Tuesday July 24, 2018: Unknown: Middle of the night

  I woke up briefly in the middle of the night with an entirely different, more present, more reassuring body pressed against me, her head on my chest, and the regular second body of Bright-Eyes curled up a little lower than usual. They were both still asleep while I watched them. I first looked at the sources of skin on skin contact, and smiled with memories. I looked at the other, sleeping cat, laying on the bedroll that was over the two of us, and realized that she must have jumped up after we… went to sleep. I looked back at Amber, her pendant still proudly around her neck, and that chain belt around her waist, and not much else, and I wondered if I was going to be good with her being so far away for so long. Maybe I can do one final thing to try to get her to progress even faster. I went back to sleep and started to dream.

  **********

  Tuesday July 24, 2018: Unknown: morning?

  After going back to sleep, while holding Amber tight, I had a d????????????????r?????????????????????????????e???????????????????a???????m??????????????????.

  The Black Butterfly was there, and I approached her, asking for her help. The Mistress of the Dark Between the Stars asked me what I would seek help with this time. I told her that my significant other was going to pursue a dangerous and difficult path, and that I would like for her to receive whatever aid I could have rendered. The Black Butterfly cautioned me that I would be bringing Amber more fully into my world than she would be even with the regular training. I told my Patron that if Amber was willing to work as hard as she was going to have to, what right did I have not to sacrifice as much as I could to clear the way for her? My Patron seemed to ponder this for a few minutes, before declaring that she would not GIVE power to Amber, that she would remove hindrances for her, and allow the possibility of this path, but that she would have to take this route herself, of her own decision and volition. She added that this would not be immediate, that she would have to work for it. I felt the Black Butterfly resonate with power, and I could feel it flow through me into the woman next to me, outside of the dreamscape.

  When I woke up I could see the faintest hint of a black butterfly shadow covering Amber’s eyes, but it disappeared as I stirred too much and she woke up, looking right at me. She quietly muttered, “Good Morning.” with a big smile across her face. She stretched while still laying down, and the bedroll stayed where it was, anchored in place by Bright-Eyes, allowing more of her pale skin to be exposed. She must have noticed me watching her, because she asked me if I liked what I saw.

  I was dumbfounded on how to properly answer such an obvious question, and told her that of course I did. Amber giggled, and said that she didn’t know if she might actually mind staying in this tent, instead of going out to get beat up repeatedly over a month. I shrugged and said that she at least got to have ready access to magical healing, as magical healing doesn’t scar. She ran a gentle hand over my chest, where my pearly white spindle Ioun stone had been self implanted, and she asked if I had had this done before I had left my old world. I told her that no, I did the surgery on myself, with Rex assisting me. She looked at me a bit shocked and asked if I meant to tell her that I had cut an incision into my chest, implanted a stone, and let it heal around it.

  I told her that I also used magic to make it stick firmly to the bone until the healing process could cement it in more thoroughly, and then used magic to help heal it. Amber looked at me even more worried, and I told her that she needed to do no such thing. I told her that this was just something that I needed to do to make sure that I could still help the city, even when I am wounded. Amber hugged me harder and told me that she didn’t like that I had had to go to those kinds of measures. I told her that I really didn’t intend to do it again, it was just that this item, which helps me regenerate, similar to the end of her chain belt, will even help me recover from almost the point of death, slowly, but only as long as it is connected to my body, so I couldn’t trust it on a hand or anything like that.

  Amber sighed and cuddled back up with me, and asked if we really needed to get out of bed. I told her that if we didn’t Hawkeye MIGHT just come into the storage unit and he might see us in a… compromising position. She got a wild look in her eyes as she looked back at me when I had said that, and suddenly, Bright-Eyes jumped off of me as I felt Amber push at the cat from underneath the blanket. She pulled herself over me, and asked me what kind of compromising position did I have in mind? I didn’t have an answer, but apparently, she already did.

  ************

  Tuesday July 24, 2018: 9:00 AM

  We… We spent a fair amount of time again, until my alarms told me that we were getting dangerously close to eight in the morning. I didn’t want to let her up, and she didn’t want to get up, but we both realized it would be better to be up and ready, assuming that Clint decided to be sneaky. That was when I heard it. I heard Clint clear his throat and then his voice yelled out that if we were done in here, it wasn’t going to be long until The Cavalry got here. Amber actually meeped initially, then she giggled, then she kissed me furiously, before getting up and getting dressed into much of what she was wearing before we fell into the cots, and her last piece was my old tunic, whispering that she was going to take this with her.

  She instantly changed her tunic dress into the same outfit that she had worn when Hawkeye had arrived here last night. I quickly got dressed in my items, all of them, including my Power Suit and my Umbral Zephyr, while she started to confidently walk out to go meet with the Avenger and get something put together for breakfast, from the Field Provision Box. Before she could, I playfully smacked her ass, and she looked back at me, biting her lip, before she shook it off and headed out to be the level headed and socially aware one of the two of us. While I was finishing getting ready, I sent a mental curse in Rex’s direction, and he just replied back to me, exhaustion and irritation about not being able to sleep from noise last night. I sighed and sent a mental apology to him, and a promise of more space soon.

  I heard her say to Clint, right after she walked out of the curtain, “Good Morning Clint, we were just finishing up… saying goodbye. Since we are going to be apart for a while.” Clint responded back that it was understandable, and that it was the shifty pterodactyl that let him in. The realization that Rex had not just let Clint in, but had set us up was a bit of an annoyance. E tu, Rex Pelor?

  I walked out to the main area of the tent, where Rex had let Clint into, and where he was curled up in the corner, with kittens on him, rumbling away, and looking completely innocent of all charges. I muttered in Draconic that he wasn’t fooling anyone. One of the sleeping kittens roared back, in a good rendition of Draconic, “Fear Me”, the phrase Rex was teaching them to use as a howl or a roar. Just what this world needs, dragon-cats. I sat down at the floating table, and informed Amber that I would have different chairs before she came back. She smiled, put food out for Clint, and the two of us, sitting down on my lap, as she told me that whatever I made had to be… sturdy enough for use.

  Clint had a kind of dryness about his humor when he told us to wait to see how chipper we are when there are two or three kids hanging around. I caught a gleam in Amber’s eye when she heard that. She said that it would be at least a little while before we even considered that. Clint smiled and offered up that Amber had a good head about her, for all of this, and the breakfast. She thanked him and he offered up that seeing me enchant things was an interesting experience to begin with, something that she wasn’t in any way ready to experience when she did, but was thankful for none the less. Amber smiled and added that she just knew that there was something magical about me when she first met me, before looking at me with a wink.

  We had our meal, and Amber learned that Clint had lost people in the Snap, and she apologized for that. Clint told her that he had been taking it really rough, until he met me and we talked. He said that I had pointed out that, no matter what, he should behave like they are still around, because even if they have passed, he wouldn’t want to go someplace other than where they went, and that is only if they aren’t as I had said, possibly shifted temporally. Amber looked at me and I admitted that I had seen a LOT of different ways that people could die, and even with Disintegration, there was still some dust or particles that remained, so for the ones who disappeared to leave nothing, means that there wasn’t a death, whereas teleportation or similar relocation magic doesn’t leave a trace. Amber hugged me and placed my hand between her knees as she said that this makes sense in a way.

  When we were finished, almost as if she was waiting to hear, we heard a knock at the roll up door. Amber got up off of my lap, and went over to the roll-up door, and lifted it up, to see Agent May’s waiting face. Agent May came in on her own, and looked at both Clint and I, nodding her head at Clint with respect. He responded back with a similar nod, and Agent May asked Amber if she had everything that she would need to start training. I mentioned that we still had not received Amber’s effects from her apartment. Agent May said that everything was in a storage facility for now, and that she would be provided clothing and other minor gear in the crash course.

  Amber looked back at me, and I stood up and walked over to her. Amber said that she knows that she puts on a brave face, but that this could be really difficult. I placed my hand under her chin, and told her that I was certain that she could do this. Amber smiled and her confidence seemed renewed, before telling me that she loved hearing me say that. Amber straightened up and said that she was going to become the best that she could be, for herself, and for me.

  We shared an embrace for a good period of time until I heard Agent May clear her throat. We kissed goodbye, and Amber walked over to Agent May. I reminded Amber that I was proud of her, and that I can’t wait for her to get back. Clint stood and walked over to shake Amber’s hand. She embraced him in a hug, and she whispered to him that she was certain that he was doing his family proud.

  The two of them left from the unit, made their way to another S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV, and the two of us watched as the two of them drove off. Clint clapped me on the back and said that Amber was currently learning from the best, and that if anyone can pull out her hidden potential, it would be Agent May. I nodded and said that Agent May had always struck me as one of the best, when I had met her before. Clint kind of gave me a side eye, before I recommended that we head back inside to discuss what kinds of upgrades he is looking for. Clint snickered and said, right to business, huh?

  I shrugged and said that the only thing that was worthwhile to distract me from trying to improve this city, just left it, so I might as well get back on the clock, and ensure that the next place is worthy of her. Clint smiled and we walked back inside. I mentally thought to Rex that he could feel free to curl up on the cot that was remaining in the guest room if he wanted, because we were about to get loud with crafting. Rex got up carefully, shook, and led his troupe (with Bright-Eyes in the lead), into the guest room and I heard the soft thump of him landing on the cot.

  With that out of the way, I told Hawkeye that I had something that he should see, and telepathically summoned the Mini-Avengers, showing him the group of eight dedicated wrights sculpted to look like the Avengers: Ironman, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Hawkeye, War Machine, Hulk, and Wong. I told Hawkeye that these miniature Avengers were actually dedicated constructs that help expand how much I can make. I told him that it increases how much I can make in a day up to ninefold. Before Clint could bring up anything else, I stopped him and presented the ideas that I had had previously worked up for him, and we can work around that. Clint looked at me oddly, and I told him that I had promised him some things, and that I was going to deliver on them, but I had had some ideas float into my mind from time to time, and I wrote them down.

  With little fanfare, I started with the most obvious item. I pointed to his technological quiver, and told him directly that this is one of the things I intend to enhance. Where his quiver can normally hold thirty two total arrows, with sixteen in each side, it will now be expanded, non-dimensionally, to hold sixty arrows in each side, for almost quadruple the amount of ammunition. I added that there will be a third section in the middle, that will allow him to store up to six items the length and size of a bow or spear, and that he will be able to produce whatever is in there as fast as he would normally be able to produce a regular arrow. I added that there will also be a pouch on the front of the chest strap that will have a secret feature. When he says a command word, an extradimensional portal will be accessible that can hold up to ten pounds of materials.

  Before he could do much, I presented my second drawing, a pair of fingerless, dull, dark gray leather gloves that can allow the wearer to see and hear through material no more than five feet thick, by placing both hands on the material. The wearer can use the gloves for up to one minute, once a day. They also offer temporary increases in the physical deftness of the wearer, giving quick boosts to physical deftness and even accuracy with ranged attacks. Both of these effects are commanded by different words, which shall be picked before the item is enchanted. I told him that I figured that these could give him a boost to both sneaking around, and putting enemies down.

  Thirdly, I presented the next drawing, which was a stylized pair of dull, dark gray hiking boots, which I explained will perform a couple of different features, that they provide bonuses to performing athletic activities, and even increase one’s ability to move stealthily. Coupled with this, is a limited ability to teleport short distances. This ability is up to one hundred feet a day, but it is broken up into five, twenty foot jumps. You can combine the smaller jumps, but it comes at the cost of actual distance. Also, the boots decrease the amount that one would suffer from a fall, and ensure that you always land on your feet.

  Next, I told him that I planned on enhancing his visual capabilities by upgrading his goggles. I showed him the breakdown of the next options for his goggles, how they will generally increase all of his perceptive capabilities, and further, allow him to see how injured someone is, to easier decide which actions need to be undertaken. Also, as a side benefit, they will allow Clint to identify those entities that are Undead or Constructs - like Life Model Decoys. Finally, they allow him to change the tint of the lenses, from clear to mirrored, on a whim. They are upgrades of the SHAPE Goggles that the first responders here in Norfolk are getting.

  Next, I presented an enchantment to his regular bracers, showing him my schematics and description of what the new features will do. I told him how this upgrade will reduce the amount of damage he might get from most ranged weapon attacks, and provide a minor deflective field from them. Also, one time a day, one of his shots can be almost guaranteed to hit, ignoring cover, concealment, and providing a massive boost to his chance to hit. We are talking about a trick shot that automatically targets the weakest point of a target, a one millimeter thick gap in a chitauri leviathan armor, a control panel on a moving Ultron Drone, or a similarly hard target. That level of precision will be feasible and viable with these bracers.

  After that one, I presented the next sheet and description, a sleeveless dull, dark gray, hooded vest for him to wear over his armor. It looks to be decorated with extremely faint scale embroidery that is only slightly darker than the vest, with a subtle design of dragon wings on the back done up in the same embroidery. When the vest is activated, the wings unfold and allow him to temporarily fly, for up to thirty seconds, up to a distance of one thousand, two hundred feet, up to five times a day. I added that this vest also has a disguise feature, that allows it to change whatever Clint is wearing, at will. This should help with his attempts to infiltrate villain sanctums.

  I stopped for a beat there, and told him that the last three items I had considered were basically just utility, but that they could definitely help him, starting off with a standby for me, a dark green crystal that will make him even harder to hit with ranged weapons but is required to be attached to his armor to function, and it can be swapped between sets of armor, an enhancement to his S.H.I.E.L.D. issued armor to make him slightly more protected and even more stealthy, and finally, a poncho that will do a large variety of utilitarian and useful things, it protects the wearer against some of the hazards and discomforts of outdoor travel. The wearer resists cold as if affected by an endure elements (cold) spell. Furthermore, the poncho sheds precipitation, keeping dry the area of the body covered by the poncho (head to knees). In addition, three times per day, the wearer can reach into one of the pockets of the poncho and pull out trail rations sufficient to feed himself. From another pocket, the wearer may withdraw a stoppered one quart metal flask that produces either pure cool water, whiskey, mead, or hot coffee (prepared to taste automatically). The flask produces up to two gallons of liquid per day. The flask only refills if placed back in the pocket of the poncho; if separated from the poncho or wearer, it has no magical properties. Finally, when the wearer utters a command word, the poncho expands once per day to the size of a one person tent.

  I finished my improvised speech and sat there, waiting for Clint to make any requested suggestions or alterations. I asked him if he would like some time to consider anything, but he shook his head. He asked me if I could really get all of this done in a day. I told him that it would be rough, and that it MIGHT take a bit more than the eight hours I usually allot for any crafting, but with Amber gone, I didn’t have much to do except for working with or for the city, or S.H.I.E.L.D., or making sure that everything is set up for when she gets back. Clint nodded and then asked a big question, how much of what Jonathan had sent him about the engagement being a total accident was true.

  I sighed, and told him that this required a large amount of information about my background to make sense, and started going back over everything and expanding on what was needed. I told him how I was trained in science and magic by someone who came from this world, or one very much like it, to the extent that he had made a magical version of a quinjet there. I went on to tell Clint how this person was bringing the concepts of Science to Magic and merging them there, slowly, by propagating the thoughts. I added that this teacher had been drinking with the class one night, relaxing with his wife, when he brought up how his first few weeks on this world were… strained romantically. He explained that on his homeworld, there wasn’t magic for healing diseases, and many peoples had been taken low by diseases spread from foreigners. He added that he did not want that chance to happen, so first opportunity he had, he went straight to the strongest cleric he could, and had them cast a full spectrum Heal spell on him.

  His wife, Savah, who owns an armory there in the burgeoning town, laughed and told us all that she just thought that he was not interested in her advances. Once he came back from that trip to Magnimar however, there was no holding them back. She joked about how they started having “fun” in a room that had zero gravity at one point, in the local dungeon, after it had been cleared out. My teacher’s ears burned red with embarrassment at that. The teacher spoke up and said that he wasn’t about to be a “Typhoid Mary” for the populace, and getting that Heal spell was THE best expense he had ever had, especially now that he had children on his new world with his wife.

  I finished with telling Clint that I had given any kind of romantic endeavor a hard block in my head, despite what I might think about the person, because I didn’t want to introduce that kind of thing. The first day that I had met Amber, I had been attracted to her, but I couldn’t dare dream of taking her away from any potential romance she might have, with me not having a way to get the certainty of that kind of healing ever. It would not be fair to her, so I bottled my feelings up and pushed them aside. Amber, for her part, had been making more and more subtle and supportive gestures until I had left the Hotel, and even after. Hell, she was the one who had been one of my biggest supporters online, and had even been the one who had pushed for my name, instead of calling me something stupid like the Green Arrow, after I took out that one gang with a children’s bow and arrow set.

  Then, after I was injured by the drones, she was one of the people who checked up on me. She, along with you Avengers, were the ones that showed that they cared. Then, she contacted me almost immediately after my identity was revealed publicly, wanting to check to make sure I was still good. She showed me that she cared, and I was too oblivious to recognize it. Even though I was enamored with her, I was still postponing everything, hoping to find a way to get what I consider the required healing, and that if she was still open and amenable, I could begin courting her then. I guess, I continued, that my subconscious was very… focused on her when I made that pendant, because when the failure happened, it shunted the extra value into the material value of the pendant. Maybe my subconscious was telling me that I should get my ass off the seat and put a move in.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Then there was the meeting. I was going to try to find someplace, discreet, to explain to her what the pendant can do. So, Bob Marcus sends me to Saltine for Sunday Brunch, thinking I meant some other kind of discreet, and the rest, as you know, is recent history. Clint chewed on all of that for a minute, and then perked up on something, asking me if the term that my mentor had used was really “Typhoid Mary”. I told him that it was, and he also referenced some things called “Smallpox Blankets” and the “Black Death”. Something glinted in Clint’s eyes, and he asked where my mentor said that he was from again.

  I realized that I had not told him, and apologized, before telling him that my teacher (I specified) was from Virginia, had formerly been in the Navy, as a “Power Plant Operator”. I told him that he had admitted that when he found the exact same set up in a city in Varisia, he literally moved “building and land” to get it to a place where he could run it safely. That was ten years ago, and now all of Sandpoint and Magnimar have electrical power and certain things are becoming more common. I added that even automobiles and motorcycles are not uncommon there, but they are all almost entirely magically driven instead of internal combustion engines. Clint looked at me oddly and I told him that my teacher had prepared eight different subjects for his students, and they each had an hour and a half window every other day, and they consisted of Applied Mathematics, Physics and Engineering, Mechanics and Ballistics, Biology and Health, Logic and Philosophy, Chemistry and Material Sciences, Agricultural science and Resource Management, and Applied Metaphysics and Magitech Integration.

  I went on to tell him that the teacher who founded the place, chose to name it the Sandpoint Hinterlands Institute of Technology, or the S.H.I. of T. and that they were approved for tutelage there on a four month basis. Also, David, the Main Teacher had an exchange program with some of the magical schools in the area, that he had his own dedicated wrights, ones that looked like a bulkier version of Tony's Armor, like that suit that was seen in Africa fighting the Hulk, and when David was needed for saving the area from monsters, he used a techno-magical suit of powered armor. Clint listened intently as I had explained a lot of the various details of my teacher who had come from some place like here to engineer and entire start to a magi-tech school. After a half an hour of exposition, I wrap it up, stand up, stretch, and ask Clint if he wanted to be here for the enchanting, or if he would rather spend some time wandering around the city, he can take a patrol.

  Clint kind of sighed and said that he’d prefer to be able to move around and get some actual progress in. I laughed and said that since his armor was going to be enchanted, he could wear mine. Clint looked over at the old armor still on the mannequin, and started to say that he would pass. I smiled and told him that my new armor would automatically refit. He looked a little interested, but then declined, saying that he would just do a casual walk around and see what was going on.

  I nodded and told him that we should plan a more thorough run through when I am done enchanting, as you can use it to get accustomed to your new gear. Clint says that this makes sense, because it can take some time to get accommodated to new equipment. Clint nodded and bid me good luck as he went to leave the Tent and then the Storage Unit. With distractions done, I started on getting all of the Mini-Avengers together to start the mass of work. I laid out everything before me, and Clint’s collected stash of gems and jewels, and decided to write down everything first, just so that I don’t miss anything later.

  ************

  Tuesday July 24, 2018: 9:00 PM

  I was done with the full enchanting process by eight, with Clint getting back just about then too. I wiped the sweat from my brow, and whistled, telling him that it took ALL of the daily capability of the dedicated wrights, but everything on the list was completed, and ready for you to try on. I showed Clint the table where all of his new gear was located, and told him to go ahead and read the exact sheets for the items, and to start equipping them. Clint started reading the documents and started putting on everything. I equipped myself while he was getting ready, and by the time that I was done, so was he.

  We exited the storage unit and both got on our S.H.I.E.L.D. motorcycle & E-Bike. Clint was watching people as we rode by, looking for any issues that might pop up. A lot of people were waving to us, yelling ‘Hey Verdigris’, and ‘Is… Is that Hawkeye?’. After a few laps, I signaled to Hawkeye to pull over before we headed into Huntersville. We went to a small shop, and parked. He lifted up the visor of his helmet and asked what I had caught.

  I shrugged, and looked over at the brick wall of the shop. A crumbled piece was on the ground. I walked over and held it between my fingers. I cast my Ears of the City spell and got flashes of the past almost two days seeing rumors and discussions happening in the city around us. I saw a lot of rumors about Amber and me, and I put them to the side, until I found a group of people who were discussing a new pair of troublemakers that were making small hits towards warehouses that were still storing supplies.

  I caught a glimpse of them, in a follow-up vision, a burly man and a slightly thinner guy who looked more fidgety. The burlier one was wearing a worn set of S.H.I.E.L.D. armor with a faded, obscured S.H.I.E.L.D. patch on it. The other had his hand by his waist almost instinctively. Finally, I caught a rumor about where they were storing their ill-gotten gains. I noted the address and spent the last half a minute or so of real time pondering any other rumors about them.

  Something did stick out though, in that one of them, the twitchy one, had said some worse than unfavorable things regarding Amber, in public, after seeing her in the media. It wasn’t anything drastic, but, maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. could use this person as the basis for their “Ghost Villain”? I’m taking him down either way, I mean, he is stealing needed supplies from the people around here to make himself comfortable. That in and of itself means that he has to go. And, if we get two birds with one stone, so be it.

  I came out of the spell and immediately walked back over to Hawkeye, to give him a rundown on what I saw. He told me that the burly guy sounded like he was an ex S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, probably one of Rumlow’s, that had escaped in the Chaos after HYDRA had gotten exposed, and the twitchy guy seems like a former military person, maybe a Sniper who went over the deep end, maybe even before the Snap. I nodded and then filled Clint in on exactly what I had told to Jonathan, about my “Nuclear Profile” regarding Amber, and how, even without actually doing the deed, maybe we can use this… reprobate… to fulfill the “Ghost Villain” that we had started to scheme up. I started planning and asked Hawkeye if I could run some ideas past him. Hawkeye agreed and then I gave him the briefest snippets of what I was thinking about doing.

  After hearing it all, he told me that this might be the most chilling thing he has seen in a while, and that this isn’t just a take down, it is a severe psychological operation, let's do it. I contacted Jonathan, and advised him on what I was planning, with the criminals that had just been dropped in our laps. It took a few minutes, but he got back to me and asked if we had picked out a name yet. I told him that Clint and I had thought that Kanczar sounded like a suitably vicious name. Jonathan wrote back that it sounded good at least, and asked what I thought he should be “reported” as having done to Amber.

  I told him that we should just leave it as “unspeakable” and that “Amber needed to be taken for special recovery and treatment” for the month that she is actually in training. Jonathan wrote back that it neatly ties up her disappearance, and that good people likely wouldn’t even question her about it, thinking it being absolutely horrific that it wasn’t even mentioned. I asked if S.H.I.E.L.D. could make some backstory for this fictional Kanczar, maybe some disturbing criminal activity that might hint to horrendous actions, but the victims and physical evidence can’t be found to refute it. Finally, I told him that we would get a video of the event, and that I would be passing it, the perp, and the “soul crystal” prop to S.H.I.E.L.D., where he can be booked under his real name, so that no one has any record of the body of Kanczar being picked up or incarcerated.

  Clint and I got back on our vehicles and headed to their lair. We parked a fair distance away, and we both got into the shadows. Clint himself noticed how much more difficult it was to make out from the depths of the shadow, and acknowledged the progress to himself. When we got within distance of the warehouse, we both took to the rooftops, me via my armor’s airwalking ability and Clint via his new Winged Flight from his Robb in the Hood Tunic. Sticking to the shadows of the late day, we got within a few dozen feet of an upper level window, with a clear view into the warehouse, and who was there.

  Hawkeye almost vocally blessed the goggles, giving him that massive capability with his new visual acuity that was allowing him to pick out the smallest of details. We ducked back behind the parapet of the rooftop we were on, and I told him that we can go in there heavily, if he wants. Hawkeye said that he’d deal with the Ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent and leave me to deal with the Sniper. I offered that we could teleport in there, under the veil of an illusion, set up the cameras where they could do the best good, if there are not any there already, and then we can take each out on our own. Hawkeye produced a pair of cameras, and said that he’d sneak around and set these up, and that his attack on his target would signal my attack on mine.

  I agreed to this and started us off strong. I cast Quieting Weapon on my cesti, Good Hope on the both of us, then Displacement on myself, and Haste on both of us. Then I hit him with Vanish, before I did the same for myself. Not knowing exactly where Clint was, I teleported forty feet to be just next to the twitchy guy. Not close enough for him to notice where I was, but enough for him to be more than a little unnerved by the sudden displacement of air.

  After eighteen seconds, I saw Hawkeye materialize out of the darkness next to the Burly Ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, and start absolutely dismantling him. I quickly dropped into my Body of Night Stance, and got into position. With the Sniper thinking fast and trying to raise his weapon to draw a bead on Hawkeye, I materialized from out of nowhere, grabbed him with my off hand, and yelled out, while punching him, “You” (strong punch to his stomach, hitting him with an Iron Fang enhanced punch, causing him to start to double over, my Quieting Weapons spell muffling his vocal responses to a hoarse whisper) “ are going to get what you deserve”, a strong right across his jaw, busting out some teeth as I hit him with a punch enhanced with Weak Venom Prana, causing him to lose some of his strength and his footing “for doing THAT to Amber.”, then hitting him with Sight Piercing Fang, temporarily blinding him with a vicious cross, making sure that I spared no vitriol for the word THAT.

  The sniper was only barely clinging to consciousness, as I let him go, almost falling over before I came through with a vicious uppercut, lifting him fully off the floor, his feet flying up in the air a good three feet as his body fell back. The fall looked like it broke his neck. I looked down at his battered body and said, “No. Your punishment was too easy, Kanczar. You must suffer ETERNALLY for what you did to her. I MUST remove you from the memory of the world, so that no one even remembers you.”, as I pulled out the heavy, fist sized chunk of quartz, from inside my pocket. I placed it on his chest, and, standing over his prone form, I started portraying a fell ritual, using the blade of my cesti to cut open a wound on my palm, to add blood to the ritual, which was really just a bit of conjuring from that active Prestidigitation spell, and using Draconic to repeatedly utter, “For your transgressions, your Soul is forfeit. I pronounce judgement upon you.”. While I did that, I performed Mundras while blending them into the somatic components needed to do the real casting, and I started my chain casting of Minor Lasting Image, starting at his feet, and slowly rising up his legs, surrounding his prone form with sickly black tipped green flames.

  I also, slowly, recolored his clothing and skin, in each cubic foot, to be a sickly grey, shortly after the flames would spring up. Slowly, over the course of a minute of chanting and secretly continuing the casting of Minor Lasting Images, bringing the black tipped green flames up his body from his feet to his chest. When the illusionary flames got to his head, his unconscious mouth opened in a horrible rictus of pain and unearthly torment, screaming silently (using my Prestidigitation to create this effect), as a chorus of unintelligible quiet ethereal voices seemed to harmonize with my own and echo around me. When the flames finally surrounded his whole body, I used Prestidigitation again, to have my Eyes glow in the same greenish-black flame. With a final pronunciation of the repeated Draconic phrase, I cast a final Minor Lasting Image into the crystal chunk, turning it smoky and having a sickly greenish candle light flame flickering in the inside. I lifted the stone with a minor effect of Prestidigitation and brought it into my hand, and used a final Vanish spell to cause the body to disappear, leaving the continually burning outline of Kanczar’s falling location.

  I used Prestidigitation to cause the horrendous sound for the cameras to pick up and have S.H.I.E.L.D. to use for their sound effects. By this time, Hawkeye had dealt with his Ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. bruiser, and had called in S.H.I.E.L.D. to come in and collect the bodies. I took that “Soul Crystal” prop and thought for a second before asking Clint if he thought that “Kanczar” would go to a cold hell, or a hot hell? Clint thought about it for a minute and sagely nodded that for the kinds of crimes that this “Kanczar” would have committed, he would go to a cold hell, for his memory to be frozen away. I thanked him, and cast my Constant Cold spell on the quartz, while keeping the visuals from the Illusion operational, also expending the last of my arcane energy for the day.

  Clint gave me a look, and I told him that now, the stone will emit a chill that will cool down a room, its touch will cause severe frostbite, and the area it is in will be no hotter than thirty-five degrees Fahrenheit. It should sell the effect even more, now that it has an actual physical, tangible effect, and specifically one that will injure someone if they have prolonged contact with it.

  Clint looked at the crystal, and back at me properly, before asking me how much of that was planned and how much was on the cuff? I shrugged and told him that the general outline was there, but I didn’t expect him to fall like a tree within nine seconds of first contact. All of the rest were just a floating idea, to bring into effect something horrendous, but also give them an out for why they didn’t remember dealing with this villain before.

  Clint nodded along to my explanation and when I was done, asked me if this was really where my mind went to. I told Clint that since I served on the S.C.R.U.M. unit back in Magnimar, it wasn’t even the worst thing I had ever seen. Clint looked at me and I explained that the job that I was doing back in Magnimar after the training, was being a detective for the city, and that I was assigned to the unit that dealt with Slavers, Cults, Rituals, Undesirable, and Monsters, or S.C.R.U.M. I added that David seemed really keen on acronyms and initialisms. Clint joked and asked if I was really a policeman back where I was from.

  I shrugged, and said that it was more that I was a detective that worked with them, and was paid by the job. Mainly, I tried to stop the Slavers and such, and had a fairly good rapport with the vendors in the Bazaar of Sails, the souk for the city. A couple times a year, the various detectives would get hired to go into the sewers and catacombs beneath the city to deal with the various cults that end up forming in the interim. I told him that I wouldn’t tell him what gods, devils, demons, and other entities that they worshiped, just that they were foul things and the things that they did put my little display to shame. I just used what I thought would be easy enough to be scary for a criminal, I mean, it should have accomplished a few distinct things.

  I told him that the first thing was that it should actually make criminals realize that there was actually an afterlife, and that they could be punished eternally in it. I told him second, that it showed them that they might think someone is an easy target, but there is no telling what that person might mean to someone else. I finally said that third, that someone might be able to do a massive effect that could possibly affect everyone in the world’s memories. The fear of a vector that was unknown but is now definitive should be enough to make some balk immediately, and maybe even turn over a new leaf. I finished by telling Clint that if it didn’t work, and they tried something that was bad enough for me to do it, they know the minimum to expect.

  We waited the rest of the time for the S.H.I.E.L.D. team to make it to the warehouse, and they were led by Jonathan. He took one look at the condition of the two criminals, and said that this was a good catch. Clint handed him the sim cards from two of the cameras that he had set up, and told Jonathan that he might want to prepare himself before he watches this, pointing at the still burning green flames with blackened tips. Jonathan asked how long that would last, and I told him that it was permanent. Jonathan whistled and said that this was a damn urban legend in the making.

  Clint laughed and said that I certainly don’t do things in halves, as he pointed out the crystal. Before an Agent could reach for it, I told them all that they might want to be careful touching it. Clint spoke up and told them, with a little bit of cheek, that the cold of eternal punishment was emanating from it. The Agents looked between themselves, and one went back to the S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV. The Agent came back with a box that looked to be insulated, and they quickly got the crystal into the box, and loaded it, and the unconscious criminals, into the S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicles.

  The S.H.I.E.L.D. crew got into their vehicles and left while Jonathan stayed back. He watched the view from one of the camera sim cards that Clint had given him in front of us. While he was watching the video, he seemed to be appreciative of Clint’s quick take down of the Hydra thug, but then he saw that I appeared behind the Sniper as he was lining up a shot. He saw me take down the criminal in four quick punches in less than nine seconds, and when he got to the point where “Kanczar”’s body fell on his neck and broke, he muttered a “Holy Hell Zine.” As I heard my little ritual commence, I saw his eyes go wide as the magical special effects started. He shook his head while he watched the whole thing, and when it stopped, he took a second to breathe and compose himself.

  “That.”, Jonathan started with, “That… Curtis, you were not being facetious, were you? I mean, I know that the guy is alive, and that he is still breathing, and not paralyzed from the neck down, but Jesus man, if I didn’t know that, I would be looking to get the Avengers to book you for murder, and probably whatever other crimes I can figure out. I wouldn’t dare to have S.H.I.E.L.D. even attempt it.”. “This…”, he paused briefly before continuing, “This isn’t even a psychological operation anymore. This isn’t even a boogeyman for the criminal world. This. This right here? This is a demon of vengeance, like our own Ghost Rider, but personal.” “But, for all of the work that I am going to get, I am certain that Director Mackenzie will say that this lived up to every bit of your “Verdigris Nuclear Profile”, and then some.”

  I thanked him for his words of affirmation and he stopped me, telling me that this is the kind of scene alone that might cost a quarter of a million to half a million dollars alone. He shook his head and said that I had managed it for next to nothing. He then admitted that he was fairly certain that he can tie in the unspeakable things that “Kanczar” did to the fact that Amber needs the time to be away to heal, and a month is a LONG time, but for something unspeakable, it makes sense. “Zine,” he said, “That part will probably make my job a little easier.” Jonathan took the evidence to go back to the plane where Director Mack was waiting.

  With Jonathan gone, Clint and I made our way back to our modes of transportation. He snickered while we talked, saying that this was quite the unique set of abilities I had given him. I smiled and asked him if he had caught on to the really interesting synergy between two items. Clint looked at me with a questioning glance, and I told him that the Gloves will allow him to see through a wall, and the boots will allow him to teleport there, without ever having seen the other side. You have a guaranteed way in or out of almost any situation. I added that all of his equipment is enchanted so that it can only be used by those of good moral fiber, so they can’t even be used by villains if they were to capture him, and in fact, the secret pouch on his quiver, they could never see what was inside the extradimensional section, even with the command word.

  Clint whistled and said that this was some degree of operational security. I smiled as we both got back on our bikes and said that this was the main thing I tried to focus on. I will willingly make enchanted equipment for ALL of the Avengers, I just need to know what they need, and then figure out how best to help them. Curtis nodded and said that he would consider passing that on. I smiled and thanked him, before telling him that the Warehouse was probably ready today, that I could use another set of eyes in it tonight to see if there are any influences that will need to be extricated.

  Clint agreed and we rode to the future warehouse that was being honed in on for my next workspace. We made it there without too much effort, and slowly approached the warehouse. I found a padlock on a door, and used my tools to pick the lock while Clint watched. He joked that I was pretty good at that for a detective. I shrugged and said that unlocking a slave's locks gives a lot of practice.

  As I opened the door and went in, I was jumped. Not by a thug, or a criminal, or even a supervillain. Nope, that same damned tomcat had leapt down from a shelf next to the door and attacked me in reflex. I couldn’t talk to it now, so I grabbed it by the back of the neck, despite the bits and claws, and held it away from my body. I looked it in the eye, while it was hissing and caterwauling, and told it that this was my place now, and that it can find a new place to claim.

  I set it down and it ran off, howling and scampering as it went. Clint started laughing hysterically. I asked him why the laughing, and he told me that he had just seen me molly-wop a known killer and criminal, without a touch on me, and a common housecat just got the jump on me. I shrugged and told him that you can’t win them all, right? Clint shook his head, but I could sense he agreed.

  We took a short walk through of the warehouse, and determined that S.H.I.E.L.D. and Stark Industries could do a lot to make this more secure. We locked it back up and Clint told me to watch out for any other cats. I gave him a short chuff before getting back on my bike. Clint told me that he was staying at the Wyndham Garden, just to see if anyone thinks to check out my former room, for any reason. I thanked him and told him to give his gear some more testing before the night is through.

  He changed it into a regular looking outfit, and said that he just might. I went home and locked everything up, realizing just how alone the Tent really was, now that Amber was gone. I mean, I had not noticed it before she was in the tent with me, but now, even with Rex, and Bright-Eyes, and the Kittens, and the Mini-Avengers, it was feeling… empty. Just before I was about to turn in for the night, I received a Sending from her, from her earring. She briefly told me that she had gotten to the training location, and that May was going to be giving her a rough day tomorrow, without any of the magical items, to see where I am at, and what she has to work with. She finished by telling me she loves me. I gave her a brief explanation of what had happened today, and I replied in kind.

  Any thoughts of what the MCU villains would think of something like that? Them hearing about this "story", about how they might have been made to forget events with this supervillain, but finding "evidence" on line of various encounters with "Kanczar" but nothing that they can distinctly remember, but vague feelings about Kanczar taking something from them?

  Feel free to provide any feedback.

  Also, I didn't look before coming up with the name, but couldn't find a villain with that name anywhere. I just chose it because it would phonetically sound like "Cancer".

  Now, on to Hawkeye's new magic items:

  1 Quiver of Unfettered Aether, Feathered and Functional (Q.U.A.F.F. Quiver). This will be an upgrade of his current Avengers/S.H.I.E.L.D./Stark Industries mechanical quiver. It will have three distinct portions, each with a nondimensional space allowing it to store far more than would normally be possible. The first two portions are able to contain up to 60 objects of the same general size and shape as an arrow. The third and longest portion of the case contains as many as 6 objects of the same general size and shape as a bow (spears, staffs, or the like). Once the owner has filled it, the quiver can quickly produce any item she wishes that is within the quiver, as if from a regular quiver or scabbard. The efficient quiver weighs the same no matter what’s placed inside it. This is a special quiver, in that it also includes a separate pouch, on the other side of the strap of the quiver, that can hold up to 10 pounds of items in an extradimensional space, and the items within cannot be seen or accessed unless the user says the command word. 2800

  2 Aurae Manus Inquisitoris: Each of these fingerless worked leather gloves look as though they have seen heavy use, and often bear the stains or scent of grass or wet mud. On command, the wearer can use the gloves to see and hear through solid material no more than 5 feet thick by placing both hands on that material. The wearer can use the gloves once per day for up to 1 minute. The wearer must wear the gloves continuously for 24 hours before activating this ability. The gloves allow you to temporarily increase your physical deftness. These gauntlets have 3 charges, which are renewed each day at dawn. Spending 1 or more charges grants you a morale bonus on Dexterity checks, Dexterity-based skill checks, and ranged weapon damage for 1 round. 1 charge: +2 morale bonus. 2 charges: +3 morale bonus. 3 charges: +4 morale bonus. 2500

  3 Vestigia Aetheria: While wearing these boots, you gain a +2 competence bonus to Athletics checks, a +1 Circumstance bonus to Athletics checks, and a +2 circumstance bonus to Stealth Checks. This is continuous. In addition, the boots have 5 charges a day, they recover at dawn. You can spend one or more charges to teleport up a certain distance based on how many charges you use. 1 charge is 20’, using 3 charges gives you a 40’ jump, and using all 5 charges at once means a 60' jump. Also, they decrease all falling damage to 1 point per die. 3000

  4 Hr?svelgr’s Eyes: These goggles are made of crystal, and can perform a few functions. They grant a +5 competence bonus on Perception checks. The wearer gains the constant effects of the deathwatch spell, to allow the wearer to be able to determine exactly how wounded someone is, and also be able to detect if they are an undead or a construct (Like an LMD). 4860

  5 Arrowmaster’s Bracers: This simple pair of leather shooting bracers are designed to protect the wearer’s wrist from being snapped by bowstrings. They appear similar to a set of bracers of archery, but a wearer notices the difference as soon as she dons them. The wearer of these bracers gains damage reduction 5/ magic against ranged weapons, as well as a +1 deflection bonus against ranged attacks. In addition, once per day, as a swift action, the wearer can grant herself a +20 insight bonus on her next ranged attack roll before the end of her next turn. 13900

  6 Robb in the Hood’s Tunic: This sleeveless hooded black leather vest is decorated with fine black scales and has a subtle design of a pair of dragonlike wings sewn into the back. When you activate the tunic, it unfolds the wings and allows you to fly at a speed of 60 feet (good maneuverability) for half a minute. Rob in the Hood’s Tunic functions five times per day. The wearer of this vest can, at will, choose to transform the appearance of her current garments into any other nonmagical set of clothing. These new clothes fit her perfectly and are always clean and mended unless she specifically designates otherwise. When she desires or removes the vest, her clothes revert to their original form. 12300

  7 Lesser Crystal of Arrow Protection: +5 to AC vs ranged attacks. 2500

  8 Shadow enhanced armor: This armor blurs the wearer whenever she tries to hide, while also dampening the sound around her, granting a +5 competence bonus on Stealth checks. The armor’s armor check penalty still applies normally. 3500

  9 Travel poncho: This lightweight gray-green poncho protects the wearer against some of the hazards and discomforts of outdoor travel. The wearer resists cold as if affected by an endure elements (cold) spell. Furthermore, the poncho sheds precipitation, keeping dry the area of the body covered by the poncho (head to knees). In addition, three times per day, the wearer can reach into one of the pockets of the poncho and pull out trail rations sufficient to feed himself. From another pocket, the wearer may withdraw a stoppered 1-quart metal flask that produces either pure cool water or sugared hot tea. The flask produces up to two gallons of liquid per day. The flask only refills if placed back in the pocket of the poncho; if separated from the poncho or wearer, it has no magical properties. Finally, when the wearer utters a command word, the travel poncho expands once per day to the size of a one person tent. 1200