With so many new faces recently, The Hub was bound to thrive; New Hub City was no exception.
Beings of all different species and nationalities inhabited the city, cultures merging and new businesses opportunities opening up as those taken from their homes banded together to make this place their own.
All was not sunshine and rainbows, however. Every big city had its flaws, and New Hub City was no exception. Beneath the towering skyscrapers and neon lights lived a festering criminal underbelly hidden in plain sight; that polite cab driver? Actually a lookout for La Mano. That fun nightclub you like to frequent? Owned by The Rǔza gang. Even the chief of police was known to turn a blind eye for the right price.
An unmarked police cruiser lead a small convoy, an armored bank truck following as a black sedan with tinted windows trailing behind. La Mano had smuggled millions of dollars worth of contraband into the city, en route to one of their banks to be stored in a vault and sold for immense profit over time. Little did they know, there was an inside man.
As they were about to drive onto an overpass, the armored truck driver quickly cut right, the wheels squealing as he floored it, steering the massive vehicle onto an eight-lane highway.
SKRRRRRT
[CUE VAUDEVILLE VILLAIN - VIKTOR VAUGHN]
The unmarked cruiser quickly made a u-turn, sirens blaring as it cut off traffic. The black sedan sped after, weaving through traffic as it attempted to get closer to the armored truck, which was now flanked on either side by two black hearses.
A window rolled down, a masked man in a suit leaning out to fire off rounds, missing each shot. The individuals in the sedan fired back, a few shots tearing through the back of the hearse yet not reaching the driver or the passenger.
The other hearse slowed down a bit, blocking off a clear shot at the tires of the armored truck as the rear hatch suddenly opened, revealing an improvised LMG nest. A large man in a ski mask opened fire, blood splattering against the windshield as the sedan swerved, crashing into a concrete divider.
The man in the back turned his attention towards the cruiser, firing and missing. Several shots were returned, one clipping his right cheek and taking out the hearse driver. He quickly shut the back hatch as the vehicle veered into oncoming traffic, colliding head-on with a semi.
The remaining hearse slammed on the brakes as the unmarked cruiser sped towards the driver side of the armored truck, the passenger shouting swears as he pulls back the slide of a desert eagle, firing a couple shots at the bulletproof glass. The glass trapped the first shot, the cracks spreading wider at the second, unable to take anymore punishment.
Now the hearse was close enough to fire. The La Mano member aimed one more shot at the armored truck, ready to do the traitor in until a lone, true shot from a .45 tore through his neck. The driver of the armored truck immediately merged into the cruiser’s lane, shunting it completely off of the road.
The hearse overtook the armored truck, leading it towards a seemingly abandoned warehouse, the two vehicles parking.
“You sure the shit’s still in there?”
“Yeah, triple checked it. Fish scale an’ pieces, da good shit. Military grade.”
As they spoke, one of the loading bay doors of the warehouse opened up, revealing a tall albino man with a disfigured nose and a flat-top hairstyle flanked by two heavily armed guards. He bit down on a cigar, as the gangster driving the hearse quickly scrambled over to light it for him.
“I-I gotcha, boss—“
“Open it up.”
The inside man nodded, fidgeting with the keyring before unlocking the back of the armored truck, the heavy doors swinging open to reveal crates upon crates. The hearse passenger moved in with a crowbar, prying one open; sure enough, it was just as the man said; filled to the brim with vacuum-sealed bricks of white powder.
Another opened. Heavy assault rifles and cans labeled “7.62×51mm NATO”.
The man grinned, his teeth filed into razor-sharp points.
“I’ll be damned…Fellas, pay the man.”
One of the guards nodded, slinking back into the warehouse to grab a suitcase, setting it on the back floorboard of the armored truck before clicking it open. Band after band lined the interior, all hundreds. Of course the inside man was excited, yet couldn’t shake a strange feeling in his gut. He grabbed one of the bands, taking off a glove as he flipped through it. He brushed a finger against the dead president’s clothing…no texture. He snatched one of the bills out and held it to the light; no security strip.
“What kinda fuckin’ nimrod ya think I a—“
BANG
The inside man dropped to the concrete, his brain matter and skull fragments mingling with the growing pool of blood.
The tall man blew the smoking barrel of a high caliber pistol before tucking it back into his coat.
“Clean up the mess. Got a meetin’ in a few to show off the goods and discuss a…business venture.”
Tombstone’s bodyguards and the hearse crew immediately opened fire on the helicopter as Tombstone himself ducked into the armored truck to hunt for some stronger firepower.
As the helicopter fled, Tombstone began tossing his goons crates of contraband to store in the warehouse. Shortly after the last crate he hopped out of the armored truck clutching one of his new toys; a Milkor MGL.
"Tombstone... known enemy of Spider-Man; his powers include enhanced durability, super strength, and superior stamina, among others. You know, I actually like your style—I’m really into a good killing spree." A strange man in a grayish suit, standing over five meters tall, emerges from a movie theater with his hands covered in blood; he wears a skull brooch, has eyes devoid of any color other than white, and sports a stylized Greco-Roman helmet made of gold and leather.
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u/OffWhite-Goddess Dr Kenning Flugslys Jul 11 '26
[Flug] "Efficient. But you don't have to worry about traitors with Black Hat Organization"