Location: New York City
Date: December 31, 1988
Mark POV:
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Mark realized he had absolutely no idea how situations like this were supposed to be handled. The aftermath always seemed to get skipped over in shows and comics. Heroes saved people, villains were defeated, and then the scene cut away before anyone had to deal with what came after.
Looking at the young woman next to him, Mark knew he needed to help her somehow.
With little else he could think to do, he tried channeling the Force into her, hoping it might somehow help her fight through the effects of the drug.
He already knew his Padawan template had not given him any real knowledge of healing. He had discovered that after trying, and failing, to do anything useful for his own cracked ribs.
Then his thoughts caught on something, 'Wait... Kingsfoil. It had eased my pain and seemed to accelerate my recovery.'
More importantly, he had brought a few leaves with him for situations just like this.
'Well... maybe not this situation specifically.' he thought to himself, just as Felicia began to stir.
She turned her head slowly, and stared at his mask for several seconds before asking, in a voice still thick with haze, "Is he gone?"
Then anger began to cut through the fog. Her eyes cleared a little, and along with it the full reality of what had almost happened.
"I'm going to kill him." she said, the words rough but alive.
She tried to move, but whatever strength she had gathered gave out before she could even rise. Her body sagged forward, and Mark caught her with his arm to keep her upright.
His gaze flicked past her. The man who had done this was still in the corner, staring blankly at the wall.
'I cannot risk using Kingsfoil here. If it breaks him out of his… hmm. Not a mind trick exactly. Something adjacent maybe, but that can wait.'
Felicia's voice came out weak, but sharper than before, "Don't look at me. I don't want anyone to see me like this."
"Apologies," he said.
Before she could protest, he shifted her into his arms and lifted her carefully.
Her breath caught, "Wait, what are you doing? Where are you taking me?" and he could feel panic trying to assert itself. Though even that was muted.
"Somewhere safer," he replied calmly. "Away from him."
She relaxed slightly in his arms at that as he crossed the room, and a flick of unseen force pulled the bathroom door open ahead of them.
He carried her into the adjoining bathroom and set her carefully on the counter beside the sink.
Without rushing, he turned on the tap and let the hot water run, filling the basin partway. Then he reached into his new pouch and took out a single leaf of Kingsfoil.
For a moment he simply held it in the palm of his hand, then gently exhaled onto it, before he crushed it between his fingers.
The air changed immediately.
A clean, living freshness spread through the room, as if the air itself awoke and tingled. Mark watched it more clearly this time, more aware of it than before. It was not just scent, the air was almost sparking with joy.
Then he cast the leaf into the sink of steaming water, and at once his heart felt lighter. The fragrance that came brought a deep peace, like a memory of some perfect, forgotten place of beauty.
The effect on Felicia was dramatic. Not visually, but through the Force, Mark could feel the fog in her mind fading away as if captured by the wind.
Her eyes cleared, and her breathing shifted as awareness returned. Confusion first, then sharper focus as the drug's grip weakened.
She swallowed hard.
Mark shifted immediately, one hand steadying her, the other guiding her hair back as she moved off the countertop and vomited into the toilet. He kept her steady without comment, holding her hair away from her face as the worst of it passed.
After she expelled the contents of her stomach and he got her seated again, her attention focused sharply onto him.
"Who the hell are you?" she said, and Mark could suddenly feel her suspicion, and apparently the drawback of his mask's intimidating look. Her emotions were coming in waves now, from relief, to fear, anger, embarrassment, shock, and vulnerability.
He took a step back to give her space and said, "I am a friend."
Her gaze flicked to the bathroom door. Then, one moment she's holding herself together, and the next, "I almost..."
And she could not finish the sentence.
She cried into the blanket still wrapped around her, clutching it with trembling hands. More than once she tried to stop, swallowing hard and wiping angrily at her eyes, only for another wave to hit a few moments later.
Mark decided the best thing he could do was stay close.
Not too close, just there.
After a while she finally managed to speak, "I thought..." Her voice caught and she stopped, swallowing hard before trying again. "I thought nobody would come. I thought..."
Mark was quiet for a moment.
"You are not alone now." he said simply.
She squeezed her eyes shut and turned her face away immediately, furiously wiping at tears.
"I'm okay."
She very obviously was not okay.
Several seconds passed before she asked, "...Where is he?"
Mark glanced toward the other room. He could feel the man presence, unmoved.
"He has been pacified." said Mark, "I will deal with him more permanently soon."
She stared at him for a second before saying, "...Good." then silence settled again before quietly, "Don't leave."
A few seconds passed. Then she seemed to realize what she had said.
"I-I didn't ask for your help."
Then another pause as she looked away, "...I mean...thank you."
"You're welcome." Mark said as he inclined his head.
The silence lasted only a few moments before curiosity finally began pushing through the fear.
"...Who are you?" she asked quietly. Then her eyes narrowed at the mask. "...And what's with that?"
Mark chuckled at that, "...You know, nobody has ever actually asked me that second question before."
For the first time since he had found her, the corner of her mouth twitched upward, just a little.
"It hides my identity," he replied. "Now, how do you feel about getting dressed?"
Felicia stared at him for a moment before narrowing her eyes slightly.
"...Right."
Mark simply nodded.
"I will give you some privacy."
He gathered her clothes from where they had been discarded and carried them into the bathroom, setting them within easy reach before stepping back out.
Only then did his attention return to the man still sitting motionless in the corner.
His expression hardened beneath the mask.
For a brief moment, the thought crossed his mind, 'Kill him.' but it vanished almost as quickly as it appeared.
'No. The Purple Man had been different. He had been a walking disaster that would keep hurting people simply by existing. Even the Joker was not as bad, probably. But if I start finding reasons to kill every monster I meet, eventually I'll stop needing reasons at all.'
Not a perfect code to live by, but enough for now.
His eyes settled on the man.
This guy would need to get sent to jail asap, but calling the police did not seem like the most effective move. Then, looking at the man staring at the wall, Mark go an idea.
With another push against the man's mind with the Force, he asked, "Have you done this before?"
The man flinched as if he had suddenly been woken up. But he looked toward Mark with clear eyes again and answered, "...Yes."
"How many others?" he asked the man, as he felt his jaw tighten.
"...Five."
Mark paused before, "Have you committed any other serious crimes?"
"...Yes."
He took several deep breaths as he stared at the man for several seconds.
"Get dressed." and with a flick of his hand the man's clothes slid across the room and dropped into his lap. Wide-eyed fear immediately spread across his face, but he hurriedly obeyed.
Once he finished Mark gathered the Force once more pushed his will against the man's mind.
Something he already disliked doing.
He felt resistance, fear, then acceptance. It was an ugly feeling.
"You are going to walk into the nearest police station and confess everything. Everything."
Mark's voice dropped.
"And understand this."
He leaned slightly forward.
"I found you once."
A tremor ran through the man's body.
"If you run, if you lie, if you hurt anyone again..."
Silence.
"You won't get another chance."
The man nodded weakly.
A moment later he walked from the room without another word.
Mark watched the door close and thought, 'Well, I wonder what the police will think of that.'
Some time later Felicia came out of the bathroom fully dressed. Mark was standing across the room looking out the window with his back to her.
"Would you like me to watch over you from a distance until you get home?" he asked.
"I don't need a babysitter," she shot back immediately. But her voice was still a little shaky and he could feel her anxiety.
After a long pause, "...but I'd appreciate not being alone right now."
He could see her reflection in the window as she looked away for a moment, thinking. Then quietly she asked, "...From a distance?"
"If that's what you want."
A long silence followed.
"...Okay."
---
Felicia stopped at the entrance to the building Mark assumed she lived in and glanced back over the street. For a moment she just stood there and Mark reached out lightly through the Force.
Her head lifted and she found him standing near the edge of the rooftop, where she could see him.
He felt her anxiety ease and then she went inside.
Mark stayed where he was, quietly feeling her presence as she crossed the lobby, stepped into the elevator, and finally reached her apartment.
Only then did he turn and leave for home.
A few minutes later, New Year's fireworks burst across the city skyline.
Mark looked up as another explosion of color spread across the night.
"Happy New Year, Marvel. I have a feeling this one is going to be interesting."
-----
Location: New York City, Stacy Residence
Date: January 2, 1989
George Stacy POV:
George knew something was up the moment he walked through the apartment door.
Years of police work had trained him to notice details, but being Gwen's father had given him an entirely different education. She was sitting on the couch with a textbook open on her lap and the television playing quietly in the background.
The book wasn't upside down, but it might as well have been because she clearly wasn't reading it. She was waiting for him.
"Gwen." he said, loosening his tie as he watched her carefully.
"Hey, Dad," she said, looking up just a little too quickly.
George hung his coat by the door and kept watching her.
Normally she would already be talking. Gwen never had trouble filling silence. There was usually something about school, music, a complaint about homework, or some strange story about her day.
Tonight she was sitting there waiting for him to say something first, and that immediately made him suspicious.
He sat down in his chair and looked at her.
"Okay, what happened?"
"What? I can't greet my loving father?" she said, as she placed a hand dramatically over her chest.
George snorted, "You can. You usually don't look like you're preparing an alibi when you do it."
"I was just curious about something."
"Mm-hmm." he said, as he leaned back.
"I heard a rumor at school about a guy in a black mask, kinda tall. I was curious if you knew anything?"
Alarms immediately started going off in his head.
"Why?"
Gwen shrugged with forced casualness, "I don't know. Just somebody I heard about."
George studied her face. He had been a detective for a long time and he knew most people thought lies lived in words, but they usually lived everywhere else.
And now he had questions he did not like, 'How did she know him? How close had she gotten?'
"Stay away from him."
Gwen frowned, "Dad, I wasn't-"
"No." he leaned forward. "Listen to me very carefully."
His voice had changed. He was not a police captain now, he was a father worried about his little girl, "He is connected to a homicide investigation."
Gwen's face shifted, but not because of the words.
"You can tell me anything Gwen. If you know something, I will listen."
For a moment she almost did, almost. Instead she looked away, "...I was just curious."
George watched her for several seconds.
Then sighed, because he knew that wasn't true.
-----
Location: The Labyrinth City Orario
Rose Fannett was looking over the latest dungeon casualty reports after helping an adventurer at the Guild reception.
The numbers had finally begun returning to normal.
Three months ago, adventurers throughout the Dungeon had started reporting strange abnormalities. Monsters had appeared with subtle but dangerous alterations. Greater aggression, unusual abilities, unexpected behavior patterns. Individually the changes seemed minor.
Together they had been lethal.
Even experienced adventurers had died during the first weeks before people adapted.
But now the reports had quieted. The familias had adjusted as new tactics against the monster variants were developed, and life was returning to normal.
Still, Rose could not help but worry, like much the rest of the city.
Nothing quite like this had ever happened before.
---
Meanwhile, deep beneath the surface, the Dungeon had begun to stir.
Something subtle had brushed against the fabric of reality itself. A tearing, followed by a reknitting of the veil between worlds. The disturbance had been brief and incomprehensible, yet the Dungeon interpreted it as it interpreted nearly all things.
A threat.
Its first response had been instinctive. The monsters born from it began to change as the Dungeon quietly adjusted and strengthened them, adapting to an enemy it could neither identify nor understand.
But deep beyond mortal knowledge, in the depths no living soul had ever reached, and beyond even the awareness of the gods above, another response had already begun.
Long ago the Dungeon had birthed calamities that scourged land, sea, and sky. Now, in the ancient darkness it had begun shaping something new. An answer to a danger for which it possessed neither name nor comprehension.
In those deepest places of the world, something had begun to grow, slowly taking form in the darkness.
-----
A.N. - Hello all and hope you enjoyed the chapter.
I was thinking about some of the future Marvel stories and that many of them include time travel.
Time travel usually causes all kinds of problems in most stories and I was thinking about not including it at all.
But I would need to decide what to do regarding things like Kang the Conqueror, the Time Stone, Days of Future Past, etc.
I have not made any decisions yet and I am open to suggestions. How do you think time travel should be handled or is it no big deal?
Thank you for reading.