Author's Notes: For TheImmortalWeapon. Thank you so much. *hugs*
Disclaimer: Ultimate Spider-Man is not mine. Nor are any of its characters. That's Marvel's job. Any Original Characters and art you note, however, are all me. No. I'm not making money. Don't rub it in.

Chapter 26 - Start

Why did jet seats feel so uncomfortable? Wait. Scratch that. Why did SHIELD jet seats feel so uncomfortable?

Peter recalled sitting in Deadpool's jet at one point in time. Okay. So that piece of art originally belonged to Tony Stark and blew up and all that; but that's beside the point. It still remained that his seat there had cradled him with the posh comfort of a rich man's affordability. While his current seat in the cargo hold held all the comfort of a New York park bench.

"Oh, must you keep squirming? You're making me nervous."

Peter tried straightening his spine against the board-stiff backrest behind him then slumped against Nova's helmet in his lap, meeting Zeelan's gaze. "Sorry, Z. I'm just tired of these seats. I don't understand why we aren't in the cockpit with Coulson instead."

"Quick drop, remember?" White Tiger asked. She sat beside Z in a line of seats across the hold, and didn't flinch at how strongly the pasty mutant clenched her hand.

"Coulson won't even get a chance to land," Power Man added at Peter's left. "Zeelan's gunna have to shield us from the impact."

"Oh, thanks for reminding me." With a slow, hard swallow, Zeelan's shakes increased.

"You'll do fine," White Tiger commented. Peter sensed her smile behind her mask. So did Z, apparently, since she returned it with strained effort.

"You fought alongside Doctor Strange and Danny against Swilla Iku; I think you can handle a little drop," Power Man said with a half-hearted chuckle. This snapped the mutant's black eyes towards him.

"Little? It's over a hundred feet…to a mountain!"

"Welcome to the world of super heroes," Peter chimed in a song-song voice.

"I'm not a super hero," Z countered in a wavering accent. She then paused, as if the words sunk into her brain bitterly.

"Like it or not, you are," injected Power Man. "This whole time I've known you, all you've done is try and help others. You've saved lives. Protected who you can, how you can. Trained. That right there is the definition of a hero."

"You are the heroes. Danny…is a hero." She looked disappointed, so Peter couldn't understand why she ignored the obvious. "I feel like I'm replacing his position right now. And it's not fair."

White Tiger shook her head, the trail of hair behind her whipping about. "Danny's in no condition to fight right now."

"Thought I would have to break his leg to keep him in bed," Power Man remarked, grim. Yeah, that hadn't been a pretty sight.

"It was my brother who put Sam in this position," said Zeelan miserably. "Danny should have a chance to fight for him. Like you guys…"

"Well, he doesn't." White Tiger's words were frank and kind of calloused.

"Exactly," Power Man added just as frank, "Danny understands this. And he trusts all of us to get Sam and the others back."

"Almost all of us," Peter noted while his grip tightened on Nova's helmet. His team grimaced, knowing just what he meant.

"Kevin won't do anything stupid, trust me."

Peter sent Zeelan a pointed look—er, vibe. "I trust you; not him. I can't believe Fury let him out of prison for this mission. I don't care how handy a teleporter is."

"We have to put aside what he did to Sam and work with him." Uh-huh. Even the team's resident academic spoke tartly when repeating Fury's words from a few hours earlier.

"Please"—Z sounded utterly defeated—"you know I'm sorry on his behalf. But try. He's made a promise to protect them—Trent, Mini, Thera, Kai. He needs to save them. If he doesn't—I don't—he…"

Her fumbling accent fell silent, and Peter propped his boot atop his knee as he folded his arms behind his head (sorta). "We'll give him that courtesy because we're such nice guys. But"—his voice lowered—"you know he's going right back to jail when this is all over. Right?"

Slowly, the mutant nodded, vision downcast.

"Speaking of Sparks, he should be back by now with an up-date."

Zap! A bright flash of light flared. Its cracking pushed Peter far against his seat and frightened him into shielding himself with the helmet in his hands.

"Damn, Dude!" he cried, pushing the helmet back into his lap. "Do you come with a warning system?"

"That would defeat the purpose of my powers," Kevin remarked. Jerk didn't bother gracing Peter with a look. All that loving attention fell on his sister, who obviously wasn't thrilled with it. "We're passing Marvel now. The drop off will happen after we cross a few more ridges."

"And how far after that will it take to get to Ansted?" Peter asked without really thinking about it.

"We're not going to Ansted," Zeelan interjected. "That's just the city where Collier had the materials shipped. It went off books after that."

"Oh, right, right." Suddenly, the memory came flooding back. "SHIELD, uh, agents convinced the driver to spill. I wonder who they sent…think it was Black Widow?"

"Doesn't matter." Well, Kevin was a party pooper. "We're here and we're heading into Gauley Mountain to find Collier's burrow."

"Yea, mountains," Peter grumbled. Yes, that was sarcasm. "I still think West Virginia is a strange place to have a secret base."

"I'm not even going to ask where you would have your secret base," Power Man noted.

"Because we all know how well that went in Boston."

Peter sent White Tiger a glare behind his mask. He kept quiet, though, because movement of his gloved hand drew his attention to Nova's helmet. Inside, his chest tightened like his grip around the smooth metal and every ounce of determination that could be mustered left him silently promising himself that he wouldn't fail. No matter what.

"So," Z added after a pause, "What happened in Boston?"

Jessica glanced up from the desk in her private office—a very graceful and easy action. She didn't halt the self-injection of a bright orange substance into her arm. Why would she? It was second nature by now. And so she finished the injection without looking before she even recognized the scenarios across various security feeds on the wall.

One video, on the far end, showed Alice Espello's room. The bird's eye angle focused on Alice strapped to a metal table with Nirav Kakar—or Trickster—standing like a proper Queen's Man beside her. The sound was muted, naturally. Jessica had long-since grown tired of the blonde mutant's ramblings and only kept a feed to endure she didn't endanger herself when 'Aileas' appeared.

But that wasn't a problem now, so her eyes drifted. The two screens beside that were hallways views. After that were feeds from other rooms with various mutant subjects. She glanced over Ashlee and Flint Caulfield standing obediently at their sentry posts by a particularly rowdy mutant then zeroed in on one screen with her lab's latest additions.

The moth—Trent, was it?—had been moved to another group and the avian, Kai, now had private quarters like Alice. Sam (as the Doctor had heard him be called) had spent the past two days with other carriers. However, since Jessica wanted him separate from the older members while awake, she placed him back with Minerva and Thera earlier that morning. Each shackled female flanked the Hispanic boy, who he had spoken just loud enough for the microphone to pick up.

"I'm…so done…with this." Tired. Pained. Broken. Yes, he sounded how she liked her males, and gave a little grin as she placed a square of soft gauze over the injection site on her arm.

"S—Sam?" Jessica heard Thera's soft accent, but just barely.

"So. Done." There was chuckle—delirious almost—followed by a light sob. "They should've been here by now. I can't…keep it up."

"What are you talking about, Sam?"

"You knew you were coming to a place like this if"—Sam paused for breath—"if you were found, didn't you?"

Slowly, Thera's head turned his way. "We knew who sent them. Yes…"

Chuckle number two. "You know…if SHIELD would've found you, it wouldn't be in a place…like this."

"And it wouldn't have been the grand arrangement you seem to have, either."

"I wouldn't…call my arrangement grand. But at least I kept most of my freedom…and feeling. And…friends." The word was bitter, breathless.

Jessica finished taping the gauze onto her arm as a familiar burn raced through her veins. They emanated a soft glow of white beneath her pale skin, traveling towards her core. Damn, it hurt. But it also felt reinvigorating. And with a new sense of power, she stood from her seat while listening to the rest of the conversation, just to hear more of the Hispanic's broken tone.

"I can't believe…you didn't let me go sooner," Sam added, stronger.

Thera gave a surprised squawk. "Are you going to blame me for this?"

"You should've let me go."

"And you should've taken Z."

"She came to us. Well…Danny."

"I can't—I can't believe it. I told you what SHIELD's done to us…and you still blame…" Pure sorrow weighed Thera's laugh down like an anchor as the doctor happily corralled the medical supplies from her desk. "It must be so lonely in that head, blaming everyone else, holding no accountability."

"I know how to hold accountability," Sam retorted, glaring weakly towards the mutant. At least, it felt that way to Jessica with her back turned towards the screens.

"Do you? Because I haven't read in the news once where you apologized for riling Ashlee into a rampage. Or met with that couple you almost squashed." Such soft, scratchy words held an impact. From behind, Sam audibly gasped and growled. Must have been a touchy subject.

"None of that was my—"

"Oh, come off it!" Thera cried in a voice that echoed. Jessica whirled at it, surprised by how fierce the mutant sounded. "Maybe this is a lesson for you. Ever think of that? Blaming others or diverting accountability is cowardly. Maybe you don't want to believe it or maybe you're just too thick-headed to get it, but those were your fault."

"And if I did admit it or accept it or whatever, what good would it do me now?"

"I don't know. Maybe you could die with a clear conscience!"

Jessica had to laugh; the look across Sam's startled face was too priceless. He gaped. He struggled for words. Left speechless in the wake of a woman. How much better could it get?

"We could die here, Sam," Thera added with a clearer accent. "I probably will. If Collier keeps taking carrier samples from you, then you will too. I haven't seen you in days…and you look worse."

"Thanks," Sam countered, biting.

At his following growl, Thera's head dropped. "Let the guilt be on your conscience then…if you don't want to admit it. It's up to you. As for me?" She sniffled, but the camera angle showed no tears. "My regret? That's that I never got to see my family again…"

"Ya got the creepiest of hobbies, Doc." Hannigan's Southern voice drowned out Sam's reply—if he had one—so the woman stepped back from the screens, not against the interruption. A quick side-glance confirmed the presence of a Psionic Projection beside the desk, and not an actual mutant.

Jessica sent the green-glowing figure a lazy glare. "Says the Ghost. Are my subjects prepped?"

"Like Pa's savory steak dinner."

"Charming." Not really. "Now—"

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Jessica's eye twitched at the series of yellow, twirling lights around the office. Why did her alarm system sound vaguely like—

"Hannigan!"

"What?" The projection shrugged its transparent shoulders, a smirk on its un-detailed face. "I just customized it. Now it sounds more like a party's about to take place."

The woman grimaced then face-palmed with a loud groan. "If only I could've afforded this Deadpool I've heard so much about instead."

"Oh, trust me; he's worse, Doc."

"Just"—Jessica pointed towards the door, though it was redundant—"get the hell out there and see what tripped it this time. I swear pay cuts are what's going to drive me up a wall. Damn Stark."

"Aw, yer gunna try on new powers without me?" Hannigan sounded genuinely disappointed. Then again, he was an exceptional liar.

"Well, first, I have someone I must visit."

"Eh? Your favored carrier?"

The doctor flashed a large smirk, despite the annoying whoop of the alarm. "Of course. He is the most stable bloodline of all the carriers, next to our newest addition."

"So why not use the boy then?"

"Imbecile." With a shake of her head, Jessica rolled her eyes. But she met Hannigan's green projection with an amused smile. "His blood isn't conditioned enough. Besides…Mister Weir and I have close relationship."

"If ya say so, Doc."

"That's right. Now be a good dog and fetch."

"Think we found it yet?" Spider-Man's voice rang through the dark forest—loud, strained, and high with panic. Ava couldn't see the leader. She didn't care to spot him, either. Her attention was much too busy dodging a rain of searing heat while maneuvering through Pines and Cedars.

"Pew pew guns!" Spider-Man continued from another direction. "Why do the bad guys always have to have pew pew guns? This is worse than Zeelan's failed landing!"

"At least Kevin recovered it!" Ava called as her foot narrowly missed a glowing red beam. Her eye caught a glimpse of a rotating gun, just a few branches up a mature Cedar. The heroine changed direction on a dime and flawlessly ascended the tree within two jumps. A swift swipe of her electric claws dismantled the device, but three more targeted her in seconds.

Crouched, she prepared for another jump. Only, a pressure ensnared her waist and jerked her body from the tree as the lasers open fired. She swung through the open air like a pendulum, not exactly enjoying the risk of branches being stuck in places she'd rather not mention.

"Spidey!"

"There're too many guns!" the spider hero called ahead. Smoothly, the web line swung Ava to a new branch, where she posed, facing her teammate after cutting her waist free of the web. "We need to meet up with—"

Ava cringed because a surge of white caused her to. It lasted only a second and Kevin spoke before the heroine's vision cleared.

"We're near the burrow's entrance. We need to head east."

"Seriously, Dude!" Spider-Man hissed. He had slipped backwards in surprise and swung to a new branch so he could send the blonde mutant every ounce of annoyance possible through a single vibe.

Kevin hardly seemed threatened by the hero and stood on a thick branch, crossing his toned arms. "Power Man and Z are a few trees over; I'll take you to them."

And without waiting for an answer, bright lights flashed again. Ava felt the strange sensation of static and tickling through her limbs then blinked. In a moment, she stood before Power Man and Zeelan and beside Kevin and Spider-Man. Beyond them was a wide, open field filled with tall grasses and a pungent odor Ava couldn't identify. No plasma shots were fired. Not even a cricket sounded. Perhaps that's why Ava's senses grew alert while glancing over the moonlit area.

"Tiger?" Power Man asked, stepping forward.

"Something's here," replied Ava through clenched teeth. It was a presence, a whisper across the still atmosphere. And the signature felt familiar to her Jade Tiger Amulet. "Ghost!"

She spoke all too late.

A large, teal hand appeared from thin air. It scooped the group towards the side—swatted, really, like they were only flies meant for the dirt. Zeelan and Kevin rolled to a stop far away. Power Man planted himself firmly to stop the Ghost's attack. It worked for only a few seconds before he, too, was sent rolling. Ava landed on her feet towards the side of the trio, just behind Spider-Man. Instantly, her gaze landed on the helmet webbed to the leader's back then towards the green hand that loomed above them.

"Spider-Man," she said sternly, "you have to teleport inside with Kevin and Power Man!"

Slam. The hand descended like gavel, indenting the grassy earth where the group once stood.

Spider-Man landed on his feet and turned towards the white-clad heroine. "What? And leave you with Ghost?"

Ava hardly glanced at him as she rounded his figure then crouched from another dodge. "I won't be alone. Z will fight with me."

"I'll what?"

"Finding the others is our priority. You need to get that helmet to Sam and who knows what else you'll run into up there. You'll need Power Man's muscle."

"But—"

The hand curled its five fingers into a tight fist and descended again like it was played a game of Whak-A-Mole. Ava could swear it laughed like a little boy as it posed for round three.

"Peter!" she snapped loudly.

After a pause, the leader groaned in annoyance. Still, he dashed towards Kevin and Power Man. Kevin turned from them, eyeing his sister, who stood like a deer caught in the headlights. Ava and she exchanged a look—brief yet powerful. Then, the white-haired mutant nodded with an uneasy smile.

"Don't worry, K," she said with a hollow laugh, "I've fought an inter-dimensional poison. I—I can do this. Go save the others." The hand landed again—this time missing its mark completely because Zeelan's arms spread as she formed a force-field around the group. "Go!" she added, stern under the strain. "You made a promise!"

Kevin hesitated, but not for long. A flash of white soon whisked away the two heroes the mutant tagged, leaving only Ava and Zeelan behind.

Ava braced her body and felt herself smirk in spite of it all. "Well…looks like I get to witness your new power next, Z."