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Marvel: King of The Swarm Chapter 66: A Meeting Between Constituents (I)
🕑 Added 2025-07-14 16:33:30 +0000 UTC'What the hell are you doing, Harry?' Gwen muttered as she stared at the business card that had been stuck conveniently on her bedroom window, the same one she always went through when returning from her patrols. The piece of metal was etched with the logo of Ascend Agencies, along with an address, a date, and a single line of text, 'Your time in the shadows is over, it's time to step into the light.'
Gwen hadn't wasted any time contacting Harry, demanding to know what was going on, only to give an elusive reply as he danced around the subject, while advising her that it would be worthwhile to attend.
Which is how Gwen found herself staring down at a hundred-million-dollar yacht docked at a private wharf that looked like it hadn't seen any activity since the eighties. Standing next to the onboarding ramp were two men who were clearly a security detail despite being dressed up in white tuxedos.
"They're really rolling out the red carpet for us, aren't they?"
Gwen didn't flinch as a voice spoke up from behind her, having long been aware of their presence, "You get a card as well, Red?"
"Yep, found it slipped underneath my door when it woke up, they even had it in braille." Daredevil muttered as he walked towards Gwen, his footfalls so silent that even her sensitive hearing had a hard time picking them up, "What's the verdict, think it's a trap?"
"No," Gwen replied as Daredevil came to a stop besides her, "Clearly they know our secret identities and where we live; if they wanted to set an ambush, they could have attacked us instead of sending an invitation."
"Still a bit risky going in blind, don't you think?" Daredevil asked, and Gwen looked over at the vigilante's mask with filled-in eye sockets, "Come on, you can laugh."
"I'm not going to...not because I'd feel bad, but because that was an awful joke," Gwen replied, and she turned back to stare at the Yatch, "And the other reason why I don't think it's a trap, is because I know who's behind this whole...charade."
"Oh?" Daredevil asked, waiting for Gwen to continue.
"Harry Osborn, he used to go to my school before he got roped into all of this," Gwen replied as she gestured at a scene ripped straight out of a spy novel.
"Huh, and I thought his father was the one pulling the strings in the background," Daredevil muttered before pausing a glancing at Gwen, "But if you know this guy, why are you waiting outside like a creep?"
"You're waiting outside as well," Gwen pointed out, and Daredevil shrugged, "Yeah, but I'm trying to avoid a trap, you're trying to avoid him. Which poses the question why."
Despite her best efforts, Gwen's heart pounded in her chest as she remembered the last time she and Harry had met in person.
"Oohhh, I get it now," Daredevil replied as he crossed his arms, "Honestly, I should have pieced it together before your heart started racing like a rabbit."
"Fuck off," Gwen muttered, glad that her mask hid the blush creeping across her cheeks, "We aren't here to talk about my love life."
"We aren't, but it seems like so much fun," Daredevil replied, only for Gwen to flip him off, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."
"Good, now let's stop gossiping like a couple of school girls and go see what this is all about," Gwen muttered as she hopped off her perch and dropped to the floor.
---
"Do you really think they're going to show up?" Silvija asked from her post behind Harry, who was seated at the head of a long dining table set up on the upper deck of the yacht. Taking a moment to respond, Harry chewed on a piece of tender, dry-aged ribeye, enjoying the full depth of flavors before swallowing, "The only one I expect may not show up is Frank; it depends on whether his caution or his arrogance wins out. But everyone else is practically a guarantee; they have too much to lose if they ignore such an obvious callout. Isn't that right, you two?"
Silvija blinked and looked around, trying to find who Harry was addressing. For a moment, it was only the two of them, but then from across the deck, a shadow manifested, unfurling into a cloak of pure darkness with a disembodied head of a young man around the same age as Harry floating within the hood. Then, from within the cloak, a young woman stepped out onto the deck, a glowing crescent moon mark glowing around her right eye.
Silvija regarded the duo with a suspicious gaze as her hand drifted down to her waist, where her pistol was holstered, only for Harry to click his tongue disapprovingly, "Easy now, no need to be so hostile to the guest we invited over."
Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Harry stood up with a smile as he addressed the teenagers, "Welcome, Mr. Johnson, Ms. Bowen, I'm so glad you could join me for dinner. My name is Harry Osborn, founder and director of Ascend Agencies. Would you like to take a seat?"
"How could you sense me?" Tyrone asked as his cloak closed around his intangible body, "You're not connected to the Dark Force."
"Is that the origin of your powers?" Harry asked instead of answering Tyrone's question, making him clam up, "Please, I didn't mean to pry, I get ahead of myself when it comes to superpowers, the sheer breadth of origins and sources never ceases to amaze me."
"What do you want?" Tandy asked her ice blue eyes boring into Harry, much like her namesake.
"I'm sorry, but for the sake of not repeating myself, I would like to wait until the rest of our guests arrive," Harry replied as he sat back down and resumed eating. "In the meantime, please help yourself."
Tandy and Tyrone glanced at the smorgasbord of food weighing down the table, but didn't move from their spot.
"It really is quite good." Harry advised as he took a bite of a marinated carrot that practically melted apart into a rich vegetable stock once it touched his tongue, "Be a shame for it to go to waste."
After a minute, and a shared look, Tandy and Tyrone sat down next to each other at the furthest end of the table, far away from Harry as possible.
"So, how has being a vigilante worked out for the two of you?" Harry asked like he was making small talk as he cut into his steak, "I imagine things have been a bit rough lately...I've heard that Mr. Negative is starting up again since Kingpin is no longer in the picture."
Both teens bristled at the mention of their primary antagonist, but before they could reply, there was a soft thud, and everyone looked over as a stripped shadow dropped onto the deck.
Harry watched as in a smooth fluid motion the White Tiger rose from where she had landed in a crouch lit by the soft green glow of the pendant around her neck.
Staring at the artifact Harry could sense the power of the divine infused within, however it was faded, long past it's prime, 'I wonder if any gods have noticed my followers yet? There's no possibility that I've gone completely unnoticed.'
Putting that thought aside, Harry focused on his newest guest who was glaring at him from beneath the yellow tinted eyelids of her mask. However before Harry could speak there was a loud thunk and he looked over to find a grabbling hook embeded into the side of the boat attached to a steel cable.
Following the cabble back Harry looked up just in time to see the Punisher sliding in on his improvised zipline. Hitting the deck with a thud the former marine cast his gaze around the ship with a decidingly unimpressed look in his eyes, "What the fuck is this?"
Before anyone could answer him, Punisher's zipline started to tremble and everyone looked back over as Daredevil ran across the sloped cable like it was a flat surface while Spiderwoman followed behind him, swinging on her webs.
Both of them landed on the deck to Harry's left as they entered the standstill looking around and sizing everyone up.
For a long moment no one spoke with Harry more than content to let the normally reclusive and secretive people adjust to the sudden social setting.
But then a cheerful voice broke the tension, "High everybody!"
Everyone looked over as Squirel Girl walked into the dining area escorted by the two guards forced to guide her from a distace as her bushy tail took up almos the entire hallway, "Wow this is a lot of people!"
Harry couldn't help but chuckle as he clapped his hands, "Yes, it is and I'm so glad that everyone could make it. Now I can finally answer all your questions, but first please sit and have some food, the lobster bisque is getting cold."
