After a brief discussion, the inner circle chose to forgo any tactical retreat. Knowing the enemy was coming, they decided on a head-on confrontation with S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Chloe! We're going to war!"
"Understood. I will provide full intelligence support."
"Good! Now, notify every Joker branch across the United States immediately. Mobilize every elite unit in their sectors. They must arrive at HQ within twelve hours."
"Affirmative!"
*
This was the iron rule of the organization: if the Leader, Jason, was absent or incapacitated, command fell to the high-ranking cadres. At their signal, every Joker base in America hummed into frantic activity.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Flashing red lights and piercing sirens tore through the Los Angeles branch base. Members who were deep in sleep were jolted awake instantly. Shit, something's gone wrong! After a second of disorientation, their reflexes took over. They dressed rapidly and sprinted to the base plaza for assembly.
Three minutes later, the once-empty plaza was packed with rows of soldiers standing in perfect formation. The Deputy Commander of the L.A. branch stepped onto the plaza steps and roared: "Maximum combat order! All core members and the Armored Legion, pack full gear. We will move out by private jet to HQ within twelve hours!"
There were two classes of soldiers being summoned.
The first was the Armored Legion—members who had passed pilot testing and were qualified to wear the combat suits.
The second was the Core Members—elite warriors trained by the organization for years. While their standing was slightly below the pilots, their physical fitness and tactical skills far exceeded regular members. They carried the most advanced weaponry the organization had to offer.
Upon receiving the order, the soldiers double-timed it out of the plaza. The Core Members headed to the armory to draw specialized gear: Grade-A body armor, large-caliber rifles, and various models of individual artillery.
The Armored Legion headed to the hangars to jumpstart the suits. Each pilot carried a massive modular weapon crate containing replacement parts and extra missiles. Should a suit take damage or run dry on ammo, swap-outs could be completed in seconds.
The Armored Legion departed first, engaging stealth mode and streaking toward the new HQ at maximum speeds. Meanwhile, the Core Members loaded their gear onto base buses heading for LAX.
Similar scenes played out across hundreds of branches. The Joker organization's influence had long since blanketed the country; countless government agencies and corporate titans had been infiltrated, becoming patrons of the organization to ensure their own survival. With the maximum combat order issued, airports across the U.S. were forced to redirect flights immediately. If civil aviation wasn't enough, the wealthy patrons even lent out their private jets. The organization's sheer dominance was on full display.
*
After the Core Members left for the airport, only the regular members without assignments remained in the plaza. Driven by curiosity, someone dared to ask: "Sir, with this many people moving... What kind of mission is this?"
"Mission?" The Deputy Commander's face was grim. "This isn't a mission. This is war!"
"War!?"
"Sir, against who?"
The Commander shook his head, unwilling to say more. "We are in a state of emergency. Starting now, all electronic devices are banned. No one leaves the base. Everyone back to your quarters. Anyone found in violation will be shot on sight."
With that, the Commander led his guards to a special room deep underground. The room was spacious and bright, but now it held only ten large round tables. Behind each table sat ten massive, muscular men.
They looked like they were possessed by ghosts; entire tables of high-calorie food had been cleared, leaving a mess of empty plates. Despite the feast, these giants looked like they were only slightly full. The Commander stepped in, slightly taken aback by their appetite, but remembering who they were, it made sense.
The giants turned their heads. Their gazes were so sharp the Commander felt like he was the next course on the menu. Monsters, a lot of them.
He steeled himself and shouted, "Maximum combat mission!"
Instantly, the giants stood up, ramrod straight. The Commander breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they followed orders, it was fine. After relaying the orders, the giants filed out of the room. Unlike the previous waves of soldiers, these men carried nothing—not even bags. They wore only simple vests.
Five buses were waiting. The hundred giants boarded and headed for the airport. Watching their taillights, the Commander felt a wave of awe. Those Core Members were just cannon fodder. These monsters... they were the organization's true elite.
*
Sunlight poured through the windows of the Helicarrier's bridge office. Fury stared at the five bastards of the World Security Council, his teeth clenched in frustration. To get approval for a strike against the Joker organization, he had been pleading his case for five agonizing hours.
He had talked from sundown to sunrise, yet these bastards did nothing but shake their heads. They wouldn't budge. Their excuse was simple: the alien fleet was coming, and that took priority over everything.
They told Fury: S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current mission was not to wipe out the Joker organization, but to find the Tesseract and stop the invasion. If that failed and the aliens arrived, all hands had to be on deck to fight them. As for the Joker organization? They could deal with them once they had a free hand.
Fury's counter was solid: he believed the alien fleet was a distraction; the Joker organization was the true existential threat. But these old men still viewed Jason as a rat in a hole—annoying and elusive, but ultimately incapable of toppling the world.
As for Infinity Stones and Sorcerer Supremes... they looked at him like he was telling fairy tales.
"Enough, Nick. We don't have time for this. Find the Tesseract," One said with a dismissive yawn.
"Wait!" Fury pulled up a tablet and logged into social media. "Look at the public reaction to the New York explosion. Look at what they're saying about the Joker organization. The people want blood! The organization must be destroyed!"
The Councilman snorted. "The public is easily manipulated. They'll scream for a while and then pipe down once they're tired. Besides, New York was a massive failure on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s part. Don't think for a second you're off the hook for that."
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