Peter Parker
It took us a long while to get to Singapore. While we didn't fly in the modified Airbus that belonged to Stark Industries, we did end up travelling in a black helicopter/jet hybrid called the X-Velocity.
"Not quite as fast as The Blackbird, but it's easier to use for getting in and out of places quickly," Kitty said. I assumed the Blackbird was another aircraft they got. Anyway, the X-Velocity had a lot of, if not all of, the anti-radar/anti-detection features that the customized Airbus had. And that was a good thing, since we were apparently going to land in an abandoned airport.
After everything was loaded up, we were on our way. Buford took the cockpit and piloted us there. The plane ride was mostly quiet. There was a certain tension in the air. It wasn't like the last flight we took, where the tension came from me and the rest of the X-Men being rather upset with MJ, Ned, and Betty along with the uncertainty of whether or not Carmilla was alive. But it was very obvious that the seriousness of the situation was weighing on us. About twenty hours later, we quietly landed in Kallang Airport, the aforementioned abandoned airport. I took in a deep breath before I stood up.
We unpacked only a few bags – it was mostly clothes, along with a laptop bag and a portable table, weapons, gadgets, and other items. After we left the X-Velocity cloaked inside of one of the abandoned hangars, we took a corner of the hangar and set up a temporary base of operations.
"So," Kitty stated as she pulled up a picture on the laptop. "Who we're looking for is an Inez Green." We all looked at the picture of the woman with curly dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. I assumed it was a mugshot. She looked rather troubled.
"Well, she's rather cute," Buford commented. "She almost looks innocent."
Kitty scoffed. "She's far from that. She was doing time for murder. Granted, she was manipulated into doing so, but considering the person who did it was scammed by her and her murder victim in a major way, I can't say she didn't have it coming. One does not mess with Jeri Hogarth without finding out." I was about to ask what she meant by that, but she continued to talk before I could form the words. "Anyway, she managed to escape prison and made her way to Madripoor. Due to her legit nursing skills, she's been working as a medic under The Power Broker's control. She's also often sent to the Port of Singapore for the sake of checking the legitimacy of the medical supplies that gets sent to Madripoor."
"And how do we know she's going to be here now?" Craig asked.
"I hacked the databases of Singapore Customs. There's a ship incoming from Madripoor tonight that will be loaded up in the morning. We'll find her there. All we're going to do is give her a message to relay."
"So who's going to handle that?" Joanna inquired.
"That'll be Carmilla and Peter." I glanced over at Carmilla. She looked at me and winked. I nodded towards her before I looked at Kitty and nodded. "Carmilla will be taking point. Once again, I just want us to relay a message. Let her know that Shadowcat of the X-Men wants to talk to her regarding a Madripoor matter – nothing more, nothing less."
"Okay, but am I still good to carry guns?" Carmilla asked.
Kitty nodded. "You may. But keep a low profile. I don't want you guys to engage in any conflict unless it's out of self-defense. You got it?"
"I got it," I confirmed.
Carmilla and I rested and waited until the night came. We made our way over to The Port of Singapore. Both of us were dressed casually. Carmilla wore a pair of baggy jean shorts and a green hoodie. Hidden underneath her hoodie were two holsters that held her Beretta M9s. For my part, I went with a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans and a pair of black sneakers. I wore the Edith glasses on my face. As we moved quietly through the ports, I used Edith to guide us through the maze of crates by tracking cellphone signals. Whenever we happened on a group of people, Carmella would take out a pair of binoculars and check their faces. We came across four groups before we found one with Inez in it.
"That's her alright," Carmilla said as she put away her binoculars in one of the pockets of her hoodie. As I leaned back against the shipping container, I saw her look at me from the corner of my eye. "She's with three other people – males, to be exact. They're checking the inside of a shipping container. Can you pick up anything?"
"Let's see," I whispered as I bowed my head and closed my eyes. I then listened in.
"…that looks like all of it," I heard a feminine voice say. "The Power Broker will be pleased. Let's let them know that it can be shipped in the morning."
"That is the shipment," I confirmed.
"How do you want to play this, Little Arachnid?"
I pouted. "Why do I have to be the Little Arachnid? I'm taller than you!"
Carmilla scoffed. "Barely, but I'm still older."
"Barely."
Carmilla chuckled. "But seriously, what do you want to do?"
"…I…" I paused. I then shrugged before I looked at Carmilla. "I say we go up and talk to them? I don't know. I guess a gentler approach would be better." Carmilla stared at me. She then nodded as she reached into her pocket. She pulled out two pieces of black fabric before she handed one of the pieces to me. I took it and looked it over in my hands. "A ski mask?"
"Yup." Carmilla put hers on. "I did a lot of mercenary work during my time away from the X-Men and SHIELD. It's probably best that I don't have my face out in the open."
I nodded in agreement. "Good point." I removed my sunglasses before I put on the mask. I then put my sunglasses back on. "How do I look?"
"Like a militia member with warrants." I smirked underneath the mask and chuckled. "But seriously, Little Arachnid, you're good. Now let's go have that friendly chat."
I followed Carmilla as she stepped out from behind the shipping container and walked up to the group. Seconds later, she spoke up, getting the group's attention.
"Good evening guys," Carmilla greeted casually, getting their attention as she unzipped her hoodie. "Nice weather we're having tonight." My Spider Sense went off. I saw them start reaching behind their backs. With a quickness, Carmilla drew both of her Berettas on them. "Ah-ah-ah, let's not resort to violence."
"You guys have no idea who you are drawing your weapons on," Inez said as she looked at us with a glare.
"Actually, we do, Inez," I growled out quickly. She looked at me with wide eyes. "We know you work for the Power Broker."
She sneered at me. "So which is it? Are you stupid, or do you have a death wish?"
"Neither," Carmilla cut, regaining Inez's attention. "We have no intentions of interfering with the Power Broker's affairs, interests, or the like. We just need you to pass along an urgent message to them. Let the Power Broker know that Shadowcat of the X-Men wants to speak to them about something involving Madripoor. The X-Men has some business they need to take care of there and we would much rather discuss things with the Power Broker before we resort to… other means."
"And if we don't pass along this message?" one of the men said.
"…Then whatever happens within the next couple of days are on you," I replied grimly. I kneeled down and placed my hand on the concrete. "We're gonna go now. I trust that you guys won't try and shoot us in the back." I dug my hands in the concrete before I pulled out a chunk from it. I raised the piece towards them. As they looked on with a looks of surprise, I continued. "But if you do…" I crushed the piece of concrete in my hands before I let the pieces fall. "…you better make your shot count."
I stood up, turned around and walked away as I dusted my hands. Carmilla turned around and walked by my side, holstering her pistols. A part of me was afraid that shots were going to fly. But, my Spider Sense remained quiet and Carmilla and I were able to leave the same way we came in without any issues.
"Well, that went well," Carmilla commented as she took her mask off.
"Almost too well," I responded, taking off my mask and handing it to Carmilla.
"You're not really used to a situation going your way completely, huh?"
I looked at Carmilla. "Are you?"
"I got Craig, didn't I? I mean, fumbled that later on before picking it back up, but that was my doing."
I tilted my head briefly. "Fair point."
When we got back, we reported to Kitty. After giving commending, she gave us the order to wait.
"But how are they going to contact us?" I asked. "We didn't exactly leave a callback number."
"It's the Power Broker, Peter," Kitty said simply. "They'll find a way."
And they did.
The next morning, we were all in a circle, eating MREs that Joanna packed. We were eating in silence when Kitty's burner phone sounded. She causally took it out and looked at the screen. She then set the phone down on the ground, took the call, and put the phone on speaker. All the while, the rest of us looked at each other in confusion.
"Hello," Kitty said nonchalantly.
"You have a very interesting way of getting my attention, Shadowcat," a voice responded. The voice was extremely distorted and pitched down.
Kitty chuckled. "Well, it was either that or cause a ruckus on Madripoor, and considering what we need to do later on, we'd rather not cause more destruction than necessary."
"And what interest do you have that requires you to be in Madripoor?"
"It's simple. One of our own, Tarantula – not the one from Delvadia – was captured. We were able to track him to a location in Madripoor. Considering who his captors are, we have reason to believe that the U.S. Government has a black site there. While I understand Madripoor has a No Extradition policy, all I'm asking of you is to allow us to do what we need to do without opposition from some of the more… proactive people of the local populace."
"…I can't confirm your intuition and allegations. But let's pretend that I could. If the U.S. Government is running a black site on Madripoor, they would have certain protections in place. Said protections would be… freelancers… who'd be financially encouraged to take their jobs extremely seriously."
"Of course," Craig whispered to himself.
"I'm not opposed to making a deal with you," Kitty offered. "Understand that we have our lines and morals, so what we could do for you is rather limited. However, understand that we'll be arriving in Madripoor to get Tarantula back regardless of how this phone call ends. So, we'd appreciate it if you could make things relatively easy for us."
"And if I don't?" the Power Broker said dismissively.
"Then we'll literally and figuratively burn a trail to the where we have to go. We'll get Tarantula back, take down anyone who gets in our way, go home, and come back with even more of our people. We'll spend a day making sure everyone on that island understands that the X-Men aren't the ones to mess with and becoming a hindrance to your streams of revenue. And then, for the sake of audacity, we'll have a top class wagyu steak dinner at the end of the night before we leave. So, which is it, Power Broker? The X-Men can either be a future asset, or a future headache. The choice is yours."
There was a long pause. I looked at Kitty with wide eyes. Certainly, she must've known that she was throwing rocks at a hornets' nest. She looked at me and smiled, as if to tell me not to worry. My eyes returned to normal. But still, I gave her a look of confusion. [I]Are you sure about this?[/I]
She winked at me. [I]Trust me.[/I]
"You know, the last person who tried to threaten me ended up buried in the foundation one of the more recent buildings," the Power Broker warned. There was a pause. "However, I didn't gain my power and influence by needlessly making enemies and going head-first into potential conflicts that are rather avoidable. So, I'll do this for you. By the end of this call, you'll have 72 hours to do what you need to do. During that time, anyone outside of the black site's operational zone will not be allowed in it, no matter what happens there. Also, if anyone tries to mess with you, let them know that you're under my protection. That said, regardless of the outcome of your little mission, you'll owe me that favor. But I'll make sure to keep your morals and sensitivities in mind when I cash in."
"That's all we can all ask for," Kitty said in agreement. "Thank you."
"Just get here, do what you need to do, and get out. Your 72 hours start now."
The call ended. I let loose a breath of relief. Kitty looked at me.
"Now, what did we learn about doubting me?" Kitty asked, mockingly chastising me.
"You got balls, Kitty," Buford commented. "I ain't ever seen someone as ballsy as you during my time serving and during my career as a police officer."
"Well, you're an Airman, so, that tracks," Joanna teased. Buford glared at her. "Oh come on, Buford. Don't act like you Airman aren't the softest bunch."
"I bet Scott wasn't so soft with you," Carmilla quipped. I looked at her with eyes wide and a dropped jaw. Carmilla herself covered her mouth, looking appalled at what she said. "Oh my gosh!"
Craig laughed out loud. I looked at him in time to see him fall onto his side and holding his stomach as he continued to laugh. I then looked at Joanna, who gave Carmilla the meanest glare. Buford held back his laugh as his shoulders quivered.
"Fuck all of y'all," Joanna grumbled.
"Okay children," Kitty called out, getting our attention back. I saw traces of a smile on her face for some moments. "Anyway, we have 72 hours to do what we need to do. We'll be leaving here after breakfast. Once we're in Madripoor, we'll take the rest of the day to scout the location. Assuming things are good for us to go, we'll infiltrate the site. I have an initial plan, but I want to get a better look at the site before we commit to it. That said, we'll prepare for the worst scenario, where we'll have to go the dumb and loud route. Hopefully, it won't come to that."
"Let's add Singapore to the list of countries I've been to, but never got a chance to enjoy," Craig grumbled as he stood up. "Honestly, half the time, being a superhero sucks."
"We can go back to Singapore during the summer," Carmilla offered as she stood up and walked up to Craig. She then whispered into his ear. "I'll even wear that sundress you like while I give you a backrub." Craig bit his lip as he smiled. Judging by everyone else's lack of reaction, they didn't hear what he said. I did, and I gave Craig a teasing wink, causing him to clear his throat.
"Anyway, let's get a move on." As he said this, he smiled wryly as he walked towards the computer, starting the packing up process.