The top (fifth) floor - a floor-through apartment in the Brooklyn borough of New Amsterdam City.
"Why is that lady covered in mayonnaise?" Innocently asks a blonde-haired little girl with braided pigtails.
Yinyuyu with tears in her eyes, hugs the little girl. "It's going to be ok. Everything is going to be ok."
"Why are you crying?" Asks the little girl.
A few days ago, the hostages were brought to this apartment.
The hostages were chained and had severe restrictions placed on them: entertainment was limited, meals and sleep were synchronized, and bathroom breaks were accompanied by at least two guards. The guards, however, did give the hostages some sliver of privacy when the hostages were attending to "private matters" in the bathroom.
Yinyuyu has kept a low profile. Uppity people get taken to one of the private rooms by the guards and come back disheveled, distraught, and "covered in mayonnaise" - by the little girl's terminology.
She did hear snippets of conversations from the guards: negotiations are going poorly, superheroes are on the case, and the hostages are doomed as soon as there is a whiff of a rescue attempt.
Yinyuyu does her best to keep her spirits up; and passes the time by eavesdropping on conversations and playing cards with her fellow hostages.
-----
A nearby rooftop overlooking the apartment where the hostages are being kept. Like the others in the area, this building is owned by a subsidiary of the Malger Group.
"What does your gaydar say?" Sonic Boom says with a malicious grin.
"Fuck off, boomer," replies Mr. Perception- a masked white man with blond hair, a white and blue spandex costume with a large cartoon eye emblazon in the center of the chest, and numerous corporate logos. Mr. Perception's corporate sponsorships primarily consist of data aggregate firms and detective agencies.
"Ohh... boomer, is that the best you can come up with?" Taunts Sonic Boom. "Fucking scrub."
Tensions are high as the superheroes spent days investigating the case. The superheroes visited numerous informants, intermediaries, and criminal hangouts; before finally getting a lucky break in the bar called FREAKS.
FREAKS is patronized by costumed villains, gangsters, wannabes, thrillseekers, and tourists. A stray "whoa eye knee" caught the attention of the heroes, but it turned out to be nothing more than the utterance of a white girl making googly eyes at an Asian man. That comment, however, did delay the heroes long enough for a member of the Bermuda gang to approach the heroes with a potential lead. Although the gang member wanted ten thousand dollars for the information, some gentle "persuasion" by Sonic Boom convinced the gang member to offer the lead free of charge.
The Bermuda gang, not to be confused with the Bermudes or Bermudez gangs - who the Bermuda gang considers to be their "lesser cousins," is currently controlled by Sebastian "Seabass" Bermuda. Sebastian is rumored to be a super-being with the power to transform into a seabass, shark, or other marine wildlife. The Bermuda gang normally deals in smuggling, animal fights, and illegal gambling. Their "shark vs. bear" fights attract bets of over hundred million dollars annually.
Mr. Perception says, "I sense seven heavily armed guards in the western-most area... they're armed with rifles of some sort. Semi-auto or full-auto."
"There are fourteen people, tied up. Hostages."
"Ohh... looks like there're three guards spending some quality time with a lady; she's trying to resist- they're in a private room to the east."
"The floors below are occupied, we're going to have to be careful."
"Directly below the hostages is someone watching TV or playing video games... Oh! Looks like he's going to the bathroom now."
"Directly below the lady getting gang-banged is someone sleeping."
"Hypno," Sonic Boom asks a man wearing a grey and white spandex costume with a black swirl covering his chest, "Can you reach them from here?"
"Not all of them." Hypno replies. "I have to get a little closer."
Sonic Boom says, "okay. Here's the plan. Hypno, keep spamming your powers while I fly you in. You'll stun them while I drop you off and rescue the lady being raped. After I drop her off with Gaydar here..."
" Ahem , my name is Mr. Perception," interrupts Mr. Perception.
"Whatever," says Sonic Boom. "Anyway, after I drop her off with MR PERCEPTION , I'll come back and support you in taking out the bad guys and rescuing the other hostages. Sounds good?"
After hearing affirmative responses from Hypno and Mr. Perception, Sonic Boom says, "ok. It's go time."
The heroes, however, were unaware that they were watched by a hidden camera.
-----
Back at the apartment.
"Damn they're sure taking their sweet time," complains Guard #1.
"I don't know why." Guard #2 says, "She's butt ugly."
"Hey! A hole's a hole," replies Guard #3.
"I rather do her," Guard #2 motions toward Yinyuyu.
"She's behaving," Guard #1 responds. "The boss said we're only..."
" Ahem … ahem… hem ", guard #1 clears his throat. "Is it just me? Or did it just get really dry all of a sudden?"
"What the?!?" Guard #2 exclaims as the jacket he randomly tossed on the floor suddenly leaps up and wraps itself around his head.
"Attack!" and "Enemy attack!" scream the guards as they whip out their rifles and begin shooting the hostages.
"Noo!!!" Yinyuyu cries as she throws her body over the little girl's.
-----
The sound of gunfire echoes throughout the night.
"They're under," says Hypno as he touches the minds of the guards.
Worried by the sounds of gunfire, the heroes hurriedly enter the apartment. There, they are greeted by the coppery smell of blood and the bloody corpses of the hostages.
The guards lie on the ground, clutching their heads while rolling around in pain.
Ignoring the guards, Sonic Boom quickly makes his way to the lady in the private room.
Entering, Sonic Boom angrily kicks a prone half-naked guard as he silently glares at the bloody body of the lady.
------
By the next morning, the failed rescue attempt had made its way into the News cycle.
The evening broadcast, however, had much more information on the aftermath.
On Channel 7 Evening News, KTNA- an affiliate of PNN.
The commentator, Maria Lee, is introducing the failed rescue attempt to its audiences.
"Last night, superheroes attempted to free the hostages taken captive by last Friday's bus hijacking.
"The attempt was a complete failure, and all of the hostages were killed."
The camera cuts to the scene of Yinyuyu's bloody corpse shielding the bloodied body of an angelic-looking six year old before cutting back to Maria.
"As a result, the three superheroes involved in the rescue faced tremendous pressure from public opinion.
"Although they defended themselves by saying the hijackers were not interested in negotiations and were going to kill the hostages anyway, the time of death of the hostages indicates that they were killed when the superheroes initiated their rescue attempt.
"The public has refused to accept the excuse, and has instead called for the Superheroes Association to cancel the license and qualifications of the three superheroes.
"The Superheroes Association has apologized for the incident and has released a statement that they are launching a complete investigation.
"Analysts believe that the powers of the three superheroes have plummeted; and that the Superheroes Association will soon revoke their licenses and sever their ties with them.
"The suspects have been taken into custody by the police, and our best guess is that they will be sentenced to twenty or more years in prison...
"On related news, one of the victims was a climate activist known to her as fans as Yinyuyu.
"Yinyuyu's fans have spontaneously came to the street where her death occurred and have offered flowers to express their grief.
"Tonight, they are holding a candlelight vigil to..."
With a pop , the TV turned off.
Alexander Malger reclines on a luxurious sofa in Malger Manor.
Despite the horrific tragedy, Alex cracks a small grin.