Chapter 622: Trainer
Chapter 622: Trainer
*Fwap*
Silver wh.i.p.s crackled as Cindy continued to jump around with a barely patched up shoulder, her slight regeneration factor easing her gurt but only by a tiny margin as strands of her hair continued to fall, unable to bear the intensity of her movements and the strike of wh.i.p.s against loose strands.
'Gotta get fire or high-pitched sound,' Cindy continued to think, 'Maybe Opera came to visit nearby?' she quickly blocked off that line of thought, at least, after secretly looking into her brother's search history and finding out his discovery of the world of p.o.r.n by... 'Bbc Dp', and many other search keys along the line.
'Gah, I hate my mind! Junior more!' Clenching her jaws in pain as the Panther guy beside her also seem troubled by waving tendrils of Venom, Cindy decided to observe Riot for a moment before exclaiming sharply. Too sharply. Her voice almost made Black Panther and Garuk feel disgusting as she squeaked, "Oh, my, god! I am trying to talk like Janice! Enhehehehe!"
" and his dimensional magic" Strange and Nik, too, came at a sudden stop while looking towards screen. "Janice, like 'Friends' Janice?" Black Panther inquired as Riot and Venom remained unfazed. Cindy was surprised that the guy even knew it and now felt embarrassed.
"Can you create high-pitched sound with that suit of yours?" Cindy avoided and continued to kite Riot, her cheeks flushed.
"High-pitched sound? How high? Give me a number" Black Panther was instantly sent back with Venom's black tentacle tightening around his neck.
"Just do extremely high!" Cindy shouted as Black Panther instantly took out two small orbs of black material from the silver-toothed belt marking his waist and struck them together.
*Knnnnnnn*
A strange shriek of wind blew instantly, mildly discomforting to Garuk, Silk, and Black Panther but the sound instantly caused the two symbiotes to burst into ill-mannered squeal with their hands covering the sides of their heads, their jaws stretching wide in a grotesque manner as their slimy form receded, revealing one wanted Eddie Brock inside Venom and a stranger old lady within Riot, both of their bodies shuddering with the symbiotes aching and trembling in pain.
"No use of your despicable technology!" Garuk hissed as black eldritch patterns whisked into existence around Garuk's left fist and the surroundings turned dimmer while a small portal pulled the two orbs apart, making the surroundings serene once again, yet bloody.
Within the nearby city that was once controlled by Wilson Fisk and now quite likely to be freed by the reformed underworld kingpin, Nik scratched the back of his head. "All right," he nodded, "I get the gist of his abilities. But I am still not ruling out the possibility that he may be stronger than you expect. After all, he found out your real body is busy."
"I still believe that it is a work of a spy," Strange stated as Nik shrugged and shifted, not even trying to lose moments by creating a portal. After Nik left, Strange looked at Wilson and reached down on his head to examine the man. Nik had used some form of strange but malleable energy to craft runes of unknown origin which affected one's personality seamlessly, blending past memories with reformed ambitions. After observing the construct for a while, Strange figured out a few of his most concerning speculations. The priority being Nik's natural ability to screw with the mind of unprepared folks and it was yet to be seen how effective is the man against prepared foes. Garuk being the best choice, a lucky endeavor for Strange indeed.
"Harr'I'll rip you into shreds!" Riot roared with a guttural growl throating through the chords of the poor woman as he covered her into a muscular freakish monster once again while Venom looked a little clueless.
"Hmm?" As Riot went for attack with reckless abandon, Garuk's attention was taken away by Venom who didn't seem to be complying with his magic any longer, an unfortunate distraction as Garuk's eyes widened when he realized the shift in nature without any supernatural force in the working. It was as if the very space surrounding him bent on its own, covering around his arm alongside.
"Kaaaah!" Garuk shrieked in pain, his body shuddering as he fell on his knees, spasming. Two well-covered arms rolled away from him with remarkably smooth ends as the faceless man continued to tremble. "All right, you just want to kill," Riot suddenly came to a stunning stop with a white hand holding his face, covering his vision as a hollow whisper shook the silver sludge, "I'd say you have had enough," clutching Riot's head tighter, Nik flexed and slammed him into the ground. As Riot impacted against the ground, Nik realized that the host within Riot was not going to survive.
The hostage needed a new set of organs and nervous systems which wasn't possible for Nik. Still, pulling Riot into his Dream Core, Nik looked at the huffing Cindy. Not bothering her, he shifted in front of the unruly mage. "You can only use your spells alongside your head," Nik smiled when the Black Panther suddenly spoke up as he kept a lookout for the silent Venom alongside Cindy. "Leave him for the Wakandan justice"
"Oh, blegh," blowing away at the man's word, Nik grinned as his body was instantly surrounded by a pale silverish blue with a hint of violet. "Now, I would like to know all your dirty secrets, Magical Robinhood!" Pressing his thumb against the middle of the flat of Garuk's face, Nik began invading Garuk's mind while forming enough defenses to keep himself from being interrupted.
"We should... go. We are full," Venom grunted as Eddie echoed, "You think? What did even happen to us?"
"You are going nowhere!" Black Panther crouched into a dangerous stance as Venom looked towards the equally dark and stunning being.
"Man kitty?" He whispered, unsure.
"Man Panther," Cindy chimed in correction as she sat down on the ground with the fingers still aimed towards Venom, "And you don't look like you are about to kill us."
"Why would we?" Venom shrieked loudly, making the two flinch as he continued, "No, we came to a deal. Only eat criminals. That criminal found us. Did things. He did!"
"You lost me at eating criminals," Cindy whispered as Panther suddenly threw a mini dart which struck the unprepared Venom into his chest before the dart zapped with enough power to paralyze a basilisk rhino, making Venom groan in surprise and fall on his knees, arcs of fearsome lightning covering it as the symbiote receded, leaving Eddie all the more vulnerable.
Sighing to himself, the Black Panther sent the picture of Silk and the white monster currently holding Garuk back, ordering his networks to respond with appropriate information about the two of them.
"Silk, was it? I appreciate your timely assistance but I need to stop the invading force from destroying the nearby villages. I shall return the favor, my lady. You have gained my respect and attention."
Looking at the tip of the man's ears, Cindy sighed before pointing towards Nik, "The plan was for me to stall until he takes care of everything. I would say that you are worrying needlessly. Your accent is strange, too. Formal."
Not waiting for Cindy's further comments, Black Panther thumped his chest once as a signal was sent to his team to take away Eddie Brock. The man will be dealt with later as he placed the two beads on either side of Eddie's body as a small, visible field of energy formed around him. "Please do not attempt to touch the barrier, it will repulse harshly. My team shall look after your injuries."
"Ah, got that covered, too. Nik don't leave no scars. Kinda good considering how my- ehm, yeah, you go do you. Run like a wind, er... Panther."
"Just call me Black Panther, I am more comfortable that way."
"I don't know. I get a little uncomfortable adding colors to the name. White Ed. Black Ted. Yellow Chang. You know?"
After a moment of silence, Black Panther sprinted towards what seemed like one of the villages. "See? Uncomfortable," Cindy commented in a whisper as she looked at Nik, two arms without any blood leaking from them and laid on her back. "Time zone is different here," she mumbled idly while looking at the sky.
"It was fun, though," she smiled, her wound already patched up to quite an extent.
Meanwhile, Nik was having the horror show of his life. Ghosts. Guard ghosts covered Garuk's mind. Spiritual traps that Sky and Asmodeus took their time guiding Nik through with little hints when he was truly stumped. Bits of horrid memories surrounding the guarded the core that most likely held the treasured knowledge and this was the first time Nik was having so much trouble taking over someone. It was doable but not difficult.
"That's what she said!" Asmodeus chimed within Garuk's mind as she remained ever so knowledgeable about Nik's thoughts, making Sky groan. She was too mature and cool to comment in such a timely manner.
---
"All right, that's Nik," Coulson looked at the latest update as he was visibly confused.
"A symbiote," Nick furrowed his brows before shaking his head. It wasn't like Nik wasn't considered a threat before but so was every single gifted individual. If thinking of everyone as an enemy was the best option, Nick wouldn't have proposed the Avengers Initiation in the first place. Acceptance always comes harder than fear and the need for removal. Good thing that he came to such terms back in the past.
"Try and inquire about the details from Silk. The Wakandan spy network has proven better efficiency than the CIA and us. I am sure they know about Vanish's and Silk's works and won't host them with hostility."
"Sir," Coulson coughed, "I am not worried about Nik, Cindy is out of the question, too. Nik is there, after all. He is... playful," spreading his arms, he continued, "I am more worried that the current king values honor more than anything. Vanish's and Silk's actions and public reputation is considered to be honorable. Should the King invite them into Wakanda, I fear the prospects of the nature of our relationship with the isolated nation. Nik is now always too subtle."
"What do you mean?" Nick furrowed his brows as Phil groaned softly. "I think... just think that Nik may not act according to the culture of the nation and... accidentally insult the 'honor' of the nation's royalty."
"Oh," Nick shook his head, "Don't worry about that. The current king, T'Challa, actually studied in the outside world. His rule is not the rigid one... probably. I'll try to reach them," he considered seriously.
"Please do, just to give a heads up if they do enter the nation" Coulson's words were cut off as he found the two of them disappearing from the point of view, leaving one unconscious Eddie Brock in the makeshift energy prison.
---
"Sorry again," Nik smiled as Cindy pulled her shirt up before turning back and looking Nik with her cheeks flushed and her eyes glimmering with sensuality.
"Thank you, for not interfering for the better part of it," she whispered back as they found themselves sitting in Cindy's living room once again.
"Are you kidding me?" Nik scoffed, "Those were sick moves and burns. Nice work."
With both of them returned and Nik's remuneration set a day after, the time expected for Strange's real self to get his task done, the two of them hadn't considered the possibility of Black Panther actually coming back with full knowledge on the duo. Nobody would think that a masked individual in a cat costume actually ruled a country, not to mention democracy.
"What did you do to that guy?" She inquired as she leaned back on her couch, trying to prolong the conversation.
"Honestly, I asked him for his knowledge, in a friendly manner. Solved some puzzles, took my prize, and then did what any simple man would do. Remove him so that he no longer is a problem. I saved his body so that Strange can examine it later. Magic's a nasty thing and one can never be too careful."
"Oh, that's a... bummer..." Cindy mumbled, her mind jumbled as she continued to sneak glances, her ears only registering Nik's words but not understanding them.
"And..." Nik looked towards her, "you are not listening," leaning down to enjoy her lips since she had already given many signals, Nik made Cindy's eyes to widen.
Until now, a tiny bit of Nik's mentality had felt a little conflicted on how to treat a woman who felt mixed feelings for him. Aside from Megumi, it was either hate or l.u.s.t directed towards him but let's get real. It was hardly the former. But a simple peek into his past, the real one, and his actions later based on new core believes unaffected bu his sealed past, it was easy to realize that he just loved to bend things his way.
"Mmmgh~!" Cindy gasped softly, her chest rising as her body grew hotter. Even if Nik had to be somewhere within a few minutes, he would enjoy his time here. After all, he wanted this.