When the police got to the docks, Matt and I watched from on top of a crane overlooking it. I eyed the cops as they surrounded the area, putting away the men we'd knocked out. Wearing my new stealth armor, I blinked in a brief pattern that activated the 'Zoom and Enhance Cliche' tech, letting me watch a group of cops blinking at the sight of a pair of men tied up in Snare-Oh bandages. Another couple of guys were being cared for by EMTs. The women we'd saved were helped into cars. One of them looked up briefly, where she must have seen Matt and I rappel towards, gave us a hesitant wave, then got into the police car.
The guy we were interrogating was shivering as he was taken away, his shirt still ripped. He kept mumbling to himself and the officers taking him, looking shell-shocked.
As the police gathered their quarry, I looked at Matt. “Okay, what is he saying?”
Matt cocked his head to point his right ear toward the guy. “Something about... Satan and his hellhound,” Matt shook his head. “I think he's getting better, but we scared him. Don't worry though, his heartbeat is calming down. Not that he deserves it...”
I shook my head, feeling a bit disquieted. Sure, we had only skirted a line, not crossed it. And it had been for damn sure justified.
There were more girls in the city. Being... made, created, produced, whatever fucking thing you could call it. The Russians were behind it.
My feelings about sex workers are... complicated. On the one hand, if a man or woman truly wants to do such a thing, I think it's their right to. They should be allowed to have control over their bodies, as long as they don't hurt innocent people or force their views onto others. I also believe they should be as protected as any other citizen. The fact that they are seen as easy targets, people you can belittle and abuse without consequence is a travesty.
But worse is when they are forced into it. I won't get into it. I won't describe the horrific things that need to be done to control a person without the brainwashing tech that HYDRA used, the... Well. Compared to the Russians, HYDRA might as well have been kind. Though I didn't doubt that they had used such methods themselves before more 'efficient' ways were developed.
I clenched and unclenched my fists, slowly.
Yeah. I was pissed.
“Okay then. We have a plan?” I asked Daredevil.
“I thought you would have one,” he said, surprising me. “You've been a, well, superhero for a while, right?”
“Yeah, but I learned everything about it from comic books before I ended up fighting alongside the Avengers,” I admitted. Still, his comment had me thinking on that.
The Russians were apparently behind the human slave trade now. The guy we'd interrogated had no idea how that happened since he was just a low-level guy, but he knew the basics. The Russians, Chinese, Yakuza, even some of the old mobsters, had taken over Hell's Kitchen.
“...Right here, right now, we know of one building where people are in danger,” I said at last.
“Agreed,” Matt rose to his feet, facing me as we balanced on the crane above the docks, both in our dark armor. “We go in and save them.”
“And at the same time, we send the report of what happened to my people,” I said grimly. “They'll know what to do with the information we find... X.”
“Yes, sir,” X said quietly.
“I might need you again. Is that okay? This stuff... this is the darker part of human nature.”
“Jarvis and I have been working on the Dark Web together for some time, confronting those using it for the purpose of harming the innocent. I will have no issues aiding you,” he said, sounding positively vicious. “Humanity has its monsters, sir. I have no issue helping the devil to punish them.”
I blinked at that, surprised. “You've been...”
“Under the direction of Maria Hill, we have saved hundreds of young children, women, and men. There has been some issues, but I am proud of the work we have done.”
Holy... so that's what she wanted to borrow him for. Sometimes it was easy to forget that I didn't always have a direct view of the heroism happening in the world around me.
“X, you are a freaking gift I never expected,” I said, surprised as hell. “Seriously, anything you want after this, it's yours.”
“I will remember that,” X said simply.
“In the meantime, we need directions. Time to...” I stopped. I couldn't think of something pithy to say. I thought of saying one of Ben's quotes, but... no. Not tonight. Instead, I took a deep breath. “Show us the target, X.”
Daredevil said nothing as his helmet, rather than showing the GPS route I was getting on my own HUD, simply booted up the program I'd created to aid him with sightless navigation. Once the route was made, and I'd changed into Snare-Oh again, we were off.
And as we went, I steeled myself. I knew what we would find there. I knew it might be even worse than that. There had been some... rough moments for me before. I still checked up on the one woman I hadn't been able to save before she was raped, instead beating her attackers more viciously than I ever had up to that point.
I had to keep a clear head. I had to save innocents, but also not... god help me. Allah, all I want to do now is rip and tear all of these evil bastards. And being Snare-Oh wasn't helping. Because if any form knows the meaning of undying anger, of course, it would be one of the aliens from the Anur System.
Daredevil and I swung silently into the city as I tried to keep my spirits up.
------
Tony Stark/Iron Man
Tony and Pepper entered the ballroom to a roar of applause. Ever the showman, Tony waved at the crowd of rich folk and journalists, smirking cockily as some cameras flashed. Tony wore a pristine gray suit, with a silk green shirt underneath, while Pepper was wearing a sleek black dress that really did incredible things to her legs.
“What am I spending my money on again?” Tony mumbled to Pepper, who had an arm in his as she guided him through the room.
“It's a fundraiser to help schools on the East Coast,” Pepper whispered to him, nodding graciously to the crowd. “We're donating equipment, helping with school programs, that sort of thing.”
“Why would I help a bunch of nerds?” Tony asked with an honest smile.
“You love nerds.”
“I love the nerds I actually know,” the billionaire smiled a bit wider. “But no, it's great. I wish you'd told me sooner. Am I giving them enough money? I want to make sure it's a lot.”
“Between you and Mahmoud, I think a lot of good will be done. It's not perfect, of course,” Pepper admitted, taking a glass of champagne as a waiter passed and the pair walked up to a podium at the end of their walk.
“Fanboy's paying for this too?” Tony blinked. “Oh yeah, he's rich. I should get him something.”
“He's rich, so you need to get him more stuff?” Pepper asked.
“Rich people get free things, everyone knows that. At least, all the random crap people keep sending me says so.”
Pepper sighed in annoyance as they finally reached the podium, Tony getting behind it to speak.
“Okay, calm down so I can get a word in,” he said, the audience laughing on command. Tony hid a scowl. Always annoying how pandering some people can get. Of course, Tony also didn't like when people ignored or got mad at him, but at least they had the respect to be honest with him, rather than kissing his ass. “All right, we all know why we're here. To give money to schools, then drink wine and eat expensive foods to make sure we keep wineries and caterers in business. Which, is kind of a fundraiser on top of a fundraiser so, congrats to us!”
Everyone cheered.
“So, get plastered, eat a lot, and pay out the butt to keep the next guy as smart as me in school! Cheers!”
As everyone clapped, Tony looked at Pepper, grinning. “Pretty good, right?”
She gave him a look that was typical Pepper, a combination of fond and exasperated. “Good, except that you weren't supposed to give a speech. That guy was.”
Huh. Yeah, that older balding guy looked surprised as hell.
“Eh, I probably did a better job anyway,” Tony took her by the arm. “Come on, let's dance!”
“You're incorrigible,” Pepper chuckled, letting herself be pulled away.
“Hey, I'm irresistible,” Tony smirked.
“Well, 12 percent or so,” Pepper smirked at the stunned look on Tony's face. “Maybe a little more, depending on how things go.”
“Sheesh, you'd think you'd let that go,” Tony grumbled.
“Only a little,” she giggled, almost shaking with laughter. “About 12 percent.”
The pair grinned at each other, dancing across the ballroom as one. For a moment, Tony felt at peace. He had his girl, good food, and some crap drinks, while the terrible classic music played. Pepper was smiling at him, guiding him more than he was guiding her. Thank god she was a good dancer.
She pulled him in for a kiss, and he let her do it, pressing close. They held for a moment.
“Mr. Stark.”
And then someone had to goddamn ruin it.
Holding back the urge to call in a suit and rain repulsors on the interrupting speaker, Tony pulled away and sighed slightly, annoyed. Pepper chuckled, then the two looked at the speaker.
A blonde woman stood there. She was kinda pretty, short, and looking way smug. Huh. This chick.
“I'm sorry, can I help you, Miss...” Tony trailed off, looking confused.
The smug look on her face fell away, Pepper coughing back a delicate laugh. She recovered, badly, and held out a hand with a fake smile. “Christine Everhart, WHiH World News.”
“Oh I get it, you want a job,” Tony said quickly. “I get it, working for those hacks. Tell you what, Pepper could use a new assistant since her best one turned out to be Avenger material.”
“I'd rather not,” Pepper smiled. “Natasha was too good to be replaced by anyone subpar.”
Christine's smile shattered, turning into a scowl. She dropped her hand, which Tony had pointedly not taken. “I wanted to ask you about recent reports that you've been patrolling New York City. Don't you think this show of vigilante justice may cause issues? If you start attacking people in the street, with none of the training or oversight that police officers have-”
“How about this, I'll promise not to attack anyone who isn't stealing, attacking, or messing with people. Oh, or shooting at me, that's important,” Tony snarked.
“And you aren't worried about taking jobs from good police officers?” Christine asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Not the good ones, no,” Tony smirked. “Trust me, there is plenty of crime in the world to keep me busy. I just throw out a helping hand when I can.”
“Yes, you do... but what about your latest partner?” she smiled viciously as if she'd nailed him.
Which technically, was the opposite of the truth in so many ways (Tony mentally high-fived himself). He cocked an eyebrow at Christine, not noticing how Pepper had stiffened. “What, Dial? He's solid. Kids got some mad skills.”
“I don't disagree,” though her tone said otherwise. “I'm talking about the new female in armor who has been following you both around on patrols. A lot of our viewers are wondering who she is, what her purpose on your 'patrols' are since it doesn't seem to be fighting crime.”
Tony narrowed his eyes. “Rescue isn't a superhero.”
“Ironic name, considering she hasn’t ‘rescued’ anyone yet,” Christine pointed out. “So you just gave your armor, one of the most powerful weapons on Earth, to a woman foooor what, exactly? So you could have some cheering you on from the sidelines?” Christine asked. She looked over at Pepper, her smile vicious as the redhead eyed her back. “Any thoughts from you on the new woman in Tony's life? Or did you already know about her? His 'woman on the side?'”
Tony felt his blood rush through his veins. From the look on Christine's face, she realized she'd reached too far when she saw the look on her face. Tony, even before he'd become Iron Man, had a reputation for being dangerous. He didn't waste his time on idiots. But mess with what was his, and suddenly the full force of Stark Industries, a company more powerful than most nations on the planet, was pressing down with an army of lawyers and a mountain of cash. Now that he was Iron Man, well...
The Stark heir leaned in but stopped when Pepper moved in front of him. “Actually, Christine, if you'd like, you can speak with me about that.”
“Oh?” Christine sounded amused. “Can you tell me anything about her?”
“I can even arrange an interview, if you'd like,” Pepper said calmly.
“Sounds interesting. Who exactly is she, by the way?”
“Me.”
Tony felt like kissing Pepper when he noted the gobsmacked look on Christine's face. Pepper smirked. “So, when did you want to interview me?”
“You're the one?” Christine couldn't have sounded more surprised.
“Yes, I am,” Pepper smiled. “So, when should we have the interview?”
After discussing things, Christine left, and Pepper turned to her boyfriend.
“What's your plan?” Tony asked.
“I need to get ahead of this,” Pepper frowned. “I can't let her control the narrative. I need to confront this.”
“You don't need to do anything,” Tony reminded her, scowling. “Seriously, just ignore whatever people are saying.”
“I can't,” Pepper shook her head. “I mean, I don't care about them, the interview is mostly for the company, to make sure we don't have idiots trying to discredit you with something. Everhart and her station is nothing. We can just buy them if we want to really shut them up, or force them to say nothing but good things about us,” she smirked. “Kidding of course...”
“You sure? I mean, everything I ever learned about journalistic ethics, I learned from Citizen Kane,” Tony snarked, getting a chuckle in response.
“No, Tony,” Pepper guided him to the side, looking around. “The problem is, I really want to... to do more, with the Rescue armor. Maybe not your Avenging stuff, but protect people. Not because I'm being pressured or anything. But when I think about it, about helping people, I just, I don't know,” she laughed. “Is it weird? I haven't even had the suit for that long and I already want to fight crime in it. Not to do the superhero thing, not to hunt down bad guys, but if I see someone in trouble, I want to help them. Is that weird?”
“Maybe. Might want to talk to someone less, well, me about that,” Tony admitted. “I'm the guy who used his first real suit to fight terrorists without telling anyone, remember? I'm kind of the worst guy to talk to about responsible armor usage.”
“Yeah, I'll talk to Rhodey,” Pepper pulled Tony to the center of the room, and the pair began to dance. “Seriously, what do you think?”
“I think you should do it, and I also think you shouldn't,” he said, surprising Pepper. “I'll support you. But from the second you brought that up, I've been thinking of a thousand different ways to try and upgrade the armor to keep you safe, with my number one being to take it away so you can't get in danger in it.”
“Tony...”
“I still have nightmares,” Tony shrugged as best as he could, trying to seem relaxed. “About Killian taking you. About you standing next to an exploding Hammer drone, or when Stane was chasing after you,” he took a deep breath. “I put you in danger, so many times. And now you're telling me you want to put yourself in and I just...”
He scowled, only to soften when Pepper pressed her palm to his cheek. Gently, she pulled his face to look into her eyes. “I feel that way all the time. Ever since I saw you in that suit for the first time, covered in bullets. And after Loki, and aliens, seeing how much more dangerous the universe is...”
Something in Pepper seemed to crystalize, strengthen. “I was so scared. But now, I can do something about it. I mean, I'm not asking to join the team or anything, but... Dial made my suit for a reason. And I think, in some way, he saw that I would need it. If not now, then later. So. You have a War Machine. Can you accept a Rescue, now and then?”
He grinned. “God, that is so corny. Steve teach you that?”
“He's classy like that,” Pepper gave him an honest look. “I want to do this. Not tomorrow or anything, I just want to think it over for now. But it feels like it's something for later. I don't know, it feels like... it feels right.”
The light in her eyes seemed stronger. She suddenly seemed so giant now, as though she'd grown in the middle of the speech.
Tony clutched Pepper close, sighing. “I love you. God help me, I don't deserve you.”
“You do,” Pepper said, smiling up at him while pecking his lips. “God, I don't know if I should though...”
She seemed to shrink into herself. “It's easy to talk about. But actually doing it... I need time, first.”
“Take all the time you need,” Tony tried not to sound relieved. “I'll talk to Dial and Fitz, get Jarvis to work some sort of plan. Hell, I'll hire every martial artist in the city to train you if you want. Just... is it wrong that I'm hoping you change your mind?”
Pepper shook her head. “I've spent a lot of nights hoping that you would finally put away your suits. I don't blame you.”
“Sorry,” Tony winced. “So this is what it feels like, huh? Sheesh, I really am an asshole.”
“You have your moments.”
------
Mahmoud Schahed/Dial
The building Daredevil and I ended up at was apparently an apartment building once, all square and brick, with four floors. It was now owned by the Russians, set up to 'prepare' people for the sex trafficking business. Basically, give the people they selected a certain drug, force them to get addicted, then condition through the drugs, beatings, and sexual abuse to become their 'product'.
Guards stood casually around the building, just four guys, one at the front door, one circling around, and two guys smoking on the roof.
Daredevil and I stood on across from the building in a nearby park that had seen better days, with a playground that was missing half the equipment and had a bunch of trash littering it. Funny, because we'd passed somewhere that had a beautiful park nearby, all clean and updated equipment for kids.
New York City, a city of lights and shadows. Wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
“How should we do this?” I said quietly. “You want me to take the guys at the door, while you head in from the roof?”
“Maybe,” he cocked his head from side to side, listening. “About twenty people inside monitoring their prisoners... How did they stay hidden for so long?”
“I've been wondering the same, so I did some digging,” X said. “I've looked over the officers who patrol this part of this city. According to traffic reports, they seem to avoid this street. A look at their financials shows some very creative bookkeeping hiding the fact that they have been obtaining more money than their salary would allow for.”
“Bribes,” Daredevil said. “Makes sense. Any chance you have an... alien that can shut the doors? Close the exits to keep them from opening, or at least one that can cover them with some boards?” he said uncertainly, apparently unsure of the idea of asking that.
“More than a few,” I replied, looking over at the blind badass. “What are you thinking?”
“As you said, you come from the bottom, I go down from the top. We keep the prisoners safe by being as stealthy as we can. If we can take them out without getting caught, we can have the police over to clean up after. Er, X, was it?”
“Yes, Mr. Murdock.”
“Any chance you can make sure those called aren't dirty?”
“BRIDGE has a list I can consult.”
“Good. One officer by the name of Brett is worth a look,” Matt looked at me. “Ready?”
“Eager,” I admitted, lifting my hand up and pressing on the Omnitrix. “Let's go.”
------
My first target was the guy roaming in circles around the building. I floated over him on waves of anti-gravity in Goop form, waiting for my chance. He was leaving the guy at the front door, just turning the corner. Almost... almost...
The second he was alone, I dropped on top of him as a ball of goo taller than him. He tried to shout, but I wrapped a green jello hand around his mouth. Goop, as a gelatinous being, had a bunch of neat tricks beyond just shapeshifting. For one thing, my Anti-gravity projector gave me some form of flight. For another, I could change the goo that made up my form to become all sorts of things. With a thought, I shifted my body chemistry to become adhesive, leaving his mouth shut by the sticky fluid. With a throw, he slammed into the brick wall, where I fired another ball of goo, leaving him struggling in fear attached to the wall by a sticky green web.
Floating up again, I moved to the guy at the door at high speed. He was smoking a cigarette when I showed up. I spun around in mid-air and fired pieces of myself, the balls of green hitting his face and chest to lift him up and slam him into the stair covered in my adhesive goo before he could say a word. I took some time to wipe away enough from his nose so he could breathe comfortably. I moved up to the door and slinked over to it. Eyeing it for a moment, I came up with an idea. Leaning down, I pressed my arm against the bottom of the door.
My left arm shrank, flowed, and finally slipped under the door. Goop's eye moved over to that section, letting me look around.
Two guys were in the living room, drinking while an old Godzilla movie played. Another guy was in the kitchen, making himself a snack I suppose.
I watched a moment longer through my left arm while my other eye kept an eye out. Once I was sure I could move, I changed my body composition to acidic. The wood on the door dissolved around my arm, making a hole big enough for my anti-gravity projector to go into the house, with the rest of me coming inside.
Slipping into the kitchen as a stream of green fluid moving along the floor, I moved behind the guy making a snack. It was a sandwich. I waited for the short Russian man to raise the sandwich to his mouth, taking a bite.
The second it was in his mouth, I rose off the floor and surrounded him in tight bonds of green goo rope.
He choked on his sandwich, but I slammed a piece of adhesive on his mouth, leaving him unable to yell. He struggled as more bonds wrapped around his wrists, then I lifted him to the ceiling before attaching him there, leaving him looking down at me as he struggled against the green adhesive keeping him against the ceiling.
Not a sound was made.
I moved to the living room, flowing across the floor while keeping an eye out for more bad guys. Slipping behind the couch where the two guys were watching tv, I slowly seeped underneath the couch. Anyone who has owned a couch knows there is a lot of space under the things. In this case, I was able to rise up through the couch, slipping along the wooden frame and nails, filling every nook and cranny. I took a moment to make sure no one was coming. Then I struck right as Godzilla roared on the screen.
To the Russians on the chair, it must have seemed like the couch was suddenly eating them. I 'swam around them, soaking them, pieces of myself surround their mouths as they screamed. It felt funny when their screams created bubbles within me. I pulled them tight to the couch, grabbing one guy's arms when he struggled to reach for a gun and pulling it into his arm. It was a bit of struggle, controlling the movements of two guys at once, like typing with one hand and eating with the other, but I managed to get them stuck to the couch. A bit more adhesive made sure the couch was stuck to the floor so they couldn't tip it over and draw attention. I moved to the door and fired a big glop that covered the entire door. After doing the same to the back door, I moved upstairs, floating up as a flowing river.
A guy rested on a chair with a magazine, reading to himself when I got to the next floor. I ignored him for now, sliding along the ceiling and heading to one of the rooms.
Inside, I found my worst fears. A young woman and man with a bed each, both handcuffed to the metal beds so their arms and legs were spread. They were passed out and half-naked, track marks on their arms. For a moment, I fiercely missed fighting HYDRA, as opposed to dealing with the horrors I was seeing. I pushed away that thought and tried to decide what to do.
I couldn't free them, not yet. For all I knew, they were already broken, Stockholm syndrome and conditioning doing their work. If I tried to help, they might see me as an enemy.
With a heavy heart, I flowed back out of the room and attacked the guy in the hall, attaching him to the ceiling with more force than necessary.
Each room I visited was a small nightmare. I flowed through the building, taking my time, making sure to mark every victim. Some of them were so young. The casual abuse they'd suffered. There were ten people on that floor, and I forced myself to remember everyone for the police report later.
On the third floor, I met some trouble. A group of six rough looking men sitting around a crap television, joking around and playing card games. I couldn't attack them all at once. I mean, I could, but not without getting in a fight. I quickly counted up the guys I'd taken out. Two outside, three on the first floor, one on the second, the six in front of me. That made twelve. Matt had said there were twenty people, not counting the prisoners.
Hmm... Maybe, if I separated them out a bit, then took them out fast, firing quick?
Thinking, I decided to use my skills learned from stealth games. Carefully, I aimed down at the stairs and fired a big blob of goo. It splattered noisily on the stairs. The six guys looked up curiously.
{What was that?} one man asked in Russian, the Omnitrix translating for me.
{Probably one of the girls shitting themselves again,} another answered with a grumble. {James, check it out.}
{Oh, come on!} James, apparently, shouted in annoyance. {Those bitches can wait for a bit, let's finish this hand!}
{Would you go already?} one of the older guys said.
He grumbled, rising up and slapping his cards down. As he walked away, he turned to the others. {Hey, no cheating!}
{Go!} three of the men shouted.
Grumbling again, he walked away. As he did, one of the men quickly picked up James' cards and smirked at what he saw, grinning at the others as he put them back down.
James, still complaining, went down the stairs with me following above him. He stopped when he saw the spot on the steps where my ball of goo had landed, soaking the carpet.
{What the hell?} James mumbled to himself.
I fired a stream of goo with the pressure of a firehose. He had time to yell before the stream slammed him into the stairs railing.
{That hell was that?! James?!}
I cursed mentally. I'd gotten impatient, made a mistake. Nothing to do but move forward.
Flowing upward, I got ready for the next stage, and hoped I hadn't ruined anything for Matt.