Welcome to Prague! Let's hope that everything goes well for our heroes…
After thoroughly humiliating Brad, Peter and Shocket were ready to focus on their hijacked vacation, defeated the last Elemental with Mysterio, and maybe find time in-between to hook up Peter with MJ. One of the perks of SHIELD taking over was that their frankly crappy school budgeted field trip had been given a major upgrade, which was obvious to tell when the class ended up in a fancy 5-Star hotel once they got to Prague.
"Wow, this place is so classy," Betty said as they walked in.
"Yeah, so why are we here?" another student asked.
Flash scoffed. "Speak for yourself- I'm home."
As Mr. Harrington announced their class activity of going to see the annual Festival of Lights, Peter got a call from Maria Hill instructing him to put on the earpiece in his new suit and await further instructions with Shocket. As they got those ordered, Ned came over to talk with his friend.
"Hey man, sorry if I seem preoccupied with my relationship," Ned apologized. "But I'm still your guy in the chair."
"No, it's all good, don't worry about it," Peter assured him.
"Yeah, if Pete needs backup, I can match your Earth tech any day," Shocket nodded.
"Great," Ned said. "So, what's the status on the Elemental thing? Where's it gonna happen?"
"Here in Prague," Shocket said nonchalantly. "That's why your field trip got moved to here? Obviously."
"But… We're here," Ned pointed out.
"I know, I know," Peter sighed. "It's not god. I'm figuring it out."
"You two have to do something, Peter," Ned stated. "Please, we're all counting on you."
Betty then called Ned back to the others, and Shocket felt her communicator ringing on her belt. "It's Fury," the ottercoon said. "He wants to meet with us."
[***]
"That thing is going to be here in a few hours," Fury said, looking at a distracted Peter. "Are you bored, Parker?"
"He's not bored. He's just thinking about how you kidnapped him," Beck defended.
"He had obstacles. I removed them," Fury countered.
Maria huffed as she got off the phone. "They still won't evacuate the city."
"Idiots," Shocket rolled her eyes. "Looks like we'll have to come up with our own plan, then, right Fury?"
The eye-patched man nodded. "Remember the plan, Parker?"
"I will be in the cathedral tower, watching for the fire monster," Peter repeated. "When that shows up, I will radio you guys, then Shocket, Mr. Beck and I-"
"My name is Mysterio," Beck interrupted.
Peter and Shocket smiled as their fellow hero finally embraced his heroic name. "That's when Shocket, Mysterio and I will move in."
"Peter, listen to me," Mysterio warned. "The best hope you have, the only hope, is to stop it here now, no matter what the cost. Maneuver it away from civilians if you can, but most important: keep it away from metal. If it gets too big, it will be able to draw power from the Earth's core. After that, there's no way to stop it."
Shocket let out a low whistle. "Too bad we don't have an all-powerful stone that can turn back time, right?" She laughed, but it died out quickly as no one else found it particularly funny at the moment.
Peter looked at Mysterio. "Hey man, my friends are here, and I can't help but think that we're putting them in danger."
"You're worried about us hurting your friends?" Fury said, getting out of his chair and facing Peter. He pointed at Shocket. "Stark gave you a multi-billion-dollar tactical AI drone system, and the first thing you do with it is play petty pranks on your 'friends.'"
"Brad is the farthest thing from a friend," Shocket muttered.
"It's clear to me that neither of you are ready for this," Fury said.
The two teen heroes needed a break after getting chewed out by the head of Shield, so they headed up to the rooftops to get some fresh air. Soon a hum came to Shocket's ears as Mysterio floated up to where they were.
"Fury asked me to come check on you two," Mysterio said. "He just- He felt back about snapping at you."
"Really?" the two said, raising and eyebrow.
"You guys do have sarcasm on this Earth, right?" Mysterio asked rhetorically. The two teens laughed a bit. "How you feeling?"
"Uh… I didn't think I was gonna have to save the world this summer," Peter admitted. "I know that makes me sound like such a jerk. I just… I had this plan with this girl that I really like, and now it's all ruined."
"Peter…" Shocket sighed.
Mysterio floated down to take a seat next to them, specifically sitting between the two as to cut off Shocket from Peter. "You're not a jerk for wanting a normal life, kid. It's a hard path. You see things, you do things, you make choices. People look up to you, and even when you win a battle, sometimes they die. I like you, Peter, you're a good kid. There's a part of me that just wants to tell you, just, turn around and run away from all of this. Then there's another part of me that knows what we're about to fight, what's at stake. And I'm glad you're here."
"Me too," Peter said.
"But you're worried about your friends," Mysterio noted.
Peter nodded. "Yeah. It always feels like I'm putting them in danger."
"Look, just get them inside and keep them in a safe place for a few hours. They'll be alright," Mysterio suggested.
"It's really nice, having someone to talk to about superhero stuff, you know?" Peter said.
"I'm literally right here," Shocket frowned.
"Anytime," Mysterio ignored the ottercoon. "And hey, if you survive this, you'll have all summer to get with MJ."
The two teens nodded, then dropped down onto the streets to get ready for the mission. Shocket reached into Peter's bag and pulled out the EDITH glasses. "Hey EDITH, the drones aren't only good for fighting, right? They've got to have some sort of surveillance system too, right?"
"Indeed, Shocket. The Stark Tech Drones are capable of not only using suppressant fire and miniature rockets, but have state-of-the-art surveillance tech and holographic projects to redirect populations away from danger."
"Holograms? Sweet!" Shocket grinned.
"What are you doing?" Peter asked. "I was going to ask EDITH to get my friends out of the way of the fight."
"And what, keep them locked in the hotel or send them to an opera?" Shocket questioned. "We're teenagers, remember? They'll just get bored and sneak out of the building and right into danger. Happens all the time in your Earth movies. Now then, While you and Mysterio play firefighters, I can man the drones to both keep an eye on your friends and get the crowds of people out of the way of the fight."
"That's… Actually yeah, that could work," Peter said. "Just remember what Mysterio said: keep the drones away from the Elemental, or else it'll gain more power."
"Got it," Shocket nodded. "EDITH, send down about, oh, I dunno, four drones? Disable all lethal weaponry unless I give the order, and have them avoid areas of high temperatures."
"Understood, Shocket. You're drones will be ready for orders in a few minutes."
The ottercoon grinned and activated her wrist communicator, pulling up a screen to connect to EDITH's systems. "Alright, Spider-Man. Let's save this planet!"
[***]
Meeting back with their classmates at the hotel, everyone was decked out in party gear, excited for the Festival of Lights. Shocket and Peter had their new Stealth Suits underneath their regular clothes, and the EDITH drones were at the ready, monitoring them from the rooftops in cloaked mode.
"This is so cool!" Shocket said as she flipped between cameras. "If can, I might just save a recording of some of this footage to send back to the Guardians."
"Whatcha doing?" MJ asked, walking over to where Shocket and Peter were conversing in the crowd.
"Just messing around with a drone," Shocket shrugged, showing off one of the feeds. Peter gave the ottercoon a look of panic, but she brushed it off.
"Hey, MJ," Peter said, stepping in front of Shocket. 'You look pretty tonight."
"And therefore, I have value?" MJ shot back.
"No. No, that's not what I meant at all-" Peter stuttered.
"I'm messing with you," MJ laughed. "Thank you. You look pretty too."
"Thank you," Peter took the compliment.
MJ looked around the festival, seeing Ned and Betty living it up in crowd. "Wanna hang out as a pair?"
"You mean, just the two of us?" Peter asked.
"Yeah," MJ nodded.
"Are you two in position?" Fury said over the coms.
"Not now," Shocket said.
"Why the hell not?" Fury asked. "Parker? What's your status?"
Shocket tugged at Peter's leg. "Hey, I think my drone might have hit a bird. I'll need your help to pick it up, Pete."
Peter looked down at her, then back to MJ sheepishly. "Hey, maybe we can, uh, you know-"
"I get it," MJ said. "Internship buddies. You gotta take care of the transfer student. How about I save you a spot for the fireworks?"
"Yeah, sure," Peter said as MJ walked into the crowd. He confirmed his position with Fury and then quickly grabbed Ned. "Hey man, we gotta go. Can you try to keep Brad away from MJ tonight, at least until we get back."
"Okay, be careful," Ned said. "And Peter, whatever you do, please steer the monster away from us."
"Yeah, we know," Shocket rolled her eyes. "I got EDITH looking out over you guys like a guardian angel. You'll be fine."
Once they were clear, Shocket and Peter quickly ducked into an alleyway and got their Stealth Suits fully on. Peter's way black with fingerless gloves and eye pieces that could flip upwards, while Shocket had a similar black suit, but with a headset that was more designed like a night-vision goggles. The ottercoon sat atop one of the drones while Peter clung to the side of the cathedral.
"Hey, check this out," Shocket said, holding out one of her arms to show a membrane underneath. "This suit is like those wingsuits you humans use to jump off cliffs with. Kind of makes me think of Falcon- oh, wait, isn't he Captain America now?"
"Something like that," Spider-Man said. "I wish I had been there when the whole Flag Smasher thing went down, but I was dealing with some guy riding around in a big wheel thing calling himself 'Big Wheel.'"
"You know, I would call that lame, but- No, yeah, that's incredibly lame," Shocket noted.
"Are you two ready yet?" Fury asked.
"Yeah, we're in position," Spider-Man said. "As soon as we see something, Beck, we'll let you know."
"Roger that," Mysterio called.
"How are the suits?" Fury said.
"They're awesome!" Shocket said.
"It's a little tight around the old web shooter," Spider-Man noted.
"Peter! TMI!" Shocket groaned.
"Right, I'll shut up now," Spider-Man looked away sheepishly.
Shocket looked over her drone system, making note that MJ was thankfully not anywhere near Brad and that Ned and Betty were going on the Ferris Wheel. She raised an eyebrow as the fountain that MJ was near started smoking.
"Energy spiking," Fury called.
"We've got seismic activity," Hill added.
"Warning: temperature levels rising to volcanic degrees."
The ground started bubbling with lava as the fountain burst forward, revealing a gigantic monster made out of burning, molten rock. It was the Fire Elemental!
"Okay, I'm calling this one 'Molten Man,'" Shocket said. "EDITH, escort all civilians to a safer location!"
"Order received."
"Beck, are you ready? You know what to do," Peter called.
"On your lead, Spider-Man," Mysterio replied.
The EDITH drones changed their cloaking to create holographic signs and barriers, encouraging civilians to evacuate the area as heroes were on their way to stop the monster. Molten Man in the meantime jumped down from the fountain and smashed a nearby car, absorbing its metal and growing larger. Mysterio flew down and activated his mystic ruins, while Spider-Man did a flip and threw an explosive crate at Molten Man.
"We've got this, guys!" Shocket shouted. "Peter, there's a hydrant you can use to cool this monster down!"
"On it!" Peter replied.
He webbed the hydrant as Mysterio blasted Molten Man with his energy attack. The monster roared as water cascaded over it, sending up tons of smoke as its body started to harden. Shocket looked at her camera feed an noted that Ned and Betty were trapped in the Ferris Wheel, which was near were Molten Man was attacking!
"Peter, I'm gonna get your friends out of here," Shocket said, hopping from her drone and using the rising heat to glide over to the Ferris Wheel.
Betty looked at the scene and saw Spider-Man clinging to the wall. "Wait, is that Spider-Man?" she asked.
Ned shook his head. "Uh-uh. No, no, no. It's like a European rip-off of him. I was actually reading about him. It's not him."
"You got that right, kid," Shocket said, nimbly climbing down and pulling out her blaster, cutting away at the door of the Ferris Wheel car. "Say hello to Flying Fox, your resident sidekick of the hour here to save your life."
Molten Man to a swing at Spider-Man, who dodged the attack and landed on the nearby carousel. The monster just punched the ride next, making it explode as Spider-Man went crashing down onto the street near the Ferris Wheel.
"Beck, he's got the carousel! He's getting bigger!" Spider-Man called.
"Hey partner, keep that Elemental away from us while I save your frie- These civilians," Shocket said, catching herself at the end.
"If this guy is Flying Fox, then who's the other one?" Betty asked Ned.
"Way to assume I'm a guy," Shocket said, rolling her eyes underneath the mask. She dropped her laser with a yelp as the temperature became too hot for her to hold. "Well, that's bloody fantastic."
"He's, uh, Night Monkey," Ned said.
"Night Monkey?" Shocket said with confusion. 'That's the best he could come up with? Fine, I'll go along with it.' "Hey, Night Monkey, your partner in crime could use some assistance saving these civilians!"
"What?" Spider-Man said in surprise, only to turn his attention back to Molten Man as it grew even bigger.
The teen hero tried to shoot webs to stop it, but the Elemental of fire just burned the webs away before they could even make contact. Luckily, Mysterio arrived to put up a shield to protect the two of them as Molten Man pounded away that them.
"On to Plan B?" Mysterio suggested.
"Yeah, we gotta hit him with something he can't absorb!" Spider-Man shouted.
"I go left, you go right… Now!" Mysterio shouted, dropping the shield as the two of them dodged out of the way.
Molten Man chased after Spider-Man with pillars of fire, the teen hero flipping off of a building and then webbing some loose concrete to chuck at the monster. Mysterio then swooped in and shot the rock, which managed to actually do damage!
"That's it, you two! Keep doing that!" Shocket cheered. She reached into her belt and pulled out the knife that Drax gave it. "Space knife, don't fail me now!" With a single swing, the latch to the door was cut open, allowing Shocket to summon a drone to pick up Ned and Betty to safety.
"Thank you, Flying Fox!" Betty called as they were placed on the street a few blocks away. "Sorry for misgendering you!"
"Whatever, kid!" Shocket shouted back, turning her attention to the fight happening down below. Using her suit, the ottercoon glided over to a better position, then pulled up her camera feed. "Okay, all the students are safe, and all eight drones are here and accounted for…" She tilted her head. "Wait, eight drones?"
Meanwhile, Spider-Man tried to web up the Ferris Wheel, only for the web to snag onto one of the hidden drones and tear a piece of it away. "What was that?" he asked aloud.
"Just keep the Ferris Wheel away from the monster!" Shocket called.
She ordered her drones to move it and help Spider-Man keep the ride stable, and they actually managed to hold it off as Mysterio blasted the Elemental with his powers. It looked like they were going to win, only for Molten Man to give another roar of power as it gained its final size to destroy the Earth.
"Whatever happens, I'm glad that we met," Mysterio said to Peter.
"Beck, what are you doing?" Spider-Man asked.
"What I should have done last time," the hero said with conviction.
Gathering up all of his mystic power, Mysterio charged into the heart of the monster, Molten Man convulsing as the green energy overtook its body. The Elemental fell over and exploded into green mist, washing over the city as it was finally defeated. Letting go of the Ferris Wheel, Spider-Man and Shocket leapt down to the ground in order to see if Mysterio was alright.
"Mr. Beck?" Spider-Man called, shaking the hero. When he gave a groan, the teens gave sighs of relief.
The SHIELD agents gathered around the trio of heroes, ready to do some damage control for the fight. "So, it's over?" Hill asked.
"That was the last of them," Beck nodded.
"But not the last threat we'll ever face," Fury said. "We need to stay vigilant. There's a void in this world for someone like you. Hill and I are going to Europol headquarters in Berlin tomorrow. You should join us."
"Thank you," Beck said, shaking Fury's hand. "I might just take you up on that."
Fury turned to the teen duo, looking at Peter. "You have gifts, Parker, but you didn't want to be here. I'd love to have you in Berlin too. But you got to decide whether you're going to step up or not. Stark chose you. He made you an Avenger. I need that. The world needs that. Maybe Stark was wrong."
"Don't say that Uncle Tony made a bad call," Shocket said, standing up for her friend. "Peter's still a kid. Let him have a life now, and in a few years, he can do that hero thing full-time." As Fury walked away, Shocket handed the glasses back to Peter. "Here's your glasses back. They were a big help."
Peter accepted his gift back just as Beck came over and patted him on the shoulder. "Let's get a drink."
"But I'm not 21," Peter said.
"I'm game," Shocket said. "No drinking limits in space, if you know where to look."
"I was thinking of making it an Earth hero celebration," Beck said. "The place doesn't exactly allow pets in."
Shocket scowled but turned back to where she saw that drone piece fly off to. "Fine then, I see how it is. I didn't even want to get a shitty drink with you anyway, Mysterio. I catch you later, Pete. There's something I want to check out…"
Author's Note
And all the Elementals are defeated!
Shocket's Stealth Suit is basically just Peter's suit, but with modified goggles that sync up with her Guardians tech. While it might seem dumb to not put the students in the opera house, by using the EDITH drones to watch them, Shocket was able to keep everyone safe and out of the way, minus having to save Betty and Ned still, of course. And the knife Drax gave her comes into play! Gotta love that futuristic space metal that slices through steel like nothing, right?
As for her code name, "Flying Fox" is a type of bat, which comes from how her Stealth Suit has gilding capabilities on it. Oh, and I made a small shout-out to Falcon and the Winter Soldier, just as a nod and to give a reason as for why Spider-Man wasn't there. And yes, someone did use stolen Chitari tech to make the Big Wheel vehicle. Talk about lame, right?
Beck isn't playing nice with Shocket, is he? This hero from another world must have a thing against talking alien raccoon/otter hybrids. And clearly there's something he wants from Peter…
Next time: Shocket learns the terrifying truth behind Mysterio and the Elementals!
