"That's not really possible. He shouldn't be able to muster the combat power needed to match Tohka. And more importantly, he wouldn't be able to threaten her through her family either."
Looking at the 'call ended' message on the screen, Deadpool muttered uncertainly. But being the eternal optimist he was, he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he thought of something else:
"Ahahaha, well, since I'm the one who caused all this, I'll just go find that young lady myself. And hey, maybe I can even score a huge bonus."
Saying that, Deadpool even licked his fingers sleazily, not caring that he had just crawled out of a garbage heap. His eyes curved like crescent moons.
If Tohka had seen that look, she would've absolutely punched him awake on the spot.
"Hmph, since this Tohka dared ruin my plans, she can't blame me for what's coming."
Meanwhile, on the other end, after hanging up on Deadpool, Kingpin (Wilson Fisk) was staring at a file on his desk with a vicious gleam in his eyes.
He then turned to another man clad in a shit-green uniform and said coldly, "So this is your plan, using me like a pawn?"
"How could that be? This is our shared goal. Her existence has seriously impacted our future plans. Especially that recent incident—although there's no concrete evidence, we can preliminarily determine that the attack spanning the Mediterranean was caused by her."
"It's just that HYDRA is still in its hiding phase, not fit to act openly. But I can provide you with some information, like this." As he spoke, the man pushed forward a file containing detailed information about a person.
"This is... 'Graviton'? I've never heard of this guy. And the location is a S.H.I.E.L.D.-affiliated prison?" Looking at the file, Kingpin showed some confusion. He was well-informed, but he had never heard of this person.
"You wouldn't know. When this guy lost control back then, he was quickly suppressed. But because he was too dangerous, Nick Fury imprisoned him in a special facility."
"Your men might lack top-end combatants, but you have plenty of skilled ones. If you can break him out, you'll have the power to contend with that girl. Of course, you could also choose to wage financial war against the Stark family, but I don't think you'd succeed."
"You'd most likely lose everything." The man answered without hesitation, throwing in some mockery as well.
"Hmph, you're no better. Like bugs that die when exposed to sunlight. You lot still haven't recovered from the losses of WWII."
"And now that the world is at peace, you can't even find a proper regime to back you."
Kingpin sneered back without any hesitation.
He knew about HYDRA's existence; after the war, they had completely gone underground.
Even if they still held considerable power, they didn't dare reveal themselves yet.
Clearly, they intended to use Kingpin to eliminate a major potential threat.
"Y-You..."
Hearing Kingpin's mocking words, the man almost lost it. After all, Kingpin had hit a sore spot.
Since the downfall of their wartime regime, HYDRA had been forced into hiding.
The bigger countries weren't waging wars anymore, and the smaller ones weren't worth their time—so they were stuck lying low, waiting for a chance.
"Also, are you sure you know how to control that guy? With power that great, the chances of him losing control are pretty high."
Kingpin wasn't just being cautious. With that kind of power, it was very likely that he couldn't control the guy. One misstep, and it wouldn't be a weapon—it would be a tiger that could devour its master.
"Don't worry."
"We've studied him thoroughly."
"He's extremely ambitious."
"As long as you offer him the right incentives, he'll cooperate."
"His powers might not be more overwhelming than Magneto's, but he's way harder to deal with."
"Unlike Magneto, he has almost no real weaknesses."
"If you play it right, he'll be enough to defeat Tohka."
Hearing Kingpin finally stop mocking him, the man calmed himself. After all, they were here to negotiate, not to fight. No need to sour the relationship.
"I get it. Leave it to me. HYDRA, huh. Very interesting. But don't bother me again. "
"Otherwise, I'll hand this over to S.H.I.E.L.D. Even if you have people in their upper ranks, I'm sure the Director could still make you suffer." Taking the file, Kingpin bluntly ordered the man out.
He had too many things to deal with and no time to waste.
"Likewise. If I reveal what you've been doing these past few years, the politicians would tear you apart."
Standing up, the man left, but not without a parting shot.
Both sides were just using each other, and threats were part of the game. Even if Kingpin cleaned up well, they still had plenty of dirt on him. They knew each other well—and each held blackmail material over the other.
"Hmph, whatever."
Kingpin sneered coldly and no longer cared about that guy.
If it weren't for HYDRA backing him, Kingpin wouldn't have let such an impudent man leave alive.
Originally, Kingpin had no intention of targeting Tohka—after all, he didn't have enough high-end combat power.
But since someone had delivered a "gift" to his door, he wasn't going to refuse.
Especially since Tohka was a friend of Spider-Man—she would definitely be an obstacle to his future plans for revenge.
Meanwhile, back home, Tohka had no idea she was already being targeted.
After returning, she focused on examining the thing in her possession—the alien symbiote.
She had no idea how best to handle it.
Who knew if the symbiote, likely driven mad by Deadpool, could even be controlled?
"Forget it, not thinking about it."
If worst came to worst, she'd hand it over to Tony to deal with. She definitely wasn't going to use it herself. Then, to be safe, she wrapped the symbiote tightly in her spirit energy and sealed it away.
As for what to do with it, she decided she'd think about it later.