Ayyyye! Look at this! :D New chapter! *dances*
Taskmaster POV
Taskmaster was getting downright bilious with SHIELD.
Particularly after spending an uncomfortable night inside a SHIELD cell - no doubt while the other three members of his "group" were sleeping in warm, comfortable bunks - so come morning, he wasn't feeling exactly thrilled to start the first leg of their hike through the jungles.
If he were being honest, it wasn't even the fact that he slept in a cell that was dampening his mood - please, he's slept in way worse conditions - so perhaps it was just the fact that it was a SHIELD cell that made him so furious. He's promised himself, time and time again, that he'd run his own dagger through his chest before joining them again. Yet there he was, sandwiched between the Hulk and Captain America as their young guide led them through the jungles just outside of the base.
Taskmaster could remember his last journey here all too well. At the time, he'd been trying to enlist KaZar to his Thunderbolts taskforce to relinquish the Goblin from SHIELD custody.
He could still recall getting the job from Goblin himself, just before the villain was arrested. Taskmaster wondered how Goblin predicted he would be caught and properly detained, before deciding it didn't matter to him. A job was a job.
But given the fragility of this job, he couldn't entrust it to one of his mercenary students. This was one he had to do himself, personally. Honestly, he hadn't originally intended to create the Thunderbolt strike team. It had come to him in a stroke of inspiration.
Before even glancing at the SHIELD list, Taskmaster had been spending tireless hours stalking a SHIELD base, memorizing its layouts and routines before sneaking in to hack the servers for the layout of Goblins prison aboard the Tricarrier. That's when he'd stumbled upon it.
A list made up of teenagers, all with a vast array of abilities and powers. Despite the severity of his job, Taskmaster had been intrigued, wondering what SHIELD could possibly want these kids for. Until he saw Spider-Man's name at the top, near Nick Fury's, and it all clicked.
Spider-Man was building a new team. Taskmaster knew this because he's made enough SHIELD taskforces and strike teams in his time to recognize an enlistment layout when he saw one.
That news really put a damper on his plans. It was bad enough that Spider-Man and his Ultimates team were always on his back, but include this New Warriors team to the equation- which was a childish name - and he was asking for more trouble than the job was worth.
Unless...he got to them first.
Cloak and Dagger were a very intriguing pair. She with her intense light abilities and him with his teleportation. Getting into the Tricarrier would be that much easier.
KaZar and Zabu, two beasts of the Savage Lands with the guts and instincts to take on even the most fierce and experienced threats. Very promising.
Amadeus Cho, the smartest kid in the world. Hacking into a SHIELD base seemed like it'd be a good challenge for him.
There were more kids there, each with a set of powers that could be most beneficial.
So, Taskmaster quickly downloaded a copy of the list, the Tricarrier's layout and blueprints, as well as a mission report stating pieces of Venom were still all over the city. Venom would be a very good addition to his Thunderbolts.
After that, he'd simply set his sights on making his own super-powered team while simultaneously coming up with a plan to break Goblin out. Out of all of the kids that he tried to enlist though, it was KaZar and his blasted pet, Zabu, that gave him the most trouble.
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Animal Instincts (Book 2): At War with Monsters (Ultimate Spider-Man Cartoon)
Fanfiction{Hiatus} Spider and his Pack are growing restless in their prison; Spider knows his Captors are out there, watching, and ready for attack. But he might have a plan of his own to free his Pack and even out the battle field. But all might not be lost...
