Having started out with little to no interest in the criminal underworld, Zoom quickly learned that the best way to gain a reputation in these parts was to join up with one of the recognized families. Very rapidly he was finding himself liking the vibe he was getting from The Dukes of Earl. It was so quick in fact you could say it happened in a flash, but then Zoom would have had to punch you right in the throat, for sure. 

The amount of respect Earl had commanded was memorable, and it was to nobody's surprise that he obtained the rank of Godfather within the underworld of New York. What did surprise some people, himself included, was Zoom's appointment to the Left Hand Man position. With Earl's fondness of tea, and Zoom's...enthusiastic views on coffee, the pair of them were a highly caffeinated duo of money making magic. 

With a relationship growing stronger and stronger by the day, Zoom and Earl participated in quite the spree of organized crime, earning them and the city they represented vast amounts of money. Yes, The Dukes of Earl were certainly bringing in the big bucks. Money that is, not deer. Zoom wished there had been more venison, but that's not the point of this story now is it. 

It was entirely too soon that tragedy struck. Zoom knew that their choice in career came along with an almost certain death, but it did not lessen the blow when he awoke one night to hear the news...Earl had been gunned down in an unsanctioned hit. 

Zipping on down to the local meeting place, Zoom arrived half asleep and thoroughly grumpy. He had not had the time to make coffee before heading out to figure out what the plan was, and frankly all the hubbub was entirely too chaotic for his non-coffee'd up ass. Quite a few of the New York uppers tried cheering him up, saying he would feel much better once the rogue was dead, but Zoom knew that wasn't accurate. 

Shrugging off the multiple invites, Zoom moped around and pitched in where he could, but he felt lost. It wasn't until the Godfather Chairman of New York approached him with a cup of coffee that Zoom perked up, tilting his head slightly as Cletus spoke, 

"ZOOM! Drink, now! And then come join my crew, how does that sound?"

Zoom nodded and chugged the coffee, pinning a 'Maximum Carnage' tag onto his wrinkled suit. The rest of the night went far better for Zoom, and while the death of Earl's murderer did bring him some peace, Zoom knew his life would never be the same.

Party party party. Make some money. Party. Carry Cletus home. Make some more money. The next chunk of Zoom's criminal life was quite the blur. Between the non-stop partying and always having to clean up the HQ afterwards, Zoom was surprised he found any time at all to do his job. But do his job he did indeed.

As the city of New York found itself rebuilding once again, Zoom made it his personal goal to establish as many relationships as possible. Finding a new connect here and there, and adding to his mailing list daily, Zoom began to fully fall back into the swing of things, something he thought would never happen after Earl's demise. 

In the upcoming days, Insomnia received the nod to set up his own HeadQuarters within New York. The celebratory party afterwards was...well, it could be said that it was one that will never be forgotten, but with the vast amount of alcohol consumed, Zoom thought it more likely that it was a party that would never be remembered by anyone present. Despite the overall excitement of another crew setting up, Cletus found himself with a slight gap to fill. 

Having been called into Cletus's office one night, Zoom peeked in to find his boss sitting at his desk, with what appeared to be a prostitute on each leg. With an enormous grin upon his face, Cletus grunted,

"Zoom buddy ol' pal, I got something for youuuu!" 

Cletus grinned the cheesiest of grins, raising his eyebrows rapidly. 

"Uhhh... No thanks boss, I have entirely too much going on to be wasting time gallivanting around with either of your...friends here."

Cletus's face drooped into one of a more serious demeanor briefly before he burst out laughing. 

"Oh Zoom you silly thing, you. No, no, these ladies are for me. I find myself in need of filling Insomnia's old spot here in the HQ though, it's yours if you'd like it!" 

And so it was. Zoom thanked Cletus and strolled out of his office, leaving the man to his...friends. The next few days passed without incident, and Zoom felt good having a purpose once more. 

It seemed like the happiness only lasted the briefest of moments, however. Zoom once again woke up to exceedingly bad news...His new Godfather was dead. The world they lived in was an entirely different place now, and Zoom was once again unsure where he would fit in best. Amidst the chaos and confusion Zoom approached Syndicate, who promptly extended him an invitation to his Family. 

In a daze once more, Zoom continued on making money and living the life he had come to love, but he was the first to admit that he was merely going through the motions. The criminal world was scrambling to reshape itself, while Zoom himself was in a scramble to find some sense of purpose. 

Little did he know, his life was about to change again, forever. Having stayed in contact with many of the notable members of the criminal underworld, Zoom had not been surprised to have been summoned to a late night meeting. Making sure he had plenty of coffee in his system, Zoom walked into the agreed upon coffee shop and saw many familiar faces. Syndicate, Insomnia, Dovahkiin and a few other higher ups from New York were present, along with some faces Zoom had not expected to see, including Olympia, Aislin, and Philadelphia's newest CrewLeader MidpoinT.

Syndicate approached him with a faint smile on his face, indicating he should take a seat. Zoom sat down and took a gander at all the important people in the room. Tilting his head to the side slightly, Zoom grumbled,

"Please tell me we're not going to war again boss? I'm entirely too sick of losing the people around me, I warned you when you picked me up that I'm cursed..."

Syndicate held back a laugh, though many of the other occupants that had overheard the comment did not. Zoom glared at them all but couldn't hold it against them, his previous two Godfathers having been killed not terribly long after appointing Zoom as their Left Hand.  

"No, no, nothing of the sort except for against these scumbag bastards who have decided they want to take over Detroit... Which leads me to the topic of tonights gathering. Zoom, it has been decided that you're going to lose another CrewLeader."

Zoom's heart dropped, this was it. @Syndicate was going to retire and he was going to lose another leader and life would be pointless once more. With a deep sigh Zoom went to speak but was cut off by @Insomnia, who had been standing nearby. 

"Jesus, Zoom, by the look on your face you would think the world's supply of coffee just ran out! You're losing your CrewLeader again, but it's not the end of the world. In fact for you, it's about to be an entirely new world."

Zoom looked around the room in an attempt to ascertain just what was going on, but nobody was of any help. @Dovahkhiin was in the back, shouting at a wall. @Shaggs and @KatyPerry were standing not too far away, sipping on their drinks and seemingly enjoying themselves. @Olympia was in the middle of a thrilling chess game with @MidpoinT, but it seemed that they were paying more attention to the conversation than the game - Zoom had seen MidpoinT replace Olympia's Queen with a pawn unbeknownst to her. @Spiral was off in the corner doing Spiral-ey things, and most of the rest of the people were too tipsy to help Zoom figure out what was happening. 

Syndicate coughed, and Zoom snapped his attention back towards his boss.

"Zoom, it has been decided that you will hereby be responsible for the criminal operations within Downtown Detroit. Congratulations my friend." 

As if on cue, the room exploded. Zoom was showered in coffee(room temperature, thankfully) and pats on the back. Hardly able to believe it, Zoom stood up and shook hands with Syndicate before thanking everyone else. Words were eluding him, and his coffee was quickly wearing off, so he excused himself and proceeded to the closest street corner. 

Shouting at some random bum who appeared to have been sleeping, Zoom exclaimed,

"This is NO TIME for sleep! Do you know what just happened? I'M NOT EVEN SURE THIS IS REAL LIFE!"

The bum backed away in a hurry, tripping over the stack of boxes he had been using as a bed. Zoom's shouts attracted a small crowd, to whom he turned his attention towards.

"Well folks...Seems like I'm being kicked out of New York. The city that never sleeps very well may have just lost its most caffeinated member, but fear not! Their love for me is quite apparent, as is their faith. I have been asked to lead an operation within Downtown, Detroit, and I certainly wouldn't be in the position to do so without the support of those I've spent my life near. I will never forget the great honor that has been bestowed upon me this day, and I'm quite confident that those involved in the decision will not be disappointed. Since it has been a long running joke now that I am a curse, I thought it only apt to give my crew the moniker of..... The Plague."

may you last just as long as the last DT CL

Zoom looked at the spot where the strange man had given his well wishes before killing himself. Zoom shrugged. Stepping back up to where he'd made his announcement, Zoom cleared his throat and spoke quickly, not wanting to stay on the Streets too long with all the bullets flying around. 

"A quick amendment to my previous announcement... My crew and I will no longer be called The Plague. Instead, we'll go by The League of Shadows. Sorry for any paperwork confusion this may have caused, and thanks for your time."

Zoom zipped off into the night and was out of sight before you could say "holy shit that guy runs fast." 

Congrats, nice to see The League of Shadows will make a return.

Seems like they made a return to the shadows.

Zoom off he goes to the coroner, zoom

Speed force got em.