Chapter 5

It had been a day since the discovery of the lion and panther DNA in Luna and she was in her room, wondering what to do. Usually, she'd want to be climbing the walls in the training room to practice agility, but she didn't feel like doing that. A knock at her open door made her look up and see Black Widow standing there. "Hey, Luna," she said with a smile. "You doing okay?"

The twelve-year-old sighed. "Physically, yeah. Mentally...still working that out," she admitted.

Natasha nodded before getting an idea. "Want to join me for a walk?" She offered. "Some fresh air could help."

Luna pondered that and nodded. "Okay," she said. "Whose going to come with us?"

"I will," came Vision's voice as he appeared in the doorway, making both girls jump in surprise.

"Vision," Natasha groaned at him.

"Apologies," he said.

Luna slipped on her shoes and pulled on a light jacket, pausing when she thought she heard something. She stood up quickly, her gaze unfocused. "Luna?" She heard Vision asked and she blinked, looking puzzled before shaking her head. "Are you alright?" The android hero asked gently.

She looked at him and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay," she said. "I thought I heard something, but it probably was just my imagination."

He nodded with a gentle smile before he, Natasha, and Luna headed out. Once they stepped out of the building, the android hero flew high into the sky while the young woman and twelve-year-old walked down the sidewalk.

Luna took a deep breath, the air actually smelling clean for once. "Did it rain last night?" She asked.

"It might have," Natasha said. "The air does smell clean for a change."

They were about to cross the street when Luna froze with a gasp, hearing a familiar roar. "Luna?" The heroine asked, pausing in front of her. "Are you okay? What is it?"

The girl looked at her. "It's Cleo. I'm sure of it," she said, looking at the older woman. "I can hear her. She's close."

Natasha was a bit skeptical, but Vision came closer. "The same roar you heard earlier?" He asked.

Luna looked at him. "You heard it too?" She asked.

"Just now I did," he said. "I picked up on your thoughts earlier that you thought you had heard a familiar roar."

The girl nodded, her eyes widening. "Hold on, I think I'm picking up her scent," she said before realizing what was going on. "I think the DNA gave me enhanced hearing and smelling capabilities."

Natasha decided that as strange as it sounded, it was best to take a look into this. "Okay," she said. "Luna, lead the way."

The girl at once did so with the two following her and it wasn't long before they arrived at the docks by the Hudson River. Luna gasped as she took in the scene in front of her. A black panther was in a cage and Kraven was beside it. "Ah, a fine beast," he said. "You'll bring it a good profit."

The panther growled and Luna glared at the hunter. She looked at Black Widow and Vision, who both nodded. "We really don't have time to call for more backup," Natasha said worriedly.

Vision looked thoughtful before nodding. "Natasha, how about you and I handle Kraven and give Luna time to free Cleo?" He said.

The heroine nodded. "Sounds good to me," she said. She looked at Luna. "Wait for Vision to give you a signal that it's clear."

The twelve-year-old girl nodded, ducking down behind a crate nearby while the two heroes moved in, surprising the hunter, who glared at them. "You won't keep me from making a profit off this cat's pelt!" He growled.

"Watch us," Natasha said as she and Vision moved in, dodging Kraven's whip and knife attacks.

"Luna, now!" Vision told the girl telepathically.

Without hesitation, the girl went over to the cage and kneeled down, really hoping that this panther was her old friend. "Cleo?" She said softly.

The Panther looked at her before coming closer and sniffing her hand and then she rubbed her head against Luna's hand. "It is you, girl," the twelve-year-old said happily, taking this as a sign that Cleo recognized her. "Hold on. I'll get you out."

With that, she pulled out one of her climbing claws and picked the lock, getting it open and opening the cage. Cleo jumped out before rubbing her head against Luna's waist, purring. Luna kneeled down and petted her, to which Cleo nuzzled her nose against the girl's face, acting as if Luna was one of her own cubs. "Oh, Cleo," the girl said, tears in her eyes.

Natasha suddenly landed by them and groaned as Kraven's whip had gotten her in the side. "Black Widow!" Luna said in worry as she kneeled down beside the woman and Cleo snarled, moving to stand over Luna and Natasha protectively.

Kraven growled. "Down, beast!" He said, snapping his whip at the panther, who dodged and roared at him, jumping at him and making him back up a step as her claws nearly got him and Vision took advantage of that to throw Kraven into the river, making the hunter sputter in rage as the police came and took him in while the android gave Natasha, Luna, and Cleo a lift back to the mansion. The panther was quite calm, to his surprise and Luna giggled at seeing his surprised face.

"Mom and Dad liked to travel a lot, so Venus and Cleo often traveled with us," she said. "They had been traveling since they were cubs themselves, so flying really isn't a big deal to them."

Natasha chuckled, wincing as her side hurt a bit. "You're full of surprises, kid," she said as they landed at the Mansion and Vision took the female heroine to the sick bay with Luna and Cleo following.

Captain America and Wasp, the only two at the Mansion at the moment, came in, looking surprised at seeing the large panther, but Luna looked up at them. "It's okay," she said. "It's Cleo. Let her get your scents."

Wasp held out a hand, relaxing only when Cleo purred and rubbed her head against the outstretched hand. "Wow, she's beautiful," she said.

Captain America nodded before seeing Natasha was injured. "What happened?" He asked.

"Kraven," Vision said. "He had Cleo and Luna freed her while Natasha and I dealt with the hunter, but he managed to get her in the side with his whip."

"It doesn't hurt that bad," the female heroine said before wincing. "For the most part."

Tony came in just as Vision finished treating Natasha's injury. "It's all over the news about what happened at the docks," he said, seeing Cleo and his eyes widened in surprise. "Um, is this the same panther from the docks?"

Luna nodded. "It's Cleo," she said, standing beside the panther. "She recognized me and I heard her long before we got to the docks."

"The animal DNA gave her advanced hearing and smelling abilities," Vision said in explaination. "And Cleo greeted Luna as if she was one of her young."

Tony nodded, jumping slightly when Cleo nuzzled his hand, but he moved his hand to give her an ear scratch, which she apparently liked. Luna giggled. "Cleo knows who means harm and who is good," she said before looking up at Tony. "Can she stay here? Please?"

Black Panther, who had just arrived, was watching the exchange and hoped Tony would say yes. He was already deciding on talking to a friend he knew to see about getting the papers Luna would need in order to show that she was authorized to have a panther in her possession.

Tony thought for a moment and then nodded. "You guys just found each other and it would be unfair to separate you two," he said. "She can stay."

Luna had tears in her eyes and she hugged Tony, who was surprised, but he lightly patted her shoulder, knowing she was expressing gratitude. "Thank you, Tony," she said softly before looking sad, which he noticed.

"What's wrong, kid?" He asked in concern.

She looked up at him. "I just wish I knew where Venus was," she said. "What if Kraven got to her already?"

"He didn't," Vision said gently. "I probed his mind while Natasha and I were battling him. He only had Cleo."

"Which means Venus is still out there," Wasp said, feeling sympathy for her niece.

Tony looked thoughtful and placed a hand on Luna's shoulder, making her look up at him. "Luna, I promise you, I'll keep an eye out and if I hear anything about a lion from someone, I'll look into it," he said.

"We will too," Black Panther said with a nod, coming in and placing a hand on Luna's other shoulder. "Have hope, Luna."

She nodded as the others silently vowed to help the girl find Venus too. Cleo came up and purred at Luna, who kneeled down and hugged the panther, taking comfort from her as the female cat purred louder, helping the girl to feel better and have hope that they'd all be together again soon.

So Cleo has now been found, but will they find Venus? Stay tuned to find out. :) Next up: Vision helps Luna.

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