Answering my latest (guest) review on this story, yes, Spider-Man is super paranoid about his secret ID. Buuut, we're talking Amazing Spider-Man Peter Parker, not comic books Peter Parker. Yes, his ID is a priority, but the whole point of this story is that, while Spider-Man is a great superhero (one might even say amazing), he can be an even greater Avenger. Hence their wish for him to train the next gen of heroes. Plus, having his ID be a secret to no one is kind of a running gag by now.
Anyway, an apology. I know I promised the Compound on this one, but the story took a minor detour, crashed into some actual plot, and spawned a ton of new ideas. See more at the footnote. Enjoy! - Darthkvzn
-"This feels like déjà vu. I mean, the punks are new, but..." -said Rhodey, receiving some nods from the senior Avengers.
The party was done, and the Avengers, plus their sort of 'Inner Circle', Gwen and I, were all sitting in a large living room, staring at Thor's hammer innocently lying atop a coffee table.
-"How so?" -asked silver haired guy, who I'd learned was Pietro Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch's twin. His limp came from some pretty grievous injuries he'd sustained in the Battle of Sokovia. That he was alive was a miracle of will and modern medicine.
-"Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor." -said Steve, sadly.
-"It's still totally a trick." -said Hawkeye.
-"It is much more than that, my friend." -said Thor, unusually glum.
I blinked. "What's with the creepy voice acting?"
Tony smirked sadly. "You see, young spider, the Avengers have many traditions to uphold. One of them is shawarma, as you know."
I snickered. As part of my 'initiation', everyone, even Steve, had asked me to eat a whole shawarma dish and tell them what I thought of it. The thing wasn't bad, but it was pretty...meh. I told them as much, and got happy shouts and whoops for my trouble. Apparently, you didn't get to join if you didn't think shawarma was precisely 'meh'.
I nodded. Steve continued on. "Another is a Mjölnir lifting competition. Pretty useless, since nobody but Vision and Thor can actually do it, but still fun."
Quicksilver snapped his fingers. "That is why you were stunned that day. And why I could not hold the hammer?"
Thor nodded. "Mjölnir is enchanted by the All-Father's strongest magics to avoid its use by the unworthy - no offense."
The speedster immediately appeared at the table, pulling on it with all his strength. The glorified mallet refused to budge at all, leaving Pietro with a sore ego and a frown on his face.
I sniggered a little. "Why is that so...haunting, though?" -asked Gwen.
Thor glanced at Tony, who sighed. "Last time we did this, Ultron just so happened to be born. Made his grand entrance just behind you two."
I sucked in a breath; the idea of Ultron alone was terrifying enough - an artificial intelligence hellbent on destroying humanity, and smart enough to do so. That his first appearance had literally happened behind them, breaking up a silly situation like this one was nightmare inducing.
Judging by the bags and dark circles under most of their eyes, I surmised that assumption was pretty much on the money.
Stark had an anguished look on his face, which Steve must've noticed. "Ultron was a mistake. But so was pinning the whole blame on you."
-"I created him, Cap."
Steve shook his head. "I know you're not one to take credit for something you didn't create, so cut it out. You found him. Modified him to suit your needs. Even named him. But Ultron was inside the sceptre from the start."
Tony grimaced. "I still let him happen."
-"You absolutely did. There's no excusing it - you went behind our backs and messed with something you didn't fully understand."
-"I know, I got throat lifted by Thor saying exactly that."
I winced, and so did the god of thunder. "I fear my actions were...also inexcusable, no matter my thoughts and intentions. I recently lost my brother, and nearly lost my lady Jane due to my own mistakes. I did not wish to see you go down a similar path, nor did I appreciate the thought of losing yet more brothers and sisters."
"As an Aesir, I will likely live for many more millenia, assuming I am not felled in combat. Gaining mortal friends...it comes easily, but at a cost. I will remain nearly unchanged, but you will wither and die. And I cannot do anything to change this. I should know better than to form such bonds with you all, but I have always been headstrong. I cannot fathom a life without the Avengers anymore." -finished the god, staring intensely at his glass.
A few moments of solemn silence went by, and then Wanda piped up. "Well, with Peter's assistance, perhaps you will not need to."
I blushed to my roots. "That's an awful lot of trust you're placing on my shoulders."
She shrugged. "I have beheld your mind, and it is beautiful. A little juvenile, perhaps. But beautiful all the same."
-"Don't you dare fall in love with my boyfriend's mind!" -said Gwen in mock jealousy.
We all laughed. "I don't think you should be worried about Ms. Maximoff's preferences." -said the Falcon, amused.
Wanda blushed scarlet, stealing a glance at the Vision, who merely smiled.
Tony blinked, then got an enormous smile. "Oh my, Ms. Maximoff. Been a little naughty, have we?" -he said, wagging his eyebrows.
The Scarlet Witch groaned, burying her head in the pillows. "I hate all of you."
Natasha cooed. "Aww, Tony...she's warming up to you."
Stark chuckled, turning to Pepper. "I think I'm already going to have to give The Talk! I'm excited now. Excitement is happening."
Pepper swatted him playfully, looking at the rest of us apologetically. "He's like this at night too, if you know what I mean."
We all groaned or feigned vomiting. "God, TMI." -said Rhodey.
Pepper just planted a huge kiss on Tony.
The world, it got weirder a little bit every day. I remember the first time I heard about Captain America, about this great hero who'd gone through a procedure to make him the greatest of them all. Then came the flying metal suit piloted by a billionaire, dispensing righteous justice to the tunes of AC/DC and Black Sabbath. Giant green monsters, spies, gods, and aliens followed suit.
Then there was me, a gangly kid from Queens who learned a very important lesson about responsibility in the hardest way possible.
With robot armies, neo-nazi terrorists, and an incoming turn against us from our own government, it was ridiculously comforting to see these people, this highly dysfunctional, yet caring family of misfits reminisce and joke around. Sure, the mood wasn't always festive. And yeah, who knows if we'd still be around in a year. But, at the the end of the day, this is what made our struggle worth it. Coming home black and blue to the people you love - to your motivation as a superhero.
As Gwen pulled me in for a kiss of her own, I couldn't help but think 'Bring it on, world.'
As it turns out, the world sure knows how to bring it. A blessedly fitful night of sleep in one of Avenger Tower's guest rooms (Tony assured me a full co-ed floor was in the works for us younglings) was abruptly interrupted by FRIDAY's lovely voice.
-"Captain Rogers is requesting your presence in the common area, Mr. Parker."
I groaned mentally, but shook it off. One did not simply say no to Captain America, regardless of the call coming at 6 in the freaking morning.
-"Masked?"
-"I would advise so."
I raised an eyebrow, but figured there was a reason for it. I pulled on the new suit (so much easier than spandex, thank God for small miracles), checking everything was in working order, before heading out.
I found every Avenger fully armed and armored in the Assembly Room, as Tony called it. They all bore very grim expressions. Except for Natasha, of course, who just seemed bored.
-"Did I miss a sternly worded memo?" -I asked, still adjusting my mask.
Tony snorted. "If it were up to me, I'd leave you to your icky spider-dreams. But we've got about seventy two developing situations and it'll be all hands on deck."
Nick Fury walked in behind me, followed by a serene, balding man, and Maria Hill, who I hadn't really met yet.
-"What? No punches to the face?" -asked the balding man.
Almost everyone rolled their eyes. "Natasha's known you're alive ever since the Chitauri thing. And the rest of us found out on the data dump." -said Steve. The suited man looked about three levels above dumbstruck.
Nat shrugged. "Sure, there was a lot of angst and a lot of things got broken, but we're past it."
An arrow flew past them all, whizzing just by the man's head, who immediately dove for cover. Pepper piped up. "Well, most of us. Clint's still pretty mad about it."
-"Right. What is going on!?" -I asked.
The balding man rose, offering a hand. "Sorry about that. Phil Coulson. Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Big fan of your work, Mr. Parker." -he said with a dry, apologetic smile.
I cursed under my breath, but figured if Fury knew who I was, chances were that many others in S.H.I.E.L.D. also knew.
-"Wait a minute. Aren't you…?" -I said to Fury, who raised an eyebrow.
-"Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.? I am."
Coulson smirked at my confused silence. "Director Fury is in charge of Superhuman Affairs, based on the Helicarrier. I run the Intelligence side of things. He gets the heroes, I get the spies. Unfortunately. Hill's in charge of media, though, so she's worst off."
Hill cleared her throat. "We all know how much you like to babysit, Coulson, but we're kind of off-topic." -she said, turning to face the heroes. "Avengers, as of twenty minutes ago, what remained of the sovereign nation of Sokovia was absorbed by its neighbor, Latveria. Their leader, Doctor Victor Von Doom, marched in a legion of his troops, both human and mechanical, and chased away the UN troops with the promise of Latverian support yesterday. Today, he and the former Sokovian president announced just how expansive that support is."
As she said it, footage of the event played: a massive, Thor-sized man in sinister dark gray armor, oddly covered by a green hood and tunic shook hands with the president, surrounded by at least a dozen robotic troops bearing the Latverian insignia and some pretty wicked glowing green eyes. You'd figure I would know about such an...extravagant leader.
The twins gasped. "No...Von Doom...he is the one that caused the conflict that killed our parents." -said Wanda.
Coulson pursed his lips. "Victor Von Doom is a very cunning, very patient man. He's been looking for the chance to expand his territory for the last 15 years or so, spreading discord and causing a civil war, but the Battle of Sokovia brought him the perfect opportunity. I imagine the annexation was forced out of the government. Doom is a tyrant, but he's also very wealthy."
Steve considered the situation. Fury cut him off before he could speak. "We're not stopping it, Captain. We can't - he's gone through all the legal channels, and even the U.N. are glad someone's taking care of Sokovia. They are asking, however, that three Avengers be present in the official ceremony, just in case."
The soldier grimaced, but nodded. "Pepper, Wanda and Vision, I want you to go. Pepper has excellent diplomacy skills, Wanda has great crowd-control abilities, and Vision could go toe-to-toe with Ultron. I'm hoping Doom's not any harder than that."
I noticed a few of the other's raising an eyebrow at the explanation, but Tony winked at me and I got it - he was explaining things for my benefit. I have to say, I was a little flattered.
The three walked out to the balcony and took off, presumably going to the Compound to catch a Quinjet, since the Tower's hadn't yet been replaced.
-"Next on the agenda?" -asked Tony.
Natasha spoke up. "Bruce's borrowed Quinjet may have been found near Fiji, but the Hulk has been spotted in China - the catch? A red Hulk was seen close behind him. I don't need to tell you just how catastrophic this could be."
Nearly everyone in the room paled - Natasha's grim tone was about as unsettling as the situation itself. The Hulk's PR was around floor-level at the moment, and I knew better than most just how dangerous Banner's involuntary alter-ego was, having been given access to the Avenger files.
-"Anything that's got Banner running is a disaster waiting to happen. Romanoff - you, Thor and Stark go. Veronica online yet?" -Steve asked Stark, who nodded.
-"Just got a fresh coat of paint. Tell you what, though, we gotta get Betty on the line."
Steve's gaze hardened, glancing at Romanoff. The russian assassin just nodded. "Lullaby didn't work last time. I'd appreciate the insurance."
The supersoldier pursed his lips, but nodded. "Do we have a location on Dr. Ross?"
Coulson and Stark both said 'I do'. "Aww, look, they really do love each other." -said Pepper.
Phil shot her an exasperated look. "Dr. Ross is currently under lock and key at the General's manor. I can have her extracted by my team in about two hours."
Tony scoffed. "Your team, right. Bunch of S.H.I.E.L.D. fanboys..."
Rhodey rolled his eyes. "Sure, just Barton with the lingering issues." -he said, getting an Iron Man Glare (patent pending) for his trouble.
-"Please refrain from dissing on my team, Mr. Stark.
Tony was just about to retort when FRIDAY shouted. "Boss, Rhino is real! He or she has just made landfall on 6th."
I blinked. "Uhh, did I hear that correctly? The whole Rhino is real bit?"
-"Unfortunately. There were reports of a massive rhinoceros romping around the docks about an hour ago. Guess they weren't pipe dreams after all."
I shook my head. "Right. Well, since I already have one animal-themed villain under my belt, I'll bite the bullet on this one."
Tony snorted. "That sounds so wrong. But fine. Take your pick of teammates."
-"Teammates?" -I asked meekly.
Steve looked at me oddly. "Honorary or not, you are an Avenger. We might not always be available to fight street crime with you, but supervillains are usually a team effort."
Thank goodness for the mask, because I was gaping like an asthmatic fish.
Hawkeye took pity on me or something, because he put a hand on my shoulder. "I don't have an axe, but you have my bow. I'm not needed at home until nighttime anyway." -he said, shrugging.
-"You are such dad." -said Pietro, mirth tainting his voice.
-"Can it, punk. Get your ass on a Quinjet and get back to the farm, Lila needs a target for practice." -he said. Pietro groaned exaggeratedly, but jogged over to the hangar, where an old model Quinjet (the S.H.I.E.L.D. standard I'd stuck to way back when) was currently landing.
Falcon looked at me sheepishly. "I'd help, too, but I'm needed in California. Guess you'll have to settle for Captain America."
-"Woe is me." -I deadpanned.
-"Actually, Captain Rogers is needed in the Compound. A new candidate for the Initiative has come up." -said Coulson.
My eyebrows raised. There were a lot of heroes nowadays - you have your Doctor Stranges, your Daredevils, and your Iron Fists. The Avengers rarely considered new and upcoming heroes not because they thought themselves somehow better, but rather because first contact had gone wrong, their fighting style didn't match the Avengers', or maybe their moral compass wasn't all that well adjusted yet. I got lucky - Uncle Ben made sure I realized just what responsibilities I would have.
Captain America nodded. "This Rhino souds dangerous, but I think you've handled worse. Don't hesitate to call if you need reinforcements, though."
I nodded gratefully. That Identi-card wasn't just for getting into nightclubs, it seemed.
Steve gave the room a wide glance. "We've all got our missions, some more critical than others. So I'll keep this brief: we're facing enemies both known and mysterious. Tyrants, mad men...even our own friends. So give your best, protect the innocent, and represent the 'A' on your badges and all that it stands for."
That was the last bit of Ultron-related Stark grief, I promise. For a while, at least. Also? I love the nonchalant reveals of Coulson's survival. I hope you liked my version. On that note, my usage of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. disregards the entirety of season 2 except for the whole 'Skye gets superpowers' bit, because I think it's awesome. Inhumans are involved, but it's RADICALLY different to the show. I don't like season 2, sorry.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Do you think I should make some tiny spin-off stories with the other missions I mentioned this chapter? (i.e. going for Banner, visiting Latveria, meeting Skye and Coulson's team, etc) or just gloss over it? Your call! - Darthkvzn
