Smuggler's Run

The dark tunnel made by the borer machine had led the Heroes beneath the East River. Without warning, they emerged into a much larger passage. Steel walls gleamed in the dim light cast by glowing panels spaced along the ceiling. Looking southeast, away from Manhattan, they got the feeling that this tunnel went on forever.

This place was obviously some sort of transport system, for two shuttles were parked in a transparent tube on a platform in the middle of the tunnel. The tube formed a loop and ran southeast along each side of the passage. Apparently, one tube was for outgoing traffic and the other for incoming shuttles.

Another borer vehicle was parked under the platform. There seemed to be no one inside.

At one time, it appeared that the shuttle tubes continued northwest, toward Manhattan. However, a metal blockade had been erected across the passage. Looking closer, Moon Knight saw globs of smoldering iron littering the ground -- a man-sized hole had recently been melted through the barrier.

Before the heroes board a shuttle, they are rudely interrupted. The borer under the platform was not empty. A Maggia technician (who was now at the wheel), 4 Dragonlords, and 3 captive teenagers were inside. While Cloak & Dagger investigated the borer, the drill on the front suddenly began turning with a loud SCREEE! The driver threw it into gear and tried to shred Cloak & Dagger to ribbons.

Suddenly, none other than The Mighty Thor Odinson dramatically arrived on the scene now by ripping and enlarging the hole in the metal barrier so he may easily pass through. Witnessing the familiar Heroes in danger of the borer machine, Thor launched his hammer Mjolnir into the front end of the vehicle. The drill and engine were obliterated in the blow, and when the vehicle was rendered useless the Dragonlords threw open the cargo doors and came out fighting. Only to meet the prepared Heroes For Hire who savagely beat them. However, the Maggia technician was a bit more sly. When the Dragonlords were defeated, he held a pistol to a terrified young girl's head, and demanded to be allowed to board a shuttle. If the heroes were to attack, he would try to shoot and kill the hostage. So, they reluctantly allow the man to board a shuttle, only for Cloak & Dagger teleport after him using Cloak's dark dimension travel abilities.

They appear on the shuttle and defeat the villain to teleport the hostage back to the other heroes. The kids who had been in the borer had no information for the heroes. Once the fighting was over, they asked to be returned to the surface. The dirt tunnel was very dark and the kids were afraid to go alone. None of them could operate the available borer vehicle. So, Misty Knight and Colleen Wing opt to escort the kids to the surface and meet with waiting law enforcement.

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Looking about the immense tunnel with eyes wide, The Mighty Thor exaimed, "Od's blood! I remember this place! Tis the shuttle system that once connected Avengers Mansion with the Hydro-base. But the Hydro-Base was moved to New York Bay, and this underwater passage was abandoned! It seems something sinister is afoot."

Thor explains that he was searching for Iron Man and Captain America. While performing a routine check, the 2 Avengers discovered an unexplainable power drain associated with the abandoned shuttle systems. Cap and Iron Man went to investigate, and failed to report-in as protocol. Thor had gone after them to see if they were in trouble. The thunder god informed the Heroes For Hire that the platforms where they were now standing had not been built by the Avengers or Stark intl. The shuttles were not supposed to be operational. Obviously someone has been using the tunnels for their own purposes. Thor urged the Heroes For Hire to take a shuttle with him to the southeast end of the tunnel, "Hurry, my friends! I fear that my fellow Avengers have stumbled upon a den of serpents! Let us ride within this airbus, and discover what evil lurks at yonder end of the tunnel!"