Emerging Crisis

Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Marvel. I own Farrah, Leon, and Eve Willows. All other OCs belong to their respective creators.

Chapter 5: Happenings On

Nick Fury and Black Widow were quietly observing three potential recruits through one way glass.

The first was a brown-haired teen dressed in a one strap toga. There was a mace at his side. He obviously had a temper,

"Foolish mortals! I am Hercules, son of Zeus! I demand you release me at once, or suffer my wrath!"
An African-American teen wearing red and white wings looked at the god of strength,

"Uh, any one know why we're here exactly?"

His pet falcon perched on his shoulder, staying ever vigilant of his master.

A blonde teen in a yellow costume clapped excitedly,

"Do you think they're getting Quicksilver for me? He is SO handsome!"

Fury looked down the list,

"Hercules, Falcon, and Crystal. Three more to add to the line-up."

Natasha nodded,

"Well, they all certainly have potential. Is it truly Hercules in there?"

The eye-patch wearing spy shrugged,

"Beats me. Point is, he's as tough as Thor, and just as mature. Or immature, dependin' on how you look at it."

He looked to Crystal,

"Crystal over here can use the four elements earth, wind, water, and fire anyway she wants. Rumor's got it she ain't a mutant."

The Russian spy asked,

"How is that possible then?"

"She's a member of a race called the Inhumans. She's supposed to be royalty or something. Don't know too much about her. Falcon used to be a street punk, but decided to change his ways. He used to go by the name Snap Wilson."

Black Widow joked,

"I take it was not because he could snap his fingers, right?"

Fury shot her a look,

"Go introduce yourself to them."

As Natasha was entering to meet the others, Fury touched his ear, as if receiving a message,

"When did this happen? Great, this is just what I needed right now. No, you get Pulsar, War Machine, and Wonder Man, and tell them to get out there on the double."

He opened the door and said,

"Intros are gonna have to wait. Miss Marvel's been captured, as well as two civilians."

Meanwhile…

Miss Marvel woke up, shackled to a wall. She moaned,

"What hit me?"

She looked around and immediately noticed a symbol on a wall. It was an image of a skull, with numerous tentacle-like appendages beneath it.

It was the symbol of Hydra.

The Air Force brat struggled to break free, but a familiar voice tutted,

"Hey, blondie. Nice of you to wake up."
Eve Willows was standing above the blonde, and the genetic researcher smirked,

"You're probably wondering how I knew about your little encounter, and SHIELD's involvement in all of this. Well, why don't I show you?"

At that moment, five identical blonde girls walked in. All of them had glowing eyes and spoke in unison,

"Hello, Miss Marvel."

Carol blinked,

"You recruited the Children of the Corn?"

Just then, five concussive mind bolts echoed inside the soldier's head. Carol screamed and tried to fight it off, but it was intense. Eve smirked,

"These young girls are sister psychics that can form a super mind. What one knows, they all do. It's really quite an interesting ability."

The blonde researcher told the five psychics,

"Stepford Cuckoos, go to Leon's cell and probe his mind. I want to know everything he does."

The five left. Eve shook her head,

"Sorry I can't stay and chat, but I have to do something first. See you later…Barbie."

The researcher left. Carol clenched her fists and tried to recover her strength. She needed to get out of there and rescue Leon and Farrah.

In another part of the Hydra base…

Farrah was also shackled, this time to an examination table. She groggily looked up and saw a bright light over her. The white-haired teen closed her eyes as best she could and moaned,
"What happened?"

Eve walked in at that moment. She tutted,

"Poor, poor, Farrah. I'm really sorry you had to be involved in on this, but, you see, funding's been really bad for me. I mean, with cutbacks and everything, even Hydra had to tighten its belt. So, don't take this personally when I tell you that you're going to be the subject of my latest experiment."

Pulling a sickly green vial out of her coat, the blonde genetic researcher injected a syringe, filling it with the contents. As she did, Eve explained,

"Even Emma Frost never suspected I worked for Hydra. She also never suspected me building my own team to take over the Massachusetts Academy. I mean, really, Emma Frost is getting too old for this sort of thing, and someone like me is much more…vital, shall we say? Especially after this; the ability to become part feline."

She smirked,

"Cats, more so than humans, are considered the most barbaric and savage of all animals. Of course, this goes back as far as the saber-toothed tiger, and even after only a few thousand years of being domesticated, cats still have feral tendencies. It's that savage nature, combined with my genius intellect, that will truly make me what I have a right to be; a goddess."

Farrah looked up,

"Mom, what happened to you?"

Eve purred,

"Don't worry. If I know this will be a success, then, I'll do it too. Oh, and that boy you were seeing; he's too good for someone like you. I mean, he'll be just another science experiment once I'm done with him. Don't get too attached to him."

She injected the contents into Farrah's body. The white-haired teen shrieked in pain and could feel an intense change within her. Eve Willows looked on in almost sadistic glee. She grinned,

"Now, let's see if this works…"

To Leon…

Leon woke up, shaking his head. He had another one of his black outs and headaches again. The red-eyed teen looked around and noticed he was in a cell. He said to himself,

"Where am I?"

A voice replied,

"Hydra base."

Leon spun around and was looking at an African-American teen in a black costume. He had a mask like a cat on his face. He said,

"My name is T'challa, the Black Panther. You too are a prisoner, I take it."

Leon nodded,

"Yes. Why would Hydra kidnap us?"

Black Panther shook his head,

"I do not know. You are obviously valuable, as am I. Hydra captured me when I was on a royal visit to the United States. These terrorist struck and have been keeping me prisoner since then. They wish to know about my Wakanda's vibranium."
The blonde teen asked,

"What is vibranium?"

"It is the hardest known metal in the world. It can absorb sound waves. My costume is made up of it, and is silent when I run. It is also bulletproof."

Leon was amazed,

"Wow, that sounds like a fantastic metal. How much of this stuff do you have in Wakanda?"
The Black Panther said,

"A mountain of it. Vibranium in its natural state can break, but, once refined, it is indestructible."

The feline hero looked around,

"We have to vacate this area. Who knows when those Stepford Cuckoos will return?"
Leon shook his head,

"I don't know who those are, but we can't leave until Farrah and Carol are safe. They were with me when we were abducted and-."
Just then, another one of his headaches came on. Leon fell to the floor and saw that Farrah was in pain. He looked up to Black Panther,

"Farrah's in trouble. She's being tortured somewhere."

The door opened and in stepped the five Stepford Cuckoos, all their eyes glowing ominously. One said,

"You will tell us what we want to know, now."

They were about to use their powers when, suddenly, another one of Leon's headaches came on. He held his head, shouting,

"NO! WHAT IS THIS?!"

The five sister psychics also screamed in pain. One shouted,

"His mind is too unstable! We have to disengage!"
Another said,

"We can't! We were told to find out what they know!"
Black Panther was confused as to what was happening. Leon ordered,

"Get out of here and find Carol and Farrah. I can handle this!"

The feline hero nodded and, somersaulting over them, darted away. The red-eyed hero's eyes started to glow and a mysterious white glow started to appear on his hands. He put them out and an energy blast fired, knocking out all the Stepford Cuckoos unconscious.

Leon panted on the floor, not realizing what had just happened. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He had to get to Farrah, before it was too late.

Next Chapter:

As the breakout and rescue continues, Eve Willows has a trump card she plans to play on all the would-be heroes. Find out what next time!