Ch 13

Peter shook his head. This was all getting to be surreal. A man with a shield, another man in a suit that could fly. Then again, he did have the powers of a biologically engineered spider, so he guessed it all came out in the wash. But still... who exactly were these people? And why were they letting Osborn get away? Osborn, who had caused so much heartache?

Peter pulled his mask back on. "Look, it was nice meeting you all, but I've got to go after Osborn."

"Dammit, I really like this kid." Tony said with a smile.

"That's inadvisable." Phil said. "We've got our orders from base. We have to get this guy back to the lab for analysis." He pointed over his shoulder to the mess of black ink that still struggled against the cocoon.

Peter shook his head, "I'm not part of your group. And Osborn has a big enough of a head start. He's got Flash, and I can't just stand around here..."

"Miss Stacy is back at base, in surgery." Phil said, placing a hand on his arm. "I'm sure you'll want to be there."

And it all came flooding back to Peter. It seemed so long ago when he uttered the words. Save her, and I will join any team you want. His heart thumped loudly in his chest. It was like his heart was her heart in this moment, and he willed it to keep beating. Just keep breathing Gwen, just for me. He did want to be there when she woke up. He wanted to hold her hand and look into her eyes, and make sure she was okay. "She's in surgery?" He whispered.

"Yes." Phil said, checking his watch. "If all goes well, she'll be waking soon."

Phil's words sliced through his heart. If all goes well. What would go wrong? What could go wrong? He didn't want to take any chances with anything. If there was even a chance that she wouldn't make it... he wanted to be there. He had to be there. "Take me to her." Peter said.

Phil turned to Captain, "Take him down to the car." He turned to Tony, "Can you handle the creature?"

Tony eyed the wiggling black ink, "Can it break out of that?"

"If it hasn't yet, I'm sure it can't." Peter said. "Still..." He walked to it, and cocooned it another layer. "That should do it."

Captain put a hand on Peter's shoulder and guided him out of the room. Tony bent down to the creature and put it up and on his shoulder. "That was low, you know." He said.

Phil turned to him, "Sorry?"

"Using the girl to get Parker back to headquarters. Even you know that we should be going after Osborn. No good is going to come of this if she dies."

"If you have a problem with the orders, Stark, take it up with Fury."

"He's a kid, Phil. He's barely out of high school and he's seen enough death and despair in his life to last a life time. You're using the one thing he has left, his one glimmer of hope, and dangling it in front of him like a carrot."

"That's just it though, isn't it? Hope is the only thing stronger than fear."

"Are you telling me that if that girl wasn't dying, you'd threaten the kid?" Tony snapped, his mouth set in a firm line. He strolled up to Phil, his eyes blazing. "Don't make me believe that, Phil. I don't want to believe that."

"We need him, Stark. If we're going to get Osborn, we need him."

Tony turned away and to the window, "I guess as long as SHIELD gets what it wants, everyone else is just a pawn." And with that, he flew out of the window.

…...

Cap talked to Peter all through the car ride to SHIELD's Heli-carrier. Peter was grateful for that, it calmed his nerves and he listened silently as he told him how the first one had been destroyed beyond repair, but the new one, the latest model succeeded in ways that the previous one had failed. The Heli-carrier loomed into view, looking like a battleship gliding on the water. Peter was amazed that something so big and grand could take to the sky. He also felt weird knowing that Gwen was somewhere inside of it. As they got out of the car, a woman with shoulder length red hair and a man with spiked hair walked to him. They were both dressed in black jumpsuits and wore identical expressions. They moved in sync as they walked side by side, their hands not touching, but with the air that told Peter that they were not to be messed with; that they had each other's backs. The woman reached out to him first, in a move that Peter found surprising, given the way her mouth was set in a firm line. She put an arm around his shoulders and the other man, the one with the spiked hair fell into step beside them as they walked inside.

"It's good to have you here, Mr. Parker." She said and rubbed his back.

"Uh, thanks." Peter said.

The man on his other side held open a door, and Peter and the woman stepped into a hallway, and into what appeared to be a receiving area of the ship. The word that came to Peter's mind was holding cell, or interrogation room. It was a plain room with blank walls, a desk and two chairs. The door slammed behind them with a finality and the woman turned to Peter. She crossed her arms as she spoke, and the man stood beside her.

"I'm Natasha Romanova, this is Clint Barton. We're agents of SHIELD."

"Peter," He said. "Parker." He cleared his throat, "Peter Parker." It was impossible not to be intimidated by these two, but Peter tried to hold his own the best he could, and not come off as a recent high school graduate.

Agent Barton nodded his head to Peter.

Natasha continued, "Nick Fury, director of SHIELD will be in a moment to talk to you, give you a debriefing."

Peter shook his head, he was here wasting time, and no one had said a thing about the surgery. Everyone seemed to know all about him and why he was here, but no one seemed to care why he had come to them. "What about Gwen?"

Natasha exchanged a look with Barton. "I believe she's just out of surgery."

Peter let his breath out a long whoosh. He felt his heart rate returning to a normal pulse. "So, she's alive."

Natasha gave him a small smile and rubbed his back again, "Yes."

"When can I see her?"

"I believe you'll be free after Director Fury speaks to you."

"I can't see her now?"

The man, Clint took a step toward Peter and put a hand on his shoulder, "I know how this all must seem to you. I came to SHIELD when I was about your age. Let Fury talk to you, calm your fears. Give Gwen time to recover. Make sure she's awake when she sees you." He too, smiled at him and patted his back.

Peter gave a slow nod. What he said made sense. He wanted to be there to be able to talk to Gwen, make sure she was really okay, that she wasn't scared, that she wasn't in any pain.

There was a double knock on the door and in came a large man dressed in black, a long trench coat brushing the floor as he walked. An eye patch covered one half of his face, and his mouth too, was set in a straight line. Peter wondered idly if that was a common expression around here.

Clint and Natasha exchanged greetings with the man and then walked out the door.

"Mr. Parker," The man spoke, "I'm Director Nick Fury. Please, have a seat."

Peter sat down in one of the chairs, his mask still in his hands. He laid it awkwardly on the table.

"Thank you for coming here today." Fury said, taking the seat across from him.

"I didn't really have much of a choice." Peter said.

"No? I thought the one thing all of us had in this world was a choice."

"You have Gwen." Peter said simply.

"Hmm," Fury said. "Coulson told me about that. He told me you agreed to join SHIELD in exchange for saving Miss Stacy's life."

"Yes." Peter said.

"Did you mean that?"

It was a simple question, one Peter should have been able to answer with no hesitation at all. But he still didn't know what SHIELD was all about, he just knew that it was a branch of the government that had people with powers above human capacity. "Seeing that you seem to have my back and that Gwen is alive, yes."

Fury sighed, "And if she wasn't?"

"Then I don't think you would like me very much."

"And why's that?"

"Because the one thing in this world that matters to me more than anything would be gone."

Fury nodded. "And what then?"

Peter folded his hands and looked down at them. He wasn't sure. He wouldn't know what would happen, but it was a scenario that he never wanted to live. "I don't know."

Fury leaned across the table, his good eye studying Peter intently. "There are things in this world that would bring out your dark side, Mr. Parker. People and things who hurt innocent people for their own gain."

Peter shook his head. "That's not bringing out my dark side, bringing those people to justice. That's just doing what's right. Helping people who can't help themselves, standing up for those who are unable."

"That's pretty much our mission statement for a group of people we call the Avengers Initiative." Fury said with a smile.

"What's the Avengers?"

"You've met some of them. Iron Man who is Mr. Stark, Captain America goes by the name of Steve Rogers. Natasha and Clint. Just ordinary people doing extraordinary work."

"And this is some sort of crime fighting team?"

"You could say that. We also have a Hulk and a Demi-God. Norman Osborn brought us to New York, which brought us to you. We've been after Osborn for awhile, but we've never been close enough to get him in. I believe that you could help us with that."

Peter smiled for the first time that day, "Where do I sign?"