Marvel: A Tale of Shadows

Ethan focused on the plans in front of him while he sat at the counter table. He was currently creating a new weapon. An energy weapon based off of one of the abandoned Hydra projects he found while raiding abandoned facilities.

Project Gear appeared to be the startup of their replication of laser-based weaponry. Mimicking the original laser weaponry of Armin Zola who was the chief scientist during world war two for Hydra. But the technology and designs were lost when Red Skull disappeared and Zola supposedly died. The only other records and copies were destroyed or taken by the SSR.

They also touched on other forms of weaponry but it was clearly dismissed quickly as the production rate was too slow. But for Ethan it did not matter. Using various technologies he had found during his raids, his own skill and knowledge, as well as the energy storage designs of Stark Industries.

There was already energy based laser weaponry. Like Stark's repulsor tech, SHIELD's laser cannons, Latveria had energy based laser rifles with ammunition issues. Ethan was steering away from all of those versions. They all had their issues, Stark's tech required a large amount of energy, SHIELD required gigantic disposable tubes which burnt out after a few uses, Latveria while it was not as well known their weapons flaw was that it was prone to overheating.

He was currently working on a design that used chargeable and semi-reusable magazines. It would operate similar to most handguns in that it would have replaceable and interchangeable parts. The energy cartridge was the hardest part which is what he was focused on. After a moment the cartridge lit up blue.

"That's a good sign-" He stopped as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it back as he leaned back. Seeing the screen he hummed as he walked into his room. Felicia and Laura were both out training with Paine, so he was home alone. Which was on purpose since he was waiting for Hydra to communicate the meetup location.

Now that he had it. He was heading out. Less than five minutes later he was riding on his black motorcycle heading towards what looked like a remote field in the middle of nowhere. It would take him thirty minutes to arrive and the meetup time was in three hours. Meaning he had a limited time for setting up surveillance.

He was going equipped with spy gear along with a single concealed Ka-Bar knife that was hidden up one of his sleeves in a sheath. Both the motorcycle he rode along with the clothes he wore was nondescript. Along with it being unidentifiable in case anyone ran his plates. In addition he wore semi-plated lightweight armor under his motorcycle gear.

It didn't hurt to be prepared. Especially when going up against paranoid groups like Hydra. It just meant he had to be even more paranoid.

—---------------------

He landed on the roof entrance of his tower. Walking up to the door the walkway started dismantling his suit of armor. Removing it from his body revealed his full body suit underneath that was covered in sweat.

As he walked in through the walkway Pepper walked up to him, "how was your trip?"

"Enlightening." Tony grunted in annoyance. "Anything happen here?"

Pepper frowned but figured she would learn why Tony was angry later. "A few things, the NYPD announced the correlation between the rise of missing kids and an increase of mutant appearances. Then there was a message from Steve Rogers, he wants your assistance with something. The last one was from Detective Yuri Watanabe, she wants to warn you that the data was leaked to the NYPD from the FBI."

"Haa…. they are really going all in to frame the mutants." Tony grunted as he walked towards his mini bar. "I found out that a section of SHIELD worked together with David Gyrich and Bolivar Trask to create Sentinels with Stark Repulsor technology and weaponry. More than likely they are working with someone else to attack the mutants publicly… again."

"That… makes sense. Miss Grey already called about security at the Stark-Potts Invention Center." Pepper explained. "I have also been looking into the other thing you asked. With Jarvis' assistance I was able to make a tracking algorithm for Thor. As well I was able to find out more about The Hulk, but there is a military intelligence wall blocking Jarvis from getting more info. Was there anything else?" Pepper asked as she handed him a folder while taking the glass of wine he made from him.

"Hmm… I need to look into The Reaper as well as Spider-Man. Schedule something with Jean Grey for next week. I will take care of getting The Hulk information later." He mumbled as he started looking through the file, "one step forward, two steps backward. Is there anything else we can do to help the mutants?"

"No, we just have to help keep their name clear. I am worried though, who is pressing the issue so much? I doubt any one person can hate them that much." Pepper pointed out as she walked over and started pulling up the news reports on mutants for the last five years up on the large holographic screen. "Another point for your investigation."

"Indeed. I do worry that my hero team plan won't be able to get off the ground with all these setbacks." Tony explained as pulled up a holographic keyboard and started typing quickly.

"Hmm yeah there won't really be a need-" Pepper was interrupted by the blaring alarm.

"Jarvis! Mute the alarm. What happened?" Tony asked as he tapped a few keys on the keyboard.

"Sir. There is a break-in at the warehouse facility in New York." A video popped up of a warehouse garage door. When it exploded scaring away workers while a large figure walked into the facility with glowing eyes and a glowing star on its chest.

"Back to work. Call the police, I am on my way now." Tony walked toward a wall as it slid open to reveal another suit of armor.

"Sir. There appears to be another person on site." Jarvis showed another video as Tony's armor closed around him. He watched it from his suit while Pepper watched from the console.

The video showed an armored female figure appearing and disappearing in a yellow haze around different parts of the room. Moving civilians out of the way of danger or attacking the dust clad figure.

"The new Wasp, Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne's daughter. Good timing. I actually wanted to meet up with her." Tony states as he flys out of the building towards his warehouse.

Pepper sighs as she watches him fly away. "Jarvis, can you pull up everything on Hank Pym, Janet Van Dyne, and their daughter. I want to organize Tony's plan now that I have some time and send a call to Rhody, I want his assistance."

There was a ringing a moment later before the call was answered, "James Rhodes here." Tony's best friend answered promptly as opposed to the way his friend would usually respond.

"Mister Rhodes, it is Pepper Potts. I was wondering if you had time to drop by Stark Tower. I wanted to discuss something with you regarding Mister Stark's plans."

"You mean those plans? Yes, I can help. But I am going to need help convincing Stark to lend me armor."

"An armor? Do you mean one of his Iron Man suits?" Pepper looked over to a silver suit that had a large rocket and other heavy artillery attachments. "I can do that."

—--------------------------

He arrived at a remote field in the middle of nowhere. He had set up several surveillance devices as well as prepared a surveillance satellite he hacked in order to more easily follow the Hydra group when they left.

He sat a few miles away watching the site of the meet using the cameras. So he waited several hours until it was dark out, when he first saw the sight of a truck arriving. It was labeled 'Silver Movers' which was probably a cover they used. That would be useful for later, especially since he would need to know more about the Hydra faction within New York.

The Truck stopped in the middle of the field with three black SUVs pulling up beside it. While opposite them two tandem-rotor helicopters landed on the ground. But oddly enough they were silent and black, making them good stealth vehicles despite their typical noise pollution.

The reason he even noticed their arrival was the downdraft as they lowered to the ground. Otherwise he might have missed them, it appears Hydra was doing something right if they had technology that allowed them stealth abilities.

He silently watched and listened as the heads of each group approached each other.

—-----------------------

The Beetle stepped forward and nodded at the person standing across from him, who was shaking hands with the Grim Reaper. The Viper, she is well known for poisonous talent and an even more venomous personality.

"Grim Reaper, here I thought we would just get our usual shipment. What changed?" Straightforward and to the point. But she seemed more annoyed than usual or was that just him.

"Viper, how is the Serpent Society? Here I was thinking I would only be giving the unfortunate news to just some lackey of yours." Grim Reaper responded in his gravelly voice. "Though I must say I am thankful for the distraction your group provided for my escape from prison following my capture."

Viper grunted, "the Serpent Society is under control. Now speak, we have a deal to complete."

"Haa…" The Grim Reaper sighed and shook his head, "very well. Silvermane has determined that it would be too detrimental and dangerous to capture anymore children mutant or non-mutant. Especially with the amount you are demanding them in. So we are pausing a deal for the time being until it quiets down, we also plan to increase the cost for this last shipment."

There was a growl for a moment as Viper narrowed her eyes, "Doctor Faustus feared as much. Especially with the increase of vigilantes and heroes around your base in New York."

It was Grim Reaper's turn to growl. "So?"

"So, we will just end the deal and move to another location. The children never had to be American. Besides there has been a recent power vacuum in a few different locations. It should not be hard to reestablish a functional base of operations." Viper responded with a smug look, "on the other hand, you Cyborgs and tech heads are stuck in New York with it being the center of technological innovation."