WE HAVE VICTORY! So, Spider-Man's going to be in the MCU, which dates the first chapter of this story even more. But that's okay, because even though it's taken a little while, I came up with some ideas to continue this story. So, here's the chapter 2, which takes place in a confusing universe, full of jokes that I think are funny, but probably aren't.
Nick Fury stood at the center of the piloting team's consoles of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, currently flying thousands of feet over the Atlantic Ocean, its cloak protecting it from view, blending in with the clouds and sky around it. Agent Maria Hill approached slowly behind him, having been warned that he was once again in his annoyed mood. But she was used to it by now.
"Sir?" Hill asked, walking up behind him. "Is something the matter?"
"What do you think?" Fury replied, his gaze remaining forward.
"Well, your current level of irritation is usually reserved for dealing with Sony." Hill answered. "But that's all resolved now, isn't it."
"Officially." Fury admitted, turning to face her. "But I'd be lying if I told you I had no suspicions about ulterior motives."
"What kinds of ulterior motives, sir?" Hill asked, confused. "Aren't they just movie execs?"
Fury looked at the ground, gritting his teeth in anger. "That makes them even more dangerous."
"Sir, I really don't think we'll have any problems." Hill reasoned. "How much damage can Sony execs really do?"
"You haven't seen The Amazing Spider-Man 2 yet, have you Hill?" Fry asked.
"No, sir." Hill answered. "It was in that memo you sent out in May, you had it listed under "indecent"."
"It's been called worse." Fury shrugged, walking forward past her.
"But sir, with Amy Pascal gone, isn't the most immediate danger out of the way?" Hill called after him.
"There's always danger, Agent." Fury replied, exiting the control center and turning a corner, disappearing from sight.
Maria frowned, not truly knowing what he meant, before shrugging and walking off as well, searching for a job to do. As she walked down the halls, she briefly paused outside of Boardroom 6, hearing some unidentifiable noise inside. Remembering the last time that that room had been used, she increased her pace slightly before the fabric of the universe was threatened again. She wanted to be nowhere near Ground Zero if it was.
The cork flew out of the champagne bottle's end with a loud pop, followed by a cheer from everyone in the room. As the drink was dispersed into glasses and filled awaiting hands, the group inside the boardroom celebrated the momentous occasion. The joy and relief inside was palpable, as if a huge weight had been lifted from all of them. The group consisted of The Avengers themselves; Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, Thor, Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton, as well as Joss Whedon and Kevin Feige. The other two people were Thomas Rothman, the new head of Sony Pictures, and Drew Goddard, the director-to-be of upcoming Spider-Man projects.
"Tony, is it ready yet?" Bruce asked his friend, clinking glasses with Natasha.
"Just about." Tony answered, stopping the rapid typing on his laptop to grin at his friend. "Don't get too angry with me."
"Very funny." Bruce nodded. "That really does never get old."
"Come on, don't fight." Natasha teased. "Because we all know Bruce would win."
"I don't know." Tony said, resuming his typing but retaining the smirk. "I may have a secret weapon or two up my sleeve."
"That'd have to be a very big sleeve." Steve said, which eared a laugh from their teammates.
"And there...we...go!" Tony said triumphantly, clicking Enter on the laptop and standing up, looking at the large screen on the far wall, where the image of a Twitter feed appeared. "The news just broke, and that feed is set on a refresh rate of thirty seconds. Let's watch these nerds lose their minds."
The group gave another cheer. This was a day many of thought would never happen, and they couldn't wait to see their fans' reaction.
"Well, Tom," Whedon smiled, extending a hand, "we finally did it."
"We certainly did." Rothman grinned back, shaking the director's hand. "It's been a long time coming, I'm glad we managed to finally resolve this."
"We're going to make a lot of people very happy." Feige added, also shaking Rothman's hand.
"I certainly hope so." Rothman replied.
"At least you're reasonable." Feige said. "Which is a nice change to have with Sony CEOs."
"Yes, Amy Pascal was known for her...stubbornness." Rothman admitted. "But now, that won't be an issue."
"Whatever happened to her, anyway?" Whedon asked, after clinking glasses with Goddard, his old friend. "We haven't heard anything since she stepped down."
"Oh, uh, yeah...stepped down." Rothman said, suddenly adopting an air of nervousness. "That's...that's definitely what happened. She, um...she...went to Japan."
"Japan?" Feige looked confused.
"Yes, to, uh...to meet with the executives of Sony there, to talk about...new employment options."
"Huh." Whedon said. "You'd think that would end up in the news somewhere."
"Well, I guess Sony wants to keep her fate a secret."
"Fate?"
"Future!" Rothman corrected himself quickly. "Her future, of course that's what I meant. Did I say fate? That's odd. That makes no sense for me to say." He stopped rambling, smiling nervously at the two Marvel figures.
Feige and Whedon shared a sideways look.
"Well, we wish her luck." Feige said, trying to end the conversation.
"I'll try to pass that message on." Rothman nodded.
"So, what are your plans for Spider-Man now?" Whedon interjected, changing the subject. At the sound of those words, the Avengers made their way over to join the conversation, equally as interested in Rothman's answer.
"Well, we're considering a number of talented young actors at this time." Rothman answered, clearly at ease again.
"Young like teenagers or young like thirty-year olds?" Tony asked.
"Teenagers." Rothman clarified. "At this point, we think we want to narrow it down to actors who can play as young as fifteen."
"Fifteen?" Whedon was surprised.
"Yes. We want to get an actor who'll fit the part for a while." Rothman said.
"That's remarkably...forward-thinking for Sony." Bruce remarked.
"Well, we are with the Marvel Cinematic Universe now." Rothman smiled. "It seems the thing to do."
The Avengers and Marvel executives looked at each other happily. This was someone that they could deal with.
"Do you have any specific actors in mind?" Whedon asked.
"We're thinking of people like Logan Lerman, Dylan O'Brien, Taron Egerton." Rothman listed. "People like that, young talents who we think will only get better."
"That seems like a good path to go down." Feige nodded.
"Where is Spider-Man, by the way?" Steve asked. "After last time, with what...happened to him..."
"Which was terrifying." Tony added.
"Well, he's in the Sony Casting Chamber right now." Rothman answered.
"The Sony Casting Chamber?" Clint and Natasha asked at the same time. None of the Avengers had heard of that before.
"It's where we put Spider-Man between re-boots." Rothman clarified. "As we consider actors, Spider-Man tries to find an identifiable image outside of the blank slate costume that you all saw last meeting."
"Which was, again, terrifying." Tony added.
"Well, it's nothing compared to what's happening right now." Rothman continued. "He's currently constantly changing shape, and mostly screaming as he does it."
"That sounds awful." Feige said. "And he's been through that before, hasn't he?"
"Yes, he has." Rothman nodded sadly. "I can't imagine what it would be like to go through that twice."
Bruce looked at the ground, shuddering. Natasha rubbed his arm sympathetically.
"You know, Drew, I've been wondering something." Whedon said to his friend.
"What is it?" Goddard asked.
"What happened to Marc Webb?" Whedon asked. "We sent him an invite, but we didn't get a reply."
"Ummm..." Goddard looked suddenly nervous, as if that was the question he had hoped to not be asked. "I don't think I can answer that question."
"Why not?" Feige asked, confused.
"Well, because he...quit." Goddard said quickly.
"Quit?"
"Yes, quit." Goddard continued rapidly. "He, uh, wasn't happy with how he was being treated, so he was remov-I mean, we parted ways peacefully."
Feige and Whedon shared another sideways look.
"That sounds like Webb." Feige chuckled nervously.
"Yes, it certainly does." Goddard smiled nervously, taking a sudden interest in his shoes.
"I'm sure we'll enjoy his next movie, anyway." Whedon shrugged.
"Yes, his...next...movie..." Goddard nodded.
A familiar beeping and blooping noise interrupted the conversation before it went any further, and everyone in the boardroom turned to look at the large screen. A Skype call was incoming, and Tony walked over to answer it. When it connected, the image of Simon Kinberg and Bryan Singer appeared.
"Simon? Bryan?" Feige asked them. "What can we do for you?"
"We just heard the news, congratulations!" Kinberg said. "I'm glad you managed to resolve that little situation."
"Well, don't act like we're the only ones having success!" Feige replied. "You've got 3 X-Men films coming in 2016, not to mention people are actually looking forward to Fantastic Four now."
"Oh, stop." Kinberg waved a hand dismissively. "This is your day, Kevin."
"Okay, we'll accept your praise." Whedon laughed.
"Actually, we've got someone here who wants to talk to your team." Singer said, motioning to the side. After a few seconds, Wolverine came onto the screen.
"Hey, it's Wolverine!" Tony said, as the Avengers crowded around the screen. "We've never actually met, how are you?"
"Good, good." Wolverine answered. "A little confused honestly, because we're supposed to exist in separate universes. That and the fact that our executives and directors exist alongside us."
"Wait, Wolverine, don't!" Singer managed to yell before everything started shaking. The Helicarrier dipped in the air, causing everyone in the room to fall over, landing in a pile against the windowed wall.
"Wolverine, don't question the universe, you could destroy us all!" Kinberg yelled. The Skype call remained going, and the Avengers could see the three Fox members trying to keep their balance.
"All right, all right, I'm sorry!" Wolverine yelled.
The world steadily regained proper balance, and the Avengers, as well as their executives, got to their feet again.
"Sorry about that." Wolverine said.
"It's all right." Singer replied, patting the mutant on his shoulder. "Just don't do it again."
"Yeah...yeah." Wolverine nodded.
"The Quicksilver thing was bad enough, we almost lost the whole Helicarrier." Whedon muttered.
"Hey, wait a minute, I recognise you..." Wolverine said, pointing at Rothman.
"Uh...I think you're mistaking me for someone else..." Rothman said nervously.
"No, it's you!" Wolverine snarled. "You're Tim Rothman! You're the reason that X-Men origins happened! And now you're with them?!
"Look, Logan, I loved Sony, but I needed to move on." Rothman tried to reason.
"We needed you!" Wolverine yelled. "When you were at Fox, we were never more profitable!"
"Since when do you care about profits?" Rothman asked.
"I'm a loner outlaw! That's my whole shtick!" Wolverine answered. "And if we get good profits, I get more solo movies!"
"That's not under my control!" Rothman replied. "That's up to the fans!"
"Fuck you!" Wolverine yelled.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Feige yelled. "Wolverine, you can't use that kind of language in a Marvel Studios film!"
"What?" Wolverine asked, looking confused.
"Don't you understand? We're owned by Disney!" Whedon yelled. "If you say that word, you're be removed from our universe!"
"What do you mea-" Wolverine started to say, before he disappeared. Kinberg and Singer looked around the room, panicked.
"Where'd he go? Kinberg asked.
"We don't know." Feige answered. "Disney's powers are far too strong to understand."
"We need to find him, now!" Singer exclaimed. "We've got three cameos and The Wolverine 2 to shoot!"
"Use the Fox Searchlight!" Steve suggested.
"That's not what that is!" Kinberg yelled.
"Huh." Steve said, looking surprised.
"Look, we have to find him, he's pretty much how we make all of our money." Kinberg said to everyone, reaching toward his camera. "We'll call you back when we solve this."
"Okay, goodbye." Feige said, before the connection was lost.
Tony closed the Skype window, going back the Twitter feed. "Yep, Spider-Man's the number one trend worldwide now."
"No surprise there." Clint muttered.
"What was that, Clint?" Whedon asked.
"I was just pointing out that people are clearly more interested in the "real superheroes". Clint replied sarcastically. "Why would anyone care about regular people like me?"
"Clint, please don't do this again." Whedon started.
"Start what? Bitterness that everyone hates me?" Clint replied.
"Look, we expanded your role in Age of Ultron, there's only so much we can do." Whedon said.
"What is this Age of Ultron he speaks of?" Thor quietly asked Natasha, but the only answer he got was a shrug.
"You just aren't on the same level as the rest of us, Clint." Tony said. "We all know it."
"Wow, thank you so much." Clint said. "I feel much better now, you should be a motivational speaker!"
"Look, Clint, it's okay." Feige said. "You'll get your chance-"
"When?!" Clint demanded. "Why are me and Natasha always excluded?
"Well, actually, I was in Winter Soldier." Natasha corrected. "And I was awesome."
"And they cut me from that!" Clint added. "What's the matter, didn't want people to think that stupid little Hawkeye could pin big, mighty Captain America?"
"That's not it at all, Clint." Whedon said. "We're just...playing to our strengths."
"I'm one hundred percent done with this bullshit." Clint spat, storming out of the room.
"But is he not the one who continually acknowledges his own inferiority?" Thor asked.
"That's the point, Thor." Bruce answered.
"Bruce, Thor, that's enough." Whedon told them. "You both know that Clint has a weirdly vocal fanbase, and I'm not ready for that level of annoyance right now."
"Their only argument is that he's "necessary"." Tony muttered.
"Tony, what did I just say?" Whedon asked.
"I offered to make him a technologically advanced super-bow, but he just asked for another regular old bow, and some more fancy arrows."
"Look, he's got a theme, and he's sticking with it." Whedon replied.
"Fine, whatever." Tony muttered. "I made him a thing to fire more than one arrow, at least he'll be more useful. Marginally."
"Look, how about all of you just go." Whedon told the team. "We'll find Clint later, and then you can all apologize."
The Avengers slowly left the room, the door sliding closed again.
"Well, I think we can adjourn for today, gentlemen." Feige said. "Before the fabric of our reality is threatened again."
"That happens a surprising amount of times." Whedon said.
"Well, it was great to finally resolve the Spider-Man issue." Rothman said. "With the combination of our creative teams, I see a bright future ahead for us all."
"For the first time, I think that'll happen." Whedon said.
"Well, I'm overjoyed to be on board." Rothman continued. "What about you, Drew?"
"Oh, I'm just grateful to still be on board." Goddard smiled. "When they hired me for Sinister Six, I was over the moon. But when all that started to fall apart, I was concerned about losing a chance to have a part of that universe. But with this new deal, and Sony keeping me on-board for the next Spider-Man and the new version of Sinister Six, I couldn't be happier."
"Well, I'm glad they picked someone capable." Feige said.
"Do you have any advice for me?" Goddard asked. "You guys have managed to take a lot of different characters and worlds and mix them together well."
"The number one thing I would say is to follow the world that the comics made." Feige suggested. "The biggest problem with The Amazing Spider-Man films is that they tried to be dark and gritty. Spider-Man's a bright, happy character, so the world should reflect that. Sam Raimi's films weren't perfect, but they were what they should have been."
"That's a good point." Rothman nodded.
"Embrace what you're doing." Whedon added. "The advantage we have over DC is that we embrace everything about our comics, instead of trying to change them."
"Ugh, DC." Rothman smiled. "Hopefully we never have to deal with them."
"Well, you never know." Whedon said. "The universe is a mysterious place."
"And a confusing one." Feige added.
"I couldn't agree more." Rothman smiled. "Well, until we meet again."
Everyone in the room exchanged friendly handshakes, and the Sony executives left the room, the door sliding shut behind them.
"I'll be honest, I didn't expect such a successful meeting." Feige said.
"Neither did I." Whedon replied. "But it looks like everything's going to be okay."
"Until Civil War, that is." Feige reasoned.
"Oh, of course."
"So many nerd tears."
"So, so many."
"It's beautiful."
"It truly is."
"Are we just not going to address that Amy Pascal and Marc Webb were murdered by Japanese Sony executives?"
"I think it would be better if we didn't."
"I couldn't agree more."
Nick Fury moved out of the way of the Sony executives as they walked by him, exchanging a curt nod with them. It was at that point that Agent Hill's path intersected with his, and she watched as her boss stared angrily at the backs of the Sony members, before they disappeared from view.
"Sir?" She asked. "What is it?"
"I still don't trust them." Fury answered. "There's too much history to indicate that I shouldn't."
"But sir, they gave us Spider-Man." Hill reasoned. "Clearly they believe that we can help them."
"Yes, but how far does that help need to go?" Fury asked her. "To the point where we have the best version possible? Or to the point where they're using our expertise, but still remaining in control?"
"I don't think that'll happen, sir." Hill replied.
"Well, we'll see." Fury replied. "Leopards don't change their spots, Agent Hill."
"But those aren't the same leopards." Hill pointed out.
Fury nodded, looking back down in the direction that the Sony members had walked. "Hill, that theory about the man dressed as a bat fighting crime?"
"Yes, sir?"
"I don't find it entirely plausible."
"Well sir, I've developed a few other ideas."
"Like what?" Fury asked.
"Well, how about the last member of a destroyed planet who can fly, has super-strength, laser vision, and no concern about collateral damage."
"Hm."
"And a woman from a race of Amazonians who's probably the greatest warrior in the world. She has a lasso that forces people to tell the truth."
"Interesting."
"A man from Atlantis who has control of the seas."
"He'd need a lot of tattoos and no shirt to take him seriously." Fury added.
"Good addition, I'll make a note of that." Hill replied. "And, I thought of someone who gets a ring from an alien that allows him to create anything with his mind. It turns out that he's part of an intergalactic police force."
"You've got something there. There's no way to mess that concept up." Fury nodded. "Any other ideas?"
"Off the top of my head?" Hill asked. "Uh...how about...a guy who can run really fast?"
"We already have one of those, Agent." Fury said.
"Time travel could be involved?" Hill suggested.
"I think we have a Gem for that..." Fury muttered, thinking.
"And...maybe...a cyborg?" Hill suggested.
"Just...a cyborg?"
"Well, you're kind of putting me on the spot, sir."
"What if they all came together? Like the Avengers?" Fury asked.
"Well, they'd certainly be in a league of their own in terms of problem-solving." Hill answered.
"Yes...a league of their own..." Fury said. "A league of...justice."
"Maybe, sir." Hill shrugged. "Those are just hypothetical situations."
"Impossibilities are just another day for us." Fury replied, walking away.
Hill stood still for a moment. "Maybe a little boy who gets struck by lightning and gets turned into an adult with lightning powers...with Dwayne Johnson-no, that's too weird." She muttered, walking away. She unknowingly walked by Clint, who was curled up in a ball up in the rafters, sulking.
The bright blue light of the teleportation machine glowed and filled the room, before flooding inward and disappearing. Goddard and Rothman stepped down from the circular, silver platform, and into the dark room of Sony Headquarters.
"Well done today, Drew." Rothman smiled. "It's the first step in a very important road for us."
"Glad to be a part of it, sir." Goddard grinned. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yes you will." Rothman nodded. "Good night, Drew."
"Goodnight, Mr. Rothman." Drew replied, walking out of the room, leaving for his home.
Rothman's grin disappeared as soon as Goddard was out view, and he turned to his left, walking up the white wall. He stared at the smooth surface for a few seconds, and a small blue light appeared on it, scanning his eyes up and down. There was a small click as the light disappeared, followed by a smooth, robotic female voice.
"Welcome back, Grand Master."
A section of the wall slid away, revealing a short passageway. Rothman stepped into the wall and slowly walked down into the depths. He arrived in another room, to see a large group of people standing before the elevated platform he was standing on. Each of the people awaiting his arrival was dressed in black robes that hid their faces. They each carried long metal staffs in one hand and a candle in the other. Torches lined the stone walls, with eerie shadows cast against the wall from those standing around them.
As Rothman stepped forward, two hooded figures came from behind him and pulled a long scarlet robe onto his shoulders. They stepped away quickly as he walked a few more steps forward.
"Denizens of Sony Pictures!" Rothman yelled outwards, his calm demeanor replaced with a dark intensity. "The first step of our plan is complete!"
The Sony staff banged their staffs against the wall, the metallic clanging echoing around the chamber.
"We have infiltrated Marvel Studios and gained their trust!" Rothman went on. "With Spider-Man with them, but still under our control, we will finally accomplish our eternal task!"
The staffs banged against the floor again, the synchronized sound music to Rothman's ears.
"That is right, my children!" He yelled triumphantly. "We...shall...make...money!"
"MONEY! MONEY! MONEY!" His last word was returned to him by his employees, shouted along with the staffs' noises.
"ALL HAIL SONY!" Rothman yelled, throwing his arms above his head.
"ALL HAIL SONY! ALL HAIL SONY! ALL HAIL SONY!"
So yeah, that's how my brain works. I'm almost hoping for another Marvel/Sony situation so I can complete this epic trilogy. Actually, this was meant to be a trilogy as much as the Matrix. Or The Hangover. Or The Amazing Spider-Man. OOOOOOHHHHHHH! Anyway, if nothing happens, I'll probably have some ideas after Civil War, the next Spider-Man film. Thanks for reading, see you in 2016!
Update: I actually had an idea to completely take it away from the formula I've established so far and make like an action-packed finale of the Sony cult vs. The Avengers, Spider-Man, etc. Is this a completely stupid idea or a really awesome one? I have a lot of ideas for action sequences, plot twists, etc. that would stay with the tone of this story as well. Should I make that the last chapter, or a separate story? Please PM me or leave a review with your thoughts. Thanks!