Infinite Justice: Beyond (Marvel,DC,DBZ X/Over, IC, Open)

[Confederation of imperial states]

Cryotech Tower

To say Lanvin had been pissed off when Dawn had slipped through his fingers would be a sizeable understatement; the Hunger had longed for her powers and now it was left empty and unrewarded.

Derrick Quinn was back in the driver's seat now, having acquired a new suit and patched up his nose the best he could; although the stitch work was painfully amateur in appearance. A multitude of thoughts swirled around in the back of his mind; the sudden spike in aggressiveness of the Hunger being on of his more pressing concerns.

He glanced up at the skyscraper that was Cryotech headquarters and fixed his cuff links as he climbed the final set of stairs before entering the main atrium of the building.

"Hi..." Derrick smiled as he approached the reception area - somewhat thankful that it was the same woman from before who turned to speak to him, "Me again...Where do I sign in?"

"Right here, Mister Quinn," the receptionist smiled back as she passed him a clipboard; after a moment of looking through her desk notes, she offered him a confused look, "I think Mister Branston is expecting you?"

"I'm counting on it," Derrick replied quickly with a small laugh as he walked in the direction of the elevator.

A short elevator ride later, Derrick walked out onto a familiar floor, offering a cold smile to Marcus' receptionist before shrugging off anything she said, merely saying that he was having a "Bad day thus far," and signing in.

Derrick didn't give the woman a second glance as he approached the door to Marcus' office before knocking twice and entering the room.

Marcus raised his head,
He leaned closer to his monitor, "Ready Security systems within the office", [Of course sir].

Marcus then readied his papers, sitting at his desk with a fairly calm stature.

"Come In" he said pressing the button, activating the outside intercom.

---

Nicholas, hoping nobody would suspect him doing this again, returned to the site where what people called art sat. It was late, and his crew was with him. He knew some elections were soon, and that he would run for whatever position he felt like running for. He'd have his company "sponsor" him. They climbed out, putting on the Guy Fawkes mask again, and did the same, replanting the bombs but this time setting them for 1 minute with movement sensors around it. He would know if someone approached. His men got behind cover, after him, waiting silently.

Lawbeinger quickly grappeled from spot to spot, quickly advancing to the piece of art.
[Lawbringer, this is more than likely a trap], [I know, Remember, we have tricks up out sleeves ourselves], [Of course, T reinforcement is waiting on you, she can be there in around a minute. The Police we can contact with standby]. Lawbringer nodded as she dropped down near the bombs, she noticed the motion sensors but paid no mind, as she quickly worked on one of the bombs. "Sanza the bombs are now connected to a wireless frequency, work on the other ones please", [of course]. As she finished hacking and disabling the bomb, Sanza quickly finished up hers, and Lawbringer quickly took out her Electrical Batons.

"Come on out Nicholas, I know you're waiting for me" she said looking around her.

[Confederation of imperial states]

"But what's the fun?" Everyone said, which made it hard because they were scattered. Nicholas was playing a trick. The bombs were a decoy, the real ones were more hidden, and more strategically planned. "You wouldn't cooperate with me." They all said. "So why should I cooperate with you?"
They all laughed the same way. You heard multiple footsteps but no one emerged from their spots. Suddenly there was a crackle and the area was surrounded in a green barrier. Your communications went dead.

Lawbringer looked around,
"Sanza......SANZA" she was panicked, but kept calm, she grappeled to the top as she looked around.

---

Sanza heard Lawbringer's communications go dead as a Green Barrier visually appeared on CCTV,
[Contacting T support],

Communications Established....
["Yes Sanza-"],
[Titan, Lawbringer is currently trapped by the Necromancer, she needs backup],
["Already on my way"].
Communications disestablished....

Sanza quickly set up scans for the area, aswell as set scans for possible areas of the Bombs, as they visually dissipated on the Radar and visuals for the Art Piece.
Within minutes the Locations of the bombs would pop up onto Sanza's radar.

---

Lawbringer kept her stance looking around,
"You know what's the best about this whole thing. You think you're some hot stuff Vigilante, when all you are is an annoying necromancer who talks like they're some Counter Culture Revolutionary, and Thinks they're an actual threat".

[Confederation of imperial states]

Nicholas laughed. "I'm not a vigilante. I'm the next big thing. And in two minutes, the bombs outside will explode causing the barrier to overload and flow into your aura, doing permanent damage, while I'll safely get out by using leygates." He stood up and walked out of his spot. "I wanted to help you. I could have, I still can. I'm not asking you to join me. I'm asking you to let me get rid of this gold ball. I won't get it replaced with the statue of the corrupt former mayor. I'll get a statue made of the future mayor who saves the town. " He implied it was him, and it was going to be him. He planned on funding a former Senator's campaign also.

Lawbringer stared forward for a few good seconds.
"....You're kidding right? Daniel Storm, The Current Mayor, has worked for years to pull Chicago out of the gutter and has the public's full support. He's helped bring down Mob Bosses, pulled Chicago's neghborhood's our of poverty, and has worked time and time again to stop Crime. What have you done? to 'save the city'? you're planning on blowing up a stature, of which countless people came together to build, solely so you can build an visage to your own Corruption.

Face it Nicholas, you're worthless, and you're no better than the corrupt people you claim to try to stop". She said with confidence, No matter what amount of Magick, meddling, or Manipulation Nicholas used, he'd never take control of the Chicago Government.

Lawbringer then watched as Titan smashed down near the Portal's wall, Standing up, "Lawbringer, Are you oka-", "They've placed Bombs near the outside of the Portal, Get rid of them!". Titan then saw the bombs placed around the barrier, 'No hacking skills, gotta to this the hard way' Titan thought as she flew over to one of them. Titan then proceeded to rip open one of the bombs, grabbing the arming device and tearing it out, disabling it. Titan flew over to another, bomb, ripping out the arming device, and then another one, and then another. Titan finished by ripping open the last bomb, disabling it like the last few, and discarding it.

Titan flew overheard, "What now?", "The portal will overload if you try to destroy it directly", Titan then turned and looked around.
"your Bombs are gone, show yourself" She called out to Nicholas.

[Confederation of imperial states]

-snip-

Before, Lawbringer could warn Titan, Nicholas was behind Titan and pushed her against the now solid barrier, the energy burning her skin on contact. He was laughing. His men all showed themselves and surrounded Lawbringer. "I gave you a chance." They all took out gold balls like the ones tossed to Lawbringer by Nicholas, the first time they met. They threw them at Lawbringer, hitting her hard in all directions. Nicholas was laughing, keeping a firm grip on Titan, pushing her against the barrier.

What Nicholas didn't realize, was Titan was a Superpowered Being, and the burns from the shield weren't piercing through her armor.

Titan reached back, grabbing Nicholas with her Super Strength and flipping him over, slamming him down on the ground. "I've been told about you" she said holding Nicholas' arms behind him, "And I think we've had just about enough of you" Titan said, before using her strength to break Nicholas' right elbow easily. Lawbringer saw the balls coming towards her, she smacked one out of the way with her batons, then another, however two hit her in the back, and then another one knocking her off, she landed, regaining her balance.

Titan held Nicholas up, holding his neck tight,
"How about a counter proposal. Give up and Leave Chicago, or I'll crush your larynx"

[Confederation of imperial states]

Nicholas had been buying time to regain his aura. The men without the gold balls, turned into mud and clay, and the rest threw theirs before turning into mud and clay. Nicholas was smirking. A ball of energy was forming around Nicholas and the horrible smell of sulfur emerged from it. He was laughing now. "Leave Chicago?! You don't scare me." He started to use his Pain Infliction on Titan, starting in her abdomen and moving up to her head. "I heal easily." He had searched up on Lawbringer. He decided he would bring back her dead grandmother.

Lawbringer quickly deflected the golden balls, using her Batons, and her back to the artwork, she quickly deflected and countered many of the throws. as she readied for another flurry of balls, The golems around her simply melted to clay. "well, that ended quickly" she said peered over to the fight between Titan and Nicholas, with TItan still holding Nicholas.


"Leave Chicago?! You don't scare me.", Nicholas struck Titan with Pain, "I heal easily". Titan felt the strike of pain, and smiled right back at Nicholas, "Superhuman Durability" She said, holding Nicholas close, "And if you're not careful, there'll be nothing left to heal".

Marcus raised his head,
He leaned closer to his monitor, "Ready Security systems within the office", [Of course sir].

Marcus then readied his papers, sitting at his desk with a fairly calm stature.

"Come In" he said pressing the button, activating the outside intercom.

Derrick entered slowly, glancing around the room quickly to ensure that Marcus wasn't hiding a squad of security guards underneath his desk; both of the men evidently knew that their respective jigs to each other were up, Derrick knew who Marcus really was and Marcus knew who Derrick really was, he clasped his hands and shot the man a warm - but completely fake - smile after closing the door behind him.

"So nice to see you again, Mister Brantson..." Derrick said through his smile as he started to walk towards the desk; his ears twitching as he listened for any discreet signs of movement - in fact he was listening so intently that he could hear Marcus' heartbeat, "I trust you don't mind us speaking again after such a short space of time..." Derrick had crossed half the distance from the door to Marcus' desk by this point, "But I had an alternative proposition for you..."

Marcus peered at Derrick, they both knew who each other were, there was no hiding that.
"So nice to see you again, Mister Brantson...", "ditto", "I trust you don't mind us speaking again after such a short space of time...", "Of course Mr Quinn, Always a pleasure hearing propositions from men within the government"

[Confederation of imperial states]

Marcus peered at Derrick, they both knew who each other were, there was no hiding that.
"So nice to see you again, Mister Brantson...", "ditto", "I trust you don't mind us speaking again after such a short space of time...", "Of course Mr Quinn, Always a pleasure hearing propositions from men within the government"

"That's great..." Derrick said with a smile as he stopped walking forwards and stood a few meters in front of Marcus' desk, "I'm delighted that we're seeing eye-to-eye this time already," clasping his hands against his stomach, he paused for a moment in thought before taking a deep breath and continuing, "It's come to my attention that Chicago possess a great deal more Metahumans than anywhere else in the country I've visited..." Derrick cocked his head slightly to the side as he continued to speak, "What are your thoughts on this? Personally; I can't even sleep knowing that there are so many of them out there..."

s come to my attention that Chicago possess a great deal more Metahumans than anywhere else in the country I've visited...", , "What are your thoughts on this? Personally; I can't even sleep knowing that there are so many of them out there...".

Marcus raised an eyebrow, he knew what Derrick was getting at.
"Personally, I have no discontent. Even if these people are Metas they did not have the choice to be so. As such I hold no bad blood against them". Marcy straightened one of the cuffs on his jacket, "Sadly Mr Quinn there are some out there who believe that being bigots towards these people is the right solution, however as we've shown we're better than those people". Marcus took a newspaper clipping out and placed it down, facing Derrick.

2016, Chicago tribune.
[Several Congressmen propose bill to take away metahuman Rights]

"Sadly those people hold Governmental power, A sad thing, but then again people with hardly any graymatter tend to talk quite alot about their 'Grand Ideas' ".

[Confederation of imperial states]

s come to my attention that Chicago possess a great deal more Metahumans than anywhere else in the country I've visited...", , "What are your thoughts on this? Personally; I can't even sleep knowing that there are so many of them out there...".

Marcus raised an eyebrow, he knew what Derrick was getting at.
"Personally, I have no discontent. Even if these people are Metas they did not have the choice to be so. As such I hold no bad blood against them". Marcy straightened one of the cuffs on his jacket, "Sadly Mr Quinn there are some out there who believe that being bigots towards these people is the right solution, however as we've shown we're better than those people". Marcus took a newspaper clipping out and placed it down, facing Derrick.

2016, Chicago tribune.
[Several Congressmen propose bill to take away metahuman Rights]

"Sadly those people hold Governmental power, A sad thing, but then again people with hardly any graymatter tend to talk quite alot about their 'Grand Ideas' ".

Derrick looked at the clipping for a few moments before raising an eyebrow at Marcus, he picked the clipping up; slowly chewing on his lip for a few seconds as he read over the clipping once, then twice, and then a third time. He looked back at Marcus and put the clipping on the desk before taking a seat on the chair nearby, his interest frustrating snagged on the topic.

"And those are the kinds of people who replace people like me..." He muttered as he started to tap his right index finger on the armrest of the chair, he flashed Marcus a smirk, "Says a lot, doesn't it?"

He opened his mouth to speak before pausing to chew on his tongue; trying to find the correct phrasing for what he was trying to say without it being indicative against him, "Are you familiar with Former Senator for Massachusetts, Gordon S. Burns? He briefly replaced me a year or so ago," Without letting Marcus answer, Derrick continued as he sat forward on his chair, "You probably won't be, he didn't last a week on office...Turns out the public don't like someone who is blatantly exposed for taking corporate bribes during their election campaign..." Derrick realised he was deviating from the topic and stopping talking for a moment, "What I'm trying to say is, there's always a hidden reason for things like this happening...Some big, shadowy corporation looking to monopolise on Meta-labour perhaps..." he trailed off before scratching his forehead, "Could be any number of hidden reasons actually...People aren't this controversial without a agenda - hidden or otherwise..."

Marcus thought back in response,
"There are quite the abundant number of metahuman civilians in Chicago, Some good....", Marcus typed into he keypad built into his desk, a Holographic display of a Metahuman from 20 years ago in a Holographic Newspaper.

Chicago tribune,
[Metahuman Student saves 30 Glenmore students from Attackers]

And some.......less so", Marcus trailed off again, but this time displaying a Video footage of a Golden Sphere, Metahumans attacking Lawbringer whilst trying to destroy the sphere. "That Sphere, was built after the ousting of the Corrupt Mayor around 4 years ago, He built a statue, a monument to his corruption there. After he was ousted the civilians came together and funded a sort of community effort, and now, these band of metas want to destroy it". Marcus played a bit of audio playback,

"they tore down a statue of the once Great Mayor, and built this thing in it's place", the voice from the CCTV, obviously the man known as Nicholas'. "A known Hero within the City stopped them, 'The Knight', However these Metahumans have shown no restraint in endangering the people of the city", Marcus said shaking his head.

[Confederation of imperial states]

-snip-

"And if you're not careful, there'll be nothing left to heal", he heard Titan say. "I can help you two. Anyone you want raised from the dead, I can do it. I could work for you guys. Just, don't make me leave." He said. He quit inflicting pain on Lawbringer and Titan. "I'll stay away from the monument." He held onto her arms. "Set me down!" His men of clay started to reform. "Ugh." He turned to look at Lawbringer. He started to stare at her.

Lawbringer readied herself as the claymen started to reform, Lawbringer quickly looked around.
"Now would be a good time to help Titan!" she quickly said.

Titan kept a grip on Nicholas' neck with her right hand, using her left hand to push his stare back to her,
"They told me the last time you said you'd stay away, Well I guess this is your poor excuse of attempting to stay away", Titan moved in a bit close, "Let's Negotiate here, Here's the terms; You leave Chicago and Never come back, if you don't agree, then I' Hope you like being In Orbit", Titan loosened his grip on him abit and took a breath, "Do this and You'll be left alone".

Marcus thought back in response,
"There are quite the abundant number of metahuman civilians in Chicago, Some good....", Marcus typed into he keypad built into his desk, a Holographic display of a Metahuman from 20 years ago in a Holographic Newspaper.

Chicago tribune,
[Metahuman Student saves 30 Glenmore students from Attackers]

And some.......less so", Marcus trailed off again, but this time displaying a Video footage of a Golden Sphere, Metahumans attacking Lawbringer whilst trying to destroy the sphere. "That Sphere, was built after the ousting of the Corrupt Mayor around 4 years ago, He built a statue, a monument to his corruption there. After he was ousted the civilians came together and funded a sort of community effort, and now, these band of metas want to destroy it". Marcus played a bit of audio playback,

"they tore down a statue of the once Great Mayor, and built this thing in it's place", the voice from the CCTV, obviously the man known as Nicholas'. "A known Hero within the City stopped them, 'The Knight', However these Metahumans have shown no restraint in endangering the people of the city", Marcus said shaking his head.

"You sound like you want those Metas in particular dealt with..." Derrick mused, immediately recognising Nicholas' voice from the recording, "Permanently."

Derrick slowly scratched his cheek, referencing the audio as he continued, "This, as you know, was why many people - I'll admit, myself included; though not publicly - were pushing and successfully got the SRA signed into law..." Derrick's walked through this half-truth (the best kind of lie in all honesty) as he aimed to further prove his point, "Individuals with the potential to destabilise a city in such a way are far too dangerous to operate without appropriate surveillance..." Derrick paused, "While I have no problem with vigilantes who actively combat these individuals," he admitted, holding up his hands to emphasise the point, "Especially the kind of vigilante such as this 'Knight' you mentioned," Derrick looked Marcus directly in the eye for a moment, "I do think that they should have fully legislated government assistance to support them...Unfortunately, the latter has not appeared...For obvious reasons..." Derrick trailed off, referencing the assassination attempt on the President; he changed his approach in the conversation, moving towards a more direct method of getting what he wanted, "I hear Chicago does have an active and up-to-date SAR register currently available to the right people..." Derrick smiled warmly, "You wouldn't happen to be one of them, would you?"

"You sound like you want those Metas in particular dealt with...",
"I simply want them gone Derrick, Whether they be locked up or on Alcatraz, The people of Chicago, and everyone else, must be safe", Marcus leaned forward, "As any upstanding Citizen would". "This, as you know, was why many people - I'll admit, myself included; though not publicly - were pushing and successfully got the SRA signed into law...", "At it core, Stark and the others intentions were Reasonable and seeable enough. However the Superhero 'Civil War' that Occured between Captain America and Iron Man, aswell as finding out that the Government used it as a cover up for testing illegal drugs, Was too much of a price for aftermath". "While I have no problem with vigilantes who actively combat these individuals,", Marcus nodded along saying he was listening, "Especially the kind of vigilante such as this 'Knight' you mentioned,", "I do think that they should have fully legislated government assistance to support them...Unfortunately, the latter has not appeared...For obvious reasons...".

Marcus took note of this, he quickly typed in and brought up another News Article:

Chicago Tribune
Tony Stark attempts to Arrest 'The Knight' in Chicago, Assaults and ends up being Beaten

"Tony Stark did arrive to meet The Knight. Only thing was he was in Armor, and brought 2 suits with mini guns on them. He threatened The Knight, and after The Knight refused, He assaulted him. However The Knight ended up EMPing Tony's suits, and Stark crawled back to the Pentagon". Marcus also pressed a button closing the hologram. "I hear Chicago does have an active and up-to-date SAR register currently available to the right people...", Marcus raised an eyebrow, "You wouldn't happen to be one of them, would you?".

Marcus shook his head,
"The Pentagon did try to enforce such a thing a good few years ago, However our mayor, Daniel Storm, refused, stating 'That type of segregation and singling out of Metahumans is no better than other, very serious, events in history' ". Marcus sat up in his chair, "A Brash statment some said, However there are truth to his words. Though as much as New York was forced to enforce it because the Metahuman crimes were out of control, Chicago's Metahuman population prefers to, how would you say", Marcus made a hand gesture, "Stay low key".

[Confederation of imperial states]

Derrick narrowed his eyes slightly as Marcus spoke, he wasn't lying about the SAR register - and that made matters noticeably worse - which meant that he'd need to get his hands on a register the hard way.
Derrick paused as he glanced over Marcus' desk for anything useful, although he saw nothing more than uninteresting company paperwork.

"I take it that...Psycho Metahuman guy or whatever he is," he continued, referring to Nicholas,as he spoke, "Isn't from around here then? Considering he isn't exactly 'laying low'..." Derrick looked at Marcus as he spoke; the man was definitely planning something and was likely stalling for time.

"I take it that...Psycho Metahuman guy or whatever he is,", "Isn't from around here then? Considering he isn't exactly 'laying low'...".

Marcus nodded, "yes,....strangely enough the Metahuman Villains who do attack Chicago aren't from Chicago". Marcus brought up a Hologram of Stahl, "This Roided up guy, Stahl, when Captured by The Knight they linked him back to the Russian Caucasus". Marcus then brought up a Hologram of Thunder, "A more Notable one, Thunder, is From California. More Precisely, San Andres". Marcus cut the hologram off, "As you can see, the Metahuman attackers. Including that Monsterous one that attacked a community sponsored project, and attacked The Knight and another girl last night, is not from here".

Marcus pressed a button under his desk, used only for more important matters to call the secretary discretely.
Tracy came into the office, "Sir is there something you need?" she asked worried, Marcus then quickly pulled a Tazer gun that was under the surface of his desk, aiming it and firing it at Lanvin.

[Confederation of imperial states]

Nicholas added his energy to the barrier, causing it to overcharge, the energy flowing to all of them. He got parts of Lawbringer's memories. He got a memory with a sad vibe. It was a picture of a women. He guessed this must be her mother, who died. Nicholas used all his aura to find this woman and to bring back her spirit. The spirit appeared in front of Lawbringer, while the barrier went down. "Okay let me go. I'll leave." He had a fake sigh and looked back.

Lawbringer's stance broke slightly as the spirit of her mother stood before her.
"Anna, Honey, it's really you", Lawbringer shook her head, No, No this is not real", "Why didn't you try to save me, Why Did you let me DIE?!" Her mother yelled lunging at her.

Titan knew Lawbringer needed to deal with her battle alone, She took her hand from Nicholas' neck then grabbing his Collar,
"If you're in agreement then, Let me make the trip quick". Titan then jet off, keeping a firm grasp on Nicholas so he wouldn't fall, She then setting Nicholas down near a Motel. Titan then hovered above Nicholas, "if I ever Find your Villain cronies in Chicago Again" Titan said Staring Nicholas down, "You'll be visiting the next Solar System over". Titan then jetted off, setting down she saw Lawbringer still struggling with the Spirit.

"Why did you Let me die?!" The spirit yelled as she jumped at lawbringer, Lawbringer rolled to the right avoiding it. "I'm sorry, I was a kid, I didn't know!" she said, smacking her baton into the spirit's face, pushing her back. "YOU LET ME DIE!" the spirit said then grabbing Lawbringer's wrists, Lawbringer started to tear up, "Mom, please". "I HATE YOU!", Then, before the spirit could do anything, Titan slammed her fist through the slightly physical form of the spirit, destroying it. Lawbringer dropped to her knee, trying to keep her demeanour, however seeing her long dead mother caused her to tear up, Titan placed her arm around Lawbringer.

"We're leaving" Titan said jetting off with Lawbringer, the Police arriving moments afterwards at the empty scene.

Derrick had turned his head to face the door; mainly in anticipation of whoever Marcus had called for - he'd heard him press a button at any rate.

When Marcus' secretary appeared at the door and seemed confused as to why she'd been sent for, Derrick quickly caught on that something was amiss; this feeling was soon backed up by the sound of a charging taser.

Derrick turned his head back around as Marcus pulled the trigger, holding up his hand in a knee jerk response as he saw the taser fire.

The prongs shot forward until they reached the end of Marcus' desk, where they instead hovered idly in the air before Derrick's motionless hand. Derrick's eyes looked between the prongs and the gun before looking at Marcus.
"Now, now," Lanvin said with a straight face as he relaxed his hand, dropping the prongs to the floor before making a side-swiping gesture over his shoulder as he stood up; telekinetically throwing the secretary out of the room.

He held out his hand in a choke-hold like manner at Marcus, telekinetically grabbing the man by the throat before slowly lifting him off of the ground, "So..." Derrick smirked as he cocked his head to the side, "No armour to save you this time..."

Marcus struggled with Lanvin's Telekinesis choke, he'd trained for choking, tightening his larynx and controlling airflow, but this was another Level.
"No armour to save you this time...". Lanvin said with a amirk as he cocked his head to the side. Marcus quickly pressed a button on a concealed button within his dress shirt, triggering the defense mode for Sanza.
[Cryotech Office Defenses operational], As quickly as Sanza got the alert, 2 Cryotech Turrets appeared out of panels at the wall and took aim at Lanvin, Firing at him.

[Confederation of imperial states]

Lanvin shot out his other hand as he heard the turrets activate, snapping his head around in the direction of the first turret to fire as he levelled his hand at it. The trail of what seemed like pellets flew across the room in neat lines before coming to rest inches from the surface of Derrick's outstretched palm; becoming a hovering clump of pellets which bobbed uneasily before Derrick's steady hand which started to increase in size as the turrets continued to fire.

Derrick turned his head back to face Marcus, clenching his hand into a fist and spinning all of the pellets 180 degrees in the air.

"Come on now..." He nodded in the directions of the pellets, "Did you really think that would work?"

Derrick let go of the pellets, sending them flying back across the room before burying themselves in the walls, furniture and even the turrets themselves.
He threw Marcus against the glass window of the office before pinning him there, "I'm disappointed..."

"Come on now..." He nodded in the directions of the pellets, "Did you really think that would work?",

Marcus slightly shrugged, "What's an Eccentric, Inclusive Chairman to do when He's attacked by a Metahuman Ruffian?" Marcus said in a sarcastic tone. Marcus looked up, seeing that Tracy has been pushed out of the room, and the Doors were shut tight (probably held by Telekinesis. Marcus dropped his Charismatic Mannerism, staring at Lanvin, "I know what you're capable of, and in this Situation, If you wanted me dead, I would've already been so". Marcus stared at Lanvin, keeping calm, however debating his options as he had many hidden features of the room. Marcus waited on Lanvin, he wondered what would work, hidden Panic Room, backup, security, or something less orthodox.

[Confederation of imperial states]

Pausing as he let Marcus speak, Derrick smirked at his observations thus far; clearly he'd been paying attention over the course of their previous encounters. He kept Marcus telekinetically pinned against the window as he paused for a moment, keeping enough pressure on him to make the glass creak slightly; Derrick heard the increase in Marcus' heartbeat - as well as what seemed like fear - when he applied the increased telekinetic pressure on him.

"Smart man..." Derrick smirked as he threw Marcus' chair out of the way, "So, I'll make this quick..."

Taking a step around Marcus' desk to close the distance further, Derrick continued to walk until he was more-or-less right in front of the man. He held up his other hand and pointed it at Marcus' forehead - knowing that Marcus had seen the after-effects of what followed before and would certainly take that into account when he answered.

"The girl...The one who was in the alley," Derrick said quietly as he smirked, "Where is she now?"

Marcus increased his heartbeat, Derrick smirked, believing he'd instilled fear, 'I have a few exitways from this if he breaks the glass'.

"Smart man..." Derrick smirked as he threw Marcus' chair out of the way, "So, I'll make this quick...", Marcus' chair was tossed aside as Derrick walked closer. Derrick pointed towards Marcus' forehead, threatening to cut it open, though the threat was real Marcus wasn't afraid. "The girl...The one who was in the alley,", "Where is she now?", Marcus paused for a second, "I don't know, hopefully far away from you". Marcus saw the place where Derrick was standing, across from a Stone Statue of a Kneeling Guardian like figure. "When you tread into a Wolf's den, watch your step", Marcus saw Derrick raise an eyebrow to the statement, "Delta 9 - 0", As Marus quickly said so out loud, the Guardian raised the spear they were holding, shooting a projectile canister out of it towards him.

Whether or not Derrick caught the canister, Marcus closed his eyes and looked away from it, as the Canister exploded revealing it was a powerful flash bang, more than likely interrupting Lanvin's telekinesis.

[Confederation of imperial states]

Marcus' statement was sure enough a cause for alarm for Derrick, he raised an eyebrow at the comparison to a wolf's lair as he quickly worked backwards in his mind. He glanced back at the door, thinking it to be some kind of trap.

However Derrick turned on the spot as Marcus spoke some sort of code; hearing some sort of firing mechanism trigger moments later, catching the canister with relative ease a heartbeat later as he suspended it a few inches away from his hand. He looked at the canister for a moment before turning back to give Marcus a look of noticeable dissatisfaction.

"Really?" Derrick smirked at the pinned man before freezing when he realised that Marcus had his eyes shut and was looking away from him in anticipation of something.

Derrick looked back at the canister in horror just in time to be utterly blinded, deafened and bewildered as it blew up in his face.
Shattering the window Marcus was pinned against in the process as the telekinetic hold that Derrick had on him dissipated in Derrick's moment of paralysis.

Marcus' play worked, as Lanvin turned his head the Canister exploded, However shattering the glass and releasing Lanvin's grip.

Marcus fell out of the window, down the side of the building of the incredibly tall Skyscraper, down the middle of the partly circular space of the Cryotech Headquarters. Marcus quickly reached into his pockets, 'for the love of God tell me I stashed something in here', Marcus thought as he reached into the concealed pocket of his Coat. Marcus then found a small hookshot, 'Prototype, crap' He thought as he shot it at an outcropping Flag pol sticking out horizontally. The Hookshot wrapped around the flagpole, jerking Marcus as he came to a fast stop, Marcus paused breathing and looking around. Marcus held onto the hookshot with his left hand, using his right hand to use his earpiece, "Sanza", [Yes sir?], "Remind me to Never Leave the hookshot behind", [Of course sir]. Marcus then swung back and forth, towards a ledge, carefully distributing his weight, as he got a foothold on it, he reached out and grabbed a hold with his right hand, detatching the Hookshot with his left hand.

Marcus exhaled, looking around with his hands on his waist, "What a View" Marcus said looking out towards Chicago Downtown, and a good view of Lake Michigan. [Sir, should I contact Lawbringer], "No, No, We can handle it. I believe there's a hidden entry way up around here", [Yes sir, just to your left] Sanza said opening the panel, Marcus climbing in quickly and the door closing behind. Marcus walked into the Cryotech Panic Room, stashed with Goods, supplies, Gadgets and self defense weapons Marcus hurried through it. [Sir, what should I do?], "Contact Security and have then seal off the Top floor, Apprehend Lanvin", [Yes sir]. The Cryotech Security was alerted, shutting off the Elevators to the top floor, with the Security Officers on the level rushing to Marcus' office, whether or not Lanvin was still there.

[Confederation of imperial states]

The Knight's Domain

4:30pm

Marcus was down in The Knight's Domain, at a large, alchemic and chemistry table, with many of the terminals attached syncing and formulating a certain mixture. Marcus was carefully pouring them together, mixing proteins, different DNA structure aswell as a certain anti-mutagen into the Chemical. Marcus continued to type into the Knightcomputer, with Sanza following up and adjusting the mixture as is, Anna came down, half dawned in her Lwbringer suit looking as she just finished a training sequence, "What's going on". Marcus returned to the table, "The man I ran into a few times in the last week, Lanvin, now know as Derrick Quinn, is a Highly Dangerous Metahuman". Anna finished drying her hair with the towel around her neck, depositing it into a chute nearby before asking, "Why not contact Professor X with those X-men?". "Derrick is Dangerous, his Powers include Telekinesis, Fire Manipulation, Microwave manipulation, and more considering he's probably killed far more people before he came to Chicago", "So what's your plan?", Marcus pressed a button, displaying a Holographic display of one of the Mutagen's Antibodies.

"A Highly Dangerous, and Reactive Mutagen, Capable of not only Disabling Derrick's Power absorption, but, Slowly, taking down his current Metahuman Abilities", Anna walked up, standing beside Marcus, "Then what's stopping you from just using it on him right now?". Marcus zoomed in on a single cell structure of the anti-body, "The Mutagen currently isn't properly synthesized, I'll need a special machine at Cryotech HQ's lab to do so". Marcus placed the Vial into a small case holding several Vials of the Mutagen, then grabbing it by it's handle and walking towards the Domain's Elevator back up to the Manor. "You do realize that Derrick is probably doing to try to attack you at the Lab, Right?" She said still standing by the Knightcomputer. Marcus pressed a utton on the Elevator's panel, "I'm counting on it", he said before the doors closed.

---

Cryotech Headquarters, Advanced Chemicals department

Marcus stood by one of the tables in the lab, A machine quickly shaking and readying the batch of Mutagens for combat against Derrick.

[Confederation of imperial states]

Cryotech Headquarters, Advanced Chemicals Department

Sure enough, Lanvin had anticipated the move - especially since Marcus hadn't died when he'd fallen from his office. He was now in Cryotech itself, keeping to the shadows as he traced his steps behind the employees of the corporation - no one had noticed him so far; at least until he got to the entrance of the Advanced Chemicals Department, where he was stopped by two armed guards.

Lanvin, either through recklessness or through sheer bloodlust - or both, simply threw the guards aside telekinetically with the flick of his wrists before lifting them both off the ground and pulling the, towards him.

"Marcus Branston..." Lanvin smiled as he turned to face one of the guards, "Where is he?"

The guard writhed under the pressure of Lanvin's telekinetic grip yet he gave the man a defiant glare as he chocked out a response, "F-Fuck y-"

Lanvin didn't let the man finish his taught as he drew his index fighter across the man's throat, slicing it open; resulting in a horrified gasp from the man as he tried to put pressure on the wound only to find his hands were pinned at his sides. He wriggled in place as he tried to feebly beg for his life; though his attempts just came out as wet coughs that trickled blood out of his mouth.

As the man's head slumped forward, Lanvin smirked before throwing the body across the room into a wall; smearing it with a trail of blood as the body slid down the wall before slumping to the ground.

Turning on the spot, Lanvin looked at the horrified guard behind him; who was still firmly entrapped by his telekinetic grip.

"Now," Lanvin started to repeat as he readied his index finger against the guard's forehead, "Where is he?"

As the guard shook his head in defiance, Lanvin merely chuckled, "A challenge? Oh goodie. I like a challenge," he started to draw his finger across the man's forehead; drawing spurts of blood the moment he started as the man cried out in agony.

Cryotech Headquarters, Advanced Chemicals Department Labs

Lanvin smirked as he swiped a keycard to open the door in front of him; cracking his jaw with a side to side movement as the door slid open.

He saw Marcus just ahead of him, close to the centre of the room; his back to Lanvin as he loomed over what looked to be an expensive piece of equipment.

Walking into the room, Lanvin swiped his hands behind him to shut the door before clearing his throat.

"You have a remarkable habit of surviving the impossible, Mister Branston..." Lanvin murmured as he clasped his hands and looked around the room.

As Lanvin approached, Sanza reported it to Marcus,

[Marcus, sir, The man Derrick Quinn is approaching from down the hall. Marcus raised his eyebrow as the machine finished perfecting the Anti-Mutagens,
"Well if he is here, He's way off timing to when I'd expect him to be here". As The sliding doors open from the beep of a keycard, Marcus turned around to see Derrick Quinn standing there as he cleared his throat, "You have a remarkable habit of surviving the impossible, Mister Branston...". Marcus turned around, raising an eyebrow to the remark, "Really Mr Quinn?, I've been operating in Chicago for more than 10 years now, I've taken down atleast 7,000 Felons in that time, and You expect me to die from falling?". Marcus thought it over before speaking, "I'll suppose you aren't here to discuss fairly moderate events, in a world where an Underwater Kingdom exists, there's a man who's Anger Issues cause him to turn into a Green ogre, And a Man who dresses up as a Bat and pummels Criminals at night", Marcus leaned forward, "a Man surviving a fall is fairly Normal in Stature, However, That isn't the nature of this visit is it", Marcus said in a sarcastic tone.

Marcus peered over at the keycard Derrick Held, the same one Security used, "Oh dear, you've tipped off Security. Well it'll take them a minute or two to get down here so Why don't we rave on about Metahuman Politics as we usually do?".

[Confederation of imperial states]

Lanvin smirked at Marcus' little speech, somewhat amused by it, "Cute..." He glanced at the equipment that Marcus was using and then at the handful of bottles strewn across the table. He looked at Marcus before cracking a wider grin at him, "But even you can't stall me..."
His hand surged in Marcus' direction, violently ripping him off the ground before carelessly throwing him aside; the plywood wall cracking in several places as Marcus' body hit it.

Uncaring of Marcus' injuries, Lanvin walked over to the equipment and raised his hand towards it; stopping all of the moving pieces within it. He lifted off the lid and removed a bottle, he looked at Marcus as he picked up another three bottles from the table.

"Is all of this for me?" He asked with a look of mock surprise; he blinked and his face returned to a stoic expression, "You shouldn't have..."

Derrick dropped the bottles on the ground, shattering them upon impact; he then flicked his wrist and threw the piece of equipment off of the table, destroying it as it smashed against a wall.

"No...I'm serious," Lanvin's voice was low as he stepped towards Marcus, his tone almost a growl, "You really, really shouldn't have..."

Marcus smashed into the plywood, the Lab was partly under construction causing Marcus to smash through one of the weaker plywood walls and land with his back on a pile of broken pieces of wood.

Derrick walked forward, peering at the bottles, "You shouldn't have",
he then dropped them on the ground as he began to walk towards Marcus, "You really, really shouldn't have..." he said with an attempt of Intimidating Marcus. 'Intimidating Ground as he seemingly destroys my hope, Stahl already beat you to that', He though as Derrick walked forward. Marcus surveyed the space between them, only a few feet, Marcus then reached into his coat, grabbing a high powered Tazer and shooting Derrick in the thigh, at this range he wouldn't have been able to Kinesis grab it as fast as he could before. Marcus stood up, "And You shouldn't have come so close", Marcus threw a punch right at Derrick's jaw, before kneeing him in the stomach and kicking him back, "You're a buisness man Derrick, whenever you Sign contracts, You always make copies".

[Confederation of imperial states]

Lanvin staggered backwards from the blow; yanking out the taser prongs in a fit of rage as he took in a series of deep breaths before cauterising the bleeding wound with a quick burst of fire from his left hand.
"Contracts!?" Lanvin bellowed as he shot out his hand again, grabbing with a firm telekinetic Marcus before throwing him into the ceiling and then hurling him against a desk; seething with pain-fuelled rage as he steadied himself.

"Oh I know about contracts, Marcus," Lanvin spat as he started to hurl sharp pieces of lab equipment at Marcus with large sweeping hand gestures; he stopped advancing on Marcus and instead elected to hurl things at him from a distance - almost toying with him, "But I think you need to know when you're outmatched."

"But I think you need to know when you're outmatched.",

Marcus knew right now he was outmatched, he needed to even the playing field, he quickly used his watch, ['Sanza, Activate Security Protocal Alpha"], [Right away sir]. Just then, 3 turrets appear above Lanvin at close range, firing Riot Suppressor rounds at him at a constant rate of fire. Whether or not the rounds hit him, Marcus quickly ran and slid as a small panel entryway opened on one of the walls, the panel closing behind him. Marcus used his Earpiece, "This is Marcus Branston, I'm currently trapped in a Panic Room, Mr Derrick Quinn is in the Advanced Sciences department in a Rampage, Retrain him, Do what is necessary" Marcus sent the tranmission to the Security within the building, who promptly sent their more armored men into the room to deal with Derrick. Marcus looked at a Monitor which displayed Sanza's Icon, "Sanza, ready the Suit" [Yes sir].

The Security Personal promptly took stance outside the door, armored up in helmets, body armor, and Automatic rifles, "CLEAR" one of them yelled before throwing a flashbang into the room and moving in.

[Confederation of imperial states]

Black Hand

Outside Iron Mountain Security Center, back alley

Black Hand had seen the huge Armored truck that crashed through the roof of the facility, and heard the huge gunfight that sounded out afterwards.

Black Hand had been spying on Iron Mountain for weeks, tracking their criminal activity; Trafficking, Murdering, bullying. They did this while under the allowance of the bribed city government, and their Private Army of Security guarded their activity. Now, Black Hand was going to strike at the facility, waiting on a rooftop above the alley he needed to find who busted into the facility on a Kamikaze attack. Black Hand quietly shot his grapple gun, grappling onto the edge of the Security building he was pulled across, quietly scaling the wall until he finally pulled himself onto the roof.

Black Hand looked around, the roof was clear and flat, except for a large hole in the asphalt (more than Likely left by the Armored Truck). Black Hand quietly took out his pistol as he crept over to the hole, he carefully dropped down onto a high Cargo Crate as he entered through it. He crouched, trying to listen in on The Man in High Tech armor, standing infront of a large amount of Iron Mountain Security.

"You've all been trained, readied, and prepared. You're the best of the best, the only recruits Brandon Titan has seen fit to be in his Security Force. And Now, We're going to do what we've been planning, eliminate all of the remaining street Gangs in Los Angeles, and take over. No One, will stop us". The Security forces cheered, Black Hand holstered his pistol as he took out his Crossbow, loading an explosive dart into it he took aim at the man.....That was until he heard an ungodly loud roar from behind him. the giant Ogre known as Sony,Grabbed Black Hand, "Bad Man!" Sony yelled as he threw Black Hand over to The high Tech armor Man, crashing into a bunch of iron Mountain security on the way down. Black Hand quickly shot the explosive Dart at Sony, it was no use, as he just shrugged off the explosive and crashed down infront of Black Hand.

"well, well, well, Another Hero intruder" The man said as Black Hand stood up, The Man pointing his high tech pistol at Black Hand. "What do I owe the pleasure? who are you", Black Hand eyes the man as the standoff occurred, then continued to stare him in the eyes. "Black Hand, Vigilante of Los Angeles", The Man chuckled, "Vigilantes, alwways trying to do good, even when out of their league". "Care to say your name?" Black Hand said with heavy discontent in his voice, The Man stared at Black Hand.

"My Name? Tyrannt, Head of Brandon Titan's little shindig but that's not what matters, What matters is the choice I have of killing you, or throwing you in a Cell". Black hand continued to stare down Tyrannt, Tyrannt aiming his pistol straight for his head, "Well you're sure taking you fine a** time deciding pansy, How about I Make the Decision for you". Black Hand then promptly pulled out his own pistol, aiming it at the partly shining and glowing visor of Tyrannt's helmet. "oh ho, ho, Looks like we got a lively one here. I like you, Sony, give 'em a nap and we'll toss him in with the other freak. Before Black hand could to anything, Sony, the large brutish Ogre he was, grabbed Bkac Hand with one hand. Black Hand fired at Sony's head, doing nothing as Sony balled up a fist, punching Black Hand directly and knocking him out.

before he fell into Unconsciousness, Black Hand heard Tyrannt say, albeit echo filled.
"Brandon is gonna have fun with you two".

Lanvin turned on the spot as the turrets dropped down from the ceiling; cursing under his breath as a handful of the suppression rounds struck him before he'd raised his hand; brushing his skin where they struck.

Gritting his teeth, Lanvin held up his hands to grab all of the incoming rounds with a telekinetic field; quickly creating a wall of pellets around him. He blinked as he looked at each of the turrets before making a twisting downwards corkscrew motion with his wrists and tearing the turrets clean off the walls.
As the turret body and the hundreds of pellets hit the floor, Lanvin's eyes darted to the door as a profound "CLEAR" grabbed his attention. He raised his right hand as a flashbang was thrown into the room; catching the stun grenade before holding it in place just as the guards outside opened the door a little wider - then he threw it back at them.

The flashbang exploded in the middle of the guard squad; stunning most of them as they dropped their weapons. Those that were still standing were rippled,off their feet as Lamvin telekinetically pulled the entire squad though the walls before throwing them across the rooms - killing several of them from the force of the impact.

Those that remained were held in place and lifted off the ground only to have their now-exposed faces riddled with dozens of riot suppression rounds; badly bruising them at best, outright disfiguring their face and killing them at worst.

Lanvin chuckled at the few remaining survivors before pinning them against a wall and, with the flick of both of his wrists, launching the shattered glass bottles into their jugulars - killing them.

Looking around the room as blood seeped into the pellet-covered floor, Lanvin cracked a smile at the carnage; this was getting fun.

"Come ooooon, Marcus!" He yelled at the top of his lungs as he turned 360 degrees on the spot, his deranged-sounding voice echoing in the room as he spoke, "I'm ready for the main course now!"

The room was silent with the butchering of the Security guards, many being hit by the Riot Suppressors, Many being butchered, and then many having their Jugulars after wards. After Marcus walked to another part of the Panic room, Sanza displayed a 3 dimensional Still of Marcus, sitting at the computer table for the CCTV. Marcus instead, walked to a panel which slid back, revealing A set of The Knight's armor, as he put it on, Marcus heard the clashing between Derrick and the Security Guards. Finishing the suit by placing and locking the Helmet on his head, Marcus heard the fighting stop, meaning that on side had one, Marcus knew which one had done so when he heard.

"Come ooooon, Marcus!", "I'm ready for the main course now!".

The Knight then smashed through a window leading into the lab, He rolled before stopping, standing up. "That's enough toying with Marcus Branston and Cryotech Derrick, Give up", The Knight said, right before a mouth plate slide down covering his mouth and protecting it.

[Confederation of imperial states]

Lanvin's only response to the Knight's demands was a loud and belly aching laugh as he slowly clapped his hands at the Knight.
"Give up?" Lanvin asked as he scoffed; he looked over the Knight's armour and quickly discerned that it had received an upgrade since their last encounter, "I'll admit..." He walked around the room, putting a table between himself and the Knight as he spoke, "Asking me to fold when I have all the cards...That," he poked a finger at the Knight, "That takes balls..."

Lanvin's finger point shot into a telekinetic push as he flicked his wrist in the Knight's direction; hitting the armoured man with enough force to knock him off his feet, "Although," Lanvin continued speaking as he readied his other hand for an attack, "I'm glad to see you finally decided to invest in common sense..." He chuckled, referring to the Knight's new armoured mouth protection.

"Give up?" Lanvin asked as he scoffed; he looked over the Knight's armour and quickly discerned that it had received an upgrade since their last encounter, "I'll admit..." He walked around the room, putting a table between himself and the Knight as he spoke, "Asking me to fold when I have all the cards...That," he poked a finger at the Knight, "That takes balls...".

"You talk about holding all of the Cards, but where I'm standing, I've got the upperhand", The Knight was then thrown back by a telekinetic strike, smashing him through a glass panel, spinning him, and him landing on his Stomach. The Knight stood up, taking a knee he quickly fired his grapple, shooting between Lanvin's legs and grabbing the handle of one of the large metal drawers on a rolling cart. The Knight then hit the retract on the gun, pulling the large rolling container forward smashing into Lanvin. if Lanvin would've thrown the Cart off of him, The Knight would then duck behind a counter stating, "You've gone in too far Lanvin", the sudible of the footsteps of armored Security guards, twice the previous amount, "You should probably give up".

[Confederation of imperial states]

Lanvin staggered forward, grunting as he wrestled his foot from underneath the cart, from the cart's impact. He looked at the Knight and held up his left hand; grimacing as it became enthralled by a golden rotating ball of radioactive particles.

Without so much as a second thought, Lanvin sent a stream of radioactive particles at the Knight; forcing him to remain behind his cover.
Glancing over his shoulder as he started to fire bursts of flame from his right hand at the door behind him - setting fire to the frame and the wall to delay the security guards that were approaching; Lanvin could only smirk at the Knight's words.

"Gone too far?" He asked aloud, turning back in the Knight's direction as he stopped throwing a stream of flames with his right hand and clenched it into a fist, "No...No...I haven't gone far enough..."

As Lanvin shot up a burst of flames, setting the frame on fire and melting it, the frame half collapsed closing the doorway partway, delaying the Security guards stuck outside.

"Gone too far?", The Knight saw Lanvin clench his fist, steam pouring out, "No...No...I haven't gone far enough...", The Knight took out a small, ball sized concussion detonator. Sliding it under the counter as it rolled, Lanvin would've took one look at it before it detonated at close range, catching him off guard and stunning him. The Knight then took this advantage to leap over the counter, dropping off he then threw a flurry of punches right at Lanvin's head, face, torso, beating on him as he was stunned. The Knight then moved back a few steps, as Lanvin would've thrown some sort of flame attack at hgim, The Knight then wound up and charged at Lanvin, Drop kicking him with enough force, sending Lanvin through the cracked and smoldering frame blocking the doorway, out into the hallway full of security guards.

As the Security took aim at Lanvin, Shields, assault weaponry, durable flak jackets and Body Armor, helmets and other equipment. The Knight stood in view of the hole of the blocked doorway,
"I've think you've done quite enough, Best to give up now".

[Confederation of imperial states]

Lawbringer: Homefront Attack

5:30pm
Glenmore High School, Basketball Practice

Anna was passed the ball from one of her teammates, quickly dribbling and moving a few steps before taking a shot. The shot missed (though just barely), bouncing off and being rebounded by one of her teammates. Beyond Anna's Vigilante life, in Aiding her friend "Marcus Branston" also Known as The Knight, Anna was an Honor student at her school. So far Anna's school Life had gone exceptionally well, she was getting As and Bs in all classes, aswell as making ground on her School's basket ball team. Moving down court near their Basket, Anna was quick to guard her position as a point guard, the opponents took a shot, bouncing off the backboard and landing in the hands of one of Anna's teammates. They were interrupted by a Whistle, "Alright, that's good for now, take a water break and we'll meet back in 2", They broke up, many heading to the benches to get a quick drink of water.

Anna sat down on the bench, taking a quick drink of water before breathing and rubbing her forehead, One of Anna's friends sat down next to her. "Nice work Ann" she said sitting back, "Thanks Shelby" Anna said leaning forward in her seat. "What're you doin' this weekend?", 'Dunno, Studying for the history test, after that who knows", "Wanna get together with some of my friends", Anna paused, though she'd made friends with many of the other students, being asked over was something that'd never happen before. Anna sat backwards, meeting Shelby's eyes lever with her own, "Sure, I'd be okay with that" she said with a half smile, "Cool with me"- They were interrupted when they heard a whistle blow. "Alright girls let's meet up", The coach said, gesturing to join him by the insignia in the center of the gym, the team complied meeting them at the center.

The Coach held a black, more durable looking basketball as he dribbled it, "The next form we're working on is advanced dribble tactics, some you can shoot through an opponent's guard, under them, we'll be working on form". The coach then decided to spin the ball on his finger, a trick he said he'd show the girls at the end of the season, though the trick was short lived when a bullet shot through the ball, causing the coach and everyone to stare in shock. "As much as you guys are enjoying this little shindig" a Gang Member said as he gestured to another Gang Member who stopped aiming his rifle, "We've come to crash the party", The Gang leader moved in, followed by 12 others. The Coach and several others were shocked, and most afraid, however Anna was firm in her stance, not showing fear. A Familiar gang member noticed this, walked over to Anna carrying a pistol he stated, "Hey, I remember you, you're that little resistant runt from Christmas Eve".

Anna simply scowled at the Gang Member, who took a swipe at Anna, only to have her twist his arm and throw him off, "Oh, Ho, Ho, feisty are we, Well we are gonna have fun with you". The Gang Member moved towards Anna, a Gang Mmeber behind her put a firm hand on her shoulder, Anna grabbed it and twisted it off, the other one tried to Pistol Whip Anna, only to have her quickly take hold and disarm him of the Pistol. "that's Enough", the Leader said, as a large brute like member moved on Anna, grabbing her half by her neck, Anna attempted to break free, however his sheer roided up strength was too much, as he slammed her down onto the hard floor, then punching her across her head knocking her out. "Anna!' One of her members shouted, the leader fired his rifle into the air, "Enough dramatics, jinks, tro, escort our little, MVPs, into a locker, and keep them in there". The brute like gang member nodded, hraving Anna over his shoulder as he escorted them to an empty equipment locker.

The Team Members were forced in there, with the brute tossing Anna, luckily being catched by the coach and another team member. The Coach then angrily watched as they closed the door, locking them inside the locker. "What do we do?" Shelby asked with sheer fear in her voice, Anna's head resting in her lap, the Coach shook his head, "We wait. We'll be saved, Janice get some of the towels from the back, we need to stop Lawson's bleeding". A taller girl nodded as she and another ran to the back, The Coach peered down at Anna, 'Hang On, He'll be here soon'.

[Confederation of imperial states]

Lanvin's vision was blurred; his body reeling from the Knight's physical assault, bring his hand to rub the back of his head as he remained prone . He blinked a few times, becoming increasingly aware that he was surrounded on almost all sides by Cryotech security guards.

He heard the Knight say something and glanced up at the blurred form that he guessed was the masked vigilante, the insignificant action was enough to send pain shooting up Lanvin's back in his current state.
He couldn't stand up to the physical hand to hand damage the Knight was dishing out; especially not at this rate, although he did have one advantage - he knew exactly how everything that he was up against worked.

Closing his eyes again, Lanvin telekinetically reworked the interior design of the weapons in the guards' hands over the course of the next few seconds; removing a few screws here and there and dislodging the firing pins. At best - for the guards at least, the weapon would immediately jam, at worst: they'd explode in their hands.

Lanvin opened his eyes again and looked at the Knight, his vision clearer now; he smirked weakly, feigning defeat.
"You're right," he admitted as he glanced at the nearest guard, "But the problem is, you're still not getting that you can't beat me..."

Without giving the Knight time to respond, Lanvin tossed him back into the room with a twisting and thrusting motion of his wrist; ensuring that the Knight hit as many things in the adjacent room as possible.
He bolted to his feet as the guards started firing; smirking as none of the weapons fired correctly - several of them blowing up in the hands of their operators. Turning in a full circle with his arms outstretched, Lanvin started to fire a combination of radioactive particles and jets of fire at the guards; killing them either through radioactive exposure or by burning them alive.

With the guards dead less that two seconds after he had begun, Lanvin backed away from the lab and started to make for the nearest exit - He was done here.

As lanvin rose up, he threw a telekinetic blast at The Knight, throwing him over the counter, The Knight grabbing onto the edge and stabilizing himself on it.
Lanvin then spun in a circle, lighting many of the guards on fire, incinerating the guards in a circle, Lanvin then hit the Guards with something else as he spun around.
"Thermal Scans on", The Knight said as he turned on his enhanced vision, seeing an immense amount of radiation Lanvin was throwing at the Guards.

Down the Hallway to Lanvin's left, A large amount of guards, protected by clear riot shields, took stance and fortified their position. just infront of them, the Hallway was closed off as a large wall of reinforced glass covered the entierty of it, sealing off that exit. The Knight grappeled through the hole, pulling him and smashing what remained of the smoldering Barricade, landing a few feet to Lanvin's left, The Knight stood up, "Enough Derrick, You've been gaining nothing by coming here, only your defeat".

[Confederation of imperial states]

"Defeat?" Lanvin asked as he telekinetically froze the Knight in place as he clenched his fist and turned to face him; looking at the vigilante as if he were a curious lab animal that had gotten stuck trying to escape its cage, "Oh I hardly see this as a defeat..."

Lanvin walked behind the immobilised Knight, putting him between Lanvin and the wall of guards; he glanced at a window that led out onto a fire escape ladder further up the corridor.

"As much as I'd love to stay and chat some more..." Lanvin chuckled as he started to walk towards the fire exit he'd spotted; throwing a powerful telekinetic wave down the corridor with the flick of his unclenched wrist to violently rip the guards of their feet to ensure he didn't take a shot in the back as he went to leave.

He then directed his unclenched fist to the glass window blocking his way; shattering it into an uncountable number of glass shards that the then used to hurl at the team of guards who had now recovered and were starting to advance on him.

He glanced at the Knight and smirked as the glass shards added another handful of security guards to Lanvin's number of kills for the night before smirking and jumping out the window - landing on the ground below as the Knight was released from his grip.

Lanvin had vanished into a nearby crowd of people who were walking into a nearby Chicago subway station less than ten seconds later.

Lanvin then grabbed the Knight in a telekinetic grip, pulling him close to his face as The Knight was still stuck in his stance.
"Oh I hardly see this as a defeat...", Sanza automatically armed a Dart in The Knight's Dart launcher, a lighter dose of the Mutagen, but at this range it'd hit Lanvin if it was needed. Before The Knight could even use it, he was thrown back, as Lanvin hit the hallway with a Telekinetic strike shattering the reinforced glass and pushing back the pile of workers. The Knight quickly got up, running to the shattered window, just as he put one foot on the windowsill, shattered crunching underneath his boot, he saw Lanvin kill and injure a group of Guards before disappearing into a crowd entering a subway.

The Knight quickly debated whether or not to hunt Lanvin, but after surveying the odds, he took his foot of the windowsill and turned back to the large amount of guards now standing up. The Commanding Guards walked over to The Knight as the rest spread out into the lab to secure it, "Knight, do you know where Marcus Branston is?". The Knight opened up a small holographic image of Marcus sitting at the desk in his Panic Room, "Marcus is currently waiting in a subbasement Panic room, He's currently operating from there as Lanvin seemed to be targeting him". The Guard commander nodded, turning back to some men which he began to coordinate with, The Knight quickly grappeled out of the hallway and onto a ledge just outside. As The Knight pulled up, he took out a Vial, peering at it to reveal he had saved 2 large syringes of the Anti Mutagen. "Always keep Backups Derrick", The Knight muttered, he was interrupted when Sanza sent him an urgent message, [Sir, There's a Police Distress signal from Glenmore high school]. The Knight froze, the Vigilante partly wearing off and Marcus worrying, 'Anna had practice today', "What's the situation", [Chicago Gang Members who attacked on Christmas Eve 2 1/2 Months ago are currently holding up the school, this time bringing more men, and even heavier weaponry], The Knight walked to the edge of the building, jumping off he pressed a button on his gauntlet, when The Knight landed, The Destroyer pulled up alongside him, he jumped in and immediately connected to A certain Police man.

["This Is Captain Brakenbrook, Who is this"],
["It's me John"],
["Knight, I'm guessing you heard about the Situation at Glenmor-"],
["Meet me on the south Parking lot on the opposite side of the Building"],
["Alright, get here quick. No telling what those Animals will do to the kids"].

---

Anna awoke, her vision blurry and gray as she opened her eyes, She groaned, trying to sit up on her side, however a Hand pushed her back down. "You don't really want to be running around" the coach said as he sat to anna's right as she turned over onto her back, She was then hit by an amount of pain she could relate to being kicked in the head by a horse. "w.....What happened?", Anna said her sentence partly cut off by trying to manage pain resistance, and other bodily functions. The Coach looked up, worrying in his eyes as he looked over to the door where some of the senior Team members had sat down, "They captured us just after they......Knocked you out, stuck us all in here". Anna remembered how she's been beat by the two thugs, under normal circumstances she'd take him no problem, but right now she didn't need her.....Alter Ego revealed.

"I'm sorry Coach", The coach gave a smirk, shaking his head, "We all do what we can to protect those near us, what you did is no different". One of the Coach's assistants were hitting and trying to use a Hand radio, "helloooo? Security, Do you read us. Damn" she said setting it down. Anna raised her hand to it, "Let me see", The Coach raised an eyebrow, but settled and handed Anna the Handradio. Anna quickly pulled off the back of it, seeing some wires were crossed over into the battery compartment, 'Alright, just like Thomas taught us. Move this, decross this, tuck this back in and...'. The Radio then snapped to life, The Coach gave a dumbfounded look as Anna handed it to him. "Hello, This is Coach Barnes, Does anyone read", as soon as he said that, a male with a Thick Russian Accent answered. ["Yes I copy, this is Senior Security officer Krukov reporting in"], Barnes rolled his eyes, "great they only Security Guard left, and it's Crazy krukov", a few other students laughed as he mentioned that.

["Krukov we're stuck In an Athletics Storage Locker on the nothwestern wing of the building, Where are you?"],
["I am stuck on the Northeastern wing, Barney, Girls, Keep Calm, Krukov is coming to help"] A few of the girls laughed as they heard the nickname, causing the coach to sigh and place his palm on the back of his hand for a moment,
["Just keep quiet Krukov, The Gangbangers have Guns, Don't want our only inside help getting shot"],
["I am from KGB Barney, I'll be fine. Krukov over and out"].

The Coach sat back against the wall to the right of Anna, Sighing he peered over at Anna, "What do you think Lawson, What's worse? Southside Gangbangers showing up, beating one of us to tar....No offense". Anna nodded, "None taken", "Or the fact that our Only hope is an Insane Russian Security Guard". Many of them quieted down as the now Familiar engine of The Destroyer sounded out, "Not our Only hope" Anna said, partly grinning through the pain as she kept the bundle of towels pressed against her head.

[Confederation of imperial states]

Glenmore High School, Southside parking lot


The Destroyer quickly pulled towards Glenmore High School, the police closing off the main driveway towards the school from the pedestrian crowd, quickly opened it up to let The Destroyer through, closing it off again afterwards. The Knight peered out the window as he drove down the long drive towards the high school, he saw the large amount of police, with a wall of police vehicles blocking them from the front of the school. "Sanza pull up a Dashcam feed from that area", [Yes sir], Sanza quickly pulled up a Camera feed from a Swat Van, the large amount of windows leading into the large lobby area of the school were blocked with tables, desks, and cabinets. Zooming in more, Gang Members pointed their automatic weaponry towards the police through spaces in between their barricade. The Knight continued driving, taking a few turns before he reached the southside of the school, John Brakenbrook sitting alone on the hood of his Patrol car.

With The Destroyer Arriving in the lot, John slid off, walking Towards The Knight as he climbed out of the large vehicle. "Hello John", The Knight said, shaking John's hand, "I trust you know the scope of the situation", "Does the police force have a plan?". John sighed, "They want to send a Swat Team in, I told them that they'd only endanger the students, but they're pushing for something to happen". John shook his head, staring back at The Knight, "I'll bet yours is alot better?",The Knight turned the Holographic HUD on his Gauntlet displaying it for John to see. "I'll enter through one of the Ventilation shafts in the roof, from there I'll work on taking down the Gang Members within the school, and attempt to get your men a way inside".

John noticed the slight urgency in The Knight's voiced, even when other hostage situations happened, he always kept a more stern demeanor. "Lawbringer's in there isn't she?", The Knight slightly paused, then went back to planning, John started up a Cigarette, turning back to the School. "We're alike Knight, we'd do anything for our Family, No matter the odds....", John turned back around to see The Knight was gone, shaking his head, he turned back to the school again, "....No matter the cost".

---

Glenmore High school, NorthWestern Hallway

Security Guard Viktor Krukov quickly crept from corner to corner, trying to make his way to the Security Locker, his Stun Gun in his right hand at the ready. Turning one corner Viktor aimed his stun gun, then stepped backwards into another corner where he paused. Attempting to turn the corner, Krukov promptly snuck back behind, as 8 Gang Members, 2 armed with handguns, and the rest with an assortment of melee weapons came down the hall. "So what do you think? We gonna sell the kids as hostages?" one of them asked, "Nah, the boss said we'll kill them, and sell that basket ball team as sex slaves for the Mob", the disgusting comment made Krukov cringe, taking out his baton as well as his stungun.

The Gang Members laughed to each other, as then turned the corner, Krukov shot his stungun catching one gang member with a pistol in the neck, he then swung his Baton horizontally cracking the other pistol user in the forehead, causing him to smack into the wall, knocking him unconscious. A Gangmember then charged Krukov, ramming him into a nearby wall, Krukov pointed his stungun into the back of the gangmember, firing it, knocking him off onto the floor. Dropping the stungun Krukov quickly grabbed the punch of an oncoming opponent, skacking them in the Jugular with his baton, and kicking him back knocking over another gang member behind him. 3 men charged krukov at once, Krukov cracked one in the knee, and then ramming the Baton into his stomach causing him to buckle over.

Kurkov then ditched the Baton grabbing an oncoming guy by the neck and ramming him into the wall, 5 more Gang members came out of an opposite hallway, running at Krukov. Before any of them could attack krukov, The Knight dropped down from a ventilation shaft, crashing down and knocking out 2 of them. The Knight immediately grabbed another one, rock bottoming over him and slamming him down onto a Gang member that was about to attack Krukov. Krukov turned, "heads up" then pushing the gang member at The Knight, The Knight tripped the gang member up with his right arm, then slamming down onto the gang member's head with his right foot, knocking him out cold. Krukov took a few breaths, standing up straight and staring at The Knight, "You're that Vigilante, Knight, right?", The Knight nodded, "Viktor Krukov, pleased to make your acquaintance" he said extending his right hand.

The Knight returned the pleasantry, shaking Krukov's hand he continued, "You fight well", Viktor chuckled before saying, "When you're in the KGB, you learn a thing or two". "I'm looking for the students that the Gangs have trapped here", Krukov shot a thumb to the hallway behind him, "Their coach told me they stuck the Basketball team here, I haven't run into any students, and from the amount of chatter it seems they locked the students into the athletics lockers. Before The Knght could say anything, a large amount of gunfire came from the front lobby of the school, "What was that?", Krukov asked, just then, The knight received a distress call from Brakenbrook.

["John, What's happene-"],
["Knight, Jesus christ, they've sent the swat teams in, they're turning the front of the school into a warzone, tell me you've got the kids outta there"]
["We haven't yet, but we've secured the rooms they're holding them in. John, I'm going to need you to get In The destroyer and blow a hole in the brick wall of the gymnasium"],
["What? Why?"],
["We're trapped in the Northwestern storage corner, and the nearest exit points are currently being turned into a Police-gang warzone"],
["Hell, Alright I'll do it, we've got to hurry"].

The Knight turned to Krukov, handing him a strange key-like device, "What's this?", "Universal Lock breaker, it can break open any lock by simply adjusting to the type, use it to get the Students out of here". The Knight turned, walking towards the growing sounds of gunfire, "Wait, where are you going?", "stopping a gang war in the making".

[Confederation of imperial states]

Glenmore High School, North lobby

"Look out!"
A Swat officer yelled as he ducked behind a desk, 2 Swat members being hit with an RPG blast, causing them to be killed and thrown back. The Swat members were pinned down near the front of the lobby, behind desks, concrete columns, and other solid cover as they slowly were working their way through to a hole in the Gang's defenses. The Gang members had the high ground, barricading the top of the stairs leading to several halls to the southern wing, and the stairs just in front of the Swat's position leading down to a large cafeteria, the doorways to said cafeteria were also controlled by the gang. The Stalemate was locked, however both sides chipping away at each other, A Gang member ducked to his friend after receiving a Radio call, "Here's the plan, we hold the Swat in the lobby, if we can't Boss says we murder the hostages", his friend nodded.

["......We Murder the Hostages"], The Knight was able to hear through the Radio's circuitry, as he took his position on a beam high above the lobby, looking down at the fight ensuing below. Opening up the Holographic HUD on his Gauntlet, The Knight began to go to work, "Sanza what are some advantages that we can gain here", [We can use the Lighting system, the loud speakers, aswell as a ventilation shaft system that leads around the lobby]. The Knight quickly closed his HUD and shuffled over to a Ventilation grate near the beam he was on, quickly grappeling over to the tiny ledge he grabbed the sides of the grate, ripping it off and placing it aside. on the thin ledge as he climbed in and dropped down. Hitting the Bottom The Knight used the ventilation system to get under the large team of SWAT members, The Knight quickly pulled out a thick explosive gel paste, spraying it all along the ventilation shaft below the Swat members, "Sanza, when the Gel goes off, cut the lights", [Yes sir].

The Knight then quickly shuffled down and out of the Ventilation system, as the fighting continued, then, took out the small detonator and pressed it, detonating the gel. The Gel was explosive, but it's compound was enough to break through the concrete of the floor below the swat members, causing them to fall into the ditch now made by the former ventilation shaft. The Knight quickly shot 2 of the Swat members with Tranquilizer darts, hitting them just between the gaps in their uniform. The Knight dropped down into the ditch, disarming one and knocking him unconscious with the stock of his gun, then kneeing another and flipping him over, then punching through the visor of his helmet knocking him out. The Knight quickly turned around to see 2 swat members pointing their rifles at him, "Freeze!", The Knight shot his grappel, grabbing a steel rod attached to a chunk of concrete, pulling git back between their legs it tripped them, The Knight jumping over it stomping down on one Swat knocking him out, then quickly punching the other knocking her out.

The Knight stood up, but as he did, Several of the Gang Members knew what was happening and were now moving from their Barricades to get to the now downed Swat members. The Knight quickly used his commlink, "Sanza, Strobe the Lights and activate high pitched White noise in this entire room", [Yes sir]. Just as The Knight ordered it, the lighting systems began to strobe at a fast rate, and if that didn't disorient the Gang members, then the ensuing white noise caused many of them to drop to their knees in pain. The Knight quickly ran and jumped off of the Swat's former cover, dropping down onto two of them smacking them against the concrete, The Knight then shot his grappel grabbing one gang member, pulling him back towards him he used his left arm to knock him down mid flight, then stomped down on his knocking him out. The Knight then grabbed downed gang member, throwing him at 2 others knocking them over, continuing to fight them in the lobby.

---

Glenmore High School, Northwestern wing

Viktor Krukov quickly ran through the Storage halls of the Northwestern wing, using the lock breaker The Knight gave him to break each of the storage locks. Even though the students were in the Storage compartment, he was continuously opening up storage rooms which were either empty, or just filled with equipment. "Dammit!" Krukov said, slamming his fist into a wooden door, cracking it. A few seconds after Krukov yelled, he heard the yell of a coach, echoing from one of the Storage containers. Krukov quickly hurried to the Storage Container, inserting the device it quickly broke the lock, as he entered he saw the entire basket ball team, however one of them was holding a bloody towel to her head. "Barney what the hell happened?" he asked, The Coach quickly picked up Anna, carrying her in her arms, "She was beaten by a larger Gangbanger, he looked like he was on steroids, We gotta get out of here", Krukov quickly gestured for the students to leave the Storage room, keeping a pistol he took from one of the Gang members at the ready.

"Barney do you know if there are any other students here?", The Coach shook his head, "No, they only talked about us, if they did they're probably in the eastwing". Krukov quickly ran with the Girls basketball team, the Coach still carrying an unconscious Anna Lawson as they hurried through the halls, stopping at the end of one hall, Krukov placed his hand up causing them all to stop, "What is it?" one of the girls asked. Krukov sniffed the air, "I smell smoke", Krukov made a fist with the same hand as he went down the hall, telling them to stay where they were, as Krukov entered a commons area of the school, he looked in shock as the entire commons area was on fire, cutting off their route out. Running back to them he quickly shouted, "Barney we're cut off, we need a way out", "I know a way, follow me", The Coach said hurrying to a hall leading away from the fire. "Why are the commons on fire?" one of them asked nervously, The Coach shrugged but Krukov chimed in, 'When an enemy force occupying land was losing, they burnt the farmlands and resources, so that the men invading wouldn't have anything to gain from their conquest".

Just as they were nearing what could be an exist, Coach handed Krukov Anna so that he'd be able to open the door, just as he opened the door, a Backdraft blew open both of the doors, causing everyone to get thrown back. The force of the backdraft caused a portion of the ceiling to collapse, smoldering with fire and embers, cutting off Krukov and Anna from the rest of them. Krukov looked around nervously, still holding the unconcious girl, "Barney, Go! I'll find a way to get her out!" Krukov yelled, the coach hesitant, but ran with the rest of the team down the hall. Krukov kept his gun readied as he ran, trying to find a way out through the hopelessness of the situation. The Coach and the team were stuck at a dead end when they reached a doorway closed and burning, Just as they were ready to give up, The back end of The Destroyer smashed through the concrete, opening up revealing the seating inside it. ["Get In, Now!"] The Knight's voice commanded through the radio, they all huddling in the Destroyer, quickly climbing in from the advancing flames.

The Knight drove back out and away from the burning complex, driving around towards the Police, paramedics, and firemen, serving and opening The Destroyer's trunk towards them. As The Basket ball team climbed out, The Knight ejected from the Driver seat, landing by them and standing up, noticing a missing member. "You're missing one of your teammates" The Knight said, some of the girls on the verge of tears, "Knight, you've got to help us, The Security Guard we were with was cut off from us with a team member, Anna Lawson, please get them out!". The Knight nodded as he turned and pulling his grappling gun out, shooting and hoking onto the roof and being pulled off. The Knight stood on the roof, looking around he saw the smoke and embers on one portion, The Knight quickly ran and jumped, crashing through a weak portion of the roof.

Viktor Krukov continued to try to run through the now half burning halls of the North Western half of the school, shooting his pistol trying to clear some of the burning wooden slats blocking his way. Eventually seeing as he was trapped from 2 sides he stared down at Anna Lawson who he was carrying, she'd now just started to wake from her unconsciousness. "w...what's..happening" she said through her disorientation, "we're trapped, Sorry I couldn't save you child" Krukov said, looking around at the fire grimly. Before any of them could say anything else, The Knight crashed through the weak ceiling down infront of them, "Krukov", "'Bout damn time you get here, Knight boy" Krukov said jokingly. The Knight quickly took Anna from krukov, exchanging a hookshot device as he grappeled up. Krukov took a few seconds to inspect it, before shooting up and grappeling out of the burning building. The Knight looked around at the edge, trying to find a way to get the three of them down safely, Krukov also looked, seeing an open dumpster he saluted to The Knight, before stepping off and crashing down into the dumpster, the black plastic bags breaking his fall.

The Knight dropped down, using his cape he broke the fall majorly, settling down he headed back to the emergency workers with Krukov, The Coach immediately ran over to The Knight. "is she-?", "She's fine, for now, I'll need her to get to a Hospital", The Coach gave a slighty sigh as The Knight placed Anna down onto the stretcher. Both of them giving a quick nod to each other before the Paramedics loaded Lawson up into the Ambulance and drove off, The Knight stood next to The Destroyer, Krukov walking up and gazing at the Western wing which was now being doused by Firemen.

"Thanks for the help, comrade",
The Knight nodded in return "Just doing my Job Krukov",
Krukov took out the Hookshot "You have a fine skill at craftsmanship",
Krukov tried to hand the Hookshot back, but The Knight waved him off, "Keep it,call it a parting gift".
The Knight climbed back in The Destroyer, before he was able to drive off, Krukov walked up and said, "if you ever need my help, you've got it my friend". The Knight nodded, before The Destroyer's compartment door closed and drove off, away into The Night.