Lighting Aurora listened to everyone. It seemed like they all agreed on allowing this guy join for the upcoming mission. Her thoughts was still they now had a fall back guy for the blame if anything was to go haywire. Sometimes it can't hurt to blame the new guy for something that goes wrong she learned that pretty quick at her first job on Earth. Hearing Behemoth state for the team to get ready and meet in exactly in fifteenth minutes. She certainly would make sure not to be late twice. It helped that she didn't have to go back home for anything since that was part of why she was late the first time. The other reason simple she lost track of time getting ready for the meeting.
==============================
---15 minutes later---
Lightning Aurora had made it to the chamber to meet with everyone barely just on time. At least she felt like it was barely on time. Aurora had a feeling she should work on getting use to being somewhat early for these things like she eventually did working at the bookstore. Tartness never did prove to be a good thing on this planet. Hearing the guy who literally had a seaward head comment about how she looked like a child killer Aurora actually had no comment Vanessa just simply shrugged. Who was to say why she was not on her home planet. Her past before Earth wasn't anything she dared to share and she kind of liked the horror stories many created.
As everyone gathered Behemoth began to go over some rules and how the team should plan. Hearing about the civilians Aurora automatically decided any of her powers working with Radiation would need to be at a minimum due to unknown affects if the radiation is to strong. Anything else should be fair game as long as Aurora doesn't go overboard. Thankfully she had already planned that this might come up after Havoc just before she left mentioned thinking about strategies. One she had in mind was creating a fog to help the team blend in if they might be for it. The fog idea also would depend on the situation with their arrival so the possibility was unlikely.
Lighting Aurora felt the familiar shift in energy preparing to move. Most considered this kind of transportation was going through space and time Aurora on the other hand just thought it was the same as travelling from home to anywhere in the galaxy you wanted to go. Definitely something she was use to so no side effects could be shown on her exasperation just a small grin plastered on her lips.
It seemed after getting her surroundings of where it appeared the team was now located was to late to mention her idea for stealth. Behemoth seemed to jump right into action. Aurora made a note of that for the future so she could remind the team that if they want a stealth mission she can certainly provide cover with their natural surroundings. Though at the same time seeing the others already go after fighting they didn't need it. Which was certainly fine.
After taking notice to everyone in action Aurora knew she needed to get moving. Lighting Aurora made sure her face was covered with her hood being up then headed outside of their transport vehicle once outside and feeling the air she made a small fog covering mainly herself and a small parameter around to give herself cover from those that might try putting a target on her back that somehow got past the others assault. She keep the umbrella up for now but pulled out her dagger. Aurora focused the air at her finger tips making warm and cold air clash just right to make lighting strike at her choices of targets. She made sure her aim was to those who could handle an electric shock and only when it would miss exiting their body missing the heart. The children was a harder task for her any of her powers could easily harm them pretty seriously. This frustrated Aurora but she chose to simply leave the kids more for the others who could do something. Now if some how or for some reason a kid was right next to her she would properly take care of the kid then. Maybe use some Earth Handcuffs to keep them out of her way.
Speaking of the Earth, once their seemed to be a large wave of soldiers Aurora grinned. Soon a miniature Earthquake erupted. Minus watching for Civilians, kids, and her teammates an open field like this could prove to give Aurora a great test run for her powers.
(Big Ol' Collab by Cush, Ashen Cosmic and Kazuaki)
Characters - Behemoth, Havok, Coyote, and Apex
Running through the hallways of the compound and down to the lower levels was a soldier. He was screaming the terrible news, the 'Superheroes' had come and they weren't playing by the rules. "We're under attack! I repeat we're under attack. Ready for battle and get out there as quick as possible!" The soldier looked around the facility below the compound until he found the room where they were holding the children. "Brave young boys. We need your help. The general has asked for volunteers."
"What is it do you need?" asked one young boy.
"No time to speak of it, but it involves the threat we find ourselves facing. We'll need you." The soldier replied. "Will, any of you volunteer?"
One boy stepped forward. "Of course. For the Eternal Man. God who graces us, The Almighty who walks with us upon dirt." His words were not his own. This had been drilled into him, conditioned to learn these words and believe them. The boy turned to the others. "For the Eternal Man." He raised a fist. "Will you fight for him or will you be cowards?"
A few more boys stepped forward. "A coward I am not! A coward is as wicked as a non-believer. For the Eternal Man! Stand with us brothers."
"I shall." One child responded. "For The Eternal."
"Me too!" said another.
The soldier smile as he soon had his volunteers. "Thank you bo...no, Thank you, men. Follow me." The boys lined up as they were taught and followed the soldier. The Crusaders had shut down their communications and operating systems. This made their most dangerous weapon inoperable. Knowing this, AA's General had to use his last resort. The only thing that could defend them from these invaders. The gift from given to them by God himself.
The soldier led them to the other side of the facility and to a locked door. He unlocked it and walked in with the young boys. Once they all gathered in the darkroom, he turned on the light and in the center of the room was a was a statue. Around the statue was a large pentagram drawn in white chalk. The statue had a sinister aura to it that filled the room with dread.
The statue terrified the children. Its neck was long and its face hideous. The body was so thin its ribs were poking out. Its legs were covered in scales and had a serpent as its tail. Its claws were sharp and had two pairs of wings on its pack. It was tall, 6'6 to be exact.
Image result for demon statue
The soldier locked the door and pulled his knife from his belt. "Forgive me, brave men. For the Eternal." The soldier raised his knife and place his hand on the shoulder of one of the children.
---
Behemoth had been decimating AA's heavy weaponry while his team destroyed them. Havoc was providing cover with his sniper rifle. Apex was chowing down on terrorist scum, an eye on him to make he didn't kill some poor kid. Coyote was driving men insane with her illusions and Aurora was striking soldiers down with lightning and causing the earth to shake beneath their feet. Things were going well, these bastards didn't stand a chance against this onslaught.
Behemoth thought it was time to enter the main building and see what he could find inside, you know, besides some people to kill. He wanted that information on Kauffman. If they had any evidence of their relationship, Behemoth could use it to bring him down. Behemoth started charging towards the compound, knocking soldiers who tried shooting him with their ineffective guns out of the way.
The large steel doors to the compound had shut close, but that wasn't going to stop this walking battering ram. He pushed off the ground with his leg and into the steel doors with his shoulder knocking them down like he was a cannonball. He then entered the building with a confident smile. "We'll have this place cleaned out in no time."
"That's it, you can make it..." Apex says slowly following behind one of the power armored guards whose legs had been smashed forcing the guard to crawl. "Just kidding." He says picking up the guard and slowly squeezing the man until blood started to gush out and rain down onto Apex with his mouth open wide.
A minute later Behemoth was sent flying out of the compound through the roof and into the air. He landed on his back and on top of Apex if he didn't move. "Guys, we got a problem!"
Behemoth smacks into Apex causing him to drop his human squeeze pop "the fuck, you said the kids were the only ones we…." Apex turns towards the compound door when he sees the winged creature emerge.
"What happened to cleaned out in no time?" Havoc questioned with a little grin as he focused in on the doors. If he could announce that there was a problem, then it couldn't be too bad, right? Of course, that grin disappeared in a heartbeat when he caught a glimpse of said problem through his scope. "What the fuck, Behemoth."
Out of the entrance stepped a winged creature with glowing red eyes like hot coals. It had a smile on its face and sharp yellow teeth. The creature had blood on its mouth and claws. There were pieces of rock falling off the creature's body as it advanced towards The Crusaders. Behind it was a man with a bleeding hand and a glowing symbol carved into it.
Coyote had never encountered something like this before. She'd never even transformed into something like that. The monster--Nay, demon, was giving her serious end of days apocalyptic vibes. But she couldn't let it get in her head. This thing was just another villain to kill--albeit a villain that looked like Chernobog from Fantasia.
"You shall be punished for what you've done here. The Eternal has gifted us with one of his servants and it shall tear you limb from limb."
A few of the terrorist soldiers stopped and looked upon the hideous creature in terror. "What the fuck is that Lieutenant Omar!" one shouted as he raised his gun and fired on the unholy creature.
The creature dodged the gunfire and dashed towards the soldier. It drove its claw into the man's chest and ripped his heart out. It then placed the heart over its mouth. It crushed the heart in its hand and blood oozed into its mouth. It turned to the intruders an gave them a wicked smile.
"You gonna finish that?" Apex says wiping his mouth before smirking as he looked at the creature.
"Hey Apex, you could take it out to dinner!"
"Beast! I told you to follow my command. Unleash your wrath on them, not my soldiers." Lieutenant Omar ordered.
"Well that's no fun." Apex says with a disappointed tone as he watched Omar order the creature before camouflaging his body.
The demon whipped its head around at Omar and roared. "I unleash my power on whoever I desire. Keep your dogs inline or else. Your life is no different than my offerings, remember that." Its voice was guttural, deep, and unnatural.
Havoc almost snorted out a laugh upon hearing the demon's barb. It almost sounded like Behemoth when he got into one of his moods.
Omar's soldiers backed away, their attention focused on the creature. "Lieutenant. What have you brought upon us?"
Omar reassured his soldiers. "It is a gift from the Eternal. Do not fear...I can sense it." He grabbed his wrist and the symbol in his hand grew red. "Slay them Enuhu. I command you."
The creature fell to its knees in pain and looked at Omar once more. "As you wish...for now." Enuhu than flapped its bird wings and took flight into the air. It scanned the area and saw the fire of a strange contraption from a distance. It was similar to the weapon fired by the AA soldier just moments ago. "I'll kill this one first."
Enuhu's burning eyes glowed even brighter and fired two beams of hellfire towards Havoc. The burning flames of hell would burn his flesh away and leave him dead within seconds.
"Oh shit." Fire. Had to be fire. Havoc slung his rifle over his shoulder and rolled off the edge of the roof he was on, the metal claws of his armor aiding in slowing his descent down the yellowing stucco, and he jumped into a skillful roll as he neared the bottom. Guns didn't seem to do the trick, since the thing had the reaction time to dodge a bullet from a friendly. Which meant it was time to do something shocking. "Look, I get it, you have the hots for me. But, can you just, not? The team's all right there, they're gonna bust on me for all the PDA." He used his badge to teleport into the fray where the rest of the team was loosely grouped. "So, I guess it didn't like you when you tried hugging it, right B?"
Behemoth had stood up from the ground and ignored Havoc's comment after arriving on frontlines of the battle via wormhole. A demon meant these people had more than just Kauffman technology at their disposal. Demonology was nothing Behemoth understood, better off asking the team's magic user...Fuck.
While it sounded sarcastic as hell, Havoc was trying to come up with a strategy on the fly. He was ready for weird cultists, he had enough experience under his belt to probably deal with some experiment kids with powers, but not demons. Demons were a pain in the ass that he avoided on principle. There was a guy who appeared to have control over the demon, if he were to be killed then there'd be a free demon running around obliterating shit and that would be a problem. At least the demon was bound to the order to kill them. That's how it worked, right? "Coyote, demons get set free if their master is killed, right?" He questioned, knowing she'd probably remember something from her quest to gain nightmare fuel.
"Not necessarily, depending on the ritual used to summon it, killing the master could set it free or send it back to whichever circle of hell it came from." She stated in response to Havoc.
"Apex, there's a no eat order on Omar the asshole for right now."
"What?!" Apex says appearing next to Omar ready to take a bite out of his arm.
"How quickly can someone grab a super-soaker full of holy water?" He asked with a slight note of humor that was also a bit too serious to be shrugged off. Then electricity rippled across his armor and shot up to the demon in a dizzying zig zag from hell before lurching at its mark. The goal of this to keep the demon guessing on when and where it should dodge until it was too late.
"But..."
"From the looks of Omar the idiot's hand, it took some kind of rune and blood offering to get that thing awake and kinda under control."
She was kinda happy that her knowledge of the Christian faith and shit was useful but she would have much preferred if it wasn't put into play because of a literal demon. "Not sure if that was a joke but holy water is definitely not gonna work on that thing. Maybe an exorcism if he possessed somebody. Is anyone here a holy person?" She looked around at the rest of the Crusaders hopefully. Maybe crazy new guy was actually a youth pastor!
"There goes that idea."
"Fuck!" Apex says swiping his tail at the guards next to Omar before dashing after the creature.
It was obvious this Omar was controlling the demon, but he seemed to have difficulty doing that. The creature was quick, it hit Behemoth before he even saw it coming. Before the demon could attack again, Havoc hit it with a wild bolt of lighting that knock it back few steps. "Hehehehe...I like the way it hurts." A long blue tongue rolled out its mouth and wiggles at Havoc.
"Kinky bastard…" Lightning had some knockback on the thing. That was a bit of a relief. Too bad most of his teammates counted on physical attacks, if they were touching the demon when he went for another bolt then they would get zapped too. No amount of control can break physics. So, what was the game plan?
Havoc had asked if Coyote had any idea what to do about this unholy beast. She had enough know how to not outright kill the summoner. If he dies, the demon could just be free to do as it wishes. Even if it flew off, it would terrorize some other poor soul. "Don't let it hit you. I have my armor up and that still hurt like a bitch. We can't kill Omar yet, better have it following orders than it having the freedom to do what it wants, nothing good I imagine."
Enuhu started walking toward Havoc with its claws raised. Behemoth predicted it was about to blitz Havoc and leaped in between the two. Enuhu dashed towards Havoc using its wings to propel itself. Enuhu's claw was ready shred through Havoc's body armor and into his flesh.
Havoc was ready to teleport out of the way when he saw the slow walk of doom. He'd watched way too many Jurassic Park movies to ignore the metaphorical velociraptor right in front of him. So he was ready to use his badge and teleport behind the charge, or at least that was the plan until Behemoth jumped in front of him.
Behemoth intercepted the demon with a raised right arm to the demon's, and Havoc's, dismay, and its claw connected with Behemoth's armored forearm. The claws ripped through his black dermal armor and into skin. Behemoth gritted his teeth and lifted his left arm and punched downwards into the the demon's skull. He meant to crush, too bad Enuhu was as durable as he was strong.
"AHH!" It screamed before blasting Behemoth backwards toward Havoc with flaming vision. Behemoth felt his dermal armor heating up, burning his skin underneath. It hurt, but it could be worse if Behemoth's armor was resistant to intense heat in the first place. "Hehehehe. Yes, I like it when my meat can put up a fight."
"Y'know, it almost seems like you really don't want me dead." He quipped at Behemoth, a little too aware of the rising temperature as he got pushed back closer. "Didn't have to do that." While the demon was busy keeping Behemoth from touching it, how fortunate, Havoc let loose another wild attack. Maybe that would get it to stop roasting Behemoth. Lightning arched up and over Behemoth's head as he was taking an active role as meat shield, crashing down upon the demon with a loud zapping noise that would probably sound dangerously familiar to Behemoth if he remembered how their previous fights went.
The Demon then looked at Coyote. "Time for more flesh." It flapped it wings and flew towards Coyote at ground level. She looked defenseless, what could this little creature do, it wondered. If nothing, Enuhu would be dining on her heart like it did the soldier earlier.
Before the creature could reach Coyote, Apex side blinds it with a tackle forcing it to slam into the pavement a few feet away in front of Coyote. "Chicken wings, my favorite!" Apex says viciously chomping at the creatures wings
"Uh, what happens if someone straight up eats a demon?" Apex wasn't going to get his scaley ass possessed on the first day, right? Right? This wasn't going to be like that one obscure Friday the 13th movie where Jason's heart could move outside of his body and whoever ate it would be the next Jason incarnate, right? Havoc really hoped that the new guy wasn't going to get possessed.
The creature screeches as Apex's locks his jaws onto one of it's wings.It thrashes it's body back and forth before pushing off the grown and attempts to take off into the air but struggles with only one wing. when it manages to get a few feet in the air it Jabs its claws into Apex's stomach causing him to release the creatures wing before unleash a blood curdling roar as he falls back down. Before Apex hits the ground, the Creature swoops down and catches his tail and drags him into the pavement before hurling Apex into the side of the Facility. Apex release another Roar before climbing back out of the building and dropping down to all fours as his bones began to make large crunching noises as his body begin's to mutate into a Quadruped version of Apex. "god that fuckin hurts so good" Apex says rolling his neck before looking back at the creature but turns to Omar when he raised his hand again "fuck it, im killing him first " Apex says using his new limbs to lunge at Omar with enough speed to take off his hand a large chunk of his forearm with one bite before circling Omar "any last words magic man?" Apex says taunting Omar but freezes after he releases a burp. Apex shakes his head violently as his eyes began to glow "i don't feel so......." Apex begins growl looking at Omar but turns toward Havok and begins to flare his fangs just as the creature looks at Havoc . "just kidding" Apex says turning back towards Omar as he chuckles as he continues to Circle Omar .
The battle seemed to be wrapping up. Behemoth even claimed the team should have the place cleaned out in no time. Aurora had to agree even her end of things seemed simple enough and she was pretty much done dealing with the men close by to her surrounding area that shouldn't affect her own teammates.
Well that was how it appeared until suddenly things started to shift awfully fast. Her attention moved to some creature that even in her own cultures words meant demon. How her heart went out to those pour children that had been up close and personal with such a fiendish thing. To make matters worse it seemed someone was trying to control the monstrosity. Aurora didn't think they needed to sit around and let that happen but it seemed any plan came up a bit short for now the demon was already going after Havoc and it seemed only after some item had glowed red.
Aurora was actually thankful it picked someone other than her. Give her a chance to analysis and plan out her reactions versus risking harming any of the team. She didn't feel like making Behemoth on her back for something other than the need to improve her time punctuation. If someone was to die she didn't plan today be her fault.
The battle with her team was happening rather fast. One thing was for sure Aurora did notice lighting seemed to have an effect. Her issue was unlike Havoc she couldn't always have a direct shot or contact. Something else would need to be tried. If powers was the main thing that seemed to be working. Punches might but she only saw that working if it was one of the others. Definitely not her. She then froze her approach to join the current battle and dare try adding against the demon. 'Did he really just get possessed? I had hoped that was only children folk lore.' She thought then gave a small laugh seeing how her fears were wrong Apex seemed like himself to her at least from what she could tell.
She decided to play things safe focusing on some rubble and the magnetism vs gravity ratio. Slowly shifting gravity around three smallish boulders they lifted into the air. Stable for Aurora hadn't given an opposing force just yet to fire. She waited for an opening then with a weak spark of lightning flung the first boulder at the demon, then a second and finally the third. She hoped her idea would work because if not she didn't put enough focus to keep any broken pieces still in the air because gravity would surly return back to normal to the stones at the change in distance.
Omar was on his knees and enduring the worst pain he's ever experienced in his life. He'd just had his arm bitten off by one ugly deformed creature and he knew he'll never see it again...if he lived that it. As the creature known as Apec circled him, Omar tried to order the demon to do his bidding. "Enuhu, Kill them all!"
Enuhu flew in the air for a moment before landing near Apex. "I serve the one who owns that arm. You know, the one that got eaten by the ugly guy over here. I don't have to listen to you anymore. I serve him." Enuhu points to Apex. "Now give me a command so I may resume the slaughter of human life." Apex smiled whispered something to the demon. It then looked at Omar and fired the same flames in shot a Havoc from its eye at him. Omar was eradicated by the demon's hellfire and only charred bone was left behind. "Now, I shall take care of those stragglers inside." The demon started to flap its fly towards the compound.
"Don't forget my servant. No children! Off limits okay? Don't make me call Chris Hanson." Apex reminded Enuhu of Behemoth's most sacred rule.
While the demon flew to take care of the stragglers, Behemoth addressed his team while he leads them into the compound. He turned to them with a smile. "Now this is working out just perfect. Now we got an evil being from pits of hell doing our work for us. I love tearing the limbs off the body of evil, but we have more important things to do."He looked at Coyote, Apex, and Aurora. "You three, follow the demon inside. Kill any dummy who wants to fight and send any civilians upstairs with to me. I'll detain any terrorist scum and let the civilian go free. From there I'll go and alert the proper authorities in this country and tell them we took care of the roach problem. Try to strong arm some cash if possible."
Behemoth saved the troublesome asshole for last. "Havoc! You're good with computers. Fine the main office and drain their database on to this baby." Behemoth grabbed a thumb drive out of his belt and tossed it to Havoc who caught it with ease.
"Sure thing pal? Want me to grab you a drink while I'm at it. A juice pouch maybe?" He responded to Behemoth in his usual cheeky tone.
"Cut the sass and get to work. Once your done do like the others. " He turned to the others. "Same goes for you lot."
Coyote rolled her eyes at Behemoth and Aurora just gave him a nonchalant shrug before the two walked away and went downstairs. Apex stayed back and was just about to say something before Behemoth gave him a scowl. "Not now punk." Apex than followed without a sound. He'll play annoy the leader later.
45 minutes later the building has been cleared. Civilians were directed upstairs to the waiting who contacted the U.N. and The Udal government who will be sending in troops to secure the area with medics to care for the wounded. Havoc fulfilled his orders and retrieved the information on the thumb drive. He ran into some trouble, he found the big boss frantically trying to wipe his computer. Probably of information on this operation and porn. The big boss didn't get to finish wiping it all. At least Havoc ain't find anything nasty.
While they waited for the authorities, the team was thanked and praised by the civilians. They even chant their names in unison, promising to remember this great act of heroism for the rest of their lives. The things these terrorists did to them were unspeakable, some had suffered irreversible damage, but they were now free. Apex, Aurora, and Coyote had escorted children out, Apex even caring them on his arms and back. They even played with the children once things were done. They gave Havoc perfect photo ops while they did this. The world will see the blood they spilled, but they also need to see The Crusaders being Heroes, being human.
1 hour later...Crusaders Ship
The team had left the city-state of Udal through a wormhole and returned to The Crusader, Behemoth's interdimensional spaceship. Behemoth was expecting a call from the Udal government eventually, a thank you mostly and hopefully some cash. He wasn't a millionaire like some Heroes he knew, he was just a man with a vendetta. He wanted to reward his team, pay them something to keep them around. The photo's Havok took of the team with his phone was released on whatever social media outlet the clown fancied.
The news should see this and hopefully give them praise, sure some will complain and make the foolish assumption that they were somehow just as bad. All Behemoth needed to do now was to check the thumb drive and make his next set of moves. Hopefully, they'll involve exposing Kauffman and getting some positive media coverage. Going on TV and making a public declaration against evil and let the vile scum of the world know their days are numbered. He'd need to make sure Apex and Havoc won't get to much time to speak. They might say something stupid and ruin their image.
Behemoth was in his bathroom taking a shower while the others did whatever they felt like. Havoc said something about watching high school musical on the couch. Behemoth wanted to know why a grown man in his age range was watching that crap, but then again, Behemoth realized Havoc wasn't to right in the head once he got to know him. He had no idea what the others were doing, but he'd expected at least one of them to join him. Probably Lightning Aurora, she'd watch out of curiosity alone in some poor attempt to understand Earthlings
He finished washing up and stepped out of the hot shower. He walked over to his bathroom mirror and put his large hands on the sink. He needed to reflect on his action now. He knew this was only the beginning. While Behemoth and his team eliminated evil for good, the other Heroes will speak out against them and conflict will eventually begin. The Crusaders were entering a two-way war. The Justiciars will not stand for one of their own members going out and doing what needed to be done, they wanted him to play by the rules and set an example. Maybe their right, maybe he should stop before things get worse and out of hand.
Behemoth lifted his dominant hand and balled it into a fist. He then punches the image of his face the mirror and shatters it. A moment of weakness, and the last one he will experience. This was a Crusade, a mission that he will die fighting if need be. He'd make the world safe from sick bastards that killed his family and will crush any Hero who will try to stop him. To do that, Behemoth will need to plan. He won't kill his old friends, but he had no problem breaking them like he did the average mugger or thug.
Behemoth exited the bathroom brewing plans in his head on how to defeat his old friends. Zenith and American Dream were the biggest threat, there were others but both kept popping into his mind. There was also Blackbird. Blackbird had no powers, but their mind was as sharp as point of an arrow and was considered one of the best fighters on the planet, plus they had more gadgets than Behemoth had kills.
Havoc went to his room first, getting himself cleaned up a bit, and got changed out of his gear and into a pair of sweatpants and a black long sleeved shirt. He raided the kitchen, getting a glass of water and a bag of chips, and settled down on the couch, the tv providing some white noise as he zoned out. High School Musical was on. Something in him privately wondered if anything in the movie was how high school really worked. Of course, he had the internet just a thought away if he really felt like figuring that out, being a technopath and all. But, it was more entertaining just to wonder. He had just started middle school when life kinda happened, and that was that.
He was well aware of the look Behemoth gave him, but this movie had some sentimentality points in his book. He remembered going to the actual movie theater to see it with Lizzy, Meg, and John when they managed to scrounge up enough money to afford that kind of break right after they escaped, thinking that it would give them a picture of what they'd missed out on. They were mistaken. It brought a very faint smile to his face, thinking back on one of the few moments when they could just be dumb teens.
He felt himself starting to get a little too close to the bad stuff, and switched his train of thought to something else.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and honed in his focus a bit. He checked the social media accounts that he'd whipped up in order to post the more humanizing side of the Crusaders on, noting the reactions and scrolling through the comments, getting a general idea of their popularity. So far, reception was mostly positive. There were the typical dipshits, but he was used to reading about that with everything he'd done prior to joining the Crusaders. They weren't the picture perfect idols for hero work. He'd been making hard calls since he was a kid, teen, whatever. He was a bit too familiar with negative opinions, what with Behemoth turning up every now and then to try and stop him when they were on opposing sides. Fortunately Havoc was pretty damn good at coming up with escape methods and getting clear of an area before anyone more troublesome than the walking tank showed up. He'd have to bug Behemoth later to see how he was planning on dealing with the Justiciars once they caught wind of the new team.
News articles were already popping up about the event, nothing too special just yet, other than the initial notice of Behemoth being out and about with a new group of 'heroes'. He hadn't seen any pictures of himself yet, more than likely because he was the only one on the team taking pictures of the aftermath. Unlike some people, he kept tabs on what he's been involved with.
Might just come in useful when a guy who can transform into a disappearing minigodzilla just kinda portals into your meeting room to say hi.
Havoc let out a moderately annoyed sigh. Today had been a long day. He supposed he should probably make something resembling dinner here shortly. Apex was probably full though. Behemoth would wonder if it was a trap, which did get old after a while and the walking bug zapper didn't want his dinner to taste like vague deception. He wasn't feeling up to Aurora's 'so humans make it this way?' shenanigans. Maybe he'd shoot Coyote a text. Maybe she'd want McDonalds or something. He heard something shatter faintly down the hall and sat up from his spot on the couch, almost ready to proclaim innocence.
He checked to see if his little roomba was still alive and well. Signs pointed to yes. Junior lives on another day. A new record on that one.
<< You know, I'm a bit better than good with computers. Look through that little flash drive of yours, I managed to restore some of the data the guy tried to wipe. Threw the gross stuff in a zip file, and Kauffman's damning evidence is in a folder. There was some shit about our demon friend and some other gifts, presents from the person they dubbed their god among them. That guy's going to be a problem. Probably won't like the fact that we crossed off the demon. >>
He fired off a text to Behemoth. The informative files had been stored on his cell too, just in case something happened with the flash drive. It was something they preached in college, always back up your work. He'd go and back it up to his main system later tonight. He supposed it was about time to change locations for that too, now that the apartment was cleared out. No reason to leave it sitting around in that neighborhood.
Otto White
Renegade
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Otto had known something was going on, he would of been there all fire and hate focused onto the target Behemoth and the others had attacked but other matters demanded his attention, personal matters. He laid a wreath of flowers at a grave site long and far away from the lights and sounds of the city. He knelt down on both knees in front of the grave, he didn't speak to the head stone that had Andrea's name on it nor did he sit there and wax poetic about how he could have saved her as he had long since accepted her death, nothing he could have done at the time would of stopped it but all the same he made this visit every year since her death as it was Andrea's birthday."Probably should of informed Behemoth I would be out but meh, some things can't be helped." He thought to himself as he placed down several candles and lit them with his fingers as they briefly turned white at the signal of the use of his powers. He sat there on his knees for a few hours at least, praying or at least as close as Otto got to praying since he didn't find a true belief in his life. By the time the sun was dipping in the sky he had decided that he had stayed long enough, he stood up and brushed off his legs. "Rest easy Andrea, I'll be back next year." He spoke to the head stone before pulling out his Crusader badge and activated it as he was beamed to the home ship of his fellow Crusaders. He found himself in the meeting room which was empty, he pulled out his chair and sat down in it and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as a feeling of tension that was in his body from visiting the grave melted away. It was nice to be home.
"bottoms up"Jack says chugging down his Bottle of whiskey before tossing it and taking a seat to one of the make shift graves. He looks at his phone but turns his head when he hears the sound of a twig snapping in the distance. "On our way to grandma's house are we?" Jack says raising an eye brow seeing a woman wearing a cloak that concealed her identity approaching him. The woman examines the graves before looking at what was left of a burnt down cabin in the distance. "How much for the cape?""I'm afraid it isn't for sale" The woman says walking past Jack and stops in front of a small flower bed and kneels so she could pick a few before returning to the graves and setting the flowers down neatly. Jack watches the woman until she was done. "...Thanks" he says pulling out a small canteen from his pocket and taking a sip before returning his attention to his phone. "i take it you didn't just come here just to pick flowers" Jack says setting his phone next to the graves. "sorry" the woman says holding out her hand "where is it?" She says while the ring on her middle finger begins to glow "I will not ask again" Jake stands back to his feet and takes another sip from his canteen "how abo..." Before Jack could get out one of his corny one liners he is lifted and slammed into a near by tree by the woman's magic before being hung upside down infront of her "last chance""are you a jed.." The woman uses her magic to slam Jack through a few more trees before returning him to his upside down position.
Jack spits some blood out before looking at the woman with a smirk making the woman let out a sigh before flicking her wrist sending Jack crashing into the old cabin. "how disappointing" the woman says walking towards the cabin .
a few seconds later a broken piece of wood shoots out from the cabin and grazes her hand as she attempted to deflect it. She examines her bloody hand and her now broken ring before looking back at Jack who was slowly climbing back out of the cabin. "O its not over yet" Jack says rolling his shoulders as he walks towards the woman while claws slowly begin to extend from his finger tips. "Its too bad, i was hoping to have a little more fun". When Jack gets closer to the woman he swings his claws aiming for the woman's abdomen only to get stopped by the woman's magic "hmph,figured" Jack says as he gets lifted into the air. The woman tauntingly clicks her tongue while shaking her head before moving Jack to the side finally finding what she was looking for. The demons corpse pinned up on the Tree branches above. "Pa said i had to put him down, pity, i kinda liked having Falkor around". "what ever you think you accomplished, let me be the first to ..." "ya ya , i already herd that speech on what happens when you mess the wrong people, look, you think we can rap this up? im kinda short for time" The woman looks back at Jack before chuckling as she brought him closer to her and places her hand on Jack's cheek before speaking again.
"What?" Jack says before blacking out only to wake up again laying on his back with his canteen on his chest. He slowly sits up feeling groggy "ugh, what the hell" he says rubbing his head as he looked around the Forrest before standing up and walking back over to the two graves and picking up his phone before pulling out Razorhands crusaders badge and opening a portal to the ship. He takes one last look at the graves before stepping through the portal and exiting back into the meeting room "i need to stop drinking" he says while he opens his canteen and takes another sip.
Behemoth sat in the meeting room going over the recently gain information on Kauffman and his ally, the bastard who had some idiots calling them God. Once again, that bastard Havoc proves himself useful again by regaining lost information that was on the terrorist computer. What Behemoth found was damning for sure, but not to Kauffman directly. It related to his Vice President, Ricardo Gats, all of this appeared to be his doing. Behemoth knew that was bullshit, and he knew if enough pressure was put on Gats fat neck, he'll squeal and snitch of Kauffman. As for The Immortal Man, It seems his name is Solomon Buldan. Buldan was a wealthy Oil Tycoon located in Dubai. He was known for as a collector of artifacts, especially strange ones.
Relaxing in his sweats as he worked, Behemoth decided to have the team join him in the meeting room. "Crusaders. To the meeting room, we have things to discuss. Especially you Renegade, get that ass over here! On the double!!" He leaned back in his seat at the round metal table and waited for the group to join him. In the center of the table, there was a hologram of Ricardo Gats, a fat bald man with a few beads of sweet on his head. Beside him was an old man, Oil Tycoon Solomon Buldan. Around his neck, he wore an amulet of gold with an eye medallion on.
Once the team arrived, he began to speak. "Alright, guys, I'd love to chew fire crotch out but on the business. I'm thinking we play this one by the books. Not really sweating the old man at the moment. All it says is the statue came from his collection, bought it about 30 years ago. It was stolen from his collection about 4 years ago. He probably sold it these bastards and reported it stolen to cover it up. I'm really focused on getting my hands on Kauffman and bring him down. His Vice President, Gats had supplied these people with their weapons and armor. I planning to have him testify against Kauffman to the Supreme court. We take a copy of this information and I'm sure the F.B.I. can make this happen."
Douglass sounded a little excited. This was good, actual results, not just dead bodies which were also good results too when they were bad guys.
A bald man of tan skin looked out his office balcony from one of highest sky scrappers of Dubai. He was smoking a Cuban cigar and drinking a can of Pepsi in one hand. He had an earpiece in his left ear and one of his partners was on the side.
"I imagine those imbeciles were running around with their heads cut off. Who was it that attack again? The United States? Local rebellion? The Udul military perhaps." He didn't sound worried, not about any of it really. "I imagine they got desperate and uses the statue. Maybe I should have given them something better."
On the other side of the line was Arlic Kauffman. "It was Superheroes. Those annoying pest." He responded by speaking into his smartphone. Arlic stood over a few men, all of them were dressed for a martial arts gear. They laid there not moving, to battered to get back up and continue fighting. "It was one of the Justiciar. I saw him on the company satellite. Media making a big deal about it." He was in his personal dojo.
"Oh really? Was it my belov-" Hakim was cut off by Arlic.
"No, not her. The one who went awol a year ago. The one who got his identity leaked...by us."
"Oh, the big black guy. The one going around kicking up hell with that new hero team. This is exciting. Could they be on you? me? All of us?" Hakim asked before taking a pull of his cigar. He didn't sound scared, actually as excited as he claimed.
"Maybe. I just thought you should know. It's your operation after all. By the way, have you spoke to Mr. Stick up his ass?" Arlic said knowing Hakim knew he was referring to.
"Yes, I did. He spoke of finally getting rid of the Secret Society Of Villainy. He's sick of their inventions and attempts at strong-arming him. Can't blame him, they far outlived their usefulness. He wants to use the new dirty bomb his country developed."
Arlic smiled at the news. He snapped his fingers and a group of men in black walked into the room and dragged the defeated men out. "I'll also get to try out a new form of transportation R&D cooked up. Quantum wormhole tunneling. Francis's people and my people put it together."
"Science has come so far. It gets closer and closer to imitating magic." Hakim then heard his door open. "Oh, perfect timing. And your brought my Kababs. Sorry, Arlic, I'll call you back, food is calling my name."
They hung up and Hakim went to eat him Kababs. He also had a job for his bodyguard. A little thing for her to check up on.
Otto White
renegade
Interaction: Behemoth
----
Otto didn't care much to take an order from a man so hell bent on his own crusade so he didn't walk over any slower or any faster then any one else in the room as they made their way to the seats. He listened to Behemoth, he felt odd thinking of the man by his title rather then his given name when they were here somewhere safe from anything hostile, Otto listened to what Behemoth was saying. "If we are going to go after this Gats then it would probably be best to split up, as soon as he is aware you are after him he is going to split and while I doubt he had anyone that could actually stop all of us there is a good chance they can slow us down giving Gats time to escape." Otto paused for a moment before leaning forward. "One team secures Gats while the other moves through to get the hard evidence the FBI will need to squeeze Gats into talking and scares him up like a quail towards the first team." Otto pulled back into his seat seemingly done talking before he opened his mouth again, this time looking directly at Behemoth. "And I was visiting my surrogate mother's grave Douglas, it was her birthday and if you have an issue with this then you and I will settle up when we get back from getting Gats." Otto wasn't a boy nor did he see himself as Behemoth's subordinate, if Behemoth had an issue then he could address it to Otto like an adult not like a commander to a lower ranked subordinate.
Havoc made his way to the meeting room with a small frown on his face as his mind wandered over what still needed to get done. He took his sweet time going through the halls, even caught a glimpse of Junior before it motored off on its own adventure. But eventually he found himself outside the conference room.
He took a deep breath and stepped inside. His sharp blue eyes wandered over who all was in the room, taking stock. He sat down at his normal spot at the table. "Chewing and crotch should never appear in the same sentence, B." He stated simply, shooting him a pointed look. But, he settled back and listened as the game plan started to get run down. He gave an appreciative nod at Renegade's input.
"Can't say I've ever had any faith in the justice system." He started off, picking at the wrist of his glove. His gaze flicked up to meet Behemoth's. "What's stopping Kauffman from buying out anyone who'd handle our files, and what if he's buddy-buddy with a judge? Things get shuffled and disappear all the time, and if we don't ace this trial completely, we'd need to dig up another scandal to get him tried on. We'll need to keep an eye on Gats before the trial, I'm not too worried about him running, it's a question of whether or not Kauffman tries to make him disappear before he can testify." He sat back and ran a hand through his hair. "I've seen this shit happen before. Rich scumbags like him will do whatever it takes to keep their reputations clean."
"And if we don't get what we need out of this trial, what's the plan after that? " Havoc was aiming for a backup plan. Call him paranoid, but things rarely went perfectly, and he didn't want to be caught without a fallback plan. "I'm friends with a few old school journalists and editors, and flooding social media is pretty easy once you know what pages to hit." He gave a small shrug. "It won't do much, but Kauffman won't like having blood in the water. Might get twitchy and start moving things around. Give us an easier time finding a fresh target."
Selene had been given an assignment. As Gloom, she would go to the city of Arlic Kaufman and do damage to his shady empire. The rest of Behemoth's group was making a raid on terrorists. They had more than enough power for that. She had been given the address of a warehouse. She waited, watched from the shadows. She determined that there were drugs being made here, armed men guarding the place.
She quickly found the electrical panel and loosed the gloom upon it. Feeding on the electrical power till the panel could no longer support the electricity. No sound of sparking escaped the gloom and the lights went out in the warehouse. She went then to the warehouse, loosing the gloom through the door and into the warehouse. She encountered armed guards with the gloom, they fell unconscious before they could run. She allowed the workers to escape, mostly women, probably forced to work. Any man present was finished though, none escaped. Drugs, men… money… she stayed long enough that the gloom fed on all of that. Nothing left but the have destroyed remains of some of the metal.
She was satisfied that she had struck a blow to Kaufman's machine, however minor. She went home then. Using Behemoth's widget, she went back to the team's ship. She didn't talk much to the men on the team aside from Behemoth himself. She particularly liked Coyote, who was usually pleasant and had a nice sense of humor. She made her way to the meeting room, in search of Behemoth.
"To the owner of the white ford ranger, please move your vehicle, the yellow section is only for the disabled and or elderly ...or those people who bring there disabled and or elderly relative only to leave them in the parking so the.." feeling Behemoth glaring at him Jack lets go of the com's button before taking his seat again just as everyone starts to enter "o good, we have a Viking" he says when Otto enters the room. Jack stays quiet as Behemoth explains there situation but his usual smirk slowly begins to dissipate as Behemoth reveals his solution. "so we let him walk?" Jack says looking at Behemoth with a unsatisfied look on his face while he takes another swig from his canteen. "fuck that" he says placing his canteen down in front of him "doing it by the books huh?, that bastard wrote the book's" Jack says laughing as he shook his head. "That fucker needs to executed in the most inhumane way possible, but you know that better than any of us don't you? , or were you actually planning to offer that son of a bitch a plea bargain before you snapped his neck?"
Jack says tilting his head as he eyed behemoth "let me do it" he says with a serious tone "think about it, we get him in one of those fancy little courtrooms and during his trial i pop in and .....im sorry but" Jack turns his attention to Otto "that beard man" Jack says giving him a thumbs up before looking at Havok "now that's a man right there" Jack says picking up his canteen " o right, Kauffman , were was i ......... let me kill him, then send me down the river" Jack says finishing off the last of his drink. "i can see it now, headline, crusaders save the day by vanquishing the handsome dashing beast who just ate Arlic Kauffman, poetic if you think about it"
As she enters the meeting room, Selene allows the gloom and her gloom genetated super outfit to retreat literally into the dark creveases of her mind. This is done with a just audible gasp.
Now dressed in her standard mildly gothic attire, she is holding a fancy alligator hide briefcase. This she puts on the table. It has the appearance of having been worried at by giant moths.
"Forgive my intrusion, there is a laptop in there. I hope it still works. I almost forgot to save it.. That and some bundles of cash someone had gathered to run with."
She finds a spot at the table & sits gracefully. You could easily forget she is blind behind her dark glasses..
" I am sorry to be negative about your intended plan Behemoth, but that Vice President would never see trial. You know Kaufman has a plan in place to eliminate him."
She looks at the blue skinned man appraisingly.
" I am curious if you could get close enough, long enough to eat him sir.. I must admit I would like to see the attempt. "
So, I'm following this scumbag, doing a favor for my boss, Tom. We think this guy is a mule or something for a big drug operation but Tom's off following another lead so I agreed to do it. It's not like a mortal who smells like weed and Axe body spray is going to get away from me once I'm on his trail.
He hops off the Red Line in Chinatown, and makes a beeline toward Central LA, going to one of the many run down buildings there. A warehouse of some kind. I don't want to lose the guy so I do a quick sprint around the building, casing it to see how many ways out he has.
Too many. I peek inside and it's definitely a drug operation. Women only in underwear and hospital masks bagging up product. So, I 'port in, behind some boxes and continue to scope my guy out. Then, the lights go out, and I feel something else supernatural besides me nearby. I keep an eye on my guy, since I can see into the infrared spectrum, but one corner is a dead zone to me even with the devil's sight I have, and in the middle of that dead zone is that presence.
And I'm not out of tricks. Succubi are natural empaths, so I zoom in on what this supernatural presence is feeling, to see if I'm screwed enough to just bail. But all I get is, well revenge and I don't know this thing from Adam so I hang out. Then, the women bail, the darkness parting to let them get a clear path to get outta there. The guys, they're not so lucky, that darkness is all over them.
The guys just drop like they were marionettes and Gepetto went on a smoke break. Now I'm pissed. I've been following this guy all day I can't have some vengeful... whatever just off him, I'll lose the lead. So I light up the old hellfire and start heading toward the darkness.
"What the fuck. I've been following this guy all this time and you screw up my lead, and you hide in some kinda uber-darkness? Gotta say that's fucking up my day though these guys deserve the shit they're getting"
A voice some people would describe as creepy – to me it sounds like aunt Sally – comes from the darkness. "Which one is yours? Describe him."
"Five nine, black hair, wearing the Raiders T-shirt and some really ratty Nikes." Almost as soon as I say that he gets punted out of the darkness, totally out for the count but alive.
"Yup. That's him. Listen, lady, not that I care but what's gonna be left once you leave here? You gobble up all the souls here and some of the wrong beings might notice. I do wanna do you right since you gave me my mark."
"Your energies, your fire comes from some part of the underworld." The voice calls out.
"Yeah, bitch, that's right. Don't tell me you're a fuckin Seraphim. I do not have time for a battle with someone from upstairs today."
"I do not judge the souls, they will go to the underworld to be judged. That which I represent is the eternal night, come before the white god."
"Ah shit. Is this all that Greek junk again? Cause just last week I dealt with some mutate who thought he was fuckin Mercury reincarnated. Till I outran his ass. Anyway, nice work I guess. How long before bendejo wakes up so I can talk to him?" She kicked the unconscious man.
The darkness begins to gradually withdraw as she talks again. " It won't be long. What are you called "
"Cynthia." I replied. "What about you?"
" This fusion is called the Gloom "
"Ah fuck... possessed. Not a deal breaker, but good to know." I pulled some zip ties from my purse and bound the man's hands and feet together, while she talked.As the darkness recedes, the bodies of the drug men look like unwrapped mummies in the moonlight.
" No, not exactly.. I command it, but it has a mind of it's own."
"Well that didn't leave anything for me. Guess I'll have to eat somewhere else today, hah." Then she proves me wrong by shoving soul energy directly into me. It's kinda like someone shoving a Twinkie in your mouth while you're talking. Unexpected, but sweet.
"Hey, whatever floats your boat toots. So what now? You wanna go somewhere and grab drinks after I find out if this dude knows anything that leads me to a bigger fish?"
"Name the place, and I will meet you there " She replies.
"Hard Rock Cafe over in No-Ho. Not far from the Chinese Theatre. You know it? It's a good place for me to finish charging up, and thanks for the boost."
"I am a brunette, black skirt, big boots "
"What ya see is what you get here, babe. I didn't bust out the tail and horns for this job. Besides, I'd notice your scent especially now that you've shared energy with me. Gimme an hour to vote for Pedro here and I'll meet you there." I hauled the body over my shoulder and started walking to the door.
"So shall it be."
Turns out that the guy knew very little, but it was enough for the next lead. I planted some drugs on him and left him in an alley about three doors down from a police precinct and an hour later as promised, I walked into the Hard Rock, but looking a lot more 'conservative' than I was when I was following the guy before. Hair was straight but still red, I had cute little freckles on my cheeks and wore a loose light sweater, unbuttoned over a pastel blouse and a long skirt.
I notice her enter the bar. Dressed in blacks and white with a few pieces of silver jewelry.
She makes it to my table, abd nods respectfully. "Cynthia ? "
"Yeah. What's your name? Or what you want me to call you anyway." I waved her to a seat.
" Call me Selene, We cannot hide from each other easily now"
I lifted the zombie I'd ordered and took a drink. "You drinking tonight too or just here to talk? Unless you just wanted to go somewhere and make out." I half teased, knowing how much of a cold fish that Selene seemed to be from her serene and gothic manner.
She seemed to relax and asked for something with rum and fruit juice. I look her over and realize she had sunglasses on and came in with one of those blind person canes. "Wait a sec, you're blind? Total props there." I waved the waitress over and ordered a Painkiller for Selene.
" My eyes do not see Cynthia, but my mind can see very clearly "
"Huh, Whatever works, I guess."
"I've never met anyone quite like you "
"I get that a lot." I took another sip. "One foot on Earth and the other in Hell, that's me."
" Your life energies are strong, you could do more "
"Probably, but I'd just get in trouble. I have a hard time with giving a fuck... I mean about the average dumbass. I'd probably end up in jail or some shit."
" I am having trouble not doing what the Gloom desires. My heroic friends want no such trouble, but the Gloom wants its vengeance "
"See, that's fucking funny. Putting on a costume and going around like you're so much better than everyone. That shit don't endear you to the populace. I dunno, maybe I could learn to give a shit if I hung around some mortals with stricter morals. It'd be worth a laugh anyway."
" Perhaps there will come a time Cynthia"
"Well anyway, I still work for this P.I. I'll keep doing that gig for awhile I guess. It's nice meeting you, though, even though it's like talking to Wednesday Addams."
Selene smiles " I liked watching that in Greece where I grew up. Give me a card Cynthia please "
"Sure." I slid one to her across the table. "You know, it's refreshing. I get like, nothing from you, in sexual energy. It's like I can take a break of always being a little tempted to hop in the sack with whomever I'm talking with."
Selene blushes. " It has been many years since I even wanted to enjoy sex. There was an incident some years back. Perhaps you could help my balance someday "
"Sure. I get the feeling you're a lot older than me. I'm only 31, but I dunno, the two years I spent downstairs with pops may count for more because time works funky there."
" How do they say it here in the States ? Not the years, but the mileage !"
"Not that I mind, I mean my dad would have me hook up with someone thousands of years old just to make sure he gets grandkids."
We bullshitted for another few minutes over some drinks and then went our separate ways for the night.
Otto White renegade
----
Interaction: Havoc, Apex and Gloom
-
He looked to the newest member of their merry band and gave a thumbs up "Call me Otto, or be weird like Douglass and call me Renegade while we're here." Otto paused as he gave the proper acknowledgement to Selene with a tilt of his head before he addressed what had just been said about their next target. "Killing would be quick and easy but it wouldn't so what we need, killing one rat won't get rid of the infestation but if you can start a fire you might just get the whole nest. Gats is an insignificant pawn that can be snuffed out at any time and replaced but with what we can get in physical evidence on top of Gats along with whatever might be on the laptop Selene brought us might just give us enough to put Kauffman on the back foot, we just need him to mess up once and we can attack that weakness either directly or with the power of the judicial system. It's not full proof but as far as I can see it's our only play at the moment unless that laptop has something much more damning then we could dream of." Otto sat back after speaking, and exhale coming from his mouth as he waited for response from the others.
Renegade, Havoc, and Apex brought up fairly decent points, all which he'd considered. Gats running was very likely once he realized The Crusaders were after him. There was also the very likely fact Kauffman would have Gats killed to make sure he wasn't exposed. Kauffman had plenty of pull, either if it was the in the underworld or justice system. Douglass was firmly against killing Kauffman outright, doing that would make him look like a villain. He needed to bring him down to the dirt first, expose him in the court of law or to the people, Havoc made a good point about Kauffman likely connections, but Behemoth had his own.
First, he turned to Renegade, who prefers to go by Otto when not in the field. He'd address him not being present for today's raid. "Feeling touchy Otto? I expect you to be there when we need you. Decease Mother or not." With that said responded to Otto's plan. "Getting my intel to FBI will only take one man. I got pals who still like me in there and always hated Kauffman. They want him taken down as much as we do." There were some problems. Kauffman Enterprises had many government contracts, that might bog this operation down. "They still meet resistance."
Next, he responded to Havoc. Kauffman had the money to buy anyone out and if that didn't work, he could always make them disappear. Beyond that, there were plenty of corrupt judges. "I'm well aware Havoc, but we need to put our faith in the system this time. I got more than just this on Kauffman. I've busted up some of his secret labs too. Same kind of labs our monstrous friend Apex was crafted in. Some of his scientists may be willing to talk. He's made many enemies, and they'll love to finally strike back at him. They can at least confirm his company has been up to shady things." Havoc also mentioned what if this just fall through and Kauffman never sees his trial? "Exposing him through journalism is viable, but that could put the lives of the journalist in danger, but if they're old school, they know the risk. Hit pieces on Kauffman are rare and never go over well. If he avoids justice this time, I might just consider letting Apex loose on him."
He next moved on to Apex. He was still eager as ever to kill Kauffman. "You'll get your chance at him eventually. Not sure if that the liquor talking and I don't care. I could have sworn I told you why we can't just kill him. In the eyes of the public, he's an All American hero. You kill him, the country, hell, the world, will be against you. Zenith hates the guy, but even he won't let you get away with an act like that He isn't some typical street thug or masked psychopath."
Gloom was next to join them, she was busy hitting some of Kauffman's operations. She was a good soldier, intelligent and lacking sass like the rest of them. "Good to have you back. What you got for." He said with a smile as Gloom's costume retreated and she switched to her civilian attire. Selene than reveal an alligator briefcase. It was a little worn from Selene's ability, but it defiantly should still work. Another upside Selene had managed to grab some cash too. "Good job Selene, reasons like this is why you're my favorite blind hero. You get the job done, and avoid giving me lip for the sake of it." Doug looked around the table as he said it.
She then commented on his plans on dealing with Gats, and mentioned she'd like to see Apex try to eat Kauffman. "You too Selene? Don't trust in my plan either. We can always stash Gats on the ship until the trial comes. We could scare him into leaving the country, which would cover him in mud in the process."
Otto spoke again, this time in line with what Douglass had planned. "Good to see you got Otto. Someone under Kauffman is willing and ready to take over his criminal empire. Probably more than one. Kauffman has kept the peace, especially in Gled City. He imposes rules on the local crime families and street gangs. Those who don't fall in line in up dead or face resistance when pushing their weight. As for the laptop, no telling what we'll find on it. Probably little damning information on Kauffman, but maybe info on other warehouses and operations. We can have some real fun destroying his criminal empire's support beams."
Behemoth popped open the briefcase and smile at the contents inside. The cash was the first thing he looked at. He grabbed a couple stacks and started tossing them out amongst the crew. "A little incentive at the expense of evil. Don't spend it all on Roombas and liquor. You guys deserve this. For all the good work today and before that even. The job of Superhero never paid well. I would be lying if I hadn't stolen from a crime scene when I first started." He then had ship's computer start searching through the computer for anything worth his time.
Behemoth than looked over at the gothic woman wearing sunglasses. "By the way, You even give that badge to your friend Selene. No other way for them to get on the ship when it's hidden between dimensions."
" I was waiting for the time to be right and to get your permission to invite her Behemoth. Cynthia, I am certain is ready, she needs to prove herself, if only to herself. She is rebellious to her own nature. Do you wish to meet her for yourself first ? I am sorry about the money by the way, there should have been more, but the rest was mostly dissolved before I remembered. "
She turns over towards Apex, the first time she has ever sensed him.
" It is by the way, nice to make your acquaintance. I am Selene and my other self is called Gloom "
By the time Behemoth had turned his attention back to Jack, he was wearing his cat mask. ~all this talking is making me hungry~ He listens quietly as Behemoth explains again why he couldent just kill Kauffman.~when can we eat?~ Jack lets out a deep breath before leaning back in his chair. ~lets just eat them ~ "right, so when this plan doesn't work, I'll just do my thing" he says holding up his canteen as if he was toasting towards Behemoth.~ if we play nice, we can eat sooner~" what the hell, at least ill get to take a piece of old Gat man in the process" he says licking his lips. When Behemoth tosses a stack of cash infront of him, Jack slides it over Havocs side "I prefer blood over money" he says not bothering to hide how serious he was. ~were is the black woman?~"The pleasure is mind" he says looking at gloom " my name is Razor Cat, ex sidekick to the late and great Razor Hands" he says using a sarcastic tone.
