Marvel: A Tale of Shadows

Ethan woke up to the feeling of something heavy on the back of his legs. He looked around to see a young girl sitting on the back of his legs playing video games.

"Laura, aren't you supposed to be doing homework?"

"Finished. Aunty said I could play games all day today. She and I went out for dinner yesterday. We had Italian for dinner and her dad joined us. Apparently he doesn't like you, something about you being a man-whore." Laura spoke while playing her racing game.

"Hmm… I saw your mom last night." Ethan pulled out his phone and showed Laura a photo he took while he was watching the exchange last night.

Laura quickly paused her game and snatched his phone while tossing aside her controller. "Mom… she looks. Cool!" Laura's eyes lit up while Ethan raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Mom is totally rocking that outfit! Felicia and I have talked about costumes like that. She was talking about a wig and something leathery or furry to accentuate her breasts."

Ethan frowned, "Felicia is already thinking about what outfit she wants to wear? I thought she wanted to wait until we completed our training."

"Mhmm… Aunty Felicia got in an argument with her father which is when it came up. Apparently they like to argue, every topic they talked about they argued. They talked about flowers and argued. They talked about outfits and argued. They talked about family and argued. But they really started to get angry when they talked about you." Laura's eyes sparkled as she scrolled through the photos he took. "Can I get these when you guys give me a phone?"

"A phone?" Ethan chuckled, "what makes you think you will get a phone?"

Laura frowned and looked at him. "Felicia said you are rich. All rich people's kids get phones."

"Ha! Not if they want to teach the kid about being responsible and earning what they get!" Ethan answered as pulled himself out from under the kid with the adamantium skeleton. Who would have probably crushed him if not for his own monstrous level of strength.

Laura started pouting, "Mmmm… cheap skate." She turned her attention back to the photos.

While Ethan walked into his and Felicia's bedroom. He started pulling off his clothes as he glanced at the black haired beauty that was sleeping in the bed in her black lingerie nightwear. He had roused and woke her up when he walked in.

"Rough night?" He asked as he looked at Felicia's pouting face.

"Yeah, Dad and I are disagreeing on a few things. He still feels like he failed to protect me. Anyways, did your little trip bear any fruit?" She asked as she ran her eyes along his figure as he stripped out of his clothes and stepped into the shower.

He did not bother to close the bathroom door as Felicia watched him shower from the bed. Soaking in his naked figure.

"Yes," he called from the shower as it turned on. "I found the Hydra base where Ophelia operates out of. I also discovered that Hydra has friction between their factions. I plan to use that against them. I did run into an operative of theirs but he should be immobile for at least a week."

"How tough was he?"

"Tough enough to give vigilantes and self-declared heroes like Spider-Man some trouble. But I did not have much trouble with the distraction that Spider-Man brought to the table. By the way, that kid is clearly lacking in the training department."

"Oh, it can't be that bad."

"I mean… he has natural athleticism probably because of his abilities. But he is definitely rough around the edges. I have a feeling he has enough grit to survive and adapt to the 'heroic' lifestyle but he will probably go through a lot."

"Haa… you think we should do something about him? I mean he might die if he goes around getting caught in fights he can not finish." Felicia pointed out.

"No… I will try to set up something to watch out for him. But I am worried because he is childhood friends with Harry Osborn. More than likely that bastard Norman has eyes on his son and friends."

"That guy again… anyways my aunt called me again yesterday. Apparently they found my other aunt. She lives in New York. So my police captain Aunt is coming for a visit." Felicia switched topics to avoid her boyfriend from having his grumbling and angry disposition when he thought about Norman Osborn.

"That… okay. I assume you are telling me for a reason?"

"Yes, I made dinner plans to have dinner with my missing aunt and her fiance. Apparently she married rich despite her amnesia."

"Amnesia?"

"Yup, apparently she completely lost her memories. Her fiance found her in an underground slave auction that he was stopping. Supposedly it was, 'love at first sight' for both of them." Felicia's tone of voice promoted disbelief.

"So is her fiance a law enforcement officer that we have to worry about?"

"Ah-no. For one, you handle the police effortlessly. I have no idea why you should be worried. Another is that the person's name is Wilson Fisk, I have no idea who he is but my Aunt Renee seemed pretty annoyed."

"Wilson Fisk, also known as Kingpin, is one of the underworld bosses of New York. Among the ones in New York he is more known to operate in a more ethical manner. Within the last few years the underworld flipped on its head with him taking territory from the Maggia, the Yakuza, the Irish, the Hand, then there are the various mafia families. Smuggling of people, dealing drugs to kids, murder and rape of children, all went out the door. I even heard the bodies of several pedophiles were hung from one of the bridges to emphasize his point." Ethan quickly spat out the knowledge he knew off of the top of his head.

"So… we are meeting a bigshot?"

"Sort of, in a way it is actually way worse than any law enforcement." He stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. "We should be ready for just about anything. We are not intruding on anything of his, so it should be a civil meeting at the very least."

"Well then… it should be interesting at least."

—----------------------------

Steve looked over the folder of info he just got. He barely understood it himself, all he knew was that it was sitting on his dining room table. Which was another thing he had a headache about, home security. Apparently the cameras SHIELD had helped set up went down for ten minutes last night in his apartment building.

Agent Coulson had been incredibly helpful with setting up his New York apartment. But now someone had broken in while he was sleeping, left a folder in his dining room and left without leaving any evidence.

Normally he would have immediately sought assistance but he decided against it when he saw the note on the folder. "From The Reaper, I suggest you get help from someone other than your Shield buddies for this hunt!"

Clearly as anonymous as his post was, it was not anonymous enough. Because that hacker reached out to respond by leaving a folder of information. He knew it was about his post because the folder contained satellite photos along with several notes denoting key locations. Not to mention it was literally labeled, "Hydra Base."

But he wondered what the hacker meant about getting outside help. But considering the data about what the place held, he might already know a group that would be interested. So he stuffed the folder into a bag and took his motorcycle out to Salem.

Salem was a small developing town in New York State just a few hours away from New York City that went through a lot over the last fifteen years. From widespread destruction to it having a decline of family homes and businesses. Mostly due to the land being bought up by the Xavier Institute, which was the name of everything from the Xavier Academy to the X-Men team. Many of the families of students also bought plots of land to move closer to their children. It turned the bustling town of Salem into something more resembling a bunch of houses popping up around a self-grown community.

Fortunately they had started interacting on a state-wide scale. Because many government groups were growing anxious with their actions. But with their willingness and even initiative to interact outside of their school it shows that they did not want to become their own independent body separate from the United States.