Chapitre 10: [10] Double Tiger Hunt In the Darkness of the Night
Chapter 10: Double Tiger Hunt In the Darkness of the Night
—
Enrique and Anna didn't fall asleep after their conversation. Instead, they spent a few more hours on the bed, enjoying each other's company until the morning light seeped into the room.
After getting up, Anna decided to cook breakfast, following a YouTube tutorial she found. Enrique didn't object, assuming the video would guide her adequately.
"...Girl, what the hell is this?" Enrique asked, staring at the plate she served him. "You had one job."
"W-what? It looks fine!" Anna defended, eyeing the food with decisiveness. "Look at it again, i-it looks tasty! Here, come on, eat it!" She grabbed a spoonful and tried to feed him, but he dodged her attempt and stepped back. "Rude."
This girl really wants to see if I have poison resistance. Enrique felt threatened, as he laughed nervously and said, "Sweetheart, that thing looks hideous, I am not eating that," he pointed at the plate, where black smoke curled ominously. "You should have said you don't know how to cook."
Anna's face flushed with embarrassment before she crossed her arms and scoffed. "Fine, you try cooking the same thing. Show me how good you are."
"No," Enrique said, pulling out his phone. "I'm ordering something."
"See? You're avoiding cooking it! It's a hard dish, that's why I failed!" Anna sneered with a laugh, smirking at him as if she had won the argument.
"Dumb girl, I fed you yesterday." Enrique gave her a dry stare. "And that level of taunting doesn't work on me. Better luck next time."
He quickly placed an order before she could come up with a new trick.
****
After breakfast, Enrique spoke to Mut for the first time since their previous incident. As he hoped, she agreed to provide Anna with a costume. Since she had done that for Spidey, Enrique wasn't surprised that she easily agreed to give Anna one too.
According to her words, it was her gift to Anna for being the first superhuman believer brought in by him.
"Anna? Come here," Enrique called her, heading into his bedroom from the living room. She ran after him a moment later, finding him sitting in front of his computer.
"What is it?"
"You wanted a suit, right? Come here, I'll make you one," he said, watching her blink. A moment later, she grinned and jumped on his lap. With that in mind, Enrique sat at his computer desk with Anna perched on his lap. He grabbed the drawing tablet resting inside a drawer and began to doodle.
Anna was surprised he owned a drawing tablet now, given his previous appearance of homelessness, so he showed her the revenue from his game.
"...."
"Surprised by just this much?"
"That… that number isn't real. In just a week?! How?"
She stared in shock for a full minute before regaining her composure. Instead of wasting time teasing her, he decided to focus on the design. Anna wasn't sure what kind of suit she wanted, so Enrique drew her the iconic green and yellow outfit with a leather jacket that Rogue wore in the comics.
She seemed satisfied, and quite impressed, with his work. He printed the drawing and placed it on the table. Since Mut had been observing intently from the start, she didn't need half an hour like with Spider-Man's suit. The drawing disappeared in a puff of smoke and was replaced by the actual suit.
"Oh." Anna blinked, "I thought you were messing with me."
"What? Lack of trust is crazy, girl," Enrique shook his head. "Now, do as I say."
Just like Peter, Anna had to drop a droplet of her blood on the drawing. Just a small drop would have done the trick, yet Rogue started to beg him, asking if there was another way. Seeing how weak she was, he suggested she should stay home and learn to cook since she was afraid of such a small cut, so she shut up and did as asked.
Smoke puffed out from where the clothing was, disappearing, and reappearing around her body, becoming her personal bullet-proof, summonable super suit. It was a success.
"Ah…" Anna blinked, looking down at her arms. She walked over to the mirror nearby and observed her reflection. "It looks better in person."
[Image Here]
"Of course, how can my measly art compare to your beautiful body?" Enrique wrapped his arms around her from behind as he looked in the mirror. She smiled as she watched him squeeze her in the reflection. "You look alluring."
"...Mhm, but should we be wasting time like this?" Anna asked, releasing a soft moan when his lips brushed her nape. "Don't you have someone to find?"
"Two people, and you're right." Enrique withdrew his hands, noting her disappointment. Strange little girl, he noted. How would she go around reminding him that he had stuff to do, and then get disappointed that he moved to the task? He said, "Now, don't give me that look, we have a job to do. Ready to head out?"
Her expression shifted, the glint in her eyes replaced with excitement. The prospect of going out with him, wearing a super suit, filled her young delusional heart with fire.
….
A few minutes later, they both left their apartment.
On their way, they met his landlord, who now seemed somewhat frightened of him. That was precisely why Enrique couldn't stay in a place like this. As he had told Anna before leaving yesterday, she had found good house options, and he had chosen one of the better ones. It was still in Brooklyn but on the outskirts, close to Highland Park.
So before heading into their patrol, they visited the new house in their supersuits, finding a charming two-story home. The owner had multiple real estate properties around the city but didn't live in America. So Enrique met with a broker managing the house. Being a businessman familiar with real estate, it took Enrique little time to negotiate a good deal.
For now, he was only renting it, planning to buy it later. With $60k from just three days of his game's release, he could afford to rent. That number would increase when he focused on it after completing his current mission, perhaps then he might buy it.
Now that's settled. Phew, it was bothersome to live in that crappy place. Enrique hired a moving agency and gave them his current apartment's key. Although surprised, they were very respectful as they recognized his costume.
Honestly, by hiring other people to move his stuff, or by renting places, his residence was revealed to any rich person who might want to find him, but at least the agency was trusted enough not to leak it to the general public.
He didn't care if supervillains or wealthy people knew where he lived; if someone capable enough wanted to know, they'd find out regardless. He and Anna left the moving job to the agency while they pursued their main mission.
"Say," Anna said as he flew through the air with her in his arms. "Hehe, it feels like we're newlywed, no? Having cooking quarrels and now choosing houses. What's next, fighting over the idea of a daughter or son?"
She giggled, and he stayed stern. "I don't plan to have children Anna. Don't dream about that. Maybe in the distant future, but no, not for a few decades."
"You didn't refuse my marriage claim though?" Anna smirked.
Enrique shook his head. "I already told you, Anna, you're not my wife-to-be, let's not be delusional," his uncaring tone made her smile freeze.
Anna's smile froze, and she closed her mouth. "...Right. Sorry."
****
She's a little quiet now, good. Enrique felt slightly bad for telling that to her, but honestly, she yapped a lot. She needed to save some words. Anyhow, White-Tiger and Tigra. Let's see.
From his research a few days ago, they were part of a dojo before it closed six months ago, after the Dojo Master's death. Their current whereabouts were unknown, they were being chased by guys in Ninja clothes, so it would be hard to find them. Enrique was just some rich guy, he was no detective in a bat costume, he didn't know how to find them.
His best choice was to start from their last known location. So Anna and he went to the former location of the dojo and asked people about the incident that killed the master.
Most people had forgotten about the incident since it had been six months. In a city where a man of fire flew across the sky, where a big green man slammed tanks against one another, such an incident was easy to overlook and forget. Even after a day of asking, Enrique didn't learn much. When he asked about the two women in White-Tiger and Tiger "costumes," he learned even less.
Only that they were labeled as criminals. In people's eyes, they were accomplices to the ninja criminals.
"How boring, we didn't get to fight any villains…." Anna said when they were returning. After hours of boring looking around, she had regained her earlier vigor.
Night had fallen, and since today was a busy day, he and Anna were returning. They were moving toward their new home.
"Don't jinx it. What if some world-ending apocalypse pops up tomorrow?" Enrique nudged her forehead as they flew in the sky. "Just look forward to our new place."
"Hehe, that's what I'm doing," she giggled. "I'm sure I'll love it."
True to her words, she loved the house. It was fantastic, just as they had seen earlier, and the furniture only made it look prettier. They still had to move the furniture and stuff to appropriate spots, but it was much easier now with Enrique's increased physical strength from his mutation, which even his base-human form benefited from.
After sorting things properly, Anna wondered about the quality of soundproofing in the rooms, so Enrique helped her test it. They fell asleep after making a lot of noise, and the next day started with a beaming sun.
They resumed their search today too, though it wasn't looking any better. The day seemed to blur with a lack of interesting activities, and it was nighttime once again.
"Boring," Anna murmured in between bites. It was 7 PM and Enrique and Anna were eating dinner on top of a skyscraper. He went to reply to her, but before he could, he received a message on his phone.
"Oh-ho…"
"Liz Allan?"
"Why're you peeking?"
Rogue munched on her burger, looking over his shoulder at his phone screen, narrowing her eyes at the name. "She's asking if you're free and wants to meet you? I don't like her, who's this girl?" She blinked a moment later, "Ah, I don't mean to sound possessive…"
"It's okay, don't be stiff," he flicked her forehead and explained the situation, not hiding anything. How he went to visit Spider-Man in his civilian identity, and met this girl there.
Anna sighed when he finished. "So just a fan. Oh well, I guess it can't be helped in your– um, our line of work." She corrected herself. After a moment, her eyes lit up, and she smiled. "Hey, why don't you say you're free? Let's meet up with her."
"Why the sudden change in mood? You want to show her that I'm taken already?" With a raised eyebrow, Enrique guessed, and she almost choked on her food.
"T-that's not–"
"I'm joking. Let's meet up with her. It can't hurt," Enrique suggested, and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. However, she agreed. Her plan was precisely as Enrique had guessed.
Soon, they arrived at the meeting place, a Starbucks in Queens. He wasn't expecting a candlelight dinner spot, she was just a little girl, but precisely because of that, he had expected Liz would bring at least one friend.
Instead, he found her alone. Huh, did she think it was going to be a date? Poor girl.
****
"Uh, am I being too forward…?" Liz murmured to herself, wondering if everything was going to be alright.
She had gone and really invited him on a date. Would he take her being this forward in a bad way? She wasn't that kind of girl, it'd be horrendous if that's the impression he got from her. It was really a sudden intrusive thought.
She was free this evening, and the idea just popped into her head. Before she knew it, she had already messaged him. Now she was feeling anxious. Older men were her weakness, and he was just her type. Moreover, he was a goddamn Superhero…
It was too late to regret, however. A white streak landed before the cafe. Liz blinked in excitement when she saw the door part open and Supernova enter the café and immediately felt awkward when she noticed another girl walking beside him.
People in the café turned to them, some taking pictures, some running to grab a selfie, while some commented on how good they looked together in their supersuits. The manager quickly welcomed them like celebrities, and Enrique handled everything smoothly.
He must be used to this. Someone as striking as him, where had he been all these years? Liz couldn't help but wonder. What was his background?
A moment later, when the crowd calmed, he and the girl approached her table. The girl was the first to greet her, extending a gloved hand. "Hello, nice to meet you. The name's An–"
"Rogue," Supernova interrupted, clearing his throat and shooting the girl a glance. "That's her name. She's my sidekick."
Before Liz could shake her hand, "Rogue" pulled it back. "Wait, I thought we were partners?!" The girl yelled, looking shocked. "Hey, I didn't sign up for this, sugah!"
Liz blinked. They seem close… Looks like she has superpowers too. Wow.
"Sweetheart, you signed up to go on patrol with me. That sounds like a sidekick's job to me," he shrugged, taking a seat opposite Liz. "Become stronger before you call yourself a partner. In any case, Liz, we just finished patrolling, so don't worry, you didn't interrupt anything. I can't believe I'm late to see how beautiful you look tonight."
Liz shook off her daze at his compliment, smiling softly. Maybe they really were just a superhero and sidekicks, nothing more. Perhaps she still had a chance? Then again, it didn't matter much. He was her crush at first sight, so even if he had a girl, she at least wanted to hang out with him for a bit.
Hearing his words, Rogue took a grumpy seat beside him, clinging a bit too close to him. Liz narrowed her eyes at that. Aha, I see what's happening. This girl wasn't his girlfriend; she was trying to warn others to stay away. Typical. This girl was scared to lose him. Liz smirked inwardly. So he's free to be taken.
"Thank you," Liz smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "But no, you're not late. I've only been here for a minute myself."
Well, that wasn't true. She had arrived first and invited him afterward. If he had declined, she would have called a friend or maybe even her cousin to join her. But now that he was here, she didn't want to waste the opportunity. She aimed to make a good impression.
Minutes passed as Liz, Enrique, and Anna got to know each other. Liz did most of the talking about her life, while he shared less. She understood why; he was a superhero, after all, and couldn't trust a random high schooler with personal details. Rogue was mostly silent, only making occasional comments.
The conversation eventually turned to Supernova's current mission. Liz didn't show too much interest, not wanting him to feel she was probing for information like some spy, but it turned out that he didn't mind sharing. In fact, he seemed eager.
"Well, it isn't anything super secret. In fact, you might know them and help me out." Well, that was highly unlikely. Just when she thought that he added, "Oh, they aren't criminals, so don't misunderstand," Supernova showed her two pictures. They were low quality, but she… recognized them.
What the hell? Liz blinked. "I… have heard of them. There is this kid in my class, Flash Thompson, who is a superhero nerd. He has a crush on these two and a while ago he was showing many classmates their pictures." Liz shrugged. "But no, sorry, I haven't seen them personally or know anything useful."
"Hmmm," he nodded. "Alright. On another completely unrelated topic, could you have heard of a woman named Greer Nelson and a girl your age named Ava Ayala?"
Liz was about to say no when he mentioned the first name, but she blinked when he said the second. "...Ava?" she asked. "That's… my cousin's name. How do you know her?"
Enrique blinked. Well, well, well… He snickered inwardly. What are the odds that the olive-skinned Liz was the cousin of the olive-skinned Ava Ayala, my little white tiger?
X-x-X
Despite talking for a bit more, Liz Allan didn't seem to realize that the pictures of the two tigress women Enrique showed her matched the names he mentioned, or perhaps she didn't want to consider that possibility. In either case, Liz didn't connect the masked White Tiger's identity to her cousin, Ava Ayala, and Enrique didn't bother correcting her.
Liz was understandably worried about why Enrique was looking for her cousin. Had Ava committed some crime? Enrique reassured her that Ava was innocent and she probably needed his help with a problem only he could solve. A super problem.
Despite not recognizing Ava's identity, Liz wasn't that dumb. When Enrique insisted that the situation required a superhero's intervention and not the NYPD's, she agreed not to call the police and instead provided Ava's address.
"Then let's stop here, Liz," Enrique said, standing up from his seat. "I appreciate the help, and I'm sorry our date had to end this way, but I promise Ava will be safe because of your timely help." Safe from those Ninjas, anyway, but he couldn't guarantee about himself.
Liz blinked at the word "date" but soon nodded with a smile. "See you," she said, smiling still as Anna waved at her before both superheroes left for Ava's home.
….
Honestly, I'm surprised that this girl Ava's in town and still in touch with her friends and family. White Tiger disappeared six months ago, so he had expected her to be on the run along with Tigra, hiding from that Ninja organization that he was pretty sure was known as The Hand.
Perhaps Ava had lost her amulet, the source of her powers? That would explain why she remained in the city and why The Hand wasn't after her despite that.
But if she no longer has the amulet, visiting her might not be very beneficial. A normal human without super strength wouldn't be able to teach him much in hand-to-hand combat. Still, he decided to check out her home anyway.
After all, Tigra might still be with her. That woman had worked with Moon Knight a few times in the comics, she was a powerful person. Liz didn't recognize Greer Nelson, but the possibility of her staying with Ava, or at least Ava knowing her location, was high.
It took Enrique seven minutes of flying through New York's tall skyline to reach the address Liz provided. Rogue rested on his arms, her arms around his neck, as he flew.
I hope Liz hadn't called Ava to warn her already, he didn't get the chance to warn her to not do that as that might seem too suspicious. Regardless, he was at his destination.
"Rogue," he said, looking down at the house matching the address. "Don't engage unless I tell you to."
"How many of them are we expecting?" Rogue asked.
"Ava might be with the other woman, the tigress-humanoid from the photo. Chances are high. So we're expecting two," he said as he descended to the ground, landing in front of Ava's door. "Be on guard."
Enrique pressed the doorbell and soon heard a "Coming!" from inside. A moment later, the door opened slightly, and an olive-skinned girl's head popped out. She blinked, momentarily panicked, but then smiled softly.
"Supernova?!" she exclaimed excitedly, yet didn't open the door more than that crack. Enrique could detect a hint of nervousness. She was acting, she was not excited. More importantly, he also noticed the outline of a string necklace on her. That confirmed his guess wrong. "Is that really you? I'm a big fan! I saw your fight, it was awesome!"
[Image Here]
Olive-skinned, wavy dark hair, and an oval, pouty face. This girl was indeed Ava Ayala. Enrique smiled, "Thank you, I appreciate it. But, may I come inside? I know this is sudden, but I have business with you, White-Tiger."
Ava froze when he name-dropped her superhero identity. She smiled wider, and then her smile dropped. In an instant, she moved like lightning. The door opened, and her waist twisted, a kick aimed at Enrique's face.
Damn, zero respect. Perhaps he was too hasty with his greeting. Her attack was blocked by his helmet, which appeared as a twisting matrix of gold and white.
"I'm not here to fight," Enrique said softly, but Ava attacked again. She leaped into the air, wrapping her legs around his neck and tightening her grip. Yet Enrique didn't even flinch. He raised a hand, signaling Rogue not to engage.
"Your attacks don't hurt me," Enrique said. "Nice thighs, by the way."
"Now!" Ava yelled, and something more dangerous jumped from behind the door. It was enough that Enrique's beast side reacted right away instinctively. A humanoid tigress slammed against Enrique, knowing him far, and Ava barely dodged her helper's attack.
[Image Here]
Enrique's back hit a tree, breaking it, as the tigress woman pounced on him, slashing at his face. Her claws snapped like sticks against his mask.
"Arrrggh!" she growled in pain.
These two couldn't harm him. Enrique decided to be gentle since he wasn't here to fight but to ask for a favor.
"I'm not here to fight," Enrique tried to explain, but the tigress only raised her fist.
"Like hell you're not!" she yelled, punching his chest. "Did they send you?!"
The punch hurt, but not as much as it should have from the sound of the impact. It could probably break a house, each of these punches, yet his suit protected him like it was nothing. He stayed idle for a minute, trying to show he didn't want to fight, but she didn't stop.
What a stubborn woman, he noted. Her knuckles were red, and Enrique got bored. Not planning to get punched nonstop, he began to transform. I guess I should show her something interesting.
His body swelled, muscles growing larger. He controlled the urge and stopped himself from bringing out his lethal wrist and elbow claws, keeping them at bay.
Tigra paused, looking down at his bestial face glaring at her. He was larger than her already, but now she was like a toddler on his chest.
"What the fuck?"
"Done?" he asked, his voice gruff, gently grabbing her waist. "Then it's my turn."
Without warning, Enrique threw her back into the house. She crashed inside, breaking many things. He then grabbed Ava, who was fighting Rogue despite his warning and threw her behind Tigra, making them collide and crash into the fridge, TV, and furniture.
Tigra was the first to rise from the rubble. She glanced at Ava's groaning form, then snapped her gaze back at Enrique, rushing forward to kick him.
The kick landed on his helmet, knocking him back a few meters, but he wasn't hurt. He prepared for her next attack. Despite her flexibility and training, a tigress couldn't beat a tiger. He dodged once and grabbed her shoulder, slamming his head against hers.
– Bang!
"Argh!" she groaned, trying to resist, but Enrique kept head-butting her. Finally, he threw her into the air and landed an uppercut on her chin. The beast-female's eyes spun as she fell unconscious.
Rogue ran inside when she noticed the battle had ended.
"Enri- Supernova!" Rogue corrected herself as she approached him. "Are you alright?"
"Seems like it," Enrique replied, ignoring her and grabbing the two unconscious girls. "I told you not to engage, why did you? Oh well, never mind. Now come here and touch them both. It's better to have them powerless temporarily than let them taunt us when they wake up."
"Okay, but… is it okay for a hero to do this, sugah? Isn't this, like, some sort of crime?" Rogue asked as she walked towards the two women.
"Depends on your perspective," Enrique said, his large form crouching down a little to not hit the ceiling. "I don't see myself as a superhero, Anna. So doing this isn't morally conflicting for me. You, on the other hand, did call me your superhero, so I guess your question makes sense."
Rogue stopped and stared at him in silence when he said those words. He wondered what went through her head at that moment. Soon, she shrugged, taking off her gloves. "Well, it doesn't matter. If it's a crime, I'll be your accomplice."
Crouching down, she touched Tigra, causing veins to pop up on the woman's sleeping face. Her body color changed to that of a normal human while Anna's body transformed into a humanoid-tigress. Then she touched Ava. Though White-Tiger's powers were magical, Rogue managed to absorb them too, without any physical change.
The two tiger ladies were taken down. He wished it could have gone a little smoother, but such was fate. Things didn't follow a plan. Whatever the case, it was time to talk about business.
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Author Note: Late update 😫don't forget to vote. And yes despite being hiatus in ES for now, I'll keep updating this since rewriting doesn't consume much time
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone