บท 45: Chapter 45: The Sirens, the Devil, and the Kingpin Part Two
Chapter Forty Five "The Sirens, the Devil, and the Kingpin Part Two."
Daredevil was a man who stood forward and carefully, even if he could not see, his eyes were watching every single moment and every single movement. He stood without fear and without any attempts to show that he was anything but the calculating individual he was. His heart drummed strong and soundly while he awaited the next moment. Truly, he had an axe to grind with this Kingpin and that was something that Spider-Man noticed.
'So he's really got it out for the Kingpin,' Spider-Man thought with wide eyes before he spoke up.
"So, Um, what exactly happened between you and Kingpin in the first place that cause this?" Spider-Man wondered but Daredevil turned to him, slowly rooting on the spot.
"It's personal," he responded in his gruffest tone of voice.
Sure enough it was personal, most things were. He flashed back in his mind to a time where he was young and innocent. Or at least more innocent than he was now but that was beside the point, the point was that times have changed. His father was named Jack Murdoch, he was a prize fighter, the best in the world, but one day he was told to took a dive by a man who wanted to see his fighter win. Jack Murdoch did not play that game and was a man of honor.
His young son, Matt Murdoch, stepped forward across the street, not watching where he was going. There was a truck that barreled down towards him and stopped, it carried radioactive waste on the back. Some of it splashed into his eyes, blinding him. That was a sad day and there was one man who was responsible for the trafficking of that material.
His name was the Kingpin, that's all Matt needed to know. His father tried to get his hands on the Kingpin but he was shot down, quite literally. He still remembered hearing the life leave his father when the Kingpin's goons left him for dead. He recalled it with fury, his fists clutched and teeth gritted when he thought about everything that happened. This was the worst thing ever and something that spun his entire world on its head.
He thought that everything was done but he got a lifeline, a man known as Stick found him and took him it. He trained Matt to use his senses, his other senses, to their fullest. The radioactive waste gave him super powers beyond his wildest imaginings and that allowed him to step forward, to do what needed to be done. This city needed protectors from trash like the Kingpin and the crowd he ran around with.
So he became Daredevil, he was the Man Without Fear, and he stood at the edge of the rooftop, carefully pondering, while technically speaking he could not look over the city, he could still protect it. The Kingpin threw more people in the crossfire than ever before and things got more intense with each passing moment, the more the Man Without Fear thought about it.
"So do you want our help?" Arcane asked to break him out of his thoughts.
Daredevil paused, there was an instant where he looked his gruffest but underneath the mask, there was a hint of frustration. With anyone who did what he did, it was quite understandable. That hint could be picked up by anyone who was skilled at reading body language but he blocked it out from most of the world and powered on through.
"Your help would be appreciated," Daredevil admitted grudgingly, but it almost pained him to admit so.
A smile snapped over Spider-Man's face. "Great so that means we should…"
"Do what we have to do to track down the Kingpin and stop him but it won't be easy," Daredevil answered when he spun around. "All I can piece together about him is that he is a man of immense resources. He has barely even stepped out into the light, letting his underlings do the work. Smart man, there are people who would shoot him on sight if they knew who he was."
"I'd imagine," Arcane responded when he kept his gaze steady and thought about everything.
He kept an eye on the girls, checking with the tracking charm that he put on them. Harry vowed to not get involved with their business unless they got into too much trouble. He had confidence in their abilities that they would not get into trouble, at least to a certain extent. Of course, leaving something like that up to chance. He kept a steady eye on the tracking spell.
Somehow Harry thought that despite his attempts to lead them out of the line of fire of this gang war, they would come across trouble. He trained them too well all things considered, that's what the wizard thought.
"So are we ready to do this thing?" Spider-Man asked carefully waiting on pins and needles.
Daredevil's steely glance snapped towards the web slinger, when he heard the heartbeat of both of them. Spider-Man looked a bit apprehensive but ready, but the other one, this Arcane, he showed no fear whatsoever, in addition to his alien heartbeat. It was almost as if he had no concept of mortality, and the fact that it was a dangerous world out there. That spoke well of him to an extent, Daredevil imagined.
"Yes, we are ready," Arcane stated before he paused and amended. "I can't speak for him, but I'm ready at least."
"There is no amount of preparation that will prepare us for what was going to happen so now is the time for action," Daredevil responded in a gruff voice one could not argue with.
Arcane and Spider-Man both knew they were ready. Both of them had been dealing with this sort of thing for a long time but given what Daredevil said the stakes could not be higher. Everything bubbled over carefully when they waited for the next move to happen. The trio moved off into the shadows, waiting to see what their next move would be.
"Are you sure we should be meddling in this?"
Scott took a moment to turn to Kurt, before he added in a confident voice that did not really suit him all that much. "Kurt, everything is going to turn out fine, just fine. We're going to give them a hand, like good teammates do."
Kurt appeared to be uncertain. "I mean, I don't want to be near any of them when they get mad. And if Harry finds out about this…."
"Harry won't find out about this," Scott answered in confidence but Kurt threw his hands up before he spoke in a frustrated whispered.
"Are you daft, man? Harry Potter knows everything. He sees when you're sleeping; he knows when you're awake. He doesn't sleep, he merely waits. Even Professor Xavier doesn't know as much about us, and Logan doesn't, even though he should."
Scott decided to block out the very real annoyance about how observant Harry was but so far, he was not here. At least he was not seen anywhere but as Scott painfully reminded himself, he was not nearly as observant as Harry was.
Speaking of being observant, it was now that the group of six walked in. Jean led the way, walking with a confident stride that suited her new attitude. Kitty and Rachel followed closely behind her, then Rogue, then Amara and Tabby. The group of six waited and watched, before their eyes kept firmly focused on the task at hand.
"Something big going on," Kurt whispered to Scott but Scott shushed him and Kurt fell silent. All the two boys could do is wait and watch.
Kitty stopped and paused, she sensed that they were not alone. Perhaps it was an occupational hazard of being near Harry too much and thus she became slightly paranoid, but the fact of the matter was that she turned to her fellow teammates. Her eyes darted quickly to the rafters and she could have sworn she saw something move rather quickly.
"Keep on your toes guys, we could have trouble," Kitty stated to them.
Tabby was the one who responded in a brash voice, when she cracked her knuckles. "It's nothing that we can't handle. I mean after we trashed those car-jackers, we're on a roll, so let's do this thing."
"You might be on a roll ladies, but it's about to stop now."
The voice echoed for all of them to hear and the Sirens stood on edge, waiting a little bit. The voice they heard was commanding with a presence that caused them to all stand up and take attention. Voices like this echoed loud and bold, proud and could stretch on for miles. The group of six waited before they watched them.
"Who are you?" Rogue demanded before she placed her hands on her hips. "Show yourself!"
There was a chuckle before the voice responded once again. "Now be realistic, my dear, do you think that I would step into the light? I am called many things in the criminal underworld but you may call me the Kingpin."
"Yeah, well I'm calling you out for a butt whooping!" Rogue stated when she cracked her knuckles.
"Such spirit but yet such a temper," the Kingpin stated in an even voice. "You Bayville Sirens do have potential. I will not kill you, because you are an asset. Rather I'd offer you a job; I'd even pay you money. Mutants would be respected and not feared like it is inevitable."
The girls got on edge, how did this guy know what they were? Jean tried to scan for any thought patterns so she could find out where the Kingpin was hiding. Yet after that search failed she came to one simple conclusion, whoever was talking to them, he was not here and that was pretty frustrating.
"Too bad you can't come out and face us," Jean answered, feeling the Phoenix within her flare up in anger.
The chuckle of the Kingpin echoed through their ears before he decided to enlighten them on one simple matter. "That would be folly, my dear siren. So my offer, whilst it will be generous, expires in a short time. I would suggest you take advantage of it while you can."
"How about no?" Tabby asked when she put her hands on her hips, bracing herself for a fight. "We could dish anything that you can take out so bring it buster."
The laughter of the Kingpin could be heard; this very thing put the Sirens on edge. The hairs on the back of their necks stood in attention when they waited for the other shoe to drop. The other shoe was about to drop but they did not know how much it was going to drop. The group swayed and waited, carefully keeping on their feet.
"I'm guessing that means no," Kingpin stated when his chuckles ceased.
Before any of the Sirens could make a snappy retort, a high frequency pulse ripped through the air. The siren felled the Sirens, with Jean and Rachel in particular getting the worst of it. It felt like their heads were split open, the other four did not fare too well other from the energy blast.
"What….is that?" Amara managed, her heart beating heavily, when she felt her powers go out of control.
Scott's eyes began to blast high above them, causing chaos and forcing the Siren's to scatter.
"I can't believe….I can't believe that…." Kurt could not say anything more for he began to teleport in an erratic manner, nearly teleporting into things and on top of people, with his powers going completely haywire.
"This frequency disrupts mutant powers, a hand little device as you can see, and causes them to hurt the users of them as well," the Kingpin commented, before he snapped his fingers and several armed goons walked forward, ready to rough up the Bayville Sirens. "Nothing personal, my dears, just business, that's all."
"What are you doing here?" Jean demanded when Scott and Kurt were brought down, and collars were locked onto them, along with the crippled sirens.
'And now our powers are gone,' Jean thought to herself, when she squirmed. 'Great, wonderful, could this day get any better?'
"What I want to know is how this Kingpin guy got all of this tech?" Kitty wondered and that was a good question but none of them were close to getting the answers they wanted.
You aren't the only group who works in a co-op effort," Kingpin answered carefully when he watched the carefully. "You X-Men aren't the only mutants in town."
"So that's it, you're a mutant?" Scott managed, trying to get a word in.
"Not that it concerns you, but that is not what I implied in the slightest," the Kingpin answered in a careful voice, choosing his next few words as such. "Although there are mutants in high society, not that you'd live long enough to learn about them, or whom they are."
Warning and malice dripped from the voice of the Kingpin, when the X-Men were at his not so tender mercy.
"Wait, so there are mutants….among us in high society,' Gwen responded when they broke back in the present.
"Yes, that's what he said, I'm not sure what he really meant," Harry answered before he cleared his throat and went back to his story. "So, the X-Men were in for a rough time now."
"That's what happens when they don't have their leader around," Gwen mused but Harry gave her a shifty look. "Sorry, please continue."
"Gladly," Harry chimed in before he cleared his throat and then paused for dramatic effect. "So we established that the Kingpin had friends in high society, that equipped him with technology that brought mutants to his knees. At first, I thought that there was a Sinister hand at work here, but then I determined that there might be another explanation. Something new but we could not worry about that. This was the time where I decided to step in, I figured the practical lesson was over, and it was time to clean some house."
Harry paused when he reflected, he wished the Kingpin would have been there in person but that guy, whoever he was, was not going to be that easy. He was the type that hid underneath a rock before he waited to strike at the right time, whenever that would be. The Kingpin was slippery as a snake.
"And apparently, I can't leave my team alone for five minutes,' Harry thought to himself when he arrived, with Daredevil leading the charge and Spider-Man swinging in behind them. 'So…this Kingpin guy, doesn't want to show his face. That's fine, I'll take care of him later.'
Harry heard a buzzing in his ears but his eyes closed and he blocked it out before he powered on through. His heart beaten against his chest when he tried to figure out what the source was to what was causing this. He would have been able to step forward had it not been for one simple thing and that was that Spider-Man hunched over.
"What is it?" Arcane asked when his eyes flickered towards the wall crawler who placed a hand on the top of his head. What is it?
"Spider Sense, going wild," Spider-Man answered when his eyes closed shut and his mouth rattled a little bit, but his heart beat a little bit more, when he swayed, sweat rolling down his body.
Harry peered around, another high pressure situation but that was no problem, he'd been there and done that. He wished he could block out that infernal buzzing sound but perhaps he was trying to think about this problem from the wrong angle. He bent his knee down and waited for the right moment to strike. Any second now, he could jump in and find what was causing the issue.
Suddenly, he saw that five of his girls were about to be roughed up by those gorillas, along with Tabby. Kurt was there to and Scott…well he was there too, so Harry supposed that he was going to have to save him as well. He calculated each and every angle with intense mental processing power, he tried to find it, tried to locate it. Time slowed down to a crawl and everyone but Arcane moved in slow motion. He could slow down time to a tenth of a second fast, which was new to him.
Whenever he exhibited a new power, he simply rolled with the punches and saw what it would bring him. He carefully saw the glowing light, the blipping in the back of his head. The agitation echoed through the back of his head, but he found it. He found whatever was doing this.
Or at least it was doing this, he felt a burning through his wrists but at the same time, he blasted the weapon to pieces. It shuddered and smoked.
With a whip of his wrist, Harry released the X-Men from the collars and their powers returned, in time.
"I was wondering when you'd turn up," Kurt commented breathlessly but suddenly, Spider-Man swung in and with one fluid motion sent his line of webbing around the ankles of one of his enemies. His enemy flew to the ground and smacked hard against the ground. "And you too."
"Yeah me, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man here to save the day and all that jazz," Spider-Man responded when he swooped in from the top of the rafters and prepared to clean house.
"Now the odds are getting a bit better," Kitty answered with a smile, before she grabbed the gun out of the hands one of her attackers. Rogue knocked him down with a swift punch to the back of the head. The brunette mutant jumped up, before she grabbed her enemy around the head and sank him headfirst into the ground.
Tabby launched several of her bombs, taking them off guard, while Amara heated up the ground where they were fighting. They got a hot foot and that allowed Jean to grab onto them with her telekinetic powers, before whipping them into the wall.
Rachel closed her eyes, carefully maneuvering her powers against the minds of her enemies. She gritted her teeth before she projected a thought into their minds, to tell them to go to sleep.
"Wow, where did that guy come from?" Kitty asked in a raised eyebrow when she watched Daredevil dive down and swing his mighty staff, before he knocked the feet of his enemies out from underneath him.
"I don't know, but I like his moves," Tabby stated, watching him, interested.
Harry dove forward and knocked one of the larger thugs into the wall, snapping several bones of his body. He lifted him up, his legs and arms stretched out by a magical attack.
"So, I'm going to only ask you this question once," Harry remarked to him, carefully twisting his limbs, before he swung him upside down. "Where is the Kingpin?"
"Go to hell," the criminal spat but that was the wrong answer to give, Harry whipped him back against the wall. He landed on the wall, when Spider-Man webbed two of the criminals together, causing them to clonk heads. Kitty drove one of the criminals headfirst into the ground until he stopped breathing and then brought him back up, before she kicked him one more time for good measure.
"So how are you doing?" Kitty asked when she watched Kurt teleport out of the way, causing the charging enemy to trip himself up and he landed on the back of his head with the knock out attack.
The enemies fell down, toppling like nine pins and everything worked out well with the exception of one thing that stuck in their teeth. Harry could tell that Daredevil felt frustrated.
They were no closer than getting their hands on the Kingpin then they were earlier tonight.
Harry spun around and faced the group of girls, his eyes narrowing at them. Amara was the one who looked the most sheepish.
"So, how did we do?" she asked.
Scott turned around, this was unbelievable. If he gave them a look like that, he would have gotten dressed down and yelled at. If Harry gave them a look like that, he was asked for his honest assessment of the situation. This was one of those things that made Scott want to lie down and give up.
"We'll talk later," Harry answered to the girls, who all nodded, and Spider-Man stood off to the side, trying not to break down into laughter at the situation.
"So, after all of that, the Kingpin slips away," Spider-Man responded before he amended in a hasty voice. "Not that it was your fault, obviously."
"Well to be fair, he wasn't ever here," Arcane managed and Spider-Man nodded, that much was for certain. They could not really deal all that much with someone who was not really here.
"Daredevil's gone but then again, he's not the chatty type to stick around," Spider-Man answered when he looked over his shoulder.
"We busted a lot of the Kingpin's men, so this night wasn't a total waste," Arcane responded before he turned to Jean. Jean stood her ground but there was a bit of uneasiness dancing through her eyes. She didn't really care what Scott thought about what happened or Xavier but she cared a whole bit about what Harry thought about how this situation turned out.
There was an extremely calm and at the same time, extremely awkward silence that happened. Jean watched Harry carefully, keeping an eye on him. The Phoenix even warned her that indulging in such activities out of spite might cause some friction. Yet, Jean chose to ignore those warnings. And the warnings of Rachel, who turned out to be right this entire time about what happened.
"So the Bayville Sirens," Harry answered when he looked at them. "First of all, I knew it was you the entire time, and I kept an eye on you."
"And it's a good thing you did," Kitty offered when she jumped in for the defense and Harry responded with a nod. "I mean, it could have totally gone the wrong way if you hadn't interfered when you did."
"Yeah it could have," Harry agreed before he added to the group at large, a smile crossing his face. "Although today did prove one thing, and that is you are pretty well trained. That speaks well of you and that will continue to speak well of you. I hope that you've learned that training might not be everything. There will always be one person who will have the better tools. But those tools aren't everything, as if they bust, then the playing field becomes more even."
Harry actually got a similar lecture from the Sorcerer Supreme about the folly of relying on magical artifacts. Just because something seemed like it was a good idea to use, did not always mean it should be used. Of course, there was also the point that most magical artifacts held a dangerous curse on them that could backfire in the face of the user, but that was beside the point.
The point was that no matter how many trinkets that one had in their disposal, the human mind was still a very powerful weapon and Harry hoped to impart that upon his students. Powers were useless if a person was an idiot. Of course, the human mind was capable of making mistakes, that was what made them humans or in that case mutants.
"So I guess we've got a lot to learn," Kitty answered when she looked at Harry, biting her lip in a sheepish manner but Harry gripped her hand, before he grabbed it tightly.
"You do have a lot to learn, always have and always will," Harry added with a smile on his face before he watched her. "I have a lot to learn, we all have a lot to learn. I like to think that no matter what, we never stop learning. That is what makes us who we are."
There was one thing that Harry would like to learn and that was where was the Kingpin. Or who was he, that was another thing that he wanted to know. His green eyes burned when he thought about the burning question. He knew that he was close to the answers that eluded him for quite some time. Today's battle, it was the first stage to something greater.
From what Daredevil stated, there was a gang war coming, in fact one could say that it was on its way. He wondered how much that would affect what he was trying to with the X-Men and what his plans were for the not so distant future. As the summer wound down, so did his time at the Xavier Institute. He thought for a brief time that Xavier might try and make him an offer that he was unable to refuse, but so far, there was nothing, nothing at all. That disappointed Harry, but he supposed that such was life, even if it made him feel underappreciated. There was only so much charity one could give.
It would come time to move on pretty soon but they were all heading home, it had been a long night.
"So, that's it?" Gwen asked with a raised eyebrow when she looked at Harry ,when he concluded his story.
Harry offered a shrug of his shoulders before he looked back at Gwen, a sheepish expression appearing on his face. "You know, this was one of those stories that sounded a hundred times better in my head."
"No, I think the story was fine, it's just….I mean you learned a lesson, but the Kingpin is still out there," Gwen offered, before she placed her hand on Harry's, and the two crowded closer together. There was some time where they eyed each other for a moment and then Gwen cleared her throat before she continued. "I don't think that was a good thing at all, with him being out there and all still."
"No it wasn't," Harry admitted when he spun Gwen around a little bit to look into her eyes. "The entire mutants in high society thing, well I knew that there were more of us out there. But if my guess is correct, they're using their powers to try and….they're going to try and take things over."
Harry wondered what their game was other than that, for some reason, that seemed way too simplistic for people with mutant powers. He clicked his tongue and hummed a little bit, his eyes flashing when he mulled it over in his mind. Time ran short and Harry knew that he had to get back to the Xavier Institute for some early morning training.
"Bye, Gwen, talk to you later," Harry answered, before she got up and threw her arms around her, before she pressed his lips against hers with a smashing kiss.
"Don't be a stranger, Harry," Gwen responded and Harry smiled before he disappeared.
Kitty was waiting for him at the Xavier Institute, and there was a sheepish grin on her face.
"Well Xavier gave us a lecture about the entire Sirens mess, but….it was what it was," Kitty answered when she greeted her boyfriend with a hug. "As if no sex for three days wasn't punishment enough."
Harry smiled before he looked at Kitty. "Well you have been a very naughty girl."
"No, Lockheed's been the naughty one, he's did his business on Principal Kelly's lawn," Kitty responded, but she could not help but smiling. "I don't know how he escaped."
"Dragons can be annoying resourceful," Harry responded wisely and Kitty gripped his hands, before she threw her head back, smiling at that fact. "And giving its owner, I would expect it to be doubly successful."
"Flattery will get you everywhere Mr. Potter," Kitty answered when she eyed him with a smile on her face. "So can I…."
"Tonight Kitty, training session awaits, you girls did have some moves out there, I want to make sure the other team members soaked it in that well," Harry answered when he turned to watch and observe the latest training session.
"So we have more problems than we previously believed."
An imposing and large figure sat behind the desk, when he folded his arms, his careful gaze on one of his lead subordinates. The events of the past couple of days went back into his head. The car jacking scheme was a front to distract the authorities and the heroes around this town from the true nature of his plans. Given the fact that Silvermane got released from prison and the Master Planner moved in on his territory, the Kingpin was put in the pressure cooker and he needed to make deals to deliver the goods to his partners.
When the going got tough, the tough got going and there was no one as tough as the Kingpin. He rolled over every single crime lord that got in his way, building up his ranks. He strong armed many men out of his turf and folded them into his own criminal empire, whilst he made sure that he kept with his plans as it was in the past. He folded many of these men and women into his criminal empire, all in the name of ensuring that he would have the very best and the very brightest.
And now there was a problem and that problem was Daredevil. The Guardian Devil of Hell's Kitchen muscled in on his territory, taking out his men one by one. There were more operations foiled in a month than the Kingpin could even remember happening during his entire time on the throne. This could not be allowed, no question about it. There had to be another way, although the Kingpin was at a loss to figure out what it was. Yet, he would find the solution for he was the best at what he did.
As for another problem, well there were two more. These Bayville Sirens were an annoying distraction, as were the rest of the X-Men, but they were not the main issue. The problem was this mysterious Arcane. The Kingpin wanted his hands on this young man; he could be an extremely valuable asset.
As a wise man once said, "Everyone has a price."
All the Kingpin had to do was name Arcane's price but his time would come, along with the time for everyone else. Now, he prepared for his next move, for there was a gang war brewing.
"Ah, Kingpin, tell me, did the power inhibitor collars work?" the voice over the phone asked.
"They would have, had Arcane not been involved," Kingpin stated when his voice dripped with interest. "What is he?"
"That's what I'd like to know," the man on the other end of the telephone. "The White Queen will seek him out and bring him over to our fold when the time is right. As of now, we must only wait and watch."
"Of course," The Kingpin agreed, calculating and planning his next move.
"You've come a long way and your membership in our club is valued," the man on the other end of the phone stated in a garbled tone. "The Hellfire Club will reign supreme while the Kingpin rules over the New York underworld. No one can stand in our way with our forces combined."
"You said it, my friend."
Kingpin plotted his next move, the game was on. He would be the chess master and when the time is right, the Black King would fall and all of the pawns would be under the control of the Kingpin.
He was nothing, if not ambitious.
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง