Welcome back to Ashes of Midnight. Last time, Cynder brought Spider-Man back to The Abbey to help him recuperate. Then the next morning, after overhearing Nico Minoru complaining about the native team, the Midnight Sons, being left out of everything, Cynder insists on bringing her along on the next mission, which is storming the newest location where Doctor Faustus has turned up. Captain Marvel agrees, maybe reluctantly, but regardless, Caretaker goes to inform Nico that she's on the mission. So what awaits? Read on to discover...
(Our scene opens up on the waterfront, where Doctor Faustus is supervising the unloading of some of the trucks from his last appearance. Meanwhile, Cynder, Captain Marvel, and Nico Minoru sneak in through a portal to Limbo as the last truck is being unloaded.)
Doctor Faustus: Careful, careful! She will no doubt be very temperamental after such a long journey.
(As the truck stops, two HYDRA goons open the door to reveal a massive version of the prototype gamma-magic bomb that struck Captain Marvel at the warehouse. And apparently it's far less stable than the last one)
Doctor Faustus: (To the bomb) There, there, my beautiful terrible girl. You'll be free of your confinement soon enough. Free to unleash Mother's righteous fury and the Master's unlimited power upon their enemies. The weak, the ignorant, the unworthy...
(As Doctor Faustus rambles, the two HYDRA goons almost drop the bomb, causing it's energy to freak out and disintegrate them both)
Doctor Faustus: My point exactly.
(Needless to say, our trio up in the stands is disturbed by that, with Nico Minoru having to hold back from puking as they look on.)
Caretaker: (Via their comm system) Well that certainly looks familiar.
Cynder: It's the same dark magic from the warehouse.
Captain Marvel: And he's boosted the gamma signature. Must be the new and improved extra evil edition.
Nico Minoru: Coming soon to a deserted dock near you.
Caretaker: (Via their comm system) Whatever it is, it's clearly important to Faustus.
Cynder: Thus to Lilith and Malefor.
Caretaker: (Via their comm system) Which means it's worth a closer look.
(Just as Caretaker finishes getting out the message, Captain Marvel takes off and lands right in front of Doctor Faustus)
Captain Marvel: Way ahead of you there!
Cynder: Can't she try stealth for once?!
Nico Minoru: Now I understand what Blade was talking about.
(And with that, the battle begins. A bunch of HYDRA goons attempt to keep the trio away from the device. But with Nico Minoru's magic, Captain Marvel's energy powers, and the combined strength of Cynder and The Hunter, the goons are taken out readily. But while they were working, Doctor Faustus has been prepping the bomb)
Doctor Faustus: No doubt even you have noticed the latest modifications to my device, Captain Marvel. I'm afraid you won't find her energy so easy to absorb this time!
(But just as Doctor Faustus aims the bomb, Cynder sees what's going on and summons forth the Hunter's power, conjuring two swords from thin air and using them to slash Doctor Faustus' computer, deactivating the bomb)
Doctor Faustus: No! NO! You cannot fail me now!
Cynder: (Disappearing the swords as Captain Marvel approaches) Now we're even, Carol.
Nico Minoru: Nice trick with the swords!
Cynder: Guess I'm learning more and more of what The Hunter is capable of.
(But just as the group prepares to take on Doctor Faustus, the bomb reactivates of its own accord)
Doctor Faustus: Ah. Their Will be done!
(As the bomb is about to go off, Doctor Faustus flees to a second platoon of HYDRA goons. But just as it goes off, it's clear the trio survived, since they're now rushing after him.)
Doctor Faustus: (To the troops) For HYDRA.
(So now a second battle begins, and just as before the HYDRA goons lose pretty swiftly. But while this is going on, Doctor Faustus runs toward a helicopter painted in Crossbones' colors that takes off just as he arrives)
Doctor Faustus: Wait, you idiots! I'm still here!
(But just as Doctor Faustus gets that remark out, Cynder summons The Hunter's magic to bind Doctor Faustus' feet and trip him up.)
Cynder: Really not your night, is it Doc?
(With that, Cynder pulls the magic chain around Doctor Faustus' legs towards them, dragging him along with it.)
Doctor Faustus: You think you scare me?
Cynder: (As red Fear mist exits the sides of her mouth) I can arrange that.
Doctor Faustus: I, who sits at the right hand of the Demon Mother and the left hand of the Dark Master. I who hear the whispers of the dark god Cthon, who was chosen to learn his secrets in the one true tome of creation! Do you really think I could ever be afraid of you!?
(At this point, Cynder starts recalling some of The Hunter's memories, and does note a book was indeed present in what she could see.)
Captain Marvel: (Picking Doctor Faustus up by the throat while summoning her powers in her other hand) Yeah, pretty much
Doctor Faustus: (Realizing he's dead if he doesn't answer) What... what do you want to know?
Cynder: The whole nine yards.
(But before he can start talking, Doctor Faustus is impaled by what looks like a shard of Dark Gem to the chest, causing him to painfully disintegrate. Meanwhile, off in the distance, Cynder sees something, a familiar figure, but one she could never believe is the one she's thinking, but before she can identify it, the figure vanishes, leaving room for the helicopter to return, and Captain Marvel to spot someone)
Captain Marvel: Crossbones. HYDRA's black ops black ops division. You should see the file Steve's got on the guy.
Cynder: I have, Carol.
(Without stopping to acknowledge anyone, Crossbones leaps into the helicopter and flies off)
Caretaker: (Via the comm system) Faustus must have outlived his usefulness to HYDRA, and sadly it seems, to us.
Cynder: This wasn't Crossbones.
Nico Minoru: What?
Cynder: That wasn't anything HYDRA issue, it was a Dark Gem shard. Unless HYDRA's learned how to use those things, Crossbones was a distraction to keep us away from Faustus' real killer.
Captain Marvel: Well now what do we do?
Nico Minoru: This is where I come in. If my time training under Caretaker has taught me anything, it's that there's always an answer if you dig deep enough.
(And sure enough, Nico Minoru digs through Doctor Faustus' clothes, which somehow survived, and pulls out a HYDRA notebook.)
Captain Marvel: Nice one kid. Let's get that back to The Abbey. Provided it gets wiped down with a napkin first.
(As the other two start on their way back to The Abbey, Cynder pauses for a second, and looks back towards where she saw the figure that actually killed Doctor Faustus. She could swear it looked familiar, and definitely not in a good way. But for now, she puts it aside as the trio heads back to The Abbey, and our scene ends for today)
And that looks like a good place to end for today. So it seems there's another enemy agent on the loose, and it's one Cynder seems to recognize. I don't know about you, but I've got a bad feeling about this, and I'm the guy writing this madness. So, what comes next? What will Faustus' notes reveal? Tune in next time to hopefully find out! Same time... same channel!