The Shit-Town Saga

New Agartha part 3

Rain poured down on the city street, stirring some police officers awake, although they were in too much pain to do much about the situation. Arthur Hawkwood stood in the center of an intersection with a small crowd of mutants behind him and mostly-unconscious police officers in front of him. Just past the pile of beaten officers, Lieutenant Reins continued to train his gun on his ally, trying to make up his mind what to do next.

“I didn’t enjoy doing that,” Arthur’s voice was tired and further muffled by the rain and the Cavalier helmet but he was heard all the same.

“I believe you, Cav,” Reins explained, “But I got orders.”

“These people are gonna be locked up for… what? Trespassing? Loitering?”

“Those are both crimes, last I checked.”

“But do you put people in the Ice Box for that? I know they’re metahuman but come on, Reins. Some of them don’t have any powers at all.”

“And some of them can throw a cop car like a softball.”

“We fight the ones who’re threats, right? We can let these people go down into the tunnels and live their own lives while you and me take out the real bad guys. Work with me on this!”

Reins contemplated his next response.

Now…

The Dragon veered left after a jerk on the steering console and once it rounded a corner, Cavalier and Raphael witnessed a small group approaching a department store. As it was now nighttime and the figures were far away, the Cavalier could scarcely make out the leader carrying a cinder block. As he brought the hovercraft low, the leader hurled the block through the large display window, setting off an alarm. “We got here just in time,” Cavalier set the landing cycle for the Dragon, then he and Raphael prepared for the fight that was sure to follow. Down the street, the figures turned in the direction of the hovercraft and stepped into the light.

The lead figure was a short red man with a turned-up snout, stubby horns, pupil-less eyes, cloven feet and a prehensile tail. As he looked like a devil, he took the name Archfiend. “We got company already,” he told his friends. The story went that these Agarthans were Late Bloomers: people who had been altered by Neutronium at some point in their lives as opposed to being born with mutations. They had previously been a traveling sideshow/ performance artist troupe called Devil’s Parade who underwent Neutronium experiments from the Power Grid. The difference between them and most Agarthans was that their deformities were by design as opposed to a side effect, but since what they did was still highly illegal, it soon earned the attention of authorities and they ended up in Agartha for protection. The rest of the troupe included the following:

Stitch – a thin male contortionist clad entirely in stitched leather with the only visible part of his body showing through the eyeholes. Very long, slender needles stretched out from every fingertip, giving him two deadly sets of claws.

Acid Queen – a bone-pale woman covered in what appeared to be black, floral-shaped body tattoos to cover her modesty as opposed to clothes. Said tattoos emitted a deadly acid, hence the name.

Fuzz Ball – a large man covered in reddish-brown fur, giving him the impression of an overgrown beard and hair. He was also the first to attack the Cavalier.

As he ran, his long hair and beard bounced back and forth, making it difficult to tell where one ended and the other began. Cavalier dropped down and kicked his ankles out from under him which sent him rolling along the pavement. Undaunted, Fuzz Ball rolled onto his feet, then his beard stretched out on its own. The strong, prehensile hair wrapped around Cavalier’s wrist and leg before pulling him to the ground. A knife was produced from inside the folds of Fuzz Ball’s fur but before anything could be done with it, Cavalier’s gauntlet tasers went off, sending a current through the elongated hair and into the Agarthan’s body. The prehensile hair released him and Fuzz Ball fell unconscious.

Acid Queen approached Raphael, leaving acid-burned footprints in the street, “Self-righteous prick,” she sneered as she raised an acid-dripped palm, “We didn’t think we were gonna have to see you again.” Raphael lowered his glasses and an empathic bolt shot out. Acid Queen stood still after the blue flash washed over her, then she burst into a deep belly-laugh. “Oh shit,” she roared as she doubled-over, “I don’t even know what’s so funny.” The laughter and merriment overtook her, removing any desire to continue the battle. Just then, Archfiend dropped down with a kick to the back of Raphael’s head which stunned him and brought him to his knees. “Hey, get it together,” Archfiend called out to Acid Queen as he bounced through the air.

A few yards away, Cavalier received a clawed swipe across his chest plate as Stitch advanced. The armor held up to the strikes but when Cavalier returned a sword-swing, the Agarthan arched his back, nearly bending his spine completely in half. He then slunk away as Cavalier pressed the attack, using his contortionist abilities to almost slither like a snake to avoid taking a hit. Archfiend flipped into view and when he opened his mouth, a stream of fire erupted. Cavalier’s armor was fireproof but the burst of flames gave him pause all the same, which allowed Archfiend to deliver a kick that put him on his back. “You never should’ve gotten involved,” Archfiend told him as he launched into an elbow-drop to his midsection. Cavalier snatched him by the throat and flipped him over onto the pavement as Stitch returned with claws ready. Cavalier gave the contortionist a kick to the gut, forcing him back just as Raphael recovered. An empathic bolt hit Stitch in the back and, moments later, he was huddled against a wall in fear while sobbing to himself. Meanwhile, the Cavalier had Archfiend pinned.

“The suit’s fireproof in case you’re thinking about spitting at me again.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Archfiend growled.

“Don’t you wanna be left alone? Why are you looting from stores? Seems like the kinda thing that brings attention.”

“We’re tired of living in filthy, rat-infested tunnels. How about that? We’re coming topside and we’re taking what we want.”

“No one made you live down there. As for taking what you want, y’know, you wouldn’t run into so much trouble if you just got a job or something instead.”

“Jobs?,” Archfiend scoffed, “This ain’t New York anymore! It’s Shit-Town! It’s survival! Everyone’s just try’n to get theirs. Mutants! Normies! Everybody! You wanna help the city? Get 10,000 gallons of gasoline and light a match!”

Just then, a police SUV rounded the corner and flashed its lights. “Damn,” Cavalier muttered. The two officers threw the doors open and trained their guns on the group. “Everyone on the ground with your hands above your heads!,” one of them shouted, then made sure to add, “That includes you, Cav!” Raphael calmly removed his glasses and launched two bolts. In concert, the officers lowered their weapons and smiled in a euphoric manner. “Ah, sorry guys,” one officer apologized, “That’s our bad. Real sorry.” During the distraction, Archfiend jumped up and attempted to flee but, thinking quickly, Cavalier turned and fired a shield-disc to the base of his skull, rendering him unconscious.

“Thanks for taking care of it,” Cavalier told Raphael, “Like I told you earlier, not too many people are on my side these days.”

“You have allies in Agartha,” Raphael explained, “I’ll have the Devil’s Parade return underground and hopefully, we can keep them there. In the meantime, I’ll try to locate other areas Tusk’s people might be hiding.”

“Thanks. I appreciate your assistance but I know we’ll need a lot more help before it’s all said and done.”

The next day, Michael paid his father a visit. He was the one who previously helped Agarthans use the abandoned tunnels underground to form their own city. If anyone had advice, it would be him. When Michael arrived at Arthur’s home, he had just gotten back from the gym.

“Pickleball’s so much fun, Mike,” he told him, “There’s this lady named Mariah who’s really good. We play almost everyday.”

“That’s great, Dad,” Michael helped him set his bag down, “Listen, I need some advice about Agartha. Tusk’s people are following him to the surface.”

“I heard something about that on the news.”

“Yeah, it’s heating up and I don’t have too many people on my side here.”

“I barely got the cops on my side,” Arthur responded, “Reins heard me out but he was only a lieutenant back then so he had to get his superiors to listen to him. Once most of the cops were onboard, we managed to get the mayor’s ear and suggested just letting them have the tunnels. Looking back, I think a lot of that had to do with clout. As much trouble as I caused, I was still a Cavalier and Rex Robinson always had my back.”

“Well, Rex isn’t gonna be of use anymore.”

“No doubt. Some of the old guard’s still in the city but I think you’re better off asking your teammates since they’re more likely to listen. Isn’t that what the Commission’s for?”

“Yeah, but it’s a pretty delicate situation with a lot of these Agarthans feeling backed into a corner. Having a big team of superheroes drop down in their neighborhood might make things worse.”

“What if the IMD get here first?”

Michael perked up, “You think the Badges’ll get involved?”

“If things are bad enough, absolutely.”

“In all fairness… things aren’t getting any better,” Michael ran his hand through his hair.

“Look, just call some of your teammates. They seem to have it together better than the Street Force, that’s for sure. Ryan Bennings is a smart kid.”

“Okay. I’ll see if he’s free.”

“And while you’re at it, how about a little public service to get the city to believe in you again? You care about people, Mike. Show them.”

“Tomorrow’s Saturday so I guess I could volunteer at the soup kitchen. It’s something I’ve been putting off for a little while. But before that, maybe I should give Bennings a call like you said.”

Minutes later, in Boston, Ryan Bennings hung upside down in his lab checking data on the floating screens in front of him. His feet kicked through the air as he continued to pour over the data, occasionally ducking around floating objects that passed. Behind him, his friend Labrat bobbed up and down in the air and seemed to be having more fun. Soon, Ryan’s attention was drawn away from the screens when he received a call on his watch; he answered quickly and impatiently, “Hello and please make it fast. I’ve had an anti-gravity situation in the lab that I’m trying to rectify.”

“Bennings, it’s me.”

“Hey, Cav,” Ryan placed a hand on a shelf to avoid hitting the ceiling, “How’s the New York situation?”

“Still here. Listen, some guys from Agartha are starting to cause trouble in the city and I may need some help on this thing…”

“Yeah, no problem,” Ryan became slightly more cheerful despite still being upside down, “In fact, ever since we worked together on that Canary incident, I’ve been thinking of some new designs for your armor that I think you’ll love. I’m glad you gave me the go-ahead. I’ll get to work on it ASAP.”

“Wait, I didn’t…”

“I think you’ll really dig the weapon upgrade,” Ryan realized he had let go of the shelf while excitedly talking about the prospect of redesigning the Cavalier armor and began to float up to the ceiling, “Anyway, I gotta go before my entire house ends up in Space.”

Ryan disconnected and Michael gave a shrug. It was enough for now. His next call was to Emily Koboshi.

The next day…

Abandoning the idea of his former teammates helping him clean up the city, Gatorback put on his old costume and visited a soup kitchen in a run-down neighborhood (although, after the Resurgence, most of New York looked run down). After a brief but sincere pitch to the leader of the Metro Knights, he waited for a response. Emily Koboshi was in the process of moving a large pot from the kitchen to the tables in the dining area while talking to him, “You’re not trying to get a new Street Force together are ya?”

“No, I’m going for something else,” Gatorback said with a defeated sigh, “I think we should all pitch-in and help out. It’s not just about beating up the bad guys. I really think the superhero community should do more charity work. Help rebuild.”

“That’s what the Metro Knights do,” she told him, then added, “… alongside the Cavalier. You should talk to him and see what you can-”

Gatorback shook his head, “He’s been nothing but trouble. If anything, he’s the kinda threat I’m fighting against.”

Emily wiped her hands off on the apron around her waist, “There’s a lot of people who have the wrong idea about him. Trust me, he has enough to deal with.”

“I get it that the Knights go way back with the Cavaliers, Paul Kwon especially… Real sorry to hear about him, by the way,… but you gotta understand I’m just as invested in the legacy as you are. I was on a team with the last guy, remember? This new guy is off the rails.”

“Thanks for the kind words about Paul but when it comes to the Cavalier, the Knights stand by him.”

“Like he stood by Rex Robinson?”

“I’m sure you read the IMD report. It’s not classified,” Emily headed back toward the kitchen, “Now, I’m really busy, so…”

A few of the patrons stopped to stare at the rear entrance as they noticed the figure at the door. “Shit,” Emily muttered. She knew the Cavalier was going to show up to lend a hand that day and once she realized Gatorback was less than supportive, she was hoping to get rid of him before he showed up. A superhero brawl was the last thing anyone needed.

“Speak of the devil,” Gatorback marched past a few tables on his way to the knight.

“Wait,” Emily quickly followed him while the other Knights stood by, “Whatever way you feel about this guy, you’re not gonna do this shit here.”

“What’s going on?,” Cavalier recognized the gray stunt suit and black goggles of the man standing in front of him even though the two had never met. Judging by his tone and body language, it was not going to be a good first impression and Michael was silently frustrated by the constant antagonism he had been facing. “Gatorback?,” he tried his best to lighten the mood in an attempt to deescalate, “What, are ya trying to get the Street Force back together?” His joke didn’t land.

“Even if I wanted the team back, you wouldn’t be a part of it,” Gatorback grumbled, “Really wish people would stop saying that.”

“And I wish you’d leave,” Emily placed herself between the two costumed heroes.

Gatorback noticed the other Knights calmly but assertively approaching, “No problem. I’m not gonna start trouble in a soup kitchen,” he turned to Cavalier, “You obviously know who I am so it saves me the time of introducing myself. You’re not fit to wear that armor. I’ll be watching you the next time you screw up and you won’t be able to hide behind decent people,” he turned back toward Emily, “Sorry to bother you,” then left.

Once he was gone, the Cavalier stood silent, not knowing what to say next. He noticed the nervous glances from the patrons and knew that, while they weren’t sure about the nature of the confrontation they just witnessed, they considered him the aggressor. He was already feared and detested before entering the building, so of course he was the bad guy. He contemplated leaving.

“You’re in the right place,” Emily assured Michael, sensing his apprehension.

“Thanks,” he sighed.

Outside, Gatorback was already several stories up, leaping across rooftops. Occasionally, he landed on damaged roofs that felt as if they would crumble, which reminded him of the state of the city. With the trouble he was having gaining allies, he felt all alone in solving the problems around him and he feared things would get worse. He was about a block away when he heard the call in his earpiece and answered.

“Gatorback, this is Commissioner Reins of the NYPD,” Reins hated having to go behind Cavalier’s back but he was still under pressure from the DA. She wanted to call the IMD but Reins felt the Agartha situation was better handled by locals who knew the city and its history. He wasn’t allowed to contact the Cavalier so Gatorback was the compromise.

“What can I do for ya, Commish?,” Gatorback performed a flip onto the next rooftop and rolled onto his feet before transitioning into a sprint. His spirits were lifted, knowing there was at least one person who seemingly wanted his help.

Reins lit a cigarette as he spoke and it helped ease some of the anxiety he felt giving this case to an older hero who might not be up for the task, “You’re probably aware by now but some of the folks from Agartha are taking residence in the abandoned buildings around the city. There’s one tenement building in particular they’ve taken over. We need you to investigate.”

“How many are we talking about?”

“Two or three dozen in that one building alone, including their leader. Big, strong dude they call Tusk.”

“We fought alongside each other during the Resurgence. I think he’ll hear me out,” Gatorback assured him, “Send me the address.”

Continued…