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Marvel: King of The Swarm Chapter 35: Emergence
🕑 Added 2025-06-14 23:14:26 +0000 UTC'She's dead,' Fisk thought for the thousandth time, half his face hidden as he stroked his chin in deep contemplation. It had been two weeks since Elektra had left his office, and he hadn't heard a word from the assassin or received news that her old friends had finally caught up with her.
'The most likely possibility remains that she was either killed or captured after fighting Scourge,' Fisk's brow twitched in annoyance. While Elektra didn't possess the flashiest of powers or the sheer destructive potential that caught the attention of world powers, she was one of the best assassins in the world.
'After all, the Hand doesn't just choose any one of their minions at random to resurrect.'
Unfortunately, Elektra's excellence meant that Scourge was a far greater problem than Fisk could afford, 'If they were able to kill Elektra, then they could have dismantled far more than just the trafficking ring...so why didn't they?'
Yet again Fisk was forced to consider the unsavory possibility that Scourge's existence was nothing more than a test, 'If that is the case then Elektra's fate was sealed from the start...and I've wasted a valuable asset.'
Before Fisk could contemplate the extent of his error, the elevator to his office suddenly beeped and he looked up to see the floor number slowly creeping up.
A deep frown marred Fisk's face as he reached over and pressed a button on his desk phone immediately connecting him with his secretary, "What is the meaning of this? Why is the elevator being sent up with no warning?"
When no response came through the phone Fisk immediately went to press a hidden button under his desk that would send the elevator into a free fall. But just as his finger made contact with the button, his entire body froze.
Immediately a sense of wrongness and rage ignited inside Fisk. There had been only a handful of instances where Fisk had felt such an utter lack of control. And so he fought against the hold paralyzing his body, Fisk resisted with every fiber of his being, all while imagining what it would feel like to squeeze the life out of his would-be attacker.
'After all the work you've done to get this far? That would be a truly short-sighted move on your part, Wilson.'
Fisk's eyes widened as a familiar voice spoke in his mind, caught so off guard and unaware the Kingpin hardly registered the use of his first name. Normally such a slight would have had him organizing a professional hit of the offender and their extended family, but all Fisk could think about was the how and why of the sudden visitation.
The elevator dinged as it reached his office and at the same moment, the hold on Fisk's body vanished. The Kingpin immediately shot to his feet just as the doors opened to reveal a single woman.
But the sight of her made Fisk's heart pound, he had been caught completely flat-footed, 'How the hell did someone like her make it into the city with no one catching wind of it?'
"I'm afraid that's a trade secret," The woman replied as she reached up and removed her pitch-black shades to reveal crystal blue eyes that shone like sapphires.
Fisk bristled as she replied to his unspoken thoughts, but there was very little he or anyone else could do to prevent it, "I assure you I meant no offense, Ms Frost."
"There's no need to apologize, I assure you none was taken," Emma Frost, replied with a smile as she walked into Fisk's office like she owned the place. The ice-cold businesswoman wore a stark white dress with a white fur shawl over her shoulders and matching stiletto heels.
"I was just surprised by your unexpected visit," Fisk continued as he sat back down in his seat, "The last time we met you said we would converse at the end of the mayoral elections to discuss my future with the Club."
"And that hasn't changed, because I haven't come to converse, I've come with a warning, and it would be in your best interest that no one learns of it," Frost corrected with a pointed look that ensured Fisk understood the underlying message.
Fisk's brow twitched as he sat forward, "What warning?"
"That people are starting to pay attention," Frost answered with a grave look in her eyes, "And you don't seem to be aware of it."
"That's only a given," Fisk countered his worry easing slightly, "I've had to strongarm most rival gangs out of their territory given the short time frame given to me to accomplish my assigned task."
"The people I'm talking about don't care about who owns what particular dirty ally or rat-infested street," Frost scoffed with a smile as if amused by Fisk's ignorance, "They're concerned when a force capable of erasing those streets off the face of the earth emerges."
A deep frown marred Fisk's face, "What force are you referencing? I have heard nothing of the sort and streets certainly aren't disappearing into thin air."
"Not yet, they aren't." Frost corrected, "I can not stress enough that you take this issue seriously, your ability to navigate and deal with this magnitude of power is imperative to your...application."
"You still haven't answered as to what power you're addressing," Fisk practically growled.
"And I do not plan to," Frost replied with a tone that gave proof to her name, "We asked you to gain control of the city, now it's time to carry through on your promise."
Fisk recoiled but bit back his reply still painfully aware that there was nothing he could do against one of if not the most powerful telepaths in the world, "Very well, I'll take your warning to heart."
"Good," Frost nodded curtly as she turned around and started walking back towards the elevator, "Don't make me regret sponsoring you, Wilson. It won't end well for you."
The sound of Frost's heels dominated the silent office and the mutant shot Fisk one last piercing gaze before the elevator doors closed in front of her.
The moment the elevator started to descend Fisk roared as he stood up, grabbed his desk with both hands, and hurled it at the metal doors.
The solid wooden desk slammed into the elevator doors with a thunderous crack as it shattered apart on impact sending wooden splinters flying through the air and caving in the reinforced metal doors.
Frost glanced up as the entire elevator shaft shook like a bomb had gone off and smirked, 'Oh Wilson, you're making this too easy.'
---
Elektra didn't know how long it had been when she felt her mind distance itself from the collective and constant stream of memories and sensations. There were thousands of individual feeds, each happening simultaneously and Elektra had no option but to experience them all at once. It had been overwhelming at first as Elektra's mind instinctually tried to keep her identity separate from the rest. But over time those barriers melted away as she realized that by joining the collective, a piece of her would always survive. So there was a strange sense of melancholy as Elektra's mind returned to her body, even though she knew that she could return whenever she wanted.
Opening her eyes Elektra couldn't see, meaning she was in absolute darkness, but she could feel that she was floating, her body suspended in a warm viscous liquid. Her limbs were tucked against her body and Elektra had the strongest sense of Deja Vu.
'I can remember,' Elektra thought as she moved her limbs finding a thick cacoon encasing her body, 'I can remember the day I was born, my first time experiencing light and the air. It was awful'
Elektra's clawed fingers pierced through the walls of her cacoon grabbing at the thick film and tearing through it spilling the embryotic fluid inside.
Climbing out from the wall Elektra stepped down onto the Creep covered floor with her bare feet and felt the superorganism begin to feed her a stream of nutrients. The humid air was warm against her bare skin, and the darkness left her eyes unburned.
It was a stark difference from Elektra's first birth, where the air had been frigid blowing across her sensitive skin like knives, and the light had left her blind confused, and screaming in agony.
Reaching up Elektra sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair squeezing out the remaining fluid that was quickly absorbed by the creep and recycled for any trace amounts of nutrients left.
"How does it feel?"
Elektra turned around to find a Scourge floating above the ground cloaked in a dark purple robe, his eyes were expectant like a scientist waiting to see the results of their latest experiment, "I am grateful, I cannot remember the last time I've felt such...tranquility."
