Goddess Collector: Every Hole is a Goal

Chapter 628: Reward Mania

*Kraccccchhhhh*

A roaring screech filled the sewerage network of the city as a large monstrous entity continued to rush through the murky water. The roar itself resounded out to the pedestrians in a hollow echo which was barely registered by the citizens of New York.

"Did you hear it?" A man with a yellow bandana covering the top of his face and a green outfit over his well-built body shouted while jumping from one roof to the other.

"Yeah, that sounds like a gigantic lizard, all right," Ava replied as she took to the air, too, before rolling down on the next roof and continuing the pursuit. "Where's Cindy, Agent?! We need her!" Ava spoke into her communicator as Phil's voice reached the both of them, "I just made contact with her. She's coming with Nik."

"Great, we can pull Dr. Connors away from the people and get an even ground. It would be hard for us to deal with the man in narrow spaces and based on the little information known about the experiment, Dr. Connors has all the reptilian-like abilities."

"You read the report?" Ava inquired as she looked towards Iron Fist.

"It's safe to understand one's opponent."

"I know right? Although, written reports are always prone to mistakes."

"Nik is right," Ava mumbled thoughtfully before Iron Fist and White Tiger snapped their heads towards a hulking white figure jogging alongside them. "Hey!" Nik smiled widely as Pickle's lips widened, revealing the symbiote couple's sharp teeth.

"When did you come here?!" Ava shouted, "And Cindy? Where's she?"

"Right here!" accompanied by the hubbub from below, Cindy swung with a string of web connected to the nearby structure as Ava looked towards the woman. Her nose twitched slightly but the feline delight failed to smell anything suspicious from Silk. "How should we play this out?" Not minding the increase in tension, Iron Fist inquired with his internal qi roiling in preparation as Nik shrugged, "Ask Coulson. He's the leader, right?"

"No, he's the Agent. We made it clear that we aren't being led by him," Ava replied.

"So this is exactly like a gig," Nik mumbled, "How about this, evacuating so many people is hard enough. I'll pull... what was his name, Curt?"

"Yeah! Curt Connors," Cindy replied.

"Then I'll shift him right above us," Nik stated while slowing down as Cindy propelled herself through the air before landing on the roof beside Iron Fist as Ava came to a stop, too.

"When a wingless lizard falls down, you'll have a bunch of choices to choose from. It's up to you guys then."

"All right," Ava nodded instantly as she looked at Cindy, "Silk will wrap him up as much as possible while he falls. Iron Fist will prepare to strike the hardest punch he can muster and I'll be back up if anything goes south. And you..." she looked towards Nik as he shrugged, "Hey, you know I won't let you guys get hurt more than reasonable so you can always count on me to cover your back," his words making Cindy blush under her mask as she recalled the previous hours once again. A change in expression that resulted in her getting under Ava's radar but knowing that there were much more important things then stewing a dramatic plot, Ava gave a nod of approval while Nik pointed up with his right index.

"You'll see Dr. Connors appearing right above us... now!" Nik located the man by spreading his spiritual energy and then instantly channeling a swift spatial shortcut from a step ahead of the massive humanoid lizard to the empty space ten meters above the roof.

"Be sure to take account of the collision," Nik chortled as Cindy instantly turned to action with her hands stretching up and high-speed streams of webs ejecting from the tip of her fingers. Well, the sight gave Nik the ideas for what he should ask during their second night as the sticky stream instantly stopped the massive lizard's shrieks with the white fluids hardening around his face and then quickly covering the remaining area of his body.

"Uppercut it is!" Iron Fist clenched his jaws in anticipation. Unlike instructed, he didn't charge his fist to the maximum. He feared that the excess might fatally injure the scientist within the monstrous physique but that didn't mean he was going easy. Crouched and right below the expected point of collision, Iron Fist's right fist glowed akin molten lava as the remaining heroes could actually feel the heat affecting their outfit. Even Pickle snorted internally, still not enjoying being so close to what would have been her innate weakness.

*Kkrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

With the rebellious, suppressed grunt coming into a stunning silence as Iron Fist's punch struck the lizard squarely on his constricted torso, the impact itself tearing much of Cindy's restrictions, the roof cracked by a slight margin under Iron Fist's legs as Connors was stopped from the fall completely. Instead, with a crisp smell of slightly charred flesh, Connors' body was embedded against Daniel's fist, the vertical pupils of the man hollowed, suggesting the lack of consciousness.

"Well, this went awesome," Nik smiled while walking forward, picking the body of the bent, unconscious man and placing him down despite the apparent weight.

"Is he... alive?" Iron Fist inquired in whispers as he slowly sat down, huffing. His fist itself torn as the results actually disappointed him.

"Oh, yeah. His breathing is steady, too. Broken ribs but nothing too serious," Nik mumbled while sneaking an observation of Curt Connors mutation. The man was a walking lizard and he had Ignit. Now, Nik wanted a walking, fire breathing Ignit for himself, too.

'Lola, get the observation of the mutations from this guy, too,' with a blood drop easily snuck past through the surrounding group, Nik focused on Iron Fist who slowly utilized his own qi to patch himself up.

"I'll handle this myself," Iron Fist smiled as he looked back towards Nik.

"Agent, yeah, Dr. Connors won't be able to hurt anyone. Uhm hum," Ava nodded while Nik made his way towards Cindy, "This looks like a good time to wrap up our day, right?" His smile slightly intoxicating as he had already removed the fiendish mask over his head. Nodding slightly, still unwilling to raise a storm due to their hook-up, a crazy one at that, Cindy looked into Nik's eyes barely for a second before looking away.

"Yeah, it was nice and..."

"Don't worry, we'll get even more chances," Snickering and refraining from ruining Cindy's desire to keep pretenses, Nik looked back to Ava and Daniel, "I'll see you guys... when Agent Coulson would need me for another assignment."

"Wait," Ava called out as she pulled her mask back and unplugged her communicator before tossing it towards Nik, "Coulson wants to talk."

"Hmm?" Placing the communicator to his ear, Nik heard Coulson's eager voice, "Vanish, thanks for the support. I'll be sure to send your"

"You know what?" cutting Coulson off, Nik smiled, "Consider this one a freebie, really. I've had an amazing day today and nothing worse than ruining it with cash. I already have enough for months, with the way we live."

"Fine, I won't say no to that," Coulson's chuckle resounded as Nik tossed back the communicator towards Ava and vanished from the roof.

---

"My King," a gruff voice broke A dark-skinned man from his meditation. A rest, it seemed. Opening his eyes while still on his throne, the short-haired man in a regal dark-grey suit, the top styled off to the eastern side of the world with coats reaching his calves and a loose pair of pants, the current king of Wakanda, T'Challa, looked at the bald woman in front of him.

"We found the two you asked for. The youth who was supported by the white-colored symbiote and the woman with a spider-like mutation are associated with the Shield. We made contacts with their ambassador but the agency seems to be highly protective of their information. All their footprints are being covered on a daily basis and we feel that using our undercovers in the Shield for these two might not be the optimal use of our resources."

Hearing the woman's words, T'Challa looked at his guards, his Harem, as the entire country titled them, a group of female warriors that were trained to fight for the king at the expense of their lives led by a woman outside the group of women waiting for him in the bed every night. His most loyal subject. "Give us some space," he whispered as the evening sun made the jewels of the throne room glimmer. All his guards left the throne room in moments as the woman in front of him remained.

"I understand that it is not optimal to use our most coveted resources," T'Challa began, "for two kids. But as it stands, they saved my life. Even with my blessings and armor, it is already proven that two symbiotes would be fatal to my life much less a single angry Garuk whose fate remains unknown. If it isn't for my life then consider this for our future. We have a symbiote to ourselves. The warrior named Eddie has proven that he held no malice. Our contacts proved the man's claim that he was blackmailed by Wilson Fisk."

Slowly standing up, T'Challa made his way over to the woman. Unlike others from his personal Harem filled with athletic bodies, the woman in front of him held neither the charm of the greatest tribal beauty with a sure spot in a king's closest group nor the courage as her short stature trembled under the king's intense, apathetic gaze. However, she was smart. The communicator within his secret service of spies that held true to no king but only the kingdom. Wakanda.

"Tell me," T'Challa whispered as one of his hand slowly took hold of the woman's chin before tilting her head up, gazing deeply into her eyes, "Which side is making trouble for my wishes."

"My King," the woman whimpered, "It's not a single group but the whole spy network. You've ascended recently after the late lord's demise, may the goddess panther rest his soul. But the main source of mistrust stems from the fact that you never received the traditional education of Wakanda."

"Hmm, it is a problem, yes. I would doubt a king who lacks in tradition if I were at their place," T'Challa nodded.

"So, I want you to let the entire network know that it is a tradition of the king to reward any entity who serves in the interest of the nation. The protection of my life, a king's life, being one of the many top interests. Let them know that a king who disdains his own spy network can never lead a country to a brighter future and right now, this king needs to reward the heck out of two kids."

"Y-yes!" The woman left in a hurry as T'Challa smiled happily and walked out. Shuri was right, acting is an exciting feat.