Marvel Team-Up --Crown Jewel Caper

[Foley]

New York Harbor, a haven of tourism, private sailing craft and an international port of call for just about anything one can dream of. At any given time millions of dollars in goods floats and steams across these waters bringing in or taking out literal tons of valueable goods. Including the fabled Crown Jewels of England, on loan to the New York Museum of Natural Science, arrinving by special tanker on a warm spring afternoon under heavy guard made up of a joint task force from the Secret Service and Scotland Yard. On the docks amoung the gathered spectators was Peter Parker, snaping pictures for the famous Daily Bugle.

"Incredible," he thought to himself as he swung the lens of his camera over the crowd and guards to take a few shots of them, "all these people came hopeing to catch a glimpse of the Crown Jewels. And Jonah says New Yorkers are jaded. Certainly proved to be a nice day for the unloading."

Peter's camera moved to the tanker where a crane was working to hoist the containers for the precious cargo out of the hold. Standing close at hand was the famous USAgent and a tall lanky fellow in a rumpled shirt and tie who did not look all that happy to be across the briney. "That must be Pete Wisdom standing with 'Agent, on loan from WHO and Scotland Yard. With all the guards on hand plus USAgent and Wisdom and the fact that its in the middle of the day, no crook would be stupid enough to try and rob the Jewels."

A low, almost silent rumbleing filled the air and began shaking the tanker. This was followed seconds later by an immense and powerful jet of water bursting straight up through the hold of the tanker taking out the crain. When several guards went flying due to sideways jets of water shooting off the main one, the crowd started to take off screaming in terror. Peter took off as well, but only as far as the nearest private spot where he began pulling off his outer clothes to reveal his infamous Spider-Man costume.

"What was that about stupidiy, Web-Head," he groused as he launched a webline to swing back out into the open.

At the top of the water spout, the upper torso of a thugish looking man took shape. "Yo! Hand over the Crown Jewels and none of you will get hurt!"

The head of the Secret Service detchment stepped forward and bellowed, "And just who the hell are you?"

A gush of water pushed him over the side of the boar into the harbor for his trouble, "Name's Hydro-Man, now hand over dem Jewels!"

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[Foley]

"Name's USAgent, and you are under arrest!" the former Captain America roared, "You can come peacefully or you can come in pieces, you're choice."

Hydro-Man snorted and sent another gusher of water towards the hero. But this time instead of sending him over the side, USAgent raised his shield and managed to stand his ground dispercing the spray to sides. He then threw the shield at Hydro-Man's head. The villian leered and turned his head to water allowing the disk to splash through, it then clanged against the ship's mast, rebounded and sliced through Hydro-Man's watery chest. Only then did he changed his head and torso back to a solid form.

"That all ya's got, hero?" he taunted.

"USAgent might not have any more, but how about I give it a shot!" Spider-Man shouted as he swung into view and landing on the side of the bridge tower.

"Back off, Webhead," USAgent shouted, "This is a official government matter."

"You heard the man," Hydro-Man said sending a gusher to squash the hero, "Why don't ya take a swim!!"

"And miss all this fun in the sun? No way!" Spider-Man leaped out of the way of the incoming watery missle and started firing glubs of webbing at the villian. "Besides, I forgot my waterwings!"


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[Foley]

Hydro-Man wiggled his watery form to avoid the webbing but then suddenly let out a painful yell. At the same time little gauts of steam had come from his liquid body where some sort of energy dagger went flying through.

"OY! Waterhead!" shouted Wisdom, his fingertips glowing.

"There's a new one," Spider-Man quipped as he landed on the top one of the smaller masts that belonged to the cargo ship.

Wisdom either did not hear the comment or ignored it cause his eyes were locked on Hydro-Man as he spoke, "Ya got two choices, ya worthless git, either you hie yerself back to Davy Jones locker or where ever it is you hang out or I keep blasting ya with my hot knives."

"And just what are 'hot knives'?" sneered Hydro-Man moving backwards very slightly.

"Me mutant power," replied Wisdom, "Hotter then the son they are. Bettin' that they hurt like blazes when they pass through ya turning that joke ya call a body t'steam."

"I'll take plan c." roared the crook, "You know the one where I drown you fools and make off with dem jewels." He turned all of his body into water and made it into a tidel wave intent on carring out his threat. Wisdoom and USAgent leaped out of the way for cover and Spider-Man began shooting his webshooters.

Next thing anyone knew, Hydro-Man's body thumped onto the deck in a soggy mess wrapped up in a tangle of webbing. Gummed up would be the better word as the three heroes gathered around him.

"What did you do to him, Webs?" USAgent asked squatted down and gave the villian a poke.

"Special webbing I came up long ago to deal with Ol' Waterhead here," was the answer, "Mixed in a geletine of my own design that interacts with his water-form and holds him fast every time."

"Well Her Majesty's government thanks you for your assist, Webhead," Wisdom said shaking Spider-Man's hand before going off to the side to get more guards on deck to get the prisoner off the boat.

"Wonder what made Hydro-Man try something like this?" Spider-Man asked USAgent as they stood off to the side and watched Hydro-Man get carted off to jail by Federal Guardsmen. "Normally Bench just sticks with banks and armored cars."

USAgent shrugged and sniffed, "Bragging rights? Who knows, who cares. I'm gonna get those jewels to the musuem so this assignment can be over at last."

Peter left the cargo ship and returned to where he had stashed his streetgear. All the while he was putting them back on over his costume the question of the why that USAgent cared so little about kept nagging at the back of his mind like something that triggered his Spider-Sense. Something about this whole thing was wrong, at the least off. Certainly Hydro-Man was smart enough to know that something as big as the Crown Jewels was going to be heavily protected, why risk it on going alone. Even if he would have to split the profits certianly it would have been worth it. Obviously it had been to take the risk alone.

As Peter went back out to join the people and rubberneckers milling about the cargo ship he banished the troubling thoughts from his mind and instead focused on the shots his camera and it's long range lens got and just how much he could get out of ol' JJJ from them.

In the end Hydro-Man was on his way back to prision and that was the end of the story. At least that was what Peter thought.

How wrong he was.


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[Foley]

[glow=red,2,300]Epilogue[/glow]

The man that the city's criminal underworld called The Arranger dabbed his pale blue hankerchief on his forehead before returning it to the inside pocket of his suit coat of the same color. It was hot and muggy in the boiler room that he and the individuals attending the meeting he called which was making sweat bead up on his forehead, not nerves or fear. One did not become the right-hand man of the Kingpin or the most successful criminal planner since him by allowing oneself to succumb to fear.

Not the the pair standing before him were incapable of instilling fear in the common man. As contract hitman in Merry Ol' England, Knight and Fogg earned a reputation of merciless killing, unerring accuracy and a sadistic streak as wide as the English Channel. The two looked like their names, Knight was a masssive brute of a man, that thanks to a strange lab accident during a job, who could turn into an even more massive armored being armed with super strength and a sword connected to his right arm that was able to slice through almost everything. The same accident enabled the lanky Fogg to transform into living green fog with all the properties that comes with such a shape. The two stood on the other side of Arranger's "desk" scowling at him.

"Yer boy, Hydro-Man, failed to do his job, Gov'," Fogg spat as he inspected his nails, "And got caught to boot."

Arranger showed no hint of emotion as he quietly and simply replied, "If his job was to steal the Crown Jewels then I would not only be forced to agree with you, but on the behalf of my employeer The Kingpin, I would offer you a refund you the money you paid in advance for the job that Hydro-Man supposedly failed."

Someone stepped out of the shadows pushing a handcart forward at The Arranger's cue. "As it is, all Hydro-Man's job was to provide a suitable distraction for the police and any meddling super-heros that would stop the Ghost here from moving in under everyone's radar and retrieve the item your employeer's paid for."

"He had better," Knight growled punching one fist into the opposite hand, "Or we would have to take our 'refund' out of The Ghost's and your hides."

Arranger reached down and removed the lid of the crate that sat on the handcart. Inside sat a round metal object with a few spots of rust on it here and there. It also had several Nazi symbols on it in various places. Both Knight and Fogg looked at the device and attempted to step forward to take it when Arranger slammed the crate shut again. "Ah-ah, gentlemen, you know the deal. What you paid already gets me to procure the item, the money that is in that nice leather briefcase of yours earns you the right to claim the item."

"And what's to stop of from simply taking it, Gov'?" Fogg asked as his body slowly began to dissolve into the glowing fog. Knight followed his partner's lead and his skin was replaced with maroon and purple armor similar to what would have been worn by the common soldier in olden times.

The Arranger held up a small remote he pulled from his pocket, "Then I would have no choice to activate this atomic decompiler, much like the one that made you your deadly selves, and turn the pair of you into free floating atomic particles." He smiled a small, cold smile, "But you two would surely just live up to your end of the agreement."

Fogg slid the case to Arranger's feet and he nodded to the Ghost for him to wheel the cart over to Fogg. "Thank you, gentlemen. Pleasure doing business with you."

Once Knight and Fogg left the office, the Arranger left the boiler room and went to a much cooler and more comfortable room. Sitting down at the desk, he activated a telecommuications terminal. Immediately the face of the Kingpin or Crime appeared.

"Well?"

"Knight and Fogg just left with thier item and are happy as can be." The Arranger answered in simple forthright terms.

"And was the Ghost able to obtain the other item?" The Kingpin asked.

"Yes, sir." Arranger answered, patting the crate that sat beside him, "I will bring it to the Tower as soon as possible."

"Excellent!" Kingpin brightened.

"Should I make arrangements to get Hydro-Man out of police custody?"

"Yes," was the reply, "We may need him for future jobs. Kingpin out."

The Arranger sat back in his chair and steepled his long, slender fingers. He was satisfied that the job was completed without a hitch, but he was even more pleased that his own plans were proceeding better then he had hoped. If his calculations bore out correctly then soon he would be the Kingpin of not only the city New York, but quite possibly the whole United States.


;D --FIN