Episode 38: Wrath of the Rose!

Before Peter could hear any more of the conversation between Cassandra and the masked man called Rose, he was shoved to the side. Turning around, he beheld a woman wearing a black business suit and skirt with long black hair. Yet she seemed awfully familiar to Peter.

"What are you doing here, kid?" The woman demanded. "This is a private meeting between Mrs. Mercury and the Rose."

"The Rose?" Peter blinked.

Rolling her eyes, the woman pushed Peter away from the conference room door. "Just get out of here, and don't come back!"

Without questioning her, Peter ran back down the hallway and into the suite. There, MJ had managed to coax Cassie out from the corner she was curled up in and they were keeping Valrie company. Meanwhile, Thor was challenging Korg to an arm-wrestling contest as Thunderthor acted as the referee. As for Spidermin and Noirstel, they were taking turns flying on Hornetech's back as he buzzed around the room.

"Guys!" Peter snapped, getting everyone's attention. "You're not going to believe what I just found out."

"Can it wait?" Thor said as he struggled against Korg's rocky arm. "I'm trying to win here."

"But this is important," Peter insisted. "I saw Mrs. Mercury going into this conference room with a shady guy in a mask, and listened in on their conversation. But then I was chased away by this woman who looked a lot like that one who attacked us in New Asgard Town."

"Delilah?" MJ said.

"Yeah, her," Peter confirmed. "Anyway, Mrs. Mercury told the guy, who's apparently named the Rose, to leave her hotel. But then he shrugged her off, saying he cured Abby of a disease by killing Abby's pet Scarspide and Mrs. Mercury buried it in New Asgard Town in exchange for gaining partial ownership of the hotel which apparently is in his 'territory.'"

A long silence followed Peter's words, while Cassie seemed especially surprised.

"Wow, um, that's…a lot to take in," MJ remarked, scratching the back of her head.

"Sounds like this Rose guy might be a gangster," Thor said, before Korg slammed his hand on the table.

"I think so too," Peter agreed. "But that means the woman who pushed me might be Delilah, since she's an assassin and gangsters usually hire assassins. So her Marémon—

Just then, something crashed into the room through the air vent above. It was Rikoshay, the same black-and-silver lizard-like creature Peter and MJ encountered on the rooftops of New Asgard Town with the gold discs on his arms blinking red.

"Exploding Discs," Peter muttered, recognizing the Attack Rikoshay was about to use. "Cover yourselves, everyone!"

While Peter and MJ ducked underneath the nearby bed, Thor flipped over the table and hid behind it along with Thunderthor. Korg stood in front of the table as Noirstel quickly created a Spider Web. As for Cassie, she attempted to manipulate the nearby shadows to come to her. Valrie, on the other hand, let out a loud Battle Cry which stunned Rikoshay. This made Spidermin use Stun Web to further immobilize Rikoshay while Hornetech assisted him by shooting a flurry of Stinger Blasts at the discs as Noirstel cast the Spider Web on top of Rikoshay.

The resulting explosion was partially dulled by Noirstel's Spider Web, though it evaporated as the glass shattered and the furniture was blown back by the following shockwave. While Korg didn't move, his rocky body was severely fragmented. Rikoshay, though, was scorched and barely standing.

"Rikoshay's hurt," Peter noticed, looking from underneath the bed. "We've got to help him."

"But he tried to kill us!" MJ reminded Peter, who got out from beneath the bed and picked up his pack where he retrieved a Healing Factor syringe from it.

"It wasn't his fault, though," Peter replied. "Delilah made him do it. And the teachers at the Marémon Academy insisted that not all Marémon are bad, so I want to believe Rikoshay isn't."

Peter then walked over to Rikoshay and kneeled down to inject the syringe into him. In a few minutes, Rikoshay's burn marks faded and he was fully healthy once more. He looked up at Peter for a second, before kicking Peter in the face and bouncing through the window which shattered. As Peter was holding his sore face, he stumbled over to the window and looked down. Rikoshay was nowhere in sight, but he saw a limo on the ground floor with a window partially lowered. He caught a glimpse of a white suit, and figured it was the Rose.

"Looks like the Rose was responsible for this," Peter said as he backed away from the window.

"He probably wants us dead because he's worried we might recognize Delilah from the time we saw her in New Asgard Town," MJ guessed as she got up from under the bed. "Kind of makes you wonder what she was doing there in the first place."

"She said something about trying to make a deal with Asgard's Realm Champions to benefit her organization," Peter remembered. "If she was referring to the Rose, then maybe she was seeking Loki and Hela's help so they could aid the Rose in his gang war."

"Maybe, though we don't know who the Rose is at war with or why," Thor responded, rising up from behind the table. "I'm guessing the Rose wanted to expand his gang's territory outside of La Vie City, so he sent Delilah to make a deal with my siblings to make that happen."

"Well, either way, we're not staying here," MJ said as she grabbed what was left of her pack. "I say we get out of La Vie City and head on to Sokovia City."

"But what about Mrs. Mercury and her daughter?" Peter pointed out. "We can't leave them at the mercy of this ruthless gangster."

"Then let's go to the police if that'll make you feel better," MJ sighed.

"Don't bother."

Peter winced as he looked back. Through the broken glass window appeared Ben, who was hanging by a webbed string with Scarspide on his shoulder. He swung into the room and landed on his feet with Scarspide still holding on. Unlike Peter's outfit, which consisted of a jean jacket over a red shirt with matching blue jeans, Ben's clothes included a red jacket over a blue shirt with burgundy pants.

To be continued…