Heavy metal music escaped out the doorway of Slammin' Jack Maxwell's top floor lair in the converted industrial complex that served as headquarters for the Forbidden. The two bikers in black jackets with their blood-covered shoulders dripping down the sleeves marking them as part of their clan held a forty-ish woman between them as they walked through it.

She was dressed in high-end blue jeans and a kelly green silk blouse. Her expensive heels stumbled trying to keep up with her forced escort. Her long, done-up, red hair was somewhat messed but her expensive makeup was still in place. She was short, maybe 5' 2", and curvy but fit.

Jack, seated in an easy chair in his red plaid bath robe, lowered his newspaper to look at the trio as they stopped in front of him. When he saw the woman, he smiled michievously around the cigar in his mouth.

"Good morning," he said. "What do we have here, boys?"

"She cut Buddy off when we were getting on the interchange at Aberdeen. He dumped."

Jack's face donned a "oh, that's bad' look and he shook his head slowly and folded up his newspaper.

"He cut me off," the woman said defiantly. "I had the right of way. He had a yield sign for--"

Jack cut her off with a raised hand and a stern look. After she stopped he explained, "The Forbidden always have the right of way. We own these streets, not you." He shook his head and added, "When are you suburban slaves going to get that into your thick heads. Now you gotta pay the price."

The woman started to panic some. "W-wait...I've got a family...husband, kids...please..."

"What's up with Buddy?" Jack asked his men.

"A couple scratches, him and his bike."

Jack nodded and studied the woman in front of him. She wasn't young, but she was fit, and not all that bad.

"Okay, here's the deal. I'm not gonna kill you."

"Oh, thank God, I--thank you, thank you..."

"Yeah, well, don't thank me yet," Jack replied, smiling again. He took the cigar out of his mouth and laid it out for her. "You got a choice. You can have a date with me," he offered, gesturing subtly with his cigar to the un-made king-size bed in the next room, "or you can have a date with my boys. I got to warn you, though, they're pretty...easy-going...about sharing their toys. Heh."

The woman, who'd seen at least six or seven Forbidden members in this building alone, choked a sob.

"You...you're going to...rape me..."

"No!" Jack exclaimed in anger, shooting up from his chair and moving to stand close to where she was being held up by the two other men. His humor had vanished in a moment and the menace flowed out of him.

"We're not going to rape you. You're going to be present, and willing. Your sin is a sin of pride, you rich entitlement-mentality bitch, and I think a little humility is in order. So you're going to smile and clean yourself up and do it right - whether it's with me alone up here or with the thirty or so guys downstairs bending you over the pool table, I don't care. But you will do this thing or I will feed you to my dogs. So what's it going to be?"

Tears were rolling down the woman's face, her makeup running, making sooty icicles underneath her eyes. She shook her head a few times, silently crying. But in the end she thought of her husband and her children. She slowly raised her head to look Jack Maxwell in his animal eyes and nodded weakly. Her voice evinced a broken spirit, barely a whisper.

"Okay...here...with you..."

Jack nodded with her. "A wise decision, Miss...?"

"Rebecca."

"Rebecca...boys, get Rebecca a drink. I think she needs it."

The men released their grip on the woman and one of them went into the adjoining room. Something in Jack's bathrobe's pocket buzzed.

"Excuse me, Rebecca." he said as he pulled out a cell phone, turned away from her, and flipped it open.

"Jack Maxwell..." As it had left, all of Slammin' Jack's humor reappeared in one instant. "Well, this day just gets more and more interesting," he said with obvious mirth.

His pleasant expression clouded over with confusion and curiosity mixed together while he listed to the phone. "Yeah, I can handle it. But why do you need them?"

Jack stared at the far wall, his mind racing in thought. He quickly placed a hand over the mouthpiece of his phone and turned to one of his men.

"How many spares we got in the garage?

"Uh, eight, I think."

Jack nodded and spoke into the phone once again. "Consider it done."

After he hung up, Jack turned back towards the group of visitors. The young biker who had left retrned with a bottle of Seagrams 7 and two glasses.

"Who was that, boss?"

"That was Stone," the leader of the Forbidden revealed, obviously still in deep thought over the call.

"Stone? Shit! What'd he want?"

Jack didn't answer right away. Instead he looked up after a pause and said, "A favor."

"And you're doing it?"

Jack walked over to his younger compadre and made it a mentoring moment. He rested a hand on the man's shoulder and instructed, "There's a short list of people in this town you want to owe you a favor, bro, and he's one of them. Remember, this guy's no one-percenter but he's the closest thing we've had to an ally on that side of the fence in years."

Jack reached out and grabbed the other bikers and drew them close, speaking quietly. "Take three of the spares from the garage, gas 'em up, and take 'em to Courthouse Plaza. He'll meet you there. Have someone follow you in the van. When he leaves, I want you to follow him and find out what he's up to. Keep a distance, though. I'm curious but we don't need any next-level headaches right now. Go on."

After a fist bump with their leader, the two men left to carry out Jack's orders. Jack moved to the small table in the room and poured two glasses of whiskey and handed one to Rebecca, who hadn't moved. She had just stood there, holding herself. His smile and humor were once more in place.

"Now, Becky - can I call you Becky? - where were we?" he asked with a leer.

* * * * *

As the limo pulled up to Courthouse Square there was no mistaking the out of place bikers that loitered there. Only two of them remained, looking casually dangerous in their blood marked black leather biker jackets. The others that had helped transport the spare bikes were nowhere to be seen.

They enjoyed a smoke while they leered at the women in expensive suits that walked by them. It was very common for the daily business of those that worked in the courthouse or neighboring buildings, to take them to various places on the campus. It was a bright and shining place in Hudson City and managed to let you forget for a little while, how dark the rest of the city could be.

"I'll check in once we find it," Stone said to Nemesis. His eyes darted unseen to Vinnie and back from behind his sunglasses before he added, "Watch your back, bro." He bumped fists with the cowled vigilante and then left the limo.

Nemesis returned the bump with a nod. "Back atcha."

"Hang back," Stone said to Danny and Sebastian before moving off towards the other two bikers in the plaza, who had already made him and were watching him approach. "I got this."

Stone casually walked up to them and greetngs were exchanged in the form of head nods and shared looks that seemed a shared unspoken language among them. It was not unlike watching dogs go through their sniffing ritual when first meeting. As the pair watched from where the limo had left them, Stone pulled out his smokes and seemed to be carrying on an easy conversation with the two fellow riders. At one point they gestured to his jacket and he turned around to show them his CMC patches, which they seemed to appreciate.

The little ritual wasn't without the usual guy talk overtones from what they could see. At one point a pretty blonde walked past and Stone must have made some clever comment because the other two men broke into a brief laugh. There was a head gesture sent back their way followed by what might have been some ball-busting, and Stone turned to face Danny and Sebastian for a moment before saying something that made them laugh again.

It struck them that, if they didn't know better, Stone might as well have just been one of them. They way they moved, stood, acted as though everything around them was irrelevant unless they wanted it to be. These were men cut from, perhaps not the same cloth, but certainly bolts from the same shelf.

Sebastián frowned, and muttered under his breath to Danny "When this is all fixed, remind me to tell you if we should be insulted by what was just said."

Danny smirked. "Probably not. After all, consider the source."

Stone steered their conversation towards the bike and a few words were exchanged about them, along with some pointing by the Forbidden members and some nodding by Stone. After that it was a quick goodbye of handshakes before the Forbidden pair walked off towards the far end of the plaza, in the other direction from Danny and Sebastian.

"You waiting for an invitation?" Stone called over to them, cigarette bouncing in his mouth, before swinging his leg over one of the three bikes that had been brought for them.

"And now that we've established who's cock is bigger," Danny muttered to Sebastian, rolling his eyes as he moved forward to claim a bike of his own. "No helmet?" he asked Stone, eyes full of mock concern.

"Just try keeping it upright," the biker quipped back.

Walking over to his bike Sebastián mounted up, and kicked the machine alive. Taking a quick look around his mind started racing, wondering exactly how he was going to get them into the Asylum without his face, and showing up on motorcycles.

The trio of heroes didn't waste anytime getting on the road. The current plan was to synchronize their attacks, and that meant that nothing happened until Nemesis and Palmer got word from them that they'd arrived at the Asylum. Bastian was the most familiar with the route to get there, and gave the others a rundown of which interstates to take and what exits, just in case they got separated.

The DiSantiago took the lead, but once they were on the highway, Stone had little patience for the more cautious pace that the less experienced biker set. Still, he kept it to himself. They were riding unfamiliar bikes on unknown roads and looking to maintain a low profile, and that wasn't going to happen if he went hell-bent for leather. The northern Jersey climate and countryside was a welcome thing and Stone sank into it like it was a soft couch.

The hour long ride was a pretty one in the brisk early morning. As they left the city the green expanse of the hills and welcoming wave of the trees was enough to put an optimistic tilt to the day. They knew that dire circumstances awaited them in their other time, but so far so good. Everything seemed to be going their way and no one could have prepared for the kink that Sebastian DiSantiago had put into the Syndicate's grand plans to achieve city wide anarchy.

As they approached the three story asylum, they slowed and brought their bikes to a stop. A long green yard still separated them from the back door, and on the side, obscured somewhat by trees, was an armored vehicle. Security fencing ran from the side of the building down into the back and Danny's keen sight could pick out a couple of guards situated on low towers at the top of Toddberry Asylum.

"Guards," Danny said, pointing out the location of the two men in the towers. "Ya want I do a bit of ariel recon? See what we're up against?" he asked Stone.

The biker nodded to the affirmative and turned his shades towards Sebastian while Danny adopted his avian aspect.

"So how do you plan on getting us access?" he asked the team's counselor.

"The first thought that came to mind was to have Danny take this off me." he said, gesturing to his new apperance. "After that, I was thinking that I could get us a tour, under the pretense that you are both Members of the Conquistadors and we are wanting to see if the Asylum is suited to housing any criminals that might be captured in the future. Of course, that would be accompanied by a sizable donation from the DiSantiago family. It's not perfect, but it's the best I can do on short notice. I truly detest cobbling something together so fast." he said with an annoyed tone. While it was true he hated not having time to formulate a proper plan, he had no qualms playing it up abit, giving a false impression that he couldn't work fast on his feet.

"I dunno," Stone replied skeptically. "We're supposed to stay under the radar. What if they decide to call the Cathedral to verify that we are who we say we are?"

"I know, but we knew there might come a time where we had to step out into the light. The director here should know who I am, and I'm hoping the mention of a donation from my family will outweigh his need for a thorough check. Frankly I can't think of another way to get us inside. If you have any ideas? " Sebastián asked.

Stone looked down in thought at his gas tank as he went through his cigarette-lighting ritual. After a drag and exhale, he returned his eyes to Sebastian and said, "If we're going to name names, maybe we should tell him about the bomb threat. Ultimately we're going to need to search the place and disturb the program a bit. Might make it easier. Think he'd keep it quiet?"

Sebastián slowly nodded his head, looking back at Stone. "That might work, we will try to see if we can get a tour with the promise of donation, if he balks, we can mention the Conquistadors received a tip about a bomb and we would like to do a quick check, for the safety of the patients. I'm sure it won't be cheap, getting him to keep quiet but what good is having money if you don't spend it."

As the other two worked out the plan, Danny took to the skies. The raven's wings bit a sharp contrast to the sunny blue skies as he soared above the long yard towards Toddberry. Three guards were positioned on the roof keeping a lazy eye on the fenced perimeter. A few patients and orderlies littered the ground below, within the boundaries, all of them doing fairly mundane things. The armored truck to the side was the item of most interest.

Danny's sharp ears picked up nervous banter about the transport that was about to happen. Apparently, the Warden, Dr. Adam Sarkesian wasn't on the premise today and the transfer that was going to happen was raising some questions with the guards. The transfer that was originally scheduled for this evening had been moved up several hours and had caused an unexpected stir on the otherwise serene grounds.

There were undertones of fear that rippled under the surface as they prepared for the patient or patients to be brought out, double checking every last detail on their end to make sure that the armored vehicle was sound and ready for travel. Two of the guards, the ones that were speaking in nervous anticipation were wearing Toddberry Asylum uniforms. In addition to them, there were two more that had come with the truck. The visiting guards were calm by contrast and stood easily next to their vehicle.

Danny had landed atop one of the stones of the high outer wall, and was hopping back and forth, eyes the color jet sparkling as they took in the tableu below. Unexpected transport, he thought with some interest. Do tell? He took once more to the air and looped the perimeter, then headed back towards the others to inform them of what he'd learned.

"...so they weren't expectin this transfer so early," Danny concluded moments later. "Guards're a bit nervous, and the Warden's not here either, for whatever that's worth." He squinted back over at the main entrance as he spoke, the pupils of his eyes becoming pinpricks in a sea of yellow as he enhanced his vision. Short puffs of black mist accompanied this modification - it looked like he was weeping tears of smoke.

"I can keep my eye on it from here if ya like," he said as he watched the activity at the gate. "We got a plan yet?"

Stone turned to Sebastian. "Doc?"

"Fuck, that throws a wrench into the works." he said grimacing before Sebastián relayed the plan he and Stone had discussed to Danny. The irritation was obvious both in his tone and his body language. As he finished he turned to face the two men. "Ok, we stick to this plan, with a slight alteration. Danny, we'll hold you in reserve, to give us a 'birds eye view' on things so to speak, while Stone and myself head in to talk to whomever is in charge today. One Conquistador is as good as 2 in this instance. Questions?"

"Play lookout. Be cavalry if needed. I'm good," Danny said, giving a thumbs up before dissolving in a cloud of black mist back into the raven. With a flurry or wings and a "RAWK!" , the bird took to the skies.

The raven soared high above them, making a wide circle of the grounds again. The tips of his feathers could feel the tension mounting as he flew near the armored truck, and his keen ears could pick up the banter below.

"Yeah the twins. Remember. They used to call them Bump and Grind, the Powers Twins." One of the guards said as he looked at the door. One of the red light indicators above the doors had sounded and the red light stayed on. Another one began flashing.

"Right. Yeah, yeah. She's that hot girl with vibration powers, right? ...and what did he do? Not much if I remember right." The flashing red light went solid and another alarm sounded, this one a bit longer. The third and final light began flashing red and the raven above could hear a mechanical sound that he imagined would trigger the last armored security door to open.

"Yeah, he's not flashy. I think he acted as her body guard, pretty much. Hard as hell to hit and he had a sadistic streak with the ladies." The guard's hand tightened on the electronic wand device at his side and he braced himself for the doors to open.

"Thank god for the collars, we're not paid enough for this shit. That's the night guard's job. God damn Sarkesian for picking today to be sick."

With a final alarm, a little shriller and longer, the heavy door opened and four orderlies were approaching the guards, escorting two patients. The raven's sharp eyes saw two rather unimpressive people, one male and the other female. They both had dark hair, messy and matted from lack of grooming and wore thick silver collars around their necks. The woman was dressed in a thin hospital quality gown and the man was in a white jumpsuit made of a thicker material.

The prisoners winced as the sunlight hit their faces and they looked down at the ground, blinking until their eyes became accustomed to the outdoors.

The two guards that came with the truck watched on. The driver stayed next to his open door, while the one on the passenger side began moving towards the rear of the truck to join the Toddberry staff.

As the guard next to the truck leaned in to retrieve something, Sebastian and Stone rolled up towards the main building on their borrowed bikes. As they did so, the more macho of the pair couldn't help but have his attention drawn to the sirens and the situation by the van. Something about it bothered him, but nothing specific.