They went outside to see what had happened, and as Crucible went around the other side of the totalled tractor trailer, he seemed to step through an illusory barrier, only to come face to face with two massive brutes- the Wrecker and the Absorbing Man! Directing the ambush was none other than the Roughnecks old nemesis- Bullseye!
Seemingly cut off from the mental link connecting him to his team mates, Crucible was engaged hard in battle before he could do anything else. Sabanion and Fenris quickly passed through the screen as well, and joined the fight immediately upon seeing the situation. Phantasm puzzled over the source of the mental blocks, and moved in, only to also see that the scene was blocked by a powerful illusion.
The combatants traded several earth shattering blows, with the heroes taking the worst of it at first.
Sabanion latched onto Crusher Creel and did his best Tasmanian Devil, flinging the villain a good mile and a half out into the Hudson River. Within moments, however, something had brought the Absorbing Man back, as he seemed to fly back over the tops of the nearby buildings and drop right back into the fray.
Sabanion once again spun his deadly attack, and this time it was Bullseye who reaped the whirlwind, taking his turn sampling the refreshing waters of the nearby drink.
But as the fight raged on, the tide had slowly turned. Fenris then caught scent of another combatant, only she was barely concealed on the roof of a nearby building.
She was tall and redheaded, and was decked out in black leather and lace. A mask hid her identity, but they knew that this was the enhanced who was making the fight that much more difficult for them.
As the fight turned fully in favor of the heroes, and as Fenris and Phantasm made a move to reach the woman on top of the building, she vanished into nothingness.
Whoever she was, she had sut down Phantasm's psionic life detection, or had at least shielded both herself and her compatriots from the power of the remnant's ghostly senses.
As they finished mopping up the bricks, the authorities had nearly arrived on the scene. Before they came into sight, the heroes finished tying up the superthugs and made a dash for the mansion.
The coppers began taping off and securing the area, and shortly thereafter, a gleaming blur streaked through the night sky overhead and landed in a red and gold crouch near the scene of the fight.
Iron Man had come at the police department's emergency call.
Looking around while the police filled him in, he quickly spotted the newly rebuilt mansion and shook his head slowly.
"Finish securing these goons, boys, and I'll then take them to the raft myself," he said. "But first I've gotta make a quick house call."
He walked purposefully up to the front door and rapped the door knocker three times. "Hello?" he said, "Anybody home? Can I come in?"
"NO!" Crucible shouted from the other side.
"Aha..." he said thoughtfully. "Well, okay then..." he continued, holding up the palms of his gauntlets toward the face of the door. The telltale whine of charging repulsors were enough for the door to swing wide open, and Tony Stark walked inside.
After a few moments' discussion, the Roughnecks learned that ever since the Battle of New York, and the increased numbers of enhanced running around in the world, the police had created a dedicated emergency line to the Avengers. Iron Man had been in the area on Stark Enterprises business, and had responded to the call. While he explained, he received another incoming call-
"Wait- Pepper? What?" he said out loud in response. "Seriously? Alright, I'll finish here and drop the prisoners at the Raft. In the interim, have F.R.I.D.A.Y. try to pick up the trail again."
"What's the deal, Tony?" Axl Christensen asked his old boss.
"Well, it seems that this all may have been one big, messed up, poorly planned diversion," he replied. "Except for the fact that it seems to have worked- the convoy I was escorting was hit within moments of me leaving. Whatever hit it also blocked out the satellite feed using some kind of electromagnetic interference. The energy signature was unique and unidentified... until now."
Exiting the mansion he went over to the bound villains and stopped. As the Roughnecks had once again gone incognito in their civilian guises, they had followed him out into the street.
"Once I get these clowns into holding cells, I'm going to find out who did this. If you come across anything useful, maybe we can trade information."
"We'll let you know," Axl said to him.
"Hey, Axl," Tony Stark said to him before blasting off. "Are you guys totally committed to the 'Roughnecks?' I mean, seriously, take a look around- a werewolf? an elemental? a ghost? a demon?"
"How about-" he looked up and put his hands together in front of him, then spead them wide in a flourish as if he were standing under a billboard on Broadway- "The MONSTER SQUAD?"
"What? No?" he said, noting the disapproving looks he got back in return for his suggestion. "Well, it's just a thought. And probably a copyright infringement of some sort."
"In any event, I'll be in touch."
With that, he picked up a goon in each hand and rocketed away into the night.
"You know something?" Crucible pointed out somewhat mystified, looking up as the Armored Avenger disappeared from sight. "Not a single one of us can fly..."
(published 11/23/15)
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