So quick note: Hornetech is a reference to Hornet, one of the four alternate superhero identities that Spider-Man took during the Identity Crisis saga which was then used by Eddie McDonough, a member of the lesser-known Slingers superhero team.

Episode 9: Hornetech and the Boy Genius!

"I hate to sound redundant, but…what is that?" MJ questioned, pointing at the purple cicada-like creature that scared away the Svartelm.

Peter used his MarGuide on the creature, only to be met with a blank screen.

"Marémon not recognized," replied EDITH.

"How can that be?" Thor questioned. "You guys got your MarGuides from Professor Banner, who's documented every single Marémon out there."

"That's not true," replied MJ. "He gave us the MarGuides to specifically record Marémon that haven't been discovered yet, like Symbio."

Suddenly, from behind a tall bush nearby emerged a young woman with medium straight brunette hair wearing a dark jacket and a white scarf around her neck.

"Jane?" Thor muttered, causing Peter and MJ to give him confused looks.

For a moment, the young woman's eyes widened. Then she frowned and folded her arms defensively. "You've certainly let yourself go, Thor."

"I'm sorry I left without telling you where I was going," Thor apologized, holding his protruding gut self-consciously.

"Do you know how worried I was?" the young woman called Jane snapped, then she realized Peter and MJ were present. "And who are your new friends?"

"I'm Peter Parker," Peter introduced. "And this is my friend MJ."

"Hi," MJ waved awkwardly. "We found Thor near Yortown, where Peter and I originally came from. He offered to show us to New Asgard Town after we dealt with some Team HYDRA goons."

"Why do you want to go to New Asgard Town?" Jane asked.

"So I can get the Mind Stone Badge at the Asgard Realm, and MJ can get the Encouragement Ribbon at the New Asgard Theater," Peter explained.

"I also plan to have a rematch with Loki and Hela," Thor added.

"But they overwhelmed you last time," Jane reminded. "And I was there."

"That's why Pete's going to be my backup," Thor responded, patting Peter on the shoulder.

Jane sighed. "Anyway, I'm guessing you three got lost in the forest."

"Yes, and then we got attacked by a colony of Svartelm before that thing saved us," MJ explained, pointing to the purple cicada-like creature.

"Oh, you mean Hornetech," Jane said, pointing at the purple cicada.

"Hornetech?" Peter quickly typed the name into the MarGuide, but came up with nothing. "Is that a Marémon?"

"He is, but he's a new creation," responded Jane.

"So that's why Peter's MarGuide came up with nothing," MJ realized. "Is he a Tech-Type?"

"Tech/Flying, actually," Jane corrected. "I'll take you to the boy who created him at the SHIELD Station."

Picking up the purple cicada-like Marémon Hornetech, Jane walked toward the metallic structure up ahead while Thor and the others followed. It was located at the top of a hill, which was accessible by a series of wooden stairs. Round in shape, the SHIELD Station had an electronic lock on it which Jane was able to open using a keycard.

"So you're a member of SHIELD now?" Thor questioned.

Jane gave Thor an irritated look. "I'm an intern, thank you very much."

On the inside, they found themselves walking down a long dark hallway until they came to a console full of large computers where a young boy sat in an office chair. He had short curly dark hair and a goatee.

"Hi, Eddie," Jane said, getting the boy's attention.

"Oh, hi, Miss Foster," the boy responded, turning his chair around to face Jane. He looked nervously at Peter and the others. "I see you brought some visitors."

Jane cleared her throat and said, "This is Peter, MJ, and Thor, my ex-boyfriend."

While Peter and MJ waved politely, Thor seemed embarrassed.

"Nice to meet you," Eddie smiled. "I'm Edward McDonough, but most people call me Eddie."

"The Daily Bugle did a feature about you last year," Peter exclaimed. "You were the first Empire State University graduate with cerebral palsy."

Eddie's right arm twitched slightly as he nodded. "That was also when I created Hornetech, which caught the attention of SHIELD. So they placed me at this station in Vanaheim Forest to test Hornetech's capabilities in a relatively isolated environment with Jane Foster supervising me. But what brought you three here?"

"We got lost finding the road to New Asgard Town," MJ explained. "So we came to this SHIELD Station to ask for directions, when a colony of Svartelm came out of nowhere."

"Luckily, Hornetech saved us," Peter chimed in. "That's how we met Jane."

"Sounds amazing," Eddie remarked. "I wish I could've seen it…."

"You would've been terrified by the Svartelm," Jane claimed. "Luckily, Hornetech didn't get damaged in the encounter. But I that's the second time I've seen the Svartelm attacking in colonies, meaning they're definitely getting more aggressive."

"I wonder why that is," Eddie wondered. Then he noticed the MarGuide sticking out of Peter's denim jacket pocket and his eyes widened. "Hold on! Is that a MarGuide?"

"Professor Banner gave one to me and MJ, before we left Yortown," Peter answered. "He also gave us our Marémon."

As if on queue, Spidi crawled from behind Peter's legs while MJ summoned Noirstel from her PDB. Eddie seemed genuinely excited to see them.

"Wow, I never thought I would see an actual Spidi and Noirstel," Eddie remarked. "Apparently, they used to be more common in Vanaheim Forest, before the Svartelm multiplied a great deal."

"So the Svartelm weren't that bad until recently?" MJ questioned.

"That's right, and I've been keeping track of their numbers since I got stationed here," Jane confirmed. "Now usually, they're nocturnal as the nighttime is closer environment-wise to their native world Svartalfheim, which was always dark. But in the past year, the Svartelm have started appearing during the daytime as you three saw. So either the Svartelm in this forest are becoming more resistant to sunlight through natural evolution, or something artificial."

No one said a word as Jane's speculations hung over their heads like a threatening storm cloud, while Spidi, Noirstel, and Hornetech didn't react to this conversation.

To be continued…