Chapter 30

Many people in the city of Freeland had been crippled by fear, by the criminal gang known as the 100. Many troubled youths joined the group, because of problems at home, problems at school, or just trying to get back at a world they were jaded on. The entire group marched forward, stampeding in the direction of a large building.

Three figures, Ox, Fancy Dan, and Montana, stood at the apex of this fear, with a small group of armed men. They surrounded a gang of black youth who admitted made some poor decisions in life.

"Isn't it a little bit past your curfew, boy?" Montana drawled in his Southern accent. "Look at this one, Ox, he hasn't worn out this first razor."

Ox and Fancy Dan cackled. The fresh-faced gang member pulled a gun out and pointed it at the Enforcers and their men.

"These streets, they belong to Tobias," the man said. "You better get stepping!"

"Listen here, boy," Montana said. "You tell Tobias his time is done….providing we let you live."

No one knew quite who fired the first shot. The only thing which was obvious was everything escalated into violence, fighting. Members of the One Hundred went down, members of Tombstone's crew went down. The member of the gang who Montana had an exchange with could not get a clear shot in on Fancy Dan who sent him flying with a roundhouse kick.

"Alright, son, amateur hour is over, time to let the professionals take a crack at things," Montana said.

"Oh, it's really rich given how amateur your act is."

Montana dodged a shot and the gun which had been fired him had been webbed up.

"Spider-Girl?" Montana asked. "What in tarnation is going on here?"

"Just doing a little clean up and keeping these fine people safe," Spider-Girl said. "So simmer down, Yosemite, because I've got some unfinished business with your boss."

"Tombstone will put you in the ground, little girl!" Montana yelled.

Spider-Girl webbed the weapons away from the two one hundred members firing at her. The web slinger twisted around and slammed them together.

"Let's get out of here!"

Fancy Dan flew at Spider-Girl with a leaping roundhouse kick. Her spider sense picked off and Spider-Girl dodged Fancy Dan's karate attack. Ox barreled in from the other end. Spider-Girl somersaulted over him and shot two lines of webbing at him. She web pulled Ox into the side of a dumpster.

"Get your act together!" Montana yelled. "You're making us look bad...what in tarnation do you think you're doing?"

Fancy Dan and Ox clonked together with a meeting of the minds thanks to Spider-Girl's latest assault. Spider-Girl jumped high into the air and Montana threw down his cowboy hat in frustration.

Only for Spider-Girl to web his hands together before he could attack and she flew down, both feet slamming into the chest of Montana. Montana pulled himself up, only to be web slammed down.

All three Enforcers dangled upside down. Several of Tombstone's men laid on the ground. The sounds of sirens from the distance echoed in the distance.

"Ooh, I'll take that!" Spider-Girl yelled.

She swiped the Flashdrive off of Montana's belt, leaving the man cursing incoherently, and swung off into the distance to leave the Enforcers, along with the downed members of Tombstone's gang and the One Hundred to be tended to by Freeland's finest.

Barbara, Donna, Megan, Harry, and Raquel arrived, alongside of Anissa, on the outskirts of Freeland. The police nearby hauled another downed man into a bodybag. Several people on the streets watched and some of them cast Harry a look, looking from him, to Raquel and Anissa with surprise and astonishment, and in some cases, distaste.

"Why are they staring at Harry like that?" Megan asked.

Anissa sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. How was she going to explain to sweet, innocent, Megan, how interracial relationships were considered bit of a taboo on both the black and the white sides areas of Freeland? Therefore, a white man being in the presence of two black women, was considered to be very suspicious by a lot of people.

Thankfully, Harry was bullet proof.

"Ignore them," Raquel said. "Just...ignore them. Can't believe my cousin came back here after leaving...look she wanted to look after her brothers, but she should have gotten the hell out of there...especially after my aunt got gunned down."

Megan popped over and she could sense something that she did not like. Thoughts, bubbling over. She never felt this discord, never since Mars, and it unleashed triggering memories in her, the discord between the Greens and the White, with mutual hatred and downright prejudice just amongst them.

"Megan!" Harry hissed in her ear.

"Yeah, just….can't believe."

"You better step away from them!"

A large stocky black man appeared in front of them. Harry raised his eyebrow and Anissa and Raquel. He had been staggering, slurring and obviously drunk.

"What's your problem?" Megan asked.

"Stay out of it you white bitch!" the man snapped. "Yeah, cracker, listen to me. You better stay away from our women...because white punk like you, you're nothing but trouble. We not be liking you taking all of your women, thinking you're all that, just because you white, you smack ass cracker, you better listen to me…."

Two of the men's buddies walked over and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Hey, Tony, calm down, man, we don't want any trouble," the man said. "He's not doing anything to us. He's one of the good ones."

"Oh, you be always bowing to the Massa, Carlton," the man said, slurring obviously. "All white men, they fucking took us over here in chains and made us work the fields….and then they think they can steal our women...black women should stick with their own kind, and not some chump ass crackerjack like this."

"Man, you're not helping us, just simmer down, you don't want any trouble," another one of Tony's crew said.

Harry turned his back and walked off, with Anissa and Raquel following, with Donna and Megan following.

"HEY, DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON ME!"

"Knock it the fuck, off Tony….."

"Just wait, Black Lightning's back, and all of you people are going down!" Tony yelled. "You heard me, Honky Boy, Black Lightning is going to put your white ass down into the ground where it belongs! Hear me white trash, you're going to fry! We've got enough problems with the wetbacks and the gooks running around our town taking our shit, but your white ass shows up. Better step off!"

Tony almost stumbled and fell. Anissa frowned. She almost forgot about the casual racism thrown around towards the Asian and Hispanic people from the black side of Freeland. It turned her stomach because it did not help anything.

Out of the man's incoherent drunken ramblings, Harry got something. Megan was shaking and Donna was seconds away from fucking out.

"You...shouldn't judge all of Freeland by one person like that," Anissa said quietly.

"Don't worry," Harry said with a squeeze of her hand.

"The problem is there are several people like that," Raquel said. "Oh, this place has gotten worse since the last time I visited."

"Harry?" Anissa asked. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Harry said. "The man's entitled to his opinions, just like the rest of us….but we're getting off the subject and the real reason why we're here."

No matter how much it made Harry agitated to see someone just sprew racially charged hate at someone, it was best to have their opinions aired out in the open, just to allow the open public in general to judge them on their character.

"Right, Tombstone," Anissa said. "And Tobias...the reason why things are stirred up….but Black Lightning's back…"

"I thought he was dead?" Raquel asked.

"Well, was there ever a body found?" Anissa argued.

Raquel had nothing to respond to that. Donna cleared her throat and the rest the group turned to her.

"Spider-Girl, Spider-Girl was here two nights ago," Donna said. "Barbara found out more...she's meeting us right here."

"Can't believe she came down here alone," Raquel said. "I mean, I know we shouldn't be reinforcing stereotypes, but…."

"Babs is Gotham bred, she can handle anything," Harry said. "And speaking of which…."

Barbara turned around the corner and saw a glassy eyed Megan shaking her head. The overwhelming hate made her brain ache.

"Sorry, I'm late," Barbara said. "You okay, Megan? You look off."

"Just, trying not to focus on the thoughts of some of the people on the street," Megan said.

It was like being back on Mars and not in a good way. White Martians should not stand with Green Martians, Green Martians should not stand with White Martians. Of all of the things which had to be constant the entire universe over, why did it have to be bigotry?

"There's a warehouse just a few blocks from here," Barbara said. "Word from my source is that there's something going down tonight."

"We'll be there."

Superman, Thunder, Miss Martian, Batgirl, Rocket, and Wondergirl were on the scene. A large group of armed thugs moved in, and they were in hushed conversation.

"The minute they arrive, we take them out."

The lights above them flickered. Harry and the women waiting for him all looked up into the sky.

Black Lightning dropped down and sent a pulse of electricity through the nearest thug.

"Man, those darkies were right!" one of them yelled. "Black Lightning's back in business."

"Well put his black ass down!"

"Alright, you come at me, nig…."

Black Lightning punched the man down onto the down on the ground before he could complete the racial slur. Two of the men dropped down, and fired with Black Lightning dodging the attacks.

The Team viewed the protector of Freeland as he went to work.

"Alright, boy, just you and me, come on!" one of the thugs said. "That's right, you black fuck, you're going to wish you're back in the fields, homey!"

The man's helmet had been knocked off, to reveal a Hispanic gentleman. Black Lightning put him down onto the ground with an explosive attack until one of the weapons caught him in the spine and sent Black Lightning crashing down to the ground.

"Alright, we need to go, now!" Thunder yelled.

Thunder jumped down and lowered the boom on the thugs. Rocket dove down to battle.

"I'm so sick and tired of these motherfucking n…."

Miss Martian forced him to go silent and Wondergirl dropped down to wrap her lasso around the man's wrists and sent him crashing down to the ground. A bald white man crashed to the ground.

The armored thug slumped over from Superman pounding him hard with rapid fire punches. Superman grabbed him and slammed him down. Donna blocked the punch and suplexed the man backwards to the ground.

Black Lightning turned up and Thunder leant him a helping hand to help him up. Instantly, he knew.

"Anissa?" Black Lightning asked.

"Dad?"

Rocket stopped, mouth hanging open. Time appeared to be freeze short.

"Oh boy," Barbara murmured.

After taking some of the weaponry to look over, the group worked up. Black Lightning, Jefferson Pierce, slumped around. The burns on his hands obvious.

"Why didn't you tell us you were Black Lightning?" Anissa asked. "Is that why you and Mom divorced…."

"That's simplifying the matter entirely," Jefferson said with a grunt as his hands were checked over by Donna.

"Those burns are severe, Mr. Pierce," Donna said.

"Call me, Jeff, Princess," Jefferson said. "And it's been happening ever since the virus had been released, every time I used my powers...but I had no choice."

"The virus...oh Hera," Donna muttered. "You must hate the Amazons for what…."

"I don't hate an entire group for the actions of one," Jefferson said. "The One Hundred is not a representative of my community, and Aresia is not a representative of your nation. Outliers should not force people to be punished."

No matter how much Jefferson hated what they became, and how much he thought he failed a number of those children. His hands had been rather wrapped up.

"They've been unstable," Jefferson said. "I'm perfectly fine, healthy, when I don't use my powers. But when I use them….."

"They kill you," Anissa said.

Jefferson responded with a nod. He looked at Anissa.

"I never wanted you to be involved in this life, and that was one thing we agreed about," Jefferson said. "How did your Mother take it?"

"Well….Harry and Caitlin had to explain it to her, and she had been resigned to it, especially considering I was eighteen and I can do whatever I want," Anissa said. "And I've kept up with my studies, got in a really good college and I'm still smashing it in the grades department and in sports as well."

"And I'm proud of you for that," Jefferson said. "But….you never should have brought you and your friends here….Freeland's dangerous...especially for…."

His eyes locked onto Donna, Megan, Barbara, and Harry and there was no more need.

"I know, we met someone who made his views on whites very clear," Megan said darkly.

"Yeah, fry the white pigs like bacon," Jefferson said with a grumble. "And it's not...it's been a boiling point, tensions have been high for some time, and Tobias has been fanning the flames. And with Tombstone in town, things have gotten much worse."

Jefferson sighed and ignored the pain shooting through his arms. One day, he was going to run break down.

"Lonnie and I used to be tight, Robbie as well," Jefferson said. "But, he fell into a very bad crowd, with the One Hundred, but something happened where he went to New York. Worked with the Silvermanes, the Fisks, of the world, learned a lot from them, and then came back."

Barbara had a ping go off in her ear.

"We have a lead on Tobias," Barbara said. "And we might have a way into his tower."

"Dad, you should rest," Anissa said.

"I'm fine, nothing that I've….nothing that I can't handle," Black Lightning said.

He rolled the dice with life again, just like he did every night. Jefferson Pierce figured out a long time ago, he was not going to walk back in after going out. Not leaving one day, unless in a body bag.

Tobias Whale say behind his big desk, sitting pretty smug and on top of the world.

"Man, I tell you something, this is sweet, I've got that Fisk goon in New York beat," Tobias said with a large grin on his face.

One of the one hundred goons staggered inside and almost collapsed on the ground. Tobias reached down and grabbed the man by the chin to force him to face him.

"I know there's a good reason why you just came into my office without knocking," Tobias said. "So, why don't you spit it out?"

"It was Spider-Girl….I just got away!" the man said.

"And you ran like a little piggie, wee-wee, wee-wee all the way home," Tobias said. "And your stupid nigger ass just made sure that Spider-Girl would follow you all the way back here….well good thing Daddy's here to pick up the pieces."

"Please, sir, she didn't...she's so good she hit…."

"Oh, that's the problem with you people," Tobias said. "You all talk about how you were brought here in chains and forced to work the fields. No, bitch, that's your great-great-grandpappy who were. You on the other hand, would have been nothing but another cog in the system, mooching off of wellfare, or another body fished out of a gutter. Never to do an honest day's work in your life, while bitching about reparations. Bitching about what you have coming from you. Well, I didn't get anything handed to me. You monkeys would be flinging your own shit if it wasn't for me."

"Never changed, do you, Tobias?"

Tombstone stepped past the doors of the office, along with the Enforcers, who he bailed out prison. Money talked and people walked after all, especially when someone had the money that Tombstone did.

"Little Lonnie Lincoln," Tobias said. "All grown up, with a huge set of balls coming in here."

Tobias pulled out his ever present Harpoon gun and fired. The gun hit Lonnie in the chest, but did not come even close to breaking his skin. Tombstone grabbed onto the rope and dragged Tobias over his desk.

The sounds of gunshots below did not even deter Tobias.

"Well, let's do this old school then," Tobias said.

Tobias rolled up his sleeves and he and Tombstone prepared to duke it out in the office. Man to man, just the way he liked it.

A huge kick sent one of Tombstone's bodyguards flying down to the ground with a huge impact outside the door. The Enforcers turned around.

Ox's eyes widened up only to find Wondergirl take him down with a sweeping motion. Montana used his lasso to ensnare Wondergirl.

"I wonder if the old wives tales of an Amazon losing her strength and being at the mercy of any man tying her up is true," Montana said. "Well, little Missy, are you ready for a horsie ride?

Donna responded by headbutting Montana and breaking the grip of his lasso. Fancy Dan moved about the office only to come head to head with Batgirl. The world class martial artist went hand to hand with Batgirl, the two of them rocking back and forth with each other. Batgirl flipped over Fancy Dan and took him down with a legsweep which sent him crashing down to the ground.

Tombstone blocked the attack from Thunder and send her flying over the desk. Tombstone picked up Tobias's harpoon gun and fired it at Miss Martian who went intangible and slipped through the floor to avoid the implaing.

Looking up, Tombstone got a face full of fist from Superman which caused him to stagger. Tombstone ripped a cloth off a large safe and picked it up, hurling said safe at Superman's general direction.

"TOBIAS!"

Black Lightning rushed towards his old enemy and Tobias came back around, putting on a pair of brass knuckles. He punched at the air but Black Lightning dodged it. The two went head to head.

"You have bigger balls than most of the clowns I deal with, along with smaller brain," Tobias said. "Charging in here, like you're the HNIC."

"This ends now."

Tobias got the upper hand and punched Black Lightning in the ribs.

"Man, what are they going to do when Black Jesus is sacrificed for their sins?" Tobias asked. "All of them will bow down before their new savior and I will be the king of….."

Black Lightning sent a shockwave through the air and sent Tobias flying through the side of the balcony. Both men struggled and the balcony had been shattered.

Thunder rushed over to try and catch Black Lightning for going over. She gasped in horror with Black Lightning and Tobias hurtling to their doom, several stories below.

Several web lines shot down and attached onto them. Thunder peered up to see Spider-Girl pulling Tobias and Black Lightning up as they dangled through the air.

Inside, Tombstone ended up getting caught by a spinning punch by Superman while Wondergirl kicked him in the leg.

His skin was unbreakable. Harry rapid fired punched Tombstone until he caught him in the nerve endings. Tombstone stiffened and fell to the ground, paralyzed.

Tobias had been brought up and webbed to his desk. The sounds of cops and a miniature scuffle from downstairs there. Black Lightning, breathing heavily, nodded.

"We really shouldn't be here," Black Lightning said to Thunder.

They made their get away just as the upper level of Tobias's office had been swarmed by the cops.

Harry leaned back and watched the news. Not really surprising how Tobias had been let out of prison. Unfortunate, but at the same time, not really surprising.

"Shame they're both going to be back at it, within forty-eight hours."

Harry looked up to see Spider-Girl hanging from the ceiling above him. He smiled.

"We got some of their weapons off the street, and put a hurting on a few of their men,," Harry said. "Maybe they're think twice."

"Maybe," Spider-Girl said. "But, old habits die hard…."

"Yes," Harry said. "Good timing there to save Black Lightning."

"All in a day's work," Spider-Girl said. "So, anytime you need me….I'll be….."

"I'm glad that you're working alongside us," Harry said. "But, maybe, you can tell me how you got those amazing spider powers, Gwen?"

Spider-Girl stopped short and almost sputtered. She stopped and smiled and pulled off her mask. Gwen Stacy's beautiful face came down so she was level with Harry's. While hanging upside down from a web line attached to the ceiling, Gwen pressed her lips onto Harry's for a kiss.

She pulled away and grinned widely.

"Always wanted to do that," Gwen said. "You don't know how hard it was not to jump your bones the day where you and Lena went at it across the hall. You remember that don't you?"

"Vividly," Harry said. "And why stop there?"

Gwen smile grew even wider. No real reason. She lowered a bit more and became eye-level with Harry's crotch. Preparing to show Harry just how sticky her fingers could be.