Episode 15: A New Friend and Enemy!

The Shadusk known as Cassie looked at Peter's hand for a moment and then at the other Shadusk, who managed to free themselves from Noirstel's Spider Web. Standing up, she raised her tiny hands and the shadows of the graves in the moonlight came together in a large ball that Cassie flung at the other Shadusk trapping them inside.

"Wow, that's quite an attack!" MJ remarked.

Peter nodded in agreement and checked his MarGuide.

"In keeping with its namesake, Shadusk has the ability to manipulate shadows into whatever shape they need to protect them from enemies," EDITH responded. "Though the strength of their attacks depends on the light-source."

"Guess it's a good thing Cassie attacked them and not us," Peter remarked. "If she could do that with shadows from a quarter moon, imagine the power of shadows from the noonday sun."

Meanwhile, Cassie made the same warped noises from before which Spidi interpreted.

"So according to Spidi, Cassie's agreed to come with me on the condition that I let her go if we find her owner," Peter said and looked at Cassie. "Well, don't you worry, Cassie, because I made a vow to never break a promise ever again when my uncle Ben passed away."

Cassie folded her arms and then jumped into Peter's open PDB, which closed shut as the upside-down triangle on the front briefly glowed before dying down.

"Looks like you caught a Marémon for real," MJ smiled. "Congratulations! You're already one step closer to being a Marémon Hero."

"No, I've still got a ways to go," Peter admitted. "Though hopefully, Cassie will give me the chance to earn the Mind Stone Badge."

Peter and MJ left the cemetery walking straight to Sif's place. But when they got there, the place was ransacked and no one was around nor any Marémon. Instead, they found a scribbled note on the front door that said:

For violating the house-arrest sentence and keeping intruders under her roof, Sif Warring and her Marémon Shieldsif have been taken to the Asgard Realm to receive their due punishment. The intruders Thor Odinson, Jane Foster, and Edward "Eddie" McDonough have also been taken to the same facility to be dealt with along with their Marémon. If anyone has any objections to these actions, please come to the Asgard Realm where the Champions Loki and Hela will take them into consideration.

"It's a trap," MJ determined. "Loki and Hela are trying to lure us out so they can arrest us too."

"But we can't just stand here and do nothing," Peter objected. "We have to save them!"

"That is SHIELD's job, not ours!" MJ argued.

"Okay, then how are we supposed to contact them? Sif told us that Loki and Hela control all communication with the outside world, so if we try getting in touch with SHIELD it won't take them long to find us."

"We'll run away, then."

"And go where? We can either go back into Vanaheim Forest and deal with those Svartelm and Kurseed, or march over the mountains east of here and get to La Vie City. Either way, our friends are going to suffer before we get in touch with SHIELD."

MJ sighed. "Yeah, you're right. So what's your plan? We've only got two Mutant-Type Marémon and one Magic-Type to go up against Loki and Hela's partial Weapon-Types. Plus, if the Warriors Three get involved we'll get trampled for sure."

"If we use our wits, then we'll find a way to deal with them," Peter said confidently while Spidi nodded in agreement on his shoulder.

###

After hatching a plan, MJ and Peter used Spidi and Noirstel's combined Web Shot attacks to swing onto the roof of the nearest house. From there, they hopped from roof to roof with Spidi and Noirstel helping them using web-based ropes. Luckily, the Warriors Three didn't spot them when they reached the town square. However, someone else was standing on the same roof they were. It was a woman with black hair tied into a long ponytail and wearing a pink spandex outfit. Crouching next to her was a black-and-silver lizard-like creature that stood upright with gold discs along its arms.

"Maybe she didn't hear us," Peter assured to MJ.

This caused the woman in the pink spandex outfit to look away from the town square and directly at Peter.

Groaning, Peter said to himself, "Why did I have to open my big mouth?"

"What are you kids doing here?" The woman asked sternly. "Shouldn't you and your baby Marémon be in bed by now?"

"Could ask the same about you," MJ retorted. "Especially your outfit, which makes you look like an aerobics instructor."

Frowning, the woman said, "For your information, I'm a professional assassin! The name's Delilah*, and you're going to pay for insulting me. Rikoshay, get rid of them!"

"Rikoshay?" Peter immediately consulted his MarGuide.

"Known as the Agile Marémon, Rikoshay is a Weapon/Mutant-Type that has the ability to leap great distances and bounce off various surfaces," EDITH answered. "It is even equipped with metal discs that can be fired, which either cut or explode on impact."

"Oh, great," Peter remarked.

Just as Peter spoke, Delilah's Rikoshay leaped into the air. The gold discs fired from its arms and flew toward Peter.

"Spidi, Web Shield!" Peter commanded.

Immediately, Spidi created a giant web-based shield around Peter, MJ, and himself. When the gold discs impacted the shield, they cut right through the webbing injuring Spidi.

"No, Spidi!" Peter cried, reaching into his pack for a Healing Factor Juice syringe.

"Looks like your Spidi's webbing isn't strong enough to withstand Rikoshay's Throwing Discs," Delilah chuckled. "Now I might spare your lives if you help me with something."

"Why would we want to help you?" MJ objected. "Aren't you a professional assassin?"

"Yes, but I'm not from around here," Delilah explained. "My boss sent me to check on the situation with New Asgard Town and see if he could strike a deal with the Asgard Realm Champions for the sake of benefiting our organization."

"And what kind of organization are we talking about?" Peter asked.

This made Delilah pause. "Maybe I'll tell you if you agree to help me."

To be continued…

* Not to be confused with Delilah Dearborn, who became the hero Geiger, Delilah was a cyborg assassin who fought Spider-Man and teamed up with his other alter ego Ricochet (which the new Marémon in this chapter is based on)