On an average Thursday night in New York, two men stood outside of a warehouse. Most would think nothing of it if they only looked once. They were both dressed as if they were workers and looked as if they were making conversation while waiting for a delivery.
But if one paid careful attention, they would notice that each of the pair was resting one of their hands on their hips. Hidden underneath their coats were guns to be used on anyone that got too close. The pair's clothes were also too clean for workers that had been in the storage place for anytime longer than an hour. Even their shoes were spotless when they should have walked through many patches of dirt to reach their current location from the employee check-in area.
"How much longer do you think we will have to wait?" asked one of the men.
The other pulled out a cigarette and lit it up before replying to his companion.
"Who knows! When the boss is checking out new merchandise, he likes to take his time. You know this already," replied the second man before he took a drag of his cigarette.
"That's what worries me. We usually do this in Jersey but now we are in New York, better known as hero central. Not only are we in New York but we are also in Hell's Kitchen. This is Daredevil's AND Punisher's turf. I'm not sure which I am more afraid to find us."
The man looked as if he had just lived through his worse nightmare. And the other could not blame him. Punisher was not known for taking prisoners while Daredevil was known for being brutal, especially for those that dealt in the merchandise their boss was buying that day.
"This is not the first time the boss has bought in New York. Boss has hired some of the Hand to distract Daredevil while rumors of some mob goons kidnapping kids should have the punisher distracted," trying to comfort his companion, the more experienced of the pair could only explain as such even if he wasn't entirely convinced himself.
He continued, "Besides, the guy we are buying from is a pro. He has managed to stay off of SHIELD's radar for several years now. No chance that he will allow himself to get caught now."
The man who had been panicking earlier seemed to calm down at his companion's words but still turned to look at the warehouse behind him as he silently urged his boss to hurry up. Neither of the pair knew that they were being watched the entire time.
On the roof above them, a masked man looked down at the two men silently. His entire body was covered in black except for his eyes. All anyone would be able to see if they looked him straight on from a distance were a pair of purple orbs that looked as if a stone had landed in the center of them with ripples flowing to the edges of it.
The man in black looked at the pair below him for a few more moments before he turned around and walked around the roof until he found a window that was cracked. He carefully opened the window before entering the warehouse.
The man in black slowly made his way through the warehouse while avoiding the detection of the few patrolling guards before he made his way onto the rafters. Once up there, the man made his way to the center of the warehouse where the only light was visible. From there, he could see the entire scene below him.
There was one cargo truck as well as 2 deluxe SUVs parked in the center of the warehouse that was surrounded by armed men. In the middle of the circle were 2 men that seemed to be negotiating. Besides all of the obvious criminals, there were 6 children. All of the children were girls with the oldest being 10 while the youngest might have barely been 4 years old. Seeing this, the man in black's eyes turned cold.
"Hmm. The price is fine. And all of them are confirmed mutants?" asked the man that was apparently the buyer. This person was Richard Green, famously known for being the CEO of a large investment company. While he was known for his eccentric personality, most did not know that he had a much darker personality underneath.
Green had been buying children for years and using them as he pleased. This mostly meant torturing them as he recorded their screams so that he could listen to them whenever he pleased.
"Of course. These are all confirmed mutants. While only one of those 3 has a visible mutation, the other two also have mutations. None of them can be used in combat though which makes them extremely easy to break in," replied the seller. This was none other than the famous Oswald Cobblepot. He was a black-market seller that specialized in mutants.
Green nodded at his response and went forward to shake the fatter man's hands. Before their hands could touch, the sound of glass could be heard breaking. A pair of lights from one of the SUVs were destroyed.
"Shit! What was that?"
Another set of headlights was also destroyed a moment later. It was then that everyone knew it was not an accident but that they were under attack. All the men pulled out their guns as the last set of headlights was taken out. Now, all that illuminated the room were the red brake lights behind each of the cars which barely allowed any light in the warehouse.
"Gather up! Someone turn on all the lights! We are under attack!"
Many of the henchmen tried to make their way through the warehouse but with only one hand holding onto their guns as the other tried to illuminate the way with their flashlights, the men could not move too fast.
The man that went for the lights arrived at the central lights tried to turn them on several times but no matter what he did, he was unable to do anything. The criminals would not realize until later that the man had already cut the power to the building they were in.
Noticing the lights were not coming on, Green began to get worried that the Hand had failed their task in distracting Daredevil. Few other heroes were comfortable fighting in almost complete darkness.
The room was silent for several seconds. The only sounds that could be heard were the sobbing of the children and the clicking of the guns' safeties. Their assailant had made no move besides the initial one, and this I what worried them most.
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Just as the tension seemed to get to the highest it could be, a whoosh sound could be heard going through the air before a clunk and grunt of pain rang out which was closely followed by the collapsing of a body.
And just like that, the. the battle kicked off.
Several men opened fire into the area where they thought they heard the weapon come from. The light of the bullets leaving their owners behind illuminated the small, area they were in. They could see the man that had a dent in his head but no weapon could be seen on the ground.
When their gunfire ended as they ran out of ammo, the few men that fired were reloading while all of them kept their ears peeled. The sound of a body falling from the rafters was not heard by any of them.
3 more whoosh sounds were heard before 3 more bodies collapsed onto the floor. This time not just a few of the men but all of them except for Green and Cobblepot. The former started running for the nearest car while the latter went for one of the kids.
Both made mistakes.
Several more bodies collapsed in the middle of the gunfire. This time, there was no warning dud to the symphony of shells falling to the ground. Several men were taken down including Green and Cobblepot.
Green was hit in the head like the others and went to sleep without much trouble. Cobblepot was less lucky. Two sharpened rods had ended up going through his legs before he could even reach the children. Unlike the others who could be unconscious and not deal with their pain, the fat man had to suffer.
With the two leaders and 9 of their gunners down, only a few remain. They knew that they stood no chance but none of them knew what to do until one made the first move.
The sound of metal and wood hitting the floor could be heard before a man yelled out, "I surrender, Daredevil. I'm willing to be taken into custody."
After one did it, the remaining few followed. All of the men dropped their weapons and surrendered to 'Daredevil' but were not given a response. They were not worried though. They all figured that 'Daredevil' was simply calling the authorities to come and get. But they were wrong.
The sounds of weapons flying through the air could be heard once again before the men grunted in pain and collapsed on the ground. The ones left conscious were the kids and Cobblepot.
Soon, the lights for the entire warehouse were turned on. Cobblepot was immediately blinded but after a few seconds, he could see again. All around him were his bodyguards and the men that Green brought with him collapsed on the ground. Even Green himself was no exception.
The fat man was too afraid to look down at his legs but he knew they were a mess from how lightheaded he got and the pain he was feeling. All this was too much for the man and he collapsed. The last thing he heard while he was still conscious was the sound of sirens approaching.
---
After dealing with the human traffickers, the man was surfing through the air on a black rod as he trying to get back home before he was caught. But before he could make it more than 5 blocks, several lights were on him.
Knowing better than to resist, the man flew to the nearest rooftop and landed. Not even 5 seconds after that, a shield jet landed with several men and women in various costumes landing near it or emerging from it.
One of the ones who emerged from the jet was an Amazonian-like woman with the perfect ratio of muscles on her body that were trapped in a small purple and white leotard that did nothing to hide her perfect legs or flawless arms. The woman's face could also overshadow many models known for her looks. The only 'flaw' of the woman that anyone could try to name was her green skin but most would not be turned away by that in the slightest. Many would even say that her color added to her beauty.
Behind her was a man dressed in a costume that looked as if he had cut up a few American flags to make it. He also carried a large shield on his back. Looking just as fit as the woman before him, the man looked as if he lived in the gym. Most of his face was covered in a mask so one could only see his mouth, chin, and eyes but even from that, one could tell he was very handsome.
The only flier of the group landed as well. The woman seemed to be a being made up of pure energy. Once she landed and powered down, one could tell that she was a beautiful African American woman with natural curls in her hair. Most likely due to having more energy-based powers instead of physical ones like her two friends, the woman was not as muscular as them but still looked amazing in her spandex suit.
While many would feel attracted to all of them, the man in black felt nothing but a headache looking at the latter two. Just as he was about to remove his mask, he heard the pair say:
"Mask off, Virgil! In the jet! Now!"
Sighing to himself, Virgil took off his mask. Underneath was not the face of a veteran that had fought many battles and could easily take out a dozen or so goons with ease. Instead, it was a face full of youthfulness and vigor that looked no older than any other 15-year-old African American boy.
He walked towards the jet under the glare of these two people while the green woman had a teasing look on her face as she found her favorite protege being bullied by his aunt and uncle.
Once he was in the jet, Virgil sat in a corner seat and sent a pleading gaze toward She-Hulk. Knowing how much trouble he was in, she gave in and helped him out by sitting on his left side. This way, they could only tell at him from the front.
The pair wanted to say something but they knew it would be useless. Ever since she started training Virgil, she would spoil him like he was her own son.
Captain America and Spectrum, better known to Virgil as Uncle Steve and Aunt Monica, sat opposite of the pair and glared at their 'nephew'. They had so much they wanted to say but did not know where to start.
Steve had a younger brother back before he was frozen in ice. That mad had kids that had kids and one of those kids was Virgil's father. Steve was something closer to a great great uncle to Virgil but since he only looked to be in his early 30s almost, Virgil omitted the 2 greats.
Monica was also not Virgil's direct aunt. Her accident made the woman immortal. So even though she was in her 50s, she did not look like she was past her late 20s. Monica's niece had given birth to Virgil which made her his great aunt but due to her young looks, the great is usually omitted.
The pair had been raising Virgil in place of his parents ever since they died when he was 5. Since then, the young man had basically been an Avenger and SHIELD trainee for 10 years making him more skilled than most were at twice his age.
Being able to carry out a simple mission against less than 20 goons, even barehanded was not something difficult for him to accomplish but the pair would not let him go on missions due to his age.
This is why when Virgil saw the mission listed as a SHIELD raid during one of his usual surfs through SHIELD'S confidential files, he took it as a chance to go on his first mission. This was the perfect chance to test his skills in live combat as well as his recently awakened mutation.
So after reassigning the raid team and then designating this mission to a team that did not exist, Virgil was able to get himself his own mission. All he had to do was cover his transport. And once he completed the mission, Virgil sent in a report about the completion of the mission.
Once the report was sent in, however, someone discovered that a team that did not exist completed it. After putting together a few dots, it was not hard to figure out that Virgil had done the mission.
She-Hulk was originally assigned to bring him back since she was his official trainer but once Steve and Monica found out, they joined her to escort him back for his punishment.
"What were you thinking, Virgil?" Asked Steve.
"That I could complete the mission flawlessly even while testing my powers, which I did."
"Yes, you saved the kids but your actions were too heavy-handed. Most of those men have serious concussions, Cobblepot will likely never walk again, and those kids were terrified and your actions did not help. You were not there for the mission or to save the kids but for yourself," Monica shot back at Virgil.
"Does it matter why I went? I did the job perfectly. Bad guys are down, kids are safe, no one died. What else do you want?"
"Your actions were careless," She-Hulk interrupted. Although she knew Virgil could handle the criminals easily, that was not what she was worried about. "You can easily take out elite soldiers that are much better than them, especially now that you are a mutant. But you didn't consider the children's mental state. You are amazing and few can take you on when it comes to fighting but you need to learn empathy, kid. We have talked about this before."
Virgil did not retort to She-Hulk. Having always been under his uncle and aunt, he grew tired of hearing them always talk about certain things. But She-Hulk was different. She only said what was best for him and always took his thoughts and personality into consideration.
The ride back to the nearest SHIELD base was filled with Steve and Monica asking Virgil more questions. About his powers, how he hacked into SHIELD, what he was thinking But Virgil did not respond to any of it.
By the time they got back to the base, all that happened was that 3 people were frustrated. It was She-Hulk that said something that surprised them all.
"I've been texting a friend this whole time. In 3 days, you are going to Xavier's School for the Gifted. We can train you on many things but the best people to help you use your powers and teach you how to live in this world as a mutant are them. Back your bags, V"
Steve and Monica wanted to protest at first but they knew that she was right. As much as they wanted to deny it, they lived in a world where mutants were hated. The best and safest place to be would be in a school full of them.
Instead of being worried about moving into a different part of the state and a new school, Virgil had a different question on his mind.
"I know you have worked with a couple while they were members of the Avengers but how did you get to know someone that could get me in, just like that?"
For once in her life, She-Hulk/ Jennifer looked embarrassed. This was a story that few knew.
"A couple of years ago, I and some other female heroes were kidnapped by a god or something who wanted us to give birth to other gods. Many women bond over lesser things, so being kidnapped and almost forced into a harem before defeating a god will get you much closer to someone."
Virgil nodded and accepted that answer. He bid Jennifer, his uncle, and aunt goodnight before returning to his room and starting to pack his bags. He knew that he was about to enter a new world in a few days.