After finishing the upgrades for Abigail and the rest of the hunting crew, Mario wasted no time heading to the cell where they'd locked up Calvin.
The moment he opened the door, a figure lunged straight at Skye.
Mario's leg shot out on pure instinct, his boot connecting with Calvin's chest. Thanks to the Spice of Life: Carrot Edition mod bonus, his health had jumped to 52 points, two and a half times that of a normal human.
The kick launched Calvin backward, slamming him into the concrete wall. He slid down the wall in a heap, groaning.
"Uh, Skye?" Mario scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Didn't you say he was unconscious?"
Skye stared at her father crumpled on the floor, but didn't seem upset that Mario had just punted him across the room.
That was a relief. The last thing he needed was drama over defending her from a potentially unstable enhanced human.
"He's been out cold for two days," Skye said. "I guess he finally woke up."
Calvin groaned at the sound of her voice and slowly pushed himself to his feet, one hand pressed against his chest. He didn't look too damaged.
"Daisy!"
Calvin's eyes locked onto Skye again. He stumbled forward with his hand outstretched, reaching for her like a man dying of thirst reaching for water.
Skye tensed, her entire body going rigid. She knew that this man was her father, but his current state was clearly wrong. The manic gleam in his eyes, the uncoordinated movements, and the constant mumbling... none of it screamed "stable parent."
Mario stepped between them. "Mr. Calvin, you need to calm down. Skye, sorry, Daisy, is all grown up now. We can sit down and have a civilized conversation about everything."
Calvin's fevered expression slowly cooled at Mario's words. He took a deep breath.
"Yes... yes, you're right. I'm better now. Tell me, who are you?"
Mario relaxed slightly, offering a friendly smile. "Name's Mario. I'm currently Daisy's boss. As for Daisy herself—"
He didn't get to finish.
Calvin's eyes went blood red.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
He charged forward like a bull.
"Shit." A staff materialized in Mario's hand. "Skye, back up. Time for a heart-to-heart with your dad."
Skye looked at her father, then at Mario. She quietly stepped back two paces.
She trusted Mario's judgment. And as for whether he could handle Calvin? That thought never even crossed her mind.
Calvin's enhanced speed was impressive, closing the distance in a heartbeat. Mario met the charge head-on, swinging his staff aimed at Calvin's skull.
Calvin caught the staff bare-handed. For a moment, they stood frozen.
The staff's tip erupted with crackling electricity. Calvin's body went rigid as thousands of volts coursed through him, his muscles spasming uncontrollably. The stench of burning flesh filled the cell, and his clothes began to char and smoke.
When Mario finally cut off the spell, Calvin collapsed. His chest still rose and fell, but that was about all he was managing.
Mario poked Calvin's prone form with his staff. No response.
"Is he okay?" Skye asked.
"Should be." Mario didn't sound confident. "Let me fix him up."
He swapped staffs, pulling out one keyed for healing magic, and summoned a healing totem.
"Even if I overdid it, I can patch him up."
Skye knelt beside her father.
Calvin's constitution was impressive. Within minutes, his eyes fluttered open. When they focused on Skye, the manic rage was gone.
"Daisy..."
Skye bit her lip, her eyes getting wet, but she still couldn't bring herself to call him "father."
Mario rummaged in his inventory and pulled out a bucket of milk. He crouched down next to Calvin. "Here. Drink this."
Calvin's eyes tracked to Mario, and his body tensed like he was about to attack again. The staff immediately pressed against a very sensitive spot.
"Don't even think about it. Unless you want to find out if I can cook your balls off with a lightning spell."
Calvin froze. His eyes flashed red again, but he didn't move. What kind of man could tolerate that threat? But his daughter was right there, watching. If he lost control now, he'd hurt her.
"Drink the milk," Mario continued. "Then we can all have a nice chat about everything. Deal?"
Calvin breathed heavily through his nose. But under Skye's hopeful gaze, he finally reached up and took the bucket.
He tilted it back and drank the milk. When he lowered the empty bucket, his expression had completely changed. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he looked at Skye.
"Daisy... you've grown so much. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you had to suffer all those years."
The words came out coherent now. Whatever Minecraft milk did to status effects, it had cleared the chemical imbalance fucking with his brain.
Skye couldn't hold back anymore. She started crying too.
Mario stood up. "I'm gonna give you two some space. When you're done catching up, let him know I've got a job offer. We could use a talented biochemist."
A brilliant biologist like Calvin was not someone he wanted to let go.
Sky nodded and whispered, "Thank you."
He headed for the door, leaving father and daughter to their reunion.
Blade was waiting in the hallway, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
"How'd it go?"
"Went about as well as could be expected. Had to tase the guy, but we got there in the end."
"That's one way to handle a family reunion."
"Speaking of handling things," Mario said, "how's the vampire situation in Washington? They can't be happy about us setting up shop here."
"We're managing. Having Abigail and her crew on board has made a massive difference. With their new abilities, we're clearing nests faster than the bloodsuckers can reorganize."
"And Karen?"
At the mention of her name, Blade's face softened a bit.
"She's been working on something new. A chemical compound that disperses in the air. Any vampire within about ten meters gets hit with extreme weakness. The weaker ones straight up die."
Mario's eyebrows rose. "Damn. That's brilliant. Tell her if she needs any equipment or materials, just ask. I want her working on a formula that can cover an entire city block. Hell, an entire city if possible."
"I'll pass that along."
They stood in silence for a moment, both watching the closed door where Skye was reconnecting with her father.
"She's going to want to meet her mother eventually," Blade said quietly.
"I know."
Twenty minutes later, the cell door opened. Skye emerged with red, puffy eyes but a lighter expression than Mario had seen in days.
"How'd it go?" he asked softly.
"I want to meet my mother."
"You're sure about this? You know what she's planning."
"I'm sure."
"Alright. But we wait a bit longer."
Skye look at him. "How much longer?"
"Not long. I've got some things to take care of first. You want to come with, or wait here?"
She hesitated. "I'll stay. I need to study more, that way I can actually help you."
Mario smiled.
"Good plan. Focus on artificial intelligence and computer systems. I'm going to need your help with that soon."
Human pilots couldn't match the precision of a good AI. And the projects he had in mind would need both.
---
"I don't recall summoning anyone today..." Drumm opened the door to the New York Sanctum and blinked in surprise. "Wait. You?"
Mario grinned. "Hey, Daniel. Sorry to drop by unannounced. Is the Ancient One available?"
"Come in." Drumm stepped aside, gesturing Mario inside. "I'll take you to her."
Once Mario was inside, he closed the door and led him upstairs.
The first floor was mostly historical items, old weapons, manuscripts, cultural artifacts from a dozen different civilizations. Valuable, sure, but not magical.
The second floor was where things got interesting.
The hallway stretched long, way longer than the building's external dimensions should have allowed.
Was the building always this big?
The Sanctum wasn't supposed to be that large, and yet the hallway seemed to go on endlessly.
Don't tell me the Marvel world has its own version of Hogwarts? An Extension Charm, maybe? I've got to ask the Ancient One about this sometime.
But what really caught his attention were the windows. Three of them, set into the wall at regular intervals. Each one showed a completely different scene, one displayed an ocean with waves crashing against rocks, another showed a rainforest with thick vegetation, and the third revealed a mountain range.
He stopped in his tracks.
Daniel noticed his interest and explained. "A small application of spatial magic. Through these windows, you can observe different locations on Earth in real time."
He walked over to the rainforest window and opened it. Immediately, the sound of rain filled the corridor, and Mario could feel humid air rolling through the opening.
"Mamma Mia," Mario breathed, reaching through the window. Raindrops splattered against his hand. They were real water falling somewhere thousands of miles away.
Drumm smiled, clearly enjoying the reaction. He pointed to a runic dial set into the window frame. "You can change the location using this."
He turned the dial, and the rainforest scene instantly shifted to show the pyramids of Egypt under a scorching sun. Heat poured through the window.
"Can this be replicated?" Mario asked eagerly. "Could someone build one of these elsewhere?"
Drumm shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. The effect only works because this Sanctum sits on one of Earth's spatial nodes. You couldn't replicate it anywhere else."
"Damn." Mario felt disappointment. A window that could connect to anywhere on Earth? That would have been incredibly useful. "That's a shame."
Drumm smiled and nodded. Mario wasn't the first to ask about it, and he certainly wouldn't be the last. He was used to it by now.
"Now come, the Ancient One is waiting."
They arrived at a large stone archway inscribed with intricate symbols. He chanted a brief incantation, and the gateway activated, revealing a portal.
"Through here lies Kamar-Taj."
Mario nodded his thanks and stepped through.
The sensation was like walking through a soap bubble, a moment of resistance, then he was through. He emerged in a vast stone hall filled with dozens of sorcerers. A few glanced at him curiously before returning to their studies or practice.
"Mr. Argento?"
Mario turned to see Mordo approaching. "Good to see you again."
Mordo's expression suggested he was trying to figure out whether that was true. The last time Mario had visited, he'd essentially looted an entire room right in front of the Ancient One. The fact that he hadn't been incinerated for that remained impressive.
"What brings you to Kamar-Taj?"
"Business with the Ancient One. Hope I'm not interrupting anything important."
"Follow me."
As they walked through the complex, Mario heard shouting coming from one of the training rooms. Curious, he glanced inside, and saw at least thirty sorcerers crowded around the doorway, all trying to peek at something.
"Let me handle it this time!"
"I need to study this creature!"
"Watch out!"
"What's going on?" Mario asked.
Mordo glanced at the commotion and sighed. "The Ancient One opened a specialized portal for research purposes. Occasionally, creatures come through it. Strange beings, no intelligence, no way to communicate, and they all look identical."
Mario's brain immediately made the connection. "Portal? What kind of portal?"
"Unclear. The energy signature doesn't match any known dimensional gateway."
They passed close enough for Mario to hear grunting sounds coming from inside the room.
Oh no.
"Are they pig-like creatures?"
Mordo stopped and stared at him. "You know what they are?"
"Yeah." Now that he knew what they were, his curiosity faded.