Ritchie Gilmore is based on the Marvel character of the same name who inherited a mystical version of Spider-Man's Prodigy suit from the Identity Crisis saga and took on the identity of Prodigy (not to be confused with the X-Men character of the same name) in the short-lived Marvel comic series Slingers, which will be the basis for the new Marémon that'll show up soon!
Episode 53: A Blaccet in Distress!
"You did what?" MJ grabbed Eddie Brock by the collar of his hoodie and pulled him close until he was inches from her face. "How could you be so cruel to that poor Hamder?"
"But you gave him to me!" Brock argued. "Why is that different from what I did?"
"I would've taken care of that Hamder, not forced him to participate in a fight where I might potentially lose him forever! How can you call yourself a Marémon Wielder if you don't even think about your Marémon's feelings?"
"Look, I needed a Marémon to get into Ronan's fights! So I took whichever one I could get."
Peter looked at Brock's belt and saw a solitary PDB with a blue neon light around the circumference, meaning a Marémon was occupying it. "Couldn't you have used the Marémon you're carrying instead of taking another?"
"Oh, this?" Brock looked nervous. "The Marémon in here is…unruly to say the least."
Brock then suddenly slapped himself in the face much to Peter and MJ's surprise.
"Sorry, I meant he's great. But it would've complicated things if I had used him in battle."
"That doesn't excuse you for using Hamder just to cover a story," MJ argued. "Now I might forgive you if you take us to where these fights are and tell us who has Hamder."
"Do you kids have good Marémon of your own?" Brock asked.
"We sure do," Peter said confidently.
"Fine, I'll help you if you give me the chance to investigate Ronan and find out what he's really up to for my story," Brock offered. "Because you see, losers are immediately booted from the place where the fights are held and I didn't even get close to fighting Ronan."
"If you didn't lose Hamder to Ronan, then who did you lose him to?" MJ demanded.
"The guy who told me where the fights took place," Brock said. "His name's Ritchie Gilmore, and he's Xandar University's star wrestler. But he's got a serious drinking problem, and has racked up a lot of debt. So he goes to these fights in the hopes of winning the prize money from beating Ronan to pay his debt off."
"How did you get him to talk?"
"I got him drunk enough to scribble down the address." From his hoodie, Brock held up a bar napkin with writing on it. "He was pretty mad when I showed up at the fight, and he probably won't like me showing up again. That's why I need your help."
"By being your bodyguards?" MJ grabbed the bar napkin and let Brock go. "Sorry, but we're not going to stoop to doing that. Come on, Peter."
MJ then left the coffee place in a hurry while Peter caught up.
"Who does that guy think he is, using Marémon and kids to do his dirty work?" MJ huffed.
"Yeah, he was definitely weird," Peter agreed. "I wonder why he slapped himself and changed his mind about what he was saying about his Marémon."
"Simple, he's crazy," MJ claimed.
"No, I don't think that's it. The hand he used to slap himself was right next to the PDB he had on his belt. Maybe his Marémon used some form of mind control to make Brock slap himself."
"But how can that be when the Marémon was in the PDB?"
"According to Professor Xavier, some Marémon are so powerful they can influence the outside world from the PDB. He even demonstrated it with his own Marémon Proffix, who was able to use Astral Projection despite being in his PDB the entire time."
"Even if such a thing is possible, what kind of Marémon would be able to do that level of mind control apart from Proxi?"
While Peter contemplated this, he and MJ soon crossed paths with Thor. He had Thunderthor standing next to him, who looked like he was itching for a fight as he was carrying their stuff.
"So what happened?" Thor asked. "Did that guy do anything suspicious?"
"Not really, but we got what we wanted," MJ said, holding up the napkin. "There's some illegal Marémon fights going on in this city, and one of those participants has Hamder. Are you up for helping me get him back?"
Thor grinned and cracked his knuckles. "You can count me and Thunderthor in!"
Later that night, Peter and the others were preparing to go to the address described on the napkin. But just as Peter was ready to head out, he got a text message from Felicia that said:
Peter, you've got to help me!
Mr. H knows where I'm staying, and he's on his way!
Get here now!
Then below the message was an address, which Peter located on his phone.
"You guys go on ahead to the fight," Peter said to MJ and Thor. "I'll meet up with you later."
Before MJ or Thor could ask him, Peter left the hotel room and ran to the address Felicia gave him. Confusingly, it was the rooftop of an abandoned building which forced Peter to use Spidermin to Web Shot him all the way up the building. On the rooftop, he found the thief Black Cat holding a smartphone in her hand.
"Hello again," Black Cat smirked. "Did you miss me?"
"Where's Felicia?" Peter demanded. "Did you send the text message from her phone to trick me into coming here?"
"I didn't trick you," Black Cat claimed. "Felicia really is in trouble. She's been kidnapped by Mr. H, the guy she was working with, because he wants the flash-drive I have with Don Fortunato's personal data."
To be continued…
