Chapter 9: Return to New York
From deep within the old SHIELD safehouse that had long since been turned into the Secret Avenger's hideout, a web-tunnel materialized.
"Well, thank God that's all over now" Black Cat said as she looked over all of the cuts in her prized catsuit, and also silently lamented the one black eye she now had from a sideways blow courtesy of the one Inheritor named Verna.
"Amen" Spider-Man said wearily, but then with more relief: "…but we won. And not just us. All of us. All of the spider-totems everywhere. We won't have to worry about the Inheritors anymore."
Black Cat nodded. "Yeah…it's too bad about that other Kaine though."
"Somehow, I just can't believe any version of Kaine could die that easily." Scarlet Spider said as he followed Spider-Man and Black Cat out of the web tunnel, along with Kaine, Spider-Woman, and Ezekiel.
"I still can't believe we just let those murdering bastards live." Kaine spat bitterly. "After all the Spiders they killed…not to mention how they were fine with cutting a baby open. And the so-called 'best of us' decided to let them go."
"I'm pretty sure that's what makes us the good guys." Scarlet Spider said matter-of-factly.
"It's what makes us idiots if you ask me." Kaine said harshly.
"I do have to agree with the sociopath on this one, actually." Ezekiel said, his tone just as matter-of-fact as Scarlet Spider's even though his words and their meaning were decidedly different. "Letting those abominations live was incredibly foolish."
"Hey, come on guys. Killing in self-defense is one thing. I'm like, the epitome of gentle superheroes, and even I understand that. But we beat them without having to kill them. We neutralized the threat without neutralizing the people. And that's always better. Murdering them, especially just out of revenge, sounds exactly like the kind of thing they would do to us. And we're supposed to be better than that. And besides, it's not like the Inheritors got exiled to Disney Land or the Bahamas. They're stuck on what's got to be the absolute crappiest alternate Earth I've ever seen along with Azure Spider's. And for the same reasons too."
At the mention of Azure Spider, Black Cat's green eyes lit up a bit and her red lips crooked upwards into a slight smile as she fondly remembered how she had a son, one who then emerged out of the web tunnel as the last of the Spiders.
"Welcome to your new home" Spider-Man said to Azure Spider, who nodded. "Doesn't look much different from the bunkers I spent most of my life in. I hope there's more to see than just this."
In the face of his mild rudeness, Spider-Man was tempted to respond with some sardonic remarks of his own, but he thought better of it. Especially since he could see Black Cat continue to smile as she looked at her "son" again.
"Don't worry." She said. "The New York of this Earth's not as bad as it looks. Especially at night. Trust your mom on this son. Nothing beats New York at night."
In the face of Black Cat casually referring to Azure Spider as her son, the younger man seemed to tense up a bit, but also seemed to try and conceal it as Black Cat continued to look at him, her green eyes meeting his.
"So then…" Scarlet Spider began, turning to Ezekiel, Kaine, and Spider-Woman: "…does this mean that you three are now part of the Secret Avengers? Because we could use the extra manpower."
Ezekiel shook his head. "I think I've risked my well-being enough times for the forseeable future. As I'm not a superhero who's on the radar, it would be a simple matter for me to conceal my powers and live a normal life. I see no reason why I ought to get involved in this pseudo-war going on right now between the assorted members of the colorful costume crowd."
"Don't be dense." Spider-Woman said harshly. "You honestly think they won't come for you one day? And when they do, they'll be no one left to stand up for you and fight alongside you. And then what do you think will happen?"
"Honestly, by that point in time I'll be so old I'll likely be dead within a few years either way. My stance remains unchanged."
"I'm disappointed." Scarlet Spider said simply, to which Spider-Man nodded and said: "So am I. After everything you did to help me Ezekiel, I'd have thought you'd be willing to help me again."
"I have helped you in the past, this is true. But you can't seriously be advocating my holding your hand for the rest of my days do you? Contrary to whatever it is you may believe, I do not exist solely to mentor you. I do have other things with which to occupy my life."
"Yeah, I'm sure." Kaine grumbled sarcastically. "All the luxuries of money, right?"
Ezekiel's dry lips formed into a tight, humorless smile in the face of Kaine's sneering (and rhetorical) question. "Precisely. Call me a hedonist if you want, but as an older man I intend to have my remaining years be as comfortable as possible. And that hardly denotes becoming among other things a fugitive."
Kaine shook his head. "You're pathetic, old man."
"So I take it you're on board Kaine?" Scarlet Spider asked, while Spider-Man found himself legitimately surprised (and impressed) that Kaine did indeed seem to be willing to stand by his brothers.
Guess Ben was right. Maybe I have been underestimating Kaine…
"I'll admit, normally I'd probably be siding with the old-timer on this. But I'm not dumb. I know that the SRA's hazardous to my health, and I may hate playing hero, but I hate being dead or caged even more." Kaine nodded. "I'm in."
"Good." Spider-Man said with a nod of approval. "But one thing we need to get out of the way: no killing. Not unless there's no other choice."
Kaine snorted in contempt. "You didn't seem to mind when I was killing Karn's soldiers."
"That was a more desperate situation." Spider-Man countered before adding: "Not that our current one isn't, but besides that, it's what the bad guys want. If you start breaking people's necks, that'll be all the justification Harry needs to keep hunting us down like criminals. We need to show them that we're better than that."
Kaine rolled his eyes behind his mask but nevertheless sighed and nodded in consent. "Fine, if you say so. But personally, I think you're being stupid again."
"Duly noted." Spider-Man said sarcastically before then pausing and realizing: "Where is everyone else? Someone should have come out to greet us by now…"
Spider-Man got his answer when a small dark void that got progressively larger appeared in the center of the room. Knowing instantly that it was Cloak, Spider-Man's guess was confirmed when Cloak appeared in full, and coming out of his shadowy void in decidedly bad shape were Captain America and Black Panther.
"Dammit." Captain America snarled through gritted teeth as he hobbled out of Cloak's void, his predecessor's shield held loosely in one arm and his other holding onto the similarly banged up and injured Black Panther for support. "…we've lost a man for every one we've gained these past few days."
"At least most of us still made it back safely though." Black Panther said. "That's something we should be grateful for at least." The King of Wakanda's voice was calm, collected, rational. Even though a good part of his costume was now missing and leaving his shoulder exposed courtesy of Cougar's claws and he had other injuries sustained elsewhere that even his fabled Vibranium armor had barely kept at bay in some instances. And yet still after all of that he still sounded like a man discussing day-to-day matters with an old friend over lunch.
As the two Secret Avengers made their way to the infirmary where Night Nurse awaited them both and other superheroes exited his void, Cloak collapsed from exhaustion and fatigue of his own, and also despair at how his partner in more ways than one had been among those captured. Also lost were the Heroes for Hire Luke Cage and Iron Fist. Two of their very finest, already down. And two more of their finest, the two Spider-Men, still MIA.
Or at least, they were until all of five seconds later.
"Hey guys." Spider-Man said lamely, before his voice then took an apologetic and empathetic tone as he observed the absolutely battered state of his fellow superheroes. Besides the injured Captain America and Black Panther and the exhausted Cloak, some new heroes were also present, namely Daredevil, who's presence was definitely a relief to Spider-Man, and also Hawkeye, who looked to be in even worse shape then Cap and Black Panther but still defiantly clutching his bow tightly and snarling with every step he took. Like the others, his purple costume had seen better days.
"Nice to see you, hornhead. I was afraid they'd gotten you."
"They did actually." Daredevil said ruefully before adding: "And I regret to say that I was unmasked before Captain America and company came to my liberation. The news that Matt Murdock is Daredevil ought to be all over the news by now."
"…oh. Sorry DD."
"It gets worse." Daredevil said with a sigh. "Word is that quite a few, and I use this word in the loosest possible sense, 'fellow attorneys', will be trying to use my costumed identity as a means of invalidating and overturning as many of the court cases I helped to win as they can…including yours."
"What?"
"Remember when Jean DeWolffe had a warrant out for your arrest? And how I got it overturned by pointing out that, in technical and literal legal terms you actually weren't a vigilante? Well, now that everyone knows I'm a superhero and have been for a little over ten years now…let's just say every last scrap of my legal credibility is now liable to go up in flames."
"…so basically, we're both screwed?"
Daredevil nodded. "Indelicate, but true. Even if the overturning of the earlier arrest warrant stands, your identity is now all over the news as well."
Spider-Man nodded. "I was afraid of that." He admitted before adding with greater urgency: "And my Aunt…?"
"Safe, for now." Hawkeye said, interceding. "I should know. I was the one who picked her up before anyone could take a shot at her."
"Thank you." Spider-Man said, before asking: "Where is she now?"
"Here, actually. Just in another room. I can take you to her if you want."
Spider-Man nodded. "Yes, I want to see her." Then, he added: "I do have some good news for everyone, which might brighten things up just a bit…" He stepped to the side to reveal Black Cat, Scarlet Spider, Kaine, Ezekiel, Spider-Woman, and Azure Spider. "…I got reinforcements. Ezekiel's not sticking around, but the others are. I know no one here's replaceable, but…I hope this makes up for some of our recent losses somewhat."
"Not to be cynical, but unless one of them has power enough to so much as leave a scratch on the Sentry, our position's not much better than before." Daredevil said with rare dismay in his tone. "…But then, Osborn's American Son armor alone is a handful. And we lost Cage to their Vision machine."
"Every little bit helps though." Spider-Man urged. As he did, Black Cat asked: "Where's flamehead? I don't see him anywhere…"
"Right here." Came Human Torch's voice before the younger man showed up with an arm that was bandaged up in the crudest way possible. Upon seeing this, Night Nurse swiftly ushered him into the infirmary where Captain America and Black Panther still were, and where Hawkeye finally decided to take himself.
"Got attacked by their Ms. Marvel." Falcon explained, before adding: "…along with a whole lot of Capekillers. My wings have been shredded to bits, and Torch got his arm broken. But, I do have to give him credit, if it weren't for that one last nova blast he was able to let off he and I would be in a much worse place right now."
"Well, it's good you both made it back." Spider-Man said earnestly. He hadn't met Falcon too many times before, and it would be generous to call him a friendly acquaintance. But, he was well known as one of Captain America's greatest and staunchest allies, and that carried with it a high recommendation.
"I believe that still leaves two of our members unaccounted for." Scarlet Spider noted before adding: "Where are Wolverine and Yellowjacket?"
-X-
With a bellow of rage, Wolverine slashed outwards with his claws once again, and once again a Capekiller crumpled to the floor, deep slash marks in his body armor and his gun left in three pieces.
Wolverine snapped his head to one side as his latest foe fell just in time to see another one take aim at him. Wolverine destroyed his gun too before then plunging his other claw hand right into the man's armored chest, the claws going right through it and also hitting the man with enough force to slam him up against the wall. Pulling his claws out, Wolverine looked around him and realized that he'd actually just taken out the last of the Capekillers. Brow furrowing in annoyance behind his mask at the whole ordeal, Wolverine trudged forwards, as he did cracking his neck to one side and then the other.
Originally, he'd planned to just use unarmed combat to take the Capekillers out, per the Secret Avenger's desire to leave no dead bodies in their wake so as to maintain their credibility as true heroes. But, once the Capekillers began shooting at him with carbonadium rounds and other kinds of ammunition that would make his Healing Factor as useful as a swordsman with no arms, Wolverine decided it was better to be safe (and lethal) then considerate and dead.
As it happened, he didn't have much father to go. Having already plowed through three floors worth of the SHIELD sponsored thugs, Wolverine sensed he was getting closer to whatever it was they were guarding so intently. But of course, with such proximity to the prize also came the promise of greater challenges. Not that Wolverine was at all averse to a good challenge. In fact he rather liked it.
And sure enough, when Wolverine opened the adamantium door via the passcode he'd gotten off of one Capekiller Lieutenant, he wasn't surprised to find some new opposition awaiting him on the other end. And they weren't SHIELD agents.
"Target identified…" The first of the three hulking, green and purple machines began in a robotic monotone that sounded as emotional as a reanimated dead man reading financial reports. "Classification: Metahuman. Origin: Mutant Class: Beta. Name: Unknown. Alias: 'Logan', 'Wolverine'."
Wolverine frowned. "All that supposed to impress me?" he asked contemptuously, before then revealing his adamantium claws once again, the six shining blades bursting out of his blue gloved hands. He'd seen the larger versions of these new Oscorp made Sentinels enough times to know that that was exactly what these machines were. Upon seeing Wolverine reveal his claws, each of the Sentinels began to change before Wolverine's eyes: one's armored chassis suddenly became a shining metallic silver, the second raised it's arms to indicate barrels for firing attached to each of them, and the third had two large blades burst out of it's hands that quickly became superheated until they glowed a fiery orange.
"Hmph. Maybe these bucket-heads will actually be a challenge after all…"
-X-
"Okay then." Flash Thompson said, now once more covered in the symbiote and standing ready for battle as Agent Venom. "…show me what you've got."
Patrick looked at Flash with uncertain eyes. He'd been training himself in how to control his symbiote under Flash's tutelage for some time now, but even at this point he remained unsure of what he could and couldn't do, and was definitely not confident concerning his symbiote's ability to obey his every command. What the symbiote said in his head only gave validity to these worries: "Come on, he said show him! Let's let him have it!"
Patrick could feel his symbiote pushing. Forcefully urging him into battle as it's more violent side urged him on. He could hear it ringing in his head, echoing and pushing and pushing and pushing. Privately Patrick wondered if this was what raising a wailing human infant would be like, but he tried to tell himself that this was worse. It had to be worse.
"Come on." Agent Venom said. "Come at me. I can take it."
Sighing in defeat in the face of urging from two different sides, Patrick at last surrendered and allowed the red and navy blue strands to overtake his body and consume it, until soon only Toxin remained where Patrick Mulligan once stood.
Agent Venom had been correct to say he could "take it", but he was still nevertheless feeling the full force of Toxin's opening charge attack, the burly symbiote hitting him with the force of a train. And indeed, Agent Venom went hurtling through the air before recovering in mid-air and then landing on his black booted feet. Using his symbiote to conjure up black guns to fire identically colored bullets, he was pleased to see Toxin casually dodge every shot rather than just stand there and tank them like he had in their first few spars.
He also closed the distance surprisingly quickly. Not only did Toxin hit as hard as a train when going all out, he could also go at least as fast as one. His blows rained down on Agent Venom like a blinding flurry of red and dark blue colored blurs. As Agent Venom ducked under one such series of blows and then side-stepped to avoid more, he also took note of how Toxin was using more strategy and tact then before, rather than just merely relying solely on brute strength and hoping for the best.
Agent Venom sent out a few blows of his own, and like the black bullets these were also dodged by Toxin. Agent Venom threw in a kick, then a grapple that was followed by an attempt to knee Toxin in his crimson colored jaw. Toxin broke free of the grapple before Agent Venom's attack could connect and threw Agent Venom to the side. Agent Venom rolled and recovered, same as before. He sent out another barrage of black bullets, and these too were dodged, Toxin all the while coming off as almost a blur to even Agent Venom.
Soon the two were once more engaged in close-quarters combat, and as before Toxin held his own, sending uppercuts, piledrivers, and other brutal attacks into Agent Venom, who retaliated with counters, grapples, and what skills in Krav Maga his military past afforded him. A punch across Toxin's jaw followed by an uppercut to the same location seemed to stagger Toxin, but only for a moment, and the younger symbiote recovered in time to swing out his trunk-like arm, but Agent Venom ducked under it. Striking out with swiftness far and beyond what any normal human could ever hope for, Agent Venom let out a flurry of punches into Toxin's side.
Toxin snarled like a beast in response before advancing again, throwing out more punches that Agent Venom dodged, tanked, or parried. Toxin responded in much the same way to Agent Venom's attacks, and between the two of them an impasse occurred.
Or rather, an impasse was happening, but then it was broken when Toxin finally managed to hit Agent Venom hard enough to knock him backwards. Seizing on his opportunity, Toxin surged forwards and pounced on Agent Venom, pinning him before he could recover. With a single swipe of his blue clawed hand he knocked Agent Venom's gun out of his hand while his other claw pinned Agent Venom's opposite arm and his knees did the same for Agent Venom's legs.
"Alright, alright." Agent Venom said, his black helmet/mask peeling back to reveal the grimacing face of Flash Thompson. "…I give."
Satisfied with this answer, Toxin's own symbiotic mask pulled back to reveal Patrick Mulligan's face, and he got off of Agent Venom. As he did, Agent Venom stood up, the rest of his symbiote pulling back on command. Toxin's did the same until soon they were once more just Patrick Mulligan and Flash Thompson.
"Nice job. You've been learning fast."
"Well, you seem to have the hang of this pretty well." Patrick said. "…I'm just following your lead."
"Well, you're doing a damn good job of it." Flash said, before adding with a cocky smile: "…but I bet I can beat ya for two out of three."
Patrick made a faint smile of his own and shook his head. "If I prove you wrong, will I finally get to meet whoever it is you're working for?"
Flash's smile faded in the face of this question and he answered seriously: "You'll meet my boss soon. But not right now. Not when things are so…unstable."
"Somehow, I don't think they're going to get much more stable." Patrick pressed as he and Flash began to walk away from the site of their spar.
"I suppose not." Flash admitted before saying: "Look, sorry Pat. I know you've been confused and in the dark for a while now, and I definitely know living with a symbiote isn't easy. But…let's just say you're not the only person I worry about."
By this point in time, Patrick had come to learn enough about Flash Thompson that he knew who the younger man was referring to. "Would this other person happen to wear a red and blue costume?"
Flash nodded. "Yep, that's the one. But of course, it's not just because he's been my favorite superhero since High School. He's also my friend, y'know? Now that I know Spider-Man and Peter are the same person, after all this time, it's…well, it's a lot to take in. And it's been a while since anyone's seen or heard of him. I can't help but worry that Osborn's jackbooted thugs managed to get him."
"I'm sure Spider-Man's fine." Patrick said, doing what he could to raise his dejected mentor's spirits. "…just recuperating. They said he was shot after all. Even someone like him will need time to rest and recover from that."
"But he'd also need someone to patch him up. And I don't think too many people who could help him would at this point."
"What about these 'Secret Avengers' characters I've been hearing so much about?"
Flash paused to consider this, then nodded and said: "Yeah, I guess there's them. Lately though they've been having some troubles of their own…"
-X-
Wolverine panted a bit before forcing his breathing to control itself the way a parent might assert their authority over a whining child, before then taking a look around at the scene in front of him: marks from his claws along with burn marks, scorch marks, and outright holes and craters in the walls were everywhere he turned, and littering the floor were the thoroughly sliced up and ruined remains of the three Sentinels Wolverine had taken on. The one with the armored chassis had had it's friend's superheated claws turned against it, running it through and destroying the machine's equivalents to a human's vital organs. The one with the superheated claws had had both of it's limbs taken off along with one of it's legs and the top part of it's head for good measure. And the last one had been sliced clean through it's midsection and had Wolverine's claws go through one end of it's head and out the other.
Not that Wolverine himself had come out unscathed though. Quite a few bullet-holes adorned his flesh and most of his blue and yellow costume had been ruined by bullet-holes, claw marks, scorching, and debris. Blood coated most of his body and made his costume stick to his skin in a most uncomfortable way, and the smell of wounds that had been cauterized by the very thing that had dealt them in the first place (the superheated claws, namely) gave off a horrid smell that filled Wolverine's nostrils and made him squint and frown in both discomfort and distaste.
In all, he had to admit that the three Sentinels had actually been a challenge, and privately he found himself almost grateful there hadn't been more. Even just one more of the things could have made all the difference in the end.
Staggering forward, Wolverine took his time, waiting for his Healing Factor to do what it could to repair all the damage to his body. As he'd feared, the process took longer than it should have, as the bullets had been one of the same kinds of ammunition used by the Capekillers, slowing Wolverine's healing factor to a crawl and meaning he still felt every last one of his wounds in full by the time he reached the armored vault door the Sentinels had been guarding.
Seeing that there was a need for a passcode, Wolverine put it in, as Bucky had told him to, and mercifully, the armored door slid open. The one stroke of fortune thus far, was that SHIELD had not changed the passcodes in the time since Bucky's ascension to the Captain America role.
"Whatever it was the kid sent me for had better be good…" Wolverine muttered ruefully as he all but limped into the room. What he saw resting on a tall, thin metal pedestal caused his eyes to widen. He hadn't ever seen this item in person before, but he knew of it. Every member of the Howling Commandos had, as it was the thing that had made Hydra and AIM so powerful during the war and in turn what had given Wolverine, Fury, and the rest plenty of grief.
"…son of a bitch."
-X-
"…and that's what happened." Spider-Man finally finished as Human Torch, Daredevil, and most of the other Secret Avengers continued to sit and listen in keen interest to his story regarding the battle against the Inheritors, and the parts of it that Spider-Man and his fellow Earth 763 Spider-Totems were privy to.
"Well, that's quite the tale." Daredevil admitted. "So many different spider-people from across such a vast multiverse. It's rather overwhelming to be honest. Really makes one put their existence and struggles into perspective, I think. Hard not to feel insignificant in the grand scheme of things."
"I still can't get over how one version of you was a freaking cartoon pig." The Human Torch said incredulously, though Spider-Man was sure he could detect some derisiveness in his tone as well. For his part, Hawkeye just shrugged.
"Eh, after everything I've seen and been through at this point, nothing really fazes me anymore. There could have been a two-headed Spider-Man and I still wouldn't have blinked an eye."
"…actually, I think there was a two-headed Spider-Man somewhere in the crowd." Spider-Man said. "…and there was definitely a six-armed one. I should know. He was one of the ones I fought alongside the most."
"Any 'Hawkeye Spider-Man'?" The archer asked.
"No, I don't think so. But there was one me who was one half Captain America."
Hawkeye snorted in contempt. "Figures. Winghead gets a Spider-version of himself but not me."
The conversation was interrupted when Wolverine staggered into view, the last of his injuries only just starting to heal as his healing factor continued to go at a lethargic pace.
"Wolverine? Where've you been?"
"Busy." Wolverine said bluntly and in a tone that conveyed his pronounced irritation clear as day. "Didn't see you pitching in much lately, Webs. Where the hell have you been?"
"Let's just say I was 'busy'." Spider-Man said, throwing Wolverine's vague answer right back at him, and with similar irritation. His eyes fell to what Wolverine held tightly in one blue gloved hand. "What that's you got there?"
Grimacing, Wolverine raised his hand and held up the item in it for all to see. Several mouths went wide open in surprise as they beheld the cube that pulsated with otherworldly power, giving off a brilliant bright blue glow that bathed most of the room in an azure colored light.
"No way…is that what I think it is?" Human Torch asked, evidently knowing somewhat of the superweapon's reputation from his brother-in-law's own passion for super-science of all kinds.
"Yes, it is. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a genuine, bona-fide Cosmic Cube."
"Well done Logan." Came Captain America's voice as he appeared and extended a red gloved hand to take the cosmic cube. Wolverine gave it to him, but remarked as he did: "So this is your big plan, huh? To use the Cosmic Cube against Osborn and his goons?"
"Not exactly. More use the cube's power to build us an arsenal, the same way Hydra and AIM used it during the war. The difference is this time it's the good guys doing it."
Spider-Man though looked at the Cosmic Cube intently for a few moments before saying: "Wait a minute. I think I may have another idea. And I think it's one you'll want to hear out."
"What is it?"
"That thing can access other areas of space, right?"
Captain America nodded. "It can. I used to use an unstable recreation by AIM to move around."
"Well, here's what I'm thinking: with the right modifications, and a machine strong enough to boost the cube's natural power, we could make a gateway to other realities."
"And why would we want to do that?"
Spider-Man smiled behind his red mask. "To get some help. And I know just who to go to too."
-X-
Harry Osborn stood overlooking the expanse in front of him from beyond the one-way glass windows the building he was in featured. As of that moment, there actually wasn't much to see, but this was in fact the point. For Harry was not looking at the present state of things so much as he was looking at the area's potential, and what it represented. What the large area of abandoned buildings and empty streets could one day become under his guidance, transformed from a lifeless, unpopulated city into any one of a number of things that Harry could convert the area to. A thriving metropolis who's citizens bowed down before his visage, or a training ground for his own private armies of elite soldiers. Or perhaps even a place where some of his more…"extreme" experiments could be tested.
Really, the possibilities were endless.
The name of this location was Symkaria, a small European country that was the "next-door-neighbor" to Latveria and as such had actually been under Doctor Doom's control in everything but official name for quite some time. But then that was what happened when a country of over 3 million residents was hit with a collapsing economy and an infrastructure in even worse shape. Doctor Doom promised the people of Symkaria security and stability, and with the only price for such favors being loyalty to the metal masked despot, most Symkarians were willing to accept the trade. Those that didn't migrated to Symkaria's other neighbors Transylvania, Romania, Serbia, and in some cases even going as far as Hungary. Those who had seen people of Symkarian background often commented on their almost exotic and haunting facial features, and how some of them had white or silver colored hair that was naturally that way, rather than being a sign of age. Their accents covered the entire European spectrum but seemed oddly enough to be predominantly East German and various kinds of Russian.
All of this was, of course, before Madame Hydra's staged usage of germ and chemical weapons on Symkaria's people. The over 100,000 innocent people believed to have been killed or otherwise infected by these weapons were actually moved to either Latveria or other nearby European nations and given new identities, all to maintain the SHIELD spy's elaborate cover. As such, the Symkarian city Harry Osborn was now in remained a ghost city, one that's silent buildings, deserted streets, and complete and utter lack of native life stood as a quiet testament to a forced relocation disguised as a genocide.
But, such emptiness and desertion, along with it's being rather out of the way, did make it rather easy for one such as Harry Osborn to secure the land and from there turn it into a sort of "meeting spot" by which he could pursue certain dealings with other interested parties in relative anonymity. Just the way he liked it.
Down below in a courtyard, various movers and shakers of largely ill repute and intentions (to say nothing for actions) could be seen, conversing, gossiping, and sharing plenty in the way of intoxicants. Yet another thing about the set-up Harry liked: it was easier to play drunkards for fools.
Not that the greatest persons of interest were so easily drawn into such obvious traps though. Among those present were the Rose, real name Richard Fisk and son and temporary placeholder to the Kingpin of Crime. Even at the formal occasion he wore his distinctive purple mask over his head, a mask that reminded Harry of the one worn by the supervillain who's head he'd removed from his body just last year. A head that had remained in that purple mask to the very bitter end.
Though he held a glass filled with some wine or another, and flirted passively with two blonde haired women in the crowd, Harry could tell that the Rose was a bit too shrewd to be drawn into any kind of debauchery. Also fitting that description was the monarch of Latveria himself, who's motionless, steel gray armored form made him appear almost like a statue, his majestic forest green cape draped around his shoulders and a hood of the same color pulled up over his head. He had his back to Harry, but this didn't surprise the younger Osborn. It didn't matter much either. He and Doom would be face to face soon enough.
Other big names could also be seen among the throng of crime lords, drug kingpins, and corrupt politicians and military figures of all stripes, governments, and nationalities. These included Gorgon of the Hand cult, multiple Maggia family heads, Obadiah Stane, and a certain slender female with long dark hair that Harry took a particular interest in simply because he did not immediately recognize her. And as such, she was the first one he called up to him for a personal audience. As she came up into the suite he was in, Harry's New Goblin mask came back over his face and he turned around to confront her.
"I've been so admiring your collection of liquors and ales." The woman said in a cordial tone. "…perhaps not quite up to par with the taverns and cellars of my home, but for a mortal I'd say it's a valiant effort."
New Goblin smiled behind his mask. "Ah. I had a feeling you weren't from around."
The woman's lips stretched into a smile. "Are we secure in here?"
New Goblin nodded. "Yes."
Keeping up her smile, the woman became consumed in an aura of mystical flame that then faded away to reveal the form of a tall, young man with a hooked nose, handsome features, medium-length dark hair that was mostly covered by his golden helmet with long, curving horns that faced forwards, and finally attire that was chiefly gold and green. In his hands he held the spear that had once belonged to the foster father he'd murdered for his power, and attached to his shoulders a green cape like Doctor Doom's.
"Ah, Loki. I had a feeling it might be you. Clever to choose a disguise of the opposite gender."
Loki maintained his smile. "I must confess I do rather enjoy playing the role of the fairer sex." He paused, then said: "I take it we'll be moving straight to business?"
New Goblin nodded, then said: "I was hoping to get the chance to meet someone of your…shall we say, status. It allows me to think…bigger, than I was before."
"Well, first you must accommodate my interests and desires before I start granting you any serious favors."
"And what would those be?"
Loki's smile seemed to fade and his eyes took on a weary and almost long-suffering look. "I'm afraid there are some troubles back home. It's the resistance movement against my rule, you see. They've been a great nuisance ever since I first assumed power well over ten of your Midgard years ago. But ever since that Beta Ray Bill character showed up and I lost both the Destroyer Armor and the Casket of Ancient Winters, my attempts at crushing them out have been…" Loki frowned in distaste, and looked about ready to spit something bitter out of his mouth, if only the bad taste the following words left him with. "…unsuccessful. Simply put, I've come to solicit your support."
New Goblin nodded in response to all of this and said slowly: "And…by support, I assume we are talking about manpower?"
"I am fully aware that you have assembled together some of the greatest of rogues on your planet. A dark mirror image of my arrogant step-brother's closest associates. And if I am not mistaken, you have driven those associates underground, have you not?"
"I have."
"Well then, that just proves my point. Yours is a team of villains with perhaps no equal on your Midgard. And with that in mind, I could not think of a better force to bolster my henchmen with."
New Goblin considered all of this. Regardless of whether or not Loki realized it, he had just given New Goblin the chance to seize a most attractive prize, one he'd actually had his eye on for a while now, too. The throne of Asgard was not so much different from a throne on Earth in New Goblin's mind, but it was what things Asgard hid within it's city's walls that New Goblin knew he could make use of. Great, powerful items and relics…such as the spear and power Loki held at that very moment.
"I may be willing to help you in your endeavors." New Goblin said before adding quickly: "But my favors and assistance are no less free than yours, God of Mischief. If am I to assist you, I fully expect compensation. And I know you said you won't be accommodating my interests before I accommodate yours, but these are small favors. Simple tokens of cooperation that will be followed immediately by my assistance. Then we can move on to greater prizes for both of us. Sound fair?"
"But of course." Loki said in a tone that was very clearly insincere to the point that New Goblin was certain even a child could detect it. But he still felt he could work the situation to his advantage.
"Name your terms Mr. Osborn."
"For starters, I was hoping you might have a means by which I can locate those associates of your half-brother's that we both know I already have on the run. All I need now is the location of their hideout and I can finally get rid of the pests once and for all. They cover their tracks well though, so I was hoping a bit of your magic might do the trick."
Loki smiled and raised an eyebrow. "That's it? My friend, nothing's simpler! I can do it right now even!"
New Goblin shook his head. "No, not right now. I do have other 'guests' to speak to after you, and I want to act on whatever information you can give me as soon as possible. But if the task is as easy to accomplish as you claim, then I expect you at my side in New York City one day from now. And you'd better live up to your end of the bargain. Otherwise, you won't see a single soldier from me."
Loki nodded. "I accept your terms Mr. Osborn."
"Whoever said that was all there was to them?" New Goblin asked, before then saying: "I also want something else. A sort of down-payment along with the assurance that I'll get greater rewards once my forces crush this resistance that's been giving you grief."
"You ask a great deal, mortal."
"Too great for my assistance?"
Loki shook his head. "Not necessarily. Name your 'down-payment', as you call it."
"I understand that your stepbrother's hammer is made of a very special substance that is a major factor in it's being as powerful as it is. I could make use of such a mineral myself."
"Mortal, do you really think that if I had ready access to uru deposits I wouldn't already be making liberal use of it? The Dwarves who were on good terms with my father were considerably less so with myself. I attempted to take uru from them by force, but as always, my step-brother interfered. I have but a small amount of uru, and I'm not about to part with it."
"I won't require much. Just a small portion. No bigger than what I could hold in this hand." New Goblin raised a black gloved hand.
The look on Loki's face made it clear that he considered New Goblin's request ridiculous, even if he didn't come out and say so. But then, this incredulous demeanor transitioned into a smiling and accommodating one.
"I accept these terms as well. Anything else you care to trouble me for?"
New Goblin shook his masked head. "Not at the moment, no. I expect you in New York City tomorrow for when we finally bring down my resistance."
Loki nodded. "I understand. You will not be disappointed…though I pray, for your sake, that I am not disappointed either."
As Loki vanished before his eyes, New Goblin gave the order for the Rose to be brought up next. The masked man came up with a clear swagger and self-assurance present in his step, a sight that made New Goblin smile. Such arrogance was easy to take advantage of, no matter how untouched by the intoxicants the Rose was.
"I have to say, I'm rather surprised you thought to extend an invitation to someone like me. And to a gathering so far from home, too. You haven't suddenly developed a soft-spot for fellow criminals of New York origin, have you?"
"I have no soft spots of any kind." New Goblin said coldly before adding: "And make no mistake; it's more an alliance with your father I'm after, but as he seems to be currently indisposed, you'll have to do."
The Rose raised an eyebrow behind his violet mask. "That's not a very good way of getting me on your side, Osborn."
New Goblin allowed for a slight, sadistic smile behind his mask. "Don't worry; I brought a present. A sort of…olive branch."
New Goblin snapped his black gloved fingers, and when he did several Hydra agents dragged in a young woman with light tanned skin and long night black hair. She was clad in little more than her undergarments, and her exposed skin revealed quite a few bruises and cuts, not all of which had been bandaged up.
"May I present to you, Elektra Natachios. Once considered one of the greatest assassins in the world as I recall. And a personal favorite of your father's back in the day."
"That was before she betrayed him."
"Well, now's your chance to get some payback. Make her understand once and for all the high price of crossing the Fisk family."
Turning to look at Elektra as the Hydra agents continued to hold her, the Rose took a step forward but then stopped short. Seeing this, New Goblin said: "Don't worry about her biting. She may have killed quite a few of my Capekillers and left over three times as many in traction, but now she's been stripped of her weapons and armor, and given enough drugs to kill at least one large horse. She won't be causing you any trouble."
Satisfied with this assurance, the Rose finished closing the distance between himself and Elektra as New Goblin continued: "My Capekillers apprehended her successfully after I initiated the Superhuman Registration Act. But after her capture I decided that with her particular history she might make a good bargaining chip. And now is the time that I'm cashing that chip. She's yours to do with as you see fit."
The Rose kneeled to inspect Elektra, first brushing a few loose locks of unkempt black hair out of her face before then raising a purple gloved hand and stroking her chin. He then grabbed it and held onto it tightly, forcing Elektra to look directly at him.
"Well, she's fetching, that's for sure. Can't see what my father saw in her as an assassin though."
Elektra spat a mouthful of spit and blood right into the Rose's masked face. "Burn in hell." She snarled. "You and your father are every bit as damned in the next life as I am."
The Rose chuckled as he continued to stroke Elektra's chin before turning to New Goblin: "So she's all mine you said?"
New Goblin nodded wordlessly.
"Good. I think I'll send her gift-wrapped to my father as a present. A show of good will between us."
"Enjoy me like this while you can. Once my strength returns, I'll be making your father wish he'd stayed in that stinking prison cell where he belongs."
The Rose turned back to face New Goblin: "I assume this present is not free. What do you want, Osborn?"
"For starters, I'll want you to stick around for my last group of special visitors. You should recognize them by their tailored suits."
The Rose caught on immediately. "The Maggia?"
New Goblin nodded. "Yes. I extended a personal invitation to those imbeciles, so they'll be eager to meet me. But in truth, I don't actually see much in the way of a future for them, beyond their ongoing weapons trades with Hydra. But, that is still something. Simply put, I want you and your father's empire to step aside."
"Step aside?"
"With respects to the Maggia, yes. Your father's always kept them in a tight fist. But now I want them to have more autonomy. More mobility. More freedom. I'm planning something rather big soon, and I want Hydra as reinforced for when it comes as possible. Thus, it's important that some of our main suppliers remain in a good position to accommodate our needs."
"I can't make promises like that. My father may be in prison now, but he does still have influence, and a solid reach to go with it. He's not going to appreciate or permit—"
"Those are my terms." New Goblin said, his voice again cold and without warmth or empathy. "I gave you and your father the wench, and in return the Maggia gains more in the way of freedom. They would still ultimately be subservient to you. I'm only asking that you relax your control over them somewhat."
"Spare the rod, spoil the child." The Rose said simply, to which New Goblin raised an eyebrow and remarked rather callously: "The voice of experience, I assume?"
"Careful." The Rose said, purple gloved hand tightening into a fist. "I may like the thought of having Elektra as a gift for my father, but I don't want her that desperately."
"Then perhaps an additional thing to sweeten the deal." New Goblin suggested. "Daredevil's head. In fact, I can give you more than just his head. I can give you his whole body, either as a corpse or still alive enough for your father to have some final revenge."
"Leave Matt out of this." Elektra growled, to which New Goblin let out a hollow and pitiless chuckle. "Silence my dear, the adults are talking." He turned to look back at the Rose: "Now I offer you two of your father's enemies. Surely that's a sufficient enough price for you being just a bit more lax regarding the Maggia."
At this, the Rose seemed to consider his options for a moment. Then, he said: "You promise me Daredevil's head? No, scratch that, his body? Alive?"
"Cross my heart." New Goblin said, motioning over his chest. Not that what passed for a heart inside him was worth much as far as promises or vows went, but nevertheless he hoped the Rose would take the offer. And to his pleasant surprise and satisfaction both, he did.
"Alright." The Rose said. "Give me Daredevil, and you have a deal. But until then, things will remain as they are concerning the Maggia."
New Goblin frowned behind his mask. The Kingpin's son was driving a hard bargain, and one of the many, many things New Goblin disliked was bargaining with people who had a brain. But despite this, he maintained an un-annoyed tone when he asked: "Is the assassin not enough to serve as even a sort of down payment?"
"Bring me Daredevil." The Rose repeated. "Or there's no deal."
How dare this callow upstart make such demands of us! We should gut him for his impudence!
No, that won't be practical or viable. Loathe as I am to admit it, we do need him, if only for this one purpose.
Oh please. We don't need the Maggia's help to get what we want! Call off the deal! We'll make do with what we have!
No. We stick to the plan as I have engineered it. You'll get your time to do what you do best soon enough. But for right now, we do things my way.
With this thought being held in his mind, and in turn resisting his natural instinct to send the Rose through the nearby wall with a single punch or else throw him right out the glass window New Goblin currently had his back to, he said: "Very well. I will deliver Daredevil to you once I bring down the Secret Avengers. And when I do, I expect our agreement to be honored in full."
The Rose nodded. "Of course. Shake on it?" The Rose raised a purple gloved hand. Once again, New Goblin was tempted for a moment to do his "associate" an injury, but decided to keep up the charade of cordiality. He shook the Rose's hand, and then the purple masked man was out the door, with the Hydra agents still holding onto Elektra following right behind as they unceremoniously dragged the former Hand Assassin out.
I must remember to topple the Fisk's from that high throne of theirs. Show them that they're both expendable in the grand scheme of things.
Next to be admitted for audience was Doctor Doom himself, who strode in confidently and faced New Goblin directly. He wasted no time in getting right to the point: "Promise me, Osborn, that your choosing this land as the site of your business dealings does not indicate the beginning of greater ambitions in the area."
"I don't make promises of any kind Doom." New Goblin said simply. "Not unless I have good cause to do so."
At this, Doctor Doom's armored hand turned into a tight fist, though he gave no other visible indication of anger. Even his voice remained surprisingly calm despite the clear anger in the choice of words: "This land remains under Doom's control, and Doom's alone. It is only because I chose to accept your invitation that I am even allowing this gathering to take place on Symkarian soil at all."
"Oh don't be so dramatic." New Goblin said, even though he knew that the person he was talking to would be incapable of acquiescing to such a request. "I invited you here so we could talk business, not do battle, though I do have the resources to do that as well, if necessary."
Doctor Doom frowned behind his own metal mask. "Have a care. To threaten my person is to threaten your own."
"Then perhaps we should get right down to business, no?"
"What 'business' would that be?"
"Think of it as a sort of compromise." New Goblin began. "It's no secret you desire the whole Earth for yourself. Truth be told, I can settle for less than that. Simply put, you help me get what I want, I won't stand in your way when you try to claim the Earth for yourself. And before you say, you don't need my help, you do. Otherwise, you'd have the Earth by now. But somehow, there's always at least a few superheroes present to get in your way. I offer a solution to that problem."
"Don't take me for a fool, Osborn." Doom said, un-amused. "I have heard such promises and guarantees from countless other upstarts and third-rate antagonists and criminals. Not a single one has on any occasion come even remotely close to delivering on their lofty promises. What do you have to prove you are any better?"
"Oh, that's simple. My Superhuman Registration Act has already eliminated or else driven underground most all superheroes. I intend to get rid of the rest by tomorrow. And when I do, there will be nothing standing in your way or mine. I only ask in return for my not raising a finger against your ambitions that you satisfy some of mine."
"And what, pray tell would your ambitions include?"
"Nothing too extraneous, I assure you. I had this list made just for you." And then, New Goblin produced a parchment that had written on it a list of materials and pieces of advanced technology. "I want every last item on that list. And I know for a fact that not a single one of them is beyond your capabilities to acquire easily. So really, I'm not asking for much."
Doctor Doom eyed the list and took in it's contents in an instant. Then, he looked at New Goblin and said: "Again, you grossly underestimate my own thinking prowess. You are attempting to build something with these materials, and in my own estimations a device that would never work without an additional component not on this list."
It was true. That last, key component was the small bit of uru metal New Goblin had requested from Loki, but he wasn't about to tell Doctor Doom that. Wouldn't want the Latverian monarch to steal his invention.
"I already have that component." New Goblin lied. "Now I need the rest. And you will be my provider. In exchange, I let you have the world."
"You'll 'let' me have the world? Fool. Should Doom set his eyes to the entirety of this planet, there is absolutely nothing you could do to stand against me, and your attempts to resist in any way, shape, or form, would amount to exactly less than nothing."
"Perhaps. But clearly, the superheroes of the world have successfully foiled your endeavors time and again. But I am on the cusp of wiping them out for good. Once I do that, the world is yours. But in return, I expect something out of you. And that is the items on that list you hold in your hand right now."
When Doctor Doom said nothing in response to this, New Goblin added: "I'm a patient man, Doom. I don't need to eliminate my enemies right away. They're not in any kind of position to threaten me. It's up to you to decide whether the heroes' ends come sooner or later. For our mutual convenience, choose the former option."
"Take care how you speak to me." Doctor Doom warned. "No one addresses Doom as though he is but a child, least of all someone of your own low stature."
"If you say so." New Goblin said, unmoved. "Do we have a deal, or not?"
That Doctor Doom actually seemed to consider what his answer would be told New Goblin that he had a chance at swaying the monarch. Doctor Doom looked once more at the list, and then back at New Goblin, and finally said: "I may be willing to help you in your endeavors." Doom said slowly and cautiously before adding: "But I want assurance that my enemies will be dealt with. In fact, I wish to know that they have been dealt with before I give you a thing."
"Done." New Goblin said unhesitantly. "Once I have the Secret Avengers eliminated, I'll send word to you. Discreetly of course. I do have an image to maintain after all."
"What of the other groups of costumed adventurers and interlopers? What of the X-Men, and my most sworn enemies, the Fantastic Four?"
"The latter's members have been left divided, and the team is now defunct. As for the X-Men, their hands remain tied thanks to my new laws and Sentinels both. It will be an easy thing to have them meet with an…'unfortunate accident'."
Doctor Doom nodded in approval. "See to it that they do. Until that time, I give you nothing."
"Very well." New Goblin said. "It's a deal."
As Doctor Doom turned around and left, his green cape swirling about as he stormed off, New Goblin smiled behind his mask. So many deals made, and all of them hinging upon more or less the same promise, too. Once he got rid of the Secret Avengers, he would have the Fisks, the Maggia, and even two of the very most powerful beings to ever bear the label of Supervillain all under his sway. Doom could indeed have the world, at least until New Goblin completed his newest weapon and also plundered Asgard of it's treasures. Then, he would be…"altering the deal" between himself, Loki, and Doctor Doom, and have both Earth and Asgard for himself. After that, well…
…the possibilities were endless.