Washington Square
The arch was located in the center of Washington Square Park. The small, rectangular park sat near the heart of Greenwich village and the home of Doctor Strange. The arch itself stood at 86 feet tall, and was 30 feet across. It was constructed from nearly 700 tons of white marble.
It had become a foggy, cold night in Washington Square park. Ahead of Luke Cage and Iron Fist in the gloom of night sat the arch. By the wooden scaffolding running up one side, it looked as if the structure was in the process of being renovated.
Embracing warmly, two young lovers sat upon a stone bench beneath the glistening light of a street lamp. Not far away, a bell tolled the hour-- midnight.
Danny Rand had donned his vigilante costume, donning the apparel of The Immortal Iron Fist. His costume was essentially a jumpsuit, but of soft velvet-like material. It was black in color with single gold stripes running up both sides, and emblazoned in gold upon the chest was the symbol of Shao-L'ao the Undying. A great mystical dragon, and the source of the great power of the Iron Fist. The very same symbol had become permanently singed i to the flesh of Danny Rand's very chest the day he became chosen as the new Iron Fist. Like his previous costumes his newer suit sported a very high collar of gold, and over the top half of his head he wore a golden sash, with holes for his eyes cut into it. Forgoing comfort for appearance Danny wore a simple pair of yellow High-Top Nike Jordans Air Max 1's. The kind of shoes you could pump more air into with a button on the tongue, and Danny kept them thoroughly inflated for pressure resistance.
"Isn't that so sweet." Danny audibly sighed and pointed out the young lovebirds in the park.
"Yeah, and i could be at home getting me some of that from Jessica. Instead I'm out here with you, looking for goons." Luke replied.
"I know! Isn't this great??!!" Danny asked, visibly excited by the prospect of a fight.
As the two of them looked over the park for any suspicious behavior, a figure moved from the shadows to stand boldly beneath the Arch. The figure wore a long coat and a fedora. From the distance it was hard to tell, but had he not just seen him back at the roaring 20s, Luke could've sworn the figure looked like Hammerhead.
Suddenly, the air crackled with electricity and the pungent odor of sulphur and four more human shapes seemed to appear out of nowhere to stand beneath the arch. They immediately surrounded the figure in the long coat.
-
Beneath the Arch Man Mountain Marko of the Silvermane branch of the Maggia family had been standing at the ready. He wore a long coat and fedora, as he was the only one with a stature similar to Hammerhead's. When Hammerhead had received the note from Mister Fear, he had hired Man Mountain to pose as him and attend the parley. The sepia glow of streetlights refracted through the dense fog and gave the small tunnel an eerie luminescence. Shortly after the nearby clock tower tolled the twelfth hour he figured that perhaps this Mister Fear had gotten a little scared himself. So, since it didn't seem there would be a meeting he prepared to leave. Bit as soon as he stepped away from The wall beneath the Arch a strange blue electricity began to crackle in the fog around him. In flashes of blue light strange figures appeared around him and circled him quickly.
Marco could see the malignant intent in the eyes of these figures. As they circled him one of the mysterious arrivals let out a horrifying peal of laughter and loped at him. This horrific being appeared to be a Scarecrow, like one had been stolen from a farm upstate. The scarecrow man wore a blood-stained burlap sack over his head, crazed eyes twitching about behind torn holes. It's green and black flannel and black pants were also torn and splattered with blood. Strangely enough straw stuck out from the sleeves of his flannel and leg of his pants, going into his white gloves and black boots. In those white gloves was gripped the wooden handle of a rusted pitchfork, its needle-point tines pointing at Marco's stomach.
However, the Scarecrow was only one of the frightening apparitions to have leapt out of the fog at him. To the right of Marco stood a woman, who had also come with the strange electricity. Her long black hair and dark eyes seemed to fade into the partial darkness around her, as well as the black leather outfit she wore, that revealed much skin. It seemed simply a pair of leather pants with 2 straps that wound up and over her shoulders and around her torso to only partially cover her breasts. The terrifying thing about this woman was that she was levitating, and not only that but appeared to be entangled in bright gold thread that billowed and waved, coming out of her very own back like the skeins of thread were hair.
The other two mysterious attackers completed the circle around Marco, and were exactly identical to each other. Their bodies were obscured by heavy and baggy black cloaks. Both of their faces looked out from under hoods with faces painted like skulls.
In an instant Marco realized that there had indeed been an ambush planned to take out Hammerhead. But Hammerhead had been smart and seen it coming. Hammerhead's fortune was not Marco's. Scared witless by the strange group attacking him he withdrew a tommy gun from where he had been holding it hidden beneath his coat. It was Hammerhead's personal Tommy, and was intended to send a message. Marco lifted the gun and opened fire, holding down the trigger and attempting to hose down the enemies with gunfire. He spun on his heels, spraying lead wildly in a circle.
-
The muzzle flash from the Tommy gun light up in the night. The two lovers sitting on the stone bench nearby screamed in fear of the sound of the gunshots, but only cowered in fear in each other's arms. Iron Fist leapt backwards and took cover behind a stone statue, looking around the corner to the Arch. Luke assessed the situation, realizing the couple was in grave danger. The man in the coat was shooting everywhere, ricochet alone could claim them as casualties. They did not deserve to die, and so Luke acted. Luke also leapt, but he into the way of stray bullets that could have taken the life of the couple. The bullets hit his impenetrable skin and fell harmlessly to the ground, he stood in front of the couple facing them and trying to make as much of a shield of himself as he could. "Nice night, ain't it guys?" Luke asked the couple. Then, he turned his head to see what had become of his best friend. Once he noticed Iron Fist safe behind the small statue he locked eyes with the man and gave him a nod of affirmation.
-
On the opposite side of the Washington Square Arch two costumed men had been standing in hiding. One was in a full mechanical power-suit, painted green and bared a cybernetic stinger proportionate to the wearer's body. This was Mac Gargan, better known as the supervillain The Scorpion. He had received his powers, nickname, and power-suit from a procedure designed to endow the human subject with the adapted powers of an animal, which was chosen as a Scorpion to be the perfect predator against Mac Gargan's original prey Spider-Man. The Scorpion had been hired with a partner by Hammerhead to defend Man Mountain Marco and kill whoever staged the attack.
That partner was The Eel, or Edward Lavell. He had been just another good for Hammerhead before he acquired the special suit of a supervillain of his name whom had been slain by the Gladiator. The suit gave him super-powers akin to the abilities of the animal. With it he could produce electricity, as well as direct it and resist it. It also armored him slightly and gave him an enhanced radar sense. Given that he had already been under the employ of Hammerhead he had been asked personally by the boss to take these assassins out.
When Marco opened fire The Scorpion and Eel hid to avoid being shot, but kept a watchful eye on the events, waiting for their chance to strike with the element of surprise.
-
In the late 1600s the lot that was now the Washington Square Park had once served as a burial ground to beggars and the anonymous dead. Later in the 1700s it became a popular dueling grounds and a venue of public executions. Several of the gallows trees still stand. Hundreds of corpses laid moldering beneath the soil.
Atop the scaffolding that ran up the side of the renovated arch a tall ominous figure stood, in a thick black cloak. In one hand it shook a velvet bag of assorted animal bones while the other hand spilled blood from a vial into various patterns on the ground beside the scaffolding, chanting in creole all the while. He was using voodoo black magic, more specifically Necromancy, his specialty. Having studied the stolen book, 'A Madman's Mutterings' this stranger's own powerful magical abilities had been enhanced even further. Feeling the magic take hold and the power flowing through his veins he transferred energy into the earth of the park. Into the empty shells of former humans lying restlessly beneath the dirt. In his mother tongue he summoned the forgotten dead to come forth and conquer, come forth and kill. Heeding the call of Black Talon those who had been in an eternal slumber began to stir…
-
Screaming long and loud as he finished his full circle, Marco suddenly had his Tommy Gun torn from his hands by the powerful swing of the Scarecrow's pitchfork. Reaching into his coat again Marco withdrew a knife and thrusted it blade over hilt at the scarecrow. Contorting his back so that he literally bent over backwards the scarecrow dodged the knife and then planted one hand down to finish a full back handspring, free hand still clutching the pitchfork. Scarecrow laughed vilely once again.
"Let's keep that coat closed shall we?" the strange woman attacker beneath the arch shouted.
With a flick of her hands Marco's coat seemed to be fusing completely closed around. Fabric weaving together and making it a seamless garment more akin to a straight-jacket with his arms trapped inside. Frantically straining at his coat his screams became muffled as the fabric of his coat now began to cover his mouth and nose smothering him. The length of the coattail then tightened around his legs, slamming his knees together in a loud crack as Marco fell to the ground in a cocoon of killing fabric. His screams became quieter as he lost his breath, squirming at their feet.
The Scarecrows maniacal laughter was interrupted this time when the Scorpion's massive prehensile-robotic tail swung into the chest of the woman attacker and slammed her bodily into the wall of the inner Arch. Her eyes glazed as all the wind was knocked from her lungs in a gusting exhale. She had felt at least a single rib snap in the blow. "Let him go, bitch!!" The Scorpion screamed at the woman, keeping her pinned against the wall with his tail.
In the secondary ambush the two men with the skeletal face-paint had been positioned low to the ground to avert Marco's gunfire and saw The Scorpion and Eel charging.
Both of them simultaneously reaches inro their own cloaks and withdrew what appeared to be eggs, but when they struck the wall and ground before The Eel the burst to spread a highly corrosive acid stopping the eel short. With his momentum the Eel had to jump over the acid and nearly fell in the landing. Taking advantage of the Eel's misstep the Scarecrow moved to gore the Eel with his pitchfork. But suddenly Iron Fist launched directly into the Scarecrow's back with a flying spin-kick that landed squarely between his shoulders. The scarecrow sprawled in a heap face first onto the ground.
-
Shortly after Luke had watched Iron Fist going running into combat he turned to see what had unfolded. He was encountered and surprised by a Skeleton. In the twilight night he thought it was a trick. Perhaps an illusion from a projector like he had seen once on Scooby Doo. But as the skeleton walked there was the sound of bone on asphalt. A shaft of streetlight collided on the skull to reveal a dusty lump of what used to be eye. It was a skeleton, just as tall as the one's Biology teachers held in classrooms but moved as smoothly as a well-conditioned athlete. It's head swivelled as if surveying the scene with its coal black socket and hearing with just the ghost of it's ears. Luke shifted his weight to his back foot and the loose gravel crunched beneath his loafer. The skinless arm of the skeleton pointed in his direction and its teeth gnashed as it hastened its stride towards Luke. When Luke looked around again he saw that the skeleton was one of many closing in on the arch and his locatio. In uncoordinated fashion. "Get up! Stay Close!" Luke commanded of the couple who whimpered but shuffled behind him quickly.
At least 80 Skeleton had exhumed themselves from beneath the grass of the park, turning the well-manicured grass into a field of holes and churned earth. The mass of them blocked the path between Luke and Iron Fist. As the pointing Skeleton reached Luke, Luke brought his large fist down on the Skeleton's skull shattering it into fragments and sending the lot of bones clattering to the ground. Another approaching from the side was broken apart by Luke's forearm smashing its ribcage into powder. "I'll try to make you a path out of here! Be careful!" Luke shouted to the two innocent lovers behind him.
-
The two face-painted men jumped up from their prone position. Shortly after acquiring the Eel costume, Edward Lavell had first tasted defeat at the hands of Power Man and Iron Fist when he had been attempting to break his employer Hammerhead from behind bars. The moment he saw Iron Fist he became furious and shot a direct blast of electricity towards Iron Fist. In an instant Iron Fist narrowly dodged the blast by leaping into a roll to the side of the tunnel where Scarecrow had first appeared. The Eel was preparing Another electrical attack when the scarecrow leapt up from where he had been knocked to the ground and continued his attack on the Eel.
Iron Fist saw the nearly unconscious woman pinned to the wall by The Scorpion and moved to her aid, as he believed the scorpion would kill her. As he charged at them he lifted his hand and channeled his chi into his hand to make the Iron Fist, transforming his hand into a weapon of immeasurable strength and power. Once he was close he jumped up and kicked off of the wall, bringing the Iron Fist directly i to The Scorpions solar plexus and pummeling him into the ground with concussive force. As he slammed into the earth the Scorpion released his tails hold on the woman who slid down the wall behind Iron Fist. Scorpion fell immediately and completely unconscious. In a show of power he then held up his mystically glowing fist before him and at the two Face-painted villains.
-
Hundreds upon hundreds of bones and piles of its dust lay mounded across the park where Luke Cage obliterated each Skeleton that approached him or his charges. The couple had been made a clear path to the edge of the park where they were able to escape harm's way. They scaled the fence and ran into the night towards their homes at the behest of Luke Cage, their savior. His suit now caked in bone meal Luke plowed through the remaining skeletons that blocked him from the arch. Arms cutting them down, feet crushing bone and splintering teeth. Steadily taking them all down he made his way to the Arch.
-
The Eel looked into the Scarecrow's eyes before he prepared an electrical attack to launch at it. But, as he looked into the scarecrows eyes it lifted a hand and blew a strange black and violet powder into his face. The eel began hacking and coughing, stumbling back towards the wall. His vision was becoming blurry, and the sounds of struggle between Iron Fist and the two face-painted men echoed off the marble. When the scarecrow laughed his wicked laugh it became the only thing he could hear, at a deafening volume. He looked at the scarecrow whose features seemed horribly distorted and terrifying to look at. The powder had been a specially concocted formula that targeted the adrenal glands of all affected living things it was administered to, causing sensory overload and triggering a panic attack in its victims. The Eel felt a tingling in his hands and feet that quickly became a numbness as his heart began to race. Dizziness brought him to his knees as he began to scream in fear of impending doom, screaming so hard his chest hurt and he struggled to breath. The scarecrow slowly walked towards the kneeling Eel and picked up his Pitchfork as he approached.
Iron Fist adeptly dueled the two face-painted assassins who were now both wielding knives. He parried their blows with strikes to their wrists and always stepped toward them pushing them back towards the wall, kicking their legs. His still glowing fist disarming them as he implemented it to break the blades of their knives by punching it as they swung them at him.
The Scarecrow spun his pitchfork and then aimed a blow to disembowel the Eel. As he brought it back he laughed, but when he went for the thrust he was brought short and accidentally slipped losing his grip on the pitchfork. He looked over his shoulder to see Luke Cage had grabbed the very end of the pitchfork. With his other hand he clobbered the scarecrow on his head and knocked him to the ground out cold.
Iron Fist then used the Iron Fist to punch one of the face-painted who flew backwards and smacked the back of his skull into the face of his partner, whose head swung back hitting the wall and then headbutting the back if his partner's head again. Heavily concussed both men were rendered unconscious.
The brawl seemingly over Iron Fist and Luke Cage approached each other and gave a celebratory fist bump. Both men just smiled at each other as they tried to catch their breath, weary from battle. Remembering the injured woman Iron Fist ran over to where she had been when he freed her from the Scorpion's pincer. As he walked towards her he could feel a charge in the air. "No! They're going!" Luke shouted.
"What?" Danny asked confused as he then watched a bluish flash of light claim the woman and all her associates and vanish. The woman, the scarecrow, and two men in paint were gone. Disappeared in the all-too-familiar lightning with the smell of sulphur. Had they been in the open and within view they would have seen a flash of light from the top of the arch as well. Luke and Iron Fist still stood beneath the arch, they ripped apart the cocoon of clothing to reveal a scared but still alive and coherent Marco. He had never been happier to see a pair of superheroes in his life. They began to ask Marco some questions in exchange for saving his lives as the sound of an approaching car carried on the nights air. Luke had called Misty Knight to spread the word of what had happened and their new prime suspects.