Breaking News: Phoenix Industries Head Kidnapped

Life, Crime

Intergang forces stage a daring raid on the boardroom of Phoenix Industries, drugging the executives at a conference on the construction of a high-tech prison for metahuman lawbreakers. More as this story develops!

Intergang was involved, yes, but the strategy and much of the technology involved were the secret resources of the Card Shark Syndicate. They, in turn, acted on a third-party contract to find the test site where prototype containment cells confined certain convicted criminals ... including the Red Skull himself.

The initial attack succeeded. All of the executives and their attendant staff were sedated before they had a chance to realize anything was off. Their attempt to transport the hostages to a more secure location was thwarted by Firestar at the peak of her training: she stopped the Intergang team, melted their weapons, and kept them pinned down until Metropolis SCU could start making arrests.

And then the trouble began: no one knew what the sedative was. No one knew how to wake any of the victims. Lex Luthor of LexCorp humbly offered (on the steps of Katz Memorial Hospital) to step in as pro tem Executive Officer for each of the affected companies, only while his colleagues of the business world were in need. STAR Labs, Brice Corp, and the Cadmus Foundation each volunteered their services to expedite blood tests and narrow down the chemical involved.

Late in the night, using some rather devious measures, members of the Metropolis "After Dark" community turned up the correct antidote, probably confiscated from the original suppliers. Firestar brought it in, along with the instructions packaged with both sedative and antidote for their intended users. Crisis averted!