Chapter 4 - Hunting Season

"There it is. My ticket to the most valuable material on Earth."

My eyes scanned the sea of ships in the open desert, but I knew which one was Ulysses Klaue's. After a week of spending back in New York, I wasted no time to plan everything out. Just before I got forced out of Kamar-Taj. I was close to tapping into the Astral Dimension so that I can use my time more efficiently. Luckily, I didn't need any other book to help me with that, since I had plenty of notes in my Codex and it took quite a bit of practice to separate your physical form into energy. The wonders of using that technique were shocking and very interesting. Time flowed quite differently, with some additional effects. An eight-hour rest was equivalent to spending in this dimension, and you hardly feel that time passes you by.

If what I remember, it's because the subconscious that is being used to learn and process information more effectively than in my conscious state would. Like an endless study session, while you sleep comfortably with guaranteed success.

I'll just say it right now since it's already true. Best. Spell. Ever. I wish I had this during High School, would have got me through some deadlines a lot easier.

My time in there, I spent a while thinking about what to do next. Actually, how I would even want to do things next. On my own, I have plenty to worry about and finding resources to benefit me. For the last two months I've been contemplating what kind of route I would take, and to do it, I might have to do those deeds a little bit differently. Luckily, since there are plenty of scum bangs in this world, and always doing things the "right" way rarely works out how they should, I might want to start getting used to those thoughts and make some needed changes how I carry myself when faced with dangerous people.

Alongside that, I refuse to let things go beyond my control and pay the price for it. I wasn't so fortunate the last time, even if it was my own choice. There are many things that I have to worry about, having plans to counter them is a must. With that established, I've got plenty of time to plan everything out. Juggling everything can be possible if I play my cards strategically, and carefully. I can accomplish so many things, and I won't let anything catch me off-guard.

Within the Astral Dimension, I thought of multiple new ways to utilize my spells and study some new ones. My plan would be to do some inventory shopping. Teleporting to any destination on the planet enabled me to get some materials a lot quicker and less troublesome.

I took another trip to London, stopping by its Sanctum Sanctorum. Since I had proof I was a fellow Sorcerer, there wasn't any confusion. That, and word travels fast with what happened with Kaecilius, so I did get some credit on that front. This Sanctum, in particular, is the gateway where all magical items from Kamar-Taj come from. If there is any item that needs to be sorted or examined, it usually goes through here. There were only two things I needed here, one being any more info where The Ancient One and where the other Masters went. The current and newly assigned Guardian didn't have much to tell either, so this seemed like they didn't want anyone knowing too much about their mission.

The other thing I wanted to get was their equivalent of a Bag of Holding and some other supplies. I already knew this is the place where I could get one, I just didn't bother until now when I got booted out of the temple.

As cool as it was to finally figure out how to use my powers and get comfortable with this world, I had more pressing matters to attend to.

I was broke.

So back to our Wakandan smuggler, he was first on my list. With my Astral Form, I scanned the insides of his ship from head to toe. I knew exactly where his "security system was", meaning it filled to the brim with his thugs carrying machine guns on every level, with the rest of his crew storing weapons and soon to be shipped all over the world. The only thing I couldn't find was his money, which I presume he stored in dozens of offshore accounts I couldn't reach. There were a few security cameras, but there were many blind spots I can easily bypass. At this point in time, he had a smaller amount of cargo but wasn't anything to laugh at. Container after container filled with SMGs, handguns, rifles, grenade launchers, and much more. Klaue was in the process of shipping a large number of weapons, from South America to the heart of Russia, for a large sum of money. In addition to stealing his secret stash, I'll destroy his shipments while I'm at it. Won't need to worry about other criminals having high-caliber weapons at their disposal.

It's a win-win situation. Well, for me that is.

While searching the ship, I found my main objective, the massive container with the Vibranium. Getting there by going through the ship is too difficult and complicated. I could teleport inside the small room that was a top of the container, but it was still guarded. Even though I can easily take care of them, my plan to steal it might be somewhat noisy.

Challenging, but doable.

What I needed is a distraction while I made my move and I just came with a perfect solution for a distraction, a puppet. Yes, a literal puppet.

Since I have to spend a solid three minutes to go in, set up my stones and to power them for it to cut through a solid length of metal pathways, cut through the edges of the container, then teleport it out. I already have my location to drop it off, and figured how long and how powerful the beams needed to be.

While doing this process, I can jump into my Astral Form to keep an eye on my little puppet and make sure nobody tries to come here while I'm taking it. Since I can see what's happening in real-time, I should be golden.

Now for my creation.

Getting the parts I wanted weren't that difficult to find, mostly just pieces of wasted metal and tools and other small assets. Making the joints were easy, the time spent with my side hobby at the temple paid off. The arms and legs were made out of worn-out metal beams that cut into smaller sizes to give it a real-life scale. The chest area was larger and had a more rounded shape, making the arms stick out longer. Halfway into the progress, I decided to add an extra pair of arms, just for the sake of it looking more terrifying. Just for that extra scare.

The head was the fun piece to make. I had no intention to put much effort into its head that just made it a cooler and frightening design. Around the whole upper chest area, I made a ring that connected the two sets of arms. So when it would attack, it could spin all four arms. In the main set of arms, I placed what looked like massive gauntlets, with two pipes in its second set of arms. Small holes in the head, and its mouth joint area more revealing, only having a jaw bone and its inside hollow. Inside the skull, I attacked a small gray orb, when turned on, would radiate a red glow. It wasn't bright, so it only glowed on the left eye. The puppet was half a head shorter than me, considering I'm five foot ten. To make it look more hidden, I found a piece of light brown cloth, with a little help of magic, I extended it so it could make a hood for its head, then tying it around its neck so it doesn't fall off. The cloth was long enough to form a cloak around its body, going all the way to his knees.

With my beautiful and terrifying creation done, now to add the finishing touch.

The reason I wanted to use this idea because I can easily control it and leave it on its own for a short bit while I get into position. On each limb part, I attached a reflector and trigger mark. A little explanation for these two marks, a reflector mark when placed on an item, will try to move away from whatever it's approaching. While a trigger mark will force it to move closer. With minor adjustments for the marks on the shoulders and chest, the puppet will be able to stand without much support from its legs. Actually, floating would be a more accurate term but you get the idea.

Applying the same principle to the arms, they would act more aggressively and be used to make proper attacks. Before going further, I made sure I increased the density of the metal so it doesn't get shredded and barely hold together. I'm not sure how well it would hold against a couple of dozen machine guns shooting at it, but it should be able to withstand a good amount of bullets, excluding its mobility when the reflector marks are active.

As for how I'm going to cut through the metal, simple, with some mining stones. They work in pairs, setting each stone in the desired direction it would go and the length for the beam, which is powered with the Arc-Reactor energy to make it go faster. I needed to use eight rocks, then organize them so the beams don't go off in the wrong way. There are a few empty spaces in between the walls to place my rocks, so that area was covered. I can place them while in Astral Form since it doesn't take a lot of energy and focus to materialize small objects in that form.

With my preparations, it was time to dive in.

I waited a bit longer until it was nighttime, which will make things easier. Once it was time, I entered my Astral Form and flew over to the ship to see if everything was clear. Diving through the floors of the ship, things appeared to be normal, illegal weapon smuggling aside.

"Careful, you fucking moron!"

The voice of Ulysses Klaue echoed, somehow being louder than all the metal clanging around.

"Do you have any idea how much this shipment is worth?!" Klaue yelled at one of his assistants who dropped a crate, getting right up in his face. The man did nothing but look away, afraid to say anything. Klaue slapped the man across the face. "That's right, you don't know. Next time, I'll cut off your arm, got it? Now move it!"

"He seems to be in a bad mood," I thought while floating through the ship. "He's definitely not going to like what happens in the next five minutes."

I got up to the third floor, just above the Vibranium. Just as I thought, it was Klaue's office, go figure. Luckily, the lights were off and he seemed to be busy, so I had to act fast. I placed four stones on the floor, in the form of a square. Diving down, I placed the other four on the ceiling of containers under the Vibranium one. With everything set up, it's time for the show to begin.

In the span of a few seconds, my Astral Form was thrown back to my real body, waking up with a slight jump. Turning around, I looked down at my metal puppet, lying on the ground. Rolling up my sleeve, I found the Rune symbol I drew on my wrist to activate the marks on my puppet.

In one of the books I took, there was a way to make a shortcut for any spell. Creating new spells required either to do a certain chant and hand gestures or convert it to a text and save it. I opted to go with the second option, since I can add and use multiple marks at a given time, so I can select what spell I want to use and switch whenever I want. The marks themselves are temporary unless they are made to last. The ink itself was just conjured with Dimensional Energy, so there wasn't any shortage of it.

With a tap on my wrist, the marks on the puppet's let out a faint blue glow. The head was the first to act, the puppet had no difficulty standing up, not needing to use its arms. Once it stood on its feet, it didn't make a single extra move, only the sound of metal squeaking. I pulled its hood up and covered its face, only revealing the lower parts of its face. I spent some time practicing how to control it, it wasn't easy but it wasn't difficult either. If anything, it will make it even more terrifying.

I created a small portal, just enough for me and the puppet to fit through. I landed on top of the ship without making a sound, while the puppet hovered a few inches off the ground. I kneeled on the metal surface, entering my Astral Form again. As I flew to the side of the ship, I commanded my little creation to follow me, and make as much noise as possible. I got to the makeshift entrance of the ship when I got to ground level, passing through the metal gates. Several men on the inside did notice some kind of noise but weren't sure what it was. The best part of using my Astral Form is that I could see the energy signatures of the marks I placed through the walls. I hovered until I got into a better position.

With a flick of my fingers, the puppet sent out an amplified Whirlwind at the gates.

Due to the gates being locked with multiple metal beams keeping it in place, but the loud noise it emitted caused every single person on the ship to turn the source of the bang. The crew that handled shipping stopped in their tracks, while the guards immediately readied their weapons, some staying in position and the other stepping closer to the doors, using the containers as cover.

I made the puppet do two more attacks in quick succession, to gather more attention. Klaue took out his walkie-talkie, demanding that all hands come to the ground floor ASAP. I waited until the third floor was empty, that's when I returned to my body and opened a portal to the small and deserted room, right in the center of the square. Without wasting a second longer, I kneeled and clasped my hands together, activating the stones, the symbols on them glowing an arctic blue color, nothing too noticeable.

Having done that, I went back to my Astral Form. My real body held its position, only for my head hanging down slightly. For the stones to work, all I have to do is be in range to power them. They aren't loud now, but the longer it goes, the more noise there will be.

Going back to the entrance, the massive horde of criminals waited impatiently for the "intruder" to bust in. Deciding it was enough suspense, I had it shoot a Whirlwind at max power, blasting the doors off to the side, crushing several crates.

They watched as the puppet made its way inside with its head down, limping with each step, accompanied the sound of metal squeaking. After a few more steps, it stopped in its place, the arms swinging slowly side to side. Klaue, being the impatient lunatic that he is, fired first with his AK.

When he stopped his assault, the hooded intruder dropped to the ground. Satisfied with his work, Klaue let out a devilish smile, turning around while commanding his subordinates to clean up the mess. As he walked away, Klaue heard the sound of metal squeaking, followed by numerous gasps. His head snapped back to the open gate, the intruder was back on its feet. Without a second thought, he yelled out to his men.

"What are you all waiting for?! Shot it!"

Every single person that had a firearm in their possession started shooting at their hooded intruder. The puppet was sent backing away after eating a countless barrage of bullets. They wasted no expense to make sure that this time the trespasser would be dead for good. After another solid fifteen seconds of non-stop firing, they stopped. They carefully moved forward, some of them reloading their guns as they stayed back. I made it fall to the ground again, then instantly forced it up. As the puppet stared down its attackers, I activated its left eye, the blood-red glow making itself visible. Its mouth snapped open, releasing a fog that was quickly spreading, blinding their line of sight. The criminals rained fire again while missing their target, but stopped when Klaue ordered them to.

The fog I created is going to disorient them nicely. I, on the other hand, can see my surroundings clearly, like the fog wasn't even there, so it was a perfect illusion. I switched to the trigger marks and prepared its gauntlets. Two Whirlwinds shot out from its gauntlets, blowing away the thugs who were closest to its position. Having only a red glow to work with, Klaue started shooting in that direction, ordering his men to do the same. I made the puppet jump to the wall on its left, using its other set of arms to pierce through the iron, then firing two cones at two thugs who were on the first floor, sending them hurdling backwards. I primarily made the puppet stay on the wall, so none of the bullets head in my direction while I'm this form. I flew further to the other end of the ship, the puppet following me with rapid movements, which forced the thugs to follow as well.

Klaue immediately called to his men, telling them to not go on the higher levels on the ship but to stay on the ground floor, then ordering a group to step closer to the target and a group to stay behind if it tries to run back the other way.

Now that I see my creation in action, I was blown away by how well it worked. Its inhuman movements, the metal screeching when it does move, the eerie glow coming from its head. I can only imagine how even more terrifying this would look if it used blades instead of the gauntlets. But a hard pass on that idea. I might be in a fictional world, but having a death machine cutting off limbs and leaving a blood bath doesn't sound like a good image in my head.

Blasting away more and more thugs, the puppet landed on a large pile of wooden crates. I switched focus to the crates containing the weapons, tripling the Whirlwinds' intensity. The cones were significantly thinner than its previous version, the air traveling faster and obliterating the object in front of it. Wooden pieces went flying in every direction, while the guns inside were severely bent. As I moved in sync with my puppet, while phasing through different crates and objects, I would leave a particular set of rune markings on anything that might be considered dangerous.

I'll get to them later.

I flew to my unconscious body, doing a quick check-up. Everything seemed to go according to plan. Since the surface didn't need cutting, it didn't radiate much light, except for four lines that formed the square. While in-between the walls, the cube-shaped cut was almost complete, just a bit over halfway. Now, to be extra cautious, I'll have the puppet go to the opposite end of the ship. Never hurts to have a full proof plan and keep them on their toes.

Going back to the chaotic battle, my puppet destroyed all of the supplies in that area. The guns won't be in any shape for safe usage. After taking repeated fire from various directions, it received holes all over its upper body. Even so, his havoc wasn't stopped in the slightest. As it finished up the last crate, I made it jump in the air, using its gauntlets to propel it back, and landing right next to the entrance. Then I made it reveal its second set of arms, now crawling on the ground with his first and secondary set. All of the men close to it jumped back as they witnessed how rapidly it was moving, running at fast speed before jumping onto the wall and landing on a nearby crate at the other end of the ship. This end was mostly dedicated to vehicles with machine guns mounted on them.

First went the hood of the car then the engine, going to the mounted gun on top, then the roof entirely. After that, it jumped to the next vehicle, before going through every single one that was left. Of course, I marked several things along the way.

I flew through to Klaue's office window, checking if my operation was soon complete. Within the next ten or so seconds, it will be done. Hovering right next to the window, I commanded my instrument to return to me. Once again crawling on the ground like a wild animal, ignoring whatever shots were fired at it. As it got closer, it jumped to the short bridge that connected the platforms, doing another jump towards the window, breaking the glass and landing right inside the marked area, just in time too. I went back to my body, waking up and created a portal underneath the container just as all of the stones were connected, letting the lower floor I cut to drop down, passing through the portal beneath it. When my package fully passed through, along with me on top of it, I closed the portal.

And just like that, I'm gone.

Klause breathed in and out heavily, trying to maintain focus. Leaning on the right wall inside the stairwell

"What in the bloody hell was that thing...?!" Klaue had no clue what he was up against. In all his years of combat experience, he never saw something stay alive after more than five bullets, let alone a hailstorm of them. The worst part of it being that this thing wasn't human, nor anything that looked like that.

Klaue closed his eyes, taking one last breath. Exhaling after a few seconds, with his eyes bursting open with determination, his sight going up the flight of stairs.

"I'm ending this now, you metal bastard."

Running up the flight of stairs, he took a sharp left, leaning on the wall and peeking into his office, seeing not a lot from this angle. Slowly stepping closer to get a better view, he noticed the floor was cut out, the hole appearing larger as he stepped closer into his office.

His eyes fell with his mouth dropping, looking at the size of the hole, and realized what was missing.

"No... No... No...!"

Klaue rushed to the hole, only to find the whole container from underneath missing, smoke coming out of the metal that appeared to be cut. Then it hit him, that thing, it was a distraction! But that doesn't explain how? How did someone know where he hid it? More importantly, how did they even get into the ship?!

As Klaue tried finding the answers, he started hearing…explosions?!

Looking through his office window, Klaue saw his men jump for cover as the crates filled with weapons exploded, only pieces of the guns were left scattered on the floor. The explosions kept on going until every crate was destroyed, then it fully stopped. Klaue looked around his base with shock. Everything was ruined or blown to pieces, and his most valuable treasure was stolen from underneath his nose.

Without a second thought, he punched his office window, leaving a massive crack on it, with his hand now bleeding.

"Phew… a plan actually worked for once."

I thought while I made another quick portal trip to the location where I was before my plan began. I just wanted to see how my last surprise would look like from here. With my eyes set on the ship I robbed a few seconds ago, I held up my hand and with a flick, a light pink circle inside a dark blue triangle that rotated around it.

The marks I set back there acted like firecrackers. In terms of Kamar-Taj's teachings, this is heavily considered a beginner's move, a basic way of learning how to leave some energy in a different location and make it do an action. In this case, a simple firecracker. Now, on its own, it doesn't do much, but… have one mark and have about a two hundred ones packed into one, with some additional modifying by me to add extra power for a larger explosion radius, I'm sure it would do the trick. Now, let's see how my experiment holds up.

I tapped the pink circle with my thumb.

At this range, I mostly wouldn't hear such an explosion, but with a few dozen of them exploding at the same time that is a different matter. They were quite hearable, and I could see yellow sparks that escaped across the ship.

Oh yeah, they worked alright.

Now, I crippled Klaue's whole operation, all the while stealing his most precious cargo. I think I did enough damage to make Klaue start from scratch, but he might be a problem later on. Still, I didn't think to jump headfirst into a ship with guns aimed at me from every angle. I'll put a pin on him and work on it some other time.

I opened a portal where I dropped on top of my newly acquired Vibranium, in the Great Basin Desert. Now, I know what you are thinking, and no, I didn't just randomly pick this location. I made sure it was barren, scanning far and wide for any living creature, mostly being desert animals. The moment I arrived here, I created an invisible shield around the area, just in case some kind of scan finds me or my Vibranium. The spell was quite beginner-friendly and easy to make, so keeping it intact while I'm away won't cause any trouble. The Pocket Dimension problem, I needed it to be connected to my bag, so I still have plenty to learn before making it and transferring the metal into it.

Jumping off the container, I looked at all of the glorious Vibranium that was inside. Taking a step inside, I grabbed one of the cases and flipped it slightly, hearing that familiar and satisfying sound. The number of ideas that I have flowing through my mind to do this would be difficult to count, not to mention how big the supply is, so there won't be any shortage of that. I put the case in my bag, might as well have a sample on me when I find someone capable of handling it, or until I get some higher-end tech.

Placing my pupped inside, I created a gray shield to cover up the empty space, while also blocking the view of the inside. Kneeling, my hand hovered over the sand, the golden energy streams appearing as I absorbed its properties. I didn't have any experience with Sand Manipulation, and for this, I didn't need to. Extending my arms, I aimed for a spot on the ground, beginning to cast the spell.

From the selected spot, the sand started going upwards, slowly ramping up the speed. I waited about forty or so seconds until a deep enough hole was created. It was quite wide as well, the perfect size to hide the Vibranium for the time being until I figure out how and what to do with it. Taking a look down the hole was all that was left. Using one hand to conjure a portal was a bit hard, but since I knew where I wanted the other end of the portal to open on the other end, it wasn't that difficult. I created the portal under the container, with it sinking down, and with a loud thud, it was placed in the hole. As an extra measure of security, I went into my bag and pulled out another stone, tossing it in the hole.

It wasn't just any stone. This stone, in particular, is enchanted with a notification spell. If someone does show up around here and starts snooping around, I will know right away. Until I can make my Pocket Dimension, this will have to do.

Until then, we have other things to do.

Now with the precious cargo of Vibranium in my possession, with a plan that worked way quicker than I initially thought, I was ahead of schedule.

Currently, I was on top of a tall building, sitting right on the edge, a place where I won't have to worry about being spotted. A perfect chance to get some fresh air and enjoy the evening. I wasn't worried about falling since I could easily get out, that and I want to get used to high places, can't freely teleport on lower buildings without getting spotted. I mean, it's not that anyone can catch me but still, the more time I have without S.H.I.E.L.D. on my back the better. Besides, being extra paranoid and cautious never killed a man, did it?

With one of my plans checked off the list, I can move onto the next one. I have a feeling that security is going to be tighter on my next raid, so I might want to put in some extra time in my planning process. But that begs the question, where do we make our move next? I do have a few things I would like to get my hands on, but the only thing I need to properly execute them is time, a lot of time.

I was re-reading some notes I wrote down in my Codex for a few more complex spells that caught my eye. Another thing I learned at the temple that I found useful were the Power Bank Cells, they weren't called exactly like that, but I'm not using its long name that I could hardly pronounce. The spell, which involves creating several new cells into the host's body, will provide me a way to save the energy absorb for a later date.

You can't tell me that doesn't sound like a pretty good deal? Of course, it has its drawbacks to compensate.

Choosing to store energy in them up until a certain cap, you have to be very careful to not over-charge them. If careless when using them, your entire system can overload and have severe side effects. Worst case scenario, it can leave some serious damage to the body, but that's just scratching the surface. A healing factor to balance out this one is going to do wonders, and a better reason to acquire that kind of power.

As for the usage of it, it can amplify your spells quite a bit, but it isn't something that it's recommended to use at all times. The best form so far was to use it in short durations, or if trained well, up to a few minutes. It isn't regarded as one of the more dangerous spells for nothing. There is still a lot to learn about these cells, and if I could master it, I'll have last resort type of weapon.

While reading my notes in peace, I began hearing tires screeching, but the sound somewhat low. Looking down, with a few seconds passing, the sound echoed through the empty streets, the car coming into view from up here. Since I am this height, I could follow its pattern. It continued going forward until turning left around the corner.

Now, who could be in such a rush at this time of night? Well, I have a pretty good guess what it could be, so ignoring it doesn't sit well either.

"Honestly, I was kind of hoping for some action, no matter how foolish it might be. Better than just sitting around and reading all day. Better check it out."

For getting by, I opened smaller portals since oversized ones weren't necessary. I would rarely make them as following their pattern wasn't that difficult, only doing so when they would turn corners constantly. Picking the best locations that were high enough to teleport had to be quick, but it seemed I took a good route to blend in and not give myself away.

We went further into the rougher parts of town, which means we were arriving at our destination. With a turn to the left, the car entered an alleyway, and I followed suit with a portal on the roof. I came to a halt, crouching at the edge to observe the situation. While from this view, I saw where the black Sedan stopped, three guys in black clothing exciting the vehicle, all armed with hand-guns. With them, there were four other armed men with guns, along with several unconscious guys on the ground.

Their target, who they didn't seem to manage land a single shot on, was evading them, now taking cover behind a wall. The person in question was a white male, wearing a black sweatshirt, sweatpants, and a black bandana that covered the top half of his face, with two metal pipes in both hands.

That's when I realized who this person was; it was the man without fear himself, Matt Murdock, and he seemed to be in a pinch.

As the men stopped firing, one of them signaled to step closer and eliminate him. The fellow approached the corner quite fast, heading off to the side to not get jumped, only for a pipe to be thrown at his face at high speed, making the thug drop his gun. Matt bolted towards him, swinging his other pipe across the man's face. One hit was enough to knock him out. Just as he took the man down, Matt didn't stop moving, tumbling towards a black SUV for cover as another round of gunfire came his way. At this rate, he will be cornered from both sides.

Better act quickly.

Opening the Codex, I marked my arm with Air Manipulation as a secondary defense and tapping my forearm to activate Water Manipulation, then I created my jade-colored hook. I channeled my power to create a strong Whirlwind, now resembling a wild tornado coming from above. The small group was oblivious, five of them getting thrown to the ground, only two of them still standing close together. Throwing out my hook, it latched around one of the guys' waist. Once it connected, I pulled the chain, propelling myself forward, creating an orange spell ring in my other hand. The guy I caught turned around just in time to receive my spell ring across his face.

The guy next to him noticed and tried retaliating, I threw a backhand at him, the ring hitting him in the nose. As he fell, I saw the guy behind him getting up, I instantly flickering the spell ring at him, colliding with his face. Turning around, I shot out a powerful Whirlwind to toss the three getting up back to the wall, then firing another one to finish them off. While in this position, I aimed my arm to the ground, grabbing hold of every drop of water and creating a massive fist. Quickly turning, I commanded the Water Fist to attack the last two. Just as one of the last two got up and aimed his gun, the Fist came from above, bursting into thousands of droplets that fell on the two. As for the other thug, he dropped his phone as he got cut off mid-sentence.

With all of them out for the count, I turned to look at the blind superhero. He stepped forward from the black SUV, slow and cautious movements, holding his pipe in a guard formation.

"Not a threat! Not a threat!" I yelled out while holding up my hands. "I come in peace."

Matt's head went down to the now unconscious men. His stone-cold expression did not change as he went over each of them.

"What did you do?" Matt asked demandingly, but no indication of any hostility.

Since I was interested in what his thoughts were, given he has a different perception of what just happened, I decided to answer with a question. "What do you think happened?"

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Matt, not pleased with the reply, merely grumbled. Nevertheless, he did want to know how the newcomer easily took out seven men so quickly, and with what. "I heard… water splashing… and like a tornado passing by, but never like that before, it felt different. I take it, that was you?"

"Bingo. You catch on fast."

"And who are you supposed to be?"

"Nobody." I simply said with a shrug. "Just your everyday fellow lending a helping hand."

"I had that under control, mind you."

"Then I'd really like to know what it would be if it was out of your control…" I muttered under my breath, and I'm fairly positive he heard that.

"Since that appears to be the end of it, I-"

Matt stopped mid-sentence, focusing in the direction of the pathway where the car arrived, then turning around at other pathways behind him.

"We got a problem."

Just as I was about to ask for him to elaborate, I heard tires screeching. All of a sudden, lights lit up the dark pathway on my left, the other pathway lighting up as well. Two new cars arrived at the scene, a red Honda Civic and white Kia Forde. I realized what was heading our way.

Immediately, I slammed my open hands onto the ground. The cars came to an abrupt stop, multiple guys with guns stepping out. The moment they got out and aimed at us, I created two walls made out of water that was a few inches thick, empowered with some magic for extra measure. As another shootout happened, the water walls drastically slowed the bullets' speed. When they passed through, they just fell to the ground.

"What… is this?" Matt asked in confusion as he listened to the water nullifying the bullets from hitting the two, following the sound of bullets dropping on the ground after leaving the wall.

"A shield made out of water, a strong one at that," I answered quickly, trying to not lose focus of the walls. "I can keep them up for quite a bit. But, I suggest we come up with a plan, fast."

Matt observed the situation, listening closely, and tracking their adversaries' position. "There are four on each side. I'd advise we take priority of one group before moving on to the second one, that way we don't get cornered. Can you keep one wall up and remove the other?"

"I'll do you one even better."

Swinging my arm in the direction of one of the water walls, it was sent hurtling towards the group of four behind it. The four men were sent back as they were engulfed in the tide, pushing up the car slightly. Closing my fist, I only extended my pinky and ring finger, locking in the wall in place. The density might be lowered since my concentration isn't on it and restricted by only using one hand, it will still prevent the bullets from traveling more than a few feet.

Matt and I charged at the fallen thugs. Due to the wave that hit them, they dropped their weapons in the process. The one I was going for crawled to his gun, I created an orange spell ring and aimed for it, cutting off a chunk of the barrel. Shocked by what the man saw, I swiftly slapped him with the ring across the face, his body going upwards then falling on his back.

The other guy that was behind him was getting up on his feet, grabbing his weapon in the process. As he tried to aim for me, I threw my spell ring towards him, knocking the Assault SMG out of his hands. Using a similar variant of Whirlwind, I created a cone underneath the man that was slightly tilted, sending him a few feet in the air and went straight to the wall on his left. Just as he came into contact with the wall, I made another one where his body would hit, propelling him across the whole battlefield, hitting another wall and falling inside a dark green waste container, right next to Matt.

Speaking of the blind lawyer, he was doing well in a two-versus-one situation. He easily disarmed them with his pipes, and going against him hand-to-hand didn't fare too well with the thugs. He was very agile, moving in-between hits, not spending too much time on just one of them.

The one who crashed onto the waste container crawled to a nearby gun. As his fingers graced the grip, with one wave of my hand, the water on the ground made a small wave to push the gun away. Then Matt came in with a kick to the face to knock him out.

I was about to compliment him, but my hand started to shake uncontrollably.

Oh crap.

"Hey!" I called out to Matt, with him turning towards me "Take cover, now!"

Matt did what he was told, hiding behind the metal waste container, while I took cover behind the same wall Matt hid when I first arrived. The only problem was our distance, we were too far apart to do anything. I still had Whirlwind on the ready, but I need a stronger blast than to seal the deal. I didn't practice much using the Power Bank Cells to boost my spells, but since I'm in a bit of a pickle, I'll have to give it an early test run.

Closing my eyes, I tapped into my stored power, feeling my chest tightening for the duration. I didn't draw too much of it, a small amount should do it. To my right, I created a small portal with the other end opening on the wall behind our attackers. Jumping through, I threw my arms out to what felt and looked like several wild tornadoes spawning from the wall. The blast itself lasted about two seconds since the travel speed was almost non-existent.

All four of them were blown forward, about a good fifteen feet to be exact, which served Matt perfectly.

Running towards them, Matt kneed the first member to get up in the chin. He then swung his pipe to the man beside him in his right temple, hard. With the same arm, he threw his pipe at the third thug to distract him, following with a quick punch to the jaw.

The last man jumped forward in hopes of grabbing his gun from the ground, and ready to shot the masked vigilante when it was in his hands. Just as he aimed towards Matt, I created an Eldritch Whip to knock the gun out of his hand. Matt joined in and gave him an uppercut, the last one joining the pile.

"There, that should do it."

"Yeah, I think it should."

Matt responded as we walked stepped close to one another, observing the many unconscious bodies that were scattered all around. This whole thing was blown out of proportion if you ask me. I took note at the level of weaponry these guys had. Whoever these people are, they have a lot of firepower that's for sure.

Then, we heard an engine turning on.

Turning around, we saw the Honda Civic going in reverse, then taking a sharp right to make its escape. I ran towards it, grabbing a stone from my bag and with an extra boost from Whirlwind, I threw it at the car, breaking its rear window. The car kept on driving, going out of view.

Matt walked over to the car that was left behind, first checking the unconscious men then moving onto the car itself. After about a minute, he stopped with the search, not saying a word this whole time. All of a sudden, his head turned his right, then to his left.

"The police are coming. Two cars, one from each way. If we run off to the streets, we'll be seen. It's better that we go-"

Matt was cut off as he felt like he was falling down, only to land on his feet. In the span of two seconds, the police sirens were replaced with a crackling sound that quickly faded away, and then silence. He could still faintly hear the sirens but were further away than a few moments ago.

"There. Now that's taken care of." I said turning to the blind hero.

I teleported us on a rooftop, can't have the police catching us. It was nothing too far away, just enough for us to lose the heat. Matt turned to me with his usual stone-cold expression, then going off to the edge of the building, slowly turning his head from left to right.

After a few seconds of silence, Matt spoke. "We're about five blocks away than we were just a minute ago. How?"

"Oh, you know the saying "a magician can never reveal all of his secrets"~. So I'll keep you guessing."

Matt didn't make any sort of expression change or respond. "Interesting. As absurd as that theory sounds, it's the most plausible one. That was no ordinary occurrence. At first, I thought it was some machine that controlled the water and air to behave that way. But I couldn't sense any new electrical devices coming here except for the cars. That aside, it doesn't explain how that ring of his appeared out of nowhere and used it as a weapon. To top it all off, jumping from point A to point B in less than two seconds? Somethings just don't add up to when not taking into account supernatural means."

Matt, finally moving, turned to his left and turned his back against me. "Now, we're done. I should also thank you, their backup might have shown up either way if you interfered or not, saved me the trouble."

With that, he walked away.

Before he did, I called out to him. "Wait."

Stopping, along with a sigh, Matt asked. "What?"

"You're seriously going to walk away without telling me about those guys?"

"Last I checked, it doesn't concern you," Matt said. "It's done. They are taken care of, and the police have custody. So I don't see a reason for you to take an interest in them."

"Is that supposed to imply that there aren't any more of them? I think we both know that isn't the case," I said moving closer to him to close the distance. "Ordinary handguns and a few of them, sure, I can see that. More than a dozen sent at a time, at one man no less. It makes me think you already had some beef with them."

Not answering, Matt just turned his head to the side. Even with the blindfold on, along with his mouth movement, I can already imagine what kind of expression he had. Still not letting up.

I groaned. "Look, I did you a solid and honestly, didn't mind helping out. At least you could tell me what's the deal with those guys. You don't get that caliber of weapons easily. If I do come across them again, I want to know what I'm going up against."

With a sigh, Matt gave in. The sooner he explained what he was doing there, he could leave quicker. Turning around, he began explaining. "From what I could dig up, they are a part of some bigger crew. I've been tracking them down for the better part of two weeks. This is the first time they sent this many."

Now we're getting somewhere. "What did you do to piss them off this much, anyway?"

"Beat up some of their men, among other things," Matt replied. "I interrogated all of them, all but one talked. He didn't reveal much, nor anything worthwhile. As for tonight, I stopped them from doing another kidnapping."

"Another? They already did this before?"

Matt nodded. "They did. Don't know how many they've captured, or what they plan to do with them, and they don't seem to have a particular target."

"Well that makes things difficult," I muttered, placing my hand at the lower area of my mask. "Is there any lead? Where they operate, how many they kidnapped and whatnot?"

Matt shook his head. "Nothing. For all I know, there could be dozens of them that got kidnapped. The cars I searched had no evidence either, so no, it's a dead-end," He explained. After a moment of silence, he perked up. "Although, there is something I found out, but it isn't much."

"Which is?"

"Just before I beat up the previous batch, I spied on them to see if I could get any information on their whereabouts, but no such luck there," Matt explained. "All I learned was about two of their victims. One was a girl, who described her as a "freak", using that term multiple times. The other was a man, actually, they called him an animal more than anything. Something about him being heavy to carry to the truck and getting his "blue fur" was a pain to get rid of the backseat."

"Blue fur? Heavier than an ordinary human? Could it be a certain mutant he's describing? Along with a "freaky" girl, it's almost for sure one of the other X-Men members."

"Huh, at least it's a trait of some sort."

"There, I've told you everything. Can I leave now?" Matt asked in an annoyed tone. "I've got more pressing matters to attend to."

"By all l means. Thanks for the cooperation."

Matt turned around and started walking away, as he did, I gave a final message. "If you plan on diving into their place, give me a call. Can't have you get cornered again."

"I work alone." He answered back, not stopping.

"Sure, but I have a feeling I'll somehow run into you again."

As he walked away, I noticed his head turning slightly to the right, but remained going forward until he got to the edge, jumping down the metal staircase, going out of view.

What an interesting fellow. He took out three guys and was ready to take on four more, with more backup on the way. While it may look impossible, I'm sure that the man could somehow figure out a way out of that situation. Just like I said, I'm sure our paths will meet soon enough.

Opening the Codex, I flipped through the pages to the page where I placed my compass. The stone I threw at the car was equipped with a location marker. Combined with the Codex's compass, adding a bit of my energy into the stone, I essentially created a way to track anything I mark. I definitely have to do more exploring of the Codex's mechanics.

The orange-colored energy arrow appeared, turning towards North-West. Time to find their little hideout.

After about thirty minutes of searching, which pretty much consisted of jumping through small portals and a top of large buildings to not attract attention, I found my target.

Right now, I was on the top of a thirteen-story building looking down at a four-story red-bricked abandoned factory. In this area of the city, the factory and other smaller buildings hid behind the taller buildings and had no suspicious activity, making it a decent hideout. From this angle, I could see from behind the factory.

Sitting down and crossing my legs, I sat in a position as I do for meditating, then entering my Astral Form. I threw myself-off the tall building, free failing down with no fear. While going down, I didn't find any cameras around the area, so that's good. Just before I hit the roof, I slowed my descent, passing through the concrete and going down to ground level, right where the entrance is.

Looking around, I noticed there were several cameras around. The place was filled with various machinery that seemed to be out of commission. There weren't that many people all things considered, from this view, there were at least fourteen of them. On the tables, there were similar weapons like the thugs had I faced half an hour ago, with regular handguns and knives scattered around.

One guy was arguing with a blonde woman and she seemed pretty pissed off, a second woman joining in every now and then. He had his feet up while leaning back in his chair, a wide smirk on his face while he argued with the two.

Diving into the concrete, I only raised my hand so that my fingers were only visible by the tip. Just above the chair's leg, I focused enough to give it a push. The chair fell, sending the man into a slight panic as he traveled along with it, rolling onto his side when he met the floor.

The two women busted out laughing.

"That's what you get!" One of the girls said in-between laughs. "Guess that's a sign for you to stop being so annoying."

The man got up, grunting and rubbing his sides as he did. "S-Shut the hell up, the both of you!"

I myself couldn't resist laughing at the sight. The way he panicked when falling was priceless. Oh well, my moment for fun is over, back to work.

I first decided to eliminate all the cameras I could find. Placing my hand inside the small device and pinching its insides slightly was enough to ruin it, without revealing anything from the outside. With that done, I wanted to find the man who was in charge. Traveling to the upper floors, I phased through each door I saw and checked what's inside, finding mostly a few people inside and others dedicated to storing equipment. It wasn't until I reached the farthest room on the second floor that I found the man I was looking for.

The person was a Caucasian male, in what I believed was in his forties, had short light brown hair that was slicked back. He was wearing a simple black suit, with a red tie.

"Yes, yes, I understand, sir. We took the proper precautions, we weren't spotted."

"Seems like I dropped in right in the middle of an important call."

He stepped closer to his desk, holding the phone with his left shoulder as he took out a small black leather planner and began writing something down, which appeared to be an address.

I floated towards him, wanting to see how much I could overhear. By the time I got there, he already closed his planner and put it inside his jacket.

"[-at midnight, understood?]" The voice on the other line said. "[Just like before, if you and your men aren't there right on time, it's off. I feel like I can't express how important this part is.]"

"Don't worry, sir, we will be careful," The boss reassured. "My men and I know what we can handle. If we were incompetent, then I doubt the number of test subjects we've acquired wouldn't be that high, now would it?"

"[Good to hear the enthusiasm, Mr. Lambert,]" The man said. "[Speaking of which, since you did complete your quota, I believe a bonus would be in order. Call it extra motivation. You can expect these bonuses the more we do business.]"

"Of course, and thank you again, Mr. Osborn. We'll be in touch."

My eyes widened "Osborn? He's the one behind the kidnappings? Now this is something I did not expect to happen. On the other hand, it's Norman, and that says a lot. Now the question remains, well two actually, what is he planning on doing with them and where's he keeping them?"

Instantly, I was sent back to my body, waking up and looking over the edge. How do I want to approach this? Make another fog and use my puppet again? No, I can use something simpler, plus it would take too long to set it up. Overload the circuit box and take them out one by one? I doubt they would be that stupid to separate when their base is being raided. Mental note, work on my illusion spells, will be useful later on. Oh, wait! I just might have a solution. To do that, I might as well dive back with my Astral Form-

My train of thought was broken when a speeding van stopped right in the empty parking space behind the factory. Three men exciting the car and opened the backseat doors, taking out two women, while the third one opened the truck and took out a man, all of them blindfolded and gagged.

At that moment, the boss stepped out with several members of his crew.

I couldn't hear what they were saying, but it wasn't important. They dragged the three into the factory, the victims desperately trying to wiggle out of their grip, but had no success. Either way, with multiple guns on their on their backs, they couldn't escape.

Curse me and my bleeding heart.

I created a portal above the guards and jumped through it, creating two spell rings on my hands, whacking one of the guys across the face upon landing, then rushing to the other guard, who turned around in the last second. He didn't have much time to react as my spell ring collided with his face, throwing him down. This alerted everyone else around me.

The boss pulled out his gun that was around his waist, as well as ordering men to shoot me. I kneeled down quickly, using the two spell rings to shield my legs and my upper chest respectively. When I got a chance, I moved to the one closest to me, infusing some extra power into my rings so when I crashed into him, it sent him back against the concrete wall.

Meanwhile the hostages, the men that held them captive pushed them off to the side just before the backdoor, ducking beside a few barrels.

"Finish these first, then teleport them out of here. The costs of going in loud have now become more evident..."

The next thug, who ran out of bullets like his boss, went to reload, and then I charged in. Flinging a spell ring, I disarmed the man fairly easily, then going for an uppercut to knock him down. Still moving, I took cover behind the parked van, then as I did that, the boss had reloaded his gun and continued to shoot me. I peeked ever now and then, the bullets hitting the side of the SUV, breaking the two windows in the process. What shocked me the most was that his man was right next to me on the ground, and he ignored him completely.

This is how he treats his men? What a prick.

Once he stopped firing, I saw him approach one of the girls and grab her by the hand, attempting to drag her in with him. I created an Eldritch Whip with my spell ring up and threw my whip at him. Thanks to the girl's relentless attempts, the arm he dragged her with was exposed, my whip slapping him in his bicep. He yelped in pain and retracted his arm, firing a few more shots before going through the door and closing it.

The guy next to me tried to get up, I punched him in the face with my normal hand, knocking him back down. Moving towards the three hostages, I threw my other spell ring at the guy I tossed to the wall, hitting him in his chest and finished him off for good.

I got to the hostages, placing thin long blue clips of energy on the tape. The girl began squirming upon being touched again, I called out to her softly. "Calm down, I'm here to help. Just hold still for a moment."

She immediately did what she was told, the other two perking up as well. I placed two more clips for the rest. Once they were all set, I backed up a few steps and began conjuring a portal. Now, this is a bit difficult, but I can't waste any time.

I did this a total of four times before shrugging it off and deciding to train with it a bit more some other time. I stood in between the portal and the three hostages, the portal facing them. With a push, I sent the portal towards them. As it traveled, I snapped my fingers to trigger the energy clips I made, cutting the tape that restrained their hands, all the while the sparkling circle teleported them out of here.

The location I picked was a few blocks back, a small and empty park I passed while I was tracking these guys. All that matters is that they are safe and no longer trapped with these clowns.

Speaking of which.

Walking towards the door, I began working on another spell called the Lumen Sphere. This one worked like your typical light spell to light dark areas or blind enemies, but this variant provided a useful effect. It can be transformed into small forms and can be carried around your palm. I made four for now, given how bright I want them to be they should. Taking one orb into my right hand, I put my other hand on the doorknob.

Opening the door quickly, I threw one Lumen Sphere inside and took cover. The rain of bullets came the moment the door opened, but stopped once the light blinded them all, some of them kept firing but their aim was way off. I rushed inside and grabbed another one, throwing it deep inside to buy me more time. Taking cover behind the boxes, then moving forward and stopping behind an old looking up at long lights hanging on the ceiling, I need to take them out as well.

I did the necessary gestures to create a turquoise colored sphere with three smaller orbs orbiting around it with no particular pattern in my right hand. I figured out this one while thinking of a way to use those beams I used to take out Vanko's droids. I fired the three orbs at the lights above me, destroying it, with three new orbs coming out of the main one. I destroyed more of those lights, taking another and shot two men running on the second floor. Getting hit by one of these orbs can knock the wind out of someone, but three is the ideal ratio to stop someone from getting up.

I grabbed the third Lumen Sphere, chucking it further down, taking cover behind a larger machine. I fired another few shots at the second floor, some missing but managing to get two more down.

Hearing footsteps rapidly approaching, I realized it was coming from my left. I threw my last sphere down and created a spell ring before he got into view. It was a man and he kept firing with his eyes closed, going on instinct to kill me. He swung to the right with his AK while shooting, my ring blocking the bullets. When his aim was off me, and I took the opportunity to blast him away before he regained his vision. A battle cry could be heard coming from behind me. Quickly turning, I saw the blond woman running at me with a baseball bat. I fired the three spheres at her legs, and like a ragdoll, she fell face-first onto the ground. Her body was close to the machine, which allowed me a kick to the head. Not with the tip of my boot, but doing an instep kick, hear head hitting the metal of the machine. Not too hard, just enough to not keep her down.

Holding up my orb, I peeked over the machine, one from the second floor and one rushing towards me. Shooting the guy on the first floor, two out of three orbs hitting, I hid behind the machine again. As my orb recharged, I used my other hand to create a yellow see-through circle with a square center that was connected with all sorts of lines around it a few feet away from me on my right, then firing my projectiles at the square, with them bouncing off and changing directions, all three hitting the man, his body flopping down into view.

I created another spell ring, only this time it was red in color and its sparkling followed a rhythm of a heartbeat. These travel faster and bounce off when it hits a target. My sights were set on the boss who was running up the stairs. I flung it towards his direction, hitting his right shoulder blade. The red ring bounced all across the factory, damaging anything it came in contact with. It also worked as a good distraction, making it hard to stay in the same position. The ring somehow hit several members, enabling me to land the final blow with my projectiles.

There were only two left, I think. The other girl and guy I threw off the chair. I caught them hiding behind several crates, taking cover. I hid behind a nearby machine while preparing my spell, yellow sparks flying around while making a small azure-colored pyramid with its shape constantly changing and turning in all directions. Looking over, I slammed the pyramid to the ground, sending a wave of blue flames towards the pile of boxes, causing all of them to explode and letting out blue flames that quickly disappeared.

The only thing that was left, besides pieces of wood scattered all around were their unconscious bodies. That should be the last of them. I looked around for my main target, finding him nowhere in sight.

"Where did that bastard run off to?"

I heard an engine coming to life, and the door of the entrance wide opened. Rushing towards the window, I saw it already kick into gear, making a sharp left when entering the road. He was going to make a right turn and go around the corner. Waiting just before he made the turn, I created a portal and jumped through it.

Just when I was about to land on the roof of the car, I drew out my dagger and created a spell ring, piercing through the metal and enabled me to hold on, while using the ring to soften my fall. That, and also for-

A gun was fired from the passenger seat, resulting in leaving several holes that pierced the roof but were blocked by the shield, the bullets sticking onto it.

As I was saying, that was the other reason.

When the firing stopped, I could hear the thug say to shake me off. I held onto my dagger as best as I could, my legs sliding off the roof when rapidly turning left and right.

Another round firing began, the shield did its work. I heard the boss, who was driving the car, said to reload and to take his gun out the window and shoot from outside. Better finish this now.

Removing my spell ring, I got up quickly and as carefully as I could, now kneeling on the roof. Summoning my hook, I threw it at the hood of the car, it pierced through the metal and stuck itself to it thanks to the blade's sharpness. While passing through single arm light poles, I waited just for the right time, then threw the end of the chain to the arm of the pole, it wrapped around when it came close to the metal beam.

I let go of the hook, took out my dagger and retracted it, and jumped, creating two spell rings to soften my fall by landing on the ground with them at the front, sliding off to the side. While I could as the car traveled further, it was flipped upside down, sliding and turning to the side in the center of the road, the two men still inside. The hook was still connected to the car and lamp but started disintegrating moments later.

Getting up, I made sure I took it easy, making sure I was alright then entering a light jog towards the wreckage, then taking slower steps when I was a few feet away from it. It never hurts to be careful. I was approaching closer to the car's right side, the boss' underling was still conscious, but could only groan while lying down on the roof of the car. Should've put his seat belt on.

Going to the other side of the car, I caught the boss opening the door, crawling out of the vehicle. Frantically looking around, he spotted me standing right next to him. His left arm went to the gun that was held in place by his belt.

Just as he grabbed it, I slammed my foot down at his wrist, causing him to yell out in pain.

"I'd reconsider your next move if I were you."

I warned the crime boss as I pressed harder, not giving him any breathing room. Eventually, his grip on the gun loosened, letting it drop to the ground. Once it did, I pulled it away with my foot, shooting it off to the side. I bent down and grabbed the man by the collar of his suit, hoisting him up to my eye level.

The boss tried to maintain composure, but his body was still shaken up from the crash. "Who the hell are you… and w-what do you want from me…?"

"Nothing special, just some information, and you're going to give it to me," I said slowly as I brought him close. "Let's start off simple. Who's your boss?"

The man scoffed. "I am the boss."

"Guess I'll have to play the intimidation game. I hope it's convincing."

I forcefully pushed him so that he hit the car, letting out a yelp, and then immediately pulled him back. With my right hand, I drew out my dagger and placed it right on his throat, his eyes widening when he felt the cold blade. "Wrong answer. I suggest you speak the truth when I ask you a question. How about we try this again. Why are you and your crew kidnaping people and where are you taking them?"

The man's eyes jumped back and forth, looking at my dagger then at my mask. He grit his teeth then responded. "We kidnap people then hold them for ransom, the easiest way to make cash! Family, friends, whatever, as long as they pay our price we give em' back and that's it!"

I mentally sighed, why do they have to push their luck? Activating my dagger, I created a six-inch orange energy blade, making the criminal gasp upon seeing it.

"That's strike two, do you want to see what happens on three?" I said as threateningly as I could, the mask helping me with that effect. "I can promise you that you won't see the insides of a jail cell tonight if you don't tell me what I want to know. Now, shall we start round three?"

The man started to quiver, and I couldn't blame him. If someone pulled out a dagger that extended its length, I would be scared too. "What's it going to be then?"

"Alright! I'll talk, I'll talk!" The man said rapidly. "We drop them off to different locations each time we have a new batch. I don't know where they take them or do with them once we drop them off. That's it, I swear!"

"See, was that so hard? But, I have a feeling you're leaving out a few details." I responded, the man slowly losing his composure, or what's left of it.

"I-I don't know their names, they never told me," The man added quickly. "Just some… businessman in a suit showed up and proposed an offer, a suitcase full of money. We get the people and they would pay us every time we did."

"Since you were supposed to have a new "batch", I'm sure you already have the address for the next meet? While you're at it, my first question about your boss, answer it. You seriously don't expect me to believe that you don't know anything about your employer, now do you?"

"Look, I don't know, I swear," The man said, his voice cracking. "I don't know where I'm supposed to meet up with them. They haven't told me yet, and no, I don't know his name. I never even met the guy, for all I know that must have been a guy working for him or something."

"You sure that's everything?"

"Yes! Yes! I swear! Please, just don't kill me…!"

I retracted my dagger, returning it to its normal state and placing it back in its holster. Just as I let go of his collar, I head-butted him in the nose, causing him to fall backwards and land on his ass, leaning back on the car. His nose was broken and was fighting to stay conscious.

I searched through his jacket-pocket while avoiding the blood that was running down his nose, I found the small red leathered planner I was looking for. With that done, I walked off the street and entered an alleyway. I kept walking until it was total darkness, making sure I was alone.

Now that the hostages are safe, and I got the planner I was after, there's still one thing I need to collect.

I created a portal to the boss' office, I set my eyes on the safe that was left slightly open. Kneeling, I opened it wide and was greeted with a few several stacks of hundred dollar bills wrapped in currency straps neatly placed atop of each other. On each stack, the currency straps had "ten-thousand-dollar" marks on them, some stacks seemed lighter than others. Looks like Norman paid quite the penny for his underlings to get his test subjects.

Oh well, finders keepers.

I'm dealing with criminals and I'm broke, had to have a little something for myself during these troubled times. That, and I refuse to live like a caveman. Besides, I need it way more than to just let it go through a court system, I have to turn a profit somehow in this business.

Removing the bag from my lower back and placing it right under the safe, I threw all the money inside. I'll count them properly when I get the chance. Right now, time to find a proper living space.

At this time, it was quite the hectic time being on board the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier. On it, everything was moving like a well-oiled machine, agents walking all over the place in a hurry, monitoring and reporting everything that gets on their scanners, acting quickly if any alarms went off or assistance was needed elsewhere.

Within the Helicarrier, every hour felt like rush hour.

Nick Fury made sure that everything ran like clockwork. Even with his one eye, he made sure he had tabs everywhere. Right now, there can't be anything that gets past him, not at times such as this. Standing in the main room of the Helicarrier, he was looking through the window with his head lowered, focusing his attention down at the Pacific Ocean that was just a few thousand feet beneath him. Having to work twenty-four seven without much breathing room requires at least a few minutes of peace.

It was either that or being on the verge of insanity with the amount of work on his plate.

Phil Coulson entered the busy room and maneuvered through the agents that we're walking about. Stopping right next to his boss, he spoke.

"Sir, I think we've got something."

Closing his eye and letting out a sigh, Nick Fury already knew his time for rest is cut short. Oh well, until next time.

"What is this time?" Fury turned to face his right-hand man. "And please don't tell me something else dropped out of the sky. We already had enough trouble with the last one."

"No, sir. Nothing like that," Coulson clarified. "But I still think you should take a look."

With a nod, Fury began to walk towards the conference room, Coulson following right behind him. After a few minutes, both entered the room filled with screens that marked different parts of the world. On one of the desks, it displayed a video of a road located in New York City, which appeared to be paused.

"So what are we looking at?" Asked the S.H.I.E.L.D director.

"Remember Andrew Lambert and his crew we discovered a few days ago?" Coulson began as he brought up the man in question, along with his previous records. "Well, we found their hideout, and they're quite a large number of them than we originally thought. On top of it, they seemed to be heavily armed, we're still looking into who their benefactor might be. All of the serial numbers on weapons were removed and we couldn't find the ones who sold it to them, so finding them might be tricky."

"Is that it?" Fury asked. "I hope there's more to this. I already came to that conclusion on my own without any of this."

"No, sir. This isn't the only reason I called you down for. Monitoring the security cameras around New York, our team pulled something from the servers. Just as we were about to investigate the Lambert crew further, this happened. The footage was caught by the surveillance from the opposite building."

With the press of a button, Coulson started playing the recording from the start. The footage was captured from a surveillance camera from the back entrance of the factory. As the video played out, two men ran out of the building and jumped into a brown car, immediately blasting off. The scene changed with another camera spotting them driving away on the road, the screen zoomed in on the escaping perpetrators.

As the scene changed again, Fury spotted someone hanging on the roof of the car. How? Just a second ago there was nobody on the fleeing vehicle, and all of a sudden there's a person on the roof of the car. The image itself was somewhat blurry how much it was zoomed in, but he could faintly see some sort of orange ring underneath the person's arm. By next scene, the open road was seen for a split second from a camera on a lamppost, with the car coming into view from the lower-left corner and being yanked upwards by a green chain that was attached to the front of the hood, the car sliding upside down until it came to a stop.

But the mysterious figure wasn't on the car anymore before it crashed. At the edge of the screen, Fury watched as the figure stepped closer to the wreckage, noticing the green chain started to stepped closer to the screen, taking a good look at this new arrival, but only from the behind. He hadn't seen anyone with this particular set of clothing, especially after dark. The silver mask also wasn't far too visible from this angle, so he took a screenshot of it when the frame was just right.

He went to the driver's seat of the now flipped car, the upper part of his mask could be seen, pausing again to take another screenshot.

"I would like to note, that alleyway he entered leads to a dead end, with no other ways to access the buildings. While monitoring the other cameras, he never exited the alley and he was no longer there when the authorities arrived."

Listening to Coulson's report, Fury tried to figure out the explanation for what he just saw.

"What do you think? Some sort of tech allowing him to move or teleport in quick succession?"

"Can't confirm," Coulson responded as he highlighted the individual screenshots. "That level of equipment required to execute that isn't anywhere visible. If he does have something like that, then it's quite well hidden. There is also a possibility that he might have help from somewhere else, but we weren't able to pick up any radio frequency in the area the moment this happened. Also, we discovered something else that ties in with this person. This footage is from a week ago and it was taken in London."

The next video came on display, and it appeared to be a view of a side of a building. Then all of a sudden, a massive wave of water came crashing down from above. The image started to zoom in on a certain area, then someone latched on to the building, and appeared to be surrounded in water, flowing around his body while in place.

It was him. The same masked figure he was shown in the previous video feed. Fury leaned closer and watched carefully to see what happened next. The masked figure seemed to be doing some kind of projectile. After some time, another figure came falling down and the person latched onto them, the video ending with both of them falling. A drop from that height is a guaranteed death, and yet he's up and breathing. What person was he chasing and why in London no less? If he was there, why did he come to New York, and when?

"What do we do, sir?"

Nick placed a hand on his chin, stroking his beard for a few moments before responding. "I want you to find me everything on this guy. Whereabouts, possible suspects, whatever. If you do find something, report it to me immediately. I have a feeling this isn't the last time we will be seeing this… stranger."

With a nod, Phil Coulson turned and exited the room. Fury watched as his right-hand walked out, then turning to look at the various pictures on the screen, placing his hand on his chin. It seemed like they might have a new player in town. What kind of connection does this person have with the Lambert crew? What is the explanation for his skill set? A hefty number of questions circled through the Director's head, but one remained more significant than the others.

"How do I find you?"