"Ssso, who elected you the leader of thissss party?"
"I swear to GOD Manny I will hurt you." Jack snarled.
"GuYs No FIghtINg. It is NoT hELpinG."
Elsa marched along behind the group her gun held pointed towards the man in front of her.
"Lady, you can put that down. I'm trying to do the same thing you bunch of losers are."
"Don't care Blade, I'm not giving you an inch. You bend over, scratch your own ass? BLAM!"
"Wait.. quiet all of you!" The group went stiff and Blade pressed his ear down to the soggy sewer ground for a moment. "What the fuck is that noise?"
Up ahead a low rumble gradually built to a thudding sound.
"Oh, ThaT'S No ThREat."
"Speak up mummy, I'm not planning on dying with you group of idiots!" Blade scowled at him.
Around the corner turned a writhing mass of earth and swamp shambling on two oozing legs. It glanced at the group curiously from two red orbs but Jack waved it on it's path.
"See. ThAT's JusT The Man-ThiNG."
Jack turned to smile at Elsa. "Glad you didn't run into him when you first came down here huh?"
Elsa just stared at it shambling off in the distance. "I will borrow Blade's sword to shut you up. I swear to god."
Shortly down the corridor from the Man-Things path was the Central New York gate that led out into an unused subway terminal, easy access to the city's normal subway routes. Blade stopped and checked the marks around his feet. "No doubt he went through here. See those prints?"
Elsa rolled her eyes. "We are looking for Morbius. Those are fucking women's boot prints Blade! Check the heels."
Jack coughed a little. "He.. might be in civilian clothes. His costume was back in the lab. You know, the black and red cape?"
At this she raised an eyebrow. "In.. women's clothes? Wow, suddenly everything makes so much sense."
"Dammit Red, he's from the seventies. He wears heeled boots! Every guy back then did!"
From behind Jack Manny grinned and pointed to him mouthing the words "even him". Jack turned angrily but Manny just acted as though nothing had happened. Elsa suddenly found herself giggling at the thought of Jack at a disco.
"It was a different time! Grow up you losers!"
Blade stood back up and made a move for the gate but Elsa reacted fast firing a warning shot straight above his head into the moist wall. It sizzled in the mud. "Please do make a run for it. I need the target practice."
"I was just stretching." Blade sneered.
"My ass you were." Elsa tossed the look right back at him.
Jack stood off to the side and yelped as he reverted to human form. His body contorted and his fur disappeared, he motioned to Elsa and she tossed him some clothes.
"Alright Manny, K'antu. You guys hold down the fort for us. We'll be back."
"Hey, why do we get left behind?" Manphibian frowned in disapproval but K'antu just shrugged. He was used to it being the slowest member of the group.
"We'll be going through the subway and that means people. I can pass for human, you guys can't. Just stay here, if you don't hear from us in a day then you can come up with another plan." With that Jack stepped through the spinning orange vortex followed by Blade and Elsa.
Manphibian turned. "Well, we've got work to do. C'mon."
Michael Morbius grasped his leather trenchcoat tight around him as he exited the subway. Fortunate that the crowd was too busy to focus on one strange looking man among the throngs of people. Then again perhaps they thought him a burn victim. He tightened his grip on the backpack and climbed the stairs to face the suddenly bright three o'clock sunshine. Oh. Of course. Sunlight. He'd been underground so long he'd forgotten about the sun and it's ability to weaken him. He huffed and walked upwards into the midday sunshine.
Bright, way too bright for starters. Secondly he had been prepared for daytime but not a heatwave. He started to notice that the surrounding people going about their business were mostly in shorts and short-sleeved shirts some eyeing him suspiciously. That's not helping. He turned and instead of continuing his path he cut down an alley. Oh thank god for shade! The alleyway was immaculately clean, being stationed in a nice part of downtown. Normally he could simply crawl under some siding or a dumpster and sleep until dark but no such luck. No where to go from here besides some doors to local businesses.
He tried the handle to the first door quietly but it was locked tight, same with the next. Goddamn it. This is getting to be a rough trip. He uttered a silent prayer before trying the handle to the third door which successfully turned under the pressure. Inside was dark, cool, and stacked with boxes of produce, he promptly shut the door behind him relishing the dark.
It was only a moment though before he heard a flurry of footsteps approach and go past the opening to the room he was in. A young man of twenty scurried out of view wearing a waiter's apron. Ahh, a restaurant. Of course, I do hope it's not too crowded, I can simply slip by without notice perhaps. He followed the man at a safe distance and when he exited the silver swinging door to the dining area Morbius followed. A few people sat about in very postmodern looking chairs eating what Michael only guessed was highly trendy and overpriced food, but at least they all seemed distracted. He set off for the side door at a brisk pace.
"Michael? Michael is that you?!"
It was soft and gentle, a woman's voice. He stopped cold. Oh please don't be calling me, please not me. It's such a common name.. but when he turned there sat Jennifer Walters at a table staring at him. "Jen?!"
"What are you doing here?! Quickly sit down!" She kicked the chair out on the opposite side of her table and motioned towards it with her hands. He sat obediently.
"Hello Jen.."
"What are you doing in downtown Manhattan!? Are you mad?"
"It's a bit of a story."
She folded her arms and stared. "I'm listening."
He glanced down at his feet. Jennifer was a good friend from far back when his vampirism had gone into remission. She was such a good friend that she had put her career on the line as a defense attorney helping him dodge the death penalty for his crimes. He was eternally grateful, so grateful in fact that he wanted to in no way involve her in his affairs. It would only bring her trouble. "Jen I.. I don't want you involved."
"Is this about Spider-man?"
"What?! No!" She shot him a skeptical look and he snorted. "I swear I'm reformed this time. I've been staying with the Legion of Monsters in a secret locale."
"Then why are you skulking through a sushi bar in downtown Manhattan in a trenchcoat during a heatwave?"
He started to try to explain but looking up at her in her tank top and tight skirt he lost the words and instead muttered out a "You're... looking well." He flinched internally knowing that he'd fucked up.
She stared him down.
"Dear god Jen, I'm sorry okay. There's a relic, the bloodstone, that we've been guarding but it's too powerful. We have to get rid of it. So.. I'm searching for a friend."
"What friend?"
"I'd rather not say. The fewer people know about this the better."
She sighed. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
He blushed. "Jen.. I couldn't. I'm still wanted, what if one of the other Avengers found you with me?"
"I'm on my own right now, I've been building up my private practice. No more crime fighting."
"Now it's my turn to be the skeptic." He smirked.
"Michael.."
"Okay, okay. I could use somewhere to hide until nighttime. This sun is killing me." He smiled a tired and nervous grin at her. She could tell he was sick, his eyes drooped on his face and he held his arms limp.
"Michael have you fed?"
His eyes enlarged and he sat up straight. "I.. umm.." She gave him an angry glare as he struggled for an answer. "I've been working on a substitute.."
"Michael you idiot! C'mon!" She pulled his hand up and yanked him out of the restaurant.
"What about your lunch?!"
"We'll order Chinese from the office. Just follow me."
Blade crouched on the ground with a small device fiddling with it's dial while Jack leaned against the alley wall. Elsa stripped off her coat in a vague attempt to deal with the heat.
"It is way too damn hot out here. I got five euros that the vampire is dead."
Jack laughed. "I don't even know how many bucks that is, but he's human. The result of an experiment gone awry. He ain't gonna burn in the sun." Jack wiped the sweat from his brow. "Though I'm almost willing to think this might be an exception."
Blade stood and snarled at Jack. "He's not human anymore! He's a bloodsucker!"
Jack muttered under his breath "He's more human than you are."
Elsa cocked her gun and folded her coat up around it, effectively disguising it. "Enough Blade, which way did he go?"
Blade walked up to the third door in the alley and touched the handle looking at it closely. "This one." He threw open the door and they all stepped into the cool dark interior.
"Uhhh, You sure about this? I don't think the vampire has converted to vegetarianism." Elsa held up a carrot from a nearby box and let it drop back down.
Not but five seconds later a waiter came by and began screaming at them in his native Japanese. All three of them proceeded to the exit while looking around the place as thoroughly as possible. The other customers thought the group insane. Outside the front door the three stood flustered.
"Well, that was fun. Shall we leave before that fucker calls the cops?" Jack smirked.
"I don't get it, where could he have gone?"
Blade checked his device. "He left with someone else, probably not but ten minutes ago. Goddamn this stupid city messes with my equipment. Dunno whether it's infested with vampires or my scanners are picking up all the fucking lawyers."