Ethan sat in his dimly lit hotel room, eyes flicking across multiple screens, each one running different security feeds, phone logs, and location pings.
For the past few nights, he had been tracking Felicia Hardy—his substitute teacher, master thief, and current holder of that mysterious book.
He had already breached multiple databases, and with a little patience, he had narrowed down her most likely safe house. A luxury high-rise on the Upper West Side, under the fake name "Caitlyn Nior".
Classic Black Cat.
Through his remote monitoring, Ethan gathered key observations. First, she was extremely cautious. She took different routes home, doubling back on herself to check for tails. She also kept the book close. In every instance he saw her in her apartment, it was either on her person or within arm's reach.
As Ethan observed her, she was making calls. Calls to people Ethan couldn't trace directly, not without having access to her phone, but he was at least able to intercept audio.
Ethan enhanced the recording from her latest call.
Felicia's voice came through, sharp but hushed.
"Yeah, I have it. The damn thing looks steeped in dark magic and evil rituals."
A muffled voice responded, but Ethan couldn't make out the words.
Felicia sighed. "No, I haven't read it. Yet. But from what little I found, it's called… The Door of the Black Gate."
Ethan paused the recording.
'The Door of the Black Gate? That was new. It was never mentioned in any of my Marvel knowledge. So it's probably super dangerous.'
He immediately started searching the Marvel database in his mind, ancient text records, and even deep web archives, but he found almost nothing. That alone was a red flag. If it wasn't widely documented, that meant it was something hidden and something so dangerous that it wiped all history of it.
Ethan exhaled slowly.
'Stealing the book is an option. But breaking into Black Cat's safe house? That is more trouble than it's worth. If only I had a few pawns I could move on my behalf, then this would be easy. However, that's easier said than done.'
Felicia Hardy was one of the world's best thieves. If Ethan took it, she'd hunt him down relentlessly. For now, he would wait because the book wasn't going anywhere.
Whatever was summoned, though, that was a different story.
The next morning, Ethan was walking to his locker when he heard fast footsteps behind him.
Paige grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop, "Enough with the bullshit, Ethan. You've been avoiding me for days now."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Good morning to you, too."
Paige's blue eyes burned with frustration. "You know something. I know you do. You promised to tell me after a while, and I've been patient, but enough is enough. Tell me the truth now."
Ethan sighed, leaning against the lockers, "Paige, what exactly do you think I know?"
She scoffed. "Don't play dumb. I've been watching you. You're too… calm about this. Everybody has no energy and dark circles except you. Whatever is going on doesn't seem to be affecting you too much."
Ethan smirked slightly. "Should I start screaming in the hallways, then? Would that be a big enough effect for you?"
"That's not what I mean!" Paige hissed, lowering her voice. "This is serious. People are having nightmares. Shadows are acting weird. And now, students are disappearing."
Ethan's smirk faded at that last part, "Disappearing? When did that happen?"
Paige frowned. "You didn't hear? A kid went missing inside the school yesterday. His parents came this morning, demanding answers."
Ethan's mind snapped into overdrive.
'If whatever this thing is caused this, then that means… the entity is getting stronger. Worse yet, it's now bold enough to take someone inside the school.'
Ethan exhaled. This changed things. Taking things slow might not be possible any longer.
Paige crossed her arms. "So? You gonna tell me what you know?"
Ethan tapped his fingers against his locker, thinking carefully.
Giving Paige full access to what he knew was dangerous. No way to predict what she would do at this stage. It's possible she could make things worse if he told her everything, just as it might be possible the same thing might happen due to a lack of information.
But she was strong. Stronger than him physically, and if this thing fed on humans, then Paige's ability to turn into inorganic matter made her the perfect shield.
So, he told her a version of the truth.
"I saw someone bring a book to the school," Ethan said, voice steady. "They took it down to the basement."
Paige's expression darkened. "The basement? The one that's been sealed off?"
Ethan nodded. "Whatever's happening here… it probably started there."
Paige was tense but resolute. "We need to check it out."
Ethan shrugged. "Fine. But you're going first."
Paige gave him a suspicious look. "You're scared?"
Ethan smirked. "Terrified. That's why I'm bringing my human shield."
Paige rolled her eyes. "You're an ass."
But she didn't disagree.
Hiding out in the bathroom until the night, Ethan and Paige managed to successfully infiltrate the school at night. They stood before the rusted maintenance door leading to the basement.
Paige tested the handle. It was locked.
She smirked slightly. "Good thing I don't care about locks."
With a metallic shifting sound, her skin ripped off and transformed into solid steel. She then proceeded to rip the door open with ease.
Ethan gave an impressed nod. "I see so you have superpowers. Convenient. No wonder you're not scared to enter the basement. Looks like I chose a good human shield."
Paige scoffed. "Try being a girl in Kentucky. You learn to take care of yourself. Powers or no powers. Anyway, you're way too chill about everything. I thought you'd be more surprised. Anyway, keep quiet, we'll talk about whatever secrets we each have later."
Ethan nodded as he stepped inside behind Paige, his phone flashlight cutting through the darkness. Then he saw it, the summoning circle. The markings were old, and they seemed to be drawn in dried blood from the metallic smell filling the room.
The symbols weren't just Infernal but rather something else. Something older.
Paige's eyes widened. "Holy hell…"
Ethan examined the scene carefully.
The symbols suggested a summoning ritual, but Ethan could at least tell it wasn't for a certain demon due to the lack of generic symbols.
Demons were very orderly and strict about these things. This was… chaotic and messy. Like someone had rushed to complete it. This could mean that the spell was done incorrectly.
As he was studying the scene, he saw something worse. A handprint in blood. Ethan crouched down, running his fingers over it. It was dry but looked fresher than all the other dried blood. It was most likely less than a day old.
It was smaller than an adult's.
He slowly looked up at Paige.
"The missing students…" Ethan muttered.
Paige inhaled sharply. "You don't think…"
Ethan nodded grimly. "Sacrifices."
Paige looked physically ill. "Jesus Christ."
Ethan's mind raced.
'Someone summoned something using human sacrifices. The entity is still searching for a compatible host. The whispers, the nightmares, the missing students—it's all connected.'
Ethan stood up, "We need to leave. Now."
Paige didn't argue.
But as they turned—
The candles relit.
By themselves.
And from the darkest corner of the room… something whispered.
"Another one will join me soon."
Paige froze. "Tell me you heard that."
Ethan clenched his jaw. "Run."
They bolted.
Behind them, the shadows moved.