We all looked down at the phone silently. I, myself, had a mixture of annoyance and despair welling up inside of me. I was just getting tired of dealing with Justin Hammer. A part of me wished I did level him with a punch the last time we met. Would it have changed anything? Probably not, but I would've felt fantastic afterwards.

"…So," Scott began, breaking the silence. "This either tells us two things. A, Carmilla is being held hostage by Justin Hammer. Or B, Justin Hammer is baiting us into a trap." I looked over at him, and he was visibly vexed. "…Neither one of those are mutually exclusive."

"So what, we shake down Justin Hammer?" Ned asked. "I wouldn't be opposed. Just give me a moment and I can track down his – "

"As tempting as that is – and please believe me when I say that I'm extremely tempted – that wouldn't be the move," Craig spoke up in a grim tone. As I looked at him, he shook his head as he chuckled bitterly. "…You know, this makes too much sense."

"What do you mean?" MJ asked.

"Hammer Industries have always been hit or miss with their tech and ideas, and when they hit, there's at least a 50 percent chance that the idea or tech is stolen." Craig turned away and walked a few steps. "So you know what I think?" He turned back towards us. "I think Justin Hammer saw Carmilla, or footage of her when she was still an X-Men, and decided 'Hey, let me copy that, but change it up a bit'. Of course, Carmilla is not some hulking juggernaut that can burrow through the street. But the green and black color motif, the scorpion theme…"

"But why would Justin Hammer have her in his possession?" Kitty inquired.

"There's a good chance that the man who became Scorpion wasn't his first choice," Scott mused as he scratched his chin. "Perhaps Justin tried to bring Carmilla into the fold. She said no, Justin Hammer imprisons her and takes her whole superhero identity."

"I wouldn't put it past Hammer," Ned spoke up in agreement. "The man's a dick."

"Yup," I stated. "…So what do we do?"

"We can't shake down Hammer, but if we can find someone in New York who may know a thing or two about Hammer Industries' facilities, that'd be great," Kitty stated.

"I can try and hack Hammer Industries' employee database," Ned offered.

"We could do that," MJ stated. "But we could go a different route."

"What are you suggesting?" Scott asked.

MJ picked up her phone and pocketed it. "Simple, we just have Ned search LinkedIn for people who are employed by Hammer Industries. And then we can narrow it down by location and the jobs they hold until we have a shortlist of people we could possibly track down."

Scott went quiet as he looked to the side in thought. He then nodded before he looked at Ned. "Ned, would you kindly do that search? Narrow it down to people who have executive roles and people with military experience – both government and private." Scott paused for a moment. "Also, narrow it down to anyone in the New York area."

"Will do."

Scott nodded. He then looked at MJ and smiled. "Great stuff, Michelle."

"MJ," MJ corrected. She then smirked. "And thank you."

"You're welcome."

Narrowing down the results only took a few minutes for Ned. Between his search and Scott's input, we were able to narrow the names down to five. Ned went through each profile until we landed on one.

"…Joanna Cargill," Scott whispered.

"Found something?" Craig asked as he walked towards the fridge.

"I think we did." Scott leaned in a bit a closer to the screen. I walked over and stood over Ned's left shoulder as I looked at the screen. The profile picture showed a black woman with long dreads that reached down to at least her shoulders. While her expression was neutral, there was a certain intensity in her brown eyes. I heard footsteps, and Craig walked up to my left, bottle of water in his hand. He stared at the screen. He then smirked as he looked over at Scott.

"Quite the bombshell she is," he commented. "…Hey Scott, she might be single."

Scott continued to speak, either not noticing or ignoring Craig's joke. "Joanna Cargill, from what is shown on her profile, has had quite the life. She spent 12 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, reaching the rank of Second Lieutenant before she left. From there, she ended up working for different private militaries around the world, most notably Wild Pack – who she still works for as a freelancer – and Anvil. She started working for Hammer Industries about four years ago. We should probably check her out." Scott looked over at Ned. "Can you find an address for her?"

"Sure thing," Ned stated. He pulled up another program and typed in her name. "Let's see… according to utility records… she's living in Bed-Stuy."

"Let's pay her a visit tonight, then." Scott straightened himself up before he looked at me. "Do we need to stop by your house for a suit?"

"Yeah." I looked over at MJ. "Red and Blue, or Black?"

"I say Red and Blue," she replied. She sighed. "Well, looks like we are all going on a stakeout."

Scott looked over at Michelle as his eyebrows rose over his glasses. "Excuse me?" he said in a slightly exasperated tone. "What do you mean 'we'?"

"Do you honestly think Ned and I are going to just go home while you guys confront this woman?"

"You guys could use a guy in the chair since Kitty will be preoccupied," Ned added as he closed his laptop.

"Guys," I spoke up. "I…" I trailed off as both Michelle and Ned looked at me. The point I had, whatever it was, died before it could be even leave my brain. I remembered who I was talking to. I sighed. "…Just be careful."

"Bruh!" Craig exclaimed in protest. "We can't have them in harm's way!"

I looked at him sympathetically. "Look, if we say no to them now, they'll just figure out a way to meet us there. We're a package deal – even more so since we reunited."

Scott shook his head. I knew he was rolling his eyes, even though I couldn't see them. After that, he looked back and forth between MJ and Ned. "…You two will stay in the car with the keys. If there's any sign of trouble, I want you guys to drive off. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir," Ned replied.

"Crystal," MJ added.

"Okay." Scott nodded a couple of times. "Let's go."

After Scott, Craig, and Kitty took time to change into their quick change attire, we made our way to my apartment. A bit to MJ's annoyance, Scott vetoed her suggestion for my red and blue suit and told me to dress in my quick change outfit. After I made my way back to the car, we drove off. During the drive, we were all quiet. The only sounds coming from within the cabin was the GPS of Craig's phone, which was sounding off directions. I looked over at Craig, who was in the driver seat of the armored SUV. He was focused on driving and nothing else. A part of me wondered what was going through his head. For his sake, I hoped this Joanna Cargill had the answers we were looking for.

I frowned before I looked out of the window. I then looked to my right when I felt MJ's hand on mine. Ned and MJ were looking at me with reassuring smiles. While I didn't smile myself, I nodded towards them as I took MJ's hand in my own and gave it a soft squeeze.

After some time, we arrived in Bed-Stuy. I looked out the window at the black and gray building with seven stories.

"The apartments on 1111 Fulton Street," Scott commented as he adjusted his glasses. "I really hate to compliment Justin Hammer, but he apparently pays his employees well."

"I'll stick to robbing drug dealers," Craig deadpanned as he brought his hood up and pulled down his mask. "There ain't a set of benefits good enough to make me send him my resume."

"You could get hired by him, then rob him," Ned offered in jest. At that, Craig scoffed.

"Don't tempt me."

I pulled out my mask before I pulled it over my head. Before I could fully pull it down, MJ grabbed my wrists gently. Before I could ask what was up, I felt her lips against mind. It was a short kiss, barely giving me time to reciprocate. After that, she let go of my wrists.

"Be careful, Dork," she whispered.

"You as well, Em."

"Oh I'm sorry, should we leave the car and give you two some privacy?" Ned deadpanned.

MJ looked over her shoulder and flipped off Ned with her right hand. "Don't be mad because Betty's not around."

Ned grumbled. MJ looked back at me and smirked.

"Hey MJ, catch!" Craig warned. MJ looked towards him, just in time to see him toss the keys at her. She caught them with one hand. "Like Scott said, if anything happens, y'all need to haul."

"We will," MJ promised.

"Codenames from here on out," Scott stated. I nodded as I pulled my mask all the way down and stepped out of the car.

We walked over to the building. We walked up to the door, which had a key pad. Without missing a beat, Shadowcat walked through the glass door as we waited outside. We watched as she walked up to the security guard at the front desk. The security guard quickly stood up, only for Shadowcat to sink into the ground. After that, the guard suddenly descended behind the desk. A few seconds later, Shadowcat ascended. She was looking down before she reached down for something. A moment later, there was a buzzing sound. Cyclops opened the door and waved Frictor and I in. The two of us walked inside with Cyclops walking in after us. The three of us then walked up to the desk to see the security guard pulled halfway into the ground.

"X-Men?!" he exclaimed frantically. "Why are you guys after me for?! I'm just an - !"

"Average joe working an honest job?" Frictor finished. "Yeah, we know. That's why she pulled you into the ground, and that is why you're still conscious."

"I'm really sorry we had to do this," Cyclops spoke up in earnest. "The thing is, we have a person interest that we want to talk to. We want to do it as discreetly as possible and, unfortunately, leaving you unrestrained would have likely prevented us from doing that, since I'm sure you would have called the police."

"As any good security guard would have done," I added. "So, it's nothing personal. We'll try to be done as soon as possible. Then we'll pull you back up to ground. After that… well… that's up to you, because we'll be gone already."

With that, we all walked up to the elevator, Shadowcat phasing through the desk. After we called the elevator and the doors opened up, we filed in casually. After that, Cyclops hit the button for the fourth floor. The doors closed, and the elevator ascended.

"I just know we're going to be talked about in the Daily Bugle after this," I muttered.

"It's J. Jonah Jameson," Shadowcat replied with a shrug. "If we dump out a cup of stale coffee, he'd rant about how we're disrespecting impoverished families by wasting food."

"Ain't that the truth?" Frictor muttered.

"It comes with the territory," Cyclops chimed in. "What he says doesn't matter to me."

The elevator slowed to a stop before the doors opened up. We stepped out of the elevator and down the hall until we reached the right door – 4D. I stepped up to the door before I placed the side of my head against it. I closed my eyes and focused on my hearing. I heard the sound of the A/C and the hum of the fridge. But I didn't hear a single heartbeat. I pulled my head away.

"No one's inside," I stated.

"…A bit unfortunate, but far from the end of the world," Cyclops mused. "Shadowcat, would you kindly?"

"You got it," she replied. She reached out and grabbed Frictor and Cyclops by the shoulder. I moved behind her and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Okay, one… two… three." We all walked forward through the door. Once inside, I removed my hand from Shadowcat's shoulder and looked around for a light switch. Once I found it, I walked over to it and turned it on. The apartment was… pretty basic. The living room was furnished with only a sofa, a glass coffee table, and an entertainment system – albeit a rather impressive one with an Ultra HD TV situation on top of it. The apartment itself looked rather expensive, though.

"…Justin Hammer does pay well," Frictor remarked as he looked around. He then walked up to the coffee table and looked down at it. "Let's see… mail, laptop, remote… that's about it." Frictor picked up the mail and looked through it before he grabbed one. During this, Cyclops moved into the kitchen and started searching through cabinets and drawers. Shadowcat walked into another room. Frictor dropped the rest of the mail on the coffee table before he started up the envelope he was holding.

"Dude, isn't that a federal offense?" I protested. He glared at me in response.

"We're already violating The Accords. Besides, I'm opening this envelope for a reason – it's from Hammer Industries." Once he had the envelope opened, he gently pulled out the contents, which was a folded up piece of paper. He sat down and unfolded the piece of paper before he looked at it. "Let's see… 'Dear Ms. Cargill…'." Frictor looked up from the apparent letter and towards Cyclops. Even with the mask on, I just knew he was smirking. "She's single, Cyclops."

"Don't make me blast you, Frictor," Cyclops called out from the kitchen in a tone of slight annoyance.

"I'm just saying!" Frictor looked back at the letter and continued to read. "'Dear Ms. Cargill. We received your letter of resignation. I understand that nothing lasts forever, but this letter we sent you is a passionate request for you to reconsider. You've been a very valuable part of the company and we would like to negotiate any terms that would result in you staying. We like to think we're a family at Hammer Industries…' Blah, blah-blah, blah-blah." Frictor tossed the letter onto the coffee table. "Seems like Joanna isn't working for them anymore."

"There's still a good chance that she may know something," Cyclops pointed out.

"She's not hurting for work, anyway," Shadowcat stated as she stepped out of the room. "I saw a lot of recent deposit receipts in her room. She still has cash flow."

"So what do we do?" I asked.

"I say Shadowcat tracks her down tomorrow and find out where she works and/or frequents, and then we can try and interrogate her when she's most accessible," Cyclops stated.

I nodded. "I think that's a good…" I trailed off. My senses started to go off. "…Um… guys… I think someone's coming."

"Everybody keep quiet," Frictor said in an urgent whisper. He stood up and quietly made his way to the light switch. He flipped the switch down, turning off the lights. He then placed his eye against the peephole. He remained like that for several seconds. He then sighed as he turned away. "I don't see anyone."

My senses didn't subside. And they were about to be proven right.

Before anyone else could say anything, the door was suddenly knocked out of its frame. The door hit Frictor, knocking him down to the ground. As the door landed on top of Frictor, I looked at the doorway as someone stepped in.

There was Joanna Cargill. She was dressed in a pair of black jeans with a matching pair of sneakers and a grey t-shirt bearing The United States Marine Corps emblem. Just like in the picture, she had a head full of long dreads and intense brown eyes. However, the headshot didn't do nothing convey her seven foot stature or the fact that she was quite muscular. She walked in slowly, stepping on the door that Frictor was under before she came to a stop.

She looked around, her eyes landing on me first, then Shadowcat, then Cyclops.

"So," she began slowly. "I see Cyclops, I see Shadowcat, and I see Spider-Man." She looked down at the door she was standing on. "I'm assuming that the person underneath this door is Frictor."

"Yeah, it is," Frictor replied with a muffled voice. "If you would kindly remove yourself from above me, that'd be great."

"Yeah, no." He looked over at Cyclops. "…I'm going to give you five minutes. During those five minutes, you're going to leave, go downstairs, pull Larry out of the ground, and never come back to this place again. And maybe… just maybe, I'll send Frictor on his way unharmed."

"Appealing terms," Cyclops stated. "However, we're here for a reason. We need information and you're probably the best person we can find for it. In a word, we need your help."

At that, Joanna scoffed. "You guys break into my apartment and now you want to ask for my help?"

"…Yes."

Joanna stared at Cyclops for several seconds. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "You guys are at about three minutes now."

"Look, I know this looks bad," I spoke up. I took a step towards her. She snapped her head towards my direction and gave me a warning glare. "Just… hear me out. Do you have people you love and really care for?"

"What of it?" she demanded curtly.

"I think everyone here is willing to go the extra mile to try and help those they love. For us, this right here is the extra mile. We're trying to find someone. We have a lead, and we have reason to believe that this person's disappearance involves Hammer Industries. We came here because we know you work for Hammer Industries… or rather, used to, as we figured out a few minutes ago."

"…" Joanna tilted her head. "…How did you know about that?"

"I read your mail from Hammer Industries," Frictor said from underneath the door. "They really want you back!"

Joanna glared down at the door. "…That doesn't help you guys' case!"

"Would it help if I paid for the door? I'll even pay you what you put down for the deposit, and then some!"

"Please, Joanna," Shadowcat interjected. "…We're trying to find someone – someone we've been sorely missing for months. As Frictor said, we'll pay for the damages. And we'll each owe you a favor. Just give us five minutes to explain ourselves, and you'll understand why we're going to such extremes."

Joanna looked at Shadowcat for some seconds. I started to prepare for a possible fight – something told me that she was a lot stronger than she looked, and she looked extremely strong already. Fortunately, there wasn't.

She stepped off of the door. "Consider your clock reset."