[HELLZONE] Powder Keg [Heroes/Villains] [COMPLETE]

[Deleted]

NOTE: This thread is the continuation of both To Serve and Protect AND Wilson Fisk Returns


Two Days Ago...

Daredevil kept going and flipping across rooftops for a few more buildings until he landed on a church and stopped to map his next leap. He sensed the Wallcrawler land right above him. He listened to him blabber off the cliffnotes of the Enforcers, how he ran into Luke Cage and Hawkeye, as well as the winged armored vigilante they briefly glimpsed a few months back during the Shriek incident, and somebody who appeared to be a SHIELD agent. It was surprising that SHIELD decided to have somebody down in the streets given the media was taking their heads clean off after Nuke, as well as the presence of SHIELD and the US Agent, causing Times Square to resemble a crater. The gang fight and fire at the docks was not going to help sway public opinion back to their side.

"Hm," he began, acknowledging he was listening. It was pretty hard not to with enhanced senses, true, but he had long since learned to tune it out if he wished.

"Short version, the Hood just lost a few good men, and Mr. Negative just lost a lot of guns and bombs. But it would appear is not doing much to affect their itches they need to scratch," he gave Spider-Man, who was his friend, but he had work to do and developed a one track mind.

"I have a friend to see, Peter. If you want to tag along, so be it. Just don't do anything stupid," he asked, using the webhead's real name to note he was being serious.

he rappelled along for another twenty minutes, the mid-afternoon sun had finally began to settle in, when he arrived at the Daily Bugle. He snuck through one of the usual open windows closest to Ben Urich's office. Ben was there typing away on his computer when he arrived, alone.

"Ben,"

"BAAAH! Jesus, Matt, you - - oh, I didn't realize you had company," said Ben Urich, realizing he slipped up and saw Spider-Man, covering up he used Daredevil's real name and began to cough.

"It's okay, Ben, he knows. Also, this is why you need to quit smoking," Daredevil explained, and folded his arms.

Ben finished coughing and looked from Daredevil to Spider-Man.

"You realize if Jameson sees him, we're all in for it, right?"

"Not as much as we're going to be," countered Daredevil. "Rumor has it that Fisk is back in town, Ben. If that's true, it would explain why the gangs are getting itchy,"

"Not necessarily," replied Ben.

"What do you mean?"

"Well on one hand, it would explain the uptick in arms trafficking I've been hearing about, true, but remember, this is Mr. Negative and the Hood. Also, in two days time, Norman Osborn's going to announce his Presidential campaign in Midtown. While I can't confirm foul play on his part, it wouldn't be a stretch. And that's before the lesser gangs and mercenaries like Hammerhead and his crew, the Enforcers, and the freelance criminals still at large," said Ben, giving Daredevil and Spider-Man the run down of the situation at hand.


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TODAY

Luke woke up to the neighbours above his apartment having their usual shout fest over very loud children thumping around. He looked to his left and saw Jessica still passed out. How in the hell she could sleep through that noise was astounding. He instinctively looked across the room for the crib, but then reminded himself that his daughter was still in Canada with friends. Jessica had since come back, but he wasn't fond of his baby girl being without both of her parents, especially with New York about to fall to pieces. Not that he was ever able to convince Jessica of that fact. He sighed and got to his feet and slipped on a familiar yellow shirt as he stepped into the bathroom for his hygienic routine. As he had finished taking a leak and brushing his teeth, he heard his phone vibrate on the counter. Oh, that's where he left it, he realized, and reached for it.

Danny. He might be the Iron Fist, but to him, he was Danny.

"Hey man, it's not even 8am yet. Why are you calling? Spidey wasn't expecting us until noon at best," he said quietly as possible, but groggily. He had another long night.

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Elektra sipped her coffee at the diner that her and Matthew use to frequent all the time back in college. She glanced over at a wall on her right at the picture wall of "the regulars," over the years. She spotted herself along with Matthew obscured by a larger photo of a gang of people, one she recognized as Norman Osborn's son, and a gorgeous redhead as well as an equally gorgeous blond wrapping themselves around an admittedly rather dorky boy that looked kind of familiar in his body language. She must have been thinking about Norman and the Enforcers and Fisk. She didn't like being attached to the world of the masks any more than she already was.

The waitress came up to her.

"Another round?" she asked, her tone light and completely unaware. It was refreshing, especially on such a mild spring morning.

"Please," she requested, and watched the girl pour more coffee. There was a chance this would be the last sunrise that New York would see as peaceful, for the world they come back to will be gone before the month was out. She hoped Mephisto was happy with her actions.

She picked up her phone and dialed it to the number. A man with a southern drawl picked up.

"Yeeah?"

"Mr. Fisk sends the green light," she said simply and waited a moment.

"We're on it," said the same southern voice. Elektra hung up. 11am was only a few hours away. She considered seeing Matthew again, even try to distract him. It wasn't hard earlier this week, afterall. But no, he would likely be already awake and at his office. Oh well. She sipped more coffee.

Three hours to go.

[Rift]

Spider-Man took up position on the ceiling and nodded when Urich mentioned the owner of the Daily Bugle.

“He’s right ya know. If J.J.J. finds out about me, we all might as well hand ourselves over to Fisk or Negative or whoever it is running things out there because the end would be much prettier,” Spidey chimed in. “Then again, the conniption fit he’d have over us holding a pow-wow in his building would almost be worth it.”

That however was the end of the one-liners as the wall-crawler listened carefully to the rundown they were being given. All of the news was bad it seemed. Whether Fisk was back or not wasn’t really the issue because other forces were already moving to make a play for power or to claim territory or whatever it was gangsters did these days. Ever since Negative had moved into town crime just wasn’t what it used to be, the rules it seemed had changed or been thrown out.

Almost makes me miss Tombstone and Silvermane, he thought. Almost.

When Osborn’s name came up he felt his blood pressure rise. Somehow that murdering psychopath had managed to stay out of prison and keep the wool over the eyes of the public. That was bad, sure, but nothing he wasn’t used to by now. However the fact that he was actually considered a possibility for the highest office in the land?

Wonder what his platform will be. Pumpkin bombs in every garage, women tossed off of bridges as the national pastime?

“Trust me when I say that there is definitely foul play. He breathes the air comes out crooked. Just because nobody can pin anything on Normie doesn’t mean a thing. His slime is just buried deeper than usual, but eventually it’ll come oozing out. No matter what comes out of his mouth, no matter how slick he seems, the Goblin is always there just waiting to come out and murder everything and everyone.”

Thinking about it a bit he added, “And if you know all about the gang activity and who the players are, he does too. He’s putting himself in the middle of the action on purpose, making himself a target. Probably so he can boost his ratings and claim he’ll be tough on crime or something of the like. It’s how he thinks.”

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Danny smiled as he spoke into the phone.

“Didn’t wake Jess did I?” he asked, genuinely concerned. There were times he was still convinced that his best friend’s significant other didn’t like him very much, if at all.

Shaking off the negative feelings and centering himself he continued, his laid back attitude shining through despite the bad tidings.

“Anyway, I was up for the morning workout when I noticed something odd. Men if you can call them that, some of Mister Negative’s to be precise. His Inner Demons I guess they are called? Anyway they were piling into vehicles. Across town, the Enforcers are already out on bail, if they ever made it to jail in the first place. And guess what? Same story. Fancy Dan is driving and unless I miss my guess they are scouting a location. Put in a call to a friend and it sounds like the Hood’s people are on the move too. How much you want to bet they are headed for Norman Osborn’s rally?” he explained. “Want to put the band back together early?”

[Deleted]

Matt Murdock wasn't a fan of many things. Movies, excessive junk food, or people who use others to get ahead. He also wasn't a fan of making his night job roll over into his day job. So when he was standing outside a fire escape, again, in broad daylight as Daredevil, he felt uncomfortable to say the least. Exposed. He never use to feel like this, not when he first became "Daredevil" and not when he moved out to San Francisco with Natasha a few years ago. But after Elektra, Bullseye, the Kingpin, and Karen. Karen. He shook her from his mind. She was gone because of Daredevil. No, Matt, she was gone long before that. He felt numb. Exposed. Naked.

He moved his new more armored costume with the same lithness as his lighter more typical models, only he felt the difference, and he wasn't sure which he preferred. Well, being alive counted for something. It was barely 8am. He heard the clock on the church nearby strike its bells. As he did, he stepped inside through the apartment window, seemingly empty. Today was Osborn's rally and Peter wanted him there in case he needed backup. Normally Matt wouldn't have done such a favor due to the uptick in the Kitchen, but given Osborn's alleged connection to Fisk, he accepted. This whole thing felt like a powder keg just waiting to explode.

He did a cursory scan of the rooms. Empty. Or at least at first glance. He took a few more steps into the apartment. It smelled familiar. The scent smelled of strawberries. He knew that smell. He listened again for the corresponding heartbeat. Nothing. But something else entered his ears.

He whipped around, billy clubs in hand ready to deflect a projectile in his path in case it came. He heard a bow draw back. He also recognized the sound of the arrow ticking.

"Oh look, it's an Avenger; we're saved," said Daredevil dryly, but kept his stance. "Is this the part where you read me my rights, tell me I'm under arrest, or you just going to settle on shooting me until I go down and THEN arrest me?" It was a valid question: Hawkeye was an Avenger, a registered superhero. Yes, the Civil War was long since over and most have gone back to being heroes, but after the Nuke and SHIELD fiasco not even a week old, he could never be too careful.

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Luke put his index finger and thumb on the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Jess is going to kill me that I didn't tell her, you know that, right? But if this is just recon, I don't want to worry her either. Fine. Meet me at the Memorial in Central in a half hour and we can go from there. We come in too close, they'll make us both. And by the way, tuck the mask underneath your jacket unless we need it. Webhead might be around and his presence is all we need for Osborn to go manic, you know that," he said and after getting a response from Fist, ended the call to see Jessica already awake and looking right at him. Shit.

"How much did you hear of that?" he asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

[Deleted]

Daisy had spent a day in the world of dreams and nightmares. She had the vague memory of pain as someone, she could only assume Hawkeye had stitched up her wounds. When she woke up again it had been a day later, she didn't know a full day had passed. As the sounds of a digital beep echoed there way through her bedroom. Daisy opened bloodshot eyes and looked up at the well plastered swirls of her luxury apartment. She was having trouble focusing, the exhaustion of her body healing was more then she was about to let on. She moved her hand over to grab her phone, knowing it was Fury and she needed to respond. She then realized it was not a ring, but a text message. Her eyes squinted at the phone as he attempted to sit up, only for sheering pain to be through her body. She read all she needed to read.

"dirty bomb, stop elektra, Hill evacing the Island, expecting Mass causalities, seek immediate help."

Quake tried to sit up as quickly as possible, but couldn't her eyes scanned over the documents sent to her, taking all of the information and committing it to memory, just as she was about to pass out form the pain an exhaustion she made an immediate call. The number was already programmed into her phone, Matt Murdock none other then the DareDevil himself. Daisy had a great deal of respect of this man, the last thing she wanted was for him not to be warned he needed to get all he cared about out of the city before Hill did a shut down and all hell broke lose, this was Sokovia all over again. Daisy listened to the phone ring on the other end of the received her as the voicemail picked up.

"Mr.Murdock my name is Daisy Johnson I have a case you are interested in. You could say its an Elektra case of sorts, I'm sure you are familiar with the Elektra issues. Your Island is being threatened. You may meet me at my place of residence 23rd and 5th apart 23c 9th floor. Thank you Mr. Murdock I appreciate your time."

With that Quake was about to pass out from the injuries as she placed her phone back on the charger. She saw a note scribbled out on stationary. She looked it over, even less legible then the phone text. Her eyes burned from trying to focus, Daisy read a few pieces of the note.

"Hey,

I will be back, we need to talk.

Hawkeye

p.s you definitely know me."

Quake looked around her room and sighed as her eyes closed and the room once again went pitch black.

1 day later

Quake's body screamed in pain, yet this was nothing unusual for a S.H.I.E.L.D agent such as herself. Her eyes opened up to the light of the room, it was natural light form the windows, but it burned like she was a vampire. Quake remembered the not from the day before and knew she needed to pull herself out of this damn bed in order to get a hold of Matt Murdock. She thought about her cover and how she had to keep it, but just this once she wanted to trust someone anyone. Then she thought about it, Hawkeye, she could easily trust him. At the moment though she only had a note to tell her he was even returning. She moved her hurting body form the bed to the bathroom that was attached to her bedroom. She picked a few items of clean clothing that she had lying around the room as she went into the bathroom, Daisy stopped and listened for a moment as voices where definitely coming from her apartment. She quietly and quickly changed her clothes and now Stealthy walked out of her bedroom. As she opened the door DareDevil and other then Hawkeye stood in her living room. Daisy was now standing tall pretending her body was not as injured as it was. Her wound was threatening to rupture open and her ribs ached as she spoke with a strong willed voice.

"Well, just the two people I wanted to see. I see you got my message DareDevil. As for you Hawkeye, well stand down I called this man here. I under the direct orders of Nick Fury and we don't have much time to spare here. So I will spare you two the formalities of a greeting and pissing contest. My name is Daisy "Quake" Johnson I am an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Now DareDevil before you think I am here to just here take you in. Know this I know everything about you I could have easily already taken you, but I didn't because that's not who I am and the city needs your help."

Daisy could have easily blown Matt Murdocks Identify, but the truth was she respected him. The last thing she wanted was a good person to feel they couldn't trust her. Daisy turned her attention to Hawkeye as she spoke to him, knowing he was the one who had helped her. Daisy didn't for a moment falter in her stance or words, no in moment her wound was about to falter for her. Daisy spoke to Hawkeye, her tone for both DareDevil and him was different it was kinder more understanding, yet beckoned urgency.

"Hawkeye, I trust you, we've worked together before, I need you to keep my cover a secret Fury wanted me to go dark because there are people on the inside of S.H.I.E.L.D and the city working to harbor a Nuclear bomb. Hill wants the entire city locked down and all SHIELD agents and Avengers to leave. The person responsible for this act is Elektra. I know you Matt have a relationship with her, but I need to get her and bring her before the entire city goes to hell. We also need to contain the threats in the city as things are about to turn to total Anarchy here. "

Her eyes became deadly serious as she turned to Hawkeye and spoke again.

"Listen I'm basically asking you to do exactly what SHIELD and the Avengers are going to tell you not to do. I'm asking you to trust me on this, I need to stop Elektra. The only way I can do this is with a team. I'm gong to go after her and bring her in, but I need two people one to go after the Nuke and the other to manage the street thugs. If we can't contain this situation. SHIELD will let it go nuclear, we don't have government sanctions here Hawkeye. I gotta know you and DareDevil are with me. "

The sound of a phone buzzing away was enough to bring Jessica form her slumber. With groggy eyes she looked over at Luke, "who the hell was calling? " Jessica thought to herself and half out loud as Luke started to have a conversation with someone who clearly had news for him. As soon as the words Spidey came from Lukes' mouth Jessica knew it was Danny. As the phone hun up Luke turned his attention to Jessica, who was now almost out of bed and getting ready to go with Luke to the location.

"I heard the entire conversation, you're going to need someone else with you. I also heard enough to know that it was Danny on the phone. You should just tell me the truth now Luke, save you the trouble of covering up later."

Jessica said her last remarks with a smirk as she got out of bed and prepared to head with Luke to the meeting location. The truth was she knew he could handle himself, but she felt better being a part of the action and not just a by stander.

[Deleted]

HAWKEYE

It had only been a day since Hawkeye left Daisy's apartment. He left not only to stock up on more arrows at the tower, but to get more medical supplies. He knew for certain that there weren't enough just laying around the apartment, and she would need painkillers and antibiotics. Something to dull her agony just a tad, as well as keeping that wound clean. The message he left her wasn't flashy or neat by any means, but he hoped it would do its job in letting her know where he had ran off to. After coming back with a shopping bag in one hand, a quiver full of fresh arrows on his back, he ran acroos the rooftops before climbing down the side of her building and entering through the fire escape window. His teeth gritted at the presence standing in front of him.

Instinctively, after many years with the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D., he drew his bow at the sight of a suspicious intruder. Sure, those horns and that red suit were unmistakeable, but Daredevil wasn't one to show his face during the day, let alone in some stranger's apartment. After loading a normal, broad-tipped arrow onto his bow and pulling it back ever so gently, he wasn't surprised as the Man Without Fear addressed him. Unfortunately, with a very bitter attitude. Clint was at first taken back, surprised. That was... Until the memories of the Civil War flooded back into his mind. Hero against hero, friend against friend, all because of registration. He and Daredevil just happened to be on opposite teams. Hawkeye had agreed to registration. Daredevil, not so much. Easing up on his bow, he sighed, shaking his head.

"Sorry to disappoint you, D... But I have no intentions of arresting or shooting you. We're on the same side now, remember?" Hawkeye asked, raising a brow as he slid the arrow back into his quiver. Clint had the idea that the War was long behind him, and that everyone else should think the same. Although, a part of him could understand just why guys like Daredevil couldn't put it behind them. It was an awful event. It spawned distrust, betrayal, and battles that everyone would rather forget. It tore families apart. It nearly shattered friendships. Clint, thankfully, was hit the least out of every hero involved. Still, even the least amount of suffering was still suffering, nonetheless. "Although, I suppose now would be an appropriate time. Didn't know breaking and entering in broad daylight was your thing." He murmured, crossing his arms. "Unless there's a reason why you're here. Not sure how there can be, but I'd love to hear it, if you have one."

His eyes flicked back and forth from him, to Daisy's bedroom door. He gave a frustrated huff. "Look, a friend of mine nearly got stabbed to death last night. I left to get some stuff while she was out cold. I have to take care of her, because someone can't seem to manage their own part of town!" He spat at Daredevil, obviously still demanding answers for the hectic events from the night before. "I hear on the news that the docks are exploding, gang wars are breaking out in the streets, people are getting mugged in allys left and right... Seriously, Daredevil... I want answers. Why is the Kitchen going nuts out of nowhere? Does it have something to do with Osborn?" He questioned him, walking to an end table and setting the bag of medicinal supplies down. "Because I'm not going anywhere without learning what the Hell is happening. Mostly because I like free opportunities to kick ass. And... Saving people too, I guess." He shrugged, his classic, carefree attitude springing forth as he pulled off his mask, flopping down on the couch.

His little interrogation was interrrupted by the sound of the door opening, then to the sight of a weakened Daisy stumbling from her bedroom. He immediately stood, fists clenched in fear that she would collapse from the strain, or that her wound would reopen. However, nothing of the sort happened. Instead, surprisingly, she addressed Daredevil truthfully, as if her undercover persona never even existed to begin with. She also revealed that she knew exactly who he was, but didn't specify on his identity at all. She also revealed that she was the reason why he was here. Shit... He scratched the back of his head, now feeling slightly bad that he had hammered Daredevil as if he was a common burglar. He opened his mouth to make an embarrassed apology, stopping in his tracks as Quake dropped a bomb on them both out of nowhere. Both figuratively and literally.

Nuclear...? Someone's getting ready to fry the city?

Those were his immediate thoughts as she spoke of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s knowledge of the threat at hand, as well as evacuation plans and such. As she went on into how much she trusted Hawkeye, which spawned a cocky grin or two, he realized something. He was getting ready to betray Cap. Betray the rest of the Avengers, as well. There was no way they'd allow him to be in the detonation radius of a nuke. As her next words echoed his thoughts, it was clear that he had a decision to make. And fast. If he listened to his companions in the Avengers, he'd stay in the team, but he'd be letting a close friend down. However, if he joined up with Quake, he was sure to get kicked off the team. Eh... Wouldn't be the first time.

After a long pause, he threw his arms up, obviously coming to a decision. "Screw it... Not even Cap's temper tantrums could keep me from stopping a nuke. Too cool an opportunity to pass up." He smirked, looking between the two of them. "Let's go Nuke hunting, shall we?"

[Deleted]

Green Goblin\Norman Osborn

 
(" One day they shall all worship us like gods. Hahaha... yes, this is our future. The Villians shall rise, One day those ignorant buffoons will learn. Norman time to show the world who is in charge, president of the United States that will make us the most powerful person in the world. Today is day one on the campaign. " )

Norman woke up feeling great his first rally so many people. Some yelling murderer, serial killer, monster. The news was on his side with stats and numbers speaking about the success of Thunderbolts. Reports coming across that Green Goblin was spotted. Norman put one of his men in the suit to help with the rumors that he was not reformed. He continued with his work out, he received news on situations throughout the city, so he deployed the thunderbolts out all except Moonstone, Bullseye, and Venom. He was now eating a late breakfast when news that May Parker the popular cook at F.e.a.s.t. run by Mr.Li had been missing since The heart of New York debacle and his Presidental announcement.

" Alright... it is time to go to the rally. What is this news that May Parker is missing she was reported missing by Mr.Li? We could use this a sympathy for my campaign toward the homeless and those who help them. Send someone to find her for some reason she is always kidnapped or involved in something."

He sends out a message to the crime bosses trying to find out who took her they need to release her. They are attracting the unwanted attention of the law and heroes or we can use this. Norman gets out of his limo and walks around with a sadistic smile on his face. It was time for the event protesters everywhere and supporters were being turned away cause the venue was packed.

[Deleted]

Daredevil sheathed his billy clubs when Agent Johnson entered the room. Her heartbeat was weak, and her body language pained. Ah, so this was whom Peter referred to was attacked the other day, he realized.

"Took your time to contact me, Agent," he said, noting it had been almost a week since their encounter at Times Square.

She ignored him and went on to explain about SHIELD's plan to evacuate the city in the event of a gang war, and the blockade they were forming in the event of a nuclear strike, though she didn't name the culprit. Was that because she knew and wouldn't say due to Fury's say-so? Or was it because they genuinely didn't know? He shrugged it off.

He watched Hawkeye, brash as ever, make the call to go for the nuclear device. Daredevil put a hand on his neck.

"Nukes are more of an Avengers thing, I'm just a guy trying to make the city a better place," he said simply, knowing how out of his depth he is.

"Before you ask, my powers came from radioactive isotopes, leaving radiation a bit of a blind spot concerning my tracking abilities. However if what you say is true, whoever has it armed is not going to use it as their opening move if this gang escalation is any indication of that fact. Whoever owns it is using it as a last resort. A clean slate,"

Daredevil continued to sense Agent Johnson in pain and as Hawkeye began to talk, he extracted a burner phone from his belt with a number to the Night Nurses programmed in. He clicked the speed dial.

"This is Daredevil, and I need your help,"he said.


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Luke sighed in resignation.

"I know, dear. I just figured that Danielle didn't need both of her parents risking their neck, especially if what ol' Hornhead and Spidey suspect is true and a gang war is coming," he said and came to sit beside Jess on the edge of the bed, reaching for a pair of pants and slipping into them.

"Danny spotted a few of Mr. Negative's goon squads loading into vans and headed for Midtown. Rumor has it the Hood is doing the same and the Enforcers are on bail. We were all going to meet at the rally, but Danny insists on another canvas, and I can't say I blame him, but, you understand my concern about all this, right? You being here and all that," Luke explained. He loved having his wife around, he really did, and she was no pushover by any means, but it was tough when the child, who will already eventually grow to be different, may not have anybody to guide them how to be a better person if this all went south, and it always went south...


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Elektra was walking down the street of the Kitchen on the fine Saturday morning, a light and warm Saturday she admitted, for the last time. In a few short hours, her plans would come to be. Sure she always had the device in case this went south, but her confidence was realistically high. In a few short hours, the Enforcers would mistaken the Hood's men as a hit squad, try to fight them, which would cause Osborn's men to interfere and protect their boss, which in turn would have Mr. Negative's men engage because they wouldn't want to feel left out. Civilians were in the crossfire, which would likely prompt some heroes to come out of the woodwork, likely Spider-Man. If he died, she shrugged to herself, it was of no concern to her. He was annoying even when he was helpful.

She felt a vision pierce her mind of Matthew, and before she had a chance to block it out, she saw him in his Daredevil costume leaping across a rooftop a block away, putting her well out of his heightened senses if she didn't make a sound to spark. Odd. What is Matthew doing in his work clothes in broad daylight? Whatever inspired that must have reason, given its rarity. She cast a few of her ninja magicks to prevent her being seen from especially him and gave chase, bounding up to the rooftops through one of the Kitchen's narrow alleyways. She tumbled and rolled, giving quite the pursuit, even had time to change into her ninja gear she kept underneath her clothing ever since she ran into the Black Widow two weeks ago. She tumbled across the rooftop parapet and watched Matthew enter a small apartment just outside of the Kitchen's borders. Was he summoned there, perhaps? A stroke of inspiration on another case? She continued to watch from a safe distance, keeping her magicks up so nobody would see her. And she was wise to do so, since an Avenger entered nearly a minute after Matthew himself did. She continued to watch and saw a woman break up their dick measuring contest (to which she smiled bemusedly, Matthew would have likely floored the purple clad idiot.)

She pulled out a sticky microphone she managed to steal off of the Widow's SHIELD tech and fired one at the wall so she could listen to the conversation. It hit with nary a sound. Huh, I owe you Natasha, she thought as she waited for Matthew to react, and didn't. They were Daredevil proof. She listened to the agent prattle on about trust issues and knowing Hawkeye and apparently Matthew's identity. Did this one work for Fury? Likely, she surmised.

She began to turn and take her leave when a few buzzwords stopped her. She turned back. So, they knew about the Nuke. Fury for sure then, she thought. And now they wanted to track it. No. Not when she was so close to fulfilling her end of the bargain without it. If they find it, her leverage was through! The war had not yet begun! She drew her sais and waited. Three on one were not good odds, especially at their skill level. Especially Matthew. She then noticed Matthew pull out a phone and call for a Night Nurse. Why would he - - ooooooh; she noticed the Agent looked pale and bloodshot, with body language betraying her every breath. She was weakened. Workable.

Hawkeye began to get impatient. Good, since she made sure not even the Avengers could track her device after Widow chased her across the Nevada desert to get it! Matthew began to talk about his need to stop the gang war. Well, she wasn't surprised about that, he was well connected. Still, his caring for the Agent might delay him, even run him for a loop before he could get to the square and in harm's way. She would make a note to stall him. But the agent, well, she knew too much. She waited for the two men to leave before she struck. And when she did, nobody would care if another SHIELD agent bit the dust, if she was reading the papers right this morning.

[Deleted]

2 days ago…

The shadowed street had gone strangely quiet by now, no rush of wind from a car, no echoes of birds squeaky laughing at the silly humans below, no thunderous footsteps from pedestrians elbowing past each other whilst spewing a myriad of profanity. It was almost an impossibility in New York, but this street had gone into hibernation for the time being...maybe people just wanted to avoid the crowd consisting of a kid in red pajamas with no inside voice, a scary black man from ‘Straight Outta Compton’, a giant grape with a bow, and...well, she couldn’t speak ill of the woman, she was gravely injured.

In fact, Time Knight got so caught up in her own train of thought that she just barely caught the address the damsel fired off before her lights went out. In the time it took her to turn around and pick the woman up, she was already a wisp, as was Hawkeye who had caught her mid-fall and darted into the shadows in seconds, leaving her all alone to deal with the leftovers…

A day and a half later…

The bleached sun had begun to creep over the horizon, casting the veil of shadows off the moaning trees, whistling parks and crusted tenements of Hell’s Kitchen. The wind yawned at the streets, sending a cold chill through every faulty floorboard, weathered window and broken brick in the neighborhood as if to say ‘Wake up everyone! It’s a new day!’ Very few people had heeded the call of nature though. It was the weekend, and everyone loved to sleep in on the weekend, cold temperature be damned. Of course, you had the more affluent parts of Hell’s Kitchen that could afford Double Glazing, Heating, firm foundations that weren’t rotting from the inside, but even they probably felt the cold teeth of the early morning thanks to the perpetual assault this worn city has been forced to endure these past months.

Still, the more people sleeping is all the better for Jovie; the sight of snow white in a blue sweater and baggy cargos scaling up a wall and onto a fire escape is probably no unusual sight in the big apple but it’s always nice to do so without sometime sticking it on this Instagram thing people keep talking about (whatever happened to Bebo?). From what she could remember about last night, this was the address that girl had given out, and presumably it was the address Ribena-Man had brought her too when she passed out. She would’ve gone there with them last night but those thugs had some issues they wanted to sort out with her first, and afterward she figured it would be best to just get some shut-eye to clear her head and let her anger at Hawkeye boil over.

Jovie knew it was irrational, childish even, but the fact that Hawkeye had just cut her idea to shreds so easily annoyed her; she’s not a child, she doesn’t deserve to be treated like one, she’s a hero and she wants at least a little mutual respect. Still, the girl was the main priority, and as she fluttered through the open window and landed on a rather fluffy carpet, she knew something serious had gone down. There was blood drenched handkerchiefs in the bin, in addition to the small med pack on the coffee table which contained a couple of syringes among other tools she didn’t recognize. Thankfully upon inspecting the bedroom, she saw the girl lying in her bed, still breathing and with a steady enough pulse to inform her that she wouldn’t be needed here.

As she turned, she heard a soft thud in the next room, forcing her breath to hitch and her fists to clench tightly in slight surprise. Someone else had clearly just arrived and she wasn’t in her armor, meaning she had little chance against them if they were armed. With that in mind, she ducked into the bedroom bathroom and drew the shower curtain, listening intently to the next room. As most would put it, this, from Jovie’s perspective, is where the plot thickens. Not only was the damsel a Daisy, she sounded like quite the badass too (most SHIELD Agents were, as she heard), no wonder she survived last night. Wait...did she hear that right?...”a nuke?” She absent mindedly hissed in panic, her wings instinctively beginning to strain against the harness, completely oblivious to the power set of Daredevil (to be fair though, not like it’s public knowledge)

[Deleted]

Night Medical Practice – Orchard St – Chinatown

It was a rather quiet night tonight...a bit too quiet, to be perfectly honest, as if a metaphorical hurricane was just about make landfall upon the city. Linda Carter, the doctor of heroes known as the Night Nurse, leaned back in a chair in the mostly empty waiting area, legs crossed comfortably as she filled out a crossword to pass the time.

Mostly empty, because it was, in truth, only mostly a quiet night for the good doctor. No actual patients were checking in, but a certain red-clad on-again off-again hero was strewn across the large leather couch, hands resting behind his head as he lay splayed on his back, yammering on and on about something or other. “So I don't even know what to do with this information, you know? I like to think the guy's my friend, and he kinda seems okay with me...a little bit. Somewhat. An iota of tolerance. More so than most other people I know, anyway. But this...this is so gonna ruin it. I feel it. I know it. Do I tell him, Doc? Maybe if I tell him a secret of mine, it'll make it not so bad? Ooh! Ooh! I could tell him I'm afraid of cows! Nobody knows that! Think that'd work? He could totally use that against me, and then we'd be even. Right? Right? Doc, are you even listening?”

Linda nibbled at the end of her pencil with an air of aggravation, furrowing her brow as she closed her eyes to calm the annoyance boiling over beneath her skin. “Deadpool...” she sighed, her tone flat and not in the mood for this nonsense. “I'm really not that kind of doctor.”

“Closest one I've got,” the Merc with the Mouth retorted with a pout. “Unless there's a Night Therapist somewhere that I haven't heard of that'll accept my insurance.”

The land line in the receptionist's booth miraculously started ringing at that point, and Linda thanked her lucky stars at the perfect excuse to step away from the chatterbox merc. “Yes, hello?” she answered cheerily, only to be greeted by the normally grim voice of the Man Without Fear, sounding more tense than he normally did when he bothered to pay her a call. “Where are you?...I can't just leave the practice, DD, can you bring her...I see...of course...” She quickly jotted an address down onto the corner of the newspaper crossword and tore the page out. “I'll be there as soon as I can.”

The receiver was quickly returned to the phone's base with a loud clank, and Linda swung a first-call EMT kit she had set up for just this sort of emergency over her shoulder. “Wade!” she called out to the troubled mercenary, slapping down the rest of the newspaper over his masked face. “Emergency came up – I gotta hustle. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I need you to man the fort here for a few hours.”

Deadpool sat up from the couch, trying to escape the avalanche of newsprint. “I didn't know you made house calls.”

“Yeah, neither did I,” Linda replied, a wrinkle of worry forming between her tired eyes as she tied a short blue cape around her shoulders. “Everything in the operating room is labeled, and you should only need to deal with a few sprained ankles. Maybe a laceration or two. Easy, easy stuff.” In a whirl of activity, the Night Nurse headed towards the door with a strong sense of urgency, fully armed with her own tools of the trade. “I'll get back as soon as I can. Make sure any patients who come in fill out the proper forms - they're on the desk over there. And for goodness sake, make sure you wash your hands before you touch anything!”

[Rift]

Spider-Man sat crouched overlooking the site of the rally. He had parted ways with Daredevil following their trip to the Bugle. While he was sure the others would be working their sources to figure out what was happening with the gangs, the wall-crawler couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever was going down, Norman Osborn had a hand in it even if it were simply manipulating the situation to his advantage.

He kills people, tosses around pumpkins out of season, and wears a purple sock on his head and he gets to run for President, he thought angrily. Me? I save the city from him and others and what do I get? Jameson trashing me on a daily basis, barely any money, and the opportunity to spend a perfectly good weekend away from my wife so I can spy on the Emerald Elf’s fan club.

Security was tight for the rally, Secret Service agents and Osborn’s own people mixed in to protect him, but the rooftops were relatively clear, especially at this height. And so he watched, still a ways off from the time he was supposed to meet Cage, Rand, and whoever else had decided to join their little spandex patrol.

“What are you up to Osborn?” he asked aloud. “And why isn’t your security better?”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Danny Rand walked around midtown with a laid back gait, bottled water in his hands. He had the suit with him, but for now the Iron Fist wasn’t needed. Recon in jeans and a t-shirt was far better than trying to hide in bright green and yellow. Besides, this meant that while he kept an eye on things, such as the dark SUV filled with well armed men across the street, he could also appreciate the other things about the outdoors. Such as the cute brunette exiting a café and flashing him a killer smile, one he returned.

Stepping up to the outside sitting area of the same café he sat and ordered something so as to not appear too obvious in his spying. He didn’t bother glancing at his watch, his training giving him the patience needed to wait without constant distractions. Luke would get there when he got there and not a moment before. Besides, it didn’t take a million eyes to sit and watch a bunch of gangsters doing nothing. Still, he knew that even when things went down, Spider-Man had to be feeling things far more intensely. To him Osborn was his worst enemy and if half the things Spidey had told him were true, then he hoped that he could keep his cool when things finally went down.

"Your green tea sir," a waitress said placing the drink before him. "Thinking of joining the rally?"

"Oh no," Danny responded with a grin. "Politicians are too rough a crowd for me."

[Deleted]

"So kiddo, ready for your first day?" said Roger with a smile, hugging his daughter Kalie as they were about to step out of his pickup truck to his daughter's school. "Third grade already. Your making me feel old" He said with a chuckle, as Kalie giggled and hugged him back.

"Now you have your phone right?" As Kalie nodded with a smile. "Good. Just remember, if you need anything, just give me a call." He gave her a kiss on the forehead before opening the door and walking her to the school's entrance. After one more hug, the two parted ways.

Feeling peckish, Roger headed for the nearest doughnut shop. Now he had gotten in shape ever since his boxing lessons, but that didn't mean he had to eat the healthiest diet in the world. Picking up a few chocolate glazed, Porc began to head for home. After all, not like anything else important was going to happen today.

[Deleted]

MINUTES BEFORE THE RALLY IN NEW YORK:

Green Goblin\Norman Osborn

Norman received notice that he could not go on with a standard amount of security. He had no choice they said. He was laughing at that comment. He gestures at the daily bugle paper. He looks out the window and wonders if the heroes know what is going to happen. " Hahaha... really this is obviously a problem. Let them come to a drone scanning the crowd said five possible threats. Do I look like I'm scared... no, not even a bit. To catch a fly the spider spins and a web to squash a spider you have to be fast and smart. Nothing is what it seems. We have an armored bus to take me to safety, a thing is the first choice might go up in flames... Hahaha... now that is entertainment. See free publicity is always good and I need the wonderful people of New York and the world to agree with me."

Norman had five minutes before the rally started he took a drink of some Irish whiskey and then sat down for a moment. No news on what happened to May Parker. Footage from the party showed her leave in a limo filled by Mr. Negatives men.

" So hostage or hostages in play what do you have planned Mr. Negative? So much for our peace treaty. Heard nothing from the Hood today. They want me to get in that iron patriot suit, really it is made by hammer tech might be a mistake. Hahaha... excellent if hydra shows it would only solidify me as the best choice of the people. The only question is who will show. Think about this... do you hear me. The very heroes that hate me will have to keep me safe due to lack of security."

[Deleted]

Quake could sense the tension in the room as she walked in on the men and they started squabbling back and forth. Hawkeye had an ever so elegant way of talking to people, Quake couldn’t help, but smile at the friend comment that Hawkeye made. It wasn’t until his last statement that Quake realized the consequences to their actions.


"Screw it... Not even Cap's temper tantrums could keep me from stopping a nuke. Too cool an opportunity to pass up. Let's go Nuke hunting, shall we?"

She had a great deal of respect for Captain American aka Steve Rogers she had worked with all of the Avengers in one way or another and now she was about to go against one that she highly respected. Quaked inwardly sighed, not showing her true feelings as DareDevil spoke.

“Took your time to contact me, Agent,"

Quake unintentionally did not respond to DareDevil. Time was of the essence. She wanted to explain to DareDevil everything, but in the moment she needed him to understand the seriousness of the situation.

"Nukes are more of an Avengers thing, I'm just a guy trying to make the city a better place, Before you ask, my powers came from radioactive isotopes, leaving radiation a bit of a blind spot concerning my tracking abilities. However if what you say is true, whoever has it armed is not going to use it as their opening move if this gang escalation is any indication of that fact. Whoever owns it is using it as a last resort. A clean slate,"

Quake thought DareDevil was a very astute man, she respected him even more for being so open about his ability. He wasn’t wrong about the street level thugs and the options being a last resort by someone. Then he pulled out a phone and before Daisy could stop him DareDevil was making a phone call. At this point her side was starting to burn from standing and her body was still losing some blood.

"This is Daredevil, and I need your help,

Daisy was in need of replacing some the electrolytes that had been leaking out of her body. She walked over to the fridge, careful to not looked injured as she pulled out a Gatorade and started to drink it. Daisy put the bottle down on the counter and acted as though she was leaning on purpose, the truth was her body hurt like hell and the leaning position was the only one where she didn’t feel the burning pain. Daisy spoke to DareDevil and Hawkeye as she refused to stand down or seem injured.

“DareDevil, listen I know its been a week since the battle. I was under orders not to contact anyone. That is why I didn’t contact you, when I was going to break protocol, well I got attacked if Hawkeye hadn’t been around I think things would be looking a bit different for me.”

She sighed inwardly taking a deep breath before addressing Hawkeye, the truth was this was a hard decision for her to make. Daisy had a great deal of respect for Captain America. She hoped that Cap would remember the hard decisions she had to make during Civil War and would eventually forgive Daisy.

“As for Cap’ its not easy for me to do this. I have a great deal of respect for all of the Avengers, but there are lives at stake here and a great cost if we don’t react. “

She drew her attention to both of the men standing before her and began to spoke, she must have popped a stitched as searing pain made its way through her side. Daisy refused to react, as she remained focused on the conversation at hand. What she didn’t notice was the small amount of crimson that was forming droplets on the floor.

“DareDevil, by the way thank you for sharing your story about your ability. I’m not so different from you my ability came from a crystal. I am what some would refer to as Inhuman. I am the only SHIELD agent of my kind. Trust me I have a very different perspective then let’s say Miranada Hill. As for the street situation, I would like to be a part of finding out who is responsible for this. I can use my shield recon Training to find out intelligence.”

Daisy leaned up on the counter some more as she finished off the Gatorade. She heard a rustling in her bedroom, but at this point didn’t want to venture back into her room. No, if whoever or whatever was in her room wanted to be noticed it needed to make it self known, if not Daisy would take care of it later.

//Jessic and Luke//


"I know, dear. I just figured that Danielle didn't need both of her parents risking their neck, especially if what ol' Hornhead and Spidey suspect is true and a gang war is coming, Danny spotted a few of Mr. Negative's goon squads loading into vans and headed for Midtown. Rumor has it the Hood is doing the same and the Enforcers are on bail. We were all going to meet at the rally, but Danny insists on another canvas, and I can't say I blame him, but, you understand my concern about all this, right? You being here and all that,"

Jessica, remembered their daughter and knew Luke was not incorrect in not wanting to make their child an Orphan, but in the same way Jessica could more then handle herself in any situation. Luke spoke about Mr. Negative and voice his wanted her to understand his concern. The truth was Jessica did understand his concern, but she knew that Danny and Luke would need back up and this was one of the only ways to do it. The bottom line was their daughter was only safe with them and her safety meant keeping the Kitchen safe.

“I don’t want her to be an Orphan any more the you do, I just think I should be there with you. I can fight and gather Intel, plus Danielle is only safe with us. Her safety depends on us keeping the streets safe. “

[Deleted]

Norman Osborn. Somehow, through all the chaos that'd happened in Hell's Kitchen and beyond, he emerged as the center point. The spotlight was on him. Some part of Warren thought that could be what he wanted, if Spider-Man hadn't made it well known to everyone that it was one of the farthest things from his mind. He wasn't an actor on a stage desperate for attention. He was an actor on the stage holding the director by the throat. It wasn't that he wanted attention, but that he wanted control. And now he was running for President. If anything, that was a horrible, horrible sign.

Originally, he wasn't sure if he would come. It was just another rally ran by a man driven by power. There wasn't anything Warren could do about it, and if anything his presence there would only cause further conflict due to his mutant origins mixing with his social status. He would either become a supposed threat to Osborn's candidacy (by being blamed for trying to halt the rally) and give Osborn more support, or else Osborn would likely find some way of convincing the crowd that Warren was in support of Osborn outright. The truth was neither, of course, and so Angel hoped to avoid either altogether. The only sure-fire way of doing that was to avoid arriving.

But, he had a feeling. It was covered on the news. Soon what once was a peaceful evening he hoped to spend relaxing at the mansion turned into a near sound-breaking flight towards Hell's Kitchen. The weather was nice, at least, and he was fortunate enough to avoid running into any criminal elements on his way. Whether that was a good thing or a bad remained to be seen. He arrived above the rooftops, wings flapping, clad in an X-Man uniform stereotypical for his kind. He was high enough to be hidden by the light of the sun, but his keen eyes could see as clearly as an eagle. Spider-Man jumped out at him like a lighthouse on a blackened night.

He descended slowly and quietly. Landing on the far side of the rooftop and crossing the remaining distance on foot. He didn't wish to break the webslinger's cover. It seemed he was not the only one who had a bad feeling about the rally; though considering who the other was, there was little question in that. Spider-Man had a bad feeling whenever Norman Osborn was concerned, and for a very good reason. He arrived just as the masked vigilante wondered aloud about the lack of security - something Warren had also noticed.

"That is the question, isn't it?" he whispered, crouched beside him. "You would think one as notorious as Osborn would be guarded better... But perhaps that is his intent. If something happens, we won't be able to help but get involved with how many innocents are present. And from that, he could easily claim hero support; and our words would be meaningless from then on. You really do create the most conniving of villains, Spider."

[Deleted]

As Quake addressed them both, speaking of their difficult decisions and everything at stake. Hawkeye found himself barely listening, eyes narrowed at her hunched-over, pained stance. She really needed to lay down and not do anything, or else... He sighed inwardly as he glanced down only to see a tiny puddle of red forming at her feet. Quickly walking up to her, he placed a hand on her back and guided her towards the couch. "Alright, now look what you've gone and done... I'm gonna have to re-stitch that." He told her, urging her to lay down. "Just... Stop standing and moving around. It's like you're begging to bleed out."

Looking towards Daredevil as he opened up the first aid kit, Hawkeye raised a brow. "So... That woman on the phone. She trustworthy?" He asked him. Clint needed to, in a way... If he didn't, he ran the risk of letting an everyday doctor barge in and start asking questions. Worse, a doctor that might be tempted to call 911 and jeopardize this whole operation. He crouched in front of Daisy, threading the needle for the second time after pulling up her shirt and removing the bandages. He set the needle off to the side, using a pair of medical scissors to cut and remove the old stitches. Even as he did this, the wound stayed somewhat closed, letting him know that she would at least make a fast recovery.

"Here... Bite down on this." He pulled an arrow from his quiver, holding it to her lips. His eyes trained on hers. "Trust me... You'll be glad you did. This is gonna sting." He grasped the needle again, quickly driving the sharp point into her skin, connecting both sides of the wound with thread over and over until it was fully closed. He did it fast merely to get it over with... He knew it couldn't feel too good. He swore under his breath, taking a rag and wiping away any excess blood that happened to ooze out during the procedure. Standing, he wiped his forehead. "Do yourself a favor and stay like that for a little while, alright?" Always a charmer, he gave a wink as he crossed his arms.

Looking towards the Man Without Fear yet again, he pointed to a duffle bag in the corner of the room. "Hey, Hornhead... Mind tossing me that?" He asked. He didn't go into very much detail regarding the contents of the bag, but if he had bothered to fetch it while he was out, it had to be important. Or maybe it wasn't. It could've just been the most recent issue of Playboy, for all anyone knew. Still, it was heavier than mere magazines, and it sported a big, silver S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the side. It was safe to say that whatever was in the bag was much more useful than Playboy magazines.