The Darkest Hours

Chapter 22

I led Felicia back to Aunt May's apartment, filling her in about the Rhino and Mortia's phone call on the way. We went in through the same bedroom window by which I'd left earlier. I shut it behind us, and we headed into the living room.

Mary Jane had turned out the lights, presumably to let the Rhino sleep. The only illumination came from several candles on the kitchen counter, where Mary Jane was sitting with a copy of the Scottish Play, a notebook, and a pencil.

She glanced up at Felicia and me as we appeared from the bedroom, and arched an eyebrow. "You know," she said, "a lot of wives would not react to this particular situation with patience and understanding."

I sighed.

MJ smiled, mostly with her eyes, and said, carefully polite, "Felicia."

Felicia nodded to her. "MJ."

"I thought you had left," my wife said.

Felicia shrugged. "I got bored. I decided not to let your husband hog all the excitement for himself."

Mary Jane considered her for a moment, and then nodded. Her voice warmed considerably. "It's good to see you again. Tea?"

"Please." Felicia smiled and then looked down, settling on a chair at the kitchen table.

"The Rhino?" I asked.

"Out like a light," she said. "He snored for about five minutes. Some plaster fell out of the ceiling. How did the interview go?"

I stripped off my mask, leaned against the kitchen counter, and smiled at her.

MJ took one look at my face, and there was a sudden fire in her eyes. "You figured it out," she said.

"I think so," I said. "It was right there in front of us, too."

MJ gave me a mock scowl and asked Felicia, "Isn't that annoying? The way he makes you ask him to explain things?"

"It's his great big brain," Felicia said, nodding. "He likes to remind everyone about it, to make up for all his other shortcomings."

"Look," I said. "The real problem with fighting the Ancients is their sheer durability. They can fight for days without slowing down, and it's all but impossible to fight them head-on. They don't get hurt and they're strong. So every little ding and bruise they inflict on you makes you tired faster, while they just shrug off whatever you do back to them. They grind you away."

Mary Jane shivered. "Go on."

"I was looking for a weakness, but I had already found it—partially, anyway. Morlun got hurt twice. The first time was when he had me down and was starting to do to me what Mortia did to the Rhino. Ezekiel jumped him and bloodied his nose for him, literally. It was the first time in maybe eighteen hours of fighting I saw him injured.

"The second time was at the reactor, when he started taking a bite of me and got a mouthful of uranium instead. See?"

Felicia tilted her head, frowning. "From what Dex said… that's when they're vulnerable. When they feed. Right?"

"Right," I said. "Strange told me that the Ancients' powers were a result of their will focusing all the latent energy they've devoured. Morlun wasn't super-strong and nearly invulnerable all the time. He had to be concentrating on it, uniting himself to be that way. When he started to feed, he couldn't keep his focus, or at least it seriously reduced his defenses—and when he panicked, at the end, he couldn't use them at all."

"It explains why they get nervous at taking on more than one opponent, too," Felicia said. "More distractions."

"And why Mortia didn't stay on your trail after you saved the Rhino," Mary Jane added. "You hit her at the only moment when she was vulnerable. For all she knew, you knew exactly what you were doing when you did so. You probably scared the wits out of her."

I nodded. "Exactly. So we use that against them."

Mary Jane sat a cup of tea down in front of Felicia. "How?"

"I don't think I like where this is going," Felicia said.

"We decoy them," I said. "We tempt them into feeding."

The Black Cat sipped her tea. "I was right. This plan has a major flaw in it."

"Flaw?" Mary Jane asked. "Which part is flawed?"

"The part where they have to be feeding when we attack," she said. "To feed, you have to have, well, food.

I don't want to be food. That's really the point of the whole exercise, isn't it."

"It's a risk," I admitted. "But if I'm right, it could work. We wait until they start, blindside them, knock them out, and use the magic rocks to get rid of them."

Felicia's eyebrows went up. "Oh, sure. And if you're wrong?"

"I didn't say it was a perfect plan," I said quietly. "That's why you're carrying the rocks and I'm going to be the decoy."

Felicia shook her head, rising with the teacup to pace restlessly. "That isn't a good idea."

"Sure it is."

"No it isn't. I'm good, but you're better, and a lot stronger. Of the two of us, you're the one most likely to be able to KO one of the Ancients, even if they are in a weakened state." She smiled, showing teeth, and took a few hip-swaying steps across the room. "And let's face it, Parker. I've forgotten more about distraction than you'll ever know."

"I hate to point this out," Mary Jane said quietly. "But once they start feeding, whoever they're attacking is essentially paralyzed. Right?"

I chewed on my lip and nodded. "Yes. Morlun barely got started on me before Ezekiel decked him, but the pain was…" I shivered. "Yes. You can't put up much of a fight after one of them starts on you."

"There are three of them," Mary Jane said. "No matter which of you is the decoy, there are still going to be two of them who aren't feeding. Do you think they'll just stand around and let you knock the third one out?"

I shook my head. "We'll have to separate them."

"Like you did last night?" Felicia asked.

"Exactly."

"Last night, when you scared Mortia to death?" Mary Jane asked. "Do you think she'll be as careless and confident this time? Do you think she'll be dumb enough to get separated from the others again?"

It was a big worry of mine, too, but I tried not to show it. "Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, this is pretty much the best plan we've got."

Felicia laughed. "That's because it's the only plan we've got."

"You say tomato…" I said.

We stood there, looking at one another for a silent moment.

"That's the plan, then," I said quietly, taking MJ's hand.

"Right," Felicia said. She checked her watch, and her mouth twisted with distaste. "Now comes the fun part. Five hours of waiting."

I nodded. "I know what you mean. I hate waiting, too. I think Aunt May has some cards. We could play a round or two, or—"

Felicia lifted both hands. "No offense, Pete, but you could really use a shower first. Really."

"Thank you," Mary Jane told her. Thinking back later, there was a little bit of emphasis on the phrase I didn't notice at the time. "I didn't want to be the first one to say something."

Felicia grinned at MJ. "No problem. Go on, Pete. I'll keep an eye on Snoozy here." She took a sip of tea and regarded the Rhino. "Awww. He's kind of cute when he's sleeping."

"Fine, fine." I sighed, and trooped off to the bathroom for a shower.

I had barely gotten my hair wet when the shower door opened and Mary Jane joined me, pressed against me, and kissed me with abandon.

Two minutes before, I'd said that I hated waiting.

But we made time fly.