The Great Heroes Prequel to SeaCove

They were in an ugly situation, and the Big Guy wasn’t exactly sure how to deal with it. When Pain heard news of this ‘Call to Arms’, he immediately went out to Chicago in search of an old friend. There was no one else he could turn to, he had to seek out possibly the world’s greatest mind, The Black Knight, and the two of them would put their heads together to resolve this. Pain was one of the few people on this planet who had been entrusted with the secret location of Phantom’s headquarters within Chicago, and that’s exactly where he was headed. The great hero arrived before the seemingly abandoned warehouse, pulling open a rusty old door and stepping in to the darkness. Nothing lit his path, it was nearly pure darkness throughout the entire massive building, the only lights shining in from the outside, but Pain knew the way despite this.

He ventured through the darkness, stubbing his toe on a metal box, and leaving a massive dent in it. It didn’t hurt whatsoever, but that didn’t stop it from being frustrating. “Shit. Why’s everything gotta’ be so dark with him…” He uttered in his rough voice under his breath, continuing on his path to the elevators entrance. Eventually, the Big Guy came to a halt in the darkness, almost walking nose first into wall which the elevator’s call button resided on. Though this was far from your average elevator, this one went underground, rising up from the floor in front of Pain just moments after pressing the button. It was fairly small and cylinder shaped, large enough to hold four people, or one person and a Pain. The Big Guy stepped in, and began his descent into the Phantom’s lair.

The elevator moved swiftly, much faster than anything he had ever been in; when Black Knight made something, he really went all out. The doors opened before him, and the great hero stepped out into the Phantom’s lair. Directly in front of him stood some railing, and to his right was a small stair case. Before him was the Phantom’s computer lab, and Black Knight’s main computer shined brightly a few yards in front of him. In front of that, the Black Knight sat in his large black leather chair, his back facing Pain. “Yo.” The Big Guy’s rough voice called out simply.

The Black Knight had his eyes fixed upon the bright screen before him, analyzing and investigating the ‘Call to Arms’ situation with SeaCove. Call him paranoid, but something wasn’t right here. He didn’t like it, not one bit, everything about it just seemed off. A feeling in his gut said something truly sinister was going to happen, he had no choice, he had to go further investigate, and support his fellow heroes. The Phantoms alone were not enough for this mission, he didn’t like asking for his help, but it was necessary in times like this.

As soon as Pain got near the warehouse, Black Knight knew he was coming, thanks to his powerful surveillance system. He simply waited for him in his chair, continuing to read over the reports on SeaCove in the meantime. When the elevator opened up, William immediately heard the Big Guy’s rough voice call out to him. A sly smirk came across his masked face, just as he expected, Pain showed up, and he knew exactly what he was here for. It rarely happened, but they both required each other’s aid this time.

The Black Knight slowly spun around his chair, speaking up in his deep poetic voice, almost like a calculating cliché super villain. “So you’ve finally arrived.” The masked hero fearlessly glared into the Big Guy’s eyes, an old fashioned stare down ensuing. “I’ve been expecting you.” The Black Knight said calmly as he placed his hands together, resting them beneath his chin.

Pain returned the glare, his fierce blue eyes looking upon the masked man before him. He never understood why he always wore the mask, even when he didn’t need to; why was this guy so secretive? He’d expect words like that from one of his enemies, and slyly smirked at the thought of it. The Big Guy briefly chuckled before replying to his ally, “Alright Knight, let’s not waste anytime.” Pain then stepped down the small staircase and moved to stand a few yards before the Black Knight.

“You and I both know somethin’ ain’t right here, and if we don’t get involved, people are gonna’ get hurt.” Pain paused for a moment, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a pack of cigarettes. He withdrew a single cigarette and a lighter from the pack, stopping to ask, but not waiting for a reply “Mind if I light up?” The Big Guy said as he ignited the tip, inhaling a brief drag as he returned the pack to the same pocket.

“So, you got somethin’ planned smart guy? Or you gonna’ leave it all up to me?” He said with a soft chuckle, exhaling a small gray cloud into the dimly lit room. “Cause I don’t mind.” The same sly smirk clung to his face, the cigarette hanging loosely from the side of his lips, inhaling another puff as he awaited a reply.

The Black Knight had the same thought process, only Pain said it first, they had little time to waste; William simply gave a nod in response. They shared many things in common, even though they never would admit it. They were both very serious men when it came to the heroics, and neither wanted to go in without some sort of game plan; William even more so. He remained quiet while the ‘Big Guy’ spoke , holding a similar sly smirk upon his masked face as he heard his bold, humorous words. It was just like Pain to not wait for an answer, like he would’ve taken ‘no’ for an answer anyway. Of course this ‘smart guy’ had something planned, but there was only so much he could do with the information at hand. The Black Knight’s plan was basically an outline, the rest needed to be filled in as they went along.

William looked at his great ally from his seat, and out of respect, even without Pain requesting it, The Black Knight removed his mask. Pulling it off from the back and revealing his handsome face, he looked as if he belonged to Royalty; only tarnished by years of strenuous heroics. Some would consider the ‘tarnished’ effect a good thing to look at, some would consider it a sign of experience, but he barely even noticed it.

The Black Knight allowed his mask to rest upon his thigh, his hands returning to rest under his chin as he looked into his great ally’s piercing blue optics with his own light brown ones. William allowed a soft chuckle to escape his lips before speaking up in his deep intellectual voice, acting as if he had never even removed the mask. “Of course, but even the best laid plans often go astray. We must be prepared for anything, and I’m sure a man like yourself has had plenty of experience in dealing with the unexpected.”

William spun around in his chair, turning to face his massive super computer, it’s bright light glaring down onto his dark costume. “Brock, If I may call you that, Even I have no idea what we are dealing with here. I’m sure my plan is as simple as yours.” The Black Knight cut his eyes to view over his shoulder, viewing Pain coming closer to stand behind him. He heard no immediate objection, so he went on. “Everyone you and I know will be there. So we must be there, not only to protect them from this unknown threat, but themselves as well.” William did not like this situation…Not one bit…