[b] Marconi Estate [/b] 

The crack of the gun silenced Bender forever. Fontana crossed himself and several of the Bosnians hung their heads, all was silent. Music looked Sixgun in the eye and nodded walking off. Marconi light a cigar and nodded, "Welcome to the Outfit, Mr. Ross." He gestured to four men by his side and they went to Bender's body, picking him up at the same time and visibly straining under the weight of the giant of a man. They walked off and the circle remained silent. Marconi approached and clapped Sixgun on the shoulder, "I believe you'll be a great asset Ross. Legion won't know what hit it." 

Suddenly a man rushed from inside the estate and up to Marconi who shifted the side to listen him whisper in his ear. Marconi's mouth went slack and his cigar fell from his lips, fingers swinging loosely. He blinked and then his eyes turned into granite, fists balling up. He gritted his teeth and said, "Goddamnit They went too far this time. Too far." He shouted to Fontana, "Get the boys together, we're going for a ride." Fontana nodded and the mobsters withdrew. 

Marconi grinned bitterly at Sixgun, "Alright seems like Legion has stepped it their game. They've taken my wife and kids hostage. Nothing we can do for them now, police and heroes will be swarming the place. But now we're going to hit back. There's an old meth lab that used to be ours, they took it over and word on the street is they make all this unholy potion crap with it. You're going to take the Witchfinder, Chunk, La Sombra, and some of our guys to clear it while we hit their other public places. I've had enough of this shit. Get ready and Fontana will show you there." Marconi pulled his gun cocked it and walked off. The gang war was now turning into a bloodbath. 

[b] Michael's Team sans Furious [/b] 

Michael punched the bulkhead and made it bend as he cursed for the second time that day, "That impossible boy. He should have left me to do my duty." Arachnid sighed head in her hands. Furious was the first member ever to be captured in the field, perhaps even the first to have been killed. She shook her head. No, they had wanted him alive and Furious was too damn stubborn to just die. He was alive and they'd get him out. She spoke up, "Furious would never have left anyone behind, and he knew that you were more useful out there then dead or captured." Michael's eyes burned with holy fire, "Whoever took our friend will pay dearly. I swear it." 

The pilot called out from the intercom, "Looks like we'll have to make a detour. Cook County Jail is experiencing a riot and reports say there's dozens of superhumans trying to break in at the same time." Arachnid banged her head against the bulkhead, "Dammit. We won't have anyone left to go after Furious." Michael sighed, "No doubt that was all part of their plan." Michael pressed the intercom button, "Drop us at the nearest station so we may deposit the boy. Then let us join our comrades in the field." Michael looked back out the VTOL at the rapidly shrinking slaughterhouse, "We'll come back for you my friend." 

[b] Hall Airfield [/b] 

The Airfield where the League kept its fleet of VTOLs was a hotbed of activity as support staff rushed to get the transports into service and the space was crammed with scores of heroes. Zenith, Olympia, and several others had already gone on ahead but the bulk of their force was assembling here. Psion broke through the crowd, her telepathy projecting her presence and parting the human tide as she ran through, ripping off her suit to display her white costume. Nitrous, Aurora, Raptor, Rainmaker, and Menagerie were present and Psion stepped up to join them. They were two-thirds of the Founding Council Zenith, Olympia, and Pariah filling out the rest of the seats. Renowned members like Savant, Destiny, and Apogee were at the head of the crowd. 

Psion stared at the crowd her face grim, "Zenith and Olympia, two of our strongest as well as several who were nearby are already on scene. Cook County Jail is being ravaged by a cross-facility riot with dozens of villains breaching the facility at different points. Thomas's spirits have determined a magical dampener field has been placed over the prison proper and anyone with supernatural powers will find their abilities severely curtailed. As such low-tier Supernaturals will be put in reserve and support. More than half of the League is spread out around the country and are rapidly mobilizing to meet at the prison, but right now we're all that's left to the job and most are more than an hour away." 

Psion looked several members in the eye, "If we don't contain the riot, hundreds if not thousands supercriminals and violent normals will be able to wreak havoc on Chicago and every population center in proximity. We have to stop them before they escape at all costs. No matter what we must stop the breakout. Thousands of lives depend on us." Every member there was sobered and Apogee felt her heartbeart rising. It was the only time in their short operating history that more than a few dozen Leaguers had been assigned to the same mission. And so far, it was its most high-stakes operation to date. 

"We'll be joined by National Guard units and agents from the local DSA station, every boot on the ground helps. Save as many guards and staff as you can but the priority is to contain the inmates. If we work together, hit them hard, and stay cool we can do this. Everyone who can get there faster now, go. Everyone else to the transports." Raptor, Rainmaker, Aurora, Menagerie, and Destiny took to the sky followed by dozens of flyers as Nitrous sped off into the distance. Apogee swallowed and her eyes turned resolved as she flew off into the sky and Psion was the first to board a VTOL followed by the rest of the League, less than 500 superheroes who had to quell a jail with more than 12,000. 

Later when they arrived, dozens of VTOLs and lone heroes flying in the air towards the prison, they found a huge smoke cloud drifting up and fire was everywhere. The VTOLs flew around the prison and had a nice view of the chaos. DSA and National Guard vehicles were already present. The armored vehicles and infantry had formed a perimeter around the prison as it continued to rumble and boom with the sounds of pitched combat. Psion closed her eyes and concentrated. A few moments later Zenith floated next to her VTOL, his cloak fluttering in the wind and displaying evidence of tears and scorches. The man's uniform had been cut and filled with holes in several places, his hair out of place, but his face was set in determination. 

Zenith grimly nodded, "You're here. Olympia, myself, and the rest were able to pacify the immediate perimeter and take down the first wave of runners, but we didn't have the numbers to get in any farther than the first few cell blocks and one of the yards. Now that you're here we should be able to-" He was cut off by a sound of a large ground-shaking rumble and he snapped his head down expecting to see the aftermath of an explosion. Instead what he saw was the ground boiling, as holes seemed to open in the ground and shapes began to emerge. Portals opening in the very ground. Destiny looked out, his eyes glowed gold and he cursed, "Corpses. Golems. Creatures I've never seen before. There must be more than a thousand of them. They must have a nercomancer and an enchanter to create their zombies and golems. As well as a summoner strong enough to bind so many Netherworld demons. It would have taken months to gather so many."

 Zenith narrowed his eyes, "They planned this from the day we learned of them. Something to keep the big guns from getting in and everyone else trapped in it. And there's nothing to do but clear it." Legions of dark monsters swarmed the perimeter of the Prison, not entering but forming a wall of flesh between the heroes and government and the beleaguered prison. More than a few Leaguers shifted their sheets, cursed, and crossed themselves at the site and the men on the ground seemed to move into high gear while setting up positions. Zenith's radio buzzed with lines from the National Guard and DSA and he nodded, he spoke out to the League channel, "Listen up. Myself, the Founders, and every top-tier superhuman will engage. We'll clear a path straight to Olympia and her team for the rest of the League, they're trapped between Legion's minions and the inmates. Our VTOLs and the government's armor will open up a path for the guard and agency to secure their own sides while flyers offer fire support for them." 

Zenith stared at Apogee who flew in the air, "It'll be up to you to pacify the riot until the rest of us can move in, veteran like Apogee and Savant will lead the League units while DSA and the Guard will secure the other entrances. Stick together and stay alert, the lives of your friends, comrades, and countless innocents depends on it." Zenith floated into the air again and was joined by the other Founders who could fly, Zenith said, "Good luck." 

He flew off and into the air before diving down and creating a huge crater, sending dozens of creatures flying, then he opened his eyes and scythed through a dozen more zombies before launching throw a rank of stone golems. Nitrous streaked through the enemy, striking them with a club and firing off a sub-machine gun before speeding away and doing it again. Rainmaker floated in the air and a thundercloud manifested over the prison lightning striking down on the enemy while huge hailstones pounded others into mush. Aurora manifested a giant dragon of rainbow light who roared cerulean fire and stomped creatures beneath it. Menagerie had turned into a T-Rex and charged through the enemy pounding them beneath his saurian feet and crushing them between his jaws. 

Raptor flew in from above and struck left and right with a sword and axe in head, decapitating zombies and eviscerating creatures. Destiny floated in the air and fired streak after streak of golden energy into the enemy. Psion and a couple dozen other superhumans from the League and DSA had disembarked from their VTOLs or moved in and joined their strength. Psion raised her hand a dozen creatures grabbed their heads and sank to the ground in inhuman pain. Fire, Ice, Lightning, Wind, Water, Earth, Sonic blasts, and energy of all kinds were being thrown everywhere and pounding into the Legion's inhuman army. There were only a few dozen against a force of a thousand but they managed to get their attention, a path had been opened straight into the prison. VTOLs streaked overhead on other sides of the prison and pounded the enemies there with machine guns while the government's APCs rolled in firing turrets and crushing zombies beneath their tires. The DSA and National Guard were moving in. Now it was up to the League. 

Apogee floated in the air, the rest of the League's present flyers at her back and they flew at the prison several branching off to fight flyers who suddenly rocketed into the air or to support the DSA and the Guard. Apogee herself dove down into the first courtyard, the other VTOLs dropping off the rest of the League teams. In the courtyard was a pitched battle, Olympia and a handful of Leaguers fighting back several mundane prisoners and superhumans. Olympia was slashing and bashing the inmates, blood pouring onto the ground. It seemed as if the prisoners had had their meta-blockers dampened but normally Olympia would have already defeated the enemy. The dampening field robbing her supernatural attacks of most of their strength and even taking some of her physical power. Dozens of inmates were down but more were still up. 

 A bruiser ran at her and she side-stepped him swinging her blade with such strength that it cut deep into his back and slammed him into the floor, then she was thrown back by a gout of wind and into a wall. Apogee picked up the bruiser and threw him into the aerokinetic, taking care of them both for the moment. In the yard where another bruiser named Brick, pyrokinetic named Scorch, a man with metal tentacles called Twister, and a human bomb that was named Boomer. Volt and Sonja may have recognized the last three as some of the first villains they had taken down six months past. 

Brick had managed to catch an acrobat named Daredevil in his arms and was twisting his limbs, Twister grabbing at Bullseye an archer that was trying to hold him off with her gadget arrows several of them being grabbed in the air. Morph, an amorphous blob hero was screaming as Scorch burned him. Magnetar a magnetism controller was backed into a corner firing small metal spheres at a crowd of inmates. Redeye a woman with heat vision was battling with Boomer, one firing pinpoint lasers while the other fired large handfuls of yellow explosive energy neither managing to hit in their running battle. Several guards in riot armor were trying to hold back inmates with batons and shields but were on the verge of being overwhelmed. Immediate intervention was necessary. 

[b] Atrium [/b] 

The couple dozen or so rookies that were all the League had left to deploy crowded in the atrium until Pariah arrived at the head of the room, and they went silent. Pariah took up his position and spoke his words echoing throughout the now quiet hall, "The place is Maroni's Restaurant an Outfit front. Legion has taken the building over and every person inside hostage. They have a cryokinetic who froze all the windows and the entrances shut. They must have a magic-user because any attempt to scry or otherwise magically penetrate the building has been rebounded. Besides that we know nothing other than upwards of a dozen supervillains are inside thanks to infrared scans. Assume all are armed and willing to kill. CPD has formed a perimeter with vehicles, SWAT teams, and Snipers but their attempts to communicate have failed and the Legion is demanding at least two League representatives." 

"I need someone to go in, wearing wire implants, and identify the sorcerer or the device powering the ward. If they can take them out or disrupt their spell and it'll allow any supernatural members to enter and assist and at the same time deploy these," Pariah held up a series of very small marble sized half-spheres, "These are advanced concentrated concussive and flashbang hybrid explosives. Keep them hidden and plant them wherever they can do the most distraction, they'll stick to anything solid and are strong enough to disorient everyone for about a dozen feet around. When you can report on positions of enemies and hostages. You'll be searched but keep them hidden anyway you can. Then we breach with an assault time and subdue the villains and rescue the hostages." 

"Do I have any volunteers?"