The Shit-Town Saga:

New Agartha part 5

Arthur Hawkwood ventured through the subway tunnels on his way to Agartha. It had been years since Agartha was founded and some of the citizens now had children of their own. As for Arthur, he was older and past his prime but still had years to go before retirement. When Arthur caught up to Raphael, they were near Agartha’s market. As they spoke, they moved past merchant stands and potential customers.

“The UN building is safe,” Arthur told Raphael, referring to his latest mission, “And Plague is on his way to the Ice Box.”

Raphael nodded, “How angry are they?”

“Who?”

“The surface. I don’t have to be an empath to know there are hostilities right now.”

“Let’s be real, a guy from Agartha just attacked the UN. It reminded the public that you guys are down here and that they’re supposed to hate and fear you.”

“I do my best to keep the peace,” Raphael grew sad, “Plague was troubled… I wish I could have reasoned with him before he decided to attack.”

Arthur stopped to face him, “While we’re on the subject, I guess I gotta ask you the same thing… How likely is it that someone from Agartha comes topside to settle the score?”

“There’s always a good chance, sadly.”

A teenager pushed his way through the crowded market and charged at Arthur. He leapt over the mutant teen as he attacked, then rolled down his back which resulted in the young Agarthan hitting the ground. Tusk was young at the time, but he was still quite muscular and the spikes along his limbs and head were steadily growing.

“Tusk, that’s enough,” Raphael removed his shades, revealing his glowing eyes, “You can calm down or I can make you.”

“He sent Plague to jail!,” Tusk pointed a clawed finger at the Black Knight.

“He did that himself, kid,” Arthur retorted.

Tusk shouted over him, “And you forced us to live underground!”

“The tunnels were my idea,” Raphael reminded him, “And no one forced you to do anything.”

“He works for the cops!,” Tusk pointed at Arthur again as he deflected.

“The cops wanted all of you in the Ice Box,” Arthur snapped back, “I convinced them to leave you alone. You’re welcome!”

“Fuck the surface and fuck you!,” Tusk pushed a random Agarthan out of his way as he stormed off.

“Nice kid,” Arthur joked, “I’m guessing we gotta worry about him in the next decade or so?”

“Tusk’s parents both volunteered to be test subjects for an unlicensed medical facility using synthetic Neutronium. Like most of the subjects, they were impoverished with few options. Eventually, they were mutated by the tests and couldn’t find help. They lived down here for a time and gave birth to Tusk.”

“So he’s a Pure Blood?”

“Yes. The parents died of cancer a few years ago and we’ve done our best to raise him. Unfortunately, someone like Plague has a lot of influence over young, troubled minds like his.”

“So he might follow in the guy’s footsteps, the surface will find a reason to target Agartha, and the cycle continues,” Arthur added sadly.

Present Day…

Michael arrived at his father’s house early in the morning, hoping to catch him before he went off to play pickleball. He needed some more advice on how to proceed with the New Agartha situation since it was getting more complicated. When Arthur opened the front door, Michael noticed the concerned look on his father’s face, “Hey Mike, come in.” When Michael entered the living room, he realized his father had a visitor – Director Sean Pierce of the IMD.

Michael met him briefly in the final battle of the Resurgence and again when Ryan Bennings formed the Commission, although there wasn’t much in the way of conversation either time. And while Reins had told Michael that the IMD would be showing up, it was alarming to see Pierce in his father’s house, clearly knowing the secret identities of both men. Despite this, Michael decided to play dumb.

“Hi, I’m Micheal,” he reached out to shake Pierce’s hand.

“Of course you are,” Pierce gave him a knowing smile as he returned the handshake, “I understand the situation is alarming and possibly a touch intrusive but I ask that you respect my station enough to admit I wouldn’t be where I am today if I wasn’t able to discover the identity of the Cavaliers. I’ve known about your father for some time now and it was logical that his son would follow in his footsteps as all Hawkwood men are wont to do, apparently.”

Michael turned to Arthur, “Did you know?”

“I’ve always suspected so when he showed up here a few minutes ago… Well, it wasn’t a huge shocker.”

“I came here hoping your father could convince you of something,” Pierce told him gingerly as he took a seat, “But I suppose now that we’re all here, I might as well speak to you openly. The New York City District Attorney has opted to contact the IMD.”

“I’m aware,” Michael crossed his arms in front of him, “I guess you came here to ask me to stand down?”

“Partially. You’ve a right to know the DA has asked us to remove the Agarthans, not just from the abandoned buildings they’ve overtaken… but from the old subway tunnels as well.”

“What?,” Michael exclaimed.

“I had a similar reaction but I managed to convince the DA to hold off on that and deal with the Agarthans on the surface. It seems she’s at her wits-end and aims to evict every mutant in this city.”

“And you expect me to back down?”

“I expect you to do what’s best for both Agartha and New York, Mr. Hawkwood. The DA is not fond of you and in fact, she asked if we could arrest you as well. It’s not in our jurisdiction as you’re obviously not a metahuman threat but I do believe your involvement creates unwanted trouble. We’ll arrest Tusk and his gang which will hopefully quiet tensions and your friends in the underground will hopefully be left alone.”

“It’s not that easy. Not when it comes to Agartha. I’m sorry but you guys aren’t from New York and you don’t know how things work around here.”

“With all due respect, if I can navigate the delicate politics of the Cold War, I can handle some super-powered vagrants,” Pierce made his way to the front door, “Rest assured we’ll deal with this matter. In the meantime, I suggest getting some rest, Mr. Hawkwood. You seem tired.”

He took his leave and both Hawkwoods instinctively ran their hands through their hair.

“He was at least partially correct,” Arthur told his son, “Taking out Tusk is key but he’s wrong about the DA. Chelsea Kassia will continue to go after Agartha even after Tusk is taken care of.”

“I think you’re right, Dad.”

“I met Tusk a few times but luckily, I never had to fight `im. He was always pissed off but then, I guess he had good reason. Lots of those guys are mad because of how they’ve been treated. Most of the Late Bloomers were getting exploited even before they were mutated and the Pure Bloods were born into all that. There’s a lot of anger and if Kassia pushes against them hard enough, there’s gonna be someone to take Tusk’s place sooner rather than later.”

“I can handle Tusk,” Michael told him, “But after that, it’s a matter of ensuring the cops leave Agartha alone. The Badges showing up in town won’t help matters.”

“You called your friends in the Commission, right?”

“Yeah. Bennings messaged me. They should be showing up once he’s finished with some new suit or something.”

“Having teammates is important right now.”

“Anything else you need to tell me?”

“Yeah. Thinking about it recently, I think me and Raphael made one mistake with how we handled this whole mess,” Arthur said solemnly, “We found a new home for the mutants away from everyone… We never integrated them into society. I think we could’ve done something differently. Found ways to have Agarthans co-exist with the surface.”

“Such as?”

“I guess that part’s for you to decide.”

In New Agartha, Tusk sat in a dilapidated apartment which served as a meeting area in their building; he was surrounded by his lieutenants: Grandma Punch, Hellbender and Gumball. “We’ve been spreading the word,” Hellbender told Tusk, “Everyone’s ready for tonight.”

“Good,” Tusk responded, “Remember, we’re making a point but we’re still getting ours. I always get 30 percent.”

“Of course, big man,” Hellbenser gave him a friendly slap on his shoulder while making sure not to hit a spike, “And hey, what about getting involved in some of the other operations in town? The Costa Tristens are coming up again and I heard -”

“We don’t needa bother with surface shit.”

Hot Mess came into the room with two men wearing clothes that were torn and dirty. No one in the room recognized Vince, the homeless friend of Blockhead, but it would soon be pertinent information. “The hell is this?,” Tusk asked, “They cops?” Hot Mess told him no but through his scarred lips and esophagus, it sounded like “Gyuh”. The Agarthans understood him all the same. The next set of garbled words let them know the two men entered the building on their own.

“We’re on your side,” Vince explained, “We all been living on the streets just like you.”

“We know you kicked the cops outta here,” his friend Tony added, “So we know this is the safest place to be for people like us and don’t worry `bout us not pulling our weight.”

Tusk stood to his feet and eyed the two homeless men, “Are you stupid?,” the two men starred at him nervously as he continued, “We ain’t the same. We ain’t even from the same species! This is New Agartha and it’s only for Pure Bloods… and certain Late Bloomers! To us, the surface is the surface, whether you’re in the White House or you ain’t got no house. Take your broke asses someplace else!” Tusk brought his massive palm down, wrapping every finger around Tony’s head; this elicited a disturbing crackle before the man crumpled to the floor. “Oh god!,” Vince backed up against the wall, hands scrambling to find the door frame while never taking his eyes off his friend’s dead body. Once he found the room’s exit, he spilled out into the hallway and raced toward the stairs. Tusk’s lieutenants looked at him for orders. “Let `im go,” he told them, “Hopefully he tells all the other junkies in town there’s no sympathy for them here,” he motioned to the dead body at his feet, “Now someone get this shit outta here. We got work to do.”

****

The shopping district was one of the few in the city left standing. Many of the citizens of New York had severe financial problems after the Resurgence but going shopping was some semblance of normalcy. It helped take their minds off everything.

A little girl held her mother’s hand while she was led to a store. Despite her mother’s interest in shopping, the girl was bored and looking for any sort of distraction. She found it when she looked up and saw strange figures leaping along the rooftop across the street. “Mommy, look!,” she shouted excitedly as she pointed. When the mother curiously looked up, she saw a glimpse of a flying, winged mutant and a few friends disappearing behind a building ledge. She quickly snatched her daughter up in her arms and ran in the opposite direction.

The New Agarthans arrived from every avenue, causing a panic in the streets. They smashed their way into stores and grabbed electronics, clothes, liquor and anything they could get their hands on. There was a single police cruiser in the area but it was quickly set on fire by Hot Mess (with the officers still inside). They had the entire block surrounded in seconds with most exits sealed off to trap citizens inside as much as possible.

Fortunately, the Cavalier and several allies had secretly positioned themselves in the area beforehand. Cavalier held a launcher in his hands that fired sedative canisters, an item he took from the Castle after his conversation with his father. Meanwhile, Raphael brought the Felidae Guard and some Agarthans who were willing to fight. “Spread out along the block,” Cavalier told them, “If we do nothing else tonight, we gotta catch Tusk.” The Agarthans rushed out into the street to confront Tusk’s people, which gave New York citizens the opportunity to escape. Raphael leapt onto an overturned car and pulled his shades away to release empathic bolts that put several of the Pure Bloods in a serene state. Meanwhile, Mane and Snow took on some of the Agarthans on the ground with their bladed weapons. The rest of the Agarthans collided with one another, quickly tearing up the street with bursts of energy and superhuman punches.

Down the block, Cavalier made his way to a street corner where he saw someone familiar. Tusk flipped a car across the street when he saw the knight, “And there he is!” The Cavalier said nothing as he loaded his cannon and prepared himself for the charging Agarthan that was currently shaking the ground with every step. “You’ve been a pain in my ass for too long,” he roared. Once he was in range, Cavalier launched a canister filled with sedatives but as the projectile reached him, Hellbender leapt into its path. The canister exploded against the humanoid salamander’s chest and he dropped to the ground along with a small, vaporous cloud. Since he had regenerative abilities, Cavalier knew the effects of the sedatives would wear off soon so he had little time. He tried to take another shot at Tusk but by then, he was already barreling down on top of him. The first swing missed but it relieved him of the canon. Cavalier somersaulted to the side to put some distance between them and then pulled his sword.

“You think that thing’s gonna cut me?,” Tusk’s tone was arrogant and offended. “It doesn’t have to,” Cavalier pressed a button on the hilt, revealing it to be another weapon taken from the Castle. Electric currents ran along the blade as Cavalier swung it through the air. Once it found its way to Tusk’s side, hundreds of volts shot through his body; he grunted in pain but remained standing. He raised a foot which covered Cavalier’s entire torso and sent him into the side of a parked car that immediately crumpled around him. The armor saved him from major injury but the kick still took the wind out of him.

Tusk marched forward, “Today, Agartha riots. Tomorrow… it’s gonna be the normies! That’s what it means to live here. Even the good little boys and girls who look human are gonna get it in Shit-Town eventually and when that happens, you’re gonna see this all over again. I just wonder if you’re gonna show them the same energy you show my people.”

Before Tusk could get any closer, an empathic bolt struck him from behind. He immediately stopped, his eyes welling up with tears before he buried his head in his hands. His cries were loud and mournful.

As Tusk stood sobbing, Raphael appeared behind him, “You’ve caused enough trouble. It’s time to leave.” Tusk could only blubber something unintelligible between sobs. Meanwhile, Cavalier was still on the ground, struggling to breathe and because of that, he was unable to warn Raphael that Hellbender had recovered and was sneaking up behind him. The mutant’s tail slapped against Raphael’s back and the impact threw him into a mailbox where he slumped to the ground. The Felidae Guard arrived on the scene just in time to see their leaser’s prone body.

“No!,” Mane pounced on Hellbender in a second with Snow angrily following suit. Mane’s twin katar blades slashed across Hellbender’s face and throat while Snow’s large kukuri blade tore into his gut. “Goddamn!,” Hellbender groaned as he fell to the pavement where he started to regenerate once more. Cavalier, still on the ground, crawled to Raphael’s location to check on his health.

By this time, Grandma Punch had made her way to that section of the block and shoulder-checked both members of the Felidae Guard, “Get away from him!” Mane and Snow were launched through a store front window and rendered unconscious. Cavalier was still too weak to do much as he watched Grandma Punch grab Hellbender by his tail with one hand and hold onto Tusk’s large arm with the other. “C’mon, we gotta go,” she pulled both of them into an alley and presumably escaped the area.

Slowly, Cavalier rose to his feet just in time for Hot Mess and Gumball to show up. “Going somewhere?,” Gumball asked. Hot Mess mumbled something Cavalier couldn’t understand. Then he began to cackle strangely as his body emitted flames. Behind them, Cavalier spotted more and more mutants making their way to his location. His head was spinning but he held his sword firm in his hands all the same.

Then a figure ran past in a blur, removing Gumball and Hot Mess from his line of vision. The mutants were next as they began to get hit with teleported kicks, telekinetic energy, phased attacks and punches from invulnerable fists. In his weakened state, it was hard to decipher what exactly he was seeing but he could hear it. The mutants were getting battered by a super-powered paramilitary group and it was both sudden and precise. When the dust settled, he counted almost two dozen unconscious mutants lying in front of agents who he recognized as Blitz, Warp, Shift, Brick and Phantama – The Badges, also known as the IMD.

“Stand down, Cav,” Phantama ordered him, “We’ll take it from here.”

Epilogue

In the Broken Sword, Blockhead stood in front of the door silently. It was a slow night as many of the regulars knew the Agarthans would be causing trouble and opted to keep their heads down in case they were targeted by the authorities for one reason or another. Blockhead didn’t mind the quiet but he was concerned he would still somehow be roped into the conflict due to being a mutant as well. His thoughts were interrupted once he saw a familiar face running toward him.

“Vince, what’s wrong?”

“They killed Tony,” the old man told him in a panicked tone, “We tried to find shelter in New Agartha. We thought they’d let us in!”

“Who was it?,” Blockhead asked angrily.

“Some big guy with spikes… Think he was the leader. You know ‘im?”

“Yeah,” he furrowed his rocky brow, “I know who he is. And he’s about to know who I am.”

Continued…