Hey, guys. I know I'm not a week later, but I had good reasons for the delay. I figured that since I want Cloak and Dagger in this and my only problem is that I don't know anything about them as a duo, I'd just wait until the next issue comes out and buy that online. I'm pretty sure they'll have some characterization as they are on the freaking cover. That way, this won't be too female oriented with the inclusion of Cloak. And I want to have them in this story as this is called the Ultimate Power Pack Adventures. So in respect to you guys waiting for me, I made this chapter a little longer.
Speaking of teenaged teams, I have to go back on my word, MeleeSmasher about the Runaways about them being an one arc type of deal. Instead they will be a semi-regular thing like Kitty Pryde and Johnny Storm. As a comic book reader of other franchises, a few days ago, Nico Minoru was fridged(look up the term). This pretty much means the end of the Runaways and the way she was killed was stupid and didn't respect the character at all. I admit that I'm not the most knowledgeable of the Runaways and this is based on the Ultimate Universe so I can have liberties with characters that I introduce(Although there is already an Ultimate Runaways team, they are just so obscure and are comprised of future X-Men). The only thing that will be mainly different about this Runaways team from 616 is the Yorke's time traveling and the Pride's main intention. In my eyes, they don't really fit in the Ultimate Universe, but the spirit of their characters are mostly the same. If any Runaways fans have any suggestions about their character, send me a PM as I'm not the hugest fan of theirs for out of character moments(I kind of just wanted them because they were a teenaged team just like this Power Pack).
Also, if you haven't noticed, I edited the previous chapters to make the story more coherent.
4:57 PM. Times Square
In amidst of a crowd, two girls stood within the bust street. All they could see were people and all they could hear were the sound of cars honking their horns and whizzing by. The smell of car exhaust filled the air. One girl was visibly in awe with her surroundings as she was gaping at the buildings and the fashion displays in the windows. The other was more reserved.
"I can't believe we are in New York," the blonde almost squealed in glee and glazed around her surroundings. "Nico, this is like the fashion capital of the world. We are talking famous designers like Albino, Alexander Wang, and your favorite, Calla Sebaus.
"Calla does vamp and corsets, Karol. It's completely different from Lolita fashion," the Japanese girl looked nowhere near as excited as her companion. "Not my type of thing."
"Well, I figured because she does Goth and you do Goth and…"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we should be careful. Alex told us that we should be careful," Nico warned while keeping her eyes on the crowd.
Karolina took her friend's arm and pulled it close to her, "You worry too much. I'd thought you would be happy to be here. I remember when we were kids you were into the fashion scene like no other."
"That was before we found out our parents turning out to be evil people," Nico averted her eyes away from her friend and looked to the ground. "Look, things change, Kay. We all had to let go of our dreams."
"Oh come on, Nico," Karolina crossed her arms. "This is New York. Not only is it the fashion capital of the world, but it is the home of the Triskelion. SHIELD headquarters and pretty much a haven for the greatest superheroes on Earth. As long as we are here, our parents wouldn't dare."
"I don't know—"
"Stop being a wuss, Nico," Karolina pulled the unwilling girl into a nearby store from the festering horde that was the New York City denizens of the street. "Help me get something in this boutique and live a little why don't you?"
The Japanese girl tried to resist, but it was to no avail as she was already half way through the entrance of the store. Inside, she saw mannequins wearing the latest designer clothes and racks of different fabrics and attire lined up as far as the eye can see.
"We are supposed to be shopping for food, Karolina. The guys won't be too happy if we spent money on stuff like…is that a classical burlesque black beaded choker?" Nico immediately forgot what she was about to say and drew herself to the accessory like a magnet.
"See, Nico," the blonde tilted her head with a smile. "I knew coming in here was a good idea."
"I don't know if buying things like this is a good idea…"
"Just one itsy bitsy thing won't hurt," Karolina put a mock puppy dog eyes on just to appeal to the goth girl's sympathies. "I mean it is not like we are getting expensive stuff…or too expensive stuff."
Nico never took her eyes off the coveted necklace and sighed in defeat, "Fine, but only a few things. And make sure it is not expensive and stuff."
Karolina clasped her hands together and went on her way. Nico watched her and shook her head. She then began to avert her attention back to the necklace. Satisfied with the selection, she took the necklace and waked throughout the store in search of more clothes and accessories. As she was browsing, she heard the jingle of the door sound. She peaked and saw two boys enter the clothes store. This wouldn't have been odd if this wasn't a store that specializes in women's clothing. One boy had long brown hair that touched his shoulders. He was wearing an unusual get up as he wore a trench coat during the summer season. What was odder was that he was wearing oddly colored red boots that seemed to be on the outside of his blue skin tight pants. His partner was even odder as he was covered from head to toe with the only thing being visible were his goggles. Nico immediately suspected something was odd and ducked in a clothing rack circle.
"How may I help you gentlemen," the store clerk asked with a hint of uneasiness.
"Where are they?" The fully clothed one asked with gruffness in his tone.
"I don't know who you mea—"
The cloaked man grabbed the clerk's shirt collar with one hand and jerked him over the desk. When the store clerk tried to scurry away, a burst of fire suddenly appeared in front of him. The frightened salesmen turned around and saw that the man was somehow manipulating fire with his hands. The attacker threw off his trench coat and underneath was orange tights. He was a mutant.
"Maybe you don't know who I am so I'll introduce myself," the man ignited his other hand as watched as the potential victim tried to squirm away from the heat. "I'm Pyro. Y' know? Of the now dead Brotherhood of Mutants. You do not want to *^&% with me."
"Dude," the other guy grabbed his shoulder. "What are you doing? You'll set the whole place on fire."
"I've been chasing around these brats for over a year," the mutant erupted. "I will not be dicked around by some human!"
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," the man pleaded. "I only took this job because my girlfriend wanted a discount on these clothes. Please don't kill me!"
"WHERE ARE THE GIRLS!?"
"I don't know who you mean, I swear. I was listening to my Iphone before you came in. I wasn't paying attention!"
"Dude, chill out," the other guy insisted. "The kids are here. You are causing a scene."
Pyro clenched his fists and then put out his flames subconsciously, "Go and if you call the police, I swear I'll immolate you and your girlfriend."
With the warning, the man scurried out of the building visibly weeping. Nico observed the entire scene and began to crawl in between clothing racks. 'Where is Karolina?' she thought. 'She had to hear all of that.' She could hear the mutants still talking, but she was too scared to make out what they were saying. She was looking for her friend and a way out, and saw nothing but a doorway that led to the back of the boutique.
"Nico," she heard a feint whisper and the Japanese girl turned around and saw her blonde haired friend peeking out of an aisle. Karolina motioned for Nico to come towards her. Nico turned towards the exit and tried to communicate non-verbally that they needed to make a break for the exit. Karolina did not understand and insisted that Nico come her way and Nico did the same.
"So," they heard a voice interrupt their non-verbal argument. "I hope I'm not interrupting something."
They turned to their eavesdropper and it was the man with the long brown hair. He slowly took off his coat and revealed that he was wearing a similar uniform to his partner. Nico and Karolina got out of their hiding spots and faced him. He smirked out the two girls and opened his arms.
"Look, ladies," He grinned trying to be as cordial as possible. "We have been through a lot looking for you kids and I know running away looks and sounds good right at this moment."
He clenched his fists tightly, punched the tile floor, and suddenly a slab of Earth appeared from the ground and blocked the exit that Nico was hoping to escape from.
The man looked up and gave the frightened women a sinister smirk, "But I advise against it."
"You finally found those brats," the other man walked from behind the Earth mover. "Avalanche, we get to go home. These filthy humans are starting to annoy me."
The girls did not say a word. Nico reached from behind her dress while the mutants gloated about their imminent success. She pulled out a blade, but kept it hidden from their eyes. However, her movement did not go unnoticed.
"What do you have behind your back, girl? Pyro demanded while getting into stance.
Nico pulled the weapon out as if she were trying to use it. The mutants, however, were hardly impressed.
"Really? A knife?" Avalanche could not help, but smile. "What are you planning to do with that?"
"It's not for you," Nico said as she slashed her forearm with the blade. Suddenly, she stuck out her chest as if some invisible force was pulling her towards it. She began to chant words while an object emerged from her chest.
"When blood is shed, let the Staff of One emerge."
A staff that was approximately four feet in length and gold of color magically appeared from the girl's chest cavity. Nico quickly grabbed the scepter as her would be captors watched in awe.
"Baby Go Boom," she yelled at the top of her lungs. The staff's golden ornament which was a circle glowed purple. All of the sudden a mega-explosion blew the combatants away. Nico and Karolina watched as the entire boutique went into ruin as the only thing that resembled clean in the area was the side Nico and Karolina were on.
"Let's get out of here, Nico," Karolina made a dash to the now ruined front of the store. Nico followed. But there escape was foiled as large pillars of Earth blocked their attempt. The Japanese Goth, however, would not be denied.
She held out her magical staff and closed her eyes, "Did the Earth just shake or was it just me?"
The staff glowed again as suddenly the obstacles before the girl's crumbled. Nico grabbed Karolina's hand and started to make a dash towards the exit. Before they knew it, the ground started to shake and dust suddenly began to clear.
"Where do you think you brats' going?" Pyro ignited a fire in both of his palms.
"In that outfit," an anonymous voice answered as a strange white fluid put out the flame in Pyro's left hand. "I imagine the fashion police."
A figure wearing a black costume with a red webs covering his chest, head, and arms with a red spider in the middle of his chest and on his back flew down from the sky. His mask had white eye pieces that reflected that made it impossible to look inside them. The mysterious figure landed a kick on Pyro in which he sent him flying across the street. Avalanche quickly reacted and touched ground summoning pillars right underneath the attacker. His attempt was futile as the man skillfully avoided the rising patches of Earth like an acrobat and landed on a nearby streetlight.
Avalanche narrowed his eyes to make out the man and then his eyes widened upon realization, "Holy crap! It's Spider-man!"
"Where?" Spider-man placed a hand above his prominent eye pieces and looked around like he was trying to find something. "I get really nervous around celebrities."
"Impossible," Pyro slowly recovered from the unexpected kick and gathered himself off the ground. "I heard Spider-man died."
"News of my imminent demise was greatly exaggerated," the man leaped into the air performing yet another acrobatic feat after Avalanche launched another pillar from the ground at the web slinger. Pyro launched fire blast after blast only for them to be effortlessly evaded. After a series of feats, Spider-man landed on the side of the wall. "Y' know I'm Spider-man, right? 'Not stand there and get roasted like a punk'-man."
"Shut up!" Pyro screamed at the top of his lungs. "Why don't you come down here and fight me like a man?"
"Why don't you come up here and fight like a Spider?"
Pyro, infuriated by the vigilante's taunts, launched another fury of attacks only to be easily dodged again. Avalanche observed and tried to time his pillars, but the hero was just too evasive.
"Hold still," Avalanche grunted and tried to concentrate. Spider-man eventually got in close to Pyro and the maniac tried to scurry him away with another heat blast. His attack was parried away with a block that knocked Pyro's hand away and his attack ran errant in the air. Before the mutant could blink, the costumed hero jammed two fingers into the fire mutant's chin. Shocked by the odd gesture, Pyro grabbed his chin and backed away from the attack.
"What did you do to…..ARRRGH," he screamed as a large of jolt of electricity consumed from within his body. Avalanche saw his opportunity and pounded his hands into the hot cement. The whole street began to shake and tremble and Spider-man, along with a bunch of surrounding citizens lost their balance. Nico and Karolina tried to hold onto each other for support, but they tumbled to the ground. Suddenly a pink blur launched from the air with their hands above them.
"Kamikaze!" the figure screamed as they formed large golden rings around their fist. Suddenly a large wave of destruction encompassed Avalanche and a large explosion occurred. Smoke consumed the entire surrounding area as everyone tried to shield their eyes. The mini-earthquake stopped with the sudden collision and everyone started to gain their bearings. When the dust cleared, Avalanche was knocked out lying in the middle of the street with the figure standing above him. The figure was a girl with long flowing brown hair and was wearing a domino mask over her eyes. She wore a pink and black one piece outfit with a white overcoat over it.
"Took you long enough, Bombshell," Spider-man called out to the new entrant to the battle.
"I gotta pick my spots," Bombshell shrugged and then pointed at the attacking mutants. "Hey, why don't you make yourself useful and web these guys up for the police?"
Spidey shrugged and proceeded to do just that, "You go check to see if those girls are cool, Miss. I'm just going to blow up the whole street in pink." Nico and Karolina just watched as the masked girl approached them.
"Ladies," she called out to them. "I don't know what happened here, but an explanation would be nice."
Karolina was about to answer her, but Nico stepped forward, "What makes you think we were involved in this?"
The girl cocked an eyebrow and then pointed in front of the now destroyed boutique, "The position of the glass shows that the initial blast came from inside the store. Hothead and Mr. Shake over there, due to their torn clothes prior to the whole fight and general position of the blast, were clearly blasted out of the store first so they clearly ain't the cause of it. The only two people who somehow walked out of it unscathed and came out of that store after the explosion were you two."
Karolina and Nico became silent. Bombshell grew a little impatient and placed a hand on her hip awaiting an answer. Spider-man hung Avalanche by his hands with his webs on a streetlight and then made his way to Pyro. The crowd watched the masked superheroes and the two innocuous girls with curious eyes seemingly gawking at the aftermath of the battle.
"Look," the masked woman finally said. "You gonna either answer to me or SHIELD and trust me, they are not something you want to %$%^ with."
Nico clenched her staff, "We don't have to answer to you. Even with the domino mask, we can tell that you're just a kid like us."
"Okay, chick that got her outfit straight from Hot Topic," Bombshell gritted her teeth. "I'm trying to give you an out here. Why are you getting' defensive unless we were mistaken and you two &*%$# were the ones who started the fight?"
"Okay, okay, okay," Spider-man called out while walking over the girls. "Let's not blow each other up before we get the chance to know what is going on."
"We were just shopping until—" Karolina started to talk until a giant shadow lord over her and the entire group. The group looked up and saw a flying machine loom over them in the skies. It was a flying aircraft carrier with a giant logo of an eagle with a circle around it. A bunch of smaller shuttles then launched from the aircraft carrier and started to descend to the ground.
"Looks like SHIELD's here," Spider-man placed his hand on Bombshell signaling that it was time for them to leave. "Maybe we should go?"
Karolina freaked out and grabbed Nico by the shoulders. Tears welled up in her eyes and she was visibly shaking, "Nico, I can't get captured by SHIELD. If they find out…"
The two masked superheroes were confused by her actions and the dangling sentence.
"If they find out what exactly?" Bombshell inquired hoping to get her curiosity sated, but then she was ignored.
The Goth girl just nodded and then proceeded to hold out her staff in front of her with two hands.
"What are you doing?" The webhead tilted his head.
She then closed her eyes and began to chant, "There is no place like home."
Surprisingly to both Spider-man and Bombshell, the ornament of her staff lit up with a purple aura that grew from the just large enough to surround the staff to the size of a large radius that encompassed the four of them.
"What are you doing?" The two heroes shrieked as all four just simply vanished from the street in a flash while SHIELD agents descended from the hovering aircraft.
6:37 PM. Gage's and Vaughn's Italian Pasta
The plan was simple. Be his waitress, see who Wilder is meeting, eavesdrop when able, and before he leaves, place a tracker in his car so she knows where he goes. Jessica had everything planned out. She fastened the buttons on her uniform. When the final button of the working uniform was done, the pretend waitress murmured to herself, "This will be a piece of cake."
The agent grabbed her notepad and then proceeded to play the part of a dutiful waitress. She looked around and the place was already packed, but she saw no sign of Wilder. He specifically mentioned that he was going to be there around seven. Jessica Drew looked on her phone and the time read in digital letters 6:40 P.M. It is most likely that he hasn't arrived yet.
"Yo, new girl," she heard a voice call out. Drew turned around and saw a tall gruff middle aged old man with a beard. It was the Bistro's manager. Kate, then looked around and wondered if he were talking to her so she pointed to herself. "Yeah, you. Who else is new around here? Look, Girly, Carlie called in sick and gave me her word that you know what you were doing. Your performance today reflects not just on you, but her as well."
Drew blinked and then nodded in agreement, "I know Mr. Gage. I assure you that I won't let you or Carlie down. She goes to my school and we used to be roommates and she needs this job to help pay tuition."
"Yes, you little geniuses and your genius school. She said somethin' about you havin' photographic memory," he offhandedly mentioning while glancing at something that caught his attention. Jessica hid her notepad behind her squeamishly and kept her attention away. "And that is the only reason your little touché is wearing that uniform for her instead of Ms. Cooper's and this will not be acceptable from now on, ya hear?"
"I understand, Mr. Gage," Jessica flipped a lock of her hair next to her ear and proceeded to walk to the podium near the entrance of the establishment. She saw a tall and burly, blonde haired boy with a hard jaw standing over it. The stranger looked like something you see straight out of an entertainment magazine about teenaged girl heartthrobs. He seemed bored as he had part of his face in his palm and his elbow on the podium supporting his slouch. His uniform was disheveled as one side of his buttoned up shirt was un-tucked and his entire attire looked wrinkled. Jessica peered from behind him just enough still not grab his attention and looked at his name tag and it read 'Chase Stein.' She thought it was an interesting name.
"Hi," Drew put on a cheerful smile and meekly waved her hand to get his attention.
The boy glanced at her for a second, and then stood up as if something pinched him on the backside. He quickly got himself more straightened up, placed a hand on the window, and lent against it. He put up a smoldering grin or what he thought was smoldering and tried to act as suave as possible.
"Sup?" he grinned showing off a little of his pearly whites. 'Great,' Jessica thought to herself. Now she has to deal with this boy hitting on her through the night. This disgusted the part of her that was still a clone of Peter Parker. It felt weird being hit on guys. Of course, this had its advantages. Teenaged boys are the easiest to manipulate. Just act interested and affirm his not-so subtle masculinity and he will write you a symphony and make him feel like the sexiest man alive. She did not have time to verbally spar with him so she just had to play up stereotypes as the cute unassuming girl.
Of course, this would have made her night easier. Drew, however, was not about holding up some jerk's ego by demeaning herself.
"I'm taken and my boyfriend can tie jerks like you in knots, but I don't need him to deal with you. If you don't cut the dirty old man routine, Blondey, I'll knock you flat on your $# in front of all these people," Jessica glowered at him.
Chase had a dumbfounded look on his face as his male ego was crumbling. Mr. Gage, who just happened to hear the whole thing, suitably chuckled to himself.
"Yo, what's with the burn?" The boy asked obviously offended.
"I'm not about being disrespected and hit on by a fellow employee when I'm being professional. So cut the patriarchal bull and help me do my job." Jessica felt weird citing feminism as she was again still a clone of Peter Parker.
The kid rolled his eyes and smirked, "You remind me of a girl I know."
"Then she sounds like an intelligent and respectable woman," Kate crossed her arms still somewhat upset.
The boy smiled and then rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I'll tell her you said that. So my name is Chase. You are…?"
"Julia Carpenter," the girl responded in a flat tone. "I'm Carlie's replacement for the day."
"Nice to meet you, Julia," he held out his hand hoping for a handshake. Kate looked at his hand, and thought about whether she should shake his hand or not. He seems apologetic about his behavior so she could be civil with him at least. Kate reciprocated and shook his hand. Chase smiled and nervously chuckled. "So me and my friends only been in New York for like a month and we are still getting used to stuff here in the NYC."
"Yeah, I can tell you aren't from around here," Drew acted courteously. She gazed towards the window and then saw Wilder approaching the entrance. Without missing a beat, she changed the subject. "So Chase, I need a favor."
He raised an eyebrow and smirked, "So you tell me off and then you ask me for a favor?"
Jessica immediately grimaced at his inquiry and then continued, "It is this guy that I'm sort of following…"
"Boyfriend may be eating dinner with another girl and you want to get the drop on him?"
"No," the waitress widened her eyes. "Does that happen here a lot?"
"You'd be surprised…"
"Well no, see this guy named Geoffrey Wilder just came in town, and –"
He interrupted her sentence, "Wait, did you just say Geoffrey Wilder?"
Jessica then raised her eyebrow and gave him a pointed look, "Yeah, do you know him?"
He quickly made his way from the entrance as if it were on fire, "You mind taking my place for a while? I have to drain the champion. I'll be right back."
"Ew," Jessica gave him a look of disgust and tried stopping him from leaving, but he was already too far gone. "Well, that was weird."
She recomposed herself and tried to re-formulate a different plan of action as she could no longer wait tables as long as Chase was in the restroom. Wilder entered the restaurant alone and gave a pointed stare at Jessica. He was a bald headed black man who was built like brick house. He had the appearance of a business man just as his profile indicated with a nice buttoned up shirt and black slacks. He had a coat jacket wrapped around his arm. He was a large and intimidating man even more so in person, and he was looking directly at Drew.
"I have reservations," he finally said in a baritone that almost caught her off guard. With Chase absent and her being the only person around the podium, she scurried to the podium and opened the reservation book.
"And you are?" she obfuscated in order to maintain her cover.
"Geoffrey Wilder."
Jessica scanned the page and saw his name in the middle of the list. She then saw that he made a reservation for two and then glanced back at Wilder looking for the second party. There was no one. Cooley, she held out her hand and looked at him, "I need identification to confirm."
The man reached in his coat jacket pocket and pulled out his wallet. He then handed it to Kate and she saw his I.D. card. She nodded her head and then handed the wallet back to him. She then took two menus from the podium and then began to lead him to his seat.
"We have a table already set for you, Mr. Wilder," Jessica gestured to him to follow her. "Right this way."
The girl walked in between tables and waiters with the burly man on her trail. As they weaved through the conundrum expected in a restaurant, Kate decided that this would be an excellent time for small talk.
"I saw that the reservation was for two," the clone asked. "Are we expecting someone else, Mr. Wilder?"
"You can say that," he wryly stated with a smirk.
She expected that type of answer, but she knew that prying would make him suspicious. They finally reached the table which was a booth for two in the back away from the crowd of people.
"Here we are, Mr. Wilder," Jessica curtsied and held out her hand as if to guide him to his seat.
"Thank you, young lady, now if you don't mind," he gave a wicked smirk. "Why don't you take your seat as well?"
Confused by his request, Jessica did her best to compose herself, "Excuse me…"
"Don't play dumb, girl. You spent most of your day getting to know me, and now I just want to return the favor. I insist. Please sit."
She didn't have a choice. She was found out. Jessica reluctantly took her seat in the booth and without intention, she handed the surreptitious man a menu. She was busted.
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