Defenders Revived!

FIVE YEARS AGO

Defenders Tower

Jack Kirby strode through the white hallway of the meeting room. His eyes swept across the room taking it in. Athena was the one who decided on the colosseum type roman aesthetics but the more Jack looked at it the more taken he was. It was a bit jarring at first with its golden accents and large hearths but it also gave off an open important air to it. The benches dotted around the room were filled with people heroes and civilian’s helper alike that talked among one another. It hadn’t taken Jack long to realize the room helped everyone feel more open and ultimately encouraged socialization.

To think he laughed when she said it!

As he walked by the heroes and civilians would stop to say hello. He did his best to keep a level head as they talked to him either heaping his praises or thanking him for the invite. He made sure to thank them all as well even the newcomers. The temptation to go overboard with the praises were always there… but so was the burns on his pack that kept him level headed.

He reached the war room a circular glass room in the center of the tower. The doors slid open silently as he approached entering and noting Avery was already there. He opened his mouth as he walked in ready to ask her for the latest reports….

BOOM

Jack was falling crashing through glass as explosions rocked Defenders tower. He hit the ground and slid banging against one of the pillars as he struggled to reach his chest. His slapping hands finally found the index and with a flash Jack was gone! Replaced by Mighty Man!

He slammed his hand down digging into the ground like it was mere putty. He stopped with a jerk and rose his now hulking body rippling with muscles. His pointed chin bobbed as he looked around his reptilian eyes taking in the damage. All around him heroes were moving either to assess the damage and get the civilians out.

“That’s it everyone!” He said in a large booming voice as he puffed out his chest “Protect the civilians while I deal with this fiendish foe!”

He leapt forward jumping through the smoke and debris. He scanned for the source of the attack in between holding up pillars and letting people go through. Anything in his way was pushed aside easily via Mighty Mans mighty strength. Eventually he made it back to the war room sighing in relief when he didn’t see Avery’s body. There was a large hole on the far end of the room revealing the outside and New York City.

“Syndicate” He hissed noting the high-tech choppers outside bearing the green syndicate logo. They were currently firing on the tower a constant steam of missiles that was slowly destroying the tower itself.

“Not today!” Mighty Man growled launching himself forward. He tried to leap out of the hole intent on destroying the helicopter with his bare hands…

“I think not!”

Mighty Man hissed as something wrapped around his leg. Immediately his body was racked with a searing burning pain. The lead around his leg tugged and he was pulled back into the room. A figure stepped out of the darkness his long tongue wrapped around his jagged teeth as the tentacle attached to Mighty Mans ankle slid back into his tar like body.

“Poison!” Mighty Man bellowed puffing his chest out once more “Aren’t you tired of me kicking your tar like ass!”

Poison growled in response and leapt at Mighty Man. His hands formed into claws as he pounced intent on ripping Mighty Man to shreds. Mighty Man reached out grasping a pillar that fell and swinging it like a baseball bat. With a sharp CRACK it connected sending the monster into a wall and causing it to crack. The tower shook again as the helicopters kept firing reminding Mighty Man where the true fight was.

“Stay down” Mighty Man bellowed moving back to the hole in the tower “You never could best me Poison”

“Not trying to best you” Poison called out coughing as he pushed himself out of the indent on the wall “Just trying to run down the time”

Mighty Man stumbled clutching his chest as the index glowed red hot. In all his haste he forgot the time limit on the index! It was a rookie move one only made because of a worry and fear for everyone in the tower. He dropped to his knees and Mighty Man shrunk his body morphing into that of Jack Kirby once more.

“Come here Jackie!” Poison shouted laughing as he shot out another tentacle. Jack rolled to the left missing it by inches as his eyes searched for a weapon.

“Who ordered the attack on the tower?” Jack shouted as another large explosion rocked the tower. He felt it begin to pitch and ran moving back towards the war room.

“Who else?” Poison asked chuckling. Jack could hear him moving slowly stalking him and taking his time. Jack smiled in pleasure his mind quickly forming a plan as he moved into the tattered command and control center. He grunted and moved one of the tabled finding the emergency hatch and trying to force it open.
“He won’t stop until the entire world is bent to his will” Poison taunted moving into the War Room “And you and your little band of “heroes” are the last ones standing”

Jack finally wrested the hatch open. His fingers dived into the space pulling out the weapon hidden within.

“Tell your master you talk too much!” Jack growled standing up and hefting the heavy sonic canon. With a whirl it activated letting out a high pitched sonic blast that slammed into the creature. The effect was instantaneous Poison fell to his knees shrieking in pain as his tar like skin bubbled and popped.

Jack ran once again towards the hole. His fingers slapped at his chest trying in vain to activate the index. He reached the edge and stopped short his eyes growing wide as he took in the damage. Civilians poured out of the tower guided by heroes who were attempting to get everyone out. Several powerhouses were doing battle with the copters and the syndicates deadly cabal of villains. He watched with growing sadness as the super structure of the tower began to reveal itself glowing red hot as it cracked.

The tower shuddered and finally began to fall. Jack stumbled back as it began its descent towards the bay below. The floor became steeper and steeper as he tried to make his way to one of the many emergency exits. He was halfway there when he slipped beginning to slide down the slope as the tower plummeted down. It hit the water and a wave rushed at him slamming into him just as he hit the index one last final time…….

TWO DAYS LATER

“This just in!””

“Breaking news!”

“Shocking UN decision in wake of city terrorist attack!”

A woman stood at the front of the dock wearing a tasteful skirt and matching blouse. Her shocking red hair twisted and danced in the air as she regarded the camera her beautiful heart shaped face looked sad. Behind her lay the remains of defender’s tower nothing more than a jagged scar that still smoldered ever so slightly.

“It has been two days since the terrorist attack against the Defenders” She said her voice quivering ever so slightly “This is Victoria Valentine reporting live on the scene”

She cleared her throat and took a second before continuing.

“In light of the recent events and the loss of our heroes” She said her full pouty bottom lip quivering slightly “The U.N has put forth an unprecedented act. The Keane act that general Keane proposed will hereby outlaw and limit Super Hero involvement. From this day forward the only super heroes that will be allowed to remain active will be ones registered by the military or the Levingston corporation. Any other ones will be considered fraudulent and will be detained”

She paused turning back and looking at the tower before regarding the camera. Fear flashed through her baby blue eyes for a second before she cleared her throat.

“This is a sad day for the world” She said speaking quickly “The syndicate has toppled the defenders! Our Golden Age of heroes has ended. Any hero still alive ru-“

The feed cut before she could finish

Jack Kirby

He awoke gasping and pushing himself out of the small cot he was sleeping in. Sweat beaded his forehead and his chest as he gasped his heart racing as the memories of the wave hitting him resurfaced. His eyes unfocused and blurry with sleep swept around the room trying to find something to grab onto as he relived the second worst moment in his life. Eventually he began to calm down realizing where he was and the situation that he was imagining was already over.
He sighed and slumped back against the bed. He looked up at the faded brick ceiling watching condensation form and drip inches from his bed. This is what it came to? From the glittering tower of modern technology to a damp depressing underground bolt hole. The whole world thought he was dead as well had thought so for five whole years. Even though he knew it was for a reason that thought still brought a bought of pain to his chest.

With a sigh he rolled off of the cot. His feet hit the bare cold concrete floor and he hissed. He rose out of the cot and padded toward the bathroom. He grabbed the chain above and pulled down on it turning the naked bulb on and wincing as it flickered. He moved over to the cracked dirty mirror and frowned groaning at his unkempt hair and scraggly facial hair.

“I used to be something” He said his eyes flickering down to the index which still pulsated in his chest. He resisted the urge to touch it instead taking care of his business and splashing cold water on his face. Once he felt slightly more awake he stepped out pausing long enough to grab his shirt and shrugging it over his torso. He walked over to the metal steps leading out of the basement and paused long enough to lace up his shoes before continuing up.

The club was silent and dark closed as it prepared for the following night. The name of the club Tartarus hung above as well as several choice decorations that made him blush. The men and women servicing the club paid him no mind having already been told not to say anything or comment on how much he looked like a currently wanted terrorist.

It was funny how everyone knew he was dead but his enemies.

“Is your boss in?” He asked going over to one of the bartenders. She didn’t bother to speak but instead jerked her thumb pointing up the staircases and towards the VIP section in the top. Jack murmured thanks and walked up not bothering to knock on the door as he let himself into see her. He paused just long enough to pull his hair back and at least fix his shirt before he went to see the woman who owned the club and shared a….. complicated relationship with.

(Former) Commander Arianne Du Pointe

The truck bounced jostling her ever so slightly as it moved across the dirt packed road. A pair of beautiful almond shaped eyes hidden behind a pair of aviators would every so often flicker down checking and rechecking the GPS attached to her dash. A pair of sturdy heeled boots pressed down on the accelerator pushing the truck forward as she got closer and closer to her destination. Her full and pouty lips were pursed as she did her best to keep the rental truck under control.
She almost thought her intel was wrong when a house appeared on the horizon. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she urged the car faster. Now that she saw her target she was over eager to get there. Every favor she had, every last cent of her money was spent getting here.

If she couldn’t help her then no one could.

She moved further up the road before parking. Dust kicked up as the four by four tires dug into the Australian soil. She opened the door and stepped out her long-toned legs showcased in a pair of tight fitting short shorts. The darker skin beaded with sweat as she moved away evidence of the Australian heat. She shrugged her long black hair using the hair tie on her wrist to contain it in a loose ponytail as she studied the house. Her manicured hands came down to her simple white spaghetti top bunching it up and slipping it into a tie as she focused on what she was going to say.

After a while of standing there she decided to move. She no doubt saw her by know and there was no need to pretend otherwise. She moved to the front of the house making sure to give off as much of “I’m here in peace” vibe as she possibly could. She moved up the steps and finally knocked pulling her aviators off and trying to look respectable as she waited for the one time hero known as Siren to answer.

It was a dry, still, hot kind of day. The perfect day for flying. Up above the crisply dried green-grey grass and the sparse copse of eucalypt trees, a graceful winged figure danced through the air. On majestic white wings she bounced from thermal to thermal, using the air around her to make this a slow and lazy flight. She barely needed to flap her wings at all on days like this. With the cooler air at higher altitudes sweeping over her it was a reprieve from the heat of the ground. Avery was spiraling through the air, whitish-grey wings tucking and spreading as she dropped and climbed in a graceful trek, when she noticed the vehicle on the horizon. A large plume of dust billowed behind it as it sped across the dirt road.


Avery ignored it at first. Flying further away from her modest home, she flew over a billabong, swooping down low and laughing as she sent a flock of cockatoos skyward. She did a barrel roll before shooting straight upwards, feeling the g forces pulling at her body, trying to drag her down. She loved the feeling, the weight, but most of all she loved when she stopped flapping her wings furiously. That moment of pure indecisive weightlessness as gravity realised she belonged to it now, that millisecond before it claimed her and she was once more at its eternal mercy.

And then she was falling. Avery's long crimson hair streamed behind her as she tucked her wings into her back and turned, watching the ground rising to meet her faster and faster. It was exhilarating, freeing. Well, it would have been if she hadn't noticed that car turn off the road and into her bumpy drive way. Avery's wings snapped out a moment before she would have hit the ground and she whooped with joy. She flew level to the ground, fingertips reaching out to ruffle the brittle grass as she turned and made for home to see who it was that had decided to interrupt her little piece of paradise.

Avery flew low as she approached her house, already seeing that the driver had parked their vehicle and gotten out. From this distance Avery could see the sticker on the back window of the truck that announced it as a hire car. When she looked up she noticed the person who had gotten out of the truck was a woman. Covered in a fine sheen of sweat due to the heat, and wearing shorts and singlet top. She had lovely black hair which she tied into a loose ponytail. She was making her landing approach from behind, so she didn't have enough information to know who this woman was, only that she seemed very purposeful in her approach. Avery saw the woman steel herself, walk up to the front door, and knock and announce that she came in peace.

"I certainly hope you did, otherwise it is a long and dusty drive just to pick a fight with someone," Avery called out as she sailed in, her wings tucked as she dove towards the woman. At the last moment her wings flared out and she beat them hard- once, twice, three times- until her momentum stalled and she dropped gracefully onto her bare feet right in front of the woman. She was a good few inches taller than the woman, but no less curvaceous. She was dressed in a cool pair of black linen shorts and a fitted sage green tshirt. "My name is Avery Varpulis, but if you drove all the way out here in that hire car you probably already know that. Who are you?" Avery asked, offering her hand out to shake the woman's. Her warm brown eyes were friendly, but with a telltale hint of wariness.

Arianne all but jumped out of her skin when the woman landed behind her. She turned quickly doing a military regulation about face with the heel of her boot. Her hands began to raise as she moved to defend herself biting softly on her full bottom lip. A half second later she relaxed taking her in and sighing in relief.

“Uh yes” She said blushing a bit as she took her hand. Wow she had soft fingers! And she looked even prettier than the last photo of her in costume! Her eyes lingered for a few seconds on her form before finally releasing her hand and stepping back.

“I came a long way to find you” She said glancing around “It’s important I talk to you in private… I think you might be the only person who can help me. I still remember the old days the time you spend on the defenders fighting the syndicate. I need some information on them or possibly some help. They betrayed me and my entire family”

She felt her self-beginning to get worked up and took a deep shaky breath. She didn’t like not being in control. Usually she was the one in command letting people know what was happening or giving orders. Asking for help wasn’t being weak in her opinion but it was something she wasn’t used to.

“Please?” She said batting her eyelashes at her.

The woman was rather beautiful. Her silky black hair shimmered a she took Avery's hand to shake it. She held it there for a slight longer than most, but Avery could sense nothing with those reflective aviators covering the woman's eyes.

As soon as she mentioned the Syndicate Avery visible stiffened. Her warm eyes turned wary as she let the woman speak. She looked around, an old habit despite the fact that they were undoubtedly alone out here. Avery's bow shaped lips tugged into a frown as she flicked her crimson braid over her shoulder.

"Come inside," she said, stepping past the girl and pushing open her front door, revealing that it had been unlocked this whole time. "We shouldn't talk about those things in the open."

Avery held the door open until the woman entered her home. The first room they walked into was an open plan living and dining area. To the rear it joined with a clean, fair sized kitchen, the back wall of which was home to a large glass sliding door. On the other side of the lounge area was a short hallway that led to the bathroom and to bedrooms. The whole place was neat and tidy, the furniture made of rich timbers, giving it a warm and homey feeling.

Avery walled through the dining area, beckoning for the woman to follow. She went straight to the kettle that sat on the island bench and switched it on, her wings tucked neatly behind her back as she navigated the furniture.

"So, what is your name, and what sort of information do you think I have that could possibly help you?" Avery asked, leaning back against the bench, wings glaring slightly as she did, her arms folding under her generous breasts.

She watched as the avian based hero reacted to the name. She only knew what everyone else knew about that final battle which was nothing more than rumors. She still remembered seeing it on the television the claim that the Defenders were nothing more than a terrorist organization and was the cause of the destruction the syndicate brought. She remembered that each side was equally painted in a bad light and that the government was going to take care of them both. The Keane act was rushed… and people like her were stupid enough to buy into it.
How little she knew back then.

Because know she knew the truth. The syndicate didn’t mind being the “bad guys” because there were so many sides to them. Their level of corruption reached all the way to the white house and beyond! They were using nations military to train their soldiers!

Her hands shook in anger as Siren led her inside. She struggled to calm herself as she took off her glasses revealing beautiful eyes burning with suppressed rage. It was a struggle but she tried to get herself under control not wanting to freak Siren out or come off as a hot head.

“My name is Arianne Ma’am” She said coming over and sitting down. She crossed her long legs and leaned back pushing out her chest and sighing as she regarded the other woman.

“I used to be a marine believe it or not” She said her manicured fingers playing with her aviators “I am not… enhanced like you and the others. I believed in serving and trust above everything else I was proud of my ability to protect my country…. But it’s all a lie. I discovered the American military particular the marines are being used as a training ground for syndicates frontline troops. I tried to tell someone and am now running from my life. Something needs to be done about this. The rest of the world is to blind to see it”

If Avery was surprised by the news that the Syndicste was using the American military to train its soldiers she didn't look it. She just nodded, leaving her arms folded under her breasts. She looked into Arianne's pretty eyes and could see the simmering anger there... And there waa also pain. It made Avery's heart ache, but there was little she could do about it. Avery wondered if the woman had brought her followers to her door, but she brushed it off. It was too late to change anything now.

"Unfortunately there are a great many things the Syndicate is doing that the world should do something about. Unfortunately there is little I can do to effect the decisions of the American military. I don't even have any sway over the Australian one," Avery said with an apologetic shrug. "But the people who are following you... Who are they? That, potentially, is something I could help with." Indeed, Avery no longer had the Defenders to help fight large injustices, but she knew of some underground routes that could see Arianne to safety.

When she talked about hiding her Arianne shook her head. Her long waves shook back and forth as her eyes burned with resolve and indignation.

"With respect Ma'am" She said leaning forward her shirt dipping low on her chest "I don't want to run!"

She stood and rose pacing. Her ass popping up and down as she contemplated what to say. After spending the whole trip thinking over what she did want to do she was unsure how to voice it.

"I heard a rumor" She finally said turning to her and moving over to sit on the coffee table in front of her "I heard a rumor that your old commander is alive! That he didn't die when the tower fell... I cant confirm it but syndicate has people looking everywhere for him! I was thinking we could go find him and reform the defenders. I may not have powers but I stole experimental tech from Syndicate. tech that gives me powers of sorts. I want to help.... I want to fight!"

Avery watched as Arianne stood up and stated pacing. She spoke with the enthusiasm of someone who had spent a long while thinking through their idea. And her idea- Avery's hands clenched beneath her folded arms. Save for the existence of the Syndicate, the disbandment was one of the greatest atrocities of the century. They had worked so hard, given so much, lost so much, and then they were declared-

Avery gritted her teeth. No. She couldn't go down that road. Not now.

"The Commander is gone," Avery confirmed. Arianne would probably notice that she didn't say dead. Because Avery refused to believe it. He had disappeared, gone, run underground. But a man like that didn't die so easily. Or so she believed. She had to. All of the Defenders, in some way, had let part of them die when that Tower collapsed. Avery was one of the very few who had remained in the public eye for any amount of time, thanks to the support of the Australian government.

"Most of the Defenders are too. We tried... Tried so damn hard to stop them. We gave everything only to have them snatch it away right when we almost-" Avery stopped, shaking her head. "Look, I know you want to fight, but fighting the Syndicate now would be like fighting your own shadow. It is everywhere, ever changing, constantly on your heels..."

Just then the kettle started it's high pitched squeal. Avery jumped up, looking back at the pretty woman.

"Coffee? Tea? Water? Something to eat? It's a long drive to get out here," Avery said, walking around the island bench and into the kitchen

Raven

"You look like shit, Jack." Welcomed him to her dark recessed corner. Within the VIP, was her own private little curved booth flanked by heavy drape and room to move, to.. do other things. Her smile was always .. ninety degrees of fucked up wicked and she gave him a thorough once over before sliding back into the curving cushion and patted the seat next to her.

"You planning on holing up here awhile?" A casual question, considering he was camping out in her catacomb basement that was barely fit for rats to live. Why a hero would hide out, in her hell hole of all places was questionable at best. Worse was he was cramping her damned operation. "You could spend a few nights in the penthouse you know." Her place, high atop a city center high rise was not much of a 'hide out' but it sure as hell smelled better than he did right now.

Hell, would anyone recognize him in this state of.. casual scruff. Why she wanted this man of all men to crave, escaped her reasoning. Something dangerous about messing with him, but hell if should could figure that out either. Fucking details.. If she had a heart any more, she would say it wanted Jack but even that wasn't quite the whole truth. Truth was something best left to the other guys, exposing weakness with truths? Not a good gamble in her line of business. The less they knew, the more they thought they knew, the more unstable one became in your enemy's mind. The less predictable, the better. Her and Jack? Made NO sense, but she sure as hell enjoyed their push and pull.

"You can't play dead forever, ya know?" She sat back, a drink in hand. Mere water on ice, but one never knew what it was exactly. She's tossed her drink in someone's face before that ate their eyes out.. Other times, it was merely Vodka. Today, right now.. Mere water. Sipping, she put glass and tablet aside to dismiss work and give her part time lover slash enemy her undivided attention.

Alexis strained her ears to listen as the other dispatcher repeated the address that the woman on the phone had just given her. It wasn't far. The police would probably be there in only about fifteen minutes...though by the sounds of it that might just be fifteen minutes too late.

She could make it there in two if she flew.

Grabbing her purse and the black hoodie that she'd had draped over the back of her chair, she quickly made her way out of the police station and into the dark back alley behind it. With a quick look to make sure no one was around she quickly pulled the hoodie on and zipped it up, pulling the hood down low to conceal her face and long red hair that was currently pulled back in a ponytail and then bolted straight up into the sky and in the direction of the address that the caller had given. The red jumpsuit that she used to wear in her Defenders days had officially been retired. These days she had to keep a low profile.

She had just been wrapping up her shift at the police station where she worked as a 911 call taker when the dispatcher sitting next to her had suddenly gotten a call from a frantic woman reporting that she'd just gotten out of the shower when she heard someone breaking into her apartment. Not knowing what else to do the woman had locked herself in her bathroom, but now she was trapped inside a room with no windows and no means of escape.

Swooping lower in the sky for a moment, she stashed her purse on a rooftop a couple of blocks away from the woman's address before landing on the roof of the lady's building and hurrying inside and down the stairs to the floor she'd told the dispatcher over the phone. She froze when she got there.

The woman's door was ajar.

She swore softly to herself as she realized that the crook was already inside.

Rushing over to the door she was just about to enter when she realized she could hear not one, but two male voices inside.

"I'm going to go see if she's got any jewelry in the bedroom, you take care of her!" one of them ordered.

"Right... Hey there lady, room in there for two?" the other said, taunting the woman as she could hear him begin to break in the bathroom door.

She'd had enough.

"Leave her alone!," she demanded as she barged in guns blazing so to speak, her hands igniting into a fiery blaze at her sides.

Jack Kirby

A.K.A

Infinity Man

He moved over to her grunting at her welcome. His eyes flickered over her body taking it all in as those old flames of arousal smoldered. He tried his best to ignore it as he moved to her offered seat sliding in and advertising his eyes which threatened to shamelessly eye fuck her.

Theirs was an old romance. One born out of equal parts passion and annoyance. She was the original bad girl to him the one who tempted him in ways he didn’t even know he COULD be tempted. Their “romance” was decades old yet somehow the heat was still there. He supposed it was because they never made anything official never played house together. Sometimes he wanted to….
Other times he didn’t.

She asked if he was going to be here a while and he made a MM sound in response. The offer of the penthouse perked him up but he wasn’t sure what to say. He knew what staying with her would amount to and even though it made his cock throbbed his discouraged heart rebelled against the idea.

“Five years” He said growling it out finally speaking “Five fucking years of taking the fight to the Syndicate and working from the shadows. Five years of being dead to the world living off of nothing but what I can steal barter or take. I used to be a hero damnit”

He shook his head and tipped it back. He took a deep breath and sighed knowing he was whining.

She didn’t like whining.

“Somethings got to change” He murmured more to himself than her “I’m not getting anywhere…. Not on my own at least”
……………………………………………………….
Martin

A.K.A

Cold Heart

As she rocketed past a figure stepped out of the shadows of an alleyway. The hoodie and dark clothing he wore did little to hide his hulking frame. The figure craned his neck up to the sky showing just a hint of what looked like a chin made of ice.

“Finally” He said his voice a heavy accent of Russian. His eyes tracked her and the direction she was going in before he moved pumping his arms as he gave chase. She was easy to follow now leaving behind a small trail of fire that snaked and turned with her. He noticed people looking up at the sky but ultimately turning away to wrapped up in their own lives to give it to much mind. That was of course fine by him as that same lack of situational awareness allowed his simple hoodie disguise to work.

Without their ignorance, he wouldn’t get very far.

He turned a corner and froze. She was gone! Disappeared! Furiously he began to pull at his own hoodie intent on getting up to the roof tops as soon as he could and finding her. The hoodie was halfway over his ice blue muscular chest when he finally saw her jumping from one roof to another before disappearing.

He paused waiting a few seconds to see if she would come out. Once she didn’t he started moving again tearing off his hoodie and tossing it to the side. People on the street gasped and fell back as he moved towards what looked like a residential apartment complex. Their eyes took in his ice encrusted body and the large menacing looking gun strapped to his back and gave him a wide birth. He ignored them moving through the door quickly and bounding up the staircase.
He used his senses to find her. If her powers were active then the heat would react to his own ice. Sure enough he was halfway up when he felt it.

The heat.

There was a door ajar and he moved towards it. He paused at the threshold closing his eyes and listening out. Seconds later he heard her voice as well as what sounded like three men reacting to her. He shouldered the gun off of his body and placed his hands on the trigger letting his powers charge it up as he waited to make his move.

He shoulder charged the door forcing it open. He watched the men turn and react to him and he brought the gun up letting loose a long stream of ice cold power. His beam hit the handguns freezing them and their hands as the men screamed.

“That’s enough” He said moving forward. His eyes flickered to the woman crouched in the corner and he growled anger rising inside of him as he thought of his mother back home.

He detested bullies who prayed on women.

“We should go” He said to her eyeing the men “The police they will be here soon no?”

Chao

The dark haired young man strolled through the dark city streets, his eyes glancing at the growing shadows around him. He didn't like the city, there were too many people, people who might recognise him. He looked at the names of seedy clubs and bars, looking for one in particular. A homeless man he had talked with a few weeks earlier had called it "Tartarus". The name interested Chao, since naming a club after hell might be bad for business. Still, if what he had heard was right, then the owner might be the only person alive that could help him now.

He found it easily enough, the glowing sign visible from anywhere on the street on which it was located. He walked up to the door, noticing that it was closed. He knocked on the door and a huge, burly bouncer appeared, opening the door just enough to tell him to get lost. In response, Chao pulled up the sleave on his right arm, showing him the Heart of Gaia.

The bouncer was shocked, his bushy eyebrows raising, before he quickly opened the door and let Chao in. He followed the bouncer inside, knowing for certain now that this was the place he was looking for. Either that or it was run by someone who would gladly kill him and take the Heart for themselves. The bouncer talked in hushed tones with a bartender, who glanced in Chaos direction.

"I'm sorry, but the manager is busy at the moment," she said.

"No problem," he said, "I'll just have a seat while I wait."

He walked over to a booth in the corner of the main room, sitting and watching the door labelled VIP with half open eyes. He didn't mind waiting; after all, he had been waiting for the last eight years.

Raven

“Five years” He said growling it out finally speaking “Five fucking years of taking the fight to the Syndicate and working from the shadows. Five years of being dead to the world living off of nothing but what I can steal barter or take. I used to be a hero damnit” He was whining, and he knew how she hated that weak bullshit. However, she knew him well enough that he would hem and haw at something until he wore his teeth away, going no where, doing nothing.. except this lazy ass existence.

“Somethings got to change” He murmured more to himself than her “I’m not getting anywhere…. Not on my own at least” Poor baby.. She rolled her eyes and sat forward.

"While you've been sleeping in all day, drinking all night and sticking your penis in anything willing, the world is going to shit. Then you sit here and whine at me first thing in the damn morning?" granted it were actually midday, but it was her morning. Besides, he needed prodding.

"You let one building collapse defeat ya, Jack. Thought you had more balls than that, but here you sit.. Five years later." Her tone sing-songy and insulting and she knew it.. didn't really give a shit though. "You done, babe?" She asked with complete airs of boredom, a brow lift as she eyed him with her question, a bored expression clearly on her face, in her tone. She sat back, dismissing him.. Or so it seemed, picking up her tablet as it lit up. Tapping a screen she got a clear view of someone seated out there, waiting on her.

"Old ladies don't even walk to the corner store any more. Orphanages are breeding grounds for diseased minds and you do not want to know about the bank robberies, illegal smuggling, guns, murders.." She lift her head a moment, eyes to the ceiling as she thought over that percentage rate. "It's up, what is it now? sixty-five? Seventy-five percent?" Eyes leaving the painted mural ceiling, she tapped her tablet out once more and sat forward enough to rub her hand down his tense back, "You do what you gotta do.. You always do, right?"

She had just as much invested in legal money as she had in illegal. In this day and age, since the good guys went underground, she managed to buy quite a bit up all along the eastern seaboard. Why? Because it were all hellish and shit neighborhoods now, ran by the scum of that particular region. "A few more weeks, you know I could use a new bartender?" She taunted him a bit with that one, and knew it but really! This moping was getting tiresome. She missed the whole good guy / bad girl fuck fests and his 'internal struggle' over banging her or not. This was NOT the Jack she knew at all.

"I heard your Infinity suit is in a box in the back room." Which wasn't a lie but not entirely true. Scavengers had managed to get much out of the rubble of the old Defender's tower. He knew where it was too, he just hadn't bothered going in there since the collapse.

"Human beings are assholes. Selfish assholes with opinions that stink, one and all. But what do I know? I'm just a bar owner.." Her foot moved to push the toe of her boot to his butt, pressing him a bit forward as if to push him off her furniture. "Right?" She let him muse to himself for a good five minutes in all this talking! Times up!

"Know this guy?" She asked as she handed him over her tablet to see the main room security cameras. "Just came in here asking around." Something needed to get Jack out of this funk and if running around in leotards, punching shit in the face did it, then FINE! Just get off the fucking couch already! "You gaining weight?" She asked then, another jab but she smiled so sweetly at him, leaning forward to kiss his mouth before he could let into her for her snide comments.

He didn’t say anything as she tore into him partly because he didn’t have the strength and partly because she was right. Every jab and insult she directed at him had some merit. Was he performing to the best of his abilities? No! Was he doing anything about the growing crime that syndicate was causing? No! Was he acting like a sad sack of shit?

Hell yes!

So he sat there letting her words wash over him. Of course, a part of him wanted to retort, remind her he hadn’t just been doing NOTHING. He still operated as best he could but she knew he would call him out on that to! Ask him if he really thought he was doing his “best”.

And again he wouldn’t like the answer.

She nudged him off the couch talking about his old suit. His eyes flitted over to her interest there even though he didn’t want there to be. Did she already tell him that? If so he couldn’t remember or was intentionally blocking it out. Now that he was contemplating it however the pull was there.

The pull to be that hero again.

Of course before he could give it to much thought she was pulling his attention to something else. He looked down at the tablet trying to see if he knew the young man waiting. Nothing struck out to him but there was the unmistakable air of someone on the run….

Someone with powers.

“I got this” He said leaning in to give her another kiss that ended with his tongue in her mouth. He rose and moved to the door opening it and leaving her as he moved to meet the young man. He walked over to the table and sat down eyeing him.

“Interesting arm band you got there” He remarked sitting down “The heart of Gaia isn’t it? I heard a rumor Syndicate was hunting some man wielding it. You may not know me but my name is Jack, Jack Kirby”

Chao

Chao appraised the man who had excited the VIP room. He looked awful, like some of the homeless people that Chao had met over the years. Still, he could see by the way he walked and the way he scanned the room that he was a fighter, a hero. By the time he had sat down and introduced himself, Chao had already guessed who he was.

"I know who you are Infinity Man. Even in China we heard of your exploits. And your fall," Chao said in perfect English, though he had a very thick accent. He waited a few seconds before continuing, "You look even worse than me."

He expected to receive some kind of response. A retort, or a punch to the face. Even a nod in agreement would have sufficed. Instead, Jack just looked at his feet.

"Honestly, I didn't come here looking for you or even expecting to meet you. Still, you might be able to help me," Chao sighed, feeling something approaching hope. "I've tried escaping the Syndicate, I've tried running. I had come here looking for one last chance to disappear. But if you're still alive, then maybe the best chance is to fight. Not a good chance, but it's better than hiding in ditches and hiding from everyone around me for the rest of my life."

The Darkness

'Five years already,' Sean Archer thought to himself as he watched the TV. Hitting up the local dive for happy hour he had been sipping on cheap beer and watching the news for the past hour. Goverment in turmoil, the latest local murder, the Chicago Bears' latest loss, nothing really new. None of it really captured Sean's attention until they started a piece on the supervillain terrorist attack five felt years ago. Consisting of archive footage and local interviews a flood of memories hit the former hero.

He fondly remembered his time patrolling the streets. He couldn't fly or take on wannabe world conquerors. Heck, he wasn't even sure the Defenders knew who he was. But taking down local criminals had given him an indescribable rush. The local news had even given him a name, The Darkness. But as soon as the Defenders fell he knew he was on borrowed time. The government was on the warpath and he knew he couldn't do it for much longer. So without much fanfare he retired and went back to his boring, ordinary life.

"Didn't we have one of them?" the latina bartender asked Sean.

"One of what?" Sean replied, shocked out of his memories.

"Y'know, one of those superheroes. Dark Man? Dark Mask? Something like that," she continued.

"Yeah, something like that," Sean said with a bit of melancholy before downing the rest of his beer.

Jack Kirby

Jack starred at him for several minutes before laughing. He tipped his head back and chuckled his chest rumbling as he got a good laugh out of the young mans words. After a while he stopped shaking his head and looking at the young man. He tried to remember a time when he was that idealistic but failed.
“I don’t think you ever wanted to run” He told him gesturing to bring them two beers and shaking his head “No one wants to fight that easily”

The beers came and he grabbed one tipping it as a silent thank you to Raven upstairs. He turned and regarded the man searching his face for several minutes before leaning back and smiling.

“Look kid” He said scratching at his five o clock shadow “I haven’t been dead and sitting on my ass for five years. I have hit some places the syndicate operate at but there to massive to fight alone. The defenders would need to be reformed and… well a lot of us our dead or retired. There’s the whole needing a base and network thing that we don’t really have access to”

He let that sink in before continuing.

“But you got will and I like that” He remarked draining his beer in one smooth gulp “And my girl just gave me a good ass kicking so I am in a let’s do shit mood. I am going to talk to our host and see if she could be of help”

He stood and gave the man a pat on his shoulders before turning back to the VIP room.

“What do you say babe?” Jack called raising an eyebrow “How much is it going to cost me for you to put the word out?”

Commander Stone

She asked if she wanted a drink reminding Arianne of the long drive out here. If only knew just how long her journey had been so far! Ever since she found out and was discharged she was on the run dodging the syndicate and their assassins. The ones who she trained were now being sent after her forcing her to kill them or be killed.

Fellow marines… brothers and sisters she trained with. Killed by her own hand. A shudder ran across her golden shoulders as she nodded taking a hard swallow and watching her as she got up.

She forced herself to focus on the present and the mission. She was here to recruit her and she wasn’t leaving without her help! Arianne repeated that to herself as she squared her shoulders forcing herself to calm down.
“I understand” She called out rising out of the couch and moving to the door “I understand how hard you tried. You all did.”

She paused at the threshold watching her work.

“Since you guys have left the Syndicate have taken over” Arianne said clearing her throat “Sure everything looks fine on the surface but that’s what they want. Russian and their take over is just the beginning. They were training us for something big. I don’t know how many of you are left but the defenders need to come together again. We need to find your old commander”

Raven

She had NO qualms at all on eaves-dropping on Jack and the stranger, her camera on the pair the entire duration of their brief conversation. Sound cranked, she sat there sipping her water and listening in.

The Heart of Gaia?

She heard of that, some where.. Some point in time but hell if she could recall what exactly. It's significance was completely missed by Raven but she made note to do some research and figure it out.. Eventually. Right now she had a charged super-hero standing before her, asking a favor.

"Depends. If you're going to shave that mug of yours or not." She lift her phone up, saluting the man with a cocky little grin. The guy downstairs didn't seem at all interested in using her underground connections, not with that perk up at the chance to fight something. Men.. So violent and blood thirsty! It brought a smile to her face, more so to see Jack with some sort of energy back in his step and in his handsome face.

"You shave, I will leak it out that I 'may or may not' have heard of Infinity seeking retribution right here in New York City.. Have people looking to the streets and skies once more, eh? I may even know of a few places in this hell hole you can set up your little leotard brigade.." Never one to miss a chance to rub him, in a good or bad way.. She grin up at him, "Who's the kid?"

Avery pulled down two glasses and filled them with water from the fridge, then rifled through the pantry foe some biscuits.

"I know that the Syndicate is still active. I would be a fool to think otherwise. But reforming the Defenders? Legally speaking, we are still outlawed. And even if the Commander is still alive, he clearly doesn't want to be found. Most of us don't," Avery said. She looked over at Ariane, crossing her arms ans leaning against the side of the counter.

"Look, it was a long drive out here and you clearly need a rest. It is already getting dark outside, and these roads are no good at night, even for locals. Why don't you stay the night- I have a spare room- and you can tell me a bit more of your story."

It wasn't a no, not really, but it was clear that Avery would need more convincing if she was to leave her quiet life behind.

Alexis realized a little too late that she maybe should have assessed the situation a little better before barging into the apartment. Turned out that there had actually been three intruders in the apartment, not two like she’d thought, all of them were armed, and the one that she’d heard breaking down the bathroom door where the woman had been hiding had just managed to bust through. Meaning she had an innocent civilian that she had to look out for now as well.

A lot of times a little bit of a fire show, like what she’d just done with her hands, was enough to scare your typical mugger or burglar off, but not so with these guys. Oh sure they were certainly shocked by it, but instead of trying to run for it like she had hoped all three of them trained their guns on her instead. If she went full flame mode she knew any bullets they fired would just pass right through her, but she couldn’t very well do that now without completely torching all of her clothing in the process and she wasn’t sure how she was going to explain to her boss why she needed a new uniform…again. There was also the lady’s apartment to consider. She was quickly trying to form a plan inside of her mind on how to take the guys out without causing too much damage to the place when…

BANG!

A giant tank of a man suddenly came barreling into the room, forcing his way through the doorway. What was even more surprising though than his size and the gun he held however was the fact that his body seemed to be entirely made of ice! Or was the ice just covering his whole body? It was kind of hard to tell. She’d dogged back away from him on impulse, not sure if he was friend or foe, when he’d taken his gun and fired it at the three burglars, freezing their guns and their hands in ice and immobilizing them.

Ok, so he was a friend it seemed…though you never could be too certain these days.

“We should go” He said to her eyeing the men “The police they will be here soon no?”

“Right,” she agreed with a nod, “Follow me.”

Not waiting to see if he was following her she began to race up the stairwell of the apartment and back towards the rooftop where she’d come in. She didn’t want to risk trying to make a getaway on the streets with all of the civilians that would be walking and driving by. With his icy body and large size he was WAY to conspicuous.

“How good of a jumper are you?” she called back to him over her shoulder.

He obviously had superpowers like herself, but having just met him she wasn’t sure of his abilities and she knew the odds that he had the power of flight like her were pretty slim.

The Functioning Alcoholic

.....

Chao

Chao didn't like beer. The bitter taste had never appealed to him in the slightest. However, he was also never one to turn away a free drink, so he sipped his drink while he waited.

He had to admit, Jack Kirby wasn't anything like he expected. He remembered reading newspapers in China, detailing his battles against the Syndicate. He was someone that the younger Chao had looked up to. Then suddenly everyone was saying that the Defenders were the bad guys and the people hunting Chao seemed to double their efforts.

He understood what Jack meant, though. Chao had tried fighting once, too. But there was only so much he could do by himself, especially when he was one of the most wanted people on the planet. Even if he had never been a part of the Defenders, the idea of reforming the group excited Chao. The only thing that left a bad taste in his mouth, apart from the beer, was the host that Jack seemed to be relying on.

But then, Chao was willing to come to her for help too, so he couldn't really talk. Instead, he just finished his beer.