nextgenerationmarvel | Trouble ahead...

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Trouble ahead...

Bruce sat in the mission war room, bringing up various pieces of data on the computer, projecting holographic screens into the air.

"In prison... in prison... last know crime... last known crime..."

He manipulated some more data, looking over countless records and pulling the files into sections.

Something... something definitely wasn't right, and a pattern was beginning to emerge.

"Okay," he said aloud. "What're you trying to tell me...?"

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"Well they likely have some sinister plot to break someone with a big name out," Erin offers.

"I mean. That's totally a thing. Right?"

Bruce shook his head. "Maybe," he said. "But the ones in prison have been there a while now, and there's too many who have just fallen off the map completely."

He leaned back in his chair. "I don't think it's a breakout... but I don't know what it is."

Erin chews her lower lip thoughtfully.

"What about the big name groups? What numbers do we have on them right now? .... AIM? HYDRA?" Erin tucks her hair back.

"My Dad had trouble with HYDRA years ago. Someone tried to strong arm him. I've wondered why we haven't heard anything in like..... two years. Nothing big in the news feeds anyways. Seems to me someone is hiding things from us."

"AIM, HYDRA, ULTIMATUM, the Sons of the Serpent, plenty of big name organizations," Bruce agreed. "SHIELD's got pretty solid intel on most of them, at least, that they're sharing with us."

He moved some images around. "It's just been... too quiet lately. Meta-crime has been steadily going down the last several months."

"That makes no sense." She brushes her fingers over her hair as she thinks.

"I heard my Dad mention in passing that there are less illegal weapons being moved around too. One of the things that came up during a summit he was at a few weeks ago in Germany. It seems impossible. You can't hide that stuff easily. Now with SHIELD or the other organizations out there."

She frowns mostly to herself. "It's like we're flying blind into something. The biggest thing that happened recently that everyone was on deck for was the Frost Giants with the Cask."

"I know," Bruce agreed. "And that's not even a domestic threat."

He frowned. "Which means this probably goes back at least that far."

Erin chews at her lower lip thoughtfully.

"All hands were on deck for that. Not just us. The Foundation, and X-Men were involved." She wonders about it.

"Almost makes me wonder if it was a test."

Another frown. "Maybe. Loki likes to mess with the Avengers, but this doesn't seem to contain his usual elements."

He looked over the data. "Someone's preparing for something. But I can't see the forest for the trees."

"Okay should I come back later?" Mira had entered to check on something that she had caught in a small blurb in the paper. Though she caught the files he was looking at.

"And now me abusing the computer to check on an old friend who made some poor decisions in life... Look a little tame." She tucked the paper cutting she had brought with her back into her notebook. "What's goin' on?"

"Just... a mystery," Bruce said. "Been looking at some statistics and not much adds up."

She sees one of the files just happens to have a name she knows. "Okay I know the guy was an ass, but getting busted for tech crimes. The guy was more loaded than I was if I kept my trust funds." She only knew him because they had been in a few college classes together.

She slid the file closer to read it closer. "That explains it, he was kinda a drone." She had caught A.I.M. in his file. "Makes me glad I turned him down now." She slid the file back in it's pile, her hardcopy file being placed on the table.

"So want help? Beats looking up an old friend's mysterious death."

"Sure," Bruce said, moving some data around on the screens.

"It's... a puzzle. I should be happy. Meta-crime's been going down... only that doesn't correlate with any super-group activity. It's like the super-villains are just vanishing."

"You know part of me wants to say good." She looked at the files, searching the known associates and other details. "Most of these don't work together either..."

Tapping a few keys she mapped their last known locations, on a hunch, since she was one hunted by the government because of her bike, she brought up known government facilities....

"Okay looks like they might not be involved."

Bruce frowned. "Something I need to be aware of, Mira?"

She looked up. "Not really. At least nothing that I haven't told Nick already. Pretty sure my problems aren't part of this." She tucked the hair from her face.

"And really, I haven't seen them since after the zoo when I first got here to New York."

Yeeeeah, he was probably going to have to deal with that at some point.

"Anyway," he said diplomatically, "I have to think one of three things. Either someone is building up a super-villain army for a massive operation, or someone is actively removing these people from the board... and possibly life or the government is quietly deporting criminals to the negative zone."

"Probably not that last one."

"Yeah, last one would probably break who knows how many Genova codes. I can't see that happening soon." She watched him. "Who would have the ability to take them out?"

Bruce shook his head. "No one. Keeping super-villains imprisoned once we've caught them is the hard part. Nothing's ever been a truly good solution. And anybody with the weaponry to take out that many super-powered people would make themselves master of the world in no time."

A frown. "Which means its probably the first option."

She's silent a moment looking at his displays. she copies them over to where she's standing and starts flipping files into an order, disappearances by date.

"If I was going to build an army hypothetically... I'd recruit people I trusted first, to act as commanders." She drew up the first four files. "These guys know anyone in common?"

Bruce shook his head. "No one major. Two of them have worked for HYDRA, three of them for AIM, a different two for the Maggia, and one of them for RAID, but none at the same time."

She frowns at that. "Okay, really, there some new group out then?"

"Maybe," Bruce admitted. "Or some old group operating in new ways. Some Hydra or AIM splinter cell, maybe."

"Guess they missed the memo to ease the new recruits in slowly by giving them like a year before throwing the big guns at a hero group?" Mira says it completely deadpan, though she gives a faint grin to tell Bruce if he wants her to help she'll be there.

Bruce allowed himself a small smile.

"You'd think," he said. He looked over the list. "Okay, let's start cross-referencing this stuff. Groups they have in common, and last reference to criminal activity. See if anything pops up."

Eventually, a pattern did begin with emerge.

"All fell off the map within the past six months," he said. "But not a significant amount of organizational crossover. Or at least, not enough to be relevant. Too many people willing to work for whoever pays them. And none of these guys are world beaters. They're grunts and killers and robbers, but none with their own "take over the world" plan."

"So should I remind them of the memo when we go deal with them?" Hey the smile was cute okay, she wanted to see if she could add a chuckle there. Come on Bruce, just a little one.

Though as she starts shifting through the files she sees what he's talking about. All joking around's shoved back for now.

"So who would hire an army of thugs? Because thought most the heavy hitters that rich would keep the glory to themselves..."

No chuckle this time. Bruce's sense of pattern recognition and general feeling of dread was kicking in too much.

"Someone planning something big," he said. "And with either a lot of resources... or the ability to make people believe in whatever they're planning. Still a huge list, and that doesn't even get into the idea of someone just outright mind-controlling them."

She sighs, one of these days Bruce.

She's flipping through files still. "Not seeing anyone with the tech here. New player maybe?" She hated that idea, but had to throw it out there.

Bruce nodded. "I should put in a call to Sammy too... see if any of the big name players... Count Nefaria, MODOK, anybody like that's popped back up on the radar."

Mira was silent a moment. "Do that, I'll see if they're recruiting fresh blood from the colleges too. I still have a few contacts. Not really administrative level, but shouldn't be that hard to tell if something's going on. At least that is if they haven't gotten themselves booted from campus yet."

Bruce nodded. "Good idea," he said. "I'll put out some contacts, talk to Tony and Cap too, see what they know. And we'll reconvene in a couple days."

"Works. Should get answers back from most of my people in a day."

Bruce pinched his nose and fought back a headache. "That's a plan then. Good luck."

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Trouble ahead...

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