Marvel: Empire of Power

The unease within Lou Scarelli's organization deepened. Angelo Trapani, after receiving Elias's cryptic gift, became a source of intense speculation and paranoia for Scarelli. While Trapani made no overt moves, his quiet detachment and strained interactions with Scarelli's remaining loyalists were palpable. Scarelli, already prone to seeing enemies in every shadow, doubled down on his aggressive tactics, trying to reassert his dominance through fear, which only further alienated his wavering underlings. Fitzpatrick's people, meanwhile, observed these internal convulsions with keen interest, likely sensing opportunity.

Elias Thorne, orchestrating this from the quiet of his rooms, focused on consolidating his existing assets and patiently observing the effects of his meddling. His Host Power had edged up to [3.55]; his Energy reserves were at [79.80/100], benefiting from Dr. Finch's now less energy-intensive "maintenance" of his cognitive enhancement and Mickey's consistent small-scale energy conversions. He wasn't ready to expand his empowered team just yet, preferring to refine the use of his current agents. Dr. Finch was proving invaluable, his analysis extending beyond just criminal enterprises to the political and economic climate of Montreal, providing Elias with a broader understanding of the city's power dynamics.

It was during one of Dr. Finch's more esoteric research dives, looking into historical land claims and forgotten mineral rights in northern Quebec (a long-term project Elias had him undertaking, sensing potential future value), that an anomaly surfaced.

"Mr. Thorne," Finch began, his eyes alight with scholarly curiosity during one of their meetings. "While examining survey maps and logging company archives from the late 19th and early 20th centuries pertaining to the Abitibi region, I've encountered repeated, albeit vague, references to a... peculiar individual. Or perhaps, a recurring local legend."

Elias, ever attentive to the unusual, leaned forward. "Explain."

"The loggers and trappers in those remote areas, particularly around isolated work camps, spoke of a man, or something like a man, who lived wild. Described as incredibly strong, almost bestial in his resilience, and possessing an uncanny healing ability. They called him 'Le Carcajou' – the Wolverine. Most accounts dismiss it as campfire tales, but the consistency across decades, from different sources, is... intriguing. There are even a few blurry, unsubstantiated photographs from the 1910s and 20s, purportedly of unusual tracks or fleeting glimpses of a figure who doesn't quite fit the description of any known animal or ordinary hermit."

Finch produced a faded, grainy photograph. It showed a deep, claw-like gouge in a thick pine tree, too precise for a bear, too deep for any common creature. Another showed a blurry shape moving through dense undergrowth.

"Most academic sources dismiss this as folklore," Finch continued. "But one account, from a respected but somewhat eccentric naturalist, Dr. Armand Dubois, in a privately published journal from 1922, speaks of encountering a man fitting this description near a remote mining exploration camp. Dubois claimed the man possessed... 'retractable bone-like claws' and healed from a grievous injury almost instantaneously. Naturally, Dubois was widely ridiculed."

Elias listened, a spark of profound interest igniting within him. Retractable bone claws. Rapid healing. In the remote Canadian wilderness. This was not some common criminal or easily understood power. This felt... different. Prime.

The System interface, which usually remained impassive unless directly queried or logging specific events, suddenly pulsed with a faint, almost subliminal golden light.