Peter was walking into the lair where Fury and the crew worked only to find everything there gone; "Is anyone here... Fury... Coulson... Castle... Scott..." Peter called out and found his Spider-Sense going off hard. He dodged out of the way to find Zarda leaping out at him from behind and he was moving about as she charged at him with her fists. "Zarda... Everything alright..." Peter asked after yelling in confusion as she had the look of absolute fury on her face.
"I refused to believe it when Nighthawk told me but he gave me all of his evidence... The footage, showed me the footage of you coming here... You helped kill Sk'ym'x and you infiltrated the Squadron Supreme... You played me like a fool... Played with my heart... Made me think that I could love a man again..." Zarda yelled at Peter as he then panicked.
"Zarda... Please I can explain..." Peter muttered as he then began running back u pthe way to thebarber shop as Zarda climbed up by punching her hand through the wall and using some wires to cimb her way up. Peter quickly got changed into his Spider-Man suit as she got up and he used his communication device to teleport back up to the Rocket Central.
He then had to dodge Zarda's attacks as she teleported back and charged at him again. He leaped into her room and picked up Mjolnir and put it up feeling the thunder in his hands; Zarda looked his way as she easily disarmed him and kicked him roughly to the wall.
"I held back when we sparred before Peter and I have trained as a warrior through my entire life; my childhood was much longer than most human generations and I was taught to fight and protect myself alongside Thor himself... You can only run and delay for so long... Just know that I take no joy in making you feel all the emotional pain that you caused me physically..." Zarda told him as Peter braced himself...
Peter shot up awake from Zarda's bed groaning as he had the same nightmare 3 nights in a row; "Still having that nightmare Peter? I have heard stories of there being an entity of Nightmares who might have it in him for you..." Zarda told him softly as she was finishing up getting changed while Peter thought that it had been a week since the bikini photoshoot and he had been feeling more guilty about lying to Zarda everytime he has had this nightmare.
Peter sighed as he got dressed and hoping he doesn't regret; he grabbed the Chain of Veracity. "I don't think that Freddy Krueger is the source of my problems... I have something that you should have been told much earlier... Tie my wrists..." Peter told her as Zarda looked confused but relented as he put out his wrists and he could feel compelled to tell the truth. "I was there with Sk'ym'X when he was killed... 3 guys including the Punisher killed him in front of my eyes and I got pulled into their war against the superhero community as their mole... I was there with what happened at Captain America's old stomping ground and I was supposed to kidnap Hawkeye from that club but he ended up telling me what we needed to know..." Peter told her head down as Zarda was open mouthed unable to believe it.
"What... But... You can't fool the Chain of Veracity..." Zarda muttered in shock before growing angry. "I defended you when Nighthawk accused you! Was it all a lie? Did you brag about seducing me to your friends?" Zarda demanded as Peter shook his head.
"They are not my friends and I am not happy about this... I was supposed to plant a hacking device in the Rocket Central during my first time there but seeing you making me feel more welcome and I decided against it... I got back down but was confronted and attacked by Sk'ym'x... I didn't have a choice but to go along with them... Everything with you was real and I felt so guilty about keeping all this from you..." Peter then answered as Zarda sighed.
"I... I don't know how to feel... Why could you possibly work with them? Fighting against the Squadron and killing heroes... Working with a man that tried to kill you?" Zarda then demanded again as Peter's eyebrows grew.
"Because Castle is right about one thing; most of the Squadron are uncaring about the people they are supposed to be protecting... I remember a year after I got my powers; Doctor Spectrum thought it beneath him to clean up after that fight with the Hulk and I talked with your lover's cousin... He just wanted to be alone and had been feared and attacked ever since he was created... I was shown to a club where I saw 2 of my enemies drinking with Titania; just victims who are pretty much hired bad guys for good stories! Electro tried to be a hero but got stuck being a bad guy after he was labelled as such and I have blame for that... Plus you know those crooks that attacked FEAST which led to us meeting? Tony Stark personally set that up to convince me to accept his offer of joining the Squadron! Plus Ultron? Stark was more responsible for how that turned out and let Hank Pym be the fall guy!" Peter snapped out loud as Zarda was speechless at this.
Peter sighed looking apologetic and said "I am so sorry Zarda and I don't deserve you... I had been hiding this from you as I was working with people that I would rather not to take down a corrupt superhero system and I knew that you didn't know how bad it really was... A relationship a lie like things between Gwen and I was... I recently found out that she was Nightbird and only even started talking to me because Nighthawk sent her to spy on me..."
Zarda took all this in as she shook her head saying "The Chain of Veracity... You must be mistaken... I know Stark is obsessed with the publicity and all the fame, plus all the celebrity stuff and I know the faults of those who I worked with but... Could he really be that bad?"
"Apple doesn't fall far from tree in this case... Ever heard of Isaiah Bradley?" Peter asked as Zarda shook her head causing Peter to sigh. "Off course you have as Howard Stark made sure of that... He was a volunteer for the super soldier experiment and by all accounts should be known as the 2nd Captain America but just for doing the right thing in trying to free the people of colour test subjects; he was experimented on for 3 decades by the military and Howard Stark helped me that happen... His suffering led to the work done at that military camp and led to what they used to turn Walker into the new Cap..." Peter then retorted as Zarda was shocked beyond belief.
"I can show you some proof that I have at my place..." Peter then said as she then let him free.
"In TV shows and movies; there are scenes where you see events which put your main cast in a bind that they can't get out of easily or the show has put itself into a corner but it turns out that it was a dream or hallucination? Do you find that annoying?"
Peter and Zarda had teleported to his apartment and he had botted up the computer and showed video files on the hard drive related to Project: Hyperion. Zarda was horrified as she asked "Does... He..."
"Visited Burbank in the Raft... Hyperion doesn't know and Burbank fully believes that he would go on a rampage when he does that the Earth would be helpless against. You are the only person I have shown this too; the crew believes that the hard drive got destroyed when Ant Man crushed the base... Didn't want to be their dancing puppet." Peter then replied as Zarda looked at him.
"I am torn Peter as I can understand why you kept this from me but still... Thank you for coming clean and I want to be your secret ally in this..." Zarda then told him as his eyes widened.
"I really don't deserve you..." Peter muttered as she shook her head with a sigh. "So you want to give the base's location to the Squadron?" Peter asked as Zarda shook her head.
"Like it or not; they may have intel that we can use and it's not like that the system is crooked... More than I ever thought and needs to be torn down and start anew... Continue paying your part and I will act clueless about all this..." Zarda told Peter and he nodded at this. "Plus about the project... He deserves to know the truth; he can be aloof but he truly does care and wants to be good..." Zarda told Peter as he sighed.
"Let's hope the Squadron can subdue him or Fury's crew can have something in mind considering thanks to me; we don't have Nighthawk's Argonite..." Peter muttered as Zarda decided to look at his room. She glanced at the posters and then looked amused at the Squadron figures; especially the Power Princess one. She then noticed the box marked Gwen's stuff and he muttered about burning it.
She looked at the hard drive and Peter wanted to toss it but she ended up putting out the other one and placed it in it's place. Peter wanted to argue but her face made him relent as it booted up a single video file of Gwen wearing a Nighthawk shirt.
"Peter... This is not going to be easy... I feel terrible but all this time... I can't continue lying to you... I am filming this as I am planning on telling you tonight but just in case I chicken out... Believe it or not... I'm Nightbird... And our relationship started on a lie; Nighthawk himself told me who you really were and I was supposed to be close to you and gather intel... I had at the time saw you as the dope who was unorganised and yet smarter than me which I didn't like as I didn't want any competition for valedictorian... You were an assignment and I was planning on seducing you but the more time I spent with you... The feelings became real and I let my mask melt as I saw the caring sweet guy you are... I can't apologise enough for all the lies and I understand that once I tell you or show you this then it's over; you deserve a girl more honest with you Peter..." Gwen told the camera with a sigh and an apologetic look on her face.
Peter looked conflicted and then sighed; "So I get a taste of my own medicine..." Peter muttered as Zarda pulled him closer.
"Peter; is that you? There are renovation being done at the shelter so I took the day off..." May's voice said as she came to the door; Peter panicked as she then soon that Peter was there in his suit with Zarda. "Well... About time... I'm May Parker and I'm Peter's aunt. Why don't you sit down at our dinner table and I can make my famous meat loaf." May then said smirking holding out her hand as Zarda smiled and took it.
"Aunt May; this is Zarda my girlfriend and about the meat loaf; you don't have to try and drive her off..." Peter then told her as May sighed shaking her head.
"That is what you have to put up with; at least he won't lie to your face for decades of marriage like Ben did about my meat loaf..." May then said as Zarda looked amused.
Hidden in Africa was the nation of Wakanda and at the Citadel; the palace of the royal Golden Tribe. Inside sitted down was a black man in his royal garb and by his side was the bald headed women guard of the Dora Dora Milaje with their spears. The man King T'Challa then greeted his childhood best friend N'Jadaka as he came up to him.
"Your highness; we have returned from the artic and you were right... In just a week we found what the US Government had spent decades searching for... We did a scan and as remarkable as it is; he is still alive..." N'Jadaka told him as T'Challa was shown to a Wakandan aircraft and as being brought out was a huge piece of ice. T'Challa took a look inside and smirked as he noticed the shield inside and the body as well.
"The Watcher was right... Have him freed and I want Captain Rogers to have the upmost comfort for when he awakens; if only my grandfather was here to welcome his friend back to Wakanda." T'Challa then said with a smirking.
I admit that I changed how I went about this from the beginning as I did intend when Zarda found out to react as Annie did in Season 1 of the Boys. It would have led to a similar line to what Skye/the future Daisy said in the Season 1 finale of Agents of SHIELD:
"Cause you slept with her. And she's really pissed off."