Match 22892 Mister Negative vs. Two-Face

[JohnnyChany]

DIVISIONS OVER THE DIVIDED DISITRICT PART 3: A GANGLAND SIDE STORY

 

CONTINUED FROM ANNA WILLIAMS VS. SHENUA

 

From the balcony of an abandoned warehouse overlooking the river in East Island, Mr. Chang studied the checkpoint that now choked the bridge leading into the Divided District. Concrete barriers narrowed traffic to a crawl. Sandbag bunkers flanked the roadway. Men with rifles inspected every vehicle that crossed, their eyes searching faces instead of identification papers. To the casual observer, it looked like an ordinary security checkpoint.

Mr. Chang saw it for what it truly was. A declaration. Harvey Dent had survived an assassination attempt, and within hours Two-Face had transformed an open bridge into a border. 

The observant Triad leader folded his hands behind his back. "Harvey moves quickly. I'll give him that."

The timing couldn't have been worse. Before the blockade had gone up, Chang had already dispatched one of his most trusted assassins, Shenhua, into the Divided District to finish the work Ryuji Yamazaki had failed to complete. She should have reported in by now, but she hadn't. The silence bothered him far more than failure. Shenhua wasn't reckless. If she hadn't contacted him, either she was dead, or something had gone terribly wrong.

Chang's gaze drifted farther upriver. He had little doubt Harvey had sealed the northern bridge leading toward Tombstone's Warehouse District as well. The window of opportunity had slammed shut. The element of surprise was gone. Now Harvey would be fortifying his borders, consolidating his lieutenants, and calling in favors before anyone else could make a move.

The Triad needed another approach. Fortunately, Chang still had one operative inside the district.

Not merely an assassin, an investment. Martin Li. To the struggling residents of the Divided District, Martin Li was a wealthy philanthropist bringing hope through F.E.A.S.T, food, shelter, medicine, and compassion. To the Triad, he was the perfect Trojan horse. And lurking beneath Martin's charitable smile was someone far more useful. Mr. Negative.

Chang withdrew a phone from his coat and dialed. The line clicked almost immediately.

"Yeah?"

Chang allowed himself the faintest smile. One word was all he needed. Mr. Negative was currently in control.

"How are things progressing?" Chang asked.

"Better than expected." Negative sounded almost amused. "Convincing that bleeding heart Martin Li to expand F.E.A.S.T. into Gangland was inspired. Where else could he find so many desperate people begging to be saved?"

"The poor, the forgotten, the hopeless,” he continued with a laugh. "They're practically lining up for us."

"There may be another more active opportunity for you," Chang revealed.

"I'm listening."

"We eliminated Mr. Big on our end." Chang glanced once more toward Harvey's checkpoint. "But Harvey Dent appears to be still very much alive. The district is sealed. I don't believe another outside operative can enter unnoticed."

Mr. Negative paused for a moment. ."So now it's my problem."

"It would appear so."

Negative sighed. "Please tell me you didn't rely on the woman with the rope knives from Roanapur."

"Shenhua has served the Triad faithfully for years. But, If Harvey's still breathing, she failed."

"I could've predicted that."

Chang’s tone remained even.  "You've made your point."

 

 

Negative laughed. "Don't worry, I'll clean up the mess. For good."

"What sort of force have you assembled?" Chang asked.

"Nothing impressive, yet. Building a criminal organization from scratch takes time. Especially when your cover identity insists on feeding people instead of exploiting them." Mr. Negative snorted. "There aren't many innocent souls left in Gangland to corrupt."

“That’s ok,” said Chang. "I doubt Harvey's numbers are much better. He survived two assassination attempts in less than twenty-four hours and now he's locked his district down. "People tend to disappear when bullets start flying and he has to be spreading himself thin."

"What interests me," Negative mused, "is Harvey himself. I wonder what my powers would do to a man already at war with his own mind."

Chang smiled.  "If anything, you'd probably be doing him a favor, you might push Harvey Dent closer to becoming Two-Face permanently."

Negative laughed. "Wouldn't that be ironic? I'd almost envy him."

He looked down briefly, as though acknowledging the unseen man sharing his body.

"At least Two-Face gets more control than I do. If only Martin would stay quiet and let me handle things. I can tolerate sharing a body. I refuse to take advice from it."

Chang allowed himself a quiet chuckle. The symmetry between Mr. Negative and Two-Face amused him.

“You know If people see me go after Harvey, they will recognize Martin Li,” stated Mr. Negative.  "The whole charitable benefactor routine collapses the moment someone sees me put a hole through Two-Face. Our long game disappears overnight."

Chang looked once more toward the heavily guarded bridge. "The long game only matters if there is still a district to inherit. Our immediate objective is simple. Remove Harvey Dent, however it must be done."

Negative's grin was almost audible through the phone. "Give me a couple of hours. When the sun sets, the Divided District will belong to the Triad."

Back at Harvey’s headquarters, Two-Face put down the last of the Triad gunmen with his double pistols. He looked over at Anna Williams driving her heel into the face of Shenhua. 

“You really thought you were going to beat me, you dumb broad.” Anna said with contempt.

She spat blood at Shenhua’s unmoving body. She turned slowly; cuts and gashes covered her body from Shenhua’s kukri knives. She fell to her knees.

Anna chuckled ruefully. “I always thought it would be Nina.”

Anna fell dead from loss of blood in front of Two-Face. He snarled in anger at the loss of a potential ally and unloaded a couple of shots from his pistol at Shenua to ensure she wouldn’t get back up. 

“Whoever is still here, come clean up this mess!” he demanded.

Soon, a few of Harvey’s goons arrived to remove Anna, Shenua, and the Triad gunmen. Harvey walked back to his office and sat in his chair. He twirled his coin in his fingers trying to process all that was happening. The prevailing thought that dominated his mind was that the Triad had worked out some deal with Geese.

"Enough is enough,” Harvey whispered.  "It's time to bleed Geese Howard."

Harvey closed his eyes. The coin spun lazily between his fingers.

"We hit him now."

The scarred side of his face twisted into a grin. 

“Hard. Make every hood in Gangland understand one thing, coming after Two-Face is a mistake you only get to make once."

Harvey caught the coin before it struck the floor.

"Then, there's only one man to call."

Several rings later, someone answered.

The sounds of clinking glasses, laughter, and an old jukebox from Noonan's Sleazy Bar filtered through the receiver.

"Harvey."

Tommy Monaghan sounded almost amused.

"I'm surprised." he paused.  "Actually, I'm surprised and not surprised."

Tommy leaned against the bar with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

"Gotham's been a little quieter since you, Oswald, and Falcone all skipped town,” he declared.  "You know what? I take that back. It's still the same sewer. Just a different collection of rats."

Harvey had still not spoken.

 

 

"What can I do for you?" Tommy asked

"I'm looking to hire you,” Harvey finally said. 

That caught Tommy's attention. "Really? I figured most of the people over there were ordinary mob muscle. So, you still need somebody with my particular talents?"

Harvey's expression darkened. "The man I want dead isn't ordinary. He throws energy blasts. He can split concrete with his bare hands. and getting punched by him feels like standing in front of a speeding truck. So, I’ve been told."

Tommy let out a low whistle. 

"Now that's certainly something." He took a sip of his drink. "You remember my rules. No civilians, no cops, no innocents.”

Harvey answered immediately. "Geese Howard doesn't qualify as any of those. Neither do the people around him. They've built their empire on blood."

Tommy was quiet for a moment.

"I don't know, Harvey. I've heard stories about Gangland. They say every neighborhood's run by somebody crazier than the last. I'm not sure sticking my nose into that place would do my migraines any favors."

Two-Face took full control of the conversation. “Kill Geese Howard and you can name your price!"

Tommy chuckled. "Now you're speaking my language."

He took another drink.

"All right., you've got my attention. So, tell me more about Geese Howard."

Harvey began outlining everything he knew. Geese's district, his organization, Billy Kane, Mr. Big, the territory, and the love for fighting. He wired the upfront money to Tommy and then hung up the phone.

He had barely had a moment after putting the hit out on Geese when a heavy crash echoed somewhere inside the old courthouse. Another followed, then shouting, and then gunfire. Harvey sighed and then grabbed his pistols again along with some fresh ammunition.

“What the hell is happening?” he exclaimed. “Now I know how the bat feels when there is a mass escape at Arkham.”

Harvey traveled to the opposite end of his hideout from where he had the shootout against Shenhua’s men.

“Harvey! Harvey Dent! Come on out so I can see your ugly face!” Mr. Negative called out. 

Mr. Negative sent a dagger imbued with darkforce energy at an approaching henchman of Two-Face that struck him in the neck and instantly killed him. As Two-Face approached he recognized the suits of some of the men with Mr. Negative. More Triad.

Mr. Negative called out again. “Harvey! You’ve done so well surviving this long. But it’s time for the main event, and the end of this little game of survival.”

Two-Face revealed himself with determination and bravado.

“I’m going to blow you away and stick your head on a pike as a warning to anyone else who wants to try to step foot on my property!”

[Callisto]

Learn More About
Mister Negative
Read more about Mister Negative at Wikipedia
Official Site: Marvel Comics Links: Wikipedia

Two-Face
Read more about Two-Face at Wikipedia
Official Site: D.C Comics Links: Wikipedia Unoff. Guide to D.C Universe D.C Database

[Venom 2009]

Good match. I think Mister Negative will win.

[leroypowell3]

Gotta go with Mister Negative.