A Rift Between Heroes.
To say things had been rough would be an understatement. Peter and Cassandra had gone to an halloween party in order to find Dr. Delaney, hoping he could help shed some light on the whole Devil's Breath ordeal. Sadly, Li had gotten to him first, and when Cassandra tried to stop him, she fell under his control and was forced to fight Peter, which gave Li enough time to corrupted Delaney and get the information he needed out of him. Once he was done, he made Delaney kill himself and escaped, but not after corrupting the people at the party, forcing the two heroes to take them all down before they hurt themselves.
When hey where done, Peter calls Yuri "Yuri. I need your help".
"I've got reports of shots fired at ESU" Yuri said.
"Yeah, that's us. I'll explain later. But right now you need to find a Dr. Morgan Michaels. Martin Li's coming after him" Peter said.
"Copy that" Yuri said.
Peter looked at Cassandra "You ok?".
"No... I'm not... can we get out of here?" Cassandra asked, though it sounded like a plea.
"Of course" Peter said as he let Cassandra climb on to his back and they swing away.
When they got on a roof top, Yuri called them "Spider-Man… who is this Dr. Michaels?".
"I think he's the head scientist on this Devil's Breath project. Did you find him?" Peter asked.
"Yes and no. Sable says they have him under protection at a safehouse somewhere in the city. But they won't tell me where" Yuri answered.
"I thought you guys were working together?" Peter pointed out.
"So did I" Yuri said.
"Okay. I have an idea on how to find him. I'll let you know if it works" Peter said before he hung up and looked at Cassandra who was sitting down, trying to collect herself "Cassandra... I hate to ask but... what did you see when Li took control of you? You kept saying that Osborn needed to suffer".
Cassandra took a breath to gather herself "It's... hard to explain. Everything is a blur. I didn't really see much. But I could feel it. His anger... his hatred. There was so much of it that I felt it start to effect me... and then I suddenly began to hate Osborn too. I wanted to hurt him, to see Osborn suffer in the worst ways possible. To make him pay for something I don't even know about. It felt so wrong. Wanting to torture someone I've never met before. I keep hearing Osborn is not the nicest person, but does he really deserve something like that?".
"Many might think so. But no, I do not believe he deserves all the horrible things Li wants to do to him. If he has committed a horrible crime, he needs to face real justice for it" Peter said.
Cassandra nodded at that "Should we tell MJ about what happened?".
As if on cue, MJ called them "Hey, did you find Dr. Delaney at the party?".
"Yeah, but so did Li" Peter answered.
"Oh no, what happened?" MJ Asked, fearing the answer.
"Li corrupted him and made him kill himself" Peter answered, with a hint of anger in his tone.
"That's horrible. We have to stop this guy" MJ declared.
"We will. Before Delaney died, he gave Li a name. Morgan Michaels" Peter said.
"Morgan Michaels… who is he?" MJ asked.
"Not sure, but I bet he works on the Devil's Breath project. Have you learned anything from that Devil's Breath file?" Peter asked, hoping for something they could work with.
"Yeah, get this. Few years ago. Osborn came to Fisk and asked him to build a lab, but to keep it hidden from regulators" MJ answered.
"Secret lab? For Devil's Breath?" Peter asked.
"If it's as dangerous as we think it is, I can see why" MJ answered.
"Where's the lab?" Peter asked.
"That's not in the file, Osborn made Fisk destroy all records of it. All I have are invoices from Osborn's personal account to Fisk Construction. Knowing Fisk, he kept the invoices around for blackmail material on the mayor" MJ explained.
"Everything leads back to Norman Osborn. Guess it's time to pay him a visit" Peter declared.
"I doubt he's going to tell you anything" MJ pointed out.
"Wasn't planning to ask" Peter said, making it clear he wouldn't need Osborn to cooperate with him.
"Wait, is Cassandra with you? She is being more silent than normal" MJ said.
Peter looked at Cassandra who gave him a nod "She... experienced first hand what Li's corruption does".
MJ gasped at that "What!? Is she ok?".
"I've been better" Cassandra answered, finally speaking.
"Alright Cassandra, come back home. Let Peter handle Osborn" MJ said.
"But I-" Cassandra began but was interrupted.
"No, she's right Cassandra. After what you went through, I'd rather not risk you getting in to more trouble" Peter said.
Cassandra stood up, and was starting to get annoyed "I don't need protection. I can handle this".
"Cassandra, please" Peter said, voice stern but also caring.
Cassandra looked at him for several moments before she sighed "Fine. But you better contact me once you find something important".
"Alright, I will" Peter said.
Cassandra jumped of the building and used her grappling hook to head for MJ's apartment. Once she arrived MJ was already there to greet her. She made Cassandra sit down on the couch and went to prepare some warm chocolate for her. Cassandra removed her mask before leaning back and sighed. This was a rough night. She has dealt with so many kind of people back in her room. People who treats mass slaughter as a joke. Yet somehow, non of them had made her feel more frustrated than Li. Closest to this was Cassandra's mother, who didn't show any true motherly love to her at all. But Li made Cassandra trust him, and after that, he triggered a terrorist attack, killing many innocent people and now he even made her fight her friend. She wasn't sure how much more she could handle.
She was brought out of her thoughts when she smelled something nice, she opened her eyes and noticed a cup with hot chocolate "Here you go".
"Thanks" Cassandra said as she took the cup and sipped the hot drink, letting out a satisfied sigh "So, have you discovered anything new?"
"Maybe... Let's see" MJ said as she continued on some work "Found something".
"What is it?" Cassandra asked as she drank some more.
"Hold on, let me call Peter first" MJ said as she contacted Peter.
"Hi, MJ. Little busy right now" Peter said.
"I'll be quick. Listen. I got a lead on Charles Standish's location. I think if I can get to him, I can make him talk, he knew about Dr. Delaney, he probably knows about Morgan Michaels as well" MJ said.
"Okay, just don't do anything crazy" Peter said before hanging up.
"What are you planing, MJ?" Cassandra asked, having finished her chocolate.
"I just need to pin point where Standish is, then I can sneak inside and talk to him. I think I can make him reveal everything he knows" MJ explained.
"Wait, let me handle this" Cassandra said.
MJ looked at her "Why? I swear if you are going to lecture me about doing something dangerous, like Peter always did, then I swear I will-".
"It's not that, MJ. Yes, I do believe Sable's trigger happy mercs are to dangerous, but the reason I should go is because I am trained for this. I received top level stealth training from the best of the best. I know I can get in and out without being noticed. And if bad luck strikes, and I do end up being caught, then my martial art training will allow me to fight my way out" Cassandra reasoned.
MJ wanted to argue, but she noticed a look in Cassandra's eyes "Cassandra... that is not the only reason you want to do this. Is it?".
Cassandra was silent for a moment before she sighed "So much has gone wrong for me these past couple of days. And after what happened tonight... I need to do something right. I can't just sit here and do nothing. Even you have done more good than I have".
MJ's eyes softened at that "Alright, I understand. Just be careful, ok?".
Cassandra smiled and put her mask on before standing up "Thank you MJ. And thanks for the chocolate. It was good".
"Then you better hurry back, so I can make more" MJ said "Oh, and take my camera with you. If you insist on going in my place, at least bring something back for me".
Cassandra caught the camera and nods before leaving through the window.
Some time later, Peter was done going through Osborn's files and called MJ who answers "Hey Pete. What's up?".
"MJ. Get this. Devil's Breath wasn't designed to be a weapon. it's a treatment for genetic disorders. But it's current form is wildly imperfect - in trying to fix the body, it rips it apart. We need to locate Dr. Michaels; I don't trust Sable to contain something this deadly" Peter explained.
"I may have a lead on that. Charles Standish us being held at Sable's Central Park compound if anyone knows Michaels' location. It'll be Oscorp's CFO. Cassandra trying to reach him now" MJ said.
"Reach him? That place is crawling with guards. How is she trying to reach him?" Peter asked.
"She said she is trained in stealth, so I think she got this" MJ said.
"Maybe, still I will head over there to make sure she's ok, talk to you soon" Peter said before hanging up "Sneaking into a Sable compound… that could go bad fast. And Cassandra is clearly not in her right mind at the moment. Things could be very dangerous even for her if she's caught. I should head to Central Park".
As he began to swing away, he noticed another message from Otto, and played it "Peter. I've had an epiphany. It's all about the mind. Take me for example… a mind of unlimited potential, shackled to a tired, old body. Think of what that mind could achieve if it were freed! In developing our neural interface, we need to think beyond* replicating the tired putterings of our physical forms. Instead, reach into imagination and possibility. Reach into the min".
"I've never heard Doc this excited by a project. Hope he's not too excited" Peter said before continuing towards Central Park.
Meanwhile, Cassandra had arrived at the Sable compound. There was many guards there. No surprise, given who they were guarding. Still, MJ's lead was solid, Standish must be here somewhere. She saw and opening in the fence, but of course a guard was there. Luckily his armor was weaker than the others, so Cassandra could take him down. She waited for him to turn around before rushing out, grabbed him by the neck before striking a pressure point. He was out like a light and Cassandra carefully dragged his body out of sight.
But now, time was of the essence. When he wakes up, or fails to report in, then the rest will know right away someone is there, and sneaking around alerted guards would be more troublesome. She snuck inside and saw the place crawling with guards. Sable is not cheap on security, that's for sure. Cassandra carefully snuck between the guards, she couldn't risk knocking anyone out in here, the body would be discovered in no time. But as she was sneaking around she noticed a screen with the list of Li's victims. The Demons are killing anyone related to Devil's Breath… Standish is in real danger. Cassandra snapped a picture before moving on. On the way she discovered another screen, showing several safe houses. She took a picture of that too, it could be useful.
Getting past the guards was tricky since there weren't many places to hide in. But she managed to locate the tent where Standish was in. But a guard was there, and Cassandra had to think fast. She decided to try something risky, and let out a small whistle. The guard heard it, and wondering what it was, he began to move towards Cassandra's location to investigate it. Cassandra waited for the right moment, and once the guard reached her location he checked her hiding place. She was not there, leaving him confused.
Cassandra had managed to sneak past him so fast he didn't even notice her. And she finally got inside the tent where Standish was working on something while drinking some coffee. Cassandra finally found him, now she needed to get information from him.
"Standish" Cassandra said silently.
"Holy crap!" Standish said as he gets out of his chair.
"Calm down… I just want to know where Dr. Morgan Michaels is" Cassandra said.
"Li sent you, didn't he…" Standish said before grabbing a gun and Cassandra raised her hands "If he wants to kill me- You tell him to do it… do it himself…".
"I am not with Li, or the Demons. I am..." Cassandra began before removing her mask so Standish could see her eyes. This was risky, but she had to calm him down "I am a victim. Just like many others".
Standish lowered his gun "You're... just a kid".
"Please Standish, I want to stop Li before he hurts anyone else. And I know you don't trust Sable enough to deal with him. So please, help me put an end to all this" Cassandra said.
"Ok... Sable won't listen to me. She has Michaels in The Bowery, they're moving him to a new safe house tomorrow at noon, but she's totally ignoring Grand Central. Demons were talking about it while they held me. They're going there to get…" Standish began explaining before they heard something.
Cassandra looked up and saw Peter's shadow "Oh no... hurry! Tell me what Li wants from Grand Central".
Suddenly Peter jumps in, webs away Sandish's gun and threateningly goes in his direction.
"What the f-" Standish said before he trips and hits his head on the floor.
"Ooh… that was not a Sable guy. Definitely not a Sable guy. Sorry, Charlie. OK. Time to go" Peter said as he grabbed Cassandra.
"Wait no! I almost got the information we need!" Cassandra said as she struggles against Peter's grip.
"There is no time!" Peter said before swinging away with Cassandra.
After they were a safe distance from the compound, Peter lands on a roof and lets go of a now pissed of Cassandra, who gave him a glare than only a member of the Bat Family could pull of. She learned it from the best.
"What the hell was that!?" Cassandra demanded.
"Look I'm sorry ok! I saw Standish holding a gun, and thought you had been caught by a Sable Agent. There was no time to think, so I reacted" Peter said.
"Why were you even there in the first place? Didn't MJ tell you I would handle it?" Cassandra asked.
"She did... but I was worried that your mind was not in the right place. So I wanted to make sure you didn't do anything to dangerous" Peter explained.
"My mind? What does that mean?" Cassandra demanded.
"It's just... so much has happened and you looked really stressed. I was worried you might not be thinking rationally, and might do something reckless" Peter said.
"Really? You think I would do something stupid because I was stressed? You think I haven't dealt with stressful situations before? I learned how to fight before I could even talk, I was part of an entire family of heroes. And that includes learning discipline, and keeping my mind focused, even through difficult situations. I knew exactly what I was doing and everything was going fine until you charged in like an clumsy idiot!" Cassandra said, growing more angry by the moment.
"Well sorry for being worried about you!" Peter said, showing signs of annoyance himself.
Cassandra let out a frustrated sound "Unbelievable!".
"Look we can argue about this all night. But right now we have more important things to focus on. Did you learn anything?" Peter asked.
Cassandra sighed before taking a breath to calm herself "Yes, Standish told me Michaels is in the Bowery. Sable's moving him to a new safe house tomorrow at noon. And he said Grand Central is a target for the Demons".
"What do they want with Grand Central?" Peter asked.
"Well he was going to tell me until you showed up. We know Li wants something from Grand Central, but thanks to you, that is all we know. We had one chance to learn the Demons plans, but now Sable will make sure we can never get to Standish again" Cassandra said.
"Cassandra, I'm sorry, I-" Peter began but was interrupted.
"Sorry isn't going to fix anything. I thought you trusted me Peter" Cassandra said.
"I do trust you! I just worried that you hadn't mentally recovered enough yet" Peter said.
Cassandra sighed "I am starting to understand why Batman prefers to work alone. Look, it's clear we can't stop Li if we get in each other's way. So I will go back to MJ and get some sleep, and tomorrow I will investigate Gran Central. And you will make sure Michaels is safe. Deal?".
"Alright... Want me to give you a ride?" Peter asked.
"I think I can at least manage that" Cassandra said. She knew she wasn't acting like herself, but she was so frustrated and needed some space.
With that Cassandra left... things were just getting harder.
.
There you go, I changed events for a bit. Instead of MJ and Peter snapping at each other, I had Cassandra getting mad at him. I did my best to show that unlike MJ who acted very childishly just because she was annoyed by Peter being to protective, Cassandra's anger was the result of a lot of stress and frustration, due to almost everything going wrong. Normally she wouldn't behave this way, but everyone has a limit, and when that limit is reached, she will get angry, but still retained enough self control to not become violent.
.
Tell me what you think.