A/N: Um... Sorry, Stan Lee. I feel that should be said... Mash-up crossover combining Big Time Rush with "Agents of SHIELD" (with hints of the "Avengers" in it 'cause you can't have "AoS" without it), "The Fantastic Four", and "Spider-Man" (to a degree). "AoS", "Avengers" "TFF", and "Spider-Man" are all property of Marvel, Stan Lee, and ABC/Disney/Whatever. "BTR" property of Nickelodeon (maybe, pretty sure it might be for now...) and Scott Fellows. I just have a crazy ass mind that decided to smoosh it all together and create this messterpiece. This fic leans more towards MCU, since my Comic!Verse knowledge is incredibly limited, and takes place during the first "Fantastic Four" flick, with some changes due to my own artistic license and need to actually make this work. Title from an episode of "Agents of SHIELD" called "The Hub".
It wasn't how Kendall pictured Agent Hill's office to look.
Not that he ever really imagined how her office would appear. Or that she'd even have an office to begin with. Kinda weird that she had one. He couldn't really picture her sitting behind a desk, typing on a computer, filing paperwork, regular office shit like that. No, when he thought of Agent Maria Hill he always thought of what an excellent shot she was, her skills in combat, the way she'd bark orders at men twice her size—superheroes included—and they'd follow them without question. Hill carried herself with the kind of authority that matched people far older than her and had a toughness that was usually found in someone much larger than her lean frame, making her a great ally out in the field or by Director Fury's side as they traveled between one mission and the next in the helicarrier.
So why she had an office was something Kendall was confused about.
Yet there he was, sitting in it, waiting for her to show up.
It wasn't how he expected his day to go. All he'd really planned on was saying goodbye to his dad as the elder male left on a mission of his own. But when the SHIELD SUV showed up to take him to the local HQ, the driver insisted Kendall come along and no, he didn't have time to change, he just had to come as he was. His dad had just given him a shrug and a pat on the shoulder, not seeming to know what was going on either. Without any words, the two of them had climbed in the back of the black Explorer and were driven to their destination.
Where, half an hour later, Kendall still had no clue why he'd been brought there or told to wait in Hill's office.
Unless... they knew.
No, no way. He'd made sure to leave no traceable evidence when he'd hacked into the SHIELD mainframe and rooted around their files for the info he wanted. Even the best cyber-security officers they could employ wouldn't be able to notice anything that would make them believe someone had been in there, nor would it lead them back to him and his laptop.
But still. Was worth worrying over.
Kendall squirmed in his seat, tugging at his torn jeans, pulling at his flannel shirt. His green eyes peered out the glass wall to his left, taking in the bustle of activity, agents walking to and fro down the hall, exchanging information, heading on their way to...well, wherever they were going. All were busy, all were important.
All were in suits.
A heavy sigh escaped him as he turned and faced the front again, eyes locked onto the long table before him. He'd been to SHIELD countless times with his parents, had even been found and rescued by them before he was adopted by two agents. So being in the building itself wasn't anything new or outta the ordinary—although actually being requested to show up was. But still, he felt a small ache in the middle of his chest, knowing that no matter how many times he showed up there, he didn't belong.
Because he wasn't an agent.
Hell, he was barely even human.
His thumb subconsciously started rubbing the inside of his wrist, feeling the pock-mark that was below each hand. A mark that allowed web to go shooting out.
Maybe not technically a web per say, but a web-like substance, stronger, thicker than anything a regular spider could create. Was part of the arachnid package he inhabited, along with the ability to climb walls and literally hang out on the ceiling. Made scaring his parents easier on April Fool's. And the web-thing was fun to use in order to swing around the city like Tarzan going from vine to vine.
Assuming he was even allowed out the house that day.
But no matter what, he could admit his abilities were pretty cool. And combined with the underlying strength and the heightened senses he possessed, it made being a "Non-Human Entity" and "Registered Superhuman" bearable.
It also meant he'd be one kickass SHIELD agent and a true asset to the company. It was just too bad no one else seemed to agree with him.
He was sure it wasn't any sorta slight against him or what he was. SHIELD obviously had no problems working with anyone with superpowers of any description. Captain America was one of their biggest and most important members. Bruce Banner—and his more temperamental alter-ego The Hulk—was a SHIELD consultant. Hell, they even used the help of a demi-god from time to time. Plus there was The Index of Superhumans, those with special powers they kept a close eye on and sometimes even brought in for assistance. So, no, his powers weren't an issue.
And it wasn't that he didn't have any training. Having SHIELD members for parents meant he was raised not only learning the basic reading, writing, and arithmetic, but also hand-to-hand combat, weapons and technology, how to drive a car, plane, helicopter, or any other vehicle necessary during a mission. He could shoot the wings off a fly at a hundred yards and snap a guy's neck in three different places. Plus he had a strange underlying strength due to whatever had been done to him as a kid that allowed him to participate in any physical activity or heavy lifting and not get tired or worn down. So not knowing how to fight and take care of himself wasn't why he had yet to become an agent.
Kendall lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck, fingers grazing the visitor's pass clipped to his shirt, one that allowed him limited access throughout the building and prevented him from going to certain areas or hallways. Visitor. He'd lived here for a week or so after he'd been rescued and now he was a fucking visitor. Given who he was and who his parents were, he figured he'd be allowed a little more leeway at that point in his life. Showed how much trust they had in him.
Which was one of the reasons why he figured he wasn't an agent yet.
His parents themselves were another one.
The door to his left opened, his head turning around to view who was entering the room. Agent Hill. He should've known really.
Hill carried herself with the same quiet power she always did. Her dark blue jumpsuit hugged her body like a second skin, providing warmth, coverage, and flexibility should shit hit the fan at any moment. Her dark hair was pulled back in its usual bun at the nape of her neck, side-swept bangs framing steely blue eyes that could silence anyone with just one look.
Kendall's own green orbs watched as she strode around him, down the side of the table. The SHIELD eagle logo was on the wall behind her, a dark gray symbol of what it was she stood for, the company that made her who she was. To him, she'd always been one of the faces of the division—maybe not a public one, since that tended to be more of Captain America or Iron Man's role, but a face nonetheless.
A stern face, given her furrowed brow and pinched lips.
"Parker," she greeted him flatly as she reached the other end of the long table, dropping a file onto the oak furniture before seating herself opposite Kendall. She always referred to him by his surname—or at least the surname most everyone in the building knew him by. Who had adopted him was information known only by Level Nine agents, something she was. Yet she still called him "Parker"—his middle name in all actuality—although he wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that she was keeping the secret hidden or she just refused to acknowledge who his parents were.
He leaned more towards the latter, considering the "Parker" moniker was still used in private.
"Agent Hill," he replied with a terse head nod, sitting up straighter in his chair. He swallowed the lump of nerves that had coagulated in his throat when she'd entered the room, a combination of the intimidating presence she always exuded and the anxiety caused by the worry that he'd been busted reading secure SHIELD files only accessible to agents in high levels. Which was pretty fucked up, considering the files he'd checked out were about himself. So really, he had every right to read them, secured or not, permission or not.
But as much as he convinced himself his reasoning was sound and acceptable, he still couldn't help but feel like he was about to be dropped in some serious shit.
Hill sat up straight, slim, strong hands folded on the table, narrowed eyes regarding him. She didn't speak a word, just stared, analyzing him. Kendall fought to remain still under her intense scrutiny, fighting back memories of when SHIELD scientists had given him countless exams and performed seemingly endless tests when he was first brought in, all in an attempt to figure out exactly what he was, what had been done to him, whether he was harmless or a risk to everyone—including himself.
But he was fine, was safe, had proven so over a decade and a half later. Yet she continued staring him down as though trying to peer inside of him, find something she could use against him, a weakness of some form that would give her any sort of advantage, whether physical or mental.
He mentally scoffed at Hill being able to take him physically. Sure, he looked lanky as hell, was pretty much all limbs with a big nose, but he still possessed an extraordinary amount of strength, training sessions with the Captain himself proving he was no slouch in the gym. And combat sparring with Agent Romanov proved he had no issue taking on a female.
If Hill was given a gun however...
"You've heard of the Fantastic Four, right?" she interrupted his mental space trip, voice as hard as ever.
Kendall's head jerked back almost imperceptibly, but he knew she picked up on it. It was her job to catch any small tick, any little giveaway as to someone's thinking or feeling, even ones people had no idea they were doing. So his reaction to her suddenly speaking and jarring him back to reality so harshly didn't go unnoticed.
Didn't stop him from acting like he wasn't aware that she'd seen it though.
Instead, Kendall just frowned in puzzlement, wondering what the group of superheroes had to do with him.
"Yeah, I've heard of 'em," he answered plainly, green eyes focused on the stoic face at the other end of the table. "Buncha astronauts who got caught in some sorta radiation cloud while on the Von Doom space station, came back with different powers."
Hill's face gave nothing away as she nodded, confirming his info was correct. Which he pretty much knew it was. He remembered the buzz around SHIELD when it happened, all the questions about what exactly their powers were and what the individuals could do. He remembered all the news covering the incident on the Brooklyn Bridge where they'd stopped a firetruck from falling into the East River and an explosion from taking out the bridge itself. He remembered his parents discussing the new superhumans during breakfast, a debate about whether or not SHIELD should intervene and how it was a little too late for damage control considering they were on the morning news again. Yeah, the Fantastic Four were a big commodity, a well-known group that had caused quite a stir by being public pretty much from the get-go, unlike other heroes who were hidden for certain periods of time—if not always.
Kendall swallowed hard as he subconsciously rubbed the inside of his wrist again. Shoving everything out of his mind, he focused on the conversation at hand. "What's this gotta do with me?"
Okay, that question might've been a little self-centered and bratty, but it was still a valid inquiry. As far as he knew, he had zero connections to the Fantastic Four, therefore SHIELD would have no reason to bring him in and interrogate him about the super squad.
He mentally shuddered to think of how Hill would interrogate someone, the techniques she'd use.
Then again, better Hill than Romanov.
Hill's icy stare analyzed him for a long moment before she leaned forward over the table, back still ramrod straight. It was as close to relaxing as she ever really got. As far as he knew anyway.
"SHIELD has had its eye on them since they returned from space, especially after the Brooklyn Bridge Incident," she started, voice level, calm, informative. "But unfortunately for us, all attempts to reach out and talk with them have been met with silence or 'we're busy right now, we'll get back to you some other time'." Her jaw tightened, a sign of her aggravation, and she wagged her eyebrows in dismissal. "We need to debrief them, figure out what exactly their powers are, what they're capable of, and whether or not they're a threat to the public. Which is where you come in."
His confusion grew, an eyebrow arching on its own, lips twisting up in a puzzled sneer of sorts. "Me? But I'm not a debriefing guy."
"We don't want you to debrief them," she clarified, features still flat, just like her tone. "It's a little late for the 'keep your powers to yourself and maintain a low profile' speech, considering all that's happened."
He see-sawed his head, conceding her point.
"We need you to get information about them and their powers."
That had Kendall sitting up straighter in his seat, his heart lurching and beating at twice the speed as excitement fluttered in his chest. "Like a mission?"
She nodded, fingers gripping the gray folder she'd walked in the room with. "Well, not like a mission. It is one," she cleared up, causing him to inhale sharply and hold the air in his lungs, hope swelling inside him and making his skin tingle. "Fury specifically requested you do this, given your qualifications. You have certain assets needed for this assignment that no one else has."
Holy. Shit.
Kendall's heart was pounding out of control, his chest tight, stomach full of pterodactyls, since they were much too large to be butterflies. His skin tingled more as hope and excitement and disbelief all took over. This was it, he was finally being looked at as a valuable asset, an important person with skills necessary for an assignment. He wasn't being looked at like a freak, an experiment that was taken away from some mad scientist, something that didn't exist in nature nor would it ever. No one was treating him special or differently because of any powers or who his parents were. He was being praised because of them, wanted, needed even. It was everything he'd ever dreamed of, late night fantasies of being an agent and fighting bad guys coming to life.
It was about fucking time, too.
Leaning forward, he looked Hill in the eye, unable to prevent the way his lips were turning up at the corners in an excited smile. "So, you need me to use my spider-like powers to break into their headquarters, get information, then sneak back out undetected?" he guessed, his words coming out in a frantic rush as the joy of an impending mission overwhelmed him. He felt like he was on a roller coaster as it reached its apex, the incredible rush of speeding through loops and turns causing his blood to pump more furiously and his adrenaline to amp up to high levels.
Maybe "excitement" wasn't strong enough of a word.
Not that he knew anything more fitting. He bet his dad would though.
He pushed aside thoughts of his old man as he concentrated once again on Hill, his leg bouncing under the table. He felt shaky all over, an indescribable feeling of being happy and important and like he was finally doing what he was meant to do. He couldn't contain any of his emotions, the feelings leaking out into trembling hands and wide eyes and a huge goofy grin. He felt like a kid on Christmas morning waking up to a room full of more toys than twinkling lights or snow outside. Which was to be expected when someone spends seventeen years working towards something and hoping it'd happen, then it finally does.
Holy. Shit.
"Not exactly," Hill's voice cut into his joy, causing his leg to pause and his smile to falter. "You won't be able to use your powers at all. In fact, they need to remain hidden at all times."
Kendall felt his roller coaster crash and his toys being snatched away before he could open them. It was a mistake, right? There was no way SHIELD would use him for a mission and not let him take advantage of special skills and traits given to him.
Right?
Hill slid the folder down to his end of the table, Kendall slapping a hand on top of it before it hit his torso, reflexes still fast despite the freeze taking over the rest of him.
"The Fantastic Four recently put an ad out there requesting a personal assistant," the SHIELD agent began, voice still that same informative tone, only with more authority. The blond male wondered if she'd practiced this speech beforehand. "Seems they're having trouble running things at the Baxter Building and doing their research at the same time."
Kendall nodded dumbly, body stiff as he spun the folder around and opened it up. On the left side was the ad Hill was describing, a job description typed up by Camille Storm herself. He read it through, not absorbing any of it. He felt numb all the way through, all the excitement and joy and hope from before all dashed away by the knowledge that he couldn't do what he'd assumed he was being asked to.
"We need you to go undercover and work for them, get all the info you can that way."
He frowned in confusion, wondering why the masquerade was necessary. "Wouldn't it just be easier for me to sneak in and hack their system, get any info that way?"
A muscle in her jaw twitched again, a small tick that gave away her annoyance at his questioning, at his refusal to just go along with her orders. "We don't know if their information is even logged in electronically. For all we know, it could be scribbled in some notebook stashed away somewhere in Richards' lab, something that, if it were to go missing, would make it obvious that someone had broken in and taken it. Plus there's always the chance of someone walking in on you and you being caught red-handed."
Okay, he could see her point, but he wasn't about to concede it. Seemed to him it would just be easier, cleaner, neater to just hack their files. Then again, maybe he was just biased and itching to do something he was actually capable of doing. And since he couldn't use his powers, it appeared as though his computer skills would be the only other option, especially when he'd been told that his specific qualifications had landed him the job.
But he wasn't allowed to do either. Which made him wonder why the hell he'd been assigned this gig in the first place.
"Why me?" he managed to get out, voice rough as the words struggled to get past the lump of disappointment that had lodged itself in his throat. Lifting his head, he met her eyes with his own, frowning in confusion. "Why can't some other agent do it? Someone with experience going undercover like this?"
His mind race with the thought of countless agents who could handle the task. Romanov had posed as an assistant to Tony Stark before he'd teamed up with SHIELD, allowing her to make a full assessment report of him and whether she'd recommend him for the Avengers Initiative. Clearly she was the best option for the mission. Who the hell knew what kinda info she'd gotten outta countless men using her own assets.
And he wasn't referring to her ability to fight or love of all things sharp and deadly.
Hill's face was still flat and he briefly found himself wondering if she was, in fact, a robot of some description. "For starters, the ad requested a male assistant."
Okay, so Romanov was out. There was still Ward, who'd gone undercover countless times and had connections all over the world. Barton, if push came to shove.
"They also want someone young."
Still didn't eliminate Ward or Barton.
Okay, maybe Barton, but Ward was still young. He could definitely do the job.
"Fury picked you," Hill continued, giving him a pointed look at the reminder that the director himself had specifically given this assignment to Kendall. "Because you aren't as well-trained as the others." She held up a hand when he opened his mouth to object and he fell back against his seat, silent. "Yes, you know how to fight and shoot, which works in your favor should shit go south. We don't have to worry about you being unable to protect yourself in a dangerous situation. Not that we feel one should arise, but better safe than sorry."
"So why the comment about my supposed lack of training?" he questioned with more snark than he meant to let out, but he'd pretty much been insulted. Getting defensive was justified in that situation.
"I meant no training on how to go undercover," she clarified flatly. "You know just enough to be able to do it, thanks to your upbringing—" He stiffened at that, although he wasn't entirely sure if it was meant as a slight or not. "—but not to the point where you lose your sense of self and become an emotionless robotic parody of a human."
He had to stifle a laugh at the irony of him having just thought that of her. Instead, he kept his poker face up and his eyes locked on hers. "So, I know enough of the basic rules of going undercover to be able to do it, but no knowledge or experience of actually doing it? That's why I was picked?" he double-checked, finding the whole thing hard to believe.
"Yes."
He snorted, rolling his eyes as he turned his head away, green orbs coming across the glass wall and the suited agents beyond it. He thought of his parents, of times when one or both had come to him to tell him they had to leave on a mission, neither promising they'd come home. He remembered times when he'd wake up with one or both missing, an agent sent in their place to watch over him, since he couldn't really have a real babysitter. And as much as he'd hated his parents being gone and missing them terribly, he'd hated the fact that he couldn't go with them even more.
It just seemed completely unfair that he'd been given those powers and had no outlet to use them. It was like being given a skateboard when living on a houseboat. Yeah, you could maybe use it around the deck, but what you really wanted was to get out there and just go, to use it for hours and hours and actually be able to do something with it.
And he thought he'd finally been given that opportunity, only for it to be taken away once more. The boat was moving to a different location, but he was still stuck on it.
He wondered if his parents ever faced restrictions like this. Then he thought of how his parents were among those who were restricting him.
"Can't," he stated, turning his head back to the agent he was sitting across from. "My parents won't let me."
He felt like an eight year old telling his friend that he wasn't allowed to play at a certain park, but it was the truth. Every time he'd told his parents he wanted to be a SHIELD agent like them, it was met with worried looks and "I dunno, bud"s. He figured it was simply because he was so young and kids' dream professions changed over the years. To them, him wanting to be an agent was the equivalent of other children wanting to be princesses or rock stars or dinosaurs: cute, yes, but eventually they'd grow outta that phase and pick something more realistic.
Only he never did. As he grew older, he became more determined to do it. He learned to fight, to shoot, to drive, practicing all these skills until he was so exhausted he passed out on the couch and needed to be carried to bed. He learned foreign languages not because it looked good on college applications or because his parents wanted him to broaden his horizons, but because he knew they'd come in handy for overseas missions where he'd need to fit in or meet up with contacts, maybe even make some of his own.
And when his parents realized he'd been serious about becoming an agent, they began letting him down, telling him it was too dangerous and that he was better off doing office work than in the field. Their overprotection and hypocrisy had pissed him off so bad that he stopped talking to them for a full week. It was only when his dad nearly died that he apologized for being a brat.
He still never gave up on the hope of one day having a SHIELD badge and assignments of his own though.
Which made the fact that he was turning this mission down all the more unbelievable.
"Your parents," Hill began, gritting the words out, letting it be known without an explanation how she felt about the people who'd adopted Kendall. "Are the ones who requested you be given an assignment. In fact, your dad was the one who'd gone to Fury himself and practically demanded you'd be given field work."
His eyes widened at that, shock freezing him all over. His dad had been the one most against him becoming an agent. Not that either one of them wanted him out there, but he'd been the most vocal, the one who'd given that resounding "no" that still echoed in his head at night when his thoughts got dark and his chest got heavy. He was more protective, more outspoken about all the dangers Kendall could and would face, even before he'd made his future career goals known. His dad was the one who told him the world was a dark, shitty place and that if he didn't teach his son that, no one would. He was the one who told Kendall being a field agent would only happen over his dead body and that was the end of that discussion until his ashes were scattered somewhere in the Pacific.
Seemed like Kendall turning a mission down wasn't the only unbelievable moment of his meeting with Hill.
"My dad?" He double-checked, pointing to himself, letting out a small laugh when she nodded. "Clearly you don't know my old man all that well."
"But I do."
The sound of a familiar male voice alerted Kendall to the presence of another person just to his left and he mentally kicked himself for not realizing there was someone else there.
Yeah, he'd be a great agent.
Turning his head, his wide green eyes took in Agent Coulson as he meandered down the side of the table, smirk on his face. He was dressed in his usual dark gray suit and white collared shirt, black tie completing the look. The winkles on his face were more defined by his smile and his blue eyes held a conspiratorial twinkle in them that both comforted Kendall and made him uneasy. The elder male gave him a wink through a blackened eye, a cut visible on his lower lip, evidence of a recent scuffle. But he gave no indication that he was bothered by the injuries or in any sort of pain as he stopped about halfway down the long table, standing with his hands clasped in front of him.
"Phi—Agent Coulson," he corrected himself as he greeted the well-known figure, another face that always came to mind when Kendall thought of SHIELD and what it did.
The suited one's smirk grew at the slip of his name, knowing the familiarity between the two of them. Coulson had been one of the agents who'd found the blond and had even been assigned to watch over him from time to time when both his parents were away. It was so easy to just call him "Phil" as he had done so many times before that remembering to use the more formal greeting when at SHIELD was temporarily forgotten.
But if Coulson was offended by the slip, he didn't show it either, simply nodding his head at the younger male. "Nice to see you again, Kendall," he stated genuinely, before turning to Hill. "Sorry I'm late. Just got back from a meeting with Fury," he explained, shifting his focus to the younger male once again. "I also ran into your dad in the hallway before he left."
The mention of his old man and his impending mission made his chest tighten and his heart sink. His dad had said goodbye, but made no promises to return, just like always. Kendall knew it was because his dad had no way of guaranteeing he'd come home—extraction plan or not—and he didn't wanna make a promise he couldn't keep, but it still hurt him to know that even his dad never fully relied on his abilities to get him home safe.
The two days he'd spent in a coma as he healed after a helicopter crash in the Middle East were evidence of that.
"The world's a dark, shitty place, son. The sooner you figure that out, the better off you'll be."
"That where you got the shiner?" Hill questioned Coulson, drawing Kendall back to the present. A snarky look was on the female agent's face, a haughty tone to her voice. Things between the two of them had always been someone contentious, reminding Kendall of a sibling rivalry type of relationship, especially since it seemed as though they were both constantly vying to be Fury's favorite. No one ever seemed to come out on top, just like it was never clear who exactly outranked who between the two of them, a fact that just added to their strained interactions.
Coulson continued smirking as he focused in her. "Actually no," he clarified. "Serbian separatists. But I wouldn't expect you to understand."
Hill's eyes narrowed, her jaw clenching as she folded her arms over her chest. To anyone else, it would almost appear as though the two of them hated each other, but Kendall knew it was the opposite. They both respected the hell out of each other, and while they both competed for Fury's pick of favorite agent/kid, they genuinely did like and care for one another. He'd been told Hill was one of the most distraught people when Coulson had been killed before the Battle of New York, as well as one of very few who knew the details of how he was brought back.
Kendall had asked, but was told he wasn't cleared for that information.
He wasn't cleared for any information, including some about himself.
Hence his recent, somewhat—okay, incredibly—illegal, electronic excursion into SHIELD's database.
Coulson turned back to the younger male, friendly smile still on his face as he spoke. "Your father told me you'd just been approved for your first mission and how much work he'd had to do in order to convince others you were ready. Apparently it was a source of a few heated debates between your parents."
Kendall's eyes focused on the table, frown wrinkling his brow. He'd had a feeling that had been the case. He'd overheard countless hushed conversations in angry tones through walls of the house, had seen discussions end when he walked in the room, his parents acting like nothing was wrong, and, no, they aren't arguing, everything was fine. He'd woken up to one of them still sleeping on the couch alone or one being snippy with the other as they hinted at what an ass that person was being.
The tension would ease when one left for a mission, staying that way upon their return, only for it to intensify once again a couple days later when the talk was brought back up. Kendall had noticed things had tapered off lately and that problems had probably been worked out a couple days before, although it also seemed like both his parents were worn down by it, a saddened resolve taking over them. He asked if they were splitting up, only to get an amused chuckle on response and insistences that neither was leaving the other, that they were still madly in love, that the three of them were still a family.
He'd still worried something major was happening and became paranoid that he was the reason, that maybe they were okay with having a kid around the house—albeit one who climbed walls and swung from chandeliers—but weren't too thrilled about having a young adult living with them. He started freaking out over whether they were sick of his powers and just wanted a normal child like any other parents, one that could've gone to public school then college then off to a regular everyday job somewhere out there. He never imagined their debates were about whether or not he should be allowed to do any missions.
Really though, he'd kinda been right about being the cause of the tension in the house.
Didn't that just make him feel like a swell guy?
"He also said," Coulson continued, Kendall listening without looking at him. "That he wanted me to watch over you and help you out as your contact."
That had the blond's head snapping up, looking at the elder male in puzzlement. "You'd be my SO?" he questioned in disbelief.
Sure, he knew he needed a supervising officer, someone to get in touch with to give updates and let SHIELD know all was well. He just didn't think Coulson would be that person. He figured the agent would be busy on missions of his own, would have no time for a regulated visit with a non-agent on an undercover assignment.
The suited one nodded, smirk turning into a proud grin. "It would be my honor to help you along your way during your first assignment," he stated genuinely, causing Kendall's eyes to widen more. "Fury has also personally guaranteed me and your parents that should you succeed, he'll see into it that you become a full agent of SHIELD."
He didn't think his eyes could get any wider, but they did. The same mix of adrenaline, hope, excitement, and joy came rushing back, making his heart pound and stomach flip and mind go fuzzy. A guarantee from Fury was better than one from the President of the United States himself. And now Kendall had his parents' backing to boot. It was gonna happen. He was gonna be an agent.
Details of the mission not withstanding, he turned back to Hill, determination and resolve on his features. "When do I start?"
