A Danger Comes to New York!

The video feed sprang to life barely illuminating the dirty backroom of probably some abandon warehouse. The view was partially blocked as a man in yellow fiddled with something just beyond the camera's view. He fiddled around for a few minutes before sighing in frustration.

"This place has only been abandoned for 3 years and all the wiring is rusted! I didn't even think it was possible for wires to rust, they have that colored rubber stuff on them...Well at least these ones probably did. That or the scavengers really are getting desperate..." The mysterious yellow figure scratched the back of his helmeted head. "Man, this city really has problems."

"Can I go now? I have work in 2 hrs and I need to get ready. I can't miss another shift." The female voice whined. Another sigh escaped the yellow man as he turned towards her. "Look here Rebecca, I've gone through a lot of trouble kidnapping you and trying you to that chair. The least you can do is wait a freaking minute. Not my fault this place isn't up to code."

Rebecca Chambers rolled her eyes. She really didn't have time for another kidnapping this month. Of all the people to kidnap, why her? She was after all just a reporter of one of many news stations. Was it because she was pretty? She'd like to think so but still the first few times were cute and exciting but this is getting ridiculous.

"Aha, I got it!" Flicking on a Zippo the room was illuminated by the pale yellow flame showing more or less the same dusty room that Rebecca and Dan was in. Dan set the lighter next to the camera and backed away standing next to the immobile reporter.

"Alright we are in business! Do I look good, is my hair ok? Wait..I have a helmet on. Sorry first time doing this...Anyways!" Dan crossed his arms and firmly planted his feet in front of him. Many a villain did this pose and was commonly known as "The Standoff". "Quake and despair heroes of New York for I, DANGER DAN! have committed the dangerous deed of kidnapping loved reporter Rebecca Chambers! For years the public has grown soft off the protection from their "heroes" but those days end. No longer will this be a safe world, no longer will the supermen of the world stop the destruction just beyond the door. Hiding will not safe you and running only delays your destruction. Send forth your greatest champions so that you can watch them fall under the devastation of DANGER DAN! MUAHAHAHAH-" "Uh Dan?" "HAHAHAH-" "Dan, the camera is on fire!" "Oh fuck!" The feed cuts off as Dan dives towards the camera.

Which heroes will answer the call and confront the most dangerous threat yet?

Gabe slept peacefully in the old abandoned warehouse in the still ruined part of New York he now called home. Given the circumstances, it was about as cozy of a place as he could manage. It was sheltered from the elements, off the radar from most other than the stray urban explorer and most importantly isolated. It had taken him some time to figure out out but eventually mapped out the disruption field around him to just around 100 feet, just large enough that being out in the general public was a real problem. But here, he could live in relative peace and quiet. If there was a bright side, the place was bigger than anything he or his family had ever been able to afford and he smirked whenever he thought of the place as his own private mansion. However today it seemed that quiet isolation was to be interrupted.

Gabe bolted up from from his mattress as the sound of human voice echoed through the hollow halls into his sensitive ears. It was pitch black in the conference room turned bedroom, but Gabe’s eyes pierced the blackness looking for any sign of movement. There was none. Silently like a cat he slinked off the mattress and slipped into a thick set of coveralls. His ears twitched erratically back and forth, honing in on the source of the sound as he scaled into the rafters above. First floor he thought, skittering his way through the wrecked ceilings.

It took only about a minute for him to reach the source of the noise. By that time, he could see the figure, a man in a hazmat suit struggling with a burning camera and his apparent captive Rebecca Chambers. Methodically he made his way across the open ceiling, his eyes glued not on the man but to the equipment he had set up, monitoring for the moment his field crossed over them and rendered them useless. Right on cue the screens went black and Gabe stealthily took a positions above the two.

With the grace of gymnast he swung down around the bar below him, dangling upside down by his feet. His ears made a faint flumph as they flipped ahead of him, hanging only about a foot above the man. Having some trouble? he spoke loudly with a smile, revealing himself. Pretty sure it’s not supposed to be doing that.

The Heroes hadn't even arrived yet and Dan was already dealing with his first threat to unravel his DANGEROUS DEED! If he didn't act fast and precise his plan would be over before it even begun. Truly he underestimated all that was good. How could he of possibly have known that the cheap plastic camera was flammable? If anything this is the manufacturers fault for selling flammable cameras. He would make them pay in time, perhaps getting a giant magnet and running through their stores ruining their electronics...Regardless Dan needed to deal with the here and now.

"Think Dan, think!" he muttered to himself. "What would a vile villain do with a problem." His first thought was to obliterate it by chucking the flaming camera at the wall but realized that would just destroy his tape and he did not have the time nor money to afford a new camera. Sweat beaded on his brow not from the heat but from the mental gymnastics of how to stop something from being on fire without dousing it or throwing it at a wall. In the end Dan rapidly patted down the device with his fire resistant gloves.

In the midst of his frantic pats DANGER DAN! did not notice a figure slowly creep along the ceiling until it was too late. "Having some trouble" The figure said slyly. What followed next was a totally not girlish shriek as Dan turned around saw what looked like some sort of giant humanoid bat...A Batman if you will. "Ah fuck, a bat!" Dan yelled as he proceeded to throw the still burning camera at the creature hoping the power of digital fire would keep the beast at bay and more importantly not suck his blood.

What? No I... was all Gabe could get out before the burning wreckage that was once a camera and hurtling at him. Reflexively he moved his hands in front of his face, pulled his ears tight to his head and closed his eyes as tight as he could. The smoldering hunk of metal and plastic collided with his forearm and Gabe let out an audible groan. As the camera fell to to the ground, so did he, turning in mid air to land softly on his feet. Opening his eyes he looked down to his arm. The hairs on it were singed and he could already see the beginnings of a purple bruise forming.

Woah woah woah I’m a person! he yelled, sticking his arms out to indicate that he was harmless. And if I heard your little speech correctly YOU are a person with a serious death wish. He crossed his arms expectantly before turning his gaze to Rebecca and then back to the man. So what’s your big plan, “Danger Dan”? You’re not gonna waste this poor woman in my living room are you?

In hindsight maybe Dan overreacted. Now that the figure was illuminated by the burning remains of what was his plan he could see it wasn't a bat. It's just some blue guy with pointy ears wearing coveralls like some sort of alien farmer. His appearance reminded Dan of of a movie a few years back that had CGI'd giant cat people who got it on with plants. Didn't the director plan to make like 5 more of those? Anyways, This person was either some cosplayer, a weirdo living in an abandoned factory, or a creature of the night still possibly wanting to suck his blood.

"The names actually DANGER DAN!" Dan yelled loudly. "You gotta say it like that else its wrong. Also, what do you mean 'my living room' I've been setting up my DANGEROUS DEED! here for the last few days. And if you must know, I, DANGER DAN!, am preparing to do a climatic battle of good vs evil with the world's strongest heroes. Or...Well... I was but the video I was going to send  them is gone now." Staring at the fiery remains Dan sighed.

"Can I go home now? Its been hours and nothing has happened other than you screaming like a girl and stopping yourself." Rebecca chimed only to be ignored by Dan too busy brooding over his failed plan.

"You wouldn't happen to be a hero would you? If so then at least I can say a hero stopped me. Whats your name anyways? Might as well know since you're here homeless blue guy."

No this isn’t actually my living room but yes I do live here Emp sighs, his posture slumping somewhat. More importantly why on earth would you want a showdown with the A-listers? His ears mirrored his eyebrows, one of each raising quizzically.

The next question he found, odd. Terms like hero and villain got thrown around a lot these days but this guy sounded like a Saturday morning cartoon with very black and white ideas of good and evil. I’ve never given much thought to what I am he said earnestly. But I think anyone who would just loudly proclaim themselves a hero probably isn’t one. I’m Emp by the way. He reached a blue, clawed hand out to Dan before turning to Rebecca. You alright? he asked plainly. He hasn’t like, hurt you or anything right?

Wyatt had been enjoying the quiet of the day. The streets which he lazily patrolled offered no source of dangerous activity in which he could intervene with. There had been an elderly man who needed help crossing the street, but outside of that, no one was seemingly causing problems on this side of town. As he flew haphazardly his eyes suddenly caught the screen of a T.V. and mad ravings of some loon. His first thought was that it had been a movie of some sort but there was something about the tone of the man's voice that said otherwise.

This seemed almost too...cartoonish to seem real. As that thought came to his head a sudden ringing caused him to jolt a bit, nearly ruining his flight pattern. He juggled his phone a bit before finally getting a firm grip on it. He clutched it tightly as he answered, "A-ah! Yes! Hello?"

He had forgotten to check who was calling but he quickly recognized the voice. "Oi, flyboy!" It was, without a doubt, Rabbit Punch. "Did ya see that news broadcast? That one with the freak?"

"Y-yeah? What about it? You don't think it's serious, right?"

"Well..." She paused for a moment seeming to flip through something. "No clue honestly. Worth looking into I suppose? There was a small report of that newscaster not showing up for work; so this could be something? Worth a look at least."

Slowly, Wyatt lowered himself to the ground and began walking. "Really? The guy looked like a guy out of a comic book. I don't even know where he is."

"Texting you the address."

"Wha-how did you get it?"

Don't worry about it."

"Right. Yeah, of course. I guess...I guess I'll go?"

"Kick ass, flyboy!"

"Wait, is there a reason you're not going?"

"Cause I got my hands full at the moment."

From the background, Wyatt could hear the theme song of some...T.V. Show? "Uh...is that a T.V.? Are you just at your house right now?"

"...Gotta go. Kick ass, flyboy!"

A few moments later Wyatt had the address and took off into the air. It would take him a few minutes to get there, thankfully it wasn't too far off and that there were further distractions. He landed by the front door and raised a hand. He brought the hand to the door and knocked a few times. "Ah! Hello! Danny Boy? You there? I-uh-got your message? Hero there. I'm gonna be coming in now!" He would try the door hoping it was unlocked, and if it was he'd slowly enter, his wings furling up as he took in the musty storage unit.

Wyatt wouldn't have his crossbow at the ready, nor his talons. He didn't really see a need for it. If anything this was just some punk kid trying to play at being a hero. He could already hear the makings of an argument. Had another already shown up? Were they scolding the kid? It seemed like something for the police to do but who was Wyatt to judge. Part of him considering leaving, just turning and going, but he might as well offer his help. He was here, wasn't he?

Grasping Emp's hand without touching his claws was surprisingly a more difficult task than first thought. Thankfully for his helmet the blue man would not see the grimace as he touched the claws.

Rebecca Chambers flashed Emp one of her trademark news smiles that has won the hearts of thousands. "Other than almost dropping me getting me here no, he hasn't. Can you just let me go now." She motioned to her bindings. "I really can't be late for work and it takes hours to get ready." She bats her eyes towards Emp.

"Well, would say it's nice to meet you but seeing how you ruined my plans..." Scratching his helmet he paused in thought."Sorry for hitting you with a camera, thought you were some sort of monster wanting to suck my blood. Look, I'm new to the game here and well I need to start big and get a name for myself. What better way to get my name out there as a villain then to do battle with the world's best? Even if I lose I still get a spot in the newspaper and perhaps the news since I kidnapped Chambers." Shrugging, Dan squatted down to look at the embers of his camera. "No way I can let them know now though. And I cant exactly afford to keep her here either. It was all going so well too..."

The old rusted front door the building creaked and echo'd through the building. Could it be a hero? Dan thought with momentary excitement but decided not to get his hopes up. After all its not like he uploaded the footage and he couldn't figure out how to stream either. No, this is probably one of Emp's friends or some scavenger looking for easy pickings.

"I think one of your friends are here. Just heard the door open."

Emp’a eyes went back to Rebecca, putting on the damsel in distress act. Look I’m not exactly the hostage taking type, it’s messy and way too much possibility for someone to get hurt. His gaze turned back to Dan, now seated on the floor sad that his apparent plan had been foiled. But the problem is getting you back home without knowing how to get back here. Until we get that solved you’re staying put. As he finished, he moved over towards Dan, hoping to comfort the man, before the faint sound of someone speaking outside the warehouse set his nerves on end.

Dan...get up he said with a hush and a sense of urgency, his eyes darting about the large and crowded space. They’re looking for you not me, seems you knew how to get that thing streaming after all. His head turned back to Rebecca. And it looks like you go free after all he said and with a flick of his wrist ran a claw across her bindings, severing then. With one more moment he turned to Dan, putting a finger to his lips before leaping straight back into the rafters. He perched there, as still and silent as possible, cautiously watching the newcomer and their interactions with his strange new ally.

Wyatt would quietly continue forward. He didn't seem too eager to go on, a bored expression on his face. He kicked a lone can and listened as it a far wall. He had half expected something to happen, a trap or surprise attack but nothing came. The least the so-called villain could do was make a dramatic appearance.

Reaching up he removed his headphones, allowing for his full spectrum of hearing. It was a bit disorientating, the sounds all flooding in but he could better track the people in here, he just had to pray that no loud noises would blast his ears. He could hear the chatter of two people up ahead, no, wait...there was a third. It was hard to pinpoint who they were but he could assume one was Dan and the other was the reporter...which left the police officer? Or maybe another hero acted?  

He continued forward, towards the sound. He kept his hands by his headphones, ready to slap them back on just in case of a sudden noise or engagement. He didn’t expect much, but if someone by the name of Danger Dan managed to subdue him solely by sound then he wouldn’t be able to live it down. Both Nimbus and Rabbit would be at his throat with bad jokes and other snarky comments. He could never really be considered a hero if he couldn’t do this.

He let out a small sigh as he went. “Hey!” He winced a bit at the echo of his own voice, “Where are you guys? It’d be a lot easier if you just tell me! I ain’t looking to fight or anything, just wanted to talk.”

Dan frowned that the homeless elf decided to free his kidnappie but she more or less served her purpose and Dan was getting more or less sick of her complaining about her job and trying to flirt with him. He knew her kind, girls like her would bat their eyes, giggle, and do that weird finger twirl thing on rich guy's pecs just do get something from them. Dan had already lost several rounds of cheap drinks and his wallet and he wasn't going to fall prey to the danger that is woman again.

The hollering down the hall wasn't Emp's friend, and probably wasn't a scavenger. Those folk tend to be far to skittish of accidentally sneaking into a secret lair and setting off maniacal traps and what not to throw caution into the wind. Dan would know, he stumbled through 3 different lairs before finding this one. The only logical explanation was this was a hero wanting to save the day and foil his plans.

"Come, come meet your fate and most certain annihilation in the main factory floor! Pray that you have brought enough to withstand the onslaught of DANGER DAN! and prepare to lose your faith for no amount of praying, no amount of aid will prevail you against this danger!"

With a fitting monologue out of the way Dan jogged into the main factory room and eye'd his preparations hoping they would be enough. While he liked to put on the image of complete assurance in his victory he knew better than to expect a complete win. Villains were notorious for playing their hand and in the midst of their triumph the heroes always bring out an ace and do the impossible. Regardless, even losing will get him street cred and more importantly recognition for the danger he truly was.

This guy’s gonna get me killed Gabe thought, shaking his head back and forth in disbelief. He’d broadcast his location as an open challenge then as someone came looking for him, kept that act going strong. What Gabe truly couldn’t figure out was why this guy was doing this. A death wish was at the top of the list. I’m his mind only someone truly reckless to the point of being suicidal would pull a stunt like this one. Then again, maybe the guy had an ace up his sleeve. Unless of course, my field doesn’t shut down whatever that ace might be.

He shook his head again, resolving to follow the man silently from above. If he got himself killed doing this it was his own fault. And so long as Gabe stayed hidden, he hoped the would be “hero” would kick the crap out of Dan and then leave. That was his hope anyway as he carefully maneuvered through the rafters above Dan on the main floor, taking care to stay silent and hidden.

Wyatt let out a deep exasperated sigh, his eyes rolling upward. “Ugh…this guy is going to kill me with all this freaking cheesy dialogue.” He ran his hands through his hair deciding what to do. On one hand he could just go…but he knew Rabbit would ask about it, see how things went and so forth. Plus, there was still the potential stolen hostage. On the other hand…he really didn’t want to do this or put up with any of this nonsense.

In the end, he decided on the first option. Better safe than sorry. His wings gave a small flutter and opened. With a few flaps he began forward towards the direction of the sound, the apparent main floor to the complex. As he went, he readjusted his earmuffs, now that he was probably going into some form of a danger, regardless of how remedial, he wanted to be ready.

Arriving to the main room Wyatt would look around with a slight look of boredom mixed in with exhaustion, though it would be partially be covered by his scarf and goggles. He would search out the man, and regardless of if he could see him or not he would begin to call out into the factory. “Come on out, man. I’m not looking for a fight or anything. Just looking to talk. I’m Who, what’s your name?” He would do his best to keep his eyes open for a potential trap, but he hardly expected anything. “Just tell me what you’re trying to do here and maybe we can work something out?” He sighed, “You got some people worried about the situation. Just come with me and we’ll work it all out. You don’t need to be worried, I’m a hero.” Despite his dislike of the situation he would speak with truth, not wanting to fight and instead work things out.

"Oh there will be plenty to be worried about...Hero!" With a dramatic flourish he turned on the lights and struck villain standard pose N.23. A more laid back stance with arms crossed for the added menace. It would of looked cool had the lights actually turned on. A few seconds of silenced passed before the sounds of muttered swearing followed by rapid flicking of a switch to no avail. "It would seem the bottom feeders of society have stripped the wiring from this room just 3 hrs ago...A most devious of annoyance. Pulling out a flashlight Dan was further annoyed that the batteries were also apparently dead as well. "For fucks sake! Why does nothing work around here?" Tossing the flashlight aside he signed. "Well I suppose we shall have our climatic battle in window light....How many of you are there? Can't see too far past you?"

After he was done beating up all these heroes he made a mental note to do something about this rampant scavenger problem. If they kept doing this shit then it'll be a pain in the ass for his DANGEROUS DEEDS down the line. One would think with dozens if not hundreds of heroes out there they could at least deal with the homeless problem.

Gabe watched with some amusement as Dan went for the lights in a dramatic flourish. Nope he confirmed to himself as Dan flicked the switch up to no effect. Sorry, not gonna work. The man flicked the switch a few more times before giving up and producing a flashlight. Wrong again Gabe thought with a slight chuckle as Dan fumbled with the useless flashlight. Yea right? Pretty frustrating he commiserated in silence. He’d gone through a much more prolonged version of this when he’s first discovered his abilities so it was somewhat cathartic to seem someone else struggle with the issue.