Goodbye Summer Hello Trouble!
Chapter XI
Peter was flabbergasted. He stood frozen on the spot once he laid eyes upon the sight before him. Lasers were flying from one end of the room to the other; bullets were being thrown mindlessly from left to right, while four figures moved fluidly. Their movements were so well coordinated, so calculated that Peter found the sight mesmerizing.
Each member of the team chose how to act depending on what another team member had just done. For instance, once White Tiger scratched a robot it exploded. Then Power Man grabbed one of them and threw the machine towards Iron Fist who immediately punched it. Meanwhile, Nova had covered most of their backs by shooting the robots which had tried to attack Iron Fist or Power Man from behind. White Tiger had assisted Nova by scratching the robots that had not exploded from the blue blasts.
Soon there were eight left. Power Man crushed two, whereas Iron Fist and White Tiger killed only one each. The three then made their way toward Spiderman.
"Aren't you going to help him?" Peter asked.
"Nah," Luke answered without even bothering to check on Nova, "He's got it covered."
"Nova likes to indulge himself in breaking his personal records." Iron Fist explained.
"Last time he managed to kill 48 robots. His current goal is to reach fifty." Ava added.
She then counted to three and exactly after she mouthed the word 'three' Nova yelled 'hell yeah!' and landed on the ground jumping. He then made a celebratory circle of the training rooms and landed near Ava, making her hiss.
"Don't worry, kitty. I'll prepare your milk so that you can rest properly soon." Sam taunted.
Ava scowled and decided to sharpen her claws on Sam's body. He protested and tried to run away, but Ava was fast to react. When Nova flew away, she used the walls and leaped, landing on Sam's back. She scratched it diligently, making him scream.
"Damn it, Tiger! Enough!" Sam yelled as he started zigzagging in order to shake her off.
Ava managed to hold on long enough to leave Nova with a few more bruises before she smirked and leapt back down. As she went back to her previous whereabouts, Sam moaned and complained after he had landed next to her.
"Be gentler next time, will ya?" Sam moaned as he inspected some of the scratches.
"I agree with Nova. Usually such simple taunts do not manage to rile you up as much, White Tiger." Danny said.
Ava growled before she huffed, "It is not my fault entirely. Someone had to ruin my morning as well."
White Tiger eyed Power Man. He smiled sheepishly. Her response was a glare. Danny sighed, while Sam tried to shrink back. He noticed that Spiderman was trying hard to stifle his laughs.
"Enjoying the show, webs?" Sam suddenly asked, successfully directing everyone's attention to Peter.
Spiderman gulped once he noticed that everyone was looking at him.
"Um… hi." He tried. His response was silence. As sweat began rolling down his scalp, he sighed and added, "My timing seems to be off. I guess I should come back tomorrow."
As Spiderman turned to leave, Danny walked up to him, put a hand on his shoulder, spun him around and smiled. Peter could only blink. He then yelped when Danny stepped back and bowed slightly.
"I apologize for my teammates' rudeness and the lack of a warm welcome." Danny then rose and glared slightly at all three of them as he added, "I thought their manners had improved. It appears I have been wrong."
Luke looked down to the ground as he tried not to laugh. Ava sighed and looked at the wall. She despised it when Danny was in the mood for lecturing. Sam paid Danny's words no heed. He was used to them and knew they were mostly for show. However, once Sam noticed how out of place and confused Spiderman was starting to feel, he decided to intervene.
"What did Fury tell you?" Sam asked, opting to be as straightforward as possible.
Peter sighed. He was thankful for the change of subject.
"He told me that I can join your team and become your leader if you agree. Of course, I or more like 'we' will have to go through a series of tests. The point of these examinations is to see the quality of our teamwork. We have a week to prepare." Peter explained.
Danny nodded. Luke's eyes widened slightly. Sam gaped, while Ava exclaimed, "We have only a week?!"
Peter cringed. It seemed today was not anyone's day. He sighed before he replied, "I'm afraid so."
Silence stretched on once more before Danny stepped up toward Spiderman and extended his hand, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Spiderman. I am Iron Fist. It will be an honour to work alongside you."
Peter took the outstretched hand and shook it before he smiled and replied, "Likewise."
It was Luke's turn next. "Hi there. I'm Power Man and hope we will be able to collaborate."
"Same here." Peter said before he cringed slightly, "You have a solid grip."
Luke smirked, "I know." He then let go and Peter sighed in relief, making him chuckle.
Ava had calmed down somewhat. Therefore she was able to shake hands with Peter and utter, "It is a pleasure to finally meet you properly, Spiderman. I am sorry for the unneeded display of emotions before. I was out of line."
"No need for apologies. I understand. We all have our bad days."
Ava then stepped towards the others and then looked pointedly at Nova. Sam merely rolled his eyes, floated forward and iterated, "Glad you decided to finally follow my advice. Even though it is not official yet, I, along with the others, would like to welcome you to our team."
Sam then extended his hand and Peter reciprocated the gesture. The two shook hands, smiled and nodded. After that everyone dispersed.
"I was hoping we could get a chance to train tonight." Peter said as he walked with or rather near the flying Sam.
"Yeah, I was as well, but we are all tired and need our sleep. Plus you came in quite late. We've already finished all our missions and done our training for the day." Nova said, but once he noticed that Spiderman looked away, his head was bent down subtly, he sighed.
Once Sam checked his watch, he clicked his tongue and suggested, "You know, even though it is past normal training hours, I am sure we might be able to pull off something together. I think it will be a good practice for you. I mean before you train with the entire team, wouldn't it be better to get a feel of the arena and your enemies first?"
Peter stopped, turned around and asked, "Are you sure it will be okay? Because if it is not, I do not want you to get in trouble because of me."
Sam chuckled, put a hand on Spiderman's shoulder, shook it slightly and replied, "Relax, everything will be fine."
He then turned around and added, "Plus, I'm sure you'd enjoy beating up the likes of Doctor Doom, Scorpion or even Doc Oc. I know the latter is a personal favourite of yours."
Peter rolled his eyes at the joke. However, his curiosity had been piqued. With a slight jump he landed next to Nova and said, "Count me in."
Peter could not help but yell 'hell yeah!' as he shot the newly acquired electric webs Fury had given him. The sticky ropes plunged into what appeared to be Doc Oc, making him scream from being electrified. Soon the robot turned back to normal and fell to the ground, his core adorning freshly made holes.
"Glad to see you're enjoying yourself, Spidey." Nova yelled as he shot a few blasts at Scorpion. The robot malfunctioned and fell to the ground.
As Peter was busy examining the new weapon Fury had given him when he had come to the training rooms to see what all the commotion was about, Sam landed beside him. Nova waited patiently for Spiderman to finish. Sam could not help but smirk once Peter exclaimed, "You're right. That was freaking awesome."
Sam chuckled as he walked towards the control centre. Peter followed him. As Sam turned the program off, he replied, "Told you so."
Peter had a lot of questions about the way the controls actually worked buzzing through his brain. However, once he noticed how slow Nova was with turning the whole thing off, Peter decided that now was not the best time for a quick lesson. Instead he spent the time he had to himself to ponder on the knowledge he had gained.
It seemed that S.H.I.E.L.D. was loaded with all types of up-to-date technology. Just the idea of being able to lay his hands on such pieces from heaven made his senses tingle. The training itself was interesting. Even though he knew he was fighting against robots, the change of their appearance and use of the most common fighting stances and moves that the villain adopted during a battle was phenomenal. Peter had to agree with Nova that in order to lead the team, he would have to get to know the premises. Fortunately, he had spent about an hour and a half doing just that.
Another thought suddenly crossed his mind at the mention of his soon to be officially team member – they had worked well together. Even though what they had been fighting against was not the real deal, they still managed to collaborate. This realization sent relief cascading through Peter's nerves, calming them down. With a smile he concluded that if all went well with the others, he would not have any problems passing the tests and becoming their official leader.
"Yo, webs, you in there?" Nova asked as he waved a glowing, gloved hand in front of Spiderman's masked face.
Peter shook his head as he apologized, "Sorry, I was out of it."
"I guessed as much." Sam replied as he stepped back and landed on the ground without creating any sound. Peter was amazed at the perfection.
"Too much to take in?" Sam suddenly asked as he turned toward Peter.
Peter nodded as he walked toward Nova who motioned with his head toward the exit. Peter understood. It was over. It was time to leave. However, he could not help but feel desolate. He had been looking forward to spending more time with the team and strangely, he had been looking forward to spending more time with Nova as well.
The notion appalled Peter. He had never been interested this much into another superhero because usually superheroes wore masks and rarely did they let you in. Aside from the fact that they could die any second, superheroes rarely became friends. The best you could hope to obtain with a fellow hero was to become allies, nothing more and hopefully – nothing less.
However, there was something about Nova. There was something that pulled Peter in. Peter could not, unfortunately, pinpoint exactly what it was. Perhaps it was the way his blue glow spiked whenever Nova was experiencing something deeper namely anger or fear. Maybe it was the way he had managed to cast their differences aside. Peter hated to admit it, but Nova had been the one to take the first step towards this new friendship that had grown between them and Peter was glad he had.
"Webs, I need to ask you something." Nova suddenly said, scratching the back of his neck.
If Peter had not been startled, he would have paid better attention to the alarming similarity this gesture of nervousness had to the movement a certain short, dark-haired teen made nearly every day.
"Go ahead." Peter urged.
Sam sighed and looked away. This action reminded Peter of Sam. When the teen had been about to ask something personal, he looked away. However, this type of movement was quite common so Peter ignored the similarity.
"Why were you so adamant about not joining our team?" Sam asked.
Peter sighed deeply. He knew it was about to come to this. He had just been hoping to be spared from this serious conversation tonight.
"You don't have to answer, if you don't want to. I just. . . I want you to know that I am not pressuring you into sharing anything." Sam uttered.
Peter smiled. "It's alright. It is not a very uncommon reason. I just felt better on my own. There are more details which I will tell you shortly. I do owe you one what with you telling me about Carrie when you did not have to."
Sam nodded and mumbled, "It's fine. I wanted to."
Peter felt something pull at his heart strings. Had they made a connection on a deeper level? Had they or were they just about to become closer?
"Webs, you alright there?" Sam asked as he waved a hand in front of Spiderman's face who only managed a half what in response. Sam chuckled as he pulled his hand away, "Did you space out again?"
Peter sucked in a breath. That chuckle – it seemed oddly familiar. Why was he noticing it just now?
"I uh…. I um… where was I…" Peter mumbled. He had a hard time gathering his thoughts.
"Maybe we should call it a night. You are probably far too tired to utter anything sensible and cohesive."
"Hey! I am not exhausted. I'm fine. I was merely caught up in my inner world." Peter explained as he glared at Nova who chuckled slightly. Due to his anger, Peter ignored or rather did not notice the astonishing similarity to the chuckle which erupted from Sam's chest whenever he had triumphed over something.
"Alright, Spidey. Your call." Nova replied as he held up his hands.
Peter pinched the bridge of his nose. He was having a mild headache. Naturally, he abhorred the creature which had picked the ideal moment to spring up.
"I was… I was afraid." Peter admitted after he leaned his back into the nearby wall. He soon slid down and sat on the floor. Nova silently joined him. Sam put a concerned hand on Peter's shoulder.
"What were you afraid of?" Sam asked, even though he had a hunch about the answer.
"I was scared of what could happen. Usually when you are a part of a team, bonds are bound to grow. Sharing a bond with someone is not something I can live with, knowing that I could lose this person any second and most of the time, chances are, it will be my fault." Peter professed. It felt oddly free to be able to talk to someone about this. He had never imagined it would be Nova of all people.
Sam clicked his tongue. He hated it when he was about something as gravely serious as this. He squeezed the hand he had rested on Spiderman's shoulder reassuringly. He then let go and rested it in his lap.
"You know," Sam began as he looked ahead, "You could anyone any second."
Peter snapped his head towards Nova. In all honesty, he had not expected such a calm response. Sam simply sighed and looked at Spiderman before he uttered, "We are dying, webs. Even right now, our time is ticking. You can never know how much time you will have with someone. You can never…." Sam breathed in deeply, "You can never be certain whether you will be able to save them."
Sam then exhaled and continued, "I am not saying your fear is to be frowned or ridiculed upon. Your reaction is completely natural. However, you cannot let it dictate your every move. I am not saying that your concern is not logical because, technically, we superheroes are endangered during every battle. Our lives can end in the blink of an eye because one villain found an opening. Nonetheless, the same can happen to any ordinary person who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Peter smiled as he looked at Nova, "I think I understand what you're trying to tell me."
"I'm glad you do." Sam hesitated, but decided to add just as a precaution, "Don't tell the others that I've said this, but…. When Fury called each and every one of us the first time, we were all scared. Neither one of us knew a single thing about being a hero. Naturally, we were overjoyed about joining S.H.I.E.L.D., but we did not know or rather… we were not sure whether we could beat such an immense responsibility. I was even about to run away after a particularly bad training session when I nearly killed Ava because of simple lack of coordination. Fury stopped me and convinced me to stay. I'm glad he did."
"I'm glad he did as well." Peter said as he smiled, though he was certain Nova could not see it. However, Peter could see the smile that had adorned Nova's features or the part of them that were left unhidden by his helmet.
"Thank you for trusting me." Peter uttered.
"Likewise." Sam said. He then checked his watch and groaned. Peter was about to question his reaction when he noticed what time it was. His eyes widened. It was nearing midnight. Aunt May was going to be worried or she would have gone ballistic by now.
"I-I have to go. God. How could it be this late?!" Spiderman muttered as he got up and headed towards the exit.
"I can help." Nova yelled as he caught up to the rushing Spiderman.
"How exactly?" Peter asked.
"Um… I don't know… Maybe I could fly you there, perhaps?" Sam quipped.
Peter rolled his eyes. "Your muscles are probably dead by now. I can't have you carrying my weight when you can barely lift your own."
Peter yelped when Nova picked him up bridal style and flew out of the tricarrier before Spiderman even had time to protest.
"Next stop: Spidey's lair!" Sam yelled.