Bats and Masters.
It was safe to say the situation in the city hadn't gotten any easier. After the funeral of the brave cop Jeff. Peter and Cassandra went on a demon hunt. They managed to take down a couple of locations and hopefully slowed the Demons' advances, but still no leads on Li. But turns out Mayor Osborn was more spooked by the bombing than anyone expected, as he had hired and elite Mercenary private security force group called Sable International. And their leader, Silver Sablinova, had already made a rather bad first impression. Mainly by tying Peter up, which forced Cassandra to try and fight her. Only to find out Silver was not new to hand to hand combat, and proved more skilled than Cassandra predicted. Thankfully Yuri arrived to break up a potential fight, giving our two heroes the chance to leave.
Right now both stood on a roof top and were soon called by Yuri "Hey, sorry about that Sable thing… I should have told you earlier, but it all happened so fast".
"It's okay. We're still best buds" Peter assured.
"We're not best buds" Yuri corrected.
"Well that took a dark turn" Peter said dejected, and Cassandra smiled a little.
"Anyway. Sable has the mayor's ear and unchecked authority. We've searched that address you gave me, found plenty of evidence of a bomb plot, but nothing that leads back to Martin Li" Yuri said.
"We are still working on that. We'll have something for you soon, Yuri" Cassandra assured.
Peter ended the call and then called up MJ "Hey MJ".
"Hey, so I dredged up some records on Martin Li's other business holdings, he's got places all over the city" MJ said.
"Hm. The locations line up with a map I found at that shipping business. Me and Cassandra will check 'em out" Peter said.
"Let me know what you find at each one, and I'll work on building a case" MJ said.
"You got it. We'll head over to Li's office at F.E.A.S.T. to see if we can learn more about why he's doing this, and what he's got planned next" Peter said.
"Okay. Say hi to May for me… wait, you don't think she's in danger do you?" MJ asked in worry, Cassandra was a little worried too. There is no telling how many lines Li is ready to cross.
"No. Li's only got one target on his mind. Norman Osborn" Peter said before he hung up "Ready Batty?".
"Don't call me that" Cassandra warned before climbing on to Peter's back and they began to swing away.
On the way Peter noticed something "Missed another call from Doc".
He played the message and Otto's voice was heard "Peter. I wanted to make sure you're still available. I can't pay you yet, but I've pulled enough strings to keep the wolves from the door a bit longer. If we can get up and running, I know this new version of the project will attract investment. Massive investment. Stay ready".
"Fingers triple crossed, Doc" Peter said.
"Would be nice to have some good news after all this" Cassandra said.
"Agreed" Peter said as they arrived at F.E.A.S.T. and changed in to their normal clothes.
May was working when she noticed Peter and Cassandra arrive "Peter! Cassandra! So nice to see you both".
"So if you're running this place while Mr. Li is out of town, who's doing your old job?" Peter asked
"Ha… Me. But I could always use more help. Cassandra has proven herself, but more hands are always welcomed. You know anyone?" May asked.
"His name is Miles Morales" Peter said.
"Why does that sound familiar?" May asked.
"His father was being honored at City Hall" Peter answered.
May got a sad look at that "Oh".
"I talked to him at the funeral. He's a smart kid. He's just having a tough time" Peter said.
"I knew a boy like that, once" May said, remembering how Peter was after the tragic death of his Uncle Ben.
"I remember it helped to… stay busy. Might help him, too. Here's his mom's number" Peter said as he handed over a letter to May.
"Thanks. I'll give her a call" May said.
"Hey, May. Have you talked to Mr. Li recently?" Cassandra asked.
"Not since he left. Why do you ask?" May asked.
"Just wondered, he's been gone for a while now, that's all" Cassandra said. She knew the drill, best way to protect people you care about, is to make sure they know as little as possible. Less they know, the safer they are.
"I've got a few minutes before work. I'm gonna… look around, see if there's anything else I can do to help you out" Peter said.
"Oh, you don't have to…" May assured.
"I know. I want to" Peter insisted.
May smiled warmly at him before she looked at Cassandra "While you're here Cassandra. Could you check on the children please? They were worried about you".
"I will, don't worry May" Cassandra said as she walked out with Peter.
"Alright, I will search Li's office. You make sure the kids are alright" Peter said.
"Yeah, doubt you need my help on this one. But be careful" Cassandra said before they parted ways.
Cassandra headed to the children room. The moment she stepped in, the kids shouted her name and rushed at her. This time Cassandra was ready, she got down on one knee and hugged the kids as they ran up to her. Cassandra was deeply moved that the kids cared this much about her. Sure she had spent enough time with them to know they liked her, but she didn't expect that they would worry this much about her... it kind of made her feel a little guilty.
"I was so scared! I thought you blew up!" Said the girl who had painted a picture of Cassandra.
"It's ok. Your knight is still alive" Cassandra said.
The kids didn't say anything after that, they just hugged Cassandra a lot. They must've been so scared. Cassandra decided to stay for as long as she could. After a while she was able to put them all to sleep and headed out to meet back up with Peter. When she found him... Martin Li was there... it took every bit of self control Cassandra had to not attack that back stabber where he stood. The man who made her trust him, only to turn around and show her his inner darkness. She took a breath to calm herself and walked up to them.
"Mr. Li" She said as she walked up "You're back now?".
"Oh hello Cassandra. I'm afraid I will be heading out again soon" Li said.
"Already?" Came the voice of May as she walked up to them with a box in her hands.
"I'm afraid so. Just needed a few things from my office" Li said.
"Let me get that" Peter said as he took the box from May's hands.
"Thank you. You must have heard about City Hall" May said.
"Yes, tragic" Li said. He tried to sound sad, but it was clearly forced.
"Peter and Cassandra were there, they were very lucky" May said.
Li looked at them "At an Osborn rally? I didn't know you were a fan".
"We aren't. We were only there to see a good cop get a well deserved reward. He did so much, and had so much more to give. But all that was ended becuase of those monsters... a boy lost his father because of them. And for what? What was the point of it all?" Cassandra said, a rare moment where she let some of her emotions out. Good thing she learned how to speak properly a while ago, other wise she would sound like a stuttering mess.
May put an arm around Cassandra to calm her down "Easy, Cassandra. Easy".
Cassandra slowly got a hold of herself again "Sorry... I just want to know... why this had to happen...".
"I guess... Osborn brought out their negative side... Well. What matters is you are all safe" Li said.
May smiled "Amen".
"But the bombers are still out there. Who knows what they've planned next" Peter said, barely keeping himself from glaring at Li.
"I'm sure non of you have nothing to worry about. As long as you stay away from places you're not supposed to be. Well, I should go" Li said as he began to walk away.
"When will you be back?" May asked.
"When my work is done" Li answered before he left.
Cassandra and Peter shared a look. Both knew they couldn't just let Li leave after everything that happened. Later when Li got in to his car, both Peter and Cassandra ran out, hoping to stop him before he leaves. But before they could, some of the homeless people attacked them. Their eyes were glowing.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Peter said but was forced to fight back.
Not wanting to hurt the innocent people, Cassandra quickly hit their pressure points. They would be out for a while, but otherwise they would be fine. But it was to late to stop Li. He was already long gone. Much to the heroes' frustration. They got changed in to their hero suits before contacting Yuri.
"Captain Watanabe…" Yuri said.
"We finally got your evidence. Head to the F.E.A.S.T. Center in Chinatown" Peter said.
"What am I going to find?" Yuri asked.
"A nice lady named May Parker… and some really weird stuff hidden in Li's office. But listen, he's got another attack planned" Peter said.
"Where? When?" Yuri asked.
"We don't know yet, but we do know he is likely going to use something called Devil's Breath" Cassandra answered.
"Sounds… destructive. What is it?" Yuri asked in concern.
"A substance created by Oscorp, probably a bioweapon of some kind. We'll hold on to the file for now. I'll send copies as soon as I can" Peter said.
"Okay, we'll check his office. If the evidence stands up. I'll put out an APB" Yuri said before hanging up.
Peter called MJ next "MJ hey. Just checking in".
"Peter, hey, can I call you back?" MJ asked in a whisper.
"I think you'll want to hear this, wait, why are you whispering?" Peter asked.
"Just… in the middle of something. How about we catch up over dinner? My place?" MJ offered.
"Oh. Sure. I'll even cook" Peter answered, a little surprise.
"Cool. See ya" MJ said.
"WAIT! Remember how you told us about Li's 'corrupting' touch? I think me and Cassandra just saw it in action" Peter said.
"How?" MJ asked.
"Some perfectly nice homeless people just jumped us. Thing is, they had glowing eyes and I remembered Yuri telling us something similar about the guard who released Shocker" Peter answered.
"So Shocker was working for Li? It's all connected" MJ said.
"There's more. But I guess we'll talk about it at dinner?" Peter asked.
"Yeah. See ya" MJ said before hanging up.
"Dinner. Hm. What should I cook?" Peter wondered.
"Is this something I should stay out of? Sounds like a date" Cassandra said.
"No, nothing like that. Besides, I think it's best if you are there so we all can go over what we learned" Peter said.
Cassandra smiled at that, happy she wouldn't need to sit anything out again "So what do we do now?".
Before Peter could answer he got a call from Otto. He motioned Cassandra to wait while he took the call. A little later he came back "Sorry, Doc insisted I stop by the lab. He sounded very excited for something".
"It's ok. I will patrol for now. See if I can stop some more demons if I find any" Cassandra assured.
Peter nods and swings away. Cassandra began patrolling the city. She was still wrapping her head around the situation. It was hard to believe someone like Li could hide so much evil inside him. But then she stopped at a roof top when she remembered a villain from back home. Harvey Dent.
Formerly the DA of Gotham City, Harvey was an ally of Batman and Commissioner Gordon until he had acid thrown onto the left side of his face by a mob boss, scarring him for life. The incident drove Harvey insane and he became obsessed with chance and always carrying a double-headed coin, which he flips to determine his every decision. But Batman said he suspected the darker side of Harvey Dent was always there, kept in check by his strong belief in justice, and his deformed face only brought that side out. The more Cassandra thought about it, the more similarities she saw. A man who was known for doing so much good, and always believed in doing the right thing... turning out to have a darker side, which ended up turning them from a hero, in to a villain.
Could Martin Li be this world's version of Two-Face?
Cassandra was brought out of her thoughts when she sensed something. She then performed a back flip, avoiding something that almost hit her. She quickly turned around and saw someone very familiar.
"Taskmaster" She said lowly.
Said Mercenary was now standing in front of her "Nice reflexes. I was waiting until you and the spider was separated, so we could continue our little discussion".
Cassandra narrowed her eyes "You caught me of guard last time. This time I am ready for you".
"Is that so? Then show me what you can do, kid" Taskmaster said as he got ready as well.
The two stared each other down for several moments before they finally dashed towards each other. Taskmaster's armor made it nearly impossible to read his muscle movements, but Cassandra could still gain a small idea of what he was going to do by watching his movements. And she knew she had to watch out for her own moves this time. She leaps to kick him, but Taskmaster grabbed her leg and threw her away. But she quickly bounced back and unleashed a barrage to punches and kicks, much faster than one would expect from a young girl like her.
Taskmaster managed to block most of her punches, but one kick to the chest sent him sliding back. He brushed of his chest before pulling something out... it was an energy sword, and Cassandra had a feeling trying to stop it with her hands would be a very bad idea. She dodged several slices that could've taken her head clean of and managed to kick Taskmaster in the ribs. Taskmaster grunted but swings his blade, and as Cassandra moved to dodge, she was quickly kicked in the face, which sent her back.
She performed a flip before tossing several batarangs as Taskmaster. But he brought out a shiled and blocked the projectiles. Cassandra narrowed her eyes, this guy was like a walking arsenal, just like Deathstroke, further strengthening Cassandra's belief that Taskmaster really was this world's version of Deathstroke. Regardless, she still had to keep fighting.
She ran at him, but Taskmaster suddenly threw his shield at her. Cassandra slid under it before avoiding a stab from Taskmaster's blade. She then grabbed his arm and twisted it to the point he was forced down on one knee. She rose her fist to strike him in the back of the head... but then Taskmaster's shield came flying back and hit Cassandra in the side, making her let go, and allowing Taskmaster to kick her hard in the chest. Cassandra stumbles back, but was not done yet.
As Taskmaster moved to attack, Cassandra quickly whipped out her grappling hook and fired it at Taskmaster. Not expecting this, Taskmaster was caught of guard and hit by the grappling hook. Allowing Cassandra to pull him closer. She then jumped at him, wrapped her legs around his neck and used her whole body weight to throw him head first in to the roof, hard enough to actually crack it. Taskmaster slowly got up while holding his head. Seeing her chance to finish him, Cassandra dashed towards him.
But Taskmaster had not shown all his tricks. His also had a grappling hook, and he used it to throw a nearby object at Cassandra who managed to dodge it... only for Taskmaster to dash it, delivering two punches to Cassandra's face and finished it of by delivering a jumping kick that sent Cassandra tumbling across the roof... That was Peter's move! How many moves can this guy copy? Well that sure was one thing that set him apart from Deathstroke. Slade couldn't just copy an entire fighting style by simply seeing it, even he would need to practice a little bit first.
Cassandra spat out some blood before looking up at Taskmaster who actually needed to catch his breath "You're good kid. You are really good. Seems like there is still more I can learn. We will meet again".
He then dropped a flash grenade and vanished. So that's how people feel when Cassandra and her Bat Family suddenly vanishes. Cassandra got back up but was still in pain... maybe this was enough patrolling for now. After this fight, she'd be lucky to beat anyone in a fight. She decided to head over to MJ's place and get some rest.
But Taskmaster was still out there. Along with the Demons. Never enough things to worry about for a hero.
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Tell me what you think.