Summary:A gang decides to rob a brinks truck. They decided to do so on the wrong day as they are converged upon by heroes such as Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, Black Widow and The Ray. They have a creative solution to their problem. Log Info:Storyteller: Peter Parker |
Related LogsTheme Song"Surfin' USA" by The Beach Boys - https://youtu.be/EDb303T-B1w |
    |
Just another Saturday night
"If everybody had a Brinks truck…across the U-S-AYYYYY…"
The traffic tends to clear quickly. If you looked in your rearview and saw an armored truck barreling down the road behind you, you'd get pulled over, too.
Then everybody'd be surfin'…Like Californi-ayyyy…"
The five men and one woman inside the truck had gassed the driver and guards and were about to get away with a cool eight million.
"You'd see them wearing their costumes…and their webshooters, tooooo…"
Except for one little annoying human/spider hybrid currently riding on top of the truck.
"Everybody's gone surfin'…SURFIN' U-S-AYYY!"
He's not really a great singer, though.
And of course, Carol was gone for long enough that she had "to catch up on monitor duty." So naturally she found out that there was the armored car theft going on, and decided that it would be a nice change of pace from alien invasions, Galactus, or Doctor Doom.
Which is why she's currently flying over Brooklyn in costume as Captain Marvel, carrying Black Widow along for the ride as she grins, "See, now this is why I missed Earth! Looks like Spidey could use a hand, if you're ready?" She gives 'Tasha a wry look, zooming down lower for her to do her thing when she's ready.
Ray is living his usual Saturday night. Patrol. Not for the first time he thinks to himself he needs to get a social life. Sitting on the edge of a building, watching traffic hum beneath him isn't the way most people his age spend the most fun night of the week. At least the hot dogs are good. He takes another bite out of his impromptu dinner, eyes scanning the street until he sees the armored truck barrelling down the road. Well, that was something.
Lighting up like the glow bug he is, the Ray takes off from the edge of the building, matching his speed to the armored truck speeding along below him, eyes fixing on the costumed man already perched on the top of the truck. He has to wince at the singing though. Definitely not ideal cruising music. "Need help?" He doesn't spot the others coming in from above, not yet.
Natasha didn't get long to catch up with Carol since her return, but when she finally got the time, obviously, something happens. But at least it was a fun something, so she was all for tagging along with Carol.
Carried by Captain Marvel, the Black Widow grins at Marvel's familiarity with her methods, "I'd definitely be more of use down there, thanks for the drop off," and when Marvel lets go, Widow plummets down, angling herself proper, before landing atop the truck, next to Spidey. She lands on all four, before lowering further to her knees and forearms, grinning at Spidey as she looks his way, "so, you got a plan, Spider-Man?" She at least gives him the courtesy to lead on.
Spider-Man looks over at the Ray, blinking. Some new guy? Like he should talk. He's only been doing this cockamamie crimefighting career for 14 months. And THEN the lithe redhead lands on the roof, a sound he suspected the cash cows inside could hear. Whoa. Who is THIS woman? She just oozes professional bearing, competency.
Okay…let's try to make her think we know what we're doing!
"I'm waiting for another two miles, until they reach Brighton. The road opens up there, less people around. And then I was going to…well, stop them."
SWING and a MISS, Spidey! Better luck next time!
At that point, Captain Marvel stays overhead, since between Spidey, Natasha, and the new guy… it /seems/ to be under control. So she stays up in the air and pacing the truck, just in case they have some wicked surprise in store for superhero interference.
The super-spy landing on the top of the truck has Ray blinking in surprise. Surprise which is luckily concealed by his helmet. He looks up expecting to see a helicopter or something similar that the woman dropped from only to spot Captain Marvel flying above. Well, this party certainly got crowded quickly. These guys seem to know what they're doing though, more than him anyway, "I'll follow your lead if you got a plan." Well, Spidey convinced one person at least.
Black Widow nods at Spidey when he describes his plan, "you want to reduce collateral damage?" The redhead muses, looking ahead at the traffic, and then to the side, before turning back to Spidey, "so, now going along the side of the truck, knocking passenger side guy out while breaking inside, and taking control of the vehicle now?" She muses for a moment, then nods, "some say patience is a virtue, I'll let you call this one, see how well it works…" she pauses for just a second, looking at the speeding guy along the truck, "he's a friend of yours?" She asks Spidey, before pointing above at Captain Marvel, "she's a friend of mine, things get difficult, they'll wish they hand't."
Spider-Man looked up, then grimaced under the mask. His head STILL hurt from the last time she stopped a vehicle. "I don't know who the light particle is, but he's not blasting me with anything, so I'm giving them the benefit…"
One man slid open a slot, saw Ray, and then his eyes widened before the slide closed again. "Tony! We got CAPES!"
Spidey looked down the road to see the telltale rubble of the Brooklyn Blitz. Less people on the road, and less potential collateral damage/stray casualties. He looked back to Black. "Okay…just jump off when I tell you to. We're going to stop kinda abruptly."
He leaped to the hood of the truck, startling the driver and his pal in the shotgun seat. And he had a shotgun, so perfect. He does know enough not to shoot at Spidey through bulletproof plexiglass, though.
Spidey jumped to the grille of the truck, peering under the bumper, then spots what he is looking for. "NOW!" He yells.
A thick clutch of webbing hits the axle. Then Spidey fires a webline to each side, bracing himself against the front of the truck. The weblines snap taut, and then Spider-Man groans as the axle seizes as he hangs on to the weblines, pushing against the truck to slow it down. It lurches as the spiderwebs grab hold, then another lurch aas it stops.
Captain Marvel grins as Spidey stops the truck, and flies down to the back of the truck. Because she's being polite, and maybe a bit quirky from reminiscing with 'Tasha, and probably not thinking this is more than just some non-powered thieves, she knocks twice on the back door before saying, "Ah, excuse me boys and girls, but did you know how fast you were going?"
"I'm the Ray." He announces with probably much more cheer than the current situation calls for. His toothy grin splits the silhouette that is his face, at least until the guys in the truck shout out. "None of us are even wearing capes." He tsks and shakes his head, flying up a little as Spidey goes to stop the truck, he waits until it comes to a complete stop and lands next to the vehicle where he can peer into the driver side window, holding up a glowing hand. "I really don't want to fry anyone today."
Black Widow likely would have gone with her own suggestion, but she was giving Spidey the reigns so she nods along to his plan, and jumps over to the rooftop of a car in the next lane, turning immediately to look at the truck. Waiting to see if it'll come to a stop or flip over, before jumping down again to the road, walking casually towards Captain Marvel, "don't forget they had a passenger on the roof, and he wasn't wearing a seatbelt."
There seems to be a spirited discussion in the back of the truck, one Carol can hear.
"We could use the recoilless."
"Really? You want to fire that in HERE? It'd blow out our eardrums. C'mon, we have to play it SMART."
"Oh, PLEASE, tell me, o eminent sage."
"Shaddup. We can't go out shooting. I heard about the flying one. We ain't got no countermeasure against THAT. This works. Just dummy up until the cops show up, then you follow my lead, okay?"
"…you SURE we can't use the recoilless?"
"Zack, slap the Hell out of him, woudja?"
Spider-Man can see red-and-blue flashing lights in the distance. "Cops are coming."
Captain Marvel sighs, and then gives Natasha a look, "Get ready. These idiots aren't going to make it easy." With that, she suddenly takes the doors and rips them open, glowing fairly brightly as she channels the cosmic energy that allows her to do so.
Then she pipes up cheerfully, "Still want to try that rifle?"
Ray keeps his hand up and focused on the driver's seat, watching it from the corner of his eye as he takes a glance towards the back of the truck. He mutters under his breath. "When do they ever make it easy?" He gives a little start as that door goes flying open, wincing. "Don't do anything stupid, don't do anything stupid." He's still muttering to himself words of wisdom for the guys inside of the truck. That lady is scary.
When Carol opens the doors with a show of force, Black Widow already has her pistols drawn and pointed inside the truck, "you know physics boys?" She asks with a cocky grin, "one bullet just might bounce about to get all of you, I suggest not reaching for your weapons." Her eyes are trained on the criminals in the back of the truck, she trusts Spider-Man to take care of the front. "Also, just in case some of you failed Physics," she tilts her head towards Captain Marvel, "her punch, while a solid object, can definitely go through your faces. Just something to consider…"
The men step out of the truck, hands held high, and then is a crunch of metal from the front before the two in the front get out and joing the others. Everyone can hear the sirens getting closer, and Spidey says, "I'll just…hang out at the front of the truck. If they ask, tell them you three caught them." So saying, he steps in front of the truck and out of view.
Most of the crooks are looking sullen, but one of them is hiding a covert smile. Both Carol and Natasha spot it as two police cruisers drive up.
Captain Marvel passes 'Tasha a sidelong glance, her eyes flickering towards the smiling crook. Which is a little… odd, to see, especially in this case. For her part, she doesn't let on that she knows something more might be up, but just decides to be ready. And Natasha is better at the covert thing than she is.
Ray looks at Spidey curiously but doesn't comment, merely shrugging. "If you want." He certainly sounds confused by the request, even if he agrees to it. As the two from the front of the truch get out he lifts off the ground and settles on the top of the truck where he can look down at the group of theives from above and behind. His posture is relaxed though as he sees the police drawing closer.
The doors open and two sets of uniformed police officers step out. No guns are drawn, but holsters are unsnapped and hands are on gunbutts as they approach. "Wow…all of them. Richards, check the cargo."
One officer peers in the back of the truck. "I think it's all here, but you'd have to get the forensic accountants down…"
Then the man's smile turns wide and feral, and then he yells, "SPIDER-MAN, YOU RAT BASTARD! DON'T LEAVE US LIKE THIS!"
And the guns are now out, the cops looking everywhere.
"The costumed big-mouth set us up! He said it was going to be an easy score! HE'S BEHIND THE TRUCK!"
From his vantage point in front of the truck, Spidey groaned. It had been going too well.
Natasha definitely spots that tell, and she goes as far as to remark about it, "you know…? When you're setting a trap, the smart thing to do is not to blabber on about it, because then, I might have to inform you about the counter trap I set up, and I'd much rather you idiots just walk into it. Like you're about to…" judging by the very vicious smile on Black Widow's visage, she can't wait for them to try their move.
But just as she gives her threat, to their unspoken threat, those bozos just act up and their plan is the absolute worst. So much so that Widow actually laughs, "stand down," Widow tells the cops, "SHIELD Agent, I vouch for the Spider." She gives a sort of 'really?' expression to the criminals, her pistols are still aimed at them, "so you guys wanna dance, or will you let the nice boys in blue put some handcuffs on your wrists?"
Captain Marvel looks at the cops, "Yeah, um, boys… are you going to believe the nice SHIELD agent, or a bunch of mooks that were dumb enough to contemplate firing a recoilless rifle inside that armored truck."
She then looks over at the one that talked, "And boy, you just screwed up so badly, you have no idea." Sighing a bit, she glances around, giving Natasha a 'I'll explain later' look when she catches her gaze.
Ray just shakes his head and rolls his eyes. But he gives his fellow red-head a second glance when she announces her SHIELD credentials. "Some crooks just really aren't that smart, are they?" He steps to the edge of the truck's roof, crossing his arms over his chest as he continues to keep his eyes on the criminals below. This was the best kind of takedown, one with no real fighting.
The reaction…is not the one that was expected.
"Great, another Spider-Gang. Check the front of the truck, Richards. Mattock, go with him." The cop takes out his handcuffs as he cuffs the smiler.
Then, a shout from the front. "FREEZE! SPIDER-MAN, YOU ARE INSTRUCTED TO STAND DOWN….ahhh, DAMMIT!" A short silence.
"Sir!…I'm…incapacitated!"
Another voice, obviously Mattock, called out, "I am too, sir! Damned WEBBING!"
The lead cop grimaces, then looks to Natasha. "The 'Spider' has 14 warrants out for his arrest under the New York penal law…AGENT."
Carol actually blinks at that, "Another Spider-gang? I hope they'd be more competent than these jokers… and besides, you don't think Spider-Man can get a better level of henchman if he really wanted?" She gestures to the mooks that are caught already, then narrows her eyes at the lead cop, "So I guess the question is are you working for the NYPD, or someone else, at this point." She cuts right to the proverbial chase, as it were.
"Spider-gang? He's not doing it right if he's helping to take them down." Ray shakes his head, looking back over his shoulder to where the cops call out and just sighs, spreading his arms and shrugging. He eyes the cops, even as they take the criminals into custody, but this whole situation has him looking at everyone sideways as he mutters, "Why can't things ever be simple?"
Natasha still has her pistols aimed at the criminals in the back, while the cops try to rush after Spider-Man, and she reminds them, "I'm still here doing your jobs, while you're off chasing after Spider-Man, which I just vouched for as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., you don't understand jurisdiction, right?" Black Widow remains very calm, and keeps maintaining her pistols on the gang until the cops actually apprehend them.
When the high ranking officer tells her of the warrants against Spider-Man, Natasha scoffs, "you keep taking a tone with me, Officer…Deangelo," she quips with a glance at his badge, "and I might have to take some badge numbers. Spider-Man is currently conscripted for a classified Ops, you want to argue the matter, you're welcome to report to SHIELD Director, Nicholas J. Fury."
She notes the glance from Carol, and is certain everything is under control, Carol's one of the best after all.
When Ray tries to help, Black Widow calls out, "do yourself a favor and don't try, there's no logic in legal matters, there's only the law." She turns to face the cops, and quips, "which brings us back to the fact SHIELD has jurisdiction."
DeAngelo sighs as his partner puts the crooks in the two squad cars, then looks to Natasha.
"Lemme update you on your little pet Spider, Agent Romanov. The word is out. If you can claim Spider-Man turned on you, and no one can prove otherwise, then welcome to reasonable doubt, and they get off scot-free. We've been able to prove a few of these groups wrong, but they're getting smarter. Those six? They're going to swear Spider-Man put them up to it, then turned on them to make himself look like a hero. A good lawyer can drive a TRUCK through that and off his clients go."
He paused, then said, "TWO. A lot of cops have to moonlight to make ends meet. Not everyone gets a SHIELD paycheck. And the word is out on THAT as well. Spider-Man has an OPEN bounty on him. TEN MILLION DOLLARS. Tax free. Whoever collects will have enough to quell any misgivings they might have about betraying their badge. So, unfortunately, the rest of the cops have to deal with the only superpower that counts. MONEY." He looks at the vehicles. "Now. I have to go unstick my officers. Any further pointless orders, or can I go figure out how to get them loose?"
Carol Danvers lets Widow deal with the cops, as she doesn't want to give too much away… but she's gotten quite a bit more info already as she looks over at Ray, murmuring, "Someone's hunting down the Spider-Man, and enlisting cops to do it. Glad to hear that just got confirmed, along with a dollar amount. Not sure what's going on with that yet." She gets a bit of a wry look, "Somebody wants him pretty bad, though, if they're offering ten million for him."
Ray keeps his eyes on the cop, shaking his head as the man goes rambling off. "Well that's just stupid." Though he doesn't sound completely convinced himself, ten million is a lot of money. He looks over at Captain Marvel, nodding his head slowly in agreement. "Sounds like it. And if it works on one hero, they'll be trying it on others soon enough."
Natasha holsters her pistols, and turns to face DeAngelo, with that token Russian expression of impenetrable steel, no inflection whatsoever, no matter what he says. At least she looks his way so it seems like she's listening, even if not entirely interested in his words. Either way, looks like she and Carol are on the same page, no surprise, Carol used to be an agent herself. "Thanks for making assumptions about my pay grade, Officer DeAngelo, do you also want to take on the risks that provide it? You're an Officer of the NYPD, you should know better than to even bring up a paycheck when talking about SHIELD. Please…"
But then Natasha's unreadable expression, changes into a feigned surprise, "but you know…if I was an NYPD cop, I likely wouldn't advertise I'm looking for a bounty, and therefore compromise my sworn duty to my state and country, you know? Duty First, To Serve & Protect, used to mean something…didn't it? Still does at SHIELD. I guess it has to do with quality of character and candor."
Shrugging, Natasha starts to walk away from DeAngelo, but not before quipping, "I could have had your friends out of the webbing in no time, but unfortunately, you don't like me very much, so I guess I'll go be selfish and check on my paycheck instead of offering help. Because, you know, apparently money is the only thing that counts to the NYPD."
DeAngelo sighs. "I'm not after the bounty. But some of them are. I just want to get Spider-Man arraigned so he can state his innocence in a court of law."
…right after he is fingerprinted, photographed, and had his public identity made part of the public record.
He waves them off and goes to check on the webbed-up officers. One of them realized only his clothes are webbed and shucked them, standing in his tighty-whities, his gunbelt, and his badge hanging on a string. Which is getting a few shots from the accumulated crowd.
Captain Marvel looks at the officer in his tighty-whities, and simply says, "Next time… wait for the webbing to wear off. Hear it only takes around an hour. We'd /all/ be better off then." She then grins at Natasha, "Need a lift sailor?" Her voice lowers a bit, "Steve and I have been working on this, already, so I should let you know what we've found out about this." But not right here, where the cops are apparently not that trustworthy…
Ray watches the cop wander off with an unreadable expression then turns his attention back to Captain Marvel and Black Widow. "Well, this is going to be a mess, still, was good working with you. I'm the Ray, by the way." He grins and floats into the air just a little bit. He casts one last worried look towards the front of the van where he last saw Spiderman and shakes his head. He flies a few feet into the air then just sort of winks out of view as he bends light around himself to vanish.
"Thought you'd never ask," Natasha says to Carol with a grin, reaching to her with her hands, "I'd like to hear more about this thing, didn't realize the NYPD has been compromised, it's a sorry state of affairs…that DeAngelo guy is lucky he caught me in a good mood." Widow turns to give a brief salute to Ray, "keep up the good work," she says with a wink.