Moon Madness
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Marvel or Hasbro. I own Farrah/Persiana and Leon/Crisis.
Chapter 5: The Hunter's Moon
Persiana crawled on her stomach to a nearby alcove and took cover. She could feel her leg was searing in pain and the were-cat could barely move it. She tapped into her com-link,
"I need help. Kraven kidnapped me and this weird Casper wannabe is fighting him."
A moment later, the response came. It was filled with static, but Farrah could hear War Machine's voice on the com-link, barely,
"We…rig…ere…Ge…saf…ty."
The white-haired teen girl rolled her eyes,
"That won't be hard."
She got to a bench and squeezed in-between the bleachers. As she finished, she looked back and saw Kraven and Moon Knight fighting.
Moon Knight dodged a quick knife attack and kicked the master hunter in the chin. Kraven had his head snap back, but wiped the blood off of his mouth and growled,
"You have interrupted a very important ritual, fool. For that, you shall pay dearly!"
Moon Knight looked at him,
"Hurting a defenseless woman is an important ritual? You must be sick."
He slid underneath the hunter as Kraven pounced into the air. The Russian hunter smirked and threw a gas pellet at the white-costumed hero,
"You forget, I am a master hunter and strategist! I will beat you, and then continue my hunt."
Farrah was surprised and could only watch in shock as the gas enveloped Moon Knight. However, when the gas dissipated, the moon-themed hero was nowhere to be found. Kraven was baffled,
"What is going on?"
He then heard something and, as he turned, Moon Knight, riding the trapeze, kicked him in the chest. Kraven then went flying into the stands, crashing through them. He was down and incapacitated for the moment.
Moon Knight then turned and slammed his fist through the bleachers. He said,
"Let's go. You need to get out of here."
Persiana said,
"Just who are you? Cuz, you're not Casper the Friendly Ghost, that's for sure."
Moon Knight sighed,
"Can we discuss this later? Right now, we have to leave before Kraven wakes up."
He then added,
"Unless, you like being hunted."
Farrah nodded; she knew the alternative,
"Fine. We'll go."
She added, smiling,
"But, you have to carry me. I'm injured."
The moon-powered hero scooped her up with surprising ease and slipped out the back of the circus tent.
Kraven got up around this time and held his head. He began laughing,
"Oh, this is too fun. I haven't had this much fun since fighting Spider-man!"
He went over to one of the platforms and pulled out a high-powered rifle. The Russian animal tamer then saw some blood on the bleachers and began following a trail.
Just ahead…
Persiana and Moon Knight decided to take cover in the trees. The circus tent was set up just outside of the forest. The hope was to get through the forest and last as long as possible, until the other Avengers arrived to help. Farrah and the mysterious Moon Knight stopped a little ways, taking cover in the trees. Moon Knight pulled off his cloak and wrapped it around Farrah's injured leg,
"Hopefully, your friends can come and rescue us."
Farrah then asked,
"Who are you, really? I mean, I know you're the vigilante that's been running around town helping people, but who are you really?"
Moon Knight said,
"If I tell you my identity, would you keep it a secret?"
The white-haired lion girl thought for a moment. She nodded,
"All right, then. Yeah, I'll do that."
Moon Knight nodded,
"All right."
He took his mask off, revealing a teen boy's face,
"My name is Marc Spector, and I got my powers because of an Egyptian god of subtly and secrets. My powers are tied to the phases of the moon, and, since it was a full moon last night, for the next two days, I'm super strong and super agile. But, when there is a new moon, I have no powers."
He added,
"The possession of the Egyptian god also gave me split personalities. I'm different than the one you saw fighting Kraven."
Farrah nodded,
"Yeah, you're gentler than he was."
Marc smirked,
"And, when I swung across the trapeze; that was another personality. In total, I have three, and I go between them almost on a dime."
Persiana then tensed suddenly,
"Kraven's found us."
A gunshot rang out and splintered one of the trees near them. Farrah rolled behind the stump as Moon Knight pulled his mask down and seemingly disappeared into the forest.
Kraven reloaded another round in the chamber and began stalking deeper into the forest. Persiana kept herself hidden as best she could; holding back the pain that she was feeling.
The Russian hunter looked around and trained his ears carefully to any sound that may betray the presences of his prey. He then could hear faint breathing. Kraven circled around and noticed Persiana. He silently stalked her until he was almost on top of her.
That was when Moon Knight came down and ambushed Kraven. The gun was wrestled away and Kraven pulled out a second knife, attempting to stab the moon-powered hero,
"Now, I finish what I started!"
He lunged for Moon Knight, but Moon Knight dodged the attack and swept underneath Kraven. Kraven kicked back up and delivered a series of slash attacks, each one seemingly missing the white-costumed acrobat. Farrah could only watch. She wanted to help, but she was still injured.
Just then, a bright search light flashed, blinding Kraven. The Russian hunter tried to cover his eyes, but Moon Knight knocked him out. He then disappeared into the darkness.
War Machine and Crisis arrived on the scene. Leon went to his girlfriend,
"Farrah, are you all right?"
The lioness nodded,
"Yeah, now that you're here."
War Machine called in,
"Yeah, we need a SHIELD team here, securing one Kraven the Hunter. Real name Sergei Kravenoff. Thanks."
He then turned to the couple,
"You've had us worried, Persiana. We've got a lot to talk about."
Next Chapter:
As Moon Madness draws to a close, will we still see the mysterious Moon Knight again? Probably.
