawkeye's nuts.

"Sorry, I ain't got a sword on me..."

With Hawkeye doubled over in pain, Bullseye grabbed his head, pulled it upwards towards him, and sunk his teeth right into Hawkeye's nose. Holding tight onto the sides of Hawkeye's mask, Bullseye continued biting harder and harder, as if not content until the nose had been chewed right off his enemy's face.

[Spider-Man9X17]

"Oh yeah, I see your toys..."

After struggling to regain his footing, Bullseye moved back in towards Hawkeye, making some graceful martial arts moves with his hands.

"...but how are your boys?"

With Hawkeye's guard focused on his arms, Bullseye made a sleight to the left, and followed through with a decidedly ungraceful kick right to Hawkeye's nuts.

"Sorry, I ain't got a sword on me..."

With Hawkeye doubled over in pain, Bullseye grabbed his head, pulled it upwards towards him, and sunk his teeth right into Hawkeye's nose. Holding tight onto the sides of Hawkeye's mask, Bullseye continued biting harder and harder, as if not content until the nose had been chewed right off his enemy's face.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner-2.jpg

"AHHHHHHH!!!!GODD@*M*T!!!" Hawkeye yelled through the pain. It took all he could not to pass out, from the crippling pain in his groin to the burning, tearing pain in his nose. He could barely see now for the blood splattering in his eyes.

Hawkeye used the last of his fading strength and pressed his two clenched fists against Bullseye's abdomen. Activating a small sensor hidden in both gloves, a tiny crossbow-like mechanism popped out of each gauntlet on his wrists. Hitting the sensor again, two miniature arrows fired into each side of Bullseye's stomach, lodging them on either side of his belly button.

"A olby bah a gooby," Hawkeye coughed out, blood oozing from between the fingers he had pressed to his face.

With his free hand, Hawkeye grabbed Bullseye by the back of his costume and dragged him over to a nearby curb.

"Yah a sig mubberfubber. I ahmusd respedt dat."

Hawkeye bounced Bullseye's head off the sidewalk, the positioned his head over the corner of the curb so it looked like Bullseye was about to take a bite out of the curb.

Hawkeye blew his nose free of blood momentarily, placing the heel of his boot at the base of Bullseye's head.

"Almost..."

He pulled back and kicked Bullseye's head into the curb with all his might...

[bkhedr]

Loki's clothes shifted and transformed back into her Asgardian attire, her hat dissolving into her horned headpiece. But her physical appearance was unchanged.

"This is no illusion, brother. I have been reborn in mortal flesh, with no means to return to my true form. And this is no game either. I have come here because I need your help."

She tried to squirm free, but Blake slammed her back against the wall, harder, and squeezed on her wrists tighter. And that moment, Loki truly looked little more than a vulnerable, frightened woman.

"You're hurting me."

Blake continued to eye Loki for a moment before letting her go and taking a step back.

"Why should I help you?" he asks forcefully.

[bkhedr]

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/3726/victorcreedke4.jpg


This city's a mess.

Its been a couple of hours since I left the bar and my latests scrap with Logan behind, and I've only just found my prey.

By now most people who don't want trouble are off the streets, and certain parts of town, like this one, are practically deserted. Still, You'd be surprised how much a few thousand random beatings, and the stray blood that goes with them, can make finding a few scents I ain't that familiar with difficult.

Course difficult ain't never stopped me, and as I vault over a wall and perch in a shadowy niche behind a stone gargoyle five stories up; I know the ones I've been looking for are just below me.

Microbe and Speedball they call 'em. Snot nosed punks had a reality show for awhile where they and the other New Warriors would catch crooks live on TV. Show was cancelled a couple of weeks back, and after watching these two amatuers work over some street thugs for a few minutes I can't say I'm surprised.

The brats finish off the thugs and high five each other right there on the street like there isn't a bounty on their heads. That kind of carelessness is why they'll be dead in a few minutes. Its why I picked these punks, punks I normally wouldn't dirty my hands with, to make a quick buck off of.

10 grand each may not be much, but its enough to get me started.

The smaller of the boys, Speedball, says something about it all being too easy and that's when I've heard enough. I reach over to the Gargoyle's head and snap it off the statue, hefting it in my hand and feeling the weight.

"Hey meat!" I shout to get their attention and they both turn to look at me, their eyes going wide as they recognize me.

"Catch!" I shout as I hurl the gargoyle's head at them and it hits Microbe in the side of the head, knocking him to his knees and busting him open.

The smell of fresh blood reaches my nostrils almost instantly, and speeds up my heart beat, then with a growl, I leap off the building, letting gravity lead me to my kill.

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/77/187416-9829-sabretooth_super.jpg



http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/3726/victorcreedke4.jpg

I'm still coming down when Speedball comes right up at me. He's scared, I can smell it, but he's trying to buy his fat friend some time.

He's fast too. He slams into my chest and bounces off before I can swipe back. The force of the impact sends me into the side of the building I was just perched on with a thud and pain ripples through me.

I watch as Speedball bounces from one wall to another and even though I'm in free fall on account of him, I can't help but be impressed by how he moves.

I hit the cement hard and it knocks the wind out of me, but I recover quickly, shaking my head to bring myself around.

Then Speedball bounces off of the top of my head and slams my chin into the pavement in the process, busting it open and leaving me dizzy.

I let out a roar and lash out wildly with my claws. Sure enough, the punk backs off, and when I use the chance to vault to my feet, he stays backed off.

"There's a price on your heads kids, and I'm here to collect." I say menacingly to the pair as Speedball helps Mircrobe, who has now recovered, to his feet.

"Yeah well come on and try ugly!" Speedball says as he springs into motion and Mircrobe cirlces around.

They talk a big game and they're eager to prove that they can handle a threat like me, but they're scared, and they can't.

Speedball comes right at me like a bat out of hell, but this time I'm ready and I've got his timing down. My claws meet him mid leap and rip his gut open. His eyes go wide with disbelief then they go dead and his body goes limp and bounces to a stop on the concrete several meters behind me.

I'm about to gut Microbe when I feel nausous, dizzy, and exhausted, all rolled into one.

"You bastard!" he shouts as he gestures towards me, doing whatever it is he's doing to me.

"Come on Robbie! Get up!" He calls desperately to his friend, giving me a reason to grin.

"He's dead tubbs." I sneer as I overcome the nausea and stand tall as I get in front of him.

Kid's about to cry as he realizes that he can't stop me. He blubbers about he doesn't want to die and I rip his throat open with my claws.

He hits the ground with a slap and I suddenly feel better. Healing factor kept me from dropping but that don't mean he wasn't doing a number on me.

I look the bodies over. Kids. They never shoulda try to play the heroes...

[Keyser Soze]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner-2.jpg

"AHHHHHHH!!!!GODD@*M*T!!!" Hawkeye yelled through the pain. It took all he could not to pass out, from the crippling pain in his groin to the burning, tearing pain in his nose. He could barely see now for the blood splattering in his eyes.

Hawkeye used the last of his fading strength and pressed his two clenched fists against Bullseye's abdomen. Activating a small sensor hidden in both gloves, a tiny crossbow-like mechanism popped out of each gauntlet on his wrists. Hitting the sensor again, two miniature arrows fired into each side of Bullseye's stomach, lodging them on either side of his belly button.

"A olby bah a gooby," Hawkeye coughed out, blood oozing from between the fingers he had pressed to his face.

With his free hand, Hawkeye grabbed Bullseye by the back of his costume and dragged him over to a nearby curb.

"Yah a sig mubberfubber. I ahmusd respedt dat."

Hawkeye bounced Bullseye's head off the sidewalk, the positioned his head over the corner of the curb so it looked like Bullseye was about to take a bite out of the curb.

Hawkeye blew his nose free of blood momentarily, placing the heel of his boot at the base of Bullseye's head.

"Almost..."

He pulled back and kicked Bullseye's head into the curb with all his might...

*CRACK"

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGHHH!"

A row of teeth skittled out in all directions all over the sidewalk. Rolling over onto his back, leaving a bloody mouth-shaped imprint behind him, Bullseye coughed and spat out blood, letting it dribble down out the sides of his mouth and onto his costume. The million-dollar smile was gone, to say the least.

"You... you motherf***er!" he gummed, "You know how much I spent on those teeth?"

Grabbing a handful of his erstwhile pearly whites, Bullseye fired two, one into each of Hawkeye's wrist gauntlets.

"You got all the toys you need right here," muttered Bullseye, imitating the boxing-fist position Hawkeye had taken while saying this earlier, "My ass. Pussy. Poser!"

Scrambling to his knees, Bullseye let out a whimper of pain as he felt the small arrows jagging into his stomach, and the sting of shredded gums in the mess that had been his mouth. He fired another tooth right into Hawkeye's shoulder, aiming it so it buried itself right in the joint.

"Gonna make this slow you piece of shAAAAAAAAAH!"

Bullseye hauled out the tiny arrows, dropping them to the ground as he forced himself back to his feet.

"Wanna f**k with me you backwater carny c**t?"

Bullseye fired another tooth, clipping right into the side of Hawkeye's neck and bringing the hero to his knees.

"Next one's going in your stupid, cock-vacuum head..."

[Keyser Soze]

Blake continued to eye Loki for a moment before letting her go and taking a step back.

"Why should I help you?" he asks forcefully.

"Because as you can plainly see, I am not the man I once was."

Loki remained fixed against the wall, rubbing her bruised wrists.

"I have been granted the remarkable gift of rebirth, rescued from the dark finality of extinction. This is a gift I do not wish to spoil or squander. In my past life, I did terrible, unforgivable things. But now I am before you... humble, repentant. And I desire to atone for the sins of my past."

Blake scoffed, clearly unconvinced. And in response, Loki's eyes flinched with an utterly convincing glimmer of hurt.

"I understand if you do not believe me. You more than any other have reason to distrust my motives and despise me forever. But I am weak now, I have been brought low... and so, as little value though it might be to you, my word is all I have. With it, I assure you... I have no schemes left in me. Prophecy told me I would bring about Ragnarok, and that I did. And all it brought me was despair and death."

Loki looked down at the floor as painful memories flashed before her eyes. Beheaded, helpless, watching all she knew burn all around her, before herself being consumed by the flames...

"But with this new life is the chance of a new beginning. I am free from the chains of prophecy, free to forge my own destiny. And my first free choice is to be Prince of Lies no more. For countless ages, my own deceit has been my downfall. From now on, I vow to tell only the truth. And I desire only to be of assistance to you in the road that lies ahead. You who I have wronged more than any other. If you can find a way to forigve me, perhaps you will come to trust me. And perhaps one day, in a future where Asgard is restored, I will be welcomed to stand by your side, your brother once more."

Another scoff from Blake. Loki sighed.

"Besides, you will need all the help you can get... against the Ifrit."

The mere mention of the name seemed to sting Blake.

"Oh, yes, I have seen them, walking among the mortals of Midgard. As I am sure you have seen them."

Tentatively stepping forward, away from the wall, Loki pointed down at Blake's cane.

"Now there is a question I must ask, dear brother. Are you trapped in mortal form, as I am? Or, much like the magic I have acquired throughout my lifetime, does the inherent, transformative magic of Mjolnir endure?"

[Byrd Man]

I sigh and look over at the shivering heap of clothes that is Johnny Stomp. "I don't know man." I shake my head. Looking at Johnny boy, I wouldn't think he's lying but...I just don't know.

"From what I know about that sicko, the way Mike and his family were killed...I'd say it fits."

"Oh, joy. Finding him in New York is like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles."

I look over at Danny and shurg.

"I mean, Bullseye isn't the the type to have a drag down fight right in the middle of downtown with a couple of superheroes, right?"

[Electro UK]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2040/logoik1.gif

New York

The grenade separates Angel and Deadpool rather forcefully. Fortunately, the winged mutant was able to let go of the mercenary just as he pulled out the explosive and Angel was thereby able to avoid the brunt of the attack. Nonetheless, together with the injuries he sustained from Bullseye’s throwing stars, the pain coursed through Angel’s body, partially numbing and sending him falling, teetering on the edge of consciousness.

“Man, you really need to work on your--” Bobby Drake started commenting as he caught his friend in an iceslide. Having only recently come back to his senses, the mutant had had to work fast and seeing Warren falling out of the sky, quickly slid into the air, pulling out all stops and ignoring Deadpool and the fight between Hawkeye and Bullseye. However, Angel really seemed out of it and this shocked the founding X-Man.

“War!?” he called as he gripped his friend, still high above the air.
“Eh?” the part-time CEO, part-time superhero responded as he shook his head.
“Ah, buddy, don’t scare me like that.”
“Head hurts,” Angel commented as he started to rise. “Where’s Deadpool?”
Iceman silently pointed to the Deadpool parachute.

“Idiot,” Angel said, smiling as he flew from the iceslide and grabbed the parachute by the ropes.

“You know, I’ve been thinking Deadpool,” he called out to the mutant mercenary, hanging rather helplessly. “You want to make money killing people, right? Or just money making in general?

“Because, y’know, I am a billionaire. I'll offer you fifty million if you take down your buddy. It’d save you blowing yourself up every few minutes.”

"Mr. Worthington (you are the Worthington Angel right?) I'm a shocked, sir. For you to ask of me to betray a friend like that!... 100 million?" Guh, this is the one bad thing about the dumbass act, sometimes, people actually believe I am an idiot. I take a sword and cut myself free, hitting the rooftop below and rolling onto my knees to soften the impact. "I'm afriad you've made one very poor mistake there, Angel cake. I may look, act, and talk stupid, but I ain't stupid, sunshine."

"Case in point, as a mercenary I've learnt one very basic thing in life, rig god damn everything with explosives." Angel looks up to see C4 lined on the parachute. "Now before you give me a lecture on how that probably defies to laws of physics..." I pull out a remote and detonate the charges. "Don't."

[Harlekin]

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/7251/logocr6.jpg

Hell’s Kitchen, New York

“Man, you frontin’. There ain’t no brother called ‘An-dy’,” the hotheaded young black drug dealer Melvin mocked Detective Andy ‘Coyote’ Bunkland. Melvin was backed up by his ‘brothers’, who nodded their head and chuckled. They were standing on the corner of Miller Street, one of the many Hell’s Kitchen corners where dealers supplied junkies day and night. If it wasn’t Melvin today, it’d be someone else tomorrow.
“Just consider me a pioneer.”
“Pssh, the reason you name Andy is probably ‘cause you pioneered whitey’s dick so much, they made you an honorary member.” For this insult, the dealer got a parade of cheers and high-fives from his friends. When Melvin turned towards Coyote, his hand still raised, he suddenly found the detective’s face dangerously close to himself.
“Listen to me, Melvin,” the homicide detective said, blowing smoke in the young criminal’s face. “Last night, couple of your friends got killed and cut up over on Wood and Colan. Had a few letters carved into their chests.”
“I don’t know nothing about that, man,” Melvin replied, growing quieter and backing away.
“All of them had priors and all of them used to run with you.”
“They cut out on their own three weeks ago, man. Got their own supplier, got their own business. I ain’t seen or heard them since.”
“Don’t be lying to me, Melvin. You know I don’t like liars.”
“I’m not lying, I’m not.”

Coyote gave the young man a forceful look.

“I swear, man. On my mother’s grave.”
“Your mom ain’t dead, Melvin. Thanks for your time,” Coyote replied, walking away. He turned his head after a few steps.

“By the way, you hear anything about what happened over at Lorenzo’s?” he called back.
“Nah, man.”

Coyote turned away again and started walking. As he passed Melvin’s look-out boy, he gave the kid’s hair a tussle.

“You got to work on your eyes, boy. Can’t you see Five-Oh coming?”

Meanwhile, on another corner of Hell’s Kitchen, the man responsible for the murders was enjoying a ‘leisurely’ stroll in civilian gear. Of course, he wasn’t actually dressed in normal clothes. He was good, but not sudden-gang-war-end-up-with-a-bullet-in-your-head-even-though-you’re-just-passing-by good. A holographic projection hid his real costume, while giving him the appearance of a young, well-built man in his 20’s, brown hair, brown eyes and a rather handsome smile.

“Last night… two members of the supergroup New Warriors… Microbe dead… hero known as Speedball in critical condition… powers saved his life…”

The impostor looked to the television screen. This bounty-thing was taking of.

He sighed.

Focus on the job, the doppelganger told himself as he continued walking.

In his hand, he held a bag of goods from the local supermarket. He decided to indulge himself with some soda and had gotten some fast food for the night. The Daredevil impostor didn’t feel like cooking tonight, even though he normally held himself to a very strict and disciplined eating regime. One evening, he figured, would not be too bad.

Then, after dinner, he would start killing again.

[Byrd Man]

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w259/SpideyRPG/SpideyBanner2.gif



"Parker! About time you got here, I've been trying to call you on your cell phone." J. Jonah Jameson says as he puffs on his cigar.

"Sorry, I left it at home."

"That's no excuse, son. The whole damn city is out there losing their minds, that whacko Green Goblin kills three people otuside in front of our offices and you're not here to take a picture!"

"Sir, I seem to recall me being a freelance photographer means that you call me."

J.J. arches his eyebrow as he takes a long drag on his stogie.

"Which I tried to do...repeatedly."

"Umm....well, you got me there."

"Where is Spider-Man during all of this? I want photos of that wall-crawler fending for his life, I want photos of him getting the crap kicked out of him. I want those photos...and I want them now!"

"You're the boss."

"And don't you forget it. I've already got all my staff photographers, Brant, Urich, and the rest of the reporters out there covering this thing...not to mention Robbie. Heh, he hasn't covered a story in close to a decade. He's probably rusty as all get out. Now, get out there and get me those shots."

I nod and turn around to head out his office when it happens.

BOOM!

A loud explosion rocks the office, sending J.J. and I to the ground.

"So, this is where Spidey comes to get his picture made?" I hear a voice say from the other side of the room.

J.J. peeks over his desk and gets a glimpse of the attacker.

"Oh, god..Parker-"

"I'm fine."

"I don't care about that! I was about to ask, if you brought your camera. Cause man do we have a hot lead."

I hear footsteps crunching on glass. I look up and see the attacker for the first time.

http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/9924/141909124762shockerwe4.jpg

"Which one of you nerds know where Spider-Man is?"

[Matt Murdock]

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/DCMarvelRPG/Daredevil/Other/ddlogo5uf.gif

Matt Murdock was half-slouched in his desk. A thin stream of drool edged down his chin, its path diverted by the hand placed on his cheek to keep his head up. He wasn't used to sleeping at his desk but, with the debacle over bounties for heroes, part of Murdock wanted to stay and sleep in his office alone. This was the portion of his psyche he listened to currently.

Murdock sat sleeping when the back door to his office opened with a click. His eyes shot open, and he blinked rapidly. In the fear that an attacker might be on his way to kill him, Murdock sat still and closed his eyes once again.

"Matt?" Murdock heard his legal partner, Foggy Nelson entering. His heartbeat was off, and his cologne smelled odd, but it sure sounded like Franklin. "You in?"

Murdock grunted and looked over his shoulder.

"In here, Foggy." Matt said, wiping his chin with a handkerchief.

The pudgy form of Franklin Nelson made its way to the chair across from Matt.

"What're you still doing here?" Foggy asked, flopping down.

"Have you seen the news?"

"Well, yeah. But you haven't got anything to worry about. Your secret identity is safe an' all that."

"But still... the last thing I need is some thug getting it into his head to take the guy who 'took the fall' for Daredevil out."

Murdock chuckled softly.

"Dumb bastard would've lucked his way right into...how much? Five million?"

"Ten, actually." Foggy muttered, the tone of his voice changing as he reached into his jacket pocket. "Ten. Million. Dollars. That's a lot for a no-name mutant from Russia."

The style of Franklin's voice had devolved into a harsh, Russian accent. Murdock's eyes opened wide as he smelled gunpowder and heard metal emerging from Nelson's pocket.

He had been duped.

"Okay..." Murdock sighed as the man across the desk from him took aim for Murdock. Matthew's heart was racing, nearly heaving itself from his chest. He slid his hand silently down the side of his chair and gripped his cane as he spoke. "I can get you just as much mone--"

BLAM

The gunshot made Murdock jump in his seat, and he grimaced as the bullet ripped through the flesh, muscle, and bone of his left shoulder. Murdock spun backwards and slammed hard into the ground on his chest.

"Agh." He muttered aloud, still conscious.

"Vell, vell, vell. You are qviet a resiliant individual, aren't you, Mister Murdock?" The imposter's voice had fully devolved. He wasn't keeping up any pretext of being Foggy Nelson anymore.

"Who are you?"

Murdock rolled onto his back and inched towards the wall slowly, staring down his would-be killer. The pain in his shoulder was extraordinary. He'd start going into shock if he didn't take care of the wound and the goon in his office soon.

"In short? I am Dr. Wolfgang Helmut Heinreich. Known to the people of New York by that despicable alias 'Doppleganger.' I have travelled from my native Siberia to the United States to make myself a small prize."

He placed the gun against the side of Murdock's head.

"It seems I've succeeded."

Doppleganger cocked the hammer and smirked. Easy money.

"Not yet you haven't." Murdock snarled. His cane in hand, Matt swung upwards and slammed the cane into Doppleganger's elbow. It made a sickening crack and the gun fell to the carpeted floor.

"Rule number one, Doctor: know your target." Matt threw himself up and came face-to-face with Doppleganger.

"Rule number two: Avoid your target like hell." Murdock wrapped his hands around Heinreich's head and slammed his kneep upwards into the doctor's face. The stench of blood filled the room as his foe's head snapped back and blood spewed across the office.

Heinreich fell backwards and stared up at Matthew in amazement.

"Not bad for a blind guy, huh?" Murdock asked slyly.

"Go. Get out. Now."

Matt didn't see any point in killing the man. First, Daredevil wasn't a killer. Second, Heinreich was the first, but he wouldn't be the last. This was something The Man Without Fear would have to get used to.

"Y-you're not going to kill me?" Doppleganger asked, half-surprised.

Murdock didn't know what to make of the question as he stared down at the crippled doctor.

"Kill you? What? No."

"Well, what do I tell everyone?"

"What're you talking about?" Murdock asked, perplexed.

"T-the last ones you let live... you told them to tell the world that Daredevil doesn't pull his punches anymore. What do I tell everyone."

Murdock squinted and looked down.

"So, you haven't heard of this. Interesting."

Matt bent over and gripped Doppleganger by the collar.

"Tell me everything you know. Unless, of course, you want two broken elbows."

"What I know is the same as what everyone else knows." He sputtered as blood gushed down his throat. "A group of gangsters and thugs were found with the letters D-A-R-E-D-E-V-I-L carved into their chests."

"Dead?"

"Dead."

Murdock snarled.

"You tell them. Tell everybody. Daredevil doesn't kill. Never has. Never will. Go to the paper if you need to."

"The paper is already on it."

"What?"

"Ben Urich. He's writing a story on the Daredevil killings."

"Get out." Murdock said, dropping Doppleganger to the ground. "Now. Don't forget what I told you."

Heinreich scrambled to his feet and rushed out of the office. The lights were off as Murdock took off his jacket and button down. He took out a roll of gauze from a drawer in his desk wrapped a sling around his shoulder and upper torso.

He had to see Ben Urich if he was going to do some damage control, and he'd have to do it fast.

[Harlekin]

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/7251/logocr6.jpg

Hell’s Kitchen, New York

“Please tell me you’ve got something for me, Ray,” Andy ‘Coyote’ Bunkland said as he walked onto the detective floor of the Hell’s Kitchen precinct. However, before responding, his partner pointed Andy to the big board. A new homicide case had been added to Bunkland’s name.

“Ah, hell. Brief me, Ray.”
“Well, we knew some of these guys had priors, but I just checked with Major Crimes downtown and it looks like two of the killed guys were mid-level dealers in Owlsley’s former outfit. Split off when the bird got caged and have been recruiting low-levellers from different groups. Caught the attention of some guys at the MCU. They’ve been trailing these guys for a while.”
“DeAngelo’s buddies?”
“Yep. Major Crimes says he’s mid-level too. Found him yet?”
“No. Guinea bastard is probably hiding somewhere.”

Coyote sighed. He’d landed one hell of a case. If he had just let one of the other guys pick up the phone.

“And I take it from that board you’ve found another?” he asked.
“Yep, came in just after you left. We found your old buddy Two-Tone with two D’s carved into his chest. Couple of wino’s had taken his stuff and dumped him in the thrash.”
“Owlsley’s old crew?”
“You got it.”
“Please tell me we’ve got witnesses.”
“C’mon, Andy, do you remember where we’re livin’ here?”
“Right, right. Nobody saw anything, huh?”
“Not a thing.”
“Same thing on the street. Nobody knows a thing.”
“So when are you going to call Matt Murdock?”
Andy chuckled as he walked away again. “Don’t you read the papers, Ray?

“Daredevil’s identity is a secret.”

Ray Charleston smiled as his partner left the precinct, after which he turned to look towards Andy Bunkland’s desk. Fastened to the wall next to the desk, was a particular tabloid’s front page from two years ago. Ray was surprised the Coyote didn’t have it framed.

http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/2272/tabloidwx5.jpg

[Harlekin]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2040/logoik1.gif
New York

“One very basic thing in life, Deadpool?” Angel asked as he casually landed on the roof, in front of the mercenary, parachute still in his hand. The C4 charges had been deactivated through some clever manipulation of water molecules inside them by the Iceman, who was sliding above the fray.

Angel dropped the parachute and lunged forward.

“Get good friends.”

The winged mutant decked the merc with a mouth in the, ah, mouth.

[Spider-Man9X17]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner-2.jpg

Teeth. This sick s**thead was using his own teeth. Hawkeye almost had to resist the urge to give him a high five, or offer to buy him a beer. This was definitely his kind of fight, his kind of opponent.

At the same time, he wouldn’t feel bad at all about completely obliterating this a$$hole, so it was win-win for him.


*CRACK"

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGHHH!"

A row of teeth skittled out in all directions all over the sidewalk. Rolling over onto his back, leaving a bloody mouth-shaped imprint behind him, Bullseye coughed and spat out blood, letting it dribble down out the sides of his mouth and onto his costume. The million-dollar smile was gone, to say the least.

"You... you motherf***er!" he gummed, "You know how much I spent on those teeth?"

Grabbing a handful of his erstwhile pearly whites, Bullseye fired two, one into each of Hawkeye's wrist gauntlets.

"You got all the toys you need right here," muttered Bullseye, imitating the boxing-fist position Hawkeye had taken while saying this earlier, "My ass. Pussy. Poser!"

Scrambling to his knees, Bullseye let out a whimper of pain as he felt the small arrows jagging into his stomach, and the sting of shredded gums in the mess that had been his mouth. He fired another tooth right into Hawkeye's shoulder, aiming it so it buried itself right in the joint.

"Gonna make this slow you piece of shAAAAAAAAAH!"

Bullseye hauled out the tiny arrows, dropping them to the ground as he forced himself back to his feet.

"Wanna f**k with me you backwater carny c**t?"

Bullseye fired another tooth, clipping right into the side of Hawkeye's neck and bringing the hero to his knees.

"Next one's going in your stupid, cock-vacuum head..."

At the same time, he wouldn’t feel bad at all about completely obliterating this a$$hole, so it was win-win for him.

Hawkeye felt something warm against his hand. Sitting just behind him was a pile of burning ash and rubble from the ice cream truck explosion. Without thinking twice, he threw the burning dust ball at Bullseye’s face before he could flick the tooth, and in the sudden confusion bolted forward and speared Bullseye to the ground, assaulting him in the head with alternating punches.

“I do have all I need right here. But I’m not above using a handicap.”

The bitter, salty, iron taste of blood assaulted Hawkeye’s tongue as he spoke. The tiniest facial movements made him wince.

“Carny c**t? Cock-vacuum head? What the hell does that even mean you stupid douche-syphon merc b**ch?”

[Keyser Soze]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner-2.jpg

Teeth. This sick s**thead was using his own teeth. Hawkeye almost had to resist the urge to give him a high five, or offer to buy him a beer. This was definitely his kind of fight, his kind of opponent.

At the same time, he wouldn’t feel bad at all about completely obliterating this a$$hole, so it was win-win for him.

Hawkeye felt something warm against his hand. Sitting just behind him was a pile of burning ash and rubble from the ice cream truck explosion. Without thinking twice, he threw the burning dust ball at Bullseye’s face before he could flick the tooth, and in the sudden confusion bolted forward and speared Bullseye to the ground, assaulting him in the head with alternating punches.

“I do have all I need right here. But I’m not above using a handicap.”

The bitter, salty, iron taste of blood assaulted Hawkeye’s tongue as he spoke. The tiniest facial movements made him wince.

“Carny c**t? Cock-vacuum head? What the hell does that even mean you stupid douche-syphon merc b**ch?”

Pinned under Hawkeye, Bullseye blocked one of his punches, and freed one of his own hands. With it, he hooked two of his fingers into Hawkeye's nostril - a finger for each one - and began to twist.

"What, you don't know what carny means? I can smell it on ya. You might dress up in your fancy costume and call yourself a hero, but it don't change the fact you're garbage, gutter-born. I don't even need to know you. I can smell it on you. I recognise it... 'cause yer just like me."

Keeping Hawkeye's nostrils hooked, Bullseye worked his way out from under him, to the point where both men were kneeling in front of each other. Both battered, bloodied and beaten. Fighting back exhaustion, Bullseye rammed his adamantium-laced elbow hard into the side of Hawkeye's head.

[Spider-Man9X17]

Pinned under Hawkeye, Bullseye blocked one of his punches, and freed one of his own hands. With it, he hooked two of his fingers into Hawkeye's nostril - a finger for each one - and began to twist.

"What, you don't know what carny means? I can smell it on ya. You might dress up in your fancy costume and call yourself a hero, but it don't change the fact you're garbage, gutter-born. I don't even need to know you. I can smell it on you. I recognise it... 'cause yer just like me."

Keeping Hawkeye's nostrils hooked, Bullseye worked his way out from under him, to the point where both men were kneeling in front of each other. Both battered, bloodied and beaten. Fighting back exhaustion, Bullseye rammed his adamantium-laced elbow hard into the side of Hawkeye's head.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner-2.jpg

"Damn. That was hard for even an elbow."

Hawkeye staggered, bracing himself against a lamppost.

"I know what carny means dumbass. I traveled with the circus though. we hate those carny b@$t@rds, what with their bearded ladies and cheap rigged games. We were above that. We hate fire eaters."

Hawkeye lashed out and palmed Bullseye's nose, being rewarded with a satisfying crack, but a bt disappointed that he failed in shoving it up into the killers brain.

"Getting woozy. Aim is off."

[Matt Murdock]

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/7251/logocr6.jpg

Hell’s Kitchen, New York

“Please tell me you’ve got something for me, Ray,” Andy ‘Coyote’ Bunkland said as he walked onto the detective floor of the Hell’s Kitchen precinct. However, before responding, his partner pointed Andy to the big board. A new homicide case had been added to Bunkland’s name.

“Ah, hell. Brief me, Ray.”
“Well, we knew some of these guys had priors, but I just checked with Major Crimes downtown and it looks like two of the killed guys were mid-level dealers in Owlsley’s former outfit. Split off when the bird got caged and have been recruiting low-levellers from different groups. Caught the attention of some guys at the MCU. They’ve been trailing these guys for a while.”
“DeAngelo’s buddies?”
“Yep. Major Crimes says he’s mid-level too. Found him yet?”
“No. Guinea bastard is probably hiding somewhere.”

Coyote sighed. He’d landed one hell of a case. If he had just let one of the other guys pick up the phone.

“And I take it from that board you’ve found another?” he asked.
“Yep, came in just after you left. We found your old buddy Two-Tone with two D’s carved into his chest. Couple of wino’s had taken his stuff and dumped him in the thrash.”
“Owlsley’s old crew?”
“You got it.”
“Please tell me we’ve got witnesses.”
“C’mon, Andy, do you remember where we’re livin’ here?”
“Right, right. Nobody saw anything, huh?”
“Not a thing.”
“Same thing on the street. Nobody knows a thing.”
“So when are you going to call Matt Murdock?”
Andy chuckled as he walked away again. “Don’t you read the papers, Ray?

“Daredevil’s identity is a secret.”

Ray Charleston smiled as his partner left the precinct, after which he turned to look towards Andy Bunkland’s desk. Fastened to the wall next to the desk, was a particular tabloid’s front page from two years ago. Ray was surprised the Coyote didn’t have it framed.

http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/2272/tabloidwx5.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/DCMarvelRPG/Daredevil/Other/ddlogo5uf.gif


Ben Urich. Good reporter. Decent guy. Advocate of superheroes. A man with a smoking habit so bad you could smell him coming from a mile away, even without heightened senses. There was one thing you could count on from a workaholic smoker without a family life: he'd need a smoke every three hours or so, even if had sworn of the things years ago.

Urich stepped up the grimy and worn stairway leading to the rooftop of The Bugle building. The stairwell had some pleasant memories for him, as he recalled working on dozens of stories and recording dictations to himself on his tape recorded as he walked. Not tonight, though. Tonight, the one thing on Urich's mind was the bounty on heroes. And, more importantly, who was affected by it. He couldn't pull his mind off the Daredevil issue. Why would Daredevil, now, when everyone would be gunning for him, start to kill? What's more, why would his targets be low-level street thugs? If he was a killer, Daredevil seemed like the type would kill a planner, not hired guns. Kingpin, Silvermane, anyone other than these... peasants. Killing wasn't even Daredevil's style. And the carving? That seemed so vicious. A striking turn for a superhero to take.

Urich couldn't lie to himself, though. There weren't many people who could pretend to be Daredevil. He had a very specific skill set. Not only was Daredevil a skilled acrobat, but he was also incredibly skilled in melee combat. If Daredevil wasn't behind these murders, whoever was had to be his equal or, worse, an old rival.

He stepped out onto the rooftop and pulled a cigarette out of his jacket pocket. He jammed the stick into his mouth and opened a lighter. The flame ignited and bit into the tobacco. He took a long drag, leaning against the side of the rooftop stairwell exit.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and was spun around. His back slammed into the rusty metal that housed the top of the stairwell. The cigarette fell from his mouth as he was face to face with Daredevil.

The two were silent, each summing the other up. Daredevil, waiting for a scream or a cry, Urich, waiting for a punch or a cheap-shot. Neither man did anything for a moment.

"Every cop in this borough is driving himself into the dirt looking for you." Urich finally sputtered.

"Why?" Daredevil snarled.

"Like you don't know." The reporter scoffed. How could the Kitchen's Guardian Devil be so out of touch?

"Let's pretend I don't."

Urich was being too cavalier for Daredevil's tastes. Several men were dead. Daredevil didn't even know how many at this point. He had been, literally, in the dark for days.

"You haven't heard?" Urich's tone was decidedly sarcastic. "A body count that's quickly made it to the double digits, your goddamned insignia carved in people's chests, boys with broken bones running to their gang-member friends, telling them that 'Daredevil is serious now.'"

Behind his mask, Daredevil squinted. It was a lot of information for him to process. Someone was out there, hurting people, as Daredevil.

Daredevil had to get the first thing out of the way.

"That isn't me."

Urich chuckled.

"Yeah? Where's your proof?"

Daredevil felt his lip curl. Urich thought he was guilt.

"Where's yours?" He hissed. "Think about it, Urich. This guy, whoever did this, he's out there, now. Why would I bother leaving my insignia, the symbol of everything I've come to represent, at the crime scenes and then deny that I was there?"

Urich scowled.

"That's a very convenient theory for a guy who wants people to believe there's someone out there who wants to frame him."

For a reporter at a second-tier newspaper in New York, Urich was sharp. Daredevil was surprised at the journalist's astuteness. He knew the game.

"How about this one, then." Daredevil retorted. "Why would I be here?"

Urich was silent.

"If I was guilty of these horrible crimes, broadcasting my name with carved letters in people's chests... you think I'd come here? To a reporter?"

Daredevil let go of Urich's shoulder and relaxed his upper muscles.

"Go ahead. Take out your phone and call the cops if you think I'm guilty. Get every guy from the 22nd precinct down here. Get their guns trained on me. Throw me in cuffs. Lock me up. Put me on trial. Throw me in a cell with some of the very men I've put away." Daredevil's tone almost screamed, 'and I'd like to see you try.' "If you're not going to help me, Urich... you might as well lock me up yourself."

Daredevil heard the muscles in Uric's face contract into a smirk, and he responded in kind.

"What do you want me to tell you, Daredevil? Huh?" Urich asked, almost hopelessly. "I don't know how you can fix this. I mean, you could try and hunt the bastard down yourself, but then nobody's going to believe that he's just a fall-man. You could lay low, but this guy will assume your name and take it to hell. After that, there'll be no way you can recover. You stop what you're doing, and whatever you've done here will go right down the s**tter."

The Crimson Knight nodded.

"What about the police?"

"The police? You mean... the same police who want you cruicified on top of the Empire State Building?"

"What if I go to them?"

"What if... the, uh... the f**kin' sky fell tomorrow?" Urich asked bluntly. "What if the Daredevil out there turns himself in? You're never going to get anywhere if you turn yourself in."

"That's not what I'm saying." Daredevil corrected quickly. "What if I go to them, and work with them?"

"To..."

"To catch this son of a b**ch" He said."I'm a 'Man Without Fear,' aren't I?"

Urich nodded to himself and tapped his elbow.

"Not a bad idea, I suppose." Urich agreed. Daredevil certainly was on to something. If he could use the police as a way to get to the impostor, and vice versa, then everyone would come out unscathed.

...Except for the ones who had already died.

"You'll need a way for them to know it's you... the real you."

Daredevil looked over the skyline of New York.

"I think I have something..." Daredevil muttered. "Whom do I go to?" He said, turning around again.

Urich reached into his jacket and pulled out a business card.

"Homicide Detective Andy Bunkland. Friends call him 'Coyote.'"

Daredevil reached out to take the card, but it remained firm in Murdock's grasp.

"Watch him, Daredevil. He's serious."

Urich's tone was cautionary, but not condescending. He seemed to be showing a genuine concern for The Man Without Fear's well being.

"I am too." Daredevil responded, holding the card up. "Thank you for this."

Daredevil stepped onto the edge of the rooftop and turned for a moment.

"Do you believe me, Ben?"

The reporter sighed and adjusted his glasses as he chose his words.

"I don't really know, Daredevil. But... I believe in you. And, sometimes, that, that faith, is more important."

Daredevil smiled softly before letting himself fall off the roof.

Urich was a good man. That was a rare thing to find in the world. Daredevil, it seemed, was just glad to have him on his side.

• • • • •

Don Bunkland opened the door to his office. The light was off, and his cigar was clenched between his fingers, along with a fresh mug of coffee. He was one of the few cops still in the office. The Daredevil Case had kept him away from home, and away from sleep. Something just... didn't add up about it.

He flipped on the light and felt his heart jump. A horn-headed figure clad in a worn, yellow costume stood in his office.



"Detective."

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h163/edlewis657/Daredevil_Yel02-1.jpg

"I think you've been looking for me."

[Harlekin]

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/7251/logocr6.jpg

Hell’s Kitchen, New York

"I think you've been looking for me."

“Hello Murdock,” Detective Andy ‘Coyote’ Bunkland responded to the sudden appearance of the yellow-and-brown clad Daredevil, at least, after he’d regained his composure. Fifteen years on the force and a tour of duty still didn’t account for plain old nerves. Especially when on this particular moment, Coyote had been up more than a day, pulling out the stops in trying to get this Daredevil case under control and closed.

“You’re here about your impostor?”
“How--”
“Please, only a blind man could think of a costume that butt ugly.”

[Matt Murdock]

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/7251/logocr6.jpg

Hell’s Kitchen, New York



“Hello Murdock,” Detective Andy ‘Coyote’ Bunkland responded to the sudden appearance of the yellow-and-brown clad Daredevil, at least, after he’d regained his composure. Fifteen years on the force and a tour of duty still didn’t account for plain old nerves. Especially when on this particular moment, Coyote had been up more than a day, pulling out the stops in trying to get this Daredevil case under control and closed.

“You’re here about your impostor?”
“How--”
“Please, only a blind man could think of a costume that butt ugly.”

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t302/DCMarvelRPG/Daredevil/Other/ddlogo5uf.gif


No cell phone being opened in the pocket... no irregular heartbeat. Buckland was telling the truth. For now, at least.

"I'm not responsible for what's been happening in the Kitchen." Daredevil stated flatly.

[Matt Murdock]

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Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters
Westchester, New York
8:49 PM



The road leading to Xavier's School was blocked off. SWAT units lined the pavement, as Logan peered out from behind a treeline. He'd have to take the rear entrance.

He jogged back to the bike and hopped on. It wasn't much of a drive to the rear door, by the tennis courts. He parked his bike on the basketball court and made his way to a seemingly abandoned door to the basement.

He opened it with ease, despite it's rusty hinges, and headed downstairs. After making his way through a few corridors, he found the disjointed group of heroes.

"The whole world's going to Hell, out there, and you're cooped up in this hole?" He asked snidely, removing a cigar. "No wonder Mags thought you were fair game."

[Harlekin]

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/7251/logocr6.jpg

Hell’s Kitchen, New York

For a second, Detective Bunkland took another look at the Daredevil standing in front of him. To be honest, the detective was worried he was going to have to seek Murdock out. To see him come to him was a surprise, and a pleasant one at that, as that meant it wasn’t Murdock or by now the lawyer had gone so insane that he’d developed a split personality. The latter was still an option though.

So, Coyote deadpanned: “I can’t be sure of that.”
Daredevil was about to open his mouth, but the detective stopped him.

“Look, I'm going to take you on the fact that you actually got that God awful costume out of the mothballs. But if I even find out--”
“You don't need to tell me, detective.”
“Okay, you want to help me find the guy using your name to carve up dealers? Start thinking about anyone you might’ve been pissing off too much, so much that’d they come back to hurt you now. Hell, just plain start looking. Night’s set, I don’t doubt he’s out there. But call me when you do find him, if you do.”

Bunkland took one of his cards and scribbled a number on it and handed it to Daredevil.

“You don’t have to tell me anything but where he is. If you want your name cleared, you’re going to have to let me arrest this mope.”

Meanwhile, true to Coyote’s word, the Daredevil doppelganger was prowling the streets. The men he’d been looking for were all in hiding. Jumping over rooftops, the impersonator made his way around the neighbourhood, looking for thugs he could beat some information out of. Finally, he was lucky, and the impostor dropped into a darkened alley in which four petty criminals had gathered.

“You’re going to tell me everything you know about the whereabouts of Joey DiScala, Terry McManus and Joey Pentano, although you might know the latter better as ‘Fatso’,” the doppelganger said, as he appeared from the shadows, emulating the real Daredevil’s voice almost perfectly.

[bkhedr]

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/3726/victorcreedke4.jpg


I'm still coming down when Speedball comes right up at me. He's scared, I can smell it, but he's trying to buy his fat friend some time.

He's fast too. He slams into my chest and bounces off before I can swipe back. The force of the impact sends me into the side of the building I was just perched on with a thud and pain ripples through me.

I watch as Speedball bounces from one wall to another and even though I'm in free fall on account of him, I can't help but be impressed by how he moves.

I hit the cement hard and it knocks the wind out of me, but I recover quickly, shaking my head to bring myself around.

Then Speedball bounces off of the top of my head and slams my chin into the pavement in the process, busting it open and leaving me dizzy.

I let out a roar and lash out wildly with my claws. Sure enough, the punk backs off, and when I use the chance to vault to my feet, he stays backed off.

"There's a price on your heads kids, and I'm here to collect." I say menacingly to the pair as Speedball helps Mircrobe, who has now recovered, to his feet.

"Yeah well come on and try ugly!" Speedball says as he springs into motion and Mircrobe cirlces around.

They talk a big game and they're eager to prove that they can handle a threat like me, but they're scared, and they can't.

Speedball comes right at me like a bat out of hell, but this time I'm ready and I've got his timing down. My claws meet him mid leap and rip his gut open. His eyes go wide with disbelief then they go dead and his body goes limp and bounces to a stop on the concrete several meters behind me.

I'm about to gut Microbe when I feel nausous, dizzy, and exhausted, all rolled into one.

"You bastard!" he shouts as he gestures towards me, doing whatever it is he's doing to me.

"Come on Robbie! Get up!" He calls desperately to his friend, giving me a reason to grin.

"He's dead tubbs." I sneer as I overcome the nausea and stand tall as I get in front of him.

Kid's about to cry as he realizes that he can't stop me. He blubbers about he doesn't want to die and I rip his throat open with my claws.

He hits the ground with a slap and I suddenly feel better. Healing factor kept me from dropping but that don't mean he wasn't doing a number on me.

I look the bodies over. Kids. They never shoulda try to play the heroes...


http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/3726/victorcreedke4.jpg

Its a new day and I should be 20 grand richer but I'm not and I'm not happy about it.

I left the New Warrior brats where they dropped and headed across town to make sure my earnings had been deposited into my bank account. Yeah I have a bank account, I have several acctually. People think of me and they think animal, guy who sleeps where he drops, and only thinks about the next kill and the next meal. But I ain't no savage, and a bank account is just one more way I make sure I can get the finer things in life.

Anyway it turned out Speedball survived and I only got paid for Microbe. Don't know whether I was more angry, or embarrassed, but I was sure I couldn't let this stand. After all I was really looking forward to Logan finding out that I put two punk 'super heroes' out of their misery not four hours after he let me walk away from our scrap. Now I'll never hear the end of it. Logan, Cyber, heck even Maverick, they'll all get a good laugh at my expense. Creed can't finish his kills.

Well F*$& them! Because I wasn't going to let that happen! I was gonna march straight into that hospital and slice Speedball into a thousand ribbons.

Course that was before I took one step out on to the road and a SWAT van came flying round the corner and ploughed into me, running me over, and backing up over me for good measure.

I would have gotten up, but two guys jumped out of the van and put a few dozen high powered rounds in my head.

Now I'm coming to in a dark room with a single light bulb hovering over my head. I can feel the caked and dried blood clinging to my body. I'm tied to a chair, naked, and there are a dozen scents around me.

One of the scents, a fat bastard in a trench coat, takes a drag off of one of my stogies and stares at me. Beside him is a steel table with assorted blades on it. A skinny guy in scrubs looks them over.

"So you're awake." The fat guy says.

"What's it to ya meat?" I growl.

I'm still a little woozy but I'm in no mood for this. Chains tying me to the chair are a minor obstacle, nothing more.

"Can't torture a man who's out cold." he replies and I grin. Now I've heard enough.

I push against the chains, shattering them, and just like that I'm loose and tearing into these dead men walking.

[bkhedr]

"Because as you can plainly see, I am not the man I once was."

Loki remained fixed against the wall, rubbing her bruised wrists.

"I have been granted the remarkable gift of rebirth, rescued from the dark finality of extinction. This is a gift I do not wish to spoil or squander. In my past life, I did terrible, unforgivable things. But now I am before you... humble, repentant. And I desire to atone for the sins of my past."

Blake scoffed, clearly unconvinced. And in response, Loki's eyes flinched with an utterly convincing glimmer of hurt.

"I understand if you do not believe me. You more than any other have reason to distrust my motives and despise me forever. But I am weak now, I have been brought low... and so, as little value though it might be to you, my word is all I have. With it, I assure you... I have no schemes left in me. Prophecy told me I would bring about Ragnarok, and that I did. And all it brought me was despair and death."

Loki looked down at the floor as painful memories flashed before her eyes. Beheaded, helpless, watching all she knew burn all around her, before herself being consumed by the flames...

"But with this new life is the chance of a new beginning. I am free from the chains of prophecy, free to forge my own destiny. And my first free choice is to be Prince of Lies no more. For countless ages, my own deceit has been my downfall. From now on, I vow to tell only the truth. And I desire only to be of assistance to you in the road that lies ahead. You who I have wronged more than any other. If you can find a way to forigve me, perhaps you will come to trust me. And perhaps one day, in a future where Asgard is restored, I will be welcomed to stand by your side, your brother once more."

Another scoff from Blake. Loki sighed.

"Besides, you will need all the help you can get... against the Ifrit."

The mere mention of the name seemed to sting Blake.

"Oh, yes, I have seen them, walking among the mortals of Midgard. As I am sure you have seen them."

Tentatively stepping forward, away from the wall, Loki pointed down at Blake's cane.

"Now there is a question I must ask, dear brother. Are you trapped in mortal form, as I am? Or, much like the magic I have acquired throughout my lifetime, does the inherent, transformative magic of Mjolnir endure?"

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/405/thorlogokz4.gif


For a moment Blake eyed Loki incredulously before replying "No. I'm not trapped in mortal form, and if you really are, then why come to me? Do you really believe that you can walk in here, tell me a few honeyed words about how you've turned over a new leaf and expect me to believe any of it?"

Loki looked genuinely hurt by this and was about to reply when Blake cut her off.

"No you can't, so save your breath." he said, answering his own question.

"I don't believe you. I don't believe that you are here for redemption, and I don't believe that the path you've chosen to walk on this life is any different than the one you walked in our past lives. I'm your Brother Loki, and I know you, your destiny might change, but you never will." he added, pointing an index finger at Loki accusingly before taking a step back and balling his hand into a fist.

"Under normal circumstances I'd send you back into the abyss, but if there's one thing you can be counted on to do, its sustain your own existance. You don't want the Ifrit to succeed anymore than I do, you know that should their master claim this world, there will be no place in it for you and no mercy either."

Blake let out a sigh of resignation then, as if he couldn't believe what he was about to say next.

"Brother, I had hoped never to see you again, it is because of you that we are alone and the time of Gods has past, but help me stop the Ifrit and I will restore you."

Loki smiled then, demonstating what seemed to be true gratitude and relief, it seemed she might try to hug Blake, but he held a hand up to keep her at bay, and raised his cane.

"Now then." The Doctor said as he balanced the cane before slamming it to the ground.

This time the transformation was subdued, quiet, but the result was no less impressive for it, and once again Blake was gone and Thor stood in his place.

He towered over Loki, glaring at her with steely blue eyes, and she bowed respectfully for he was both her Brother and her King.

"The Ifrit and their master can not be defeated in battle." The thunderer began, his voice betraying no softness for the woman before him "Our hope lies in affecting the Living Tribunal's judgement that he may rule in our favor.

[trustyside-kick]

EDIT: Go ahead and delete this post, MB. :(

[Batman]

"We both know, Victor, that Reed Richards and his gang of fools will not be taken down by a mere rioter in the search for monetary gain. This, I believe, is where I can be of assistance."

Doom ran his finger along the chin of his mask, considering Magneto's assertion. Obviously, the man had a rather personal bias against humanity, so his faith was strained in regards to what such trivial matters as wealth could drive the common man of this world to accomplish. Lensherr didn't know the inner greed that lied within the hearts of even the most pure.

"Perhaps you underestimate such 'monetary gain', Magnus.", He replied, his eyes wandering back to his own homelands, the citizens themselves suffering from the ailments of poverty in each passing day. "But you raise a valid point. While it matters not how Richards is vanquished, or by whom... to trust such responsibility in the hands of those beneath men of your stature would be a grand mistake."

Doom raised an eyebrow, evoking his ultimate curiosity.

"Tell me, then... what reward would you seek for their annihilation?"

[Carnage27]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/Nemi111/Carnage.jpg

In the darkness of the forest, the creature stalks its prey. It looks like a great pool of blood come to life; red, massive, and creeping like a alien cobra.

It is searching for a new host, the last one being left broken by the meta-human Sentry. But it had been tracking a new host for weeks, and it would take it tonight.

The symbiote watches as the human stops and lays down in a hollowed out tree. Quietly slithering up to the sleeping form, it surveys the being that will be bonded to the symbiote. The new host is stronger than the old one, but just as volatile. The creature had witnessed the human kill countless civillians, almost as if they were ants, and the symbiote enjoyed this.

The being stirs and looks up, and gasps when he sees the symbiote hovering over him. He goes to run, but it's too late. The symbiote flings itself at his face, and quickly begings to bond itself with its new vessel.

Before long host and creature are together as one.

Oh yea...I like this...it's time to unleash...

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk236/KamSpaZZaTTack/Carnage.jpg


"CARNAGE!"

[Keyser Soze]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner-2.jpg

"Damn. That was hard for even an elbow."

Hawkeye staggered, bracing himself against a lamppost.

"I know what carny means dumbass. I traveled with the circus though. we hate those carny b@$t@rds, what with their bearded ladies and cheap rigged games. We were above that. We hate fire eaters."

Hawkeye lashed out and palmed Bullseye's nose, being rewarded with a satisfying crack, but a bt disappointed that he failed in shoving it up into the killers brain.

"Getting woozy. Aim is off."

Blood gushed out of Bullseye's nose. It was clearly broken.

"Fuh... my aim's never off."

Spitting and sputtering as the blood ran from his nose into his mouth, Bullseye rushed Hawkeye, ramming the back of his head into the lamppost he'd been leaning on. Further dazed, Hawkeye swung a punch, but Bullseye dodged, throwing his opponent off position, and with his back momentarily turned, Bullseye was able to lock him in a sleeper hold. One arm wrapped under his chin, pressing into his throat and choking him. The other arm pressed tightly into the side of his head, cutting off circulation to the brain and slowly putting him to sleep.

"There, there. Nice n' easy," Bullseye hissed into Hawkeye's ear as he tightened the hold, "You gave me a good fight, so I'll make it quick. Just like falling asleep. Can't promise the same for your skank girlfriend, though. That'll be messy. Might have some fun first..."

[Spider-Man9X17]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner2.jpg

Blood gushed out of Bullseye's nose. It was clearly broken.

"Fuh... my aim's never off."

Spitting and sputtering as the blood ran from his nose into his mouth, Bullseye rushed Hawkeye, ramming the back of his head into the lamppost he'd been leaning on. Further dazed, Hawkeye swung a punch, but Bullseye dodged, throwing his opponent off position, and with his back momentarily turned, Bullseye was able to lock him in a sleeper hold. One arm wrapped under his chin, pressing into his throat and choking him. The other arm pressed tightly into the side of his head, cutting off circulation to the brain and slowly putting him to sleep.

"There, there. Nice n' easy," Bullseye hissed into Hawkeye's ear as he tightened the hold, "You gave me a good fight, so I'll make it quick. Just like falling asleep."


Hawkeye felt himself fading fast. He couldn’t fight back against this. His was too fatigued to begin with. His vision began to blur, everything became far away, it almost seemed as though he were looking through a tunnel.

"Can't promise the same for your skank girlfriend, though. That'll be messy. Might have some fun first..."

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Hawkeye30.jpg

Something snapped. From somewhere, down deep, he felt a sudden rush of blood, of energy, a power-shot of strength. He dug deep, gathering everything he had. He bent one leg. Slowly, painfully, he fought against the hold, pulling himself to one knee, then to a crouch. He focused all his energy, locked onto Bullseye’s arms, and with one powerful move flipped Bullseye over his shoulders and onto the pavement below. The rest was a blur. In a second, Hawkeye was on top of Bullseye again, pounding away with all he had. Lefts, rights, bashing his head off the ground, a headbutt here or there. It was more than adrenaline he was working on. It was pure, unregulated rage.

“DON’T YOU EVER THREATEN HER! DON’T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT TOUCHING HER! YOU’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO SAY HER NAME! I SWEAR TO GOD I’LL KILL YOU!”

Hawkeye pulled a long blade from a sheath on his leg and held it against Bullseye’s chest, right over his heart.

“I know those ribs are laced with adamantium, but I willing to bet the space in between is still good old soft human flesh and tissue.”

Hawkeye began to turn the blade, slowly pressing it into the skin.

[Byrd Man]

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w259/SpideyRPG/SpideyBanner2.gif



I hear footsteps crunching on glass. I look up and see the attacker for the first time.

http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/9924/141909124762shockerwe4.jpg

"Which one of you nerds know where Spider-Man is?"


I can hear Shocker's gauntlets start to vibrate as he points at J.J. and I.

"Now, one of you know who takes those shots of Spider-Man. I want that money, and I want to kill Spider-Man to get it. Now, talk!"

This is what I hate about the whole secret identity thing. As Spider-Man, I could just lay out this sad excuse for a man. But Peter Parker has to take it.

"I don't know who takes the shots. He emails me, I send the cash to a P.O. Box."

I have to give J.J. credit for that. He may be a psycho and a slanderer, but he's willing to protect me.

"You're lying!"

BZZZTT!!!

Shocker fires off a blast and blows half his desk away.

"Since you don't know....well, now this is happening."

Shocker grabs me by my **** collar with one hand, he uses his free hand to blast out J.J.'s office window.

"Let me make a little News Geek Street Pizza!"

With one hand, he tosses me out the window. I start to plummet towards the ground as gravity takes it's hold.

"Crap!"

I'm about halfway to being a flesh colored doormat when I remember, I never took my webshooters off after changing out of my spidey costume!

THWIP!

I shoot out a web-line and glide to a nearby building.

"Thank God! Absent-minded brain, I could kiss you! If, you know, it was physically possible."


**********


"Listen, Jameson. I'm starting to lose patience with you..."

Shocker's charging up his gauntlets for another blast when I let loose.

THWIP, THWIP, THWIP!

I hit him with three web-balls as I fly in through the hole he created.

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w259/SpideyRPG/Spider-Man-Page038A.jpg

"You know, Shocker. Next time you want to talk, how about making an appointment with my secretary and not throwing poor photographers out the window?"

Shocker wipes off the webs and fires a blast at me.

"Jesus Christ, does you mouth ever stop?"

I handspring backwards to avoid his blasts.

"I'll shut up when you come up with a better name. 'The Shocker' Lame! I mean, you do know you're named after a sexual act, right? Look it up on the internet. 'Two in the pink, one in the stink.' The Shocker!"

[Keyser Soze]

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/405/thorlogokz4.gif


For a moment Blake eyed Loki incredulously before replying "No. I'm not trapped in mortal form, and if you really are, then why come to me? Do you really believe that you can walk in here, tell me a few honeyed words about how you've turned over a new leaf and expect me to believe any of it?"

Loki looked genuinely hurt by this and was about to reply when Blake cut her off.

"No you can't, so save your breath." he said, answering his own question.

"I don't believe you. I don't believe that you are here for redemption, and I don't believe that the path you've chosen to walk on this life is any different than the one you walked in our past lives. I'm your Brother Loki, and I know you, your destiny might change, but you never will." he added, pointing an index finger at Loki accusingly before taking a step back and balling his hand into a fist.

"Under normal circumstances I'd send you back into the abyss, but if there's one thing you can be counted on to do, its sustain your own existance. You don't want the Ifrit to succeed anymore than I do, you know that should their master claim this world, there will be no place in it for you and no mercy either."

Blake let out a sigh of resignation then, as if he couldn't believe what he was about to say next.

"Brother, I had hoped never to see you again, it is because of you that we are alone and the time of Gods has past, but help me stop the Ifrit and I will restore you."

Loki smiled then, demonstating what seemed to be true gratitude and relief, it seemed she might try to hug Blake, but he held a hand up to keep her at bay, and raised his cane.

"Now then." The Doctor said as he balanced the cane before slamming it to the ground.

This time the transformation was subdued, quiet, but the result was no less impressive for it, and once again Blake was gone and Thor stood in his place.

He towered over Loki, glaring at her with steely blue eyes, and she bowed respectfully for he was both her Brother and her King.

"The Ifrit and their master can not be defeated in battle." The thunderer began, his voice betraying no softness for the woman before him "Our hope lies in affecting the Living Tribunal's judgement that he may rule in our favor.

Loki bowed her head in shame.

"I accept your righteous scorn, dearest brother, for I am deserving of it all, and more. I cannot blame you for doubting my desire for redemption. My countless betrayals have hardened your heart to me..."

She broke off here, as if close to tears. But composing herself, she continued.

"Not a single moment goes by when I am not... haunted by what foolish anger and envy drove me to do.... what it made me become. But with new life comes distance, and with it perspective. I have ever vowed your destruction, dearest brother, but I see now that those oaths were but wind. The result of unguarded anger, later regretted, for my own accursed pride forbade me to yield. I know now that I love you as family, and have ever loved you, exhalted Thor."

Loki clutched onto Thor's hand, a pleading look in her eyes.

"You are my brother still. You are now the only family I have left. I must make amends. Your mercy, shown today, is a greater gift than I could ever hope to deserve. But alas, through my own misdeeds I cannot win an even greater prize - your trust - through my tainted words. I can only hope I might one day do so with my actions."

Thor pulled his hand away, a look of disgust on his features. Loki nodded in resignation, clasping her hands behind her back instead.

"And so... whatever you would have me do to aid your noble quest, I am at your service. You are, after all, my King. And as King, I dutifully await your instructions on how to proceed in swaying the favor of The Living Tribunal."

[Keyser Soze]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner2.jpg




Hawkeye felt himself fading fast. He couldn’t fight back against this. His was too fatigued to begin with. His vision began to blur, everything became far away, it almost seemed as though he were looking through a tunnel.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Hawkeye30.jpg

Something snapped. From somewhere, down deep, he felt a sudden rush of blood, of energy, a power-shot of strength. He dug deep, gathering everything he had. He bent one leg. Slowly, painfully, he fought against the hold, pulling himself to one knee, then to a crouch. He focused all his energy, locked onto Bullseye’s arms, and with one powerful move flipped Bullseye over his shoulders and onto the pavement below. The rest was a blur. In a second, Hawkeye was on top of Bullseye again, pounding away with all he had. Lefts, rights, bashing his head off the ground, a headbutt here or there. It was more than adrenaline he was working on. It was pure, unregulated rage.

“DON’T YOU EVER THREATEN HER! DON’T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT TOUCHING HER! YOU’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO SAY HER NAME! I SWEAR TO GOD I’LL KILL YOU!”

Hawkeye pulled a long blade from a sheath on his leg and held it against Bullseye’s chest, right over his heart.

“I know those ribs are laced with adamantium, but I willing to bet the space in between is still good old soft human flesh and tissue.”

Hawkeye began to turn the blade, slowly pressing it into the skin.

Bullseye was a mess, his face a crimson mask of blood. He was struggling to retain consciousness, probably kept awake only by the seering pain all over his body. And the knife digging into his chest, of course. But still, he managed to cough out a gurgling laugh.

"Heh-heh-heh.... guess I know your weakness now, huh?"

He was physically spent. His feeble attempts to get out from under Hawkeye were met with little avail.

"Well guess what? You just signed her death warrant. I walk away today, and I promise you I'll come for your girly, and I'll kill her. Might not be tomorrow, or the next day, or even the next year. But I will kill her. I give you my word."

Bullseye stared intently at Hawkeye, barely managing to block out the pain of the blade piercing his flesh.

"You best kill me, then. Show your X-Men friends just how much better than me you are."

[Andy C.]

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b73/nowhereman716/GoblinLogo.gif

"Five more minutes, and the lady gets it! Understand? Spider-Man's got five more minutes to show himself, or I drop her!"

At the top of a ten-story tenament building, the large hulking mass of a man dangled a helpless young woman over the edge. As powerful as he was dumb, he'd been an enforcer for some of New York's most ruthless mobsters, but this scheme was one he was doing himself.

'Man Mountain Marko' was going for the bounty, hoping to lure Spider-Man out for a prize-fight.

Unfortunately for him, he'd caught someone else's attention.

"HAAA-HAHAHAHAHA-HAAAAA!!!!"

The Green Goblin screamed down from the sky, cackling madly as sparkle-blasts erupted from his gloves, one catching Marko directly in the chest. The brute stumbled backward, and the woman in his clutch fell harmlessly onto the rooftop before scrambling towards the stairs.

Osborn didn't particularly care about 'saving' the woman, but supposed he may be able to use that to his advantage some time in the future. For now, however, he had a competitor to remove.

He brought his Glider to a hover before the huge gangster, and looked down on him.

"I thought I made myself clear at the Daily Bugle, Man-Mountain. Nobody, nobody but me gets to go after the Spider!"

"Huh. You think you scare me, in your Halloween costume? Nuh-uh. I'm gunna break you apart so Spider-Man don't have to, then get that money myself!"

The Goblin sighed contemptuously.

"You're a nobody, Marko. Irrelevant. A joke to other jokes! And as my new associate and I are going to demonstrate, your muscle-mass means nothing against a sharp and ruthless mind!"

Marko brought up his fists, like he was going to take a punch at the Goblin still hovering a good ten feet above him.

"Well, why don't you an' your friend try and get a piece a' me right now?"

"I believe that would be my cue."

Before Man-Mountain could turn and see, a clawed metallic tentacle shot out from behind him with lightning speed, wrapping itself around the big man's waist. Another two clamped down on his arms, and then the three raised him up into the air...and slammed him down hard into the concrete and bricks of the building.

Doctor Octopus took a few steps out of the shadows and stood over Marko for a moment, smirking. The bulky enforcer was quick to his feet and charged, hoping to bull-rush the short, flabby Doctor, but Ock's tentacles lashed out again, one at his legs to trip him up, and the other slamming into his side, sending him tumbling across the rooftop.

Not content to let his partner have all the fun, the Goblin swooped down towards the fray, the Glider's rockets scarring the concrete as he skimmed the roof. As Man-Mountain tried to get back up, Osborn let fly with a trio of Razor-Bats that slashed across his back, and gave him a parting shot with his sparkle-blasts as he passed him by.

The blast sent Marko flying over the ledge, and the big man would have fallen a good hundred feet onto the pavement...had he not been ensnared by Doc Ock's cybernetic arms. The villain's tentacles tightened and constricted around Marko's chest and throat, ready to crush the life out of him.

"kkhhkk--I'll kkkhkk--"

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Octavius asked mockingly, loosening the arm around Marko's throat slightly.

"I'll--I'm gonna kill you--rrrhhhk!"

"No you're not," the Doctor said matter-of-factly.

With that, he slung Marko as high and far as he could, and grinned as the Man-Mountain tumbled upward hundreds of feet into the air.

"And for the grand finale..." the Goblin began, firing up the Glider and rocketing up after their flailing quarry. Just as Marko reached the peak of his ascent and began to fall, Osborn caught up with him, a Pumpkin-Bomb in hand.

"Catch!"

He whipped the Bomb right into Marko's face, and the blast nearly knocked him off the Glider.

The Green Goblin corkscrewed back down towards Doctor Octopus, laughing all the way, while the limp form of Man-Mountain Marko plummeted downward from the orange-and-black fireball in the sky, before slamming into the water of the Hudson River.

"Do you suppose he survived?"

"Does it matter?"

"Not really, though it may have been fun to keep him around for a punching bag," Octavius said off-handedly, his real hands brushing some grit off of a tentacle's claw. "Still, not a bad way to make an example."

"My thoughts exactly. However, if we're going to bring an end to the bounty, we need to find whoever is behind it all, and do the same to him. I suggest--"

The sound of a large explosion cut off his sentence, followed by a rising cloud of smoke and dust. Once again, it seemed to have come from the direction of the Daily Bugle.

The Goblin sighed again.

"No rest for the wicked, I suppose."

[Spider-Man9X17]

Bullseye was a mess, his face a crimson mask of blood. He was struggling to retain consciousness, probably kept awake only by the seering pain all over his body. And the knife digging into his chest, of course. But still, he managed to cough out a gurgling laugh.

"Heh-heh-heh.... guess I know your weakness now, huh?"

He was physically spent. His feeble attempts to get out from under Hawkeye were met with little avail.

"Well guess what? You just signed her death warrant. I walk away today, and I promise you I'll come for your girly, and I'll kill her. Might not be tomorrow, or the next day, or even the next year. But I will kill her. I give you my word."

Bullseye stared intently at Hawkeye, barely managing to block out the pain of the blade piercing his flesh.

"You best kill me, then. Show your X-Men friends just how much better than me you are."

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner2.jpg

Hawkeye pulled the blade out of Bullseye chest, felt it's weight resting comfortably in his hand, pulling clenching his teeth and mercilessly jamming it into Bullseye's side, the whole way up to the hilt. He slipped it right under the last rib, sure that he didn't hit the lung, but damn close.

"One false move, motherf***ker, and you drown on your own blood in less than a minute, provided you lung doesn't deflate first."

"You ever threaten her again, you so much look at her wrong, and I will kill you if she hasn't already done so."

And finally, Hawkeye collapsed.

[Keyser Soze]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner2.jpg

Hawkeye pulled the blade out of Bullseye chest, felt it's weight resting comfortably in his hand, pulling clenching his teeth and mercilessly jamming it into Bullseye's side, the whole way up to the hilt. He slipped it right under the last rib, sure that he didn't hit the lung, but damn close.

"One false move, motherf***ker, and you drown on your own blood in less than a minute, provided you lung doesn't deflate first."

"You ever threaten her again, you so much look at her wrong, and I will kill you if she hasn't already done so."

And finally, Hawkeye collapsed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHH!

Bullseye let out a scream of agony as the blade was stabbed into his side. Then Hawkeye collapsed next to him, unconscious. He strained to look over at the fallen opponent by his side, unable to get up himself. He tenderly touched the hilt of the blade in his side. A shaking hand wrapped around it, but giving it the slightest tug brought waves of excruciating pain.

"AAAAAAAAH! Oh GOD!"

In frustration, while lying there on his back, Bullseye gave the KOed Hawkeye a weak kick in the ass.

"F***er."

And then the injury, the pain and the blood loss all caught up with him, and Bullseye too passed into unconsciousness.

[Spider-Man9X17]

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHH!

Bullseye let out a scream of agony as the blade was stabbed into his side. Then Hawkeye collapsed next to him, unconscious. He strained to look over at the fallen opponent by his side, unable to get up himself. He tenderly touched the hilt of the blade in his side. A shaking hand wrapped around it, but giving it the slightest tug brought waves of excruciating pain.

"AAAAAAAAH! Oh GOD!"

In frustration, while lying there on his back, Bullseye gave the KOed Hawkeye a weak kick in the ass.

"F***er."

And then the injury, the pain and the blood loss all caught up with him, and Bullseye too passed into unconsciousness.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner2.jpg

By this point, the fight in the alley had garnered a little bit of notice (mostly due to a crazed sexually confused mercenary blowing everything up and riding on the back of a winged mutant.) A small crowd had gathered nearby just in time to see the final brutal moments of Hawkeye and Bulleye's little ego trip. The whispers began to circulate.

"That's Hawkeye..."

"...one of the Avengers...

"....at least a cool ten mill..."

"...ain't no Avengers no more..."

"...villians count or just heroes?"

People were hesitant to approach at first. Between the burning ice cream truck, and a variety of weapons scattered around, even the most hot headed bounty hunter was more than a little timid. In true, human fashion, everyone became a bit more brave when the two combatants collapse in a heap on the pavement. Even then though, their movements were slow, cautious. Little by little, as people began to realize the hero and villian were unconscious, the pushing began. And then shoving. And suddenly the mob collapsed on itself as everyone tried to be the first one to claim the prize.

Slipping through the crowd unnoticed, maybe because of his very recognizable uniform, was a lone police officer. Officer Eddie Price was never the most honorable cop, and his rash of mob moonlighting and brutal ways had just earned him a third suspension without pay and, pending a board review, termination. All his assests had been frozen, and his apartment and belongings siezed as part of the investigation. Now he stood here, over two gifts that seemed almost too good to be true, a pair of tight wearing guardian angels who would be the answer to all his problems. He would be a hero for killing Bullseye, on the NYPD and FBI most wanted list for years. They would have no choice but to drop all charges and reinstate him. And as for the Avengers...what was his name...Hawkeye, well, even if the Bullseye ides didn't work out, that easy ten million would put him on a plane for the Carribbean by nightfall, his problems fast fading with the setting sun.

The hardest choice now, he told himself as he moved his gun back and forth between the two, was who to shoot first.

[bkhedr]

Loki bowed her head in shame.

"I accept your righteous scorn, dearest brother, for I am deserving of it all, and more. I cannot blame you for doubting my desire for redemption. My countless betrayals have hardened your heart to me..."

She broke off here, as if close to tears. But composing herself, she continued.

"Not a single moment goes by when I am not... haunted by what foolish anger and envy drove me to do.... what it made me become. But with new life comes distance, and with it perspective. I have ever vowed your destruction, dearest brother, but I see now that those oaths were but wind. The result of unguarded anger, later regretted, for my own accursed pride forbade me to yield. I know now that I love you as family, and have ever loved you, exhalted Thor."

Loki clutched onto Thor's hand, a pleading look in her eyes.

"You are my brother still. You are now the only family I have left. I must make amends. Your mercy, shown today, is a greater gift than I could ever hope to deserve. But alas, through my own misdeeds I cannot win an even greater prize - your trust - through my tainted words. I can only hope I might one day do so with my actions."

Thor pulled his hand away, a look of disgust on his features. Loki nodded in resignation, clasping her hands behind her back instead.

"And so... whatever you would have me do to aid your noble quest, I am at your service. You are, after all, my King. And as King, I dutifully await your instructions on how to proceed in swaying the favor of The Living Tribunal."

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/405/thorlogokz4.gif

Thor furrowed his eyebrow in frustration and deep thought before speaking. The truth was that he wasn't sure exactly how the Tribunal would be swayed, if he could be swayed at all.

"I had hoped for the support of my mortal allies, the Avengers, in this matter." He said "But I fear that such matters may be beyond their ken."

Loki seemed as if she might say something but she lowered her head in a subtle nod, agreeing with Thor.

"Perhaps there is one on Midgard who can aid us, for he has had cause to petition the Living Tribunal successfully in the past."

"Who is this being my Lord?" Loki asked, intrigued.

"The Sorceror Supreme Loki, The Mortal they call Doctor Strange."

*****

It is not long after when two figures, having opted for subtlety, walk unassumingly through Greenwich Village. To mortal onlookers and passers by they seem to be nothing more than a tall, elegant woman with striking features, and a handsome young man with a walking cane, but the pair know well that those who greet them at their destination will be able to see their true forms.

The Destination is a nondescrepit town house standing alone on the corner of Bleecker street, and as they approach it, both figures feel the ancient, inherent power of this sacred place.

The male leads the way up the patio steps and, with the woman behind him and to his left, rapped the door lightly with his knuckles.

He turns to face the woman as they wait for an answer and for the 5th time in an hour, repeats his command to her: "Remember that I won't take my eyes off of you. Touch nothing."

[bkhedr]

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/3726/victorcreedke4.jpg


Its a new day and I should be 20 grand richer but I'm not and I'm not happy about it.

I left the New Warrior brats where they dropped and headed across town to make sure my earnings had been deposited into my bank account. Yeah I have a bank account, I have several acctually. People think of me and they think animal, guy who sleeps where he drops, and only thinks about the next kill and the next meal. But I ain't no savage, and a bank account is just one more way I make sure I can get the finer things in life.

Anyway it turned out Speedball survived and I only got paid for Microbe. Don't know whether I was more angry, or embarrassed, but I was sure I couldn't let this stand. After all I was really looking forward to Logan finding out that I put two punk 'super heroes' out of their misery not four hours after he let me walk away from our scrap. Now I'll never hear the end of it. Logan, Cyber, heck even Maverick, they'll all get a good laugh at my expense. Creed can't finish his kills.

Well F*$& them! Because I wasn't going to let that happen! I was gonna march straight into that hospital and slice Speedball into a thousand ribbons.

Course that was before I took one step out on to the road and a SWAT van came flying round the corner and ploughed into me, running me over, and backing up over me for good measure.

I would have gotten up, but two guys jumped out of the van and put a few dozen high powered rounds in my head.

Now I'm coming to in a dark room with a single light bulb hovering over my head. I can feel the caked and dried blood clinging to my body. I'm tied to a chair, naked, and there are a dozen scents around me.

One of the scents, a fat bastard in a trench coat, takes a drag off of one of my stogies and stares at me. Beside him is a steel table with assorted blades on it. A skinny guy in scrubs looks them over.

"So you're awake." The fat guy says.

"What's it to ya meat?" I growl.

I'm still a little woozy but I'm in no mood for this. Chains tying me to the chair are a minor obstacle, nothing more.

"Can't torture a man who's out cold." he replies and I grin. Now I've heard enough.


I push against the chains, shattering them, and just like that I'm loose and tearing into these dead men walking.


http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/3726/victorcreedke4.jpg

The first guy I get my hands on lets out a yelp that's suddenly cut short as I slash my claws across his throat. His body falls limp and lands on one of his buddies. A badge falls free from one of his pockets and clatters on to the floor. The SWAT van wasn't a mind job, these idiots are cops.

The single light bulb hanging from the ceiling's hit by some stray body part or piece of fabric and it starts swinging from its wire, bathing the room in a flickering, shifting light that plays with the shadows in the room.

Behind me one of the soon to be dead reaches for the gun in the holster on his hip. I'm not interested in getting shot again today so I spin on my heel, snatching up the metal chair I had just been tied to as I go, and slam it into him hard enough that I hear his rips crack and he is sent crashing into the wall.

There's still five goons standing, plus the Fat guy and my would be torturer. Some of these guys might have a chance if we weren't in such a tight space. There's no room to maneuver for them, and I can practically reach from one wall to another.

A raised gun comes towards my face and I lash out, disconnecting the hand holding the weapon from the body of its owner. The guy screams and falls to his knees, clutching his stump.

I kick him in the face, caving his jaw in, and turn to stab two more gun men in the guts, killing them instantly.

A bullet is fired, but fear makes the gunman miss. I cup his head in my hand like a melon and yank him off the ground, and tossing him upwards. His head slams into the low ceiling with a crunch and he drops at my feet like dirty laundry.

The guy in the lab coat, the torturer, has more guts than I would have thought. He comes at me with a scalpel, there's fear all over him, but guts he's got. I make sure when I spill them all over the floor.

Its only been three seconds, but only the fat guy's still standing.

"Oh god, Oh god, Oh god..." he sputters as he fumbles with the lock on the metal door. This one's a coward, and I find that more than a little amusing.

"Heheheh" I let out a low chuckle as I approach him.

"I duh-don't wanna die..." he blubbers, turning to face me and holding his hands up defensively "...puh-please...."

I take a hold of him by the throat an' he lets out a whimper. A pathetic whimper. I lean in close so that my face is only inches from his, and I take a whiff.

I've already got his scent, there's nothing more to learn, but the act is terrifying for him, and if you ain't figured it out yet, I love scaring people.

"Smells like you got something that belongs to me." I say as I reach into his coat pocket and pull 5 stogies held together with a rubber band.

I hold the stogies in front of his face and look at him accusingly.

"Suh-suh--sorry, sorry. Please." he blubbers and I just pat him on the head like a bad pet.

"Shhh, its ok fats." I say soothingly as I throw the stogies over my shoulder. "See I didn't want 'em anyway..."

My face and tone harden as I continue "Seems a buncha cops ran me over with a SWAT van, put a dozen rounds in me, and stripped me naked for torture, leavin' me in the akward situation of not havin' any pockets."

He keeps blubbering and begging and I move a claw under his nose.

"Now I'm going to kill you, its just in my nature, but before I do, you're gonna tell me who you work for, ain't no way a pretty girl like you's in charge around here, an' what your boss wants with me."

"Pl-Please *guh* please don't kill me. I'll tell you everything." he cries and I lop off his nose in one clean swipe causing him to scream in sudden agony and cover his face.

I move the same claw I just used on his nose under his left ear "You'll tell me everything or I'll take all day killin' ya."

The piggie squeels, telling me everything he knows. I don't keep my promise to kill him quickly.

[Electro UK]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2040/logoik1.gif

New York

“One very basic thing in life, Deadpool?” Angel asked as he casually landed on the roof, in front of the mercenary, parachute still in his hand. The C4 charges had been deactivated through some clever manipulation of water molecules inside them by the Iceman, who was sliding above the fray.

Angel dropped the parachute and lunged forward.

“Get good friends.”

The winged mutant decked the merc with a mouth in the, ah, mouth.

"You mean you don't want me hanging round with Bullseye no more?" I say with a dissapointed tone, as I hit the floor, landing on my ass. "But he's my bestest friend! You'll never stand in the way of true love! Ever!" did I just say that out loud? I charge at Angel, lodging my shoulder in his stomach, who kicks out in turn and sends me flying back.

I land on the building edge, face down. Bullseye and Hawkeye are sprawled out on the street floor unconcious. "Hmmph... pansies." I get to my feet, and turn to face Angel. "Honestly Angel, I was just trying to make an honest buck here dude, isn't that what America's all about? And with the current economic climate (can't believe I'm falling back on recession jokes here) that's harder than it sounds." Bullseye's badly beaten up. I need to get him out of here.

"Okay so Angel-- oh look a foxy, sexy, lady Dove!" I point behind Angel, but he doesn't look. "No? Not the beastiality type eh? Well in that case..." I take my Berretta's out, and aim them at Angel. "One quick move fly boy and I'll be having you for dinner... I mean like as if you were a bird and I shot and ate you... not as if I was a cannibal. Though with how low on funds I am at the minute not such a bad idea..." I look above Angel, and a smile creeps up on my face. He's standing directly below one of Iceman's ice path thingies. I aim up, and start firing away, cracking the ice instantly, and sending a huge chunk of it Angel's way.

"Well its been just swell Angel pie, but I gotta be off. You take care now!" I back flip off the side of the building and hit the streets below. "Man, I can be really awesome when I want to be." Bullseye looks like hell... and he's pretty beaten up too. I kneel down beside him. "Bullseye? Speak to me buddy!? Don't let this be it! He's too young to die god! Too young, and evil! Bark three times if you can here me boy! Mufasa? MUFASA!!!!" Oh god, childhood memories flooding back. "You're not getting your hands on this one Hades, or any other respective god of death! Nurse, scapel!" I take my sword and prepare to cut Bullseye open, that's right I'm going to operate to save my friend's life! "Will Deadpool seriously operate on Bullseye, even though he obviously hasn't got a clue how to tell a lung from a kidney? Even though Bullseye obviously needs professional attention? Even though Bullseye doesn't need his stomach cut open to repair his injuries? Find out next time on Deadpool: Merc with(out) a Medical Degree!"

"Nnnhh... ggghhhh."

"Sweet merciful crap Batman!" Hawkeye's groan alerts me to his presence. "Jumpin' web snappers! Here's my chance to make that $5 mill that I so rightfully deserve by taking this man's life." I hold my gun over Hawkeye's head, prepared to blow him away. But I hesistate, something I've never done before. "...nah, you can stick around for a bit longer I s'pose. I'd hate to be on "America's Most Wanted"... for the third time this month." that's what I tell myself anyway. I actually think this Hawkeye dude's pretty cool.

Blood gurggles from Bullseye mouth. "Oh yeah, forgot about you." no time to operate now. I'll have to get him home. I sling Bullseye over my back. "Okay, just hang on man! I'm getting you out of here! Man I'm ending a lot of sentences with exlamation marks!" Darting down the street, away from the battle scene.

[Gallagher]

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l144/Gray_Fox_Lives/cablebanner.jpg

The landscape of Latveria was a sight to behold, rolling hills juxstaposed against jagged rocks and almost medieval buildings. The only colours that seemed to escape the dreary land where greens and browns, possibly a little blood red if Doom had his way and from what Cable had heard, he always did.

Sitting back into the pilot's chair Nathan Summers brought the stolen X-Jet in low, the cloaking device would hide him from being spotted visibly but he wanted to be sure that he had the element of suprise on his side. If Lensherr was here then he'd be going up on two of the most dangerous men on earth on his own.

For a split second his mind turned to Deadpool, a moment of madness some might say but for a tiny instance he almost thought he'd come in handy.

Pushing the thought out of his mind he focused on the landscape, he needed a place to put the bird down, away from the bigger settlements. Infiltration had always been his strong point he thought, all those years doing hit and run jobs into mutant holding camps.

This mission brought back some memories Nathan would have rather stayed forgotten, for this, Cable just wanted to beat Magneto even more.

[SenseiofCheese]

"Perhaps you underestimate such 'monetary gain', Magnus.", He replied, his eyes wandering back to his own homelands, the citizens themselves suffering from the ailments of poverty in each passing day. "But you raise a valid point. While it matters not how Richards is vanquished, or by whom... to trust such responsibility in the hands of those beneath men of your stature would be a grand mistake."

Doom raised an eyebrow, evoking his ultimate curiosity.

"Tell me, then... what reward would you seek for their annihilation?"

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/BDagur/89831-28833-magneto_super.jpg

"Sanctuary. For the mutants I've brought to Latveria now, and any that might find their way to your doorstep in the future." Magneto stated quickly. He knew it was a gambit, at best, to ask Dr. Doom to open the doors to his country to strangers, but he also knew that if ever there was a sure thing, it was Victor's desire to see the heads of the Four brought to him.

"Provide for my kind what I no longer can and I assure you, the Fantastic Four will suffer from particularly slow and painful deaths at my hands."

Thunder boomed in the distance, a flash of lightning bathing the countryside of Latveria in an eerie glow for a split second. The two titans looked each other in the eyes, without blinking or moving. Finally, Lensherr extended his gloved hand towards Dr. Doom, hoping to seal the partnership that would send shockwaves of fear through any human.

[Catman_prb]

"You're a super, and you're trying to stop me. That's gotta get me something." Tombstone managed to work his knee up and push away from Vision, getting him to back off and give Lonnie a little space. "You need remindin' what a hero is or something?" Tombstone turned to face the road, where a group of rioters were making their way over to the battle, obviously looking to get in on a little dough.

"Let me help you jog yer memory." he wrapped his hands round a car and lifted it above the group's heads, about to pound down on them. Tombstone wasn't interested in mindless slaughter, that wasn't his game. What he was interested in however, was getting this chump in just the position he wanted him in.
"You're obviously a very stupid man-," the Vision said, as he watched the car raising above the civilians.

He leapt into the air and spread his arms, soaring towards the group of rioters. He connected with the minimal force he could manage, knocking them back out of the radius of the car. Still, he thought to himself, there would be some bruising and broken bones as a results of his actions. His head flicked up as he saw the car coming down on top of him. He clenched his fists, bracing himself. As the car crashed down on top of him, he simply turned himself intangible, and rose up through the roof of the car.

"-Who did not do his research," the robot growled, flying towards the villain and connecting hard with his chest, knocking him off of his feet.

"I can alter my density. This can allow flight and intangibility at the lowest of levels," he hissed before letting out a savage kick to his ribs, followed up by a punch to the head.

"And will cause diamond hard durability and superstrength at the highest levels,"

[Harlekin]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2040/logoik1.gif
New York

As blocks of ice showered the high-flying Angel, the mutant quickly threw up his wings to protect himself. The debris weighed heavy on him, but fortunately his wings were strong and injuries were minimal. Still, the X-Man had gained some injuries during the day and he winced as he felt his upper right arm. It’s where one of Bullseye’s throwing stars had hit.

Iceman, meanwhile, whirled around on his iceslide, allowing Angel to get on and the two got off the rooftop.

“Want to go after those two?” Iceman asked while pointing to the fleeing Deadpool with Bullseye slung over his shoulder.
“No,” Angel managed to utter. “We’ll get them next time. I think we have a situation down there.”

Iceman looked over to the unconscious Hawkeye and nodded.

“I do crowd control, you the bowslinger?”
Angel agreed as the two slid down and Iceman dropped Angel next to Hawkeye while erecting a wall of ice before the group of bounty-seeking civilians.

“Sorry, guys, show’s over.”
“C’mon tough guy,” Angel meanwhile said as he put his hand under Hawkeye’s head. “No sleeping on the job now.”

[Electro UK]

"You're obviously a very stupid man-," the Vision said, as he watched the car raising above the civilians.

He leapt into the air and spread his arms, soaring towards the group of rioters. He connected with the minimal force he could manage, knocking them back out of the radius of the car. Still, he thought to himself, there would be some bruising and broken bones as a results of his actions. His head flicked up as he saw the car coming down on top of him. He clenched his fists, bracing himself. As the car crashed down on top of him, he simply turned himself intangible, and rose up through the roof of the car.

"-Who did not do his research," the robot growled, flying towards the villain and connecting hard with his chest, knocking him off of his feet.

"I can alter my density. This can allow flight and intangibility at the lowest of levels," he hissed before letting out a savage kick to his ribs, followed up by a punch to the head.

"And will cause diamond hard durability and superstrength at the highest levels,"

Tombstone felt the air leave his lungs, something he hadn't felt in a long time. This guy was hitting harder than Spider-man ever did, and that was saying something. Still, he had to bluff it off, keep looking tough, because that's what Tombstone was, tough. "You call that super strengh?" he boasted. If this Vision guy could pass through solid objects, then the only time Lonnie was gauranteed a hit was when Vision wanted to hit him. It was going to be a war of attrition it seemed.

"Let me teach you something about super strength." Tombstone caught Vision's fist as he threw it at his face once more, the shock throwing the hero off guard. Using the precious few seconds he had, he put all his force into tossing Vision into a wall. "Always know when to quit." he told himself, starting to think about a possible escape.

[Catman_prb]

Tombstone felt the air leave his lungs, something he hadn't felt in a long time. This guy was hitting harder than Spider-man ever did, and that was saying something. Still, he had to bluff it off, keep looking tough, because that's what Tombstone was, tough. "You call that super strengh?" he boasted. If this Vision guy could pass through solid objects, then the only time Lonnie was gauranteed a hit was when Vision wanted to hit him. It was going to be a war of attrition it seemed.

"Let me teach you something about super strength." Tombstone caught Vision's fist as he threw it at his face once more, the shock throwing the hero off guard. Using the precious few seconds he had, he put all his force into tossing Vision into a wall. "Always know when to quit." he told himself, starting to think about a possible escape.
Growling, the Vision picked himself up from the wall and grabbed Tombstone around the neck, trying to hold him still. He phased one hand and put it through the villain's stomach.

"My hand is currently phased through your stomach. If I were to make it whole again, I would make the wound non-fatal, but it would still be very painful. And there is the blood loss to consider," he explained carefully "I suggest you make your next move very wisely,"

[Electro UK]

"So... break it to my soflty Doc. How long's he got?" I ask Dr. Ramirez, the guy all us super villain types go to when we get beaten up badly. Well... apart from me obviously.

"He'll be fine, Deadpool."

"Come on Doctor. I've handeled the pain of death before I can take it..."

"He's not dying."

"God damnit Ramirez, I don't have time for your games! Answer me immeadiately!" I seize the good Doctor by the collar.

"Listen to me you dolt, the man is fine. He needs a few days breathing space, that's all." I look over to Bullseye, still unconcious on my bed, then slowly lower the Doctor down.

"...oh."

"I suggest he keeps off of his feet for a few days, eats and drinks plenty, gets his strength up again. Though we both know Bullseye well enough to know that Doctor's Orders arn't his favorite orders." Ramirez picks up his suitcase. "Now, there's the small matter of my payment."

"For saving a dying man's life? Dr. Ramirez, for shame."

"You know full well I expect payment for all my treatments Deadpool, keeping you people on your feet after being beaten around by the capes so consistently is not as easy."

"Right... just the thing is... I don't got much money." Ramirez removes his spectacles and polishes them in a "typical" fashion. "But! I have figured out a way of paying you that keeps both of us happy!"

"And what is that?"

"Simple." I take a sword and plunge it into my stomach, Ramirez obviously taken back.

"What are you--"

"Gimmie a minute here, going somewhere with this, honest." I dig around with the sword for a few seconds, pulling odd faces and cries of pain before managing to pull out my liver and a kidney. "There... you... go."

"What do you expect me to do with these?"

"I dunno... you're the doctor, do what you wan--" WHAM! My head hits the floor, unconcious.

***

I wake up moments later to find Ramirez gone, organs with him. "Heh, I'm like the world's ultimate organ donour. It sort of balances out all the killing I do."

Stilling aching, I hoist myself up next to Bullseye. "Don't say I don't do anything for ya Bulls."

[Mercy]

Edit

[Carnage27]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/Nemi111/Carnage.jpg
Before long host and creature are together as one.

Oh yea...I like this...it's time to unleash...

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk236/KamSpaZZaTTack/Carnage.jpg


"CARNAGE!"




Carnage was whole. Once again it had a body to help it bring chaos to this world, and the body had almost unlimited power.

I haven't felt this goo-

WE haven't felt this good in ages.

Of course...that's what I meant. We. This will take a little getting used to.

No time. We must start now.

What do you mean?

Carnage looks up and sees where they have been headed this whole time: New York City. The place where the one being that Carnage loathed more than any other resided. And this time, he would be one of the first victims.

It is time for us to kill Spider-man.

[MaskedManJRK]

We take the Fantasticar and head for the less-defunct Avengers Mansion. I had heard that there was to be a press conference to start rebuilding the Avengers after the affair with Scarlet Witch a few months back.

Contrary to what some might assume by looking at our blue spandex-like costumes, we are not superheroes. We are explorers, scientists, who take on threats that cannot be explained or has never been encountered. That being said, we've become a go-to for those threats for many of the super-hero community in New York City.

We're explorers. Scientists. But not today--we have to be proactive, and find who put out a hit list of my family. So that's why we head for the Avengers Mansion--if we are to be superheroes today, we might as well head for the hub.

When we get there, floating high above them, we see chaos--men and women crowding around two broken bodies. One in a purple outfit--Hawkeye--and the other in a black costume with a--Bullseye. Suddenly a red and black-clad figure falls to the ground, picks up Bullseye, and runs off. Don't know who the hell that was.

The crowd stars getting closer to the Hawk person. One, a cop, takes the gun out of his holster and aims at him.

*****

We would have gotten there sooner, but we had to make sure of the kid's safety.

The Baxter Building is near inpregnable, but the mob that has formed around the Baxter has grown quite a bit, and it was disturbing Franklin and Valerina quite terribly.

I didn't want them to be afraid. Besides, I've been wanting to give 'em a new look and test it out anyway.

At the front of the Baxter Building, seemingly hundreds of people were trying to break through the glass door. It's impossible for them--clear adamantium, a little prototype that I've been tinkering with--but it's the principle of the matter.

In front of the door, an opening hatch started to unfold. The mob move hastily away and looked up to see what was coming out.

Of course, I had the kids see through one of the cameras positioned on the grounds.

A huge robot came out of the opening. I modeled it after that 80s movie with the cop that became a robot. The big one that was blown in half in the end. I'd tell you what it is, but I'm terrible with movie trivia.

"LADIES, GENTLEMEN. I AM H.E.R.B.I.E. YOU ARE TRASPASSING ON THE PRIVATE PROPERTY OF THE FANTASTIC FOUR." H.E.R.B.I.E's hands opened, revealing two miniguns on each hand and a rocket launcher. "PLEASE EVACUATE THE PREMESES OR I WILL USE PHYSICAL FORCE. YOU HAVE TWENTY SECONDS TO COMPLY."

They pretty much ran away screaming after that. Of course, the bullets are rubber and the rockets shoot a trapping foam, but they didn't need to know that.

"Okay, H.E.R.B.I.E. is...officially awesome," Franklin said.

"Glad you approve, son. Sue, Johnny, Ben--let's go."

"Kids, dinner is already in the oven. I have it set for twenty minutes--make sure to take it out then. If there's any problems, just call us at the Avengers Mansion." She gets kisses on the cheek from both of them and we leave for the Mansion.

*****

"Sue."

"I'm on it."

Before we come down to stop him, a figure with wings and a man riding a slide of ice comes in, stopping them. Angel and Iceman of the X-Men.

Angel picks up Hawkeye and starts to fly away. He sees us and I wave.

"What happened here?"

[The Manly Torch]

"Crummy bounty's turnin' this whole city into Hell," Ben grumbled.

Ben had been rather appalled and dumbfounded of the bounties offered for him and so many heroes. It was incredulous, and yet so many people fell for it because of a blimp full of probably the only money these jokers had.

The city never ceased to amaze Ben with its sheer stupidity.

The Four came up to the door, and Ben obliged by beating the door with one fist.

"Knock, knock."

[Spider-Man9X17]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/Banner3-2.jpg

The crowd seemed to swell suddenly, pushing toward the small group of heroes. People became more agitated, more aggressive. For a second, it occurred to Angel that this was probably it.

And then, just as suddenly, the crowd was scattered in a frenzy of screaming, running, and smoke canisters being tossed about.

“EVERYBODY, GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! YOU HAVE ONE CHANCE! I SWEAR TO GOD ANYBODY DOESN’T WANT TO STAND DOWN, YOU WILL BE HELD INDEFINITELY AND TRIED FOR TREASON AND ATTEMPTED MURDER!”

“Yeah? You and what army?” Someone called from the crowd

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/Spider-Man9x17/NickFury31.jpg

“People who need to ask that rarely want to know. Clay…”

Clay Quartermaine promptly wrestled that man to the ground, throwing S.H.I.E.L.D. issued restraints on his wrists.

“Hey, what the hell! I have rights!”

“We’re not the police.”

Fury approached the two X-Men, Hawkeye still laying limply in Warren’s arms.

“Barton’s ego still getting him in trouble? I’ll take it from here.”