Snuggles The Symbiote
"Marquis was... He was Amy's biological father," Brandish said.
Apparently, everyone involved wasn't just us but also the members of New Wave. And this was why.
Ashley had still been mad from whatever realization she'd had regarding that Thanos guy but when she'd heard what Brandish had said. Immediately she deflated. I grabbed her hand.
"When we arrested him," Brandish continued, "we agreed to take her in and I... Tried, as well as I was able, to raise her as my own..." Brandish's voice was wracked with guilt for a brief moment. "...Becuase he feared that his enemies would target her if she ended up in the foster care system."
"He first found out about Panacea's death a few weeks ago, when Lung was incarcerated in the Birdcage," came a woman's voice from over a speakerphone. Dragon, the hyper-reclusive Tinker. She was the Warden of the Birdcage. "A week or before that, I noticed that someone who wasn't legally incarcerated was present, but my attempts to find out who they were bore little fruit. Sometimes it would be like they weren't there. Marquis's demeanor changed after learning of his daughter's death and, according to the testimony of Glatstig Uaine, escaped with the help of our mysterious unscheduled inmate." Dragon took a moment to let that set in. "Per the Fairy Queen's own words, the interloper was, but was not, Azazel... Though due to her usual manner of communication it's, of course, difficult to understand what that means."
"It means that they were a clone of Azazel!" Ashley interrupted angrily. "Remember? Dozen or so clones of people from my world? Azazel's Nightcrawler's evil dad who has the same powers. A demonically empowered mutant who can teleport to anywhere he can see or clear picture by stepping between dimensions into a Hell Realm and then stepping back out somewhere else and, sometimes, bring people with him. He claims to be the actual Azazel and he's old enough that it's plausible, but he's probably not."
"The Jerks who harvested me for Mutant Growth Hormone and were experimenting with clones must have gotten some of his DNA, probably from Sinister, and the clone ended up here when all Hell Broke loose," Ashley finished. It was scary how she could go from guilty to angry and deflate back into guilt so quickly... Maybe she needs therapy more than once a week?
Lady Photon, another member of New Wave, scoffed somewhat. "I can accept parallel universes, but demons? Hell Realms? Do you have an explanation that you didn't read in a storybook?"
Ashley sighed and looked Lady Photon in the eyes. And then fire shot out of Ashley's eyes and hit Lady photon in the face. Everyone jumped, but the fire cleared a second later leaving an unharmed but distinctly uncomfortable looking Lady Photon.
"That was called the Penance Stare," Ashley explained, "it's a power normally exclusive to a category of angels, fallen angels, and demons collectively called Spirits of Vengence that I have cause of shenanigans. It burns someone's sins into their soul, forcing them to experience every bit of physical, spiritual, and emotional pain they've caused someone else by malice or carelessness and the guilt that a sane and rational person would feel when they realize they've caused that kind of harm and makes it so that they'll never forget it. Right now," Ashley explained, "most of my powers are sealed away by a spell for reasons I don't want to get into, but I can still burn one sin at a time. Right now, you just experienced the emotional distress you caused the time you fat-shamed your niece even though she wasn't fat. You will never forget that, or the shame you should have felt for doing it in the first place, and you'll remember them both any time you so much as think of doing something like that ever again. Do you believe in demons now?"
"What is wrong with you?" Was Lady Photon's response.
"I'm in a very bad mood that's getting worse by the minute and I have a very low tolerance for stupidity and condescension," Ashley deadpanned.
"Regardless of that... Distraction," Dragon continued. "Lung was quite forthcoming with the contents of his frequent conversations with Marquis, albeit at a price: Marquis blames The Brockton Bay Brigade, or New Wave, for failure to keep his daughter safe and is seeking vengeance on the people he holds responsible."
"Marquis had a code of honor," Brandish began to explain, "that forbade the killing of women and children. But he'd kill a hero, another villain, or an underling that failed him in a heartbeat. I'm sure you can all see the distinction. He took credit for the murder of Iron Rain, the daughter of All-Father and sister of Kaiser, despite her being a young woman, so there are clear exceptions to the rules in his code. He was superficially nice, seemingly caring, but under the surface, he was cruel and sadistic."
"Yan, surname unknown, the ABB member who actually pulled the trigger and killed Panacea, was found dead in her cell at the New Hampshire Correctional Facility for Women in a manner consistent with Marquis's pattern of killings within an hour of my learning that he'd escaped," Dragon continued. "We suspect that he'll be targeting everyone who was involved in Panacea's death or that he thinks should have been able to prevent it."
"So... Basically instead of seeking justice he's just gonna make his daughter's death all about himself and his violent quest for vengeance?" Ashley asked. "...Look, I feel bad about what happened to Panacea. That was my fault... But he sounds like a gosh-darned Psychopath."
"Casually cruel people who kill people in a heartbeat usually are," was the deadpanned reply of Brandish. "Especially when they're superficially charming."
"So, when he comes for us I set his soul on fire. Got it," Ashley dismissed.
"...That... Officially the Wards are not to engage in Marquis and try to flee if they encounter him," Dragon added. "I was instructed that by Chief Director Rebecca Costa-Brown herself. The PRT and Protectorate have already been given orders to take action to secure the city, the local police have been informed, and as we speak Marquis's known and suspected contacts are being monitored or interviewed. He was a perfectionist, he's not just going to come after any of you unless and until he is certain of victory. This is not a briefing for a plan of action. This is a warning."
"Unofficially, I am aware that Cuddlebug's contract was drafted by negotiation between a divorce lawyer and a suspected God of Mischief and that she's legally allowed to ignore everything I just said," Dragon admitted. "All I can say is please don't do anything stupid."
"If he's right there I'm gonna do the thing," Ashley grumbled petulantly.
"Now, officially the meeting is over. Unofficially, the price Lung asked for in exchange for the information he provided was to arrange a video call between himself and the child who defeated him."
Everyone turned to Ashley, who shifted from anger, guilt, and irritation to confusion. "Okay, who's Lung again?"
"...The guy we fought the night we met?" I questioned.
"You beat the shit out of him by yourself when Weaver was in the hospital?" Vista added.
"The giant angry Japanese man that turns into a dragon?" Gallant concluded.
"Oh, him," Ashley said with a shrug. "I remember now."
"How did you forget beating one of the most dangerous criminals in the country!?" Vista shouted in confusion.
"It's been a hell of a month," Ashley said defensively. "I may have absorbed the memories of thousands of people, some of whom are thousands of years old. Unimportant things like that guy who I punched in the groin over a month ago are gonna slip my mind. I remember now, it's fine."
Ashley sat up straight and looked at the speakerphone. "Miss Dragon? Please tell Lung that I said 'Taihen kokoro gurushiku ha arimasuga, homare takaki Ron sama no on-mi to mami-eru koto ha dekikane masu. Ron-sama ha homare takaki yue, watakushi ha hajiirubakari de gozaimasuredomo, oshimuraku ha watakushi ha hito narazru mi yue ni, o-jikan wo tsukau koto ha dekimase-nu. Ki-den ha koumyou naru hito naredomo, watakushi ha Kami no masseki wo yogosu mono tosite amarinimo ōku no tsutome wo kaserareru mi yue ni, ki-den to kotoba wo kawasu koto mo dekimase-nu. Kon-go no ei-tatsu wo o-inori suru bakari de gozaimasu.' He's from Japan, right? He should understand it."
I have no idea what she said, but it sounded incredibly formal and polite. Her entire demeanor changed from an incredibly grumpy child to a perfectly behaved and refined young lady. Whatever it was, it was probably too nice for Lung's ears... and then I realized that Ashley being multilingual was probably gonna be a pain in the ass when she got older.
"...And Doctor Strange and Doc Samson will probably be happy that I'm starting to own it," Ashley muttered to herself. I don't think anyone but me caught that part though. I'd ask her about it later.
"I think I caught that. I'll pass it along," Dragon finished.
The meeting ended after that. I sent Ashley off to go play with her pet murderer, who hadn't been at the meeting, as it didn't concern her, in the hopes that it'd calm her down while I did my best to catch up to Brandish and Lady Photon as they made there way out.
"Uh, hey... Sorry, this probably isn't the best time but... How do you parent a superhuman child? As you can probably tell I'm completely out of my depth."
An: Special thanks to Atreidestrooper for providing the Japanese Language translation.
Don't try to google translate, it will get it wrong. In Japan, which Ashley knows about from Wolverine's codices(It's not a joke when I call him a Canadian Samurai, dude lived in Japan for a while and super immersed himself in the culture) there's this thing where if you are more polite or formal than the situation calls for, especially if you're acting like you're below someone in social station when you're not, then it comes across as being very rude and sarcastic.
The original English I provided was "My most sincere apologies, greatly honored Lung, but as I am not a mere boring human such as yourself I am far too busy to share my time with you, even though you are so great and I am so little. You may be the mightiest of mortals, but even the least of all elder deities such as myself have far too many duties to stop and chat with even our betters. My sincerest wishes for the success of all of your endeavors."
The literal English of the final translation, provided by the translator, "It pains my heart deeply, but as it is I cannot meet the great honorable Lung-sama in person. As you are greatly honored, while I am shamed to do so I cannot waste your [precious] time, as I am regretfully one with a body that is not human. While you are a renowned human being, I am the least of all the Kami and given all too many duties to deal with, thus I have no capacity to speak with you. All I can do is wish for your progress to glory from hereafter." Which is a bit punched up from my original.
With Ashley's tone, and on a surface reading, it seems incredibly polite and humble. But to the ear of someone raised in Japan, like Lung? If Ashley is telling the truth about being a deity, then even if she is the least of all Gods she's so far beyond where Lung is in terms of social standing that this becomes a dire insult worse than if she'd merely told him to go fuck himself.
And it is. As Ashley alludes to later, she's using this as an opportunity to start owning her accidental apotheosis, which she's been uncomfortable for.
Of course, neither Ashley, Wolverine who she got her Japanese cultural knowledge from, nor my translating friend were raised as aristocrats and trained in this kind of social combat, so the same idea could be expressed in a way that is far more insulting while sounding even more polite on the surface.