Hello to you all ! Hope your week is good ! First, let me say sorry for the delay. My computer ran out of batteries at work so I couldn't finish writing the chapter during my lunch break. I did finish it Wednesday night and planned on posting it the next day… but God laughed so, you know…
In other news, my InFamous/the boys fanfic is at chapter 9 with chapter 10 being released Sunday (I still have to schedule it right after I post this, though…) on my Patréon. Hopefully, next Friday, you'll be able to read the 1st chapter here. If you can't wait, why don't you visit my Patréon page *wink, wink*. There're also other stories and advanced chapters of this fic over there.
Now, I want to talk about Avatar : Frontiers of Pandora. Don't know why there are so many people hating on this game… it's pretty nice. Granted, it's heavy on the « humans are despicable because they don't care about their environment » which is… fair and accurate. But the game itself is beautiful, and the gameplay is cool. Pretty close to Far Cry but still cool. I'm guessing when I buy the new Star Wars, it'll be the same : cool game that people raged against and spit at just because… At least, that's my opinion.
Anyways, enjoy !
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As I start to feel faint and nauseous, a hand suddenly claps me on the shoulder. That, and the voice of my father speaking in a sure tone manages to calm me down, somewhat. He says :
« If they're not here, we keep searching. We'll find them. We just need to start scrying for them directly is all… »
Right ! I think to myself. Why didn't I think of that ? Should have been the first thing I did !
While I'm mentally beating myself up over the head with a wooden club and smacking my forehead, outwardly, all I show is a single nod. We turn away from Fury and just as my dad is about to open a portal, Fury interrupts :
« That's it ? You ain't even gonna ask if we know where your little buddies are ? 'cause we know, you know ? »
Fury's voice at the moment, is like the whispers of the devil. And not the nice one from the TV shows either. The Serpent one. Speaking of… Funny how we blame it all on Eve when Adam could - or rather should - have simply got off his fat ass and picked the apple himself if he wasn't such a lazy bastard… I digress. My point is, I almost fall for it… Thankfully, my mom says :
« Yeah… Sorry, Nicky but your intel isn't always right so… We'll work on obtaining our own. » Speaking to herself but in a false-low voice everyone in the office can easily hear, she adds : « I wouldn't trust you people to fetch me a cup of coffee without slipping anything in it… »
To myself, I actually agree with her. If, this reality is one where Hydra has infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., the possibility is more like a surety. Even without them, their scientist would want to know and discover more about our powers so… while they might not act like the Nazis in World War II, they might still conduct some experiments on their prisoners…
People with magic on the other hand ? I doubt they often get their grubby mitts on them, so the idea of them drugging us isn't so far-fetched. If they knew about me before I woke up earlier, I might still be in that room or moved into a more secure one.
With these words, my dad opens the portal and just before crossing the threshold, he directs an apologetic look and shrug at the black man silently seething in anger. Or rather… Seething in Fury, heh !
I can't help the little chuckle from escaping my lips as I jump through my dad's portal, landing us back into the park. I turn to see my mom following right after that and the portal closing on Fury's expression. It's… priceless to see him like this, as if he's bitten into something extremely sour. I've engrave it in my mind, and putting it as my wallpaper on my mental desktop !
« Okay, so… We need some of Cory's stuff. The easiest to get since there's a bunch of it at the house. Guess we gotta go back. Again ! » The last part, I mutter in frustration at my own stupidity.
« No need ! » Mom says as she retrieves Cory's tablet from the bag hanging off her waist. Seeing the silent question on my face, she shrugs and explains :
« I took that in case your first plan didn't pan out. Figured I'd try to scry for her… »
« You wouldn't also happen to have a crystal and a map in this bag of yours, mom, would you ? »
In fact, she does ! As we start working on the spell, I just hope that they're still in the city, because otherwise, we'll have to break down the divination spell in several different ones to narrow down where they are…
With a small string tying it to Cory's tablet, a crystal hangs over the map, its tip pointing and moving by itself. Mom starts with the world map and soon the crystal drops on the general area where New York City is located. So, after a renewed casting of the spell, we again, start the locating spell with a map of the city.
As the movements of the crystal grow more frantic, signaling the fact that it'll soon drop on the map, I hold my breath, keep myself from blinking my eyes. I do all that without realizing of course. So it's no wonder my sight is a little blurry from tears when the crystal finally does indicate where my friend's are.
Looking at it, I read the street's names surrounding the building and where it's located. Normally, that would enough and all I can get from this… The thing is however, this particular building… I know it !
I wouldn't say every New Yorkers know it, but at least quite a number of them do. Almost every cop I'd say, even more those on the man's payroll. Me and my friends, too. Probably other vigilantes such as Daredevil…
Fisk Tower ! The building owned by a supposedly Philanthropist, owner of several charities aiming at helping the city, the city's less fortunates, etc… A rich man whose money is actually covered in the blood, innocents, defenders and criminals alike. A building who belongs to the Kingpin.
« Well… Fuck ! » I mutter under my breath.
Of course I have suspected that's where I would find them. It was almost a certainty but a part of me wanted it to be wrong. Especially since I can't be sure they're still alive if the man's got their hands on them. Wilson Fisk, AKA the Kingpin, is known to be ruthless. If New York was a third world city, he'd be a warlord : kidnapping, training and using child soldiers, killing their families, engaging in gang wars and every criminal traffic known to mankind : sex, drugs, papers, human, etc… And of course, the people crossing him often don't live long.
Then again, perhaps I can count on a bit of Parker luck ? Say anything you want about the guy, but while his luck put him in impossible situation, it also had a knack of getting him out of normally deadly ones on such a regular frequency as to be called a habit. As I think this, I nod to myself as I clap my tentacles together.
« Let's smack around a Mister Clean, Fatso version ! »