Star Dust (A Paladin Adventure)

There is just so much to do

"Ok, Pete, first of all, I don't want you pursuing this guy on your own. And no, it's not because you're a kid," Tony said sternly as Peter opened his mouth to protest. "Nobody should be tackling this guy single-handed. He's the head of a criminal organization, the Maggia, that makes the Mafia look like a bunch of Masons. I'm not sure whether the three of us will be enough, actually."  He started flicking through the presentation. "This is SIlvermane, Silvio Manfreidi, before his accident and after." The first photo showed a frail old man of about eighty; the second had the head of that man on a powerful cyborg body.

"He was a normal human, although pretty fit and strong when he was younger. Big fan of guns, likes handguns for everyday use and a Thompson submachine gun for special. Who carries a Tommy gun these days?" he sniffed.

"Because it's a big-ass gun," I mumble. Tony ignored me.

"The people in his organization--and it's women as well as men, he's an equal-opportunity criminal--are the scum of the criminal underworld. They have screws loose, most of them, and if there's a vile, brutish way to accomplish their work, that's the way they'll do it. They're involved in protection schemes, drugs, illegal weapons, police corruption, prostitution--men, women, and children--politics. He's always battled Kingpin for control of New York, and it looks like he's making another push.

"My best guess is that if he's after you--and I'm not saying he isn't, just that I can't prove right now that he is--it would be because he wants something from you. Maybe just to eliminate you from the scene, maybe something like discovering the source of your powers, maybe try to get them for himself." Peter winced. Tony slid a small box down the table to him. "This is a tracker. I want you to start wearing it at all times in both identities. It's passive unless it's activated, which I will do if you don't check in regularly. Twice a day, when you get to school and at night. And don't go out until we have a better idea of what the old guy is plotting, ok?"

"But--"

"There are a lot of street-level heroes here these days," I observed, cutting him off as Tony put the tracker on Pete. "Which ones do you know, personally?"

"Well, Daredevil and Dr Strange, you know about them, and I've also met the Punisher, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Black Cat. And the Night Nurse, once, when I couldn't get here for treatment."

"Who's the Night Nurse?" I asked calmly.

"A nurse, Daredevil introduced me. Really nice. She patches up superheroes."

"I'd like to meet her," I mentioned.

"Ok, Pete, take Emma out and introduce her to the nightlife around here," Tony directed . I got up and went down the hall to assume my costume.  On my way back, I heard Tony telling Pete not to call Steve "Mr Rogers" anymore. "He doesn't want to stick his hand up the butts of puppets," Tony asserted.

"Actually, I think he's allergic to cardigans," I said, coming back into the room. Tony snorted.

"That's kind of like the uniform of senior citizens."

"Yeah, but he looks younger," I said. "He won't even join AARP yet." Peter choked on his laugh. "Get some rest, Tony."

"Have her back before dawn," Tony told Pete, ignoring me. "You have school tomorrow and she's got to start herding all you interns."

We took the elevator down to the lowest garage level and out the secret door; Pete had changed into his suit too. It was kind of weird to take an elevator before going to do superhero stuff, for some reason. Not being a powered superhero or with a suit or wings, I kind of cramped Pete's style until we got to an older part of the city where I could go from rooftop to rooftop. Our first stop was at the Night Nurse; she was stitching up a pale woman Pete identified as Jessica; they chatted  after Pete introduced me and the Night Nurse pulled me aside.