Shadow Initiative Volume 1

Arc 1: Living Weapons

Issue 1: Hidden

Constrictor, Emma Frost, Black Scorpion, Valkyrie, Gambit, Agent Zero, Hub, Henry Peter Gyrich, Aardwolf,

Story So Far . . .

After Galactus attacked the Earth the superheroes battled him with several losses and the government attempted to help but they seemed to get in each other's way and their cooperation seemed to cause more damage than help. Once the battle was won the government decided to rethink the way it handled superheroes and passed the Super Human Registration Act requiring all super humans or those that wished to fight as heroes to register with the government and work under its employ.

1. Camp Ross, New York

"First thing you need to understand is that you don't exist," Henry Peter Gyrich stood glowering down at the three super humans before him. None of them would ever be considered heroes, and they knew it. "If you ever get caught or recorded we will deny your existence, there are no official records of you."

"We know this, do you take us for fools?" Emma Frost stared coldly at the government official. She wore her usual revealing white attire that she had grown accustomed to wearing as a member of the Hellfire Club. She had once been its White Queen. Now look at her, a pawn of the government. She felt humiliated and humility was not something she aspired to.

"That's the second thing, you question us you're off the team and your license is revoked, no more using your powers and no more heroics."

"Ha!" Frank Payne, otherwise known as Constrictor, laughed. "You don't have to worry about the heroics."

"You don't breathe a word about this to anyone," Gyrich commanded. "If anyone asks you are serving doing menial tasks."

"Give it a rest," Frank told his government liaison. "We've been pulling the secret work routine as long as you've been involved in the government, some of us longer. We know the rules."

"So, all the other teams are getting extravagant bases," Emma leaned forward so that more of her cleavage showed in an attempt to distract her new boss. "What do we get?"

"Safe houses."

"Safe houses?" she asked. "I thought that we would get the same respect as the superheroes."

"Earn it," Gyrich scowled leaning forward himself and looking her in her intense blue eyes.

"I should have known . . ." her voice trailed off. There was no use in getting the boss angry on the first day.

The other member of their little black ops team stayed quiet throughout the entire conversation. She was known as Carmilla Black or Black Scorpion. Her true name and parentage was a mystery to everyone, even herself. Though she had never really been on the wrong side of the law like her teammates she had been doing black ops work for the government since she was twelve. Emma was intrigued by the quiet young woman; she could be quite a useful asset to her.

It was obvious to Emma why she had been chosen for this team. She had been known as a criminal for almost all of her life and what was a black ops team anymore without a telepath. She had only an inkling of Carmilla's abilities but her reputation as a black ops agent preceded her. What Emma couldn't understand is why they had chosen someone like Frank for his group. He wasn't all that powerful and he relied on his suit for his powers.

"Frank, I want you to lead the team in the field," Gyrich answered her question as if he could read minds as well as she. "Your experience as a SHIELD agent will be useful to us."

"Do I get paid extra?"

"What?" Gyrich seemed astounded.

"Do I get paid more for being the leader?"

"No," Gyrich said firmly. "Consider it an honor and at least you won't have to take orders from someone else."

"Except you."

"Except us," Gyrich agreed grimly.

"Fine," Frank didn't have much choice in this anyway, but it was nice to feel as if he did.

"I want you in your rooms and studying these disks," Gyrich tossed them each a CD-R in a clear plastic case. "Dismissed."

2. Manhattan, New York

Chon Li had always been a second-rate crime lord. His time in Madripoor had been filled with setbacks and coups. After the crime lord Tyger Tiger had taken a large chunk of his small empire he had decided it was time to move. His first choice hadn't been America but Genosha. However Magneto had better control of his borders than perhaps even the isolationist African nation of Wakanda.

Failing to enter Genosha he had turned to America. He already had a few agents there and at the moment there was a power vacuum amongst the criminals of the Democracy after the passing of the Super Human Registration Act. It was now or never for the black-furred mutant.

It had been a rough start with one of his contacts fleeing before he could arrive and another in hiding worried that he would be captured by the Initiative forces. However Chon Li had persevered and slowly built up a second empire, this one smaller than his first but a good start.

It wasn't long before he began to get noticed. With the Initiative passing and the first team already organized he knew he would get caught soon if he wasn't careful. So now here he was, laying low. Not something he liked to do as it restricted his money flow, but it was necessary.

He sat rubbing his fur, feeling it tingle as his hand ran down his torso. Boredom was nothing for a crime lord to experience. He grabbed a nearby wine glass and drank lightly from the white zinfandel inside. His sense of taste was enhanced and he was able to sense all of the subtleties of the light wine. He licked his fangs and took another sip, a bigger one this time. He had already had a previous glass and his body felt warm all over, his head a little hazy.

Thump! A muffled sound reached his ears. It was out of place in his quiet apartment. Besides four of his bodyguards there was no one else there and they knew not to disturb him unless it was important. He went to the intercom system installed next to his bedroom door and pushed the speak button.

"Ken, what is going on? What is that noise I heard?" then, not wanting to sound cowardly or afraid he added. "I told you I didn't want to be disturbed!"

"Oh I tink you will be very disturbed in a moment," a voice with a strong Cajun accent laughed mockingly into the intercom system.

"What's going on? I don't recognize your voice!" Chon Li felt his heart rush into his throat. "Who are you?"

"You'll see," the voice taunted.

Chon Li desperately locked and bolted his bedroom door. He glanced around for a weapon to use. He had been foolish and relied too much on his bodyguards. Despite his super strength and super speed he wasn't much of a fighter, or a marksman for that matter. If it hadn't been for the connections he had built up over the years he wouldn't be much of a crime lord either.

BLAM! A shot rang out blasting of his bolt lock. "Knock, Knock!" a female voice called out with glee.

Another shot rang out and three mutants came crashing through his doorway, ready for a fight. He grabbed a lamp and threw it at them. One of them, a man in a long brown trench coat, threw a small glowing object at the porcelain lamp that exploded on impact. Shards of porcelain went everywhere.

Chon Li rushed forward hoping to catch them by surprise and get past them. No such luck. He pushed the woman aside but she disappeared into thin air. The man in the trench coat dodged him easily. The third mutant was a man dressed entirely in black including his face.

He easily moved to avoid Li's claws and used the crime lord's own inertia to send him stumbling toward the hard wood floor. Chon Li tried to recover putting his hands forward to catch himself. A booted foot slammed into his back forcing his face smashing into the floor.

"Aardwolf," the Cajun voice called him by his nickname, he hated that name. "You are wanted by Weapon X. You can choose to do dis de hard way or we can do dis de easy way, it is your choice."

Chon Li lay there for a second considering his options. These three had taken out his four bodyguards with hardly a sound. What chance did he stand against them? He looked up at the window to his room, but the heavy wooden blinds were drawn and the window was locked with a screen in it.

"I won't fight," he finally submitted.

"Gambit," the girl groaned. "Why did you have to give him his choice? You always ruin my fun."

"I'm wearing new boots tonight and I didn't want to get them scuffed on their first mission," the man in the trench coat answered. "Mission control," Gambit said into a small mouthpiece. "This is Card Shark. The Wolf is in the bag."

"Bring him home boys," a voice answered back.

"On our way."

Chon Li groaned miserably as the silent mutant that had knocked him down picked him up to his feet and pushed him forward toward his ruined bedroom door. What was going to happen to him?

3. Camp Ross, New York

Frank rubbed his eyes. The disks Gyrich had given them contained the location of several safe houses around the nation as well as their floor plans. What irked Frank more than anything was that he knew of at least two other safe houses out there. The government, despite making them register, didn't seem to trust them enough even to show them where they could be safe.

There were many other files on the CD but his eyes were tired and he wasn't used to such tedious work. Normally his missions were completely planned out for him and any planning he had to do was done on the fly. Now that he was the leader of this group he couldn't afford to be so cavalier.

Just to make sure he knew that he belonged to them now they had given him a new uniform to wear. It was actually quite similar to his old uniform modeled slightly after a boa constrictor. However the blue that had covered most of his body was replaced with a black Kevlar and leather mix. His gloves and coils were almost exactly the same as his originals.

"I think we have already gotten on Gyrich's bad side," a voice suddenly said.

Frank looked up from his monitor and saw Emma Frost standing in the doorway to his high-tech office.

"I don't think that man has a good side," Frank told her. "Have you ever seen him in anything other than a foul mood?"

"My dealings with Gyrich have been . . . limited . . . until now," Emma enlightened.

"What about Carmilla?"

"What of her?" Emma asked. "I assume they gave you some files on her if they expect you to lead us."

"They did, but I haven't looked at it yet," Frank explained. "I saw how you looked at her though, what do you know of her that I don't?"

"Nothing," Emma said airily.

"Don't give me that bullshit!" Frank said. "She's not the only one where her reputation precedes her, you use everyone you know. You are known more for your manipulations than your telepathy."

"I don't use people," Emma denied. "I help people reach their full potential and ask only a small favor or two in return."

"Forget it," Frank dismissed. "If you don't want to tell me what it is that's fine, for now."

Frank rose angrily from his chair and removed the disk from his computer. He wasn't going to leave it about for Frost to find. Luckily for him they had seemingly thought of everything and installed psychic dampeners in the helmet portion of his full-bodied suit.

"I'm going to go see what she is up to," Frank told her. "Stay out of my things while I am gone."

Emma glared at him frostily as he stalked by her. He acted as if he hadn't seen. Already he had made an enemy on his own team, and it was only a team of three. At least Carmilla didn't seem to hate him yet, but then again it was hard to tell with someone who didn't say a word.

Carmilla's room was just down the hallway. Of all the buildings on Camp Ross they lived in the most plain. It was built to look like it was for menial laborers and nothing more. The rest of the rooms and buildings on Camp Ross used the latest tech and streamlined designs. Another price they paid for being part of a Black Ops team. At least they wouldn't have to rub shoulders with heroes.

Carmilla was sitting on her bed staring moodily at the wall. He cleared his throat but that didn't seem to break her out of her trance. "Carmilla."

She looked at him but didn't utter a single word. He knew she could talk, he had heard her when he had been brought to Camp Ross a few days ago. Her large bright green eyes unnerved him.

"Carmilla," he began again. "You should be reviewing everything that is on your CD."

"I know where the safe houses are, Constrictor," she said in monotone. "Probably better than you do."

Frank ground his teeth, this one was little better than Emma. "That's not all that is on there."

"I know," was all she said.

"She's one for conversation," Emma said slyly in his ear, talking about the young woman as if she wasn't present.

"I think I need to step out to get some fresh air," Frank responded moodily. "I'll be back soon."

What had he been thinking agreeing to be the leader of such a group? They were as likely to kill him as follow him. He sighed and opened the door to Camp Ross. Heroes and soldiers were everywhere. Who was he kidding? He didn't belong here, not with the heroes. He walked on toward the mess hall. Some comfort food would be nice. He just hoped the slop was decent.

He trudged along with his head down in thought. He barely noticed as Thor and Iron Man flew overhead looking at him in curiosity. Several other heroes stopped whatever it was that they were doing and watched him make his way to the mess hall. He ignored them as best he could.

At least the food was good. He loaded up on salad and roast beef. He had to eat as healthy as possible to stay in good shape. He sat down with his tray of food and began eating right away. The faster he was out of there the happier he would be.

"Can I sit here?" a voice asked. He looked up and saw a pretty young blonde woman with her hair in dual braids.

"Of course," he said, though he felt like telling her to move along.

"Thanks," she smiled at him, but the smile never reached her pretty blue eyes. She sat down with a large turkey leg and some potatoes. She wore a sword at her side and was covered in Viking-style armor.

"No offense," she said. Frank braced himself. "What are you doing here? Aren't you one of those serpent society villains?"

"No," Frank told her vehemently. "I never joined the Serpent Society."

"They wouldn't let you in?"

"No," he was getting frustrated fast. "I didn't want to join. I was a mercenary."

"So that doesn't answer my initial question," she said. This was beginning to sound more and more like an interrogation.

"I registered and they called me in here to do some menial tasks," Frank lied. "I'm not on any super hero team if that is what you are asking."

"That's good," she said and got up. She walked away to join her hero friends at another table. For the first time that day he was glad he was on the Black Ops team instead of one of the hero teams.