Marvel: A Tale of Shadows

 "Those are high praises Black Fox. Do you really think she is that good?" Liberty Lion asked as she watched a recording of Felicia fighting.

"I would say she is my masterpiece. For The Reaper, we had nothing to teach him. But for her, she would absorb knowledge like a sponge." Black Fox explained while grinning.

"Then she will be able to successfully replace Black Cat. What do you think?" She turned to the other person that was in her office. Walter Hardy, the current Black Cat.

He nodded, "I agree. Besides, this long term assignment will make me too busy. But already my name has already disappeared from the criminal underworld. From what I understand, people think I am dead."

"Then we are in agreement. I will handle telling her. Felicia Hardy is the new Black Cat." Liberty Lion announced. "How long do you think your new assignment will take?"

"It will take a few years to set up. But then after that it will be a long term posting. So I figured it was a retirement posting, at least until you send someone to replace me." Walter told them, getting a nod from Liberty Lion.

—--------------------

"Hey Peter!" Harry called out as he walked up next to Peter. He and MJ were hanging out by his locker. "Have you seen the thing about the museum? Their unique gem exhibit was completely robbed."

"Yeah, we were just talking about it. Things in this city are getting dangerous. At least The Lizard- sorry, I mean Doctor Connors has been apprehended." Mary Jane pointed out.

"But he is not the only one that has popped up. There was talk of some other criminals with high tech armaments. I have seen some evidence of it but I have not caught up with them." Peter explained as he closed his locker.

"Did you know that the centerpiece was on loan from a known member of Maggia, an international gang?" Harry asked as he followed along, "apparently the Maggia's reputation has taken a hit from the theft, made a fool of them."

"That… seems bad." MJ pointed out with a frown.

"Probably because it is. If they find the person responsible they will kill them. But if they don't they will strike out at random anyways. People will get caught in the crossfire." Peter suggested as they arrived at their next class. "We should find a way to work with the police."

—---------------------

Ethan looked over in surprise at Susan after what she just told him. "Why exactly are we consolidating our projects and securing our digital files?" He asked as he turned his full attention to her.

"Yes, the dictator of Latveria is coming to New York. While he is here he will likely visit us. Reed and Victor were roommates in college for a time. They have a competitive streak. But since Victor went back to Latveria he has also become dangerous, especially after he got rid of his political adversaries." Susan explained as she handed out assignments to others.

"I assume you are worried about him stealing technology." Ethan pointed out as he started consolidating all his files.

"Not just that, we are worried about him taking personnel as well. He has advanced his country's technology a bunch. But he still lacks talents in multiple fields. But he looks down on most people, but people smart as him he becomes competitive with." Susan answered as she walked away.

"I feel like there is more to the story between them and Victor Von Doom." Cindy pointed out once Susan was out of earshot.

Ethan nodded absently as he worked, "yes, I figured that out. Just try to stay out from under foot when they arrive. It is likely he will have a protective detail and a political one as well. Then we have to be even more cautious of news crews and journalists. One word out of line can cause too much trouble." He explained.

"Has your droid picked a name?" Another intern asked.

"No, he has not. But he has been dabbling in several different things. He is waiting until he fully develops his personality before he decides on a name." Ethan explained as he double checked everything on his computer.

"What is he working on now?" Another intern asked.

"Ohhh… cooking, mixology, martial arts, mechanics, and a few other things to maintain his equipment." Ethan declared with a shrug.

"Hahaha! That is amazing!" Johnny walked over, "I know you won't tell me how it works or anything like that. But I still have to ask, have you ever designed any vehicles? And if so, what was their top speed?"

Ethan shook his head, "a few, and there was not an environment where I could test their top speed. While some were not built for speed but rather for defense. It sounds like Doctor Storm has already found one of my design schematics, so I am sure she could find the rest."

"Oh come on! I just wanted-"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

An alarm suddenly started blaring throughout the lab. He remembered that there were several different types of alarms. This was one of the alarms he did not need to immediately act on. It was an indicator that there was a large amount of damage in the city.

"We need to go! A giant creature just climbed out of the water and is making its way inland! We have to stop it!" Reed called out from his lab. Causing Johnny to race off followed by The Thing a moment later.

There was a whooshing sound as the Fantasitcar, as he believed it is called, flew away. Likely bringing the Fantastic Four to avert whatever disaster that might be coming.

"Hey, someone turn on the TV!" An intern called out.

But Ethan went back to work deciding to split his attention as he watched the news on his computer. It really was a giant sea creature. But as he was watching this whale with legs he saw it destabilizing the more inland it got.

Almost like it was flickering out of existence. The Fantastic Four were delaying it but the creature's size clearly made that a problem. But as Ethan worked he noticed something, the creature was destabilizing anyways. Its distance from the water was not the issue. Time out of the water could be a factor. But the way it was flickering in and out of existence like a bad hologram likely meant… it was not from their reality.

Well… that is new. And thankfully not his problem to deal with.

—------------------

"No, as we said before, this is a school." Professor Xavier declared. He was on a conference call with several agencies. They were attempting to get a foothold and presence on school grounds.

"A school full of mutant superpowered children who should be held in prisons-" The Director of the ATF was suddenly cut off as he was hung up on.

Professor Xavier just hung up and shrugged, "I apologize I felt his line of thought was nonsensical and unconstructive."

"I told you many times before Professor Xavier, Shield would like to maintain a few agents to-" Fury started.

"No, I know you mean well Director Fury. But as what has clearly occurred we cannot trust the government. Now as I have said before we do have an FBI agent on school grounds so you can forward any questions to him." Professor Xavier explained as he prepared to hang up.

"Professor X, if you do this there will be consequences." All of the agencies began signing off but Director Fury stayed on until everyone else left. "There are people working on creating an organization specifically to research and imprison mutants."

"Why would you tell me this?"

"Because these people are radical and want to drive mutants to extinction. But I am just as worried that a war will break out between mutants and humans because of them." He explained. "Be careful Professor X, something is coming and we all need to know who our friends and enemies are." Then the call disconnected.

That warning was disconcerting.