[b]Año 2020, 25 de Diciembre; Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua; Un Sangrienta Prólogo: [i]Bane en El Territorio de Los Enemigos (Ambos Las Bestias y Los Hombres)[/i] [/b]
[color=purple]<“...What are you doing?!”>[/color] howled out Bane at his accomplice known as Doctor. At this moment of inquiry, Bane was on top of a cyclops performing a camel clutch. While the cyclops was trying to escape by flailing its legs and thrashing its head; but these attempts were of no use as the creature passed out. Bane slowly got up and now took the time to fully observe [i]what[/i] failing his gangster was committing.

Doc was shakily throwing rocks at a Harpy who was swooping down in an attempt to attack him. While his aim with a rock was poor, as each an every attempt he did missed its mark, he was at least decent at running away as he was not struck by tooth or talon. <”Waaaaaaah!”> shrieked out Doc as he lunged sideways and in his folly slammed headfirst into a mailbox.

[color=purple]<”Calm down Doc. Now’s not the time for fear.”>[/color] Bane explained towards the Doctor as he gazed around to see how the others were faring. 

Giggling wildly, Hummingbird was swinging his switchblade in a frenetic and wild pattern against a Monopod. For those who were unfamiliar with the Greek monster that was known as the Monopod, it was a rather humanoid looking creature except it had only one leg and a single massive foot. Many of these creatures would use it for shade, but this Monopod was using it as it was hopping up and down in an attempt to squash Hummingbird. At the moment they were at a standstill, as Hummingbird only was able to get small slashes upon the creature while the Monopod was only able to get a few punches in against Hummingbird as it was unable to stomp down upon the cartel-member as it wanted to.

[color=purple]<”Hummingbird.”>[/color] Bane casually walked towards the pair who were engaged in combat. The Monopod bounced in place trying to plot out how to best slay its foe; Hummingbird jumped back as he turned to stare at Bane. With his eyes darting to and fro he gnashed his teeth together as he gave a hasty salute to Bane, in the process dropping his knife.

Scrambling to obtain his knife he spoke, <”Yesyesyes? P-patrón!? Ineedtheknife! I s-s-s-swe-sweeeear I’ll try to lucha!”> He finally grabbed a hold of the knife and as he looked up he saw the Monopod jumping upward to slam down upon him. Fortunately instinct kicked in as Hummingbird was able to roll off to the side and spring back up with his blade in hand.

[color=purple]<”Oh no that is not the purpose of [i]this[/i] speech, fledgling warrior.”>[/color] Bane elucidated to his associate, [color=purple]<”And you do not need refer to me as Patrón [b]yet[/b]; after all I have still not conquered Juarez and its allies, and all of the others who haven’t yet learned from Sinaloa, to follow [b]MY WAYS![/b]. I came here to give you just a bit of advice while I allow you to use your [i]foreign object[/i]. Get behind the Bigfoot and slash its tendon. Then you will practice holds, as it will be crippled.”>[/color] 

Making that clear Bane marched to check on the others, with an occasional idle adjustment of the spandex speedo. 

Bane next checked on the methods of combat that Miguel was using. Miguel was fighting, well fighting was a bit of a euphemism in reality he was being slaughtered by, a Panotti. The Panottis were another set of curious creatures; these were men who had massive ears that were the size of their own bodies and dragged against the ground. 

And it was easy to see why Miguel was being slaughtered as the Panotti was utilizing the finest of head swings to whip out his ear lobes to batter Miguel. With loud cracks Miguel was sent backwards each and every time. Bane simply narrowed his eyes and focused his attention on Miguel to see how he would, or even could, get a turnabout in this battle. 

While that fight was going on, Doc was once again being pestered by another harpy that was trying to swoop down upon him. However, while he did slam against the mailbox, Doc was able to regain his composure. It was as Bane said, the time for fear was later. Armed with a cola bottle Doc threw it against the harpy and it made its mark. The glass shattered and embedded itself inside the shrieking creature which flapped about wildly now blinded. 

As for Hummingbird he was indeed able to fell his foe. The Monopod left on the concrete below sobbing, bleeding from the tendon unable to move. Hummingbird proceeded to do as his boss commanded and was practicing holds; with a half-hazardly applied bear hug Hummingbird had a huge grin on his face, <”I AM D-DOING IT! DOING IT! DOINGIT! WOOOOOOOO!”>

Rafael who had successfully thwarted a set of pgymies who were riding a set of feral dogs, was slow-clapping as he approached Hummingbird, although with a distinct limp in the leg. <”Good on you.”>

And now we return back to Miguel, who was sent flying straight back into a fire-hydrant with enough force that it shot the fire hydrant out. Miguel who surely died from this blunt force trauma, both evident from a now concave skull and the sounds associated with it, was shot up into the air from the pressurized water. 

The Panotti turned its attention towards Bane and whipped its left earlobes in an attempt to strike Bane. However this was denied by Bane who caught the creature by the ear with both of his hands. With a mighty thrust upwards, Bane caused the creature to ascend. With a firm grip, Bane began spinning around with the creature firmly intact screaming for mercy in some forgotten language.

After three cycles, Bane flung the creature into a building sending it both through bricks but also the support beams causing the building to collapse.

[color=purple]<”Hmph.”>[/color] Bane grumbled as he rolled his neck around. He glanced towards his associates, [color=purple]<”You will be fine on your own. You three can survive. Take Miguel’s corpse to back to the vehicle, I will decide whether he shall get a warrior’s burial for the attempt or if we will just leave it there to rot for his failure. Die or survive, at least know that you are partially helping in my machinations.”>[/color]

[hr]
[b]Año 2020, 25 de Diciembre; Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua; La Armería de la Nueva Línea[/b]
There was a brief amount of gun smoke from a machine gun, alongside a large amount of dead harpies just outside the armory.

Panting in and out heavily, stood a man with several scars across his face with buzzed black hair dressed in riot grade gear, and armed to the tooth with guns. Gazing upon the assembled members of Nueva Línea, the one enforcer gang that was kept to stay in Juarez to hold off the invasion because the leaders of the Juarez Cartel knew this band of ex-cops and ex-military would obey orders, he knew what had to be done.

<”We are to hold the line; and chances are we’re going to die.”> stated the man to a few groans and anguished cries from some of the weaker spirited men, <”But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to go down without a fight. I know I’m not.”>

<”I saw that monster on that pay-per-view, I know many of you did as well. But what you might not know was that my [i]brother[/i], Officer Santiago was there suffering at the hands of [b]CRIMINAL CHICANERY![/b] DEAD, BECAUSE OF CRIMINAL CHICANERY!”>

Martin Santiago, the finest damn operative this Enforcer Gang ever saw, began tearing up. Gritting his teeth he flung his hand to the side, <”And I don’t know about you, but I [b]liked[/b] the old ways of crime! When we just bribed officials and got into a few shoot outs. I am not going to live in a world of BARKING SNAKES! My children cannot live in a world where BIRDPEOPLE AND CYCLOPS ROAM!”>

<[b]”A LINE IN THE SAND MUST BE DRAWN HERE; IT MUST BE DRAWN HERE AND NO FURTHER![/b]”> Martin shouted out to the very heavens. 

His speech had stirred up the spirit of all the men who began cheering alongside him.

<”We [b]will[/b] protect Kid Texano! We will protect Juarez! And we will bring SENSIBLE CRIME BACK INTO FASHION! NOW GET EVERY SINGLE ROUND OF AMMO, EVERY SINGLE GUN, AND GET INTO ANY VEHICLE! I have a plan to lure this monster into a place where we can try to assure his destruction!”>

With a final cheer, Santiago rallied his fellow gangsters and they began to set up the preparations to fulfill the boss’ plan. 

[hr]
[b] Año 2020, 25 de Diciembre; Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua; Los Túneles del Cartel Juárez[/b]

Of course there was not only trouble occurring upon the surface in Juarez, but there were problems laying [i]underneath[/i] the city. The foundation it was built on was in tatters. This statement of course had multiple meanings. One of such would be referring so much to the metaphorical corruption caused by the Juarez Cartel. After all they, at the very least the brass ring and higher ups, took the opportunity to hide away in other safe zones when information came that [i]The Luchador[/i], [b]the one they called Bane[/b], was coming for them. A pragmatic decision yes, but presumably it would be one to bite them in the end. Either Bane would catch them or those who [i]stayed and fought[/i] would start their own rebellion to cause a change. 

However the more important interpretation of the trouble brewing underneath Juarez City was one that was meant to be taken literally.

Underneath Juarez City was a labyrinthine set of tunnels designed to aid the ‘Coyotes’, a more colloquial term for the leader of a human smuggling operation, and the drug trafficking. These tunnels helped transporting even more goods across the border to the States. While there were many tunnels, and many designs, for the most part they all had the same abnormally large height and width enough for a motorcycle or well honestly three to traverse through. Beyond this they were kept aloft and structurally sound with metal bracing and kept a lit by many torches. 

And it served as catacombs for those who dare tried to oppose the Cartel; whether they tried to actively find Juarez Cartel routes or those who just happened to stumble in, they would all meet the same fate. Corpses were oft strewn in these tunnels.

But these corpses were different…

...They were fresh.

For anyone closely examining these bodies and knew their ways around the tunnels there were a few key points to note. The first of these points was that these bodies were [i]not[/i] the corpses of those aligned against the Juarez Cartel. It was a small group of deceased, two Falcones- the scouts of the Cartel- and a Sicario supervising. For anyone looking for sentimental value they would clearly note that one of these Falcones had hardly entered adulthood and was still a boy, and the Sicario who was tasked presumably with handling these men had his dying moment clutching onto a photo depicting him with his happy family. 

Now the second point of importance was the fact that these men were [b]gored[/b]. Their deaths were not by a manner of [i]”Traditional Knife Culture”[/i], or by gun. The gaping neck-wound, and associated blood clots, from one of the scouts testified to this. Another one had [i]hoof-imprints[/i] which were stamped deep into his chest. 

That certainly helped explained a small trail of bloodied hoofprints heading the other direction…

It was fitting that [i]he[/i] was lost in this ‘Mexican Maze’.

This Minotaur here, this was the creature that Bane truly sought! It was the one footsoldier that was tasked, at least it was certain among its kind it was the chosen one, to cause devastation and to bring forth as much carnage as it and the monstrous legion could bring across this particular section of Mexico. The Black Bull of Crete tromped through the tunnels letting out a mighty snort. Sooner or later it would find something else to kill if it couldn’t escape this complex creation. Surely it didn’t have to worry about being here for that long, the allies on the surface would have to make their way here soon right?

Stopping for a moment, the Son of the Cretan let out a snort. The torchlight showed the glistening oil that was pouring down the chiseled chest of a man only to get stuck and matted in black fur of the humanoid bull. Red eyes glared while nostrils flared! Staring forward into the multiple pathways, raising his arms slightly upwards towards the top of the cavern, Minotaur let out an anguished war-cry!

[b]“MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”[/b]


[hr]

[b]Año 2020, 25 de Diciembre; Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua; Bane en El Territorio de Los Enemigos (Ambos Las Bestias y Los Hombres)[/b]

[color=purple]<”Now then as that has been settled...”>[/color] Bane remarked as he heard the sounds of many vehicles, [i]a lot of gun fire[/i] and more importantly a loud speaker coming from that way.

<”YOU WANT KID TEXANO?! THIS CITY!? THE CARTELS!? COME AND GET IT!”>

Bane cracked his knuckles and began cackling, [color=purple]<”Wonderful!”>[/color] and began to charge to chase this convoy which [b]dared[/b] challenge him and taunted him with the prize he sought.