Chapter 9: Meetings 2
-FlashBacks-
All four were thrown back disoriented, but still in the fight when they got to their feet. Superman turned to look where the weapons came from and felt a frown on his face... the Thunderbolts had arrived.
A man in blue with an advanced flight pack flew alongside a blonde-haired woman in orange and red segmented armor. Behind them was a quartet of three men and one woman looking out over the scene.
The man on the far right was dressed in a red and black suit, a red bandana on his head and tech backpack on him. On the far left was a large man in a red suit with yellow boots and blue shoulder pads as well as a large "A" on his chest, to his right was the other woman in the group wearing a dark blue and white with gold armbands. and neck guard and his hair was mostly white with red extensions in the front framing his face.
Finally, there was a man dressed in purple with red bandages around his waist, forearms, and shins, purple cape, and American flag-themed shoulder pads, while his face was hidden in a white V-shaped mask.
These were the newest heroes to hit the scene, known individually as Mach-1, Meteorite, Techno, Atlas, Songbird, and finally their leader Citizen V. Men and women have answered the call after the Avengers and the Fantastic Four (and Dr. Doom, though not quite so lost), sacrifice themselves to defeat the entity known as Onslaught, this unknown group has risen to take their place.
Now for the regular New Yorker they were God sent but for Clark not so much since he knew who they TRULY were... The Masters of Evil!
The Beetle, Moonstone, Fixer, Goliath, Screaming Mimi and one of Captain America's most hated enemies, Baron Helmut Zemo.
'My luck can't be that bad! I mean, why did it have to be them to the rescue...okay, calm down Clark, remember that not all of them end up evil like Zemo and Moonstone.' Clark thinks as he studies his features as he looks at Zemo.
The Thunderbolts, for their part, studied the scene before them, they all knew of the Wrecking Crew even though they had heard that they were weakened and incarcerated, but then again, when did that stop people like them?
Then there was the man in the red cape, they too had heard of this newcomer and his incredible powers, but unlike them he seemed to operate all over the world rather than just New York City despite being seen there above all.
"Superman, I presume?" Citizen V asks how their means of transport, the V-Wing, bends down to let the four down while the airmen float. The entire crew is keeping an eye on the crew for any sudden movement that reciprocates the sentiment when their targets finally arrive.
"Is that what people chose to call me, and are you ladies and gentlemen?" He calmly says he needs to keep up appearances for now, as much as he wants to deal with the man.
"We are friends, the Thunderbolts, although more detailed introductions will have to wait..." The undercover mentor spoke calmly as he looked at the Wrecking Crew.
"As soon as we deal with these criminal scum."
"Funny idiot but that's fine with us as it means that once we deal with you idiots we get a mountain of money for it." Wrecker comments sarcastically as he and the others attack the group.
The Thunderbolts and Superman soon race to find them, Techno and Meteorite face Piledriver, Mach-1 and Songbird against Bulldozer, Atlas and Superman against Thunderball while Citizen V faces Wrecker.
Techno attacked from a distance using his technopack's onboard weaponry, lasers and explosives were fired at the man in red and white, while the woman dove and bombarded him from multiple angles as the criminal tried to avoid gun fire. It didn't help that he was injured in his battles with the Kryptonian, this was evident when Meteorite came in hot and slammed her glowing fist into his jaw and causing his head to turn with the force, she quickly gained altitude. His trouble didn't end there as Techno hit him with a focused concussion beam that hit him hard...
"Argh!"
His pain-filled screams were cut short, however, when Meteorite landed at high speed on his torso. That was the final nail in his coffin as he collapsed after being subjected to so much punishment.
The two then split up, Techno to help Mach-1 and Songbird while Meteorite went to help their leader. The group's tech specialist figured he might not need to do much as both Airmen had their enemy well under control, given their air superiority and long range attacks they had the Bulldozer desperate to mount some sort of attack.
He threw broken pieces of pavement, mounds of dirt, anything really to hit the two, as jumping proved useless against the agile duo. Mach-1 was attacking him with miniature missiles while Songbird was attacking with sound blasts and constructs, Techno just waiting for the right moment to attack.
That moment soon arrived as he leapt back to avoid a barrage of missiles, that momentary separation from the ground gave him a small window which he used to fire another concussive blast into the man's unprotected back...
"Ugh!"
"Yo Mach hit him with the gas!" He yelled at his teammate who just stared for a moment before targeting Bulldozer who was trying to recover, Techno then addressed Songbird as missiles flew from Mach-1's pulse launcher.
"Songbird, when the gas hits cover Mr. Personality here in a dome!"
She doesn't say anything, but once the pink gas appears, a dome made of solid sound appears around the man who starts hammering on the makeshift prison.
"Grr..." She mutters as she struggles to keep the field.
"You can do this Song! You did it!" Mach-1 encourages the woman as he places his hand on her shoulder as a show of support. She can't answer, but her face shows renewed concentration that lasts until finally the pounding stops and she releases the dome to reveal an unconscious Bulldozer.
She was naturally exhausted as the Bulldozer was a powerhouse and as she was still learning about her new abilities she still needed to train them more. She felt Mach-1 back her up and smiled in thanks, he also smiled from being hidden behind his helmet, Techno just rolled his eyes.
'Get a room you two! What are we? teenagers in high school?' He thinks before looking at Atlas and Superman.
Both men were holding up very well against Thunderball, who kept them at bay with his gun. Despite being 12 feet tall, Atlas moves quite agile to avoid the ball and chain while taking steps not to get in Superman's way.
'Too bad he's a scout, a guy with his level of power could be useful for Zemo's plan.' The giant thinks to himself… Clark not sharing his opinion.
'I can't believe this... working with a damn Master of Evil! Of course he's one of the people who really wants to become a hero later on, but come on! Ugh, I feel dirty just thinking about it.'
Clearly, he wasn't comfortable with the idea of working with the team that hadn't yet sought redemption, but he was flexible enough to do so in the moment, at least that's what he tells himself as he dodges when the ball demolition machine hits where it had been.
'To hell with it!' Clark thought.
"Hey big guy! How big can you get!?" he asks as Thunderball dodges a giant punch before retaliating with a kick that misses Atlas as he retreats.
"Let's go with a lot, why?"
"Go as far as you can now!" He screamed as he attacked the man as his temporary ally grew to a size that would rival the Statue of Liberty itself. Thunderball made the mistake of looking at the gigantic Atlas instead of Superman, therefore he didn't see the Man of Steel move at super speed until he saw him in front of him with his right fist drawn back...
"Turn off the lights, idiot!" and then proceeded to land an uppercut on the man's stunned face...
* WHAM! * sending it flying upwards.
"Your Atlas move!" Superman screamed when he saw the Thunderball rising.
And the man really made his move as his titanic fist plummeted to meet the rising villain who could do nothing as his body was hurled back at higher speeds towards the unrelenting earth with a loud bang and crater as the end result.
Atlas shrunk to normal size when he found Superman on the edge of the crater, they both heard a painful but very defeated groan from Thunderball in the center of it.
"I bet he'll be sore in the morning." Atlas teased with a smirk.
"Good for us." Clark couldn't agree more, turning to where the disguised Zemo and Moonstone were still fighting the pack leader, he debated whether or not he should help them.
'I've had enough of the 4 idiots and that damn imposter!' He thinks as he lunges at the Wrecker as he counters the Meteorite before engaging Citizen V.
"Ha! You think you can defeat me? I fought Captain America!" Wrecker said smug.
"And lost if my memory serves me right..." Zemo spoke aloud, but he was really thinking...
'You imbecile Neanderthal! I'm Rogers' superior and you think you can defeat me? How absurd!'
Of course, anything else that could have been said was cut short when the Wrecker was suddenly thrown to the side as Superman's shoulder tackled him. He took one look at the villain in disguise before walking towards the stunned powerhouse.
"You know I consider myself a patient and calm man in the face of danger..." He spoke calmly as he reached Wrecker and countered a left hook before the rabbit punched him in the jaw.
"I mean, in this job..." He ducks under a savage blow and retaliates with a blow to the stomach.
"Ugh!"
"It's practically a prerequisite, but there are times..." He grabbed the man before kneeing him in the stomach and then grabbing him by the back of his green jacket and throwing him away, making him fall away from him. .
"When men like you and your henchmen really piss me off."
Wrecker returned to his knees, feeling nothing but a rising anger at how everything was falling apart.
"I'll kill you!"
"No, you won't." He heard the man practically on top of him, turning to look, he saw him standing before him. He snarled at the Kryptonian and threw a rising uppercut that was caught at the wrist by the man's left hand, a hand that began to squeeze.
"You see, you and your band of minions have made three mistakes here, one you tried to beat me up for stopping you, two you damaged Lady Liberty herself, and finally you practically tried to hurt innocent men, women and children just for a job. ."
At this point Clark applied a considerable amount of force that caused the man to scream painfully.
"Aah! What!? What argh... are you!?"
Wrecker screams as he tries to get the man to let go, the thought of summoning his crowbar never even crossed his mind due to the pain he was in.
"I'm a man you made very angry."
And with that response, Clark decided to drop the Superman persona for a bit and channel his more violent side as he kneed the man in the groin.
"URGH!!" Wrecker screamed as his eyes rolled back in his skull.
Making the male members of the Thunderbolts and the male audience watching at home shudder, he followed with a headbutt that startled the purple hooded criminal who dropped to his knees in a daze and Superman raised his right fist and landed a devastating right jab to the jaw that it spun and cracked the man's jaw unconscious, a small mercy for the pain he's sure to feel when he wakes up.
Clark doesn't particularly mind this, although as he surveys the damage to the island he is not happy to say the least, as he sees the Thunderbolts moving towards him with Zemo in the lead.
'Don't use heat vision to melt the rest of your ugly face.' He thinks by emanating his inner Buddha.
He continued telling himself when the man in question stopped before him.
"A little harsh towards the end, isn't it?" The masked man asks in a jovial tone, though anyone other than Clark wouldn't see how fake it was.
"As I explained, he shouldn't have made me angry by attacking innocent people or damaging one of this nation's symbols just because of the money." He replied while emanating a smile.
"Hmm true I suppose, ah, but where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself and my teammates." The man dressed in purple spoke heartily as he pointed to the right.
"Here we have one of our Techno tech specialists, to his left is one of our Meteorite heavy hitters, followed by the other one known as Atlas and our two Mach-1 flyers and the adorable Songbird and I'm known as Citizen V."
"Your reputation precedes you, citizen, as I have read of your predecessor's achievements in World War II." Clark responded politely to mask his distaste for the man by posing in patriotic colors and tarnishing the legacy of a great hero.
"Thank you, although I'm surprised we meet Superman this way, as we've also heard of your recent commendations in defending not only this beautiful city, but the world at large." Zemo responded sincerely, albeit masking his intentions, as he kept an eye on the man before him, due to his incredible powers and willingness to defend the entire planet.
"Someone needs to make sure the world the Avengers and Fantastic Four gave their lives keeps turning... it's the least I can do to honor them." That was the plain truth, as far as Clark cared to say, he knew they would come back, but he would defend the world before they did.
"A worthy cause if ever there was one." Zemo openly admitted it, though he mentally mocked the man, though he chose not to show it as the man before him could become a threat to his plans in the future.
'Although he fought them off, he's still incredibly powerful given how quickly he decimated Wrecker. He must be holding back...but why?' he wonders before the Kryptonian's voice pulls him out of his thoughts.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen..."
'And I say that very, very, VERY loosely.' Clark scoffs inwardly.
"... I must end this conversation with sadness, as there are probably injured people who need help beyond trying to repair the Statue of Liberty itself." He says as he points to the fallen arm of the statue.
"Then we will allow you to help in this effort." The villain in disguise reached out to the man. Clark resisted the urge to squash it, though he made a mental note to dive into the magma to feel the metaphorical slime.
-FlashBack end-
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F for mini villain lol
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