Almost immediately, I had to cast a shield as Legault's construct rifle fired beams of weaponized hard light my way. The beams thundered into my shield to little effect, while I nodded at Jubilee and gestured to the side of Legault, trying to indicate that she should flank the Superhuman Mercenary while I held his attention without actually saying so. Unfortunately, Jubilee just gave me a dumbfounded look, cocking an eyebrow and shrugging like she had no idea what I was trying to say. It was at times like these that my lack of telepathy was really more of a burden. Sure, it came from my Primary Mutation giving me an invulnerable mental shield, but it also meant I couldn't give orders mentally.
I didn't have a whole lot of time to ponder that, however, because Legault fired the underslung Grenade Launcher at me in three pulses of exploding, weaponized, hard light that cracked my shield, allowing him to form a construct battering ram that shattered it, sending me flying back into and through the wall of the hallway. I smashed into some chairs in a room that seemed to be some sort of upstairs lounge, the wood and upholstery being smashed to flinders as I landed. As I stumbled to my feet, I realized that Legault had turned his attention to Jubilee from the chattering of a construct assault rifle that I heard from the hallway.
I made my way back through the hole in the wall I'd been blasted through, summoning my physically-enhancing armor to me with a spell as I did so. As I stepped through the hole, now clad in my Argentum Armor, Champion's Helm, and so forth, I saw Jubilee putting her gymnastics training to good use, dodging beams of weaponized hard light from Legault's construct assault rifle. As she backflipped away from a three-round burst, which smashed into a bust of Julius Caesar that Hunter Brawn had set up in an alcove in the hallway like some kind of pretentious douche, Jubilee tossed off a burst of energy plasmoids at Legault, who reformed his rifle into a Construct Shield to block the attack.
While he was focused on Jubilee, however, I had a clear shot at his back. I took it with gusto, smashing an elbow strike into the small of his back. The normal, non-construct, armor he wore was pretty much just your standard plate armor with a few extra bits and bobs attached. It wasn't able to stand up to my blows, which were currently in the seventy-ton range, and thus able to compete with the likes of the Omega Sentinel or a baseline Gray Hulk. The Armor covering the small of his back shattered under the force of my blow and he was sent flying through a pair of walls, one interior, one exterior, out over the edge of the Cliff the Mansion was on, to splash into the Pacific.
"I was trying to tell you to flank him." I huffed, desummoning my equipment with a mystic gesture.
"We were in a hallway, how was I supposed to do that?" Questioned Jubilee.
"You could have tried blowing your way through the walls." I opined.
"Isn't that a bit too much destruction of property?" Queried Jubilee.
"Jubes, we're already breaking and entering and assaulting people. I think we're well past that point." I scoffed.
"Still, I mean, this is a rich guy we're after. The cops listen to those sorts of people." Frowned Jubilee.
"Tony should still be keeping them busy, though that reminds me. We ought to hurry and figure out where the study is. He can't keep the Cops out of here forever, after all." I warned.
"You think Hunter Brawn will be there?" Asked Jubilee.
"Even if he isn't, we might find evidence of his money laundering there. The cops might care about a rich guy, but that goes out the window if there's a chance for a career-making bust like this would be. Then, they'll be too busy with that to bother listening to any complaints Hunter Brawn makes." I hedged.
"Maybe." Mused Jubilee.
"Either way, time's wasting. Come on." I insisted.
And with that, we continued our search of Hunter Brawn's Malibu Mansion. The doors around this hallway all seemed to lead into various bedrooms or living areas. No study yet, but we came to an intersection of two hallways behind the blast door that had shut in the attempt to gas us and decided to follow the other one to see if we couldn't find a study that way. The location that Legault had come from was down that other hallway, after all, and that probably counted for something, or at least that was our reasoning for choosing to go that way.
Unfortunately, no sooner had we entered the intersection, than the Force screamed a warning at me a bare moment before a quartet of laser turrets folded out of the ceiling and began firing at us, forcing me to put up a hasty shield. With the confines of these corridors, even at an intersection like this, there wasn't a lot of space to dodge, after all. The placement of the turrets and our own position also meant I had to form the shield as a dome instead of being able to just defend one angle. That, plus the haste from being taken by surprise meant my shield was a bit weaker than it otherwise would have, but I at least had been able to throw up a shield. Without the Warning from the Force, I might not have even managed that much.
The beams struck my shield from both sides, failing to break through, but causing cracks in the dome to begin spider-webbing out. I really needed more practice with dome shields. I was too used to only having to use monodirectional ones. I reached out, casting a ferromantic spell with a mystic gesture and incantation that short-circuited one of the turrets, causing it to explode and throw off the aim of a Second turret, whose beam burned through the wall instead. The other two beams slammed into my dome shield furthering the cracks on that side.
"Jubes, I'm gonna drop the shield to the left. When I do, you need to shoot that turret!" I growled.
"Got it!" Nodded Jubilee.
I hope she did, because I dropped the left side of my shield moments later, turning the dome into another monodirectional hexagon and reinforcing the right against the side with two turrets. Fortunately, Jubilee followed the plan, tossing a burst of Energy Plasmoids at the remaining Left Side Turret that blew the turret apart into scrap metal just before it got a shot off. The other two turrets shot their laser beams into my reinforced shield to no effect, and I was able to use Telekinesis to yank both of their barrels to point at each other just as they fired a shot after that, forcing both turrets to destroy each other.
I dropped the shield with a sigh of relief, though Jubilee cracked a lopsided grin at me as I did so. She patted me on the shoulder with a nod, something she had to reach to do, given how short she was. Jubilee was only five foot five inches, or roughly one-point-six-five meters in Euro Units. Compared to my six-foot-one or one-point-eight-five meters? She had to practically stand on her tippy-toes to do it.
"See big guy? I knew you were good for helping me out with this." She grinned.
"We're not done yet, Jubes. Come on." I retorted.
"Lay on MacDuff!" Chirped Jubilee.
"That's not what that means, Jubes." I sighed.
"Whatever, not like I needed to learn English to know I'm probably gonna be a Superheroine my whole life." Shrugged Jubilee.
"We'll put a pin in that for after we're done here. Follow me, and try to keep up. I know you've got tiny legs." I smirked.
Then I took off down the hallway that Legault had come from, leaving Jubilee to let out a grunt of protest in my wake, though I knew there wasn't really any heat to it. She followed after me and we managed to make our way past a series of rooms that seemed to be more lounges, a small library, a media room, and a bar complete with a pool table, before reaching a room that had another carbonadium alloy security door. I could tell by the humming that was just about inaudible to the normal human ear, but which my Bear Totem Powers allowed me to pick up on, that there was an electrical current running through the door, too. A computerized lock meant there wasn't really a way for me to open the door with magic either. Alohomora didn't work on such systems, since the Charm hadn't been built with keypads in mind. I could try to short the lock out using Ferromancy, but my powers of Comprehension from Amestrian Alchemy told me that would only seal the door shut.
This had to be the study, or at least something interesting. Jubilee reached out to touch the door, but I stopped her, snatching her arm by the wrist and pulling her hand away physically. She gave me a betrayed look as I did that before speaking.
"What was that for?" Questioned Jubilee.
"There's an electric current running through the door, probably to electrocute anyone trying to smash the door down with super strength." I informed.
"Great. So how do we get inside?" Queried Jubilee.
"How much do you wanna bet that Hunter Brawn sprung for the super secure door, but not for any extra security measures on the wall it's set into?" I asked, rhetorically.
"I mean, I guess. It's not like we didn't already put a bunch of holes in his walls." Mused Jubilee.
And with that, I resummoned my extra equipment to me with a spell before smashing through the wall. The cables that ran power into the door tingled as I tore through them, but they couldn't stop me while I was strong enough to duke it out with a guy like Ares. Soon enough, we had a hole through the wall and into the room beyond, which was clearly some sort of study, judging by the desk, computer, filing cabinet, bookshelf, and a carbonadium alloy safe. It was all very prototypical. Fortunately, I was able to crack the safe by using Alohomora to open it up, as the lock on the safe was a mechanical one, a complex mechanical one, but still mechanical. Opening it, I found a Semi-Automatic Pistol, passports from the UK, Macau, Alberia, and Madripoor, what had to be ten grand in non-sequential bills, and the jackpot, a black, leather-cover, notebook containing the information on his criminal dealings.
It seemed that not only had Hunter Brawn been laundering money for various people, including the Maggia and the Hand, but also had been dealing with an Embargoed Nation, notably, Rhapastan, whose Dictator seemed to have reached out to him to help finance some scheme or other. If I remember, right, Rhapastan was a country whose dictator had been making bioweapons, at least, he would have a few years down the line from now. Even if this wasn't that, just lending dirty money to the Dictator of an Embargoed Nation like this would be enough for the Cops to put Hunter Brawn away for life.
I made my way back out of the study with Hunter Brawn's little black book, after pocketing his ten grand, of course, as I wasn't just gonna leave it there. Jubilee's eyes lit up as she saw the book, hoping that it was what we needed. I don't think she actually wanted to go all the way with her revenge since that would mean having to kill Hunter Brawn. Putting him away for life, though, that might be just what she needed for closure without having to kill anyone.
"Did you find something?" She questioned.
"Oh yeah, I found something." I nodded.
"What is it?" She queried.
"Turns out, Hunter Brawn hasn't just been laundering money for various crime syndicates. He's also been dealing with the Rhapastanians, getting them funding for a project under the radar." I grinned.
"Isn't that treason?" Asked Jubilee.
"If it's not, it's at least adjacent. We're not at war with Rhapastan, but only in the sense that we're not at war with Iran. They're definitely not a friendly country." I agreed.
"Which means we have everything we'll need to put him away for life." Remarked Jubilee.
"Yeah, now we have to find him." I confirmed.
"I think I know where he'll be. Come on!" Grinned Jubilee, ferally.
She led me back into the study and over toward the bookshelf, explaining as she did that there was a spot on the blueprints that Miss Frost had gotten her marked out as for a panic room. A spot that should be where the bookcase in the study currently was. It took me all of two seconds using Alkahestry to confirm that there was indeed someone living behind the bookshelf and another few minutes of searching to find the hidden mechanism to open the bookshelf, Sherlock Holmes in the Final Problem, which was cute. Hunter Brawn clearly thought he was being clever there. I pulled the book and the bookcase slid aside to reveal another carbonadium alloy security door and keypad.
Thankfully, I was able to use the Force to figure out the correct code, simply by combining it with my little-used power of Greensight to effectively be granted a Psychometric Vision of Hunter Brawn punching in the code while Legault formed a construct rifle with his own powers in the background. Clearly, this had happened a few minutes before Legault had ambushed us. I put Legault out of my mind and focused on the code Hunter Brawn was inputting. Six digits, all of which were sixes. This guy couldn't be any more of a tryhard if he wanted to. I snapped back to myself and began to input the code.
"Moriarty you aren't." I grumbled as I entered the code.
The Carbonadium Alloy door slid open to reveal a room that wrapped around the outside wall of this section of the mansion, with walls reinforced with Carbonadium Alloy. Jubilee nodded at me, a grin on her face before it was wiped off it by what happened next.
"Legault? Did you take care of the Lee Bitch and the Avenger?" Questioned a Voice from inside. Jubilee's grin was immediately wiped off her face and replaced with a snarl of anger as she stomped into the panic room, with me trailing in her wake.
"What do you think?" She queried.
"Oh. I see. So Legault finally failed me. It was bound to happen at some point. Good help is so hard to find these days." Sighed Hunter Brawn.
"Is that all you're worried about? I could kill you for what you've done. I should kill you for what you've done." Snapped Jubilee.
"You won't though, will you? No, that would put a target on the backs of mutantkind just when the target was so recently removed from there." Sneered Hunter Brawn.
"Oh no?" Asked Jubilee, Energy Plasmoids crackling in her fists.
"No. You don't have the stomach." Scoffed Hunter Brawn.
"Damn it! You're right, I don't." Sighed Jubilee, letting go of her energy plasmoids.
"I knew it." Smirked Hunter Brawn.
"That doesn't mean you're off the hook! You're going away for a long time!" Insisted Jubilee.
"I don't think so. Do you think your father was the only one whose bank I plundered? I'll have the best lawyers in the country willing to take my case because I have the money to meet their fees. Odds are, I'll be out again in no time. It was, after all, over a decade ago that I had your Parents Murdered. Good luck finding evidence of that." Laughed Hunter Brawn.
"I don't think you understand your situation." I spoke up, finally intruding on Jubilee's moment of closure. As I did so, I held up the leather-bound little black notebook from Hunter Brawn's Safe. His eyes widened as he saw what was in my hand.
"How did you get that? No one could have opened that safe if they didn't know the combination! I made sure it was unhackable and built of Carbonadium Alloy!" Blurted out Hunter Brawn.
"It doesn't matter. What does matter is that none of those high-priced super-lawyers will want to take the case of someone working with a rogue state like Rhapastan. It would look bad on their record. You may not be able to be convicted of the Murder of the Lees, but this little black book has everything to convict you of numerous other crimes all in its pages." I responded.
"No! I refuse to go to prison for this!" Snarled Hunter Brawn.
He reached down for something at his side as he said that. To his credit, he was fast on the draw, pulling a revolver from a concealed holster and aiming it at Jubilee. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't quick enough on the draw to avoid a Stupefy spell from me. My spell his just before he pulled the trigger, causing him to discharge the revolver into the ceiling of the panic room as he crumpled to the floor. The bullet ricocheted off the ceiling, rebounded off the wall, and slammed into my chest. Fortunately, with my enhancements still active, I was effectively bulletproof. The thirty-eigh caliber bullet slammed into my chest, flattening against my mystically-enhanced, Chi-infused, skin and dropping down to the floor with a clinking noise.
"Wow. . .that could've been bad." Opined Jubilee.
"Are you good?" I questioned.
"Yeah. Just give me a second." Huffed Jubilee.
"Right." I nodded.
After a few moments to let the adrenaline work its way out of her system, Jubilee looked down at Hunter Brawn's unconscious form, frowning. She turned back to me with a nod, gesturing at the unconscious Hunter Brawn.
"All right. What do we do with him?" She queried.
"We take him back to Tony's. He's got a cell we can lock him in." I informed.
"And what then?" Asked Jubilee.
"We hand Hunter Brawn's notebook over to Tony too. He's got the connections with the Police we'd need to make sure Hunter Brawn winds up in a cell and the cops get the notebook as evidence. Then, we boogie." I explained.
"Right. You know, somehow I was expecting this to be a lot harder than it was." Mused Jubilee.
"Hey, it's not over yet. We still have to get him and the notebook back to Tony's before the cops arrive." I reminded.
"Thanks, Jan. I mean it." Thanked Jubilee.
"Hey, what are friends for?" I grinned.
I caught a flash of something behind Jubilee's eyes when I said that. Clearly, she wasn't over whatever the Totem I had had induced in her. Call it animal magnetism or whatever, I needed to get a handle on it at some point soon to avoid this kind of thing. For now, I busied myself helping get Hunter Brawn into the Force Field Cell that Tony had in the basement of his Malibu Mansion. A few minutes after we were finished with that, Jubilee had taken a cab home after I'd given her cash for it. Apparently, she had an apartment in LA that she shared with Angelo, the Mutant with the stretchy skin. They'd apparently gotten it after the whole thing with the Omega Sentinels had wrapped up. She left me with a kiss on the cheek and a promise to 'be here when you and she-hulk break up'.
I was still trying to figure out how to clamp down on the Animal Magnetism when Tony returned home after stalling the cops for as long as he could. As Tony walked in, I handed him Hunter Brawn's notebook and made ready to leave.
"What's this now?" Questioned Tony.
"Evidence." I said.
"Evidence of?" Queried Tony.
"Read it and see for yourself. It's been a long day and I just wanna go home." I sighed.
Tony frowned, flipping through the notebook, eyes getting wide as dinner plates as he saw all the heinous shit that Hunter Brawn had been up to. He snapped the notebook closed and looked over at me with a frown.
"Johnny, this is big. Is this guy in the holding cell downstairs?" He asked.
"Yeah. The one with the forcefields you told me how to use." I nodded.
"Good. I'll keep an eye on him and make sure the Cops get this." Affirmed Tony.
"Yeah, I owe you one." I agreed.
"You do, but fortunately for you, I'm not in the business of keeping score of what teammates owe me what favors." Smirked Tony.
"I'll see you at the next team meeting, Tony." I chuckled.
"Go on, go home. If this is any indication, you earned it." Grinned Tony.
And with that, I apparated back to my tower. This time, I managed to get to the end of the boat dock without being dropped in the ocean or coming out of apparition in mid-air. I was clearly improving after using that particular spell so many times. Shaking my head at that, I headed for the front door of my tower. A bath, some food, and a nap would help me recharge my batteries for the next inevitable crisis.
I had no idea just how big of a crisis that was going to be, though. . .
XXXX
AN: The next chapter is already up on my Patreon, so check the link in the threadmarked post if you guys feel like throwing me a couple bucks to get chapters in advance. Everyone who does is super appreciated and I can't thank my patrons enough.
All right, so here we have the next chapter. Legault gets knocked into the ocean and Hunter Brawn gets captured, along with evidence of some seriously heinous shit that he'd been doing. Jubilee gets closure for her parents' deaths in the meantime, and she didn't even have to kill the guy in revenge to do it. Hunter Brawn was helping finance the Rhapastanian Bioweapons Program. In the original timeline, Shield had to send Black Widow in to shut down the program because Rhapastan had invented a Bioweapon that effectively turned people into mindless killing machines, attacking their allies in a berserker frenzy. Here, that might not even happen, based on the sudden lack of funding.
At any rate, the next chapter will involve the start of the Ultron Unlimited Event, which is going to sidetrack Jan from doing anything to get his animal magnetism from the Cave Bear Totem under control for a while.
Stay tuned. . .