Marvel Genesis Presents: Heroes for Hire - Prologue

  Mac Gargan motioned to the bartender for another round. This would make twelve within an hour and he didn’t even feel a buzz. He chugged down the new pint the second it was set in front of him. ‘They said there would be side effects didn’t they? Of all the “side effects” I’ve had to deal with over the years I never thought THIS would be the one I would hate the most. Can’t a man get himself proper binge-drunk with a superhuman metabolism? …Bastards took all the fun outta it.’ Mac slammed his mug on the table “Kent! You might need to bust out the hard stuff. I think you’ve been watering down my beer again!” 

                Both Mac and the bartender laughed hardily. Mac couldn’t help but wonder if Kent had some inclination as to what he really was. Over five years coming to this bar, shelling out more money on booze then he did on alimony checks, not once had Mac walked out inebriated. To Mac it didn’t matter though. It didn’t matter that alcohol had little to no effect on him, he was damn set on getting wasted and he had all night to try and get it right. “How about we cut to the chase Mr. Gargan? I got a special case of Patrón in today that might do the trick.”

                As Kent began lining up some shots Mac noticed out of the corner of his eye the bar door swing open. A tall ebony woman entered, dressed to kill and turning every male head in the establishment. Their adornment and lusty looks didn’t faze her; she was on a mission. She surveying the bar for only for a second before her eyes fixated on her target. Mac wasn’t exactly hard to miss in a crowd, towering over most men by at least a foot. The woman walked towards him, weaving through tables and bellowing drunks alike. Mac took his first shot of tequila and pretended like he didn’t see her coming.

                “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Mr. Mac Gargan. I thought I might find you here.”

                Mac turned on his stool to face the vixen, grinning devilishly. “Misty Knight! How the hell are you girl?” Mac leaned in and scooped up Misty in a rough embrace. The look on her face was priceless; perfect parts surprise and utter revulsion as she was briefly made helpless in the arms of a complete brute. ”I’m… fine Mac. You CAN let go at any time though.”

                Mac let her go, laughing to himself. He knew quite well how much he could make her skin crawl. He grabbed another shot of Patrón and tossed it back down his gullet. “Have a seat Misty. What brings you dockside tonight?”

                Misty looked at the stool next to Gargan. It was ratty and torn with a peculiar stain she didn’t even want to contemplate the origins of. Reluctantly she sat down, forcing a smile and clearing her throat. “You know why I’m here Mac. You didn’t give me a definite answer the last time we spoke.”

                “You mean your plan for putting together a mercenary team?” Mac took another shot. “I don’t know Misty. I don’t think I’m drunk enough to start talking about that again.”

                “You probably never will then.” Misty reached across the bar and stole one of the shots from in front of Gargan. She tossed the Patrón back like it was water and turned the glass upside down on the counter. “Come on Mac. Drinking your life away into obscurity isn’t for you. I know you want in on this.”

                “I KNOW I don’t want to spend another ten years in the Raft, sweetheart.”

                Misty grinned “That was a long time ago and you were with a bad crowd. Your… abilities made you useful to those criminal lowlifes. But they dropped you at the first sign of trouble as a potential liability.” She leaned against Mac and snaked an arm around his wide shoulders. “That’s not the kinda show I’m gonna run. WE’RE gonna run. I’ve got the funds to back this project, but I need your contacts. You said before you wanted to make up for what happened. Prove to the world you can do some real good for this town. THIS is your chance.”

                Mac’s frown turned to a half-cocked smile. “You suck Misty. You and all your sweet talk.” He sighed and picked up another shot glass. “Fine, I’ll help you. But that makes us partners, and a fifty/fifty split. Deal?”

                Misty pushed herself off Mac and began ruffling through her coat pockets. “You’re the best Mac! And since we’re ‘partners’ now I’ve got some potential recruits for you to round up…”

                Mac finished off his last shot and almost choked on it after hearing her words. He sputtered and coughed up the tequila before giving Misty a very puzzled look “Wait, you’re telling me you haven’t got a team together yet? I thought you had this all planned out?”

                “Oh, I do. I know exactly who I want and Misty Knight always gets what she wants.” Misty pulled a small notebook and some folded papers from her coat and slid them across the bar top in front of Mac. “These are the dossiers of all five candidates.”

                Mac took a moment to scan over the documentation. Misty has certainly done her homework, but he felt rather skeptic at the names he read. Elsa Bloodstone. Alex Hayden. William Blackheart? Cable? Hercules?!? “I’ve heard of a few of these guys. Bloodstone has always worked solo, and this Hayden guy is bat-s*** crazy… and who the hell is this ‘Blackheart’ kid?”

                “Elsa and I met this morning and she has already signed the contract. Happily, in fact. Alex is insane, but as long as he gets paid on time we’ve got nothing to worry about. He’s actually scheduled to meet you tomorrow and help with acquisitioning the others.”

                Mac shook his head, now just realizing the scope of the manipulation “So let me get this straight Misty. You knew I would agree to help you with this circus. You planned on it even, because you knew you couldn’t get these freaks to sign on with fast talk alone. You needed someone with muscle to make more ‘persuasive’ negotiations. Does that sum it sum pretty well? Or did I miss something?”

                Misty leaned over and adjusted the backs of her heels, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Mac and providing him a distracting vantage point to her cleavage. “Yeah, that hits most of the key points.”

                The view was exquisite, but he was not to be thrown off by such an obvious ploy “So what about needing my contacts? Or about doing some damn real good in this city?”

                Misty got to her feet and placed a soft hand on Mac’s shoulder. “I wasn’t lying about those things Mac. Your contacts are going to be vital in keeping this team’s head above water. And you WILL be doing some real good for everyone. Promise.” She shot him a wink and turned to leave the bar. “And don’t forget, you’re meeting Alex tomorrow. Eight o’clock, sharp.”

                Mac watched her as she strolled out of the bar. He turned back on his stool and raised a hand to flag down Kent. “What time is it boss?” Kent looked swiftly at the clock. “Eleven forty three. Why?” Mac put his head in his palms and then brushed his fingers back across his scalp. “I need your strongest stuff Kent. I don’t care what it is, just keep it coming.”  

awesome start. i cant wait to read the others