I'm a little bit unsure of how to describe Taskmaster's base, so if anyone knows what someone like Tasky would put in a secret base, yeah... R&R!
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but my OCs, which haven't come in yet...
Luke's pov
I woke up in a cold sweat. I jumped out of my small SHEILD issued bed and cracked open my door. Peeking out, I saw Danny meditating on the couch. I slowly walked over, I tried to be as quiet as possible but when you're as big as me...
"Danny? Did you just? Was that you, in my dream?" I reached out a hand and tapped him on the shoulder. He didn't respond. I waved my hand in front of his face.
"You ok man?" I asked cautiously. He was completely silent, like a statue. I was starting to get freaked out. I checked his pulse, it was low. I smacked him in the back, an before my hand connected, his eyes flew open and he caught it. He was gasping and panting.
"Sorry my friend, I was trapped in a deep trance for a moment," He looked weak. All my questions forgotten, I focused on helping him back to his room, and by the time I remembered what I wanted to ask, I was already in bed, drifting to sleep.
"Team! All of you report to the briefing room immediately, Spiderman is already on his way," I was woken up by an angry Fury on my communicator. Trudging down the hallway with my costume on I heard Pete saying something about it being too early for fortune cookies. I glanced at a nearby clock, 5:00 A.M. Upon entering the briefing room I saw a very unhappy team, and a cheery Danny. Lucky, he always wakes up at this time, I thought jealously.
"So, what's up Fury?" Pete asked with a yawn.
"What's up, is that someone has been stealing from major villains, Dr. Doome, Taskmaster, and Scorpio," Fury said. I sighed. We were up this early for theft? This had to be bad.
"Um, isn't stealing from villains, who probably use their stuff to make world domination plans, a good thing?" Pete said jokingly. Fury exhaled slowly and rubbed his temples.
"Nothing has been damaged, but computer software, large parts, and micro chips have been stolen," He said hesitantly, he wasn't telling us something.
"And..." I trailed off.
"And two of Scorpio's scientists have been captured, and their work stations have been raided, all traces of them are gone," he added. We were silent.
"Let's go," Pete and Ava said at the same time. Pete chuckled and Ava rolled her eyes under her mask. Fury opened a hatch in the wall, and Danny, Ava and I grabbed some parachutes and jumped. Peter and Sam were right behind us, web-singing and flying, respectively. When we touched down on a random roof, Taskmaster was waiting for us. We got in our battle positions.
"That's quite enough, Spiderman and friends," He said with a mocking tone.
"I believe Fury sent you here to investigate my base. As that fool most likely told you, I've been robbed. Someone has stolen technology that took me months to develop, for a special client of mine," His voice grew more intense with every word.
"Yeah? Was that client of yours green, by any chance?" Spiderman quipped.
"That is on a need-to-know basis, which you should be used to by now anyway," He remarked. At this point, Danny decided to stop their argument.
"To help you, we must know where you're base is located," Iron Fist said calmly. Taskmaster sighed and motioned for us to follow him. He led us to the docks and pressed something on his armor. Whoosh! A gigantic submersible ship surfaced from the Hudson. As the others stood in shock, with Spidey and Nova arguing about whose fault it was that there had been a huge submarine in the Hudson all long, without notice, I pulled Danny aside.
"So, Fist, was that true? What you said about my, you-know-whose..." I said quietly.
"I don't know what you are talking about," He grinned.
"I can't believe you," I sighed.
"Not here, not now... later," He whispered as we followed Taskmaster into the ship.
Taskmaster's place was wrecked. Rubble lied everywhere and we had to cover our mouths so as not to inhale the fumes leaking out of batteries and machinery. The others peppered Taskmaster with questions. I looked back and saw Iron Fist pick something off the floor. On walking over, I saw that it was a single greenish-blackish feather. His eyes widened under his bandana, he stiffened and fell to his hands and knees. I dropped to his side, tears of confusion welling up in my eyes, but I calmed slightly when I saw his fist glowing with a blue tint. He was having a vision of some sort. Within seconds he straightened and grinned weakly at me, thankful that no one else had seen. He rubbed his temples.
"That has happened often lately," He said.
"Well you have to get it under control, what if Tasky over there, had seen you?" I whisper-yelled.
"We can discuss it later. I believe these visions are no coincidence," Danny said in a contemplative tone.
"Where are they from?"
"I have never seen it before, but change is coming, and I think I may know who our mystery thief is," He answered cryptically, just as always.
Nobody's pov
Meanwhile, a thin shadow of a person was perched at the top of a large, circular arena. He was watching six people, four boys and two girls, fighting each other.
"Excellent, my students. Claw! Aim your kicks higher. Shade, dodge less, strike more," He called out instructions to the mixture of teenagers and kids below him. He chuckled. All according to plan, soon we'll be ready... He stood up and walked into a chamber separate from the arena.
"Is everything to your liking?" He asked the two prisoners staring up at him from inside their cell.
"You know what we want," The man whispered dangerously.
"Yes, and you will get it, but for now," The figure sighed sadly, he handed the trapped man a slip of paper with some directions, "I need this poison for Cobra, by tomorrow." The prisoners looked over the list and nodded. In the back of the cell, were beacons and mismatched simple machines with different logos. They got to work, all the while glaring at their mysterious captor.
"It has to be done you know. Memory is identity, its you. And in this bleak and dark existence of unknowing, there is but one way to shed any light. I'm sorry," He said, glancing behind him as he walked away slowly, his head bowed. It wasn't wrong, was it? How was teaching, wanting to understand, wrong? He had once been told that the future mattered most, but how can you live into the future when every waking moment is spent wondering? His students regarded him as a good person, and that same someone that had given him advice, had truly believed in him. If only he could make the same impression on his helpers(he refrained from calling them prisoners).
"Perhaps, they can learn to love me. In the meantime, I've got a hunt to prepare for..."
Yes! No more Writer's block! Anyway, for anyone in my contest, your first clue was in this chapter! Also, "memory is identity, its you," is a quote from Stephen King, everything else is original. Not sure how frequently I can update, but at most each update will be within a week or less of the last one, so... Happy New Year and...
Wolf out...