City of Chaos: Shocker/Nightwing

Crazy weather or no, the plan was in motion and deviating from a carefully crafted plan was always a bad idea. Looking into the sky, he thought about the last time he dropped acid and it seemed to fit for a good enough explanation. Save the water running up the walls, the purple clouds were an excellent reminder of a misspent youth. He nodded thoughtfully of the representation and the weirdness of it all, but fuck it; this was New York it was bound to happen sometime.

Without a mask to cover his face, Herman Schultz looked like almost anyone in their mid-forties, despite wearing a padded and insulated suit of his own design. Standing at the drivers' side door of a DIY Moving van, he waited for the wheelman he rented for the evening to come out of the safe house. He was a small framed punk that took himself and drifting too seriously, he was cheap and likely he’d be the first to be caught by the insect man or any number of his friends that showed up, he laughed to himself and wondered how drifting was going to help the punk while driving such a large utility van. But no matter, Herman caught a glimpse of him and the other idiot that insisted on being called "The Navigator" walk out of the run down hotel room in complete motorcycle leathers.

Herman and the two goons he hired for insect repellent -- or insect distraction -- laughed at the twenty something kids who were the victims of a society that shoved too many movies down their throats. He shook his head and held open the door for “The Navigator” – idiotic name if he’s ever heard one – and asked “You two ready for this shit?”

“Yeah, man, we be all over this.”

“Uh huh,” Herman rolled his eyes and shut the door, nearly slamming it on top of the kid’s fingers, “let’s try and not be all over the road, ‘kay?”

The kid kept talking but Herman was less than interested to hear anything coming from either their mouths. He checked his watch and then threw it to the ground before he climbed into the rear of the van. Signaling to the goons, they started pulling the numerous zippers closed and counting carefully he eye-balled Vinnie, "You missed one, what are you trying to do kill me?"

"No boss, no. I just forgot."

"That's not a good omen, Vinnie," Shocker groaned, "There are fourteen zippers and they're all important, do I have to go through this again?"

"No boss, no."

With the mask firmly in place and sealed he activated the gauntlets. His wrists hummed as the capacitors re-routed their charge. "You boys ready?" and the goons looked over with a huge smile on both of their faces, holding large guns seemed to be orgasmic for them. "Good help, in this city, I swear to god."

The engine revved and the smell of diesel exhaust filled the immediate area and right on cue the group was on the road, for the first few miles the trip was fairly smooth, though the kid was too heavy on the horn for Herman's tastes the kid at least kept himself under the radar of the law and at the destination in record time. As he slid the fabricated view slide, Herman peered across the street and in the darkness he could still see that there were a few people still inside.

"Vinnie, hostages, take them but don't hurt them. I don't want the union all over my ass after this job."

"Boss?"

Herman groaned, "It's a joke, Vinnie; just go do your job okay?"

"It's about time, boss," he laughed with excitement and hopped down out of the van. Walking across the street with an attitude like he owned the place, he pushed the door open and immediately slugged the male security guard in the face with a pistol.

Herman could almost hear every word coming out of his mouth, but he simply stood back and watched, "James, you're up, close those shutters, I don't want anyone watching us."

Just as before, the second goon hopped down from the truck and simply walked across the four lane road and into the jewelry store. It was a small time gig, but it wasn't the money Herman was after, there was more pressing concerns. Once the shutters were closed he pounded on the back wall four times, the signal to stay alert. This should be an easy job, in and out, but with so many stupid heroes around there was rarely such a thing.

Nothing happened when Vinnie or James crossed the street, cars waited for the jay-walking sons of bitches to get out of the way before they moved, but the moment Herman Shultz -- aka The Shocker -- stepped out of the van and started walking, and he absolutely stopped traffic. No one touched their horns; they kept their windows up and sunk into their seats as though he was interested in hurting innocent people without a Spider around. He laughed at the idea, he wasn't Venom or Carnage but all the same, if a criminal tends to fight with Spider-Man a few times a reputation will grow almost overnight.

Though the suit was bulky he was able to grab the doorknob and turn it as though he didn't wear gloves. He strolled into the store as though he was just any other customer and waved at the three hostages that were huddled and tied to one another. The look on one woman's face was almost terrifying and he looked over at James, "Why is it that people expect me to kill them?"

"It's the suit boss, you look menacing."

"Well it's not supposed to look comforting, but whatever. Let's go."

"I don't get this, why the hostages, and why this place?"

Herman laughed, most of the noise was absorbed by the suit, "Try to think of the big picture, okay?"

James tried to break through the door, finding nothing but a searing pain in his left leg because of the badly timed kick. He toppled to the ground holding his leg, "see, I like how you're a little excited, but if I could do that do you think I would've bothered putting on the suit?"

"You...have...an image."

"Good point, that, but the door is reinforced." He laughed at the poor man's plight and took him by the collar and dragged him out of the way, "There's no insurance in this gig, your hospital bills are coming out of your cut, you know."

"Don't remind me," James groaned before he cupped his ears with both hands.

Shocker glared at the steel reinforced door, it was just as his contact had told him, and he clicked the gauntlets to life and waited two seconds for them to warm up. It would be a simple thing to blast the door off its hinges but that would definitely bring the wrong sort of attention when the job was going so cleanly so far. He could feel the heat started to seep through the suit and he knew it his weapons were ready to use.

It was a simple matter, no lock would ever withstand it, and he simply walked up to the door and twisted the knob and pulled it right out of the frame. "I love these upgrades." He muttered and punched the deadbolt right out of the door with no effort at all.

"We're in like Flint."

James limped in first, he was the fall guy, and no matter what situation his health was in the plan was too good and deviating now would be foolish. Shocker pushed the man inside the dark room and kept reminding him to stick to the plan. "Boss, there's...holy shit."

"Keep walking James, we'll collect all that later."

Through the dark room the goon walked passed piles and piles of money stacked in neatly arranged increments. His mouth drooling at the possibilities, but just like Shocker paid him to do he started throwing furniture about the room, and almost like every other stereotype that came before...a safe hidden behind a large framed picture of one of the hostages and his family. "Got it boss!"

"Okay, stay with Vinnie, you're on lookout detail."

"But the cash?"

Herman peered through the slits that covered most of his eyes, "What did I say?"

James dipped his head down and muttered something under his breath as he walked away, gun drawn and disappeared into the front room. Shocker took his time through the darkened room and stopped just in front of the safe. Just like the door, the locking mechanism in the safe crumbled in his hand. It was all too easy, he remarked to himself, but refusing to say it aloud. He pondered it for a moment and thought maybe it was the purple sky that kept the spider busy; usually he was busting his face in right at this moment.

He rustled through the jewels inside the safe and pulled out only a green book and slid it underneath the exterior zipper on his chest and sealed the suit all over again. The job was nearly done and now it was time to collect on the extras. "James, Vinnie, get your asses in here it's time to be greedy!"

Shocker pulled a desk drawer open and pulled a box of trash bags out and flipped air through a single back and started shoveling cash into it and tying it shut. "James! Vinnie! Let's go!"

"Good help in this city, isn't it a laugh riot?"

Shocker didn't recognize the voice, but he pulled his head up and stared in the doorway. A shimmer of light from the street was pouring into the building and hitting the small stripes of blue and white eyes of a mask. The black of his costume seemed to vanish in the blackness of the small room. "And who the fuck might you be? Oh I get it, Spidey is having himself another identity problem?"

The boy in blue rears back and hurls a small stick toward Shocker, he simply looks down at it as it bounces off. "Yeah, you must be new in town."

"It's been a while since anyone last saw you, but I'm guessing the Firebug look is outdated?"

Shocker looks down at his hands, "Yeah because these are flamethrowers right? Jesus, who the fuck are you the retard superhero sent for cleanup?" He laughs a little and picks up the stick that the new boy threw at him, the gauntlets buzz to life and within quick order the small staff is reduced to dust. "I suggest you take yourself and go on your way."

He steps into the light a little more, "Sorry, I can't do that, you know my boss will never let me hear the end of it."

Shocker shrugs, "Hey, you made your bed, it's your funeral."

He rears back and sends a low blast through the air between them, ending the banter, the new boy cartwheels out of the way and bounds off a nearby wall and tosses another stick. "Jesus, kid, what's with the sticks?"

Metal thumps hit the carpeted floor and with a loud hiss the entire room fills with a putrid smelling gas. "Nice, oh no, you've blinded me, oh jeeze I can't see." Herman laughs and stops, "Is that what I'm supposed to say? Look, isn't there like a level of thugs you're supposed to beat on before you get to my level? I know, I'm not the Lizard or Kingpin or something but I'm clearly at least a B level villain here!"

The silhouette of the kid passes in and out of Shocker's vision, within a moment there's no telling where he is until a sharp pain fires up his back and sends him tumbling forward. "What the fuck!" He turns around and fires three blasts from his gauntlets, rumbling the walls of the building with the vibrations. He heard the tumbling of a body, but with the way the kid moved there was no telling if he was jumping around like some sort of stereotypical Mexican bean or thrown by the vibration. He had a bag full of cash and figured the job alone would cover the expenses and it would be best not to underestimate this little upstart.

He took the bag and ran out into the main room and stopped immediately. Vinnie and James were hanging upside down -- itself not an uncommon sight for this city and his line of work -- but steel cable instead of spider-webs were a new thing. As for that comment about a firebug, Herman was convinced; this kid was off his rocker.

"Where do you think you're going?" The kid's voice rockets through the empty room, and that's when Herman realized the hostages were gone too. "I'm not finished with you yet."

Shocker turned for a moment, just to look back and give the kid the finger and continue beating feet. The suit made him slow, that was for damned sure, but the rope that tangled around his feet made him hit the ground pretty fast. "Swear to god, this shit is annoying." He cursed and his gauntlets made short work of the cabling around his feet. He pointed his fist at the kid wearing blue and black, "That's a pretty cute mask Spidey, but don't you think Jameson would see more of your face?"

The kid looks himself up and down, "Are you serious?" He laughs, "What are you, new in town?"

"I asked you that ten minutes ago."

Shocker and the kid stand for a few minutes and stare at one another. And in unison, "What the hell is going on, then?"

He pulls another stick from holding place on top of his forearm, "Look, I don't know who you are, or what you think you're doing here."

"Stealing a list of names from an illegal bookie operation and selling it to a higher bidder."

The kid stops short, "Well that's helpful. Thanks."

"Now, who the fuck are you supposed to be, and who is this boss you're talking about?"

He laughs loudly, "You can't be serious." He stops talking to laugh uncontrollably and finally takes a moment to get a hold of himself, and in the meantime Shocker looks on with disbelief. "You don't know who the Batman is? Or his band of happier and generally better mentally adjusted friends that help him patrol Gotham City?"

Shocker plays with the activator button on his left gauntlet, "Uh, kid, I've never heard of anybody that calls himself a Bat, and the last I checked, I lived in New York."

"Well that's troubling; it explains a few things actually." The kid said, the humor wiped from his face and he started to close the distance. "So it's time we take care of our little situation."

Shocker let him continue to walk near him, laughing to himself, but the suit keeping his movements well guarded. He opened his guard, letting the kid walk into his personal space and then he had a second thought. "You're letting me get too close, what's your deal?"

The metal of his gauntlet rang into the kids' face. "I was gonna let you hurt yourself, but what the hell it's more fun to mess up that pretty face."

The kid falls backward, his left cheek cut open and bleeding slightly, but it's the punch of the vibrations that sends his mind swimming through a haze of confusion. He could barely stand his ground, the room spinning everywhere and Shocker raised a hand, "Sorry kid, this is all about business."

The gauntlet buzzed to life and he clicked the activator at his thumb. Pain seared through his body and Herman screamed from underneath the bulky suit. Falling to his knees, the spinning room caused him to fall face forward into the vomit that the mask kept from seeping through the ground. He groaned out loud, unable to do much of anything else. "You have way too many zippers on that thing for it to be a coincidence," the kid stumbled against a near-by wall.

"Robin, I got another weird one, what's the count?"

The radio isn't very secure; Herman catches a name off the police scanner frequency going haywire in his ear after the severe dose of vibration. "Four for me, two for you Nightwing, and what else is new; I'm kicking your ass."

"I'm gonna kill you when we get home, Tim." Nightwing muttered through his radio, "I triggered the alarms; the cops will get this guy, whoever the hell it is."