Disclaimer: I DO NOT in any form or fashion OWN these CHARACTERS, I repeat I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARACTERS. So knowing that I feel the need to tell you that the true owners should receive the credit, the owners being: STAN LEE, MARVEL, and DISNEY. They are the ones who need the credit; I am not making any money off of this story. NO MONEY IS BEING MADE, so PLEASE DO NOT SUE ME! THANKS! Now that that is out of the way….on with the story…..
Hello All and welcome back to another chapter in the world of espionage in Secret Warrior Spider-man. We are continuing the current Story arc with Shield trying to get the Ten rings of Power before the mysterious Goblin, so enough of me talking but before I stop there's one last thing: Read, REVIEW (A writer's Fuel) and of course ENJOY!
(Ten Rings)
Chapter 11: Madripoor Madness
Shield Base: Washington D.C.
"KEE-YAH!" shouted Daisy Johnson aka Quake as she kicked the swinging heavy bag with all of her might. The talented SHIELD Agent was currently in the large gym working out and she had been for the last few hours. She was wearing a gray workout shirt and black workout shorts. Daisy backed away from the heavy bag and she took a deep breath, she was beyond exhausted and her muscles screamed and ached but she pushed passed it lunged in for another punch. The punch connected with the bag and upon impact the bag vibrated violently and then exploded in a shower of sand. Daisy looked at the ruined bag and then down at her hands.
'Dammit' she thought to herself 'Still can't fully control my vibrations' she continued while turning to the right. She quickly bent down and grabbed her silver gauntlets that regulated her vibrations and slipped them on her hands. Daisy looked at the destroyed punching bag and released a sigh. For the past four months she had been pushing herself to the brink with her training. Whenever her team wasn't on a mission she could be found in the gym perfecting her martial arts and her powers, if any of her teammates were to ask her why she would cryptically respond because it's necessary that she get better. Her teammates knowing that they wouldn't get a better response left the subject alone but secretly they all knew, it was because she felt responsible for the death of their teammate Peter Parker just four months ago. His death shocked and confused everyone and it was mostly because the details behind it were very sketchy. From the way Daisy 'remembered it' she told them that they were in their hotel room when they were jumped by several highly trained hydra assassins. She remembered fighting some of them before they got the upper hand on her, Peter tried to save her but they used some type of weapon on him and his body turned to ashes and after seeing him turn to ash she was knocked unconscious. The next thing she remembered was waking up to find several Shield agents over her saying that were part of a shadow group that followed their agents when they were off duty. The shadow agents confirmed her story and filled her in on the rest that the hydra assassin's were about to kill her but they showed up in the nick of time.
Needless to say the whole team was devastated but none more so than Daisy. She felt the most responsible for his death because A: she was the team leader and as the leader the lives of her teammates fell upon her head, they were her responsibility and losing Peter she felt that she had failed in that department. The second reason was because of the fact that she and Peter were so close to each other. Fury had warned her long ago about forming emotional and personal attachments to her fellow agents and that the life span was not particularly high but she couldn't help it, she and Peter were a big part of each other's lives when they were at 'the camp' training to be Shield Agents together and to suddenly lose someone that meant a lot to her was very devastating. Daisy remembered how the first 2 weeks were the hardest of her life because as the team leader she had to be tough and couldn't let his death affect how she conducted herself or her team so on the outside she put on a mask of indifference but it was rather obvious that she hurting on the inside. Towards the end of the end of the second week since the team lost him, she remembered how she was in private quarters when she received an email that simply told her to live her life. She never found out who sent her the email but she suspected that it came from Fury. For as long as she could remember Fury had always been there for her giving her helpful advice almost like a surrogate father and she figured this was his way of attempting to console her and strangely she found herself feeling better.
Everyday for the past four months the sting of his death had been lessening further and further until it was nothing more than a dull ache. She would often think of him but not as much thanks in part to the fact that within the last four months they had also been actively hunting down Hydra bases which suited her just find seeing as how they are the ones behind Peter's death, so far they had taken out 6 secret bases all around the US and from their intel there were about a dozen more.
SWOOSH! went at a sound. Daisy turned to the gym entrance to see none other than Jessica Drew walking in. She had on her own workout clothes that consisted of skin tight black shorts and a gray cut off shirt; she had her long black hair tied in a pony tail.
'Speaking of Hydra' Daisy thought to herself looking at the other woman, the newest addition to her team: Jessica Drew the source of their Hydra intel. When she first joined the team it was two weeks after Peter's death and during the first introduction she might not have reacted in the way a team leader should have but no one really could dwell on first impressions because it wasn't long after Jessica joined they started busting hydra bases all over the U.S. and a few of the neighboring Island. The more information Jessica disclosed about the Hydra bases Daisy questioned her as to how she knew so much and it turns out that she was an ex-Hydra agent that has switched sides. Upon learning that Daisy's opinion of Jessica lowered, she was affiliated with Hydra, the same dubious organization that was responsible for the 'death' of one of her teammates and Daisy knew enough about Hydra to know that they are a cunning adversary, and it would be just like them to send in an undercover agent. Fury reassured her that that wasn't the case when it came to Agent Drew but Daisy wasn't so convinced and she hadn't been despite the four months of knowing her and it also didn't help that she had spider powers either.
"Hi" they said at the same time eyeing each other.
"What are you doing up so early?" asked Daisy still taking a few deep breaths from her workout.
"I could ask you the same thing" Jessica replied slowly walking towards her.
"I'm always up this early" she said.
"As am I"
"Doing what…..spying on our defense systems, I'll save you the trouble it's on a rotating clock. Every code changes on the hour every hour" Daisy said with a smirk.
Jessica rolled her eyes and walked passed Daisy
"Becoming a better fighter" Jessica replied over her shoulder heading towards a blue mat on the far side of the room.
"Really, well there's something I can relate to" Daisy replied watching her go, "I was doing the same thing"
"I can tell" Jessica replied pointing at the destroyed punching bag, "But you know destroying a punching bag doesn't prove that you're becoming a better fighter….do you know why"
"Why?"
"Because Punching bags don't hit back" stated Jessica reaching the mat and turning around.
Daisy looked at Jessica but more importantly she caught the look in her eyes. Among the many reasons why Daisy didn't….gel well with Jessica there was one reason that stood above the aforementioned and that reason was that she saw her as a rival. Ever since she joined the team there has been this unspoken rivalry between the two and it started when they went after the first Hydra base. Daisy had formulated a plan of attack to take down the first base but immediately Jessica blew holes in her plans and came up with a better plan for attack and Fury agreed with her plan and put her in charge of the mission. The first time Daisy didn't react at all but upon the next few times and the missions after she began to feel a bit of resentment towards the newest member. It seemed like every time Daisy opened her mouth Jessica always had something add and it really didn't help that her two cents were actually good ideas…not that she would ever admit that to her. Along with her good ideas in the field Jessica was the epitome of a damn good field agent. She excelled in everything: infiltration, hand-to-hand combat, fire arms and explosions….she was perfect on every level and so naturally there was a rivalry that had formed between the two.
"Is that a challenge?" asked Daisy tilting her head.
"Only if you're not too tired" Jessica replied with a smirk.
Daisy wasted no time walking over towards one side of the mat, Jessica turned so that they were facing each other both staring into the eyes of the other.
"No Powers" they both stated at the same time.
"So we're in agreement then" Daisy said raising her fist.
"Whenever you're ready…..oh fearless leader" Jessica replied making sure that the last part of her statement was laced with sarcasm; she shifted her feet apart and held up her hands.
A long second passed before silently both women charged at each other. Daisy lead with a straight left punch that Jessica side stepped, she brought up right leg for a kick but Daisy caught the kick and swept Jessica's left leg, but thanks to Jessica's agility she quickly bent back and slammed her palms to the mat yanked her foot out of Daisy's grasp, she spun on her hands and delivered a hard kick to her stomach making her take a few steps back. Jessica pushed off the ground to her feet and had enough time duck under another strike from Daisy but that what she was counting on and just as Jessica duck Daisy raised her knee and kneed her in the face. Jessica rolled with the blow and backflipped away.
The two female warriors eyed each other and then began to circle around the mat, they were both even 1 hit to 1 hit. Jessica briefly glanced at Daisy's stance and she smirked to herself.
'Okay Ms. High and mighty let's see you like up close and personal' she thought to herself before dashing forward and jumping high in the air. Daisy readied herself and as Jessica neared she threw out a punch, Jessica blocked it and responded with an elbow to the jaw and then a backfist. Jessica then grabbed her by the front of her outfit and tossed her over her hip to the mat floor.
Daisy grunted at the impact but she wasn't going to quit she quickly lifted her foot and kicked her opponent in the head, she then quickly rolled over and sprung up spearing Jessica at the waist knocking her off of her feet and to the ground hard. Daisy rose up and delivered a left hook, Jessica quickly recovered and blocked the right one that was about to follow. She blocked the attack and responded with a rib shot, Daisy grunted and delivered her own rib shot. Jessica growled in her throat and cupped her hands and slapped them to Daisy's ear's stunning her, she then threw out a palm strike to the chin that knocked the formidable woman off of her.
Daisy gritted her teeth and willed the ringing in her ears to stop, she shook her head and looked to the right to see Jessica flip to her feet, she charged over for a kick to the face but Daisy managed to get her arm up and block most of the attack.
"ERGGH!" grunted Jessica because she kicked the silver gauntlets on Daisy arm.
Daisy rolled away from her attacker and straightened up; she turned to Jessica and held her hands up getting ready for another attack. Jessica shook her leg willing the throbbing leg to stop hurting all the while eying the woman in front of her.
CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!
Both women eyes widen as they heard the clapping, they both turned their heads to see J.T. Slade aka Hellfire, Yo-Yo Rodriguez aka Slingshot, and Sebastian Druid aka the Druid standing at the entrance looking at the both of them with wide eyes.
"Ladies please…don't stop this beautiful cat fight on the count of us" said J.T. with a grin plastered on his face.
"Shut up J.T." both women responded at the same time. They glanced at each other and threw the other a look that said they would finish what they started later. Daisy heaved a sigh and she started for the exit, she swiftly passed J.T., Yo-Yo, and Sebastian and she left the training room. J.T. glanced at Jessica and then he quickly followed behind Daisy.
Hallway
'Lousy Ms. Know it all….look at me and how…' Daisy thought angrily to herself as she made her way down the hall.
"DAISY! HEY! Hold on a second" said J.T. as he caught up to her and matched her stride.
"What do you want J.T.?"
"So are you two friends now?" he asked with a smirk.
"What?" she replied glancing at him.
"I mean that's usually what happens when two teammates fight. After the fisticuffs they usually become best friends. Frankly I'm glad because this Alpha Female thing you two have going on was getting kinda old, I mean it was funny at first but now….."
"First off she is not apart of our team and second she and I will never be friends" Daisy replied.
J.T. released a sigh and shook his head.
"You still think she's a spy"
"I don't think I know"
"Are you sure that isn't jealousy talking?" J.T. asked.
Daisy suddenly stopped and whipped around towards him.
"I. Am not. Jealous. Of Her." She stated jamming her finger into his chest, "What is there to be jealous of anyway" she said as she started walking again.
"Besides the fact that she's sooooooo good looking and an incredibly competent field agent and…." J.T. stopped once he saw the look Daisy was throwing him, "Ahem….Look all I'm saying is that I think you two should put aside your differences, you both actually have a lot in common and I know that it wasn't exactly ideal in the way she was introduced to the team but…..and trust me when I say this, I don't think she works for Hydra anymore" said J.T.
Daisy stopped her walking and she turned to her companion.
"And how do you know? How can you be so sure?" she asked him
"….Call me a good judge of character and plus it's all in her body language, whenever we take down a base don't you see that spark of glee within her eyes. Whatever her stake is against Hydra, it's a damn personal one"
"Or just a very good cover…."
"Isn't being the team leader and being in charge all about making compromises and finding common ground, and whether you like it or not for the foreseeable future…or at least until all of the Hydra bases are destroyed she's gonna be with us so it would be kinda wise to find that common ground sooner rather than later"
Daisy released a long sigh and she leaned against the wall that was behind her, she folded her arms across her chest and turned her gaze away from J.T mostly because he had a point, a rather good point. As long as Hydra bases were functional in their own backyard it looked like Jessica would be apart of their squad, and she had to admit that with the way things are going between them it would be better to make a tenuous peace now rather than later…..but that still didn't mean she would trust her completely and it didn't mean she had to like it either.
"…You're right….and I'll work on it…making nice with her…are you happy" Daisy replied looking back at him.
"Only if you are babe" he replied placing a hand on the wall and leaning in close to her. Daisy scoffed and pushed him away.
"I told you don't ever call me babe" she said pushing off of the wall and starting back down the hallway and towards her room.
"Sorry must've slipped my mind. I've been meaning to ask you how have you been"
"Fine"
"That's not what I meant I…."
"I know what you meant and I'm fine thanks for asking, but if you don't mind I really rather…" she started before a beeping interrupted her.
DEET! DEET! Daisy and J.T. stopped walking and she held up her left gauntlet and pressed the flashing red button.
"Johnson" came the sound of Fury's gruff voice.
"Colonel Fury"
"Gather you're team and a transport"
"Where are we going?" she asked "Have you found another Hydra base"
"No, you're heading to Madripoor, no time to talk just move out…Now" he said before the line was cut.
Daisy reeled back slightly from the tone in Fury's voice she looked at J.T. who shrugged his shoulders. Daisy turned around and started to run back in the direction of the training room where the rest of her team was located.
"Team White Assemble" said J.T. as he ran behind her.
7 hours Later: Team White Transport Jet
Team White sat silently within their transport jet, each were in their standard navy blue and white shield uniforms. Daisy and J.T. were in the pilot and co-pilot seat and the rest of the team was in the back of the transport. They were all in their own world trying to figure out where they were going but each were rather relax…at least everyone except the newest member of Team White Jessica Drew. She grumbled to herself as she stared out of the side window at the beautiful blue ocean. There were several reasons for her grumpiness but the first and foremost on her mind was the fact that in the four month since her affiliation with S.H.I.E.L.D. she hasn't come close to her 'father' Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker. Every base that she destroyed she was hoping with all of her might that their might be some clue that would led her close to his whereabouts. Every Hydra base was connected to the main hub of Hydra officials namely Von Strucker and Viper but the other generals were kept in the loop as well. Each base carried a signal and so all they had to do was trace the signal but so far they've been unsuccessful. In every attack on a base the Hydra flunkies have been able to sever the link which broke the signal and also alerted the other bases to its destruction.
She sucked her teeth and leaned back in her seat.
'I swear I'll find you Strucker…..and when I do I'm gonna kill you' she thought angrily to herself. Jessica turned away from the window and her eyes roamed over her new teammates. When she first met them she thought they might hold her back in achieving her goal but in the past four months they…. began to grow on her everyone except the team leader…Daisy Johnson, one of the sources of her current grumpy state. Ever since she joined she and Daisy have not gotten along although Fury told her to expect something of that nature, but expecting something and experiencing it first hand were two different things. At first Jessica didn't let Daisy's attitude towards her phase her too much, her red hot anger at Von Strucker was her only focus…her only concern but as the days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months the sheer amount of condescension and suspicion directed at her had started to take its toll and the result was the intense fight/spar they had just a few hours ago. They didn't get a chance to finish but rest assured they would.
'Time for someone to put little miss high and mighty in her place' Jessica thought to herself as she eyed the back of Daisy's head.
"Penny for you thoughts" a voice whispered to her.
Jessica shook her head and turned to the right to see Sebastian looking at her. Out of the whole group an unlikely friendship had sprung up between her and Sebastian almost like the little brother she never had.
"Just thinking about where our fearless leader is taking us Sebastian" she replied.
"Uh huh, is that the only reason why you were burning a hole in the back of her head?" he asked with a hint of humor in his voice.
"I don't know what you're talking about" she replied folding her arms across her chest.
"Sure you don't"
DEET! DEET! went a sound, everyone turned to the console as Daisy pushed a flashing green button and an image of Colonel Fury pulled up on the screen.
"Sir" Daisy said seeing him on the screen.
"Have you reached your destination yet?" he asked in his usual gruff voice.
"Yes sir, Team White is approaching Madripoor and we are on our way to meet our contact now….sir you haven't told us who our contact is supposed to be or what our mission is?"
"Don't worry just head to your rendezvous point and your contact will explain everything" he replied
"Yes sir, Quake out"
Daisy cut the line and looked out of the front screen in the distance she could make out a large city Island, and that Island was Madripoor.
"MADRIPOOR!" Jessica shouted getting up from her seat and walking towards the front, she looked out of the front screen and she looked at the Island, "Why the hell are we going to Madripoor?"
"Maybe there's another Hydra base there" said Yo-Yo looking over Jessica's shoulder at the Island as well.
"Not likely" Jessica replied.
"How do you know?" asked Daisy quickly
"Besides the fact that I used to be apart of Hydra" Jessica countered.
"HA used to" Daisy replied under her breath but everyone heard her. Jessica balled up her fist angrily.
"I think what Daisy means is how can you be so sure" said J.T.
"Have any of you ever been to Madripoor?" she asked
"I have, but it was on a smash and grab type of mission" Daisy answered, "But the rest of these guys haven't"
"Well I've been to Madripoor….and it's a central hub for the scum of the earth, anything and everything goes in Madripoor. Hydra only sets up in places where they can set down roots and quietly work in secret….Madripoor is the antithesis of the word quiet. It goes through so many regime changes and uprising that it would be impossible to get a good solid footing within the city."
"So it's kinda like Mos Eisley?" asked Sebastian
"Leave it to the dweeb to pull out a Star Wars reference" chimed J.T.
"When you say uprisings…." Started Yo-Yo
"I mean fighting in the streets, rioting, mercenaries….the whole shebang. The last time I was here there were so many bombings and shootings it was like a War Zone….it was crazy….pure Madness" Jessica answered.
"Why hasn't Shield or the Avengers or some other government agency stepped in?" asked Sebastian.
"Simply because it would be stupid" she stated.
"How so?" asked J.T.
"Think about it, a place that's basically a central hub for all things shady it's a place that's rip for….."
"Information" Daisy finished.
"Exactly" Jessica replied "If something big goes down somewhere in the world you can bet that someone in Madripoor knows what's going on, hell, might even be behind it. That many shady people gathered in one place…..it's a bonifide guarantee that someone knows something."
"Okay so knowing that….why the hell are we here?" asked J.T. turning back to the screen.
"How about we just wait until we reach our contact" said Daisy pulling on the controls "Everyone sit down and strap in we're approaching Madripoor now….I'm putting us in stealth mode" she continued pressing a black button.
The Shield issued transport jet shimmered in the daylight and then vanished into thin air, thanks to the cloaking device.
The jet flew closer and closer to the Island of Madripoor which was about the size of the state of New York. It was a massive land mass in the middle of the ocean, away from any of the continents of the World, away from most prying eyes, which what exactly what everyone living in Madripoor loved about the Island in the first place. The jet flew over the city passing by several high rising skyscrapers that littered the city. Team White peered out of the window and looked at the pristine Urban Metropolis down below in wonder.
"Hey I thought you said this place was a War Zone?" said Yo-Yo looking out of the window.
"It should be" Jessica replied
Jessica stared out at the city are her eyes scrunched up in confusion. The reason is because the last time she was in Madripoor, which was about 6 years ago, the city itself was nowhere this pristine. The lower the jet descends into the city the more her eyes roamed over the clean streets and calm peaceful people down below.
"HAHA Son of a Bitch" she said under her breath.
"What?" asked Yo-Yo who heard her.
"Nothing" she replied quickly.
"We're nearing our rendezvous point, get ready to land" Daisy called out pushing down on the controls and making the transport lower towards the rooftop of a Penthouse Condo. Through the viewing screen they all could see a young man standing on the roof waiting for them.
The ramp to the cloaked transport opened and the Shield Agents quickly filed out and the man waiting for walked to them and greeted them.
"Welcome"
"Oh My God Mikel" said Daisy laying eyes on him.
"Hi Daisy long time no see" he replied.
The young man was none other than Mikel Fury, the son of Nick Fury. Mikel stood at 5'10 was the almost the spitting image of his father if his father was 27, he had medium length brown hair, brown eyes, a 5 o'clock shadow and a lean build. He was wearing a white button down shirt, black pants and black shoes.
Daisy walked over and hugged him and he hugged her back.
"Who are you?" asked J.T. looking at Mikel.
"Mikel Fury I'm your contact Hellfire. I've been briefed on all of you and yes that includes you too Agent Drew." he replied.
"…..Wait a minute….Fury…." started Yo-Yo, "As in Nick Fury"
"Yes Nick Fury is my father….hurry we have to get out of sight…Madripoor is filled with wandering eyes" he said turning and heading for a set of stairs that would take them into the penthouse.
"I didn't know Fury had a son" J.T. whispered to Daisy.
"Well he does" Daisy replied quickly following behind Mikel down the stairs and she was followed by J.T, Yo-Yo, Sebastian and finally Jessica.
Inside the Penthouse
"Okay Mikel Why are we here…what's going on?" asked Daisy as they all sat in the lavish living room of the Penthouse. Mikel let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck, and he eyed each member of Team White.
"Basically from what Colonel Fury has told me, we're on a time crunch to stop some new player by the name of the Goblin"
"GOBLIN!" shouted Jessica in shock.
"You know of him?" asked Mikel turning to her.
"When I was with Hydra there were some rumblings of a man or…. creature that went by the name Goblin….he was making some bold moves and he ran into conflict with Hydra several years ago. Von Strucker sent some spies to uncover the truth about the Goblin but they never returned and the trail went cold" she replied folding her arms across her chest.
"Then it appears this is a most cunning enemy then….just what we need" Mikel said sarcastically.
"What are we trying to stop the Goblin from doing?" asked Sebastian.
"We have to stop him from acquire 10 rings of power"
"Huh?" went J.T. raising his eyes.
Mikel walked over to the kitchen counter and he retrieved an electronic notepad, he touched the center of the pad and a holographic image of one of the rings was shown to them.
"There are 10 of these rings scattered across the earth, they are of alien origin and they can generate incredible power. So far we've managed to obtain one but the Goblin has one as well" said Mikel as the image changed to a map of the world, where there were 9 flashing dots, "Iron Man along with our science division has found a way to track the remaining nine rings….but we believe the Goblin has a way of tracking the rings as well"
"So it's a race to the rings" Daisy said folding her arms.
"Yes"
"Since when is this Lord of the Rings?" commented J.T. looking at Mikel
"And you called me a dweeb" Sebastian said which earned him a slap on the back of the head from J.T.
"Look I know how this may seem a bit ridiculous but trust me I've seen the power readings of these rings and they are off the chart and somewhere in the world is a person with deep pockets and shady intentions looking get all 10 of these things….we can't let that happen"
"Fury is mobilizing all of Shield in an attempt to gather the rings before the Goblin" said Jessica studying the map in Mikel hands.
"That's correct. He figures if we can mobilize fast enough we can grab them before anyone knows what happened"
"So I'm guessing there's a ring in Madripoor?" asked Yo-Yo leaning forward in her seat.
"Yes and you must find it" he stated walking towards a couch on the far side of the room, he grabbed a duffel bag and he walked back over to the group and dropped it to the ground "In the bag is all the information you'll need about the ring and there is a tracker in there….it follows the radiation signal of the ring…it should lead you right to it"
"Why can't you do it Mikel" asked Daisy.
"Because I'm in the middle of my own mission and I'm already running a bit behind. Good luck…all of you" he said looking at his watch, Mikel cursed under his breath and he headed for the door but before he left he turned to them one last time "One piece of advice…loose the Shield outfits...it brings unwanted attention. This is a shield safe house so there are some spare clothes in the bedrooms help yourselves" he said before opening the door and leaving the penthouse.
"Well Team you heard him, we have our mission every one change clothes and after that we'll come up with a plan" said Daisy standing up and walking towards one of the bedrooms.
Hours Later: Across Town- Madripoor Financial District
In a high rise building, on the top floor was a woman who stood behind a desk looking out of the window at the setting sun over the city of Madripoor. Her eyes roamed over the city and a small frown graced her lips. The woman in question name was Jessan Hoan, but that was a name she had long ago chose to forget and the name that she adheres too and the one everyone knows her by is Tyger Tiger, the crime lord of Madripoor. Tyger Tiger was a beautiful woman standing at 5'10 with long black hair, brown eyes, and an light olive skin tone which made her look like she was in her late 20s early 30s. Tyger Tiger had a statuesque body build that was seen through her form fitting purple and white combat outfit that resembled a dress, around her neck was a long white scarf and around her waist were several sharp daggers and projectile weapons and strapped across her back was a long sword with a black and gold hilt. Tyger was a master martial artist she would have to be because she has spent her whole life in the city of Madripoor and from a young age she knew in order to survive in this city one needed to be tough so she trained herself in the art of fighting developing her own style becoming a feared and talent warrior. She had a dream for Madripoor and she swore to herself that she would make that dream come true.
As her talent became known throughout the crime racket of Madripoor she soon found herself in the right place with the wrong people but she didn't stay in that place for long. She soon quickly took over and asserted herself in charge of Madripoor but there was a price.
Tyger Tiger heaved a sigh as she continued to look at the city…her city but then something caught her eye in the mirror's reflection, quick as lighting Tyger unsheathed her sword and turned and brought her sword down horizontally.
CLANG! Went the sound of metal on metal. Standing behind Tyger was a man about 5'9 garbed in a black and purple form fitting outfit with a dark gold mask covering his head. He had his hands held up and from his fist two sets of foot long metal claws were unsheathed.
Tyger's eyes widen at the sight of him and she disengaged her sword from his claws.
"I told you never sneak up on me" she snarled looking at him.
"Oh Tyger….Tyger I can't help it, I simply love sneaking up on such a potent beauty like yourself. The scent of your fear is intoxicating" the man replied in a gleeful voice.
The price that Tyger had to pay for her position as head of Madripoor was an ambiguous partnership with the man in front of her. About six years ago just when she was trying to fight her way to the head of one of the many crime syndicates she is ambushed but the man in front of her comes out of nowhere and saves her life. Not only does he save her life be he offers her the position that she's been attempting to reach, he says that they can help each other. He helps her get to the top but once she's at the top she's loyal to him, Tyger didn't agree right away mostly because she was too proud to admit that she needed help but in reality she did, and so she agreed. She was the figure head of Madripoor, the face of the major crime syndicate but the one who really controlled everything was the mysterious man in front of her whose name was…..
"Daken…….What do you want?" she snapped, looking at him with angry eyes.
"I just received a call a few minutes ago"
"Good for you" she replied in a snarky tone.
"It was from a man that shares an association with a…..friend of mine" Daken said taking a seat on her desk.
Tyger Tiger placed her hands on her hips and eyed Daken with an irritated look.
"Daken I'm a very busy woman and I have a lot of work to do so could you please….cut to the chase"
"Tyger darling you really should let me give you one my patent massages, I'm told that I have the touch of a God" he said scooting close to her. Tyger took a step back and folded her arms across her chest.
Daken smirked and then shook his head.
"Shield is here" he stated
"So, that's nothing new, Shield is here, Interpol is here, CIA, MI: 13 and every other acronym you can think of" she replied.
"True but these Shield agents aren't here to spy…they are looking for something" he replied
"What?" she asked. Daken stood and he walked towards her and quicker than she could react he reached up to her white scarf. He pulled on the scarf and it began to slip off of her neck until it was completely gone exposing her neck. Around her neck was a gold chain and looped onto the gold chain was one of the rings.
"I believe the answer lies around your neck you beautiful creature" Daken replied licking his lips as he eyed the flesh of her neck and the ring.
Tyger's eyes widen and she instantly grabbed the ring and gripped it tightly.
"WHAT!" she shouted, "Why are they after it…it holds no value to them"
"Or maybe it's more valuable than you think" he replied, "Where did you get it?"
"The only thing I have from my father…..before he was murder and I became an orphan" she replied softly, "Let them come if they want the ring they'll have to kill me to get it" she growled letting go of the ring and balling up her fist in anger.
"Oh Tyger don't be so melodramatic, perhaps this is a blessing in disguise" said Daken, before he lifted his hand.
SNKT! Went the sound of his blade popping and flashing across Tyger's neck area. She gasped and grabbed her neck but she didn't feel any slashed skin or gushing blood nor did she feel the gold chain. Tyger looked down to see Daken pick up her ring off the ground and inspect it closer.
"GIVE IT BACK!" she roared quickly unsheathing her sword and holding it to his neck.
"Tyger relax….you'll get your ring back…after I set a few things in motion" he said pushing her sword out of the way, "OH before I forget….I need some cover" he started before reaching behind his back and pulling out a envelope and tossing it on he desk, "Our people have eyes on the shield agents now….they have a way to track the ring so I'm pretty sure they are on their way here but since the ring is with me I'm going to lead them on a merry chase, but while I'm doing that I need you to set up a few surprises waiting for them in the wings. Assemble the men and do it quickly and tell them to wait for a call before they attack…there's a number inside the envelope" he said before making his way out of the room.
"RAH!" Tyger shouted slamming her fist down on her desk in anger. She hated him….absolutely hated him, "Smug bastard" she whispered angrily to herself reaching for the envelope. She ripped it open and poured out the pictures of Team White within the safe house. Tyger Tiger looked over the photos and she grabbed her phone and dialed a set of numbers.
CLICK!
"It's me….gather the troops. I have a job; I'll be sending the images via phone"
"Is this quiet or loud" asked a gruff voice.
"Loud…all bets are off"
"Are you sure mistress….you usually don't like civilian casualties"
"I know, but this assignment…needs to be taken care of as quickly as possible"
"I understand we will take care of it" said the man on the other end before the line went dead.
Nightfall: Madripoor: Downtown
"Goddamn it. I'm staring to get pissed off" stated J.T. as he eyed the busy nightclub in front of him.
"Reign it in J.T. and keep your mind focused on the mission" Daisy replied seriously
"You guys I'm not sure about this….something feels off" commented Jessica as she looked around. Her eyes danced across the men and women coming in and going out of the club with the loudly bumping music.
The three Shield members where standing in front of the nightclub because the signal for the ring was coming from the inside, but the thing that was unsettling Jessica was the fact that for the past few hours they have been following the ring's signal and she got the strange sense that they were being led around town on purpose. They've been to the Water Front, to the financial district and every where else in-between. The ring hasn't been still for more than 10 minutes but now it finally stopped moving.
"I don't feel anything" said J.T. "Unless you count boredom, this is a boring mission"
"Shut up J.T. this is an important mission, the signal is coming from inside the club and confirms a thought that I've been having" she said.
"Please enlighten us" Jessica chimed glancing at Daisy through the corner of her eyes.
"A civilian is wearing the ring" she stated looking at the entrance of the club looking at the big burly bouncers.
"That makes sense, considering all of the mundane places we've been" Jessica replied "But…..it still doesn't feel right" she continued.
"Doesn't matter what you feel all that matters is that we get what we came for now come on" Daisy dismissed while walking towards the bouncers. Jessica looked at her and shook her head.
"WHOA! Where do you think you're going?" asked the bouncers putting their hands in front of Daisy preventing her and the rest of her little group from entering the club.
"Come on fellas is this how you treat a lady?" asked Daisy sweetly trying to charm her way in, "Can't you let us in"
The bouncers looked at each other and then back at Daisy.
"You ain't on the list….so you ain't getting inside now back off"
Daisy balled up her fist but before another word left her mouth Jessica pushed past her.
"I think what my friend is trying to say if you let us through she and I will save a dance for each of you" she said in a low sultry voice. She locked eyes with the both of them and while they were staring at her Jessica was secretly releasing some of her pheromones. The sweet aroma drifted from her body and towards the bouncers, surrounding them and invading their nose. Their angry expressions turned into ones of lust as they hungrily eyed her.
"By all means step right in and we will definitely be looking for that dance later on"
"Consider it done fellas" Jessica replied with a smirk, she grabbed hold of Daisy and J.T. and quickly dragged them inside of the club, and even though she didn't turn around she knew that the bouncers were still looking at her.
"How did you do that?" asked J.T.
"It's called Sex appeal handsome…some women have it while others…. don't" she replied. Daisy scowled at the remark that was obviously aimed at her. She yanked her arm out of Jessica's grasp and pulled ahead of the group.
Outside
Standing on the roof a building across from the club was Sebastian aka Druid looking through some binoculars. He like the rest of his team was dressed in casual clothes in the hopes of blending in and not drawing too much attention to themselves in the vile city of Madripoor. Sebastian lowered his binoculars as he saw Daisy, J.T. and Jessica enter the club. He reached up to his ear and hit his communicator.
"They have entered the club" he sated.
"Roger that I see them" Yo-Yo aka Slingshot replied. She was blending in with the crowd in front of the club.
Druid and Slingshot were tasked with Evac and cover patrol. They didn't know what to expect when extracting the ring, if they were to run into any trouble Daisy would contact them and upon contact Slingshot would rush in and cause a diversion while Druid went about teleporting the team to safety.
Druid looked at the club and all of the people surrounding the entrance, he zeroed in on Slingshot and he heaved a sigh.
"Now we wait" he said to himself.
Inside the Club
Daisy glanced down and the hand held tracker and she followed in the direction of the blinking dot. She looked up and carefully made her way through the throng of dancing people. Beside her were J.T. and Jessica who were both providing her with cover while she followed the tracker.
Jessica looked through the crowd of people and it was then that she felt a chill run down her spine, she looked dead ahead and for a split second the crowd of people parted ever so slightly and her eyes caught sight of a man with a Mohawk…..a man she had seen before, a man she would never forget. She looked at him and he looked at her licking his lips like a predator. A dancing girl passed in front of Jessica but as she passed the man suddenly disappeared.
Jessica frantically looked around but she didn't see him.
'Son of a bitch…' thought Jessica, her heart beating rapidly.
"What the hell" came Daisy's voice. Jessica shook her head and then turned to her.
"The signal….the dot is looping around us" she said in confusion turning around and then looking at the entrance "Whoever has the ring has just left the club" she said to them.
"How is that…?" Started J.T. before being interrupted by Jessica.
"Damn, I knew something was off…..I think…I think we just walked into a trap" she said just as an explosion ripped through the club.
KABOOOOOOM!
Outside
"HOLY CRAP!" shouted Slingshot as she was tossed off of her feet by the blast.
"AHHHHHHH!' yelled the people on the outside attempting to run away from the fire, dust and debris that was flying everywhere.
"SLINGSHOT!" shouted Druid from the communicator. He switched the frequency to see if he could contact Daisy but as soon as the frequency change he heard nothing but static.
Slingshot shook her head and turned over and looked at the burning club.
SCREEEEEECH! Several vans pulled up to the front of the club, the doors slid open and six burly looking guys decked out in tactical gear jumped out of the first two vans and quickly rushed into the club.
Slingshot pushed herself up and was getting ready to run into the club but she had to stop when more guys jumped out of the vans and then turned to her.
"SHE ONE OF THEM!"
"SHOOT HER!"
Slingshot's eyes widen and she barely had enough time to speed her way out of the path of the bullets.
Rooftop
"SLINGSHOT!" shouted Druid in shock seeing the men shooting at her, he held up his hands and they crackled with blue magical energy.
"Hey fatboy"
Druid turned to the left to see Daken standing there in his black and purple outfit and gold mask. Druid gasped and turned his hands towards him but Daken lashed out and grabbed his fingers and violently twisted them.
CRACK!
"AUGHHH!' yelled Druid in agony feeling his fingers break.
"HAHAHAHAHAH!" laughed Daken loudly as he let go of Druids hands, he then lashed out with a powerful kick to Druid's stomach that sent him skidding back.
"OOOOMph" Druid grunted in pain his mangled hand grabbing at his throbbing stomach. Daken had kicked him in the solar plexus knocking all of the wind out of his lung and had him crumbled on the ground in agony.
"Oh how Pathetic" Commented Daken leaning against the edge of the roof looking at Druid. He turned his head and looked down below at the fighting going on between Slingshot and mercenaries. Daken rubbed his chin as he looked at her using her super speed to take apart the armed men.
"Hmm interesting…..she maybe a problem. Luckily I'm a problem solver"
Down Below
"SHOOT HER! SHOOT HER!"
"SHE'S TOO FAST!"
Slingshot ran in and delivered a kick to stomach of one of the mercenaries, the man standing next to him tried to shoot her but she sped out of the way and appeared behind him, Sling shot grabbed two of the daggers from out of the holsters on his vest and quickly stabbing him in the shoulders and in the legs.
"ARGH!" he shouted falling down to the ground.
Slingshot eyed the other men, who simply raised their weapons and continue to try to shoot her. She smirked and ran forward using her speed to dodge the bullets again.
Inside the Club: Same time
Green eyes came into focus and the first thing they saw was a huge hole in the roof.
"Ugh…Jessica, I think it's time…..to re-think your way of living" Jessica painfully groaned to herself. She rolled over and pushed herself up onto her hands and looked around. Smoke, concrete debris and small fires were all over the place, along with the bodies of the people inside of the club, some were still alive and screaming while others weren't moving at all.
"Damn….that son of bitch knew we were coming….led us here" she said as she stood up, "ARGH!" she grunted her body protesting terribly.
"HEY IF YOUR DONE RESTING THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT TRYING TO KILL US OVER HERE!' shouted Daisy.
Jessica turned to her voice to see her fighting several men in full tactical gear complete with assault rifles.
Jessica shook the pain from her body and she switched to business mode. She quickly made her way over and together the two women began to take apart the men that were there to kill them.
Daisy delivered a hard palm strike to the face of one of the men shattering his nose, behind her Jessica swept the feet of a mercenary and as he hit the ground she fired green electricity from her hands at him.
Daisy elbowed a mercenary that tried to grab her and then she expertly flipped him over where she stomped on his chest. Another mercenary grabbed her by the shoulder she grabbed his hand and quickly broke his arm and delivered a spin kick to his face.
"HELLFIRE!" she shouted looked around the destroyed club.
"He's…..Over there! On the right" Jessica said to her while kneeing a mercenary in the groin and then delivering a head butt.
Daisy turned to the right and she saw Hellfire halfway buried under some debris, she cursed under breath and ran over to him. Just as she reach him though two mercenaries raised their weapons. Daisy looked up at them and held up her right hand and it glowed blue for a second.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH" both men shouted before they then began to vibrate uncontrollable, after a few seconds they dropped to the ground dead.
She looked down at Hellfire to see he had a huge gash on his head and he was bleeding from several cuts. She grabbed him under his arms and then pulled him from under the debris.
"HELP ME WITH HIM!"
Jessica punched the last mercenary, she looked around to see that they were all dealt with and only a few of them were alive but they were moaning and groaning in pain. She turned to Daisy and ran over to her.
"We have to get out of here"
"YOU THINK!" she shouted "Help me get him up"
Daisy and Jessica both looped an arm around their neck and hoisted him up, and once he was up they began to make their way to the exit.
"Ugh…what happened" he groaned starting to come around.
"We almost died" Jessica responded.
"And here I thought it was a boring mission" he replied.
"RAHHHHHHH!"
"SLINGSHOT!"
"That was Druid…and Slingshot" Daisy said in shock, "Hurry"
The three Agents quickly as they could exited the club but upon their exit a horrible sight greeted them.
Rooftops: Seconds Earlier
Druid gritted his teeth as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, he looked at his broken fingers and he gritted his teeth even more at the sight of them. He lowered them down and then looked for his attacker but he didn't see him anywhere.
'Who was that…bastard' he thought as he fought his way to his feet. Druid stumbled to the edge of the roof and he that when he saw Daken making his way towards Slingshot.
'I have to help her' he thought upon seeing him Druid gathered his Shield training and he forced his broken fingers to move.
"ERRGH!" he grunted in pain.
Down below
Slingshot dealt with the last Mercenary and once he fell to the ground she heard a loud clapping sound. She turned to the right to see Daken slowly walking over to her with a menacing and yet playful smile grin on his lips.
"You're a fast kitten aren't you?" he said in a giddy tone.
"WHO ARE YOU!" she demanded holding up her daggers.
"The man that's going to kill you" he replied
Slingshot wasted no time in running towards him. Daken calmly watched as she ran circles around him trying to confuse him.
The circle started to close in and that's when Slingshot struck, lightening quick slashes and stabs adorned Daken's body. Slash across the abdomen, stab to the arms, to the legs, a slash across the back and finally Slingshot plunged both of her daggers into Daken's chest. Each attack drew blood and a grunt, but to her surprise he didn't drop down to the ground dead. He stood there with a smile on his face.
Slingshot stared into Daken's eyes and he stared back at her.
"What are you?" she asked shock evident in her voice.
"A demon" he replied
SNKT SNKT! Went his claws popping; he lifted both hands up and sliced both of Slingshot's outstretched arms off at the elbow
"RAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Slingshot feeling agonizing pain, she looked at her missing arms and screamed even louder.
"SLINGSHOT!" shouted Druid from the roof.
Daisy and Jessica with Hellfire in tow exited the club in time to see Slingshot drop to her knees; they all saw she was missing her arms and Daken standing in front of her laughing loudly.
Daken turned to them and his eyes landed on Jessica.
"YOU!" she growled at him.
"We meet again….and I see the years have been kind" he replied gleefully.
Jessica held out her hands and green electricity flew forward and hit him square in the chest. Daken was blown back and he went tumbling across the ground.
POP! Went the sound of The Druid appearing before them, he quickly bent down and he hooked his arms under Slingshots armpits and he hoisted her up.
"DRUID! THE VAN!" shouted Daisy as she helped Hellfire towards the open van in front of them. Druid wasted no time in dragging the screaming Slingshot towards the van. Jessica ran around the van towards the driver's side but all the while keeping her eyes on Daken who was rising to his feet, he was smoking slightly but he looked otherwise un-phased by her attack.
She started up the van and stepped on the gas speeding down the street.
Daken smiled to himself as he watched them go, he reached into his pocket and he pulled out his phone. He flipped it open and he pressed send.
CLICK!
"They are on the move"
"Yes we see them"
"Remember do not kill them; just…have some fun with them until I get there"
"Understood" went the voice on the other end before the line went dead.
"Hahahahaha…this is more fun than I thought" Daken laughed to himself, as he ran in the direction that the Shield Agents went.
Van
"AY DIOS MIO!" shouted Slingshot in Spanish at the top of her lungs over and over again, she was gushing blood and getting it everywhere. Daisy and Hellfire gripped her stumps trying to make the blood stop. While they were doing that Druid was trying to keep her from thrashing around.
"She's loosing too much blood" said Hellfire catching Daisy's eyes.
"Sebastian get us the hell out of here" she growled turning to him.
"I can't….that guy broke my fingers…I can't form the necessary hand signals for a spell…..it was by pure luck that I did it just a second ago" he replied
Daisy looked at his fingers and she could see how crooked and swollen they were.
"Dammit"
"AHHHHHHHH!" Slingshot screamed.
"Hellfire take the wheel" came Jessica's voice.
"Why?" he asked turning to her.
"DON"T ASK QUESTIONS JUST TAKE THE GODDAMN WHEEL!" she shouted back at him.
Hellfire reluctantly let go of Slingshot's stump and he painfully rose from his spot despite all protest from his body. He made his way to the front of the Van where he and Jessica switched places. He sat down in the driver's seat and began to drive.
Jessica crawled towards the writhing Slingshot and looked at her stumps.
"Knock her out Daisy" she stated
Daisy reached up to Yo-Yo's head and her hands glowed blue. Daisy's hands lightly vibrated for a second, the sudden vibrations on Yo-Yo's brain caused the electrical impulses to overload which in turn knocked her out cold.
Once Yo-Yo was out Jessica grabbed hold of each of the gushing stumps and concentrated, green electricity flowed from her hands and onto the stumps. Despite being out cold Yo-Yo's face and body contorted in pain.
"Hold her steady Druid" said Daisy.
Jessica continued to let electricity flow until she suddenly stopped and removed her hands. The once gushing stumps were now seared shut.
"There that should stop the bleeding" she said leaning back.
Daisy looked at Yo-Yo and the pain written across her face, her eyes then went to Sebastian's' fingers, and then to Hellfire who was hurt as well.
'This is my fault' she thought to herself angrily, she had led her team into a trap and three of them were down. She knew that she was to blame but she also knew someone else that needed part of the blame.
Daisy growled and then swiftly turned and grabbed Jessica by the front of her clothes.
"HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW THAT MAN! IS HE A FRIEND OF YOURS! OF HYDRA! START TALKING OR SO HELP ME I'LL…." She started.
Jessica angrily lashed out with a punch that caught Daisy in the jaw knocking her off.
"I AM SO SICK OF YOU AND YOUR ACCUSATIONS! I'M NOT WITH HYDRA ANYMORE YOU BITCH! AND DID THAT ASSHOLE LOOK LIKE A FRIEND OF MINE!" she shouted back at Daisy who was wiping blood away from her busted lip.
"How do you know him?" asked Daisy
"Six years ago…..Hydra sent me on a mission into Madripoor to strike a deal with the Crime Syndicate that was in charge at the time. During the meeting with the Crime Lord there was an Ambush. One man assaulted a whole building of men and women armed to the teeth with state of the art weapons"
"And it was that guy" Sebastian stated with wide eyes.
"Yes, he slaughtered his way to the top, I tried to fight him but he was good…..damn good. He beat me and he killed the Crime Lord, and upon killing him he told me that he was going to be the new ruler of Madripoor and if Hydra wanted Madripoor they would have to offer up a better deal and he let me go"
"What did Hydra do?" asked Daisy.
"Nothing, once I told them what he looked like and his claws they said it wasn't worth it" Jessica
"Great so we got a guy that Hydra wont' even fight on our ass" said Hellfire
"You're just now telling us this?" asked Daisy.
"I didn't think he would actually do it….like I said regime changes happen around here quickly and plus I didn't know he would know we were here"
"And that brings up a very good point…how the F$^ did he know we were here?" asked Hellfire.
"I don't know" Daisy replied releasing a sigh.
"I told you Madripoor is a hub for scum….maybe Fury's son isn't a chip off the old block, he's probably the one that did this" Jessica offered.
Daisy lashed out with a punch that caught Jessica in the mouth busting her lip.
"WHAT THE HELL!" she shouted feeling the cut on her lip.
"Mikel didn't do this and I don't appreciate you dragging his name through the mud" she said.
"Why did he kill all of those people?" asked Sebastain
"To get us probably, if he knows we're here he probably knows that we're Shield Agents trained to spot traps, if he would've led us to some abandoned place we would've known something was up" Jessica reason wiping the blood away from her mouth.
In the Air
A black helicopter flew through the air, the chopper turned around a corner of a high rise building and the individuals inside spotted a speeding white van on the road down below. The side of the helicopter slide open and two men with high powered automatics leaned out and began to fire.
Van
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Bullet holes began to tear through the van like swiss cheese.
Hellfire twisted the wheel making the van take a hard left and out of the path of the bullets. He glanced out of the side mirror and he saw a helicopter.
"WE GOT COMPANY PEOPLE! PLAN ANYONE!" he shouted right before another round of bullets rained down upon the van.
"ARGH!" grunted Jessica as she felt a bullet hit her in the shoulder.
Daisy looked at her and then at Druid.
"Sebastian you have to get us out of here….back to our safe house" said Daisy.
"I'm trying….but that's along distance…the longer the distance I'm trying to teleport the longer I need to hold the hand signal…..and well you can see" he replied holding up his hands.
"Try harder…..Sebastian" Jessica grunted grabbing her shoulder.
Helicopter
"Use the RPG" came the deep voice of the man in charge. One mercenary continued to fire while the other turned and grabbed the RPG launcher and he aimed it at the speeding Van. Once the aim was secured he fired the RPG.
Van
Hellfire was frantically driving trying to get out of the way of the bullets. He looked into the side mirror again and his eyes widen in horror.
"HANG ON!" he shouted.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The RPG hit the back of the Van full force. The Van was violently lifted up off of the ground.
"AHHHHHHH!" everyone shouted as the Van went up in the air. It hung there for a second before it came crashing down. The van slammed, rolled and tumbled across the ground multiple times before it came to a screeching stop in the middle of a busy street.
All of the civilians in the area quickly ran for cover, they've lived in Madripoor long enough to know when to stay and when to leave and this was definitely a time to run and not look back.
IN the Air
"They're down" commented one of the mercenaries "Now what"
"We're done here gentlemen….time for us to call it a night" came the voice of the man in charge. He signaled the pilot who turned on the controls and made the helicopter fly off into the distance.
Down Below
CLANG! Went the sound of the back door falling off of the van.
"Ugh" came the groan from Daisy as she slowly crawled out of the opening and to the pavement of the street. She painfully collapsed to the ground groaning loudly, "Jesus"
"You…can say that again" came the voice of Jessica as she painfully pulled herself out of the Van and collapsed next to her. Both women were sporting even more cuts and bruises to their face, hands and body.
"Team White sound off" Daisy called out.
"Yo-Yo is fine…I braced her as best I could" Druid called out from inside the van, "But my hands…are on fire"
"I'm alive…barely" Hellfire said from the driver's seat, he pushed open the driver's side door and he fell out onto the ground. He looked down at his leg and he see a bone sticking out, "My leg is broken"
THUD!
Jessica and Daisy turned to the sound and a few feet away from the van was Daken looking at them, he had the same grin plastered all over his face and he licked his lips.
"Was that ride a little too rough for you ladies" he said gleefully.
Daisy glanced at Jessica.
"You got anything left in the tank" she whispered.
"Hopefully enough to stall this guy long enough for Sebastian to get us out of here" she replied.
"My thought exactly" Daisy said pushing herself to her feet despite her injuries, Jessica followed suit and pushed herself up as well, "Druid you know what to do…..so keeping doing it…..and Hurry" Daisy commanded.
She and Jessica limped/walked forward standing between Daken and the Van.
"My how you've grown" Daken stated, his comment directed at Jessica "You filled out quite nicely HEHE!"
"And you haven't changed a bit…..still slimly and disgusting" she retorted.
"Oh you wound me"
"NOT YET ASSHOLE!" she shouted thrusting out her hand and unleashed green electricity at him. Daken dove out of the way of the attack but as he dodged the electricity, Daisy held out her hand and vibrated the ground causing a small contained earthquake. The earth split open and Daken's foot got caught in the weakened earth.
Jessica dashed towards him and delivered a vicious flying kick to his face, Daken went flying back and to the ground but he sprung up in time to block another kick. Daken popped his claws and was about slice her leg off but she used her incredible agility twist out of the way, she back flipped away from Daken but he charged after her. She straightened up and leaned out of the way of his overhead slash. He slashed at her abdomen but she leaned back in the nick of time. Daisy came in with a flying kick that named him in chest making him stumble back. Daken grinned and he eyed the two women. He swiftly dash forward with his claws aimed straight at Daisy's heart, Jessica pushed her out of the way and dropped for a leg sweep. Daken saw it coming and simply lifted his foot dodge the sweep. He did a hop and he kneed Jessica in the chin knocking her down, he turned to Daisy who had her hands raised and glowing blue. Daken's body suddenly started to vibrate. He could feel his bones starting to crack and pain but he fought through it enough to slash at Daisy breaking her concentration. She flailed backwards trying to dodge and Daken anticipated this and turned and kicked her in the chest hard making her fly back and to the ground.
Green electricity flew forward and struck Daken in the back.
"RAHHHH!" he yelled out turned to her, but she was already airborne, she came down with a powerful haymaker and that drew blood. Jessica came back with a backfist, an uppercut, a chop to the throat and finally another barrage of electricity, but no matter what she did to him, no matter how hard her attacks Daken took it with a grin on his face. He was smoking from the electricity but it didn't stop him. He spun and kicked Jessica in the face knocking her back.
Daisy pushed herself up and she eyed Daken who had just kicked Jessica away she thrusted both her hands out causing another contain earthquake. The ground beneath Daken's feet shook and then exploded tossing him and chunks of the ground in the air. The mysterious man flipped in mid-air and landed on his feet.
He eyed Daisy with a predatory look and he growled, Jessica had recovered and jumped landing a few feet in front of him and let Green Electricity fly his way and he jumped over it and he dashed forward surprising her by his speed. Daken neared her and he slashed her across her midsection earning a screen of pain. He continued passed Jessica towards Daisy who tried to blast him with her earthquakes but he dodged each attack. The ground to his right exploded and he jumped to the left, the ground to the left exploded and he jumped to the right.
Daisy could do nothing but gasp as he neared her and right when he was about to plunge his claws into her stomach she was shoved to the ground by Hellfire. Daken's claws pierced his flesh and dug deep into his side.
"GUH!" he grunted in agony feeling the metal claws deep in his flesh, a pain unlike anything he had felt before. Daken twisted and then ripped his claws out and pushed Hellfire to the ground.
"Idiot" he said
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!' shouted Daisy in anger. Her eyes and hand glowed a brilliant light blue and she held them at Daken.
Daken suddenly began to violently vibrate again, he tried to fight through it this time but the vibrations were too great, he could feel his muscles and his bones pulling and ripping apart until
BOOOOM! Went the sound of his chest being blown open spraying blood and guts everywhere. Daken's eyes widen as he fell to his knees and then flat on his face seemingly dead.
Daisy wiped the blood off of her face and crawled over to Hellfire who was still alive but in obvious pain and bleeding profusely.
"D-D-aisy….." he groaned out.
"Shhhh don't talk" she said applying pressure on his wounds, "DRUID GET US OUT OF HERE NOW!"
Jessica clamped a tight hand over her claw marks trying to stop the bleeding.
'He didn't slice me all the way open….but I'm gonna need some stitches' she thought to herself shakily standing to her feet. She turned and walked towards Daisy who was still yelling Druid's name.
As she was walking Jessica stepped on something hard, she lifted her foot and saw the ring that they were after. She gingerly bent down and picked it up and inspected it.
'This is what all the fuss is about' she thought looking the small blood covered item.
"DRUID GODDAMN IT GET US OUT OF HERE!"
Jessica continued her journey over to Daisy and once she reached her she dropped to her knees and put her hands on top of hers adding more pressure to Hellfire's wounds.
Jessica turned to the right and she eyed Daken's motionless form.
"Is he dead?" she asked.
"Yes" Daisy answered quickly.
"G-Guess… again" came a pained voice. Daken slowly pushed himself up and he turned to the two of them. They could still see some of his insides but what really shocked them was that his insides were rapidly pulling together and healing.
"He has a healing factor" Both women stated at the same time in shock
"B-B-ingo…..g-g-ood job ladies…you passed the t-t-est" he said rising to his feet.
"TEST! WHAT TEST!"
"Why the test….. to see if you can b-beat the Goblin" he said shocking them even more, but before he could say anything else they disappeared in a flash of blue energy.
"Heh….what a night" Daken stated to himself.
Cloaked Transport
Team White appeared in their Shield issued transport courtesy of the Druid.
"About Time" said Daisy rising to her feet, she quickly ran to the first aid box in the jet and she ripped it off the wall and brought back over to J.T.
She opened it and immediately went for a packet of powdery substance, she ripped it opened and poured it over J.T. wounds.
"ARGH!" he growled out.
"What is that?" asked Jessica.
"Something that will stop the bleeding and keep him alive until we can get to a Shield base"
"We're hours away from anyplace, where is the next base?" she asked.
Daisy tossed the packet away and went towards the pilots' seat.
"Next base is in Singapore….it's three hours away and that stuff wears off in 1" Daisy answered.
"How will we make it?" Jessica asked still applying pressure to JT wound.
"We're gonna fly as fast and as far as we can…and then Sebastian will jump us there" she stated starting up the transport.
"WHAT!" Sebastian shouted "Daisy even when I could fully move my fingers I've never tried to teleport to anyplace that far" he said.
"I know that Sebastian…I know but if you don't try Hellfire will die….and Yo-Yo needs serious medical attention"
"If I don't get it right we could all die"
"A chance I'm willing to take, but you have to at least try…..there are some painkillers in the first aid take'em and get ready to port us" she replied seriously pulling up on the controls, which in turn made the jet rise up in the air and fly away into the night sky.
Madripoor: Daken's Condo- 1 hour later
Daken pulled off his bloody gold mask and he tossed it to the floor of his lavish Condominium that had a perfect view of his kingdom….Madripoor. He walked to his mini-bar and he poured himself a stiff drink.
RING! RING!
Daken turned to the sound of his phone ringing; he smiled to himself because he already knew who was calling him. He walked over and he calmly picked up the phone.
"Hello"
"Daken….you've been a busy boy" came a deep voice on the end of the line.
"I was wondering how long it would be before you found out I talked to your Goblin friend"
"That man is not my friend"
"Oh that's right….silly me…..the Great and Powerful Romulus has no friends"
"What are you up to boy?" asked the mysterious Romulus in a threatening tone.
"Just setting a few things in motion against the man you fear the most"
"ROMULUS FEARS NO ONE!" he roared.
Daken moved the phone away from his ear and smiled; he took a sip of his drink and replaced the phone back on his ear.
"HEHE the more you scream the more fearful you are"
"Daken, I'm beginning to grow tired of you and your back alley deals behind my back, you do well to remember that without me there would be no you"
"And you do well to remember that I have my own mind and own goals" Daken replied taking another sip of his drink.
"Do I have to teach you another lesson Daken…..because I assure you this lesson will be much more painful than the last" said Romulus.
"I think the time of you teaching me is over Romulus…I've learned all that I needed to know"
"Very well…we'll have words when I get to Madripoor"
"Oh I won't be here when you arrive I'm afraid…mostly because I'll be on my way to securing the Muramasa Blades"
"…..you know of their location. That's why you're allowing Shield into Madripoor….while the Goblin's attention is focused elsewhere…."
"I can waltz right in and steal the only blades capable of killing you….Goodbye Romulus and know the next time you and I meet…..there will only be one survivor" said Daken before hanging up the phone.
Daken walked away from the phone and towards his large window he downed the rest of drink and he stared at his reflection in the window, but as he was staring at his reflection the image of himself began to disappear and the image of another man with a similar face appeared.
"And once I'm done with Romulus….I'll deal with you…..father….or should I say Wolverine"
Shield Base: Singapore
Jessica grunted as she slipped on a shield issued gray sweatshirt and sweatpants. Team White had successfully reached the Shield base with all the thanks going to Sebastian who managed teleport them safely despite his mangled and broken fingers. The medics at the base immediately sprung into action upon seeing them, the doctors took the bleeding Hellfire, the unconscious Slingshot, and Druid away on gurneys. Jessica and Daisy were also taken away and treated as well. She had just finished seeing the Doctor who stitched up her slashed midsection and patched up her gun shot wound as well as her smaller cuts and abrasions. He assured her that there wouldn't be any scars which upon hearing that news she said a quick thank you to God.
Jessica grunted even more as she walked around her medical bed and towards the exit.
Hallway
Upon exiting her room Jessica ran directly into Daisy. Both women looked over each other and their eyes danced across the Band-Aids and patches that adorned their faces and hands.
"I was just about to check up on you" said the team leader. Jessica shifted in her spot and leaned against her door.
"And here I thought you hated me" she replied with a slight smirk.
Daisy let out a sigh and ran a hand through her short hair.
"I don't hate you…I don't trust you"
"Even after this mission you don't trust me?" she asked.
"Jessica…..look, you and I are probably gonna be stuck together for a long time or at least until Hydra is destroyed and I know that we started off on the wrong foot and that may have been my fault…"
"May have" Jessica stated with raised eyebrows.
"What I'm trying to say" Daisy continued ignoring her remark "Is that after this mission from hell I realize that there can't be any seeds of distrust in our team otherwise we could end up dead so I propose that you and I….start over" she finished looking Jessica in her eyes.
Jessica considered this for a moment, because while the doctor was stitching her up she was thinking the same thing. She was thinking that it was time for them to bury the hatchet….or at least put it aside….for now.
"I agree" she simply stated
"Good" Daisy replied with a smile.
"But this doesn't make us friends" the two women said at the same time. They looked at each other and a smirk graced their lips.
"Rest up Agent Drew and be ready to give Fury a full report" said Daisy turning and walking down the hall.
Jessica watched Daisy walk away but before she was out of ear shot she said one last thing.
"We still have a fight to finish" Jessica yelled
"Oh I haven't forgotten and I believe we were about even" Daisy replied over her shoulder.
Jessica shook her head as her smirk turned into a smile.
"Now to check on Sebastian" she said turning and walking in the opposite direction.
Down the Hall: Hellfire's Room
J.T. groaned as he shifted in his bed to a more comfortable position. The Shield doctors had done a terrific job in patching him up but he still felt some discomfort, he reached to the side of his bed and he grabbed the controller for the morphine and he pressed. J.T. let out a sigh as he felt the powerful medication leaking into his body.
SWISH! Went the sound of his door opening. He turned to the door and a smile graced his lips because standing there was Daisy.
"How are you feeling?" she asked walking towards his bed.
"Better, this morphine is crazy good" he replied with a goofy smile. Daisy smirked at his answer and moved towards the left side of his bed and sat down, "How's the rest of the team?" he asked.
"Jessica is fine…and she and I buried the hatchet so to speak"
"Finally"
"Shut up" She replied but soon the smile on her face went away "Sebastian's hands are pretty messed up but he should make a full recovery….but…."
"Yo-Yo" he finished.
"She's still sedated I figure that we all should be there when she wakes up to break the news to her"
"Dammit" Hellfire replied "Have you talked to Fury yet"
"No, I will when I leave" she said rubbing the back of her neck.
"Well this certainly has been an interesting mission"
Daisy scoffed slightly at his remark.
"That's what you call it, we got our asses kicked….thoroughly"
"Did we get the ring?"
"Yeah we got it" she replied
"Then it was a successful mission"
"Really, it doesn't feel so successful. God I just can't help feeling that this is all my fault….I should've caught on to the fact that we were being led around like Jessica" Daisy said frustration evident in her voice, "All of you are my responsibility and I let you all down"
"Hey stop that alright, we had a bad mission it happens. Instead of beating yourself up about it you relish in the fact that despite being banged up we came out alive and with our mission objective. If it was any other team or team leader we all would probably be dead" JT stated heatedly
"We almost died"
"Almost doesn't count" he replied with a smirk.
Daisy looked him in the eyes and he looked back at her. Ever since the two of them met there has been this obvious attraction between them, it was obvious because JT never denied the fact. Before he could make his move Peter Parker showed up and swept her off of her feet. The attraction between them was still there but it was overshadowed by her history Peter, but upon his 'death' J.T. found his window of opportunity. It wasn't the ideal way he wanted to win her but it was the situation he was presented with, and so he had been there to support her throughout her grief. In the four months the attraction between them began to grow, but in the last month or so it began to flourish even more and wanting to capitalize on that J.T. decided now was the time to make his move. He gingerly sat up in his bed grunting slightly at the movement, he reached one hand up to her face and touched it affectionately. Both of their eyes were still locked on each other even when they started to pull closer and closer, their eyes closed though once their lips met in a light kiss. Daisy was hesitant slightly but J.T. crushed his lips to hers. The kiss went from light to heated in an instant, pulling each other closer. After a long minute Daisy's eyes snapped open and she pulled away breathing heavily. She quickly stood up from the bed and began to back away.
"I…uh…..I uh…..have to give my report to Fury" she said still gasping for breath. She turned and made her way out of the room leaving J.T. there with an amused look on his face.
'She wants me' he thought to himself with a large smile as he laid back down on his bed, a hand went to the morphine control and he pushed the button three times. The morphine entered his body again dulling the pain in his side even further, J.T's eyes began to close and he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
End Chapter: Read and Review: Hey Readers it's me again back with the closing comments. Whoooo this chapter took me forever to get right, it went through a ton of revisions, at first this chapter was supposed to be longer and have even more craziness happening and initially Romulus and Daken were supposed to be in a war with each other in the chapter but I decided on something different. Speaking of which I hope everyone enjoyed the debut of Daken and Romulus and I know what you're thinking How can I introduce them first without introducing Wolverine, my answer in short is….I like to be different. Wolverine will show up at some point but not now….at least I don't think. Secret Warrior Spider-man isn't as planned out as TSA Spider-man or Batman Beyond so anything is liable to happen. Oh before I forget a quote from one of my favorite movies is in this chapter…can anyone pick out the quote and the movie it's from. Any way I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and the plot elements laced within, I know a lot of people were wanting to see Peter's old team in action so I hope this chapter lived up to everyone's expectations, and you can bet that they'll be back. If anyone has any questions, comments, concerns, or rants just leave it in the review(The writers main source of motivation) or just send me a PM and I'll get back to you ASAP, this is Nomad88 saying Later….
Ps: Batman Beyond should be up shortly so don't go too far, be on the lookout for that story as it is reaching its epic conclusion. TSA: Spider-man is on the way up for an update so everyone waiting for that story won't have to wait too long. Again Review and this is me saying later…
Next up: Hard Luck