Goodbye Summer Hello Trouble!
Chapter VII
Nova screamed as he was thrown into a building for the umpteenth time that day. Apparently it had been a bad idea to let his guard down for a second to check if Spiderman was alright. The web slinger had tried to warn him, but, alas, Nova had not had time to react.
Sam moaned as his tired body collided with the concrete on the ground. His face made contact with the dirty street and naturally, even though his suit and helmet had protected most of his more fragile areas, it still hurt. He groaned and muttered curses under his nose, hoping that his teammates were faring better than him.
All thoughts along that train died when White Tiger landed near him, followed soon by Iron Fist. Nova cringed when he heard both of them moan. If Sam had to be honest, he could swear he heard Ava whimpering, but since he treasured his life, he would pretend that no such horrid sound had made it past her lips. After all, her claws were deadly sharp and he was still recovering from the previous time he had irked her.
"What are we going to do? Nothing we have tried thus far has worked." Danny uttered.
"We need a plan and fast." Ava added.
"I know." Nova replied as he focused his attention on Rhino. The beast was currently engaged in a fight with Powerman. The latter was doing surprisingly well against an enemy that was almost twice, if not three times, his stature. However, soon the hero's series of punches and kicks were managed to be blocked. As a result, Rhino found an opening and swung one of his immense arms against Luke, successfully knocking him into a nearby postbox. Powerman knocked it down and ended up rolling backward for quite a while. His trail of embarrassment ended just in front of Sam.
"I thought you said you had him." Nova said as he helped Luke up. The latter grumbled as he replied:
"I did. I just did not know he would be this strong."
"It seems we have underestimated our enemy and that one simple mistake might lead us to our downfall. We need to correct it as soon as we can." Danny uttered.
Ava nodded as she said, "I think we have already figured that out, but how exactly are we going to do that? Lat time I checked none of our strategies worked."
"That's because some of them are not suitable for a four man squad." Nova explained as he calculated a plan his mind had just concocted. It was a long shot, but he had nothing else and seeing as his schemes had managed to semi-work this week, he figured he could chance his luck once more.
"What do you propose we do then? Ask Spidey over there for help?" Luke asked in a joking manner.
"Actually yeah. That's exactly what I was going to suggest." Sam answered.
The reaction he received was not satisfactory. Three pairs of eyes looked at him as though he had said something that entirely ludicrous. Nova groaned and sighed. He had expected disbelief to be written on Luke and maybe Ava's faces, but Danny's as well? Iron Fist usually gave Sam's plans the benefit of the doubt. Had Danny lost his patience with Spiderman, too?
"I think you've lost it, bucket-head." Ava said, not realizing she had used the nickname Spiderman had given Sam to address him.
Nova rolled his eyes as he replied, "I have not. I think we should give it a try. Obviously Spiderman over there is doing better than any of us, but he can't get close enough to Rhino. With our help he will have a better chance."
Ava appeared skeptical. Luke was dubious, while Danny seemed to be considering Sam's idea. Finally, Danny gave in and iterated, "I gather it is definitely worth a try. We could distract Rhino and thus buy time. He is easily angered and when he is under the influence of emotions his reflexes are not as fast. We can use that to our advantage."
"Spiderman over there can build a strong enough web that will hold him, while we do everything that we can do rile him up. I suggest I do it. One of you can help me, while the other two assist web-head." Sam added.
"You suggest you be the one to distract him?" Ava asked as she chuckled.
"I don't see what's funny." Sam immediately countered.
"Nothing. It's just that it's a bit ironical that you will be the one to annoy Rhino enough to make him lose control." Ava explained as she added, "Usually you are not one that will be willing to do the dirty work. Normally, you just sit around, show off and take all the glory."
Sam rolled his eyes as Ava laughed and soon Luke joined her. Danny smiled - a sure sign that he, too, had found the joke somewhat funny. Nova sighed. He did know his faults. He was aware that he could be annoying and irritating even at times, but during more serious battles he rarely displayed those traits anymore. The fact that some of his teammates still joked around about his inflated ego and tendencies to be continuously in the spot light hurt him. Did they not have enough faith in him not to act in such an inappropriate way during a mission?
"Are you guys going to just stand there or are you going to help me?" Spiderman enquired as he shot a web at Rhino's eyes, successfully blinding and annoying the beast. Rhino stumbled back as Spiderman jumped toward the other heroes. Nova was brought back to Earth as Spiderman landed in front of him and asked, "Do you guys have a plan? I know I normally prefer to do things on my own, but if I have to be honest, I could use a hand tonight. You up for it?"
The four nodded. Ava quickly explained what they had come up with and Spiderman agreed. During her explanation Sam and Powerman had kept Rhino busy. Unfortunately, Powerman had grown a bit more tired and had ended up getting injured. Nova tried his best to keep the beast's attention all to himself. He had succeeded. However, Rhino had soon figured out Nova's flying pattern and had found an opening. The villain managed to hit Sam hard enough to send him flying toward a building. Sam groaned as he hit glass this time. He was grateful that none of the shards imbedded into his skin. He was unhappy, however, that he had ended up getting hurt again. It seemed that he really could use a break. He made a mental note about talking to Fury about it once they were done with this ordeal.
White Tiger and Iron Fist had joined the fight soon after. Danny managed to secure a successful punch and made Rhino stumble, while Ava escorted Luke out of the battlefield. Nova returned soon after and together with Danny managed to drag Rhino into the spider's trap. The web was big and sticky enough. The slick substance glued itself to the villain's body, while he struggled. As Rhino continued to fight he became more and more entangled. By the end of it he almost immobilized himself entirely. He was soon knocked out by a powerful double punch courtesy of Danny and Spiderman.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. soon arrived to clean up the mess the fight had made. Luke was escorted to the medical ward by Danny. Ava went with Fury to fill him in on all the details. She was the only member who had not got injured at all. However, she had enough wounds to heal from previous. Nonetheless, the choice had been between her and Nova and the two had agreed that Sam was not up to the task. The boy could barely stand on his feet let alone talk.
Sam sighed as he helped a few agents clean up. He put the last broken shards in a waste bin. After that he leaned against the wall and began massaging his neck. He hated it when he got sore. However, that could never be avoided.
"Is your friend going to be alright?" Someone suddenly asked.
Sam yelped. He immediately ignored the numbing pain and sprung into action. Warm blue energy engulfed his form as he flew into the air and turned around to face whoever was behind him. Nova adopted a battle stance and was about to yell to the other person and order him to reveal who he was. However, such extreme measures did not need to be taken for Spiderman immediately appeared out of the shadows. His arms were slightly raised as though he were trying to calm a frightened kitten down.
"Relax." He said as he made a few more steps and Nova seemed to lower his arms. "It's just me."
Sam completely relaxed once Spiderman was before him. He wanted to land gracefully, but ended up sagging down. Spiderman was taken off guard, but he managed to catch the other's body in time. He wrapped one arm loosely around Nova's shoulders as he tried to help Sam sit down. Apparently, Sam could no longer stand.
"Were you hurt?" Spiderman asked once he had helped Sam sit against the wall. Nova shook his head as he gave a thorough answer, "No, I was just… I guess I hit far too many walls and trees this week. My body is bruised, but I do not have any serious injuries. By teammates, however, were not as lucky."
Spiderman nodded before he asked, "I noticed that one of them was escorted by a medic."
"Yeah, that's Powerman. His skin is as unbreakable as a rock. Almost nothing can wound him, but he received far too many hits and had little time to recover. I think that's why he was ushered to the ward immediately. The one in the green suit is called Iron Fist. He, too, acquired a few bruises, but nothing major. White Tiger was lucky tonight. However, she was wounded on previous missions and as a result was warned to take it easy."
"Why would they send you to fight so suddenly if you were all injured? Doesn't S.H.I.E.L.D. ever give you a break?" Spiderman asked as he noticed that part of Nova's suit had been torn and a small cut was visible just above the boy's hip.
"Honestly, no." Sam joked, however, once he noticed that Spiderman did not find it funny at all, he corrected himself and said, "I mean, of course, they do, but recently the rate of criminal activity in Manhattan has risen drastically. As a result, there was an unexpected demand for more and more superheroes. The rookies are doing their best, but we can't handle every villain. Most of us have been going on autopilot for the past few days."
Spiderman nodded. He visibly relaxed once Sam had finished speaking and even chuckled before he responded, "I get what you mean." He then sat down beside Nova and continued, "If I have to be honest myself, I as well have experienced trouble when it came to handling some of my enemies this week. I felt as though every time I finished one of them and decided to take a break another one emerged out of nowhere."
Spiderman gesticulated a bit for emphasis, making Sam chuckle. Nova had forgotten how strangely fast his mood improved whenever he had the chance to spend some quality time with the other superhero. Noticing that his thoughts had drifted to a forbidden topic, he immediately concentrated his attention on what had been plaguing his mind.
"You turned down Fury's offer to join the team again, didn't you?" Sam suddenly said.
Spiderman tensed up once more as he nodded carefully. Sam sighed. He knew that it was wrong to corner Spiderman like this, but he needed to receive a final answer. Was he going to join their team or not?
" Why are you so opposed to the idea? You saw what we can do and have seen us battle multiple times. We have even joined forces when the situation has been dire." Sam uttered.
"I know, I just…" Spiderman began, but hesitated.
Nova noticed that the other hero was considering his words carefully which meant that Spiderman was most likely having an inner debate. Sam knew that the moment as close to perfect as it could get.
"We work well together. I mean… I know you and I have disagreements at times, but… I can't believe I am going to say this, but I think our team will be able to benefit from a hero like you." Sam uttered.
"Our team? When did you stop calling it your team?" Spiderman asked jokingly.
Surprisingly when Spiderman kidded with Sam's tendency to claim ownership over the team, it did not sting as much as when other people did it.
" When Fury drilled it into my head. He threatened to transfer me to another team if I did not change my attitude. I admit I was not the best teammate at times and I know that I am not cut out to be a leader. At least, not a leader to this team. However, right now someone has to step up and take control. Though we usually switch, we have managed to survive thus far. Nonetheless, I feel that we need someone who will be able take permanent control over this team." Sam explained as he looked directly at Spiderman.
"In other words you need a leader?" Spiderman asked.
Sam nodded. He watched as the other turned his head around. Time passed and the deafening silence made Sam even more impatient. He was just about to ask Spiderman one more time when the other turned back suddenly and said:
"I'll think about it."
He then got up, made a few steps and was about to leave, when his hands stopped mid-air. He turned around and walked back toward Nova. Sam's heart rate quickened when Spiderman knelt down in front of him, leaned in and whispered:
"Meet me back here tomorrow and I'll tell you my answer."
Then he rose, walked the way back to his previous spot, shot a web and swung away.
The next twenty-four hours had been complete torture for Sam. Not only had he not managed to sleep as much as he had wanted to, he had also been late for the team's morning training session. Agent Coulsin had been angry, but Sam had managed to survive. He had been hoping that he would be able to meet up with Peter at school and spent some time with the teen and maybe even sort out his feelings toward the boy. However, Peter had not arrived, making Sam's mood grow sour.
After school ended Sam had been forced to go to the tricarrier immediately because of an emergency. He was sent on a solo mission to chase down Batroc, subdue him and bring him back to the tricarrier. It was supposed to be a simple mission, one that would take about an hour, maybe even two to complete. In reality, Sam would have finished it even quicker had he had back up. Unfortunately, S.H.I.E.L.D. was running low on superheroes so he had to spend his entire afternoon and even part of the evening locating the pesky villain. After that, he had had three battles with the idiot because Sam had underestimated Batroc's abilities and as a result, he had escaped.
In the end he had managed to win and bring him back to the tricarrier where two other agents took over. Sam then reported back to Fury and was told that he was free for the night. Naturally, Sam had been ecstatic. He had just been ready to go back to his room and rest when he noticed what time it was. He had only thirty minutes to go and meet up with Spiderman.
Sam grumbled all the way to their meeting spot. His mood dampened when Spiderman was late. However, when the superhero landed before Nova every last trace of anger and anxiety was washed away. Dread replaced them and Sam was starting to reconsider this whole predicament. Perhaps he should not have asked. Maybe he should have just let Nick Fury handle the whole situation, but all worries soon disappeared when Spiderman uttered four simple words:
"My answer is…yes."
